Tuesday

September Client Quilts

 

Big Charmer by Tula Pink
The only projects I quilted for others this month are these two shop samples. 

The first one is a Tula Pink quilt. The pattern is called Big Charmer and it is free from Free Spirit Fabrics. You can download it here

I used an all-over pantograph called Rhythm that gives it a nice effect.

The second one uses a fabric collection called All Hallows' Eve by Moda. The pattern is a sampler called Witches Night Out by It's Sew Emma and Fig

Witches Night Out by It's Sew Emma

Tree & Co. It is gorgeous. I used a modern pumpkin pantograph called Pumpkin Patch for the quilting

Sunday

Fall Fest at Hillside Coffee House

My friend Rose owns a coffee shop here in Oak Creek and she decided to have a fall fest on Saturday, September 26th. She asked me if I wanted to set up a booth with my quilts at the event and I said yes.  This was my very first outdoor event and although I attended indoor craft fairs in the past, this one made me nervous since I did not have an outdoor tent and I don't usually sell quilts, just small crafts.

Instead of borrowing a tent from a friend or relative, I decided to purchase a commercial tent like the ones I see at our local farmers' market. Since I was setting up the day before the event I wanted to make sure the tent had 4 sidewalls to close up overnight. Once it was delivered, I set it up to make sure I knew how and to figure out a layout. 




It was bigger than I had anticipated which was nice. I guess I was thinking about the 8x8 foot indoor spaces without considering that these were 10x10-what a difference!  I asked my husband to build me a portable quilt rack and he whipped one up in an afternoon. It's so nice to have a handyman around. I wish I would have taken a photo of his finished work but I did not. I was a lot less nervous once I finished my mock set-up. 

Now all I have to worry about is making some items to sell - haha!

The day of the fair was amazing. The weather was perfect, there were so many people that there were times when I actually had a line of customers waiting to check out. What a successful day! My homemade quilt rack is on the left side of the tent, I hung 6 quilts on it safely where people could yank on them and/or easily take them off to view without injury - thank goodness. I also whipped up a Sunshine Sews sign. It was fun to make.


I had an amazing time and hope that Rose will do this kind of thing again. I loved every minute of it. 

Friday

Prepping For an Art Fair

I've been pretty busy getting ready for my first outdoor art fair. I've ordered a commercial pop-up canopy and I've we've been going to antique sales to find props for by booth. So far, I've purchased a stainless steel egg crate and a metal shopping cart. I can't wait to see if I can make them into anything fun.

I've been trying to make some extra table runners to sell so I thought I would try to efficiently load them on the longarmer. I sewed 5 different backings together and loaded them on the machine. 


Then I cut the batting to size for the first table runner and quilted it onto the backing. I just rolled the finished table runner around the quilt frame bar until I got to the second backing. I quilted each table runner this way using a different quilting design for each one. It was so fun and worked out great. 


All that was left to do after they were quilted was to cut them apart and bind them. It was easy peasy. 

I think I will use this technique again with Christmas table runners. 

Ribbon Star Quilt

I finished the Ribbon Star Quilt today. I planned on making this quilt top at my monthly church group sew days that happen the second Saturday of each month - except for a pandemic got in the way of that. I let the unfinished quilt sit in my travel bag for months with the hope that we would get together sometime soon. After 6 months of letting it sit, I couldn't stand it anymore. I just had to finish it. 

The pattern is from Missouri Star. I have to admit, I am not a fan of their patterns. The instructions are vague - I wish they would tell you what size to square blocks up to and which direction to press seams but they don't. You would think by now I could figure those things out myself but no.


I used a jelly roll from my stash and some white fabric for the background. The tricky part was that I had no matching border or backing fabrics. So I found something close at the shop and I think it worked out pretty well. 

Tuesday

What's on the design board?


This is how my design board looks. There's not much progress from last month. There's just too much summer going on, haha. The Button Collection is progressing as I expected.




It's been raining like crazy here so the creek looks like this.

Isn't it pretty? I love my backyard.




I've been experimenting with new cocktails all summer long. Since the pandemic, we don't go out to dinner anymore so I've had to become my own bartender. I've discovered a cocktail I really like. It's called the Pink Seniorita and it is delicious. 


Here is the recipe: 

Lemon wedge, for rimming glasses
Coarse salt, for rimming glasses
2 cups ice (I use crushed ice)
2 1/4 cups pink lemonade
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup tequila
4 lemon slices, for garnish

Rub a lemon wedge around the rim of 4 glasses, then dip rim into the salt.
In a pitcher, add 1 cup of the ice, pink lemonade, lemon juice, triple sec, and tequila. Stir to combine.
Pour the cocktail mixture over ice in each glass.
Serve with a lemon slice for the garnish.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. It's a refreshing summer treat.