Sunday Stash

Well, kind of...
I need your help. I'm looking at buying one new fabric collection for the store but I'm not sure which.
These are four of the ones I really like:

Neptune:

Arcadia:

Sorbet:

Wonderland:

Click on the photos for enlarged versions and visit Moda's site over here to view the entire collections (and others coming up), then go to the sidebar and vote for your favorite.

Thanks for your help!

Six Non-Scrappy Goose Bumps

Since I have to make the second block available on Monday, I figured I should probably finish these.

If you look closely you'll notice that I only used two colors per block.



More info here.

In the evenings

In the evening when everyone's at home I don't like to be up in my sewing room being anti-social. I always have a little project I can do while chatting or watching listening to the TV.

I've spent a lot of time working on Granny's Flower Garden but I'm kind of burnt out on her.

Back in December 2007 (wow!) I posted about the new cross stitch project I had started.

It's a companion piece for this one. (Click on the link for more photos.)

Unfortunately it's quite dark in our family room and there was no way I could work on it at night (and I definitely don't have time during the day). It just sat there languishing.
Then, this past Christmas, Santa brought me this lamp. Hallelujah! I could see!
Hopefully this one will join its friend on the wall this Christmas.

Store Stuff Monday

Wanna make a green quilt?

With March and St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, all green fabric is 25% off in the store until March 17th.

Sunday Stash

This morning I had to dig in the fabric closet to find something for Sunday Stash and rediscovered these!

Thank you Sunday Stash!

Boring...

...but quick.
I spent a significant amount of time yesterday trying to come up with something cute and original to do with my scraps. I have a lot of scraps, so I decided to go with boring for now. I'm sure something will pop into my head before they're all gone.

Six Scrappy Goose Bumps

I know, I know. Two posts in one day. The previous one isn't a "real" post though, is it?

I finished all six "Goose Bumps" blocks for my "Scrappy Geese" quilt.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, hop on over here.



I don't know how long my scraps will allow me to make monochromatic blocks, but I'm running with it for now.
The background fabric is also from my scrap pile. This may run out too. What I'll do then is a surprise (for both you and me).
This will be a true "Nothing but Scraps" quilt.

The Scrappy Q's

I thought this was an appropriate title. ("Q" for Queen or "Q" for Quilter...)

Aimee
Allison
Amandajean
Angela
Anna
Annie
Artsy Momma
Ashley
Barb
beanie g
Becca
bekhy
Beth
C. Jaeger
Calico Road
Cheryl
Christine
duckyhouse
Elaine
Heather
Holly
HoltGallery
Jackie
Jacquie
Jeanette
Jenn
Jess
Jodi
Julie
JulieQ
Karen
Katherine
Kathi
Katie
Katie Jean
Kheli
Kristi
Lisa
Maggie
Maria
Mary
Meghan
Michelle
Mimi
Miri
Molly
Molly
Mushyhed
Nancy
Natalie
Natalie
Natasha
Nettie
Niki
Paloma
Periwinkle Pumpkin
Rachael Adele
RachelJane
Rhonda
Sarah
Sharon
Sheree
Sheri
Sherry
Susie
Suzan
the humming cat
Tia
Tina
Tracy
Tyler

I will update this list regularly as more Q's join the challenge...

Nothing but Scraps

Let's empty out those overflowing scrap bins to make room for some new loot!

The "rules":
1. You are not allowed to buy fabric for this challenge.
2. Make quilts using only scraps from your scrap bin. What you call a "scrap" is completely up to you. As we saw from yesterday's comments, opinions vary widely on this topic.
3. Do consider the difference between "scrap" and "stash" when choosing fabric.
4. There are no other rules.

If you'd like to join in, leave a comment on this post and I'll create a list of all your blogs so we can have a look at each other's projects.

I've also created a Flickr group.

And, of course, a button if you'd like.

And code for it:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/nothingbutscraps/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/3290095541_4a01b2cc2f_o.gif"></a>

Let's have some scrappy fun!

The definition of a scrap

As I'm working on my "scrappy geese" quilt, using the block patterns from the "Geese in the Forest" BOM and pondering over starting a scrap challenge, I'm wondering what qualifies as a scrap.

I have a lot of white "scraps", but many of them are rather large. When are they scraps and when are they not?
I need your help!
When is a scrap a scrap?

Sunday Stash

Well, not exactly a stash. More like a stack.

And these are just the ones I haven't had time to put into my scrap totes, which contain neatly cut strips of different widths according to Bonnie's Scrap User's System.
I'm going to have to come up with a (couple of) scrap quilt ideas for these.
This one Jacquie made is lovely.
I've been searching for inspiration all over Flickr too. I really want to only use my scraps and not add any white (since I have MORE than enough scraps to complete a quilt top).
I'm CRAZY about this one...

...and this one...

I've seen this book being used and put it on hold at the library.
(I'm thinking of starting a challenge, so stay tuned for details.)

Busy as a (Quilting) Bee

I'm all caught up on Virtual Quilting Bee blocks!

This one's for Grace:

(No, my iron isn't broken again...)
This one's for Eren:

This one was the most time consuming, but SO much fun!
It's for Sarah, who requested that we add texture but not color.

I've always wanted to do some smocking.

Sunday Stash

For my first Black and White Quilt Challenge project, which I finally found some inspiration for.

If my inspiration pans out, it'll also be a Project Improv project.

And the winners are...

The random integer generator did its job...

...and the two winners of their choice of fabric from my store are:

Natasha and Lynn!
Please email me ASAP (twiddletails{at}gmail{dot}com) so I can get some fabric to you.

Congratulations!

If you didn't win, remember that the 30% off coupon is still valid until Sunday.

On the random integer topic, maybe I'm just dumb but I've been manually counting down the comments one by one (over and over to make sure I have the right ones) to find the ones picked by the generator. Tonight I decided that there HAS to be an easier way. If you already have an easier way, don't read any further (just let me know how you do it...).

So here's what I did:
1. Open the comments window (just click where it says "xxx COMMENTS" at the bottom of the post).
2. Right click in the window and choose "Select All".
3. Right click again and select "Copy".
4. Open a new Excel worksheet, right click on the first cell, and select paste. You will now have all those names and comments in your worksheet looking like quite a mess.
(I have Excel 2007, so I'm not sure how the next bit will work in older versions but the functionality is there somewhere, I'm sure.)
5. Make sure the first column is selected. Go to the Data menu and click on the "Filter" option (it looks like a funnel). A little dropdown will appear in cell A1.
6. Click on the dropdown arrow and choose "text filters" and then "contains".
7. In the box, type "said..." or whatever appears after the commenter's name in your comments. Click "OK".
8. You should now have just the names of the commenters, e.g. "Stacy said..." in column A.
9. Select all the names in column A and copy to a new sheet.
10. Voila! You have all your commenters in the sequence they commented in and even with numbers to match up with your random integers.

Ruffle Wristlet

Katie asked me to be a tester for her Ruffle Wristlet pattern a while ago. I had such fun picking fabrics that they became the "Cherries in the Sun" ColorPlay over in my store.

The pattern is for sale in Katie's Etsy Store. It's really cute and quite easy to put together.

Those Geese again

This is the last post solely dedicated to Geese in the Forest for a while, I promise.
I'm overwhelmed by all the positive response this little Block of the Month has generated.

After making a couple of blocks I decided that I didn't like the Christmas Green Bella Solids for the darkest green. The contrast is just a little too much.
I'm switching it to Dill Green, which I have on order for the store and should be in shortly.
(I changed the little diagram to try to reflect a little less contrast even though the colors aren't accurate.)

I've had some questions about yardage. I put yardage requirements on the main GITF page, but I'll put it over here as well. Foundation piecing uses a lot of fabric, even if you do your best not to waste.

2 yards each of three different greens (I'm using Dill Green, Kelly Green, and Lime Green)
0.5 yard of red (I'm using Christmas Red)
6 yards of white

When making the blocks, try to spread the greens out so that you use the yardage evenly. I also never use more than two colors in a single block, either two different greens or a red and a green.

Oh, and for Block 1, there are 6 blocks, only 1 of which has red in it.

I've created a Flickr group for sharing our GITF progress.

If you want to order white, green, and red fabrics for the quilt using the 30% off coupon, just send me an email before you order (custserv{at}twiddletails{dot}com) and I'll send you a new coupon code for 30% off on the Bella Solids when the Dill Green comes in.

Off to make something not "Geese" related...

402!

Can you believe it? It's been almost two years since I joined this wonderful community and started making many wonderful new friends. Today is my 402nd post!

I struggled to come up with a really good giveaway to celebrate this milestone and thank you all for your neverending encouragement and support. It has definitely played a giant roll in keeping the creative juices flowing over here.

So here it is...


Leave a comment on this post between today and 12pm PST on Friday (the 6th).
I will use the random number generator to generate 2 winners.
If you win, you'll get to choose any 4 fat quarters (or 2 half yards or 1 yard) from the fabrics in my store.

And, because I want everyone to be able to get a little something, between today and Sunday, you can get 30% off your entire order in the store.
Just enter 402THIRTY as the coupon code when you check out.


Because I couldn't have a completely picture-less post, I played around in EQ5 a little and came up with a scrappy look for Geese in the Forest.

Geese in the Forest BOM

February is here and with it, the "Geese in the Forest" BOM.

I've decided to make mine in solids. Bella Solids from Moda to be exact.
I'm using the colors in yesterday's post.

The first block is "Goose Bumps".

You can get the pattern here. This BOM is over but you can buy the entire quilt pattern in here.

There's a lot of information over here, but basically there will be a free block pattern (numbered for foundation piecing (tutorial here), but you can piece them too) every month until July.

On the first "work day" of each month, the previous month's block will be removed and a new one will be available. I will do a blog post when that happens, so if you're subscribed to the blog you should be OK.

In August I will make the final quilt layout diagram available.

If you find this BOM a little late, the PDFs for the previous months' blocks will be available in my store for a small fee.

The quilt has 100 blocks, 6" x 6" each. Some blocks only appear a couple of times and some a whole lot more. I played around with the layout until I came up with one I thought looked good and that's the way it ended up.

I made a little button you can put in your sidebar and link to this post if you'd like.



(If enough people show interest, I will start a Flickr group so we can share.)

Edited to add: I will be posting fabric requirements soon. I ran out of time and wanted to get the block up there today.

Sunday Stash

Moda Bella Solids for my version of the Geese in the Forest free BOM.
I will post more details tomorrow.

Christmas Red, Christmas Green, Lime Green, Kelly Green, and White.

Correction: I have decided to use Dill Green instead of Christmas Green.