Houston Calling - An Astronomical Challenge

The deadline is nearing to enter the

ASTRONOMICAL QUILTS - BLOCK CHALLEGE!

You must mail in your entry by August 1st.

(click the link above for the scoop)

I finally made my block on Wednesday.

Have you made your block yet?

"Rocket Age" from Riley Blake Designs...
the perfect fabric for an Astronaut's quilt dontcha think?

This 9" block was fussy cut and pieced before you could say
'fly me to the moon'

You can make any type of 9" finished star block...
(9-1/2" with seams of course)
but sometimes I just need someone to make a suggestion!

Thanks to Pat Sloan for providing the suggestion and "motivation"
along with an easy pattern for this scrap happy star buster block.

***Pat is giving away a sweet layer cake of her newest fabric...
to one lucky star block maker...
 but hurry...
her deadline is July 1st...
click the 'scrap happy' link above***

Thanks for the visit!

It's an Open & Shut Case.....

Yikes!

Two posts in the same week!

Could it be?

Is my mee-oww-jo coming back?

I had so much fun creating our new shop flag for the recent

Flags on a Stick Blog Hop

(click above if you missed it)

I decided to strike while the iron was hot

My wonderful friend and quiltin' sista' Joyce,

had the most awesome quilt shop,

first in St. Augustine, Florida....later moved to Jacksonville....

(yes - I have oooodles of Q-sista's I've adopted over the years)

In her shop "Material Things"...she had the BEST "open and closed" sign!

It's been on my "to-do" list for a very loooooong time to make up a sign like she had....

so I gathered the 'leftover letters' that were lurking about...

and here we are!

Lookie look...even the cat's eyes are OPEN

(coincidence? maybe....maybe not)

When we go home....we flip it over to see.....

I just love that....so much better than 'Closed'....

Joyce was (and still is) a Genius!

Did you notice the cat's eyes on this side?

Hmmmm?

SHUT

Am I good or what?

Truth be told....

Totally Unplanned....Totally!!!!

*wink*

PS....I almost forgot to tell ya....

Joyce closed her shop sometimes back and we really miss it!

But you can find her on Facebook....

along with two more of my 'Q-Sista's'.

Just give a click below...you can "follow" them anywhere!

We Make Quilts

Day 7 - Flags on a Stick Blog Hop - Here's Waving at You Kids....

Welcome to Day 7 of 

Flags on a Stick Blog Hop!

This time around, I decided to "get on the stick" and create something for our shop.

We have a really cute fabric panel with letters and numbers

from "In the Beginning Fabrics"
The line is called "Hoopla & Everyday Fun" by Jennifer Heynen.

We are never opposed to enjoying a little
"HOOPLA"

This fabric would be the perfect start of some
FUN !

If you've been following the hop, these letters should look familiar.

My good friend and quiltin' sista'
Mary Pat from Quilting Quietly 
was so "Hoppy" to find them during one of her visits to the shop.

(if you missed her 'toad'-ally awesome flag - click on her name above - ribbit!)

It's so much fun to have a blog hoppin' friend close by...
..Even sweeter that we can bounce ideas off one another...
or in this case...
use some of the same fabrics with completely different results!
I'm so glad we're

I had a little "saying" in mind....
I began with some fusible web...
(iron, iron)
cut out the letters and appliqued them in place...
hmmmm....

still needed something else....

I pulled out a couple handfuls of 'scraps' from ye ole scrap bag...

(and I DO mean "scraps" ~ I shouldn't save 'everything' but I do...it's a curse!)

OooEee....FUN time in progress...
making a few wonky blocks....

Oh lookie look...see the yellow arrow?
See it pointing?

"Thumbs Up"...
Yes, I was pretty pleased with how things were shaping up!

hmmm...still lacking....what else do I need?

But of course...
there must be buttons!

When all was sewn and done...
it was time to wave the flag....


As much as I wanted to hang our flag outside the door of our shop...

well...darn...cement! 

How does one stick a "stick" in cement?

Very simple....
One does Not!

Instead...
our flag hangs right inside the front door....

We LOVE it!

Another cutie button...and we must have a cat!

I used velcro on the straps for easy hanging on the door.

Had it been hanging outside, I might not have worried about the 'back'...

but it's not outside...
and for a few days I pondered what it should say.

(ponder, ponder)

"Thanks for Stopping In and Have a Great Day"
would have been nice....

but way too many 'letters'...
way too little 'space'....

Then it came to me....

After leaving the nest to make a life with my Spouse...

whenever we would visit dear Mom & Dad...

as we made ready to leave...
( Hugs hugs, Kisses kisses )

my sweet parents would always say the same thing....
Every Time!

What a great way to remember them...
a great way to let everyone know that walks thru our door...
we are truly glad they came!

I can hear my Mom now questioning about the way I spelled "Thanks"...

but ya do what ya do when space runs out.

Besides....

how many times do we ever get to use the

"X"

Thank you Thearica and Mdm Samm for another amazing adventure!

Special thanks as well to our sponsors: 

"Flags On A Stick"

and

"Flag Outlet"

Visit them all...give 'em a 'wave' and tell them how much you've enjoyed the hop!

Thanks for visiting...but remember, I'm not waving alone today...

Click the links below for more fun on a stick...

Which one will be your favorite?

I'm so glad I don't have to pick!

April 2nd

Thimblemouse & Spouse 
(wavin' b'bye - Thanx for the Visit -*wink*)

Stitchin' By The Lake

Just One More Stitch

The Quilting Queen Online

Selina quilts

Whims And Fancies

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

 Why-Knot-Kwilt

 BumbleberryStitches

  Quilt Doodle Designs

 Sew Incredibly Crazy

 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.

Scrap Basket Sunday

After turning off the reading lamp about 2:30 this morning,

I couldn't believe I was awake just before 6am.

Wandering thru the darkened house, taking care not to step on little fur bodies...

I found myself in front of the computer and thought well just maybe I'd take a little look around.

I should learn to go back to sleep immediately upon waking that early.

But I didn't...and now I'm adding another

"just have to DO because it will be fun!"...

to my never ending list of things to do.

I've been following Kim's Big Quilting Adventure for a little while now and I've seen this button/badge on her blog.

This morning I decided to 'click it' Wow! I'm in trouble now. Yep...big trouble. Kim started "Scrap Basket Sunday" last week (yippee...I'm NOT that far behind) where she devotes some sewing time on Sunday with her scrappies. She so sweetly invited me (ok...not just ME...more like all of us...yes...that means YOU too!) to grab my our scraps and sew! You can do any quilt or project(s) you'd like with your scrapsters... but when I realized Kim was making one of my favorite blocks from one of my favorite quilters... I immediately grabbed her  button/badge and I'm "in"! I didn't expect to start until next weekend... maybe... but after a few more hours sleep... then some Sunday running around... I headed to the sewing room... (after talking myself out of a wee nap) thinking I was going to work on another 'must finish' project... when  these pink scraps just jumped out  THREW THEMSELVES  at me!

Yep.... I'm in trouble now! Lynn ~ The Thimblmouse >"<

A Little Holiday Intermission

It's the day before Christmas...and all thru this house...there's very little quilting...
just a Holiday crazed Mouse...

 enjoying time off...
with her sweet loving Spouse.

It's Monday and time to link up with Bonnie to share our Easy Street progress. Click here to see who's linking up over in Quiltville today.

Meanwhile....here...Oh No!

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Friday morning step 5 of Easy Street was posted - I eagerly printed it out - then returned to my last ditch efforts to get ready for Christmas.

Ever since step 4 was posted over a week ago - it seems like I just 'blinked' and all of a sudden it's Christmas Eve. 

I still want to share something Quiltville related for us Bonnie followers (why does an image of hundreds of quilters marching, holding rotary cutters up high and proud come to mind when I say that? ha). 

Since my street is closed temporarily...how about we take a little

Look familiar?

If you've been lucky enough to catch Bonnie Hunter on her Quilt Cam, you may have seen this little quilt on the back of her chair. 

You're probably thinking...my gosh, that Thimblemouse is one bold little rodent - swiping Bonnie's picture right off her blog!

Well...I'll share a little secret with you...the picture above was taken in our shop classroom - before that little quilt went to live with Bonnie,

it started life here in Florida...looking like this...

Gives a whole new meaning to 'quilt in a bag' dontcha think? lol

Yes, I made that little quilt for Bonnie and it just tickles me that she likes it.

I've been wanting to write this post for months - this seems like the perfect time.

In the early days of Quilt Cam, Bonnie needed to take a quick 'break' but didn't want anyone tuning IN to see an empty chair, so she pinned a little hand lettered sign to the back of her chair with a 'be right back'. 

I smiled when I saw it and thought "gee, she really needs a little quilted sign" - and then promptly stored the notion in my little mouse head for awhile.

One day soon after - a friend brought in bags of scrappies for our on-going-never-ending-no-matter-how-many-I-stuff  pet pillows. I grabbed a pillowcase and started stuffing. Little bits and snips started turning into BIGGER bits and I couldn't help myself...I started sorting out the bag....

What treasures...what fun...and I thought "I really need to Bonnie Hunter these" (that's my term for her scrap users method)

Then....

a Light Bulb Moment!

A quilt for Bonnie - made from this bag...my own little challenge...can I do it - should I do it?

Why not!

So while Bonnie was away on a Bali 'high' - I planned and I played - oh how I played... 

Inside the bag were also rail blocks already sewn and the remains of others...

They'd make a perfect background for the "Intermission" and that red scrap with hints of cheddar just said Bonnie to me....

There was some very long strips of the blue just asking to play along...

I found a font I liked...printed up the letters mirror image, then traced them onto Heat n Bond Feather Lite.

The blocks below were already pieced together when I found them...oooo and that little black print- I see more letters ... 

Fun Fun Fun!

As I mentioned, Bonnie was sending us wonderful posts from Bali on her blog while I was playing away - her pictures from the Monkey Gardens just made me LOL. I wanted to include something on this quilt to remind her of Bali...I couldn't resist the monkey...I'm glad Bonnie has a great sense of humor!

There was a blank space above the 'Cam' and I had to fill it. Thinking about her obsession love of vintage machines...I poked around her photos trying to decide which machine to include. 

I saw her "Magenta" Featherweight...I let out a Yahoo when I read that she'd bought it at our Jacksonville QuiltFest in 2010!

Now those of you expert on 'all things Bonnie' - know this machine, so dear to her heart - suffered a tragic demise....I'd completely forgotten...and now I'm so glad it's 'memorialized' on her little quilt. Click here to see Bonnie's machines...scroll to her "Featherweights"...you'll find sweet "Magenta"

Ok...back to the quilt...

A little embroidered message to let us know she's not really gone....

The spool blocks....

I had sooooo much fun making those spoolies. At the time Bonnie was kitting and sewing her 3" spool blocks. I had to include some! These are 2" blocks...and shhh...don't tell....but I paper pieced them.

The quilt back...found a nice chunk of fabric and inserted the 3 center strips (they were already pieced).

I made a larger "Spool" for a hand written label. 

(Between the time I mailed the quilt to Bonnie and before she received it - she mentioned on Quilt Cam that we should really 'hand write' our labels..."whew"...I'm glad I usually do..and did...heh heh)

My little Thimblemouse 'signature'...

I can't believe I only thought about adding the 'mouse' to my quilts this year....read here to see what gave me the idea.

I'm so glad I acted on a 'whim' and made this little quilt. I know I'm not alone when I say

"Thank You Bonnie for your time...for all that you generously share and give to the quilting world. We are so lucky to have you!"

* * *

Oh...in case any of you were wondering...there were a few scraps that actually made it into the pet pillows

LOL

Thanks for visiting...hope your

Christmas is Merry and Blessed

happy holidays pictures

Happy Holidays

from

The Thimblemouse and Spouse

>"<           >"<