Q is For Quilt

A friend of mine was showing me her awesome quilts the other night and it inspired me to get several projects finished that have been lounging in my sewing room / office / book room / disaster area.  And then I realized that next week's playgroup letter is Q!!!  I don't know if I'll actually use any of these books for playgroup -- they're a little more advanced than 2-3 year olds -- but I love them.  A lot.

Especially these two:

Both of these books are BEAUTIFUL!  And both have wonderful messages about what really is important -- service, love, and discovering what your own gift is.

Neither of these is at my library and that's a darn shame.  I'm sorry I'm not going into more detail but if you can find them, check them out.  It will totally be worth it.

The other book that I've enjoyed this week (that I did find at my library) is The Name Quilt.

This is a very sweet story about a girl and her grandmother who has a quilt embroidered with all the names of her family members.  Each night when her granddaughter visits, the grandma tells her stories about each of the family members featured on the quilt.  Then, there's a hurricane and the quilt is lost.  So they start again.  I was very touched by this story for it's message about family and survival.  Particularly with everything going on now, it really struck a chord.

Even if you don't love quilts -- check them out.  You'll love them, I promise.

A Shopping Tip

I tend to collect patterns for cute girls dresses, fun pillows, quilts of course.  I keep them in the back of my mind for sales but I feel funny about taking a pattern to a store, especially when it's the store that I bought the pattern at.  Then, voila!  Lightbulb!  I do have a digital camera right?

So now I take a digital picture of the requirements for a pattern and I can access it at the store easily without worrying about the pattern!

It's A Studio!

It's hard not to go anywhere but up.

Especially when your last workspace was an over-sized closet.

But the shoe organizer still comes in handy.  Even though I have an entire room now.

But a bigger space doesn't necessarily mean a bigger budget.

I wish.

So wanting and having are two very different things.

But I wanted a design wall, and now I have it!

Do you love it?  You should.  It's covered in hearts and that is the universal symbol for love, right?

I can't take credit for this idea but I also don't know who to credit for it -- and for that I am sorry.  There was a tip in Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine to use flannel backed tablecloths as a design wall.

Well, Valentine's Day merchandise is on clearance at Target so I bought one to try.

And even though the hearts show through, it actually works.

My 3-year old helped me design with these blocks by the way.  So easy even a 3-year old can do it.

I guess sometimes wanting and having CAN be the same thing!