I (Heart) 2 Sew

I have been doing pattern testing for  Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts. She posted both an I (HEART) TO SEW wallhanging and a I (HEART) TO QUILT one. I love both. The Quilt one is closer to my heart tho. I volunteered to test the patterns for her.

I ordered a pack of the ombre solids to do the I (HEART) 2 QUILT wallhanging, but chose to do the SEW one in stash so I could get started. That's what prompted me to clean out my stash cupboard. Golly Gosh Gee (and a bunch of other nastier words), I am amazed how really, really messy that cupboard was is. I've cleaned out the greens, blues, pinks, purples so far. Yesterday I bought a couple Sterilite bins to audition for size. If this is the right size, I'll order a bunch on Amazon. {Love Amazon! You can find anything!}

Here are my color pulls:

I had fun pulling the fabrics.

Here's the finished flimsy:

It was a pretty windy day. My highly-paid quilt holder had to move around to several positions on the deck to find a quiet spot to get a good picture.

My package of solids came and now I'll start on I (HEART) 2 QUILT.

I thought these would look wonderful on the back of a jacket/shirt to wear to a quilt show. Maybe someday...

Thanks, Lorna, for the opportunity to test these for you. I am so amazed at what you do! These will have a place of honor in my house.

I urge all of you, readers, to check out Lorna's patterns.


Thanks,
 Lin

Color Study

I'm doing a piece that is a color study. I wanted 9 gradated shades of blue yesterday, and 5 shades of green today. I will be needing yellow, purple and pink soon. I'm a little worried if I will have shades of pink.
Since I'm checking my stash for the colors, it gives me a good chance to clean out my stash. I'm embarrassed to show you how my stash cupboard looks. But here goes:

Boy oh boy. This is one picture I don't want to make bigger. But I will. I'm either brave or stupid.
I have been thru the blues and greens in this pic. I think I want to get some containers with covers to fit these shelves. I'll have to measure and see what I can find. I'll want to be able to see thru the container, and stack them, maybe.
In a week or so, I'll post another pic. Hope it's mucho bettero then. (that's Spanish, isn't it?)

So here are my blues and greens:

Here are the links to the first day of The New Quilt Bloggers blogs. Please take a look and enjoy. These are some of my new best friends!

Michelle @ Michelle Bartholomew

Katie @ Good Golly Ginger

Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs

Karin @ Leigh Laurel Studios

Kim @ Ties That Bind Quilting

Yvonne @ Quilting Jet Girl

Sarah @ Smiles Too Loudly

Vera @ Negligent Style

Jana @ Jane Machado

Thanks,
Lin

Desert Sky, cont.

I worked merrily on Desert Sky, my Judy Niemeyer quilt. I got all the squares done that I have pieces and part for. I ordered more foundation papers yesterday, and will get more batiks. I never would have agreed that I like foundation paper piecing, but, guess what?? I DO! These babies have just gone together so well, and so easily.

The layout will be changed completely when I'm done. I'm just enjoying seeing how they look. You can see that the top 3 rows have dark points and light circles, and the bottom have the opposite. I love it!

HAPPY BLOG-A-VERSARY TO ME!
Yesterday's blog was my 100th! I'm surprised it has gone so quickly. With this New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, I'm learning so much. Now, I'm trying to put tabs on this blog. I want to clean up the bottom and side bars and put my links in a tab. I'm getting closer, but no cigar yet.

Send me an anniversary cake!

Thanks,
Lin

New Quilt Bloggers

I have joined the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. It is very exciting. I have already learned quite a bit. Since I'm a newbie to this whole blogging thing, there is a lot to learn. I'm kinda proud of myself for all I have learned, but realize there is a world of other stuff I need to know. I expect to be making my blog a lot prettier with a little help from my friends.
We will be having a blog hop every week, and I hope you will follow. You can read all about it at Plum and June's. The first day is Today! Please take a look at the above link to check us out.

I have been busy on my Judy Niemeyer quilt. Here are a pic where I am right now. I have the next section half-completed. That will have light points and dark circles.

I'm pretty sure I will order more foundation sheets and make this a queen size quilt. I'm loving it so much, I want to see it every day!

Thanks,
Lin

May 2014 Retrospective

I feel like I didn't accomplish much in May. I'm hoping when I check this out, I will be pleasantly surprised.

First, I made my purple mug rug:

WIP Blue Jean Quilt. Still in same condition.

Practice Battings:

I learned a lot with that exercise.

I finished my Jelly Roll Quilt:

Made my batik table topper and coasters:

Sent off my mug rugs to Dianna, and received mine:

Made my first Supernova Block and received one from Pam:

Well,I guess I can't be too disappointed, can I?

Thanks,

Lin

Sweet 16 class

On Thursday I went to a class on my HandiQuilter Sweet 16 sit-down long arm. I called the closest real dealer to me, and made an appointment to meet with the educator and tech guy, Chris. I'm very happy I did.

I bought my machine from a different dealer, one I'm not happy with. The top tension on a longarm gets adjusted with big changes to bring about a needed change on the thread. They tell you to try 1/2 turns to start with. It's nothing to twist a couple turns. Big difference from a DSM (domestic sewing machine). The instructor when I bought my Sweetie told me to just make "minute changes" in the tension dial. I had already done enough reading on the Sweetie to know that was wrong. So I just let a lot of what she told me go in one ear and out the other. What else would she get wrong. So I haven't been back to that dealer, and don't plan to be.

I really love my Sweetie. It allows me to quilt bigger quilts without having to wrestle with them so much. I have 16" throat (harp) to play with. The instructor today told me there's actually more room in my 16" machine than there is in a 20" machine on a frame. The bars holding the quilt limit you to about 15". I was surprised.

Thanks,
Lin

Judy Niemeyer Quilt

I took a class at NQA from a Judy Niemeyer Certified Instructor on Judy's Desert Sky quilt. Judy's patterns are so *involved*, I wanted to have someone telling what came next on my first one. I was very glad I did. I also bought a kit, so the instructor had all the fabrics picked out, and preliminary cutting done. As you probably know, Judy's quilts use paper piecing as her means of making those sharp precise points. Here are some pictures from the class. Karen Conley was the instructor. I would rate her as very good.

The bottom picture is from Desert Sky, the others are different Judy patterns. Karen said after making this pattern, we should be able to make other Judy patterns without someone step-by-stepping us thru it. It actually was not difficult when you do it step by step.

Here are some pics from my pieces:

The red/blue quadrant is my favorite. The colors really pop for me. It will have a background, like the bottom picture does, of the blue raindrop fabric. Putting on the background piece is pretty easy too, because everything fits so well.
Can't wait to work on this again. Soon. Just a few things in front of it.

Thanks,
Lin