Block Creations Make Great Quilt Creations!

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So I have been doing some more fiddling around with my EQ7 software!  LOVE it so much!  I recently purchased a plethora of Denyse Schmidt's reprint of "Flea Market Fancy" fabrics in quarter yards.  You all know it!  But in case you didn't, here is a sampling of this absolutely cute fabric line.

I have been DYING to get going on a quilt using this fabric line and thought I might design my own block.  So here is the block:

I haven't decided if I am going to foundation piece this or get up enough guts to pre-cut and piece my own blocks.  We'll see how brave I am feeling once I am standing at my cutting table I guess.  The color combination above was NOT what I settled on, but just inserted some of the fabrics just to "see."  I know, you are all thinking "okay this doesn't look like much...."

Well let's see if this tantalizes your little quilt buds... Here is QUILT LAYOUT #1:

Then I really got going on flipping fabrics around into different spots.  Here is QUILT LAYOUT #2:

It is definitely a little bit more busy but that's how I like to quilt.  Quiet is not my personality, thusly... neither are my quilts (*smile).

But now it's your turn to VOTE!  Which one do you like better?  Quilt Layout #1 or Quilt Layout #2?  Comment below and let me know your preference!

Love it When a Plan Comes Together

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Hello my bloggy peeps!  I'm back!  I LOVE that I have been able to hunker down in my sewing studio the last few days and SEW!  Weeee!  Love it when a plan comes together!

You all know how I have raved about my EQ7 quilting software program HERE and HERE.  I am still a newbie to the program and love when I can learn more about it.  In order to do so, I subscribed to receive every blog post by email that the EQ7 "Behind the Mouse" blog puts out.  Currently they are running a blog series on lessons to use the "Easy Draw" module of the program.  I am LOVING it!

Our challenge was to follow Jenny's FABULOUS(!) instructions on the blog post and "draw" or create a specific quilt block and then go and MAKE IT!  Then they host "show and tell" on their blog where you can post a photo of your completed block.  The series goes all summer and (fingers crossed!) I hope to follow all summer long and learn more and create more!  Here is what we were to create:

Here are my EQ7 results on paper.  The EQ7 program is so great that you can actually print out a "rotary cutting" recipe to follow!  You will note that there are 5 blocks lettered "C" in the diagram at the top left of the below photograph.  Then if you look at the bottom of the photo you will see that the rotary cutting instructions for "C" are that I am to cut FOUR 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch patches of bright green and then ONE patch of the same measurement in blue... and so on.  So easy a kid could figure this out right?!  Wanna hear ONE better?  All of these measurements INCLUDE the 1/4 inch seam allowance!  For me that is a "the clouds part, the angels sing!" kinda moment!  No really!  I hate doing the math!  I just wanna create and sew!

Once I drew my block, printed out the rotary cutting recipe, I pulled out my scraps in similar colors and set to work cutting and sewing.  Aren't you dying to see the results?  Tell me yes!

VOILA!

Fun right?  If I continue the whole summer series in similar color ways, I am gonna have a whole bunch of 12x12 blocks to make into a quilt by Fall!  Weeee!  Thank you EQ7!

So cross your fingers for me and let's hope that the planets align, the schedule dies down and I can actually SEW throughout the summer and get these done.  I'll say it again:  I LOVE it when a plan comes together!!

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Studio Tour and a UFO

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Wow!  A month has flown by since my last post! I PROMISE!  I have NOT had my finger up my nose doing nothing!

Even though I:
1.  did a week in Washington state babysitting my sweet neices and nephew
2.  did a weekend horse clinic with Chickadee
3.  did a weekend horse show with Chickadee
4.  did another weekend horse camping/clinic with Chickadee...

I was still able to get in some sewing and fabric buying here and there.  I was even able to get my little sewing studio organized!  And when I say "LITTLE" - I mean little.  I share the space with a queen-sized guest bed.  Yes - the fourth bedroom in our home which was meant to be the guest bedroom slowly morphed into half sewing studio.  Since going to the USA, I was able to purchase more of those fabulous comic book storage boards.  Have your heard about them?  I had heard great things from my little sister about using them to wrap fabric around and store/categorize her fabric.  I bought three packs of 100 each and got busy upon arriving home!  I already had SOME storage boards but now I was able to address my WHOLE stash!  Weeee! I LOVE being organized!  So guess what?!  You get to go on a little studio tour:

This is how the fabric used to end up - no matter how hard I tried to keep it neat, if I ever hit a creative binge and was cruising through my stash this is what used to happen!  UGH!  What a PIG STY!

But since using the comic book storage boards I am able to rein in the mess and get things organized and more user friendly.  Too bad I have 4 more HUGE plastic bins to sort through yet!  Where am I gonna put it all?  (Good thing we are selling the house... cuz I have PLANS!... thanx to Pinterest!)

As you can see I have organized the fabrics mostly by designer name - alphabetically.  I printed the designer name (front and back) onto a piece of card stock to label and divide the fabric lines.

The fat quarters are already bursting out of their spot and I am going to have to break down and get some decent storage for them.  I have seen that some quilters use a CD storage system for their fat quarters... think I might have to look into that!

I stored the novelty fabrics on their own and because I absolutely ADORE dots and stripes, they get their own spot too.

This would be the view of the main wall of my sewing studio.  My DH put up all this shelving many moons ago - along with the fluorescent light and "fancy plug-in cord!"  I still have SO far to go to get it organized but, until the house sells, this is how it will remain - plastic throw-up everywhere and yellow walls!  Of course I dream of having a Heather Bailey look-alike studio one day... *sigh* I must be patient!

One thing though, I LOOOOOVE my label maker!  I don't know what I would do without it!  Love this thing!

I used to use a tiny little black plastic banquet table as my cutting table for a long time, but found (already painted white!) an old door to lay between two shelving units which has now become my cutting table.  It works great!  My only complaint:  it is a little too narrow to hold my LARGE cutting mat, but it's a small price to pay!  I use a file sorter to hold all my rulers and REALLY ATTRACTIVE coke boxes to hold all my quilt mags and other paper paraphernalia.

Under the table I currently I have more "plastic throw-up" which stores all kinds of sewing stuff, including a lot of crafty stuff.  You will note the beautiful LOVE NOTE my dear hubby carved into the side of my (door) cutting table for me?... Gotta love him for it!

I hang all of my UFO's (Un Finished Objects) to the right of my sewing machine and ironing board.  I really don't have that many and I refuse to feel guilty that they aren't done yet!  

That's not a whole lot of UFO's right?!!!!

Behind the door of the studio there is a little wall space that I was able to take advantage of by pinning some quilt blocks to some string with these cute little tiny clothes-pins.  One day these too will turn into quilts...

I love having my work laid out and visible where I can always see it.  It inspires me!

I must say though, that my most cherished possession has got to be my Brother Innovis 4000D sewing/embroidery machine!  I just adore this machine and I wouldn't be much of a quilter if I didn't have her!  Yes I referred to my machine in the female gender and in fact, refer to her specifically as "Beezy" (don't ask me why!)  Beezy is A-MAZING and can do sooooo many things including machine embroidery.  She has trudged through many happy and sad days, and late nights with me and has worked her hardest to make me a happy (in the past: children's clothing designer) quilter!  She beeps and talks all in her own language and I quite love her.  Her work is impeccable!  She never complains or whines, but is always her consistent happy self.  I hope she stays with me for a long time yet! 

Here is Beezy without her embroidery arm attached:

Well short of pulling boxes open and exploring what's inside them, tripping over extension cords and picking thread off your socks, that concludes my humble sewing studio tour.  

I would love to hear how you store your sewing things and/or fabric, and what you have named your sewing machine!

In the meantime, I thought I would give you a quick peek at one of my UFO's that I am DYING to finish!  

I found this great little pattern using all scraps.  

I have never made a postage stamp quilt before but figured I would give it a whirl!  So I got to cutting some tiny scraps:

Then started sewing them together (wished I had discovered the use of spray starch before I did this project though!):

I added a white border:

Then was soon adding a border of scraps to that:

Pretty soon my design wall was growing!

And the top is complete!  (What's a quilt pic without a dog in it?!)

 And here it is in real daylight.  Now I am DYING to get this one finished as I have found THE perfect striped fabric to bind it with.  But alas:  I have two MUST-DO projects that I have to get done before I can even think about tackling this!  Cheer me on my bloggy peeps!  Beezy and I are going to be busy!

Oh!  And one more thing:  for Mother's Day I asked for a "dry iron."  I have been doing online research on the proper quilting/ironing techniques and apparently the dry iron and a spritzing water bottle is the way to go.  A steam iron can easily shrink and distort the fabric shape and really make your quilts wacky.  So I am hoping with the combo of my dry iron and either a shot of spray starch or water (when needed!) that is going to solve that problem.  Not to mention the problem that I have with LEAKING, SPITTING steam irons!  I discovered the dry iron at the Vermont Country Store for only $29.95!!!  That's crazy talk right?!  And upon discovering same, I ordered it immediately and had it shipped to my sister's place in the USA - which was also very inexpensive as I was getting it shipped in-country.  When I arrived at her house guess what arrived at the same time????  My IRON!  Weeeee I feel so "professional" now!  No more steam iron for me.  I am ALL fancied up!  

I have a Black Belt...

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It is REALLY tough to add to my fabric stash when I live in a SUPER small town with very limited choices on designer quilting cottons for purchase.  So when I go to bigger city centers, I definitely take advantage of the beautiful quilt shops that are available.  It is probably a good thing that I don't live in a bigger city center simply because I could see myself going "off-the-chain-crazy" buying up every bolt in the country.  Let's just say I could easily achieve "BLACK BELT" status in buying fabric...

FABRIC STASH PURCHASE #1:
About 2 weeks ago, Stinky and I made a trip to Vernon.  I made a deal with him:  I would go with him to a few of his favorite stores if he accompanied me to a few of my favorite stores, then we would go for lunch.  It was a date!  I love going on dates with my boy!

Of course, you KNOW where I wanted to shop:  Yes - Stinky, my 15 year old son graciously and patiently accompanied me to a few fabric stores.  He helped me pick out some great fabrics to add to my stash and I left happy all in about 20 minutes!

Hiiiiiii - yah!!  Chop! Chop!  Added to the fabric stash!

Status:  ORANGE BELT!

FABRIC STASH PURCHASE #2:
I walk into a Kelowna quilt shop and start looking through the fabrics section by section ..."no... no... no... no..." I am finding NOTHING to buy - how can that be?!!!   Usually I can always go into any quilt/fabric store and find SOMETHING to buy... but really there was nothing!... No really bloggy peeps!... Nothing!...

Then I turned a corner... the clouds parted, the angels sang and rays of sunshine beamed down on the CLEARANCE SECTION!  Amy Butler fabric in the CLEARANCE SECTION????!  SHUT UP!  I started pulling bolts of fabric like a mad woman!!!

I ask the woman cutting the fabric WHY?  Why is the BEST fabric in the clearance section????  Answer:  Most of the women that come into the shop are older women who prefer a different fabric style... I think... what a crying shame!  BUT!  BONUS FOR ME!  Designer fabric at a fraction of the price and all for me?  I'll take one of each please!!!

Some Amy Butler fabric will do me just fine...

Along with a few Robert Kaufman pieces!

Soon I was blowing the smoke off the debit card and out the door in about 20 minutes!

Hiiiiiii - yah!!  Chop! Chop!  Added to the fabric stash!

Status:   PURPLE BELT!

FABRIC STASH PURCHASE #3:
I fill MOST of my fabric stash with online purchases.  There are some really great online fabric stores!  Hawthorne Threads HAS to be my favorite.  Regardless of the fact that the fabric has to journey across the continent from New York, I get my fabric in about a week's time and their prices are one of the best I have found online!  Bar none!  Not to mention they carry every kind of designer cotton known to any black-belted-fabric-buying-crazy-woman!  In fact, I am patiently waiting for a package to arrive any day now... when it comes I will definitely share the goods with you... in eye candy anyways!

Hiiiiiii - yah!!  Chop! Chop!  Added to the fabric stash!

Status:  BLACK BELT!

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Saturday Night Fever

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Once in a VERY blue moon, I will have a Saturday night where nothing is planned.  I really enjoy those evenings.  My biggest choice is what pajama pants to throw on and what type of snack to grab to take down to my sewing studio to sew and eat to my heart's content.  I love those kinda nights!  (You can call me a nerd I'm okay with that!)

This past Saturday night ended up being one those kinda evenings!  But instead of heading to my studio, I actually went into the office and sat down at the computer with a big mitt full of fabric.  Why - you ask?!  Well to scan fabric into my computer of course! 

I have been slowly trying to scan ALL my fabric (Ya!  Right!... Not in this lifetime or the next!) into my computer to use with my EQ7 software to design quilts.  It is fabulous to be able to "preview" the look of my own fabrics in the quilts I design before I slice into even one fabric.  But like everything else in my life, it seems like the quilting part of life gets shelved for higher priority items sometimes.  So, on Saturday evening I was bound and determined I was going to sit down and scan fabric and "play" on my EQ7 software.  And that's just what I did!

After scanning a pile of fabrics, I imported all the "jpeg" files of my fabrics into my EQ7 and got busy... playing that is!  

I love creating quilts on the EQ7 and then playing with different fabric combinations.  It is truly amazing how just a switch of fabric color can change the whole look of a quilt!  For example, I created this quilt using these fun fabric combinations:

I LOVED the unexpected results!  And I NEVER would have settled on these fabric combinations had I seen them just laying around on my sewing table.  Then I came up with this combination which I liked even more!

I think this one is even more fun!  Can you see that I have a thing for polka dots???  Then I decided to just switch out the 9 patch block in the quilt above and inserted a LARGER, simpler half square triangle block.  These are the results:

I think this is such a darling quilt!  I must make it!!!!  If you have not noticed yet, I truly love anything that has the unexpected in it and this is truly that!  Again, I never would've chosen the fabric combo's but I do really like this!

Another thing that I designed on Saturday night was a chevron quilt.  This is a quilt pattern that MANY people have recreated on the internet ALL OVER the place.  I see it on pinterest, blogs, magazines and the like.  I think most quilters like it because it is a fast and easy quilt to MAKE, plus you get high impact results!  Am I right my bloggy quilting peeps?  Not wanting to feel left out, I designed my own chevron quilt and this is what I came up with:

As you can see I have inserted the words "cozy quilt" on it, of which I think would be fun to applique onto a quilt for someone special.  And I thought the combination of blues and greens were a nice contrast.  If you look closely at this photograph you will also notice that there is a design of wavy lines going horizontally across the quilt.  The EQ7 software allows a person to design and insert the quilting pattern they want to do over the quilt once it is all pieced!  How cool is that?  And of course, the icing on the cake is that you can print that stencil pattern off and make it into a stencil to do just that!  

I thought these were pretty good results for a Saturday night of goofing around on software and eating snacks!  Don't you think?! If you are interested in reading more about the EQ7 software, you can read my last EQ7 post here, or just go visit their website and BE AMAZED at the possibilities of what you can do with this software.  Just watching some of the videos of what the software could do sold me!  I would definitely label this purchase as one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES to date with respect to quilting.  I promise you won't be disappointed!  I should be working for EQ7 should I not?!

So!  What did you do last Saturday night?