Just a Little More...

Hello Everyone,

I know that many of you have read my blog for years and now me pretty well. But I thought it might be nice if some of my newest followers got to know me a little better.

If you click on this link, a wonderful local writer had come over to my studio to take some photos and do a little story on me and my business. I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for following me. I truly appreciate all of you who come here to see what I am up too and I enjoy your comments and inspiration you all provide.

By the way, TONS of new Kona Solids in stock and just added City Park Quilt Kit is now in stock!! I am so excited about this one just click here to see.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, only 2 more days left!

Until Next Time...

Just a Little More...

It's a GO!.... Project and Winner!

Hello Everyone,

First, I would like to thank all of you who took the time to enter my GO! giveaway and become new followers of my blog. I am still busy visiting all the new blogs to me!! Very much fun!! I hope that you will all enjoy my blog too and keep coming back for good quilty inspiration.

Anyway, last time I showed you the braid tutorial using the chisel shape from the GO! cutter. I finished the project. Well, just the top. So technically it isn't quite done yet. I need to quilt it. So I would like to share the results with you.

As you can see I used these wonderful 1930s fabrics and paired them with Kona Cotton White. A classic pair.

Here is the entire runner done! You can see here that I decided to have one braid go up and one braid go down.

Here is a closer look at the braid direction. I like the look of this and think they would make a great border on a larger quilt too. Don't you think?

I chose to finish the top off with triangles on the ends. This will end up on a dresser in our guest bedroom and I like the look of the triangles rather than a squared off edge. What do you think?

Okay, so I know I have made you wait through this post, so drumroll please....

Mr. Random Number Generator picked #1430 out of 1633 comments... WOW! Thank you again to all who entered. But there is only one winner and that is Deborah of Adventures in Ceredo! Congratulations Deborah!!

But WAIT, don't forget to enter the other giveaway that I have going on right now. Just go here for all the details.

Until Next Time...

It's a GO!.... Project and Winner!

Star Struck Blog Tour Stop and Giveaway!!

Hello Everyone,

I am honored to bring to you a wonderful interview with Barbara Cline. Not only is she a talented quilter, but a fantastic designer as well. She has written an absolutely gorgeous new book that is a must have for any quilter who loves stars or dreams of making a beautiful star quilt.

The book is titled Star Struck Quilts and it is a winner. So without further adieu, let me introduce you to Barbara and some of the phenomenal quilts from her book. At the end there will be 2 giveaways!!

1. Your designs are beautiful and based on the traditional Lone Star pattern. Can you describe the process of how you take the Lone Star that one step farther?

I think of each diamond as a “block”. This diamond block then is broken down into smaller pieces which can create design beyond the diamond block. There are examples in the book to see just how these diamonds can be broken down.

2. Most of us know that when working with diamond shapes, you will end up with bias edges. In your book you talk about a popular technique of blocking. Can you explain, why this is a great technique and what it does to the diamond?

This is a great technique because all edges of the diamond block will measure the same and fit perfectly into the completed quilt causing the quilt to lay nice and flat.

3. Throughout your book you speak of life lessons, which I love, do you have any others, that are not in the book, to share?

Yes, here is one I will share.

The Secret to Smooth Sailing

Have you ever observed your neighbors across the fence or the couple in the next pew at church

and concluded that they have a perfect marriage? That is exactly how I felt after we were

married. I would think if only Terry and I would always agree then life would sail smoothly on. One day I heard a well known talk show host share a personal story of a healthy argument between him and his wife. As his story unfolded, they were each sharing their feelings and discussing openly what had transpired.

This immediately caught my attention as I began to realize that even the experts must deal with conflict in marriage. I became aware that all relationships including marriage have some rough spots. The secret to success is learning to be open, to share and to bend as we work through our issues.

Now I know that the happy couple next door is one that knows how to work together navigating the rough water to the smooth sailing of married bliss. For it is not the weather, but the ability to handle the storm that makes the differences.

LESSON: Be willing to deal with conflict in a positive way.

4. I love the "Create Your Own" section of your book and my favorite quilt in this section is the Delightful Diamond Chain. Do you have a favorite quilt in this book and why is it a favorite?

My favorite quilt in the book is “Stitches That Bind”. A deadline for the book was coming up and I was running out of time. It was Labor Day and my daughters had off work. They agreed to put in a day of sewing for me. We picked out the fabrics in the morning and by evening we were ready to sew the blocks together. We had a wonderful mini sewing retreat that day.

Don't forget there are more stops on this tour, so be sure to visit all of them. There will be a giveaway of the book at each stop and possibly more. Details below.

Here is the schedule of stops:

August 23 Paula Julia Graber

August 24 Polly The Patchworker

August 25 Quilter's Corner

August 26 Dorcas Smucker

August 27 Canton Village Quilt Works (ME)

August 28 Mountain Musings

August 29 Spun Sugar Quilts

August 30 Quilternity's Place

August 31 Burgundy Buttons

September 1 Little Lady Patchwork

September 2 Tazzie Quilts

Here is the book that will be given to one lucky winner from my blog! I will also be throwing in a second prize!! Yes, I will be giving one lucky individual a $20 gift certificate to my shop!! (lots of new arrivals)

To enter the giveaway here are the rules:

You must leave a way for me to get in touch with you if you are chosen a winner.

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Become a follower of my blog, then leave a second comment letting me know you became a follower.

3. Blog about it and leave another comment for a 3rd entry.

Good luck to all!! I know you will love this book. The giveaway will be open until Midnight, September, 2 Eastern Time.

** The giveaway is now closed. Make sure you check back here in the next few days for the winner**

Until Next Time...

Star Struck Blog Tour Stop and Giveaway!!

Pop Squares!

Hello Everyone,

Before you read through this "must read" post, don't forget to enter my AccuQuilt GO! giveaway here. But hurry, I will be waiting right here for your return.

Great, you are back! Now onto Pop Squares. If you remember a few posts ago, I gave you a little sneak peek. Really little... Well here is the full monty, so to speak.

This quilt I designed, pieced, and quilted. I used fabrics from Blank Quilting which can be found here.

It is a beginner quilt, with simple shapes. Squares, rectangles and sashing to form a pleasing design.

A mottled red backing and binding to finish it off.

The quilting design I used was an edge to edge design with a daisy motif. I used Superior Threads Rainbows to enhance the design.

Here is the quilt in its entirety. So you say, what is so special about this quilt... well it is the first quilt that I have published!!

Yup, you can find this quilt in Quick Quilts Fall 2010 Issue #117. Here is the spread. Wait... a closer look for you...

Yes, yes, that is me in print!! Pinch me, I am so excited!! But even more exciting, YOU too can make this quilt. I am the exclusive shop for kitting!! The kit can be found by clicking here. The magazine can also be found in my shop as well. You can find it by clicking here.

I have also kitted 2 other quilts and 2 bag for this issue of the magazine and they ALL can be found in the kit section of my website.

So in short, I am excited at my first design published. But rest assured, it will not be the last!! Special thanks to Lisa for all her guidance!

Oh and don't forget to enter the AccuQuilt GO! giveaway here. Only one day left!! Hurry!! One more thing... on Friday there will be another giveaway, so mark your calendars to stop back then!

Until Next Time...

Pop Squares!

Black and White Inspiration Vol. V

Hello Everyone,

First don't forget to enter the AccuQuilt GO! giveaway by clicking HERE.

The last installment of the Black and White Inspiration. This is a quilt that I blogged about in February, 2008. I made this for a friend who was retiring at the time. She had purchased a sporty new HOT red car, so of course I thought red would be the perfect compliment to the black and white.

A close up of the quilting. I don't remember what design I used, but it was an edge to edge and it was wavy. Sorry, I just can't remember that far back, I guess it is age. Plus the quilt is now with my friend in AZ.

Here is a photo of my sweet little Beanie posing on the quilt top, prior to quilting. Since she is black, she fit right in on this post!!

Here is the whole quilt. It is called Twisted Sister and is a pattern by Ami Simms. You can find it here. I think that will be it for my black and white posts. Now I need to get myself going on finishing up my black and white Hunter's Star so I have something else to show you!

Don't forget to enter the AccuQuilt GO! giveaway going on right HERE!

Until Next Time...

Black and White Inspiration Vol. V

It's a GO!.... Giveaway!!

Hello Everyone,

As I have been saying in this post, this post and this post, I was planning on giving away a GO! This is all courtesy of the good folks at AccuQuilt. So if you would love to win this, read on, here are the rules:

This giveaway will be open through midnight Eastern Time on August 26.

You MUST have a way for me to contact you in the event that you win. Please leave an e-mail address if you do not have a blog or e-mail enabled profile.

You can get multiple entries by completing more than one of the following:

1. Leave a comment here on this blog post telling me why you would love a GO!

2. Blog about the giveaway, then come back here and leave a second comment telling me where I can find the post.

3. "Like" AccuQuilt on Facebook, then come back here and leave another comment letting me know you did.

4. Become a follower of my blog and leave another comment telling me so. If you are already a follower, leave a comment telling me.

So in summary, you have up to 4 chances to win this GO! But you must leave 4 separate comments to be entered each time.

Good luck to all! GO! forth and enter!!

**Thank you ALL who entered. The giveaway is now closed!**

Until Next Time....

It's a GO!.... Giveaway!!

Star Struck With Excitement

Hello Everyone,

I am so excited on several levels!! The first is that I will be one of the stops on the Blog Tour for Barbara H. Cline's new book Star Struck Quilts. You will be in awe of this book and Barbara's talent! Every quilt is gorgeous and she gives wonderful instructions on how to make them and then mix and match as well.

Best of all you will have a chance to win your very own copy of this book at every stop on the blog tour.

Here is the schedule of stops:

August 23 Paula Julia Graber

August 24 Polly The Patchworker

August 25 Quilter's Corner

August 26 Dorcas Smucker

August 27 Canton Village Quilt Works (ME)

August 28 Mountain Musings

August 29 Spun Sugar Quilts

August 30 Quilternity's Place

August 31 Burgundy Buttons

September 1 Little Lady Patchwork

September 2 Tazzie Quilts

Make sure you stop by here on the 27th, because not only will you be hearing from Barbara, but I will be giving away a copy of the book and a little something, something from my shop!!

The next reason I am excited is that my 16th podcast is now available for your listening pleasure. This episode is packed with different tools that I have used to design quilts. Hopefully this will inspire you to begin design or just to stretch your limits. You can listen 2 ways. Go to iTunes and download the podcast or you can click HERE to listen directly from your computer. Enjoy!!

Last but not least, today is the LAST day of my Big Blowout Sale. All Art Gallery, Aunt Grace Authentics, and Storybook VII c.1930 are marked down to $6.75 per yard. AND there are new items in my Clearance section priced at $4.35 per yard. BUT WAIT... that's not all use the discount code blowout10 at checkout and receive 10% off the remainder of the site.

Enjoy!! Just click HERE to start shopping!

Psssst... check back tomorrow for the AccuQuilt GO! GIVEAWAY!!

Until Next Time...

Star Struck With Excitement

Randomness and I Need Some Help

Hello Everyone,

First I thought I would share with you some fabric from my stash that I will be using in a new project. This project is for a little swap that Stephanie and I planned for each other. I know how much she likes green and I thought that these were such sweet little prints. But this is just the start!!!

So what do you think of your first sneak peek, Stephanie??

Now for my next piece of randomness. I found this really neat sight for book lovers. If you are familiar with Netflix, then you might like this site. It is called Book Swim. It acts like a library, but the books get sent right to your home for a monthly fee. You can read as many books as you like.

You place the books in your queue and when they receive them back the next one in line gets sent to you.

Sounds like a great concept! Does anyone out there use this service? I would love to know your thoughts on this one. Do you like it? Any drawbacks? I am seriously considering signing up.

Next BIG issue: Has anyone had problems with blogger sending comments back into your e-mail box? All of a sudden, I stopped receiving comments and can't figure out why. Therefore, that explains why I haven't been answering any comments via e-mail. I have checked and rechecked my settings, nothing has changed. Any insight would be helpful.

Last but not least, feast your eyes on the fabric below....

You can now find these in my Clearance Section of my website for a low, low price of $4.35 per yard!! Just click here to start shopping. Oh, and don't forget the Blowout Sale that is currently going on there too... Details here.

***Edit... fixed the blogger problem!! I opened a gmail account for the comments to come to(was using my normal e-mail for years for blogger) and now it works. Go figure!***

Until Next Time...

Randomness and I Need Some Help

Learn To Chisel With The GO! Would You Like One Too?

Hello Everyone,

Since my last post on the Chisel shape using the awesome AccuQuilt Go Cutter, I had a special request from Pat. She wanted to see exactly how the braid went together. So I definitely felt I should oblige this request. If you can stay with me through to the end of this post, I will give you some details on how you can win one of these wonderful GO! Cutters from little old me.

So strap yourselves in for the Chisel Tutorial...

First you have your piles of left and right chisels. The method for making left and rights was described here.

You will then begin the process of joining them together. When two are joined they will look like this photo above.

Then you want to begin adding the next chisel. In this case it will be a left chisel shape and will fit on the bottom like shown above.

The photo above show the left chisel sewn in place.

The crucial part here is that you need to press each chisel after they are joined. As shown above the left chisel has been joined and pressed open.

Here is the back side, shown above.

Now it is time to join a right chisel shape. Above you can see the placement of this shape. You will sew it in place.

Above you can see it sewn in place, then press it open. Once it is pressed open then you can join another left piece and you will continue to alternate sides until you get it to the length you desire.

You can see I have one braid to the length I would like. The other side will get there. This is going to be a runner for the guest bedroom. The entire design will be shown in my next post. Now you can't leave the ends uneven, they need to be trimmed.

The top of the braid will be trimmed like the above photo shows. You will trim 1/4 inch from the point of the V.

Once it is trimmed it will look like the above photo, nicely squared off.

The bottom half is similar. You will measure 1/4 inch out from the last V formed.

Trim the excess away and you will have a bottom that looks like the above photo.

Now you can see, as in the photo, the difference between the squared off braid and the one in progress. I hope this tutorial helps you to understand how to make the braid. I welcome any questions.

Now to what you have been waiting for...

1. Next week I will be posting about the GO! Giveaway and hopefully have a finished project to show you. So check back for the chance to win!!!

2. If you would like some of these wonderful 30s fabrics, you can get them for this week (8/16 - 8/20) only in my online shop for $6.75 per yard. The rest of the site is 10% off with the code blowout10. Click here for all the details.

3. Also, my blogging pal Emily has done a wonderful post featuring me, I am humbled, so please go and visit her and tell her I said hello!

I wish you all a wonderful week and lots of sewing happiness!!

Until Next Time...

Learn To Chisel With The GO! Would You Like One Too?