Happy Zombie

DH and I are headed up to Vancouver this afternoon. Normally we turn right at I-5 and go to Vancouver, Washington. Today we turn left - and make our way up to beautiful Vancouver, BC… and I CAN’T WAIT! We have no itinerary, no plans, no event tickets. Lodging is the only thing I’ve taken care of. We’re having a little Winter Olympic adventure, Monica style - my little Mo’lympics.  I sure hope they take my passport from jr. high at the border!

Hopefully we’ll find ourselves in interesting places and among interesting people.  I’ll be tweeting while I’m there if you want to follow along with me.  I hope I’m able to catch Shaun White, Stephen Colbert, Chris Collinsworth & Johnny Weir milling about (maybe they’re shopping for red mittens too!).

A big bah hum bug about being in Vancouver, BC on Friday… there are no Jack in the Box’s in Canada. WHAT THE WHAT? I guess I’ll have to hop down to Blaine, Washington to participate in JITB Taco Friday. This should make The Anti JITB Taco-ite very happy. If anyone is not familiar with the JITB two for 99¢ tacos - they are delicious deep fried treats of who knows what. Elizabeth says they moisturize your lips as you eat them.   And it’s true!  Elizabeth, Kathi, Camille Pot Pie, Jona, Vanessa… just to name a few - we’re all doin’ it (and workin’ on the Fat Quarter Shop girls… Kim, Debra and Ice-karate champ Jocelyn).  Join us!  Come hop on the JITB Taco Friday bus.  Just watch out for Pam…

she will snag your tacos, lock you up and throw away the key if she catches you.

I was so touched by the wonderful emails, comments and flickr notes I’ve received over my previous post/photos.  I wish I could find the words to express how much everyone’s kind words mean to me.  And a simple thank you just doesn’t seem big enough to cover my heartfelt thanks!  I really suck at mushy stuff and expressing myself from my heart.  Thank you!!

My finished quilt.
My Bunnyhill BOM.
My Dude, Where’s My BOM quilt
My “fire quilt” (the quilt I’d grab if the fire marshal said I could run in and only grab ONE QUILT if my house was on fire).

I had lots of leftovers from my Sweet and Swell charm packs - so I decided to use them for my setting.  Like little hands applauding and clapping Anne Sutton for her beautiful designs.  Clap, clap, clap… bravo, Anne, bravo… clap, clap, clap…

I’m happy to share my setting “recipe” if anyone wants to use it.   Paying it forward.  From Anne to me.  Me to you.  You to ___?

From my leftover charms (5″ squares), 39 to be exact, and from about a yard of solid I cut:
348) 1½” squares of assorted prints
80) 1½” squares of white solid (I used Moda Bella, it’s dreamy)
62) 8½” x 1½” strips white solid

Make 20 9-patches from 100 print squares/80 solid squares:

Make 31 sashing strips from 248 print squares/62 solid strips:

My quilt finishes at 36″ x 47″.   And now that I’m done with this, I’m going to move on to my next project and get ready for my sista-friend Tammy Gilley and her friend Rebecca Sower - who have joined forces and created a wonderful upcoming project called Quilt Haiti (you can grab your own button here).  I hope to soon have a freebie quilt pattern for Quilt Haiti available.  Soon.

Medical, food, funding… all things Haiti still needs.  At some point the people of Haiti will have homes again - and will need to fill it with something soft, something warm, something made with love… something from the hands of her caring global neighbors.  Everyone has a something to give or do for Haiti.  Medical teams heal, builders build… and quilters quilt.  Our turn is coming soon thanks to Tammy and Rebecca.  I’m starting a lap quilt soon - so I can be ready.

Done.
D.O.N.E.  Done.
Not that I didn’t enjoy every minute of making Anne Sutton’s adorable A Tisket, A Tasket BOM blocks - I couldn’t wait to finish it and get it set and quilt it.  Setting is still in the audition progress as I’m playing with two setting ideas.  A fun dilemma to have, for sure.

For an entire year I looked forward to the 5th of each month - and was sad when this last January 5th rolled around and there was nothing to download.  And then to my surprise (Gomer: Surprise.  Surprise.  Surprise!),  Anne started a brand new block of the month. Oh happy 5th day of the month! I loved seeing what all the other A Tisket, A Tasket Makers have been doing, too.

I had a big posting/making gap since June - my posts from the past: January, February, March, April and May & June. It feels so great to finally get caught up. Thank you thank you thank you, Anne!

Scenario I hope to never witness: The house is on fire.  All people and pets are out, as well as important documents, photographs, kids artwork, clothes and fabric. The fire marshal says there’s just enough time to run in a grab ONE quilt.  Once finished, this will no doubt be my fire quilt.

UPDATE: Pattern is available at Pattern available at: bunnyhilldesigns.com/patterns.html

I’ve been having so much fun lately - talking my Rock-star friend Tammy into having the best ever lunch with me (and she said YES!), or hanging out on my twitter (how else would I know what Super-woman Camille plans on wearing at Market), or my daily yimmer yammers with Super-star PamKittyMorning…. that I actually MADE SOMETHING.

Yup.
I did.
I made something.
A little Valentine-ish “Choc-O-Cherry” table runner for the Moda Bake Shop.

One pack of Turnovers is all you need to make the runner. And in the blink of an eye, a bee flew up my butt - and I started thinking about what could be done with more turnovers. So I whipped out my trusty and magical Adobe sewing machine - and I went right to work.

Two packages of Turnovers = 4 x 5 block grid, 32″ x 40″ finished quilt.

Three packages of Turnovers = 5 x 6 block grid, 40″ x 48″ finished quilt.

Seven packages of Turnovers = 7 x 10 block grid, 56″ x 80″ finished quilt.

Ahh… if only it was as fast to make projects on a real sewing machine as it is in Photoshop. Just thinking about ALT + Click + Drag on some fabric… and POOF, I just doubled my inventory. Tripled. Quadrupled! I’d have a Costco sized stash before I knew it.

It’s been a few years since I made my Four Bean Salad with fabric from Allspice Tapestry by Fig Tree… and it’s traveled from Oregon to Iowa for star treatment at Better Homes & Gardens for the 2008 Summer issue of Quilts & More.  Such a star… that Four Bean Salad has a celebrity name… Bay Breeze.  After years of being lovingly stored in my quilt cupboard… it finally has a loving home to go to.  Will it be yours?  Read more about it AND how it can be yours AND how you can help Haiti - here at Helping Haiti from the angels at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Bid now - operators are standing by.

Doing Something could never be easier.  Or more fun.

Yippeeyoodle… Thanks for playing in my Bow/No Bow contest. Thank you for your kind and hilarious comments! So a funny thing happened on my way to random.org… it didn’t want to give me a winner!  I personally don’t comment on many posts with contests because I need to use what I have, and I know there are others like me - so I gave an “X out” option.

[insert 70’s computer sound - do de do de du do de dleep]
First number RO picked was #202 - Sherri from A Quilting Life (and she chose to X out of contest)
[do de do de du do de dleep]
Second came #157 - Mary Ann (long time blog hopper - but has no blog… she also X’d out)
[do de do de du do de dleep]
Then came #241 - Anina of Twiddletales (she also X’d out)

What the what!? If this is how things work… Dear Universe, I do not wish to have a new addition on my house for a giant quilt studio with a small kitchenette and sleeping quarters for friends.  I also don’t want Jamie Durie to come landscape the studio’s garden.  I heart you, Universe - love, Monica.

And then it finally happened [insert slot machine jackpot sound - clang clang clang clang]… and the two winners are:
Comment #33 Jenny from Cut.Sew.Iron.Repeat
and
Comment #214 Mary from Mary on Lake Pulaski!

A ways back when I had a contest for some lovely Lecien COSMO floss… one of my winners was Sarah. We were semi-new blog pals to each other at the time… and then when she won… and when I got her address… well, there was no escaping me and we’ve since became really close friends.  Sista-friends.  With all the lovin’ Sarah got over the lil’ ZombieGirl (ZeeGee) coffee cozy she made me - I begged her to put up her coffee cozy pattern on etsy.  And she did!!  So check out Sarah’s Cottage Coffee Cozy post with all the info on her pattern.  Please don’t hold me responsible if you fall out of your chair after viewing the ultra-cuteness of her cozzies.   Buckle up.

And my lil’ ZeeGee… I picked this one:

Well… the one I’ll use most.   On what, I don’t know.  But it’s at the ready. I also like ZeeGee without petals, so I’ll use that too.  And special occasions and holidays… I’ll don her with a bow and other accessorizes.  Dare I ask for accessories ideas/input?  And in true form of my full name (Monica Inability To Make A Decision Solorio)… I’m keeping my beloved aqua washer.  Who’s feelings I hurt and are in need of repair.  I love you Aqua Washer, xoxom.

Last July I decided to make a new logo/avatar for myself.  While I love my little aqua washer… to me it says, “hey, I heart laundry”.  Which of course is not true (though I’m not gonna kick my aqua washer to the curb just because I hate laundry).   So I started fiddling around and came up with what I thought said me.   And then I got stumped with some of the design elements.  One color or two.  Or three.  Flower petals or no petals.  Bow or no bow.  Last summer I subjected some family and friends for input and have been able to whittle it down to two.  I still need help, and I have no problem with restoring to bribery to get it.

So.

Without a bow?

With a bow?  I think it says “girlie” - like I’ll be gentle whilst eating your brains - and then I’ll stitch your head up in a nice blanket stitch when I’m done.

My sweet sistah-friend Sarah and her amazing stitchin’ kick asteroid ways… made me a coffee cozy using my logo as her design.

I died when she gave me this. Not quite zombie died, but a “OMG I P.F. Chang’d my pants” died.  And it was just the kick in the shorts I needed to get going with the new logo.

Please tell me what you like best! Bow or no bow.  As a bribe a thank you, I’ll give two prizes from my personal stash - I’ll give one Moda Chez Moi “Swanky” Turnover to one winner, and one Moda 3 Sisters “Aviary” charm pack to another winner.   Some ideas on what to do with them here.

Please tell me your answer by midnight (PST) Sunday, January 2010 and I’ll announce the winner on Monday, Jan. 11th after random.org picks the winners.

PS,
If you just wanna do me a solid and tell me your fave - but don’t want to enter the contest… please type an “x” somewhere on your comment.