"just doing what i love"...

As I've finished up some big projects, met some deadlines, and completed my current obligations ~ 

I've found myself just doing what I love...

not worrying about when it gets done...

being super spontaneous and working on what feels good at the moment.

I so appreciate the opportunities that have come my way,

but much like Jolene expressed in yup! quilting still does it for me

and Camille vowed in A Plan

I'm enjoying sewing just because I love it.

The result is ~ you may be seeing lots of "starts"...

Modern Alphabet by Tula Pink

String Quilt by Film in the Fridge

"Honey" from Modern Patchwork

and I've got an idea for Summersville

 and  hopefully some finishes...

but I'll be doing what I love and loving what I do

. . . Cindy

new machine quilting designs

I'm trying out some of the designs in Angela Walter's new book Free Motion Quilting

I'm pretty comfortable with free motion quilting and I'm always excited to try a new design

I want to try every one in this book! It's fabulous!

I'm starting with "Flower Power"

I love that the book has step-by-step diagrams with explanations for each design

I sit with the book next to me and do the steps one at a time

It's not long before I've got it and can put the book away!

There are "Concentric Circles" going on this baby quilt

This book is going to be worn out before I'm done with it!

. . .   Cindy

Final Sunburst

I've made and blogged about this pattern too many times.

I'm sure you're tired of seeing it ~

one final version (maybe?)

a little bigger...

fabric ~ Verona

. . . Cindy

Sew Sweet Weekend!

On Friday I drove for almost 3 hours, making 3 turns and landed in the small town of Brunswick, MO. 

And there it was - Sew Sweet Quilt Shop - one of the most adorable quilt shops I've ever visited (and there have been many!)

With 2 floors (and an elevator to get you there!), the fabric, patterns, samples and inspiration blew me away.

With a warm, friendly staff that made me feel at home immediately.

And I love seeing shops venture out into fabrics other than quilting cotton. Home dec and laminates by some of your favorite designers...

The fun part of the trip was hanging out with some talented, fun and eager to learn students. We made modern Dresdens...

And got a start on some Sunburst quilts

 

One of the highlights of my weekend was meeting and getting to know Tula Pink.

We stayed at the same B&B and I so enjoyed basking in her quirkiness and passion for quilting.

As we left the event she told me to email her ~ I think we're friends?!

More happy faces: Dear Sewful Participants

As much as I love teaching, I'm always a little jealous of the opportunity to sit and sew for a whole weekend. It didn't take long for me to fire up the sewing machine and make some progress on my latest Sunburst once I got home. . . . Cindy

Tree Appliqué

My tree is embroidered, quilted and framed!

The pattern is "Memories" from Don't Look Now

I followed the pattern exactly, free-motion stitching several times around each appliqué piece.

The skinny branches are hand embroidered ~ oh how I enjoyed doing the embroidery

The pattern gives a design for the quilting and I followed that too ~ no need to mess with perfection.

Framed and hanging on the wall ~ why do these little projects make me so happy?

. . . Cindy

gum drop pillow

My husband looked at me as if I'd finally lost it this weekend when I told him that I was making an ottoman.

But - I wasn't kidding - it's Amy Butler's gum drop pillow in her new Cameo fabric.

I really thought this would be a weekend project, but it was oh so easy! and quick!

 followed the pattern exactly except for adding a lightweight woven interfacing to each piece. The fabric is quilting weight and this gave it more of a decorator fabric weight.

And it does take a lot of stuffing!

I couldn't be happier with it though...

Our St Louis Modern Quilt Guild offered up a little shopping this weekend. The girls from Bob Bon Atelier in Kansas City visited with some beautiful fabrics. This feather piece just caught my eye! It's a perfect piece for pulling together a color scheme and I had fun playing with it when I got home!

I also picked up these two pieces of Simpatico. When I got home I had a nice fabric package in the mail. I had ordered some pieces for a project and out-of-the-blue, threw this florally print in my cart. Wow, it went nicely with my geometrics!

Finally from the garden! Some Sweet 100s!

. . . Cindy

Some batt-less quilts

I reluctantly cut into my Lotta Jansdotter fabric - both Echo and Bella.

When you love a fabric so much are you also afraid to cut into it???

Luckily I only used half of each fat quarter, so I still have some left. And like always I have to add something new to a line of fabric. This was interesting because I'm not only looking for coordinating colors, but prints that have the same flavor. What I found is these graphic prints have no shades of color. White + one or two colors. So I added several prints from Modern Meadow with the same characteristic.

I was a little disappointed in the pattern I came up with. I was trying to get the look of the print rectangles sitting atop a band of gray. It took me a few days staring at the quilt to figure out why it didn't work perfectly. At first, I thought maybe the gray spacers were too small. But I really think they are too light. They blend with the prints and I think would have been better a bit darker. Do you agree?

I also finished up this kid quilt, using 3 UFO blocks. I'd like to donate a couple of quilts to the 100 Quilts For Kids event this year. This will be the first.

Also batt-less ~ these 2 blocks for Nancy in our Redbird Bee. Fun and easy!

Next up ~ find some batting and get these babies quilted!  . . . Cindy

Rainy Day project

Finally, 100% chance of rain predicted today!

The perfect day for a Sunday afternoon sewing project!

tracing...

choosing fabrics...

cutting...

fusing...

A wonderful way to spend an afternoon!

the only thing missing ~ rain

. . . Cindy

My Back Yard

 no quilt pictures in this post

I considered finding some outdoor activity for the holiday, but ended up staying home because I could easily retreat back to air-conditioning!

it reminded me to appreciate that I have it all in my own back yard

my garden is small ~ much like a city garden ~ but I haven't let size hold me back

I come from a family of gardeners, my paternal grandmother, my dad and my sister, Diane ~ all much more talented than me

but I do love my flowers

Plumbago ~ I've overwintered this in a pot for years and it always blooms profusely

Moonbeam Coreopsis ~ I added the pink this year ~ one of my favs

each year I plant more and more Lantana

it's a surviver no matter what the summer brings

My climbing rose is finally filling the arbor and I'm so thrilled. It had a glorious lush of blooms in Spring, and continues to give

a beautiful combo of Russian Sage and Rudbeckia

we tried to get rid of the sage a few years ago ~ it gets so big ~ my husband took an axe to the root and it still came back

I've learned to embrace it

Hibiscus ~ newly planted this Spring and struggling in the heat ~ with blooms the size of a dinner plate

Zinnias ~ my favorite filler

I have to turn upside down to photograph this lily!

I rarely use dill, but love the flower

the hydrangeas have started to brown, but bright new flowers pop up here and there

Crepe Myrtle starting to bloom ~ after our mild winter it's grown really tall

these little green seeds on the Beauty Berry bush will turn bright purple towards fall

and these white hydrangeas will turn lime green!

it's turning out to be a hot summer here in the midwest

I'm trying to be more like the flowers ~ adapt and grow

. . . Cindy