My Life For Sale

Please visit my online yard sale for some great bargains in books, patterns, projects and fabric! 

Tell your friends to visit too!  The site is up and running and I'll be doing lots of editing and adding new items. 

I'm selling books and patterns really cheap, plus fat quarter sets for only $13.50 POST PAID (that's about $2.25 per FQ and no extra for shipping and handling).

Piwacket Crafts Online Store

I'll accept payment through Paypal, personal check or money order.  Be sure to become a follower so that you'll see the new deals as soon as they are posted!

Sundance and Butch are not for sale at any price.

Make me an offer on Maggie. She can walk herself to your place and I'll throw in all the toys.

"PIWACKET! You delete that about Maggie right now!!  You KNOW there is no way I'm selling her."

"But Momcat...."

"NO BUTS! She's not going anywhere and that's final!!"

Excuse me while I lick my paws of this whole mess,
Piwacket

SewCalGal's Contest

My friend, Darlene, over at SewCalGal is having a great contest with five winners. Each winner will receive a very cool pattern from Cozy Quilt Shop.

I have my heart set on Paper Lanterns if I'm lucky enough to win. Which one do you like best?

Good luck!

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - April 25, 2010

This is a very boring stash report. Momcat was recovering from sinus surgery last week so we didn't do any quilting. She did manage to finish a couple more knitted dishcloths, three novels, and had lots of cuddle time with all of us.


Used this Week:     0  yards
Used year to Date: 92.85  yards
Added this Week:          0  yards
Added Year to Date:    33 yards

Net Used for 2010:     59.85 yards

Visit Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara to see how all of us are doing.

Yours purringly,

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - April 18, 2010

This stash report represents three weeks since I was on vacation and didn't have computer access.  While on vacation I worked on Tulip Time, its backing, and The Poky Little Puppy.  And even though I visited some quilt shops, I didn't add to my stash!

Used this Week:     13.75  yards
Used year to Date: 92.85  yards
Added this Week:          0  yards
Added Year to Date:    33 yards

Net Used for 2010:     59.85 yards

 Judy at Patchwork Times has the listing for all of us who are reporting. Hop on over to take a look!

 

Hugs,

Momcat

The Poky Little Puppy

The Poky Little Puppy quilt top was completed while listening to the sound of the sea at Virginia Beach. I love it!  I think some simple meandering will work perfectly on this.

The pattern came from Super Simple Fat Quarter Quilts by Lynda Milligan & Nancy Smith.  It's called "Hyde Park" in the book, using a beautiful floral print for its focus.

This quilt is so easy to make that our shop (Best Friends Quilt Shoppe) has used it as a beginner's quilt in classes several times. We have been saddened this week to find out that the publisher plans to discontinue the printing of the book and at this time there is no indication that any of the patterns will be published separately. I am very glad that I already have my copy of this terrific book and hope that the publisher will reconsider.

Examining my possibilities,
Piwacket

Momcat's Home...With a Dead Camera

I was really looking forward to seeing all the pictures that Momcat bragged about. Her sewing station right next to the patio door leading to the beach, projects completed, pictures from her mom and dad's home, photos from the quilt show. But I've just heard her mutter some bad words at the computer. All the pictures were lost during the upload process. They're not on the computer or on the camera. She is attempting to recreate some scenes in diorama using thimbles, seam rippers, and bits of cat litter. It isn't pretty.

THANK YOU PAT SLOAN!

Right before Momcat left we received news from Pat Sloan that we won three spools of Aurifil thread from a random drawing on Pat's Facebook fan page. So cool!

(Amazing what loading new batteries in the digital camera can do.)  Butch is inspecting Pat's pattern, the spools of thread and the cute lime green rickrack.

How fun to come home to a waiting package!

Time for another cuddle or two,
Piwacket

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Vacation

Momcat is heading out first thing on Friday morning for a brief vacation. With the divorce and money woes the vacation was almost canceled. After some thinking through and talking with friends she's decided to go anyway for the following reasons:

• The condo was reserved over a year ago with a non-refundable deposit.
• It has a kitchen so she can cook her own meals. She'd have to buy groceries here anyway.
• It's directly on the beach and Momcat's never been to Virginia Beach.
• She's going to spend two days with her parents on the way down.
• She's opting to leave vacation two days early in order to work a quilt show in Ohio Amish country with her boss from the quilt shop.

Although there will be no sight-seeing or shopping, walking on the beach is free. There's a balcony with the condo so viewing the beach scene while reading a book will be relaxing.  She even seems pleased that there won't be any furry friends waking her up at 5 a.m. for feeding. Hrrumph!

Cross-stitch projects, knitting schemes, and quilting UFOs are making the trip too.

"Springtime Tulips" is the first UFO to win a spot on the Virginia Vacation Express.

This quilt is SEW close to being done! It calls for two borders. The first border is 2-1/2" and matches the background color.

The outside border will be pieced from all the 30s prints used within the body of the quilt.

This pattern is from the book Surprisingly Simple Quilts and was much easier to make than it looks. Isn't it a perfect project to keep Momcat busy over spring break?

Another take-along will be the "Tuffets" pattern for pincushions made from charm squares and The Poky Little Puppy fabric from Quilting Treasures made up in a Hyde Park design.

I'll miss Momcat while she's gone. Manchild Philip will be here taking care of Maggie, Butch, Sundance and me. Logan and Trouble have gone to live with CatDaddy. The beans miss them, but I don't. More lap time for me. Mmmmwwwwhahahahaha.

Worship me,
Piwacket

Yeah, I Made That! - - Labeling Your Quilt

Do as I say and not as I do.

I don't label all of my projects. I should, but I don't. There's some insecurity that I carry around with me that says, "What if they don't like it and want to regift it?"  So sometimes I label and sometimes I don't.

This post is about the way I made a quilt label for "Fiddlesticks." Now that I've given the quilt to my friend Teresa, who happens to be my son's MIL, I can share the label-making process with you.

I have a pet peeve with people in general who insist that there is only one way to do something. There are as many ways to make quilt labels as you can think. Researching on the web is a great way to get some ideas. You can buy pre-printed labels, you can get fabric with label designs, there are iron-on transfers to color in, you can download and print labels from your computer, some people make their labels as pockets and include the washing instructions.  Experiment with all kinds of ways and do what brings you the most pleasure.

I like to make labels using rubber stamps. It's very simple and my favorite way, especially for quilts that have scrappy or country-type designs. For a more modern quilt I think an updated label would be smart.

First I pick out a neutral color fabric for the label and cut a rectangle of freezer paper the size I want the label.  I iron the freezer paper shiny side down on the WRONG side of the label fabric.

Cut out around the freezer paper leaving about 1/4" or 3/8" border of fabric.

Gather your supplies. I used a cute angel rubber stamp which I won from Shellie's giveaway, black ink, a micron pen and fabric markers (not shown). I placed the fabric on sandpaper. This is still showing the freezer paper side up instead of the fabric side that I'll be writing upon.

Stamp wherever you'd like on the fabric, making sure not to go beyond the boundaries of the freezer paper stabilizer. Using the micron pen write the basic information:

• Your name
• Name of quilt
• Month and year
• Name of recipient
• Why the quilt was made
• Washing instructions (optional)
• Any other information you think should be included

The extra fine sandpaper helps create a stable writing surface. I find that I need to go over the lines of the rubber stamp and the writing a couple of times.

Here's how the label looked after I completed it. Iron the front of the label to heat set the marker(s). Iron the border fabric to the back of the freezer paper, making some nice creases. Remove the freezer paper.

Time to sew your label to the back of the quilt.  Pin it in place first.  I used a blanket-stitch with a double strand of cotton thread. Make sure you go through the backing fabric without going all the way through to the front of the quilt. Some people like to create their labels prior to quilting so that they can also quilt through the label, ensuring it will be there throughout the life of the quilt. Again, my own insecurity prevents me from doing that.

My quilts will never be in any show. I won't win any awards or blue ribbons. I couldn't bear to hear what a judge might say about my simple creations. However, my quilts and other crafts do represent the love that I MUST express with my hands. For the recipients, I can only hope that's enough. 

Happy stitchin',
Momcat

Blankets for Haiti Update

On February 13 Momcat and her BFF Kim participated in the Blankets for Haiti event sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati Project Linus Chapter. 

Here's a report from Momcat:

I wanted to wait until I received all the information from the our Project Linus coordinator. All the stats are now in the newsletter, so I can share them with you.

The event was held in a church.  First we checked in, dropped off our blankets and signed the volunteer form. Then we were put to work.

The first job was to separate three types of blankets:  Fleece created one category, flannel was one category, and quilts intended for local use were the final category.  You can see Kim is the pretty lady in glasses and the pink sweater sorting and folding blankets.

The blankets had to be folded tightly together and placed into green/black lawn and leaf bags. In the picture above you can see a man on the right doing just that.

Once a garbage bag was full, a vacuum cleaner hose was placed in the bag to suck out all the air. In effect, we were shrink-wrapping the bags.  When you're a nine-year-old boy, that's a pretty fun job to have.

Once the bags had the air sucked out they were duct taped and labeled with the number of blankets enclosed and whether they were fleece or flannel.  The lady in the gray sweatshirt is doing that while helping the woman in the scarf to a station.

The bags were then placed in large cartons. Each carton was numbered and then a sheet was created with corresponding numbers indicating contents (3 fleece and 4 flannel = total number of blankets, for instance). That was my job.  Kim was a great sorter and folder so she stayed in that position.

Helpers were all ages and sizes. What a wonderful way for children to help other children. All the blankets stacked and folded on the floor of this picture are from the group of friends I contacted who surpassed my wildest dreams with their generosity.

These bags represent quilts made for the regular chapter drop-off. Even though contributors focused on the Blankets for Haiti project, they still found time to make quilts for our area children in need.

Click here for the link to the full article about the event: March 2010 Project Linus Cincinnati Chapter newsletter.


The chapter committed to 1000 blankets for the cause - - - and collected 1,500!

Shipping cost $680 - - contributors gave $580 and the remaining $100 came from the chapter account.

There were almost 40 volunteers (so many that some of us worked just a little to give someone else a turn).

To all my friends who contributed in some way, whether by making a blanket or simply praying for the project, I humbly give you thanks.

Joyfully,
Linda (and Piwacket)

Stash Report Sunday - March 28, 2010

Any week with a finish is a good week!  Momcat's boss at the quilt shop gave us three fat quarters with a teaching theme. I don't mind reporting something that results from generosity (meaning I didn't buy it). Thanks, Jan!

Used this Week:     0 yards
Used year to Date: 79.1 yards
Added this Week:    .75 yards
Added Year to Date: 33 yards

Net Used for 2010:     46.1 yards

Lots of us are reporting through Judy Laquidara's blog, Patchwork Times. Take a look to see how we're all doing.

 

Licking my paws; are you licking yours?

Piwacket