Boys wallet giveaway

GIVEAWAY! My first blog giveaway! I asked the ORBQA group for help with ideas for Christmas gifts for my four small grandsons and received so many terriffic suggestions that I couldn't begin to make them all this year. I loved the idea of making "man" wallets for the boys to hold some gift cards that they could use after Christmas! I poured over the internet for wallet tutorials and took my favorite bits and pieces from each one to put together this "boys wallets". I chose fabrics for each one that I thought they would love and began to sew! I kind of got carried away and made 6 wallets and I only have four grandsons! What to do! How about giving away two of the wallets? Up for grabs is the baseball wallet that you see here and another boys print!I'll also include two fat quarters of fun novelty prints to make your own! The BYU wallet is for my oldest grandson who is an avid BYU football fan and another grandson loves camouflage and gets the animal wallet. Just leave a comments and tell me what about your favorite internet tutorial. Would anyone be interested in a tutorial for the boys wallet? Just let me know and I'll post it (after Christmas). THanks again to everyone who took the time to give me so many suggestions that will be used I'm sure this year for birthdays and for next Christmas when I plan a little further ahead!

The giveaway will close at midnight MST December 22nd. I will draw a name a post the winners on Decmeber 23rd.

AND THE WINNERS ARE: The random generator picked numbers 1 and 4! As soon as I have your mailing address I will get your wallet and fat quarters off to you! I will do a tutorial for the wallets after Christmas! Have a Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!

Whenever I have scraps and odds and ends floating around it seems to give me the excuse to make a few pincushions! Scraps from a Christmas quilt needed that little extra something to make them special enough for one of my pin cushions. I played around a little bit in my embroidery software and came up with this design with four snowflakes. I think these will make fun Christmas gifts and I may even put a few up on my etsy shop. I added heat set crystals to the center of the snowflakes and the stacked buttons. These were just too fun to make....I hope my friends enjoy them and bring them out each year for their Christmas sewing!

I found an online grouop that is for pincushion lovers. Great source for new pincushion tutorials and lots of chatter about favorite stuffing and lots of sources of all thing Pincushion! They have a "Birthday Stickpin" swap each year and I found them just in time to join for the upcoming year. You make a beautiful stickpin for each person in the group and send them off to the administrator...then...when it's your birday you receive a package full of 22 different wonderful pins to use in your pincushion collection. I will have to wait for June to receive mine but I have postsed a picture of the 22 pins that I made before I put them in the post. It was really a fun project to put together. You truly do learn something new every day if you try!

stitching angel package received today

Jenny in Austrailia sent this lovely package filled with perfectly stitcheded gifts! The little bag is embroidered in blues in the shape of a heart and is the perfect size for my work in progress patterns and notes. It sits on my worktable where I can enjoy every day as I work. There is also an embroidered notebook cover with a little basket and heart design that holds a tablet where I can keep my design notes and sketches. This will be such a nice way to carry my notebook with me wherever I go! The little pink squares are a set of beautiful little coasters with roses on them. They are far to nice to use for coasters, I have them lined up across the top of my design wall where I can see them as I work. I may use them for coasters someday but for now I just want to admire the beautiful stitching! She also sent a beautiful set of stationary with flowers that must be found only in Austrailia, I have never seen anything like them! And a cut of fabric that says" Bootlebrush" ! The pattern of the fabric is wonderful I have been looking up Bootlebrush on the internet to see the tree...nothing like that here! Thank you again for all of the beautiful stitching and the special gifts. I will treasure them and think of Jenny in Austrailia whenever I use them. Be sure to visit her blog: www.elefantz.blogspot.com and see her lovely work!

bento box quilt top complete

Well, I finally finished the blocks for this bento block quilt. I decided to use some of the yellow and white and black and white prints for the sahing instead of a solid color. Added the sashing so that it made a step design around the blocks with a final border of white and black polka dots. I just wanted it to be fun and keep the random feel of the blocks. Now have 13 unquilted quilt tops! I better get another one made quickly.....(good thing I'm not superstitious!)

Boo!

I was inspired by ruthiequilts on Flickr who made one of these fun little quilts. The design came from an out of print Quilt with Style magazine. She cleverly added the candy corn border. She made hers as a tiny mini just 6 inches including the border! I made this one large enough for a small mini wall hanging at 13 inches plus the border. It's off to Pittsburgh to surprise my four small grandsons and help them get in the mood for halloween! Boo!!!

Be sure to visit ayankeequilter.blogspot.com for a chance to win a free jelly roll, but more important for a chance to help a family having some trouble right now... make a block and help a family.

patchwork embroidered bag

I saw a bag similar to this on a blog and sketched it out. I made a note somewhere so I could remember the blog, but it's nowhere to be found. I haven't done any hand embroidery for a long time, but enjoyed doing the handwork part of the bag especially the bee! I spent quite a bit of time doing some detailed quilting as well. I think it really adds to the finished look of the bag. Should be a nice fall accessory.

Some of the tutorial blocks along with the wonky square in the square blocks for my "tutorial quilt". It's been fun to experiment with different type of blocks and different looks for this project. I guess it makes it almost a sampler quilt....almost.....

square in a square log cabin blocks

This is the square in a square block in the red barn quilt along making wonky log cabins! I decided to add these blocks to some blocks I have been making up following some tutorials I have wanted to try, but didn't want to commit to a full quilt of each of the blocks. I'm using the same collection of fabrics for all of the tutorial and wonky blocks. Once I add the sashing I hope that I will have an interesting quilt. I have made 9 of the wonky log cabin blocks for the quilt and plan to use them as kind of a "tie everything together" block. You can see some of the quilting totorial blocks that will be mixed in. I plan to make this a full size quilt, maybeen queen size.

I have an article in the current issue of Sew News! You will find complete instructions for my "Tote of Many Colors" bag on page 52-53. This is a fun, easy bag to make! It has seven different colors of chenillt combined with cream. The Chenille is stitched to a pre-quilted base. If you haven't tried chenille before this is a fun introduction to the new way of making chenille! No layering! No cutting! You can also order kits with all the matierials needed on my website: www.fauxchenille.com

quarter log cabin block with birds

This week the old red barn quilt along is making quarter log cabin blocks. This is my take on the new blocks! I decided to add another element to this quilt with some little pieced birds in coordinating colors. I loved making the birds so much that I decided to add one to the little bag I made for the friendship bag swap. My bag is packed and ready to send off to it's new home! I have to get busy on the blocks for the quilt now but it may have to wait until after quilt market next month!

This weekend I have been working on a quilt along making wonky log cabin blocks. I added a 3 inch sashing to each of the blocks and had to make a decision whether to leave the sashing straight or to angle that as well. tomorrow I will post the quilt all put together. It will be interesting to see if everyone agrees with my decision. The light sashing really makes the darker fabrics for this fall quilt stand out. The finished blocks will be 15 inches with a total of 25 blocks. I used 28 fat quarters for the quilt not counting the fabric for the sashing.

stacks and flowers washed

The final result! My stacks and flowers quilt has been washed and all of the stems and flowers centers bloomed! I like the way it makes the stems and flowers pop. It has given the quilt alot of personality! Should cheer up the guest room! This will be my centerpiece quilt at fall market in Houston! Sneak Peak!

I had fun putting this bright quilt together and it is finnally quilted and ready to wash. The stems and flower centers will "bloom" when I wash them and add texture to the quilt. Tomorrow you will see the result! This summer is the first time I have made so many bright colored quilts! It has been fun to work with such vibrant colors that really pop with all of this white!

working on a bento block quilt. This is my first set of blocks that have been cut apart and restitched to make my bento box. Trying to decide if I want to add sashing to set the blocks off or if I like them next to each other!

Picking Cherries

scrappy mini quilt with wonky log cabins and lots of cherries!

scrappy house quilt

My first two blocks for my "scrappy little houses" quilt. I haven't decided whether to make it a full size quilt for a bed or a smaller one to hang on the wall. The houses are so much fun to make that I fear it may end up being the full size quilt! Think it would be fun in a guest room.

houses, houses

I've had alot of fun piecing lots of houses the last few weeks. This is one that I did for myself. I wanted to add more detail to the block and give the house an interesting frame. I think I will do a series of these little house story quilts and another quilt that is just fun with bright colored scrappy houses. Will post some of the scrappy houses next. The house is pieced and the detail work was appliqued. The framework was also pieced. Back to my houses....

Just complete my first quilt for the doll quilt swap group! I made three quilts before I could decide which one I thought my partner might like! I hope this gets easier once I get the hang of it! But I did end up with 2 new minis of my own so I guess it's OK! Hope my partner likes this! going in the mail tomorrow!

My little bouquet quilt-along is finally quilted! It was fun quilting the flowers and using lots of swirls and leaves to quilt the background of this little quilt. I am pleased with the final result and will probably do more of these little quilts for gifts.

My little bouquet quilt along mini quilt is ready for quilting! What a fun quilt along this has been. The deep colors with the polka dot hand dyed leaves is the original project. I used mainly silks for the flowers and a hand dyed vintage tea towel for the flower pot! I decided to make a smaller quilt with odd quilting scraps that I had and did the little scrappy flower pot with the yellow green background! I will probably fram this little mini after it is quilted! These little minis will be perfect for handing and I think I will make a few for gifts!

One of my "scrappy quilts. Lots of odd fabrics mostly vintage! Quilt took over 1200 squares to complete! Happy to have it stitched and ready for the quilting! Another one of my now 10 quilt tops waiting to be quilted. Hope to have the longarm soon!

We are making this wonderful wall hanging on the little bouquet quiltalong. I have used alot of silk pieces and a few batiks for my roses. The pot for the flowers is a hand dyed vintage piece that I pickied up at International Quilt Festival in Houston last fall. This seemed to be the perfect place to use the vintage fabric. I have just finished placing my roses and need to add some leaves and greens before I stitch everything into place and start quilting.

This quilt top is finished and ready to be quilted. The stacks are vintage home dec fabric samples from the 60's that I saved from the trash during the cleanout of a local art space. I added a few contemporary fabrics for the vines and to fill in here and there so I could finish the quilt. This quilt is one of nine quilt tops I have completed in the past three months. I'm waiting to get my longarm quilting machine to tackle the quilting!

Little log cabin framed quilt

I loved the small framed quilts that I saw at International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh! I had this vintage frame and decided that a log cabin design would be perfect for framing! I am thinking that these little framed quilts would make great Christmas presents this year! Think I'll get started now!

summer nights mini quilt

Just finished my first mini quilt. I had alot of fun working out the design from ideas I found on the internet and putting the fabrics together. I liked it so much that I made another one in a different color combination that just needs binding. I like to make pin cushions from the small scraps I always have when I finish a quilt. I made this quilt for a swap and just sent it on it's way with the pin cushion!

Maryhill Museum Peacock wallhanging

During a visit to the Maryhill Museum during the off season we were treated to a private showing at the museum. When we left the grounds were deserted except for several elegant peacocks that made the museum grounds their home year round. They seemed as curious about us as we were about them. They posed willingly for pictures on the side of the gravel driveway near some rocks. I was so impressed with the encounter that I made the photograph into a wall hanging that was juried into the Utah's Hogle Zoo annual art exhibit. I used an openwork lace for the gravel and home decorator fabrics for the detail and body of the peacock along with extensive stitching and rayon threads. The peacock has crystal eyes for the final detail.

End Of Game Pittsburgh Pirates Quilt

This quilt was three years in the making. It was taken from a photograph that was enlarged to the size of the finished quilt so everything is actually to scale even the players. My daughter and I spent vacations and many evenings working on the quilt when I made trips to Pittsburgh. The quilt was completed in May was was shown at International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh.

"End of Game" wallhanging

detail of the players that were taken from the enlarged photograph and transfered to fabric. They are actually "to scale" and are the players that were playing at the game the night the photo was taken.

Detail of Pirates quilt

This is a close-up of the detail on the PNC Park quilt. My daughter made sure that everything was accurate and to scale including the big screen! The spesctators are all small snippets of fabric. The players were taken from the actual photograph at the game, blown up to scale with the quilt and printed on fabric. The players you see on the field are the actual players from the night we were at the game.