IT's HERE!!

I went into The Corn Wagon just as they were taking the plastic off of the Going Coastal bolts. I promised to tell you when it was here and IT IS!!!!
It was super exciting to see it on the shelf! 

Don't forget to look below at my earler post this morning- it's fun.  :o)  Thanks!

Summer Sewing

I thought I would give you a little peak at what I've been playing with the last few days. You know how I love to give you little teasers and say "I'll show you more later" and then somehow I never do. (Sorry about that) This time will be different...PROMISE!  And as always, since I think the story around the project makes it all that more interesting I'm going to tell you that too.  :o)

This is a FQ bundle of 'Felicity' by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake. No, not that Felicity- but that was one of my favorite shows!  :o)  The fabric is not new. I think it was being shown at Spring market in MN last year. I remember seeing it and really liking it. The color arrangement was different than anything I'd seen and that really drew me in. But I can't possible sew with EVERY fabric that I see (hence a craft room with over flowing closets and drawers). So I decided to let that one slide through my fingers.

Well, that was until I was at July fair last week. I don't even remember the store (sorry!) but they had a beautiful quilt top draped over one of their tables and I just kept staring at it. It used this same fabric and was an orange peel pattern. When I got a moment I ran over to see if they had kits- NOPE! I couldn't stop thinking about it that night so I did a quick search. Thank You Etsy for coming through for me- a FQ bundle with my name on it (Emily. HA!) It was in my cart and PayPal-ed in a matter of moments.

At some point I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. A shell quilt. Lots of Google-ing and searching to find the block is called a clamshell. It's been super fun to put together. Wanna see?

Don't those fabrics look delicious? I'm hoping to finish the top and start quilting it today. And then...a surprise on Monday!  (fingers crossed I get it done or you might have to wait).

This is what I found in my bed last night when I finally decided to stop sewing and go to sleep

I don't care how big they get- there's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby, even if your baby is 6! :o)

I forgot something else!

Did I mention I am extremely hypo-thyroid again? If you know what that means than my forgetfulness will not come as a surprise to you. I have to go in for my yearly scan to make sure I'm still "All-Clear" so in preparation for that I had to go off of all my thyroid meds. Ugh. It's not fun at all. But I'm hanging in there and almost done. My scan is tomorrow and as long as everything goes ok (and there's no reason to think it won't) I'll start my meds again and be feeling more "ME" in another week or so.

Anyways, I bring up the forgetfulness because I forgot to tell you that I created a Flickr Group for Crazy Old Ladies!

I posted a button on the left that you can click on to go to the flickr page. It's not much to look at right now because I'm not super savvy at this stuff so it's still a work in progress. But the thing that makes a Flickr group so cool is YOU!

You can go in and add pictures of your Crazy Old Ladies projects so that other people can see the cool things you've been working on too!?  I'm hoping to add more pictures of my own projects once I have my head on straight.

Hope to see lots of pictures of your Crazy Old Ladies projects soon!  :o)

Quilter's Home

Remember back in May when I went to Market and life got...CRAZY!?  I had a brief introduction and chat with so many people it was hard to keep track. So I had almost forgotten about this until I got the mag. in the mail a couple weeks ago. And then, well, I forgot to tell you!

The latest (and I think last!?) issue of Quilter's Home featured GOING COASTAL in their design board segment. And let me just say that I LOVE their ideas!

I think I've only mentioned a time or two how much I think Going Coastal and the Nantucket-esque design style fit hand in hand. So I was delightfully surprised to see how the editor's of Quilter's Home thought out of the box and right into an awesome new box with their ideas. The modern lines of the furniture and contemporary yet retro feel of the lighting and side table give a completely new take on how to use Going Coastal in decor. I have to keep telling myself that I can't possibly re-decorate my house every time I design a fabric line or I might drive myself and my family absolutely crazy. But I am having a hard time keeping myself from jumping in the car and heading to the nearest IKEA to re-vamp my living room. It's not even the style that I usually go for and I think that's why I like it so much! It's new, fresh, and ...OMG I just Love it!

Thank you, Thank You Quilter's Home for opening my eyes (and hopefully many others') to yet another wonderful way to use Going Coastal!

(By the way, there are TONS of other cool things in this mag so you should run out and snag yours before you can't find it at all!)

Am I the only one?

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is doing the Farmer's Wife Quilt-A-Long. Seriously.

EVERYONE!

Every blog I go to has a button and every blog I go to has pictures of their blocks.

They are SUPER CUTE.

I feel this tug as though I'm missing out on something big if I don't jump in and join the bandwagon. But honestly, I'm not much of a bandwagon kind of girl.

It's almost like a kind of unspoken peer pressure:

"Everyone else is doing it"

"One block won't hurt"

"C'mon, you know you want to"

I almost designed a button that said I wasn't participating. Not because I'm against it- because I'm  not. I just can't start one more project that I know will not get finished. You know what I mean? Too many UFO's! 

I hope this isn't coming across as rude. I don't mean it to. I think the book is awesome and the blocks are fantastic. What I really love is the variety of fabrics that people are using. So out of the box for a more traditional design and they really are BEAUTIFUL.

So I'm going to live vicariously through all of you who ARE doing the quilt-a-long and admire the blocks from afar. Keep up the good work.

Oh, and if you're interested in playing catch-up and following along, click the link above to find out all about it.  And to see the awesome blocks some of them are doing visit their flickr group.  :o)

Rainbows and Summitime

My cute neighbors came over today to show me this cool rainbow. Once upon a time I took a Meteorology class in college so I should remember what this is called. But alas, I have forgotten. All I know is it was really cool and I HAD to take a picture to share. It's a little bit of heaven.

Did you see the new button off to the left? Well that's a little bit of heaven too, I'm sure. I am so excited to be attending The Sewing Summit. I found out about it a couple months ago and I have been pulling all the change out of the sofa so I could go. I finally registered a few days go. And guess what? I think you should too! Click on the button for all the cool info. including a list of the classes and who's teaching. Why am I so excited? Well AMY is going to be teaching, as well as VANESSA and AMANDA. My  friend JANA is also teaching. And DANA who I have yet to meet but LOVE her blog. Plus TONS of others that I am so excited to meet and visit with. A couple of the classes I have signed up for are Dana's blogging class, Vanessa's photog. class and Amanda's free motion quilting class. Plus all the sewing and talking I can think of- that sounds like heaven to me. Hope to see YOU there!

*Squeal!*  I can't wait!

(If you're going- msg me so I know!  :o)

Update!

Just a formal notice to say:

I don't have any insider info. on when GOING COASTAL will hit the shops. As a designer I get to wait along with all of you. My local shop has ordered it and I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival along with everyone else. IF I happen to find out anything I will be sure to post. Thanks for being patient. I promise, it will be here soon.  :o)

Also, thanks for all the lovely comments on my post yesterday. I am not bitter, just disappointed. But it is nice to know that I'm not the only one who feels that way. *HUGS* to you all!  :o)

Naive

Naive is not a word I would generally use to describe myself. I grew up in California- that should say enough. Now I live in Utah where things that I saw and learned about growing up even grown-ups here don't know about. But let me tell you what I am naive about. Quilters.

Yesterday I spent the better part of my day in Provo, UT at the Utah Valley Quilt Guild Fair. Despite my waining health at the moment I managed to survive (thanks to a couple friends who came to my rescue by fetching me some lunch) and hoards of wonderful women who all share my same passion and love for quilting. That is why I do what I do. Not because I think I am better than anybody else- but because it brings me joy and fulfilment. So it was an extreme shock and down right sickening when I realized that someone had lifted (stolen) one of my Going Coastal fat quarter bundles. Really? I mean, REALLY!?

I just re-read my post from before the show where I mentioned that I was going to have some great deals and invited anyone who wanted a steal to come see me. Well I didn't mean that LITERALLY!

Ladies, I understand that the price of cotton is soaring. I understand that grocery prices are not climbing by the cent but by the dollar. I understand the need to take care of our families and save a penny here and there. But STEALING!?  Seriously!? Where is the joy and fullfilment in that?

I am naive in thinking that ALL quilters are wonderful, kind, caring people. And it makes me sad that they aren't. Everyday I feel so blessed to be able to surround myself with such wonderful people who share my passion. Unfortunately there always has to be a bad apple to ruin the bunch. Ladies, DON'T BE THAT BAD APPLE.

I also recently read a blog post of a blogging friend. I've never met this wonderfully talented woman in person but she is so near the top of my list. I check her blog DAILY. She was also sadly visited by a bad apple. Can I just remind what we try to teach our children but so often forget as adults: IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL. (Thanks Thumper.)

going, going....

Coastal!

Yes folks, you haven't heard the last of it yet. Tomorrow I am yet again GOING COASTAL.

Where you might ask? Well at the Utah Valley Quilt Guild's Quilt Fair, that's where.

All day tomorrow, July 20 I'll have my GOING COASTAL booth set up in the vendor mall. Oh and do I have some GREAT deals going on there. If you want a steal, and I mean STEAL! You won't want to miss this.

So if you happen to live in the area- or feel like taking a drive- come by and see me. The address is 270 West 500 North in Provo. I will be there from 9:30-3:00.

And hey, if you stop by, bring me a Dr. Pepper will ya'!?  :o)

Bee for Me!

The quilting Bee that I belong to met last Wednesday. I usually don't call it a "Bee"- I usually just call it our "Quilt Group". But with all the "Bee" talk lately I decided to start calling it my "Bee".  :o)

I had fair warning that it was my turn to do a project. I even had an extra month as last months mtg. needed to be rescheduled. But as the day approached I was still trying to decide on a project. I was very excited about one idea until I shared it with the Bee Keeper :o)  and she told me that they'd already done that kind of block. (I like to keep it interesting and not repeat- but where was I when they did it the first time!?) So I had to think of something else. Hmmm.....

Then my husband decided to infect me with some nasty cold/flu/death sentence that he picked up somewhere. Ugh! I was going to call in sick to the Bee but by the time the day was over I knew I needed a break from the kids. So I did a quick search. Found a block. Grabbed a stack of fabric and started cutting pieces for the worker Bees. And ran out the door- stuffy nose and all!

We just walked in from our weekend away and I already had a block (delivered in my absence) waiting for me!

It's a flying geese block....obviously! ( Sorry, sometimes I get in the habit of stating the obvious.) I'm not even sure who it is from at this point- but I have a good guess. All I know is I LOVE IT! I'm using a ton of leftover scraps of a few Fig Tree lines and white background. It's going to be DARLING! (Because anything made with Fig Tree is "darling")

The best part about getting this block already- I learned that in my sickness induced fog I didn't give each worker bee enough fabric for the number of blocks I asked them to make (2!) HA!  Luckily they all know me and probably laughed it off as another brainless move made by me. I guess I'm going to have to make a lot more blocks if I want to have a finished top.  :o)

Family Reunion

Just wanted to let you know I'm heading out for a few days. I'm the lucky gal that got to marry her

Although we won't be going to his hometown, we'll be in that great state of Idaho for the next few days. I'm looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. (WE NEED IT AROUND HERE) But Heck!  Who am I kidding? Vacations are rarely that for the Mom. There's all the laundry, cleaning, planning, and then all of that all over again once we get home. Don't even get me started on the drive. But it's worth it. I really LOVE going to his Family Reunions. It's so fun to catch up with those relatives you only see once a year or so.

So, until next time.....HAPPY SEWING!

Dreaming

Every once in a while during my blog-hopping time I will skip over to FQS and check out their 'Coming Soon' page. And then the dreaming begins. I call it "window shopping for quilters" since there is no such thing as actually walking into a quilt shop and not buying anything. *wink!*  Here are a few of my favorite finds this week.

I love the creamy pink, slate grey and buttery yellows in this line. I have a bundle full of pieces I've gathered in just these colors for a project and here they have them all together! Added bonus- Lori Holt is a local [to me] designer.

I love the geometric prints in this line. The two that are to the left of the FQS sign- YUM! The super saturated colors are fun too!

This isn't normally a colorway I would go for but I am LOVING this selection from Joel Dewberry. There's a couple other colorways in the collection but this one really grabbed my attention.

I really like this. Reminds me of my favorite Jelly Belly- Juicy Pear. Mmmmm. The print in the top left corner really grabbed me. So cute. And people thought birds were going 'out'. Not these ones. They're the perfect bridge between cute and quirky.

Ooh La La! I've been working with some black-to-white (or is it white-to-black) fabric selections lately and this is just awesome!  I've seen these prints in scrapbook paper and loved every single one of them. I like how there are a couple more traditional prints, but also several whimsical ones as well.

I have no connection with any of these lines- they're just ones that really grabbed my attention. I love to wait for them to hit the stores knowing that I already have a strong connection to them. On that note, I've also learned not to discount ones that don't grab my attention on the screen. So many times I've seen them in the fabric flesh at my LQS and realized I was so wrong about them. Sometimes the computer screen just doesn't do them justice and you have to see them in person to see their true beauty.

What are you dreaming of?



Dresden Mini Quilt

 I couldn't wait. I started last night and just finished the last stitch. I LOVE it!  I raided my scraps to come up with the pieces. Everything I used was leftovers from previous projects. I love when I can do that. The finished quilt is around 24" I think. (I didn't officially measure it, but when I squared it up before binding it that's close to where it was.)

I used the template from Sew Mama Sew and just left the petals flat on the ends instead of folding them as the tutorial shows. I liked the border effect of Lily's Quilts tutorial so I added one of my own. Althought I initially wanted flat petals, I think this would've been much cuter with pointed ones. I added the ric rac for a little extra something.

Because I wasn't feeling patient and just wanted to finish I fused the center on and blanket stitched around the edge. I did something else fun too, that's hard to capture I quilted around the flower center and the petals and then cut away the excess high loft batt. I wanted a more dimensional effect. The center is very puffy. It is really cool when you look at it. The petals are slightly pouffy but since I quilted in them it's harder to see.

I quilted each petal like a petal.  :o)  I love the result. I quilted a tiny stipple inside the main background and echo lines around the outer white border. I tried to capture it in a picture but since it's dusk now I can't really get a good one.

Thanks for all you thoughts and comments on making this block/quilt. If you've yet to make one- GO FOR IT!  It wasn't hard and actually went together super fast.

I love the finished product. My daughter loves it even more I think. She's already told me more than a few times how cute it would look hanging in her room.  :o)

Circle (Dresden) Blocks

I have the urge to make a giant Dresden block. I've been seeing them all over blog-land and the quilting community and really like them. Since you're doing just one it doesn't seem as daunting as a gazillion blocks to make up a whole quilt. I've found a couple of tutorials online:

 This one is from Sew Mama Sew

I like it because it has an even number of petals. It also shows a cool technique to get the points on the petals- but I'm not sure I want pointed petals. Also, the block is appliqued to the background.

This one is from Lily's Quilts

I like this one because the finished block is a little bigger and there are no points on the petals. However, there's an odd number of petals. For this quilt the background is pieced into the block.

Both of the tutorials were Quilt-A-Long's and have been finished for some time. But the tutorials are still posted on their blogs.

Have you made a block/quilt like this?

What technique or tutorial did you use?

Do you have any pictures to share?



My new Book!

I just realized that the title of this post might be a bit misleading. I didn't mean "my" as in a book I'm featured in- just "my" as in a new book I own.   :o)

I don't usually buy books. However, the other day I was hopping to this site and was very intrigued. I've been following the blog hop ever since and LOVED the quilts I was seeing. Amazon had it listed for a great price and paired with another book I've had my eye on for some time I was able to score both of them for a steal.

It came yesterday and it is GREAT! First, I thumbed through, looking at all the pictures. Next, I started going through and looking at each one more carefully and reading what the designer of that particular pattern had to say about it. I haven't gotten through all of them yet- but I'm sure I will today (the book came yesterday).

I'm one of those that's jumping on the 'modern' quilt bandwagon. I love the idea of using up scraps and piecing without a step-by-step plan. But it took a while to get there. I'm so used to having every little bit mapped out before me it was hard to start stitching with no boundaries. What makes this book so cool is it bridges the gap between following a pattern to the 'T' and sewing without a pattern completely. There are pattterns in this book, but they give you guidelines and recommendations but the finished product will really be a product of your own- COMPLETELY original. I LOVE that!

My next project is going to be this one! 

By the way, if you can't tell already, I so recommend this book to ANYONE!  :o)

Kenny Sew More

Meet the newest member of our household. You may know him by Ken More, but I call him Kenny. As many of you may remember, early this year I lost my beloved Kendra. I have debated replacing her for some time- but she just seemed so irreplaceable. However, this weekend I was made aware of Kenny and at once knew I had to adopt him.

You see, Kenny is...um was the floor model at a store. He's been used and abused. Lots of lookers, no takers. Until I came along and saw the wonderful machine that he is.

I've thought and thought about replacing Kendra for months. I've looked at many machines. The problem is that even with a test drive in the store I still didn't know if that machine was going to be the one. Kendra was just so....perfect. So when I saw Kenny I knew the wait was over. After all, they come from the same blood line. They're cousins- but practically twins. Identical twins if-you-know-what-I-mean.

I haven 't gotten a chance to see what Kenny can do yet. He was missing a few important parts (power cord). Because of his condition he came at a very discounted price. Another reason I couldn't pass him up. Can you believe I just threw out Kendra's remains a couple weeks ago!? Grrrr!  That's what always happens- you don't think you're going to need something and finally throw it out and right after it's gone you realize you do need it. Oh well, the new cord is on it's way and I'll be blanket stitching before the week is over.

Some may not think Kenny is a great machine. I know better. After having Kendra for 7 years and Kendall (my oldest and most beloved Kenmore) for almost 12 years- and still going, I am very pleased to have Kenny join the family. And I expect to have many good years with him.

Today we celebrate...

our Independence Day!

Yesterday my 6 year old asked me why we have a 4th of July. It took my by surprise for a moment. "Don't they teach you that in school?"  I thought. Then I remembered that since the holiday is in the summer I'm not sure how much she puts together from that they learn in school. Besides, she's only just finished kindergarten.
Anyway, as I started to explain to her why we celebrate my heart swelled and I felt such pride in my country.
It's not that I didn't before- but honestly, I don't think about it too much.

With all the political uproar that our nation faces day-to-day on various issues, it's easy to grab a hold of one side or the other and get swept up in the negativity. But it's important to remember those who have gone before to make our country what it is and to give us the freedoms that we enjoy every single day without a second thought. Even more, we have brave men and women today that are willing to put their lives on hold while they continue to fight not only for our freedoms, but fight for the freedoms of others as well.

While I may not always be proud of the way our leaders lead, I am still very thankful to live in this land where I can be free. I am allowed to work, to go to school, to choose what I'd like to wear each day, and the list goes on and on. I'm also given the opportunity to worship the God that I believe in, a freedom very dear to me.

So today, amidst all the BBQ's, gathering of friends and family, and watching of fireworks- take a moment to give thanks for the freedom's that you enjoy.

New project!

The other day I was blog hopping and came across a quilt at Moda Bake Shop.

It was cute but I wasn't dying over it.

However, later on I was thinking about something else and I rememered that quilt again and was curious which fabric line was used. I went back to the post and read through the tutorial.

OH MY HECK!!!  I was so impressed and excited. I HAD to try this technique!

And so, I started searching my stash. I had three Park Avenue by 3 Sisters charm packs and yardage for borders. The only thing I didn't have was newsprint. Luckily my neighbor came to the rescue. I was so excited I started sewing that night. I worked on it for the next few days until it was quilted and bound! 

I LOVE how this quilt turned out. It was so fun!  Obviously I didn't use her patterns, just the technique. I made 18" squares and cut them apart like I would in my Liliana pattern (but bigger). Then, of course, sewed them back together.

The coolest part is the texture you get from her technique and the edges of the charms. I quilted my quilt in an allover square design. I haven't quilted in so long it was looking pretty scary at first, but after a while it was like riding a bike and I was back in the groove. The parts that don't look that great actually add to the character.

The best part is I had all I needed in my stash!  I love when I see a project that I just HAVE to do and I don't have to wait to go to the quilt shop first to get started!  :o)

Hey all, have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!

God bless the U.S.A.!