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March

Where has the month of March gone?? The weather has been incredibly nice, so much of my March has been spent outside or running around town! Our little Chamomile was spayed last week, and she has been recovering nicely.
A big part of the month was spent tearing wallpaper and painting the kitchen and eating area of our home. In the midst of it all, the formal dining room became a dumping ground for EVERYthing in the way. Today, I cleaned it all up, putting things back where they go, and decided to throw this quilt on the table for a season. Of course, in my house, where there is a quilt, there is a cat........or two...The quilt was made a couple of years ago, for my 50th birthday, by my friend Sue. Now that the weather has changed, it can be used in a more decorative way.
I did make a couple of needle cases for birthday gifts recently. This is one of them....It is a tri-fold and opens up much larger than you would think.The inside of these gave me fits! I am not a seamstress, so it was tedious. The first one I followed the directions to a T....the second, I made some alterations. Namely, I swapped out the velcro for snaps. Much more attractive! I filled them up and sent them on their way!I also, tried my hand at these 2 inch bowtie blocks. I am HOOKED! I found these on Jeanne's blog.The dime shows you just how tiny they are. I am excited to make a miniature quilt full of these!
Some applique has gotten done on the 3rd Henrietta Whisker's block....not as much as I would like :(I have motivation to get this quilt top done now. I received my next applique quilt pattern in the mail!!With the weather so nice, applique will be the way to go! Hope your March has been wonderful. I need to make my blog rounds! I have missed so much in the last few weeks.
Thanks for the visit!

~Bren~

Square Stars

The first 3 blocks of Emerson's quilt are made. She told me she wanted a "star quilt", but then she wanted squares. I told her to make up her little mind, and she came up with "Square Stars"....I asked her what that meant and she said, "You know, Grandma. Stars with squares in them." So, Square Stars it is! Sassy approves!
The Friendship Stars would have had squares, except I used a different technique. I always use half square trianges, but went this route instead! It was much easier and less seams! I liked it ;)
I finished the Sailboat block on the Underground Railroad Sampler. After making an entire quilt of these blocks for TJ, it went like the breeze carrying that boat!!I have 10 out of 16 blocks quilted. I love how each block has looked once it is quilted! Here are some of them....Once I finish the sashing strips around the Sailboat, this is the next block in the hoop...
Goodness, who would have thought a hand quilter would have so much to share??? I had more, but it will wait til next time!
Thanks for stopping in!!!
~Bren~

My Studio

Most of you have seen my sewing room on my other blog, but I wanted to show it here at Glory Bee Quilting, so it would be on my sidebar. I am in the basement of our home in a very large 12X24 foot room that my husband finished off a few years ago. I have to admit, I have had a sewing room in just about every room of this house. I think I will be here until Charlotte marries and moves away. I use an 8 ft banquet table for my cutting..... .....and sewing table. I really need a new ironing board cover!!

My grandmother's hutch (she is in the picture on my table) is at the other end of the room and holds old quilts, my quilting books, and some odds and ends. I love the couch being there....it gives a place for my kids and grandkids to sit. That rocking chair is a gift I got from my parents when I was pregnant with my first child. I rocked all my babies, and grandbabies in it!Just across from the couch is the TV and a cabinet for fabric storage. The 3 tier cart holds my UFO's...I keep them in sight so I don't forget about them! On the other side of the entertainment center, is where Sweetheart has his own little corner of this room he built...it's only fair, right? ;) He has his guitars and a desk....I stay away from that area.Other storage for fabric is in the 3 drawer bin. The bin on top holds fabrics I pulled for Henrietta Whiskers. My scrap bins and rulers are all under the cutting/sewing table hidden by that homemade curtain.My 60x72 inch design wall is full. I think I need a bigger one!It is a large and comfortable space, and I am very grateful for it. Though the lighting leaves much to be desired, that is easily fixed....I am working on that issue! I spent some time sewing this afternoon, so it is not quite as tidy as it appears here. I will show you the first 2 blocks of Emerson's quilt, "Square Stars", next time!
Thanks for stopping by!!
~Bren~

Monday Sew Day

I am taking a "Sew Day". I have worked hard the last week tearing down wallpaper, and today is a reward day for me! Yes, that Chamomile LOVES a good sew day. She hears that thread being pulled through the fabric from another room and comes running!

I had a busy, fun, weekend. My son's girlfriend, Carrie, came to town and I took her to Acorn Quilts! She wants to make a Sampler quilt, so we had a look around. You just know I can't leave there without a purchase...or 2...or 3! I grabbed that yellow yard to add to Emerson's quilt. It needed that splash! ALL of her fabrics are in the dryer and will be part of my Sew Day. I grabbed some premade labels for myself, and that bundle of 19 different Stonehenge fat 1/8ths for a friend. These feel like silk, but are 100% cotton...perfect for applique.
Yesterday we made a trip to our old town to meet the newest member of our family....my new great niece...and I realized I did not have a hand project I could take along. I grabbed the Henrietta Whiskers pieces for the next block and was able to prep them on my trip. I must make sure there is something to "grab" for the next time!My dear friend, Sue, lives there and we were able to stop by to see her and her family. Sue and I have been very close friends for 29 years, this month in fact. I got to see, up close and personal, her latest quilts....she is such an inspiration! I miss her terribly and I cried half the way home!!! My husband kept saying, "It's only an hour and a half away. Drive up there once a month!" I need to do that!

I found a new-to-me quilting blog and have just LOVED visiting there! Cottons n Wool is full of gorgeous quilts and stitchery. I love her style and tastes and I fell in love with one of her latest quilts, "Folk Art Blooms" It goes along with the new "look" I am desiring to give my new kitchen/eating area. I ordered the book this morning.

You can see Anne's top here. I plan to do a 4 block wallhanging version for the small wall in my eating area, but someday would love to make the entire thing.
So how will I spend my Sew Day? I am headed to the studio to finish a project, and then I will need to spend a bit of time cleaning up. It is a "creative disaster" down there!! After that I want to cut into that fabric and get at least one block made for Emerson's quilt. I need to make 12 different, 12" star blocks, total. After that, since Sweetheart works late tonight, I plan to spend the late afternoon and evening hand quilting. I am sailing along on the UGRR Sampler....pun intended! ;)That is, if Cammy will let me quilt without pouncing on every stitch I make! Eventually, she calms down and just wants to lay....regretfully it is always on my hoop!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

~Bren~

Hand Quilting Class

When Lesley, the owner of Acorn Quilts, asked me to teach hand quilting a couple of years ago, I was certain it would be a disaster. I had never taught ANYthing before, nor had I BEEN taught. I am a self taught hand quilter, hand appliquer (is that a word? Spell check says it is not.), and hand/machine piecer. In fact, the one and only quilting class I took (a basket wallhanging for Easter) was a complete fail. There were 2 of us in the class and the other student had so much trouble she needed all the teacher's attention. It was more like I went to the shop to sew there, rather than at home. So bad in fact, the shop offered me my money back, which I TOOK! Anyway, I was very leery, but had just been praying about stepping out of my comfort zone and getting around more people. I took that as the opportunity I needed. Jan, a beautiful lady who works at Acorn, had taught the class at another shop and told me she would be there if I needed her. That made me feel better. (Jan, btw, is a quilt designer and has had her quilts in American Patchwork and Quilting...she has even made the cover) That first class was FULL...8 students. It was a BLAST. ALL the ladies left saying it was a wonderful class and they had learned what they wanted to learn. THAT was the ticket! My greatest fear was someone would leave that class feeling like I felt when I left that one and only class I ever took. I have made it my mission to give EACH student a nice chunk of individual time.
Since that first class, I lowered my maximum from 8 to 6 to make sure I could do that effectively. Last Saturday's class held 7, so that sisters could take the class together. I have taught 4 classes a year, 1 per quarter, since Acorn opened almost 3 years ago. Some of the topics I cover are, marking tools, batting, backing, basting tools and techniques, stencils, rulers, needles, threads, hoops, thimbles, threading a between (remember your first one? SCARY!). They all mark a piece of muslin with a quilting stencil, we thread baste the 3 layers in the class and they are ready to quilt! I teach the rocker stitch, and by the first few stitches many of those women are talking to their index finger OUT LOUD, saying, "You have no business here...wait off to the side until you are needed!" LOL They ALL want to use that index finger to control the needle in the beginning. Laughing and talking gives way to INTENSE concentration as they learn how to make that all important "hill" and getting their thumb out in front of that needle before they get a "toe-hanger" stitch! The laughing and fun all come back once the technique is mastered. I am so relieved after each class to hear all the positive feed-back. Each and every lady has been a pure joy! There have been a few "serious" ladies enter the room, but before that class is over they are laughing and usually end up being the life of the party!
Though I would teach that class for free, I do get a nice chunk of change AND a hefty discount on fabric as pay for 3 hours of pure delight! I always do a bit of fabric shopping after class. This time I found a couple of pieces in the 50% off bin that will be perfect in the Henrietta Whiskers blocks!
I shared, last post, that I would be making Emerson a quilt with these fat quarters. Well, in playing with them, they have a more "teen" feel to me. I am planning quilts for Charlotte and Zach for Christmas, so these will go into a quilt for Charlotte! That meant I needed fabric for Emerson's quilt! I saw this GORGEOUS floral and thought what a beautiful border it would make!I pulled 3 of the colors and bought 2 different shades of each and a background fabric (think stars) and Emerson was THRILLED!!!!!She wanted us to make her quilt right then and there! The girl LOVES fabric. She stroked it and declared how "Niiiiiice" it was. I am excited to cut into all that! Now to find the time!
Thanks for the visit!!
~Bren~

Friday Sewing Day

Instead of a Friday NIGHT sew-in, I took the entire day! I spent the morning planning and preparing for my quilting class, and the afternoon making these needlebooks for my students. They are SO easy to make and very inexpensive. All you need is 1 yard of fabric and a package of heat and bond. I press one side of the heat and bond to the wrong side of the yard and then pull the paper off. Fold the other end up to meet the top end and press the right side down. You end up with a nice big piece of bonded fabric. You need to cut rectangles, 4X6 inches and then cut pieces of (thin) batting 2X4 inches.
Fold both in half and lay the batting centered in the fold of the fabric.
Stitch down the center of the batting and then press closed.
You could get up to 20 needle books out of that yardage...I only needed 8, so that is what I cut. Now to finish them all sweet, trim the raw edges with a set of pinking shears to get a cute finish.I put a quilting between (needle), and a basting needle in each book as a little gift for each new hand quilter.I finished out my Friday by spending the late afternoon and entire evening hand quilting. I finished this block....it was very dense in quilting...and a couple of sashing strips.It was a productive day and I plan another one very soon! I have more to share about my Saturday, but that can wait. I need a nap!!

~Bren~