Sometimes I think I am meeting myself coming and going! I just discovered the pictures of the Sew Sweet Bee house quilt on my phone and realized I forgot to share them here! 

Simple wavy quilting...My favorite all over design. And check out the backing fabric. Perfect, no? 

The colors are so much more vibrant. The day was cloudy, so the pictures don't do it justice. 

I am thankful for the kind hands who made the blocks for me. =) 

Have a happy Monday!!

Sometimes I think I am meeting myself coming and going! I just discovered the pictures of the Sew Sweet Bee house quilt on my phone and realized I forgot to share them here! 

Simple wavy quilting...My favorite all over design. And check out the backing fabric. Perfect, no? 

The colors are so much more vibrant. The day was cloudy, so the pictures don't do it justice. 

I am thankful for the kind hands who made the blocks for me. =) 

Have a happy Monday!!

It's all done! 

 Before I let the pictures do most of the talking, I want to share that I used a batting I hadn't tried before called Quilters Dream Wool. I will absolutely use it again. It was amazing to work with and I love the loft that the batting gave this quilt! I hope you can see it okay in the pictures. 

This block I messed up, so I changed the center. One of the many reasons why this quilt was done "my way." ;-)

The orange block is one of my favorites!! 

I changed the colors of the thread to match the fabric instead of using one color for the whole quilt. I have never done that before. I usually don't want to take the time. I am so glad I did!! 

I replaced the 24" block in the pattern with the Swoon block. For those who have followed me for a long time, you know how I adore the Swoon block...

Almost the whole time I was quilting it, I worried that I was "ruining" it. Tell me I am not alone with those worries! I ripped out stitches and redid them several times until I felt I got it right. Now that it's done, I feel good about it. =) 

On to the next project!! =D

Have a happy Thursday!! 

It's all done! 

 Before I let the pictures do most of the talking, I want to share that I used a batting I hadn't tried before called Quilters Dream Wool. I will absolutely use it again. It was amazing to work with and I love the loft that the batting gave this quilt! I hope you can see it okay in the pictures. 

This block I messed up, so I changed the center. One of the many reasons why this quilt was done "my way." ;-)

The orange block is one of my favorites!! 

I changed the colors of the thread to match the fabric instead of using one color for the whole quilt. I have never done that before. I usually don't want to take the time. I am so glad I did!! 

I replaced the 24" block in the pattern with the Swoon block. For those who have followed me for a long time, you know how I adore the Swoon block...

Almost the whole time I was quilting it, I worried that I was "ruining" it. Tell me I am not alone with those worries! I ripped out stitches and redid them several times until I felt I got it right. Now that it's done, I feel good about it. =) 

On to the next project!! =D

Have a happy Thursday!! 

Last weekend, Russ and I took a road trip to deliver the Swoon 16. She loved it!! That's always a relief when you are making something for someone, isn't it? =) 

There isn't any scraps left over. It all got used up. =)

The All Iowa Shop Hop is happening now, so my work hours are a bit mixed up. No complaints there! Its fun meeting new customers who are finding our shop for the first time. 

When I haven't been at work, I have been slowly getting some deep cleaning done around the house and cleaning up some gardens that are too over grown. Not fun, but it feels good to see an area all spiffed up. 

And, of course, I am working on projects. The Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt is in process of being quilted. You can see the whole quilt top here. 

This is the most quilt intensive top I have ever done. I tend to be in a hurry to get them done and I can get lazy and talk myself out of doing a lot of quilting. I am forcing myself to take as long as it needs to take to get it done. I must say, I am enjoying the process. I need to remember that next time I am tempted to be lazy.  I really need to learn to free motion quilt. It would open up the quilting ideas a great deal. Again, my character flaw of lazy is in play here. *sigh*

Have a very happy Tuesday, friends!! 

Last weekend, Russ and I took a road trip to deliver the Swoon 16. She loved it!! That's always a relief when you are making something for someone, isn't it? =) 

There isn't any scraps left over. It all got used up. =)

The All Iowa Shop Hop is happening now, so my work hours are a bit mixed up. No complaints there! Its fun meeting new customers who are finding our shop for the first time. 

When I haven't been at work, I have been slowly getting some deep cleaning done around the house and cleaning up some gardens that are too over grown. Not fun, but it feels good to see an area all spiffed up. 

And, of course, I am working on projects. The Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt is in process of being quilted. You can see the whole quilt top here. 

This is the most quilt intensive top I have ever done. I tend to be in a hurry to get them done and I can get lazy and talk myself out of doing a lot of quilting. I am forcing myself to take as long as it needs to take to get it done. I must say, I am enjoying the process. I need to remember that next time I am tempted to be lazy.  I really need to learn to free motion quilt. It would open up the quilting ideas a great deal. Again, my character flaw of lazy is in play here. *sigh*

Have a very happy Tuesday, friends!! 

My Rusty likes to sew and I love that he likes to sew! Saturday, he decided to make drawstring bags to hold his bullet casings, mostly because his wife hadn't gotten around to it yet. *ahem* . He reloads his bullets he uses for the cowboy action shoot (SASS) he participates in every month and needed a bag to collet the brass. Of course, I had to document this project....

First he settled on the pattern. Russ followed Jen's (Glinda Quilts) pants bag tutorial. Jen sent me a pants bag as a gift last year, so I gave that to him to help him see how it was constructed. That was just me being overly helpful. 

I caught him using his pocket knife to trim the threads. More manly than scissors, I guess. *wink*

Other than one broken needle from sewing over a pin, he did a great job!

This is one of the two bags he made. I didn't get a photo with the drawstrings, but you get the idea. 

While he was working on his projects, I was making a quilt top out of the Sew Sweet Bee house blocks that were made for me earlier this year. I chose to add my initial instead of another house. Notice the fabric used for my letter "A"? 

It was a fun day....=)

My Rusty likes to sew and I love that he likes to sew! Saturday, he decided to make drawstring bags to hold his bullet casings, mostly because his wife hadn't gotten around to it yet. *ahem* . He reloads his bullets he uses for the cowboy action shoot (SASS) he participates in every month and needed a bag to collet the brass. Of course, I had to document this project....

First he settled on the pattern. Russ followed Jen's (Glinda Quilts) pants bag tutorial. Jen sent me a pants bag as a gift last year, so I gave that to him to help him see how it was constructed. That was just me being overly helpful. 

I caught him using his pocket knife to trim the threads. More manly than scissors, I guess. *wink*

Other than one broken needle from sewing over a pin, he did a great job!

This is one of the two bags he made. I didn't get a photo with the drawstrings, but you get the idea. 

While he was working on his projects, I was making a quilt top out of the Sew Sweet Bee house blocks that were made for me earlier this year. I chose to add my initial instead of another house. Notice the fabric used for my letter "A"? 

It was a fun 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 hope you are all enjoying Spring! Its been glorious here in Iowa and we are taking full advantage of it. We have put 1000 miles on the Harley already this season with many more to come. =) 

Nice weather, bike rides and working more hours has certainly cut into my sewing time, but there really is no excuse for being so late with my April Sew Sweet Bee block for Donna. I put it off because it looked hard. I shouldn't have worried. It went together like a dream. I hope you like it, Donna!! 

I was determined to not let Erin wait until June for her Sew Sweet Bee block, so I got right to it this afternoon. Erin asked for us to make our favorite block because she wants a sampler. That was an easy decision for me. Dresden are my all time favorite to make. =) I think it's cute. =) It makes me want to make more!! 

I have also been plugging away on my friend Rhonda's Swoon Sixteen (in my case, Swoon 20). The quilting has begin, but I ran out of thread, so it will have to sit for a while until I get back to it. 

One last note, and I admit to feeling pretty prideful, but when a family chooses to use a quilt I made for them for their new baby's photo shoot, I can help but have a big ol' grin on my face. =D This seriously made my day!!

Until next time, may the God of Glory be with you....

I hope you are all enjoying Spring! Its been glorious here in Iowa and we are taking full advantage of it. We have put 1000 miles on the Harley already this season with many more to come. =) 

Nice weather, bike rides and working more hours has certainly cut into my sewing time, but there really is no excuse for being so late with my April Sew Sweet Bee block for Donna. I put it off because it looked hard. I shouldn't have worried. It went together like a dream. I hope you like it, Donna!! 

I was determined to not let Erin wait until June for her Sew Sweet Bee block, so I got right to it this afternoon. Erin asked for us to make our favorite block because she wants a sampler. That was an easy decision for me. Dresden are my all time favorite to make. =) I think it's cute. =) It makes me want to make more!! 

I have also been plugging away on my friend Rhonda's Swoon Sixteen (in my case, Swoon 20). The quilting has begin, but I ran out of thread, so it will have to sit for a while until I get back to it. 

One last note, and I admit to feeling pretty prideful, but when a family chooses to use a quilt I made for them for their new baby's photo shoot, I can help but have a big ol' grin on my face. =D This seriously made my day!!

Until next time, may the God of Glory be with you....

Good morning!! Spring is now in full swing here in Iowa and it is a glorious! I love spring and summer, so I feel like I have woken up from a long sleep. It feels good to feel good! 

Last week I finished quilting my Farmer's Wife quilt. I didn't do a very good job with the picture, so use your imagination. I chose to stitch in the ditch with most of them. I used wool batting so it has a bit of loft. As I was working on it, I doubted myself the whole time that I was making a mistake and was tempted to rip it all out and start over, but hubby encouraged me to keep going and he thought it looked just fine. It is what it is. No going back now! 

And the back view...The author of the Farmer's Wife, Laurie Hird, has a new Farmer's Wife 30's book coming out. I have a stash full of 30's, so I may tackle that one in the years to come. 

On the sewing front. I am making Thimble Blossoms new quilt pattern Swoon Sixteen for a friend of mine. As the name suggests, the blocks finish at 16" instead of the 24" that the original Swoon pattern  made. For her quilt, she chose Horizon by Kate Spain and a teal Grunge background. Again, the picture isn't very good. In real life, the colors really pop on the teal background. I am making the pattern bigger, so I need to make 20 blocks. Each one takes about an hour to make, so it is slow going. I have 12 more to go. 

New fabric has joined my stash, Ambleside by Brenda Riddle. The colors are so happy and fun...I have no plans for them yet. And see the thread? I purchased silk thread last weekend to give it a try. Silk thread is very fine, but strong! I can't wait to give it a try!

That's the news in my neck of the woods. If anyone has quilted with silk thread, I would love to hear about your experience. =)

Have a happy Thursday!!

Good morning!! Spring is now in full swing here in Iowa and it is a glorious! I love spring and summer, so I feel like I have woken up from a long sleep. It feels good to feel good! 

Last week I finished quilting my Farmer's Wife quilt. I didn't do a very good job with the picture, so use your imagination. I chose to stitch in the ditch with most of them. I used wool batting so it has a bit of loft. As I was working on it, I doubted myself the whole time that I was making a mistake and was tempted to rip it all out and start over, but hubby encouraged me to keep going and he thought it looked just fine. It is what it is. No going back now! 

And the back view...The author of the Farmer's Wife, Laurie Hird, has a new Farmer's Wife 30's book coming out. I have a stash full of 30's, so I may tackle that one in the years to come. 

On the sewing front. I am making Thimble Blossoms new quilt pattern Swoon Sixteen for a friend of mine. As the name suggests, the blocks finish at 16" instead of the 24" that the original Swoon pattern  made. For her quilt, she chose Horizon by Kate Spain and a teal Grunge background. Again, the picture isn't very good. In real life, the colors really pop on the teal background. I am making the pattern bigger, so I need to make 20 blocks. Each one takes about an hour to make, so it is slow going. I have 12 more to go. 

New fabric has joined my stash, Ambleside by Brenda Riddle. The colors are so happy and fun...I have no plans for them yet. And see the thread? I purchased silk thread last weekend to give it a try. Silk thread is very fine, but strong! I can't wait to give it a try!

That's the news in my neck of the woods. If anyone has quilted with silk thread, I would love to hear about your experience. =)

Have a happy Thursday!!

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!