twiddletails tidbits

Just a few...

I don't know if I ever mentioned ColorPlay. Since I started blogging I've always received positive feedback about the fabric and color combinations I use in my quilts. ColorPlay is my way of sharing those with you. It's still in infancy, but right now there are two bundles:

"Cotton Candy", which I used in the Sweet Hearts quilt:

And "Cherries in the Sun" which I just used in a secret project I'm hoping to share soon.


Both "So Charming!" and "Sweet Hearts" are now available as PDF patterns in my Etsy store.


Have a wonderful weekend!

I Heart Improv!

It's so freeing!
This may become a quilt design I think...

(My 300th post is coming up. There will be giveaways...)

Socktober, Socksgiving, Socksmas...

...Sockuary!
It took a while but I finally finished my 3rd pair of socks!

They're the same size and everything (although I did have to frog half a sock to get there)!
The pattern is "Embossed Leaves Socks" from "Favorite Socks - 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave".

Look! I turned the heel and everything!

(I kept the litte tag from the yarn and now I can't find it. As soon as I find it I'll post yarn details. It's a washable wool - that much I know.)

Bitty Bits & Pieces Giveaway

You should hop on over to Kim's blog, Bitty Bits & Pieces and see what she's giving away over there. Amazing Valentine's stuff!

Look how cute this is:

That made me check how many posts I have and I'm FIVE FOUR away from 300! I'll have to come up with something amazing to celebrate this milestone.

Sunday Stash

Fabric for my lastest project. All from my stash.

And the winners are...

Rosa, Beki, and Melinda.
Send me your "snail mail" addresses and these will be off to their new homes.

And if you didn't win, you know where you can get your very own copy...

Just because no post is complete without a photo, some more inspiration from Houston. (More detailed photos here)

Sweet Hearts (and a giveaway)

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you my latest creation...

I call it "Sweet Hearts". It's a baby quilt, 36" x 42" in size.

Detail:

I made more blocks than I needed, which came in handy on the back.

(The pattern is available in my store, either in printed form or as a PDF if you want to maybe make it in time for Valentine's Day.


To celebrate the latest twiddletails pattern I'm giving away three patterns.
Just leave a comment over here before noon (PST) on Wednesday January 21st and I'll put you in the drawing.

Store Stuff

My plan is definitely not to use this blog to promote my store, but I HAD to share these!



So cute!
(Click on the photos for more info.)

L-o-o-o-n-g Overdue

Way back in December I won this lovely little bag in John's 110th Post giveaway.

I was very excited because I loved the bag!
Then a BIG box came in the mail and I was confused.
Well...

All this was in there! (And some chocolate reindeer which obviously didn't make it to the photo session.)
Wanna see some more up close?
Perfect!

I can't wait to incorporate these in an Improv design.

Fabric!!!

How wonderful is that? Thanks, John!

4 Hours 4 Symmetry

Is that too long?

I've spent the whole morning trying to design a simple and quick heart block. None of them worked out until hour 3.5. The striped fabric had a LOT to do with my struggles. I think this is the one.

(P.S. I know there are already heart block patterns out there. I think I felt a desire to reinvent the wheel, but that feeling is gone now.)

True Improv!

I joined Jacquie's Project Improv pretty much the day she announced it. I think it's a wonderful way to wake up your brain and do something for a good cause all at the same time.

Much as I was itching to get going on this, I had some other things going that took MUCH longer than anticipated. This morning I scheduled some sewing time and it worked!

True anal retentive perfectionist improviser that I am, I opened up EQ5 and started working on a pretty little log cabin-ish block design.
I then went to my in-house fabric store (have I told you how great that is? Dangerously great!) and pulled some pink and orange fabrics.
As soon as I cut the fabric, the whole plan evaporated. I saw those pretty selvedges and knew I had to incorporate them.
It's amazing how quickly a block grows to 12.5" though! I only had space for one selvedge.

I was very happy with the outcome. Then I realized that not all my "selvedges" were true selvedges. It comes with the "improv" territory that not everything will turn out exactly as envisioned, I think.
I had to bring Bernie (15 year old Bernina) out of retirement for a little zig-zag love.


I'm really happy with this block! Thanks for the inspiration Jacquie!
(You can see more Project Improv projects in the Flickr group.)

A Rainbow of Delights!

This came yesterday for the Rainbow Jane BOM I'm doing in my store.

Fabric makes me SO happy!

Freezer Paper Foundation Piecing Tutorial

It was quite a setup.

I like freezer paper foundation piecing more than traditional paper piecing mostly because you use MUCH less fabric this way. I don't like wasting fabric. With the traditional method there's a lot of guessing involved so you have to cut your fabric much larger than necessary just to be safe.
There are 40 photographs in the tutorial, so I created a separate web page just for it.

You can link to it over here. (Our server is a little slow today, so please be patient if it takes a while to load.)

I've also added a "Tutorials" section in the sidebar because I think I have a couple more up my sleeve.

I'd be really, really grateful if you could give me some feedback should you decide to try this out.

Geese in the Forest

"Huh?", you say?

Remember Tokyo's Triangles?
If you don't, here's a peek:

Let me backtrack...
The best freezer paper foundation piecing tutorial I've found on the web and have been referring the "Dear Baby Janers" to right from the start has disappeared!
I've been toying with the idea of writing my own and this was just the kick in the butt I needed.
So...in looking for a simple block to use in the tutorial, I remembered TT.
This block is the result of hours of sewing and photographing each little step.

I'm VERY excited about making this quilt now!
I've renamed it "Geese in the Forest" and I think I'm going to make it in all solids.
(As soon as I can access the *&^! external hard drive, I'll get going on that tute, because you all want to know how to freezer paper foundation piece, right?)

Books read in 2008

I did quite a lot of reading in 2008 considering that I only read 15 to 30 minutes a day at bed time and at least two of these books were 1000 pages long!

Loving Frank - Nancy Horan
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
World without End - Ken Follett
Call of the Wild - Jack London
Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
The Art of Mending - Elizabeth Berg
The Lake House - James Patterson
Animal Dreams - Barbara Kingsolver
If Today be Sweet - Thrity Umrigar
Sea Glass - Anita Shreve
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
The Double Bind - Chris Bohjalian
Mercy - Jodi Picoult
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

My favorites were:
The Kite Runner, Water for Elephants, The Pillars of the Earth, and World without End.

Happy New Year (and looking back)

Happy New Year bloggy buddies!

To ring in the new year I thought a look back at some of 2008's crafty creations would be in order.

1. Dove at my Door (Jan '08), 2. Christmas Zig Zag Quilt, 3. So Charming!, 4. Minny Muu Baby Quilt, 5. Pastel logs, 6. Scrappy Illusion Quilt, 7. "Winging it", 8. Quilt-a-long II, 9. Quilt-a-long I, 10. Citrus Pillow Covers, 11. Stash Dash Quilt - completed, 12. Socksgiving - the final result

1. Table topper, 2. Romantic Roses Runner, 3. Flirting with Fall, 4. Raspberry Sundae Table Runner, 5. Embroidered buttons, 6. Fetching mitts, 7. Fetchings for Mary, 8. Heart Valentine ornament, 9. Syd's Aran Sweater, 10. Christmas Cards 2008

Hanging heart Valentines

Dotty Pouch

Mail Sack