Saturday, December 31, 2011

No Words... Well, Maybe a Few


So, this Holiday season is very near the end and as it leaves us we also say goodbye to another year.  I wanted to share with you something inspiring, enlightning, encouraging... you know, something full of wisdom.  WORDS full of wisdom.  Hmmm... I've got nothing... Maybe I'm in over my head here!  So I turned to my source of inspiration, the Internet.  Surfing.  Surfing.  Surfing.  It just led me to the realization that I can't use someone else's WORDS, although if you know me very well you may have realized I am a sucker for quotes, other people's WORDS.  Then I remembered a video I came across a few months ago.  It was one that I shared with several people, if you're one of those people, bare with me cuz it's worth seeing again.  Well, at least I think it is.  It has only a few spoken WORDS but contains a powerful message. 



Saturday, December 24, 2011

Let The Celebrating Begin



All the preparations for the mother of all Holidays is complete.  My wish for you and yours is a very happy Holiday, however you choose to celebrate.  May you also have a prosperous and healthy 2012.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Jelly Roll Race !!!


Have you got a few Jelly Rolls laying around and don't know what to do with them?  Well, start your engines and bring your favorite Jelly Roll to the race for a fun way to make a quilt top really quick.  Every racer will have a finished quilt top (48x64) at the end of the race.  AND if you are the first one across the finish line you will go home with a PRIZE!  The race will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 35th Ave Sew & Vac in Chandler.  The green flag will drop at 9:30 am and you will have a finished quilt top in time for lunch!  You can drop by the store (or call 480-961-7363) between now and race day to get registered for the race(there is a $15 registration fee).

This promises to be the most fun you'll ever have with a Jelly Roll! 

Friday, December 9, 2011

A Trunk Show


Today I had the pleasure of presenting a collection of my quilts to a lovely group of ladies at the Apache Wells community in Mesa.  When they initially invited me to come and do a trunk show for them I wasn't sure I had enough stuff to keep anyone entertained for more than 15 minutes OR that anyone would be interested in seeing what I've made (I mean, REALLY?).  But I put on my BIG girl panties and went for it!  Turns out I was able to keep them entertained for about an hour and it was a fun thing to do, I just hope the ladies also thought it was fun.  They have invited back to teach them my Flanged Binding technique.  I'm looking forward to that being another FUN day!  :o)

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Bedrunners Are a Decorating Must Have


Here's my latest finished project.  It is a bedrunner (like you can't tell that from the picture).  I used an Island Batik jelly roll of their Wisteria collection.  The pattern is Braided Batik Bed Runner by cheri good quilt design.  The finished size is 28 x 90 (the picture shows it on a king size bed). The pattern also has a bonus accent pillow cover that is made from the left over scraps. 



When I first started seeing this latest craze in the quilting world I was pretty skeptical.  But as the Christmas season started to creep up on me I admitted to myself that this was going to be ANOTHER Christmas that I was NOT going to have a Christmas quilt on my bed.  So I warmed up to the idea of a bedrunner.  I mean... to get ready for the Holidays I don't even have to change my current bed quilt!  All I have to do is throw on a bedrunner.  Now, I do realize this one is NOT going to work for my Christmas decorating but I do have one in progress using Christmas fabrics (another jelly roll).  Of course, considering today's date and the fact that I haven't really started my gift buying, having a Christmas one in progress does not necessarily mean my bed will be decorated for Christmas THIS year.

I'll be teaching this as a class (for a mere $25) at 35th Ave Sew and Vac in Chandler on January 23, 2012. It's a great way to use a jelly roll that is just sitting on the shelf in your stash closet waiting for you to make it into something beautiful.  If you are interested in spending the day with me making this bedrunner call the store (480-961-7363) to reserve a seat.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Great People Doing Great Things


Now, here's a group of fabulous ladies.  They are a couple dozen ladies who came together this past week to make comfort quilts for seriously ill and traumatized children in our community.  And this is not the first time they have done this, nope, they do it every month.  And some of them have been doing this for the past seven years.  Like I said "THEY ARE FABULOUS!"  They are known as the Peace by Piece Quilters.

This time of year we tend to reflect on the past year (and sometimes our lives).  We Americans are taught to think about the things we are thankful for and our ancestors even created a holiday that gives us permission to stop and just be thankful for a day.  I recently read a quote (but for the life of me can't remember where) that has got me thinkingWe always think about what we are thankful for at this time of year, but here's the question: What have you done that has made other people thankful?

I think the ladies in the picture have an answer to this question.  What they do every month does better the lives of children.  In some cases the comfort of a handmade quilt may even change the life of the child receiving it.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Let The Cooking Begin


It seemed that today was shopping day for a LOT of people.  Grocery shopping that is.  I headed out with my well thought out list thinking, "This won't be too bad."  Then I entered the parking lot, the FULL parking lot.  My shopping trip suddenly became more time consuming than anticipated.  But I emerged triumphant with everything marked off my list AND my sanity still intact.  Those two bags in the picture that carried everything were so heavy curiousity got the best of my husband so he weighed the heaviest one... 26 pounds!  That's a real stress test.
Now I'm ready to start the baking process.  The really important stuff will be first in the oven. That would be the DESSERTS, iced pumpkin cookies, pumpkin and peach pies.  Then the stuffing, an old family recipe.  You know the kind of recipe I'm talking about... one from back in the days when everything was made from scratch and all the chopping and cutting is done by hand.  We still do it that way, no food processor here!
Hope you enjoy your Turkey and all the family that comes with the day.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

An Evening with KATZ


My last post shared with you my latest fabric purchase.  And this is the finished project.  A little quilt that is just the perfect size for a cat or two to curl up on.  The cats in this print are all watching a movie that appears to be frightening to the group as they all have on their scared cat faces. They are so scared some have their paws covering their eyes while another is hiding her face behind her knitting. And the Kitty Corn is flying everywhere.

And then there's the backside...


Making labels is really FUN.  It's the only way I can remember WHEN I made it! 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

My Recent Trip Through The Fabric Aisles


As you may know I work in a fabric shop a couple of days a week.  It really is more like getting paid to hang out some place where quilters go to have FUN.  The last time they paid me to hang out there I discovered a couple pieces of fabric that spoke to me, so I brought some home with me. :o)  Isn't it FUN !?  It will make the perfect little quilt for my cats who often hang out on the couch with me during the evenings.


Call me CRAZY, but I talk to my cats all the time.  So they do know that this fabric is to be used to make them a quilt.  Here they are laying on my cutting table that is neatly tucked away into the corner.  They may have chosen this spot for todays nap so WHEN I do start on their little quilt they'll be the first to know.  

Friday, November 11, 2011

An Evening With Patty Knochel


For the past 5 or 6 years Patty Knochel has been coming to town during this time of year.  She is much like her sister, Eleanor Burns. Witty, entertaining and quite skilled at the hobby of quilting.  She comes in her van loaded with all kinds of quilting books (the ones her sister writes) and rulers (the kind that goes with all those new patterns in the books).  AND of course, there are always lots of quilts for us to ohhh... and ahhh... over.  She shows us how to sew together all the projects in Eleanors' newest book and which rulers to use to get the job done quick.  She keeps us laughing with all her little sister stories and the adventures she has had since the last time we saw her.  At the end of the evening we all go home with new books and rulers to keep us busy till she comes back next year.  We always look forward to those visits from Patty.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

What A Cutie


When my daughter was little she had a wrap dress.  She loved it!  It was like a new kinda toy.  I mean, when you're a little girl learning how to dress yourself, how FUN is it to have a dress with three armholes?  AND you can put it on with the flap in the back OR in the front.  So when I saw this little Mary Go 'Round dress pattern by Patterns by Figgy's it took me back a few years and I had to make one.  This pattern has an extra bonus cuz it's REVERSIBLE!  So it's like having TWO dresses with three armholes.  My daughter would test her ability to get the flap in the front or back... it was kinda like having a babysitter.

Anyway, next spring I am going to be doing a class on how to make this little dress.  It is a FUN easy project for Moms and Grandmas to make.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Last Stitch Taken


Yesterday evening I finished up this Thanksgiving tableunner.  It is a Briarwood Cottage pattern,  http://www.briarwoodcottage.net/.  It is the November offering of their Calendar Pocket Series.  The series has a themed tablerunner pattern for each month of the year.  This one will be used as a store sample in the quilt shop I work in.  The finished size is SUPPOSED to be 15"x38".  I got the 38 part right but scerwed up on the 15 part.  I contacted the designer on the fact that mine ended up 17" and she straighted me out on the topic.  It was a matter of me quilting like a child and just looking at the pictures instead of actually reading the directions.  Oh well, just me and the designer would know that... except that I just shared it with you.  I don't think anything I make actually ends up like the pattern says it should.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Bleach Workshop


So this weekend I attended a bleach workshop with a couple of friends, Doreen and PJ.  :o)  The workshop was offered by the TelaraƱa Fiber Guild with a gal named Merry Warner sharing her fabric bleaching knowledge with us.  Merry brought lots of samples (all T-shirts) for us to check out.  We were instructed to bring T-Shirts to bleach, but with the three of us all being quilters we also brought FABRIC.  All the pieces we worked on, both T-shirts and fabric turned out awesome!  We used several different techniques to create patterns.  Paper stencils, tape, leaves and even tree branches.  In the above picture PJ's little piece of blue calico was given new life with bleach and a stencil.  Doreen used tape and leaves on her T-shirt, but the shirt was still wet in the picture and the real design does not show itself until the material is dry.  And that's me with the batik piece, I used tree branches and leaves.  Now what to do with it.  Hmmmm... I'm thinking maybe a square table topper for my dining room table.  I'll post a picture for you, IF I really ever get it done.

Here's a picture of some things others created.


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Something Else for Sophia


A few days ago I shared with you a cat bed I had made for Sophia who lives in a no kill rescue shelter.  There was a lot of Pink Panther fabric left over after making the bed so I came up with another idea to spruce up Sophia's room.  A Bulletin Board!  Many of the rooms have a bulletin board in them where information and cute pictures are posted about the cat/s living in the room.  It gives her visitors and prospective 'forever family' an idea of all the cute things she does.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

A New Bed for Sophia

My younger daughter volunteers at a couple of no kill animal rescue shelters. She helps out with the cats at one and dogs at the other. I'm a fan of cats and have gone to the cat facility with her to meet all the cats. The cats are not kept in cages, they are in rooms. Some rooms house only one cat and other rooms house up to four cats. It all depends on the cats and how well they get along with others. Just like people, some cats are cranky. Every month or so I make a cat bed using a cat print fabric for the cover and stuff it with leftover scraps of fabric from quilting projects. Each room is named after a famous cat and here is a bed I made for the Pink Panther room.
Sophia claimed this bed and it seems to suit her very well.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Jelly Roll Race


A few months ago a friend sent me a link to a Jelly Roll Race video cuz she thought it would be a FUN thing for our quilting charity group to do. So today I went to a local quilt shop to participate in their Jelly Roll Race. There were over a dozen of us in the race. It took me just over two hours from start to finish and a large chunk of that time was spent doing the prep work before the race started. The race officials shared with us several quilts they had made using the rules of the race. You could tell they enjoyed making these Jelly Roll quilts cuz they had made quilts to cover several holidays!

So anyway here's the link that was shared with me. Please note Heirloom Creations is not in my local area and is not where today's Jelly Roll Race was. Sorry you'll have to cut and paste the link into your browser. For some reason I couldn't get it to link live. Probably blogger error on my part. :o)

www.blog.heirloomcreations.net/index.php?s=jelly+roll+races

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Here we go!

Several months ago a friend of mine suggested I start a blog.  REALLY?  What would I blog about?  Would anybody really read it?  After considerable thought on the topic, here I am trying to write a blog.  The process of setting up the account made me realize I have a LOT to learn about this blogging thing.  It reminds me of when I first started hanging out with quilters.  I soon realized they had their own language!  Fat Quarters and Half Square Triangles. What are those!?  Well now I'm onto a language that uses words like Dashboard, Widgets and a Chatbox???  Oh My Gosh!