Okay- I have a confession to make....I have been dabbling in scrapbooking lately.  I already have tons of supplies as I used to do a lot more when my children were little. Anyway, I decided to make these cute little 5 x 7 albums for my sisters with some of the photographs from our "Sister Trip" to France last year. I will be giving them their albums tomorrow--I hope they like them. I really had a great time making them. There are many parallels between scrapbooking and quilting these days, with scrapbook paper designers making quilt fabric, etc. There are some great stores in the Phoenix area, with classes to get  you started if you have never made one of these. You make the album first in the class and then you can add your pictures later--these make a thoughtful and personal gift that is sure to be treasured.

 Here are some photos of a wholecloth European Pillow Sham that I custom made for a friend of mine. She has a beautiful heirloom applique/pieced quilt that she made and she wants 2 of these shams to go with it. The pictures really don't do it justice--it is really gorgeous--I just may have to make myself a couple. Some of the crosshatch border will be sewn into the seams to make a flange. I can't wait to see them once she completes them!

I recently finished this quilt for my friend Marge. She worked on this project at quilt camp and it was fun to see it come together on the design board. It is interesting because all the fabrics are essentially solid. There is a trend out there called Modern Quilts and there are Modern Quilt Guilds, and they really do look different than the quilts Grandma used to make. When you're working with solids and graphic quilts like these, it takes some time to come up with a quilting pattern that compliments the design. In the close up, you can see that Marge and I found a pattern that I think really works well-it's called Geometric Path by Kristin Hoftyzer--I think it looks like a circuit board and really adds another element to the quilt. The quilts in the book would be great for men & boys and anyone who prefers a more contemporary design in their homes. Be sure to check the book out sometime, there are quite a few interesting designs inside. That's all for now....Happy 4th of July!!

Here is a couple shots of my latest quilt. This was supposed to be a pink and brown quilt, but then I found this fabulous border print... and it was on sale!! So, I ended up adding green and yellow as well. I really like how it came out. Hope you are managing to keep cool:)

I am working on several patriotic projects right now, and I just had to upload some photos. I am nearly done with this quilt, just need to finish the binding. I am really happy with how it came out and am looking forward to hanging it in my entry for the month of July. This project is from Moda and is called "Flag of Valor" by Minick and Simpson. It is packaged as a kit in a cute little patriotic bag. I've included a link for the bunting. You can find the kit at www.quiltersparadiseonline.com for $79 which is the lowest price among several online

Life on the Surface of the Sun

I know I've been mia for some time now, maybe I can blame it on the nice weather. It has been such a long pleasant ride, but the heat is on now(until late October probably) So, perhaps I will be inside more and posting more.... How do you like my title?? That little tidbit was from a Southwest Airlines Pilot as we were pulling up to the gate in Phoenix, he said "Welcome to the Surface of the Sun! Now, if you don't live here, you may not (or may) get it, but it gets reaaally hot here. In other areas of the country, people stay inside during the winter more--we do the reverse here. So I am hoping to post more, including pictures of what I 'm working on, what inspires me, and other random things. BTW, one of my new purchases is this book with such a clever title--all you fabriholics like me we get it. This is something I really would like to try, dying my own fabric and then creating something unique and original.
Well, that's all for today...

Early bird gets the worm

Okay--I have a Free Dream Green Batt for the 1st person to bring over a quilt to be quilted. The batt is 60 x 60 and you can use it on the quilt you bring, or take it home to use on one in the future. This batt is made from 7 recycled plastic bottles. They are pale green, colorfast and compatible with all projects. It can be machine washed & dried with little to no shrinkage, and it is wrinkle resistant. There is no scrim or resins and it can be stitched up to 12 inches apart. But call quick--the early bird gets the worm!!