A Little of This...A Lot of Sewing

158 orders. 27 Days. 5 International orders. All shipped out before Christmas. 150 were chevron fabrics, the rest were either damask, or florals. As of 21 December my brain turned to a yummy blob of tapioca. That was hands down the most intense 27 days of my life. It was both exhilarating and demanding, and now I know how to plan for the holiday season in 2014! Game on!

About 6 hours before we left to see family in Seattle for the holidays, and I had *just* wrapped up and mailed off the very last envelope, I decided that *I* needed my own camera strap for my Nikon.
So I splurged.
I cut into my Bobbins and Bits by Pat Sloan for Moda Fabrics layered cake and make one fore me. Can I just say, these straps are pretty darn comfy and I'm not to bad at making them? (grin) I kinda rock at this!

At the same time as this I also started working on several clients quilts, which I'm happy to say are finally getting started on this week! I have a great pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew called "Pow-Wow" that has just been a hoot to play with and I'm working on my second attempt into finishing up a Moda Bakeshop's pattern called "Simply Woven" for some very, very patient clients. I've also been working on 3 quilts for the Patchwork for Paws quilt group and hope to get a few images up of these here shortly, but here's my bragging tid bit.

So, even though I managed to get myself into some sort of WTH moments with client quilts, I took the night off to go play with the newest Canoe Ridge Creations Fresh Mini Quilt Club BOM and got one more knocked out, just for me. It's proudly hanging in the bedroom waiting to be quilted. Someday. I'm going to call it "January's Northern Lights."

However, today belongs to more sewing and an afternoon with Boys. I can't begin to tell you all how much these two animals have made a difference in both Warrior Husband's and my life. Each with their very own different personality, each with their little qwerks, and each very much wanting nothing more in return than love and affection, which the receive in spades. If it had not been for so many of the right things to happen at the right time, well, I don't want to think about that part.  Needless to say, the Boys have made a huge difference.

Cold and snowy tonight.  2 dog/1 Kat kinda sleeping weather. Love it.

#30: "Hallowtide Fun" {March 2013}

What can I say. I saw this panel and busted out laughing. I really, really dislike scary stuff and most people have a tendency to swing towards that for Halloween. I love the fact that the monsters look so sweet and of course the cats. Now, understand, I actually got this panel because of ET and Edelbrock. If you look carefully you will see Edel in the middle right block and in the top right, next to the witch, is ET. ET was my 24 year-old, blind, deaf, brain damaged one-eyed cat. My blind step mother discovered him, just minutes from being born and having fallen from the tree momma had her litter in. ET (Teasers) was a cool cat, just like the fine fellow in the block.

This is NOT ment to be a scary, mean, negative way to look at Halloween. Rather, bringing it back to being a kid again; where monsters weren't mean and could be chased away with Monster Spray or a stern word from my Mother to go back under the bed because it was past their bedtime too.

Size: 25.5" x 29"
Fabrics:

• Front: "Scribble Monsters II" by Leeré Aldrich for Clothworks - 100% Cotton
• Back: Solid black - 100% Cotton

Binding: Solid black - 100% Cotton
Batting: Pellon Legacy White Quilt Batting, 100% Cotton
Thread: AURIfil 40wt Thread - Black
Pattern: Panel from Clothworks

#29: "Skyfall" {March 2013}

I am a sucker for 3 things:

1. Beautiful fabrics
2. Simple, elegant designs
3. Ikea. Both my ex-husband and my current husband call me The Ikea Queen.

Not necessarily in that order.

When V & Co. came out with her fabric line called “Simply Color” I just pointed to the computer screen and whimpered at Steve. All of our funds were tied up in getting him the Service Dog. I put it on the “Please Father Christmas drop this in my stocking” list. He gave a delightful surprise of a Layered Cake, a Jelly Roll and a charm pack from the fabric line. After I stopped bawling at the fact that Steve got these for me, I sat and petted the pretties for a very long time. All the while looking at my Ikea catalogs and wishing I was closer to Seattle to get the furniture we need for our home and thinking about clean, modern designs to make this OUR home Then I saw a photo or something of a traditional quilt block but blown WAY up. The colors were clean, the block was traditional, but the way it was made was so modern; a stunning twist. Then it hit me...I could so DO that! After much thought and much wondering, I popped open my Layered Cake of the “Simply Color” fabrics. The rest as they say is history.

Please, enjoy the yummy fabric colors and designs. They not only have that Ikea feel too them, but they have been given Norwegian titles. In this case "Skyfall" is in fact "Skyfall" in Norwegian. In this case, I broke with my themes for the 4 quilts. This quilt was my second attempt at free-hand quilting. Originally, this was going to be named "Rain" but as I was quilting the rain drops in the center of the quilt, I was listening to the "Skyfall" soundtrack and the theme song by Adele came up. I discovered I was not only moving the quilt easier, I was almost swaging and dancing to the music. I then decided to challenge myself for the wavy lines on the sides and the star points. If you look carefully and put on the music, you will see that my lines are to the rhythm of the brass section of the music! Each lump in the wave is a note or beat change per that section!

Size: 36 x 36 inches
Pattern: Adaptation of "Giant Vintage Star" of a traditional Starflower block by In Color Order Fabrics:

• Front: "Simply Color" by V and Co. for Moda - 100% Cotton
• Back: Solid white - 100% Cotton

Binding: "Simply Color - Gray Ombre" by V and Co. for Moda - 100% Cotton
Batting: Pellon Legacy White Quilt Batting, 100% Cotton
Thread: AURIfil 40wt Quilting Thread

#28: "Varen - Spring Time" {March 2013}

I am a sucker for 3 things:

1. Beautiful fabrics
2. Simple, elegant designs
3. Ikea. Both my ex-husband and my current husband call me The Ikea Queen.

Not necessarily in that order.

When V & Co. came out with her fabric line called “Simply Color” I just pointed to the computer screen and whimpered at Steve. All of our funds were tied up in getting him the Service Dog. I put it on the “Please Father Christmas drop this in my stocking” list. He gave a delightful surprise of a Layered Cake, a Jelly Roll and a charm pack from the fabric line. After I stopped bawling at the fact that Steve got these for me, I sat and petted the pretties for a very long time. All the while looking at my Ikea catalogs and wishing I was closer to Seattle to get the furniture we need for our home and thinking about clean, modern designs to make this OUR home Then I saw a photo or something of a traditional quilt block but blown WAY up. The colors were clean, the block was traditional, but the way it was made was so modern; a stunning twist. Then it hit me...I could so DO that! After much thought and much wondering, I popped open my Layered Cake of the “Simply Color” fabrics. The rest as they say is history.

Please, enjoy the yummy fabric colors and designs. They not only have that Ikea feel too them, but they have been given Norwegian titles. In this case "Våren" is Norwegian for "Spring" like my yummy green mosses and gray skies of Camano Island. These quilts mean a LOT to me. Not only for sheer joy of getting of make something I’ve always wanted, but for the fact that they are are very much a reflection of our home. Oh and for those following the trail of what I was listening to while I quilted each quilt, this one got "The Water Garden" by Diane Arkenstone. The repeating echo's are reflective of this piece of music, making it a no brainer for this quilt.

Size: 36" x 36"
Pattern: Adaptation of "Giant Vintage Star" of a traditional Starflower block by In Color Order Fabrics:

• Front: "Simply Color" by V and Co. for Moda - 100% Cotton
• Back: Solid white - 100% Cotton

Binding: "Simply Color - Gray Ombre" by V and Co. for Moda - 100% Cotton
Batting: Pellon Legacy White Quilt Batting, 100% Cotton
Thread: AURIfil 40wt Quilting Thread

#27: "Arts & Architecture" {February 2013}

"Arts & Architecture" is named in honor of Dean Nancy Cornwell and her incredible husband, Stan Downs. We were downstairs neighbors of these wonderful folks who used to come out in the late evenings and sit under a tree in the back yard and watch students play their intramural games. When Dean Nancy is out "Deaning" at MSU's school of Arts and Architecture, Stan is working/building on their home located on one of the beautiful mountains near MSU. Dean Nancy’s encouragement for both of our educations has been one of consistency and amusement. She very much gets what it is like to be a non-traditional student in this day and age. Stan, in all his quiet ways, as taught us to not only laugh at the rough times, but measure twice, cut once.

Size: 51" x 47"
Pattern: "Charmalade Quilt" by Pamela Lincoln
Fabrics:

• Front: "Etchings" by 3 Sisters for Moda - 100% Cotton
• Back: Solid navy blue - 100% Cotton

Binding: "Etchings" by 3 Sisters for Moda Botanical Print - 100% Cotton
Batting: Pellon Legacy White Quilt Batting, 100% Cotton
Thread: AURIfil 40wt Quilting Thread

#26: "Retro Vogue" {January 2013}

The retro/vintage red's and teal's blend beautifully into the grays, pinks and sage greens giving this line of fabric a fun, funky, vintage feel without going overboard on the colors.

Size: 19.25" x 19.25"
Pattern: The original quilt design. The pattern is a series half square triangle blending from light gray to pink to red to teal. These were left over scraps from the “L4” quilt and I wanted to challenge myself to make a mini quilt.
Fabric:

• Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille for Moda
• Kona Solids - White

Backing: Apple Of My Eye" by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake
Binding: Apple Of My Eye" by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake
Batting: Mountain Mist White Rose 100% cotton needled batting

#25: "Present Primitive" {January 2013}

I am a broke quilter, so when I get fabric I will use everything up to and including the "Scrap Barf" a.k.a., the little tiny pieces. So when I made our Kat and Goggie Yule Stockings this year, I purchased 2 charm packs of this fabric. With the exception of the backing, all of these fabrics were leftover "Scrap Barf" from the project. At that time, the chevron patterns were starting to come back into fad again, so after the New Year, I decided to give one a try! The colors leaned to a very "primitive country" style, particularly when paired with the deep reds and blue. The quilting along the red boarder what my very first ever attempt to free-hand quilting. That's where I discovered that if I listened to music instead of my audible book, my quilting would become more free-flowing and I would have a lot of fun just playing with it!

Size: 20.5" x 23"
Pattern: Self created chevron
Fabrics:

• Front: "Holiday Medley" by Kansas Troubles Holiday Medley for Moda - 100% Cotton
• Back: "Navy Blue Stripe" by Kansas Troubles for Moda - 100% Cotton

Binding: "Navy Blue Stripe" by Kansas Troubles for Moda - 100% Cotton
Batting: Pellon Legacy White Quilt Batting, 100% Cotton

#22: "Eventide Sonata" {November 2012}

The design for the “Eventide Sonata” is called the 1600” or Jelly Roll Race quilt. It started as one, huge, 1600" long strip of batik fabrics and then folded in half, sewn, folded in half, sewn in half, sewn on and on. The fabrics for this quilt were a true spurge, and are all dyed batik fabric. I did another splurge for the backing and purchased a yummy batik for the backing that looks like it was made from the same dye lot as the front; pretty much makes this quilt reversible! The colors of these lines are so reminiscent of a sunset, that as I was working on it, I would put on various sonatas that reminded me of my Seattle home and quiet summer evenings on the water. This was an original attempt to do a free-handed quilted design, and in the end I backed out of it and decided on an echo pattern. I also found a beautiful set of silk variegated thread from deep red to yellow that shows up on both the front and the back of the quilt beautifully.

Size: 64" x 50"
Pattern: 1600" Quilt and/or The Jelly Roll Race
Fabrics: "Java Flame" by Timeless Treasures Tonga Treats Batiks - 100% Cotton
Backing: "Kapalua Batiks - Sunrise" Moda - 100% Cotton
Binding: "Hoffman Batiks - 100% Cotton
Batting: Pellon Legacy White Quilt Batting, 100% Cotton

#20: "L4 (L to the 4th Power)" {October 2012}

This wall quilt will bring a neat vintage pizazz to any home, office, or classroom!
The retro/vintage red's and teal's blend beautifully into the grays, pinks and sage greens giving this line of fabric a fun, funky, vintage feel without going overboard on the colors.
Size: 25.5” x 25.5”
Pattern: A traditional nine-patch block surrounding the machine appliquéd words: Live, Laugh, Learn, Love using white thread on the white muslin. The effect is both stunning and subtle and allows the pop of the color to draw the eye to the quilt.
Fabrics:

• Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille for Moda
• Kona Solids - White

Backing: Riley Blake Designs "Apple Of My Eye" by The Quilted Fish
Binding: Riley Blake Designs "Apple Of My Eye" by The Quilted Fish
Batting: Mountain Mist White Rose 100% cotton needled batting.