Tuesday, October 27, 2009

SHOW and TELL

Forgive me for not posting lately- we've had sickness in our home. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I recieved a couple emails and wanted to share.




Cindy Smith used the template from "Happily Ever After" to make these darling pillows for her nieces daughters. Aren't they the perfect gift for a little princess?


Donna Kymalainen made this beautiful quilt using SIMPLICITY by Moda and our "In Bloom" pattern. I LOVE the way it looks with the soft colors.

Thanks so much ladies for sending me pictures of your porjects!

For all the rest of you- SEND IN THOSE PIX! I love seeing what your working on and want to post it here for everyone else to see, too! Happy Sewing!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Merry-Go-Round

I just realized that I forgot to post this! Here is another one of our newest quilts-



And guess what? It's WAY EASY! No pieceing templates. Just a little 'crazy' trick. ;o) The fabric is 'BOUTIQUE' by Chez Moi by Moda. I think it comes out in Dec. or Jan. It's WAY cute. Very vibrant. All this quilt needs is a layer cake and some background. Also, this pattern comes with instructions for 2 sizes. So.... whataya think!?

Monday, October 12, 2009

And the WINNER is....

the randon number generated picked #64. That means the winner is....
MEG99
This is what she wrote:
"I 'd like to win Holiday Lineup pattern to make a quilt with Figgy Pudding fabric.I will use Eva for another pattern of yours like Nana's Attic."
[email me your info. and the pattern you would like and I'll send you a package of goodies!]
Now for the truth. I don't think I liked this give-away so much. OK, it was fun. But as I read through all of the comments last night I was so sad to realize that only one person would actually win the pattern of their choice and the EVA Jelly-Roll. I guess that's the whole point of a contest, but it made me sad none-the-less. All of you followers are so AWESOME! Thanks so much for takin the time to read my little ol' blog and to buy my 'crazy' patterns. THANK YOU!
For those of you who didn't win, don't forget about my ETSY shop! I'm adding more patterns daily. So keep a look-out, maybe the one you want will be there soon.
p.s.- a special anniversary of mine is coming up soon- that means another CONTEST! :o)

Friday, October 9, 2009

Right Here- Right Now

Wanna know why I was sad yesterday?

Well, many of you know that while I sit here writing this blog post people are pouring into the convention center in downtown Houston, TX for International Fall Quilt Market. I should be there. But I am not. So I am sad.

Instead of sit in my house and mope last night I decided to do something constructive instead. I called up a few gal/quilter friends and we met for dinner and quilt-talk. Can I just say: "I had a BLAST!" It was so much fun! We talked fabric, design, designers, trends, market, etc., etc. When I left I was on a "high". It was just what I needed. THANKS GIRLS!

Machelle (shop owner), ME (bad perm and all), April (super seamstress), and Konda (fellow designer)

Now onto BIGGER things-

Since I can't be at market picking up all of the wonderful new things at 'Sample Spree' I thought I would give away a mini sample to a lucky blogger.

An 'EVA' Jelly-Roll


and a 'Crazy Old Ladies' pattern of YOUR choice!


All you have to do is leave a comment telling me which pattern you would pick if you win.

That's it!

I'll let the contest go until Sunday night and post the winner (randomly picked) on Monday Morning.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Binding Tutorial

I bind all my quilts by machine, and NO, I don't think it's cheating. ;o) For a long time I've tried to talk people who still bind by hand into doing it this way. Ok, hand-binding has it's place. But for people like me who need to finish a quilt fast, it's perfect. I can see how binding by hand may at some point in my life seem relaxing. However, with 3 small children, a business, etc., etc., now is not that time.

So one day I was binding a quilt and decided to take pictures along the way so that I could post a tutorial about it. Unfortunately I still haven't found the time to write and edit that tutorial. Maybe some day. In the mean time....

My good friend over at Moose on the Porch Quilts just posted a tutorial for binding your quilts by machine- it's fantabulous! Go check it out. If I was as good at computers as I am with quilting i would've figured out a good way to post a pic and the link right here- but I'm not. But please, go check it out.

I will say- it's not exactly the way I do mine- but after reading I'm going to try her way. Who knows, maybe I'll switch! ;o)

P.S.- Today I am sad. Check back tomorrow to find out why and to enter a chance to win a FANTASTIC new giveaway!

Monday, October 5, 2009

I've changed my mind

After thinking over the weekend about my new Etsy shop and what I could do to improve it I have decided to offer PATTERNS for sale.

Like I mentioned before, it wasn't an easy decision. So what I have decided to do it offer patterns that are no longer in high demand from shop owners- yet I still get emails weekly regarding these patterns. So far I have only listed 3. I'm still trying to work out all the kinks. (My pix aren't a high-enough res. so they're a little blurry. ARGH!) Also, I feel that I need to offer them at regular retail price. (I noticed some other Etsy shops offer theirs at a discount) I think this is fair for the shop owners that order directly from me.

Anyhow! I hope that all of you wonderful followers are sitting and reading with a smile on your face and that the hate mail with cease. ;o)

Happy Monday!

Have you seen...?


I love looking at these little clips when the weather outside is so CHILLY. All I have to do is think about these beautiful prints to remind me that winter won't last long and before I know it I'll be desiging and sewing with these new lines. Aahhhh, I can see it now. Can you?

Friday, October 2, 2009

ETSY SHOP!

Today I offically opened an Etsy Shop. (There's a not so cute link on the top right. see it?) It's something I have been thinking about for a while- but wasn't sure I wanted to take the plunge.

I decided to open the shop as a way to sell some of our SAMPLES. These are the quilts that were made and photographed for our pattern covers. Not ALL of them are for sale- but you can see the ones that are on Etsy.

I know that some people will be sad to know- but I am not selling patterns in my Etsy shop at this time. It's a difficult decision to make. I know that many of you don't have easy access to my patterns. I'm working on that. However, if I decided to sell my patterns retail then I start to compete with my distributors. You understand that, right!?

But don't dismay.

Very soon I will be adding KITS to my Etsy shop. Yep, that's right.

When I debut a quilt pattern on this blog you will be able to go over to the Etsy Store and buy the kit (and it will include the pattern) to make the EXACT quilt on the cover. Obviously this may not be possible with every-single quilt that I design. But I will make every effort to have a kit available.

So, head on over to Etsy and check out ME!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

We have a winner

...and it's RAZAK FAMILY! (you know the drill- email me with your info. so I can send you the pattern.)

Thanks for everyone's comments. Isn't finding that fabric in the color that speaks to you one of the funnest parts of quilting? I love it.

Keep working on those projects. A couple of comments made reference to "show and tell".... I'll be waiting for some entries! :o)

See you soon!