Chickenfoot

flea market finds

2011-11-20T17:50:00.002-06:00

flea market finds, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

the hubby has been telling me about a flea market in wilmot wis. for a few months. this morning we finally went. unfortunately it was so chilly, only a few sellers were there. i did find the big wooden shoe for $3 and the little cheese box for $5. it was still early so we popped in to the local antique mall. i found the sweet pair of red clogs with green paint on them. i couldnt pass up the adorable mushroom with the elf and the three frogs. i might sell one or two of the frogs tho. it was a really good day for thrifting

milk glass

2011-11-12T19:17:00.001-06:00

i added a couple vases to my milk glass collection this week. i love thrifting!

im in a book!!!

2011-10-13T22:02:00.001-05:00

eeeee, this has been such a happy mail week. on monday i received my advance copy of the book that i made a little doll quilt for. cathy gaubert put the book together along with our fabulous editor amanda carestio (that also has a quilt included). this was a dream come true to have something i made, published in a book, and i couldnt have been luckier having the uber talented cathy be the one to put it together. the book isnt out until november but you can pre-order on amazon, if youre so inclined....;o/

Bloggers' Quilt Uberfest

2011-10-11T08:00:00.023-05:00

Good morning everyone. i know im up bright and early but i wanted to post this right away. (ok, truth be told im still sleeping and i did this in advance, but hey, if i hadnt told you, you wouldnt have known, so :oP). im next on the list of bloggers in the quilt uberfest. this has been so much fun to see what great blocks everyone has come up with. if you dont know what the heck im talking about head over to scotts blog. he has all the details. basically tho, we all designed blocks that are made up of log cabins and hst's. the pdf's for everyone's blocks are on their individual blogs, but scott has the list of participants so you can see at a glance where the blog tour is at on any given day.
Scott sent us each a selection of beautiful fabrics from nell whatmore's line, Sleeping beauty, such gorgeous fall colors. it really wasnt hard to come up with something when i had these luscious fabrics in my grubby little hands. i named my block cabin in the woods.....heres my very first pdf! hope you enjoy making it. please join us in the flickr group if you are making any or all of the blocks and show off your creations.
the next blogger is the lovely jan. go see what she has in store for you tomorrow!
i just wanted to say a quick thank you to scott for including me in this bloggy tour. i learned a few new things (puter-wise) that i dont think i would have, if not for the blogfest. *mwah*

Mute Monday

2011-10-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

christmas prezzies

2011-10-05T18:42:00.001-05:00

um, have you seen this?? its from designsponge. my cyber buddy needledfig (amy) pinned this and i had to click thru right away. this idea is stinking fabulous! i thought of something similar for recipe cards but i like the idea of a perpetual calendar so much more. if you are a woman and related to me, be expecting one of these for christmas!! altho i think i am going to spend the next few months looking for different containers to put them in. something more sturdy that will last for years.

Old typewriters and we have a winner!!

2011-10-04T15:03:00.003-05:00

i finally picked a winner for the giveaway. shesh im slow. does anyone know how to include the random number generator pic in your blog? if so, could you let me know??? the rng picked number 8, lollydo!! congrats. could you email me your addy so i can send your package out?
on another note, my cyber twin leila and i found out we both love using old typewriters, so we are including typewritten recipes in our latest swap.
does anyone else out there like to use old machines? im in love with all things vintage, but there is just something about old machinery. they just dont make things as pretty as they used to. the pic in this post is of my lovely mercury royal. i believe it was made the same year i was born (1967). shes not super pretty but she types like a dream. before i go, be sure and check out this fun blog, Strikethru

help a girl out

2011-09-26T18:45:00.001-05:00

i have outlined and cut most of my applecores from the two charm packs of happy camper i have. unfortunately,my math was way off and i think i need another 6! packs to make decent sized quilt (and by decent i mean lappish). i had a hard time finding any dimensions for applecore quilts online, so if anyone knows of any,i would love for you to tell me. meanwhile i am on a hunt for more happy camper charm packs. if you have 1, 2 or even more you are willing to swap (sell) please let me know too

you say tomato i say tomato. who says tomahto?

2011-09-21T18:09:00.001-05:00

last year i started a new collection after seeing a jar full of tomato pincushions in a magazine somewhere. i loved that pic. i dont have a ton, but i have enough to call it a collection. see that teensy one there? thats my fave.
what do you collect?

toast and jam

2011-09-20T16:01:00.001-05:00

i finally finished my bitties for august...only 3 weeks after the sending date. sigh. i was hoping to make them look like bonne maman jars. i guess the lid does but the jar, not so much. i guess its not a literal interpretation ;0/
have you had any finishes today? next up is the final two blocks in the fresh modern bee 2.
i am taking a break from swaps/bees for fall (with the exception of the scrappy pincushion swap4, because its quick). i need to do some sewing for the family before the holidays

my two favorite things

2011-09-18T20:47:00.001-05:00

i adore the tv show psych. my family owns all 5 seasons on dvd. we rewatch them all the time. a friend on twitter just told me the show is even funnier if you watch it with subtitles. oddly enough, its true!
my other favorite thing is starbucks frappucchinos. i cant start my day without one.
what are your two favorite things?

followers schmollowers

2011-09-17T00:14:00.001-05:00

i have a request from my bleeps (bloggy peeps) cute name, no? i figure if twitter peeps can be tweeps, bloggy peeps can be bleeps! remember you heard it here first!! ok.ok. my request is for followers. i have a goal of doubling my followers over the weekend. i started at 75 friday evening. i am hoping to to reach 150 followers by dinner time mon. will you help me? please follow my blog. i will be doing a giveaway as a thank you. i am not sure what yet, but i do work at a quilt shop....it will definitely include a pincushion. the pic is of two unfilled pincushions i have recently made. it wouldnt necessarily be one of these but it will be adorable, i promise. if you have become a follower this weekend, just leave a comment saying so.
tanky!

civil war bitties

2011-09-15T14:10:00.001-05:00

i finally got my civil war bitties put together. i will be doing a cream thin border then the blue that i used for the cornerstones as a bigger outer border. unless anyone has any better ideas??? thoughts on quilting this thing? without the borders its 10 x13.5", with them it will be 14.25" x 17.5". the blocks are 3" finished, and i out 1/2" finished sashing on

progress: log cabin block swap

2011-09-14T20:42:00.003-05:00

i realized i hadnt been putting up my log cabins as they came in. shame on me. here they are all together. i have 52 blocks from 3 months of swaps. crazy, huh??
i think in my head i was imagining a 15x17 layout. not sure if it will get that big or not. i was kind of hoping to have it to cuddle under this winter...
thanks go out to scott, julie, lish, marilyn, colleen, leila and lori. please tell me if i forgot anyone. i will try to remember to add links next time im on a puter.
if you would like to join in our madness, we swap monthly at block swap on flickr.

36 log cabins

2011-09-13T20:22:00.001-05:00

a few months back a bunch of flickr folks decided they loved wee log cabins. loved them so much in fact we decided to have a group for swapping them. each month we sign up, and make 3 cabinnies, as we like to call them, for each person participating. last month i was naughty and didnt get mine out before the end of the month. so i had to make double this month...36! these will be going out this week. cute, no? oh! they are 3.5" in case your wondering.

im so embarrassed

2011-09-12T16:45:00.001-05:00

a friend on twitter threw down a challenge last tuesday to show our messy sewing rooms. i said mine was the worst. she contended hers was. we both have chaos undoubtedly!!! i am so embarrassed to show this pic, but maybe it will make me clean up again.
this leads me to the question....are you a messy sewist or a tidy one? do you make messes and then have to do a major clean up? if you are a messy sewist, does it hinder your creativity to be surrounded by mess or does it encourage the process?
i am messy and i know it hinders me.when it is clean and everything put in its place i feel renewed and want to sew up a storm. when its cluttered, i feel claustrophobic and dont even want to be in there.
do tell, and if you are daring enough....show us pix!

jaquelines album quilt BOM

2011-09-11T23:17:00.001-05:00

jaquelines album quilt BOM, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

when i saw these quilts blocks hanging in the classroom at pieceful gathering a couple weeks ago i knew i had to take the BOM class. the blocks arent the usual size. they are a petite 9". i am a bit overwhelmed by it all, but i think im up for the challenge. there is a gorgeous border too but its not on the board. wish me luck! oh and i picked up some 3" english paper piecing triangles too. a hand project to work on this fall, as i have organized a hiking and handsewing morning every week (no we wont be doing both at the same time sillys)

winnings from fat quarter shop for #talknt on twitter

2011-09-10T20:25:00.001-05:00

winnings from fat quarter shop for #talknt on twitter, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

im one of those twitter people. i really enjoy twitter because a lot of the people i know from other social media are on there so its a way of extending my ability to "visit" with them. one of my favorite things on twitter is tweetchats. every tuesday @caraquilts hosts #talknt (talkin tuesday). we get together and answer questions and pretty much just yak our heads off. conversations can be so fast its hard to keep up. super fun. one of the perks of the evening is that cara pulls a name to win a prize. see those 4!!! charm packs there? i won them this week. the fat quarter shop was the sponsor. and oh my i had such a hard time choosing. in the end, i had to check out the new batik charms and etchings by 3 sisters. come join the fun. tuesdays from 8-10. just use the hashtag talknt .

fabric junkie

2011-09-09T16:51:00.001-05:00

went to joanns today. sigh. since we moved away from vernon hills i havent gone to the "big" crafty joanns too much. when the first line of d.s. came out i wasted so much gas looking for it. i promised myself i wouldnt do that again. sigh. i have stayed out of the d.s. group on flickr for the most part just because it would give me the 'i wants" badly. and the money just isnt there for frivalous purchases (did i just call fabric buying frivalous?) i went today hoping to be able to just find a couple of the big florals. those are the ones i really love.
i was really impressed with the hand of the other three, non d.s. prints. supple!

my new girl

2011-09-08T14:59:00.002-05:00

my new girl, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

i am so excited. last month i had to sell my featherweight because to be honest we really needed the money more than i needed a featherweight. i was sad to see my girl go, especially since we hadnt been together long.
recently tho, i had the opportunity to replace her, at a much lower cost with this green beauty. if you know me, you know i heart this green color.
i am just tickled to have her, but i think she needs a little visit to the shop for some cleaning and oiling to make her purr like a kitten..
what do you think of vintage sewing machines? do you love them like i do, or are you a lover of new fangled and schparkly??

dqs10

2011-01-17T16:56:00.004-06:00

wowsers. i really suck at this blogging thing, eh? just popping in to say dqs10 is under way. partners just went out over the holiday weekend and everyone is feverishly stalking their partners.
have you heard about the sewing summit? i would really really like to go but i dont know if its monetarily in the cards....but i have a few months to see if i can save up some. its not until october. im thinking if i save enough money by april 1, that still gives me time to get a hotel room. if not, it wasnt meant to be. but i would so love to meet so many of my online quilty friends.

what im doing because im not at market

2010-10-30T18:23:00.002-05:00

found a wonderful blog today and it led me to a couple others. there are some really great tutes. go check them out, em ay kay ee, myrtle & eunice, and lola nova.
make sure to check back next week. i am going to figure out how to do one of them there voting thingies so everyone can vote on a name for my new baby!!

Kai no kuchi!!!

2010-10-15T19:25:00.010-05:00

photo by pearl incig

I think we need to start a kai no kuchi box phenomenom!! Flossieblossoms posted a link to these little cuties in the scrappy mugrug swap group. Pop on over and check out Idle hands empty brains cute blog and especially this tute. And here is an etsy shop that sells them, pearlsquitledcrafts. Are these not stinkin' cute???

You could use them for so many wee things, thimbles, change, a dinky sewing kit....leave some other ideas here...

boy. its been a long time.

2010-10-13T22:00:00.005-05:00

my featherweight without a name, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

help me name my new baby!! i like old fashioned names...help me name her and maybe you will win something if i pick your name...
i cant wait to try out all the weird feet she came with!

happy mothers day

2010-05-08T23:59:00.001-05:00

me and mom getting her transfusion, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

tho you arent here, i just wanted to say happy mothers day, mom
i love and miss you

red and aqua quilt bee

2010-01-27T19:55:00.008-06:00

above are three layouts for my red and aqua bee quilt. the first one has a red on white dot alternating with a white on red dot, and the second one has a white dot on red alternating with a white dot on aqua, and the third one has a red dot on white in every block. which is your favorite? someone mentioned that the first one has a secondary pattern happening with the red also....i dont know if i like that it isnt symmetrical. i guess i could add another row to two sides to make it more symmetrical. what do you think?

Some of what i made in 2009

2010-01-01T00:11:00.002-06:00

Some of what i made in 2009, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

just realized my doll quilt swap 7 isnt in there, or the quilt i traded with ruthiequilts or my placemat for the second swap..oh well

speaking of doll quilt swap..sign ups start on saturday, january 2 at 3 p.m. central time!!!

mosaic friday-pink christmas

2009-12-18T19:17:00.003-06:00

mosaic friday-pink christmas, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

i love all things pink. i would have a houseful of pink if it wasnt for the hubby. today is a good day, i actually was able to upload my mosaic on friday!
i am getting super excited. someone on flickr saw my mosaic of wooden dutch shoes and gave me someone elses name......long story short, i should have my very own pair of wooden shoes around my birthday!! as soon as the holidays are over they will start to make them. eek, isnt that super de duper??

mosaic friday-mostly red and white christmas

2009-12-14T10:02:00.002-06:00

mosaic friday-mostly red and white christmas, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

wow, i am way late on mosaic friday, but hey, as i say every week, better late than never. i was trying to get the spirit going so i chose to do a red and white christmassy theme for my mosaic. i just adore everything in this one.i cant believe there is only 10 days til xmas eve. ack! i am so not ready. we havent even gotten a tree yet! but i hope to rectify that tonight. as long as the hubby gets home early, it will happen!!!!
i havent gotten anything made yet for gifties. i wanted to make some new stockings for this year, so found the perfect pattern and got all my fabrics....now i cant find the pattern! ugh! i have looked everywhere. did the pattern faeries take it???oh dear, i dont know. i guess i should move onto something else, but i have kind of become obsessed with finding it now. wish me luck

mosaic friday- wooden clogs

2009-12-05T21:21:00.003-06:00

mosaic friday- wooden clogs, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

i am a day late, but hey, better late than never! which if it wasnt late, it probably would be never.
i have always had a thing for dutch shoes. when i was little we had a pair. i have NO idea where they came from or for that matter where they went. i believe it wont be long before i am sporting a pair of these around town, much to the chagrin of my teen daughter :o)

a little holiday inspiration

2009-11-20T23:02:00.006-06:00

can i just say how much i love these??? i was inspired by dottieangel's turquoise clogs and had to hang up my own. i got these from my local antique mall. i am always paranoid to paint old things, but i just loved hers so, i knew it would be ok. i really like the color she chose, but figured if i painted mine red i would be able to put them into any room in my house. i think they still need a wee something, but for now, they are pretty as is.

hope you are getting into the holiday spirit!

whats inspiring you???

just keep sewing just keep sewing

2009-11-20T22:54:00.006-06:00

have you been checking out sew mama sew lately? they have had just a slew of great tutorials which would make great gifties for the holidays. pop over, i will wait here for you. {{toe tapping to annoying bird rapping on mirror}}. oh! i forgot to tell you something! youre back arent you??? ok, good. i will be doing the bom at the quilt store for next year. i was talking to some of the ladies, and they were all excited to try something new, so we are going to be doing a bom based on gwen and freddys collaborative quilting book. i did a quilt mock up of the blocks....not super excited by it, but hopefully it would look much better in real life

friday flickr faves

2009-11-20T22:49:00.002-06:00

friday flickr faves, originally uploaded by chickenfoot.

long time no hear, eh?
i know, i suck. what can i say, i just havent had the blogging juju lately. there is talk of a full spectrum lamp coming to live with us.....so there is hope yet!
i felt the compulsion to join tam in her friday flickr favorites, so heres my mosaic

dqs7 finished

2009-09-10T17:43:00.005-05:00

well just days before the deadline i managed to finish not one, but two quilties for dqs7. i have no idea which i will send to my partner. i am hoping she will see these here or on flickr and make a comment. i made square squared first, but when i had to take off the final border i just didnt feel like finishing it at the time. then i had the idea for this....

it started off with just an idea for some simple flowers appliqued on top of a strip pieced sky and grass. this was my first attempt at raw edge applique and "thread painting". i adhered the appliques with steam a seam and then "drew" around everything with my machine. i stink at free motion quilting, so i actually had my regular foot on for this. i didnt think it would work but it did!! i am so excited that this turned out so nicely, that i am having a hard time with the thought of letting it go.

i just did a wiggly type of quilting on the square one. its actually a stitch on my machine that i hadnt tried. i remembered my niece, beth, had used the stitch for something and i had thought it cute at the time. if you had the choice, which would you chose, and why?

2009-08-17T17:31:00.004-05:00

today was a happy mail day! i got my order from superbuzzy. i really just wanted the cotton time mag, but since i was ordering i figured i might as well get some yummy fabric too. i was good tho and only bought two half yards. i cant wait to use it, its too darn cute. oh, the issue is may 2009, in case you want to buy it. it has some really adorable projects.

i am planning on fussy cutting into the little word squares. but i dont have a particular project in mind yet. that kitchen print just makes me want to squeal.

i have been on a pincushion binge, as i needed to make one for a co-worker to give to her mom, and a few others for swaps, so i figured as long as i am making them i might as well make a bunch. the top left one i used vintage upholstery velvet for the flower.....i think i really like the look. the fabric is sherry berry christmas. i think its the bees knees, dont you? vintage buttons too, of course!
oh i almost forgot!! do you like the new header???

Mitsuwa how i love thee, let me count the ways

2009-08-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

today was a happy day. why, you ask?? because i got to go to mitsuwa!!!

mitsuwa is a mall of sorts, it has a food court, a grocery, a travel agent, and a yummy bakery, but best of all it has a bookstore!!! ack!! i lurve this place. i spent almost two hours browsing thru the craft titles and came away with three delicious selections. i dont want to bore everyone by showing you all three here, so i will show you just one, with a few peeks inside. if you want to see more, i will gladly do it in the next couple days. just let me know

i think i might recreate this as a possibly dqs7 or a swap with a certain blogger friend, who shall remain nameless.....

love the wee pincushion, needlebook and geez i guess everything!! there is a lot of wee going on in this pic!

i need to make a new pair of slippers (or as they so sweetly call them in japan, house shoes)

you know how things dont always translate well from one language to another?? what comes to mind is packages of things from china. well this is not one of those things! when i first saw these i thought, wow! really???? fruit salad on bread???? but oh yummmmmmmmm. and i dont even know what have of the fruit is!! its kind of suspended in a whipped creamy thing, on white bread with the crusts taken off, thank you very much. funny thing is, they have potato salad on bread too....i have NOT been brave enough to try that one tho. i guess they figure if its salad it is meant to go on bread, you know, like egg salad......;O/

a new blog!

2009-08-13T21:44:00.000-05:00

ok, so i havent been posting in ages....the truth? i got sick of how my blog looked. i had such a hard time putting in buttons and then they werent even buttons. just words. not good. not happy. so i jumped ship to blogger. i am hoping this will be much easier! now i just need to go find all the buttons to all the swaps and groups and things im in!

i hope you all find me, because i really am too cheap to pay typepad for a month just to put a blurb that i am no longer there.

see that cookie up there?? they are delish. they are called italian lemon drops. if you ever get a chance to nibble one...go for it. you wont be sorry. promise

smooches