Fluffy Sheep Quilting

Chatting with Rhonda

2012-02-26T06:24:00.000Z

Now you know I usually spend most of my weekend stitching away. Well, not this weekend! Instead I am traveling over to the Gap to have a chat with Rhonda on her Quilter In The Gap podcast. Want to hear what we're talking about? Click here to go to her podcast page on her blog, then page down to the bottom of the list to click on the link, or you can head directly to her podomatic page to listen directly.

Rhonda, it was so nice to finally chat with you, to get to know you better and to share a good laugh. Thank you so much.

Sew Bee Blissful: Test Blocks

2012-02-24T18:13:00.002Z

Thank you all so very much for your enthusiasm around my Sew Bee Blissful fabrics and ideas. It's so nice to share my excitement with you all.

I did a little test run last night making three blocks. It was incredibly freeing not having a pattern and just piecing what ever fabric seemed right at the time. I hope my bee mates will have a great time playing with color and creating something they think is beautiful.

So, test block one went generally pretty well. It took a while to figure out what I was doing, but once I was in the swing I was unstoppable! It was a bit of a learning experience, though, because I had started with a rectangle which then grew and grew, making it hard to finish at 14.5 inches. I tacked on the little scraps on the side to just finish it off, but now that they are part of the block I really like them! It's the dark boarder that gives a bit of definition, I think.

Test block 2 was much along the same lines as test block one. It came together much faster (being the old pro that I am) than block one. I wanted to play with color in this block. How thick do you have to make a strip to make that color dominate the block. It's interesting to mess a bit with no consequences.

Finally, I thought I was a bit short on the pink and my blocks were getting very rectangular, so I started with a central square. Although I like the concentric squares, I think I like the rectangles a bit more. There's more to keep your eye interested.

You'll notice in my last post that I had a dark green and brown fabric included in the bundle. These are not at all my favorite colors, but they were part of the inspirational bracelet. I had to include them. Anyway, to "punish" them I bought much MUCH less yardage of these colors than I did the bright pretty colors. Can't have left over brown, can I? Well, of course, I really punished myself. I split up what little I bought into the bee packages leaving very little for me. That's why in test blocks 1 and 2 it is very central....using very little fabric. But in block 3, I really miss the dark colors. It's too light or flat or something. I think the darks add a bit of depth. So, I stopped at about 12 inches square so that I can get more of the dark colors and add them in along the edge. I can't believe I'm paying special postage for stinky brown and decaying leaf green. It seems they're really important after all.

Next I'd like to try something WAY off center. This quilt will be 25 blocks finished. 20 will be from the bee, so I will make 5. Two more to go! I can't wait :)

Sew Get Started: Notebook Cover

2012-02-23T08:30:00.000Z

I am happily stitching away with Sarah at Fairyface Designs today. We're making notebook covers like these cuties.... Come over and give one a try!

Sew Bee Blissful: Miss March

2012-02-22T16:17:00.000Z

It's my turn! It's my turn!

As you well know by now (and are most likely tired of me still talking about it) I am a part of Sew Bee Blissful. March is my month to choose our blocks and fabrics, so I am spending some time this week getting myself organized.

AGES ago I decided on the fabric colors I wanted based on a music festival bracelet that you can see here. So, I pulled out the old Kona card and made a few purchases. This is what arrived....

Yes, this quilt will be done entirely in solids. I am over the moon at the idea.

The last bit arrived yesterday, so I now have my fabric all cut and ready to ship. Lots of little packages to get into the post!

What blocks will we make? I have been interested in log cabin or square in a square quilts. I think I became fascinated with the huge variability of such simple traditional designs; how you can play with them by making them slightly wonky or altering your fabric colors. That will be our bee's theme this month.

Here is my inspirational mosaic that might better explain what I mean

1. Lots of polka dots QAYG baby quilt, 2. log on, 3. improv, 4. Leftovers=table-runner!, 5. Finished Little Apples quilt, 6. So much you can do with solids!, 7. wonkysolidlogcabins2.jpg, 8. IMG_0449, 9. Stage 3 - finished, 10. Pint Size - 6.5" x 10.5", 11. New fish baby log cabin, 12. Martinas Puzzle Box Quilt Along, 13. Too {Jazz Hands} for Jerry, finished, 14. TATB Bee Block January, 15. DSC_0051, 16. boy quilt

Aren't they gorgeous? So I am asking folks to make a block in any way they choose that somewhat mirrors this quilt by Gee's Bend. I think this is simply spectacular. Here's hoping my bee mates are as enthusiastic.

That's the news, ladies. I am off to try to make my first "test" block. Here's hoping it turns out as well as it appears in my imagination!

Birdies Have Flown The Coop

2012-02-21T17:14:00.002Z

As you might remember, I have recently finished my Birdie Stitches top. Although I was completely happy with the colors, fabrics, stitching in this quilt, it just was not singing to me. I could never figure out why it did not make my heart flutter. The plan was to finish it off and donate it to Project Linus as it's a lovely quilt...just for someone else.

That is...until I saw this:

You're on, Miss Elisa! Everyone wins! Elisa gets a top she likes, I am THRILLED it will be wanted and cared for and Project Linus gets a donation. Fantastic! I happily packed up Birdie Stitches and popped it into the post. Well, it arrived at Elisa's recently and it seems to be settling in nicely. I can't wait to see where you take this, Elisa. Thank you so much for giving it a warm welcome to a happy home. Pop on over to Postpartum Quilter later today (due to the time difference) and you can hear all about our Birdies' migration and new family.

Happy Little Hexies

2012-02-20T06:41:00.000Z

I am new to making hexagons, but I can already see how we will become fast friends. I do not have a plan for these little guys. I only started making them because it was high time that I learned how.

I have a little pouch of scraps, thread, needles and paper templates next to the couch, so when we are watching TV or I just have a quiet minute, I start stitching hexies. It took a while to get the hang of the first two or three, but after 10 I was hooked.

These are little 1.5 inch hexies, so I can not imagine making enough for a quilt. Maybe for a pouch or a notebook cover? I don't know. I am open to suggestions if you have an idea to share. For now, I think I'll just keep adding to the collection....

Christmas (?!?!) Table Runner Finish

2012-02-16T06:25:00.000Z

Do not adjust your computer screen. Indeed it is Christmas fabric that you see in February (gasp!).

My brother and sister in law have recently moved to a house that is large enough for them to really celebrate Christmas with all of the decorations and hoopla. So, this past Christmas they bought their first tree...and very quickly realized how many decorations you need for it to look full. They need a serious influx of decorations to make this next Christmas extra festive in their new home.

When I made a Christmas table runner for my Mom this past Christmas, my SIL asked for one as well. I am so happy to have been asked; of course I will make one!

I did not want this to be her Christmas gift for next year because by the time she received it, the season would be too late to enjoy it. So, I wanted to make it now for her to tuck away over the next 10 months, then pull out in late November.

I used pretty non-traditional Riley Blake fabrics in oranges and light blues, but finished it off in swirling green and a red and white polka dot binding to bring a little holiday spirit. It's filled with snow flakes, Christmas trees, snow men and awesome stripy and dotty fabric. I am in love with the colors and prints in this line.

This is my first attempt at hand quilting anything. I really like how it brings out the "home made-ness" of the runner, but I need to work on my stitch quality before trying it on a larger quilt. Anyway, it will be packed up and shipped out over the weekend. Guaranteed it will be a great surprise when it arrives in their home! I can not wait to hear their reaction.

Mouthy Stitches Pouch: Finished!

2012-02-15T06:23:00.000Z

I hope my partner likes it. I hope my partner likes it. I hope my partner likes it.

I think I finished my Mouthy Stitches pouch...that is unless my partner sees it on Flickr and has a suggestion for me. Is this part of a swap nerve wrecking for everyone? I think I created something she will like. It's something that I would like to receive. But now I wait on pins and needles hoping to hear she likes it too! Anyway, I'll show you where I am for now:

I think my partner likes scrappy, brightly colored pouches with a neutral background. She seems to switch between greys and natural linens, but I thought on the grey the colors would really pop. I made a paper pieced star using the Solstice Stars tutorial and then quilted a grid around it.

She also has several bold, geometric blocky pouches in her mosaic, so I made a scrappy back that is also quilted in a grid pattern.

Both sides have batting to give them a bit of softness, but rigidity. They are quilted with dark grey thread that is a little darker than the Kona so it kind of is visible, but doesn't steal the show.

Inside is an Echino print that runs the full length of one side (by my thumb) and is partly visible on the other side that also holds a pocket. The pocked is Joel Dewberry Aviary print that is split into a large and small pocket. The large pocket has a matching fabric covered button above it and a silky orange ribbon to hold it closed. The bottom is boxed to stand on its own, which I think is just great.

And, of course, the pouch will come filled with scraps! My partner seems to like quirky Japanese prints, bold colors, bright patterns. I hope she likes these! There's a bit of Echino in there, Moda, Heather Ross, Monaluna, Erin McMorris, etc. She's sure to find something to make her smile, right?

Well, partner, it was fun tracking you! I hope I created something you like! xx

Small Zip Obsession

2012-02-14T06:47:00.000Z

The Mouthy Stitches Swap has put me onto a small obsession with both pouches and zips. It's a whole new world for me and I am THRILLED to have joined it. This weekend I made two pouches that just make my heart flutter. Both will be gifts to friends, so I hope my friends like them as much as I do.

The first was inspired by pouches I saw in several Mouthy Stitches mosaics that play with color tone. You can arrange these little HSTs in a variety of ways, but I liked the deep center to focus the eye and the repeating diamond to give a little 3D effect. It's quilted with concentric diamonds using invisible thread. It is backed with one of my favorite prints (and I still don't know the name of the designer/mfg) that was quilted in vertical lines 1/4 inch apart and topped with a little pink zip.

It measures an adorable little 6 inches square, so perfect to hold a few hexies for when you are stuck in traffic or waiting for an appointment.

The second is a cathedral windows pouch. I have wanted to try cathedral windows for AGES, but 1) they look very hard and 2) they take a LONG time, so I don't want to commit to a larger project filled with windows. A pouch seemed like the perfect solution.

There are 4 cathedral windows blocks that are placed together with a Woodlands boarder. I kind of adapted the Moda Bake Shop tutorial to suit my needs. It's very well written if you're curious to give these windows a try yourself. I just love the splash of color on the front. Isn't it cool how your eye makes a circle between blocks? I love that. The front is not quilted and does not contain batting as there was a TON of stitching to hold these little ~~suckers~~ beauties together. They're each about 4 layers of fabric thick, so batting and further quilting would have been overkill.

The back is an orange print from the Spring Street line by Carolyn Gavin. It holds batting and is vertically quilted with orange thread in about 3/4 inch rows. I guess I have been hanging out with Hadley enough that her love of orange has finally transferred. It's a new happiness for me, so I'm tossing orange in everywhere I can.

Finally, it's lined with It's a Hoot fabric as it just gave a nice splash of blue inside and joined together the red front, orange back and yellow zip. All told, it's about 10 inches square, so you could easily fit a hand stitching project in here or use it to travel.

I am thrilled with these pouches. I hope my friends are too! Enjoy, guys!

Table Runner Finish

2012-02-13T16:11:00.002Z

Woo hoo! A finish feels great, doesn't it? Well, this one is special as it is a gift for a friend.

I made this table runner from a Tweet Tweet charm pack, one of my favorite Moda lines in the past few years. When I saw Laura Jane's table runner from the Modern Christmas Table Runner swap, I was super inspired and wanted to make something similar. Laura's was a bit different than mine (read: more organized) as she had matching halves of the charm squares on either side of the lattice. I went for a super scrappy look and had charm squares scattered all over the place.

It's quilted in double lines along the white lattice strips. The back is one solid sheet of a red Tweet Tweet print that I can't find the name of....

I wish I remembered to take a photo f the back when it was out on the line. Too late now :)

That's the news. I'm so very happy to have a nice little finish like this. I love the pattern (thanks, LJ!) and I hope my friend is super surprised when it arrives at her house. Enjoy it!

First Try At A Zip

2012-02-09T10:43:00.002Z

Well, I gathered up my courage over the weekend and dove in. Yes, I tried to put in a zip. For most things, I can see how they fit together or how piece A would be added to piece B, but the zipper just baffled my brain.

Using a fabulous pattern by Kat, I tried to make a little pouch for myself as a trial run.

I love these little froggies, but couldn't figure out how I would use them in a quilt. This seemed like a great chance to give them a happy home. Now, I over estimated the possible size of the "feature" fabric, so there is a little strip of the cheery under the froggies that is lost. Next time I will adjust my measurements a bit so the froggies are framed a little better.

The zip. Humm. It works. It fits. The little tabs look cute. It's puckered on one side, but I think I know how to fix that moving ahead. Normally I would not have used a blue zip with these fabrics, but with the poor selection of haberdashery shops around here that was my best choice. Never fear, though, my Zipit zips just arrived!

Inside I lined it with a gold/yellow Aviary print that picked up the flowers next to the frogs. I used the same fabric for the little zip tabs too. There is room in here for a pocket. I'll work on that as well.

The pouch is about 9 inches square, so you can easily fit in a rotary cutter or embroidery hoop. I boxed the bottom so it stands up on its own. At least it did when it was new. It has been living in my bag the past few days and the interfacing is loosing its crispness. I think next time I will try a batting to give it a bit more structure.

Ah, live and learn. My first pouch. My first zip. I learned a WHOLE lot and have a bit of confidence to give it a try (tonight?) for my Mouthy Stitches partner. Fingers crossed!

February Bee Blocks (Part 2)

2012-02-08T06:48:00.000Z

Have you been following the Solstice Stars Series on Fresh Lemons Quilts? I have! I am truly enjoying the idea of a new star to try each week. There will be five stars all together, but we are only three weeks into the tutorials, so I have three stars to show you.

Week 1 was the Ribbon Star. This was very basic and to the point; a great way to kick off a series.

Week 2 was the Whirling Star. This was new to me, so it was very interesting. I liked the shape and could see myself using it in a quilt. Now, here's the rub....it's paper piecing. I had never paper pieced before so I had to build up a bit of courage. That being said, the tutorial was so well written I could easily follow along with minimal unpicking. It was a great way to learn a new technique!

And week 3 was the Another Star. I don't know if that's the real name or if Faith was tired of looking at stars. Either way, I jumped on the bandwagon and made another. I wish I flipped the star points so the green triangle does not merge with the green center strip. Live and learn. Still, I am happy with the final block.

Theses three blocks are off to Judith to be included in a Bee Blessed quilt. I hope she doesn't mind receiving the next two Solstice Stars in March's bee!

February Bee Blocks (Part 1)

2012-02-07T08:45:00.000Z

This weekend was just fantastic! I spent a good bit of it focusing on my bee blocks for this month. Want to see what folks are asking for?

In my Sew & Bee Happy bee, folks request a block that each hive member makes from their stash alone. Kat had requested a monochromatic block with a little white wonky star for her picnic quilt. She gave us a list of colors to choose from so we're not all making similar blocks. I chose dark/royal blue for my block:

Over in Sew Bee Blissful, Sarah had requested a scrappy rainbow starflower design using a fantastic tutorial by Ellison Lane Quilts. The great thing about this tutorial is for very little additional effort you get two blocks instead of just one. So, Sarah will get a pair of these:

And finally (for the Part 1 of this post) I made two blocks for the Care circle of Do.Good Stitches. Dolores was looking for a pair of complementary blocks in a green (olive, lime, teal, avocado) that were made with matching fabric. For this, we used a sawtooth star tutorial by Purl Bee.

Stars are big right now apparently :) I loved making each and every one of these. In Part 2 of the bee catch up there will be....wait for it....more stars! Eeekk! This is so exciting :)

Modern Quilt Guild Launch

2012-02-06T09:03:00.001Z

It is with ridiculous excitement that I announce the launch of the Modern Quilt Guild of Ireland. Sarah and I have been chattering on about this for several months now, but finally FINALLY we have ourselves organized.

We have two organizations in Ireland that support quilters, the Irish Patchwork Society and the Quilter's Guild of Ireland. They are both very active and a great way to meet other quilters, take classes, get involved in the community. Sarah and I are both members of these organizations. However, we wanted to create something specifically for modern quilters.

What are my hopes for this guild? Well, I love the idea of a group of people with a similar passion getting together and sharing ideas, enthusiasm, support and knowledge. I want for us to have regular gatherings that are filled with giggles and fluttering over each other's projects. I want to host workshops to share ideas and techniques. I would love to have a bee or block swap to have a little bit of each other's craftiness in each of our homes. In the end, I want a modern quilting community where we are all welcome, supported and thriving.

So, will you join us?

To read about our hopes for the guild, you can go to the blog or the facebook page. Please become followers of one/both to be sure you get regular updates of our activities. To join the guild and/or the email list, please complete the registration form here.

If you would like to learn more about modern quilting, please head over here to see our interpretation.

Sarah and I are completely thrilled with the opportunity to foster the modern quilting community in Ireland. We hope you join in and become a part of it too!

Do you know a good tutorial?

2012-02-01T07:29:00.000Z

I am going to blow my cover a bit early, here, but I could use your help.

I am Miss March in my Sew Bee Blissful bee. For several (six!?!?) months I have known that I will ask my bee - mates for a Square in a Square "sampler" quilt. I am open to both traditional square in a square blocks as well as log cabin - type blocks....be them straight and aligned or wonky. Either makes me happy. It is going to be made in all solids.

You see, I like the idea of each person putting their personality into the bee blocks instead of being my "stitchers" and making exactly what I tell them to. I will send them fabric and links to tutorials (this is where I am stuck) and let them create the block(s) that best reflect their "likes". To get them started, I made this inspirational mosaic:

Now here's where I am hoping you can help. Do any of you know a good tutorial for a square in a square or for a log cabin? I found the few I listed below, but I would love to have a greater variety. Any suggestions guys? I'd be entirely grateful!

Tilted Squares
Scrappy Squares
Square in a Square
Square in a Square
Six Types of Square in a Square

And they keep coming!

2012-01-31T06:48:00.000Z

Stargazing blocks are flowing through my mail slot. What could make a quilter happier?

I received two from Nicky and two from Wendi this afternoon. They are AWESOME! The first two are from Nicky. Do you see that adorable wee frog in the first and a happy little sheep in the second? I love them!

And the second two are from Wendi. I love the colors she chose to use. They're so nice and bright! I am thrilled to see a bit of orange as I'm seriously lacking there.

So, here's the design board so far. It's coming along pretty well I think. I can't wait to put this top together. I even have an idea of how to quilt it!

I am so sorry this photo is this blah. The sun was going down :(

In other news, we also have a winner! The winner of the Flutter from.Kat pattern giveaway is....

Lovely Miss Debbie. And here's what her winning entry:

Hee hee! It's so good to know the patterns are going to a big Kat fan where they will be used and loved. Enjoy, Debbie!

Birdie Stitches: Top Finished

2012-01-30T06:55:00.000Z

As you may know, I have a love/hate relationship with my Birdie Stitches blocks. I love, love, loved them in Jan through May, but then became a little disillusioned in June through December. I kept stitching because I can not stop once I commit, but with each month I was getting more and more unsure what I would do with the finished quilt.

When December came, I finished off my last block and happily put them all away in a little stack. I was thinking I would give the entire stack to Project Linus as I really think they will make a great quilt for a pre-teen girl.

But then with a bit of nudging from you guys, promises that I'll fall in love once I finish the top AND with Sarah's Winter Stitching Goals, I FINALLY sat down to piece the top of Birdie Stitches.

You know, I'm pleased with it right now. Not pleased enough to layer and quilt it, but I like it enough that I would absolutely think about coming back in a few months to finish it off as a gift (or even still for Project Linus). You guys were right...new happiness did come with the finished quilt top. Thanks for the nudge! xx

New Sewing Room

2012-01-27T22:16:00.001Z

It is nearly finished! Do you want to have a peek? Please forgive the fuzziness of the photos. It has been difficult getting photos when the sun is out. Even when it is out, its rare to shine directly into this room.

In one corner there is my sewing space. I have a few lights, my radio and my sewing machine. The basket there is for Chaos pieces that I keep trying to piece from the scraps just above it on the table. And then, of course, there is the Community Quilt that I am actually, really, honestly trying to quilt right now.

And then if you turn around, at your back is the new design wall and my ironing board. I also have a working 1911 sewing machine there. I would love to ~~restore it~~ have someone else restore it, but that's SUPER far down on the to-do list :)

See on the design wall a little rectangle of piecing? It's eventually going to be part of Chaos too....

And then on the long wall of the room, I have two bookshelves and a CD tower to fill with books, fabrics, baskets, etc. They just wouldn't fit in one photo together! Anyway, on the left there are two baskets that hold ongoing projects, like the Birdie Stitches top, for example. There's thread, ribbon, etc.

The tower holds my pretty small FQ collection in the middle.

And then on the right are my books, IKEA fabric mini-bolts and little storage bins. They will eventually be placed on the wall on a peg board organizer thing. The little bins hold my scissors, bobbins, basting pins...and on, and on, and on.

In the bookshelf on the right I have my stash. It's pretty tiny, so it fits in there just fine.

And that's it! That's my quilting space. I still have things to get up on the walls like my peg board organizer, a white board that holds my to-do list, etc. They might go up this weekend. Really, though, I would love to just spend this weekend breaking in the new space! Can't wait!

Winter Stitching Goals: Mid-Way Update!

2012-01-26T11:16:00.000Z

It is light later in the evenings. It is not raining nearly as much and it is nearly getting a little warmer! What does that mean to you? It is time for our Winter Stitching update, of course! If you haven't heard the story of Winter Stitching, jump over to Fairy Face Designs for a bit of background.

Birdie Stitches

The goal was to finish off the top of Birdie Stitches this winter. I have finished all of the blocks and just need to add it the sashing. I've been struggling with this project lately as I just can not envision it as a quilt to give away or to use in our house. Either way, it needs to be finished off. This will be done by the end of Feb. Absolutely.

Brother’s Mixer

Done! I love how this turned out. More importantly, so did my brother.

Sister-In-Law’s Bag

Well, I made a bag. Not THE bag. Still, I love this bag. This will have to do until I get paper piecing under control and can make THE bag.

Blankets of Love

Done! And these are cuties if I do say so myself. Now, I made the tops and backs and sent them to Kat. She finished layering, quilting and binding them. They're off with their new homes keeping someone nice and warm. To learn more about Blankets of Love, hop over here.

Bees

Done, but continuing on. The goal was to contribute to Bee Blessed and Sew Bee Blissful, offering my hive buddies their blocks on time each month. Well, it's grown to include Do.Good Stitches and Sew & Bee Happy bees, which I love just as much. I'm a crazy block making bee buddy right now and I love it!

Swaps

One is done, one is just starting.

I finished off the Modern Christmas Table Runner Swap just before Christmas. It was a bit of a struggle as we were moving at the time, but it went out and I was happy in the end.

I also launched, with my friends Susan and Hadley, the Mouthy Stitches Swap which is in full swing right now. I am hoping to make something as lovely as these pouches for my super top secret partner. Fingers crossed!

Quilts

Done! Whew, this was a beast to quilt, but it is finally finished and in full use on the couch. We LOVE it!

The Community Quilt is layered and I've started quilting it, but have not finished it. I am hoping to do so this week to show it off at my next guild meeting. If it kills me, this will be finished before the winter is out.

Chaos is taking me FOREVER to piece. It's so scrappy, so SUPER scrappy, that it's still just a pile of scraps. I'll keep plugging away and hope to have something to show you. Still, I will not by any means have a finished top any time soon.

Stargazing is coming along well. This will be my bee quilt for 2012, I think. Right now I'm working on it with my hive in Sew & Bee Happy and they've been spectacular in contributing blocks. I think I am going to keep contributing blocks myself, but then also ask my hive buddies for a little help too in March. We'll see. So far, it looks like this...

I love this quilt, so I'll keep plugging away at it. Hope to have a top by the early spring to show off to you all!

International Quilt Festival of Ireland

This is a continuing project, but will be done before the winter is finished. I have the top fused and am just doing a satin stitch around each individual piece. I will have it stabilized and quilted by the end of Feb I hope!

Guest Post

This is still ongoing....I am so happy to be invited to contribute a tutorial to a series this fall, so I will get my tutorial tested, written and photographed by mid February. I’m a bit nervous, but this will be a great jump for me.

Free Motion Friday
The goal was to continue FMF through to the end of December. With an unexpected move in mid-December, I had to give up on this fun practice-a-long a bit early. Still, I am so happy with the number of folks who jumped in and gained a little FMQ confidence along with me. Thanks, girls!

That's it! I guess I am all over the place. A few projects are done, a few are on target to finish and a few have been left by the way side. That's life, though, isn't it? I am going to focus on quilts from here out as I can not wait to finish a few of these beauties off!

Off to link up with Sarah's Winter Stitches party. Have a peek at what the other ladies have accomplished. There is amazing eye candy over there!

Flutter.by Kat Giveaway!!!

2012-01-24T15:54:00.000Z

Warning!!! This post is entirely filled with cuteness!!! Are you ready?

Kat, the author of Diary of a Flutter.Kat blog and creator of absolute cuteness for Flutter from.Kat (the shop), is a good friend of mine. She is generously offering a giveaway for Fluffy Sheep Quilting readers that you are going to love.

To give you a flavor of what Kat creates, she has generously offered to giveaway two patterns to the giveaway winner. This super awesome zipper pouch pattern, which would be FANTASTIC for those of you participating in the Mouthy Stitches swap...

AND this pattern for a scrappy pouch.

Flutter from.Kat (the shop) is always changing, so stop back again and again! Kat will be expanding the shop to include an adorable children's clothing patterns, a reward chart pattern, a zipper purse and a quilted cushion, so be sure you stop back regularly to see what was recently placed in the shop.

To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment below. For additional entries, choose as many of the following as you'd like:

1. Head over to her Facebook page and "Like" it.
2. Become a follower of Diary of a Flutter.Kat (the blog).
3. Visit Flutter from.Kat (the shop), find your favorite pattern, handmade gift or piece of clothing, then come back here and tell me what you chose.

I'll choose the winner with a random number generator on Friday night (27 January) around 5PM my time, or noon on the east cost of the US. Please be sure I am able to reply to your comment, so if you are a no-reply blogger include your email address in your comment. I will email both patterns to the winner on Friday evening. Good luck!

Rainbow Charm Swap

2012-01-20T07:10:00.000Z

Who could resist a charm swap hosted by the lovely Emily of Strawberry Patch? Apparently I can not. I love scrappy rainbow charm swaps so much that I signed up for two rounds! Woo hoo!

I was assigned red for the first swap, so I chose this Woodlands print with little red and aqua flowers. Sorry for the stinky photo - it's night time, so the lighting is bad and you can't see the adorable little aqua guys. For the second swap, I picked up this 1001 Peeps jewel print.

Hope my swap buddies like them!

Perle Cotton Extravaganza

2012-01-19T06:44:00.000Z

Recently I have been a little obsessed with hand quilting. Or really the idea of hand quilting.

I have not hand quilted anything before, but really like the look of hand quilting echoing a block. I like the uneven, wide stitches. They make me happy.

I need to just dive in and give it a go. Susan has been kind enough to give me Hand Quilting 101 lessons via email, so I am feeling more confident. Confident enough to have a little shopping spree. I picked up this bunch of delicious colors as a package deal and couldn't be happier. Isn't this a nice little punch of color for your sewing space? I love it!

Now I just have to give it a go....

Yippee! A Design Wall!

2012-01-18T07:07:00.000Z

I am now lucky enough to have a whole room to myself for quilting. I know! A whole room! I still have not finished moving in and setting up the furniture, but I wanted to make a design wall. Just because I have room for it. I saw this tutorial from Oh, Fransson ages ago, so I used it as a guide. Want to see how it was made?

We bought three sheets of polystyrene insulation that were about 2 ft by 3 ft. They're nice and light, making it easy to hang. Now, if I had a choice, I would choose a solid white board so the little speckles don't show through, but this was the one and only option we had. We went with it. It was really inexpensive, about 6 euro for the three. Go splash out.

I laid them out, aligned the edges and used packing tape to keep them together. I used that packing tape that we all hate - the tape with little strings running through it so you can't open it without a knife. I hate that on a package, but loved it here! One strip down the seams will do you.

For the back story...I wanted a design wall. My other half wanted me to make it by myself. I, of course, wanted him to just make it and for it to magically appear on the wall. So, I brought the materials into the living room to make on the only large-ish floor we have in the house that's semi-clear of boxes (oh, don't fake like you can't see the mess that is my living room! We're still unpacking...) while he was watching TV....and then he couldn't resist getting up and helping out. He left his little spot on the sofa and leaving my quilt in a little ball behind him! No respect.

But here it he is! Yippee! The DIY master.

So, we taped up the seams and then taped along the edges to kind of protect the corners a bit in case I drop it. And I will. I'm a bit clumsy.

We found a bit of wood laminate that was maybe 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches wide, so we ran that along the top and bottom edge (the long sides) to support the seams and ensure the boards remain even. We stapled them into place, then taped over them again to hold them down.

See his little Spiderman Band Aid? Awww....

We put two more strips of this left over laminate on the back for hanging. I want to be able to flip it from landscape to portrait (taking words from Microsoft Word, but you get the idea).

And again, they were taped into place.

We found the center of each side and marked it...

...to drill a little hole.

We then used the ottoman, but you could use a coffee table, to get it off of the floor. I spread the Warm and White over the top, and then spread it evenly along the front of the board taking out the wrinkles. We cut it so there was enough to cover the edge of the board, then wrap around by about 3 inches.

The Warm and White lightly sticks to the board, so once its there you can gently flip it over onto the ottoman. Very very lightly pull it (without creating puckers) and pin it into place.

I used little plastic headed pins that are about 1 1/2 inch long to really secure it in place. They are about 3 inches apart, which might be overkill looking back.

And it went up really easily because it it so light. I was just dying to get my star blocks up and arranged a bit, so B took the camera and started snapping away. Here's me in my Sunday best - a Phillies sweatshirt. At a whopping 5 ft 2, I can't reach the top of the board. I will have to get a step stool :(

A 4 ft x 6ft quilt center will fit pretty well on there, but not boarders and binding. So it goes. I am already thinking of making a second for the other wall. At 6 euro to get the three boards it is a steal. I still have TONS of "left over" Warm and White that I could use, too. You might see another in the near future!

Starry Eyed

2012-01-17T07:10:00.000Z

As you may remember, I am Miss January in the Sew and Bee Happy bee. This is my first time being a queen mama bee, choosing a block, finding the background fabric, etc. It was a bit bumpy at the start, but I think we're rolling now. As we are truly international, some folks received their packages within the week and others are still waiting for them. So it goes.

Much to my surprise, the first few bee packages are already returning to me! Want to see what arrived recently?

These beauties are from Judith. I am really digging yellow right now as it brightens up the long, chilly January Irish nights. Can you see in one block there's a little embroidered flower? And the cute little dogs and giraffe in the other? They're just fantastic.

And this beauty is from Emma. I just love the bold colors she used.

I was so jazzed by the arrival of these goodies I made a few of my own....

To create the quilt I have in mind I'll need 36 of these lovely blocks. I have 9 done...only 27 to go!

Japanese Knot Bag - WHAT!?!?!

2012-01-16T09:24:00.004Z

Snap...fizzle...poof. My hopes for two Japanese knot bags were so high...then dropped right back down to earth in record time. Poof.

I bought this issue of Making while I was traveling over the holiday. Look at the bags on the cover. Don't you want one? I do! This is my third issue of Making, after two generously passed on from Hadley as extra goodies in a swap. I really like this magazine: lots of fun little projects, eye candy and colors to inspire. I tend to go back 2-3 times to re-read ensuring I catch it all. So, I thought I would actually try the cover project for this month's issue. I wanted to make two shoulder-sized Japanese knot bags.

Bags of fun it says. Well, who can resist? I cut out my fabric and started stitching. I was bold enough to cut fabric for two bags. Ahh, my high hopes. I'm always shocked at how much fabric it takes to make a bag and this time was no exception. For the first bag, I chose a green apple print for the exterior and a little sunny lemon print for the lining.

Now, here is where the trouble began. I could start piecing and get through the first page of the pattern just fine, but when I turned to the second page and read the instructions I was lost. Some where between page 1 and page 2 I was supposed to have flipped the bag right sides together, then wrong sides together, then right sides together...but I can't find that point. So, at the top of page 2 where I should be right sides together (as in the helpful pattern photo) I was wrong sides together and stuck.

So, I did what I could to stitch together this little pathetic knot bag and called it a day.

It is kind of right, but wrong in so many ways. But the real issue is even after a day away, I still can not figure out where I went wrong...which makes me flustered and want to walk away again. It was supposed to be fun :( And I hope it is....for someone else.

Wow - I've just realized this post is a real downer. Sorry! I have happiness to post tomorrow, honest!

I am therefore offering the worst giveaway ever. To the first person who wants it, I am happy to send on this knot bag (that just makes me cringe with memories when I see it), the fabric I cut for a second knot bag (lovely Monaluna happiness) and the magazine pattern with templates for 2 sizes of bag. I can not give you tips, or even a pattern that works (for me...) but I will give you a chance to make it work for yourself. Anyone want it?

Finally! A 241 Tote!

2012-01-11T06:56:00.000Z

I am WAY behind the times here, but I have finally caught up with you smart ladies! I saw the 241 tote trend sweeping blogland 6+ months ago. I thought they were cute, but I just did not really understand the hoop-la. Until this little fella found his way to my home....

Do you remember him? I was so lucky to receive this mini-241 tote as part of the Goodie Swap this past summer. Made by Hadley of Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle, my swap partner, he was a total surprise when he arrived. And I fell in love. Look at those googly green eyes!

I also finally "got" the 241 tote. FINALLY! I decided to make one for my sister-in-law, Catherine, as her Christmas present. Sadly, the fabric didn't arrive in time, so it's going to be slightly delayed in arriving (do you see a trend in this post?).

I hope she likes it! This is my first magnetic snap, so I'm sure she'll be well impressed :) You should have seen me stitching the round side panels. The pattern says to "pin liberally" and shows 5 pins. I had 25! That sucker was not going to move! I'm a small bit obsessed myself, now, so you'll most likely see another in the future made for me.

Mouthy Stitches Swap

2012-01-10T07:51:00.000Z

Along with my good friends Susan and Hadley, I am very excited to announce the Mouthy Stitches zippy purse swap! We have been planning, plotting and scheming for a while, but now that the holidays are over we think you might be ready for a bit of stitchy fun. In this round of Mouthy Stitches (yes, there may be more in the future!) we would be thrilled if you joined us to swap zipper purses and scraps. We are looking for good natured, chatty, inspirational ladies who have some flickr experience to create a supportive, expressive, encouraging group. By the end of February, you will receive a surprise purse in the post filled with a fat quarter-worth of scrappy happiness.

What is a purse? Well, it's open to interpretation. Think of something that might hold your hand stitched hexies to travel, your pencils, your passport and phone. That scale of purse.

Want to see my inspirational mosaic to get your heart fluttering?

Yum! Oh come on, you want to make a purse! I know you do :)

Here is how you can join in the swap.
1. Sign ups are in the flickr group starting today and running to 22 January. To complete your entry, you must become a member of the flickr group, complete the Google doc giving us your contact information and have an inspirational mosaic uploaded. Yes, all of that by 22 January. If you are new to making mosaics, you can find a good tutorial here. It is easy peasy.

2. Susan, Hadley and I will assign partners 29 January. You will be assigned one partner, but they will not know you are creating for them. Likewise, you will not know who is creating for you.

3. Run off and create your zipper purse from 30 January to the 25 February. Fill it with happy scraps. Through flickr and blogs, please ~~stalk~~ befriend your swap partner secretly. Do not let them know you are creating for them, but watch closely to be sure you create something they will love. Study their mosaic, watch their blog, read their ~~hints~~ comments on other flickr posts.

4. Now here is the most important part! PARTICIPATE! This swap is named Mouthy Stitches for a reason. We want to hear the chatter on flickr. Please be in the flickr group and commenting on posts at least once a week. If you need to leave the swap, please let your swap mama know as quickly as possible.

5. Stuff your zipper purse with a fat quarter - worth of scraps. Nothing smaller than 2.5 inches square, please. Shipping of purses will be between 25 and 29 February. This is an international swap, so please beware you may have to ship quite a distance. Therefore, please, please, please limit your parcel to your zippy purse, the fat quarter of scraps and a nice handwritten note. No chocolate, no stickers, no tokens. We want to keep shipping costs low and eliminate the worry of stuffing a parcel with "bonus" goodies.

That is it, ladies! We are bound to have a great time, so please get over to flickr and sign up today. We can not wait to get stitching!

Do.Good Stitches Starflower

2012-01-09T07:09:00.000Z

This is my first month in the Care Circle of Do.Good Stitches and I am overly excited. I have been watching these beautiful blocks on flickr for months now waiting for my turn and it's finally come! We have a fantastic group of ladies, so I look forward to giggling with them and learning as we go.

This month we were to make two starflower blocks from a tutorial by Modify Tradition using a white background with red and aqua petals. Humm...red is abundant in my stash so no problem there. But aqua? A little more difficult for me.

I went for a red solid here as the aqua print (which HAD to be used due to my limitations) was a bit busy. I like this block a whole lot.

This tutorial really looks best with non-directional prints, but the combination of aqua and non-directional was just too much to ask of my little stash. So I really REALLY tried to get my HSTs oriented appropriately so all of my aqua drops were spinning in the same direction....worked for two petals, but not the other two! Argh. Still, much to my surprise, it doesn't bother me much in this block. I think the little white dots dazzle me to distraction :)

Well, Care Circle ladies, I hope they're up to your standard and I can't wait to see the pieced top. It's going to be spectacular.

My Cúchulainn

2012-01-06T07:15:00.000Z

I am working on a super top secret project for the International Quilt Festival of Ireland. I completely wish I could tell you all about it because I really need a bit of help! Until I can, here's a little peek of what I am quilting:

How far out of my depth am I? Um. 90% uncomfortable and 10% confident if I had to really place bets. Let me explain. This quilt, called Cúchulainn, is part of an exhibit that includes 19 other quilts made by members of my local Patchwork Society Branch. Together they will be displayed at the International Quilt Festival of Ireland in Galway this June.

The quilts will interact with one another, so they need to be completely uniform, aligned correctly, use the same fabrics, use the same quilting techniques, etc. So, I feel that I really need to get this right. There are a few problems, though. I have no experience with many of the skills I need! It uses batiks, which I have not used before. It uses appliqué, which I have not done on a large scale as I am here. It uses a satin stitch, which takes FOREVER and used 400m of thread today alone!

That being said, I am learning from my society co-members, am expanding my skills and hope to eventually use my FMQ skills! This one might keep me busy for a little while :)

Sew Bee Blissful: January

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000Z

Won't these make a spectacular quilt? I love the colors. I love the prints. I love the block design. You can't go wrong with this combination!

These are my Sew Bee Blissful blocks for January and I think they're just great. I hope our Queen Bee for the month likes them too! Now, these were fun to make because there really are not corners to match. I didn't think, though, that that makes it difficult to center each piece appropriately. So, I really hope the blocks I made match with the blocks my hive mates made.

Still, they make me happy. I hope they brighten your day too. Can not wait to use this block in a quilt I keep for myself :)

Guest Posting at Quokka Quilts

2012-01-04T07:41:00.000Z

I'm guest posting over at Quokka Quilts today to kick off Laura's QAYGFMQQAL. Laura asked that I write hints for the new FMQ-er based on our Free Motion Friday experiment. I am not at all experienced enough to write a tute for FMQ (clearly), but at least I can give hints on where/how to start. Let's be honest. I'm still "starting" myself!

Click here to check it out...

Birdie Stitches: Finishing off Blocks

2012-01-03T07:30:00.000Z

'Fess up. Was yesterday your first day back at work? You guys are cracking me up! I had nearly 4 times as many visitors to Fluffy Sheep Quilting yesterday as I do on a normal day and the only reason I can think of is that we are all returning to work, but want to be home stitching. Well, best of luck readjusting to the work day and I hope we all make it through our first week with sanity. I love that you're all visiting when you need a break! xx

I am participating in FairyFace Design's Winter Stitching Goals right now. Sarah keeps ~~threatening~~ suggesting we do a mid-point check in to assess where currently stand. This makes me nervous to no end, so I'm trying to check projects off my list ASAP.

For the past 9 months I have been embroidering Birdie Stitches blocks. My goal was therefore to:

"...make up a June template [because I didn't like the one that was suggested in the stitch-a-long], tweak my October block to make me happier and complete the November and December blocks. I want the top finished in January or February as I have all of the materials and its pretty straight forward"

Finally I have finished embroidering my blocks and am ready to piece a top together. As many of you already know, I have enjoyed this stitch-a-long, but am tried of it and ready to see it finished. I'm sure I will make a quilt top, but it will sit as a UFO for a while until I am inspired again. I don't want to finish this off begrudgingly.

October was OK when it was finished, but it needed a little something more. Someone suggested adding in leaves, and that did the trick. I think I needed a darker color in there. I tried like crazy to get a witch on a broom, but the stitching had to be so fine and delicate that I am just not skilled enough. Anyway, we'll call it done.

June. I hated the June template that came with our stitch-a-long, so I skipped the month. The same was true of August, but I took the birdies on vacation to dive/snorkel and I was happy with that. Thought about what I'd stitch for the past six months, but was uninspired. My brother suggested that maybe the birdies had chicks in June, so I tired to stitch a little family. It looks pretty elementary, but I was running out of green floss to finish off the tree! Again, we'll call it done.

November again needed a little more. With just the turkey and the birdie it was a little lacking in color and something to integrate the two little birds. So, I tossed in a little grass. It's better, but I wish I thought of that before hand to distribute the colors a bit better. A blue or yellow bird would have been nice in the green grass. Oh well.

And December was finished not long ago. So, that's it! I'm done stitching and need to just get the top finished off. A little sashing and a border won't take long, so I'll check this off the Winter goals list in no time!

Quilting Bee Meet-Up

2012-01-02T10:05:00.002Z

Its no secret that I love my online quilting bees, so I want to spread the joy. This is the season for new bees starting up, so now is a great time to join in.

Through several threads (har har) yesterday I realized there are both folks looking to join into a bee as well as bees hoping to fill those last remaining spots. So, I will play matchmaker today. If you have a bee and are looking for new folks to join in, leave a link below. Hopefully other Fluffy Sheep readers can then follow the linky to find a hive to join.

Happy stitching!

Bees: My happiness for 2011

2011-12-31T20:46:00.000Z

It was fitting that I spent the last day of 2011 working on bee blocks. I "discovered" bees this year and fell in love. L.O.V.E. I am lucky enough to be in 4 bees in 2012 and I just can not wait to dive in.

Why are bees so great? I love meeting new folks, following new blogs, trying new things as my bee-mates circulate their requests and learn something new about combining fabrics each month. What a great way to expand my horizons!

I fixed up my Sew & Bee Happy red star from yesterday, thank goodness! It's looking better this time around :) One point is a little skimpy, but it will have to do.

I made two blocks for Judith's Bee Blessed. This month we are to make any block we want and she will put together a sampler quilt. Great idea! I have liked this block for quite some time, but never have an excuse to make/use it.

And finally I made a big Wonky Star block for my Sew & Bee Happy quilt. I think this will look nice with the scattered tri-star blocks folks are making this month (as seen in yesterday's post). Boy this one comes together so quickly as compared to the Stargazing blocks. I am already itching to make another!

Happy new year to all of you. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you in this past year. I feel so very lucky to be included in such a wonderful group of kind, giving, inspirational, creative folks. Thank you all for brightening each and every day! I wish you health, happiness and fabulous crafting in 2012. xx

Stargazing

2011-12-30T18:29:00.000Z

I am lucky enough to be Miss January! Um, no. Not in a pin-up calendar, but for the Sew & Bee Happy bee! As soon as I bought Modern Blocks, I knew I had to use Stargazing as my block for this scrappy bee. I could not be more excited!

I finished off two test blocks today. They went pretty well, but I learned a few things. First, you need to carefully choose your scraps so that the fabric is a color. Stating the obvious, I know, but do you see that small pink star above? For two points I chose a white fabric with a pink print but when it was used in the block, there wasn't enough contrast to see the point. I will replace that little star tonight.

Second, if you go too tall with your points or they will be cropped when you piece the blocks together. There is one point cropped in the blue star and one that will be cropped as soon as I join this block to the next. So it goes - live and learn. Do you see the little red star here? I did better on try two :)

Anyway, I think this will make a fantastic quilt. I will put these blocks into the quilt top with different orientations so the stars are scattered. I will make a few large 12.5 inch wonky stars as well to add a little variety. Can not wait to see this top finished off!

Christmas Wrap Up

2011-12-28T16:11:00.001Z

My holiday time in the US is coming to a close. It has been just wonderful being here with my family, but I am also really looking forward to getting home to Galway to relax in our new house, unpack a bit and to start stitching again.

There are just a few things to tidy up here on the blog before we close off this part of the holiday. First, photos of a table runner that had to remain super top secret while it was being made:

I made this for my mom after loving the Modern Christmas Table Runner swap hosted by Susan at Canadian abroad. So, I just kept stitching and made one as a gift too. If I could do it again, I would not use the light colored prints at the star corners as you loose a bit of contrast that makes the star pop. Beyond that, I am happy. More importantly, Mom is happy.

(PS - you'll have to forgive me for the photo - I am not at my computer and I am using software that I am not at all used to. For the life of me I can't import this photo rotated at 90 degrees so that its hanging! Arg! Back to my computer tomorrow....)

No trip to the US is complete without a bit of fabric shopping. I didn't go really nuts, but of course I have goodies to bring home....

Four Echo FQs. I wanted more, but the shop only had 4 bolts from the 20 print line. It will be like a scavenger hunt trying to find the rest as I have not seen them in Irish shops :)

Variety of FQs that just made me happy. A little Riley Blake, Michael Miller (I think) and Joel Dewberry.

Quarter yard cuts of Kona and Moda solids for a quilt I have in mind. I needed a light, medium and dark of red, yellow, blue, green, orange and gray to go with the Kona white background. I think these will work. I am actually in love with them. The only thing that makes me sad is this shop is filled with fabric rippers. I hate that. Hate the little hangy-off threads that get tangled and the off kilter piece you receive. I'll get over it.

And finally. The shopping extravaganza that will actually break my back going home....six (yes, SIX) yards of Warm and White. What was I thinking!?!? I wanted to buy some to make two design walls in my new quilting space, so it was going to happen some time. Here, though, it was on a crazy sale so I saved tons of cash. And it's hard to find Warm and White near me. So I couldn't say no.
That's the shopping news, ladies! Now I just have to squash it all into my suitcase!

Birdie Stitches: December

2011-12-27T16:23:00.002Z

Since I am traveling this holiday, I brought along a little embroidery to keep my hands busy.

Finished off my Birdie Stitches for December just in time! I really enjoyed stitching this when we settled down for the evening. Now I wish I brought my empty June block to finish off too.

I finaly (FINALLY) have an idea for a June scene, thank goodness. I am getting a little tired of this Birdie Stitches project, so finishing off that last block would be fantastic. Looking forward to a finished top in no time :)

Mennonites Quilting Like Mad!

2011-12-26T05:00:00.000Z

I grew up in Pennsylvania near a Mennonite community. While I am home for the holiday I was lucky enough to get a tour of a facility where the Mennonites make quilts either to raise funds for their own work or to give away both domestically and internationally. Can you believe they make 25 quilts a week just with volunteers who come in to sew? They have an amazing setup. Want to see?

They have this fabulous prep room with a gigantic cutting table and storage for all kinds of fabric that has been donated.

Since so much is made with donated fabric, most of their quilts are scrappy. Scrappy, when done well, looks so great!

They have a long arm machine but primarily use frames for communal hand quilting. So, depending on the size of quilt they have several different frames ready to go.

This Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt was on the frame for quilting while I was there. They are echo quilting (by hand) around each "flower". It's going to look great when they are done!

Not all of the patchwork is done by hand, so they have rows of donated machines ready to quickly put a top together. Wouldn't this be a great way to get together with your quilty friends for a good chat? Check out that log cabin quilt in the center.

I'll just toss this one in because I loved it. Pretty pretty.

So at any point they have several quilts on the go. There were four prepped while I was there. Some for quilting, some for hand tying. Depends on how quickly they want to get something finished and sent out. It was really amazing.

I was totally impressed with their setup and wish I lived closer to volunteer. They send hundreds of quilts out to needy families while still providing a community for the local quilters. What could be better? Well done, Mennonite Central Committee of PA! Wish I could be a greater contributor to your efforts! xx

Quilt Art: International Expressions

2011-12-23T07:04:00.000Z

How lucky am I that I return to my hometown for Christmas and there's a quilt exhibit on? What great news! So, my folks and I went out to have a peek. What a nice way to spend a few hours with them. Neither are quilt makers, but both are quilt appreciators, so they are very supportive of my quilty love. How cool of them.

So, we went to the local James Michener Art Museum. All were art quilts, so not a traditional block in the bunch. No modern quilts to speak of either. Still, there were some fabulous colors. This, for example, is my favorite:

I. Am. In. Love. With. It.

Can I make something this beautiful? This far outside of my comfort zone? Well, I'm going to give it a try!

Want to see a few more?

They were all beautiful in their own way. Lots of hand dyed fabric, lots of applique, lots of non-cotton fabrics. The quilting was always impressive. My only complaint is that not all were actual quilts with three layers, but sometimes were even only just quilt tops. Ah, details. Still, it offered color and great inspiration and I can't wait to get stitching myself!

This exhibit is traveling, so if it comes near you it is absolutely worth a peek.

Mixer Cover

2011-12-22T22:50:00.000Z

Check this off both my Handmade Christmas list AND my Winter Sewing Goals list! I finally (FINALLY) made a cover for my brother's mixer. He asked for one ages ago and I kind of procrastinated because circles are not always my friend. Anyway, here it is Christmas so it was time to get a move on. What do you think?

I just love this line from Monaluna. I just hope its not too girly. His kitchen is light yellow and his pantry red and white. I looked all over for red and white fabric that I liked, but I continually returned to this Monaluna goodness. Oh, just go with the inspiration that is moving you.... This will still be OK in a red and white pantry, I think.

Now, I wanted a fabric with retro mixers or cupcakes all over it, but he wanted me to tone it down. Anyway, Monaluna also has this fab woodland print that I love. He's a big hiker, so this seemed just perfect! But it was EXACTLY what he asked me not to do. So, it's the lining now and the entire thing is reversable. I hope he flips it every now and then to get a little show of this fabric too.

Here's hoping he likes it :)

If you want to make one of your own, I used this tutorial as a guide and then kind of made it up as I went along.

Table Runner Love

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000Z

How fantastic was the Modern Christmas Table Runner Swap hosted by Susan of Canadian Abroad? I found this to be eye opening for me as I had not made a table runner before. The lovely ladies participating were encouraging, chatty and filled with inspiration, so it just flows from the flickr group right into your sewing room at home.

Much to my surprise, my online bloggy friend Rhonda was creating for me! Rhonda writes Quilter in the Gap blog and hosts a podcast which is completely entertaining to listen to! Anyway, I was so super duper excited to see her return address label sticking out of my post box! Want to see what she made?

How spectacular is this? I love how Rhonda took a creative approach to the runner - its not the usual rectangle that we always see. Circles! How great!?!? Want to see each circle up close?

I love the fabric! Now, do you notice anything special here? Yes! Each circle is an independent little quilt that could be used as a place mat, but they're all linked together using little handmade cuff link-like buttons. So, each place mat has a button hole on either side that can then be used to link it up with its buddy. You could even make a circular runner if you have a circular table!

Rhonda also included a handmade Christmas tree ornament with "2011" on it, to commemorate our recent move into our new home. How thoughtful! there were also sheets of stickers that I have since plastered EVERYWHERE.

Rhonda, thank you. Your creativity and inspiration are making my Christmas shiny and bright. I am entirely grateful for your thoughtfulness and your huge effort to make something so beautiful. xx

Fluffy Pouch

2011-12-19T16:48:00.000Z

I found this fabulous fabric in Pippablue a few weeks ago and I just could not walk out of the shop without buying a FQ. It is an odd day that I buy fabric without a project in mind, so I just carried it around in my purse and pet it while I was at work. Eventually I decided it would be fun to have something handmade by my friend Fi of PatchworkDelights. A little pouch that I could bring with me everywhere.

Well here it is! I love this little cutie! On the outside its echo quilted around little individual sheep to make them even fluffier!

Inside there is a bright happy yellow. A little something to brighten my day.

And its the perfect size! My phone, notebook and passport can fit in easily so its great to travel with. Fi, you're the best. Thank you so very much for making my day!

Hi Again!

2011-12-18T11:33:00.000Z

Wow! What a week it has been! Are you overwhelmed with giveaways?

First, let me say a great big hello to my new bloggy friends. So nice to meet you this week and I can not wait to get to know you better. Your giveaway comments were really making me giggle!

Longstanding bloggy friends, I have missed you! I missed the eye candy on your blog, your silly comments and emails and the sewing inspiration you consistently toss this way. This move has really wiped me out of my routine. I am finally (FINALLY) back online in the new house and I really look forward to catching up with each and every one of you. I missed you guys! xx

What many of you are wondering is who will be the lucky recipient of the FSQ giveaway? I just can not get over the positive response to this giveaway. I really struggled to find an idea this year, which kind of surprised me. Glad so many of you thought it was fun enough to enter your name. Mr. Random had 930 entries to choose from and he selected number 121.

Let me introduce you to Miss Laurel! She hosts several blogs such as My Adventure is You and Cooking With Laurel. Here's what she had to say:

Laurel, I emailed you for your mailing address. I have a little package all ready to go to you and I'd love to get it in Monday's post!

Were any of you lucky enough to be a giveaway winner? Tell me what you scored!

Giveaway Day! Giveaway Day!

2011-12-12T08:43:00.002Z

It's the day we've all been waiting for! Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! I'm so excited I just don't know where to start.

Hi to my regular FSQ friends. I miss you guys, but hope to be back blogging and reading your blogs soon enough. To those just finding FSQ, welcome! I'm so glad you're here! Have a little look around, please :)

Right. Onto the giveaway. Would you like a big, lovely stack of fabric to make something spectacular? Well, how about yummy ECHINO prints? I am in love with them. There are 13 (yes, lucky 13) total with 8 at 9x10 inches and 5 at 9x19 inches. Enough for a cute bag, several pouches or even a mini-quilt.

But wait! You're going to need solids too! I have a stack of 5 KONA solid fat quarters that coordinate. They're a bit bigger than your usual fat quarter at 26x19 inches.

How do you get your hands on these beauties? There are several ways:

One entry: leave a comment below telling me your favorite fabric designer.
Second entry: become a follower and leave a second comment telling me what fabric line you just don't understand what the hub-bub is about
Third entry: blog about this particular giveaway (and leave the link in your comment) to spread the word of this Echino extravaganza

Winner will be chosen by random number generator on 16 Dec. I'm happy to ship anywhere in the world.

That's it! Super easy! Wishing you the best of luck and have a fantastic time blog hopping!

Nearly There Now...

2011-12-03T17:26:00.000Z

Well, our move is nearly over! We have most of our stuff in the new house and are looking forward to unpacking and making it home. You better believe I am unpacking the sewing room first!

I will go radio silent for the next few days as we don't have internet at the new house yet. So, most likely no posts here or comments on your stuff. I'll miss reading about your adventures, but I'll catch up as soon as I can.

Hope to chat with you again next week!

xx

Modern Blocks

2011-11-30T17:57:00.001Z

It's arrived! It's arrived! Ever since I saw this on Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle I have been obsessed! Well, I ran to Amazon, but there was a several week delay on shipping. Argh! Anyway, it's here now and I can not get enough.

It's Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from your Favorite Designers, assembled by Suzanne Woods. Indeed there's a plethora of blocks to choose from. I keep paging through the book and fall in love with a new one each review. One to suit every mood. Some I fell in love with immediately, others I could see I will never use. Most importantly, those unloved blocks are the minority.

Each block is presented as a full page photograph on the left and then the pattern instructions on the right. I really wish it was spiral bound so it would lay flat, but I'll work around that :) I had a hard time finding sneak peeks online, so I thought I'd share some with you but without giving away the pattern details. Wouldn't want to give away the thunder of each designer!

Do you love it? Want to see more? How about these:

Now many of these you can just figure out on your own with a little fiddling. Here's the thing: they have great cutting instructions and easy to follow assembly diagrams. They make it easy for you! Now get out to your local bookstore and have a look for yourself!

Jonesing for More FMQ? Or Another Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day?

2011-11-29T12:52:00.000Z

Today's post is just filled with happy events where you can join in for a little fun. Hope that's OK.

Are you getting the shakes now that we're not FMQ-ing together? Well, our friend Laura from Quokka Quilts is hosting a QAYGFMQQAL. What!?!? I'll translate: Quilt As You Go Free Motion Quilting Quilt Along. Are you with me? Its a great way to use all of the Free Motion Friday skills you've just mastered, so hop on over there.

Did you hear that the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is scheduled for 12 December? Get that pile of FQs ready and stitch that 241 Tote ASAP! I, for one, can't wait as I had such a blast last year. Lost hours of my life blog hopping...lost sanity after day 3 and had to give up. There are improvements this time around that might make the searching for goodies a bit easier. It's all there on the SWS link above. Hope to see you all there!

Birdie Stitches: November & Moving Photos

2011-11-28T20:13:00.000Z

It is still November, right? Finished just in time! Since I do not have my sewing machine up and purring, I did a little embroidery on the November Birdie Stitches block. You know, when these started (Jan - May) I really liked the burst of color in each block, the detail and the variety of things for your eye to look at. The October and November templates are pretty dull in my opinion. Uninspired and blah. I will have to go back and spruce them up a bit. Anyway, here we are for now:

In other news, the move is slowly coming along well. The sewing room was packed and has been transported to the new house. It is not unpacked, but will be this upcoming weekend. It's so sad to see my little projects all wrapped up like this!

This herd of cows will be our neighbors. I was super excited...until Susan got me a little nervous about the noises they make. Fingers crossed this is a quiet herd!

And finally, lucky number 11 is our winner for the Mod Logs pattern giveaway. Marcia, of Run to Mama, will receive my (slightly used) copy of the pattern. I am really excited to see what colors she chooses to use!

Free Motion Friday Week 8: Superstar

2011-11-25T10:34:00.000Z

Are you a Superstar? Well of course you are! This week's Free Motion Friday from the Free Motion Quilting Project is this beauty:

How did it go for you? Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Normally I'd post a new challenge for this upcoming week, but I think our time has come to a close. Our participation each week has reduced and I think it will only continue to do so with the holidays coming up. I like to think it's because you guys are feeling confident on your own and are off practicing diligently on your own! So, many thanks to those of you who participated and I wish you happy FMQ success.

Good News! and a Mod Logs Finish

2011-11-24T12:04:00.000Z

Happy Thanksgiving! Are you up bright and early to get that bird in the oven? I seriously miss Thankgiving - the family gathering, watching football, napping on the couch after the DELISH stuffing, the pumpkin bread, the pecan pie. I really hate turkey so I just fill up on the starches. Fabulous. Enjoy it, guys! We're having left over Chinese and re-heated frozen pizza. It's a little American celebration in its own way :)

Thank you guys so much for your help finding little Clarkson. Your kind words, happy vibes to the universe and your helpful hints made all of the difference. The little ~~stinker~~ guy found his way home on Tuesday morning. I was up for my 6AM walk and call for him and there he was at the back door meowing to be let in. I've been smothered in licks and cuddles since and we couldn't be happier. Thank you, guys!

Want to see what he's doing when I'm usually writing blog posts? He crawls under the laptop because he likes the heater. What a little monkey.

Well, quilting world has seriously slowed with the move. I had to pack up the stash and the sewing machine a few days ago, so it's only hand work that's moving ahead. I finished my table runner for the Canadian Abroad swap and it will go in the post today. I wish I took a photo before I packed it up to send. My mind's not focusing lately.

I also finished hand stitching the binding on Mod Logs. It's all done and dusted except for a few loose threads that need cutting and a final wash. There's a larger washing machine at the new house, so I'm holding out 'til we move to get it all crinkly.

What do do to celebrate? How about a giveaway? Would you like the original version of my pattern? Just leave a comment below and I'll hold a drawing on Monday. I (by accident) packed it (argh!) already, so it will go into the post in about 10 days time. Sorry, guys!

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Stats:Name: Mod Logs

Made For: Myself. It's the first quilt of mine to be used in my house.

Fabric: Kona white and Moda Fresh Flowers Jelly Roll

Batting: Warm & Natural
Size: 84"x90" (goodness!)

Quilting: Straight line across the "join" between rows

Pattern: Mod Logs by Della Gardner

Devastated

2011-11-21T07:19:00.001Z

Warning: this is not at all quilting, craft or happiness related.

Guys, I am just gutted. My little best friend, my fluffy companion, my buddy boy has gone missing.

I was never a cat person before he came along. I'm still not really a cat person. I just love this particular cat to bits.

For the past 2 years he's stayed either inside the house or in the back yard. We had a PetSafe collar that would keep him right around us because we live in a housing estate/development wasteland and it's easy to get lost in a sea of similar backyards or hit on the busy roads. We're moving to the country (1 Dec) and were so excited to give him the space he'd want to run aroud free.

Please help me find my buddy. Has anyone lost a cat before? Do you have advice to bring him home? I'm out calling for him at night and in the morning. I'm distributing fliers in every house in the 'hood today (about 400 of them) and I've emailed posters to all of the local pet stores and vets. Any other hints, please? What has worked for you? Have you had indoor-ish cats re-appear several days later?

Free Motion Friday Week 7: H2O

2011-11-18T09:30:00.000Z

Decades of scientific training were my downfall this week. It actually made me incapable of stitching little circles attached to one another by little lines. Why couldn't I disconnect my right brain from my left? No one knows. Stupid education.

Leah, of the Free Motion Quilting Project, made this beauty called H2O. I have to say, this is visually one of my favorite FMQ patterns. I really could see myself using this one day.

OK...are you ready? I'm not sure you are, but I'll toss this out for a good giggle.

I wish I could do the straight lines as single lines. I don't like it when my stitching goes haywire and you can see both lines. I also wish I did the circles A) as circles and B) as single loops instead of tracing over myself.

My brain was stuck on the actual chemical structure of water. There is one oxygen and two hydrogens. Two bonds per large circle. And they shouldn't be linked to one another. This is just chaos. My brain couldn't separate the quilting motif from my ancient chemistry lectures.

Moving on. I have two apologies to make. We are in the process of moving to a new (to us) house, so the sewing machine has taken a back seat.

1: I did not have a quiet minute this week to test out the FMQ goodies I received from Leah. I am sorry. I just want to dedicate real time to an honest review of the products, so I chose to not squeeze it into this week of craziness.

2: I will not be able to practice with you for the next two weeks. I am happy to host the linky, but I will have to drop out of stitching until early Dec. I will honestly jump right back in once the new house is up and running.

Right. So, what's next week? How about Superstar?

Are you feeling lucky? Well, get stitching my friends!

Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Bee Blessed November & a Christmas Goodie

2011-11-17T06:04:00.007Z

If given the choice, what Christmas goodie would you make? I thought long and hard about it. There's so much inspiration out there! I love the little embroidered pieces in a hoop hung by a ribbon. I am really liking the tree ornaments that I am seeing on several blogs. Still, for my partner in the Modern Christmas Table Runner Swap, I wanted to make something that reflected my family's Christmas.

I used this adorable (or at least I think so) Riley Blake Christmas fabric to make a little re-usable gift bag. My family has stared making/buying fabric bags to wrap presents in as an alternative to the boxes and wrapping paper that gets tossed or recycled by noon on Christmas day. So, for those folks that we continually exchange gifts with (parents, brother, sister-in-law) we're trying to move more to re-usable wrapping that then returns the next year and is swapped again.

So, in the spirit of a green Christmas, I made a Pink Penguin gift bag (visit her awesome tutorial). I hope my partner likes it and puts it to good (repeated) use!

I also made a few blocks for Judith's Bee Blessed. This month she's making quilts for elderly women, so she asked for soft, vintage log cabins. I don't really have soft fabric, but this is at least a vintage-type print. I am always stunned by the beautiful quilts that come from this bee.

That's the news here at Fluffy Sheep Quilting. No more stitching for today. We're busy packing to move in the next two weeks, so tonight I'll be sorting through books and clothes. What to keep? What to give away? What to toss. It's really therapeutic!

Do. Good Stitches!!!!

2011-11-16T07:15:00.020Z

I am over the top excited! I signed up to join Do. Good Stitches several months ago. Months went by. Nothing. I would check nearly weekly to see if I was assigned to a hive, but no news. Sad, sad me.

But not today! I was assigned to the best hive EVER! It's called Care and is hosted by the totally creative Karen (McGinty & Me, Listen To The Birds Sing). She will rock as queen bee. Along with Karen, our quilters are Kat (Diary of a Flutter Kat) and Annabella (Life's Rich Pattern), my old bloggy friends. You know this is going to be great fun once these girls join in. Lucky for me, though, there are also new-to-me folks too, so they will be friends soon enough :) Hi Labour of Love and KristinPaton!

I feel most comfortable in a stitcher's position until I really understand what's happening in Do.Good Stitches. I am joined with my new-to-me friends, stitchers Lucy Fleur, Daisy & Jack, Nutterbug (love that name!), and Three Honeybees. We are each to make two 12.5x12.5" blocks every month as designed by the mama quilter. The blocks are to be made from my stash, so I am really looking forward to digging through and re-visiting my favorite fabrics.

Yippee! Happy days! If you have not already signed up for this bee, do go over to Do.Good Stitches on flickr and fill in the super easy form. See you there!

Still Running....

2011-11-15T09:59:00.000Z

Maybe not running, but jogging. Or a slow trot. Still, I am slowly moving along with my Modern Christmas Table Runner for the swap hosted by Susan (of Canadian Abroad). I really, really like the idea of this swap and am constantly inspired by the beautiful creations in the flickr group. I am just having trouble finding chunks of time to dedicate to this project as we're traveling nearly every weekend.

Enough with the excuses....want to see where I am? Well, I have nearly finished the top. My partner wanted bright, light colors that were still Christmasy and she likes lots of white. I hope this suits her!

To make it a little more special, personal and unique, I am hand stitching a little embellishment in each star. This is where I am a little stuck as I just ran out of red floss. Argh! Can you see it on the third star in? There's only a small bit to stitch before I can finally layer it and move onto quilting.

I think the top is a little generic as I am seeing lots of this sort of thing in the inspirational mosaics and in what the other swap buddies are creating. Now, I do really love this theme...don't get me wrong. I just want my partner to feel special and that she has received something unique, made just for her. So, I will try to make it reversible so she gets a two-for-one deal. Hopefully she'll like one side at least :)

In theory they should match up so that I can quilt between the stars. Fingers crossed that's true! I still have a Christmas "goodie" to make, but I have a clear idea in my head and the fabric worked out. It's not what you'd normally associate with a Christmas "goodie" like a tree ornament or a wall decoration, but its something my family has been getting into the past few years and its nice to share that with someone else. Or at least that's what I am hoping :) More to come later this week!

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. Its been ages since joining in the link, so I am super excited to see what everyone else is making. Use the button on the right to hop over yourself!

Sew Bee Blissful: November

2011-11-14T09:25:00.001Z

Finished my two Sew Bee Blissful blocks for November. I just loved making these. We were to use a Wonky Star pattern, but create anything we wanted. Some folks went super scrappy, others with creative center piecing that's a little abstract. I went for fussy cutting and a classic pinwheel. I hope Ella likes them!

I had several arguments with that pinwheel center. There are a few points that are out of control, but it's the best I could do and we're all going to just have to be happy with that...

Knitting & Stitching Weekend

2011-11-13T21:18:00.000Z

This was my first Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin and I am not quite sure how to wrap it up for all of you. I went up on Friday morning and stayed through half of Saturday to chat with friends and shop as much as possible. Here's the story:

The absolute highlight of the weekend was meeting friends. I met Sarah (of FairyFace Designs) before I even made it to the show! We had a good long chat over coffee like we have known each other for years. It was so fantastic to finally meet her in person! I just wish we had a little more time, but our paths will cross again eventually. I found my way (through a monsoon) to the show and there found Fi (of PatchworkDelights) and we had a shopping spree in fast forward. She's such a riot! We were off shopping for fabric, ribbon and glittery glue with a little break for tea and a muffin (the size of my head). I really had a fab time with her and (again) wished we had more time together before she had to head home.

Once I finished socializing....whew!...I found my way to the shops. There were beading stalls, paper stalls, knitting stalls, book shops and a few fabric stalls. Not as many as I would have hoped for, but enough to entertain me a while. Most were not really to my taste and sold darker, blander, more granny-ish fabric than what I was looking for. There were two great exceptions: Crafty Fox (where I found a few FQs) and Pippablue, which was its usual spectacular self. Ger and Eva are so fantastic to chat/shop with! With lots of picking to the bottom of display baskets, I found 4 FQs scattered around the show that made me smile.

Recently I have been interested in the idea of dyeing my own fabric. I have been reading a lot, but not much actual dyeing...and then I saw this! Colourcraft. They were great in helping me choose a dye and tools that would work for me. Now I can not wait to give it a try!

Looking at that last photo you would be forgiven for thinking I took up another illegal hobby while in Dublin.

Just before I had to head for the train home, I met up with Linda (of Sew Nicely) and her adorable daughter for a snack and a chat. She had a great stash of fabric and yarn that will keep her busy for a while! I can not wait to see what she creates. Again, it was really to put a face with her bloggy personality.

Will I go back next year? Most likely yes - but really for the socializing and not for the shopping. Was a bit disappointed there, but seeing my friends totally made it a fantastic weekend. Thanks, girls!

Free Motion Friday Week 6: Pine Needles

2011-11-11T06:06:00.000Z

So, have you come to a conclusion? Are you a curve-loving person or a straight line-kind of person? I think I may have stitched teams and am now cheering for the curves. Interesting. I just can not trace a stitched line to save my life, which seems to be what straight line quilting is all about lately. Anyway, this week I stitched this crazy thing...

Instead of these pretty Pine Needles by Leah at the Free Motion Quilting Project. Argh!

I was nearly ready to throw in the towel (or quilting sandwich - what ever). Not to fear, though! Leah Day to the rescue! Out of the blue Miss Leah emailed me (Hi, if you're reading this!) and asked me to try out her Machingers, Supreme Slider and the Little Genie Magic Bobbin Washers and tell her what I think. Well, of course I will! (Duh, who wouldn't!?!?) So, she shipped a sample over and I will give them a try using this week's pattern. I will let you all know my honest thoughts after giving them a try! I am most excited about the Supreme Slider as the bump in my machine bed seems to always be my problem (or at least my current excuse).

And how will we test out her goodies? With this pretty pattern: H2O.

We can use this handy-dandy video:

Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Knitting & Stitching Show Dublin: Meet Up

2011-11-10T09:11:00.000Z

Anyone going to the Knitting & Stitching show in Dublin this weekend? Do you want to meet up on Saturday? If so, please send me an email today (Thursday) to fluffysheepquilting(at)gmail(dot)com and leave your mobile number so I can text you once plans have been sorted out. Can't wait to see you there!

Life has taken my blogging time this week. I'm sorry to be so absent, but I have to say there are great things going on at home that I would not want to stifle. Anyway, I am indeed still stitching my table runner and binding mod logs...photos will have to come next week.

Free Motion Friday 5: Stomach Lining

2011-11-04T07:19:00.000Z

Hope you are all well and your stitching is coming along beautifully! To remind you, this week we were trying to stitch something resembling this Halloweenish Stomach Lining pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

How did you do? Well, much to my surprise I really enjoyed this pattern. I have been so scared of curves, but here I kind of got into a vibe. I was a little lost, though, when I got to an edge and had to loop back (as you see in the upper left corner). I should have just traveled along the edge a bit and started another concentric circle. Live and learn.

What's up for next week? Had enough with curves? What about going back to straight lines and trying these Pine Needles?

Bits of Happiness

2011-11-02T14:03:00.000Z

The postman has been so good to me lately. My mailbox has been filled with happiness. Want to have a peek?

This gorgeous package arrived from Nicky at Mrs Sew and Sow. I met Nicky in our Goodie Swap - thank goodness I did! She's been a source of inspiration and support since. She's one of the main nudgers to go ahead with our FMQ practice-a-long. Not only does she make beautiful quilts, but she also creates her own beaded jewelery, something that I have been meaning to try. Well, Nicky was kind enough to make a little pouch (and show off her FMQ skillz) and send over pretty pretty beads and string to play with. The super cool thing is that the back of the pouch is fuzzy so I have a place to put my beads and they won't roll away. Good thinking! Thanks, Nicky! You rock.

We can now show off our Scrappy Swap packages too! Woo hoo! Unbeknown to me, my secret partner was Kat of Diary of a Flutter Kat. It is no secret that I think Kat is really great - creative with a great sense of style and color. Well, lucky me! I get a bit of her craftiness here in my home :) Kat sent this fab pouch with scraps fussy cut to show of little critters, like this little goldfish and bunny on the back...

...and a really cute cat and chicken on the front. I love it, love it, love it. Thanks, Kat!

Inside is a little label. Aren't they cute? She knows I love for them to be there, but just hidden a bit. :)

But what about the scraps? Well.....get a look at this gorgeousness! I already have a scrappy quilt in mind to use nearly all of them! Some are super special and I may just pet them a while longer.

When I'm not busy opening my post, I have been stitching away. Honestly I have. I made two of my four blocks for the Modern Christmas Table Runner Swap. Each will be hand embroidered a bit to highlight the stars. I am hoping it will also be a reversible table runner with little pinwheels and stars on the back - just not quite there yet :) I hope my partner likes them!

Blankets of Love: Finished (Kind-Of)

2011-11-01T12:15:00.000Z

Yippee! This weekend I finished two tops (27x27 inches) and two backs (32x32 inches) for Blankets of Love, organized by Diary of a Flutter Kat's lovely Kat. With any luck, they will be on their way to Kat in today's post. She generously offered to add in the wadding and quilt them before sending them off to the local hospital.

This top is for a little girl and it has a matching pieced back. The binding will be Kona coral.

And then I used colors that were a bit darker for a little boy's quilt top and pieced back. The binding will be a matching denim blue.

I hope they bring a bit of happiness and comfort to their new families.

I am sorry for the really stinky photos! With the low winter sun, the short daylight hours and the wind it Galway I am not doing that well this week!

Sew Bee Blissful: October Blocks Finished

2011-10-31T15:55:00.000Z

I had such high hopes. I finished off these little blocks last night (yes, it's still October...I'm just a little late...) and thought I would wait for the sun to come out today before taking a photo. Want to see what they look like today on the line?

Right. Galway isn't known for its California-like weather.

I know, I know. I need to mow the lawn, but I just put down seed so I am waiting for my new little friends to grow to three inches tall.

Anyway, back inside to take a photo or two. Celynn sent us fabric to create two 12.5 inch square blocks using this tutorial. I found this to be a huge challenge. I had difficulty trying to arrange fabrics as I would not normally mix these blue/green/gray prints with maroon and orange. But that's the point of a bee, right? To grow a bit. I tried the safe method trying to use my stash neutrals and the cool shades and made this:

I wanted the second owl to be fully warmer fabrics, but I started to run out of material. I had to combine warms and cools to make this little guy. I like him more than I thought I would :)

And finally Celynn asked for a signature block of our scraps. Now we're in my comfort zone again...

They will be in the post tomorrow with a little chocolate goodie and a recipe (at Celynn's request). I hope she likes them!

Too many beautiful options!

2011-10-30T16:55:00.000Z

I fell in love with Design Seeds this weekend. If you have visited for a little color inspiration, I suggest you do so as quickly as possible. Well, after reading this first...then go to Design Seeds.

Now that we have that sorted, I was wondering which color scheme is your favorite? I am so wowed by each of these, I just need a little help narrowing down my choices. Will you just leave a comment below and let me know which you like best? Or which one you dislike the most? The names of the combinations are on the photos and in the photo captions. Thanks, guys!

Arizona Brights

Bottled Brights

Candied Hues

Flora Bright

Pinwheel Dessert

Winter Brights

Wish Brights

Produced Hues

Sequins Brights

Free Motion Friday Week 4: Bright Star

2011-10-28T06:56:00.003+01:00

Welcome to the fourth week of our practice-a-long! How are you feeling? Are you having fun? Are you any more confident? Anyone think they're improving? Good! Our linky is growing with each post, so Hello and Welcome to our new participants. We are happy to have a giggle with you. Hope you have a good sense of humor :)

To remind you, this week we were trying to stitch something resembling this Bright Star pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

Want to see how it went for me? I was confident. Confident that I could stitch a straight line. No problem, right. Right? Well, apparently I was too big for my britches....

It's OK. It's better than last week, but still could use some serious practice. I liked the straight lines, liked flipping the sandwich around as I went (so I didn't have to peer behind that pesky needle) and liked the simplicity. Still, I'd hit bumps on my machine bed that would jar my pushing or pulling, resulting in a jolt on the straight line. This was done without my usual relaxing techniques (AKA drinks or lullabies) but instead just breathing long, slow, calming breaths. The good thing was, at the end my shoulders were not up at my ears! It's working!

The back was fine. No weirdness to report there, thank goodness.

Normally I will use Mr. Random to choose our week's challenge from your list of suggestions, but this week I thought something in the Halloween spirit might be fun. Why don't we give Stomach Lining a try? Yes, one of you suggested this piece of tastiness :) Here is the photo from the Free Motion Quilting Project to guide us:

And our go-to video tutorial:

Good luck! Here's hoping the curvy lines do me well this week :)

Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. (Thanks a million to Laura who sorted out my linky issues!) Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Start Your Own.....With Simply Solids

2011-10-27T08:07:00.018+01:00

This is the last of guest posts in the Start Your Own series. A great big huge THANK YOU to all of our contributor. I've learned so much from you and am grateful for your time, effort and thoughtfulness.

Our guest blogger this week is Mandy Noble. Mandy is mum, business owner, fabric lover and opportunist. She is creator and owner of Simply Solids, a brilliant online fabric shop in the UK. You can get to shopping on her website or just go to have a peek around her blog if you'd like to learn more.

Thank you, Mandy, for writing such a tangible post, giving us a peek into your mindset and your family as well as how you have evolved into Simply Solids.

Where to start???

I am 42 and mum to three gorgeous children, Jamie 10, Freya 8 and Audrey 5. I live in a small village in the Peak District, which is absolutely beautiful - picture perfect. My husband Lewis is a successful landscape artist and we kind of live an idyllic life!! (most of the time!) I gave up work to look after the children and now they are all at primary school I needed to find a job that would be flexible and fit around them. I used to be a business development manager for a large multimedia company and am pretty IT savvy so running an online store selling fabric (which I am addicted to) is the perfect solution!

My mum taught me to sew when I was little, but I never did a huge amount other than curtains till after the kids were born. In 1989 I went to a quilt exhibition of slave quilts in Atlanta, Georgia and swore that one day I would make my own quilt, it took a good 11 years before i started one and another 7 years before that was finished! 3 kids got in the way, but once they were past the baby stage I signed up for a block a month workshop and that was it - I was hooked.

When I started quilting I was into Japanese Daiwabo fabrics so everything was very muted, but after joining flickr and discovering the blogging world I discovered new modern fabrics and fell in love. I love bright colours and simple designs and my quilts today reflect this. I have a mad confidence in that I will try anything and love a new challenge!!

The shop came about because I was struggling to get hold of certain Kona cotton solids in the and thought maybe I should order it in in bulk myself and sell a bit on Etsy. Then a friend (lilysquilts) kind of bet me to start a shop - so I did!! My job before the children were born involved web design and I have always managed my husband's business so I had a lot of the necessary skills already, I started small and am just building it up as I go along.

My goal with Simply Solids is to have the complete range of Kona Cotton Solids combined with a few other ranges - Amy Butler Solids, Kaffe Fasset Shot Cottons and some plain Linens. I will always order in any colour a customer needs and am always open to suggestion for different ranges. I also stock Gutermann Cotton threads and wadding meaning that customers can get everything they need to complete a quilt. I stock Moda pre-cuts because I love them, the ranges are always changing and they offer such flexibility. I have only been going for a year so my stock and ranges will continue to grow and grow!

I would love to expand to a bricks and mortar shop in the future, but the time is not right now with the kids, I am very involved at school and they need me around holidays and after school. Maybe once they are older I may be able to do this and have a workshop space as well.

As for advice - I think having a business background and the ability to run my own website makes a huge difference, it keeps the costs down as I don't need any outside contractors. I am also lucky in that my dad is an accountant and has set up my accounts system. I would advise anyone thinking of starting out to consider all these things, profit margins are tight so you need to be able to do as much of the admin as you can and get good systems in place.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have turned my hobby/passion into a career that fits in around my family. I don't make a huge amount of money from it but hopefully as I expand it will make a difference to our household income.

Blankets of Love Beginnings

2011-10-25T07:00:00.001+01:00

Over on Diary of a Flutter Kat, Kat is hosting a charity quilting bee called Blankets of Love where she is asking quilters to create a quilt block, a top or donate fabric, wadding, backs, etc to create small quilt for ill children and their families struggling at hospitals. Just to give a little bit of handmade comfort.

I am really excited about this project. My plan is to create two quilt tops, backs and binding to send them to Kat for wadding and quilting. I would like for them both to be finished by March at the absolute latest. So, I started in today.

I had a charm pack given to me by a kind reader, so what better use than to pass that generosity onto someone else? I split the pack into two to make a quilt for a little girl and a little guy. They went to Susan, from Canadian Abroad, to be cut into Drunkard's Path blocks with her super duper Go!Baby. I am a bit of a Go! cynic, Susan was kind enough to let me have a distant test run. Much to my surprise, there was very little wastage from the charms, which was my first concern. Indeed the pieces were beautifully cut!

Using tutorials from Susan and Kerry, I gave the DP block a go. These are my first, so the early blocks were a gazillion times more difficult than the later, but the entire way through I struggled with the curve. The stitching was fine, but I never felt like the block was flat. They were always a little bubbly even after ironing.

I am not entirely sure how to lay out fabric in a DP quilt. With the girly quilt, I just tried to evenly distribute the fabric prints and colors and they look OK. I think with the little man quilt I'll try for more contrast, so a dark circle with light prints on the outside or something like that. One more DP block to go with the little girly quilt, then I'm onto sashing. Maybe I'll have this finished by the weekend! Hope you like it, Kat!

Winter Stitching Goals with FairyFace Designs

2011-10-24T07:00:00.001+01:00

I too am joining in on FairyFace Design’s Winter Stitching Goals List. I found this to be really helpful over the summer, so I am looking forward to it giving me guidance this winter too. Here we go in no particular order:

Birdie Stitches

I am nearly on track with this project. I will make up a June template, tweak my October block to make me happier and complete the November and December blocks. I want the top finished in January or February as I have all of the materials and its pretty straight forward.

Brother’s Mixer

My brother never asks for anything, but asked for a cover for his kitchen mixer. I have fun fabric and a pattern, so I just have to stitch it together. I’m hoping to bring it home with me for Christmas to hand it off – not as his gift, but just so I do not have to post it.

Sister-In-Law’s Bag

Now this is just embarrassing. I picked up the pattern and fabric for this back in December 2010 thinking I’d make it for her birthday in July….but no. It was my great disappointment in the Summer Goals list. Anyway, I’m aiming for Christmas this year. Fingers crossed!

Blankets of Love

Kat is running a bee to create baby quilts. I aim to make two tops, backs and bindings to send to her in the near future. Again, I have the fabric and pattern in mind, but just need to get stitching. Kat, I didn’t forget about you!!!

Bees

I love my bees right now. I am participating both in Bee Blessed and Sew Bee Blissful, so I would like to continue to contribute monthly to both bees (on time).

Swaps

I will finish off the Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap hosted by Susan. I have my fabric and an idea, so I just have to get to cutting and stitching.

Another swap is rumbling around in my head for the New Year. No news to share yet, but it will be in conjunction with a few bloggy buddies. We’ll let you know more when we know more J

Quilts

Mod logs is currently being quilted, so I will finish it and start using it on our couch. I can’t wait, actually!

The Community Quilt is layered. I will quilt it, bind it and show it off to all who will look J

Chaos is a new quilt that I am starting to think about – it is scrappy, bright and happy. It's only in the early stages of choosing scraps and creating my own "fabric" to work from. I will finish the top and hope to quilt it before the winter is through. No photos just yet - it's mostly in my head.

Scrappy Stars is another quilt inspired by the quilt show I went to in Tuam when looking for my mojo. I haven't started stitching yet, but would love something similar to the inspirational photo below. If I can get the top finished I would be thrilled.

International Quilt Festival of Ireland

IQFOI is coming next summer and I have a fabulous opportunity to put a quilt into the show (Not for judging. Just for looking!). I have the top cut, so I need to piece it, embellish it, bind it and submit it by January or February. I think it’s supposed to be top secret, so I can only show sneaky peeks as I go along. Eventually you’ll see all, I promise.

Guest Post

I am so happy to be invited to contribute a tutorial to a series this fall, so I will get my tutorial tested, written and photographed. I’m a bit nervous, but this will be a great jump for me.

Free Motion Friday
This has been a great experience so far, so we'll keep it up at least to Christmas. I am really enjoying this as my push to practice FMQ and I think I'm starting to improve, so it's thumbs up. The goal? One post per week to the end of December.

That is what I have in mind right now. I’m sure this will change as time goes on, but its still a great exercise for me to get it all down on “paper” and focus. Did you write up your goals list yet? Hop over to Sarah’s site to learn more. I can’t wait to see what you have in mind too!

Free Motion Friday Week 3: Slate Tiles

2011-10-21T08:28:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the third week of our practice-a-long! I love the enthusiasm and spirit of last week. We are expanding to incorporate a great variety of experience and skill, which is making this really fun for me. Clearly I need lots and lots of practice, but I am so thankful that there are many of you reading/playing along who are willing to contribute suggestions and helpful hints. Thank you!

To remind you, this week we were trying to stitch something resembling this Slate Tile pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

Let me summarize my post-stitching conversation with my other half to give you a flavor of this week's FMQ experience:

me: See! I get better each time I try?
him (giggling): You're all over the place!
me: But I get better, right?
him: The girls will have a good laugh this week :)

And he's right. Here we go.

I made three attempts this week. I tried Slate Tiles the first time with my motorcycle gloves, sans booze, humming a lullaby (calming) and created this:

The good thing is this pattern doesn't require me to "see" behind my needle. I still struggle with that. This I could stitch like I read a book, upper left to lower right. Comforting. I was trying to focus on thread tension and the balance between my moving the sandwich and needle speed to get pert stitches. I kept my feed dogs up as many of you suggested I should. The result is the lines are very shaky because I was pushing faster or slower to see the effect on stitch length. It was a good experiment. The problem was that with the feed dogs up, I got a pulling/jerking of the needle on its way up that would yank the sandwich all over the place.

So, back to the old tried and true. "Normal" tension, feed dogs down and motorcycle gloves. (OK: this week I really need to get those gardening gloves. The biker gloves are not really doing the job.) And I kind of like it! The stitches are still slightly shaky because my machine bed is uneven and some times I yank the fabric as I go over a bump. Still, I'm getting a little better (or so I tell myself).

Feeling confident, I thought I'd try to tackle my old nemesis The Wave. How quickly my bubble burst! I still can not stitch a curve to save my life. I have troubles moving the fabric toward me, which makes sense as I am more used to moving it away from me when piecing. Let's call it The Ripple. Maybe if I try this again exaggerating the curve it would be better? I will keep trying.

The good news is I don't have birds nests on the back side and I have found my favorite tension/feed dog combo. It's only up from here, my friends!

Thank you all for your suggestions of patterns you'd like to try. I have a little list going, so Mr Random and I will choose one from your suggestions each week. This week, we're going to give Bright Star a try. Here is the photo from the Free Motion Quilting Project to guide us:

Leah, helpful as ever, has given us this tutorial by video:

Good luck! Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

(PS - Anyone else running linky parties through inlinkz.com? I can't seem to allow photos to appear any more...and they were super fun! Can you? Or are you text only too?)

Start Your Own...With Penny Barnes

2011-10-20T06:00:00.001+01:00

Our guest blogger this week is Penny Barnes. Penny is a longarm quilter who incorporated her love for fabric and quilting into a career for herself, but in a different way than what you might think. I admire her open spirit to take an opportunity when presented. Thank you, Penny, for writing such a personal, tangible post for us today!

Hello Everyone! My name is Penny Barnes and I am a Fabricaholic, which has triggered symptoms of being a Quiltaholic as well. I love fabric. I love to look at it, touch it, and bring it home to my sewing stash. Sometimes, occasionally (okay… most of the time) I purchase fabric without a definite plan in mind for it’s use. There is currently no known cure. I work at a local quilt shop called The Quilted Forest, located here in north central Iowa that feeds my habit. Okay. There. I said it. Admitting I have a problem is key in beating the… Hey wait! I don’t to cure this! I love to make quilts for family, friends and people I’ve never met. I’ve also recently made quilts to donate to a local Children’s Hospital.

In 2008, I started out working at the quilt shop on just the occasional Saturday, an opportunity to spend a day surrounded by my beloved fabric. I treasured those Saturdays. I was working another full time job when, due to cuts, my position was eliminated. My mom was admitted to hospice on that same day. That’s what I call a bad day, but I carried on; was able to move in to another full time position which I like to refer to as The Job from Hell. (Ever have one of those?) Less than one year later, that position was eliminated as well, and it was a wake up call. Somebody was trying to tell me something. It was time. Time to step out in faith and into my world of quilts! I was able to begin working several days a week at the quilt shop nursing my wounds. Losing one’s job is hard. Being told it’s nothing personal when it still feels personal, is painful. But now I was spending my day in my most favorite happy place, helping other quilters choose fabrics for their projects, sewing shop samples and getting paid for it. It felt good. (Is anyone else thinking about that saying “when one door closes another one opens”?)

As part of my therapy to deal with losing my job, I decided I would make all of my kids and grandkids quilts that Christmas. Did I mention I have 6 kids? And, at that time 4 grandkids? (I have six now and one due next February) Six plus four equals ten. (Yikes!) And I started in August. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Yeah, I thought so too. As I started finishing quilt tops, I wondered how I would ever afford the cost of getting them all quilted. Enter another great idea: I asked my shop owner, Shelley, if I could learn how to run the longarm machine in our shop, so that I could quilt my own quilts on my own time. She said YES! So I got my first lesson...the week of Thanksgiving. I had less than a month to finish all 10 quilts and I did it! It wasn’t long after that the longarm quilter at the shop had to leave and I was asked if I wanted to take that position. I was terrified. The only thing I had done was a basic meandering stipple with the occasional star or heart. I knew I couldn’t take on that job without more training, so was fortunate enough to enroll in some classes with Dawn Cavanaugh at APQS and have been doing all of the machine quilting at the shop since.

One of the most important things I learned was to practice, practice, practice…and then practice some more! So my first purchase was a dry erase board. I still use it when I want to experiment with a design I’d like to try. I watch you tube videos and love to find books on machine quilting. Some of my favorite and most inspiring books have been Freehand Patterns by Nan Moore, and Hooked on Feathers by Sally Terry. I also have a few books by Sue Patten that have also been very helpful. Qnntv.com has a show called Quilt It the Longarm Quilting show which has been awesome to watch and get ideas for quilting. There are so many great resources available for us quilters. I love to experiment with new patterns and ideas in my quilting, whether for myself or customers. What I have found is that everyone has their own style, even when you are attempting to mimic a design in an instructional book. Your quilting is going to be your own. And that’s a good thing.

I’ve had thoughts of purchasing my own longarm machine, and still may do so at some time so that I can continue to quilt my own quilts. Longarm quilting can be a bit isolating. It’s a lot of time with just you, the machine and the quilt, and hopefully some really great music on your IPod, which on some days is great. I tend to be a people person and love my time with the customers who are shopping for fabrics. Having the machine in the basement of a quilt shop lets me take an occasional break and have opportunity to do just that.

I feel so fortunate that I’ve gotten to experience so many aspects of the quilting industry since taking that one tiny step. Offering to work that occasional Saturday has given me the opportunity to experience quilt shows, quilt market and I’ve learned to be a longarm quilter. I feel like I’m on such an incredible journey…and now the journey is taking me to Ireland! I’ve been asked to be a tour escort for the International Quilt Festival of Ireland next June! I can hardly wait! Is it June yet?

So I guess my advice to you, if you are thinking about starting some sort of quilting business. See if you don’t have an occasional Saturday in your schedule. Just one small step could provide you with the experience and knowledge to decide if that’s the right path for you.

I hope you’ll stop by and visit me on my blog Pieces of Me.
Penny

Totally Random News

2011-10-19T05:33:00.000+01:00

All kinds of things are going on here at Fluffy Sheep Quilting, so this is going to be a pretty random post. I do not know how to structure this post so it makes sense, so I will just dive in.

Newsflash 1:

I won tickets to the Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin in mid-November! Sarah (of Fairyface Designs) and Fi (of PatchworkDelights) host a flickr group called Sew Irish. They were giving away tickets to folks interested in heading to the Dublin show so I gave it a shot. Woo hoo! I am super excited! Thank you, Sarah and Fi! I am really looking forward to seeing you both there.

Photo from http://www.rds.ie/, host of the show.

Newsflash 2:

Did you know our little Free Motion Friday practice-a-long was featured on Craft Gossip? I am completely delighted and hope lots of new folks join in with us. Much to my horror, though, Craft Gossip posted photos of my pre-pre-beginner quality FMQ attempts. You can see the article here and have a good laugh at me. At least the new folks joining us will not have to worry we are too advanced (hee hee!).

Newsflash 3:

I have finished two October blocks for Judith's Bee Blessed at Rags to Bags. She asked for a disappearing nine patch. This was a first for me, but I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I hope she is too :) This month she's making family quilts for homes in Belfast, so hopefully these colors will work with what she has in mind. There's a blue-themed one, but the sun went down before I could get a photo. Bummer.

Newsflash 4:

My fabric arrived for Susan's Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap. It was a personal delivery by my folks when they came to visit this past weekend from the US! Partner, if you're reading this I know its not all to your taste. Don't worry! It's not all for you :) I now have a partner, a possible design and fabric. I just have to start cutting and stitching!

I think that's finally it for mini news bites. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Tomorrow will be our second to last guest post in the Start Your Own series. Come on back and check it out!

Birdie Stitches: October

2011-10-17T08:26:00.000+01:00

I love October. I love the leaves changing color, the crisp weather and Halloween. It is possibly my favorite month of the year. So, here is this month's Birdie Stitches block:

Its kind of cute, but I something is missing. Something that captures the fall season. A little flash or color? I can not figure out what it is, but am open for suggestions if you have one to share?

I am overwhelmed by the number of folks joining into FMQ Friday. I would like to respond to all of you who took the time to comment, but life is getting in the way. We just had a great weekend with my family in Dublin (without internet). I only get to see them 3 times a year, so this was a really great weekend for us. Anyway, I will try my best to respond to you today!

Free Motion Friday Week 2: Drop Art

2011-10-14T08:19:00.000+01:00

Are you getting more comfortable free motion quilting? This was the second week of our practice-a-long and I have to say, I learned a few things. Progress! I am not saying I have a talent for this craziness, but at least I am learning and moving forward.

To remind you, we were trying to stitch something like this Drop Art pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

I learned a few things this week:

First, a few beers might help. That's all I am saying.

Second, I did find gloves and they are indeed helpful. I did not get proper FMQ gloves, or even the inexpensive gardening gloves many of you suggested, but instead used my leather motorcycle gloves and they worked pretty well. Since there's a hint of hope here, I may splash out and get some gardening gloves this week.

Third, a larger piece of fabric to stitch on was helpful. I had more control.

I still can't see what is behind my needle. Is anyone else having this issue? So, my first time trying this pattern, I did the top row of drops, then tried to keep the top row behind the needle and stitch in the bottom row. I couldn't see where I was going, so the bottom looks funny. Anyway, here's the top:

And the back

I tried it again and stitched the top row, then flipped the sandwich 180 degrees and quilted the bottom row so each row was in front and I could see it properly. I was more comfortable this way. The top of try two:

And the bottom:

What I am noticing is that my stitches are not well defined. I don't have "birds nests" or tension issues (I think, at least), but they look flat instead of the neat, pert, individual stitches I am used to with my normal foot/feed dogs/stitch length. Does anyone else notice this? Why does it look so flat? Or maybe my top tension is too loose...but then you'd see the bottom thread popping up, right? I'm lost.

And now for this week's challenge....Slate Tile. This is also a beginner's pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project, but a little different. I am having an awful time trying to get curves (waves, drops... whatever), so why not go for something more angular? Here we go:

And of course, the instructional video:

I am open to suggestions for week 4's pattern, so just visit the FMQ project then come back here and leave a pattern name in the comments. We'll stitch what ever you would like to stitch!

Join in the linky and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Start Your Own....With Jenny Pedigo

2011-10-13T07:00:00.032+01:00

Our guest blogger this week is Jenny Pedigo. Jenny is a longarm quilter who started her own independent business just under 5 years ago. Along with her busienss website, Jenny has a gallery of images that really starts my imagination running wild. Or, you can learn more about Jenny at her blog which is always full of eye candy.

Thank you, Jenny, for writing an honest, realistic, informative post for us. Getting your point of view is very helpful to those just starting out.

I work alone. Just me and my longarm machine. I purchase my machine about 4 1/2 years ago. It was a used machine. That was what fit in our budget. My loving husband drove down to Arizona with a 14 ft. flat bed trailer and picked it up for me. My sister is the one that encouraged me to become a longarm quilter. She thought I'd be good at it. I thought it would be a great thing to do out of my home while home with my kids.

Shortly after getting my machine I started my business. It was a bit of a learning curve for sure. Everything from what batting to use....what thread to use...what pantographs to get...what to quilt on the quilts.....how to quilt. It was all definitely a learning process. I took many longarm quilting classes and mostly just practiced a lot. I met other longarm quilters that were a huge help and definitely couldn't have done it with out them!Since starting my business I have quilted over 550 quilts.

There are benefits and difficulties to this business. Like any business that is run out of the house it is difficult. I am home but at work. Trying to manage home with work is exhausting sometimes. I really try to stick with a schedule to make it easier but if your on a deadline that doesn't always work. Custom quilting is another difficult topic. It's something that I don't feel I ever get payed enough for. I prefer to do overall quilting designs for that reason. My feet get tired....my back gets tired....my wrists get tired....I get tired! I pay quarterly taxes and taxes at the end of the year. Therefore at the end of the year when I calculate how much I've made I am always a bit disappointed.

I hope I'm not coming across negative. Just trying to keep it real. Now on a good note. I love what I do!!! I love the creative side of it. Like I mentioned before I love to design my own quilt patterns and started about a year ago. I don't think I could have ever done that if it wasn't for my Longarm quilting business. And really using the creative side of the brain. I've met some of the most wonderful quilters, young and old, modern and traditional. I think it's great how we quilters can be so different but love to do the same thing.

If I had any advise for anyone that might be interested in starting a longarm quilting business, I would have to say go for it. It's a great supplemental income. It pays for the groceries and of course fabric. :) If your looking to buy a longarm quilting machine, consider buying a used one. There are perfectly good used machines out there that have not been quilted with very much. It's a much cheaper way to go. If you do take the plunge and get a machine, then get to know it very well. There usually isn't a technician locally that knows very much about these machines. So if you can learn how to maintain it that will be to your advantage. And lastly...practice!! That's the best way to learn how to do it. Practice, practice and practice some more. Take classes, watch video's and buy books. There are some great books out there on quilting from some absolutely wonderful quilters.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity Cindy to share a little bit about my business. I hope it may have been helpful to anyone that might be interested in Longarm Quilting.

Pay It Forward Love and Sew Bee Blissful: Block 2

2011-10-11T07:00:00.010+01:00

Do you guys know Jennifer from Knotted Thread? Jennifer is a relatively new blogger. She makes absolutely beautiful stuff, so do jump over and see what she's up to this week. She totally took me by surprise and sent this absolute beauty as my PIF hand made gift. It is the most fantstic mini quilt wallhanging I have ever seen. Isn't it great!?!? I am falling over myself in excitement!

I have been dying to post about this for several days, but the weather has been horrid so I can't get out and get a good photo. This photo doesn't do justice to the greens. Jennifer's photos are better on her blog, so you can really see its beauty here.

Anyway, I happen to be lucky enough to sign up for her PIF a few weeks ago. She knows I absolutely love the Swoon blocks she has been making...so she gave me one of my own! Even better, though - it has a little sheep buddy :) I love it. It does totally remind me of happy fields just outside of Galway where the happy sheep live. Its even hand quilted. Can you see that? Incredible. What could be more perfect? Thank you, Jennifer!

In other news, the fabric to make my second Sew Be Blissful block has arrived! I have been looking forward to giving this a try! This month our Mama is Celynn of the Sunflower Patch. She is looking for a little owl using this tutorial. I will try my best!

Photo from Buzzing and Bumbling tutorial. See the link above.

Celynn sent several beautiful fabrics to work with, so I am excited to get started. I need to really spend some time looking at the tutorial and sorting through the fabrics to be sure I create contrast, thereby letting the little owl shine through.

Fingers crossed I create something she likes!

Name Game

2011-10-10T07:00:00.001+01:00

What? You can't find me? Well, I'm over playing the Name Game at Live a Colorful Life!

If you have not already read a Name Game post, the idea is this: Cindy (our lovely host, not me) asks three questions to a blogger:

How did you choose Fluffy Sheep Quilting as the name for your blog?
Where there other names you considered, and can you share them?
Now that you are known as Fluffy Sheep Quilting, are you happy with it or do you wish you could change it to something else?

All things I honestly had not though of before, which is a little odd. Now, hop on over to Live a Colorful Life and see what I had to say. Thanks so much, Cindy, for inviting me to play!

Free Motion Friday Week 1: The Wave

2011-10-07T08:17:00.000+01:00

How did you do quilting this week, folks? This was the first week of our practice-a-long and I have to say, I struggled a bit.

We were trying to stitch something like this wave pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

I learned a few things this week:

First, I was trying to use scraps to practice, but this may not have been the best idea. They were 4 inches square and I was always too close to the edge or ran out of material to hang onto. That was nearly a bigger struggle than controlling the machine. I'll have to go larger this week.

Second, I could really use gloves of some sort to get a better grip. I was resisting the teflon stuff that Leah Day suggested just because it seems so silly to buy all the gear when I have no idea what I am doing. Gloves, however, may help. Part of my issue was the size of the fabric scraps, but even in the center my fingers were not able to direct the sandwich to go where I wanted it to go. I was too slippery.

Third, I am better pushing the fabric away from me than pulling it toward me. This goes back to the grip issue because pushing it away from me I could use my thumb on the edge of the sandwich while pulling toward me I could not get a hold on anything.

Fourth, my foot is too huge to see around. It has quite a large "mouth" (like myself, I guess) , so I could not direct my fabric along the already stitched neighboring line.

That sounds like a huge list of excuses. I did learn a whole lot about tension (read: it went drastically wrong, but I can now fix that) and adjusting the speed of the machine to the speed of my pushing/slipping. It's a start.

Want to see what I came up with? Here you go:

And the back

I like the back more than the front, so I may have to just quilt everything upside down.

And now for this week's challenge....Drop Art. This is also a beginner's pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

And of course, the instructional video. It really helped me last week, so I am hoping for the same this week. Fingers crossed!

How did you do? Show us what you created and the tricks you learned!

Come join in the linky and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please! It's the only way we will learn. If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.