Great Book!

I know I am soooo late in discovering this author, but needed a good book to read for all those times I have to wait here or there for someone. I checked it out from the library and really love it! Its great because it really inspires me to want to hand quilt. I don't belong to a quilt guild, but this book makes you want to! I enjoy the sweet stories & descriptions of the whole quilting process that the character learns. So enjoyable to read! Have you read any of her books & if so, which one is your favorite?

Picture Perfect

I love all the green I'm seeing in the spring! Had my son hold up my newly finished 50X70 quilt using mostly Patty Young fabrics. It was a tad windy, but looked great! More photos on my flickr site with matching valance.

How To Use Spray Baster

I really love the 505 Spray & Fix and use it for basting my quilts. So much easier to quilt with & less time consuming than pin basting. I'm not looking back on that one! :) Someone asked about the process, so I thought I'd post the process with my newest quilt order using mostly Patty Young fabrics. It will be 50X70 finished size. I had my daughter take pics while I sprayed it. Basically all you do is lay your quilt backing wrong side up on your surface. I tape the ends so that it doesn't move but not as much if I was pin basting. I then layer my quilt~ batting next, then the top. Next I place old towels around half of the quilt. Fold half of the top over & half of the batting over. Spray in a sweeping motion over the exposed quilt back. Lay the half of the batting you folded over onto the sprayed back. Smooth, reposition if necessary. Spray the exposed batting the same as the back. Smooth, reposition if necessary the quilt top. Repeat with the other side. It is a dream to quilt as it stays together nicely keeping the bunching to next to nothing. Its very freeing to quilt with no pins in the way! Also, I would keep it flat until you are ready to quilt otherwise you will need to resmooth before you quilt. If you have any questions, I will answer them here. Thanks for reading! Have fun with your quilting!!

Mom and Dad's Bags

I had the opportunity with a custom order to make a diaper bag for both mom & dad. This was a fun order because I hadn't made a bag for a dad yet, and the mom wanted Anna Maria Horner's oilcloth/laminate fabric. More pictures are posted on my flickr site~ link on the right side~ of the inside of these bags. She chose Happy Campers basketweave for the outside and Joel Dewberry's woodgrain & a Happy Campers scene for the inside of the dad's bag. The laminate was a little tricky to work with when the laminated side was face down on my sewing machine and the other side facing up was laminated. I had to kind of manually pull the fabric through. When the non laminated side was down on the sewing machine it was a breeze to sew. I definately need to change my needle now, too as it dulls it a little. All in all, I would make it again. Hope the husband and wife love their bags!

So St Croix Project

Couldn't wait to make this diaper bag for my shop! Love all the brights together! As previously blogged, I won a set of FQ's from Jennifer Paganelli & heres my second project. I made a baby blanket first and it sold right away, so I didn't get to blog about it, but will post a pic on the sidebar later. If that was any indication, So St Croix should be flying off the shelves! :) I added some of Jennifer's other fabrics to the semi log cabin flap. It kinda looked like it was going to be a quilt in my previous post, and I do have one in the works, but this one went to a diaper bag/moms bag. My daughter made a perfect 5'2" model, as so many moms seem to be that height! Now available in my shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42745607

Is it Summer Yet?

I know, spring isn't even here yet, and I'm thinking summer. I just couldn't help but think of my pool water sewing up this blanket. The Bliss Bouquet from Amy Butler looks like a vintage beach print~ can't you just see it in a wrap for your bathing suit? A beach towel trimmed with Jennifer Paganelli's Mary Trellis & Sandi Henderson's Happy Butterfly on a cozy pillow backed with white terrycloth. Oh, can't wait! Not that I spend my summer around the pool, but I can see it from where I sew. :) A girl can daydream!

New Fabrics!

Well, I did it. I broke down and bought some new Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry. I seriously love EVERY print, but settled for a 1 yard pack of these blues because http://www.etsy.com/shop/buttercuppityfabric had a sale over the weekend that I found out from http://fabricshopperonline.com/ so I went ahead and bought these beauties. I love that his fabrics can be masculine or feminine and the color combinations are always amazing. I need to take them upstairs to see what other fabrics go together. I am enjoying that so many designers have navy blue in their lines as I am sorely lacking in the navy blue department! :)

So St Croix WIP

Well, I have stared at my fat quarters I won from Jennifer Paganelli for about a week now. Dozens of projects kept flying around in my head. I finally settled on 2 to begin with. When I went into my fabric room~ (I call it that now because I am just storing fabric & supplies in my sewing room and have moved to my dining room to sew! :) & all of Jennifers past fabric lines jumped into my lap and said, "Use me, too!" Those of you who have seen my past quilts etc. know its hard for me to just sew from one fabric line. Fabric is FUN and I want to use it all!! So this is what I got so far. Stay tuned!