A Picture Is Worth…..

August 8, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter1 Comment

unsewing.

i did this block a few weeks ago when i did my other bee block and i took pictures of both of them. i was uploading those pictures to do a blog post when i looked at the picture below and discovered my error.

the bottom two outside corners are right. however the top two outside corners are wrong. i put the block together. took the picture above and packaged it up to mail. thankfully i hadn’t mailed the envelopes when i first uploaded this picture. it was then that i caught my error. i unsealed the envelope. unsewed the block. and……

like magic its all better.

repackaged up and off in the mail to the bee block member.

it always surprises me what you see when you take a picture of something and look at it on screen. i have read various blog posts about doing this when laying out a quilt to see if something stands out or looks wonky in your layout.

lesson learned. double check yourself to make sure you are getting the look you want and a picture is a great way of doing that.

happy sewing

Tula, Stash and Therapy

July 27, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter2 Comments

today is the day that I travel to Walla Walla – the town so nice they named it twice. hahaha. no I did not come up with that one.

you might be wondering what is in Walla Walla that would take me there. well it would be none other then

that’s right. Tula Pink is going to be there. I know crazy right? just a short 2 hour drive for me and I will be among greatness in the quilting world.

I stumbled upon this event/workshop awhile back when I was out on Facebook one day. I totally freaked out. how many towns are named Walla Walla? I dug deeper, holding my breath and then I cheered. its the Walla Walla in Washington. I called Stash, the shop hosting the event right away and signed up. I didn’t even know of this great little quilt shop so close to me.

since I wasn’t able to make it to Sisters this year this trip to Walla Walla sort of makes up for it. I said ‘sort of’.

this evening is a meet and greet with Miss Pink herself as well as a book signing. my book is already signed but I am taking a friends to have signed and I am sure I will be doing a bit of shopping as well.

tomorrow is the class with Tula. we will be making her Stacks quilt from her book. Stash did up kits for the quilt. option one same fabric as the quilt in the book. option two a combination of Nightshade and The Birds & The Bees. hmmmmm. me being me wanted to do the quilt out of just The Birds & The Bees.

so, I called Stash and they sent me fat quarters of the line. I picked what I wanted to use for the quilt and went hunting for a background fabric. I must confess I had a little help making the final choice. thanks Tula – she is so cool like that. those that know me know I am not a fan of setting things in light colored fabric. so this is what i ended up with.

i have my fabric all cut up and ready to go and my car is packed. a little highway therapy. a little retail therapy. a little sewing therapy. some time with Tula. who could ask for anything more?

http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · Let's Bee Together

I’ve Bee Sewing

July 26, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter2 Comments

I have been back at my machine sewing. getting caught up on some bee blocks. this one dang near sent me over the edge. after what seemed like a gazillions hst’s and some trimming.

a block began to form and take shape.

let’s just say this was a challenge for me. I am always saying ‘make sure and read the directions’. I read them. I read them again. and again. maybe after about the 10th time through I was comfortable in sewing this together. something about the color of the fabric and it being someone elses fabric had me on edge.

now that its done I love the block. i think…….

thanks Bailey for letting me play with your fabric and for getting my brain back into the sewing world.

family · Tula Pink

I am still here……..

July 25, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter3 Comments

I am still here…….

I think.

its been over a month since I last posted here on my blog. time really does fly by. I would love to tell you all that during my absence I have been sewing up a storm, but that isn’t the case. it has only been the past few days that I have gotten back to my machine. somehow life decided to take over and change my plans.

on July 2nd my grandfather passed away. he was 98 and had an amazing life that impacted not only his family but his community and everyone around him. he will be forever missed and never forgotten.

we said goodbye to him on July 9th and later that day I caught a flight followed by a couple more and ended up in Orlando, FL. a work trip but a little bit of play was added in as well. while I was there I got to celebrate my birthday with a great group of people. I came home a week later and I am just now feeling somewhat normal again.

the past few weeks have taken its toll on me. I am extremely thankful for my close friends as well as Superman who have been there for me through it all. they have given me strength as well as a shoulder to lean on.

Many Thanks go out to them.

I am now hoping to return to our regularly scheduled program….. sewing. like I said above I have been back at my machine and I will be sharing soon what I have been up to.

also, my machine and I are taking a trip this weekend to go spend some time with Tula Pink. I know I am sort of still freaking out about it.

H2H · http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · quilting

Misc Stuff

June 8, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilterLeave a comment

i haven’t been up to much in sewing land. i am getting ready to tackle my next quilt for quilting. i think 4 more left to go after this one. i think. although i try and not to think about it too much.

i plan on spending sometime this weekend with this quilt.

i did have some happy mail this week. i got 16 fat quarters in the mail of Flea Market Fancy that i won from the H2H Challenge that i did. the fabric came from Miki who blogs over at mikisquilts – thanks for the fabric i have been wanting some of this for awhile now.

last week i got these two blocks in the mail for my bee block group. they came from Charlene and Christina. thanks ladies.

happy sewing

binding · finished quilts

Bindings….

May 29, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter2 Comments

a binding we may go… a binding we may go… hi ho the dairy oh – a binding we may go…

as you may know i have had several quilts to get quilted and then to bind. i made a deal with myself – no new projects until i got caught up on these. well, i made a huge dent in the list. above there are 6 completed quilts. quilted and bound. whew. now if you add in the 2 that i did for the H2H charity project that would be a total of 8 quilts completed in a short period of time.

yes, i am doing the happy dance.

but only for a short time. i still have 4 quilts yet to quilt and then still to bind once they are quilted. ugh. but at least 6 are knocked out and done.

when the weather gets nice i will take these outside and get some better pictures and post those.

happy sewing

http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · Let's Bee Together

Bee Blocks

May 28, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter2 Comments

another sewing project i have worked on is bee blocks for the online bee group that i am in Let’s Bee Together.

i made this one for Melinda for the month of April.

May is my month and i got this one back from Erin.

this one from Linda.

this one from Bailey.

this one from Shannon.

and, i made this one.

i have more of the fabric that is in the corners so i will be setting the blocks with that fabric. i have had this fabric for some time but never really knew what i wanted to do with it. now i know.

happy sewing

H2H

H2H Quilts

May 27, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter8 Comments

here are my H2H quilts for this year.

if you don’t know what H2H (Hands2Help) is then you need to hop over to Sarah’s blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict and read about it. its a yearly thing that spreads the quilting love to those in need.

for this quilt i busted into my Make Life stash and just put together a fun and cheery quilt. this quilt will be going to The NOLA Project and on to a grade-school child in the St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans that was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Katrina.

this quilt is going to the Happy Chemo organization which provides quilts and comfort for chemo patients. i did a quilt for a man for this charity. this fabric was given to me from Sharon. thanks Sharon. my thought was to use this fabric for the Happy Chemo charity since cancer affects everyone and sometimes its hard to find quilts that are manly.

here they are together. both in the mail headed to their final destinations. like i said above – if you are not familiar with H2H go check it out and maybe next year you will want to jump on board.

happy sewing

bags

Bags, bags, bags…….

May 26, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilterLeave a comment

bags, bags, bags…..

i have been busy on various sewing projects and some of these projects have been bags. i was a little selfish when making bags and made one for myself.

i have been wanting to make a Miranda bag out of this fabric since i got and i finally took the time to make it.

not the greatest pictures but it was dark out already by the time i got the chance to take the pictures.

i also worked on 4 custom order bags.

my customer picked out the fabric and the sizes.

they were fun to make. 3 of them were the same size and then 1 was a larger size. these are the style of bags that i have been making and selling for a few years now.

i have custom ‘annie bags’ labels that i sew into each bag that i make. when i ordered these labels the minimum quantity i could order was 250. i never thought i would use them all. however, in making these 4 bags i used the last of my labels. a little mind boggling that i have made and sold 250 bags. i guess its time to order some more.

i have other projects that i have been working on so check back soon to see what else has been in the works.

happy sewing

H2H · http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · Tula Pink

Finally Swooning

April 23, 2012July 24, 2015 renegadequilter3 Comments

i am finally swooning

and i couldn’t be happier who i am swooning with

i have had this little stash of Tula Pink’s Parisville living with me for some time now. i knew that i just couldn’t make anything with it. i knew that i wanted to make a quilt that would showcase this line of fabric.

somewhere over the past few months i got hit in the head out in blogland by all of these swoon blocks. i am a little slow to catch on but once i did i knew exactly which quilt i would be making with my Parisville stash. the blocks are 24 1/2″ x 24 1/2″ with larger pieces to show off Tula’s amazing work. i struggled a bit with the background color. if you know me then you know i almost never set anything in white/neutral/cream fabric. i wanted a solid but nothing super dark. after much deliberation i ended up with a light purple. totally not me but i love it.

so… i have one block done. i started it a couple weeks ago and finished it today. i did have a trip to Chicago in between so i am not a total slacker. i still have a few or more quilts that need to be quilted and bound and that is still my main focus. but, i was itching to start on the swoon blocks and quickly became frustrated. a friend suggested that once i completed either quilting a quilt or binding one that i make another swoon block. i loved the idea. thanks Sarah. i already have my next quilt basted and ready to be quilted. i need to make another swoon block.

i might also be doing a little something with this stack of lovely fabric. i know. i know. i have quilts to quilt and bind. however, i also have quilts to make for H2H.

check back to see what becomes of these fat quarters.

happy sewing