Pop Stars for Halloween Finish

If there is a quilt on the floor, a dog will find it.

One Step Forward, Two Steps ____?

Pop Stars for Halloween

There are 2 more passes to go before I'm finished with the quilting. I've been using a ruler for the spider webs, and free handing the curlicues. Every thing is going smoothly now, but please let me tell you about the disaster what happened.

Pop Top-Pop Stars Mishmash & Friends

"Pop Stars" for Halloween

Tonight is a full moon, or more specifically a Hunter's Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon. Hunters made use of the moon's light to build their food supply before winter. Can I blame that for this strange post? 

1930's Farmer's Wife: Week 4: Blocks 49, 78, 94,

#78 Old Maid

I've settled into a routine of making my Farmer's Wife blocks on Sunday. I have my spare sewing machine at the house, and I like being able to spend time with the family when they're all home. The only downside of sewing at the kitchen table is having snacks nearby.

Pop Stars for Halloween

"Pop Stars" 
Pattern from Material Obsession 2 
by Kathy Doughty

This has been one of my lingering projects, and has had a voracious appetite for my sewing time. I've sewn every spare minute for 4 days to complete these last 4 stars, square them up, and sew all together. It's become one of the most delightful quilts I've ever worked on.

10 New Ideas for Sewing Groups

Sewing with friends can make for a great day, but how do we keep them interesting? 

Do you ever dread working on the same old project...yet again?

Would you like some fresh, new ideas?

The Farmer's Wife 1930s: Week 3: Blocks 13, 24

Belle

Week 3 of 1930's Farmer's Wife Sew-along is over, and I barely slid in on (my imposed) schedule by sewing 2 blocks Sunday afternoon. Belle, #13, and Coral, #24 were Week 3 blocks, and we encountered our first Y seam block with Belle. I was super excited, and I know a few of you are cringing, but I like Y seam sewing. No, not all the time or every seam, but it's a little bit of a challenge, and that makes things more interesting. I like to have to work at it a bit. 

Eye Spy #01: Four Patch & Cross/Plus Blocks

Cross Block

There is something organic that draws modern and traditional quilters alike to the simple cross block. Beginners are attracted because they see a block made entirely of straight seams, and advanced sewists because they know it also has great graphic impact. Craftsy has an article HERE on cross block patterns and variations. There are both free downloads, and others for purchase. Pinterest has many excellent boards, but here is one in particular I follow: PLUS/CROSS QUILTS

The Farmer's Wife 1930s: Week 2: Blocks 20, 14, 18

1930's Farmer's Wife Week 2

Both new blocks were fun this week, and still not overly complicated. I was thankful for that as a few were sewn in the wee hours of the morning while I had insomnia. 

Multiple Perspectives

"Sunrise at Sea"

This is the free block pattern I made for the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop 2015. The pattern and tutorial are available through the link. I wanted to see how it might look in sweet print fabrics, and was surprised at how much it changed the feeling of the block.

The Farmer's Wife 1930s: Week 1: Blocks 8,12,16

"Aunt"--It begged for a fussy cut!

The 1930's Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Sew-along has begun, and it's exciting! There are over 4,000 members now, and the variety of blocks is wonderful to see. I am sticking to my reproduction fabrics, and throwing in some solids. Three blocks were introduced the first week, but from here on out there will be two a week. 

Supersize It! Ironing and Pressing Boards

Go BIG!

Last spring I started using large sheets of 1" green insulation board from my local home improvement store as an easy solution for a design wall. I hot glued batting to the sheet, and then hot glued the whole thing to my concrete wall! No holes to patch if I changed my mind, and a happy husband. Hot glue comes off of concrete block with little residue.