wip wednesday... lots going on over here

so today is wednesday...

so its wip wednesday...
& as you may have guessed from last week
there is still a lot "in progress" over here

as rachel painfully pointed out market is creeping up upon us.
& i may not be good about blogging.. or i may overwhelm you with stuff..
who knows.

either way..
i'm alive.. just super busy.

so here are a few pics of some "wips"


this is a quilt.. like it?

this one is too... and maybe a bag if i have time...

ok.. ok... not much info there... ;-)


i've been playing with the general more french general... this project is almost done & will be up on the bake shop next week

this is the stunt quilting collaborative project i've been working on... with Sheri of freckleberry farm... wait till you see what we came up with together.. i think i'm in love with this quilt.
{it'll be making its public debut @ market... i'll take lots of pics for you}


some samples for spool
{more info to come..}

{i'm vague.. i know.}

--

and i realized i forgot to show you pictures of my quilts hanging up @ the Oaks Show in Country Quiltworks booth...

kindergarten quilt and picnic {aka basket case}

metro

so how are you doing?
market prep?
wips?
just relaxing? {if you are i'm jealous}

i love this time of year.

i love fall.

i always have.
the slight chill in the air..

the colors of the leaves.

so out came the decorations this weekend.
here is a peek & a few..
{fyi the whole 1st floor is green.. there is one very long shared wall.. and we really like the color}

fall wall quilt... from a magazine a while back...
this space rotates between 4 quilts i've made for the seasons.
{and yes if you pay attention.. its the quilt behind my nephew in my header.. cause those pics are from november last year...}

kitchen table...
fall print that hangs year round...
with mini & apples...
& fall placemats... based off of wall hanging above...

table runner from terry atkinson's book happy hour
{with target candles}

"be thankful" quilt from cottage creek quilts

pumpkin topper.. from a book i can't recall..
& more apples from cider mill road book by nancy halvorsen...
{as well as cute pics of elijah & emma!}

fall quilt from happy hour book... runner was made from leftovers...

as well as my nine patch topper.. because even with the white it has fallish colors & it brightens up the room...

and lastly... more apples... and my favorite leaf bowl..
that doesn't stay empty long..
because one it goes out it means its close to halloween.. and we fill the bowl with dove chocolates... all fall!!

i think all i'm missing is a few of these...
{rachel's adorable pumpkins}

hey rachel can i borrow a few ;-)

quilting tools.. what do you use?

everyone uses different tools.

and has their favorites.
and i like to learn.. and share.
so here are mine.

---

{{i also realized that i don't know what some of my closest blog friends use... so this is the easy way to find out.. what machine? what rotary cutter? what rulers? do tell.}}


ruler(s)
mostly omni grid.. but i have a lot of others as well...
& in lots of sizes
i do like specialty rulers too..

like american jane's equilateral triangle ones.

rotary cutter(s)
i own a few...
do i need this many.. no... but i'm never at a point where i can't find one!
i like the fiskars best... i know most people don't.. but i like the handle, the overall feel & how the blase safety button works... i also keep my new & old blades in 2 containers so i know which is which at a quick glance

cutting mat(s)
i have a few of these as well...
but i mainly use my 36x60 that is in the background of many of my pics... i have an old kitchen table the perfect size that my mat stays put on... in my sewing studio...

thread
i use many.. but mostly aurifil & superior threads king tut
& i use this handy thing for my bobbins.. & love it!

machine(s)
i do my piecing & straight line quilting on this baby...
you know.. the one i stole from my mom
it is a husqevarna viking freesia 415... they don't make this model anymore... but i wouldn't trade this baby in... she has always been good to me!
{ also that tray is from IKEA.. & super handy!}


& i do my quilting.. on this baby..
my mega quilter {on a 10 foot frame}
i heart this machine too..
but i may upgrade to the 18x8 new mega quilter.. or another machine down the road..
bigger is better!

scissors
for all around cutting i have a lot.. but these are my favorite..
{my mom labels things with her initials for when she takes classes... and it appears that SSH isn't my initials... so you can guess who these belong too... & lets just say that there are lots of tools here with SSH.. but since SSH reads my blog.. i'm not gonna post pics of anymore... cause she may not remember what i have "borrowed" ..thanks mom!!}

for snipping & sewing on the go...
i have 2 since i never leave home w/o one... except when i go to the airport....

and then you have to have old faithful... pinking shears...

seam ripper
i don't take seams out... unless i absolutely have to..
but when i do.. this is what i use..
some random ones from an old sewing kit.. not the best by any means

ironing surface/iron
i need iron advice.. i'll admit that.. i use whichever iron i can find in the house when i need one..
i can't even tell you what this one is...
& for ironing surface.. i have an ironing board that makes an appearance for borders, backing... etc... but in general i use this bad boy...
i know.. i know..
its stained.. but that is because it has been used almost every day for the last 5 years or so..
{ & some of the irons in the house are notorious for leaking.. hence needing the advice }

other

fray check.. a girl's best friend against unravelling...
& "cupcakes" from container store... work great for holding & sorting scraps on the table.


so those are my preferences...

what are yours?

if you decide to join in and blog about what you use leave me a comment with a link or drop me an email. i'll be adding a list on here of everyone who joins in so we can all learn!!

wip the world is in progress wednesday

my quilting world is starting to feel like its all in progress...
{fun stuff.. but lots of it!!}

one thing i can show you... is this stack of yummyness...
happy campers by american jane for moda

here is a peek at it... the makings of a new moda bake shop project..
that hopefully will be finished in the next few days!

and lastly... a peek at my creative space...


the part that is only somewhat of a mess.. not a total one...
{ and yes... this pic was 2 weeks ago.. you don't want to see my space now.. well maybe you do.. but i can't show it... yet! ;-) }

another swap done!

i finished my mini swap quilt last night for the Good Ol' Summertime Mini Quilt Swap

and just in time... they need to be in the mail today!

i did a mix of zig zags & straight strips using a honeybun... it was fun to work so small and try something new


i quilted 3/8" above each zig zag & each straight row... it isn't often that i quilt on my little machine so it was nice that these swaps gave me that opportunity!



and as always... my label on the back... i didn't get very creative here.. but i made sure there was a label!.. no more label-less quilts from now on!


i did a lot more than just this this weekend... and since i last posted..
but i can't tell you much about it all right now...

i got 25 blocks done to one quilt
47 done to another
a third started..
and so on...

as soon as i can tell you i will!!

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in other news..
my hushabye quilt went traveling..
she went from PA to Arizona...
Arizona to California..
Cali back to Arizona..
& should be back home to me soon...

my quilt on display in Cali @ debbie's booth...

debbie still has a limited # of kits available in her shop... so head on over & grab one while they last!!

wip wednesday... a bit of stunt quilting

i have lots of "wips" right now...
but one i haven't shared with you is a stunt quilting gig i'm helping with involving astor manor...

recipe... start with a lot of pre-cuts...

add in some yardage...

& play with fabric on the floor...
that pic isn't really a sneak peek... but i thought you'd like to see the pretty fabric!!

i can't say much... but its a lot of fun!!

i'll show you the finished project when i can!

what are you working on?

everyone else is doing it...

so i'll have my the ego has landed moment.

or i can twitter in jail, right? moment.

or a Check it out, I'm Famous!!! Kinda, Ok not really!!! moment.

here it is... the new moda bake shop ad.

that's me. top left.

i'm a brave girl to use my own picture... and not a project... i know.

the pioneer woman just published her first cookbook and blogged about it and getting the right cover pic....

it's not easy.

over the year's i've asked my brother to take a good pic of me.

and he's taken a lot.

but when we "plan" them... well lets just say often a mess is what we get.

{usually a laughing one}

i'm kinda a goofball... and ham it up a bit.

like this try...

or snaps like this...

or graduation pics... {my profile pic}

until this one.

we were at our cousin's wedding... and sitting waiting for food...

and brad said... "look this way"

i turned... he snapped...

and i don't hate it.

which is big...

because it was the first pic in years that i liked... and wasn't laughing...

so there you go.

my 15 minutes of fame.

in print.

;-)


side note {the pic isn't touched up.. cause that's the kinda gal i am. i don't wear makeup often... chapstick in the above pic.. and i'm ok with my flaws.. cause nobody's perfect.}

doll quilt swap

i just got back from taking my doll quilt to the post office...

believe it or not dqs7 was my first doll quilt swap!
i've done lots of other swaps but had a blast with this one.

my swap partner requested a style unlike how i usually work..
but one that i admire..
modern..fresh..new..lots of white.
as in people like
red pepper quilts
film in the fridge
handmade by alissa
oh, fransson!
tallgrass prairie studio
and so on.

i tried a few things..
but nothing seemed to be working out how i wanted.


so i headed to spool for some inspiration.

and came home with these.

and then chopped them all apart on advice from quilt dad.
{it was very freeing}

then i went to town making a wonky log cabin block.

and ended up with this cute little thing

as is my style lately my spoonflower label is on the back
{in a wonky log cabin frame}
and here is the entire back... i love the contrast the white binding provided
even though it wasn't "my style" in the beginning
i love working this way
and fell in love with this quilt
& it was very hard to send... but i did!!

see more pics on my flickr page