And Sew it Goes

More stuff to do!

2012-02-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no pictures tonight, but just to let you know Lava Lamps in quilted and bound! I will post pics in a few days.

But I am excited to let you know about two quilt classes I have registered for in June. I know, June is a few months away but just being able to think about it will keep me going until then.

If you remember I posted about the Panguitch Quilt Walk last year, if you missed it click here. A quick recap, we go to Panguitch every year. My parents have a booth and my husband has tons of family so it is always a great weekend.

However, I rarely take quilt classes, but this year is going to be different.

My passion at the moment is learning how to free motion quilt (FMQ to the quilt people out there) and they are offering a few machine quilting classes this year. I am taking Advanced Free Motion Quilting by Lisa Brothman, and Feather Fundamentals by Renae Allen. I am beyond excited!!

If you have a chance to get to Panguitch in June I would highly recommend it. It is so fun to see an entire town get behind the art of quilting! You can check out their website at quiltwalk.org

Have a great week!

Design Wall

2012-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Lava Lamps is almost completely quilted! Check back later for more pictures. But as always I can't finish one project without looking toward the next one. Remember this one?

It is from McCall's Design Star Challenge. I need to quilt "Viola's Jewelry Box" but I am having issues with how to quilt it. So I need some advice! How would you quilt this if it was yours? To give you a reference the pieces in the nine patch blocks (look in the corner of the star blocks) are one inch pieces. Thanks in advance to any suggestions you have!

2012-02-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted anything for a long time but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy! These three gorgeous girls have kept me busy and there has been some quilting going on as well!

I have finished the top for the Color Palette Challenge with Patchwork Times and Field Trips in Fiber. If you want to check out the challenge go here.

These colors were definitely out of my comfort zone. I tried placing the colors right next to each other but that didn't work. I was a little concerned my idea wouldn't work. When I put the white in, it just came together.

I would love to say this quilt is for me, but it will actually be going to my dad. He has been asking one of us to make a quilt using his Coke Glass Template since the summer. Finally he is going to get something! I love the design I came up with, and it is a really fast project. I used raw edge applique so there are no curved seams, just lots of fun! Right now I am thinking of calling it "Lava Lamps." But I need to hurry and decide because my dad has a show he is going to the first week of March. He would like to have the pattern to sell along with the template.

I am frantically trying to quilt this thing over the weekend. It is coming together alright. I still need lots and lots of practice machine quilting but I'm trying to see the positive side of it just being finished! However, I have run out of white thread. I had 900 yards when I started but now I just have a 1/2 bobbin left. My mom has some she will lend me, so maybe I will still be able to get in finished this weekend! Thanks again to my mom, who has bailed me out more times than I am able to count.

As far as the quilting, in the white sections I quilted a flame looking thing, for lack of better words, and in the rest I quilted circles because I wanted a lava lamp look.

It feels as if it is taking forever!! The circles are taking more time than I anticipated, but then again most things take far less time in my mind than they do in reality.

Free Motion Quilting Challenge

2012-01-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

I know I just barely posted but I wanted to make it really easy to find my free motion quilting for January. So this is just a little piece of what I posted before.

I am participating in the Free Motion Quilting Challenge and our design to practice this month was leaves. I watched the videos and checked out some of the other participants but I just wasn't sure if the leaf pattern fit my quilt. I decided to go with an echoed leaf. It was a great learning experience for me. Sometimes it was hard to get all of the leaves to fit within each other and to keep the quilting even. But it was a lot of fun. It was quilted with the burgundy thread. (Please excuse the washed out picture)

If you want to see the rest of the quilting just scroll down and see the earlier post!

If you want to see the other participants head over to Sew CalGal!

I Am On A Roll

2012-01-29T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have great news to share! January is almost through and I have finished my UFO, Color Palette Challenge, and my free motion quilting. I feel I have had a very productive month.

If you have checked my blog before I have been working on the Color Palette Challenge, and here it is finished, quilted and bound!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my earlier dilemma with the flying geese border. I love the decision I made, but I think any of them would have worked out fine.

I also gave you a sneak peek at the quilting. I would love to learn how to machine quilt, but I didn't think I could ever learn how to do it on my home machine. Once I started it was really fun, and fulfilling. Here are a few close-ups.

The center medallion was quilted around the applique, then echo quilted waves throughout the rest of the background with a matching thread.

It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I just took it slow and stopped when I wasn't sure where to go next. The overall quilting looks pretty good, but if I look close I can see some spots where I would improve.

In the corner blocks I decided to try a feather. I absolutely love quilted feathers! This was my attempt. It is kind of hard to see because of the background pattern but it's not too shabby. Again I found that if I just slowed down it was a lot easier.

The flying geese gave me a lot of grief. I tried quilting one side and didn't like it so I ended up ripping it out. I do not like unpicking quilting! It takes forever. I finally went with another echo in each center and nothing in the white part. The black borders I tried a half feather design. The border is 1 inch but I found it pretty easy to stay within the lines most of the time. Both were quilted with a burgundy thread that matched the darkest burgundy fabric in the quilt.

I am participating in the Free Motion Quilting Challenge and our design to practice quilting this month was leaves. I watched the videos and checked out some of the other participants but I just wasn't sure if the leaf pattern fit my quilt. I decided to go with an echoed leaf. It was a great learning experience for me. Sometimes it was hard to get all of the leaves to fit within each other and to keep the quilting even. But it was a lot of fun. Again it was quilted with the burgundy thread. (Please excuse the washed out picture)

The best part about this is I am able to enjoy it everyday! It feels so good to get something accomplished. I can't wait for February to see what I will be working on next. I already have big plans!

I will be linking up with Design Wall Monday with Judy, Sew CalGal Free Motion Quilting Challenge this week, and the Color Palette Challenge when it is available.

My "No Make-up" Day

2012-01-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday when I woke up my oldest daughter was not feeling well, not well enough to go to school anyway. I couldn't get a sub until an hour after school started so I had to go into school for just a bit. With all of the running around and phone calls I did not have time to put on make up. I don't wear a lot of makeup, usually a little foundation, neutral eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara, but my eyelashes are as blonde as my hair so I knew it would be the topic of the day. I was surprised at how big of a deal it was.

Here are a few of the conversations I heard during the hour I was at school.
Girl 1- you know, yesterday Mrs. Henrie was normal.
Girl 2- yea?
Girl 1- but today she is not normal.

During my reading group the boys were very curious about my different look. The conversation went something like this.

Me- do I look different today?
They all nod their head.
Me- I am not wearing any makeup today because I was helping my daughter who is sick.
Boy 1- yea teacher, yesterday you didn't have all of those lines on your forehead!

Later in the group when I was helping a student one on one -

Boy 2- teacher can you put some glasses on or something because you are starting to creep me out.

Another girl asked one of the aides "What is wrong with Mrs. Henrie she really doesn't look good today?"

Five year olds have the best comments! They say exactly what is on their mind. I laughed and laughed about it all day.
It doesn't bother me because I don't mind if I am wearing make up or not and it makes all of their comments about how much they like school and like my like my class more real.

Someday I'm going to write a book with all of their funny comments!

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

The quilting continues on the Color Palette Challenge quilt. It should have a name but nothing has come to mind.
Sorry, but there are no new pictures but I want to have the whole thing finished before I show you. Just so you know my seam ripper and I have become good friends again! When it is finished it will be worth it!
Check out Judy's blog for other Design Walls.

So Far, So Good

2012-01-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have just started quilting my color pallete challenge quilt. While I am not a professional I am extremely happy with the results I have so far!
Once I got past the indivudual stitches and looked at the whole pattern I think I can live with it. Check it out above! I know it is not the whole quilt, that will have to be a surprise when it is complete.
Have a great day!

Cute pin cushion

2012-01-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

I have the opportunity to work with a lot of amazing people at my school. They are the reason I am able to function. Most of them are crafty people so it makes it even better because we can talk about all of the fun stuff we are making when we are not at school. I received the cutest Christmas present from one of these ladies, this cute pin cushion!

She found the tutorial on diydish.com. When I opened it I immediately thought of designing my sewing room around this item. Can't you see it, white and lavender paint, some funky accent color. Well it will be awhile before I get a sewing room so I will just have to keep dreaming!

Design Center Monday

2012-01-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! I have to admit I was not as productive as I wanted to be this weekend. With sick kids and the opportunity to be lazy I soaked up every minute I could. However, I did get a little sewing accomplished.
Here is my progress on the January Color Palette Challenge. I decided to go with a border of flying geesse, but now I am stuck! I have three options and I am not sure which one I like the best.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

I like each of them for different reasons. I need some help!! Please leave me a comment of your preference. It doesn't matter if you are a quilter or not, everyone has an opinion. Hopefully I can come to a decision soon and get this project finished!!
Head over to Judy's blog to see what everyone else has on their design walls.

Have a great day!

Just a Reminder

2012-01-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to remind everyone that Erin will be taking down her BOM, My Tweets, at the end of January. If you are thinking of making this gorgeous quilt hurry and download the blocks. You can order the center block from her etsy shop. It is only $10, such a deal when you consider she has given us all of the other blocks for free! Check out her site One Piece at a Time, and get appliqueing! You just might find it really addictive.

Another UFO!

2012-01-11T21:09:00.001-08:00

Alright, I can't take credit for this one. This quilt belongs to my mother. It is a minkee strip quilt, they have been really popular around here lately. Six inch strips on the top, gray minkee on the back with a batting in between makes for a very heavy quilt.

My mom says she has been inspired by the ufo challenge so she is going to try to finish a project every month. She didn't want to officially commit but will join along when she can.

Way to go! This is the year of finishing projects.

Design Wall

2012-01-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

I made a little more progress on the color palette challenge. I am falling in love with this applique piece! I love the way the colors are coming together and the different shapes. I am not sure what will go in the middle, maybe some kind of white flower? I will probably try a few options and pick my favorite. The white flowers on the outside are supposed to have three little circles coming out of the center but I'm not convinced I will add them in. I can't wait to see all of the other design wall links at Judy's blog. If you want to check them out click on the Patchwork Times button at the top! It will be posted Monday morning.

Let Me Clarify!

2012-01-07T15:56:00.001-08:00

After reading my last post I wanted to make it perfectly clear I have nothing against Chinese restaurants! I hope my comments will not be taken as disrespectful.
I designed the center block without previewing the colors so I was a little surprised with the results. The more I look at it the more I like it. I guess things look different in my mind than they do in reality (my husband would agree with this point)!

Color Progress!

2012-01-07T11:41:00.001-08:00

I have started working on my project for the Color Palette Challenge. I decided to do a mix of applique and piecing. Here is what I have for the center so far. There are some stems that are naked right now, I'm not quite sure what I will use but it will most likely be the burgundy color.

I hope I like how it turns out, right now it kind of reminds me of a Chinese restaurant. That is not the look I was going for.

Have a good weekend!

1 UFO down - 11 more to go!

2012-01-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

It is January 3rd and my first UFO is officially finished! Alright, it was probably the easiest project, but it feels so good to check one off my list! Here it is . . . the embroidery envelope.

It looks kind of dirty in this picture but in reality it is a cream color. I sewed the outside together with one of the fancy stitches (the ones I never use) on my machine which made it easy to finish quickly. The inside holds scissors, needles, thread, thimbles or whatever I can tie on or fit in the pouch.

Since I have my UFO completed I can start on the Color Palette Challenge. I went to my local grocery store - wait I live in a small enough town we only have one grocery store (not a Walmart) and they sell fabric. Really how can it get any better, you go to the store to buy milk and pick up a few yards of fabric! Anyway, I went to the store and picked out a few pieces I thought would go along with the color palette. They kind of fit and it only cost $11 for 2 1/2 yards, if something else jumps out at me I will probably pick it up as well.

I will be adding black and white into the mix and we'll see what I come up with.

Projects and Goals for 2012

2012-01-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well if you haven't noticed check out the right side of my blog. There are three new buttons that show what I would like to accomplish (start?) in 2012. I feel like I am being overly ambitious and I hope it doesn't come back to bite me later. I already blogged about Judy's UFO challenge. I couldn't wait to see what project I would be working on first and it will be #5, the embroidery envelope!

I pulled it out last night and I think I can get it finished tonight, that is if I quit blogging about it and get to work.

I also want to participate in the Color Palette Challenge hosted by Judy at Patchwork Times and Vicki Welsh from Field Trips in Fiber. Each month Vicki will choose a color palette and we are supposed to design something with it. Here is the palette for this month, along with her inspiration. You can find her post here.

I am not planning on making something huge, because it needs to be finished by the end of the month and I want a lot of finished projects by the end of the year, not more UFO's. When I saw the inspiration I fell in love with it. I can't wait to start designing and make something amazing!!

The final challenge I would like to participate in is the Free Motion Quilting Challenge. I would love to learn how to machine quilt because I have a few tops that need to be finished and no cash to send them to a long arm quilter. I am looking forward to learning new tips and tricks that will help me become a better machine quilter. The January practice page is here. I am planning on using the Color Palette Challenge quilt to practice my technique!

In my mind I can get everything done! You know, after being a mom, wife, teacher, house cleaner, dance instructor, and all the other jobs I have, right? Well I figure it will either keep me sane or make me insane. Either way it will be quite a ride!

UFO Finished!!

2011-12-31T17:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!! I actually finished something today I just had to share it.
First item finished is a pin cushion that has been hiding in my stash for a couple of years. It is the size of a cupcake, because it is supposed to be a cupcake, and it turned out kind of cute. (Sorry the pics are kind of dark I am still trying to figure out how to take good pictures)

This is what I was really excited about. Machine Quilting!! I would love to own a long arm quilting machine, but that will not be happening in the near future because they are just too dang expensive! So I decided why not use what I have, my home sewing machine. Yesterday I decided to practice a little bit, I made a little quilt sandwich (about 6 square inches) and started sewing. This is what I came up with . . . (drum roll please)

a feather! Alright, I had to tell you what was just in case you couldn't tell. I know this is nothing to get really excited about but this gave me a little more confidence that with a lot more practice I could produce something that would pass as machine quilting.

Then I really got a wild hair and thought well if I could do something on a 6 inch square why not try a whole wall hanging. So, I made the sandwich (the top was already complete), started quilting last night, and it was awful! It felt as if I were wrestling with the whole quilt and it was winning. My stitches were uneven, so I put it away and went to bed. I gave it another try this morning and I actually finished the whole thing!! Once I decided this was a learning project it was easier to accept my mistakes. Here it is, a wonderful, finished (yea) Halloween wall hanging, along with a few close shots of the quilting.

I have to say novelty prints are not really my thing but I decided if it was just for Halloween it would be okay. In fact, the prints helped hide a lot of my beginner mistakes. I am not going to point them out because I should be happy with what I did right??

There is one thing that really bothers me and I need your help. It doesn't hang right.

Can you see it? Along the sides and bottom it kind of ripples. What causes this? I'm pretty sure the quilt was square before I started, I can live with it if it is only one quilt but I want to fix it for the next one.

Machine quilting is one my goals for the year, as well as finishing some UFO's. It should be a productive quilting year!

UFO Challenge

2011-12-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, or holiday season, whichever you prefer. Our little family had a great time and I will have more to share with you later. With all the Christmas decorations put away and my house feeling a little more normal I am excited to get 2012 started.

This year I am participating in the UFO challenge from Judy's blog. I don't know Judy, I just read her blog, but I love this idea about trying to finish up an old project every month. I am really good at starting projects but I get bored after awhile and start something new. Hopefully this will challenge me to get a few of my projects finished. I am supposed to number each project and each month Judy will randomly choose a number and we will try really, really hard to get the project finished within the month. A few of mine I am pretty sure will take a few months so I have assigned them two numbers.

Here they are in no particular order.

1. Viola's Jewelry Box

I designed this quilt top for the McCall's Design Star Challenge. It just needs to be quilted, I have the back and batting. I may try using my home machine to quilt it, but I'm not sure if I am that brave!

#2 & #3 My Tweets by Erin Russek

This block of the month has now ended and I am very far behind. Erin has the final quilt on her blog. I can't wait to get it finished. Take a look and imagine all the white parts in black, that is what mine will look like! This is a little bit of what I have so far.

#4 Pieceful Garden

I remember sharing a few parts of this quilt with you but I don't think I ever posted the finished top. I am not going to add a border because it is just the right size to hang in my entryway. It just needs to be quilted, again I'm think I will be brave and quilt it on my home machine. Ahh, Scary!!!

#5 Embroidery Envelope

This little envelope is made out of wool and will hold spools of thread, needles, and other notions for when I am sewing on the go. I completely forgot I had this until I was looking for UFOs. It shouldn't take too long!

#6 Christmas Wall Quilt

I started this cute quilt last Christmas but it never made it to the useable stage. All it needs is a border (which I already have) and then to be quilted. I am hoping it will be used next year!

#7 Christmas Countdown

This little advent calendar just needs to be machine stitched around the numbers, Santa ironed on and make each piece into a little tiny quilt.

#8 12 Days of Christmas

Wow, I sure do have a lot of Christmas projects!! I think it is because I get really excited about making stuff for Christmas and then I don't have as much time as I would like to work on them. This is a kit I bought for 1/2 price after Christmas one year. I would love to hang it on my wall next year. It is much cuter in real life.

#9 & #10 Twisted Log Cabin

I remember seeing this quilt on Simply Quilts by Alex Anderson many years ago. I loved it and when it was offered as a class I jumped right on it . . . in 2008!! It is completely paper pieced and you have to have a roadmap just to make sure everything will fit together in the end. Right now I have about 30/60 triangles finished. I would be happy if I just finished the top within two months.

road map

a few of the triangles I have so far

# 11 Dipped in Chocolate

This is a lap quilt that is pieced and in the process of being hand quilted. All the pieces are 3/4 inch finished. I think I am about 1/2 way through with the quilting.

#12 Toulousse

My final UFO is this quilt, Toulousse, which I think is a kind of duck? Really I'm not sure but I think a duck had something to do with it. Again, another Christmas themed quilt. This is ready to be quilted but I am thinking of adding another border or two so it will fit my king sized bed. I guess I will finalize when it is time to work on this one.

When I was finding all of my old projects it was kind of like reconnecting with an old friend. I am excited to get started and hopefully finish quite a few!!

One More Week

2011-12-11T08:42:00.001-08:00

I don't mean to wish my life away, but I am relieved this week is over. We had some activity every night and with it being as cold as it is I am grateful to spend some time at home this weekend.

Most of our activities were dance performances.

Big K had her first ballet performance it was so cute.

Big L had her first jazz performance. I think she is just growing up too fast. She really did have shoes we just forgot to put them on for the picture.

Between the big girl's performances, the ward party, the elementary singing program and another performance from Little A we had a very busy week. I was really excited when it was 6:30 on Friday because then I had the rest of the weekend to myself.

One of the best things about this weekend was my brother and sister in law came down for a visit. We had seen a cute ruffled tree skirt on Pinterest. If you don't know about Pinterest head over and check it out. It is an online pin board where you can save all the wonderful things you find on the internet.

The tree skirts we saw are pinned here and here. We just followed the tutorial on the first pin , but instead of using hot glue for everything we used a little bit of sewing, and it worked out great. I finished the edges, sewed the ruffles and my brother and her glued it on.

I'm sure they will probably kill me for posting this pic but I thought it was so sweet that my brother was down on the floor helping her get it finished. He earned some serious brownie points in my book!

This is how it ended up!

We cut the strips 3 inches, rolled the edges under and used a ruffling foot to do all the hard work. She bought 1 yard of each fabric and we didn't have enough of the black print. So if you are going to try this I would suggest getting 3 3/4 total yards.

I know it is going to look great under their tree. I hope she had a great time because I did!

Good luck to everyone who has Christmas projects they still need to finish, I know I am going to need it!

Busy, Busy!

2011-12-04T21:56:00.001-08:00

Life has been busy at our house! We have decorated two Christmas trees.

The living room tree, decorated in traditional green and red,

and the tree in our bedroom.

It is kind of hard to see but this tree is artificial with white flocking on it, and it is decorated with ice blue and silver ornaments. When I found this tree in the store I was quite excited because my family always had a flocked tree when I was little. I guess I have a fondness for them. While I was deciding if I wanted to spend the money a few people walked by and commented on how ugly flocked trees are. I felt a little defeated but now it is decorated it is just my style.

This week also marks the start of high school basketball season. Which means the girls will dance a few times a week at half time. This week it was Little A's turn. It was a big deal because this was her first performance ever!! She was over the top excited!

I have about 20 pictures of her because she just wanted me to take more and more. Of course she was adorable, and only the three year olds can look cute when they are just standing there or doing their own dance. I thought she did a really good job.

I am a little worried about her after the conversation she had with my mom this morning. My mom was not able to make the performance and when Little A talked to her on the phone she said "Grandma, thank you for coming to watch me dance." I really hope she wasn't trying to lay a guilt trip on her because we would be in big trouble as she grows up.

In the midst of this I did get a little sewing accomplished. I started with a layer cake and sewed a 2 1/2 inch strip around the outside.

Then I cut the block into fourths.

These blocks will be turned and sewed together in a pattern that looks much more complicated than it really is. Even though I have an even busier week coming up I am determined to have the top completed by next Sunday. Wish me luck!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

I know it is a day early, but I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I know I am grateful for many things, especially my family. They mean everything to me and my day gets better just by walking in the door.

If you have been following this blog you may have noticed it takes me a while to get certain projects finished. I wanted to share some fall pumpkins I have been thinking about for a few months now. They started out like this.

I used Mod Podge, and fall themed fabric cut into strips about 2 inches wide. You can see I didn't measure, just started cutting with scissors.

I painted Mod Podge on the pumpkins and then just stuck fabric to it.

I overlapped the pieces just a little bit.

When it was completely covered I added another layer of Mod Podge to the entire pumpkin and waited for it to dry.

For the second pumpkin I tried something a little bit different. I cut a circle out of burlap with a hole in the middle and put it over the top of the pumpkin.

I used Mod Podge again to adhere it to the pumpkin. The burlap wasn't sticking so I used a few pins to hold it until it dried. (Sorry about the picture I can't figure out how to rotate it, arghh!)

A little brown rick rack and a few bows on the top and they look like this! I think they are much cuter than the $4 plain pumpkins I bought at WalMart.

I am going to be on the lookout for discounted pumpkins just so I can make some more for next year.

I know it is kind of late for a tutorial for a fall project but I am happy to be able to cross something else off my list!

Finally Finished

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

YES! something accomplished!! I am so glad to have these two quilt tops finished. They are for a certain holiday that is coming up soon and I am just happy to have them this far along.

I decided to add a monogram to each quilt. These are made from the chenille strips also. I just pinned them to the quilt and sewed down the middle.

I think they turned out quite cute. And I know they will be well loved and appreciated.

I have one more top to piece and today I found the pattern I am going to use. I am never this far ahead with anything I do, but I'm sure there will be some binding going on right up to the end. Since this is a short work week I have big plans I hope will be accomplished. If you have a few minutes please hop over to Judy Laquidara's site, Patchwork Times and see who else has linked up to Design Wall Monday.

I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving Holiday!

*Edit* Check out Freshly Pieced for other WIP Wednesday Projects

Little Things

2011-11-20T16:34:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to share a great experience I had on Friday afternoon. I am extremely lucky to be called "teacher." It is a profession I enjoy and love. Yes, some times it is hard and emotionally draining. But somedays make up for all the others. I had a day like that on Friday. We were at our final recess, right before we went home when they reminded me of something I had forgotten long ago.

These Kindergarten students work very hard when we are in the classroom and when it time for recess they burst out of the doors and lap up every minute they get. It usually consists of tag, slides and running around screaming. This recess started out exactly like that. However, after a few minutes it quieted down and as I looked around to see if anything was wrong I noticed about half of the students had laid down on the sidewalk, were talking quietly and pointing to the clouds.

It was beautiful seeing them enjoy something together. As I walked towards them I thought it was so cute the way they were talking and agreeing with one another. I stood next to them and looked at the clouds and could kind of see what they were talking about. Then I decided to lay down next to them, and something magical happened. I was instantly transported back to the wonder of childhood. There was something about laying down and looking at those clouds, the same clouds I saw when I was standing up, but something had changed. Images jumped out at me and I found myself giggling at the same things they did. I could see the world through their eyes. In that moment I was grateful to be their student.

Something to Share

2011-11-19T09:28:00.001-08:00

Yesterday at the end of school just as I was getting ready to leave Robyn, the teacher across the hall, came in with a mission. She had this beautiful quilt to show me.

Robyn started this quilt a few years ago (not quite sure how many, time has become a relative term lately). It is a traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden, completely hand pieced, and hand quilted.

Isn't is beautiful! Robyn is one of the reasons I love to quilt, and especially applique. She does exquisite appliqué work and at the time I had no desire to even attemp it. She kept encouraging me to just try, and once I saw the pattern for Vintage Valentine I decided to give it a try. After one block I was hooked! This was a great way to start my weekend.

Almost Finished!

2011-11-16T21:31:00.001-08:00

I am getting closer to finishing these two quilt tops. It is hard to keep motivated! There are some days I come home from work and I don't want to do anything. For example, last night I did not accomplish anything productive. I have to do lists that need to be taken care of! Then I couldn't sleep because I was worrying about everything that I should have done but didn't.

Today was a much better day. Look below, I finished the borders on both quilts!

They are sure long and skinny! I really like how they look so far. I was able to pin the bias chenille fabric to one border. Hopefully I can sew it on tomorrow after I finish teaching dance. (Oh yea did you know I teach dance classes once a week?)

The upper right corner and the bottom left side kind of bug me so maybe I will have to change it before any sewing is accomplished. My design originally included a monogram on the bottom right corner, but I'm not sure if I will applique anything there. I guess that will have to be for another post.

Also, someone else was being creative at my house today. After the girls came home from school Big K decided she wanted a new outfit for one of her bears. She picked out a cute fat quarter from her stash and Big L cut it apart and made a wrap dress out of it.

I taught her how to sew on snaps to hold it closed in back. It wasn't much but they had a great time working together. As a mom it is always wonderful when they are having fun.

Whenever I get the camera out this little one always wants her picture taken and this is the pose we snapped tonight! Pretty cute if you ask me.

I hope everyone else's projects are going well and if you have any advice on how to stay motivated please leave a comment. I'm always looking for helpful hints.

Design Wall!

2011-11-14T17:03:00.001-08:00

I feel like I have fallen off the face of the earth. I can't believe I didn't blog anything for two months. Our life kept going, in fact a little more quickly than I was ready for. It seemed as if everything kept coming and coming and we were just trying to keep up. With Christmas coming up I know things are going to get even more busy.

I am excited to share what I have been working on! I am in the process of making two matching twin sized bed quilts. Here are my fabric choices.

The design is pretty simple, nine patches (shown here) and the plan is to have a green border, then a white border. Hopefully some fun, funky bright pink embellishment in the border. Do you love my design wall? I love hanging my projects on the banister. They don't get as wrinkled this way!

There is always a lot of dancing and dressing up as I sew and I get easily distracted because they are just so dang cute! (Please notice their fat quarters on the floor, I think they have as much as a stash as I do.)

One more thing I wanted to share with you. Recently we went to Disneyland with our cute little family as well as some extended family. We had a great time, I personally love Disneyland!

This girl does too.

It was this little one's first time at Disneyland, and she loved it for the most part.

Splash Mountain, Matterhorn and Tower of Terror she did not. I promise we are not bad parents, we tried and tried to get her to stay off Tower of Terror but she didn't want to stay behind. Even after we said it would be scary she was adamant about going with us. She was a little freaked out by the time she stepped on the ride. During the ride she was screaming louder than anyone else and I'm pretty sure she thought she was going to die. She made it through and even got some sour gummy worms for trying to be brave.

We took a side trip to the beach and even though my husband likes Disneyland he would much rather spend time at the beach.

Check back soon, I promise I won't be away for long!

I promise!

2011-11-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been two months since I posted anything. Like everyone else life has been moving forward at our house. Lately, two fast for me to catch up. I have some really cute projects I will be showing you soon. As well as a new look to the blog (hopefully). I am not that great with this stuff so it is taking me a little bit longer to get everything figured out! Check back soon.

Design Wall Monday

2011-09-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Design ~~wall~~, umm floor! Since I don't have a specific sewing room yet I have taken over the kitchen table and a design wall is nowhere in sight. The floor will have to do for now. I recently blogged about Erin Russek and her great blog here. I finally started on my version of "My Tweets." Here is what I have so far.

Block 8

Block 7

Please, don't mind the dog ears that are sticking out. I don't take care of those until I start sewing. I am just trying to get all the blocks put together and when I have to go in the car or a dance practice they just go along with me.

Last night I cut out blocks 6 & 9, decided what colors all the shapes should be, tucked them into the correct color and went to bed. When I came home at lunch it looked sort of like this.

Actually it looked much worse! My cute little three year old (who loves to play with fabric) had spread all the fabric pieces on the couch and along the way scattered the pieces I so carefully put together. How can you blame her though? Especially when she gives you a sweet little smile like this.

I guess it is a good thing she is so cute! Oh well, maybe tonight I will come up with a color combination I like even better.

Have a good night!

Friday Night Football

2011-09-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

We live in a small town and love it. One thing that is so much fun is attending local high school sports. We don't do it as much as we can/should but we went to the football game last weekend because our two big girls were dancing at half time.

They practiced with the drill team (high school dance team) all week for Friday's game. They were so excited, we even got a smile out of them by the bulldog. They look great don't they?

Well, the excitement was short lived because soon after the first picture they started complaining about how I tied their t-shirts.

This is how they looked while we were waiting for half time. They thought I was mean because I wouldn't let them untie them until after their dance. No smiles from them at all! Once they got out there they were great. There were over 80 dancers out there and they put on a great show! They were so much fun to watch. (Sorry no pictures it was too dark.)

As I sang the school song with the community I was really grateful to be a part of our little town. I grew up here and while I wasn't the most popular person I am appreciative of the memories and values I have from my childhood. I have felt included and I hope that will continue for my children. I know there are many great places to live but I love it here! If life ever takes me away from this little town I know I will miss it. Thanks to everyone who makes this community great, lets keep it that way.

My Favorite Things 2

2011-09-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

It is time for My Favorite Things again! This time I wanted to share my favorite scissors. I have had them for a while and I can't remember what brand they are or even where I bought them. I'm sure if you look around you will find some. They are little snippy scissors.

I love that I don't have to fit my fingers into any holes and they have curved blades so I can get really close to the fabric. This is extremely helpful when I am appliqueing and paper piecing. The chance of cutting fabric is very low.

I don't use them for everything but they are definitely one of my favorite tools. If you are looking for a new tool or a gift this is a great idea!!

Meet Erin!

2011-09-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

I would like you to meet Erin Russek, from One Piece at a Time! Maybe you have heard of her. She is an amazing quilter and quilt designer. Seriously, she has the most gorgeous applique designs! You can find her site here.

Erin blogs about her applique designs, great tips for quilters and she has awesome giveaways!

example of her own quilting! absolutely stunning

My Tweets Collection

Isn't this amazing! She has so much stuff you really need to check it out. You can tell how much she loves quilting and making others better quilters too!!

It is one of her quilts that I have been itching to start. It is called My Tweets and you can find all the blocks here. Erin is doing this quilt as a block of the month. Each month she posts a new block on her site, free for us to download. There is a center medallion that she sells in her etsy shop if you want to make the quilt just like her.

This is what it looks like so far.

I have been following her for a few months and gathering fabric just waiting until I can start. Here is what I have collected so far

I wanted to do something bright. Some of the fabrics don't look as bright in the picture but I think I have a nice variety to start with. The fat quarters came in my goody box from McCalls and most of the other came from Connecting Threads.

I wanted a really big contrast so I chose black for the background. I hope it won't be too much, I couldn't decide on a black with a pattern or just straight black. I ended up going with straight black. I can always change after I make one block. The blue swirly is for the sashing, at least that is the plan.

Please check out Erin's site, she is amazing. From her site you can see what other quilters are doing with her designs, and hopefully I can get started on this soon!

My Favorite Things 1

2011-09-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite quilting items. When I received my goody bag from McCalls I was given two gift certificates. I used my certificate to Stitchin' Heaven to buy this.

It is an applique thread kit, you can find it here. As you know I love to applique. I usually use silk thread but I only have a few colors so I usually applique everything in pink. I know, I should match my thread. That is why I bought this.

The thread is housed in a bobbin saver and the thread is by Superior Threads. I have used Superior Threads to machine piece but I have to tell you that I love this product. It fits in my applique box and I have every color I need. Plus it just looks so cool! I have enjoyed picking out just the right color and as a bonus my little A has learned many more colors because she loves to look at it too. There you go, it is great for applique and as a learning tool. The kit also came with some needles and Thread Heaven. If you have never used Thread Heaven you need to give it a try. Just run your thread through the waxy stuff and it will glide through fabric, knots are not as much of a problem. It is amazing.

This is such a great idea I don't know what I will do when I run out, probably just get another one.

Thanks Stitchin' Heaven for the gift certificate!

Progress on Pieceful Garden

2011-09-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Remember at the end of July when I showed you this.

Well I am still plugging away at it. I started with the flowers. They are finished except for the embroidered vines. They look pretty much the same as before except now they are appliqued down. I am really happy with how they turned out.

After the flowers were done I started on the leaves. This is where I started having a few headaches. The leaves are paper pieced, which was not hard.

I pieced each side separately, cut them down and then joined them together with a skinny stem. Then the headaches started. The instructions said to piece each leaf into the block with curved seams. I hate curved seams! I guess I just haven't pieced them enough to feel comfortable with it yet. So I decided to bag the curved seams and just applique them on top. Oh, that was easier said than done. I usually starch the seam allowance down, glue it on and then sew. Well I was afraid the bulkiness of paper piecing wouldn't iron down. So I drew the seam allowance line on top and then used the needle turn applique method. It worked, but it took forever. It was hard to get a nice curve where there was a lot of fabric to turn under. Finally it came together to look like this.

The flowers were added after the leaves and I still may change the centers to a dark green color. Not sure yet. I was really hoping to have it completed this weekend and I might since I don't have to go to work today.

I laid a few pieces out to see what they would look like together.

I think I will really like it. I'm worried the background fabrics contrast a little too much. Hopefully it will look alright when it is finished. I'm glad it will be done soon. I have so many other quilts I want to start on, but I told myself I wasn't going to start any new ones until I had one finished.

First Day of School

2011-09-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

We have been in school for a few weeks (reason for my absence) and things are going great! Getting back to work reminds me how much I love my job. The kids are so much fun and I could start another blog just with all the funny things they say! That will have to come later, my plate is full!

My girls had their outfits picked out for days before school started and we had many discussions about how their hair would look. And then the picture turned out blurry.

K & L on their first day at school

They had a great first day and looked really cute. They love their teachers and lunch (thanks lunch ladies!) Good luck to everyone else that is starting school, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Cute New Things

2011-08-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well my oldest daughter celebrated her 10th birthday last week. Holy cow, I have a 10 year old! It makes me feel kind of old because I remember turning 10 and thinking I was really big! Ha, what did I know. I thought about making her a quilt but with only a week to the big day I knew I wouldn't get that accomplished. So I made a few things for her bed. She has this big body pillow that sits on her bed, she loves it but it is ugly!

So I quickly made a pillowcase out of broadcloth and decorated it with circles out of some funky fabric. I think in was Terrain by Kate Spain. It turned out really cute. At least cuter than the before picture.

I just cut out circles and then sewed through each one. Really easy! Hopefully it will hold up.

I also found this really cute pattern/kit by Sue Spargo at the Cornwagon Quilt Shop in Springville. It just looked like my daughter so I made it for her birthday too.

It turned out adorable! When she opened it her little sister looked at me and said, "mom I want an owl pillow for my birthday too!

This project is a mix of cotton and wool. I have never made anything with wool before and it was really fun. If you look close you can see where I messed up. I forgot to reverse the branch pattern so it ended up facing the wrong way. Oh well, it turned out well and she loves it. Maybe she will get a quilt at another time!

Last Minute Summer Activity

2011-08-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our family needed to get out of the house. We traveled a bit to Cove Fort. Cove Fort is a little fort built when Utah was first being settled. They actually have a celebration called "Cove Fort Days." It was great, free hot dogs, chips and drinks and lots to learn and discover. There were lots of booths set up where we could walk around and learn about doctors in the 1800's, food, and life in general.

They had a chicken tied up at one of the booths. The big girls thought it was very cute.

Little A had fun trying to make the wooden man jump.

Big L tried weaving a rug. I remember my grandmother had a loom just like this one only a little bigger. When she passed away my uncle inherited the loom and made rugs for many of the grandkids. It is the best rug in my house.

We went on a wagon ride, which was awesome!

The sweet lady that was sitting by my girls thought K was going to fall out so halfway through the ride she held onto her shirt, just in case!

We also played "pioneer" games like "fling the wire ring with two sticks," and "try to keep a heavy iron ring rolling with one big stick." Yup, those are the official names in my book. I'm sure the correct names are much cooler than mine.

We even tried to walk on stilts. My kids really want a set now!

We had a great time and my kids were grateful to get out of the house! See you soon, I promise not to be away for as long.

Soapbox Message

2011-08-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted anything, I guess life just gets away from me. We have been busy getting ready for school to start (next week ahh!) Since I have been bact at work this was pushed to the back burner for a bit.

I am happy to say that I am ready for school to start. I know there are people out there that say being a teacher would be such an easy job because you only have to work 9 months out of the year. In theory that is true, but many of us go into work during the summer (no pay, go to training (sometimes with no pay) and spend money we will not get reimbursed for. I know many of my colleagues find summer jobs just to make ends meet.

But I have to say I have the best job in the world! What other job can you have where you are greeted by 20 kids that absolutely love you for just being you? It doesn't matter that I can't draw a turkey because when I tell them it is a turkey they think it is the best. I can have the worst hair day and someone will whisper to me "teacher, you look pretty today." Where else can I touch so many lives and help so many children as in a school. I know there are many people out there who don't believe teaching in an honorable profession. To those people please think back to your younger years and try to remember someone that touched your life, most likely you will find at least one teacher. If any of you know a teacher, please take a few seconds and thank them. We don't hear it enough. All right, I will step off my soapbox now, thanks for listening! (And I really love my job!)

2011-08-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hello! Yes I am still here in case you were wondering. I have been enjoying my last few days of summer vacation and starting to think about getting back to work. I have been hard at work on "Pieceful Garden" for the past week. The paper piecing portion was about halfway finished when a few of my fingers swelled to the size of sausages. I don't know why I just woke up one morning and couldn't make a fist, let alone sew very well. My fabric just sat in piles on my kitchen table for a few days. I'm almost back to normal and I can even hold a needle now, wahoo!! I wanted to show you the applique portion I have ready and I have a tutorial on how I made the 1/8" bias stems. I remember seeing this on a blog somewhere a long time ago and I can't remember where. If this is your method please let me know so I can give you credit.

I started with a strip of bias fabric 1/2" wide.

I ran each piece through my 1/4" Clover Bias Tape Maker. This is an awesome tool! You just thread the fabric through one end and iron it as it come out the other, perfect stems with each raw edge turned into the middle! (I starch the entire piece of fabric before I start.)

Here is what it looked like when I had all the stems made.
I almost didn't post this picture because then you would know how gross my ironing board is. I should really get a new one.

Next I take it to the couch! Yea I do a lot of my applique stuff sitting down, you might say I'm lazy but I say I'm resourceful! Using my mini iron I ironed the 1/4" stems in half again.

Tada!! 1/8" stems.

When I glued everything onto the block it was really hard to get the stems to lay flat so I glued one side down figuring I would be able to sew the other side down when I actually did the hand work. You can see in this picture the stem on the left has been sewn on and the others are just glued.

This is what the whole block looks like. I'm so glad I decided to go with the super skinny stems and it wasn't much more work that what I had to do anyway. This block is ready for the hand work, don't worry the little dog ears on the ends of the leaves and petals will go away when I get around to sewing them on

This was my first attempt at skinny stems if you have any suggestions please let me know! I'm always looking for new ideas.
Have a great day!

I shouldn't tell you this

2011-07-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! I kind of don't want to tell you this because then you might get all the good stuff before me. Recently I found this site that has an amazing deal everyday called Pick Your Plum. They only have one item Mon - Fri and when they are gone they are gone! It is usually some crafty item but the prices can't be beat. Go on and check it out, and get some great stuff "before your neighbor does!"

Great stuff!

2011-07-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday morning feeling absolutely awful! After a visit to the doctor I can tell you I have strep throat. I have only had it one other time that I can remember and strep is worse than just about anything. Laying on the couch, eating popsicles is what I accomplished all day. My children ate as many popsicles as I did because you can't eat a popsicle around a 2 year old without giving them one, and if one child has one then the others have to have one too! While I was camped out on the couch there was a knock on the door and when I opened it there was a sweet package from the people at McCall's. I couldn't wait to see what they sent the 20 finalists from the Design Star Challenge. Here is what arrived!

It is kind of hard to tell just how much stuff was in the box. Lots of fabric, thread, scissors, batting, rotary cutter, a few gift certificates and a few other items. It really made my day. Even though I felt horrible it was a little better after dreaming of what I could make with all of my new stuff!

I couldn't have a better helper to search through everything. After showing my kids what had arrived my oldest asked if they could pick something from the stash, she already has a fabric obsession.
Thanks for stopping by!

New Projects!

2011-07-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well the Design Star Contestants received the news if we would be moving on to the next challenge and sadly I am not (tear.) I would like to thank everyone that put in a vote for me. I have the best friends and supporters, thanks!! I had a great time designing quilts and I wouldn't change one thing about them. I know I will continue to design and vote for the next challenge. Good luck to the quilters who are in challenge 2!
Now that I am not required to make anything in particular I wanted to show what I started working on a few days ago.

This is Pieceful Garden by Mary Sorensen and Jan Wildman. I have had this for a few years and it has been collecting dust in a dark cupboard. I am really excited to start/finish it. Keep checking back to see the progress.

First Attempts

2011-07-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well there are only a few more days to vote for the Design Star Challenge 1. Please vote! I would be honored if I received your vote, but I know there are many beautiful quilts to choose from.
Today I thought I would share my first attempts at paper piecing and applique.

First is my wall hanging named "Sleeping Beauty." It measures about 48 x 48, it is made from various shirtings and civil war fabrics. I have to say that I love paper piecing! Once I had a little practice it was really fun. This hangs in my entryway, finished! Sorry, I couldn't find the pattern to let you know who designed it.

This quilt is named "Vintage Valentine " by Verna Mosquera. I have always admired my friend Robyn that does exquisite applique work. She tried and tried to get me to start on an applique project. Finally I gave in and started with this quilt. I know, this was not a beginner project! But I thought I should start with a pattern I loved. I tried different kinds of applique and finally decided I liked the freezer paper/starch/glue baste method (tutorial coming soon).

I started this when I was pregnant and finished when my daughter turned 6! I don't know why it took me so long, probably because I like to start projects more than I like finishing them. Each block has between 40-60 pieces and the center medallion has over 100. It is not quilted yet because I'm not sure how to quilt it. Any suggestions?

One of the reasons I love quilting is because there is always something new to learn, and something beautiful to create!

Meet Viola

2011-07-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

My latest quilt design is named "Viola's Jewelry Box" in honor of my Grandma Viola.

Grandma Viola with Great Grandson

In case you haven't read the info on my McCall's page here is a quick recap. Grandma loved jewelry. When I was little I would love to look through her jewelry box. I can't remember a time when she didn't have on a piece of turquoise and red jewelry. After she passed away I received a little turquoise and red ring. The color combination of my quilt reminds me of her and all of the beautiful things she loved.

When I was younger I didn't know she was a quilter. I just remember her crocheting and making all sorts of crafts. (She made cats out of yarn that my kids still play with!) After she passed away my mom gave me this quilt top she made.

It is definitely dated but I love it just the same. Some day I will hand quilt it, I don't think machine quilting would be the right choice.

I love the fabrics she used for the dresses, they are the only prints used in the whole quilt. Grandma embroidered all the black details.

That is the story behind "Viola's Jewelry Box." Remember there are only 4 more days to vote! I know there are a lot of beautiful quilts to choose from, but I appreciate any votes and comments that come my way!!

Tools

2011-07-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to share with you some great tools that come from Westenskow & Sons. My dad turns all of these by hand on a wood lathe using a variety of different hardwoods. The tools are great for everyday use or they look great just sitting by your sewing machine.

First is our Seam Presser. This handy tool allows you to press seams while sitting at your sewing machine. You just have to open the seam and roll it across. It doesn't stretch the fabric and it will lay flat until you really "want" to go to the ironing board.

Next is our stiletto, or awl. This little tool helps guide fabric underneath the presser foot. Instead of pinning your points together you can hold them together with the stiletto and release as soon as it hits the needle.

This is my favorite tool, probably because it is the one I use the most. I hate to admit that I have to use a seam ripper, and it happens often!! The tips are replaceable, so in case you use it enough that it becomes dull (I'm sure none of you use a seam ripper that much) we can fix it.

Each tool is about 7 inches long, and the seam ripper & stiletto have a flat side so they will not roll off the table. They come in 7 styles with 15 different hardwoods.

If you have any questions send me an email!!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July! Being the granddaughter of a WWII soldier I am extremely proud of my heritage and I appreciate all of the sacrifices every soldier has made for us. A BIG thank you to all of our vets and the troops currently serving!

Our little town celebrated over the weekend so we are relaxing today. I just wanted to show you the cute shirts I made for the girls. They were super easy! I was thinking of making a tutorial for them but it was really late at night and I just wanted to get them finished. They were make out of jumbo rick rack and cute little Kanzashi flowers.

Happy 4th of July!!

Really Long Post!

2011-06-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well I have been absent for a little bit, but I have a good reason! So this will probably be the longest post ever.
Okay, first Design Star Challenge 1 is in the voting stage. If you haven't checked it out yet head on over, you can click on the link on the right or follow it here.

It was a lot of fun to make this quilt. I started by designing different versions on EQ7, then for some reason it became really stressful. I started to worry about what everyone else was making and if mine would even be comparable to the other finalists.
Anyway, I finally decided that the only person I needed to please was myself. Once that was out of the way the rest was a blast. It was so much fun when everything was coming together. I would get a little rush of adrenaline when I added the next step. Don't act like you don't know what I mean, I'm sure you get a little excited as well!!! I am glad it is finished and I'm in love with it. So please vote!!!

After all of that sewing we decided to get away. Actually we were invited to go camping with my brother and his wife. It was their one year anniversary and they wanted all of us to go with them. How sweet! They are the best and it was really fun for our whole family to be together.
We went to Calf Creek in southern Utah. It is amazing country if you have never been there. The first day we hiked to some slot canyons while my mom watched all the little kids. Thanks mom!! We hiked in Peek a Boo and Spooky. It was breathtaking. I really can't remember which canyon each picture was taken in, I won't even try to label them correctly.

My husband and I at the mouth of one canyon. We had a few pictures taken and my eyes were closed in both of them, darn it!

My husband and father in one of the wider parts.

The internet warned if you were more than 42 inches around you would not fit through the canyon. They were right!! Throughout most of the hike we had to walk sideways holding our backpacks so we would fit through. At one point we had to slide down some slick rock to get to the canyon floor. The only problem was it was a pretty big drop. We slid down as far as we could go then my husband lowered us down by our arms as far as he could and then he dropped us, and my brother caught us. It was great!

The rock formations were beautiful. Everyone kept commenting on how much they loved being there and experiencing something so wonderful.

One more picture of the inside of a slot canyon.

As we walked through Spooky Canyon we noticed these interesting clumps on the side of the canyon walls. When we looked a little closer we discovered they were nests of Daddy Long Leg Spiders. EEEWWW! There were 50 - 100 in each nest and they were only a few inches away from our faces. I hurried through that part quickly!

Yucky spiders!

The next day our whole family hiked to Lower Calf Creek Falls. It is a three mile hike in and then the same 3 mile hike back out. Our kids were so great, they didn't whine at all, even though it was really hot and sandy. I think they kind of enjoyed it!
The water fall was amazing. It is 120 feet and it has beautiful canyon walls that surround it. However the water is freezing!! It really is ice cold, I only went in far enough for our family picture to be taken and that was enough for me. My husband swam underneath the falls and then back and that was enough for him. He is such a show off!

I think we have had enough adventures for a while. Check back to see what I am working on now that Challenge 1 is almost through.

Late Nights

2011-06-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well the Challenge 1 deadline is coming up really soon and I have spent many late nights just staring at my quilt. I hate it when I have so many things going on in my head and I can't decide on one. When I do decide on something then more options pop into my mind. ARRGH! Deep breaths, deep breaths.
I'm sure I will figure something out that I like. Isn't that what it is all about, just making something beautiful that I am happy with? Good luck to all of the other finalists. You can check out their wonderful stories at McCalls.

A Quilt!

2011-06-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well I realized that I have a lot of info about me but not a lot of pictures of what I can do. Here is a quilt I made a few years ago. I have always loved apple core quilts but I didn't want to make one because of those horrible curved seams. Curved seams and I have not had a good relationship! I decided to tackle one with the help of a presser foot that allows you to sew curves without pinning. Sorry, I don't remember the name or where I purchased the presser foot.
I started by cutting out fabric that I had bought on clearance (gotta love those fabric deals). With the template I was able to cut out three layers at a time.

Westenskow & Sons template

Then I just laid the pieces out on the floor until I was happy with the design. It is a great quilt to cuddle under, just right when I watch tv. I did not pin one seam on this whole quilt!

It is one of my favorite lap quilts and I may make another!

Birthday Present

2011-06-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

As I told you earlier it was my mom's birthday this week. I wanted to get her something that different that she would actually use. I found this really cute thread holder by Grey Luster Girl, you can find her great tutorial here. Anyway, my husband made it for me because he is very handy and I am not! Here is what it started out like.

We painted it white and I added a few new spools of thread.

One more great thing is that he made me one too! I know, I am spoiled. Hopefully now both of us can keep track of what colors of thread we have and even be able to find where they are.

Panguitch Quilt Walk

2011-06-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our family went to the Panguitch Quilt Walk. Usually my husband and I go as vendors but this year my parents wanted to run the booth. It was my mom's birthday so we surprised her with a quick visit. Westenskow and Sons has been at this show for the past 10 years. We are always in the same spot, everyone knows where to find us!

Here is our booth, if you ever see us around stop by and say hi!

Ray & Patty Westenskow, Little K, me & Little A

Panguitch is a little town that has a lot of history, if it wasn't for quilts the first settlement might have starved. As the story goes the first winter of the settlement the pioneers were running out of food. Seven men took on the task of going to Parowan, which was on the other side of the mountain. If you haven't seen mountains in Utah they are big, rugged and difficult to cross even in the best conditions. As they started up the mountain they couldn't travel very fast because they would sink into the soft snow. As they knelt in prayer on a quilt the men realized they could walk on the quilts without sinking. They lined the quilts up and across the mountain they went. The retrieved supplies from the settlers in Parowan and they went back across the mountain the same way. The Quilt Walk Festival celebrates their heroism every year. You can find the official story here.

Statue by Stanley Q. Johnson in Quilt Walk Park

These two quilts that depict the story are the first quilts you see as you walk into the show.

Quilt Walk by Sheree Walstad

The Quilt Walker by Claudia Crump

It isn't just a few people in town that put this festival together. It involves the whole town. There are quilts like the one below that decorate the main street.

The store fronts have quilts incorporated into their windows. The Social Hall, which even hosts a dinner theatre about the event, hang quilts for the whole week. It gives the town a very cozy feel.

We have been there for so many years that if feels like a second home. The people are friendly and as most of you know if you meet a quilter you have just met a new friend.

Wow!

2011-06-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well I just checked the McCall's Quilt Design Star site and I feel incredibly fortunate to be included with all of these wonderful quilters. I have already spent too much time reading through all of their information, and looking at their wonderful quilts. I hope you will pop over there and see what everyone has been up to.
As a side note, I finished the center of my latest design star quilt. I love it!! To bad I can't show it to you for a few more weeks. Until then I will just have to admire it all by myself.

One More Project Finished

2011-06-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my oldest daughter wanted to sew a quilt. So we started, and like almost every other quilt project in our house it was put aside for awhile. She really wanted to finish it at the beginning of the summer, and we finished it this week!!

This is my mom, "L", and I putting it on frames. I am so lucky to live close to my mom because I am not confident enough to do this by myself. My poor mother has to come to my rescue at least once a week!

"A" was close by to help throughout the process. Her favorite part was pushing the thumb tacks down, and holding onto any piece of fabric.

Of course "K" was our constant cheerleader, she even threw a few disco moves in her routine!

It was really great to spend some time with "L" while we were tying the quilt. "L" is such a natural and she didn't want to go to bed because she was having such a good time. We put minky fabric on the back and she can't wait to use it everyday.

The only hard part will be trying to get it away from the other two!

I feel so honored to be able to pass on my love of fabric and quilting to my children. It keeps me connected to my past while looking forward to the future with my three little ones.

Kites

2011-06-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finalized my quilt design for the Design Star Challenge! At least I think I have, it may change again. I can't show you any pictures yet, just be patient. But as I was sewing last night I was getting a little bit excited to see it coming together and I realized that I love kites. Not the kites you fly in the sky, but the ones that appear at the back of your sewing machine as you chain piece. There is nothing more inspiring than to take a big jumble of chain sewn pieces cutting them apart, pressing them and getting a visual of what my design is going to look like! I know, I'm kind of a nerd but I'm sure someone out there feels the same way! Happy Sewing!

Snow in May?

2011-06-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well my husband and I just got back from a wonderful three day trip with about 250 youth from our valley. We went to Aspen Grove in Provo Canyon and had a fantastic time. Here is what it looked like on the first day.

Yea! It snowed on the 30th of May. The snow would pile up on our jackets almost as fast as we could brush it off. Luckily it only lasted about an hour and the rest of the trip was delightful.

The canyon was quite beautiful after the clouds disappeared.
It is good to be home and now it is time to get to work. I have a quilt to design and sew!!

Design Floor!

2011-05-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Westenskow & Sons has been in business for over 10 years. Today I wanted to show you our Coke Glass Template. This is my dad's latest design. My dad makes all of his own templates and attaches a wooden handle to each one so they can be picked up easily. He really thinks of everything!

Coke Glass Template.

This is the project my mom is working on. She knows how to sew the curves without any pinning or a special sewing machine foot. I'm hoping she will make a video demonstrating her technique soon.

This is a cute and easy project, check back later for the finished quilt!

Quilt Market

2011-05-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

In May I was able to attend Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. I have heard people say that it is AMAZING, and were were not disappointed. We did not set up a booth because we didn't find out about it until it was too late. Oh well . . . that just meant I was able to enjoy it without any of the work. My husband went with me, since we both work for Westenskow's (which is my father's business). We spent three hours just walking up and down, and up and down each isle. He is such a trooper! He let me set the pace and stopped whenever I wanted to - a complaint never crossed his lips. There were so many gorgeous patterns and all the new fabric lines were to die for!!
They also had a few quilts on display, which were sensational. My favorite was "Montana Tigers" by Karlyn Bue Lohrenz.

When we were finished we were able to catch a Utah Blaze game (arena football). It was actually really fun when I could pay attention to it. My mind kept wandering back to all of the wonderful things I had seen earlier.

On our way back to our hotel we got lost in an industrial area. We discovered two things while we were lost. One, there are bunny rabbits living in South Salt Lake, and two, they run really fast!! It was a great trip, but my feet were ready for a break by Sunday.

It's Official

2011-05-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Last month I entered McCall's Design Star contest. I never thought I would be selected as a finalist, but I was! I don't enter contests and when I do I never win. Now I get to make another quilt! They have given all 20 finalists a challenge. I can't tell you what it is, but I am excited to start creating! What a great way to start off summer vacation! Well, I'm off to my sewing machine!

Exciting Day!

2011-05-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided to jump into the blogging pool. I have been thinking about it for a few months now, but now is the time! I have hesitated because I don't think my life is that exciting, I go to work, come home, take care of my family, and when I have time I quilt!! I love it!
This blog will be more about my quilting life. I know there are a lot of talented quilters out there, and I am inspired by so many. Hopefully I can inspire someone else, or at least they can find something in common with me. Stop by and see what I have been up to!