i am button retarded but it is a FLEA MARKET FANCY GIVEAWAY

i have tried to grab these buttons but i just don't get it unless i am given a code...but here it is...HEADS UP EVERYONE.....head over to the link on the top right side of my page OR the button i did manage to post about the giveaway. if you missed out on the flea market fancy line like i did there is the most awesome giveaway EVER!!! not only do you get fabric but you get a signed copy of denyse's book and more!!! it is what i would want for christmas three times over..i have wanted it for so long...

JEDI ROBE....DONE!!!

of course i have to leave town for one week, cutting into my sewing time. i have only completed 2/17 projects that i need to do before january 1st. i ALMOST finished the renassaince quilt tonight but as i pieced the backing i realized the fabric was from two different dye lots...lovely...this is what happens when you use fabrics from companies you do not know. since it is velvet i have to buy enough for another entire back and try again....

so for now...i have to be happy with a beatles quilt and a jedi robe. i wish i could work on something a little more interesting....and...well...pretty. how do you get excited over a jedi robe? i have a boy...grown boy but nevertheless all boy...and they DON'T want wonky block improv quilts with great fabric.....

oh..one more thing...the model for the robe is not the future owner....he WAS a good sport as the dog tried to attack him....

THE BEATLES QUILT/ ONE PROJECT DOWN

in keeping with my promise to attempt to complete all my UFO'S i have completed only one. the beatles quilt. not a quilt i would choose but then i did not choose it...my 10 y/o step daughter did. i just designed it. i designed 12in blocks, cut a little wonky, some log cabin, some just framed, depending on the image i was trying to capture in the fabric. it is a large quilt measuring 61x72. the center blocks are quilted in a spiraling square and i freemotioned straight lines on the first border and more spiraling squares in the final border. i also quilted in the ditch in the center of the enitire quilt. the back i pieced with a few things i thought she would like. anyway it is done and i never want to see beatles fabric again so i hope someone would like it in a swap....

happy quilting girls! ...and a few guys!

MUNKI MUNKI GOT ME

i thought i was immune to it....this munki munki thing. i was wrong. dead wrong.

it started innocently enough. i ordered a small scrap bag after receiving some mendocino fat quarters (which i loved.) that was it. DONE!

the more i looked at some of the quilts (blocks) being made with these little jewels i realized that my grandson (and future granchildren since we have six kids that will be procreating) NEED to have a munki munki quilt individualized for each child. this has set off an obsession i am sure others recognize.

some of the quilt blocks i am referring to can be found in ashley's photostream at film in the fridge here http://www.flickr.com/photos/27953607@N05/4014402762/in/photostream/

they are just too cute. it may take me awhile but i will get there.

i am in trouble because i do not have the funds to get all of the things i am wanting (was a problem anyway) now it is much, much worse.

someone was kind enough to lead me into swap land which i will be trying to manage...i think that is the only way i will be able to get what i need and want....i hope.

FABRIC SWAP

if you are a quilter or fabriholic that happened onto my blog i have a question for you. do you know of any fabric swap groups to join?

i would love to participate. the online quilting community is getting larger and i am getting involved more but i have not found a swap that is not already closed.

shoot me an email or comment on my blog if you have any info.....thanks!!!!!

NAME CHANGE

i decided to change the name of my blog. i had two reasons. firstly, it just made sense as that is the blogger name. secondly, yesterday i was roaming around online and noticed someone else that had a name very similar.....so......it is now changed. since i am not famous i don't think it matters in the least but i thought you may wonder.

love, les

NEW YEAR CHALLENGES

okay...i have been lurking online far too long. i have acquired a vast amount of beautiful fabric, lots of books, links and ideas to last a lifetime. i have transformed an ordinary basement into a beautiful sewing studio but i lack some things.

first and foremost i cannot make a decision to save my life. i have so many ideas that i cannot land on anything for very long. this does not make for a productive sewing studio. i see quilt after quilt, darling clothes, bags, etc. etc. to motivate me but when i get the fabric out i can circle it for hours worrying i will "lose" something in the design. basically, i can procrastinate better than anyone.

secondly, i have friends and family requesting items. these might not necessarily be the things i want to make so most of my really fun projects (in my head) are on hold.

jacquie, at tallgrass prairie studio has issued a challenge on her blog for the new year. she is challenging all of us to finish all UFO's you wish to enter by the first of the year. i think it is a great idea so if you haven't found her blog yet you can link through mine to join in this effort. there is a prize but the prize for me would be to finish the 17 UFO's that i have at this time. yes, seventeen....i have no idea.

1. i am hand quilting one rather large quilt "the earthy S quilt" by kaffe fassett.

2. i need to back and bind the brocade velvet throw from the "glorious patchwork" book of kaffe fassett. i couldn't help that one. it was a challenge and it looks just like my mother. she is not a regular snuggly quilt type person.

3. i need to start the whirlygig garden quilt by kaffe fassett as a gift. *it appears i am a kaffe fassett fan but i did not think i was. i do not usually collect his fabric but these particular quilts did pull me in. some of the reds in his new line are just beautiful....anyway.

4. The wool jedi sith robe. the fabric weighs a ton. the pattern is "the real thing" this is for my son. he wants it badly.

5. i need to finish machine quilting and bind the "nest" quilt. it is a gift and it is almost done.

6. i am piecing a quilt for my stepdaughter. she has a newfound obsession with the Beatles and found a line of Beatles fabric. the blocks are done and now i am working on sashing.

7. i have my daughters tiny roses quilt semi planned. i have all the fabric but i am still circling it waiting for the perfect way to piece it. she is wanting the "feel" of a comforter she had as a child. it was a laura ashley rosebud and pink ticking fabric. i am trying...hard. it is hard.

8. i have my son in laws vintage star wars quilt to begin. i have worked long and hard to find the fabric from star wars, the empire strikes back and the return of the jedi. these were obtained from ebay, old sheets to make into a new quilt. i have no idea. they are on the design wall right now.

9. two unfinished birdie slings. i had to stop when my old sewing machine bogged down with the interfacing. i now have the wonderquilter and they should be fine....i am sure my friends have given up on those.

10. 3 amy karol "bend the rules sewing" linen bags...so adorable...and requested. i ran short on linen for the lining and am waiting on that.

11. 2 "I'll take one of everything" bags from anna maria horners book "seams to me." also on request.

12. jelly roll quilt with urban couture for my friend. have not started

13. finish the tiered skirt out of "sew what skirts" that is a gift.

THERE!!!!

this does not count the 3 wonderland quilts and multiple others i cannot decide on and many, many more out there in "concept only land".

i just inventoried my fabric stash and it is lacking some luster. i am on restriction....darn it, so it will be slow going. i also will be in the middle of replanning the sewing room. i don't think i am utilizing my space well enough. okay, okay.....i will leave you with this link. grab the button top right or link below and join in!

http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2009/11/joy-in-new-year.html

RECIPE TO SHARE....CASSOULET

yum! summer is gone and the menu is changing. i wanted to share this quick and hearty recipe for cassoulet...for those who do not know it is simple beans flavored with pork french style. if you are on a salt restricted diet beware but i am sure that there are ways around that. this dish takes very little time and is very tasty with cornbread (any bread) and a simple salad.

cook 1 lb. crumbled sausage with 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1 minced garlic clove until cooked through. drain the sausage mixture if necessary but i find the sausage to be lean these days. add two cans navy or great northern beans, 1/2 lb cubed ham, 1 bay leaf, 2T parsley, dash cloves, dash herbs de provence (optional) and 1/4 c dry white wine. place in covered casserole in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes, uncover and cook 30 minutes more. that is it. it is better the next day after the flavors have melded but aren't most things?

good eating everyone!