A Much Needed Break

(dresdens)

(baby binding)
 

My baby is a month old. How on earth? Why does a month in pregnancy seem to literally take an eternity but once the baby is here life seem to flash forward? My husband's out of town on business and he called me this morning to tell me he had a dream we had a FIFTH boy! Oi!

Because he is out of town, I got a baby sitter last night and got away with a long time friend, Kristin, and we spent the evening quilting. Kristin helps runs the Utah County Modern Quilt Guild of which I am a member.  If your local, and want to join a "quilt group" the UCMQG is fantastic and so worth it.

I didn't realize until I was sitting there sewing away on my machine how desperate I was of a much needed break, doing something I love, without the distractions of husband and kids. (Of, course I had cute little Andrew, but he just slept and was easy peasy!) It was great to just visit and work on a few projects.

Leaving my house last night I was highly ambitious on what I would get done. Ha, Ha. I thought I'd work on some 30's granny squares, put a binding on my baby's quilt and make a dent in my Dresdens. Double Ha, Ha. I got 2 out of 3 accomplished and I felt leaving so energized, I resolved to steal bit of time each day (realistic, no?)  and do something "quilty". I am sure some days it just won't be in the cards, but sometimes is better than never. Right?


Happy Friday!

Weekend Catch-up

My husband was out of town all last week and I had a laundry list of things I wanted to get done. On the top of that list was basting 2 quilts that I had finished at the end of last year. Since getting pregnant I've had only baby and baby quilts on the brain, but with the weather warming and hubby out of town I pulled out my frames and got to work.

I basted my improve quilt  (above) as well as my 9-patch on point. Basting for me is the easy part, the hard part is "tacking" down the quilt. I have really good frames, its just making the quilt taunt enough and working with three layers of material that's tricky. Just handing it over to Ella's for quilting is sooooo much easier but in the same breathe I am learning to love machine quilting and as we all know, practice makes perfect.

I borrow my SIL's kwik klips for basting and they are a life saver. I didn't even know these existed until I helped her baste a quilt last summer and wallah: kwik klips ~ soooo genius!!

The Best Kind of Quilt

{I am really having a hard time writing this post, because its hard putting into words how much this gift means to me.} Some dear friends surprised me yesterday with a BABY QUILT, for baby #4. I wasn't expecting it at all! {Which is always the best surprise} These "friends" I met through the quilt retreat I held last fall and we were visiting yesterday and all of a sudden they placed this amazing gift in my hands {see above}.

I was just sitting there looking dumbfounded. It was taking me a minute to register what was happening, because lets face it...my pregnancy brain is really bad this 4th time. {It takes me a whille to catch on.} I know how much effort, love, time, resources, and energy it takes to make a quilt let alone a quilt for someone else. These sweet friends got together {without me even knowing} and spent the day piecing, quilting, binding etc. a BEAUTIFUL quilt for me. I just couldn't really express my appreciating and love at the time. I was just staring and stumbling over my words ~ it was the oddest feeling.

Look how adorable this rememberance tag is: that doggie is just the sweetest thing! April's impressive handiwork.

Thank you April, Ella, Emily, Sue, Maggie and Kristen. XOXOXO

Just when you think it can't get any better, you turn the quilt over! Ahhh, just as perfect as the front. The back is from Emily's Going Coastal line from MMF. Love it!!

A day of Quilting

Before I knew "what" I was having, I was planning to make the baby a granny square quilt. These blocks are so hot right now and so dang cute. Blue Elephant Stitches has a great tutorial I referenced when starting my quilt,  so check it out before beginning. By the looks of it; can you guess "what" I am having.

The quilt will be a 3 by 3 and I am planning to use this Reunion fabric as by border from Moda. I was at my LQS and noticed they only had a yard left and snatched it up. I had been eyeing it for sometime and I think it will be just perfect. Because the border fabric has so much color I coordinated my granny squares with the pendants: yellow, red, green and grey.

We are experiencing full fledged spring here in Utah: daffodils, soccer, and of course spring cleaning. Happy Tuesday.

2011 was a great year!

2011 was a busy year for me. As I look back and visit the past year in photos I actually did a WhOlE lOt. Way to go gurl! I file my pictures away in folders on my computer and it is fun to retrace my sewing steps month by month and see what I accomplished!! My cute family was by side and my sweet hubby supported me through it all. Here is a recap of the highlights of 2011.

 {Quilts}

(L-R, T-B) Black 9-patch on Point

Machine Quilting  for the very first time

Made a baby quilt from a charm pack

Improve Quilting

{Events}

(L-R, T-B) Inaugural Sewing Summit

Rit Dye Party with Melissa

Hosting my first Quilt Retreat next retreat in March! Wahoo!

Attended Quilt Market in SLC

{Munchies}

(L-R, T-B) Mouthwatering English Muffins

Mexican Coleslaw perfect for parties

Pumpkin Granola great for soccer games

To Die For Huevos Rancheros

Happy New Year 2012

Dresden Plates

Before the Thanksgiving holiday, I set a goal for myself to work on  my Dresden blades every night while my family was away. I set up my table and sewing machine in front of the T.V. and happily sewed into the wee hours of the morning (2 a.m in fact!) I was able to make 5 blades during the Retreat and need to make 15 more. My plan for my Dresden quilt is 4 across and 5 down.

The two nights I worked, I actually timed myself to see how long from start to finish it took me to make each plate. I quickest I got it down to was 13 mins. Whew! I watched alot of old movies while I made the plates: 3:10 to Yuma, Forest Gump, Shawhank Redemption.

 I've completed 15 so I only 5 more to go. I loved my "Fall/Thanksgiving" theme this quilt is so scrappy. I have about 45 fabrics different fabrics. For the borders I have this amazing Alexander Henry "plymouth" fabric I am going to use for the borders. It is perfect. 

Now that Thanksgiving is over I am planning to put this quilt away for a while and work on Christmas project/presents. I mean...I technically have a year to finish this quilt if I want it ready for next Thanksgiving.  

 

 

Emily Herrick {Crazy Old Ladies} Trunk Show

It's been a week since the quilt Retreat and I am still daydreaming about the beautiful quilts we saw over the weekend. I was able to take some pictures of the quilts Emily showed at her Trunk Show, she did a lovely job of showing her quilts, patterns and fabric. There were so many ooohs and ahhhs, ee were spoiled rotten! Thanks Emily.

This was my favorite quilt of all. I love the white with the "waves" machine quilting. The fabric is from her Going Coast Line she designed for Michael Miller.

I can't wait for her "Hall of Fame" line of fabric to come out early next year. I want to make matching quilts for my boys bed with her Pep Rally pattern. (Far right quilt)

Handmade Hexagons with Hand Appliqué. Her machine quilting is amazing...she is so talented.

Emily's pile of quilts! The one on top is "Urban Life". Check out Emily's Etsy Shop to buy patterns and quilts.

For more posts about the Retreat check out these blogs:

Diary of a Quilter

Short Cookie

Shondstras

Making ends Meet

Quilting Retreat Recap

(Maggie's sewing machine)

Now that I've come up for air...and the Quilting Retreat is finished (sigh*) I have lots of photos to share over the two day retreat. The Quilting Retreat in a nutshell was phenomenal and it was all possible because of the ah-mazing ladies who quilted and the inspiring projects they worked on. I am already planning next years Retreat, so stay tuned for dates!

I wish I had taken more photos and "caught on camera" ever special moment. Here are just a few of my favorites:  

Kristen working on her bed quilt. (I know this picture is out of focus!) But I loved it anyway. She worked on a denim jean and upholstery quilt from scraps. Once it was all put together the pinwheels were amazing. 

Maggie working on her table runner swap. This quilt's new home will be all the way in the Shetland Islands. The houses and trees are paper pieced and with such great modern fabrics it will surely become an heirloom.

Christmas projects were everywhere! This one has been six years in the making!

April's scrap bag... I so need one of these. So handy and cute. The ladies had such fun tools, I am adding this bag to the top of  my to-do list of projects. Maybe if I had this bag, my scraps wouldn't make such a mess on the floor!

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I even worked a little on my Dresden blades. With cooking, CHATTING and admiring everyone else's projects it is a complete wonder I got anything done. Note to self: need to learn how to quilt at my own Retreat.

A little peak....

I've got a million things to get done today for the Quilt Retreat tomorrow. I am so excited it is almost here!! It is going to be an ultra inspiring weekend. Here is just a little peak into a couple "surprises" I have been working on for the attendees. Too fabulous!!

 I'm calling these my "envelope bags" so easy! Next week I'll have a tutorial to make some yourself.

Half Dresden zipper pouch. This beauty measures 14" by 8" perfect for a small sewing or knitting project.

Quilt Retreat ~ Appliqué Class and Trunk Shows

Last bit of news about the Quilt Retreat. This weekend: November 13th is the last day to sign up for the Quilt Retreat. Don't miss out! Make sure and SIGN-UP for the all fun! Really all the fun! If you want more information about the Retreat: click on "Retreat" on the far right of the menu bar.

Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side will be hosting the Trunk Show on Friday, November 18th. She is the co-creator of the Sewing Summit, which I attended last month and is the author of: Modern Basics. I am thrilled to have her sharing her amazing quilts. The Saturday Trunk Show will be hosted by Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies. 

Also, Jeanette Hartvigsen is teaching our Hand Appliqué Class. If you've been wanting to learn hand appliqué or get some help improving your skills ~ sign up for her class. She is an incredible teacher. Here is a sampling of her lovely work.

 Happy Veterans Day!

Dresdan Plate

After the Sewing Summit I signed up to participate in my first Swap. I've never done anything like this before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. My partner is Amanda from My Sewcial Hour (which is such a cute blog name) and she gave me this description:

"I am currently in a Fall/Autumn kind of mood so pieces with oranges, reds, greens, and gold like the leaves changing color are drawing me in. My Fall Inspiration Pinterest board has a lot of images that are inspiring me these days. I really like new takes on traditional things, for example, I love when people make things like dresden plates in modern fabrics with a little bit of hand quilting. I am not much into intentionally wonky/improv pieces, I usually like symmetry in pieces whether it be a mini-quilt or a bag."

 

You can tell she's participated in swaps before. I loved her clear cut description. (I feel bad for my partner! I really can't remember what I said, but I am sure it was vague ~ something like "Oh, I like pink and cutesy stuff".) When I read Dresdan, I was immediately excited because I have been wanted to try my hand at a Dresdan plate for sometime. I think the best tutorial is from Amy at Stickory Dickory Dock. This is the tutorial I referred to while making my dresdan.

I have been collecting Fall/Thanksgiving/Yellow/Gold/Brown fabrics for about 5 years to make an unbelievably amazing Thanksgiving Quilt. So I had about 60 fabrics to choose from to make her Dresdan plate. I choose a 6 1/2" blade size and searched my stash for modern, fresh, fall-ish fabric to make my dresdan.

Isn't this back perfect? I picked up it at the most modern quilt store in Utah: Whimsy on sale a few years back. It's Japanese from Quilt Gate. I did some very simple machine quilting on the blades (stitch in the ditch) and quilted/traced the dresdan plate in the round.

I am soooo in love with this Dresdan I am going to scrap my original plan of a Log Cabin for my Thanksgiving quilt and change it to Dresdan Plates. I think I'll be very busy during the Quilt Retreat working on this pattern.

Amanda, I hope you love this Dresdan Mini Quilt as much as I loved making it. I hope it brings a little bit of fall to your home and brightens your day.

Linking up with Amylouwho for her Mini Quilt Challenge.