I am probably the only person crazy enough to stop mid-packing for our upcoming move to another house, lock herself in the quilt room and, to the relaxing tunes of instrumental music, start machine appliqueing flowers with many curves... I left enough stuff in my quilt room, not knowing if I would have time to do anything. I am glad I did. Machine appliqueing slowly due to the curves has allowed me to breathe, pace myself, re-energize. Yesterday, I searched high and low for matching threads … [Read more...] about Applique respite
Animal Parade
At the end of a frustrating day, I opened my mail box and found just what a needed to lift my mood: a book with baby quilts sent for review. Not any book, mind you: the quilts in this book are gorgeous, with simple blocks as background to beautiful applique'. Animal Parade, Adorable Applique Quilt Patterns for Babies by Cheri Leffler features 10 quilt projects, each with a different animal: giraffes, owls, ducks, foxes, frogs, sheep, turtles and other sea creatures, koala bears, penguins, and … [Read more...] about Animal Parade
Fabric sale!
I am back from Brazil! It is quite possible that my return so upset the Brazilians that we lost the World Cup... This is all I will say about that disaster. Now, for the good news: Fat Quarter Shop is having a sale on all Moda fabrics: 25% until July 18. Sewing has been but a dream the past few weeks. The next best thing is to buy fabrics for my stash! So, I am heading over there to get some goodies. Just thought you would like to know! Have a great day, … [Read more...] about Fabric sale!
English Paper Piecing
When I travel I like to bring with me two or three projects to work on during downtime. For this trip (I am in Brazil visiting family) I am knitting socks, a scarf, and doing English paper piecing. When I don't feel like knitting, I can hand sew. English paper piecing is ideal for using scraps of fabric, which can be conveniently packed in small bags for traveling. As usual with English Paper Piecing for me, I have no idea what I will do when I have all the pieces prepared. I spent some time … [Read more...] about English Paper Piecing
Stack, Shuffle, and Slide
This quilt is so beautiful! The colors, the mosaic look... It is called "Shattered" by Karla Alexander, published in her newest book Stack, Shuffle, and Slide. You must have seen this before: stack your fabric layers, cut them in a particular way, then shuffle the pieces so no block looks the same... Karla sewed thin strips to each piece to give it the 'shattered' look once blocks are put together. Each block measures 21 inches. The instructions and diagrams are very detailed and easy to … [Read more...] about Stack, Shuffle, and Slide
Knitted afghan finished! Great way to join the blocks…
I finished my first knitted afghan! Happy day! I omitted one knitted block because there was no room for it. The blue rectangle sort of complicated the layout but I was determined to make it a part of the afghan. Luckily, I had two blocks (crochet) that fit after some fudging. Many years ago I bought yarn to crochet these blocks and make an afghan. However, the blocks were soooo time consuming! First you crochet a strip from each color, than you weave the strips, pin them and crochet the … [Read more...] about Knitted afghan finished! Great way to join the blocks…