FMQ Challenge - Ready, Set, Go!

I am joining the "Free-motion Challenge Quilting Along with Angela Walters", a little late, but hey Angela said you can join at any time! 😀 It is a 10-week challenge and she posts a weekly free motion motif and shows you how to do it a couple of different ways.  You then have all week to practice and do the free motion motif on your quilt or practice sandwich.  I opted to make the quilt top that she provides as a free pattern, which you can find here.  I ended up do something just a little different from the pattern, and I am really loving how my top turned out.  

So here is where I always get stuck.  I finish a quilt top but am always afraid to start doing the quilting for fear of ruining the top.  So the quilts I have finished have all been completed by stitch in the ditch with my walking foot. I have been working on this quilt top consistently the past 3-4 mornings to get it finished and this morning I am just afraid to take the next step and start quilting it.  This part has me so stuck that I have even somewhat lost my mojo to start and work on my other quilts, I mean if you know they are just going to sit in a pile because you will never finish and quilt them, why even start. UGH! I know this is a process and it is not about perfection.  That is going to be my motto right now.  Done is better than perfect!! 

I joined the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild this month and yesterday was my first quilt guild meeting.  It was a lot of fun!!!!  They do things I have never participated in before.  Block lottery, beehives, left-right-center and so much more. I really think being a part of this group is going to help push me out of my comfort zone and try new techniques and improve.  And during the show and tell, WOW, all of the quilts were so beautifully done!  Very inspiring! 

Our guest speaker was Gina Perkes, she did a trunk show and talked about doing show quilts.  Her quilts were stunning and she was funny and had a lot of great tips.  She owns a shop in Payson, AZ, The Copper Needle and teaches classes.  You have to check her out if you aren't already a groupie of hers. 😊

Yesterday was St. Patty's Day so I can't close without sharing some St. Patty's Day Love!!

Camelback Mountain - on the way to dinner

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Mellow Yellow - Project Quilting Season 9

I stumbled upon Project Quilting Season 9 when I was looking for a quilt challenge I could join on Instagram.  I am wanting to do more smaller projects so I can try out new techniques and practice, practice, practice.  By doing the smaller quilts or projects I would have more finished projects, which is always a win!  

What I really loved the most was how Kim Lapacek at Persimon Dreams described how she came up with this idea. She loves the show Project Runway (so do I) and she thought, "I want to learn how to sew clothes too" (I had the same thought).  But what she really loved was how they started with the yard of fabric, a challenge idea, and come up with a design and execute in a short amount of time, which is EXACTLY why I love that show.  And it is why I like watching shows like Masterchef too.  

So it looks like they do 6 challenges a season.  You have one week to start and finish your challenge project.  You can find all of the details regarding this awesome challenge here, Project Quilting.

Mellow Yellow was the challenge 4.  I didn't finish on time, but that is okay with me. I had just watched a video on The Quilt Show, show 2112 with Mel Beach, regarding reverse applique and wanted to try that technique for this challenge. With the theme of "Mellow Yellow", I instantly wanted to do something in honor of my Thimblebee quilt friends in Kansas City.

Marking the design on my quilt that I will free motion quilt.
I have a backing, batting, and two tops.

Yeah, I have room for lots of improvement!!!

Now time to start cutting away the black fabric to reveal the fabric underneath. 

Really am liking this technique.  Definitely, need practice on sewing my lines straighter. 

Preparing the binding. I received this cute bee fabric in a secret quilt swap. 

Finished mini quilt!  I'm not sure why I always struggle with the binding. 

Happy how it turned out and that I finished it! 

Where have I been?

Wow, it has been a long time since I have updated my blog and a LOT has changed.  In October of 2016, my husband and I started talking about the real possibility of us moving to Arizona.  I started to look at job postings online and comparing rent and house prices.  After I got back from my quilt retreat in November 2016 my husband and I had made the decision, that we were going to make the move to Arizona!!  We didn't know how we were going to do it yet, but we knew we had to start working on our house so we could have it ready to sell.  So when I got back from my quilt retreat, I left my sewing machine packed away and proceeded to purge and pack up my sewing area.  It was the first area/room of the house I started with.  Because I knew I had to focus on nothing else but working on the house! 

We started working on the house and started looking at job postings in Arizona.  Progress was slow and steady until the end of February 2017.  An opportunity came up through my current employer, they were looking for an Account Manager for a client onsite in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I didn't know if they would even be open to relocating someone, but I went to them and told them that I would be interested and they jumped on it.  Within 7 days I was flying out to AZ with my husband to check out the area and see where I would be working.  They wanted to make sure I would really like it out there. Umm, yes we LOVED it!

Scouting trip - Scottsdale, AZ - Camelback Mountain

We made 2 additional trips out to AZ between March and April.  We found a place to lease and my husband was even able to find a job before we made the move.  Everything was lining up perfectly!

Now we just needed to sell the house! lol

House for sale!

Well, the first weekend our house was on the market we were under contract!!  We had inspections done and agreed upon before we moved.  We left KC on  Friday, June 9th, driving through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and finally made it to our new home in Arizona Sunday morning June 11th.

Goodbye Kansas City, MO! 

Day 2 on the road again in Dalhart, TX. #PuppiesOnBoard

Last leg of the trip! Sunday morning in Payson, AZ.
First time in an off-leash dog park for these girls.

Getting settled into our new home!
Beautiful sunsets almost every night.