Finished Quilt

I finally finished one of the quilts that I have been working on this past year. You will probably recognize this quilt right away as I have been sharing each hand embroidered block with you as I have completed it. This quilt may have taken me a little longer than usual to complete, but I love the finished result. My good friend, Sharon Mominee, machine quilted this quilt for me and I am more than pleased with her artistic work on it. Thanks so much Sharon! (Isn't it lovely?) Here is the finished quilt: And here are a couple of close ups of two of the blocks. Again.. I used the Sulky Blendable 12 wt. thread to embroider with. Try some handwork yourself... it is very relaxing. Happy sewing! Fondly, Debbie

New Hat For Keira

The kids always go beach camping each summer so I decided to make a hat for Keira out of some scraps left over from another project... you may recognize the fabric! ;-) The pattern is quite easy and the hat goes together rather quickly so this makes it a plus in my book. (The hat somewhat reminds me of those fedora hats that are so popular right now.) The pattern provides 4 different sizes so I can use this pattern for my other little munchkins that need some coverage from the summer heat. You'll really love being able to use up some of those larger pieces of fabric that are laying around in your stash bins.. I mean resource center! P. S. I have finally finished one of the quilts that I have been sharing the blocks with you on this blog site. Guess which one. You'll see it next time. Until then..... Debbie

Purse

While back in Kansas, Elizabeth and I went to one of our favorite fabric shops, Zoelee's. Zoelee's is located in a beautiful, private, home at the end of a lovely cul-de-sac. Elizabeth and I have never been able to get out of there without purchasing something new that Zoelee has recently made. When we saw her new purse patterns, we about flipped! Of course we just HAD to purchase them and started making the purses practically the moment we got home. Below are some pictures of mine. The fabric looks and feels exactly like real leather... but it's not. If you have a Jo-Ann's near you, they have this same pleather fabric in their home dec area and it is currently on sale for 50% off, a steal. With the added extra 10-15% off the total price at check out, it really brings your cost down. The normal price runs about $20.00 a yard and I was quite tempted to purchase the distressed black that they had at the Jo-Ann's near me due to the sale... but I controlled myself. The black that Jo-Ann's has is exactly like this distressed brown color that I have pictured below. Take a look at the Jo-Ann's near you and see what is available...even if you only want to touch it. I think this fabric is gorgeous and it makes a fun purse for next to nothing. Enjoy...... Elizabeth's purse: The pattern: Until next time.. Debbie

Turkeys......

I have been in Kansas for the past few weeks, spending time with my kids and grandkids who live there. I enjoy my time there very much and leaving is incredibly difficult as I know that I will be missing them terribly by the time I reach my seat on the plane. The grandkids seem to be growing up without me and I miss being able to watch it all first hand. Now that I am home, it is time to get back to sewing and I will share with you all the cute patterns and fabric that I purchased while in Kansas. But until then... I just had to share these pictures of a mother turkey and her little ones that showed up in my front yard this morning. I have lived here for thirty years and have never seen a wild turkey in my yard..... ever. We have hawks, vultures, owls,...in fact birds of every variety it seems.. but never turkeys. Snakes, lizards, squirrels, and rabbits abound all over our property, along with coyotes, but again this little family is a first for us. So I just had to share. I'm thinking they are coming for the blackberries that my son-in-law planted up on the side of the yard.... at least that's where the mom and her little ones hung out for some time. So much for fresh berries on my oatmeal.... sigh.. and I was looking so forward to that.

Two More.......

I am leaving for two weeks to visit my daughters and my grandchildren who live in Kansas City. I do not get to see them very often so I am really looking forward to my trip. Before I leave however, I wanted to share with you, two more finished blocks. It will be nice to finally have them all finished and ready to quilt. Until I get back.... blessings, Debbie

A Slight Diversion......

I'm taking a little time out today to share a recent picture taken of some of my family members and me up in Anaheim, CA. The five of us, along with others who work with my husband, were working at a booth at a seminar that was being held at the Disneyland Hotel. I realize that this is a far cry from my usual sewing posts, but I wanted you to see some of my husband along with some of my kiddos. In the picture below, beginning on the far left, is Don, (an engineer) Rebekah, (one of our four daughters) John, (one of our three sons) me, my husband Jim, Tom, (another engineer) our daughter Nicole, and Lance, (one of our incredible employees). This is the third year that we have participated at this particular show/seminar in regards to construction defect litigation. I love being with the kids... and my husband, and thought you might like to see some of my family together.

Pumpkins!

Will someone please remind me to never work on four different quilts at the same time ever again.... especially when they are so radically different from one another. Each of these quilts uses different techniques, each has different design work, and each uses fabrics that don't even come close to matching the other. On top of that, take into consideration the different sizes of each individual quilt block that is used in each quilt. I'm not even sure at this point, as to what the finished size of each quilt top is going to be as I have changed the final design on every one of them. What was I thinking?! Here are two more Pumpkin blocks from the block of the month that I am doing through Shabby Fabrics. These people are truly wonderful and you can't help but love their site. They not only offer numerous lines of beautiful quilt fabrics, but they also offer several Block of the Month patterns, clothing patterns, purse patterns, handwork patterns, etc., etc. They offer some invaluable classes on Youtube that I'm sure you will also love! You will never be disappointed by visiting them online! Again, I used Sulky Blendable thread and Aurifil thread. I enjoy working with both threads very much and I think you will too. On each of the blocks I also used Steam a Seam II. I am sharing a youtube video with you so that you can visually see how great this product is. I felt that this visual would be far better than me trying to explain it.

Here are two more of the blocks from my sister-in-law's quilt. On this quilt, I used the Steam A Seam II again, but the thread that I used for the satin stitch around each flip flop was an embroidery thread... Isacord, by OESD. This is a polyester thread... not a rayon.. which is very important. Rayon can run if it is washed with a detergent that has any type of detergent booster.

What are you working on? Until next time....

Blessings To Those Who Keep Us Safe!

I love days like these when our nation sets aside a specific day to thank those who risk so much for all of us. Thank You!!!! If it weren't for your continued sacrifice we would not be able to enjoy the comfort of peace, freedom and safety that freely enjoy across this land. We are truly blessed. I wish that I could hug each one of you. May God bless you as you continue on your journey of defending this nation.

Before I go... I wanted to share with you two more finished blocks.

Aren't you glad that the Great I Am still lives.... Until next time.

Market Bag

I am finally home and between work and everything else that goes on around here I was happy when I finally had the time to sit down and make this market bag that I am sharing with you today. Some beautiful laminated fabric had arrived at the shop right before I left and I made the move to purchase some of it. Along with the laminated fabric, it also came in a matching cotton fabric as well. I loved how bright and festive the fabric was.... and apparently a lot of other people thought so too. By the time I came home, quite a bit of the fabric had sold. I was so glad that I had taken the time to make my purchase before I left! The shop carries several patterns for making totes, purses, and/or bags, but in the end I settled on this Amy Butler pattern. I have made a couple of Amy's patterns in the past so I was sure that it would work out very nicely using this fabric. The picture on the front of the pattern shows the larger bag... I chose to make the smaller one.

Here is the completed purse. As you can see, I glitzed it up quite a bit... not that it needed it!

Here's a look at the inside of the bag. As you can see, I put the matching laminated fabric on the inside. I toyed with the idea of placing it on the outside.. which is very popular these days... but felt that if I actually took it into the market, I just might need to wipe the inside of it out.

Another thing... I decided to add a couple of snaps to each side of the bag. I didn't like how open the bag was so I added the snaps at the last minute.

Here is a view of the side where I added the snaps.

Make sure that you don't overlook making the false bottom! Amy suggests that you use some type of a heavy duty template plastic, which is a great idea. Since I didn't have any, I merely cut up an old cutting mat.... this works fantastic! Here's my completed false bottom.

Until next time...

My Hand Embroidered Blocks... So Far

Since I am leaving for a little while this next week, I wanted to leave you with a few pictures of my hand embroidered blocks thus far. A couple of posts back, I shared with you some of the quilt blocks that I have been working on of late. If you will remember, each block is quite different from one another and the techniques used on them is also very different. Embroidering by hand at night and/or hand sewing binding on a quilt is rather relaxing for me. I thought that I would share four of the blocks that I have hand embroidered so far. I merely placed the green fabric behind each block so that you could see the block a little better. If the block is difficult to see, you can always click on the picture for a closer look. How about sharing what you've been working on.......

This one has lots and lots of tiny French Knots... can you tell?

Back To Yo Yo's

Those of you who read my blog know that I think yo yo's are darling on any quilt. I feel that they add a beautiful dimension to just about any project you may be working on. I realize that yo yo's take quite a bit of time but I feel that all of the tedious work placed into making these little jewels is worthy of the effort. Shabby Quilts is one of my favorite online quilt shops. When Jennifer shared this quilt on her website this morning, I thought that all of the circles that were sewn onto the quilt would be beautiful if each was made into a yo yo instead. What do you think?

Here's yet another idea... it's a free download for a new Amy Butler quilt using yo yo's... it's also pretty cute don't you think?

Time Out For Cash.....

So I'm watching my grandson Cash today. Once we arrived at the house I quickly ran and grabbed an armful of toys so that he would have lots to play with, but as you can see.. that is definitely NOT what was on his agenda! Why is it that children never want the things that are freely available all around them... no they want everything else that they can't have. (Does this somehow reflect the same behavior that we adults struggle with.. hmmmm??) I have now begun tying things up again to deter yet another little one from taking everything out of the china hutch. Check out that look on his face.."If I could only get this stupid ribbon off of these doors!"

Failing to get into the china hutch, he made his way into the dining room to get to the curio cabinet. "Rats!!... another ribbon and I am caught!" is what his expression seemed to say to me. He ends up dropping back down to the floor, crawling further and further away from the toys that I gave him to head for yet another area that has forbidden treasure. Kids!! What would we do without them?

Are you feeling sorry for him yet?? See you next time, Debbie

Diaper Docking Station.....

A new product came into the shop that I was asked to take home and give it a try. We have been selling a new pattern in the shop that has been selling quite well.. so much so that it has been nearly impossible to keep in stock. It's a Diaper Dock and/or Ironing Caddy pattern. It's a great pattern and quite useful as so many women like to take their own irons with them to class and by doing so they have their own ironing station right next to their machines as they sew. The only complaint that we have had when one uses the pattern for a 'Diaper Dock is the limited amount of laminated fabric that we have available in the shop. When a particular company, who we buy from, sent us their new product to try, I jumped at it. Once I read the directions over, it sounded as though you could iron the product onto any fabric and the fabric would then be laminated... voila! an end to our dilemma. I brought the product home only to find that it did not work out quite as easily as the directions made it sound. After several calls to the company and making a huge mess on my various attempts, I finally gave up. I decided to take a look into my own storehouse of stuff located in my closet and found some lightweight vinyl.. perfect! Note.. this is not in the original instructions of the pattern, but it does work... just be careful of the iron. Below is a picture of the pattern along with the finished project.

When closed, it looks like a cute little purse doesn't it?

I added the pocket... how can one not have a pocket?? Again.. not in the original instructions. Next time I will add one to the other side as well!

How it looks when you open it up. The perfect place to change your little one! It may not look like it, but it is a verily large changing area.

If using this pattern to make as an ironing pad, you obviously don't use the vinyl, but you use a heat resistant product like the one below. And instead of carrying diapers and wipes, you carry your iron inside. Isn't this a great idea??? You've got to try it! Until next time, Debbie

Quilts In The Making

I have several quilts that I am in the process of making right now. Each one is totally different than the other.. which could be a good thing... or possibly a bad thing, if I were to think about it.. which I don't. ;-) I have shared a couple of the blocks from two of the quilts with you already.. Take a look at the first three blocks, remember months January and February from the dark neutral Block of the Month quilt designed by Sharyn Craig that I shared with you on a previous post? Well here are months March through May. I am really enjoying Sharyn's designs as they are very quick as well as nice and easy. I must confess, it is pretty nice to be surrounded by so many 'famous' quilters who make their home right here in Southern California. Even the owner of the shop where I work is rather well known in her own right, as she is the publisher of all of Sharyn's books, plus she designs fantastic patterns and writes amazing quilt books herself. . The shop, Cozy Quilts, is the hub of where hundreds of patterns are brought together and then sold... mostly online. Daniela Stout, the owner, gives great instructions on Youtube if you would like to get a peek at what we do here at the shop. We have visitors coming in from everywhere to see the shop firsthand and to also get a glimpse of all of the beautiful fabric lines that we carry... especially the batiks. Stop by sometime.. either online or in the shop. Here are months March-May:

The next two blocks are from the Pumpkin Quilt that I have been working on and as I shared with you before, it is my very first Block of the Month project. The blocks above by Sharyn, are my second attempt at completing a Block of the Month club. The pumpkin blocks below are being appliquéd on my sewing machine using a 12 weight thread.

The next two blocks are being embroidered by hand, also using a 12 weight thread. Sulky offers wonderful thread that I love to use whether on my machine or by hand. If you have never tried it.. it is a must!

These last two blocks are a part of a flip flop quilt that I am making for my sister-in-law Liz. Flips flops are all that she is able to wear but are they ever glitzy!! Once I finish the quilt and it has finally been quilted, I will embellish the quilt to pieces... I can't wait!

I've shared with you.. now you can share with me. What are you working on? Until next time, Debbie