Fabric Fast Update and Other News

I started a Fabric Fast on Jan 1, 2014. The rules are I cannot make fabric purchases from Jan 1 - Jun 30, 2014. The idea is to use fabric from the stash I already have, instead of purchasing new fabric with money I shouldn't be spending.  It was a perfect solution for me because I am planning a trip to Canada and New York in May 2014 that I needed to save for.  I'm very proud to say that I have not purchased an inch of fabric AND my trip is just about fully funded! Yay Me!!!

Last week I volunteered and attended the AQG Quilt Show here in Mesa, AZ.  There were so many beautiful quilts. I left very inspired. I made the mistake of test driving a couple of Gammill Vision LongArm Quilting machines. OMG! They are awesome! I could totally do FMQ w/one of these babies!  I left there dreaming about owning one. I say dreaming because the cheapest machine is right around $10,000!!! Fortunately for me I have a marvelous and generous friend who says I can come over and use her longarm whenever I am ready! Yay Me again!!!

some pics from the show...

This was made by a QA Chapter member!!

I bought this pattern

And then to my delight, on Thursday night at our monthly QA meeting,  we had Obsessive Quilter - Ann L. Petersen as our guest speaker.  She won Best in Show at the  AQG!!

OMG her quilts are some of the most STUNNING creations I've ever laid my eyes on!!! It's no wonder she's a multi-award winner!  So her quilts are amazing but what's even more amazing is that they were all quilted on her regular sewing machine, which used to be a Bernina 150 and more recently I believe she said a Bernina 440.  If I was inspired after the quilt show, I was even more so after her trunk show!  And to make this night even sweeter, she was offering 50% off her online class Quilting BIG Projects on a small machine. Needless to say I quick hurried up and enrolled! Spending $20 on a class is much more feasible than $10,000 on a longarm! And I'm not saying I'll never get a longarm, but I'd like to be able to use and benefit from what I have right now.

And speaking of Bernina, they are currently having a Faceplate Face-Off.  By voting for your favorite faceplate you enter for a chance to win a 2015 Bernina 350 special edition machine (msrp $1899)!!! You can vote once a day until April 14th! I've been voting daily!

Now for my quilty news,  yesterday I basted these 2 quilts and started quilting the chevron.

Until next time, Happy Quilting! =)

A Thread for Life

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. 1 Thes 5:23-24