Saturday, April 26, 2014

Slices of Life

Do you like the old blocks most, I do.  The Log Cabin, The Dresden Plate, The Monkey Wrench, The Double Wedding Ring and the Grandmother’s Flower Garden….all those ones that we droll over in antique quilts.  Those quilts that had special meaning to the women who were piecing them.  I am always amazed when I think back to those women and their creativity and resourcefulness and mostly that they did all those quilts with out a rotary cutter.

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I am jealous of their Quilting Bees, and their determination to combine providing warmth for their families and still getting together with their women friends.  Undistracted by cell phone or the television. I can almost hear their laughter and gossip, their prayers for each other and their complaining.  What a gift.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS PART TWO

Do you have those projects that when you work on them you are enjoying it and cant wait for the next step, but the minute you put it aside it is hard to get back to?

This is how my Eleanor Burns ‘UNDERGROUND RAILROAD” is for me….I love making a new block and since I am making two sizes I love the challenge of making the 6” block and the 12” is always fun to make…but the minute I put it aside I really forget about it.  Which is a shame because it is going to be a nice quilt.

So here are the next two blocks:

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Crossroads

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Sail Boat

TTFN

sg-0

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Monday, March 10, 2014

SEWING FOR AIDYN ELIJAH

I am a quilter and not a sewer.  But when it came to Aidyn Elijah I temporarily became a curtain maker.  Mind you very simple!  It was actually the first time I ever purchased a whole bolt of fabric. The hardest part of the sewing was that the curtains were so long. But after pressing, sewing double seams (fancy huh) there are up and look good.  Three for the window and two for the closet.

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A cuddly quilt out of Minkee, I simply gridded it.  Nice and simply. 

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I found this cute panel when my daughter Meagan and I were at the Long Beach Quilt Festival, before I knew the theme of the Aidyn’s room. But I fell in love with the cute animals.  And as it turned out his theme is elephants so it fit right in.  I hand quilted this panel with the big stitch and using Perl Cotton. 

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And now I am working on a Trip Around the World……pics to follow.

It is a whole new different experience quilting for Aidyn, I always ask myself ….how many quilts does a little man need…and a friend of mine told me….as many as you want to make him…..FREEDOM!!!!!

TTFN

sg-0

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Thursday, February 20, 2014

TAKING CARE OF OLD BUSINESS ~ Part One

NEW YEAR ~ NEW LOOK ~ NEW IDEAS ~HOPEFULLY NEW FRIENDS

I am so excited to return to this place, it is a good place to share. And I have missed it.

Before the catch up and new stuff…I have to finish up some old posts the I never completed.

PATCHES OF SPRING

Here are the last of the blocks from Patches of Spring:

Fifth Block:  Breathe

You know that smell, that hint of freshness in the air when spring is ready to burst forward.  It is in the tiniest flowers and the new blossoms on the trees.

Sixth Block: Dance

And it is with that first smell, that the Lady Bugs and Bumblebees start their dance in anticipation.

Seventh Block: Thyme

And you start getting the urge to get your hand dirty in the mud.  Preparing the soil for new growth.  Making plans of what you will plant and watch grow.

Eighth Block:  Your Porch

And all this wonderful newness and change, you are privileged to watch from your front porch.  Soaking it all in, daydreaming and enjoying a new season.

This is your filler block.

This sweet covered button sits on a huge yellow to complete your corners.

_217And here is the completed sweet wall hanging as it hung it Sierra Cottons and Wools in Bishop.

It is easy to make and piece together and lots of fun embroidering. Perfect project to work on while waiting for Spring.

TTFN

sg-0

Bear for ABMP