Friday, May 27, 2016

Fanciful Friday


The two wanderers (Not all those who wander are lost!) came knocking at our door about 10PM on Tuesday night! My son, Ken and his girlfriend, Nikki have been traveling the western part of the United States and Alberta, Canada since we left them in Las Vegas almost  3 weeks ago. Their arrival was a fun unexpected surprise! I haven't been sewing and had no blog post on Wednesday. So, here I am getting caught up with a little of everything today. 


These cute little dresses arrived from Teresa for my trip to Peru later this year.  Thank you Teresa!
My fabric order arrived from Two Thimbles Quilt shop. Yep, just as lovely as I imagined they would be!
Couldn't help myself on this 1800's bundle. 
About the only sewing I've done is to add this patch to my son's  pants and darned it to keep it together as long as possible. Is that called darning?
Memorial weekend in the United States is considered the kickoff to summer. It is my time to change out my spring quilts to summer and patriotic. Here's my "Flags of the American Revolution". Last year I tried to put it on my bed, but the star buttons are pretty sharp and not comfortable if you lay on top of the bed or are kicking the blankets around at night. I've opted to hang it up this summer. 

This one is on my bed now and it is called Hands Across Time. I love it and have fond memories of designing this quilt with a fun group of friends.   Read about it HERE and HERE.
Here's my label.

Here's my Instagram feed for the week. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Monday, May 23, 2016

Scrap Basket Sampler

I got the final two borders on Cheri's scrap basket sampler quilt! Thank you Cheri, I love it!

With doggie foot

Without doggie foot. 

I may add my initials on the top left since I have a bog space there. 

I have another one of Cheri's quilts that is long and skinny and it fits perfectly on my landing wall. Unfortunately I cannot find a photo of it at my fingertips. I'll plan on showing it when I get this one quilted.

If you'd like to see a little of my crazy weekend, click HERE.

Make it a wonderful Monday!

Friday, May 20, 2016

Farmhouse Fabs for Friday

I saw this line the other day and came to a screeching halt!I believe they may have been originally printed by Blue Hill and now reprinted by Washington Street Studio, a Division of P&B Textiles.

These will be perfect for the 1857 quilt and the green and red collaboration I'm working on with Martha. (actually she is doing the work and I am making the blocks!- Awesome collaboration, huh?) 

These 9 are available from Two Thimbles Quilt Shop. Lee has been very helpful, even offering a little quilt to any swapper that may have not received one. (Everyone has, I think) How cool is that?

Well, I asked if she could bundle what she has and she said yes. If you enter Humble Quilts on the comment section of the checkout, or mention it when you call, she will throw in a bonus FQer to help offset the shipping prices.  Here is the link: Two Thimbles Quilt Shop

She also has these terrific 1800's stash roll back in stock for $14.95.  I HAD to add one to my cart as well! You'll find these on the same page if you are interested.

Here's my Instagram feed for the week. I've got fun and unusual plans for the weekend. I hope you do something exciting! Love to you all!


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Groovin' Mid-Week


I've worked on a few projects this week but am not ready to show them yet. My Gwennie inspired medallion center is done. My Porch Quilt, block one is done. 

My Rebekah Smith wool appliqué mystery for May is done. Unbeknownst to me I was not supposed to show it on my blog.  I hope Humble Quilts facebook group will give people the benefit of the doubt BEFORE going all crazy and being rude. I took my post down as soon as I saw I wasn't supposed to post it. I'm so sorry to Rebekah for revealing her lovely design. 

Now, what I can show. I got my snowball quilt trimmed, label sewn on and ready to add the binding. 
I'm almost done with Cheri's scrap basket quilt. 

Have a groovin' day!

Monday, May 16, 2016

1857 and Thoughts on Medallion QAL

 I got all caught up on the 1857 blocks! Well, almost. I need to do the embroidery on the bird. Most of them were simple this month, but I'm glad gay is throwing in a little more detailed one too.

After announcing the Gwennie inspired medallion quiltalong someone posted about this book so I purchased it used from Amazon for 1 cent + 3.99 shipping! It was published in 1988 and the Gwen's theme then now are the same!

In the introduction (I'm going to assume it was Gwen) it is talking about the current thought on applique quilts and what most people thought they "should" be.

"The aim of nearly any new technique is to remove the element of chance from the quiltmaking process. Appliqued vines, therefore, should not be allowed to wander along any meandering path they choose, starting and stopping at corners, asymmetrically and lazily waving to one another across the quilt. 
(isn't this perfectly visual?) They should have the same number of curves on each side and all four corners should be the same." "All stitches must be chastely hidden, not nakedly flaunted"

"Most mid-19th century appliques were made within a format, not with a pattern."

Whether we are piecing or appliqueing I think this sentence sums up the meaning of "Gwennie Inspired"
I just love that! I cannot wait to see everyone's medallion center!!

If you are joining us on the medallion QAL feel free to grab the button on the sidebar. Cynthia gives simple directions here if you don't know how. Thanks Cynthia!

To grab the button, copy the HTML code that is in the little window below the button (on Lori’s blog) (above where it says “generate your button code).

Once you have that copied… go into your own blog and click:

Design (top right task bar)
Layout (on the left)
Add a gadget
HTML code - paste the code you’ve copied into the content window. Save, and voila!



Have a fantastic Monday!


Friday, May 13, 2016

Celebrate Little Quilt Swap! Linky Party!!

It is so much fun to see all the little quilts in one place! Here we go. I know of one person still waiting for their quilt but I think it should arrive before the linky closes. (And if not, I can still add it !)

Remember that you are not linking to your home page. Link directly to the blog post that contains the content you are linking up. If you do not know how to do it, send me an email and I'll help.


We are showing the LITTLE QUILT WE RECEIVED.
If you do not have a blog, send me a photo and I'll link it up.


Here is the first one I received from Karen D


And the second one from Rina.

Thank you again ladies! I love them both!!




Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Impromptu Trip South

My son has been traveling since the beginning of February and they spent a little time re-grouping after being in South Korea and Japan for a month. Monday he suggested we meet somewhere before they leave the states again. I found a flight, he found us a hotel and we were on our way Friday morning to Las Vegas! I love to be spontaneous but it usually doesn't fall into place this quickly or easily. I've been to Las Vegas once around 1997 and I wasn't much of a fan then and I'm still not a convert. It was so good to see him and his girlfriend and we did have a really fun time.
In case you haven't been, I'm sharing a few photos. The last 2 will be quilt related!


 The Excalibur is where we stayed.
 Everything is so over-the-top!




 It really felt like we were outside here.
 We saw this show and it was so good!
Hanging with the Beatles.






 I had to snap a photo of this floor! 
I got a few stitches taken in the plane on the way. 

Dixie mentioned going to a quilt shop in the city, but our trip was already so short I opted to spend time with the kids instead. Thanks for coming along on my getaway.!

Have a wonderful day!

Friday, May 6, 2016

Doll Swap and More....

 My quilt from Rina in Italy arrived. How perfect the friendship stars are considering we are new friends!?! That cheddar star makes the whole thing sparkle!!
 Here's the cool backing and the hand stitched label. Thank you Rina, It will be treasured!

 Darn, this photo is upside down, but Rina also included this hand made hot pad and beautiful earrings her daughter made. So pretty!
Here's the little quilt I sent to Rina. I couldn't find a photo so had her send me one. (duh!)

I can't remember if I shared this on my blog, but my friend Laurie made this for me to thank me for hosting the swap. Thank you again Laurie! I love it.
 And Danice sent this cute mug rug!My first and only mug rug was made by Pam, Library Gal Quilts and I'm afraid it has seen better days- I use it always! Thank you Danice.
These two little dresses came all the way from France. I'll be bringing them all the way to Peru with me this fall.  Thank you dear Cecile!! They are adorable!! (thanks for the little candies too!)

Here's my instagram feed for this week if you missed it.

Have a wonderful weekend. I plan on it!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Basket Medallion Clarification

I had quite a few questions about the Gwennie Inspired Medallion Quilt. A few of you are new quilters and some international, so I'll try and explain it a little more.
But first.....a few shots of basket blocks around my house right now!









Okay, for those of you that are considering joining in. What you will do first is make a basket block for the center of your medallion. The only rule is, you make the rules! You decide on fabric, pieced or applique and size of your block. Do you want  it to fit your bed? Or hang on a wall? It's up to you.

Then next month we will all show our centers and Cynthia will name the theme for the next round. You can interpret that theme however you'd like. If she chooses triangles then get creative and make borders with that theme. We aren't revealing the theme until the next month, so we don't know it yet.

If you have been inspired by Gwen Marston, let let that shine through.

Anything else? I hope that helps!

Happy Wednesday!