Lucille...another pattern!

My post-retirement plan is to work in quilting....somehow!  Anything but math teacher....LOL.

So I've been drafting and writing patterns that are easy to do a pre-cut friendly.  When I sew, I like it to be mindless....not too complicated, very little room for error.  With that in mind, I can show a little quilt that is made from fat quarters...Lucille.

I quilted a panto called Rosebush on it....

Anyhow, as soon as it is bound and photographed, the pattern will be available.  ;-)  More are in the queue...

Happy quilting!

New Baby Quilt...

I have been super busy this last month making baby quilts, mug rugs, and trying out a new pattern.  All things considered, I've been quite productive.  This is the finished baby quilt from Lakehouse's Pam Kitty fabric.  Rebecca pieced the blocks and I quilted it.  It is for sale in my Etsy shop...

I've decided that I need to plow through my stash of fabric and make some cutie-pie items for Etsy.  A few of us were going to rent a shop space at a local crafts/antique shop, but they suddenly closed!  Ack....I now have lots of items that need to find homes.  I'll post more on this later this week when I show off some of my mug rugs...LOL.  I made about 80 of them in the last month....Here is just one style...

I love the black and yellow combo.  I don't usually buy anything but Kona at Hobby Lobby, but I loved this floral print.  I added a few of my own black and whites and voila!  I have six of these I'll list in my Etsy shop....

Anyhow, I have to go cook dinner...Mom is coming over tonight.  Happy quilting to you all!

Long Time No Blog...

It has been busy, busy, busy around this house lately.  Lots of school work and lots of sewing when time permits...Here is a preview of my new pattern Runaround Sue...

Rebecca has been piecing a baby quilt....my Extra Credit pattern....

 

Ryan went as Heisenberg for Halloween...does it make me a bad Mom to let him go as a Meth super drug kingpin??  Breaking Bad was awesome and so was Ryan....He is 13 so that is a cosmetic mustache and goatee...and a real pork pie wool hat!  He can wear it anytime, in my opinion...

 

 

Anyhow, I'll try to be a better blogger and get this together this month!  We have lots of BIG quilting plans and I'll keep all three of you updated!

 

Happy Quilting...

Plaid Table Runners...

We are drowning in plaids around here!  Fall plaids, to be exact....With Rebecca sewing now, we need an outlet for our crafts.  I've opened an Etsy shop and we decided to quilt in our spare time and put stuff in the shop....and destash at the same time....

We are making mini-log cabin block....hundreds of 6" blocks...We made runners in various sizes and I quilted them in a variety of sizes....here are some sexy shots, with cheezy props!

I'm thinking they would look great in a log cabin...that is sort of my target market.  We plan on making modern stuff as well, but right now, we are focused on the holidays.  I only get to sew a few hours a week, but it is relaxing when I get to it....

I'm not sure which quilting is better...swirls, or wavy lines and leaves....???  Hummmm....

Rebecca is making a bunch of blocks for a baby quilt--I'll take pics later this weekend if she progresses far enough.  I'm cutting strips for Christmas table runners....Anyhow, it is keeping us out of trouble and I'm not spending a lot of money!!  Yeah....

We are finishing up first quarter in the school district so that leaves me 15 quarter left x 45 days per quarter...675 days left in my teaching career!  Not that I'm counting....

Happy Quilting!

Joyce's Maybellene Quilt....

This summer Joyce tested out my Maybellene pattern with a batik layer cake and a few charm packs.  It turned out very summery and beachy....at least, to me it looks beachy.  It sort of looks like a day at the ocean so I quilted my favorite panto, Bloomin' Stars, on it yesterday....

And an up-close shot...I love the stars!  This is a lovely panto that goes well with everything...

Rebecca and I have been busy making fall table runners with some of my plaids.  We probably have about 10 made for my soon to be open Etsy shop.  I'll post some pics as I get a few done...

School is busy so quilting comes at the bottom of the list right now....but I am still working on stuff.  I will do what I can to keep up on the blog, but work comes first, then family, the dog, housework....etc.

Happy Quilting!

Baby Quilts...

These two are ones that I made in the last few months...The first was a tester for the Extra Credit pattern.  It is quilted with the Daisies and Loops panto and will be offered up for sale on Etsy as soon as I have it bound.  Here it is...

And a scrappy trip along quilt that I made at an all day workshop this summer.  I didn't love it as much prior to quilting but now I'm considering making another one!  This is quilted with the Garden Frills panto...and will also be available for sale on Etsy soon...

In addition to sewing, I've been doing some beading.  I made three new necklaces last week...kind of long choker length...

An up-close shot...

Anyhow, that is how the last week has gone for me.  Boo hoo that school started again, but now I only have three years and 175 school days until retirement!!  Yeah....

Happy Quilting everyone!

Patty's Jelly Roll quilt...

Patty made this scrappy jelly roll quilt and she wanted some allover swirls.  I used the panto Outside In and it really softened up the strip quilt...she also added extra strips to the borders to make it a larger lap size quilt...

An up close of the swirls...

I haven't been doing much sewing due to work starting again soon.  I've already been to school and I've done some work at home.  This work thing is really disturbing my hobbies and Pinterest!  And worse yet, Pinterest is blocked at school....OMG....Pinterest withdrawls coming soon!!  I like to eat lunch in my room and surf the 'net but some much good stuff is blocked by my school district (I see their point, but I don't have to be happy about it!!....Anyhow, I'll try to keep up on my blog posting during the year but it always seems to dwindle when I'm working....darn it!

I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing summer...Happy Quilting!

Zippered Bags and Rover Panel Quilt....

Yesterday I was sewing with the ladies at Fabric Boutique and we all made a few zippered bags.  Very simple and so durable.  I have one that Joyce made me years ago and I use it to carry all my misc. sewing supplies--it shows NO wear and tear after years of hauling it around!  I'm going to Christmas Goose this morning to buy more vinyl for future bags....check them out...

 This awesome skull one is for me...

This is for Steph who said she liked aqua and orange....

We also put together another quick Reading with Rover quilt for Tracie.  It is just a panel from Lakehouse so don't get too excited--absolutely no piecing involved.  Just quilted and bound ASAP!

Today I have to do a few errands, go to school (dammit!), and get some longarming done...Happy Quilting!

Carolyn's Quilt....

I picked up this quilt from Carolyn last month (with another) and I set my mind to it and got it finished!  I had to make the backing and then stipple it...a persian red thread in the border and a petal pink in the center.  It is very large (84" x 106", I think) and took about 10 hours of longarming!  But it looks lovely...beautiful Moda prints and I think the pattern is called Pick Up Sticks...check it out...

An up close shot...for those of you still reading, I can't stipple and eat sunflower seeds.  Too complicated...I can chew gum and sew, but a big NO on the seeds...LOL

We went to Knott's Berry Farm this week and I found out that English Paper Piecing causes a fat @$$.  No kidding, I'm humbled by the spread that occurred this summer.  And we almost died on the first ride (near concussion).  It is called Ghost Rider but we call it...

The Rickety Bastard

Old school wooden roller coaster in Southern California...creaky piece of shit....

Rebecca took this picture as we pulled into the platform after the ride.  See the woman holding her head and praying to Jesus??  That's me...Ryan is in the green shirt.  He did go back on the ride later in the day, but alone.  I'm not stupid enough to do that twice....

Anyhow, it was a fun ending to the summer!  Ryan still has a couple weeks but we go back a bit sooner...I'll have some more posts because we have a lot in the queue and Rebecca says I have to get it cleaned up ASAP.... ;-)  Happy Quilting!

Carolyn in CA...baby quilt!

Joyce's sister-in-law came to Vegas for a visit last week and she made this adorable baby quilt while she was here.  She had already embroidered the dinosaurs so all she needed to do was make the sashing and border.  Check it out...aren't the dinosaurs adorable?

Big ribbon in the sashing, stipple in the white...

Geometric freehand design in the border...it was actually easier than I expected...

Today I'm all about house cleaning and backing fabrics...Happy Quilting!

Misc. Saturday...

I've been doing a lot of longarming and hand sewing.  One of my side projects was this little aqua and gray EPP thing...it isn't done, so expect something better soon...It measures about 20" across.

I bought this cute little bag from Sharon at Sew Extreme.  She made a bunch and will be selling them in her Etsy store some day....hopefully soon!  I added the buttons...

I have some more longarming to do today, then cut out another Reading with Rover quilt with Rebecca, and I don't know what else.  Basically, the crap is piling up and the summer is winding down--sadly!

Happy Quilting...

Buddy's Runnin' Rebel quilt...

Ryan thought that Buddy (the dog) needed a smaller quilt to cuddle under on the couch.  He thought that UNLV Runnin' Rebel colors would be appropriate--red, black and gray.  I grabbed a few shirts and went to town....it only measures 36" x 45".  Here is Buddy--he only weighs about 11 pounds...

Overall shot...bound in Kona Pepper...

Up close shot...this will be my "go to" quilting for all log cabins with 1.5" or wider strips...easy peasy!

Binding has been top priority the last two days.  And watching Hell on Wheels season 2.  Off to watch a little Honey Boo Boo (better than I expected--I love the crazy family!).  Happy Quilting!

Joyce's Stonehenge Quilt...

I got this quilt from Joyce last week.  It is made up of the Stonehenge fabric line.  She wanted an allover in the center and then something in the borders....I ended up using a panto in the center (more on that later in the post) and doing wishbones in the lighter inner border and a flowing ribbon in the outer border (since it was so dark I didn't think it would be very visible).  Check it out...

The panto in the center is called Just Leaves...

Up close of the borders...they were small...maybe 3" and 4" each??

So I thought I'd show you how I did a panto in the center.  It involved drawing my own parts of the panto.  Here is how the left side of the panto looked...It was great...it would naturally trail off after the last pair of leaves.  I could just stop at the inside border of the quilt...

This is the right side...what a mess.  See how there are cut off  leaves and junk...not pretty.

So I put down a piece of paper and re-drew the right side so it naturally trailed into the center and then never again hit the side.  ;-)  The red board is foam core and it represent the area I DON'T want to quilt (the borders)

 So I used that to panto the center and then I got to the end of the inside.  I only had about 5" left and it was a 10" panto so I had to redraw my own ending to the panto.  Basically, draw the panto 5" x 50"...this was a challenge as I'm not a good drawer....But once I panto'd that area, I had the whole inside done and it looked flawless.  Awesome!

So, for all you quilters who have some nice pantos and want to use them for light custom jobs, just do it!  It might take a bit more work and creativity, but if I can do it, so can you!!

Happy Quilting...

Denise's Camping Quilt!

Denise is a very adventurous math teacher...as math teachers go...She loves to camp and travel and she wanted to make herself a quilt to take on her trips.  She bought the most adorable fabric for the quilt top--little tents and travel trailers.  How cute!  She picked the panto Popcorn (an all time classic) and it is perfect!  Check it out...

I'm working on adjusting some pantos...more on that tomorrow.  Happy Quilting!

Carol's Jelly Roll Quilt...

I met Carol this summer while sewing at Fabric Boutique on Tuesdays.  She is a new quilter and only has a few quilts under her belt...this is one she made for a friend who is having surgery soon.  What a sweet idea, right??  Anyhow, since the fabrics were bright batiks, we thought something fun and tropical would look great on this quilt.  She let me pick the panto and I went with my all time favorite Bloomin' Stars.  The stars look like starfish to me and the flowers are so adorable....

I've never made one of these quilts myself and I was surprised at how big it turned out...maybe 56" x 62" or something close to that...definitely big enough to cuddle under during recovery.  Nice job, Carol....

Today I'll be quilting Denise's camping quilt.  I'm trying to get all the quilts quilted before I have to go back to $@#**&....(can't say the word, if you know what I mean)....

Happy Quilting!

Sharon's Quilt...and a winner!

Today I quilted one of Sharon's wild quilts...a modern snowball quilt.  Sharon is really into bright graphic prints and lots of black and white.  It reminds me of the 1960's...psychedelic and crazy....The panto is a new one called Mod Dotz....

An up close shot....I used gray thread so it is hard to see the dotz and swirlz.... ;-)

Also, today is the day to draw the winner of the Pam Kitty fabric bundle and pattern.  The winner is Number 7:  Sarah Craig.  I'll be contacting you to get your mailing address....Congrats!  A big thanks to all who left a comment...it reminded me that I need to do more of these giveaways in the future!

Happy Quilting!!