New Design Wall!!

Well I’m really excited because my box from The Fabric Patch was delivered!   So I have been unpacking it, and organizing my fabrics and room as I go.  One on the items were 2 pieces of graph flannel to make a design wall.  So I got one put together today, (really simple, the fabric, and a piece of foam insulation board a BOOM) but will need to get the other one done (I ran out of tape!).  I had been wanting a design wall for a long time.  Normally I’m on my hands and knees, hunched over my blocks trying to arrange them.  This way I can throw them up, back up and see it much better.

Design WallYou see my Navaho Rose quilt, I have all the blocks done, just need to get the sashing cut out and then the 2 borders and she will be ready to go!!  It’s my first batik quilt ever.  I’ve always loved batiks, but am always afraid that the colors will just kind of blur into one another and I’ll have a wishy-washy quilt.  So I decided to make one, and go for color, color, and MORE color!   🙂

On a personal note, my spouse Karl and I recently got our license to foster and adopt in the state of Iowa.  So while we are gathering items we need for any children we might be looking after (ages 0-3 at the moment) I have been buying alot of baby / toddler items.  One thing I have found, crib and toddler bedding is SO expensive!!  And what you get for the money isn’t in 100% cotton most of the time, and feels….terrible!!  (It makes my teeth itch!)  So I have been on the look out for great patterns for cribs, etc.  So if you have any favorites let me know.  I’ve already decided to make my own crib sheets, as the tutorial I found on Youtube seems easy enough!

So I’m sure I will be sharing more kids things as I find them!  Cause boy howdy!  What they want for some items are ridiculous!   🙂

Happy Quilting!!

Kaye England

1One of the best experiences I’ve had was going to a Kaye England retreat.  It was called “Kaye’s Quilting College” and while I was there I made her Amelia Earhart quilt.  It was the most complicated quilt I had made in my early quilting days.

The whole experience was great, she helped demo all of her Nifty Notions rulers, and was there to answer any questions you had about her pattern.  She also infused a lot of humor and energy into the weekend.

A year or so later one of my favorite sites Craftsy announced they had a new class.   “Re-Piecing the Past:  Civil War Black Then & Now”  taught by Kaye England.  Well needless to say I immediat10ely wen to Craftsy and signed up.

I downloaded all of the instructions and started looking at the quilt…..WHAT had I gotten myself into?  Some of these blocks had 60 small pieces to them (I might be exaggerating a tad).  But I had never attempted to create a quilt this difficult, and I was nervous I had just spent money on fabric for a quilt that wasn’t going to turn out.

Enter the Craftsy platform.  I was able to watch Kaye put together the blocks, not one THAT, but I could rewind and watch it over and over again.  Until I felt comfortable.  Also it never expired it’s always there!  And it’s not like a DVD that you can lose, scratch, etc.  Add all of that to Kaye’s humor….it was a match made in heaven.  I chose to do a block a week, and was able to get the quilt finished in no time.

So if you feel like you would like to attempt something a little more advanced but are nervous, this is a WONDERFUL class to do!  I have provided a link below to sign up for the class on Craftsy.

Online Quilting Class

 

Sunday Funday!

Milky WayWell I have decided to renew my commitment to blogging.

I have been quilting for about 5 years now, and will be getting a additional machine to my arsenal.  And this will being about my journey on using an embroidery machine.  I’m excited, not because I really want to do traditional embroidery.  But because I can now start to tackle the job of applique in the hoop.  I’ve always been really intimidated by the thought of applique, so hopefully I will be here with lots of tutorials and tips to help you!

And before I go, let me post a picture of my current project.  It’s a called “Milky Way” and it’s a Thangles pattern.  (Although I didn’t use thangles, but we’ll get into that at a later date.)  Almost done, just need to get the borders on it and ship it off to my long-arm quilter.  🙂