Wanttobe Quilter Campaign

What a glorious time to be a "non-quilter".  There's a quarter of giveaways going on at Stash Manicure, in which only newbies can win.  If you are my friend, that's you.  Here's the blurb from there:

"Hello friends and followers, I would love to invite you

to a Wantobe Quilters Campaign over here. 

 They are having quilting supplies to giveaway 5 x a week for 12 weeks. 

Supplies that will have you quilting

before you know it...From sewing machines to irons, to die cutters,

to mats, to rotary cutters, sewing baskets, scissors, batting, needles,

rolled sewing machine bags, patterns, books, magazines...everything

you could imagine to assist you in being a NEW Quilter. 

Even if you are already part of this community you can win

quilting stuff too...Tuesday and Thursday are days for us..

All you have to do is email (stayathomelibrarian @ gmail dot com) me your name and phone number 

and email sew I can submit this to the organize.  (Don't worry, the info only goes to the hostess and will be destroyed at the end of the contest- I asked)  When you leave your comment for the Monday, Wednesday Friday giveaways, be sure to tell them that Manda the Stay at Home Librarian sent you- because when you win, I win too! 

Be sure to be a follower at  Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure....

That is all! There are over 49 Sponsors involved.

I am pretty excited to be part of this, sew should you.

I love being a QUILTER! 

( p.s you will not be eligible to win anything if you do not register

with a blogger where you see this message)

I Spy With My Little Eye

Since moving to Alabama, I have taken up quilting. I'd love a quilt blog (who am I kidding, I don't keep up with this one), but instead,  I'm adding a "Manda Made" label to this one in hopes there will be more than just this post.

To commemorate starting Kindergarten, Ada and I made this quilt.  First thing, I have an I Spy addiction.  My collection has grown to over a thousand squares- thanks to charm swaps.  Swaps are a lot of fun, and you get more cute squares than you do what I call "dog butt" squares.  (In one of my swaps I swear, I got a square that featured a dog butt.) Ada picked out the squares from my collection for this quilt and decided on the layout of the squares.  Of course she picked out the pink fabric. It took me a long time to find a solid to match the setting squares for the backing, and when I did, the fabric was flawed. I think maybe from being left out in the sun at the quilt shop.   Let me tell you, I am relieved to have this quilt done.

I looked at this quilt for weeks before deciding how to quilt it.  I decided on the lattice in order to complement the backing.  Initially, I had thought to quilt horizontal and vertical straight lines along both sides of the seams, but the horizontal strips on the back weren't in line with the strips on the front. In the end, I am pleased with the lattice quilting.  I did it on my Janome 8050 using a walking foot.

I  pieced the letters below by using techniques in Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts: Easy Techniques from the UnRuly Quilter.  I have to confess that I am disappointed with how the back turned out (to no fault of the piecing technique).  At first glance, it is cute, especially with two little girls peeking over the top of it (they were making hearts with their arms).

That "W" is flawed.  I prewashed the eye fabric and the Kona.  The seams were pressed to set as I went along.  I was heartbroken when I pulled the quilt out of the dryer and the "W" had raveled.  It's probably more to do with my lack of sewing skills, and less to do with the fact I prewashed, but this will be the last time I prewash anything.

I quilted that one square a little more in hopes that it will not ravel any further. It does draw even more attention to the flaw, but my other option was to rip out all of the quilting.  Yeah, right.  Flaws add to those character, right?  This was the first quilt I quilted using straight lines.  My previous quilts have been free motion, and such, the quilting kept problems like this happening.  But, I have to tell you, I prefer the look of straight line quilting. 

I created the label in PSE and uploaded it to Spoonflower in order to have a FQ made.  Next time I'll spend some more time working the colors out. The red is a little orangey, and the black is too brown (PSE's issue, not Spoonflower's).   A custom FQ will give you a handful of labels.  Isn't it cute?  The binding is my favorite part of this quilt.  I think I'll bind all quilts in a stripey fabric!

We had to have our 13.5 year old American Curl Cat put to sleep last month.  I miss her bunches, and I used this quilt as an opportunity to memorialize her. I apologize for the picture- it was taken with my iphone before the quilt was done, and I did want to share it with you here.

Stats: 

Pattern: This is a variation of the Disappearing Nine Patch (DNP); tutorial at Obsessively Stitching.
Quilting: Straight-line lattice on my Janome 8050
Thread: Used Auriful 40 wt white for piecing and quilting
Setting Squares: Moda Chutes and Ladders Confetti Pink
Backing: Bella Solid (color unknown)
Sashing: Kona white
Binding: Sandi Henderson, Farmer's Market Summer Stripe
Resource: Word Play Quilts

From the librarian's cookbook

If I were to write a book, it would be a cookbook. This one has made the cut. It's delicious! My darling husband hates rice, but loves cauliflower, so I found this version as an alternative. He loved it. The kids loved it too!  Try subbing this "rice" for your next Asian inspired dinner and see if anyone even notices.

Right click to save. Image is .png for use in PSE.

A Crate Chair Idea

I am proud to type that we will be "official" homeschoolers two weeks from today. We've decided to use Calvert this year, but, the librarian in me is going to also be "rowing" along with Five in a Row (FIAR) when time allows.  I'm busy getting our learning space ready.  Have you discovered Pinterest?  If you haven't, go get busy pinning!  We needed chairs for our school room.  I saw the crate chairs on Pinterest I knew it would be perfect for our space.  I found a blog post from a teacher who had made them, but her reported cost per chair was pretty pricey.  I knew I could do it for cheaper. And I did.

•  Get some crates.
• I went to Wal-Mart and found these locker sized crates perfect for little tushies, also requires less wood and less fabric. My cost $3 per crate.
• Take your crate to Home Depot and have your friendly lumber cutter and cut wood to fit.  My cost $5.42 for a 2x4 piece of wood. (plenty left over)
• Cover your cut wood.
• I got a twin sized foam mattress pad at Wal-Mart. My cost $9 (and I have plenty left over to make more chairs)
• On our first crate we didn't use enough foam, so double up to make it puffy enough.
• I used some fabric scraps and a staple gun I already had. (If I'm being honest, J did this part ;) ) Staple long sides first, short sides next,  and lastly fold down corners.  Attach a "loop"  so that you'll have a handle to easily remove your top.  My cost $0.

I know tutorials usually have great step by step photos, but this is easy.  Here is a picture of the inside:

And pictures of the crates ready for use.  I'm using mine (in background) as sort of a "library basket" to store books I know that we'll read that week.  It's currently filled with books about the first day of kindergarten.

So thanks to Pinterest, I have these cute inexpensive chairs for our learning space, AND I got motivated enough to share it on my blog. I hope that I can keep the momentum going and get back up on this horse.

So, do you Pin?