Two special quilts

 I guess all my quilts are special but when I make a quilt for a family member for the first time it has a special quality to me. Before we made our move across the US. I worked real hard to get some tops done. I did this for two reasons.
1. I wanted to give some quilts as gifts along the way.
2. I wanted to practice and try out the many great features of our new machine.
The first one I completed was for my Dad.

I made this for his semi truck bed. It is an extra long twin. It has a cowboy theme because whenever I think of my dad I think about him wearing his Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots. I have never saw my dad on a horse. He is just the typical American truck driver. He works hard and loves what he does. I love the smell of diesel fuel. It makes me always think of my dad. Whenever we are on road trips I love to stop at truck stops just so I can smell the diesel fumes. Kind of crazy right!! Some of my best memories as a kid were of times I was with my dad either on the road or working on his truck. That is why I thought there was not better quilt to make for him then one for his truck.

This cowboy was the one that looked the most like my dad. My dad's hair is mostly gray now but I still think of him this way. Every time I see this block it makes me smile.

Here is a glimpse of some of the other cowboys on this quilt. I have worked on this quilt for 10 years. I started it when we lived in El Paso, TX. It has been across the ocean and back inside a tin lunch box. I would pull it out and work on it every so often. Finally my family pushed me to finish it so I could give it to him. Unfortunately I was not able to give it to him while I was in our home town during the move. He was not able to make his schedule work to meet up with me. So is the life of the trucker. Hopefully he will make it thru CO sometime or I will catch up with him next time I am back home. Either way I could not wait to post pictures of it since this quilt is so special to me. 

Another quilt that I made before we left was one for my half sister. I wanted to make her a quilt since I have not been able to get to know her much since I have moved all over the country since she was born. I thought I could share with her a special gift made from my talents. 

I asked her mom what some her interests were and she said that her favorite color was lime green. I found a batik with pears on it and made that my focus. I used a pattern from Quiltmaker magazine. It is a favorite of mine. I have made it many times over the years. I always enjoy the end result. The pattern is called Warm Wishes. The pattern on the site is bigger but like I said I have made this many times in multiple sizes. This one I made is a twin size. 

My sister also has a passion for music so I choose music notes for the quilting. I also put Minky on the back to make it extra snuggly. I wasn't able to give this to her since I never made the connection with my Dad but hopefully soon it can make it's way to her. 

I have quite a few more quilts to post but first I must get the binding sewn down. Back to work! 

Great Giveaway

Check out my moms Blog Kitty's Roar! She is having a giveaway for a great kids bible from Tyndale House.

The Big Move!

I am sorry I have been away from my blog for so long we have been in transition over the last month and a half. It all started on July 2nd when our household goods were picked up. We were leaving the South, headed to live in the mountains of Colorado. On our way we had a month long adventure of visiting family and friends.
We also had a very special member of our family along for the fun. Celine our exchange student from 08/09 came along for the fun. This was a great way for her to see a lot of the USA while on her summer break from school.

Our first stop was SC to see good friends!!

We made some important fabric related stops along the way.

We delivered a quilt to my oldest niece.

It is a quilt to commemorate her visit to Europe in 2007

Her is my lovely niece being so gracious by letting me take her picture with the quilt. She immediately snuggled up with it and made good use of it. That is why I make quilts to be cherished and used. 

The cousins in a heap after a long day of playing.

Our next stop was the St Louis Arch. This is the tiny pod to the top for the great views. 

Then we were finally in my home state KANSAS!! WooHoo!!

We spent three weeks here but I was so busy I took very few pictures. 

My oldest and I rode horses two days in a row.

KS is so pretty!

I love to ride horses almost as much as my oldest!

We went to Silver Dollar City one weekend. The second row has part of our crew.

Daddy rode rides with our youngest. 

We celebrated 3 birthdays while we were home in KS. This is our youngest turning 5! Daddy was Captain Hook and she was a warrior Tinker Bell!!

Finally a little over a month after leaving Georgia we found a new home to make memories in while we are in CO. The trip getting here was so much fun but I am excited to settle in and get some quilting done. 

My Gammill Statler Stitcher arrives on Monday. I am very excited. I already have some tops to load when it arrives. My Mum and I have visited two quilt guilds already and have a few more on our list. I am looking forward to getting involved in the local area and growing our business and hopefully our family. 

Another great Read!!

Being the mother of two girls, I was excited when Tyndale gave me a copy of this book to review. I had heard of the idea of blessing your children before but this book explains it well and goes into depth on the subject. We generally think of a princess as somewhat of a diva but being the loved daughter of the King, Almighty God, is a much more pleasing association.

The book talks about rights of passage in other cultures, i.e., the quinceanera in Latin countries, but words of affirmation and love are a more lasting blessing to give our girls. Being a living example of a child of God is a rich legacy to leave them. This book concentrates on moms AND dads and the legacy they can give their children by being active participants in their lives. In our family we say we don’t spoil our children, we cherish them. This book gives lots of ideas for cherishing your daughters without spoiling them.

Moms and dads of daughters – read this book and be blessed!

Busy Busy Busy!!

We recently purchased a new longarm quilt machine. This is a great upgrade for us. I was quilting on a Royal Kenquilt 12 but now I am quilting on a Gammill Statler Stitcher Optimum. I have been quilting a lot of my tops that have been waiting in line for me to have time. I always put my customers quilts first so this can really slow my own progress down. I have used my tops to get familiar with the machine and complete some gifts. I have started taking customer quilts and I am so pleased with the quality I am offering. Her is some pics of a few recent tops. 

This quilt was for a friend of ours newest little addition. She was so sweet to blog about it. You can see more great pics on her blog. I used a monkey pattern which I loved. I am sure I will use many more times in the future. Quilted on the Gammill

Here is some antique blocks I pieced together for a friend of mine. I just loved the look of this when it was quilted and washed. I love that slight wrinkle a quilt gets when you wash it. I quilted this one on my bernina with a walking foot. 

This is a kite quilt that has been waiting a long time to get quilted. This was finished while we still loved in Germany. It is from Quiltmaker Magazine March/April 1998. The quilting made it look like wind was blowing across the quilt. I put the new Love U line of fabric on the back from Moda. Quilted on the Gammill.

This quilt makes me smile every time I see it. I purchased the unfinished top at a quilt shop in Wichita, KS back in 2005. It was made with the Vienna nights collection of fabric. It is too small for my bed but so pretty.

This was the last quilt top I did on my old machine before I upgraded. I think it was a great end to a machine that has been such a benefit to our family. I can't wait to see all the great tops that I complete on the new machine. 

Great Bag Pattern

Recently I had the opportunity to do some pattern testing. I have designed patterns in the past and have had people test for me but never have I pattern tested for someone else. One of my favorite blogs Two Peas in a Pod. Trish asked a few months ago for pattern testers. I have enjoyed seeing her work and thought it would be great fun. She gave me a copy of her new Madison bag to test. I really enjoyed bringing her text to life. Many times when I am given a deadline or a challenge I will wait until the last moment. This bag was more like a mystery to me and I could not wait to see what it looked like finished.

This is how it all started out. I got the pattern in a PDF format so I could print it off and get busy. The actual pattern when it is purchased from her website will have the pattern pieces printed out on one sheet of paper. I had to tape mine together. 

I got right to work to solve the mystery. You might not think it was a mystery since I had a picture of the end result but that was her end not mine. My fabrics were different and from the picture I really could not tell the size of the bag. 

It said to add a strip of coordinating fabric on the flap but I thought that some pretty ribbon and lace would look oohhh so nice. 

I love how the bag came out in the end. My strap is shorter than the pattern instructions. Error on my part not the designer. 

I really like how the flap turned out. This flap has a snap closure. I have made many bags but this is only the second one with a snap. Pretty cool! I think many more of my bags are going to have snaps. 

A peek at the inside of this cute bag. I have this bag hanging in my quilt room. I just enjoy looking at it. I am not sure who I am going to gift with it yet. Or I might just decide to keep this one. If you would like to purchase a pattern for this great bag or one of Trish's other amazing bag patterns jump over to her blog and snag them up. Trish also designs cute girls dresses and accessories. If you buy one of her patterns let her know that you heard about her from me. 

Winner Announced and the Mystery stitcher revealed

This contest was a lot of fun. Although I was hoping for a little bigger response I am so happy that all of you voted for your favorite turtle. I believe most of you voted based on color and appearance. The person who challenged me said people would "like his turtle better." The construction of the two turtles was quite varying. I purposefully took photos that would flatter the turtles. Since this was  a contest of likability and not construction Lenny is clearly the winner. The person responsible for the winning turtle is none other that my hubby!!

I think he did a great job. This is not the first time he has sewn. He has made numerous projects over the years. He has also started longarm quilting with me recently. We upgraded our longarm to a Statler Optimum. The precision is amazing and I am having a blast practicing while learning about this new machine. 

Now what you all are really wanting to know is who won the seam ripper. I used random.org to get the number and the winner was: Nici

Nici said...

I cast my vote for Lenny! (Although both are adorable)!

I will contact Nici via e-mail to arrange shipment. If any of you would like to purchase any of my husbands great hand turned sewing and crochet aids please view our etsy shop. 

Thank you all again for your comments and votes. Please continue to check back for other giveaways.