Fish Baby Quilt

I had bought this baby quilt panel and backing about 2 years ago when I made another one like it. I just never had anyone to make it for. I took it to retreat and prepped it for quilting, so when I got home I quilted it up and finished the binding Monday at lunch. I tried some practice waves which I don't really care for, but I learned from them.

Baby Quilt

This is some cute fabric I found 50% off at another quilt shop in town when we were doing some retail therapy during the quilt retreat. I just couldn't pass it up. It matches nothing else I have in my stash, so I just quilted the two layers together and added binding. I'll give it to someone special I'm sure. The second picture shows the backing fabric.

Slow Week

It's been a slow week in my quilting studio. I finished Happy Hour on Monday. Tuesday night we didn't have internet, so I wasn't on the internet for a couple nights. The modem went bad, so Paul installed the new one yesterday and we once again have internet. You don't realize how much you rely on it until it's gone. I spent quite a bit of time working on the hand sewn binding of Happy Hour and got it done on Wed. night. I washed it up and pulled it out of the dryer Thurs. morning at 6:00AM only to realize I forgot the label, so I quickly put one on and did the handsewing part at work on Thurs. I took it to the store last night and the girls loved it. I really am pleased with how it turned out and after class, it will find a permanent home on the couch for snuggling up to watch TV. I started doing some crocheting again. Every once in a while I start a new dishcloth and find it very relaxing. I don't do a lot of the smaller threads because it's hard to keep track when I only do a bit here and there, but I do enjoy the hand work part of it. Last night I was at Project Fun and Done. Mom was working on a new bag for our Bag Ladies class and I was working on a wall hanging for my machine quilting class. I got the first half of it quilted, but ran out of time, so will have to do more later.
The Black Hills Stock Show starts today, so it will be an action packed week of booths, quilt show, rodeos, and lots and lots of people. I really enjoy the rodeos and the added feature of quilt show makes it all the more memorable. I'll be working both weekends since we have a big sale going on. It's our bosses birthday too, so to celebrate we'll be having lots of things on sale. It's one of those birthdays you buy a special card for... so that's a big discount involved!

Happy Hour Pink/ Brown finished!

Some of the best made plans can go astray very quickly. I had finished all the blocks for my Happy Hour quilt Thursday night and was looking forward to putting them together after my holiday party on Fri. night. It just didn't happen. Sat. I worked and it was cold, icky, and just plain nasty. When I got off I sewed all my blocks together, including putting the 2 borders on. I sewed the back together and started loading it on the frame.
I planned to quilt it on Sunday, but the binding on, and start a new quilt on Sun... Again I was wrong! I finished loading before I went to church. After church we went out for breakfast and did errands. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the way home! I guess I stayed up too late sewing on Sat. night. I took a nap/watched a movie with Paul and finally at 4:30 I started quilting Happy Hour. I had lots of problems, thread breakage, borders that didn't lay flat, pulling in the wrong spots, and I was just not enjoying the process. After two hours I didn't have even 1/3 of it quilted, so I quit! I worked on doing a newsletter while watching the Hallmark movie on CBS.


Tonight I was hoping things would go better. I ended up quilting it in 45 min! I released the top, floated it, and released the batting. I didn't have any problems and got the borders quilted in. There are a few spots I'm not proud of with the borders, but it's done. I used a Hobbs batting which I hadn't used in probably 8 years and now I remember why I don't use it. I put the binding on by machine while I watched the Bachelor. It's funny watching it with Paul because he acts like he's not watching and all of a sudden he's calling the girls by name and saying who's staying and who's going and he's right!
I'm so excited to start a new quilt that I just wanted to be done with the Happy Hour quilt! I'm making this quilt (or a very close version) for Paul. I had the panel and several complimentary fabrics, so just had to get a few more pieces and now I have all but the bird borders, which we don't have at the store, so I'm going to use the deer fabric on top and bottom. He thinks it's really cool. It looks like this and is from the new Easy Quilts magazine.


It's my favorite new magazine! The quilts in it are so easy and really appeal to me. When I saw it, the wall hanging from the panel went out the window. I think this will make a great throw for the couch.

Happy Hour Pink/Brown Quilt

Tonight I went to Project Fun & Done... Our weekly sewing night at the store. I worked on the blocks for my newest Happy Hour quilt, Snapshots. It's a quick, easy, and simple quilt that looks great in a variety of colorways. I've made every quilt in the book, but I needed to have a sample for the store. I cut out this quilt before I went to quilt retreat, but didn't end up getting it done, so tonight I made all 36 blocks. I put a few of them together on my design wall when I got home, so I could show what it's going to look like. I'm hoping to get it done this weekend, but we'll have to see.

The numbers are in... and they shocked even me!

Since I started quilting about 11 years ago, I have kept a journal of every quilt I've ever made, plus other sewing related items... pillows, pillowcases, shorts, pants, PJ's, jackets. For the first 9 years or so they all fit in 2 Quilt Journals... the green ones sold at Hancock's or Wal-mart. In 2007 I started and ended one that year, so I started a new one last year. I just finished putting the photos in it for 2008 and yes, it again was full, so the three projects I have done for 2009 will have to go into a new book. In all honesty, I couldn't believe I had filled the book this year. The wedding took up a lot of time and two new jobs this summer, have kept me very busy. Looking back I didn't realize how many bags/purses I had made this year either! My most prolific month was definately July when I was in competition with Jen and Jill, I got a lot done then.
A look at the numbers:
Large Quilts (Lap or bigger) : 10
Baby Quilts: 4
Purses/Bags: 25!!!
Wall Hangings: 11
Tablerunners/toppers: 14
Clothes: 8
Quilts quilted for others (Mom & MIL): 5
Other (pillows, ironing board covers, guest book cover): 10
Part of a special quilt: 3
I'm looking forward to what the new year will bring and seeing how much I get accomplished in 2009.

Java Bistro

Finally I've got a finished quilt for 2009. I started this one last year, but with the holidays just didn't get it finished. I wanted to get it finished up in case I didn't have enough fabric left to finish and could get more before it sold out. This time I quilted through the squares and I like it this way too.

I had a few squares left from the first quilt, so I also made this wall hanging. These will be a gift set for a birthday later this year.

I decided to practice on this one, so I tried a steam type dwirl and it turned out rather interesting. I would probably do them all the same way if I did it again, but I really didn't mind this type of quilting. I was more afraid of running out of thread than anything.

My Big Retreat Project!

Mom and I collected these Loralie Designs fabrics for the past couple years. We planned to spend the Hunters Widow weekend making the quilts, but the blizzard waylaid our plans. We worked on them together this weekend. I was going to do blocks with the ladies in them and then blocks of plain fabric, but it was too busy and the sashing police (everyone who was there past 10:30 Sat. night) came and told me I needed a sashing. I hate sashing with a passion, so this was my least favorite option. I tried red, black, yellow, and purple and finally decided on this red fabric. It turned out really nicely and I'll use the big squares of fabric for the back. I was the very last person sewing at 4PM Sunday, but I got the borders on the quilt.

Other Projects at SOYO

Here's the line up of other quilters projects from this weekend. Mom started and finished the top of this Valentine's tablerunner from our newest Hoffman heart fabric. She got it done on Friday night after putting the binding on her poinsetta quilt.

It's really long, but turned out cool for how simple it is. The pattern is from a new Fons and Porter magazine. If I remember right, it had pieced blocks and she used a square of fabric instead.

Martha came on Sat. and worked on this paper pieced masterpiece. We call her the PP Queen. She was figuring out how to miter her corners, so had it up on the design wall.

Jodi finished this awesome quilt. It's pretty simple, but the border really sets it off. She had this finished by Sat. morning. I love the squares in the corners. She got the fabric when she was in IA. I was interested as I hadn't seen it around here. She also made the new Lazy Girl Mini Miranda but I forgot to take a picture.

Jodi's friends Cathy and Sandy each made one of these quilts. I believe it was Pocketful of Pansies or something like that. They both turned out very cool. The centers were a little fuzzy, which made them neat.

Cathy (co-worker) and Joan, were both working on this strip club quilt from 2006. They both got them together, Joan got borders on hers which is below.

One lady was working on a one block wonder quilt. She had it up on the design wall working all weekend on it. I never did catch her name although we visited with her in the hot tub. She thought I was a little kid as I was screaming as I went down the water slide. It was just so much fun and I hadn't done that in ages.

Jenn worked on the Snapshots quilt from the Happy Hour book. We were both going to make one, but I ran out of time. This is only Jenn's second quilt and she did an awesome job. I helped her lay them out and then she decided she had enough for a lap quilt and a baby quilt, so that's what she did. This is the lap.

She put the borders on it and had the backing ready Sat. night. I taught her how to layer the quilt and baste it with safety pins on Sunday. She started quilting, but had tension issues and had to rip. She ran out of bobbin thread after doing about 6 seams when sewing her blocks. She was so funny! Every time one of us ran out of bobbin thread, we called it a Jenn moment! I think she had a great time for her very first quilting retreat.

I'm hoping to get mine together yet this month, but we'll see how much quilting I get done over the course of the next week/weekend. There were about 50+- people there, more on Sat. less on Friday day and Sunday. It was a ton of fun and I can't wait for next year. It has so put me in the mood to quilt again.

Quilters SOYO Friday

Friday I got off work and Paul picked me up and we had lunch together before I went to the Quilt Retreat - SOYO - Sew On Your Own for the weekend. I stopped by the store and picked up the key to the room from mom and went to the hotel where the SOYO was held. I hauled all my stuff in and got set up and was sewing by 1:30. There was one lady I work with there, but pretty much everyone else had to wait until they got off that night, so I worked on borders for this Java Bistro quilt. It'll be a gift for a birthday later this year, but I want to get it done. Borders are my least favorite part, so I started and got those done in a couple hours. Then Jenn arrived and she was working on her Happy Hour quilt. I was going to do mine too, but I wanted to do the borders on a couple baby quilts before I did the HH quilt. I took out the fish quilt and figured out what I had bought about 2 years ago when my boss had her baby, and realized it just needs to be quilted, so put it away.

Then I started on putting the borders on this panel I had gotten on our honeymoon. It will be a gift at the end of the year for a new baby. I only put the yellow on, on Friday night, but decided Sat. morning after I got the borders on the other one, that I would put the big border print on this one as well. I would call it a big boy quilt, since it's bigger than a baby quilt.

Friday night I also started putting the borders on this quilt. I put the silver on as well as started cutting the border print apart. We had bought 3 yards and it was enough for both baby quilts and I still have some left. I will make a couple tablerunners probably from the leftovers. I finished the outer borders on these on Sat. morning.

Sat. afternoon mom, Jenn, and I went for some retail therapy and I found 5 1/2yd cuts for 50% off, so I lucked out and was able to add them to my quilt. I also found a great baby print that I'll make into another quilt top for a friend who is having a baby. More photos to come. I took a few photos of what others were working on and I still need a photo of the quilt I spent all of Sat. afternoon/night and all day Sunday working on. Boy how time flies when you are having fun! I have 7 tops ready to quilt, so my frame will be very busy this week/weekend.

I'm off to a Quilting Retreat!

Two and a half days of glorious uninterrupted sewing! No work and plenty of fun! The SOYO (Sew on your Own) quilting retreat is at a local hotel this weekend. Mom and I are joining friends there so it should be a fabulous time. It's the first weekend I've had off since mom and I went on the Quilt show trip back the first weekend of August, so I'm really going to be enjoying this.
I have a Happy Hour top cut out, Loralie designs quilt I plan to make, and a purple/teal batik I plan to create a new pattern from. I also have a couple quilts to put borders on and I brought the CRoyal quilts in case I need a little break to do something different. I'm even taking my 6600 instead of my small class machines. I'm breaking out the big dogs here!

First Project of 2009! - Mini Miranda

I decided to start 2009 off with a bang and make something I knew I would enjoy. I made the Mini Miranda bag from Lazy Girl Designs. I have made 7 of the large ones, so I'm sure I'll make more of this one too.

I used the Mocha Meringue fabric by Marcus Brothers for it and I think it turned out great. I used a two sided fusible very stiff interfacing material and it made the bag super strong and yet I could still sew through it.

I started the quilting Fri. night, sewed it Sat. night and put the handles on Sunday morning. It's a super quick pattern, but with short sewing times, it took me a couple days to finish.

December Quilting Accomplishments!

December was a very productive month for me. While I didn't get all the quilts done I had planned to make for Christmas gifts, I did get several done that weren't on my list.
My December Goals list included
Two Crown Royal Quilts - Abandoned
Two Deer Head pillows - Done
Pheasant Wall Hanging - Done
Java Bistro Quilt - Abandoned
Hunter Wall Hanging - Done
Mini Miranda Bag - Fabric bought

In addition I did a few other projects:
Finished the Crazy Eights Tabletopper - Quilted Using Wool batting
Quilted Ingrid Barlow Quilt for mom
Quilted 12 Days of Christmas Wallhanging for me & Bound
Made, quilted and bound in 3 days - Patchwork Jungle
Quilted Animal Crackers & Miss M's Christmas present for mom
Made, quilted, and bound 8 60* Tablerunners
Made, appliqued, quilted and bound Dad's Pheasant and Paul's Hunter wall hangings

In Other News:
Machine - Elaine went in for service with severe tension headache
I went to two fabulous work Christmas parties and received 8 wonderful purple fat quarters.
Survived a month without my pickup
Received wonderful gifts for Christmas and had a great time with family

My January goals are lofty, but I think I can get a lot done as I'm spending next weekend at quilt retreat!
Mini Miranda - DONE!!
Paul's Wolf Wall Hanging - All pieces are SAS'ed
Courier Bag Class
Two Crown Royal Quilts
Mom and Me Loralie Design Quilts
Brown & Pink Quilt - Happy Hour book pattern
Purple/Teal batik Quilt
2nd Bistro quilt & Wall Hanging
Family of Wolves Applique Wall Hanging