Today's the day!!

It's Beatrix Potter Day at Collage!
Erin of Eye Candy Designs and I have worked together on this set.

Aren't her paintings marvelous?! I love them!

Be sure to check out the offerings of the other Collage artisans as well. Lots of lovely stuff!



As for what I'm up to right now...bendies, bendies, and more bendies. They should be finished an listed in The Princess Nimble-Thimble Shop in a couple days. Or maybe I'll finish half and get them listed, then finish the other half. Yeah, that sounds more like me.

And, who knows, if I can manage to not be in the kitchen all day maybe I can even get some listed tonight. Hmmmm.... I don't know though. I seem to always be in the kitchen these days. And I need to restart my kombucha brew today as it's on its way to becoming vinegar. I'll do what I can to be speedy in the kitchen though. Maybe I'll skip cleaning up. ;-)

One of these days I'm going to snag a block of time and catch up with all my blogging friends. Bloglines is giving me stress. I have nearly 2000 blog posts to read to catch up. Part of my says "just click *mark as read* and consider yourself caught up!". But then I'm afraid I'll miss something important. Well, I already am missing something important...all my marvelous blogging friends! I will be visiting soon!

Blog Break Over

I know I never officially announced a "blog break" (I never officially planned one, to be honest) but it seems one has occurred. And it's over. Officially.

It's just been so very "February" here lately. Projects that I meant to complete quickly were dragging on. I have been very stuck in the kitchen. We've been eating well but I'm so very over dishes. Cleaning the kitchen just isn't fun anymore (Was it ever?).



This, my friends, is the "dragging on project" I spoke of. Well, one of a few. But certainly the worst offender.

It will be available soon at Collage. It's part of a collaboration I've done with a marvelous painter. And there will be other Peter Rabbit themed items too. I'll let you know when it's happening when I know.



I used two layers of cotton batting inside the quilt and I love how squishy it turned out. Check out the back-



Oh! Any ya know what's really exciting? My new labels!!!

I promise to not be such a stranger. I know I've said that before...but I really mean it this time. Really. :-)

Did you think I had forgotten?

Yes, I'm referring to this. I haven't forgotten. I'm just still in *catch up* mode.

The prize is finished finally. In case you can't tell, it's a tablerunner (12.5" x 41").

I figured there was no sense in officially cutting off eligibility until the prize was finished, right? So, what's today? Thursday. I'll draw a name tomorrow evening (just in case there are some last minute Lucys who can sneak in under the wire). :-)



I also finished a couple small quilts for swaps. This one was for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap. The other- well, I forgot to take a picture in my hurry to get it in the mail. It's similar to the table runner though.

I have several sewing/craft projects in the works at the moment. There will be pictures soon, as I finish each project. Which will, hopefully, be very soon!

Happy New Year's Eve!

The quilt is all finished and is available for preview at Collage. It will be available for purchase at noon eastern time.

I received a new camera for Christmas and was really looking forward to a lot less struggle. So far it hasn't proven to be any easier, though it is a much nicer camera than I had previously (7.2 mega pixels vs 2 mega pixels). It has *so many* settings it makes my head spin. It has settings for splashing water, candlelight, text, faces, etc. Unfortunately it doesn't have a setting labeled "baby quilt" or "fabric".

I've been taking pictures for the past two and a half hours and have finally decided that those I've taken are good enough. There are many more pictures shown in the listing. Do they look ok to you?

It seems the camera has focussed well at the center but it gets sort of blurry toward the edges. Or have I been staring so long I can't see straight anymore?

What are your New Year's Eve plans? We'll be heading over the the in-law's like we do most years. They just live a couple blocks away...very convenient. I'll indulge in my yearly shrimp-fest. Though this year I'll be creating my own low-carb cocktail sauce so I can eat shrimp til I burst with little guilt attached. And, of course, we'll be banging pots and pans outside at midnight. I think I still love doing that as much as the children do!

A Sneak Peek!

We are stocking new items tomorrow at Collage!! Everything will be available for sale at noon (eastern) on New Year's Eve.



I'm not quite finished with my big project so it's not up for preview just yet. But I'll give you a little sneak peek. :-) I just need to stitch the back side of the binding and wash out the markings from quilting. So it'll be up for preview before long.



I've also snuck a few new things into the shop.

I hope you have all had a magical holiday!! I sure did!!

little quilt

The last time I placed an order with the Fat Quarter Shop I picked up the charm pack of this collection since it was on sale. I like this collection because it's Christmasy yet not only good for Christmas, if you know what I mean.

I finished this a couple weeks ago but just now got around to taking a picture. The charm pack only consisted of these 16 squares so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do a simple patchwork and play with freehand fans a la Tonya. I loved it! I just pulled out one of my handy-dandy double-ended water/air soluble markers (I used the purple air soluble end) and drew a couple arches at a time and stitched them. Right up my alley.

I'll definitely be doing this sort of quilting again. I love how it looked after being washed. I have a feeling it might be a bit labor intensive on a quilt larger than 17" square (which this little quilt is) but it was totally fun.

On another note, I've been having such a hard time keeping up with all the blogs I love to visit. I took the plunge and signed up with Bloglines. Wow! What a huge help that is!! Wish I had done that sooner!

Also, thank you, all, so much for all your support regarding my book dream. One day...

More finishes

I finished this little quilt (15" square) the other day. The last of the autumn themed projects. Which makes me a little sad. Autumn is my favorite, you know.



I also whipped up this redwork heart using a free pattern from Angela at The Country Cellar. Thanks, Angela!!

Finally, I need to answer a couple questions left in the comments of my "Socks are not for feet" post (some people do not have "show my email" checked in their blogger profile...hint, hint...and cannot be replied to through email)

Yes, I have more sock dolls coming. :) I only have supplies enough for around 15 more dolls...one or two of most sock options. So if you are hoping for something specific, please email me ( PrincessNimbleThimble AT gmail DOT com ) and let me know. I'll happily make what you need as long as I still have the supplies on hand.

As for bendy dolls: I'm working on some right now. So, same thing. Email me if you would like something specific. Or, if you prefer to choose from an assortment, there will be some available very soon. It will be in the next day or so. I'll definitely be posting here when they're available.

I've also got some business news beans to spill soon! Something exciting is brewing!!

Answering some questions

I thought I'd answer some of questions left in yesterday's comments here since I was unable to reply via email.

Is it hand quilted?

Yes. I only hand quilt.

The first quilt I made (completed, that is. I had a couple of starts before that which are still unfinished) was a gift. I was pleased with the top and was worried about messing up the whole thing with machine quilting. I was afraid I'd end up with a mess of puckers all over the back. Since it wasn't that big, I decided to quilt by hand.

I had been reading Tonya's blog (Leah introduced me to it) and was inspired to try hand quilting without a hoop or frame. I tried it and was instantly hooked. My stitches were more even and smaller and I actually felt in control. And the speed! Oh the speed! I was five times faster without a hoop/frame.

My stitches aren't tiny. But they aren't huge either. I don't even try for tiny, I aim for even and consistent. If they were expertly tiny I wouldn't be able to see them. I like being able to see the stitches. And Tonya really opened my eyes to the fact that I can do whatever I like on my quilts. :-)

And I found that I really, really like the look of hand quilting. So I've never looked back. I hand quilt everything. And I have no desire to even try to get past my machine quilting fears.

Did you actually piece triangles or did you use the method where you sew squares together diagonally and then cut them apart into two triangles that are already sewn together?

I actually pieced triangles.

I've seen the method you're describing in books, but I've never tried it.

I did it the way I did because I had discovered that if you take a 3" square and slice it into 2 triangles, then sew them back into squares, you end up with (almost) a 2.5" square. And I like 2.5" squares. It's weird, but I do. I really like them. That size just seems "right" to me. And I knew I wanted to use 2.5" squares for the centers of the stars.

It did occur to me (after it was too late to turn back) that I could have used triangles for the center squares (2 pieced red triangles for each square) and then I would have had less problems with the triangles matching the squares. And I could have used a shortcut method. But it was too late. Maybe next time ;-)

Triangles

Triangles are harder than squares. Much harder. But, I suppose, one never get good at piecing triangles unless they've first muddled through being stinky at piecing triangles.

I used lots of different fabrics to distract the eye from the not so perfectly matched points. Hopefully my evil plan worked as this is a gift.

This little quiltie is 23.5" square. I just need to stitch the back of the binding and quilt the outermost border.

I've got a couple other things in the works that will be finished soon!

I know, I know...

I haven't blogged in almost a week. But I've been so productive.

First of all, the quilt is finished. It's 46.5" x 54". Machine pieced and hand quilted.

(If you don't remember, this was a group project. Some of my friends who I met through the Amitymama message board worked together with me to make it. It's for one of the children of a beautiful mama whose life was taken by lung cancer. All total there are 8 quilts being made...one for each of her seven children and one for her husband...by volunteers from all over the country. The fabrics for all of the quilts were sent in by members of the message board to one mama who coordinated the whole thing.)

Secondly, my laundry is caught up. Totally. Caught up.

Third, I've been doing soooo much in the kitchen. Baking bread, making granola and a couple batches of apple butter (Although with far less sugar than the recipe called for. Batch #1 got 1.5 cups for a 5qt crock pot full of apples. Batch #2 has no added sugar and is plenty sweet.)

Most of that stuff was either eaten or frozen before a picture could be snapped. So I had to wait until I had something to show, right? Posting without pictures just isn't any fun.

The good news is I'm about to start several small projects: a mini quilt, 2 Annies, and a homespun star garland. So I'll have more fun pictures soon...very soon!

Chipping away at the UFO pile

I've been working on my "finish what you have" basket. I'm happy to say that I'm making progress!

I've been working on quilting this quilt. My friend, Gwen, had started the quilting but was having a hard time making progress with a 5 month old baby and a house in the middle of a remodeling project (imagine that?! LOL!). So I got it back and have been busily stitching on it.

It's hard to see the quilting on the front, so here's a picture of the back.



I've just got that little bit on the left to go and then I can bind it. What color binding would you suggest? I'm thinking either a kelly green or khaki/tan. I'd love ideas/opinions! I'm going shopping for binding fabric either tomorrow or Friday night.

I've also put my "intended for nothing" granny squares together. I'm in the midst of weaving in the loose ends. Then it needs some edging and it's done.



I'm not all that thrilled with it. I don't love all those colors together. I could have done a better job arranging them (that dark green at the bottom should be switched with the light green on the bottom corner, yes?). Not what I would have done if it were a project I had thought through from the beginning.

I just had an urge to make a few grannies when everything else started making them. I never really had a plan for them. Silly, yes?

But it is made with a really soft yarn. I have no idea what to do with it though. Anyone need a somewhat ugly, yet soft, baby blanket?



Isn't Mr. Squirrel cute!? I saw him yesterday (at Target) when I was out doing a bit of shopping. He had to come home with me!

Wanna laugh?

If you have an odd sense of humor (like me!) you might find this incredibly amusing. I don't think it's right for a person to laugh this hard alone so I'm sharing with all of you.

Be sure to click on each album. And there are 3 pages of albums.

Sue is such a bad girl! Hilarious!

Another little quilt and Hitty says "Hi!"

I've finally exhausted my supply of this fabric line so go ahead and sigh in relief. :-)

This little quilt is 23"x23" and is made up of 2" squares.

And now that that's done, I've decided to join Vicki in her quest to Finish What You Have

I've been doing some autumn deep cleaning and rearranging. I've overtaken another hall closet and filled it with sewing stuff (when, oh when, will my sewing room be completed?!?) and I've put away my sewing machine. No more permanent sewing nook in the living room. It just got messy too fast and stayed messy too easily.


While cleaning and putting all that stuff away in its new home I collected all the unfinished projects and corralled them all into my biggest basket. The plan is to devote my efforts to that basket. In it we have:

3 half-finished quilts (at the quilting stage) ONE FINISHED

fabrics set aside for a quilt for Mason (robots and space fabrics!)

a blank EFA doll (body sewn and stuffed)

a collection of granny squares (might just make it a baby blanket and call it done)FINISHED

2 Hitty Club shipments (the dressform kit, dress with bonnet pattern, and her ladderback chair)

a knitted wrap

several tea cozies

3 mini quilts that need embroidery and/or quilting

a crocheted dishcloth FINISHED

and somewhere around here there's a half-finished Annie embroidery that will make it into the basket when I find her.

So that's what I'll be up to in the near future!

Four Seasons Quilt Swap

My package came the other day. :-) I love getting swap mail.

This beauty was made for me by Sheila. And she was so incredibly generous and sent me some extra goodies. I will definitely be using that pattern. And the magazine is wonderful. It's all very much appreciated. Thank you, Sheila!!

I haven't had much time lately for perusing blogs. I miss reading what everyone's up to. But right now I'm in the midst of a big deep cleaning around the house. I'm packing up all the summery stuff and pulling out the autumn decor.

When fall was over last year I packed all my autumn potpourri away in an empty coffee can. I wasn't sure if it would last til this fall but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. Well I was pleasantly surprised to find that it not only looks fine, but it also still smells wonderful.

On today's agenda is cleaning up the little sewing area I've squeezed into the living room. It's gotten a bit out of hand and needs to be reeled in a bit.

I'm on a roll...

I can't believe I finished it already. I've been working on this quilt like a woman possessed, but still...



After laundering (because a quilt isn't finished 'til it's washed and fluffy!) it's 29"x29".

And a close-up because I'm very excited about having used (for the first time) a stencil. There's a feather medallion on the larger gold/floral bits.

I still have a bit of this fabric left. It had already been cut up into 2.5" squares so I've stitched up the leftovers into 4-patch blocks to make a little table-topper quilt.



And you know how I love the backs of quilts? Well this one is *the best*! I used linen for the backing fabric and with as densely quilted as it is (and probably the cotton batting helped too) it came out super quilty-puffy after laundering. I'm giddy over it.



My Four Seasons Swap quilt came!!! I love it! I'll have pictures tomorrow. :-D

I think I'll be deep cleaning and bringing out the fall decor tomorrow. Can't wait!

One project finished, another begun

I know, I just showed this the other day. And it was finished then. But I added a little to it and now it's really finished. Notice that little quilty swirl just above Annie's head. That spot was bothering me. It just needed *something*. NOW it's finished.





The back is completely finished now as well. Label added. Hanging sleeve stitched on. Totally done. It'll be in the mail tomorrow.

Onto the next project...

My plan was to work on quilting the scrappy memorial quilt I'm working on with friends. But my friend, Gwen, was over the other day and took it home with her so she could stitch on it some more. (I think she's hooked on quilting!)



And, well, you know I can't be without a project. So yesterday I whipped up a quilt top from the rest of the charm pack (and a bit of yardage). It's 30"x30". I started quilting last night. And this morning, when I would normally have gone back to bed (after my husband leaves for work), I picked it up and stitched some more.

I think I might be needing a little nap today.

I haven't decided what will become of this little quilt once it's finished. My first thought was to put it up in my Etsy shop. But then I wouldn't be sure that no one wants it (if no one wants it) until fall is about passed. And then it would be too late for me to enjoy it (this year, at least) if I decide to keep it. So I'm thoroughly confused about what to do with it.

Plus I doubt it's possible to price something like that competitively yet fairly for the time it takes to hand-quilt. Hmmmm...it would look lovely on the table I have where the entry and hallway meet.

Hmmm...it's 9:45 and already that nap is looking like a good idea.

My swap quilt

I finished the quilt for the Four Season's Quilt Swap. It's 15" square. I promise, it really is square despite the wonkiness of the picture. Bad camera angle, lazy photographer. You know how it goes. :-)

The quilting proved to be a bit of a challenge. I quilted in the ditch. And it turned out to be a little difficult at the intersection of 8 points. I had to abandon my plan of even, tiny stitches early on as I encountered a bunch of bulk ever inch and a half.

Other than that, I'm pleased with the outcome.



I just have to make the label, which will go in the big blank spot in the center of the back. Then it'll be ready to mail off to its new home.

(See, it really is square)

a quickie progress report

Just passing through to say I'm 2/3 of the way done with this top. Saving the other third for Tara, who likes piecing. Piecing isn't my favorite part so I tend to try to finish it up quickly so I can get to quilting. But I'm restraining myself for Tara's sake. I don't want to hog up every group project. :-)

New Projects

Some new projects have been started in the past few days. The first is a quilt. It's another group project of the local mamas who frequent the message boards at Amitymama. A woman named Patsy who we knew through the boards passed away recently. People sent in fabric squares and others volunteered to make quilts...8 total...one for each of her 7 children and one for her husband. We volunteered to make one of them.


I'm also beginning work on my birthday present, Gail Wilson's Hitty. I'm a bit paranoid starting work on her. I want her to be perfect.

I'd been coveting Hitty for a while now. You know I have a soft spot for dolls who are alive. ;-) I had to get her book to add to my little collection of books about dolls who are alive. An old copy from ebay. A new copy just didn't seem right.


And, finally, I have succumbed to the allure of the Clover Yo-yo Maker. What did me in was the fact that they make one in the size "extra small"!! Oh my gosh, it's the cutest thing ever. The finished yo-yos are just over 1/2" wide. They are totally doll sized. Irresistibly tiny!

Strawberry Quilt Pattern is up!

Click here for the tutorial as .jpg files on Flickr.

Also, take a peek over there on my sidebar. See that? You can now download .pdf files of my patterns directly from my blog. How cool is that!

Oh, I didn't go into detail on how to bind the quilt because there's no way I could improve upon Heather's tutorial.

Enjoy!