Spicy Spiral Table Runner

Yesterday I took a class to make this beautiful table runner called Spicy Spiral table runner. I saw one in our local quilt shop and just loved how pretty it looked. The shop is called The Conrad General Store and the class was lead by one of the store owners, Janice. Thank you so much Janice for teaching this class.

I was totally intrigued with this beautiful table runner and my friends at the quilt shop kept saying how easy it was. (I love easy, though this is not a beginner project ) so I signed up for the class last month, purchased the pattern and fabric that day and picked up my ruler the day of the class.
Here is the ruler

which is a little pricey but like my friend Lesa says, if you can at least get 3 projects out of a ruler, then it is definitely worth the price. After spending yesterday from 8:30 am to 3 pm learning how to use it and seeing what I can do with it, I think it was well worth the price. I see more projects in my future. :)

This is what I left the class with yesterday. All that is left to do is trim the edges, put the back and batting on and quilt it.

What a beautiful table runner! Seriously though, the class really helped me to understand what the pattern was saying and how to use this ruler. Just reading the pattern was not making any sense to me, but when Janice explained how to use the ruler and then showed us, WOW, it really was easy. I just love taking classes, they really are a great way to learn new techniques and make new friends.

Here is the my new friend I made yesterday. Her name is Christine and she came with her little 2 month old guy named Leif. Boy is he a cutie and such a good baby. I loved watching her with him and just wanted to share this little thingamajig she made to carry him in.

How clever is that! He was all snuggled up to her and she was able to sew. She had her runner pieced before I did. :) It is a piece of fabric about 5 yards long, no seams, and 12.5 inches wide.
Here is a picture of the back

She said that even her husband carries the baby this way. (He is also the one to sign her up for this class. Now that is a husband). She said she found this on a website called Connected Parenting. I didn't write it down but it is something like that.

We had a great day of sharing, laughing and sewing. Here is a picture of our completed tops.

Making new friends, enjoying old friends, learning new techniques and creating beautiful things, This was definitely time well spent.

I hope you have a wonderful week.
Thanks for stopping by.

YAY!!!! It's FRIDAY!!!!

Yes it is Friday and boy am I glad it is.
I don't seem to get a lot done in my sewing room during the week.  I try to squeeze in sewing time in the morning after I get off work at 8 am but I am not always successful. Especially if I get on the computer to check emails. I can easily end up spending an hour or two looking up stuff and reading blogs.

I work 3rd shift doing security work and I actually really like my job. I am losing weight with all of the walking that I do. This has given me more energy so now I am playing volleyball at noon several times a week.

I did get the other top done for QFK, last weekend. I thought I might get them pin basted and ready to quilt sometime this week but now it is FRIDAY and I still didn't get it done. I did work on my long arm Monday and Tuesday, YAY!!

Today I am going to put the blocks I have cut out for Olivia's quilt together and then if I am still awake I am going to work on my paper piecing blocks that I have been putting off.
I am having lunch with my friend Christy today so we'll see what I get done.

Oh Yea>>>> MY hubby is coming home tomorrow. YAY!!! He has been on the road for almost 4 weeks. It did go fast but I know he is ready to come home and I am ready to see him.
I am leaving you with a picture of the tops I finished last weekend.


I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks for stopping by. 

Olivia's quilt

Hi All,
Several weeks ago my friend Lesa told me that she was going to start a quilt for a niece of hers that was graduating high school this year. As I sat and listened to her tell me what quilt she was going to make, I realized that I tooo have a niece that is going to graduate this year. Where Has the Time Gone!!

My sister's daughter Olivia will be graduating this spring, so when I mentioned that to my friend she said "Why don't we make these quilts together?"  I called Olivia to get an idea for fabric colors and promptly went and purchased the fabric. On my birthday in fact - Jan 21st.
Here is what I got:

Not a lot of pattern but certainly a lot of color. One of the first color choices she said was yellow. I LOVE YELLOW!!! (My children tease me about my yellow living room. The color was called Duck Bill.)  I found this beautiful, buttery yellow and I love it.
As I put this quilt together, I love the colors so much I can't wait to see it finished.

Here is what is on the design board right now.

The red above it is my wall not part of the quilt. I just love how the stars pop!

The pattern is from a Judy Martin book called Knockout Blocks and Sampler Quilts.
There are a lot of pieces to the block, with 12 flying geese in each block. It's coming together but slowly.
I will keep you posted.

I finally got the bindings done on both of the denim throws. Whew. My first 2 finished quilts for this year and glad to have them finally done.
I have one of the quilt tops done for Quilt for Kids and am working on the other today. I am planning on pinning and quilting them next week. We'll see.
I am off to the sewing room. I hope your have a productive sewing week.
Thanks for stopping by.
Keep warm and have a wonderful day.