My Sewing "Studio"

OK.  For those of you who have asked......No I do not have a large sewing area.  I took over one of the bedrooms after the kids moved out.  The closet is stuffed with fabric, yarn, etc.  I have books, magazines, scrapbooking stuff, and a computer compacted into the space.  I do most of my sewing on one of my machines right there in that little room.  Tom, my great hubby, made a thread holder for my larger spools and supports me in my "hobby".  I must admit that I did take over one more bedroom for my new Grace Frame and hubby was OK with that too.  I truly am a blessed woman!  Over the years I have had my machine tucked into a smaller than closet area, set up in dining rooms, kitchens and bedroom nooks.  I have dragged the machine to the kitchen table, set it up on folded tables, and even taken it outside when the weather permitted.  Where there is a will, there is a way.  Don't let what you believe to be a lack of space keep you from enjoying your creative life!  By the way, yes, the room is usually in disarray as I seem to always have a project in progress.

Using Accucut die cutter for current project!  Good thing that chair is there to help out!

Grace Quilt Frame Day 3

Almost there!  All I have left to do is connect the power, put my free motion quilt foot on the machine and get a quilt ready to go.  The assembly process was smooth and the how-to-videos on You Tube were very helpful.  I was able to view videos from Grace Frame Co. & from a dealer in Logan, Utah named kathyquilts.com.  If you decid to take the plunge and buy an economical machine quilting frame I would highly recommend Grace Frame Co. in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I will keep you posted as I learn how to use the frame for my quilting projects.  With a short time until our County Fair, I will attempt to make a couple of quilts for their donation program.  Have a great day!

Grace Quilt Frame Day 2

I spent an hour after work last night continuing to put my new frame together.  So far the directions have been very clear and the quality of the components are very good.  My husband, Tom, did help me flip the frame over as he inspected the various aspects of the package.  I am quite pleased with myself so far.  Today I will place the machine guide on the unit and maybe even take the extra time to complete the fabrication process.  I am reigning myself in at the moment, for you see, I just want to get in there and get quilting.  Patience is a virtue that I am working on when it comes to quilt projects.  I hope you all take a moment and look around to see if there is someone you can cheer up or help today.  Enjoy the journey!

Grace Quilt Frame

Yesterday on my lunch hour I took the plunge and called the Grace Frame Company in Salt Lake City Utah to order my new Start Right quilt frame.  I thought I would have a few days before it's arrival to find a spot to set it up for a while.  Guess what!!!!!!!!! It arrived this morning.  I cannot believe their customer service.  So far I would highly recommend their company.  It took me an hour to move things around, vacuum, unbox and bring all of the components into the house.  I will start to put it together tomorrow night.  Thank you Grace Frame Company................YOU ROCK!!! I will keep my blog updated as I get the system set up.  I was fortunate enough to already own a Brother 1500S sewing machine.  The frame and extras that I purchased came to just under $1,000.  I have search high and low for an affordable quilting system and voila, I found one.  Stay tuned........

Quilting for the Fair

Finally finished piecing together my "fair quilt" for 2011.  The fair theme this year is "Rock Around the Stock".  I kind of went with that and created an applique panel from the picture being used for the fair book.  Also used a tip from Jenny at Missouri Star Quilt Co. in making the blocks that surround the center panel.  I finished pinning the quilt together last night and will set up my trusty Brother 1500 to start machine quilting.  For some strange reason I ended up making a queen size quilt.  I don't usually make such a large one for the fair, but somehow I just kept going.  The chicken print fabric that is used in the quilt is actually the same fabric that I used for my kitchen curtains.  As I was sewing the quilt together Trace Adkin's song "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow" kept going through my mind.  I utilize my living room for my machine quilting space.  This really makes me focus on getting the quilting done as soon as possible.  Hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend.

Panels are great for a quick quilt

I had purchased this Liberty Bear panel on a clearance sale last year and recently decided that I didn't have to cut it apart to make a pieced quilt. No, I could actually just add a sashing and border and machine quilt it. I am now very happy that I didn't cut the panel apart. This was a fun, quick and easy little quilt to make. Sometimes it really is OK to take the easy road (at least in quilting!). I took the photo this morning before the sun came up and yes it is cloudy out there again. I hope you find something easy and enjoyable to do today. Enjoy the Memorial weekend and be careful if you are going to be on the road. Give someone a smile or better yet, give them a quilt! Until next time.......

Machine quilting this week

Just finished pinning a quilt together and will machine quilt it this weekend. Or rather, I will start machine quilting it this weekend. If the weather clears up enough to work in the yard, I will have to split my time between quilting and gardening. If you haven't been to the Missouri Star Quilt Company's web site, try it out. Jenny Doan gives wonderful tutorials. I have picked up quite a few shortcuts and ideas from her and can't wait to try them out. Purchased the Vine & Curves template from Quilt in a Day to make curved edges on quilts. Another tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Keep enjoying each day and do something nice for someone this week for no reason at all.

Busy Quilting

I decided to use some of my red, white and blue scraps to see what I could come up with.  I chose to use my new Dresden Plate die cutter from Accuquilt and one of my favorite die shapes, the Tumbler.  Just by chance I stumbled upon a close out on the red, white and blue striped fabric (dare I say it) for only $1 per yard.  After making sure it was good quality cotton fabric, I bought what was left on the bolt.  Needless to say, the next couple of red, white and blue quilts will likely have the striped fabric somewhere in it.  The Dresden Plate was fun to make.  I used the leftover 9 patch blocks in the backing too.  Quilters really know how to be "green"!

Saturday...Saturday

It was 4H Super Saturday and it was a busy day.  Being the only leader and helper really kept me hopping.  The kids were able to sew their quilts together and begin cutting the fringe.  They will have to finish the fringe at their own homes.  The only downfall is my housekeeping did not get done today.  I am now working on another scrappy quilt.  Will keep posting on the blog as time allows.  Hope you all have a fun St. Patrick's Day this coming week.  Keep sewing and enjoying the journey.

This years theme - Red White & Blue

It's been a busy month.  Lots of things going on, lots of things to do.  Even so, I managed to get 2 quilts done.  The first one is called "Utah Americana".  A friend who works for the State of Utah gave me one of his "seed bags" and I just had to use it in a quilt. Since I used an Americana pattern and the seed bag is from the State of Utah, I had to call it "Utah Americana".  The second quilt was another Tumbler Flag quilt.  I used several left over red fabrics and a cream with a blue print in it.  I absolutely love the results.  I believe I am using an America theme in my quilts this year.  It's been alot of fun.  I have more Tumbler blocks cut out of red, white & blue scraps and will sew them into another quilt, though it may not be a flag pattern this time.  Then again, you never know what I'll do!  I hope everyone has found something they love to do and are willing to share their talents with those around them.