At Quilt Market-Houston 2012

I am rushing to get this posted as I am in Arizona and leave tomorrow to go home. It is always nice to be here. I came straight from Quilt Market where I picked up a nasty cold and so I have been coughing my guts out and haven't felt that well. Consequently, not much blogging going on. Now I am pressed for time, so this will be quick.

 Here are a few photos of my booth. Me above with Button Bandits to the left and Old Soul in the back. 

My buddy Joan went with me again and helped me set up and work the booth, etc. Don't know what I would do without Joan! We are surrounded here in our little 10' x 10' booth with padded walls! Very cozy, as one visitor commented!

It was exciting to me to have several people come to my booth and tell me that they read my blog! Thank you! And thanks for stopping by! It was also fun to see people that I have been meeting at different shows and they remember me. Alma Allen from Blackbird Designs, for example, remembered that I took a class from her and Barb Adams several years ago. That shocked me. Just goes to show you how special these ladies are. Or how gullible I am!

 This is Barb Adams from Blackbird Designs. Alma was busy at that moment so I didn't interrupt her. their booth is always so nice.

 I grabbed Jo Morton as she was walking past my booth. I introduced myself and she said, "You're Karen Mowery's friend". Yup, that's me! Don't we all love Jo? Yes!

 My neighbor in the booth next door was Mary Koval.I was so happy to get to know Mary. She has been doing this for many years and has a huge following all over the world. I often see her on Scandinavian blogs. She designs fabric, has a quilt shop, and also sells antique quilts. Her booth was full of antique quilts. Fabulous! Her husband Joe was with her working hard!

That's all for now. I have to pack to go home! More photos later.

 

Saturday Frittering

Here I am frittering away another Saturday. When was the last time you frittered away? Seriously, where do these words come from, and why do they pop into my culturally sensitive brain?

I finally took the time to finish up a couple of cross stitch projects this week. I have the sad habit of doing the needlework and setting it aside. So above you see the pillow I made from a design by Stacy Nash Primitives. I love it! You can see that I finished in it 2010 and the border fabric is current Barbara Brackman Battle Hymn by Moda that just happened to be on my cutting table and is a perfect match. Oh dear, I am putting historians in a quandary. Haha!

This little pincushion is a Blackbird Designs project, again 2010. I have a few more of these and wonder if my eyes are up to it?


I have been on a rampage the past two days making flying geese like crazy. Yes, more designs coming, but it will be a while. I tried to take photos but I am afraid the slide on my camera that holds in the batteries got cracked and so I am having trouble pressing the thing closed while trying to focus. Yes, even with auto-focus you need to hold the camera somewhat still. 

 

 So here is my photo attempt. Take note of the little cheddar unit. It has a special template on it that I love. It is made by Bloc-Loc. I picked up a few of their precision rulers at market a while back and have really gotten hooked on them. There is a little ridge in the bottom of the ruler where the seam runs on the block. You slide the template into place and it catches on the seam, then trim around the edges for a perfect Flying Geese unit! I know lots of people love wonky everything these days, but I am a stickler on accuracy and these Bloc-Loc rulers give me that. They also have HST template rulers and they keep coming out with new rulers for different shapes all the time. For me these are a great investment because I know I will use them for years and years. Click on the link and watch the video.

  

Springville Quilt Show

OK, I finally added the Followers gadget to my blog. I resisted doing it for a long time, but so many of you were kind enough to sign up anyway (how'd you do that?) that I put it on. I guess with Bloglines closing down we will be needing additional resources to find our favorite blogs. I have really enjoyed Bloglines over the years and am sorry to see them go. Boo hoo, seriously!

While in Utah there was a quilt show taking place  at the Springville Museum. My son and daughter-in-law took me and my daughter Jennie to check it out. There were some lovely quilts, and I have a few to share.

 We fell in love with two family reunion quilts. Both were designed by design Lori Holt. Check out her blog--what darling things she makes! I hope you can get close-ups of these quilts because they have adorable details!

Here is another quilt that I was attracted to. Don't know for sure, but it looks like Blackbird Designs perhaps? I know someone will correct me if I am wrong. 

 Finally, here is my little buddy again, Isaac! He finally received the quilt that I made him! Isn't he adorable!  More to come!  (Did she mean quilts or babies???)

UPDATE: The flag quilt has been identified! It is from a book by Blackbird Designs called Women of Grace and Charm. An old book of theirs. They have so many great books and great designs!

Love in Stitches

 

I adore samplers! Many years ago I did quite a bit of counted cross stitch. Recently I took it up again. I was hesitant because, let's face it, the old eyes aren't what they used to be. But the ladies at the cross stitch shop assured me that I could do it, and they showed me how. This time I am stitching on linen, which scared me, until they told me to count over two threads. Whew! So I decided to give it a try. Now I am focusing on samplers. The design above was a free design shown on Barb and Alma's blog. You may have to scroll way back to find it. They recommend that you stitch in the name of a loved one, and I thought that was a sweet idea, so this one has my grandmother's name and birth year on it.

 

 I showed this sampler in progress quite a while ago, and I finally finished it, and I love it! This one is in the Blackbird Design's book, You're Invited. I am feeling very proud of myself, and I haven't gone blind. Yet. I made this sampler in remembrance of my little baby, Mary, who died on the day she was born. The sampler gives the year, 1976, and a heart for love, as well as a butterfly, which is a symbol of eternal life, and "Forget Me Not". These items were all on the original design and all very appropriate. To me, this sampler is a reminder that she was here, though briefly.

I took my work to the cross stitch shop here in town called Dying to Stitch. They have a framing service and Patti did a beautiful job framing them for me! I am delighted! Browse around their website for a glimpse of some lovely samplers.

I know I promised my new wool pillow, etc., but that will have to wait until next time. I am way too excited to get my samplers back from the shop all framed up! I just had to share that today!

 

FOOLS FOR SPOOLS

 

 I have been having fun making these little spools this week. Joan from Keeping You in Stitches, got me started. She was looking for people to trade spools with, so I joined in. We traded 25 spools with each other. Then I asked Karen from Sew Primitive if she wanted to trade some spools also. She and I traded another 12 spools.  In the end I laid them all out and this is what I got! I will be adding another border, but don't know exactly what yet. The blocks finish at 4-1/2". So far the top measures about 38" square.

 

Also, I have been doing a little cross stitching in the evenings. This is a darling one from Blackbird Designs. You may know that they have a blog and show a lot of their stitcheries there. Also they have free patterns occasionally. I have made a couple of those as well.  Don't we all just love to keep our hands busy!

FINGERS FIDDLING WITH FLOSS

Yes, my fingers have been fiddling with floss of late! I showed the above photo last summer when in was in progress. I finished it to this point a while back and still haven't framed it. The pattern is buried somewhere, so I can't even tell you who the designer is. But someone out there is bound to know, so if you do, please leave a comment so I can post it. I like to give credit just as much as I like to receive credit! LOL! Now if I would get my sewing room cleaned up surely the pattern would surface and I could put it in its proper pattern place.

*** Jeanette commented and said the pattern is from Threads That Bind. Thanks Jeanette!

I haven't done cross stitch in a really long time, but I do love samplers, and when the Blackbird Design ladies posted this free pattern on their website a while back I copied it. I finally got it started before Christmas and finished it last night while watching The Big Country on the western channel on TV. (Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, both so young and handsome!)

Sorry, I don't think this pattern is still on the web site. They have other wonderful cross-stitch patterns though. Often they are much like their quilt designs. Barb and Alma, my hat (if I had one) is off to you! They are both so amazing! This project, by the way, was supposed to be done on a much smaller thread count. But 14 count is about all I can handle, and it is still a nice size.

Have you noticed in the upper corner of my blog I put a corner of this quilt? It is a scrappy version of my Williamsburg Medallion pattern. I had it hanging here at home for a while and decided that little wool birds would look very nice in those four spots around the star. So I stitched them on, and I love them! The quilt is now back at the LQS, What's Your Stitch 'N Stuff, where they are kitting it up, including wool for the birds. I know, I need to get a better photo. This one was taken on the fly!

I want to give a very big THANK YOU to all of you who commented on my last post with such lovely things to say. I hope you all know that I was kidding around, as is my tendency, about being at the top of the blog list. Thank you especially to Dawn at Quilts and Pieces, who sees right through me. Ha! Isn't blogging a blast?

SCRAPPY TRIPS AND TREASURES

Bonnie Hunter's invitation to join her working on Scrappy Bargello quilts this past weekend came at a time when I was ready to dive in. I actually made a few of these blocks while I was in Arizona over Christmas. I am making her Scrappy Trips version. Both are the same technique and directions are found on her Quiltville web site. I spent a couple hours on Saturday making little piles of strips for blocks. Now it is easy to sit down and sew strips together, press, cut, sew into blocks. Voila! I got several more blocks completed, and a number of blocks ready to go. And since prep time is usually the thing that holds me up, this will be great to work in whenever I need a no-brainer. Thanks Bonnie, for this quick method and all the inspiration! I have to note that my husband is not too pleased with this project. He needs things to be very organized. He tried to arrange the blocks to make sense to him. This project is so carefree! To me that is the charm of it.

This past week I changed a wall arrangement, and I thought I would give you a glimpse of it! My little brown churn dash quilt is called Table Scraps, as I was mostly using up lots of pieces off my cutting table. Such yummy little morsels that I wanted to sew them up into something!
You may recognize the sampler as one I did a while back from a Blackbird Design book, Fresh From the Garden. I found that little bird's nest smack in the middle of the hydrangia bush when I was trimming it back for winter. It is so precious! And the big platter was a wedding present to my great grandparents in 1888. That is one of my very special treasures!

Addendum: Paula at A Latte Quilts worked on the Bargello/Trips project Sunday also. Check out her blog!

I see Dawn at Quilts and Pieces is at it also! As is Tracey at Quilting in Connecticut! I am getting a kick out of see who all jumped in the fray, as it were! Joan at keeping You in Stitches actually has hers done and quilted! It's embarrassing. She did start a week early, but still...

Katie, In My Sandbox is making the Bargello also. Anybody else?

WOOL IN PROGRESS

I have been playing with my wool blanket scraps and look what I dreamed up! This little flower design is from Blackbird Designs, Fresh from the Garden, only they did it as a little rug. I just love the yellow plaid background. The little cotton print border gives it a some balance. Can you tell how thick this wool is?

The second picture shows the tail end of a green blanket, and I left it there just for fun! This one is still a WIP. I am just playing around and seeing where my needle and thread lead me. The basket and the background are both heavy blankets, and the rest is regular wool. I will show more as I devise it. More and more I am getting the feeling that anything goes! (Just ask Tonya!--see sidebar)

Have you seen the latest Blackbird Designs book, You're Invited? They show beds with skirts made out of old sweaters. Personally, I cannot see myself going that far! But of course the photos are wonderful!

If you like Blackbird Designs and others from Kansas City Star Quilts, check out that link! Good stuff!

PILLOWS AND PROJECTILES

My little group of three decided to make this cute little wool pillow. It is from the Blackbird Design's book, Birds of a Feather, and they call it Berry Hill Pillow. We all like to have something to do with our hands in the evening. When I finished that, I went looking for another project and came up with this embroidery project. It is also BB Designs, from their new book, Simply Vintage. It is a pattern for rug hooking, but I adapted it into a stitchery project. I love those hooked rugs, but haven't tried that yet. I am afraid of getting into yet another thing I will love to do and then have to spend lots of money to do. So for now, floss is cheap, and I have lots of fabric I need to use, so I will stick with quilts. Yeah, I am doing a little wool applique also, but so far I haven't gotten into the deep end with that.

I thought I might give a word of warning to anyone out there that is thinking about getting their child or grandchild a water balloon launcher. It sounds like such innocent fun, doesn't it? Well, on the 4th of July my daughter-in-law took the kids to a celebration at the church and got hit in the face with a water balloon that was launched from across the parking lot. She thought, at first, that her nose was broken. Luckily, that was not the case. However, her face puffed up and she got two big black eyes. She was hurting! We were so worried about her because she has had eye surgery a couple of times to correct other problems. Fortunately, her doctor said her eyes look fine (after a 2 hour exam). She is a good sport about it all, and recognizes that it was an accident. Really though, do water balloons need to become weapons?

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

I think I am done! At least I am done with the houses. I have them all assembled and now I have the border to do, but I am putting that off for a while so my friends can catch up with me. At least that is my excuse. I really just need to take a break and work on other stuff for a while.

This is the UFO that I am working on. I have had these blocks made for a while and need many more 9-patches to finish the quilt. I love 9-patches. They are totally mindless and always look so cute. I am using scraps and drawing on my stash to build the blocks. If I can weasel in any little homeless piece, I do! I will show more on this as I progress. I am also working up my little eagle in wool, so we shall see how that goes. I am a hands on designer. If I could only create it in my mind and then reproduce it! But no! I have to make part of a design and then let it stew to see what will come next. It is a slow and painful birth! The good news, and the bad news, is that I have no deadline, if you get my drift.
By the way, I just thought I should take a minute to mention that I haven't ever added any blogs that I read on my sidebar. The reason is that I read so many blogs (though not every day) that I am afraid I would leave someone out and I don't want anyone to feel bad. I really enjoy and appreciate all of you! I am a member of the Stash ring, and am connected to all of those quilters through clicking on that. I also have an extensive list on Bloglines that I go to. If you like to cruise blogs and haven't connected to Bloglines, just click on the icon on my sidebar and you can sign up. It is easy! This enables you to list all the blogs that you like to visit. It shows which blogs have updated entries. You can go there and click on your favorite blogs anytime.
Did you get a laugh out of my dog and cat diary post yesterday? Someone sent it to me I got a kick out of it. It really fits those animals, doesn't it? Have a happy day!

LAST HOUSES FINISHED!!!

I am happy to report that the last two houses of my Home Sweet Home quilt are completed! I have enjoyed every minute of it--now comes the border, which, I am afraid, will be long and boring. But I digress...


This block is on the bottom row in the middle. I changed it from the original Blackbird Design's Home Sweet Home pattern. (Click the link and scroll down to see what their actual original quilt looks like). I moved the year to the right side and added a flag. The two blocks are sewn together and the the flag overlaps from one block into the next. As you can see, there are lots of vines and stems in the quilt and they have been made using the Clover Bias Tape Maker. I have come to love this little gizmo. It tucks the edges of the tape under so nicely. I mentioned before that I spray it with starch and press it as it comes out of the tape maker. This gives it a nice sharp edge. I used the bias tape to form my initials and the year and it worked very well. They need to be smaller than the original design. I should have sewn the flag on first and then adapted the tulip and made it bushier, but I am just going to be happy with it the way it is. Once it is quilted I think it will be fine.

This second block may well be my favorite in the whole quilt. I love the design of it with the pieced stars and flowers. In this block I added a bit more yellow to brighten up the quilt. This is actually the center block of the quilt. Aren't those Blackbird ladies great designers?!

NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRESSION

Just thought I would post a little bit about the progress of my "neighborhood". I mentioned previously that after we had each made a couple blocks, my little group decided it would be a good idea to construct the houses, then proceed with the trimming. We thought, and I agree, that it would help us achieve some balance of color, etc. So here is how my blocks look at this point. Three blocks are completed, and all the houses are constructed. The small house needs windows sewn in place, (they are glued now). Except for the small house, all are sewn to a block base. The two center, lower blocks look odd right now because they have lots of trim to be added to fill all that space. But they are all progressing! Can you see that there are two alternating background fabrics? One is the Blackbird Designs Sampler fabric, which is adorable, but I am second guessing myself and wondering if I should have used the background from their "Nell's Flower Garden" line. Decisions, decisions. Too late now, so I will be happy with this. I am excited to see this quilt moving along (because I have so many others pushing and shoving their way to the front of the line!)

Did you see the meme on Yankee Quilter's blog? It also appears on Quilting Bebbs' blog and Clare's blog. (Dordogne Quilter). Probably others, but those are the ones I have seen. It is a list of 100 books. Go to one of those blogs to see it. I have read 38 books on the list. I am interested in the comments on those that I haven't read to see which ones I should pick up. There were a few I have not heard of. Some really good books on that list! Here are a few of my all time favorites that are not on the list: From Sea to Shining Sea, by James Alexander Thom (and everything else he has written!); These is My Words, by Nancy Turner (and also Sarah's Quilt, a follow-up); Katherine by Anya Seton (I should read that one again!). Also, if you are looking for something uplifting and faith promoting with Easter coming up, try The Robe and/or The Big Fisherman, by Lloyd C. Douglas. Two very old books, but well worth reading (try the library). There are so many good books out there! I get caught up in Vince Flynn, Harlan Coban, Jeffery Deaver, Preston-Childs, and I also love Belva Plain and Maeve Binchy. Talk about variety! Never enough time to do all the things we love. But I try, I really do!

LOVIN' SPOOLFUL

Remember this quilt from a few months ago? I just got it back from my quilter friend and look what a nice job she did! Thanks Marae!
This is a design from Teri Christopherson, of Black Mountain Quilts. She does darling stuff! She has a very nice web site that shows all her books as well as the quilts in them. This one is from her book Sunflower Patch. Check 'em out! Don't you think every quilter should have a spool quilt for her very own?

Wednesday I got together with my two friends to work on our Home Sweet Home quilts. (The one pictured here is Alma Allen's from Blackbird Designs.) We are all at different stages at this point, but we love to get together and feed off each others energy. Since we met I have been in my sewing room choosing fabrics, etc.
After making a couple blocks, we decided it made more sense to choose all the house fabrics, and then accessorize with the trees, flowers, etc. This way it should be easier to coordinate the detail colors. We learn as we go, right? I am trying to get as much of this completed, or at least prepped, as I can while I have a momentum going.
My friend Joan figured out that it is easier to spray starch the edges and press them in place over the freezer paper templates than to glue them. Cut your template. Press it onto the back of the fabric. Trim to include a seam allowance. Spray the fabric edges and press over the edge of the paper. Remove the paper and give the shape one more press. This works for most shapes, and you don't have to cut the back to pull the paper out. I like it! We are all excited about this quilt! It was so gorgeous to see it in person. I hope some day I can show you MY finished quilt. It takes so much time, but I do enjoy the whole journey!

HOME SWEET HOME IN PROGRESS

As usual, I keep jumping around on projects. Anyone out there identify? I am almost done with the signature blocks! yay! I can't mail them Monday, because it is President's Day and there is no mail service. But Tuesday for sure, they will be off to Cynthia in Australia. Bless her heart for taking this on! All the sorting and shipping for 40 of us quilt bloggers-we appreciate it Cynthia!

I have been working on the Home Sweet Home quilt with my friends. I have two blocks done. This quilt is so much fun that it is an effort to force myself to do other stuff. I am not an accomplished appliquer, but I do enjoy it, and hopefully, after this is quilted, I will have a quilt that I am happy with. It all takes time: choosing fabrics, preparing the pieces, etc. We all must love the process or we would just buy something pre-made. Right? I do love the process. I love to dig through my stash looking for the piece of fabric that is just right. Sometimes it takes a while, and I change my mind a couple of times before I am satified. I love being able to machine stitch the bigger pieces and then hand stitch the smaller pieces. I am using the method of machine applique that the Blackbird Design girls taught us, and I know Barbara Brackman and others teach it as well. But for the smaller or trickier pieces I am happy to use a needle and thread. There is satifaction in using a needle and thread that you don't get from a machine. And I say that while having great love for my sewing machine. In fact, I would be lost without my sewing machine! But handwork is a whole 'nother love.

Also pictured is my friend Sue, and the beautiful bird she just finished from the BBD book, Birds of a Feather. Take a close up look of how she placed the bird fabric so the eye is in the right place. Then she added a teeny-tiny piping around the block as a frame. Really nicely done!

Well, I am off to see what today holds. Hopefully I will get some sewing in!

OLD CROW SAMPLER

I finished this cute little Blackbird Designs project called Old Crow Sampler and framed it this past weekend. I happened to find a frame at Michael's that worked great! He turned out pretty cute, didn't he? Even my husband likes him! He is from the book Fresh From the Garden; published in 2000. I bought it recently when the BB girls were in town. It was suggested in the book that the alphabet could be done free hand, and so I gave it a try and it turned out great. It actually wasn't difficult. I think the material that I used was helpful because the threads were large and I could actually follow the weave somewhat.

Yesterday two of my friends came over and we had an all day workshop playing with fabric. We are planning to make the Blackbird Designs quilt Home Sweet Home. We are hoping that if we work on it together we will keep each other motivated. Plus, it is fun to do projects with friends. We select fabric together and share tips and opinions and ideas, etc. We all picked our fabric for our first block. I worked on mine last night and am getting excited about the whole project. This whole applique thing is a new venue for me, and I am enjoying it.

My sewing room actually was presentable for my company yesterday. It really helps so much to have shelves and storage convenient for knowing where to put things away. I have never had that before this year! Isn't that nuts? I am so thrilled with it! My fabric is sorted by color, mostly. Wow, what a concept! Organization--it really works!

I haven't been spending as much time blog hopping as I did before Christmas. I try to catch up a little every day. But I need to focus on my projects too, so please forgive me if you don't hear from me quite so often. I will stop by your blog when I get a chance. I really enjoy the blogs, but it sure can soak up time so that nothing else gets done. I am striving for balance. Is that possible?