OCTOPUS ...........

For those of you new to my blog, this pattern is by ME.....and I love it...so fun to put together. Now on to quilting it, no backing fabric...pooey....means I have to go to the fabric store.....hummmmm what a way to spend Saturday!

SINCE I AM GLUED TO THE TV, I DECIDED TO DO THIS.....

I like most of you are probably glued to the TV and watching the destruction of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan and was watching to see how it effected the US soil. I know we all are concerned and sending prayers their way...

So...I decided that I am not much good to do anything else so I am going to stitch this...I am going to use a stabilizer but going to use batting, then I will cut the batting around the octopus to give it some dimension...



After all that cutting and ironing with the Be Attitudes quilt, I decided that I needed some meandering time...so last night I meandered this quilt and had the binding almost on but kept making mistakes so I quit and finished the binding this morning.

AND.......HERE IS THE REST OF THE STORY!!!

This is my room today......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh




Because I am done with the prep work for two Be Attitudes Quilts....just need to do the stitching and embelishing and I will do that at my leisure....(now maybe I can catch up to Cindy and Betsy)

ahhhhhh



Nothing does a soul better than good friends and a clean room....thanks for dropping by....

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

My husband and didn't realize we had collected so many shells while living in Amerika Samoa....

Got this glass container from Hobby Lobby for half off....what do you think?





Having quilts being used all the time in the living room, well it is a pain to take up stairs and then where is the quilt when you need it???

So this is our end tables (there are two).....I just fold the quilts up and put them under the table? So what do you think?



Right now I think I should get off my laurels and get busy.....

CREATIVITY AT WORK - MY WORK SPACE TODAY!

This is what my work space looks like lately. OINK!!! OINK!!!
I have been doing alot of applique. You can see what I am up to on the ironing board.

I did notice this morning when I got up that my husband had been in my space. You see that basket by the sewing machine with all of the lettering in it....that was dumped over. Then I have a little pin cushion with the trash bag hooked on to it, well...it was on the floor.

I would get on to him but I have made it difficult for him to access the computer...it is in front of the chair. Well...it is my space and my computer...I don't mind sharing but really!!!

Great work space, I can cut, draw, and iron without having to get up.....saves time.




I am sure you noticed all the bags below the ironing board. I finally seperated all of my scraps into colors. All I had were these zip bags....Hey, it works...

Ran out of my plastic zip bags and used a plastic bag....and two plastic bins. The browns and blacks are together...hey, we can all get along.

I must say that having the scraps organized by color (okay...thrown in by color) that is save alot of time and saves on the mess (oh...I can see you laughing....you say mess...trust me, there could be an even bigger mess here).

I truly can not wait to get all of this applique done so I can clean the space. I can only take it for so long then it has to go....get cleaned up....taken care of....

I really did enjoy all of your comments about the stabilizer, I think while I do my appliquing that I will try out different stabilizers....most of them will be cheap....like what I can find around the house....Cheap....yep, you don't know the half of it.

OLD DOGS CAN LEARN NEW TRICKS!!

So the other day I was watching Ricky Tims on "The Quilt Show", he was demonstrating the Rhapsody quilting. During this session he mentioned that he uses stabilizer behind his applique. One thing I did not realize until watching his show was that he blanket stitches around his pieces in his Rhapsody Quilts.



WHAT!!! SCREEEEEECH!!!! That is me putting the stompers on the breaks. Smell the fumes?



Let's rewind that....



STABILIZER BEHIND APPLIQUE!!!!



Did I hear that right? Never heard that concept. So...I did a little testing myself.







Which one do you think has the stabilizer behind it....oh yes...don't mind the stitches...so I am not perfect....we all know that...let's go on to more important things.... Which one is stabilized and which one is not.



Do you really think it makes a difference? do you think that it is just a waste of time and money? Do you stabilize? So many questions....I need answers!!!

On Allpeoplequilts it says " What's the secret of smooth applique pieces? Using Stabilizer! Place stabilizer beneath the foundation fabric before you begin to applique. This will prevent unsightly puckers that pull at the foundation. Stabilizer is used beneath applique foundations to add support and eliminate puckers and pulling on fabric as you machine-applique. "

I DID NOT KNOW THIS!!!! WHERE HAVE I BEEN???? IF YOU ARE LAUGHING AT MY IGNORANCE, THAT IS OKAY.....IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLANKET STITCH WORLD, I AM SAVING YOU THE EMBARASSEMENT OF NOT KNOWING. I don't think Alex Anderson knows this, she said she doesn't stablize. Sheweee, so I am not the only one...


This turtle was stabilized.....





I have been self taught, I don't mind learning new techniques.

My thoughts on this are.....

It does make the process go alot smoother, no puckering, easier to control the fabrics and in the case of the turtle, it gave it a more polished look.

So you decide?

Then I got to thinking, people put stabilizers behind their embroidery, whether is machine or hand...so why not applique?

Let me know what ya think!!

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Do you remember in school when the teacher would go SHHHHHHHH...be quiet....

Oh...I hated that because it just made me want to talk.

So...I thought I would give you all a break and only blog every other day or so....but apparently this big mouth (typing fingers)....(brain that won't shut up)....can't do it...I just can't.... You did get a few days off...HA!! It is like telling me that I can't have that snickers candy bar...the more you say I can't have it, the more this oinker has to have it and will have it....HA!!!

What a fun fun day I had. I met Becky from Sarcastic Quilter at JoAnn's at eleven today....

We had the best time....oh...which reminds me I forgot to take a picture of the fabric I purchased...(bad girl)....anyways....I met her there and was helping her pick out fabric for this quilt along she is hosting..... Well...she side swiped me with these fabrics for half off (I think she just wanted me out of her way so she could chose and not have my big input...once again, can't keep quiet!) So while I was detained picking out fabrics she got her quilt along fabric. Win win...

Then we went to Panera's and had lunch...well...it was one before we got there and we didn't leave until 3:30.....

She is just as cute as the dickens, fun, interesting, and well....she is just down to earth and a country gal. I like to think of myself as island country....ha!!

So while I was sitting on the sidelines trying to be quiet...I made a towel and pot holder....This is by far my most favorite fabrics....



Here is a sneak peak of what I am also doing. I am making two of the same quilt...so 12 blocks and 12 more to go....lots of applique will be involved.




If you have read my blog enough, then you know that I love Thimbleberries (I know tired of hearing it...yawn...yawn)....well....

I won this book over at JulieKQuilts. I was so excited to receive it. It was wrapped (sorry, no picture, I just ripped right into it) and it came with the sweetest note. Thanks so much Julie, this book will be well used.




Then I won these note cards over at Happy Quilting. Thanks so much Melissa, if anyone knows me they know I am soooo cheap, I rarely buy note cards or wrapping paper. It has to be on sale...otherwise, you just might get a string tied around your gift...sorry...just the way I am...

We just need two more comments to have an item added to my giveaway, will pick a winner tomorrow.