Liberty Love – Thimbleanna

Remember When …

17 Comments / May 5, 2019 May 5, 2019 / Around the House, Chat, Family, Liberty Love, Store

It’s been a long (yet somehow speedy) and busy spring, so I thought I’d just check in and dust off ye ol’ blog …

Remember When I posted here about our little newlyweds just starting med school? Unbelieveably, that was ELEVEN years ago. FINALLY, all that hard work has come to an end and it’s time to start their real life without school. We’re very happy and excited that they’ve accepted a job here and will move back home this summer. Yay for living close to the babies!!! SweetiePie sent this cute picture a few weeks ago. The babies are growing quickly. I’ll let you think on this picture until the end of this post too LOL.

Remember When I went to Shetland last summer? And I promised to write all about my trip? I finally did just that and posted about it here in the travel section of my little blog.

Remember When I posted here about the squirrels using my patio chairs for nest materials? Well, I replaced those chair pads a few years ago, but last fall was so busy I totally forgot to bring my chairs in for the winter. Maybe I’ll learn my lesson {sigh}. (Oh, and they’ve stepped up their destruction level — they’re now gnawing on the metal parts of the table and chairs — you can see it along the edges of the chair handle.)

Remember When I used to actually quilt and sew around here? There is still a little of that going on these days. I do occasionally drag my Trip Around the World UFO out to work on it. I think I’m on round 38 or so and I think I decided I need about 44 rounds. Only 5 or 6 more rounds to go! Sadly, each round is taking me about 15 hours to complete, so there’s still a LOT of work left. Not to mention ironing all those seams — not looking forward to that part.

Remember When I had an etsy store and used to tell you when new fabrics arrived? Well, I still have that little shop and new fabrics arrive alllll the time, I just can’t seem to find the time to post about them. Here are the latest arrivals in the Liberty department. I LOVE the classic prints. That 4th-down-from-the-top print makes me all twitterpated.

Thanks for sticking it out to the end. Now … did you have a think on that first picture??? And get the message??? We’re beside ourselves with excitement that FinallyAnotherGirl is going to be a Big Sister late this fall (let the blog naming begin LOL). And if you’re counting, that means those two little babies will only be 14 months apart. Good thing the kids are moving back home — they’re going to be BUSY!!!
Have a great week!
XOXO,
Anna

A Random Little Catch-Up

24 Comments / December 4, 2016 December 4, 2016 / Liberty Love, Sewing

Oh. My. Gosh. What happened to the last month??? It’s been so busy here that I’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone post.

TheManoftheHouse made it through his second knee replacement and is almost back to normal. The Halloween surgery and weeks that followed sucked most of November out of me. Then there was Thanksgiving — I thought several times about posting, but something always interrupted my plan. Everyone was here this year and we had lots of fun — FinallyAGirl stole the show with her Uncle and the cousins. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I got a new assignment at work that means longer hours and has been awful — hopefully it will end soon. Last week was pretty rough, so SweetiePie and FinallyAGirl have come to cheer us up and help. It’s been wonderful having them here — SweetiePie has worked her little tail off — cooking dinner every night and she even tackled the pile of fabric that I had sitting around waiting to be pre-washed and folded so it could be added to my stash. She’s a gem and we’re so lucky to have her!

While they’ve been here, I made a little sleep sack for FinallyAGirl. I put a machine embroidery sentiment on the bottom of the sack in hopes that it would help her sleep a little better at night ;-D.

I used McCall’s 7219 for the pattern, Baby Pink Cuddle fabric for the outside and the cute Darling Little Dickens sheep for the lining.

And here’s our little peach modeling the goods — luckily there’s still a bit of growing room too.

In other news, after years of taking pictures of the moon that turned out looking like a tiny white dot, I finally learned how to get a picture that actually looks like the moon during the last super moon. Major zooming in, both with the camera and the computer happened ;-D.

And finally, I have lots of new goodies in my little etsy shop —
Beautiful new Liberty fabrics (with a restock of the beloved Betsy in Gray):

A few prints from the super cute Collette line by Blend Fabrics (oh, the fussy cutting opportunities!):

Some low-volume prints, and just so you can treat yourself at Christmas (;-D!), some beautiful new Dovo scissors (sadly, my favorite 5-inch scissors are sold out already):

Now I’m off to try and get in the Christmas spirit. (Maybe I’ll actually get a new blog header made!) It’s not going to be easy this year — everyone will be somewhere else! I’m not a fan of these every-other-year holidays — at. all!

XOXO,
Anna

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Excuses, Excuses

43 Comments / May 2, 2015 May 2, 2015 / Chat, Liberty Love, Sewing

Well, I don’t know about your place, but it hasn’t been very productive around here in the last week or so. I do have excuses though — so I hope I can be forgiven.

First off, today was MeMum and BigDaddy’s 60th wedding anniversary. Sixty Years. We had a nice little family dinner last night — it was wonderful to take the time to go out together and relax. It was fun to hear the stories of the day they got married (they eloped) and their wedding trip (they saw a mushroom cloud from an open-air atomic bomb test as they drove through the Nevada desert on their way home). Anyway, it was a good time, and we all feel fortunate that we could celebrate together.

And then, there’s been a fabric delivery here in ThimbleannaLand. Lots of beautiful Liberty fabrics. Personally, I think this excuse could stand on it’s own — it’s hard to resist fondling beautiful fabric – I know you understand! Here are some of the pretty prints that have arrived:

These Liberties (and a few more) are loaded into my little shop. (Bundles will be coming soon!) Thank you SO much to those of you who have purchased fabric — your purchases have made it so that the selection can expand.

So, back to my excuse list — I blame this next distraction on Jan. She posted on instagram that she was mesmerized by a live feed of an eagle’s nest in Latvia and now I’m hooked too! It started off, innocently enough — look at that cute little baby!

Before long, it was time for a little dinner. I was fascinated watching Dad Eagle (Is that the Dad, Jan?) feed the baby. I was amazed that when he pulled pieces off of a fish that were too big, he would put the piece back under his talon to rip off a smaller piece for the baby. And if he pulled up a bone or tail, he ate it himself — only the finest for that little Eaglet.

Then they settled down for a little nap, which was perfect timing. I had to go take MeMum out for lunch so that the cleaning ladies that she doesn’t have (haha) could do their magic.

When I got back a few hours later, they were sleeping, but look! Someone had re-stocked the pantry with quite a few fish. They must be amazing fishermen!

I keep checking in now and then (they’re just waking up to a new day as we speak). You might want to check these Eagles out too, don’t blame ME if you get hooked. Blame JAN!!!!

And, if those top three distractions weren’t enough, there’s this:

Isn’t she beautiful (the knits too!)? (And can we take a minute to oooh and aaaah over that sweet print on Kate’s dress????) How exciting that little Prince George has a baby sister. I can’t wait for the name reveal — and … bring on the little smocked dresses!!!

In keeping with the royal theme, I had to hurry and whip up a little project pouch (it’s hard to tell, but there’s a clear plastic front on the pouch) with some Brit-themed fabric. Sometimes I take a little something to work on during my lunch hour at work, and I’m tired of using ziplock bags. Everything was in my stash (I love it when that happens) and this was a quick little project. I’m planning on making a few more — these will be perfect for my Chuck Nohara blocks. (Btw, CrazyMom has a cute pattern for totally clear project bags.)

Whew! I’m done making excuses — thanks for sticking with me! Hope you’re having a great weekend — it’s a beautiful one here in the midwest USA!
XOXO,
Anna

Itty Bitty Churn Dash

23 Comments / March 7, 2015 March 7, 2015 / Liberty Love

Thanks for all the Liberty Bib love! As I mentioned in my last post, I also made a few quilt blocks when I was making the bibs. I made some of these little 3″ Churn Dash blocks a month or so ago and I wasn’t sure if I’d want to continue making them. I think a quilt of hundreds of these little blocks would be so cute. I posted those first three on Instagram, wondering if I would be dead before I could make enough for a whole quilt, and the comments were so fun and supportive that they sent me over the edge. They’re time consuming little blocks, but, as Jan said, if I just keep chipping away at them, sooner or later, I’ll have enough to make a big quilt.

So, now I have a plan. I think I calculated that I’ll need around 360 of them. I’ll probably start out making three of each print and work on them for the next few years. They’re just so sweet and I love them!

I had a question about the dimensions of these little blocks, so I thought I’d show you how I made them — in chalkboard form.

Cut your pieces as indicated.

Just a little summary ;-D.

Stitch pieces together (right sides together!) as indicated. For the squares, draw a diagonal line on each of the 2″ white squares of fabric, pair each with a print fabric, and then sew a 1/4″ line on each side of that pencil line. Then cut along the pencil line.

Using your favorite method, square those little half-square triangles up. They should measure 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ when you’re done. It’s a tedious job, but it makes your final square so much more accurate!

Another summary. Be sure you’re pressing your seams to the print fabric side (we don’t do open seams in ThimbleannaLand!). Cut that 6″ strip into four 1 1/2″ lengths.

Sew together as indicated.

Press seams in the direction of the arrows.

Sew together as indicated. If you followed pressing instructions, your seams should nest right up against each other.

And … you’re done! Press those last two seams as indicated by the arrows.

Itty Bitty Churn Dash blocks are fun. Especially out of beautiful Liberty fabrics!

And, if that wasn’t fun enough, I thought you might like a picture of the squirrel buffet that BigDaddy is running at his house. This is the view from the kitchen table — MeMum and BigDaddy can eat their breakfast and dinner with the squirrels just 12 feet away. You can’t see it in the picture, but, just to the left of the feeder is a small Chinese Maple tree where there were two more squirrels waiting for their turn at the feast. BigDaddy loves his animals — No Squirrel Left Behind!

Have a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

In Like a Lion

22 Comments / March 1, 2015 March 1, 2015 / Liberty Love, Sewing

Well Hello March! The month when spring officially begins in the northern hemisphere. There are no signs of spring around here though. March has arrived deeply entrenched in winter — and it’s probably no surprise that I love it! We had another small storm last night and it’s a winter wonderland out there today. Big, beautiful, white, sticky snow. I should have gone out there and built a snowman!

Instead, I spent the day playing around in the sewing room. I tried to clean and organize a bit, but you’d hardly know it. I desperately need some organizational skills LOL. I also sewed a bit and played around with the latest batch of Liberty fabrics. I’d been waiting until the more masculine prints arrived so that I could make a boy version from Amy’s sweet little bib pattern.

Clearly, a ruffle would not do for a boy, so I added a little bow tie. I love that Checkmate print from Liberty — it’s just perfect.

And I used a blue alphabet print for the back of the bib. I’ve ~~hoarded~~ had that print almost since my boys were babies themselves.

And here’s my favorite part — Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Ohmygosh, I love the little Alice in Wonderland characters — they’re all just too cute!

I worked on some quilt blocks too, but more on those later. Have a wonderful week!

XOXO,
Anna