Books, Books, and more Books!!!

The following is a shameless attempt and encouraging others to buy my friends' books with hope that I will be give one in return!!!

Seriously folks, I must admit that I feel blessed by the quilting friends that I have made over the past 2 years....I can't believe that it has been just 2 years since I made my first bag and started sewing seriously. The friends I have made are amazing!!! Let me tell you what a few of them have going on!!

The first is obviously the most important!! Seriously, she is the lady that got me going. Her pattern was my first bag and I have helped her out whenever I can and she has helped me out immensely!!!

Let me present the lovely and talented Sara Lawson of SewSweetness. 

She has been working very hard and her first (of many I am sure) is coming out soon! You can read all about it here and pre-order it here!!!

There may or may not be something that I sewed in this book too!!

The next young lady is one that I met through the afore-mentioned Sara Lawson when I moved from TX to IN last year. Through her I joined the Indy Modern Quilt Guild. Unfortunately, she then decided to move to Nashville just as I was getting to know her! 

On a side note:When we first became friends on FB I noticed that we had mutual friends and this surprised me, especially because of who they were. I worked as a manager at a restaurant on the West side of Columbus, OH and she was friends with some of my employees because she is originally from that area and went to school with them!! Small world!

Anywho- she has a great book out- sure to be the first of many! She is also in too many magazines and online places to mention!!

Read more on her blog about it here and pre-order it here!!

The third and final person is one that is dear to my heart. He has overcome many challenges in his life and keeps on going. I am currently super jealous of him as he and his beautiful family are going to be spending a year in England drinking tea and eating pastries and talking with a haughty accent!!

His (that's right it's a MAN) name is Thomas Knauer. He is someone that is highly educated and always speaks his mind and I am in awe of him because of this!

He has a book coming out also! Not only are there quilts but it's a book worth reading. His insights are amazing! If really makes you think about why people do what they do and how it impacts the world and those in it.

Please check out his blog and learn more about here! Start from the very beginning people!! That is a very good place to start!! He also has a pattern featured in this book that just came out....

And in a magazine that is at your local stores this month!

OK, that's all for now! 

BTW- all photos were borrowed....yeah that's the word.....from various FB sources and Amazon.

So go buy some books and help these wonderful folks be able to buy more fabric!!!

~K

It's Been A Rough Couple of Weeks!

This time I am 3 weeks late and I do apologize. 2 weeks tomorrow I was awakened by a phone call letting us know that my Grandma had passed away early in the morning. We knew that she was slowly going downhill but to have it actually happen was still devastating. Growing up I had 2 wonderful Grandmas- and was very lucky to have them. One was the no-nonsense, older farm working one and the other was the fun, loving acts like her grand kids one. The latter is the one that passed away.

I remember staying at her place when she babysat us. She was the reason I could read before pre-K. As we got older, the stories she would tell us are inappropriate for putting on here but will always be remembered. It was a rough week but it was good to spend time with the family, even if it was for a sad reason. 

Needless to say, I needed some no-thinking sewing to work on, so I got ahead on my blocks and finished cutting them all out.

So here are the blocks to bring me up-to-date.

This is #22

 #23

 #24

 #25

 #26

 #27

 #28

 #29

 #30

I also finished a top and took it off my design wall (which I can't show yet) and started putting my blocks up.

I came up with my own design for the quilt and an separating them between the colors- orange, grey, pink, and yellows. Can't show the design yet but I am excited for it. It WILL be big though!

I also found this awesome tutorial and tried it out. 

Not sure what I will be using this for but it's kind of fun to sit and do- which is surprising for me since I don't normally like to hand sew. 

This past weekend we went back home to celebrate by other Grandma's 94th birthday. We even celebrated with 94 donut holes!!

And we solved the long pressing question of how to keep a basset's ears out of the water when he drinks and how to make sure he doesn't step on them!!

Poor little guy!!

Take care and have a nice cool week!!

~K

Just a week late....!

So YES I did miss last week's post on the Tula Blocks but we were in Wisconsin on a short little family trip. I mean when you have this for a pool in a hotel....

Can you blame me for not posting??? And don't even ask me how many times we stopped at Costco for afternoon snacks!!! lol

So last weeks blocks were 16, 17, & 18. This is the 2nd section of the book and it focus's on the rectangles. 

So for 16 we have this one- I am sure its just the picture that looks crooked and not the fabric!

I love the pink and yellow of #17

 And here is #18 in all its wonkiness!! It will all straighten out with the borders...or look worse!

Sara also announced the winner for June! Yeah if that was you!! And you can also see July's prizes to be sure to link up your blocks to the appropriate posts! (Which I need to do too!)

So now we get to this weeks blocks which are 19, 20 & 21.

My #19- love that it is in Spanish and French and pointy fingers!

#20 shares some mustardy goodness!

And #21 is simple but sweet.  

I have been trying to work ahead on these blocks and are making a decent dent in them. I also just finished 3 quilts for the shop I work at so be looking for that post later in the week.....I know its already Wed but its not over yet!

Take care and stay dry!!

~Kim

You met David who??

So last Friday I went to the amazing Crimson Tate where the even more amazing Heather hosted a meet and greet with the gorgeous and talented David Butler aka Parson Gray aka lead singer of the Black Owls.
(One can never use too many adjectives)

So you might be asking yourself just who this person is. To start off, he is the husband of the beautiful and talented Amy Butler. He has a few lines of fabric out there that are geared more toward men and he also has a line of bags for guys. Which my husband will one day own! And he is the lead singer in a band. He is from my home state of Ohio. He is very down-to-earth and we had a nice conversation about Steelers (his team) vs Browns (my team) and places we had been and people we know in common (which is amazing). 

As I was the first person there, I got my picture with him in front of a quilt made with his fabric by one of the workers at the shop. 

It was fun to sit at the big table and just chat with him and other. You can see where he is and where I was sitting....just look for my pink Octopus bag hanging on the chair!

Meghan made a quilt that David had to get a picture of. Using his fabrics, she designed a quilt with the shape of Michigan on it since that is where she is from (I won't hold that against her). David was very impressed!

Here is Meghan and David talking. Kinda looks like she is patting her head and rubbing her tummy! Oh, and she had on a Black Owls t-shirt that she had won. 

Needless to say, it was a great time and I look forward to seeing who else comes to hang out at Crimson Tate, where we always have a great time and we are surrounded by wonderful fabrics!!

~Kim

Blocks 13, 14, and 15!!

These are the last 3 blocks for this month. The big drawing is on the 30th (Sunday) so be sure to link yours up by then. These 15 blocks make up the section in the book dealing with crosses. Next month we will be diving into rectangles!!

Here are mine.

I can't believe that there are only 85 more blocks to make!! Take care and good luck to all- hope you win something amazing in the drawing.

Have a great day!!

~KIM

Mama's Got A New Bag!!!

So not too long ago Tula Pink released her Saltwater line of fabric. Of course I had to get some, so I pre-ordered a half-yard bundle from I Don't do Dishes.

Notice how I took a picture with her card- that's good planning on my part for once because without that I would have no idea where it came from!! 

So I have been waiting to make something with it and decided to try out one of my gal pal Sara's patterns. I decided on the Dot Dot Dash Bag so that I could fussy cut me some octopi!

Here is what I ended up with!!

Have to say that I am once again impressed with Sara's pattern and easy her directions made it to put together. Just remember to ALWAYS read the entire pattern before you begin and to pay attention to what step you are on. I might have had to go back and rip some seams because I got distracted and didn't follow the correct steps. 

Happy Friday to all and to all a great weekend!!

~Kim

10-12 and a couple other blocks too!

Have you finished any more blocks? I just linked up mine with this weeks post. Not sure what I am talking about? Check it out! June is almost over (can you believe it?) so you want to get linked up so that you are in the running for some great prizes!! 

Here are mine:

Once again we are sideways....even though I am uploading them and they are not sideways.....any suggestions?

Here are my May and June Lucky Stars.

 The first is from Tula's Prince Charming and the second is made using Fairy Frost by Robert Kauffman. It is super shiny- even though you can't tell. 

I also joined a Block of the Month at a local quilt shop. Only $10 for the year and they provide all the fabric. Couldn't resist this deal. Here is what the final version will look like.

I know, I know, not my style but I am doing it for the techniques and practice. I think my mom would probably hang it up or someone! 

Here is my first block

Pretty basic. I am also working on my Y seams because I want to make a scrappy diamond quilt....not the easiest thing but that's how I roll!!

 I want to make something that looks like this:

We will see how that goes! 

Can't wait to see everyone's blocks!

~Kim