Look what I found?!

I was digging in my fabric stash when I found this quilt I started making around 15 years ago! I already had all my tools out so I just turned on my iron and sewing machine and got to work. I have decided 2012 is the year I'm going to finish all those unfinished projects! Yoo- hoo!

I can't wait to see what all of your quilts look like! Has anyone finished theirs yet? I don't know why I picked to make another log cabin, but oh we'll. I'm going to finish this one for my daughter Ainslee. Her birthday is in September but I do not want to procrastinate!

By the way: my sewing machine also does embroidery so if anyone wants to embroider on their quilt let me know. I'm making my husband a new quilt since his current one is rags and I'm going to embroider on that one. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics!

Hi ladies! Guess what I just got in the mail? A Jo-Ann's coupon! Keep your eyes out for it. The sale dates are for the week after Christmas. They are advertising 50% off selected quilting fabrics plus you have a coupon for an additional 10% off! With this coupon/sale, and if they have a nice selection of fabrics, I'll be able to afford to make all my desired quilts! Exciting...I know!!

Stephanie's sewing space

I thought I'd show you all where my creativity happens. This is it! I sew at this table squished between the kitchen table and garage door but I still like it! It works and that's all that matters.

Also, how are you ladies picking out just one quilt to make? I have been looking at tons of thousands of quilts and I want to make them all!! Oh my, I have started my list of ones I want to make. It was very difficult picking just one but I think I found the one I'm going to send out. The pattern is titled Paris Flea Market Star so get excited! Thanks for agreeing to March double Dutch!

Gentler Times Quilt Shop

I'm excited to check out a new quilt shop in the area... Gentler Times

 476 South Route 59, Naperville, IL.

630-305-0102

Hexagon Placemat

Here's the finished Hexagon placemat. It is just six 60 degree triangles sewn together. I love the look of it with the striped fabric though. I think it turned out pretty cute. I'm not showing a great picture of the middle because somehow...all the stripes lined up except for the very center...go figure.

I quilted it with my new walking foot along the stripes in the fabric. How have I lived this long without a walking foot? I LOVED it! You'll be seeing more little quilty projects from me since it's so easy to quilt them on my machine now!

A little closer angle...

Happy Halloween!

Mary's Sewing Space

I thought it might be fun to see everyone's sewing space. You know...see where the magic happens!?! I sew at my dining room table with my assortment of sewing boxes, containers, bags, piles, etc. right beside me. We are planning on setting up a little sewing space in the basement, but for now...this is it. My "stash" is upstairs in our extra bedroom. One day I'd like to arrange it all in lovely little bundles and sort it by colors...doesn't that sound wonderful?

And look what I made here.... Kelly, I'm so excited to see how all of these beautiful fabrics play together in your finished quilt!

If you don't want to post to the blog, you can always email me a picture of your sewing space and I'll post it for you.

The Haunted Hop

Last week I went on a local quilt shop "Haunted Hop." Did you hear about this? I'm on the Pieceful Hearts newsletter and heard about it there. Anyway...it was a ton of FUN to see the quilt shops in the area. 

Here are the spoils of my quilt tour:

I started at Roberts Sewing Center/A Quilter's Paradise in Crest Hill. The shop is HUGE and full of fabric and sample quilts. I really think it might be the biggest quilt shop in the area. I had the boys with me, so I didn't go upstairs, but there are two levels of excitement I tell you - TWO! I picked up a funny little video game fabric here.

Then we headed out to Lockport to visit Thimbles. This shop is adorable! And the staff is so stinkin' friendly. They even offered to hold Kent for me while I shopped. Another plus...they had a superhero fabric. So I picked up a yard of Batman symbols and a fabric bundle of ruby slippers.

We then traveled up to Willowbrook to visit quiltfabric.com. This shop is a mess and not very stroller friendly, but it has a lot of fabric. My favorite part was the boxes of fabric strips. Each strip is only $0.50. I see a scrappy, strippy quilt in my future. They had a few other bargains which was nice too. I picked up the orange floral and the orange/yellow print here.

After a quick stop at The Patio for lunch, the boys and I drove out to The Quilt Basket in Downers Grove. This is another SUPER cute shop with a very friendly staff. I picked up the two Halloween fabrics as part of a kit...I'll show you what I made with them a little later...after I give it to Kelli for her birthday!! The sample quilts they had hanging around the shop were simply AMAZING. Honestly...check out the animal quilts behind the register. If you have $300.00 or so just laying around...pick me up the elephant. It's beyond words.

I had to take the boys home after that stop. They were not happy to be out shopping for fabric any longer. So when Jason got home, I hopped on over to Lisle to visit my last stop, Pieceful Heart. This is the shop that I usually go to since it is closest to my house. It's a nice little place with helpful people. And they almost always come through with some superheroes. I picked up the awesome Marvel fabric and the crazy Batman one.

There were two other stops on the tour, but time wouldn't allow. The other stops were Prairie Shop Quilts in Batavia and Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Oswego. Have you been to one of these shops?

Thank you from Mary!

A huge thank you to all of you who have helped me on my quilt! I'll be posting pictures after Christmas. It's going to look AWESOME though! I hope you enjoyed working on it as much as I enjoyed receiving your blocks!

October's Quilt

October's quilt will have you thinking SPRING!! Kelli has just mailed out the fabric and you should be receiving it in your mailboxes very soon. Here's a little sneak peek at some of the beautiful fabrics...

I know I'm excited! I don't get to work with pinks too often! :)

The Quilt is in the Mail...

Here's a little sneak peek of what you'll be getting in the mail soon!

JoAnn Quilt Your Colors Contest

I got all excited about seeing the Joann Fabrics Quilt Your Colors contest until I saw last year's winners! I'm out of my league, but maybe you could do it! Check out the details here.

Welcome to Quilter's Dozen!

Hi all! I'm so excited you've decided to join with me on this little adventure. I'm quite excited to see how it goes. I am hoping to learn a lot, create a lot, and enjoy your company. Here are the basics for Quilter's Dozen...

This virtual quilting bee is a way for us to "get together" and help each other on our quilts just like all those women did so many years ago. We will have 12 members. Each member will be assigned to a month (see sidebar). When it is your assigned month, you will mail fabric and block instructions to the 11 other quilters. The 11 quilters will then make the blocks and mail them back to that month's bee member. Then the bee member can assemble and complete the quilt on her own.

If you would like, you can post pictures to the blog or email them to Mary and she will post them on the blog. This way we can all see each others' work and see how each of us was inspired by the directions given. Also feel free to blog about the creative quilting process and your thoughts about any aspect of the bee.

If you have any favorite quilting sites, let me know! I'll add them to the list over on the sidebar!

At the end of the year, we will have help create 12 quilts and hopefully stretched ourselves in skill and creativity. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all through this quilting bee and through your sewing.

Happy quilting!!