Quilt Shop of Deland is Growing Up!

Judy Hansen, owner of the Quilt Shop of Deland, was the person that introduced me to quilting.  I walked into her new quilt shop in February 2003 and she welcomed me like I was an old friend.  It was absolutely wonderful and I learned a lot about quilting and color combinations with her help.

Well, last week I received the new edition of "Easy Quilts" from Fons and Porter and immediately opened it up to find that Judy has a new Machine Quilting DVD for sale.  She also is the designer and author of the Christmas Memories quilt published in the magazine.

I'm very impressed with how far Judy has gotten in the past 8 years. Check out her shop if you are in Florida.

Congratulations Judy!

Busy

Levelfield Gallery is registered to attend the craft fair in Danby, NY on November 12, 2011, so I've been very busy making items to sell.  Here's a table runner that I finished this morning:

I've added a diaper bag pattern to my list of quilted bags.  I've made several for friends and they all love them.  Here's a couple of pictures:

I started a new diaper bag today.  This is how far I've gotten:

Wish us luck for selling a lot at the craft fair.  We'd really like to provide a great Christmas for the kids.  We hope to see you there!

Yellow Brick Road

I started this quilt in 2004 when my friend got married, but I never finished even cutting the pieces.  A couple of weeks ago, I found the fabric and decided to work on the quilt top.  Here's the top before the borders are put on:

I hope to have this quilt top finished and the quilt sandwich put together by the end of this weekend.  Wish me luck!

Recent Projects

I've started a second blog at My Quilt Place. Maybe this one will help me keep the other one up to date. We shall see.

I have been quilting since 2003, on and off, having moved several times through the years and taking time off.  But recently, I've become very interested in quilted bags and totes, along with making clothes.  I have a friend whose business is clothing alterations.  She is thinking about retiring and I think she would like me to take some of her work.  The few pieces that she has given me were fairly easy, but she has not asked me to take anything else in over a week, so I'm beginning to think I didn't do as good a job as she wants.  Oh well.  I'll just keep practicing.

This past week, I made a very adorable frock dress for my step daughter.  The first dress I made for her, I used the pattern size for the clothes we purchase in the stores.  Needless to say, it was way too big!  I then measured her and made the pattern size that actually fit her.  When I finished the dress, DH Pete suggested making a heart shaped pocket on the front of the dress, which I did.  It is so darn cute!  I realized then that I could alter patterns and add to them without needing a pattern to follow.  I always thought I needed a pattern.  I was so wrong!

Other projects I'm working on is a new laptop bag.  I have a pattern that I used to create the first bag (Pete absolutely loves it!), but I think I will make some adjustments to the pattern.  My friend suggested using carpet padding instead of having to purchase crafter's foam (carpet stores give away pieces of padding).  I'm making a bag now, and have found that it is very difficult to sew the fabric around the harder carpet padding.  I will contact a local carpet store for more rubber padding samples to try.  If that does not work, I'll find a good discounted source for the foam.  I think the laptop bags will sell very well at craft shows. 

My first show is July 9, 2011.  I'm getting very nervous about it.  I need to work really hard to make more quilted items, like laptop bags, totes, potholders, and Japanese bags.  If I have time, I might make some bibs or diaper bags.

Well, it's been a very long day.  I'm going to bed...

Social Media

Levelfield Gallery is tackling Social Media!  We have a Facebook page, a Twitter page, and LinkedIn.  Please Like, Follow and View our pages!

Next few blocks

I worked on the next few blocks that were assigned on the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Group.  Here are my blocks:

Broken Glass

Postage Stamp

Railroad

I'm having a lot of fun making these blocks.  They are small enough that they go really quickly.  I can't wait to see all of the blocks together.  I'll post more photos tomorrow.

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

The Quilter's Club of America has several message boards on it having to do with quilting (obviously).  Well, one of the members began a new group called Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt, and I joined it.  This group will make the quilt blocks found in the book, "Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt" by Laurie Aaron Hird.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt:

Letters From 1920s Farm Wives And The 111 Blocks They Inspired

I found wonderful fabric at a local quilt shop and I made the first 3 blocks that were assigned a couple of weeks ago.  Here are my blocks:

Autumn Tints

Basket Weave

Box

The stories that go along with these blocks are quite interesting. It is amazing what people thought in the 1920s.  

Follow me as I make 110 blocks from this book.  It should prove to be quite an interesting ride!