I’m a Winner!!!

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!)

 

My Quilting Studio aka The Sewing Room

In my current house I am extremely lucky to have a nice large room to devote to my quilting. Before that I had an unfinished basement, and sometimes my dining room table.

I love finding smart inexpensive ways to create something beautiful and functional. Much like quilt making, I also find a satisfaction in knowing I created it.

photoMy current sewing room is a hodge-podge of Craigslist finds, show samples (thanks to the Arrow Sewing Cabinet Facebook Page), Wal-Mart book cases I altered slightly and hand me downs from family members moving out of state. My point is, you don’t have to have all store bought, matching items to create a wonderful sewing retreat for yourself. Finding some great pieces on Craigslist, a little paint and elbow grease, and you can make a room you look forward to working in.

For instance, this cabinet was an old TV cabinet. So I painted it, used it to house some electronics, as well as some of my stash and called it good!907264_10152758339220235_1849173580_n908351_10152764292125235_1819792167_n

 

 

 

 

My next project took a little more elbow grease. I need shelves to store my stash, I purchase some inexpensive bookcases from Walmart. I believe I they were $17 apiece. I purchase 4 total. Put them together and then attached 2 of the units together using screws. Added some crown molding, painted them and the viola! Instance stash storage!!

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The white desk was a hand me down from my in-laws moving to Coupville. It was a green stained wood, so I painted it the same white color and use it as my computer station for embroidery designs, email, etc.

912003_10152835396685235_222793012_nMy sewing cabinets are from Kangaroo Cabinets (The Aussie, and The Dingo Cutting Table). I REALLY lucked into these after they were discontinuing the beech color. They were show models and I was able to purchase them over the phone and then I drove from Iowa to Wisconsin to pick them up in a friends mini-van. They BARELY fit, but we were able to get them home, and they have been amazing. My only complaint on them is, I’m 6 feet tall….so for a man they are a tab low to the ground. At some point I’m going to try and replace the casters with taller ones; however casters are a tad expensive, so I have been living with it. 🙂

Cutting Tablechain

Why Do We Love Quilting?

Chain PiecingWhy do we love quilting? It’s an interesting question, one with many different answers.

For me, it allows me to leave all of the issues of the day behind. I sit in front of my machine, and can concentrate on one thing. The hum of the sewing machine softly lulling me into finally relaxing, I only have to concentrate on lining up my fabric and sewing a ¼ inch seam.

The stresses of work, or house cleaning, or other outside forces can melt away for while I’m “in the zone” I am creating something, with my own two hands, and when I’m finished I will have something that was completely created by myself.

So the reward for me is de-stressing, (okay sometime when I can’t get those perfect “perky points” or seams to line up exactly I do get a little stressed, but most times it’s very relaxing) And when my project is complete, I can give something to someone that says, I care about it, it was totally worth the man hours and money spent on fabric to give you something that hopefully will always remind you of me, and remind you that you are loved and appreciated.

This is why I quilt. Most of the quilts I make are “comfy quilts.” I’m not making them to win any prizes, they may not be the most difficult quilts to make. But they are made with the same love and dedication that goes into any quilt someone chooses to make.

Why do you quilt?