Hand Quilting

The first day of the NQA quilt show I took an all-day class on hand quilting taught by Darlene Christopherson. Her hand quilting is amazing!! Here is a picture of a couple of her quilts that she displayed for teaching. Not the best picture but the work was so good I hated not to show it.

The wonderful thing about an all day class is that you have plenty of time for learning about all the necessary supplies as well as one on one time with Darlene. She spent the morning talking about fabrics, battings, thimbles, needles, threads, marking tools and quilting hoops. She introduced us to wool batting and I am sold! I have always been partial to Warm and Natural. It was the easiest to hand quilt that I had found. The wool batting was like pushing that needle through butter. What a difference.




















She spent the afternoon helping us get the hang of rocking the needle in and out. I never got it!! I hate to admit it but I have always hand quilted without a hoop. Therefore, I have to unlearn as much or more as I need to learn. I know that I could have smaller, more consistent stitches and that my poor, old, arthritic hands would not ache as much if I will re-learn it this way. I will need to find a different thimble. I use Nimble Thimble which is a leather form fitting thimble. What I need in order to get the hang of her method is a metal thimble with a raised ridge on top to hold the needle in place while rocking. She let me borrow her thimble and it was much easier. I can tell it will take mucho practice!!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

On the Road Again

As you are reading this sweet kid #3 and I are wheeling down the road on our way to Texas. We are cruising on down for a quick visit with my mom and grandmother. The visit will be great but after living up north for several years I have gotten quite spoiled to the cooler summer temperatures. This fat, old girl just can't handle those 90 - 100 degree temps any more. I think we will spend most of our time inside.

While I'm away I am going to work on the Coneflower wool penny rug that I started in my class at the NQA quilt show last week. It was taught by Pat Sloan. You need to check out her website and blog. She has been blogging about the quilt show also. She is a wonderful designer of quilt patterns and fabrics. We had so much fun in her class and learned so much about wool. Below is a picture of Pat and me in front of her design Folk Art America. Yes, I did bring the pattern how with me.


















Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

Mail Call! Coming and Going

Earlier in June, Cheryl from Willowberry Designs had a give-away and I won! The package arrived today and look at all the goodies. The Cute as a Button pattern was what I won but she also included with it a quilt label design all ready for scanning and personalizing; a couple of cards of buttons (very appropriate for "Cute as a Button" winnings, huh?); and some fabrics. Aren't they great!! Thanks so much Cheryl! I think I'll be making this pattern really soon. I know a couple of special little brand new girls who could use quilts.

And look at what I have been busy with today. These little stacks are on their way to Scotland for a postage stamp swap.





There are 35 (actually 36 - one for me to keep) stacks of 1 1/2" squares of 50 different fabrics. I'll be swapping with 35 other quilters from around the world. I have wanted to make a postage stamp quilt and now this will become "Postage Stamps Around the Globe". I'm not sure how big it will be. I might use only what is swapped and have a wall hanging or add to it and make a bed size. I'll have to see what I feel like when I get back all those sweet little squares. Quilting is soooo much fun!!


I also finished the binding on a quilt but haven't taken pictures of it yet. I'll share those later next week. I also still have loads of pictures and stories from the NQA quilt show from last week. Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Quilting!!

Today I thought I would show you some of what came home with me from the NQA Quilt show. It's always so hard to decide what to actually buy. There are always such beautiful fabrics, patterns, kits, threads, notions, ....I could go on and on. As you can see, Lily is taking her job as fabric guard very seriously. Just try to get a smile out of her!


It's quite an assortment of fabric, I know. But I loved them all.




I especially LOVE christmas fabrics. I stick pretty close to the traditional reds and greens. The fat quarter pack did have some pinks but I'll be surprised if they end up in a christmas project.
I'm not sure what I will do with this jelly roll.



I am considering using it with these. Quilt Patis are the brilliant invention of Ohio quilter Pati Shambaugh. They come in various sizes but I bought the 3/4". You can check them out at her website here. I think a contemporary grandmother's flower garden might be fun. There sure wouldn't be much cutting involved!!



























I have loads more to share but will save it for another day. Unfortunately, since sweet kid #3 just returned from 2 weeks of camp, the laundry is calling.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Quilting!

I'm home from the Quilt show

I don't even know where to start. I had such a great time at the National Quilting Association's quilt show in Columbus. The weather was fabulous. The show was fabulous. The shopping was fabulous. My classes were fabulous. I think there is a theme here!!

The only sour note(but quite funny now) of the whole trip was when the fire alarm went off in our hotel at 3 am. Yes, I said A.M.!! It was VERY disconcerting since I was on the 10th floor of the hotel. I now wish I could see a video tape of me jumping out of the bed trying to put my hands on my robe and then turning circles in my room wondering what to do next. I can't imagine how funny I must have looked. The alarm stopped within 2 minutes and since I didn't hear or see any commotion in the hall I just went back to bed. Needless to say, it took me quite a while to get to sleep. When I returned to my room the next evening there was a message on the phone from the hotel's general manager apologizing for the alarm. It seems someone was having way too much fun(you can read that - way too much drinking!) and thought they would pull the fire alarm. Poor woman! I wonder how many phone calls she had to make?

I'm sure it will take me days to show you all the loot I brought home, all the quilts that were absolutely amazing, and all the fun I had in my classes. I will start with several of my favorites from the quilts themselves.

I loved this quilt. I know you should never say never but...I don't think I will ever make a quilt like this but they just amaze me. How you can use fabric to get such a real image is waaaay beyond my skills. Just wonderful!!


I thought the sentiments on this quilt were so cute(click on the photo to enlarge it). I knew my mom would like this one!! She is such a dog lover.

And what quilter cannot identify with this one? Such cute embellishments on it (knots, frays, tangles, etc.). She even has an earring on (not that you can tell from my terrible photography).

I have so much more to share but this was getting long. Check back tomorrow for more.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy quilting!

All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go......

Well, you know the song. I'm not getting on a jet plane but my little red van is even better since I always get air-sick. YUK!! I'm off to Columbus. The NQA quilt show may never be the same. (LOL) I have birthday money in hand although not much time for shopping until Friday morning(all day hand quilting class on Thursday), camera at the ready so I can report all sorts of goodies and my brushes with quilting fame, and, almost as important, I have checked out all the restaurants in walking distance from the hotel.

So while I am gone....Happy Quilting!!

It just keeps getting better and better!

I got up this morning with a jump in my step chanting "2 more days, 2 more days, 2 more days). I leave Wednesday for Columbus to attend the National Quilting Association's 39th Annual Quilt Show. I will be taking classes on hand quilting, machine quilting and a wool penny rug class with Pat Sloan. Eleanor Burns is also giving a talk at the dinner on Thursday night. I am just toooooo excited! I'm taking my camera and will have loads to report when I get back. I even have money to spend as my birthday is next week!! Now I ask you, what could be better?

But wait, there's even more excitement around here. First let me just say that bloggers are the best. It seems almost daily someone is having a give-away for some reason or another. I can't tell you how many I have entered (usually by just leaving a comment) and not been the lucky winner. Back on June 3rd(which is my sweet mama's birthday) Cheryl from Willowberry Designs posted about one of her new patterns named Cute as a Button (jump on over to see this cute pattern). It is an adorable baby quilt. Today I received an email from Cheryl telling me I was one of the lucky winners. I already know a couple of sweet babies who need this quilt. Make sure you jump on over to Cheryl's blog and check out her cute patterns. She is a talented Aussie who has designed some wonderful quilt and stitchery patterns.

But wait, there's more!!
I also heard from Monica of the Happy Zombie fame. The table runner above was made using her Jolly Jingle pattern (free on her blog). She was asking to post the picture of it in her gallery for that pattern. I think that is too cool!!

On the current sewing front, I have two quilts to the point of hand sewing down the binding. I'll have pictures of them later.

Thanks for stopping by so I could share all my happy news.
Happy Quilting!

Big Finish

Today is the final day for the Color Challenge issued by Natalie of Cinderberry Stitches. Red is her color of choice today. I have shown you many of my reds. Just page back to blue day and you will see that they go together so well that I have combined them in many of my quilts. Here's the first quilt I ever made. It was, in fact, the project from my first ever quilt class. It hangs in my studio.

You can probably tell from my banner that I love '30's reproductions. I think I have mentioned it a time of two (gross understatement). Here are a few of them from my stash.
Ain't they pretty? (Shh, don't tell my sweet kid #3 that I said ain't. She's planning on being a high school english teacher and she just cringes when I say ain't.) It's because of this....
This sign hangs in our kitchen. But let me show you what's red and hangs in our entry hall.


















My husband is an artist(a hobby right now). He's really good if I do say so myself. And you know I am not the least bit biased!! He has done a series of seasonal old barns. This one obviously is fall. It is my favorite of the barns. This barn sits just a little south of the small town we used to live in. If you would like to see more of his art you can check out his website here.

Here are a few more shots from around the house with red, of course.













































Well, if you have stuck it out to the end, thanks. This has been fun.
Happy Quilting!

How about Brown?

When I zoomed on over to Natalie's site to find out what the challenge color for the day would be I thought, "Uh oh, brown. I haven't done much brown." But not wanting to be stumped (this is, after all, a challenge), I grabbed the camera and headed down to my studio. I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a table square using the Winter Rose line of fabric. I've shown you this one before. It was fun and easy to make and includes brown and creams.

Both of these are waiting for my next quarterly installment from the 2008 Thimbleberries Club. Since I chose the "lodge" color-way instead of the "lakeside" color-way there are several browns in the quilt.





























I have a few scraps left of this cute brown polka dotted fabric after making this purse. Aren't pink and brown together just the cutest?




















And this little cutie sits of my sewing table in the studio. My mother-in-law made him for me. Notice the creative little details. I love the little frog on the arm(paw?). And the little red earrings. She had a real knack for making things beautiful. She passed away in 2002 and we miss her very much. She was so very creative and we have several things around our home to remind us of her.

There is only one day left in the Color Challenge. I wonder what color she will choose next? There are so many left to choose from. Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Quilting!

Blue, Blue, My World is Blue

Not really! Natalie over at Cinderberry Stitches has named blue as the color of the day. I am having so much fun with this color challenge. Color is such an integral part of a quilter's world. Now I know some quilter's love to make black and white quilts and they turn out so pretty but how boring would it be if that was it for choices of color. I'm so very, very glad that God didn't create this world in just black and white. Aren't you?

Before we moved here to Ohio most of my home was decorated in blue(mostly Americana). That has changed here but since my stash had so much red and blue in it a large portion of my quilting has been in those colors (until now, as I said - that has changed). Here are a few of my early quilting projects.


























I could go on but I won't. Next come the wonderful tools we have as quilters. Another of my rotary cutters (who can have just one?), seam ripper (not one of favorite tools), and the brush to keep my sewing machine running smoothly and blue thread. There are so many shades of blue.






















Next is a close up of a feed sack I bought at an antique store near here. I would love to begin collecting feed sacks to make quilts from but haven't gotten that far yet.
And last, but certainly not least, is a fun little knick-knack that sits atop my desk in the studio. It was a gift from my bff Claudia. I am a displaced Texan and she doesn't want me to forget it(as if I could). As they say, You can take the girl out of Texas but you can't take the Texas out of a girl. Or something like that!! Yee Haw!!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Quilting!!

Color Challenge Green

Today's challenge color is green which I found was easy to get from my studio. I really like green. Maybe it takes me back to my high school days where we were the "mean green fighting machine". Maybe it is because it portrays life everywhere in nature. Maybe I just like green. Anyway, below are my offerings today for the color challenge.

What is it about fat quarters that I absolutely love them? Maybe it's because I can have so many different fabrics to fondle without spending an unreal amount of money for them. I don't know but I'm addicted to fat quarters especially when they are the '30 reproductions like these.
Just one of my rotary cutters.
Scissors and thread.
I love this stuff. I use it for my applique. It comes in several different scents. Mine is the Citrus Green. I like it so much better than regular starch. It leaves the pieces lighter and doesn't leave as much residue on my ironing board cover. Check out the link above for more info.
This is the gorgeous view out of my studio windows. Sorry about the screen. It will be even more green once the corn starts coming up. I love this view in the spring and summer.

If you haven't been to Natalie's blog yet you really need to check it out.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!