Neat-o!

Happy Monday to you all! And a happy Monday it is. Do you watch Top Chef? Know about the Quickfire Challenges? Well, today's going to be a quickfire kind of post. Not because it will be short (y'all know me better than that by now!), but more because it will be a random sampler of some of the exciting things (aka "neat-o moments") that have been going on 'round the Quilt Dad home these days.

First off, guess what? I was in another quilting magazine! And not just any quilting magazine, but American Patchwork & Quilting ... the one magazine that I actually have a subsription to! (Not that I don't buy the others -- I usually just get them at Barnes & Noble : )

Neat-o!

Yep, there I am in the Moda Bake Shop ad ... forming a Bermuda Triangle of sorts with my buddies Julie & Rachel. I can't thank Lissa, Angela, and Moda Fabrics enough for the opportunity to contribute to such a fabulous blog as the MBS. And if you haven't been there yet, you should go check it out. I have something coming out of the oven shortly ...

I'm also excited because I just booked a ticket to go to Minneapolis! No, silly, not to shop at the Mall of America (even though I sure hope I'll have the chance to do that). It's to attend Quilt Market! Yep, those two troublemakers above (Rachel & Julie, NOT Lissa & Angela!) have convinced me to come check it out. Super neat-o! I am over the moon excited to go and meet so many of my virtual friends in person. If you're going to be there, PLEASE let me know! And if not, don't worry -- I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and provide round-the-clock blog updates.

Another piece of exciting news? One of my quilt blocks was featured on the ever-growing Quilting Bee Blocks site. Wicked neat-o! I know I've mentioned this site before, but it's a really great site for anyone new (or old) to the world of block swaps and it's worth mentioning again. Erin's going a fantastic job building a strong, supportive community within the world virtual quilting bees and I really appreciate all that she is doing. Even though the Grand Opening giveaways are over (boo!), I am sure there will be more soon ...

So I have come into possession of this gorgeous little mix of Timber fabrics (designed by Jessica Levitt of Juicy Bits fame). I got it from a great online fabric shop, Hart's Fabric that Tina introduced me to. Neat-o! The problem? I can't decide what to make with them! It's not that I am at a loss for ideas -- I've come up with about 100 already -- but I can't seem to make a decision. It's VERY unlike me. So here's where you come in -- please help me decide what to make with these prints!

Did you all have a nice weekend? I sure did, despite the vicious allergy attacks brought on my the ruthless NC pollen. Besides another awesome meeting of the Triangle Modern Quilt Guild last night, I also went roller skating. Yep, roller skating. At a rink. It rocked. I escorted my 5 year-olds to a birthday party and, after about 5 minutes of watching all of the activity, I couldn't take it anymore and rented these sweet old skool 4-wheelers. Groovy ... er, I mean neat-o! I had a blast -- not only skating, but having fun chatter with all of my Twitter friends who I helped live vicariously through my tweets. (PS. are you on Twitter? Be sure to follow me!) The way I see it, I figured I'd enjoy the time when my daughters actually enjoy having me hang out with them & their friends, because I am sure it won't be too long before they are begging me to wait in the car.

OK, the {Urban} HOME Goods swap. Have you seen this one? It's where we'll be swapping finished goods that will allow us to feature our favorite fabric lines throughout our homes. Neat-o! We recently received our partners, and once again Heather & Kerri did a fantastic job of pairing like-minded swappers. My partner gave me a LOT to work from in her preferences, and I'm considering using the combination you see here on the right: my favorite prints from one of my favorite lines ever (Chestnut Hill by Joel Dewberry) and some classic linen. Right now it's shaping up to be a table runner, and/or some napkins and placemats. What do you think?

Are you guys familiar with the Explore feature on Flickr? No, me neither ... but from what I can gather, it's where the people that work behind-the-scenes at Flickr select interesting photos each day to feature on their Explore pages. Since you're never really notified if one of your pictures has been selected, it's possible to be featured and never know it!

Well, the BigHugeLabs site has a pretty nifty little app called "Scout" that can show you all of your photos that have hit the Explore pages. Take a look at my collection:

Neat-o mosquito!

Of course, the caveat here is that these are my pictures, but not necessarily my creations. There are a few swap items I've received in there that were graciously made for me by others. But it's still pretty darn cool.

Finally, I wanted to share some of the neat-o pieces of embroidery that my group members have been making for me over in the Hoop Up swap. The swappers in that group are crazy mad talented and have really blown me away. The quality of work happening in that group is nothing short of genius and has exceeded all of my expectations when starting the group. Even if you are not an embroiderer, I highly encourage you to peruse the amazing gallery that has been built over there.

Stitchy neat-o!

The best part? There's even more exciting news. And it's coming SOON!! So stay tuned ...