I had quite a long dry spell of not touching my machine and not feeling motivated to do anything. I would lay out fabric, pet it, search on Pinterest for hours days, look at patterns and then put the fabric all away again. This went on for weeks. Even with new pretty fabrics joining my stash, I felt paralyzed to make any decision. It's an awful feeling. 

Last summer, when Russ and I went to Missouri Star Quilt Company, Russ picked out fabric and a pattern for a quilt for himself, by himself. The plan was to work on it together this winter, but when he surprised me with a new kitchen floor, and he is refinishing a table for me. I will share more on that some other time. Last week, with his blessing, I pulled the fabric out and made the top. I won't say that I loved the process of cutting, pressing and sewing, but I think that was mostly because I don't love the fabric and the colors are so not me. The thing is, what helped me break out of the paralyzing dry spell was doing something loving for my husband, who is so very good to me. And he loves it, so that is what matters... 

Yay for me! My first quilt top of 2016!

He over bought (I taught him well. *wink*), so I had plenty to piece together a fairly interesting back for it, too. 

Since that went so well, I pulled myself together and decided to put an idea I've had in my head into action. I pulled out the red and green Bonnie and Camille fabrics in my stash, bit the bullet and created a giant Christmas Swoon. And, this math challenged quilter, did the math all by myself! As I laid it out, I realized I was missing a few blocks! 

Here she is all finished. The quilt top measures 65" x 65". I am not sure if it's done yet. I made myself open a new fat quarter bundle to pull out fabrics for this quilt to use along with the scraps. And, it felt good!! Bonus! I am ahead of the game for Christmas this year. Ha!

Now I want to cut up the Cotton and Steel stash I have to make a triangle quilt. If I am not careful, I will have a stack of UFO's, and, you know what? It will be just fine with me!!

Yay for feeling excited about creating again! 

Have a happy rest of the week! 

I had quite a long dry spell of not touching my machine and not feeling motivated to do anything. I would lay out fabric, pet it, search on Pinterest for hours days, look at patterns and then put the fabric all away again. This went on for weeks. Even with new pretty fabrics joining my stash, I felt paralyzed to make any decision. It's an awful feeling. 

Last summer, when Russ and I went to Missouri Star Quilt Company, Russ picked out fabric and a pattern for a quilt for himself, by himself. The plan was to work on it together this winter, but when he surprised me with a new kitchen floor, and he is refinishing a table for me. I will share more on that some other time. Last week, with his blessing, I pulled the fabric out and made the top. I won't say that I loved the process of cutting, pressing and sewing, but I think that was mostly because I don't love the fabric and the colors are so not me. The thing is, what helped me break out of the paralyzing dry spell was doing something loving for my husband, who is so very good to me. And he loves it, so that is what matters... 

Yay for me! My first quilt top of 2016!

He over bought (I taught him well. *wink*), so I had plenty to piece together a fairly interesting back for it, too. 

Since that went so well, I pulled myself together and decided to put an idea I've had in my head into action. I pulled out the red and green Bonnie and Camille fabrics in my stash, bit the bullet and created a giant Christmas Swoon. And, this math challenged quilter, did the math all by myself! As I laid it out, I realized I was missing a few blocks! 

Here she is all finished. The quilt top measures 65" x 65". I am not sure if it's done yet. I made myself open a new fat quarter bundle to pull out fabrics for this quilt to use along with the scraps. And, it felt good!! Bonus! I am ahead of the game for Christmas this year. Ha!

Now I want to cut up the Cotton and Steel stash I have to make a triangle quilt. If I am not careful, I will have a stack of UFO's, and, you know what? It will be just fine with me!!

Yay for feeling excited about creating again! 

Have a happy rest of the week! 

I am very honored to share with you two awesome quilts using my tutorial Oh, Happy Day as the inspiration. =) 

First up is Capi's version that she made for her dad. She made it look like a window and used a tablecloth of her mom's (I am almost positive I have that correct) for the window curtains. She is super clever, don't you think? You can see the other really cute things she makes at her Etsy shop.

Next up is Lisa's version. I love how she made her grass! And her flowers are so bright and happy. =) You can see more of Lisa's talent on her Flickr page. 

Thanks, Capi and Lisa, for letting me share your quilts! You made my day...

I am very honored to share with you two awesome quilts using my tutorial Oh, Happy Day as the inspiration. =) 

First up is Capi's version that she made for her dad. She made it look like a window and used a tablecloth of her mom's (I am almost positive I have that correct) for the window curtains. She is super clever, don't you think? You can see the other really cute things she makes at her Etsy shop.

Next up is Lisa's version. I love how she made her grass! And her flowers are so bright and happy. =) You can see more of Lisa's talent on her Flickr page. 

Thanks, Capi and Lisa, for letting me share your quilts! You made my day...

I've hardly touched my sewing machine in weeks, thus the silence here on my blog. If not for the Sew Sweet Bee block I needed to make for dear Jane, my sewing machine wouldn't have been turned on! Not because I don't want to, but because my sewing mojo has run away. I hope it comes back soon!

The block Jane requested for her month as queen bee was the sailboat block from the Fatquarter Shop Snapshots quilt along. Her quilt will be so cute!

One of my self imposed goals this year is to not buy more stash, except for fabric I would need to help use what I have and only if necessary. That said, I am allowing a few exceptions. ;-) And, in my defense, much of what you will see today, I ordered last year. =) 

I think you can easily guess why I had to have Cotton and Steel's new line called Clover. =) Those lambs!! Eeep!

I also picked up the Cotton and Steel fat quarter basics. The colors are so wonderful! 

And the last splurge was a half yard bundle of V and Co Ombre fabrics. Don't they look nice with the Cotton and Steel fabrics? I wish you could see them in real life. They really shine....

 My other exception I posted about last month, Little Ruby. That will certainly join my stash. Ruby was the one line I regret not buying more of the first time it came out. I am not making that mistake again. =) 

I'm off to surf Pinterest to get some inspiration! 

Have a happy weekend!! 

I've hardly touched my sewing machine in weeks, thus the silence here on my blog. If not for the Sew Sweet Bee block I needed to make for dear Jane, my sewing machine wouldn't have been turned on! Not because I don't want to, but because my sewing mojo has run away. I hope it comes back soon!

The block Jane requested for her month as queen bee was the sailboat block from the Fatquarter Shop Snapshots quilt along. Her quilt will be so cute!

One of my self imposed goals this year is to not buy more stash, except for fabric I would need to help use what I have and only if necessary. That said, I am allowing a few exceptions. ;-) And, in my defense, much of what you will see today, I ordered last year. =) 

I think you can easily guess why I had to have Cotton and Steel's new line called Clover. =) Those lambs!! Eeep!

I also picked up the Cotton and Steel fat quarter basics. The colors are so wonderful! 

And the last splurge was a half yard bundle of V and Co Ombre fabrics. Don't they look nice with the Cotton and Steel fabrics? I wish you could see them in real life. They really shine....

 My other exception I posted about last month, Little Ruby. That will certainly join my stash. Ruby was the one line I regret not buying more of the first time it came out. I am not making that mistake again. =) 

I'm off to surf Pinterest to get some inspiration! 

Have a happy weekend!! 

I hope you all had a happy Christmas. =) Now its time to ring in the new year! We are bringing in 2016 with a huge project. I am finally getting a new kitchen floor! During Christmas week, my husband's work place shuts down. Four years ago this week, we took that time to repaint the kitchen and add wainscoting on the walls. Two years ago we were going to replace the disgusting flooring, however, life got in the way. I was thrilled when Russ said we could do the floor this year! Woo hoo!! 

After weeks of researching and discussing our options, we decided to go with Snapstone porcelain tiles and chose the walnut planks. Eventually we will refinish the hard wood floor on the other side of the kitchen. Someday, someday, someday. A little bit at a time is how we roll. 

 The half bath off the kitchen will have the same floor. He has it almost done. You can see the ugly flooring we had. See that black line? That is the vinyl floor seam and it separated, so that ugly black line was always there. Ugh...Eventually this bathroom will get a whole new makeover. I want to have tiles on the walls. That will take a year or two, probably. For now, a new floor makes me very happy!

This is the area that will take some thought and planning. The former owners added this peninsula counter that could be flapped down to get it out of the way. In all the last 18 years I have lived here, I have never had it down. There isn't enough counter space without it. I jerry rigged up a solution to get more drawer space. The plan is to build a new cupboard area in the place of the cabinet that is there. I need drawers! We are exploring the options from Ikea cabinets, to unfinished cabinets that we paint, to transforming a dresser into a peninsula. We want it to look completely different from the cupboards because trying to match them would be difficult and then they won't ever look right. When that gets decided, new counters can go in. That's a whole other major decision! Now, if money were no object, the decision would be much easier. ;-) We will update the cupboards with new hardware, too. Just to give them a better look. 

That's what is going on around here! I haven't touched my sewing machine in weeks! I hope to get back to creating with fabric very soon! 

Have a happy new year, everyone! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. =) I am very grateful for all of you! Truly!

I hope you all had a happy Christmas. =) Now its time to ring in the new year! We are bringing in 2016 with a huge project. I am finally getting a new kitchen floor! During Christmas week, my husband's work place shuts down. Four years ago this week, we took that time to repaint the kitchen and add wainscoting on the walls. Two years ago we were going to replace the disgusting flooring, however, life got in the way. I was thrilled when Russ said we could do the floor this year! Woo hoo!! 

After weeks of researching and discussing our options, we decided to go with Snapstone porcelain tiles and chose the walnut planks. Eventually we will refinish the hard wood floor on the other side of the kitchen. Someday, someday, someday. A little bit at a time is how we roll. 

 The half bath off the kitchen will have the same floor. He has it almost done. You can see the ugly flooring we had. See that black line? That is the vinyl floor seam and it separated, so that ugly black line was always there. Ugh...Eventually this bathroom will get a whole new makeover. I want to have tiles on the walls. That will take a year or two, probably. For now, a new floor makes me very happy!

This is the area that will take some thought and planning. The former owners added this peninsula counter that could be flapped down to get it out of the way. In all the last 18 years I have lived here, I have never had it down. There isn't enough counter space without it. I jerry rigged up a solution to get more drawer space. The plan is to build a new cupboard area in the place of the cabinet that is there. I need drawers! We are exploring the options from Ikea cabinets, to unfinished cabinets that we paint, to transforming a dresser into a peninsula. We want it to look completely different from the cupboards because trying to match them would be difficult and then they won't ever look right. When that gets decided, new counters can go in. That's a whole other major decision! Now, if money were no object, the decision would be much easier. ;-) We will update the cupboards with new hardware, too. Just to give them a better look. 

That's what is going on around here! I haven't touched my sewing machine in weeks! I hope to get back to creating with fabric very soon! 

Have a happy new year, everyone! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. =) I am very grateful for all of you! Truly!

I have a slight addiction to Bonnie and Camille @Thimblebossoms fabrics, don't you think? 

And to make matters worse! Bonnie and Camille announced today that Moda is going to release a reprint of Ruby, with a few Bliss prints mixed in, after the new year!! Can you guess what I will be buying with my Christmas money? =D

Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

I have a slight addiction to Bonnie and Camille @Thimblebossoms fabrics, don't you think? 

And to make matters worse! Bonnie and Camille announced today that Moda is going to release a reprint of Ruby, with a few Bliss prints mixed in, after the new year!! Can you guess what I will be buying with my Christmas money? =D

Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Last week, I celebrated a birthday. 55 years old! Ouch! But rather than dwell on that, I want to dwell on the gifts I received from the birthday swap I am privileged to be a member of which is hosted by Capi and Deb aka: Chosen Sisters. (Be sure to check out their Easy shop!!)

Look at all this presents!!! Overwhelming!

The post is very picture heavy. =) I tried to keep it in control, but it is hard! These ladies spoiled me well and I want you to see their talent!! 

This was from Capi. =) You can find her here on Instagram. One thing I asked for was a Winter/Christmas door hanging. Isn't he cute?

He is perfect!!

Capi also made me this darling pincushion. =D 

This pile of loveliness is from Deb. You can find her here on Instagram.

Here is a better picture of the little sheep. =) She has joined my other collection of sheep here in my sewing room. Precious!!

I also want you to see a better picture of the sheep hand stitching Deb did on the zippered pouch and needle book. I am in awe of her talent...

This is from Jeannie. You can find her on Instagram. Another suggestion I gave was a new make up bag. Jeannie made me one, but I think its too nice to put make up in! For now I have it in my sewing room so I can look at it. I will use it, eventually, for something! One other thing I want to highlight in her pile of presents is the journal cover. It hold the small size legal pads. I love using those for keeping notes in as I am brainstorming quilt ideas. This will be used daily, for sure!!

A closer look at the inside of the case Jeannie made. Isn't it awesome! I really love it!

Next up, Renee. Renee blogs @ Sewn With Grace and you can also find her on Instagram. She has a new Easy shop, as well. Be sure to take a look. =) 

Renee spoiled me a new table topper, a 30's fabric panel, that I folded so you could see the sheep, as well as some fat quarters, a book and a large blank journal. I can't wait to sew with that sweet fabric!!

Last, but not least, Pennie. Pennie can be found on Flickr where she showcases the things she makes. She has some super cute stuff!! Pennie is known to make folders out of fabric. It is amazing!! It holds a manilla envelope to store patterns or any other papers you have laying around. I have never seen anything like it! As you can see, she also made me a fabric basket filled with goodies and a zippered pouch. =) 

Whew!! This was a birthday celebration like no other I have ever experienced!! Its been a long, long time since I have been so spoiled. I can't wait to be a part of the spoiling for Capi, who is next in line. =) 

Thank you, ladies, for all the wonderful gifts and for sharing your talent with me. =) 

Last week, I celebrated a birthday. 55 years old! Ouch! But rather than dwell on that, I want to dwell on the gifts I received from the birthday swap I am privileged to be a member of which is hosted by Capi and Deb aka: Chosen Sisters. (Be sure to check out their Easy shop!!)

Look at all this presents!!! Overwhelming!

The post is very picture heavy. =) I tried to keep it in control, but it is hard! These ladies spoiled me well and I want you to see their talent!! 

This was from Capi. =) You can find her here on Instagram. One thing I asked for was a Winter/Christmas door hanging. Isn't he cute?

He is perfect!!

Capi also made me this darling pincushion. =D 

This pile of loveliness is from Deb. You can find her here on Instagram.

Here is a better picture of the little sheep. =) She has joined my other collection of sheep here in my sewing room. Precious!!

I also want you to see a better picture of the sheep hand stitching Deb did on the zippered pouch and needle book. I am in awe of her talent...

This is from Jeannie. You can find her on Instagram. Another suggestion I gave was a new make up bag. Jeannie made me one, but I think its too nice to put make up in! For now I have it in my sewing room so I can look at it. I will use it, eventually, for something! One other thing I want to highlight in her pile of presents is the journal cover. It hold the small size legal pads. I love using those for keeping notes in as I am brainstorming quilt ideas. This will be used daily, for sure!!

A closer look at the inside of the case Jeannie made. Isn't it awesome! I really love it!

Next up, Renee. Renee blogs @ Sewn With Grace and you can also find her on Instagram. She has a new Easy shop, as well. Be sure to take a look. =) 

Renee spoiled me a new table topper, a 30's fabric panel, that I folded so you could see the sheep, as well as some fat quarters, a book and a large blank journal. I can't wait to sew with that sweet fabric!!

Last, but not least, Pennie. Pennie can be found on Flickr where she showcases the things she makes. She has some super cute stuff!! Pennie is known to make folders out of fabric. It is amazing!! It holds a manilla envelope to store patterns or any other papers you have laying around. I have never seen anything like it! As you can see, she also made me a fabric basket filled with goodies and a zippered pouch. =) 

Whew!! This was a birthday celebration like no other I have ever experienced!! Its been a long, long time since I have been so spoiled. I can't wait to be a part of the spoiling for Capi, who is next in line. =) 

Thank you, ladies, for all the wonderful gifts and for sharing your talent with me. =) 

Hello, friends! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was nice and quiet. I like them that way. =) 

I did get a bit of sewing done during the long weekend. Do you remember this top I made in September? I had set it aside to let it marinate. I needed to think about how I wanted to finish it. 

Today, I took another look at it and in a very short amount of time, it morphed into this darling quilt top. Perfect for a little boy. =) Now to figure out what fabric to use for the back and get it quilted. 

I also made this scrappy star using the pattern Adorn in the book Simply Retro. I would love to make a whole quilt using this idea. Its another great way to use up those strings. 

In a few hours it was quilted and now hangs on my front door for the Christmas/winter season. =)

After replacing my walking foot for the 5th time, I have a question. Have you had to replace your walking foot? I wear one out about every year. Isn't that crazy!? I need to learn to free motion quilt. I have been saying that for years and I have yet to do that! ;-) Maybe this year! 

Have a happy week, everyone!

Hello, friends! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was nice and quiet. I like them that way. =) 

I did get a bit of sewing done during the long weekend. Do you remember this top I made in September? I had set it aside to let it marinate. I needed to think about how I wanted to finish it. 

Today, I took another look at it and in a very short amount of time, it morphed into this darling quilt top. Perfect for a little boy. =) Now to figure out what fabric to use for the back and get it quilted. 

I also made this scrappy star using the pattern Adorn in the book Simply Retro. I would love to make a whole quilt using this idea. Its another great way to use up those strings. 

In a few hours it was quilted and now hangs on my front door for the Christmas/winter season. =)

After replacing my walking foot for the 5th time, I have a question. Have you had to replace your walking foot? I wear one out about every year. Isn't that crazy!? I need to learn to free motion quilt. I have been saying that for years and I have yet to do that! ;-) Maybe this year! 

Have a happy week, everyone!

Every once in a while, I feel the need to purge and reorganize the scrap piles in my sewing space. I got to looking at my string box and it was crammed full of scrappy strings. It was a good place to start! When I make string blocks, I like to use a fabric foundation. Muslin or old sheets are good enough for me. I also like to use strings that are no wider than 2 ½" and no narrower than 1 ¼". As I sewed, I tossed the ones that were too narrow and made decisions on what ones I wanted to use and which ones could be set aside for another project, or *gasp* tossed into the trash. I like my foundation fabrics to be cut into 9 ¾" squares. After they are all covered into the strings, I trim them to 9 ½". 

Here is a great tutorial from Craftsy that explains the process.

Here is a pile of beautiful string blocks! I ended up making 112 blocks, enough for two 63" x 72" quilts. My string box looks much better and now there is room to start saving them again!

This is a picture of one of them. They are both essentially alike. =) I did a very simple cross hatch on both of the quilts. Nothing fancy was needed, in my opinion. 

Since the goal was to get rid of scraps and stash, and the quilts looked so much alike, I decided to keep the theme going for the backs. I didn't have enough of one fabric that was enough to cover both of them. I knew I would need to piece the back with several fabrics, but how to figure all that out had me stumped. Christa @ChristaQuilts to the rescue!! Christa has a great lay out tutorial to make a clever pieced back. I only had to adjust the math a bit to make it work for my quilts. Yay! Here is a link to Christa's tutorial. 

I had just enough to make them both the same except for this one part, which is okay. If they go to the same family with two little girls, which is the plan, its nice to have a way to tell them apart. 

When I use scraps like strings, it almost feels like I made quilts that were free, you know? How do you like to use your scraps? Please share! I am always looking for new ideas. =) 

I probably won't post again until after Thanksgiving, so I want to take the time to thank you all for your support and encouragement. I am thankful to each and every one of you, those who comment and those who like to only read and stay in the back ground. I appreciate you all....

Every once in a while, I feel the need to purge and reorganize the scrap piles in my sewing space. I got to looking at my string box and it was crammed full of scrappy strings. It was a good place to start! When I make string blocks, I like to use a fabric foundation. Muslin or old sheets are good enough for me. I also like to use strings that are no wider than 2 ½" and no narrower than 1 ¼". As I sewed, I tossed the ones that were too narrow and made decisions on what ones I wanted to use and which ones could be set aside for another project, or *gasp* tossed into the trash. I like my foundation fabrics to be cut into 9 ¾" squares. After they are all covered into the strings, I trim them to 9 ½". 

Here is a great tutorial from Craftsy that explains the process.

Here is a pile of beautiful string blocks! I ended up making 112 blocks, enough for two 63" x 72" quilts. My string box looks much better and now there is room to start saving them again!

This is a picture of one of them. They are both essentially alike. =) I did a very simple cross hatch on both of the quilts. Nothing fancy was needed, in my opinion. 

Since the goal was to get rid of scraps and stash, and the quilts looked so much alike, I decided to keep the theme going for the backs. I didn't have enough of one fabric that was enough to cover both of them. I knew I would need to piece the back with several fabrics, but how to figure all that out had me stumped. Christa @ChristaQuilts to the rescue!! Christa has a great lay out tutorial to make a clever pieced back. I only had to adjust the math a bit to make it work for my quilts. Yay! Here is a link to Christa's tutorial. 

I had just enough to make them both the same except for this one part, which is okay. If they go to the same family with two little girls, which is the plan, its nice to have a way to tell them apart. 

When I use scraps like strings, it almost feels like I made quilts that were free, you know? How do you like to use your scraps? Please share! I am always looking for new ideas. =) 

I probably won't post again until after Thanksgiving, so I want to take the time to thank you all for your support and encouragement. I am thankful to each and every one of you, those who comment and those who like to only read and stay in the back ground. I appreciate you all....