Apple Patch

Hello friends - I am so happy you stopped by for a visit! Today, I thought I would share a recent quilt finish...a small wall hanging quilt I made for my momma. This lovely little quilt pattern has been in my stash for quite some time...I purchased it specifically to create for my mom...and her recent birthday was the perfect occasion to pull some fabrics and start sewing. While this design looks a little complicated, it is actually a paper foundation pattern - Apple Patch by MH Designs. Foundation paper piecing is a quilting technique done by sewing fabric to a printed paper foundation - this method is great when working with tiny pieces and can be used to create extremely precise points and shapes. The finished size of this quilt is 8.75" x 14", so as you can imagine, some of the pieces can be quite tiny. MH Designs has a fabulous selection of paper foundation patterns, that range from beginner to advanced and the instructions are wonderful! I have a small pile of these patterns in my library, several earmarked for specific recipients. The fabrics used in this quilt were all scraps and fat quarters found in my stash - all different collections - just fabrics I thought would work well together for this project. I truly enjoyed working on these quilted apples...and I'm pretty sure my mom was happy with it too! 💗

A day or two after this little quilt was delivered, I had a delivery myself...a gorgeous holiday flower arrangement from my mom...thanking me for the package. It was the perfect arrival at the perfect time. There has not been a lot of Christmas spirit in the new house, especially with being far away from our family and friends...and with my husband working insane hours, holiday excitement is pretty much non-existent. I know, every year, I say I am going to get a tree...but that still hasn't happened....and yes, I know, I have designed and stitched over 100 ornaments and I could easily fill a tree with handmade pieces...so I am not sure what is holding me back (the expense is part of it). I even went as far as measuring the height of the ceiling in our new living room (well, my husband did - who knew we had 9' ceilings?!)...and we looked online at TONS of trees (I knew I wanted a really natural looking tree with white lights)...but in the end, I din't order one (I know, insert eye roll here)...but I did take notes on a few that I liked. However, thanks to my mom and her flower delivery, I have a "mini tree" - it consists of carnations (my favorite), daisies, lilies, and lots of pine...and most importantly, it smells fabulous!! I have moved it around the house three or four times, trying to keep it in my vision at all times. 😊

So, that is my holiday excitement. I do have most of my (minimal) shopping complete...and I have belted out a few Christmas carols while working in my studio...oh, and I have managed to watch a couple Christmas movies/specials on my studio television while working. I'll get myself into the holiday spirit sooner or later...😄

I still have lots of finishing, sewing and quilting orders to complete...so I am spending my days in my happy place...or should I says "nights" - my husband has been working crazy mixed up hours and I tend to keep the same sleep schedule he does. I have also been formatting a few fresh cross stitch designs and researching printing companies in our new area...while my studio is clean, my desk is a complete MESS (I could barely find my keyboard to type this update)!

I'll be back soon with some more gorgeous needlework finishing photos to share with you...until then, I hope you find beauty and joy in the season....

Pincushion-A-Day Progress...

Since my last post, I have managed to keep up with a pincushion a day...finishing four more...which, at this point, is pretty much a miracle. Schatzi, Simba, and I are experiencing some quality time for 10 days and I have been scheduling accordingly...which doesn't leave much time to be creative. I am still trying to get in some stitching, doing my best to finish up my special "pink" project...I have the main piece finished and now I am working on the needlework smalls. I am also trying to prepare two new designs for printing, hoping to have them ready for production in the next few weeks. I am happy with my pincushion progress...my scrap bin is overflowing and I am thrilled to putting some to good use! I managed to pull out some Mary Engelbreit fabrics...some Blackbird Designs fabrics...and even a few blue scraps for a little embroidered heart motif...

Yesterday, Schatzi and I made it to the park to work on some of her obedience training...and to have a little fun...she loves the playground equipment and is pretty much fearless - making it through all the obstacles and stairs easily (even the rope bridge). She is growing like a weed...and has now started teething (ugh) - which has caused one of her ears to temporarily drop (which definitely makes me giggle). He are a couple photos taken yesterday at the park (thirteen and a half weeks old)...one ear up, one ear down...

Creating In Small Doses

I've learned over the last month (since we added a German Shepherd to our family), that I need to create in small doses...trying to run a home-based business and a household with a puppy in the mix has put a strict limit on any quiet time (really, any time at all). My sewing machine has only been turned on four times since returning from California at the end of April...yes, I keep track...and yes, I am going through heavy duty withdrawal. This week I have made an effort to change that...because, let's be honest, I am a much "nicer" person when I have even a few minutes of creative time in my studio. I decided to try to finish up all my small projects in progress - even if I just get to make one teeny tiny thing each day. Yesterday, I worked on a project I started in early April...I had this idea to machine embroider some very tiny designs (1" - 1 1/2" square) to put in the center of some more intricate paper-pieced blocks for pincushions. I had eight small embroidered designs ready, so I pulled out my various paper-piecing books and resources and found several blocks that fit my vision...I got the designs printed...and finally sat down at the sewing machine to piece my first one (only a few months later). Like most quilters, I have a HUGE bin filled with fabric scraps...all sorts of colors, styles, and sizes...so I went through the bin to pick a few fun coordinates...I decided on a 5" square block, so I didn't need too many pieces...and of course, they could all be quite small. The result is the design you see in the photograph...I was able to get the block pieced in the evening, but then had to wait until my husband came home from work to cut the wool felt backing, sew the perimeter, and stuff...but I did get it done in one day! My goal is to make a selection of these for my Etsy shop...so with any luck, in several weeks, I will have a nice grouping to list. The challenge will be to get another one done today - I have a full schedule and a giant list of errands...but a girl can dream...

Spectacular Stash

I took a few hours off from Blue Ribbon Designs this afternoon to spend some time with my husband...he has been gone on his yearly bass fishing trip to Texas and had returned home over the weekend. Since he has been on a ten day vacation and I have been working and taking care of things at home, he promised me upon his return that he would take take me to a semi-local quilt shop. So, this afternoon, we headed out...we stopped and had lunch on the way....and then he was kind enough to let me shop for about 45 minutes. He had given me a gift certificate to this shop for my birthday...and it had been burning a hole in my pocket since the middle of February. It is just over an hour away, so it was nice to spend the drive catching up, just the two of us...plus along the way we saw two eagles, a large group of deer, multiple hawks, and even a few turkeys. Once there, I was in complete heaven...and yes, I managed to spend my gift certificate plus a little more. I found some fabulous trims and hand-dyed jumbo rick rack - all by Moda...I fell in love with the button trims and there multiple colorways to chose from...but at $10.99 a yard, I just picked a couple. I also found some FABULOUS cotton quilting fabrics and a new ruler for paper piecing....plus I got a couple yards of fabric (not shown) for some applique projects in the future. All in all, it was a nice afternoon....and quite inspiring!

Paper Pieced Patchwork

Today I am in the middle of cutting and serging 144 pieces of linen for an upcoming class, it is a big job, but actually pretty relaxing - I just put on my iPod and get in a rhythm. After I finished cutting all the pieces, I decided to take a short break. I have been anxious to work on a very intricate paper pieced quilting project...but before I started, I definitely wanted to do a little paper piecing refresher and get my brain back into that way of thinking (those of you who quilt and have tried paper piecing will completely relate). I decided to do a small heart block and use up a few more of those scraps I have been saving. This block is 8" x 8" finished...and I am not sure what I am going to do with it yet...maybe a small pillow or a pot holder. As soon as I started, I got back into the flow and I am now ready to tackle the more detailed project in my "to-do" pile. I took a class in paper piecing at a local quilt shop several years ago and many of the tips and tricks have actually stayed with me. I really enjoy foundation piecing - you get great points and exact lines, plus you can have unique and very small shapes. As much as I would like to start my bigger project today, I am going to be diligent and get back to serging my pile of cut linen....tomorrow is another day...