A Little Bit of Everything

I signed up for a pillow swap on Instagram.  It has been forever since I was in a swap and it has been lots of fun.  I had an idea (based on my partner's likes - scrappy, text, micro improv.) to make a mini scrap vortex pillow cover.  It started with this.

Which turned into this.

And then this.  I think the pictures actually look better than the real thing for once in my photography "career".   But now I am second guessing myself.  It is kind of blah.  What do you think?  Keep going or start over?  

 Too simple?  Would you like to get a pillow like this or would you think your partner had taken the easy/lazy way out?  I have another idea in the wings that I am leaning towards at this point.

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In other news, AQS posted their best selling new book releases of 2015.  Of their books on piecing, You Can Quilt! took 3rd with approx. 1000 copies sold.  Not bad.  If you have a copy of You Can Quilt! I would be so grateful if you could take a few minutes and post a review of it on Amazon.  There have only been 7 reviews and we need to increase that number.  Thanks!

Last week my 1st grader and I made a shirt for the 100th day of school.  They wanted us to make something that had 100 of something on it.  I wanted to make something that she might possibly wear in the future.  This is what we came up with.  

Regular cheap felt cut out in squares, glued onto the shirt, then sew in lines through the middle.  It was a pretty kid friendly project.

I hope you are having a great week.  It has been snowing and we have missed two days of school -- I am starting to go stir crazy.  My plan is to stay sane by sewing.  :)

You Can Quilt! Behinds the Scenes - Prioritizing in PJs

AnneMarie at GenX Quilters is reviewing You Can Quilt! today.   I've 'known' AnneMarie forever, but finally got to meet her in person a few weeks ago at Market.  It was awesome.  Head on over and check out her Mini Lone Star block and see what she has to say about You Can Quilt!.  (You can enter the giveaway here.)

Yes, those are my PJs and Becca is on my lap pawing through the desk drawer and dropping crayons all over the floor.

 AnneMarie got a behind the scenes look at the writing of You Can Quilt! a few years ago.  I hadn't told many people that I was writing a book but a casual comment on a post ended in me writing a loooong email back to AnneMarie about the stresses of writing a book.  I really needed someone to 'talk' to and she got an earful.  I can't find the email now, but I think I mentioned how the book was taking over my life - that every decision was weighed by how it would affect my sewing and writing time and how it was taking time away from my family.  (Ironically, I was using prime book writing time to email her.)

For example, I would look in the fridge, realize that we were low on milk and had no fresh fruit or veggies and instead of going shopping I would say, "That's ok, we can have canned beets/pears/applesauce/beans for dinner and I can go shopping later."  I knew that between getting kids in the car, driving, shopping, driving, kids, unloading and putting away that I would loose 2 hours of writing or sewing time.  Every day I could put it off was time saved.  Insane.

Photo by 4 year old Kate - different day, same PJs

Anyway, this is where I would write.  Sometimes with an 1 year old on my lap (until she pushed the screen off button too many times).  The kid's Phineas and Ferb Pandora radio station would be playing in the background and every once and awhile I would take a break and we would dance to "I'm the Queen of Mars."  Hearing those songs now really takes me back to writing.  We would listen to hours of kids music a day.

I had a print out of the book's Table of Contents taped to the wall by the computer and I put dates by each chapter so I knew what I had to do to stay on target and meet the deadline.  (So glad that green wallpaper is gone now!)  I also wrote down who was pattern testing each chapter on it.  That piece of paper was my brain.

Was writing You Can Quilt! hellish?  Yes.  Was it worth it?  It was.  Totally!!!
Tomorrow I will post more about the actual process of writing.  See you then!

Building Blocks Finish, Market and Blog Hop

Hi there.  I just wanted to show you my finished Building Blocks quilt.  I tried something new with the binding and bound the area around the blocks with colored fabric and used the background fabric as binding around the background area.  I like it.

I took the quilt to Market with me.  Marlene and I did a Schoolhouse presentation on You Can Quilt!  It went so well.  It was well attended (I was worried no one would show) and quilt shop owners seemed excited to see how they could use the book as a base for classes in their shop.  Yea!

I think it really helped that we had a wide variety of quilts to show.  The one above was made by a student in the Skill Builder Class that Marlene taught last year.  When Marlene talked about how she has used the You Can Quilt! manuscript to teach in her shop you could feel the shop owners in the audience connecting with her.

The You Can Quilt! blog hop sponsored by Island Batik is still going on.  Remember that you can leave a comment on each post to be entered to win a copy of the book and a bundle of fabric.  Details here.

In addition to the earlier post on basic skills the Half Square Triangle, Quarter Square Triangle and Flying Geese Chapters there are now post about Wonky Blocks, Improvisation, Applique, Curves, and Foundation Paper Piecing,  I just want to thank all of the Island Batik Ambassadors for taking the time to review the book and make the blocks from each chapter.  Check them out!

And have a great Halloween!

You Can Quilt! Building Skills For Beginners Blog Hop

Welcome to the blog hop for You Can Quilt! Building Skills for Beginners.  Marlene is an ambassador for Island Batik and has organized a blog hop with the other Island Batik Ambassadors.   Island Batik has provided the Ambassadors (and me!) with fabrics from their New Fall/Winter lines of fabric debuting at Fall Quilt Market.  Over the next four weeks we will each highlight one Skill Builder Set in the book and make the three quilt blocks in that set with our Island Batik fabric.  It will be a great opportunity to get a really good look at the book (and the new fabric lines).  I hope you will follow along and check out all of the posts.

I am kicking it off with Skill Builder Set 1: Learning the Basics.
This Skill Builder Set covers all of the basics: cutting, tips on sewing accurate 1/4" seams and pressing.  The three blocks in this set are all very basic, but give beginning quilters the chance to practice those basic skills before moving on to more complicated blocks.  The blocks were also chosen because they introduce chain piecing, sub-cutting and experimenting with value.

I was given a choice of fabrics from Island Batik's new lines and I choose the Jersey Shore line.  I love the bright colors!  To be honest, I have never really worked with batiks, so this was a new experience for me.  I wanted to make my blocks into a finished product (I don't need any more orphan blocks floating around!) and decided to make a table runner for my friend who just moved.  She loves batiks (perfect) and is decorating her kitchen and dining room in blues and green (perfect).

I edited the fabrics to blues and greens and got cutting.  These blocks come together quickly.  The batik fabric had a different feel than "normal" quilting cottons and I loved the way it pressed - nice and crisp.  

In no time I had the blocks finished and was ready to join them.  I like how you can see the different blocks, but the table runner is still cohesive.

I used some of the leftover fabric for the backing so the table runner would be reversible.

I quilted it with a small leaf and swirl - it seemed like the right motif with all the blues and greens.  Now it is all ready to go to it's new home.  A quick project, perfect for a beginner, that could be made with any of the blocks in the book.

We would love to give you the chance to win some fabric and a copy of You Can Quilt! Building Skills for Beginners.  For a chance to win you can enter with the Rafflecopter below.  You can also enter to win on each of the Ambassador's blogs throughout the blog hop. 

At the end of the blog hop we will randomly choose 4 winners.  Each winner will receive a copy of You Can Quilt! and a bundle of fabric.  There are two fat-eight bundles of Island Batik's Sweet Georgia Peach and two fat-eight bundles of a variety of Cotton and Steel prints that I used to make this Skill Builder quilt.  When we email the winners they will be able to indicate which bundle they would prefer on a first come, first serve basis.  Good luck!

Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to US residents.
If you would like to purchase a copy of You Can Quilt! you can get a signed copy from Marlene or myself.  It is also available through AQS (as a hard copy or e-book) and Amazon.

I hope you have fun visiting the other posts during the next few weeks!  It will be great to get to see all of the blocks made up in Island Batik fabric.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oct. 9  -  1, Learning the Basics - Leila Gardunia  sewnbyleila.blogspot.com

Oct. 12 - 2, Half Square Triangles - Tammy Silvers  .tamarinis.typepad.com/

Oct 14 -  3, Quarter Square Triangles - Connie Kresin Campbell conniekresin.com

Oct. 16 - 4. Flying Geese - Maryellen McAuliffe teachpany.blogspot.com

Oct 19 -  5. Wonky Blocks - Christine McCrann Martinez madeinscraps.blogspot.com

Oct. 21 - 6. Improvisation - Connie Kauffman  kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com

Oct. 23 - 7. Foundation Paper Piecing - Joan Kawano moosestashquilting.blogspot.com

Oct. 26 - 8. Curves - Marlene Oddie  kissedquilts.blogspot.com

Oct. 28 - 9. One-Patch Blocks - Bea Lee beaquilter.com

Oct. 30 - 10. Applique - Barbara Gaddy bejeweledquilts.blogspot.com

Nov. 2  - 11. Inset Seams - Pamela Boatright  pamelaquilts.blogspot.com/

Nov. 4 – 12. Challenge Blocks - Linda Stewart Pearl onequiltingcircle.com

Nov. 6 – 13. Finishing – Marlene   kissedquilts.blogspot.com

I finally sewed something - Building Blocks

I realized two weeks ago that it had been three weeks since I had sewn anything.  Three weeks!  Forever!  What was I doing?  Kids, garden, home repairs, cleaning, laundry, kids, cleaning, canning and repeat....forever.  I was going crazy.  I still feel a bit batty but much better since I got some sewing in.

I was meaning to set aside some sewing time and it actually happened when my husband went out of town and my six year old was home sick for a week.  :(  It was just a cold, but when she gets sick it hits her hard.  So while she rested on the couch I sewed.  When she started to feel better and played with her younger sister who is still at home, I sewed.  I made a quilt - in a week.  Crazy.

Let me tell you about it.  It is made with mostly Cotton & Steel fabrics.  I had been looking a lot at this print and wanted to make a quilt that had the same feel.  I don't think I got it, but I still like it.  I wanted it to be a quilt that someone who was just starting quilting could make.  All of the blocks are found in You Can Quilt!  It has two blocks from the Basics, Half Square Triangle, Flying Geese Skill Sets and one block from the Quarter Square Triangle Skill Set.

I wanted to make a smaller quilt as an example of something quilt shop owners could make in a beginning quilting class.  Marlene and I are going to Market next month in Houston (first time for me!) and I want to have lots of quilty inspiration to show potential buyers.  But mostly, I just couldn't get the idea for this quilt out of my head.  I might have to try it again with different sized blocks to get the feel I am going for.

Then again, I might just make a bunch of churn dash blocks.  I love them.  They are simple and classic and perfect.

Have a great weekend!

Linking to Finish It Up Friday.

It's Here! : You Can Quilt! Building Skills For Beginners

 Almost a year to the day from when we mailed in the quilts and manuscript, I had our book in my hands: You Can Quilt! Building Skills For Beginners.  I just received my order of books and will start shipping them out on Tuesday.  If you didn't already pre-order, you can order a signed copy in my signed copy in my Etsy shop or an unsigned copy from  Amazon or the AQS website.  It is also available as an e-book if you prefer.

Let me give you a tour of the book.  The publishing group at AQS sent me a copy of the book that they had all signed.  That was really nice.  Don't you love the close up of Rosie?  And that Circle of Geese block?

The next page with a close up of the quilt I made...and all of the copyright mumbo jumbo.

Next comes the Table of Contents, but let's just focus on the quilt for a second....  :)

Marlene's quilt, Rosie's BOMb, faces the introduction.  I really like the introduction.  It tells the story of two school teachers turned riveters for the summer and then ties their story into quilting and how we can do hard things and learn new skills too.  We Can  Do It!

The books then goes over quilting basics like sewing a 1/4" seam, pressing and choosing fabrics.

Then we get to the blocks.  There are 12 different "Skill Builder Sets" with 3 quilt blocks in each set.  The first block in each set is very simple and then we move on to more complex blocks.  The Skill Builder Sets included in the book are: Learning the Basics (straight lines, chain piecing, sub-cutting), Half-square Triangles, Quarter-Square Triangles, Flying Geese, Wonky Blocks, Improvisation....

Foundation Paper Piecing, Curves, One-Patch Blocks, Applique, Inset Seams and Challenge Blocks.  This is a comprehensive book!

There are also setting, quilting and binding instructions at the end of the book.

The back cover has pictures of additional projects you can make with the blocks.  

But that is not all!  The book comes with the cutest CD ever.  I think centering the compass block on it is brilliant.  The CD has the templates for the curved, appliqued and foundation paper pieced blocks.  There are also setting instructions for the quilt seen on the cover, a bonus Airplane block, and pictures of other quilts made with the blocks from the book.

I am totally biased, but I think you will really like this book.  It would be fun to work through the blocks with a group of friends.  And although it is marketed to beginners, it would also be beyond useful for all of us who are stuck in intermediate-quilter-land who want to stretch our skills.

Again, you can order a signed copy in my Etsy shop or an unsigned copy from  Amazon or the AQS website.  It is also available as an e-book if you prefer.  I will start shipping books out on Tuesday.

Pre-Order You Can Quilt!

After my last post, I checked Amazon and You Can Quilt! is available to pre-order!!!  

Order a signed copy in my etsy shop or non-signed on Amazon.

I will meet Amazon prices, but do need to charge shipping.  The planned release date is February 2015 and I will ship out the books as soon as I receive them.

This is getting real!

You Can Quilt!

Here it is!  You Can Quilt!  

It's planned release date is February 2015!!!

Just like the original We Can Do It! Skill Builder Sampler, You Can Quilt! devotes a chapter to each major piecing skill.

Chapter 1:  The Basics (cutting, 1/4" seams and straight line blocks)
Chapter 2:  Half Square Triangles
Chapter 3: Quarter Square Triangles
Chapter 4:  Flying Geese
Chapter 5:  Wonky Piecing
Chapter 6:  Improvisational Piecing
Chapter 7:  Foundation Paper Piecing
Chapter 8:  Curves
Chapter 9:  One Patch Blocks
Chapter 10:  Applique
Chapter 11:  Inset Seams
Chapter 12:  Challenge Yourself!

My picture of the Flying Geese Blocks.

Each chapter starts with a simple block, followed by an intermediate block and ends with a more advanced block.  The idea is to start with a nonthreatening block and then to progress to the point where you know you could make any quilt that used that particular skill.  The instructions for the 36 quilt blocks are detailed, clear and beginner friendly.

I think this book is the most awesome quilting book ever!  (I might be a bit biased.)  But I put off sharing the book's cover for a few weeks for two reasons.  First, it features my "ugly" quilt :).  Second, this book is a must have for all quilters, not just beginners and I wanted to see if the cover could be altered to resolve those concerns.

I know AQS wants to market to beginning quilters, but this book is also perfect for all of us that are stuck in intermediate-quilter-land.  I had been quilting for years before I tried to foundation paper piece and I would never have tried to applique if it wasn't for my husband (read that story here).  This book is all about overcoming your quilting fears, trying out new techniques and building skills so you can make the quilts of your dreams.

This book is for you!  Your friend!  Your quilt group!  Everyone!

I will be sure post more information and sneak peeks as they become available!  Have a great weekend!