Walking Lightly

 The Notting Hill quilt is moving along at a fast pace due to the large amount of background.  However with all that background space the process may slow down once it's on the quilt frame.  White space = quilt it to death, right?  Only time will tell since I really don't have a quilting plan, I'm still in the quilt stare phase of the process.

Feather quilting makes my little ole heart go pitter pat but I'm trying to get out of the quilting comfort zone.  Should I go a little more artistic?  This would mean I would need to much more marking of the quilt design before loading the quilt on the frame.  Maybe a pantograph?  I've never used a panto on a quilt so that too might take a long time since I would need to learn a whole new way of quilting.

More quilt staring is needed before I take this girl off the wall.

Staring at the quilt made my brain feel like it's on a hamster wheel.  I need a break to let my mind reset and find inspiration on it's own.  I've found over the years my best ideas come when doing mundane tasks or sleeping.  This is a good time to get outside, soak up some some sun while walking and training my girl Khaleesi.  

Today is the first day of being barefoot in the grass after YEARS of never being outside without shoes.  The grass feels so good on my feet but its the things hiding in the grass that are of concern.  You know rocks, thorns and BUGS!  My feet are not used to being without shoes.  So I tread lightly and become quite vocal with each step.  OOh!  Ouch!  Ugg!  How did I ever run on a gravel driveway as a child.  This is going to be a long process of toughening up the feet.

When I look up at my girl she has this look on her face as if to say "What's the big deal? I go barefoot everyday.  Why are you making those weird sounds?"  

Humans are strange.

Did you know I'm an April Fool's baby?  Yep that's right.  My birthday day is April 1.  So I decided to have a my biggest sale of the year to celebrate my birthday.  

40% OFF  

No joke!  This is a great time to stock up.  I may have other sales throughout the year but none this large. 

Click here to go to my online shop.

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Notting Hill ~ Riley Blake ~ Amy Smart

 I've been a little quiet on social media in the last couple of weeks.  There's just not enough hours in the day to get everything done.  So social media takes a backseat, especially blogging.  Instagram and Facebook are a quicker option so I post there more often but still not everyday.  You can find links to both in the sidebar of my blog.  I'm pretty sure you don't need an account on either to look at them but don't hold me to that.  Let me know if it won't let you see them without an account.  I might be able to tweak some settings.  

So what have I been up to? Spring cleaning, dog training and playing with pretty fabric!  When I first saw the Notting Hill fabric by Amy Smart I knew it was a must have bundle.  Amy's fabrics play well in my color pallet of bright and happy.  Just look at these gorgeous prints.  The large florals are OOOH-LA-LA!

The quilt pattern I will use for this bundle was designed a few years ago I just needed the right line of fabric. Now to find the right background fabric.  Normally plain ole white is my go to but I thought I'd live a little outside my comfort zone and choose a low volume print.  The powers that be were not happy with my choice.  But I'm not going to let them keep me from my plan.  Two things happened....

#1..There was a burn in the fabric.  

#2...I under calculated how much I would need and I could not find more of the red dot print.

In my stash is a full bolt of plain ole white but I really wanted to use a low volume Riley Blake.   So I went to my favorite online shop, Stitches and Giggles 4 U.  I can always find what I need at this shop and the shipping is fast.  

While I waited for the fabric to arrive I made a couple of test blocks from my scraps.

Then I starched and cut out my blocks so I would be ready when the fabric arrived.  During this time I also cleaned out my quilting tools drawer.  In this drawer I found a set of churn dash block pattern labels I made years ago.  How fun! I had forgotten I made these, might as well put them to use.

Oh my goodness how cute are these blocks?  Florals and plaid....SOOO YUMMY!

Amy knows what I love.

I would love a bolt of each of the large florals....Gorgeous!

It didn't take long to put my quilt top together when working with such pretty fabrics.  I'll be showing a few more sneak peaks over the next couple of weeks while I wait for the patterns to arrive from the printers.

Did you know I'm an April Fool's baby?  Yep that's right.  My birthday day is April 1.  So I decided to have a my biggest sale of the year to celebrate my birthday.  

40% OFF  

No joke!  This is a great time to stock up.  I may have other sales throughout the year but none this large. 

Click here to go to my online shop.

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~ Dutch Delight Quilt and Other Stuff ~

 Hello Happy Quilters!  Just thought I would pop in for a little update on the happenings in the Podunk Studio.  Lets start with my most recent new project.  It is an impulse project.  I've been admiring this quilt since seeing at quilt market.  The name of the quilt pattern is Dutch Delight by Jill Finley.  The simple design with pops of color won me over immediately.  Jill's quilt patterns almost always have a little bit of applique.  I love the way she can take a simple design and give life.   So as soon as the pattern was released I had to have it.  The temptation to buy the kit or a fat quarter bundle of her new Conservatory fabric was overwhelming.  So I told myself I could only buy the kit IF I couldn't pull the enough fabric from my stash.  As you can see I had no problem finding just the right amount blues and low volume prints, darn. I had my heart set on a new bundle of lovely prints.  You can find the pattern HERE you choose digital or traditional mailed. The quilt kits HERE.   And her new fabric line Conservatory HERE.

   

Below is Jill's finished quilt.  Simply adorable!  The pops of color in the applique is what really sold me on this pattern.  For the last three days Jill has shared video tutorials for this quilt on her Facebook and Instagram.  Hop over and check them out to see just how easy it is to construct this cute little quilt.  By the way there's a giveaway.

She used a layer cake for her quilt.  So the first thing I need to do was cut my fabrics into ten inch squares.

The hourglass blocks were a breeze to make.  I had them done in no time flat.  That's hillbilly talk or about 4 hours start to finish (trimmed).

Most of my quilts I use the raw edge method of applique.  But for this little quilt I decided to do prepared edge applique or turned edge.  That just means I turn under the edges of the applique before attaching them to the quilt top.  I was going to make a video about how to do this but life happens and didn't have time.  No worries.  Jill makes hers the same way I do.  Here's a video she made a few years ago about prepared edge applique.  Click here.

In the evenings I like to relax with a little bit of hand work.  No I'll not be hand appliqueing the Dutch Delight.  It will be done using Invisible machine applique.  If you've never seen this method you can read more about it here on my blog.  Right now I'm hand stitching the binding on my Hunkering down quilt. Quilt block tutorial and free PDF can be found HERE.  The plan was to binge on Netflix and get this done in one day.  I just don't feel like sitting all day and watching TV because I'm so excited about the Dutch Delight quilt.

The other project I'm working on is the Erin Russek's Home Again Free BOM.  You can see my blocks HERE.  And you can find the Free patterns HERE and finishing instructions HERE.  I still need to make the last three blocks and stitch down those plus 5 more.  Slowly but surely.  But there's no hurry.  This one is going to be over the top gorgeous when completed.  

In between the quilty happenings is this big ole box of peaches.  25 pounds of peaches.  We ordered them in advance from the Peach Truck and then picked them up on the scheduled day they are in our area.  I'm not a fan of peaches but my hubby says they are the best peaches he's ever ate.  You might still be able to get them in your area.  If your interested just follow the directions on their website.

See you all in a few days!  Here's an update on my girl Khaleesi.  She brings so much joy into our home.  I can't believe how much she has changed over the last year and a half.  There's no joy like a dog joy.  It's amazing what a little love and time can do for a rescue dog.

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~ Autumn Memories by Anne Taylor ~

Nothing makes me happier than to see quilts made with my patterns.  Anne Taylor sent these pictures to me a few weeks ago. Sadly I forgot all about them until yesterday evening when cleaning out my emails.  I have folder just for customer quilts.   Anne please forgive me for letting you adorable Autumn Memories quilt set tucked away for so long.  

Look closely at the amazing quilting!  Butterflies and a cobblestone road, how creative!

  

This pattern can be found in both my Etsy and Craftsy shops.  Links for both shops are at the top of this blog.  When ordering from my Etsy shop if you purchase more than one mailed pattern the shipping overages will be refunded.  I can normally get 4 or 5 patterns in one envelope for the same shipping.

The little red truck quilts in my pattern shop have been my best sellers.  So much so I'm thinking about designing 2 more this year.  Well to be honest one quilt is already in the works but I need a theme for the second quilt.  If you have any suggestions feel free to leave me a comment below.

Christmas Memories Truck has been my best seller all year.    It out sells every other quilt pattern every month.  Both of my truck quilt patterns are being sold as kits at Regal's Fabric and Gifts.

Christmas Memories pillow is a great little project for an afternoon quicky.   You could have this one stitched up and ready for this years Christmas.  And as a gift to my loyal followers, if you spend at least $8 in my pattern Etsy pattern shop by the end of the day December 25, I will send you a free copy of Christmas Memories Pillow.  This offer is for MAILED orders only.  Shipping overages are refunded.

#autumnmemoriesquilt #truckquilt #podunkpretties #christmasmemoriespillow #christmasquilt #patchworkquilting #scrappymakemehappy

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