UFOvember: It's The Little Things

 Hello and Welcome!

I am so excited to be part of this amazing blog tour and have seen so many fun things on organizing and revisiting UFOs. Today I want to share a quilt that was briefly in my UFO pile and how it became more than just a completed UFO.

Let's rewind to Christmas 2019.  I had given my mom a quilt pattern called So This Is Christmas by the lovely Cotton Street Commons that we saw at Quilt Market a couple months before.  The gift came with the promise to have girls weekends and work on these quilts together. We got one weekend in and then COVID restrictions made it a challenge to get together to finish the quilt.  

Months went by and I kept thinking I need to work on that for her and things would come up.  Then UFOvember sparked a new desire to get it done so I could hopefully surprise her before Christmas.  It took just over a week to piece and prep for quilting.  Do you know how hard it is for me to keep secrets?  Hard!  Thankfully she couldn't see my face as I was asking her about quilting patterns because they were "on sale", yeah they weren't, FaceTime was off limits, and I had to stop the longarm if she called when I was quilting her quilt.  It all came together so well and then it was shipping time.

 

Does anyone else want to throw up when they ship a quilt somewhere?  Just me?  I packaged the quilt with a cute Christmas ribbon and put it in the box all nice and heavily padded. The next part was the hardest.  I wanted to make sure my mom was there to get the quilt but I wanted it to be a complete surprise.  So.... I lied.  I lied to my mom!  But it had to be done because the element of surprise is always my favorite.  I told her I accidently shipped a present for my husband to there house, almost 300 miles away, and that she needed to FaceTime me to make sure it was damaged because it was expensive.  Not really expensive, just priceless. She. Had. No. Clue!! It was working so well.

For two days I watched the tracking on this package like it was an advent calendar counting down until Christmas.  While talking to my dad and husband, I got a text that said it had been delivered.  A phone call has never ended faster than that one.  It was showtime!!! 

My mom and I FaceTimed just like we said and my dad helped her open the box.  This was it!  She said the box was a little squished and I about fainted, but the next comment brought me right back.  She said, "Kenzy I don't think this is your package.  I think its the boots I ordered." Hook, line, and sinker.  The package she is about to open was better than a pair of boots.  

As she unwrapped it and quickly realized what she was holding, tears began to fill her eyes as she said, "Seriously!" Surprise!!! It worked like a charm and now my mom had a beautiful quilt that she could display for Christmas.  Let me preface what I said next by saying that the last time I have hugged my parents was in February because of COVID restrictions.  When she opened up I told her that this was me wrapping my arms around her until I could do it in person.  Queue the tissues because we were a hot mess but in a good way.

 

This year has been one for the books you guys and if I have learned anything it is that it's the little things that make big things possible. Making the quilt required a little time on my part but the reward was completely worth it.  It could have stayed in the UFO pile for another year or more, but look what we would have missed out on.  A chance to give hope to each other that things will get better and we have so much to look forward to down the road.

I challenge you to go through your UFO pile and see if there is something that catches your interest or pulls at your heartstrings a bit.  Who knows, it may be just what the doctor ordered to lift your spirits or help to lift another's.  It might just do both.

Be sure to follow these amazing creators and blogs this month to help bring that excitement back to your UFO pile.  You won't be disappointed.  

November 1-7

Bobbie Gentili 

Becca Fenstermaker 

Joanne Kerton 

Sue Griffiths 

Ashli Montgomery 

Anne Boundy 

Sarah Ruiz 

November 8-14

Teresa Weaver 

Karen Brown  

Bobbi Bridgeman 

Raylee Bielenberg 

Althea Gyde

Me!

Leanne Parsons

November 15-21

Jessica Caldwell

Laureen Smith

Karen Kehl

Stacey H

Cinzia White

Laura Piland

Rachel M

November 22-28

Kathryn LeBlanc

Judit Hajdu

Lyra McCabe

Jill Therriault

Cristina De Miranda

Kate Starcher

Valerie Prideaux

November 29-30

Kim Mastromartino

Natalia Knowlton

Instagram Handles

@geekybobbin
@prettypiney
@canuckquilter
@sue_at_duckcreekquilting
@meandcoach
@said_with_love
@saroy
@justgetitdonequilts
@sunflowerquilting
@blueheronquilting
@sewingcorals
@devotedquilter
@desertbloomquilting
@ttquilts
@betterdonequilts
@twoterriersstudio
@sliceofpiquilts
@barefootcrafter
@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio
@quiltfox
@quilting_mccabe
@stitchinginheels
@shipsandviolins
@katiemaequilts
@crayonpatch
@kimmastromartino.linedesign
@nerdyquilter

-Kenzy

Sewing Corals

Farm Girl Vintage 2 Quilt Along

Hello!

Oh my the fun stuff do I have for you today! If you are following me on Facebook or Instagram, then you know that today was the big reveal for the fun we are going to have. 

The Farm Girl Vintage 2 Quilt Along!!!!

Can I just say that the last six months has been something I would have never expected, but there has been a silver lining in it for me.  I have really wanted to sew with people and I have missed that in my life.  I have had some wonderful classes online with My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe and that has given me the courage to branch out my business and reach out to all of you for this fun event.  So let's get some details in shall we.

What Event: Farm Girl Vintage 2 Quilt Along with Sewing Corals

When: Starts January 1, 2021 officially so we can start of the new year right.

Duration of QAL: January 2021-June 2021

Class style: ZOOM classes will be held once a week to go over block patterns and techniques.  The best part is all zoom classes will be recorded and a replay link will be provided after so you can watch class over and over again. But we will get to more details in a second.

Prizes: Umm Yes!!!  There will definitely be prizes for posts using a specific hashtag.

Kits Available?: Double yes! We will get to that in a minute too.

Did I miss anything? Ok then, lets get started.

The Farm Girl Vintage 2 Quilt reminds me of the farm life I grew up with during my childhood and what better way to feel closer to your roots during these times than quilt Farm Girls with quilt friends! Lori Holt has just knocked it out of the park with not only Farm Girls Vintage 2, but her latest fabric collection through Riley Blake Designed, called Prim, is spot on for this quilt.  Now for backgrounds, I am not usually a white background person.  I know they are absolutely beautiful but white scares me.  No joke. But I LOVE cream.  In looking for possible backgrounds, I found these beautiful Cloud White fabrics designed by Kathy Hall with Andover Fabrics that come in blue grays, creams and whites.

Now some of you may be new to quilting or have been so involved in home schooling that you are a little rusty and that is totally ok.  In November and December we are going to have "Boot Camp" to refresh and make some beautiful projects.  In November we will be making a CUTE gingham quilt.  all squares but perfect for the holiday season.  December will be a smaller project but it will focus on triangle techniques and piecing different shapes together.  

Lets talk about Zoom next.  Zoom has been a thing as of late.  To some it may be intimidating, but I am totally here for you.  I will walk you through it when the time gets closer.  This is going to be so fun as you will see people from all over and if it is just you and me... think of it as a private VIP party.  (insert the laughing face here). The best part of Zoom is you don't have to be present to get the info discussed on Zoom.  I will be recording it!  Everyone will be getting a link after the class that you can play over and over to your hearts content. I will also be available to answer any questions in between time.

With any quilt along comes prizes!  There has to be prizes because we are going to have a blast during this quilt along and what better icing on the cake than having prizes.  I will keep those a surprise but let me just say that they are going to be amazing. There will also be a special prize for finishing the quilt top by June and I think it is the perfect compliment to a job well done.

So lets get to the fun stuff. Fabric, pattern and class pricing. If you would like to buy everything here there will be a discount on the bundle packages.  Pricing is as follows:

Farm Girl Vintage 2 Book: $30

(This book has the patterns for the boot camp classes as well.)

Kit for top and binding: $250

Backing: $45

Zoom classes: $80

(2-4 classes per month for 2-3 hours each for 6 months)

Boot Camp

November Class: $15

Materials: $95

December Class: $15

Materials: $30

BUNDLE DEALS: 

Farm Girl Vintage 2: $400 including tax 

(complete quilt kit and classes.)

Farm Girl Vintage 2 and Boot Camp: $590 including tax

(Everything listed above)

Payment can be in the form of Paypal or Venmo.  Please email me your preference and I will send a payment request to you.  

If you have made it this far, you are my hero.  I am always here to answer questions.  Please contact me at sewingcoralsllc@gmail.com or message me on Instagram, Facebook, or here.  I am happy to help answer any questions and get you on track to start this fun quilt along.

I am so EXCITED!

Catch and Release Project Party

Today is the Day! 

You've heard that, "It takes a village to raise a child." It has taken a village to create this beautiful quilt over the last several months.  When I saw the post Mister Domestic sent asking for submission, I questioned for a day if I would be worthy to submit an idea.  Have we all done that? The post was celebrating his new line through Art Gallery called Catch and Release which hit home for me.  I searched for a few days and found a pattern that I would love to make with his fabric and sent it off.  So when I got the email explaining that I was going to be on this journey with these amazing people, I was so humbled.

This amazing opportunity was now at my feet and I was ready to take it and run with it.  I had never done this before in my life.  A Project Party, this style of quilt, this technique, custom quilting, photography, blogging... all of it was new to me but I knew that my seam ripper and I were up for the task.

Cutting fabric takes about 3-4 days, but this happy mail took about a week and a close approaching deadline before I finally cut into it. From there it was a steady process. So come take a trip down memory lane with me as we watch this quilt come to life.

Fabric: I was very very new to the concept thinking outside the box and working with light.  I was a take a picture and leave it at that kind of girl.

Fussy Cutting:  I had never done this in my life but I knew I wanted to highlight these darling fish from Catch and Release.

Assembly Required:  Usually I like to lay the whole quilt out to make sure I have colors where I want them, but I was way too excited.  I got through the first row and decided to just start sewing because the suspense of not having a block done was killing me.

Time Lapse:  This idea would have been fun to do as the blocks were slowly coming into place.  It would have also been entertaining watching my husband playing and conquering not 1 but 4 entire PS4 games throughout this process. 

Quilting Day:  The quilt is finally ready to be quilted.  Little did I know that what I thought would be a week of quilting turned into 3 weeks of 8-14 hour days of aligning each of the 900 individual pieces and programming them through Qmatic.  I have been long arm quilting for about a year and a half and have never done free motion quilting.  Thanks to Qmatic, I have a piece that resembles a free motion appeal with computerized designs.  I do hope to build my skills in free motion and one day create something like this for myself and others.

Binding: This is a love/not so love relationship for me.  I love the look of hand binding, but love the ease of machine binding.  I decided that this would be something I hand down to my future children so it needed to be hand bound.

Quilt Fest Quilt Show:  I entered my quilt into the Utah Quilt Guild Festival one week before my release date and had so many sweet comments from friends and family. The positive comments really boost my confidence in my talents and abilities.

Photo Shoot: This was the most daunting part of the experience.  A professional, I am not.  Not even close.  Mister Domestic gave me some guidelines, tips and tricks and away I went.  My sweet husband and I went spent the day driving to different places that were full of childhood memories. When the time came to review them, I had all the heart eyes in the world. 

So here we are on the big day and I want to give a shout out to my village who guided me along this journey.  Thank you for encouraging me to create a piece that will be passed down from generation to generation. And to all those wondering if you can do something like this... the answer is

Yes!

Thank you to:

Mister Domestic: For creating a beautiful fabric that will hold my childhood memories for life and for giving me the opportunity to learn above and beyond from this experience.

Art Gallery: Providing wings to fly on through this incredible fabric.

Laundry Basket Quilts: Thank you for the beautiful quilt pattern Alaska to create a lifelong memory.

My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe: Guiding me to the right rulers and templates for all of my cutting needs and for celebrating the milestones with me.

Superior Threads: For the wonderful Glitter and Metallic threads to bring my quilt to life.

Nuttall's Sewing Center: Thank you Chad for your knowledge and expertise on the machines I used and Denise for the mentoring on quilting this quilt through Qmatic.

Family and Friends: The long nights and overload of pictures sent to you at all hours of the night.  For the love and support and endless amount of Fiiz drinks to keep me going.

My Sweet Husband:  For pushing me to chase my dreams and for singing Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and Shrek with me during long/late quilting nights.  I could not have done this without him by my side.

I am so grateful for my village and can't wait to see what's next around the corner.  Never be afraid to take that leap because it may be the best journey yet.

Happy Quilting!

Hello there!

I'm Kenzy.

Welcome to the world of Sewing Corals.  I am so excited you're here! 

I am stay at home wife, mom, and quilter. I was born and raised in Utah and am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love sports, hiking the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, taking care of my fur baby, and spending time with my husband who is the real Superman.
Shhh. Don't tell anyone.

Throughout my quilting days I have loved exploring patterns, learning new techniques,

buying all the fabric that I simply can't live without, and sharing tips and tricks along the way.  I started learning through traditional quilting but found out quickly that I usually don't follow 

the traditional rules which puts me somewhere between traditional and modern. 

I am excited to create this positive space for people to come and share their thoughts and ideas and hope that this will be a place of learning and celebrating.  Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.

Happy Quilting Everyone!