Tag: new pattern

My Life, New ideas, New quilt pattern, Quilt Market

New Pattern, Santa’s Pockets #178

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Besides my “In Season” series that I’ve been showing you as they’re completed, I have nine new patterns that premiered at Salt Lake City’s Spring International Quilt Market 2011.  I love them all, but my favorite is this gem:

 As you can see it’s called “Santa’s Pockets” and it’s an advent calendar/Christmas countdown.  You can purchase yours here. When my kids and nieces & nephew (9 total) were small I made them each an advent calendar with 24 pockets.  I started with a pattern that I purchased and added my own pockets to accommodate a Hershey’s Kiss.  The day after Thanksgiving those advent calendars still come out and during my black Friday shopping I buy the bags of Christmas Hershey’s Kisses.  Since they were quite small when I made them, that was quite a special treat to eat chocolate BEFORE breakfast each morning.  It was a treat for me too as a stay-at-home-mom because it occupied their attention several times throughout the day for almost a month!  Waiting for Christmas as a youngster is a hard thing to do without driving mom crazy!  Even though they are all three teenagers now, they still fill the pockets & eat the Kisses each morning.

With that said, I’ve been wanting to create “The” Christmas countdown/advent calendar complete with numbers so we could keep track of how many days are left until Christmas.  I think I did it.  What do you think???

I had a real lightbulb moment last winter when I finally figured out how I was going to make the numbers on the pockets.  I discovered I could trace the numbers that I created in just the right scale for the pockets that would accommodate gift cards, Hershey’s Kisses or notes.  After tracing, I stitched them on my old Bernina sewing machine with Sulky 12 wt. thread.  That’s right and you can too.  No embroidery machine required. Another day I will show you just how I did that.

I’m thinking when our local shops get their “Countdown to Christmas” yardage I’m going to have to buy enough to make each of my kids one, this one’s mine!!!

Until next time,

Susan

New quilt pattern

Day #5, 5 New Patterns in 5 Days!

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It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.  It’s been 5 days and I’ve posted 5 times.  It certainly helps that I have 5 fun, new patterns to boast about. 

So here’s #5,#171 In Season for Winter

A perky little snowman to hang on your wall, don’t you think?  These quilts at 18″ X 22″ are quick and easy to make.  You could make them as Christmas gifts, or in time to hang on your own wall as the seasons change.  If you’re like me, especially when winter sets in, I like to have quick little projects to work in my spare time.  There’s nothing better than finishing a project!

Until tomorrow, yep, don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the beginning of:

Susan

Family Time, My Life, New quilt pattern

Day #4, 5 New Patterns in 5 Days!

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Well, Carol Burnett was fun.  My mom and I laughed, and then we laughed some more. They showed clips from some of her favorite shows and it’s funny that I remember them.  That’s been well over 30 years ago, how can that be?  It was fun to hear Carol tell stories of things that happened behind the scenes during that time period as well.  A classy lady that carol!

On to New Pattern #4, #172 In Season for Christmas

I love this scene on the black background, don’t you?  You can purchase all of my patterns on my website, just give a click.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, New quilt pattern

Day #3, 5 New Patterns in 5 Days!

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It’s been a great day so far. 

1.) Dropped off new pattern instruction files at the printer (covers will be done Monday).

2.) Met my BFF Kathy Sands, very talented artist, at Lota Wota Creek for lunch, show & tell and loaned her some of my pattern samples along with extra patterns because she’s headed to Columbia, MO to vend her artsy quilt paraphernalia at a quilt show this weekend.

3.) Went to  JoAnn’s and purchased this:

because my BFF Robin Koehler has a quilt, Ginkgo Romance,  featured on page 60, too cool!

Also bought this,

because another BFF Celine Perkins has a quilt, Sweet Morsels, on page 60!  Isn’t it amazing that I have such talented friends?  AND their quilts are both featured on page 60???  I just had to recheck that, I thought I made a mistake, weird!  Way to go girlfriends! And all three of us are featuring blocks in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 2 this month, remember yesterday’s post?

4.) Went to Dillard’s and bought myself a much-needed new pair of everyday shoes for winter.  But I’ll have to wear them around the house on carpet for a while just to make sure my feet are going to like them.  I tell ya, the older I get, the pickier my feet get.  Here’s hoping in a year or two I can kick myself for not buying two pair when I had the chance.

5.) Went back by printer on the way home and picked up several thousand copies of my new patterns.  Now I just have to fold them and pick up new covers Monday and get to stuffing bags.  I just made arrangements to hire my MIL Monday to help me get my order out.  OK, hire is a strong word, much more like slave labor, but don’t tell her it’s just lunch that she’s earning!

So as not to bore you anymore, here’s new pattern #3:

#170 In Season for Fall

Isn’t he cute?  He’s probably one of my favorites.  Once again, he’s a product of a Fall Crafts Open House of mine.  I dug out my original sketch of him and it was dated 2003.  I didn’t realize until now that these new patterns are products of my past open houses, again weird.  So they’re new patterns, but they’ve already been open house tested and approved!  I hope you like my scarecrow.  You can buy him on my website now.

Now I’m off to get dinner on the table and then to see Carol Burnett at the Fabulous Fox!  Can’t wait to tell you all about her.

Until next time,

Susan

New quilt pattern

Day #1, 5 New Patterns in 5 Days

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First of all I can’t believe I did not post, not once, in the month of October!  It’s no wonder though, because if you take another look at the title of this post, I’ve been designing, sewing, photographing, writing, and polishing 5 new patterns.  On top of my business tasks just listed I’m also a mom with three school kids at home, our oldest attending college as a freshman.  So, laundry, food shopping, cooking, cleaning and errand running, etc. I pretty much am never doing nothing.  Still, I’m a bit surprised at myself for not noticing this big lull in my blogging.  I certainly hope to not repeat said bad blog etiquette. 

Without further ado, here is the first of 5 new patterns,         

#168, 3 Little Words

I first started making these cute little things when I was having holiday open houses.  I crafted and sewed seasonal and holiday decorations for months and then sent out invitations to all I knew who loved my “stuff”.  I would practially kill myself   empty the first floor of my house of all it’s decoration and fill it with the holiday crafts I’d been making.  Lighted pinecone baskets, applique towels, sweatshirt jackets, wreaths, framed and quilted  items such as these, homemade chocolates and much more.  Then for one day, from 7 a.m. ’til 3 p.m. I would open my home to shoppers.  What work that was, but I loved every aspect of it.  The idea hunting, the shopping and then the creating.  Once I started vending at market, which falls the last weekend of October, I really didn’t have enough time to do all the work in time to sell before Christmas.  So, now this little idea of mine from several years ago blossomed into a pattern to send to market this year! 

You can buy it here on my website.

Hope you like it!

Until next time,

Susan