Quilted and Bound... and Red Headed Woodpecker Sighting

and ready to head towards Massachusetts. :)

My friend Elizabeth will be the recipient of this little quilt.  She and I are members of a blog where 12 friends have been making something for each other , one friend at a time, one friend a month.  We each got to choose an idea for one month and someone chose the Schnibbles quilt patterns.  We could use any of them that we wanted and I also put a little spin on the one I made for Ely.  The circles in the center are made to float on top of the quilt.  I hope she likes it once it arrives.  This is a 2 year old UFO that I am glad is finally making its way home. :)

My hubby and I drove up to Kerr Lake for a picnic and I shot these photos while we were there.  Enjoy!

While we were at the lake we had the pleasure of spotting a red headed woodpecker flying from one tree to the other.  I shot these photos before he decided he wanted nothing more to do with us and flew away to a tree farther down the lake.

I am linking this post up over at Connie's @ Freemotion By The River and Linky Party Tuesday!

Peace Out Baby!

I wanted to show you all a 60's inspired project made with batiks that I made for my friend Christine a couple of years ago.  I used the foil sheets to add the word Peace to this pillow.  Fun little flower buttons around one border just added the Flower Power edge to it. :) Enjoy!

Twister Quilt!

The game Twister was invented in 1966.  According to the patent information issued, the game was filed on April 14th, 1966 and accepted on July 8th, 1969. The two names on the patent were Charles F. Foley and Neil Rabens. (source)

I remember playing Twister as a young girl and into my teens... and then after I married and had children, it was nothing for our friends to come over on the weekend for grilled burgers, homemade ice cream, and a game of Twister. We were still agile at that point in our lives.  Oh to be that young again!

I found this image online and cleaned it up, printed it off and took it over to Staples and had them blow it up for me to 36 x 42 inches.  I used a large piece of tracing paper and made pattern pieces from the ran off copy.  I used fusible to apply the dots and the figures.  Using all batik fabrics, I was able to create the quilt below.

 

I quilted each section with a different texture design.  I am really pleased with how it turned out.

I showed it to my hubby once it was finished and he asked who I had quilted it for.  I told him that I had made it myself.  He looked stunned. lol... Just goes to show that he is accustomed to seeing traditional quilts come from my workroom.  It was fun making this quilt and I think I shall have fun creating a few more.  I have to keep him guessing, now don't I? :)

Studio Redo

Hey everyone!  You have been very patient while I put my sewing and quilting studios back together and it has finally paid off!  I am happy to say that I came downstairs at 6:30 pm last evening and was finally 100% finished with all of the tireless work!  I thought I would never get finished!

To recap... I had my sewing room upstairs in the bonus room and my longarm studio in the "what would have been" the garage.  When we built our house in 2004, we decided to finish out the garage for my sewing studio and eventually in 2006, we added a Gammill longarm machine down there.  After quilting on concrete for a few years, it wrecked havoc on my legs... basically my entire body!.. so we decided to take it upstairs where I would stand on a wonderful thick padded carpeted floor.  I am soooo glad we did!  I have quilted 3 quilts so far and it is amazing what the difference is!

ADVICE TO LONGARMERS - Do NOT put your machine on a concrete floor.  I learned the hard way.  Concrete will really take the youth right out of your body!

After I got everything moved around I had the hair-brained idea to paint the upstairs. When we moved in on May 15, 2004, our home was painted the same color in all rooms... "listened to the painter contractor... will NOT do that again".  We repainted the downstairs 5 years ago but upstairs was the only space left with the "old paint color".  SO... I decided to have it painted "Pigtail Pink"!

Before we get started, I have some friends who want to say hello..... These all have been gifted to me from various friends over the last few years.. :)

Let's show a "before" picture of the area that is now home to the Gammill.  It "was" my sewing room... with that awful paint color!!

And NOW.... It is my longarm studio... I LOVE the Pigtail Pink color!  It is fresh and light... not in your face... Makes me happy to be up here now. :)

My hubby was sweet and hung my batting on the wall.  I do miss my batting cabinet downstairs but not enough to want to go back down there to quilt! ha!

These tubs were in the storage room that is also upstairs and they fit perfectly underneath.  I needed somewhere for the "stuff" we all have that needs a place to live.  Perfect storage solution!

I bought this shoe organizer at Lowe's in 2006 when I began longarming.  I usually keep it on a table but this knee wall prevents that.  So, I just laid it on its back and now those extra long pantographs fit as well!

I had a 6' x 6' tabletop installed downstairs with a set of drawers under it for my longarm rulers and such.  I had to think of something for up here.  I went to Lowe's and tagged this baby for 50.00!!

And now for the other room up here... My sewing and crazy quilting studio!  This room was smaller than the side with the Gammill if you were wondering why I didn't just put the Gammill in here.  It would not have fit. :)

This space is dedicated for my sewing machine and cutting table.. I am working on a quilt for Miss Allie at the moment.  I have made a quilt for my hubby and am making hers to match. :)

This space is solely dedicated to my crazy quilting...

I snagged this cupcake holder at TJ Maxx! It is perfect for the pearl cotton thread that I sell on my website!  Just enough spaces for the variegated colors!

I found these organizers at JoAnn's and they are perfect for the solid colors!

 

Found this at Walmart! Perfect for organizing tons of beads so you can see what colors you have to work with.

 

Found this at the Goodwill store when me and a group of friends with to the beach at Kill Devil Hills in June.  I wanted some way to get the vintage linens out so I would not forget to use them in my crazy quilting.  Now they are right beside me while I work.

I purchased these lamps at an estate sale a while back and decided I wanted to use them in here.  My friends thought I was weird to use pink and yellow together but after finding the "perfect" shade on Ebay... you have to say that they do rock this room. Little pink roses on a yellow background.... just made for this room!   They were 3 inches too long so I measured on the inside and sewed around the shade to prevent the pleats from coming undone and cut 1/4" below that sewn line.  Now they are the perfect length!  I am thinking I want to add a trim around the bottom edge... what do you think?

What is that black metal tree full of, you ask?  Well, none other than my Dotee Doll collection. :)

Santa came to visit me via a friend from Russia...as did a few of the other Dotee's.

Santa came bearing a little gift in his bag. :)

So, where is that ironing board we all need in our sewing rooms. I had a devil of a time figuring out what to do about that... I first thought about mounting it on the wall.  My friend Pauline shared a video how-to on Facebook.  But when everything was all set in its own place, I finally found somewhere to put it.. it will make me get up and stretch those legs more this way!  It is in the last available place for anything in the longarm studio! ha!

I am really happy with my sewing and longarm spaces.  I could not ask for anything more!  I hope you have enjoyed the pictures!

Thank you visiting me today!