Thimblemouse & Spouse: January 2014

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

She Who Sews - Day 3 - Mary Pat and Me

Welcome to Day 3

of this 2 for 1 Blog Hop

Today be sure to visit all of us

"She's"
Who are Sewing

January 29

Thimblemouse and Spouse (you are here)

Words & Stitches

The Cosmic Quilter

I'm especially excited to share my blog post today with my dear friend
Mary Pat from Quilting Quietly.
Mary Pat joined in her first blog hop when we woke up with Kona.

She is hooked!

Last week I convinced her to play
with one of the great panels from the
"Handmaids" line by Quilting Treasures.

Being a very good "handmaid" herself...
I didn't have to twist her arm too much!

Lookie Look at the Awesome Organizer
Mary Pat ~~maid~~ made....

Did you notice the yardstick 'hanger?'
Isn't she just so darn clever?

Yes...there are pockets to hold stuff

To get inside Mary Pat's head and learn
a little bit more about her project...
PLEASE click HERE
to visit MP AND leave her a comment
on her very own page.

Now about those fabric bowls you may have noticed up above...
Let me tell you...
I had a BLAST making them!
I think I know what all my friends are getting for
Christmas this year....

They can hold stuff...
(and boy howdy...stuff I got!)

Mary Pat and I Love our Stuff!

Or...if you just wanna have fun...
and who doesn't want to have fun????
You can....

Nest Them!
How cool is that?

I found the great tutorial for these bowls...
or 'baskets' if you prefer....
at one of my favorite haunts....
A Spoonful of Sugar

I won't go into all the details of making these bowls
(the tutorial link above is really all you need)
but I'll share a few of my favorite bowl making tips!

You will need to make templates for different sizes...
I'm always on the run...
so I use "templates" on hand....

Besides....these templates are way more fun!

Instead of cutting out circles and then sewing/gathering....

I like to stitch on the marked line with the two fabrics and batting sandwiched together.
Now trim out the circle close to the stitched line.

Then I'll ziggy-zag around OVER crochet cotton
(remembering NOT to catch the cc...don't zag when you should zig)

and don't forget to leave
"tails" - you'll need them for pulling
your cc when gathering.

(of course a better photographer would NOT have cut
the Tails outta the picture...lol)

Pull to gather and tie a knot to hold.

(and a better photographer might have even shown you the knot! ha)

Here was the first one finished....

Can we say
CUTENESS?

You should give them a try...
you'll be addicted...
and maybe your friends will all get them for Christmas too!

Now before I go...
I know you would be disappointed
if I didn't show you what happened to the little scrappies
left over from when I trimmed those circles.
Yes...I put the 'batting' bits in our dog/kitty bags...
But...
there were some perfectly good little "almost triangles" remaining...
and you KNOW how much I LOVE my muggie rugs......

Ta-Da!

I used up every bit...
including the yellow binding strip that was left over.

Now I can Sew & Drink my Coffee Too....

and Remember the Fun when
She Who "Sewed"

Thanks again dear Madame Samm
for yet another amazing blog hop challenge!
Be sure to visit
Sew We Quilt
to say sign up for some fabulous giveaways.
AND....
visit our Cheerleader/ Heavenly Head Handmaiden
Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks
for the full blog hoppin' schedule
which also includes.....

some of the greatest Door Stops!!!

Lynn ~ The Thimblemouse >"<

PS....Handmaids fabrics still available....click here for more info.

Monday, January 20, 2014

It's a "Blogger" ~ I Feel Like a Proud New Mamma!

Welcome to Day 10 of

Wake Up to Kona!

I've already had my day

and I normally don't play favorites

by singling out any 'one' of the many talented blog hoppers

but I'm just so...so...

Sooooo Dang Excited

because....

That's right ~ it's a new arrival....
as my dear sweet friend

Mary Pat
of Quilting Quietly

debuts in her
Very FIRST blog hop today!

I've known Mary Pat for quite awhile now

and I'm thrilled you're getting to meet her here in blogland.

(and Yes...she has Purple hair - isn't that just absolutely awesome?)

Not only does she make the most incredible quilts...

she's quite adept at some
very fashionable 'headwear'...

I asked her to design me something special for our Jaguar games....

Lookie Look....

I feel like a Vegas Show Girl!

What Fun!!!!

Just wait till you see what she designed for the

Wake Up to Kona

blog hop today!

If you haven't visited her yet...

now's your chance...

Click HERE to be dazzled

then be sure to visit ALL the wonderful blog hoppers

listed below.

Congrats Mary Pat! Way to Go Girlfriend!!!!

To MP: When I grow up...I wanna be just like you...

Purple hair and all (wink)!

Lynn ~ The Thimblemouse >"<

January 20

More Stars in Comanche

The Quilting Queen Online

Lauraluvsloons

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Life is a Circus - Day 7 - Wake Up With Kona

Welcome to
Day 7 of

Wake Up with Kona

Featuring awesome Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman,

"COLOR Essentials"
a most fabulous book by Amanda Murphy

and luscious Aurifil Threads - yum yum!

~These fantastic folk are also our generous sponsors for this hop~

Thank you Madame Samm for choosing this beautiful

"Sunset"
bundle of fats for me to play with.

Oh, I knew I was in for a fun time when I saw this label

Isn't that just too cute?

Hello Fat Quarter Bundle...pleased to meet ya!

Plump AND Versatile - LOL

I must admit...I ~~am not~~ was not exactly a "Solids" kinda gal...

but Amanda's fabulous book

(from Stash-Books backed by C&T Publishing)

just tickled me fuchsia and teal and green and...well, you get the drift!

Her book is jam packed with great information

about color palettes and how to use your color combos
so that your quilts will

Zing!

With 12 Modern Projects to choose from...

gosh, I thought my head would explode!

It was pretty much a no brainer as to the project I would pick...

I mean really...who can resist the

CIRCUS!

All of Amanda's projects have such wonderfully clear cut

and easy to follow instructions and illustrations.

When I thought about making 100 flying geese...

I was thrilled to find she had included my favorite method

of "easy flying geese"

that start with squares.

A template is provided for the 'tall triangles' featured on the

top and bottom of the quilt.

I simply made traced a copy and taped it to the backside

of my ruler for ease in cutting. Easy peasy!

Dear Darling Spouse Bob worked his quilting magic,

inspired by Deborah Norris's quilting design.

I really need to work on my photo skills...

it's so hard to get the quilting to show up in pics sometimes...

Here's the back...that might help...

I am such a lucky gal to be married to a longarm quilter!

Yo-Yo's provide a bit of whimsy...

You're a Genius Amanda!

I attached mine with buttons.

Another quilt featured in the book is called

"Spring Blooms"

I made one "Bloom" for fun....

Can you say 'bloomin' cute!!!
I will surely have to make more.

Another quilt titled

"Confetti"

I celebrated with a few blocks...

I thought I would add three solid triangles and make a little table topper...

but oh lordy...these were fun...I just might have to party

and make the whole quilt!

A "Must Have" for your quilting library!

To see more spectacular quilts in this book,
visit
Amanda Murphy

There were lots of great little odd shape scrappies building up on my cutting board...

and you know I can't resist the temptation to use them up....

Madame Samm also sent some cute little pins...

sew....

Pincushions!!!!

Little projects are a great way to play
and experiment with fun stitches and quilting

and colors of thread...

Aurifil

of course!

One shouldn't covet....but I do when it comes to my Aurifil stash!

LOL

More scrappies + coffee on the brain =

Mug Rugs!!!

I sometimes get a little carried away when I'm on a roll sewing....

and I was on a roll when I was stitching the tall triangles together

for the CIRCUS quilt...

added "2" too many...

took them off but couldn't waste them....

Another Mug Rug born!

There's no telling what else will come from my leftovers...

There's the start of a great "Placemat" from Amanda's book...
I think I'll work on that next!

Thank you

Carol of Just Let Me Quilt

our Cheerleader for this Blog Hop

and as always...

Big Hugs to the Madame

for letting me play along!
Don't forget to visit
Sew We Quilt
(that's where Madame hangs out)
and be sure to leave a comment with her
for a chance at winning some fabulous prizes!