~ Full Disclosure ~

I bought this shirt for my husband, not because he has a bad attitude, but because he loves to fish ;-)

I, however, went to bed last night, and woke up this morning, feeling pretty much like this fish!

I hate it when my attitude is less than positive!!

I've been working on my retreat quilt.

I.Hate.It :-(

I got it basted yesterday morning and started quilting it later that day.

A simple meandering stitch (not shown).

This quilt has really shaken my confidence!!

I love the fabric collection, love the pattern, but...

Just not feeling it.

I'm hoping that a change in thread color will help. I was using a brownish color which matches the backing fabric. But the stitches are showing up too much on the sashing and border fabric. So, maybe a lighter color will ease my pain some.

How do you determine the color of thread used for quilting?

What do you do when working on a quilt that you just don't like?

Any suggestions on quilting to make this quilt a little less unlovable?

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!!

~ Michelle ~

~ A Gift for My Sister ~

My sister, Rene', just celebrated a birthday...a very special birthday...a milestone birthday. But I won't mention any numbers ;-) I made her a wall quilt. It has become somewhat of a tradition that I make her a smallish quilty gift...easier to fit in her suitcase. This picture was taken somewhere between Montana and Washington.

The pattern, Fiesta Wall Quilt, is from the book Quilting Modern, by Jaquie Gering and Katie Pedersen.

The fabrics selected were:

Center block: Couture French Dress by Laura Berringer for Marcus Brothers Fabrics

Inner Border: Kona Teal Blue

Center Border: Kona Azure

Outer Border: Kona Aqua

I enjoy giving quilty gifts to my sister; however, the process of making the gifts is difficult for me. Rene' and I talk almost daily about mainly quilt related topics, and I rely heavily on her input while making quilts. I still need a little hand holding ;-)

With this project, I followed the pattern very carefully, and I used any and all suggestions provided in the book. For arranging the strips, I placed painters tape on my design wall as suggested.

I used their pairing method for sewing the strips together. Since I am directionally challenged, I numbered the columns using the blue painters tape, which helped keep me straight.

I kept the book open during the entire process, knowing how I often mix things up ;-)

I somehow muddled my way through with only a few vague calls/questions to Rene' and a couple of emails to my friend Doris. Once completed, my Frustration and I were beat ;-)

I gave the wall quilt to my sister at our Gruber's retreat. 

My first pieced back :-)

I am pleased to say that Rene' loved her birthday gift! Whew!!!!!

I am linking up to Sarah's Can I get a Whoop Whoop.

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!

~ Michelle ~

~ Retreat! ~

I've just returned from another awesome retreat at Gruber's. This retreat has become the highlight of my summer!! There is no way I can find the words to describe what retreating with this amazing group of ladies does for my quilty soul, but I know that I feel very blessed to be included, once again, with them all!



(front row) Cindy, Amanda Jean, Stephanie
(back row) Doris, me, Rene, Terri, and Mary.



I am, to be quite honest, exhausted (in a very good way), so I'd like to just share some pics of the eye candy I received and purchased this trip.

Here is a collection of "happies" I received...fun, fun, fun. I just LOVE happies ;-)

Aren't they awesome!!!

Although I quilted hard, I think I shopped even harder!! Gruber's is

 the.most.amazing.quilt.shop!!

Here is a "group picture" of my purchases:

What eye candy!! I think they deserve a little individual attention...

Yardage purchased on sale :)

Loved this last year...bought it this year ;-)

Another item from the sales section.

Isn't she pretty???

While retreating, I worked on, but did not finish, a quilt top. I am hoping to finish it up this week, but here is a preview.



On my wall...not the best picture.



I think once it is all finished and quilted it will look lovely.

I also gave my sister, Rene', a wall quilt for her birthday. As I was finishing the binding while traveling, I don't have a picture of the completed quilt. But, here is a sneak peek of the quilt while still in progress:

I have to admit (and you will rarely hear this from me) that this wall quilt looked pretty darn good! Hope to show it to you soon!! And for any of my fellow retreaters reading today's post...please feel free to forward any pictures...I did a lousy job of taking pictures ;-)

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!!

~ Michelle ~



~ Back and Forth ~

With two days left until I leave for my retreat, I am still struggling with what project to take with me. I decided months ago what fabric I wanted to use...Flora Lane by Laura Berringer, which I purchased at last year's retreat at Gruber's.

But what to do with it??? This past year I have looked at numerous patterns for lap size quilts, wall hangings, you name it...but could not find anything which I felt would really showcase the beautiful prints. At first, I thought I would make a quilt using a shoo fly pattern. I even ordered a coordinating solid to go with the prints. For whatever reason (I can't remember), I decided against this. Then, I thought I would do another Kitchen Window quilt like I made for my son.

I certainly wouldn't mind a do-over with this one!!

Again, for whatever reason which I now can't remember, I decided against this one as well.

Maybe another Hullabaloo quilt...

Yes...that's the one (I thought).

As I'm laying on the floor, literally, as my son is looking at me like I've lost my mind,

I pulled out the fabric and my Kona Color Card, needing to select one more coordinating solid.

Fortunately, Hobby Lobby (which is now my new best friend) had just what I needed...Kona Earth.

So as I'm pressing my fabric this morning in preparation of cutting, I decided, nope...not Hullabaloo.

I guess I better get to cutting before I change my mind again. Any guesses as to what I decided????

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!

~ Michelle ~

~ Preparedness ~

I am not a spontaneous person. AT ALL!!! My friends and family know not to call me up at the last minute to do anything. I must have time to stew about it obsess over it talk for hours about it prepare. So I have been preparing, well, thinking about, my upcoming quilt retreat for months now. But I haven't had time to really prepare for it.

When preparing for such an important occasion, one must ensure they have the right tools.

Last year, I took my trusty sewing machine that must weigh at least 500 pounds. Imagine my difficulty lifting that sucker to place in the over head compartment. This year, I decided I would take my Brother, which is so much lighter. Having made that decision, I realized I had a couple of problems...would it fit into my bag, and can I learn how to use it...quickly!

Yep...it fits (whew)!

Even the extension table...

No, Devlin, you will not fit ;-)

Now, that leaves me less than a week to learn how to use it. I've only used this machine for FMQing...without the foot pedal. I'm not even sure if the machine comes with a 1/4 inch foot. Assuming I am able to find the manual and all the attachments needed for my Brother, this beautiful charm pack, A Little Romance, is going to be my practice quilt.

 I'll be spending the next few days piecing lots and lots of squares.

Thanks, as always, for visiting my  blog!

~ Michelle ~

~ Happies From Home ~

Last week, I mentioned that I had an opportunity to visit a couple of shops while at home. I finally unpacked some of my goodies and just had to share. I thoroughly fell in love with Janet at Janet's Quilting Bee. She truly demonstrates Southern Hospitality!!! I wanted to take her and her shop back to Georgia with me. We spoke briefly about hand quilting, which I have been wanting to learn. Well, that brief conversation led to my mother scheming with consulting with Janet on tools needed for one to try out hand quilting. I left the store with everything needed to make a throw pillow. Included in the goodies was a hoop, lots of needles (some for my machine as well), thread, a really cool coin thimble, some templates for future projects, and, well, you get the point ;-) My mother is such a supporter of my quilting. I'm thinking she is very fortunate that my hobby is not restoring antique cars or some other ridiculously expensive hobby!! I am looking forward to having a project to work on during my upcoming travels.

Preprinted (yet to be ironed) pillow top

While there, I saw this cute little fat quarter which may be the beginnings of a quilt for my frustration.

I picked up a couple of "happies" while visiting Block Therapy, another shop that I fell in love with and wanted to take back to Georgia. They had a wonderful collection of fabric. They had a section of fabric precut into one and two yards at a super price. I have no idea what I'll be doing with the fabric, but I just couldn't walk away empty handed!!

This weekend I celebrated my birthday and 23rd wedding anniversary (YAY me)! I entered several giveaways, thinking the RNG would, for once, be kind. No luck so far...still waiting to say, "Look at what I won!" But, needless to say, my cup runneth over with all the blessings in my life!!

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!

~ Michelle ~

~ Where's Your Happy Place? ~

We all have our happy place, right? A place we go to let go of the worries and stresses of life, even for a short time. Clearly, one of my happy places, is quilting.

Recommended by Toni, gifted by Rene' ;-)

Today, I'd like to share one of my husband's happy places. Most people would say that his happy place is fishing, and they would be correct.

 But I'd like to show you another of his happy places.

My husband spends many, many hours in our yard.

It is not unusual for him to head straight to the yard after a long day at work.

His roses sometimes get out of control, but he hates to cut them.

I love the care he gives to my Granny's flowers that now have a home with us.

I think she would feel proud!


So, where is your happy place?

~ Michelle ~