The Quilted Fish

Moving Day!

2009-08-11T13:38:00.001-07:00

I have moved to www.TheQuiltedFish.Typepad.com! Please be sure to change your bookmarks and links! Thanks! Can’t wait to see you at my new home!

All my blogs are packed

2009-08-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

It's moving day, people! Just in time for my 100th post I am moving! You can find me now at www.TheQuiltedFish.Typepad.com!!!! I will have lots of give aways this week in honor of reaching 100 posts and launching my new blog! I am so excited!!!!!!!! Can't you tell by the number of exclamation points that I am using!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, boy!

Friendship Day

2009-08-06T19:10:00.001-07:00

Did you know that today is Friendship day? Well it is! So be sure to tell your friends. Happy friendship day to all my blog friends out there! Thanks so much for reading my blog!

Have you ever heard of a friendship quilt? I didn’t even know what one was until I started reading about them in preparation for this post.

Definitions of friendship quilt on the Web:

a quilt made by friends (who make friendship blocks) as a gift or remembrance to someone who has moved. ...
www.reddawn.net/quilt/glossary.htm
These are quilts that are made to be given to friends and relatives similar to a signature quilt often containing dates, signatures, verses and messages. They were often made with fabric which was shared and exchanged.
www.sewmuchmoreinfo.com/quiltopaedia.html

Although these are the web definitions, I think a friendship quilt could be many things. A quilt made for a friend that symbolizes what your friendship means, a quilt made by many friends working together, a quilt made by people (like a community) to symbolize love, peace and friendship.

Regardless of what you think a friendship quilt is, I am sure that you have experienced the fact that quilting brings people together. I have many friends that I would not have if it weren’t for quilting. I am grateful to my friends for their love and support. Thanks and Happy Friendship Day!

Unleashing his domestic goddess????

2009-08-05T19:07:00.001-07:00

Tonight Mr. Fish was waxing poetic about what a great chef he is. In particular about how he can make rolls. Now I am sure that a lot of you can make really yummy rolls. I can, on occasion, make good rolls. I can also (on more occasions) make rolls that completely flop. As a matter of fact, my mom has, in the past, said she didn’t want me to make rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. Seriously. Having said that, I will say that I am a fairly good cook. I know my way around the kitchen. Mr. Fish, on the other hand, is inexperienced to say the least. He can cook eggs, mac & cheese, spaghetti, top ramen and pasta. He can even make a grilled cheese sandwich. Rolls? I don’t think so. He is saying these things as he is preparing some Rhodes bake-n-serve rolls. My son hears this conversation and is impressed that dad can make rolls! (My son could subsist on rolls alone.) Being the person that I am (I don’t like a know-it-all) I couldn’t help but laugh at how his rolls turned out…

Dough-y little hockey pucks. My son wouldn’t even touch them. I know. I should be a better wife, right? Thanks for the laugh, honey, you’re the best!

Amazing blog!

2009-08-02T21:29:00.001-07:00

So today as I was perusing the internet, I happened upon a wonderful and completely delightful blog! You will totally want to check this out….I will also be adding it to my sidebar so that I can go back over and over and over and, well, over…..

Piece and Quiet Classes!

2009-08-01T15:54:00.001-07:00

I will have a sidebar list of any classes that I am/will be teaching. I have been meaning to do this for quite some time, but I have been slacking. Here are some dates of classes. If you are interested in signing up call the phone number to the store and let them know….

Piece and Quiet class

Starts on August 18 and is 5 weeks. Call Quilts Etc in Sandy, Utah at 801-255-2666.

Special Delivery

2009-08-01T09:02:00.001-07:00

I almost titled this post “Speedy Delivery” but that doesn’t really fit since this has been a long process! But they are here, at last, and they are beautiful!

I am so excited to have such a beautiful book with my name on it. I am so grateful to Palmer Printing for all of their hard work. They took my product and really elevated it!

This is available for purchase on my blog for a few more days and then it will be for sale on….MY WEBSITE! The big launch for my website will be on August 11th. I will also be revealing my NEW BLOG!!!!! Which also comes with a new blog address (don’t worry, I will tell you where to go). I am so excited! That will be the day of my 100th post. SO you will want to come and see because I have lots of stuff to give away for the celebration. So mark you calendars because you won’t want to miss it!

Unleashing my domestic goddess

2009-07-30T08:22:00.001-07:00

I finally picked the last winner (sorry about the delay) for the where in the world is The Quilted Fish contest. The winner was selected randomly by random.org and it is Colleen! So, Colleen, leave me a comment with your e-mail or contact me directly at my e-mail and we can chat!

I love summer! Going on vacation gave me a chance to look up from my computer and spend some time outside. And now all of the local fruits and vegetables are coming on. Farmer’s markets are advertised everywhere and little fruit stands set up shop on the street corners. It makes the domestic goddess (I use that term somewhat liberally) inside of me come out for a peek. Maybe it’s the smell of the peaches! I want to can jam and salsa and make pickled beets and refrigerator pickles. Not to mention ice cream. I indulged yesterday and bought myself an ice cream maker. It is something I have wanted for a really long time and, well, you know how it goes, it was on sale. I am a sucker for a sale. SO later today there will be ice cream. Yum! But here’s what I did with a bunch of fresh cucumbers that I bought….

These are delicious! If you haven’t ever tried refrigerator pickles before, you should! They are sweet and tangy and crunchy. I am the only one at my house that likes them, but that didn’t stop me from making 6 jars! Here is the recipe I used….

Makes 2 quarts pickles.
Stir and mix the following:

1 c. onions, also thinly sliced
2 c. sugar
1 c. vinegar
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed

I put it all in a big bowl and then added all of the cucumbers that I could submerge. I take the peels off of mine first, but that is just preference.

I can’t wait for ice cream tonight! I am making vanilla bean. With blackberry nectarine cobbler……(my mouth is watering). What do you love to eat in the summer time?

I can’t fool you!

2009-07-27T20:06:00.001-07:00

I am physically back from vacation. Mentally, I am not ready to be back. I need a vacation because of my vacation. I am a little bit of a workaholic, so for me to put everything down (well, almost everything) and not work is big. For me to come home and pick everything back up, well that is bigger!

So you guys are good guessers! I was in St. George, Utah. I was a little nervous that all of the correct guesses would come from Utahns, but they didn’t! There was correct guesses from all over the country! I can’t fool you! I have notified everyone that won, and I will post the winner from the posts tomorrow. So stay tuned for that! You can still enter if you want, just go comment on any of my vacation posts.

I took some pictures of the cutest little quilt shop called The Lazy Daisy Cottage, but for some reason my camera says they are corrupted! Alas, and wo is me! I really wanted to show you how cute that place is! So you will have to pop on over to their site. You won’t be sorry!

Have a great day and happy quilting….remember, there are BIG things going on here, so check back for some announcements!

Three down, two to go!

2009-07-24T22:13:00.001-07:00

Out of the roughly 25 guesses so far, 3 people were correct! There are still 2 prizes to be won, so put your thinking caps on! If you don’t know exactly what I am talking about, scroll down to Wednesday and Thursday’s post to get up to speed.

I have a few pictures to show you (not all of them because I can’t find the right cable!). We went on a ride tonight to a beautiful (and quite small) canyon. One of the clues for today is that I am in Utah. I am from Utah and cannot recall ever seeing a “lava flow” here. This canyon was amazing with red and white rock formations with black lava spread throughout. It was truly amazing and magnificent. The second picture is of a petrified sand dune. Cool, eh?

My last clue is that last night I went to the Utah Shakespearean festival. I spent some time in the car to get there (not telling how long but it was more than 30 minutes and less than 2 hours). We saw Shakespeare’s play Comedy of Errors. I love this festival and have been many, many, many times. This is one of my favorite plays and one of my favorite productions (ever!!!) at the festival. I wish we had more time because I would love to see As You Like It.

Hopefully I will find my cable tomorrow! I would love to show you some more pictures. And thank you all for the advice! I have been drinking lots of water and using sunscreen. Thanks for reading!

You guys are good!

2009-07-23T22:44:00.001-07:00

I have had a lot of guesses…and one of them was correct! The big prize is gone, but there are still 4 more prizes to be won! So keep on guessing. Here are a few more clues….

I am one hour from the pyramids, Paris, New York and Italy.

I am a short distance from 3 national parks.

I have had my fill of culture for the evening (which I will tell you about later when you know where I am) and I am super tired. I am off for a “comfy” night in a hotel bed. Keep the guesses coming! I will post lots of pictures tomorrow!

Where in the world is The Quilted Fish??

2009-07-22T16:48:00.001-07:00

Are you good at guessing games? Like twenty questions or I spy? We have been playing those in the car recently on our way to our vacation spot. I am not a huge road trip fan. But I am a HUGE fan of give aways!

Here is what we are going to do….I am going to give you clues about where I am and you are going to guess! The first person to guess will win a box of treats from the state that I am in plus 10 fat quarters and my Sassy Squares No. 2 pattern. The next 4 people to win will get treats from the state I am in plus two patterns of their choice. I will give you a clue or two for the next few days. IF you know where I am DON”T TELL!!!! Send me an e-mail at TheQuiltedFish@gmail.com. I will tell you if you are right. If you don’t want to guess, leave a comment anyway, since I will give ANOTHER prize to a randomly selected commenter. One comment per post per day! That is 6 give aways this week! So let’s get started!

Here are some clues…

It is really hot here today….106 degrees hot. TOOOOO hot.

Red rocks

College town

Remember…IF you know DON”T TELL!!! Just send me an email! I am going to visit some local fabric stores in the next couple of days and I can’t wait! I will take pictures to show you!

So tired…but...I must…post…a…win..n..e..r….

2009-07-15T23:04:00.001-07:00

It has been a busy and fun day for me. After cramming all of the work that I could into the first half, we spent the second half on a boat at a nearby reservoir. I am so tired! I have so much more to do and I am just willing myself to stay awake. We leave tomorrow for a short vacation and I have absolutely nothing packed. Not for me, not for my kids and not for Mr. Fish (sometimes a hubby is like another child). I am going to have to get up SUPER early to pull this one off! I wanted to post a winner, though, for the give away.

Chosen, once again, by random.org the winner is Michelle Wilkes! Thanks so much for all of your comments! I have some REALLY big plans for all of you. There are boxes of goodies waiting to be given away for my 100th post. That is soon! AND the launch of my website! AND the Piece and Quiet book! AND a new contract that I don’t know if I can talk about or not, so I won’t. As you can see, there is a lot to come back for!

So Photogenic?

2009-07-14T21:48:00.001-07:00

Remember to check out the give away! Read on….

I have a hard time taking and looking at pictures of myself. I know. I am sure that I am not the only one. I always joke that I look like I have 18 chins (which is why I am on a diet….again) and my eyes are squinty. Tonight I gave in to the “need” to have my picture taken. While I was posing by a gate Mr. Fish reached in from behind to try to scare me. It didn’t work, but it made for a funny picture!

I think that it is pretty funny. Not sure what I was saying right then. I may have to use this one instead of a more serious one. It fits me more anyway. I don’t take myself too seriously (which is not to say that I don’t take other things way too seriously).

Thanks to everyone that has shared their music/listening preferences. It has been fun to read!

Remember to leave a comment if you want to be entered to win 5 patterns. You can comment one time per day per post. Good luck!

Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans and a belated give away….

2009-07-11T19:34:00.001-07:00

I will list the details of the give away a little later on….

That is a line from one of my favorite songs. It is Beautiful Boy by John Lennon. I used to listen to it everyday while I was pregnant with my first child and only son, Truman. I think about that line all of the time. Isn’t that so true? Hence the reason for a “belated” give away. Sorry about that…

I have been thinking a lot about music lately. I am really into my iPod and I just spent a $25 gift card at iTunes. I could have spent 5 x that amount. Easily. I am always shy about the music that I listen to. I don’t really know why, though. So I am going to share with you my latest purchases that I keep listening to over and over and over and over…..

Keeping the Dream Alive by Mulberry Lane—here is the funny thing about this song. It is a remake of a song that I listened to over and over and over and over again when I was in 9th grade! It was by a German band called Freiheit. I can’t buy the original on iTunes yet and I only have a cassette tape with it on it so I have to settle for a remake. I like it, though.

Only You by Yaz—Yep, straight out of the 80’s.

Womanizer by Britney Spears Not so sure about her, but I love this song.

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyonce

The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel—This one ate up a chunk of my gift card because I had to buy the WHOLE album just to get this song. And I don’t like any of the other songs on the album. I hate it when they do that!

If You Were Here by the Thompson Twins—another one straight out of the 80’s.

Fall for You by Second Hand Serenade

The a la Menthe by La Caution—This one is from the movie Oceans Twelve. My bff hates this one and makes me change it every time it comes on.

Okay. Enough is enough. But seriously, I want to know what you are listening to. This is a vital part of the creative process! Good music or good TV or someone good to talk to while you are working! So tell me, what do you listen to?

The give away will work the same way that my previous ones have. Leave a comment (any comment) on any day and be entered to win. You can enter once per day. I will pick a winner next Wednesday. What will you win???

A 6-pack! Of patterns! You can select any 6 patterns from my collection. You can even choose Piece and Quiet Children’s Activity Book Pattern (aka Quiet Book) which I might add will be arriving in about two weeks in its new and totally exciting BOOK form!!!!! That’s right! Yipee! But more about that later. Back to the give away. If you want to look and see what you could win, click on the slideshow in the upper right corner and follow the links to my photo stream. You can view a picture of each pattern.

Good Luck! Remember to tell me what you are listening to right now…..

Band-aids and bows

2009-07-08T22:18:00.001-07:00

Remember when this was the biggest drama in your life?? How many Band-Aids you had? She definitely holds the record in our house. Poor thing skidded down the driveway. Got her hands and her forehead, too.

I must report that I have spent at least an hour sewing every day until today! I have made skirts for the twins and almost finished the remaining duvet cover. It feels great! I have been thinking a lot lately about new years resolutions and about how a year is just too long to make a resolution for. So, I am all about mid-year resolutions. Here are mine….

1. You know this one…spend at least 1 hour a day sewing

2. Lose weight. Yep, this one works for mid-year as well as new year.

3. Don’t sweat the small stuff so much.

4. Have more fun with my kids.

5. Spend less money (except on fabric).

6. Read a book. I would be fine if I just finished one this year. I love to read, but I don’t put any time into it. I have one book that I want to read, so I think this needs to be on the list.

7. Hug Mr. Fish more often. He does like it, you know.

Maybe I can accomplish some of these things. Who knows, maybe even all? Dare I hope?

What are your mid-year resolutions?

Snoozing on the Job

2009-07-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

Wow, I am such a slacker! Sorry for not posting the winner yesterday!

The winner of the Zippity-Do-Dah layer cake, yardage and Sassy Squares No 2 Pattern is….MAY!!!!! May, you were chosen by random.org to get this fabulous give away! Leave me your email in a comment and I will be in touch!

I have a goal this week to spend at least an hour a day sewing. It has been too long since I spent long hours in my studio listening to the monotonous and calming chug-chug-chug of Bessie (my sewing machine). For the first time in a long time I feel like sewing for recreation. Usually I just sew my designs and I don’t have time to do the other things that I want to do. Not this week! I am going to have some fun. Last night I worked on the second duvet cover for my twin girls room. I finished the first one about 6 months ago. My background is interior design so I have done A LOT of home dec sewing. I don’t really miss that. But it is nice to be finishing that project. Tonight I am going to make some things for the twins. It really makes me want for a serger. I just can’t bring myself to shell out the dough for one. I will post pictures of all of my sewing adventures soon.

What are you working on this week? What is your most desired sewing indulgence?

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T08:55:00.001-07:00

Remember that today is your last day to enter for the give away!

I hope you are out enjoying the holiday and your families!

This reminds me of one of my very favorite movie quotes. “You look like the fourth of July. It makes me want a hot dog real bad!”

Do you know what movie that is???

Pretty Maids all in a row

2009-07-02T20:47:00.001-07:00

Remember to check out this weeks give away! It is featured on Monday’s post!!!

One of my favorite (and I am sure yours, too) things to do is go to quilting stores. I love how everyone puts a different spin on things. Even if they have all of the exact same fabrics they put it together differently. That is one of the great things about this industry. There is creativity oozing from every nook and cranny.

This week I made the hour long trip to a store south of me to pick up one of the Piece and Quiet books. I love this store! They do such cute things. So I snapped a few pics (just before my battery died) to share with you. I wish that I had more because there is so much fun stuff going on at this store! The store is called Gracie Lou’s and they are in Salem, UT. Check out some of the cute stuff…

Cute displays…

Cute clothes…

Cute models of my stuff!!! They had a few!

My favorite picture. I took this and thought that they were like pretty maids all in a row.

I wish that I had had an extra battery with me, because there is so much more to see!

I hope you have had time to plan a spectacular 4th of July. I have not had an extra second to even think about planning something. If you have super fun plans, please share! I could use some help!

100

2009-06-30T15:46:00.001-07:00

100 days

Well, I am down to 100 days until market. My pile of projects is quickly becoming a mountain! Whew! I can’t believe how fast the time flies.

100 posts

Another 100 is rapidly approaching. My 100th post! I have some big surprises in store, plus some fun things to give away. You will want to be here for that.

100 degrees

Well, it’s close anyway. And add to that 100 reasons to eat ice cream. One reason for each degree.

100 yards of fabric (I wish)

Doesn’t that sound great? What would you pick? I don’t know if I would know where to start, but I am sure that it would be at Michael Miller. LOVE their stuff. How about you? I bet I have that much in my stash, though. I refuse to cut into so much of it because I love it too much. Isn’t that ridiculous? What do you have that you won’t cut into?

A new week, a new winner and a new give away

2009-06-29T09:00:00.001-07:00

Hello! I was really a slacker last week with my posting. Sorry about that. I will be better this week!

The winner of last weeks give away, chosen by random.org, was tdtcross. So tdtcross be sure to leave me your e-mail and I will be in touch!!! Thanks to everyone who left comments. You can try again this week! The new give away is at the end of the post.

I have had requests to see the inside of a finished Piece and Quiet book. We had a photo shoot last week and I have a few snaps to share!

So cute, eh!!! I will have to show you some of the cover shots tomorrow.

On to the give away!!!! Since the 4th of July is bearing down on us (how did that happen???) AND since you all love layer cakes so much, I decided to give away a 4th of July layer cake!!!

Zippity-Do-Dah by Sandi Gervais for Moda. It will also come with my Sassy Squares No. 2 pattern that uses a layer cake!!! If you didn’t see the quilt last week, scroll down to last Monday’s post for a quick peek.

Let’s review the rules! You will be entered for any comment you leave on any post during the week. One comment per day per person. Make sense? You guys are getting to be old pros at this!

AND!!!!! For even more Quilted Fish give away madness, hop on over to True up (a blog dedicated to fabric) where they are giving away a pack of my patterns!!! You will LOVE their blog. She is very knowledgeable about fabrics of all types. A big thanks to them for featuring me in a give away!

Keep Moving Forward

2009-06-26T09:19:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when I have a bad day it is easy to look at only the bad stuff and not the good stuff. Pretty typical, I am sure. I really love being a pattern designer, but there are some pretty tough things that come along with the job. Just like every other job in the world. Yesterday, when I was having one of the difficult moments, Mr. Fish reminded me of a line from one of our favorite movies. The movie is Meet the Robinsons and it is a Disney animated picture. If you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it. Even if you don’t have young kids! Anyway, they use the line a bunch in the movie and at the end they show a quote by Walt Disney that includes the same words….keep moving forward. Isn’t that a great quote? He was such a remarkable man. So full of creativity and ingenuity. I bet he had bad days, too.

So today is a new day. AND I have already had some really exciting things happen. I can’t wait to share with you but I will have to wait just a little longer…..

I hope that all of you have a wonderful day today! And if you don’t, just remember to keep moving forward.

Overwhelmed!

2009-06-24T19:02:00.001-07:00

Hey! I think you guys like layer cakes. I am so glad that you are excited! To those of you who could not comment, I am so sorry. Please feel free to e-mail me (thequiltedfish@gmail.com) and I will be happy to enter you in the give away. I am guessing that the system was as overwhelmed (with joy) as me!

Wednesdays are one of my favorite days. I have a sweet lady that takes care of my kids on Wednesdays for a few hours. Today me and my bff went shopping and to lunch and shopping so more. We even worked on fun stuff for my new booth for market. Can you believe fall market is just over 100 days away? I can’t. We stopped at one of my favorite stores, T J Maxx. I love to hunt for a bargain. Not to mention that it is a great place to find fish…

I am happy to welcome this fish home to the “Maison de Poisson” (house of fish). He will be happy here. Especially because he is going to be filled with mommy-only treats. Not sure what that is yet, but probably some buttered popcorn jelly bellys, maybe some peanut M & M’s, and some Lindor truffles. Mmmm….. Any ideas what I should name him? And yes, it is a him. Don’t know why, but it is.

I have another question for you. We are in the process of getting a website (YEAH!!!) and I am having a problem with my domain name. The name that I want (the obvious one) is taken. So I need to come up with something super great to use instead. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share. If I like one enough to use it, I will send you a special surprise. Not sure what it will be, but I am sure it will include something that rhymes with schmabric and something that rhymes with schmatterns. Trust me, it will be good. (I do love to give stuff away.) Get those brains working. I am waiting…..

Life is just a bowl of cherries….

2009-06-23T07:55:00.001-07:00

New give away starts today!!!!

Yesterday kind of got away from me. Sorry for not posting the give away like I promised. So without further ado….

This weeks give away will be this darling layer cake and the additional yardage to complete the top of my Sassy Squares No. 2 pattern that looks like this….

This quilt was made with different fabric, so your quilt will look different.

I love this fabric (top cherries) so much that I bought one to give away and one to keep. I have some of the yardage in my stash and I haven’t wanted to cut into it. But I will for this!

The give away will work the same this week as it has the last two weeks. Leave a comment and be entered to win. You can comment every day if you like. I will announce the winner on Sunday. Good luck!

Winner!

2009-06-22T10:10:00.001-07:00

I know that I should have done this yesterday, but I didn’t. So here we go! The winner of the buttons and pattern (selected by Random.org) is Lisa! Yeah, Lisa! I will be posting again later today with this weeks give away (which, by the way, is super cute). SO, check back in a few hours…..

I love technology…but not as much as you you see

2009-06-20T20:14:00.001-07:00

LAST DAY to enter for the give away!!! Scroll down to Monday’s post to see what great goods you could win!

Finally my camera problems are solved (sigh of relief). I don’t know why we didn’t think of getting a card reader sooner, but finally it dawned on us. It allows me to bypass drivers and operating systems! Yipee! I can’t tell you how happy I am about it. If it weren’t for my husband and his extensive technical skills I would be lost. I am pretty savvy about these things, but it would be a lot harder not having someone with that kind of background to rely on. He even got all of the spyware and bad stuff off of my laptop today. What a great guy! Lucky to have him!

I was talking to some dads in my neighborhood today for Father’s day activity I am planning. I was asking them things about their childhood. One of the questions was “What is something that your children have today that you didn’t have as a child”. Think about that!!! One thing for me (if I were a father answering that question) would be the internet. When I was a kid we had to go to the library if we wanted to do a report or look something up. There wasn’t an easy way to get answers to questions (unless your parents knew the answer and even then….). What about e-mail! Can you even imagine life without e-mail????? Not me. And don’t even get me started on my iPhone. I am so attached to that little piece of technology. My husband asked if I was going to sew a pocket in my bra so I could keep it close to my heart. Ha, ha, ha. Not a bad idea though. How about a quilted pocket protector. Haven’t I talked about that before? I cannot imagine trying to run your own business without access to all of these lifesaving technologies. So if you have seen Napoleon Dynamite you are singing the song that this post is titled for “I love technology, but not as much as you you see”.

What is something that your children have today that you didn’t have as a child?? I want to know what you think!

A day late

2009-06-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

I have had some drama today….I can’t get my fantastically fabulous camera to download it’s pictures. I am so sad! This camera is wonderful except for the fact that it is a few years old and they don’t make drivers that are compatible with windows vista, which is what is on my new laptop. So we have to download them on my hubby’s work laptop. For some reason the camera and lappy (as we call them) just won’t communicate right now. So…I had to use my point and click camera to take more pictures of my sewing studio (which I had to clean again).

So finally, after much fuss, here are some pictures….

My words to live by (thanks, Reba Mcentire) and ribbon storage…

Fat quarter storage (I hate camera flashes) and my two bessys’,

Quilt magazine storage and fabric stash storage,

The last one is how I store my scissors and sewing supplies. I really love that! It works so great.

You may have noticed that I have a lot of stuff from IKEA. I love that place. On the whole it is not my style, but I still manage to find LOTS of stuff to love there. Anyway, that is it. I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my studio. You know I have two sewing machines, so if you want to come play I have room!

Two days left for the give away!!!

2009-06-18T22:39:00.001-07:00

We are experiencing technical difficulties here…can’t get the camera and the computer to get along. I had a similar problem all day with my kids. So pictures will have to wait for tomorrow’s post. In the mean time…

Remember the give away this week??? The leather buttons and the bewitching pattern??? If you haven’t seen/heard about it, scroll down to Monday’s post. I didn’t tell you that those buttons…those darling, hand painted leather buttons……$50 worth of buttons!!!!!!!!! That you could have for free!!!! So leave a comment and be entered to win. I LOVE to give stuff away almost as much as I love reading your comments. Each comment is a bright spot in my day. Seriously and no joke.

Come back tomorrow (which is only in 25 minutes so you may want to wait a little longer) when I will have hopefully overcome the camera issue and can post pictures of my clean sewing studio. It isn’t clean anymore. Just for the few minutes that I took the pictures. Then I started to work again and it got messy. Again. Okay, time to sign off because I am getting a little goofy. More goofy than usual. Time to stop.

Too much of what I don’t need

2009-06-17T20:40:00.001-07:00

I have spent so much time cleaning my sewing room. I am going to show it to you tomorrow. You will all be so proud of how organized I have gotten in the last week. My only regret is that there aren’t any before pictures to show you the transformation that has occurred. It is spectacular. I have to lock my hubby in there for a few hours tonight to do the “man” stuff, or rather the “I don’t care to/want to do that and he is good enough to do for me stuff”. He sure is a good hubby.

Doesn’t it seem like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it in? I am sure that we all find ourselves in that situation. I am not sure what to do first, next or last. Can’t figure out which way is up. What do I work on? There is just so much to choose from! Not to mention that I like to add more stuff to do on top of what I am already NOT doing. The list gets longer, and longer, and, well, you know….longer. I watch the “days to fall market” countdown on my computer…117….116….115…AAAHHH! Are you kidding me! Stop! Stop! PLEASE STOP! But alas and woe is me. It does not stop.

I hope that you are having better luck accomplishing things. How do you stay on top of YOUR to do list?

And the best day award goes to….

2009-06-16T15:12:00.001-07:00

Car windows down. Cool breeze in my hair. Great song on the radio. Two big bags of neatly folded fabric, fresh from the quilt store on my front seat. A new purse and two new pairs of shoes in the back seat. Ahhhh….life is good! I try to not be materialistic, but honestly. Sometimes it just feels good to shop!

My mom recently went to a get together where they had to bring their favorite pair of shoes and tell why they were their favorite. I have thought about that many times since. Which are my favorites? Could I really choose just one pair? The fact of the matter is that I couldn’t. Each pair of shoes represents a different side of me or a different role that I play. If I chose one, wouldn’t I be choosing which part of my life is my favorite? I just can’t do it. All of the shoes that I wear come together to create me! I am cute, athletic, comfortable, sexy, outdoorsy, and easy going (I think that’s what a flip flop would be) all in one person. So maybe I would have to settle for my favorite shoes THAT DAY. I think I could do that. Today my favorites are the red heels. I love the promise that they hold of a sexy date with my hubby.

What are your favorite shoes today?

Hat Fancy

2009-06-15T22:24:00.001-07:00

Time to start a new give away! If you are new to my blog and thus to my give aways here is how it works. Leave a comment on a post and be entered to win. One entry per person per post. Make sense? Good! I will show you what I am giving away later on in the post.

I hired someone to make me a new model of my Bewitching quilt. It turned out super cute. Amy Hamberlin of Kati Cupcake fame gave me some buttons to use on the hats. She sells the buttons at her store The Quilt Shoppe in Rigby, ID (208-745-5151). They are hand painted leather buttons. I saw them at market and LOVED them. Then Material girls (a shop near me) started to carry them, so I supplemented what she had given me with some other styles. Look how super cute it turned out…

I am so excited about how cute it is. The quilt will be hanging at Material Girls in a couple of days.

So you will never guess what I am giving away this week! Leather buttons! AND my bewitching pattern!

The buttons pictured here are layered. Each size and shape is a separate button.

You don’t want to miss out on this one. So start commenting! You have until Saturday at midnight to enter. I love to hear what you have to say!

Winner

2009-06-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who posted last week! I am so excited to announce the winner. So many of you wanted to win the bag, so I have ordered some more things like it to give away. I will be doing a give away every week (for a while at least) so keep coming back!

I assigned each comment and number and used a random number generator to pick the winner. That person is…..Renee G!!!! Congrats to you! I am super excited to send this off to you!

Stop by tomorrow to find out what the new give away will be. I can’t wait!

It’s SEW over!

2009-06-13T18:32:00.001-07:00

This is your last day to post a comment and be entered to win the give away! Hurry!!!!

Few! What a week! I have to say that as far as weeks go, this was not it my top 10. I am glad to see it drawing to a close. One big stress left for today. A birthday party for my hubby starting in 7 minutes. I am excited to see my friends and even more excited to get in bed after. I just have to cook for 8 adults and 7 children. (Deep sigh.) I am really hoping that next week is full of happy days and lots of time for creating. Not just for me, but for you, too! There hasn’t been any time to create anything in the last week. I think that is what is really missing for me right now. I need the soothing chugging sound of my sewing machine. The comfort of a pencil in my hand. Sounds good, eh?

What does it for you? What grounds you and takes you to your happy place? I want to know!

Sew Nerdy

2009-06-12T22:35:00.001-07:00

Remember to leave a comment to be entered for the give away! The give away is featured in an earlier post, so scroll down to get a look.

Tonight was date night. It has been a while since me and Mr. Fish went on a date, especially for more than an hour. We had a great time together. I always think that it is funny that you can't wait to have a date together and then you talk about your kids. Super funny.

So we went to see Star Trek. My dad is a HUGE "trekky". Dragged me (literally) to see every single Star Trek movie. Many of them on Christmas Eve. I have seen each movie at least 2 times because of him. I was not a huge fan, but usually, once the movie was over, I liked it. When I saw the previews for the new Star Trek, my heart went pitter-pat because of Chris Pine. What girl doesn't like a tasty piece of eye candy???

YUMMY!

So I was excited to see it. Little did I know that in a theater full of people, me and the guy next to me would be the ONLY people who got all of the references to the previous Star Treks. (I should add that my hubby got a good number of them.) So me and this guy are SERIOUSLY the only ones in the WHOLE theater that laugh AT ALL!!! And it was funny! (Can you tell that I am excited about this???) I had no idea that I would be one of two "trekkies" in the theater. Can I tell you how this makes me feel? I am SEW nerdy. AND maybe I was older than a lot of those people? Are the Star Trek movies that old? Is it a generation thing?

Can I tell you something else that is funny? I keep scrolling up to look at that picture.

Are you SEW nerdy, too? Do you have a quilted pocket protector? Hey…maybe I should make a pattern for that??? Things that make you go hmm……(yet another reference that dates me)

Two days left to get in on the give away!

2009-06-11T21:04:00.001-07:00

Remember to leave your comments on any (or all) post to be entered to win the Quilted Fish bag and goodies (scroll to earlier post to see picture). One comment per post per person will be entered into a drawing. Good luck!

Kindergarten is SEW last year!

2009-06-11T13:10:00.001-07:00

Today was my oldest child’s last day of kindergarten. I am so very sad! So is he. He isn’t looking forward to first grade. There is not enough artsy-fartsy stuff going on at school to keep him happy. He would rather stay here and paint and draw all day long. Regardless, we are on to the next thing. Reluctantly growing up.

Last weekend was our first ballet recital. From a mother’s perspective I am glad that it is over. From a little girl’s perspective it should still be going on. Here are some pictures of my budding ballerinas:

Sometimes the show must go on without you….

They were super cute on stage. Ellis did a little impromptu solo and Lucy just spun her umbrella. That’s what you get when you put three year olds on stage.

All of you “sew organized” folks would be proud of me. I actually organized my office yesterday. It is so much better to work in! All of the filing is done. All of the patterns are properly stored in their new (IKEA) boxes. In and Out boxes…empty. Ready for business here at The Quilted Fish. Next up? My studio (giant sigh). That one is going to take some time.

Sew grateful!

2009-06-10T14:49:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. Enough already! It is only Wednesday, though, so I have a few more days of “sew”.

I met my deadlines. “Sew grateful” for that! Here is the Piece and Quiet Children’s Activity Book that I just finished….

It is on it’s way to Happiness is Quilting in McKinney, TX. Hello Texas! Good luck ladies!

I am “sew grateful” to all of you for visiting my blog. I am “sew grateful” for all of the fun shops that I get to work with and all of the nice people who make my patterns. I am “sew grateful” to be doing something that I love so much.

What are you “sew grateful” for???

Sew many deadlines….

2009-06-09T13:48:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is a week of “sew”. Today is a sew-sew day. Every quilter has them. Days when things just don’t go right. I am up against a few deadlines and not doing a very good job of meeting them. My current status of not being organized is seriously impacting my ability to accomplish tasks. I don’t like to work under pressure. And yet….

So I need to relax a little. I am thinking about getting a babysitter and going to a movie. Star Trek? Maybe I should just go take a long bath. Or even better a long nap. I do love naps. Especially with the windows open and the smell of rain in the air. Yummmm……

What do you do to relax?

Sew organized??

2009-06-08T13:29:00.001-07:00

New give away starting today!! Read about it later on in the post!

Today I am having a hard time getting any work done. I think it may be because I can’t find a clean spot to work at. Things have been SO busy at the maison de poisson (house of fish) that I haven’t been able to get organized. There are piles and papers and fabric everywhere. It is like a quilting bomb went off. This is not like me, really. I promise! I am usually an organized person. Oh, how I long for organization. So here is my question to you…are you sew organized (like I really want to be right now) or sew messy (as I currently am)? If you are organized, I want to know more! What is your favorite organizational tool? Inspire me, people. I need help!

Give away details:

It will run all week. The winner will be announced on Sunday evening. You can leave a comment on any post for THIS week and be entered to win. You will be entered for one comment per post. Comment on every day’s post and be entered that many times. Make sense? What will you win?

This super cute (and very functional) Quilted Fish bag! What will it have in it? Patterns and treats!

So comment away!

And the winner is….

2009-06-07T21:52:00.001-07:00

What a weekend! I can’t believe how fast the most loved days of the week pass. I feel like they just started and they are already over. If I were going to do a post about things that I hate (which I am not) Sunday night would be somewhere near the top of the list. I do not like good things to come to an end. A lot of good things end on Sunday nights…weekends, vacations, summer. I don’t like the dread of Sunday night.

BUT… I did have a fabulous weekend. It was full of ballet recitals (2 times!!), birthday parties and FAST jets. We went to the air show at Hill Air Force Base in Layton, Utah. That is where I met my hubby 12 years ago. I have not been back since we moved away 5 years ago. I have really missed the sound of the jets flying over our house. I have really really missed the military police in their berets, the pilots in their flight suits and the smell of patriotism in the air. It is another world there. It takes getting used to, however, and I was never really comfortable as a “military wife”. A little too much protocol for me. Never the less, it was fantastic to be back. I loved seeing my hubby grin from ear to ear. He still loves all of it and I had to make sure that we steered clear of anywhere they were recruiting. My son loved it, too. Part of me (maybe 20%?) would love for him to be a military man like his daddy. I am glad the rest of me seems to have some sanity left.

Enough about me. You want to know who won a whole-lotta-patterns? Matthews family blog…I think your name is Susan???…come on down! You are the proud quilting owner of each one of my current patterns. That is over $100 in patterns!!! Wow!

I will be starting a new giveaway tomorrow, so stop back by and get in on the next one. I would tell you what I am going to give away, but I don’t know yet. You will have to come see!

Happy quilting…Sunday night is almost over….

P.S. I joined Facebook this weekend. I have resisted, but the force was too strong.

Last chance....

2009-06-06T20:02:00.001-07:00

Tonight is your last chance to enter for the free patterns! Leave me a comment on any of this weeks posts and you will be entered for the drawing for $100 of free patterns. Another one of my favorite things....Saturday nights! I hope you are out (or in) having a great time!

Favorite things, part deux

2009-06-03T19:27:00.001-07:00

So I could dedicate an entire post to this favorite thing....

iLove it, iLove it, iLove it. Now if you have joined the iCraze and you have an iPhone, you know what iMean. It is a wonder. I am not sure how I ever lived without it. I can do everything from this phone. Post on my blog, check my e-mail, process credit cards, find a restaurant near me (wherever I am), play any number of games, surf the internet, listen to music and make a phone call. I can't believe how awesome this little toy/tool/permanent appendage is. I thought I broke it the other day and I was NOT happy. I am SOOOO glad that I fixed it. If only it could sew.....

Remember to leave a comment about your favorite thing! The drawing for $100 in free patterns will be on Saturday. Anyone who comments will be entered to win!!!!

AND....Guess what?!! Jennifer Moore who is Monaluna posted a picture of my Year at a Glance quilt on her blog. It was made using her Metro Mingle fabrics. She was truly so humble and sweet. What a treat to meet such a nice person. Hop over to her blog and check it out....

A Few of my Favorite Things

2009-06-02T14:02:00.001-07:00

I have so many favorite things that I could write an ongoing book about them. Favorite things, favorite people, favorite places, favorite foods (and drinks, of course), favorite books, favorite movies and on, and on, and on. There are so many that it really negates the word "favorite". My personality lends itself in that direction, though. I am a happy and super passionate person so it is easy to find things that I like or L-O-V-E. I am going to share some of my quilting favorites with you today... I don't enjoy winding bobbins. Especially in the middle of a project. But I do like a case of full bobbins ready for my long list of project. This should last me a week or two....

This is bessy. Bessy has a torrid past as a school sewing machine. My grandmother bought it used from the school system and gave it to my mom as a birthday gift. This is the machine I learned to sew on at 10 years old. It will sew through just about anything (including my finger...which has happened more than twice). I love this machine because it NEVER breaks down. It is very uncomplicated and also unable to do many fancy things, but I still love Bessy.

This is Bessy's younger and more sophisticated sister. Her name is Bessy 2.0. I love Bessy 2.0 because she can do many things that Bessy can't. I am not, however, as attached to Bessy 2.o. We do not have the history that Bessy and I have. And she has yet to draw blood. She still remains one of my favorite things! My last thing for today is....notepads. I have so many notepads. Full of lists, drawings, phone numbers, drawings made by bored kids, love notes from my husband, quilt ideas. They are a neccessity for me. I really love the sensation of drawing. Especially with a sharp pencil on a crisp piece of paper. Ahhh, the smell of graphite in the morning. So what are some of your favorite things? Leave me a comment with something you love and I will add your name to the drawing for the $100 in free patterns. Remember to leave your e-mail address so I can contact the lucky winner.

What makes you special

2009-06-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me today to figure out "what makes me special". An interesting question, don't you think? How do you answer that? I am not sure. I have been thinking about it all day long trying to figure out how I am different. We each have something special about us. Something unique and different that sets us apart. Have you figured out what it is about you? So here's the deal. While I am waiting for your fish faces (fingers tapping on desk) lets have another contest. Leave me a comment about what is different about YOU and I will put your name in for a drawing for a complete set of Quilted Fish patterns. Another set just like the ones I am giving away for the fish faces. That is over $100 in patterns! So send me your faces or leave me your comment or both.

Giant Contest and HUGE Giveaway!

2009-05-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here we go quilting fans! This is going to be fun. I am going to give away one of each of my current patterns (including Piece and Quiet Children's Activity Book Pattern!!!!) to the person with the best FISH FACE. Here is how it will work. E-mail me a picture of you making a fish face. I will post the pictures on my blog. I will announce the winner in one week, so get those cameras flashing! Remember, I want your super silly fish faces. Nothing serious on this blog.

Something like this....

"Splash" Hit

2009-05-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

I had a great time hanging out with my friends and selling patterns at the bi-annual Main Street Market hosted by Quilts, etc. It was great to meet so many fun people and hand out lots of "Red Herrings" (swedish fish). Indeed, it was a "splash" hit. (The puns could go on all day.)

Here is Judi of Green FAIRY quilts (spelled it wrong in an earlier post). You want to talk about having a lot to do? This girl has an online store, does longarm quilting AND designs patterns. Not to mention 3 little ones to watch after.

Here are Karen and Monica of Nellie's Needle fame. Now let me tell you that these two ladies are completely out of control. They may tell you that it is ME that is out of control, but they are wrong. I keep telling them they need to start a blog, but they remain, as of yet, blogless. So if you want to leave a comment for them about how cute (and out of control) they are, leave it here and I will forward it to them.

Here is Ann of Pixie Girl Quilts (another one I am trying to convince to start a blog). The great thing about all of these ladies is the great sense of support and community they share. It is not always (or ever) easy to be a quilt designer and so much of it you have to figure out on your own. UNLESS you know great people that are willing to share their "insider secrets" with you. These ladies have all done that for me. I am so grateful to them.

This is Mary from Mary's Cottage Quilts with visitor Laurie Bird of Rose Cottage. Mary was right across from me and probably the one most exposed to my craziness.

This is the first day that I have had to relax a little since we got home almost two weeks ago. I use the term relax a little liberally, because it has really been spent setting up my second office (for technical equipment, shipping and receiving and accounts payable/receivable). Yes, it is true. It was time for expansion. I am so grateful for all of the work that I have! I LOVE doing this and I am having a great time, even though I am sleep deprived and overworked.

While I am talking about gratitude I want to introduce you to my BFF and Employee of the Month, Kayce

She is truly going to be angry when she sees that I used this picture, but it was better than the other one that I had. Kayce is so devoted. She would drop anything to help me and has saved me from difficult situations more than once. I am such a lucky girl to have a friend like this. Kayce is from the south and says all kinds of funny (to me) things. Like "fixin' to", "ya'll" and "da-gum". She always makes me laugh and never lets me cry alone. Kayce, if you're reading this (which isn't likely because she doesn't like computers), you're the best. Thanks for always being...you.

The Icing on the Cake

2009-05-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will be participating in "Spring Market" at Quilts, etc. I was excited to be going in the first place, but then to find out I would get to spend the whole day with some of my favorite people was truly the icing on the cake! My friends Monica and Karen from Nellie's Needle, Ann from Pixie Girls Quilts and Mary from Cottage Quilts will all be "booth buddies" with me. It is a fun event that this shop hosts every spring and fall where they invite local designers to come and display their new quilts and sell patterns. So a "mini" market of sorts. Also in attendance is Judi from Green Farie Quilts. She has traveled several hours to be a part of this event. It will be fun to get to know her! I love doing these sorts of things because I get to talk to lots of people! I LOVE meeting other quilters and designers. So if you are in the area, stop by and say hi. And buy a pattern from one of the fabulous designers in our area.

We made cupcakes this weekend, so we have some more literal frosting, too. I won't have that tomorrow, though, so bring your own!

Creative genius

2009-05-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

My little boy is certain that he is an artist. To be honest, I think he is, too! He is actually quite good for 6 years old. He believes that he is the best artist in the house and even in the entire family. I must tell you that my mom has been painting and teaching painting for many years and I have had a lot of art training as well. I like his passion, though, and I am apt to encourage it. For his birthday grandma gave him an artists' table, a stack of instructional art books and some art supplies to replenish his already bulging stash. My favorite thing about his artistic inclination is all of the beautiful art work and sweet creative projects he makes especially for me. When we got to market I opened up the box of flyers and there was a card made by him. I almost cried...I just love him so much! So when I got home this was my homecoming present!

It is actually quite functional. And TOTALLY funny. I use it and laugh. But he loves that I use it and I would never do anything to cripple his artistic desires. Just like my mom never did with me. I will never forget making up clothes out of my moms scraps and having fashion shows. She always told me I could do whatever I wanted to do. And I believed her. Believe her. I hope that you have someone wonderful in your life who encourages you to do more, be more. Someone who believes that you can do anything you want.

I wanted to say a special thanks to Fab Shop Hop for spotlighting me on their blog! What a super sweet surprise!

Hugs and Fishes!!

Amanda Herring

I think she ate a smurf and more tales from Spring Market

2009-05-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today was my sweet little boys sixth birthday party. I will tell you that I had a lot of making up to do because his actual birthday was on Friday while I was at market (wipe away tear here). It was a bittersweet day for me. To ease the pain of my absence on his special day we had three different birthdays for him. School birthday, home birthday and friend birthday. So today was the last day of the drawn out festivities. Let me say that I am not sure who came up with the idea for blue frosting (REALLY blue frosting) but I am not sure that I am on board with the whole idea. I avoid it, which is surprising because I rarely have met a frosting I didn't like. The cupcake cake that I got for the party had blue frosting on half of it. Kids are drawn to the stuff. I think it is that internal sensor that says "There is something that will stain my clothes. I gotta have some!" As I was looking through the pictures from the party I saw one and showed it to my hubby. He said that she looked like she ate a smurf.

I spent the entire evening filling orders. I can't tell you how excited I am to send off these patterns to so many stores! It is so fun to write the names and addresses and think about the people who will be making my patterns. I have heard from lots of people that you are enjoying seeing everyones market pictures, so I will leave you with a few more....

This is Sweetwater. I L-O-V-E their new fabric. I bought a fat quarter stack at shopping spree (I mean sample spree). I also loved their booth. I could see it from my booth and I was loving every one of their quilts.

Me and My Sister...also a few booths down from us. Darling booth!

This is Vicky Payne's booth. She has a great new line of home dec fabric coming out. You can expect to see some Quilted Fish stuff out of this....

There is much more to share, so come back soon!

Reset the timer

2009-05-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

So my countdown is reset...141 days until we leave for Houston market. I am surprised to be going and excited to start all over again. I have learned a lot! There is a lot of new stuff in the works here at the "maison de poisson" or house of fish if you don't speak french. But before I move on to the things to come, let me show you what is new!

This is I Wub Ewe. Sweet little baby quilt with minky lambs. It is great for a boy or a girl!

Bewitching is a great way to use those giant buttons. I love to embellish. And, you don't have to wait for Halloween fabric to start this one, because I did it without using a single Halloween print.

This is Giddy Bloomers. I LOVE diamonds and it is a fun way to use your flower yo-yo's.

Here is Love Letters. I pieced this quilt in one night. Hard to believe? It is a stack and slash. SUPER easy. Of course the embroidery takes longer, though. Great quilt to add special pieces of jewelry to.

Year at a Glance was my surprise favorite. Everyone loved this quilt. AND!!! Jennifer of Monaluna who designed the fabric came to the booth TWICE because she was so excited. She was so humble and sweet. I will be using her fabrics in the future!

Here are two oldies but goodies. Flowers for my Friend and Whoopsy Daisy, both re-made in current fabrics.

And of course you are familiar with Piece and Quiet Children's Activity Book. It was so insanely popular that I sold out the beginning of the second day of market and I am just on my way to pick up a few hundred more from the printer! Wow! Everyone was excited to see something different and exciting. It was fun to have a crowd gathered around it ooo-ing and aaa-ing. Made me feel super good!

There will be a lot of stores offering Piece and Quiet as a block of the month. If you are a store offering this, e-mail me and I will post a link to your store. If you are interested in participating in a block of the month and aren't sure of a store that is offering it, e-mail me and I will get you in touch with one.

I have a lot more to share from market, it will have to be spaced out over a few days. I am all blogged out for now!

Back from market

2009-05-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! What fun we had! My market experience exceeded my expectations. I met so many great people, made so many contacts and laughed my guts out! I am so grateful to the girls who helped me. I could not have done it without them.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few thousand words worth.

Here we are after a long day of setting up the booth... That's Cheryl, Kayce, Me and Lynette.

Here are our friends at Nellies Needle...Monica and Karen

Here is my neighbor and new friend Kay of Serendipity. If you like to make clothes, you will LOVE her stuff! And you would love her if you met her, too!

Here are the cute girls at Lizzie B. They won most creative booth for the second year in a row! They are super creative girls....and really nice, too. It was really great to get to know them.

Here is Sunflower Hill Designs. It was my first exposure to her. She was darling and also won an award for her booth.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. I will have to share some funny experiences in my next blogs. You will also notice that I have added a link to each of my new friends blogs. You should check out their stuff. I was so impressed with the talent there. I love this industry!

Quiet Book Pattern

2009-05-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

For all of you who have expressed interest in purchasing the "Piece and Quiet" children's activity book pattern I have added a "buy it now" button on the sidebar. I am really excited to share this pattern with all of you! I am in the process of finishing another one to use as a display model and I am having so much fun!

"Press"-ing matters

2009-05-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! 10 days until we leave for MARKET!(insert scream like excited little girl.) All of the patterns are either printed or being printed. Almost all of the crazy things I decided to do are done. Now the butterflies hit. I am so excited and nervous. My biggest project and "baby" for the past 4 months has been the quiet book. Check out the front and back covers...

So for everyone that has been waiting, it is done! I will be in contact with everyone that left posts or e-mailed me about the book. Hopefully you will see it in a store near you really soon!

Create

2009-04-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Late Night Sew Fest

2009-04-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

So last night me and two of the girls that are going to market with me stayed up late (TOO late) working on quiet books for the booth. I am so tired! You should see my studio! What a mess. I found out that my studio is not big enough for 3 people to work in comfortably. I also learned that I have high expectations for the amount of work I want to accomplish in my designated time frame. We leave so soon for market...

In the middle of all of this market business we are putting in our yard. My kids love to be out in the middle of it and there isn't a speck of grass in the yard so inevitably they come inside covered in dirt and mud. Fun for them, not fun for the maid (me). Well, as long as it doesn't get on the quilts, right? My husband has taken it on himself to "help" with the process. I think he may have a secret supressed desire to be a heavy machine operator? When they came to work the day after this picture was taken there was no gas in the tank. I don't think they were surprised.

We have 1/3 of an acre to landscape which is a lot for us city folk. I truly am amazed at the cost of things. When they told us the cost of the sprinkling system my husband asked if they were using gold plated pipes with diamond heads. Yes, it was A LOT. It feels like it is going to take forever to finish, too. The weather hasn't been very cooperative recently so they haven't been able to work on it much. Good thing I have other more pressing things to think about!

Free patterns! Get your free patterns!

2009-04-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Did you think I disappeared? I have been so busy getting ready for Market!

Thank you to everyone who posted with name ideas!

Since this was my first blog contest I didn't know to ask for e-mail addresses. If you left a comment but did not get an e-mail from me, please leave a comment with your e-mail as I will be sending ALL of you a pattern! Yes, that's right, everyone who left a comment on my previous post will receive a free pattern. So be sure to leave me your email!!!!

The name of the quilt is....Love Letters.

If you didn't leave a comment on the last post but would like to get a free pattern, you will have to wait for the next contest! And there will be more contests soon.

It is actually going to be in a show just a few days before I leave for market. It is the HMQS show at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, Utah. Angie, the woman who quilted it, convinced me to enter it. So if you are in the area and want to see it in person (a little preview before the official release) you can see it May 7-9. I certainly don't expect to win anything, it is more for the experience than anything. I will post pictures of the finished quilt after the show.

I am anxious to post pictures of all of my new quilts (and other cute things) but I am going to have to wait just a little while longer. Soon, though, very soon. So stay tuned.... P.S. Is anyone else super excited about Dancing with the Stars? In particular Giles? Mmm...yummy!

Let's play the name game!

2009-03-07T20:45:00.001-08:00

Well, the countdown continues. 1634 hours and 33 minutes until market (that's 69 days). I am not sure how beneficial the countdown on my computer is, because my stomach turns every time I see it! The good news is that I have 2 quilts at the quilters (yeah!!!). So two down and, let's see, how many to go? Not sure.

I have to name several things that I have complete and I am drawing a total blank. So I need your help! Here is a picture of part of one that is at the quilter.....

I am offering a free pattern to the first three people who leave a comment and to the person who names the quilt! I am going to need a lot of help, so turn your thinking caps on and leave your comments. I can't wait to hear your ideas.

A Stitch in Time

2009-02-16T13:08:00.001-08:00

The countdown is down to 88 days. My how time flies. I can't believe it! My calendar is full of deadlines and goals and I feel pushed to the max. All of this is good, though, because I love being productive.

I started a quilt last April and never finished it because I wasn't sure about it. I picked it up a few weeks ago and had some new ideas for it, so I started all over. One of the great things about waiting is, that in the time I have not been working on it, a new line of fabric is out that is perfect! My instructions were originally going to contain directions on how to make your own handwritten fabric. Now Lakehouse Fabrics has a new line out called Teatime and it is PERFECT for this quilt--it even has handwritten fabric!!! I love Lakehouse Fabrics, and they are always one of the first places I look for fabric since they stay around for a while. Not to mention that Holly Holderman, designer for Lakehouse Fabrics, is incredibly talented.

Here is the fabric....

Here is a sneak peek at the quilt...

That boot is going to have pearl buttons on it...how cute is that??? There is a lot of hand stitching on it, but trust me when I say that the quilt is SUPER easy to put together. I put it together in one night. You just wait until you see it finished!

Happy Quilting,

99 days until market is here!

2009-02-05T11:30:00.001-08:00

Sing that title to 99 bottles of beer and you will know what I have been singing in my head all day long. That might seem like a long time, but it really isn't. The projects are piling up around here. And I am going fish crazy! I have bought more fish stuff in the last two weeks than in the whole time I have been a Herring. Just look at this crystal candy dish that I bought...

Isn't that cute! I even found individually wrapped swedish fish to go in it! It is going to be in my booth at market. Can't wait!

Shhh...its time for a Quiet Book!

2009-02-01T15:12:00.001-08:00

I still have the quiet book my mom made for me thirty years ago. It is a treasure to me. I love that she made me something so precious. They didn't have a lot of money back then, so that makes it even more special to me. I guess that my soft spot for this book is what got me started in the craft industry. A few years ago I started making and selling quiet books of my own design. I had a ton of interest and a long list of people who wanted to buy one. Eventually I had to start turning people away because I couldn't make any more! I have recently revisited my patterns and I am working on a pattern to release to the public. It is a much better version of my original design and I have to say that I am SUPER excited about it. Here is a little preview....

I am hoping to finish the initial designs for the first 12 pages in the next two weeks so I can get the patterns out to testers. It will most likely be a two book series, with a possible third (religious) version to come. I am planning the release of the first book in May at the International Quilt Market.

These books will be heirloom treasures for kids and grand kids (as I am living proof!)

If you are interested in a pattern, let me know and I will keep you posted on the release date.

Oh, scrap!

2009-01-30T12:24:00.001-08:00

I love saving my scraps. The more that I have, the more accomplished I feel. Each scrap is a memory of the project that it came from and the person that I made it for. I guess that I use a lot of pink (surprise, surprise!) because my "pinks" bin was starting to overflow. I decided to make this cute little scrappy quilt....

I am really loving how it turned out. Those are loose prairie points on the border. It is off to the quilter's tomorrow for the "frosting". I can't wait to get it back. That is by far my favorite part!

P.S. pattern coming soon! It will be called...??? Any ideas?

This little piggy

2009-01-20T13:16:00.001-08:00

If you want to know what is going on in my head, it is the song "I'm So Excited". Do you know the one that I mean? You know why I am singing that song? Because this little piggy is going to market!!!!! I just found out that my application was approved. I am really thrilled to be going. I am taking two of my friends with me and we are going to have a blast.

A special thanks to Mary of Mary's Cottage Quilts and Angie of QI Inspirations who came to my rescue yesterday at the last minute to help make this dream come true!

There's something fishy going on....

2009-01-19T21:08:00.001-08:00

Today was a fish filled day. Two little twin Herring's (that is my last name, if you didn't know) celebrated their birthday at (of all places) the aquarium! We had a super fun time playing with the fish. I could spend all day in the jelly fish exhibit. I have always had my kids parties at our house, so it felt strange to not have to do hardly any work. I loved it!

Here are the cute girlies....

Speaking of fish...wanna see one of the things I am working on? I am having such a fun time with this little guy! He is still in the "flat" stage, but he will be super cute when he is stuffed.

I have a lot more goodies to share with you, but you might have to wait. I have to decide what will come out now, and what will wait for market (??).

Research and Development

2009-01-15T21:08:00.001-08:00

I love the creative process. I can always tell that I am deep in a creative mood when my garbage can is full! This is research and development for me. I have to find out what will work and what won't. How do I make the thing in my head come out in fabric? I have so many projects I want to work on it is hard to choose. I had a great time shopping for fabric this week, and I made up for the couple of months I took off from buying fabric. Honestly, I have no self control when it comes to fabric.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I do not enjoy sewing clothes. I have had to sew a pioneer costume for a recurring activity I am doing at my church. I am really not enjoying it. I have been eyeing my quilting stuff the whole time.

I hope that you are enjoying whatever project you are working on. And remember....give piece a chance!

Back to Work

2009-01-07T19:41:00.001-08:00

So much for vacation! I have been really sick, but I think I am finally recovering. I am anxious to get back to quilting, blogging and pattern making. I can't believe how much time I have spent flying under the radar. It is time to get back out!

I am anxious to find out if I am going to be accepted as a vendor for quilt market this spring. I have lots of new designs and ideas that I am dying to share! I completely missed market last fall!

My new studio is finally set up and it is a great place to work thanks to IKEA. Someday I will have a custom built studio, but for now...

So, back to work! I can't wait to make my studio messy!

On the Move!!

2008-10-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long vacation from the blog world! Things are still crazy here, but there is an end in sight. As of Friday the Quilted Fish will have a new address! We are very excited to move. In the process of this move everything has been put on hold. I am anxious to get back to work on my quilts. I have a lot of fun new ideas to share. I know that my new studio (yipee!!!) will offer lots of hours of fun creating. I will be back soon!

Back from the dead

2008-08-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone in blog land! You may have wondered what happened to me. I am wondering the same thing. Life has been more than a little crazy for the past few weeks. I have had to take a break from just about everything!!! Ever feel that way? I hope I am coming out of it.

One thing I have been doing for some kind of outlet is sewing halloween costumes. Any one who knows me knows that I DO NOT like to sew clothing of any kind. I will make things with no gathers, buttons and zippers on occassion. Don't get me wrong, I know how to do all of those things, but I really can't stand to do it. It just drives me nuts. But halloween is a different matter. Everyone in my little family is going to be a pirate and we are having our pictures taken at the Great Salt Lake. Now, if you have not been there, you may not know that it is incredibly beautiful.

Now, I know it isn't the caribbean, but it is a whole lot closer. AND... did you know that they filmed a portion of Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End at the salt flats? Hey. If it is good enough for Johnny (swoon, drool, sigh) it is good enough for us.

I actually grew up sewing clothing and it was a bit of a trick switching to a 1/4 " seam for quilting. It is even weirder to switch back! 1/2" is HUGE! I will post a picture of my pirate coat which is the only one that is finished so far. Just have to sew on 28 buttons.

In the quilting world...

I did actually finish a new pattern! The quilt is currently at the quilters and will be returned in 2 days. I am excited to see it and to post some pictures about it. It is a layer cake friendly version of my sassy squares pattern. I am hoping to get started on a halloween quilt for my family and we will see if I can make a pattern out of it, too.

Happy quilting (or costume making as the case may be)!!

Whoopsy Daisy Day

2008-07-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

Look at the cute new Whoopsy Daisy I just got back from the quilter...

I LOVE this color combination. I also LOVE the quilting. Angie at QI inspirations (pronounced "key") quilted this for me. She did such an amazing job. Here is a close up of the small flower...

I am determined to work on my French Roses quilt tonight. I would really love to finish that one and hang it up. I had to pack up a lot of stuff in my studio since we are trying to sell our house and it seems so clean and empty. It makes me want to make a mess!

Hope you are making lots of fun quilts!

The good, the bad and the ugly

2008-07-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a while since I did a post. Sorry to all of you out there! The good: I am going to be selling my patterns on a new site called Cottage Quilts. I am in the process of getting them my stuff, so look for it there soon. I am really excited about this! There will be lots of great patterns from lots of great designers. Be sure to check back regularly. It is a site started by my friend Mary Cowan of Mary's Cottage Quilts. The bad: I won't be an exhibitor at Quilt Market this fall in Houston. I will hopefully be able to be an exhibitor in the spring in Pittsburgh. They were very complimentary and said that they loved my stuff, but I haven't been in business for a year. Well, not really even close to a year! So I will be going to stroll the aisles, talk with some of my favorite designers and meet with some people. I have to say that I am a little disappointed, but, due to the fact that life is CRAZY at the home of The Quilted Fish right now, it is probably for the best. I may also be there working in a friends booth. We will have to see... The ugly: Haven't had any word about the house that we want! We are likely going to have to wait three more weeks. It is driving me crazy. We haven't sold our house either, although we did have one offer on it that fell through. Honestly, it is such a stressful thing! I have lots of quilting stuff going on right now. I just sent off another model to the quilter so I will post pictures as soon as I get it back. I am also working on making my Sassy Squares pattern layer cake friendly. I am making it in Mary Engelbreits Christmas line Isn't Christmas Jolly. I will post pictures soon!

The Waiting Game

2008-07-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

I am really not good at the waiting game. I can't believe how slow time seems to be going right now. Tick.........tock............tick.................tock. Will we ever know? We put an offer on a house and we are just waiting to find out if we got it. We are also waiting to find out if we have sold our house (we will know at 9:00 tonight!!). I am also waiting to find out if I get to be an exhibitor at market. I am waiting to pack up my house because I don't know if I am moving. I am waiting to shop for fabric for a new quilt because it's Sunday. I can't take it any more!

Here is a peak at the house we are waiting for...

Don't you love the weeds? I am really hopeful about this house. It is on 1/3 of an acre. One of the many great things about that is that I have convinced my husband to let me have chickens. Yes, you read right. CHICKENS!!! I have decided that I want Barred Rock chickens. I even have a coop picked out. Can't wait to paint it red. And, believe it or not, I even have several sets of names. My husband wants to name them Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (we are not planning on eating them, just their eggs). My father's suggestions are Kiev and Cacciatore. I like Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon. We have been having a really great laugh about this. I wish that we could have a rooster, but I don't think that anyone (including me) would really appreciate that. I will have to make a rooster quilt.

I am having a hard time working on anything/everything because I can't stop thinking about the house! I have so many quilts to work on...hopefully we will hear soon!

May your home be full of "piece" and happiness...

Moving?

2008-07-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

I think it is so funny how fast life can change. If you had asked me last week if I wanted to move I would have told you "no way!". Yet today I find myself in the middle of house buying/selling drama! I can't really say why we decided to do this. But if all goes well, the Quilted Fish will have a new address! I feel a million miles away from the quilting world right now and I am itching to get back to my sewing machine. I am ready to get back in the saddle. The problem is that I might have to pack my house (including my sewing machine) just to move around the corner! I can't decide if I should pack everything in boxes or just shove it in my car! Any advice? It seems so ridiculous to pack it all up. But, then again, who knows if I will even be moving! John Lennon said "Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans". So true, so true. I hope you are having a great time making plans!

I'm back!

2008-07-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and quilters! I just returned from 5 days of camping with 17 screaming teenagers! Wow am I tired. I am ready to get quilting again, so stay tuned for more quilting pics and posts!

Hippity-hop-hop

2008-06-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

It's shop hop here in Utah and I did some hopping today. I went to a couple of stores that I had never been to before. It is so interesting how different each store is and how some stores do well with certain fabrics while other stores do not. Even more interesting is that the stores are not more than 20 miles apart. I am so glad that we are all so very different and have different likes and dislikes. It certainly makes life much more interesting. I am very excited about some new things that I have in the works. I am working with Angie Watson at QI Inspirations on some reallly exciting projects. She is amazingly creative with her quilting. She is sending out her monthly newsletter featuring yours truly in July. If you would like to recieve this (and future) newsletters from Angie, e-mail me at thequiltedfish@gmail.com and I will pass it along to her or visit her website and drop her an e-mail. You can also leave it in a comment if you would like. It is really hot here. Makes me want an ice cream maker like Heather Bailey has. Too bad I am on a diet, though. I am not sure that I could make fat free ice cream in an ice cream maker. Maybe I should just buy ice cream fabric? Who knows. Happy Quilting and stay cool!

Fabric...great for diets!

2008-06-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't mentioned that I am on a diet. It isn't bad, actually, but still. You know how it goes, right? So my mouth really waters when I see fabric like Cupcakes by Timeless Treasures. I have GOT to make something out of this. I also found another cupcake fabric that I bought 3 yards of, but it is a little bit older. Here is a pic of my new/old yardage...

So cute...so yummy! NO idea what I am going to do with it, but I sure do love it. Perhaps I will make matching aprons for me and the twins. That would be super cute.

I have been preparing to spend a week with a bunch of teenage girls in the mountains at a girls camp. It is amazing how difficult we make these things. I have the longest list of things that I have to finish before we leave! The reason I mention this is that because of camp, I can't sew! I feel to guilty doing something I want to do when I have so much that I have to do. I am an all-work-before-play person. My husband is the EXACT opposite. One of the things that makes him great! How about you? Are you a work first or play first kind of person?

Life is like a box of chocolates

2008-06-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

I thought about using "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" as the title of this post, but I really like chocolate. Well, most chocolate anyway. Sometimes you get a chocolate with a weird filling inside. No matter how much I like chocolate I am not eating that weird filling. So life is really like a box of chocolates! I have such a great life (not trying to brag) but somedays are filled with weird stuff. That is today for me and it is only 11:30! These are the times when I am grateful for my sewing machine and my laptop. What great ways to escape. Quilting brings such comfort in so many ways. Buying the fabric is therapeutic. Thinking about a pattern takes my mind off of other (less pleasurable) things. Finishing a quilt makes me feel euphoric and when you finally get the quilt back from the quilter you can bundle yourself in the warm coziness of your creation. A quilt is warmth to your body and comfort to your soul. So on a day like today when so much seems to be going wrong, it is good to know that when I get to my studio everything will be just great! I hope you are having a great day! If not...head to your sewing machine for some quilting R & R.

Summertime?

2008-06-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

It was 50 degrees today. 50 degrees!!! Can you believe that? It truly does not feel like it is June 11th. We have only had a handful of warm days here. The problem is that any day now it will be 100 degrees. Sheesh! I think this has to be one of the wettest springs ever. We have had so much rain. The flowers love it, but my kids sure want to go outside!

Here's a little burst of summer, though! It is a table square taken from my Sassy Squares pattern. It is super easy and goes together REALLY fast. Not to mention it looks dang cute on the table!

That is chenille around the stars. Super fun to work with!

Funny thing

2008-06-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

I just did the post previous to this and then I clicked over to Bunny Hill sounds like she had the same kind of day!!! Maybe it's in the air!

A million things to do, and yet...

2008-06-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Isn't it funny? You have so many things on your to do list, yet something that wasn't even on the list (or at the very bottom of the list) makes it's way to the top. That was the case with me today. I have so much to do to finish patterns and finish quilts not to mention I am partially in charge of a girls camp in a couple of weeks (haven't hardly started on that!!) so why did I decide to clean my studio? Who knows.

Now it is all ready to be messed up. And I am sure that it will be shortly.

I got a table topper back from the quilter today. I will post pictures shortly. It's super easy. Hope you are having a great weekend!

365 Day Challenge

2008-06-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

I found this great blog while I was on Bunny Hill's blog. It is Leanne's House and it is a wonderful blog. She is amazingly creative and I LOVE her stuff. I bought the fabric today to do her 365 day challenge. It is a quilt made up of journaled blocks. I am not a good journaler, but I love fabric and quilting and I thought this would be a great way to keep track of my kids growing up. They do such funny things everyday! I really need to be writing it down. So this is my goal (and my challenge!) to make this quilt. I will post pictures as I go. Speaking of crazy kids....

This is Lucy wearing my lipstick. She put it on herself and she was SO proud. She thought she was beautiful. Isn't that great!

Can you picture it?

2008-05-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today I met with my new photographer (am I cool, or what??) and I had a great time. I had him take some pictures of some of my new stuff. He had a HUGE studio with lots of really great equipment and props. His name is Blair Kunz and he was great to work with. So....here is the grand unveililng of a few new things....

Sweet Angel Boy quilt

Pincushion Flowers

"Womb Mates" wall hanging or pillow

"Twice the Blessings" wall hanging or pillow

These patterns will be available so soon! I am so excited. I am to the hard part now...putting them into the computer. It can be a frustrating process exagerrated by the fact that I can't always remember what I did (I need to take better notes). Then I have to go back and duplicate the process. You think that I would learn! I just get so into creating that it is hard for me to stop and make notes. I always save this step for very last. It is my final hurdle! Guess I better get started!

High gas prices cause people to stay home and quilt!

2008-05-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

So I went to fill up my car today and gas by my house cost $3.87 a gallon!!! That's for the cheap stuff. So, I decided that it is cheaper to stay home and quilt. Do you know that I can get all of the fabric for the front and back of a quilt for the same price as filling up my gas tank? I can't believe how crazy it is. So join with me...and stay home and quilt! I have a few new patterns coming out soon. I have two 4th of July table toppers, Sweet angel boy and the flower pincushion. I am excited to see how people react to them. I have hired a professional photographer to take my cover pictures and I am so excited to see how they turn out. I am not a photographer and getting good pictures of my creations is my biggest frustration. I am also busy planning my booth for the International Quilt Market in Houston (October 25-27). I am SOOOO excited about this awesome opportunity. I am having a great time coming up with ideas for my booth and for new quilts to debut there. I hope you all have a great holiday weekend! Be safe and save money...stay home and quilt!

I'm Back!!

2008-05-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a trip! We are back and we had a great time. There was a lot to see and a lot of people to talk to. I met some great people...

Ann Sutton of Bunny Hill was so amazingly nice and down to earth! She was so willing to take time away from her customers to talk to me and give me advice and pointers. She had a beautiful booth and fantastic quilts. Thanks, Ann, for your kindness! Be sure to check out her cute blog.

Robin Mynatt of Paris Bebe (one of my very favorite fabric designers) was also amazing to me. I was able to sit down in her booth and preview her new fabrics coming out. She was so generous with her time and her fabric! She gave me a whole stack to bring home and work on. Thanks for your encouragment, Robin!

Yes, I met Heather Bailey. Actually, if it weren't for Scott recognizing her first, I probably wouldn't have met her! She was walking in behind us and Scott pointed her out to me. We walked in together and talked for a few minutes. I am sure that she thought I was a total nerd (well, I kinda am). I am sure that she had 5,000 people saying the same thing to her..."you're amazing!". Well, her new fabric is! I got a chance to sit down with Westminster/Free Spirit Fabrics to see her new line. I just checked their website and they don't have her fabrics up yet. I will keep checking and let you know when they do. Of course, you may see them in the stores before I can show you here! I also got to see Robyn Pandolph's new line which I also LOVE, and Anna Maria Horner's new lines (the link is to her home dec collection-she also has a quilting collection that is fab!)

I had some friends there, too!

Mary of Mary's Cottage Quilts had a booth there and Ann Hansen from Pixie Girl Quilts was helping her in her booth (look at some of her patterns here) as was Karen Bennett from Nellie's Needle. I had a great time talking to them.

On the plane ride out there I sat by a couple of cute girls, one of which was Sarah Clark whose mom is Barbara Brunson of Vanilla House Designs. They had a super cute booth. It was fun to get to know her a little bit.

I tried to meet Holly Holderman of Lakehouse Fabrics, but I couldn't catch her. I did buy some charm packs of her new fabrics, though. Super cute boy stuff and CUPCAKES!

Check out Bananafana's cute booth....Her husband was super nice. And they gave us banana runts! Yum!

Lots of cute new fabric from Michael Miller....

I tried a few times to meet Sandi Henderson, but couldn't get her either. Here is part of her cute booth....

Hang on...I thought we were in Oregon....

All in all, a great trip. I was happy to get home to my little ones, though. I have a few new things in the works...I am super excited about my booth in HOUSTON! I already got my hotel reservations (which I barely got because everyone is sold out!) and I am working on airline tickets. Can you believe it??? It isn't until October! Lots to do before then....Better get started!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

2008-05-15T20:52:00.001-07:00

And we're off! Can't wait to see what market is like! This is my first time (hopefully of many) to market. I am so excited to see/meet all of the people that I tremendously admire. My husband is even excited. I guess he has NO idea what he is in for! If I'm not too tired when I get home I will post then....

Fresh from the quilter

2008-05-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

I picked up Sweet Angel Boy from Eagle Mountain Quilting on Saturday...this is my very favorite part of quilting. It is like I made this yummy cake and she puts the most amazing frosting on top. Then the binding (aargh!) Does anyone like to bind? Not me. Well, here is a little look at the new quilt...

I am excited to be done with another one!!

I am always looking for people to test my quilts. If you are interested, e-mail me!

Pretty Little Pincushion

2008-05-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

I can never find the right place to leave my pincushion. Do you have the same problem? I have actually stopped using one because I find them somewhat inconvenient. However, as a result of not using one, I cannot tell you how many times I have dumped my pins all over the floor, my lap, my sewing table (you get the picture). When I was in Oregon I saw a pincushion that went on your thumb. I wanted a pincushion that went on my thumb, too! But, I wanted it to be CUTE. So, here is the result....

This is the prototype and not as perfect as I would like it to be, but I am working on a few more and a pattern on how to make them. They are easy (my first one took less than an hour once I figured out what I wanted to do) and they can be made with scraps. I was wearing it and admiring it and my hubby asked "Are you going to wear it instead of your wedding ring?" Ha, ha. Maybe I will!

Sweet Angel

2008-05-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

I finished the baby boy quilt I was working on and delivered it to the quilter yesterday. I have a week to put it in the computer (and triple check for mistakes) and then I can take the pictures and get it printed! That means about 2 weeks until the pattern is available for purchase. This week I am hoping to finish Truman's pirate quilt, Vintage love letters (one of my designs), a table square (also one of my designs) and French Roses (a great quilt I started a few months ago). Lots to do! I will post pictures!

Oops! There's a goof!

2008-04-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hey! If you purchased on of the first 10 Flowers for my Friend patterns you will find that there is a goof in the yardage on the back! AAAAHHHHH! You will find the correct yardage HERE. If you purchased a kit from Material Girls, the yardage IS cut correctly. Please let me know if you have encountered any problems with this (or any) pattern. I would love to help! Remember.... "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." (Albert Einstein) So, here's to mistakes!

New Project

2008-04-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

So here are the fabrics I am using for my newest project....

It is going to be a boy quilt. I am very anxious to get started on it! Now if I could everything else done I could have some free time! Hopefully tonight I will get to cut and sew. I could really use some creative therapy. I will post pictures as I go.

Piece and happiness!

Look Out! The mojo is back!

2008-04-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, it hit today. I have a ton of new ideas! I had a great time today planning out several new quilts and (with the help of a good friend) some new table runners. There is going to be lots of new Quilted Fish goodies coming soon! As soon as I get some stuff going I will give you a preview.

To Market We Go!

2008-04-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, my long time dream is coming true! We are officially going to Quilt Market! I sent in our paperwork a while ago, but they just charged my account today. I was a little worried because it hadn't happened yet. I can't wait. My loving husband will be going with me as my official bag carrier. Isn't that sweet? It will be a whirlwind tour, but I am hoping to get some really good information. My goal is to have a booth in Houston this fall. Now I just have to figure out what to wear!!!

Creative Vacation Continues....

2008-04-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

No, that doesn't mean that I am having a creative vacation, it means that my creativity is still on vacation. I have lots of things needing my attention right now, and I can't get my 'creative energy' back! I didn't think about much of anything on my trip and I must have gotten out of practice!

Speaking of my trip, here are a few pictures...

This last one is taken from right outside our room. We had a great view!

It is almost Truman's 5th birthday and he asked for a quilt. What a sweetie, eh? So while we were in Oregon we picked out some pirate fabric that he loved. It is by Timeless Treasures. Here are a few of the ones we picked...

I have 20 fat quarters and 3 1/2 yards of the skull fabric. Any ideas what I should make? I need to make a twin size for his bed. Again, I am stumped! I was thinking about doing a turning 20, but I am not sure.

I have heard from a couple of people that they haven't been able to leave a comment. I apologize if this has happened to you! I love getting your comments and feedback. I will make sure to fix it!

Peace, love and quilts!

Blustery Day

2008-04-18T15:12:00.001-07:00

We had a great trip this morning to the Newport Aquarium. The kids (and adults) had a great time. We passed a quilt shop on the way there so I had to stop in on the way back. It was a cute shop with lots of fabrics that I hadn't seen before. It is really fun to see what is big in other places. The quilt store was called Quilters Cove and they had lots of quilts with a "sea side" theme. I bought 2 tickets for a raffle quilt that was extraordinary. I bought a yard of black and white fish fabric that I LOVE...not sure what I am going to do with it, though. They had a lot of great Asian fabrics, too. Lots of stuff to love..... Big waves outside our room today. The skies are gray and ominous. I love this coastline. It is beautiful and inspiring. We haven't seen any whales yet, but I still have high hopes!

Room with a View

2008-04-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

I am having a wonderful week! I am on vacation with my family in Oregon. The scenery is beautiful. I would love to post a picture but my internet connection is not good and I can't seem to get anything to upload. Hopefully soon I will be able to show you some of the sights. We did pass ONE quilt shop on the way here, and I am planning on going back to check it out. I am waiting until Saturday when the temperatures are supposed to be record lows. Great. Come to the beach and get snow! I have had enough snow! Can you believe that??? We went to a "sandy" beach today (where we are is a rocky coast line) and we had to bundle up in layers. It was such a great beach, though, with sea lions playing in the water all around us. We flew kites and dug in the sand. Ellis even tried playing in the water (REALLY cold water). I brought some quilting projects to work on but I haven't had time yet. I am sure that the next couple of cold days will give me a chance to work on those. Hope your weather is warmer than mine! Happy Quilting!

Sneak Peek....

2008-04-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Sorry I am a little late on the sneak peek...but here you go!

I have had a lot of fun experimenting with this project. I am not sure when it will be done, but I hope soon. I will keep you posted! It is a really fun, vintage piece with a lot of fun details. I have had a lot of fun with the stitches on this.

I love to sit and work on something while I watch my favorite show....Men in Trees! It wasn't on this week though :( . So we watched a movie called the Illusionist. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I completely loved it. I think it is in my top 10 favorite movies.

I am working on another project right now for someone else. I started it a while ago, but I haven't been able to finish it because of my trunk show. Now that I have a little more time I have been enjoying working on it. It is from Fons & Porters Love of Quilting magazine (March/April issue) and it is called Bunnies in the Garden. This is part of the center block...

I also went on my own personal shop hop this week. I had a lot of fun, bough a few little things, and came out with my mind unchanged.... Material Girls is still my favorite shop! The girls over there are CRAZY!!!

2008-04-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Finally! I am up and running! Evidently blogger thought that this was a spam blog. I am glad to finally be open for business.

This past weekend was my trunk show at Material Girls. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my friends and fabric. I think that things went well....my best selling quilt was "Whoopsy Daisy".

It sure is a cutie! I had a great time making this one...it was my last minute inspiration. Aparently I work well under pressure??? Who knew! The open house at Material Girls was so much fun. I laughed so hard. I am not sure what hurt worse on Sunday, my feet or my cheeks. Thank you to everyone who came by to see my new designs! If you bought a pattern, be sure to e-mail me a picture of your finished product so I can post it here on the blog.

Thanks for visiting...stop by tomorrow for a sneak peak at my next project!