A Quilting Life

All Things Moda

2013-05-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love all things Moda...and as usual, the Moda booth and new designer fabrics did not disappoint. Here is one of the new quilts by Brigitte Heitland of Zen Chic using her new collection Barcelona. And here are a few other new Barcelona quilts. The Barcelona collection is stunning. Brigitte spoke during the Moda Designer Schoolhouse, and her thoughts on quilting

Moda, Craftsy, and a Giveaway

2013-05-22T10:04:00.001-07:00

Happy Wednesday! I thought I'd start off today's post by sharing the three Moda bundles I couldn't live without from Sample Spree. Clockwise from left are Simply Style by V & Co., Potluck by Sandy Klop, and Sunnyside by Kate Spain! My Moda booth post is almost finished, and I'll share it tomorrow. One of the booths I visited while at market was the Craftsy booth. I've enjoyed writing

Some of the Booths

2013-05-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to see the booths--especially when you are able to see the transformation take place from a messy convention center with forklifts and boxes and packing materials strewn all over the floors to a beautiful showroom with inspiring booths. First up is Allison's booth (Cluck, Cluck, Sew). She always has a darling display and is soooo nice! Next is Tasha Noel's Simple Life

Portland Quilt Market Day 1 and More

2013-05-20T07:11:00.003-07:00

I'm home from a whirlwind trip to Portland, Oregon for the Spring 2013 International Quilt Market! Portland is a beautiful city, and I truly appreciated the cool temperatures, cloudy skies, and light rains. I have quite a lot of photos, so I'll break it up into a few posts. Today's post will focus on Day One and some of the quilts I pieced for market. I was lucky to be able to have a mini "

Market fun

2013-05-18T17:56:00.001-07:00

Market has been absolutely wonderful with good people, good friends, and lots of good things to see! I took a lot of pictures with my camera that I can't wait to share...I have just a few that I took with my phone that I'm using for this post. It's always fun to see quilts I've pieced---quilted and on display. "Fireworks" (pattern by Camille) is pictured above..... And "Summer,"

Solids Along Post Four

2013-05-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday! How are your solids blocks coming along?! I've been having a lot of fun with mine. This week (because you know it changes every week) my favorite Moda Bellas are the ones pictured above (from left: Amelia Orange, Peony, Daffodil, Peacock, and Amelia Pink). And here are the blocks for today... First up is Block 13. I really love this design. I used Admiral Blue (

Here and There

2013-05-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

The last week has been busy, busy, busy with end-of-the year activities (we have a high school senior--which pretty much explains most of the craziness) and International Quilt Market preparation. I feel like I've been here and there but not really any one place for very long--if that makes sense. I haven't been able to spend much time with my sewing machine, but I did have a chance to start

Quilt Stories

2013-05-09T15:18:00.001-07:00

Every quilt has two stories--the story of its making and the story of the maker during the process. We piece some quilts quickly, and they are finished in an instant of our lives; however, some quilts (as we all know) take a little time. Today I finished one of those quilts that took quite a while to finish. This is my scrappy Tula Pink quilt (Moda Bella Bleached White for background). I

Cross Roads

2013-05-07T11:15:00.002-07:00

Introducing..."Cross Roads"...my very first pattern release! (And...I'm currently working on four other patterns which will release after market). When I saw this gorgeous bundle of Road 15 by Sweetwater for Moda I set to work immediately--my quilt design was waiting for the perfect fabric, and I knew it when I saw it! I heart plus blocks! I just had so much fun putting this

Water Lily

2013-05-04T02:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday...today I'd like to share another quilt from my book A Quilting Life: Creating a Handmade Home. This is Water Lily...created with Moda's Good Fortune by Kate Spain. This is a quilt that was truly inspired by the fabric--I received a Layer Cake of this collection and was sewing by afternoon! It sure is good to have this quilt home! Some new happy Kate Spain

Schnibbling and More

2013-05-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to everyone who visited the May Day Schnibbles parades on my blog and on Sinta's blog. We had over 60 entries! And as usual we have some prizes to announce (all prizes picked by the time-tested method of Random.org). If you are a winner please email me your mailing address. Carrie has four surprise packages for two people from each parade (A little bird told me the packages

May Day

2013-05-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day! And welcome to a Parade of Vintage Schnibbles..."Hat Trick!" First, though...I need to announce that next month's pattern will be "Gentle Art." This is a pattern I've been wanting to make for a long time...and while mine isn't finished yet, Sinta has a beautiful version on her blog. (I'll be sure to share mine when it's finished). I thought Sarah's "Hat Trick" would be

May Blogger Girl's Block of the Month

2013-05-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Block 5 post of the Blogger Girl's Block of the Month! (If you are looking for the Schnibbles parade...that will post later this afternoon, so be sure to check back). To download the pdf for Block 5 click here. Remember...Monique is only going to have the patterns available until our Block of the Month is complete, so make sure to download the patterns if you want to make

April

2013-04-28T13:50:00.001-07:00

It seems like just the other day I couldn't believe that April had already arrived--and now it's nearly over! During April we have beautiful weather here in southern Nevada, so I'm trying to take a little time each day to sit outside and enjoy the spring before it's time to hibernate inside for the summer. Many of the days have been a blur, though, with a lot of market sewing and paper

Solids Along Post Three

2013-04-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to the third post in the Solids Along (a series of quilt block posts using the Moda Friendship Block patterns)! I hope you're planning to make some or all of these blocks with your favorite solids--it will be so much fun to see the finished projects in the parade. This weeks blocks are some of my favorites... Really, I love all three! But I must admit I have a favorite...

Craftsy (and a little sneak peek)

2013-04-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

. Since I'm frantically trying to finish up the last market quilt, today seems like a good time to mention some of the things going on over at Craftsy. I've been writing articles and posts on a variety of quilting topics, and many of them have now been posted. Here is a link to the quilting category page where you can browse a variety of topics related to quilting and then click to access

Whirlwind

2013-04-22T08:49:00.001-07:00

It was one of those whirlwind weekends...crazy and busy in a fun way with lots of time with friends and family! The beginning of this week is going to be more of the same as I'm finishing up the last of my quilt market sewing. (I can't believe I'll be leaving for market in just over three weeks! I can't wait!) I have one more quilt to make using Joanna's new collection for Moda, Honeysweet.

The Scrappy Trip Along Again

2013-04-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

I hope you are okay with still another post on this quilt. It arrived back from the quilter this week, and I had to take some photos. It really is one of my favorite quilts of all time. There are so many of my favorite fabrics in this quilt. I think I know either the designer, manufacturer or collection for every piece of fabric included (and in most cases I can name all of the above)!

Work in Progress Wednesday

2013-04-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I pulled out a work in progress from 2010. At least I think it's from 2010--the pattern is Elizabeth Hartman's "Small Plates" from her book Modern Patchwork which was published in '10. When I started work I had twelve completed blocks, and now I have forty blocks! They go together so quickly, I'm not sure why I haven't finished this up before now. The pattern calls for 80

Tidbits on Tuesday

2013-04-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have two quilts to bind this week...yay! Maybe I can find something to watch on television while I get these two bound. Some Happy Go Lucky arrived at my house last week; I shared it on Instagram but never shared it here. As you can see I've already pulled out two fat quarters from the bundle for a project (maybe I should just untie that string, but that is always so hard for me to do--

Solids Along

2013-04-15T02:30:00.000-07:00

Hello and Happy Monday! As you can see I've been making more Moda Bella solids blocks and having a lot of fun! I appreciate all the input from this post and this post--and I've decided to have a solids along parade. I'll post the links to block directions along with the color combinations I've used twice a month--on the 15th and 25th. Feel free to make one block or all three using your

A Little Random Sewing

2013-04-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you wanted to sew...but didn't quite know where to start or what you wanted to work on? Yesterday was one of those days. I decided to just "sew something" until I figured out what the "main" project for the day would be. Well that "something" turned out pretty cute, I think! I've had a Layer Cake of "Oink a Doodle Moo" that has been sitting on the

Newport

2013-04-10T14:53:00.002-07:00

Introducing "Newport," another quilt from my book A Quilting Life: Creating a Handmade Home. I love every piece of fabric in this quilt. This quilt is "on tour" right now, and I can't wait for it to come home! I fell in love with Sandi Henderson's Secret Garden collection a couple of years ago and knew I needed a large block quilt to showcase the beautiful prints--simple designs are always

Sew Fabulous Giveaway

2013-04-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

Today I'm happy to announce a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate from Jenny to her on-line shop Sew Fabulous. Sew Fabulous offers colorful, cute, fun and fabulous quilting fabric at affordable prices. Jenny recently redesigned her shop, and it looks wonderful! You can shop by collection, designer, theme, color, or manufacturer. She also carries pre-cuts and patterns. She carries the best

Sewing by Hand and Winners

2013-04-08T02:30:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I did a lot of sewing by hand--eight hours worth to be exact! Now I'm not normally a television kind of person (especially now that White Collar and Downton Abbey have completed their seasons), but twice a year I love being a couch potato and watching the inspirational messages from my church's General Conference. Getting ready for eight hours of hand sewing takes some