Sewology

 I finished this quilt top over 3 years ago, and it's been hanging in my closet waiting to be quilted ever since!  I loved making this quilt....I had just joined the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild and this quilt was their block of the month.  I had to play catch up for a few months  but that wasn't difficult for me.  I had just moved to Arizona and didn't know anyone so I had lots of time to sew!  Lindsey Neill of Pen and Paper patterns designed this pattern and she was a member of our guild.

I loved choosing the fabric from my stash to make this quilt!  As I previously said, we had just moved to Arizona from the Sacramento area.  I was aghast at how many boxes it took to pack my fabric stash, so I decided to go on a fabric fast...for two years! I depleted a lot, but I've started buying again.  I usually don't have background fabric but can still pull a lot of the colors from my stash for the rest of my quilts. Besides, some fabric is just too cute not to buy ❤️❤️❤️

The slate background fabric was from my stash, bonus!

I love the photos I took this time, not like last week....blech!  I read about a beautiful sunflower field not too far from our house and my husband took me there for a quick photo shoot.  The temp was 106 🔥and the sun was blaring into my eyes.  It was still worth it :)

Here are some close ups of the quilt.  I made my rotary a plain yellow, even though I've got a pair of pink and a pair of aqua.  I thought there was enough color in the rest of the quilt and yellow seems to be the most common color of rotary cutters.  The yellows are like sunshine and they're very happy.

I want to show you a close up of the machine quilting.  Do you see the "needle pulling thread"?  Then the thread is in loops, that repeat all over the quilt.  I thought it was a perfect design for this quilt.

I wanted the pencil to be  the traditional color.  I think the pencil, rotary cutter and ruler in yellow, weight the quilt down with all the other bright colors that I used.

I especially love the floral seam ripper :)

My scissors aren't a plain metal color if you look closely.

I used traditional colors for my tomato pincushion too.

I hope you enjoyed this post, I certainly had fun creating it.  

Have a great week!

Silent Night

 At the Farm Girl Chicks quilt group which I belong to, we have a "show and tell".  One week last year, Meredith showed the most beautiful quilt!  It spoke to us so much, that 6 or 7 of us bought the fabric in the quilt shop that very day, to make the quilt.  

It's called "Silent Night" and the fabric line is Christmas Morning by Lella Boutique for Moda fabrics.  

The quilt reminds me of a "silent" Christmas Eve, when the snow is falling and everything is crystal white and pure.  A Christmas Eve I haven't experienced since I've been married and living in the USA.

It also reminds me of another Christmas Eve story as told in the book, "Silent Night, Holy Night", 

"December 1914 was grim for the thousands of soldiers who had dug into the frozen trenches on either side of Flanders Field. What lay between them in the early months of the First Great War was a field of sorrow--No Man's Land--littered with barbed wire and decaying corpses.  But somehow amid the fear and anger, a miracle occurred.  As Christmas Day approached, the weapons of war fell silent, men ventured out of the trenches, gifts were exchanged, and the sober duty of remembering the dead commenced.  For two days, the spirit of Christmas filled the air, and a remarkable "Christmas Truce" brightened spirits.  When night fell, and that memorable Christmas slipped into the past, one last sound broke the silence:  a chorus, from either side, singing in native tongue, "Silent Night".

I think that's such a beautiful story and to me, this quilt reminds me of everything that is cherished on Christmas Eve.

I had a difficult time taking photos, lol!  These two photos were taken indoors and are too dark.

This photo was taken outside, the colors are true but the photo is terrible!!!

I watched the "Fat Quarter Shop" YouTube video on Friday, June 17 and Kimberly mentioned that there will be a new fabric line of Christmas Morning that will pair with her original fabric.  Here's a photo of the pattern cover.

I hope you enjoyed my post and have a great week!

The Holland Pouch

It's always fun to change things up a little :) My friend Nedra taught me how to make the Holland Pouch by Center Street Quilts. It's such a fun pattern and very easy to make.  The sizes come in small, medium and large.  I've made 2 medium ones so far with a third cut out. 

I used some favorite Lecien fabric I've been hoarding for years to make this bag.  I was so excited about making it that I forgot to put on the handles.  Isn't it darling?  I used 2 layers of batting instead of the Soft and Stable, just because I have so much batting!  

Gotta love Ruby Star Society fabric!  It's called "Tomato, Tomatoe".  I remembered to sew the handles on this time.  

Did you notice the little zipper pulls I used?  I ordered them from China, using the Aliexpress app on my phone.  They cost pennies and they're so cute!

I hope to make many more of these bags, Center Street Quilts even has a video tutorial.  Just google it!

Thanks for following me and have a great week!