SHOE TREE

  The November issue of AQ Magazine is out for 
delivery and on shelves very soon:)

So Much Inspiration and, if I 

may, yay me for being included

amongst the amazing talent!

I had been playing with shrinking

my shoes from my, "Get Pumped"

BOM in 2015.

You can find this 'tricked out'

design in my Etsy Shop.

HERE is the blog post about it:)

If only I could wear these to 

Thanksgiving dinner this year!!

This design is in my Etsy Shop too.

HERE is the blog post about it:)

As I was saying....

I had shrunk the shoes down so

I could recreate a picture I had

taken in South Beach, FL. of 

a shop window full of 

crystal decorated shoes.

I am not a "shoe" person but 

all that color and shiny...LOL!

So one day I am chatting with 

a friend and, Voila', 

this darling mini variation

is imagined.

THANK YOU, Mary:)!

I can't wait to see

all the new trees going up 

this holiday season:)

Victorian Boot

DECEMBER

                                       

There was a time when I wanted to live in a Victorian mansion and be surrounded by everything 'Victorian'.  Not that there aren't still those moments, but tastes do change.  When I started designing my BOM though, there just was NO other option than a beautiful Victorian boot for Christmas.  If only I could find one in my size:)  How do you think this would look with jeans?  What is your favorite time period?

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

FALL is HERE!

NOVEMBER

I absolutely LOVE Autumn with its cooler days and bright colors.  October is my birthday month so that brings celebration too.  Does anyone else have a season where your creative juices just seem to flow like a raging river after a Spring thaw?  Autumn is that season for me.  Ideas just pop in and out of my mind and some days it feels as if I won't ever get them all filed let alone made in a lifetime!  I am very thankful for that feeling though- It is INVIGORATING:)  What is your season?
This little boot represents my love of Fall attire and they make me feel fantastic when I am rocking a great pair of jeans with a cool pair of boots:)

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

Oh Witchiepoo...

OCTOBER

                                    
I hope someone else got the reference to H.R. Pufnstuf in that title:)  I loved that show on Saturday mornings, the ONLY time you had cartoons.  As I researched some of the spellings I was surprised to see there were only 17 episodes.  It seems like it took up more of my childhood than that:)
Now that my girls are grown and moved, I tend not to decorate for Halloween as much as Autumn in general.  They were my reason for going crazy and now I am so busy that I sometimes forget to decorate at all except for a well placed quilt design of mine here and there. 
This shoe is sooooo cute though and I do have a perfect spot for it!

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

I LOVE October!

Hexie Pumpkins

Not just because it is my birth month, but we have somewhat cooler temps in FL (80s instead of 90s) and pumpkin 'everything' comes out of everywhere:) and my FB feed gets bombarded with beautiful Autumn pictures that I am so envious of!  My energy levels jump off the charts (usually) when surrounded by all that color and crispness.  Here in FL not as much but I can feel a difference than before all the aforementioned.  I just want to design design design!

 

This year I haven't had as much time to do so since I was still playing a bit of catch up over my crazy summer and preparing for my trip to Virginia to teach workshops at the Fairfax Quilters Unlimited guild.  If you are in the area, contact them and come play!

Beaded Holly class



Seahorse Workshop

Make sure you tune in for the November, Quiltmaker 100 Quilt Blocks Blog Hop of which I will be participating in for the release of Volume 12.  I have a fun new block in there.
In other good news, I have 2 quilts to finish when I get home for upcoming magazines so stay tuned for that as well. 
If you read this particular post because of the pumpkins, maybe you don't know about my shoe BOM.  Scroll through a few other posts and if you are intrigued, you will want to watch for the fun October boot next week:))

In the meantime, keep quilting!

When LIFE happens....

It has been one crazy summer!  I started out after market looking for a bit of a mix up to refresh my mind and spirit so I took a part time, summer job at a local quilt shop.  Boy did that mix things up!!  First day on the job, I meet a Checker Distributor rep. who encourages me to resubmit.  For those of you who don't know, that is the biggest distributor in our industry.  So I do..... 
In the meantime I took on a hand quilting commission.  As a reminder, this is another job of mine that you can find on my SERVICES page. Tell your quilting friends:)
At this point, I am working 3 part time jobs. No big deal, right?
 
Well Checker picks up my whole line of designs mid July and there are a couple of steps to accomplish that I slowly work through  (between other jobs) until I have a surgery in August.  Then I spend recovery SLOWLY putting together 46 sets of 36 covers for their sales reps. Now the first order has come and will ship out today.  WOOT!! :))))))

The hand quilting commission is almost done with only 3 borders to quilt.
I have a workshop coming up in October that has a few more steps to accomplish.
The part-time summer job will be over in a few more weeks and then I will be back to F/T designer:)) Which means getting new designs out to all of you! 
It was an exhausting but amazing and exciting summer!!  Autumn is just around the corner and is my favorite season so I can't wait to see what it brings:))

Now onto shoes....



AUGUST

I live in Florida where it stays hot longer but August is HOT everywhere usually and so we all like to where a strappy sandal occasionally:)  August shows off a half flower that could also be interpreted as that hot sun some just love! 

SEPTEMBER
 

September is Back to School month and who doesn't love a comfy sneaker?  I went with a denim look and added a bit of graffiti for those of us that used to draw on our jeans and then get yelled at for not appreciating the cost of said jeans:)

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time. 

The templates for every month are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:) 

Red, White (Cream?), and Blue

JULY

I am a tad behind this month but technically it is still July as I write this so HAPPY 4th of JULY:))
As busy as I am, I am not too busy to decorate my home to include my new shoe!
And, this year, I was able to spend the 4th with one of my lovely and brilliant daughters.  It was a down home holiday with grilling, a baseball game, and fireworks that we were directly under!

I find that our patriotic tendencies fall into 2 categories:
Red, White, and Blue....OR....Red, Cream, and Blue.  Which one are you?  I confess to loving a softer cream and was able to have my cake and eat it too with this design.  I used my beige/cream in the background so that the white would really show.
This class pump is perfect for a classic holiday don't you agree? :)

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time. 

Since it is now June 15th, the templates for the June shoe are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

June Brides

Were you a June Bride? 

GET PUMPED JUNE

I had known that the tradition of June brides related to days when baths were infrequent and so June was a warm enough month to get a bath AND there would be flowers available to help mask body odor as well.  Very Romantic!
It goes back even further though to Roman times when they celebrated the festival of the deity Juno and his wife Jupiter, who was the goddess of marriage and childbirth, on the first day of June.
Both traditions aren't necessary anymore though and yet it continues...

I was not a June Bride since we really didn't even decide until June to get married.  Then being a poor military couple, we needed a few more paychecks if we wanted to have any kind of honeymoon at all.  Are you getting the idea we jumped into this?  You would be right:)
The year was 1988 and I so wanted my anniversary to be 8-8-88. 
I should have done so but we needed one more paycheck for the honeymoon and the naiveté of youth blocked rational thought of getting married on my chosen date and doing the honeymoon a couple of weeks later. Oh well, 27 years later it doesn't really matter:)

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.  

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time. 

Since it is now June 15th, the templates for the June shoe are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

Butterflies on the Wind

My grandmother loved Butterflies and although they aren't my 'go-to' décor, I can appreciate their beauty and think of her whenever I see one.  May was also her birthday month so Happy Birthday Grandma:)

 

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger. 

 

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time.

 

Since it is now April 15th, the templates for the April shoe are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

TIP TOE THROUGH THE TULIPS.....

Are you humming along yet?
Tulips are one of my favorite flowers and I couldn't let April go without finding a way to add tulips to the design.

The Polka dot is from an Easter dress that I made one of my daughters when she was about 4 or 5 years old.  This little remnant has been sitting in my stash for a VERY long time:)  The print is a bit large scale for the size of the shoe but I love it.  Print size/scale is always a consideration in applique templates, but here I decided to throw caution to the wind and play with placement of the Polka Dots in the shoe areas as well as the binding.
 

As always, the pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger. 

 

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time.

 

Since it is now April 15th, the templates for the April shoe are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

LOVE

February 'LOVE' Get Pumped BOM

FEBRUARY

Soooo many choices to reflect LOVE....do I go shiny? Do I add lots of hearts?  There was a version of this shoe where the heel consisted of about 7 hearts descending in size.  It seemed a bit over kill and I just love the simplicity of this one:)  You will see I did keep the idea as a quilting suggestion though. Plus I just happened to have a piece of this Fantastic batik still sitting around and it was the perfect size!

 

This heel represents what I would like to be able to wear.  I probably could pull it off with a great pair of jeans and cute top.  The bigger problem though is how uncomfortable I would be in these shoes and I am all about comfort:)

 

This LOVEly pump is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger. 

 

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time.

 

Since it is now February 15th, the templates for the February shoe are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

Happy Quilting:)

Get Pumped- Ice Skating Anyone?

JANUARY

This whimsical January boot is 12" square to fit on the originally designed (by me) Ackfeld metal hanger.  Some days I am more excited about that than the shoes:)  When thinking of January, I do think of ice skates even though I haven't skated in years.  How many of you remember clogs in the 80s?  So clunky but so comfortable and this shoe is reminiscent of those.

 

Hopefully you have already signed up for the Starter Kit.  If not, this BOM is open enrollment so still plenty of time.

 

Since it is now January 15th, the templates for the January shoe are available for purchase on my website BOM 2015 page.

 

**NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:)

Originally this project was set up so that you would pay for the templates and they would be an immediate download.  Due to a VAT (Value Added Tax) put into place overseas on digital products, I had very limited options as to how I could keep the digital aspect but not be subjected to a very disorganized new law.

 

When you pay for the templates on my website, a payment notification will be sent to me.  Once I have received this notification, I will then email you the PDFs of the templates.  Please be sure that your email address associated with Paypal is correct so that you can receive these files.  I will email within 24 hours of payment.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

**End of message**

 

In your 3 pages of templates, one will be a placement guide that is NOT full size but shows how the shoe goes together.  The other 2 pages contain full-sized, reversed for fusible applique templates.

As always, I am only an email away.

 

In your original pattern, you also received the templates for making mini shoes that would either go on a 3-1/2" or 4-1/2" block.  How cute is this little January shoe??  I am so excited to make the minis.  I had to pick a standard pump for the mini block since some of the months have a bit too much detail to go that small:)  Working in one shape, it becomes important for pattern and contrast to work together.  Also a great place to use novelty fabrics.

January Mini shoe

I am very excited about watching this BOM progress and seeing how all of you use different fabrics to achieve a new shoe each month.  Please share your progress on my FB page.  This is also where you will find additional tips about how I went about making these sweet shoes.

HAPPY 2015!

It is going to be a great and busy year!  My holidays were fabulous starting back in Nov with a trip to NC to visit the kids.  Even though I came down with a nasty head cold, we were still able to hang out, play games, eat turkey, and just be.  It was fun seeing the kids take over more of the cooking role too.  We were all responsible for some aspect but it wasn't my kitchen:)  There were 5 adults and 4 dogs in a 1000 sq ft apt.....Fun.

 

A friend invited me on a bus trip from her complex to see an ice show.  I was NOT prepared!  I was thinking it would be a room of ice sculptures like you see at a wedding--NOPE!  It was held in the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando where they have a full clipper ship in their atrium-What?  The ice sculptures were done by the same people who carve a full ice city in Beijing every year-Amazing!

Christmas in Tarpon Springs, FL is a sweet night downtown called, "There's Snow Place Like Tarpon Springs".  They have soap 'snow' makers, a lighted boat parade on the bayou, and lots of vendors of all sorts.  Grab a hot chocolate or coffee and wander:)  Of course, while this is all happening, Autumn was just arriving here...see tree.

December brought another trip to NC for Christmas but this time my husband rented a cottage in Asheville.  And, because we like to live adventurously, this time we had 5 adults and 4 dogs in 720 sq. ft....COZY!  Good thing we get along and actually like each other:))))  Again we hung out, toured the town, ate great food, and played games. 

Lar and her Charlie Brown tree on Christmas, Puppies snuggling for warmth, backyard nook.

This was our first NYE that no one was here visiting though and so we went to our local hipster bar to see how the youngin's do it.  For me, the best part of going out is always being in a crowd during the countdown.  The energy is indescribable.

Before heading out to ring in 2015.

While you haven't heard from me, I have been working on the Get Pumped BOM, getting a new Seasonal BOM tested, putting together a class schedule for a local shop, and started putting a Market booth together for Minneapolis in May.

New quilts on Etsy, new puppy addition (daughter's Bowen), what I have been working on.

My Etsy shop had 3 new quilts listed this Fall, (Autumn Geo, Pink Trilliums, and Green/Purple strip quilt--the last two are baby quilts).  My Poinsettia pattern will be a beginner hand applique class at a local shop, Crafty Threads.  Then there is the EPP that I am doing just for me.  And, ALWAYS more shoes:))

I hope you have LOTS you are doing and I would love to see them on my FB page!  Next week join us here for the unveiling of the January Shoe of this year's GET PUMPED BOM.  See you then:)

GET PUMPED 2015 BOM

I am so excited to introduce you to the 2015 Block of the Month from Nestlings by Robin.

 

Measuring in at 12" square, they will make great

weekend projects or small gifts for friends.

Because they are FQ friendly, they will be a great way to work from your stash and personalize each shoe to your personality!

Sign ups begin Cyber Monday, (Dec 1st), on my website!

STARTER KIT FEE: Merry Christmas to you!
The price on Dec 1st will be $36.

 (After Dec 1st the price will go up to $44) 

Your starter kit fee will include:

1-Get Pumped original metal hanger from Ackfeld

1-Get Pumped pattern with all the instructions to make your monthly blocks, minus the monthly applique templates

which will be available on the 15th of every month on my

Etsy site as a downloadable PDF. 

There will be a monthly fee of $6 for the templates.

1- Download Calendar

1 Small Thank You!

Shipping for your starter kit is included in the price.
Any questions?  Just email me!