Something About Nothing

My sewing machine has been giving me fits again and I really just haven't had the time to run it in to the shop to have it looked at.  I couldn't get it to work at all before my trip but it magically started working again for my daughter while I was gone.  I think she has a magic touch!  In any case, until I can get it into the shop I have downloaded this FREE class from Craftsy.    Sewing Machine 911 : Give your sewing machine some TLC with the help of this free course. Learn to clean and maintain your sewing machine with tips and tricks taught in this class. I think it will help me work things out until I can take it into the shop. While I was there I found another fun class to download for FREE. Have I mentioned that I LOVE FREE? Who doesn't, right?!? This class is about making Creative Quilt Backs. Creative Quilt Backs : Make the back of your quilt just as interesting as the front! Oh, Fransson! blog author Elizabeth Hartman walks yo...

 We drove to Reno this past weekend. I watched a LOT of volleyball while my daughter played.  My daughter and her team took first in their division! We ate a lot of good food, but I still watched what I ate. My weigh in today will tell how good I was at figuring it all out. (WOW, I lost 7 lbs this week!  That brings me to 40 lbs total!!!  I guess I did great at figuring out all the food.  And the ton of walking we did was very helpful too, I'm sure!) We took a side trip up to Lake Tahoe for some fun in the sun.  I haven't been to Lake Tahoe since my Mom died 10 1/2 years ago.  Mom lived in South Lake Tahoe, CA, and we loved visiting her there.  Being there brought back many bitter sweet memories.  The perfect weather was very helpful, and the water, though cold, was delightful. The gentleman who was renting these paddle boards allowed all the girls to give it a try.  No one fell in the water, thankfully, and...

I just finished up a few gift tags to send off to the Quilting Arts Gifts Readers Challenge .  One set was made using fabric I painted with a star stencil I made with my Silhouette Portrait  and Gelli Plate. And the other set are Snowflakes! I created some snowflakes in my Silhouette program  and cut them using the Portrait from one of my ice dyed fabrics  and fused them onto white felt.  The back is a red batik I love.  I really like these two and I think I will use the snowflake pattern again. Are you going to participate and make some fiber gift tags to send in?   You should!   Follow this link to find out more.

The Spring Table Sale at One Kings Lane Set a table that blooms with these light, bright entertaining necessities. Full of floral dishes, playfully printed linens, and vibrant flatware, we’ve got something to freshen up every spring soiree.

Every year the Utah Surface Design Group has a wonderful gallery show.  This year I finally entered a couple of pieces in the show.  I took my husband downtown with me to see the opening tonight.  There were so many amazing pieces there.  There are so many talented people in USDG!  I am truly humbled to be in association with these wonderful people.  I'll let the photos do the talking (mostly). My "Out of the Darkness" piece:  A small piece from my friend Lisa Brothman: My "Take Away" quilt: Another piece from my friend Lisa Brothman:  A lovely little piece from my friend Anne Munoz.  This green piece really surprised me.   It is also made by my friend Anne Munoz but is nothing like her "typical" pieces.   I like it too!   I loved the detail in this little "Up" house piece!   This is glass pieced over the top o...

The ripping is finished and the quilting done. After much contemplation I decided give the name a little bit of an unusual name because it was started and almost finished on Pi Day (3/14) at the Super Spring Pie Plates Retreat . Now, may I present: Fractured Pi I still need to put on a binding and label before it can be called finished. I have entered the quilt in the HMQS show in Salt Lake City.  Stop by the show in person if you happen to be in town.  There will be a lot of beautiful quilts, classes and places to buy great fabrics and threads.   I will be demonstrating how to do photo transfers with TAP  on Friday, May 10th from 2-4 p.m. I really like this close up shot. I like the design so much that after looking at the photo I honestly contemplated cutting the quilt down to just a 12"x12" middle!

Welcome to the  Spring Clean Your Studio  Blog Hop! Do you know what inspires me to clean? An episode of the reality TV show Hoarders . Consider this post your own personal Hoarders episode. hahahaha It's not quite that bad, but because I had a number of deadlines all come due at the same time and because I had moved the studio upstairs without getting it fully in order, my studio was a great big mess ! So, spring or not, Hoarders episodes or not, I was motivated to clean! And when the mood hits, I go with it! Stuff was EVERYWHERE. The space that is suppose to be empty behind my sewing machine was completely FULL. The only reason the ironing board wasn't totally covered was because I had shoved everything into a giant pile at one end. The space in front of the closet was three feet deep full of STUFF. Stuff which I hadn't taken the time to separate and organize since I moved into the new studio THREE months ago. It was next to imposs...