Another UFO Finished :)

My May project for the UFO Challenge is finished!   May's challenge number was #2.

Number 2 on my list was to bind (and thus finish) my Spring quilt that was from a past Thimbleberries Club that I taught at the quilt shop where I used to work.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm hand binding it and there are a few pins still around the edge ~ but it will be finished tonight.  I just wanted to go ahead and get this picture snapped :)

The beautiful quilting was already done for me a while back by a good friend of mine, Sheri Thompson of Pieceful Completion. 

...And the quilt has just been waiting patiently in the wings for me to get to the binding.

I'm really enjoying the UFO Challenge.  It gives me a real reason to pull these unfinished projects out and get them finished and on a bed :)

The UFO Challenge number for June is #12:  Now I'll pull out my blue/white Winding Ways quilt top and figure out how I want to quilt it :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Give Away Winner!

Just because I always post a picture with every post, here's a picture of my Hydrangea starting to bloom...

But I'm mainly popping in to tell you the winner from my little Memorial Day Give Away is comment number 17:  Linda!  Email me Linda with your address, and I'll get your Red/White/Blue fabric bundle out to you :)

I also had several comments about visiting the quilts at the Smithsonian.  When I was there the other day, there weren't any quilts on display on the museum floor (sometimes there are a few), but they do have an extensive quilt collection that you can see through a virtual tour at This Link.

Also, if you're going to be visiting Washington DC, contact the Museum of American History ahead of time, Volunteers do a behind the scenes tour of some of the quilts in their collection on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month.  I think they only take 10 people up at a time, so contact them ahead of time and see if you can schedule it for when you are visiting.  That is the tour I went on and it was a real treat :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

A Little Weekend Summer Fun

The kiddies came up this weekend and the sun was shining so we did a little "gardening"...

...Well mostly the Fairies in the Fairie Garden got played with...

 Then it was time for a little sprinkler fun.  That's exciting if you love to get wet...

...But some of us don't like to even touch our feet to the wet grass...

...Maybe it's better to just try it from the safety of Grandpa's arms...

Finally, Success!  It is ok to touch the feet to the wet grass :) 

Maybe turn the water down low and let Big Sissy help...

...well, maybe not.

 

 "Oh my, what am I getting into"...

 After about thirty minutes ~ an expert sprinkler runner has been born :)

And then we always enjoy drying off in the Summer sunshine.  I hope you all had a fun Memorial Day too :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

In Honor and Glory

All we have of freedom, all we use or know -
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

Thank You to those who serve in our Armed Forces today, and to the Veterans who have sacrificed of themselves for our country in the past. We salute you!

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day with family and friends, but always remember the meaning of the day.

~ Dawn

A Memorial Day Weekend Give Away!

I've been city hopping this week.  Today I was in Baltimore for one of my work days at the Maryland Historical Society, and Tuesday I spent another misty day in DC.  Tuesday morning I rode to work with my hubby and had a lovely breakfast with him, then I hopped the Metro over to the Mall and did a little walking about.  (In this picture of the Capital you can see they're setting up the tent for the Memorial Day concert this weekend.) 

Even though the skies were gray, there were still some lovely pictures for the taking.

I love how DC has entire streets that look classic like this.  This one happens to be a section of Constitution Ave... 

...right across the street from my destination, The Smithsonian Museum of American History where some ladies from the Baltimore Applique Society and I met and spent a few hours upstairs in the textiles department looking at some beautiful quilts!  I have to work again tomorrow, but after the busy week I've had, I plan on staying home this Memorial Day weekend, spending some time with family,  and hopefully getting a little sewing in :)

Since I haven't had a Give Away in quite a while, in honor of Memorial Day weekend I thought I'd offer this Red, White & Blue bundle of fat quarters from the Heritage Prints collection from Benartex Fabrics.  Leave a comment on this post, and on Tuesday morning I'll draw one random winner to send them to :) 

Finally, whether you are enjoying this weekend at a cookout, graduation party, playing in the garden, jumping in the pool, or watching the Indy 500...take a moment to say a prayer of thanks, and fly the American flag in honor of the ones who have given the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our nation and keep us safe.  Have a Happy and Safe Memorial Day weekend :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

A Little Handwork

All of my travels this Spring has lent itself nicely to handwork.  This is a little block that I got finished for the Baltimore Applique Societies' President's Appreciation block for our outgoing President, Cathy Marciano.

The block was designs for BAS by Lori Smith, isn't it adorable!  Cathy's been a wonderful BAS President these past two years and I've been privileged to work with her this year on the Board (...and I had fun working on her little bird block too!)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Kansas City Debut

Just in time for summer, I've got some new patterns out!  My Madras Summer Tote pattern was made for AccuQuilt (It's very AccuQuilt Go Cutter Friendly), and now it's available as a pattern on my Website and from Quiltwoman.com :)

I was asked to design some patterns using some fabric lines for Andover Fabrics that are kicking off at Spring Quilt Market.  This is Autumn Sunset.  It features the Candy Corn & Black Magic collections designed by Renee Nanneman for Andover. 

Countdown to Christmas is made with the Santa Claus is Coming to Town fabric collection designed by Marisa & Creative Thursday for Andover.  It's a cute wall hanging with 25 little pockets to fill with fun trinkets to discover each day in December right up to Christmas Day! (This one is also AccuQuilt Go compatible).

...And finally, Prairie Pinwheels was also designed using Andover's International Quilt Study Center classic fabric line called Garden Maze.  This is a large bed-size quilt easy enough for a beginning quilter to accomplish.
(Of course as with any pattern, all of these can be made with any fabrics or pieces from your stash.)

All of the patterns can be purchased from My Website, or for wholesale shop orders they can be found at Quiltwoman.com and through your distributor.  

I can't be at Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City this year, but I'm happy that a few of my new designs are :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Newsletter is Up!

Do you subscribe to our Spring Water Designs Newsletter?  Well there's a new one out with some of our latest news, and if you didn't get one you can read it Here on the Website.  

I'm excited to share that one of the newest happenings here, is that we are now officially Authorized Handi Quilter Reps!  I love my HQ Sweet 16 Sit Down Machine so much that I decided to sell them!

It's a really neat time because Handi Quilter has just introduced the option of the TruStitch Full Visibility Stitch Regulation system for the Sweet 16.  Now it will be easy to achieve consistently even stitch lengths regardless of your stitching speed even on the sit down quilting machine!  

Bob and I have been trained Handi Quilter technicians since 2008, and now we can sell machines and accessories as well as offer support and service!  Contact me if you are interested in information on any of the HQ quilting systems, or to order accessories and supplies for a system that you already own. 

If you'd like to receive occasional email newsletters with our happenings here at Spring Water Designs, Subscribe Here ~ I really don't send them out too often, but I plan on starting to utilize the emails to give my subscribers special offers :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

I've Been on R&R...

...I took a little vacation, did you miss me?  Bob was competing in his first National Rifle Match in Butner, NC so I decided to take a little break and tag along.  I actually left my computer at home, and enjoyed myself immensely! 

There was a whole lot of this going on.

...And of course on a rainy day I got some hotel room sewing in :)

Among other things I worked on piecing swap blocks for multiple swaps that I'm participating in.  (And some handwork for a project I can't show you just yet.)

We did have some lovely weather too, and enjoyed a beautiful day at a local lake (This is a little corner of Lake Holt). 

It was so peaceful and I played with my new camera a lot :)

We ate at a little Restaurant/Bait Shop there, and had the best steak and cheese ever...and there were baby geese!

I was surprised at how peaceful it can actually be on a gun range.  It was a wonderful little vacation with no crazy site seeing scheduled in, just lots of taking it easy and enjoying the moment...and of course a little applique and knitting :)

Now I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work...

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

A New Toy!

I got a new camera last night, and this is the first picture that I took with it!  I was shooting at night with a flash ~ yes, this is Maddie sitting next to me in my chair.  At first she thought my new toy was pretty cool...

...and then pretty soon she wasn't amused any more, and I let her go back to sleep.  We had a SLR film camera (A Canon Rebel), but for years now I've been using a little point and shoot digital camera.  So now I'm going to have fun playing with this new one (A Canon T2i) and learning what all the dials/icons mean over the next couple of weeks.  (Is there no end to new electronics to learn ~ I'm pretty sure one day my brain will officially hit overload!)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn