I had a whole plan for announcing the winners for the Blooming Bluebirds PDF pattern contest, but then my sweet hubby got sick.

I don’t want you all to have to wait so I am just going to announce the winners here. I will send out emails with the patterns tonight!

The winners are…

1. Laura
2. Jenny
3. Kay
4. Chris

Congratulations!!

Buttonhole Stitch or Blanket Stitch:

Isn’t it funny how one stitch is known by several different names? This is an easy one once you get the hang of it. Don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t come easy at first, it will click at some point and you’ll have it forever more.

1. Start at the outside of the patch (A) on the left if you are right-handed and on the right if you are left-handed.

2. Insert the needle into the patch close to the edge (B). (1/4″ is a good distance to begin with.)

3. Bring the needle up at the edge of the patch in a straight line (C). Be sure to catch the thread under the tip of the needle.

Try to keep the stitches the same length and the same distant apart.

If you missed it last time, hurry on down to Countryside Fabrics and sign up now.

These classes will be held on Wednesday mornings from 10-12. The series lasts 4 weeks and begins Wednesday, May 15th.

You can learn more about the classes here. The dates are wrong, but the information is still there.

Piecing, Embroidery, Beading and Silk Ribbon Embroidery.

You can pick which classes you want to take.

I hope to see you there.

–Michelle

Nice soft colors.

I’m on a small break and it’s time to make some fun Quilty Stuff. This is a little side project that doesn’t take much time and gives me some fun satisfaction.

Cathedral Window Pincushion

I ended up making 4 of these little gems. The others need to be stuffed and sewn closed.

These would make great gifts or donations for a guild raffle.

I would give you instructions, but they are everywhere on the web and I’d rather be sewing than try to do something over that others have done such great jobs at. Here is a great link to the Moda Bake Shop with a free step-by-step tutorial with great pictures another great one is at Riley Blake Designs. You get the idea, they are there to be found.

Have a Quilty Day!

Michelle

Blooming Bluebirds
22″ x 22″

It is finally finished!

My beloved little quilt pattern is finally finished. I have been working on this one for a looooonnnnnnnggggggg time! I wanted it to be just right.

There is so much more to pattern designing than just coming up with a cute design. There are pictures and directions, fonts, and so many things to think about that I never thought about before, but it is done now. I am quite pleased and excited to be finished with this adorable little pattern.

This is great for a beginner or for a more experienced quilter.

To celebrate the completion of Blooming Bluebirds I want to have a giveaway!

I am going to give away 4 PDF copies of my pattern to loyal readers and followers of my blog. At this point there aren’t many of you, so you have a pretty good chance of winning. I’d love to get the word out to more people so if you might consider sharing this post with your friends and family and followers on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest or just forward the link in an email I would so appreciate it. (There are sharing buttons to make it easier.)

To win: Leave me a comment on this blog below or on Facebook! 

I’ll pick the winners randomly on May 14th so lets spread the word.

If you would like to buy a pattern they are available in both PDF format and traditional printed form here on this site, on Etsy, Craftsy, and on Pattern Spot.  Thank you for your support!

Have a Quilty Day! 

Today I was sewing along when all of a sudden my needle broke!

What do you do when you break a needle? I used to just throw them in the trash can, but if you do that they can sometimes work their way through the bag and end up somewhere you don’t want it. A few years ago I started sticking the needle to a piece of tape. It is much safer because I know exactly where they are. I thought you might like to know this little tip too!

Have a wonderful Quilty Day!!

Okay, I admit it. I’ve been working on other things. I have some great things planned so don’t give up on me yet.

I have a few announcements and I’ll be doing some classes in May.

Here is a peek at something I’ve been working on.

Rag Quilt

May 15th I’ll be doing a rag quilt demonstration.

I don’t know how these quilts got their name. They aren’t made of rags. I guess the edges get all ragged after you finish making them so that might be why they call them rag quilts.

Believe me this is a quilt you want to make. Especially if you live in the cold north like me. Even if you don’t these are so quick and easy and cuddly, it is hard to resist.

This is the best quilt for beginners. They are quick and forgiving of little mistakes.

E-mail me if you would like information about the demonstration or stay tuned right here I will be posting a tutorial so you can make one of these all of  your own.

Homework is calling so I need to go finish up a paper. I hope you are finding more time to quilt than I am.

Happy Quilting!

Michelle

It is now time to show you my January UFO.

I finished this quilt in January, I just didn’t have it labeled yet.

This is my first large FMQing project.

Mystery Quilt

I’m pretty psyched at how well it finished. I can definitely tell where I started and how I got better as time went by, but it is for my granddaughter and I don’t think she will mind.

Old Quilt Top

I love the quilt pattern on the top, but I really love the quilt back also. It was very easy to do and really is fun! It is a great stash busting project and makes the quilt reversible!

Quilt Back

If you are putting off FMQing, don’t! You have to just jump in and do it. You have to do it on something that matters because otherwise you won’t try your hardest. The stitching is not perfect (so put away the magnifier.)

Of course, I always have help with my quilting projects. I couldn’t help myself from sharing a couple of photos. (See photos below.)

Hey, what’s going on here?

What happened?

I can’t even remember when I started making this quilt. (It was at least 15 years ago.) I do remember it was an all day class with my quilting friends and we had a blast, but I’m not a fan of mystery quilts. I like to play with the pattern as I go along and that is kind of contrary to the mystery idea. This little baby got folded in a drawer for a long time until I decided to get it finished up.

This quilt was machine pieced by me and machine quilted by me on my Bernina with Aurifil, Mako 50 thread no. 2024.

My goal this year is to get rid of some of the 20+ years of UFOs in my sewing room. It would be fine if they would stay quietly in my sewing room, but the problem with UFOs is that they can get in your head. At least they get into my head and they become a huge distraction.

So I have an assassination mission.

I’m going to kill them off one by one. Done is better than perfect! This my new motto for 2013.

All my UFOs are at least 10 yrs old!

Newer than that I call them WIPs (works in progress)

So, this is my February UFO. I haven’t posted the January one yet, but I will soon.

See my free motion quilting skills?

And a close up…

a closeup of the flowers and quilting.

In case you are curious these flowers are all just raw edged applique. I used Steam-A-Seam 2 and fused it to fabric, cut it up into tiny shapes and arranged them exactly where I wanted them and then fused them permanently in place.

Such a little quilt. Why did it take me so long to finish it?

Learning Free Motion Quilting has been a huge push to finish things.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful Quilty Day!