I've been MIA...

It feels great to be blogging, boy have I missed it. Lately I have been playing around with my embroidery module for my machine. I absolutely love it.  


Here are some pictures of what i've been making.

I just completed a quilt for a baby boy using the embroidery module.  I made applique horses. Here are some pictures:

The machine stops and prompts me to add fabric scraps and to change the thread color. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Dara

I need some sewing inspiration...

Hi everyone,

Things have been a little hectic lately with recovering from my surgery, starting a new position, and everything else in between. I haven't had much time to sew and test out my new sewing table. Hopefully I can get my sewing time sorted out and I can have some dedicated sewing time.  Early April, C&T Publishing had a Spring Fling sale and I stocked up on some great books. This defiantly should be the inspiration I need to get sewing again. 

Happy quilting,

Dara

My "new" sewing table

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share and post some pictures of my sewing table that Mr. Sew Snuggly made for me.  This project took about a week to complete and he was eager to use power tools. I wanted a sewing table with my machine dropped and I already had a table, so hubby and I looked online and found images and tried to make our own. So, he cut a hole in the table, made a box, and had a custom glass top made. It came out pretty well. It took about five evenings and whammm...I'm a happy Mrs. Sew Snuggly :)

Here are some pictures:

Cut out a square bigger that the machine

Made a box (Front open)

Attached the box to the table 

 Made a template for the glass

Added a ledge for the glass. (the brown squares are removable  stickers)

Stained the ledge and put a thin layer of felt in the box 

All done!

I've read that a flat surface is good for FMQ. I hope it helps.

Happy Quilting,
Dara 

Liebster Blog Award!!

I am flattered and honored to be given the Liebster Award!! It is humbling to know someone thinks my blog is deserving of an award. Thank you Tessa. Tessa @ The Sewing Chick has generously nominated me. Tessa has a great blog and I see why she was also given the award. You should definitely check her out. 

The Liebster award is a way to recognize up-and-coming deserving bloggers with less than 200 followers. You pay it forward by awarding 5 more bloggers with the award. Here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on our blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award.
3. Pick your five favorite blogs with fewer than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

This was a tough decision because there are so many great small blogs that I love... So without further ado I would like to nominate...

1. Kim @ One Krafty Kitty Momma
2. KocanQuilt @ Quilting, Losing and Tea

3. Judy @ Sew Rip Repeat
4. Corina @ CW Quilts... sometimes   

5. Stephmabry @ Hope Sewing is Genetic 

Happy quilting,

Dara

I'm almost back to normal... :)

Hi all! :)
I hope everyone is doing well. I've been MIA because I had surgery last Thursday and I'm just coming around. I finished my Kaleidoscope quilt but wasn't able to post it until today.
Here it is...

Since I'm stuck on the couch. I'll be working on the applique on my Lone star quilt.

Talk to you soon...until then
Happy quilting,
Dara

A finish (Almost) :)

Today I was able to finish piecing my kaleidoscope quilt. Take a look...

now...on to the quilting. I'll be back with a picture of the finished quilt.  :)

Hope everyones doing good...Happy quilting,

Dara

I haven't sewn all week...

I've been spending some time with my twin sister. Especially today since it's our birthday!

Till next time... :)
Dara

What I've been up to...

All last week while I was blog hopping I was trying to finish up some of the quilts i've been working on. I realize i'm a slow quilter, but thats ok...

I was able to finish quilting and binding this quilt:

I was able to start quilting this quilt:

And I was able to finish piecing this quilt:

   

I also started a kaleidoscope quilt:

I used  the pattern form Don't call Me Betsy. 

 I'll be back to show some more of my progress.

Dara

And the winner is...

First, this Blog Hop giveaway was so fun! It was great to "meet" so many new friends. It was such a joy to read every single comment. Thank you all so much! To all my new followers WELCOME and I hope you like what you read and i'll be reading your blogs too.

Ok, now lets get to the winner:

The winner is comment #203: Kathie (Prairie Stitcher)Mar 21, 2012 03:00 AM

Kathie (Prairie Stitcher) I will be contacting you soon for your information.

Thanks to all who participated! I will definitely be doing more giveaways.

Till next time,
Dara

Time for a Giveaway...

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

A Quilter's Blog Hop Party Give-away!!
Quilting Gallery is hosting a blog hop giveaway to celebrate St. Patricks Day.

Click HERE  to check out all the other wonderful bloggers who are participating in this giveaway (The list of participants will be posted by Saturday, March 17).

I'll be giving away a Mug Rug and 5 (18x21) fat quarters in a bundle. I'll ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to enter. The giveaway will close on Friday, March 23 at 11:59pm (U.S.-EST). On Saturday, March 24th I will use the Random Number Generator to choose a winner and announce the winner.

5- 18x21 pieces

This is the fabric inside of the bundle.

The Mug Rug I made just for this giveaway.

Now...here's how you enter:
You have 2 chances to win, PLEASE leave a separate comment for each entry on this post. You don't have to do both things to win, you have the option to do one or the other. However, if you do both your odds of winning are higher. It's up to you. :)

• 1st chance: Leave a comment telling me if you celebrate St. Patricks day and if you do, how do you celebrate it?

• 2nd chance: Follow my blog or tell me that you're already a follower. Leave a comment telling me please.

Remember:  If you're a "no-reply blogger" please leave your e-mail address within the comment(s) so I can contact you if you're the winner.


This is so much fun, good luck!

Have fun blog hopping,
Dara

It's March, already...

It's March, and I'm back. Even though it was a very tough time for myself and my family it was great to see so many family members come together. Where has the time gone. It feels like March came extremely quick. This is what my machine was doing for the latter part of February...

I made that machine cover, to keep the dust bunnies out and...yes, I know the little doll I made next to my machine needs hair and proper clothing. :) I'm a bad doll Mom.


I'm almost done with my New York Beauty quilt. I think I'm going to add a black border all around it. What do you think? Then, maybe a scrappy color border.

It looks almost exactly like what I designed in EQ...

I also worked on some applique. It came in handy while I spent so much time at my Mother's house. This WIP started when I wanted to practice making a Lone Star, then I decided to add applique. I think I'll add on a border or maybe something else to add more color. It's nice sometimes when quilts have no particular direction. It'll be interesting to see what the finish quilt will look like.

Till next time,
Dara

I've been MIA...

I haven't written all week and have been missing in action. My Grandfather passed away on Sunday, so I've been very busy with family stuff. I'll be back soon to show some of the quilts I've been working on.

Happy quilting,
Dara

February 2012 FMQ Challenge

This month's FMQ Expert is Diane Gaudynski! I was so excited to see her tutorial. I've practiced machine quilting feathers before while tracing the feathers. This time I was determined to try and do it with out tracing , not that it's a bad thing, it was just a goal I had. I practiced on paper first and tried a couple of times.

My first try:

2nd try: On this try I used a silver color thread then switched to a purple thread that matched the fabric.

Last try:

I think my problem was that I needed to slow down and take breaks to figure out what I wanted to do next. I saw a definite improvement as I kept trying. I still need lots more practice on my feathers and my echo quilting. I'm loving this challenge!

Happy quilting,
Dara