Furry Franny Friday

There's not much you need to know when viewing these photos except that every time we have a home project that requires getting the ladder out...this happens: 

If you follow along with me on Instagram, chances are you may have seen some of these. But what i'd love to know from you is what color should i paint that ladder?? We don't have the heart to put it away because Franny loves it so much, so if it's going to stay out it should at least be a little cuter, right? Suggestions?

Honor and Support Our Veterans, the Furry Way

Take a look at this amazing photo:

National Star-Spangled Banner Flag G.H. Preble, 1874.

Look really closely at how small the people are to absorb the enormity of this flag. It's 36 x 29 feet! It's the same flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 during its bombardment by the British, which was witnessed by Francis Scott Key who soon after composed the "Star-Spangled Banner". The largest U.S. battle flag at the time, this enduring piece of U.S. history (now on view at the Smithsonian) was hand sewn by Mrs. Mary Young Pickersgill and her two nieces. Truly a Star-Spangled (and battered) Banner.

One of my favorite charity organizations, the Newman's Own Foundation, has organized a challenge called Honoring Those Who Serve to bring attention and support to a "select group of military service nonprofits ... that help those who serve." These groups are all doing meaningful work for our amazing vets, right in our own communities.

Here are two organizations that caught Franny and Lou's eye.

 The first is called HERO DOGS.

HERO DOGS works with veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and provides exceptionally trained service dogs to meet the special needs of the veterans due to injuries or other disabilities. As citizens of a grateful nation, we have an obligation to try to restore the former independence and ability of those veterans who have sacrified so much for the good of others and to protect our freedom. Here's a moving video about this organization and the work they do.

The other is: WARRIOR CANINE CONNECTION

We will be donating 50% of all profits from sales made in our shop today through Veterans Day to one or more of the Newman's Challenge participating organizations. It's the least we can do to give thanks and to honor and support these exceptional men and women and their families.

What Veterans Day activities are going on near you? Check out the Veterans Affairs Office site.

Have a beautiful weekend.
xo,
kate

Furry Friday ... and a Fun Photo Contest (our first)

I had such a lovely time at the International Quilt Market in Houston! 

Thanks so much to Moda Fabrics for everything they do, every day. Going to market is such a special time because i have a chance to thank everyone in person for all their hard work throughout the year. It also affords me the chance to have some fun reuniting with Moda friends and fellows designers...and catching up with many passionate and creative quilters, quilt designers, and shop owners (market photos to come). I'd have to say that's my favorite part...connecting with YOU! I was so happy to see your projects using Sunnyside, In From the Cold, and even Daydream. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello. It meant the world to me.

*Keep reading for a chance to win a jelly roll of In From the Cold *

As fun as it was to be away, i was also really excited to get home to Pete and these two:

They were a little miffed at me for leaving them for 4 days, after all two cats need two servants, right? For a couple days, Franny told me to "talk to the paw"...

...and Lou pretended to be asleep whenever i sat next to him!

That smile gave him away, though. And it wasn't too long (and too many cat treats) before we were back to normal and ready to hand out treats on Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween, we're running a little photo contest on Facebook. It's just for fun, and it's still open to entries if you'd like to join in. Just click here and upload a fun, creative photo (or more than one) of Halloween and/or Dia de los Muertos ... from wherever you are. Could be of parades, pumpkins, trick-or-treaters anything -- from this year or the past.

Entries are accepted until midnight on Saturday, Nov 2 eastern time. 

The winner can pick his/her prize — either a jelly roll of In From the Cold fabric or $30 gift certificate and free shipping from our online shop! It's open to U.S. and International. 

Have a great weekend! 

xo,

kate

Furry Friday, Finally

Ok, so here's a "keeping it real" moment. I took this photo a couple weeks ago for the Moda Blog Hop, and to be totally honest, nothing has changed much...

...well that's not entirely true. There are actually more fabric scraps on the floor. But that's ok, because someone loves scraps:

Most of the time, Lou likes to "help" me.

And despite that, i managed to get all these squares cut for the quilt i'm working on.

Franny is more of a planner, so she helped me pick the strike offs for Daydream (way back in April):

Chin rubs help her think better:

Lou also likes to supervise my sewing from above to make sure all those seams are lining up:

And if they aren't, you know what that means...

If you don't have one of these in your sewing box, you might want to think about getting one! It's a seam ripper made by Tacony, and like none other. That little rubberized beehive thingie at the end is used like an eraser to grab and pull out all the small threads in a ripped seam (see it in action). No more picking them out by hand! Which means Lou can spend less time supervising and more time napping.

More soon. This quilt isn't going to sew itself! Hope you have a beautiful weekend.

xo,

kate

Furry Friday, Finally

Trying to get back on-track with Furry Fridays so here's a
whole lotta fur!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo,

kate

Furry Friday (special edition)

It's quite a special day here and these two have

something to sing about!

Can you believe they're already TWO!? Time sure flies.

Here is Lou then...

...and Lou now.

Franny then...

...and Franny now.

Another thing that has grown over time is all the love in our hearts.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Frannycakes and Wiggly Lou!

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo,

kate

Furry Friday

So, i'm trying to pretend it's not snowing outside right now. Or that there are already 5 inches of the white stuff on the ground. Or that any minute, we'll be heading out to shovel our walkway and sidewalks {again}. It's hard to believe that Spring is supposed to arrive in 12 short days, but we're looking forward to it and are eager to plant our new garden. So exciting! In our early planning stages, we've already decided on one thing. It looks like we'll be growing some potatoes and "Lous" this year! 

How about you?

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo,

kate

Moda Friendship Quilt Along

Welcome to day 5 of the Moda Friendship Blog Hop Quilt Along! So many thanks to you for stopping by and spending some time with me today. And thanks to Moda for hosting all this fun and for providing such generous giveaway loot for you! If you've missed any days so far, you may want to go back to this post to see the blogging schedule and to get caught up.

Each Moda designer has created their own block to share with you … our friends! You'll be able to collect a total of 28 (i think?) different 9" quilt block designs that you can use in your sewing projects. Moda's blog post on March 1st will give a setting option to make a sampler quilt using some of the blocks.

So today, Kaari, Lynne and i get to share our friendship block designs with you. I made this block using three of the prints from my newest fabric collection, Honey Honey that is in stores now. You can download the instructions for how to make it here.

Actually, all the individual blocks you're collecting would make really nice quilts on their own wouldn't they? Here's a look at how this one would repeat.

If you haven't had a peek at Honey Honey yet, here's an glimpse of the coral, soft orange and pink color range...

...and the periwinkle, turquoise and navy range.

This collection is abundant with blooms of hydrangea, roses, lavender, daisies, phlox and a bouquet of other summery florals. There are also prints featuring honeycombs, buzzing bees and intricate lacework. Honey Honey is a colorful antidote to the winter we've been having around here lately. This was the view out our garage door the morning after 34" of snow was dumped here in Connecticut a couple weeks ago...

...i'd much rather stay inside, sit by the fire and look at all the pretty things people have been making with Honey Honey already! Sherri made this cute quilt called Drop designed by Carrie Nelson:

And Carly made this sweet baby girl quilt. The pattern is called Sweet as Honey and is available here.

Rebecca made this beautiful quilt called Aura. She used a navy solid from Primitive Muslins by Moda for the background and i love how it makes the colors sparkle. The pattern is available in Rebecca's new book called Seamingly Scrappy.

Julie Herman's quilt pattern called Science Fair is on my "someday sewing" list. Once i get brave enough to attempt any sewing with hexagons, that is! For a complete list of where to find Science Fair and other Jaybird patterns, please visit Julie's website.

There are also some fun and free projects using Honey Honey that have been featured on the Moda Bake Shop recently:

Hugs Before Kisses by Melissa Corry

Macarons Lap Quilt by Casey York

Prairie Traditions Quilt by Karen Ackva

If that's not enough, here is a free pattern from me too!

And because we're celebrating friendship as much as quilting, i had another idea. In addition to working with Moda, i license my art and designs to a number of companies who make various products. You may have seen my previous post about these cupcake wrappers i designed that are now available at Michaels Craft Stores.

Well, they're too cute to be sitting around...empty. So Pete and i made a bunch of these (that's a link to the recipe)...

...and took them on the road for some surprise cupcake deliveries to a few of our dear friends. First, we stopped at Kate's house. She's always ready to laugh and have a good time. I love that about her.

Then i knocked on the back door at Bridie and Joe's house. I think they decided to let us in once they saw the frosting (Joe loves cake no matter what size or shape it takes).

Look how cute and surprised they were!

We didn't even have enough time to take our coats off and Joe was already halfway through one of his sweet treats. Joe will be 93 this year. I think i'll start to eat more cupcakes.

Then we stopped over at Debra and Ed's house. Debra was happy to have some cupcakes...

...but really just wanted a hug.

What i learned: Surprise cupcakes make friendships extra sweet. As a little reminder of this small and random act, i created this freebie download just for you!

Hang it by your desk, in your kitchen, next to your sewing machine or print it out and send it to a friend (along with a few cupcakes).

Thank you so much for stopping by for a fun visit! Please join me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where i share daily news and updates, but mostly i love to show off your beautiful sewing and craft projects. Chime in anytime and join the conversation!

So are you ready for a giveaway after reading all of that?? Moda has generously provided a jelly roll and a dessert roll of Honey Honey that i'll give away to two lucky winners. A dessert roll is a new precut made up of 20 prints from a single collection that are 5" wide x the width-of-fabric long. So many possibilities!

To enter to win one of these, please leave either your favorite quote about friendship or a comment about something nice you've done for a friend or that a friend has done for you recently. Just one entry please. Random winners will be announced on Monday morning. Until then, you'll have the weekend to take a break from all the blog hopping — but rest up for next week when you can visit all these talented designers:

feb 25th

Kathy Schmitz

Edyta- Laundry Basket

Lauren & Jessi Jung

feb 26th

Lisa- Primitive Gatherings

Malka Dubrawsky

Me & My Sister

feb 27th

Minick and Simpson

Pat Sloan

Sandy Gervais

feb 28th

Sweetwater

Stephanie Ryan

Vanessa Christenson

march 1st

The Cutting Table

One last thing because it is Furry Friday after all!

"Still Life With Franny"

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo,

kate