WHOOMP There IT Is! #12

Hi y'all.  I hope this post finds you all in your right mind and not too stressed. =)

I'm very thankful to have celebrated another birthday yesterday.  I bought myself a bunch of gifts...most of which I wrote about in this post a few weeks ago...so I'm a happy camper.

Even though, I'm not going to finish all I'd set out to do "by Christmas", I'm totally okay w/it! I'm making progress and keeping my sanity and that's what it's all about.

I finished and delivered this comfort quilt for a friend whose son was senselessly shot and killed while playing his favorite sport. I pray it brings her a bit of comfort when she wraps up in it.

I made and mailed these lovely pillowcases for some littles of friends and family.

And just this evening I basted this Vintage Summer quilt, which I plan to have finished and mailed by Monday evening.

One of my son's had a marvelous idea.  He saw how cramped I was getting in my sewing room, and suggested I swap my bedroom(master), w/my sewing room!  I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner! And of course once I get something in my  head, there's no stopping me. So...the big things have been moved and I've been working in my new space all week and it is so wonderful! I will post pics when the move is complete.

It's that time again. I'd love to know how things are comong along w/you.

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A Thread for Life

Steady Progress Continues

Steady progress is being made on my  Christmas Countdown.

Spinning Stars is basted and awaiting quilting.

 The backing is red w/white polka dots.

Diamonds and Purples has been flipped, turned or birthed, however you want to refer to a quilt w/o binding, and is awaiting top-stitching around perimeter and quilting.

The backing is pieced w/assorted purples.

 I've also got several of the small quilted gifts for friends and family finished. I will post pics of these after Christmas,  

I hope you are making progress on your projects too. 

Until next time, happy quilting.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Thread for Life
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. - 1Cor 1:25

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A Fast Break and An Upcoming Giveaway

I officially broke my fabric fast Thursday night. What had happened was, I lost my seam ripper on Wednesday night. I couldn't find it anywhere and had given my backup  to my sis a few weeks ago.  I decided it was a good time to finally visit the new local quilt shop, Sew Much for Quilting, that opened up near me in the Goodyear AZ.  I'd previously met Trish the owner, who is also a member  of QA, but I'd never been to the shop.  Well...I couldn't very well  walk into this HUGE shop, with rows and rows of fabrics and other goodies and ONLY buy a seam ripper!!!  

So...I bought a few yards of fabric, which I know most of y'all will find boring.  I didn't have a lot of time to spend in the store and since I don't really need fabric, I chose a couple of solids and one w/print for a friend, 2 seam rippers, and some clips that should work for binding (though I'm not sure they were designed for that).   If you are local or visiting the West Valley of Phoenix/Goodyear area and have time to browse an extensive selection of quality fabric and other goods, stop on by Sew Much for Quilting.  They also have a spacious classroom and offer several quilting classes for all levels of quilters. It is  definitely a 1-stop quilt shop!

I can't remember where/when I first saw this Tessellation Pattern by Alison glass, but it was love at first sight! I absolutely had to have the pattern and ordered it immediately. When I got it and opened it, the excitement faded a little. It's a paper piecing pattern and I've never done paper piecing. It can't be too hard, right? I found this post encouraging and will follow the sew along when I am ready.  I shall make mine scrappy. 

At this month's QA meeting a new friend gave me all these wonderful magazines. I just LOVE free stuff!  I've added at least 10 more quilts to my To Make list. I'm a maniac maniac oh yeah! 

Outlander Update
Outlander is everything I thought it would be and more! I don't have cable, but a dear friend subscribed to Starz so  we could watch It.  I'm very grateful and looking forward to watching episodes 2 and 3 this evening. 

My Quilty Updates

As you will see, I have a few tops done and really need to start quilting. 

Red Chevy Crush is pin basted and ready for quilting. I really like how this turned out. I used a strip/bricks technique seen here. 

Diamonds and Purples quilt top is complete.I won this kit at a QA raffle and a handful of the diamonds were already constructed.  Since I didn't use setting triangles, I'm thinking about just trimming off the sides and leaving the top and bottom points and making it a quilt w/o binding or a flip or whatever you call it. What do you call it?

The Summer Star Mini top is finished.  It's a QITR pattern. 

In other Quilty News

I am the lucky winner of triangles and squares giveaway! Yay me!! Thank you Christine. 

I was planning on visiting my new friend and fellow quilter/blogger Greta of Material Detachment in Iowa this month until I saw the Dream Studio Giveaway.  I read that the AQS Quilt Week is in Des Moines in October, so I'm making plans to visit then.  I'm looking forward to hanging out w/Greta and going to a quilt show in another state! It'll be a grand time!

And lastly, it's almost GIVEAWAY time! I'll be having a giveaway for my blog's 1st birthday on Aug 29th. I am also working on a scrap buster tutorial.

Stay Tuned and Happy Quilting!

A Thread for Life

Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and “pray to your Father who is in the secret place,” every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God. - Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest

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