Friday, May 31, 2013

Trapunt-no

Well, it's Friday again, and again, I can't show you what I'm working on! I cannot wait until Sunday to reveal my H2H quilt!!!

What I can tell you and show you is I experimented with Trapunto for the first time! So. Much. Fun.

I need new scissors, though. Mine are quite big and maybe not so sharp any more. There's a few holes in the quilt... but that's okay, I covered them up like it never even happened!
That's my thumb... through the border of the quilt! Oops!



Here is a little sneak peak of the trapunto piece to this quilt. The letters I and T hmmmm what does it spell!?!?!?!




So I just need to bind off this mystery quilt and it will be all done! I'll finish the binding this evening while watching Once Upon a Time on Netflix. If you like fantasy, I highly recommend it! It's kind of my new obsession!!!


Check back Sunday for photos of this mystery quilt as well as my H2H quilt!


I will also be posting later with the details of my giveaway. As you know, my quilt shop is opening June 17th and I'm having a two week long online party starting TODAY! Horray! There's some pretty awesome stuff to be won, but I haven't finished making it yet, so photos will be delayed, sorry!


Quilt on,
Hoppi


Sunday, May 26, 2013

The. Best. Day. Ever.

Yesterday was the best day of my life, and here's why...

I woke up around 5 am with a new piece of jewelry on my finger.
My left ring finger.
My engagement ring!
Derrick had a wonderful plan to wake me up with eggs Benedict and champagne.  To his chagrin, I woke up early! Luckily, he was right next to me when I noticed the ring on my finger and he proposed! It was the most emotional and best moment of my life!
I simultaneously laughed and cried for about 45 minutes after saying yes.

It was great timing because we had some of our closest friends and family over yesterday. Derrick's mom and step dad surprised me by coming down to our new apartment to bring congratulations and my first wedding planner hehe! 




How cute and creative are these mini champagne bottles! I'm lucky that I will have the best mother in law in the world! In fact, all my future in laws are amazing! :D
Derrick's dad flew in from Los Angeles, my mom and grandmother and step dad and his girlfriend came over (that one's a long story... hehe). My best friends were all here except for one, but she has a great excuse, being as though she lives 10 hours away! It was the perfect day to celebrate surrounded by all my loved ones! 














My step father came over and said he had an end table for our new apartment. This is a running joke because he has THE ugliest end table that he's been trying to pawn on me for quite some time now, so naturally I said "no way, leave it in the car." He and Derrick brought it up and it wasn't the end table I was expecting... It was this beautiful treadle sewing machine that was his grandmothers. She got the machine when she was 13 years old and it is in like new condition!  It is now safely in my studio and I cannot wait to get some fabric on it!


This morning we are continuing our celebration with some mimosa's! I'm taking the weekend off from sewing and quilting to enjoy my time with my fiance, as in, my future husband! Holy crap it's so awesome to say that!!!












Quilt on,
Hoppi

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Talkin' bout my generation

This post is going to be photo free and boring for some, maybe those of you who aren't quilters. However, I really need to get what I'm feeling out, and you're the best people to get out my feelings to!


I am so proud, humbled, and excited to be part of the next generation of quilters. In quilting, however, I don't believe a generation has to do with when you were born, but rather, when your inner quilter was born.

Being part of this community has done so much good for me. Not only have I made so many new awesome friends, but I have support from those people all over the world. You all help me see the beauty in my work, give me the confidence, and help me feel the pride that I need to keep on keeping on. For that, I thank you.

It seems as if every where I turn I find other quilters who started around the same time I did. Those who recently began the journey of free motion quilting, and those who have been doing it from the start. We learn from other quilters in this community. Those like Leah Day, Karen McTavish, Maddie Kertay, Angela Walters, Bonnie Hunter, and so so so so so many more.

It just hit me this morning that one day I will be the teacher, and there will be so many more artists eager to learn... from me. This realization makes me eager to learn more, and as we all know you can never learn enough and you never stop learning!

It's the community of quilters and quilt bloggers that keeps me going strong, that inspires me to create, that opens my eyes to beauty I hadn't known before the art of quilting.


I guess what I'm really trying to say is thank you. Thank you to all my new found friends, thank you to all my teachers, and thank you to all those who appreciate my art. I sincerely appreciate you all, and honestly, couldn't do this without you.


Quilt on,
Hoppi

Monday, May 20, 2013

Progress!








We're making some awesome progress on the apartment, I should have everything unpacked by tomorrow night! I'm really excited about it!

Here are some photos of our progress, please excuse the horrible mess of boxes and clothing everywhere. I can't stand living like this, ugh!


The living room complete with D watching an anime on the computer!





















The dining room. This room was completely filled with boxes on Saturday, we've made such awesome progress!





















The kitchen, that's a dishwasher there, people!!!!! I'm so excited about having a dishwasher, can you tell!?!?!





The balcony with our table and chairs set up! The color is a little skewed, the chairs are teal and orange, not sure why they showed up this way! Derrick and I had breakfast out on the balcony today. The three of us, Madison included obviously, watched a crazy squirrel jumping around in the trees. It was rather entertaining. I can't wait to get some plants out here!















Ugly bathroom is not soooo ugly with a shower curtain. We'll make it work!




And last but not least the horribly messy bedroom. It's going to take a while to organize everything. We have to get it done by Friday though, because Derrick's dad will be coming to spend a week or so with us. Ahhhh! Talk about pressure/stress!













I haven't set up my sewing machine yet or my studio at all so no quilting has been done, but I hope to have that up by tomorrow!

This is all just too exciting!

Quilt on,
Hoppi








Sunday, May 19, 2013

Everybody on the Move!

Yesterday, we moved! Yippie!

Madison on moving day! 
Needless to say I didn't really get much FMQ done last week, and what quilting I did finish, I can't share with you yet. Ugh. I know, another surprise. It'll be awesome I promise.

For now, enjoy these "before" photos of our new apartment. I have major decor plans for this place and already started on some things. I unpacked about 3/4 of our stuff yesterday, I hope to be completely unpacked and organized by Tuesday!


Entry way leads right to the stairs

















Up the stairs to the coat closet/ storage 

















Dining room




















A care package from the property manager






Terrible photo of the kitchen






















Hallway leading to the horribly ugly bathroom! EEK! To the left is the laundry. 




Our GIANT bedroom/ quilt studio. This photo does not do it justice!










My favorite part of our apartment, our awesome balcony!


















































So there you have it, our very own place, how exciting!!!!



Quilt on,
Hoppi


Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Work in Progress Wednesday

It is Wednesday, right? I totally just checked my planner to make sure.

If that doesn't tell you how my week has been going, I don't know what will!


My work in progress is the move.

Of course Madison helper dog has to help me pack.


This is the current state of our home, boxes everywhere and no room to walk. I can't wait until Saturday so this will all be over and I can be organized again!


Today I made the appointment to have our internet set up on Saturday. I am thrilled that I won't have to go one day without internet! We've decided to not get cable, which I think will be wonderful for my quilting!!! Less TV = more quilting!

I'm also working on my H2H quilt, which I can't share photos of yet... I can't even tell you why. I know, I feel as if I'm always full of surprises! Soon I'll be able to share all of my work openly and not have to hide anything! I am really excited about the H2H quilt though, I am going to make one little boy who's undergoing chemo VERY happy... I just hope he's as nerdy as I am! :)

Today I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

That's all for today, back to packing!

Quilt on... or in my case, pack on,
Hoppi

Monday, May 13, 2013

Quilter's Favorites

I had every intention of getting this done on Friday, but unfortunately I was so so so sick this weekend I couldn't even get out of bed. Luckily, I'm much better! So enjoy my Quilter's Favorites

  • Any advice for a successful color scheme of a quilt ?
 You really probably wouldn't want to take my advice... I LOVE color, all of it, color that doesn't match, color that does match. As long as it's bright, I'll put it together, and somehow, in the end it always works! I feel like a child when I walk into a fabric store, I just pick what I like. Everything I like, then I put it together... that's how I pick my color schemes, I know it's totally crazy. 


  • Some thoughts about thread and needles, batting, fabrics ?
As far as thread and needle go, I really have no thoughts. I use the needles that came with my machine, I'm sure it's time for new ones. People, help me out on this! Batting is a subject that I studied and studied and studied before I began quilting. I know that cotton shrinks, that polyester washes well, that I want to use high loft when I'm making a quilt for a bed... For some reason though, I always pick bamboo batting. I LOVE it! Not only is the brand I use organic, it's reasonably priced and it quilts so well! On the topic of fabric, I usually always go with cotton quilters fabric, I just find that easiest. 

  • Could you share some tips for easy piecing?
Measure once, measure twice, measure three times, then cut. If you're just piecing squares, it's very easy. I piece the rows first and then the columns once the rows are pieced together. When ironing I iron the backside flat (open seems) rather than opposites, I feel this way it is more compact and you can't see it when the quilt is finished. 

  • If you enjoy other quilt techniques than patchwork, could you share some tips with us ?
Those who read my blog on a regular basis know that I love wholecloth work. It's something I definitely need more practice in and will be working on in the future. As far as tips for working on wholecloth, just make sure you do an outline, it makes life a lot easier. Don't follow what others do, listen to your creative mind and let the color, texture, and style flow! 

  • Some machine quilting tips- if you are a machine quilter ?
I quilt on a domestic machine, so my tip for those of you who quilt on a domestic machine is apply pressure to your quilt as your moving it around. In the beginning I don't think I did this, and you can tell by how my thread tension seemed to be off. I was giving my machine more control than I had, you always want to be in control! 

  •  The sewing machine - please share a few things you love at your sewing machine; what makes it special ? What features do you think are the most important to a sewing machine used for quilting?
I quilt on a Singer Stylist that D got me for my birthday. That is, until I've saved up enough for a Janome. I like the Singer, but it makes it very difficult to quilt on. Prior to quilting I was (and still am) a costume designer, and I must say that the Stylist is PERFECT for that! It comes with every foot you could possibly need for costume design.  As far as features that are important for quilting I believe the machine should have a long/wide neck, something my machine does not feature. Also if you're going to be free motion quilting, as I do, you'll want to purchase a drop down quilting table. This is something that I am saving up for. It gives you so much more space to move your quilt around, and you'll see a major improvement in your free motion quilting. 

  •  Do you have free tutorials on your blog? Share a link to one of your favorites.
My only tutorial thus far... Mug Rugs


  •  Share some tips for organizing the sewing tools, the fabrics, the sewing studio?
My studio just so happens to double as a kitchen... who ever decided to put a kitchen right in the middle of my studio is beyond me!!! Here's some tips on organizing in a small space. 
  1. Label, label, label. Label everything, and keep everything where it is labeled to be. This makes life SO much easier. 
  2. Coordinate fabric by color. I used to have a scrap bin that I just threw everything in together, now I have a few fabric containers that I organize by color and size. It makes finding fabric much quicker! 
  3. Contain everything in one place. My place is our tiny crawl space we have in our front closet. I have everything labeled and packed together in this space so whether I need a needle or a yard of batting, I know where to look! 

  • Could you recommend a book to someone who just started quilting ? A quilting bible ?
I live by Karen McTavish. Her custom curves book has such great information as well as tons of designs! If you've just started, these designs are going to be tough, but trust me, you need to push yourself in the beginning or you'll never learn great designs!!! 

  • List one or two of your favorite quilting techniques and a tutorial/pattern/book where you learned about them ?
My favorite technique is wholecloth. I learned this from Leah Day. I can't express enough my gratitude to Leah for introducing me to this whole new way to quilt. I learned this through her Express Your Love Quilt, of which I'm still working on. I also learned to Free Motion Quilt through this project! 

  • Do you have a favorite quilt designer ?
As mentioned above, I love Karen McTavish! She is by far one of my favorite designers. In the interest of time, I'm just going to narrow it down to her! 

  • Do you have a favorite quilt blogger?
Here's where things get complicated... how do I pick just one!?! Here are my top 3 favorite bloggers, in no particular order. These are the three blogs that I check on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day! 
  • Would you like to share one of your favorite quilts, made by you ?
I think my favorite quilt I've made this far is my Express Your Love Quilt. It's not complete, but it is so special to me. 

  • What would be the perfect gift for your best quilting friend ?
Fabric! Seriously, what quilter wouldn't want a bundle of fun fabrics picked out by their best friend!?! Tools are cool, but I'm sure she'd like to pick her own!

  •  Don't Do Like Me!
Being as though  I am a newbie to quilting I make a lot of mistakes. The best that I can tell you as someone who is so new to quilting is don't sweat it. Make mistakes, make the same ones I made, it'll help you learn! Here is the number one mistake that I made that was so silly I can't even believe I did it! 
Put your foot down... literally. Put your foot down. I have left my foot up so many times it's not funny. I don't know why I've done this, I've been sewing for years, it's no different when quilting!!! 

  • If there is something else you would like to share with us, please do it. And please tell us a little about you, we would love to know you better.
Every quilt is beautiful. Every. Single. One. Every quilt is also a work of art. As a quilter, you are an artist. I'm glad I figured this out early on. So many quilters that I talk to don't consider themselves artists. That's a bunch of crap. You are an artist and you are amazing!
About me: I began quilting in November of 2012 due to a photo of a newbie quilter on Instagram. This random stranger girl on Instagram told me to quilt, gave me the tutorial and I listened to her, and I began quilting. Thanks stranger, now internet friend, Jahayma! More personal stuff about me: I live in a small town in Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley. I went to college for Political Science and French and am now a full time nanny for children with special needs and a part time pet sitter. I live at my mom's house with my boyfriend and dog, though we're moving on Friday to our own apartment. I enjoy being out doors, running, disc golfing, and hiking with my dog, Madison. I am a gamer. Super Nerd. Science fanatic. I play MMO's (Massive Multiplayer Online), yes, exactly like World of Warcraft. Though, currently I play Guild Wars 2. In my life family comes first, but that includes those friends who have become our family. I love to travel, and when I one day have enough money I will travel. I'm very goal oriented so I save for lots of different things. My large long term goal is to attend the Tokyo Quilt Festival sometime in the near(ish) future. 

I hope you enjoyed my Quilter's Favorites. I very much look forward to reading everyone else's! I want to end with a HUGE thank you to Geta Grama for putting this on. You're awesome girl! 

Quilt on, 
Hoppi

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...a UFO?

Before I get on with the UFO business I must tell you some exciting news that you may have already noticed!!! I now own my own domain, hoppiquilts.com!!! How exciting is this?

Huge shout out/thank you to my new online friend Sudre at theboredzombie.com. Susan, you're awesome. She wrote an article/blog post the other day about how easy it is to buy a domain and use it for your website. I must tell you it was sooooo easy peasy lemon squeezey!

Now on to my post!

So no,  it's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's an unfinished object. My very first quilt top! I've had the backing fabric since December, Derrick picked it out and bought it for me. I know, he's the sweetest.
I don't know why it's taken me so long to do this. The quilt is for us, it's for our bed, and I love the colors! Maybe it's taken so long because it's for me and not for someone else and I feel guilty. Oh well, guilt be gone!!!
"The orange carpet"
I haven't sandwiched and basted the quilt yet, I'll probably do that tomorrow or Thursday.





I'm not sure what color thread to actually quilt with yet. I was thinking bright green or purple, I may as well add more color to this ridiculousness! This will be the biggest quilt I have ever finished, once it's done of course. Yes this was my very first quilt top. I guess my motto for quilting in the beginning was go big or go home!
my helper 








I will keep you updated on my progress. I'm really eager to finish this one more than all the others. Probably because it was my very first top, and this one is for us! Yay! I need something for myself to celebrate my new domain, this is the perfect way to celebrate!






Quilt on,
Hoppi












Monday, May 6, 2013

I'll trade you Sheep for Wheat...

Finally I can tell you what this super duper secret was all about!!!!
I had a surprise Catan themed birthday party for Derrick!

If you don't know what Settlers of Catan is all you need to know is it's awesome! Okay, maybe you need to know a little more about it... It's our favorite board game in which you collect resources to build cities and settlements and roads to obtain points, the first person to get to 10 is the winner. I know some people who are hard core Catan fans are going to think that's a horrible description, and it is... but I don't have all day to tell you about all the awesome expansions and rules. Just take my word, buy Catan and play it with your friends and family!
Surprise!


<3





Catan in Action
more Catan
Pit!

Game of Thrones, the board game!

Decorations :)
Food!
The D man loves pie!
This surprise party was 2 months in the making. For those of you who know me IRL (in real life for the non-nerd readers), I'm not good at surprises, especially with D. At Christmas we usually give each other our gifts weeks, yes I said weeks, early because we can't keep secrets from each other. It pained me, literally,  not to tell him... I had some intense heart burn over the past two months. I pulled it off though and he was shocked! 
On to the quilt. I made him a quilted Catan board, life size and playable! I had to do this while he was a) sleeping, b) at work, and finally c) at Taylor aka my partner in crime's house. Big shout out to Taylor for helping me keep this a secret and helping me get him out of the house! He definitally deserves an academy award for his awesome acting skills.

Sheep, Baaa

Catan!

Wheat, Sheep, Rock, Brick, and Wood.
Before I go, I must tell you that my friend Blake requested I tell you what he has to say about the Catan Quilt. "It's incredible." Thank you, Blake! 

Quilt on,
Hoppi

Update: 
I was so excited about this I forgot to mention that today, like every Monday, I'm linking up with Stitch by Stitch! Please see the button in the sidebar and click to link to her blog! Also my give away for Mug Rugs ended today, as in I reached 100 likes on my Facebook Page! How cool! The awesome winner is Brie Marks, she will be getting a set of 4 mug rugs in the mail next week!