Quilting with Ragdolls

As strange as it might sound, finishing that little Christmas quilt, start to finish, gave me a nice feeling of accomplishment that was the kick in the rump I needed to get moving again. I have several things cut out and ready to start sewing as soon as I'm done here. Thanks again Marcie for that super free pattern you provided so graciously. Making one inspired me to get moving on more. I'll make one for my Mom and I decided to make another one for me, a bit larger, to use as my new tree skirt. A few adjustments should make it perfect. Leaving off the center pinwheel...since it will be cut out...and leaving one side un-sewn so I can bind it along with the outside edges.

With those two in mind I took a trip to JoAnn's for more background fabric and some brighter reds. Now normally I don't do a tons of fabric shopping at JoAnn's because I've heard the "stories" about inferior fabrics, etc. Plus they don't carry civil war or much homespun. But inferior?? Well some is, but some is very nice. In fact, the topic for quilt guild this month is by the owner of the local quilt shop. Her discussion is about why her fabric is much better than inferior shops like JoAnns, Walmart, Hancocks, etc. Okay, I'll give you that the $1.99 fabric isn't the nicest. It's rough...sometimes weird, stiff and seems a bit odd. But if that's what you can afford, go for it! Why should anyone discourage someone from sewing for that reason. These days the fabrics are much better at my JoAnn's store. They even have a new line that's what I consider a knock off of the Denise Schmidt, Amy Butler type lines that ranges from $6.99 to $8.99 and that's right in the same range as the fabric store! It's wonderful fabric with very cool designs. What I went to get was more background fabric from Debbie Mumm. Since when did Debbie Mumm become second rate fabric? I don't think so. She has a whole line there in cotton and flannel for Christmas..once again in the $6 - $9 range. 40% off I might add right now. So I picked up enough for two more Tree quilts. The light is the background fabric. The snowmen pattern will be used for fun backs, and the plaid will probably be another border to make the quilt a bit larger. Those were all Debbie's fabrics as well as the lighter print with the darker green and red stars. The others are nice true xmas colors to be added in. I'm not making heirloom quilts here people. They are going to be washed a ton, crawled on by the cats, and enjoyed. Who cares if the fabric came from JoAnn's. Oh yea...well except maybe the quilt shop owner who lost out on the money.

Do you enjoy peppermints? Do you live near a Trader Joe's store? Then I implore you to go try these cookies. I'd easily weigh 500 pounds if these were available all year. They are that good! Real candy cane in the filling, so cool and refreshing. I grabbed a box on a whim and we loved them so much I had to go back for more.

Now, I'll climb off my soapbox and start sewing.