Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival

I was able to go to the MAQF in Hampton VA this past weekend and though I was kinda sick, I enjoyed it. I saw gorgeous quilts, a lot of quilting stuff, and got to meet most of the quilty podcasters that I listen to when I quilt.

Podcasting crew: (L to R) Pam from Hip to Be Square, Frances from the Off Kilter Quilt, AJ from The Quilting Pot, Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of Us, and Crafty Garden Mom, Tanesha.

I love listening to podcasts when I quilt and these ladies are good listening. I just started listening to Tanesha, wish I had found her sooner as she has little children too. AJ has a voice like smooth, smokey jazz.... And I couldn't stick around for the rest of the podcast get together as I had to meet the rest of my group and head home. Sigh....

Below is my new unrequited love, George. Swoon.... I tried the HQ Sweet 16 Sit down version; it just didn't win me over. I found sitting at the needle end disorienting. But George? I really love him. But at $5900 for the show price, he is way out of my league. Angela, an on-line friend from MQResource, was working at the APQS booth and we had a nice chat while she let me play with George.

I really liked this quilt below by Karen Marchetti, from FL.

Look at that quilting!

The quilt below won best machine workmanship in the Innovative category. Karen Kielmeyer's quilting is fabulous! That tiny feathered star in the middle is pieced!

And this last quilt I have seen in Machine Quilting Unlimited before. It was really great to see in person.

I have a lot more pictures, but they'll have to wait for another post.

Sewing Room Switcheroo

We wanted to give my daughter her own room and give me more room to spread out my sewing projects so thus began the great room switcheroo! My daughter was using the 'playroom' as her bedroom and a girl just needs her privacy (and accountability for the mess in her room). So we have moved her into the back room of the house that served as my sewing room and the house utility room. Her new room still needs a lot of work to divide it from the utility area and make it nice, but at least it is her own space---except for all the sewing stuff I haven't moved yet.

But my sewing space moved into the 'playroom'. Yep, in where the kids play. But there's room for me to spread out when the kids aren't in there. Step one: This closet under the stairs that just didn't work too well got opened up.See hubby work to make up for quitting his new job that we desperately needed.... (Long story-- suffice it to say he didn't like it, couldn't stand it one minute more, and I trust his judgement though I am a bit peeved.) The wall got ripped out and the countertop that my sewing machine fits into was relocated. (Sorry it's sideways. I didn't notice until after I loaded it) Bead board was put on the ceiling and I painted it white. Hubby installed lights, trim, and electrical outlets. He had trouble figuring out the angles on that sloped side for the trim, so I helped him by treating it like a mitered border on a quilt, using a paper template. I think he was impressed.

The room wall still needs painted white as I'm not fond of the lavender we used for my daughter.

See that corner of a table on the left? It's against a wall, but when I'm sewing I can pull it out into the room for a cutting and ironing station. I will also get a design wall put up on that wall after we paint.

Doesn't it look so nice and tidy? That's because I have yet to figure out where to put all of my fabric! So far the only downside to this set up has been the increased need to teach the 2yo not to mess with Mommy's sewing machines. He loves the buttons and the 6600's tension knob.

More pictures to come.....

Free Motion Quilting Challenge

I signed up for SewCalGal's Free Motion Quilting Challenge and have totally spaced out on the first month's linky.

Mainly because I've been working on this below, still..... And because my camera that was a Christmas gift is not working properly, so I had to pull out the old one and take new pictures. At night. Yuck.

So I did not pull out a practice piece. Instead I worked a few sections on my Poured Out quilt with January's motif.

But I didn't care for the random leafy thing, so I stitched a main stem in this bit below and added the leaves a bit like a feather or what looks like the way these leaves might grow on a vine.

This I like much better. I'm excited to see some big names on the list of experts for the challenge and hope to do a better job on next month's challenge and post.

I hope you've been giving FMQ'ing a whirl too! It's fun, but takes practice! Check out SewCalGal's site for more FMQ goodness.

Sizzix Die Hack

I have a Sizzix Die Cutter and a few dies. In trying to get the most out of it for as little money possible, I've come up with a few different ways to get great shapes and I thought I'd start sharing them here.

Valentine's Day is coming up and I'd like to make some hearts. You can use the tear drop leaf shape to make hearts! Below is the die and the big leaf shape and the heart I made from it.

Below is how I placed a folded piece of paper on the die to get the heart. (Sorry, I didn't get a shot before I cut it.) There are 4 different sizes of leaves on this die, so 4 sizes of heart can be made. You will have to iron your shape to remove the crease, not a problem if you are using fabric with fusible on it!

Be creative! What shapes can you make from dies already on hand? Yes, it's a bit fiddly, but one you get the hang of it, it goes quickly. If you are just making a few shapes, it may be faster (and certainly uses less fabric) to cut them out by hand, but no matter how carefully I cut with scissors, I have trouble to get as smooth a cut as with a die. You can also go to the Sizzix Outlet and look at their older dies for a good deal. But don't just look for cheap, look for versatile. I'll tell you more about that in a few days.