Category Archives: Kindness & Community

Social Media Thoughts

Social media is such a big part of life these days. It was such a short time ago that people didn’t spend so much of their time on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Periscope, and of course, blogs. To some extent, I enjoy all of these. Well, not really. I don’t use Snapchat or Periscope and only rarely look at Twitter. As a blogger and Etsy Shop owner, it is pretty much mandatory that I maintain a presence on Instagram, Facebook and my blog. But wow, it can be such a time suck. Trying to balance how much time to spend on social media vs time spent actually creating isn’t easy. I try to minimize time on media or I lose out and don’t have enough time to create which is what this is really all about for me.

Blogging was substantially more popular before the advent of Instagram and Snapchat. I can see that it has declined over the past couple of years. My conclusion is that blogging takes longer. Instagram gives the user immediate gratification. Post a picture and followers start liking it. Learn the right hashtags and more people notice. And so it goes. However, that is the crux of the issue.

Because of smart phones and the many outlets of social media, people are relying on instant gratification. This immediate response, constant exchange of information, colorful screens, videos etc have been shown to reduce the overall attention span of users. I actually had an interesting conversation with Julia yesterday. She has always been an avid reader. Since she was very young, she has loved books. This summer, when she has so much free time to indulge her love of books, she hasn’t been reading. She received a stack of books for Christmas and her birthday but hasn’t touched them. When I asked her why, she said that she kept trying different books and none of them held. her. attention. Right away, we sat and had a chat about the use of her phone and iPad and how it is such a distraction. I explained what I have been reading about shortened attention spans. She went in and picked up another book and started reading. I was thrilled to see her on the couch with a book and, soon after, to hear her talking about the plot, the author and how much she liked the book.

Back to my original point though, I am a tiny bit disheartened to see some decline in the blog world. For me, I think of Instagram as a quick conversation. Meeting someone on Instagram is akin to those days when you stop somewhere to grab a cup of coffee and as you walk out on to the sidewalk paper cup in hand, you see an acquaintance. Hellos are exchanged and a quick, enjoyable visit occurs. Along these lines, meeting someone by reading their blog and conversing back and forth over time is like walking into the coffee shop, seeing a dear friend and sitting down together with your mugs (not the paper cups) and chatting for an hour. The relationship is deeper and, for me, much more gratifying. I will continue to use Instagram, as I do enjoy seeing photos of work that others are involved in. But it is certainly a different experience. I much prefer blogging. So I continue to write and take photos and publish blog posts because I really enjoy and appreciate the relationship I have with my online community of friends.

A Quilty Lunch Date

18 Replies

We are still on vacation in Maine and having the best time. The weather has been wonderful and we have been to lots of fun places. It has been exactly what I was hoping for.

We have coffee on the deck each morning and watch the lobster boats come in and check their traps. So cool!

When Ray and I decided to plan a trip for this summer, I reached out to several quilty friends that live in various parts of the mid-west and the east to get ideas for our trip. It was so great to bounce ideas off of Janine, Mari, and Kitty since I haven’t been out here for such a long time and really, never came this far north and east. All three women were so kind as to give me loads of ideas to choose from for the trip. After much discussion, Ray and I decided on Maine.

Some time later, Mari and I were chatting via email and she suggested that since she has family in Maine, maybe she could plan a trip to visit during the time that we were scheduled to be up here. Guess what, it worked! Today we were able to meet each other in person. W decided to meet for lunch in the tiny town of Hallowell. The criteria for the meeting place was that we split the distance between us and drive to the midpoint, and that the town had to have a quilt shop (naturally). Hallowell worked out perfectly.

I was so excited to get together with Mari. You might remember that I followed along with Mari’s 2015 BOM, Classic Stitches, last year. I loved making that row quilt and learned so much from Mari’s tutorials each month. We have been on-line friends for two years now (which seems so crazy- two years already?) When we were both walking up to the restaurant that we planned to meet at it was like seeing a long-time friend. We greeted each other with a big hug and a fantastic lunch followed. Conversation flowed so easily. The afternoon flew by, too quickly actually.

Mari was so sweet to bring me a gift. She is a thoughtful soul.

Yummy fat quarters and gorgeous spools of Essential Thread, plus treats (some of which we may have shared after lunch?) The fat quarters are hand dyed by Vicki Welsh. I do have a small stash of Vicki’s fabric, but I don’t have these colors. They are a beautiful addition of gorgeous color.

What a fun day. We did get over to the quilt shop and both of us indulged. I will take pictures later on to share with you. I am so happy that I got a chance to spend some time with Mari in person. What a treat! I know we aren’t likely to get together again for a long while but who knows….hopefully we will have another opportunity to meet somewhere in the future. Till then, blogging, quilting and emailing makes for a very cool friendship. Thanks so much Mari for making the trek up here! It was so much fun.

Charitable Giveaway Winner!

1 Reply

Today I drew the lucky winner for my second annual blogiversary giveaway. I had asked readers to tell me what donation they would like me to make a contribution to if they were picked. The winner is Nicolle whose blog is called LadySchep. It is kind of cool that her name was drawn. Here is why:

Happy Blogiversary! My two year was last week, but I totally missed it, lol. What a great way to celebrate! If I get picked, I chose Pregnancy Solutions in Venice, FL as the beneficiary.

See? It’s perfect. She didn’t get a chance to celebrate her blogiversary (she started just two weeks before I did) so we are celebrating it together with a donation to Pregnancy Solutions. I checked out their website and it looks like they provide a wealth of support to women of all ages who are experiencing pregnancy. What a nice choice for a donation. Happy Blogiversary Nicolle! If you haven’t come across her blog, check it out. Attorney by day & blogging in all of her “spare” time, Nicolle writes with a joyful tone and has made some lovely projects including quilts, stuffies, bags and more. I even read a few book reviews sprinkled in there, which I love. So many books, so many projects, so little time – right??

Thanks to all who entered and gave good wishes. I am so looking forward to my third year with all of you! Here’s to more projects, visiting, quilty support and friendship!

Needle and Foot – 2nd Blogiversary

34 Replies

Two years ago, when I started this blog, I was so nervous. Like most people that start out, I was afraid I would host this party and no one would show up. But guess what? People read my posts, and not all of these readers were related to me! Hard to believe that it has been two years but it has.

I am so grateful for the friends I have made so far and all that I have learned. When I was starting out, my son, Andrew, showed me how to track how many views I was getting and where they were coming from. Both of us were so surprised to see that this community of quilters was spread out all over the world. I love that. I have made friends all over the United States, Canada and Europe as well as Israel, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden and Mexico. How exciting is that! Our world is spread so far yet we are all able to share this common interest.

I am also thankful for all that I have learned via this blog and our community. Over the past year, I participated more and grew my blog. I joined the 2015 New Blogger event, wrote a few tutorials, was brave enough to hang my quilts in a local show, entered a challenge for QuiltCon and worked ever so hard to further my FMQ skills. All of this was because of the quilting community I am a part of. This amazing group of people that so generously shares knowledge, ideas and feedback is a huge source of information and friendship.

As thanks to all of you, I would like to host my second annual Charitable Giveaway. I am feeling ever so fortunate but there are many out there that need our support. Like last year, I want to donate to one of your favorite non-profits. It can be any cause that you hold near and dear to your heart. Leave me a comment telling me what charity you would like to be the recipient if you win. I will draw one lucky winner and make a donation of $25 to the charity of their choosing. Because I don’t have to pay crazy shipping fees, this giveaway is open world-wide. I hope all of you will enter. The giveaway will stay open until Thursday, June 9th and the winner announced on Friday the 10th. Here’s to another awesome year!

Lots Going On!

20 Replies

The week is starting out with a bang! Yesterday I was scheduled to have some dental surgery today and I really, really, really wasn’t looking forward to it. Imagine my joy when the dental office called to reschedule my appointment (hopefully in another decade, another century, as far out as I can schedule it!) Anyway, Ray had taken the day off because he expected to be driving the patient home and rolling his loopy wife out of the car and into bed. Since we didn’t have to do this, we opted for a drive up to Downieville and a hike.

These poppies are just everywhere. Last year when they all went to seed, I collected tons of seed pods and tried to start them in our garden. Not one plant came up. I am not sure why but I am going to give it another try this fall. I know they are grow happily up here as they are just covering everyone’s yards and hillsides. I love the drama of these vivid red poppies.

Really deep and crystal clear, the river is running so fast. Ray and I are curious to see how high it remains this summer. Last year, with the drought, it ran quite low. I suspect this summer will be a different story. Monday was a totally different day than the one I expected. Hurray for small blessings like dental appointment cancellations!!!

This weekend I was able to catch up on the FMQ quiltalong that I have been doing with Lori at The Inbox Jaunt. This project just gets cuter and cuter.

Those sailboats make this whole project shine! I love them and kind of want to make something for a child that features the boats. I think they are just adorable. It is with mixed feelings that I watch for today’s post from Lori. This week we will be quilting the last row and adding some finishing touches. Overall, this was a fun way to practice my FMQ.

In support of the May is for Makers theme this month, I purchased my second indie pattern of the month. Yikes, it was hard to choose. It sort of reminds me of when my youngest son was little. (Ok, even now at 25 years old, he is still like this.) He had such a hard time making choices – picking out an ice cream flavor took such a long time. The donut shop was even worse. When he grew to be a teenager, I dreaded the hours we would spend shopping when it was time to get new shoes. It looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Here I was, shopping for a pattern-just for fun, no parameters. I was buying a pattern only because I wanted to support someone in their creative efforts. And I just COULDN’T DECIDE! Finally, I made my choice and bought a newly released pattern from Kirsty over at Bonjour Quilts. It is called Fleur.

This mini finishes at 11″ square though she also sells a pattern for a jumbo size Fleur which works into a queen size quilt. I am thinking this mini would look great with four blocks so that it finished at 22″ x 22″. It is a sweet, summery look and will be fun to put together.

Finally, guess what! I am working on my first tutorial for Sew Mama Sew! I am excited about it and a little nervous because I really want to get all the details written up clearly and concisely. The tutorial is for something I have made so many times that I can do it without thought. Now I am making a few of them and trying to take good notes of the steps necessary. It posts in three weeks so hopefully I will have it all worked out by early next week.

I hope your week has started out as happy as mine!!

Linking to my usual favorites. Check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Craftsy Update: In a continued celebration of their birthday, Craftsy is offering some of their most popular classes for 50% off. Sale begins Wednesday, May 18th! Check them out. I have taken some quilting classes purchased at Craftsy and feel that that the caliber of the classes is first rate! (I am a Craftsy affiliate, meaning if you click through my link and make a purchase, I will receive a small payment.)

Weekly Wip Update

9 Replies

Let’s start off with the fun fact that this is my 200th post. That is sort of cool. 🙂

The last week didn’t include as much sewing time as I would have liked. I lost a couple of days because I was down with a bug. I managed to watch a few episodes of Downton Abbey though so it wasn’t a total loss. (I just discovered the show a few months ago and luckily, Amazon streams it. I have been devouring this soap opera lately, with the Dowager Countess being my favorite character.)

The days that I was able to spend time sewing were mostly productive. I made a few new French Press cozies for my Etsy shop. Beyond that, I started quilting my black and white Stepping Stones quilt. So far, I am quilting along the diagonal, following the black and white squares. I have not touched the tiny HST’s or the blue strips. My thought is to finish the black and white charms and then decide what, if anything, to do with the other smaller parts.

I am using white thread and the quilting is coming along nicely. However, the white stitching doesn’t show up well for pictures.

I have been alternating quilting a large spiral and then in the next square quilting a loopy design.

I have quilted about 1/3 so far. Other projects beckoned though and I set this aside for a few days.

I have been having a blast working on my sewalong with Tami of Sew Much for Free Time. Every time I make another friend via this blog, I am just blown away by the ease of the relationship. By now we have been emailing back and forth with progress pictures and ideas. It is so much fun. Our 241 Totebags are swiftly moving toward completion! Working with a friend has kept both of us on track and has somehow made the project seem to come together quickly. This is my second project using a Noodlehead pattern or tutorial and the directions are just wonderful. So far, I have constructed the entire outer bag and have been working on prepping the inside portion.

These prints are bright, fun and maybe a little wild but I think they are perfect for the intended recipient.

For the inside, I added one of my Needle and Foot labels. I have just a few left as I normally put these on product that goes into my Etsy shop.

There are options for zipper pockets on the outer portion but I politely declined the option. (Read, I was too lazy to fuss with a zipper.) I did add a square of Velcro to the patch pocket on the inside (I was feeling guilty.)

Finally, I made a little attachment to hang a key chain holder. I love these little guys; saves so much time not having to hunt to the bottom of your bag to find your keys. There is a coordinating key fob in the works.

Because there will be a bit of tugging each time the keys are hooked and unhooked, I fused some stabilizer to the back for support.

The lining portion of the purse and the shoulder strap should go together quickly. I’m pretty excited about the whole thing and have a feeling I will make another one for myself.

Yesterday I posted a progress picture on Instagram and guess who commented? Um, Anna Graham, from Noodlehead. Looks like we are sewing buddies now. 😉

.What a great project this has been. I am going to have to find another fun sewalong/quiltalong type of activity after this. If you have a minute, check out Tami’s progress. Seeing the same pattern come together in two very different colorways is very interesting. They each look very unique.

Linking to Linky Tuesday, Let’s Bee Social and Sew Cute Tuesday! All links are found as always, at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Craftsy Update: In celebration of their 5th anniversary, Craftsy will hold a great sale of kits and supplies running May 12th through the 15th. Check it out here!

(I am a Craftsy affiliate and will receive a small payment for any sales that occur via my blog.)

May is for Makers

9 Replies

The idea of supporting all of the Indie Designers is being (understandably) touted heavily among quilting blogs this week. It started with a post by Lindsey Rhodes which has everyone thinking about the balance of expecting/wanting everything for free via the internet and supporting the amazing people that spend so much time working on patterns and are trying to eek out a bit of finanacial return on their efforts. I am as guilty as the next maker for using the free ideas (which are endlessly abundant) and passing on actually buying patterns. It isn’t a question of fairness or honesty. I am not using ideas that are not published for other’s use. However, I have a huge appreciation for the work that goes into the published patterns. Especially after writing my first tutorials — those take such a long time. But a pattern for a quilt is a much more difficult undertaking.

In celebration of May Makers, and as a show of my gratitude for all of the knowledge I have gained for not a penny, I will purchase a couple of patterns for my upcoming projects. I have my amazing Dear Stella fabric sitting there waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I plan to shop the patterns and find the perfect one for that gorgeous stack of pretty. I hope this might inspire one or two readers to go out and shop the talented makers that are out there. Craftsy has lovely, well-written patterns for sale and most all of your favorite quilters have a shop linking from their blog. Show them some love.

In other news, my fabric purchasing self-control was severely put to the test yesterday! I worked at the “Country Store” during our local quilt show. If you are unfamiliar, the Country Store is a place where guild members can offer up items they no long want and sell them with some of the proceeds going to the guild and some to the seller. Oh my goodness, the deals that were available!! It was so tempting to buy fabric. I was working the checkout line and was drooling over the fabric that people were buying. Fat quarters for $1.00, or less! Kits that were purchased and never made, items that were completed and no longer wanted, yardage and notions galore. So much temptataion. I do NOT need fabric right now. You know that as well as I do! I kept my drooling to myself and used all of my willpower to come home having spent only $2.50. 🙂

I bought one purple batik fat quarter for all of 50 cents. My purple stash is depleted after making my scrappy projects for the month of March. One fat quarter doesn’t restore the scrap bin, but I don’t have any purple projects in the making right now so it’s fine.

I bought this stack or 2013/14 American Quilter magazines for $2.00 I LOVE quilting magazines but the budget only goes so far. These will be read cover to cover – numerous times each! I think American Quilter has very good articles on the artistic side of modern quilting. Plus there are tutorials on FMQ from my favorite, Lori Kennedy of The Inbox Jaunt. In keeping with my recycling philosophy, I will pass these along to a quilty friend or two when I am done with them.

It was hard to pass up all of the bargains yesterday but just because it is ‘only a few dollars’ or ‘nearly free’ doesn’t mean I need to add it to the collections of fabric which overflow from my closet. It becomes almost overwhelming!

Time to go search for the perfect pattern to use when I start my Dear Stella project!

Linking to Main Crush Monday and Sunday Stash. Links to both are available at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Quilting for a Cause

6 Replies

I love to help. Doing something to help another makes a person feel good inside, it is gratifying. Quilting to help others is like the perfect combination for me, adding even more value to my favorite pasttime. I have donated six quilts over the past couple of years. However, donating a whole quilt takes a fair amount of time. Donating a few blocks here and there takes almost no time at all and gives me with a sense of participation and satisfaction. Remember when I posted about making the heart blocks for victims of the fires in California last summer? That was a very easy, satisfying project to contribute to. Here is another.

Reading through my blog feed on Bloglovin last week, I stumbled across Kat & Cat Quilts, a blog that was new to me. (It is amazing how many quilt blogs are out there. So much to read, so much inspiration to take in.) Anyway, this blog, written by Kat, sponsors an ongoing project called Covered in Love. Kat is a nurse in a med-surgical unit at East Texas Medical Center. She supports the dying process for some of her patients. Knowing the comfort it provides the patient, and the family of that patient, she tries to provide a quilt for patients nearing the end of their life in the hospital. As the family transitions and grieves the loss of their loved one, they are able to keep the quilt as a treasure to bring them comfort. Below are seven quilts that were made with the blocks donated in October, 2015.

This is no small undertaking for Kat and while she does have quite a number of quilters that donate blocks, she spends a lot of time piecing and quilting and finishing these wonderful quilts. I believe she has some quilters that help with this as well.

Each month she specifies the block she will be working with, provides a tutorial and the color scheme. This month she is asking for simple I-Spy blocks, using adult themed novelty fabrics in the center. For a quick look at the tutorial, click here. I jumped in this month and made two blocks to contribute.

These are a breeze to cut and piece. My only issue was my lack of novelty prints. I was really scrounging to find fabric that I could fussy cut and get a 2 1/2″ center block from. My stash includes lots and lots of juvenile prints but not many for adults. I shipped two blocks off to Texas with the hope that they are included in a quilt for one of the patients at East Texas Hospital.

For the bicycle fabric, I cut into a piece of fabric I have been hoarding from Kate & Birdie, called Bicycle, in the Bluebird Park line. I love this line and haven’t decided what to do with it yet. What? Make a quilt with it? Hmmm…. maybe I will. 😉 For now though, I have cut off a corner and fussy cut two bicycles from it. They look so sweet.

I wanted to share this project with you in case you want to participate. We all follow our list of favorite blogs and I am very happy to add Kat & Cat Quilts to the list. If you are aware of other projects like this, I would love to hear about them. Leave a quick comment for me.

Linking to Let’s Bee Social today!

Saturday Smile

6 Replies

If you are an Instagram user, you might have seen the flurry of activity surrounding #GETYOURQUILTYWISHESGRANTED. In the usual form of this quilting community, there is all kinds of giving going on. I am not sure who started it (if you know, please give them credit in the comments) but it is such a joy. IG quilters are posting a wish’ for a particular pattern, a certain piece of fabric, scraps from a certain line or colorway, and others are granting the wish. Yep, just out of the kindness of their quilty heart, mailing off their fabric, usually to someone they have not met, in an effort to make them happy. Yet another example of why I love this community. It feels great to fill a need and is fun to receive something you have been looking for or have run out of. I have filled one wish so far and plan to run through the hashtag again and see what else I can do. Just because it is a nice thing to do.

On another note, my sister, Alicia, shared this video on her Facebook page a week or two ago. I loved it and have watched it a couple of times. It is a mashup of 66 classic movie dance scenes set to Uptown Funk, by Bruno Mars. I thought you might enjoy it too. It is a bit long but really entertaining. I am dating myself when I say that I used to sit and watch the Shirley Temple movies with my sisters. We would watch them when we were over at my Aunt’s house. It is such a fond memory and here is Shirley Temple dancing to Uptown Funk. It’s fantastic. Enjoy!

Mixed Bag of Updates

12 Replies

I want to give a couple of updates on past posts. They are both heartwarming to say the least! Here goes:

Remember the post about the yellow and gray elephant quilt that I made for a friend several months ago? To recap, my daughter-in-law’s brother and his wife had been trying to have a baby for a very long while. After many miscarriages, they finally decided to take an alternate route and use a surrogacy firm. This firm is located in India and it was a huge undertaking but it speaks to their determination to have a child. You might want to read more about it on my blog, here, or on Margot’s blog, Find Your Spark. (I have given you the link to her home page, rather than a specific post. There are many posts on the process as she went through it and it is a wonderful read.)

Here is the latest! Margot and TJ’s daughter, Emmerson Kate, was born in September! It is hard to believe that she is already one month old. This baby is such a miracle. Margot and TJ traveled to India about a week before Emmerson was born so they were there for the birth of their baby. That was such an exciting day. Pictures were being texted from India to the East Coast and then to the West Coast. The first pictures of Margot holding Emmerson brought tears to my eyes. It took a few weeks to process the paperwork and get Emmerson’s passport but as soon as that was completed, they were able to fly back to the States and settle into their new life as a family of three. Margot sent me a few pictures of Emmerson with the quilt I sent her.

She is just adorable. Here she is on the back side of the quilt.

She is such a sweet girl. I wish this family joy and happiness. Margot continually says that she is blessed to have Emmerson. That is certainly true. It is also true that Emmerson is so blessed to have such wonderful parents in Margot and TJ.

Update number two is about the Ashes to Beauty project. At the end of September I wrote a post about a project to help the quilters in Northern California who had lost their homes and belongings in the Butte Fire. I put out a call for quilters to make pastel colored, 10″ blocks with a heart appliqued on each one. It was wonderful to see the number of readers who made blocks and/or put the word out to others. One reader posted it on a Facebook page for a quilt guild in Ohio and they responded with blocks. A few days ago I received an email update on the project. Here is what Kerri (the project coordinator)had to say:

THANK YOU to everyone who made Ashes To Beauty heart blocks. We stopped counting at 500 and there are still many more. We have more than enough to make 9 quilts for ladies who lost everything in the fire.

We received blocks from all over the country and as far away as New York, Ontario, Canada, and Hawaii. Needless to say I am overwhelmed at your generosity, kind words for me and the ladies who will receive the quilts and the obvious love and care that went into your blocks. Also for generous cash donations for battings and backings and supplies, etc. One gal who was evacuated but her home did not burn made lovely labels for each quilt.

Again- THANK YOU so much. God does truly console the hurting and turns ashes into beauty and many times uses us to accomplish it. We have begun sewing the blocks together and they are wonderful.

I’ll take some photos and send them along later.

I think it is just awesome that they received so many blocks! Thank you to all that participated and sent in blocks or told others about the project! If I receive pictures of the quilts, I will post them later on.

Finally, last but certainly not least, thank you all for the prayers and good wishes you offered up for my mom. She is really doing well. It seems like she gets a bit stronger each day. We are all so happy to see her up and walking (still with the support of a walker). She is now doing the work of healing and resting and going to myriad post-op doctor visits. My sisters and I are taking turns staying up at Mom and Dad’s to help with errands, cooking, etc. In a strange way, this is sort of the silver lining for me. We don’t all get together very often, but with everyone coming and going to help out at mom’s, I get to see one, if not two, of my sisters each week. (Mom and I live about 15 miles apart.) I think I need to convince my mom to keep this visiting daughter/nurse thing going on as long as possible! 😉

Well, it is the end of October and I have done little to no quilting. Clearly I didn’t complete my ALYOF goal for this month! I had hoped to sandwich and quilt the Kaffe Fassett jelly roll quilt I made. But it is still hanging in the closet, untouched. I had also planned to complete the brown row of blocks for my Classic Stitches BOM quilt. I have completed only two of those little blocks so far. But it feels like life is calming down now and I think I will be getting back into the routine soon. So what have you accomplished this month?? I would love to hear.