2016 New Bloggers Hop

It's my turn on the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, so happy to have you visit my blog!  My name is Sharon...I am a wife, mother, grandmother, and a creative soul.  I'm happiest when I am being creative!  I love all things quilty and most of the time you can find me happily playing in my sewing room.  It is a happy place for the grand kids too...we have spent many an afternoon creating to our hearts content.  I am also a wanna-be artist...love to art journal and tangle. But I think my absolute passion is anything to do with needle and thread and fabric!

The rest of the time I spend reading, gardening, hanging out with grandkids, and volunteering.  Now that I am retired, my favorite saying is "I don't know how I had time to work!"  I'm just trying to pack in everything I wanted to do when I was working and didn't have time.  Quilts of Valor, Project Linus and CASA keep me busy as well! 

Why blog?  I had to think about that for a minute...for me it is an online journal.  It is also a way to connect and share with other creative souls. I am constantly inspired by all the talented bloggers out there.  

Yellow Cat Quilts is derived from my sweet ginger kitty, Bella Rose.  She is a constant companion in my sewing room.  Every quilt gets her seal of approval, I think she hope each one is for her!  Yellow Cat Quilts is also the name of my pattern company...which is still in the works. That is one of my goals this year.  

Bella Rose of Yellow Cat Quilt Designs

Favorite Quilts

Choosing 4 of my favorite quilts was hard...they are ALL my favorites!  Kind of like my children and grandchildren...love them all!  So here are a few of my favorite quilts....

Scrappy Baskets

This quilt was started back in the 1990's with some of my quilty friends.  We exchanged fabric scraps and made these darling little baskets.  Then they fell into that dark hole of unfinished projects and did not see the light of day until last summer.  I was on a mission to start finishing some of those poor neglected quilts.  I love how this turned out...so scrappy! 

Star Gathering 

Another basket quilt...I love baskets and stars! This block pattern was created by Linda Brannock. I started hand piecing the blocks in early 2000, and it is another that found it's way to the unfinished project pile of blocks!  I don't know why I waited so long to finish this...I love it!

Last summer, we lost a sweet soul, Linda Brannock.  Her quilts designs have always been a favorite of mine.  So I hunted for the blocks that I had made in a BOM that Liberty Quilt Shop had...designed by Linda.  Simply titled Flowers.

Quilting Tip:  Just enjoy the process! Don't get hung up on perfection.  I have been quilting for over 30 years, and in every class I take I learn something new.  Challenge yourself to new ideas...it may or may not be your cup of tea, but you will learn.

Favorite Book:  Love the Outlander series! It's hard to just list ONE book...I love to read. I love thrillers, Sci-fy, and a good mystery.


Favorite TV show:  Why Outlander of course!  and Game of Thrones and Project Runway.

Favorite food:  Chocolate!

What inspires you?  How do you get your mojo back when you lose it?
I find that reading blogs is a great way to get inspired.  Also Instagram and Pinterest!  Belonging to quilt guilds is great, too!

A huge thank you to our hostesses for the 2016 New Bloggers.  My hive momma is Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl, she is such a huge help and influence for all of us! If you go to her blog, you can throw your name in for a prize.  

Please be sure to visit the other bloggers this week, I know you will enjoy their blogs as well.
 Amanda @This Mom Quilts

Laurel @Quilts By Laurel

Marla @Penny Lane Quilts

Thank you so much for stopping by...and I hope you will come to visit often!  As I learn more about quilt blogging, I hope to add a Quilt Along in the near future.

Grace and peace....Sharon

Mojo is back!

So...after not so much sewing being done around here the last 3 weeks, my mojo is coming back!  It's sizzling outside, so what better time than to sit in the cool indoors and sew?  Or read?  I love to read, and bought a new Kindle tablet last week.  My other still works, but couldn't resist the price, and I love a new techie gadget now and then.  Of course I had to make a cover sleeve for it, and this is what I came up with yesterday.  Easy peasy and made with scraps!

If you want to make one for yourself, here is the tutorial.

So what are you reading?  I just finished Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children....loved it and I am excited to see that a movie is coming out in September!  Now I am reading Find Her by Lisa Gardner...a thriller.

Finishing is not one of my strong points...I am always starting something and setting it aside because I have another idea in my head.  A.D.D!  Today, I am trying to finish a paper piecing pattern I am working on.  Hoping to get it done and do a quilt along next month...I will keep you posted.  It is fairly easy as far as paper piecing goes.  If you have a glue stick and an Add-a-Quarter ruler, you have it made!  Also, I like to use the Carol Doak paper for piecing, so easy to sew and easy to tear out.

I better get back to the sewing machine, so I can sneak off to the pool later on today!  Hope you are enjoying your summer....or winter, depending on where you are!

Linking up to: Main Crush Monday  Midweek Makers Freemotion by the River

Little quilts....

This week has not been what I hoped....still fighting the bronchitis, and now a kidney infection, so I am on a second round of antibiotics.  Feels like I am falling apart! And I have company coming for the 4th, fortunately it is my baby sister, so maybe she will take care of me?

When I came back from the doctors office on Monday, this wonderful box of fabric was on my doorstep.  What a delightful surprise!  

RJR fabrics is having a blog hop...What Shade are You?.... using their cotton supreme solids. Let me tell you that when I received the swatch card, it was very hard to come up with a palette!  This fabric is so SOFT...can't stop petting it!  I will be in the blog hop in October, and you can follow RJR's blog to see some of the beautiful quilts other quilters are making. Lots of eye candy!

And I finally finished my little quilt that I made using V and CO beautiful ombre fabric.  It has patiently been waiting for me to quilt it.  This pattern, Double Goosed is by jeliquilts on Craftsy, and it is paper pieced.  I love all of her patterns and today they are on sale for 25% off until July 4.  I know....its tempting isn't it?  I have my eye on at least one!

And a huge thank you to Podunk Pretties for the shout out on my boots quilt! 

Wishing all of you a wonderful 4th of July holiday filled with family, friends, good food and good times!

Linking up to: Lets Bee Social and Free Motion by the River

Grace and peace.....Sharon and Bella of course! 

It's All About the Boots..

It's All About the Boots

This boot quilt is a late birthday gift for my 12 year old grand-daughter, Jordyn.  Her birthday was in May, and I am just now finishing it!  She will have it soon now!  I am happy with how it turned out, and loved every minute of making it. 

 Pretty sure she will love it too!  J is an avid horse lover, animal lover, artsy kind of girl, spending as much time with horses as she can.

She has been learning to ride and care for horses for a few years now...lucky little girl!  Once a week, children with special needs come to the ranch to ride, and J goes out on rides with the kids.  I do think animals have a special connection to people with special needs, we see it with dogs and cats and horses often.

Its been hit or miss to do much sewing this past week...today is the first day I felt up to blogging or sewing.  After coming down with a virus, it turned into acute bronchitis and a severe sinus infection.  Not a fun time at all!  But today is my third dose of meds and I am beginning to feel less pressure in my chest. I have been following the 2016 New Bloggers Hop and I hope you are too!  Here are the links where I hope you can go visit....great way to meet up with new friends and new ideas!

Week 2 of the 2016 New Bloggers Hop

Linking up to:

Free Motion by the River
Podunk Pickens
Midweek Makers

Little finishes

I don't know about you, but just being able to do a bit of sewing keeps me sane when I am overloaded with other commitments.  So this weekend I managed to sew up this cute little pin cushion... a gal can never have too many pin cushions, and never know when I might need a little gift, right?

If you want to make your own, a blog hop for this tutorial was going on.  You can start the hop here at the Fat Quarter Shop and follow along, plus get the tutorial.


And I finished this pillow with a few of the hexies I had been making last week.  I really like how it turned out! English paper piecing is so addictive!  I am still working on my Millie quilt, but I am actually on rosette #9...the end is in sight!

Praying this week will be one of healing and reflection...no more shootings, no more hate.
Very sad weekend.
But I keep on telling myself that love is mightier than hate....
grace and peace...Sharon

Linking up to: Fabric Tuesday 
 Oh Scrap!
  Lets Bee Social  
Midweek Makers

M.I.A

This week has been exhausting...and not much sewing being done!  Today was the end of our 8 day World Church Conference, and being a delegate meant going to all the meetings.  I loved experiencing the spirit of love and peace with about 3000 people from all over the world.

Community of Christ Temple

I did take a bit of hand sewing to do and a few hexies got sewn together!  Not sure if this will become a pillow or a tote bag?

And I did get this quilt sewn together...and off the design wall!  I cannot decide if it needs a small border all the way around?  Maybe in grey?  What do you all think?  I am rather brain dead at the moment....

WIP

A huge thank you to Susan!  My Molly's Sampler quilt was featured this week on Midweek Makers!

Congratulations to Kathy at Kathy's Kwilts and More ...Bella picked her comment to win the magazine and fabric prize from my last post!

Trying to decide if I want to take a nap this afternoon...or sew?

Linking up to: Fabric Frenzy Friday

Giveaway happening here!

The current issue of McCalls magazine has featured one of my quilts again! YAY! Doing the happy dance here!  So....I want to share the magazine with you and a few fat quarters to get you started on your own Molly's Sampler quilt.  All you have to do to be entered to win, is leave a comment here on my blog.Also follow me and comment in Instagram.  Easy peasy!   The contest ends on Sunday, June 5 at midnight.  I will announce a winner on Monday, June 6.

Molly's Sampler

 This is the cute little sampler quilt I made...it started out with a Kansas City Star block called Grandmothers Favorite.  From there I made a variety of units that are divisible by two so that everything would fit.  Scraps and charm packs work well with this...and for you Jo Morton fabric lovers, I know you will recognize the fabric!

I love how McCall's photographed my quilt!

This was a very fun quilt to make, and I hope you will try your hand at one.  I would love to see what you do!

Wishing you a week of wonderful creativity!  Remember...being creative is not a hobby, it is a way of life...don't you agree?

grace and peace...Sharon and Bella Rose the Yellow Cat

Linking up to:  Fabric Tuesday  Midweek Makers  Lets Bee Social