Three Minis made by 22 Quilters...and Me!:)

Yep, I could have never made these minis without the total creative efforts of the Bitty Block Committee!!:) Making all those different 3.5" squares is not going to happen but making 12 of the same thing each month and trading is awesome!:)

February's theme was words/text...everyone had a lot of fun with these. I really wanted to make a word with my bitties...one of the blocks was LOL! Perfect!;)

April's theme was sewing. I had an extra measuring tape and was inspired. This mini ended up being 36 1/2" tall....perfect for a quick measurement. The bow at the top is a piece of measuring tape ribbon graciously given to me by the lovely Amy...perfect topper!

In May we were cool and hip with a 60s retro theme. I kept this one simple using some of the extra fabric generously sent by Spiced Coffee and Friedazzzz. I made some easy square in square blocks to go with the bitties to make this groovy little piece!

To always remember who sent each block I make sure the backing fabric is light enough to use a Sharpie and note on the back of each square where it came from...so thank you....

Crazyfun01

EdyB1

FlossieBlossoms

Friedazzzz

hohnstreiterrific

JGmehlin

LethargicLass

Mandalin18

Marilynkb

Spiced Coffee

Mindboggld

4MonkeysQuilts

Nanotchka

Needleanddime

QuiltinKimmie

Ruthiequilts

SandyinBuenosAires

Sewgentle

SewSheDid

Sewwunderful

Silort and

Uniqueandnovel

for being wonderful, creative and generous swappers...I have learned a lot from all of you! A big thank you to all the other wonderful folks of the Bitty Block Committee....go check them out!;)

I still have a stack of wee houses, trees and veggies gone wild to make into minis but in the mean time....

...here is another sneak peek of my secret project!;)

~d

Skull Auction....ends today!

I can't believe I forgot to post about this last week!!! This auction is on ebay and all the proceeds goes to Becky Lee Women's Support Fund which raises awareness and prevents dating and domestic violence through education, support, referrals, and life skills trainings.

My square is the John Lennon with lightening bolt on the lower left!;)

These quilt squares were all donated by artist from all over the world for the First Annual Skull Appreciation Day that was in Richmond, VA last month. You can see more about Skull-a-Day by clicking that button on the right. After the exhibit all the quilts have been put up for auction and for seven of them the auction ends today!
Tomorrow the last 6 will go up for auction and this is one of them...my square is the one in the lower right....both of my skulls were made with glow in the dark fabric!;) This is the only wall hanging that has six squares! Isn't it amazing?!!:)

So please...go check them out...there are some amazing pieces of cloth art going on and check out the Skull-a-Day website...Noah and crew have brought bones to a new level of coolness!:)

~d

Hold Tight!! This is about the cutest thing I have ever MADE.....

1994...see him holding his fav Dino?:)

....other than them of course!;) But I digress...this is what I wanted to show you...Several years ago, when James and the boys started Hold Tight! , they were thinking up tee designs and this is what I came up with...a play on their name. I have been wanting to make a banner with this design and on Saturday I finally did!

Ta DA! I don't know about you but I think this is so stinking cute! I mean I guess a pop-punk band isn't really into cute but that's what happened!

It is about 27"x 20" with a few ties holding it on a dowel. I used a bunch of black and brown scraps for the letters and owl....

... the owl is loving that moon which is made out of Michael Miller Glow in the dark Fairy Frost!:)

The boys loved it....here they are playing at The Old Firestation #3 in Fairfax, VA...it was so great to be able to see them...a fun afternoon was had by all...thank heavens for earplugs!;)

Eric, boy, Jake and Alex

After the show the boys gave us some exciting news...they have been invited to play at FEST 10 in Gainesville, Florida on the weekend of Oct 28-30! It's quite an honor because this is the biggest Punk Fest of the year and it's the 10th anniversary so they have invited back all the biggest past bands and hardly any newbies....except our boys!;)

Congrats boys!!

xo

~d

DQS 11 Peek et al!

Yep, it's Doll Quilt Swap 11 time and I was lucky enough to make the lottery. This round we are going back to their roots and making a true doll quilt using multiple repeating blocks...no art quilts. Above is the label for this wee quiltie...

...and this is the peek...4" Hexie Stars!;) So much fun...might even make a bigger quilt one day...of course with bigger stars! This is a secret swap so my partner has no idea this is for her...hope she likes it!

I just finished a One-on-One swap with the lovely Mandy from Australia. She made a mini she called girl pals for someone else and I begged her to do a swap with me and she graciously agreed. Lucky me!!:)

This is what will be winging it's way to Australia tomorrow...it's 9x12...the perfect size to fit in a mailer without folding! Hope you like it Mandy...that is if you peek!:)

Here is another peek of a couple of blocks from my secret project...I'm just having TOO much fun!;)

~d

Hold Tight! is Touring Again....

(James is third from the left)

...with their pals from This Is Your Life! Man...I wish I had posted sooner as they are a third of the way through their tour dates but here is where they were and where they are going...
July 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Cracker Factory
July 3 - York, PA @ Skid Row Garage
July 4 - Kent, OH @ Kent Stage Alley
July 5 - Kalamazoo, MI @ The Fat Guy House
July 6 - Antioch, IL @ Garik’s House
July 7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Borg Ward
July 8 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Hexagon
July 9 - Lincoln, NE @ Mad Ave.
July 10 - Kansas City, MO @ Club Mustache
July 11 - Catawissa, MO @ 8265 Highway HH
July 12 - Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton Collective
July 13 - Birmingham, AL @ The Firehouse
July 14 - New Orleans, LA @ The Saint
July 15 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Shark Tank
July 16 - Gainesville, FL @ Wayward Council
July 17 - Tampa, FL @ The Hold Tight! House
July 18 - Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
July 19 - Miami, FL @ Churchill’s Pub
July 20 - Ft. Myers, FL @ Cool Hand Luc’s
July 21 - Atlanta, GA @ Wonderroot
July 22 - Greenville, SC @ Suite 8
July 23 - Charlottesville, VA @ Magnolia
July 24 - Fairfax, VA @ Old Firestation #3
July 25 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
July 26 - Norfolk, VA @ The Jewish Mother

(James sent me this photo so I don't know who to thank for it!)

Not only is Hold Tight! on tour...they have a new EP...Call The Zoo...that you can download for free or a donation here....along with all their other stuff AND.....
....they have an LP...actual vinyl...out of their last EP...Can't Take This Away... you can preorder it at Animal Style Records. I think I'm going to buy one of all the colors!:)

So go visit the guys at a show...tell them I sent you...or visit their facebook page and like them and check out their music...good old pop punk...for free! Of course if you buy an LP that would make me very happy too!!:)

~d

Hubby took the day off...

...Thursday because he knew it was going to be a gorgeous day and I wanted to go to our favorite place....

...Shenandoah National Park!

Can you believe how clear it was?
We decided to hike up Stony Man Mountain...can you see his brow, nose and jutting chin always watching the western world? Imagine all the lovely sunsets he has seen!

We made our way to the trail head greeted by this sea of ferns...they go on forever!

We encountered a Yellow Birch splitting a huge hunk of greenstone in half!

As we made our way almost to the top the trees start getting shorter and more gnarly, growth stunted from altitude and drying winds.

The view from Stony Man's brow is amazing!

You can see why he is called Stony Man as he sits up there guarding the town of Luray and the Shenandoah Valley...lucky guy!

He has some beautiful plants growing on his brow.

Triskets and peanut butter never tasted better. We enjoyed the view and the sun all by ourselves for over half an hour before another admiring hiker joined us.

This is where we came from...you can just see two little pieces of Skyline Drive there on the right....one where we stopped to take the first photo of Stony Man.

This is where we went after saying our goodbyes and thank yous to the Old Man.

We headed further south and was greeted by a traffic jam...wish I had taken a photo of all the crazy people....crazy because they saw this.....

We didn't see her at first, she was further up the drive.

She kept coming closer and closer grubbing around and the crazy people were all out of their cars, leaving their doors open, trying to get a picture in awe of the sight....

...we just stayed in the Bronco, one... because we were stuck between all these cars with no drivers, two....we were surrounded by people with cameras in their faces but three....it didn't matter because the bear was only 15 feet away stopped right by our vehicle!

She turned around to go back to the tree stump a few feet away...

....really playing for the cameras by knocking over small logs and rocks to get to the goodies. The reason we know the bear was a female is because as she walked back into the woods...

...we could see two other little black critters....

...watching momma and hoping for their share of the bounty!

Now that is a face more than just a mother could love!:)

Thank you dear hubby for taking the day off...it certainly nice to be self-employed!

Once home we snuggled with our critter...after he snuggle with his!:)

~d