FART completed and Fishing Tournament won by "The Girls"!!

For the past three years, Chef and I have been participating in a family fishing tourney in Manitoba with my dear sister-in-law (Chef's sister) and family! Every time we go, we have such a great time. My face hurts from the laughing and the kibitzing we do. So many things that my sister-in-law and I do the same! It's a joy to be there and I so wish we were so much closer!

This year, we, or I should say "I" wanted to DRIVE there instead of taking a flight. I have never in my 54 years been in Saskatchewan other than flying over it or stopping at the airport to pick up more passengers. It was an adventure! Anyone who says Saskatchewan is flat is so wrong! It was beautiful from west to east with rolling hills, green fields and dots of tree's! Nothing like I expected at all! We arrived in Moose Jaw, Sask., for our first evening and completed our trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the next evening. It wasn't so bad! Since I had a week off from work, our visit was short lived and we left on Thursday morning. I am sure the boys would have wished we stayed longer so that they would have more of a chance to win the fishing tournament, but yet again THE GIRLS won! whooooo whooooooo! It's all in good fun! Our neice even caught a double-header (two fish on one line!)

I did take some time one afternoon in Winnipeg to visit Marathon Threads! What a great business. I was lucky to meet the owner and Chef spent time talking to him about business in general while I got to browse the catalogue and buy thread to try! I did try some Marathon thread a couple of years ago when they were at Creative Stitches in Calgary. Take a look to see what I get to try now!

We left from Manitoba on Thursday morning and headed south to North Dakota as our return journey would be from North Dakota, west to Montana and then back home! Along the way Chef had inputted the quilt shops we could visit. Sadly about 70% of them were closed due to the recession.

One of the places we did not plan on going to was Valley City, North Dakota. We had to get gas, thus the stop and of course we found a quilt shop -- The Quilted Ceiling! What a great shop! It was huge! Such a great selection and of course Chef found some great sale deals on fabric for the backs of all those baby quilts that I have yet to make!

Of course he found some fabric that caught his eye! I think there's a quilt that will have a lot of blacks and yellow's coming!

He found this one too! How cute will this be for some baby bibs? I teased my neice and her husband about how much I would like to start sewing for their baby (they are NOT pregnant)! I can always wish though!

Of course I found all the fabric for my son's quilt -- although it's going to be somewhat of a surprise, I did not take photo's of the fabric. I am pretty happy with my choices though and you will see it in time!

The other fabric that "we" found were:

I like finding fabric that will give a different visual interest like printing -- just a little bit to make someone stop and take the time to see what it says! This fabric is all about reunions and family get togethers! Perfect considering that's exactly what we did this trip to Manitoba! Family!

 I always find new things to put on my "want" list. This one I was able to cross off -- The Dresden template. I found a great tutorial on The Missiouri Quilt Company that uses this Dresden template. I figure I should be able to use up a lot of my scraps with this template and get great squares as a result for a wonderful modern yet traditional quilt! Oh yes, and I can use my circle die from my GO! to complete it!

 My web browsing led me to another item on my list! I was reading about Dot to Dot quilting and thought this would be a great book to add to my quilting tools! I already have the paper (Golden Threads) that you trace onto with this from my class that I took with Lorraine Stangeness. This book will give me some more ideas on what to quilt on my finished tops. Something to "go to" since I am getting my feet wet with quilting my tops myself. I know it's not as hard as I make it out to be, but sometimes I'm just stumped as to what pattern to put on top of my completed squares, borders and the like! I figure a little more help won't hurt!

 Oh Tigger! Yes we are home and yes I love you too!

 Since there are so many babies popping up, I found a cute little book on more baby things. Cute tooth fairy pillows as well are a great size for those alphabets!

 I do have stencils that I have used my  markers with. I figured it's about time that I got myself a quilt pounce. Chef wanted to know what this was for. You fill the pounce (like a chalkboard eraser with a hole in the top with a stopper) with powedered chalk, plug the hole and then "pounce" over a stencil that is on the quilt top. The stencil marks show so that you can sew. The amazing thing is all you have to do is iron over the chalk lines and the chalk disappears with only your stitching that remains! Voila! Easy Peasy! (or so they say!)

Another item that I bought for quilting -- is the tape. This tape can be used in strips over your threads that unravel easily (like your metalics). One of the other things I am going to use this for is my fishing rod! Yes you read that right. I tend to take my pole apart, but with this tape I can put the two pieces together so they stay together and not gum up the rod or the fishing line -- keeping it organized for easier travel! Ohhhh I think I will have a million uses for this tape. You can take it off and put it back on over and over again. It's a heavy clingy plastic tape without the gum/gluey side! What else would you use it for?

Well that's it for my FART (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip)! We put on 4482 kilometers on our trip this time! Not something that I want to repeat in a hurry! Chef and my bones are a little achy from travelling in my little car! What a wonderful trip though! Family AND fabric! My two favorite things!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

FART! (Fabric Aquisition Road Trip) and that good old MOTIVATION

Yuk! All my good intentions of posting on a regular basis got away from me again! I was down with pneumonia and then had an asthma attack that landed me in the hospital! Now one thing I discovered was I couldn't sew because of sheer exhaustion not to mention fabric fuzz/lint! I am finally back on the mend, so I hope to get back in the groove!

I "think" I am understanding this Blogger a abit more. At least I am reading some of my favorite blogs using Blogger! It's so great seeing all those ideas and dreaming about all those projects!

Speaking of projects! Chef and I are headed back into the U.S. for our summer vacation! Wuuuuu Whoooo! Fabric Aquisition Road Trip! I have my quilt journal with me so I can load up on my "wish list" at prices that I can afford! While I was sick, the only thing I could do was watch some You Tube. I found some great little tutorials and started my wish list for the trip!

Through my blog browsing I read about an idea of having a "Quilt Journal". Now some people have a journal documenting their quilts, recording the fabrics and patterns (who pieced, who quilted, what brands of fabrics and designer names, etc.). I have also read that a Quilt Journal is a source of motivation. I am now on my second one! Just a little notebook that I can keep in my purse and take with me.

How many times have you found yourself in a quilt shop/fabric shop trying to figure out what you were short of? I know, quilters will ALWAYS use ANY fabrics that they find! I've learned to write down the "wish list" in my journal. I also write down my online orders so I know what should be coming (and I write the dates down of when I receive it so I know how long it takes to get from the shop to my studio!). I have written down a few lines on the days I am in the studio, whether it's sorting fabric, stitching, quilting, organizing! I find that it motivates me to do more! When I look back, rather than feel dejected over the "little" that I do, reading through my journal shows me how much I really have accomplished!

I've been taking some CRAFTSY classes as well. My notes go into my little journal along with again the things I want to purchase go into my book. I found that rather than my money spent on things that will really take forever to touch or items that invariably are duplicated, I am picking up the items that are really helping me on my quilt journey! When I read blogs and find new ideas that I don't want to forget I write it in my journal!

My list of UFO's are in there as well! It's motivating to see my list get knocked down and new projects getting added to the list. I've realized that my little journal has been motivation itself -- sitting there, calling my name to write down the idea's or review what's "next" on my list! I've managed to knock off quite a few of those UFO's just by writting bits about them and looking at the list on a regular basis. I finish them one by one and pat myself on my back! FINALLY the list is getting done! I am one of those who has to FINISH before I start a new project....but thanks to all those blogs out there, I have learned that having more than one project on the go is also OK!

So my wish for you all is to continue all your projects, keep blogging about them and share your ideas! The best motivation of all is seeing all those wonderful works and knowing that one day I will learn to quilt as good as the rest of you!

So with that... I say THANK YOU! Happy Quilting!

Back to Winter...goodbye Nevada!

Well Chef Murphy and I took a break to go to Phoenix, Nevada on a FART (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip!). Of course anything to do with fabric is a blessing and Chef Murphy found a place for cheese making supplies! Both of us were thrilled! This is what we left:

After arriving in beautiful Phoenix we went here:

We went to Flagstaff this time (WTF = Welcome to Flagstaff!)

At the stroke of midnight in Flagstaff, the giant acorn drops to bring in the New Year! Wonder if they have insurance on that thing in case it bonks someone on the head? ha ha! Then we continued our trip to Sedona for sunset:

The pictures are never as nice as they are in person! We tried to get to the top of the airport vortex area to feel the "spirits" but there was no parking at all! Maybe the next visit we will make it! We continued our trip to Jerome -- now you gotta see this place! It's an old mining town that's built on the side of the mountain top. We stayed at The Connor Hotel -- the original one that is true to it's roots. I'll give you a peek at the room. This is an amazing little town to visit if you are in the area. Very touristy, thus the prices of everything is reflected the same. The food was fantastic and we were very happy with our stay. Take a look at the great tin ceiling and the remnants of one of the older buildings.

When we left Jerome, we headed toward Prescott and on our drive found an interesting area that was advertised for home sales. We decided to take a little drive in and see what it was all about. Take a look at this house! How would you like to live here?

Our final stop was Prescott and then off to Phoenix where we would shop some more! In the middle of no where look what we found!

so on to some fabrics! Take a look at the new additions that I found to add to my stash!

Some of the larger pieces of Christmas fabric is for some tree skirts that I have planned. I hope to get to those in the next week. I also picked up a new book on Free Motion Quilting! What a wonderful resource! Hope I can become as great as all of you out there!

Now I don't pay much attention to buying all coordinating fabrics when I am adding to my stash. If I love the fabric, I buy it! I don't stick to any one designer as I believe they all have their gifts and choices of colours. I love batiks and I've found some great "cheapo" fabrics that were 100% cotton that fit in quite nicely. I "feel" the fabric. You can tell some grades of fabrics are not as "sturdy" as others. I don't wash my fabrics and have not had trouble with it. I do use a colour catch when I wash and I personally love the puckering that takes place once it's washed. In my early quilting days I was told that you HAD to wash, and you HAD to press and you HAD to use templates! Well first of all I hate being told what I HAVE to do and secondly, the easier, the better. Personally I can't see the difference between quilts that had pre-washed fabric to quilts that did not have pre-washed fabric. It's all a choice. If you have reds in your quilt, watch how you wash it. You wouldn't put a red blouse in with your white blouse now would you? If you like pink, then take the risk. So again -- it's choices!

My favorite shop of course in Arizona is 3 Dude's Quilting. Ray has a new pattern out (like my Arizona quilt that I did earlier this year). He is in the process of writing the pattern now and it will be available on line for purchase. Well worth every penny I am sure. He was kind to offer his first pattern for free, and it's still free if you visit their website. Check it out! www.3dudesquilting.com Here's one of Ray's patterns that I picked up this past week:

One of the classes that you can find in the shop is this one: (of course I had to bring the pattern home!)

I hope that I've inspired you to dig out those fabrics and get sewing! I've been busy with my free-motion quilting of a baby blanket. I'm hand-stitching the binding and it will be photo-ready before it hits the post office! I'm not so afraid anymore and hope that this opens up the doors to more free-motion! Though, Karen, my long arm quilter is NOT off the hook! haha! I'll be still bringing her my bigger projects to do! I have some that are being worked on now but won't be posted as they are surprises for some people! Happy Quilting everyone!

Arizona meets Calgary

January of this year, Chef Murphy and I went to Arizona. He took me on a FART (Fabric Aquisition Road Trip)! We had a great time, however with my back and being off work, I didn't touch the new sewing machine I got for my birthday until the beginning of June of this year! YIKES! The fabric is from 3 Dudes Quilting -- the pattern is courtesy of Ray Steeves. His pattern "Majestic Mountain Quilt" is his own. I used 2 1/2" strips of Bali fabric (which I love!) The pattern is super easy and has a great dramatic effect!

Ray has kindly shared his pattern for FREE and has given permission to use it at my quilt guild. Check out their website: www.3dudesquilting.com , you will find a great collection of free quilt patterns! They also offer on-line orders as well. The website is growing, so stay tuned. If you are in the area of Phoenix, stop by and say "hi". They are a great bunch of guys! Chef Murphy even got in on a lesson and he said it was the ONLY quilt shop where he felt he wasn't shunned and ushered out the door! He seems to feel that quilt shops are very unwelcoming to men -- even though I think he's got a great eye for fabric and colors! He's a great person to have amongst bolts and bolts of fabric and will find the "one" that's just perfect! (Thanks honey! ;-)

The lovely quilting is courtesy of Karen Morrison of Queen B Quilting Designs. The both of us will be working on yet another quilt with this pattern that will be donated for a United Way Raffle! We picked a tighter design as this is my living room quilt that will be in and out of the washing machine. You'll note that I have some reds in this quilt. I used Retayne in the wash estimating how much yardage there is in the total quilt. I put approx 1 tsp. per yard into the wash with HOT -- yes, HOT water and a cold rinse. It was then tossed in the dryer for 30 minutes on medium heat (cause I love the puckers the heat brings out) This is what it looks like now:

Now before you all GASP... I toss my quilts in and out of the washing machine. I don't panic and I don't worry about it. I don't lecture any recipient of my quilts on how to take care of them. If they ask, I tell them to gently wash and toss in a cool dryer for about 20 minutes to get most of the water out, then lay flat IF POSSIBLE to totally dry it. Reality is, people will toss it in with their regular laundry and toss it in the dryer. So what? I want my quilts to live life! If it's THAT important, it's not going to be used. The biggest compliment that I can have is someone telling me that they have worn the quilt to pieces. Then I know it was "much loved".

I buy good cottons and use decent batting and good cotton for the back. My quilting stitches are within reason (meaning that once it's ready to quilt, I read the directions to the batting to determine what the maximum distance is to quilt). I haven't had a problem. I find the more it goes in the wash and dryer, the more cozy and soft it gets! Happy stitching! Margo