'Tis The Season

I'm just sitting down to do a quick update here on my blog between batches of banana nut bread and poppy seed bread baking in the oven. It smells wonderful! This week marks the beginning of the holidays for me. Really, though, I've been working on a few holiday crafts and Christmas gift projects for the last couple of weeks. Some I can share and some will have to wait until they are gifted and opened (don't want to ruin the surprise!).

I couldn't pass up this cute little pink reindeer ornament when I saw it at Target, along with a few of those pink bottle brush trees. I combined them into this little winter scene on a wooden slice from a tree branch. It now sits on our media center amongst the jadeite green bowls filled with vintage glass ornaments and bottle brush trees. (and yes, I did break down and start decorating last weekend before Thanksgiving - a first for me!)

I've also been playing with bed springs again. I've made several little wintery scenes to sit atop the springs, but this one with the vintage ceramic Mr. and Mrs. Claus kissing is a favorite. This cute couple was in a box of vintage Christmas ornaments that I bought at an auction a couple of weeks ago.

I can only share a sneak peek of some doodles that have been turned into something for Christmas gifts. How's that for vague? Can you guess what it is?

Last night I finished sewing several recipe tea towels I designed for a client. Since they are for gifts for my client's family, I'll share the finished product after they've been gifted too.

And I've been doing a little secret sewing for a fabric company with this fabric. I'll share more about it soon.

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, the blog posts may be scarce, but I'm hoping to have a few projects to share before the end of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Sharla

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The Season Of Giving On IG

We are entering into the season of giving with Thanksgiving and Christmas just weeks away. Many people look for ways to give back to their community at this time of year, whether it's angel trees, food banks, toy drives, etc. Did you know there are giving opportunities for the quilty community on Instagram as well?

I had seen the 'Get Your Quilty Wishes Granted' hashtag last year but didn't look into it much, so when I saw it making circles on IG last month I wanted to participate. The idea is to post your quilting wants or needs in a post with this year's hashtag #getyourquiltywishesgranted3 and people who want to participate can read through posts that are tagged with the hashtag to find a wish that they can grant. Once you've granted a wish or two, then you can ask for your own wishes to be granted. I didn't have any needs or wants but wanted to help someone else out by granting their wish and I found the perfect wish because it was another giving project that I've been wanting to participate in.

Mona also didn't have a need or want to ask for so she decided to ask for blue RK blocks to make a quilt for the #bluerkblocks project on IG. This project is near and dear to my heart because it is a project that is making quilts for the families of fallen police officers here in the U.S. and is the idea of another Instagrammer (Crafty Cop) who also happens to be a police officer. Since she posted her idea on IG July 5th with the hashtag #bluerkblocks, she has received enough blocks to make 99 quilts and 1 quilt has been gifted. I decided to grant Mona's wish and make her some blue RK blocks to make a quilt. I made a total of 10. That Batman block is my fav!

Later, Mona also asked for orphan blocks for another project so I rounded up a few of those and packaged them all up today to mail to her. I'm happy that someone else will be able to use my orphan blocks rather than them stuffed in a cubby and never used.

I am so happy that I could help Mona out and I can't wait to see her finished Blue RK Block quilt. I still want to make one of my own to give but at least I was able to contribute to the cause now. What quilty giving do you do this time of year?

~Sharla

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The Quilter's Planner Featured Block This Week

This week in The Quilter's Planner, my Spinners block is the featured block of the week.

I designed this block for Paintbrush Studio's New Block Blog Hop in March of 2016 and you can get the free pattern and read more about it here. I designed this block when I was exploring different block ideas that created secondary patterns. I really like the idea of secondary patterns and should really do some more exploring!

In the book, this block was recolored and I really like it. Maybe one of these days I'll have to make a quilt using this block pattern in a different colorway. Another item for the to-do list!

The 2018 Quilter's Planner is available for order now from my blogger friend Stephanie. This is not a paid affiliate, just a quilter supporting another quilter!

~Sharla

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Molecules of Moda & Me At Market

What a whirlwind weekend I had thanks to Moda Fabrics! This past weekend was International Quilt Market in Houston, a wholesale trade show for the quilting industry. My "Molecules of Moda: Bella Solids" quilt was displayed in Moda's booth at Quilt Market this weekend and I was lucky enough to attend!

My quilt placed 3rd in the Moda Bella Challenge which was announced last week on Moda's blog "The Cutting Table". Here I am with my quilt at market. I'm holding a mini quilt I made called "Just The Atom", which is a small section of the larger quilt.

The top three quilts of the Moda Bella Challenge were displayed at Market. The first place winner was "Mountain Balloon Festival" by Katherine Jones of Tasmania, Australia. The second place winner was "Moda Bella" by Janet Jones of Alamosa, Colorado. Since the quilts were all required to use the same fabrics, they really looked awesome hanging together.

The balloon quilt was beautiful and the quilting was awesome. I watched Kat's progress on Instagram (@twocatsquilts) as she created the quilt and knew it was a winner. Kat was the artist who created "Bling" which won Best of Show at QuiltCon this year.

Janet's quilt was a personalized Moda quilt, featuring names of all the Moda designers and store fronts and cars with Moda names and ties. Janet used to be a quilt shop owner. 

Dunn's Duds is a shout out to Moda Fabrics owner Mark Dunn and a nod to his dapper attire.

This quilt had tons of details!

I was honored to meet Mark Dunn and have him sign my mini quilt "Just The Atom".

This mini quilt was a section that I messed up while making my quilt so I tossed it aside and made a new section. I used this section to test my quilting ideas, which helped me to eliminate techniques that I didn't like, such as using the trim feature around the circles and using variegated thread, and allowed me to practice techniques that I hadn't done before, like burying threads. This mini is full of all the mistakes and challenges I encountered while making my "Molecules of Moda" quilt and will be my little memento of the bigger quilt (since that quilt is now a part of Mr. Dunn's personal quilt collection).

Sewn into the back of the mini are corner triangles that also serve as my quilt labels and hangers.

My mom went with me to quilt market and we had the best time. I made some valuable contacts that I hope in the future will materialize into something, met some Instagram friends in person for the first time, touched base with some old friends and saw lots of beautiful and inspiring quilts. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I truly thank Moda Fabrics for the opportunity.

Our week-long, 2200 mile road trip also allowed us to spend time with my grandsons and daughter, visit some cousins, see my son's new home, shop a few quilt shops and spend lots of windshield time together. Give me a day to rest and I'll be ready to go again!

~Sharla

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