ALYofF Oct. Sock Monkey Finish

Our Grandson turned one earlier this month. 

 I think I scored a touchdown with his birthday quilt: 

As I stated here, my goal was to create a birthday quilt for our grandson. His parents are BIG Seattle SeaHawks Fans so my son-in-law was especially awed that I found his team's fabric. LOL!! (I actually found a background fabric called artificial turf grass!)

 He noticed that too! I even signed the front like a "sports star" would sign a football!

 I had so much fun creating this Sock Monkey Football Quilt for him!! 

A few shortcuts used:  First, I used premade binding for the white field stripes and machine sewed them on. I used iron-onVarsity Numbers. Applique: I drew the sock monkey and enlarged it by about 150%  at the local print shop. I found the football pattern in one of my old teacher bulletin board books and used 3" lettering templates leftover from my scrapbooking days to create the TOUCHDOWN letters. I then hand appliqued them all onto the quilt top. 

     It measures a cuddly 38"x 50". It's soft, lime-green, polka-dot, flannel backing, will hopefully make this his favorite "go-to" comfort quilt. Andddd...though I was a little apprehensive about using a pantograph on an appliqued quilt, I couldn't resist quilting it with my Sock Monkey Pantograph and it sewed over the applique with no problem. 

Jackson also wanted me  to show  how I included our 

grandson's age and the year on the back: 

Well, there ya have it, my pride and joy for the month!
I'm linking up with everyone else at:

(Can't believe I've made my monthly goal every month so far!! Anyone else feeling like that??) A big thanks to Shanna and Melissa for the motivation!!
Also check out my linky page for more fun places to link up and share.
With smiles,
Val:)

Tuesday Archives #34: HALLOWEEN!

Created by Nancy at Patchwork Breeze.

Hey fellow blog friends!!! It's time for our Halloween version of:
I also updated our themes. Check out my side-bar for November's list. 

Our highlighted blogger this week is Nancy who blogs at Patchwork Breeze. Serious, look at this adorable jack-o-latern: A small ppp used in the wavy banner (as seen on her post here). She designed this herself and you can check out her pattern on PatternSpot.com

Butterfly Quilting

 I recieved this commission quilt in the mail last week.  The only request that the customer had was they wanted it to give their nursing home recipient "a lot to look at".

I knew immediately I'd use my  Butterflies with Words Pantograph to accent the butterflies already in the prints and to add to this quilts whimsical garden appeal. 

The pantograph says: colorful, beautiful, butterfly. 

Upon my customer's request, I used a lime green thread comibination. King Tut in Limestone (A wonderful variegated color) for the top thread and So Fine #450 (Lime) for the bobbin. I think the thread color really complimented her work wonderfully!

And, hey, if you or a friend are ever looking for a long-arm quilter,
please check out my information page:

Just click this picture for more information.

I offer an extensive selection of designs and quick turnaround service.

November Special: FREE return shipping on any quilt in the U.S.

Feel free to drop me an email with your requests.

With Smiles!

Val:)

Little Letter QAL: N & O

Happy sewing on a cool Fall morning as I keep up with the Little Letters QAL at Temecula Quilt Co.'s blog.  Today, N is for Nursery Rhymes and O is for Original...

I've also been keeping up on my 15 minutes a day, as I enjoy some slow stitching 

in the evenings by working on my Wool BOM:

Linking up with everyone else Kathy's Slow Stitchin'  Linky today and 

plan to spend the afternoon quilting and taking a long Fall walk.

With smiles,

Val;:)

Whimsical Flower Garden (Blogger's Quilt Festival)

Okay! So when I read about The Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side I knew immediately the quilt I wanted to highlight this year!
(Also welcome if if you are new to my blog). Here it is:

This is my Whimsical Flower Garden that I made as a donation for Happy Chemo earlier this year.

First off let me tell you, I LOVED MAKING THIS QUILT!!! (It was actually hard to give away!)As a cancer survier myself, when I joined this QAL I found my heart and brain going right...in other words...I wanted to create a realllll happpyyyy chemo hug! LOL! Something different and unique.

My husband and I were practically newlyweds ourselves, our girls just two and three years old when my own diagnosis of Stage 3 Hodgkin's Disease threw our sense of normalcy out the door and was replaced with a new routine of doctor appointments, IV's and chemo followed by days of sickness. (Not to mention with the domino effect cancer has on your  poor family.) To this day, I will never forget, after 10 months of chemo, I then had to have daily "follow up" radiation for a month.  My mom would pick me up from school at lunchtime, my  two toddler daughters would be smiling at me from their car seats, excited by our "trip". My appointment was an hours drive away. They'd drop me off to get "zapped",  go refill the car with gas, return and we'd go for a picnic lunch in a nearby park. (I seriously can not ever repay my mother for her unconditional love and support to my husband and I during these times!!)

So....with every flower sewn on this quilt,

I found myself willing happy thoughts of a healthy,
 loving journey to the recipent of this quilt.

That they too are surrounded with the love of family and that they too have the courage and determination to LIVE life despite their obstacles of cancer!

I went through ten months of very advasive chemo and one month of daily radiation.
I found daily comfort in a blanket my mom knitted me, thus my genuine inspiration to create a quilty hug for someone else as our quilts make such a difference.


Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my story.
If you are new to my blog, Welcome and I hope you like what ya see and will return. I have a Tuesday Linky party that finds us digging through our archived blog posts and rejuvinating them  according to a specific theme here every Tuesday!
My linky is called:

I hope you'll stop by and link up with us!!

Happy Quilt Festival to everyone!
I can't wait to start visiting everyone's elses entries this weekend.

Here are my quilt stats:

Title:  Whimsical Flower Garden

Created by and Quilted by Me: Val Reynolds

Size: 42"x64"

Category: Original Design

A BIG Thank you to Amy for creating such a very 

cool festival of quilting inspiration!!!

With smiles,
Val:)

Tuesday Archives #33: Hexagons & Houses

Welcome to the linky party that let's you rejuvenate your old quilting/sewing posts! 

(Check over in my right margin for the list of  our October themes)
This week is all about two of my very favorite themes: Hexagons and Houses!!

HEXAGONS:

This little wallhanger was my very first Hexagon quilt. I had so much fun making these scrappy 1" hexi's and enjoy that she now hangs in my laundry room.

HOUSES

Another first I made was this little heart and home wallhanging that I actually use as a table topper. It fits perfectly on our diningroom table:

Around the World Blog Hop/Part 2

Debra from Quiltingartist tagged me for this hop and though I participated earlier this summer, I couldn't resist her creative challenge to update by new followers. I am always inspred by what an inventive quilter she is and love her artistic approach to quilting.

I'm a pretty eclectic quilter/blogger.

I took my first piecing class in September of 2009 and made the above Pinwheel Quilt. 

I started blogging one summer day in June of 2013. 

(Here's a link to my FIRST POST.) 

 I live in the United States, in the beautiful state of Oregon. My blog is a place for me to connect with others who share my same passions. It's a place for me to document my works of heart as a quilter, along with snippets of life that go on in-between at home and as a second grade teacher. I'm a life-enthusiast and there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything  I want to get done! 

(Does anyone else ever feel like that?)

 Visiting my blog, you'll notice I'm a pretty eclectic sewer who dabbles in applique, English Paper Piecing, (love my hexagons) traditional and out-of-the box piecing, long-arm quilting, quilt/sewing area organizing (See my Sunday Organizing Series). I  have many W.I.P. but let's not talk about those! (wink! wink!) Feel welcome to check out my "pages" and/or "labels" in areas that may have sparked your interest. Hopefully you'll be inspired by what you see and you become a "follower" and I can visit your blog as well.

How is my work differ from others? What makes my work unique?

I received the nicest compliment from a fellow blogger last week so I'm going to use her description to answer this question: " Val is a quilter and she makes imaginative, happy quilts and she is lightning quick! Val's dog Jackson is a supermodel who somehow makes his way into most quilt pictures! "
See....I told you it was nice! LOL!
 I use patterns, but mostly enjoy creating my quilts from my imagination:

Annnnddd I have to admit, I do have a great quilt model too: Jackson!  

He's definitely my empty nest, quilting, walking companion.

A Quilting Discount for You!

Most recently, I've been working to establish myself as a long-arm quilter. If you are looking for a long-arm quilter, click right here! I have an extensive selection of patterns and offer quick turn-around service.  
Take advantage of my blogger special, and if you have me quilt for you from now through November, you'll receive free return shipping on your quilt. (U.S. orders only...sorry!)

So how does my creative process work?

I like to think of my quilt world as my way to:

Not a day goes by that I'm not stitching, sewing or quilting...even if it's just while watching TV at the end of the day. I'm a list maker. So each week starts with a list of blogging and quilting goals. I've always been crafty and realize it's just a part of who I am. 

Thank you!

 I've so grateful for this "virtual quilting guild" we've grown through blogging. Since many of us have already been tagged for this blog hop, here's a list of a dozen previous particpants that I've visited and invite you to check out: (If I missed your Blog Hop post, please feel welcome to add it to this post in the comments section so we can all stop by.) 
Zenia Rene at A Quilted Passion
Tanya at Tanya Quilts in Co
Vicki at A Quilter's Mission

Marianne at Adventurous Quilter
Faith at WillItNever End?
Deanna at Dreamworthy Quilts
France at France Nadeau
Marcy at Made By Me in Red
Pat at Life in the Scrappatch
Carole at From My Carolina Home
Terri at Quilt-N-Cards
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

See ya tomorrow for Tuesday Archives. Tomorrow's themes are two of my favorites: Hexagons and Houses! 
With smiles,
Val:)

Little Letters QAL: J, K, L , M

Still singing my ABC's as I got caught up on my Little Letters this morning:

J is made from a Jack-n-Jill print.

K from a Kitchen print.

L from Little Letters. 

M from a cute polka-dot Mouse print.

The afternoon found me enjoying a long walk and some slow stitching outside.

Happy Sunday!

With smiles,

Val:)

Baby Quilt Show/Garage Sale Find!

Today the weather was beautiful as I walked over to a local Cultural Center to checkout the Baby Quilt Show/Fundraiser being held for our local children's relief nursery.   

Most the quilts were simple, many created from charm pack and panel patterns.

 I found myself inspired by the simplicity of them all.

I couldn't resist picking this one as my very favorite:

Annnddd it's always nice to see your own donation among the bunch:

I also found this thrifty find at a garage sale right across the street: A larger dresser to replace a smaller one to aid in my studio remodel. (My neighbor and I  simply ended up swapping dressers as she wanted a smaller one! SCORE!)

I can't wait to start filling the drawers!

With smiles,

Val:)

Finding 15 Minutes A Day...

As the evenings start getting darker sooner and the outdoor chores requiring less time, I bet I'm not alone as I find comfort in turning my summer sandles for winter slippers and sipping tea after a long day of work.  

And after almost a week of not even being in my sewing room and suddenly finding myself in creative withdrawals, I thought I'd join Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge from now to the end of the year...to get myself into a Winter sewing routine. I've got a lot of "ToDo" projects done and delivered...so tackle this challenge with a sense of quilty freedom to just sit down and play with my sewing. Curious how you find time for your quilty habit? Comment or even better, stop by Kate's linky and share.

With smiles!

Val:)

Tuesday Archives #32: Hand Quilting & Heirloom Quilts

Welcome to the linky party that let's you rejuvenate your old quilting/sewing posts! 

(Check over in my right margin for the list of  our October themes)

This week is all about skimming through those archives and finding quilts that showcase your HAND QUILTING/STITCHING & HEIRLOOM QUILTS. I found a wonderful archives to highlight today and hope both Teje and Tonya grab a highlight button for your blog:

<div align="center">
<a href="http://myplvl.blogspot.com/" title="Val's Quilting Studio"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutD7tRLup6XPOfBW37FljOItOInStQju8NyyFXgKpbjRWlXv-7KC9pxbI8Wml8gGWhrJ6YMcP090ccK4LWqTJi2QjOM6KPgI4tngYsnoFlSXEBzY5g-MCh9DveXQdSjV_nqJEtetBmzsk/s1600/untitled3+(150x109).jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" alt="Val's Quilting Studio" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

HAND QUILTING/STITCHING:

Our Finnish friend Teje, who lives in Greece and blogs at Nero's Post and Patch always inspires me with her beautiful HAND QUILTING. (Just know Teje, I had the hardest time selecting which quilt to highlight.)  Here's a peek at Teje's Baby Steps Quilt.
 It really showcases her hand quilting well: 

Annnndddd I always love visiting Tanya Quilts in CO. Blog to see how she uses HAND STITCHING to add the most adorable features to her quilts like she did on this playful baby quilt:  

HEIRLOOM QUILTS: 

I'm a first generation quilter. My Aunt was a quilter, and she supported my desire to learn to quilt some twenty years ago as she bought me my first rotary cutter, mat and manual. But we never got to sew together. I will forever treasure this quilt she made for our youngest daughter's birth:

Fabulous Fall Weekend!

We had a lot of family fun this weekend as we welcomed Fall here in the states. We enjoyed caramel apples and even got to make our own apple cider!

(Thanks to my daughter for making and sharing these great picture collages.) 

We also celebrated our little guys first birthday! Quilter alert!! Notice the sock monkey flimsy  in the top left corner of the below collage!?!? Yep! I'm making good progress on my October ALYofF goal. I got the quilt top done just in time for our grandson's birthday celebration this weekend. But!  like any busy quilter, snatched it back and brought it home with me with plans to quilt it next weekend and then bind before my return visit for Halloween! (My son-in-law is a die-hard Seattle Sea-Hawks fan, so you can just imagine how much HE liked the quilt!) He also picked out a flannel lime green for the backing and requested I quilt it with my Sock Monkey pantograph!
 I just LOVE family quilting requests don't you!?

Well....these are some of the people I quilt for and love to keep wrapped in quilty hugs! It's back to "business" tomorrow and it's always good to be home. But oh do I love being a Grandma and I think a few of you out there can relate! I'm looking forward to finishing his Sock Monkey Quilt as I await my return visit for Halloween in a couple of weeks.
With Smiles,
Val:)

Happy Fall!

I love that it's October as this is my absolute favorite time of year!

We especially enjoy our daily walks right now.
I've been busy with parent/teacher conferences this week and have grandma plans all weekend. I can't wait to sip some fresh apple cider and go pumpkin picking with our little guy today. We'll also be celebrating his first birthday!! I have a few fun sewing posts coming up next week that will include the reveal of our grandson's first birthday quilt, a Charity Baby Quilt Show/Auction and of course, Tuesday Archives. 
(Our themes next week are Hand Quilting and Heirloom Quilts.) 
Until then though, we wanted to wish everyone a great weekend!
With smiles,

Val and Jackson