I May Have A Scrap Problem... An Excellent Tutorial!

Hi, all!

No, I'm not tooting my own horn talking about an excellent tutorial - I'll explain that in a minute.  We are in New York City right now, and as I was planning the blogposts for this week I thought I was going to have to skip this one, but my friend Christina of A Few Scraps posted a fabulous tutorial for her Scrappy Quarter Cabin quilt - and saved my bacon!

Isn't that gorgeous?  She has a beautifully photographed and very detailed tutorial posted on her blog right now for these fun improv scrap blocks, so I'm going to send you her way today.  

And if you've not "met" Christina before, I recommend that you take some time and check out her blog!  Christina is my "go-to" person when someone asks me for a place to get guidance on free-motion quilting.  She has written several books showing how to FMQ on a domestic (tabletop) sewing machine, and has classes on BluPrint too!  She's also one of the nicest people I know, and if you ever have a chance to take one of her in-person classes at a quilt show, you should.  

So check out her tutorial, grab those scraps, and make some magic!  I'll see you next week!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - A Very Short Week!

Hi, all!

It's Monday again, and it's going to be a very short week, because I get to go to New York City for a very long weekend!  I'm excited - the diet is going on hold for the weekend as I plan to enjoy all the tastes of NYC!  I'm also hoping to visit Gotham Quilts, which was closed the last time I was there.  

But before I go, I need to check last week's list. Let's see how it went!

1.  Bind my Flight of Fancy quilt.

Done!  This is such a pretty quilt... Christina Cameli writes great patterns!

2.  Take lots of quilt pics when the sun shines!

Done - and boy, was it a lot!  I think I transferred over 100 photographs to my computer after the photo session.  I'm trying to get ready to sell some of my quilts and other pieces, hence the photo shoot. Here's a shot that can give you an idea of some of the preparations that are taking place!

3.  Make some class samples.

Done!  Among others, I made this one to learn a new-to-me technique, using binding to face a quilt!

4.  Make two pillow covers for a quick commission job!

Done!  And not just two, I actually made four pillow covers for this customer, as she added two more after picking up the first ones she ordered.

5.  Write up an estimate for a new commission.

Done!  I've also deconstructed a comforter to retrieve the fabric to include it in the quilt, and ordered the necessary additional fabrics.

6.  Make progress on my Birch Bark quilt.

Done!  I have completed piecing both halves of the quilt, and it's ready to be quilted someday soon!

7.  Make progress on the My Small World quilts.

No progress this week, I'm afraid...

8.  Put one of the annual quilts on the frame (maybe?)

This didn't happen either.  Maybe after I get back from NYC!!

9.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

We did give away a couple of quilts this week...

This one went to a woman dealing with multiple health issues...

...and this one went to a 15 year old girl recently diagnosed with a rare lung tumor.

So last week wasn't a complete bust - I got a lot done, even if it wasn't everything on the list. That may happen more and more often as Christmas gets closer, but it's important to have goals, right?

That being said, I don't think I'm going to make a list for this week. Tuesday I need to spend some time cleaning house so our dog/house sitter will be willing to come back again in the future (my husband reminded me of that as he left the house this morning, bless him), plus I want to go see the grands before I go.  We leave early Wednesday morning and won't be back until Sunday, so this week is pretty much shot.  I guess I'll spend my week with mental stuff, like next year's H2H quilt-along theme!

So now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Hi, all!

Surprise surprise - it's Friday again!  Where oh where did the week go?  But since it's Friday, we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  I hope you're ready, because I know I am!  Let's get started...

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If you're on Instagram, I'm sure you've seen plenty of quilts made by Amy Smart's Pine Hollow Patchwork Forest pattern. For the past six weeks, she has been hosting a quilt-along and all the different interpretations of her quilt have been amazing!  I'm excited to say that I made one of my own, and it's completely finished...

I have to say it was quite a challenge to get pictures of this quilt, as the wind decided to kick up at random times...

...but thanks to my brand new photography assistant a/k/a vintage clothesline, I did manage to get some nice close-ups!

This quilt offered good opportunities to do some fussy cutting, and it was fun to find sweet images in the Heather Ross fabric I was using!

Such as trimming the tree...

...or ice skating!

And I love the fabric I found for the back - it's hard to tell in this picture, because the sun is shining through, but it has a light cream background and sparkles like snow!

And to make it even better, I won one of the giveaways that Amy had associated with the quilt-along!  Woohoo!!

And one more thing I'm whooping about this week - here are my three students from class at Joann's this week, with the potholders they made as they learned how to do both quilt-as-you go piecing and machine binding!

We had such a good time learning together!  And I think they deserve a huge whoop whoop!!

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open  until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah