Quilter's Wold Magazine

I am super excited!! 

I just can't hide it!!

One of my quilts is in the autumn issue of Quilter's World magazine!! 

No, I'm not kidding, it really is!

So, a couple years ago, a sweet lady, Kim Hanson, put out a request to interview some younger quilters.  I quickly replied to her. I was curious as to what she was looking for and I know, that younger quilters are generally the exception to the rule. 

Kim was so sweet, she emailed me and said she was writing an article about younger quilters. She asked questions about me and asked for some photos of my work. I happily sent her some. Unfortunately, the magazine she originally sent it to, closed their doors before the article made it to print. 

However, things seem to happen for a reason, and her article was accepted and printed by Quilter's World! The magazine for today's quilter!

I am over the moon to be in this magazine and to be part of such a wonderful article. Kim did a wonderful job, and you can find more of her work at 

http://www.kimhansonquilts.com

I don't want to give the whole article away, but here's a glimpse....

Yes!!

 My first art quilt is in Quilter's World!!

A big thank you to Kim Hanson and Quilter's World. 

Quilters! If you haven't checked out this magazine, please do so, it's a lovely magazine.

Finished Mod Quilt

I finally finished the green, black and white mod quilt I started last year!! Woohoo for wrapping up an unfinished project!! 

I had planned to have it finished for my daughters 10th birthday, which was in May. I was almost done too. Seriously, I had 3/4 of it quilted when i stopped because i wasn't sure how to proceed. You see, I wanted to quilt each section in a different motif. The problem is, I don't have a ton of experience in free motion quilting. I'm learning and I have perfected meandering and loops, but other then that, I'm very much a novice. And anyone who has attempted free motion quilting will tell you, it is a learned skill that takes a lot of practice.

Anyway, I just finished this quilt. It's fun and modern and most of all, my daughter loves it!

Here is the front. 

I started by quilting a stitch in the ditch technique along all the grey and black lines. This helped keep the whole thing together while quilting the rest of the quilt.

I left the patched cross sections alone, with just quilting lines in the ditch. I did a different free motion quilting style in each of the larger areas.

For the back, I did a modern patchwork pattern with leftover fabric and some fun pink prints I had.

I didn't think to much into this design, I basically just put them together as easily as I could, starting with the left over fabric from piecing the front. Adding the pinks for contrast and filler.

In the end, my daughter loved the back almost more then the front. So, I would say it was a win. 

Some other techniques I was new to with this quilt.. I used elmers school glue to baste the layers together. The glue worked out great, however it was messy, and stiff. It also seeps thru the layers. I was a little worried at first, but true to its washable claim, it all came out when i tossed it in the wash. I will be trying this method again, tho.

I also did the binding a bit differently. Instead of making binding strips and attaching them at the end, I just trimmed the backing fabric to 1 3/4 inches and double folded it over and stitched. I did a heart shape  decorative stitch along the front to seal it all up. I liked how easy it was, but it's not my favorite look.

You can kind of see the binding at the top of the photo. 

Totally love the fluffiness of the quilting in this one!

Peach Bridal Garter

Hey guys! I know, it's been a while since I posted anything. Truth is, I haven't been creating much. Partially because I have been lazy and uncreative. But, mostly because, up until this week, the weather here has been perfect for gardening. I have been working on my garden and taking care of my plumeria and also trying my hand at growing veggies. I totally love it, by the way!! But that's not what this post is about. 

Today, I want to show you a set of bridal garters I made.

As usual, I wanted to try something new. I get bored making the same things over and over. 

I decided to go with a satin white, with peach accents.

A side note, for all you brides out there, peach is a tough color to find in your local craft stores. Especially if you want double sided satin ribbon. Seriously had a helluva time finding some. Finally found the narrow ribbon at Micheals Craft store. It was the only peach they had. Not even kidding..it was the only roll.

Since I had such a hard time finding peach, I was going to bling up the whole thing. I bought a Tulip Glam-it-up tool and crystals to do the job. Only to realize, late in the evening, I did not have the correct batteries. ugh... ok.. that idea is out. 

On to the next idea. I dug thru some of my odds and ends ribbon flowers and found 2 peach flowers..what?!! The color was on point! I was stoked! They were perfect..almost. They were the standard flowers you can find in packs, satin ribbon with a beaded center. I wasn't much of a fan of the beads in the center, so I cut them out and added a crystal button center. Much better. Plus, it added the bling I was hoping to incorporate. 

A simple white bow and some peach ribbon accents and voila! Finished and lovely. 

Although this wasn't my original plan, I really love the way it turned out. It's very classic chic and so soft to the touch. I hope the bride loves it as much as I do. 

Adventures in Embroidery

So, about a year and a half ago, I got this really cool embroidery machine. I bought the Designer Ruby by Husqvarna Viking. It is a pretty awesome machine. I also got the software to go with it. TruE Elite for Mac.

 Now, I'm not huge into cutesy embroidery images, but I was pretty excited about this machine and all the cool things it could do. Seriously, with the software, this thing is practically limitless.

 I also got a pretty awesome deal on it as it was a 1st generation model and they were releasing the 3rd generation at the time.

I already loved my Viking Tribute, so I knew I would love this machine too. And I do. But...the learning curve is huge on these types of machines, not to mention the software. 

Basically, I have no clue what I am doing. So much so, that I still have not embroidered on an actual project. It sucks because this machine has so much to offer and I haven't even scratched the surface of its awesomeness. 

That is all going to change. I have challenged myself to learn this machine and the software. With the help of my super awesome husband, we started playing.

This is the first embroidery image that I got online and was able to stitch out. 

Got it from urbanthreads.com. Seriously, cool site for embroidery images. Especially if you are like me and don't get all excited with the "normal" images.

It was going so well.....and then the thread spool got caught. You can see the problem on the T and H of threadster. 

I was kinda bummed, but it was a lesson learned, and that is what this challenge is all about.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. It can only get better from here on out.

Monochrome Blue Quilt Top

Sometimes you buy fabric and you think you love it. Sometimes you really do. Sometimes not so much. The latter would be the case with my blue monochromatic batik layer cake. Seriously, loved it when I bought it. But then, at some point, I just didn't. It sat for in my stash for a while before I decided to hack into it.  Last year, I was in a creative funk that I was trying to get out of. I needed to do something, but didn't have the creative mojo to get into anything really crazy. I just needed to sew. Needed desperately to get back into the swing of things. I have learned, from experience, to keep things simple. So, I decided it was time to open up the layer cake. 

I got to work cutting and sewing simple blocks. Got them all done....

Hated them.

They sat in a drawer for months. And they would still be sitting there if I wasn't to lazy to go to the quilt store. (I hate shopping, even for stuff I like, actually, I just hate leaving the house, LOL) But, alas, I got this quilt top together, and guess what? I don't hate it. I actually like it. Once it was together, I was inspired by it.

This is one of those times where it payed off to continue working on a project I wasn't to crazy about. I'm glad I got it together. 

Now, my plan is to add orange and yellow flowers (or circles) to the top. They will be appliquéd on and possibly with my embroidery machine. :)

I'm excited to see where this project will go and I'm glad I stuck it out. 

Heart Shaped Placemats

One of the things I'd like to accomplish this year is making a themed set of placemats for my table. I figured this would be good sewing practice, festive and useful. (I have a glass table and I hate the clinking of the plates on the table.)

I struggled with this for a few weeks. I couldn't figure out how to do the ideas in my head. I bought this super cute layer cake, full of festive, but not super mushy fabrics, to help get the creative juices flowing. It might have helped, if I weren't sick in bed for a week. Seriously people, the flu sucks. 

Anyway, the placemats finally got finished. Even if it is after Valentine's Day, I at least finished them in the correct month. LOL 

I started off with a 4patch and then cut into them, diagonally, twice. Then mixed them all up and sewed them together. This added a bit of randomness to the piecing. 

I kept a 4patch on the back to keep it simple.

I used felt for the batting. Instead of quilting and binding it, I sewed it right sides together and flipped it out. I sewed along the edge of the heart to give it a finished look and to secure the felt on the inside.

I had one small problem with this project. I had a small pucker at the top of all the hearts once I turned them out. I have no idea why it happened, but it happened to all of them. Luckily I was able to press most of it out, but it's something I will be aware of the next time I sew heart shapes.

Pup Bow Ties

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day! We had a pretty relaxed day. I got to spend the day with my love and we ordered heart shaped pizza for dinner.

I did have a few loved themed projects planned for the holiday. I was pretty sick last week, so I didn't get the placemats finished like I had hoped. I needed something to get back in the swing of things so I decided to make the dogs bow ties. Not sure why I wanted to do this. I've never had an urge to dress up the dogs before. LOL No judgment if you do, it's just never been my thing. 

Well, something changed, cuz I just had to make all three of them festive bow ties. 

Here they are! 

Super simple to make. I just used 3 10in squares and a small strip for the middle. I added a bit of elastic in the center so I could slide it right on to their collars. 

Here's my boy Kevin, looking all dapper! 

Miss Bailey looking all pretty!

I wasn't able to get a picture of Maybel in her pretty bow. She decided she was pretty enough without it. She pulled it off within an hour of me putting it on her. Oh well. :)

I'm thinking of making them skirts and a vest next. ;)