Forty Days left at home

I leave for my next work trip in forty more days.  I have many quilty plans for these days at home.

Today I am re-thinking my work suitcases.  I decided that I would retire this quilt:

While I was making it (years ago!), my daughter asked for it.  It has traveled with me for several years and during that time she frequently asked how "her" quilt was.  She was very patient.

I made this quilt as a quilting sample.  I used free-motion quilting, rulers, and a Groovy Board:

I frequently teach at Bits N Pieces in Pelham, NH.  Liz had her students each make this and quilt it differently.  They surprised me in September and showed them all at once.  I was overwhelmed!

I hope my daughter enjoys her bright (!) green quilt.  And I hope I have time during the next forty days to make a replacement sample.

44 days at home

On my first day at home, I did a lot of necessary work. I had to shop for Thanksgiving and take care of things that I couldn't do while I was traveling.

I made time for me today, though, and I played!

It was a good first day at home!

Wilmington Delaware

Great shop!

Fun students!

Exciting hotel? (I am safe but had an interesting morning)

Quilting Pillow tutorial

When I quilt on Hazel, my sweet Sweet Sixteen, I try to eliminate all drag on the quilt.  I roll, fold, or bunch the quilt to make sure it does not hang down over the sides of the table.  The one place I still find drag, though, is between the table and my lap.

I have heard many home remedies for this, but my remedy is to use a quilting pillow.  It is made from laminate fabric on the top (so the quilt slides on it) and quilting cotton on the back (to be cooler on my lap).  I showed this pillow on my DVDs, and have received many emails asking me for a tutorial on making a quilting pillow.  Here it is:

Supplies:
2/3 yard quilting cotton
2/3 yard laminate fabric
20-inch square pillow insert

Cutting:
Cut the quilting cotton into two pieces measuring 24 x 20 1/2 inches.
Cut the laminate into a 20 1/2-inch square.

Piecing:
Fold each of the two pieces of quilting cotton in half, right sides out, to measure 12 x 20 1/2 inches.  Press well.

Stitch 1/8-inch away from the cut edges of the fabric.  This will keep the layers together when you stitch the pillow back to the pillow front.

Lay the laminate on your table, shiny side up.

Place one of the quilting cotton sections on top, aligning the cut edge to the edge of the laminate.  Make sure the folded edge of the fabric is in the middle of the laminate.

Repeat with other piece of quilting cotton, aligning it to the other edge of the laminate.  Both folded edges will be in the middle making an opening to insert your pillow.

Pin within a quarter-inch of the edges, so that the pins won't make holes in the laminate pillow front.

Using a quarter-inch seam, stitch along all four eges of the pillow, being sure to remove the pins before you sew over them.

After the layers are secure, zig-zag stitch within the quarter-inch seam allowance to keep the cotton fabric from fraying.

Turn the quilting pillow cover right-side out and fill with the 20-inch pillow.

Place on your lap between you and the ege of your Sweet Sixteen table when quilting.  This will eliminate any drag caused by the front edge of the table.

Happy drag-free quilting!

Another Gifted Quilt

My daughter-in-law and her sister have been close friends since childhood with another pair of sisters.  They have all recently been pregnant and three have already given birth.

This quilt was for Ruthie:

This quilt was for Carter:

And now this quilt is for Maddie:

I blogged about this quilt way back in 2006, probably before Maddie's parents even met.  I was that prepared!

I cannot post a quilt for my daughter-in-law's baby.  There will be so many quilts it will take a month of posts to contain them all!

They Know Me So Well

Liz from Bits N Pieces welcomed me to the store this morning.

Punk Rock Hello Kitty is coming home with me.

I am a Party Animal

I finished teaching my second day of classes at Bits & Pieces in Pelham, NH.  Confession time: I am pretty tired after teaching all day so I usually pick up dinner and head back to my hotel room.  If I'm very lucky, there's cake.  Tonight I was lucky:

After dinner I read my e-mail and catch up on Facebook and pulled up Netflix on my laptop.  By 9pm I'm tucked in my bed and ready for sleep:

When I travel by car i bring my favorite quilt from home.  

I'm ready for another great day with my students at Bits & Pieces tomorrow!

Don't forget to go to ebay and bid on the Quilt Alliance TWENTY quilts!

One Less UFO

Yesterday's resurrected quilt is nearly finished. Sadly I cannot show photos of the front of the quilt until after the wedding in January.

What UFO should I tackle next?

Don't forget to go to ebay and bid on the Quilt Alliance TWENTY quilts!

Resurrection

A few weeks ago, I received a wedding invitation in the mail.  The groom and his bride-to-be are people that should definitely receive a quilt as a wedding present, but what quilt will do?

I spent a few minutes on Sunday looking through their bridal registry to get a feel for their tastes.  Then I thought about what quilts I had stashed in UFO form in my studio.  I remembered a quilt-in-progress that would be perfect for them, but couldn't remember exactly where it was.  Fortunately, the last time I tried to tame my UFOs, I made a list of them and noted where they were stored.  Yes, I'm a bit of an organizational geek.  I looked on my spreadsheet and had the quilt in my hands a few minutes later.

Yesterday was cold and snowy:

but also pretty:

It was a great day to stay in and sew.  I pulled the bag out of storage:

Don't Handi Quilter totes make great project bags?

I noticed that the pattern was in a magazine dated 2004.  I don't think that the project is that old, but maybe it dates back to 2006 or 2007?  It has ripened enough and is now the perfect time to finish this quilt!

I pulled out the pattern and all of the pieces, took inventory of the finished bits, the cut bits, and the yardage.  Everything was there, so it was time to dig in.

This quilt is underway and is to be finished well before their January wedding date.  I wish I could find the perfet bridal shower present in my UFO stash, too.

Don't forget to go to ebay and bid on the Quilt Alliance TWENTY quilts!

Quilts for a Cause

I was so excited to be a part of the Quilt Alliance 2013 Quilt Contest Exhibit and Auction.  The theme this year was TWENTY.

My entry was Calcium (it has the atomic number of 20)

I made this quilt on Hazel, my sweet Sweet Sixteen and blogged about this project when I made it.  Months later, I'm still humming the element song!

The Quilt Alliance quilts will be auctioned off over several weeks.  My quilt is not available this week, but many other are.  Go to ebay and bid to support the Quilt Alliance!

Gifting Quilts

I recently finished another quilt and gave it to a young momma at my church.  She has been enduring a quite unpleasant medical situation for a few months and I hope this can cheer her up. 

The pattern was a Moda Bake Shop pattern called Boho Patchwork Vintage Star Quilt.  The pattern wasn't as awesome as I hoped it would be, but the quilt turned out pretty cute anyway.

I hope this momma recovers soon and feels my hugs every time she uses her quilt.

Happier than a....

Uh-oh.

Guess what day it is?

Guess what day it is?

Huh?

Anybody?

It's BUMP DAY!

Geico should rewrite their commercial to "Happier than a grandma with her grandbabybump!"

My son and his pregnant wife are spending the day with me and I get to pat the grand-baby-bump. I felt a kick today!

The question now is.... Is it a boy baby? Or a girl baby? a Charlie? Or a Molly?

You can see that I am prepared for both.

The Ink Blot Test

This quilt was fun to make:

It was also fun to hear what other quilter's thought of it.  I heard "Champagne!" and "Bubblebaths!" and "Bubblegum!"  I loved hearing people interpret this quilt the way that worked best for them.  

The truth behind the quilt was simple:  my friend Teri is stitching a billion bubbles on a quilt.  This quilt was made because I tease her that she is "bubbly".  This quilt is for her.

Several people also said they would try this technique at home.  I would love to see photos of their work.  Post them on my FaceBook page or email them to me!

If you would like further instruction on Blended-Thread Free-Motion Embroidery, I cover this technique on one of my new DVDs:

The DVD is available online or from your local Handi Quilter rep.

Wherever you Go

My friend Teri is making a quilt with millions of little bubbles all over it.  She is a bubblin' fool.  I wanted to make a quilt for her, showing my appreciate for her bubbling skills.  I started with some yummy WonderFil threads:

I used some Accent (30-weight rayon), some Konfetti and Tutti (50 weight cottons), and an InvisiFil (100-weight polyester).  Yummy!

Next, using two different spools of Accent in the needle at the same time, I started the free-motion blended-thread embroidery.

Yes, I embroider on my sweet Sweet Sixteen.  Her name is Hazel.  I love her.

After I finished the letters, I made some small bubbles with the InvisiFil and some larger bubbles with the Tutti/Konfetti:

I finished the quilt with some Accent bubbles:

This morning, I found some purple bubbly fabric and bound the quilt:

I am showing this before I mail it to my friend Teri.  She was impatient and wanted to see it NOW!

I had so so so much fun making this quilt.

What word will be next?

From Blue to Blessed

Yesterday I took a mental health sewing day to help me recover from a migraine. This morning I got to give that quilt to Carter, who is now one day old! Is there anything in the world better than rocking a brand new baby?

About 15 years ago, I was asked to make a quilt for the renovated maternity unit at that hospital. I got to visit my quilt while I was there. I am pleased to announce that my skill has increased since then.

From the agony of yesterday's migraine came a surprisingly wonderful Wednesday!

From Blue to Blessed

Yesterday I took a mental health sewing day to help me recover from a migraine. This morning I got to give that quilt to Carter, who is now one day old! Is there anything in the world better than rocking a brand new baby?

About 15 years ago, I was asked to make a quilt for the renovated maternity unit at that hospital. I got to visit my quilt while I was there. I am pleased to announce that my skill has increased since then.

From the agony of yesterday's migraine came a surprisingly wonderful Wednesday!

Feeling Blue

Today, I'm feeling blue.  I am tired from my hectic October.  I have a headache.  I decided to spend the day playing with fabric from the scrap box.

Look at what fell out of my sewing machine today:

This is based on a Moda Bake Shop pattern.  The directions were not as awesome as I wish they were, but I was able to re-figure a few things and work it out.

While I was in the middle of piecing this quilt today, I found out that one of my former youth group students had a baby boy this morning.

This quilt is for baby Carter.

I still have a headache.  The quilting is helping.  Eating chocolate cake is helping   Buying a cute pair of shoes is helping   Using my Hello Kitty scissors is helping.

Thanks, Teri.  I love them!

Sunday Travels Home from Houston (in Pictures)

Hints:

First class upgrade
First class lunch
I won the armrest war!
I patted my grandbabybump
Hubby bought me a new watch

I will now eat chocolate cake and go to bed.

Until next year, Houston.