Holiday Gifting and Scheduling and All That Stuff

Oh my we are less than...

70 Days until Hanukkah
75 Days until Yule
79 Days until Christmas

This means I wanted to post ASAP so budgets can be arranged and time frames created and all this fun stuff. So here is what I've put together because I figured well, nows better than later when I became insanely stressed out. If I forgot a holiday, please (gently) email me and I'll be more than happy to put it up! So here are the The Quilted Valkyrie's Drop Dates:

Dates so I Can Get Stuff Done & Shipped To You BEFORE Your Holiday

 For Hanukkah:

• Custom Quilts: 15 October.
• Custom *Patchwork* Camera Straps: 15 November. 
• SchnoodleFish Collars, Kat Kollars and Beds: 15 November. 
• Custom Camera Straps: 15 November.
• Custom Bags: 15 November.
• All pre-made camera straps, SchnoodleFish Gear, bags and pre-made quilts will be available for shipping the following business day.  If you order by 10 December, you will still be able to ship at my normal rate. Everything after 10 December will have to be sent Priority Rate.
• All APO/FPO/DPO orders will need to be to me on or before 1 November for a guaranteed First Night Delivery.
• All International Orders: 15 November. 

For Yule:

• Custom Quilts: 15 October.
• Custom *Patchwork* Camera Straps: 1 December. 
• SchnoodleFish Collars, Kat Kollars and Beds: 1 December. 
• Custom Camera Straps: 10 December.
• Custom Bags: 1 December.
• All pre-made camera straps, SchnoodleFish Gear, bags, and pre-made quilts will be available for shipping the following business day. If you order by 17 December, you will still be able to ship at my normal rate. Everything after 17 December will have to be sent Priority Rate.
• All APO/FPO/DPO orders will need to be to me on or before 15 November for a guaranteed delivery.
• All International Orders: 1 December. 

For Christmas:

• Custom Quilts: 15 October.
• Custom *Patchwork* Camera Straps: 1 December. 
• SchnoodleFish Collars, Kat Kollars and Beds: 1 December. 
• Custom Camera Straps: 10 December.
• Custom Bags: 1 December. 
• All pre-made camera straps, SchnoodleFish Gear, and pre-made quilts will be available for shipping the following business day. If you order by 19 December, you will still be able to ship at my normal rate. Everything after 19 December will have to be sent Priority Rate.
• All APO/FPO/DPO orders will need to be to me on or before 15 November for a guaranteed delivery.
• All International Orders: 1 December. 

The Army Wife

I have a soft spot for Armed Forces Wives.  Not just because my mother, grandmothers, friends and myself are/were ones, but because I totally get it.  We are not only a wife. We are cheerleaders. Travel agents. Mechanics. Repairmen. You name it. I found this definition the other day and it pretty much sums it up:

Wife of an soldier. An emotionally strong and independent woman who does what is necessary to care for her family. A very devoted wife who is proud of her husband. She is normally very modest and kind. She makes a million sacrifices for her family, and the Military Life yet wouldn't have it any other way. She waits out long, sleepless nights and experiences worry and fear. She also experiences incredible pride in her soldier and a true Military Wife will wait faithfully for him to return from the war. She is the most supportive, loving, strongest woman on the earth.

A few days ago I was contacted by a Valkyrie Facebook follower if I could make her family dog a SchnoodleFish collar using pink and ACU's (Army Combat Uniform).  I happen to have a few scraps left over and told her I would love too.

We soon began to chat over Facebook IM and I found out a few more things about her and discovered a true Kindred Spirit in Amy. I totally got it.  She needed a lanyard for work and so I told her I would also throw that into the box.

It turns out she also has a Canon DSLR, but was too shy to ask if my straps fit her gear (yes they do) so I "accidentally" made up with rest of the scraps a strap that I used and tossed that in as well.

I love being able to surprise people. Particularly good people.  The world needs more good people and Amy is one of them.  It's not a lot, but I do know that as a Military wife, even the little things can make your day.  I'm so glad I was able to make her smile!

P.S. Penelope Just ROCKS the SchnoodleFish!

#51 "Ocelot" {September 2104}

Size: 44" w x 45" h
Pattern: Jumbo Coins Baby Quilt by Natalia Bonner
Fabrics: Various earth tones from my personal stash
              White strips: Moda Bella Solids "Off White"
Thread: Aurifil Quilt Patchwork and Embroidery Thread - Cream (2021) 50wt
Backing: Northcott Stonehenge Light Yellow
Batting: Warm and Natural
Binding: Northcott Stonehenge Light Yellow

A fun commission from Etsy for a soon-to-be-Momma from her girlfriends.  The theme was Phish's "Ocelot" song, hence the silhouettes of the cat, guitar, redwood tree, moon and stars.  They wanted to give her something with deep earthy-tones, and really nondescript fabrics. Just simple easy going colors for a little boy.  

 

Originally we were going to put the "Slightly slouch though the night" saying on the back, but the front was still open and I really wanted it to be there.  Even though the silhouettes and the wording are done with a chalkboard fabric, I outlined the phrase in Aurifil's Cream thread and left just a slight edge so that the edges would ravel and fuzz up; something for the baby to feel with little fingers.

 

The quilting was a deep meandering, again, in hopes the texture would be conducive to little fingers. And in hopes that the quilt would become a woobie and drug all over the place!

#50 "Tulsa Rose" {August 2104}

Size: 57" w x 72" h
Pattern: "Tulsa Town" by Villa Rosa Designs 
Fabrics: Timeless Treasures Fabrics: Tonga Treats "Mocha Kiss"
Thread: Aurifil Quilt Patchwork and Embroidery Thread - Cream (2021) 50wt

This was a store sample made up for Main Street Quilting Company in Bozeman, Montana. Gwen was needing someone to come in and make samples of various patterns and this was one of her sort of cut out already-not everything though bags.  Tonga Treats "Mocha Kiss" is just divine to work with as usual, and in conjunction with the Auriful threads, it makes any quilt a dream to work with.  The pattern is fun to work with as well, but you do have to be on your toes and make sure you are following the flow of the pattern or you are going to be all sorts of messed up! (As I did twice with the dark rose background.) It only took me one evening to get this cut up and pieced even with the WTH moments I was having.  I would love ot get my hands on the pattern for my own and make a few more of these!

 

 

Home is Where the Heart Is Part II

Kentucky LOVES the patchwork states! I had 3 in a row and then Tennessee jumped in on the action! As I stated on the first round, I'd seen these before in various shops around the area, and a few online so I didn't feel as if I was pilfering someone's pattern, and being married to the Map Guy, I'm pretty sure I had access to the state boundary maps. So after a quick discussion with the Map Guy, I had a great print up of the states, access to a few mini charm packs, and my ever so reliable Heat and Bond it was game on. So this is what I came up with!

First up, a pink patchwork of Kentucky. My Pink Kentucky Home is a 12”x18" using Surrounded By Love By Deb Strain For Moda Fabrics. 

Next up was a bright Kentucky. April Showers Bring Kentucky Flowers is 12" x 24" using April Showers by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics.

The last Kentucky order was a fun one for a bridal shower.  The bride from Kentucky, the groom from England! I connected the big heart in the middle using rick rack from the smaller hearts where the bride and room currently live.  Vintage Romance is 16" x 24" and uses Vintage Verona from Riley Blake By Emily Thomson Designs.

Last but NOT least I got to switch states! Yeah! I added a Tennessee to my list!

SchnoodleFish Dog Collars: Or What a Valkyrie Does with Her Leftovers

I am a fabric hoarder. A bad one. I hang on to scraps of scraps becuase you just never know what is going to come out of this 2" x 2" square of Riley Blake....yeah, blah, blah,whatever.

So Warrior Husband challenged me to come up with something to do with all the tiny pieces and after much pondering and deliberation, and watching Bentley scratch at his collar and thinking I needed to get him a new one I decided to go online and look and see how much a fun one would cost me.

Then I had a heart attack.  And then I saw that they were just ribbons sewing (some what poorly) on nylon strapping that were far too girly for my boy dogs. Eww.  No thank you! So off to Pinterest I go, fining as many dog collar tutorials as I can find and viola!  I found one that made sense. Fabric on both sides, and I could totally adapt it to handle my patchwork. Oh, way cool fun fact 2: can't use the small scrap pieces, so I had to toss them. It was sad.

So, the first test run was for my Bentley and my love of orange and grey.

Then for Charlie with blue and grey and then later an all ACU.

Then let a little time go by, and start showing off the Boys. Apparently, I did good, within the week a few custom orders came in. Then a few more.  Now, starting in October 2014, Montana Murray Kennels will be selling my line of SchnoodleFish Collars. (Thank you Ron!!)

Ok, now for the whole what in the hell is a SchnoodleFish thing.  Charlie, Warrior Husband's service dog from K9s For Warriors, is a Giant Schnoodle (half standard poodle/half giant schnauzer)=Schnoodle. He does this thing with his muzzle when he's tired and being silly almost like fish lips (which is impressive if you can catch him doing that!) Hence his pet name of SchnoodleFish. That and it's just so darn cute. I can make x-small, small, medium, large, x-large and small horse (aka Neapolitan Mastiff).

What Does One Wear to a QuiltCo

I'm not the t-shirt collector, that title would go to Warrior Husband.

However....

I am going to start a quilting shirt collection for no other reason that *I* am not a traditional quilter, I love the outlandish, loud, in your face, I'm not *just* a quilter, I am THE Quilter.

Yes, please, I'll take one of all of these!