Tie on those drool bibs, my dears...

January can be a mixed bag:  

• The holidays are over and you could be either satisfied, filled with regret, and/or just happy to be alive (or all three?).  
• If you traveled, you could be behind on laundry, sending Christmas cards, taking down holiday decorations, etc.  
• If you were making gifts for others and unable to sew much on your own projects, you could be way behind your goals.  
• In some places, the weather could be gloomy and yucky. 
• If you spent too much, you could be budgeting yourself, especially on fabric (Move over Greece, here comes quilting "austerity!").   

What do you do when you are temporarily overwhelmed by the new year and isolating in your quilt cave??

ROAD TRIP!

Yep, when I need a close and quick fix, I head for my favorite quilt haunt in southeast lower Michigan...Jennifer's Quilt Shop in Pinckney, Michigan.  

But if I want to get the Hell out of the state, but not go TOO far, I head to The Door Mouse in Bettsville, Ohio.  It is especially fun to make the trip with friends who have never been before and watch their eyes bug out.

It is, literally out in the middle of NOWHERE, east and slightly south of Toledo, Ohio.   When you get out of the car and scan the horizon, this is what you see...

...absolutely NUTTIN' for MILES AND MILES!!  I mean, facing a vintage barn surrounded by corn fields, it's hard to believe what is hidden inside.

Blues...

Greens...

Purples...

Pinks to the right, Reds to the left...

Yellows...

Oranges...

Neutrals...

Batiks on both sides...

Oh my goodness, the reproduction SECTION...

(you have to just dig in and root around to see all the bolts, they are stacked 3 rows deep in some places...excuse me why I wipe the drool from my chin)

...30's fabrics...

It is a 2+ story barn, the second story mostly containing abundant samples, but on the front end there is a loft containing Christmas florals, some of their kid collection and novelties, fruits and veg, and the most flannel I have ever seen in my life!

I LOVE this view from the loft...

Some of their novelties, fruits, veg (there's a whole, long row of them downstairs as well)...

...Christmas florals...

And flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...flannels...

...and more flannels...

There are also "modern" fabrics, patterns, books, bundles, kits, classes (the classroom in impressively huge, but there was a class in session so I didn't take pictures...).  

When you enter, you are greeted by samples of the season and a cute bathroom (it is a bit of a drive)...this time there were Valentine quilts and car quilts (maybe commemorating the Detroit Auto Show?), and Irish fabrics ready to get you in a St. Patrick's Day mood (with enough time to do a project before the green beer appears).  

They have gifts, bag patterns and samples of all kinds, and a very pleasant and efficient staff.

They have about 14,000 bolts.

The store has been in existence for 32 years and is owned by Mary Ann Sorg.  The barn is old and original ("there were actually cows...right here...at one time"), but it has been lovingly restored and maintained.  Moo-moo, I approve!

This is the best place I have found to buy the tone-on-tone fabrics I like to use in my applique.

The one drawback would be the closest eatery between the store and Bettsville.  There's a restaurant a few miles away in the opposite direction, toward Fostoria, that is better.

Hang in there...January will be over before you know it!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Thank you for the question about prices, Kathie.  They are good!  I primarily bought tone-on-tone greens and purples yesterday, with a couple of cuts from a current music fabric line.  Some of the older bolts were $8.00/yard with nothing that I selected over $10.50.  Most were around $9 and $9.50 per yard.

I stayed out of the repro section yesterday (can you believe it, Kathie?!?), so I can't be specific about that.  One of my companions was in the repro section QUITE A WHILE, and she was like a hungry dog in a fresh bone pile!  She was rooting around and finding the usual lines from mainstream companies, some older things she had not seen in a while, and some things she had not ever seen before from smaller companies.

The trip is worth it for the shirting selection alone. 

Fruit mash-ups...

When I apply glue stick to applique pieces or glue baste pieces to the backgrounds prior to stitching, I refer to these steps as "mash-ups" (like "mock-ups").  I picked this term because I do a lot of mashing and squeezing between my fingers and against the table or light box to be sure that I get good adhesion from either the glue stick or the little bottle of Roxanne's glue baste.

I am mashing up three different blocks of my "Baltimore Rhapsody" quilt project at one time, trying to save myself a little time by doing "like things" together.  It does make it seem a little like an assembly line, but I am so eager to get this initial quilt of 16 blocks TOGETHER...in this century.

The strawberries will be in the viola block and the grapes in the harp block.

I wonder what is going between the columns in this block...behind block #1?!?  (I used to LOVE to watch "The Dating Game" when sick and home from school...)

Don't you LOVE the fabrics I found in my stash for the portico?  They are from the line "Stonehenge."  I bought a fat quarter bundle of about 8 of the colorways at the 2012 Sauder Village Quilt Show last May, fully anticipating participating in their 2013 show challenge.  Yeah, right...

When will I ever learn that I probably won't do the challenge?!?  I do well just to get a quilt/quilts finished for that show.  I am happy to have the fabric now, though.  I hope I can find some more of this particular line - I think there is now a "Stonehenge II."

What do you do if you can't make up your mind which green fabric to make container trees from?  Why, use ALL of them, of course, silly!

When I make myself sit for more than 10 minutes at a time, I will get things stitched so that I can show you completed blocks!   There are three Christmas trees, still decorated (attracting witches), and a box of Christmas cards with addresses already written on the envelopes, but I am persevering with the mashing and prepping because I am itching for some stitching...

Have you taken your tree down?  Oh, lie to me and make me feel less guilty...

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

After the Mayans and the "fiscal cliff"...

Happy New Year (a little belated)!  Despite the Mayan warning, the fiscal cliff, and an extended family Christmas down south for eleven days, we made it to 2013.

December is quite a blur right now...as a church musician, it is a very busy time, even without the other madness of the season.  Then there was the last minute gift finishing, decorating, and we decided to throw an "end of the world party" on December 21 (you know..."party like there is no to-maya").  I doodled the picture above for the invites, but thankfully no asteroid hit.

I managed to finish seven gift table runners by Christmas Eve...even hand quilted them.  I took time to photograph two of them.

Then I made several pairs of earrings for gifts...why is it that I have to drag ALL the beads out before I can work?!?

The creative part of me loves the over-stimulation, but it drives the OCD neat freak in me CRAZY!!  There was nowhere to work.

Then, I tried my hand at another yo-yo Christmas ornament.

I have enough yo-yo's made for ten of these tree ornaments, but only had time to finish one...so I have a good head start on NEXT Christmas.

I love using those Karen Kay Buckley "Perfect Circles" to make them...a yo-yo will finish about half the diameter of the circle you start with.

I put the last hand quilting stitches and hanging sleeves on two small pieces for gifts.

"No Crows" by P3 Designs and a Christmas Sampler wall hanging.

One of my sisters had a baby while I was home for Christmas, so that was really special, but the trip is always so hectic and I start the new year burned out and exhausted.  I managed to see my parents, great aunt, all six of my siblings, and six of the seven nieces and nephews on my side of the family...and put almost 2000 miles on the car.  (We also slept in four different places, and I cooked in three different kitchens.)

It is good to be home!  I am SOOOOOO behind on answering email...so please be patient with me.  I also have not sent out the Christmas cards yet...typical, so typical...  

I am working on two more "Baltimore Rhapsody" blocks simultaneously.  Yep, there is a grapevine on one of them...with 150+ grapes.  I didn't do much on the project for about 3 weeks, which makes me completely nuts.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!  I have made my typical promise to start earlier next Christmas...yeah...right...

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Yes...I went to the party...

After a long fall season with not enough playtime, I just had to go to the annual Christmas party/ornament exchange...despite the fact that I had minor foot surgery the day before.

I took two homemade ornaments (pictured in the previous post), so I got to pick two from the pile of mystery ornaments cleverly disguised in brown paper sacks.

Look how cute this chilly little crochet snowman is!  Made by Marilyn A (no blog), he is delightfully soft and plump...I will have to put him high on the Christmas tree to keep Mr. Weasley from choosing him as a holiday plaything (that cat is attracted to ornaments made with yarn - can he smell the sheep?!?). 

Debby C (no blog) made my second pick...a sweet paper-pieced Santa Claus - the perfect Santa for a quilter!  He will be in good company on the Christmas tree with my feeble attempt at a triangular Santa a few years ago...

The potluck was delicious and the company warm and engaging...I made the right choice to go!

I took something easy to make as my dish to share...7-Layered Fiesta Dip.  I'm sure EVERYONE makes a version of this time-honored party classic, but here is how I made mine.

I started with a 9 x 13 dish and spread an already prepared tub of jalapeno-bean dip.  (This is sold under different brands and found on the chip isle of the grocery store).

Next, I mixed 12 ounces of sour cream (half a large tub) with one envelope taco seasoning, then spread that on the bean dip.

I am lazy about the next layer...some people make homemade guacamole, but I cheat and buy the best quality already prepared stuff I can find at the grocery deli.  (With a little patience, it is possible to spread this on without mixing it too much with the previous layer.)

The next layers are chopped tomatoes, followed by chopped green onions.  I always buy Roma tomatoes when a recipe calls for chopped - they contain less water.  I used 4 for this recipe (be generous...these are the healthy layers).  I followed the tomatoes with a whole bunch, chopped, of green onions (the green AND the white parts).

Two more lazy layers to go!  First, a large can of already pitted, already sliced, drained (I had to do that) black olives.  (Hey...I did chop fresh tomatoes and green onions...)  I chase those with 2 cups of already shredded cheddar cheese - I prefer the "petite shreds" over the larger pieces.

Ta-da!!  I gently press down on the whole thing to slightly squish everything together.  I buy "scoops" tortilla chips to serve with the dip, but any tortilla chip will do (or "scoops" Fritos...).

Sitting around, gazing lovingly and nostalgically at my tree while listening to Christmas carols, I realized that I HAD experimented with making some yo-yo's before.  I spied the the little homespun wreath, pictured at the top of the post, with plaid fabrics several years ago.

Here's a more updated version I made to take for the ornament exchange last year.

Each little yo-yo is slightly stuffed with fiberfill before pulling the gathers tight and securing.  You can make the yo-yo's any size (start with a circle template twice the diameter of the yo-yo you want to make).

Here's a little yo-yo tree ornament made by Katrina L (no blog) from years past...

Cindy C (Nine Pine Quilts) sent me photos of two cute yo-yo ornaments from her tree...a birdhouse and an angel.  Hmmmm...gonna have to try those...thanks for the inspiration!

Yo-yo ornaments are certainly appropriate for this yo-yo time of year.!  Thank you for all your well wishes about my foot...I think things are healing nicely!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)