I got carried away today buying fabric. My LQS is having a sale today to celebrate their 11th year in business. So for each 11 yards of fabric that you buy, you get 11 yards free. I went with the intentions of buying 11 and getting 11 free, but I just kept going and ended up buying 22 yards and getting 22 yards free. So I came home with 44 yards of fabric! I only have plans for one of these fabrics. But I’m happy!!!!!!

My guild is having a pokadot challenge in March, so I’ll use this in my challenge quilt for that night. I haven’t decided what pattern to use yet, but I thought it was a neat pokadot print.

I think I better get to work now. I put a good dent in my checking account! LOL!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Theresa

http://community.webshots.com/user/alwaysquilts

I spent most of the day (between bus routes) quilting. I hope to get it finished tomorrow. Tonight I decided to work on a challenge for the longarm group that I belong to. (Although I seldom go to the meetings) But the challenge is a kit where each person makes the same identical quilt and then machine quilts it however they want. They are due in January at the MoKan meeting, but I figured I might as well get the top done and then try to think of how to quilt it. These will hang at MQS next year so I want it to look fairly nice. It’s not my colors, so I’m not too sure about it. I think it will have to hang on the wall and talk to me for awhile! LOL!!

I have all the blocks finished on my 8 year old mystery. I needed 30 of them. I had to cut a few more pieces in order to have enough. I’m glad that I kept all the fabrics in the same box. I’m working on adding sashings to the blocks now.

I haven’t worked on the new mystery that I started for awhile. I have most of the blocks pieced but put them aside to work on the old mystery. I can’t seem to work on 1 thing very long. I always want to do something different. Start something new!!! I guess that’s what I did tonight. (Piecing the MoKan challenge.)

I guess that’s it for now.

Theresa

http://community.webshots.com/user/alwaysquilts

 

I love quilting. When I made my first quilt, I hand quilted it. I was self taught and really had no idea what I was doing but I was hooked after I finished the quilt. I then made my second quilt. All the blocks were hand pieced and I sewed the blocks together on the machine. I then hand quilted it. My 3rd quilt, I took a class and discovered rotary cutters and mats! WOW!!! what a difference those little things made. Anyway, I hand quilted that quilt also. I entered it into the local county fair and won a blue ribbon it. I was shocked!! It took me a year to get it finished. A friend of mine took the class with me and had hers done within a few months because she sent hers out to be quilted. I was devastated when I saw her quilt come back with a panto pattern on it. I swore at that time that I would never have a quilt machine quilted. I went on to make several more quilt tops and hand quilted a couple more but by this time I thought I had to make every neat quilt I saw so I was getting the tops made faster than I could hand quilt them. Then I saw what they were doing with machine quilting! WOW They were quilting tops and focusing on the quilt pattern, not doing pantos!! I had to have one of these machines and shortly after my discovery I bought my first longarm. I began quilting focusing on the pattern of the quilt, giving them detail. I still do that today. All these years later. Sometimes I wonder if I should do them faster and simpler but then I remember why I quilt and I put the extra hours in them because I want the quilt to be the best that it can. I am proud when I see quilts hanging at the county fair with blue ribbons on them and I’ve quilted them. Or at a local quilt show where a quilt that I’ve quilted has a ribbon. I love quilting and I take pride in what I do. I guess I don’t quilt mainly for the money although I do have to quilt to pay bills but I quilt because of the love I have for it. To see the look of pleasure on the customers face, to hear the words “I was going to give that away, but now I think I’ll keep it!” or just getting a hug because I’ve taken what they called an ugly quilt and made it into a beautiful swan! Yes, I LOVE what I do. Why do you quilt?

Theresa

http://community.webshots.com/user/alwaysquilts

I managed to get the motor changed on my machine this week. Boy what a hassle!!!!!! It started acted up and I called APQS and they said that I probably needed new brushes in the motor. OK…….I ordered a new set of brushes. They came the next day. I didn’t have time to work on it that evening, so the next day my DH came home from work and said let’s get it done. So we took the motor off and changed the brushes. Then, we couldn’t get the motor put back together right. It just wouldn’t fit!!!! Needless to say, my DH was getting tired after working all night and in the process of trying to get the motor pulled apart AGAIN. he caught the corner of the piece that holds the check spring on there and broke it. Well, so much for that motor! I then called APQS again and they said that they can’t fix that part of the motor. Since I live close to KC she gave me the company that they buy the motors from, I called them and they were able to have the correct motor at the store the next day, so yesterday morning I went and bought a new motor and without my DH’s help. (He feels soooooo bad about breaking the first one) anyway, I put the new motor on, retimed the machine and got back to quilting last night. Mission accomplished!!

Now I’m off to go quilt. Have a great day!

Theresa

http://community.webshots.com/user/alwaysquilts