Typing is a challenge!

EEEEOOOWWW!  I had surgery on my middle finger knuckle of my right hand last week and as you can see, my middle finger is mostly useless.  You don't realize how much you use your middle finger - ok, except for the obvious reason! - until it's wrapped up in a huge bandage & immobilized.

• Try tying your shoes . . .
• Typing - yes, your typing teacher was right, you really need that finger on the keys to type correctly!
• Sewing can be done if it's simple, but quilting with a regular machine?  Nope.
• Washing your hair - one hand is in a baggie . .
• Putting on foundation
• Writing somewhat coherently
• Buttoning your pants - what a pain in the neck!

The list goes on.  Believe me, you use your middle finger for far more than we ever think about! 

Let's Bring Back Recess!

Seems like just yesterday I was in CT at the HandiQuilter training but since then I've done the 5 day NJ Shop Hop and been to FL for an Elna training and a day at Epcot Center and here it is the end of April already.  Jeez!  And you know what?  May is going to disappear just as fast. 

Have you thought about how quickly time seems to pass by?  Like a warp speed?  I look at the shop calendar and May is chock full of classes, clubs, meetings,  - YIKES!  Before I know it, it will be June and the birthday celebration, I'll turn FIFTY THREE! and the shop will turn 14, we'll have a new grandbaby and life will just churn along at breakneck speed.

STOP THE WORLD!  I WANT A RECESS!  Yes, recess.  Remember recess in school?  It was a time to run around, yell like crazy and let off some steam.  The biggest concern during recess was to go on the monkey bars without letting anyone look up your dress - hey this was the 60's, no pants in school for girls!

I want a sewing recess - time to sew again that isn't stolen from something else I should be doing or needs to have been finished yesterday.  I remember when sewing was relaxing, hmmm when did it become a marathon to "git er done"?

Medical studies have been done proving that sewing reduces blood pressure and I'm sure it does but not the type of sewing I've been doing lately.  So I'm making a goal - to find time to quilt, relaxing quilting. 

I'm taking a quilting recess.  How about you?

HQ in CT!

Huh?  HQ in CT?  HandiQuilter in Conneticut.  I attended the first ever, experimental "Train The Trainer" training in CT this week.  The lovely gals at Sew Inspired Quilt shop in Simsbury CT hosted 20 of us from all over the northeast and as far as Ohio!  Thanks ladies!

Here's the truck that all the Avantes arrived in.  The driver, Chuck, had a great story about being on the NJ Turnpike and two different women going by in cars while beeping & giving him the thumbs up!  He said he thought the truck was on fire or something the first time it happened!  (He also mentioned that we need better signs on the GSP saying that trucks aren't allowed . . . .LOL).

This is Gina my HQ territory manager who is also a really good longarmer.  Here are a couple of her show & tells done on the HQ.  She's holding a notebook cover that she embellished the heck out of. Here's a closeup. 

This feather pattern with microstitching is also by Gina.  GORGEOUS.  (In the interest of full disclosure, there's probably more quilting in this one piece than about 4 or 5 of my good sized quilts - I am a stippling QUEEN!)

Harriet is an HQ educator (and for those of you interested in that position, one of them swears you'll have to kill one of them for a position to open up!)  Harriet is originally from Lakewood NJ!  She had some really great projects & this one caught my eye.  You really can't see the detail in this picture but look at the next one to see the quilting.  VERY neat!  She did this on the ProStitcher.

Those of you who have been to HQ events at QP recognize HQ Educator, Debby Brown (who figured out that 16% of us in the classroom were named Debbie).  Debby and my friend Sandy Brawner are lime green aficionados, Debby did this one to show off the feather groovy board and because she loved the lime green fabrics.  Sandy, how about this one????

Debby is also a very talented longarmer and excels in ruler work and MicroHandles.  Those of you who know me, know that I have the attention span of a gnat and while I find ruler work and microstitching gorgeous, I don't have the patience to do it myself.  Here's Debby demoing her microstitching technique - doesn't it look like she's just checking to make sure I'm paying attention???  LOL  Just kidding! 

Debby will be at QP this coming September - stay tuned for class details!

Doing ruler work & microstitching in class just proved to me how much I LOVE my ProStitcher!

We learned some great things, got some great ideas and generally enjoyed ourselves immensely working with the Avante 18" machine.  I came home not only with a sample I won't show anyone but with knowledge I'll share in our soon to be started HQ Club.

We have the HQ Fusion AND the Avante in the shop for you to try.  Stop in and try one out!



Till next time - keep quilting!

Rain, rain, go away . . .

My crocus are up at home, the daffodils are up at the shop, but not at home yet and we're getting ready to build the ark here as it rains and rains and rains.  My poor crocus looked good last week but are rather drenched & yucky looking today.

Since it's raining like crazy, I've been sewing up a storm of my own.  Samples, samples, samples!  Sometimes you just have the urge to sew and when that happens, just go with the flow.

I saw a machine technique and really liked it.  You take ribbon and do a decorative stitch on either side of the ribbon.  This is the purse sample for Top Of The Line Club in April.  It was fun and I wish I'd had more ribbons at home when the urge struck me to do the sample.  The topic for our Crazy Quilt Block of the Month this month is couching so it tied in really nicely. 

The best part of the Crazy Quilt block of the month?  I get to buy all kinds of neat embellishments & fabrics under the guise of buying for the BOM!

This is a butterfly tote I did last week.  Love the pockets inside!  We sold out of the bolt of panels but never fear, more are due in next week.  We'll have a class on this tote May 5th.

Why is it I look at fabric and think of food?? And usually some type of dessert or candy?  This fabric came in and just reminded me of Italian Ices . . .  This is a lap sized Thangles project and kits are ready!  (sorry no Rita's Italian Ice is included in the kit!)

And then I saw this on a friend's blog and loved it.  Thanks Joan & Janet for sharing!  This is Chunky Elizabeth and I'm actually going to put this on the HandiQuilter tomorrow and quilt it - you'll know it's my sample because as usual, it won't have any binding . . . . This is a picture of Joan's Chunky Elizabeth (obviously not my sample since it has binding on it!)

My friend Karen sent me a trunk show of her pillow patterns.  We love these patterns and have done quite a few over the years but she has some new ones (check out the surfboard one) so we have a nice display in the shop and we are frantically cutting kits for those we don't already have.  We've mixed our samples in with Karen's - you can tell ours by the fact that Karen's all have zippered backs - you know mine don't! 

Until next time, why not sew up a storm of your own!

Debbie
I

What's On Your Design Wall?

I'm not one of those sewers who can work on one project at a time.  I am sure it has something to do with having the attention span of a gnat . . . . but I'm happier working on several things at once.  And I LOVE STARTING PROJECTS - it's the finishing I have trouble with!  Why does everything need a binding anyway????

This is my design wall.  You'll see I have three projects on it.  One you can barely see - it's a top secret project for a friend so I can't show you the whole thing or talk about it for that matter!  So consider the top right of the picture a teaser.  LOL

The one on the right is a redwork baby quilt that I'm working on the pattern.  I want the top done for the show this coming weekend and have two blocks to go . . . . hurry, hurry, hurry.  I hope no one looks too closely at the stitching!

The bottom one  is a project that I'd also like to have done for Friday - we work best under pressure.  I need 12 more blocks.  Ok, that's not going to happen by Friday but I can dream.   I'll be sewing blocks at the show.

This is a Thangles project from a new line from Hoffman and last week with all the rain, I just needed something that held out some hope for spring and summer!

And yes, I have another project picked out already . . . all those Civil War reproductions have been calling me along with a sort of new technique book that came in.  I've made myself promise myself that I wouldn't bring that home till at least two came off the wall and I quilted the table runner top that's been hanging around for a month. 

We'll see  . . . . .

Spring is coming, I just know it!

We're getting ready to load up the van for the NJ Quilt Fest this weekend and of course the weatherman is saying we'll have snow showers all day.  Won't that just be lovely?  We're hosting the HandiQuilter booth so I'm hoping that most of our stuff will be large, take up huge amounts of room in the rented van and require few trips in and out of the show building later on today . . . . hey, a girl can dream can't she???

While slogging through the slush I know is headed our way, I'm going to be dreaming of gardens and my day lilies and planning a wall hanging that's been bouncing around in my head for years (where does the time go???)  It's just the kind of thing to hang in my kitchen about this time of year to remind me that yes Debbie, this snow will disapear, it will get warmer and the gardens will bloom again!

So for the past couple of years I've been planning on good sized wall hanging of my garden.  I don't have a picture of it in my head yet but I HAVE been collecting fabrics for it.  (The most important part!)

I know I want daylilies in my wall hanging as I have  no less than a couple of hundred in my gardens.  They're easy to take care of, require little water and make a grand statement when massed together.  My Dad called the orange ones "Tiger Lilies" and my collection started with a few plants from his little garden down by his truck that he basically ignored but the Tiger Lilies bloomed profusely every year.

Jim says we have a little TOO much orange in the garden but I love the way it sets off the other colors. 

And peonies, have to have the grand dames of my front garden with that gorgeous deep pink. 

Some purply/pink hydrangeas to fill in.

And some pretty white Shasta Daises for contrast.

Now I just need a snow day to be sew . . . .

Ricky Tims' Quilt Is Found!

Ricky's quilt is safe and sound today.  Click here to read about it.