I'm so crafty, I make...

Hair! Ha! I've been growing my hair out for a Locks of Love donation, and last week was the big day. So, in memory of Julie, and my aunt Georgeanna, and in honor of my friend Kelli and everybody else fighting cancer... I went from this:

to this! Big thanks to Hannah at Gretchen Scott Salon in Woodinville, WA, for a fantastic (and free!) haircut. I really love having shorter hair again.

Funny thing is, I hated (hated!) my red hair when I was growing up. If I had been given a chance to get a wig back then, I wonder if I would have said "hey, make mine blonde, please!". Oh well, I hope my donation helps make a kid happy, whether they already have red hair or just want to try it out for fun. :-)

October bee blocks

Here are my bee blocks for the do. Good Stitches bee (nice and straightforward)...

and the vintage sheet bee.

I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by this block. With all those seams, I was worried about having it come out the wrong size. But the directions (and my 1/4" foot!) are spot-on. I only had to trim a tiny bit, and it was perfect. I think it's going to be a really cute quilt. Though if I was making this myself, I know I'd take the easy way out (just do a straight patchwork, and set it on point). :-)

loot!

I had some great scores at the thrift store last weekend! Wouldn't these three sheets make a pretty something together? I think I can hear Amanda's sharp intake of breath - I know that one on the right is one of her favorites. :-)

And how about some more butterflies? I really debated about the one on the right - It's a Vera print, and I have it in purple (and love it, of course), but brown and orange aren't the most popular colors. Oh well, I always err on the side of buying!

I seriously almost squealed out loud when I saw these pillowcases! I love this print, and have it in orange and pink. It pained me a little to fork over $2 each for them, but wow, I just love them!

I also found a bag of new FQs from Joann, 7 of them for only $1! Very timely too - I just used the one on top for one of my bee blocks!

And last, but not least, some vintage fabric that had been sewn into a duvet cover. I love the orange and pink combination!

No thrifting for me this weekend - I'll be too busy sewing instead! Yay!

retreat - project #2

After all those triangles, I was ready to slip back into my comfort zone! I was inspired by this quilt on Jeni's blog In Color Order (another vintage sheet fan!), and knew this would be a fun and simple retreat project. I went through my stack of pre-cut sheets (6" squares), and grabbed any that I liked that I had at least 5 of. I brought about 80 prints, when all I needed was about 30! Oh well, it gave me plenty to choose from at the retreat!

I really love the simplicity of it. I didn't think too hard about the layout - I just narrowed it down to my favorite prints (anything 'colorful'), and then I slapped them up on the design wall. I did some minimal rearranging as I went, but I really tried not to over-think it.

(I stole this picture from Karen's blog post). The purple square really jumps out, doesn't it? I probably won't get this quilted until next year. In the meantime, it will languish in 'quilt purgatory' (draped over the stair railing upstairs), where I'll get enjoy petting it whenever I walk by!