Day and Night Christmas Table Runner

This is my Christmas Table Runner made at the "Quilting in the Country" Quilt Retreat. My teacher was Carla Carpenter, who teaches quilting classes for Eastern Arizona College. She is an amazing teacher. I really appreciated her knowledge and her help. I hope to take more classes from her in the future.
It was made with the Eleanor Burns pattern, Day and Night. It appears very hard to make, but is actually strip pieced using Eleanor Burns normal techniques of making an easy quilt look hard.

This is a closeup of one square. I would try to explain how each square is made, but it took Burns a whole book to explain it. Never the less, it was relatively easy.

This is a much closer look. Notice my gold metalic thread. I loved the look it made, but I had trouble with the threads breaking. Please click on this picture to get a closer look. The metalics really stand out if you do. It was hard to capture the metalic sparkle of this table runner on camera. It is really sparkley in real life.

Here is the back. You can see the quilting better with this view.

The room was dark because of an overcast sky, so I had trouble getting a better picture. It is actually very bright and colorful.

This was an amazing pattern to make. I love this table runner.

Asian Kalidescope Quilt

This is me at the quilt retreat with the Kalidescope Quilt top. The pattern is really simple. The trick is in the cutting of the fabric, which isn't hard either. I think I probably have 10 to 15 hours into my top. (This one is Carla's.) You need to consider that I do things slower than other people though. I think it is prettier in the distance than up close.

I will show more pictures when I actually get mine quilted.

Quilting in the Country Quilt Retreat

We had our "Quilting in the Country" Quilt Retreat at the first of the month and had an absolute ball. My cousin, Louise, came and stayed with me and we attended the retreat together. It is held at an old church building in Virden, New Mexico. There was three days of quilting. I signed up for three quilts and two table runners as well as a class on quilting tips. I loved every minute of the retreat. All the teachers were awesome!! That includes Brenda, Cindy, Carla, Deanna, Gyanne and Karen. I thank you all for your help and for the knowledge you shared.

I am including a photo of Louise and I standing near a sample of one of the quilts we made. I will include more pictures later of some of the quilts that were displayed and also my finishes from camp.

So You Sew Fun Lantern Bag

This is my latest bag. My friend, Kathy had a bag like this. I just loved hers. I love my new bag too. I made a larger version than she did. I love the way the pink fabric peeks through the pleats on the front of the bag. This fabric is from the So You Sew Fun line.

I made a larger version than Kathy did. I didn't realize how big it would turn out. It is actually a very good size for a diaper bag. See the 12 inch ruler by the bag.

These inside pockets have a flap with velco to shut it. I find I like a few pockets that close. Maybe next time I will try a zipper pocket.

You can also see the snap closure. See the loop I added to clip your keys to.

The black pockets are lined with fusible fleece to keep sunglasses and phones from being scratched by whatever is inside the bag.

I lined the straps with one layer of batting and one layer of craft pellon. I learned this from a pattern by Lazy Girl Designs. I am hoping it will create a soft strap that holds its shape. The one I made with just batting is losing its shape.

Once again, I just love my bag!

Heart Wall Hanging

I was looking at the Internet one day and found this pattern. I just loved it. I thought - I have some scraps that would be perfect for this pattern. I used my Friendship Star scraps. I sure got a lot of use out of those scraps.

This is the quilting. I am just learning so there are some mistakes, but nothing that really matters from the front. I did pretty good on it though for a beginner.

Table Runner From Scraps

Quilting in the Country Quilt Retreat is coming this week and I am trying to finish all the projects from last year. This table runner is from a class on using your scraps. Some of the scraps in this table runner are from my Friendship Star Quilt.



Here is a picture of the quilting on the back. I am trying to learn to machine quilt using my own sewing machine. I am actually quite proud of how this turned out. I think the hardest part of machine quilting is coming up with the idea of how to quilt it in the first place.

This is a picture of my living room with the Friendship Star quilt and the table runner.