HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S to all!!! Not only is there green all around on every one's clothes but here in St. George Spring has sprung and it is glorious!!! For those of you that have not yet experienced the beginnings of spring, here is some eye candy for your pleasure!!!

Ever since my Dad and I moved into an aprtment together in September, 2009, I have said the space was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too small for all of our stuff (translated - all my quilting fabrics, books and patterns and sewing machines). So, one morning I woke up and was so tired of all the clutter that I got on Craig's List to look for a space to rent that would not only hold all my quilting stuff but where I could finally set up my long-arm quilting machine so I could learn how to use it (after all, I have only had the long-arm for over two years now!!!).

I figured with the crumby real estate market and all the empty rental spaces, I could find something I could afford. I took into consideration that if I got a space then I would not have get a storage unit for all my client files and excess furniture that are coming from Colorado this month (which would be about $55.00 - $70.00 month) Sounds like a pretty good rationalization if you ask me!!! Tee! Hee!

The first place I looked at was the right amount of space but it was broken up into two spaces, so the 10 foot long-arm would not have fit. The Realtor said I might check in the building right next door as he had a LOT of empty spaces. I did and the rest is history.

The space is 22' x 11.5' so the long-arm will fit just perfectly!!! Plus all the tables and shelves and other sewing machines!!! I am so excited!!! The landlord is letting me paint and I can bring my sweet Pollie dog with me!!!

Heres what I have right now and I will keep you posted as I paint and turn the space into my "Studio"




Oh, look!! There's Pollie now checking out the Studio!!

I am so excited!!! My new shipment of my Kaffe Fassett fabrics just arrived this afternoon!!! Look at how beauriful it all is!!! These fabrics have the most brillant colors and and the feel of the cotton is like silk!!! I am looking forward to selling this fabric at really good prices and working with it myself!!!

I have been working on baby blankets for family and friends. All of these blankets are flannel on the one side and a high quality cotton on the other. I then crocheted the edges - fancier for the little girls and not so fancy for the young men!! These are such fun projects because I can work on them in the evening while spending some time with my Dad. Two of them are already spoken for and the pink frilly one is ready the next time a little baby girl is looking for her new little blanket.

Its interesting, the hemstitching that is sewn into the fabric before I start the crocheting is done down at the local Benjamin Franklin. I thought with the fancy machines I have I could do the hemstitching myself and save a lot of money, BUT the prep time to get the two pieces of fabric perfectly placed so I could even start the hemstitching and then the time to sew the hemstitching all the way around the blanket took so much time that I finally succumbed to letting the ladies at Ben Franklins mess with all the work involved.

Also, I was told by a sewing machine shop that the machine Ben Franklins uses is made just to do hemstitching - it is not a sewing machine that does anything else. At the sewing machine shop I learned that these machines are no longer made and the companies that have them baby them along just to keep them fine tuned!!!

The long and short of it - it is WELL worth spending the money to let the pros place the hemstitching so I can spend the time enjoying the finish work.

I am having so much fun with this eBay stuff!!! I have had a little store on eBay for several years, but now that I am "retired" and helping my Dad get through the rest of his life, the income from the eBay store is much more important. So, I decided to step it up a bit and have fun with it!!
I have been selling Aurifil thread since I first tried it out about 3 years ago and fell in love with how it worked with my Dear Jane quilt in 1030's retro prints. I have always sold it in the 1422 yd spools but now it comes in a 220 yard spool and so I decided to put 4 of the neutral colors together in a sampler pack for those that want to try Aurifil but not spend the $6.99 a spool just in case they don't love it as much as I do!!
Stay tuned for all the new things I am adding to my eBay store!!

I am not sure where the past ten days have gone but I have been busy making all kinds of decisions regarding my cottage quilting venture. I have been selling Aurifil thread on eBay for several years now along with other notions and select fabrics. But I have decided to expand my line of fabrics and go with the designer that I think is one of the most exciting and wondrous of all the designers – Kaffe Fassett!! I just ordered 16 different fabrics to start my collection and I can hardly wait to have them arrive on my doorstep!! Kaffe’s fabrics are truly eye candy and the feel of the fabric is like chocolate – and as quilters, we know how wonderful chocolate is and how essential it is to our artistic dispositions!! These pictures are just a few of the patterns!! I look forward to sharing this wonderful line with all of you at discounted prices as soon as it arrives!!

I just spent the most delightful morning with a group of great women at the Dixie Quilt Guild's February Workshop. Bev Lewis was kind enough to spend the morning instructing a bunch of us on how to put together a "Fabulous Fractured" quilt from Brenda Essinger's book by the same title.

It was so fun to see how everyone's quilt block was turning out. I am just sorry I did not have a camera so I could show you some of the completed blocks. Below is a picture of the fabric I used before I fractured it and pictures of the fabric after it was fractured. I did learn some good lessons this morning when using this technique. The first lesson is to NOT use fabric with animals as my birds ended up being on top of each other doing things I am not sure I want them doing on my quilt!!!

Also, I learned that the size of the individual squares (2" x 2", 1.5" x 1.5", etc.) will make or break the final appearance when using this quilt technique. Next time, if I was to use a smaller print like the one I used, I would probably make my individual squares 1.5" x 1.5" (unfinished) instead of the 2" x 2" (unfinished) size that I used. I think the smaller size squares may have created a more fractured look.







Thank you, Bev for a really fun morning and for the opportunity to learn a new quilting technique. I have friends who tell me quilters belong to a cult!! I laugh everytime I hear that and tell them, that may be true but I LOVE it!!!

Since attending the Dixie Quilt Guild last Saturday, I have sorted through all my fabric and UFOs (unfinished objects for all of you that are not part of this wonderful quilting cult!!) and finished this baby quilt top that I have had in the works since 2004. I have put it up for sale on eBay in the hopes that the quilts I make and sale will help me to continue working part-time so I have the time and energy to help my darling Dad through these last years of his life.

Pop (as we so fondly call my Dad) is 92 years young and he is the reason I moved to the wonderful little town of St. George, UT. We got an apartment together last September and so far so good!! His health is great (especially for a 92 year old) and we are enjoying this time we have together. We go to lunch every Friday - I buy one week and Pop buys one week!! Its great - we are checking out all the local restaurants!!

I am always so amazed at how much I love quilting because when I was young I was not so fond of sewing. Oh, yeah, I did it but it was not with the passion I have when I quilt!! Quilting touches my very soul and allows me to use my mind and my hands. I hope it keeps me young like Blanche Young who, along with her daughter, were the guest speakers at Saturday's Guild meeting.

Well, off to a new, beautiful day here in paradise!!!

Well, here it is Saturday afternoon in St. George, UT and we are getting a wonderful and very needed rain. I went to my first Quilt Guild this morning and had a wonderful time!!! There were some incredible quilts shared by the members and it motivated me to get going on my own projects, with my first project being to create my own Blog. I have seen some great ones by fellow bloggers and thought, "Gosh, I think I can do that"!! So here I am and I am looking forward to this new adventure!!! I am excited about meeting lots of new friends!!