French Braid Frenzy

Time Flies.. when you're busy

It's amazing to see how fast time flies, anyone who has children knows this.  It seems that 9 months have gone past since my last post.  In that time, I got a booth at the International Quilt Market and launched a new education program at Sew Much for Quilting in Goodyear AZ.

These are the pictures from my first booth at the International Quilt Market in Houston.

This was a moment in the Fall Open House at Sew Much for Quilting.

Since then I've been working on some new projects.  This is my first one, French Braid Frenzy.

I'm hoping people will really like this one.  It was a lot of fun to make.  You only need 11 fat quarters to make (2) tops.  I'll be introducing the pattern this week.

Open House

Saturday was the Open House at my local quilt shop, Sew Much for Quilting, where I'll be teaching a bunch of classes this fall.  I'm teaching a class on scalloped borders and binding, one on T-shirt Quilts, and also the Quilting 101 and 301 classes (6 each.)  This Friday 8/29 is also the last class in my Sleep Mat Workshop, so we'll be finishing those.

As for today, I realized that we are at exactly 2 months until the Houston show begins (International Quilt Market), and with the Labor Day and our local Shop Hop yet to come, there's going to be a lot of work left to do without much time.  Today, since I didn't have any pressing deadlines, I'm spending some time catching up on some projects that I've put on hold.  One of which is an expansion of my Idea Book for the Quilter's 2 1/2" Toolkit.  I've been wanting to add information about the use and capabilities of each of the individual pieces and now I'm about half way through.  This will add another 4-5 pages to the Idea Book, which I'll be reposting on my website once it's done.

I've also decided to add a paper copy of the template into the Bethlehem Star Tree Skirt pattern, so if you bought the pattern, and don't already have the Quilter's 2 1/2" Toolkit set and need a paper template, email me at: email@LilacCottageDesigns.com for a copy and I'll send it to you.

Another summer gone- well not quite

Well, It's August again, and as far as school is concerned, summer is over.  I wish they had told the weather, because it's definitely still too hot.  But the good thing about August in Phoenix is that July is over, and soon we'll be on the down hill slide to cooler weather.  By September it should start getting a little cooler, and by October, we'll be back down into the double digits.

Of course, as every mother of school age children knows, school starting is also a flurry of activity.  We've been running all over town buying clothes and school supplies, everything from backpacks and lunch bags, to new sneakers.  But they're finally back in school.  Which means a few blessed hours of peace and quiet to regain my sanity.  I hadn't noticed how much I had gotten used to having them around, until I realized that this was the first time I'd been alone in the house for almost 3 months!  While I have found that I can sew projects while the kids are around, I'm just not able to concentrate enough to do any design work.  So now that they are back in school, I'm finally able to spend some quality time designing some of the projects that have been running around my head for the past few months.

This is a good thing of course, because I have made the largest commitment to my business life so far.  I've signed up to have my own booth at the International Quilt Market in Houston, TX this October.  So the next 2 months are going to be a flurry of activity making arrangements for travel and hotels, planning my booth layout, as well as preparing samples and finishing new patterns.  I also have to get patterns printed, and a brochure handout designed.  So, I know that at least I won't be bored.

As if that wasn't enough to do, over the last 2 months I have been working with friends of mine who own a local quilt store to help them get their education program up and running.  I've done some Interior Design work for them as well, for their store expansion, and I'm teaching several upcoming classes.  So I've also been sewing class samples. (I did the one in fall colors).

On top of that, I'm also taking a class from another local store to do my first Judy Neimeyer quilt, Glacier Star!  So, if I go awhile without blogging, you now know what I'll been up to.   So long for now and Happy Quilting!

AQS Ahead!

This coming Feb. (2014) AQS will be hosting their first ever Phoenix Quiltweek.  On Feb. 5-8 2014, the Phoenix Convention Center will be flooded with thousands of quilters from all over the South and Western U.S. in search of all of the latest quilting fabrics, notions and ideas.  For a year or so I have been comtemplating having my own booth at a local show, and I finally felt that this was too good of a chance to pass up.  So, for the first time ever Lilac Cottage Designs will have a booth at the very first Phoenix Quilt week!  It will definitely be a week or firsts for me.  While I'm looking forward to seeing all of the new patterns, designs and classes that will be offered, I also know that there is a lot of work to be done to get there.  Look for more information to come as we get closer.  In the meantime, for all of my Central AZ friends, this coming Friday marks the beginning of the local Shop Hop here in Phoenix.  14 shops in 8 days.  It's going to be hectic, but it's always exciting and fun!  Can't wait to see all of the new stuff.  I'll also be demonstrating my template set, The Quilter's 2 1/2" Toolkit, at In Stitches on select days, so if you get a chance, come on by and see it!

A little over a year ago, I decided to take out the wall to wall closet in my office (it was built as a bedroom), so that I could better utilize the 2 extra feet of space it would give me.  We took off the doors, eventually knocking down the stud walls, and drywalling in the open space.  At the time, my office had a carpeted floor, which worked well for a bedroom, but didn't work as well for a sewing room/office.  It had a tendency to be a magnet for bits of thread, and was a good way to hide pins.  So, I decided that I wanted to put in a laminate floor.  It was something I thought that we could do ourselves without needing to hire a professional.  Boy did I not know how much work it was leading up to.  Fast forward a year, and I finally have the money for my flooring.  We then proceed to rip out all of the baseboards in my office, and patch and paint the walls.

 

We patched, textured, and primed the closet walls.

The old concrete.  You can see where the carpet strips were, and where the old wall was.

After pulling up the old carpet, we realize that the floor isn't level enough to lay the laminate without levelling.  We had to put down self levelling compound.

I painted the walls- Surf Spray.

Primed the concrete for the self levelling.

Added new baseboards, and started to lay the floor.

After 3 days of laying floor- we're almost done.  Only 2 rows left.

So, I've been asked to create patterns for use with my Quilter's 2 1/2" Toolkit templates.  I've finished one already it's for a quilt pattern I have called City Squares.  I have pictures of the wall hanging size finished, but I am still working on the binding of the Twin Size.  Once it's done, I will take pictures and post those as well.  In the meantime, here's the pic of the wall hanging size.   I love the fabrics and the colors of this.  Here are some of the pics from it's development.

So, here are the fabrics for City Squares.

Here's my notes, and a snapshot of the quilt in EQ7.

Now cutting the strips

Sewing strips together and cutting them to size.

Sewing blocks

Sewing together blocks with sashings

Sewing it all together and adding borders and binding.

Boy, time sure does fly!  I hadn't realized it had been 6 months since my last post.  Well, since then Spring Market has come and gone, and I've decided to write a book as a companion to my template set, the Quilter's Toolkit.  I've got about 11 designs so far, and I'm planning to use about 15 or so in the book.  Haven't decided whether I will self publish, or try to contact a publisher, either way, I'd like to have it ready for sale at Spring Market 2014.  I'll post some teasers as I go, so you can see some of the fabrics and such.  Hopefully it will be a fun experience!

Well it's that time of year again.  Time for a fresh start.  To reevaluate our lives and see where we are headed.  Course correct as necessary, or even change direction.  For me, I'm setting myself a goal to be healthier this year.  To eat better, exercise more and just feel better.  After turning 40 this past year, I realized that I no longer have youth on my side.  I have to be more careful about how I treat my body in order to make sure it's going to last as long as I want.  If we all had more time in a day, we would have the time to get everything we want done, and I've always chosen other things (like family or hobbies) over taking care of myself.  So this year, I'm going to take time out for me.  In order to be the best me I can be, I need to be the healthiest me I can be.  This means taking the time to cook nutritious meals from scratch, rather than prepackaged foods full of chemicals and additives.  Getting back to the basics in life.  It's so easy for little things to change into big things, one step at a time.  I'm cutting out the excess and getting rid of the extra.  So, join me this year on my sojourn to Sanitas (Latin for Good Health), and while we're going we'll share a laugh or two, while doing something we love: quilting.  So, I raise a glass to your health and happiness.  Let's make 2013 the best year yet!  Salud!

Finally settled back into the normal routine after the International Quilt Market in Houston.  Had a great time, just like last year.  This time though, I knew to make sure to take frequent breaks, and to make sure to stay hydrated.  If you have never been to Market or Festival, it can be quite overwhelming.  So much to see and do.  I've posted some more of the pictures in an album on my Facebook page for anyone to look at, if you want to see some of the things that were at Market.

Dad and I had our picture taken with Marianne Fons while at Market.  I had done a quilt for them in their Fall 2012 issue of Scrap Quilts called The Stripes of Summer.  Dad had done the longarming for me, so he was also mentioned in the article.  It was a really fun day!

Moda had the largest booth (of course) and also won first place for the multibooth exhibit.  They always have great things to look at.

I introduced a new pattern at Market.  My Small Holdall.  It's the same style as my Quilter's Holdall, except half the size.  It's still perfect for storing and organizing your fat quarters, half yards and even whole yard pieces, but the Small Holdall is also for carrying your tools to class, for small projects, knitting, crocheting and tatting.  Or even for none craft related items, like carrying shoes in your luggage, makeup and toiletries, or even Barbie dolls and Legos.  You can check them out in more detail on my website.  www.LilacCottageDesigns.com

Here's a picture of the magazine design I did for Fon's and Porter Scrap Quilts Fall 2012.  The design is called The Stripes of Summer.  I think they did a really great job with the picture.  Can't wait to do another one!

Gee, Time flies when your having fun, or when you're just busy.  Seems like just a few weeks since I last blogged, but the posts say otherwise.  Well, here's what's going on.  The class in Wickenburg, AZ at M's Quilting Inspiration for the Quilter's Holdall has been postponed to Dec.  The Sleep Mat class is still planned for Nov. 16-17th.  See Marilyn for details.

In other news, the magazine article is out.  Boy, that was fun!  :)  Hoping to do another one soon.  If you haven't seen the article, it's 6 pages, full color, in Fons and Porter's Scrap Quilts.  The quilt is labeled as The Stripes of Summer.  Take a look and then let me know if you like it.

Market preparations are currently underway and I'm working like a house elf ;)  Tons to do, sewing and hand stitching, ironing, printing, labeling, and packing.  Just 2 weeks from tomorrow we'll be heading down to the show.  Can't wait!

More news to come on new products- and I promise it won't be another year gone by before I blog again!

Holidays are Over

Well, the Holidays are over and the rush has died down. Everyone starts back to work/school tomorrow and it's time to get started on a new year! After the financial mess of the last two years or so, I'm hoping that this year will be better than we've seen in awhile. Here in Phoenix, the weather has cooled down for the winter, and everyone is enjoying the sunshine and the chance to be outside. It won't be many more months before the temperature starts to shoot up again, so we have to enjoy it while we can. Winter in Phoenix brings many things to look forward to, but among them for me are the Sewing & Quilting Festival the end of January, and the Renaissance Festival. I look forward to those two events all year and now they are right around the corner! I hope everyone is staying bundled up out there, especially those in the snow areas! It's a great time of year to be working on a quilt!

Sewing Festival

Well, Fall is definitely here and I love being able to have the windows open to enjoy that crisp cool air that is distinctly Autumn. Not only are the holidays right around the corner with all of the color, noise and parties that make the season great, but that means that another event is on the horizon as well: the Sewing & Quilting Festival. Every year, on the last weekend in January, Rusty Barn Promotions puts on the Sewing & Quilting Festival here in Phoenix. I've been going for the last 9 years, and every year it seems to get bigger and better. 3 days of visiting vendors, attending classes and seminars and just generally soaking in all of the creativity and excitement of the Sewing /Quilting world. To me, it's like being a kid in a candy store. new projects to start, new material to buy, new techniques to learn, new tools to play with! I love everything about it (except the 8 hours on my feet, walking) and can't wait for it. If you go to my website, you'll see I even have a counter counting down the days. If you're in the Phoenix area, don't miss it! It's a ton of fun, and you'll come away inspired and with your creative reserves restored, ready to take on new projects!

Autumn

This is the time of year that I love. The cooler weather, the changing colors of the leaves, those brilliant blue skies. All seem to rejoice in those wonderful rich colors of Autumn. There is an anticipation in the air, not only of the colder weather, but of the upcoming holidays and seeing friends and family again. This also begins the sewing season for many parts of the country. As the weather outside gets colder, we all enjoy staying in and working on those UFOs that constantly seem to pile up. While here is Phoenix, this is the time we all emerge from our air conditioned cocoons after surviving another hot summer and begin spending time outdoors. Look for new projects coming over the next few months. We are going to have lots of fun wonderful things to keep you busy over these long fall and winter months.

Well, I had my designer debut at 35th Ave. Sew and Vac on the weekend of August 21st. The debut went well, with 1/3 of the patterns selling that day (thanks in part to the wonderful coupon that 35th Ave. was offering). I also gave away a Katie's Bag in a drawing held at the store. Congratulations to April Prestwich for being our winner!

As for now, I'm continuing to work on the Youth Sleep Mat, as I have had so many requests for it. It should be available by the end of Sept. So look for it at your local quilting store.

Coming up is our Meet the Teacher day at Quiltz. This will be on Sunday the 26th of September. Check the store for the time. You can come by and meet me, as well as sign up for my class on creating the Sleep Mat, which will be held in October. So come on out and see all of their loverly fabrics, as well as meet me and my fellow teachers to sign up for a class. They are not just informative, but a fun way to get out and some of your fellow sew'ers and quilters.

Until later, Happy Stitchin'!

Another night creating....

Well, it's the night before my procedure and I'm working on a new project. I'm creating my 3rd bag, following my instructions. It's a Halloween bag and it's turning out really cute, if I do say so myself. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything ready to go soon so that I can get everything to market. For all of you sewing and quilting fans, it's a quick and easy bag that works up in a heartbeat. It's easily personalized or customized, so it's great for gifts. I'll post a pic once I get the bag done. Well, not much to chat with tonight. I want to keep working and get this bag done soon so that I can get ready for pics!

happy stitching!

Kimberly