Moving Day!

I have moved to www.TheQuiltedFish.Typepad.com!  Please be sure to change your bookmarks and links!  Thanks!  Can’t wait to see you at my new home!

All my blogs are packed

It's moving day, people! Just in time for my 100th post I am moving! You can find me now at www.TheQuiltedFish.Typepad.com!!!! I will have lots of give aways this week in honor of reaching 100 posts and launching my new blog! I am so excited!!!!!!!! Can't you tell by the number of exclamation points that I am using!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, boy!

Friendship Day

Did you know that today is Friendship day?  Well it is!  So be sure to tell your friends.  Happy friendship day to all my blog friends out there!  Thanks so much for reading my blog!

Have you ever heard of a friendship quilt?  I didn’t even know what one was until I started reading about them in preparation for this post. 

Definitions of friendship quilt on the Web:

• a quilt made by friends (who make friendship blocks) as a gift or remembrance to someone who has moved. ...
  www.reddawn.net/quilt/glossary.htm
• These are quilts that are made to be given to friends and relatives similar to a signature quilt often containing dates, signatures, verses and messages. They were often made with fabric which was shared and exchanged.
  www.sewmuchmoreinfo.com/quiltopaedia.html

Although these are the web definitions, I think a friendship quilt could be many things.  A quilt made for a friend that symbolizes what your friendship means, a quilt made by many friends working together, a quilt made by people (like a community) to symbolize love, peace and friendship. 

Regardless of what you think a friendship quilt is, I am sure that you have experienced the fact that quilting brings people together.  I have many friends that I would not have if it weren’t for quilting.  I am grateful to my friends for their love and support.  Thanks and Happy Friendship Day!

Unleashing his domestic goddess????

Tonight  Mr. Fish was waxing poetic about what a great chef he is.  In particular about how he can make rolls.  Now I am sure that a lot of you can  make really yummy rolls.  I can, on occasion, make good rolls.  I can also (on more occasions) make rolls that completely flop.  As a matter of fact, my mom has, in the past, said she didn’t want me to make rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.  Seriously. Having said that, I will say that I am a fairly good cook.  I know my way around the kitchen.  Mr. Fish, on the other hand, is inexperienced to say the least.  He can cook eggs, mac & cheese, spaghetti, top ramen and pasta.  He can even make a grilled cheese sandwich.  Rolls?  I don’t think so.  He is saying these things as he is preparing some Rhodes bake-n-serve rolls.  My son hears this conversation and is impressed that dad can make rolls!  (My son could subsist on rolls alone.)  Being the person that I am (I don’t like a know-it-all) I couldn’t help but laugh at how his rolls turned out…

Dough-y little hockey pucks.  My son wouldn’t even touch them.  I know.  I should be a better wife, right?  Thanks for the laugh, honey, you’re the best!

Amazing blog!

So today as I was perusing the internet, I happened upon a wonderful and completely delightful blog!  You will totally want to check this out….I will also be adding it to my sidebar so that I can go back over and over and over and, well, over…..

Piece and Quiet Classes!

I will have a sidebar list of any classes that I am/will be teaching.  I have been meaning to do this for quite some time, but I have been slacking.  Here are some dates of classes.  If you are interested in signing up call the phone number to the store and let them know….

 

Piece and Quiet class

Starts on August 18 and is 5 weeks.  Call Quilts Etc in Sandy, Utah at 801-255-2666.

Special Delivery

I almost titled this post “Speedy Delivery” but that doesn’t really fit since this has been a long process!  But they are here, at last, and they are beautiful!

 

I am so excited to have such a beautiful book with my name on it.  I am so grateful to Palmer Printing for all of their hard work.  They took my product and really elevated it!

This is available for purchase on my blog for a few more days and then it will be for sale on….MY WEBSITE!  The big launch for my website will be on August 11th.  I will also be revealing my NEW BLOG!!!!!  Which also comes with a new blog address (don’t worry, I will tell you where to go).  I am so excited!  That will be the day of my 100th post.  SO you will want to come and see because I have lots of stuff to give away for the celebration.  So mark you calendars because you won’t want to miss it!

Unleashing my domestic goddess

I finally picked the last winner (sorry about the delay) for the where in the world is The Quilted Fish contest.  The winner was selected randomly by random.org and it is Colleen!  So, Colleen, leave me a comment with your e-mail or contact me directly at my e-mail and we can chat!

I love summer!  Going on vacation gave me a chance to look up from my computer and spend some time outside.  And now all of the local fruits and vegetables are coming on.  Farmer’s markets are advertised everywhere and little fruit stands set up shop on the street corners.  It makes the domestic  goddess (I use that term somewhat liberally) inside of me come out for a peek.  Maybe it’s the smell of the peaches!  I want to can jam and salsa and make pickled beets and refrigerator pickles.  Not to mention ice cream.  I indulged yesterday and bought myself an ice cream maker.  It is something I have wanted for a really long time and, well, you know how it goes, it was on sale.  I am a sucker for a sale.  SO later today there will be ice cream.  Yum!  But here’s what I did with a bunch of fresh cucumbers that I bought….

These are delicious!  If you haven’t ever tried refrigerator  pickles before, you should!  They are sweet and tangy and crunchy.  I am the only one at my house that likes them, but that didn’t stop me from making 6 jars!  Here is the recipe I used….

Makes 2 quarts pickles.
Stir and mix the following:

1 c. onions, also thinly sliced
2 c. sugar
1 c. vinegar
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed

I put it all in a big bowl and then added all of the cucumbers that I could submerge.  I take the peels off of mine first, but that is just preference.

 

I can’t wait for ice cream tonight!  I am making vanilla bean.  With blackberry nectarine cobbler……(my mouth is watering).  What do you love to eat in the summer time?

I can’t fool you!

I am physically back from vacation.  Mentally, I am not ready to be back.  I need a vacation because of my vacation.  I am a little bit of a workaholic, so for me to put everything down (well, almost everything) and not work is big.  For me to come home and pick everything back up, well that is bigger! 

So you guys are good guessers!  I was in St. George, Utah.  I was a little nervous that all of the correct guesses would come from Utahns, but they didn’t!  There was correct guesses from all over the country!  I can’t fool you!  I have notified everyone that won, and I will post the winner from the posts tomorrow.  So stay tuned for that!  You can still enter if you want, just go comment on any of my vacation posts.

I took some pictures of the cutest little quilt shop called The Lazy Daisy Cottage, but for some reason my camera says they are corrupted!  Alas, and wo is me!  I really wanted to show you how cute that place is!  So you will have to pop on over to their site.  You won’t be sorry! 

Have a great day and happy quilting….remember, there are BIG things going on here, so check back for some announcements!

Three down, two to go!

Out of the roughly 25 guesses so far, 3 people were correct!  There are still 2 prizes to be won, so put your thinking caps on!  If you don’t know exactly what I am talking about, scroll down to Wednesday and Thursday’s post to get up to speed.

I have a few pictures to show you (not all of them because I can’t find the right cable!).  We went on a ride tonight to a beautiful (and quite small) canyon.  One of the clues for today is that I am in Utah.  I am from Utah and cannot recall ever seeing a “lava flow” here.  This canyon was amazing with red and white rock formations with black lava spread throughout.  It was truly amazing and magnificent.  The second picture is of a petrified sand dune.  Cool, eh?

   

My last clue is that last night I went to the Utah Shakespearean festival.  I spent some time in the car to get there (not telling how long but it was more than 30 minutes and less than 2 hours).  We saw Shakespeare’s play Comedy of Errors.  I love this festival and have been many, many, many times.  This is one of my favorite plays and one of my favorite productions (ever!!!) at the festival.  I wish we had more time because I would love to see As You Like It. 

Hopefully I will find my cable tomorrow!  I would love to show you some more pictures.  And thank you all for the advice!  I have been drinking lots of water and using sunscreen.  Thanks for reading!

You guys are good!

I have had a lot of guesses…and one of them was correct!  The big prize is gone, but there are still 4 more prizes to be won!  So keep on guessing.  Here are a few more clues….

I am one hour from the pyramids, Paris, New York and Italy.

I am a short distance from 3 national parks.

I have had my fill of culture for the evening (which I will tell you about later when you know where I am) and I am super tired.  I am off for a “comfy” night in a hotel bed.  Keep the guesses coming!  I will post lots of pictures tomorrow!

Where in the world is The Quilted Fish??

Are you good at guessing games?  Like twenty questions or I spy?  We have been playing those in the car recently on our way to our vacation spot.  I am not a huge road trip fan.  But I am a HUGE fan of give aways! 

Here is what we are going to do….I am going to give you clues about where I am and you are going to guess!  The first person to guess will win a box of treats from the state that I am in plus 10 fat quarters and my Sassy Squares No. 2 pattern.  The next 4 people to win will get treats from the state I am in plus two patterns of their choice.  I will give you a clue or two for the next few days.  IF you know where I am DON”T TELL!!!! Send me an e-mail at TheQuiltedFish@gmail.com.  I will tell you if you are right.  If you don’t want to guess, leave a comment anyway, since I will give ANOTHER prize to a randomly selected commenter.  One comment per post per day!  That is 6 give aways  this week!  So let’s get started!

Here are some clues…

It is really hot here today….106 degrees hot.  TOOOOO hot. 

Red rocks

College town

Remember…IF you know DON”T TELL!!!  Just send me an email!  I am going to visit some local fabric stores in the next couple of days and I can’t wait!  I will take pictures to show you!

So tired…but...I must…post…a…win..n..e..r….

It has been a busy and fun day for me.  After cramming all of the work that I could into the first half, we spent the second half on a boat at a nearby reservoir.  I am so tired!  I have so much more to do and I am just willing myself to stay awake.  We leave tomorrow for a short vacation and I have absolutely nothing packed.  Not for me, not for my kids and not for Mr. Fish (sometimes a hubby is like another child). I am going to have to get up SUPER early to pull this one off!  I wanted to post a winner, though, for the give away. 

Chosen, once again, by random.org the winner is Michelle Wilkes!  Thanks so much for all of your comments!  I have some REALLY big plans for all of you.  There are boxes of goodies waiting to be given away for my 100th post.  That is soon!  AND the launch of my website!  AND the Piece and Quiet book!  AND  a new contract that I don’t know if I can talk about or not, so I won’t.   As you can see, there is a lot to come back for!

So Photogenic?

Remember to check out the give away!  Read on….

I have a hard time taking and looking at pictures of myself.  I know.  I am sure that I am not the only one.  I always joke that I look like I have 18 chins (which is why I am on a diet….again) and my eyes are squinty. Tonight I gave in to the “need” to have my picture taken.  While I was posing by a gate Mr. Fish reached in from behind to try to scare me.  It didn’t work, but it made for a funny picture!

I think that it is pretty funny. Not sure what I was saying right then.  I may have to use this one instead of a more serious one.  It fits me more anyway.  I don’t take myself too seriously (which is not to say that I don’t take other things way too seriously).

Thanks to everyone that has shared their music/listening preferences.  It has been fun to read!

Remember to leave a comment if you want to be entered to win 5 patterns. You can comment one time per day per post.  Good luck!

Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans and a belated give away….

I will list the details of the give away a little later on….

That is a line from one of my favorite songs.  It is Beautiful Boy by John Lennon.  I used to listen to it everyday while I was pregnant with my first child and only son, Truman.  I think about that line all of the time.  Isn’t that so true?   Hence the reason for a “belated” give away.  Sorry about that…

I have been thinking a lot about music lately.  I am really into my iPod and I just spent a $25 gift card at iTunes.  I could have spent 5 x that amount.  Easily.  I am always shy about the music that I listen to.  I don’t really know why, though.  So I am going to share with you my latest purchases that I keep listening to over and over and over and over…..

Keeping the Dream Alive by Mulberry Lane—here is the funny thing about this song.  It is a remake of a song that I listened to over and over and over and over again when I was in 9th grade!  It was by a German band called Freiheit.  I can’t buy the original on iTunes yet and I only have a cassette tape with it on it so I have to settle for  a remake.  I like it, though.

Only You by Yaz—Yep, straight out of the 80’s.

Womanizer by Britney Spears  Not so sure about her, but I love this song.

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyonce

The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel—This one ate up a chunk of my gift card because I had to buy the WHOLE album just to get this song.  And I don’t like any of the other songs on the album.  I hate it when they do that!

If You Were Here by the Thompson Twins—another one straight out of the 80’s.

Fall for You by Second Hand Serenade

The a la Menthe by La Caution—This one is from the movie Oceans Twelve.  My bff hates this one and makes me change it every time it comes on.

Okay.  Enough is enough.  But seriously, I want to know what you are listening to.  This is a vital part of the creative process!  Good music or good TV or someone good to talk to while you are working!  So tell me, what do you listen to?

The give away will work the same way that my previous ones have.  Leave a comment (any comment) on any day and be entered to win.  You can enter once per day.  I will pick a winner next Wednesday.  What will you win???

A 6-pack!  Of patterns!  You can select any 6 patterns from my collection.  You can even choose Piece and Quiet Children’s Activity Book Pattern (aka Quiet Book) which I might add will be arriving in about two weeks in its new and totally exciting BOOK form!!!!! That’s right!  Yipee!  But more about that later.  Back to the give away.  If you want to look and see what you could win, click on the slideshow in the upper right corner and follow the links to my photo stream.  You can view a picture of each pattern.

Good Luck!  Remember to tell me what you are listening to right now…..

Band-aids and bows

Remember when this was the biggest drama in your life??  How many Band-Aids you had?  She definitely holds the record in our house.   Poor thing skidded down the driveway.  Got her hands and her forehead, too.

I must report that I have spent at least an hour sewing every day until today!  I have made skirts for the twins and almost finished the remaining duvet cover.  It feels great!  I have been thinking a lot lately about new years resolutions and about how a year is just too long to make a resolution for.  So, I am all about mid-year resolutions.  Here are mine….

1. You know this one…spend at least 1 hour a day sewing

2. Lose weight.  Yep, this one works for mid-year as well as new year.

3. Don’t sweat the small stuff so much.

4. Have more fun with my kids.

5. Spend less money (except on fabric).

6. Read a book.  I would be fine if I just finished one this year.  I love to read, but I don’t put any time into it.  I have one book that I want to read, so I think this needs to be on the list.

7. Hug Mr. Fish more often.  He does like it, you know.

Maybe I can accomplish some of these things.  Who knows, maybe even all? Dare I hope?

What are your mid-year resolutions?

Snoozing on the Job

Wow, I am such a slacker!  Sorry for not posting the winner yesterday! 

The winner of the Zippity-Do-Dah layer cake, yardage and Sassy Squares No 2 Pattern is….MAY!!!!!  May, you were chosen by random.org to get this fabulous give away!  Leave me your email in a comment and I will be in  touch!

I have a goal this week to spend at least an hour a day sewing.  It has been too long since I spent long hours in my studio listening to the monotonous and calming chug-chug-chug of Bessie (my sewing machine).  For the first time in a long time I feel like sewing for recreation.  Usually I just sew my designs and I don’t have time to do the other things that I want to do.  Not this week!  I am going to have some fun.  Last night I worked on the second duvet cover for my twin girls room.  I finished the first one about 6 months ago.  My background is interior design so I have done A LOT of home dec sewing.  I don’t really miss that.  But it is nice to be finishing that project.  Tonight I am going to make some things for the twins.  It really makes me want for a serger.  I just can’t bring myself to shell out the dough for one. I will post pictures of all of my sewing adventures soon.

What are you working on this week?  What is your most desired sewing indulgence?

Happy Independence Day!

Remember that today is your last day to enter for the give away!

I hope you are out enjoying the holiday and your families!

This reminds me of one of my very favorite movie quotes.  “You look like the fourth of July.  It makes me want a hot dog real bad!”

Do you know what movie that is???

Pretty Maids all in a row

Remember to check out this weeks give away!  It is featured on Monday’s post!!!

One of my favorite (and I am sure yours, too) things to do is go to quilting stores.  I love how everyone puts a different spin on things.  Even if they have all of the exact same fabrics they put it together differently.  That is one of the great things about this industry.  There is creativity oozing from every nook and cranny.

This week I made the hour long trip to a store south of me to pick up one of the Piece and Quiet books.  I love this store!  They do such cute things.  So I snapped a few pics (just before my battery died) to share with you.  I wish that I had more because there is so  much fun stuff going on at this store!  The store is called Gracie Lou’s and they are in Salem, UT.  Check out some of the cute stuff…

Cute displays…

 

Cute clothes…

Cute models of my stuff!!! They had a few!

 

My favorite picture.  I took this and thought that they were like pretty maids all in a row. 

I wish that I had had an extra battery with me, because there is so much more to see! 

I hope you have had time to plan a spectacular 4th of July.  I have not had an extra second to even think about planning something.  If you have super fun plans, please share!  I could use some help!

100

100 days

Well, I am down to 100 days until market.  My pile of projects is quickly becoming a mountain!  Whew!  I can’t believe how fast the time flies. 

100 posts

Another 100 is rapidly approaching.  My 100th post!  I have some big surprises in store, plus some fun things to give away.  You will want to be here for that.

100  degrees

Well, it’s close anyway.  And add to that 100 reasons to eat ice cream.  One reason for each degree.

100  yards of fabric (I wish)

Doesn’t that sound great?  What would you pick?  I don’t know if I would know where to start, but I am sure that it would be at Michael Miller.  LOVE their stuff.  How about you?  I bet I have that much in my stash, though.  I refuse to cut into so much of it because I love it too much.  Isn’t that ridiculous?  What do you have that you won’t cut into?

A new week, a new winner and a new give away

Hello!  I was really a slacker last week with my posting.  Sorry about that.  I will be better this week!

The winner of last weeks give away, chosen by random.org,  was tdtcross. So tdtcross be sure to leave me your e-mail and I will be in touch!!!  Thanks to everyone who left comments.  You can try again this week!  The new give away is at the end of the post.

I have had requests to see the inside of a finished Piece and Quiet book.  We had a photo shoot last week and I have a few snaps to share!     

So cute, eh!!!  I will have to show you some of the cover shots tomorrow. 

On to the give away!!!! Since the 4th of July is bearing down on us (how did that happen???) AND since you all love layer cakes so much, I decided to give away a 4th of July layer cake!!!

Zippity-Do-Dah by Sandi Gervais for Moda.  It will also come with my Sassy Squares No. 2 pattern that uses a layer cake!!!  If you didn’t see the quilt last week, scroll down to last Monday’s post for a quick peek.

Let’s review the rules!  You will be entered for any comment you leave on any post during the week.  One comment per day per person.  Make sense?  You guys are getting to be old pros at this!

AND!!!!! For even more Quilted Fish give away madness, hop on over to True up (a blog dedicated to fabric) where they are giving away a pack of my patterns!!!  You will LOVE their blog.  She is very knowledgeable about fabrics of all types. A big thanks to them for featuring me in a give away!

Keep Moving Forward

Sometimes when I have a bad day it is easy to look at only the bad stuff and not the good stuff.  Pretty typical, I am sure.  I really love being a pattern designer, but there are some pretty tough things that come along with the job.   Just like every other job in the world.  Yesterday, when I was having one of the difficult  moments, Mr. Fish reminded me of a line from one of our favorite movies.  The movie is Meet the Robinsons and it is a Disney animated picture.  If you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it.  Even if you don’t have young kids!  Anyway, they use the line a bunch in the movie and at the end they show a quote by Walt Disney that includes the same words….keep  moving forward.  Isn’t that a great quote?  He was such a remarkable man.  So full of creativity and ingenuity.  I bet he had bad days, too. 

So today is a new day.  AND I have already had some really exciting things happen.  I can’t wait to share with you but I will have to wait just a little longer…..

I hope that all of you have a wonderful day today!  And if you don’t, just remember to keep moving forward.

Overwhelmed!

Hey!  I think you guys like layer cakes.  I am so glad that you are excited!  To those of you who could not comment, I am so sorry.  Please feel free to e-mail me (thequiltedfish@gmail.com) and I will be happy to enter you in the give away.  I am guessing that the system was as overwhelmed (with joy) as me!

Wednesdays are one of my favorite days.  I have a sweet lady that takes care of my kids on Wednesdays for a few hours.  Today me and my bff went shopping and to lunch and shopping so more.  We even worked on fun stuff for my new booth for market.  Can you believe fall market is just over 100 days away?  I can’t.  We stopped at one of my favorite stores, T J Maxx.  I love to hunt for a bargain.  Not to mention that it is a great place to find fish…

I am happy to welcome this fish home to the “Maison de Poisson” (house of fish).  He will be happy here.  Especially because he is going to be filled with mommy-only treats.  Not sure what that is yet, but probably some buttered popcorn jelly bellys, maybe some peanut M & M’s, and some Lindor truffles.  Mmmm…..  Any ideas what I should name him?  And yes, it is a him.  Don’t know why, but it is. 

I have another question for you.  We are in the process of getting a website (YEAH!!!) and I am having a problem with my domain name.  The name that I want (the obvious one) is taken.  So I need to come up with something super great to use instead. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share.  If I like one enough to use it, I will send you a special surprise.  Not sure what it will be, but I am sure it will include something that rhymes with schmabric and something that rhymes with schmatterns.  Trust me, it will be good.  (I do love to give stuff away.)  Get those brains working.  I am waiting…..

Life is just a bowl of cherries….

New give away starts today!!!!

Yesterday kind of got away from me.  Sorry for not posting the give away like I promised.  So without further ado….

This weeks give away will be this darling layer cake and the additional yardage to complete the top of my Sassy Squares No. 2 pattern that looks like this….

This quilt was made with different fabric, so your quilt will look different.

 

I love this fabric (top cherries) so much that I bought one to give away and one to keep.  I have  some of the yardage in my stash and I haven’t wanted to cut into it.  But I will for this!

The give away will work the same this week as it has the last two weeks.  Leave a comment and be entered to win.  You can comment every day if you like.  I will announce the winner on Sunday.  Good luck!

Winner!

I know that I should have done this yesterday, but I didn’t.  So here we go!  The winner of the buttons and pattern (selected by Random.org) is Lisa!  Yeah, Lisa!  I will be posting again later today with this weeks give away (which, by the way, is super cute).  SO, check back in a few hours…..

I love technology…but not as much as you you see

LAST DAY to enter for the give away!!! Scroll down to Monday’s post to see what great goods you could win!

Finally my camera problems are solved (sigh of relief).  I don’t know why we didn’t think of getting a card reader sooner, but finally it dawned on us.  It allows me to bypass drivers and operating systems!  Yipee!  I can’t tell you how happy I am about it.  If it weren’t for my husband and his extensive technical skills I would be lost.  I am pretty savvy about these things, but it would be a lot harder not having someone with that kind of background to rely on.  He even got all of the spyware and bad stuff off of my laptop today.  What a great guy!  Lucky to have him!

I was talking to some dads in my neighborhood today for Father’s day activity I am planning.  I was asking them things about their childhood.  One of the questions was “What is something that your children have today that you didn’t have as a child”.   Think about that!!!  One thing for me (if I were a father answering that question) would be the internet. When I was a kid we had to go to the library if we wanted to do a report or look something up.  There wasn’t an easy way to get answers to questions (unless your parents knew the answer and even then….).  What about e-mail!  Can you even imagine life without e-mail?????  Not me.  And don’t even get me started on my iPhone.  I am so attached to that little piece of technology.  My husband asked if I was going to sew a pocket in my bra so I could keep it close to my heart.  Ha, ha, ha.  Not a bad idea though.  How about a quilted pocket protector.  Haven’t I talked about that before?  I cannot imagine trying to run your own business without access to all of these lifesaving technologies.  So if you have seen Napoleon Dynamite you are singing the song that this post is titled for “I love technology, but not as much as you you see”. 

What is something that your children have today that you didn’t have as a child??  I want to know what you think!

A day late

I have had some drama today….I can’t get my fantastically fabulous camera to download it’s pictures.  I am so sad!  This camera is wonderful except for the fact that it is a few years old and they don’t make drivers that are compatible with windows vista, which is what is on my new laptop.  So we have to download them on my hubby’s work laptop.  For some reason the camera and lappy (as we call them)  just won’t communicate right now.  So…I had to use my point and click camera to take more pictures of my sewing studio (which I had to clean again).

So finally, after much fuss, here are some pictures….

My words to live by (thanks, Reba Mcentire) and ribbon storage…

 

Fat quarter storage (I hate camera flashes) and my two bessys’,

Quilt magazine storage and fabric stash storage,

   

      

The last one is how I store my scissors and sewing supplies.  I really love that!  It works so great.

You may have noticed that I have a lot of stuff from IKEA.  I love that place.  On the whole it is not my style, but I still manage to find LOTS of stuff to love there.    Anyway, that is it.  I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my studio.   You know I have two sewing machines, so if you want to come play I have room!

Two days left for the give away!!!

We are experiencing technical difficulties here…can’t get the camera and the computer to get along.  I had a similar problem all day with my kids.  So pictures will have to wait for tomorrow’s post.  In the mean time…

Remember the give away this week???  The leather buttons and the bewitching pattern???  If you haven’t seen/heard about it, scroll down to Monday’s post.  I didn’t tell you that those buttons…those darling, hand painted leather buttons……$50 worth of buttons!!!!!!!!!  That you could have for free!!!! So leave a comment and be entered to win.  I LOVE to give stuff away almost as much as I love reading your comments.  Each comment is a bright spot in my day.  Seriously and no joke. 

Come back tomorrow (which is only in 25 minutes so you may want to wait a little longer) when I will have hopefully overcome the camera issue and can post pictures of my clean sewing studio.  It isn’t clean anymore.  Just for the few minutes that I took the pictures.  Then I started to work again and it got messy.  Again.  Okay, time to sign off because I am getting a little goofy.  More goofy than usual.  Time to stop.

Too much of what I don’t need

I have spent so much time cleaning my sewing room.  I am going to show it to you tomorrow.  You will all be so proud of how organized I have gotten in the last week.  My only regret is that there aren’t any before pictures to show you the transformation that has occurred.  It is spectacular.  I have to lock my hubby in there for a few hours tonight to do the “man” stuff, or rather the “I don’t care to/want to do that and he is good enough to do for me stuff”.  He sure is a good hubby. 

Doesn’t it seem like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it in?  I am sure that we all find ourselves in that situation.  I am not sure what to do first, next or last.  Can’t figure out which way is up.  What do I work on?  There is just so much to choose from!  Not to mention that I like to add more stuff to do on top of what I am already NOT doing.  The list gets longer, and longer, and, well, you know….longer.   I watch the “days to fall market” countdown on my computer…117….116….115…AAAHHH!  Are you kidding me!  Stop!  Stop!  PLEASE STOP!  But alas and woe is me.  It does not stop.

I hope that you are having better luck accomplishing things.  How do you stay on top of YOUR to do list?

And the best day award goes to….

Car windows down.  Cool breeze in my hair.  Great song on the radio.  Two big bags of neatly folded fabric, fresh from the quilt store on my front seat.  A new purse and two new pairs of shoes in the back seat.  Ahhhh….life is good!  I try to not be materialistic, but honestly.  Sometimes it just feels good to shop!

My mom recently went to a get together where they had to bring their favorite pair of shoes and tell why they were their favorite.  I have thought about that many times since.  Which are my favorites?  Could I really choose just one pair?  The fact of the matter is that I couldn’t.  Each pair of shoes represents a different side of me or a different role that I play.  If I chose one, wouldn’t I be choosing which part of my life is my favorite?  I just can’t do it.  All of the shoes that I wear come together to create me!  I am cute, athletic, comfortable, sexy, outdoorsy, and easy going (I think that’s what a flip flop would be) all in one person.  So  maybe I would have to settle for my favorite shoes THAT DAY.  I think I could do that.  Today my favorites are the red heels.  I love the promise that they hold of a sexy date with my hubby. 

What are your favorite shoes today?

Hat Fancy

Time to start a new give away!  If you are new to my blog and thus to my give aways here is how it works.  Leave a comment on a post and be entered to win.  One entry per person per post.  Make sense?  Good!   I will show you what I am giving away later on in the post.

I hired someone to make me a new model of my Bewitching quilt.  It turned out super cute.  Amy Hamberlin of Kati Cupcake fame gave me some buttons to use on the hats.  She sells the buttons at her store The Quilt Shoppe in Rigby, ID (208-745-5151).  They are hand painted leather buttons.  I saw them at market and LOVED them.  Then Material girls (a shop near me) started to carry them, so I supplemented what she had given me with some other styles.   Look how super cute it turned out…

I am so excited about how cute it is.  The quilt will be hanging at Material Girls in a couple of days. 

So you will never guess what I am giving away this week!  Leather buttons!  AND my bewitching pattern!

The buttons pictured here are layered.  Each size and shape is a separate button.

 

You don’t want to miss out on this one.  So start commenting!  You have until Saturday at midnight to enter.  I love to hear what you have to say!

Winner

Thank you to everyone who posted last week!  I am so excited to announce the winner.  So many of you wanted to win the bag, so I have ordered some more things like it to give away.  I will be doing a give away every week (for a while at least) so keep coming back!

I assigned each comment and number and used a random number generator to pick the winner.  That person is…..Renee G!!!!  Congrats to you!  I am super excited to send this off to you!

Stop by tomorrow to find out what the new give away will be.  I can’t wait!

It’s SEW over!

This is your last day to post a comment and be entered to win the give away!  Hurry!!!!

Few!  What a week!  I have to say that as far as weeks go, this was not it my top 10.  I am glad to see it drawing to a close.  One big stress left for today.  A birthday party for my hubby starting in 7 minutes.  I am excited to see my friends and even more excited to get in bed after.  I just have to cook for 8 adults and 7 children.  (Deep sigh.)  I am really hoping that next week is full of happy days and lots of time for creating.  Not just for me, but for you, too!  There hasn’t been any time to create anything in the last week.  I think that is what is really missing for me right now.  I need the soothing chugging sound of my sewing machine.  The comfort of a pencil in my hand.  Sounds good, eh? 

What does it for you?  What grounds you and takes you to your happy place?  I want to know!

Sew Nerdy

Remember to leave a comment to be entered for the give away!  The give away is featured in an earlier post, so scroll down to get a look.

Tonight was date night.  It has been a while since me and Mr. Fish went on a date, especially for more than an hour.  We had a great time together.  I always think that it is funny that you can't wait to have a date together and then you talk about your kids.  Super funny. 

So we went to see Star Trek.  My dad is a HUGE "trekky".  Dragged me (literally) to see every single Star Trek movie.  Many of them on Christmas Eve.  I have seen each movie at least 2 times because of him.  I was not a huge fan, but usually, once the movie was over, I liked it.  When I saw the previews for the new Star Trek, my heart went pitter-pat because of Chris Pine.  What girl doesn't like a tasty piece of eye candy??? 

YUMMY!

So I was excited to see it.  Little did I know that in a theater full of people, me and the guy next to me would be the ONLY people who got all of the references to the previous Star Treks.  (I should add that my hubby got a good number of them.)  So me and this guy are SERIOUSLY the only ones in the WHOLE theater that laugh AT ALL!!! And it was funny!  (Can you tell that I am excited about this???)  I had no idea that I would be one of two "trekkies" in the theater.  Can I tell you how this makes me feel?  I am SEW nerdy.  AND maybe I was older than a lot of those people?  Are the Star Trek movies that old?  Is it a generation thing?

Can I tell you something else that is funny?  I keep scrolling up to look at that picture. 

Are you SEW nerdy, too?  Do you have a quilted pocket protector?  Hey…maybe I should make a pattern for that???  Things that make you go hmm……(yet another reference that dates me) 

Two days left to get in on the give away!

Remember to leave your comments on any (or all) post to be entered to win the Quilted Fish bag and goodies (scroll to earlier post to see picture).  One comment per post per person will be entered into a drawing.  Good luck!

Kindergarten is SEW last year!

Today was my oldest child’s last day of kindergarten.  I am so very sad!  So is he.  He isn’t looking forward to first grade.  There is not enough artsy-fartsy stuff going on at school to keep him happy.  He would rather stay here and paint and draw all day long.  Regardless, we are on to the next thing.  Reluctantly growing up.

Last weekend was our first ballet recital.  From a mother’s perspective I am glad that it is over.  From a little girl’s perspective it should still be going on.  Here are some pictures of my budding ballerinas:

 

Sometimes the show must go on without you….

 

They were super cute on stage.  Ellis did a little impromptu solo and Lucy just spun her umbrella.  That’s what you get when you put three year olds on stage. 

All of you “sew organized” folks would be proud of me.  I actually organized my office yesterday.  It is so much better to work in!  All of the filing is done.  All of the patterns are properly stored in their new (IKEA) boxes.  In and Out boxes…empty.  Ready for business here at The Quilted Fish.  Next up?  My studio (giant sigh).  That one is going to take some time.

Sew grateful!

I know, I know.  Enough already!  It is only Wednesday, though, so I have a few more days of “sew”. 

I met my deadlines.  “Sew grateful” for that!  Here is the Piece and Quiet Children’s Activity Book that I just finished….

It is on it’s way to Happiness is Quilting in McKinney, TX.  Hello Texas!  Good luck ladies!

I am “sew grateful” to all of you for visiting my blog.  I am “sew grateful” for all of the fun shops that I get to work with and all of the nice people who make my patterns.  I am “sew grateful” to be doing something that I love so much. 

What are you “sew grateful” for???

Sew many deadlines….

Yes, this is a week of “sew”.  Today is a sew-sew day.  Every quilter has them.  Days when things just don’t go right.  I am up against a few deadlines and not doing a very good job of meeting them.  My current status of not being organized is seriously impacting my ability to accomplish tasks.  I don’t like to work under pressure.  And yet….

So I need to relax a little.  I am thinking about getting a babysitter and going to a movie.  Star Trek?  Maybe I should just go take a long bath.  Or even better a long nap.  I do love naps.  Especially with the windows open and the smell of rain in the air.  Yummmm……

What do you do to relax? 

Sew organized??

New give away starting today!!  Read about it later on in the post!

Today I am having a hard time getting any work done.  I think it may be because I can’t find a clean spot to work at.  Things have been SO busy at the maison de poisson (house of fish) that I haven’t been able to get organized.  There are piles and papers and fabric everywhere.  It is like a quilting bomb went off.  This is not like me, really.  I promise!  I am usually an organized person.  Oh, how I long for organization.  So here is  my question to you…are you sew organized (like I really want to be right now) or sew messy (as I currently am)?  If you are organized, I want to know more!  What is your favorite organizational tool?  Inspire me, people.  I need help!

Give away details:

It will run all week.  The winner will be announced on Sunday evening.  You can leave a comment on any post for THIS week and be entered to win.  You will be entered for one comment per post.  Comment on every day’s post and be entered that many times.  Make sense?  What will you win?

This super cute (and very functional) Quilted Fish bag!  What will it have in it?  Patterns and treats!

So comment away!