In getting ready to attend the International Quilt Market in Houston, I was not able to post winners. I know it doesn't take that long, but there are already 6 undone things on my To Do List.
We'll have some fun giveaways when I get back along with the Quilt Along prizes!
Thanks! Houston, here I come!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
It'a A Mini Quilt Along-- Flying Around in Circles
I am SO glad that Konda invited me over for a visit today :)
HI!!!!, I am Marion (I blog HERE) and I met Konda back in January when I began my SUPER Awesome Quilting Adventure!
(You can read all about my Quilting Crusade HERE)
(You can read all about my Quilting Crusade HERE)
I soon discovered that Konda was probably the best person I could have happened upon as I was learning how to quilt. Little did I realize, at the time, that she was FAMOUS and so TREMENDOUSLY talented!!
(DON'T DELETE THIS PART, KONDA!!!) :D
So, are you ready to party??? YEE HAW!!!
I chose "Flying Around in Circles" because, let's face it, it's what I do best ;D
...and it's so DARN cute ;)
So, SERIOUSLY, how did I not know how much fun making Mini Quilts is/are/was???
(Which is it? That sentence is making me CRAZY!) ;)
How cute is this MINI 16 patch?? The squares are 1" :)
This quilt came together in a SNAP!!
I have a serious crush on these little flying geese ;)
I whipped this bad boy up in no time and gave it to a fiend for her birthday :)
My friend has two little kids, and isn't "Flying Around in Circles" exactly how life is with babies running/crawling around?
I have to add one more thing :) Konda is a FANTASTIC pattern writer. Her instructions are SO clear and easy to follow. A++++++++++++
So it's time for you to show me how you Fly Around in Circles ;D
Friday, October 12, 2012
Bar Hop Quilt Along Block 12
Welcome to Moose on the Porch Quilts! I am so excited to show you the block I designed for the Bar Hop Quiltalong!
But first! My favorite bar - besides a Hershey's chocolate bar - is a potato bar. I haven't been to a good potato bar for ages! It use to be the go to dinner for feeding a crowd. What do you like on your potatoes? I usually stick with cheese and bacon. I need to get a little more adventurous.
Here's the block I designed. I call it Bricks and Mortar.
I used just the four fabrics provided by Clothworks. A strip set and partial seams make this block quicker than it appears!
Here is a mock up of what a quilt of just the blocks would look like with a pieced sashing. Kind of makes me want to build a brick pillar.
In case you are interested, this is the pieced sashing I used in the quilt above.
It's a 2" x 12" finished sashing. So the pieces would measure, from left to right, 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", 2 1/2" square, 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", 2 1/2" x 4 1/2", 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", 2 1/2" square, and 1 1/2" x 2 1/2".
If you make a block, we'd love to see it! You can post it on the flickr group at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2057848@N25/
Thursday, October 11, 2012
NQR: Doing Hard Things
I'm decompressing today. This post isn't really quilt related. Last weekend I took a trip to Las Vegas. This was not your typical weekend in Vegas. We did walk down the strip which frankly just gave me a headache - all the new smells. I was there for an obstacle race with two of my younger brothers. Their wives came to take pictures. My other half stayed home to control the craziness that six children bring. He thinks I'm crazy. He's usually right.
The race was full of challenges. One of my brothers dashed through the 11 mile course in an hour and a half! My other brother, who has a bum knee, stayed with me. I just kept my eyes on his feet in front of me. He said stay left, and I stay left. He said run up the hill. I ran up the hill. Except once when I looked up at an airplane and fell.
It was an interesting race. It was long. It felt like we would were running all day, but I almost wasn't ready for it to be over yet. Except that all the muscles in my legs kept taking turns having spasms which I have never experienced before. While the race was hard, it wasn't hard to keep going because I had decided I was going to do it. There was no question. So I just kept following my brother's feet.
Today was a different story. Today was hard.
Today I ran 4 miles and felt terrible. I think I was just working out all the kinks from last weekend. I was full of complaining. My legs were heavy, my back hurt, on and on. I wanted to stop. Bad. Then I thought about my daughter who had her last cross country race yesterday. She didn't have a good race. I thought about what I was trying to tell her to do. And I did it. I picked up my pace a bit and then held on. (That put me at my normal pace. I wasn't going fast.) I had to grit my teeth to keep going. It was hard. I never fell into a rhythm like I usually do. It would have been so easy to stop. Who cares if I stop? It wouldn't hurt anyone? So what if I go for a nice easy walk?
Every time those thoughts came, I had to fight them back. I care! I can do this! I am not going to be lazy today! I made myself run a block farther than my usual stopping point to prove to myself that I wasn't quitting today.
Okay, I'll embarrass myself. Here's the picture you really want to see. My sister-in-law got this after I finished. I had face planted into the mud moments before.
Sometimes just living every day is hard. But we can do hard things! Sometimes. . .
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
It's a Mini Quilt Along Winners
One of my favorite things to do is show some of the fun variations of the blocks and quilts on my blog! The winners this week are:
stitchingauntie!
AReformedHeath'n!
vroomansquilts!
and sassypacks!
Fun quilts! Thanks for sharing them! I have a couple of your addresses, but if I don't, then please send me your address, and I will mail you a prize!
Thanks for everyone playing along!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
It's a Mini Quilt Along - Fire and Rain
Hi all! My name is Brooke Johnsen and I blog at Pitter Putter Stitch.
My mom tried teaching me to sew when I was 10 and I took a sewing class in high school. After getting married, I had all these ideas for projects that I wanted to make, but not really knowing what I was doing, I'd go to my mom for help and she'd pretty much finish each project for me. (Thanks, Mom!) It wasn't until the fall of 2009 that I started thinking seriously about buying a new sewing machine and learning how to quilt. I had happened upon Allison's blog, Cluck Cluck Sew, and seeing her quilts totally made me want to learn how to make things like that. Before then, I could see a quilt and appreciate the time that it must have taken to make, but the colors and motifs didn't appeal to me. I love modern design and bright colors. My mom had given me her old White sewing machine, which worked great, but it wasn't really made for quilting. So, I bought a cheap Singer machine and set out to learn all I could about quilting. Early in 2010, I joined the Modern Quilt Guild and attended my first guild meeting with the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild in March of that year. The rest, as they say, is history.
Over the last three years, I've learned so much about quilting and about myself as a quilter. I now sew on a Babylock Symphony, which I love, and have found myself wanting to stretch and try new things. I have a huge bucket list of quilts to make and start more projects than I have time for with three little kids and a full-time job, but I love this hobby and I know I will be a quilter for life.
Alright, enough about me. I'm excited to show you the project I made from Konda's Simply Charming Minis book - an autumn Fire and Rain pillow. I don't have a dedicated sewing space, which means no place to hang mini quilts. So, I opted to turn this mini into a pillow to use on my couch this fall.
I LOVE this design! When Konda asked me which project I'd like to make, this one was my first choice and I crossed my fingers, hoping that no one else had picked it. I've made several projects out of half-square triangles in the past, but with Konda's instructions, even a beginner would have no problem sewing these puppies up.
I looked through my stash and pulled an assortment of green, orange, and yellow fabrics of varying values to make the zig zags on the front. For the envelope back, I used Alexander Henry's Farmdale Crosshatch in Green.
I straight-line quilted the pillow about 1/2" apart, following the zig zag lines.
I decided against putting a binding on this pillow and instead just sewed the front and backing pieces right sides together, turned right side out and stuffed with a 20" feather pillow form from Ikea (my favorite pillow form).
Now, hurry up and get started on your Fire and Rain mini quilt or pillow. This is such a great design and lends itself to all sorts of colors!
My mom tried teaching me to sew when I was 10 and I took a sewing class in high school. After getting married, I had all these ideas for projects that I wanted to make, but not really knowing what I was doing, I'd go to my mom for help and she'd pretty much finish each project for me. (Thanks, Mom!) It wasn't until the fall of 2009 that I started thinking seriously about buying a new sewing machine and learning how to quilt. I had happened upon Allison's blog, Cluck Cluck Sew, and seeing her quilts totally made me want to learn how to make things like that. Before then, I could see a quilt and appreciate the time that it must have taken to make, but the colors and motifs didn't appeal to me. I love modern design and bright colors. My mom had given me her old White sewing machine, which worked great, but it wasn't really made for quilting. So, I bought a cheap Singer machine and set out to learn all I could about quilting. Early in 2010, I joined the Modern Quilt Guild and attended my first guild meeting with the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild in March of that year. The rest, as they say, is history.
Over the last three years, I've learned so much about quilting and about myself as a quilter. I now sew on a Babylock Symphony, which I love, and have found myself wanting to stretch and try new things. I have a huge bucket list of quilts to make and start more projects than I have time for with three little kids and a full-time job, but I love this hobby and I know I will be a quilter for life.
Alright, enough about me. I'm excited to show you the project I made from Konda's Simply Charming Minis book - an autumn Fire and Rain pillow. I don't have a dedicated sewing space, which means no place to hang mini quilts. So, I opted to turn this mini into a pillow to use on my couch this fall.
I LOVE this design! When Konda asked me which project I'd like to make, this one was my first choice and I crossed my fingers, hoping that no one else had picked it. I've made several projects out of half-square triangles in the past, but with Konda's instructions, even a beginner would have no problem sewing these puppies up.
I looked through my stash and pulled an assortment of green, orange, and yellow fabrics of varying values to make the zig zags on the front. For the envelope back, I used Alexander Henry's Farmdale Crosshatch in Green.
I straight-line quilted the pillow about 1/2" apart, following the zig zag lines.
I decided against putting a binding on this pillow and instead just sewed the front and backing pieces right sides together, turned right side out and stuffed with a 20" feather pillow form from Ikea (my favorite pillow form).
Now, hurry up and get started on your Fire and Rain mini quilt or pillow. This is such a great design and lends itself to all sorts of colors!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Glorious Autumn Block Party
Looks like fall is time to quilt! I don't think I've been quilting enough lately. Hasn't turned cold yet around here.
The Quilting Gallery is having a Block Party! It started the beginning of September. It will run for 15 weeks and there are three quilt blocks each week - that's 45 free blocks!
Here's the flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/autumn-block-party/
Lots of inspiration to draw from - pick your favorites for your own autumn quilt! My block isn't until November 27th. I finished it last weekend and loved it so much I made 4 of them and set them with some alternate blocks for a fun fall quilt! I can't wait until Thanksgiving to show it to you! (That will give me time to get the top quilted!)
Monday, October 1, 2012
October Bar Hop Quiltalong
Last October I participated in the Quilt Uber-fest as a quilty October-fest activity:
This year, Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios is hosting a Bar Hop Quiltalong.
I was a little worried when I heard this years theme until Scott reminded us that there are all sorts of bars. My favorite bars are ice cream bars, potato bars, and of course, Hershey chocolate bars!
One block will be introduced each day for the first 14 days of October. The line up and intro can be found here:
and the flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2057848@N25/
The day to show you my block is October 12th which seems forever away! I have my block patiently waiting its turn.
Oh yes, that means that it started today!