Lollipops Designer Bindings Blogspot

Quilting Sisters of Leesburg - Lollipops Workshop Sept 2011

2011-09-29T10:35:00.000-04:00

I am so very proud of the girls at Quilting Sisters in Leesburg, FL - the quilts they made from the Flower Garden Quilt kits were AWESOME! After my lecture (I Love Quilting, But I am a Little Biased) we had a workshop using the precut kits I sell and my pattern for the Flower Garden version of the Drunkards Path...some LOVED the batiks - not the traditional fabrics I originally made the quilt with - and the results are spectacular!

I also made up a Halloween version of the kit - it was equally popular...and sPOOky!

This darling fabric is called Tea for Two and has tea cups and flowers on it - I love what the black bias does to pop the colors!

The girls have a fantastic room for workshops! lots of space and lots of good working light!

I mean, they were FOCUSED!!! look at that concentration!

I marvel that anything Kaffe Fassett comes out looking gorgeous - look at these prints! and just like with strip piecing, you can continuously sew the bias strips onto the curved edges in a quick sew style...!

The contrast of the red and black batik with these new Moda Precut all black charm packs is stunning!

laying out the quilt is in progress here with the more traditional colors!

My good buddy Claudia Schumacher - professional long armer extraordinaire - and her quiltin' buddies! I hardly heard a peep from these girls they were so busy!

Sweet Lura had a time getting me there but I thank her from the bottom of my heart! We had such a great day, Lura!

Once again, the two tone batik quilt kits with a high contrast bias made for some spectacular color combinations!

I had the quilters make the center two rows first - and look at the Kaffe Fassett! oh how YUMMY! This quilter had just come from the dentist and wasn't sure she wanted to stay - but I think she was glad she did!

A close up of her meticulous work

Look at the variegated thread on this Halloween quilt! Spook TACular!

There is no doubt that the black and red bicolor quilt with just a hint of grey makes for a very unusual and striking quilt combination - I cannot wait to see the final version!

Great job, ladies! You were AWESOME and I am so proud of you for working so hard to get these done! Thanks for coming and hope to come and teach again with the Quilting Sisters of Leesburg, FL!

The Accidental Quilter in Vermont

2011-09-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

Made in Vermont has a whole new meaning for me!

This week I have been travelling with my husband, Rick, to one of his forestry association meetings. We got really lucky this time because it is in Stowe, VT. Boy is this state ever beautiful! It has a new European feel to it and guess what? I haven't seen a Walmart or Target or Joann's Fabrics ANYWHERE! They must have a no big box store rule here or something...I HAVE had some of the best chocolate EVER, the best MILK ever and been amazed by the beautiful views of the farms, the mountains and the small cities scattered about the countryside.

A picture at every corner - look at the patterns on the side of this building in the granite district in Middleberry - this city is so picturesque! and the college there is just gorgeous!

I am sure you all have heard about all the rain in Vermont - it kept us off of most of the roads in the south part of the state - but check out this mini Niagara Falls right in the heart of Middleberry! amazing...

We heard of so many bridges being blown out by the flood waters - thank goodness this is intact!

Christmas Trees! We don't have these in Florida! Can you imagine this full of snow?

The granite buildings just make such a cool exterior - I see quilt patterns everywhere I turn!

Hard to see this antique Singer sewing machine in the window! drool......

Ok - so everything is local in Vermont - people by their bread and cakes and goodies from the local bakers and farmers markets - the goodies in this bakery made me drool! so we stopped in for a bite...

Dogs are citizens too! aren't these little guys so cute just waiting patiently for their master who is inside? of course, they liked Rick and said hello to him...

In case you are ever in Middleberry, VT check out the Otter Creek Bakery...well worth the stop.

Oh the flowers are so pretty in all the main street pots! does your mainstreet look like this? wonderful!

I see a future quilt in this colorful painted sunflower! isn't it great?

These overflowing window boxes of flowers were everywhere - reminds me of Victoria, BC - they scream out paint me! quilt me!

This shop had all products Made In Vermont! the cow theme is pretty funny and we picked up a few Christmas presents...the staff were uber friendly and fun!

My Favorite reads "Vermonter Looking for Mate - Must have Chain Saw. Send Picture of Chainsaw"...who said they have no sense of humor!

Travelling north on SR 7 (also called Ethan Allen HWY) what did we find but a quilt and yarn shop called Knits & Bolts in New Haven, VT! Look at the side of the building - simply says - Yarn Fabric...ahhhhh the universal language...and inside? what a little gem of a shop! yummy yarns - and good brands, too - to pick and choose from not to mention great project books and samples to entice you...and a SALE wall! yeah! just what I needed - more yarn! and then to the quilting side of things.... a NICE collection of batiks along with more of the traditional fabrics for quilters. I loved talking to one of the staff who designed the recent Shop Hop Quilt - which she proudly showed me -

Here she is on the right - isn't that a great smile? and a wonderful quilting talent - we put together some batiks for me to make a keepsake project from out trip to Vermont. The lady on the left is the gal who told me about which MILK to drink - Mansfields - so we promptly went across the street to the quick mart and got some milk.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my gooodness is it good - even the 1%!!! thanks Girls! I did ask if they had ever heard of Lollipops - but no...its okay - these girls are so thrifty not sure that store bought bias would be their thing...but they are so cute!

Vermonters are very proud of their local made and they are pretty darn good at what they make! We stopped in at this chocolate shop - the Daily Chocolate - again, in a quaint little town called Vergennes along SR 7 heading north to Burlington, and bought some very expensive but very yummy chocolate to go with our milk, of course! the chocolate was so rich, you only need a small piece to satisfy - loaded with pistachios, dried cherries, a touch of cayenne (yes, cayenne) and coconut in dark chocolate - yes, check them out if you ever come to VT! Doesn't their logo remind you of Starbucks? you never know...

Now, if you know me, you know I LOVE flowers...and these hydrangea bushes are like none I have ever seen! look at how full and lush they are! When I retire, I have to learn to paint so I can paint these in water color - the trees and bushes are so full the look like they will break off!

and check this out...kids walking home from school...WALKING!!! ok - so we saw busses, too but I was just thrilled to see kids walking home like we used to do - wonderful...things are slower here and it is so impressive to see the simplicity.

More Christmas Trees! I just love these evergreens - wish we could grow them back home! I would make wreaths every season...

Easy Drunkard's Path Method using Lollipops Bindings!

2011-08-30T15:34:00.000-04:00

Well, I have never added a video to a blog before - so let's see how this goes! Many of you have asked me for 'how-to' videos...so here one is! I know there needs to be more...but for now, in TWO videos I explain how to do the Drunkards Path block the Lollipops way...you will save time, lower your frustration level and won't waste a bit of fabric!

One thing I will note is that this method is in essence, an applique method - you are sewing the quarter circle to the background square and covering the raw edge with the binding (enveloping it actually). That being said, if your quarter square is LIGHT colored fabric and your background square is DARK, then you should cut away the background portion so it won't be visible through the lighter colored top fabric. You will see what I mean after watching this video! ask me questions PLEASE!

Lucky Winner of Week 1 of our August FabShop Hop Drawing!

2011-08-08T08:33:00.000-04:00

And the lucky winner of our FIRST prize for Week 1 of the FabShop Network August Shop Hop is............. Carrie Donohoe!!!! Congratulations Carrie - she won a Charm Pack of the NEW (not yet available in stores) Cosmo Cricket Fabric line from Moda! The good news is we have these in stock now - so if you love Cosmo, click Cosmo Cricket Charm Pack!

Aloha...Hawaiian Quilting is Easier Than You Might Think!

2011-08-04T11:35:00.010-04:00

You know, there are a few unrecognized geniuses out there in the quilting/sewing world...people who have great products but never quite hit the Eleanor Burns/Ricky Tims/Alex Anderson Style headlines...one such person is Stacy Michell...owner of Shades Textiles, daughter of Marti (the wunderfrau of template quilting) and a celebrity in her own right in Japan. Her new product, Soft Fuse, is by far the best fusible product on the market for applique! It is wonderfully pliable, can be used for hand applique and works remarkably well with Stacy's Hawaiian style dies developed for Accuquilt. She is best known for her gorgeous softly shaded hand dyed fabrics which, when coupled with Soft Fuse and one of her Accuquilt templates, make easy Hawaiian style quilts that even a novice would enjoy doing. Here she explains what the 2 for 1 Hawaiian applique is...I also make these for resale but with beautiful batiks instead - the results are truly exceptional - and as you will see in the video - really easy to create...the Floating Sea Turtles is a design unique to Lollipops...you can see more on our website...

H-A-N-D is not a four letter word...

2011-08-01T11:48:00.013-04:00

I know nowadays we are all so busy and finding time to sew on our MACHINES is hard enough BUT...a few new patterns that sprung up at Spring Market caught my eye and they are so irresistable I just had to try them...Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Hill Studio (from somewhere in Washington State where it DOESN'T rain) is reknown not only for her beautiful hand stitchery designs but also her incredible booths at Market! When you step into her world, you leave the real one behind and I often marvel at her ability to translate me into her world so easily...Her recent Fall patterns are so adorable I had to share them with you and to show you my first efforts at recreating her ideas using my own handiwork...I simply could not wait to start this pillowcase...undaunted by never having done redwork by hand before, no light table - not even the fancy pen you are supposed to use - I wanted to start this right away - of course, it was sold out of the distribution houses I buy from and I had to wait an extra WEEK to get it - here are my first efforts...you can see I do not even have a normal embroidery hoop - I used one of my machine embroidery hoops - and it works great! While my hand work isn't perfect - I love the way this is coming along...

Another of her patterns has me doing something I have NEVER done before as well - working with beads and making jewelry...Quilters, myself included, LOVE jewelry specific and personalized to our beloved hobby...so when I saw these button bracelets - I went nutz! Meg's designs are shown here - she of course hand stitched her buttons and filled in the 'betweener' spaces with beautiful beads...The first thing I did was visit our local beads store - Beadlemania - and got some tips on how to bead (and of course a supply of stuff I had never seen or heard of before...NO NEW HOBBIES - I swore and here I was buying up a storm!)...I already had some embroidered buttons (machine embroidered - yeah!) to use on my bracelet - I fussy cut some nautical fabrics and covered some smaller buttons using Dritz' easy button covers and wallah! I have a Nautical Look bracelet. Making the beads required a short learning curve but YouTube has some great online tutorials and I just Googled them and learned quickly online...already made a second bracelet - with an African theme and am already working on a Halloween one! It is easier than I thought and I love the results...Look for me to demo these at the Jacksonville Show in September 2011! Patterns, threads and kits are available on my website - www.popsbindings.com

Nine Block Quilt Challenge - Summer 2010

2010-06-14T09:38:00.006-04:00

I am going to post my progress on the Summer Nine Patch Challenge on my Web Album Page (click link to see them)! Please comment and post some pix of your own for me to see -

you can do that on my Facebook Fan Page! I pulled together some other 2 1/2 inch strips I had from a

batik kit I put together last year that will be my second quilt...am thinking if I see enough response, I might set up a weekly drawing for whoever posts the most blocks each week on my Fan Page - you might win a Lollipop, Sweetie or something from my Moda Bake Shop! more fabric to make more nine patches - lol!

Nine Patch Memories of Australia

2010-06-12T08:43:00.008-04:00

Last year at this time, I was in Brisbane, QLD Australia sipping Aussie wines with my pal, Lesley McDonald. Lesley owns and operates SEWCO, the largest Janome dealership in all of Australia. I met her several years ago at Quilt Market in Houston along with her BFF Rill and we have enjoyed a friendship at a distance ever since. Actually, I have never worked as hard in my life as the time I spent with Lesley in her native land! This women works every minute of every day and you can see that is the key to her unrivaled success! So sipping wine occurred at the end of very long days - days filled with sewing, quilting, meeting new friends and exploring the wonderful country I longed to visit since I was a girl!

Okay, so what does this have to do with the nine patch blocks you see in the picture? Well, believe it or not it is hard to fine Australian fabric in Australia! So what little I did find comprised several yards plus a jelly roll of many colors. Recently, someone sent me a link to a blog about making nine patches each day of the summer months of June, July and August. At the end of the summer, everyone gets together and shows off their blocks in a quilt they made. This just sounded like such a good idea - to spend a few minutes every day sewing a nine patch - I immediately thought of the Aussie Jelly Roll and walah (is that how you spell wallah - help me out you guys!) I was cutting strips to beat the band!

Now MY BFF, Laura Brown, set me straight right away when I told her about this idea...she is home right now caring for her husband, Billy, who had a stroke about a six weeks ago right after we got back from the Paducah Show. Laura is an excellent quilter - she thinks 'we' should make up all our strip sets on the weekend so that monday thru friday we can just cut and sew our nine patches - actually, that is a brilliant idea! so that is what I am doing, too. Thank you Laura for continuing to teach me how to get more things done in my very busy days!

If you want to see the blog that got all this started, go to Karen Montgomery's blog - when I saw what pretty quilts came from this challenge, I hopped right on board! please free free to post your progress on my Facebook Fan Page - I can't wait to see what we all make!

Iraqi Bundles of Love

2009-09-02T11:36:00.002-04:00

Calling all STASHES that are collecting dust! here is a great world community project you can do today brought to my attention by Quilt Festival Director, Karey Bresenhan. Please visit this blog TODAY and get involved -

Our goal should be to so OVERWHELM THE APO BOX THEY HAVE TO BRING CONTAINERS IN TO DEAL WITH THE OVERFLOW - EXCEEDINGLY AND ABUNDANTLY BEYOND THEIR IMAGINATIONS!

SEPTEMBER 7TH IS THE DEADLINE...

That's a little prayer, girls - C'mon... let's do this thing! I love this idea on the eve of Eric's return from a year in Iraq - email me at laurie@popsbindings.com if you need more info -

Making Lemonade in The Quilter Magazine

2009-08-28T10:10:00.007-04:00

It is very touching to have someone tell your story...this month's The Quilter Magazine tells mine through the words of a very talented writer, Lucy Fazely. Lucy and I had a great time talking on the phone, as she is in the midwest and I am in Florida, in the dead of winter while I was very comfortable in Florida's mild winter and she was freezin' her toes off up north! But retelling how Lollipops got started warmed us both and sharing our common humanity of family life and new hope quickly crept into our conversation - we are both old souls.

That Eric is now in the last days of his third tour of duty in Iraq, his last time there I hope, is also very heart warming. That we are at war and our soldiers continue to die is distressing and hurts my heart...I remind all of you that these are all our future, these young men and women who serve and who slip through our fingers...through the power of the cloth - now I mean fat quarters here, people! - and the joy of creating quilts that will warm and give love to those who need that comfort, we must continue to make LEMONADE! Please read the article - buy the magazine - it's inspiring even if I say so my little self! (well I am not so LITTLE but you catch my drift...)

How Do They Do It?

2009-08-16T15:44:00.005-04:00

Ok. I am amazed. How do certain famous quilters do all the things that they do and still manage to FB, TWIT and BLOG??? Take Pat Sloan, for example...I recently joined Facebook with the hopes of keeping in touch with all of you while I was 'Down Under'...to tell you about my trip and show you all the wonderful things I was seeing...people, quilts, quilt stores, fabrics, oh and yeah - the GBR - which is the Aussie way of saying the Great Barrier Reef...

But did I blog you ONCE???? or Facebook you with any pix of my trip???? or even say 'BOO!'? Heck no. First of all, unlike the good ol' US of A, to connect up to the internet at a hotel is not FREE...they charge you BY THE MINUTE...and if that's not bad enough, there is a minimum number of minutes that you HAVE to pay for regardless of how long you stay connected - so in one place, I really learned my lesson - it was like $29 AUS for two minutes!!! OMG...so that was the end of the bloggin' idea...and keepin' in touch with you and btw, - I was so darn BUSY - who had time to BLOG?

So, back to my original thought - since joining FB, (FB= Facebook for all your girls out there in Paducah!) I see Pat Sloan and Alex Anderson and oh WAIT a minute -

[irritating interruption from the husband on Honey Do mission of hanging pictures in our bedroom after I've looked at them leaning up against the wall for 2 years...finally gettin' to it before football season - whew!]

Ok I am back...yeah so you know these women BLOG, they FB, they TWITTER (now that is seriously crazy) and they still find time to post the status of their most recent projects for us all to drool over...when on EARTH do they have time to SEW and CREATE when they are on FB, TWIT and BG 24/7?????...

Maybe because they are so IMPORTANTE they have magical quilting powers - like for 1) they get fabrics from MODA for FREE as well as in advance of the rest of us because Moda LIKES them...well we do, too but STILL and 2)they MUST have personal assistants that KEEP THEIR STUDIOS NEAT AND TIDY SO THEY CAN FIND THE FABRIC THAT MODA GIVES THEM...yikes...or 3)they know SABRINA who twitches (not twitters) her nose and POOF! magic quilt! or 4)they are just, sadly, organized women who can get 4x as many things done in a day than me...rats, I hate the thought of that -

[Oh God...there he goes again...another husbandus blogus interruptus to approve said picture placement of giganto mirror over bed - not on ceiling ladies....PLEASE!]

[Back, again. Well no wonder I don't Tweet, rarely BLOG and occassionaly FB...it's like having a baby in the house...ok, ok that was mean - and afterall, it looks GREAT except now the sheets, which I just washed on Friday, have to be re-washed because, you guessed it, he used the bed to stand on and uh 'forgot to take off his sandals'...ugh! 'honey, it's only messed up on MY side of the bed...']

Are these other women married? or maybe their husbands are less OCD/ADHD/IDHD (only know the first one, sorry, the rest just sound official)...I am truly amazed at their ability to keep it altogether and still SLEEP...now wait a minute, maybe I am on to something there - they never tell us that they SLEEP...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I feel better!

Sewing for Soldiers at the Sewing Garrett - Daytona Beach, FL

2009-05-25T11:49:00.008-04:00

My son, Sgt. W. Eric Rodman, is serving in Al Asad, Iraq with the US Army - 3rd Platoon of they 23rd Ordnance Company out of Grafenwehr, Germany. This is his, and probably many other soldiers' in his unit, 3rd Tour of Duty in Iraq. Each time he goes 'down range,' as he calls it, I get together with other quilters and make quilts for his unit - he sends us the platoon emblem and we recreate it in some way for use in the quilts.

Well, this time, being new to Fernandina Beach, FL and having little time to join a local guild, I was sort of at a loss as to how I would make good on this commitment - making 25 quilts for Eric's unit. But last year, just before Quilt Market in October, providence came a calling...I met Gracye Beaman, owner of The Sewing Garrett in Daytona Beach, FL. Gracye is a Brother, Babylock, Janome and Ulna dealer and has an awesome store right off of I-95 - a must visit if you are coming down our way. We got to know each other at market and then invited me to teach at her store in November - a new friendship formed. After a bonding sewing sister week in January, I approached Gracye with this project - and she immediately opened her store and heart to the idea of making quilts for activity duty soldiers -

Flash forward to May 2009 - after advertising on the local PBS station, which Gracye sponsors through corporate donation, we had an unbelievable group of women come out for a two day sewing and quilting bonanza! These are the MOST WONDERFUL GROUP OF WOMEN you could will ever meet - many who are wives, daughters, relatives of veterans and activie duty soldiers themselves - I started our first day off explaining the quilt pattern choice - called A Soldiers Quilt - this quilt was made by Civil War women whose husbands and sons and nephews were going off to fight our Nation's bloodiest and most heart-breaking war. At that time, they had to provide all their own gear - so the women made their men quilts - just large enough to cover a cot in the event they got wounded - and filled with scraps from their dresses and shirts and pants to remind their loved one of home. This story so touched my heart that I HAD to use the pattern - I knew it was perfect for our guys in Al Asad.

The slide show shows some shots of the day - and soon I will post some footage where I let the girls tell our Soldiers brief messages of the heart -

I want all to know - I love my son with all my heart and I know that all the women who came out wanted to show their love for the soldiers serving overseas - and guys and girls,if you are readin this - they THANKED me for the opportunity to SERVE YOU!!! The quilts will ship out this week - all our love and prayers - THE SEWING GARRETT SOLDIERS QUILTERS!

Back in the Iraqi Saddle Again and a Contest!

2009-02-18T17:59:00.009-05:00

Well girls (and you guys if you are reading) we are back to the year in Iraq - the year of 'Mom's going to bite off all her fingernails with worry ' time again...for those of you who don't know, my son, Sgt. W. Eric Rodman, is a soldier in the US Army. This is his third tour of duty over there...the first time was in 2003 when the war began - that's right, he saw the 'shock and awe' campaign take place...the second time was two years later and now he is back again in 2009...many people think they might know what the military families go through - you might empathize - but truthfully, it is all you think it might be and more - You anguish and worry and say many late night prayers to the Good Lord to send all his angels to your son (or daughter) each and every day so that they will come home with all his fingers and toes...Here is Eric and his gorgeous wifey, Nette..won't they make me the most beautiful grandchildren? If he could just stay home and focus on that - oh now that would make me a happy Momma! And no matter what, it is his wife who goes through the most pain during this time, although they live in Germany and love it - I know for her, it is just not the same when Eric is away even surrounded with all that beauty and Europe right at her front door...

So what do I do to comfort him and remind him I love him and am thinking of him while he is in harm's way? Well of course, I make him quilts! - for his unit and him and anybody else he asks me to make one for! Now, in the past I had ALOT of help because of my good buddies in Savannah, GA - but I am still kind of new to Fernandina Beach, FL and don't really know many quilters here - so I got to thinking about how I am going to make all these quilts this time... and how to make it fun and maybe get to know some more of you - and I got an idea! What we usually do is take their Platoon Emblem and incorporate it into their quilts - this time he has a REALLY cool one - and here it is...Isn't that so neat?

Well so now I am kinda of thinking of all of you out there and how you might want to help me out in designing a lap size quilt for his plattoon - I am thinking we will take the three best ideas and post them here for you to vote on and then whichever receives the most votes will win a great prize from Lollipops Designer Bindings website! Like a $100 gift certificate - how does that sound? so help me design it and then that will make this whole process a little less lonely for me and hopefully I get to meet more of you online - so come on girls, jump on in and give me your thoughts! I can't wait to see what you all come up with...and maybe a few of you might even want to help make them? if I supply all the fabric? let me know - many blessings and warmest stitches - Laurie M.

Doing Up Your Denim - Viking Sew Sunsational Jan 2009

2009-02-10T22:40:00.011-05:00

There are some unique opportunities out there ladies to have special times of learning about our craft of sewing and embroidering and quilting and Viking's Sew Sunsational Event in Cocoa, Florida is just one of those experiences.

Each year, Viking Store Manager and Creator of the event, Peg Gowen and her Area Manager Priscilla Haga, put together a 'Sunsational' week of fabulous teachers, classes, shopping and of course, great food! I don't know how she does it, but Peg consistently delivers a return on your investment of a few hundred dollars for this week-long event that will change the way you use your sewing & embroidery machine forever! Headliners like Me & My Sister Barb and Mary were there along with sewing giant Linda McGehee - what a thrill to take classes with these women who are fun and inspirational and sew willing to share their tips and secrets to successful sewing and quilting...

This year I taught a special Dazzling Denim workshop, introducing women to the incredible new Majestic Hoop for the Viking Designer Diamond. This hoop enables you to complete the entire back of a denim jacket or vest ALL AT ONCE! Unfortunately, I left my camera in my bag upstairs but I am hoping the ladies will send me photos of their finished projects...I DO have photos of the samples I made for the event (and for other events throughout the year with AQS) - I tell you this was impressive to see all the different colors and ideas the women came up with the dress up their denim!

We used Anita Goodesign's Roses II CD - I created several designs in 4D Embroidery and then we worked with these designs to fit onto the backs of the jackets and vests the ladies brought with them. In addition, a few of the attendees wanted to try out another fabulous new design group for the Viking - the embroidery couching designs which use a special couching foot and Viking designed motifs. I created a beautiful design from the 'freebie' that comes with the Special Couching Kit and, using yarns that are made especially for this purpose, we embroideried couched a large design on the back of a jacket, again, all at once in the large Majestic Hoop - I LOVE that hoop!

Now of course, we also spend a considerable amount of time embellishing edges, cuffs and necklines with my Lollipops bias binding - I introduced a new way of using it - you gather or ruffle it (we used a ruffler foot). This is sewwwwwwwww easy to do and the results are impressive - and such an easy way to dress up your denim! You simply open up the bias and iron it so that the raw edges are now together - attach the ruffler, set it on 6 for a nice even ruffle and let 'r rip! see the pix of this method! it is fun and I just love the result! You can use it to create a flower (put a button in the middle), finish edges, tuck into hemlines, ruffle the edges a quilt - I mean there are LOTS of possibilites! We also embellished with buttons and crystals - oh they are so pretty but unfortunately do not come across well in
these pix. Here are some more pictures from another project...showing the gathered bias...

=====================================================

So, just touching base - meant to tell this story LAST month but I guess I am a lousy blogger! the idea is so fun but still kind of new to me so I have to get used to doing it more regularly...

I hope you all are busy sewing, piecing, quilting, designing, having fun out there - please let me hear from you and what you are creating! that is the best part of my job....hearing from you!

Pray for our soldiers - they are all our sons and daughters!

Warmest Wishes,

Laurie

The Sewing Garrett - A Day at Daytona Beach with Gracye Beaman

2008-12-16T18:39:00.004-05:00

Gracye Beaman is the store owner for The Sewing Garrett, a Babylock, Brother and Janome dealer in Daytona Beach, FL. Gracye saw an article about me in the Fab Shop Network news and gave me a call and the rest, as they say, is history! We got together in Houston Market this year and had a great time getting to know each other. Gracye is a saavy businesswoman and I really enjoyed getting to know her. She saw all my various products and designs at Market, chose her selection of Lollipops Designer Bindings and scheduled me for a class! By December, I made the short trip down to Daytona from Jacksonville and we got going on a great day!
I had the priviledge of working on the new Ellegante while at Gracye's, whose store is massive with tall, spacious ceilings and lots of floor space! Perfect for a class setting, the girls would gather around when it was time for a demonstration and boty did they learn about their machines in my class!

We were working on the Bias Baseball Pillow Project, which utilizes my bias binding to piece together the curves of a modified Drunkard's Path. We jumped right into the project and I PROMISED them everyone would finish it all in one day and have a take home to show off to their hubbies! (uh...they did NOT believe me, btw)
The list of learning is large in this project - after piecing the basic block, the girls then had to STIPPLE - free motion quilt...well did I ever create a fervor with that choice! Many, many women fear stippling because you have to quilt free motion - you have to 'color outside the lines' so to speak - but with the use of some great quilting gloves and a short lesson, they were absolute champions! Well, save one...who became the Teacher's Pet as you can see here - I am doing it for her!

Teachers Note: You could also embroider the center of the circle rather than stipple.

I am telling you, they were tired at the end of the day with all this concentration! but look at this beautiful result!

Thanks so much ladies, and hope to see you again real soon!

You can see the entire web album at

http://picasaweb.google.com/PopsBindings/TheSewingGarrett#

Meowy Christmas!

2008-11-30T19:10:00.004-05:00

HOLLY JOLLY...MEOWY CHRISTMAS!

Who else but Loralie Designs(tm) brings us such delightful characters like her newest Christmas machine embroidery collection....Kitty Christmas? Using her coordinating holiday fabrics made into our Lollipops(R) Designer Bindings, we created fun ornaments that you can use to decorate your tree, your sewing room, your office, your mantel, your Kitty's Stocking! Just about anywhere your whimsy might take you...and if you love Kitties, well, this is just that extra touch to remind you of your love for your favorite feline...Click on the Meowy Christmas link at the top of this post to take you to the free pattern OR visit our website at http://www.popsbindings.com/ and download the free pattern to make these cute ornaments and pick up a kit to make them up quick while you are there!

My Greatest Gift this Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T18:38:00.008-05:00

Nothing makes me prouder than to know I have raised great kids...now I really cannot take all that much credit for it, because there is another half to the parenting equation besides myself BUT knowing that SOMETHING I did may have rubbed off on them just makes me smile...

My oldest son, Sgt. W. Eric Rodman, is once again in Iraq. In fact, he left on his brothers birthday, November 14th. No doubt the men & women he will share his next year there with were all pretty bummed about having to leave just before the holidays. You would expect that he, too, was sad to be away from his cute little wifey, Antoinette, over Thanksgiving - and he was.

But despite that, as he sat down with his Unit on Thankgiving Day to eat, he noticed that all the guys just started chowing down and it hit him that, even though he was thousands of miles away from home in a hostile land, he still needed to remember and honor our family tradition of thinking about what we were thankful for as we sat down for our family dinner. He asked all of the soldiers with him that day to stop for minute... and reminded them that despite where they were and how tough it is to be away from home, that they still all had something they could say they were thankful for...so each soldier at the table took a turn to say something they were grateful for this Thanksgiving

...and I think Sgt. Rodman maybe felt a little better, sharing his family tradition with the men and women he is serving with, since it might have brought just a little piece of home to him. And I imagine, they all felt a little better too, just thinking about something positive despite their circumstance. A tradition was passed along.

I am so proud we raised a son who exhibits leadership even when he himself is down...I am so proud and thankful for him.

I hope of you had a chance to cherish and share words of thanks this Thanksgiving with your loved ones and even though I had to wait till Saturday to hear his voice, I am so very thankful I got to talk with my son.

I hope you think of our soldiers serving overseas during the holidays and send them a package or two...they are all our sons and daughters!

We have a blog!

2008-06-29T15:46:00.005-04:00

I am so excited to have a new way of sharing fun ideas and tips with you that is alot less intrusive than an email newsletter and lets you rummage through the cobweb postings at your leisure! Many use these blogs to share places they visit (I will link you up with Martha Stewart's latest blog about the Viking convention, for example), new things they have learned, new products they have found, blah blah blah....

Well there are no original ideas! So I will do the same and hope you get something from it each time I leave you a note.

In June, we added some new projects on our website - one is a freebie for you that is a REAL Stash Blaster - the Yo-Yo Posies Quilt - OMGosh this is so fun! I made it from a cute beachy summer fabric and ruched flower centers instead of making YoYo's but whatever your pleasure, girls! this is a great scrappy quilt project...oh okay it DOES require a purchase to get the free download but come on now! It is really cute...

I am learning that in June and July things get really quiet - the big Spring shows are over, every one goes on vacation, the beach is calling...I use this time to sew & create new projects from the new products I found at places like Paducah and at the Spring Market...Aprons were all the rage at Spring Market so we are busy making up some fun ones from the Apron Lady patterns which will appear on the web this month...our idea was to make them from fun funky fabrics, pretty florals and some of the cutest Christmas fabric I have ever seen from Henry Glass fabrics...her patterns use LOTS of bias binding...so it was just the perfect match...

We've added Moda fabrics to our Lollipops line and have some GREAT new choices coming in soon so look for them - the Mary Engebreit and Me and My Sisters Christmas fabrics are HEAVENLY and both include FREE patterns to go with their new lines (which will be up on our site soon)! I attended a retreat with the 'sisters' Barb and Mary (Me and My Sister Designs) and those two are such a hoot! We laughed with them for three days and I came away with a real appreciation for their designs and their fabrics - so creative and and what could be better than working with your sissie?

Sandy Martin continues to have a blast teaching at the Viking Sewing Centers inside JoAnn Fabrics in Florida & Texas - we post where she will be each month on our website so if you want to learn how to use our bias in quilt block construction, than join her for a class on the Floral Bias Pillow - see the pix in our web album!

Lots more to share, but for now, hope this finds you well and sewing fun things for your family and friends and thank a soldier!

Laurie@popsbindings.com