2-for-1-post

Here we are in the middle of an especially cold Winter but I'm feeling all Sunshine-y today!

I'm finally over this rotten cold I’ve had for the last few weeks and able to get some things done! So here's a double post to share some goings on...

First and foremost, I want to tell you about and exciting new plan for the shop! We decided it was time to overhaul a few things and one of them was our random sales…  it seemed like we were always waiting for a special occasion to celebrate. Now we are going to celebrate every week; we’ll make our own special occasions! Every Monday we’ll feature an item with an extra incentive… like a free item with purchase!!!

This week it’s Flirt jelly rolls!

If you’re like me, you’re already in love with this sweet and “Flirt”y fabric line by Sandy Gervais for Moda. Now you’ll have an extra reason to love it… for the week of Jan 28^th thru February 3^rd you’ll get a matching panel FREE with any Flirt jelly roll! 

This is while supplies last only so don’t miss out! This darling panel will help you whip up an adorable project in no time… perfect for Valentine’s Day :)

We have the panels available individually plus charm packs and Fat Quarter Bundles, too, so you're sure to find just what you're looking for!

Be sure to check back each week, there will be more fun specials!

On to part 2: This weekend was so wonderful, Road to California is always a sure way to inspire and motivate me… I’m so glad I was able to go! The weather was dreary, raining and cold but as soon as I walked inside of the huge Ontario Convention Center, I forgot all about Winter! The quilts were gorgeous and the colors were all so warm and cheery :)

This year’s  theme was “Best in the West”… and they all certainly were just that! This was only part of a stunning “Route 66” display… it was amazing!

"Route 66" display

I also included some blurry phone pics (no camera's allowed but many artists graciously gave permission to share) of some of my favorites that impressed me so much… there was so much talent on display!

Stunning Pineapple Quilt

Adaptation of "Starry Night", one of my favorites!

Gorgeous applique!

 With all of this inspiration I should be back on track in no time!!!

Happy 2013

Welcome to a wonderful new year! 2013 is full of promise and opportunities... I know it's going to be great!

Celebrating and relaxing with my family over the holiday break has been wonderful and very soothing to my stressed out craziness of late.

I've been so busy with school and work that I didn't complete the challenge to make quilts for all of my kids for Christmas. Fortunately, there's always next year so now I have a head start! 

(In my defense, I did issue that challenge to myself before deciding I was going back to school ;P)

I did finish some quilts recently but in my haste to get them to their new homes I forgot to take pictures of most of them! I did remember  to take a few pics of some lovely Irish chains we quilted up before Christmas. They both are so lovely but had completely different stories. The first one was made by a new quilting friend in Texas. She said she is pretty new to quilting but I couldn't tell... her piecing is just fabulous!

The second quilt was an antique top. My friend's grandmother started it 70 years ago! Her sister recently finished the piecing and binding. They gave it to their mother for Christmas and as you can imagine, she was thrilled to receive such a special memory of her mother from her daughters. A lovely generational quilt :)

I’m also going to be working on my BOM quilt, it’s due next month and I still only have 3 blocks done, yikes! I’m going to have some late nights playing catch up!

BOM quilt, remember me?

Started in July... due in February... gulp! 

To help ring in the new year I’ve got a sale going on @ the store… go to TopsandBobbins.com and shop around for a bit. Be sure to check out the new fat quarter bundles under the pre-cuts tab. When you’re done shopping, use coupon code HAPPY2013 during checkout for 20% off your entire purchase! As usual, get free shipping when you spend $100 or more!

Sale is good thru January 7^th

New Fat Quarter Bundles!

Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends on this special day! Merry Christmas to you all...

Feeling Grateful...

I couldn't let this day go by without sharing some things I'm thankful for...
I'm blessed with a wonderful family and fantastic kids. No really, they are amazing, teenagers and all!
I have wonderful friends and I even get to see them once in a while! (No worries friends, the semester is almost over and then I get to be a participant in life again. Until next semester starts...)
I have the opportunity to return to school and a family that supports and encourages me to learn and grow... you are the best!
I have everything I could possibly need in life and extras, too :)
I have fabric (lots of fabric!) and sewing machines and everything I need to create fabric-y goodies. All the toys this girl needs :)
I have a supportive husband who doesn't think I'm crazy on most days and seems to get as excited as I am when I show him a finished project. Maybe the motivation is different (Ooo, maybe she'll cook dinner tonight!), but I still enjoy seeing him happy with the things I make!
I'm grateful for the friends I've made on my quilting journey. I've met some amazing people and I'm humbled by the talent and kind spirits I've come across, both in person and through blogs, websites, etc. You are all inspiring!!!
Hope you have all had a Wonderful Thanksgiving!  

(I have still been sneaking in some quilting projects around homework and I'll have some pics to share soon! Thanks for hanging in there, the semester is almost over!!!)

Angels

It would appear that despite all of my promises to do better I am turning into a bad once-a-month-blogger. I'm not going to wallow in self-pity or try to apologize (again), I'm just going to load up some pics and show you the last month...
Fortunately, my phone has a decent camera or I wouldn't even have these pics! (Note to self: please remember camera once in a while.)

(Maybe the 8-year work-in-progress???)

In my last post, I bragged about the borders going on my 7-year-work-in-progress quilt. Well the borders happened but, alas, the quilting is only partially completed. We got started but some other projects came in that had higher priority. 






Like this sweet little quilt...

Two of the sweetest ladies contacted me last week and told me about a quilt top they had made for a friend who was having surgery. The only catch was her surgery was less than a week away and they needed the quilting done quickly. How could I say no??? They wanted butterflies all over because their friend believes that butterflies represent angels. See?! Sweetest ladies and thoughtful friends :)

Minky back with Butterfly quilting

Unfortunately, in the midst of trying to pick up this quilt for them, my poor car decided to not co-operate and quit while I was in the middle of driving. (Honestly, a bit scary!) Fortunately, I was only a few blocks from home and not on the freeway yet! 

After 10 years of driving this beast around, we decided it was time to trade into something smaller. The poor man that showed up to tow it to the mechanic didn't seem too impressed with putting 2 tons of Excursion on the back of his truck!

So with the all of the craziness of regular everyday life like school, work, cleaning plus a rush job and picking out a new car, things have been a bit chaotic. But the good news is the new car starts when I turn the key (no cajoling or sweet words required ;P) and the recipient of the quilt came through her surgery with a better prognosis than expected. Angels were watching over everyone this week :)

Oh! The show went great! We had a wonderful time, my girls came and helped me and I think our booth turned our amazingly adorable! (No, we can never cook in the painted BBQ but it was worth it!)

What I've been up to while neglecting my blog...

It seems like it's always difficult for me to keep 10 balls in the air at once...I don't know why ;P
I've been talking about the Quilt Show coming up in my last few posts and it's almost here...next weekend in fact! While I'm super excited, it's also kept me reaaalllly busy! I'm getting everything ready for my booth (1st time as a vendor, yikes!!!), displays, merchandise, kits and notions and also trying to finish up this quilt! (Sorry the pics are blurry, they are from my phone, I was in a hurry because I need to get back to work and get the borders on!)

This quilt has been a work-in-progress for 7 (yes, seven) years! I fell in love with the purple floral fabric and searched for just the right pattern (more on that later). I'd take it out every now and then and work on it and then get busy with other things and put it away again. A few of the blocks are hand-pieced because I could take it with me to doctors appointments, etc. I have found that set-in seams are much easier by hand!

Well, when the quilt guild asked that every member have a quilt to display, I thought this would be the perfect time to get this beauty done! Somewhere in my scatterbrained head I also thought that this would be the perfect time to go back to school! So the last few weeks have looked something like this:

1. Classes and homework
2. family time
3. part time job @ the school
4. planning for the show 
5. quilting
6. housework, laundry & grocery runs
7. sleep (notice this is last?!)

See? Busy!!! Am I forgiven for not updating? I hope so! 

Uh-oh, times up... I just heard the dryer buzz. Time to switch the wash and get back to quilting. The borders are going on today before I leave for work and it's getting quilted this weekend. I can't wait to see it all quilted, I have some plans for the diamonds that make up the stars in the center... I'm so excited to see this one finished!!! I'll post more pics of it soon!

Summer's out for School...

Well time sure flies and it's been more than two weeks since my last post. Rather than apologize (like usual) for my lazy blogging-ness I will just dive right into playing catch-up!
Today is the first day of school so we've been busy cramming all the fun we can into the last few weeks of Summer! A few weeks ago, my hubby and I took all the kiddos to a local water park were we met up with some good friends. My kids were the oldest in the bunch so they played chaperones to the younger kids and everyone had a blast playing in the water and going down the water slide. Perfect for a hot summer day!
One of these friends moved away last year and she was out for an extended visit with her new twins so we finally got to meet them! I made some cute little owl quilts for them last year and just now got around to making bumpers for their cribs...just in time for them to almost not need them anymore! I think they turned out pretty cute and I love that boy/girl twins still get a matching nursery! I used Moda's Summer House fabrics by Lily Ashbury for the tops and binding and Minky for the backings :)

Speaking of twins, it was mine and my twins birthday last week! Happy Birthday Joyce!!! I had a fun day sewing with my quilt guild and she landed a new job that day...how's that for a great birthday?!

My quilt guild sponsored a cute little sewing retreat in honor of my birthday! (Okay, maybe it was just a coincidence that it was scheduled for that day :P) We made some darling travel ironing mats/covers...I made mine out of aqua Fandango by Kate Spain! 

Now I've been sewing since I was ten and I'm a teesy bit older than that now so I want to know why I haven't made one of these before?! It's just adorable (and practical but also really cute!) and it fits my Oliso iron perfectly :)

I'm also working on some more Quilts of Valor  for my local chapter, Victor Valley Quilts of Valor. It is so inspiring to work with these incredible quilters who volunteer their time, money, fabric and materials to give back to our troops... you are all AMAZING!!! (You know who you are :)

The quilt show is coming up quickly...less than a month away! Be sure you stop by our booth to see us if you are in the area that weekend. September 14th & 15th at the fairgrounds in Victorville, CA... see you there!