Friends, Inspiration, and some catch-up

My friend, Nancy, wants so badly to make a double wedding ring quilt. She was told it was too difficult. Well, it is a difficult pattern, but no more than many others out there - when you put your mind to it anything is possible. So, she ordered a gazillion fabrics -- yes really!  She wants to make a more modern-type wedding ring. Well, let me tell you, all her excitement got me excited and inspired. You see, many, many moons ago I started a wedding star quilt. I had decided to use one fabric for the rings instead of following the pattern. Well, I got everything cut out, managed to piece one melon and had enough, it didn't help that I was dissatisfied with the green fabric. So, away the project went, into a tub on the shelf - most likely never to be touched again. Yes, it was a long time ago. I can tell you that I cut all the arcs while I sat in line at parent pickup waiting for my son from school. I can also tell you that he is now 23... like I said, a long time ago.  Here's a pic of the one and only melon - and see, that green doesn't even match (maybe that's why I put it away).

Well, I'm thinking all of Nancy's excitement stirred up some inspiration in me, I pulled down the tub of wedding ring parts, looked through all the pieces, remembered how much I love the arc fabric, and decided I might get back to this project. Except, I won't be piecing it.  I've decided I won't be doing the star parts either, just the arcs - a more traditional wedding ring quilt.  And better yet, I'll be appliqueing them - yay, I enjoy applique so much more than piecing.

So I took all the arc pieces that I cut with scissors eons ago, made a template and then cut foundation pieces for turned edge foundation applique.

  

My planned applique layout (I think this might work):

Stitching the edges down:

Piecing two appliqued blocks together:

And the green and brown for the four patch corners:

So blame this one on Nancy, but I must say, I did more work on this project over the weekend than I have in all the years I've had it!  Hopefully you'll see it on the frame sometime this year!

So what else has been going on you ask?

Well, I finished my Cherrywood Fabrics Lion King Challenge - you'll be able to read all about it soon.  I'm waiting until after the entry deadline to share all the wonderfulness with you!

I'm prepping for my next teaching event at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA in July.  There are only a few spots left in my classes so if you're thinking about signing up you might not want to wait.  I'm only there for two days teaching Build-A-Stitch, Doodle Quilting, and Filling the Space - all three are awesome classes, and if you've taken a hands-on class with me before you know we stitch, and stitch, and then stitch some more!  No worries, we'll get you a chair if you're tired.

I'll also have my brand-new rulers with me at Quilt Odyssey.  I only have a very limited supply available for my students in class.  You can go to my website store or use the link on the sidebar over there -----> to preorder and as soon as I return from the show I'll be placing another order to have more made and you'll be the first ones to receive them!  They are awesome, I love them (maybe that's why I had them made...) and I'm planning to do a short video with them soon (so you can love them too).

One more tidbit for Quilt Odyssey -- I'm hoping (fingers crossed so tight my eyes are all squinty) to have my second book Build-A-Stitch 2 - Even More Stitches finished, printed, and ready for sale by then.

Oh, I also managed to cut, lazy-piece (my word for straight-line-not-much-thought-necessary piecing), and square up the blocks for an entire king-size quilt.  When it will get pieced into rows... hahaha, that's another story!

Well, I think that's it... for now!  And please excuse any typos - spell-checker is not working right now.  Happy Stitching peeps - go create something amazing!

The goings-on in my little world

So here goes a little quilty catch-up. I've been working on a few things (like always). In trying my best to stay on track (hahaha) I've been using due dates to select my work order. So during those far and few between moments that I'm not working on client work here's what I've been up to.

You all remember the Cherrywood Fabrics #wickedchallenge from last year, right?  If not, click here for my post about my entry, Elphie. Well, the #wickedchallenge was so awesome, that Cherrywood decided to do another one, the #lionkingchallenge. You know me, I had to be a part of this one too! Just look at those awesome fabrics!

Here's a peek at my project - what, a lion?  You've got to be kidding, right?!!  I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of lions for this challenge. But, remember, this is only a peek - it is going to change a lot!

And some of this:

And some of this:

And a whole bunch of these:

Can you tell it's almost killing me not to share? I absolutely love my challenge and can't wait until I'm able to share with all of you!

Okay, now you see what's been consuming all my free time. Well, almost. I did manage to float in the pool over the weekend!

And then there's that modern challenge I was talking about in my last post.  Here are the fabrics for that - some white Cotton Couture, and some beautiful blues from Cherrywood!

I do have a plan, but as of right now that's all it is - a plan. Stepping out of my comfort zone with this modern thing...

No, I haven't forgotten about Dance in the Rain, it's on the back burner for a few weeks as I try to get ahead on other deadlines - like my Journeys Thru Art Project, which is due in November. This years subject is bridges. I am doing the Trenton Makes bridge. I have a conference call tomorrow with the awesome Cindy Lohbeck (Hands on Hand Dyes) to discuss the background fabric - I can't wait to hear what she has planned for my background fabric.

Oh, and I can't forget about the Journeys Thru Art groups field trip this week... Zoo Miami!!  I can not wait! I have been wanting to do a quilt of the Giant Eland (Lord Derby Eland) for a long while now -- when I found out that Zoo Miami was one of only a handful of places that has the Giant Eland I literally squealed. Why? Because I can stand there all afternoon and take pictures until I get the one I absolutely want. So yeah, on top of everything else I want to create, we'll just add a Giant Eland quilt too - no biggy! So watch next week for some awesome zoo pics on my photo blog!

I think that's it... no worries, if I'm forgetting something it'll just be in the next post!