Saturday, February 22, 2014

QnnTv Episode available now...

QNNTV1 
So, back in the summer I went in for a taping with HandiQuilter for their show Quilt It!  I had a fabulous time even though I was crazy nervous and my hair was significantly shorter ;-) You can find the first of three episodes here.
Before the show I put together a little runner to show some of my quilting.  It was so fun to make and I am happy to finally share this project with you.
   
QNNTV2
I showed off one of my templates from my project "Irish Lass" in my book. You can see it in this picture without dense quilting around the template....

QNNTV3
...and here is the dense quilting version of the block.  I like it a lot better! I filled in the rest of the table runner with a lot of fun and random quilting.  

QNNTV4
I hope you give this a try and I really hope you like the taping - please don't tell me if you don't ;-)

QNNTV5
And, a shot of the back.  I love this quilting.  I have been MIA with quilting lately, but I am happy to say that my next quilt is going on the frames in a couple minutes and I can not wait to get back to quilting.  I will keep you posted!


Friday, February 14, 2014

Phoenix AQS QuiltWeek 2014

New shoes and ugly carpet could only mean I am sitting in an airport ;-)
  Last week was a big week for me.  A couple of firsts happened.   My first solo trip, my first teaching gig and my first time judging in a quilt competition.  To say I wasn't nervous is a flat out lie, seriously.  Who chooses this?  Anyway...it was better than I thought.  Read on. 

My small little airport. 
 I have decided that flying isn't all that bad.  I don't plan on living in fear for the rest of my life, so I said a prayer to ask for comfort while I traveled, plugged in some seriously calming music on my iPod and I was good to go.  It was tough leaving Clint and the kids though, they pulled at my heart strings as I said goodbye Monday morning. Lili was bawling as Clint pulled out of the garage, it was so sad.

Monday night was lonely.  I didn't talk to anyone, but I did have a lovely view of the city buildings from my hotel room.  It was beautiful. 

Tuesday was a bonus day and the start of this great week.  I picked out my favorite shirt for the week and headed out early to be a part of judging for the quilt competition.  That was fun!  I was able to see all the quilts before the show started and I was part of picking out the Best of Show.  What a task, but it was fun and I felt more at ease with my upcoming teaching after I left. 

I had my own classroom all week - it was all "official" with the sign.  

I was able to meet some amazing ladies, I could only get five of them in this picture.  They put me at ease and we had the best time in the classroom.  I can not thank them enough for taking my classes, they were so good to me. 

After the first classes, I felt more at home in the classroom and I realized how fun it is to teach.  I didn't realize that this is where I would be headed with my quilting, but I am so grateful that I get to teach what I love to do.  

I had a great time with Elaine Brelsford, Executive Editor for AQS Publishing.  It was fun to chat with her and she helped me feel at ease when I had to get in front of the camera.  I was taped 3 different times and that was new to me, I know there will be a very long blooper reel of me being ridiculous that hopefully never surfaces - fingers crossed ;-)
 
 One of the best parts of the show was being reunited for a moment with my Queen's Cross quilt.  It is making the rounds throughout the AQS QuiltWeek shows in the Author's Exhibit, so I haven't had this quilt in my possession for a long time.  It is a favorite of mine and I just loved seeing it hung up so beautifully.

  After a very long show I was able to put my feet up for a minute.  It was amazing.  The week went so fast, I am happy to say I had only one, very short breakdown (because I missed my family) on Friday. Being away from them for a week was tough, but we made it through. 

I had the chance to go through the show book and saw my quilts pictured on the AQS QuiltWeek page.  This was a total honor!  Thank you AQS!!

  The best part of the week was getting to know the other instructors.  I have made some lifelong friends and I feel so blessed to have gotten to know Linda and Melinda.  They are two very talented women!  I met some other great instructors but sadly didn't get pictures with them.  Next time for sure! 

I made it home.  I almost missed my connection in Salt Lake City.  I literally ran from gate C to E and had one minute to spare.  I felt like I was in a movie and everyone was watching the crazy lady running in the airport.  I was so excited to be home though and didn't care one bit that they were watching. 

Seriously, there is no place like home. 


Monday, February 10, 2014

New Pattern! Serendipity!

Serendipity by Judi Madsen 
I am so excited to finally share my newest pattern with you!  Serendipity has been in the works for awhile now and I am so thankful to AQS for publishing this with me.  This was one of the projects that was going to be included in my book, but sadly we couldn't add it because the page count was already too high.

Pattern sneak peek
It is one of my favorite patterns I have designed.  The quilting is over the top and I had so much fun with it, you can see the detail of the back in the above picture.  I just love it.  All of the instructions for the quilting with templates are included in this pattern.

Pattern sneak peek2
We also gave four different color ways to show you that you don't have to stick with the turquoise and black theme when you are piecing your own quilt. 
 Serendipity block
I am so happy to finally share the quilting with you. I hope you like it.  You can order the pattern here. The pattern is a little more than my regular patterns because it is a booklet style pattern with step by step instructions and the quilting templates included.  You are going to love it!

Also, stay tuned for my post about Phoenix.  I had a great time and I can't wait to share with you how my week went. 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Sunrise, Sunset


 Many of you know that I have an obsession with sunrises and sunsets.  Nothing in this world (besides the hubby and kids) gives me more happiness.  I am always amazed at the love that I feel when I take a moment to reflect on the simple beauty that God gives us each day with these beautiful sunsets. So, I had to share this sunset from last week with you.  It was gorgeous. 
Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Phoenix (AQS QuiltWeek) by myself just trying to wrap my head around how I got here.  I know how it happened - a lot of hard work and dedication to goals, but it is amazing and sometimes it is surreal.  The journey has been over 5 years in the making and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunities I have been given because of quilting. I must admit, I cried like a baby as I said goodbye to our kids this morning - I miss them, but I am excited (and nervous) about this week.
      
Teaching - I have found, requires a lot of preparation and that is why I haven't been blogging as much as I want to.  I haven't finished a project in a while.  So, just know that I miss being on here and sharing my finished projects with you.  I have a new pattern out and I will share that with you as soon as I can. I hope to share this week with you as well.  Hopefully, I will be able to conquer the anxieties I have about teaching and it will be a great experience.  Have a great week everyone!