2013 In Review

This past week I have been making plans and sewing for my classes in 2014.  However, before 2013 slips by I would like to take some time to reflect on some major and minor events that were noteworthy.  I hope to have 13 flashbacks from 2013.  So here is the first. . . .Starting off early in 2013, I took the advice of my students and began working on my Meandering Methods, a No Mark Method of Free-Motion Machine Quilting, Workbook.   After many meals in front of my computer, and with the help of my good friend Sheri, I was able to complete it!

The finished workbook!

This workbook contains the information that I present in my Meandering Methods workshop.  The feedback from my students using it has been great!   

So now I am currently finishing my workbooks for Nature Inspired Quilting Motifs and Fun with Feathers Workbooks.   

My students continue to motivate me to be a better teacher, and for this I am very appreciative. -Linda

Down in the Country

Last week, my husband and I were able to escape to a wonderful little place that I want to share with you.
We spent the night at Julia's Shady Rest Bed and Breakfast. It has a rustic appeal, with big city pampering. It is about 45 minutes East of Kansas City, MO, and only 6 minutes north of I-70.  It is located between Odessa and Lexington.

Julia's Shady Rest Bed and Breakfast

We arrived early in the evening, and realized our mistake.  The place is gorgeous!  We regret not being able to explore the lake and surrounding area more than we did.  Here are a few of the things we found appealing.

Imagine watching this while relaxing in the country.

These guys were pretty interested in us.

 

The view of the lake from our room.

In addition to being able to spend some time in the beautiful surroundings, you may want to explore the local points of interest.  They are located near wineries, orchards, and if you are a interested in the civil war, you will need to visit Lexington, MO which has a historic battle site.

Did I mention that it was a bed and breakfast?  The breakfast spread was wonderful.  Julia is a fabulous cook, and when I come back I am definitely requesting her homemade cinnamon rolls! (You can't eat just one!)

So pick up the phone and make your reservations for a relaxing weekend get away--just be sure to arrive early enough to enjoy the beauty of the place.  Tell them Linda sent you!

Fun with Feathers--In Color!

I have been having fun with my free-motion quilting techniques.  In order to improve your machine quilting you have to practice!  I was focusing on different kinds of feathers for my Fun with Feathers class.

First, I practiced creating feathers on paper. 

Some of my practice feathers on paper.

 

More practice on paper!

These drawings then became a “pattern” or guide for me to use when practicing with my sewing machine.

I started with a blank quilt sandwich, and then free-motion quilted my feathers using my sewing machine.

Lower your feed dogs and doodle with thread.

The feathers all stitched out.

I had so much fun making the feathers—the mixed media artist in me couldn’t help but coloring them in with Derwent Inktense water-soluble ink pencils!

Then I diluted and mixed the colors using plain water and a paint brush. 

Fun with Feathers--In Color!

What do you think?  Hopefully, this inspired you to doodle some feathers with your sewing machine!

Spring is in the Air!

Spring always means the start of new things.  It has me motivated to try some new things! 

Classes are full and fun!  This last Saturday, I was teaching how to create a sewing organizer using the serger.  We had a full class, and I had lots of fun. (I hope they did also!!)

Serge Ahead 2 at Zede's Sewing Studio

Serge Ahead 2 at Zede's Sewing Studio

Then on Saturday afternoon, I was able to participate in the Fayette Fun Fest at Fayette, Missouri.  My husband and I set up a booth that had some of my work for sale. 

Hand painted peacock on silk, and several of my photos transferred onto fabric then quilted.

A felted piece, a fun apron, a painted and embellished wild fire, and my natural bridge photo quilt.

I was really excited to release several patterns that I have been working on.  

I hope to share more with you later on the patterns. 

In all it has been a wonderful start to spring.  I can’t wait to see what else will spring up!

A Tale of Two Months

Sometimes life keeps you so busy, you can catch yourself coming and going!  I am sorry that I have not been keeping up with the blog as I intended, but allow me to explain.  January is always a busy month.  I try to plan most of the classes I intend to offer for the year.  However, this January I became distracted.  A stray female Labrador retriever mixed dog wanders onto our place and decides to stay.  We already own a golden retriever, and were not interested in another dog. So we contacted the appropriate authorities.  They put advertisements in the local papers, and called people in the area to see if they were missing a dog.

Meanwhile, she is growing on us.  Our dog, Brady, adopted her.  She was great at playing catch, none of the other dogs we owned ever wanted to play that game.  We found ourselves falling in love with her.  

After she has been with us for about three weeks, one day she isn’t around as much.  My husband notices that she has been staying in the dog house.  We coax her out and discover that her right front leg has been injured.  Assuming that she has been hit by a car, we contact the vet. 

Once there we decide to go through with the x-rays to diagnose the problem.  Much to our dismay, she had been shot!  The bullet destroyed her leg joint, and it would have to be amputated.  We didn’t know what to do since she was a stray, and it was going to cost a lot to have the surgery.  So the clinic posted the story on their face book account, and the donations came pouring in to perform the surgery.

The next question was, would we be interested in adopting her if they performed the surgery. Placement of an adult dog is hard, and it is harder if they have special needs.  It didn’t take long for us to decide she is part of the family. So the next two weeks, I was nursing her back to health.  Giving her medicines and keeping an active dog quiet is not easy.

She healed very well and everything was going fine.  After much debate, our son named her Peggy.

Brady

Then our golden retriever, Brady, started going downhill.  My husband took him to the vet.  We found out he had diabetes and wouldn’t live long.  In fact he lasted only two more days.  It was a sad loss since he had been a member of our family since 2002.  

Peggy playing in the snow.

The month of February ended with a couple of big snow storms.  The last one leaving us without power for two days, so even though I had the time to write a post I couldn’t.  However, I wanted to share with you the thank you card I created for the donors to Peggy’s surgery. 

I used my digitizing software to import a photo.  Then I created some echo quilting lines, and the word, “Thanks”.  Finally, I traced around the photo so I could create a postcard in the embroidery hoop.  I transferred Peggy’s photo to fabric, this then became the face of the postcard.  I stitched them out with my embroidery machine.

Peggy's Thank You Postcards

Here is the results!

A Sew Day!

Yesterday, we finally got our first snow of the season!  Maybe it is the teacher in me, but I really enjoy a snow day where you need to stay inside.

I love it when a snow day = a sew day!  Sending warm thoughts your way, Linda B.

Surface Techniques

I just wanted to give you a heads up--this Tuesday I will be teaching a class that explores different surface techniques with your sewing machine.  We will be couching a variety of items, layering different substances, and attaching buttons.  Then on Saturday we will use this piece for the cover of a notebook to store all your inspirations in!  Love to see you at Zede's Sewing Studio, in Columbia, MO.

This is my sample for the class.

Enjoy your day, Linda B