The weather in Iowa has been gloomy and foggy for weeks. I can't remember the last time I saw the sun. =( I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and the lack of sunshine makes it much worse. Sewing with pretty colors and keeping busy does help, but I am never quite myself again until spring comes. These last few weeks have been rough. The point of mentioning SAD? No sun also means it is super hard to take decent pictures of the projects I have finished so I can share them here, or on Instagram, for that matter! I decided to stop waiting for a better time and just go with the less than stellar photography. 

First up is Christmas Swoon! 

I made Christmas Swoon last January with the plans to have it done for this last Christmas. Best laid plans and all that... But it is done and I love it!! I did my typical wavy lines to quilt it, but this time I chose to not make the wavy lines as curvy as I usually do. The texture is amazing!

It measures 65" x 65". The back is pieced with the left over half square triangles. 

Next up is another quilt top I made last January using my Cotton & Steel stash. You can find more details in this blog post. This one finished up at 62" x 76". 

I chose to straight line quilt it using my walking foot edge about ¼" away from the seam as my guide.  Totally eye balled it. I love the star and hexagon shape that emerges at the points of the triangles. Oh, and trust me, I stratigcally took a picture where my points matched up perfectly. Not all of them look this good. Just sayin!

For the back, I chose a newspaper print by Zen Chic by Moda. 

 My next project is to get my Patchwork Swoon quilted. Oh, I also have a shop sample I am frantically trying to get done, Sweetie Pie by Lori Holt. Another gal is helping with the embroidery and the hand appliqué parts. It will be cute when it's done. =) 

Thanks for hanging out with me on this Thursday morning! Have a happy day!!

The weather in Iowa has been gloomy and foggy for weeks. I can't remember the last time I saw the sun. =( I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and the lack of sunshine makes it much worse. Sewing with pretty colors and keeping busy does help, but I am never quite myself again until spring comes. These last few weeks have been rough. The point of mentioning SAD? No sun also means it is super hard to take decent pictures of the projects I have finished so I can share them here, or on Instagram, for that matter! I decided to stop waiting for a better time and just go with the less than stellar photography. 

First up is Christmas Swoon! 

I made Christmas Swoon last January with the plans to have it done for this last Christmas. Best laid plans and all that... But it is done and I love it!! I did my typical wavy lines to quilt it, but this time I chose to not make the wavy lines as curvy as I usually do. The texture is amazing!

It measures 65" x 65". The back is pieced with the left over half square triangles. 

Next up is another quilt top I made last January using my Cotton & Steel stash. You can find more details in this blog post. This one finished up at 62" x 76". 

I chose to straight line quilt it using my walking foot edge about ¼" away from the seam as my guide.  Totally eye balled it. I love the star and hexagon shape that emerges at the points of the triangles. Oh, and trust me, I stratigcally took a picture where my points matched up perfectly. Not all of them look this good. Just sayin!

For the back, I chose a newspaper print by Zen Chic by Moda. 

 My next project is to get my Patchwork Swoon quilted. Oh, I also have a shop sample I am frantically trying to get done, Sweetie Pie by Lori Holt. Another gal is helping with the embroidery and the hand appliqué parts. It will be cute when it's done. =) 

Thanks for hanging out with me on this Thursday morning! Have a happy day!!

Hello, friends!! Last week, my hubby and I spent many wonderful hours in the great Smoky Mountains between TN and NC. It was so good to get away and to relax. 

The views were breathtaking...Photographs simply can't do them justice. We rented a Harley trike for a couple of days and took the Blue Ridge Parkway into Asheville, NC up and over Mount Pisgah. Now, I am a wee bit afraid of heights, but normally I am fine when my feet are on the ground. However, this road trip was an exception. The higher and higher into the mountains we went, the more nervous I became. At one point, we stopped at an over look and Russ pointed at the road up the mountain and said,  "Wow! Look how much farther we have to go!" That was IT! I started to cry. My nerves got the best of me. We did finish the ride, but it was a challenge and Russ found a different way to come back to Pigeon Forge, TN. Bless his heart!!  

My hubby gets recharged when he is out in nature. 

One of the highlights was getting to see a bear in the wild. It was a first for both Russ and I! I had hoped we would get to see one, so it was a real thrill. =)

I would have to say, seeing Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC and getting to spend the day with my blogging friend, Karen and her hubby was THE highlight of our vacation. Spending the day with beautiful people and seeing such a beautiful place was perfection...The Biltmore Estate had the Downton Abby clothing on display. No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the house, so to get a sneak peek, you need to go to the Biltmore Estates web page. We paid for the regular tour, but now that we know what an amazing place this is, we would love to go back and happily pay to go on their extended tours to learn more about the people who lived on the estate and more of the history. Oh, and be sure to try their wine!! It was truly a perfect day!! 

Of course, we found a few quilt shops to visit on our trip. =) The shops I most enjoyed most were Among Friends Quilt Shop in Louisville, KY, Asheville Cotton Co in Asheville, NC, Quilters Quarters in Waynesville, NC and Hancock's Of Paducah in Paducah, KY. We went to more, but those were the shops that enticed me enough to part with my dollars. =) Also, I want to make a special note that one of the gals at Asheville Cotton Co was especially kind. After taking the trip over the mountain, I must have still looked a bit pale. She asked if I was all right and I teared all up again and told her I was frightened by going over the pass and needed some pretty fabric to help me feel better. She confessed that when she was in a storm while visiting Iowa, she got so scared she cried. I wanted to hug her! 

Okay, on to the fabric!

I always have my eye out for Bonnie and Camille fabric, especially their older lines. I found a few and also added some Daysail to my stash. 

I have had my eye on the Cotton + Steel fabrics for a long, long time. Now that I have seen them in person, I won't hesitate to add a few more of their prints to my stash. =) 

These fabrics are going to get added to the fabric pull I have for the Vintage Farm Girl quilts I will be making. That is truly a fantastic book!! I wish more shops carried Lori Holt fabrics. I found the top three on the right, but that was it. The shop where I work, Cotton Creek Mill, is going to carry at least 9 bolts of Lori Holt's new fabric line, Modern Minis, so if you are looking for Lori Holt fabric, too, and have trouble finding it in shops, keep us in mind. The release date is sometime in June. Personally, I can't wait!

Text prints are always at the top o my list when visiting shops. The bottom text fabric is a wide backing. I am planning ahead, not that I know what that plan is exactly. ;-) 

Does anyone else need a day to recover from a  vacation? I took a three hour nap this afternoon. I hope I sleep tonight! 

 I know I don't say it often enough, but thank you for taking the time to come visit me on my little blog and taking the time to comment. I do appreciate all of  you....

Have a happy rest of the weekend!!!

Hello, friends!! Last week, my hubby and I spent many wonderful hours in the great Smoky Mountains between TN and NC. It was so good to get away and to relax. 

The views were breathtaking...Photographs simply can't do them justice. We rented a Harley trike for a couple of days and took the Blue Ridge Parkway into Asheville, NC up and over Mount Pisgah. Now, I am a wee bit afraid of heights, but normally I am fine when my feet are on the ground. However, this road trip was an exception. The higher and higher into the mountains we went, the more nervous I became. At one point, we stopped at an over look and Russ pointed at the road up the mountain and said,  "Wow! Look how much farther we have to go!" That was IT! I started to cry. My nerves got the best of me. We did finish the ride, but it was a challenge and Russ found a different way to come back to Pigeon Forge, TN. Bless his heart!!  

My hubby gets recharged when he is out in nature. 

One of the highlights was getting to see a bear in the wild. It was a first for both Russ and I! I had hoped we would get to see one, so it was a real thrill. =)

I would have to say, seeing Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC and getting to spend the day with my blogging friend, Karen and her hubby was THE highlight of our vacation. Spending the day with beautiful people and seeing such a beautiful place was perfection...The Biltmore Estate had the Downton Abby clothing on display. No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the house, so to get a sneak peek, you need to go to the Biltmore Estates web page. We paid for the regular tour, but now that we know what an amazing place this is, we would love to go back and happily pay to go on their extended tours to learn more about the people who lived on the estate and more of the history. Oh, and be sure to try their wine!! It was truly a perfect day!! 

Of course, we found a few quilt shops to visit on our trip. =) The shops I most enjoyed most were Among Friends Quilt Shop in Louisville, KY, Asheville Cotton Co in Asheville, NC, Quilters Quarters in Waynesville, NC and Hancock's Of Paducah in Paducah, KY. We went to more, but those were the shops that enticed me enough to part with my dollars. =) Also, I want to make a special note that one of the gals at Asheville Cotton Co was especially kind. After taking the trip over the mountain, I must have still looked a bit pale. She asked if I was all right and I teared all up again and told her I was frightened by going over the pass and needed some pretty fabric to help me feel better. She confessed that when she was in a storm while visiting Iowa, she got so scared she cried. I wanted to hug her! 

Okay, on to the fabric!

I always have my eye out for Bonnie and Camille fabric, especially their older lines. I found a few and also added some Daysail to my stash. 

I have had my eye on the Cotton + Steel fabrics for a long, long time. Now that I have seen them in person, I won't hesitate to add a few more of their prints to my stash. =) 

These fabrics are going to get added to the fabric pull I have for the Vintage Farm Girl quilts I will be making. That is truly a fantastic book!! I wish more shops carried Lori Holt fabrics. I found the top three on the right, but that was it. The shop where I work, Cotton Creek Mill, is going to carry at least 9 bolts of Lori Holt's new fabric line, Modern Minis, so if you are looking for Lori Holt fabric, too, and have trouble finding it in shops, keep us in mind. The release date is sometime in June. Personally, I can't wait!

Text prints are always at the top o my list when visiting shops. The bottom text fabric is a wide backing. I am planning ahead, not that I know what that plan is exactly. ;-) 

Does anyone else need a day to recover from a  vacation? I took a three hour nap this afternoon. I hope I sleep tonight! 

 I know I don't say it often enough, but thank you for taking the time to come visit me on my little blog and taking the time to comment. I do appreciate all of  you....

Have a happy rest of the weekend!!!

I find that when life is kicking into high gear, the last thing I want to do is sit down at the computer to blog. I am forcing myself to sit and get some of the projects I have been working on recorded, before more pile up and I get totally overwhelmed! Don't forget, you can find me on Instagram @aquiltingsheep. I do tend to post there a tiny bit more often. 

Lets jump right into it, shall we?

 This is the beginning of the Pretty Petals quilt found in the book Vintage Vibe using the Fresh Cut fabric line by Basic Grey. 

So pretty and springy!

I also got to play with the new line by 3 Sisters called Whitewashed Cottage.  Cluck Cluck Sew's pattern Shortcake using the throw size makes two nice sized baby quilts with only one orphan block left over. It's a great use of a jelly roll. 

These next two quilts came from my stash and will be gifted to a new baby and her big sister from my church. The first one is for the big sister. She has a bunny that she carries with her everywhere. Her parents were worried about what they would do if it ever got lost, so they bought a few more to put back, just in case. Well, this sweet little miss found one of them and now carries two. They have very clever names, Bunny and Backup Bunny. I knew the bunnies had to be part of the quilt, so I started there and built around them to come up with this creation. Sometimes I even impress myself. =)

The flowers and butterflies are from Lori Holt's book, Quilty Fun. I framed the butterflies and squared them up at angles to give the butterflies movement. 

The heart blocks tutorial can be found on Cluck Cluck Sew. 

Letters are from Moda's Spell It With Fabric. 

Here is Backup Bunny!

For her new baby sister, I used an Aviary honeybun that has been in my stash for a long while. 

If you look carefully, you can see I quilted the baby's name into the quilt. I kept the quilting simple to keep the quilt soft. 

There are a few more projects that I have been working on, but this post is long enough. Perhaps I will get back here before another 5 weeks slip by. *wink*

 Have a happy Monday! 

I find that when life is kicking into high gear, the last thing I want to do is sit down at the computer to blog. I am forcing myself to sit and get some of the projects I have been working on recorded, before more pile up and I get totally overwhelmed! Don't forget, you can find me on Instagram @aquiltingsheep. I do tend to post there a tiny bit more often. 

Lets jump right into it, shall we?

 This is the beginning of the Pretty Petals quilt found in the book Vintage Vibe using the Fresh Cut fabric line by Basic Grey. 

So pretty and springy!

I also got to play with the new line by 3 Sisters called Whitewashed Cottage.  Cluck Cluck Sew's pattern Shortcake using the throw size makes two nice sized baby quilts with only one orphan block left over. It's a great use of a jelly roll. 

These next two quilts came from my stash and will be gifted to a new baby and her big sister from my church. The first one is for the big sister. She has a bunny that she carries with her everywhere. Her parents were worried about what they would do if it ever got lost, so they bought a few more to put back, just in case. Well, this sweet little miss found one of them and now carries two. They have very clever names, Bunny and Backup Bunny. I knew the bunnies had to be part of the quilt, so I started there and built around them to come up with this creation. Sometimes I even impress myself. =)

The flowers and butterflies are from Lori Holt's book, Quilty Fun. I framed the butterflies and squared them up at angles to give the butterflies movement. 

The heart blocks tutorial can be found on Cluck Cluck Sew. 

Letters are from Moda's Spell It With Fabric. 

Here is Backup Bunny!

For her new baby sister, I used an Aviary honeybun that has been in my stash for a long while. 

If you look carefully, you can see I quilted the baby's name into the quilt. I kept the quilting simple to keep the quilt soft. 

There are a few more projects that I have been working on, but this post is long enough. Perhaps I will get back here before another 5 weeks slip by. *wink*

 Have a happy Monday! 

It took some creative effort to get a picture of this one. A step ladder may have been involved. ;-) I would rather have taken an outside photo, but a step ladder in a foot of snow would have made me look sillier than I already am. My neighbors talk enough already. 

I have to give credit where credit is due. When I told my hubby I was going to write words in place of many of the 6" blocks in the Modern Building Blocks pattern, he came up with most of them. I guess he loves me. =) 

The letters are Just My Type by Quiet Play and can be found on Payhip. She has a lot of super cute paper pieced patterns. =) The hearts are by Cluck Cluck Sew. I want to make more of them because they are just so cute! 

When I get this big lady quilted, it will be on our bed. =) 

In anticipation of Lori Holt's new book coming out, Farm Girl Vintage, and needing a backing for this quilt (which was made with all Lori Holt fabric) I made a trip to a local quilt shop that carries a lot of her fabric. 

Sorry for the poor quality picture...All the fabric on the right are Lori Holt's fabrics. The bottom two are for the back of the Modern Building Block quilt. That's the plan, at least. While I am sharing the picture, the house fabric on the left is going to be used somehow in the Sew Sweet Bee house quilt my bee sisters are making for me. The stove fabric was a "just because it's cute" purchase, as was the sheep fabric. And I can never turn away from a great text fabric. Just like that, my paycheck was gone, but what a fun way to go! 

Have a happy Thursday, everyone!! 

It took some creative effort to get a picture of this one. A step ladder may have been involved. ;-) I would rather have taken an outside photo, but a step ladder in a foot of snow would have made me look sillier than I already am. My neighbors talk enough already. 

I have to give credit where credit is due. When I told my hubby I was going to write words in place of many of the 6" blocks in the Modern Building Blocks pattern, he came up with most of them. I guess he loves me. =) 

The letters are Just My Type by Quiet Play and can be found on Payhip. She has a lot of super cute paper pieced patterns. =) The hearts are by Cluck Cluck Sew. I want to make more of them because they are just so cute! 

When I get this big lady quilted, it will be on our bed. =) 

In anticipation of Lori Holt's new book coming out, Farm Girl Vintage, and needing a backing for this quilt (which was made with all Lori Holt fabric) I made a trip to a local quilt shop that carries a lot of her fabric. 

Sorry for the poor quality picture...All the fabric on the right are Lori Holt's fabrics. The bottom two are for the back of the Modern Building Block quilt. That's the plan, at least. While I am sharing the picture, the house fabric on the left is going to be used somehow in the Sew Sweet Bee house quilt my bee sisters are making for me. The stove fabric was a "just because it's cute" purchase, as was the sheep fabric. And I can never turn away from a great text fabric. Just like that, my paycheck was gone, but what a fun way to go! 

Have a happy Thursday, everyone!! 

This week, I started Moda's Modern Building Blocks. I bought the pattern only and not the whole kit, which is made up of all solids. For my quilt, I chose to use all my Lori Holt @ Bee In My Bonnet fabric stash, along with some solids and tone on tone whites. Some of the solids pictured didn't make it into the quilt blocks...Not yet, at least.

Some of these blocks are huge. Two are 36"!! Keeping the blocks laid out so I can make sure the colors were distributed evenly was not an option, so I printed out the page that shows you how to put it all together and kept notes on it. 

I deviated from the pattern and substituted the 24" block for a Swoon block. If you have been around for a while, you know how I love this block! 

This next block was an unplanned change. It was supposed to look like this...

After trying to get it put together, ripping and trying again, it was still a hot mess. I ended up making  this instead...It was later where I realized where the mistake was. I made the cuts at ⅞" instead of ⅜"...Ooops! Makes a big difference!! I am calling it good enough. =)

One more section all put together. 

 This quilt is going to be really big! 84"x96"! The spaces are where more blocks need to be made and added in, however I am going to totally change up the 6" blocks and personalize this quilt even further. More on that on another day. =) 

Do you follow a pattern exactly as it is intended to be made or do you change it up and make it your own? I do both... 

Have a happy weekend!! 

This week, I started Moda's Modern Building Blocks. I bought the pattern only and not the whole kit, which is made up of all solids. For my quilt, I chose to use all my Lori Holt @ Bee In My Bonnet fabric stash, along with some solids and tone on tone whites. Some of the solids pictured didn't make it into the quilt blocks...Not yet, at least.

Some of these blocks are huge. Two are 36"!! Keeping the blocks laid out so I can make sure the colors were distributed evenly was not an option, so I printed out the page that shows you how to put it all together and kept notes on it. 

I deviated from the pattern and substituted the 24" block for a Swoon block. If you have been around for a while, you know how I love this block! 

This next block was an unplanned change. It was supposed to look like this...

After trying to get it put together, ripping and trying again, it was still a hot mess. I ended up making  this instead...It was later where I realized where the mistake was. I made the cuts at ⅞" instead of ⅜"...Ooops! Makes a big difference!! I am calling it good enough. =)

One more section all put together. 

 This quilt is going to be really big! 84"x96"! The spaces are where more blocks need to be made and added in, however I am going to totally change up the 6" blocks and personalize this quilt even further. More on that on another day. =) 

Do you follow a pattern exactly as it is intended to be made or do you change it up and make it your own? I do both... 

Have a happy weekend!! 

There is something so satisfying about making mini quilts. They are quick and fun. This basket pattern I purchased as a kit last summer. The colors in the kit was all 30's solids, but I decided to shake it up and use Vintage Happy fabrics by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet. Its more me, though it was painfully hard to cut into my fat quarters. 

Still on the Lori Holt kick, I joined the bandwagon and made her birthday block in honor of the one year birthday of her amazing book, Quilty Fun. I used fabrics from several of her lines. She creates such happy fabric. =) You can find the pattern for the birthday cake block here.

Here it is on display in my kitchen. One of these days I will get that yellow cabinet repainted. 

Not a mini, but another quilt top I had to make. It was in my head for weeks. I used the Yellow Brick Road pattern to make the canvas out of low volume fabrics and appliquéd the letters on. I wish I would have had enough black to do all the letters in black, but alas, I was just short of having enough, so I improvised. The font is CAC Pinafore and one of my most favorite fonts....

I had 4 blocks left over, so I played with some Bonnie and Camille scraps and made some petals to make another mini quilt. As you can tell, I don't through away even the smallest of pieces of their fabric lines. I always find a way to use them. =) 

Lately, I have found myself using Instagram more and more often. It took me a while to really get into it, but now that I understand it better, it really is a fun place to do quick updates. You can follow me @aquiltingsheep.

Today is a "work" day, so I need to get going! 

Have a happy Thursday!!

There is something so satisfying about making mini quilts. They are quick and fun. This basket pattern I purchased as a kit last summer. The colors in the kit was all 30's solids, but I decided to shake it up and use Vintage Happy fabrics by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet. Its more me, though it was painfully hard to cut into my fat quarters. 

Still on the Lori Holt kick, I joined the bandwagon and made her birthday block in honor of the one year birthday of her amazing book, Quilty Fun. I used fabrics from several of her lines. She creates such happy fabric. =) You can find the pattern for the birthday cake block here.

Here it is on display in my kitchen. One of these days I will get that yellow cabinet repainted. 

Not a mini, but another quilt top I had to make. It was in my head for weeks. I used the Yellow Brick Road pattern to make the canvas out of low volume fabrics and appliquéd the letters on. I wish I would have had enough black to do all the letters in black, but alas, I was just short of having enough, so I improvised. The font is CAC Pinafore and one of my most favorite fonts....

I had 4 blocks left over, so I played with some Bonnie and Camille scraps and made some petals to make another mini quilt. As you can tell, I don't through away even the smallest of pieces of their fabric lines. I always find a way to use them. =) 

Lately, I have found myself using Instagram more and more often. It took me a while to really get into it, but now that I understand it better, it really is a fun place to do quick updates. You can follow me @aquiltingsheep.

Today is a "work" day, so I need to get going! 

Have a happy Thursday!!

Good morning, sweet friends!! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. I am SO glad summer is finally here!

Anytime I can get away for the weekend with my husband is a fun weekend, however, our weekend was especially fun!! My husband is a member of the Single Action Shooting Society. Every 3rd weekend, he joins many other men and woman who get dressed up in their cowboy duds and compete in shooting contests. We are talking cowboy boots, holsters, hats, the works! He has so much fun! And while he is doing that, I am home in the hotel with my featherweight and sewing to my hearts desire. Win-win! 

He is back at the hotel from his morning shoot around lunch time, so we have the rest of the day to do  fun stuff together, like shopping at antique stores, thrift stores and quilt shops. This darling little toy sewing machine found it's way back to my sewing room. =)

I also found a sweet lamb planter. I am always on the lookout for them. I made it into a pin cushion using a felted wool ball I made out of wool roving. She makes me smile. =)

And that sweet little lamb is sitting upon Lori Holt's new fabric line Vintage Happy. Oh, yes...That is one happy, happy fabric and I am one happy, happy woman to have it in my stash!

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!! =D

Good morning, sweet friends!! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. I am SO glad summer is finally here!

Anytime I can get away for the weekend with my husband is a fun weekend, however, our weekend was especially fun!! My husband is a member of the Single Action Shooting Society. Every 3rd weekend, he joins many other men and woman who get dressed up in their cowboy duds and compete in shooting contests. We are talking cowboy boots, holsters, hats, the works! He has so much fun! And while he is doing that, I am home in the hotel with my featherweight and sewing to my hearts desire. Win-win! 

He is back at the hotel from his morning shoot around lunch time, so we have the rest of the day to do  fun stuff together, like shopping at antique stores, thrift stores and quilt shops. This darling little toy sewing machine found it's way back to my sewing room. =)

I also found a sweet lamb planter. I am always on the lookout for them. I made it into a pin cushion using a felted wool ball I made out of wool roving. She makes me smile. =)

And that sweet little lamb is sitting upon Lori Holt's new fabric line Vintage Happy. Oh, yes...That is one happy, happy fabric and I am one happy, happy woman to have it in my stash!

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!! =D

Had.To.Have! 

To get your copy, visit Lori's Etsy store. =) 

And!! In June, she is starting another sew along! All the information is here. =)

Yay!!! 

Had.To.Have! 

To get your copy, visit Lori's Etsy store. =) 

And!! In June, she is starting another sew along! All the information is here. =)

Yay!!!