Grandpa's Quilt

My grandmother asked me to make a winter quilt for my grandpop this summer. She told me no hurry which apparently I took to heart. Now, its two months later and I haven't pieced it together yet. My grandfather is one of my favorite people in the whole world, going at 88 years strong he will be turning 89 on september and I want to be able to present the quilt to him on his birthday.


My grandpop, Joe, is a World War 2 veteran who served in the Army Air Force in Asia. He was the gunner in the fighter planes. The cubby was so small for the gunner his parachute didn't fit. He has the most incredible stories that we all love to hear!







I am doing a patriotic theme for this quilt with rows of pinwheels, and triangles. I will get more done eventually!!

posted from Bloggeroid

Coaching to Pay It Forward

My job is about connecting with people and having the honor to walk with them on their journey. When I became an Independent Health Coach, I knew right away that what I was doing was aligned with my moral compass. It is often hard for people to believe at first that I am a free health coach, that I really am doing this to help people get healthy. I see this as a reflection of many people's fears and hopelessness. But it is true. We coach to pay it forward, to spread the hope and joy that comes with a focus on creating health and balance in our lives. So, this brings me back to the beginning; my job is about connecting, showing the beacon of hope, that there is a way out and you can do it.
We are so tired, tired, tired of feeling tired. Tired of unsatisfactory food and an unsatisfactory lifestyle. I know it. I've been there, too. The Habits of Health I learned with Take Shape For Life gave me the tools to put my health in focus and making the changes I needed to start feeling better on a daily basis.
Getting phone calls from my clients telling me how much weight they lost (and how they had to go to the next belt notch because their pants are falling down!) make my day and I remember IMMEDIATELY why I do what I do. Coach you to achieve Health. Love it!

I am an Independent Health Coach with Take Shape For Life. Connect with me and learn how i can coach you for FREE at www.passionforwellness.tsfl.com

Welcome to the Chakras series!

I am thrilled to begin a chakra series here on my blog. It will be an 8 part series beginning with the basics and breaking down everything you need to know about the 7 major chakras and how we can use them to improve our life, health and happiness. We will discuss everything from physiology and ailments to what foods and activities we can do to improve each chakra. I am so grateful to have you join me on this journey. We are going to have lots of fun! Here is the first video in the series.




I am a Usui Reiki Master Teacher and Independent Health Coach with Take Shape For Life, offering FREE Health Coaching. Visit me at www.passionforwellness.tsfl.com to contact me to share your desire for creating health in your life!!
Visit my website to learn more about Reiki at www.RisingMoonReiki.com

3-D Quilting

I just finished the High Seas Quilt(which I blogged about earlier in this post) and wanted to share a simple quilting technique that can add some texture and fun to your next project. These three dimensional strips of fabric stick up out of the seams and make for a really impressive look. 

I used these strips to define the watery waves beneath the Sailship.

This is a very simple technique. You measure out the desired length of your strip and fold in half longways. So, if you want your strip to be 3/8" that would be 6/8 plus your Seam Allowance 1/2"= 1 1/4". Baste your strip on top of the bottom row. 
*Important- Figure out where you want the strip to end and sew it between to pieces.
In this Sailship quilt. I left he raw edges and just stitched them down. But in the Bird Applique Quilt, I sewed them into the vertical seams for a clean and modern look. 

 These are two examples of using three dimensional pieces in quilting, one is modern and the other is more crafty. I look forward to really stretching this idea and incorporating more 3-D quilting techniques.

Sailing Aweigh

While sourcing fabric for a custom order I couldn't resist also bringing home a small set of salt water by tula pink. I've been obsessed with these prints for months and finally treated myself.


I could barely sleep dreaming up all kinds of projects in this briney brew.
I settled on a sailship baby blanket-in an effort to keep my etsy shop cohesive. (More on that in another blog)





I could build a whole collection with just these fabrics. Just saying. More to come later....
UPDATE!!!! Here is the front panel to the tallship baby blanket. I call it High Seas blanket now. It's a little chaotic and stormy. I added three dimensional pieces in the seams to replicate water. Now, for the back panel...I'll be back...

Alkalinity Video

Have you heard people talking about Alkalinity? What do they mean? Have you been asking, 'what's that all about?' I created an informative powerpoint presentation that covers all the basics on the topic.

Accidental quilting

I reached a big milestone this week in my career. -going full-time with my Etsy shop ZhalaClothing! I am also devoting more time to my health coaching business. I kinda dual-wield~
To get things started off right, I am rearranging and cleaning out my overly cluttered and disorganized sewing room/studio/office.
Of course, I quickly get distracted, and this happened:


I had these fabrics for about ten years and never found the right project for them- until today. I needed to break up the strong zebra print so I ran to my quilting shop and grabbed a 1/2 yard of this specialty fabric I've had my eye on. 

**Update! I finished the quilt and you can see it now on my Etsy Shop here!



I love using fine fabrics and home fabrics in quilts; velvets, herringbones, flocked fabrics. They add much needed texture and luxury to a room. Texture is one of the most overlooked design elements, which is my pet peeve.
I tried a shortcut for cutting and sewing pinwheels where you cut two large squares and sew around all four sides, right sides together. Then, mark a line diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right., top right to bottom left. Cut along the lines and you've just created 4 pinwheel squares! Quick and easy!


I'm hoping to finish it up this weekend so stay tuned for more...

Join my LinkedIn group Etsy Artists and Crafts and chat with me about your crafting aspirations!

posted from Bloggeroid