Accuquilt Go! Baby Giveaway

I love to tweet and as a result sometimes great opportunities come up.  Today it is a giveaway for a Accuquilt Go! Baby and three dies.  What an incredible opportunity for a lucky winner (of course I would like that to be me).  If you want to enter here's the link:  http://www.sameliasmum.com/2011/06/accuquilt-go-baby-giveaway.html?spref=tw.  The site is pretty great as well.  Take some time to browse around.

Good luck to everyone.

Quilts, Quilts, Quilts

Seems like quilt tops take on their own life.  I have finished three quilts in the last few months and the latest is almost ready for binding.  It will go into a contest with Babylock.  The photo tells the story.  I'm rather proud of this quilt because of a couple of reasons: 1)  some of the fabric was free  2) It took me in a different direction 3) I created a new technique for designing a pattern by doing a layout schematic.  In  the end this latest project stretched me which is what needs to happen from time to time.  What do you all think?

   I've used traditional block piecing and applique to make it have a bit of punch.  The colors are so fresh and clean, which is something I really wanted to focus on.

   Another project bites the dust.  Yeah.  I will post the finished picture once I have the binding in place.  It will all make a lot more sense then...or at least that is what I'm hoping for.  We shall see.  Feel free to post comments if you wish.

I'm also quilting this next quilt for a friend.  The design is mine and she and I took different approaches so soon we'll have the photographs of both--her's and mine.  The main fabric is exactly the same, the accent fabrics are different.  You will see when I post them together.

   Must go prepare a back for yet another quilt to do today.  Getting projects off the list is a good feeling. 

  Happy days!

Never Create When Your Heart Isn't In It!

I love creating...actually I live for it.  My daughter who is a wizard at marketing tells me ideas fall from my lips like I have rollodex full just waiting to be used.  While I may not totally agree with that, I do tend to have a head full of creativity and I do take advantage of it often, however.....I've discovered something.  Never force yourself to create when your heart isn't in it.  I've tried for two days to finish a quilt top.  It was going well and I stopped yesterday to take time out to run to the store.  Two hours later and a tow truck, my car was at the shop and I was back home.  My heart and mind wasn't thinking about sitting down and concentrating on this creative bit of stuff I had been working on earlier.  I was determined to press on and pass procrastination so I took a short nap and went back to sewing.  Lo and behold, this morning I looked at what I did and it was a mess.  I had sewn things together that made no sense.  With a seam ripper in hand I fixed my mistakes and went back to sewing; stopping long enough to take a few hours off for a job interview.  The interview got cancelled and moved to tomorrow.  A wasted trip and now my mood was not good.  After calling on my car and finding out they could find nothing wrong (it always acts perfect when they get it in the shop) I sat down to finish my project only to discover at the end I had added rows where non existed.  In short I had done about an hour of sewing that had to be taken apart before I could complete what I was doing.  My eyes got blurred and my mind was mush.      

     The moral to this story is to not put myself on such a tight time constraint and to not force the creative juices to flow when they are drying up.  Since the ability to create is usually there I need to remember that sometimes I need to give myself a break to refill my tank.  The project will wait until tomorrow.  I'm going to take a long nap!

Ways to Have Fun and Be Productive

    Yesterday was an interesting day.  My best friend and I took a quilt break yesterday at Barnes and Noble.  We grabbed some coffee at Starbucks then headed to the magazine rack for a stack of quilt magazines which we poured over for several hours.  We both got so excited to see the trends and what's being done.  I also on trip #2 to the mag rack found a handbook on Blogging.  Thirty-two dollars later I think I'll turn into a blog and twitter wizard...at least in my mind.
    I also learned a valuable lesson last night.  Don't sew when you are tired or frustrated.  I have a design I'm working on that was giving me issues but I had set a goal to get so much done.  I kept going and lo and behold this morning there was a big mistake staring me in the face.  Out came the seam ripper and an hour of rework the pieces were back together.  I was so mad at myself.  So, a word to the wise, give it up when you think you are getting tired of the sewing.  Be ready to start on it another day.
    So all of that being said, I'm off to finish my quilt.  Yeah. 

Happy creative hearts to all.

Go Green, Be Clever

     In earlier sewing days I was so wasteful.  If I had fabric left over from a project it got tossed.  Same with thread, etc.  Those days are thankfully gone.  Today, I assess at the end of a project what is saveable and what is not....and I put a critical eye to it all.  As I stated in an earlier post, my sewing partner in crime, and also my best friend, has taught me that even the smallest of things can become useful.  I give her my scraps of fabric that are what I deem too small to work with (something that can't be cut into a 4" square or larger) and she turns them into the finest quilts because she loves to work in minature.  Recently I designed a quilt that I will post soon that were 5" x 6" three piece units.  She took my scraps and turned them into a replica of my quilt in minature by cutting everything into quarter size pieces.  The wall hanging it created was magnificent.  I would have never thought to do it.
     Another thing that can be reused is dryer sheets (and they smell good too).  I used them as a foundation when I am piecing something small together.  They are awesome because it creates a backing that is almost indestructable but still very thin and light-weight.  In my house I have at least three to five dryer sheets a week.  Instead of tossing them now I keep a plastic shoe box in the laundry where I can simply place them in the box and use them as needed.
    For relief from all those sewing threads you've clipped as you sew but end up still all over the project and you, here's a simple tip that is fast and fool-proof.  Purchase sticky lint and pet hair rollers from the dollar store and when done with a project simply clean it up by running the roller over it and yourself.  It's amazing how fast those threads disappear and it saves time.
     Have a happy day and enjoy being creative.  I'm off to work on a new quilt design.

News, Views and Important Opportunities

I just finished the table runner that is posted. It's only important because I took pieces of my last quilt when I was done and created the piece.  I had enough fabric left to make this piece and with the purchase of another yard of one of the fabrics am able to complete four placemats.  Yeah.  Since the quilt was a project for a quilt pattern I'm going to be selling it was nice to get something out of it for me.  From time to time I will do little things like this readers can get ideas about things they can do with leftover scraps.

I've posted the Babylock link on right side of this page (under links).  If you are into sewing at all, go to their Facebook pages and see what's going on.  Hint: there is a contest going on that is pretty exciting with an opportunity to win a really nice prize.  Also, the contestants that have posted their projects so far are showing some really nice things.  Take a look and get ideas and GET MOTIVATED.


FYI, if you are a quilter that doesn't pre-wash your cottons rethink the process.  True heirloom quilts will be made of 100% cotton which means there will be some shrinkage.  Between the cotton of the quilt and a cotton batting there can be between 1-5% shrinkage and the batting and outer cotton may not shrink the same percentages.  Reduce the possibility of disappointment by pre-washing.  It's an extra step but one that will pay off in the long run.

Hello Old Friend

I can't believe I gave up blogging so long ago, because I actually love to do it.  So here I am again ready to go.  I've had so many yards of fabric and projects pass through my fingers in the last year.  I'll be anxious to post and let you know what I know at this point. 

Some of the new things I will be working on is creating links to other sewing/quilting blogs.  I'll also be adding videos from time to time to help sewing folk get their talents in motion.  This should make my blog much more fun.

Welcome back if you are an old friend and welcome if you are new to my S.O.F.A. (Society for Fabric Appreciation).

Jillian