April 20, 2010

He Just Wants to Help

I'm loving this picture of my crazy cat.  I was packing quilts to ship away for a trunk show, and this little monkey was right in the middle of everything until I threw him out of the room and closed the door.  


Don't feel sorry for him -- he only looks sweet.  (I fell for it, too.)

I enjoyed reading all of your comments about A Baker's Dozen.  I'm so sorry I haven't had time to respond to all of them, but hopefully I can get around to doing that in the next few days. 
So here's the random winning number: 
 
A Quilter Awakens.  (That's her blog name, not something that happened to me.  At least not today.)
If you'll send me your mailing address, the book will be in your hands very soon!

Hope you all have a great week!

Kim

April 17, 2010

A Baker's Dozen

I'm thrilled to share this book with you. The wonderful staff of That Patchwork Place have outdone themselves with this collection of thirteen quilts made from pre-cut fabrics -- jelly rolls, layer cakes, honey buns, charm squares, and fat quarters. 
Don't have pre-cut fabrics? No problem. You can use your own fabrics if you refer to the "Stash Option" box provided for each project.
Aren't the quilts beautiful?  The directions are straightforward and easy to follow, and include tips for working with pre-cut fabrics, using fusible web, machine blanket stitching, freezer-paper applique', pieced binding, and pinked edges. 
I love the applique' designs on the quilts.  The applique' is a nice touch, and yet you won't need to spend a lot of time to achieve the magic that applique' can work on your quilt.  Nice, easy designs.  No sharp points or drastic curves! 
I really want to keep this book!  But since the nice people at Martingale & Company were kind enough to send it to me, I decided I should be at least as generous and share it with you.  So if you'd like to own this book, just leave a comment and tell me what you like about it.  I'll be back Tuesday evening for the drawing. 

Good luck!
Kim

April 10, 2010

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

And this makes me happy. 
Verna.  By Kate Spain

April 2, 2010

Machine Quilting

The biggest challenge when I'm machine quilting is thread tension.  To test my thread tension, I place scraps on the edge of my quilt on top of the batting, then quilt these little scraps while I adjust the tension. 

For the most part, I enjoy machine quilting on my home machine, but lately I've been thinking that I may be ready for a longarm machine.  Maybe.  I guess.  Who knows? 

Those machines are a little pricey unless you're planning to start a business.  Since I already have a job, I probably wouldn't want to commit to another one. 


Then I read the comments on Nicole's post.


And I think I may be ready.  Maybe.  I guess.  Who knows?


Hope you have a wonderful Easter!

Kim