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 […]

Stephanie Soebbing

11 October, 2011

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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 […]

Stephanie Soebbing

20 October, 2011

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My New York Beauty quilt blocks are half done

My schedule hasn’t allowed for much quilting time recently. So when the stars aligned so that there was an opening in the Mississippi Valley Quilters Guild fall retreat and I had a free Friday night and Saturday, I considered it a sign from the universe that it was time to quilt. I just brought one […]

Stephanie Soebbing

8 October, 2012

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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 […]

Stephanie Soebbing

19 October, 2015

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Friday progress report: Quilt Retreat was just what I needed

Last weekend I traded in my husband and dogs for a weekend of quilting in DeWitt, Iowa. The small town about 30 minutes from the Quad-Cities, where I live is home to Grace Lutheran Camp, the site of my guild’s semi-annual quilt retreat. Normally I take Thursday and Friday off for four glorious days of […]

Stephanie Soebbing

18 October, 2013

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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 […]

Stephanie Soebbing

23 October, 2015

117

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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, […]

Stephanie Soebbing

13 October, 2011

226

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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 […]

Stephanie Soebbing

10 October, 2013

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Quilt retreat!

As you read this I am happily sewing away at quilt retreat. The semi-annual get-a-way is hosted by my guild, the Mississippi Valley Quilters Guild and it gives me four days of (mostly) uninterrupted sewing and quilting. This is the first time I’m going for more than just the weekend in three years, so I’m […]

Stephanie Soebbing

19 March, 2015

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Quilt retreat progress report

I had hoped to write a triumphant post today about how much I got done at Quilt Retreat last weekend. Unfortunately that’s not the case. While I normally can accomplish more in one four-day weekend of uninterrupted sewing than I can in a month of distracted craft time at home, my weekend was anything but […]

Stephanie Soebbing

23 March, 2015

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