Holidays are a comin'

Wow....it is certainly that time of year...all the leaves have changed and are now on the ground.....hubby is chomping to start a wood fire..It has been a beautiful fall here in the north. But, along with all the beauty have come lots more customers! It is great actually, I love to teach and talk to these people bringing me their quilt tops. Everyone is so proud of their accomplishments and rightfully so. A lot of time and love goes into piecing and I am honored to be able to help them finish it up. I am also thankful to the customers who have enough foresight to bring me their treasures early on in the season. Christmas is right around the corner! I am staying super busy, but I must start my own preparations before I run out of time. Especially my "Random Act of Kindness Gift" - I really like to choose an unsuspecting person and bless them with a quilt as a "thank you for being you" gift.

New items have been arriving for my Etsy shop. It is so much fun to get the Moda deliveries. Although today, it was more about..."Hmm, what pattern can I use with this layer cake?" It was the new "Wild Rose" line just released by Blackbird Designs. It is GORGEOUS. Almost antique-ish looking. I can certainly see it in many places in my house....

The quilt class gals are making great strides with the new top they are working on. New techniques, styles and fabrics make up for a wonderfully country sampler style quilt! I am guessing they will be finishing up in the next couple weeks, then onto something new. They have been some of the easiest students I have ever had. It has been wonderful.

Starting this Monday, I have signed up for a class of my own. I have never had any formal training in piecing or long arm quilting, but I decided that was gonna change. I live in such a rural part of our state, that NOTHING is available without having to travel and spend lots of money. Soooo, online class it is for me. I am very excited. I found her blog months ago and was totally mesmerized by her quilting. Just beautiful....so my style. I refer to her blog for inspiration all the time. Well, she announced a few weeks ago she was planning an online class.....so stay tuned...I am hoping to learn lots more and "wow" my customers!

Hoping to spend the weekend home while the guys go to the woods....planning to light some candles, turn up the music and get lots more done. Hope you all have a great weekend yourselves!

A~

Quilts finished this week.

This quilt top is made from the line Patisserie by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda. Made from a group of 22 Fat Quarters. This quilt was alot of fun to make with all it's wonderful bright, cheery colors in red, pink, brown, tan and green. I finished it off with an overall feather and curl and a quick toss into the washer and dryer to give it an old fashioned puckery look. It is up for sale in my Etsy shop along with lots of other fun quilting supplies!


Here is the second top I promised to show you ....another Moda top of course!! Urban Indigo by Fig Tree Quilts. This was a super easy quilt to piece taking only about 11 fat quarters. This is truly a wonderful top if you need a gift in a pinch! The pattern is great for showcasing beautifully printed fabrics, perfect for a little boy fabrics or girls like this one. This one is also up for sale in my Etsy shop. Just super fun fabrics I wanted to work with!



This is the end of my show and tell for now.....I have all the pieces cut for the green and brown oriental top....but I seem to have run out of time! All of a sudden my wonderful customers have started calling me....it seems they are all on the same schedule. I think I took in 10 quilts in the past 3 days!!

Next week quilt class is starting up again. They are making a sampler style wall-hanging called Heart and Home. Should be alot of fun with lots to learn! More pics coming soon!

Bizzy, Bizzy, Bizzy

Yup.....that is what I have been the last two weeks. I tend to go on these rampages where all I do is piece. Then, after I have a mountain of tops,...all I do is quilt. These are some of the fabrics I have been working on this week. All three tops will be uploaded within the next couple weeks to my Etsy shop!

Giving Back

One thing I that I truly love to do is "give back" There is nothing like the satisfaction that comes from giving, and the blessings you get in return. Here a few pictures of charity quilts I have donated over the years.

What now?....

Ok, so I finally decided to take my business in a new direction... but now that I have done it is it soooo overwhelming as to what I need to do next. I sit back and I can see about 10-12 different ideas or ways I can go. UGH! Taking a deep breathe...

This week I decided, actually a couple weeks ago, that I was going to start selling fabrics - mostly catering to my customers, but also, playing around with some online selling. I had the represenative from a big fabric line at my house here this week. WOW...it was unbelievable what I saw and what she left me with. I think I was in shock. The new Moda lines are stunning as usual. I cannot wait for my first shipment to arrive. Talk about eye candy....I ordered an assortment of pre-cuts in 5 different lines. Pre-cuts to me are the best things since sliced bread. They are pre-packaged fabric lines. Sold in either 2.5 inch strips, 5 inch squares or 10 inch squares. Every package contains one of the forty fabrics in the designers line. All in different shades and patterns. Did I tell you how amazing this is??? yes, I did. I can't help but say it again. Anyways, they are wonderful for a busy person that wants to create stunningly coordinated quilts with little cutting and saves you a tremendous amount of time choosing your fabrics. It is all done for you! Of course, the patterns specially designed for these pre-cuts are wonderful too... Here is a picture of one of my favorite quilts of 2009. This was made in appreciation of our Pastor and his family. Using a Moda Layer Cake and some border fabric. The line was Aster Manor.

Moving on to the next level.

Well, here I am once again attempting to do something I swore I would "never" do. BLOG. I am not much of a writer. But I suppose over the course of the last few months I am starting to see the value in it. So here goes.

A little bit about me. I am a wife to am amazingly supportive husband and a "stay at home mom" to three boys...two twenty year olds and a 15 year old. I was home-schooled for 7 years and married my man right out of school. Of course I have home-schooled my children.....teaching and learning seems to be in my blood. I think I tend to over explain things...but, I suppose it is my nature. One boy is in college and the other two are still doing studies at home.

Not only do I do all the normal "at home" stuff but I also wear a few other hats. I currently am a volunteer secretary for our network of home-schoolers, I teach a yearbook class, I run a home business for custom embroidery, screen printing and I do professional longarm quilting. Why I do all this stuff sometimes is beyond me...but I love it all and am always looking to broaden my horizons and LEARN new things. Hence this journal. The internet is an amazing tool, full of resources, ideas and possibilities and once again I want to try my hand at something new and see where it takes me. I am still trying to figure alot of this out...so if anyone has any ideas or tips for me then please call me!!!

Mostly this blog is for me to inspire, teach and learn. As a quilter, I have many that want to learn but do not know where to start. So I am now putting on another hat....let the creative fun begin.