Category: My Life

My Life, New Quilt Book

New Book; Toddler Towne

suznquilts

I’ve been wanting to do some little boy patterns.  It just seems like there is always an overabundance of little girl patterns out there, but not so for little boys.  Keep in mind though, when I asked for the help of a little boy to sport some of the items for photography, I learned that his little sister is in love with cars as well, so she joined the photo session too!

Well, I got started and couldn’t quit, so it turned into a book.

Included are a twin quilt, a growth chart, a birthday counter, an apron & hat and a backpack.

I used a lot of Cosmo Cricket’s Salt Air by Moda, plus a bunch of other Moda fabrics.

You will also see the jumbo rickrack that I’ve fallen for, so cute to use for a road, huh?

Judy Bishop quilted this twin quilt for me.

Lots of ideas for the car lover in your life…

One more new design, and it’s another book!

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Quilt Market

Kansas City, here we come!

suznquilts

We’re off to Kansas City today.

I’m happy that we can drive a short 4 hours to International Spring Quilt Market this year!

This is so much better than spending the better part of a day in airports…being limited to 2, 50 lb. suitcases, etc.

My daughter Chloe is once again helping me with this market.

It will be nice to spend time together now that her classes are over for the summer and the stress of deadlines for all my market prep have expired, yeah!!!

Now for the manual labor part of this job…

Stay tuned for my new designs.  I will post them here for you in the upcoming days.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

Happy Mother’s Day!

suznquilts

So many wishes for a happy Mother’s Day to all my friends!

I hope your family makes it a special day for you!

Doesn’t this picture make you want to grab a new box of 36?

I found it here.

I think Mary Engelbreit may have been inspired by this antique drawing.

What do you think?

I picked up all of my pattern covers, my two new books and my brochures from the printer Thursday and can’t wait to show you them here!

Stay tuned, perhaps tomorrow???

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

May Day & 100 Blocks Volume 5 Blog Hop too!

suznquilts

Happy May Day!

I remember as a child, making a May Day basket one year and filling it full of little wild violets for my mom.

Whatever happened to that tradition?

I don’t ever hear anyone speak of it, do you?

Well, this May Day, my flowers are sent to you in a quilt block!

My block
Spring Love is featured in the new Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Vol. 5.

 

I used a bias bar to make the heart, then fusible applique for the flowers & leaves.

 I also designed a quilt using the block and that is featured in the gallery on page 22.

Just pick up Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks from today’s top designers (plus me!) Volume 5, and make the block found on page 29.

Add a 1″ purple border, then a 6-1/2″ outer border.

Add a bit more bias tubing and a few more flowers around the border and you’re set.

For a chance to win a free copy here

before it hits newsstands May 8th, go

UP, UP, UP, to the TOP of this page and leave a comment  to be entered to win.

Don’t forget your email address if you want me to contact you.

For a second chance to win,

this time a free pattern of your choice from my website,

(2 lucky winners for this)

subscribe to my blog.

If you’re already a subscriber, just let me know that in your commment and you’ll be entered.

I will choose the winners Saturday.

For more fun and freebies go to Quiltmaker’s blog and see all the participating designers.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

I feel like Michael Vale…

suznquilts

This time of year I always feel like Michael Vale.

I know you know who he is, but do you know, you know who he is???

Fred the baker!

“Time to make the doughnuts. I made the doughnuts.

Time to make the doughnuts, I made the doughnuts!”

The last few months before Quilt Market, Spring or Fall, I’m always working late, working early.  It’s like a revolving door around here.  I’d hate to know how many hours I’ve racked up between designing, sewing, writing, editing, photo shoots, cover designs, dreaming up ways to address booth design, etc.

I go to bed too late and wake up too early remembering something else I need or want to do.

Back in December I made hotel reservations and sent in my booth registration and proposals for schoolhouse sessions. It seemed like May 16th was a lifetime away, but slowly and surely, the time spent with my sewing machine and computer, throw in a few parties for birthdays, bridal shower, Mexico vacation, quilt retreat, business trip with DH, out-of-town lecture/workshop, daughter’s confirmation…  is now down to a few short weeks.

It’s a good thing I pushed myself way back then to work on designs, and start instructions. At this point I love seeing some of those things done.

Let’s not forget I still have a birthday/Mother’s Day/confirmation party to host!

Not to mention my family thinks they need to eat EVERY day…

Just when I think I’ve got it all under control, I remember that I need to order electricity.  Other designers that are ready to go to market start asking about dinner plans, what?

I need to finish up my layouts for a couple more patterns before I go to printing, then I will get my brochure ready.  I should have the remainder of my photos back from my photographer by Saturday…

Is it any wonder that I feel like I made the doughnuts, it’s time to make the doughnuts???

…and this is why I feel like Michael Vale.

Back to it!

Can’t wait to show you my new designs.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, New ideas, New Pattern Sample, New quilt pattern

What am I doing now???

suznquilts

Well, can you guess from this photo?

No, I’m not making a kite’s tail, although today would have beena great day to fly one!

Here they are trimmed apart.

Next, I added another line of rick rack.

and once again, trimmed them apart.

Still not clear what I’m doing?

Know what?  I’ll bet you can’t guess unless you have been testing one of my soon-to-be-patterns.

Soon enough…(not soon enough for me, I’m so far behind where I’d like to be)

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

New blade, new attitude!

suznquilts

I don’t know why a blade has to cut like this before I notice,

but I changed my rotary cutter’s blade over the weekend and just started using it today.

I feel like a new woman!

Can you relate or is it just me?  I have to totally use something up to feel justified in replacing it, or just have to be hit over the head to notice that it needs replacing…

Have you seen the movie Julie & Julia?

I’m reminded of the part when Julia (Merle Streep) is in the all-male cooking class in France and goes home to practice cutting onions after the first day of class.  She ends up cutting PILES of onions!

I’m ready to cut piles of binding strips!

Good thing too, because I just got two more quilts back from my quilter today.  On top of the two I got back Friday, that makes four.

I will be ready to watch Merle soon.  For those of you that don’t know it, my M.O. is to watch a movie(s) when I get the binding on a quilt and do the hand stitching.

Can’t wait!

Stay tuned. Hopefully soon I will have piles of quilts to share with you.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

Quilting Friends & Old Buttons

suznquilts

Our quilt guild’s biannual quilt show was last week.

It’s always fun to see what our members chose to hang and to shop the vendors!

Unfortunately, this has already been a very sad year for our guild with two of our members passing away during the month of January and two of our members’ husbands also passing away.

One of our founding members, Betty Bowker, passed away on my birthday no less.  She was very generous, kind and especially supportive of my work as a quilter and designer.  Although she had been failing in health for some time now, it’s always sad when a friend passes away.

Like most of us quilters, she had a stash!

At the advice of another of our guild members, her children decided to offer her stash for sale at our quilt show.
Before the show even opened I spotted these.
I’m a sucker for old buttons.
Perhaps it’s the old jars they tend to be collected in,
perhaps it’s all the colors of the rainbow that show up in one place,
perhaps it’s like any other addiction,
cause, unknown!
Our other member and friend that is no longer with us is Norma Highsmith.
She had a very short bout with cancer.  Norma was a very active quilter and guild member.
This is a photo of her that I took at our November night meeting, before any of us knew she was even ill.  She had just completed this quilt that she had taken as a class at our Quilt Away in June 2011.
One thing is for sure, time marches on.
I’m so glad to have known these two ladies.  If not for quilting I would never have known either of them, or been enriched by their generosity, caring and love.
By far the best by-product of quilting!
I will treasure this photo and  these buttons because they will forever remind me of my quilting friends.
Until next time,
Susan
fabric shopping, My Life, New Pattern Sample, New Quilt pattern sample, Suzn Quilts Patterns

Out Quilt Shoppin’

suznquilts

It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it!

That’s right, buying fabric.

This is how they looked on the bolts,

and this is how they look sitting on my work table.

(next to some of my new threads)

Also shown is my Garden Trellis pattern that I’m making with these new fabrics.

I’m teaching this quilt at a workshop next month and decided I wanted another sample.

Garden Trellis has been one of my best-sellers since I dreamed it up in 2005.

That’s right, I dreamed it!

I literally woke up and came downstairs and sketched it and the next day sewed it.

David thought (& still thinks) I was crazy, but how crazy is it now that it’s one of my top-selling patterns???

Do you ever dream in quilting?

Time to sew…

Until next time,

Susan