Hip Hip Hooray!
I finished my quilt top and I am thrilled with it!
Next step of course is the quilting! I am going to use Hobbs Silk Batting in this quilt to give a very nice “pop” to the applique once it is quilted.
Max’s new friend stopped by to see the quilt also, I think she is day-dreaming of spring and flowers.
My newest goodies have just arrived! Our new batik collection “Over the Rainbow” (releases May 2012) is the “crayon box” for all of my latest projects and there are plenty of them for you to enjoy!
If you would like to see more about this new fabric collection please enjoy the video below.
I love rainbows, I think that you will agree with me that there is something special about them that takes your breath away.
These heavenly crisp bars deserve a cake stand, especially after this week!
I love quilting, but even more, I love quilting with chocolate, don’t you agree?
Making great progress, I have completed all of the borders for one of my new quilts!
Just one of the borders alone will make a great table runner. Today I am working on the inner border from 4 patches - I can’t wait to put the whole quilt together and share with you on Monday!
What a fantastic winter we’re having here in Michigan, while we haven’t been able to do winter activities like skiing, the kids have been enjoying their favorite outdoor activities.
Anna continues to improve on her unicycle…
…and Michael is almost as good as his Dad on roller blades.
In the mean time, Max has managed to make a new friend. My husband Michael found this cute cat scratching on the back door one night when it was -7 degrees F. He let her in to warm herself up that night and she now visits us on a regular basis.
I hope you are enjoying your favorite chocolates and dreaming of quilting pleasures!
My husband Michael treated me for a Heavenly Crisp (my favorite candy bar) and some relaxing time to sew. I am head over heels in love with my new fabric “Silhouettes” and I’m planning to spend some quality time with them today!
“Silhouettes”, a new treat from Laundry Basket Quilts, are laser cut fabric shapes with pre-applied fusible web; ready to arrange, fuse, and applique. I know, I know – no tracing, no cutting and no fussing required, I am feeling spoiled and pampered this Valentines Day!
I just pick my favorite shape.
Peel the paper from the back.
Place on my background and use an iron to fuse.
Now for my favorite step – Stitching!
Sometimes I use decorative stitches to go around the shapes.
When I want to hide my stitch I use a zigzag and invisible thread.
When you are in love there is no boundries, my Silhouettes have inspired many new projects and I can’t wait to share them with you!
Please stop back to see my finished project in a couple days!
It has been a pleasure to share Christmas wishes with everyone! Thank you for all of the wonderful comments, it was a gift to receive them.
We have winners! 3 of you will received the border bundle from our Indian Summer collection that is used for the border of the Moda Sampler Quilt.
The winners have been notified by email and are:
Staci
I love your snow photos, especially of the doggie on the sled. The snow inspired quilts are lovely. And your block is so cute! My Christmas Wish is for Peace for my family. We’ve had a lot of troubles this year, and we all are longing for a time of Peace.
Merry Christmas to you.
Janet
Who was having more fun, I wonder?
My Christmas wish is for all of my family to have a safe, fun and healthy Christmas.
Thank you for the giveaway.
Janet
Colleen
My wish is for all my family to be well and happy. That is a pretty big order, but wouldn’t that make any mother’s life better?
Our studio feels like Santa’s Workshop right now, we have been cutting, packing and preparing lots of beautiful kits and bundles for our website.
I have saved a little time for fun though, below is one of the blocks I created for my new applique quilt.
I had some leftovers from my Twinkle Star Quilt (Fall 2011, Love Letter collection) that I decorated with Applique Silhouettes. This is one of many blocks for this new quilt - be sure to stop back and see my progress!
Twinkle Star
Congratulations to the winners and Happy Holidays to everyone!
The 4th day of the Moda Designers Blog Hop has arrived and I am thrilled to get the chance to say Thank You for allowing me to be a part of your quilting experiences!
Winter has arrived here in MI and we have been blessed with our first “Snow Day”.
I call it an unexpected gift from Mother Nature that covers the earth with a soft blanket of snow and invites us for a day of fun.
Our ”Sled Dog” in his favorite sweater…
OK, he’s clearly a slightly spoiled “Sled Dog”.
SO much fun to have making “Snow Angels”… or having a snowball fight!
Now time to play inside, holidays are coming and I am finishing last minute projects using my new collection “Snow Day” – what a coincidence! This wonderful group of batiks in winter night blues, hot milk lights, chestnut browns, and fun images of a special day just arrived on my doorstep. (Available in shops next summer)
For me, this is a great inspiration to create beautiful quilts during a play-day in my sewing room; small projects like the table runners above and also bigger ones like the ”Snowflake” quilt below. Patterns for each will be available soon.
Holidays are all about giving, let’s start with a recipe card for this cute block that
I call “Funnel Cake“.
I also love what Lissa (right side) and Debbie (hiding behind quilt) did with all of the recipe card blocks, creating this beautiful sampler quilt. The fabrics in the borders and binding are from my “Indian Summer” collection which is available in stores right now.
Please share your Christmas Wish in the comments below and three of you (random drawing) on December 15th will win fabrics for the borders and binding of this Moda Sampler from Laundry Basket Quilts and Moda.
Thank you for stopping and be sure to visit all of the wonderful Moda blogs on this hop.
I have used Mr Random Number generator to give us a winner - Number 1117 – Our winner is Robin who said:
“Congratulations on the new book! I can’t wait to check it out all of the stories and eye candy. Included on my bucket list: a trip to England, dinner at The Herb Farm restaurant, and swimming with sharks.”
Robin has been contacted and will be receiving this amazing bucket of goodies! Congratulations Robin and thank you everyone for leaving me such wonderful comments!
Thank you everyone for your support and very nice comments. After much encouragement and the responses to my stories about whey we make quilts I was finally able to collect my stories behind 85 of my favorite quilt. Every quilt has a story and with the help of my dear friends Judy Friedman and Kayleen Hardy, I have finally put them on paper in my new book,
“Reason for Quilts”.
Writing a book feels kind of like having a baby and as I deliver this newest addition to my family and yours, I am letting go of my oldest baby girl. She is spreading her wings and leaving for college, a day I looked forward to with mixed feelings. We raise our children to be independent but it is difficult to let go! This summer we have been engaging in a lot of family activities to make those amazing memories that we will all cherish when the rush of the fall comes back and Delfina leaves for University.
Seems like only yesterday I was holding her hand and putting her on a ride at the County Fair.
Now she is off on a solo walk.
Our family loves the County Fair. Everyone in the family has a favorite food. We buy everyone’s favorite and then we pass it around and share! We are especially fond of Funnel Cakes, corn dogs, and an all time favorite; a huge order of French fries… and let’s not forget the ice cream – YUM!
Do you have a favorite? I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!!
For Spring Market this year all the Moda designers made a little project. While I was deciding what to make I was watching my favorite show, Project Runway. I can see myself being one of those crazy designers. I guess you could call that my guilty pleasure right now. Maybe there should be a show like that about quilt designers getting ready for market? An inside peek at how things get done, putting up and taking down the booth, pulling it all together for schoolhouse teaching and making a project. Wouldn’t that be fun? I really like this crazy busy fun Market time.
My project was a handy bag, it looks little but when you turn it inside out, it magically becomes a BIG one. Watch the video below for how useful it can be for fabric shopping trips!
I find that my everyday life provides a huge amount of inspiration. Human connections are a big part of my inspiration. Nature, music, antiques, and history are all areas that I enjoy and can draw from. Inspiration is always around me and I try to pay attention and incorporate it into my work. I hope my fabrics and designs inspire you in your quilting.
I recently visited Montana to do some teaching. What a beautiful state! I would love to take my entire family back there sometime to visit. I would love to get in the car with the entire family and road trip, there is so much that I haven’t seen in our beautiful country! Definitely on my Bucket List. At one point we were driving through a field of yellow full of cows. I stopped to take a photo of the cows and since no one was around I “moo” at them, they looked at me and “moo” back! So adorable.
What things are on your bucket list? Share your bucket list and there just might be a bucket of goodies heading your way, including my new book, fabrics from my Indian Summer line, fabric pencils, a custom seam ripper, buttons, my favorite Aurifil thread and my calendar (Bucket not included). Leave me a comment telling me what’s on your bucket list and I will use Mr Random Number Generator to choose a winner. I will announce the winners on my October 1st post. Leave a comment on THIS POST anytime before midnight EST, September 30th to be eligible to win our amazing bucket! A special thanks goes out to Moda for helping me put the newest fabric from Indian Summer in this bucket!
All the Moda designers are talking about the County Fair and participating in the blog hop. Here is the schedule of blogs that are in the hop and a link to them on their day. Everyone is doing a giveaway of some sort so be sure and stop by all of them!
All of the Moda designers are talking about the County Fair and participating in fantastic blog hop. Sandy and Anne are leading the County Fair parade, be sure to see their posts and projects! Below is the schedule of blogs that are in the hop and a link to them on their day. My day is September 10 and I have a bucket full of goodies to share with you – be sure to stop back for the fireworks!
"Scrappy Fireworks"
“Scrappy Fireworks” is in a new book that I will release Spring 2012!
