Merry Christmas.  I'm working on the new quilt kit by Moda called Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille.  I purchased this kit from the www.fatquartershop.com one of my favorite online fabric stores.

I just saw this 241 bag  (Link) and it's very cute with vintage typewriters as the fabric!!!
Best of Fons & Porter By Fons, Marianne/ Porter, Liz

241 Tote from Noodlehead! OMG!

I saw this Noodlehead bag on another blog and fell in love with it!  I just had to have this pattern and make this bag! It went together so easily, and the directions are in full color and very easy to follow!! I bought my fabric from http://www.hawthornethreads.com/ and really enjoyed sewing this one together.  My husband is a man of few words and hardly ever a compliment.  He saw this bag sitting on my sewing table and asked, "did you buy this one or make this one"? so I will take that as a compliment because it looked that good!!

Mondo Bag!

Wow! what a bag! this is my second Mondo bag! I love making these bags!!! they are fast and easy to make.  Using the quiltsmart pattern this bag goes together so easy.

I'm ready for the weekend!  I'm taking a class to make a Mondo bag! I'm so excited!  I can't wait!  happy sewing to everyone!

Snow Ball Blocks, and making them correctly.

I am working on the BOM Amish with a twist from Jennifer's Quilt Shop in Pinckney, MI (http://jennifersquiltshop.com/) and in Lesson #7 you get to the Snow Ball Block.  Since I am a relatively new quilter and I'm learning as I go, I thought I would share what I learned on this block.  Even though I followed the directions exactly, I still learned something from trial and error, and hopefully I can save someone else the trouble.  Perhaps an experienced quilter already knows this, however, I learned on my own.  Here goes.

I cut my fabric exactly as described on my pattern.

I drew a line diagonal from corner to corner as directed to sew my small corner piece to the larger block.  The pattern says lay the small block on top of the larger block and sew on the marked line.  HERE is where I messed up! I put the fabric together matching all sides perfectly!

Then I sewed across my diagonal line.  When I turned my fabric back, IT WAS SHORT!  See photo!

This may not seem like a lot, but over the entire length of a quilt that is 105 inches in length, by the time you get to the end, it will show!  Percision in quilting is one thing I have learned that really matters.

I then decided to scoot my small block back a little bit and line up the diagonal line, instead of lining up the block with the fabric.  I sewed across the diagonal line.

When you scoot it back, it will hang over the edge of your large block fabric a tiny bit, however, you are going to cut this off so it does not matter as long as your sewing line matches up. I flipped my fabric back and when I pressed it I had a perfect corner.

I continued this process all the way around my block, trimmed off the access and pressed my block a final time.

I now had my first snow ball block!  It seemed so simple, yet so hard until I learned to just scoot the fabric back a tiny bit!  If I had only know sooner.  I have tried to make these blocks a few other times with no luck.  My corners always come up short.  Now I figured it out. I hope my trial and error helps someone else make this beautiful block.  Cheers and have a wonderful day.

Here is where I sew.  Nothing fancy, just something simple that gets the job done.  I have an ironing station behind me and then I keep my fabric in a spare bedroom on shelves my husband put in for me.  I have a small cutting table and it all gets the job done.  The wooden cabinet my husband cut to fit my sewing machine.

The 4th of July holiday is almost here! I can't believe it!  I want to make another Quilt-Towel or as I call it a "Twilt" ha!  The pattern is featured in the Simple Quilts & Sewing magazine #123 (2012). This weekend I will be celebrating the 4th with my family at my sisters house.  I made her a great table runner for the occasion, and my daughter in Tennessee should receive her package today with the wall hanging I made for her.  Have a great day everyone!  I hope you all find some great holiday fabric sales!

Moda Bake Shop: Take It All Tote

Love this! I want to make one real soon!
Moda Bake Shop: Take It All Tote

Towel Quilt!

I have been thinking about this for a long time, and just this month saw one in a quilt magazine! Great minds think alike!  Here is my first quilt-towel A.K.A. "Twilt"  For lounging on a patio chair by the pool or drying off after your swim, this handy Twilt will do both! With Terry Cloth on the back, and stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, no batting is needed on this.  I really like the Terry Cloth as a backing.  It would actually make a very nice summer weight quilt for a bed.

Here Comes 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July!  My family has a huge celebration on the 4th.  I've already started sewing for the party!  I've made two table runners.  One from the newest McCall's Magazine using Prarie Paisley II from Minick and Simpson.  I just love those fabrics!!

Fabric Box!

This was a lot of fun!  It took me a while to figure it out, but once I did, I made two of these so far.  This is the pattern by  http://www.atkinsondesigns.com/ .

Quilting Updates

I have also been working on my own style of  Mug Rugs!  I've made several.  I made them for my daughters teachers as thank you gifts for the year.  The teachers loved them.  Here are my own designs.

McCalls' Ying Yang Quilt Kit

My own 1/2 square triangle design

My Sister calls this my "Vera Bradly Looking Quilt"

More quilting and learning new things.  Here are some of the quilts I've finished.  One for the Dr. I work for and the other two are just for my collections.