June Quilting Accomplishments

Over the last few months I've been debating whether or not to continue my monthly list or to stop doing it. For a while it was a good motivator just to say to myself; HEY, you did get a lot done this month. Lately it just seems showy. Anyone have any thoughts? It's something I was doing for myself but I just don't think it's necessary anymore.

• 2 bottle wraps (which reminds me I have like 15 more to make)
• Bound 3 project linus quilts
• Assembled, quilted and bound (minus the hand sewing to the front) Pampered Pooch #1
• Made a notebook wrap and wonder now what took me so long to make it in the first place.
• Snapshots/Posh wallhanging for our bathroom
• Made blocks for a triple treat baby quilt
• Finished hand sewing the binding on Rosie
• 2 Pampered Pooch Pillow Cases
• Did lots of work on the 2 QOV quilts. Including an insane scrappy back
• Got to see Moneik and shop hopped Minneapolis
• Made 2 camera straps...one leaps and bounds better than the first one
• Took loads of awesome pictures.
• Quilted and bound 2 baby panels for Hannah

Not bad for not feeling too cre8tive most of the month.

Camera Strap

Today before we left for the Brewer Game I decided to quickly make another camera strap. I got it sewn and then turned it in the car. This time I used interfacing so it does have a little extra body. I also made it narrower and a tad longer. When we got home from the game I topstitched the edges and that made an even bigger difference. I LOVE it! It's a great width and everything. I do think that I need to cut the Minkee a little wider because it seems to shift when you try and sew it.

I managed to forget my epi pen at home. Mike had the funniest facebook comment, "What are the odds that we have a kid behind us that not only mows peanuts but then crushes them and stomps on the shells...in Jen world, Vegas wouldn't lay odds on that." I lasted till the 7th inning and the smell was just too much. As soon as I stood up I was light headed, it was definitely time to get out of there.

Has anyone washed one of their quilted purses that have a purse magnet closure? Did you have success? I guess I'm afraid of it rusting and ruining the bag completely.

Woo hoo the Cre8tivity is Back!!

And boy, did I get the stuff done today!! Mom came over to sew, and she worked on a tote bag. I quilted and bound two baby panels to send to Hannah. I also put the binding on Pampered Pooch #1, now I just need to get it hand sewn to the back.

The first one doesn't photograph well. It's very light in colors. The words on it say, "Would you Like to Swing on a Star, carry moonbeams home in a jar." When I was 4 and in ballet that was one of the songs we did at our recital so I just think it's extra cute.

The second one is Humpty Dumpty.

I also worked on a wall hanging for the 4th of July. I thought I could put it on my front door. From the picture, it was super cute and all the pieces looked very much in proportion. But, I noticed when I traced it that certain pieces were really, really big so I cut many of them down before I fused them to the background. The pattern was also hand written and while the author probably thought her hand writing was super cool and trendy looking, it was really hard to read. Tracing the pattern was difficult as well, the pieces were all over the pattern and it was interesting trying to figure out which piece you were really tracing because there were arrows pointing all over. I also noticed a few discrepancies between what I was tracing and what the photograph on the cover looked like so it was difficult to assemble the bike. By the time I finally got it all ironed down I was pretty disenchanted by the whole project. I opted to just cross hatch the entire thing and skip sewing around each piece. The pieces themselves were too wonky. It's cute, but I'm glad I just need to bind it and attach a hanging sleeve to call it finished. Everything except for the blue background and the backing was pulled from my scrap bins!

A Super Clean and Organized Quilt Studio

Wooo hooo!! It's done. I no longer have to cre8te in squallar. While I folded fabric and organized a few drawers to make room for projects, Mom and Jen sorted my scraps into my bins for me. We ended up with a giant box for Sherry too. Local Friends of Mine...if you're in need of scraps, stop by and grab what you want out of my bins. I don't think I'm destined to be a scrap quilter but I'm more than happy to provide you all with them!!! But the idea of just getting rid of them all gives me hives. I mean, that's 11 years of quilts. Those fabrics have memories. And well, I'll probably only use about 1% of them with applique!!

I've got to get sewing cause my stash has grown a little out of control!!

I owe my mom and Jen big time for helping me get my studio sorted out. If it wern't for them I'd still be sitting here overwhelmed and just looking at the mess unable to move!

Our Topsy Turvy Tomato Plants seem to be doing really well. They've grown quite a bit over this last week.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Last week at some point I made a camera strap cover. I've been checking them out online. The first one I just did out of a 2-1/2" strip. Now that it's on my strap I know I need change a few dimensions, add some interfacing and try again. I have a few fabrics picked out so I'm sure sometime tomorrow I'll be making a really nice one.

ETPWP & Other Weekly Musings

On Thursday night Jen came over and quilted a quilt for her niece. She used the Glow in the Dark thread. Next thing we knew, Mom, Jen & I were all in my closet watching it glow. Boy, we're really an easily amused group of people.

While Jen quilted, I worked on my Quilt Studio. Yikes, it really got out of hand. Before retreat I didn't have time to straighten it up because I was so busy getting last minute things made for my peeps. When I came back from retreat I pretty much dumped my stuff on the floor and that was it. I haven't done much sewing since and when I did, I just pushed things to the side until I had enough room. I've been having a rough time at work lately; nothing I seem to do or say seems to be right and it's been stressing me out beyond belief. By the time I get home I just come in the door and plop on the couch and that's it, I don't have the energy to deal with anything else. More stuff just gets dropped on the floor of the sewing room.

Horror of Horrors, this is what it started out looking like.

Tomorrow, you'll see the afters!!

At ETPWP, Linda finished a quilt top.

I trimmed and bound Jen's Quilt (A start to finish point for me), and then I worked on the backing for the two QOV. Seriously the scrappy backing is just too much for me to handle. I'm trying, really I am!!

Angry White Woman AKA Sherry was on a roll. She was giving me crap about my scrappy backing that I was only trying to do as a challenge because I have a really hard time with scraps. Well, my problem was that I was trying to organize them instead of just grabbing. It was the funniest thing ever. Sherry kept trying to re-organize what I was doing just to make it random. Giggle. At least I used some scraps! I mean really after all I did use about 7 yards of scraps, isn't that GOOD ENOUGH for one outing??

Angry White Woman also threw down the gauntlet on another matter of business. Our friend Maureen is spending a lot of time dwelling and replaying events of the past of her Ex Husband. AWW decided to charge her $1.00 for each time she mentions his name or refers to him. All proceeds go to the American Heart Association. Maureen didn't seem to thrilled with us but we're hoping this helps her move on. She needs it. She deserves to be happy. Muah ha ha, and we even got her Mom on board. So currently, the only place she can speak of him would be work. But, I do know that a co-worker of hers only lives a few doors down...I could wander on over and tell her the plan. Giggle. Maureen...don't give me a reason to do that!!!!

Also this week, we welcome baby Hannah to the Family. She is my cousin Sean and his wife Henriette's daughter.

Look at that...it's a very happy Grandma Karen!!

Oh Crap! I think I better get those baby quilts made!!!

Como Zoo

The whole group of us went to Como Zoo.  That was such a cool zoo!!  I can’t believe that in all the times I’ve been up to Minnesota that I’ve never been to the Como Zoo.  I LOVED how their animal exhibits are set up so that you can view from multiple levels – some indoors and outdoors. 

I fell in love with the Gorilla.  We used to have a gorilla at the zoo here in Milwaukee but he died back in 1981 and yet I remember him clear as day.  My mom can remember seeing him when she was a kid and being there once when he freaked out and broke the glass.

Of course, this trip to the zoo had me loving my zoom lens.  Now it makes me want to go to our zoo that much more! 

   

Brrrrrrrr

Apparently, Mom and Jen were a little cold at Claim Jumpers..... So cold that they covered up with Pokey Little Puppy Golden Book Panel.

Minneapolis Quilt Shop Hopping

The first shop that we stopped at was Eagle Creek Quilt Shop in Shakopee, MN. It’s worth clicking the link above because they have a great slide show of their shop. They had quite a few different bags and aprons made out of oil cloth. I found them to be fresh and fun so I bought a few cuts to make a few things for myself and my mom. It was nice to see some of the Blue Underground Studios patterns made up in fabrics other than Kaffe and Batiks.

I’m not sure who will get the Duck, Duck, Goose panel but boy it was too cute to leave there.

Our second shop was Heavenly Patchwork in Waconia, MN which we found to be not so heavenly. This would be where I got attacked. I had some things that I was going to purchase but after that happened, I decided that they just didn’t need my money. I stepped back to just take a shot of the shop to say hey, I’ve been here on my blog. I wasn’t even thinking about it really. The owner came rushing up to me, started yelling at me – how dare I take a picture in her shop. Like I said, I wasn’t even really thinking about it. I wasn’t doing a close up shot of anything, not trying to ‘steal’ anything as she accused. This whole time she was yelling at me she was maybe 6 inches from my face. I just stood there open mouthed in shock and don’t think I said much of anything. Had my camera strap not been wrapped around my wrist twice, I really think she would have ripped it out of my hands. The whole thing that’s got me going nuts is just the way that she went about it. To stand in the middle of your shop screaming at someone? Then she walked over to her employee and continued to complain about how dare I. Oh well, her loss. I sure won’t be back and I’ll be sure to tell anyone going to that area not to bother stopping. I’m sure that’s more damaging then me snapping a picture to remember her shop by…believe me her shop is now engrained in my memory, I don’t need a picture!!

The third shop was The Sampler in Chanhassen, MN. They had a lot of Kaffe Fabrics. I was able to get an additional piece to go with the Mini Miranda day bag that has been in the works for quite a while now. I’ll be able to make a few additional things that match. Their shop was located in a smaller strip mall that had an overhang. In their windows they had curtains in many different types of Kaffe. It looked pretty cool – definitely something they can do because the fabrics won’t get bleached out by the sun. Moneik spied this piece of Giraffe fabric that we figured would be perfect for the Giraffe pattern that she purchased. I had to get some too. Oh and another shop with oil cloth. This time a Michael Miller one. I bought a little extra because I have a sneaking suspicion that Chelsy is going to want something made out of it as well!!

We hit three more stores on Sunday. The first one was Joann Fabrics. I’ve been looking at this tool tote for some time now and I finally just decided to buy it. My tools always seem to be everywhere in my sewing room. At least with a tote like this I can put the tote on the floor and off of my work surfaces.

Next up was Quilter’s Haven in Rosemount, MN. It was a cute shop. They had a lot of nice things but their set up was a bit confusing. They had lots of quilts on the walls that said, “Kit Available” but it was sooo hard to find the kits. They were just spread throughout the shop randomly. I was able to find the Minkee that I was on the lookout for all weekend. I want to make some camera straps for myself and Minkee will be nice on the back of the straps. I found a few tutorials online as well as a slew of them on Etsy but man, the ones on Etsy go for like $38!! It’s just a tube! I just bought basics – Black, Pink & White.

While we were in this shop, the employees were arguing with a customer rather loudly. It made all of us cringe. It wasn’t a big enough shop for an argument like that. Yikes! Seriously, why do *I* end up in all the nutty shops?

Our sixth and final shop was by far the best out of all the ones we visited. Quilt Cove in Eagan, MN. It was huge. There was fabric everywhere. There were samples and kits everywhere. Moneik and I decided to split a pack of these Magic Bobbin Washers since we don’t know of anyone else who has tried them. And the pink and lime batiks…OMG I fell in love with them and had to own them. The two in the back I wasn’t going to get at first…then the more I walked around I decided that I’d be rather sad if I didn’t have them when I got home.

I’m very glad that Sarah Jean suggested this shop to us. I will definitely make a trip back to this one sometime in the future. The shop owner took time to chat with us and really made us feel welcome. I also thought it was cool that she featured non-traditional sewing notions. Sort of along the lines of how I use a hair dye bottle to fill my iron, highlighting wants to clean the lint out of my machine – things like that.

Twins Vs. Astros at the HHH Dome

Gosh, I didn’t even know who to cheer for! I mean sure it’s the Twins home but I’ve never cheered for the Twins or the Astros since they play against the Brewers.

To get to the game we went via light rail. Light Rail is something that’s been talked about from time to time that they’d like to do in the Milwaukee area. I’ve got to admit, I found it pretty cool. And I found it cool that I got a blurred action shot to work…in the dark no less!!! Woot!

To me, the inside of the Metrodome seemed much smaller than Miller park. It just seemed tiny. But, once I checked out some of the facts, it actually does hold more people for baseball games. Metrodome – 48,000 and Miller Park – 41,900.

I found it interesting that in the Metrodome the home teams dug out is on the third base side. At Miller Park, the home teams dug out is on the first base side. I guess I’ve just always assumed it was a standard kind of thing.

It shocked me that they don’t have what I always thought was a standard bullpen area. Even in County Stadium we had bullpens that were off of the field.

Most amazing to me was trying to figure out how much fabric was on the inside of the roof. Which I’ll have you know is 800,000 square feet.

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Zumbrota Covered Bridge

I think finding this covered bridge was meant to be. I drove via a different highway than I have in the past. When I stopped to get gas, I saw a little sign that talked about a Covered Bridge festival that weekend. I quickly did a Google search via my phone and found that the covered bridge was only about a mile from me. Talk about meant to be!!

Here’s a few of my favorite pictures:

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Minnesota Trip – Short Version

I want to go into more detail but I thought I’d give a quick overview of my awesome adventure and go into more details over the next few days.

I left on Friday morning and punched my destination into my GPS not giving it another thought. Which just goes to show you that just because you throw an address into a GPS, you can’t expect it to send you the way that you’ve gone in the past!! I couldn’t come up with the number of trips I’ve made to Minneapolis over the years so it’s not like I NEEDED the GPS to get to the general area. Sigh. My GPS took me a different way. It was a longer trip but man oh man, it gave me an awesome photography opportunity. A COVERED BRIDGE!!!

I also saw a few other interesting things…like a duck on a car antenna.

A slick looking Oldsmobile.

Took in a Twins Game.

Visited 6 different quilt shop including the RUDEST QUILT SHOP ON THE PLANET where the owner rendered me completely speechless and scared the living shit out of me. I opted to put down the items I was going to purchase because of it. But, the incident was a source of comedy through the rest of the weekend.

Met Moneik’s most awesome family who graciously let me stay with them. Was actually the oldest “cousin” when we went out to the bar….when I’ll always be the youngest when out with my own cousins!!

Went to the Como Zoo and saw this awesome Gorilla….whose manners were more mild than the Quilt Shop owner mentioned above.

Had a fantastic dinner of Steak, Shrimp, Catfish & Potatoes.

Stopped to stretch my legs in Wisconsin Dells and decided it’s been way too long since we’ve been there.

Now I’m home. Happy to be home, but sad to leave after having such a great time with Moneik!!