It’s another “In Season” day here at my blog,
and today it’s all about mom.
In Season for Mother’s Day,
You don’t have to make this quilt just for your mom.
Lots of moms would like to hang this quilt on their wall, maybe you?
You could make it for yourself even, I did!
Can you guess what tomorrow will be?
Until next time,
Susan
It’s just new,new, new here!
When we get done there will be enough patterns for you to make & hang one each month for the entire year! I love changing out decorations throughout the year, I suppose that’s why I have so many seasonal quilt series.
They’ve been some of my best-selling patterns.
Here is
In Season for St. Pat’s Day,
Funny thing is, it seems so far away now, but it will creep up on us…
I’m not Irish, but I’m looking forward to hanging this quilt before March 17th!
Until next time,
Susan
It’s so much fun being able to post my new patterns here, especially when I’m usually still running back & forth to printers and putting finishing touches on different things that I still need to have done… I don’t know why I’m done so early for this market, but I’m sure enjoying not being so rushed.
Maybe the reason is because six of these new pattern samples were so quick & easy???
My second new pattern,
In season for Halloween,
Yep, it’s 18″ x 22″, with a bit of fusible applique and a bit of hand stitching and cute to hang for Halloween. It’s so quick I’ll bet you could still make one in time to hang for this Halloween!
Until next time,
Susan
I’m so excited to have my patterns ready to go to market! I’m also excited to be able to debut them here on my blog for all you quilters to finally see what I’ve been working so hard on.
So, for the next eight days I will be showing you one a day. I also have two patterns that I’ve updated samples and instructions for that will be following my new patterns.
Without further ado…
In Season for Birthdays
A quick little project that would be great to make for a friend or family member for their birthday, don’t you think?
I now have a dozen patterns in my “In Season” series. I love these fabrics, so Susan. For those of you that don’t know me personally, THESE are “my” colors. Muddy, muted and of course green, black with a bit of pink or red…
The quilts are all 18″ x 22″ with a bit of fusible applique and a bit of hand stitching with no. 8 perle cotton. I like to use Sulky’s 12 wt. cotton thread for my applique stitching. It’s thickness really makes my applique POP! I always use the buttonhole stitch for these.
Look for this and all of my patterns at your local quilt shop, but if you can’t find them there, check out my website.
Until next time,
Susan
I know it seems like a long time since I posted, but to me it seems like just last week! This time of year (market prep time) flies by because I’m so busy designing, sewing, writing patterns, scheduling photo shoots, meetings with printers, and all this in conjunction with keeping up with my family. You know what I mean, grocery and Wal-Mart shopping, food prep, laundry, and the list goes on and on. Even though everyone is back in school, my life just gets crazy busy. This is why I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted that I had a “new Package” made with the new Amelia fabric collection.
As I stated in the previous post, I knew my photographer would do a much better job than I could ever to, hence the reason I hire him!!! Know what else? After I posted that photo in my last blog I realized I didn’t like a portion of the quilt, so I “fixed” it!
Can you see what’s better and different?
I like it much better!
I have a total of 8 new patterns just about ready for market, in addition to this re-color of an existing pattern plus two more sample re-colors going. I hope to be totally done with this part the end of the week so I can get assembling new patterns. It sure would be nice to get a few good nights of sleep before heading off to market where there is no rest for the weary.
Until next time,
Susan
I finally have evidence of sewing life here!
Remember my excitement over receiving the beautiful new Amelia fabrics designed by Me & My Sister for Moda?
I have been sewing with them. This is actually the third lap quilt that I’ve made with them, but since the other two are pattern “wanna-bes” (soon to be patterns, but not yet) I will show you this one. It’s already a pattern, remember and it’s available at your local quilt shop or my website.
A(nother) Pretty Package #179
…and it’s not only already a pattern designed and released by me earlier this year, but it has been my best-selling pattern since I introduced it in Salt Lake city in May.
It’s one of my quilt-as-you-go lap quilts that are oh so easy, fast and fun to make. I made this whole quilt yesterday including the cutting, sewing, applique and binding!!! Remember my tutorial here?
Please excuse the lack of beautiful photography. I will have my photographer photograph it soon, but I couldn’t wait to show it to you today!
Besides the new package, and other new Amelia fabric quilts I’ve also made two new “In Season” quilts, one with a birthday theme and the second with a Halloween theme. You’re just going to have to take my word for those two though, I’m not showing them just yet.
Now back to work for me!
Until next time,
Susan
It’s always when because I’m in a hurry that I slow myself down by doing something dumb like running over a pin with my rotary cutter…
I relate it to having to fix a flat tire. Ok not as big a job to replace a rotary cutter’s blade, but it’s still annoying, especially when the whole incident could have been avoided by taking out All of the straight pins before squaring up my table runner. I probably needed to change the blade pretty soon anyway, but I hate it when I do dumb things!
As I cut my binding strips to add to my table runner, it was nice to have my cutter glide smoothly through the double layers of fabric, yes it was due…
What happened next is what made me smile!
I designed 45 degree points at the end of this table runner and decided to guestimate the quantity of binding length that was necessary(I’m in a hurry, remember), and so I judged 3 strips would be ample. Even as I quickly ran the pressed binding around the runner to make sure no seams would land at a corner, I deciphered I had plenty of binding. (I did it quickly so I could get it put on the runner before I ran out!!!) As I rounded the last corner, coming down the home stretch, I started to panic realising I may have cut too little binding and would now need to stop, cut another strip and sew it onto my strip that is already affixed to the runner…
Long story short, and remember this post’s title; …from frustrated to fantastic. Take a look:
Imagine my surprise and merriment as I realized not only was I going to not be short of binding, I didn’t even have to reach for my scissors to trim the binding to the right length. Fate had done it for me!
I’d calculate this as a once in a lifetime occurence. I’ve come close in binding before, but never this close. In my excitement I had to fetch my camera to document it!
Well, you know the next step now. Fetch my binding clips, needle & thread and finish this cute little table runner. I’ll show you the completed project at a later date, it’s a secret for now. You can see from this snippet of a photo though, it has a Christmas theme.
Until next time,
Susan
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 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
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
Quilting my way through life! 