New Shop Samples and a Bonus - All Caught Up

It took a little longer than I thought it would, but here they are:


This bright spring wall hanging was fun and easy to make. It is from the book Stop, Drop, and Roll. I like projects that use lots of different fabrics. The sewing never gets dull when your eyes are constantly entertained with new color and design.


This one was another fast one. That blob at the top of the center in the picture is the light shining through from behind the quilt top. The borders with corner posts are easy to cut to size and easy to sew accurately. The flowers are fused on. We like this one so much that we've put together a few kits for it. The kits come in two colors...one is just like the sample and the other uses the same black and whites, but pairs them with turquoise. Yum!


No, the quilt isn't crooked, just the camera shot. This sample shows how simple blocks and simple colors make a great design. The fabric is from Nancy Halvorsen's Forever Spring line and the pattern is from Sweet & Simple Baby Quilts. The nine patch blocks use a variety of blue fabrics while the yellow in the half square triangles remains the same. I love the softness of this sample.


Here's a bonus! We are getting Moda's Hullabaloo line in April. I ordered a fat quarter bundle in advance so I could get a closer look at the prints and start working on a sample. The prints in these blocks represent the softest of this line. It gets to be lots of fun with the brighter colors, too. I stuck with a classic quilt from the Happy Hour book, since it so easily shows off a variety of prints. I love the animal print in this group. All of these fabrics are perfect for bibs, burp cloths, and other baby items.

The girls did a fabulous job tidying up the shop over the weekend. We want to look our best while the Cotton Patch Quilt Show "Hot Threads, Cool Quilts" is in town. The show is March 4-6. If you get a chance to go to the show, look for our full page ad in the program and then come on over for a visit.

New Projects On the Way

I am so fortunate to have a great staff at Dragonfly Quilt Shop. Recently, I asked for some suggestions for new spring shop samples. The next day there were six or seven ideas laid out for review. I picked three and asked for the fabric to be cut so I could get started on them. Usually, that means simply cutting the yardage needed from the bolt. But this time, they moved ahead with the next step and cut all the individual pieces for the projects and left little notes to make my job easier. Here is the "before" picture. I'm thinking that I'll whip these up over the weekend. Look for "after" photos very soon.

A table runner or wall hanging using lots of fun Kaffe Fassett fabrics:


A baby quilt using Nancy Halvorsen's Forever Spring collection:


And a black, white, and pink quilt:

You know I'm gonna have some fun this weekend!

Scalpel Please

My sewing area isn't all that big and it gets messy when I'm working on a project. I kept losing basic tools under project pieces or on the floor or behind the sewing machine. I needed a way to keep up with everything. This is a tray that my oldest, now 20, painted in elementary school. It was in a closet just waiting to be discovered.

It is just what I needed. Just like a surgeon, I now have a tray with all the essential tools at my fingertips. It is extra clean at the moment, just for you, and it works great. No matter what I'm doing, I now have a habit of tossing my tools back into the tray. No more stopping the flow of creativity to look for lost tools. Now, to think about that next project...

Finishing, even when I don't want to

Sometimes, I take on a project that I don't really want to do. It will sit and sit on my sewing table while I spend time avoiding it. One good side effect is that I tend to start (or finish) a hand sewing project. My latest hand sewing project is a dragonfly sashiko piece. It was given to me by a dear colleague, Deb. She knew I was interested in sashiko and she is good about encouraging creative pursuits. It's not quite finished, and I'm going to incorporate it into a quilted wall hanging when it is done.


Finally, yesterday, I tied myself to the sewing machine and finished the project I was avoiding. It turned out fine; it's the last of the grommet bags I have been making as shop samples. I have never seen a bag like this. It has a separating zipper that goes all the way around. You can make it bigger or smaller. This is smaller...


...and this is bigger.
I'm relieved to have it done. Now, I'm ready to move on to something new.