Cup Dresses

My friend, Judy Wedemeyer, is a fiber artist with an imagination that just leaves me smiling every time and a sense of sharing seen only in people who are happy and secure with themselves.

And, just for the record: She started it.

It was a chat conversation, on the internet. I remember that much, and the fact that, even though it was just words on the screen, I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes.

This is MY version of how that went….

She tells me, “we need to come up with a good fundraiser item for Breast Cancer this year.” I mentally agree with her, and think to myself that just another pink quilt doesn’t quite cut it. I ponder the issue and type, “well, what about those great cup warmers you make? I love those things! Maybe in pink?”

She replys “Boring”. Well, then. I try to think harder. More creatively.

“How can we tie those into a Breast Cancer theme?” she sends.

A pause as we both ponder.

“Well. We could put breasts on the cup warmers?” (Quite frankly, I am not sure which of us said it.)

“OMG!” We both cracked up laughing and the conversation went on from there.

It took many months before we were able to sit down together and have a “creative retreat” and make our “Busty Cups” as we had come to call them.

We found out that we’d envisioned a similar result (how many ways can you envision breasts on a cup warmer?) but our methodology was vastly different and we had a blast playing together.

When we’d finished we admired each others’ work and agreed to post about it on our blogs and share the idea with a couple of friends.

My friend Margaret Bucklew, of Chiseled In Cloth, went off in her own direction!

We are all donating them to Breast Cancer Awareness/Support Fundraisers.

Both Judy and Margaret have blog posts about making theirs.

Would you like to join us? We’d love to see your creation (this is a LOT of fun for a group of women especially if you find a way to use your creations to raise money to fight breast cancer).

We’ve put up a free TUTORIAL here with a downloadable pattern and some basic instructions and are letting it all go under a creative commons license. Have fun, have a fundraiser, just don’t re-sell or profit financially from the effort

When I showed mine to my daughter, explaining the process, my granddaughter asked if she could play with the “Lady Cup Dresses” and we both just laughed. I handed them all over to her and she was just a happy little girl, playing with the cup dresses.

I made a short video about the project

If breast cancer has caused hurt and fear in your family, I hope that you will consider our lighthearted approach of creating something that is fun and artistic and realize that we DO understand the seriousness and grief that this disease causes. We do not mean any disrespect to anyone that the disease has harmed or toward anyone at all and I dearly hope that no one will take offense at our silly little projects.

“You Are What You Keep”

I have been staring at that statement ever since I read it in one of my online quilting groups a few weeks ago. It was posted as part of an “Eliminate 2010 things in 2010″ challenge from another group.

I have been on a quest to reduce my possessions for twenty years. That makes me sound like I own one of everything in the world, or am a total hoarder (well, I might be) but really all it means is that I am triply conscious of what I buy and why I buy it, and what I have and how long I’ve had it and if I’ll ever use it again.

I think this mindset really started when I gave up kayaking about fifteen years ago. I loved my kayaks more than any possession I’ve ever had. But, I had stopped kayaking. The kids were getting older and were into things like being driven to events and all my friends had already been out kayaking with me at least once, and I’d kayaked all the places I had wanted to go. So, they sat for a couple of years while I slowly changed my priorities and how I spent my time, and then, because I loved my boats, I sold them to people who would use and love them instead of letting them deteriorate and take up space in my life.


Ever since that day it’s been easier and easier to look at “things” and say “don’t need it, let’s put it in the hands of someone who does”.


I do that now with my quilts, fabrics, books, magazines, clothes, and anything else of even the slightest value and everything I remove makes me feel like I’ve just lost about 5 pounds. I feel lighter, freer, more altruistic, happier and less stressed by my surroundings.

Eye Candy & Inspiration

Quilters, I am not sure what you call it, but when I find a blog that makes me just scroll up and down, over and over, discovering something new, exciting and beautiful, I call that “eye candy”.

This blog is in Spanish, and was brought to my attention by my new friend Rita, who emailed me to tell me how much she likes my videos

Please check out Twinkle Patchwork if you are looking for something new, or just want a “pretty things” show. If you want to read it, and have Google translate the Spanish to English, consider downloading the Google Translator Toolbar – I love it and use it to help me communicate in several languages because I get comments on my videos from all over the world! Or, you can use this translation page to draft a message and then translate it to another language, which I sometimes do.

Either way, enjoy the site and if you like, comment and say “Hola” to Rita and that Marguerita sent you

Vote for Vanessa!

Quilters, you might have noticed that I am loving making videos and putting them on YouTube. I also *watch* a lot of videos there – in fact, when I want to figure out how to do something, like use a piece of software or cook something, well the first place I go now is YouTube.

Oprah Winfrey is doing a talent search and a gal that I’ve watched on YouTube is trying to get her own quilting show. Her name is Vanessa and you can see her “pitch” here.

If you like what you see, please give her a vote. I personally would LOVE to see some new, young, fresh representative of quilting on national TV and this gal just crush’s it! Go Vanessa Go!

Cleaning Up and Cutting Scraps

I am a fabricaholic.

There. I said it.

I can’t throw away a single piece of fabric and I’ve been known to dive into the quilt room waste basket of others to retrieve perfectly good fabric!

I now have about 3 of these big bins of scraps. The trimmings of every Crazy Shortcut Quilt I’ve ever made including all the ones from the book, plus all the scraps from every other quilt I’ve ever made too.

I did a big clean up and reorganization this spring because I’ll be moving in the fall. Winter and I don’t like each other anymore and I’m headed for warmer climes in a few months.

That means, for me, “clean it up, use it up, or give it up” – including the scrap bin. So, I am trimming off the useable fabrics from my “trimmings” bin (and we won’t get into what I think is useable – hehehehehe). I want to make a few of those long draft stoppers and I’ll use the tiny bits of batting to stuff them with. Maybe I’ll make a stuffed animal or two for Audrey.

Ten New Quilt Photos in the Gallery

Take a peek in our quilt Gallery for quilts from Sara in Abu Dhabi (YES!! Abu Dhabi!) , Sonja in North Carolina, who made up her own design, Teacher Jamie in Alabama, and Teacher Jenny in Surrey, England. Thank you SO MUCH for letting me see and share your quilt photos

Happy Things!

Check out this great video! It will put a big smile on your face

Christmas Songs

My friend Denise, who lives in Hawaii, sent this video link. It’s just wonderful and the singer has a superb voice. I love the dual language version! Do you have a favorite Christmas song on YouTube? Would you post a link to it in the comments? I love listening to different languages and new interpretations and I hope you do too

Here’s one of my absolute favorites, Jose Feliciano, singing Feliz Navidad, but look at the comments on YouTube - you have to go to YouTube and see what people are posting!

Really Great Inspiration

I love reading Seth Godin and so of course I downloaded his (free!) new ebook as soon as I could. It’s called What Matters Now.

Since I am sharing things I love, this video really speaks to me. It is on TED and it is William Kamkwamba talking about how he Harnessed The Wind. I want to do what he has done.

Meanwhile, I am quilting away, writing and thinking of new projects I can create for Crazy Shortcut Quilters; helping a few friends with their blogs (do you need help? Just email me….) and of course, taking videos! I hope to have another ready for you soon. Meanwhile, I put one up about the adjustment of Pressure on the sewing machine Presser foot. What a tongue twister!!

Audio Books!

I am having such a surprisingly good time listening to books. I never thought that I would enjoy this and that’s why I’ve taken so long to try this just because I was sure that I wouldn’t like it. Ahhhh, I admit that I was wrong

My local library card lets me download a surprising number of excellent books and I’ve been listening to them while sewing and quilting. I either let them play on the computer speakers or I download them from the computer to a little tiny MP3 player that I had actually bought for another purpose.

After figuring out how to connect to the Library, then downloading the right software to be able to listen to books, and decoding the compu-speak that talked about security but really meant that Microsoft (as usual) wouldn’t let their update pass through my browser (Firefox) {Bleh!!!} I finally started listening to a book that I was desperate to “hear” after reading two others by the same author. I didn’t even want to wait the few days it would take to buy the book online.

After listening for a while, I realized that I couldn’t just sit there and listen (in front of the computer) so I dragged the exercise bike closer to the computer and actually worked out for a while!

Then I needed to leave for a while but didn’t want to give up my book! So I searched out my little MP3 player and connected it to the computer, dreading another “this software doesn’t work” battle but WHOOOHOOOO! Guess what! The computer said “…it looks like you want to transfer your audio files to your player…” and I shot out of my chair in surprise and happiness!

I have been walking around town, sewing, quilting and shoveling snow, all while listening to book after book! HEAVEN!

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