What Kathy has been doing

The tractor quilt. I have it all pieced together. I just need to put borders on and then bind it. This will go on Mikey's bed when he gets a big boy bed. I have to stop with this quilt for now, because I have decided to make my sister-in-law and my sister a baby blanket and one is due at the end of July, the other in September. So I have to get busy on those. I will post progress when I get started.

Here is Lanie's quilt, I made her awhile ago. We have it on her bed. Hopefully you can see the wall to match. The pillow is my Great grandmother's. I have an orange bed skirt to match.

On Line Shop Hop

I know that we are on fabric shop overload after just getting back from the shop hop, but I just found a link for an on line shop hop that looks kind of fun! Visit fabshophop.com to check it out! (I put a link on the side bar) I also added a link for quiltsoup.com that is another fun website.

Anybody else excited?

Shop Hop starts TOMORROW!

I know I stashed some cash somewhere in the house. Better start looking!

Not the most interesting post in the universe, but I figured the old blog needed some kind of update.... And to be honest, I really am quite giddy about getting out of town tomorrow. I actually dreamed about it last night. Guess it is safe to say that I could use a little more mental stimulation in my life...

What Shanda's been up to!

So it's been a long time since I've got together with friends to quilt. Our lives are just a mess as school comes to a close. Carolyn wanted me to post some of my pictures of what I've been doing. The first picture is a block that we made in block of the month. It's a flying geese pinwheel pattern. I am going to put it together with the green, as soon as I can find some more. The other picture is a triple treat petite. I happen to LOVE this pattern. I borrowed Melissa's shape cut ruler and cut it out in like 10 minutes flat! It was fun. Anyway, I have another couple of projects started. I will take pictures of them and post again soon! I promise.

Aprons

I found this fabric on the 50% off table at Mom's and couldn't resist it. I thought it would make some cute aprons for 6 little girl cousins. So, here are the girls in their aprons learning how to make some Easter Rice Crispie Treats with their Granny.

Another link (or two...)

This blog has the coolest "sew-along" with week by week instructions on everything included- choosing fabric, fixing cutting mistakes, piecing a back, putting the "quilt sandwich" together, even free motion quilting on your machine. You can find it here:
http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/quiltalong.html

Also, I just ordered some fabric from https://zandsfabrics.com, and they had a smoking good clearance section. I ordered five (or ten) yards that was only $3.59/yard. Their new stuff isn't bad either- I needed some of the Moda Sweet line that they didn't have in town, and they had it for only $7.50/yard.

Another cool shopping find is http://www.thousandsofbolts.com . They carry fabric lines that are a little older, but super cheap (mostly 3-6 dollars a yard.) Also, they have 108" backing fabrics starting at $8.95 a yard.

Yes, I do other things besides playing online. Sometimes. Just not today.

Wow!

I'm not sure how I neglected this site before, but I've just planned out five future projects I must do from these fun patterns. Someone smarter than me (so pretty much anyone!) can add a link in the sidebar.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/

Now I have more excuses to keep buying those fabulous little charm packs! (Not to mention jelly rolls, turnovers, etc...)

Hey, Carolyn! (and anyone else who likes aprons...)

Have you looked at any of these apron patterns?

http://tipnut.com/56-free-apron-patterns-you-can-make/

http://tipnut.com/free-apron-patterns-tutorials/

http://tipnut.com/free-apron-patterns/

Maybe one of those would work?

Quilt Hunt

So here is one of the results of my quilt hunt. I found two quilts made by my great grandma Lydia Finlinson.

This first quilt is a double wedding ring that my great grandma Lydia made for my Grandma Isobel Finlinson Williams' wedding. The second quilt is also made by Lydia but I don't know anything else about it. I have found more quilts I will be posting later.

The experiment...

So Carolyn, Sherida and I took the Crazy Quilt class at Snow Goose. It was really fun, and we learned this cool quilt as you go thing where you use decorative stitches on your machine to quilt each block separately and then sash them together. I immediately wanted to try a baby quilt. So I bought a new sewing machine with lots of cute stitches (nothing fancy, mind you- I just needed the stitches!) and set to work on a baby quilt for my friend. Along the way, I learned that I don't like quilting as I go. You can't pull the blocks around and make them line up like you can with just one layer of fabric, so all my sashings don't line up at all. It's okay for this, since the project was all kinds of crazy patterns anyway (and my friend who is receiving it is the nicest person I know and will love it no matter what.) But if I was doing something fussy that I wanted to look really perfect, I would definitely not try this.

I debated including this picture, since it really shows off how crooked by sashings are, but I think it is still kind of cute, and you can see how it would work if someone smarter than me was doing it.

Oh, well. At least it is a project checked off my to-do list. And it gave me a good excuse to buy a new sewing machine. Now all I have left to do today is finish my snowball exchange blocks (don't worry- they'll be straighter that the baby quilt!), make my block of the month block, work on a UFO, tend a sick baby, and maybe have surgery or break my leg so Shanda will make me a quilt.

Thanks for the Invite!

Hi all,
No, I don't know where all my kids are, but then they range in age from 24 to 38, so I guess they don't have to answer to me anymore.

Yes, my children have clothes. My second daughter has WAYYYY more than she needs, but she has great taste! She also rivals Imelda Marcos for her shoe collection and has just as many purses.

If they haven't been fed, it's their own fault.

Quilting news:
I am so excited because I just purchased new sewing room furniture that will be arriving in 4-6 weeks; hopefully sooner. I've been having back problems from my less than desirable setup, so I'm hopeful this will be a great solution. (Sounds like enough justification for buying it to me!)

I also finished my first Guild UFO and it is off for quilting.

I am leaving for California on Friday with my daughter (the one with all the clothes, shoes, and purses). Don't know when I'll be back --- sometime next week, but I definitely plan on hitting some quilt stores. We're flying though, so I don't know how much I will be able to bring back.

When I get my new setup, I will post pictures.
Sherida

A great thought to remember...

Gigi's girl for Chelsea!

Does this look familiar? I don't know why I am so incapable of an original idea. I guess that Lisa's designs are so cute that I just have to copy them. This is actually one of two that I am making in this pattern. This is the baby of the original. I made it for my niece who had surgery. The day that I sewed the border on this, my other niece, Mckenzie, broke her leg, so now I am going to have to make another!

New Classes at Mom's

March 23 Pillow Case Class

March 24 Purse Class

April 23 Quick and Easy Receiving Blanket

May 6 Binding Class

May 7 Apron Class

May 13 Turning Twenty Quilt Class

May 29/30 Retreat

June 4 Bargello Flag Class

June 10 Christmas Stockings Class

I think we all carve out a special spot to sew.

This is my spot! It's in our basement.

I can leave what ever I'm working on and

no one has to see the mess!!

I just need to get down there more often!!

Pam Jensen