We have a project in the newest issue of Quilts and More!

It’s called Zippity Duo and is on pages 52 thru 55.

The first one is made using our “Good Morning” fabrics and the second Mary made with some leftover blocks. The handles are made from lengths of zipper trim sewn together side to side.

It’s a simple project that doesn’t take long to make.

I actually use one every morning on my daily walk. I stuff all my essentials like house keys, dog poop bags, cell phone, and my bottle of water inside. It comes in handy and I sling it across my chest so my hands are free!

A very stylish addition to my grubby t shirt and shorts!

Barb

Mary and I have a group of friends that we have been quilting with for over 19 years. We meet twice every year in April and again in August.  We all escape from our families to the tall pines and enjoy an entire weekend of quilting, eating, talking and laughing.

This year we decided to have a group activity and try the “jelly roll race” that has been sweeping the quilting community by storm. Mary and I provided the jelly rolls and our enthusiastic quilting friends were ready to sew. On your mark … get set …. GO!

Some were nervous and worried about bathroom breaks and some embraced the challenge! All were ready to compete.

The first completed jelly roll quilt was sewn by Kathy and clocked in at 1 hour 29 minutes and 40 seconds …

We all sort of knew that Kathy would be the winner. She usually completes the most projects at camp.

Second place goes to Melony! She clocked in at 1 hour 33 minutes and 38 seconds …

This was a shocker! Lets say that Melony isn’t usually the fastest seamstress in the bunch.

Third place went to Carol! She clocked in at 1 hour 36 minutes and 52 seconds.

It was also Carol’s Birthday!

At 1 hour 43 minutes and 18 seconds Rachel found her ends …

This isn’t looking good for Rachel! That’s Melony’s finished quilt in the background!

4th place went to Sue …

She was the silent one who came in under the radar.

5th place went to Nancy, the new girl. Her time was 2 hours 0 minutes and 23 seconds …

She sews really well for a tall person. That’s an inside joke!

Mary got 6th place. Her time was 2 hours 20 minutes and 53 seconds.

I was right behind her for 7th place at 2 hours 40 minutes and 2 seconds. I could have beaten her if I wasn’t taking all the pictures.

8th place goes to Diana!

Her time was 3 hours 0 minutes and 9 seconds. She also got the award for the messiest sewing area! Back up and take a look at the floor and surrounding area in Kathy’s first place picture to see what I mean.

9th place went to Terry. Her time was 3 hours 24 minutes and 56 seconds.

Terry is also our sister. She is between Mary and I in the birth order. She is also Mom’s favorite. She is going to hate me for saying that.

10th place went to Cela …

Our bathroom break worrier. She didn’t take a drink the whole race. Her time was 4 hours 10 minutes and 46 seconds.

And last but not least … Rachel!

With a time of 4 hours 38 minutes and 26 seconds! It’s now dark outside. We took a dinner break and re started the clock.

Thanks girls for joining in on all the fun! I highly recommend doing this with your friends. We laughed and had a great time!

Some of us even fashioned a few left over strips into headbands. Hey … I don’t think there were supposed to be any leftover strips!

Vroom!

Barb

Welcome!
Today we are celebrating the release of a new book by our friend Vicki Eapen!
This is her first book for Martingale and we couldn’t be happier for her!

The new book is called …

As part of the book tour we were asked to make a block from the new book. I chose …

This looks like a simple block and I don’t think it will take much time to complete. I’ve got my pieces cut and I’m ready to go!

Almost finished …

Wa La!

What a fun block! It went together very quickly. I veered from the instructions and made my block a bit scrappy from pieces found in my scrap pile. You could make your block even scrappier!

To see more blocks from the book, visit the other blogs on the tour. Here is the entire schedule …

4/20 Vickie Eapen www.spunsugarquilt.com

4/21  Me & My Sister http://www.meandmysisterdesigns.com/blog/

4/22  Natalia Bonner http://www.pieceandquilt.com

4/23  Kathy Brown http://theteacherspet.typepad.com/theteacherspet/

4/24  Jen W http://misspunkiepie.blogspot.com/

4/25  Carol Lewis http://carolscraftblog.blogspot.com/

4/26  A Spoonful of Sugar http://www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/

4/27 Kate Spain http://katespaindesigns.blogspot.com/

4/28 Stefanie R. http://littleladypatchwork.blogspot.com

4/29 Stitch This! Martingale’s blog http://blog.shopmartingale.com/

Make sure to enter on each stop of the tour for a chance to win a book from Vickie.

Vicki was nice enough to send us an autographed copy!

You could get one too! Simply leave a comment below. The winner will be chosen sometime on Tuesday April 30th.

I dug this photo of Vickie up from some of my old market photos. She is the one in the middle, always smiling! …

Congratulations on the new book Vickie! It’s a winner.

And special thanks for using several of our past fabric groups in this quilt featured in the book too! It’s called Stretched Stars …

Good luck to all!

Barb

Mary and I are leaving the office for a few days!
The car is all loaded with supplies and ready to go …

We are headed to the tall pines and our annual April quilt retreat with friends.
Hope I haven’t forgotten anything!
See you on Monday!
Barb

Our new Leisure Arts book is now available!

Look for it at your favorite local or online quilt shop today.
You can also contact Leisure Arts directly.

Quilt shops can order from either United Notions or Checker.                                                                                                                                    SKU # LA 5952.

And don’t forget the one that started it all …

Still available and going strong!

Get your complete set today!

Barb

Thanks for all the great Bella comments!
Her head is reeling!

We hoped you liked visiting the Moda Cutting Table Blog too.
But with out further delay …

The 3 winners of the charm books and charm packs are …

1 ~ Pamela!  Bella the wonder dog is your quilt tester. And the photos suggest that she highly approves of your quilts! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity and for the wonderful black and white fabric! Black and white is refreshing, lovely, and makes all the other colors in the room pop. I’m glad you were able to convince Moda to do the line!

2 ~ Mary!  Your quilt tester is the adorable Bella.  I love shades of black and have been wanting to make a black & white quilt.  The book looks fantastic!

3 ~ Gail!  Bella and she is very pretty!

Congratulations! I will be contacting the winners by email shortly.
Thanks for joining us and look for more fun in the near future.

Happy Quilting!
Barb

I got a tip from a very reliable source that our fabrics are in the new issue of Quilters World magazine!

So I had to run out and find a copy …

Check out pages 14 thru 18 in the April issue …

Thanks Quilters World and Nancy McNally for the cute quilt using our “Good Morning” fabrics!

Hugs!
Barb

Today Mary and I are the featured designers on the Moda Cutting Table Blog!

To celebrate we have decided to do a triple giveaway!
Three of you could win a copy of our new charm pack book from Leisure Arts called …

AND a charm pack of our newest fabric group “Shades of Black” …

Simply click on over to get the answer to this important question …
Who is my quilt tester??

Leave a comment below with your answer and you might win!

The 3 lucky winners will be chosen on Friday April 12th.
Good luck to all!

Have fun at the Cutting Table!
Barb

We are now offering some of our patterns in download form on Craftsy!

Search for them using “Me and My Sister Designs”.

Make sure to become a follower, cause we are adding more daily.

Thanks!
Barb

Were sailing again in 2014 to new ports and aboard a BIGGER ship!

Be sure to visit Stitchin’ Heaven for all the newest details.

We would love to see your smiling faces!
Barb