O Holy Night

This is the reason we celebrate this wonderful time of year

Have a wonderful and joyous 

Merry Christmas!!

I made the list!!

The list of favorite quilts in  Quiltmaker 2013 issues.  WOW, I mean there are soooo many quilts that are amazing in this last year issues!  I feel honored to have one of my quilts chosen as a favorite by the QM staff. To see the list of all the favorites, pop on over the Quiltmaker  and see them all. 

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Merry Christmas!

Total Slacker!!

Yes, I have been a slacker as far as my blog is concerned.  Sorry!!!  Needless to say I have been VERY busy!!!  Working on my 3rd book, new patterns for Spring 2014 market, filing orders, downloading to my new website (yes, website!!!!!  I'm so excited, I'll let you know when it's all done), baking for the holidays (yikes!!!) waiting out snow storms and now 2 very sick kidos.  

Now I need to announce the winner of the Quiltmaker Jan/Feb 2014 issue.

DAWN

Congrats!!!

email me your shipping address so I can get this to you right away!

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all!!!

Can't believe I forget!!

Well, yes I can.  We are just BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, with life and business, and not to mention that the holidays are upon us too.  But, I forget to tell you about the newest magazine I'm in.

Quiltmaker Jan/Feb 2014!!!

Most of you probably have this one already so you would have seen me on page 23

If not, here I am with the quilt I designed called "Black Tie Affair" 

Pretty neat, huh?!

This quilt is a bit different from my normal designs, but every once in a while you

 need to do something that's out of the box.  

Here's the same quilt in a different color way.

The fabric line is "Salt Air" by Moda.

Just thought I would share.

I have an extra copy of this magazine I would like to give away.

Please leave a comment about a project that you did that was out of your box.

I'll take comments up until Tuesday, Dec 17

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Holidays!

It's a guy thing.....

at Quiltmaker!   They are having a fabulous give-a-away.  

Hurry it ends tomorrow at midnight.  

They are giving away a complete set of 

Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol 1-8. 

8 full issues!!! WOW 

Way cool!!!  Click HERE to enter.

Even if you have some of the magazines,

what a great gift for a friend.

Winner of 100 Blocks Vol 8 is...

Back Porch Extras!!!

The response was great on this give away and I thank everyone who played!!  

I also got real hungry reading all your favorite Thanksgiving foods.  

Can't wait until next Thursday!!!

P.S.  Back Porch Extras, email me your shipping address so I can get your prize out to you

Thanks and Happy Sewing!!

Give aways!!!

Don't miss out on this one.  Quiltmaker is doing a fabulous give away today!! 

 There are a like 6 different quilt books up for grabs. 

 Head on over to see all the cool treats and maybe you will win something.

Here's the link

Also, Crazy Old Ladies is doing a great give away as well.
She has fabrics, magazines and a bunch of other cool prizes!!
Here's the link for that one.

Good luck and Happy Sewing!!!

UFO's DONE!!

Yes believe it or not, I actually worked on a couple of unfinished projects this weekend. 

 That is of course in between, running errands, a very sick child (he's better today, thankfully!!), 

cleaning house and date night with my hubby.

Here's what I did

I know that Halloween is over....but I'm ready for next year, right?!?  This quilt is 64" x 88", just perfect to cuddle up with.  Now to just get it quilted.  I also finally bond a quilt that's been sitting for about 1 1/2 years.  Yep, you read right 18 months.  Sad but true.

Now, back to work.  Today starts the quilts for my third book!!!  Very excited about these projects.

Must get busy, busy, busy!!!!!

Happy Sewing!

Don't forget to enter to win the Quiltmaker 100 Block Vol 8

only two days left.

We should do this!!!

On Quilty Pleasures, Quiltmaker's Blog, I saw this list: 

100 Things Every Quilter Should Do, 

compiled by Diane Harris.   What a fun idea!  

I read through the list and found that I need to do more as a quilter.  

There are techniques I haven't tried yet and things I should do. 

So, I'm going to choose a couple from this check list and get busy. 

Because if it involves quilting, I'm all for it!!!

How about you?

Don't forget to enter the contest to win Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Vol 8

Entries close Nov 19 midnight.

Go here to enter.

Enjoy your weekend and Happy Sewing!!!!!

100 Blocks and counting!

Good morning to all!  

Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol 8 has arrived!!!

Another great volume of fantastic quilt blocks to try out.
I'm already planning on using a few of these new blocks to make some holiday gifts.

One of my blocks was chosen to be included in this issue, super cool, right?!!

Here it is.

It's called "Celebrate"

Block #756 on page 51
Here's one idea for the block,
a table runner I made in EQ7 .

Of course, fall colors being appropriate right now.
It's always fun to play around with all these great blocks in the 100 Block issues.
I'm still learning my way around EQ7, but boy is it fun!

If you want to win a copy of this Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol 8,
leave one comment telling me what your favorite Thanksgiving dinner dish is
(you must be a follower to win)
My favorite dish since I was a kid is
Candied Sweet Potatoes!!!
YUM!
Contest goes until Tuesday Nov 19.
Thanks for stopping by
Happy Sewing!

Quiltmaker 100 Blocks blog tour

That's right  Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol 8 is almost here.

Be sure to check it out!! The blog tour starts today and goes through the week and ends with the release on Tuesday Nov 19.

Come back tomorrow to see my block.

Featured on Etsy

I woke up this morning to an email letting me know that I'm featured on Etsy.  Pretty cool, right?!! 

 Check it out here.  

 I can't believe it already fall time, which is my favorite time of year! 

 This year had flown by incredibly fast!!  

Back to work....thanks for checking in.  Happy sewing!!

Cool New Find

Time to share.  The Warm Company has a totally cool new product.

 It's a Double sided fusible fleece!!   It's perfect for those small projects that 

you can quilt on your own sewing machine.

 So of course I needed to play with it and see how great it works

I got out my tried and true Steam-A-Seam, fabric scraps and pattern.  

A mug rug would be the perfect test.

I used the cupcake image from one of my Skinnie patterns.

It was just the right size.

I sandwiched the front, Double-sided Fusible Fleece and the back together.

Used my iron and fused it all together.  Boy was it slick!

It was so great!!!  I simply quilted around the cupcake and couple of times and it's done.

I didn't have to worry about tucks or unseen creases on the back fabrics, it all laid so nicely! 

I'm hooked on this stuff!!!!  Just think of all the small simple ways you can use this great product. 

And besides with the holidays coming, this will make life a lot easier.

Happy Sewing!

Fall Fat Quarter bundle on sale!!

It's time to sew for Fall!!!.  

I have 2 bundles (only 2) on sale on my Etsy shop and they won't last long!!!  

There are 10 fat quarters from Moda lines "Awesome" and "Phenomenal Fall" by Sandy Gervais.  

They are selling for only $18 each

Head on over to my Etsy shop to buy.

Happy sewing to all.

Jack-O-Lantern Fun

It all started with this magazine.  

American Patchwork & Quilting Oct 2013.

I love pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns to begin with, so this was the perfect project for me.

I decided to make a table runner instead of a quilt.  

I went through my stash and pulled out a bunch of oranges

Cut them into a variety of widths and started sewing my log cabin blocks

 Each block was a different size and shape

 To make them all the same size, I added black borders.

Using my 16 1/2 square I wonky cut them to all be 14 1/2" square

Sewed them all together and fused the faces on to make a fun Halloween table runner

Now to decorate for Halloween....one of my favorite holidays!!!!

Happy Sewing

No Sew Table Runner

Have you noticed how popular Burlap is getting??  I have, so I thought I would play with some. 

Here's a quick and simple "No Sew Table Runner"

First you need some burlap, I bought 2 yards

3 yards of cream lace

1 spool of Steam-A-Seam 2 double stick fusible web 1/4" x 40 yards

  This table runner is going to be 12" x 50".  Burlap comes 50" wide so it's perfect

 To straighten the edge of your burlap, grab hold of a thread about 1" from the edge and start to pull.

This will gather up the burlap and you will need to work the thread and pull it all the way out,

 from selvage to selvage.  

 This is what it looks like.  Now you have a clear "line" to cut on.

 Cut all the way across

You now have a nice straight edge on one side of your table runner.

From our straighten edge that we just cut, measure over 12".  

Pull that thread out from selvage to selvage.

 Now cut on that "line".

Your table runner is now ready to be embellished.

 Carefully hand press the Steam-A-Seam 1/4" double sided fusible web

 to the wrong side if the lace edge.

Hand press the lace/fusible web to the long edge of your table runner.  

With a warm iron, press in place.

  Repeat on both long edges of your runner.

 There you are!!  No Sew Table Runner

Now for some tips.

1.  Make sure you "PRESS" not iron.  Lots of straight down, press, and then straight up.

If you move your iron around, 

you will curl up the edges of your lace.

 2.  If your iron is too hot, you will melt your lace.  Yeah, not fun :(

(good thing I bought extra lace.)

3.  Clean your iron when you are done.  The fusible web will leave a residue.

You don't want to find that out after you are working on a quilt.

What do you think?  Quick and easy right?!!  Make it with lace or without.

Let's see what I come up with next.  Until then, 

Happy Sewing!!

Everything Blue

Welcome Blog Hoppers to Everything Blue!!!!  Thanks for joining in the fun.  

Wow!!! There have been some great blocks so far!!

Wonderful inspiration to see and it's making my want-to-do list that much longer.

I love the quilting world!! Lots of amazing quilters out there.

  So without further ado.....  Here are the blocks that I made.  Simple and easy 

 I decided to stick with a traditional block and 

use only two fabrics here.

But, I  had enough fabric to make a second block and 

couldn't resist doing a little fusible applique. :)  Plus I love flowers!

The fun thing about this block hop is all the talented quilters involved and the variety of blocks that we get to see!  All the blocks from Everything Blue block hop will be made into quilts by the Clothworks staff and donated to a local charity.   Do you want to play too???  See the details here and submit your blocks. 

Click here to see the Everything Blue Block Blog Hop Calendar

There's still a few days left so don't miss out on the fun!

Happy sewing!

Springtime in the Rockies Winner

The winner for this fun book is

Mischelle!!!

Thanks to those who took the time to comment.

Sorry, I'm a couple days late with this...life is just flying by.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend!

Coming up next is what I did over the weekend so stop by and see

Mischelle - email me your shipping address so I can mail your book out.

Thanks!!

Happy Sewing!

One MIllion

One million sure seems like a lot of anything.  But, in the grand scheme of things, it's not.  We can all make a difference in the lives of those around us by donating a fun, new pillowcase to those who's lives are difficult and uncertain.  Here's the pillowcase that I'm donating.

The monster pattern is from my book, Adorable Animal Applique.  You can download free patterns HERE

There's a lot of quilt shops that have pillowcase kits available, so you don't even have to think about putting fabrics together.  Or go through your stash to find that "pillowcase perfect piece".  I'm going to work on more this weekend.  Let's see what we can do to hit this goal.  

You can learn more about the One Million pillowcase challenge HERE.

Happy Sewing!!

Quiltmaker Giveaway

Quiltmaker magazine is doing a fun book giveaway, actually they're giving away multiple books.   

Don't miss out on these books

Here'e the link to enter.

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2013/08/book-reviews-and-giveaway/

You need to hurry the contest end tomorrow, Aug 23 at midnight.

One of the prizes, is the book

Springtime in the Rockies 

Since I'm in this book, I thought it would be fun to do a give away on this end as well.

Enter this contest by leaving one comment.

You must be a follower to win

This contest will end Aug 30, so this giveaway gives you a little more time.

Good luck and Happy Sewing!

Just delivered!!!

I  believe my UPS man thinks I'm a little crazy, OK maybe a whole lot crazy. 

I can hear his truck pull up to the curb and my door is open before he is even out of the trunk.   The anticipation gets to me and I'm just giddy with excitement to see what he has brought.  Whether it's batting, bags, thread, magazine or fabrics, it's like Christmas every time.  

Well, I was totally thrilled to get this box of fabrics. This is what showed up.

These wonderfully gorgeous, beautiful 

BATIKS!!!!!

by Timeless Treasures

 Aren't they just yummy!!! I mean, look at those colors and prints!!!

And there's more!!   A rainbow of colors that are the Java Blenders...can't live without these.

It's a feast for your eyes!  These are going to be used in the books I'm working on and 

the Alaskan Cruise quilts.  

Sew, I better get back to work.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Sewing!

Two Contests, Two Winners

The winner for the first contest - National Book Lover's Day is

Kalynn&#39's creations

Kalynn wins a copy of my first book

Adorable Animal Applique

The winner of the second contest - the Quiltmaker Sept/Oct issue is 

Linda

Linda wins a copy of Quiltmaker Sept/Oct issue.

Thanks for all who stopped by and played.

Ladies, please email your shipping address so I can mail out your prizes!!

Everyone enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Happy Sewing

Fabric Sale and Free Shipping

Free Shipping on my Etsy Shop until the end of the month!!!  

Use Coupon Code

FREESHIPPING99

Fabric bundles and kits on sale too!!

Don't miss out.  Limited quantities on kits and fabric bundles.

Once they're gone.....  they're GONE.

note: $9.00 minimum order required for free shipping.

Remember to comment on the Give Away post below

Have a great day!!

Happy Sewing

At it again

Quiltmaker Sept/Oct 2013 issue is here!! 

(Love these magazines.)

And we have another Skinnie to share with you.

Yes!  This Skinnie completes the set of 4 for the year.

Get your Christmas on and make this one so you are ready for the holidays.

Great gift idea by the way....just sayin' (grin)

If you have missed the other issues, here's a re-cap of the Skinnies that have 

been published this year in Quiltmaker 

My Wacky Flower Pots - March/April 2013

Beach Time - May/June 2013

 Whoooo's There? - July/Aug 2013

If you want to win a copy of the newest issue Sept/Oct leave me one

comment telling me which is your favorite of the 4.  

You must be a follower to win

This give away will go until Friday Aug 16.

Thanks for playing!!

Happy Sewing

National Book Lover's Day!!!

Books. Books, Books, oh how I LOVE books

Since it's Book Lover's Day, (Yeah!!) I would like to share with you the book that really helped 

me when I first started quilting.

 TA-DA!  Yep, this is it,  The Complete Guide to Quilting
And I'm not kidding!
This one book told me just about everything I needed to know about quilting.

Look at all these sections.  You're bound to find what you are looking for here.

Cutting, Planning, Hand Piecing...it's all inside.

Plus all the charts that are available too.  Love those charts!

A few years back I saw an add in a quilting magazine 

for this book.  I thought it would be handy to have so I ordered it that day.

When it came in the mail, I was soo excited, I couldn't wait to dive in and learn.

  I read it cover to cover in just a couple of days.

A plethora of information!!

Funny thing is, my friends would call me and ask me questions,

 I would pull out my trusty book and viola!, the answers were always right there.  

Some other books I got early on in my quilting jounrey, were by 

Nancy Halverson.

They got me totally hooked on applique.

When I need a break I grab my Buggy Barn books 

and go crazy!.... boy those are addicting!!!!!

My very first book was published this April

Adorable Animal Applique

How about since it's National Book Lover's Day, we have a give away!!!!

A book of course is the prize, Adorable Animal Applique!

To play, leave one comment telling us what your favorite book is.

It can be a quilting book or reading book, your choice.

You must be a follower to win.

The contest will go until Friday, Aug 16.

I'll start, one of my favorite book series is 

Harry Potter, got to love them!

Good luck to all.

Thanks for stopping by, Happy sewing.