Weeks just zip by!;And quilts still get finished!

The past 2 are evidence!
Recapping my presentation visit at the Davie Quilters Guild:
This was a warm, friendly, delightful group of talented quilters. I was inspired by the variety of styles of quilts during their show and tell. I guess, all we quilters love show and tell!

They were attentive and quiet at first. Then the questions started! I gave a demo, showed quilts and tried to recruit more to the Free-motion side! I have been invited to teach a workshop near there. Just have to set up the dates! All in all, an incredible experience. Inspired me to make some new pieces for trunk showing!

We were hit by winter weather on Friday, but the ice had receded enough for us to visit the Quilting and Needle Art Show in Statesville on Saturday. We first visited the Needle and Thread Quilt Shop in Statesville. They have a great location in a wonderful building. Fun samples, a variety of fabrics at great prices. Well, worth the visit!

Then we spent the afternoon in the Civic Center. The thing about quilting is how you meet new friends so easily and how we congregate at these events. Every where I turned, were guild mates and friends. Oh, and fabric and gadgets and quilting inspiration. Yes I made purchases and had fun.

I have been sewing a bit, among the busy-ness of the past 2 weeks. And I finished a quilt!
Here is the Joy & Love quilt, which will be auctioned to benefit the Stokes County Humane Society.

51" by 48"

I used the left-overs to create a striped-pieced stripe on the back.

The grey backing + the grey light= really shows off my quilting.

Next up, I tell you about the class I have taken!

Tonight, in Mocksville, NC...

I am presenting FMQ to the Davie Quilting Guild! I will be making quilting confessions, demonstrating free-motion quilting, and showing some quilts! Wish me luck!

#2 for 2013

My goal in 2012 was to minimize my unfinished projects. I did so, rewarding myself with projects that not only started fun, but finished fun. I like to complete things. I also like to work on a few things simultaneously, at different stages; it keeps me from getting bored, bogged down, and enables me to have something to do to fill time allotted. I know this can seem a bit over-thought, but when I only have 30 minutes to relax, I want to pick up something simple.

To that end, during my recent studio cleaning/organizing time, I discovered my blocks from the block swap we had last year (in the Triad Modern Quilt Guild). Our guidelines were Teal/Aqua & Red with gray or white. Color is very subjective so there were different shades of the colors present, as well as the stylistic differences in the 9 blocks. 9 blocks will make a small quilt, and I wanted a larger one. One of our members (Ania) finished hers earlier. We were all wowed in her show and tell. She had made extra blocks from her stash, using what she had to unite the different colors into a cohesive quilt.

She was my inspiration. And then the scrappy trip along happened.

The scrappy trip along blocks are fun and addictive. As I sat sewing my first 14 (using my scraps) it occured to me to check my stash. and make some blocks to unite my quilt.

42" x 53"

So I made 3. And I loved how it came together.

One of my goals for 2013 is to improve my FMQ feathers, and improvement only comes with practice, so I decided to practice on this quilt. See, one of the beautiful things about such a busy quilt is that the quilting is really secondary and if you use a subtle thread (in this case, white) the quilting does not catch all the attention. So it is a good thing to practice stitches with. My feathers are so much better than I had hoped!

The bright sunlight really shows my quilting!

Local Quilt Shop Love

I do not receive any thing for my posts about the quilt shops I feature, except (I hope) a little love. 
I truly believe in supporting local merchants and hope you do as well.


Here it is January, and you do not know what to do to while away the winter hours. How about visiting one of our local quilt shops? You could get inspired, buy some goodies, take a class, visit and have fun!

Here in the Winston-Salem area, we are lucky to have 4 very different, yet equally awesome shops:

Sewingly Yours: this shop is a Baby Lock and Viking dealer and offers a variety classes (link to quarterly newsletter) for a variety of experience levels and interests. In fabrics, they have current offerings by Moda, Free Spirit, Northcott and others, and a huge selection of batiks. The clearance fabrics are in the back hall and offer an ever changing chance for wonderful deals.

Sew Original: this is an "everything" Bernina dealer. They also have a great variety of classes to learn and expand your knowledge. They feature Moda, Free Spirit, Batiks, and have recently added a nice selection of Kona Cottons solids. Sew Original also have a wide range of books and kits available. (link to website, classes are on their sidebar)

The Little General: this is a wonderful little jewel box full of Free Spirit fabrics. You can find the latest and greatest by Amy Butler, Tula Pink and Joel Dewberry among others. Gina also has lovely voiles, laminates and wools for crafting along with many modern quilt, craft and apparel patterns. Drop by to learn about current class offerings.

Knit One, Smock Too: I know, I am late to the party on this treasure,  but I have only been back in W-S full-time for 2 years and I only have Saturdays for retail therapy! BUT, I have been here and shall return! This is a great little shop in the neighborhood of my early childhood, South Fork. They have a great variety of fabrics not offered at the other shops listed, so it is well worth the trip to round out your stash! Knit One Smock Too sells supplies and teaches classes for knitting, smocking, quilting, and embroidery.

North, into the wilds of Stokes County, there are 2 newer shops I have discovered:

Papanana: Melanie says her shop is "like Pinterest in person" and she features how to's on a "Pin of the Week". This cute shop in King offers classes and supplies for knitting, crochet, sewing & quilting, painting & scrapbooking, candy & cake decorating, among others. Airy and filled with sunlight, this is a fun shop to visit!


The Thread Bear Quilt Shop is in Walnut Cove and is filled with great fabric, books and samples. Gina also offers classes on demand, so drop by and see what is available. The fabrics here are a wonderful array of batiks, modern fabrics, traditional and seasonal prints. They also offer yarn and needlework supplies.

Please leave me a message if there are other shops in the area, I would love to visit and feature them!

And how boring is a blog post without a picture? Here is a shot of quilting in progress:

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"Eye candy from 2008"

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Madrona Road MQG Challenge

So I have my first completed quilt of 2013!

36"x36"

This quilt is my response to the Modern Quilt Guild's Madrona Road Challenge. The guild provided us with fat eighths of the Madrona Road collection by Violet Craft. We could purchase more Madrona Road if desired and we could add solids to the mix. Our challenge was to make a small lap quilt that will be donated to the charity we are supporting. I made my way to the LQS that is carrying these fabrics: Knit one, Smock too. My first (but not last!) visit to this shop! I purchased a yard of the solid gold from this line as well as a yard of the text print.

A fun challenge, as this fabric would not have been on my normal radar. But then, that is what a challenge is all about! I added solid gray and white to the mix.

I love the various prints, the blue is refreshing and that gold is sublime!

Having small pieces challenged me as well. I considered several designs, and went with the "plus" design. I have seen it various places, and made mine based on 2.5" strips.

Fun to lay out, this pattern will be a fun way to used up scraps.

FMQ-ed in the center with a swooping stitch, and overlapping circles along the long edge. I used the text print as my backing and bound it with black.

Quilting inspiration

Yes, I am sewing, but I am trying to slow down and enjoy the piecing more! So here, gentle readers, are some neat things I have been enjoying lately:

This great story, with pictures, of an amazing collection of commissioned art quilts. Be sure to look through the slide show!

The above link lead me to the discovery of a wonderful quilt/artist, Joy Saville. Her work is breathtaking.

Needing some color as winter sets in? Look at this potholder installation! I could stare at it all day.

Oh, yeah, I have 3 quilts hanging in a group exhibition, Winter Heat, Not Your Grandmother's Quilt. I am sharing wall space with some amazing quilters!

My quilt, Aztec Portal.

I am still sewing for the Scrappy Trip-along. It is a nice way to unwind each evening while using up scraps.

And I have been perusing the net for ideas for my next, big quilt project. There are so many free patterns and tutorials out there. I have found a great resource at the Fons and Porter's site. They have this free e-book called Build Your Best Log Cabin. You should go there, now, and get your copy. The Log Cabin has always been a favorite of mine. The pattern is a great way to use scraps, and I love how it can take the chaos of said scraps and translate them into a work of beauty and order. This book features different styles of the Log Cabin as well as providing pictures detailing the steps to building your blocks. There is also a great chart for calculation your strip size and color for different block sizes, a very handy reference! And the color pictures are luscious! I am thinking of trying the Chevron version. And I love the quilt made by Ricky Tims that is featured. (It's called "Bears in Bertie's Log Cabin") The pattern is provided for this as well. This pattern also includes instructions for doing bobbin work quilting like Ricky does, I love this extra info. The "Woven Log Cabin" by Shon McMain is also featured. WOW! Both contemporary and traditional. This is a beauty as well. Go check out this free e-book, it is a addition to your quilting library.

So this winter's day will be spent doing some errands in the morning, then some afternoon quilting in my sweatshop, hope you have an enjoyable day.

Easing into 2013

Some highlights of my holiday break sewing:

 uninterrupted time with my Featherweight

piecing a new "big impact star"

 trying the "scrappy trip around the world" block

details here

 (caution: this is addictive and uses up scraps like crazy!)

joining the #scrappytripalong on instagram

What have you been up to?