Design Wall

I am in the midst of FMQ-ing a king-sized quilt, but have this little cutie on the wall:

It is from the "Make Life" charm pack I have had for a while. Not sure if it will be a table topper or part of a small quilt. I just adore half-square triangles!

Saturday at a Quilt Show!

(squeal of delight) I spent this gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Statesville, NC at the Quilting and Needle Art Extravaganza. And did I have fun! I went with my Mom, our friend Kim and her lovely daughter, Casey. Four chicks out for a day filled with laughter, beautiful colors, inspiring patterns and delightful vendors. 

This is the 3rd year of the show and it seems to have settled into the Civic Center nicely. It started as a way to get a lot of the local brick-and-mortar quilt shops together under one roof to stimulate business in this rural area.

Judging by the crowd as well as the the lines at the registers, we quilters were doing our part to stimulate this little bit of the economy!

For me, it was a great way to add to my stash as well as fill in some specific projects. I bought this group for a specific baby quilt:

And these lovely batiks just had to come home with me.

It was a perfect day!

Resting & Nesting

We have had a crazy busy week followed by a teaching Saturday, so I have been trying to recuperate and recharge today. I had 10 fabulous, wonderful ladies in my FMQ beginners class yesterday. They were attentive, supportive and willing. I had a great time! Then I took my mom to a late lunch and dropped by to help my dad with some computer questions. A good day. Today, instead of sewing, I decided it was time to get the sewing studio in shape.

Remember the before?

Here's the after:

I got my wall rack that my son made up on the wall. On it I have tops ready to quilt.

The other side of the window I put new shelves and got my batting and fabric stash out of bags and off the floor:

Ready to get back to sewing!

In our living space, we hung "Wildfire". I love it!

Dog update

If you have been reading this humble blog for long, you know I adore my hounds.

We had adopted Sarge in May 2009. At that time, he was quite traumatized from his life "before". 

Almost 2 years later, this Belgian Malinois has rehabilitated nicely. He is still a bit timid, but has a sweet disposition and is begining to play games with my husband (he was terrified of men!). 

On the sofa, watching TV, he loves "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer"

He sleeps with us, and our other Mal-mix, Pepper. They enjoy playing together and are great companions. We took them both to PetSmart last Friday evening for the very first time. They were so well-behaved! We are planning on beginning formal training with both of them in February. Should be fun!

WIP Monday

I seem to have a case of the mid-winter Blahs. I have been working on a new quilt, though. When I can get my gumption going, I am working on this:

It is king-sized, for our bed. 

Using my much-loved Laura Gunn Poppies fabric along with blue batiks. I am doing it in sections since I want to FMQ on my machine.

Just need more mojo!

A confession

my name is kelly and I love blogs.

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First Completion of 2011

And I love it!

This is "Wildfire".

It is 52"x52". All commercial batiks that I have collected.

Free-motion quilted with a copper polyester embroidery thread.

This will hang in our den.

Work in Progress

I haven't blogged much, but I have a good reason.

My first quilt of 2011.

The piecing is done.

 

 10" squares pieced together

Subcut and placed

I am now quilting. Free-motion on my Viking, of course! Stay tuned for the finish.

Avery County Barn Quilts

Here's a 2fer! My son sent this to me. these 2 barn quilts are somewhere in Avery County NC. Beautiful!

originally uploaded by kheli.

Happy New Year!

It is 1/1/11 and I have been mulling over what I would like to accomplish this year.

2010 was a tumultuous year in my personal life, 
my father faced a severe health challenge (but is doing well, thanks be to God!); living apart from my husband while trying to sell our house in a horrendous market; 
living through the "house buyers from Hell", (a horrible experience, suffice it to say that while I am so grateful they came along and bought our house, I really hope that when the time comes for them to sell, they get buyers just like them!); 
trying to find a house to buy (not fun at all); 
moving twice(once out of the sold-house-belongings into storage, then into bought-house 2 months later);
continuing drama at work but most of that is beyond my control

So, my first goal of 2011 is to live it with as little drama as possible! Coming in a close second is my goal to stop complaining.

In my quilting life these are my immediate goals:
1. Finish "Wildfire" which will hang in our new great room
2. Design and complete another king-sized quilt for our bed. I plan on making this in 4 sections so I can FMQ it at home.
3. Do several smaller pieces for our upcoming exhibit.
4. Do my challenge piece for Sewingly Yours show in April. I selected a vibrant orange fabric as my starter piece.
5. Christmas quilt for son - Queen sized
6. Christmas quilt for guest room - full sized.
7. Whatever else comes along

I am also going to do some tweaking to the blog design.

Since I am now teaching a Free-motion advanced class, I need to develop that lesson plan. I have some ideas, just need to get them on paper. I am looking forward to making quilts and living the quilter lifestyle in 2011.

Happy New Year to all!