Intermission

Most likely won't be posting for awhile as I'm visiting with family.

Happy quilting!

Quilting Tired and in a Hurry

I think the title probably says everything you need to know. Here's the story nonetheless.

I had this fabulous quilt top I've had finished since March. I was really worried about how I would quilt it so I set it aside. I was thinking of doing something custom, a new thing for me. So it sat for months and months. At times I was busy traveling so I didn't want to get it started only to let it sit, so it sat some more. Last week I loaded it on the longarm frame.

When I loaded it on the frame, I didn't have a plan yet on how I would quilt it but I thought I could come up with something. I pulled out books, looked at other quilts in magazines, photos I've taken...all around just studying up. I pulled out my dry erase board and started practicing varying designs. I thought I could do some individual designs in each block but there were so many blocks I thought I'd better do something else.

After looking at the quilt on the frame I thought I didn't want to have it heavily quilted because I wanted the fabrics to show so I thought I'd do an overall design. So I made several bobbins and started a few practice stitches on the side. And here is when the frustration set in. I kept getting a mangled nest on the underside of the fabric. I looked at the tension, tried various things and finally went and looked this up on the computer. Of course there was the answer! I hadn't pulled the thread through into the tension discs so problem solved.

But....by now I was tired and was in a hurry because the new Sherlock Holmes on PBS was going to be on and I wanted to watch it. But...did I think to stop? Noooo....wish I did because what I ended up doing was an overall meander. It doesn't look hideous but I think it could have been so much better with something else. All that time I put into making the top and I did a disservice to the quilt by being tired and in a hurry. Lesson learned.

P.S. I'll post a photo after I get the binding on.

Toilet paper and kleenex

Sometime ago I had a lot of laughter and relatives thinking I was weird (in a good way I hope!) because I said I was so infected with quilting fever that I started looking at the pattern on my toilet paper. I do admit that maybe I've gone over the edge, but have you looked at the quilted toilet paper? There's a pattern there, but I'm not going to post a photo of that. Somehow I feel like I've really gone over the edge if I find myself taking pictures of toilet paper!

However, I do find inspiration in places you might not expect. Take for example the box kleenex comes in. There are a lot of cool boxes out there and I do admit to choosing a particular box because I like the design on the box. Look at the photo there of this box. Wouldn't it be cool to do a random strip and then applique or satin stitch some cool flowers on it. I like the cool colors here but it could be done in any color. I could see a Christmas quilt in reds, greens, and gold with some poinsettias satin stitched.

And the picture of a piece of the other kleenex box (I cut this piece to keep as inspiration). I love the cool blues and grays with a touch of the other colors thrown in. I'm not a collector of those shades of blues and grays, in fact, I don't think I even own any gray. But I really like that combination so I think I may be on the lookout now for grays and cool blues.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Look What Came in the Mail!

Look what came in the mail yesterday! Here's the bag I won at Stitchinbythelake.blogspot.com during the Fall into Fall Giveaway! I never win anything so I was so excited to win this adorable bag. But....the bag did not come empty! Look what was inside it!

Here are some handmade items Marlene included. Isn't that just the cutest keychain trinket you've ever seen??

And look what else was in the bag!! Some great thread! I've been wanting to try some woolen projects and how great is this? The book is really amazing too. Marlene has a story in it about her mother. Wonderful heartwarming story.....made me cry....especially since it made me think about my mom and her battle with Alzheimer's.

There was more! Some cute patterns. The Christmas woolens is a kit so I can start with a wool project right away! Thanks so much Marlene for your generosity! I just love everything you put in the bag and I adore the bag!

If you want to know how to make the bag, go to StashManicure.blogspot.com and you'll see Marlene's guest post there.

Sew Scraps Sew-along

I've decided to join in on the fun over at Pleasant Home for the Sew Scraps Sew-along. Click on the tab to the right and check it out.

My scraps are not organized at all and are found in several locations in my sewing room. After seeing numerous posts in blogland I got inspired and started cutting some into strips and squares of varying sizes for future scrap projects. However, I feel like it will take me forever to tame those scraps. I'm hoping to get some guidance on how I go about doing so.

I've seen scraps organized by size and color. But I wonder.....what do you do with multicolored pieces that don't read as a single color? Do you put them in a separate category or do you collect them by type, ie children's novelty? And how big of a scrap do you keep? Do I throw away the pieces less than 2 inch square?

Wouldn't it be great if there were a scrap fairy to come along and organize everything for me? Wave a wand and poof! all done. But...back to reality....there is no genie coming to tame everything, it's going to have to be done by moi. But....I am really hoping by following this sew-along, I'll get hints and tips and make some cute things along the way. Come and join me!

Shop Hop

I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've posted an entry. Sometimes life gets in the way and sometimes it's because of life and shop hopping! How about 2 days of shop hopping!!

(I've been sitting here for a very long time trying to get the photos arranged where I want them but blogger isn't cooperating so I apologize for that). You'll have to put the photo with the paragraph yourself. :(

Thursday, 3 of us headed out into Salt Lake City for a hop. We went to 3 shops, 2 of which I'd never been. The first one was Whimsy Cottage in Holladay. Wow....she had a great selection of batiks. We spent awhile looking around, touching the fabrics, and admiring the quilts on the walls. I bought a few fat quarters (the basicgrey aqua was a freebie at Material Girls). In the photo the reindeer are looking out of place, but they won't be with the fat quarters I picked up last week.

The second shop, Elaine's Quilt Block in Cottonwood, was a spectacular shop....3 large rooms and a basement full of fabrics, projects...eye candy everywhere! So much to see and touch! However, I really restrained myself and only picked up 2 fat quarters that I am hoping to use in a black, brown, and cream quilt.

The third shop was Material Girls in South Jordan. That was a fun shop. After roaming around the store, I saw the sale section and couldn't believe the charm packs were going for $6 and then I'd get 10% off that.....how could I resist? I picked up two of the Martinique packs, along with the red yardage. Yesterday I picked up the aqua yardage at Brooks. I think a Schnibbles is in my future with those charms.

Friday, 2 of us hit 6 stores! Yep, 6 of them. We stayed closer to home, hitting Quilter's Haven and Brooks in Bountiful, Ben Franklin in Kaysville, Nuttalls in Sunset, Sweet Lavendar in Roy and finally Gardiner's in Ogden. I had a great coupon for Ben Franklin so I picked up the white and yellow yardage there. The white is probably going to go with the reindeer and other fat quarters I picked up last week and the Nancy Halvorsen yellow will go with the Christmas string quilt I was supposed to do last year. Hoping to get back to that soon!

I had a great time both days.....shop hopping and lunch with friends....who could ask for more?!

Quilt Books

Lately I've been buying quilt books and wanted to share these with you.

I've had Kimberly Einmo's book for awhile and my Frolic Stars quilt was from the book. I was lucky enough to be in the same guild with her when we both were at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. She is such a delightful person and you can find her at shows around the country and the world as she travels a lot and teaches.

The Schnibbles and Simply Charming books are books from authors whose blogs I frequent. Schnibbles has been a quilt blog phenomena and I'm excited to make a quilt from the book. Haven't yet decided on which pattern to go with but I'll be sure to post when I do. The Simply Charming book's author's blog is called Moose on the Porch. Some great patterns in her book too and I can't wait to make one of those.

The Liberated Quilting book is something I've seen but only bought because there are several blogs I follow that used her process on some quilts. I found them very intriguing and decided I wanted the book so I could follow along and try some of the things out. Her first book is hard to find since I believe it's out of print, but a review I read said she covers the same things in this book. But...if I find that first book out there I'll buy it. I know I can find it on Ebay but where's the fun in that?

Books can be pricey so I've taken to using my JoAnn's coupons on the books. I get them online and by mail and for awhile just let them expire. Then it hit me....use them on the books! Don't know why I didn't think of that before! We have a JoAnn's superstore near us and they have a ton of books so the selection is really good. So use your coupons!!

Flying bees

I titled this post flying bees although there really isn't a dramatic story to go along with it. I moved here to Utah 3 years ago and am part of a very small group of quilters associated with our nearby Air Force base. My husband retired last year so we're staying put....at least for awhile.

While I'm staying put, members of our group move on when their husbands get new assignments. We all look for ways to say goodbye and this is my small way to say goodbye, good luck, and keep quilting! I make a small wall-hanging from a Debbie Mumm pattern, although I altered it slightly. Utah is known as the Beehive State so I thought it was appropriate. When I lived in Washington state I made something with an apple in it (perhaps I'll post a photo of that someday).

I finished this one a couple of days ago and it's long overdue...hopefully will be in the mail before the end of the week (really sorry Janine!!)

Design Wall Monday

Here's what's on my design wall. All Kaffe Fassett fabrics, pattern from a class I took a year ago at the Utah State Quilt Festival. Not much has changed from last week. I managed to get almost all the sashing on. I still need to sew a couple of verticle rows and then add 2 more rows of horizontal sashing. After that it's just a narrow and then wide border and I'm done! Don't know if I'll get much done this week as my eldest son is visiting. But.....he likes to sleep in and I'm a converted early riser, so who knows! Keep you posted!

Quilting Mischief

I have a friend whose husband used to say we were up to "quilting mischief" whenever we would head out to visit quilt stores, have lunch, have fun! Well, yesterday I have to say that's what I was doing. I was up to "quilting mischief!"

A friend and I went to several quilt stores.....just to look, mind you. These were stores my friend hadn't been to and I wanted to get out and look around. I thought I was doing so well, just looking and admiring the quilts, fabrics, ambience of the stores.

That is until we hit the 3rd store. They were having a sale, 5 fat quarters for $10. This store has the sale frequently and I knew that. However, I was drawn to these fabrics. Have been for a long time. I picked them up one by one, gathering a group, imagining what could be done.

Then I talked myself out of them, put them down and went wandering around, looking at other stuff. But I couldn't let it go. I came back to the fabric several times before I decided I had to have them!

Fabric addiction is a sad thing. On the other hand, $30 is a small price to pay for joy. I really enjoy looking at them. I will enjoy working with them. I will enjoy whatever project I make with them. I will more than likely have extra fabric to make more than one project and then another person will have joy when I give it away. Look how much joy this group of fabrics will bring!