Iowa Vacation & Quilt Show

Cool Quilt from Quilt Show!

At the Living History Farm

Happy Monday Everyone!

We had a fabulous time on vacation in Iowa and I had a great time at the AQS Des Moines Quilt Show http://aqsshows.com/AQSDesMoines/. I attended the show with my cousin...also a quilter...and we bought fabric, took photos and sat in on a couple of demos. I am trying to get all of the photos uploaded, so bear with me and check back often for the photos. Posting a few of them today (see above). We also visited the old family farm in Ames, Iowa...I spent every summer there until I was 15... so great memories going back there. In Des Moines we also visited the Living History Farms http://www.lhf.org/ ...very interesting and lots of quilts there too!  Hubby drove the whole way...thank you, thank you! The weather was beautiful and the food was great too!

Still working on embroidering tea towels and finishing up a baby quilt on commission and my youngest daughter's quilt. Oh...I purchased the back for my daughter's quilt at the quilt show in Des Moines! Went to my favorite vendor Sew Batik http://www.sewbatik.com/ to buy the back fabric. I love, love Sew Batik and visit their booth at the Dallas Quilt Show every year, so I was very excited to find them at the Des Moines Quilt Show too! I also bought some other batik fabric there too! Of course, working full-time is slowing down my quilt production, but we all do what we can!

Check back soon for the quilt show photos! Gotta run for now!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

Sew Happy News!

April and her fiance!!

Engaged!! :)

Happy Monday!

Well, some happy news to start off the week...our oldest daughter, April, got engaged last week!! So we have a spring wedding in the works!! We are very happy for her and quite excited too (Photo of the happy couple above.)! Of course it makes me start thinking about wedding quilts and all things white and satiny. And that reminds me...I have some other quilts to get cracking on if I am going to have time for everything! Still working on youngest daughter's quilt, but between the heat and being sick, progress has been delayed a bit.

For all of you dressmakers out there: I just started using Burda patterns http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns this summer and am loving them! Hancock Fabrics had Burda patterns on sale last Thursday for $2.49/each, so I picked up about 10 or so!! Now that's the deal of the month!! Burda patterns are made in Germany, but they are very easy to sew and go together very nicely. A friend of mine who make all of her own clothes got me onto them. Oh, and did I mention, I also picked up some fabric for 70% off at Hancocks the other day!

I am counting down the days to the Des Moines AQS quilting show!! The show starts Sept 29 and I am thinking of making a list of the specific items I will be hunting for at the show. Hopefully, I will be able to also find some unusual things that quilt shops in the area don't have...that's always fun for me...like treasure hunting! We have our reservations all made, so now it's just hurry up and wait!

At last we have been getting some rain here. Last nights storms...with hail... knocked out our phone service! But I think the long heat wave of summer is finally over and we can cool off now. Whew! That was one long hot summer with over 70 days of 100 degree heat...hottest on record here!

Well, short and sweet for today. This will be a busy week...we have some friends coming to visit from Japan, our daughter's engagement dinner, work and whatever sewing I can fit it!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!!

***And I finally got Plano Quilt Show Photos loaded up...See top of blog for slideshow! Enjoy!!***

Ahh..Cooler Weather and Quilt Shows!!



GBaby Lilly...23 mos old now!



Well, it has been a while since my last post and I apologize! We have been suffering through one of the hottest summers on record with 69 days of 100+ degree temperatures...and finally, it has cooled off! Yeah! Now, we just need some rain!! :) The ground is so very dry and there are fires all around us...and we have a crack in the front yard large enough to lose a small child in! Rain...please!

I have a few projects I am working on currently. Still working on quilt for youngest daughter (due to the heat, I have been working on smaller hand projects, so I can stay in the cool part of my house); just started on, and hope to finish quickly, a baby quilt on commission; finished the Blue Work panels that I have been working on all summer; started embroidering a pair of dish towels for a gift; finished two blouses for myself...and I think that is it for now! 

My wonderful husband surprised me a couple of weeks ago with a new book..."Sewing Green" by Betz White! This is a great book! It has 25 projects in it, all reusing or repurposing. I cannot wait to get started on some of the projects!! Check out the book at www.amazon.com !

Last month I attended the Plano Quilt Show here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. It is a smaller more local quilt show, but I really enjoyed it! I have about 1/2 of the photos posted to Snapfish and will try to get the link up on my blog so you can start looking at the amazing quilts! We are scheduled to go to the AQS Quilt Show in Des Moines, Iowa Sept 29-Oct 1, so I am getting very excited about that! I am going with my cousin, who is also a quilter, so we should have a ball!! I have never been to an AQS show before, so it will be a new experience. 

For those of you who do embroidery, I have found a great blog that I have been following and been inspired by. The blog is by Mary Corbet http://www.needlenthread.com/ and I have picked up tips and learned about so many places to get new embroidery patterns and so many things! Check it out, you too will be a fan!

FUSI BOO


I had some questions sent in about Fusi Boo, so I wanted to address them. Thank you Laurel for asking!

1) Do you think Fusiboo produces a smoother surface on which to quilt?
2) Is it flexible enough to maneuver for machine quilting (i.e. rolling and holding with quilt clips, folding, or similar)?
3) Does the bond ever give way with "too much" handling?

First of all, a smoother surface to quilt on? Hmmm...no I don't think it is smoother than a non-fusible batting, but I don't find it lumpy or difficult to quilt on at all. It is actually quite smooth for a fusible batting. And when you start working with fusible battings, you will see what I mean.

Although the fusible battings are/can be quite stiff, I think Fusi Boo is the least stiff of all of the ones I have tried, and yes it is flexible enough to maneuver for home machine quilting! You have to understand that due to the fusability of fusible battings, they are quite stiff to work with, but some are ridiculously stiff! Fusi Boo, while stiff, is not too stiff to work with, and I have been very successful in working with it...which is why I am a big fan! You do have to remember when you are done with the quilt you MUST wash out the fusible part, which is done simply by running it in a cold water wash and drying it. After that it is as soft and smooth as any other quilt!

I have never had the bond give way with too much handling, and the bond is very even throughout. I have used other fusible battings before and they don't have an even bond all over the surface (i.e., very good hold over all, but some spots just don't stick). I think that is why I am so impressed with the Fusi Boo, it adheres very evenly over all, as long as you follow the simple instructions, it sticks well throughout the process. Again, you have to bear in mind that working with fusible battings vs. non-fusible battings is a totally different experience. I have heard some people say they won't work with them at all, but for me, fusible battings -- specifically Fusi Boo-- is so time saving and worth the money to me!

I hope I have answered your questions, Laurel! Please post your comments if you have any more questions!

That's it for now. I have a tool review coming soon, so check back! I will also post Des Moines quilt show photos in October!!

Oh...and our GBaby is 23 months old today!! :) Photos above!

Happy Sewing and Quilting...stay cool y'all!!

Beat the HEAT -- Time for Smaller Sewing Projects!



GBaby Lily in her New Summer Dress!




Lily!
















Good HOT Summer Afternoon All ~ Yep, and it's not even OFFICIALLY Summer yet!! I'm melting!! 104 degrees here today and 102 tomorrow...and I don't want to even try to imagine August!! :o

So despite the fact that I have several quilt projects on my plate, I have decided that this is good smaller sewing project weather...or just quilt top making weather! I am still working on my Bluework embroidery project...er...um...that is when I am not dead tired after working all day long! Anyway, I am also bound and determined to get my daughter's quilt top finished, at least by the end of July (if I set a deadline for myself, I tend to try to meet it!).  I also need to get the baby quilt tops finished...notice I said "tops"...I will think about the actual quilting sandwich and quilting parts later...maybe when the temps go down to the 80s?!

And, thank you to some dear friends who gave me some of the fabulous new Dr. Seuss fabric! Have you seen it? Fabric.com (www.fabric.com) and Keepsake Quilting (www.keepsakequilting.com) both have it...and I plan to buy a little more to make a Dr. Seuss quilt! If I could just get the top done, then I could quilt it when it is cooler. How do you handle quilting projects when it is blistering hot out??

Hubby and I are planning a trip the first of October to attend the AQS Des Moines Quilt Show in Des Moines, Iowa (Sept 28-Oct1). My cousin and her husband live up that way, so we thought it would be a nice trip to combine family, camping and quilting!! My cousin (also a quilter) tries to go every year, so I am very excited! Something to look forward to and plan for. I opted for the Des Moines show instead of the Houston International Quilt Show, because I thought it would be something different, a little smaller and hubby has never been to Iowa before.

Well, gotta run...GBaby Lily is taking her nap right now, so I want to get several things done while I have the chance. Tell me what your summer sewing projects are! I would love to hear all about them!! :)

Happy Sewing and Quilting, My Friends!

More $ But Less Time for Creativity!

Happy Holiday Monday All!
I know it's been a while since my last post, but I finally got a full-time job, so getting used to a regular schedule and coming home exhausted after work has left me little time to write posts...and unfortunately less time to quilt, embroider, sew and applique!! I am slowly getting used to being on a regular schedule, so hopefully...after body and mind are adapted...I will get back to sewing in the evenings and, of course, on weekends. I managed to make myself a couple of summer blouses just before going back to work, but that's about it.


Projects on my To Do List: Baby boy quilt, Baby girl quilt and quilt for my baby girl about to graduate with her Associate's degree!! This weekend I finished designing my baby girl's quilt (yes, even at age 25 she is still my baby girl!) and picking out fabric. I won't divulge much about it right now (in case she reads this), but suffice it to say that I went with a 2 block design that will work well with the fabrics I chose. I love the colors...her favorites...and decided to have fun with the blocks and make one of the blocks with different fabrics for each block! Almost patchworky, but not quite!


I am still working on the bluework embroidery blocks, but haven't touched them in several weeks...again with the exhaustion after getting up early and working all day! I will try to pick that up again this week so I can get finished and get the quilt done...at some point this year!


Well, I have a free day today, so off to the sewing room to see what I can accomplish before getting back into the work week! What projects are you working on this summer??

Have a great week and happy summer sewing!!

Weddings...Royal and Quilted

Congratulations William & Kate!

The Wedding Quilt

Close up of Wedding Quilt

Butterflies for the Bride & Groom

Back of the Wedding Quilt



Lily at the zoo...more interested in her stroller!




Lily with Grandpa at the zoo


Happy rainy Monday to you! Last night we had hail, rain, thunder and lightning and today it is cold and rainy! I don't believe I have ever known it to be this cold in May in Texas!! Truly amazing weather we are having.

Congratulations to William and Kate and their Royal wedding! I must confess that while I did get up at 4 a.m. to see Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding, I did NOT get up that early to see William and Kate's wedding! I am too many years older to get up that early now! However, PBS showed the whole wedding and stuff afterwards several times, so I got my fill of all things Royal wedding! I thought Kate's wedding dress was beautiful with all of the gorgeous white on white embroidery! Very elegant and old-fashioned!

And the Wedding Quilt I was working on finally got finished and delivered on the actual Royal Wedding day!! Nope, it wasn't for Wills and Kate, but it was done on time (photos above). I like the way the quilt turned out...and let me just say that halfway through the quilt I sure did hate it! But, as I am sure you have all experienced on projects, by the time the blood, sweat and tears are gone and the project is done, you love it and don't want to let it go! In the end, I really wanted to keep this quilt, but needed the money and kept my promise to my client! I used a wedding brocade for the back and the white blocks on the front, and I think it worked very well. The quilt is not heavily quilted...just in the ditch overall, around the borders and Xs across the large white blocks...it was pretty much all I had time for, since the piecing of the top took sooo long. But, with the beautiful wedding brocade fabric, I didn't think (and hubby agreed) that it actually needed a lot of extra quilting. What do you think?

I am taking a bit of a quilting breather and plan on making some summer dresses for myself this week. Oh yes, I have lots more quilts to make, but need a break before I dive back in. The bluework embroidery is still in the works and I will work more on that this week. What's on your sewing table? Do you have some projects lined up for spring and summer? Tell me about them!

We had our granddaughter, Lily, this past weekend and took her to the Dallas Zoo (photos above). She is not quite 19 months yet and it was a very hot & humid day, so it was not the day we expected...she is just too young to know what it going on and could have cared less about the animals! Oh well...we tried! I think we will have to wait until she is 5 or 6 before taking her again...the animals might be more exciting then!

Well, back to the sewing room to make some summer dresses!!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

Quilt Update

Baby quilt

Close up...great detail in the fabric!



Definitely a "boy" quilt!



Close up of the borders



Back of baby quilt




My version of "Water for Elephants"!!


The wind is blowing and the temperature is rising...happy spring! Okay, I admit that I am a little tired of this wind! We have lost a few shingles off the roof in the strong wind gusts, so hoping the wind dies down just a bit. As for the temperature, well, let's just say 80s are plenty hot for me and today is supposed to be in the low 90s! :o

Quilt update: Whew, finally finished the baby quilt I was working on and got it delivered! (photos above) It was a hit with the parents and grandparents! The newborn baby had no comment since he slept most of the time we were visiting! So I have been back on the wedding quilt...and time is ticking down! I am having motivational issues with this one and need to push myself harder to get it done in time! Here's hoping that I can get enthused about it again and get er done!! To try to speed the process along, I will either use Fusi Boo batting or try using a basting spray...I will let you know which one I use and how it works out.

I am still working on the Blue work embroidery project, and apologize for not posting photos of it yet...I have to rinse out and iron the panel that I have completed and then will photograph it for you.

It is still spring cleaning time, so I am going to have to get back to cleaning out closets...which is actually pretty exciting for me now! Why?! Because I am thinking about all of the great quilt fabric I will have when I finish cleaning out and cutting up old clothes!! Also, I am rescuing zippers and buttons...my button jar is filling up and you would be amazed at how many zippers you can rescue and reuse! :) Sewing green is so much fun!

My Janome is running great...except for the fact that I have broken 4 needles so far!! I don't usually break that many needles in 2 years! I have decided that I am used to my industrial Singer, which can handle more thicknesses of material at a time, and have to watch out for that with the Janome...it is not quite the beast that the Singer is. Overall, I am still loving my Janome!! Fast and easy bobbin filling...love the stitch regulator (which is something this wild, go fast quilter needs)...the needle threader is my new best friend and I am no longer noise polluting, because the Janome is super quiet!! :)

Well, time to get back to tackling this wedding quilt! Have you ever worked on a project that you had to muster up all of your will to get it finished?? Tell me about it!! I need your inspiring stories to keep me going!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!