Calico Road

The New Project - that I can't start yet

2011-02-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've got a new project on my brain and I'm so excited to get to work on it! But I can't start yet. I don't have enough fabric. Let me rephrase that. I don't have enough different fabrics. And since I'm on a strict fabric budget, I can't just run out and get what I need. Here's why......

I saw this Fandango fabric by Kate Spain months ago online and fell in love with it. I've been wanting to make a new quilt for our bedroom that included the green of my walls (because I'm lazy and didn't want to repaint), aqua, blue, lime green, and then a splash of red or orange. Fandango has ALL these colors and it isn't too froo froo, so the Gardener Guy agreed on it. I hopped online and bought myself a layer cake of Fandango with a plan of making a queen sized quilt using the Disappearing Nine Patch pattern. I knew that I wanted to incorporate some other fabrics I'd already started accumulating for this quilt and I figured I was on my way to making my FIRST queen size quilt. That is, until I realized I didn't have nearly enough 10" squares. I should also explain here that I want each square to be different, I don't want any repeating fabrics. Crap. Now I have to sit down and figure out how many 10" squares I'm going to need for this pattern. That's going to involve some math. Double crap.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate math? Just the mention of number crunching causes an instant glazing over of my eyes, and I start to pay attention to things in the room like how many holes are in the ceiling tiles. It probably makes you wonder why I love quilting so much. I'm wondering the same thing. I mean seriously, not only is there some major math involved, but it's FRACTIONS, which is even worse. Ugh.

Well, I manned up and did a few equations, and got a ~~impossible~~ really big number. Like a 3 digit number. In order to make this quilt the size I want, I am going to need 108 squares. In case you didn't get that, let me repeat. I'M GOING TO NEED 108 TEN INCH SQUARES. Seems like way too many. Certainly that can't be right. Well it is.
I did math 4 times just to make sure.

The layer cake came with 50 squares, and I went through my fabric stash multiple times to add to the end number, and so far I'm at 86.

Holy cow, this may take a while.

First Non-Resolution Completed!

2011-01-24T21:39:00.002-07:00

Amazing what one whole day in the craft room does.

Even though I feel like I wasted a day that could've been spent crafting, it feels nice to look around and not instantly feel overwhelmed by the chaos. It's handy to know exactly where my fabrics are, so when I'm looking for a particular red, I can go to the container it's in, not the bottom of the last pile where I think I saw it. You know what I'm talking about.

Considering how long I've been working in chaos, it may take me a while to get used to this. I'll bet it takes way less time to turn back into chaos. Just being honest.

Here's a breakdown of how I organized my fabric:
Top shelf middle and left in plastic bins are fat quarters.
Top shelf right are quarter yard cuts of solids, in color order. (kind of)
Bottom shelf is everything one half yard or bigger. (the little pile on the right are
precuts for my pincushions)
On the counter in plastic bins are pieces that are bigger than scraps, but not fat quarters.

What you can't see is the bottom of the cabinet where I keep my containers of scraps. Yep, I said containers. Like plural. Maybe I'll show you that next time, it's pretty bad.

This is not a Resolution

2011-01-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've ever told you this before, but I always have really great plans for the New Year. I'm always going to lose 30 pounds by Valentine's Day, stop spending money on lunches and be a millionaire by the end of the year, and of course, keep my craft room organized. All very realistic plans, don't you think? I should also tell you that I stink at follow-through. For example, it took me approximately 6 hours yesterday to cave on the diet plan and start shoveling left over fudge into my face.

This year, I'm going to focus on one thing. Keeping the craft room clean.

My main focus is to get my fabric under control.

I've attempted this before, and it never takes me long to get frustrated and give up. I can never figure out the best way to organize all the scraps and cuts I have, but I think I've got it figured out. I've got a plan.

Curtains! (almost)

2010-12-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

People, I have a confession to make. We have lived in this house for 8 YEARS and I've never had curtains in my living room. Never. Ever.
I've never really been much for window dressings. I don't get fancy, I don't spend a lot of money. And for some reason I'm really intimidated by them. Silly huh?
So my goal for the last ~~8 years~~ few months has been to finally make a decision on what I'm going to do with my big front window. It's a bay window, but not a cool seat type of bay window as it's 3 ft from the floor. The total dimensions, including the trim around it is 6 ft wide by 4 ft 2 in tall.
I know what you're thinking. Just make two long panels on each side of the window to kind of frame it. Yep, I've thought of that, and that's what I'm trying to go for. I even bought a curtain rod 3 YEARS AGO which you can see in the picture. It's been on the wall, ~~taunting~~ inspiring me for that long. But, (and it's a big but) there are heat vents against the wall directly below where those nice panel curtains would hang. Because they have to go to the floor. They can't be the same length as the window. They just can't. I'd feel like I was living in a Super 8 hotel. Not even a Holiday Inn Express, a Super 8. And even I don't sink that low. (Plus there's a little thing called money missing from my life these days, so there's another obstacle. Just throwing that out there.) *sigh

Well let me tell you, I was at Target doing some Christmas shopping (with that money I don't have) and came across these shower curtains ON SALE. And there were a crapload of them. In my color none the less! I heard the angels sing, and then they started hacking and coughing like they were lifetime smokers because I realized that these shower curtains won't be long enough to reach the floor. But then they cleared the phlem and started singing again, because I realized I can just add a panel to get some more length! YAY!

But, (and it's a big but again) I can't for the life of me figure out where exactly on the curtain I should add the panel, AND (the most important part) which color I should use for the "extender piece". *sigh My living room colors are tan, white, red, and dark chocolate brown. Walls are tan, trim (except for said window) is white, hardwood floors are the ugliest scratched up Golden Oak color, along with the bay window trim, but accent shelves and such are dark brown.
HELP ME PEOPLE. What should I do? Do I use dark brown for the "extender piece"? White? God knows I don't want to try and match this red, you know how that can go. AND, do I insert the "extender piece" at the bottom? Somewhere toward the top, but a little below, so there's red on top? Gawd, I just can't make this decision. This is worse than trying to decide what to use for the binding on a quilt. *sigh

(and yes, those are also white shower curtains in the picture, and they're for my next ~~meltdown~~ project.)

White Elephant Gift Wrapping

2010-12-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

I have a White Elephant gift exchange at work tomorrow. I almost forgot about it.

So.......in a pinch, I went through our old CDs and found this Holiday CD from Old Navy. I think it was like $3 when I bought it, and I don't love it, so maybe some lucky sucker in my office will appreciate it more. Or not.

Since we don't have our Box O' Christmas Wrap down yet, I went with the old stand by - aluminum foil.

Now, being the crafty chic I am, the plain ol' foil wouldn't do, so of course I had to jazz it up with some painters tape as the ribbon. And a bow. Perfect.

I seriously LOVE White Elephant parties. It's so fun to see what kind of crap will get unwrapped next. The first White Elephant gift exchange I ever attended, I unwrapped a pitcher that looked like a monkey ~~humping~~ holding a pumpkin. It was awful. And awesome.

Merry Chistmas everybody!

Best Craftshow In Denver

2010-12-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

Fancy Tiger's Holiday Handmade 2010.

I had a great time, sold a bunch, and have had a post craft show hangover for a week.

This was the first time I've ever done an 8 x 8 booth, and although it worked well, a few tweeks need to be done before next time. Like finding somewhere for me to be instead of hiding behind the champaign crate. I swear I scared a few people jumping out to say hi. Also, having some kind of check out station would be nice. Trying to write receipts, run credit cards on a knucklebuster, and count money in 10 square inches just doesn't work well.

It was interesting to see what did and didn't sell this year. My pendants that almost sold out last year, didn't do so well this year. I sold more moleskines than last year, but hardly any pincushions went out the door this year. Maybe it was my pricing changes, maybe it was the fabrics used this year vs. last year. I've heard it said by craftshow veterans, every show is different. You just never know.

I do LOVE doing these shows. I love chatting with people, processing the transactions, seeing people's reactions (good and bad) to my products. It's fun. It makes me proud. And it wipes. me. out.

The Christmas Crunch

2010-11-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

My little ol' craft business Quay & Co. will be participating in Holiday Handmade 2010!!

This is Denver's biggest alternative craft market, and let me tell you, there are some AWESOME crafters involved.

This is not your grandma's craft show.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the items I'm working on.

Singer Featherweight 221 Egyptian Scroll Faceplate - SOLD

2010-10-20T20:22:00.002-06:00

Holycrap people. LOOK WHAT I FOUND AT GOODWILL!! Isn't she beautiful??

Best thrifted item. EVER.

I really need to give The Gardener Guy credit for finding this ol' gal. I was checking out another old sewing machine when he opened this non-descript case next to me.
AND I HEARD THE ANGELS SING.

She came with so many attachments, I don't even know what they do. Except for the buttonholer. And ruffler. Those are pretty obvious.

I did find a small problem. The bobbin case needs to be replaced. So I got on eBay. A new bobbin case will cost more than what I bought the whole machine for. Grrrrr. I was able to borrow one from my friend, so I know she sews, and does a bangin' job, but really, she's an old gal and could probably use a tune up.

But honestly, I didn't buy her to use her. I knew when I bought her that she would be an investment.

And so I offer her to you. Email me if you're interested, we can discuss details then.

For now, just try looking at this beauty without drooling. I dare you.

Dog Doo Compost Bin

2010-08-26T20:49:00.001-06:00

This summer we installed a new feature, though well hidden, in our backyard. Gardener Guy had seen on an HGTV show how to compost dog waste. Yep, that's right, good old fashion dog poop.

We have a 3 yr old Golden Retriever named Dixie, and trust me, she puts out plenty of waste, and sizable for that matter. Okay sorry, TMI. Since Gardener Guy got tired of hearing me complain about the smelly bags waiting for trash day, he decided to try this method of disposing of the doo.

This is a great family activity to do on the weekend, it only took a couple of hours. And seriously, aren't all kids fascinated with doo?

**Don't worry, there are no pictures of the actual doo used to make this tutorial**

Here's what you'll need:
Plastic bin with a lid. We used an empty cat litter box with a flip top lid, but you could also use a 5 gallon bucket.
Rocks. We used some lava rock that was on the side of the garage.
Shovel.
Drill with 1/2 inch drill bit.
Utility knife or saw.
Septic tank bacteria in powder form.
Water.

Here's how you do it:

Prepare the site.

Dig a hole. We dug ours a little deeper than the depth of the container. We chose to put ours in the dog run as close to the property line as possible. *Read: As far away from the house as possible.

Prepare the container.

Cut the bottom off of plastic container.
Drill holes around sides of container. This is for drainage.

Now to put it all together.

Insert plastic bin into the hole. Make sure the lid is above ground, but that everything else is below ground.
Put a couple of inches of rock in the bottom. Again, for drainage.
Fill in the hole so there is no space between the container and the ground.
Insert dog doo into container.
Sprinkle with bacteria powder.
Water well. And I mean well.

Essentially, what you've just made is a mini septic tank. It won't hold water, but the bacteria will eat away the doo. You will need to rewater every day or so to make sure the bacteria can do it's job.

In hindsight, we probably dug our hole too deep and added too many rocks. We're having an issue with getting enough water to stay in the container to do what it should. Other than that, I love it.

The best thing is that it DOES NOT SMELL. It's underground, and covered so odors never escape.

Let me know if you decide to do this too, would love to hear how you like it.

Indoor Box Turtle Habitat

2010-07-14T22:35:00.000-06:00

We just built the COOLEST indoor habitat for our box turtle General Lee. And when I say "we", I mean Gardener Guy.

Our friend gave General to us about 4 years ago, and at that time he was little. He was about the size of the top of a pop can. Yep, really little. Since then, he's about doubled his size. So now, he's roughly 4 inches if you measure his shell from head to tail.

General's been living in a glass fish tank that had a 12 X 24 footprint, and there wasn't much room for him to play. Do turtles play? We like to think they do, so we've been wanting to make him some kind of new home for a few years. I mean, if you think about it, they do need a few critical items in their habitat. This website had some great suggestions, although we didn't follow every rule they had. There had to be room for a water dish big enough for him to soak in, a feeding rock, and of course a cave of sorts, since they like to burrow and hide whenever possible.

As you can see, we've been able to provide all those necessities, and then some. We're thinking of installing a putting green. Or a race track.

Here's how we did it. Gardener Guy brought home some solid based pallets from work to use as the foundation, as well as for the walls.

He cut one pallet down to a 2ft x 3ft base and removed the slats of wood from another pallet to use for the walls.
He caulked the cracks between the boards in the base.
We bought a 12 inch plastic pot tray and cut a whole in the base big enough so that the tray slips right in, but doesn't fall through.
Then we covered the base in indoor/outdoor carpet for the floor.
He took the wood he had removed from the pallet, cut it into 11 inches long pieces and screwed it to the sides of the base to form the walls.
To stabilize the slats forming the walls, he took a few 2 x 1s and screwed them to the inside of the walls. These will also serve as a ledge to rest the frame of a screened lid when we get that built.

Once we had the house built, it was time to decorate!

According to the vet, we should feed him on a stone so that his beak can get worn down naturally and we won't have to have it trimmed so often. He also needed a hidey hole, so we took another piece of flagstone and leaned it up in a corner, making a cave. Turtles should also have some sort of substrate in their habitat, so I bought some bark to lay down throughout the house. However, the thought of having to pick little turtle nuggets out of that bark made us rethink that plan. Instead, we just put the bark in his cave so he could burrow if he wants, and the nuggets will be easy to clean off of the indoor/outdoor carpet.

He's already taken the twenty five cent tour, and I think he's going to LOVE IT.

Next step: Making a screened lid so we can feed General crickets once in a while without the fear of them escaping and hiding behind the dresser, keeping us up all night with their song. We'll post those directions when we get it completed.

The mother of all wasp nests

2010-07-11T21:02:00.002-06:00

When you own a dog, chances are you'll own a dog house. During the summers, in our dog house, we tend to get a few little wasp nests that usually never amount to much. Until this year.

The Gardener Guy mentioned to me the other day that we should probably check Dixie's house for nests, just to make sure she's not in any harm. AS IF she even uses the house in the summer, but I digress.

So we popped the lid on the house and WHOA BOY was there a wasp nest formin'!! I've never seen one this big EVER.

Well, what's a Gardener Guy to do but get out the heavy guns? Thank you Spectracide for making a spray that goes 27 feet.

I'm sure Dixie would thank you too if she could talk.

How to hang a small quilt

2010-06-18T13:04:00.000-06:00

A LONG TIME AGO when posting this project, I thought it would be a good idea to share the way that I make a small quilt hang-able.

It's super easy, and I kind of feel like I'm cheating when I do this, but it works so well.

First, I make a sleeve by taking a 1 inch (or so, it doesn't have to be exact) piece of muslin and iron over the unfinished edges. I whipstitch it to the back of the quilt with one end closed, one end open.

Then I simply take a bamboo BBQ skewer (the big kind work best as they're more sturdy) or two, to fit the length of the quilt, and slide it/them into the sleeve.

Sew up the open end with a few more hand stitches.

To make a hanger for the quilt I just sew on a small washer right smack dab in the middle of the sleeve. I always make sure to sew it on low enough that it won't show when hung up.

The skewers make the top edge of the quilt nice and stiff to ensure that your beautiful quilt will hang straight.

That's it. Piece of cake.

Quilted Photo Wallhanging

2010-06-17T22:04:00.000-06:00

Here is the finished product. Quilted and hung on the wall. I. LOVE. IT.

First Craft Show of the Year - Spring Fling

2010-04-27T20:26:00.000-06:00

My first craft show of the year was last Saturday and man, did it get me in the mood for more!
A few things happened at the show that really got me motivated.

First, people actually bought my items. Sometimes I start getting worried that nobody will like my stuff and I'll go home penniless. I tend to be really hard on myself sometimes.
Second, I was told about//invited to 3 other BIG festivals or street markets. That was pretty sweet. Knowing that people think my items and booth would be good at another venue is extremely flattering.
Third, and frankly the icing on the cake......three people recognized my booth from this show I did before Christmas. Did you hear me? PEOPLE ARE RECOGNIZING ME!!! That's so cool.

Upcoming Spring Craft Shows

2010-04-13T08:00:00.001-06:00

I've been busy with a capital B getting ready for a couple of upcoming craft shows.

To be honest, the only reason I'm so busy is because I'm a total slacker. I've been procrastinating for way too long, and it just hit me the other day that I only have two weekends to work on stuff. Crap!

So.....this past weekend I ALMOST completed 12 jewelry/sewing pouches and 60 more pendants. That means that this week I'll have to bust my butt to finish those so I can work on Moleskines and pincushions next weekend. I'm tired already just thinking about it.

Wish me luck!

Nature's Modern Art or White Trash Yard Art

2010-04-12T09:28:00.002-06:00

With Spring snow melting fast around here, we couldn't help but appreciate this.

Mother Nature is so my people. Artistic with a sense of humor. Who knew?

Signs of Spring in CO

2010-04-11T21:25:00.001-06:00

The Pink Wallhanging - Completed

2010-04-11T09:26:00.000-06:00

I finally decided what to do with this project. I'm going to donate it to my son's school for a silent auction being held to send the Circus Arts club to Washington D.C. Sending talented kids to the nation's capitol seems like a way better idea than having this sit in my shop for who knows how long. Who doesn't love helping kids??

It was looking pretty plain jane, so in order to jazz it up and make it seem more relevant to the purpose of the auction, I added a few inspirational words. I hope it goes for lots of $$. These kids deserve it.

Photo turned into a wall hanging

2010-04-07T19:54:00.000-06:00

Do you guys remember 1999? The year Prince - or whatever his name is these days - sang about? The year before Y2K? The year these totally awesome panoramic size photos were all the rage?

It was also the year before Gardener Guy and I got married. We went with his family to Lake Powell and stayed on a houseboat for a week. That was the ~~first time~~ only time I've ever done that and it was pretty damn fun.

My sister in law took this photo of us at some point in the trip, I don't remember when. It's now my favorite picture of us. I've always wanted to hang it up, but ironically it's kind of small. Too big for the picture table, but not quite big enough for a space on the wall.

So, being the crafty chick I am, I decided to enlarge it and make it a quilted wall hanging. I was further inspired when I saw this post by Elizabeth on Sew Mama Sew. What an easy way to sew itty bitty pieces of fabric together! I had to try it.

It worked okay, but I think I need practice. That interfacing is kind of stretchy, especially when you start sewing all the rows. Some of my seams are a little arched, so don't look too close.

While I was trying new things in my quilting, I thought I'd give "thread painting" a shot. I wanted the clouds to be light and barely there, like in the photo. I didn't want to fuse some glaring white (or even off white) fabric onto my beautiful sky.

I'm not sure I pulled it off. From a distance, you don't even see the clouds. I don't think white thread was the best thing to use. Maybe the thread painting works better with a bunch of different colors, instead of just one.

I feel like this post has gotten kind of wordy, so I'll save my super easy way of hanging it for another time.

Oh! While I was tooling around the blogosphere the other day, I came across another photo turned into a wallhanging over at Upstatelisa. Go check it out, it's gorgeous!!

Look what i got - FOR FREE!!

2010-03-19T11:26:00.000-06:00

I got this beauty from a lady on Freecycle. I'm feeling extra lucky, maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket!

That was easy

2010-03-11T10:37:00.001-07:00

While cleaning up a little in the craft room, I came across three leftover blocks from a quilt I made a couple years ago. This seems to happen all the time. I can't bear to throw them away, but I don't want to take the time RIGHT NOW to decide what to do with them. Does this happen to you?

Since I try to stay focused on ~~dreaming~~ cleaning, I always put these orphan blocks in a drawer, or a pile, to save them for when I'm ready. Well, that drawer is getting full, so I figured I'd use these 3 blocks to make a little quilt RIGHT NOW.

I put this whole thing together in one day. ONE.DAY. That is a record for me, even though this little thing is only 10 x 23. The reason I sound so shocked is that I rarely can stay focused long enough to complete anything in one day.

I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet. Maybe put it in my shop, maybe donate it for an upcoming fundraiser at my son's school. Hmmmmmmmm.

The gloves came off

2010-03-10T20:09:00.005-07:00

It occurred to me the other day that I may need a new pair of quilting gloves.

Me: Honey look, I think I need a new pair of gloves.
Him: Well it's about time you wore through a pair of gloves around here.

And then the gloves came off...

I think I can, I think I can

2010-03-04T09:04:00.004-07:00

I've started the quilting on the one just for me and it is looking awesome! if i do say so myself

There are 12 blocks in this quilt, and they all came from the SewConnected 3 group I'm in. I needed to make the quilt a little bigger, so I put picture frames around each block in white and dark brown.

Initially, I was going to stipple the center blocks and do straight lines on the frames, but then I thought, What the heck? This is MY quilt, I'm going to practice some of the fun quilting patterns I've seen online! So I did. :)

You'll notice there is a duplicate picture in the mosaic above. That's because I had already stippled two blocks before I decided to change things up.

The straight lines around the frames are the ones that are killing me. They look awesome, but honestly, my body is so freakin' tired of shoving all this fabric through the machine on each turn of the needle. I'll have to mentally make a note to myself about that for the future. I actually found myself thinking of the train going up the mountain while I was doing the squares. Of course I haven't been doing my Wii Fit for WEEKS so, maybe I could consider this quilt my workout.

Now that I've taken a break from it, I'm having a hard time starting again. Does this happen to you? It just makes me freeze in my tracks to think of wrestling all that fabric again. My new mantra will be I think I can, I think I can....

Why I love the Grocery Game

2010-02-27T19:20:00.007-07:00

Have you folks heard of the Grocery Game? It's this awesome website that makes shopping with coupons so much easier than the way I used to do it.

Instead of taking way too much time to flip through the weekly flyers that come in the paper, and comparing them to the coupons I just spent hours cutting out, this website does all that for you.

I. LOVE. IT. And I've been doing it for years. However, since I'm recently *ahem* self-employed I really have to make our dollars stretch like never before.

I wanted to share with you some examples of our most recent trips to the grocery store.

And just last week, I beat the previous trip's savings with this:

The site does charge you to be a member, but it's only $10 every 8 weeks, so I feel it's totally justified. Plus, if you just want to try it for a bit before you sign up, you can get a four week trial membership for only a dollar.

Also, if you refer a friend, you get free weeks toward your subscription! So if you do decide to join, make sure to give them my address jjkj6640@msn.com.

Let's start saving some money!!

I always knew it...

2010-02-22T10:06:00.003-07:00

My color personality is RED!!

True Value has this fun little quiz on their site and I just couldn't resist. Here's what the magic color quiz had to say about me:

You boast incredible willpower and are capable of overcoming obstacles that would normally leave others shaking in their boots. You have a penchant for colorful environments and often impress others with your energetic bursts of energy. Your interests in many areas of life often leave you scattered, but when you focus you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

Mostly accurate, although I wish I were really that cool.

What is your color personality?

Just for me

2010-02-20T10:24:00.003-07:00

I'm finally working on something for me. ME!

All my other quilts have always gone to someone as a gift. In fact, that's usually what gets me started on a new quilt, the thought of someone else. Sometimes it's a new baby on the way or a wedding. Other times I'll see a fabric that reminds me of someone, and then have to use it to make them a quilt. Not sure why I've never made myself one.

This one is made up of wonky log cabins that my peeps in Sew Connected 3 made for me. I have about 5 blocks left over that I think I'll use to make a table runner.

I decided about a year ago that my kitchen and living room needed to be redecorated. Because they're next to each other, I'm keeping the colors the same for both rooms: Red, brown, white. The decorating is still a work in progress, and by the time I get it done, I'll probably want to change it again. You know how it goes.

This picture is not of the finished product, but I'm so excited by it, I thought I'd share it with you now. However, I think I need some help deciding on the quilting thread color. Dark brown? White? A nice neutral tan or beige? Suggestions welcome.

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial - Two Color

2010-02-04T12:43:00.019-07:00

Since I had so much fun making the Uno shirt for the birthday boy, I thought I'd put together a little tutorial for you.

If you've never tried freezer paper stenciling, it is so fun and so easy. Perfect craft for a quick birthday present. And with a little bit of help, it's great for kids to do too.

So here we go!

Supplies:
T-shirt, onesie, tote bag, whatever fabric item you'd like to use.
Freezer paper
Utility blade or knife like X-acto
Image or shape you'd like to use
Fabric paint
Paint applicator - this can be a sponge, paintbrush, piece of cloth, really anything works
Iron

Now for the fun part!

First thing you'll want to do is tape the image to your kitchen window. or TV while it's on. or a fancy light box if you have one of those.

Then you take a piece of freezer paper that is bigger than your image, and tape it on top of the image on the window. Trace your image onto the PAPER side of the freezer paper.

(I think I forgot to mention that freezer paper is shiny and waxy on one side, and paper on the other. The shiny side will stick to your fabric, which is why we trace the image onto the paper side)

Holy cow, whatever you do, don't look too close at these photos and notice my really ugly backyard. Focus instead on the cute little girl making a cameo. Trust me.

Okay, now keep in mind that you may have to trace your image a couple of times. Because this is a two color stencil, we'll need to cut out the shapes for each color. Here's what I did:

Now that you have the images cut out, you need to iron the freezer paper to your fabric. This part is magic. You don't think it's going to work, and you get all nervous about the waxy stuff melting into your fabric and ruining it, but trust me, it'll be fine.

Let the shirt and paper cool off for a bit before you start with the paint. The first step on this shirt is the white border of the card and the white background for the word UNO. Since it is going on a black shirt, I'm going to do a couple of coats of the paint. Also, make sure to put a piece of cardboard or something inside the shirt to keep the paint from bleeding through to the back.

Once the paint is dry, it's time to peel the paper off the fabric. I think it's easier if the paint is just barely dry because it seems to peel better than when I let it dry overnight. Once the paper is peeled off, place your iron on the paint to heat set it and to complete the drying process. Don't worry, the paint won't stick to your iron, as long as the paint is dry to the touch.

Now it's time for the second color. You'll do the same thing you did for the first color; trace the shape, cut it out, iron it to the shirt. The tricky part about this UNO card is that the red paint goes right on top of the white paint. The freezer paper sticks to fabric better than to paint, but it still works, just be aware that there may be some seepage of the second color.

I did have to go back and do a little bit of touch up with the white, but I'm kinda picky like that. This brand of paint (Jacquard textile paint) is really easy to work with.

That's it folks! Super easy.

UNO - Not just a card game anymore

2010-01-21T20:48:00.007-07:00

It also makes a darn cute birthday theme!

My friend Lindsay has a little man who is turning one this weekend, and she wanted to use UNO as the theme for the party. But she didn't want to go with the new version of UNO that's out these days. No, she wanted to go retro and use the old school game as the design. So cool.

She asked me to make him a shirt using the freezer paper technique. It turned out so cute!

I've made a couple of shirts using this technique, and it is SO EASY. Even using two colors like i did. I love it.

Here is the finished product. I'm thinking of putting together a tutorial. Would you be interested in something like that?

It's about time!

2010-01-13T19:08:00.006-07:00

Whew! Now that the holidays are over (for about two weeks now) I finally had some time to get in the craftroom.

I've been really slack about making blocks for my Sew Connected 3 group. Well, it's about time I got around to it!

This one is for Cathy. She sent beautiful fabric, in the colors I'd like to do in my bedroom by the way, but I was really stuck on what pattern to do for her. She wanted something geometric, and in viewing the other blocks made for her, I added a little touch of pink to match some fabrics she sent to other folks. I hope it doesn't clash .

This one is for Twiddletails. She wanted a log cabin, and since I'm a little addicted to wonky log cabins, I decided to do another one. I really like how this one turned out, and it's the first time I've pieced the logs. Her only requirement was to use the brown as the center square. Since I had some left over, I used a little piece of it in the upper corner. I love the dots!

This last one is for Sara. Truth be told, my head hurt after already doing two blocks improvisationally (is that a word?), and I just couldn't come up with anything fantastic. She really wanted the block to show off the fabric, and since I got a sweet piece that included mermaids, swimming girl AND an octopus, I didn't want to cut it up too much. She also sent along the pink and white Kona and wanted the white for the background. I was pleasantly surprised with it when I got finished and have already heard from her that she likes it as well. Yay!

It felt SO GOOD to get back behind the sewing machine. I have to thank my hubby for that. He's been helping me get the craftroom organized, and he is AMAZING. We made more progress in two hours than I've been able to make in 8 years of living here. Now we've made our way to the fabric cabinet, and frankly I'm a bit stuck.

I had started to organize my fabrics a couple of years ago, and thought I'd do it by yardage size, but now I've accumulated so many random sizes of fabric, maybe I should do it by color?

How do you organize your fabric? I need some ideas.

All I want for Xmas

2009-12-09T11:38:00.007-07:00

My hubby and son have been bugging me for a list of ideas for Xmas. Since I noticed a few other bloggers posting their lists, I thought I'd do the same.

They both know that I desperately want a wii system, preferrably with a wii fit package, so that's a given.

I need some new quilting and crafting supplies.

Fancy designer fabric (in the new colors for the bedroom).

Binding clips (yes honey, the ones that look like barrettes)

Marking pen (the blue, not purple)

Gutermann thread - cotton, not poly (in beige color for piecing, or misc colors for stash)

Omnigrid ruler 6 x 12

Juki TL98Q quilting machine

And since I do most of the cooking in our house, I have decided that I need a few new tools for the kitchen.

Oil bottle drizzler (in red of course)

Vegetable peeler

Mandoline slicer (this should be at the top of the list)

Radio/CD player (again, in red)

Silicone basting brush

That pretty much covers everything. Not so bad right?

A quick note...

2009-12-08T11:30:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know that the craft show was AWESOME, and I'll have pictures and details coming soon.

Also, I'm really going to start focusing on more sewing and crafting posts, not just lame apologies for not being around. :)

Where I've been

2009-11-29T19:15:00.004-07:00

Hello friends, just wanted to let you all know I'm still around.

I've been busy busy busy getting ready for a craft show next week.

I'm so excited for this one. It's a juried show and it gets LOTS of press, so I'm really feeling like maybe I don't have enough inventory, but I guess we'll hope I sell out of everything.

Hopefully I'll remember to get some pictures of my products. If this goes as well as I hope, I'll have to get working WAY SOONER for next year's show.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Back to the grind

2009-11-08T16:28:00.009-07:00

Wow, it's over already.

We just spent the last 5 days on a cruise ship to Mexico, and man did we have a blast! It was SO RELAXING. So peaceful, beautiful, relaxing. Did I mention it was relaxing?

We stopped in Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas. We learned how to make some really good Mexican food, we did some sea kayaking, snorkeling, shopping. It was AMAZING.

Oh yeah, and we ate. We ate lots. I've never had so much good food in my life. With the amount of lox I ate, I should be Jewish by now. With the amount of food my husband ate, he should be a whole 'nother man - literally - by now.

We saw some of the most amazing sunsets ever.

We saw the biggest flag in Mexico.

We also saw some dolphins, whales, and we're pretty sure we saw a swordfish jumping out of the water, although we weren't quick enough with the camera to show you.

And now that we're back, I have some mad sewing to get done. I have a craft show in about 3 weeks that needs some major inventory.

Back to the grind.

October Snowstorm 2009

2009-10-29T14:32:00.006-06:00

Holy cow people. We just got a HUGE snowstorm here in CO. You've probably heard about it on the news, but in case you were thinking "it's way too early for snow", here's the proof.

Oct. 28th on the left, and Oct 29th on the right.

Mr. Big was out of school for both days, and as a bonus, I even got a snow day!

This is Dixie. She LOVES the snow. Unfortunately, the snow loves her back in the form of snowballs sticking to her hair and packing between her toes. The other thing she loves to do is let all this snow melt all over my house. My hardwood floors DON'T love that, and frankly neither do I.

When the kid gets his hands on the camera...

2009-10-17T20:25:00.005-06:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by quayandco

This is what happens when the 7 yr old in the house gets a hold of the camera.

This isn't even all of them (there were 32 total). Most are unusable because of lighting, focus, etc. I can tell he's been paying attention (unbeknown to me) when I take pics of my items for etsy. LOTS of different views of each item. Including the bottom. hehe

He's really excited about the Frankenstein's Bride that he made. I found the directions here, after reading about it in Family Fun magazine. Every month they have directions for at least 3 items to make with Legos.

It all took about 20 minutes for him to take 32 pictures of his latest Lego project, Frankenstein's Bride, old Lego project, the lion cub, and a couple of the cat.

Craft show #2

2009-10-12T22:24:00.009-06:00

This past weekend, I participated in my second craft show. It was put on by the Le Leche League of Arvada, and held in a local church.

I was pretty excited, considering how BAD my first show turned out. As with my first show, I didn't want it to LOOK like it was my second show, so I took great care in setting up my table.

My awesome friend Kate and her boyfriend Chad made me an incredible frame to set up behind my table so that I was able to get some height and stand out from the other booths. I LOVE IT!!

It's made from aluminum, so it's light, and it breaks apart into 4 ft. sections so I can get it into my car. My hubby made a couple of buckets full of cement that the frame pieces just slip into to hold the whole thing up.

I decided to wrap some garland around it because it seemed a bit "industrial" alone. Plus, it is the holiday season after all, so in the future, I can use other season appropriate items to decorate it.

The show was not as good as I had hoped. We had some pretty frigid weather which I assume kept most folks home. I'm really trying not to get frustrated with this whole craft show scene, even though the weather has been my nemesis so far.

I did end up selling a few items, but it definitely wasn't as great as I had hoped. I'm trying to get into another show before Xmas, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed until I hear from then.

More crafting, less sewing

2009-10-02T20:57:00.014-06:00

I'm getting ready for my second craft show. I'm actually thinking of it more as my first, because frankly, my first craft show was a disaster.

So I've been crafting and having a lot of fun making new items for this show. I had most of my items left from the first show, but over the months have sold a few and needed to make up some replacements. I also wanted do make some holiday/seasonal appropriate items to try to increase sales. Here are a few examples of the items, old and new, of what I'll have on my table.

Jewelry/Sewing Pouches, Table Runners

Moleskine Books, Pincushions

Pendants, Xmas Ornaments

Patchwork Scarves

My friend Kate and her awesome boyfriend Chad made me a rad frame to place behind my table so that I can get some height and hang items like quilts and table runners. I'll have pictures of that soon, when I get the test table put together. I've been spending lots of time in thrift stores looking for display items and have found some really fun things to use too. Can't wait to start playing with all my items to come up with the best set up.

Someone's getting territorial

2009-10-01T21:01:00.002-06:00

And he's got backup.

The Awesome People of Joanns

2009-09-13T19:14:00.016-06:00

I need to share a little something with you all. But I'll warn you, it's deep. Like, get ready for chills down your spine and possibly tears, deep.

This is AWESOME.

I work with some of the most creative, giving, thoughtful, encouraging, empathetic, supportive people in the world. And I have to tell the world about it.

I have a super part time job at my local Joanns Fabric and Crafts store, and I love it. I love it even more because of this story.

We have a coworker, Mary C, who was just recently, very recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The big, ugly, with a capital B and C, BREAST CANCER. She's going in for a double mastectomy tomorrow. DOUBLE MASTECTOMY. And she has the best attitude. I don't even know her that well, but what I do know, is that her attitude toward this battle is a BRING IT ON. The kind of attitude you need in times like this.

Our store manager is equally awesome, and just did the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer a couple of months ago. Not because she's had Breast Cancer, or because someone in her family is going through it, but because another store manager just lost her battle with Breast Cancer. And then we found out numerous other employees have had it or know someone with it. Did I mention she's awesome? Yeah.

Well, my newest quilty friend at work, Mary B, asked our manager Merrie H if maybe we could do a quilt for Mary C. (Yes, I work with a lot of Marys - or is it Mer-i in plural?)

She immediately said YES. So a call went out for quilt squares. And boy did they come in! I would estimate that more than HALF of the employees at our store put a square together for Mary C's quilt. All that was asked is that they be in pink - obviously - and that they be a certain size. Then it was put together - in a beautiful way I might add - and quilted by the genius behind this wonderful idea, Mary B. She did a fabulous job. I just get chills thinking of all the hard work everyone put into this priceless gift.

The best part of it is that each square is unique and holds a lot of love and encouragement from it's maker. Everyone truly put their heart and soul into each square. Amazing.

This is the block I made for her. I love quotes for special gifts. I especially love this quote because, seriously, this is how it is sometimes.

This is the finished product that I just had the chance of sneak peeking at Mary B's house today.

I just have to say that this is my first *kind of close connection* to anyone that has had to endure this battle, and I am super proud to be able to include myself in this special project.

Everyone knows someone who has been affected by this......this......BREAST CANCER. So please remember to help when you can, even if it just means keeping them in your thoughts.

Now excuse me, I have to go find the tissue box.

**edited to add the names of everyone that took part in this project. In order of blocks in the quilt.

Marrie H. Cathy B. Catherine P. Velma V. Gloria S. Ruth A-S. Mary B. Morgan G. Chelsea C. Emily I. Debra C. Sue C. Susan B. Wanda T. Jim H. Samira K. Michaella W. Sheree G. Maria S. Joyce R. Joanna T. Terry R. Jennifer J. Delores A. Sue H. Linda P. Terri C. Susan S. Shelley H. Georgianne H. THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Sign of the times

2009-09-13T15:50:00.003-06:00

Well, we've officially come to the end of summer here in the Mile High City.

This is what we saw yesterday about 2:00 in the afternoon.

But, the good thing about living in our area is that if you blink, things change.

This is what we're seeing today.

Productive

2009-09-03T20:22:00.004-06:00

Last weekend I had a really productive day in the craft room. Along with getting my DQS7 quilt finished, I also pumped out these two blocks for my SewConnected 3 group.

John, from QuiltDad wanted quarter log cabin blocks and sent the prettiest fabric. I haven't done a whole lot of log cabins, but this one went together really fast.

Ashley, from OhThatAshley sent gorgeous fabric to do my favoritest block ever - the mavrick star.

I hope my blocks work well with both their quilts. I hate to be the one that gets left out because of an ugly design. :)

The finished product

2009-08-29T19:23:00.008-06:00

I finished up my DQS7 quilt this morning.
I'm so pleased with it.

My partner loves rainbows, and I thought that would be a fun pallet to work with. I chose this design to show off the colors and not complicate the quilt too much with lots of squares or triangles.

The label was made by tracing the DQS7 logo onto white on white fabric with some colored Sharpies. I love using Sharpies for my labels just because they come in such an array of colors, and they don't bleed too much.

For the backing, I used a cute sheet I found at the thrift store a few months ago. It's not vintage, but it sure is fun, and it went perfectly with this quilt.

When I started the quilting, I noticed that my walking foot was not working so well. It was pushing the fabric, making the middle bar of black and white move in the direction I was quilting. So I ripped out a few lines of quilting and went to the store to get a new walking foot. I was ready to put down some money for a new foot, that is until I realized HOW EXPENSIVE THEY ARE!!! The Viking store wanted $90 for a new one! I'm sorry, but I don't even think my machine is worth that any more, so NO, I was not going to spend that on a foot.

Since I wanted to get the quilt done, I used my free-motion foot to make straight-ish lines. I actually like it better than if I had used the walking foot to get nice uniform straight stitching. This quilting just seemed more......organic.
I. love. it.

I've since bought a foot off of eBay for a really reasonable price, so any straightness that needs to be done in the future will be done correctly, and hopefully with no puckers like the last project I used it on.

I hope she loves it, because it has really grown on me during the process of making it. I've heard other swappers mention how hard it is to let their quilts go, and now I understand. I'm going to miss this beauty!

I got it!!!

2009-08-29T18:58:00.003-06:00

My DQS7 quilt came in the mail on Friday! It's gorgeous. It's made with super good quality fabric and the quilting on it is so beautiful! I'm envious because I don't usually get as creative with my quilting. Please ignore the wrinkles, I was so excited to get a picture and get it posted, I figured you all wouldn't mind.

She's so sweet, she also included a charm pack of the same fabric in case I wanted to make something coordinating. I'm already brainstorming.

Thank you so much Kristina!!

What gymnastics class has done for me....

2009-08-23T17:01:00.007-06:00

Mr. Big started gymnastic classes on Saturdays a few weeks ago and since I didn't have any binding to work on, I decided to start on some hexes.

I don't usually do a lot of handwork if it doesn't include bindings or pincushions, I'm not really an embroidery kind of girl, yet anyway. But I have started to enjoy the process of sewing hexagons during the hour long wait for gymnastics to end.

I first started doing them during guitar practice, but that didn't last too long with my 7 yr old, so now we've moved on to gymnastics, and even thought it's right in the middle of the day, I do find it to be a pretty good way to spend the time.

I don't really know what I'll make with these, though I've started sewing flowers together for now. Maybe instead of flowers, I'll incorporate them into my quilting like this one, or this one. Aren't they gorgeous?

It's Finished!!

2009-08-16T16:27:00.005-06:00

I just completed my first hourglass quilt this weekend. Well actually, it's a table runner. I gave up about half way through when I realized HOW MANY half square triangles I'd have to sew to make an actual quilt.

Since I'd never made this pattern before, I didn't consider how many seams came together, and how many points there would be to match up. What a pain. I'm not sure If I'll do this pattern again, at least not with 4" squares anyway. Maybe a nice 9" wouldn't be so bad.

I backed it in a pretty vintage sheet I had in my collection.

Also during this project, I came to the conclusion that my walking foot is pretty worthless. The top feed dogs are practically smooth, which means it was still just pushing the top layer along like a regular foot would.

I visited my local Husqvarna store in the Joanns store to get a new walking foot and they wanted $90 for a new one that wasn't the generic "universal" type. Seriously???? I've since visited eBay to get a new one. Keeping my fingers crossed that I win the auction.

The new runner is up for sale in the shop as of today.

Eye Patches and Wooden Legs

2009-08-15T20:39:00.005-06:00

We've got a band of pirate squirrels around here. How do I know this?

BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN RAPING AND PILLAGING OUR GARDEN!!

We planted corn this year for the second year in a row. We planted more than last year because I've finally learned how to cook fresh corn, and because Mr. Big could eat corn on the cob for every meal for the REST OF HIS LIFE. I was excited.

I did the happy dance every time I saw signs of a little ear popping out of the stalk.

I got a chill down my spine every time I saw the hairy tassle thing sprouting out of the ear.

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED.

Now I cry a little every time I go to see how the garden is doing. And just when I thought we'd actually get a COUPLE of ears for ourselves, they were destroyed the next day.

However, this story does have a happy part to it.

I fell in love again with my husband today. He was walking back to the house holding a BB gun.

TAKE THAT YOU BLASTED PIRATES!

On it's way!

2009-08-14T20:59:00.001-06:00

Top finished for DQS7
Originally uploaded by quayandco

I finished up the top for my DQS7 swap.

My partner LOVES rainbows, so I used a couple of bars from every color. I really like the black and white middle bar that separates them and it will be bound in the same fabric.

This weekend I plan to get it pinned and possibly quilted. I'm a little undecided how to quilt this though. I was thinking of stippling the white part and doing horizontal lines with matching thread on each of the bars, but OH BOY the time that will take!

Maybe I could just do lines through it all in white thread. Will that take away from the colors?

Anyone have some ideas or advice? I'm feeling stuck.

Further along

2009-08-11T09:37:00.001-06:00

Hourglass
Originally uploaded by quayandco

I'm making some progress on the hourglass quilt. I've now got it put together and I've decided one thing.
I am NOT a fan of hourglasses.
What was I thinking making something with this many triangles and points to line up????

DQS7 Sneak Peek

2009-08-07T19:15:00.003-06:00

These are the fabrics I'm planning to use for my DQS7 quilt.

My partner loves rainbows, so I took inspiration from this and this and plan to use a black and white fabric for other parts of it.

I hope she/he likes it. I really feel a lot of pressure to make a WOW kind of quilt, but I have to remember that my whole point in joining this group was to learn and enjoy. So, I have enjoyed going through my scraps, finding fabric I forgot all about, and am learning to incorporate my math skills when designing my own quilt. Boy am I getting a headache.

I heart Sharpies

2009-08-06T12:54:00.008-06:00

I just found out today that Office Max is giving away Sharpies for ONE CENT!!!

For me, these are the BEST pens for labeling quilts. And, unlike the Micron pens, they come in pretty colors.

I made a friend go with me so I could get 3 more without breaking the "one coupon per customer" rule.

Best six cents I've ever spent.

The coupon expires August 8th, so print one and hurry over.

Free Fabric!! Woot Woot!!

2009-08-01T18:59:00.003-06:00

Rachel, the cutest southern gal I know ('cause she says y'all a lot) is having a GIVEAWAY!!

She is giving away a $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop, and seriously, who doesn't LOVE free fabric??

If you go to her blog and link it to yours, you get a second and third chance at the drawing. She'll be drawing the winner on Aug. 1st.

I'm in, and if you want a piece of the action too, you better git y'all, NOW.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T20:36:00.005-06:00

This and That and This

2009-07-26T12:00:00.001-06:00

I gave the Basil plants a haircut last weekend.

I love it when THIS...

Becomes THAT...

Because I really love to eat it like THIS.

A new sewing project....sort of

2009-07-25T20:39:00.005-06:00

There's been some real live sewing going on in the house this weekend. It feels AWESOME.

After cleaning the rug in my craftroom (due to a feline that shall remain nameless), I am back in the mood to get my creative space feeling more creative, and less.....ummmm OVERFLOWING WITH PILES OF STUFF.

This project was started a few weeks ago and then got left on the back burner to sit patiently and wait for our lives to slow down a bit. It finally happened.

I've been wanting to make an hourglass quilt for a while, and spent a few hours the past couple days getting it pieced.

I knew I wanted to use the leftover fabrics from this quilt, because the colors are not something I would normally lean toward, but feel that they work really well together. What I didn't do was any sort of math - what.so.ever. I just cut the fabric in 4.25" squares (not even sure where that measurement came from) and would see how they turned out. Duh.

Just so you know......4.25" squares cut up and pieced together in an hourglass pattern only make a 5" block. For those not paying attention, that's a 4.5" square finished.

IT WILL TAKE ABOUT A MILLION OF THESE TO MAKE A LAP QUILT.

So, it's going to be a table runner or wall hanging or doll quilt. Definitely something small.

Does anyone else tend to have 20/20 vision AFTER beginning a project?

Oops, I did it again.

2009-07-21T11:47:00.008-06:00

I've joined my second online swap! I'm now an official member of the Doll Quilt Swap 7 (DQS7).

I'm not really a "doll" kind of girl, but I do have a couple of spots on my walls that need to have some eye candy added, and these smaller quilts also make fabulous wall hangings.

We've been asked to submit some samples of our style by adding to our Flickr Favorites, and boy did I have fun looking through everyone's uploads. I heart Flickr. If you have some random general idea of something stuck in your head, check out Flickr, I'm sure there's already a pic (or 100) of what you're trying to do. I use it a lot when I need inpiration for a project, it rocks.

Here's a few examples to give my future, as yet unnamed partner some ideas.

1. 4SQS Winter Quilt by Tami, 2. let the fence hold it, 3. patterns, 4. Spa, 5. GITF progress 4-18, 6. combinação de tecidos, 7. Hannah's quilt, 8. Flights of Fancy - Back, 9. Flights of Fancy - Front, 10. In the shop, 11. Triangles and Squares Quilt, 12. peek at hexes, 13. Plain Spoken Quilt with McCoy Pottery Inspiration, 14. sailboat quilt, 15. bento box, 16. Blue Bell, 17. Blue Bell, 18. Commisioned "Little Boy Blue", 19. Baby Quilt, 20. Front, 21. Mod Sampler Quilt-along, 22. Hannah's quilt, 23. Zigging Along, 24. Wounded Warrior quilt, 25. Garden quilt, 26. quilt top wip, 27. gum ball neapolitan, 28. Flea Market Fancy Close Up, 29. Spiderweb Quilt, Front, 30. Mini Mug Quilt - Greens, Browns, Yellow & Orange, 31. Spiderweb Quilt Progress, 32. Flea Market Fancy Quilt Front, 33. Zig Zag string quilt, 34. Green/pink Turning Twenty Again Quilt, 35. Red + White III, 36. modern grace hourglass

I've been a little busy...

2009-07-14T09:12:00.006-06:00

Although, my husband would call it obsessed, neglectful, and probably a little selfish.

Now he's a true Jedi!

2009-07-01T20:26:00.010-06:00

Last weekend we had Mr. Big's 7th birthday. It was a BLAST!!

He wanted to have a Star Wars party, because lately his whole world revolves around Star Wars. He's a typical boy. With a mom who likes to do very atypical birthday parties.

Yeah, I like to do big, themed, activity filled birthday parties. The kind that tend to bring out the manic, control freak, try to do it ALL (because I don't plan well) in two days kind of birthday parties. This year was especially trying for the rest of the family because I didn't actually get my birthday planning mojo until the weekend before. Yikes.

It. was. ugly.

But we pulled it off and it was awesome!

We started the party by giving all the kids Jedi tunics because they had some training to do! I made them each from a half yard of muslin with a 3 inch strip of brown broadcloth. Easy peasy.

First, we had a Pod Race. We had borrowed a couple of wagons from friends and they raced to the cones and switched, then came back. It was fun.
After completing the Pod Race, they all received lightsabers. I made the lightsabers from pool noodles with a PVC pipe inserted and then wrapped in duct tape. Each one cost less than a dollar to make, but they were A HIT!! The kids practiced with them for a while and we let them run loose, while we got everything ready for the next game, an obstacle course.

For the obstacle course, they had to go up the playset and slide down the pole, then go across a couple of balance beams. They rounded the corner and had to jump over a bench and then crawl under another bench. To show they made it all the way around they had to hit a bell (the Deathstar) that was hanging from the playset. It was crazy, but it was fun!

The kids played with the lightsabers some more while we got the cake and ice cream ready.

The cake was a big huge 4 ft lightsaber made from 6 loaf pans of cake, and everyone really liked it. It was perfect!

Gifts were opened, and the last gift was the Jedi robe I had made him the night before. (Did I mention my lack of planning?)

All in all, it was a fabulous day. I even got a "best birthday ever" from Mr. Big. Priceless.

Etsy: Revisited

2009-06-16T23:07:00.006-06:00

It's been a while since I've paid much attention to my etsy shop, and I gotta tell ya, my sales show.

I hadn't listed anything new since the craft show I did in April, and since nothing much sold there, I have plenty of inventory.

I spent a little while listing items tonight, and still have plenty left to add, but I easily grow tired of the mundane task of listing and my mind tends to wander. So I check my facebook page, double check my gmail, and take a look at my flickr groups to make sure I'm not missing anything fabulous.

In the end, it's time I should've spent listing my inventory, but what can you do with an attention span the size of an ant?

Almost famous

2009-06-05T15:34:00.003-06:00

Anina, a member of my first online block swap is having a give-away. You should check it out, it's totally worth it. Who doesn't love free fabric? Already cut up into perfect patchwork pieces.
And while you're there, check out the block she made for me. I almost feel famous.

A job well done (if I do say so myself)

2009-05-31T21:04:00.006-06:00

In April I attempted my first craft show. I was so excited about it. I planned. I worked. I worked some more to make sure I had enough inventory. I was ready. And anyone who knows me, knows I'm never READY for anything. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants until the very end.

This is picture of my booth at the show. (That's my beautiful friend Brandy posing.)

I had lots of different stuff to sell, and I was really proud of the display, especially the banner I made for the table.

THE SHOW WAS A TOTAL FLOP. There was a torrential downpour ALL DAY. I really think the only people who came to the show were the little old ladies that didn't have anything else to do that day. The traffic was pretty much non-existant and most of the traffic that did come to see my products were other crafters with too much time on their hands.

However, it was not a total loss. I made some really nice contacts from other crafters that were way more experienced than me. Especially the ladies of Wire Alchemy. They are craft show pros, and were more than willing to share their wisdom of the business with me. They were so open and inviting and gave me all sorts of tips for making it to a show in a semi-compact car. They paid me a huge compliment by telling me that my booth didn't LOOK it was my first show. Yay, that's what I was going for in all my compulsive and obsessive planning. They even went one step further by asking me to make them a banner for their booth at shows. I WAS FLATTERED to say the least.

We made a deal and I made the banner. I enjoyed it so much, just knowing that another crafter asked me to do this for them. (Did I mention that they're craft show pros?)

I'm super happy with it, and I got a fabulous email from them letting me know how much they liked it as well. Thanks ladies for the fabulous 7 hours of chatting and learning, hope to see you in the craft show circuit soon!

Family Vacation

2009-05-03T14:10:00.008-06:00

We took a trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota last week and man, was it a blast.

It was so nice to get away with my boys and have some time alone for fun and relaxation together! It was also nice to not hear "Mom, can we play Star Wars" every 3 and a half minutes. For four days! We instated a 'no electronics' rule for the trip and it didn't seem to phase anyone, especially the 6 yr old in the car.

We stayed in a great little cabin for the first two days just outside of Keystone, which is the closest town to Mt. Rushmore. It was roomy, had a kitchenette for us to fix our own food, and they had a great little fire pit, for smores of course. The owners of the property, Tammy and Rick are the nicest people, and were super helpful with our visit to their area. Their dog Chester was a friendly greeter and kept a watch over us for our stay.

We did some fishing, (didn't catch anything).

Then went to visit "the heads" as Mr. Big calls them.
We visited Sylvan Lake and fished some more (still didn't catch anything). After we tired of practicing our casts, we took a hike around the lake. The most beautiful lake I've ever seen!
We then moved on to Hot Springs, where the Mammoth Site is. How amazing! I'm not even a history buff or science geek, but I found it fascinating!

Lots of silliness ensued on the trip, and it was just a great time. Can't wait to do another family road trip somewhere. I've heard rumors of Yellowstone coming up next...

Did you hear that?

2009-05-03T14:07:00.002-06:00

It happened at 11:36 pm here at the Johnson house. The angels sang because I FINALLY got the computer up an running. YAY!!
Posts of the craft show and trip coming soon....

It's not what it looks like

2009-04-30T14:07:00.002-06:00

Well, apparently it's not the modem. I don't know what it is. It's about to become shrapnel on the street after I throw my computer off the roof.
The IT Guy at work said that I might have some MALICIOUS SOFTWARE, whatever that means. He suggests I reinstall the whole operating system. That means that I have to TAKE OFF all of my pictures (does he realize how many I have???) and other important stuff I need to keep. I need about 48 more hours in this week.

We're back but broken...

2009-04-27T10:50:00.002-06:00

We're back from our family vacation, and I'd love to show you pics, but my modem has died and I'm waiting on a new one.

Hopefully in the next couple of days I can tell you all about our trip, and my first craft show, with pretty visual aids.

Happy Birthday!!

2009-04-14T09:36:00.001-06:00

Label on YBR Quilt
Originally uploaded by quayandco

Today my Aunt Kathy turns 60. She wanted to do something special since she's never celebrated any milestone birthdays before, but things didn't go as planned. Such a special birthday deserves a special gift, so I made her this quilt, sent a book and a little piece of chocolate. Now she can relax at home and celebrate her birthday under some home made birthday love.

Holy jewelry pouches Batman!

2009-04-11T12:00:00.000-06:00

I've been working in the ~~sweatshop~~ craft room making jewelry pouches for an upcoming craft show. Lots and lots of jewelry pouches. Like, eleventeen hundred of them.

Well, really I only have about 20, but I can't tell you how tired I am of sewing circles

Completed

2009-04-10T23:31:00.006-06:00

This table runner is my first project of the year using my scraps. I really like how it turned out. It was my first project using white fabric, and I'm glad I did because it makes the colors of the other fabrics scream out loud.

I used more scraps to piece the binding. That's my new favorite trick in my quilting. I often have a hard time deciding on what color to use for binding, but this way, I don't have to.

Old man winter paid his debt.....with interest!

2009-03-26T21:06:00.004-06:00

Old man winter finally paid a visit to Colorado. We just got a Spring blizzard and are loving it!!! We've had weeks, probably more like months without any significant moisture. There are plants popping up already, but the grass is still brown and we've been watering for the past few weeks. I have a really bad feeling that the water restrictions will be pretty strict this summer. Bad news for my lawn that's barely hanging on already.

Officially, Arvada got 11 inches in about 6 hours. It has now died down to a light powdery steady fall of flakes, but man was it a doozy today. The wind was crazy, and all the roads were blocked or closed because of accidents. A sheet of ice to deal with on the ride home.

Fortunately, our employers let us out early, but so did everyone else's so it was pretty crowded on the roads mid-day.

Here are a few pics just so you know I'm not lying.I forgot how the cold and frozen moisture does not matter when you are 6 years old. Took a couple hours for this little guy to get tired of it all and come inside for some hot chocolate.

This is what 11 inches of snow looks like when a snowblower cuts through it.

The crazy things kids do when there's snow involved.

We had a lot of fun since there wasn't school today. We'll see if they have school tomorrow. Doubtful.

Bovine intervention

2009-03-22T16:45:00.006-06:00

You know, I was really hoping that this post would have been our last 'Johnson Luck' post for a while, but there's always some kind of excitement happening around here.

The boys went to the lake this weekend to help Kirk's folks with some work on their house. It's out in the country east of Denver and it's a nice get away for us being only an hour or so away.

I stayed at home to get some mad work done in the craftroom because I have a craft show coming up in April that I'm feeling totally unprepared for. I spent ALL day down there on Saturday and made a lot of progress. I even ordered a Pay for View movie so I could finish up some handwork I needed to do to finish a table runner. It was fabulous, having all day to enjoy my work with no interuptions of "mom, can i have some water"......"mom, do you want to play Star Wars?"...."mom, can we go to the park?".

I got up Sunday and went to work at my p/t gig, and came home to see that the boys were back and my car was safely parked in the driveway......

Looking like this!!

Apparently, on the way to the lake, a wild ~~chupacabra~~ baby cow ran out in front them. Driven by my husband with my son in the backseat. In my car.

Here are more pictures just because I find them amazing.

See the evidence in this one? (cow hair)

I'm a scrapper

2009-03-13T16:45:00.009-06:00

Well, I got most - ahem, some - of my scraps together for my Nothing but Scraps project.

They started out in a big pile, and then because I always overthink things, I put them in a bag to grab from randomly.
Here's what I came up with - an idea I totally stole from this post.

I've never worked with white fabric before, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

This table runner will be for sale at my first craft show coming up in April. I've got to get busy, the items from my etsy store keep selling, so my inventory I was going to use at the craft show is diminishing right before my eyes. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

Not enough pins

2009-02-26T21:32:00.003-07:00

Yellow Brick Road
Originally uploaded by quayandco

I've been working on this secret project for a couple of weeks now. I've been really surprised with how well it's turning out.
Sometimes when I'm putting a quilt together, I get nervous about half way through, second guessing my fabric decisions, pattern, etc. This one looked great when I had all the fabrics piled together. Then I started cutting, and that's when I started getting worried about things. However, the more it went together, the more pleased I became.
UNTIL THIS HAPPENED!!
No matter how many pins I baste with, I always get puckers. At the intersections of stitches, the fabric moves. I try with all my might to ease it in and avoid the ugliness that I know is coming, but to no avail. I always hope that when I wash it, the puckers won't be as noticable, but I know better. They will forever be a flaw in a very special item I had hoped would turn out perfect.

Does anyone have any tricks to avoid this? Do you baste with pins?
The last quilt I did was for my son. It was lap sized and I decided to baste it with the spray stuff since the same product worked fabulous on a table runner I had done. It was a disaster. I think I didn't lay the top onto the sprayed batting the right way. Anyway, I've been afraid to use a basting spray ever since.
I'm frustrated and sad that this secret project will not be perfect.

My first swap!!

2009-02-24T06:00:00.003-07:00

Look at the beautifulness that showed up in my mailbox the other day! (yes, i just made up a word).

I came across Ashley in blogland who was in need in of the green version of Peas and Carrots. Well, guess what has been sitting in my craftroom for the last two years?? Yep, just what she needed.

So...I just completed my first online fat quarter swap!!

She sent these fabulous fabrics after I told her I really like the color red. Perfect.

The only problem is that now I'll have to save them for a super special project. I can't cut into these for just any old thing you know. Quilters out there know what I'm taking about.

Unfortunately Jennifer.....

2009-02-23T21:20:00.003-07:00

I saw a funny little game to play on one of my favorite blogs.

Go to Google and type in "unfortunately (your name)" with quotes and everything.

I gotta tell you though, with a name like Jennifer, some predictable stuff comes up.

Here's what I found that didn't include Jennifer Aniston or Jennifer Lopez:

~Unfortunately, Jennifer is still recovering and she isn't ready to play tennis.
~Unfortunately, Jennifer seems to have replaced her ex-lover with a 62-year-old stalker.
~Unfortunately, Jennifer also suffered a stroke at age 3 and partial paralysis on one side of her body.
~Unfortunately, Jennifer loved it and quickly climbed on, her arms round Cloud’s waist. (Now that's what I'm talkin' about!)
~Unfortunately, Jennifer will have to fill out the paperwork again and stand in line because we both have been removed from the electronic renewal system.
~Unfortunately, Jennifer just doesn't have the time to design tattoos for people she is not tattooing.

I've learned a lot about myself. Apparently I'm a paraplegic who's too busy tattooing to deal with my lover Cloud (boy or girl??) so I've taken on a 62 yr old stalker. Less commitment that way.

Scraptacular!

2009-02-19T10:12:00.004-07:00

Anina over at Twiddletails has started an awesome challenge for us quilters.

We are to make a quilt, or quilts using all scraps and we can't buy any fabric for the project. My favorite part of her "rules" is that there are no rules!

I can't decide what kind of quilt I want to do. I really like this one from Crazy Mom Quilts, and the new hotness of spiderweb quilts all over blogland. Or maybe I'll just start sewing stuff together and see what happens!

Lord knows i have enough scraps to do 100 quilts!

Table for one please.

2009-02-14T10:04:00.001-07:00

DSC01040
Originally uploaded by quayandco

Yay! After hinting and hinting and hinting about needing an extension table for the Bernina, I finally got one! It only took about 4 months of dropping hints and 15 minutes of pretending to make it myself for it to happen. Once I started pulling out tools, Kirk got a little nervous and took over the project. (My plan worked like a charm) His version turned out way better than the one I had planned in my head. Leave it to me to over-complicate things.

Ain't she a beaut??

2009-02-12T09:25:00.001-07:00

Hoosier full view
Originally uploaded by quayandco

This FABULOUS piece of furniture was given to me by my friend who was obviously abusing and neglecting her in the basement of her home. I noticed this beauty as we were given a friendly tour of their house. Piled sky high with laundry and miscellaneous items, she called for help, but no one heard her - except me!

I innocently asked if that was indeed a Hoosier I was seeing. Well, truthfully it sounded more like OH MY GOD, THAT'S THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!!! My friend's response went like this - *blink blink* with a look like she just met the craziest bitch in town.

So... long story short, they wanted to get rid of her and knew that I would have an orgasm if they gave her to me. And that's exactly what happened. Yay me!

This should be done by now

2009-02-10T16:27:00.002-07:00

DSC00239, originally uploaded by quayandco.

Seriously. I've had this quilt top done for over a year now. It's been neatly folded on a shelf in my craftroom waiting to be joined with its batting and backing. Since then I've started about 20 other projects and this poor thing keeps getting moved to the bottom of the list.

I think I have issues with completing projects. Anyone else have this problem?

HO-LY S**T

2009-01-22T20:34:00.008-07:00

That's what came out of my mouth when I walked into the house tonight. The asbestos people came today to work on the kitchen. I was totally NOT expecting this.

This is the view from outside our front door.

This is the view fom just inside the front door.

This is the view from the hallway looking toward the front door. Right by the light over there.

This is the door to the kitchen from the garage.

This is the kitchen window from outside on the patio. The circle is blowing out filtered air from the kitchen. Not sure what the square of red tape is.

Kirk kept beggin me all night to go into the "containment area". I wouldn't let him. Even though he found respirators. And boots. And white Tyvek suits in the garage. Silly boy, as if.

Obamicon Yourself!

2009-01-21T15:00:00.001-07:00

This was pretty fun. Lots of clever samples in the gallery of this website.

This one's my favorite.

One down...

2009-01-17T17:27:00.005-07:00

I finally completed one of my unfinished projects today.

This wallhanging was a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law that wasn't quite finished by the holiday. It took me a lot less time to finish it than I thought, which makes me wonder why it wan't done earlier.

It's a Pine Needles pattern from McKenna Ryan, but instead of using Batiks, I used the calicos I had on hand. I'm very pleased with it. I even embellished it a bit with beading on the flowers, and used some bone beads I had for the hanging strings between the birdhouses.

On a different note, I'm on a new mission to sew. I've got umpteen projects I've started, and now I'm ready to start checking them off my list.

Spooky...

2009-01-09T22:05:00.005-07:00

This is what I saw as I was driving home from work.

Luckily, I had my camera in my purse and the battery wasn't dead.

So there I was, driving 75+ and searching for my camera in my purse to take these pictures. I know, totally unsafe, but I've got a blog to take care of here...

So this view of the EYE IN THE SKY kinda freaked me out. Especially since we've been going through so much here at the Johnson house lately.

After Christmas...

2009-01-01T15:16:00.004-07:00

My wonderful husband got Christmas put away in a jiffy this year. Thank goodness, because with all the excitement, I was ready to get back to normal.

We have had this sewing cabinet in our living room for YEARS, and i knew there was an old Singer inside. I had mentioned this summer that I'd like to maybe open it up and display the machine, but had never actually SEEN the machine.

Well, here she is. ISN'T SHE BEAUTIFUL???

I thought maybe she'd be all dirty. I figured she'd be all rusty and inoperable. I didn't think she'd be THIS GREAT!!!

Now I'm on a mission to finish up some quilts to drape over the cabinet, or maybe in a basket underneath. I'm squeeling with delight!

During Christmas...

2008-12-31T17:56:00.004-07:00

Christmas turned out to be really nice, despite all of the fans and dehumidifiers going non-stop.

Nohl was ready for Santa and his teacher even gave him reindeer food to put on the front step. He wrote Santa a nice note to let him know in case the reindeer missed it.

And THIS is what Santa brought for the thoughtful six year old. Nohl has already told me he wants to take guitar lessons, so we got him signed up to start next week. Can't wait to see how he likes it.

Before Christmas...

2008-12-31T17:35:00.007-07:00

I was feeling kind of Bah Humbug this year about Christmas, so no cards went out, decorations were minimal, and gifts didnt' get wrapped until Christmas Eve. This is the other reason gifts got wrapped at the last minute.

I picked up Mom from the airport on Monday, and came home to a waterfall coming from our kitchen ceiling. Our ice maker tubing (that ran through the attic) froze and burst. I had to call the neighbor to come shut off my water (thanks John) because I couldn't believe that itty bitty pipe coming into the house could possibly be our main water. Kirk arrived shortly after and we got to work cleaning up the mess.

After Kirk spent 4 hours in the attic cleaning up the wet insulation and water (he's amazing) we called the insurance company the next day. They sent out the restoration company with these fans and gigantic de-humidifiers. The water made its way into the basement walls and part of the floor, but after a few days, everything dried out nicely.

This hole in the ceiling (that we stuffed with insulation to keep the cold out) happened when Kirk was in the attic. The drywall was so saturated that he accidently knocked a piece out trying to clean up.

The restoration company also had to come test the drywall for asbestos and just our luck, they found some in the sample from the kitchen.

We had a guy come last night to give us an estimate on the asbestos clean up, and he feels we need to replace THE WHOLE kitchen ceiling. Some of the drywall is still wet, which surprised us. That means that our kitchen will be out of commission for a day or two.

SO NOW..............we wait. Wait for the estimate to come back for asbestos removal. Wait for the insurance company to approve the estimate. Wait for the work to be done. Can you tell I'm tired of waiting???

While all of the excitement was going on with the fans and drying out process, we were busy working on last minute Christmas gifts for our nieces and nephew.
I needed to get these camera straps finished up. They turned out really nice and the girls LOVED them.
Kirk was busy finishing up these cross stitch designs for the kids, which I then sewed to some felt and made into ornaments. They loved these too, but weren't quite sure what to think of Uncle Kirk doing cross stitch. I think it's great.

Look what I got!!!

2008-12-13T08:25:00.007-07:00

Do you remember the Candy Corn Contest? Amandajean from Crazy Mom Quilts had a really fun contest on flickr around Halloween time. My pincushion was one of the winners! Well, I received my prizes yesterday and they are SO CUTE!!!

This apron that Lera made is awesome with all its ric rackery on the pocket.

I'm so glad Amandajean sent one of her fabric baskets. It was a project I had thought of making for some xmas gifts, and now that I've seen one in person, TOTALLY making some up. The coasters are fun little pieces of candy corn too!

Thank you Amandajean and Lera!!

And thank you candy corn.

Almost Orange

2008-11-28T09:27:00.005-07:00

We had an almost perfect Thanksgiving yesterday. Amazingly, I had all my ducks in a row, and wasn't mopping the floors 3 minutes before our guests arrived.

We had my family over this year, which consists all of four other people. That's perfect for our house. Any more peeps, and we would have been a little too cramped. We prefer to have Spring and Summer holidays at our house because we have a pretty big covered patio in the back, leaving more room in the house for the food. Lots of food.

The only snag in the plans for Thanksgiving was one of the sweet potato recipes didn't come out. I've made the recipe before, and it was awesome. I was so upset that this one didn't turn out. Man was I looking forward to it. I think it's because I used Half & Half instead of heavy cream. I don't know. The cream curdled and i can't figure out why. It's bugging me now, not knowing what went wrong.

The turkey however, turned out great! While it was cooking, my son wanted to see it in the oven. I opened the door, he took a peek and declared "Yep, almost orange!". Apparently when you're a colorblind 6 year old boy, *golden brown* is Orange.

PINCUSHION! PINCUSHION! PINCUSHION! (sung to the tune of Queen's Bicycle Race)

2008-11-20T08:20:00.013-07:00

That is what was in my head when I woke up this morning. The men of Queen singing my version of their song. Now it's stuck in my head. The rest of it goes like this............in the voice of Freddy Mercury of course....

I want to sew my pincushions
I want to get them done
I want to sew my pincushions
So i can have some fun

Apparently I have some things on my mind.

Lotsa Lotsa Fabric

2008-11-15T11:50:00.005-07:00

I've been on a mission lately to clean up the craft room. It's a long process. Mainly because I'm also trying to get a lot of projects done with the Holidays coming up and trying to add items to my etsy shop. I feel like I'm in a catch 22 since this is what my work table looks like.

Do I spend time cleaning up, or working to get items listed in my shop? Can't decide. I think I'll spend the weekend doing a lot of both.

A Day of Firsts

2008-11-14T10:31:00.011-07:00

Today is a day of lots of firsts.

First post of my new blog.

First snow of the season. Isn't is pretty, what little there is? It'll be gone by noon.

First day in a LONG time i didn't have to wait in traffic on my way to work. That was especially helpful since i was running late. As usual.