Thursday, March 12, 2009

New bags

I had an order for 3 bags from a sweet little lady. She is in love with her dog and wanted her pic on two of her bags. I really hope she likes how they turned out.

AND!!!!! I finally got my bag.....is it not stunning! I am in total love. You have to click on the pic to see all the bling on it.

the wallet matches perfectly.....can I say how much I love my husband....he totally rocks!


and on a final note....how hysterical is this.....its spider stickers

this boy just makes me laugh!!!

Monday, March 9, 2009

BLOG AWARD




I just got an award from Terri over at Blooming Ideas and I would like to thank her for it. What a way to great your Monday! I need to nominate 8 other blogs so here goes:




Cheryl at Quilting Memories: I love her recipes, you HAVE to try her Fried Chicken one...yummy!




Sue at Berkshire Cottage: I adore her.....her heart is as big as the ocean! Probably even bigger!




Trisha at Easy to amuse hard to offend: I got the most beautiful collages from her for my boys room. She does amazing work.


Tipper her blog is an amazing history of the applachian mountains and its people...not to mention her husband and children sing like angels!




Lori at Buttons and Lace, this lady cracks me up! I love her wit and humor.




Coach Blogger...a single dad with FOUR daughters...need I say more!


Amy at Mommy and Beyond, she's a fellow bag maker and she makes me laugh
Natalie at Natalie's Sentiments....this girl makes me laugh.....a total diva.....with a stunning daughter.
and there is my 8. I hope you enjoy this group as much as I do.
On the flip side....I am almost done with the quilt. As soon as I get all the pics taken I will post the tutorial on the binding.
And on another note I started running...I am now up to 2 miles on the treadmill. I have entered my first 5k that is at the end of May. I'm excited, I never thought I could run. As a reward my husband bought me a Kathy Van Zeeland bag. I cannot wait to get it. He's so proud of me and it makes me more motivated.
~Christina

Monday, March 2, 2009

Tennessee Waltz Quilt How-To!

Well here it is ladies....finally.....the instructions on how to make the Tennessee Waltz Quilt. If you have any problems just email me and I will help you out in any way that I can!

Once again here are the requirements:
1/4 yard for Star Point Background
1/3 yard for Star Points
1/8 yard for Star Center
1/3 yard for Four-Patch (two prints)
1/4 yard for Snowball Corners
1/2 yard for Snowball Background

Get the material that you have picked for your Star Points. You will need to cut it into 3 1/2 inch strips. Take the strips and cut again into 2 inch squares. You will then cut the squares in half on an angle like the pic below.




This next step is a little bit tricky but if you have a cutting mat and follow my directions I hope you will understand it. Take the material that you are using for your Star Points Background and cut it into 4 inch strips. Then cut it every 3 1/2 inches. Put the blocks on your cutting mat with one side on the 3 and the other on the 7. Now you will need to cut at an angle up to the 3 and up to the 7. Look at the pic below to help you.



Sew the Star Points to the Star Points Background.

Next take the material that you are using for the Four Patch Blocks and you will also need 2 strips of the Snowball Background fabric, you will then cut them into 2 inch strips.

Alternating colors sew the strips together. Lay all your strips together with the sew seems matching on your cutting board and cut into 2 inch blocks.

Sew the 2 inch blocks together to form your Four Patch Block

You will also need to cut a 3 1/2 inch block from your Star Center fabric for your Star Center.(I didn't take a pic of this)
Lay all your pieces out to form your block. Make sure you lay your Four-Patch blocks out so that the Snowball Background square is in to the center. If you look at my block below you can see that the upper right block was sewn on wrong ( don't you just hate that!!!!)

Now take a minute and admire your block....they are sew pretty.....lol!

Now measure your block and trim it up square. Mine were 9x9. Take your material for the Snowball Background block and cut a 9x9 square ( or whatever your block measures )

Now use your fabric for the Snowball Corners and cut 3 1/2 inch squares. Turn your material over and using a pen draw a diagonal line down the center of each square. Just be very careful with what you use. If you have a light fabric Do Not use a pen or a pencil as these may show through. Use a Quilting Pen that will wash away. If your fabric is dark just use any ole' pen. Just make sure its not a marker or anything to dark.

Take your block and line them up to the corners of the Snowball Background block. Sew on your drawn lines diagonally. Cut the excess off.

Now you simply sew your blocks together and "voila" a masterpiece.



You continue sewing your blocks together until you have the size you want. The fabric requirements that I gave are for a 9 block square wall hanging. I want mine to hang behind my sofa in my front living room so I wanted mine longer than taller. Comprende? I love this pattern because you can adjust it to what you want...its all up to you. When you are done you will need two coordinating prints for the sashes. I do not like to piece my sashes so I measure the length by width to get enough material to make a continuous one. On the pic below I still have one more sash to put on then I can get the batting and backing on.


I hope all this was easy to understand. This quilt goes super fast. The longest part is cutting everything out (well not really, for me it was picking the fabric) but once you start sewing it zips along. If anyone is interested I have a SUPER easy way to put on the binding. From the front it will look like its hand sewn but its actually done using the sewing machine. Let me know and I will put up a tutorial on it.
~Christina