Monday, January 30, 2017

Quilts of Valor

When I let Faith know she had won the homespun scraps she was thrilled and said she was going to use them for Quilts of Valor quilts. They are kind of odd colors so I'm not sure how effective they will be.
She sent me photos of two QOV that she had made and I thought they were both amazing and I asked if I could share them on my blog.

They were both quilted by Nancy Cann, who is not only in Faith's guild but is also the state chairman for Quilts of Valor in Kentucky.



From Fons and Porter August 2016

Thank you Faith for your generosity!


I'm out of town visiting the newest member of our family!
 It's a quick trip between storms, but I couldn't wait any longer!!

Enjoy your day.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Alphabet Sampler


Here is the next part to the alphabet sampler that Karen and I are doing. There may be a couple of others too. Speak up and I'll make sure to add you to our emails. We also want to see your blocks. These are all going to be very different since the directions are very loose. 
 The upper right hand flower was the small spokes to my Porch Quilt that I didn't add seam allowance to, so it was cast aside. I'm so glad I could use it in this quilt!
 I used an applique basket out of a Jan Patek book. The original is paper pieced, I believe.
Blocks one and two together with a vine underneath them.
The winner of the homespuns is comment #9  Faith Fiene. Thanks for entering!

Here's my Instagram feed for the week. I can't believe it is Friday already. Whoop! Whoop! 
Enjoy your weekend, friends.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Thread, Thread, Who has the Thread?!

I had several comments about the thread I was using for handquilting on Monday's post, so I thought I'd talk a little about my thread choices. (I'm warning you, it's going to be Humble!)


 Here's a little coke container turned on its side and hanging in my sewing room. The cubbies are perfect for keeping little objects handy. The thread on the right is DMC machine embroidery thread- fairly light at 50 weight. I use this for machine and hand applique. When I took a class years ago with one of the Piece O Cake girls  this is what they used. at that time.
This is the photo from Monday's post with the spool I've been using this winter to quilt my Cherry Tree. It is 40 weight King Tut by Superior and says it is quilting thread.
This is how I choose my quilting thread. Is it cotton? Is it thicker than embroidery thread? Is it ecru? If I can answer yes to those three questions then I'm good to go! As you can see I use a wide variety. We have so many choices when it comes to thread. I'm not partial to one brand. 
 I also love these DONUTS by Superior for hand applique or whip stitch on wool. 


On another note, I've been digging into my homespuns that have been a major mess for longer than I care to admit.  I really couldn't see what I had at all. 

Much better! I'm using these for the ABC Sampler by Cheri and Fall Festival by Jan. 

These are homespuns that didn't fit any color so I tossed them aside. Comment if you'd like them and I'll draw a name on Friday.

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Monday, January 23, 2017

Hand Quilting

Good morning and happy Monday!
I've had my Beyond the Cherry Tree Quilt (find it HERE)out for a few weeks and am slowly 
getting more hand quilting stitches in. 

 I think I have 7 blocks (out of 25 total) to quilt. I have quilted around the applique shapes (not the border yet) and quilted motifs that the original quilt had. Now, I'm doing my best to do cross hatching. 
 My lines have gotten off, but that will make this quilt a bit more humble like the rest of my quilts. 

Here are my simple supplies. 

Have a wonderful day friends!

Friday, January 20, 2017

Two Bad Ombres

After watching the presidential debates and hearing the line 

"We have some bad hombres and we're going to get them out"

I went straight to my stash and got out some ombres! I had to beg for a few more from my blog readers, but in this instance I didn't mind. Thank you!

 The stars in the sashing made it a little more patriotic. 
 I thought finishing it and posting on inauguration day was appropriate. (although I find the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony quite boring! no matter who is being sworn in)  I have so many little chunks of this presidents fabric I really didn't mind piecing the back on this tiny quilt.
 I wasn't keen on either candidate, so I'm calling this quilt "2 bad ombres"
 Here it is after washing. 
My instagram for this week. 
We have had a few sunny days, only minimal flooding at the business and we are ready for more wintery weather. 

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

French General

I've been a fan of all things French General and was was happy to be able to take a class from her in Houston. She talked about her new hoop based on an antique one. 

It's lightweight and although it has a bit of a learning curve to get your embroidery in it I like it a lot.
When I ordered it I got these wonderful scraps too!

I read about a French general challenge on Instagram and made this block for it. I think I'm eliminated quick cause it said use up to 4 fabrics. It's a fun wintery block and maybe I'll use it as a center for a small holiday quilt. Read more about the hoop and challenge HERE
And I'm only stitching on this between projects, so it'll be a slow one. 
There is something pretty magical about it.


And Randy was having a giveaway. 
Instead of choosing a "winner" we were all winners- more French General scraps!! 
Thank you Randy!

Have a wonderful week!


Monday, January 16, 2017

Looking Back- Pillowcase dresses and Christmas

Good morning! It's Monday again. The weekends go by too fast!
Recently I found a couple of photos from my Bolivia trip last year.

It's fun to see the little dress you made, so I thought I'd show these and see if you recognize them. 
Such good memories of this village we got to go to. 

If anyone is interested in making the little pillowcase dresses I'll be bringing more to Columbia in January 2018.

Now, back to Christmas, 

Here's my simple table. 7 for dinner is a "just right" number. 
I showed this one on instagram and said I'd write about it later. I really hate it when the turkey is done, but nothing else is. It's always a risk that the turkey will dry out. It so happens that my meat thermometer died Thanksgiving day, so we cooked it by the clock. Everything was ready, except the bird! I put it back in the oven and cranked up the heat and we all started dishing up all the other side dishes. Meanwhile the drippings spilled and we were smoked out! I grabbed glasses to protect my eyes from all the smoke. (which you can see in the background) Eventually it got done and we now have a fun memory of Christmas 2016!

Nothing quilty today, although I was able to get a bit done this weekend. Have a wonderful day!



Friday, January 13, 2017

ABC Sampler Quilt

After seeing this adorable quilt at International Quilt Fest I found the pattern and am making it with my friend Karen. We've done a few quilts together but not lately.  
Here's my first block. There will be a few more applique pieces once I add the other blocks and borders.
It's been awhile since I've done hand applique- whoa, those berries! LOL
See Karen's block HERE.

 My niece had her baby early! Please meet Zackary James. And because of the snow the quilt has not arrived yet! I knew I should have sent it USPS. 
She sent me this photo last night. I'll be making a trip over to see him in person when the weather clears and the forecast looks good. 

My Instagram feed for the week.

No snow in our forecast for several days, thank goodness! In the last month we've gotten 38+" of snow, which is unusual for us. My husband ordered a plow to put on the front of our truck. We've got a long driveway and a parking lot to shovel at our business. He is really getting tired of all the shoveling. We're getting too old for that! LOL  

Have a wonderful weekend.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Jacob's Ladder

I made this Jacob's Ladder quilt in 2008. Two other friends and myself had a little getaway in CA and this was the perfect project to swap parts for and get a good scrappy two color quilt. I opted for a dark border.
My friend Kat opted for a shirtings border. 

And she even made another one with the extras! Don't you adore her quilt ladder? And her 2 color quilts!?

Imagine my surprise to be thumbing through Keepsakes Quilting and came across this quilt. Just goes to show there really is nothing new in quilting! LOL  Exchanging with friends is a much better way to have a variety, but it seems there are always kits available, and this one is no different. 
Here is the size of blocks we did and is perfect for exchanging with friends.  Use your 2" strips  and 4" squares!

Happy Quilting!

Monday, January 9, 2017

Fall Festival Part 1


And here we are again! Fall Festival is a 12 month BOM, but I hope to have the top done in 10 months.  So, are you ready to get going?


 Cathy S has been doing this quilt as a BOM from Jan this year and she has agreed to let me use her block photos for our quiltalong. Use fabrics similar, or get creative!
Month one we will ease into the project by doing Block 1, the lower left pumpkin/crow block. Lizzy says she is using wool for her berries and I thought that was a fun idea. I searched and searched yesterday for the size of this block. Finally, I emailed Cathy. It is cut 32 1/2 x 14 1/2. Or oversize it a bit and trim to that size after appliqueing.


But since we are going to go full force on this quilt, we are also going to work on the crescent moons.  There are 5 of them and should applique fairly quickly. The photo only shows 4, but there really is 5. Do as many as you can. 4 of these are cut 4 1/2"x 12 1/2" and one is cut 4 1/2" x 14 1/2".

We will do show and tell on February 6th. Either be prepared with a blog post and add your linky, or send me your photos and I'll post them here.

Happy Monday!

Friday, January 6, 2017

Windmills for Momma and Baby

I started this quilt last July in Sisters at a class with Sujata of The Root Connection. In the back of my mind I thought it would work for a baby quilt but didn't know if I'd need it for a boy or a girl. 
You all helped me choose the border and I'm happy with it. 

It's for a boy, by the way. 


I shared with you the ABC fabric, and obviously I measured wrong. 
So, instead of just a baby quilt, it's a mom and baby quilt! 

My Instagram feed this week pretty much sums it up since the beginning of the year!

Have a wonderful weekend.