I was feeling YUK so I splurged!

How can you resist what you see on the internet? I just HAD to have it!

As a professional browser!...haha! thought you'd like that! I find that it is soooooooo hard to pick fabric on the internet. With that said, I have been able to build my stash and come across some amazing finds!  What "looked" like blue on the internet (and before any computer guru's out there say it's all about focus, lighting, etc. etc.) I took the plunge and ordered. I thought I needed blue! Of course when it made it into my studio, I'm pretty set on blue, but what the heck! My favorite color is blue! I apologize for the unprofessional photo's, but I really wanted you to see what they look like IRL (in real life)...without all the fancy lighting...and setting the stage thing! You'll note that the bottom left is actually more brown/beige than anything! I love it! It will fit in nicely with the stash!

Of course I needed some bright Christmas fabric to put on the back of the Christmas tree skirt! The very same skirt that was just a flimsy under the tree this past Christmas! I love the bright and happy colors. Great if I want to reverse the skirt and was a good buy to boot! This UFO will be coming to retreat with me in March!

The other thing I was searching for was a decent screwdriver. I'm always looking for the little one that came with the toolkit with my Symphony -- the coin-like screwdriver that I can never find! This little one is so handy to change out the plates and needles and the like. I bought two so  I can put one in my retreat kit and the other to keep at home.

Last, but not least -- the Thank You car that Connecting Threads enclosed. For all you Canadian's out there -- I know we are all crying about the Canadian dollar -- but with the exchange rate and shipping, it still added up to a terrific deal. Check them out online. They are really great! My order came in about two weeks to Alberta. Not so bad if you ask me! I already have another order in!

Now on the other hand, I ordered one of Bonnie Hunter's books. Just one. With the exchange rate AND shipping that book was $54.58 Canadian. I haven't told Chef yet! Sorry, but THAT book is NOT going to be loaned out! I am hoping that it's one of those that will give me hours of pleasure. Note to self...... order books from Amazon or from the local quilt shops. -----UPDATE----Received the book and it's signed!!!!! PRICELESS!  Worth every penny!

Speaking of the local quilt shops -- I love to support my local dealers. With that said, I am a hard working woman, who has a budget right to the end dollar. I watch my pennies and can tell you exactly what my utility bills and anything else have cost for the last decade. You ask me any month, I can tell you what I paid!

When it comes to "my" passion -- my sewing/quilting, I have to be very cognizant of what I spend. I know that there will be loads of people that blast me for shopping outside of my own community -- however, maybe those people have a two-income family, less fixed bills, mortgages paid off, or whatever else. Trust me -- I would LOVE to buy all my fabric here in Calgary at the local quilt shops! I'm all for supporting your local people -- BUT -- when you can buy fabric, good quilting fabric, at a quarter of the cost for the "identical" fabric, and get 4 times as much elsewhere than here -- why would I buy local?

I do buy fabrics at horrendous prices -- when I do not have any other choice. I buy the $25 + meter (4 inches bigger than a yard) fabrics when I have to. There have been times when I have run out of fabric and I just NEED it. I have finished older WOP quilt tops (UFO's) to get as close to a match for fabric that has been gone for many years! If my budget could afford buying more locally -- I certainly would. Getting to an age where I seriously have to think about the cutting back on my purchases as retirement looms - I know that my stash will last me for many years. There will come a time where I will have to ask for those more expensive tools -- or save up for them (like I do now!) An example of this is my  new Rotating Cutting Board from Olfa. 17" by 17", the price for this here at the local quilt shop was $119.99 Canadian, plus 5% GST. Today, this very same rotating cutting mat on Nancy's Notions is $69.00 (which calculates at 87.83 Canadian funds). Now add shipping to that number and it probably works out to about the same as if I bought it here.

A BIG "Thank you" to my Youngest and her boyfriend for the gift certificate at my local shop for Christmas and my birthday! I've been wanting one of these for a very long time! I am truly blessed!

 -

Maybe one day I will win the lotto and not care about exchange rates, shipping and duty! Until that happens, I will be watching my pennies and exchange rate as I continue to build my stash for the rainy days and retirement years. There will always be newer and better...but there will also be other priorities when we are retired -- like healthcare and living on a pension!

Check out Connecting Threads and do some browsing! I love that they send me a regular catalog so that I can dream and plan out new quilts!

So, question for today -- what are your shopping hints for your quilting endeavors?

Happy Quilting Everyone!
Margo

Another Finish!

Another finish! Yeah! This one took a long time. Partly because I was afraid of the machine applique (still am....ask me what I think once I take the quilt out of the wash!), and partly because of my arthritis in my thumb -- which the latter, of the two, kept me away longer than I wanted!

It's not a big quilt. The little man is now 4 months old, but it's still a great size to cover him in the winter months and for him to drag around as a toddler. Mom told me the room was blue's and brown's and that they were focusing on an "airplane" theme. I found lots of patterns, but they were so much more grown up (outlines of large jetliners).

The pattern is called "Fly With Me" designed by Kristen Grassaway. I found it as a .PDF pattern at Connecting Threads. http://www.connectingthreads.com/Patterns/Fly_with_Me_Pattern_Download__D10316D.HTML She has a lot of cute patterns. I found the cutting instructions a bit confusing and had to paste little fabrics to the pattern cutting directions. I'm one to "make it up as you go along", so patterns are not my forte. I usually look at it and work it out myself. Remember, I'm the girl that HATES math -- so that's probably more than half of the problem!

I have always thought you "HAD" to have one piece for the back! Well I still wanted to incorporate some of the blue in the background from the front. I ended up having a whole new quilt on the back with the whales and a couple of stripes of white through the back. Of course I had to use my "black and white text" binding. I think it gives the whole quilt a bit of a lift without taking away from the whole quilt. Have you ever seen quilts where everything is nice and then the binding just screams "I DON'T BELONG ON HERE!!!!"

My applique is a work in progress. I used minimal lite fusible web ...meaning the body of the plane on the insides does not have fusible. I only have about a quarter inch of fusible around each pattern piece to hold it down. The wings as well have only the fusible web along the outside edges as well, as I cut the middle out. The windows and front windshield have webbing for the whole piece. Another thing that I did was put fray stop on the ends of each part that my thread was cut. I don't want it to fall apart until it's "worn" apart, if you know what I mean! I used matching thread for each piece of the applique and a small zig zag. It's not perfect, but from farther away it looks just fine! I think this helped me overcome my fear of machine sewn applique! Those little windows are smaller than a dime. Best advice: GO SLOW, take your time around corners and watch where your needle goes up and down. I'm happy with the outcome and wouldn't hesitate tackling this again -- except maybe tackle it sooner rather than later!

TIP: as the applique pieces are on one piece of fabric -- I zig-zagged the edges before putting together the rest of the quilt. The blocks were much easier to maneuver  around all those curves!

Thanks to my long arm quilter, Karen! The simple quilting is just great and "enough". Sometimes people over-kill on the quilting and lose the simplicity. It's just "right" or this little one! I wanted this quilt nice and soft so he could cuddle it around him!

Now, on to the arthritis. I have been typing all my life (from when I was 12). I remember the typewriters where you had to pound on the keys and throw the carriage to the right (you know what I mean if you ever typed on a manual!). Put that with always using my hands for crafting! You name it, paining, ceramics, croheting, knitting, Bunka, etc., etc.Flash forward to now, the joints are now wearing thin. I have had my second injection of cortisone into the joint and it hasn't helped much this time.

Using your hands all the time and in particular "pinching" fabric between your pointer finger and thumb hurts! (bubye for now those hand-pieced hexagons).  Putting my hand onto my rulers to hold down and cut fabric is another challenge.

Wearing one of these is a pain in the butt, but it does help with the pain somewhat. It's pretty hard to hold stuff that needs "delicate" touch. Meantime, I do what I can to get these projects done! If any of you have experience with this, I would sure love to hear about your journey through this. I suspect as I age, I will be having more issues! I just want to be able to continue to quilt! (Not to mention I have some years before I can retire! -- the last 7 years or so, I have been typing way more! Heaven forbid with the newer generations and all their "texting!" Can't imagine what's going to happen to them!

I'm going to try and take a hiatus and send my Babylock Symphony in for a spa day or two, so I'll just be content with folding my fat quarters and organizing the rest of my sewing room! I've got more planned to sew, but I think it will be a bit before I show you all any finished projects!

Meantime, think of me when you are sewing and as always.....

HAPPY QUILTING!