On Sharing Our Work (Quilts)

Why can it be so difficult to share our work? I've been thinking about this today, particularly after I shared a picture of a quilt on Instagram that I'd been working on. I have to admit that I have intimidations when it comes to sharing something from my own creative thoughts. Questions swirl through my mind, like, "What if I'm the only one that thinks this is a good idea?" Or, what if they say, "What on earth was she thinking?" What if they see my mistakes? (Angela Walters says to never point those out!)

Our work is a process, right? Each project should be better than the last, if only in small measurements. I once heard someone say that if we aren't a little embarrassed by where we were a year ago, shame on us. I think that can be true for a lot of areas of our lives. Everything is a journey, and quilting is no exception. Enjoy the ride, as they say.

I also thought about how much I love seeing other quilter's work, whether I'm pouring over magazines or looking online, or walking through a quilt show. I bet you do, too. We celebrate each one, our particular style or not. The beauty is in the heart that made it. Gulp...so here's my quilt:

While working on this quilt gave me ample time to critique every stitch, I was also reminded of something my Mother used to say after working for so long on a project, "I do believe I've looked the pretty off it!"

So, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned quilter, go out there and share your work! Take it to 'Show and Tell' at your quilt guild, or take it to your local quilt/sewing shop, or share it with your sewing friends. Post it on my facebook page (I'll celebrate it with you!) Don't point out your mistakes. And remember, "Finished is better than perfect"!

Happy Sewing and God bless! Maxie

A Hexagon Quilt Video Tutorial: The Honey Pot Quilt

I've been planning this little video (below) for you for quite some time. Today I'm featuring hexagons and the fascinating way they fall together to create a beautiful quilt. I'm so happy for the hexagon revival in the sewing world, whether machine pieced, as in my video, or hand sewn, English Paper Piecing style. In this video, I break down the 'Y' seam, step by step to show you that it's actually one of the easiest quilts to make! And, with no blocks to piece together it finishes much faster than traditional quilts!

photo by Bonnie Christine

This is a pattern that my daughter, Bonnie Christine, and I designed to compliment her fabric line, Sweet As Honey, for Art Gallery Fabrics. All Bonnie's fabrics are available at my online quilt shop with free shipping.

Quilters didn't invent this perfect shape, but, as with may other quilt designs,  we saw the opportunity and adapted it to fabric! Isn't the honeycomb amazing? Our God is great! Hexagons in quilts have been around for a long time. Remember Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts?

istockphoto

So, let's get started! As always, I offer kits for this featured quilt, The Honey Pot, shown in two colorways, on my shopping page. The kit includes pre-cut hexagons (yay!) to make the 65" x 70" quilt shown in the video, the pattern, and a plastic template, (just in case you add more hexagons or prefer to mark your hexagons before sewing). I hope you catch the hexagon fever! Your grandmother would be proud.

Thanks for visiting with me today! Happy sewing and God bless!

On Pincushions

I am a collector of pincushions, and many of my friends know it! I've been gifted with very beautiful pincushions, I've made some and bought some, and I use them! I like to keep one at every station in my sewing studio so that I'm not constantly searching for pins. Here are a few from my collection.

But, realistically, this is what happens at the sewing machine.

It can take so long to pick them up, then pick up the ones that slipped through my fingers and onto the floor, and arrange them into the pincushion. So, I added one more pincushion to my collection.

There are many brands, but this one from Dritz has a little secret drawer on the bottom for chocolate. The package said it was for extra pins, but this just made more sense to me. And yes, I eat them straight from the bag.

So, collect many pincushions and use them all, but have at least one magnetic pin caddy for quickly picking up loose pins. It's very easy to transfer them from the magnetic one to a fabric one because the pin heads stay together!

Thanks for visiting! Happy sewing and God bless! Maxie

Maxie Makes 'Modern to a T' Quilt, a Video Tutorial!

Video tutorials are my favorite things to share with you! Today, I'm bringing you a special pattern that I reworked from a vintage quilt that featured a block popular around 1890. Can we make this modern? Why, yes, we can! I'll show you how in the video below!

While strolling in an antique shop in Asheville, NC, I came across the quilt pictured below. The binding was tattered and almost disintegrated. Hand quilted and hand pieced, it was heavy with the cotton batting so familiar in the old quilts I slept under at my grandmother's house. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to it. I inspected the blocks and saw that it was made with quilt units familiar to most quilters. I felt that this quilt would be a cinch to make, even for a beginner. Watch the video for even more facts about the quilt, and I'll give you some tips and tool ideas that will make it easier than you can even imagine.  Two products help to make the piecing more accurate and timesaving:  Triangulations and the Flying Geese Bloc Loc Ruler, both available on my shopping page, as well as a fat quarter bundle to make the quilt in the colors shown! The pattern is provided with the fabric bundle. Oh, yes! I have a surprise at the end of the tutorial, so, grab a cup of coffee and let's get started!

I hope you enjoy today's video...please leave me a comment so that I know you were here. Happy Sewing and God bless! Maxie

Book Scents Friendship

In February I had the priviledge to attend the Movers and Makers Summit, held in Charleston, SC. It is a retreat, of sorts, for entrepreneurs. There were keynote speakers that shared their expertise on many subjects, including how to stay the course in your business, market successfully, and how to take care of yourself while doing so.

Photo by Paige French.

This is the amazing group of women that attended the summit. Speakers included my daughter, Bonnie Christine (pink blouse, front row), and Lisa Jacobs, Paige French, Kerri Burki and April Bowles. The rest of us just sat back in the beautiful house by the seaside and centered in on the reason we were there. That's me, far right with eyeglasses.

One special attendee was Nalana Lillie, pictured above on the back row in the black and white stripe blouse. Nalana is a blogger and candle maker, presenting each with a special story presentation. For the month of May, Nalana is featuring Mother and Daughter relationships and entrepreneurship on her blog. I was so excited when she asked to interview Bonnie and me for a post! I have to say that working with Bonnie is, well, just fun! To read more about how Bonnie and I support each other, read Nalana's article, as well as the other featured posts on Mother and Daughter pairs.

Bonnie and me, exhausted after breaking down our booth at International Quilt Market last week.

Thanks for visiting! Happy sewing and God bless! Maxie