Merry Christmas to all

Santa's coming.....the age old belief of children young and old.  He brings with him the reminder to be caring, mindful, and kind to those around us.  I believe in Santa.  Or rather, I believe in the spirit of Santa.  He reminds me what the season is about.  It's not about the gifts under the tree.  It's not about a jolly man in a red suit.  It's about faith, family, friends, and forgiveness.  If I stay still and ponder these things, it becomes clear that it's all about Christ.  The caring for those less fortunate; the sharing of what we have with those who are in need; the loving of all mankind.  This is what this time of year brings to me.  He is the reason for the season.  Let us be mindful of those around us.  Enjoy your families and friends.  Live as Christ has lived and still lives.  May all the blessings of the season surround you each and every day.

Naughty or Nice

We had our potluck soup day at work this week and the Naughty or Nice quilt was won by Bonnie.  She's a great gal and I am glad that she was the lucky one to win the Christmas quilt.  It's always nice to share lunch goodies with your co-workers and share a smile or two.  Especially if the day has been a bit difficult at work.  This season, the Christmas season, truly does make me appreciate the good people around me and reminds me to be patient with those who seem to enjoy making the day less bright.  So here's to all of you who bring light and joy into lives around you.  You know who you are.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  May God Bless you each and every day.

Quilting is such great fun

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I don't think I am going to piece another quilt until after the Christmas holidays.  Now that doesn't mean that I won't be thinking about the next quilt.  There's always a design going through my mind.  Whether it's one I want to design myself or a pattern in one of the quilting magazines, there is always a next project in my mind.  My mind is really working overtime this week.  You see I just received my new strip die cutters from Accuquilt this week.  Oh my!  I bought the 2 1/2" and 4" strip dies.  I use the 2 1/2" strips on all my bindings and with all of the jelly roll patterns out there I may be constantly in quilting mode this coming year.  I hope you all have a great day.  Let's all be aware of those around us who are in need.  Share your smile, your love, and your bright spirit today.  Enjoy the journey!

Naughty or Nice

I had to play with some of the flannel that I bought at Joann's Fabric the day after Thanksgiving.  By cutting out the stocking shapes with my Accuquilt die cutter this took me almost no time at all.  What great fun I had.  It is a simple pattern I designed and I finished quilting it last night.  Now it feels like the holiday season.  I don't know how I got so behind in making a Christmas quilt.  I am usually done with one before Thanksgiving.  Anyway, let's all begin this week in good spirits.  Share a smile or just nod at someone today and see what happens.  Keep enjoying the season and have joy in the journey. 

Deer Days

Finally finished the last in the series of deer panel quilts.  This makes number 4.  I called it "Deer Days".  I used lots of flannel to surround the cotton panels and used flannel for the backing.  This will be a nice quilt to snuggle with.  The machine quilting was fun too.  I actually did deer pantograms on the top and bottom borders.  Lots of swirls and loops in the body of the quilt.  It was a fun quilt to play with the machine quilting on.  Hope you all find joy in what you do.  Share your talents with those around you.  Always be thankful for what you have and for those who share your life.

Day After Thanksgiving Sale

This morning my daughter in law and I arose at 4 am to get ready to stand in line for the Joann's Fabric Day After Thanksgiving Day sale.  We have done this before and always end up with great flannel and fabric.  This morning her oldest son decided to get up with us and spent the morning standing in line waiting for the doors to open at 6 am; pushing carts; gathering his favorite prints for PJ's and quilts; and helping others around us move their carts and fabrics.  It was a great day!  We enjoyed each other's company, got tons of fab fabric and notions, and then had lunch from Carl's Jr.  I am thankful to have such wonderful people in my life.  I hope you all took time to think of those who enrich your lives in so many ways.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.  By the way, I am still machine quilting the final deer quilt.  Hope to have it done soon.  Christmas awaits.

Still Quilting

This month has been a busy one but I have still managed to put in some sewing.  I have another deer top ready to quilt.  However, I accepted a commission to quilt 2 full size quilts for a co-worker.  She made beautiful cross stitch blocks and her friend pieced the tops.  I have had to make the backing, machine quilt, and hand sew the binding on.  I have one finished and the second one is pinned and ready to machine quilt.  I hope you all enjoy this time of year and take a moment to give thanks for all that you have.

Four Bucks

I am still trying to use the last of my deer panel fabric.  I used some of my stash flannel with the deer squares from the panel.  I love the bright green Timeless Treasures flannel.  It really makes the quilt "pop".  The name of the quilt is "Four Bucks".  I have one more deer panel to use and am actually in the process of making a similar pattern to this one.  Machine quilted with free motion meadering stitch.  Hope you all enjoy the fall season as much as I do.  Enjoy the journey!

My new Brother PQ1500 machine!

 

 

I had a great time making these quilts using various fat quarters, yardage, and scraps.  The "Hope Blooms" quilt was made using my Accuquilt die cutting machine and my Brother PE150 embroidery machine.  I chose one of the Lace patterns to embroider the floral design on the white blocks.  I chose a bright orange and purple fabric for the borders.  Yes, I seem to love the bright fabrics.  The small pink quilt utilized fabric I bought from a yard sale and have used in other quilt projects.  Again, I used my Accuquilt die cutter to cut small and large squares.  The prairie points were a natural edging to use some of the extra small squares.  I chose these two quilts to practice my machine quilting with my new Brother PQ1500 sewing machine.  I used the walking foot and did random lines on the small pink quilt.  The free motion foot was a breeze to use on the Hope Blooms quilt.  I meadered with circles and flowers.  I was lucky enough to buy the machine from a small quilt store in St. George Utah - Quilt & Sew.  The owner was very kind over the past few months in trying to get a machine in for me.  She also sold it to me at the original quoted price (what a bargain!).  With the wild month we have had, quilting has made my days and evenings more creative and calming.  I hope all of you enjoy the journey each and every day.

Finding Service Projects

I have been contemplating how I can use my quilting skills to benefit others.  There are local shelters, hospitals, half way houses, humanitarian projects, and other needy organizations.  I am going to try to be more giving this year.  There are those who have had such a great impact on my life, some of whom are no longer with us, that I want to honor them and their memory.  I hope some of you will be able to find someone who needs the gift of your talents, whatever they may be (we all have some kind of talent).  Imagine what a wonderful influence we can have on those around us.  Keep enjoying the journey.

Scrappy Basket

Our County Fair was good.  I won a "Reserve" ribbon on my wall hanging and a couple of blue ribbons and one red ribbon on my other quilts.  One of the exciting things to see was the generosity of the quilters in our County sharing their creations in the "Help Make A Child Smile" contest.  That has inspired me to make more quilts to share.  I delved into my scrap basket today and came up with some squares that I had cut out with the die cutter and packaged for a rainy day.  Boy did it rain today.  That meant yard work was out of the question and quilting was in.  I hope you are enjoying your quilt journey and sharing your love along the way.

Happy Quilting

It's all in the giving,

"Lavender Path"

These are the final 3 quilts that I have made for the Make A Child Smile special contest at our county fair this next week.  All fabrics were prewashed.  The designs are my own.  Keep your patterns simple if you have a busy life and a deadline to meet.  They will give the same comfort as one that has taken a long time to make.  Get busy and be creative.  Enjoy the journey!

"Flower Power"

Comfort Quilt

"Help make a child smile" quilts

The Sevier County Fair will have a new entry this year.  Make a quilt (or two or three) and bring it in for judging.  The quilts will not be returned to the maker as they will be donated to the Sevier Valley Medical Center and the New Horizons Crisis Center.  I hope you all will decide to get involved in a charitable activity this year.  Have fun and help put a smile on someone's face.

We've Got a Good Thing Growing

Our Sevier County Fair is coming up in a month and I wanted to make a theme quilt.  I found a pattern in Quilter's World and added a border, the theme in the border, and cut out flower petals and leaves using my Accuquilt Studio die cutting system.  It went together easily and I had a great time designing my flowers.  I machine appliqued the flowers and the letters with monofiliment thread.  The wall hanging will eventually hang in my studio.  Hopefully, you will be inspired to design something you can enjoy.  Be inspired by everything around you.

Chili Fixin's

Several years ago we were given a bag of Fartless Chili Makin's.  I loved the canvas bag and took the stitching out and pressed the seams as flat as possible.  The canvas bag sat waiting for me to find just the right project for it to be used in.  Finally, I found some fabric with outhouses printed on it.  I knew that I had to order the fabric and create a quilt using the canvas bag.  I am very happy with the results.  I hope you are inspired by the things around you.  Find joy in the little things.  PS - if you want to check out the products from "The Old Fart" just go to fartless.com

Fun with fabric

This quilt is made from the scraps of my original project (which I am still in the process of machine quilting.)  I call it "Room with a view".  The print fabric has outhouses in the pattern.  Yep, that's what I said.  Outhouses.  I thought it was the perfect fabric to go into the unfinished quilt (to be posted at a later date).  I made it this weekend to give to someone who has had a rough month and thought it would cheer them up.  The deer fabric is from the panel fabric that I used in a previous quilt.  Still have enough for 2 more quilts!  I machine quilted this quilt with a simple cross hatch pattern.  Next quilt projects will be for our Sevier County fair in August.  This means I have to get busy.  Enjoy your projects.

Twin's Quilts

I was asked to create quilts for a set of twins.  Their Mom purchased the fabric and her request was that they be larger than a crib size and smaller than a lap size quilt.  The backing fabric was to present itself on the front, an old pair of her Dad's jeans was to be utilized in the quilt, as well as using the worn parts of the jeans.  I hope she likes what I did.  It was fun to come up with a pattern for each one.  As you can tell, there is a girl and a boy.  I quilted the boy's with a circle and wave motif.  The little girl's is done in flower shapes to mimic the floral fabric.  I didn't want to cut the large print into small units as I thought it was a lovely print.  I hope you all have fun with your quilts!

Panels are fun

QUILT                                                               PANEL

I hit the clearance table at my local quilt shop and bought a few yards of the deer panels.  I decided to use my new triangle die cut shapes from Accuquilt and this is the quilt I ended up with.  I still have a little more of the orange fabric to use too.  More deer quilts to come.  But first I have an order for two toddler quilts for a friend's twin grandchildren.  Of course my trusty Accuquilt die cutter will be pressed into use to cut squares for those quilts too.

Scrappy IV

This is the last quilt in a series of four made from a one gallon ziplock bag of scraps.  Of course, I had to add more fabric for the filling blocks, sashing & border.  However, those fabrics were straight our of my stash and had been used in other quilts.  I even went one step further and opened up my containers of precut shapes and used what was left of those to give some dimension to this last quilt.  The cutouts were created using my Accucut studio die cutting machine.  I invested in this great product a couple of years ago and have great fun with it.  I love to let my imagination fly.  If anyone ever needs some precut shapes, just find someone locally who has an Accucut studio or GO cutter (a smaller version of the studio die cutter) and ask them if they would cut some shapes for you.  You may be so lucky as to find someone willing to let you use their machine (at their home, studio, or quilt shop) for free.  Remember, have fun with your quilting.  You can chose your own color scheme, decide on the pattern to use, and even the color of thread for the quilting.  Spread your wings and enjoy the journey!

Thrifty quilting

I have always been a "green" quilter.  Using fabrics I have on hand (yes, I have a stash), using pieces of clothing that have memories attached to them, keeping an eye out for bargains, etc.  In doing this I have been able to donate and give away quite a few quilts.  They have warmed and cheered up friends and co-workers.  I think there is someone in each of our lives who could benefit from having a hand made item to snuggle up in on a cold day.  Something tangible that reminds them that someone cares and is thinking of them.

Quilting - Think outside the lines

One of the exciting things about a quilt is allowing yourself the freedom to quilt it however you choose. There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to the design and technique. For beginners, tying a quilt seems the safest way to go. I love to see a student embrace the freemotion technique with their sewing machine. I am a doodler at heart. I doodle all over the quilt and somehow it seems to find the path that I imagined. From the color of thread to the design itself I am always amazed by the end result. Don't think I haven't unpicked a wayward line or two. In the end, the story in the quilt, from design, to fabric, to finishing, is all you. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Fabric leftovers

This month I am focusing on using scraps saved from other sewing projects that I stored in ziplock bags and put in a wicker basket which sits under one of my sewing tables. When the bags start to fall out of the basket, it is time to make a scrappy quilt. The size of the scraps will determine the shape of the block that I chose. In bag "1" I had some strips that were various sizes. Ever the recyler, I utilized paper that was being thrown out at work. The shape of the paper determined the actual finished shape of the block. The first rule was that I had to use whatever piece of fabric I grabbed out of the bag. The second rule was if I really didn't like the color of the fabric I grabbed out of the bag, I had to find someway to like it. The final rule was to use all the bobbins that had thread on them no matter what the color was. Fortunately, I had light, medium and dark fabrics in the bag! Be fearless. Have fun. Don't worry about making a mistake. You can always unpick or just toss out the block you cannot live with.

So you want to make a Quilt!

As a quilt enthusiast, I find myself encouraging anyone interested in creating a quilt to just do it. In teaching beginning quilt classes I find that most beginners need to first learn the ins and outs of their sewing machines. So, that's where we start. Become friends with your machine, don't be afraid to ask for help. Once you know how to plug the machine in, turn it on, change the needle, use good thread, and get over the fear of pressing the pedal to make it go - you are ready to begin to sew. If you don't know if it's something you really want to do, I suggest that you beg or borrow some scraps from a sewing friend. Don't be afraid to have all kinds of colors and textures. You will not fail.

Next - what pattern do I chose - and how do I cut it out.