A new customer's rendition................

I'm so sorry that I've been so absent this summer.  Life is just to hectic and not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.  But I had to take a moment to share a picture with you.  This is an adorable rendition of my customer's Jungle Babies quilt.  It's just about the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.

Denise's baby quilt.  Aren't her fabric choices just the right touch?

Thanks for sharing with us, Denise.  This lucky baby will be all snug and comfy in this wild jungle.

My Jungle Babies quilt pattern (or individual animal applique patterns)  may be purchased at my Etsy shop, here......

http://www.etsy.com/shop/madcreekdesigns.com 

Stay tuned, I'll be sharing a new free quilt pattern with you all, very soon.

Pretty blue...........................................

Gotta love Iowa!

Will I ever get to quilt again?????????????????

Spring semester!   What have I gotten myself into?

After Christmas sewing.............

Ah, what fun it is to sew, sew, sew.  Here's my latest project, all finished.  I love chickens and roosters and homespuns and just about anything country and primitive. And can we have enough tablerunners?  I'd planned to have this done before Christmas but you know how that goes.  Now, lets see what other UFO's I

can dig into.

             

 

You can find this little cutey in my Etsy shop at http://www.madcreekdesigns.etsy.com

Holiday To-Do lists................

http://www.madcreekdesigns.etsy.com/Phew!  Semester finals are over.  I thought they'd never end.  One Prof. decided to add just one more exam that we weren't expecting and our recent snow cancelled classes for a couple of days, delaying my scheduled finals.  But, finally, it's over.  Well, till January that is. Now for some serious fun. 

I 've barely begun checking off items on my project lists for Christmas. This is what I'm working on this week.   I have tons of them to make. I started out planning to make just a couple for Christmas gifts.   Then friends showed them off to other friends and my list grew quickly.  I was very surprised to find out that a lot of people haven't even heard of these microwave potato bags. I guess I've had one for so long, I thought they were a kitchen staple by now.  So, I'm surrounded by potato fabric at the moment.   And if you're like me and keep adding people to your gift list at the last minute, check out my Etsy shop and pick up a couple potato bags. They make a fun but practicle and inexpensive gift. I've been making these large bags that hold a few large roasting potatoes but I'm about to make some smaller, for those single people in our lives.  I love them, they sure make a quick and healthy meal for lunch.

 I'm even giving a few to some of my elderly neighbors.  I have an older gentleman across the street that lost his wife about a year ago.  He is now learning how to cook a few simple dishes for the first time in his life.  Quite a trooper, this guy.   Another neighbor and I are taking turns teaching him a new dish each week.  We're trying to stay away from the stove as he does tend to get side-tracked and forget things, sooooooooo, the microwave and crockpot meals have been a Godsend for him and us.  And one of his favorites has always been roasted potatoes.  So these micro-wave bags are great.  We've just introduced him to adding toppings to his baked potatoes and making a good healthy meal with them.   According to Kenneth, "I never knew you could put something other than butter and sour cream on a potato".

So, that's what I'm up to this week.  How about you?  Are you checking projects off your holiday gift list?  I'll show you more of my list soon.  ASAP, hopefully.

Wanna have a snowball fight?

7a.m. More to come. In case anyone wants to know, this is perfect snowball packing snow.  So come on over and enjoy it.  I'll keep the hot chocolate on for ya.

Uh oh! Here it comes..................

more to come............

I've got the chile on, if you can get here in a few hours we can at least eat well.  And I have plenty of quilty projects I could use help with....................

Brrrrrrrrrr................Here we go! Snow!

Our first snow here in Muscatine, Iowa.   The weather man sez lots more to come during the next 48 hours. I'm already done with it!  Once is enough.  Where oh where is Spring?

Handmade Give-aways..............

Phew, Fall classes are just about over and Biology almost did me in.  Still might.  Once the last assignments and exams are finished, I'm hitting the sewing machine hard to get Christmas gifts ready.  In the meantime, check out a couple of great sites and blogs for super tutorials, great give-aways and just plain fun handmade ideas and gifts.

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/ 
Giveaway Day ~ Handcrafted Item(s) + Supplies/Materials


The Ultimate Handmade Holidays Master List 2009

http://sewmamasew.com/index.php 

Browse our shop for modern cotton fabric and hip new sewing patterns from indie designers. Visit our blog for sewing tutorials, project ideas and giveaways. Join the supportive sewing community in our forum to share your skills and learn something new.

And don't forget to stop by and see Geta.  She's got another beautiful give-away.  While there, check out her tutorial for her nifty trapunto techiques.

http://cadouri-din-inima.blogspot.com/

A little holiday gift for you......................

Just a small gift for you. 

Can you believe it's November already and time for holiday planning? 

Here's a little 6" paper piece gift box for you to download.  Just click the link and you'll find the pdf file.

http://sites.google.com/site/madcreekdesignsquiltpatterns/

Get your cheeseburger here.......................

Free Applique Cheeseburger Pattern How 'bout a double cheeseburger to go with your beer.  Click the link for a free 8" x 8" applique pattern.  Enjoy!

WooHoo! My first freebie!

Well, I've been trying to figure out how I can give you free patterns for a long time. Easy and cheap, that is. I think I've finally figured something out.  So this is a dry run and I need your help. 

In the spirit of football season or whatever reason you feel you need, I've got a mug o' beer for ya' all.   Click on the link and download the pdf file for the free applique pattern. (You'll need Adobe free reader)

Then, if you will, come back here and leave me comments regarding your experience in retrieving the pattern.  I think it's going to be easy but I'd love to hear about it, was it difficult to get to, did it download easily, was it more work than you want to deal with? If all goes well, I'll have more free patterns from time to time and I'll annouce them right here. 

 CHEERS, EVERYBODY! and Happy Football Season!

http://sites.google.com/site/madcreekdesignsquiltpatterns/

Ahhhhhhh, this is much better...........

I'd much rather be working on this than studying.




More restful to the eye, right?

Lost at Sea...........

Well, I was lost alright, I was searching for a file for something or other, I can't even remember now as that was early this morning and what did I run across but my Lost At Sea pattern. I'd actually forgotten about it. You know what they say about old age...and one of the first things to go?

Anyway, I'm thrilled to have found this and maybe one day I'll actually get the wallhanging hung on a wall somewhere.

Raining cats and dogs..................

If you're in the midwest, you're probably tired of all the rain and storms as I am. The grass grows so fast but no dry days to mow. Even as I speak, Muscatine is in the midst of yet another gusty wind blowing in some more rain. But what a relief from the high temps. That cool wind feels really good. With that said, I decided to make a couple of new paper piece patterns. Kitties and puppies, what else!







madcreekdesigns.etsy.com

New Etsians................

Well, Pam and I are sure having trouble keeping up here lately. She's still busy with an estate sale and Pam and her DH have just purchased a new "old" house overlooking the Mississippi so I'm afeard I may never see the girl again. Plans for reconstruction on the new place will fill her head for sure. As for me, I'm going back to school, just started a Business Math and a Chemestry class. UGHHHHHHHH! Chemestry is just awful. I think my brain has shriveled like an old raisen.

But I wanted to help celebrate two friends new Etsy shop opening. They're a Mom and Daughter team from Alaska and looks like they have some really cute stuff in their shop so check them out here: http://SimplyQuilting.etsy.com

Congratulations, Kimberly and Amanda! Wishing you huge success!

Ooooooooooooh, I should get this to g0 with the Paradise quilt an pillows, shouldn't I?



I love polka dots!


Last but not least, a little sumpin sumpin for little girls.

OMG, Pam just bought this.............

I'm so envious, Pam just bought this "pretty" felted needlecase at www.jnoriginals.etsy.com and it's even prettier in person.

Old is new again.............

Pam and I went on a little shopping trip a few days ago to a second hand shop. We bought sweaters. Lots and lots of sweaters. Wool sweaters to be exact. I bet you can guess what we're doing with them. Right! We're trying our hand at felting and upcycling. With some experimentation, it's turning out to be a fun project. It's amazing to see how the yarn changes as it's washed and dryed.

Pam tried one in her washer and dryer first while I was trying a technique I read somewhere, sorry, I can't remember where. But it was suggested washing by hand in a bucket or container, using a potato masher or other object to knead the sweater. Well, let me tell you, that's a lot of work, not to mention, it's HOT water you're using. So, my results at first try were something to be desired for all the time and effort. It was felting but not nearly enough. So into the washer it went. First wash, ok but I wanted more so I ran it thru the washer and dryer twice. I can't believe how much it shrank. lol But it looks great.

Here's a picture of my final product from the sweater. A very pretty and sturdy purse. I didn't think to take a picture before or during my journey. I'll remember on the next one. I can't wait to do more. I think this could be addictive.

We'll be selling some of our bags in our etsy shop here, http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21706171
http://www.madcreekdesigns.etsy.com

Trapunto

I've been trying my hand at a little trapunto lately. I've always loved the dimensional look and feel of it and anxious to try shadow trapunto, too.

Here's my first attempt, a sweet little yellow baby quilt. I think I should have quilted closer but I like it.

Are These Bags For Sale?

Tell us Chris...are the new black jean purse bags going into our Etsy Store? Check to see what Chris accomplished over the weekend! Our MadCreekDesigns Esty Store connection is in the left-hand column on this page.


I didn't finish ANYTHING over the weekend. But I did go to see Grand Torino and I highly recommend it! I think it is now my favorite show ever. I loved it! Clint Eastwood plays the grumpy widower and we were comparing him to my husband - grumping about the neighbors, grumping about the traffic, grmping about his own children, etc. But there is a heart in there somewhere and OH MY! I never expected the ending! I'm still in awe of the ending. Go see it! ~Pam