Camera Illiterate, That's Me!

Well......I was going to post a great picture of my newly finished sample, the Giddy panel quilt for Valentine's Day! (And mine is so much cuter than the pattern picture!)But.......apparently I need photography lessons. More specifically, camera technology lessons. I have a really nice Nokia camera that's only about 2 years old. However, the lens quit focusing about 6 months ago, and I don't know how to fix it or where to take it to be fixed. Thus, a long drought of little or no pictures on the blog.
Then....I found my old camera. But the memory card from the Nokia wouldn't work in my Kodak. So, it took me about a week to uncover a memory card that works in the mess that passes for our family office.
So....today I get all excited that I actually remembered to bring said camera into the quilt shop. I take a picture of my new sample, and then plug the memory card into my computer to upload it. And what-do-ya-know.....my computer cannot read the memory card for an unknown reason.
What are the chances the universe does not want me to upload pictures to my blog anymore?
Maybe tomorrow.....(sigh)

Where to Begin, What to Finish?

The cold weather seasons always make me want to do more quilting. Combine that with the holidays, and the new fabrics that continue to arrive, and the fact that I'm on break from school for a month, and I really want to quilt! Now that I've finished all the long-arm quilting for Christmas gifts, I might actually get to sit down at the sewing machine before midnight soon. In high hopes of this, I am adding my to do list back to the blog. Maybe this will help keep me accountable to actually finishing up some projects!

Christmas Specials

A few days ago I posted about a Christmas special, where if you commented on my post I would send you a coupon code. Well......shame on me for not checking this out first, but without a way to contact you through the Blogger site, I can't send anyone who comments a code! So, either give me a way to contact you in your comment, or send me an email to crazyforquilting1@yahoo.com so I can share the coupon special with you! That way I'll be sure to make good on my promise.

Groovy Girls Tomorrow!

The December Groovy Girls meeting is tomorrow, Saturday, at 10am! Come see proof that it's not too late to make great handmade gifts. This month's features are the Zippy Strippy Bag, some great bonus ideas to make your bags one of a kind, and a fantastically easy bottle cozy with built in gift pocket! (It's not just for wine, either!)
No fooling about it not being too late, I made this bag in less than an hour, and the bottle cozy in less than an hour too! Since Bailey's probably getting this bag for Christmas, I've already started on one of my own, using one of the bonus ideas for customized trim. Stop in Saturday to see how it turns out!

What Are You Looking Forward To?

With only one week of the semester left, and the Christmas season upon us, I find myself thinking about all of the things I am looking forward to doing in the next month. Of course, as with everything I do, my list of wants is far longer than what reality will probably allow. However, forever an optimist, I like to set my goals high and see what happens. With that in mind, here is part of the list of things I am looking forward to:

*Vacation days spent at home playing with my kids.
*Being more than a train passing in the night to my husband.
*Baking sugar cookies with the kids from my Grandma's fantastic recipe.
*Not buying a tank of gas every 3 days.
and, of course, *More time for sewing and quilting! (can you say home-made gifts?)

So, what are you looking forward to this season? Send me a comment with your favorite holiday "look forward to" and I'll comment back to you with a coupon code for 40% off your Christmas fabric and/or pattern purchase! Send your comment before December 15th!

New Stitchery/Quilt Patterns On the Way

I just ordered some great new patterns from Pumpkin Berries Stitchery. They are small applique wallhangings with just a touch of stitchery thrown in. I had to slap my hands not to order some of the super cute Fall/Halloween themed patterns and focus on the Winter ones for now. They will be up online as soon as they arrive!

Piece, Love, Applique Under Way!

The P,L,A Block of the month is underway! There are over 10 people participating, and I've run out of the right fabrics to kit up any more in similar color ways. (although I can see this quilt in other exciting colors, so don't worry if you are still wanting to join I can make you up a fantastic kit!)
You can view the pictures as they come into me on the shop's Facebook page. Just search for "The Crazy Quilter" on Facebook to find me!
I also promised to give tips, hints, help, etc. for those of you who are participating. Since you have received blocks 1 and 2 so far, and 3 is being sent next week, here is a tip to save you time:

Block 1: The pattern tells you to cut 2.5" squares and then sew them all together individually. Instead, try cutting one light strip 2.5" x WOF, and two strips from a dark fat quarter 2.5" wide. Then, sew the dark strips to the light strip and place the dark strips against each other but not overlapping when the first one runs out. Then, you can sub-cut this unit into 2.5" units, cutting around the middle where there is a break in your dark strip.
This strip piecing prevents you from having to sew a bunch of little squares one by one. You can use this technique throughout the quilt top whenever you make checker board units. It also saves time later, because you will have leftover strip sets to cut more 2.5" units from for other blocks!

You can use the tag at the end of this post to view the rest of the Piece, Love posts if you need to.

Happy Quilting!