A Quilter's Christmas

First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting by Christina Cameli, The Elm Creeks Quilts Collection by Jennifer Chiaverini, a lovely made-in-Colorado Nantucket basket felted wool pin cushion, an Omnigrip 20 1/2 x 20 1/2" ruler, and a reel extension cord with outlets to take along to my quilt guild's all-day sews.  

How's that for a fabulous assortment of Christmas gifts?!

Merry Christmas!!

You can read more about these cards here.

Blessings on your Christmas!!

Pillowcases for Christmas!

I was stumped as to what to get for Christmas for my 11-year-old nephew, especially since he now has an iPhone; and, Playstation 4 was on his Christmas list!  :(  When I give a gift, I like to give something that is representative of me, yet meaningful or enjoyable for the recipient.  (I can assure you, electronics are not an option!)  I was thrilled when I found this fabric this afternoon while fabric shopping with a friend - perfect for a last-minute Christmas pillowcase!

I LOVE the various Santa motifs!  I made two pillowcases - one for me and one for my nephew.  Hopefully he'll love it as much as I do!

Poinsettia Quilt

Can't wait to stitch this Christmas quilt, not to mention the one I never got around to last year!

Quilting with a Modern Slant

What a fabulous read!!  Inspiring, moving....  

(I got my copy from my local library.)

Update, 1/10/15 -  A few quotes:

"If you keep on practicing, you can't help but get better and better."

- Jane Sassaman

Elizabeth Barton - How did you beome grounded and focused?

"I supposed is comes from years of being a psychologist, where you see people trying to fit themselves into categories that other people have created."

"Narrowing down our choices helps us create."

- Denyse Schmidt

What Was I Thinking??!!

Where am I going to go with this HUGE roll of Warm & White batting??  It weighs a ton!  But, it was a no-brainer, since it was a deal at 52+% off from Joann.com and free shipping (my Black Friday weekend shopping!).  Can't go wrong there, especially since I don't have any on hand.

But, it can't sit in my living room forever!

A Few More Finishes

This top will shortly be on its way to Kathy O.  

I had stalled out on it because it just felt so boring, even though I loved the fabric when I first bought it about 5 years ago.

While I could easily quilt this smallish 56 x 70" quilt top on my domestic machine, I knew its ho-hum design needed some help.  Kathy's amazing freehand stitching will bring it to life.

In exchange, I finished piecing this top for Kathy.  It's so fun stitching/swapping with someone else - you get to try all kinds of fun fabrics and designs!  I love the giant hexagons!

(The fabrics are Color Me Retro by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery Fabrics.)

Can't wait to show you the magic Kathy works on these two tops!