Triangles~

I was asked to make 2 quilts for Christmas Gifts~ this is the first one, Mrs. B liked the triangles and thought how cool would it be if it was all in graduated blues! The recipient is a Hanglider so her vision was of the mountains at the bottom and the sky and clouds at the top. And thanks to Accucut Quilt Studio's Banner die cut that made the cutting go so nice and easy!

Wasn't sure where to start so just laid them out and used the camera to see the shades~this was way to bottom heavy!

So worked in some more mediums and still not quite right~

Getting better but those few are showing to grey even though they are blues~I am sure they will have their place, I just haven't found it yet!

Hmmmm, now we getting somewhere, instead of doing perfect graduations of color like we started off with, blending them all upward made the vision come alive!

Me thinks this is about what we came up with, it is pieced and ready to be quilted, thought I had a pic on the camera but will get some after it is quilted and bound. The second one will be done using the new pineapple technique I learned at Market! Am excited about that one!

And being a super sucker and not able to say NO, I now have 2 more commissioned quilts to complete by Christmas~ What was I thinking? Apparently not clearly at the moment, thankfully I have my Secret Helper 3 days out of the week to help bail me out!

For Shannon~

Here ya go!! Sorry I got distracted and didn't get done sooner!!

A Challenge Met~

In a previous post I mentioned how we no sooner got back from Houston we had Shop Hop the following week, I foolishly agreed to making a sample for this quilt to help this line of fabric move a little . Le Poulet is the name and the manufacture escapes me at the moment.......

Thought it would be super simple until I checked out the directions! Those little baskets called for 1 7/8 squares to be cut on the diagonal making the block super teeny!

And it called for 16 of the little buggers!!! It literally took a full day to just cut everything out for these and when I started piecing them I started crying, not literally, but very very close!

The seams did not want to play nice at all, then I broke out Mary Ellen, she would not have any of the rebellion and they pressed out like a dream and the piecing went together just beautifully! And I learned a new way to make flying geese! Using one big square and two small in opposite corners with a diagonal line drawn through to stitch on either side, worked wonderfully and cant wait to try it out on another project!

I finished it up the night before the Hop began and I was pleased as punch when yards of the fabric began flying out of there! And it is a Windham Fabric line! Just remembered~

additional shots~

A couple of additional pics of what the micro handles actually attach to on the longarm!

Micro Handles~

Per a request, here are some shots as to how the micro handles attach to the longarm.

These are the holes on the head for attachment~

The handle in place~not screwed in~ the handle swings up and locks into place when not in use. Can take a shot of that look if needed~

And the handles themselves, hopefully the shots will go bigger when clicked on!

Houston~Schoolhouse

I forget when picking photos to do so in reverse and I am too pooped to rearrange them so will just go with the flow on this one! And of course I don't have my information as to who the speakers were and my memory is on failure mode I won't even try to guess! But the classes were amazing!! I chose as many lectures as I could during schoolhouse and also for the picked classes during the other days, one was a class on making a pineapple block in a really cool way but that is for another post~

I really like the Taupes! And her lecture was in Japanese and her partner translated for us, it was very interesting to learn they don't worry about producing special lines for their fabric,

example~ these little pictures represent winter, spring and summer, just choosing the different colors available and placing them accordingly makes the feel you are after without having to choose from a specific colorway! Beautiful Samples!

Here they are showing where they get their inspiration from, food, table settings, teas are just a few of the things that they pull from, and when I think about it myself, how we are drawn to eat at Japanese restaurants it is those colors that I enjoy being around!

And on another spectrum these gals were sharing ideas how to use some of those big beautiful prints being pieced into the quilts for borders but not necessarily just as a wide border onto itself. Very nice!

And the rave of the show! The new Go Baby! It is amazing how they keep coming up with new ideas for making cutting easier at a very affordable price, I personally am thrilled with having the Studio, but am jealous at the better variety of dies they have available for the Go and now the Baby. We signed Fiddlesticks up to be a distributor of the new machine so it should be fun getting to play with it none the less!

We just finished up with our yearly Shop Hop yesterday! What a whirlwind of activity it was! And in the middle of our busiest day power went out on our main register and debit/credit card machine! Yikes! What a test of patience that was for all working, I was operating the cash/check only register and doing my darndest to keep all the feathers that were starting to ruffle smoothed! Thankfully Courtney was quick to check out other outlets and found it was only that one that went out and ran an extension cord and got it up and running in record time! She was every ones Hero!

Plane Trip!~

I never got an opportunity to post about my upcoming (now past) trip!

YES! Houston! I was honored to attend Quilt Market with Merry representing Fiddlesticks'

I hadn't been on a plane in a lotta years, and since we didn't get to do the boarding pass early enough I ended up with a middle seat so when the window girl fell asleep I got a few shots off, mostly to be able to show the kids~

Just Beautiful!

And after the turbulent weather that kept the plane be-bopping around it was nice to get on solid ground! Sent a shot of this to the kids to show I made it!

This was on display at the convention center, getting ahead of myself with this photo but it was just really neat!

Fun Quilt~

My friend gave me one of her very first quilts to play with, what is crazy is I had the hardest time picking out just the right pattern to use. I finally decided on Butterfly Feathers, then came the thread, and again the agony of the right shade of creme..............

I am very happy with the results, and can't wait to give it to her this next week!

She's not expecting it so will be fun to watch her reaction to getting it!

It is pomegranate season, and DH and the boy's brought home 90lbs worth! They had a scale and weighed them~

They will get to eat to their hearts content then we will juice the rest to make some jelly and syrup when I get back home.................

Yes, my Man Child #5 is about as close to bald as he could get, he was actually full skin a couple weeks ago and it was a little much for me but he talked me into letting him cut it almost to the skin. Sigh.......... Kids, gotta love 'em! He will definitely need a beanie to keep his noggin' warm as it has been cold cold cold!

DVD's~

(Mindi Casperson Lonarmed & Fabulous! ~SOLD)~ Lisa Calle Feathers of a New Generation (not your G'ma's feathers)~ Ricki Tims Quilting Caveman Style (fun to watch, my boys even enjoyed watching!) $30 for all!

This is also a test post, I cannot figure out why the pics won't get larger when I use a new camera, I think I may have hit a wrong button at some point and have just found the default button but now realize it wasn't this photo I took, so I still won't know until another posting. Hmmm.......

My old faithful camera finally got knocked around one too many times and the shutter won't stay open so I tried replacing it model for model and no such luck, found one close but just different enough to drive me crazy, then Scottio blessed me with one for my birthday and it works great but I am trying to figure this one out because it has the setting so you don't get wobbly photos which is exactly what I am needing! ~smile~

Racing with the storm~

We have been having the most amazing storms! Scottio was working when he seen these yesterday. It is black out right now and I am racing to get not only a quilt done but computer work as well because once it hits we usually loose power!

The hint of the second rainbow is what he was trying to capture but the sun peaked out at just the right moment~

A clearer shot~If only there was really a pot'o gold! He could have just snatched it right up!!

And my absolute favorite time of year is when Pumpkins arrive! Usually I nab up the white ones but haven't seen them out just yet! So until the end of the month I will be smooshing and smashing to put it up for soups, pies and cookies! Yummm!

Hoover Dam Shot~Hartley Products

This is just one shot from the Hoover Dam Bypass, they opened up the bridge to the public this past Saturday and Scottio was on special detail (crowd control). This is just one of the shots he got from up there, it is suppose to open to vehicles later this week but we haven't got a definite day yet, either way my eyes will be forced to be open if I am driving~that's for sure!

Here we have micro drive handles $100, a vertical cone holder $25 ~SOLD~ and a spool holder $20~SOLD~ also a handy bobbin holder as you can see in the pic! They are all Hartley Products as well.

Hartley Base Expander for an APQS with thread cutting abilities, and 2 guides $65.

Some Visions of the Past~

My Dad passed on October 1st of 2009, I hate to say that I really haven't quite taken the time to actually deal with all that went on during that time period. Having had many other things going on at the same time just kept taking priority to my being able to just stop and work through my feelings, thoughts and just how it really has affected my life.

Then 3 months to the day, January 1st, 2010 I recieved a phone call that my Step-Brother had died, he was my Dad's wife Ann's son, say that three times! Daddy lived in Sandy Utah which is a solid 8 hours from my home in Arizona, and although we weren't close the 20 years my Dad was part of this family we did form a bond the two weeks we were in Utah during my Dad's passing.

So 3 of my boys took the drive with me to Honor Herbie, as fate would have it he was going to rest right next to my Dad and it his marker the boys are standing over. sigh...............


I love this quilt! A simple log cabin, I used Judy Allen's Royal Plumes Panto and it just made the quilt come alive!!

It now hangs in my studio over a book cabinet and when I gander across at it, it just gives that warm fuzzy feeling inside!

What's crazy is I am finding all kinds of photos that were taken that I have just put out of mind! So in time I will get them resurfaced and put in their proper place!

Another Thank You to all who have helped me clear things out! It is such a nice feeling to not only purge some of this stuff but to be able to keep it alive by passing it on!

The rulers are dragging me down though ~smile~ so I am dropping the package deal to $250 for the lot of them! I have kept my favorite but again~enough is enough!!

And the rest of the pantos listed a little bit down are now the remaining 8 for $50! And there is still more dvd's and books! sigh...........

Pounce Pads~

$15 for both

Books~

5 all over and stitch in the ditch alternatives and just cool booklets! $25 ~SOLD~

Some Nice Getting Started Literature $50

$15

$20 for both

Or to simplify~ all UNSOLD $60 plus shipping!

Not Co-operating

Well, I had time to sit a spell and blogger doesn't seem to want to upload my photo's. So I am not getting much accomplished now.....

DH is on vacation this coming week so it should be fun spending the week together in the studio, it is desperate need of reorganizing and along with getting two big packages wrapped and shipped it will be way nice having his help!!

Tomorrow is a big day for Scottio, he is working extra detail on the Hoover Dam Function, the bridge won't be open officially to cars until November sometime but tomorrow they are doing a bike race and a walk along, he will take lots of photos so I will get to share some of what he sees and maybe even some stories of what he deals with!

Now we are off to the skate park again so man child #6 can burn some extra energy! It always makes for a nice nights rest!!

Taking a Breather~

Not a very good pic but I finally completed a quilt just for me!! I started it last April during a retreat up here in the fabulous Hualapai's! I did enter it in the local quilt exhibit and although it didn't get any ribbons it got great reviews from the judges which just tickled my fancy just the same!!

I am happy to announce that packages are finding their way to their new owners and that also thrills me, I have been on the worrying side a little, and my checking and double checking is driving everyone nuts!! That is ok thought because it is working!

We came to Boulder a few days early this week, DH had a change in his schedule so we came to spend the extra time with him, I still have other books to get up but and hopefully moved on out quickly, even took a few minutes to delete some of the postings of things that are no longer available, there are a few pantos left and I am contemplating a one package deal to get them gone as well, any offers are most welcome!

AND if anyone is interested in the way I had them stored and would be interested in the tubes I now have a you-know-what load available! I got the idea from one of the lists and it was the best way to keep them organized and accounted for! The photo is a few posts down if you care to take a gander!

I am enjoying visiting Starbuck's and their wi-fi so will be checking back in and see if I can't get some other things listed, now we are off to the skate park so man-child can get a little energy out!