A Liebster Award

Hey everyone! Wendi from prsd4tim2 nominated my blog for a Leibster Award recently. Blogger awards are such a great way to learn more about your fellow bloggers so I knew I had to participate. 

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

I enjoyed getting to know more about Wendi, and I will answer these questions she has sent to me so you can get to know more about me too!

1. Why did you start blogging? Well, I didn't have any friends that enjoyed quilting and sewing so I started blogging as an outreach to other quilters. I also like sharing knowledge and the blog lets me do this. 

2. What is something this year that you are really looking forward to? Totally nothing to do with quilting - My son's graduation this coming May and the fact that he is going to continue his education and be the first in my family with a Masters Degree.

3. What is your favorite thing to do to unwind? Sewing, quilting and camping but also lounging on the couch surrounded by my three dogs - Guils, Ripley and Tessa.

4. Photo's say a thousand words so share a photo that means the most to you. Why is that picture important to you? It's a picture of my son when he was just 6 years old, it was taken on the roof of the Duomo in Milan. We lived in Northern Italy for 3 years, just minutes from Lake Garda. My husband was active duty in the USAF at the time and we were stationed at Ghedi Air Base (an Italian Air Base). In those three years we experienced life as an Italian. We lived on the economy and learned as much as we could about the area. We loved every moment!!

5. What quote inspires you the most? My grandfather once told me "Always do your best, even if your digging a ditch make sure to dig the best ditch you have ever dug".  So no matter how small or insignificant what you are doing might seem, do it with pride! He was a country boy and grew up in poverty in the south, but he was the most hardworking, forgiving, kindest, sweetest, loving man I have ever known!

6. Name a quilting tool you can’t live without & why? A 6" by 12" rotary cutting ruler, I use it all the time. Recently I misplaced it and had the hardest time cutting fabric with the other rulers I have. I ran right out and bought a new one.

7. Where is your favorite vacation spot? Anywhere camping! We love to camp and have a tiny little camper called Itty Bitty. Usually we camp quite a few times a year and love being outdoors in nature.

8. What is your favorite blog? This is a hard one! I can't possibly choose just one, I love all the blogs I subscribe to (through bloglovin) and don't believe one is better than the other, each blogger shares their insight and knowledge. Just like the individuals that write the blogs, each blog is wonderful in its own way!

9. What is your favorite way to work out? Oh, boy do I have to answer this - Really?!   I use to lift weights and run, but haven't been at it for a while. I do miss running, it was such an escape. I really need to get my bum in gear and get back at it!

10. Where do you like to shop? Well, that depends... Fabric? um.. Lots of places! Brick and  Mortar stores: A&E in Pensacola (divine selection) and Lynn's in FWB. Online: Westwood Acres, Fat Quarter Shop, Hawthorn Threads, Fabric Depot, the list goes on and on.

11. What's the best advice you've ever been given? My best friend once told me something her dad said "Words are like a tube of toothpaste." Which makes complete sense to me because once you say the words (hurtful and unkind) you can never take them back - so be kind with your words!!

Now to nominate some fellow bloggers :)

Yvonne at That's So Creative

Sarah at Thrift Store Crafter

Melissa at My Fabric Relish

Lisa at Modern Balabusta

Cindy at SeeLifeMarvels

Leslie at The Purple Bug

 Ok bloggers now its your turn to answer some questions
1. Why did you start blogging? 
2. What is something this year that you are really looking forward to?
3. What is your favorite thing to do to unwind?
4. Photo's say a thousand words so share a photo that means the most to you. Why is that picture important to you?
5. What quote inspires you the most?
6. Name a quilting tool you can’t live without & why?
7. Where is your favorite vacation spot?
9. What is your favorite way to work out?
10. Where do you like to shop?
11. What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Oh and don't forget to stop by Wendi's blog Prsd4tim2 and say 'Hi'! She is so talented and I love reading her blog!!

Design Wall At Last!

This past weekend my husband and I finally made a design wall for the quilt room. I have been wanting to do this ever since we moved in our home. I did a lot of research and found many different tutorials and examples. It's fun looking at all the other design walls out there, just google 'quilt design wall'. There are simple ones made by just tacking up a felt backed table cloth or felt to you wall to extreme design walls made with MDF and power outlets cut out.

We decided to go with affordable polystyrene foam insulation sheets that we found at Lowe's for just under $10.00 each. They are light weight 8 feet by 4 feet and 1/2 inch thick, one side is white the other silver with manufactures information printed on it. The room is about 11' x 10' and one wall where the long arm quilting machine is was the perfect place to make into a large design wall.

On the wall that is 11 feet wide we could easily fit the 8 foot length of the polystyrene. I wanted more than 4 feet tall so we took one of the sheets of polystyrene we cut length wise down to 2 foot wide. This made the design wall 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Not quite the whole wall but pretty big indeed!

 

Using spray adhesive we glued quilt batting to the white sides - this is important because the print on the other side would show through the batting and make an ugly design wall! Don't do what I did and leave one of the scanner stickers on under the batting, I promise it will show through the batting!

Once batting is on the main side we flipped it over trimmed the excess batting down to two inches and glued it to the back. We did this for both pieces. We could have duck taped the two together before covering with batting but for easier installation we left the two sheets separate. 

Once the two sheets are covered with batting we placed the 2' strip down first using 3M command strips stuck to the back of the polystyrene and made sure it was level and pressed it onto the wall. Then added the 4' wide sheet also with the 3M command strips.

Design Wall by LaBellaColori

And there you have it - one really awesome design wall!

Fun with Tutorials!

I thought after the first of the year that everything would slow down, but no. Just like everyone knows more things end up on the 'to do' list! But I can't complain because I am loving it all!! Doing more of the creative things I love to do.

I volunteered for the Emerald Coast Modern Quilt Guild Block Lottery and became the official Block Lottery Captain in January; and what an honor it is! I get to design and test block patterns for the guild. Check out our block for the March meeting...

I was really fun to sew up and easy too! The block lottery is a great way for our guild to raise funds, but it is also a way to learn new quilting skills or push yourself to use fabrics you might not have ever chosen. It is a free tutorial every month for anyone to use, even if your not a guild member it's avalable. I hope that these tutorials are helpful, educating and fun!!

The past two blocks were...

Circle of Friends

Modified Churn Dash

I am looking forward to future months!! I already have some great ideas ready.

Also I plan on making each one of these blocks to keep and then at the end of the year create a sampler quilt from them. I have a bundle of Denise Schmidt Chicopee and a nice bundle of low volumes I plan on using, the Chicopee just makes me smile so I think that will be my happy sampler quilt - finally some selfish sewing :)

So please if you see a block tutorial on the Emerald Coast Modern Quilt Guild Blog you like, by all means make some!! And please send me a pic I would love to see it!

Two Versions of the Sew Together Bag

I have been eyeing the 'Sew Together Bag' pattern by SewDemented on Craftsy for about 6 months. I finally broke down and purchased it in December.

The pattern description is "Do you love Sewing Together with your friends, but can't keep up with all the notions you brought? This was my dilemma!

The Sew Together Bag is a niffty little bag with three zippered pockets, four open pockets, a pincushion and a great little needle landing all held together by a zipper that forms two handles.

This bag will easily hold your 8" scissors, rotary cutter, marking pencils, seam ripper, extra needles, thread, snippers, and much more. It will amaze you how much you can hold in this fun and compact bag."

It is true this is a niffty little bag and it has loads of pockets!

I made one for my mother-in-law for Christmas, using stashed fabrics in her favorite colors of teal, blue and pinks. I used fusible fleece for the outer shell and quilted straight lines.

It is a great design! But (and there is a big but in there) I would not recommend this pattern to a beginner.

For the zipper pocket linings I used a bright pink to match the outer zipper.

The overall design is perfectly well thought out and all the zippers are great for storing small items that otherwise might get lost. With four open pockets and three zipper pockets you can carry a lot in this bag.

Then I made another one for the guild's zipper bag swap, my partner was Yvonne from 'That's Sew Creative'. I know she loves English paper piecing and the soft colors of Bonnie and Camille's Scrumptious.

So I just had to make the outside of the bag with 1" EPP hexagons. These fabrics are so very sweet and relaxing to work with. I used cotton batting and hand quilted with perle cotton the outside. I recommend getting longer than recommended zippers for the three inside pockets, that way you do not have to worry about sewing over the metal zipper stops. Stay with the size she has for the outside zipper, there is no worry of sewing over those zipper stops.

My overall review of the pattern is that the design is top-notch and the written directions are good. There are only 4 diagrams to reference and I even found them confusing. The lack of photos makes it very frustrating and the price is $12.00. Now the price is equal to the great design but not due to the lack of step by step photos but that's my opinion. Although once you have it figured out it is easier when making a second one. It is a challenging pattern but don't let it stop you from making one, the finished results are very rewarding!

Thanks for visiting!

Kira

A Plan of Attack: 2014

With Christmas in just a few days and New Years around the corner, thoughts of a 'New' year for quilting and personal growth are percolating in my head. But you know what - I really hate New Years Resolutions. I am not a very focused person, I can't for the life of me stick to any one project before starting a new one. So the thought of making any resolution scares me because I know I will fail!

BUT... There are a few things that I need to work on and there are things I want to accomplish and without forcing myself to try and make these changes I won't be able to grow and possibly achieve some of the goals I would like to succeed at. (deep breath)

The first goal I want to work on is to take my blogging more serious. Blogging for me has been a big learning curve. Although I have had my ups and downs I don't think I have taken it seriously. I would like to try and post at lease once a week on the things I am working on. I also want to do a weekly themed post with a 'learn this' or 'tips and tricks to quilting' or other fabric related information.

I am guessing that organization is the key to developing a consistent blogging schedule, or at least I hope so!

Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler has designed this clever blog planner and its free!! She designed it with everything in mind for the blogger. There is a monthly calendar on one side and plenty of space on the other side to list ideas, statistics and more. She included pages for giveaways, advertising and brainstorming. This just might be a big help in accomplishing my first goal! Erica also has lots of other printables on her site, go check it out here. 

This is just one of the goals I want to complete in 2014. I have many others that I'd like to share, but will focus on this one for now.

What tips can you share about blogging?