Durham Charter Academy

 A few of you know I am the founder of the first Charter Public School in NC. I wanted to let you know the school has added high school and also changed the name to Durham Charter School. My school opened in 1997... 28 years serving children! They also built a new school building which houses grades K-12. You can click the photo below to check it out:

Christmas Rush is winding down

 It's been a busy couple of months for me what with all the quilts needing longarming before Christmas!  Here's a photo of one quilt for a client.  She chose the Bossa Nova pantograph for her quilt.  This is one of my favorite designs.

The Christmas Day drawing will be held and I can't wait to find out who wins the great set of Quilting Tools!  Here's a photo of the set:

Cricut

 I had a couple days off from longarming so I spent the time using my Cricut cutting machine.  I love this thing!  I made several cards, including 20 Christmas cards I plan on sending out this year.  

If you are interested in buying a Cricut cutting machine, this pdf booklet has ALL you need to begin right away.  I used this booklet and it was very easy to follow and understand.  It's written by Jennifer Maker.  Click here to see her Cricut Coach Playbook.

And the inside of this card is below, it's so cute!

New WIP

 I spent some time this morning, Small Business Saturday, and bought some patterns from Etsy.  This is one of them, and I pulled fabrics from my stash to make it.  I hope to get some time during December to make it.  It's a pattern I found on the CottonBerryQuilts sales page and the pattern is called Pumpkin & Bloom Applique pattern.

Ode to Sewing Machines #49

  Many of you follow my "Ode to the Sewing Machine" posts.  We've all seen the ads on craigslist, ebay and elsewhere.  The clueless sellers give those of us who sew a belly laugh, or two!  

Just when I think I've made enough Ode to Sewing Machine posts, I see another "can't believe this one" and I have to share it with you. Here's installment #49!  

The 1st one isn't a sewing machine but I had to post it here.  My jaw dropped open when I saw this...

This is the only photo of the machine!

And another one, it looks like she didn't have the time to take a 
decent photo as well...this is the only photo of the machine!

A winning quilt

 I entered my quilt in the Hearts and Hands Guild quilt show this weekend and it won a 3rd place ribbon.  The quilt has 560 HSTs in it.

Cricut Maker 4

 I had a Cricut Maker machine for years and decided to upgrade to the new Cricut Maker 4.  FedEx delivered it 4 days ago and I've been having a great time using it.  It is lighting fast, much faster than previous Maker models. For those unfamiliar with Cricut cutting machines, they coincide with an app called Design Space.  Using the app, you can create just about anything you can dream up.  

Here are some photos of projects I've made the last 4 days:

I made the following projects using my Maker 1:

If you are interested in buying a Cricut cutting machine, this pdf booklet has ALL you need to begin right away.  I used this booklet and it was very easy to follow and understand.  It's written by Jennifer Maker.  Click here to see her Cricut Coach Playbook.

Under my needle

 I've been a bit overwhelmed with quilts needing my expertise, I think the Christmas rush began early this year.  I already have 22 quilts in the queue and I've decided not to take anymore quilts from new clients until I get caught up.  I am always accepting current clients' quilts so if you're already a customer of mine don't hesitate to stop on by!

Isn't this a great Autumn quilt?  I stitched a design that looks like the breeze blowing across the quilt.

And this quilt was loaded on the frame just this afternoon.  I will begin stitching it tomorrow morning.