Hooray!

Yay, I have a flimsy!!!  First one this year!



Now to dig up some batting - and oh yeah, backing!  Of course, I finished it at night, when there's no light for pictures.

Speaking of pictures, mum wishes you all a happy valentine's day yesterday!



Oh that smug look when she's drinking hot chocolate.  Once a rebel, always a rebel - she's diabetic, she should know better.  How well I remember last year, taking care of her and her almost losing her foot!

Not that *I* have any vices.....*ahem*  As I sit here eating my bag of Reese's.  I guess I come by it honestly!

Love,
Allie

Yum.

I don't celebrate Valentine's Day......

But I do celebrate sons who bring me heart-shaped jelly donuts!!!

Disclaimer:  The other two were gone before the picture. 

Love,
Allie

Good Thing....

we don't have to get a quilting license, because the powers that be would take mine away!  I'm full of "oops" moments lately.

Today, I finished the applique on the top part of my little wall hanging - 



And started on the wording.  Of course, I forgot to reverse my template - already fixed in the pattern, but I used an earlier print-out.  I must do that at least once per pattern.



Look at that, plain as day, of course those letters aren't reversed.  I need to hang a sign in here somewhere that says "Applique  - Please Reverse Template".  In great big screaming red letters.

And then, while I was cutting a piece of fabric to get a 2-inch square, with scissors mind you, not a rotary cutter - my finger got in the way.  I could not get it to stop bleeding, I had to use a band-aid as a tourniquet.



I haven't cut myself with scissors since I was a toddler.  Maybe I've reached the age where I'm regressing.  Naturally, when I first felt those scissors cutting my flesh, I didn't open them...oh no....I closed them harder.  See what I mean about getting my quilt license revoked?  I don't even drink.  I don't need to!

I'll try again tomorrow....I think a nice hot cup of coffee and a movie are in order.

Love,
Allie

ps - the pattern will be a freebie soon as it's done, provided I survive the process!

Applique

The other night, as I was hunched over my embroidery [and my neck and shoulders were KILLING me] I decided I needed something to hand quilt.  So I drew up a little pattern.

When I'm doing embroidery, I have to take my bifocals off.  And then get my nose 2 inches from the fabric, so I can see it.  I love doing embroidery, but it does hurt sometimes!  When I'm doing applique or hand quilting, my bifocals are fine, and I can sit comfortably.  See why I needed something to hand quilt?

I do my applique a little different, especially if it also has embroidery.  I thought maybe you'd like to see how I do it, in case this is something you could use too.

This pattern has a couple of pages - one is a layout diagram, and it's numbered [every applique piece has a number], and also a reverse layout, numbered as well [with the same numbers] for tracing onto fusible web.  I trace the pieces from the reverse layout onto fusible, putting the numbers on them as well.



Every piece has a number, so I know where it goes afterward.



I cut out all the pieces, fuse them onto the fabrics, then prepare my background.



I trace the entire pattern onto my background fabric.  Sometimes I put the numbers on there as well.  No overlays, no putting my layout diagram on my lightbox, just right on the fabric.  I use a fine point wash-away blue quilting pen, because it doesn't disappear when I fuse the pieces down, but it will disappear when I spritz it!

The stems on this will be embroidery, and I don't have to worry about lining everything up just so, it's all laid out for me on the fabric already.  If your pattern has embroidery with the applique, you really want to use the extra-fine point blue pen, as with the regular ones your lines will be too thick.  Which won't matter with the applique part.

I really don't think I invented this, lol, I'm sure a lot of you do this as well - I've never had quilting classes, but in all the books I've read and videos I've watched, I've not seen anyone do this.  And it's so easy!  Do let me know if you do this too!

Love,
Allie

Confessions Of A Frugal Quilter

Lately, I’ve been getting overwhelmed by all the ads – on facebook, coming in my email, on blogs   - telling me all about the latest and greatest sewing machines, gadgets, rulers, threads, fabrics, patterns, and on and on – how great they are!  How much I need them!  Hurry before they’re gone!  Everybody else has them!

How about you?  This may come as a surprise from someone who sells patterns, but honestly, it’s true.  Companies that supply quilters have found a good thing, and they’re making the most of it.  And not just quilters, I’ve been feeling inundated with ads for just about everything lately.  It makes me tired.

**yawn**

I don’t have much money.  Never did.  I’m not a quilter who can buy the latest and greatest fabric or gadget.  I may “think” I need them, and want them, but do I really need them….not having the funds to get them makes me think twice, and I usually end up realizing I don’t really need them!

And then there’s my sewing space.  It’s an 11’x12’ft bedroom, that IS a bedroom.  My bed is in here.  I do dream of a dedicated studio – looking around pinterest I see so many beautiful ones.  Sometimes it makes me think that I “need” a studio.  And then I remember this picture:

source unknown

Wouldn't you love to know her?  I would.

And then I’m grateful I have any space at all.  I’m not looking much at pinterest lately, lol.

Frugal quilting, which I have no choice over, forces my creativity.  I have to use from my stash, and work with the tools I have.  The best tools I own are my hands…and I thank the Lord for them.  Working from my stash makes me use unusual fabric combinations, or fabrics [vintage sheets!] and I think produces better results.  When I think of when I started quilting, without any tools at all [cardboard templates, fabric cut with scissors, no sewing machine!] I realize that I felt a lot more freedom.  Of course,  I wasn’t blogging everything then, either…the results didn’t seem to matter as much.

painted quilts I made back in the 90's

I do have to buy things sometimes, and you bet I think long and hard about my choices.  Something I probably wouldn’t do if I could just click “pay now” with abandon.  There’s a side benefit to that, now that we’re thinking of moving – not buying means less to move. 

**simplify**

 How about you?  Do you get overwhelmed with all the latest and greatest?  As a pattern seller, I do want to sell patterns, but I try to keep it low-key – when I lost my job and decided to try to make a go of this, my blog got boring.  Seriously, *I* got bored with it!  I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and really want my fun blog back.  My happy place.  I don’t want this to be nothing more than advertisement for my patterns.  I think there’s enough of that already.  I want you to enjoy coming here, and not feel pressured to buy buy buy.  Blogging is about friendships. 

Leave a comment and tell me which quilter you are -frugal, or if you have to have the latest and greatest – I’d love to know!!

Love,

Allie

Postcards From Heaven, Block 2, February

Are you ready for Block 2 in our Postcards From Heaven?  It's ready for you!  I have to confess, when I drew this up, I didn't even think of Valentine's Day...but I think a heart is appropriate, don't you?  

1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

In the pattern, I explain that I used "alway" as does the King James Bible.  However, Jenny used "always", and I give you the option in the pattern - I've added the "s" for you in the second version.

Jenny's version, oh so beautiful!!!

I just love her soft colors, and those beads!!!

As you can see, I picked out my red fabrics - aren't they pretty???  I'm still not sure how I'm going to put it all together, but there's plenty of time.  It will probably be simple, because that's how I roll.  Maybe a frame of each postcard in the red dot, and wide sashing of the red and white, then the red dot for binding.  We'll see.

You can get your postcard from my craftsy shop, just click  >>HERE<<

Be blessed!!

Love,
Allie