I Think This is So Cute

I don't know what I will do with it, though, since it doesn't really coordinate with my house...  It will probably end up in my studio on the wall.  I bought three of these last year at Road 2 CA to practice my ruler work and to do small fills.  It was quick and fun to do.

Here is the front...

And here is the back (although I quilted this with this side up)...

This is a close up

I think these are a great idea to practice your machine quilting skills whether you use a longarm or a domestic machine.

Road 2 CA eye candy

I attended Road 2 CA last weekend!  I had a great time.  Stayed with four other friends in a penthouse suite.  We set up five sewing machines.  Gosh, it looked like a sweat shop.  I am wondering how many other guests have asked maintenance to remove furniture from the living room so they could set up sewing machines, ironing boards, and what not.  Crazy!  I came away with some machine quilting inspiration... lots of beautifullly quilted pieces.  I learned some new funky feather fun from Dawn Cavanaugh... what an incredible teacher...  she is so knowledgeable....  I some some quilts that were truly jaw dropping.  The creativity!  Oh my!!

I hope to post more pictures soon.

Free Motion (but intense!) Quilting.... Wholecloth!

I am challenging myself again...  I am working on stitching out some new fillers (at least new to me) on this cute little pre-printed wholecloth.  I am using a weighted bag to steady the fabric so it doesn't jump up and down as I stitch these micro fillers.  (I had a cute little bag filled with popcorn, but can't find it) so I grabbed some rice and stuffed it in a sock.  Works just as well!  I definitely need to wear my glasses this fill is so tiny.  I am not sure which side with be the front - the black or the pink.  Two layers of Hobbs 80/20, and Coats Sylko thread.  I am linking up with Esther Aliu for WOW...

I Wonder What Quilts Were Made Here...

I have an attraction to old, abandoned homes and barns.  I don't have many pictures of them, though, because I am usually in a hurry, or my husband doesn't want to keep stopping every few miles.  Last week while on vacation in beautiful Bear Lake Idaho/Utah, I had time to take some pictures.  Can you see the view of the lake that these pioneers enjoyed?

I am also a curious person by nature.  I wonder who lived in these places, and what their lives might have been like.  I wonder what types of quilts kept them warm, and what they looked like...

Sunrise Over Bear Lake

This is what I saw when I woke up last week!  Wow!  I am learning that the more I play with my new camera, the more I need to learn.  I think these came out beautiful, however, I did nothing but choose the automatic button, and let the sunrise speak for itself.  Hopefully I will have some quilting pictures soon.

...a bit of travel...not much quilting

I received a camera from my windfarmer for Christmas.  With no longarm to quilt with, I am playing with my camera.  I have soooo much to learn.  I have learned that I want a new lens, something with a lower aperture number, and bigger zoom.  I need to sell my Minolta lenses now. 

We are in Utah now.  This is a view of the lake from just above our place.  We have a great view, too, just not one with snow in the foreground.  We came here to ski, but we've only got a 24" base!  So unusual for Utah in January!

Today we went for a ride to Pocatello Idaho to one of our favorite restaurants, Buddy's.  It is near Idaho State University.  On the way, we came across some wild turkeys.  This is a first for me.  Love the barn in the background, don't you? 

 And finally, on our way home, I was able to get my windfarmer to stop the car long enough for me to shoot three pics of the sunset.  Love it! 

A Break from Machine Quilting to Do Some Stargazing...

I have had this bag of strips and blocks in a grocery sack for several years.  I'm working on it now.  It's so nice to have some time for piecing.  Since I am away from my longarm, there are no temptations to load another quilt...  I love these fabrics.  And of course I am thinking while I am piecing this.... "how will I quilt this..."

I am linking up to Lily's Quilts, and since I have fewer than 50 followers, I am following the Small Blog Meet!  Looking forward to meeting new bloggers.  Here is the link to the meet... http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/

Am I Really Early or Really Late?

Okay, I admit I am late in making this Christmas wreath...  but I am really early for Christmas 2012!  I am still on a stash busting bonanza, and needed my feather fix!  I haven't stitched feathers in a week or two.  This was really fun to make and I enjoyed quilting it, too.  I sure hope I can get the binding on within the next 11 months... 

I just linked up to Sarah's blog, Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Check it out!  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!

Christmas gifts

I was able to finish these stockings just in time, literally.  I had originally planned on appliquéing an initial on each stocking, but ran out of time, so I stitched their name on the stocking. This was an idea I got from Jenny at Jennys Doodling Needle or Sew Kind of Wonderful. thanks for the idea. Jenny! They were hung on Christmas Eve, and filled with pistachios, peanuts, chocolate, and candy canes.  Grandma and Grandpa (Dean and I) happily helped the babies with their pistachios and peanuts.  What a fun Christmas we had!  All four of our grands were with us yesterday, and we watched Corinne ride her brand new bike, and Devin play with his radio controlled monster truck. 

Santa was really good to me, too!  I received a Canon EOS camera!  I am just beginning to learn all it can do.  It may take me months... I thought this was a beautiful subject.  a close up of the Nandina at my daughter's home.   I love the bright red of these berries.

A New Allover Design - Paisley

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I just discovered this new allover design, paisley, last week on Machine Quilting Resources Forum.  It was posted by Suzanne Earley, the website's founder, a couple years ago.  I love it!  If you stitch it out small, it can be used as a fill, or as I did, larger, as an allover.  It was really fun to do, too. 

It is not really easy to see on this busy fabric, but hopefully if you can zoom in on the closeup, you can see it.  I tried several times to get the right lighting, but the window of opportunity at this time of the year is so short...

This quilt belongs to Joanie, and she is sending it to a family friend as a wedding gift