We still need a winner, so I picked a new entry!

Well I never heard back from the original winnner of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine so I needed to pick a new winner and it is Glenna who was comment # 32 and she said  "Love your block - new blocks provide inspiration for new quilts!"  Thank you Glenna!  Send me your address please and I will make sure your magazine gets in the mail right away!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner.  We were in Sacramento for a little over a week and had a great time  seeing most of our children and grandchildren, and getting reaquainted with our newest member of the family, Shane.  He was so much fun with all his smiles, as the last time we saw him he was only 5 days old!  Now he is officially 5 months old! Here is Daddy and son, and they are so missed! 

Christmas is in full swing now and we have been busy, busy, busy!  I made a new project called a block keeper and I'll post pictures of it soon!  Now, the big challenge is to try and enjoy the holidays, make time for the fun stuff and somehow get it all done in time.  At least we can have fun trying!  LOL!  Seriously, my favorite time of the year is Christmas, so I'll be back soon with more pics!

We have a Winner!

Julie was the 44th person to comment on my blog for the winning number and a new magazine!  Julie said, "I love your block! I think 100 Blocks offers wonderful ideas for quilters to try new techniques as well as to sew more creative blocks. You designers have great ideas!" 
 Julie, I have no way to contact you, so please let me know your email address, so I can reach you and get the information I need to send you your new magazine!  I need to also send your information to the magzine, as you will be entered in other prizes as well!  I can only give you 3 days, or I'll have to draw another winner.  Congratulations on your new issue of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks, Vol 4.  I used a random number generator to pick you out fair and square!  Thanks to all of you who commented on my post!  I enjoyed hearing for each and everyone of you!  Thank you so much!

Well, the new year is coming closer and closer, but instead of waiting for New Years to make a new resolution, I decided to make one last Aug.  After a couple of espisodes with health problems I realized I needed to take better care of myself.  I've been working out at the gym since August, and I recently decided to become a full fledged Vegetarian!  I thought it would be really difficult, no meat, low fat and sugar, and hardly any dairy, but surprisingly, it has been the best thing I have ever done for myself.  I've slimmed down, I feel better and I have energy to spare.  The best part is, I never go hungry!  Woo Hoo!  I wish I had known before what I know now about food, because it is so wonderful to feel satified and lose weight at the same time!  So to celebrate my new regimen, I wanted to share with you a new a recipe that I recently discovered and LOVE! I found the recipe on the Food Network, but here it is:

It's call Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Sweet Cranberries.

Ingredients

• 1 (5.8-ounce) box instant couscous
• 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 orange, juiced
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 to 4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on an angle
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water (amount will be listed on package directions) to a boil and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl tightly and let it stand, giving it a big stir once or twice, until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 5 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the olive oil, scallions, parsley, lemon juice, and walnuts. Stir around until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Make up to 2 hours ahead of time and keep at room temperature until you're ready to serve. Check the seasonings just before you serve the salad and add salt and pepper, to taste.
Note: To toast the walnuts, spread them out on a baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree F oven until they turn a shade darker, about 8 minutes.

I like it warm or cold, and I plan to have it during the holidays.  It's also good at room temperature. 


We are going to be with our children and grandchildren (all but one family) for Thanksgiving next week and we can hardly wait to see them!  We have a new grandbaby and he is over 4 months old, and we haven't seen him since he was a week old! Can't wait!  I understand he has become quite the talker as of late too!  Grandma is having withdrawals!

I'm taking a little quilting break this week, catching up on long arm jobs and planning for our trip.  I've gotten my room reorganized since Houston and I'm looking forward to some new projects soon.  One I definitely want to start as soon as we get back is Moonglow by Jinny Beyer.  I've loved this quilt for forever, and I finally have a kit in my hands!  YAY!

So I'll have to keep you posted on my progress!

You know, sometimes it's just really fun to do someone else's design for a change!  Kind of like eating someone else's cooking--it just tastes so much better!  LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving in case I don't see you before! 

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour!

     

Join the fun once again for the 100 Blocks Blog Tour, by Quiltmakers magazine, Vol 4 is now here, and you have a chance to win prizes and a free magazine issue!  I am one of the lucky designers to have a block in this issue!  It's called Ocean Life, and I made my own version of an ocean wave design for my block, with an added dophin appliqued to the center.  In the magazine there are 100 newly designed blocks by 100 different designers!  The instructions for making each and every block are there!

Right now you also want to go the the link quiltmaker.com/100blocks to find out about other prizes you can win just by following the blog tour!  There will be ONE winner, from my blog's comments to win an issue of this magazine, and I want you to win!  Just post a comment explaining why new block patterns would be helpful to you!  You might just win a new magazine!

This block is made from a line called Mermaid Wishes by RJR Fabrics.  It has the cutest images of mermaids and sea life, so the dolphin just had to take center stage on the block.  Of course it can go into a quilt, but I also thought it would be a cute pillow to compliment a child's quilt.

Something like this!  With a flanged edge and narrow inner borders.  Soooooo- be sure to post your comment, and the winner will be drawn by November 12th, this coming Saturday!  I'll be waiting to hear from you!

Contest Winner!

Sorry I'm a day late in announcing the winner of the Quilter's Newletter Best of Christmas magazine!  I was hoping for more posts and I did manage to get 3 by tonight, but I can't wait any longer for a winner, so I wrote numbers 1-3 for comments 1st through the last, down on a piece of paper, folded and put them in a bowl and tossed them around.  My husband drew from the bowl and the lucky winner is Sandy!  So Sandy, please send me your address and I will mail your magazine out to you right away!
Thanks all of you for participating!  I know I haven't been able to post as often as I'd like to, but I do really appreciate all of you who visit and read my blog very much.  You are all an inspiration to me, and it is wonderful to be able to share my love of quilting with you.

October is here and it is an exciting month!  So far, we have had HUGE thunderstorms, lots of lighning in the sky and have been awakend in the middle of the night with the heavy rains during the last week.
Here's a quick shot out the front door of what it has been like!  The temps have now dropped too, well at least for us, and we are enjoying the cooler weather!

October means Halloween, Houston Fall Market and the end of daylight savings time.  It also means soon we will have warm homemade soup on the stove and cuddle up under lap quilts in the evening doing stitchery and watching movies!   Quilt projects will be completed this month, and the new season will go into full swing with Christmas decorations up in the stores before Halloween even gets here!  I have just a few sneak peaks for you of new quilts for Market.

This is a Nancy Mahoney line by P&B Textiles.  I seem to really be into doing applique lately. I don't know why, but it has been a fun change.  Just a lot more work!

Robyn Pandolph with her usual beautiful florals in yummy colors.  I've always loved her fabric lines!  Now she is designing for RJR Fabrics!  This quilt will be in an upcoming magazine issue in a few months.

This is a little table topper I'm having fun with for the fall season.  I still have to quilt and bind it, but I can do that in November!  Also in November I plan to do some stitchery, and my favorite new magazine is the Vignette.  I just got my Vol 4 issue! I'm collecting them all, they are really awesome!

It is chock full of goodies, both recipes and stitchery projects that look like so much fun.  Maybe I can work on my stitchery quilt that is in progress and really relax. Relax? I think I'm jumping the gun just a bit right now.  It's only Oct 7th! 

Keep Quilting!

Patterns are for sale! CONTEST!

Well, after much thought and many requests from customers and stores, I have finally added my current patterns that are for sale to my blog.  At this time I don't have a regular website, so until I do develop one I was asked to show you my phone # and email address so it would be easier for you to find and order my patterns.  See the list and photos of them to the right of my blog where you can access them at any time.  I hope it helps us all!

Of course we are in the full swing of market work for Houston, and I have been working hard on new designs for magazines and fabric companies, like Benartex, RJR Fabrics and P&B Textiles!  So many beautiful new lines are coming out and I'm have such a great time designing and making quilts for them.  I'm so honored and thankful for this dream job of mine that helps me earn while I do what I really love to do most, next to being with my family.  I'll try to share a few sneak peeks as I go along!

This cute little quilt, made from RJR's line called

"One is One" is a darling little girl's quilt with big flowers appliqued on.

I'm also very excited to tell you about a Christmas Quilt I made for Quilting Treasures that landed on the cover of Quilter's Newsletters new issue called Best Quilts

 for Christmas!  I was so surprised and thrilled when my quilt was returned to me with 3 issues.  Only then did I realize my quilt was on the cover!  So exciting!

CONTEST! Post to my blog, and a lucky winner will win an issue of this magazine!  I want to share the issue with one of you!  You have one week to post, and the winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, Oct 6th!  So stay tuned! I will announce it then.


In between all the "work" I have to do, I actually finished a UFO from a long long time ago!  Not my pattern, but just fun to do for the fall season.  I have to share, even though it is not quilted yet, and you know that is going to have to wait!  LOL!

Well, I just can't let the day or this post go by without sharing a sweet picture of my little grandson who is growing so fast!

Yes indeed, little Shane is getting to be a big boy!  Can't wait to see him again!  Thanksgiving we get to see all the grandkids and it will be so much fun.  But for now, I have work to do!  So I'll catch you soon, and I'll be back for sure on Monday.

Have a great weekend and Keep Quilting!

August will soon be over......

The heat is here in full force, but once in a while, a little miracle happens and we get the most beautiful blooms, even in the middle of August! I loved being able to sew in my room and look out the window to these lavender blossoms when it has been too hot to get outside.  Today I broke down and went to the gym because it is impossible to walk outside in the weather without feeling miserable.  The humidity has been back with lots of clouds, but unfortunately no rain.  I realize how lucky we are though, when I see all the coverage of hurrican Irene hitting the East coast.  So ok, maybe I can take the heat for just a little longer!

Some color amongst the rocks is a welcome sight!








But there are other fun things to do even when being home is the best answer to concrete so hot you can fry your own breakfast right there in the front yard! 

So I have started a new quilt, with wool applique, just for my own satisfaction!  This is the beginnings of a first block from the BOM pattern called Primitive Garden.  I'm using hand dyed wools and Valdini threads to hand applique them in place.  After the block is finished, I plan to add a few beads and buttons and any other embellishments needed to make it complete.

Here's the pattern, so you can see that I have a long way to go!  It will be a work of love in progress over the next few months.  I'm having the best time putting this quilt together!  It's a nice change.

What else have I been up to?  A little stitchery and 10 full blocks that are 13" each from my Legacy Pineapple Sundae kit I've had for well over 2 years.  I love these colors and the blocks are really fun to do too.  I never buy the color brown when I buy fabric, but this kit has totally changed my mind.  The brown in this quilt is so rich and warm. 

With ten blocks made so far, each week I have a goal of at least two blocks in between all my other work so I can finish all 30 of them in time for winter.  They are time consuming but worth it. 

It takes tons of narrow 1 1/4" strips, all used in a variety of sequence to get a somewhat scrappy look.  They are a mess to keep track of, so I use these hangers to keep them under control!  I pull out the hangers near the cutting table and just cut the lengths I need as I go along, so every block will be different..... yet look the same.

This is a little stitchery I made for my new grandson that goes with the colors in his room. 

This is a long arm job I completed for a friend recently.  It was a small quilt with lots of personality for a quilter friend who use to be called "Mrs Beige" !  Margaret can hardly say she just uses beige anymore!  Congrats Margaret!

Market work will be ready soon and I'll keep you posted, but until then, just keep quilting!

My lastest quilts in new magazines!



I just received this issue yesterday with my latest Christmas quilt in it called Trimming the Tree! I really enjoyed making this quilt from the Winterbury line by RJR Fabrics! The bow was an older block that I added a thin border to and the tree block is my own new version that I really love. I've been wanting to make a quilt for a long time with a version of the tree block, and this one is just perfect for my needs! I also sell another version of this pattern in a table runner that is now in Keepsake Quilting catalog!

I have a pic from the magazine, and I've added my own picture as well so you can see the full quilt!  I've added a close up of the quilting too.

The newest issue of Fons and Porter now has my Lover's Walk quilt, using the Berkley Square line by Benartex. This was a fun quilt to do, using only 3 blocks and rotating them around the corner stars.  See it also in Electric Quilt's blog dated Aug 2nd http://www.doyoueq.com/blog/?p=2633 using this link.

In the July/Aug issue of Fons and Porter it has another quilt I designed for Benartex from the Floral Fancies line.  It's a cute line using panel squares.

Fall market work is well on it's way, and I'll have more to share soon.  I'm also making the time to work on a favorite project with my friends for a personal quilt using the pineapple block and a pineapple ruler that makes the process so much easier.  I have dedicated myself to at least one day a week making something for myself that is not work related.  It was necessary for my own sanity and happiness!  LOL!  So TGIF has a whole new meaning for me now!  Getting together with friends, sharing and enjoying their company and learning a few things along the way, some quilting related, some not.  Life is good, and I'm so grateful for God in my life and my family and friends.  I can't leave this post without the latest picture of my sweet little grandson.  He is changing everyday-his Mom and Dad say his hair is getting lighter in color, he still has those blue eyes and he just advanced to a new size in diapers!  Now you know I'm a really over the top in love Grandma without a doubt!  Until next time, Keep Quilting!

Grandbabies are the best!

We just got home from a week in Sacramento to see all the Grandkids and our kids, including the newest addition to the family, Shane, born July 5th at 9 lbs even.  He is so adorable, and of course I'm prejudice but who can resist a cute little face like that?   We had a wonderful time and I miss them already, boo hoo.  All of a sudden, living 10 hrs drive away is feeling a little too far!   Roxy and Peanut rode with us in the car and they were so good, and played with the other dogs while we were there.  Roxy actually seems depressed at being back home where it's quiet and not as much action going on.  Everyone says a week old baby can't smile, but I beg to differ!  Grandma is so proud! 

We also got to see our twin grand daughters at their horse show, and watch them ride.  They look so small up on those big animals but they really know what they are doing.

The twins are both in this picture, Presley relaxing with a drink of water while her sister Peyton is finishing up right behind her on the horse. 

Before we left I finished up this longarm job for

the store, and I was so happy with the results.  I believe this is a pattern from Tula Pink.  They have it hanging at Quiltique right now, I'll have to go see it in the store!

I'm busy designing for Fall Market already and have started a couple of the quilts.  I'll have some fun things to show you soon!  In the meantime, I have another quilt published in the Aug/Sept issue of The Quilter Magazine showing my Making Waves quilt!

It's a fun little quilt to do, full of fish, seaweed and ocean waves at the bottom. Very little applique (fish bubbles) and the rest is easy piecing. 

With the heat all over the country, we feel pretty fortunate to have the dryness out here in Vegas right now.  But the monsoons are coming back in a just a day or two.  Sounds like a good time to go to the movies!  Kettlecorn, coke and a movie, doesn't get much better than that!  Until next time---keep quilting!

Just for Kids!

Kids are the top of the list right now--I have a new kids quilt in the latest Quilts for Kids magazine, and I have a Grandson due at the end of the month!  I'm so excited!  We have a little boy on his way soon, and we plan to travel to see him and his Mommy and Daddy (my son) in July and meet him for the first time!  His name is Shane, and my daughter held a beautiful shower for our daughter-in-law last month at her home in Calif.  The quilt that went in the magazine is a little girl's basket quilt made from RJR Fabrics line called Annabelle's Alphabet.  It is a sweet little quilt, but not quite suited for a boy, so Grandma,--umm that would be ME-is busy putting together a lamb quilt to go with his lamb themed room.  I'm using part minkie for the little lambs on the front and his colors are blues and browns.  I have a small pic for you of the lamb in question, barely getting started.  He still needs eyes, etc, and there will be several lambs with different colored wheels and a sawtooth border between the blocks.  I'll post a finished picture when it is done.  In the meantime, here is Deanna opening presents and a pic from the baby shower.

Myself, Deanna and my daughter Charlotte

lamb block in progress!

We are so looking forward to our new grandson!
And it's just one more excuse to make another quilt!

Project Complete --- Check!

Well, how good does it feel, to have a project complete and sitting there where you imagined it a year or two ago!  LOL!  I promised to show you the completed cedar chest when it was done and put in it's rightful place, so here it is!  Honestly, I'm still not thrilled with the old knobs, so I'm on the lookout for some blue glass transparent looking knobs and I hope to find them soon, but other than that, the chest if full of quilts and has a new padded top and fits into the room looking much better than it did before.  I'm so happy to have a project completed!

Speaking of projects, before I became a "professional quilter", and believe me, I use that term lightly, I had time to do so many other things!  One of which was actually making quilts for myself, but I"m trying to fit that in this year !  HA HA HA, no seriously I'm really trying to fit in some quilts of my own.  I know, I'm going to have to prove it when I get one done, but I will.  Just be patient with me! 
Anyway, what I was getting at was that I love to create, PERIOD--not just quilts, and one of my favorite things among many, was to mosaic using old broken china.  You have to hunt down the old pieces in thrift shops and antique stores, and point out the flaws in these gems to get a better price.  Tell all your loved ones that if they break a piece they need to save it for you.  I just love the look and all I have left to show you now is a simple wooden bed tray I did years ago. 

I think there are a couple of teapcups as well as plates in this design, and some of those glass buttons they use in floral vases. Truthfully I saw the idea at a little shop in Cambria, Calif. years ago.  Don't you often see something in a shop and say to yourself, "Well, I could do that!"   I also made some heart wall plaques back then but I don't have any left for me.  Don't find that happens alot, you give everything away, knowing yours will get made soon, and alas, i'm still waiting!  Anyway, these are so much fun to do, and not costly at all.  I already had the bedtray and banged up a few chipped pieces of china with a hammer, got out the grout and had a blast!  Just be sure to break china in the garage during the day.  Your neighbors may want to sleep at night!  lol!

I'm also working on a new project that just got accepted to Quilters Newletter Magazine and I am estactic!  I can't wait to see the issue because it is all about Christmas quilts, and well, Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I know Easter is coming, and I hope to have something to share with you soon for that, but in the meantime I'm on a deadline for this one.  I can only show some sneak peaks right now, and here is a block I've been working on for this quilt.  The tree panels are so beautiful, this is just one, and they are called Christmas Traditions by Quilting Treasures.  There is already a BOM I designed for this line that is just coming out.  So watch for it!

This block is simple paper piecing as you can see here, and you add 4 segments together to make the block.  It is a star with pretty points and there will be much more to it when it's all put together.  In fact I'll be working on it steady as it ships out this week.

So I'll be back with you soon, and until then I thought I'd share a beautiful sunset we had this week.  The weather has been warm in the day and cool at night.  Just love it and wish it could last longer, but I know the hot Vegas summer is trying hard to sneak it's way in!  So keep quilting, and remember those well intended projects just waiting for you to make them beautiful!