BOM......all at once!

How many of you have done a block of the month quilt? I've always wanted to try one, but just can't stand paying shipping charges every month.....give it to me all at once! :)


I found this pattern on the Northern Threads website and I knew that I had to make it! They have the option of purchasing it block by block every month, but I have tons of scraps from my other applique projects that I should use first....so I just bought the pattern. Needless to say I received the pattern less than a week ago and I already have all of the appliques traced and ironed to their fabric, and a few of the pieced blocks are complete and waiting on their borders.

The border isn't all that difficult! There's a pretty neat "short cut" where you sew two rectangles together and then cut them in strips and rearrange them to create the saw-tooth look! The pattern is great, and with directions in full color! It's really easy to follow, I highly recommend it if you love this quilt!!!

Christmas is finished early!

It's finished! And it's quite possibly the quickest start-to-finish project I've done in a while, except for a few smaller wall hangings. It's time to get out those seasonal projects and get them jump-started while I have the gumption!

I used "Dear Santa" by Diane Knott for Clothworks on the back and for the hanging sleeve. I don't necessarily need the backs of my wall hangings to match, but if I fold it up I want to be able to tell that it's a Christmas-y something or other before I sha-nangle it out of the closet and unfold it only to find that it's a spring wall hanging! :)

Getting ready for Christmas!

I have a few yards of fabric that I've decided it's time to do something with! I have some plans of what I'd like to make with them....including the Reversible Shoulder Bag by Lula Louise. But who knows what I'll actually make.

The top two fabrics are designed by Tina Givens and the bottom blue one is by Anna Marie Horner.


I'm part Czech, and I have to have poppies! :)


I've had this kit for a while. Scott bought it for me and I was just waiting until the right time to pull it out and work on it! :)

You can find the Joy pattern and others here.


I've never attempted flying geese before, and I think they turned out pretty well! At first my favorite part of the pattern was the applique, but now I think it may be the blocks above and below the center, or the flying geese.

Two more projects off my list!

I finally trimmed and bound my weird piece to put on my studio wall. What should I call it though? I have no idea. Do you have any ideas?

I love the backing fabric. I saw it in my quilt shop and knew I had to use it as the backing! :)




I've been working on this table runner for a while now. I made it a little bit larger than the pattern called for (I really like the fabric and wanted to cut it at strategic places!) and so I ran out of the white blocks in the border. I thought it'd be no problem matching the marble to it, but it ended up being more difficult than I thought! I eventually had to use the WRONG side of a fabric! But I can't even tell where one ends and the other begins it matches so well! That'll teach me to think there are "rules" with using fabric! Anything goes!

What does this remind you of?

Here's what I've been working on the last two days. What does it remind you of? I just wanted something to brighten up the wall in my quilting studio, everything in there is mostly dark and natural colors.

I left some negative space towards the bottom. I didn't want it to be too busy, and I think I'm going to use the same color thread as the background and make some more "leaf" shapes. I don't have the purple or teal matching thread, so I think there should be a trip to the quilt shop today! :)

Wild Girl....yes please!

Have I mentioned that I love the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company applique kits? Well, I do! And as luck would have it, I ran into their booth when I was at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago last year. And among their new patterns was Wild Girl! Three days ago I felt restless and I needed something to do while Scott was watching TV, and I wanted to just sit on the couch with him, so I pulled out my Wild Girl kit and started tracing, ironing, cutting and ironing some more and this is what I came up with. Now to quilt it....

I still haven't quilted my moose Summer Serenity applique. I've been waiting to get an extension table for my sewing machine so that the quilt is supported while quilting, and I received it for Christmas, now it's just getting enough space to walk around to everything in my studio! :)

One down, one more to go!

Well, I did it. One wedding quilt down and one more to go! I finished Storybook Farm (the name of the collection of blocks) late Thursday night before I had to leave Friday morning for the wedding rehearsal! My fiance Scott is holding up the finished product! I forgot to take pictures of the back though. I used some wedding word fabric for the sleeves! Everyone at the rehearsal dinner loved it! Especially the quilting ladies in the crowd! :)




This block of the horse and the rooster is my favorite!




On this block I put a clothesline on there with some clothes and a teeny tiny quilt! :) It's even 3D!

Pretty cute, eh?

What are your thoughts? It was my first McKenna Ryan and I had it quilted at the quilt shop rather than doing it myself around each piece.

Applique, McKenna, and Me!

Well, my very first applique project was a whole McKenna Ryan quilt....Storybook Farm. I made the whole thing without an applique pressing sheet - what a nightmare!!! ALWAYS have an applique pressing sheet! Since then I have a small, medium, and an extra extra large! :) This quilt is a wedding present for a friend of mine....I hope she likes it. If she doesn't, I'll keep it!!!

I've completely fallen head over heels for McKenna Ryan designs! This block (Bear up there) belongs to the quilt Calling Me Home. I made one for Scott's parents as a Christmas present, and another for our wall. They're so much fun to make, and a block doesn't take long to quilt at all! Plus, this kind of art is cheaper than prints or paintings!

Last but not least....my moose!!! I love this guy! Bigfork Bay Cotton Company has all sorts of wildlife busts that just suck me in! This one is Summer Serenity. This is also a wedding present for a couple of friends of mine that love the outdoors!!! I hope they like it, but again, if not, I'll keep it! Oh wait, I have another one that I had made for myself....so maybe not! :) This one I had quilted at Patched Works, Inc. here in South Eastern Wisconsin. The one that I made for myself is unquilted at the moment (I plan to quilt it myself) and hanging by pins above my bed.

I always thought that applique - the quilting part itself - was scary and intimidating. As it turns out, it's not! The only way to get over a fear is to jump in and see how it turns out. I'm so glad I jumped! :) Now that's led to me teaching my own McKenna Ryan class at Patched Works! I have so many kits to keep me busy! Some of them include:

McKenna Ryan Kits:
No Trespassing block (from quilt Calling Me Home)
Walrus you a Merry Christmas block (from quilt Once Upon a Star)
In Full Bloom (complete quilt)
When Friends Gather (complete quilt)
Petals of my Heart (complete quilt)
Out and About (complete quilt)
Gingerbread Lane block (from quilt Gingerbread Lane)
Bottoms Up block (from quilt Gingerbread Lane)
Cucina Italiana (complete quilt)
Just Coffee block (from quilt Coffee Classics)
Four Big Shots block (from quilt Coffee Classics)
Fisherman's Bend (a classic quilt)
The Chickadee's (a classic quilt)
Beneath the Boughs (a classic quilt)

Bigfork Bay Cotton Company Kits:
Autumn Eyes
On the Prowl
Spirit
Spring Storm (2)
Summer Serenity (ready to quilt)
Tatanka
Wading
Wild Girl (2)
Winter Wolf (3)

Not to mention the many jelly rolls and honey buns and few fat quarter bundles I have stashed away....I can stop buying fabric and be busy for the next 10 years! And that's without touching my stash!!!