Quilt Shop Hop

It was the Sixth Annual "Heart of the Valley" Quilt Shop Hop May 1, 2 and 3, 2015, featuring shops from across the San Joaquin Valley.  Bright and early Rhea and I started on road trip on Friday, May 1st.  The hop starts in Turlock and ends in Bakersfield, California. Rhea and I started our adventure in Clovis at the Quilter's Paradise.  This store never fails to delight -- friendly staff, attractive store, and lovely fabric.  I found some felted wool at this shop for a project I am planning and some really cute chicken fabric that will make a cute apron or potholders. 

 
Next on our agenda was Thimble Towne in Visalia.  These people know how to have fun!  There was a photo station as well as yummy food.  I found the cutest fox fabric here and purchased a Yellow Brick Road pattern.  I have never made one of these quilts and am anxious to get started.  You would think because of the fox theme it is for my new grandson, but no, it's for me.  I love little foxes!

Two stores were in Porterville, Calico Mermaid and Totally Tina's Fabric.  We stopped in and perused the goodies each store showcased, snatched some yummy goodies, then went to lunch at the Black Bear Diner, one of my favorite chain restaurants.  A Gobbler sandwich for me, please.  Delicious!

Back in town, we left each other's company.  It was already past 4 o'clock and I had a birthday dinner to attend for my granddaughter.  On Saturday, I finished the last leg of the shop by visiting Bolts to Binding and Strawberry Patches, both in Bakersfield. 

Each shop we visited gave away goodie bags of quilting gadgets and patterns.  Water bottles, fat quarters, finger lights were among the loot I collected.  Thimble Towne gave participants a kit to make a darling scissor holder.  This was a quick project and will really come in handy in which to store my embroidery scissors.  I think this was my favorite treat.

Can't wait to get started on my Fox quilt, but I have a baby quilt to finish first.  The baby shower is Saturday.  This quilt features mermaids and sea creatures. 

Who was your quilting mentor?

Over the years I have talked to many quilters, and it is amazing how many stories each of us have to tell.  Interesting to me is how did you get started quilting?  Who taught you to sew?  There are as many different accounts as there are quilt patterns.  Some learned from family members, or took a class, or attended a retreat.  I have even known some quilters who took a quilters' cruise to hone their skills.  Doesn't that sound fabulous!

For me, my girlfriend started me looking at quilts as an art form instead of a bed cover.  We were at a thrift store and a beautiful, intricately designed quilt was hanging in a corner.  I remarked to her, "Why would anyone spend the time to make a quilt, when they could just buy a blanket?"  She said to me, "You're looking at it wrong.  You look at a quilt one block at a time.  It's not so much a cover-up as it is a work of art."  Well, that perked my artistic side and started me looking at quilts differently.

My first mentors were Georgia Bonesteel and Marti Michell, who used templates in their quiltmaking.  Then I found Debbie Mumm who taught lessons on how to quilt without using templates, and that method was more my style.  Eleanor Burns was another quilter I followed.  I was amazed how fast she could make a quilt.   

These fine ladies taught me the basics and started me on my own quilting journey.  I will be forever grateful.  Over the years I have discovered other quilters I enjoy following, but none hold a place in my heart like my first mentors.  

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, Everyone!

It's been a busy week and it's not over yet.  This afternoon we will have an Easter egg hunt in the backyard for my granddaughters and then a non-traditional dinner of lasagna.  (Garfield the cat would be so proud.)  The Easter baskets are all prepared, even for the twenty+ kids.  What would Easter be without their favorite cookies from Smith's Bakery???  The girls' quilts are finished and even Baby Wyatt has a new quilt in which to be bundled. 

My family is so blessed to be healthy and happy, and I am most thankful to be a Child of God, saved through the blood of Jesus Christ.  I hope you all have a pleasant day and are comforted that Jesus is risen.

 Happy Easter

Nail Polish & Lipstick

My granddaughters love doing nothing better than painting each others nails.  They can spend hours amusing themselves.  And of course every nail is different.  They have ten tiny canvasses on which to work, and they treat each one as a masterpiece.

That's why when I saw this cute pattern for nail polish bottles I just knew I had to make it for them.  And the pattern is FREE from Fat Quarter Shop.  You can download a copy for yourself at  http://static.fatquartershop.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf/Nail%20Polish-Pattern.pdf

And of course a girl needs her lipstick!  I used graph paper to design a quick lipstick block that would fit on the border.  I purposely did not put them in the corners because I didn't want the binding to detract from the block. 

For the backing I found the perfect fabric for young ladies -- Mademoiselle by Alexander Henry.  I love this fabric!  It is full of images depicting teenage life (my favorite is the shoes).  It has a sort of vintage feel to it. I think the backing is as cute as the front. 

This was really a quick quilt to make, which is a good thing since I have to make two.  One down, one to go. 

Snapshots BOM 2

Block 2 of my Snapshots BOM is complete.  Loving these colors!  They look so retro. 

If you would like to join in this fun-to-do quilt along, visit http://fatquartershop.blogspot.com/p/snapshots-quilt-along.html for the details.  New blocks are available on the 15th of each month and a video is available for guidance on completing the blocks.  A donation of $5 is being requested from each participant per month for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

Little Christmas Quilt Done

At last I finished this little quilt.  I added the buttons to my Gingerbread Man, sewed a zigzag stitch hook on top of the ornament, and sewed the bows on the wreaths.  It is so festive with its bright colors against the white.  This was really a fun quilt to do.  I enjoyed following Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet on Instagram for the how-to's and tips. She is so talented! 

Lori has a new book, Farm Girl Vintage, coming soon, and I have pre-ordered it from the Fat Quarter Shop.  It is supposed to be here some time in April.  Can't wait!  Lori has already started posting pictures on Instagram of projects she is making with the patterns in the book.  Make sure you check it out! 

Girly Girls

I had an idea I wanted to make life-size doll quilts for my granddaughters.  I taped several pieces of paper together and began to draw.  I painted their faces with acrylic paint onto fabric then used fusible web to put the body and skirt on the fabric.  The overall design was raw-edged appliqued. 

I had put so much effort into making these quilts for the girls that I went ahead and finished them completely even though I didn't like them once they were finished.  I think what bothers me most is the white background.  The doll figure would  look better, I believe, on a solid color other than white.

The girls loved their quilts, though, and since it was a cold and rainy day, they enjoyed snuggling under their girly quilts while we played games and watched movies. 












I think I will try this again, but instead of trying to make such a young girl, I will worry less about open eyes and lips and go for a more sleek and modern design. 

What do you think?