Thursday, January 31, 2013

Now What Am I Forgetting?

 There are around 12 of us that meet
in a little quilt group in Mesa once a month.
We each sign up to provide lunch 
for our gathering,
and January was my month.
 I knew exactly what I wanted to cook for
 these wonderful ladies.
My friend Cindy Harris
shared a recipe
on her cooking blog
Everyday Insanity
I think I sang out load
the first time I tasted it.
I've made it 3 times in the last month
for various gatherings.
 Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum!
It's a 30 minute meal that is easy to make
with ingredients available in most grocery stores.
You can find the recipe
on Cindy's blog.
 Because our group meets in a church
I needed to bring everything with me to fix the meal.
I thought I was 
so prepared.
I was ready for 
PRESENTATION!
All of the ingredients were chopped in advance.
I brought every utensil 
I could think of.
But, as I walked out the door,
this little feeling kept popping up.
Now What Am I Forgetting?
I went through my list twice.
Check
Check 
 The Mandarin Orange and Green Salad was all made.
Check
 The Cherry Comfort Bars were baked,
(another delicious recipe from Cindy)
and I even remembered a spatula.
Hmmmm....
That feeling kept pestering away...
The ladies arrived,
chatting happily
 and began commenting on the wonderful smells 
wafting from the kitchen.
I smiled.
I was ready for 
PRESENTATION!
Then I looked down and 
noticed I was still wearing 
my old worn out
frumpy
 house slippers.
(Tell me I'm not the only one who has done this)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Ideal Seam Guide

 I'm always on the lookout for 
new quilting notions
that help with accuracy
while working on a 
project.
 While perusing the Vendor Mall at the
Tucson Quilters Guild Quilt Show
I watched a demonstration
for the
and bought a few 
of their products to play with.
 First you start with the 
Ideal Seam Gauge
and drop the needle into the desired 
seam width hole.
I used the 1/4th inch hole for quilting.
*notice they even have a marking for a scant 1/4th inch*
 Next, line the 
Ideal Seam Guide 
vertically next to the Seam Gauge.
Once the Seam Guide is pressed in position, 
the Gauge can be removed.
The Seam Guide has a rubber backing 
that adheres firmly to the sewing table, 
and can be easily removed
by lifting up on the end.
The guide can be repositioned up to 1,000 times!
When the backing gets "linty"
it can be washed with warm soapy water.
The Seam Guide is available in 4 different sizes.  
I purchased the 10", which fits nicely on my machine.
I've been binding a lot of quilts lately,
and the guide has been especially helpful 
with accuracy as I've fed bulky
fabrics along it's edge.
To find out more about the
Ideal Seam Guide
go to 

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Nimble Thimbles January Show and Tell

 I always get so many ideas from 
Show and Tell.
It really is one of my favorite parts of attending a guild meeting.
I love to see what others are making
and come home inspired to pull out my fabrics
and get quilting.
Below is a small sampling
from The Nimble Thimbles this month.
 Love this version of a 
Snails Trail
 A great way to use up scraps.
 A fun owl quilt one member made for her grand daughter.
 A baby quilt awaiting the birth of a new grand child.
The names and dates will be filled in on the banners.
When our group first looked at this quilt we wondered if the center
(a french word for Persian applique)
but it's actually a panel :)
I really liked her use of 16 patch blocks for the inner borders.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Crazy Cow Ladies Quilt

 What do you do if 
your local quilt shop hosts a
Challenge Quilt Contest
and you are given fabric like this to work with?
 Seriously?
All I see are Crazy Cow Ladies 
dressed up in costumes, 
with a smattering of pink ribbons round about.
Odd
  Very odd fabric.
 But if you are 
Connie Keyt
you don't let the fabric limit your imagination.
 Connie can turn the more bizarre fabric
into a work of stunning beauty.
 Cows doing the can-can
become gorgeous ruched flowers.
 Each year Connie buys a few yards 
of her local quilt store's challenge fabric,
like Kitchen Bouquet
 And turns them into the most 
beautiful baskets.
 All hand pieced and hand quilted
 with 3-D flowers
 that match any garden in creativity.
 I wanted to touch every piece.
Fall Flowers
 turn into Fall Baskets
Many thanks to 
Connie Keyt
for coming to our Nimble Thimbles guild and
presenting her inspirational trunk show.
Now when I look at Challenge fabrics
I will think of Connie
and realize that
even the ugliest and outlandish of fabrics 
has unlimited potential.
There ought to be a life lesson in there.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Fireworks Basket Quilt

 We enjoyed the most wonderful 
featured artist/ trunk show at our
Nimble Thimbles
meeting this month.
 One of our guild members asked her mother
Connie Keyt
of Iowa
if she would bring some of her 
Challenge Quilts
created from fabrics
provided by a local quilt shop.
 When we entered the room, we saw the backs of the quilts,
showing the Challenge Fabric Connie had to work with.
 Some of the fabrics were not too bad,
like this bright red, white and blue.
 Connie wins First Place Ribbons
each year with the Quilt Store and 
State Fair.
Once she turned over her quilts
we could see why!
 From the simplest of fabrics,
Connie creates the most beautiful hand appliqued baskets!
She named this one
Fireworks Basket
 Connie says she gathers inspiration from
Ellie Sienkiewicz Baltimore Album quilt books
and flower folding books.
 The lighting was poor in the room where we meet, 
and truly, my camera does not do justice to
the intricate hand work.
 Some years the quilt shop
uses the most garish fabrics for their Challenge.
How could a person possibly create something beautiful from this?
 Leave it up to Connie to come up with another 
stunning Basket Quilt.
 All hand pieced and hand quilted.
 Complete with ruched flowers.
Connie brought several more quilts.
I will share with you tomorrow 
a continuation of her very creative work.

Friday, January 25, 2013

A Little More Show and Tell

 The rest of January's
Show and Tell
from 
The Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild
Enjoy!
 Andee
Limbania's
 Kirsten's
 Tracy's Christmas Tree Skirt