A Day in the LIfe of a Handi Quilter Educator

I'm convinced that I have the best job in the whole wide world.  I have been a Handi Quilter educator for over a decade and the job gets better every single year.  I love my company, my co-workers, my retailers, and my students.  Who can ask for anything more?

Here's a glimpse of my yesterday as a Handi Quilter Educator:

I checked out of my hotel in Dublin, Ohio and grabbed a quick breakfast.  In the restaurant parking lot, I had to Make Way for Ducklings.



These were not my goslings because I left my phone on the car seat and just sat and watched the family move through the parking lot.  It was a beautiful few minutes to see five baby goslings led by one parent and followed by the other.  When I looked around, all of the other drivers and pedestrians were smiling broadly.  What a great start to the morning!

I taught two machine quilting classes at Red Rooster Quilt Shop:

This is a fun shop with fun students and fun fabrics.  Fabrics like Ohio State University fabrics:

We all know that Ohio State has the best darn band in the whole darn land:

I bought a darling kit of Cluck Cluck Sew's Touchdown pattern, with Ohio State's scarlet and gray colors, of course.

In case you are wondering about my allegiance to The Ohio State University, I should probably let you know that one of the people that I birthed attended that university.  In other words: four years of my salary went to this hallowed institution.

During class today, my students told me that I had to try Graeter's ice cream because it was one of the best ice creams in the entire country.  That is a claim not to be missed, so I tried it:

Ho-ly yum!   Black raspberry chip is my new favorite ice cream!

After fortifying myself with ice cream, I drove to Pittsburgh to stay at my childhood home overnight.  There is a small obstacle just south of the city that makes driving into Pittsburgh a challenge:  Mt. Washington.  After checking to see that the Pirate game wasn't over and that I wouldn't be driving into stadium traffic (note: the Pirates won and are back in first place), I decided to be brave and drive through the Ft. Pitt tunnel tubes instead of diverting around the city.  As I was in the tunnel, a song from my teenage years was on the radio station that I listened to as a teenager:



It was the perfect soundtrack to accompany my night-time drive where I emerged from the tunnel into one of the most stunning skylines I've ever seen:



After safely negotiating eleventy thousand a few lane changes to continue driving north, I arrived at mom's house safely to spend the night.

Is it just me, or was it a wonderful yesterday?  It's true that I am often away from home, that I fly a lot, and drive even more but those are small prices to pay for the joys, small and large, that I encounter daily as a Handi Quilter Educator.

Today I am continuing my drive home and will enjoy a few quilt-filled days before I head to Bits 'N Pieces in Pelham, NH for a birthday bash weekend of Handi Quilter and other machine quilting classes, longarm and domestic.

In The Meadow Blog Tour

Welcome, Blog Hoppers!  I'm so glad that you are visiting here today!

When Shari Butler invited me to be part of her In The Meadow Blog tour, I was so excited!  I was also a little nervous since I knew that I would be on a 6-week machine quilting teaching trip covering all aspects of the hop so I would have to pull this together from a variety of hotels and other locations other than my home studio.

As soon as the fabrics arrived, I had to pet them arrange them and come up with a plan quickly.

I wanted to use as many as these beauties as possible.  Fortunately, I design Cutie Patterns which use sixteen fat eighths.  I decided to make an In The Meadow version of my latest Cutie Pattern, A La Mode.

A La Mode is a really simple pattern that shows off the fabric well.

I pieced my quilt on my travel sewing machine, Pigwidgeon, in hotels in New Hampshire and Ohio:

I photographed the quilt on a very dark and dreary day at my mom's house in Pittsburgh:

I had fun using my mother's childhood doll cradle (circa 1940) when taking the photos in her front yard:

Photo day was a day full of memories for me.  Hopefully this quilt will be part of its owner's memories as well.

Since I am a machine quilting teacher, you may wonder how I am going to quilt this quilt.  Well, I am thrilled to finally announce that I am putting the finishing touches on a video class on how to quilt this quilt on a home sewing machine.

So, I could quilt this quilt in a allover loop pattern like I did on my nautical quilt:

I could quilt a walking foot zig-zag like I did on my black and white and aqua quilt:

I could stitch custom free-motion quilting (ribbon candy, naturally) like I did on my Riley Blake floral quilt:

Or I could combine ruler quilting with free-motion quilting like I did on my neutral quilt:

I'm always asked "What is the best way to quilt this quilt?"  As you can see, each of these quilts were quilted differently and each one is wonderful in its own way!

My new video class will teach all of these techniques.  It's not quite ready yet, but you can join my mailing list to stay in-the-know about all of my upcoming classes.  Yes, I said classes, PLURAL!!!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

Would you like to make an A La Mode quilt?  How about an A La Mode quilt using In The Meadow fabrics?  Well, enter HERE to win a kit to make this 48"x48" quilt yourself!

I had so much fun working on the In The Meadow blog hop.  I hope that you have fun visiting all of the other stops on this tour as well!

Tuesday, April 17: Jedi Craft Girl | www.jedicraftgirl.com 

Thursday April 19: Jina Barney Designs | http://jinabarneydesignz.blogspot.com  

Tuesday April 24: Gigi's Thimble | www.gigisthimble.com 

Thursday April 26: Debby Brown Quilts | higheredhands.blogspot.com 

Tuesday May 1: Piper's Girls | www.pipersgirls.com 

Thursday May 3: Go Go Kim | http://www.gogokim.com 

Tuesday May 8: Kea Bee | http://keabee.com 

Thursday May 10: Doohikey Designs | www.doohikeydesigns.com/blogs/gethescoop/

I'm totally addicted!

I am totally addicted to making Microwave Bowl Cozies.  Have you fallen into this black hole?  I've made six sets to give to family members and was surprised at how quickly they all came together.

If you've never made a Microwave Bowl Cozy, check out one of my classes on Annie's Creative Studio:

This episode is available on Annie's Creative Studio. 

Are you a member?  Right now you can sign up for a free 30-day trial.  Click HERE for more information.

It's Time to Play!

This March was the longest year of my life with snowstorm after snowstorm after snowstorm and April hasn't been an improvement.  The silver lining to all of the bad weather and accompanying aches and pains was many snow day/sew days at home!

I made a graphic black and white version of my A La Mode Cutie Pattern.

I'm sew in love with the walking foot on my sweet Hedwig and I'm thrilled to be teaching a walking foot class at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in November!

Did you notice the cool cars sitting on the quilt?  I never knew any of my grandparents but my oldest uncle filled the role of Grandfather in my life. These were his handmade cars and I was honored to receive them when he passed away a few years ago.  What a treat to see my own grandbabies play with them!

Who Doesn't Love Fabric?

How do you buy your fabric?  Do you...

• Pick from the shelves at your local quilt shop?
• Browse online shops and look for inspiration?
• Follow specific designers online and wait (im)patiently for their new lines to hit the shelves?

However you find your fabrics, all fabrics start in one place -- with a designer.

When I was at Quilt Market in Houston, I interviewed several fabric designers to find out what inspired them to create their next lines.

This episode is available on Annie's Creative Studio. 

Are you a member?  Right now you can sign up for a free 30-day membership.  Click HERE for more information.

I can't wait to go to Quilt Market in May to see what these talented designers have created for us this year!

Surprise Revealed -- A Very Splendid Sequel!

One of the secrets I've been keeping is that I'm one of the designers for The Splendid Sampler 2!!!

Read all about it HERE!

If you want to join in the fun, pre-order your book HERE.*

I'm so excited to be a part of this project and I have a few surprises to share about it over time.

Stay tuned for more announcements.
_____
*By purchasing through an affiliate link I may, at no additional cost to you, receive a small commission to keep my website running.

My Trip to Cleveland... so far

This week I am working for Red Rooster quilt shop at OSQE Cleveland.  If you can, come and visit me and try out the newest Handi Quilter machine!

My trip to Cleveland started out well.  Even though it's 500 miles from my house to Cleveland, I choose to drive because it's much less stressful (and germy!) than flying.  While driving, I design quilts, make a few chatty phone calls, and listen to audiobooks.  The miles just fly by!

Every time I drive through Pennsylvania, I see a huge sign reading PIEROGIES on the roof a building near the interstate.  I've promised myself that I'd stop and check it out someday, and this trip was the time!

I'm trying to save the pierogies until I get home, but my hotel room has a kitchen and a fry pan.  The struggle is real!

The drive became a bit stressful as the snow and winds picked up.

I am friends with some truck drivers so I'm always a polite driver around the big rigs.  That day I gave them even more space because the winds were brutal and they were trying so hard to stay on the road.

The drive became challenging when it came time to... um... find some facilities.  I pulled off an exit and the power was out due to the high winds, closing all of the restaurants in the area.

I had to drive a while to find an open restroom restaurant but found one just in time!

Finally, I checked into my sewing room hotel room and made myself at home:

Can you see Shari Butler's newest In The Meadow fabrics?  They are oh so yummy!  Stay tuned to see what I'm making!

Are You Curious?

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the International Quilt Festival in Houston?

Last October, I was there with a video camera to show you some of the highlights of Quilt Festival.

This episode is available on Annie's Creative Studio. 

Are you a member?  Right now you can sign up for a free 30-day trial.  Click HERE for more information.

I will be teaching at Quilt Festival again in November.  If you have never been there, mark your calendars!

Overjoyed!

I received a sweet surprise in the mail yesterday:  a package of Sweet Bee Designs "In The Meadow" fabrics by Shari Butler!

Shari is the force behind the Binding Babies and her fabrics are just as darling!

I'm thrilled that these came before my trip so I can pet them while driving start stitching with them in my hotel room in Cleveland this week!  Which Cutie Pattern should I make???  I seriously can't decide and need your help.

Ahoy!

I made another copy of my A La Mode Cutie Pattern last week, this time using nautical prints from Riley Blake.

If you need a 48"x48" quick quilt for a gift, consider this kit:

Fabric for top and binding for only $25?  And free shipping on any order over $25?  This kit is a steal!

I had a flare-up last week and spent most of my waking hours in a chair quilting on my darling Hegwig.  For this quilt, I grabbed some Parade FabuLux thread and stitched some loops:

This quilt was easy as pie... A La Mode!

New Cutie Pattern and Kit

I am tickled to announce my latest Cutie Pattern -- A La Mode.

I was hoping to take a nice spring-themed photo, but March in New York is throwing us a snow storm every few days.  Please enjoy this lovely winter photo, though.  And hope with me that today's storm will be the last one of the season!

I'm launching something new with this new Cutie Pattern -- a kit!  Check out these gorgeous Riley Blake / Pennyrose Fabrics:

I have more surprises coming, so stay tuned!

Tuesday Tutorial -- Curvy Cross-Hatching with a Walking Foot

This week's Tuesday Tutorial is on a Friday.  It's been a rough week and Friday is just as good as Tuesday, right?  Lie to me.

I had some fun today with my walking foot:



Winter is lingering so I chose a bright Neon Lemon for today's thread.

Do you have any quilt tops at home that you can finish this weekend with curvy cross-hatching?

The Browns took Manhattan

Next week is our 30th wedding anniversary.  How can I possibly be married for 30 years when I'm only 29???  It's a question for the ages.

We scheduled the trip for this past weekend and also next weekend to allow for a weather cancellation.  That would sound silly if the New York hadn't just been slammed with two major Nor'Easters within five days and another one skirting us tomorrow night.  Spring, please come soon!

While we never (and I mean NEVER) go out to eat when we're home, we go to New York City to eat.  And eat we did!

We have a wide range of tastes in food, but we only ate sushi, udon, ramen, and dim sum.  Not even a slice of pizza.  Sacrilege!  I didn't take photos of our food but I did get a video of the dim sum restaurant. 

If you've never experienced steam carts in a large restaurant, you haven't lived.  Seriously!  Dim sum is my absolutely favorite meal in the whole wide world and we had an absolutely delicious lunch yesterday at Jing Fong.

In addition to restaurants, we managed to find a few (cough*three*cough) bakeries.  I did take photos there.

We visited Dominique Ansel bakery, home of the Cronut.  We arrived in the city too late for cronuts, but what we had was delish!

After eating ramen, I told super-hubby that I wanted a cookie.  I may have mentioned it more than once (or 6 or 8 times...) We left the restaurant and BOOM!  There was a cookie bakery on the corner!

Schmackerys was Ah-Ma-Zing!

Chocolate chip and Cookies & Cream, because you are wondering.

After dim sum, we stopped at TaiPan Bakery on Canal Street and bought a bag of Chinese pastry because Oh. My. Heck!  It is so amazing and wonderful and I couldn't possibly make it and I can't buy it locally and

Sigh.

They make Hello Kitty cakes JUST FOR ME!!!

The problem with having a bag of pastries in the house is even though you intend to eat them throughout the week, your more rational self reminds you that the pastries are so much better when fresh and that they will never taste better than they do RIGHT NOW!  I'm so grateful that my more rational self spoke up.

We did more than just eat while in the city, though.  We went to see Kinky Boots.

My daughter and I used to watch Drew Carey's Whose Line Is It Anyway? when we had a television.  We are still tickled when we can find YouTube clips of the show.  We loved Wayne Brady so I was beyond excited to see him in the starring role.  He was wonderful and the show was perfect and the music was perfect and the seats were perfect and everything was perfect.  Just perfect.

In between the eating, we walked just a little.

See?  I EARNED those pastries!!!

We returned home and are back to our real lives.  I'm sad that we only had a weekend, but I am enjoying every minute of the memories.

And the pastries.

Bonus Quilt!

One of my Cutie Quilts has a secret:  If you save the triangle trimmings, you can make a second quilt!  How cool is that?

The first quilt is Due North:

The flying geese in this quilt are BIG so the leftover triangles are big, too.  If you sew together all of the leftover triangle pairs, you can make this quilt:

The blocks are made entirely from leftovers; I added a simple 6" border to make this 42"x48" quilt.

Here's the block:

There are enough triangles to make 32 blocks and but I only used 30 of them.

The quilt is pieced in straight rows, but I quilted it on point using my walking foot, echoing the diagonal seams:

Surprising no one, I filled in the stitched lines with ribbon candy.

As one does.

I found the PERFECT thread for this quilt:  FabuLux Cuddle.

I don't want to rush anyone, but I need more babies so I can give away all of the baby quilts that are stacking up in my studio!

Scrappy Postcards

Sometimes the littlest bits of fabric combine to make something beautiful.  In this case, four beautiful postcards!

Rocking Horse thread and creamy 1" squares:

Giggle thread and peachy 1" squares:

Olive Trees thread and green 1" squares:

Meditation thread and earthy 1" squares:

I'm thrilled with this postcard set!