Progress

Here's some pictures of my latest quilt project using a Moda Portobello Market jelly roll. I like this pattern because it uses the entire jelly roll, with virtually no waste! The quilt finishes at 70" x 70". I think it might make a great bed topper!

The bonus part of this project is that I purchased the jelly roll at http://www.fatquartershop.com/ when they were having their "Countdown to Christmas" sale. I got the jelly roll for $15! (This is one of my favorite on-line sites for fabric. They always offer great customer service, fast shipping, and regular sales!)


I just have the borders left to do. I purchased the light blue paisley for the outer border and the backing. I didn't buy the fabric for the inner border yet (I don't know why...). I'm wondering about just doing an outer border, or if I do an inner border, purchasing the red tonal for the inner border.


I've been working on this quilt mostly at night, when Nicholas is in bed. (I have the fewest interruptions late at night.) It's funny, Nicholas always says "Don't hurt your fingers!" every time he sees me get my sewing machine out. Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) I catch my fingers on sharp pins when quilting and always say OUCH! I guess he has noticed that I'm accident prone!

Sock Monkeys!!!!!

Yesterday I was shopping around Etsy.com (If you haven't heard of Etsy before it's a website for people to buy and sell all things handmade... AWESOME place you should definitely check it out) and I came across this person who makes the cutest Sock Monkeys I have ever seen. She uses bright colored socks, and they look absolutely adorable!! When she finally gets one for sale back on her site I will definitely have to purchase one!! Here are some pictures of past monkeys!!

Sunset Girl

based out of County Durham, U.K.

Sunsetgirl.etsy.com

(To see past monkeys look under feedback)

Shop Hop!!!

On Saturday Jenni, Jill, Little Jenny (Jill's Daughter) and I, Abby (Jenni's Daughter) went quilt shop hopping!! We had a great time, and ended up getting a bunch of new fabric!!



We started out at the Ankeny Sewing Center, and we didn't buy anything here, but they are having a huge consolidation sale with everything AT LEAST 15% off. Fabric is 25% off!!



We then made the short walk over to Quilter's Cupboard in Ankeny (Ankeny Sewing Center and Quilter's Cupboard are in the same strip mall). Jill and Little Jenny picked up some super cute fabrics while there.



After raiding the fabric at those two stores we made the trip up to Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa. We all purchased fabric here as they have an AMAZING selection. Here I was able to find some "Very Hungry Caterpillar" fabric. I purchased it to make a baby quilt for a dear friend of mine who is due any day. Thank goodness I have already finished it!! See a post of it as soon as Jenni finishes long arming it! Jill purchased some fat quarters, and Jenni bought some really pretty batik fabric that was teal and brown with coffee cups all over it. At this point she has no idea what she is going to do with it. I guess we will see.



Then, we drove another 20 miles to Prairie Rose Quilts in Jewell, Iowa. I must say I was not impressed by this store, and the owner was quite rude to all four of us!! Needless to say I will not be back.



That rounded out our day of quilt shopping of course we hit a few other stores that were not fabric related but overall it was a GREAT day!! We only wish that Amy could have joined us on our adventure!! Maybe next time!!

Perfect for a happy little camper!

Isn't this fabric line from Hoffman Fabrics just adorable?

Any little camper would love to curl up in a quilt made from this fabric!

See the entire line at Hoffman Fabric's website....

http://www.hoffmanfabrics.com/SuperStore/SuperStore-Assortment.asp?AssortmentID=225

Merry Christmas!

DOWN AT THE QUILT SHOP

Down to the quilt shop quilters go,
Out comes the MasterCard all aglow.
Out through the checkout with lots of stuff,
All for the quilts and the tools and such.

CHORUS
Sew-sew-sew, Who wouldn't sew? Go-go-go, who wouldn't go...
Down to the quilt shop Click-click-click. Out through the checkout with lots to snip!!!

First are the UFO's that fill the drawers,
So many there that we can't ignore.
Finish them all, do them one by one.
Finish them all then we'll have some fun.

CHORUS

Next come the quilts that are in our heads,
All that we've planned for all our beds.
One for the master room and one for the guest,
We'll stitch them all and do our best.

CHORUS

Last we'll make gifts for all our friends,
Quilts and placemats without end.
Coasters and bookmarks, ornaments - so much!
Wrap them up in ribbons and bows and such.

CHORUS

-Author Unknown

Ho Ho, Yo-yo Project!

Every time I go to a fabric store I see the "Yo-yo makers" by Clover on the shelves. I am fascinated with this clever little gadget and always wonder what I could make with them.

http://www.clover-usa.com/project_img/CT0039.pdf

The provided link is for an adorable Christmas ornament using the Clover Yo-yo maker! Take out your Christmas-themed fabric scraps and get crafty! This project would be perfect for teacher gifts, holiday party favors, or to stick on top of a Christmas present instead of a bow!

Happy Friday!

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”

--Zora Neale Hurston (American folklorist and writer, 1903-1960)

Custom longarming by Jenni using....

Custom Quilt Templates (CQT)as discussed in an earlier post!

The templates are available in 9 different sizes (3”, 3.5”, 4”, 5”, 6”, 7”, 8”, 9” & 10”). They are available for purchase on Custom Quilting Template’s website (http://www.customqt.com/).

Jenni did an amazing job with the longarming on this quilt!

A Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek at Andover's fabric inspired by the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle.

It's so cute! I just love the animals! I'm going crazy waiting for this line of fabric to hit the shelves!

http://www.andoverfabrics.com/OurCatalog/OurCatalog.asp

Sir Knight Nicholas

Nicholas was a knight in shining armor for Halloween! So adorable!

Quilt Retreat

What a great time at the Ladies of the Lake Quilt Retreat! The retreat was held at Lake Panorama near Panora, Iowa! Each of the girls finished a couple quilts and really enjoyed spending time together.

Jenni sewed together a bright and fun Charming Trails quilt top using Moda "Wee Play" fabric. (The Charming Trails pattern is by Whistlepig Creek Productions in Arvada, CO. http://www.wpcreek.com/. ) She also pieced together another quilt top using "Peace on Earth" fabric by Moda. She used a new pattern by Open Gate called Cranberry Garland that utilizes charm packs and jelly rolls. She is planning on creating a custom border. It should be interesting to see the final result!http://www.opengatequilts.com/catalog/c12_p2.html

Jill used some "Jitterbug" fabric in muted shades of green, pink, cream, and brown for a Cheaper by the Dozen quilt top (Legacy pattern). http://www.makingalegacy.com/
Jill also used some Moda "Garden Inspiration" charm packs to stitch up a Charming Trails quilt top. It turned out really nice!

Lisa sewed together a quilt using leftover Moda "Fresh Air" scraps. She also sewed an adorable holiday quilt using the fun "Five and Dime" pattern by All Washed Up. Lisa had time to work on a Charming Trails quilt top using Moda "Apron Strings" reproduction fabrics too.

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Amy worked on a Moda University quilt top using Moda "Faded Memories" fabric. She also sewed together another quilt top using Andover's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" fabric. The pattern she used was Bits and Pieces by Mountainpeek Creations, a Colorado-based design company. http://www.mountainpeekcreations.com/index.asp Jenni also helped Amy make a large throw pillow cover (using a custom quilted fabric panel) to match the Hungry Caterpillar quilt. Nicholas will love the Hungry Caterpillar quilt and pillow set!

Now Jenni has even more quilts to longarm!!!! We'll post her beautiful work at a later date!

How lucky to have a award-winning longarm designer to work on and finish our quilts!