I Love Teaching!!!

So January was a complete whirlwind of quilting goodness!!!   I had the wonderful opportunity to teach at 3 different retreats in January and loved every minute of it!!!  I know I have said it here before, but I absolutely love teaching quilting classes!!!!   There is just such a joy in being able to share my love and passion with others ;)   I had so much fun teaching, and it has been such a whirlwind, that I haven't had time to go through all of my pictures and share with you.  So I finally sat down over the last few days and started editing and grouping and all the like and now you get a full fledged 3 Retreat Teaching Post!!!  Are you ready???  Here we go ;)

Cedar Chest Quilter's Guild Retreat

Last weekend was the Annual Cedar Chest Quilter's Guild Retreat.  This retreat is held in my home town of Cedar City, Utah and it was their 10th Anniversary so it was super special ;) One of my favorite things about this retreat is it always starts off with a meet the teacher night and then a Show and Tell.  Everyone gets to bring finished quilts that they have taken classes on in previous years.  I can't begin to explain how fun it is to see those block starts from classes come back as finished quilts!!!

These were some of the quilts from the Petal Pop Class I taught last year.

Aren't they just so fun!!!  I love how different a quilt can be by just using different fabric ;)

And up next was the Wonky Irish Chain Class I taught last year as well.  I just love how happy and fun these quilts all are ;)  Doesn't that lime green background just make you wish for Spring ;)

The next day was my first class.  I taught The Village Square from my Irish Chain Quilts book.   We had such a great time in class and everyone enjoyed the super easy applique.  I don't think it will be long before these little houses turn into villages ;)

On Friday morning I really treated myself and actually took a class!!!   I don't get to do this very often so I was so looking forward to it!!  Sandra Workman taught us her Improv Quilt as you Go Bag and I so loved it!!!  Talk about fun!!!   And of course, I made mine from all of my purple scraps ;)  Now all I have to do is get it put together ;) 

On Friday night of the Retreat, we all were in for a very special treat!!!  Amanda Herring  and Sandra Workman were the National Teachers of the year and put on an amazing Trunk Show that was also doubling as a fantastic and inspiring presentation on Creativity.   They shared their top 10 aspects for your Creative Journey which were 1- Take Risks 2- Inspiration 3- Patience 4- Dream Big 5- Be Curious 6- Challenge Yourself 7- Creative Source 8- Believe In Yourself 9- Be Generous 10- Live a Creative Life :).   It was absolutely amazing and left me feeling so incredibly blessed to be able to do what I do.  

Following the trunk show we had the All Night Sew!!!  And yes, this is just waht it sounds like.  150-200 women gather together and the sewing machines start humming.  We sew, and sew, and sew, until we can't see anymore ;)  I made it until 3 am but my last class was the next afternoon so I figured I best get some rest ;)  Oh, and did I mention along with sewing, they give out prizes, prizes, and more prizes!!!   So much fun!!!

And that afternoon class I mentioned above was my In Your Neighborhood pattern.  I absolutely love teaching this class.  It is so fun to see when the design clicks for everyone and it has lots of letters in the cutting so I get to play alphabet soup when teaching it.  Love it!!!  All together an absolutely amazing retreat.  I had such wonderful classes filled with wonderful people!!!!  What a joy :)

Winter Quiltfest Retreat

The weekend before was the Annual Winter Quiltfest Retreat held in Logan, Utah!!  This was my first time teaching at Winter Quiltfest and I can say I surly hope it isn't my last.  I loved, loved, loved it!!!!   What an amazing fun retreat :)  The retreat is run my Amy Maxfield and her family and they were just amazingly wonderful people to work with.  What a joy!!!

As soon as I arrived I got to say Hi to my wonderful friend Amy Smart and also got to meet a brand new and incredibly amazing friend, Jen Kingwell.  They were both the Featured Teachers of the retreat and I just loved being able to sit and chat with them.  I got to catch up with Amy as we normally only get to see each other at Market, and I got to learn all kinds of wonderful and amazing things about Jen.  So fun!!!

The next morning was my first class.  I taught my Braided Irish Chain pattern and what a fun class it was!!!  Everyone picked up on the pattern so quickly and the machines were just humming away.  I love that this design is put together with three different blocks because it is so fun to see how excited everyone gets when their little blocks turn into a giant block and they see the design come together.   What an awesome class this was and I just loved getting to know all of these amazing ladies!!!

In the afternoon that day, I taught my Petal Pop class.  And once again, it was full of just some amazing ladies!!!  So much fun!!!  This class is always a little worrying at first, because the block seems like it goes together backwards, but everyone picked it up quickly and was turning out blocks in no time.   I even got an email from a class member this week who finished her quilt top already!!  See it in the bottom corner.  So fun!!!

The evening finished with an amazing trunk show by Jen Kingwell!!!  And oh my, can you say jaw dropping!!!  This gal blows me away!!!  She hand pieces her quilts, yes I said hand pieces her quilts!!!  And I absolutely love how full of color all of her quilts are.  She uses 200 plus different fabrics in her quilts.  Just amazing!!!  My only regret of the retreat was that due to my schedule, I wasn't able to take a class.  I know I am a horrible hand stitcher but I sure would have loved to learn from the master.  

I was only there for a day, but oh my goodness, I just loved it!!!  The classes were amazing, the food was absolutely delicious (seriously, I was tempted to take a picture of my plate and share it ;)  and everyone was so nice and friendly!!!  I am so looking forward to making this an annual trip ;)  What a wonderful retreat!!

Quilt St. George Retreat

And last but not least, in the first week of January (yes, a month ago) I was able to teach at the Quilt St. George Retreat in St. George Utah.   This retreat was a little smaller and I have to say, there is something really fun about having a small class every once and a while.  I really got a chance to sit and get to know these ladies more.  What a treat ;)

I taught two classes at the retreat both from my Irish Chain Quilts book.  I had the Two Paths Crossed class and had so much fun.  These ladies were great and got their blocks put together with beautiful precision.   And we all enjoyed a lot of good laughs in the process ;)

And I also taught my String of Pearls class.  And even though these gals were a little camera shy to be in their pictures, they were absolutely lovely to teach and get to know.  We had such a wonderful time in class.

And I finished the evening out with a Trunk Show from my Irish Chain Quilts book.  I got to share the quilts from the book and a bit about the designing, inspiration, and joy in writting the book.  And of course, I didn't think to give my camera to anyone to take any pictures.  But it was fun, just trust me on that one ;)  It was a wonderful finish to a wonderful day!!!!

Oh, and on a side note . . .  I will be sharing my Irish Chain Quilts Trunk Show next Thursday at the Red Rock Modern Quilt Guild once again in St. George.  So if you are in the area, come check it out ;)  Hopefully this time I will remember to take some pictures ;)

And I think that just about wraps up my Teaching in January 2016!!!  Did you stay with me to the very end.  Wow, that turned out to be quite a post ;)  But honestly, what a treat it has been.  I just can not say enough how much I absolutely love to teach quilting!!!  I love sharing my passion and I love that I always come away learning new things as well.  Quilters are just the most amazing people and I love getting to meet and share with them at these incredible functions ;)

I hope you all have an amazing weekend filled with lots of Happy Quilting!!!!

Planning for a Jubilee

Next year the Utah Quilt Guild is celebrating their 40th Birthday and as part of the celebration they are hosting a Ruby Jubilee!  So fun, if you have never seen a Ruby Jubilee it is a beautiful collection of quilts all done in reds and whites.   Just stunning!!!    I have always wanted to make my Braided Irish Chain pattern as a 2 color quilt and figured this is the perfect opportunity to do so!!!   So I started to plan and quickly realized . . . I can't decide??

What do you think, White Chain with a Red Background . . .  or

Red Chain with a White Background

Which is your favorite???

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the $50.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop is . . .   Number # 211. . . Congrats Pine Point Cathy!!!   I have emailed you :) 

      

   

  

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co.  Julie has an adorable Etsy shop with lots of amazing fabric goodness!!!  And, she always has amazing prices (including the awesome Sale Selection) that make it so fun to fill up a cart ;)  

And the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for a $25.00 Gift Certificate to The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co.  Yup, we all love a good little shopping spree!!!  Isn't it fun to get to pick out your favorites ;)

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me what you are going to make for dinner tonight, I need some ideas :) 

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Scarlet Thread Quilt Co. love.   You can follow them on   Facebook, Instagram, or Favorite their Shop.  Or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Scarlet Thread Quilt Co. Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, February 9th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Sew Day Turned Snow Day

 After teaching over the weekend I was looking forward to a day with most of the kids at school and me in my sewing room just sewing away.  And then I woke up to snow, snow, and some more snow ;)   School was canceled (the first time in 67 years) and I have spent the day shoveling, plowing, and playing.

But it turned out to be a pretty good exchange.  Playing with these little monkeys in the snow is quite fun indeed :)  And I can always sew tomorrow.

I think I could go for some Hot Chocolate right now ;)   

Hope you are having a Happy Quilting (or maybe snow playing) day ;)

Fall In Line - A Secret Share!!!

Last summer I had to wonderful opportunity to work on a special secret project.   I am sure you have heard a lot about it recently, as it has been hoping along . . . so I am so excited to get to share it today!!   I had the wonderful privilege to make one of the Gallery Quilts for the newly released Moda All-Stars, All In A Row book and here it is, beautifully photographed by Brent Kane!!  I am calling it Fall In Line :)

I absolutely loved being a tiny part of this book!!  The rows are so much fun to make and each of them are so very different and yet they all pull together so nicely.  I obviously took up the fall themed quilt and I just love it!!! 

I wanted to give it a beautiful fall theme, but not in traditional fall fabrics.  So I choose to use your normal autumn colors of yellow, orange, green, and browns, but did them in bright tones of the colors.  The fabrics are selections from Tucker Prairie by One Canoe Two, Meadowbloom by April Rosenthal and Prairie by Corey Yoder.    Doesn't it just give it such a happy fall feel ;)  

And the fun thing about a Row quilt is there are no rules!!!  I, in my need for symmetry, decided to repeat some rows to create a central focal row and then do a giant row border of what felt like a million flying geese ;)  It was just so fun to really just play with each row and see where the design evolved.  The book has so many awesome examples of how you can really mix it up and make each quilt your own quilt.  

When it came time to quilt, I decided on an all over curly q.  My goal was to have one more element that tied each of the rows together and I think it did just that ;)  

And I just love all of that yummy texture.  Doesn't it just make you want to snuggle up in it!!!

And that is Fall In Line ;)   I hope you just love it as much as I do and check it out in All In A Row ;) 

And just in case you haven't heard, Moda is going to be doing a Row Along starting February 1st!!!!  I am so excited and this time will be making a Christmas quilt ;)   More on that to come.  

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!

Linking up this finish to Amanda's, Quilt Story, and Sarah's ;)

Cutting and more Cutting

So remember how I posted about all of the fun Quilt-Alongs I have coming my way . . . We'll between going here and there to teach this month (more on that soon) I have been trying to squeeze in some cutting so I will be ready for all of these to start :)

I mentioned earlier that I decided for the Splendid Sampler to do monochromatic blocks in a rainbow layout.  The fun thing about that is I can just pull open the appropriate color drawer for each new block and cut as I go ;) I love having my scraps sorted by color, this rainbow just makes me smile :)

For the All In A Row "Row Along" I finally managed to narrow my row choices down to 6 and then cut some additional pieces for the border prints.  I have all my pieces cut and am ready to start Rowing Along ;)    I am so excited to be making a Christmas Quilt using Winterberry by  Kate and Birdie for Moda.  I have had a Fat Eighth stashed away for a while now and it is going to be just perfect for this festive row quilt!!!

For the Bloom Sew Along, I decided to do something a little different and am using this fun new line called Dot and Dash by Doodlebug Designs for Riley Blake.  I am making 3 blocks for my "guest blogging day" and have them all cut out.  I can't wait to see this one come together.  So fun!!!

And finally, I started getting all of the print fabrics cut for my Crossroads Quilt Along.  Aren't those colors just gorgeous!!!  I love the soft tones of Fig Tree Quilts!!  I still have to cut the red chain block pieces, and then the background instructions are sent with each block.  But I feel like I have a really good start ;)

So that is what I have been up to . . . how about you??  Any marathon cutting sessions as of late getting ready for new 2016 projects ;)

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the Happy Quilting 3 PDF Patterns is . . .   Number # . . . Congrats Cary!!!   I have emailed you :) 

      

  

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop.   Fat Quarter Shop is taking this week and making it Lori Holt Week!!!  Every day be sure and check out the Sweet Lori Holt Deal of the Day!!!  Lori amazes me with everything she does and it is all so adorable!!!  Love it!!!

And the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for a $50.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop!!!!  WOW!!! There is going to be some happy shopping going on for one luck reader ;)  

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me if you have ever made one of Lori Holt's designs or played with some of her beautiful fabric ;)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Fat Quarter Shop love.   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, You Tube or at their Blog.  You can Sign up for their Newsletter which will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales, or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Fat Quarter Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, February 2nd  when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Aunt Eliza's Star Mini from Sister Sampler Quilts

I was so excited when I was asked by Anne Marie Chaney to participate in her Sister Sampler Quilts Blog hop!! Her new book Sister Sampler Quilts is oh so much fun and filled with lots of amazing blocks done up a la Sister Style ( paired blocks) in three fun modern layouts.  I decided to follow the Vice Versa Sampler Layout with the Aunt Eliza's Star Block and came up with this little mini!!!

I know, Sister blocks are normally a pairing of blocks, but I figured, there are 4 sisters in my family, so two sets of pairings seemed the right fit to cover everyone.  I love the Vice Versa layout as it gives the blocks such a great movement.

These blocks are so much fun to put together, as are all of the great blocks from Sister Sampler Quilts.  And of course, you know I just love purple.  I used  Kona Hibiscus and Kona White in the mini and the binding is Kona Berry.  Love!!!

When it came time to quilt it, I couldn't decide between a dark thread or a light thread.  I knew either way one would stand out on one fabric and completely blend in with the other.  And then I realized, why not use both.  I have this super fun variegated black and white thread from the
Fantastico Thread line by Superior Threads.  It was the perfect fit!!  And a simply crosshatch just played up all of those  fun angles from the piecing :)

Anne Marie's Sister Sampler Quilts is a fantastic book for anyone's quilt library.  It has 24 blocks in it  all with two different size options.  And with the super fun and distinctly different layouts  you can create and recreate endless quilt possibilities.

Sister Sampler Quilts: 3 Modern Sampler Quilts with Paired Sister Blocks By AnneMarie Chany

 published by Fons & Porter/F+W; is $19.99 and available at  http://www.sistersamplerquilts.com.  To find out more about this awesome book, and see lots more Sister Block Eye Candy be sure and check out all of the stops along the Sister Sampler Quilts Hop!!!  

Monday, January 18  

AnneMarie Chany / Gen X Quilters - Introduction

Sara Lawson / Sew Sweetness

Tuesday, January 19 

Leah Day / Free Motion Project
Brenda Ratliff / Just A Bit Frayed

Wednesday, January 20

Faith Jones / Fresh Lemons Quilts
Angela Pingel / Cut To Pieces

Thursday, January 21

Lynne Goldsworthy / Lily's Quilts
Amy Friend / During Quiet Time

Friday, January 22

Christa Watson / Christa Quilts
Violet Craft

Monday, January 25

Lee Heinrich / Freshly Pieced
Melissa Corry / Happy Quilting

Tuesday, January 26

Karen Lewis / Karen Lewis Textiles

Amy Gibson / Stitchery Dickory Dock

Wednesday, January 27

Sherri McConnell / A Quilting Life

Melissa Mortensen / Polka Dot Chair

Thursday, January 28

Amy Ellis / Amy's Creative Side

Heather Valentine / The Sewing Loft

Friday, January 29

Cindy Wiens / Live A Colorful Life

AnneMarie Chany / Gen X Quilters - Wrap Up

My Mini is now added to the Purple wall of mini's.  So fun to see it growing ;)  

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!  

Rainbow Strings & Inspiration

So I am about to head out to Logan Utah to teach at the Winter Quiltfest Retreat!!!  I am so super excited!!!   Now only do I just love getting to teach, but I also get to catch up with lots of friends that I only get to see once or twice a year ;)  Yippee!!!!   And on my way there, I figured why not stop at another friends house on the way.   April Rosenthal was this month's Bees Knees gal and so I got her fun little string blocks all made up so I can drop them off to her on the drive and also get to say Hi.  Double bonus!!!!

These blocks are made using a mix of April's amazing fabric lines, Meadowbloom and Best Day Ever!!   I just love how happy and bright they are.   I always love sewing with bright colors as they just make me smile!!!  And I loved these string blocks.  They are so fun and easy to make.  Good Times!!!

And playing with these fun rainbow strings made me put two things together that I am so excited about.  I have always wanted to make one of those fun Rainbow Sampler quilts, mostly I was thinking a Dear Jane as that is what you see all the time.   But while I was sewing up these strings it hit me . . . Bam!!!  I am going to be doing the Splendid Sampler that I mentioned on Monday,  and what better time to do a Rainbow Sampler than this one that has 100 adorable blocks!!!  Yippee!!!   I plan on doing Monochromatic Blocks and then putting them in some fun rainbow layout when I am done.   So it's time to open the scrap drawers and hopefully bust through some of these over the next year and in the end, have me Rainbow Sampler :)  Here is hoping I can keep up!!!   So excited!!!

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!