2012 In Quilty Review

I made a couple of mosaics, like everyone else, right, of my finished quilts for 2012.  I just realized that I missed 2!  Here is the mosaic I made of my finished projects.

I have to say I am pretty pleased with this.  The third photo in shows just one quilt but I actually made 3 of these, one for each of my kids.  The two tumblers in the red and grays were for Yolanda's nepehews.  Yolanda passed away and I was so happy to have been part of helping her get some of her quilts finished.

Here are two of the quilts I missed putting in the mosaic, both went to Margaret's Hope Chest

The next mosaic is of a lot of the blocks, tops and fun I had in 2012

I did several swaps and block exchanges.  

I ran 2 quilt-a-longs

I watched as my eldest DD bought her first house

I got to hang out with 2 of my favorite (famous) quilters that I proudly call my friends

I was able to meet a few blog friends in person

I went to NC and hung out with my DD2

I had surgery, recovered and did a LOT of Zumba

I realized my dad needs my help so began working on that.  

I feel like I am getting things under control with him and my sisters.

I played a lot with my 2 best friends

I hung out with the love of my life

I got a project published on the Moda Bake Shop

I survived the death of my beloved cat, Jack 

This was the most difficult thing of the whole year.

I miss him every single day!

All in all it was a good year.  

I am already planning my goals for 2013.

I'll be back with those soon.

In the mean time, I wish you all a happy, healthy and joyous New Year!

~XOP~

Some Fun

I thought I would show you a photo of the unit I am considering getting for my sewing room

We need to measure to see if it will fit.

I found this amazing directions in this old magazine 

To make this Modern Sewing Desk!

Pretty sweet huh??

And then, just because they were on a GREAT sale at Pink Castle, this set of half yard cuts of

Tula Pink's Salt Water!!!

So this was some of my recent fun!

Oh and cleaning out my clothes closet!

And lots of other cleaning too.

Plus 2 Zumbathons, but I can't actually show you that.

What are you doing for fun?

~XOP~

I Had A Wonderful Christmas!

Our Christmas season was B-U-S-Y!  

Just like everyone else I think.  

We drove to GR to celebrate with my dad and sister on the 23rd. 

 That made for a long day. 

 Then on Christmas eve off to Jackson (an hour away) to celebrate with the entire Lincoln clan.  Always an adventure. 

 My hubby is the eldest of 7 so there are always lots of people, kids, fun, laughter 

and of course food and this time was no exception. 

 One of my favorite parts of the day was watching my hubby read to 2 of our great nieces.

I had an interesting conversation with my BIL.  

He is the CEO of a fortune 500 company and recently was at a meeting and guess who walked in?  George W. Bush!! 

 He got to spend an evening, well he and I think he said 12 other CEO's, with the president! 

He said it was a very interesting evening and that he genuinely enjoyed president Bush. 

 I won't bore you with the details, but I enjoyed hearing all about it.

There was also other frivolity between my niece, daughter and SIL.

It snowed the whole day and night and my eldest daughter got into a car accident 

on the way to where we were.  

She was ok but her car had some damage. 

 They narrowly escaped a second hit with a semi truck. 

 Thankfully both she and her boyfriend were not injured, just shaken up! 

 Mama's arms came in handy for comforting her though. 

 Nice to know I've still got it!

We arrived home and put out the finishing touches before falling, exhausted, into bed.

I was so excited to share my gifts with you. 

 My hubby was so generous this year.

OK here goes!

I got a ton of thread from Connecting Threads. 

 I see that Amanda Jean uses and loves this thread so I thought, when it was on sale, I would try some.  I usually use Master Piece by Superior but this is much less expensive, same weight 

and same extra long staple Egyptian cotton. 

 I will let you know how it goes.

My DD1 and I happened to be online one night and she asked me what I wanted for Christmas. 

 I sent her a link to this 

She got me the darker colored Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House! 

 (I bought the light ones)

Accuquilt had their dies an additional 15% off so I ordered the airplane one. 

 (Married to a pilot, how could I resist?) 

 The light was ordered to round out an Amazon order.

Then...WEE I got all these books that were on my wish list!

There was a HUGE surprise though, a Blue Ray player!  

Although I don't have a TV in my sewing room to use it with just yet. 

 Hmmm do you think that could be next?

I almost forgot, I also got a new lamp. 

 I have this exact same lamp already but it flickers constantly and it drives me and hubby crazy! 

 So we decided to replace it.

I think I was one lucky girl this Christmas don't you?

We went to IKEA tonight to look at storage for my sewing room. 

 I think I found what I want to use but we need to measure the space to make sure it will fit.

  OMG I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!! 

 I still have some clearing out to do in the room but I am getting so much closer!

Now, enquiring minds want to know?  

How was your Christmas??

~XOP~

Merry Christmas!

I want to take a minute to wish all my friends and family a very Merry Christmas!

I hope Santa was good to you. 

 He was VERY good to me! 

 More later but for now enjoy your family and remember the reason for the season!

From me and mine to you and yours...

~Merry Christmas~

Wolf Quilt Up For Auction to Benefit Wolf Haven

My DD1 is involved in a campaign to raise money for a non profit organization called Wolf Haven.  They are going to adopt the entire pack for a month, maybe more if they can raise enough money. 

 I am going to use some wolf panels and some companion wolf fabric to make a quilt. 

 It would be a throw sized quilt. 

 If you are interested in bidding please go here and

 leave a comment with how much you are willing to bid. 

 The starting bid is $40.

  Please see if you can help out the  wolf conservation society.

I will most likely use some Kona solids to pull it all together. 

 So if you are interested in saving some wolves, maybe this is something you can do!  

Happy sewing

~XOP~

Checking In

Just taking a moment to let you all know I am still here. 

 I am waiting for my DD2 to arrive home tonight. 

 I need to drive to the airport and pick her up. 

 I got the bed all ready in my sewing room and I need to make her a sammy to take along 

as she texted me that she is starving!

  I can't wait to see her and spend some time together.

Today was my last day of work until Jan, so it was SUPER busy! 

 I went in super early so I could get all my work done and had to leave early for my annual mamogram.  Oh joy!

I am fighting off a horrific cold right now too so, um, yeah, that's fun too.

I do have some things to share but I have not been sewing. 

 We had a little quilter's get together for Christmas over at Pauline's house. 

 There was a gift exchange and lots of great food too. 

 I was the last person to choose so I could steal or take the last gift. 

 I chose the last gift and boy was I glad that I did! 

 It was the gift that Pauline brought and it was awesome!

Two great patterns and the cutest hand embroidered tea towel!

Thanks, Pauline, for hosting and for the amazing present!

I received some more gifties in the mail last week also but have not had time to take any photos yt.  Soon though, soon.

Have a great evening and happy sewing!

~XOP~

Quilts for Sandy Hook and A Question

As a quilter my first response to a tragedy is to make a quilt.

  I think a lot of us feel like that.  

There has been some discussion about whether it would comfort or 

remind the families of the horrific events that transpired yesterday. 

 I think it would comfort.  

Julie of Phoenix Quilts is going to work to get enough quilts for all the kids in the school 

and for the families of those killed.  

It is going to take over 700 quilts!

 If you are interested or want more information, you can get in touch with Julie on her blog.  

I don't know the time frame as of yet but will keep you posted as I have more information.

  Let's pull together and help out.

Now for the question.  

In your sewing room, what kind of chair are you using when you sew? 

 I am going to get a new chair for my sewing room and

was wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions?  

What things should I be looking for?

Have a wonderful day and I look forward to hearing about your chairs!!

~XOP~

Tula Pink Swap Round 2

Some of you may know that I hosted a swap recently.  

Everyone had to choose a Tula Pink fabric.  

There were 28 people playing along. 

 Everyone bought 2 yards of a TP fabric and cut it into 28 ten inch squares and sent them to me. 

 I sorted them (with the help of Pauline and Stacey) into 28 piles of 28 different fabrics

 and sent them back in the SASE they sent me with their fabric.

  

Mostly it was a lot of fun.  

We did have one person that was sending 5 peoples worth of squares and she sent them a month late.  It all worked out in the end.  

Here is what we ended up with:

(photo used with permission from Carbonated Creations)

So some were asking if there would be a round 2. 

 I wasn't going to do it and then Salt Water came out. 

 How could I resist? 

 Resistance was futile!  

Hence, round 2 was born.  

According to TP, this is the closest we are going to get to a Neptune reprint. 

 The colors are the same as in the Neptune line!!

If you are interested, all the info can be found here.  

Specifically you need to go to the discussion thread that says "sign up here" and enter your info on the list in the post.  

So far we have 13 signed up so we have a little room if you are interested!  

If you have questions, please email me. 

mamaspark@gmail.com

 

 International friends are welcome, we will Pay Pal invoice you for the shipping. 

 One smart, international woman ordered her fabric from an online vendor and

 had it shipped to me and I cut it up for her.  

She ordered a smidge more for me which was very generous!  

That way she only paid postage one way.  

Brilliant!

So if you love Tula Pink fabrics like we all do then sign up!  

We are playing the no duplicates from round one though 

so if you want to play along be sure to check out the photos from the first round and the list. 

 All photos in the group to the left of this photo are for round 2.  

Again, if you are unsure you can ask me.

C'mon, you know you want to play along!

~XOP~

Take the Good With The Bad

I don't have a ton to share at the moment but there are a few little goodies. 

 I dropped off a ton of quilts and knitted blankets at the local Veterans Hospital last week,

 from one of the quilt groups I belong to.  

They are always so thankful to receive them.  

It feels good to help locally doesn't it?

I had a very stressful day last Saturday.  

That con artist that has been working on my dad, and continues to call him, 

called him and he went to meet up with her. 

 I don't know why he can't get it through his head that all she wants is money! 

 He kept on giving her money and giving her money all with the expectation that when the lawsuit she is in was done she would pay it back. 

 Well, I think we all know that is never going to happen.  

Well, all of us except for him!!!  

As it turned out she didn't show, but it was a stressful couple of hours waiting for this to all play out.  I am at my wits end with my dad right now.  

He can tell you that he will never see his money and then turn right around and

 meet with her because she has "papers" regarding the lawsuit.  

I told him I can print those papers off the internet.  

Tell her to mail you a check when she gets the money

Which will be NEVER!

So when all was said and done, my sweet hubby asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch.  

We went to one of my favorite places, Chopstick House, for Chinese.  

Hunan Chicken

YUM! 

 Good food and good company helped me gain some perspective.

Oh dad, what am I going to do with you??

~XOP~

eBook Review and a Winner

I was recently contacted by Fons and Porter and asked to do a review of one of their books. 

 It is their Log Cabin Quilt eBook. 

 You can download a copy for yourself right here.  

Now for the review.

The book was very straight forward and easy to follow. 

 If you have never made a log cabin block this had all the basic information in it.  

I liked the "tips" that they added.  

There were some unique versions and settings that would be worth checking out if you already know how to make the basic block. 

 Some of the visual effects from the setting choices were pretty cool.  

There are directions for adding piping to your binding and I did not know how to do that before, 

so I found that most interesting! 

 Also if you don't know how to join your binding in a miter as you end

 the directions for that are there as well.

I felt there was something for most people in this book.

I would recommend it to others as a good resource.

******************************************************

Now on to the winner of my giveaway.  

Remember this?

I used the random number generator here and the winner is

17

Mommarock said...

What kind of storage areas do you have for your fabric? Can you make it all so that you can see it and know what you have? I folded all of my fat quarters the same way and stored them by color in clear plastic shoe boxes. If I had nice open shelves I would have liked to store them by color there where I could see them all stacked by their color so that I could oogle my fabrics in their beauty on a regular basis. We buy it because of it's beauty, why lock it away where we can't see it. Then we don't know what we have, and we buy more and more and more. Well,I could use more, but that seems to be a regular problem that I have seen on many blogs. I just think it should all be out where we can see it. I would like to put nice shelves into my quilt room somewhere, I just don't have enough wall space left.. :( 

So Mamarock, if you will send me your address I will get this out in the mail to you!

***************************************************

 Also my friend, Crazy Quilt Girl is having a HUGE giveaway over on her blog.

A $50 gift certificate to her online fabric shop!!!

If you can't find something you like there you are not trying!

Plus, she has the greatest customer service around.

Go visit her blog, answer her questions and maybe you will be the winner!!

Tell her Mama Spark sent you ; )

Have a wonderful, stitchy day!

~XOP~

Tula Pink 10 " Square Swap

I recently organized a Tula Pink 10" square swap on Flickr. 

 Each person bought 2 yards of fabric and cut out 28 ten inch squares and 

sent them to me along with a SASE. 

 I made 28 piles of 28 different fabrics, packaged them back up and

 they will be off in the mail tomorrow.

 I brought them to quilting tonight and Pauline and Stacey helped me sort them all out and package them all up.

I thought you might like a peek at what that looked like!

Swaps can be good and bad at the same time. 

 While most of the people were wonderful.  

There was one group that didn't get their squares to me 

until a month after they were supposed to be to me. 

 I felt bad for everyone that got their squares to me on time.  

Pauline and Stacey helped me sort and then package up all the squares to send out tomorrow. 

 Thanks you guys!!

Pauline and Cori will help me get them all to the post office tomorrow.

Thanks you guys!

Hopefully everyone that participated is excited to *finally* be getting their package!!

Have a wonderful, stitchy day!!

~XOP~

Swaps Are Fantastic!

I had a FQ bundle of Little Apples I was looking to swap out for *something*. 

 I was not sure what, but my new friend Jayme knew what.  

She had a FQ bundle of A Walk in the Woods.  

So we swapped.

This is what she sent me.  

She added in 2 FQ from Vintage Modern too to make up the difference.

I had to giggle when I opened my fortune cookie the other day and found this fortune!

I guess making my sewing room successful is preordained!

Have a wonderful, stitchy day!

~XOP~

Living Room Moved To the New Sewing Room

I did it. 

 I bit the bullet and took everything related to my sewing from my living room and 

moved it to the new sewing room. 

 It was a LOT of work! 

 I haven't even moved any of the bins from the basement yet and I was beat!

  I realize that I need some different things in this room to make it work for me. 

The dressers are staying for now.

 

 After the new year, I can do more.

 For now this is what I did.

You can see the back of the closet.  I loaded up the shelves and put all the bolts on the floor

 Some magazine binders, books and of course more fabric. 

 It is just a temporary home for the fabric.

I did load some more fabric and batting on these shelves, but they are not strong shelves so whatever ends up on them must be relatively light weight.  

 I think my daughter had books there and they are not light weight, so maybe that will work. 

 I still have to play.

This is the bottom of the right side.  

Plastic project bins under the shelves and bagged up stuff on top.

My sewing box did fit under the window but not sure it will stay there forever either.

Here is a before of my LR

Here is the after. 

 I know I still need to get the cabinet upstairs.  

The box on the couch is stuff going out for a swap this week.  

There are 2 current projects , on on the couch and one on the cabinet. 

 I can't wait to move it all upstairs!!!

 

I will show you more when I have more finished.  

I need to sort that whole Lowe's box and package up 28 swap packages to send out this week! 

 Lab Christmas party is on Friday so I will have a busy week!

Thanks for stopping by! 

 I am excited to show my WIP Sewing Room to you.

~XOP~