I'm sure it's been done...

although I couldn't find anything like it when I googled "fabric toilet paper holder", but here's MY design, which does need major tweaking, I will admit:

I want to figure out how to make a lid for it, too, but I just wanted to try something different.
I also found this, which my favorite lunch cafe was throwing out because the spigot doesn't work anymore. And I decided to display my heirloom tomatoes in it for fun!

I hope you all are well, whether heading into fall or heading into spring, depending on where you live on this big 'ole Earth. I do enjoy reading your posts, even if they make me drool and wish even more that I had all day and night to quilt (sometimes I wish I didn't have to sleep!) And I love seeing the pictures of your vacation spots!
So take care, till you tarry with me again...
~ Jodi ~

"No one can find the rewind button, girl...

so cradle your head in your hands, and just breathe, just breathe!" (by Anna Nalick)

That's ALMOST what I had to do Saturday when I finished the list! I wish I could have pushed the rewind button and NOT gone looking for all my projects! I will explain.
I've noticed how some bloggers are making lists of WIPs, (works in progress), or UFOs (unfinished objects), so I thought I would do the same - boy, was I surprised, and not so pleasantly at first. I filled up a whole page of projects! I thought I knew all my starts and stalls and distractions, but I forgot about a bunch of them!
The above is a pic of scraps from a project I started back in January of 2010. It was a quilt-a-long hosted by Sugar Stitches, and this is the state of it now, still unfinished. I have quite a few blocks made, maybe even all I need to make, I didn't count how many.

There was a lot of waste, so from large triangle pieces I cut these little 2 1/2" squares, LOTS of them, which I hope to maybe make a table runner, or small quilt out of:

and I still ended up with the scraps in that first pic above, which shows the leftover-leftover scraps which measure at about 2 1/2" across at their widest point, and they're 5 1/2" long. All the 5 1/2" long scraps are in multiples, some seven pieces, some less, but most have more than two each. Oh, and MOST of the fabrics are Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley. I'm telling you all this because I'm thinking of giving them away. I know some people do like to work with little tiny pieces of fabric and with all you creative, artistic minds, I'm sure somebody could create something beautiful out of these babies. Any interest?
Get ready over the next week or so to see the rest of my WIPs. Those of you who have been with me for a while hopefully won't be bored, but it's helpful for me to see where I'm at and maybe get my butt in gear and finish all these starts, AND STOP STARTING NEW PROJECTS! (But it's so much fun, isn't it???)
I hope you are all well this evening! It's 7:24 p.m. Tuesday night in my little speck of the world - a rather muggy rainy evening. May you bless and be blessed!
~ Jodi ~

Is my blog versatile?

First a picture of what I've just finished tonight, the quilting of this baby quilt:

I did free-motion quilting. It came out, ehh. Two small puckers, and I was aiming for meandering. Hmmmm. I'll let it go at that. Notice there are no close-up pictures :-)
Next, I've been very remiss in acknowledging an award I received from Michele of Island Life Quilts. She gave me the honor of giving me the Versatile Blogger Award back in May, and it came at a very busy and kind of demanding period in life as I know it, so I'm just getting around now to following through with the acceptance of it. The deal is I get to tell you seven things about myself that you might not know, (nor care to, either). Then I give the award to five people (I think it's five!).
So sit back and read for a minute or two, if you'd like, of course.
1. I am left-handed. When I was in early elementary school, the nuns tried to bully me into changing hands, but my mom wouldn't hear of it and went into school and told them in no uncertain terms, no way, she was born left-handed, she's staying left-handed. Yaaay, Mom!
2. I had been coloring my hair since I was about 25 yrs old due to going prematurely gray, and one and a half years ago when I turned 50, I went au naturale - gray/white/silver, whatever!
3. The year I turned 50, I became a grandmother to Ezra.
4. The year I turned 50, I had a total hip replacement.
5. I love to bicycle in the good weather and ride about 30 miles a week, not much, but I love it. And I've been walking/jogging about 12 miles a week.
6. I am a court reporter and work in Superior Court.
7. I learned to water ski as a child on a lake, but my parents sold the beach house and that was the end of that.

Now I will give the award to five bloggers who, when I see their blog name pop up in Google, I get a little swell of excited anticipation, knowing that what I'm about to read or look at is going to be fantastic!
1. www.thetinyhummingbird.blogspot.com (of course!)
2. www.helennoblog.blogspot.com
3. www.minimushrooms.blogspot.com
4. www.ilovescruffydog.blogspot.com
5. www.linseed-helicopter.blogspot.com

Thanks for staying with me, if you did! I could have had a list a mile long. Decisions, decisions!
Tell we tarry again, may you bless and be blessed!
~ Jodi ~

Hotdogs or hot studs?

I'll let you be the judge of that! (Although if you're under the age of 40, you might want to scroll quickly down to the quilty portion of this post NOW!

We went to breakfast last Saturday with my sister and BIL and brought my camera to take pics of our new 241 Tote bags designed by Anne Graham of http://www.noodle-head.com. Our husbands thought our displaying of our bags in the apple tree was lame, so they decided to model them for us.

Ummm, I really like the apple tree pictures, don't you??? We did have fun making the bags, even though we had some problems of our own doing. At first I wanted to blame the pattern, but then my sister realized it was our own ineptness that was getting us all in a tizzy. SHE figured out the confusion, then we were off and running and finished the bags in about four hours, instead of the two it should have taken.
I have this baby quilt

basted and ready to be quilted. Then I'm going to start the boy baby quilt which I showed you a bit ago.
When I get bored with the blue and white quilt, which I have thirty-six 12 1/2 inch blocks done so far, out of sixty-something needed to be complete,

I work on these:

which are seven 1-inch squares by seven 1-inch squares. I got the idea from Katy of http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/. Her blog is fabulous - you should check it out. I'll be putting up more pics of my blocks and asking for input on what solid color I should use for the solid blocks. (I don't think I'm supposed to have any solid in what I've already done - oops!) Has anyone seen these quilts, some called scrap vomit, and on Flickr? The ones I've seen, like Katy's, are 2-inch squares finished, so twice the size of mine. I love Katy's, it's gorgeous and fun!

High heat equals fat ankles, and various and sundry other pics.

Do you know what this is? Not the fat ankles, but the fabric thingy? My daughter made me this nice camera strap! I forgot to take a pic before I put it on the boring black strap, but you can see it good enough in these pics. She's very thoughtful and has good taste. She also is the mom of Ezra, my grandson!

I haven't posted in a while because I've been too busy making these:

And there are more, but I left them inside the house during my photo session and it was 104 degrees, so I was too hot to schlep back inside to retrieve them. Plus, after looking at a few of them, I think they all start to look alike unless you're viewing them in the flesh - um, fabric!
I also want to show you these, but I'm almost embarrassed by this. Although the fabric-buying frenzy WAS over a period of quite a few months (I think, I hope, I imagine, I pretend...)
But feast your eyes on this prettiness and enjoy:
This group of fabrics is for a baby boy quilt I must get started on, and soon:

I already made the Sherbet Pips baby girl quilt, and have started another baby girl quilt made with the Castle Peeps fabric.

This fabric is from www.saraleeparker.info. It's handprinted in Georgia, 55% hemp, 45% organic cotton, and I LOVE it:

Then there's this fabric for more of the Japanese x and + blocks which I love making and I showed you a few sometime ago:

And these I haven't decided what to do with yet, but I love the brightness.

I hope it's not too hot where you guys are! I know some of you are in the middle of winter, but we're in a scorching heat wave which is supposed to break Sunday, or so the weathermen are predicting. Let's hope they're right!
Have a great weekend, wherever you are and whatever you do! May you bless and be blessed!
~ Jodi ~

Blue and white quilt (Elizabeth Hartman's Superstar)

As usual, my photos are lacking in clarity and color accuracy, but these are the first few blocks I made. I have 22 made so far, which I will post pics of later, don't worry :-) using various and sundry fabrics, mostly blue and white.

I want to thank Pokey and Pip for the tips on fraying. My next trip to the fabric store will include those supplies. And thanks for all the anniversary wishes - we had a wonderful day on Jamestown (do you say "on" when you're on an island?)
I am STILL having trouble commenting on some blogs, so if you haven't heard from me, it's not from lack of trying! Very frustrating! ESPECIALLY when it's a great giveaway I want to enter!
Humor me while I post one pic of my darling Ezra:

Sleeping so peacefully in their tent while camping out! Might I say the quilt that grandma made is the reason for the comfyness?
Have a great day, everyone! May you bless and be blessed!
~ Jodi ~

Fishy Onesie

I made this onesie for Ezra a couple of months ago, but don't think I posted any pics. I came across the pics on my camera card the other day and thought I would show you.

I machine-appliqued the gnome fabric on, but Tara informed me that it's starting to fray after several washings. Oh, well. That gives me an excuse to make some more. He's probably outgrown it now anyway.
I've been so busy sewing in my free time that I haven't posted in a while, but soon I will show you what I'm working on. And it's not the Farmer's Wife blocks, either. I think those are going to remain UFOs (unfinished objects) for quite a while, as I made some poor decisions and can't get my enthusiasm worked up for them anymore. Oh, well - live and learn!
Have a great Monday!
~ Jodi ~