"British School Children Chic"

"British School Children Chic",
originally uploaded by TumbleberryToys.

Sometimes you just look at what people create and you wonder, "How do they do this?" What if they had never discovered that they had this amazing talent. What do you do if you want to buy every single thing they make and you can only have one or two. That's how I feel about Tumbleberry Toys. I will be closing this blog and opening a new one in a couple of months so there will be only minimal entries until then but some things you just can't pass up.

A fitting time to change gears

As it has been many months since I last blogged I decided to close this blog, however one does that? As you know from my blog, a lot has gone on in my life over the last year and surprisingly I am healthier and feeling a little better, despite a recent acquisition of a broken wrist (thankfully my left one which is NOT my dominant one). One learns to be extremely grateful whatever positive things can be taken away from tragedies, however large or small they are. Maybe because I am healthier and because of my wrist (and many other excuses) I haven't been quilting much and very much want to REALLY start. One thing I am promising myself is not to be working on more than two projects at a time. I have come to grips with the fact that I do get to bored to steadfastly stick to one but when two turns to four turns to too many it means you don't want to finish them and that is no longer true.

I will open another blog again, probably in the spring and although it will hopefully focus on quilting it will also be a little more broad. I have met some amazing people through blogging, quilting and Etsy and I intend to stay in touch with them through their blogs, Flickr site and Etsy shops. Thank you all to the people who wrote a comment to cheer me up. You don't have any idea how much those meant to me. To the people whose blocks I did not finish I do apologize and I do have them more than 3/4 finished so I will be sending them back to you to put the finishing touches on. I didn't intend to burden you with yet another thing to do and for that I'm sorry but I know how important it is to have a finished piece of work and to have people at least try to be true to their word and not just abscond with your beautiful fabric.

Stay warm or cool, wherever you may be. I am sitting looking out at a very dark, cold, snowy day in Rochester, New York thinking about getting on the sofa, under some blankets and watching a movie.

My best wishes to you for 2011 and may your hopes and dreams ripen in the new year!

YIP 365.208 :: Potholders

YIP 365.208 :: Potholders,
originally uploaded by stitchindye.

These potholders are inspiring. The combination of colors and fabrics is terrific and so is the quilting. I would want to hang them on the wall. How about making each one a block of a quilt. I would hate getting them dirty or worse yet, burnt. I want to learn how to make them.

I did it!

I am almost finished with my two blocks for my house bee. I am so excited that I actually finished them and I like them! Next month is my month and I think I bought enough fabric for about fifty people. What was I thinking? I love my idea although it is based on someone elses so it will be very interesting to see how 11 other people interpret it. I'm just so glad to be getting things done and I have so many ideas for the next few quilts and enough fabric for about 100 quilts and I keep buying more. I've become one of those crazy people whose stash is taking over the room. I just love the fabric and the colors and the way I start thinking about combining the fabrics. I wish I could do it all day, every day. Time goes so quickly when I quilt. Hopefully someday... Pictures to be added tomorrow.

Moving right along...

To everyone's surprise, especially mine, I've actually started a few quilts so I can feel even more scattered and overwhelmed than I usually do, but I actually like them all. Of course they are all for different people and different occasions and the occasions wll probably have long since been over when the quilts are done but at least they'll always have the quilts to remember them by. I have taken some pictures and as soon as they're in the computer you can take a look. I've started doing some crewel embroidery and hope to incorporate it into some of the quilts. It's a wonderful handy craft that's easily transportable. My youngest daughter is home for the week before heading back to school and I'm going to try to make her a skirt before she leaves, let's add one more project to the list. Does everyone do this or am I a small handfull of people who seem to get overcommitted very easily. To the person who wrote a comment on my last post, would you mind identifying yourself, at least by your blog name? Thanks. Enjoy the remains of summer. Winston got a summer haircut yesterday and looks like quite a handsome little guy. Pictures will have to be added. Saw "Eat, Pray,Love" today.
If you've never been to Italy,you have to go, even just for the food. There is not word to describe it, nectar of the gods. Oh what I would give for some pasta and Italian wine and of course, Gelato!!!

A New Craft Interest

I recently saw a book on Crewel Embroidery online so I ordered it. This turned out to be a great book with beautiful, modern Crewel designs. I did what I usually do when I get interested in something. I bought more books. Luckily and by chance, Rochester, New York has a fantastic store just for embroidery. They had everything I think anyone could want. The owner was quite knowledgable and when I showed her the book she was interested in why I got interested in this kind of embroidery as opposed to the more traditional embroidery. I told her that it generally went along with my style and I thought it would be a great addition to some quilting projects so she started me off with a hoop and thread. Usually I begin to get too anxious to start something at this point, afraid I won't be able to do it but we were going on vacation and it seemed the perfect time and size to try something new and so I did. As you can see (pictures to follow) I'm just at the beginning, but it's pretty easy and the shapes are fun and there are hundred, if not thousands of colors and types of yarn. Now I'm anxious to add a little embroidery to a quilt I started. I'll try it out soon. If you're interested in it, try it. It's really pretty easy. The book I bought first is entitled, "the new crewel by Katherine Shaughnessy. Have fun if you try it!

Where are the pictures?

I haven't gotten around to getting my camera and taking pictures of what quilts I'm working on and what I plan to work on. I think I'm going to change the name of my blog and the banner picture to more accurately suit what the blog represents or what I want it to represent so keep your eyes on it, the photos are coming. I think maybe a new camera that can get closer would be more helpful too. We'll see....