Hello friends and welcome to my stop on the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop! I am happy to be among new friends as we discover a new wave of awesome quilt bloggers/blogs. Mine is not as new as some, but I wanted to take part and learn some new ways to have a more successful and rewarding blog experience.
A little about me - I'm Francine - an American expat living in Germany with my pilot hubby and younger 2 of 4 kiddos. We have a couple of years left here and have absolutely loved the experience! When I think of some of the historic places I've visited in the US, Europe makes them seem brand new! In my pre-Germany life, I was a soccer coach and then teacher, but these days I get to spend my time exploring, meeting new friends, sharing a cocktail, and sewing - lucky girl!
The last week or so I've had a couple of finishes which is unusual. Considering how little German homework I've gotten done, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised heh heh.
First, I finished an improv rainbow quilt. This was started as a sample for an improv class I'll be teaching later this year. In fact, you are welcome to join me at Peaks! It's a long weekend full of fun, pampering, relaxation, gourmet meals, amazing scenery and oh yeah - quilting! |
| Confetti Stars Rainbow |
I have a blogging tip to share with you! This week I discovered a great YouTube video for adding the cute string of social media icons to your blog. First, check out this resource for cute social media icons and then then visit Blogaholic Designs for super easy instructions to add them to your blog! They also have several other helpful tutorials and videos to check out.
I also have a quilting tip/naughty confession. I am ashamed/proud to admit that I use my husband to practice new things. I lovingly made him a practice apron last year and then made this for myself.
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| reversible apron |
Do you have any quilty naughty confessions?
I do hope you'll visit my hive mates this week!
Jayne of Twiggy and Opal
Robyn of Hoops & Thimbles
Shayna of Wife. Mom Creator
Francine
Naughty confessions, you sassy girl! Mine is that I have a pile of homeless quilts in my craft room. Some of them are not my best work so I don't know what to do with them and others I just haven't found the right home for yet. So glad you joined us on the blog hop this year! I bet being (let alone) teaching at that retreat will be an absolutely wonderful time. I'd love to join you in the Alps but with a retreat planned for next spring it's a bit cost prohibitive for me.
ReplyDeleteConfessions of a Naughty Quilter...I like it :) I think my confession is my quilt magazine addiction and the fact that I hate throwing scraps away, yet don't know what to do with them. It's amazing how those little suckers add up. Your retreat sounds amazing and I can't wait to read about it and see all the fun pictures you take.
ReplyDeleteIf I shared my naughty confessions...Oh boy!! I would love to attend your retreat, we all need pampering! I'm sure your husband is more than happy to be your 'model', just not in public!! I think the hardest thing about quilting/sewing is making something for ourself! Seriously!! It's kind of rare!
ReplyDeleteGreat confessions! My guilty confession is that I basically refuse to sew anything but a quilt. I will put a button back on, but that's about it. ;) It is great to get to know more about you, and your time in Germany sounds really fascinating.
ReplyDeleteMy confession - i have three separate rulers for curves and circles - no idea why! And I haven't used any of them yet!
ReplyDeleteMy confession is that I have had a pair of pants a friend asked me to hem for months. MONTHS. I have actually started on them a couple times now, the first time I cut them too short and tossed them aside out of frustration. The second time I did a blind hem on them since they were too short for a cuff, and then the friend asked me to lower the hem a little bit. I just absolutely hate hemming pants, and after this I swear I will never hem another pair for anyone. In fact, I think I will just drop them off at the tailor down the street. I will gladly pay someone else to deal with it!
ReplyDeleteMy confession is I have never made a log cabin quilt. Some day soon.
ReplyDeleteI secretly wish I had quilting vices. I wish I was more relaxed about the quilting and design process. I'm way too uptight.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to many of the confessions listed above especially the pants hemming one. I've been know to have a pair of pants hanging around for a year before getting around to hemming them. My other guilty confession is that I have an awful lot of unfinished quilts hanging around in the sewing room but I'm sure lots of others have this guilty secret as well. I love the two you just finished .
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem at Terri Ann -- pile of quilts with no homes. I'd love to attend a weekend (or week long) retreat.
ReplyDeleteVery creative improv quilting. That's something I haven't tried yet, I like to plan things out, so I'm not sure how I'd do with that. Nice confession! I made my 6 year old boy cousin try on the sash I was making for the flower girl. He resisted at first but I told him it was part of his ring bearer's duties and he hammed it up for the camera. Hmm, a confession...I don't like to give any quilts away. I've done 2 charity ones now and some baby quilts, but the rest are all for me! That'll have to change pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have to say, your husband looks adorable if a wee bit short in that apron. Just kidding, that must be one of your two little ones you still have at home. She's precious! It sounds like you guys are living one big vacation for a few more years. How fun! My confession is that I have to keep all my fabrics and projects sealed in crates and in plastic bags because my son has a super-shedder white german shepherd dog and all of that loose hair floats! She is the biggest sweetie so I put up with the hair. The sweeping and vacuuming does cut into my sewing time but it keeps my sewing room floor free of thread and fabric bits.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute model for your apron!
ReplyDeleteMy confession... I probably have more fabric and patterns than I could use in my lifetime - but I still buy more!
I love that your husband is your beta tester. He must be a good sport. My quilting confession is I have about 15 quilts in the works... but who doesn't?
ReplyDeleteHello Francine, welcome and hope the blog hop is going well for you. Can I just say, YOU ARE MY NEW BEST FRIEND!!!!! OMG - your tip on adding social icons is just amazing! I made my own (and even created a new one since no one seems to have the feedly button) and that way is so much easier. I'm going to have to go and redo all my social media icons now. And of course, bloglovin' just sent out an email stating that they're doing away with the vague "+" sign and going back to using the "B" as their main symbol. Saw you on instagram too, looking forward to all the great things you create. Don't you just love those 1-hour bags. I made 4 of them for my son's teachers and I want to make 2-3 more.
ReplyDeleteHi Francine. The retreat sounds amazing. I am a little intimidated by improv and if I could make it to France I would totally come to the retreat! My Quilter Confession is that I wish I could just donate or throw out all my PhD's because they no longer represent the skill and style of my quilting. Looking forward to more connections through the New Quilt Blogger blog hop, I am in the Sew Fabulous Hive!
ReplyDeleteGermany sounds fascinating -what an experience! My very guilty confession js that although I know how to sew and can quilt, I still sometimes send my mending to my mother to do (shocking, I know!)
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased that you're having a great time in Germany. I've been to Frankfurt a couple of times, but I'd love to see more of the country.
ReplyDeleteMy quilty confession (and it's probably not unusual) is that I wish I had a binding helper. I don't believe in paying a machine quilter to do it for me, but I'd like a binding fairy or something. I don't dislike the process of hand finishing the binding, but it just takes so much time! I've decided that my gift quilts get machine finished bindings now, which is the only way I have time to get through them.
Hello, nice to meet you. I LOVE your quilts!
ReplyDeleteHi Francine, I just hapoen ro be in Germany right now as I read your blog! But only for a holiday. I love your improv quilt, it is a rainbow but it has unusual colors, too. Hope to continue to see you in cyber space. My quilty confession is that if I don't get to quilt for more than three days in a row, I get Quite. Grouchy. Of course right now doesn't count becuase I am on vacation. But when I get back...there is gonna be some serious sewing goin' on in my casa!
ReplyDeleteI love that you use for husband as a guinea pig, lol! I love Talenti gelato and because the containers are great for storing quilting odds and ends I have to convince myself to get more of the gelato, you know, for the containers. I guess my naughty confession is that I don't actually need any convincing, I just want the gelato. :)
ReplyDeleteYour Flickr bees quilt is great. Love the color scheme you chose. As far my quilty naughty confession, in a comment earlier today to Sarah of 123Quilt, I mentioned a meme I saw on Facebook recently that said something to the effect of "I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to you. I was thinking about my next quilt project." A few times that has happened in therapy sessions with some of my clients who tend to have the same complaints each session! I will have to check out your blogging tip sometime soon when I come up for air.
ReplyDeleteFrancine, this is too funny! I will have to do that testing with my husband too.. :D Great work on your quilts! Can't wait to read more! ;) My confession is that I press to whatever side/open works best and that I buy my Kona's at JoAnn's with coupons :D BTW: You have the cutest apron model.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting those social media icon tips - I've finally added mine to my blog! My confession is that I've been pressing all my seams open on a quilt with white in it (the horror!) because things were too lumpy otherwise to line up properly. I'm hoping having white batting will help make it less visible, fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteFabulous! I'm in love with that gorgeous "bee" block quilt! You've a very beautiful family! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! I'm in love with that gorgeous "bee" block quilt! You've a very beautiful family! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteFrancine - I love your quilts and the reversible apron! My husband tries everything out for me and has even long armed for me including some piecing too. He is very good at straight seams. He is an attorney that does a lot of family law and he says that it feels good to piece things together after helping people break their marriages apart. Crazy eh? We actually like to spend endless time together with a reclining chair in the studio with tv. Every so often he will help me with things if we dreamed up too many handmade gifts for Christmas or gift giving. I love the brightness of the colors you have and your adventureous spirit to feel comfortable living abroad. I also love Europe, although I have not been to Germany yet. What is it like finding fabric over there and how much does it sell by the yard? Whenever we traveled to Europe, if we could ever go in a fabric shoppe then we would but I was always blown away by the prices! Do they have fabric lines they manufacture in Europe now? I have shipped things to Canada, Austrilia and Europe from my online store but always stunned by the cost of the shipping. It is wonderful meeting you and I look forward to your posts and adventures. I am in your 2015 Sewcial Blog Group
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