I'm baaaack

Finally back to quilting yesterday.  The headache pretty much faded on Friday but I was still afraid to do anything and bring it back on me so I didn't quilt until yesterday.  I finished this quilt in about 3 hours and was really pooped when I got done.  If you don't do it every day your muscles forget and get tired easy.  I guess it's a good work out.

I haven't ever seen this pattern before and think it's a great pattern for using up your scraps!

Happy quilting and don't let the goblins get you!

Go Sooners

"I don't want to stand up there all day today, Mama!"

Quick Note

Had my Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG), on Mon and Tues and have experienced a headache.  Have not been able to quilt since, so no blog.  Back soon I hope.

Another Day, Another Quilt

Started a new one.  This is such a colorful scrap quilt.  (Notice how much better the color is in my pictures?)  Remember to click on the pic to see it bigger and the stitches will show up .  I decided to do a feau feather on the patchwork rows and a loopy back and forth on the strips in between. 

I taught a beginning freemotion quilting class on Saturday.  I love, love, love teaching neophyte quilters who have never ever tried it before.  Taking them from near tears of frustration after mere seconds of trying; to the "I can do this , I have a plan."  before the class is over.  I had 3 students this time and 2 of them had some experience doing some free motion but the third one had never even tried it.  At one point she asked me,  ""Did you think the was fun the first time you did this?"  I had to say no.  I then polled the other two students and their answer were adamant "NOs!"  I think that was one of the turning points for the first student.  Anyway, I hope this helps any of you out there that have tried it and have ended up with your project in the trash in a few minutes and said, "I will still quilt with my credit card."  Get brave again, take my class.

Go Sooners

Many bags later

Many bags later I have a few to show for my time.  You may recognize some of those as Humbug bags, but actually in a parallel universe, I also created this little bag and called it a "grab".  After I had made many, many of them, (no pattern, of course,)  I see the pattern for the Humbug bag and go,  "Hmmmmmmmmmmbug"  Oh well.  I actually have 13of these little cuties made so far, they all didn't make it to the couch for the picture.  Just think of all the little bags you can make with your doodle cloths.  A lot of the students I have taught to quilt don't make doodle cloths, don't check there tension before starting on their quilt, don't practice their designs before starting their quilt and then they spend precious time taking out quilting on their quilt.  Trust me, this takes lots of time!!!  When you make a doodle cloth, you work out all the kinks and start the quilt ready to go. And have a  piece of quilted fabric when it's time to make a cute little gift.  Now the quilting on these little bags is not the best, but they are little and the quilting doesn't show up that much.  Try it.

Happy quilting

Just a quick note

I've been in Santa's workshop the last couple of days instead of my quilt studio, (Ha---same place different stuff,) making gifts.  One of the things that I make for my friend is little zipper bags out of the doodle cloths I try out the designs on customers quilts.  When I pulled this one out of the bag I wanted to share it with you and also to keep it for future reference for me.  I had forgotten that I had done a meander with paw prints.  Maybe I didn't, but I see the possibilities now.  I love the fish.

Happy quilting. 

More Snap Bags

I've made some more snap bags for gifts and one for a myself.  The one on the left has a strap and I plan to carry that one to quilt shows when all I need is my ID, camera and and credit card!  If you click on the picture you might be able to  see that it says "Quilting Queen".  My DH said, "and that you are, honey".  Wasn't that sweet?

When I put my prairie point on at quilt camp, one of the campers said, Oh, you put that on backwards, because I put it on with the split side showing.  I have always figured that either side was the right side considering what you liked the best for the project.  Like so almost every other thing with quilting there is no right or wrong way to do any one thing.  I happen to like the texture the little split gives the prairie point on the snap bag. 

I'm teaching at Quilters Corner in Midwest City this Saturday.  It was supposed to be Intro to Free motion Expanded, but that class didn't make, so I have a couple of students for Intro to Free Motion Quilting.  Let me know, I can send you a supply list and you can pay at the store, ($25), 10 - 2;30,  get there early so I can help set up your machine for free motion.  Bring your extension table if you have one, if not bring a really thick book that is about the height of your sewing machine bed, when laid nexto it. That will work in a pinch.

Happy Quilting

New quilt

Started this quilt this morning and got a little better than halfway.  It's hard to see the stitching in most of it but here are a couple of the blocks you can see.  Actually it is a memory quilt but I didn't think I should show the pictures since they're not mine to show.   But, I thought I would talk about what to do about pictures in a quilt.  The one thing you don't want to do is quilt over the pictures unless you are  extremely talented and even then you risk distorting faces.  My best advice is to choose batting that will support NOT stitching over the pictures.  Most of the fabrics I have seen that have been run through the ink jet printers have a kind of stiff thickness to them and when you stitch them you leave holes in the fabric, the thread has a tendency to shred causing starting and stopping, (thus ugly spots).  The batting in this quilt is Warm and White which you can stitch up to 10 inches apart.  There is a quilters Dream that you can stitch up to 12 inches apart.

I found a happy thing on my photo fixing program today by accident.  there is a chart thing called a histogram that I didn't know did anything when I accidentally dragged my mouse over it and it changed to washed out looking pictures my camera produces to looking rich in color.  Yippee!!  Hopefully my future photos will start having a little more color.  I'm really exceptionally bad with this adjusting the camera thing.  It's a cheap camera with lots of mega pixels but too many choices that I don't know what to do with and the default setting don't take a great pic so I'm up the creek. 

Happy quilting

Back Home

I ended up finishing two snap bags completely with bound seams.

they will be Christmas gifts so I'm on my way to getting

ye ole Chritmas list list taken care of.

I started another snapbag for myself that will have a strap and I will probably carry

it to quilt shows when I don't want to carry much of a purse.  Just enough to hold my ID, camera, etc.

That's the least I have ever produced at quilt camp.  I usually work nonstop on some

work project I'm trying to finish up and my sewing machine is running so fast and loud I miss out on

most of the fun going on around me.

This time, I spent the days doing lots more visiting and paying attention to what

the other ladies were doing and consequently had lots more fun.

Won a couple of great door prizes:  a pair of Christmas pillow cases and a screen bag.  Great

prizes, I love them!!

Happy quilting!

More Snap Bags

Here are all the finished Snap bags from the eight ladies that participated in the project today.  We are having a great time.  Wish you were here.

Happy Quilting

I'm back

Good to be back online, sorry I was gone so long but it took me a while to figure it all out.  Finally found the phone number for Netgear support yesterday and got everything all fixed up.  Yippeeee!!

Today I'm at Camp with the Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters.  We just finished a small project called a snap bag.  Really cute.

Snap Bag
7" x 7"

In the top casing there is a piece of a metal tape measure, (like the kind out in the garage) and when you separate the top to open the bag it makes a snapping noise and then pops closed.  Really cool. Later I hope to post a picture of all the bags made.

Glad to be back.

Happy quilting

offline

I've been offline for a couple of days with computer problems.  Still don't have them worked out so don't know when I'll be back.  Yes, I felt  the earthquake this morning.  Felt like my chair was on a boat for a few seconds, then it felt and sounded like a BIG wind hit my apartment.

Happy quilting

Finished the other Elephant quilt

Just finished the other elephant quilt.  It's pretty cute and I've done the same thing except I put hearts coming up out of the elephants trunk like some of the elephants in the fabric.  It looks really cute. 

Going to try and baste another quilt this weekend but might have to wait until Monday or Tuesday when I can do it at the church and stand up around the table instead of roll around the the floor.

Happy quilting.

Finally did start one

I started another elephant quilt exactly like the one I did a couple of weeks ago this morning.  On Tuesday I went to the Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters Quilt Guilds Charity Sew 'n Go and quilted 3 quilts so yesterday i was a slug and did nothing.  Our Charity sew  took place at our our new digs at Quilters Corner in Midwest City.  It was WONDERFUL!!!!!   Thanks Mary!!   We have been meeting for our Charity Sew'n Go's for the past 5 years in a small classroom at the Midwest City Hobby Lobby.  They were were most gracious to let us move in 2 large storage cabinets to keep our fabric and supplies in and we made many, many beautiful quilts in that space.  Thanks go out to such wonderful hospitality provided by Hobby Lobby.  The room, however,was small and could only accommodate a few sewers comfortably.  The new digs at Quilters corner is large, with 2 cutting stations, 3 ironing stations, plenty of electrical outlets, no trouble with claustrophobia here ladies so come on out to our Charity Sew 'n Go days.  The more people the more fun.  We even have 4 big design walls!!!   Hip hip hooray!  Okay, so I'm a little excited.

Happy quilting

Ready for another one

Finished this one yesterday and I'm ready for the next one.  I think the pic shows the quilting pretty well.  Remember to click on it to see it better, then use you back button to get back to blog.

I haven't talked about the books I'm reading for a while.  I've listened to all the Clan of the Cave Bear books by Jean Auel ( they were recently added to the eMedia portion of the Metropolitan Library System.
http://metrolibrary.lib.overdrive.com/E3F9039E-E50C-48B9-BEB1-07CFB67657D7/10/388/en/Default.htm
I highly recommend participating in downloading books directly to your computer to put on your Ipod, mp3 player, ipad, kindel, etc FOR FREE.  This can keep you reading while you quilt.

I also found a new to me mystery series that is set in a New England town book store called Haven't Got a clue.  I've read Murder is Binding and Bookmarked for Death by Barnett.  Right now I'm listening to The Help which has been on the best seller list for several weeks.  Set in the early sixties, Jackson Mississippi. Told through the voices of the black maids of the rich Southern families.  Very well written!!

Happy quilting

Go Sooners

Beautiful quilt

I started a new quilt last evening and it is going to be really beautiful!!  It's queen size and has six rows of stacked strips with border print in between. I'm doing straight stitching on the border quilt to outline the different sections and beautiful feathers on the strips.   I'm using a blue and yellow variegated thread that just sort of peeks at you.  I hope you can see it.  (Remember you can click on the picture to enlarge.)

Have a wonderful day quilting,