Help! I'm drowning in Lace!

Can you feel it? Maybe if you pretend hard enough you will feel the warmth, the sun... you can almost hear the robins chirping that spring is just around the corner. Well, we can dream can't we? This winter has been a tough one for all of us and I for one, want out of this cold, snowy hibernation.

In my last post I mentioned that Pat Winter's was coming out with a new CQ Magazine Crazy Quilt Gatherings . If you haven't bought your copy you MUST! It is full of introductions of some very talented ladies, beautiful eye candy and lots of CQ tips and treats. A couple days before I received my copy I all of a sudden started getting tons of orders for my hand dyed laces. RavioLee Dreams was on a roll! It took me a day or so to remember that I had an add in Pat's new magazine and that must be why all the orders. Well after 3-4 days of filling orders I figured I better get myself in the dyeing mode. I put away my needles, stopped working on my sewing room, totally said goodbye to any household chores and went on a 5 day nonstop lace dyeing marathon (poor Rob thought he was living in a factory LOL!). I think I hand painted at least 600-700 pieces and have to say I enjoyed every piece.

A peek at a CQ kitty that I am making using mostly dyed laces. ... in honor of my Brat who I miss so much.

So... if you are someone who doesn't like color... you might as well stop right where you are. Here are just a few pictures of some of the laces I have dyed and am now in the process of uploading into my Etsy shop. For those of you who have recently bought some of my laces - a big THANK YOU - I sincerely appreciate your support.

Surrounded by all this beautiful color you might now understand why I'm so looking for spring to come... I see my gardens blooming and the sky and ocean showing off their summertime blues.

I promised to have a Blog Giveaway when I hit my 300th Sale and I have definitely surpassed it so stay tuned... I'll be putting together a pretty Give Away in the very near future.

Double the CQ Fun! Pat Winter's and Kathy Shaw!

After a long winter, and more snowy days to come I'm sure, us Crazy Quilters have something too look forward to that will help fill our CQ addiction. I'm sooo excited! A new CQ Magazine and a new Crazy Quilt book out at the same time!


For years I have dreamed that someday, someone would come out with a Crazy Quilt magazine that featured all things beautiful. Well, it has happened! Head on over to Pat Winter's blog to order the first edition of her new Crazy Quilt magazine, Crazy Quilt Gatherings. Filled with so much eye candy you won't need any Valentine candy to feed you sweet cravings. You will love all the fabulous Artists who are featured and the beautiful projects they create. Congratulations to each one of them.




I haven't posted much about my Etsy shop, RavioLee Dreams, as I tend to have a problem putting myself out there when it comes to marketing. I am now proud to say my first bit of advertising now appears in Pat's magazine on page 14. I am closing in on 300 Sales so be sure to check back now and then as I will be having a celebration with a Big Blog Give Away.

Kathy Shaw has just announce the release of her new book Embellishing Crazy Quilts which you can order directly from her blog. Full of CQ stitches and motifs to embellish, you are sure to have tons of fun letting your creativity flow.

My Pretty Brat Button & A surprise CQ

Don't you just love surprises? I do and boy was I certainly surprised by an unexpected package I just received in the mail. I received a little white package postmarked from Washington - Hmmm??? Who could be sending me something from there? It was a tiny little package, barely weighing anything so I wasn't even sure there was something in it. OMG! Look what my friend Gerry made for me!

It's a cute little hand painted button of my darlin' Brat. You MUST check out Gerry's beautiful work - everything she touches turns to gold. You can see some of her other gorgeous button creations in her Etsy shop Olderrose .


Needless to say my heart skipped a beat and the tears started to flow - I miss her so much. She's been gone 4 months yesterday and I still cry when I think of her. Thank you Gerry, I love it!

Of course Brat had some company. Gerry also created these buttons for a few of my other CQ friends ... the top picture is of Pat's cutie pie Angell and the middle picture is of Cathy's adorable Boomer.

I've been busy working on finishing up some of my CQ projects. One in particular was just mailed today. Since I wanted mine to be a surprise with it's arrival, I am only going to post a few sneak peeks of the block and not the whole block.


A few months ago my friend Alice and I decided that we would like to do a One on One block swap. We both created a naked block and sent it to each other with the idea that there was no time frame. Alice told be she was of Dutch heritage and wanted hers to reflect a Dutch theme. Hopefully I've done her block justice.

The doily was made by my Greek grandmother many years ago. I found a cute little Dutch girl and used some Transfer Eze to stitch her to the middle of the doily. If you've never used Transfer Eze before - it is the best for transferring any design you want to fabric.

I want to give a shout out to a couple of CA chicks who work with my son Jason - I understand you two have been reading my blog instead of working LOL! Thank you Judy and Doreen for following along with me. Next time I'm in CA we'll have to set up a date to meet so you can learn how to Crazy Quilt! Can you do me a favor? Please go give Jason a hug for me and tell him his mommy loves and misses him.