Nacho Mama's Quilt

New Blog Address

2010-06-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, Mom,

I bought my domain name, so I moved everything over to my new blog. Please update your Google Reader with my new url and join me over there.

New Home!

2010-05-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

Folks, I'm taking an adventure. Come with me!

Stimulated Economy

2010-05-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

I did a bit of shopping. But I have excuses.

Have you tried to find any of this lately? Nope. Not hardly available unless you want canvas or the new line Pure.

One thing I've learned is that you MUST buy yardage when you buy pre-cuts, and since I have a couple charm packs of Hushabye, I needed this to go with it.

Okay, so this Dolce was only $5.99 a yard here, so I had to get six yards to keep my other Dolce fabrics company. (Hurry, sale ends 5/17)

And remember this quilt? Well, someone else requested one, so I'm on the hunt for this Marcus Brothers Metro Au Naturale fabric. Can't find it anywhere! If you see it somewhere, please let me know because I need to make this into a king...not sure yet how I'm going to turn 6 FQ into a king-size quilt.

I had to buy these because the FQ's here were 10 for $15. Yes, I bought 30 (not all are shown in this pic). For some reason Civil War reproductions are speaking to me.

And these are supposed to end up as a man quilt, but I'm not sure they are as manly as they need to be. Which is a shame since I have 11 yards. What do you think? Do they work together? These are also Civil War repros.

And I've been stalking this pattern ever since I saw the one Ryan made for QuiltDad.

Loving Kaffe Fassett, I ran into a BOM using his fabrics. Like I could say no... BTW, the picture does not show how vibrant the quilt really is. It was so lovely I almost licked it in the store. (TMI??)

No longer am I a vision of organized loveliness.

Wonky WIP

2010-05-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here's what I'm working on now, but I still have three more rows to stick up there. Thinking about white sashing-- what do you think? Once again, sorry for only taking pics at midnight. I must find better lighting.

Friday Finish-Mary Engelbreit

2010-05-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! A Friday finish. I am so glad to put this quilt behind me-- just in time for AmyLouWho's Sew & Tell, too. This quilt was from a mystery class using layer cakes. I love the backing-- just a fun plaid from who-knows-when.

Also, Erika gave me the privilege of quilting her first quilt. Go visit her blog-- she has immaculate taste. She has a real eye for color, so there's always something inspiring to see. Here's a taste of her quilt.

It just makes me want to eat sweet tarts. Simply delicious.

Have a good weekend. I hope you guys get some sewing done. As for me, I'll be spending the weekend with family in Houston. Happy Mother's Day, Girls. Mom, wish you were here.

Winner, Winner! Oh, and of course a Chicken Dinner!

2010-05-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

You know, Cinco de Mayo is big around here. Not only is it a holiday, but it's my son's 5th birthday. It's also his teacher's birthday, and we love her! In honor of this day, I'm sharing one of my weeknight recipes that's super easy. It takes about 10 minutes to make, start to finish. No kidding! It's also great for summer because it's light. You can eat this in 100 degree weather without feeling miserable.

Chicken Tacos with Salsa Verde Cream

2/3 c light sour cream
2 T green chiles, diced (from the can)
2 T cilantro (fresh)
1/4 t salt
a dash of something spicy, like pepper paste or cayenne or something
12 taco shells, warmed
4 c shredded chicken breast (cooked)
cheddar, grated
1/2 c shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, chopped

Stick the taco shells in the oven while you prepare the salsa verde cream.
Combine the sour cream, chiles, cilantro, salt, and pepper paste (or whatever you're using for a hint of heat) in a small bowl.
Fill shells with equal amounts of chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes. Top each with 2 T of sour cream mixture.

*Added note: This is only a 10 minute recipe if you keep cooked chicken on hand or have some leftover rotisserie chicken. or grilled chicken. or frozen Tyson fajita chicken. Oh, and you must have your oven preheated.
**One more thing-- this is a light recipe, not like many of my Mexican recipes! Like I said, it's a weeknight recipe.
***And if you live in Houston or San Antonio area, go to HEB and buy the seasoned, cooked, shredded chicken in the meat section. It's perfect for this or enchiladas or whatever.

And now for the winner of the giveaway-- #38 Susana! Susana, I'll e-mail you and send your goodies before the week is over! I hope you enjoy them. As for the rest of you, stay tuned for more quilting, more Mexican recipes, and possibly more Mexican vanilla.

Lilly Pulitzer at Wal-Mart?

2010-05-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm trying not to shop much since I need to buy a farm, but sometimes, I just can't help myself. It's necessary. Like, for instance, when you see Lilly Pulitzer sponsored animal crackers. Really? Lilly just doesn't seem like the type who would have items for sale at Wal-Mart, so I'm just giddy. Now I don't have to drive 30 minutes to the mall to see her wares, or even turn on the computer. Nope, I just have to open my pantry, which is something I'm doing way too often anyway. (Speaking of diets, I'm 5 pounds down... from my ten pound weight gain... after my twenty pound weight loss. Heck, I don't even know where I am any more, but wherever I am, I'm in tight pants, hence the diet.).

I also picked up a stack at my LQS for a sample I'm making. I'm going to teach a class, so I need fabrics from the shop to make my display. More on that later.

And I picked up some charm packs because I'm completely addicted to half square triangles, thanks to a certain someone. (Thanks, Rita!) In fact, here's how my Nouveau project is going. Yep, it's growing.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway. You have until Tuesday at 8pm CST. Good luck!

I heart the mail man [sic].

2010-04-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

It was definitely a good mail day! First up, a Kona color card I won over at The Purl Bee. Just think, they were busy moving into their new space, and they still found time to stick my prize in the mail. Thanks, guys! BTW, have you seen the pics of their new shop? I'm dying to visit. Makes me want to do some handwork....as if I don't have a bajillion bindings to do.

Also, remember how I said I needed to find a way for my quilting addiction to pay for itself? Well, I ordered mini moo cards after I saw how cute Carla Barrett's were. All business people have cards, right? Yes, I needed some. First I saw the cute box which whispered, "Open them. Quick!"

And I did. I love that they put a little divider for "mine" and "theirs." That's so optimistic! They think I'm going to have friends who have mini moo cards:-) If you have one, will you send it to me? That way I can have at least one behind the tab!

But then I pulled out the little cards (they are only 3x1 inches!!).

Yes, those are pictures of my quilts on the back, with my detail information on the front. Aren't those moo people clever?! They are also very affordable. (No, they aren't my sponsors.) They also estimated that it would take almost two weeks. Nope. They arrived in one. I went to the mailbox thinking I'd get grocery ads, but no, I got moo cards. Yea, me!

I think the cards are working, too, despite the fact that I haven't passed out a single one. Yes, people have been paying me to quilt lately. Heck, I just thought if I put "professional" that people would assume it was true since "rookie" longarm quilter seems less enticing. Oh, well! Anyway, I just feel like such a big girl!

Wordless WIP Wednesday- such a thing?

2010-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lila Tueller

2010-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been carrying this Lila Tueller jellyroll for a while, and I finally found something to do with it! yea! I'm going to use it in my next mystery class. No, the other two fabrics aren't from the same line; however, the green fabric is another Lila Tueller-- just another line.

Don't forget about the giveaway. It ends May 4 at 8pm CST.

Giveaway- 50th Post!

2010-04-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

50 posts already? This is my first giveaway, and I had the hardest time trying to come up with something. I ended up gathering some things that were special to Texas/San Antonio/me. If you haven't been here, please come visit. I'll go ahead and send your souvenirs now. All you have to do is leave a comment. I'll (try to) use a random generator to pick a winner on Tuesday, May 4 at 8pm-ish (CST).

Here's what's in the giveaway:

1. Your very own San Antonio Riverwalk reusable grocery bag (never been used!)
2. Julio's tortilla chips (let me know if you need a good salsa or chile con queso recipe to go with them.)
3. Mexican vanilla (use this in place of vanilla extract). It. will. change. your. life. No kidding.
4. Two Texas fat quarters (Moda)
5. Two Dia De Los Muertos fat quarters (Alexander Henry)
6. A bluebonnet fat quarter-- our state flower! (Moda)
7. One of my coveted Virgin Mary (Love her!) panels (Robert Kaufman)

Good Luck!

Giveaway FAQ's
Q: If we're related, can I still win?
A: Yes, Mom.

Q: If I don't like Texas, can I have something else?
A: What did you have in mind?

Q: Why didn't you put any Texas A&M things in here?
A: Accident.

Q: When I come to San Antonio, may I take you to lunch?
A: Yes, please!

Any other questions? Just e-mail me or leave them in the comments.

Fiesta & Fruit

2010-04-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite time of year. For the next several months, it's all about fresh fruit, veggies, and farmer's markets.

It's also time for Fiesta in San Antonio! Everyone was out of school Friday for Battle of the Flowers parade. The city is vibrant-- parties everywhere, girls with flowers in their hair, embroidered Mexican cotton dresses and skirts, and floral wreaths adorn the doors on our homes. Have you been to San Antonio before? This is indeed the best time of year to visit-- during Fiesta.

Three Guesses

2010-04-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

Three guesses what I've been doing this week...

... yep. More feathering. I quilted 4 quilts this week. Anyway, three quilts were for one of my gal pals, and this one will hopefully be done tomorrow. I loaded this big sucker last night, and I worked on it for about 8-9 hours today. Really. So, when I have something big to show you, I'll be back!

Other excitement? Well, this is my 50th post, so there will be a giveaway. I have part of the prize, so let me gather the rest, and I'll meet you back here:-)

I'm a feathering fool, and I'm not talking hair!

2010-04-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

I was determined to figure out how to feather quilt, so I used the Sally Terry Hooked on Feathers method, and after the test panel, I jumped right in and feathered one of Kim's quilts (Fabric is Astor Manor).

I do have a lot of practice and learning ahead of me. For instance, I don't know how to bury my knots. Yeah, need to figure that out. And I need to work on my points. Oh, and my hand-eye coordination still isn't where it needs to be. But I do like the overall effect.

Oh, and Mom, you can click on the pics to enlarge them.

This is a throw-sized quilt with about seven hours of labor involved on the long arm. That includes loading it and winding bobbins, too. I had to load it twice in order to get the side borders as a continuous layout.

How are you spending your Sunday afternoon? I heard golf is going to be on my tv from 1pm until forever. I guess that means I'm sewing.

The "Before" Shot- feather quilting

2010-04-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

It's always important to take photos before and after your diet, right? Well, you sure aren't getting a photo of me in spandex biker shorts and a sports bra, but I will give you my "before" pic of my feather quilting.

One of the thing I love about long arm quilting is that your improvement rate is exponential. In fact, I can tell which end of practically any quilt I started quilting because the other end looks so much better. Anyway, this was my first try quilting feathers, and I wanted to document the occasion. They look way better than I had anticipated. By the time I finish this 4 yard piece of practice fabric, I'm thinking I'll be ready to use real fabric.

Oh, and regarding the photo-- please ignore the gimp feather on the right. You know the one. I ran out of thread there and apparently I messed up my mojo. Oh, and ignore my chalk lines. But hey, pretend this was on a busy piece of fabric. It would look 1000 times better, I'm sure!

Diets:-(

2010-04-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Did I mention my husband and I started a diet a month ago? He lost 11 pounds the first two weeks, and I lost 1 1/2. I think I've since found the lost pound. Anyway, aside from us dieting, we have a new diet in mind. A fabric diet. Yes, you heard me.

Here's the issue. We want a farm. Well, not 40 acres, but maybe 10. I want to be able to have some chickens so I can have fresh eggs. Yes, I've heard chickens are disgusting, but please, let me hang on to this dream. If they're too disgusting, I'll eat them. and the rooster, too. Besides chickens, I want to garden and of course, compost. But I want enough room to not have to smell the compost. Anyway, if we are going to have our own little farm, we need the money to buy it.

I looked at our budget trying to figure out where I can make some changes. You don't even want to know what my tab is for my quilting lifestyle. It's a lot. So I need to find a way for my hobby to pay for itself. I think it's time I take on long arming some quilts to support my addiction. Unless you have a better idea.

Happy Anniversary, Nina!

2010-03-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

My mom is so cool. Did you know that instead of an Easter basket each year, she had the Easter Bunny bring me a designer purse filled with lovely things like perfume, make up, coin purses, etc.? (Added note: some of us didn't need the calories!) This tradition started when I was in seventh grade and ended when I was a sophomore in college, 1993. That year, the Easter Bunny brought me my Bernina 1000.

I love this machine. In fact, when I was pregnant (2005), I told my husband that I wanted to name our daughter Nina, after my sewing machine. Let's just say he's glad we had a son. Mom bought this machine for $300 when a little sewing shop was going out of business and selling their classroom models. It was a steal. Years later, in 2004, I decided I wanted a fancy machine. Being loyal to Bernina, I bought another one, which I've mostly been using since. Of course, Nina still does my bindings because I'm cheap. I just can't stomach the $169 to buy another walking foot for my new machine when I have one for my old machine. Pathetic, isn't it? Anyway, I just dusted off Nina a couple weeks ago and have been sewing on her lately, and it's like I'm falling in love all over again. That's the best darn sewing machine in the world. Do you have a favorite sewing machine? Or do you love all of your machines equally?

I'm off to sew a little more before bed, but I just had to let you guys know that it's almost the 17th anniversary of Nina coming to live with me. Cheers!

By the way, can you figure out what I'm making yet?

Mystery Quilt/Mystery Quilting Design

2010-03-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

I fell in love. With Poppy by Laura Gunn for Michael Miller. I mean really, though, who wouldn't love these fabrics? From the moment I saw these fabrics, I couldn't wait to do something with them. This weekend, I had another mystery class, and here's the product (minus the quilting).

You know, a poppy by any other name just isn't as sweet.
Any ideas on how I should quilt it? I want to try something fancy. Not sure if I should just do some feathery doodling or what. I haven't tried that yet, and I'm kind of scared to do this on pretty fabric.

On another note, since I've been back from spring break, I've had a hard time getting back into quilting since I basically took off a week & went to my grandparents' house. I looked at my fabric, but I just wasn't sure what to sew next. Even Friday night-- I sat at the sewing table with my friend Kim and just looked at fabric but couldn't find anything to sew. The good news, though, is that I've started my next project. Here are the scraps. Any idea what it's going to be?

My Kind of Neutrals

2010-03-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

Another one finished!

Last spring, when my sister-in-law got married, my mom and I hit the local quilt shops and ended up at The Rabbit's Lair in Rogers, Arkansas.

After falling in love with these fabrics because they are my kind of neutrals, I knew exactly what I would do with them. I made this quilt for my friend Kim who was battling breast cancer. She needed something to show she was loved and supported (plus, this coordinated perfectly with her decor).

A year has gone by. Now she's free of breast cancer. Yea!

And is also now an avid quilter herself. She's crazy-addicted!

I feel her pain:-)

Have you checked out AmyLouWho's Sew & Tell Fridays? There are always some really cool projects to see, plus, and this is something I look forward to every Friday!

Chirp!

2010-03-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here's another quilt. I made this for Lizzy's baby. Remember Lizzy? I made wonky squares for her. Hopefully she doesn't read the blog and this will be a surprise to her.

The fabric came with a series of panels, which was an unexpected surprise.

And then I added a little bit of fabric from my stash to add a little more depth to the chirp fabrics. Easy peasy.

Sew & Tell- Totally Blue

2010-03-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

Is this blue or what?

I really kind of like it. I just might have to stash bust a few more quilts in other color schemes using this pattern:-)

This took seven Class M bobbins to quilt. Like, for real.

Have you checked out AmyLouWho's Sew & Tell? Fun stuff.

Aggie Fever

2010-03-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a quilt my mom made from the jungle fever pattern, but we are calling it Aggie Fever (Texas A&M's colors are maroon and maroon). Mom hopped all over that end of the color wheel, and the result is gorgeous.

Of course, how could you go wrong with batiks.

Mom made this quilt for her friend Cindy, who is going to raffle it for the Texas Nurse Practitioner Organization (more information on this will come later if Cindy tells me how we can buy tickets to win it).

Silly Mom asked me to quilt it. I'm definitely not "show quality," but I like what I can do so far:-)

A little bit inspired

2010-03-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

You are never going to guess what I've done. I've sewn up darn near all my fabric. In fact, it pretty much fits all in one armoir. For the first time in years!

Oh, and this pile on the floor.

Yeah, and this one, too.

I was making such great progress. But then I got inspired when I found this fabric.

And I just had to start sewing, but more on that later. Like tomorrow.

I'm just so excited. And addicted to quilting! It's weird, but I think I need a 12-step program for quilting. Honestly, I can't get enough. I probably sew on average 4 or more hours a day. And I work full time. But all those hours I'm not quilting, I'm thinking about it. It's not like this is new either. I've been doing quilting for 17 years... so why now am I obsessed?

They say to find what you love & do that as a career. Is this God's way of telling me to quit my job and start quilting for a living? How would I make a living if I kept or gave away all my projects? Please provide input. I don't want to dig in to my fabric money to pay for therapy.

My first award!

2010-03-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

I rarely win awards. In 4th grade, I won second place in an art contest in my homeroom. A couple years ago, I was Teacher of the Year for my school. Now, I'm up again:-)

Dee gave me this!

She said I make incredible quilts and have cute toes. Or is it that I have incredible toes and make cute quilts? LOL! Anyway, Dee, I'm so honored to receive this award, so thank you! You know, I started blogging so that I could find an online community and not feel like I was always sewing by myself, and it worked. Guy and gals, thanks for having me-- it feels like home already.

Sew & Tell Friday- first pantograph

2010-03-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

The wonky squares have been quilted!

And I used a pantograph for the first time. I should have practiced on play fabric first, but I got a little cocky.

I am really in love with this quilt. I used an Ikea sheet for the backing and sashing (for the first time ever). The jury is still out on that. I haven't washed this yet, so I have no idea if it will crinkle and all that good stuff.

I can't wait to try out the pantograph on something else. I have great hopes for this and can't wait to see how quickly the learning curve is.

This quilt is going to go live with my teaching partner Lizzy who is the peas to my carrots. The Diet to my Coke. The Thelma to my Louise. She had a baby three weeks ago today, and work is just not the same without her. I miss her like crazy and can't wait for her to return in April:-)

Thanks, Amy, for hosting Show & Tell Friday. Without you, this project would sit another week or more waiting to be bound.

Flange Binding

2010-03-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

I love learning new things, and tonight I learned something that I can't wait to try.

My friend Vickie came over to finish her first and last paper pieced quilt. So we threw this baby on the long arm and stippled it up. Paper piecing isn't the new thing I learned, though. Check out what she did instead of binding it...

That edging is called flange. Have you heard of it? I know I'm a little cuckoo, but I love binding, so I've never searched for other options (nope, never tried prairie points either). I really like this, though.

I think this quilt is just precious. I also love how Vickie added a little variety to her blocks (the squares within the squares were the paper pieced blocks), but didn't end up with a sampler. I also love that she is never paper piecing again. I remember one era of my life when I bought a gazillion (or 7 or 8) paper piecing books and was really hooked on it. How quickly that passes, thank goodness (Sorry, Carol Doak). Of course, Vickie's quilt looks beautiful, and doesn't look paper pieced at all.

Speaking of beautiful, here's my baby making his own quilt. Clearly he's had good modeling. He did ask me to take the walking foot off the machine so that he could sew. I don't think it's normal for a four year old to know what a walking foot is, but whatever the case may be, I just love having his company while I sew... even if he is pinning his Thanksgiving fabrics on a pink background.

Broken Promises

2010-02-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

Remember how my friend Kim and I promised we weren't going to shop this weekend? Well, we didn't mean to, but we just had to get some minkee for one of her quilt backings, and then, before you know it, we had hit 3 fabric stores. But this is all I bought.

I won't share what Kim bought. No really, we didn't go overboard. As you can see, these are all necessities. Except for the patterns. Oh, and the magnetic pin cushion (okay, not really a cushion, but what else would I call it?) that matches the one in the background. Saturday morning, we had a class on fondant (I'm in love with it!!), and we were already ten minutes toward the quilt shop in Boerne, so what the heck, we drove the remaining thirty minutes to get there. And then discovered our new lunch place because we always have good luck finding good lunch places when we're together. Of course, we have good shopping luck when we're together, too.

As you can see, I bought a little pattern for the purse. I also bought the hardware for the purse, but I conveniently forgot to put it in the photo. I was dying to make the purse for a gift for a darling five year old's tea party birthday on Sunday. Charli, the birthday girl is an old soul, so I knew she's love a handmade purse. And I was right:-)

That's my stinker beside her.

If this were my little bag, I'd put my cords and electronics in it for a road trip (ipod, camera, chargers, ear buds, etc.). Kim would put make-up in it if it were her bag.

Did you recognize the fabrics? I used scraps from the heart quilt in the last post.

Extra notes:

*Kim's daughter Morgan took the photos of the purse (and she took pics of the Laurel Burch quilt, the Halloween BQ quilt, and the Christmas Tree quilt). She's only 19 and just got her SLR camera for Christmas, but she is already shooting like a pro. I want to keep her nearby for all my photography needs.

*My sweet husband made the little table the purse is sitting on. It just moved in the house Saturday, so I have yet to decorate around it. I was too busy breaking my vow not to shop to decorate my little table.

*I also finished the chirp baby quilt. I kind of improvised it & just went with it. It's cute:-)

Sew & Tell Friday

2010-02-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

I was up til midnight finishing the binding on this baby. I like the result.

I was planning to use fabric on hand to stash-bust. But then I bought the charm pack in the pieced border. And then I found the binding fabric. And my friend Kim, who also made one, pulled out the Love fabric for the inner border out of her stash.

I quilted a large stipple for various reasons. 1.) I'm not experienced enough to do something that looks amazing. 2.) I had to work around all those thick layers and avoid where the seems converge.

And then I gave it a wash and dried it until crinkly. I love the ruffly hearts.

Have you checked out amylouhou's Sew & Tell? There are always some neat things to see every Friday.

Fabric ISO pattern! STAT!

2010-02-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

In the last post, I mentioned that I have some fabric that needs a pattern. This post is me begging for some input. Mom, that means you're going to have to figure out how to leave a comment. Go find the person at work who taught you to use your ipod.

First up we have Girl Chirp. I loved these fabrics online, but when I got them, they seemed flat, color-wise. I need to add something to them to add a little more depth. But then what? This quilt needs to happen ASAP because my home-girl had a baby 12 days ago, and this fabric is for her. Cute baby needs cute quilt. Thinking filmstrip quilt. But then again, there are some block size panels. Perhaps I could fussy-cut. Go to fatquartershop.com to check this out in better lighting.

Next up, we have Nouveau. I bought 4 charm packs & 2 yards of the print. Maybe a half square triangle quilt? Tossed nine patch with the centers being the print?

And then we have Authentic. I have a couple pieces of yardage that can go with this. Or I could order more (I don't think online shopping will violate my solemn vow not to shop this weekend). I have no clues on what to do with this. The prints aren't too large, as one might expect. Maybe Bento Box?

And then I have my peer-pressure purchase. Okay, so no peers were with me when I ordered this. And no one that I've seen online has bought this. But something pulled me toward it. But those voices have stopped talking to me, and here I am with Dolce, but no idea of what to do with it. I will most certainly have to buy more fabrics to go with this because my stash is hurting regarding pinks and aqua. Too much stash-busting perhaps wasn't such a grand idea? Nah.

If you have any ideas, send them over, please! I need my goals set by Friday evening. Fairy godmothers, get out your wands. (DeDe, this means you, too!)

Decisions, Decisions

2010-02-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of stuck. I had to toss the ridiculous round robin quilt aside to find something else to work on. Have you met Peter? One reason he's so productive is that he sets weekly goals, so I tell him my goals every week...not that he has ever responded, but still, I must tell someone. Makes me more likely to commit to a plan. So I tried a little extra goals setting to get me out of my slump. First I listed all the fabric groupings I had sitting around... fabric waiting on it's fairy godmother to take it to the ball.

Really? Have I bought that much fabric in the last year or so that I haven't touched? I honestly thought I had been stash-busting, but when I look at this list, it kind of makes me feel guilty. At least I'm stimulating the economy, right? I'm just glad I haven't mentioned all the fabric I've bought and actually used in the last year. I can't even do that kind of math.

And then I listed the quilt tops that are ready to be quilted. Backings included.

And then I made the listing WIP/UFO's. And kits I have yet to touch.

Oh, but wait. As I sat there stuck with all these projects listed on this big sheet of butcher paper, I still couldn't find a single thing to work on. About that time my husband stumbled into my studio. He saw the list and my frowny face and quickly tried to solve my predicament by telling me to start with the WIP's & UFO's. Yeah, right. That's preposterous. My friend Kim is coming this weekend for a couple days of sewing bliss, but unfortunately, we have made a little promise to ourselves, our loved ones, and our WIPs/UFOs to actually work instead of shop. Preposterous.

I guess I better set some goals. Do you guys set goals each week, or do you just follow your inspiration? Do tell. Every time Kim and I set goals, we shop and buy something else to sew. Maybe we should just get out our old goals:-)

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2010-02-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

I won my first giveaway! PinkSuedeShoe had a giveaway, and I won. Charlotte arrived yesterday in a little nest of batting and fabric strips, cozy as could be. She's very excited to get out of that box and hang out with me while I work.

Quickly, Charlotte suggested we organize my scraps (she could clearly see I had scrap issues), and she knew just the plan. Forget my son's toys-- steal his baskets and fill them with fabric. Novel idea, Charlotte. I can already tell we're going to be the best of friends. Thanks so much, Pink Suede Shoe (FYI- not sure if I'm supposed to use real names or blog names. Either way, I don't want to lead serial killers to your doorstep or anything.).

Fantastic Felines

2010-02-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

I have been collecting Laurel Burch fabrics for years, it seems.

And at one of our mystery classes about a year ago, we had to bring 20 fat quarters. So I did.

And then I found a stash of embroidered blocks (OESD Fantastic Felines) I had made a few years ago, so I brought them along, too.

Because they were too cute not to include.

And as it turns out we made "Turning 20 Again," so my little stash worked perfectly.

And here I am a year later finally quilting it. I used a freehand edge-to-edge that I refer to as "Newton's Whimsical Balls." (don't ask).

1st Wednesday Swap

2010-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

My quilt block for the online quilting bee is on its way to Australia to reside with Felicity. We received packages with black, white, and red fabrics and were asked to make a 12-inch star block. I made the Ohio Star block. Surprisingly, I haven't done this before, but I do love it. Very traditional looking, which is not normally my style, but I like it.

One of the oldest UFO's EVER

2010-02-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

See this mess? This is what my sewing table looks like when I'm in the groove. I joined an online quilting bee, and I'm so excited because I haven't been part of an exchange since 1997. In fact, I just pulled that project out (yes, it was still in my closet!) to finish it. Some of that floral heap is part of my 1997 exchange.

If you haven't joined a round robin exchange or a virtual bee, you might consider it. It's a great way to meet other quilters and try out some techniques that you might have not tried before. One downside is that not everyone uses the same quarter inch, if you know what I mean. See the following evening star on the left? It has no seam allowance, so if you were to put it in a quilt, you'd lose the points. The one on the right is one with seam allowances intact.

So, when deciding if you want to join a bee, make sure you are a laid-back kind of gal (or guy), or you'll be redoing a lot of work.

But sometimes, you get work that is simply beautiful and exceeds your expectations. My embroidery is very primitive (translation: it looks awful). But look at this.

Yeah, I could never do embroidery work like that! So, there you have it. Personally, I love being in exchanges and am so glad I found something that will work for me. I'm not in any other groups, so I sure have the time on my hands. That's a good thing because here's the layout for my other red robin exchange. Yes, that's over 400 sashing blocks. I better get crackin' on it.

Hey, if it works...

2010-02-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

My love of tacos and my love of quilting might have found a way to meet in the middle. Taco Cabana is my inspiration.

Yeah, it's bound to end up as a quilt. Love the color scheme. It's very Hope Valley. Or Dolce. Or something. Have you found any inspiration in weird places?

Nada.

2010-02-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

I played around with fabric Friday night & made a few quilt blocks, but other than that, I have nothing to show you. I do have a little to tell you, though. I went to my first guild meeting in probably 12 or 13 years. I checked out the Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild Saturday. Yes, I was truly inspired.

The presenter was Carol Morrissey, who you might have seen on one of Keepsake Quilting's catalog covers in the the last year or two (the quilt with the turtles). Seeing her quilts in person has really inspired me to stretch myself and really make some contemporary artsy quilts. She dyes her own fabrics, and oh, how I'd love to do that. If I hadn't just bought a long-arm, I'd be pursuing dyeing my own fabric. Maybe in a year or two.

Let's go ahead & talk about my long arm. It's dead. Really. The shop has had it two or three weeks and has been dealing with the manufacturer. The engineers at the manufacturer haven't seen a problem like mine EVER, so they're sending me a new machine. It should be at my dealer's place tomorrow, so I imagine it will be ready for me Tuesday. My husband was real impressed that I was able to wreck my machine in such a short amount of time! That's nothing. You should see what I can do to a computer or a car. I have the worst luck with both, so I'm hoping that the long arm won't be in the same category.

Let's leave sad stories aside and move on. As for shopping, I was patting myself on the back for all the fabric I haven't bought in the last week. But then I remembered I bought a bit online. My teaching partner at work just had a baby Friday (a beautiful little girl!), so I ordered the girl chirp fabric that came out this week. I have no idea what kind of quilt I'm going to make. She deserves something divine, though. I ordered the fabric through fatquartershop.com, and I'm so impressed with them. I ordered it one afternoon, and it was in my mailbox noon the next day. I was so happy, I damn near cried. I can't wait to place my next order.

I also bought some fabric from sew deerly loved. I bought some dolce fabrics. Can't remember which ones, though. I'll show you when they arrive. Looking at her fabrics really made me drool.

So, that about sums up my weekend. My husband I and were quite the social butterflies this weekend. We went out Saturday night with some friends who were in town, had brunch today with other friends in town, and then this afternoon visited some friends who live on the other side of San Antonio (she was having a free-motion quilting crisis, so we came to assist). All in all, a perfect weekend.

Blue makes me blue

2010-02-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

Finally, I finished the top. And it's huge. Did I mention it's king size? The good news is that my blue stash is incredibly diminished. I'm ready for something fun now. But before I begin, I'm going to work for a few days on something that's going to use up my navy blues and browns. I'll show ya in the next post.

Incidentally, I haven't decorated this room yet. It was a sewing room less than two months ago, so I'm doing well just to have mattresses and bedding. Yes, that's an end table doubling as a night stand for now. Oh, and an extra lamp I bought to match the other one in my living room. Hey, the room may not be decorated, but I've finished a ton of sewing projects. In fact, I think this has been the most productive couple months of my life, sewing-wise.

Good Morning, Sunshine!

2010-02-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

The sun finally came out for a bit yesterday, and today is beautiful. I decided to take out my wonky quilt to get some pictures of it in natural light. If my kid wasn't cranky from partying last night with our company until 11pm, I'd take it some place a little more scenic for a better photo session. We've already been to a violin lesson and The Container Store-- I've used up my well-behaved-child-while-running-errands allotted time, so anything beyond this will elicit whining and general fussiness.

So I guess I might as well do some quilting. I'll catch up with you in a bit.

Wonky is the new black

2010-02-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

One of my gal pals and I hit the Quilt Haus again this weekend. Even though I'm stash busting, I just couldn't help but pick up a few things. Like these sweet little doggies. I'm not even an animal person, but who could resist those little things. They don't chew on your furniture, they don't leave tumbleweeds of hair in the corners of your living room, and you can wear black when they're around without carrying their hair with you. The most perfect dogs ever.

And I just had to get some girl scout fabric because I had been thinking about it since the moment it came out. Or before. I know just what I'm going to do with it. More on that after the fact.

And then I saw these Alexander Henry "Lorenza" lovelies sitting together on a table. Watching me. And wanting to come home with me to meet my stash. So I snatched them up and made them mine.

I was so inspired when I came home that I just knew I was going to finish the giant blue quilt. Oops. Instead, I jumped headfirst into this beautiful fabric. After minutes of duress, I came up with a plan-- something wonky. Something square. Ah, wonky squares. When I started quilting many years ago, and ended up with something wonky, my quilting friends made me seam rip. Oh, have times changed! For the first time, I made something wonky on purpose. And I wasn't precise. And I'm almost over it.

Since I was being experimental, I decided to cut up an Ikea sheet to see how it worked. I bought the sheet for $14, and although you can't see it well,(because I only finish projects at night and can't wait until the next day to take pics) it's a gunmetal color. All I can say is, Wow. That's a lot of sheet. Go get you one since you can't beat it for the price.
After I get this baby quilted, I'll take real pics outside so you can see what color the fabrics really are. Oh, speaking of fabric, half of the fabric came from my stash. Not bad, eh? Also, I had no Lorenza left-overs, so we can pretend I didn't buy anything right? Shouldn't there be a clause to fabric shopping that says if you use your fabric within the week (month?) you buy it, that it shouldn't count?

Also, starting to wonder if my comment box is broken. Mom said she left messages, but they never made it here. Will you leave me one? Let me feel like someone's out there?

Mushy Brain

2010-01-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

I watch a lot of tv while I sew. I really love to watch an entire series because then I don't have to figure out what to watch next. For graduation, my aunt gave me a one-season (4 dvd) series called Moonlight. If you are into vampires (sorry Team Jacob), go get it. The main character is no Edward Cullen, but I do love him anyway. Even if he, like Edward, won't turn his female counterpart into a vampire. Take Twilight, add some action, and there you have it, it's Moonlight. Vampires are so cool. (And much better looking than zombies)

I posted this picture originally from cbs.com/primetime. Am I allowed to post it if I give them credit and don't claim it as my own? If you're an experienced blogger, do tell. I'm too pretty for prison.

Another series that I loooooove is Weeds. Yes, I watched all five seasons. And I have no idea where this photo originated or where I found it.

This series is about Nancy. Nancy's husband dies before the first episode, and to help her remain in her upscale suburban lifestyle, she resorts to selling weed to keep her family afloat. I'm not endorsing drug use. Just say no! But I am endorsing this quirky show. You'll laugh, and you'll want more. Season 6 (the next one out) will be the last season. I watch Weeds online through Amazon Video On Demand, which means I log on to my Amazon account, pay for the series (about $15 or $20 per season), and then they are in the library on my account, to be accessed from any computer. If I ever get the new ipad, I see this as the way to go for watching video. Anyway, I love it, but the video is a little jumpy. Not sure if it's my computer or if it's because I'm streaming (can't log on & watch a show about selling drugs at work as a public school teacher or I'll be on the news, so I can't figure what the problem is).

The other series I've watched lately is Greek. (Once again, no idea who has the copyright on this photo-- abc family, maybe?)

This show is pure college drama. Am I college age? No. Do I go to wild parties? No. Am I living vicariously through them? I reckon so. They're my little college friends on tv. I want them to have fun yet keep their grades up and not neglect their responsibilities. I worry about their futures. And I love the way the main character's best friend dresses-- she's a fashionista (and sometimes a train wreck). Anyway, there are three seasons out, and I watch this on hulu.com. for free. Yes, that's right, FREE.

Do I watch other shows? Heck yeah, but not while I sew. I watch Glee, Nip/Tuck, and Big Bang Theory. I watch nothing with any redeeming value. All brain mush. Please don't tell my students. Have I mentioned I'm a teacher of gifted & talented students? If they were to read about what shows I watch, they'd think I was a fraud! K, well, I gotta go catch up on my dvr because I'm auditioning some some MTV shows that I think I can add to my smut repertoire. Pray for my soul.

Two Steps Forward

2010-01-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

Because my blue stash is out of control, I decided to make a scrappy blue quilt. After finding the pattern that was just perfect for a quick little quilt, I ran to the fabric store to buy four yards of Kona (have no idea what the color is) to go with my scraps. And then I started cutting and cutting and cutting strips of medium blues. (I can't follow directions, so I just start cutting and stop when I'm out. Consequently, I never know what sizes my quilts will be.)

This quilt is from February's American Patchwork & Quilting, and I knew exactly who needed this quilt, one of my good friends from high school who just moved back to Texas from NYC. This quilt will complement one of his paintings perfectly. You know how I said that I never know what size a quilt will be because I quit sewing when I run out of fabric? Well, this is the first time I've ever asked someone what size they'd want. And now I know why. You guessed it. King size. Why not. It's not like I don't have a ton of blue fabric and a ton of time on my hands.

So guess what I've been doing lately? I've been sewing these blocks for almost a month (not exclusively, mind you). And I'm so tired of blue. Tonight, though, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. My calculations were almost accurate. I started to celebrate as I squared up the last of my needed 150 blocks. and realized I only had 145. I was too defeated to sew the remaining five tonight.

The good news is that these are the only strips I have left. Just enough to finish the quilt. Oh, and the four yards I bought to use up my stash (yes, two steps forward, two steps back)? I only have 2/3 yard left- hopefully enough for a binding:-)

Valentine Love

2010-01-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

My mom is headed to her retreat in Kansas this weekend. Her bee meets monthly to sew, and I finally was able to join her group a couple times last summer since they coordinated with a couple trips to see her. They are going to hang out in their jammies, eat quiche (well, that's what my mom's bringing anyway) and sew for three days. It reminds me of last weekend. Except I was at my house, in my pajamas with my friend Kim. Of course, we took frequent breaks to shop and dine (the food alone is another entry), but otherwise, we had a retreat experience.

Check out this heart bulls eye that we made. Actually, we made two-- one for each of us. I can't wait to get it quilted, bound, and washed up so that it will get raggedy. It was so much fun getting to sew with a friend, particularly one who is as obsessed as I am. She already has her 10th quilt planned out, and she's only on #3. I love it.

And speaking of blogging friends, Donna (If you haven't stopped by her blog to check out her service project Hearts 4 Haiti, you should:-) stopped by my blog last week to tell me about a shop in New Braunfels that is amazing, Quilt Haus. Ladies and Gents, this place was to die for. If ever a shop was completely my taste, this was it. Amy Butler (who knew she made solids????), Hope Valley, Anna Maria Horner, Kaffee Fassett, etc. This is where I want my ashes spread.

Until then, I'll keep quilting with my best quilting buddy, my son, who drew me this quilt last weekend. See, he already knows how much I love squares.

creativity unleashed

2010-01-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have all this extra time on my hands, and I am loving it. I have the machine figured out, and I feel like I needed a little something to help get me pointed in the right direction to grow as a long armer. I used to teach writing, and one thing I can tell you is that more writing doesn't lead to better writing. Can we say it's safe to say that more quilting doesn't lead to better quilting? Especially the kind I'm doing. I need a goal instead of just "doing better" or "avoiding scribble scrabble." So, I stumbled upon an online class at MQresource called Quilt Whisperer. The objective of the class is for us to be able to look at a quilt and know what it needs. Sounds good to me because I really don't have the answers.

So I registered for class and gathered my supplies,

cleaned off my sewing table,

emptied my quilt frame

and my trash cans,

loaded my ipod,

gathered some toys to keep a little someone occupied,

and then I was ready to work. And look what I made.

Okay, so this is my first doodle. Ever. Actually, that's not true. I doodle squares and/or straight lines. When I'm feeling really creative, I draw lots of squares. So, for my first doodle, I'm impressed with myself. I never would have thought I could have done this. Something about switching from paper & pencil to black paper & white gel pen unleashed something in me. I like most of this, but I can't wait to do my next doodle to see how much better I can do this.

In all honesty, I was apprehensive about paying so much for an online course when so much information is free. But then I realized $40 isn't much when you take into account the price of the machine if not utilized to the best of my abilities.

DeDe's Puppy Love

2010-01-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

My first customer's quilt. Okay, well, she's hardly a customer. Instead, she's my best Friendswood friend, my son's godmother, my former partner in soup-making, my bunko buddy, DeDe. But that is hardly enough to describe DeDe. She's my friend that loves me the most. Everyone needs a DeDe.

This is DeDe's second quilt, and she asked me to quilt it. In case I didn't mention it, DeDe is a perfectionist, so I was terrified quilting for her, but I do love the result. My second quilt did not look like this. Nope. My second quilt was probably a log cabin with huge strips. or maybe a four patch. Not intricate piece-work like this.

She appliqued, embroidered, and had three dimensional pieces.

DeDe made this for her only grandchild, Rhys, who will be two before she knows it

and is even cuter than all these puppies, if you can believe that.

Scribble Scrabble

2010-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Finally, I have done some quilting that I really like. My son said it looks like scribble scrabble (translation: it looks like someone scribbled all over it). He might be right, but I love it anyway.

I tried a variety of techniques, like McTavishing (although it hardly looks like it's supposed to!).

and echo stitching

and swirls (see border)

and a stipple for the background.

Although I'm not where I want to be, I still love the end result.

even if it does look like scribble scrabble.

But most of all I love my cute little quilt holder.

Twisting Turning 20

2010-01-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

To get some basic quilts ready for the long arm, I threw this quilt together with fabric in my stash, mostly left over from other projects. The light fabrics came from Quilt Market in Houston, several years ago. P&B had a booth where you could buy bundles of 10 coordinating fat quarters for $6. Yes, I bought all I could carry!

The pattern is Twisting Turning Twenty. I think I was quite possibly the last quilter to make a Turning Twenty quilt. What a great way to use up fabric, too. I'm glad I made this to practice on, though, because it was only my second quilt to long arm, and my work is less than stellar. No way I would pay someone for this craftsmanship.

The quilting design is basically a loop-de-loop pattern. It's pretty basic, and since this quilt, I've played with some variations of this, which I like much more (stay tuned!).

Also, I got a new camera for Christmas, and boy can it zoom! It takes pretty good pictures up close, so I did a little research trying to figure out how to take better photos of quilts. Now, I'm pretty defeated because apparently I need a camera with some letters (SNL? SLR? STS?), which will cost about $450 or more. And then I'll need umbrella lights or will have to make something that will work (not likely). So, here's the short version-- it's not going to happen. I'll just have to work with what I have.

The photo of the entire quilt was taken in my classroom (Thanks, Anonymous Students for holding it up, which I have since learned is the WRONG way to photograph a quilt.) because I was trying to see if florescent lighting would help with my mad photo skills. Nope. I know I should take it outside, however, it's way too cold out there. It must be 55 degrees, which I know isn't much to you guys, particularly Mom in KS or my in-laws in the Ozarks where it's going to be -10 degrees tonight, but to me, it's cold. I prefer temperatures over 70.

By the way, did you notice the backing peeking out underneath the corner in the last photo? I snagged that Hoffman for $5 a yard in Salado. Love it! So, what about you and your shopping? Hit any amazing fabric sales lately? What did you get?

Merry Christmas, Y'all

2009-12-31T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here's a Christmas quilt that I thought I'd show. This was made a couple years ago, but I quilted it a couple months ago on my regular sewing machine. I have a jar of pink buttons to sew on the trees as ornaments, but I'm not sure that's really going to happen.

The pattern came from a magazine a couple years ago and it was just reprinted this winter. The colors on the pattern were traditional, though.

I'm not quite done with the binding, as you can see; however, I really need to get this posted because I'm way behind. I still have about 3 or more posts to do. Stay tuned!

My first long-arm quilt

2009-12-31T14:46:00.000-08:00

The company is gone, and I finally have time to tell you all about it. The long arm was set up before Christmas, but I had minimal time to play with it prior to leaving town the weekend before Christmas for graduation. Oddly enough, the first quilt I did was a Halloween quilt.

After Christmas, we did a little shopping in one of my favorite little towns, Castroville. I dragged a couple quilts along and had my friend Morgan take some pics with her new Christmas camera while her mom and me cashed in on a major sale. Morgan did a great job taking pics of the quilts. Her first time doing this is much better than anything I've done so far!

I used three quilting designs in this quilt.k I stippled the black background, did a modified mouse maze on the purple parts, and a landscape meander on the large squares.

I love this machine and can't wait to post some other pics of what I've done so far.

Happy Graduation!

2009-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

It's finally here. And it's scary. You know, I thought I'd get the machine and would be up & running in 24 hrs. Nope. This sucker is intimidating. I've had it seven days, and I'm just now loading my first quilt.

Christmas sewing

2009-12-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

I just had to make another table runner. These things are addictive.

I started with some squares and a cookie cutter (to make appliques). I decided to fuse the squares to some interfacing to try this the way I've seen many people do it online. I'll try to find the tutorial & post the link. What a cool technique. Ingenious, actually. The only downside is that it was super thick, especially once I put appliques on there and then machine quilted it.

By the way, that's my favorite ruler shown. The Nancy Crow Quickline. Don't know why, but it just feels right.

And, of course, I stippled it. Yep, it's what I do. Soon that will change, though.

I wish I had a finished pic of the project; however, this is for my aunt for Christmas, and I had to get it there in time. Since I was rushing, I never took the finished photo. Maybe I'll convince her to take one of it on her table since she hosts a family Christmas each year.

Tranquil Moments

2009-12-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

When I moved to San Antonio a year ago, one of my first stops was Memories By the Yard, my LQS. I was trying to find a way to get quilting friends, so I signed up for one of their quarterly mystery classes. They last from 4pm until midnight, and it's also a potluck dinner. Y'all, I've been addicted ever since. This last go-round, we had to bring a jelly roll and a fat quarter, so I knew this was gunna be a big 'un. (Have I mentioned I'm from Texas?)

I picked up my jelly roll and a couple yards of the feature fabric (which oddly enough is not in the jelly roll) when I was in Rogers, Arkansas at The Rabbit's Lair in March. I've been admiring it ever since. It's Moda Tranquility. When I found out we needed the jelly roll for the class, all I had to do was order the layer cake, and I was done.

These classes are so much fun. We crank up the music, share seam rippers, sing, and sew until we turn into pumpkins. I wish we could do this monthly. Most of the same people are still with us. When we started, each mystery class was offered once, but now our teacher Martha has to offer each class three times and you have to get a spot way in advance. . . months in advance actually.

So, here's what I made this time. Girls, it's huge. It's the biggest darn quilt I've ever made. I finished this top at the retreat, too. I had the blocks done, but I did all that setting nonsense & borders the first retreat night. The last couple of pics were taken at the quilt shop, the night of the mystery class. Luckily, to the retreat I brought one of my friend's portable design walls that she had bought at Quilt Festival in Houston. The design wall was so helpful, so a big thanks to Vickie, my best mystery quilt friend:-)

Treat & Retreat

2009-12-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend was my second quilt retreat. My first was about thirteen or so years ago. When I started quilting, I was in a bee called the Night Owls in Bryan/College Station. One of the ladies hosted a retreat at her lake house, and it was wonderful. No phone, serene atmosphere, great friends, and time to sew. Divine.

My retreat this weekend was nice also. It was way out in the country near Salado (north of Austin) at Summer's Mill. There were fifteen or sixteen women. Rooms had two queen beds and a bathroom for two people. Meals were down in the main house, but we quilted in the cabin where our bedrooms were. There were tables and irons already set up, so all we had to do was arrive and start sewing. We didn't even have to bring food or anything. I'm already antsy about my next retreat. Now I have to find one.

My friend Midge was driving through Salado and happened to stop in at the quilt shop where she saw there was a retreat in December. She called me and told me that she had signed us up. That's a friend, y'all! Had it not been for her, I'd be doing the same thing at home-- only without someone to fix my meals, with laundry and dust bunnies glaring at me, with a darling child begging me to play pirates or knights every twenty minutes, and with a list of errands waiting to be checked off. Yeah, not the same at all. Also, when I look out my window, I see the neighbor's house, not rolling hills and pastures. I need to do this quarterly.

One of the quilt tops I finished was "perfect ten." I bought this pattern to help me find something to do with my antique hankies that I've been carrying around for years; however, I had a stack of pretties that I wanted to use that very moment. And I did. And I love the quilt. When I selected the fabrics, I was thinking about Kaffe Fassett (but unfortunately, I was in the dollar bin at a shop in Newton, KS ). I love that his fabrics do NOT go together. Oh, but they do. So, I was trying to create my own stack of fabrics that weren't made to go together but still looked right. I think I did. Well, what do you think? The last gazillion quilts I've made have all been so matchy matchy that I just had to make sure I was still capable of selecting fabrics by myself.

I wish I had taken pics at the retreat, but guys, I was sewing like the wind! On another note, my long arm was shipped yesterday! I will have to tell you all about my lighting solutions (hopefully my idea will work) and table I found to put in the studio. It's fab. It's Ikea:-)

*Added note: yes, that's my DH in the first photo. He visits the sewing room when he starts to miss me. Also, he'd die if he knew I posted this, but I'm sure he isn't reading the blog, so what he doesn't know won't hurt him (or affect my Christmas gift).

The Birthday Girl and her Apron

2009-11-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

Mom's Birthday is today, so I made her something special to wear to her quilting retreat-- the Lilly Apron in Lila Tueller Woodland Bloom fabrics. Here's Mom in her new apron. Isn't she cute? BTW, you can click on images to see a larger view.

Mom does so much for me that she deserves all things pretty. For instance, did you know she made the London shades shown behind her? In fact, she made all the window treatments in my last house. (We don't have them all hung yet here) That's just what kind of lady she is-- always doing for others.

The pattern was great. My mind is reeling with all the apron-making opportunities for Christmas gifts. I just wonder if I'm the only one who loves aprons. Mom made me the French Flea Market apron last year for Christmas, and oh, I love it so. I can just imagine hosting a Christmas cocktail party or Bunko wearing my French Flea Market apron, black leggings, and a black turtleneck. Just precious! See, I told you my mom was the best. (Now I just need to have a party or start a bunko group.)

And here's a pic of the pattern...

I'm just not sure if I'm going to make slippers or aprons tonight. I did have to make an emergency run to Las Colchas to buy some hand-dyed felted wool for the flowers on my slippers. If you're into handwork and you're in the area, stop by. That store is so cute and so friendly. I wanted to pull up a chair and start stitching that very moment. The last time I was there, they were having an early morning sale, and you received a bigger discount if you showed up in your pajamas, so my son and I went at 7am (he wore boots with his pj's). I love any place that will welcome me in my jammies. More on the wool in a later post (when I actually make more slippers).

Pigs in a Blanket

2009-11-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

Black Friday was the most fun. My mom is in town, and we decided to nix the sales and instead have our own little quilt shop hop. We headed to the shop in Castroville (this town is also great for eating and antiquing, two of my other pastimes) and the shop in Bandera (self-proclaimed cowboy capital of the world. Yes, you'll see horses parked next to Harleys.). Afterward, we hit one of my home shops, Memories by the Yard in San Antonio.

I picked up some goodies, one thing being a new slipper pattern.

They had a sample in the shop that was way cute, so I had to try out a pair. By the time it was all said & done, I think I spent $70 on my slippers since I had to buy tooled leather, felted wool (in three colors in case I never find it again), minky, and fabric because Lord knows I have no fabric at home. When we got home, Mom and I sewed while my darling husband picked up take out.

I've never heard of this pattern company before, but their instructions were easy to understand (and I rarely sew anything aside from quilts or bags). Luckily I wear a 7, which is basically the size the pattern is. All other sizes need to be enlarged or reduced on the copier, but the company does provide the size conversion information. This was so much fun that I think I'll make another pair tomorrow if I have any other size 7 friends:-)

I'm going on a quilting retreat next weekend in Salado, and I'm definitely bringing these cuties along.

Also, in case you want some awesome nachos (broken tacos), stop at OST restaurant in downtown Bandera. Divine!

Patience Is Not My Virtue

2009-11-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

For 15 years I've wanted a long arm, and my time has finally come. My new Handi Quilter Avante will be shipped December 9. My entire life, I cannot remember anything I've ever wanted more than this. It's also so hard to wait for the right timing-- the triad of available time, money, and space for something of this magnitude.

So in the meantime, I'm spending my time drafting my new plan to convert our game room into my quilting studio. I have no idea how I'll address lighting because the ceiling fan won't be enough for a 15x25 space. I haven't decided if I'm keeping my sewing room, or if I'll turn that into another bedroom. With so many quilting friends in other cities, I could see where having two guest bedrooms would be necessary. My husband and I are lucky because we live at the same exit as Sea World, so we end up with lots of friends coming through and staying for the weekend, but I'm thinking the long arm will bring many more.

I'm so giddy. Have I mentioned that I have about 8 quilt tops ready to put on the frame (well, I still need to buy about 3 backings).

Do you have tips or advice for me while designing my space? Figuring out lighting? Learning the long-arm way? Where I can buy rolls of batting for the best price? What type of batting to use? I've been visiting a lot of forums and message boards and have found a lot of information, but now I have even more questions than when I started.

Well, it's Friday, and since I can't go to happy hour (I rarely go anyway), I found a fun project for the night. Have you seen Pat Sloan's free patterns? I haven't decided if I'm going to do Farmer's Market or Remember, it's 5:00 Somewhere. If only I wasn't at work, I'd be able to make a decision!

Spring in Texas

2009-11-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

I was nervous when my son's teacher called me today to tell me he was sick. Visions of H1N1 danced in my head. However, it ended up working quite nicely. We ended up at home with a low grade fever and a tummy ache (but no puking!). Just enough ailments to slow him down. Sneaky me picked up movie rentals and sprite for our quilting party.

We ended up spending many, many hours in the sewing room. I should feel bad, right? Nope. Cartwheels in my head. We opened the window because the weather was incredible. It's spring in Texas right now. Everything was dead during our real spring since we had a drought, but now, everything is green. It's glorious. And I just love getting to quilt during daylight hours-- so scandalous!

While I was machine quilting, my son Ethan was using scraps to "make a quilt" on the design wall. The design wall kept him busy while I quilted, so if it serves no other purpose than this, I'm thrilled.

While Ethan was designing his quilt, I was machine quilting a jelly roll quilt using Charisma by Chez Moi. The pattern is a modified version of "In the City" by Calico Printworks .

This made me think of some of my favorite machine quilting tips to pass on to you:

Use lots of lotion until your hands are tacky. Once your hands soak it all in, then lotion up again. It just makes it easier to move the fabric. I use L'Occitane hand cream because it feels so good.
Use good posture (don't want to get a quilting injury!); don't hunch. Also, keep Biofreeze onhand for your muscles.
Invest your time in pinning well.
Start in the middle & work your way out.
If you're stippling, think about puzzle pieces.

All I do is stipple, pretty much. This all started about 6 years ago. I had accumulated a ton of quilt tops and was tired of paying people to do my quilting. So, during the Christmas holidays, I was determined to figure it out. And I quilted about 6 quilts in a row over a 2 or 3 day period. Unfortunately, all I do is stipple. If I ever make something smaller, I'll try another technique, but all I make are large lap-size quilts these days.

Quilting is a Dangerous Sport!

2009-11-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

One podcast that I listened to last week was from Driven to Quilt , and it discussed the importance of quilting in an ergonomically sound fashion in order to prevent injury. As I was listening, I was kind of chuckling about how "that could never happen to me," when I realized that the lady speaking was the one telling me that she didn't think it could happen to her. And it did. I'm sure it will now be karmic retribution for me to sustain some kind of crazy quilting injury. So now I'm totally paranoid. (I'm a worst-case scenario thinker, and I'm always convinced I'm about to come down with some kind of illness and suddenly die. Yes, I've called my husband before to tell him, "Hey, in case I die, tell the coroner I had a [insert random ailment]." I'm also worried they'll think he killed me, and he'll be arrested, so our child will be raise by God-knows-who since I'm an only-child without siblings to raise my child and love him like his daddy or I would.) You can see the duress I've been under all for the sake of quilting. To exacerbate the situation, Becky Goldsmith gave us a big talk about going to pilates to strengthen our cores so that we can quilt and reduce our risk of injury. Yes, I've now heard two times in one day about the dangers of reckless sewing. What is it Oprah says? Something about God whispering to you? Sheesh, I need to start paying better attention.

I've sewn everyday this week, and everyday, I'm budgeting my time between hand applique and machine work, just like the podcaster and my BFF Becky Goldsmith recommends. Truth be told, I'm serious dying to do more hand applique, but I try to not do more than an hour at a time. So, a little of this, and a little of that. One thing is certain. After hand work, it sure makes you appreciate how fast machine piecing is. So, another WIP is finished (well, aside from quilting and binding). This baby isn't going to be done on my sewing machine. Dear Hubby needs to buy me a long arm.

The quilt top shown is from Livin' Large by Anka's Treasures . Pattern is Kaleidoscope, and I used Paisley Party by Terry Atkinson and Liz Lois for Red Rooster Fabrics. I actually bought this as a kit at Henfeathers in Wichita, KS this summer.

Su-Su-Studio

2009-11-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

To my readers reader out there, I'm guessing you want to see my studio. I call it a studio (I keep singing the wrong rendition of the Phil Collins song in my head. su-su-studio), but in reality, it's a spare bedroom. If I ever get a long-arm, I'm taking over the game room, and then, we can officially call it a studio. Well, now that I'm done with graduate school (what a long, miserable ordeal that was), I decided that it's time to fix up my little room so that I can really make some magic happen. First, husband and I made a design board. I put some stuff on the top, and my son decorated the bottom. To the right of the design board is my ironing table my husband made. I love it!

And my table isn't piled high with about 8 projects (they are now in plastic boxes under the ironing table). My jars are for selvages and trims. The digital picture frame has some favorite pics for quilting inspiration.

And my $13 lamp (hope it won't burn down the house).

And I suppose you want to see my fabric armoirs. Most of my fabric is shown here. The top shelf houses my stack of reds and a few future projects.

This armoir is just a mess from this vantage point. I don't even know how to classify it. Let's try. On top is my basket of tools, on the top shelf (left) is a stack of patterns I want to make soon. Top right shelf houses a couple kits I'm hiding from my husband, UFO blocks, and Laurel Burch fabrics. Next shelf- florals and antique hankies (folding is so over-rated). Bottom shelf (left)- another BOM yet to get past the first block. Bottom right-???

Well, dear reader, that's my workspace. You didn't get a tour of the closet. There's a bit of fabric there, too, but it isn't as neatly stacked. Usually, I throw a stack in (anywhere it fits), and I shut the door real quickly to prevent an avalanche. As for the room, I'm considering painting it next. But then again, those armoirs might be too heavy to move. Not sure what else to do with the room, aside from shopping for accessories. I'd love a dress form. Love those, especially the cute ones. I don't want one that is my size, though-- just the size I am in my dreams. XOXO-G'night, dear reader Mom.

The Real Becky Goldsmith! OMG!

2009-11-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

On one of my summer road trips, I stopped at Common Threads in Waxahachie, Texas, south of Dallas. I love this place. In fact, when I was paying for all beautiful reproduction fabrics I had found, they even threw in a free copy of Quilt Sampler, which featured their shop. Yes, it's that good. As I was paying, I noticed a flyer advertising an applique class in November taught by Piece o' Cake's Becky Goldsmith . Sadly, the class was full, but I managed to get on the waiting list. Fast forward from June to October. They best day ever- the phone call I had been waiting on-- I got into the class!

Shame on me, but I had double-booked. I had tickets to BBC's production of Walking with Dinosaurs that very day. Oh, well, dinosaurs have been hot for thousands of years and would probably be talked about for thousands more. But a Becky Goldsmith applique class? Baby, that's something special! I sent my husband and son to the dinosaur show, and I was off to my class.

Actually, I'm leaving a lot out. I obsessed about this class and the supplies for the entire month preceding the class. I have a lot of fabric, but none of it seemed good enough for The Real Becky Goldsmith! I shopped. And I shopped. I bought 30 new spools of applique thread, a desktop Ott light, every kind of fabric-marking pencil (and soap), and an assortment of fabric that just didn't seem Becky enough but would have to do. Yes, I even pre-washed my inferior fabrics. It just didn't look like Aunt Millie's Garden.

Did I mention the class was four hours away? Thank goodness for my mp3 player (My ipod is hidden somewhere in the house. I hope.). I listened to quilting/sewing podcasts the entire way there and half the way back (until I had listened to everything the ridiculously small mp3 player would hold). I listened to Material Mama and Driven to Quilt . Yes, I recommend both. More on these and my auditory faves in a future post.

My applique history is brief. I have been doing it badly for years. I've had no formal training, and you can tell. All of my friends (okay, both of them) don't applique, so I don't have anyone telling me what I can do to do it better. I found an applique society, but they meet while I'm at work. See, my job is getting in the way of my quilting. So, meeting Becky was everything I had ever thought it would be. This is actually our second meeting, which I didn't mention to her for fear of being viewed as a stalker. I had met her at Quilt Market in Houston a few years ago. Added Note: I've only been to market once, and it was magnificent. I'm trying to find my way there again.

Once I got home & practiced my applique handwork, I showed my husband the before & after (I even used the same fabric to reduce the variables in this experiment!), and he couldn't tell a difference. He said the old one looked better. I'd hate to think he's right because I learned a ton. The two major things I learned are: 1.) prewash, and 2.) finger-press. (am I allowed to repeat this very pricey information?) Hey, I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Oh, and all those spools of thread? They aren't the right kind. So I had to buy these. darn.

Charm Pack Table Runners

2009-11-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

I thought perhaps I should go ahead and try my hand at photography. This isn't one of my selling points as you will soon see. I keep thinking I need a new camera, but I rather feel it's the user that needs to be replaced. My husband is even worse. I'll read up on photography and hopefully grow as the blog grows. Since I don't have a reader yet (Mom doesn't even know about this), it isn't really an issue yet.

On the way home from Kansas a week ago, I finished the binding on a couple table runners, so I'm posting them. All three of the table runners were made from charm packs. One is Moda Pumpkins Gone Wild by Sandy Gervais. I hope Ms. Gervais doesn't kill me, but I did throw in a little, well, nevermind [we won't mention any names, but I've been holding on to it for years.]. The pattern is from the book Charmed and Dangerous. If I had it to do over again, I'd trash the sashing; however, it was in my stash, and I feel that in some way, it helps me justify buying the new charm pack.

Next on the list is the Moda Oh Cherry Oh table runner. My local quilt shop has a binder of free patterns that you can have if you buy a charm pack, jelly roll, etc., and this pattern was from the binder. It started out as a baby quilt pattern that my friend Midge modified and I stole from her.

and here it is with the Urban Couture fabrics

These will probably be sent to family members for Christmas. I did make them for particular people in my family, so let's see if I can follow through with my intended plan.

Howdy!

2009-11-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Whew! I've been in graduate school the past 18 months, and my gift to myself was to start my quilting blog when I finished. Well, I have two small documents left to submit (due Sunday), but what the heck, I can't wait another day. I've been quilting for almost 17 years, and I have yet to waiver in my passion for the needle & thread. I wake up thinking about quilting, and I go to sleep thinking about quilting. If I were to ever quilt my job, which is truly an awesome job that I love, I would do it to quilt more. I'm not sure my husband, bless his heart, knows the depth of my feelings about my "hobby." Can we really call it a hobby? It's definitely more like a lifestyle. Or a compulsion. In fact, just the other day I was wishing I had more friends. But only friends who quilted. Yes, this could be an addiction.

I am in my sewing room about five times a week. Sometimes I'm only there 20 minutes, and sometimes I make a day of it. I love to piece traditional quilts with bright fabrics. Of course, I also love to embroider (hand and machine) and applique (ditto). Now that I'm done with my stinkin' education, I'm planning to be in the sewing room as close to everyday as possible. One awesome thing is that my husband works nights half the time, so on those stretches, I'm a no-cooking, pajama-wearing, quilting maniac. We're on one of those stretches now.

I started quilting when I was in college. I was hooked instantly, and instantly started buying loads of fabric. I think I had a $100 a week fabric monkey on my back. The problem was, every time [let's not mention any names] came out with a new fabric, I was first in line. Well, let's just say that as I sit here 17 years later, my tastes have changed, yet I still have so much of that crap. Blessed am I for having a mom who shares in this addiction. She did the same thing and made many of the same purchases. Lucky for her, she has manages to move her fabric a little faster and doesn't have the degree of bad fabric that I do.

So, for many years, I've made a bunch of quilts with minimal purchases. Of course, I make several quilts a year with new, pretty fabrics, too, because really, who should have to still be sewing on those fabrics all these years later?