Sedimentary Lifestyle Quilt - a Start

The layers of color in this quilt flimsy remind me of sedimentary rock, like you see when you look at canyon walls. I love this combination of earth toned fabrics.  This is the first time I have made a jelly roll race quilt.  Aside from the fact that I won't be winning a jelly roll race anytime soon, it was quite fun to try this technique.   

Center section of Sedimentary Lifestyle quilt

 
...And no, this isn't a Norm Crosby style malapropism and it isn't supposed to read "Sedentary Lifestyle".  I was playing with the words and thought "I must live more of a sedimentary lifestyle, because everything seems to settle to the bottom."   Ba dum tss!

After testing a few border ideas, I finally found one I loved.  See the dark chocolate fabric sitting beside the left edge?  It's Kona cotton espresso and I'm waiting for more to come in so I can do a wide border around the quilt center.  I caught a major sale for that fabric with Freda Mayer of Fabric Closeouts, on Etsy.  She is having a moving sale and her prices can't be beat, plus she shipped it out pronto!  (That is not a sponsored endorsement.) 

Have you ever made a jelly roll race quilt?  I've always wanted to try one and chose the kind where you sew a square between the end and beginning of each new strip of color.  Then you fold that long row of pieced strips in half and sew the first seam.  Wow wee was that first seam loooonnnnnnggg.... 800 inches!    

I started with this Marcus Fabrics Strip It Pack, which I got on Craftsy, another great deal:

Centennial Solids - Earth - by Nancy Rink

By the time I had the piece sewn to where it was 8 strips wide, it filled the whole length of the upstairs hallway and I could get a photo.

Jelly Roll Race Midway

At that point I divided the length in four and did some intentional rearranging on the living room floor.  I don't usually work on the floor because my little helpers get a bit too excited about it.

Fuzzier than normal photo

 
I've been looking through my cherished Christina Cameli books again and hope to use one of her patterns to FMQ this when it's ready. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

In other news, The Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge is over for this year. 
Sixty-seven people donated 147 quilts for charity this year!  Whoop whoop for everyone!   

Sarah, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, puts a whole lot of thought and preparation into this challenge and makes it so much fun for all the participants!  One of the fun things Sarah tries to do is make sure that there is a prize at the end for everyone.  This is quite a feat!  If you are interested, she is looking for sponsors for next year.  I'll be sponsoring another one of her giveaways for sure! 

One of The Hands2Help yearly sponsors is Emily Bailey, who blogs at Em's Scrap Bag.  She is also the person who heads up the part of the H2H drive for Happy Chemo's charity quilts.  Emily is also known as Aunt Em and has her own wonderful pattern design business.  I was already her fan, so was pretty thrilled when I won four of her patterns!  Thank you Emily!  

Aunt Em's Quilt Patterns

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This coming Sunday, June 28th,  will be my One Year Blogiversary!  I can hardly believe it myself.  Be sure to stop by for my next post, because I will be sharing a free pattern of my own, as well as having a really sweet giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by, because...

Click on the pup to leave a comment...

If you are also a blogger, she is highly likely to follow you home!

Texas Caviar Recipe (and the Giveaway Winner too!)

Our daughter Kaitlyn was here for a family dinner on Sunday.  She is a really great cook and brought along a dish for her vegetarian sister Alina, who was home for an all too brief visit.  She said it is called Texas Caviar and she served it with tortilla chips. Everyone loved it!  It would even be good for those of you who are on gluten free diets if you use lentil chips or gluten free tortilla chips.   

Here is her recipe and the picture, taken with her iPhone, which turns out a surprisingly great photo:

Texas Caviar - a Vegetarian and Gluten Free Treat

Texas Caviar 

Recipe:

Chop:

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 orange pepper

1 jalapeno

1 red onion

Mix in:

1 can of Shoestring Corn

1 can of Pinto Beans

1 can of Black-eyed Peas

Boil in pot:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar

Once cooled, mix the liquid into the veggies and stick in fridge overnight.

Serve with your favorite dippin' chips and enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We had quite a great turnout for the Kaffe Fassett Log Cabin Quilt Kit giveaway here last week!

That is all because Cynthia of "Quilting is More Fun Than Housework" started a new Orphan Adoption Linky Party for adopting out your languishing orphan projects.  She says that 12 projects changed hands to be given new life, most of which will be used for charities. Isn't that wonderful?  Cyndy is going to hold this party again, so keep an eye on her blog, scout your oldies but goodies, and prepare to join in the fun this Autumn!

I could not be more moved and inspired than I am by all the wonderful commenters who entered the drawing here on BuzzinBumble.  So many generous and caring people shared the charities they quilt for.  It just leaves me in utter awe of the good that they do for others!  I am so pleased to have been able to pass on a project that left me feeling Guilty instead of Quilty.  Now whenever I think about it I will be filled with gladness instead.   

So thank you!  I wish I could send something to every one of you.  

Instead I relied on Mr. Random Generator to pick a winner, a task that would have been impossible otherwise:

The winner is...
Commenter #27, Lauren Deel, whose wonderful website is Charlotte's gRace for a Cure   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lauren Deel6/6/15, 6:11 PM

These are gorgeous blocks! And the Log Cabin is on my quilting bucket list in short order. :) A few years ago, I started a little charity group doing a quilt auction every spring to benefit brain tumor research. (My daughter has been living with a brain tumor for the past 4.5 years.) I didn't do the auction this spring, but hope to do it again next year. Thanks for the giveaway!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations Lauren!  I'll be in touch by email.   

And thank you all for visiting, because...

  

Click on the pup to leave a comment...

If you are also a blogger, she is highly likely to follow you home!

Kaffe Fassett Orphaned Quilt Project Giveaway

Did you ever have a quilting project that didn't even quite make it to UFO status? 
Did it just sit there, languishing for a few years while other ideas and plans had all the fun?  
I have one or two of those (cough!) and this is one of them.  

My project was going to look like this:

Kaffe Fassett Log Cabin Quilt

What it really looks like is this:

Looking for a good home

My plan got derailed almost as soon as I started, when the recipient moved and the quilt no longer fit in with her decor.  Well, that's life.  I still adore Kaffe fabrics, but just can't get the fire relit for this project.  My bucket list grows faster than I can sew and because I would like to pass this project on to someone else, I am offering the unfinished quilt here as a giveaway.   

These packs of precut strips could be used for many purposes really.  There are four packages of 2" wide strips in log cabin sized lengths (2" to 10" long).  Three of the packages each have enough strips to make twelve 9.5" blocks, like the ones shown here.  The fourth package has enough for nine blocks, but I will also send along the three completed blocks.   Please be aware that I was a bare beginner quilter at the time I sewed those blocks and they may not be sized perfectly, even with the paper foundation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

If you have orphaned projects like this and would like to see them adopted too, then check this out: 

Saturday June 6th, Cyndy (of Oh Scrap! fame) at Quilting is More Fun than Housework is having a brand new linky party she calls the Orphan Adoption Event.  The Link up runs on Saturday and Sunday and is for giving away your oldies but goodies!  This is the perfect opportunity to pass along your lonesome projects to someone who would love to have them and make something of them.   

Have you ever made a quilt for charity?  If so, would you like to have a chance to win this Kaffe Fassett pre-cut quilt project, for free?  I'm aiming to "pay it backward" LOL and would like the winner of this giveaway to be someone who has made quilts for charity, although they do not necessarily have to use these fabrics that way.  

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment here and tell me about your favorite charity quilting opportunity.  Please make sure that I have a way to contact you!  Check back before the giveaway ends, because I will let you know here if I am unable to reach you.  Entries will be closed at midnight (UTC) on Thursday the 11th and I'll let the random number generator choose the winner on Friday, June 12th.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~     

In other exciting news: Cheryl, of Meadow Mist Designs has started her Midnight Mystery Quilt Along.  It looks like it will be a lot of fun!  I could not resist joining in, especially after hearing about what a good time people had with Cheryl's Foothills Mystery Quilt Along last year.  I hope to see you there! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

Thanks for visiting, because...

Linking up with Sarah's Whoop Whoop Party at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Linking up with Laura & Linda's Crafty Comment Karma at Prairie Sewn Studios
Linking with Cyndy's Orphan Adoption Event at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

How to Hypnotize a Frog, a Tutorial - LOL (Plus Announcing the Giveaway Winner)

After reading the Lovely Blog Award post, quite a few people wanted to know more about hypnotizing frogs.  When Judy and Paulette jokingly suggested a tutorial, I thought "Why Not?"  ;)  

The Why and the How Behind Frog Hypnotism

Why would anyone want to hypnotize a frog?

Frog hypnotism is a fun activity to do, especially with children.  It gets everyone outside and enjoying nature.  It is a chance to explore and understand a frog's habitat, as well as to get a very close look at the frog.  It does no harm to the frog, as long as you are conscientious and respect life.     

How do you hypnotize a frog?

Needed:

• A delight in Mother Nature and the ability to not take yourself too seriously.
• A likely frog habitat: Frogs like wet areas and can be found in and around the edges of creeks, swamps, and ponds, and sometimes even in puddles.  

Tools:
If you aren't as nimble as an eight year old, then a fishing net sure comes in handy.

Instructions:  
Through each of these steps, be very gentle with the frog.

1. Go to a likely frog habitat and look for frogs.  When you locate some, catch yourself a frog.  It takes a little patience and the ability to hold still.  Wait for a frog to pop up near you and then swoop it up with either your hands or a net.  Children are especially good at catching frogs, perhaps because they have less distance to swoop.  If you are doing the frog catching yourself, be prepared for laughter and a slight-to-substantial loss of dignity.  
2. Hold the frog in one hand, tummy up.  Encircle the frog's chest with your thumb and fingers, just under the armpits and hold it firmly but without too much pressure.  
3. Pet the frog's tummy with your other fingertip, using a repetitive stroking motion from just under its chin to the bottom of its belly.  The frog will relax and go into a trance. 
4. You can get a good look at the frog now.  Frogs really are beautiful, even more so when you can examine them up close.
5. This last step is important:  Don't leave the frog in a trance when you are through.  It is too vulnerable in this state and could easily dry out or get caught by a predator.  After hypnotizing the frog, place it so that it is sitting somewhere safe and nudge it a bit until it comes out of its trance.  Make sure that it hops safely back to the water.      

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You can hypnotize a few other kinds of animals too.  Did you read Maryse's comment from my last post?  Here it is, in case you missed it.  I could just imagine it and practically fell out of my chair laughing:

Maryse5/28/15, 7:17 AM

It was really fun to read about you, Lara!
I sure got a kick out of reading you hypnotizing frogs ... I had to look this one up on youtube. My husband used to hypnotize his grandma's chickens, she almost had a stroke when she saw all her chickens laying on the ground. :-))

Later, Maryse explained that her husband did it by drawing a line on the ground with a stick.  The chicken watches this and goes into a trance.  She thought it might have something to do with their eyes being on the sides of their heads.    

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

My family did not have a TV for most of my childhood.  I can clearly remember the wonder and excitement of going to our neighbor's home to watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11) reach the moon in 1969.  We were country kids.  When we weren't in school or working, we were off like a shot on our banana seat bikes, having adventures in the woods and along the creeksides and ponds.  We invented our own fun.  

Were you an outdoorsy tomboy-ish sort of kid when you were young?  Or did you prefer tea sets and dolls and baking?  My children categorized their friends in two ways.  They called them "innies" and "outies".  This at first fooled me into thinking they were talking about belly buttons, but it really referred to where their friends liked to play.  

There is a lot to be said for getting children away from the television and video games and into the fresh air.  One of my son's fondest memories is of the time he and I were stuck waiting for my husband to come out of a long appointment.  Sam was only seven and the wait was making him very restless, so we wandered over to a pond and had a sword fight with cattails.  By the time my husband came out to the car, we were covered in cattail fluff and quite happy with ourselves.   

Things have changed so much and children today have less freedom to ramble over the countryside.  The kids of yesterday knew a lot more lore about animals and the outdoors than most children do today.  As a Mom, I felt sad that my own three had so few of these experiences.  So when my kids were young, I bought them this book about nature activities:

"Talking to Fireflies, Shrinking the Moon"

The author, Edward Duensing was a very adventurous child himself, but he also gathered knowledge of playing outdoors from many sources.  Want to whistle up a woodchuck?  Make clothes from wearable plants?  Be able to tell just how tall that tree is?  Find exploding weeds?  There are forty different fun activities in this book.  If you want to mightily impress the children in your life, then I heartily recommend reading this book and putting some of these adventures into practice.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's about time that I announce the winner of the Cotton + Steel Flying Geese Quilt Kit Giveaway.  The winner my husband drew from all the slips was....

Beth was commenter number 39 and wrote:

Beth5/30/15, 1:44 AM

I commented on each blog, and found several new ones to follow--thanks! Also, now I'm browsing some Craftsy patterns I discovered while making the rounds. What a fun way to spend an evening, thanks to you. :)

I'm very happy to meet you Beth!  Thank you for your lovely comments on all the blogs!

Thanks to all of you for visiting and for your enthusiasm in that giveaway!  There was a lot of blog hopping going on and it was a lot of fun!  

Stay tuned for more giveaways here on BuzzinBumble this month.   Next up, I will be giving away the makings for a Kaffe Fassett pre-cut log cabin quilt!  I'll be looking for people who make charity quilts and holding a random drawing for the winner.  

I will be joining Cyndy's Orphan Project Adoption Event - a Linky Party at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  Cyndy came up with the BRILLIANT idea to pass along the projects we don't think we'll ever finish by holding giveaways and linking to her event.  The one qualification is that the projects must be passed along for free - no charge (except perhaps for shipping).  So be sure to round up your own languishing orphan projects and come and join in the fun this Saturday!  

  

Click on the pup to leave a comment...

If you are also a blogger, she is highly likely to follow you home!