On the Design Wall....

...from a stack of triangles to a rainbow of diamond batiks!

It think it took me longer to get these all laid out on the design wall!

(I finally had to stop moving squares around, as you can keep that up forever...LOL!)

This week will find me enjoying some after work sewing as I get these rows sewn together.

This will  finish as a 45" x 72" lap size quilt that I have very special plans for... 

Hope your week is off to a good start as well.

Andddd....

November's themes are posted on my sidebar.

A New Quilt is Started...

No rain today, but I did enjoy some Saturday sewing.

I always find it interesting when a quilt is at this beginning stage. It kinda amazes me that a simple stack of triangles is going to transform into a wonderful lap quilt very soon.

Stay tuned for more...as this WIP finds me working with a genre of fabric I hardly ever work with.

I plan to iron these open tonight as we watch a movie. As for now, the afternoon is just too beautiful to be indoors anymore. Off for a Fall walk with my boy.

PS: November's Tuesday Archives themes are posted on my side bar.

Friday Funny

"Mom are you going to sew today??"

Not today buddy...but definietly this weekend...especially because it's going to be raining.

I love rainy day sewing and can't wait for the weekend to begin!

Happy Mail Ideas???

Hmmmm....over the past years I've belonged to a variety of quilty mail order

clubs or BOM.  I belonged to a fat quarter "club" were I was sent a set of yummy fabric each month. (This was a wonderful way to build my stash.) I did a wool sampler of the month and I completed My Garden Party appliqued quilt through a BOM club. Now, well who doesn't really, but I loved coming home to my package of "happy mail" and I miss it. Yet, nothing has caught my eye lately. .

So with that said...what kind of "happy mail" do you enjoy? Have you found a new BOM/Club out there you are enjoying? I'd love to join ya.  Please comment to share your ideas. THANKS!!

(PS: I usually keep this around a budget of $30.00 each month.)

PS: Speaking of Happy Mail....I found out this morning I won a cute give-away at Homespun Hannah's Blog. Click here to check out the adorable needle book coming my way. Thanks Hannah.

Also, click HERE to check out this week's variety of cute HALLOWEEN posts.

Tuesday Archives #134: Halloween

Welcome to the linky party that rejuvenates your old quilting/sewing posts! 

Please click here to read more about this linky party.  

This week's theme is: HALLOWEEN! 

But first, a BIG congratulations to our  Tuesday Archives Give-Away winner: 

Bernie who blogs at Needle and Foot. Watch your inbox for an email requesting your snail mail address so I can send you a  little Mary Engelbreit happy mail.

Also...thank you to everyone for commenting and sharing new Tuesday Archive theme ideas. 

I was able to add thirteen new themes to my little notebook of idea.

Speaking of happy...have you by chance visited Lyndsey's Eerie Nights Blog Hop post??

She has some cute Halloween projects including some adorable mug rugs and this fun tablerunner:

Like Lyndsey, we used to decorate and enjoy all the festivities of Halloween here at home while our girls were young. Now I enjoy decorating our home for Fall and don't mind the simplicity of keeping the festivities of Halloween in the classroom with my Second Graders.

Click the picture below to check out past Tuesday Archives Themes:

Wool Stitching...

Good Morning! 

To join everyone at Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, I'm going to finish this little wool candle mat that I've been working on this week as part of Carole's Autumn Jubilee Event. 

I just have to add the recommended buttons. 

Have you seen any of the Wooly Block Adventure kits popping up in your local quilt stores??

I've been able to pick up three over the past couple of weeks and plan to get these cut and pinned today. That way I'll have some cute wool stitching to look forward to during my weekday evenings.

Jackson and I will get our Sunday walk in. There's always laundry and meal planning to be done. But other than that, a quiet Sunday lies ahead for me. For now, I'm going to grab a fresh cup of coffee, toast myself a yummy bagel and check in to see what all of you are up to...

This week's coming theme: HALLOWEEN!

Flannel Heart Finish

My flannel heart quilt is done just in time for the beautiful Fall weather we are having.

It's the perfect lap size, measuring 42"x 68".

You can get a peek at it's cute polka-dotted backing and binding by clicking right here.

I quilted it using a whimsical heart pantograph and you can click here to see that stage.

 I  LOVE the Sew Purrfect Flannel/Woolies Flannel Fabrics I used by Bonnie Sullivan. This will be the perfect couch quilt for little ol' me and I'm looking forward to using it A LOT.

Well, me and Jackson I should say. I think he's ready for me to take it inside so he can break it in!

This is certainly a Happy Friday Finish I've been looking forward to posting and putting to use.

Rebuilding my "follower" list...

Every now and then, while it seems no one else has trouble sleeping...

...I find myself tip toeing down the stairs in my bathrobe much earlier than usual...simply ready to greet the day before it has even begun. I fix myself a warm cup of tea, light the fire and enjoy the solitude of my little desk corner. I blog. I read. I create lists of projects and ideas. I be.

This early morning however, I find myself rebuilding and adding you all back to my list of quilty friends on my sidebar, as I don't know if it's happened to any of you, but blogger LOST my entire list of blogs that I follow on my sidebar! One day, they were....just GONE! 

In the three in half years I have been blogging, it's interesting to sit here as I rebuild my list and notice those who have discontinued their blogs, those of you who are my "virtual quilting guild" is and which blogs I simply like to follow from the sidelines.

Since my blog is my only form of "social networking", I like my follower list here. I like checking in with everyone each morning and afternoon. This quilt blog is my creative motivation/outlet. I'm inspired to do better work and get things done knowing I have you to share my projects with. So thank you for following and being part of my quilty adventure. If you don't see your blog on my sidebar....please, please do let me know, as I'm pretty much rebuilding  using from my snail mail list of bloggy friends, comments, and my blogger reading list. 

Tuesday Archives #133: Pumpkins

Welcome to the linky party that rejuvenates your old quilting/sewing posts! 

Please click here to read more about this linky party.  

This week's theme is: PUMPKINS!

Welcome to my home....well, at least this is "how" you'd be welcomed if you came to my side door.

And, yes, Jackson greets everyone who knocks. I only wish is was in this calm friendly matter captured below, but admittedly it's in his over enthusiastic Jack Russell bark and jump up and down style. It seriously took me treats, about ten pictures and a ton of patience from both of us to get him to sit on that darn step! (LOL!) 

 Fall is my favorite season to decorate the home for and I'm lucky to have a students who's family grows pumpkins and the kids sell them very inexpensively compared to the $5.00 each at local stores.

The load up my car with an assortment of their choice and enjoy the reward of earning money.

Jackson was probably grateful I didn't make him "poise" for this picture!

A Tiny House Tour

I know many you would agree, it's hard to resist being outdoors on a beautiful Fall afternoon.

 Yesterday found my husband and I doing just that as we adventured into Boise to spend the afternoon strolling through it's historical North End neighborhood touring it's tiny houses. These homes date back to the early 1900's and are all under 1,000 square feet. We can never resist the opportunity to walk through other peoples homes especially as these homeowners so graciously opened up their living spaces for us to do just that! (*The proceeds go to the Boise High School Orchestra program.)

This garden cottage pictured above was built in 1935 and is ONLY 380 square feet! The pamphlet said that this structure was at one time a catalogue house from Sears and Roebuck. It was full of charm and detail! This is her bedroom. (Just she and her dog live here) I kept wishing she had a quilt.

Her "sewing" room...

Tiny right!!

A view of it from the outside:

I liked how cozy her windows were made to look:

 Okay, now is this not THE most creative chicken coop you've even seen!?
Her garden was just a wonderland.

As we continued our tour admiring many houses along the way...

...we discussed and were inspired by the simplicity of living and found ourselves planning our own de-clutter of things that are worn out, never used, and no longer have a purpose in our own home.

I liked that this homes owner's hobby is wine collecting. They even had a wine bible!

As I turned the corner in this tiny house and ventured through that white door you see below, it made me smile to see an old quilt adding warmth and charm to this tiny bedroom.

Straight from what we watch on TV, measuring only 240 square feet, 

sitting on top of a 20-foot trailer...a Mouse House. Uhhhhhh...

 ...no thank you! LOL! No can do. "Your long-arm wouldn't even fit in here Val."

(Don't ya love a husband who has your quilting on his mind!)

So much charm and inspiration was tucked into each home. This next homeowner was a potter. (Ugh...as many you read...a craft not exactly in my future) But never the less, she created those adorable kitchen tiles, and handmade cabinet knobs. Pottery filled her home is useful ways that inspired me to think of my own quilting in an entirely different way. 

For as we continued our tour of their home, her pottery was used everywhere, evident in the table tray on this little dresser picture below. I was inspired by the idea to expand my quilting from bed quilts to creating more projects...something I realize I've never really done. To see the simplicity of one's hobby displayed in a practical way throughout the home added charm and personality. Between my husband's stained-glass and my quilting, we could do this too.

Our tour ended with us enjoying an outdoor lunch and well, thank you for taking this little walking tour with me. I hope you too found a bit of inspiration, as I always enjoy sharing mine with you.  

Cheers!