Lot's To Share!

Lot's to share today!! Waaa hoooo!! :) 

I don't usually consider myself lucky, well, not when it comes to winning things. That is, until recently!!

A good blogger friend of mine, Traceyjay Quilts, had posted her 100th post and she was doing a giveaway to celebrate it. She had lined up a bunch of different fabrics and said the first person to tell me 10 of the collections, wins it! She had posted it quite a while before I had happened upon it but as I was looking at the fabrics, I started saying the lines in my head. I was pretty excited since I am fairly new to all of this modern world of fabric. I started making a list. When I was done I think I had 12 or 13 and sent her the email for kicks and giggles. Wouldn't you know....I got an email back from her telling me I won??!!! Thank you Tracey, for such a great giveaway and those yummy fabrics!! I'm pretty sure they are going in dresdens!! However, I need to know the lines I missed so I can get more...LOL :)

Another giveaway that I entered was over at TulaPink.com. Amazing designer and a sweetie to boot! She has 6 lines that she has designed for Moda and she has been hosting a giveaway of a Jelly Roll in each of those lines. So, every Friday, she'd draw a name and announce the winner. Every Friday I was happy for the winner but a wee bit disappointed it wasn't me...lol. Then on June 4th I was going through my blog roll and came to hers. I had totally forgotten it was Friday. I though, "hmm..I wonder what Tula is up to today" and clicked her link. 

Here's how it went down:

Link clicked.

I saw my name and thought "huh?"....

Saw the words "winner" and "Full Moon Forest" in the same sentance...

I nearly peed!!! 

I think I even screamed while I was dancing in my living room. 

My kid comes out of her room and asks me if I'm ok. 

I nod, because I still can't speak...

She rolls her eyes and goes back in her room.

I check the site again and hit refresh to make sure I wasn't seeing things...

Yep...my name. But there has to be more than one KarrieLyne, right? (duh..no way...lol)

I clicked on the hyperlink to be sure it went to my site. 

Yep. I squealed again!! :D 

Then I typed a ridiculously dorky comment saying thank you and "please don't tell Julie"...LOL.  You see, Julie is THE biggest Tula Pink fan E. V. E. R. I love Julie to pieces but I think I said that because I just wanted one little piece of FMF, but in all reality, I'd hand it over to her in a heartbeat if she asked me. :)

I got my package today!! I squealed when I saw the Tula Pink Label and then I turned it around and saw this! Awwwww..... :) 

Isn't it grand!? I think I will just sit here and hold it and stare at it for a while. :) 

Thank you Miss Tula. Really! You are so generous! I {heart} it. A Lot! ;)

Last thing...two sneak peeks of the quilt I'm working on for the ALQS4 .... 

This is the back....

And this is the front.....

How are yours coming along? Hm? :) 

Much Love!!!

Tidbit Tuesday #6

Eeeeps!! I usually try to have this posted the night before and schedule the post for early morning and I totally forgot!! Oops! 

Please excuse the photos. It was a really dreary day here today with all the rain and such. 

This is just a simple tip that I learned long ago and anyone can use it, even if you don't sew! If you have an iron, this will be for you! 

Ever do applique with freezer paper or fusible webbing? Ever get some of that sticky mess on your iron and wonder how you're going to get it off with out having to spend $10 for iron cleaner? Or do you just have a dirty iron? Well here ya go! 

Gather your supplies: Dirty iron (mine is new so it's not too dirty), a dryer sheet, and a clothes pin. Turn ON your iron, but no steam.

 

Smoosh up the dryer sheet and clip it with the clothes pin (or something of the like). This is so you don't burn your fingers!

Now scrub your hot iron with it! Get in all those nooks and crannies. If the dryer sheet gets too dirty, let it cool for a minute and just re-smoosh it and clip it again to a clean spot and repeat.

Once it's all clean, run your iron over your ironing board or even a towel to wipe off the dryer sheet stuff on your iron. As you were cleaning you should have noticed a liquidy substance on your iron from the dryer sheet. This is what you want to wipe off on the towel. It glides nice now, huh? :D

See!? It gets the gunk off! Mine was not too dirty because I just bought it but I think it works pretty slick!

Give it a go and let me know! Wow, I'm a poet and didn't even know it! Booooo I know! LOL 

Remember, if you have a tip you'd like me to share here, shoot me an email! (addy is in my profile)

Much Love!!!

Flying By The Seat Of My Pants

Mail does not come on Sundays, but it sure did for me yesterday!!! 

Lemme explain...

I was sitting on my couch (instead of cleaning my house) and I got an email titled Modified Tradition. I was worried and excited in the same moment because that is a swap that I'm in. When I opened the email I immediately became all giddy! My swap partner, the one that was making me my quilt, said she only lived about 30 miles away from me and she wondered if we could meet so she could give it to me!

How could I not say yes? I was truly excited to meet a fellow quilter that lived so close! So we ended up meeting somewhere in the middle at Starbucks and gabbed for almost 3 hours!! You never know when you meet someone new how it will go but I can say without a doubt, I am so glad we met. 

Sandi of Piecemeal Quilts is so sweet and she is an amazing quilter!! Just look what she made for me....yes...all for me!! :) The title of this post is also the name of this quilt due to the "flying geese" and the "seats" in the tufted tweets fabric! I just love it!!

Isn't it gorgeous!!?? It is so much fun to receive things in the mail when you're not expecting them, but to actually receive them in person is sooo much better! Not only is she an amazing quilter, she is so fun to talk to! We talked about quilting, and books, even our favourite movies (giggles)! My son was with me and on the way home I thanked him for being so good and you know what he said? He said, "The time went really fast mom!" I replied, "why is that?". He says, "Mom, she was really fun!". Awwww....I love that kid! He truly did have a good time. 

That's not all. She even invited me to sew with her "crew"...lol. I'm a complete stranger and I was invited to spend time with her and her friends and family to quilt and just have a good time once a month. I can't wait until Saturday to meet everyone!

Sandi, thank you again for such a beautfiul quilt and your friendship! See you Saturday!! :D 

Much Love!!!

Bee Splendid Sign Ups!

*** Sign Ups are CLOSED*** 

Hello and welcome to the Bee Splendid quilting bee sign ups!! 

As promised, here are the details and specifics. I need 15 people for a complete bee, that will be 16 including myself. If I get enough people to sign up, I will coordinate two. If there are not 15 people interested, we will see what we can work out. :) 

Not sure exactly what a "bee" is? A bee is a group of participants where each month one participant is the "host". As a host you will select a block that you want everyone in the bee to make for you. Then you will choose the fabrics you want your blocks made in, divide and send the fabrics to each of the other participants so they can make your block. Once they are done, they send it back to you for you to have a complete quilt top!! This is great for those blocks that you really love, but maybe you don't want to make all the blocks yourself.  That doesn't mean it has to be that way, as you can choose whatever you want. Just be sure that the block you choose, you wouldn't mind making yourself. 

This site has a lot of great information on quilting bees too. --> Quilting Bee Blocks

 Ok, here is what I was thinking:

• This bee will last for 16 months. Each participant will be assigned a month. Please indicate on the below form if you have a preference or if there is a month you do not want.  We will skip December since it is usually a busy month for us all.
• When it is your month to host, you will advise if you want one or two blocks to be made by the other bee members. 
• Once you decide how many blocks you want us all to make, and which block you want us to make,  you will need to send enough fabric to each participant to make those blocks for you and indicate if you want your scraps back or if the bee members can keep them. 
• As the bee Host you will pay postage to send the fabrics.
• As the participants, you will pay the cost to mail the blocks back to the host. 
• Deadlines and such will be set up once the group is formed.
• I have created a Flickr group where we will have all communication for this Bee.
• I would prefer participants that have active flickr accounts and/or blogs. Only because this is a long commitment and I want to make sure everyone is included and all blocks for each person are received. I want to make sure we have active sewers participating. :)

I am also thinking that we could start in July. Any volunteers for July would be great!! :)

If you want to join, please fill out the below form and we'll get this party started!! :)

Bee Splendid quilting bee sign ups form. 

Much Love!!!

Would Ya?

I was thinking. Dangerous. I know. Still, I was thinking.....

....of starting a bee. A quilting bee, that is. :)

I was leaning towards a modern bee, but you will get to choose your own block and send your own fabric, so I'm not so sure it has to be modern since it will be YOUR quilt. You should be able to choose what ever you want, but in the same regard, you will have to be willing to make what the others want too. :)

What do you think? Interested?

Yes? Super!! Leave me a comment so I can see if there would be enough interest.

This is not a sign up, so no commitments yet...I'm just trying to see if there would be interest. If there is enough (at least 15 people) I will have sign ups on Sunday, June 6th!

Please let me know also, if you are in the states or international. :)

Much Love!!!

How I Missed You

You don't always realize how much you missed something until you get it back.

I felt that today when I was finally able to get back on my bike and go riding again. It seems like it's been forever. It's not always easy to go. Winter makes it difficult and then there is the issue of just having time to go because the rug rats have to be taxied everywhere. I used to be able to go nearly every day in the warm weather. I'm hoping to get back to that. 

It's amazing how many things you forget when you've been away from something.....

• I forgot my music. I think I was so excited to go that I just left with out it. Bad idea. 
• I forgot that it's a good idea to take Kleenex. I won't go into details with that one. You're welcome :)
• I forgot what bugs tasted like. 
• I forgot that even though I wore sun glasses, sand in your eyes feels super good. Not. 
• I forgot just how much I love hills. =/
• I forgot how amazingly close cars will drive next to you, even when there is no oncoming traffic for them to move away from you. Jerks. 

Now with all of that said, it sounds like I'm complaining or it gives the impression of why on earth would I want to do it.

The things I remembered far out weigh the things I forgot.....

• I remembered the wind in my face
• I remembered the rush I feel when gliding down a big hill (praying I don't spin out...lol)
• I remembered the quiet time. Me time. Time alone with my thoughts. 
• I remembered the freedom.
• I remembered that my favourite time to ride is during the hours just before sunset. It's calm (mostly), the sun isn't blazing, and the sky is just beautiful. 
• I remembered that no matter how tired I am after a good ride, I still feel great! Even with wobbly legs...lol! 

It's good to be back in the saddle again. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up! :D

Much Love!!!

Tidbit Tuesday #5

It's Tuesday!!!! :D

Painters tape? Are we painting? No way Jose!! But...go grab your roll and let's get started. :)

I've gotten a lot of comments and questions on my quilting lately (thank you!!) so I thought I'd give a tidbit of how I begin with my straight line quilting and hopefully answer a few of your questions!! 

I'm going to be using my Pillow Talk Swap Pillow for the example. It's something fairly small and easy to handle for a practice piece. I would definitely recommend starting on something small, just to get the feel for it. 

To start off, you want to sandwich your quilt, be it mini for a pillow or a full sized quilt. Then pin it, or whatever process you follow, to keep it basted together.

You will want to determine how you will straight line quilt your quilt. Do you want to just travel end to end? Side to side? Or in some sort of pattern?

For this piece, with my daughters help, I chose to do "L" shaped lines in each of the quadrants of the quilt.

Find the center of your quilt going vertical and horizontal. (For this piece I used a quilting ruler that was long enough to go end to end. For a larger quilt. I will usually lay the quilt out on the floor and take a piece of yarn and pin it corner to corner of the quilt to establish that straight diagonal line. If you are just quilting vertical or horizontal, where you start doesn't really matter, but going from the inside out seems to work the best.) 

Place the painters tape on the OUTSIDE of that line where you will NOT be quilting.The placement of the tape helps make that first line straight. If you don't have this line straight, none of your others lines will be either. Why painters tape? It won't leave sticky residue on your quilt top, it's fairly easy to use, sometimes more than once, and it's cost effective. I personally do not like to draw on my quilt because I've had trouble getting lines out afterwards. (Any suggestions there would be greatly appreciated!)

**Note** Before you begin sewing, if your machine allows it, change your needle stop position so when  you stop sewing, the needle stops in the down position. This will prevent your quilt from shifting out of place. 

**Note #2** Use a walking foot if you have one. You won't be sorry you did! :)

Then quilt right NEXT to that taped line. Be careful not to sew on the tape as it's a mess to remove if it is sewn through, although not impossible, so don't worry if you do. 

When you get to the corner, stop in the needle down position, lift your presser foot and turn  your fabric. Continue to sew along your taped line. 

After each row, you will keep going back to the same starting point, only you will move down the fabric as you create your lines. I use my presser foot edge as a guide to move along to keep my lines straight and I will adjust my needle position (left, center, right) to determine the width of my lines.  

Also, keep your eye on the line you will need to turn at and make sure you stop before it. Where will depend on how you space your lines. If you space them 1/2", then you will stop a 1/2" before the line you need to turn at. 

Before you know it, you will have an entire quadrant done and all pretty. :) 

You will repeat this process for each quadrant using those first two lines you had sewn as center lines, so you only have to place one piece of tape in each quadrant after that. The last quadrant, you won't use the tape at all. :)

I hope this all makes sense. That I didn't give too much information or maybe not enough. Please feel free to ask any questions. I'd be more than happy to answer them and help out! Just make sure you leave your email addy with your comment so I can reply back to you :)

Much Love!!!