savoy019

This is a new 6-inch LITTLE TREASURES block for my Repro Madness swap quilt project.  I wish I had this little doggie's help as I try and tame the verge around the house on this 800 acre treasure forest! In stitches, Teresa   :o)

I am trying to finalize two new LITTLE TREASURES bundles of 6-inch finished block patterns... Dogs and Cats (1) and Misc (2) .  I hope to have them in the web store by Sunday afternoon. This block is called "Penny Chew."  There were so many things available for pennies, nickels, and dimes in these kinds of machines when I was a kid...I was fascinated (then usually disappointed) in the contents. This next one is called "Still Life With Cat."  I miss how Weasley used to squeeze his bulk into any available container...whether it already had stuff in it or not.  Then, he would just sit there until I noticed him...it must be nice to have that kind of time in your day.  I like to imagine what kind of goofy things I could come up with, time permitting, to try and catch my husband unaware throughout his day, since he now works from home...like hiding in a closet that I know he is about to visit or striking some weird pose and "freezing" until he passes. I thin...

This is the little box of vintage pattern weights I found on Ebay recently.  I spent about $30 to get them, but I love them and will definitely use them...unlike a few gadgets I have bought for quilting in the past. The modern pattern weights I have seen are little bean bags, which are fine (made by Dritz), but I already had six of the white plastic ones, which I love.  This is what the Dritz variety look like. With my larger blocks, six pattern weights were just not enough. I received my first set of white, plastic, "vintage" pattern weights in the early nineties as a wedding gift from someone who thought I would use them in garment construction (as if I make garments anymore...).   They didn't grab me at the time...I even lost one of them in our reclining chair when I opened the package. I put the remaining five away and the sixth one remained buried somewhere in that chair for over 20 years.   Then, I realized how great they were for applique prep!  I finally...

"You get what you pay for" is one old saying.  A better one may be "quality in - quality out." I have been quilting for almost 35 years, so I've seen a huge improvement in the quality of quilting cottons.  Those first calico's I bought in the 1970's weren't great and there were so few from which to choose!  I recently pulled out the first quilting project I started in 1982 to take as a humorous "ice breaker" for the guild talk I was giving.  It is a hand-pieced Grandmother's Flower Garden partial top...Y seams (no English Paper Piecing)...pretty ambitious project for a beginner.  I will share a picture...no judgin'...LOL! My grandmother had just given me her last quilt, finished with hand-quilting help from community ladies before she passed away from cancer.  That quilt consists of flowery scraps from my dress sewing (I thought she wanted my scraps for her community quilting bee!).  Apparently, she started hand-piecing it about the...

I feel like I have been cutting up some fruit for fruit salad...with a little cat added. This little block will be part of the LITTLE TREASURES  - Dog and Cat (1) bundle of patterns, very soon to be added to my web store.   It is called "Still Life With Cat."  I don't know what is more fun...coming up with new blocks or naming them. I am having so much enjoyment trying to utilize some of my dotted fabrics in making eyes.  (Stash justification!)  For this cat head, I reverse appliqued the eye sockets, then "fussy cut" the dotted fabric so that the eye pupils would be in the right place.  This way, the eyes look like they are recessed in the head, which, I guess, is normal, huh.  Sometimes I put the eyes on top, employing regular applique, so they "pop" and look prominent.  It is nice to have options! Here is what they look like from behind...kind of owl-like...hmm... ...and this is what I "fussy cut" the eyes from... These pictures may be redu...

This is a drawstring bag that opens up to a 44 inches diameter containment system.  I think it is designed for Legos and toys, but wouldn't it be an awesome "play area" for LITTLE SCRAPS ???? For those of us who use every last snippet of scraps, we struggle with organization so that little pieces of fabrics aren't migrating around the house, stuck to socks, shoes or the cat/dog/husband/kids.  But the scraps also need to be accessible.  I like the little "rim" that helps contain the madness. (Full disclosure, these are called "Scoop Bags" and can be found here .) I have to say I am intrigued.  I am really more excited about the smaller versions, also pictured above, which I didn't find on the same website.  I think 44 inches would be a little large, although I could spread it out on the ping pong table. But if I go to a class or retreat it might prove a little clumsy if working space is an issue. I wonder how may quilters it would hold at one ti...