Author: suznquilts

My Life, new fabric collection, New ideas, New Pattern Sample

Look, I’m sewing!!

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Kids are back to school,

the sun is shining,

and I’m sewing!


Just a hint of the new project that I’m creating with the new Amelia fabric collection collected from the generous Moda fabric company, with additions from a couple of quilt shops during my travels these past couple of weeks.

My first, or rather second project, my first is complete with the exception of sewing 8 super cute buttons on some flower centers, is going to be another of my popular quilt-as-you-go lap quilts.  The first is also a quilt-as-you-go lap quilt.  What can I say, they’re my most popular patterns and I love making them myself.

They make great gifts, they’re do-able in a day, and I don’t have the stress of figuring out how to quilt them!

I can’t show you the finished projects until I have the patterns ready, but believe me they’re very cute.

For now, you’ll just have to take my word for it!

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Quick Little Projects, Quilt Shopping Out & About

A Quick Little Birthday Gift for Mom

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My mom’s birthday was this week.  Since she can buy whatever she needs and wants  she seems to enjoy receiving something that I made just for her.  For Mother’s Day this year I made her one of my “Mother” lap quilts.

It’s a pattern from my “Best Friends” book.

Speaking of my Best Friends book, guess what I found made up last weekend while on a trip to Branson with my family???

That will be my next post…

Anyway, after some family conferencing, I decided to take Chloe’s suggestion and make my mom some new kitchen towels.  I have not made her any in several years and thought they would be a nice gift.

Although it sounds like an easy task, and although I have a nice selection of cotton towels in my basement, the hardest part is trying to decide what to put on the towels.  If I make them too detailed mom will not use them.  I’ve made her so many towels it’s hard to think of something new…

After thumbing through some old sketches I decided to make these:

It actually took longer to decided what to make than to actually make them!  Ever have one of those days???

I used my favorite stitch (buttonhole by machine) with my favorite thread (Sulky’s 12 wt. cotton) in black, ahhh!

My mom loved them and I know she’ll use them too.

Do you have a favorite little gift to make?

Perhaps you can borrow my idea next time you need a little gift.

Happy birthday Mom!

Until next time,

Susan

Family Time, new fabric collection, New ideas, restocking stash

More & More Amelia

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A box from Moda showed up the end of last week:

 I love these boxes that show up plastered with the Moda packing tape.

Even though I know exactly what’s inside because I ordered it, it’s just like Christmas morning each time!

It’s more Amelia!!!

Thanks Santa Moda, I can’t wait to get started sewing!!!

My sewing room will have to wait though, my #1 helper starts back to school the 16th and I’ve decided to postpone my sewing until then.  The time goes by all too quickly. My sewing machine will just have to wait.

I’ve got my designs pretty well decided (or so I think I do), so my cutting & sewing should go lickity split once I begin.

I hope you’re getting some time with your sewing machine & perhaps a school aged child or two or three too.

Gotta go, #1 helper just took a pan or sugar cookies out of the oven and I like ’em hot!

Until next time,

Susan

fabric shopping, new fabric collection, New ideas, New Pattern Sample, New quilt pattern, Quick Little Projects, Quilt Market

More Amelia

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These days my “work brain” is all about Houston’s Fall Market the end of October.  Deciding what to showcase at market is always a hard decision.  After the decision is made, things always seem to go a bit smoother.  

Fall market is the time of year that shops are purchasing the items that they will supply their shops with in the new year. These items are things to take your mind off of the cold, dreary, wintry days.  One of the things that can usually do this is sewing for spring.

Today, after our guild meeting, I was thinking more “Amelia”!

I know I already showed you a sneak peek of my newest creation last week that was also made with “Amelia”, but I decided that I wanted to make some of my “Charm Pack Garland” to hang in my booth too. 

It’s one of my “Tiny Treasures” patterns, a fast & fun pattern that makes a cute garland for a Christmas tree, but it also can be made to hang anywhere, anytime.

Last week I noticed Sweet Annie’s, a local shop, had their Amelia pre-cuts already. I decided I’d better get them while I still could.  Next month the yardage will be available. I hope to have my samples made by then!  This is going to be too cute…

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, new fabric collection, New ideas, New quilt pattern

Now this is what I’m talking about…

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Don’t you just love it when things work out as planned?  I’m working on a new quilt-as-you-go lap quilt design (remember my tutorial here?) for a new pattern and I have just two more strips to sew on and guess what?  I have just enough batting & backing to sew them onto!!!

Can’t ask for more than that, can I?

This is the new “Amelia” collection (plus a yellow dot that I just had to add) by Me & My Sister for Moda.  And no I don’t mean Susan Marth & her sister, Lori.  Although my sister was taught to sew by our mom too, she prefers to look at what I sew!  She is however, my accountant and biggest cheerleader. According to Moda’s website, Amelia should be at your local quilt shop next month. 

Measure, measure, measure.  Those are the three most important things to remember for my quilt-as-you-go technique!  If you haven’t already tried one, maybe it’s time?

Now, back to work.  I need to sew the final two strips on, add the binding and stand back to view my latest creation.  That’s my favorite part!

Until next time,

Susan

 

My Life, quilt guild challenge

Patriot Challenge Entries & Winners

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It was fun to see the entries of our patriotic challenge, nine in all.

We had a swap (well, most of us…I physically set up the swap and swapped the pieces for everyone but myself!) We then used those 24, 5″ cream squares, 24, 5″ blue squares, and 20, 2-1/2″ x 21″ red strips to make a quilt adding whatever we wanted to.  The only stipulation for joining the challenge was that the quilt had to be completely finished.

 I’m always amazed at the vast difference in designs, sizes, and the talent!

 Everything from bed size, lap sizes, wall, table runner and miniature!

We voted for our favorite and every entry got at least three votes. Lady Liberty by our president, Chris Prager, won first place.  The small star quilt which was actually double-sided with the other side being a Tiny Twister quilt by Susanne Randall won second place.  Third place was won by Denise Saksa, with the table runner.

They each won a gift certificate to a local quilt shop.

I hope you enjoyed the challenge too!

Until next time,

Susan

fabric shopping, My Life, Quick Little Projects, Quilt Market, Quilt Shopping Out & About

A Cute Itty Bitty Primitive Pinwheel Quilt

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The beginning of June you might remember me chatting about Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods coming to teach at our guild’s Quilt Away 2011.

While Celine was here we took in a few quilt shops and the Hearts & Hands Quilt Guild’s quilt show.  That was a very nice show with lots of vendors! While there we both fell in love with Betty Cummings’  (Village Mercantile in Booneville, IN) Itty Bitty Primitive Pinwheel quilt.  She was selling kits so we each bought one to sew the next day. I was lucky enough that Celine stayed a couple extra days and we got to have our own mini retreat. We see each other during International Quilt Market each year, but we’re always so busy we’ve never had a chance just to sew and visit for fun.

I finally got mine quilted this week and finished the binding too.

Isn’t it cute?  The pattern and template are by Primitive Gatherings.  I added some of my own civil war prints to the kit. It’s fun to do someone else’s patterns once in a while too!

Celine, is yours done yet???

Until next time,

Susan

 

My Life, New ideas

Finito!

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Well, I worked on this most of the day after we got home from church. 

Like it??? 

 It coordinates pretty well with our deck, huh?

I didn’t know how to quilt it until Chloe and I got it basted, we used Sullivan’s spray baste, then it just came to me. Once I’d decided, it didn’t take long to quilt.  The binding went quickly too.  It’s nice to be able to make decisions and have them come out looking the way they look in my head!

I hope I have lots of competition tomorrow at our guild’s challenge.  It’s fun to get our members excited about making quilts.  It’s funny how a friendly competition motivates us…

I’ll let you know!

Until next time,

Susan