Monday, March 26, 2012

Marlene's Quilt


Okay, finally some pictures of this super cute quilt. I have quilted for Marlene before - here and here, so third quilt for her and I had so much fun with this quilt. It was the first time I used my new curved rulers - I love how fun it was using a new tool that gives me more options as far as the quilting is concerned. So, before I go on about the quilting, here are the quilt facts in Marlene's own words:

The pattern is Down in the Garden by Leanne Beasley of Australia. I like to make changes to patterns so I added the wool in place of some embroidery and changed some of the flowers. The fabric line I used was Wild Rose by Blackbird Designs.

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I used two layers of batting, one layer was Hobbs 100% cotton and the other layer was Hobbs 80/20 - I like the combo, it works well and showcases the quilting better.  I also tried Glide thread for the first time, it worked incredibly well - both bobbin and top thread.

So anyway, check out these little beauties!  It was a little tricky maneuvering the curved ruler to get these arches, but I figured it out eventually.  The rulers I used were recommended to me by Jenny, I bought the arc sets, size 12-23" from Renae.  The ruler I used in this quilt was the 12-13" arc. I do like the rulers and I am sure I will be incorporating more of these into my quilts.  


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Isn't it fun how these corners look a little like an owl face?  Can you see it?  I can........

The inside design of the curves is my design and I have it available as a pdf file here.  I am working on getting downloadable pdf files, but for now I will have to email them to you.  This design will include two ways to use this design.  

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The inside borders took some time, I had to mark the 1/2 inch diagonals from each side of the quilt and then quilt them, my straight edge ruler helps with accuracy and the squiggle lines in between give them a fun dimension.  

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This quilt really was a joy to work on because it is a sampler and I can just have fun with the quilting.  Everything is free motion quilting and I love that I got up close and personal to the embroidery, which was done beautifully Marlene! 

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Close up, I just love the way the thread sparkles in the sunshine.  

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It was fun taking some of the blocks and just quilting around the design of the fabric.  The flower here looks so much better showcasing it rather than covering it up with some random quilting design.  

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It really was just fun, it was time intensive - but fun.  

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I have a new goal and that is to try and stipple really small - and well - I have some practicing to do.  

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The back of this quilt tells it's own story, that's for sure.  I love that Marlene sent muslin for the backing.  I always love to show off the quilting and this quilt turned out incredible as a double sided quilt.  

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Owl face again, do you see it now?  

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I am proud of how the stitches look on the back - the tension is always so important and I love seeing the thread on the back of my quilts.  

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 I had a hard time narrowing down the pictures for this post, so I have a ton more pictures on my flickr page.  Just click on one of the pictures and you can see all the pictures that I couldn't include.  

Reality is back and in full swing, thanks for all the sweet comments on my last post.  Clint and I now have a code word for when it gets a little stressful (kids screaming) around this house - we just look at each other and say "Maui." 

Saturday, March 24, 2012

How do you say goodbye to Paradise?


You cry like a baby all the way home and pray you will go back very soon!   First time in Hawaii (Maui) - and I know I am in love.  How can I put into words how incredible this getaway was for me and Clint.  I can't, but I will try........ 


So 10 years - it's crazy to think that we have been married for 10 years, not because it went by super fast, but because of how much has happened in 10 years.  Through the ups and downs, we have sailed through and are moving on to eternity.  I am so grateful that I am married to this incredible man - who bytheby went all out for our 10 year - I love him so much!  

Sorry if this post is a little sappy - can't help it - I am on a little high right now......


The resort we stayed in was so gorgeous.  There was a lot of inspiration here too - funny how I can always find a swirl that brings me back to my quilting.  


It was so green and beautiful - the flowers, incredible!   I can still smell the ocean - I don't think I will ever forget that smell, it was incredible.  


I have always been a sucker for trees - I think they are beautiful! 


A real life hibiscus - now that's gorgeous! 


Thankfully Clint has no qualms about asking strangers to take pictures with the two of us - I hate doing that, but I am glad we got a few people to snap some shots of us together. 


I have a new love for the ocean - I have only been to the ocean in the cold winter months and have only stepped along the ocean shore. What a difference warm weather, water and Hawaii make.  Clint got me in the water and had me jumping the waves too - we saw a sea turtle that swam close to the shore and whales jumping in the distance - it was so amazing.  I also found out that I actually float in the water (who knew) - we took a canoe trip and I got in the ocean with 40 feet of water beneath me - it was an amazing feeling until I remembered that I am paranoid about sharks.  :) Don't worry, I didn't see any........


It's hard to describe how I felt the whole time - I literally bawled like a baby because I looked around me at the incredible beauty that God has blessed us with, I was with my best friend and everything was perfect.  It was so nice stepping out of reality for a few days and remembering what is truly important - the love we have for God and each other.  


On our Anniversary night we ate at the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - say that 10 times in a row :) It was a very romantic and the sunset was incredible.  


This is me laughing at our tiny dessert that we shared - this little piece of chocolate mousse was 14 bucks - holy cow!  It was also funny when we got our appetizer and entree's - I don't think I could eat there again because this girl is a little more, okay a lot more hungry than that....... 


Night time service at the hotel.  Seriously, the nicest people are Hawaiians - I have never felt more welcome in any place I have traveled to.  


All our food was fun and creative - I loved the basket of fries, the sandwich was incredible too.  


Heaven help me face the reality that is and remember the time I had with my man! 
 

Monday, March 19, 2012


I have this quilt done - I have all the pictures taken and loaded on the computer, but I am up way too late trying to narrow down 46 pictures to 10 and it just isn't working!  So, instead you get a little teaser and when I get back from Hawaii - oh I could just pinch myself - then I will post on this quilt and the new ruler I used.  

Grandma and Aunt Amy are here to watch the kids while Clint and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary (Wednesday) in Hawaii - it's my first time going and Clint has planned an amazing trip for us. So, have a great week everyone! I know I will :)

Thursday, March 15, 2012


 You know when you get an idea in your head and you just have to try it out?  Well, this is a result of an idea that I have been mulling around in my head for a while now.  So, add this to my works in progress list.  I can't wait to see if it turns into what my head can see......that remains to be seen.

Quick change to a different subject.............HAHA!
So, what does it mean if I keep having dreams about my teeth falling out?  Seriously - I can't take it anymore.  I have had several of these dreams lately - one that ended on a seriously funny note of my teeth getting sewn back in -- What's weird is my teeth ALL fall out - not just one, but all.   It's a true nightmare for me, but my dreams have been so crazy lately and the teeth falling out just takes the cake!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

New Tool Means New Possibilities!


New Tool, New possibilities!

Well, I think it is about time that I got me some curved rulers! More on which ones I got and how I like them once this quilt is finished. Believe it or not - I have a lot more detail going into these little beauties. I am so excited about this quilt! Really though, when am I not excited about a quilt? Anyway - I am loving the new options and play time I have been having with this ruler. It's been fun! I can't wait to get it finished! I am also trying out some new thread, I will let you know how that is going too.........

Okay, as far as the shop is concerned, we have all our Layer Cakes on clearance until Monday night, so hurry on over and get yours! Plus, we have some new Riley Black FQBundles in stock, like this one -


Have a great weekend everyone!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Quilt along update......


Since this is my first quilt along, I will have to show you my blocks as I finish them up.  I have never ever sewn a curve - my whole entire quilting life.  Well, I did on Saturday night and it was a lot easier than I thought.  This block was from Jenny's Urban Deco Tutorial, the added design to the Urban Nine Patch quilt along and I love how it turned out.  This was my practice block - it won't be going into a quilt because I don't like that 3 of the 4 points aren't lined up exactly on the black. That is my fault of course - the cutting needs to be exact and I made a couple mistakes on that part.  But, it was good practice - it was so much fun learning a new skill. So, I recommend trying out Jenny's ruler if you want to learn curves!  

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I made a minor change to the block, using a square instead of a half square triangle in the corners - I am thinking ahead of the quilting possibilities, of course.  So, I need to figure out how to make the yellow ovals seamless, then make the white outside strips just a little bigger.  What I loved about it this tutorial was that everything was made a little bigger, then cut out so that the end result were straight, square blocks.  I did starch every single piece of fabric before I sewed them together, I think that help with the fabric not moving. 

Now I just need to decide if this is truly the color combo I want to go with - I wanted to try something out of the box for me, but it isn't singing my colors. I'll let you know if I change my mind on the color variations.  

One more thing, thanks for all the love on my last post.  Lili was so happy for all the sweet comments.  I showed her how many people said good job and she beamed!  I will have to think of our next project very soon!  Have a lovely day!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Sewing day with Lili


My daughter has been begging me to sew with her for a while now.  We got her a machine last summer and she sewed a few practice lines on fabric, but since school has been in we haven't done anything else with her machine. Although, for today's project I let her use my machine.  I kept thinking of fun things we could make that were somewhat fast, knowing me I kept adding more detail in my head - but to make it easy I had her pick out 4 layer cake squares.  Here she is on her first two squares.  


Since she has a perfectionist mother (poor thing) - I made her resew two of the squares because the lines weren't straight enough.  I showed her how to pin and she controlled the foot pedal to make sure she stopped right before the pins and then took them out. 


Here's the top - simple enough, but we aren't done!  We cut out batting and a backing - she did that too. It was so darling how she kept saying "I can do it myself Mom." Then we drew one inch lines using a blue water marker.  I held the ruler, she drew the lines.  


Now, to the quilting.  I told her to just sew along the blue lines.  She's really concentrating here - see her tongue sticking out?  She may or may not have gotten that from me :) 


She quilted this whole thing!  I am so proud of her! 


I confess, I did the binding - she wanted to do it.  But, the perfectionist, almost impatient mother in me had to take over.  I promised to teach her that some day. I am proud of the fact that she had fun, and that I didn't get too crazy not being able to take over and quilt it quicker!


We took it outside to get some pictures - I let Lili do that too.  I told her to get a close up of the quilting.  She did awesome for her first quilting project!  When she was showing Clint the finished quilting, she kept point out her mistakes - funny, I think we have another perfectionist on our hands.  


Another picture by her - I just couldn't resist posting this with her foot in the picture.  I want to remember this little project and the fun we had.  I am so happy she is showing an interest in my interests.  It's going to be so fun to teach her everything I know. 


She did awesome! 


Now she has a cute little night stand topper that will go great with the quilt and pillows that I am making for her.  What a day!  

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Butterfly

Butterfly Quilt Pattern

Okay - here's Butterfly! My new pattern revamped from my oldish pattern. I love how I designed this so much better and the colors, well - I think I am in love! I have always been a sucker for pink and green, add in brown and I think it is the perfect combo. The cute flower fabric was a perfect fit.

The above picture was the best shot I got for the cover of my pattern, but the corner was chopped off by my lack of photography skills - or the fact that I had 2.2 seconds to take pictures before I picked up #2 from preschool. I don't know if I will use this as the cover, I might just have to go and get a better, non chopped picture. But, I do love the lighting and the background. Anyway, I am rambling......

Butterfly Quilt Pattern

The thing that I love about this pattern is that it is easy! Strip piecing and it's done so fast. But, since we love precuts, this quilt can also be made with some yardage and a layer cake or a few fat quarters from your stash. It would be an awesome scrappy butterfly quilt.

Butterfly Quilt Pattern

And this is where I have to show my guilt for not giving this quilt a custom quilt job. Oh, the things I could do - but, I want you to focus on the design and not the quilting. So, that's why I quilted a free motion allover swirl.

Butterfly Quilt Pattern

Have I ever told you that I love pieced backs? Well - I do! So, the quilt really is reversible and I hope, just hope that my sister and her new baby will love it!

I have the instructions all finished and ready to go, I am just finalizing the cover. You can buy the pattern here if you would like and the patterns will ship out Monday.