My Craftsy Wish List

I really discovered Craftsy in September of last year, and I have been thrilled to be able to post my patterns somewhere that people can see and buy them, and it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to operate it (in fact, it's free!) I've also taken advantage of the amazing classes they offer. I'm enrolled in several of the free ones, but also a few of the paid ones, and they're great! I'm enrolled in Machine Quilting with Wendy Butler Burns, Free Motion Quilting a Sampler with Leah Day, and Sew Retro Perfect Bombshell Dress with Gretchen Hirsch. The format of these classes is so great! You can watch as many times as you want, and if you have questions, you can ask, and the instructors and classmates can answer them for you.
 
Have you looked through the class list yet? They add new classes every week. Currently, my Craftsy Wish List looks like this:

1. Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing with Carol Doak
2. Free Motion Fillers Vol. 1 with Leah Day
3. Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine with Ann Petersen
4. Vintage Inspired Veils for the Modern Bride with Doreen Vandermeer


Sigh...I'd love to be a Craftsy instructor one day...Till then, I'll stick to working my way through the classes I'm already enrolled in!

Check out all of the other great Craftsy Classes by clicking here!

Did you know Google Reader is shutting down?

Well, that's what I heard. So if you're following my blog on Google Reader, you may need to find a new way to follow me. Here's one! Follow my blog with Bloglovin and you'll never miss a post :)

You can also follow me on Facebook HERE!

Tried something new today

This morning, I stuck my neck out and decided to try submitting my fabric designs to some fabric companies. I contacted several companies to find out what I have to do, and the one I wanted to send my designs to most was the first to respond. So, since they said I could submit via email if I have an online portfolio, I went ahead and sent them my link! Now, for the grueling 3 week wait to hear back from them...I'll let you know what happens. I have three other companies that I have information for, so I'll go down the list if I get rejected!

New Dear Jane block

I know I'm behind in posting my Dear Jane block photos, but I had to share this one. I've gotten as far as block D-7. But here is block D-5, and my new favorite!

This is a 5" block, made from my Moroccan Tiles fabric design (available HERE) in red/violet. I'm really thrilled with how easily this print fit into this block!

Mystery Quilt Clue #2!

If you're waiting for Clue #2...wait no more!

Download it HERE. (Right click and "save target as")

How'd your Clue #1 turn out? Comment below or.....Come talk about it with us HERE!

Please feel free to send the link to this mystery to other quilters :)

Brand new MYSTERY QUILT!

If you have been waiting for my next mystery quilt pattern, I'm happy to announce it's ready! And if you haven't been waiting...well, why not? I do hope you'll enjoy it, I've enjoyed writing it and I love the twist I've added at the end!

I have released the fabric requirements, cutting instructions and clue #1 so far (clue #1 came with the cutting instructions). If you are a member of Facebook, you can join my group HERE. I'll be releasing a new clue every Friday until it's done (I believe it's 10 clues, but I'll have to go confirm that!)

If not, you can just download the fabric requirements HERE and cutting instructions and clue #1 HERE.

Please share this page with other quilters you may know who might be interested in participating!

NOTE: You'll either need a set of Tri-Recs rulers or the ability to paper piece in order to complete clue #1!


If you're curious, here's a photo of the fabrics I used for mine.

The yellows are my color 1 light and dark, the blues are my color 2 light and medium, and the red is my color 2 dark (a dark blue would have worked here too). And the birds are my focus fabric.

My son's new light box

My 9 year old has taken a real interest in drawing lately. He's not great at it, so he wants to start out by tracing some things to get the feel for how to draw certain things. But tracing is hard when you can't really see what you're tracing through the paper you're drawing on! So I decided to try building him a light table. I thought if we could find inexpensive pieces that we can use for other things if he decides he doesn't need it (or he does, and we get him a better one!)

So here's what I did. We were at Home Depot, and we found a clear plastic storage bin with a clear blue lid. It's almost flat, but the middle is indented slightly so pencils won't roll off. Then today, my husband found a 250W halogen work light for $8. We added an extension cord we already had, put the light inside and put the lid on. And here's what we got!

The back picture shows up super clearly through the top paper, and since the lid is blue, it keeps the light from blinding you too much when you move the paper. I might add some kind of shielding to the lid to protect his eyes a little more though. And it's a nice big surface, the only tricky spot is right in the middle, but his notebook sized papers fit fine on one end, with the light in the other end.

That's my frugal project of the day!

Hoppy Easter!

Today, I finished writing my latest pattern, for an Easter wall hanging that's perfect for a house with kids. This sample will be going to my preschooler's classroom!

 

This pattern is available in my Craftsy shop HERE.

Stepping Stones is ready for quilting!

This week I put the final touches on my Stepping Stones quilt top. I added another row of blocks, two 1" borders and one 5" border, to make it bed sized. Here's the final top! What do you think?

This pattern is available in my Craftsy Store, which you can find HERE.