Meet the Modern Quilter: I'm on Quilty Again!

Check it out - that's me, a Modern Quilter. I really had a blast filming with Quilty; Mary Fons is seriously awesome. I hope to tape more Quilty episodes soon! 

Christmas and Christmas Presents Made.

It was such a busy Christmas season that I didn't get a chance to do much sewing. Most of my Christmas gifts were either done way ahead of time (at camp stitchalot), or done quickly at night. But I still managed to get a few done.

Most importantly I finished all four pencil pouches for Allie's teachers. I'm not sure if I've shared it here, but we moved this summer in order for Allie to go to a better school. It was absolutely worth the hellish move. She has four teachers who work with her every day (and many more who are there throughout the week) - who make her days great. She's getting the support she needs here, and there's no handmade gift that would say thank you enough for that!

Next up - the zippy I made for Pellon last month ended up going to my Mom. It was really hard to part with this one, but I know that I didn't need it, and she'll use it. I am hoping she uses it regularly enough that I get to see it when she comes to visit! 

Potholders! Did I mention that several people in my family have moved recently? My sister and her family moved at the end of the summer too. She's the baker of the family and needed some new potholders. So she was the lucky recipient of the potholders I made at Camp Stitchalot. These were made under the guidance of Debbie / Esch House Quilts, and they're fabulously thick! I know they'll get used!

Finally here's the one quilt gift of the season. This one is for my cousin Jordan's new baby who should be born any day now. I talked about this quilt here. Hopefully the quilt gets lots of use - that's what they are for!! 

Additionally I made several oilcloth box pouches, pencil pouches, etc. Somehow I didn't even take pictures of these. :) I also made a few custom ordered pouches this year - they were a lot of fun and it's great to have a bit of extra cash in the quilting budget! Thanks to those who supported me by allowing me to make some gifts for them!

2014 Quit Goals

Flying geese - for MINE! AMH Love.

Here are my goals for 2014. I've done this in the past as a way to hold myself accountable to my own goals. My ultimate goal is to become viable, to make enough money to keep buying pretty fabric and make pretty quilts. I'm hoping to share my skills, and share my life. I want to show others how amazing this quilting thing is! So here it goes, my 2014 goals.

• Have enough confidence to take opportunities and send out applications. I won't be able to achieve my goals without first putting myself out there! 
• Finish Maja's Flowers (quilt) and produce a pattern for it. Allow myself to let someone else quilt it (Nikki!). 
• Teach a quilting class & lecture at a guild.
• Publish a few things in magazines.
• Decide what to do about blog sponsorship. I think I'd rather be paid in fabric. I hate the business end of this it's so draining.
• Keep Swapping (DQS!!)
• Make a quilt for Dan & Missy (their wedding is SOON!)
• Quilts to finish this year:
• Roseann's quilt
• MINE! (AMH Love)
• {Modern} Robin (I didn't finish this from 2013's goals).
• Sabrina's Quilt (try it on a longarm!)
• Buy more fabric. 
• Make pretty things!

Camp Stitchalot - An Overdue Weekend in Review.

My 241 Tote accidentally matches my wallet!

It's been a bit of a whirlwind in the past two several weeks since I returned home from Camp Stitchalot. It's hard to find a moment to sit down and review.

Our teachers: Jeni, Anna, and Debbie

First of all I have to say a great big "Thank You!" to Rossie, who picked me up and dropped me off at the MegaBus stop! Thanks so much Rossie - (and Mr. Rossie who made us delicious soup after camp on Sunday!) you really made it possible for me to attend camp!

All the finished stuff I made on retreat! 

Next I'll say that it was a really spectacular weekend!

Oh yeah, and I made a zillion of these flying geese - thanks to the die cutters on hand!

I was lucky enough to be able to rent a Bernina for the weekend - I couldn't risk traveling by bus with my Juki! The Bernina was nice, not fast fast - but not super slow either. The machine operated nicely and had a decent stitch quality - I missed Juki just a little. :)

AMH Flying geese and Kona Curry! My fave!

Over the course of the weekend we enjoyed three classes from our "camp counselors" Jeni, Anna, and Debbie. We made a pillow, a purse, and potholders. I also spent some time working on zip pouches and a zillion flying geese. 

The weekend was a real breath of fresh air in my busy schedule, and I'd love to go again. I really recommend it if you're looking for a fun and low-key retreat!

Christmas Half Square Triangle Zip Pouch Tutorial!

As a part of Pellon's Handmade Holiday series, my brand new tutorial is available for download on Pellon's projects page! I'm pretty excited about this one. The colors are just perfect - and I just adore adding tiny piecing on projects! 

Everyone could use a pretty little zip pouch so head on over and get the download!

What I'm working on...

Pellon's Quilter's Grid, Fusible Fleece, and Wonder-Under tape. I sense a fantastic Pellon project in the making!!! It's time to go pick out fabric to add to this pile of pretty interfacing! 

While I'm at it check out my Pellon artist page. I'm living my fourth grade dream of being an "artist." 

Hey Quilty!

Clearly I had to black-Friday shop at Joann's - Batting and Quilty were purchased!

Heading to Joann's? Pick up a copy of Quilty! I'm super excited to say that for the first time my name is in print! My "gift card pockets" made it into the November / December issue of Quilty! 

It's pretty cool seeing my project in there - professionally photographed and everything! You can see the video for this project on Quilty's youtube channel (shown below). 

I hope to have the opportunity to film / write for Quilty again soon!!