Sophisticated Scissors and E-Patterns

Don't they look pretty?  Darlene made this adorable little fob for my scissors.  She's such a sweetheart -- always doing the nicest things.  Thanks you so much, Darlene.  I'll really enjoy using my "fancy" scissors.

 Did you know that Martingale & Company is now offering e-patterns?  You can download a .pdf version of the Kitchen Sink quilt from my book, Scrap-Basket Surprises.  There are patterns available from lots of other books, too -- just hop over here and check them out.  The price is very reasonable, and you don't have to wait! 

 Hope you're having a terrific weekend!

Kim

Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along

I finally picked up some fabrics for the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along.  I know -- I'm really behind.  With everything!  Does anyone know where I can buy some big chunks of time? 

Anyway, here are my fabrics.  Pat Sloan designed the quilt for this round, and from what I've seen so far, it's going to be gorgeous! 

And since I'm so late posting about the winner of Out of the Box, I asked my husband for a random number beween 1 and 31. 

It's 25!  Congratulations, Trudi!  If you'll send me your mailing address, your book will be on its way.

Out of the Box

Did you ever admire a whimsical, colorful quilt that told a story, but thought it would be impossible to make your own story quilt?  Mary Lou Weidman's book, Out of the Box, provides page after page of tools and inspiration to help you create your own one-of-a-kind story quilt.

Mary Lou explains the process for making wonderful story quilts, including how to find the inspiration for your quilt, how to choose fabrics, and how to draw and create your own design.  She encourages you to play, daydream, and have fun, and reinforces the idea that there's no "right way" to do it.     

I enjoyed reading Mary Lou's chapter on the personality of fabrics and each fabric's job in the quilt.  In addition to the gallery of quilts, every page in this book is "decorated" with the most interesting and colorful applique' shapes and pieced blocks.  And I'm fascinated by the "Hoochy Mama" blocks that make up the borders of so many of these quilts.  I would love to make an entire quilt using only the Hoochy Mama blocks. 

Here are little snippets of just a few of the quilts in the gallery.  There are too many to include here!   Each quilter tells the story of the inspiration for the quilt. 

This one is so sweet.  Wouldn't it be fun to make a quilt that tells a story about someone you know?  Or an event in your life?  My head is spinning with all the possibilities.

To visit Mary Lou and see more fantastic quilts made by her and her students, scooch on over to Mary Lou's blog.  I promise it'll make you smile. 

And if you'd like to find your inner artist, just leave a comment here.  I'll be announcing the winner of Out of the Box on Thursday.  Have a great week!

Kim

Really Fun Weekend

I took a little break to teach a class at (and recover from!) the Azalea City Quilters' Guild Retreat in Mobile, Alabama.  We worked on the Monkey Business quilt from Scrap-Basket Surprises.  There were monkeys everywhere!  Some of the members worked on other projects that I threatened to sneak  into my suitcase.  They're such a talented and fun bunch of quilters that I decided to join their guild just to be able to attend their UFO retreat in January!  (I pretty much invited myself, but they didn't argue about it, so I'm going.)  Joan and Karen did a fabulous job of coordinating the retreat, and continued to work hard throughout the weekend making sure that everyone had a good time.  

As if the retreat itself wasn't enough fun, my friend Karen went along with me, too!  She was able to finish three projects while we were there.  I tried to snap a picture of everyone's projects, but it seems I missed a couple.  If you'd like to see pictures from the retreat, get comfortable and click HERE. 

Thank you so much, ladies, for inviting me.  I hope you had as much fun as I had.  I look forward to seeing all of you again!

Kim

Bernina Love

Thank you so much for all your kind comments about my sick kitty last week.  He's home from the kitty hospital now and seems to be doing well.  This weekend my machine is in the shop for servicing, so I'm trying to talk myself into cleaning up my sewing room.  It's shocking.  Seriously.  

When I dropped off my machine, I talked to my Bernina Dude about this.

 

She's really pretty, and does lots of cool stuff.   On the other hand, I think if I were to pay that much for a machine, I should be able to drive it to work.  And I don't need a new machine.  But she is on sale.  Can you hear the conversation in my head?

Thinking about a new machine has me wondering about other brands, too.  What machine do you use?  Do you love it or hate it?  What are your favorite features?  So many questions, I know.  But if you feel strongly either way about a particular machine, I'd love to know about it.   

Have a good weekend!

Kim

Weekend Stuff

There hasn't been a lot of time for playing lately, and I'm beginning to get cranky.  Sometimes new fabric is just the thing to make me a nice person again. 

I've been gathering some of my 2 1/2" strips for a new project.  I hope it turns out close to the way I pictured it in my head.  If so, I'll be doing a tutorial here.  These are some of the fabrics I'm thinking of using.

This little guy was in the kitty hospital last week.  We brought him home yesterday afternoon, but ended up taking him to the emergency clinic late last night.  Hopefully he'll be back home soon -- I won't even make a fuss when I find him in my basket of scraps.
 

Have a terrific week!

Kim

Have You Played Today?

 

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Lazy Sunday

Lazy hot Sunday.  I've been playing in my room a lot today.  I made a block from the Asterisk Quilt-Along. 

I found a scrap of a blue and green batik that I'd really like to find more of.  I just wanted to try the block to see what it would look like.  And now I'm in the mood to make something blue and green!

And my daily 15-minute ritual inspired by Bumble Beans' 15 Minutes Play blog:

I started with dark and light triangles, but then decided to see what would happen if I cut smaller triangles and bordered them.  I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm having a lot of fun getting there!

Stay cool!

Kim

Winner of Schnibbles Times Two

So we all agree!  We think Carrie's book is wonderful, Carrie's a doll, and she has a cool dog.  The winning number is 44, and if I've counted correctly, the winner is Loris!  If you'll send me your mailing address, you'll have the book soon.  I hope it's not too worn -- I've really enjoyed it!

Off to work now.  Hope you have a great day!

Kim

Schnibbles Times Two

It seems like forever ago that I told you I'd be sharing Carrie Nelson's book with you.  I couldn't give it away without first making one of these sweet quilts. 

Carrie's Schnibbles patterns have been popular for a while now. There's even a parade every month in honor of Schnibbles.  You can check out the Year of Schnibbles Parade at Sherri's blog and Sinta's blog.  If you haven't heard of Schnibbles, they're smaller quilts made with 5-inch charm squares, and they're adorable. 

Schnibbles Time Two includes patterns for 12 little Schnibbles quilts, but Carrie has also re-worked the patterns for making larger quilts from 10-inch layer cakes.  She tells you how to make each of the quilts in the small and large sizes.   So there are patterns for 12 quilts in two sizes! 

The photographer, Brent Kane, did such a perfect job photographing all the quilts in an outdoor garden setting.  I can't tell you how many times I've flipped through this book just looking at the pictures. 

If you're familiar with Carrie's patterns and books, or if you follow her blog, you already know how funny she is.  You'll giggle when you read the introduction and the acknowledgment pages.  Miss Rosie even has her own "About Miss Rosie" page. 

 

Carrie's instructions are easy to understand, and she provides lots of useful tips for avoiding problem situations.  For example, she explains how to deal with pre-cut (unwashed) fabrics to avoid shrinking when you press with steam.  Did I heed her advice?  Of course not.  I thought it was something that maybe could happen, but wasn't very likely to happen.   It happened.  Only a little, though.  But I should have done what she said -- the lady really knows her stuff.

I've chosen the quilt in the bottom right corner in the picture above as my next Schnibbles project.  Pretty, don't you think?

And here's one more -- the one I've been working on.  X-Rated -- my very first Schnibbles quilt!  (Does this qualify me as a Schnibbler?)  I can't believe I waited so long to make one of these. 

If you don't already have a copy of Schnibbles Times Two (and you don't mind that I drooled a little on this one and pretty much wore it out the first week I had it), leave a comment here and tell me what appeals to you the most about this book.  Is it . . .

a.  The projects are just so beautiful you can hardly stand it;

b.  The author is so darn cute, sweet, and smart [jealous eye-roll here];

c.  There are so many great projects;

d.  You want to know more about Miss Rosie; or

e.  All the above.  

Check back here Thursday.  I'll ask my husband to choose the winning number and let you know who the lucky person is.  Until then, happy stitching!

Kim

Getting Closer

How can you tell if you have a Schnibbles addiction?  I'm pinning rows together on my first one, and I'm already planning the next one.  Too fun!

I'll be sharing Carrie's book with you in a few days.  You're gonna love it!

Have you visited Victoria over at Bumble Beans?  She's wonderfully creative and unique, and I'm always amazed by the work she does.  In addition to her "regular" blog, she created a blog to challenge us to spend 15 minutes a day playing.  In fact, the name of the blog is "15 Minutes Play." 

Even when I don't think I have time to sew, I do it anyway for at least 15 minutes.  And most of the time, I end up spending a lot more than 15 minutes in my play room.  During my 15-minute play time, I've been using little scraps to make bigger fabric for cutting triangles. 

Skidaddle on over and see what else is going on over there.  

Speaking of wildly creative people, you probably already know Stephanie (and Abby) at Loft Creations.  If you don't, stop by there, too.  I love everything she does.  She just has a way with color and fabric that makes  me happy.  And make sure you visit her Etsy shop, too. 

Hope you have a great week!

Kim

Scrap-Basket Surprises Quilt Club

Fat Quarter Shop has the new sample quilt for the Scrap-Basket Surprises Quilt Club.  Isn't it gorgeous?

In case you haven't heard about this club, Kimberly has paired patterns from my book, Scrap-Basket Surprises, with brand new Moda Jelly Rolls.   Each quarter you'll receive a kit with two Jelly Rolls along with fabrics for the borders and binding, all in one neat package.  How convenient is that?  September's kit features Summer's End fabrics from Kansas Troubles Quilters.  You can find out all the details by clicking here or on the link above.

I think Kimberly did a great job choosing fabrics for each of the quilts.  How about you? 

Hope you have a terrific week!

Kim  

Cuttin' Up

Fabric, that is. I have a new rotary cutter, mat, and a five-pack of blades. So you know where you can find me, at least for a while.

I'm cutting these little Nature's Chorus charm packs today.    I'm a Schnibbler now!  Well, almost.  I bought my first Schnibbles pattern recently.  I've seen these adorable little quilts all over the place.  And now I know why. 
But before I started the quilt using the Schnibbles pattern I bought, this came in the mail.
 

I usually don't read quilt pattern books.  I usually daydream over the pictures until I get ready to make one of the projects, then I'll read the instructions when I need them.   But Carrie writes in a very entertaining way, so I found myself reading the entire book, minus the technical instructions. 

I'm anxious to share everything I know about this book.  As soon as I finish piecing the quilt I'm working on today, I'm going to do just that, and I'll also be giving away this copy of it.  It's only a little damp where I drooled on it.   It's okay -- you'll do the same thing when you see it. 

Drop in again soon.  I'll let you know how you can win Carrie's book, and I'll show you which quilt I finally decided to make.

To those who celebrate Independence Day, I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend.   And now I'm going back to cutting.

Take care!

Kim

Pineapple Progress

I was able to play in my room for a short while this weekend.  I'm not sure where the time goes, but I haven't been able to do a lot of sewing lately.  Today I made another pineapple block.  That probably doesn't sound like progress to you, but my new goal is to make two or three blocks every month.  At least that's my goal today.  As you know, I have a short attention span.  Very short.

The blocks are looking a little muddy.  After looking at a black and white picture of the blocks, it looks like I'll need to work on the contrast a little more. 

Karen and I began making Pineapple blocks at the same time.  After we each made our first block, we were afraid we had jumped in over our heads.  We even discussed making giant potholders from the existing blocks and pretending like it never happened.  "What Pineapple blocks?"  Right after that conversation, I found this pattern by Debra Roberts in the August 2010 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.

Pretty, huh?  Since I had all my bright fabrics handy from making the Pineapple blocks, I had to try this one using some of my scraps. 

Now what was I saying?  Oh, right.  Short attention span.

Have a great week!

Kim