What a weekend!

Happy Tuesday!
So, I had huge, grand plans of accomplishing tons of stuff in the sewing zone this weekend....and then along came the creepy crud. It crept right on in and took over my life! Grrrrr!!!! However, I still managed to do this.....


Well....this I did last week for Civil War Tribute last Wednesday. I made 4 of these little buggers! I am really looking forward to seeing this quilt done. I've enjoyed the process but the excitement level is getting pretty high!





Since I wasn't feeling very well, I made all the half square triangles for the rest of my Civil War Chronicles quilt because that was mindless sewing :) I doesn't look like much in the picture but trust me....there's over 300 HST there. Now all I have left are the bazillion for the border!





I also intended to get all the sewing done for Groovy Girls on Saturday, but this stack just sat there. Tonight this is going to become 5 projects! Watch out!!!



I finished the last of the log cabin blocks and even got a couple rows together.



Plus....I spent a ton of time cleaning and organizing my sewing space...it's so nice down there I have a hard time working on stuff. For real, it's so clean and nice I just want to sit and watch movies at my sewing machine because I don't want to mess it up!!

That's all  for now, folks!

Enjoy the sunny tropical paradise we're having in S.MN!

Hope all this nice weather doesn't confuse my tulips into thinking it's time to come up!

~K

Hometown Picnic

I've been a busy girl...the top is all pieces and pressed.

I think I may add a border even though the pattern doesnt call for one.

a little close up...

So what do you think...border or no border....hmmmm

Border?
No Border?

~K

Hometown by Sweetwater

A buch of Hometown jelly rolls came in the other day and boy am I excited!

I've had this book for a couple months now because I LOVE everything in it! I think the cover quilt will be what I make out of Hometown. I'm guessing there will be kits at the store-  

I'm retreating with some great friends on Sunday.....bet ya can't guess what I'll be working on ;)

~K

Under layer 2

I've been working hard and have manged to peel off another layer of my design wall.

Last time you saw it my wall looked like this:

I spent about an hour searching for the missing bottom row blocks only to discover that they never existed because when I sewed the one row together so I could demonstrated positioning the applique blocks on the border when i taught the class I sewed too many blocks together making a row of 8 which should have been 7 and I had the 1 extra block because I always make an extra just in case something were to happen and I needed a spare and sometimes I even stitch this extra block into the back and use it as the label using a pigma / fabric pen to write all the important stuff on it so the new owner of the quilt knows all about it...wow...that was probably one of my all time best run on sentances.
Here are all the blocks sewn together and the one border appliqued.

...and I got a lot of pins back. all of these guys were holding the pieces up on the wall.

But, with a little help from their mama, they made it safely back home.

And after I peeled off that beautiful layer of pieced and appliqued goodness, I was left with this work of art: The first three months of my Civil War Tribute quilt pieced together. I even scooted around the edge with my walking foot (using a 1/8" seam) to hold all those little seams together.

As you can see, I'm one step closer to what I was  really excited to show you!

Hopefully I'll get things finished this weekend so I can make the big reveal on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend....I'll be at the fair doing horsey things :)

~K

I'm a 2800 kind of girl...you?

It's no secret, I love thread! You may even call me a "thread head". My personal favorite is Aurifil and I think all the employees at the shop feel the same about it. Simply put, it's good stuff. It runs through the machine nicely and doesn't tend to lint up. Here's my personal collection:

After much contemplation, I've some how managed to narrow it down to my top 4 used. I tried for top 3, but that didn't work to well. Here they are:

here they are again:

Out of those 4 pretty little ladies, this girl here is my all time #1 used thread.I go through spools and spools of this goodness...brace yourself, you may be shocked by what you're about to see!

It's a light tealish, greenish, bluish. Works wonderfully with 30's reproduction fabrics, pastelish things and of course my all time #1- Fig Tree fabrics. My basement lacks the goodness of natural sunlight so the picture doesn't do justice to it's stunning beauty. However, it's true color is a little more evident in the first picture.

Oh yeah, hey there little guy, I use you a lot too. Okay, I'll add and a fifth favorite just for you little "beaver" colored guy. Leave it to beaver!

So, if you haven't tried this good stuff yet, tread yourself to a spool next time you're in the store. If you're already an addict, pick up a couple new spools....maybe give 2800 a try. Careful though, 2800 tends to wiggle its way into your world and trust me, you just won't be able to let her go!!

So, what's your thread color of choice?

PS: Stop back tomorrow to see what was under the second layer of my design wall.

~K

I have recieved no benefit, pay or compensation from Aurifil thread for promoting their product. Ijust like their stuff :)

Pealing back the layers....

I really want to show you something.....but it's under here somewhere:

My design board (aka a piece of pink foam insulation which is to be covered with a piece of muslin) has been taken captive in the hostage situation in my sewing zone which has too many projects in action!
So, under here somewhere is something really cool....at least I think so. So in attempt to liberate this fascinating thing that I want to show you, I sewed and sewed and sewed....

This top part is the center section of a baby quilt for my friend...most of the X's are from the Fig Tree fabric line Wimsey we had in the store a couple years ago. The background is from a current baby line in the store that is really cute....I would have used the whole line however, it did't use the colors I wanted. The pattern is from Miss Rosie's Schibbles Times Two book, pattern "X Rated". I plan to add a wide outer border

 

Here are my bordering options....I think I like the one with the inner border....it adds a little pizzazz I think.

And then...I'm going to add a little machine applique owl in the wide border. The owl is from the pattern "Remember Whoooo Loves You" by Acorn Quilt Company.

For some reason, this picture won't upload in the correct direction....
You'll have to use those necks to turn your heads :)

I've now whittled my way down to this:

Remember this guy? I started him in the Spring to use as a teaching aid when I taught the class. There are still a couple of these jelly rolls left I think. Maison DeGrance by French General for Moda. You also can see  toward the bottom a sneak peek of one of the things I'm so excited for you to see :)

I'm still whittling away! Hopefully pealing off another layer soon!
Oh yeah, I now know where all my pins went!
~K

There's a hole in my finger!

Seriously, there is a hole in my finger...It's quite small like the eye of a needle and on the top of my right hand middle finger. It's there and it's from binding and wool projects and not wearing a thimble when I should have. I have a love hate relationship with this hole...you see, he and I have been through a lot together...a lot of thread that is :)  I often take a break from hand sewing to give the skin a chance to grow back together. Then I start going through withdrawls and head back to hand stitching thinking that it's all better and the callous will protect me. WRONG! Time after time I'm wrong and within the first couple stitches, the eye of the needed finds the hole and jabs me....right....in...the....needle hole. I can say that I graduated from college with honors, yet I'm still not smart enough to learn just to wear the stinkin thimble.

Here's what I have to do this weekend: Bind, bind, bind.

Top to bottom: Schnibble, schnibble, twin, baby, couch throw, queen

I'm thinkin a movie marathon to go with my bidnding phenomenon!

Hang in there finger hole....my life would not be the same without you!
~K

B & B Night

The other night was B & B night at my place...

Backs and Bindings.

When I can't get motivated to work on any particular project, B & B night happens. This occurance comes to be every other month or so. Here's what happens on B & B night... I piece and starch backs and get bindings all ready to sew on for all of my pending projects....any top finished, nearly finished, or on the pile to get cut and made up in the near future. I didn't get as many completed the other night as I usually do, but I have to leave some for my next B & B night :)

Now I'm all "backed up" for a while
and in such a bind too!

~K





I've got the Bug bug!

OK, so I've never been one to make a pattern more than once (besides schnibbles that is). However, I've recently found myself addicted to June Bug....I LOVE making this quilt.

I made this one which hangs in the shop:

Fabric: It's A Hoot

And this one for my friends beautiful baby:

Fabric: Bliss

And I started this one Thursday so I'd have one to demo on when I teach the class:

Fabric: Maison de Garance Jelly Roll

Yep, I'm using a way different fabric genre....I LOVE it!

It's going to look awesome in my home....
or at the Good Earth Village Quilt Auction this fall.

It's going to have a red border, brown binding and the print piece is for the back.

(as shown above)

However, I got to caught up in applique last night 

and made them all leaving nothing to demo.

You know what that mean don't you....

You got it, I get to do it again :)

This time I may just do a few blocks and make a table topper-

There is such thing as too much of a good thing!

PS: I think I should mingle my work life with my personal life and use my securities license to buy stock in the Steam-A-Seam company....between all the wool projects I do and this new obsession with applique, I go through more of that stuff than you could ever imagine!

I'm off let off a "Bug Bomb" in my sewing area!

~K

Doing the Fandango Tango!

Two of the projects I've been working on lately are out of the fabric line

Fandango by Kate Spain for Moda (of course)

You can visit her blog here.

The first project is the My Favorite Bag by Kati Cupcake

I'm also teaching the class on this one March 2, 6-8:30

It has TONS of pockets and style and would be a great traveling bag OR

a fabulous diaper bag (it even comes with a bonus pattern for a diaper clutch!)

I love the use of grommets and the sash...

they also have you sew timtex into the bottom for stability

This is one well thought out bag / pattern!

The second project is the FREE Moda Bake Shop pattern

Geese in the Park....yep, the one is was so excited about :)

This one used a layer cake...I just happened to have this one sitting on the shelf...

I got it with my 2010 Moda U dollars so it only cost me around $10!

This one is going to look fabulous hanging up in my house for the summer.

Now I need to find some border fabric...hmmm...

(In case you're wondering, it's hanging on top of another quilt...that's why there's some red around the edge :) )

You would never guess, but it's made using flying geese.

Here's a close up...

I think this would make a great graduation quilt...

It's pretty simple and goes together quickly...

It uses just a layer cake and some background...

With different colors it could look quite "manly"...

FREE Pattern...that looks a little more "modern"...

Have a FANTABULOUS day and if you're in the S. MN area,

enjoy the weather while it's here

~K

Giggle, Giggle, Quilt, Giggle, Giggle

This year for her birthday, I gave my little cousin K some 3" strips and a little "my first sewing machine". The gift also came with a sewing day with me....so....Saturday was the big day and here's what we came up with.

(Note: She's 7 and her birthday is 2 days before mine 20 years apart.....she tells me "we're like twins, Kate"....and our kindergarten pictures look "just the same".)

We had to use my sewing machine because

A) It had speed control

B) hers has one stitch length.....1/4" long!

We made the simple quilt where you sew all the short ends together to make a looooong snake.

Then giggle for a while.

Then fold in half RST and sew the length...repeat and giggle till you have a quilt.

When it came time for the back I told her we had 2 options:

A) One big piece of pink or

B) 2 pieces of "soft stuff"

She jumped up and down saying "soft stuff, soft stuff, soft stuff."

and then giggled for about 10 min.

She loves it and is taking it to school for show and tell...

and she thought it would be a good idea if she took me for show and tell too :)

I told her that just the quilt was probably enough!

And then she giggled some more-

~K

I've gotta make this...ASAP!!!

Do you ever see a pattern/kit and say to yourself

"I GOTTA make that"

That's how I feel about the Geese in Central Park FREE pattern at the Moda Bake Shop. It was love at first sight....we all know I have a unique fascination with flying geese!

I even have a Fandango layer cake just sitting on the shelf waiting for a project.

It was meant to be :)

This pattern would also look nice out of darker colors too!

Check it out...you'll love it

Bet ya can't guess what I'm going to sew on tonight?!

~K