Do you have a Facebook fan page?

Hey there, fellow quilters!

Do you have a Facebook fan page? If so, why? How has that been beneficial for you? Hubby, who does them for clients, tells me I need one. Please leave me a comment about this. Thanks!

Friday Night Sew-in--and a milestone!

I need to do this. You need to join me. :)

O my; I hit 25 followers this week! In celebration of this momentous event, I am going to host a giveaway, so stay tuned for more details!

The Bloggers' Quilt Festival continues--at least for me!

I am still trying to make my way thru the BQF links! I am currently on #500 out of 677 entries!

I absolutely love looking at quilts, but even this is a bit much! LOL! But that's ok; sometime before the fall Fest, I'll finish looking at the links in this one!

Spring to Finish 2010: In brief

Remember the Spring to Finish 2010 Challenge?

My original post was April 23. I kept track of my list over on my sidebar. So, today, the day after the official end of the challenge, I decided to review my progress.

The purple House quilt for my older daughter's birthday in April was completed (I blogged about it)

The pink Fresh Vanilla quilt for my younger daughter's birthday last month was completed (I blogged about it)

The baby quilt for the baby born to a friend was completed (I blogged about it)

I read Raising a Modern-Day Princess (but I need to go back and take notes)

We planted three containers (but have two empty ones)

We finished the homeschooling year (but we are putting the finishing touches on the portfolios)

We did spring cleaning on the main floor of the house (we need to do some deep cleaning on the second floor and in the basement)

Some things are completely taken care of, a few others need a bit of follow-up. All in all, I am pleased with our progress. I'm supposed to state how I will reward myself. Ummm...as a reward, I will probably embark on a new quilt! Many thanks to Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio for hosting this; I apparently needed it!

Accepting the challenge

I accept the challenge.

Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio has issued a challenge to finish up all of your unfinished items, projects, etc. by May 31st. Whether it's a quilt, spring cleaning, painting a room--whatever you need to finish up, and can realistically finish in a month, is what should go on your 'to do' list for this challenge. If you meet your goal, celebrate! Click here for details.

So, as I'm supposed to mention what I need to finish up in the next month, here's my list:

-finish the homeschooling year

-finish quilting, and then bind, the Purple House quilt

-do a quilt in the Fresh Vanilla pattern with the Strawberry Fields fabric, start to finish

-spring cleaning

-plant a container garden (a tomato or two, a pepper, maybe an herb or two)

-read Raising a Modern-Day Princess

There is more that I need to put on this list, but I will be realistic, and ensure that I at least do these things. Anything more will be gravy.

Join me!

A phone call

Today, I got the chance to talk to a bloggy friend...on the phone!

Now, how cool is that? :)

Some of my bloggy friends are local, and were "real life" friends first. But many are people that I have had the opportunity to meet online. And before today, that is as far as it has typically gone, which is pretty much the norm for online friends. But, thanks to her willingness to step out of her comfort zone, and coax me out of mine, I had a great phone conversation this afternoon.

I won't embarrass her, but you can click here to go to her site; she is a really creative soul whose works challenge you to rethink your approach to various aspects of life.

:)

Over the Top blog award

Many thanks to fullfreezer for this award!


As is the case with awards like this quite often, there is a list of questions that you are asked to answer. I will only answer a few; I mean, really, do you care what my favorite color is?!!


3.) Your mother? Overworked
4.) Your father? Deceased
8.) Your dream goal? I'm living part of it; I work at home w/my husband, and we homeschool!
9.) What room are you in? Study
10) Your hobby? One is quilting
11) Your fear? Reaching the end of my life and looking back with regrets
12) Where do you want to be in 6 years? In a larger home, one able to house 1 or 2 grand pianos for our daughters, a sewing studio for me, an office space for hubby, and rooms for guests
13) Where were you last night? Here at home, lecturing online
14) Something you aren't? Skinny!
16) Wish list item? See #12 above
17) Where did you grow up? Chicago
20) Your TV? Do I even have one...it's off, obviously!
35) Favorite place to eat? Home


I am supposed to name six others to award. I'd rather award all of you who read my blog; I think you are all worthy. (To see the full list of questions, click here.) I couldn't even begin to narrow it down to six!

Win a blog makeover!

Details about it here:

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/giveaway/your-blog-win-a-complete-blog-makeover.html

A distinguished blog award

I'd like to thank my friend C (I think) for this blog award!

I'm so, um, honored!

I'd like to share this honor with you; consider yourself the recipient of this award, and post it to your own blog!

A fresh start

My blog, http://how-to-quilt.org, has been compromised one too many times. It is down even now as I type this.

I'm done.

I'm starting over with a clean slate. I will import blog entries one by one (sigh), postdating as necessary, until they are all here.

More to come.

A new quilt! And a Blogaversary!

O my goodness! So much to celebrate!

I finished a new quilt, and I didn't even tell you about it while it was in progress! Here is my version of it; it's called High Light:

And here is the original version of it, as it appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Quilts and More:

The two photos above are a closer picture of one block (19"--yes, they are huge!) and a bit more detail.

Above is the back; I am really liking pieced backings (amandajean does a TON of these over on her blog), so when I run out of larger pieces, I incorporate piecing into the backing of other fabrics, usually used on the front. Waste not, want not. I also quilted this at the same nearby quilt shop where I rented time on their long arm for some of my other quilts (I blogged about it earlier).

When I finished the quilt, I used Lisa's idea:

I made a pincushion with the scraps, using a pattern I found in this book:

Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts

And I have blogging about quilting for a year now! Wow!

For the love of quilting

Recently, I was asked for a sewing machine contest by YCQT to share why I love quilting. So, I stopped to really think about it.

I thought about how it gives me a diversion from all of the crazyness that life has to offer at times. If you quilt or sew, or really do any type of crafting, you can relate; just by planting myself in front of the sewing machine, or by handling fabric, I can feel the tension begin to melt away. There is something tranquil, almost therapeutic in the cutting and arranging of fabric, or in the soft whirring of the sewing machine.

I thought about how, while quilting is something I do in solitude, I can also do it with others. Sometimes my daughters quilt and sew with me.

I thought about how sometimes I quilt and sew with my sewing circle (our group is mentioned in previous posts on this blog) in our quest to provide quilts and other sewn items for those in need in our area. We have sewn for families of deceased infants, abandoned babies, the elderly, the homeless, families living in shelters–the list goes on and on. We do not have outside financial backing, and many of us are not much better off than those for whom we sew; our fabric comes to us through donations. (If you have any fabric you'd like to donate, by the way, let me know; we'd be ever so grateful.)

I thought about how it would be great to work with a brand new machine. New machines often sew faster, and, for the most part, do not need frequent repairs, so you can sew more in the same amount of time. But whether our machines are new, fairly new, vintage, or otherwise, we will continue with our mission. Even with older, vintage machines (from the 60s, quite often), we do all that we can for the babies, children, women and men of our community.

I won a blog award!

My friend over at http://www.journey2learn.com named me for an award for my blog! As part of the honor, I am supposed to nominate seven others. So, here goes!

http://sewing-accessories.net Can you nominate your children? My ten-year-old daughter’s blog is really interesting, and pretty funny at times. She discusses her adventures in sewing. Even though she’s mine, I am impressed at the idea of a ten-year-old possessing her level of maturity and ability to maintain this, as well as to do the projects which are mentioned on the blog.

http://www.journey2.learn.com I am always so motivated when I read her blog. She does incredible work with lots of young people, and maintains a life with her husband and children, and is writing a dissertation at the same time. Can you say Superwoman!

http://www.justanormalfamily.blogspot.com/ My friend is absolutely amazing. She and her husband gave birth to four, and adopted 11 more! The two oldest have started families of their own, so she has 4 grandchildren as well, who are around the same age as her youngest children. Another Superwoman!

http://www.pamomofseven.blogspot.com/ Another incredible friend, with a number of children (biological and adopted). When I read her blog, it makes me tired :), and it really makes me feel inadequate. I’m gonna have to change my friends before I develop a complex!

http://www.womenfolk.com/mysites.htm She has a GREAT blog about the history of quilting. My blog has a number of posts which discuss quilting history, but hers is dedicated almost solely to the topic.

http://www.heatherbailey.typepad.com/ While she certainly needs no promo from me, I still have to mention her site here, because it is beautiful, and pix of her sewing studio have been an inspiration to me!

http://www.lisatutmanoglesby.typepad.com Her site has, more than many others, shown me the power of someone who has many interests, and is able to display them through beautiful photos. Her blog says to me that I can do it, too.

Well, I have to stop at 7, so that’s the end of the list. I should do something like this again, because there are many more blogs that are worth mentioning here.

A decision to blog

It’s about time.

I have been contemplating an entry into the world of blogging–specifically in regards to our quilting adventures. I do not do this alone; I cannot do this alone. I have enlisted my trusty apprentices, or my daughters Lana and Sydney, in this undertaking. Yes, they are fairly young. However, do not dismiss them because they are young; they are every bit as accomplished as adults several times their age. They have handled themselves admirably on computerized sewing machines. Hence, our journey. We invite you to take this journey with us.

Onward…