OH MY STARS AND GARTERS!

Several years ago I designed this really easy star pattern that creates an alternate Shoofly block when you set it with sashing. I was creating designs to use in class with new quilters. Not my most creative work, but still, it gives a great effect in its simplicity. I came up with the name "Stars and Garters". That was an expression my grandmother used: "Oh my stars and garters"! Having heard that expression all my life I naturally assumed that everyone knew it. Boy was I wrong!


Yesterday (amid strong winds and rain as a weakened hurricane swept through) there was an open house at our LQS, What's Your Stitch N Stuff. Sue G., who works at the shop, made up this pattern in the Coverlet fabric, by Windham. It turned out great! They made it up into kits and held up the quilt to show it to everyone. One of the gals asked about the garters. I explained that it was just a fun name that came from the expression my grandmother used, "Oh my stars and garters". Everyone in the shop was mystified. No one had ever heard that expression.


So here I named a quilt pattern after an expression I thought everyone would recognize and get a kick out of, and NO ONE ever heard the expression before!


Have you ever heard that expression before?

Oh my stars and garters!

Please let me know.

WHAT IS OLD IS NEW AGAIN!

Most of you know the Beckster by now--my 19 year old granddaughter who is now beginning her sophomore year at BYU. Her parents just moved to Missoula, MT, so Becky went to see them in their new home. While there she asked her mom if she could take the quilt on little sister's bed back to college with her. Her mom said, "NO, but you can take your own quilt". Becky didn't even remember what it looked like!


Well, here is the story: I made this quilt for her in 1993. Becky put on a big smile, as the photo shows, but later her mom apologetically told me that Becky didn't want to use the quilt. Really, I didn't mind. I told her to put it away and someday she might want it. When Becky went off to college I did not make her a quilt. I figured that if the day came when she wanted a quilt she would tell me. Turns out that when her mom got the quilt out that I had made years ago, Becky loved it! Well heck, it IS just like new! A happy ending for everyone!


You know I love scrappy quilts and when I first got into quiltmaking I learned this wonderful technique that Sally Schneider developed, that she calls Mary's Triangles. Becky's quilt was made using that method. I have taught it in many classes and, for me, it never grows old. It has a ton of variations. This is what the block looks like. Can you find it in the quilt?



Other family news is that my father finally decided to write on his blog again. Last time he wrote on it was in March 08! Well, since that time Google has gotten serious about having a Google account in order to have a blog. We could not get into that blog for anything. So I opened a Google account for him and a new blog! He has already written two posts. I know a few of you out there have enjoyed his stories, so if you want to read his blog, it has been updated. Also, I have created a link to it on my sidebar down below the Babes in Blogland, that will show when he updates it.
Give him a thrill and leave a comment!


Have a happy scrappy day!

NAME THAT QUILT

Lyn at Bluebird Quilts, in Australia had a contest to name the beautiful quilt, pictured above, that she made. I have been watching the progress of this quilt for a while now, and just love it. It is lovely in its simplicity and soothing blue color. I submitted a name for the quilt, Blessings Remembered, which I thought reflected the name of the original vintage quilt that she was duplicating. Lyn chose my name from a list of many nice names, and sent me a lovely package all the way from Australia!

Above is the darling little box that Lyn sent me, laying on a really pretty dish towel. The little bundle of blue fabric squares are from the Blessings Remembered quilt! What a treat! There were also pretty quilt labels, and sitting on one of them is two little soap rosettes.

I opened the box and found more tiny treasures! Two pretty pins, stickers, packages of fragrance, and a beautiful embossed quilt card. I think I will frame that! I couldn't be more pleased. Thank you Lyn, so very much! Be sure and visit Lyn's blog to see what else she is up to.

BLUE X TWO

At long last I have completed these two baby quilt tops! Last post I showed a corner of the above quilt, but, as you can see I changed the corners. I loved the Friendship Stars so much, and I happened to have several, so I took the 4-patch blocks out of the corners of this quilt and added stars. It would have been fine if I hadn't seen the stars, but I am happier with this. What do you think? Oh, and humility blocks have been discovered and will remain as they are.

The second little quilt quickly became my favorite. Those darn little stars did the trick! Now for the quilting!

A side note to my last blog post, I received a comment from Karen Dianne who reminded me that she sews in her kitchen and has her fabric stored in the pantry! Go check out her blog and see her pretty pantry! (And her progress on her Indian Paintbrush quilt, which she re-named to suit herself. Imagine!)

Have a happy scrappy day!

QUILT CLUTTER

Well, it finally happened. My sewing room is such a mess that I can't work in it any longer, and I have moved my sewing machine to the kitchen. I have actually had it in the kitchen for a couple of weeks, and I keep saying that as soon as I finish this project I will clean up the kitchen table AND my sewing room! But, like the nervous tic that has developed in my husband's right eye, this project just won't go away! (Yes, he has been patient, but has trouble with clutter. How have we lasted 40 years together? He travels a lot!)

The project? Well, you may recall the 4-patch quilt I showed a while back. I decided that I wanted to do a cute little border to make it unique among 4-patch quilts. So on to EQ6 for a little design help. After auditioning borders, I decided to add a few flying geese. Have you ever tried the paper pieced flying geese? I bought these Sew and Fold on a Roll a while back, from the makers of Triangles on a Roll. You pre-cut all the pieces and just Sew and Fold! It is pretty slick.
The above photo shows one corner of the quilt with the flying geese. The opposite corner looks like this as well, and the other two just have 4-patches in the corners. This quilt is for my nephew's new baby boy, but his broher is also having a baby boy in September. So, since I already had all the scraps out for this quilt, I decided to make another 4-patch quilt for the next baby. The top went together quickly, since I had leftover pieces from quilt #1. I was pretty pleased with myself, feeling well ahead of the game. I went back to EQ6 for another border idea and decided on one that I liked. The second quilt will have little Friendship Stars in the border.

Since I am working in the kitchen, I snapped a photo of all the little stars in the cabinet with a few blue items that I display there. Now I am feeling so proud of myself for getting this far! I sew the little stars into strips for the border and lay them around the quilt. That is when I realize that I meant to have white stars with blue background. As you can see from the photo with the flying geese, the geese are white and the background is blue. It just flows better with the blue squares that make up the rest of the border. So AAAKKK!
More cutting, more sewing and more pressing and here come more stars. Only this time they are white with blue background. Yes, they are still in progress. Yes, the kitchen is still Sewing Central, and yes, I now feel it is necessary to increase the Prozac doses that I have been sprinkling on my husband's cereal each morning.

Will she ever get back to the sewing room? Well, I am not going to tell you to tune in next time, I am not that optimistic! But I will return with a report of something!

Have a happy scrappy day!

WESTWARD HO

My daughter and her family just moved from Minnesota to Missoula, MT. I wonder if we will ever go back to Minnesota now? We raised our family there and really love Minnesota. But when it comes down to travel, I will always go where my kids are. So look out Montana, you just never know when Grandma Mousie will show up!

This picture is so typical of scenes I have enjoyed while driving across America. I picked it off my daughter's family blog, so am not actually sure who took the picture. (Lisa?) Anyway, I love it!

I think they are going to love Missoula. They have deer in their yard every day. Polly said there is a doe with two fauns. They are thrilled to see them so up-close and tame. Their neighbors said they will soon get sick of them. Neighbors have a big tall fence to keep them out of their yard. She said the doe actually brought the fauns to Polly's yard over the summer, when the house was vacant and used the fenced backyard as a playpen while she ran errands, or whatever momma does do. Haha. That looks funny "does do". I am easily amused. Neighbor also said that when the doe was ready to give birth she layed down in the flower bed in her front yard and produced two little fauns. In her front yard! Imagine!

My 16 year old granddaughter has her room in the finished basement. She sleeps with the window up to let the air in at night, and she has been hearing strange noises outside. She said it freaks her out. She hears moving around and heavy breathing. She thought there was a man outside her window. Turns out it was deer munching on the grass by her window. There are other funny stories as well, like the woman washing her cow with a hose as they were driving by. That was new to them!

I haven't shown a quilt for a while, so I thought I better post something to prove that this is still a blog about quilting! This quilt is a Buggy Barn pattern that was in American Patchwork and Quilting Best Quilt Shops issue several years ago. I always enjoy those issues and "visiting" various shops around the country.

Have a happy, scrappy day!

PURCHASING POWER THROUGH PAYPAL, etc

I am excited to announce that I have finally added PayPal to my website! Being fairly computer inept, I needed someone to give me encouragement and walk me through it. Once again Karen, our Sew Primitive gal, came to my rescue. I have already had a few orders, and it works like magic! Just click on a button and you can pay with a credit card and PayPal handles the details. Silly me, I thought it was going to be a big deal! NO BIG DEAL!

Also, if you click over to Karen's blog you can see a beautiful quilt that a customer at Little Quilts made with my Williamsburg Medallion pattern! By the way, Karen has designed some darling punch-needle patterns that she is selling on her website, Folkart Children And if you haven't seen her Primitive Children, you really must take a look. The girl has talent!

Last week my son came for a visit. He is living, working, and going to school in Provo, UT, and doesn't get out to the East Coast very often. It was great having him here. I know he was bored silly at least part of the time, but that is the price you have to pay when you are young and you go visit "old-timers". On Monday he and I drove to Jamestown to see the sights. We visited the museum there, which is quite wonderful. Also, there is a replica of a small Indian village. The first picture, above, shows us inside a hut with a big bear skin hanging on the wall behind us. There were many furs on the walls and sleeping cots. Very authentic!

The ship is a model of the Susan B. Constant, one of the three ships that sailed from England in 1607. They actually came ashore right down the road from where I live. When they found the James River (I am sure the Indians didn't call it that) they sailed up it and established a fort at what later became Jamestown. Both named after King James, of course.

We went on board the ship and walked around. Let me tell you it is so small! Those poor people were on board for four months!!! A year ago my friend, Joan, loaned me a really good book written by one of the descendants of a Jamestown family. The book is Dark Enough to see the Stars in a Jamestown Sky, by Connie Lapallo. I tired to order it from Amazon, but they didn't have it. I was so pleased to be able to find it in one of the gift shops up there. I had to have my own copy! The book tells the story of the women and children and how they survived (or didn't). Very interesting!

So that was my excitement for the week. Next post I promise something quilty. I have been sewing! Until then, have a happy, scrappy day!

THE APRON REVISITED

Here she is, my darling granddaughter, displaying her culinary expertise in her new apron. You have to admit that it looks cuter on her than on the hanger! Becky is a testament as to what can be accomplished in a college dormitory kitchen! We mostly call her Becky, but when she was about five years old she decided that she wanted to be called "Becksterama the Cool One", and that kind of stuck. Well, at least the "Beckster" part stuck. But you have to admit, she is a "Cool One"! You can tell she is shy, can't you? Ha!

While Mrs. Goodneedle and Cheryl at Polka Dots and Rick Rack, are enjoying the thrill of new grandbabies in their families, I have to admit that "old" grandbabies are quite awesome as well!

On another note, Lyn, at Welcome to Bluebird Quilts, is looking for a name for a lovely blue and white quilt that she made. She is asking for suggestions, and giving a prize to the winning name. Go visit her and be sure to scroll back and see this quilt as it progresses. The quilting on it is wonderful too!

My youngest son has been here visiting for the past few days, so more on that later!

Have a happy day!

SHADE YOUR EYES, I'M BRILLIANT

Who is this cute girl, you may be asking? Well, her name is Karen, from Short Story Long, and she blogs from Colorado. I don't know much about her, but I can tell you she likes RED, which gives us immediate common ground. Also, she just awarded me the Brilliante award that you now see glowing on my sidebar. So she is cute and has an apparent degree of discernment. She also has three little boys who are quite accident prone, as little boys are wont to be. I have heard that the emergency room at her local hospital has a daily appointment set for her family and once in a while she calls to say they won't be in that day. She is also a quilter, but frankly, when does a mother of three have the luxury of sitting down long enough for something like that? Go visit her and see what I mean!

So thank you Karen, for the very nice compliment of this award. I have so many brilliant blogger friends out there that I can't really chose, and I think if you read my blog you must be brilliant!

Now if I may, I feel the need to interject the fact that I have several Karens who are kind enough to leave me comments, and I am having a heck of a time determining who is who. Would it be too much to ask you to add an initial or part of your blog title to you name? Say maybe, "Primitive Karen", or "Short Karen", or "LC Karen", etc. Just a thought.

Have a happy day!

THE APRON HAS LANDED!

You may recall that my granddaughter is attending BYU in Provo, Utah. She is pictured here hard at work in the school library. Oh that girl!

Well, her long awaited apron finally arrived! She also needed silverware, pots and pans, etc. So Grandma packed a very heavy box. The post office wanted $35 bucks to mail it Priority, so I opted for the $20 road trip. She loves the apron, and I finally get to show it off on my blog. Such fun! This is apron #3 that I have made, and each one gets constructed better than the last. The first one I made according to package directions. The second one I faced the bib and shoulder strap, and top stitched the bias binding. For this one I added a little more ruffle, along with the other improvements. Also, I skipped the bias binding and added tiny rick-rack. Isn't it very 1940's?

If you missed the first two aprons, they are pictured HERE, in another post.

Have a happy day! ~Marcie

A LITTLE SPAM WITH YOUR BLOG?

Did anyone have a little SPAM problem yesterday? Yvonne, at Quilting Down the Stairs. e-mailed me first thing in the morning to alert me that my blog was not opening. Is that sweet or what? I opened my blog, and sure enough, it was frozen. I looked to Google Help, and they were already on it. Apparently it had to do with spam. It was all back in order very quickly. I thought that was pretty impressive. Kudos to the BLOGGER TEAM, wherever they are! (I know they are out there)! So on that note, Google has also presented us with a delightful assortment of SPAM recipes. Dig in, there is plenty to go around!

Coconut Beer Batter Spam with Raspberry Horse
Creamy Spam Broccoli Casserole
Cricket's Spam Quiche
Delicious and 'Good For You' SPAM Salad
Easy Spam Triangles
French Fry Spam Casserole
Gingered Spam Salad
Healthy Spam Peppers
Savory Spam Crescents
Spam A La King
Spam Ala Gary
Spam Ala Gary
Spam Breakfast Burritos
Spam Broccoli Pecan Salad
Spam Confetti Pasta
Spam Denver Biscuit Souffle
Spam Fajitas
Spam Hashbrown Bake
Spam Hashbrown Bake
Spam Hot And Spicy Stir-Fry
Spam Hot Vegetable Salad Sandwiches
Spam Imperial Tortilla Sandwiches
Spam Meal In A Bundle
Spam Primavera

Copyright ©1995-2000 SOAR. ©2001-2008 RecipeSource. All Rights Reserved.All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

HAPPY TO REPORT

You may recall my post regarding my quilts and patterns going to Hershey, PA for the Quilt Odyssey show. Well, today Jean from The Happy Sewing Room, in Hamburg, PA, called to say that my quilts were a great success and she sold out of Indian Paintbrush (pictured above).

The photo above shows Wintergreen, a small version of Table Scraps (little brown churn dash), Scrappy Patches, above right, and Pioneer Trail in the lower right. The red star is not one of mine, but I like it a lot! I only sent them two quilts, and the rest are samples that they made up, including one that you can't see. So hooray for The Happy Sewing Room! You might want to check out their website.

Thanks for stopping by! ~Marcie

PUTTERING WITH PATCHES

My friend Pat, who lives in North Bend, WA, recently sent me a box of R-W-B scraps that she knew I would love. Pat is responsible for teaching me to make quilts. I always had the urge, but never the opportunity, until I met Pat. That was in the early 1990's when we lived in Issaquah, WA. The above photo was taken of us at the APNQ (Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters) in front of a quilt that neither of us made. It was in August of 2000, and happened to be the day the moving truck was at my house, packing us to leave for Virginia, where we now live. No way was I going to miss that event just because a moving van was parked in front of my house! That was eight years ago, and we have only grown more lovely with age. (Don't ask me to prove that).

So this box has been sitting on the floor of my sewing room for a few months at this point. I didn't want to split it up and put it away, because any minute I knew I would dive into it and make a quilt. Last week I had to empty the box onto the floor because I needed the box to send things to my son that he left while he was here. So now visualize all these scraps in a pile on the floor of my already disastrous sewing room. It is like playing hopscotch getting across the floor on any given day.

I had finished three aprons, and now I needed to work on a quilt. I should be completing one of the many UFOs that are hovering about, but luckily my Dad called with the news that my nephew (and his wife, of course) just had another baby boy. Yea! I get to make a baby quilt! My eyes settled on the pile of scraps on the floor, and I decided to spread them out and take inventory. Imagine finding quite a few strips of red, white and blue! You must know by now that this is my favorite color combination. So here I am with lots of two inch strips. What to do, what to do? I started looking for ideas. One of my best resources is YOU out there in Blogland! I just happen to have a few photos of quilts that you have shared. I saw one made from 4-patches and these colors recently. "Oh yeah! That is perfect for my new nephew", says I. Since I already have the two inch strips, it was an obvious decision to make the 4-patches from two inch strips. So zip, zip, and zip, and I have red and white 4-patches all over the place. The next day I cut up a bunch of 3.5 inch squares of various blues, and began sewing these pieces into strips.

Today I finished sewing the rows together, and voila, a quilt is entering the world. This is what I love about quiltmaking: you take a pile of untamed matter (or scraps, as we like to call them) and create something totally new and wonderful! Borders are in the works, and then the quilt will finish at about 42 inches square.

For your viewing pleasure, I included a little picture of my cute granddaughter from a few years ago on the 4th of July.

In actuality, I have made this design before, and love it. But this coloration was inspired by a fellow blogger. I normally include the quilt makers name when I save a photo, and, for whatever reason, I neglected to do that with this quilt. If you happen to read my blog, and you think I may have seen a similar quilt on your blog, let me know and I will happily mail you one of my own delightful, and original patterns! (Disclaimer: if I get too many claims, you may have to send proof)!

Well, that turned out to be the long version of the history of a small quilt! Now I am off to the border!

TIME WARP

I finally got to work on a quilt today, but really don't have anything to show. I made a bunch of 4-patches and they are not too exciting yet. I can report that I finished my granddaughter's apron! Yea! It is so cute, and I hope that she loves it, but will reserve showing it here until she receives it so I won't spoil the impact of her seeing it for the first time.

So, I thought I would share a couple other things that might be of interest to someone out there, hopefully! Most of you probably have a quilt hanger in your home, of some type. This one is mine. She began life as a perfume model, standing on a counter in a department store. She carried a slinky scarf and a come hither look, urging people to the perfume counter to buy her product. It was sad, really, a beautiful young woman shamefully displaying her body in an effort to sell a product, when, what she really wanted was to be recognized for the person she was on the inside. When she first came to me I recognized her potential immediately! I offered her a vintage quilt, something I dearly love, and she was so thrilled that she tossed her arms in the air for joy! She has remained that way to this day. I have thought of making her a frock to wear, and still think it would be nice. Either way, she is unique and I am pleased to have her share my enthusiasm for vintage and other quilts. Every so often I hear her softly singing, "some day my prince will come". She may have placed an order at the Fat Quarter Shop, I don't know.


Speaking of vintage, I happened upon this darling dress in the back of the closet today. It was my mother's dress, probably worn in the 1940's, and made by my grandmother. It is a tiny coral checked fabric, trimmed with tiny blue rick rack and blue buttons. It actually is similar in style to the aprons that I have been making. I would love to have my granddaughter try this on. I bet it would fit her. We are so taken with everything retro today, but this is the real deal.

Please take note of the Prairie Paisley link on the side of my blog. I added a couple more links of late, and they are super-cute quilts. Let me know if you are making a quilt from the Prairie Paisley fabric or if you know someone who is. I love seeing them all!

Pushing toward the weekend again. Where does the time go? Anyone? Anyone?

SMILES to everyone! Remember, that is the longest word in the dictionary. There is a mile between the first and last letter. Now I am going to run and hide for a few more days to avoid getting pelted with rotten fruit!

~Marcie

QUILTS AND KISSES

When it comes to Kisses, do you first think "love" or "chocolate"? Probably a silly question, as we all seem to love chocolate! Well now think "love+chocolate+quilts" and that equation equals only one thing! The QUILT ODYSSEY in Hershey, PA! It begins this week, opening Thursday, July 24 -27. Unfortunately, I will not be there, but lots of my Patchalot Patterns will be, and also a few of my quilts! I am excited to have them attend this event, and wish I could be there also. I will be home with some of my other quilts and some of my own Hershey's!

So here is what I want to know: Are any of you, who read my blog, planning to attend this event? I would love to have someone take a picture or two of my quilts and patterns and e-mail them to me to post on my blog. They can be seen at the booth of The Happy Sewing Room at the show.

Have fun at the Quilt Odyssey show, and blow my quilts some kisses--but not chocolate ones please! Save those to eat!

~Marcie

I WOULD RATHER MAKE AN APRON THAN COOK IN ONE!

Just so you know that I have actually created something recently, here is what I made for two of my granddaughters while they were visiting. The intention was to make an apron for the granddaughter away at college who is becoming quite domestic. Yeah, I heard she made cup cakes! So my daughter and I went to Jo-Ann's and bought a pattern. She wanted something retro, and there are some cute patterns around. We decided on this cutie!

When Mary, on the left in the photo, saw the pattern, she wanted an apron too. So we went through my fabric and found fabric that she liked. As I was stitching away, Danielle, on the right, comes in and says she wants one too! So we went through my fabric and found something that she liked as well. As I was stitching away, Plumpkin came in and she wanted an apron too! We can't leave her out!

This is Plumpkin thinking, "Hmmm, I think I want an apron too"!

Well, I didn't get Plumpkin's done yet, and I actually need to make our college girl's apron first. So that is next on the agenda. So, as you can see, I have two more apron's to make before I can begin thinking QUILT again. But I am smiling! It is always nice when you can actually make something that makes kids happy these days!

~Marcie

WELCOME TO THE BEACH

Welcome to our house in Virginia Beach, VA! We are all "decked out" and ready for company! Of course we decorate with quilts around here and I happen to have a few red, white and blue ones that are perfect for our 4th of July celebration. This year we added the outdoor drapes to the west facing side of the deck to block out the sun at dinner time. I was resistant to putting drapes outside, but my husband thought it would be great and I finally agreed. Now let me tell you, I couldn't be happier! These are from the Pottery Barn catalogue and made for outdoor use. They are a sturdy synthetic and look similar to canvas. I am hooked! It makes all the difference to have them shade us while eating outdoors! You can't quite see the wicker furniture, but we had all the cushions recovered in denim, which happens to go very well with my quilts!

Additionally, we added beach cruiser bikes this year. As you can see, they were a big hit! Plumpkin, in the back seat, managed to get someone to take her for a ride every night. There is a path nearby that goes through many miles of Seashore State Park for walkers, runners and bikers. It is great and a nice alternative to the beach. Jack, Polly and Plumpkin pictured here.

These two have been best buddies since they were babies. My son's son, Kyle, and my daughter's daughter, Mary. Both are 16 years old. Most of the good pictures that we have were taken by Mary. She carries her camera everywhere and gets some great shots! This one I may have actually taken, but you never know because these days kids manage to snap lots of pictures of themselves with their out-stretched arm. If you have teenagers around you know what I mean. We combined photos from three cameras onto a disk, so that is why I don't know for certain who took the picture.

Plumpkin was amazed to see the little crabs that skitter all over the beach. It it amazing how quickly they bury themselves down a hole.

Jack decided to try it himself. Buried up to his neck, he may be having second thoughts after what Kyle found living close by. What is that pinching your toe Jack?

Kyle loves nature. In fact, he had to chase his cousins down the beach to show them the wonderful specimen that he found. I once ordered a soft shell crab sandwich at a local restaurant and this is what was on it, legs sticking out of the bun, with tomato, lettuce and mayo. I am not a native of this area, and it was kind of weird!

In closing, I have to share what is probably my favorite picture of the summer. My son, in the middle (duh!), is a crazy man, and always is goofing around. The kids love him for it, and so do I! His daughter Danielle, is on the left and googly-eyed Plumpkin on the right.

Did I mention how quiet it is around here? Everyone went back to their own homes in Minnesota and Arizona last week. It was wild and wonderful while they were here, but the quiet is a nice change too! More later...

Marcie