It's February...

...and that means Valentine making is happening all over the place.
I thought I would show you everything you need to make one for all of the kids in your school class. After all, you do want to be prepared when your teacher says...
"OK class, it's time to exchange valentines...everyone put your boxes on your desks and begin passing them out."

This is my "How to Make a Valentine" quilt that I designed in 2007.

These are the borders where my friend Helen quilted cute little hearts in. I wanted the borders to look like lace.

Now I'll take you through each and every block...they show everything that you will need to make your valentines.

You will need stamps so that you can send one to your friend that moved away last year....and some of Grandma's hand dipped chocolates for your teacher.

Mom will help you make sugar cookies....and yes... you can have one while gathering your supplies.

You will need stickers...

...and those heart suckers individually wrapped in thier own little cellophane bag...

...bubble gum balls and a giant Tootsie Roll for someone special...which I renamed Quootsie Roll (say Cutesie Roll)...because I can. It's my quilt you know:)

...your favorite crayon colors...I named my own crayons too...

Sweetheart Pink

Love Machine Green

Passionate Purple

Mellow Yellow

Without you Blue.

This is your Valentine box....Dad helped you make it out of a shoebox.

You will need tape for taping the candy to the valentines.

And plenty of Hersheys Kisses...you can have a few of those too while you are making them.

Don't forget the paper doilies.

And the conversation hearts.....these are important because you can send a message to that cute boy that you have a secret crush on but will never tell.

A big pink eraser just incase you spell someones name wrong. (remember to check the list of names that you got from your teacher for correct spelling).

You can use your older sister's paper punch but don't forget to put it back in her desk when your done....or else!

Individually wrapped "Love Savers"...

Lots of paper.

A list of everything you will need.

Individually wrapped cherry Twizzlers...

A ruler....you want your lines to be as straight as possible.

Wide pink ribbon to tie up the sugar cookies for Grandpa and Dad.

Red Ju-Ju hearts....cinnamon ones too.

Always remember to S.W.A.K. each envelope.

Scissors for cutting...(don't run with them).

A #2 pencil and ...LOTS of glitter.

Glue or Paste.

Smarties....the pink ones are the best.

Chocolate hearts...both Milk and Dark to please everyone.

Have fun making your Valentines!

*note*If you are interested in purchasing my pattern to make your own "How to make a Valentine" quilt...you can get it from Nadine's website (Material Girls). She might not have a picture up because it's seasonal but you can call her and she'll send you one. 801-495-4290.

Last Blocks...

Last week was my Family Reunion applique club at Quilts Etc.
We did the very last blocks that will go in the quilt. My students have been doing so well!


I added the lemonade jar to sit on the end of the food table....

...and of course, a stack of paper cups for the lemonade and to go along with the paper plate and plastic utensils that we have already put into the quilt.

My stunt double Kassidy stitched a very appropriate saying that will go above the paper cups. A row of colorful buttons will be stitched above the saying.

This is my quilt....or at least my quilt without the borders! I have the borders designed and all of the fabric cut and ready to stitch together. The border will be very scrappy...I am using 34 different fabrics.

The last class will be the end of this month and for those of you out there who are interested...the pattern will be available then.

I'm really excited about this quilt. It's been so fun designing it and has brought back so many memories from past Family Reunions.

My students have been able to put thier own family names on thier quilts which has made it very personal for them.

Some of them didn't have any family reunions while growing up and so have no memories of them. They have decided to plan thier own family reunions now and make memories for thier children and grandchildren. I think that's just fabulous!

I'll show you the borders as soon as I can...

I'm ready for my close up...

Last week I made Sophie a skirt and a bib and a matching flower out of the leftover fabric.
Y'all remember Sophie Belle?
She's my cutie grandaughter who is now 10 months old. WOW! Can you believe it?
Time sure flies when you're having fun....
After getting her dressed in her new outfit....I set her in a chair in my front room where I have excellent natural light.....

..hoping she would sit still long enough to get a close-up.

Sophie's look says..."What are we doing Grandma?...oh...the camera AGAIN."

Enter the sock monkey to keep her occupied for just a few more seconds until I can get that perfect shot of that winning smile of hers.

Everything goes in her mouth...

"Are we done yet?"...

And we have it...the perfect close up!

"Did I do good Grandma?"

"Can I get down now?"

"I'm so over this sitting still thing..."

..."and I'm done".

I didn't mean....

...to be away so long from my blog.
I had pattern deadlines.
Then I got sick.
With Bronchitis.
Now I'm better.
So anywhoo...back to my regularly scheduled program ladies!
Today I went to my "Clothesline Club" meeting at Quilts Etc. in Sandy. As you know, I always take pictures of the show and tells...so here you are!

Remember when I told you that we were doing signiture blocks? Well, below is Sandra's quilt all finished and hanging on the wall. I love it.

Next we have LOTS of good show and tell from some of the members in the club....

Look at this adorable Scotty dog pincushion on his little plaid pillow. Adorable.

This is my friend Judy she has belonged to all of my applique clubs.

Today she brought 3 of her quilts that she made from my patterns for show and tell. The first one is A Quilters World...

...then Cottage Garden.

and lastly, Grandma's Kitchen. Great job Judy!

I hope you enjoyed this month's Clothesline Club show and tell.

Thank you to everyone for all of the kind words about my newest pattern "eat CAKE" from my last post. You are all so sweet!

"eat CAKE"...

...eat CAKE with cherries on top...and pink frosting.

...and if you are going to eat cake, by all means...eat it with a vintage silver fork:)

I finished it today and tied it up with tule and ric-rac.
This is the class I will be teaching at the American Quilting retreat next month. I designed it especially for the retreat but will also be putting it into a pattern very soon.

The staff will be cutting kits (which will include all fabric, wool felt, embellishments and buttons)for those who will be taking the class...and I will be providing a vintage fork for each student....of course Mr. Honey will drill the hole in the top of each fork, so it is ready to hang.

This was a really fun project to design and also to make.

"eat CAKE" means...enjoy all the good things that life has to offer...and do it with style!

My Book - Keeper...

Mr. Honey gave me a Kindle for Christmas. I was so excited, I have been wanting one for a long time.
For those of you who don't know what a Kindle is...it's a device that you can download and read books from....I like to compare it to an ipod...a kindle is like an ipod for books instead of music.
It's by Amazon and you can get one there and also download any book from them directly onto your Kindle in a matter of seconds. It holds 1,500 books. You can find out all about it here.

I love to read as much as I can...especially historical fiction. However, because of my work schedule I don't have much time to actually sit down and read.
So, for the past several years I have become an avid "book on CD listener".

When I am in my studio, I really enjoy listening to a good book as I draw, applique or use my sewing machine. Either that or watch old movies, or an old series on TV Land....but most of the time I am listening to a book.
I reserve the books (cd's) that I want from my local library's website.
This works out pretty good but alot of times I have to wait what seems like forever to get a popular or newly released book....well not any more!
This is the thing that I am so excited about my Kindle...it can also read books aloud to me. I download all of the books from Amazon's Kindle store....

Or....I can download any audio book onto my computer and then sync it into my Kindle and listen to it that way.
The Kindle allows me to take all of my books with me anywhere I'm going (even camping) in one compact device. I have several books on it now and I just LOVE it.
Another great thing is that I have downloaded the complete set of scriptures including the hymns and childrens songbook....also alot of other church manuals...very convenient.
It sounds complicated but really is not at all.
The website that I use to get the audio books is called audible.com.
Now I don't have to wait to get the next book in the current series that I am listening to at the time....YAY!

.
Okay...now about the Kindle keeper. I while back, my friend Kim from Bitty Bits & Pieces showed her Kindle and the keeper that she had designed for it. She put the tutorial on
Moda Bake Shop....if you want to make one, just go to Moda bake shop and search
Book Keeper...it will take you there.

Her instructions are great and the keeper is adorable...I whipped it up in no time at all.

This is the lining fabric that I used.

Thanks Kim for such a cute pattern! I love it and I love my Kindle.....:)