Quilt Class # 2

at my home Friday, May 17th, 9 am till 4 pm, cost $40.00. 

Drop me a comment here with your e-mail address and the pattern (from the list below) you want to piece.

Then gather your sewing machine plus all of the necessary equipment to make it work :) and pack a lunch for a day of quilting.

I will have the patterns and rulers for purchase at class time. 

Fabric requirements and my address will be sent to you after you sign up for the class.

Choose one of following patterns:

'A-Maze-Ing'
'Blazing Stars'
'Biscuit Pillow'
'Jumping Jacks'
'Kaleidoscope'
'Stacking My Blocks'
'Trees with Ease'
'Windmill'

Quarter Quilts

'Brick Path'
'Path of Light'


Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

The year in review

The past few days I have been looking back on the year. Just like other years, we had some good and some bad things happen, but it seems as though the bad were a bit worse than normal.

The bad included the passing of two of Carl's nephews, and the passing of my Aunt Lillian. Of course I have to add Carl's stroke in August to the bad list.

The good was being able to take a couple really neat vacations and other short excursions.

In January we went to the 'Phoenix Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival'. This is the show I try to go to each year. It is a great place to pick up new quilting and sewing ideas and see new things. There wasn't much new stuff this year, but I think Estelle had a fun time. I was also able to take a couple classes with Kaye Wood, too!

In May we went to San Diego, CA through Fredonia, AZ and Paso Robles, CA. Carl won a free trip for 4 to Sea World the year before so we made it a week long excursion. We spent the first couple days with Kelly and family in Fredonia, then skipped through Las Vegas for a stop at the Venetian to see the living statues on our way to Paso Robles to see Trebor's family, then we met up with Spencer and kids in San Diego, CA. Of course I needed to stop at 'Quilt in a Day' before we hit our motel in San Diego. I didn't get to meet Eleanor Burns, but I did get to see her in action at her store. Carl laughing calls our vacations as 'quilt store tours' instead of vacations, LOL!

In August we went to the 'Western Legends Round-up' in Fredonia, AZ and visited with Kelly and family, too.

In September we took Estelle on the 'Maricopa Shop Hop'. We went all over the valley visiting quilt shops. I have gone on this shop hop for several years and always pick up a few neat items and ideas.

In October we went on the 'Dolly Steamboat'. It was neat trip just to be able to see another area of Arizona and the wildlife that is so abundant in this area. I think the most exciting thing we did this year was to be part of the posse at the 'Wild West Festival' in Glendale, AZ. We sat at the information booth and talked with a lot of people and had a front row seat next to one of the outdoor stages.

In November they did another 'Phoenix Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival', but this one wasn't as good as the one in January. Loretta went with us this time. It got Carl out of the house and we both had some exercise. We also had the 'kids' and their families at the house for Thanksgiving. That was nice to have the family here.

Now that this year is at an end I need to start thinking what needs to be accomplished next year. Right now the only thing that comes to mind is a lot of quilts LOL!

Until next time,

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way"
Certified Instructor since 2009

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring!

Yeah, it has been raining and pouring the past couple days, but thankfully the old man isn't snoring around here any more. LOL! He hasn't snored really bad since he had his heart surgery back in 2009. I remember waking him up when I put my hand on his chest or back because I couldn't hear him breathing. I was so use to him snoring and making the walls rattle that it was very hard to get use to the silence.....

Today I managed to get some more photos taken of things I have accumulated over the years that I want to sell. I am trying to get things cleaned out and put a little extra money in our pockets for bills. I post them on the Yahoo! sites that I joined and hope they go to another house to clutter up. The hardest part is getting everything downloaded and labeled on the computer. Since that is done I can go on to the easier part and maybe get them out the door.....

I am thinking of having a couple "Kaye Wood" quilt classes at my house next year. I have a large enough living room to have about 5 bodies sewing at the same time. These would be in addition to the ones that I have scheduled in Wickenburg, AZ at M's Quilting next year. It would be really nice not to have to drive some place else to teach.

We are sitting here watching 'Batman' on Me TV. What a hoot it is watching this station. We watch 'The Rifleman', 'Perry Mason', 'Bonanza', 'The Big Valley', 'Wild, Wild, West', Columbo', 'Emergency!', 'Gunsmoke', and 'Hawaii Five-O' just to name a few. It is a lot nicer than watching all of the 'real life' and talk shows that are on TV now. Most of 'The Rifleman' is filmed on a Hollywood set and it is fun to see if I can notice anything weird. This past trip to Kanab, UT to the 'Western Legends Roundup' we went on a tour in the canyon that had a 'Gunsmoke' town. It is so much fun to watch the program and see the town site we explored. This was another show that was filmed in a movie set in Hollywood more than on site.

I was just thinking of all these things on our way back from an open house that Dr. Buck and Tammy were having to celebrate their wedding, so I had to share.

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy Quilting, Sharon "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Slacker on duty!

Good Evening everybody!
I forgot to post this at the end of March, so here it is now....

Boy, have I been a slacker lately. Here it is the end of March and my last post was the end of February.... this year is just marching right along.

Here is the latest quilt I made for a co-worker baby shower.

The pattern is one of Kaye's of course! With a different twist from me. I fussy cut each center and of course I just had to run out of some of my fabrics.... math just wasn't working for me that day.

This past month I have managed to get all of the star points done for my star quilt. I have not posted a picture yet because I want it to be a surprise when I do. I think it is very dramatic looking. 

Another thing that I have started doing is going through our video tapes. What a hoot that is! We did a video with the kids on a trip to Gettysburg some years ago. Bratty kids anyways! 

Tonight I re-arranged my closet in my room. I need to go through some of my fabrics and get rid of some yardage. I just need to get it all in one place before I start the sorting. I have lots of clothing fabric and grand plans on things I always wanted to make. My daughter can attest to that because there were things that I started for her many years ago that never got finished and some patterns were never used. 

I have started swapping with my quilt friends online again. We did some embroidery blocks and this last swap was of 30's fabric and blocks. I have gotten some really nice blocks so far and I have a couple yet to get to me. I have yet to decide what I am going to make with mine, but I think these will be made into a quilt or throw just for me. I will put them all on my design wall and get a pic after I receive all of them.

Happy Quilting, Sharon 

 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Good Morning!

     I just can't believe that the second month of the year 2012 is almost at an end! I keep thinking of what I haven't accomplished this month.... I really should concentrate on what I did accomplish instead. We have a new couch for the living room and it looks so inviting in there, I have played on my mid arm, Mr. Stretch and have him almost ready to work on some of my older projects, I have attended another one of Kaye's classes (and finished the project that day too!), I have increased my stash by about 60 yards of fabric (all courtesy of estate/garage sales), and I have gotten some of my pictures up on my walls. That is only a part of what I have accomplished this month, the part I can remember anyways.... I suppose I need to get on the road for work, not that I want to today, but the paycheck next time around will really appreciate it.....

 Until next time, 

Happy Quilting, Sharon 

 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Good Evening Everyone~~~

How is everybody doing so far this month? I understand that Alaska has been hit real hard with lots and lots of snow.... and now it is in the lower 48. I feel for all of you that are getting all this white stuff. I continue to be thankful for the lack of such stuff here....

I can't believe that the first month of 2012 is close to 1/2 over.... The sad part of that is, I haven't gotten as much done around here as I had planned. Isn't that the way it usually goes? Just like resolutions, gone in the first week.

We are still loving our new 'digs'.... With so much room we often get lost :D.... The only thing we don't have here is a linen closet. I'm not sure yet how I am going to solve that problem. Right now I have a rack set up with some stuff on it, but it really doesn't look the best.... I'd really like a nice cupboard or medium sized dresser, but have been unable to find one that I really like. We also keep looking for a couch and love seat or sectional couch for the 'formal' living room. Everything we pick out is way to expensive. I can't believe that Salvation Army secondhand store wanted $500.00 for a sectional couch... That's not in my budget, thank you very much! One of our favorite secondhand stores had a 'going out of business' sign the last time we were there. I guess times are tough on all types of businesses. 

I have started cleaning out some stuff in my sewing room this week. Just trying to get everything organized so I can find things. Of course I made a trip to one of my favorite stores, Tuesday Morning, this past week. I have been good and not purchased any 'extra' fabrics for awhile, but I had to grab a few pieces the last time I was there. They always have some neat fabric designs and I just can't resist them... I already have an idea for a cute quilt using this fabric too! It also will be made with a Starmaker ruler by Kaye and that is a double plus in my book! I am also going to visit Kaye and do another class with her this next Wednesday... then the following week is the Phoenix Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival. I think I shall be broke at the end of the month....

WhooHoo! I just noticed that this is post #100!

Happy Quilting, Sharon 
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" 
Certified Instructor since 2009

Happy 3rd of September!

Good evening everyone! I hope that you are all having a great weekend. Mine is very quiet and hot! I am going to get behind my sewing machine again in a few minutes, so this will be quick. I need to take a couple pictures of what I am working on, but not right now :)

I am going to be spotlighted on Pigtales and Quilts blog the week of the 18th.  Along with the spotlight I am going to have another 'giveaway'. I have my thinking cap on for the giveaway and if any of you have a suggestion, please post a comment for me to consider. Of course I am again thinking of something to do with Kaye Wood. Check out Kaye Wood, INC to see what she has to offer. 

Check out the new photos in the Spiritual section. Some great progress going on over there. 

Happy Quilting, Sharon
 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Condolences

I would like to extend my condolences to Kaye Wood with the passing of her husband this past week.

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Good evening all! What a great weekend this has been. I have accomplished a couple things that have been on the 'to do' list for a long time. Some time ago a member of the church asked me to help her with a project and brought me the supplies to make her a couple 'Temple Bags'. Well, I managed to get one done right away and since then have dragged my feet. One thing or another got in the way as well as my ambition. I have also been working on the wine bottle shirts for the craft fair this November, so that helped get me motivated again. I decided I had better get the 'Temple Bag' done and out of the way BEFORE I went on to the next 'want and need to do' on the list.

"Path of Light" by Kaye Wood

About a month or less ago I read on Kaye's newsletter that they wanted several someones to test out the pattern, "Path of Light" and write a review on their blog. This pattern uses one of her special 'Starmaker' rulers. The magic of her 'Starmaker' rulers is that with 3 rulers you have every angle known to quilting and you can use them on all different patterns and you won't have to buy a hundred zillion rulers for each quilt you want to make. A picture of the pattern from Kaye's site and directions is above and when you look at it you may think, "Oh, that is sooooo complicated!" Well, folks, I am here to tell you different! As with all of Kaye's patterns it just looks complicated, but is very easy to do. I do a few things a little different than Kaye, but putting her patterns together is not one of them. Kaye only uses a dry iron, not steam because of the bias edges on her blocks. Steam stretches the blocks, so this is one place I follow 'the expert', another thing I do is to starch my blocks. Kaye uses 'sizing' instead of starch due to the 'burn' factor. As of yet, I have not had my starch burn on my fabric, but may change if that ever happens. As most know the female of the species has the prerogative to change her mind! I just did 4 blocks (used 3 in my project) and only put a single border around the blocks for a table runner. This project including digging through my stash for the fabric took me less than 4 hours and that included several short breaks to talk with DH, a few quick glances at the TV, photo taking, frogging a couple whoops, potty and drink breaks. Not bad for only glancing at the directions before I put it together, huh? Here are a few of the pics I took while I was putting this together.

As you can see I even made a couple boo-boos. You need to pay attention to the squares BEFORE you sew them together :)! Can you tell the difference in these two blocks?

Then here is my final project.

This pattern has 3 ideas with it. A pillow, quarter quilt and dresser scarf. I wasn't sure what a 'quarter quilt' was until I read Kaye's description. It is a quilt that is over the foot of the bed and would be a great decoration to spruce up your bedroom and give it a new fresh look with less expense. What great gift ideas!

I hope you all enjoyed my short 'tut' on Kaye's great new pattern, "Path of Light". To get your copy why don't you jump on over to her site and get yourself the pattern and ruler!

Now, before I go for tonight I have to add in a great picture of a couple of my grandkids and their new friend. I snitched several photos of my daughter and her family's vacation. This one happens to be one of my favorite of the collection. What do you think?

Do you think they pick good friends?

Don't forget to come on back on October 1st to see what I have on the list for the 'Fall into Fall Giveaway'!


Happy Quilting, Sharon
 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009
 www.coyotequilts.com

Good afternoon all!!! I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted anything. It doesn't surprise me though, 'cause I have been busy, busy, busy. I have finished 2 'Star' sampler quilts, made and mailed off 2 different blocks for my swaps, made 8 blocks for another swap, readied them for mailing, and started blocks for a quilt for our king sized bed and attended another class with Kaye Wood. She is so much fun and I can't wait for her to come back to the valley so I can take another class from her. This class certified me to teach quilting with her Starmaker 8 ruler.

I am not going to add all the housework I did NOT do...... I know my floors need attention, but they will just get dirty again... I at least found out what was wrong with my steam cleaner. I had a new switch put in when we moved in up here, but it wouldn't steam. Well, the switch that was put in wasn't high enough when the button was pushed to actually turn the foolish thing on. Now I just need enough ambition to put it to work. It will make cleaning these tile floors much easier. My darling husband has been doing the mopping for the last few months for me because it was such a chore.

We have finally settled with the insurance company about the auto accident. It was a fight to get them to understand that the van we were in was not just a conversion van, but had A LOT of extra work done on it. After we found out the magic words to tell them it went much better. Can you imagine the words 'dropped floor' with wheel chair ramp worked much better than 'handicapped van'. We would have gotten this taken care of a long time ago if we had known the 'magic' works!!

We have our tickets for Julie's wedding. We got a smoking deal on ticket into Ithaca, (which for those that don't know where that is) is about 20 miles from where we need to be. Usually we fly into Buffalo which is about 150 miles from where we need to be. I am starting to get excited about seeing the 'girls'. I received a flyer from Jo-Anns Etc today and found lots of things to do with them while Mom & Dad are out having fun. I am going to wait to pick up any of my ideas until we get there because we have to pay extra for our baggage. I sure don't want to have to pay the second bag fee just because I have lots of 'stuff' I want to do with them. I have a few other things I want to do while I am there, but I'll have to wait to see if I have time to do everything. At least it is just visiting family because we don't need to visit sights because we lived there for so long.

We had a quiet weekend this past weekend. The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 179th annual conference was aired on TV. Some great messages and warnings were given. Concerns about the state of finances and readiness for other disasters were talked about with good counsel for all to take to heart. Then yesterday Carl and I were set apart for our calling. We are 'Baptism Clothing Coordinators for the Peoria North Stake'. We will be opening the Chapel for the monthly Stake Baptisms, making sure that everyone that is getting baptised has the right outfit and then wash it afterwards.

Tomorrow is Ella's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Ella!!!! I hope you have a great day. I can't believe the number of years that have gone by since she was born....... It just seems like yesterday! Well, it seems only yesterday that Julie was born, so I guess I AM getting OLD!!!

Talk about old---Coby's birthday is TODAY!!!! He is a young, 36!!! Yes, I had to do the math for that one. I am lucky I can remember the year he was born to DO the math~~~~

Well, I am off to fix supper. Yes, you read right, me cooking----NOT, just salad for Judy & me. I think I can handle that.

Happy Quilting,
Sharon

Good Morning All!

This morning is quiet. No running to be done, no kids around and husband at work. I am cleaning up the e-mail and getting a couple loads of wash done then I am hitting the sewing machine.
I have one quilt loaded ('Fall Trees with Ease') on the frame
and one on the design wall ('Pink A-Maze-Ing'). Both of these are going to be demo quilts for shops to hang to find out about interest in classes. I recently signed up on a 'find a teacher' site. Boy, was that a trial in patience and computer glitches. It sure is a slow process to get things up and running. I just hope that when I start teaching that it just keep going and going.

The quilt with Pooh on it is a friends quilt that I made 8 years ago. I did all of the embroidery then made the quilt and quilted it. This is the first picture I have of it. Not bad for one of my first quilts.

Since the accident I have been having headaches and my neck hurts anytime I spend a any time on the computer. I think that I will be going to the doctor to have everything checked out later. I sure didn't want to have to go, but it has been almost 2 weeks and things should have calmed down by now. I just kept thinking that the only thing they would tell me was to 'give it time'. I just hope there isn't much else going on. I don't want to stop doing things because I have a headache. It tends to slow progress down around here and I don't have time for that.

Happy Quilting,
Sharon