Quilting in the Woods

The Love of Spring!

2012-04-04T12:20:00.001-05:00

I love when spring rolls around! Everything is so pretty and green! Our property really comes alive and makes you want to take long walks or bike rides in the woods.

It is really hard to stay inside and sew this time of year. There is so much to do outside and its so nice being out there. I confess we did not rake the leaves this fall so now that its getting pretty out we are working hard to make at least around the house look good (not to mention snakes love to hide in dead leaves). Is it just me or do even the animals seem happier in spring?

I have managed to get some sewing done I am almost done with what will be the first quilt I have made for myself. I am just not sure how I want to quilt it. Any suggestions?

I got this pattern at one of my favorite blogs to read "Quilt Story"

I am linking up with WIP at Freshly Pieced

Circle Quilt Back

2012-03-26T21:05:00.003-05:00

So I know that I have a lot of projects going but I really can't help it. Although I have only recently bought fabric to finish what I already have I have many things going so don't be surprised when I just pick up a conversation about some project that you have never seen. With all that said, I am currently working on a lap quilt back inspired by a project that I learned in an online class on sewing curves over at Stitched in Color. Excellent class by the way well worth the investment.

As you can see the wind was definitely getting the best of my small photo shoot. Every time I got ready to shoot the wind would come from no where. So I had to improvise, can you see my daughter in the picture below.

She enjoyed holding the quilt down the quilt for me. She was wanting a shoot all of her own.

I'm linked up with

2012-03-24T20:14:00.001-05:00

Well, we have a winner for our give away. I allowed random.org to do the picking and here's what we got.

AbbigailMar 17, 2012 09:21 AM

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I just became a follower of your blog.

Congratulations Abbigail you are our winner.

2012-03-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

I have had a really hard time posting this week. My husband and I have had to drive to Memphis, Tennessee (which is about a five hour drive) twice this week. A good friend of ours who is a missionary was going on a mission trip to Fiji and needed to fly out from the Memphis airport. At 5:30 Sunday morning my husband and I set out to pick her up and head to the airport. Five hours later when we arrived she realized that she had left her passport at home and we had to reschedule the flight for Tuesday and go back home. I spent all day Monday recuperating and posted a small post about my favorite birthday gift (that I haven't had a chance to ride yet because it's been raining). Again at 5:30 on Tuesday morning we took the same trip only this time she had her passport and we walked her as far as we could inside the airport, hugged and left to return home. When we got in the car we realized that she had left a suitcase full of bibles that was supposed to go to the Fijians. We called her cell, parked, and ran to meet her with the bag with just twenty minutes before the plan was scheduled to take off. To make a long story short, she made the flight, and we spent all day Wednesday recuperating. So here I am on Thursday finally back to blogging.

I have been working on a project with the lovely "Little Apples" fabric by Aneela Hoey. I'll keep you posted on my success.

The Birthday Bike

2012-03-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all those who wished me a happy birthday. It was wonderful. The hubby and children reminded me of how loved and appreciated I am.
My oldest daughter, who is almost 17 : 0, has a bike that she loves to ride. She rides faithfully just about everyday that the weather will permit. In fact she made it look so enticing that I wanted to ride too and I did. Well, let's just say that it had been a long time since I had ridden a bike and I'm still sore. I told my husband how much fun it was and it seemed that he barely paid attention. On my birthday I found this beauty on the front porch with my name on it.

That guy is so sweet. I just love him.
Back to quilting tomorrow (after I ride my bike) : )

Quilter's Blog Hop Give-away

2012-03-16T11:01:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows that March 17 is St. Patrick's day. What everyone doesn't know is that it is also my birthday. So in honor of my birthday I am hosting a give-away with the Quilter's Blog Hop Party.

I am giving away this lovely Moda charm pack "Ten Little Things".

If you don't already know about the Quilter's Blog Hop Party hop on over there and get started for lots of other giveaways as well. To qualify to win this charm pack you must follow this blog and leave me a comment telling me that you are a follower. The hop will go from March 17 at midnight until March 23 at 9pm EST. International winners will be accepted. There will be one lucky winner that will be announced on March 24.

Criss Cross Applesauce

2012-03-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

That is what my girls call this quilt top. It has taken me months to finish this but I am determined. I need to add another row for a good size lap quilt.

I can't remember where I got this pattern from but I am learning how to make my own slowly but surely on EQ7. I haven't taken the time to just sit down and read the book (could be that I'm homeschooling five children : ) but I have done the first three tutorials. It does even more than I had imagined.

I have a few other projects in progress as well. I'm thinking that now is a time to finish these things up and maybe not start anything else new until they are done. But no promises!

Before I go did I mention that my favorite part of this quilt is the corduroy square? I had never done this before but I love the different textures. I think I might start experimenting with this more.

Today I'm linking up with

Sweet Dreams Quilt

2012-03-13T18:00:00.002-05:00

Well I finally finished quilting my first twin size quilt. It was quite a challenge. Trying to keep all that fabric on the sewing table and not hanging over and causing the weight to make the machine skip stitches was a work. Another problem that I could have never anticipated was that my hand is not as steady when their is a lot of bulky fabric to work with so my lines are squiggly.

Does anyone else have the problem of the inconsistent look in thread when you back stitch. Its thicker there than any where else on the quilt so it stands out and I don't like that. I will be looking for an alternative method because I'm going for a certain look.
On the borders I made an attempt at lollipops I know that I could use some practice on these but my nine year old daughter loves them as if they are perfect (don't you just love children). With all this candy piled on we are calling this quilt "sweet dreams".

I absolutely love the way it wrinkled when I washed it. I used flannel as a backing because its so warm, soft and cozy. This was also my first paper pieced quilt and I think I'm in love. If you want a copy of this pattern you can find it here. I would love to see this pattern in other fabrics.

I'm linking to quilt story for fabric Tuesday and Canoe Ridge Creations for modern Monday!

A quilt for a six year old boy

2012-03-12T11:03:00.000-05:00

This quilt came out better than I thought it would. As I was shopping for fabric I was sure that it was going to be crazy busy. I picked the border first and the coordinating fabrics were busy or bright. But it turns out that he loves it. I took it to the local quilt shop and had them to quilt large elephants on it because it is a Noah's ark theme. I am almost finished quilting my first twin sized quilt all alone. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm done.
What do you think about it?

Hello and Welcome!

2012-03-11T18:04:00.000-05:00

Hello all of my fellow sewing bloggers out there. Welcome to my online interactive sewing diary/blog. I am hoping to meet lots of new people as well as share and learn many new things. I have been sewing about eight years now and quilting about four now. I am a busy mother of five with a very active life but sewing is my sanity. I can't wait to share my experiences with you!