trip to Paducah quilt show

Four of us left on Sunday April 21,2013 for the AQS quilt show in Paducah,  On Monday we went to Benton to the quilt shop Odds n Ends  to visit Zella great shop.  Had lunch at a resturant called 4 little piggies great BBQ, then went to Purple Toad Winery sampled the wines and bought some.  Red Lobster for dinner.   Tuesday we had an all day class with Eleanor Burns called Melon Patch it was great fun, she also provided lunch from Panera's..  We had dinner at The Whaler's Catch for great seafood.

 Here is her signing my pattern.  

Then Wed. we went to Eleanor's show at the fair grounds had third row seats  so funny. From there we went to the show and looked at quilts and shopped vendors for the rest of the day in the expo center.  Dinner at Outback Steak House..
 On Thursday, had two lectures one on color and one on precuts which both were great, in between lectures we saw more of the show and shopped some more.  Had dinner at our favorite place  the Japanese resurant next to our Hotel  Hiabachi style so much fun and great food.
 On Friday, we went to the Rotary Club and looked at antique quilts and shopped the vendors there, then went downtown to the vendors there, then back to expo center for another lecture on fabric selection with Alex Anderson. Quick dinner then off to the evening event with Alex Anderson and Libby Leman  to start their program off we listened to great saxaphone music but didn't get his name..
Saturday we had class with Edyta Sitar on her spools quilt. We had a fabric exchange to do this quilt. She provided us with the fabric and we all cut 2 different fabric into 24  1" strips  then made piles for each of us.
here is a picture of the piles and Edyta adding to the piles.

After the class, we had lunch at Friday's and headed home.  we really had a great week even though it was colder than normal and two days of rain...    reservations for hotel are made for next year..

Happy Quilting,
Sharon

saved by the thread

HI,
well I was quilting a customer quilt and watching the thread on the cone disappear. I was hoping I would have enough to finish the last pass on the quilt.  Well I made it just by the luck of the thread..  I couldn't have planned it any closer if I tried......

 

 

I have been doing the blocks from www.quiltersloftcompany.blogspot.com called Bible Studies. They put a block out each Monday night late. Each block if for a book in the Bible with a story to go with it. The blocks are 6" finished blocks they are really fun and I can't wait for Monday nights to come.  Several of my quilting buddies are doing them too.  check it out you might like them too. Here are a few of the blocks that I have done.  Trying to use 3 fabrics but have had to add a fourth so far added a medium blue.   We are up to 16 blocks this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Today was a sew UFO day at LQS Main Street Quilt Co. in Shelbyville, IL  Kate started a UFO club in January to help us and her to get some UFO's done this year.  We turned in a list of 10 UFO's that we want to get done this year.  Then she set up a UFO sew day on second Thursday of the month is has been so popular she added second Tuesday of the month too.  We can go and work on one of our UFO's  and for $5.00 we get lunch which is always yummy...  I got my BOM block done for her shop and 3 more blocks for the Bible stories also got most of small wall hanging put together with sashing. It is one I started about 4 years ago doing English paper piecing of hearts called mended hearts. I am doing it ot honor all the family members that have had heart surgery in my family.  I just need to make one more block for the quilt which I am going to do on the embroidery machine saying Our family of mended hearts.  I am going to put names and dates of heart surgery on heart blocks . I will post a picture of this when I am done making the top..

 

well I guess I will go work on some project for the evening..

happy quilting

Sharon

sewing room fabric closet

I posted before about getting my fabric closet redone. Well I am still putting fabric away. I am almost done  one group of novelties left to sort thru and put away and some odds and ends of fabric.  I have almost sorted thru the other stuff other than fabric not sure why all of that stuff was in my fabric closet I guess didn't know what else to do with it.  I found several old quilt tops from DH great Aunt not sure if she made them or her mother  not very good  so just put them in a box and labeled them also lots of hexies cut out for grandmother's flower garden love the old fabrics, but proabaly won't make them.  Most of this stuff is not going back into the closet.  Hopefully by the end of next week the closet will be done and the house will be cleaned up from it being all over the house or at least two rooms, our bedroom and the living room.  Have several totes for my quilting buddies to look thru and help themselves next time we get together and sew and then the rest will be donated.

Happy Sewing,
Sharon

Discount on Craftsy for Carol Doak"s class

25% Discount on Craftsy Paper Piecing Class!

 

Paper piecing is my favorite quilt making techniques! Carol gave us permission to share with my blog readers a special 25% off discount to enroll in her new Craftsy class called Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing. Just use this www.craftsy.com/ext/masteringfpp25  if link doesn't take you to where you can sign up using the discount copy and paste it into your browser.
The class has 8 lessons and covers all your paper piecing questions from the basics to learning how to join intricate blocks.
I’ve taken a couplr of classes with Carol when she came to Decatur, Ill and she is a great instructor! I also use her paper piecing techniques even if it is not one of her patterns. Come along and take her class with me. 

Quilt show winner

The quilt show in the Mattoon Mall was a huge sucess. Not as many quilts this year but great quilts. One of the better turn outs for visitors, didn't think we would ever get done counting ballots.
I was greatly surprised when I won a first place ribbon for my jacket. here is a picture of it with its ribbon

Now I need to get my quilts entered into the Decatur Quilters Guild show at the Decatur Civic Center.  need to measure them and writing a small story about them 

sewing room closet

Well my DH  took out my old shelves in my sewing closet where I keep my fabrictwo weeks ago  and when SIL arrived on the weekend they replaced them with new shelving system.  I had 3 shelves  2 foot apart and 20 inches deep before. Just wasn't working and fabric too heavy and pulled shelf out of the wall. I forgot to take a before picture but it wasn't pretty. It is a walk in closet but you couldn't walk in it..  Well I am in the process of putting all the fabric back into the closet all this last week off and on...   I am refolding all the fabric around a 6 x 12 inch ruler. so folding it in half again from how it comes on the bolt. Sorting out fabric I don't want and will let quilting buddies take what they can use and donate the rest.  Putting it back in color groups.   Will take a picture when I am done to show you. Will want to just look at it and not mess it up... Boy I sure don't need to buy any fabic.
Lots of kits to make also put them into a tote so they are together and making a list of kits, UFO's and quilts to quilt.

I also finished a couple of small projects.  One is a new purse called flip flop bag.  I really like it and its done in dark green fabric with leaf print on it. It is another over the shoulder purse. I really like them so I can have hands free and they don't come off my shoulder..  I put an extra pocket on the inside  it only called for one divided pocket so there is one on each side of the inside of purse. going to add decorative buttons to the bottom of the flap on outside. Then will be ready for my trip next week.

We were invited to an surprise birthday party this last Saturday night, so I decided I need to make her a small gift mid-morning..   I decided to make her a tea cup mug rug.  So off to sew.  Well I got it done in couple of hours  These are so easy, fun and quick to make.  I have taught a class on making this one at a LQS couple weeks ago.

here is her mug rug.

 



 well I need to get back to quilting the quilt that is in the machine so bye for now.
Happy Quilting,

applique block for class

I have finished an applique block for a machine applique class I am teaching at our Decatur Quilt Fest/show.  I will be teaching the block below on Friday March 22  from 10-4 at the Decatur Civic Center. You can sign up for the class on our guild website. www.decaturquiltguild.com
The block is from a applique quilt Sweet Sixteen designed by Edyta Sitar. She puts together beautiful kits.  the pieces are fused down and sewn with invisible thread doing a small zigzag stitch.
come join me for a fun day and have a beautiful block done at end of day.