Um, OK….REALLY???

I know, I haven’t posted anything in a VERY long time!  I’ve had so much to tell you all, and show you, and no time to write it down.  Hmmm…which reaffirms ANOTHER idea I want to pursue…oh, yeah, in my spare time!

So, with all this activity going on trying to get customer quilts done, of course I have to fix some mistakes, all on one quilt.  Turns out that one of the reasons I had a mistake was THIS…my leaders started coming off! 

They were hanging crooked and I hadn’t really noticed until my husband said something about it one afternoon a couple of weeks ago, but it never occurred to me that it was because they were coming un-taped.  I thought maybe they were stretching.  I mean, I used DUCK tape!! And no, that’s not a typo, it really was DUCK brand tape, not duct tape.

I don’t know how I did it without fussing and measuring everything, as I did when I first attached them to the pole, but I was able to tape them back into place and they’re hanging pretty evenly.  Once I fix the boo-boos on this quilt, I’ll unroll the leaders again and add more tape.

In the meantime, my other big news is that I got a new job!!  I’ve been hired to be a Business Intelligence Report Developer, which is a fancy way of saying I get to play with databases…something I’ve wanted to do for a VERY long time!!  And I’m attending an online training this week that starts at 6:30 AM, working from home on my work laptop!!  Yes, it STARTS at 6:30, because that’s 8:30 am Eastern time.

So, I’ve been tired and not doing anything in the quilting room this week.  Since I’ve got lots saved up, though, it’ll be fun catching up, once I’m working on my own computer again.

Bonnie Hunter’s Giveaway

Hey, in case you haven’t seen it, Bonnie Hunter has a giveaway on her blog for the Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 5 issue.  She’s got a block in there called Talking Turkey, and it’s pretty fabulous!

Go to her blog to enter the giveaway, she’s drawing today, Suncay May 6th!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/05/100-blocks-vol-5-blog-tour.html

Bali Pops Quilt…Love It!

I’ll be working on a customer quilt today while in the Quilt Cave, but thought I’d share one of the quilts I finished before BroncoFest came along and threw orange and blue all over my work space!

I’m sure Judy Z. purchased it, but I don’t know the name of this pattern. She made it using a Bali Pop batik jelly roll, which is made by Hoffman.  If you’re interested, I’ll contact her to get the actual name, but in the meantime you can find free Hoffman patterns here.  I quilted it using the free Starburst pantograph pattern by Patricia Ritter at Digi-Tech.

I’ve purchased several digital patterns and have printed some out and taped them together to use, but it is very time consuming and hard to make sure the paper fits together in a straight line!

My goal is to eventually be able to use these designs with the PantoVision software from ABM International.  This software will load on a tablet that I can mount to the front of the machine, so I can sew from the front and watch what I’m doing at eye level…and I’m so excited about that prospect!  Right now it only runs on a Windows tablet, which I don’t have.  So, I’ll have to trade out my Android tablet to make this work, but I’m going to wait for Windows 8 to come out on an affordable device.

This still doesn’t make my machine a computerized system in the sense that I still have to guide the machine myself, but it will be easier on my neck, as well as allow me to interact with the fabric as I quilt.

In the meantime, I’m adding designs to my wish list!

Bali Pops Quilt…Love It!

I’ll be working on a customer quilt today while in the Quilt Cave, but thought I’d share one of the quilts I finished before BroncoFest came along and threw orange and blue all over my work space!

I’m sure Judy Z. purchased it, but I don’t know the name of this pattern. She made it using a Bali Pop batik jelly roll, which is made by Hoffman.  If you’re interested, I’ll contact her to get the actual name, but in the meantime you can find free Hoffman patterns here.  I quilted it using the free Starburst pantograph pattern by Patricia Ritter at Digi-Tech.

I’ve purchased several digital patterns and have printed some out and taped them together to use, but it is very time consuming and hard to make sure the paper fits together in a straight line!

My goal is to eventually be able to use these designs with the PantoVision software from ABM International.  This software will load on a tablet that I can mount to the front of the machine, so I can sew from the front and watch what I’m doing at eye level…and I’m so excited about that prospect!  Right now it only runs on a Windows tablet, which I don’t have.  So, I’ll have to trade out my Android tablet to make this work, but I’m going to wait for Windows 8 to come out on an affordable device.

This still doesn’t make my machine a computerized system in the sense that I still have to guide the machine myself, but it will be easier on my neck, as well as allow me to interact with the fabric as I quilt.

In the meantime, I’m adding designs to my wish list!

Cockscomb Meander

I love reading other quilters’ blogs, don’t you?  I learn a lot from other people, get inspired by their designs, and generally just love to share in everyone’s love for the art of quilting.  Oh, and don’t forget the eye candy!

Quilters are a generous bunch, too.  Linda, over at L&R Designs Quilting, suggested a quilting pattern for my Odd Girl Out quilt.  When I couldn’t figure out how to do it, she generously made a video of how to stitch it out!

Now, isn’t that the coolest!?!?

Thanks so much for sharing, Linda!

BroncoFest 2012

For the past week I’ve been working on details getting ready to have my first vendor booth, at the inaugural Boise State Craft Fair.

Of course, I didn’t get everything done.  And I’ve put customer quilts on hold for this week, which feels really strange, and instead, working on a Bronco T-shirt quilt.  Well, actually, I’ve been working on several at a time, as usual.   The Quilt Cave is strewn with blue and orange!  The main one I was focusing on didn’t get finished; it’s at the border stage and merrily hanging in the middle of my booth anyway!  It definitely got noticed and when I finish it I think it will sell quickly.

It’s been cold at the inaugural Bronco Craft Fair today, and very windy.  How cold was it?  Cold enough to have on a sweatshirt, windbreaker (that really works!), ear warmers, hat and still need to wrap up in an extra quilt!  My feet were like icicles all day!

We have a wind advisory starting at 3pm…I think it started sooner than that, because at 1:30 booths started blowing into the street and one knocked over a bunch of displayed glassware!  My quilt stands blew over several times and the quilts were flapping in the breeze.  I checked with the event coordinator and she said it would be OK to move to another place, but with so little time left before the end of the event, I didn’t want to break it down and reassemble it again for a 2 hour time frame.  As I was packing up, Security came over and confirmed that I should take it down.

The summary for the event:  no quilts sold, but I handed out several cards and flyers so I should be getting some calls for quilting services or T-shirt quilts.  I also realized I should have more items on hand for people to peruse.  The problem is, I just want to make quilts!

This sort of weather, and standing for long periods really wears me out.  We decided to forego the Bronco Spring Game and came home.  I put my feet up and enjoyed a cup of double spiced chai tea and am contemplating how I’ll finish out the day.

I’ll definitely have a booth next year!

Go Broncos!!

Odd Girl Out

I don’t know if any of you remember the hot pink quilt top I started in September last year, and how much trouble I was having with deciding on a border.  So, I put it away for awhile.
Then about a month ago, I was reading a magazine article by Kaffe Fasset, and I knew right then and there I wanted one of his fabrics for the border on this quilt!
Well, a couple of weekends ago, I found the perfect border fabric, and I actually got it applied to the quilt!
I just love it!
I think I’ll put a cozy pink flannel on the back, and use Winline’s 100% Bamboo batting.  I haven’t auditioned any specific thread colors yet, the quilting design might influence that decision.
Now I have to figure out how to quilt it.  I know a pantograph that would look great on it, but this year I’m really wanting to focus on improving my free motion skills, and this is a perfect opportunity since it’s not designated for any specific person or event.  Got any suggestions for me?