Working hard and feeling the creative spirit!

288 of 336 seams for 24 blocks are done! My sweet little boy loves putting the pieces back up on the design board for me after I've pieced and pressed parts together. I must say it is a huge help!

I've decided on hosting an Ostrich Challenge! Don't know what an Ostrich Challenge is??? Well, it is similar to a Round Robin, except that like an Ostrich, it doesn't take flight...meaning you do all the rounds yourself. Also, you may choose to "stick your head in the sand" by not doing one round.You will start with an orphan block. There will be between 6 to 12 rounds, with a month or two between each round. I haven't decided yet, so this would be the time to voice a preference.The idea here is to really challenge yourself. This is a time to try techniques, color choices, etc. that you would normally feel uncomfortable with. Step outside your comfort zone. Since you are doing all the rounds yourself, who cares what anyone else might think, it isn't their quilt...No quilt police allowed with this project!I participated in an Ostrich Challenge some time ago. I really loved the finished top! I learned a lot and found I was capable of more than I knew. Now, I know that the experience itself might be enough of a reward. But, I think I might be offering some surprise gifts at the end. I mean, who doesn't like winning something, especially when it is well deserved???

I'm going to be hosting this challenge on my FB Fan Page (there is a link to join on the top right hand column), so you'll need to go there and you can share your thoughts on the discussion board.

A new addition...

We have a new addition to our family...Shelby. We aquired her when we were on a family trip celebrating Gentry's birthday. Some friends of ours had found her abandoned on the side of the highway and had taken her in, hoping to find her a good home.





Well, she has found one and we are becoming quite attached. Did I mention that I'm allergic to dogs? Well, I am and I've been under the influence of Benadryl since about an hour after we got her in the car. She is such a good puppy though, I think she is definitely worth it.

She is also a rather lazy puppy, which makes her even more adorable.

In spite of all the new excitement, I have still managed to work on my upcoming pattern. It is perfect for Autumn, my favorite season. Think clear blue skies and wonderful warm tones.

Oh, and before I forget, we have a new addition to the stores on the right. Blackberry Patch Quilt Shop in MS is now carrying Divine Inspirations patterns. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Cathy, this weekend and she is a real sweetheart. She is having an amazing sale at the moment, you won't want to miss out!

Gentry's Birthday Quilt & Sale Ending

I finished Gentry's quilt! Thank heaven! It was a real bear, for so many reasons. I'd never do it again, but am glad to have done it this once as I think he'll love it.

We are taking him to the aquarium in Chattanooga, TN for his birthday. I've been before, a long time ago, and loved it. I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time.

Our Back-t0-School sale on the patterns is coming to an end. This is the last day to get your savings. Today I finally get to start working on the next pattern. :) Which reminds me....I've been doing a bit of brainstorming and have a few thoughts roaming around in my head about doing something just a bit different. I'm toying with the idea of making some patterns for some wall-hangings, maybe calendar related...and/or doing a BOM...and/or doing an online mystery...and/or having some patterns available for PDF download. Do any of these ideas sound interesting to you? Let me know, I'd love the feedback.

Back-to-School Sale!

I am having a Back-to-School sale on Divine Inspirations patterns.

5% off ALL orders and FREE SHIPPING on orders of 25 or more patterns!

Sale ends on Monday. If you are a retail store, I'll adjust the price in the invoice prior to payment. If you are an individual buying from my Etsy store, I'll send a refund.


Enough "shop talk" for now. I've been working on Gentry's birthday quilt and I'm about to pull my hair out. I'm having issues with it and I don't know how I'll get it done in time. Please send prayers and good wishes!!!! The things we deal with for the ones we love!



The kids start school next week. It seems earlier and earlier all the time. It took me a good few weeks to adjust to having them back at home and underfoot all the time when summer came. Now, I can't imagine them gone each morning and afternoon at school. It will be so quiet... which is great for work, but I'll miss them dearly.

In addition to Gentry's quilt, I'm working on a placemat to go with a tablerunner I made earlier this summer. I am also finally getting back to working on the Underground Railroad quilt. But I only get the tiniest amount done on these each day as a bit of a break from Gentry's.

New Pattern is finally available...

It took a week after my birthday, but that's okay.

"Lady Catherine" is finally finished. The top is made from one layer cake and one honey bun. If you like the simplicity of the Sassy Sixteen and The Jelly Maker's Cabin, this is along the same line.

Would love to stay and chat...but I have to start on Gentry's birthday quilt!

Back from Kansas City...

I had a wonderful time! I even visited a couple of quilt stores, which is always a bonus.

The quilt top for the next pattern is completed and I hope to have it basted by tomorrow night. I love the fabric line I used for it, so very romantic. I would really love to have this one ready for release by my birthday. So, don't be surprised if I'm absent a lot.

I'll be posting pictures next time around.

Guilty as charged...

I know...it's been forever since I last posted. Shame on me! Let's see if I can catch up a bit today.

I finished Hailey's quilt top. I know the picture isn't very clear, but I probably won't bother taking another one until the entire thing is done. I have it basted and partially quilted. I had planned on quilting around the potion blocks this morning but I have been blessed by several orders the last couple of weeks and today had two to fill. Perhaps I'll find the time and energy after church tonight.





I shamefully didn't do the BOM at the guild this month. I did manage to make a block for a member's quilt that we are all working on. I've been nominated to be in charge of the BOM next year. Not sure how I feel about that. I was thinking of taking a year off. At least this position will be a bit more creative than the other two I've held.




We had a wonderful Spring Break with the kids. A few activities and outings...some great family time. We even took Flat Stanley along...those of you that have kids and/or read the book probably know what I'm talking about. :)


I have also worked on a few other quilty things: a baby quilt, the leaders and enders coffee quilt, etc. Each of them have their own sad stories that I will tell sometime when I've gotten over them. :/. In the meantime, I've developed a probably unhealthy addiction to a FB game called PackRat. Hubby used to tease me until he decided to give it a try...now he's hooked too. LOL!


I hope everyone has been having a wonderfully blessed month!

Potions and Snow

What a glorious weekend!

I finished up two more blocks for Hailey's Quilt... Potion blocks. Now, I need to spend more time today cutting fabric and if time allows working on two more star blocks.

The weather this weekend was incredible. We received some heavenly snow fall both Saturday and Sunday. I wish it snowed more often like that in this area...maybe three or four times a year.

Quick post...

I finished another block on Monday for Hailey's quilt, the 2nd of the book blocks. Yesterday I started working on the potions block. It is taking a little longer than I had hoped so I'll post a picture when it's done. But, I'm pleased with it so far.

Had guild last night, so much fun. I even won a door prize. Isn't it cute? It is originally from a quilt shop in Victoria, BC called Satin Moon Quilt Shop. The "bar" contains 8 Fat 8ths.

Pat at The Stitchin' Station/The Quilting Barn in Arlington has asked me to teach a class on "Sunday Brunch". We haven't decided on a day of the week or a time yet, so if you are interested give her a call.

Time to get back to my potions....

Allergies and Migraines

The weather here is driving me crazy....cold, hot, cold...it's having a terrible effect on me. I woke up with swollen eyes and the third migraine in three days! Okay, well, that's enough complaining. I have a very busy week ahead and so much I want to accomplish, no time for negativity.


The fabric for the new pattern arrived and is begging me to "play" with it. But I can't. I have to be loyal and dedicated to my daughter's birthday quilt for now. I finished three of 12 blocks this weekend and would love to keep up the pace of 1 block a day. It's so hard though when the whole thing is supposed to be kept a secret. I have to put everything away and only work on it when she's out of the house or sleeping. I am really excited about this one though and think she's going to love it. I showed you the focus fabric before that's going into the border. The center of the quilt is going to be a book shelf with cubbie like sections. Some will have panels with stars, some will have books and the others will have potions. I have two star panels finished and 1 book section. I hope to get another book section completed tonight.









Last summer, I bought a kit online...something about a Coffee Lovers Mystery International Quilt something or other. Well, it's one of those I want to do for myself. Those always get put on the back burner as I need to do for the kids and the business and the guild, which is fine, just makes it harder to do for fun alone. So, this year I'm determined to do more of the "just for fun" stuff, which was why I was able to do the Thomas in Paris top. On a side note, I now have several tops for myself that really need to be quilted, so that will be something else to focus on at a later time. Back to the Coffee Whatever It Was, I cut up the majority of the pieces and am going to sew this one together using them ONLY as leaders and enders. I've done the L&E before, but eventually switched over to sewing the projects as normal. Not this time around! This is going to be like an experiment to see how long it takes and if I actually can do it. I've already started, as I wanted to start at the same time as I was doing Hailey's quilt. So far I'm pleased with what I've accomplished and it will be interesting to see how much is completed when Hailey's top is completed. Wouldn't it be something if it was completed first? I'll post pics as time goes by...

Happy Tuesday!

I had planned on posting yesterday, but was too busy and too wonderfully exhausted from the previous quilt night and a great Valentine's Day the day before. The rest of my week will be busy as well, so today's the day!




Let's see...oh yes, the new pattern is doing well and I've added to new locations where it can be purchased...Over The Rainbow and Fat Quarter Shop. I just love both of these stores! And on Saturday, in the middle of lunch, I came up with the idea for the next pattern and jotted it down on a paper bag while I ate. I'm going for a softer, sweeter look this time around so I'm using Aviary by 3 Sisters for Moda. The last two I've designed were a bit more work than the first three, which is what was requested. However, so many love the simple and quick patterns that I hope this one will find itself in that category. It requires 1 layer cake and 1 honey bun, which I have already ordered. But it may take awhile before I get to it, as I have to do Hailey's birthday quilt (which I still don't have the rest of the fabric)!




Valentine's Day was wonderful! The kids made me feel so loved and I hope I did the same for them. Hubby got me the usual card and lots of candy, but he also got me furniture for my quilt studio! He got the oak colored set which is a perfect match to the oak shelves I have in there! He is such a sweetheart! Sadly, I ordered his gift near the beginning of the month and it still hasn't arrived. Good thing he isn't as sentimental about things as I am. I'm hoping it will be here by tomorrow! As you can see though, the banquette is perfect for the kids to do their homework and stuff while Mommy is at the machine. It will also be great for pizza and/or dessert breaks during the quilt nights!





In honor of Valentine's Day, I did manage to turn over and photograph the topper on the credenza. While I prefer the dark blue, this is a nice change.

Sunday night the Advent PUPs ladies came over for another quilt night and we all had a great time. Earlier in the weekend I had finished making some placemats for the upcoming Farm & Gin show, the tops were already done, I just had to birth and quilt them.




I also made the guild's BOM, which I have to confess I had not made one in a couple of months...shame on me!

While the ladies were here, I was able to finish up the Thomas in Paris top. Now, I'm in the middle of cutting pieces for another coffee related quilt/wallhanging. I'm going to stack up the pieces and sew it together as leaders and enders while I do Hailey's quilt.






The kids were off from school yesterday and also today. Yesterday, was a whirlwind of a day. My dear friend brought over her granddaughter and my kids loved that! They played while my friend and I were in the quilt room...fun for all. Then my daughter comes inside in tears complaining that someone threw a brick at her and it hit her face. Well, there was definitely a horrible mark there, but I couldn't imagine either of the other kids throwing a brick at her. Well, after numerous questions the true story finally came out...Hailey and the other girl put bricks up in a tree (I mean seriously...where was her brain?!?), which she proceeded to stand under (again...brain completely absent?!?) and my son had tugged on a limb which of course made the brick fall. God was so looking out for her as it landed on her cheekbone...could have been so very much worse! She is completely fine and, I pray to God, a bit wiser. After the whole fiasco though, she decided she wanted to work on making a quilt...how cute is she!



Okay, that's enough babbling for today. I have to finish reading for the bookclub on Thursday and I won't have any time tomorrow as I'll be at church nearly all day.



I hope everyone is having a truly blessed week!

New Pattern Finished..."Sunday Brunch"

Yippee! I actually finished days before my deadline and the new pattern is all done. I really like the movement in this pattern created by the lighter and darker values.

Most of my week has been consumed finishing this quilt and pattern. Now, I am going to focus on my book for the book club. Only problem is...everytime I try to read it I fall asleep. I don't think it's the book...I think it is because I read myself to sleep everynight. Pavlov would be proud.

I need to start finding fabrics for Hailey's quilt this week also. I still have to find the pattern too. Oh, and I had an idea, but that would add quite a bit more work to the quilt. I hate it when that happens!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. It will be nice to have the AdventPups ladies over again. And we can't forget about Valentine's Day....I just hope the gifts for my hubby arrive in time.

Making Progress

The top for the next pattern is done and basted. So, today I will be quilting and quilting and quilting. This one is larger than the others. We hardly had enough room to baste it. I don't even want to think what it will be like getting it in and out of my little machine. I do have another distorted image here of what the center of the quilt looks like. I still think it gives you a pretty good idea of what it really looks like.
I also have at least 95% of the actual pattern completed. I still keep reading it over and over though, looking for things to correct. As long as my machine doesn't give me any trouble and no major incidents occur in my life, I should be able to meet my deadline.



I received a package in the mail yesterday with the focus fabric for Hailey's birthday quilt. I'm using it as the border and then hopefully pulling all the other fabrics for the top from my stash. I just have to remember where I put the pattern...I'm so unorganized right now!






I also received these images from an online friend. She saw another ad from Country Dawn in a magazine. It is slightly different from the previous one and the magazine is a different one also. Thanks, Tasha, for sharing these with me.



Well, the countdown for the next quilt night has already started and is less than 2 weeks away. I can't wait! I wonder if I'll still be working on that Christmas Braid quilt. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, I will! At least the company will keep me occupied.

Thomas in Paris, New Pattern & the World According to Gentry

The last few days have been super busy! I've been working extra hard and long on my upcoming pattern. I am hoping to release it on Valentine's Day, so I need to really keep at full speed to make that happen. I did take a picture of the progress I've made on the quilt itself...


...and yes, I did distort it a bit, just to keep everyone guessing.


Here is the picture of my "Thomas in Paris" quilt I've been working on in my spare time. This is the center and I have just two borders left to add. The quilt is a really easy and fun pattern, I could definitely see making another one like this sometime. And if you stick to just the center, it is a good size for a baby quilt.





Now, I have mentioned before that my son, Gentry, has a unique way of looking at things...and positioning items in ways that make since to him. Before I showed you the Lizard Salad. Today, I have a few other things I've found around the house recently. The first was accomplished when I asked him to stack my HP books on the dresser.



The second is something I discovered when I went to work out on my exercise bike.



And finally, he thought this was a better way to "stack" the Jenga pieces.





Have a great evening!