Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

I finished the last three of the blocks that the Quiltingsisters are doing this month. They're not perfect but good enough for me. I haven't paper pieced for a quite some time so it was fun doing it again. I can hardly wait for next months assignment. C6 - Crossed Canoes
A-5 Amethyst

E-1 Nine-Patch

Now it's time to move on to something else for a while. I need to make a new sample of "Magnolia Lane" so I guess I'll go cut it out so I can sew on it later.

Sylvia's Wedding Sampler

Another block completed. This one is B10 - Friendship Star. As you can tell we are doing the easier ones first and saving the more difficult for later.

Elm Creek Quilts

I belong to an online yahoo group called Quiltingsisters. Several of us are making Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. Each month my sister, Melinda is assigning blocks for us to make. She is assigning them in order of difficulty mixing strip pieced, paperpieced and templates. There are a total of 140, 6" x 6" blocks. This is just the beginning of a long journey. Here are my first two blocks.

K3 - Churn Dash

H8 Pinwheel 1

Until next time,

Machine Quilting Retreat

I just got back from spending a wonderful weekend facilitating a machine quilting retreat with Frances Moore. This group picture was taken right after lunch on Saturday before we were all too tired to smile. That's me in the front in orange (without a name tag), Frances is standing in the center with the sweater on, and my Two Wacky Women partner Marilyn (in a black shirt) is standing to Frances' right.

The weekend was packed full of learning how to machine quilt on a home sewing machine while learning lots of different designs. Frances talked about thread, needles and picking a design. She took us from doing simple curves to flowers and feathers by Sunday. She stressed how important it is to practice and suggested machine quilting at least 15 minutes everyday. I'm planning on making a real effort to do just that.

I'll post pictures of my machine quilting attempts a little later.

The Making of a Tote Bag

While at Spring Market in Pittsburgh we purchased a variety of things. One of the items is a selection of "Bally Pops" which are 2 1/2" batik strips from Hoffman of California. I decided to use a set of "Mint Chip" to make a tote bag.

TWW is hosting a machine quilting retreat this weekend so the timing is perfect. I need two small pieced tops to practice on. So here they are, the front and the back of a new tote bag, now all I have to do is quilt them and turn them into an actual bag.

Stay tuned to see the finish bag, hopefully some time next week.

Another Cute Purse

I mentioned a few days ago that I wanted to make a black and white purse before heading to Pittsburgh and then all of a sudden I remembered a purse that I bought at a quilt show boutique a while back. I think it was at the Victorville quilt show. This is one of those things that "I could have made" but it was much easier to buy it. In fact, I think I own just about every one of the fabrics that was used. The only problem was that the strap was too short. I like to be able put the strap across my body or over my shoulder. So it has sat un-used until this morning. This morning I finally got around to making a longer strap (it probably took be all of a 1/2 hour). I loved the bag before but now it's just perfect and I adore it.
So here's the outside. Don't you just love the Alexander Henry face fabric and the stripped binding?

The inside it a "Wowser" Can you see the face in the fabric?

I wish I knew the maker of the bag but here's her label that is on the inside. Thank you Karevan Designs. I wish I could tell you in person how much I love my purse.

Loyalty Card Wallet

I made this little "Loyalty Card Wallet" a while back but I never got around to sharing it. Now that I've made a purse to match, I wanted to show you how cute this little wallet is. I used a pattern that I found on A Spoonful of Sugar Blog. This sure beats the stack of cards with a rubber band around it that I used before. Thank you Lisa for the great tutorial. Here it is closed. Isn't it cute?

Here it is open but empty :(

Here it is, all filled up and ready to go. Notice it even has a Starbucks gift card right in front :)

Cute New Purse

At a recent quilt show a bought a really cute purse pattern. Now keep in mind, I design purses, bags, quilts and other odds and ends but I still can't resist buying a pattern now and then. This one was really cute it's called "Sonoma Swing Bag" by Pink Sand Beach Designs.





I'm leaving for "Spring Quilt Market" in Pittsburgh later this week and I though this was a great little bag that I could carry and it would hold just enough. I loved the fact that the outside pocket is just large enough to hold my IPhone (most cell phone pockets aren't quite large enough).






Now that I finished this one I think I'll make another one in black and white.

First Project On My New Machine

So if you had a brand new Bernina that costs a gazillion dollars what would you make? A gorgeous piece of clothing, a tiny delicate miniature quilt or a beautifully sewn machine appliqué? Well not me! My first project on my brand new Bernina 820 is………………………………

“TISSUE HOLDERS”! Yes my very first project was 18 tissue holders for the next quilting retreat that Two Wacky Women is hosting.

As it turns out, it really wasn’t such a bad project. First I got to practice winding a bobbin (a piece of cake). Then I got to thread the machine or should I say let the machine thread itself (once again a piece of cake). I chain pieced everything so I really used the knee lift a lot. The thread cutter worked like a charm.

I’m still in love with my new machine……..who knows what the next project will be. Stay tuned.

Shelli and Elvis

This may not be quilt related but it’s a very special post for me.

My daughter, Shelli just had a birthday and she turned 42. Now the fact that she’s 42 doesn’t bother me so much but the fact that “I” could have a daughter 42 is just plain shocking. I really don’t feel nearly old enough to have a daughter that old (or young).

As mention in some earlier posts, Shelli is a huge “I Love Lucy” fan and maybe even a bigger “Elvis” fan. So, what better way to celebrate her birthday than by going to dinner at our local Elvis restaurant? The restaurant is actually a Mexican restaurant called Azteca located on historic Main Street in Garden Grove, CA. Check out their web site to see some of the Elvis stuff. You have to see it to believe it. They have more Elvis memorabilia than you can possibly imagine. We had a great time.

Here’s a picture of Shelli with Elvis (notice he’s all dressed up for Cinco de Mayo).

I think I'm in Love

I have been a Pfaff lover for most of my quilting life. In fact I have two of them a 2140 and an old 1171. They've both been very good to me but.......last July I saw for the first time the new Bernina 830 and 820. My 2140 is an embroidery machine but I haven't embroidered anything in a very long time. So when I saw the features that the 820 had I knew I had found my future love.

I ordered an 820 last July at the Long Beach International Quilt Festival. My local dealer SewVac was at the show so I placed my order with them. I've been very patient since I knew it wouldn't be available until sometime in 2009. Lately I was having a hard time staying patient and would stop in to find out if they had any news.

Finally on Wednesday Jody called to tell me my 820 had arrived. I picked it up today and had an abbreviated lesson on how to at least get started. I can wind a bobbin, thread the machine (it really does it itself), and sew a straight seam. That's enough for me right now. I'll be taking classes to find out just exactly what else I can do.

I love the little accessory box. It is so cute. I've decided to name my new machine. What do you think Bernie? Nina? Bert? Bertie?

I'm off to try to make a block or two on my new machine.