Nouveau…in Coins

This line of fabric is absolutely beautiful! I knew when I first saw it that I HAD to make something out of it! I also wanted to make a coins quilt, they are just so cool! 🙂

So I decided to put the two ideas together and this little beauty was born! I AM IN LOVE!!! Here she is…my first Coins quilt. p4060073I followed AmandaJeans tutorial on the Moda BakeShop pretty closely…except, I used three charm packs because I wanted mine to be a little bigger. Its roughly twin size. So, grab your charm packs and get started. This one really is a breeze!

More on Going Green…

I have always been a big supporter of going green and recycling. I remember when I was in the fifth grade our Science teacher took us to McDonald’s so we could protest their use of Styrofoam containers for their big macs! So, yes, that seed was planted early!

My kids are also big into recycling…they are also very creative and recently started making these bracelets from pop tabs. p4170134p4170135You can find a good tutorial HERE. I think they are so great. Very funky.

A few other things we do to recycle, reduce, reuse:

1)we try to separate our trash…taking aluminum, cardboard, newspaper, glass, and plastic containers to the local recycling center.

2)we donate our toys and clothes to charity when we no longer need them…we also shop thrift stores and garage sales! We only buy new if we have to!

3)we walk as often as possible…to the park, the library, the gym, and school.  We love to take walks

4)we USE our library…we have lots of readers in our house and we are always checking out new things to read!

5)we have lots of house plants around to improve our air quality, and we try to plant a garden every year. This year we are planting tomatoes, green beans and strawberries! We love to feed the birds too!

6)we use reusable grocery bags as often as possible, and on the chance that I forget them, or I don’t bring enough and we get plastic grocery bags, we use the plastic bags to line our small trash cans instead of buying trash bags.

If you stop and think about it…there are a lot of things we just do naturally every day that help to keep our world cleaner, and our lives healthier. And, if you’re not already doing these things…then just start today! Its not so hard if you take it one small step at a time! and I wouldn’t get too discouraged,  the earth is like our bodies…in that, it has the ability to repair and rebuild itself…and any little thing that we can do to help will make a huge difference! Good Luck!

Zippity Doo Dah!

My, oh my, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine, heading my way…Oh sorry:)

This is my inspiration:qam_a_quiltsandmore_0209It’s a darling quilt from the cover of the Quilts and More magazine…I was looking at it and realized that it was made with half square triangles. Wow! I thought, I could do this with a charm pack.

So, I took two Zippity Doo Dah charm packs and made half square triangles using Kona Muslin (80 5in. squares) then laid them out…It was much easier than it looks! My kind of quilt!  I am so pleased with the results…Here’s mine all finished up:  p4130113I love how the striped squares turned into zig zags. This has got to be the cutest Americana Fabric! I can’t wait for picnic season to get here!  For the magazine and pattern click HERE.

A “Good Cause” Baby Quilt

Here is my baby quilt to donate to the Quilts for Kids Charity. p4040071 I was really excited by the challenge to use my stash and scraps to make something cute.

This one is made all out of scraps except the green border. The floral is leftover from a dress I made myself (ten years ago), the white is from a sheet that I cut up for a mummy wrap game! I am especially proud of this one because I was able to make something amazing with stuff I already had! Who knew this was hiding in my closet all this time…disguised as old fabric that I almost tossed into the trash thinking that I would NEVER use! This was so much fun! I am already thinking up new quilts! We have a few (growing) bins of scraps here at the shop and we would love to have some help putting together baby size quilt tops. We are planning to have one night a month to work on this…we will let you know as soon as we decide which night and time!

Whats On The Machine….

p4170140Whew, we have been so busy lately! This one is just gorgeous! It is made out of batiks, with a few other brights mixed in. It is so bright and cheerful! SUCH a fun quilt!

This next one is really cool to look at. It is done in a pattern called attic windows. and it amazes me. It is so three dimensional and geometric. I love it! p4170136Our local quilters just keep amazing us…quilt after quilt! WOW! You ladies are awesome!p4170138