must be getting my winter funky groove back

I was actually in my sewing room more than just 30 min today.

YAY, must be getting my groove back.

Still ignoring house work though ;-)

(I'm 11wks so I guess it's true that once I get into the 2nd trimester I'll feel much better)

anyways, here's a few things I did today

I finished the table runner TOP for the snowmen, it was easy and fun!

the binding will be a blue like the skinny border.

I love this sign :-) and the 5c snowball sign too

whoever drew this, did an amazing job, so many little details.

Now what am I going to do in the car waiting in the car line for my kids at school or driving to and from church on sundays? (my husband drives then)

I'm also part of this WONKY block swap, this is my result :-)

I'm already getting ideas for when I have to be the hostess.

Here's an updated list again for 2012

#1 welcome to the hive-turned into a pillow DONE!

#2 lotus quilt- top done just missing applique pieces

#3 blue flower table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#4 pumpkin star pillow- just needs to be stuffed and sewn together

#5 red mini star table topper- top done and ready to quilt DONE!

#6 Bunny table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#7 Connecting threads KIT fabrics- don't know what to do with them yet

#8 giraffe wall hanging - still working on needleturn applique, mommy giraffe almost done

#9 pineapple black and blue quilt- making blocks as LEADERS and ENDERS, 4 matching ones done

#10 Blue star quilt- lots of blocks done

#11 Pine tree BOM- not even started yet

#12 Next Stitch STAR- fabrics just ordered

#13 snowmen table runner- top done and binding done

#14 Elenar Burns star Go! die- pieces cut for a scrappy look- may scrap this whole project

#15 aqua owl- applique ironed on, need to stitch around and sew together

# 16 geese in a ring- DONE!

# 17 Bonnie Hunter ORCA mystery - all clues done, piecing it

# 18 Little twister blue- on the shelf, starting base top is done, some blocks cut and sewn

#19 green, red, yellow flower quilt- top done, just taking forever removing the papers

# 20 small embroidered trees (4 blocks) - no plan for these yet

# 21 spring swap blocks- got plans but no background fabrics ordered yet

# 22Making memories embroidered panel- needs to be made into a cute wall hanging

# 23 black, red white asian quilt- blocks done

# 24 color block swap- top is done, done and quilted!

# 25 fall leaf blocks swap- lots of blocks, ideas, but no plan yet

# 26 Baby gingham dog boy quilt- top is done ready to quilt

#27- a doll apples quilt, top done in one day.

#28(jan 2012) need to quilt 2 donation quilts

#29(jan) batik pastel kit won at quilt show

#30 (jan) wonky block- Jan block done



did you know I quilt as a business? giveaway

The other day,

someone suggested I should promote my long arm business more on here and maybe do a giveaway.

First, did you know I have a website?

www.beaquilter.com

and here I have a page with designs I do and the pricing

prices are 2c per sq in and up

there's also a tab with quilts I've made in the past

have a look and let me know what you think and bookmark it if you want :-)

So, here's the giveaway/discount part

I will pick one winner (maybe more) from anyone who wants to mail me a quilt to long arm quilt, they will get 10% off

AND free return shipping.

Leave a comment below and tell me what quilt you'd have in mind and what design IF you won, approx. size would be nice too.

MUST be a follower to comment.

ONE comment per person please.

I will draw a name friday at 3pm EST

(after I get my kids from school)

(You'd pay by either sending a check with the quilt or I can send you a paypal invoice)

bee hive pillow and a few other things

I woke up this morning determined to make the bee hive embroidered block into a pillow instead of a small wall hanging, when I got upstairs it was bigger than I remembered, so I thought of making the wall hanging again, but then decided it WOULD be a pillow.

I trimmed the backing I had pieced, then I cut it too narrow! OOPSIE.

so I trimmed down the border on the pillow front and made everything even again.

whipped it together rather quickly and stuffed it with fiber fill.

It turned out cute. wonder how long it will stay clean on the couch and not be slobbered on by YOU KNOW WHO!?

This weekend I also received a few goodies in the mail.

here a charm pack of sherbet pips from the blog hop!

And last week I had another dr. appt. I brought my JoAnn's coupon with me and bought a new rotary cutter, mat and ruler set. it was SO needed, my old mat was getting fuzzy and the 4" mark on both ends of the ruler was worn off. it's such a dream to cut on it now...

Another goodie in the mail was this package from a WONKY swap, I'm participating in, wonky is NOT my thing, so I figured it's a good challenge for me to work outside the box.

very thoughall GOOD directions and all the materials there. should be fun!

yesterday, I finally finished the snowmen panel in "bluework"

I can't wait to finish this into a table runner, maybe the snow will come to NC then, so far it's in the 60s during the day, not at all winter weather, NC weather is so weird!

This morning I finished the label for the karolina kwilters block swap quilt and sewed it on

Yesterday after church we went to some friend's house and had lunch and then went to duke gardens, it was a bit chilly, but still nice, on our way back we saw this poor bird sitting by this water fountain, he didn't move even when my kids walked up really close- without touching! - I could see it breathing, poor thing.

Here's an updated list again for 2012

#1 welcome to the hive-turned into a pillow DONE!

#2 lotus quilt- top done just missing applique pieces

#3 blue flower table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#4 pumpkin star pillow- just needs to be stuffed and sewn together

#5 red mini star table topper- top done and ready to quilt DONE!

#6 Bunny table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#7 Connecting threads KIT fabrics- don't know what to do with them yet

#8 giraffe wall hanging - still working on needleturn applique, mommy giraffe almost done

#9 pineapple black and blue quilt- making blocks as LEADERS and ENDERS

#10 Blue star quilt- lots of blocks done

#11 Pine tree BOM- not even started yet

#12 Next Stitch STAR- fabrics just ordered

#13 snowmen table runner- panel all embroidered

#14 Elenar Burns star Go! die- pieces cut for a scrappy look- may scrap this whole project

#15 aqua owl- applique ironed on, need to stitch around and sew together

# 16 geese in a ring- DONE!

# 17 Bonnie Hunter ORCA mystery - all clues done, piecing it

# 18 Little twister blue- on the shelf, starting base top is done, some blocks cut and sewn

#19 green, red, yellow flower quilt- top done, just taking forever removing the papers

# 20 small embroidered trees (4 blocks) - no plan for these yet

# 21 spring swap blocks- got plans but no background fabrics ordered yet

# 22Making memories embroidered panel- needs to be made into a cute wall hanging

# 23 black, red white asian quilt- blocks done

# 24 color block swap- top is done, done and quilted!

# 25 fall leaf blocks swap- lots of blocks, ideas, but no plan yet

# 26 Baby gingham dog boy quilt- top is done ready to quilt

#27- a doll apples quilt, top done in one day.

#28(jan 2012) need to quilt 2 donation quilts

#29(jan) batik pastel kit won at quilt show

gingham dog quilt top is done

The gingham dog quilt top is finally done :-)

I looked at my left over fabrics and I had planned the light blue to be the backing with just one seam on the back, but I also think there's enough for binding, we'll see, once I eat my lunch I will trim the fabric for the backing and see what I have left.

here's an update on my 2012 list ( I've added a few more now) call me CRAZY!

#1 welcome to the hive- top done and ready to quilt

#2 lotus quilt- top done just missing applique pieces

#3 blue flower table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#4 pumpkin star pillow- just needs to be stuffed and sewn together

#5 red mini star table topper- top done and ready to quilt DONE!

#6 Bunny table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#7 Connecting threads KIT fabrics- don't know what to do with them yet

#8 giraffe wall hanging - still working on needleturn applique, mommy giraffe almost done

#9 pineapple black and blue quilt- making blocks as LEADERS and ENDERS

#10 Blue star quilt- lots of blocks done

#11 Pine tree BOM- not even started yet

#12 Next Stitch STAR- design made, fabrics not ordered yet

#13 snowmen table runner- working on embroidery every day 4 out of 5 snowmen done!

#14 Elenar Burns star Go! die- pieces cut for a scrappy look- may scrap this whole project

#15 aqua owl- applique ironed on, need to stitch around and sew together

# 16 geese in a ring- DONE!

# 17 Bonnie Hunter ORCA mystery - all clues done, piecing it

# 18 Little twister blue- on the shelf, starting base top is done, some blocks cut and sewn

#19 green, red, yellow flower quilt- top done, just taking forever removing the papers

# 20 small embroidered trees (4 blocks) - no plan for these yet

# 21 spring swap blocks- got plans but no background fabrics ordered yet

# 22Making memories embroidered panel- needs to be made into a cute wall hanging

# 23 black, red white asian quilt- blocks done

# 24 color block swap- top is done, done and quilted!

# 25 fall leaf blocks swap- lots of blocks, ideas, but no plan yet

# 26 Baby gingham dog boy quilt- top is done

#27- a doll apples quilt, top done in one day.

#28(jan 2012) need to quilt 2 donation quilts

#29(jan) batik pastel kit won at quilt show



baby quilt almost done

I did a little bit more sewing on the baby quilt today.

The rows are done, now I just need to sew them together and add the borders

remember this is what it will look like when it's done

also today my son's rock tumbler is FINALLY done with this round of rocks, it takes a LONG time! good thing it's in the garage, this thing is loud.

here they are all sorted by color, I sent detailed pics to my mom, she knows a lot about rocks and may be able to tell us what some of them are.

and just for fun, a little pic of Peanut!

(do you see all the slobber on the window too?)



Well my chicken pot pies are almost done, yummy!

got a little more sewing done today and looks at my craft room

Before I show any quilting stuff, I wanted to show this :-)

doesn't it look yummy??

A cinnamon raisin bread, made in my bread machine.

And here it is CUT...

nothing like a fresh warm slice of bread with butter or nutella- or one of each :-)

I've been making my own bread for quite a while now.

We bought a bread machine several years ago for $75 on amazon, which is now 275! what??

anyways, every time I'd go grocery shopping I'd be appalled at the prices for a simple loaf of bread,$2 and up. I figured I can do that cheaper myself and then I KNOW what goes into it.

I'm not like this with other things, but just too cheap to buy store breads. now the downfall is that the slices are THICK when I cut them, it's hard not to, so a loaf only lasts 2 days between me and the kids and the occasional slice for my husband. But really with home made breads, they start to go bad on day 4. I most often just make regular white bread, but sometimes half whole wheat or like here, a cinnamon and raisin bread, plus I have a few others I sometimes make.

I once read an article that if you invest in a bread machine, you'd earn your money back within a year.- my machine is a panasonic SD- yd250

Okay on to more quilty stuff. This morning I read a blog about someone's craft room, and I can't remember if I've shown much in detail from my room, maybe a picture like this one going into the room. My craft table in the middle with my chair on the right and two chairs on the left for my kids to sit and do crafts. Then my sewing machine on the right and my embroidery machine on the left- facing the kids side, but once I start it up, I don't need to be sitting right by it all the time so it's a good place for it for now. up against the back wall- almost- is my long arm machine :-)

To the right- kind of behind the door, is a metal shelving unit- a big mess, but that's my UFO's or more like ongoing projects, customer's quilts, scraps of batting etc.

up against either side wall are 24 little cubbies on each side, my first ones have my fabric stash, I really don't think I have a LOT, do you?

I have the color coordinated and with yardage on the left side of the shelf, charms on the right, scraps in the middle, FQs on the front right and often jelly rolls or 2 1/2" strips on the front left

(well that's how it's SUPPOSED to look- I often mess it up, AND my kids have free access to fabric scraps too- okay so I blame it all on THEM! ha ha)

more cubbies with books, UFOs, tools etc. then my ironing board! a lady from church gave me thing fabric wrapped board, it's longer than 50" and pretty deep too, I LOVE it, I did have my ironing board at a 90 degree angle next to the table with the sewing machine, but with this board on it, I can't walk around the iron anymore, so I turned it back toward the wall, it's still easy to move around if I need to.

On the top of the cubbies toward the back of the room, are my rows of signature thread cones and matching bobbins for my long arm, and a cannned air for the long arm as well- I know that's a BIG no no for regular sewing machines, but my long arm is designed to be kept clean in the bobbin area this way.

My long arm- VOYAGER 17 and summit frame from hinterberg

(a few ribbons in the background on the wall)

My LOGICAL setup at the craft table.

So looking on the left- my Janome sewing machine, stuffed owl pin cushion, a tool caddy (actually a kitchen caddy) a thread bowl I made- ugly thing- but it's for threads, so who cares! remote for the stereo :-) another pin cushion I mostly use for the long arm. On the far right corner is my bobbin winder for the signature threads and bobbins for the long arm, I usually have two cones of each color, so when I quilt a quilt I mount one cone on the winder and start winding one bobbin, then when my current bobbin runs out, I switch them out and start winding another while I quilt.

My mickey Brother embroidery machine- pretty much just use it for quilt labels.

the 24 cubbies on the other side of the room are mostly for the kids stuff, perler beads, coloring things, craft things etc.

Okay, so I took over a few on this side too, for the GO! dies, a roll of batting, CDs lined up on the top of the cubbies, the stereo on the left, with the accuquilt Go! on top.

The first part of my craft table always has my mat and ruler laid out, I really need a new set- see the lines worn out at around 4" of the left, same on the 4" marks on the top..

I'm going to town for a Dr. appt wednesday, I MIGHT just go by JoAnn's and get a new set, plus world market is right next door and this weekend was my birthday, so they sent a coupon for $10, I NEED more licorice :-)

I also go some sewing done today. I like the Go! die- triangle in a square, it's great and has the little tabs cut off and lines up great

look at how it lines up!

all the blocks are finally done for the gingham dog quilt

Work in progress list for 2012

#1 welcome to the hive- top done and ready to quilt

#2 lotus quilt- top done just missing applique pieces

#3 blue flower table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#4 pumpkin star pillow- just needs to be stuffed and sewn together

#5 red mini star table topper- top done and ready to quilt DONE!

#6 Bunny table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#7 Connecting threads KIT fabrics- don't know what to do with them yet

#8 giraffe wall hanging - still working on needleturn applique, mommy giraffe almost done

#9 pineapple black and blue quilt- making blocks as LEADERS and ENDERS

#10 Blue star quilt- lots of blocks done

#11 Pine tree BOM- not even started yet

#12 Next Stitch STAR- design made, fabrics not ordered yet

#13 snowmen table runner- working on embroidery every day 4 out of 5 snowmen done!

#14 Elenar Burns star Go! die- pieces cut for a scrappy look- may scrap this whole project

#15 aqua owl- applique ironed on, need to stitch around and sew together

# 16 geese in a ring- DONE!

# 17 Bonnie Hunter ORCA mystery - working on clue #8

# 18 Little twister blue- on the shelf, starting base top is done, some blocks cut and sewn

#19 green, red, yellow flower quilt- top done, just taking forever removing the papers

# 20 small trees- no plan for these yet

# 21 spring swap blocks- got plans but no background fabrics ordered yet

# 22Making memories embroidered panel- needs to be made into a cute wall hanging

# 23 black, red white asian quilt- blocks done

# 24 color block swap- top is done, done and quilted!

# 25 fall leaf blocks swap- lots of blocks, ideas, but no plan yet

# 26 Baby gingham dog boy quilt- all blocks are done

#27- a doll apples quilt, top done in one day.

phew I'm tired now, going back to watch some TV I think- I've been netflix-ing "how I met your mother" hilarious show! going to start season 5 now, I think season 6 is on TV nowadays, so have to wait to stream that :-)



Karolina Kwilter color block swap quilt is done

Since I'm slowly getting my energy back, I decided to catch up on rather quick things now so I'd feel an accomplishment quickly as well.

So I quilted the color block quilt top from the yahoo group Karoline Kwilters.

all 12 blocks were made by someone else, I made 12 and sent them off but didn't get any of mine in return, these were all supposed to be ONE color each.

I made the top and quilted a quick meandering all over it.

I didn't have enough of the striped blue fabric- I think I had ordered the solid blue for the borders instead but picked this one so I pieced the backing from two blues, still looks fun, the binding is the same solid blue.

Then today I got a package in the mail from Canada from quilt matters

some cool charm squares- seem bigger than 5" but that's okay.

and then this nutcracker ornament! he's so cute

so here's my list

Work in progress list for 2012

#1 welcome to the hive- top done and ready to quilt

#2 lotus quilt- top done just missing applique pieces

#3 blue flower table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#4 pumpkin star pillow- just needs to be stuffed and sewn together

#5 red mini star table topper- top done and ready to quilt DONE!

#6 Bunny table runner- top done and ready to quilt

#7 Connecting threads KIT fabrics- don't know what to do with them yet

#8 giraffe wall hanging - still working on needleturn applique, mommy giraffe almost done

#9 pineapple black and blue quilt- making blocks as LEADERS and ENDERS

#10 Blue star quilt- lots of blocks done

#11 Pine tree BOM- not even started yet

#12 Next Stitch STAR- design made, fabrics not ordered yet

#13 snowmen table runner- working on embroidery every night

#14 Elenar Burns star Go! die- pieces cut for a scrappy look- may scrap this whole project

#15 aqua owl- applique ironed on, need to stitch around and sew together

# 16 geese in a ring- DONE!

# 17Bonnie Hunter ORCA mystery - working on clue #8

# 18 Little twister blue- on the shelf, starting base top is done, some blocks cut and sewn

#19 green, red, yellow flower quilt- top done, just taking forever removing the papers

# 20 small trees- no plan for these yet

# 21 spring swap blocks- got plans but no background fabrics ordered yet

# 22Making memories embroidered panel- needs to be made into a cute wall hanging

# 23 black, red white asian quilt- blocks done

# 24 color block swap- top is done, done and quilted!

# 25 fall leaf blocks swap- lots of blocks, ideas, but no plan yet

# 26 Baby gingham dog boy quilt- fabrics cut and applique pieces ironed on

#27- a doll apples quilt, top done in one day.

today I finally finished my customer's batik quilt.

That took almost a month! phew

well thanks to tiredness and nausea ;-)

The quilt looks great!



I've shown close ups before, the large and medium blocks had bubbles and feathers, the small blocks just had bubbles on the dark part.

here's some pics of the back,

the border I did a branchy looking vine all the way around to mimic the fabric itself, bubbles on the small border.

Here's another picture of Peanut, see the drool! it's hanging like a CHAIN! ewww

one second later it got longer and hit the floor and stuck there... yuck

I won something!

Yesterday, after waking up again at 12.30pm ( I wake up at 6.45, get the kids ready and make their lunches for school and my husband drives them to school) I went back to bed then....

Anyways, I was sitting by the computer and the mail lady came with two boxes.

I opened the first one up and thought! wait I didn't order this one, then saw the note...

I WON this kit.... it's soooo cute, pastel batik fabrics and a cute pattern.

the sticker says $155, WOW!

I would never pay that, but I'm so happy I won it.

If I'm having a girl, I'll make this for her- if not it might go to my 7yr old daughter then.

Bubblegum Dreams by Alex Anderson.

Look at these yummy fabrics! drool

and the note! how cool.

the 2nd package was two quilt tops that I will long arm as a donation and ship back- I believe they go to africa, not sure though.

well I feel more rested today and I took my PRENATALS this morning, so maybe that's giving me more energy, so I'm going upstairs to take full advantage and catch up on quilting and sewing.