**This quilt is currently for sale in my Etsy shop: Fox Quilt listing
This quilt is a remnants bin challenge result. I found some cute fox fabric in the JoAnn’s remnants bin and used what I had at the house to build a quilt around it – gray, black, and two orange hues. I was happy with the result, especially since I finally found a use for the orange and black hounds tooth flannel I bought last Black Friday.
I do wish I’d arranged the colors differently, though. My original goal was to have a gradient effect. I’ve grown to like it, though, and I added a few little foxes around the other blocks to create an interesting focal point.
Alrighty, so I’m all finished with my craft fairs as of last weekend. I decided that no one was going to buy quilts during the spring, so I shifted all my focus to fall shows, undertaking four shows in six weeks. This wouldn’t sound like much to someone who does shows all the time, but as a teacher with two small kids – it’s a lot. My kids were begging me not to go by the 3rd show.
I’ve placed any quilts that haven’t sold up on my Etsy store, so feel free to take a look.
Here’s what I learned as a seller of quilts at shows.
You can tell within the first two hours what kind of a day you’re going to have. Plenty of people will stop and “oooh” and “ahhh”, but if they aren’t actually looking at the price tags then don’t get your hopes up.
Gender-neutral or “boy” quilts sell faster. Not sure why. Maybe because many quilts look decidedly “girly”?
When you sell one quilt the entire show, it’ll be both good and bad. You’ll think, “Yay, I made my booth fee back and then some!” You’ll also realize, “Well, after my booth fee I basically made $40. I sat there for 8+ hours for $40?”
Commissions are a delayed gratification for doing these shows. So while you may not sell the ready-made stuff, the commissions later on do add up and make it worthwhile.
People love to share stories of how their family members were also quilters. They’ll tell you all about them while standing in the middle of your booth, blocking other people from seeing in.
Be sweet to your booth neighbor, especially if you’re in your booth alone. You may need that person to stand between booths so you can run to the bathroom.
Outside craft fairs are havoc for crafts that involve fabric. I was downwind from a BBQ vendor one show. My quilts smelled like BBQ afterwards. This could be cool for a bit, but in the end it involved me tumbling them in the dryer with dryer sheets in an attempt to get rid of the smell. I’ve heard of other vendors experiencing the same thing with kettle corn booths nearby as well.
There was also the issue of smokers at outdoor shows. I had folks smoke near my stuff, and one cigarette came within an inch of my personal t-shirt quilt that I use at shows. I panicked. I also had one show begin a fire pit a few feet from my booth, and I finally agreed to move my booth mid-show to another spot. It still didn’t work, and I had to, once again, air out and tumble my product in an attempt to get the smell out.
Some people can be quite passive aggressive about prices, and it isn’t cute.
It’s a special feeling when you meet someone who has the same sense of humor and/or interest as you. I loved talking about Dr. Who and Star Wars with folks.
People seem more inclined to come in and shop around if you’re reading a magazine or book. Maybe there’s less pressure? They don’t feel like they’re being scrutinized?
There is such a feeling of accomplishment when someone says your quilt is “perfect” for someone they know as they buy it. Gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.
There was also the issue of my role as vendor vs artist, but that’s for another post. Stay tuned.
Sorry for the silence on the blog part of this website. It’s craft fair season here, and I’m in full swing. My Facebook page and Instagram haven’t been quiet, though. I’ll post more once things calm down here.
A friend from church approached me about making a quilt for the church retreat in October. When I heard that the theme was “Connecting Through Stories”, I just knew which quilt design I wanted to do. I’d had my eye on a bookcase quilt for ages and wanted to give it a try, so I used this as an opportunity to finally make one.
I started by cutting my scraps into various strips of width and length. I did stick to fabrics that I felt someone would be able to write on and be easily visible. Of course, every once in a while I threw in a darker color for balance.
Then I sewed those scraps into large pieces of white muslin and trimmed them all to be about 12.5″ long. From there, I sewed the “books” into blocks of roughly 12.5″ square.
Scraps for a bookshelf quilt
I also used some of the particularly smaller “books” to make stacks.
The hard part came when I knew I needed to make about four books that leaned. I did this by attaching white fabric all the way around and then using my grid to skew the cut, making sure to leave .25″ of white at the corners so that my book didn’t look like it was sinking into the shelf.
From there I made my “shelf”.
I did find a nice wood grain fabric at JoAnn’s, and I used it for the shelf. The wood grain fabric was pretty pricey, though, so I went with a more cost-effective brown fabric for the back since it would be in a wall anyway.
I decided to only quilt on the wood grain fabric since the shelves and books needed to be open for signatures, but I do think I’ll go back and quilt those sections at least a little before all is said and done.
I did have one large brown block in the center of the shelves. This actually isn’t a book but rather a frame. My idea was to take a group picture of everyone at the retreat, print it on fabric, and then make it look like a photograph on the shelf.
The last step was to add a hanging sleeve. I can’t wait for everyone to see it at the retreat!
This quilt was for a friend as a surprise at her baby shower. I knew we wanted to tie in to her overall theme of woodland creatures, and I did several searches for different images. In the end, I went with the images on her actual shower invitation. (She loves sloths, so we snuck in one of those as well!)
I traced the images onto basic copy paper and then retraced them backwards onto fusible interfacing.
From there, the layering process began. I had to trace each layer backwards onto the fusible interfacing as well and then iron them on top of one another. I’ll admit there were several times here where I thought of different ways to simplify, but in the end it just wouldn’t do. The fox was simplified accidentally, but that was about it.
From there, I ironed them into place and used a large mushroom top to hide their bottoms behind because the original images were cropped as well. It look some rearranging before I finally hit this layout.
Going back and adding in the white “light spots” on the eyes was one of the best moves I did. Before that, they looked cute but kind of flat. They had a deadpan look that kept them lifeless. The sloth, especially, looked somewhat stoned.
And one again, I added a close-set zigzag stitch to finish off the applique elements.
The reason everything was right at the bottom was because we intended for people to be able to sign the quilt with well-wishes for the new family.
What a fun baby quilt this was to make!
Here’s a video of the sweet soon-to-be parents receiving their surprise!
Hey everyone, I’ve been busy on my other pages, but this one has been still for a bit because I haven’t finished any projects. That doesn’t mean I’m not working on them because…boy oh boy…I am swamped!
I was able to finish my t-shirt quilt commission and baby Flash quilt commission right when school started. Now, I’m on to another undisclosed project, a bookshelf quilt for a church retreat, a Star Wars quilt (or two) for the upcoming craft fairs, finishing my comic book quilt and second guitar quilt. I also have a partially begun other undisclosed project as well as a promised project that hasn’t even been started. Oh, and there’s another t-shirt quilt waiting to be started, but the timeline is very generous, so it’ll be a while before I start it.
Whew! Stay tuned folks.
Flash quilt detailStar Wars quilts jelly rollScraps for a bookshelf quiltcomic book quilt topguitar quilt in progress
My sister is very good at getting me out of my comfort zone when it comes to quilt designs. She’s not a quilter herself, but she has a great eye for detail and can think up some really fun ideas. So when she asked me to make a baby quilt for a friend that was Flash-themed, I knew it was going to be fun.
I looked around online and found a few ideas. Some of them were gorgeous, but I didn’t have the time to devote to them. And then I found this minimalist poster from Andres Romero. He’s done a bunch of them, and the simplicity was promising.
We decided that this image was perfect, and we would add in some type of full-bodied image at the bottom, maybe with the running motion.
The actual face was easy because I just appliqued the shapes on.
After that, I did the same for the running figure. We played around with the idea of having gray gradient figures spaced out behind him, but time constraints prevented that. So I decided that I would use a quilting design echoing behind him to get the same effect. I like how it turned out.
Flash quilt detail
I quilted over the whole thing with an homage to the lightening shown behind Flash in comics while he’s running. It does look a bit like a heartbeat, though. Oh well.
My sister picked out a Super Friends themed fabric for the backing.
With so many angles, I decided to soften it a bit by curving the edges. I like the overall effect!
The name “Empty Bobbins” comes from those times when you’re in the middle of a project and your bobbin runs out. You have to pause what you’re doing and reload. While you do that, you have a moment to just sit and reflect. This is a collection of musings and reflections on life’s moments. Some are quilting related, and some are not. This one comes from seeing all of the back-to-school pictures.
As I’ve said before, in my other life I’m a high school literature teacher. One question or reaction I get a lot when folks find this out is one of exasperation. Something along the lines of, “Oh my gosh! I don’t know how you do it. I would lose my mind!” And while, yes, some days I’m not sure how I do it either, most of my days are pretty fun. I’m pretty sure I smile and laugh more during my average work day than most. I love my students, and they are super cool to watch as they grow and make their post-high school plans. It’s exciting to think that I could be teaching someone who could one day save my life as a nurse or become another teacher or be a loving role model to his/her own family.
But the general public seems to forget this a lot. And this bias is embedded in our culture something fierce! Even my second-grader has made derisive comments about teenagers. They’re painted as lazy, entitled, and naïve. But the honest truth is this – they’re working so hard!
They’re one of the most informed groups of people that I know, and they check multiple news sources as a matter of habit now. They’re active, involved, and are going to change the world the second they get a chance. They don’t go home and sit and play video games every day. They work jobs, lead clubs, perform community service, and have so many extra-curricular activities that I can barely keep them straight.
Example: one of my AP Literature students was enrolled in all high level academic classes, orchestra, honors groups, and played lacrosse. And then when I thought she couldn’t do anything else during the day, I walked in to the local coffee house and saw her tutoring a younger student! And she isn’t alone. I see them coaching and leading with a fervor that is unmatched.
One year, my school had a band director quit suddenly, and a student stepped up and led the classes in band. He taught, conducted, and empowered his fellow students in a way that was humbling.
So yes, they like taking selfies. They do like their phones. But let’s give them credit where it’s due. Those selfies are fairly innocent, and those phones do a whole lot more than play games. They get news updates, class messages, and are coordinating groups on those phones.
The teenagers that I know, across all levels of diversity, are inspiring. Sure, some aren’t much for school, but even those students have their own agenda and plans, and I am awed by their abilities.
So when folks ask me how I do it. How do I put up with teenagers at a high school? The joke is on them. Those kids are amazing, inspiring, and it’s an honor to be a part of their lives. My only worry is how I will do justice to their goals when the time comes for me to play my part.
So here’s to a new school year, a new set a students who will inspire me, push me, and make me smile. May I be worthy of them. And may we all realize the gifts they have to give us.
My husband and I doffing our old high school wardrobe for Halloween one year.
Update- I currently have a guitar quilt listed in my shop!
This quilt was given today. I’ve been sitting on it since earlier this month, and I couldn’t make a peep about it since it was for a friend who was also connected with me via social media. She’s a youth minister, and I was asked to make a quilt in celebration of her 15 years of service at our church.
I thought about several options concerning the design, but we all knew it would be for signing in the end. So this meant it would need a lot of light colors or at least a good sized section.
I remembered I had a picture in my Pinterest quilt section that I’d been wanting to try. It wouldn’t take anything to do a different instrument! And what does every self-respecting youth minster play? The guitar, of course! I loved the blog entry that went along with it.
**This pattern is now for sale on Etsy by the original creator! It seems only fair to post a link to the pattern here as well. Violin Pattern Etsy Link
The original inspiration.
I also had a rainbow jelly roll I’d purchased while on vacation with friends in Mississippi. I’d been waiting on just the right project to come along, and this one seemed perfect!
The urge is to think that you can simply cut out the fabric and flip it, but that would have the wrong side of the fabric and the seams sticking out. I had to make two identical columns of rainbows and cut out a guitar shape from each. The cool part is that in doing this I automatically had two quilt tops prepped!
2x
I couldn’t get to my projector at work, so I got creative and taped a bunch of card stock together, traced half of my own guitar, folded the paper in half, and cut out a full sized guitar! I did it this way to ensure symmetry. I am keeping the template as it looks neat and will, no doubt, come in useful for later projects.
The side with the white half of the guitar is made using reverse applique, and the other side is using traditional applique.
The quilting inside the guitar needed to be extra special. There’s a song that is sung at a lot of the youth events, and it was stuck in my head almost the entire time I was making the top. So it seemed a no-brainer that the first verse of that song would be quilted into the white part of the guitar. The song is “The Servant Song”, and I quilted the following in cursive, “won’t you let me be your servant. Let me be as Christ to you. Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant, too.” And although I’m a literature teacher, I had to forego the punctuation. It hurt a little.
For the rainbow side where no one would sign, I really wanted to do some type of vine or tendril look. I did a faint tendril on the white side as well because it needed some type of quilting to ensure it was sturdy.
After that, I did my usual wrap around binding technique and used rainbow thread. The final step was to add a hanging sleeve.
We presented it to her this morning and hung it up at the reception for everyone to sign.
I was given an unusual task recently of taking a t-shirt blanket and turning it into a t-shirt quilt. Unfortunately it involved taking the whole thing apart. So I sat down with a movie and a seam ripper last night and got to work. I was surprised when I finished taking that entire blanket apart right as Dazed and Confused finished up, and it got me to thinking.
A blanket and a quilt really are two very different things. Don’t let anyone tell you they are the same. A blanket is one or two pieces of fabric connected at the outside edges. A quilt is a “sandwich” with a top layer, usually pieced or highly decorative, a back, and a thin middle layer of some type of stuffing – polyester, cotton, wool, or any blend therein. Those three layers are then quilted together with thread. They can also be tied together using yarn or embroidery floss. The effect is two layers of design playing off one another. The layers blend and create an overall effect.
If someone sat down with a seam ripper to pick apart a well-made quilt with appropriate quilting throughout, there is no way that they will finish picking it apart by the end of a single movie.
Quest Quilts 
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