Sally's Angelworks

{exciting surprise secret REVEALED + other FUN!!}

Remember this???? {hidden in this post here...}

Last week at Quilt Market our BIG secret was revealed in Amanda's Booth!!!

She revealed her book that she created in collaboration with her team! And that includes me!! yipeeeeee!!!

Here's the cover with Amanda's wonderful sewing box...

So fun, huh???

and here is my project that is included:

Yay!!!! You too can make this!! And all of the projects in this fabulous book!

Here are a couple of other sneaky peeks from the book:

(awesome quilt by Brooke)

(fun handwork organizer by Stephanie)

{delightful quilt by Jana)

(fantastic travel tote for your crafting needs by Julie)

There are more FABulous projects in there!! I'm not going to give away all of our secrets though...(or you could go to Amanda's Blog and see her video where she shows all of the project in there! :) )

Go here to purchase your copy!!

Sooooooo fun! I'm so thrilled to be a part of this project! This team is just amazing!

...and if being published in a book isn't enough for you, Lillian and I are in the latest copy of Where Women Create (Summer issue)...

Page 82...see us in the middle sporting my aprons??? Love that pic! (taken by Megan at Megan Rogers Photography!) 

Yep, we're famous now! 

But that doesn't really preclude us from sweeping and mopping, which I'm off to do this afternoon! Then, some creating! yay!!

I hope your weekend is just as exciting as it is here at Sally's Angelworks!! ♥

 

{celebrating with a crafty hand...}

{special thanks to Izzi for a lot of these pics from the party!!}

Sometimes we just have to get our craft on, dontcha think?

Well, for the last few weeks, I've been doing just that! Are you ready for a long post of pictures? Those are usually my favorite!!

So we threw a fun graduation party for my Cora last weekend! And we had a lot of little details that we incorporated in our decorations. As it happened, we were a little under the gun with wind and other craziness, and I didn't get all of the pictures I wanted. But I did get some! :)

One of the things we really wanted was a photo booth!! After ditching the idea of a backdrop (wind didn't allow it!), we moved it to another place at the park.

Here are two of my fave collections:

the boys...(I love baby Jack in there!!!)

Aren't we adorable??? I love Mr Gorgeous!! 

Did I mention the cans that Cora covered in scrapbook paper and then we filled with flowers?

We covered the tables with paper and put crayons on there for the guests to draw and write... most guests wrote a little something for Cora...

We decorated other tables with special Cora things!

Check out her custom cake...

My darling friend Melanie made it for Cora...don't even ask how many pounds of butter are in this thing!!! It was amazing!!!

and the topper...

I whipped this up:

I cut out two moustaches out of a cereal box and painted all sides with chalkboard paint and added two bamboo skewers. Cora wrote "yippee" on it! I love chalkboard paint...big time!!!

 We had this fun idea to have clothes lines up for pictures of Cora strewn on them. We didn't really think about wind too much beforehand, so when it came time to put them up, there was a little bit of difficulty! But we persevered!!

We put together some tags with baker's twine, and my darling mom stamped a guitar on each of them. We put them in a little basket for everyone to grab one and write a little something to Cora! :) 

I also fixed up an old suitcase to hold all of Cora's cards. We put some other fun stuff in there, too...the cards on the suitcase clothesline says "Sweet Cards". Fun!! 

The ladder behind the suitcase is holding one side of the tags/pictures clothesline.

My fun screen doors (which I recovered with burlap potato sacks that I got from the Round Top Antiques Fair last October) are holding the right side of the clothesline. You can kind of see the tags and pics blowing in the wind!

This table (above) was holding a bunch of Cora's favorite things: Teddy, books, her diploma, a scrapbook...etc. :) super fun!!

One of my fave moments, though, was when Cora opened my graduation gift to her. She wasn't too surprised that it was a quilt. It's been hard to keep this a secret since it was a pretty big project for me!! She hadn't seen the blocks or the border fabric, though!

Now, this is my second MUST-FINISH that I brought to the HMQG in January. (remember this post?) Here is my before pic from that Jan meeting:

I'm not sure what I was thinking in this pic...But check out Cora's expression when she opened the whole thing:

and the full quilt?

fun, huh??? 

I used a pattern from Amy Ellis's Modern Basics book! This is my second finish from that book. I have two more tops that I've finished from it! so fun!!!

One of the special things about this quilts is the journey that I took to get it done. Cora has been asking me to make her a quilt ever since I started quilting about 10 years ago. She has been hoarding her father's quilt that his great grandmother Cora made for him when he was a teenager. My Cora asked specifically for a quilt that was quilted just like his. So for the last year, I have been learning how to do this on my own. When we decided on this pattern, I just thought I would send it out to be quilted. But instead, I started practicing. And when she saw Nathan's quilt two weeks ago, she said, "Hey, that's quilted just like Dad's quilt!" That's when I really knew I was going to pull it off!! :) 

It's going to be sad to see that quilt go off to college...not to mention the little girlie!! :)

BTW, did you see my bunting up above our heads? I adore that bunting!! I'm trying to figure out where to put it up in our house now that the party is over!! I don't want to hide it!!

We all had a magnificent time at the party!!!!

 Why can't they all stay young like this, though???

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Fabric life at the Keller's hasn't stopped, though!!

I got these trees in the mail! They are awesome!! It was a Misfit Quilters Swap last fall! I can't wait to finish this little quilt, as per the Purl Soho blog pattern here!!

This one was mine:

Really fun, huh???

Be sure you pop over to Julie's blog and sign up for her newsletter!! Brooke and I have another really cool tutorial for you that will be linked in her May newsletter! Plus you want to see all of her Market pictures!! I was really sad to miss Market this Spring, but I'll be there with bells on in the Fall right here in Houston!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I also have a really, really cool surprise that you can "pre-see" if you run over to Amanda's blog right here and watch her little fun video!!! HINT: Be sure to look for my name...teeheeee!!

Have a wonderful week! I'll be back on Friday for some more quilty finish fun!! yay!!!!

{what a weekend!!! how to integrate fabric into your daily life...}

Happy happy day!!!

I've had such a wonderful weekend, and I want to share a little of my wildness with you...as usual!! ♥

Saturday, my oldest child graduated from high school!

Yep, I just said that outloud!!!

Mr Gorgeous had to take the pics during the ceremony...I was a bit teary!! 

(after the ceremony...she loves me!!)

This is the happy senior couple with our youth directors and their family! I love this pic!!

So, I got to give Nathan his graduation present...

Surprise!!! A Quilt!!! yipeeeee!!!

I used the same fabric (Hometown by Sweetwater Designs for Moda Fabrics) for his quilt as I did for his bowtie! Isn't it awesome??? 

I'm hoping he'll take a pic of the whole thing to share with you!

..........................

Here are some highlights from Sunday...

Mother's Day!!!

We went over to my in-laws to celebrate!! (Yummy grilled veggies)

Besides an electric cello that my fam gave me two weeks ago, I got a Talking Timmy!!! yay!!! I love Timmy the sheep so much!! :) 

But even more...

I love my kids!!!

 

 

 

We're a little crazy!! :)

my sister-in-law and her girlies...

Yep, they're crazy, too!! LOL!!

My sweet mother-in-law and her two kiddos!

and what did we get her for mother's day???

not a quilt...but...I did use this fabric...

and this is what I made...

A little gardening apron!!! I got the pattern from the latest Stitch magazine. So fun and wonderfully simple!

 

We found some seed packets and filled some of the pockets with them!!

The fun part is that she had just been shopping at the garden store with my sister in law and is ready to get started gardening this week!! :) Perfect timing for the apron, huh??? Love!! :)

Some other fun shots from the party!!

The boys did all of the grilling and cooking! It was yummmmmy!!

I had a really great weekend!! And of course, there was fabric involved! and naps...

And sheep and champagne and wild edible hibiscus flowers...

I hope your weekend was just as exciting!!

 

{birthdays, graduations, mission trips...life is good!!}

Ohhhhhh I've been wild!!! Well, not really...but a little bit!

Back at our January Quilt Guild meeting, we shared what projects we were going to finish in 2012...kind of a 'resolutions' type thing. 

I had two MUST FINISHES that I shared...

and the first one is finished!!! yay!!!

Here is the top that I shared back in January!! (Thanks, Jacey for the pic!)

This quilt was a kit that my mom picked out several Januarys ago! LOL!! I put the top together pretty quickly!!

But alas, I always get waylaid by the basting. 

This weekend, I bit the bullet and pin basted, quilted and bound this gorgeous quilt!

{in process}

and my mom got to open it last night at her birthday party!!

I'll get a full shot of it at her house on her bed Thursday!!

Here are some other shots from her party...

Mom and her Texas grandkids!! She goes Thursday to be with her Washington grandkids!! Two of my sister's kids graduate this year...one from high school and one from college. My mom gets to go to my niece's college graduation this weekend! Wow!! It's a busy spring for Oma!!! 

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I knew I wanted to throw a little dinner party for my mom this year, and I was thinking about decorations. I also have been thinking about how to raise more money for Cora's mission trip (read about that here!!), and so I combined my ideas!!

I created a table topper pattern that will be in Julie's Store, the Intrepid Thread by this Friday!!! And all of the proceeds go towards Cora's mission trip to Ireland and London! yay! 

Here's some pics of the piece in action...

Don't you love free motion quilting??? I sure do!!

and straight line quilting!!!

and wonderful little girlies who are adorable!!

 

A perfect table topper for your birthday party!!

We had taco salad...it was good!! :) 

Love!!!

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a couple of random thoughts before I go!

I'm getting ready for Cora's graduation party next Saturday...

These will be involved!!! excited!!

I think Penny might sleep through it!! :)

Stay tuned to see more graduation prep fun this week!!

 

{winner + fun sneaky peeks!!}

{cora...so adorable!}

Ohhhhh yes!! I am still in Graduation Land...

...it's like Disneyland only with a little less of Mickey Mouse!

Please forgive my lack of updating the Blog! 

I've got a lot of projects coming up that I can't wait to share with you! A lot of them are presents, so I can't really spill the beans tonight...

But I do have one project I can share a couple of sneaky peaks with you!!

Before I do, I can share the WINNER of the beautiful pack of fat quarters from Julie's store, the Intrepid Thread!!

Christine!!! Make sure you check that email and watch the mailbox! Sooooo awesome!!

Thanks, Julie, and thanks for all of the wonderful comments about my darling daughter's Gala dress! I had such a wonderful time making it! ♥

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Here are a couple of sneaky peeks of my latest project...

Is that fabric not the greatest??? LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

Apple of my Eye by Amanda Herring with the Quilted Fish!

(Did I mention you'll be seeing a LOT of this in the near future???)

So excited!!! 

So, be on the lookout for lots of projects over the next few weeks...but also, be aware that I'm getting ready for a cool graduation party in two weeks...the same weekend as Spring Quilt Market...sigh! Life is a bit wild right now...okay, okay, life is always wild here!!

...anyone want to fold my laundry??????

{fun fridays - Gala style + an Intrepid Thread giveaway!! yipeeeeee!!}

You know how you will do anything for your kids??? If you won the lottery, you promise they can have anything they want? okay, maybe not everything...LOL!!

I have always loved to dress my little girlies up in beautiful dresses and finery. And I've sewn a lot of dresses in my day...well, little girlie dresses that could withstand my "not-so-precise" seamstress abilities!!

And Cora, my darling oldest, has always been patient with me...that is, until she became a teenager.

There was that year where I announced to the family "time to pick out the matching Easter Dress fabric!"  and Cora told me flat out NO!! She wasn't wearing matching dresses with me (or her sisters) anymore. 

She was pretty emphatic...

{Cora very young at a Tea Party!}

Fast forward to this year...

She went shopping a GOB to find a dress for her Senior Gala (prom). This was supposed to be the year where she was Cinderella at the Ball! But where was her gown????

She already had the shoes...

{note the shoes...so awesomely Cinderella-ish!!}

She had the Prince...

{they look so distinguished here...a little, anyway! LOL!!}

...but she didn't have the dress...

So I promised her that if we looked at all of the "cool" resale shops and she didn't find anything, we could run to Joann's and look for a pattern and I would "attempt" to make it...

well...

after 2 weeks of "deer in headlights", a great phone call from my sister telling me all the great tips about sewing satin, and 4 days of straight sewing minus an hour here or there (seriously...only an hour here or there!!!)...

...it was created!! Yep, I was the fairy godmother...

and my darling daughter who didn't like matching dresses made by momma, stepped into her fairyland dream Gala with her prince (who btw, is wearing a matching bowtie made by yours truly!! love the Martha Stewart Bowtie tute!!), and she was wearing her gown...

and without further ado...

I love how in this pic you can see the back with the little rhinestone thingamabobs on her bodice!!

They were with such a gorgeous group of kids!! (yep, that makes me feel old...just sayin'...)

There is a rhinestone thingamabob at every tuck in the skirt...

I had to take a couple of artsy photos...

and then the guys...

and the girlies...

*sigh* I love this wild ride I'm on with my first senior!!!

Here's a fun shot of Cora tying Nathan's bowtie...she is the expert!

Just one of the many milestones I will enjoy this spring with my graduating senior!!

_______________________________________

If you've made it this far through my wild pontificating about my eldest child, you deserve a chance to WIN, WIN, WIN!!!

My darling friend, Julie from the Intrepid Thread (my fave online store ever!!), who I absolutely adore, is giving away a bundle of 8-10 fat quarters of TURQUOISE fabrics in honor of Cora's Gala dress!! 

Yay!!!

All you need to do is to leave a comment on this post about anything!! :) 

You can have a second chance to win if you follow me on Facebook...

and a third if you follow me on Twitter!!

(Please leave a separate comment for each thing you do! :))

You have until this Monday, April 23rd at midnight CST to post a comment!! yay!! Have fun!!

Thanks sooo much for visiting my blog and listening to me rant about my sweet baby girl!

 

 

 

{sewing = super fun!}

Ohhhhh I'm back in the craft studio this week sewing up a storm!!

First, ohhhh myyyyy gooodnessssssss!!!

Guess what I got out of my mailbox this morning???

Amanda's new line, Apple of my Eye!! 

Aren't those colors the best?????

just gorgeous!!!

and you can get it from Julie right now RIGHT HERE!!

I will be whipping little fun projects out of this stack soon!!! Can't wait to show off! teeheee!!

in the meantime...

I've gotta show off some true fun!!

So in our Modern Quilt Guild, we did a scrap swap. What that means is that we bring a little baggie filled with scraps and we secretly swap them, then in two months we bring back what we made for that person with their scraps.

So, I brought some Amy Butler scraps...and my friend Pam made me this...

A gorgeous tote bag! I LOVE it!!!

And check out what she put inside!!

An Angel!!! (the hair clip is mine! I've been really using this bag!!)

So, I got Dierdre's scraps and a cute little card with a list of fun stuff her scraps could become...

Her scraps picked this:

a notebook cover!! Love it!!! I embroidered the word "joy" on the front...that's what these colors made me feel!

I love the bookmark!!

the flaps are so cool!!

and the back!!

So fun!!! I hope we do this again!

And remember these fabrics?

Here's how they turned out!

love aprons!!

 

so fun!! I hope Barbara loves it! Watch that mailbox, Barbara!!

I also made another little cutie apron, but I'm just going to give you a sneaky peek and tell you to make sure you are signed up for Julie's newsletter over at the Intrepid Thread!!

Cutest ever, huh?? I am loving that Vintage Modern fabric!

So stay tuned for all of the excitement here!! I have a special post happening on Friday!! (of course, you knew that! Fun Fridays!! yay!!)

{home sweet home block #16 - Branch Sweet Branch block tutorial!}

I'm thrilled to be one of the contributors to Kim's Home Sweet Home Quilt Along! 

Kim is the creative behind Project Quilting that I've been participating in.  I love that she has chosen to do a fun quilt along in between the weeks of Project Quilting!

And the blocks have been so fun...

Check them out here!!

Now, are you ready for the last block? 

My block was completely inspired by the art of Junelle Jacobsen and her class that I'm still taking right now!! (The Art of Wild Abandonment!)

I love the way Junelle used different scrapbook papers on a branch and couldn't get that idea out of my mind. I transferred the idea to fabric by using a bunch of scraps! 

Here it is...Branch Sweet Branch!

We are doing pretty much an applique/embroidery block!

Here is what you need to cut:

8.5" square of muslin

2  8.5" x 2.5" for top and bottom borders

2  12.5" x 2.5" for sides borders

1  1" strip for chimney (4" long is long enough!)

1  3.5" square for roof

lots of scraps for leaves

1 piece (fat eighth) big enough for the tree branch

TEMPLATE (click to download)

double sided adhesive (like HeatnBond or Steam-A-Seam lite)

embroidery thread/hoop/needle

light table (optional)

chalk pencil

Instructions:

Place your chimney down even to the bottom of your muslin. 

Place your roof square on your muslin right sides together.

Using a ruler and a chalk pencil, draw a diagonal line from the right edge to the bottom edge of your roof square.

Sew on that line...

Cut the excess roof square (and chimney excess) and fold down your corner and press your roof down!

Sew your top borders on first, and then sew your side borders on! Make sure you watch which way you attach your directional fabric on if you are using it!

It's time to applique. You can use the method you are used to the most. I love raw edge applique right now, so I traced all of my shapes onto my HeatnBond paper right along the lines. If you want to do needle-turned applique, make sure you cut out with an extra 1/4"  to turn it in! 

Also, TIP: make sure you trace your branch backwards, ie...turn your paper upside down on the light table and trace it!

Trace 7 x 3 of the leaves (or however many you want!! This is your sweet block!!)

Iron your traced adhesive onto the wrong side of your fabric.

(see how it is going the right direction? over the roof? I love that!!)

Iron your leaves onto your scraps! This project is perfect for that big basket of scraps for sure!!

Cut all of your pieces out and lay them on your block to check out where you want them!!

Iron your branch down first and then leaving your block on the ironing board, set up your leaves where you want them. Make sure you take the paper off!! teeeheeee!!

Also, I think it is adorable to have the pieces overlap onto the borders! Iron those suckers right down!!

Now is the time where you can add your text! You can trace the template that I wrote, or you can write "home sweet home" yourself. It's fun to personalize your block with your own handwriting! 

Remember, there are no quilt policemen hovering over you making sure you do something a specific way! This is your quilt! It can be however you want! Even if you want to put different words...it's fine!! :)

And you have your block!! 

A couple of things...

Depending on how you are going to quilt it, you can use your zigzagging around your appliqued pieces as your quilting! You can also do a free-motion little swirlie over the chimney as a little smoke swirl! fun, huh? Lots of options here!! 

I used Aneela Hoey's Little Apples fabrics from Moda to make my sweet block. 

Thanks again to Kim from Kim's Crafty Apple for letting me participate!!

Can't wait to see your interpretations of this fun little block!!

{instagram fun and a happy home here!!}

You know, I'm pretty spoiled with what I have. 

I really don't sit around wishing I had stuff...well, except maybe an electric cello, or a '65 mustang convertible, or maybe a maid!! (bwahahahaahha!!)

But there was a moment when I wanted an iPhone...just to have Instagram to play with. I wanted to be one of the "cool" people with great awesome photo posts. 

Well, today is the day! They finally offer Instagram for us poor little Droid users!! (btw, I adore my Droid Bionic! just sayin'...)

I haven't taken a lot of pics (too busy getting some deadlines finished!!), but here are two fun ones!

You can follow me at Instagram at sallykeller814. :) Again, I'm a newbie, so be nice!! teeeheeee!!!

btw, did I tell you that I got this in the mail this weekend????

sooooo YUMMMMMY!! I adore Jennifer and can't wait to delve into this book!!! yay!!!

You can get yours same place I got mine! RIGHT HERE at amazon!

Okay, I'm off to get a tutorial ready for Thursday...ooooop...did I just say that outloud???

here's a sneaky peek!!

sneaky, huh????

I'll be back tomorrow for my BIG QUILTY reveal!!! :)

yep, i'm pretty happy about it! :) 

{art journeys = spiritual journeys!}

Isn't a blank canvas the best?

Are you the type that revels in a new sketchbook and a wonderfully sharpened pencil?

This is how I think of Mondays. And today is no different.

I spent this morning really thinking, meditating, reading, and thinking some more. I think this is super important for this busy culture to just stop...be still...and really think about what we are doing! Maybe this hits you on an altruistic level...maybe it's just about prioritizing our to-do lists...maybe you are like me and really want to figure out the meaning of life - or the meaning of my life!! 

...this is the journey I'm on, and boy, is it exciting!!! I am loving every minute...well, almost every moment. I'm missing chocolate, but that'll come back. 

Before I write an entire novel here, I wanted to just share some fun art that has been going on here. 

Last week, as you saw here, it was Oscraps' 6th birthday. I had a blast! And I got a renewed sense of love for digiscrapping that I was desperate for. I love the coziness of scrapping on the laptop while sitting on the comfy couch, the documenting of memories, the creation of fun art.

{a love letter from God to Cora!}

I also love the role I'm playing at Oscraps right now! I'm still a CheeryO, but my specific job is on the blog team. What a fun combination of loves of mine! Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my digital layouts for you to oogle over! :) and hopefully become so inspired that you pop on over to Oscraps and join us in documenting your story!!

{yep, i love my man!!}

{all of the pics from the three LOs above are by Megan Rogers Photography!}

{love these two!!}

{she and i are a bit addicted to smiling!!}

{I hadn't really thought about documenting my sewing projects yet, but i LOVE the idea!!}

{this one is my fave of all of the above!}

This layout really speaks to who I am. The challenge was to write a 6-word memoir. And this was what I came up with. Super fun!! (the pic is also taken by Megan Rogers Photography! She's awesome!)

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So obviously, one of my main paths on my journey through this life is to homeschool my kiddos. Last Thursday, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts here in Houston. We actually have a membership, but this time we went with Quentin's worldview class. I took my younger two, also, and while his class went on a tour discovering the history of American Art, the girlies and I popped on up to one of our fave rooms..the French Impressionists. So we each got out our sketchbooks and pencils and sat on the big bench and picked our own paintings to sketch! 

Here is the original painting I picked:

The Little Gardener by Frederic Bazille

It was an unfinished canvas by this French artist. Here's my sketch...

It's not perfect, but it was such a fun exercise!! I told the girls I could do that once a week...ohhh, if only we lived in the Museum District!

Here's another sketch-turned-art-journal page...

the original inspiration? Mr Gorgeous's bamboo garden in our backyard:

My art:

I used techniques learned in Junelle and Christy's The Art of Wild Abandonment! So fun!! I'm still working my way through that AMAZING class!!

What an integral part of my journey! Art journaling is a phenomenal part to discovering what speaks to my soul. There are words that our Creator is speaking to each of us individually (just like we tailor our teachings to each of our children differently!!), and I am loving listening to my specific words from Him! 

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One of the things I have really been focusing on and listening to is this call to missions. With Cora's mission trip coming up, I've been really trying to figure out ways we can help her get there financially! Besides me praying,  God has been impressing on my heart about selling things in order to give that money to her trip. So far, I've sold a little over $250 worth of stuff!! I'm super excited about it...

...but I'm not done!! She has to reach a first goal of $2268 (half the trip cost) by April 19th. As of today, she only has about $1445 left to reach her first goal!! Exciting!!!

{donation info here!!!}

In order to help some more, on Wednesday, I will have 4 quilts in my Etsy store for $175 each with all of the proceeds going toward her trip! yay!!!! 

Here is a sneaky peek of all of them to whet your appetite!

While I have been quilting these quilts, I have been praying for Cora, for Ireland and for the London Olympics and everyone involved in all of  this!! I also have been praying, as I always do while creating something to sell, for the recipient of these quilts! So if you purchase one, know that you've been specifically prayed for...

What an incredible journey to be on...

starting even this week...Holy Week...where we remember His triumphant entry on a donkey...all the way to his empty tomb on Sunday!!! His journey was one of sorrow, grief, heaviness, pain, ultimate sacrifice, and one of VICTORY!!! Friday wouldn't matter if there was no Sunday, right?? 

I hope you are listening to the word blessings that are being spoken to you from our Creator on your journey! Pretty powerful stuff that makes this life blissfully wonderful!!