Happy Almost Halloween

October 26, 20176 Comments

Scary, but true, I have finished my pix-elated Sugar Skull mini! Woot Woot!

I’m so proud of myself, I can’t stop taking pictures of it!

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After my quilting triumph, my son and I took a break to visit a small local park called Rock City. It was my first trip there and it was amazing. The views were lovely and the stroll through the giant formations provided lots of opportunities for reflection and introspection. We decided that we will have to take Cindy and her DH for a hike next spring when Rock City reopens.

Breathtaking!

I’m liking the lichen!

This look says “way to ruin the moment, mom”, doesn’t it?

We may or may not have rediscovered a delicious seasonal spot for sweet fresh apple cider and donuts on our trip too. When I was in college, my mom and dad would bring cider and donuts from Cummin’s when they stopped by to see me on Mondays in the fall. (You see there was a cow sale nearby that they attended nearly every week. They’d come and pick me up for lunch and drop off cider, donuts and homemade cookies). The goodies were as yummy as I remembered.

On our way home, Wes and I made a pact to explore another hiking trail next weekend as well. There is so much beauty around us, it’s not right to spend so much time indoors!

Hidden Treasure — Found!

February 9, 20174 Comments

I’ve been cleaning closets–not much fun! BUT I found a hidden treasure to make it all worthwhile.

Several years ago, we were skiing in Canada and I stumbled across The Sugar Pine Company in Canmore, Alberta. This is a delightful quilt shop in an incredibly beautiful region of Canada.

I purchased a kit to make this Hare Bells Mini Quilt (designed by Castilleja Cotton) and brought it home to promptly place it in the black hole, also known as my sewing room closet! Once I re-found this treasure, I spent a few evenings working on it and am very happy with the results!

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I had some green pearl embroidery cotton to use for the stems so I put clear thread in my machine and used a zig-zag stitch to tack the stems in place. I like this thicker embroidery cotton because it adds a three dimensional look AND it was very easy to make the stems bend and curve.

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Raw edge applique is a fairly new technique for me and I think I might be hooked after making this mini! I used fabric glue to tack the leaves and flowers to the background and then I just started sewing back and forth around each leaf and flower. I took a deep breath when I started doing machine outlines on the cream background but I eventually remembered to exhale and just kept sewing away.

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Mini quilts are a nice way to practice machine quilting because there isn’t a lot of fabric to manipulate and it’s easy to turn your work and sew as you go.

Do you have any tips and tricks for raw edge applique? Let us know — we’d love to hear from you!

Free Pattern–Loved Mini Quilt

February 1, 20172 Comments

Yes, you still have time to make a Valentine Mini Quilt for someone you love!

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Download this free pattern: loved-mini-quilt-pattern and whip up this mini in no time flat! It measures 15 x 14 inches and can be completed by February 14th…honest!

I designed this mini quilt pattern to go together fast and easy. I’ve made three of these so far and plan to make a few more! While this pattern is nice for Valentine’s Day, I think it will work for other special occasions too, don’t you?

Maybe instead of the word “loved” you could insert a name…I might do that on my next one. I used fabric paint and stencils for the letters but for those of you who have an embroidery machine, the possibilities are endless for embroidering borders and words!

The mini below went to mom because she loves hummingbirds. I found this cute Cotton + Steel print and I fussy cut the birds…well worth the effort! Then I decided to go non-conventional and use navy as a border accent because the birds are navy.

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Here’s a full view of the pink and white mini. This went to a friend of mine who has a cat. This print is called “Naptime 2” by Darlene Zimmerman, a designer for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

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I quilted around each letter and then went to town on straight line quilting the heart block and borders. These mini quilts are helping me practice my machine quilting skills, WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THAT?!

Snowflake Mini Quilt Pattern

January 9, 2017January 10, 201713 Comments

Cindy here! It’s January and very snowy in Ohio. I decided to design a Snowflake Mini Quilt just for fun. What do you think?

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I used two metallic prints from Hoffman Fabrics Sparkle and Fade Line. These fabrics have shimmery metallic details and reminded me of how fresh snow glistens on a sunny day.

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I used two different shades of gray paint to stencil the word “SNOW”. Then I machine quilted around each letter.

When I added the circles to the block, I used a few dots of fabric glue to tack them down, but fusible web or hand applique would work too! The circles were a challenge to quilt because I had to keep lifting my presser foot and rotating every few stitches.

I am still practicing machine quilting with my walking foot and straight lines. I decided to use Lori Kennedy’s advice about alternating areas of dense stitching with areas of minimal stitching. I like the contrast — especially for smaller projects like this.

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