Spring Sample Spree!!!

It's that time of year again .. the waiting, the running, the pushing, the grabbing. 

Yep! It's SAMPLE SPREE!!! 

And since the Quilt Market was just down the road from me this year, I took full advantage!!

I do still have a few bundles, books and totes to list, but the majority is listed on the site.

Here's a list of (most) the new bundles ...

Plus, receive a collector badge from Camp Moda with every order!

Look how adorable!

Ready to start shopping? Visit the store here.

Out Of Step

Out Of Step. 

I feel like I've been a little out of step lately. Trying to balance this new school year with 2 kids and homework, finding time to keep up with the store, housework, gym time... uh, the list could go on. The Holidays always bring on a new overwhelming sense of stress. amiright? 

I'm pretty much a step behind. I know I will catch up. One step at a time. 

Maybe a few extra gray hairs :)

This pattern can be found in the list of free patterns offered by Robert Kaufman.

As soon as I saw it, I needed to make it! I have never done an all solid quilt. I pulled a bundle I had been saving from Art Gallery fabrics and got to work!

I started this quilt at the beginning of the year. I shared a few progress posts here, there, under there and over there. Although I had the top finished, and every intention to complete the quilt at the time, it got placed in a pile and forgotten. I rediscovered it a couple of months ago, found the perfect backing and binding for it in my stash - something I had bought years ago and was saving for an unknown project. I had just the right amount! 

 

I mostly quilted straight lines, following the flow of the quilt. I had started to fill the 'maze' with lines, but after the first section, decided it was too many lines. So, I unpicked 2 rows. Even with all the turning required, I had it quilted in about 4 days. I filled the extra spaces with offset triangles.

I am so in love with how it all turned out!

I asked my little girl to hold my camera while I put the quilt out on the ice. Naturally, she snapped a few shots of me.  

Frozen lakes make me nervous. But, I couldn't resist the forming ice.

I stayed on the bank, and hoped it was frozen enough to support me. But if not, then at most I would only have a really cold boot. :)

I love all the texture the light shows. 

I wouldn't mind having a wintery picnic. right. here.

Just look how gorgeous this lake is!

Oh! I nearly forgot! I had one last hurdle to jump before getting this quilt done. I did a bias binding, which I've done several times before. For some reason, I had a bit of a rolling problem with this one. It might have been that I didn't have it lined up just right when I turned it over. I may have even stretched it a bit while pressing. I thought I could get over it; maybe it would fix itself in the wash. 

I was nearly finished with it, and decided I just didn't like it. I could do better. So, I took it all out. I used a few more (or all of them) of my Wonder Clips, and started over. It turned out so much better!

There was still a small amount of rolling, but barely noticeable. I'm sure after a wash or two, it won't even bother me :)

Fancier Foxes

This post is looong overdue! 

A few months ago, I made a Fancy Fox quilt for my newest nephew. My kids fell in love with the foxes. So much so, that: 1) they didn't want me to give the quilt away. 2) they wanted to make their own fox quilts. I've been posting pics here and there of their progress. Although - it's been a few months since they finished their tops. Summer came along, and like all other projects, we (I) took a break on the quilts. I finally got them quilted in August, and even took pictures a few weeks ago. I'm a bit behind with showing them off. I'm still trying to find a happy medium with how to spend my time while the kids are at school. Lately, I've been sewing up their Halloween costumes. Which, I'm happy to say, are nearly finished, and should have pictures to show y'all in a week or two. 

Making these quilts with them has been such a great experience for all of us. The kids really took to concentrating on their stitches, and even challenged themselves to go at a faster pace. They sort of made a game out of timing themselves to see how long it would take to sew 5 squares, or how many they could get done in 2 minutes. 

They were very particular about what they wanted, putting their personalities into their quilts. They picked everything, from fabrics, placement, accessories, backing and quilting. Which has been funstrating (fun+frustrating)! I think it's a good trait they have, but can also be frustrating when what they want isn't really available. My girl was much more giving in her decisions. If it was the right color, that's all that mattered. 

My boy on the other hand, was a little more picky. He wanted each fox be different - not just in color, but also in print. He has always known what he wants, and always figures out a way to get it. I had to pull out every single bin of fabric I have, with a lot of rejections, before he found a fabric for each fox. In the end, he decided it was okay if the patterns were similar (but still not the same), especially when it came to dots. Even thought it's just a quilt, I'm glad to see him not waver from his determination. I know he felt very accomplished when he was able to find 42 different fabrics. He could have given up after the first bin and just settled on what he had, but he wouldn't have been happy.  

Trying to decide on a background was nearly as daunting for him. After many mind changes, a couple quick lessons on color theory and contrasting, a trip (or 2) to the Riley Blake warehouse, he found the right color of grey he could be happy with.

So how did we make these foxes fancier? Of course the glasses were a must. My girl didn't like the glasses that Elizabeth Hartman made to go along with her pattern. She thought they looked too boyish. So I came up with some other, more girly glasses. Paisley also wanted to add bows. Which I love! 

This is my favorite of her foxes.

My boy also wanted to add glasses. And mustaches.

I came up with a few mustaches for variety. He only wanted the short, nearly straight mustache.

I think it makes the fox look quite sly.

It didn't just stop at glasses and mustaches. He also wanted a hat, which then led to a monocle.

This is my favorite of his foxes. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!

This might really be my favorite of all the foxes. He looks so dignified!

Paisley wanted a simple wave quilted across hers. She picked a very pale purple thread by Sulky. It has a been of a glimmer to it, just like her :)

She couldn't decide which Michael Miller Basics purple dots she liked better, so I pieced them in a gradient (I should have made some of the strips wider).

Argyle wanted his to be quilted in flames. He found a red/yellow/orange variegated thread in my box that was perfect for the flames.

He also pulled about 13 different fabrics for his backing. I did my best to incorporate all that he had, but when it came down to it, had to leave a few out. The pieces just weren't big enough. I made the back up as I went a long. I don't usually do improv piecing. I had a lot of fun with it, and am seriously considering making a top in the same fashion. 

I don't know who's more proud of their first quilts (and tremendous accomplishment), me or them. The quilts are shown to just about everyone who comes by our house, have been on their beds since the moment they were finished, traveled with them in the car, been to movie nights, a hospital appointment, talent night and shown off to their school classes. 

I am amazed at their tenacity during the whole process. 

I'm glad to be able to share my love of quilting with my kids. 

I'm happy I could teach them.

I am extremely proud of them. 

Bundling Up

In the past 3 days, all I have managed to do with my newest project was to cut fabric.

And, then stack it.

Isn't it pretty?!

I may even be able to cut it for piecing by the end of the week.

But, really, I'm in no hurry. 

Plus, It's nice to look at :)

Outfoxed

I was going through my stash the other day and came across my bundle of Outfoxed by Lizzy House. As soon as I pulled it out, I spotted my Art Gallery bundle of Pure Elements in Spice Shades. I've been saving both for an unknown project. 

Inspiration hit immediately.

I mean, it's like they were made for each other!

I'm not sure if I'll use all the pinks, since the Outfoxed bundle is more purple and orange. 

With my wanting to make a good sized quilt, I still needed something extra; something to fill in the gaps. So, I started pulling from the Cotton + Steel Basics, and came up with this...

Again, it's like they were all made for each other. 

I can't wait for this new quilt to come together!

However, I may have a few late nights ahead of me :)

Row By Row

I had a pretty busy weekend, which mostly consisted of prepping my garden space for planting. Which also meant that if I was going to get any sewing done, it was going to be in the evening. I hoped to get a few rows done, but actually managed to get all my rows sewn!  

And then waited until morning to take pictures :)

I love the sun peeking through my window onto a freshly sewn pile of rows.

Maybe I'll get lucky and have the top finished by the end of the week!

Progress

After taking about a week long break from my new quilt, I had some time the last couple of nights to cut the remainder of the background and sew them into units. 

The result: a happy little stack waiting to be pressed and sewn into the next step. 

I just love fabric all stacked up, with little bits of color peeking out. 

Last night as I was sewing, I was thinking that I would be able to have all the blocks put together by tomorrow, so I could start laying the blocks out. However, this morning I've decided I may have been a bit overzealous in that thought.

I'll be lucky if I can get these all pressed today, not to mention sewn together :) 

Do you have any sewing plans for the weekend?

Fabric Therapy

After yesterday's stress moment, I needed a little fabric therapy. 

Not only did it take my mind of things, but I also found my SD card I was looking for. Yay! 

I spent the evening ironing and trimming selvedges. 

Cutting and stacking squares.

I still have a bit of cutting to do, and need to find a bit more background fabric.

All-in-all, a great start to a new quilt, and perfect ending to some much needed therapy :)

Stressing

It's been a while since I sat down at my sewing machine.

4 1/2 weeks to be exact. 

I have a never ending list of projects I should be working on .. 

both at the sewing table and around the house. 

But, right now, I'm stressing.

Number One stress - I can't find the SD card I used for all my Christmas pictures.

I know, it sounds trivial. But, it holds some very important pictures to me; along with the only thing I sewed for the holidays. The worst part is, it's one of those i-know-i-put-it-here-where-did-it-go kind of can't find its.

SO, to help me take the stress off, I decided to play with a bit of fabric.

I pulled these 'boy colors' (as described by my kids) for my first all-solid quilt.

Now to figure out what it wants to be....

Fall Market Sample Spree

I just got back from the Fall Quilt Market last night. It hardly seems like I was there. I brought back so much, my bag started to bust as soon as I left the hotel. Luckily I was able to make it back with out losing a thing :)
I still need to download all my pictures, but first things first! I wanted to get up the items I got from Sample Spree up as soon as possible. I still have a ton of new patterns and some books to list, but most of it is up on the site.
These fabrics are extremely limited, you might not want to wait long before snatching something up!

I've got some great things, I am really excited about, to tell you about in the coming days, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is some of what you'll find now ...