Hugs and Kisses to YOU!

It's Heart Month! That means love and hugs and kisses too.

A wonderful welcome to anyone new to my blog today, so glad you stopped by!

The wonderful Madame Samm is hosting another fabulous blog hop, this one called Hugs and Kisses. Of course they are all special, but this one is paper piecing - so it's super special. The real reason it is special because the money raised by the purchase of the pattern (get yours here) will be donated to both an animal charity and a foundation to provide sewing machines!! Love it!

For quite some time I was afraid of paper piecing. One thing, it is not like riding a bike, once you forget it, you have to go back and watch videos and read tutorials. It comes back fast though and making the project is a reminder why I love it. It is exact, it looks exactly like you want it to and is a nice change from regular piecing. Do you like to paper piece? Tell me a story about your paper piecing experiences!

This Madame Samm....let me tell you about her.  She runs a tight ship and has high expectations, not of us as bloggers and quilters, but as people. She believes the best in folks, is generous and does so many things for the sewing and quilting communities.  If you haven't head of her, go check her out here. Perhaps you will want to join an upcoming blog hop and share your love of all things stitching. She is a wonderful encourager and also has a team of cheerleaders too! Yeah, she really is that awesome! Add her to your blog roll for some great posts. A sincere thanks for this, and all your blog hops - wink!

And speaking of creative people, many thanks to Soma who created the pattern for us. Woo Hoo!

And by us, let me tell you, I am only one of many this Wednesday. Go check out the other lovely ladies on the hop today too. You could do anything you wanted as long as you used the pattern.....wonder what they did? Go see!

Lady Carol @ Just let me Quilt

Lady Sandy @ Upstairshobbyroom

Lady Cynthia @ dreamquiltcreate

Lady Pat @scrapatches

Lady Susan @ desertskyquilts

Hugs and Kisses - Coming Soon!

Madame Samm always has such wonderful blog hops over at sewwequilt.com and this month, there is a darling one coming your way! It starts on Wednesday and I'm participating - with some wonderful, amazing talent!

Hugs and Kisses Paper Piecing



See ya Wednesday with my super secret, never seen before Paper Piecing Project!

WIP Wednesday

My friends, this finish has been a long time coming...but it has not yet crossed the finish line. Gah!

You see, in 2013 one of my goals was to give away most, if not all, of what I made.  But...I did make this quilt for myself, because,well - I just wanted to.

Normally sewing on the binding is one of the most important steps, because the project is almost complete....and I LOVE sewing on binding. It is something that is super fast for me and also enjoyable.

But...at the December meeting of my quilt guild, it was my (lap project) while listening to the meeting. This quilt was shown for show and share, along with my desire to give everything away.

Wouldn't you know it-someone mentioned not to finish it until 2014 so I could make good on my goal. Yep, that's exactly what happened. It was almost as if I didn't want to touch it. What the heck? Am I that susceptible to the power of suggestion? In this case yes.

So...I am taking this quilt with me this week as some down time is coming up, and it will.be.finished. Promise!

Check back soon and you can see her in all her glory!

Linking up over at Freshly Pieced!

Time for Needle and Thread Thursday!

What am I up to this Thursday? Cutting fabric for a surprise quilt. She likes gray and yellow and this is my meager start. The yellows don't appear to go together, but when I get more fabric, they will...

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday! Pop on over to Kelly's blog and check out what other folks are doing - you just might get some inspiration (I'm pretty sure you will).

Was it too small?

In December, at my Modern Quilt Guild meeting, we had an exchange and the instructions were to make a bag.  This is new territory to me, as my usual "non-quilt" projects consist only of fabric baskets and zip pouches.

A quick look at Pinterest and this cute little "just uses two fat quarters" intro sold me on this Lindie Bag.
Here is the tutorial I used and it really was pretty easy. I will use it again, but perhaps shorten the straps.

It was shocking to see what some of the other guild members made though.  Messenger bags, zip bags, large pouches and a couple of ornate works of art. I wish I had taken some pictures to show you, but trust me, I felt small, kind of like my bag.  The sweet lady who got this at the end of the night happened to be sitting right next to me and I lightly asked her if it was too small to do anything with and she replied "not at all, I'm going to use it in my sewing room".  That made me feel a lot better about it but some of the guild members really went all out.

In exchange, this lovely bag is what went home with me and it's perfect for travelling, because it is long enough to fit my toothbrush - woo hoo! Thanks Jenn!

Note: sorry about the phone picture on my bag, I forgot to capture a good image before I wrapped it all up.

Modern Stash Bee - November

Yes, well better late than never. These are the blocks for the Modern Stash Bee for November. Can't say I was excited to do them, because I surely wasn't, but...I really like them.  Will I make some for myself some day? Doubt it as HST's aren't my favorite. This block is different and not one I have seen a lot of though, but the visual impact is strong, at least for me.

Starting the Year off with...

...some bee blocks!

Let's talk about these quilting bees. I was so excited to be done with all my quilting bee obligations after January of this year.  Jump up and down excited, but then....I was in one that I forgot about. The Jane Austen Bee.  Not only do we make blocks, but we read books and discuss too.  Talented quilters we are.

But back to the story. I am grateful to be in this bee because it makes me get in my craft room and get to sewing! I did 5 paper pieced blocks this weekend, along with these two blocks and then a couple other projects too -Woo Hoo - I miss my sewing machine and am glad to be back. When I didn't have any deadlines, I also didn't have any motivation to sew.

These blocks are for a friend of mine, who is making a quilt for her mom.  Awwwh, I love that!!!! You can't get a more personal and heartfelt gift than a quilt....made just for you. It really is an honor to make these for her.

There are really two blocks here, but I put them together to see how neat they will be.

Until the next project - remember, life is what you make it!

Happy New Year!

As we come to the close of 2013, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Posting has become less frequent in quarter 4 (yes, that is my finance background creeping in) due to more things to get done and no additional hours in the day.

In 2014, I expect to get back to more regular posts.  In addition, there will be more time to read and comment on your blogs, which I really miss.  Our community is so full of talent and creativity and it is inspiring to see.

Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year!

Julie

A MIL Finish for 2013

This is a quilt that I made for my mother-in-law.  When I asked Mr. Maxtin about what color she would like, he said brown. Frown.  I'm not a big fan of brown, but I know her living room is purple, so I incorporated that, as well as the complimentary color of yellow too.  This quilt was started early fall, when I went on retreat (that reminds me, I'll have to tell y'all about that) and it is now done! It wasn't quite finished for her birthday early October but it is now, so I will bring it at Christmas to present to her in person.

I chose straight line quilting and I'm falling in love. It's fresh, modern and just looks good - just wish it didn't take so long.

What a view!

Is that some crinkly goodness or what? Only a quilter would get this right? I just finished these straight lines and am trying to take a greater variety of photos than just the dead on shot.
Stop back later, I can't wait to show you the finish!