Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Join me in Canada!!!

First things first!  Congratulations to SamathaK for winning my fat quarter bundle giveaway!  By the way - thank you so much for the love on my post.  You are all the best!  I have contacted you Samantha, watch for the email and send me your address. Yay!

Okay, as you know I have a few teaching opportunities happening next year.  I will be in Phoenix, Salt Lake, and Canada - I do have another show later in the year that will be announced when it is a little closer.  So, I just want to highlight my trip to Canada right now.  I will be teaching at a retreat style quilting getaway 
April 8-11, 2014 - it is going to be so fun!  I will be with the amazing Matt and Bradie Sparrow at Sparrow Studios in Edmonton, Alberta.  You have two days with 4 different classes for a total of 16 hours of good times quilting. I am still working on the descriptions for the classes, I know - slacker, but I can tell you that we will cover a lot of what I do now as far as quilting.  Tons of tips and ideas and a lot of fun.  So, to all my Canadian friends and anyone else who wants to come, I want to see you there!   You can sign up for the retreats here. I know there is limited space in each two day retreat so reserve your place now.  I can't wait! 



And because I can't just do a wordy post, here's a picture that makes my heart sing!  Seriously - look at the cover of Kimberly Einmo's newest book. 

Does this quilting look familiar?  Yep, I quilted this fabulous quilt.  I am so excited that it is going on the cover of her new book!!  Woohoo!! Cover girl!  The quilt is just amazing and I know she has wonderful projects planned for her Modern Quilts & More book.  I cannot wait to get my copy, Kimberly does have copies available for preorder in her shop, so check that out here.  The book should be coming out around February 2014.  Anyway, good times to be had, I couldn't be happier to have some of my work showcased with Kimberly's book.  What an honor! 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Share in my excitement with a GIVEAWAY!!!

***Giveaway closed***
So, I received an email this morning letting me know that the final edit for my book would arrive to me today for my final proofing!  Yay! Well, it did, I am working on it - I am still pinching myself.  I feel like this keeps dragging on, but the reality is, once I send this off to my editor, the final edits will be done and then the book will be sent to the printer.  It is so amazing. So, I grabbed my favorite bundle from my own stash. I have been hoarding this Noteworthy FQBundle with 40 fat quarters for a while now, but I want to share in my excitement with you by letting one of you lucky readers win this beautiful bundle.  
Just hop on over to our website and let me know your favorite three pre-cuts by leaving your comment below. After that check out our trick or treat special going on right now. 

Thanks so much everyone!  Good luck!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Romania Charity video is done.....

Thank you again for all your generous donations.  Many Romanians live off of less than $1 a day, so the food they received was eagerly welcomed and enjoyed.  We are grateful to all of you for your willingness to help.  The video is below -


Monday, October 21, 2013

Fire and Ice by Kimberly Einmo

Fire and Ice 1 
So, I have been wanting to share this quilt forever!  I finished it in the summer and I had to wait to blog about the whole quilt.  This quilt is designed by Kimberly Einmo and quilted by me.  The name of the quilt is Fire and Ice and was recently showcased in AQS Quilt Week in Des Moines.  Good news, it received the viewer choice award.  I can hardly contain my excitement!  I have never been part of a viewer choice award and I really think that is the best award out there! You can read all about the award here. The pattern for Fire and Ice will also be featured in the next edition of BEST MODERN QUILTS, due to be published in January, 2014 - So exciting!  Be sure to watch for that. 

Close Up Fire and Ice 2
It has been such a pleasure to get to know Kimberly Einmo, we have become fast friends and I am so excited that I have been able to collaborate on several of her quilts. I am still waiting to share one other quilt that I have finished for her.  I can't wait for that one.
 FireIce1
Kimberly let me do my thing on the quilt.  I had the best time coming up with the quilting design.  It came to me almost immediately.  It was funny because I convinced myself that it wasn't going to be so detailed that it would take a long time.  Boy, was I wrong ;-) It was a time crunch quilt, so it was a little stressful during the process. 

FireIce2
I couldn't be more happy with the results though.

FireIce3


FireIce4


FireIce5


 FireIce6


FireIce7


FireIce8


FireIce9
There is something about quilting texture that makes me so giddy.  Thanks for letting me share this with you! Have a fabulous week!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Beth's quilt.

beths1 
Before I left for Romania, I finished this beautiful applique quilt pieced by Beth.  This quilt is so beautiful and was fun to work on.  Sad thing is, I was in such a hurry to get the quilt sent out that I didn't get the pictures I wanted to.  Oh well, at least I have a few.  So, the quilt is called: Fly Away With Me by Marge George for Material Obsession. This took Beth over a year to complete. 

beths2
The funnest part of the quilt was all the quarter size hexagons.  I loved how cute they were.  I opted to connect curve them individually.  I like how they turned out.  The straight line accents were perfect for the circle blocks. In the main body of the quilt I used my feather swirl free motion quilting. 

beths3
Because the material on the front is cream with black polka dots, it was hard to capture the quilting.  In the border areas I had fun with different fillers and then connect curved all the hexagons. 

beths4
I love how amazing the quilting looks on the back.  This was a fun quilt to stitch up. 

Okay, so now I am back home and in full swing.  The kids have fall break and I am just sneaking enough time away on the computer to post this while the kids finish up their daily chores.  We are having a good time with family and I am treating myself this week and next week to quilting my own quilt. 
I have two patterns that I will be showcasing in the next few weeks.  I am excited about that because it has been a little while since I released a new pattern. I guess I have just been waiting anxiously to show you my book.  Well, good news.  I get to see the last edit of the book next week.  I talked with my editor yesterday and they are working very hard to get my book out.  It has been a tough time getting things back on track since they have had to hire a new executive book editor, but in the end it will all work out. 
Please continue to be patient with me if you have ordered my book through our website.  When you order from me, you are receiving a signed copy.  My book is also available on Amazon. I do not have a release date yet, but as soon as the final edit is finished it will go to the printer.  After that I just wait for the FedEx man to show up with my copies.  It is getting closer, I promise. 

Have a fabulous weekend. 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Romania

 Clint and I left this past week for Romania.  First,  I feel like I need to answer just a couple questions that have come up.  Yes, Clint and I pay for transportation to and from Romania, plus lodging and our own food - all of the donated money from you goes towards the cause.  We like to visit a country in Europe each time we come to Romania since we fly so far to get there. So, please don't forget that 100% of your donations are going to this cause and that Clint and I take care of all the expenses when it comes to the trip.  
Why Romania?  Well, Clint served an LDS mission there for two years back in 1999-2001, so he grew to appreciate and love these people.  No, we do not proselyte while we are in Romania.  We are just trying to help those in need and because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are trying to follow His example of loving His children.
We do donate locally in our own hometown.  Please don't think that we are leaving the people in need of our own community alone.  Romania is just something we like to do in addition to our local charities. I hope that answers all of your questions.

 It was a beautiful day when we left.  I love clouds and flying above them was a treat. We spent a whole day and a half in airports and flying, if you know me - it is so hard for me to fly.  But, I am happy to say that I made it just fine.

 We arrived in Romania in the evening and we got right to work.  We went to the grocery store and started off by buying rice, beans, sugar and oil.  It ended up being a late night, but it was so great.
 The next morning was foggy and grey, but we got an early start and headed back to the grocery store to purchase more food. 

 The above picture is a small portion of what we bought.  We were able to do a lot more this year as far as food because of your donations, and were able to leave a lot of food with Gica to continue handing out for a couple weeks afterwards.  It really was amazing to be a part of this and we thank you for your help. 

 This is Gica and the boys who work with him for the Archway Foundation.  We sponsor them.  Gica spends his days trying to help orphans get identifications. It is hard because you have to have an identification to get a job and you have to have a place of residency to get an identification.  When you live on the streets, it is really difficult to get these two things taken care of.  Gica is a good man who is trying so hard to help the homeless people in Bucharest by helping with identifications and trying to find jobs. In the picture above, the bags are full with rice, beans, potatoes, milk, oil, salami, ham, butter, chocolate, juice, tuna, crackers and more!!  We also gave toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap.  Much more was left with Gica to continue handing out.
 The first area we visited was so humbling.  There were about 15 families living in the same area, they constructed make shift homes about the size of my bathroom.  Those we visit are street orphans who have started having kids of their own.  There are 4-8 kids living with adults in a small room with one bed.  They were so grateful for the food.  It is also amazing to see how resilient the kids are, they are so sweet and happy.  Gica also spends time taking donated clothing to all of these people. 
 We visited a woman who is taking care of her three grandchildren whose mother abandoned them.  She was a sweet woman and the kids were adorable.   The little boy in the picture is cross-eyed and needs to see a doctor.  I am sure it is something that could be easily fixed, but they don't have the means to get him to a doctor.  

 This little girl was so darling. 

 The grandmother gave me three flowers.  It was the sweetest thing I have ever experienced because she would normally try to sell these flowers to make a little money.  It really was an amazing and wonderful experience.  
Clint is going to put together a video with more about our trip.  It is hard to put it all in one post.  Thanks again for your support. 

The country we chose to visit between our layovers this year is Spain.  I will share more of that trip with you later.  Have a wonderful day everyone!

Friday, October 4, 2013

On my mind.....

I finished another "secret project" this week.  I had a lot of fun quilting this particular quilt.  It was simpler quilting for me.  Funny, sometimes I crave simple, but then I miss the detail.  Goes to show that it's hard to be content with where you are at.  ;-)  I will work on that, the content part.  

So, a couple things on my mind.  Do you remember the drama way back when I first started this whole book process?  In a nut shell, my editor left or was fired, they never let me know.  Then, when the book was supposed to come out they called me up and said, hey - we aren't doing your book.  Nice. 

Thankfully, through some amazing support from all of you and some dear friends, I was lead to an amazing publishing company who took on my book idea.  Full force, here we come with the publishing date of August 2013.  Well, sad to say, that date is long gone with no book in hand and now I have people contacting me telling me that my book is selling on Amazon, so why haven't I shipped theirs out yet?  Well, I don't have it, and neither does Amazon.  We are still pre-selling my book, and so is Amazon.  Wouldn't you know it?  My executive book editor left the company mid book process.  Maybe it's me?  I don't know, I think I am supposed to learn patience.  I feel like I have been patient, but I am finding it more difficult because of all of you out there waiting just like me.  You have paid for a product that was supposed to come out two months ago.  I am so sorry about that. 

Good news though, I have had several of you contact me telling me you have seen one of my book projects at AQS Quilt Week in Des Moines.  So, yes - the book is coming out, but with the changes in the company it is taking longer than anyone could have thought.  So, to sum it up, I don't have a release date.  I can't tell you when it will be out, but I can tell you it is close to the final process of being edited.  After that we will have to wait for the printer.  So, please be patient with me while I am being patient with them.  It really is just a hiccup in the process and I hope that it will all be worth it in the end.  I am sorry to all of you who have been waiting, but again - I am so thankful for your support. 

If you haven't pre-ordered it yet and would like to, you can do that here.