Pine Needles & Babies

Pine Needles & Babies

June 25, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

10464119_10154328025780235_3386120478955446733_nSo as I was looking at fabric at my LQS Pine Needles Sewing Center I received a Facebook message from my friend Amber.  She and her husband are expecting.  (CONGRATS!)  They like to make handmade items, they were on a roll there making furniture.  So I offered to make a quilt, or help HER make a quilt as I though she might like to play a part in it.  So she Facebooks me and says, for a boy they would like to do airplanes, and for a girl The Wizard of Oz.

 

I tell 10359390_10154328026235235_3509842682843535300_nthis to my Pine Needles associate and BOY did they deliver.  I’m shown to an ADORABLE airplane kit that is BOGO!!   And then this absolutely darling Wizard of Oz fabric called “The Magic of Oz” by Wilmington Prints.  (They have a really cute pattern for the OZ fabric as well.  TheMagicOfOz)

Filed Under: Fabric Designers, General, LQS
Block of the Month – Be There!

Block of the Month – Be There!

June 23, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

bethereI signed up for my LQS block of the month.  “Be There, Get Your Square”  My mother, and friend Joann are also going to do it with me.  It’s actually a pretty fantastic deal.  The class was $60.  You got a book fabric, and the class.  Now the roll of fabric in the photo is 6 yards, not to mention there are 70 – 7 inch squares of batiks called “Sparklers”.  PLUS the book.  In my opinion that’s a heck of a deal!!  Gotta love Jill and the crew over at Pine Needles Sewing Center.

I also love Aurifil thread, and will be piecing with 50 weight – #2000.  If you’ve never given it a try you should.  At a retreat I was sitting next to someone who was using another thread.  She asked me what  I thought of Aurifil and why I would pay so much for it.  I just smiled and asked her if she had ever used it.  She said no, but couldn’t imagine paying that much for it.  At the retreat they had a mini fabric shop setup, so I bought her a spool of Aurifil and told her to try it.  She couldn’t believe how much LESS lint it created and how far the spool went just in that weekend.  (She left with thread still on that spool)  So I like to think I made a believer out of her….even though she lived in Kentucky and I never saw her again.  🙂

The book is actually the one I won the other day.  By Kaye England (did I mention I just love her?)  Anyway I went home all ready to use the fabric I got with the class and choose some items from my stash, and as soon I walked in the door….BOOM….the power goes out.  We’ve been having some nasty storms, so as my luck would have it there was no sewing this afternoon.

Next Saturday I believe my mother and Joann are coming over and we will start our first 2 blocks.  I’m also going to do something really new to me, and kind of out of my comfort zone.  I’m going to MIX my fabrics….(are you done gasping in horror?)

I can hear what your saying through the monitor….you CAN’T do that!!!  He’s going to end up with some damn UGLY quilt!!!  Well I’m doing it.  I recently took a class at Craftsy called “Garden of Quilted Possibilities”  There Edyta (the instructor) explains about how she picks out her fabrics, so I’m following her formula and we’ll see how it turns out.  Her quilts are STUNNING!  Hopefully mine will turn out okay!   But at least I’m trying!!

Do most of you mix and match fabric types in your quilts?  Do you normally buy a fabric “family” or do you pick out each piece?

Filed Under: Fabric Designers, General, LQS
I’m a Winner!!!

I’m a Winner!!!

June 21, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

I’m not lucky, in fact is there were 10 people and 9 prizes, I would be the guy to walk away empty handed.  However this year I appear to have turned over a new leaf.  First I won a Silhouette Cameo, and now I’ve won a book!   Color be surprised and exited!

I won the book through my Local Quilt Shop.  The shop is called Pine Needles Sewing Center and it’s a GREAT place!  They gave me my first quilting class, and is where I purchased Bernice (my Aurora 430) and Bertha (My 820).  They always have something fun going on, and TONS in things to inspire you to go home and quilt.

voices_II_coverprint__43731.1357716883.1280.1280I won a copy of Kaye England’s “Voices of the Past – Volume II”  It’s a great book with wonderful patterns.  So a big thank you to Jill and the crew of at Pine Needles!  You made my day!

They are also the people who introduced me to Kaye England.  Not only is Kaye a character (go to her Quilting College if you get a chance, she is an absolute HOOT!)  But she’s a smart quilter who designed her own line of rulers.  Her rulers in my opinion are the BEST rulers!!  Easy to see your fabric and cut accurately , these gems are wonderful!  (More to come on those, as well as some tutorials, also more info on how you can take a class from Kaye right online.  It’s fantastic and the quilt is beautiful!)

 

Filed Under: Fabric Designers, LQS