Well That Was Unexpected....

Well I've "failed" at Work In Progress Wednesday again but I have a reallllly valid excuse this time.  My sweet, little, precious 15 year old Daisy has been having multiple screaming fits in the middle of the night during the past week and that is soooo not good for those of us trying to actually sleep at night and then get stuff done during the day.  And since she hadn't been responding to my frequent requests to "shut the eff up" I decided it was time for a visit to the vet hospital.  And please note.....I feel reallllly bad about telling her to "shut the eff up".......but when you're really cranky from being woken up so much it's hard to be polite.

Anyhoo......I think it's time for a brief back story.....a lot of you don't know that I'm a veterinarian in addition to being a quilt shop owner.  I was a full time vet for 9 years, became burned out and made a spur of the moment decision to open a quilt shop.  And I'm so glad I did!  But I now live 1.5 hours away from the only vet clinic in the area that I trust with my fur babies so whenever one of them is too sick to be treated at home I take them on a little road trip.  O.K.  Back story is done!

So yesterday I took Daisy to "my" vet clinic to get some routine senior citizen kitty testing done.  I was totally and completely expecting her to have a little thyroid problem which is easily treatable and really common.  Instead, we found that she has a large mass in her chest right next to her heart. Not so easily treatable and not so common.  Didn't see that one coming out of left field!

And by "mass" we mean it's probably a tumor but have you ever noticed that medical professionals like to be vague and non-committal with their answers?  Like "it might be this" or "it looks like that" or "there's no way to be sure."  So, I'm vaguely and non-committally telling myself that it could be lots of things.  We just don't know yet.  We're waiting to hear back from some specialists and then we'll go from there!

In the meantime I'm keeping my chin up and a smile on my face and hoping for the best!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

An Autumn Weekend

Autumn is a strange time here in Florida.  While most of you are talking about a chill in the air and leaves turning colors (oh how I miss that from my days as an Ohio girl) we're at the point where it's finally cool enough to venture outside.

Col/Mr. Sew Fab took me to lunch at the Marina down the street from our house on Friday.  Fish sandwiches plus a water view equals perfection.....

And we took the dogs on another adventure in the Got Crabs.....

We headed back to "our" deserted beach just across the bay and "the kids" ran and played and rolled in the sand and frolicked in the waves....

And when we returned home, Emma settled in on her favorite sofa cushion right under the vent and didn't budge for SEVEN HOURS!  (O.K.  That's actually not a picture of her on the sofa cushion.  That's a picture of her in bed.  The pictures of her on the sofa cushion didn't look too good so I used a substitute "Emma Is So Exhausted Picture.")

And I went on some sort of wild Spring Cleaning in Autumn frenzy.  I'm on one of those kicks where I'm determined to become a more organized and efficient and productive person and get rid of all the clutter and become one of those people who has a home that always looks picture perfect.  And I started with the magazines.  The piles and piles and piles of magazines that just keep growing and taking over.   Do you know what I'm talking about?  I bet you have those piles too, don't you?  If you don't I'm seriously, REALLY impressed!  And kind of jealous.....

I went through over 100 magazines, tore out the articles that I REALLY wanted (to be put in a 3 ring binder and sorted by theme/topic/etc.) and threw the rest away.  I was ruthless and showed no mercy!  Just me against the magazines.  And it felt SOOOO good.  I still have a long way to go but at least I'm heading somewhere! 

The funniest part about the Great Magazine Purge of 2012 was when I was going through some old Website business magazines that were about FIVE YEARS OLD and there was an article about this new thing called blogging that everyone should try.  Ya know....that new craze that's taking over the internet!  Needless to say, I didn't save that article!

And the other thing I've been doing is keeping a daily log of exactly what I'm doing all day.  It's absolutely amazing how much you get done when you're forcing yourself to admit on paper what you're spending your day doing!  I just don't want to have to write down stuff like "checked Pinterest for the 20th time."  And it's also amazing to see how much extra sewing time I'll have if I keep this up!

Well....I'm gonna run and go do things that extremely productive and responsible people do.....as soon as I figure out what those things are!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Recipe Of The Month - Cupcakes!!!

Happy National Cupcake Week!  Uh huh.....yup....seriously.....it's National Cupcake Week!  Don't you love how they have a holiday or week for absolutely EVERYTHING?!  Which makes me wonder if there's a National Bacon Week or Day.....or National Cookie Dough Day.....or a National Red Wine Day.....Wouldn't that be wonderful?!

Anyway, it's convenient that it's also time for Recipe Of The Month so I'm going to share the greatest cupcake recipe ever.  Seriously. Best. EVER.  They're vanilla buttermilk cupcakes with buttercream frosting.  They taste like something from a fancy schmancy bakery.  But they're semi-homemade so anyone can do it.  Yup....even you non-bakers out there can do it!

I took tons of pictures as I was making the cupcakes....and then I realized photos of white cupcakes being made are really boring so I'm just going to skip right to the good part.  Mmmmmm.....cupcakes.......

And here's a fancier version that I made a few years ago to celebrate Sew Fab's birthday.....

So now that I have everyone drooling over the thought of cupcakes, here's how you make them....

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes:
-1 package white cake mix
-1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I use fat free)
-1/4 cup melted butter
-2 large eggs
-2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat all ingredients together at low speed until dry ingredients are moist.  Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth.  The batter will not be the consistency of normal cake mix batter.  It will be thicker and fluffier.

Place paper baking cups in muffin pans and coat with cooking spray.  Fill each about two-thirds full.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Or if you want to make mini cupcakes bake at 325 for 18 minutes.  We make the mini ones for parties and everyone loves them!    Little bites of heaven.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
-1/2 cup softened butter
-3 oz softened Cream Cheese
-16 oz powdered sugar
-1/4 cup milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended.  Increase speed to medium and add butter and vanilla.  Slather frosting on cupcakes.  Also very good on strawberries.  Also very good when eaten by the spoonful.

Now run along and go make a batch.  You need sustenance for your next marathon sewing session!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Work In Progress Wednesday - What Progress?

What is it about a week long trip that makes it seems like you've lost 3 weeks of your life?  Anyone else feel that way?  I was only gone for a week but if you add in the days before I left where I was getting ready and the travel days and the days after I got back where I was Just. Worn. Out.  And then add in the days where you're trying to catch up on laundry and e-mails and work.....well....a week long trip really does take 3 weeks out of your life.  What's up with that?!  So that's why I haven't had any progress to show for Work In Progress Wednesday during the last few weeks - no time and no energy!  So instead of showing you pictures of quilts that look exactly the same as they did the last time I showed them to you, I'll show you what we did last weekend.

Col. Sew Fab bought a rinky dink little boat full of leaks last summer.  It came with the name "Got Crabs."  Yup.....Col. Sew Fab is the Captain of the Got Crabs.  But we love it because we can hop in with the dogs and putt putt across the small bay we live on and voila.....we're at a small barrier island with the Gulf of Mexico on the other side. And that's exactly what we did last weekend....

Emma frolicked in the waves and rolled in the sand and found a coconut to play with.....

And Sammy laughed at me because I was scared that the coconut might be a human skull.  (Is anyone else always scared that they're going to find body parts on the beach?  Nope?  Just me?  Maybe I should quit watching crime solving t.v. shows).....

And after a day of fun in the sun the two cutest, fuzzy, wuzzy puppers butts led the way back home....

And it should come as no surprise to anyone that we all slept very well that night.

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

September 2012 Giveaway - Love It or Leave It?

 WE HAVE A WINNER!

The winner is SpendLove who said "Avignon by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs -it was a hard decision love so many, but Avignon wins my vote! Thanks :)"  Please send me an e-mail so I can give you your Gift Certificate!  

And the fabric collections that got the most votes are Hill Farm, Notting Hill, Honey Honey, Avignon, Simple Life and Hello Sunshine!

Happy September!  It's giveaway time again!!!  Well.....actually it was Giveaway time over a week ago but I went out of town and totally forgot to tell anyone in blog-land or Facebook-land or Twitter-land that I was going out of town.  And I totally forgot to do the intelligent, well prepared thing and write blog posts ahead of time.  I'm such a responsible business person, aren't I?  And where did I go, you ask?  I went up to Massachusetts for Mr. Sew Fab's promotion to Colonel at Barnes Air Force Base!!!  Seriously!  We may all have to start calling him Colonel Sew Fab from now on! 

Anyway, back to my original point of it being Giveaway time (more on the Colonel thing later)!  This month I'm doing another one of those Love It or Leave It posts.  As you can imagine it can be kind of challenging to pick out new fabric collections.  And I want to make sure that I'm going to get fabric collections that YOU like.  So here are some snippet samples of some collections I'm considering getting for the shop.  Tell me what you think!  What jumps out at you and screams "you can't live without me?!"  Which ones do you want to buy?  Which ones would you walk right by and say to yourself "Yuck!  What was she thinking?"  You don't have to comment on every collection.  If you have lukewarm feelings about something you don't have to tell me unless you want to.  Obviously, I'm mostly interested in the ones that you really, really want to buy and can't live without!  And if there's a collection you're interested in that I haven't listed here please tell me that too.  Please be honest!  You're not going to hurt my feelings if you don't like something.  You'll just be helping me stock the shop with tons of stuff that everyone will LOVE!  

Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win.  I'll pick the winner of a $50 Gift Certificate on Tuesday, September 18. 

Here are the fabric collections that are being "nominated."  The name of the collection is listed above the image.  These collections are all being released sometime in the next few months.  (Please Note:  The fabric collections in the sidebar on the right are fabrics that are already in the shop).

This is Avignon by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs.

This is Cherry On Top by Keiki for Moda.

This is The Sweetest Thing by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake.

This is Poppy Love by Michael Miller.

This is Honey Honey by Kate Spain for Moda.

This is Flutter by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake.

This is The Simple Life by Tasha Noel for Riley Blake.

 

This is Garden Party by Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller.  That middle print is actually a large bandana print, not a small print.  This image doesn't show it to scale in relation to the other prints!

This is Kissing Booth by Basic Grey for Moda.

This is Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit.

This is Hello Sunshine by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake.

These last five images are all Hill Farm by Brenda Riddle for Lecien.

Thank you so much for all of your honest opinions.  I can't wait to read your comments!!!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Jenny's Pick Of The Week - A California Girl Quilt for Emma

I've come to the very sensible, sane and reasonable decision that each of my pets needs a quilt of their own.  I honestly don't know why it took me so long to come to this conclusion and how I could have let them be quilt-less for so many years.  Or perhaps this is just a ridiculous excuse to add more projects to my "Must Make" list.  Which reminds me......I totally forgot to do "Work In Progress Wednesday" yesterday.  But my stats are completely unchanged so I really didn't miss much.  Anyway......I have an idea for what I think will be the perfect quilt for my quilt-less Princess Emma.  Doesn't she look miserable and despondent without a quilt of her very own.....

 

So here's the plan for EJMB (that's short for Emma Jane Monkey Butt in case you were wondering).  I'll use a California Girl Charm Pack (or maybe two.....probably two).....

And do alternating squares with Riley Blake Solids Vintage White (my favorite soft white fabric EVER).....

And have a thin inner border of Coral Bermuda Ticking and a wide outer border of Boardwalk Blueberry Twig......

It will be simple and sweet.  And I think it's already received the Puppers Seal Of Approval......

Have you made anything with the California Girl Collection?  Or what would you like to make with it?  And more importantly, have you ever made a quilt for one of your pets? 

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S.  The California Girl Collection is by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree & Co. for Moda Fabrics.

P.P.S.S.  I'm thinking I'll grab 2 Charm Packs, about 2 yards of Vintage White, about 3/4 yard of Coral Bermuda Ticking and 2 yards of Boardwalk Blueberry Twig and I'll see how far that gets me.

Jenny's Pick Of The Week - Multi Tasker Tote

Hello there!  I've decided to revive the old "Jenny's Pick Of The Week" feature.......which was Emma's Pick Of The Week before that......but Emma went on strike and refused to pose for more photos.  But I'll try to get her back on board and bribe her with dog cookies to make occasional appearances!  Anyway, this will kind of be a pick of the week, I've got an idea, I wish I could drop everything and make this new project this weekend kind of thing!  Since I'm surrounded by fabric and patterns all day I end up with a million and one different ideas of things to make but there just aren't enough hours in the day to make all of them.   But that doesn't mean that I can't share all of these "light bulb over my head" ideas with you.  And hope that I find a way to function on no sleep so I can make all of the things that I want to make....

My inspiration this week came from the new Chevron prints by Riley Blake.  They just arrived last week and my mind has been swirling with ideas of what to do with them.  And then the light bulb turned on!  Imagine this.....a Multi-Tasker Tote with Black Dandy Damask as the main fabric and the Black Chevron as the accent fabric on the sides.  And then it gets even better....imagine it with a red lining.....or maybe a lime green lining.....or maybe a yellow lining......or maybe an aqua lining.....or just line it in whatever your favorite color is and it will be fabulous!  Can't you just hear this perfect autumn purse calling your name......

What do you want to make with the Chevron prints?  I'd love to hear all about your bright ideas!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S.  Thank you for all your sweet comments about my Hooterville quilt in my last post.  You are all obviously very intelligent people with impeccable taste!

P.S. #2 - Someone left a comment on my last post asking what my "Ready To Go" and "Must Make" lists mean on my Work In Progress Wednesday reports.  But they were a no-reply blogger so I couldn't answer them by e-mail - oh no!  Anyway, the "Ready To Go" are the projects where I have the pattern and all the fabrics neatly arranged in a box and they're ready for me to get started on at any time.  The "Must Make" are the ones that I want to make/I have to make but I haven't started gathering supplies yet.

P.S. #3 - You may be a no-reply blogger and not even know it.  Here's a great tutorial on how to figure out if you are and how to fix it!  Bloggers won't be able to answer your questions if you're a no-reply blogger.

P.S. #4 - Mom - don't worry about trying to figure this out.  I know where to find you if I need to respond to one of your comments. 

Work In Progress Wednesday - Hooterville Is Off To The Quilter!

So here it is!  My Hooterville top is completely pieced and ready to go the quilter......well......almost ready.......there's one small detail that still needs to be finished.....

Do you SEE what the problem is......

Yeah......I almost forgot to do the little French knot eyes!  Oops! 

This will actually be my FIRST time taking a quilt to a quilter!  I normally feel like I'm cheating if I don't do every last little part of my quilt myself.  But my quilting skills begin and end with the ability to do straight line quilting.  If I try anything else more complex I want to start pulling my hair out.  And my hair is really thin so that would be bad.  Anyway......since this quilt has so much plain, white background space I thought it would be fun to let someone work their "magic" on those negative spaces. 

And do you wanna see the super awesome and totally perfect background fabric I picked out?  Of course you do......

I had originally planned on recovering my office chair in that fabric (so I obviously have lots of it!) but I thought it might be a little loud as a chair and just overwhelm any other decorations I put in the room.  But I'm sure I won't have any problems finding other ways to use it!

And I'm now 3/4 of the way done with those dang ties on the Living Room Quilt.  So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to add another one to the finished column next week!  Wouldn't that be crazy?!  I'm really beginning to worry that I'm becoming a more efficient and responsible person who finishes what she starts.  My friends and family will think I've been abducted by aliens and replaced with a new Jenny.

Sooooo.....non-alien Jenny will now report in with this weeks stats:

Finished Projects: The Hooterville Top is DONE!  I know this doesn't really count as One for the Finished Column until the binding is on.....but I still feel like I reached a big milestone so it should go in some sort of "Kind Of Finished" column.
Active WIPs:  5  - That number is unchanged from last week!
-Living Room Quilt:  Almost 3/4 of the way done with the ties!
-Hooterville:  Top is pieced.  Owls just need French knot eyes.  Then it's off to the quilter!
-Dollhouse:  No Progress.  Maybe I should quit reporting on this one as I think the dollhouse is going to be one of those projects that goes on for years and years.....kind of like a real house....it's just NEVER done.  But I did find an artist who makes awesome, realistic looking dollhouse sized dogs from photos of your own dog!  My unfinished house NEEDS a mini Emma to "guard" it.
-Teeny, Tiny Hexie Project:  Almost Done!
-Zelda's Fancy Witch Hat :  No progress.  Seriously.....I finished the Hooterville top last week.  A girl can only get so much done at once!

Next In Line:  Vintage Valentine!  Currently covering the dining room table.
Back Burner WIPs:  4
Ready To Go:  22 - That number is unchanged from last week!
Must Make:  10 - That number is unchanged from last week!
New Projects:  ZERO! 
Forgotten/Abandoned Projects:  Didn't find any last week - Yay!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny 

P.S.  Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my last two posts about the Granny Square quilt and the chaotic Hooterville border.  You guys are awesome!  Big hugs from me!!!  And sloppy puppers kisses from Emma Jane for those that are interested!

P.P.S.S.  And for those that are interested we have lots of Hooterville patterns in the shop.  I think there will be a riot if the manufacturer ever quits making them!

Granny Square Quilt -The Grand Finale!

So here she is.....my Granny Square Quilt....in all her pretty, scrappy, pastel glory!

 

 

Next up......another Granny Square Quilt using fabric from the Going Coastal Collection.  Lots of fussy cutting of the Bottlecaps print is in my future.......

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S.   You can find the tutorial for this incredibly addictive quilt here.

Work In Progress Wednesday - Chaos In Hooterville

Even though I spent a lot of the last week basking in the glory of finishing my Granny Square Quilt I didn't just rest on my laurels.....I went full steam ahead on Hooterville and the Living Room Quilt.  I was so excited to start planning the layout of my Hooterville blocks and once I started trying to arrange everything the violins came to a screeching halt......This just doesn't look right.......

Something is wrong here.  Very wrong.  All those little X-blocks in between the trees and owls just look chaotic.  Dizzying.  Out of place.   There's nowhere for your eye to focus or rest.

But for some reason the multi-colored X-blocks look great on the quilt on the cover of the pattern, don't they?  What's up with that?  Why do hers look so good and mine look so weird?

I don't know if it's because I'm just using two colors instead of a more varied palette like in the designers quilt.  Or if it's because of the strong contrast between pink and green.  But looking at my quilt was giving me the same feeling you get after stepping off one of those spinning rides at an amusement park.  And you'll just have to trust me on this but it looked WAY worse in real life.  The picture isn't capturing the full horribleness of the ick factor.

My first instinct was to stick all the blocks into a cardboard box and shove it in the back of a closet and just forget that I ever started this quilt.  But then a little inner voice reminded me that I'm trying to become one of those people who actually finishes things.  Darn it.  It's tough to be good.

So I started trying some other things and came up with the idea to use a single fabric for the inner border.  After auditioning several fabrics I laid out these green polka dots and the angels sang.....

Ooooohhhhh......squeal........I LOVE it!  No more chaos.  No more ick factor.  Just total cuteness.  And I'm going to use the Green Plaid (the one I used in the upper left tree) for the outer border.  That'll just double the cute factor!

Soooo....a word to the wise......If you're one of the many, many people making a Hooterville Quilt you may want to consider a single fabric for the inner border before you make 28 X-Blocks that you now have no purpose for......

Hmmm.......perhaps these could become a preppy, little tote bag.  Or maybe a little quilt where I alternate X-Blocks and solid blocks.  I dunno......All I know is that I just can't stand the thought of letting them go to waste!

So my stats are completely unchanged this week.

Finished Projects:  The Granny Square Quilt is still done!  Remember....I'm still basking in the glory! 
Active WIPs:  5  - That number is unchanged from last week!
-Living Room Quilt:  Almost 3/4 of the way done with the ties!
-Hooterville:  Piecing the top together.  Almost ready to go to the quilter!
-Dollhouse:  No Progress
-Teeny, Tiny Hexie Project:  Almost Done!
-Zelda's Fancy Witch Hat :  No progress. 

Next In Line:  Vintage Valentine!  It's not really next in line anymore.....I've already started making applique templates.
Back Burner WIPs:  4
Ready To Go:  22 - That number is unchanged from last week!
Must Make:  10 - That number is unchanged from last week!
New Projects:  ZERO!  Or is it One?  I've got all those abandoned unused X-Blocks that I have to do something with.
Forgotten/Abandoned Projects:  Didn't find any last week - Yay!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny