Virtual Christmas Party

SewCalGal is hosting a virtual Christmas Party on her blog today.  Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

I have been quilting for about 12 years.  I am 43, work full time at a business my husband John and I own.  We have to great kids... our daughter .Jordan is 20 and is a sophomore at Iowa State University.  Our son, Austin is a junior in high school.
My favorite hobby is quilting!  I try to find as much time as I can to enjoy my hobby but there are days when I am just to tired to sit at the sewing machine and quilt something.

I have been taking a lot of online classes at Craftsy.com and love it.  I was really interested in the Machine Embroidery Quilt class by Eileen Roche and showed my hubby.  John said why don't you make that quilt, it looks cool and fun to do.  I don't have an embroidery unit on my Bernina so it won't work.  Well he really took my be surprise and is getting my a new sewing machine for Christmas.  We did a little shopping and decided on the Bernina 830.  I am very excited to get my new machine.  It should be here next week.  I truly have a great husband and I am very blessed that he enjoys watching me quilt and seeing what I create.  Our home has quilts every where but he doesn't mind.

Our Christmas tradition in our house is the 12 days of Christmas.  On the last 12 days before Christmas "Santa" brings a little something every morning in the kids stockings.  My mother had started this tradition when we were kids.  When I had my own family I continued the tradition in my home.  My mom stopped when we were older about 10 or 12 but my kids won't let me!  Even at age 20, my daughter gets the biggest kick out it.  It is usually something very small, lick chap stick or pencils but that is the first thing they do every morning beginning Dec. 13th.  Jordan gets home from college on the evening of the 12th so she has already stated she is home just in time for the 12 Days.  God love 'em!

Wishing all a Merry Christmas!
Shelly

How to cook the Perfect Steak

How to cook the Perfect Steak

John and I have a very large corporate gift box to do this year at work so instead of quilting today John and I practiced how to cook a steak on the stove and finish in the oven.  We want to give the customer a recipe to try with the steaks in the gift box that is not just throwing the steak on the grill.

October Quilt Diva

Each month our quilt guild has a traveling diva that goes out to someone in the guild. I was chosen this month. She is awesome and I am taking her to work tomorrow to show her off in my meat retail store. I think the customers will enjoy meeting Diva.

Big Shoofly Quilt

I just finished binding my big shoofly quilt. I love how this quilt turned out.

Quilt Retreat Today

I am off to Cherokee today.  Our quilt guild is hosting a quilt retreat today and tomorrow.  It is great to all get together sew and eat!  I will post pictures of the projects that I complete as I go along.  Stay tuned....

It's a Sickness!

Thanks SewCalGal!

Thanks so SewCalGal for letting us quilters use her images she created. I grabbed this one and love it.

Twister wall hanging

I just finished the binding on this small wall hanging using the twister template. This makes this block so easy! Better yet is that I used a cheater panel for the twister blocks. I found a cheater that was just squares on the fabric. All I had to do was add a border and cut using the template and sew the rows back together. I tried my hand at free motion quilting. I quilted pebbles int e negative space around the twister panel. I think I am going to take this to a framing shop and have it framed under glass to use as wall art.

Happy 4th of July!

I have my 12" BOM done for July. It turned out so cute. We used paint sticks for the stars on the flag. Works so good and there is no small pieces to appliqué that way.
My sewing buddy Vickie is coming over today and we are both going to be starting new projects. I have mine all cut and ready to sew, sew, sew.

Saturday Sewing At Vickie's

Yesterday after work I loaded up that heavy sewing machine and a few projects that I want to get done and headed to a full afternoon of sewing with good buds Vickie and Jamie.  When I arrived I began getting my projects out and the other 2 gals said "Hold On...we are starved for lunch so lets eat!"  We had a great beef stroganoff made by Vickie.  Okay now to get out my first project.

Last weekend I went to visit my daughter at college and I talked her into stopping at a couple of quilt shops.  I found this great bag pattern and bought the 4 fat quarters that I thought would make a great bag for me.  Grabbed a zipper to coordinate.  The pattern was so easy to follow!  It did say that the bag takes about 3 hours to make but I guess the pattern designer hasn't sewn with Vickie or Jamie.  We laugh too much and yak it up.  We usually have a movie going on the TV, so we can get distracted and watch the TV and pause the sewing just a bit!   Anyway, I started the bag around 1:30 and I got done with it at 8:45 that night.  3 hours?  I think that gal was crazy!  7 hours later, 2 twilight movies, brats for supper, a chocolate milkshake run to the dairy queen and the movie Brulesque...I completed my new purse!  It turned out so stinking cute!

I also purchased a pattern to make to make a key fob that holds lipstick, chap stick or something like that.  I made one to match my bag and that took until 10:30.  I left Vickie's about 11.  What a night!  I love it when I start and finish a project all in one day.  I was grinning from ear to ear about my new purse.  I really don't like to put in zippers but it gets easier every time I do so.

No sewing for me today...I have a wedding shower this afternoon for my niece Rachel.  My mom and I are going to travel to Avoca, Iowa today for that.  It is about a hour and a half drive and the shower starts a 2.  Really cramps my sewing style!  Good thing I got done with all I did yesterday.

This week I have been working on my "Jelly Bean" quilt kit that I got about 3 years ago.  I have all the pieces made and the top laid out.  I just have to stare it a while and move the blocks around until I am absolutely happy with it and then I will put it all together.  Below is the blocks laid out on my floor.  What do you think?

Getting some projects done!

2 weekends ago I went to Vickie's house.  Jamie, Vickie and I spent all afternoon and evening Saturday sewing and again all day on Sunday.  I got done the following projects.

Jamie had made some cute bags and was showing us them on Saturday.  When we arrived to sew on Sunday she whips out some oil cloth and zippers and says we are all going to make a bag.  I use mine for makeup and love it!

Saturday I finished up my May 12" block of the month that I get from Merries Stitches in Jesup, Iowa.  It turned out so cute...hopefully we will see some rain in May because we have been a bit dry here in Iowa.

Many Projects Started

I have about 3 projects started at the same time...maybe I should just finish one and then cross it off my list!  Good Grief!  I exhaust myself!  I have been working on a quilt using a jelly roll and didn't really know what I was going to do with it.  I purchased it so long ago that I don't really like the fabric that much any more.  As luck would have it, my nephew just announced the birth of his first child so I am going to make this his baby quilt.  Little Owen was born Saturday April 7th -- 8 lbs and 8 oz.  22 inches long.  What a treasure he turned out to be!  When I get it done - hopefully by Tuesday I will post a photo. 

I have a couple of tops all pieced and just waiting for me to quilt.  I have been quilting along with Leah Day and also Sew Cal Gal this year.  So my "quilting" time has been tied up.  Which is okay because I am learning a lot more about free motion quilting and I think when I do get time quilt the tops I will be better at it and like the quilts much more. 

Some friends and myself are going to Harlan, IA to a trunk show at a quilt shop next Thursday.  I am sure I will find something that I can not live without...It's a Sickness!

Iphone Case

I was just on shutterfly and was ordering some prints and saw they had iPhone cases that you can put your own photos on.  I went ahead and got one coming!  If I posted it on my blog then I also got a chance to get a $10 coupon on my next order.  Worth a shot!

Custom iPhone Case

Filmstrip Fun iPhone 4/4S 1 piece

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Easter Bunny 12" block DONE

The monthly 12" quilt that I get in the mail is done for April! This one is so cute I couldn't wait to share it on my blog.

February FMQ 2012 challenge

I did my feather! I need some more practice. I used by Bernina 630. I did use the stitch regulator (quilter training wheels). Leah Day recommends using iscord thread so I bought the variety pack off her website and gave it a whirl. I really liked it to do the pebbles also. I will need to get a few more colors because I generally like civil war reproductions and Kansas troubles fabrics and the color of thread I did get was more primary colors.

Paper Practicing

I have been practicing my feathers for the February FMQ challenge on paper today. Not real easy! I do have both of Diane's books so I think I will get them out tonight and do a little reading. Tomorrow some of my friends and I are going to go to a couple of quilt shops that are having sales.

A look into my sewing room...

I had posted on my first blog about my friend and I adding up our projects and challenging each other to get to work on those old projects.  I had counted 99 before I left for Houston in 2011.  Well you know you can't go all the way to Houston on a bus trip from Iowa and not buy anything!
I purchased 10 new projects while I was down there making my total 109 projects!  I am excited to say that I listed all my projects on the left side of blog and numbered them.  I now have 95 unfinished projects!  I finished a lot of projects in November, December and January and I am so proud of myself!  I am in a 12" block of the month program again this year and my next block is supposed to come in the mail tomorrow.  So...I will be back to 96 when that arrives.  Since I started the FMQ Challenge I haven't been working on my projects like I should...I have been practicing my FMQing.  Oh shoot, I just remembered that I am making a quilt as you go quilt from taking the 2012 FMQ Challenge so I guess that makes my number go up one more!
Like I said...It's a sickness!

January 2012 FMQ Challenge Entry

This is my entry in the 2012 Free Motion Quilt Challenge.  I will be one on many that has a chance to win a prize this month.  Pick Me!  Pick Me!  I am a beginner at free motion quilting and would really like to get better at it.  I plan on putting this together doing the Cotton Theory so I will keep posting my progress as I add blocks to this piece.

First Blog Post Ever

I have been reading a lot of quilt blogs and I am taking the Free Motion Challenge 2012.  I decided to start a blog to track my progress and share with other quilters.  


Today my friend Vicki came over and we worked on some projects.  We challenged each other last fall to get some of our old projects done.  I counted all my kits that I have and I had 99!  I said to myself -- It's a Sickness!  
I have been trying to piece 3 old projects together a month and then my reward is go shopping at my favorite quilt shop.  I have been doing really well but not getting 3 projects done each month.  So I had to switch the reward to after I have 3 projects done then I can go shop.  Great incentive for me because going to a quilt shop is a "fix" for me.  If I can't go I get a little antsy!  Just to make sure I don't "cheat"...I told my hubby about my deal with myself.  First of all, he could not believe I had 99 projects that I had purchased in the last 4-5 years that were just sitting in my sewing room!  Of course, like any hubby would do, he started doing the mental math on how much $ that is.  Lucky for me, my hubby did not throw a fit.  He is a hunter and shoots trap so he can't say much about my hobby cost.  His is more!  But he did say he would help me get my projects under control by being my "Quilt Cop".  
Anyway, back to what I did today.  I agreed to teach a table runner at a local quilt shop in March so I have to get my sample done so they can display it at the shop.  The project is a table runner using the Cotton Theory.  I like this technique because you get to practice quilting on very small pieces and also you get to use the decorative stitches on your machine.  I was a member of Thimbleberries Club in 2004 and haven't done many of the monthly projects so this personal challenge has been good for me.  I am supposed to have February done before February gets here but I don't think I will make it by the 1st.  But I will get it done in February for sure!
Now that I added a blog, I will see how getting my projects done also will go!