End of October!

Where did the past month go? It flew by because I was on the go! And so busy that I didn't have time to think about blogging! I knew it would be that way, though, because of everything I/we scheduled. Glad to be back home and getting back to a normal schedule.
I have lots of sewing projects I want to get to...first I had to be able to get to my materials! I spent last night cleaning out and re-organizing my sewing room. I now have a stack of things waiting to be cut--aprons, doll quilts, and a new pattern I want to try out. I also have some scrappy piecing to do. Can't wait to get started!

Have You Seen It?

If you are a member of NQA, you should have recently received the fall issue of The Quilting Quarterly. Have you read it yet? Check out the pattern on page 33!
When I sent a copy of my book, Start With Scraps, to the editor for review, she asked me to design a project for this issue. I had the perfect project sketched out in my notebook and this was the perfect time to bring it to life! (Actually it wasn't really the perfect time. Most of the work on it was done while I was at my daughter's in June, helping with the new baby. It was a challenge to work with the sewing machine of someone else and in the workspace of someone else. But the project turned out the way I wanted it to and was to the editor on time!) I hope you will give the pattern a try!
Tonight I'm showing my scrappy-piecing technique to a new group of quilters. Hopefully they will have fun with it and get hooked on this way of using up scraps!
I'm taking along my patterns and the samples for my newest ones. If you haven't yet seen them, go to http://carolsscrapquilts.webs.com and check them out! It's a great time to make some "Little Pink Houses"!

Next projects

Wow! Can't believe it's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged! Where has the time gone?
The T-shirt quilt is now in the hands of the quilter. I can't wait to see it finished...we decided to use variegated thread for the quilting and I found a great batik fabric for the back. I purchased Fairfield's Classic Cotton batting for this quilt, so I'm anxious to see how that works out, too!
Now that that project is out of the way, it didn't take me long to move on to others. I'm beginning to think of Christmas gifts. I've found the perfect pattern for this year's ornament for everyone; I've pretty much decided what I will make for the gift exchange within my quilting circle; and I'm designing the doll quilt that I'll make for my granddaughter. New aprons are needed for the little ones, too.
If you need some quick little gifts, why not try my newest pattern, shown here, "Scrappy Sacks"? They are fun to make and each one is unique! Check out the details of this and all my other patterns on my website: http://carolsscrapquilts.webs.com. Happy stitching!

Pattern's Ready!

Little Pink Houses is now ready! Hope you like it! It's my tribute to all those ladies who have been or are now battling breast cancer. It is designed to be a fund-raising quilt. I hope lots of you will use it to raise lots of $$ to help find the cause and a cure for this disease. It has affected way too many women in my life!!! (and probably in yours, too!) The pattern is available from me...check my website for ordering instructions: http://carolsscrapquilts.webs.com

More Waiting

I guess it is a good thing that the answers to the T-shirt questions haven't come yet. The other day my sewing machine decided to act up. I wore out another gear in it, so it is out of commission for at least a week. In the meantime, I'm doing some hand-sewing, cutting the pieces for a couple of quilts, finding backing so I can take a wall quilt to my quilter, and putting together my latest pattern. "Little Pink Houses" will soon be available. I hope to have it on my website in the next day or two. Keep watching for it! Happy Stitching! :)

Waiting

The T-shirt quilt top is all finished. I'm now waiting for answers to my questions: What type of backing should I use? Batting or no batting? Machine quilted or tied?
It was a challenge to get all the parts to fit together, but I'm happy with the results. Hope they will be too! I have a couple of T-shirt squares left that I will work into the back of the quilt. There will be many T-shirts returned; had I use them all, I think they would be able to wallpaper the room with the finished quilt!!!!
While I'm waiting for the answers to the questions, I'm working on some UFOs. It feels great to be making progress on them!
Have you checked my website lately? Only about 10 more days of the summer sale on my patterns. The sale ends on Labor Day. "Scrap Nick" and "Little Bit Frosty" are two easy scrappy patterns--the wall quilts, runners and place mats would make great Christmas gifts!
Go to: http://carolsscrapquilts.webs.com and take a look!

Something Different

This week's project is a 90 x 90 T-shirt quilt. I've made T-shirt/clothing quilts before, so that is not what is different about this project. What is different, is the subject of the T-shirts--Grateful Dead. (My kids think it is really funny that I am making a Grateful Dead quilt!)
As I was first sorting the shirts, all I was looking at was the size of the design and the colors used. It's when I started preparing them for the quilt (BTW: I LOVE Pellon Shape-flex) that I really started to notice the pictures. I can understand skeletons, skulls and tie-dye colors. But what I don't understand is how the Peanuts Gang fits in...several of the T-shirts show Snoopy and friends dancing around. The only connection I can think of between Charles Shultz and the Grateful Dead is that they were both from California. I'm curious...I'll have to check into this...