Creature of Habit

I am such a creature of habit. My laptop virus protection is being updated as I type by my fabulous tech support guy (aka husband) so I'm trying to blog from his computer. It's so different, and I need to upload pictures MY way on the laptop.

Luckily he's uploaded some vacation photos to his computer but I can only figure out how to post 1 photo per entry on this computer. So here you go....a lovely photo of my darling daughter and her beautiful cousin learning how to fold fat quarters at my Mom's quilt shop. And who is teaching them, you ask? Well that would be their PaPa, my dad. 

He happens to be folding Basic Grey's Fruitcake that I'm in LOVE with. I came home with a nice stack and have the perfect pattern to show off all the fun fabrics. I found a charm pack this summer and picked out all of the fabrics I wanted in my quilt. Then, surprise, surprise! Mom posted on her blog that she got that line of fabric in. So I went through the little charms I liked and compared it to her blog photos and made a little shopping list of sorts with my charms. I knew exactly what I needed to buy here and what I could get on my visit to TN. I'm set now and just need to get some other projects wrapped up so I can get started.

Getting Back in the Groove

July and the first part of August has been filled with travel for my little family. We've been to Colorado twice and to Tennessee for a couple of weeks. I've always loved to travel but this was quite a lot at one time. I'm enjoying being home now and find myself nesting with little organizing projects here and there as I get back into the swing of things. 

I can't wait to share some of the projects I've been working on as I spent hours in the car and in my mom's two studios (home and quilt shop).

But for now, here's a view is from Clingman's Dome in the Smoky Mountains. I took a quick drive up into the mountains since it's just down the road from my mom's quilt shop in Gatlinburg. I'll have to spend some more time hiking there with my little one. My brother is quite the hiker and I'm certain he could pick out a trail or two she'd love. He's taking my husband on one that was beautiful in new fallen snow and he took me on a trail that lead to a waterfall where we had a little picnic. My daughter caught the hiking bug and I think the Smokies have some easily accessible trails she could explore.

Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild met tonight and as usual I'm too excited to sleep just yet. We have some amazingly creative people in that group and had a wonderful speaker tonight that was so inspiring. And to top it off I get to ride into Kansas City with a couple of women who are so fun to visit with. It's such a gift to be able to talk with people who get just as inspired and excited about quilting and fabric as I do!

Itty Bitty Block

It's been an amazing summer so far, full of fun but very little sewing. I've been hand piecing this little block in between our adventures:

• Thomas the Train
• swimming lessons
• a milestone wedding anniversary

• A much needed time away together as a family in Colorado
• fabulous library programs
• growing tomatoes and basil 

• A little camping, hiking, and biking
• playdates

• visiting the farmers market
• watching some fun movies at the theater
• exploring 
• making pesto for the freezer

It's all going by so fast but then it seems like time speeds by faster than I can take it all in since my daughter was born. This is our 5th summer together and I try to treasure every minute because I know that every summer brings something new and next year just won't be the same.

We are off on another trip soon to see my family in Tennessee. We can't wait to see everyone! My girl has been talking about her Papa taking her fishing, her G.G. teaching her to sew, and playing with her cousin. 


I imagine the blog will be quiet for a bit until we can slow down in August and just hang out at home for a while. 

And this is totally random but I had to snap a picture of this bag another mom had at the library. "She is too fond of books and it has addled her brain." Louisa May Alcott
Love it! 

A couple of dear friends who are book lovers have passed on stacks and stacks of books and I am slowly making my way through them. I just love a good story! 

Are you reading anything fun this summer?

Fast Friends

I'm enjoying the Blogger's Quilt Festival a little at a time. I stepped away from the computer and sewing machine this weekend to enjoy some time with my family. We had a fabulous bike ride on the Prairie Spirit Trail on Sunday and it was great being outside even if the wind tried to blow us away!

I finished up the Downy Quilts for Kids quilt last week. I ordered a free kit online a while back and a package arrived with fabric, a pattern and instructions. The directions were clear and easy. Definitely something a beginner could tackle. Then I just added my own batting and quilted in a grid pattern. I was surprised when I realized that there wasn't binding material but the instructions gave two suggestions for how to finish the quilt. One suggestion was to turn the backing material to the front and sew that down as your binding. I tried that method and I had a hard time keeping the edges straight. It was good to try another way but I prefer a seperate binding. The other issue I had was that a traditional binding hides and secures the ends of my straight line quilting under the binding. When I just turned the back, I didn't like that it just sat there in the open on the back. It is still secured by a line of stitches but I wonder how it will wear.

The other thing I learned was that before I start quilting the sandwich, I have to release some of the pressure from my presser foot so it doesn't distort the straight lines of the seams and give a wavy appearance.

It was a fun little project to do. I named it Fast Friends because of the little mouse sitting on the kitty's tail. And it does seem like when you are in the hospital, you make friends with those around you so quickly. We said a little prayer for the child who will get this quilt before we boxed it up to mail. We've had several friends and family members with little ones who had long stays in the hospital and I thought of them too. I hope this quilt brings a bit of cheer and comfort to someone who needs it.

If you would like to request a kit, here's a link. They ask that after you finish a kit quilt that you send a couple more with your own fabric at some time. So I've happily added two more projects to my list for the year. It will be fun to work with some bright cheery fabric for these quilts.

I came across Rossie's blog quite randomly last week and I'm so glad I did. I totally agree that bloggers should share the processes of their quilt making. I have learned sooo much from other quilting bloggers that shared the ins and outs of their projects. So here's my pledge:

I, Melissa, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear.   I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.  

I also came across Naptime Quilter and I love her discussion about modern quilts. Cheryl says "Well, I would now argue that modern quilting is actually just really, really traditional quilting." Reading her thoughts on the subject was kind of an ah-ha moment for me. I love so many antique quilts with their clean, geometric lines. But I also love so many "modern" quilts and she points out  how they really are so similar. It makes me wonder what quilters 100 years from now will think of our "modern" quilts.

Blogger's Quilt Festival - 2010

 

I am so excited to share this wall hanging for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

This all started when I received a couple packages of scraps from two Etsy shops. These darling little gnomes were tucked inside and the second I saw them I knew I had to do something special with them. Right away I decided I'd experiment and create some type of wonky project since I'd never made anything wonky (on purpose :).

I just happened to be in the middle of working on a different project but I couldn't stop thinking about the gnomes. So one stormy night when I couldn't sleep I found a tutorial from Quilt Dad and started cutting. This is the first quilt I've been driven to make for fun that didn't really have a purpose except just to enjoy.

I did learn that a new sharp needle is your friend when you start a new project. My machine was skipping stitches when I first started but a new needle solved that problem.

 

It was so much fun to work on this! I pulled from my bag of scraps and my stash of fat quarters. There's even a circle print that I spotted in my Mom's home studio stash and she was gracious enough to send it home with me last year! I just love the first little gnome with the rake. He looks in charge and ready to go and I need him to bring his friends to my yard! I've named this wall hanging Garden Friends in their honor.

Besides the gnomes, my other favorite piece is the Black Eyed Susans on the hot pink fabric.

When I try one of these again, I think I'd like to throw in some solids just to give the eyes a place to rest.

I love pieced backs on quilts but I knew this will hang on my wall where I sew, so I used a fun fat quarter for the back. For the quilting, I just stitched in the ditch in a spiral pattern around the wonky logs.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy all of the inspiration at the Festival. I love reading all the  stories and of course seeing the beautiful quilts. I plan on having my laptop open today to check out entries in between the loads of laundry I'll be catching up on today. I appreciate Amy putting this together for us to enjoy!

Spring to Finish Update

These adorable little Heather Ross gnomes came in a pack of scraps I ordered from an Etsy Shop and I've been itching to do something with them. They've been on my mind so much that I started cutting into my scraps and stash of fat quarters to create something when I couldn't sleep during a stormy night this week. I got the top of the mini quilt finished and I'm hoping to finish the rest for the Blogger's Quilt Festival at the end of the month. I've managed to add another project to my list of things to finish. Yikes!

ETA: See finished gnome wall hanging here.

 

I've pieced, sandwiched and pinned this charity quilt so it's ready to quilt. My official finish total is still one. And 4 items to bind in the end. I'm getting a little nervous but I'll keep plugging away!

Just a Little Batting

You know how you can go into a grocery store for one item and come out with a whole bag or two? That's what happened yesterday when I went to pick up some batting at Quilting Bits and Pieces.


I've had an embroidery pattern for a little while that I wanted to get started when I have some time this summer (car trips, waiting during swim lessons, etc). Everyone at the quilt shop is so nice and Nan helped me pick out the background fabric I needed. She suggested I decide on the red fabric I wanted to use so I could match my thread color. I picked out these Rouenneries fabrics by French General for Moda. I've had my eye on them didn't know where I'd use them. They are so beautiful and of course there wasn't much left on the bolt so I went ahead and bought what I needed for the quilt top. I'm set now with yet another project.


I need to stop now. Seriously. Especially after I ordered some scrap packs from Etsy yesterday. Okay, definitely finished for a good long while! I've got so many projects in the line up but I'm enjoying it so much!

Anyone else have a project they are working on specifically for the summer? 

First Finish

Meet Big Monkey. He was a gift for my daughter from her Aunt Viv (my mom made him for her). He's so well loved that I've had to restitch his tail, an arm, and an ear. The other arm was the latest appendage that needed to be reattached but he'd been hanging around my sewing table for a while now. Patiently waiting. So he's my first finish for Spring to Finish. I was up late last night and also got quite a bit accomplished on the charity quilt. So...progress.

 

We've had rain, rain, rain lately. So we found a break in the storms to do some splashing with friends on Friday. Don't you just love kids' rain boots? I'd love a pair with red and white polka dots!

She'll Be Back!

I just went to AmandaJean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts to see if she had any new Flicker photos and saw the surprising announcement that she'll be blogging again soon. Sooooo happy to hear that. She's the first quilt blogger that I followed and I was so sad to see her blogging come to an end.

To celebrate this wonderful news, I'm sharing the red and aqua quilt top that I finished at my retreat in March. AmandaJean provided the inspiration for this one.

I had so much fun working with these colors and I love the layout. Not loving the block with stripes. I wasn't about to try to match the stripes but it still bugs me a little.

This quilt top was my big accomplishment at the retreat. You can see one of the sewing rooms here. We had a snow storm while we were at the retreat and enjoyed the view all weekend. We even saw deer running across the dam.

My sewing station was just down the sidewalk in the next building. It was kind of nice to get some brisk fresh air on the way to and from "The Big House". I'm so lucky to have such a nice group of women to get together with while we quilt. Looking forward to the next one in the fall already!

Project Plume Update

The Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild met last week and the big reveal of everyone's Project Plume quilts was so exciting! I had a heck of a time getting mine quilted but finally figured out that my machine is preferring one type of thread at the moment. (Thank goodness my mom answers my frantic emails and is my connection for this thread!) I think my favorite part of this is the pink binding. It really pops off the brown. 

This is only the second quilt that I've quilted myself. I used spray basting and pins last time and this time I only used pins. I think I will probably try the spray again. I got a bit more puckering this time but perhaps you won't be able to notice after I wash and dry it. And I'm sure a little more practice would help. I used a wonderful tutorial that Jacquie put together at Tallgrass Prairie Studio where you use blue painters tape to guide your quilting lines. Worked like a charm!

Isn't the fabric on the back beautiful? I love that bird! I started this project with the idea that it would be a gift for someone special but I'm not sure I can part with it. At least not yet.

Shea over at The Empty Bobbin has a few pictures of the fabulous creations that some of the guild members came up with. I find it amazing that you can give a group of people a charm pack and have them pick out a 1/2 yard of fabric to go with it and get so many beautiful quilts. I swear I can't sleep at night when I get home from a guild meeting after seeing all of the talented quilters share their projects!

Many thanks to Tula Pink and Moda for making this challenge possible!