Waiting....

I've been waiting for you... You know who you are. I've know about you for a week now, yet you sit just 3 1/2 hours away. What will it take for you to show up. We've worked like mad in order for you to come to us, but yet you're still not here.

Here is a picture of what we're waiting for. Have you seen Buster??

How I spent my friday...

Or working my butt off fueled by Dr. Pepper and Hot Tamales candy, the Fire version not the regular! My day off, or so I thought, spent all of last night working on quilts for the Lovebug Studios Accuquilt GO! giveaway and a computer.... How much of last night you ask.... I went to bed at 10am this morning, got back up at 1 pm and continued on my mission. I think I have heartburn....


Heres what I've completed today... 3 quilts... The top one goes to Project Linus the other 2 are going to Quilts For Kids.


And my good friend Sue from the Quirky Quilters donated 6 pillowcases to Conkerr Cancer in my name.


As a side note, these 6 pillowcases bring the total number of 'to be donated' pillowcases to 120 just from the Quirky Quilters of Atchison County Kansas. Thats impressive!!!

And I can't forget my Hibiscus Quilt Guild of South Florida friends.. Thanks again to Waynette & Kathy for these 3 that will be donated to Quilts For Kids.

4 days...

And what better way to celebrate 4 days to GO! in the Lovebug Studios Accuquilt GO! giveaway than to post this at 4am (CDT) and show you not 1, 2 or even 3 quilts but 4.. Thats right kiddies.. 4 more quilts donated by my friends from the Hibiscus Quilt Guild of South Florida.

We're in the home stretch!

Thats right ladies and gents... We're into the final days of the LoveBug Studios Accuquilt GO! giveaway... All the contestants have been working hard in order to win this fabric cutter. It slices, it dices, it makes half square triangles!!!

Here are 5 more entries thanks to my good friends Waynette Pennell & Kathy Berry of the Hibiscus Quilt Guild of South Florida .

Getting closer....

If you're wondering what that picture is in reference to, that is the time left in the Lovebug Studios Accuquilt GO! giveaway. With just over 8 days to go, you'll be seeing the leader board on the Lovebug Studios blog bounce around like a rubber ball on a handball court. I'd suggest if you're looking for some quality entertainment at the first of the month, grab a chair and cold drink as the contest will be getting hotter and more exciting in the week to come. I'll start off this show by showing you some quilts my friend Pat Shipp has donated to the contest for me... Its a bit late for fourth of July but enjoy these fireworks....

C'mon September!

Oh September please hurry. I'm running myself ragged trying to win an Accuquilt GO! cutter from LoveBug Studios. This should not be considered a giveaway, this is more of your 6 week long, pedal to the metal, full speed ahead, up hill pulling a sled full of bricks endurance challenge!! Oh and while you're pulling the sled of bricks, you've gotta do it with one arm tied behind your back and you must wear cement shoes. But it's worth it! Not only for a chance to win a GO! cutter, but the little bit of comfort we're providing to the kids who are served by the organizations who will benefit from our literal blood, sweat, and tears.

I've been lucky enough to recruit some excellent help. I'm not hiding the fact that I have received fabric, completed quilts and pillowcases or the most excellent work of a very talented and generous long arm quilter. To those people I am forever thankful. I also thank those who have followed along on facebook or here in blogland.

I have been working on various projects for this contest since it started even trashing my sewing area. (See previous post) but I'm happy to say, after 1 hour cleaning I found 2 pillowcases and 2 quilt tops buried in the mound of fabric on the floor. More points for me!!!

Well, here in the flatlands it's 4am... Time for bed, I gotta work in the morning. Watch out Monday and Tuesday, I have those days off, tons of completed projects to be posted. Stay tuned, stay cool!!!

Guess where I'm Go!ing?

Ebony over at Lovebug Studios is having a Accuquilt GO! giveaway. It runs until September 1st. This isn't your regular 'leave a comment and win' giveaway, this one requires ALOT of work.How much work you ask? Here is a small sample of what I've done to earn the points I have.





If you must know, thats 22 pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer. I've also done a few quilts myself and with the help of the Hibiscus Quilt Guild of South Florida, which I'm proud to say, I am the northern most member, has graciously decided to pitch in and help in my name. To see the pictures of the quilts the guild has donated in my name, check out the Accuquilt page on Facebook. Some of the people who've entered have help as well. My good friend Barb from Bejeweled Quilts by Barb is very actively helping her sister Jeanette. I must say Barb can whip out the pillowcases!!! If I win, thats great! But if I don't, at least everything I've been motivated to make will go to very worthy causes. And when it comes down to it, thats what is important.

If you haven't been following this contest on facebook, I posted this picture to show what my sewing area looks like. I've been sewing non-stop for 2 weeks now (I really NEED a GO! cutter and more fabric!!) .




This is NOT a staged photo. My sewing area actually looks this good!!!

With a month left, there is going to be alot of projects completed and posted. I'm guessing that the winner will have somewhere in the 1500 t0 2000 point range. Which is a TON of projects given the points assigned to each.

If you're into high octane quilting, stay tuned, this is going to be fun, and stressful. But it all goes to great organizations!! And thats what matters.

And the winner is......

Sometimes it pays to be polite. Sometimes it pays NOT to be Gene Black. For those who don't know Gene and myself, Gene has got to be the luckiest blog reader alive. He's won more giveaways than anyone I know, and being the sarcastic guy I am, I always give him the business about winning. But today, I bring good news to the other 16 people who have left a comment on my anniversary post. GENE DID NOT WIN!!! Sorry Gene, maybe next time.

I had Random.org pick a random number between 1 and 17. What I find funny is that it pays to be polite. My friend, Judee (mainer) wrote:

Oh Greg, Congrats on your anniversary. Please pick me, please, please?

I guess, it pleases the giveaway trolls to say "please". You'll notice that Judee used it twice and thus Random.org decided she was polite enough to win!!!


Congrats Judee!!

Thank you all for your kind words...I look forward to future posts with you as followers.

G

The Wife's Revenge

Well If Greg really does have a secret stash it's either well hidden or indistinguishable from the piles of non-super secret stash. But won't he be surprised when he gets home from work! I've got just under 2 hours left and I'm moving the whole sewing area around, swapping him sides of the room and everything. So if it's there... I've seen it, touched and moved it! (he'll likely regret giving me posting ability too!) *MUHAHAHAHA*!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Thats right, today, Friday July 9th is my blog's anniversary. Think about that for a moment. It's scary to think that a severely sarcastic guy who quilts is allowed to spew forth his thoughts for all the world to read. What I find amazing, is that YOU, yes you, have decided that I'm worthy of your time. After all I have 75 of the best followers any blogger could have. For that I'm grateful and thank you. And now it's time for the sweets... a little eye candy if you will..


These tumblers were sent to me by Pat from A Little of This and a Little of Pat . Thanks again Pat!

Who wants some goodies from me? Heres what I'll do... I'll open my ultra secret stash, the one I use for special projects, the one my wife doesn't even have access to and I'll send you a little anniversary package, whats in it? Good question... I guarantee you'll get usable pieces, some charms, fat quarters, 1/2 yards (maybe a full yard or two!!), it'll be whatever I find and can fit in a FRB (thats Flat Rate Box). I will ship internationally too, because I know I have some Canadian, Irish, British, and Australian followers and I'd hate to leave you out, after all, you are part of my success too!!!

Now for all the legal bullsnot..
This give away is open from NOW, until I say its closed.

This give away open to:

1. Those who leave a comment. Said comment must be in English, or sarcasm. I'm fluent in both languages.
2. Those who live somewhere on Earth. The USPS's rates for shipping to other planets is out of this world!

The fine print, big enough to read.

You DO NOT need to blog about it, share it on facebook, or shave your dog (but if you shave my blog address into your dog's fur and send a pic I'll give you 10 extra entries!!).

Thanks again for a great year. The second year is going to be great as long as I have great followers like you!

I've been challenged!!

A few days go, Pat from A little of this, and a little of Pat sent me 45 tumbler pieces she cut with the Accuquilt GO! that she was lucky enough to win from Accuquilt. She has issued a challenge for me to create something with these pieces. In the pic there are 9 of the 45 pieces, these are the colors I have to work with. In her note, she said I'm to turn them into something fun. Since she didn't give a deadline, I've got all the time in the world! ( I'll have something completed by this weekend.) Maybe add a border and turn it into a quilt for either Quilts For Kids or Project Linus .

Whats YOUR opinion???

I need your help. My mother-in-law is looking at buying a new sewing machine. She wants to try her hand at quilting. What would you look for in machine for beginning quilting & embroidery. She's looking for something in the $400 to $500 range.

I promise...

I follow upwards of 75 different blogs. Its really hard to keep up with each and every one. But I have determined that some of those 75 are no longer active, meaning their last post was over 6 months ago. I will be weeding those blogs out and focusing on those that are currently active. With this and the new direction of Flat Out Quilting , I promise to read your posts and to leave at least 1 comment a week. All to often, I read a blog and not leave a comment. I do enjoy all the blogs I read and want to make sure each author knows I'm still here and still reading. The inspiration and ideas I get from each blog is greatly appreciated.


Greg

A give away... not mine but still COOL!!!

Lee over at Quilts By Lee is giving away a yard of fabric from here Etsy store... Go and enter and tell her I sent you!!!

If you've missed the 2 links above click HERE, Here, here or hErE

A new direction....

I noticed this evening that in less than 30 days my little piece of blogland here at Flat Out Quilting will turn 1 year old. In the spirit of all things bloggy, watch for a new and improved FOQ. I promise to bring you more WIPs, some completed projects, a ton of WTHWITs, more humor and of course sarcasm (you know you like it!) and a give away or two.

Until then,

Piece!

Ready....Set...GO!!!

Barb over at Bejeweled Quilts By Barb is having the greatest give away of all time.. She's giving away an Accuquilt GO!!!! What you need to do to get in on the fun is go there, read the rules and tell her I sent you... Or you could increase my chances and not go there, not leave a comment... More chance for ME to win!!! But I know you'll go check out Barb's blog and comment and tell her I sent you... On a happy note, Gene Black will not be entering, the lucky guy has already won a GO! cutter from Accuquilt.. So theres even a greater chance for you, me, us to win!!! Go see Barb now and enter!!!

the ugly side of Kansas City

It seems yet again the ugly side of the Kansas City quilting community shows its ugly head. I'm not good enough for an elitist group of quilters or their guild. About a week ago, I suggested we (the guild) make a quilt for a member's daughter. It was all well and good, made a post about it on the guild site, and had a great response. As of today, I have no clue the status of this project. All discussion has been removed from the site, someone else has 'taken over' and all the decisions were made when a few of the members attended a sewing day (I couldn't attend due to work scheduling). Fine... I requested I be kept in the loop and I'd make a block to help out. Fast forward to today. I received a piece of fabric in the mail, I thought cool, I can make the block... After measuring it, and with the block they want to make I'm a few inches short. The piece looks like a left over. And its not even cut straight not to mention that to make the block they want, I'd have to use the selvage.

After discussing the quilt project with another member, she invited me to join a VIRTUAL quilting bee. I agreed to join and even made arrangements to attend the next guild meeting (and meetings following in order to meet the obligations of the bee). So late Tuesday evening I get a message saying I was removed because they wanted to make the bee for people who were committed to the guild. Fine... Take your bee and well you know...

Shall we ice the male quilter hater cake? Some of the people who are in the guild were also friends on facebook. Guess what??? of the 6 that were on my list, one remains, but I figure after she reads my reply to her "you're out of the bee" message, she'll unfriend me too. Thats okay, she's apparently stopped following my blog as well. It's her loss.

Some free advice from me:
If you're a guy and you make quilts, stay the hell away from Kansas City.

I'm not the only male quilter in the area who has been treated this way.

Completed Projects!!

I'm back with yet more completed projects!!! And for you my lucky reader, you get to read about and witness the awesomeness that are my COMPLETED PROJECTS!!!!

A quilt...

I finally got this one done and delivered...
(sorry about the pic, it was a windy day!!)
AND.....

You remember this guy don't you?

Well, I finally cut a 6 inch wide strip off of him, sewed a few seems... and got this...



The Back


The Front

Whats on the inside you ask????


For the woman who has everything, its a feminine product pouch!!!
You know you want one!!! If you do, email me, I'll trade you one pouch for 1 fat quarter!

And the Winner is.......

Since this was my give away, we're going to play by MY rules... You'll notice I didn't give a day or time for entries to be in... That time was 10:45 pm Friday April 9th (a few moments ago!). I didn't use Random.org, I went old school and printed all your wonderful comments cut them apart, removed duplicate commenters (it was only fair!) and had my wonderful wife (who has a blog at Disconnected Stitches ) draw the winner out of a big stainless steal bowl. Apparently lightning does strike twice for some people (or more times right Gene??) because Anya was chosen as the winner. Back in October during our anniversary give away, Anya was the winner and received 13 fat quarters, now she's got 2 charm packs plus a yard (maybe more) of coordinating fabric from the Civil War Homefront line by Moda. I may even toss in a little something extra. Congratulations to Anya and thank you all for the great comments.

Greg

A mile stone.... a quilt.... a give away.. and a gripe..

Yes ladies and gents... Tis I, the Flatout Quilter!! I'm back with progress! This is my 100th post.


This is my latest finished quilt... Delivered it to the owner this afternooon!!!


pardon the pic.. The wind was blowing 30 miles per hour!!!

Now the gripe...While digging up information on the upcoming Kansas City Shop Hop I found this blog you'll notice the start of the 3rd paragraph...Apparently only LADIES will be doing this hop.. I've come to the conclusion that the author can BITE ME!!! I know plenty of male quilters, belong to a bunch of male quilter groups, and know I'm not the only male quilter in the world. I'm tired of people thinking that quilting is just a "ladies only" activity... END GRIPE...

The give away... In honor (or is that horror?) of my 100th post I've giving away this..

One lucky winner will receive 2 charm packs of Civil War Homefront by Barbra Brackman for Moda plus 1 yard of coordinating fabric in the blue star pattern. Heres the catch... Leave a comment... thats all... no 'you have to tell your friends about this'. I want to say Thank You to YOU my faithful readers these past 100 posts. Well okay, if you'd like to scoot over to that other blog and tell the author what you think about her "ladies" reference go for it... I may throw in something extra!!!


Thanks again for following, and happy quilting or crafting, or arting or whatever you do!!!


Greg