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52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - December
Monday, December 31, 2018
I am SOOOO excited to share my progress with you this month!!!
Imet exceeded my goal!!! I made 54 charity quilts in 2018!!!
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The Wonky Donkey Quilt
December's Island Batik ambassador challenge was "Whimsical and Wonky."
The challenge took much more brainstorming than most months! "Whimsical" isn't exactly my style, so I focused on "wonky." After looking at lots and lots (and lots!) of improv style quilts, I just couldn't get inspired. I took a step back and tried to think outside the box about the challenge.
As a mom of three young boys, the only thing my brain can think of when I hear the word "wonky" is the very popular children's book, The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith. I knew I would have to make a donkey quilt!
Peeking Santa
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
When I was a child (back in the 80s - I'm vintage now!), my aunt made our family a peeking Santa toilet seat cover. It was a decoration I looked forward to putting out every year! I knew my boys would also appreciate the quirkiness of one, so I've had it on my to-make wish list for several years.
On Christmas Eve this year, I found myself with a few hours of sewing time, so I decided this was the year!
The original was made from felt, and the pieces were all hot glued on. Now, as a mom of three boys, I cringe thinking how the one from my childhood would never have been able to be washed!
On Christmas Eve this year, I found myself with a few hours of sewing time, so I decided this was the year!
The original was made from felt, and the pieces were all hot glued on. Now, as a mom of three boys, I cringe thinking how the one from my childhood would never have been able to be washed!
Tumbling Blocks Quilt
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Right before we moved at the end of the summer, I had two quilt deadlines to meet. One was the Glowing Lone Star quilt, and the second was this Tumbling Blocks quilt - both for Craftsy. And I can finally share this one with you!
52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - November
Friday, November 30, 2018
I'm adding TEN quilt tops to my charity quilt endeavor this month!
Have you done any charity sewing lately?
Have you done any charity sewing lately?
Turning Tiles in McCall's Quilting Magazine!
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
I'm so excited to be able to share my Turning Tiles quilt with you! This quilt has quite the story behind it!
A Stitch in Time Book Tour
Monday, November 26, 2018
Do you have a sewing bucket list? Things you want to try but haven't gotten around to it yet? Well, today I am crossing something off my bucket list! English paper piecing!
Sharon Burgess of Lilabelle Lane Creations has just released a new book especially for English paper piecing, or EPP called A Stitch in Time. I've only dabbled in EPP, but have never actually completed a project before. When Sharon offered a chance to be part of her book release blog tour, I knew it was the perfect chance for me to try it out!
Sharon Burgess of Lilabelle Lane Creations has just released a new book especially for English paper piecing, or EPP called A Stitch in Time. I've only dabbled in EPP, but have never actually completed a project before. When Sharon offered a chance to be part of her book release blog tour, I knew it was the perfect chance for me to try it out!
G-O-O-O-O-A-L!!! + TGIFF
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Remember when I made a baseball quilt for my son's really great t-ball coach earlier this year? Well, we just finished up the soccer season, and I couldn't resist making a soccer quilt for the coach!
Cabin Fever
Friday, November 16, 2018
We've had several flurries and snow days already this year, and that just makes me want to curl up by the fire in a log cabin in the woods in front of the tv with a log cabin quilt. (Let's be honest: a log cabin in the woods would have mice and spiders and terrible internet service.)
This month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was to create a quilt using the traditional log cabin block, but like usual, I wanted to challenge myself to make it a bit more modern.
This month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was to create a quilt using the traditional log cabin block, but like usual, I wanted to challenge myself to make it a bit more modern.
2019 Aurifil Designer of the Month Team Announced!
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
I have been like a balloon about to pop waiting to tell you this exciting news!! I am part of the 2019 Aurifil Designer of the Month Team!!
Little Man Quilt
Sunday, November 11, 2018
A few weeks ago, a soon-to-be first-time grandma asked if I could make a quilt for her grandson. After a few messages back and forth to iron out the details I got started on a quilt for her new little man!
Glowing Lone Star Quilt
Monday, November 5, 2018
It's time to reveal another secret sewing quilt from earlier this year!
The Glowing Lone Star quilt is a pattern and kit available on Craftsy! I enjoyed writing the pattern and making the quilt top, but I REALLY loved adding the quilting!
The Glowing Lone Star quilt is a pattern and kit available on Craftsy! I enjoyed writing the pattern and making the quilt top, but I REALLY loved adding the quilting!
UPDATE: Craftsy/Bluprint has since closed and no longer sells kits. You can purchase the pattern HERE.
Vintage Sheets Quilt in Quilty Magazine
I vividly remember the sheets on my bed when I was growing up. They were soft, but had a sort of crispness to them and were cool to the touch when I laid my head on my pillow. One set had small light pink flowers with light green leaves. Another set had dainty yellow and peach flowers. Today, they are called "vintage," and I now know that crispness came from the cotton/polyester blend they were made from.
When I learned of people making quilts from vintage sheets, I knew I *HAD* to make my own!
Rainbow Hexies
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
This month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was paper piecing. When trying to decide what to make scouring Pinterest for ideas, I remembered I had already made a small stash of hexies earlier this year from the Petting Zoo collection! It was their time!
52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - October
Have you done any charity sewing this month? I am happy to be adding three more finished quilts to my charity quilt count for the year!
These three bring my charity quilt count to 15!
These three bring my charity quilt count to 15!
The Finial Quilt + Pattern
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Remember that one time I made a quilt in a crazy short period of time for Mathew Boudreaux (aka Mister Domestic) for Quilt Market earlier this year? (You can read about it here.) Well, I obviously didn't learn my lesson, because I jumped at the chance to create something with his second fabric line, Aura!
Meet my newest quilt pattern: Finial. Finial is featured in the Art Gallery Fabrics lookbook for the Aura collection!
Meet my newest quilt pattern: Finial. Finial is featured in the Art Gallery Fabrics lookbook for the Aura collection!
Flurry Quilt
Sunday, October 14, 2018
I'm so excited to finally be able to share this version of my Flurry quilt with you that I made earlier this year! Have I mentioned how hard it is to keep quilty secrets?!?
By Hand Blog Hop
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Welcome to my stop on the By Hand Blog Hop! By Hand is a new fabric collection from Contempo designed by Amy Friend of During Quiet Time. The fabrics are in quilt shops now, so be sure to visit your favorite quilt shop and ask for them! The bright rainbow palette immediately drew me in!
Amy designed the collection to have a light and dark of each color - and I wanted to make something that captured that!
Amy designed the collection to have a light and dark of each color - and I wanted to make something that captured that!
Snowfall Barn Quilt
Last week, Kristi at Put a Quilt on It issued a fun design challenge: design a quilt block that you would want to see on a barn quilt. The winner would get their design as a painted barn quilt! I knew immediately I wanted to participate!
After a few days of being indecisive on what I would want to "permanently" display on our house, I thought of a brilliant (to me) idea: a Christmas barn quilt!
After a few days of being indecisive on what I would want to "permanently" display on our house, I thought of a brilliant (to me) idea: a Christmas barn quilt!
52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - September
Sunday, September 30, 2018
This month, I added binding to five charity baby quilts. It feels so good to move some quilts from the WIP pile to the DONE pile!
I'm making 52 quilts for charity this year. You can read more about my plan on this post. I recap my sewing progress on the last day of each month, and host a linky party where you can link up any charity sewing you've done too!
Seeing Stars
Saturday, September 29, 2018
The theme of this month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was "Starstruck." I've been arguing with myself all month about what to make. The rational half of me kept reminding me that I just had a baby three weeks ago and my sewing time has been limited so I should make something small and easy. But the irrational half of me got an idea months ago and hasn't stopped thinking about it since.
True to my pi nature, the irrational self won.
True to my pi nature, the irrational self won.
Spooked Geese in Quilty Magazine!
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
I have several secret sewing projects from earlier this year that I can finally share with you! First up is "Spooked Geese" - a Halloween quilt in the September/October issue of Quilty Magazine!
Won't you be my neighbor?
Monday, September 24, 2018
When we moved into our new house a couple months ago, I was surprised to see that the neighbors on both sides of us were also expecting! All three of us have had our babies now - and all three are boys!
If you remember, I made this quilt for one neighbor. The second neighbor had her baby a few weeks ago, and I was able to gift a quilt to her over the weekend.
If you remember, I made this quilt for one neighbor. The second neighbor had her baby a few weeks ago, and I was able to gift a quilt to her over the weekend.
It's a boy!
Friday, September 21, 2018
For those of you that have been waiting to hear the news - it's a boy!
My sewing time has been a bit scarce the past couple weeks as we welcomed baby boy #3 to our tribe!
My sewing time has been a bit scarce the past couple weeks as we welcomed baby boy #3 to our tribe!
Great Outdoors Blog Hop with Island Batik
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Welcome to the Great Outdoors Blog Hop with Island Batik! The Island Batik Ambassadors are showing you all the newest fabric collections from Island Batik! (And there are TONS of giveaways too!!)
Hobbs Batting Challenge
Saturday, September 1, 2018
As the time nears for baby #3 to be born, I'm working very hard to clear my plate of deadlines and things I want to finish before I'm at the beck and call of a newborn. I have mostly been good about saying no to things that land close to the due date (I'm almost 38 weeks, so any day now!). However, when a friend shared her entry in the Hobbs Batting challenge a week ago, I really wanted to join in on the fun!
52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - August
Friday, August 31, 2018
This month's charity quilts didn't go as planned! My goal was to put binding on several of the baby quilts I've longarmed recently. However, I ended up making three large throw quilts for foster teenagers instead!
New Address Mini Quilt
Saturday, August 25, 2018
This month's theme for the Curated Quilts mini quilt challenge is "house." Originally, I was un-inspired by the prompt. However, once I started thinking of "home" instead of "house," I realized our recent move could be the inspiration!
Free Motion Fantasy Blog Hop
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Welcome to my stop on the Free Motion Fantasy Blog Hop! I'm sharing lots of pictures in this post, but be sure to stick around to the end - there's a giveaway!
When I saw the Free Motion Fantasy fabrics by Amanda Murphy, I was immediately in love! Amanda created the line specifically for using it for free motion quilting. Every print correlates to a free motion quilting design!
Since I'm 36 weeks pregnant with kiddo #3, I have baby on the brain! Right away, I knew I wanted to try making a quilted baby changing mat. Benartex generously sent me the fabrics for the changing mat, and a few extra too!
When I saw the Free Motion Fantasy fabrics by Amanda Murphy, I was immediately in love! Amanda created the line specifically for using it for free motion quilting. Every print correlates to a free motion quilting design!
Since I'm 36 weeks pregnant with kiddo #3, I have baby on the brain! Right away, I knew I wanted to try making a quilted baby changing mat. Benartex generously sent me the fabrics for the changing mat, and a few extra too!
A quilt for baby Wren
Friday, August 17, 2018
When we moved into our new house just a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see that the neighbors on both sides of our house were also expecting! Of course I thought a baby quilt would be a better "meet your neighbor" gift than my usual quick bread!
Chatting with Pat Sloan
Monday, August 13, 2018
You all know I love trying new things - and today is a day for something new! I'm a guest on Pat Sloan's American Patchwork & Quilting podcast!
52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - July
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to make 52 charity quilts before the end of 2018.
This month, I got two more quilted and ready for binding! The quilting really goes so much faster on my longarm than it did on my domestic!
This month, I got two more quilted and ready for binding! The quilting really goes so much faster on my longarm than it did on my domestic!
Double Take
Sunday, July 29, 2018
This month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was to create a quilt with a secondary design. A secondary design is one in which some surprising design appears when you put the blocks together - making you do a double take!
Quilting Dream Come True: I Bought a Longarm!
Saturday, July 28, 2018
It's been a dream of mine to have a longarm for a couple years now. I first put it on my goal list for 2017, then again on my goals for 2018. Honestly, it was much more dream than goal though. However, once this year started, it became clear that a longarm needed to become a priority.
I made 52 quilts last year, and am on track to far surpass that this year. I am often making quilts for magazines, fabric companies, and other clients on very tight deadlines that don't allow time to send the quilt to a longarmer. A few months back, I learned I would have just that type of situation in June/July. I was going to need to make a queen sized quilt start to finish within about a two-week turnaround time. This would be the largest quilt I've made on such a short deadline. I knew my Juki *could* quilt it, but the time it would take and the frustration it would cause just didn't make sense. I began a serious search for a longarm solution.
I made 52 quilts last year, and am on track to far surpass that this year. I am often making quilts for magazines, fabric companies, and other clients on very tight deadlines that don't allow time to send the quilt to a longarmer. A few months back, I learned I would have just that type of situation in June/July. I was going to need to make a queen sized quilt start to finish within about a two-week turnaround time. This would be the largest quilt I've made on such a short deadline. I knew my Juki *could* quilt it, but the time it would take and the frustration it would cause just didn't make sense. I began a serious search for a longarm solution.
Iridescence quilt featured on the Midnight Quilt Show!
Friday, July 27, 2018
Eight months ago, Craftsy asked if I would write a pattern for them. The quilt was named "Iridescence" and would be featured on The Midnight Quilt Show with Angela Walters.
Well, fast forward to this week, and it's finally time I can share with you!
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Photo courtesy of Craftsy |
An Island Batik Christmas in July!
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
As an Island Batik Ambassador, I get two shipments of fabric from them during the year. Then I get to make awesome things to meet monthly challenges that all the ambassadors participate in! I have no idea what will be in the boxes ahead of time. It's just like Christmas! I just got my second shipment, so I thought I'd share with you what was in the box!
2018 Mid Year Review
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
How are your New Year's Resolutions going? If you're like me, you just rolled your eyes! However, I do set some specific business goals each year, and Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl is prompting us to do a mid-year evaluation. So how am I doing?
My Chambray Quilt is in Quilty Magazine!
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
I'm so excited to finally be able to share with you one of my secret sewing quilts from early this year! Meet "Somewhere in Indiana," published in the July/August 2018 issue of Quilty!
52 Quilts in 52 Weeks - June
Saturday, June 30, 2018
I set a goal at the beginning of the year to make 52 charity quilts this year. (Read more about it here.) We are at the halfway mark, and I'm SO excited to share with you this month's update!
This month, I got five of my tops quilted - ON MY NEW (TO ME) LONGARM!!!
This month, I got five of my tops quilted - ON MY NEW (TO ME) LONGARM!!!
Play Ball!
Monday, June 25, 2018
This year was the first year both of my sons played t-ball. My youngest is three, and it became apparent within just a couple practices that his coach was more than the usual parent volunteer.
His coach is a parent volunteer, but she is coaching all three of her son's t-ball and baseball teams! She has a full-time job, then gave up all of her weeknights to coach teams of little people. Her enthusiasm and positive attitude was contagious. Her patience, kindness, and encouragement to the players (and the parents!) was remarkable. I haven't been a baseball mom for long, but it doesn't take an expert to know when you meet someone exceptional.
I wanted to say thank you in a way that would capture my gratitude and appreciation for all that she did for the team(s). And the only way I know how to thank someone to this level is to make a quilt.
His coach is a parent volunteer, but she is coaching all three of her son's t-ball and baseball teams! She has a full-time job, then gave up all of her weeknights to coach teams of little people. Her enthusiasm and positive attitude was contagious. Her patience, kindness, and encouragement to the players (and the parents!) was remarkable. I haven't been a baseball mom for long, but it doesn't take an expert to know when you meet someone exceptional.
I wanted to say thank you in a way that would capture my gratitude and appreciation for all that she did for the team(s). And the only way I know how to thank someone to this level is to make a quilt.
It's time to Row x Row!
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Do you Row x Row? Today is the first day to start collecting free patterns from shops all around the world! My local quilt shop participates each year, and I have been honored to write their pattern for the third year.
Teaching at MO Star Academy
Friday, June 15, 2018
Last week, I traveled to Hamilton, MO to the Missouri Star Quilt Co. to teach at their 2nd annual Missouri Star Academy!
Island Batik invited me as one of three teachers they sponsored (the other two were Tammy of Tamarinis and Jessica of Desert Bloom Quilting).
Island Batik invited me as one of three teachers they sponsored (the other two were Tammy of Tamarinis and Jessica of Desert Bloom Quilting).
It's a Fireworks Show!
Thursday, June 14, 2018
This month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was to make a modern quilt, crib size or larger. Well, that's what I try to do around here every day!
The most challenging part of the quilt was limiting myself to the fabrics Island Batik has sent me as an ambassador. Every idea I came up with was color specific, and I never had just the "right" colors.
The most challenging part of the quilt was limiting myself to the fabrics Island Batik has sent me as an ambassador. Every idea I came up with was color specific, and I never had just the "right" colors.
Weave Your Jacket! + TGIFF
Thursday, June 7, 2018
I've created a few woven quilts (like this one and this one), even a couple open woven quilts (like this one and this one). I absolutely love the texture and uniqueness produced with each weaving. So when I saw Tara of WEFTY Needle putting her weaving into a jean jacket, I knew I had to copy the idea!
52 Charity Quilts in 52 Weeks - May
Thursday, May 31, 2018
I was able to squeeze just a bit of time this month to work on my 52 charity quilts. I added three more tops to the pile!
A Memorial Day Quilt
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Last year, I made two red, white, and blue heart quilts (see them here and here). When making them, the pattern made lots of bonus half-square triangles (some call this "goose poop!").
I have plenty of things on my need-to-do list (many with impending deadlines!), but Memorial weekend seemed like the right time to get out the HSTs and sew them up.
I have plenty of things on my need-to-do list (many with impending deadlines!), but Memorial weekend seemed like the right time to get out the HSTs and sew them up.
Leather Handle Tote Bag
Saturday, May 26, 2018
This may shock you, but I did in fact do 3-D sewing!! (Spoiler alert: I survived! And the bag turned out great too!)
Cactus Pillows
Thursday, May 24, 2018
I have a friend expecting her third child in July. When I asked her if she planned to have a nursery theme, she said "colorful Southwest." That's been in the back of my mind as I try to think of a baby quilt idea. Then this month's Island Batik Ambassador challenge was "pillows." When searching Pinterest for "Southwest inspired nursery," I kept coming across cactus pillows. I knew it would be a fun extra to send with the quilt!
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