I have had a personal Facebook page for several years. How else would I see and hear what's happening with my grandkids without a phone call? But I started getting dozens and dozens of "friend" requests from people I never met. I guess they heard that I was a quilter who puts dozens and dozens of quilt pictures on my page (it has a different feel than this blog).
Just last week I had almost 100 "friend" requests from total strangers. My wise daughter said, "Mom. You need a professional page. It's got to be open to everybody. This way anyone can see your quilts, your tutorials, what you're working on day to day and you save your personal page for your family and real friends.
That's what I did:
As you can see, the background quilt is the one appearing in the current issue of McCall's. My photo? Well, old age stinks, right?
Type in Quilter by Design (if you are on Facebook; I know some of you don't do Facebook and I totally understand). You can "like" the page or not. You can always dial in to see what I'm doing. Much of that will mirror my blog, but I tend to update Facebook much more frequently than my blog.
What's happening right now? I'm featuring anything to do with Valentine's Day. I share some free patterns and lots of pictures. I have several dozen (yes, dozen) quilts featuring hearts. The key is to find them on my computer!
Don't worry. You won't miss anything if you don't follow me on Facebook.
Oh, wait a minute. Did I share my chocolate heart shaped donut with you? My dear husband knows I love cake more than flowers.
My blog is always up to date with current projects. I just wanted to pass this on!
Have a great weekend!
Any day with fabric, thread, and a sewing machine is a GREAT day! All quilts. Only quilts. All the time.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Valentine's Day is Coming!
We are done with the red and green; now it's time for the red and white! Remember these luscious reds from Benartex last year?
And then I cut out some mystery letters that got mixed up and I "forgot" what I was going to spell.
Here's my technique for cutting out applique. I transfer the template to freezer paper and then iron it to the RIGHT side of the fabric (which has fusible webbing on the wrong side). No need to "mirror image" the template! Cool, huh?
And my Y:
I unscrambled them and made a small quilt out of some of the letters and I have a few left over. I will be sharing my quilt in a post on February 1 in partnership with Benartex. (For those following my Calendar Girls BOM, I will reveal the February project on January 31)
This is a small Hearts on Fire quilt I made using some Benartex batiks. The pattern is no longer available (remember, my Craftsy store was retired and I'm migrating slowly over to Etsy).
And here's how the 10" block looks:
One of my earlier patterns from a VERY popular workshops: Hearts on Fire.
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Selection of red fabrics from Benartex |
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Remember these letters? |
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The letter O (easy to see) |
I unscrambled them and made a small quilt out of some of the letters and I have a few left over. I will be sharing my quilt in a post on February 1 in partnership with Benartex. (For those following my Calendar Girls BOM, I will reveal the February project on January 31)
This is a small Hearts on Fire quilt I made using some Benartex batiks. The pattern is no longer available (remember, my Craftsy store was retired and I'm migrating slowly over to Etsy).
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Cookie Cutter Hearts quilt made with Benartex batiks |
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10" Cookie Cutter Heart block |
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Hearts on Fire |
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Sewing, Sewing
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Card holders for Christmas money |
I found an wonderful crochet pattern for Ninja Turtle hats for my grandsons. Yikes - way too big.
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Ninja Turtle hats for little grandsons |
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Valery wearing a Ninja Turtle hat which was supposed to be sized for preschool kids! |
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Laptop bag with zipper |
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Inside bag with pockets. |
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Paper piecing and easy raw edge applique |
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Audrey's Garden quilt |
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18" pillow (includes the flange) |
This morning I'm hemming some safari print fabric for quick table runners for my little granddaughter's 2nd birthday this afternoon. A wild animal theme. I will use long stitches in case I think of using them again in a quilt!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The Sewing Expo Returns to Atlanta March 10 - 12, 2016
This is my 10th year teaching for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo and I'm delighted to be returning to Atlanta! I lived there for 8 years and always love to be back. And I get to see my favorite youngest daughter, too!
Here are my classes.
1. Ezekiel’s Crown:
Thursday, March 10 at 8:30 - 11:30 am
Foundation piece this awesome block and learn how easy it is to incorporate gentle curves for a show-stopper project
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Ezekiel's Crown: 9" blocks, 40" x 40" quilt |
2. Machine Quilting: Basics and Beyond:
Thursday, March 10 from 1 - 4 pm in the Handi Quilter sit down studio
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Machine Quilting using stencils |
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Machine Quilting using freezer paper applique outline shape |
Filling in both inside and outside a simple heart:
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Simple heart with free motion fillers |
3. Patty’s Summer Parasol:
Friday, March 11 from 8:30 - 11:30 am
This is an updated version of a very traditional block based on the Double Wedding Ring. It sews up quick and makes a delightful quilt that only looks hard!
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Patty's Summer Parasol: 12" blocks; 42" x 42" quilt |
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Easy paper pieced arcs |
4. English Paper Piecing with Hexies:
Saturday, March 12 from 8:30 - 11:30 am
This is wonderful handwork without stress. Learn how rewarding it is to create accurate blocks using these pre-cut hexagons. Kits of pre-cut papers and fabric are provided.
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1" hexagons for a triple round Grandmother's Flower Garden block |
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Beautiful fabrics make beautiful blocks |
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And we'll discuss many ways to use these blocks |
5. Pixie Sticks:
Saturday, March 12 from 12:30 - 3:30 pm
We all have them: precuts of 5” squares (or make your own). Discover a quick and fun way to use them for mini-blocks and then learn how to set these blocks on point!
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Pixie Sticks using a stack of 5" charm squares |
Hope to see you there!
Labels:
Classes,
English Paper Piecing,
machine quilting,
OSQE,
Paper Piecing
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