Sunday, December 29, 2013

A Finished Christmas Quilt

 Sorry about all the radio silence. Things have been quite crazy around here and I couldn't ruin the surprise! There was 3 boutiques to take care of, a 9 day trip to Tennessee, and of course Christmas!

One of the biggest thing was the annual Christmas Quilt. This is year 2 of making a quilt for one of the sets of parents. My husband's parents and my parents are all divorced and remarried. So that is 4 sets of parents. I don't think I could do it all in one year so I am taking them one at a time.

This year it was Grandma K's turn. I started it in about August with the goal to have it done before December. I had my 5 year old ask them what their favorite color was. I came out a lot more innocent than the question coming from me.








Each star is different fabrics and hues of blue. I quilted all the feathers on a long arm quilting machine and all of the cross hatch lines on my domestic Brother machine.

Merry Christmas Grandma K and Grandpa Bill!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Rag Quilt Continued!

Remember this?


I have finally listed it in my Etsy shop. Check it out here!


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Fabric Hoarders Beware!


A recent study has indicated that fabric gives off certain pheromones, that actually hypnotize women and cause them to purchase ungodly amounts.

When stored in large quantities in enclosed spaces, the pheromones (in the fabric) cause memory loss and induce the nesting syndrome (similar to the ones squirrels have before the onset of winter, i.e. storing food) therefore perpetuating their species, and not having a population loss due to their kind being cut up into pieces and mixed with others.  Sound tests have also revealed that these fabrics emit a very high-pitched sound heard only by a select few of women known as customers.

When played backwards on an L.P., the sounds are heard as chants: “Buy Me”, “Cut Me”, “Sew Me”!  In order to overcome the so-called feeding frenzy effect that these fabrics cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility and use ear plugs to avoid being pulled into their grip.  (One must laugh, however, at the sight of customers in a fabric store, with WW2 army gas masks and headphones!)

Studies have also indicated that aliens have inhabited the earth, helping to spread the effect that these fabrics have on the human population.  They are called “Fabrics Store Clerks”.  It’s also been my experience that these same pheromones cause a pathological need to secret the fabric purchases away when taken home (or at least blend them into the existing stash) and when asked by a significant other if the fabric is new, the reply is “I’ve had it for a while”.

(Originally published in August 1997 in the Western North Caroline Quilters Guild Newsletter)
(I copied this from the My Sister Quilts Blog.)

Friday, September 20, 2013

American Flag Rag Quilt

So here is the not so short version of the story.

On September 11th I decided I should be somewhat patriotic so I got on Facebook and posted a picture of this flag quilt.


I got lots of comments asking if I had made it and one comment saying that they really wanted it! So I started the process of making my own pattern and in my study and research I found that it was already a pattern. So I purchased it to prevent any future copyright issues. While I was waiting for it to come through snail mail I continued working on what I had come up with.  I finished the stripes and couldn't figure out how to do the stars. I contacted the company to see if they could give me a hint while I waited for my package in the mail. They have super awesome customer service and emailed me back the same day with a PDF version of the whole pattern! Wow!  The bad news was that the stars on their quilt were printed on their fabric. They just did a little bit of applique edging to help it stand out. Well I was too far for that.

Lucky for me though I just joined a quilt guild and at the meeting that night I asked for their advice and they gave me a suggestion that I just loved!


I cut out two little squares of white fabric and pinned them to the blue over a grid I drew in chalk. Then I sewed them on using a tiny circle stitch. So when you turn the quilt over you see little white circles.

This is how it looks after washing!



I love it and I hope my customer loves it too!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Pink Quilt for Baby K.

Now that the shower is over I make the reveal!

I saw something like this on Pinterest and made my own pattern. The mom-to-be picked out the animal fabrics and I went from there.






Again i used my new machine and did some free-motion curly lines for the quilting. This was my first attempt at applique and I think it turned out great!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Plum and Aqua Zig Zags

Most of the time when I go fabric shopping I find some fabric that I love. I will buy it and bring it back to my stash and there it sits until inspiration strikes. Well this fabric didn't have to sit for very long! I think I bought it a week ago!

I love how dramatic the color combination is.  I love how it just takes your breath away when you first see it. I really don't think these picture do it justice.



 

Check out the awesome custom stitches I can do on my new sewing machine!





You can find it here on my Etsy shop.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

New Rag Bags

 There are a bunch of new rag bags in my Etsy shop. What do you think?







Check them out here!

Monday, May 6, 2013

(Picture Post) Baby Quilt for Jack


More experimenting with quilting techniques. I am trying to perfect my triangles!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

(Picture Post) Baby Quilt for Liam





I have been trying out some new quilting techniques lately and I loved the way the quilted circles turned out!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Custom Pink Wallet

 I had a customer contact me admiring this bag.....


...and she wanted to know if I could make a matching wallet based on the Vera Bradley pocket wallet. So this is what I came up with.



It is quilted denim on the outside with a velcro closure. The inside has lot of little pockets including a money fold, a zipper pocket, and clear ID pocket!

The pictures are not the best as I was anxious to get it into the mail in time for the customer's birthday. She told me she loved it!!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Fun Red Flower Quilt!


I love the colors on this one and how fun it is! I had it mostly quilted and I decided I didn't like the way it was coming together so I did a lot of thread pulling. It is a ton better now!!!






Friday, February 1, 2013

U of U Quilt

 I know it pretty unusual for a baby blanket to be team oriented. In fact I think the daddy will probably use it more than the baby, but it completely fits this family! Go Utes!

The front is a patchwork red U on a black background. The back is a University of Utah print. It is quilted in a diagonal line pattern and bound in a coordinating solid grey.

Congrats Dan and Dana!