Stunning Christmas tree skirt in batiks

I LOVE batiks. I can’t get enough of them. So I was in heaven when the benefactor for the Mississippi Valley Quilt Guild suggested buying fabric from SewBatik.com to make Judy Niemeyer’s Christmas Celebration Tree Skirt. The benefactor business, Quilting By-You in Bettendorf, Iowa, is purchasing the fabric and donating the quilting for the tree […]

After quilt retreat: Lonestar

My lonestar also did not receive that much love and attention at quilt retreat. I did manage to nearly finish the appliqued leaves on two of the background squares. But I still have to applique all of the flowers which take about an hour each to complete. I pinned the sections up on my design […]

Quilt retreat to-do list

If you ask my grandma, she thinks I sew all day long. Unfortunately that isn’t the case. The business end of running a quilting blog tends eat up more time than sewing and you’re usually more likely to find me in front of a computer than the sewing machine. But that is going to change […]

Before quilt retreat: Lonestar

I’m leaving for quilt retreat as soon as I publish this post and I can’t wait. But I wanted to share one more project I’ll be working on with you all, my lonestar quilt. The star center is done, and I’ve been stuck on the applique background for a while. I’m sewing it by hand, […]

Quilt show in the bunk room

One’s choice of bedding at quilt retreat is a very important choice. I’m sure there are posh quilt retreats where everyone has their own room in hotel-like fashion. But at my Guild’s retreat, we all share bunk rooms and the quilts that adorn them are on display for everyone to see. It is like a mini […]

Before quilt retreat: Christmas New York Beauty

I’m headed to quilt retreat on Thursday. It’s four glorious days of quilting, eating and sleeping. It’s a great opportunity to make significant progress on projects. I started a New York Beauty quilt in Christmas fabrics last fall at retreat and haven’t worked on it much since. This week I hope to get one half […]

After quilt retreat: New York Beauty

Most of my time at quilt retreat was taken up by the paper pieced Christmas tree skirt. But I did manage to get some work done on my New York Beauty quilt. I finished four more blocks for a total of 12 completed. That’s nowhere near the 32 I hoped to have finished by now, […]

On a UFO mission

This year is the year of the UFO. I’ve been trying to wrap up all my unfinished projects. So far I’ve finished seven quilts, but only two are on my list of five major UFO projects I would like to finish this year. But after this weekend I should be much closer to finishing a […]