HOME WITH LOOT

Previously I mentioned that I would display my Quilt Fest finds. Here is most of it. I found some repros that I had not seen before and could not resist. I also bought the book Prairie Children and Their Quilts and a Lori Smith pattern. I loved the Liberty Homestead booth and got a beautiful "straw" colored hand dyed piece. Also a couple of pieces of wool, etc. The Olde Green Cupboard, from Jacksonville, FL had a booth that was sensational. They bought patterns from me a while back, so we renewed acquaintances.

I finished another house from the HOME SWEET HOME book, so that is coming along amidst everything else.

And now, it is back to the sewing room!

QUILT FEST CATS

For all you cat lovers out there, I wish you could have seen the beautiful display of quilts at the show featuring cats, made by Ann Fahl. She should do a line of greeting cards or something. They are so adorable! (I added her name to the quilts for my album).
I don't have much to report, except that Quilt Fest is over for another year. Now it is time to get busy and put all that wonderful fabric to work! Maybe I will show you a glimpse of that tomorrow.

MID-ATLANTIC QUILT FEST

Did anyone notice that I used Fiona’s blog title, Scraps in Progress, as the title of my last post? I realized it when I was visiting her blog. Just goes to show that I never have an original thought. Thanks for sharing, Fiona!
I finished the second round on my little quilt the other day. Ain’t it purdy? I am working on a second one like it so that I can give the shop accurate kitting instructions. I love using up all my little pieces, but people love to buy kits. I can understand that.
This is as big as it is going to get. It is another Patchalittle Project. It is 16 inches square. Big enough to put a lamp on, or a plant, etc. All the cute patches show around the edges. I played with the idea of a plain border on the outside, but decided against it. Easy enough to add if anyone chooses to do so.
My friends and I went to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton yesterday. It is a Mancuso Brothers event. It was previously held in Williamsburg, VA, but starting last year, it was moved to the coliseum in Hampton. It is much more spacious. I think it is the best show I have been to since I moved here from Seattle 6-1/2 years ago. I have gone to this event for the past 6 years and the quilts shown have always been quite artsy. Not my taste. This year there was a nice mix. There were some outstanding traditional quilts with fabulous hand quilting. I will share a few over the next few days. I know there were others in our blog ring that attended, so I am anxious to see what impressed them and what they show on their blogs. The vendors were great, of course. I found a huge roll of shirtings that I had to buy. I didn’t recognize any of them! I love shirtings and find that quilt shows are the best place to get a good variety.
Now that I have discussed how much I love traditional quilts, the quilt pictured is far from traditional. Look closely. They are all little stuffed goldfish. It is called Synchronized Swimming, and the creator is Kathy York from Austin, TX. I think she really had a good time making this. It is a riot! I was so busy looking at the fish that I didn’t notice, until I put the picture on my computer, that the background fabric is dyed with the rings appearing to be little waves in the water. Very clever! Very, very fun day! More later!

SCRAPS IN PROGRESS

I have a new small project in progress. This is the center. It will be a small medallion quilt without a pieced center. The fabric center is six inches. Actually at this point it is the size of a block. The fabric in the center is from a recent Jo Morton line and I think it lends itself to this type of focus. It is like old fashioned elegance. Then add lots of wonderful reproduction scraps and I can hardly keep from drooling all over it. The LQS loves my projects, but hates kitting them. Guess why? Too many fabrics--it drives them nuts! I just counted 21 different fabrics in this piece. I LOVE playing with my scraps! Tune in again for the next installation. I have to get to the sewing room and create!

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!

CIVIL WAR BLOCK EXCHANGE

It seems that I haven't posted any actual quilts for a while, so I thought I would share two that I made a couple years ago from a block exchange. I can't remember how many of us were involved, but we had a nice sized group here locally that I swapped with. The rules were that we use quilt shop quality fabric that was a 19th Century reproduction. This was the first such project I was ever involved in and it is responsible for my head over heels attraction to the Civil War fabrics. It is amazing how many truly ugly fabrics it takes to make a fabulous quilt. The blocks in this quilt are six inch finished. We traded the HSTs and some geese for this project also. When we all got together to exchange blocks, it was a riot! The squeals of delight as we pored over our new stash! So many cool fabrics that I had never seen before. Our local shop here in V.B. (What's Your Stitch) has great repros, but I was amazed at the variety from other sources as well.
We did several block exchanges before I dropped out from exhaustion. I have a couple other quilts in stages of incompletion that I would love to finish this year. That sounds like such a "glass half empty" comment. I should say that I have a couple quilts that I have made quite a bit of progress on. Yes. Much better. I WILL get them out and finish them this year!
The other quilt that I finished from this group exchange is the Lady of the Lake quilt. I loved this one so much that I made extra blocks and I hand quilted it. Hand quilting is something I rarely do on large projects anymore. I love the look of it, but I am slow and I am afraid if I start something big I may never complete it. Between the achy eyes and the achy hands...it slows you down! But this quilt demanded that I hand quilt it, and I am so glad that I did. Again, you can see some strange fabric in this quilt. It is funny, but everyone loves the lime green block at the bottom. It is a weird one. What do you think? Can you pick a favorite block?

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?

HAPPY GROUNDHOGS DAY!

Lemon Chambers: Born 27 August 1869, Died 20 November 1916- Great-grampa Lemon (seriously)was a local merchant of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who ran a billiard hall. Notice the cigar in his hand. He had a pet crow, or raven, that would sit on his shoulder and actually spoke a few words. He must have been quite the character in that little town.
Of course everyone in our family remembers that today is GROUNDHOG'S DAY! Our family has been celebrating this day, literally, for generations. Long before Bill Murray made it so famous with his hilarious movie. My great-grandfather, Lemon Chambers, was one of the original founders of Groundhog's Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It has changed a bit over the years. According to my grandfather, in the old days they had tables in the park loaded with groundhogs that they roasted for everyone to eat. Not exactly the way Walt Disney might portray the event. These days we look to the TV to return us to Punxy and watch the locals who are watching the groundhog, to prognosticate the weather. Will we have six more weeks of winter? It is all determined by whether the groundhog sees his shadow. I don't know about Punxy, but if their weather is like ours in Virginia, there will be no shadow today! Will we have six weeks more of winter or not? My guess is "yes"! I wonder if the groundhog knows about global warming? I wonder if most of the country knows about global warming? Everyone has been experiencing winter storms. Happy Groundhog's Day folks, where ever you are celebrating! (Our friends over seas must think we are nuts! Well,if Bill Murray is any indication...)

STILL PATCHING-A-LITTLE

Just thought I would post a picture of the little medallion quilt with the new birdie! I made yet another in order to have the correct bird in the center. I am getting quite good at making this little quilt. They go together now with my eyes closed. This is #5. Sigh. I really need to move on.
The second photo is of project #2 for Patchalittle. See the little red bird on the branch? This was lots of fun to design. It is approx. 15" x 17". I have got an idea I would like to try for project #3, if I can ever get that far. I still need to finish up on pattern directions for one and two. And no, I still didn't finish cleaning my sewing room. I don't know how Judy L. gets all the quilts designed, stitched, quilted, and then posts directions on her blog for us. She is amazing. But then I say that about so many of you. I just keep plodding along. I will probably come back in my next life as a turtle.
I am waiting for the repairman to come and fix our heat pump unit. We called them Thursday and they finally said they would be out today. It is supposed to be under a policy warranty. I get much better service when I call my regular guy.
Leftovers for dinner tonight, so at least that is not a pressing issue.
OK, I will go to my room and put scraps and things in their appointed place while I wait for this guy. Have a Happy!

EQ6

I have done some stitching this week. I need to get batteries for my camera and then I can show you my new Patchalittle Project. I love it! These digital cameras eat up the batteries, don't they? I prepared directions for my little bird medallion quilt for class. This is the EQ illustration. They have a wonderful new feature in EQ6 where you can just pop a picture from your computer photo file right into a block! I was so thrilled! I took a picture of my little birdie center, clicked the button, and presto change-o, it appears! It is so fun to learn something new that you can use. So much easier than cutting and pasting. I mean literally cutting and pasting! We all did that for years! Now I am making this little quilt for the fifth time! I already made two for gifts and one for me, and one for the shop to display. But now that I have changed the bird I am making another one for the shop. They go together so quickly. Especially whan you have made so many!

I started another little Blackbird Design project last night. It has an alphabet embroidered on it, so that has to be done first. Alma Allen says in the book that she just freehand emboidered it. I didn't have the confidence that I could do that, but I am doing it just fine. It is turning out well. Sometimes I just have to dive in, then I do better than I would have expected. I wonder where all the insecurity comes from?

Sometime, in between these projects that I just can't pull myself away from, I am going to have to clean my sewing room! It is out of control again. I love seeing everyone's work spaces in various conditions. Mine tends to get buried, but I can handle that for only so long. After a few months it gets to me. Ha! My husband has this joke about closing the door and pretending it is a closet. We are there.

SIGNATURE BLOCKS

I picked up a Quilt It for Keepsakes magazine this weekend, and surprise! It has a couple of nice signature quilts in it! There is no date on the cover, so it must be a special edition. I EQed one of the blocks for you. I wonder if it is the same one that Patti mentioned? I thought this was a really cool setting. The block is so simple, especially if you need to make a ton of them.
While at Jo-Ann Fabrics I noticed that they carry that cute little iron that I showed a while ago. It is the same price as the LQS, $9.99, but if you have a coupon... Lightbulb moment: they also have regular sized irons that you could use a coupon on. Hmmm.

I made a really easy TACO SOUP this weekend. I thought I would share the recipe. It is one of those things that you can throw together in five minutes, and you could easily have all the ingredients on hand. The recipe comes from my aunt in Arizona.


EASY TACO SOUP
In a large saucepan combine:
2 cans (13-3/4 oz) chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar(11-1/2 oz) Pace Thick & Chunky Salsa
1 can Mexican style corn (11 oz) drained
Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Pour into bowls and top with Crushed tortilla chips, grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream, if you wish. Sooo yummy!

A NEW BIRD ON THE BLOCK

Not a very clear picture, but at least you can get an idea of the bird I came up with to go in the center of the Medallion Doll Quilt for my class next week. (Remember the bird I originally used was not my own). The shop is doing up kits for the class, so that makes it easy for people. It seems like everyone loves kits lately. I love it when they make them for my designs because then I sell patterns! February is always a good month because of the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. The local quilt shops get lots of people coming through on their way to the show.
I have a new little project for my Patchalittle class in February. It is still under construction, but by next week I have to have it finished to show the class. My friend, Joan, saw it yesterday and got all excited, so that is a good sign! The past couple of weeks seem to have moved in slow motion, as I was not feeling well. But I think I am about back to normal, which is to say I am more sluggish, but not is slow motion. No, really, I feel lots better! I actually went grocery shopping and cooked a meal!
Did I mention that I got a perm last week? I haven't had one in years, but my hair is so straight and so flat that I thought I would give it a try again. I looked pretty funny for the first week, but I think it is finally calming down. It actually looks ok now. By the end of the month it will probably be flat again. I can't win, I know that, but every once in a while I try. Have a good weekend everyone!

RESURFACING

I have had a yukky week. I was feeling better after my trip, then BAM, I got hit with a head cold. So my week has progressed slowly. Yesterday my husband made me leave the house and we went for lunch at Bubbas, a local seafood place on the bay. It was actually nice enough to sit out on the deck to eat, although it was quite breezy. But still, we are Minnesotans, and to sit outside in January is rather unheard of. I opened the widows at home in hopes of eliminating all my coughing germs. Nice to feel some fresh air. I am still on the nightly Nyquil routine, so my energy is lacking during the day. I know, it's only a cold and will pass. Thank Heavens!

I actually did some sewing yesterday. I have bounced around the blogs a bit and saw what Tonya and Bonnie were doing on their retreat. Such fun! So on the spur of the moment, I pulled a scrap box of florals out and started jamming. Not nearly as vibrant as what they were doing, but it was sure fun to do. No concentrating on blocks turning out just right, just totally free form. This is a fun project for when my brain is OTL. Actually, that is quite often the case.

I also got a kick out of Judy's blog showing her design wall. I agree, a bigger wall would be nice. My projects are getting laid out on the floor currently. But the wall shows WISPs that I really need to work on, so I leave them up to remind me. Life so often interrupts. Can you see my little bitty iron there? It is a new purchase and I love it. It is only about 6 inches big and perfect for pressing little pieces. Plus the whole big iron doesn't have to heat up the joint.
I have also been playing with my EQ6. My first thought upon loading the program to the computer was, "I think I am too old to keep learning new tricks". But after spending a good part of the day experimenting with it, I can say, "I know I am too old to learn new tricks". Really, I will need lots of training, but there is some really cool stuff on there. My work is cut out for me, so to speak.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Goodbye Arizona, hello Virginia! (That's the desert waving goodbye to me). I am finally back home! We had a great Christmas holiday with our four kids and six grandkids, my Dad, and other relatives. Also Lisa, our Hong Kong "granddaughter", was with us. Lisa took the cactus photo, actually. She has lots of desert photos to share with those back home in HK.

Unfortunately, some of us did get sick, and I am still feeling the effects of some flu bug. It never fails--we always seems to get sick at Christmas. Ugh!

I haven't been on the computer for almost a month and I have a lot of blog hopping to catch up on. I also am anxious to get back into my sewing room and "create"! So many ideas are spinning in my head that I really need to focus and decide where to start...and in some cases finish! I am doing a series of classes at the local quilt shop this spring that I am calling "Patchalittle Projects". (Remember my pattern company is Patchalot Patterns?) I have a project for January, the little medallion quilt I posted a while back, but I have to design a new center for it because I borrowed a bird from Jo Morton and obviously I can't give her design away. Then I have two more little projects to create for February and March. I always have lots of ideas that I want to do, but it is always a puzzle knowing what will go as a class. I found an interesting little doll quilt (blue and white) on a really cool website today. I love getting ideas from old quilts, so maybe something there will inspire me. Check it out, if you like. http://www.quiltstudy.org/about_us/index.html

Now I need to run some errands and accomplish something today. It will take me several days to catch up on everyone's blog.I look forward to seeing what you have been doing. Happy New Year!

CHRISTMAS PUZZLE

I have enjoyed seeing all the blogs with your Christmas decorations, trees, ornaments, and stories. It almost makes me feel like putting up a tree. But alas, that will not be happening. Instead, I will enjoy all the decorations at my son's house. It will be all decorated when we arrive, but usually I help put it all away after Christmas. The fun part, right? Seriously, I don't feel that bad about not decorating here, because to me, the fun of it is for the kids.
We do have a tradition that MUST take place every year in our house, and that is the Christmas Puzzle! My husband bought this puzzle at least twenty years ago. And every year he has put it together with the help of whomever is around. We keep looking for a new puzzle, but have never found one that we like as well as this one. At this point, we would like to buy a new one just like this one! You would think we could put it together in our sleep, but no, every year we struggle over which piece goes where. We pick up each piece with great affection, recognizing many from years gone by. Still others surprise us when their spot is finally located and we see a well known picture reappear! The triumph we feel at placing each piece in its proper spot is ridiculous! You would think we were splitting atoms or something. So even with no tree, no decorations, no stockings hung by the fire, this is one tradition that must go on! The kids are gone, but the Christmas Puzzle remains!


My Christmas Wreath is a treasure! I saw something similar in a Mary Engelbreit Magazine a few years ago. It is loaded with old ornaments from my mom's house from when I was a child. Let me tell you, she had TONS! Maybe some of you will recognize some of them from your childhood as well. It was so much fun to make! So that is my little contribution to the Christmas decorating theme in blogland!

JOY QUILTLET

Already it is getting late in the season to start Christmas gifts. However, I have had a couple requests for instructions for making the little Joy Quiltlet. It is a simple project to complete, especially if you just want to make one or two. So, I have posted the instructions on my web page: www.patchalotpatterns.com Enjoy!

TREE QUILT FINALLY DECORATED!

My daughter made this cute tree quilt for me a couple years ago and left it to me to sew on the buttons to decorate it. Well, I finally sat down yesterday to do it! While sewing I got the idea to put Christmas pins on it. I had four old tree pins that were my mothers. Then I found a few other things--old jewelry of my mothers. I also added a couple quilt pins, a tiny framed photo of my granddaughter, my dad's Navy wings, etc. I sewed on a bunch of red buttons to brighten it up. In the end it turned out cute, in a hokey sort of way! (That dorky homemade look!) I hung it on the wall and it does brighten the place up a little. It is fun to have those little mementoes out where I can see them instead of in a drawer.

I haven't put up a Christmas tree in about 16 years. These past years we always travel to be with our kids and grandkids. I have boxes of decorations in the attic. I should get them out and divide the good ones up for the kids. I used to make a lot of ornaments, as did my mother. My kids always liked those the best. Smart kids!
The past two Christmases we have been at my daughter's in Minnesota. This year we are all going to my son's in Arizona. The whole family will be together for the first times in about three years. My dad just moved there also, so he will be with us. I think my husband and I will sneak off to sleep at my dad's so we can find a few moments of peace in the evenings. It is coming up fast and I am looking forward to it!

In the meantime, I have been making these little table top quilties for gifts. They are not Christmas fabrics, so really could be left out all year as a gentle reminder of Faith-Hope-Love-Joy. Very simple, but I like them!

A note regarding Beta Blogger: None of the comments are coming back anonymous anymore! Maybe the whole thing just needed to settle in. It is all working fine.

BETA BLOGGER

OK, I moved over to BETA today (That's me moving over to BETA), so if you have me on your bloglines and it says there are 25-26 new entries for Patchalot More, that is why. I already noticed that some of the comments posted on my blog say "anonymous". I wonder if it has anything to do with beta vs. non beta??? I guess I will have to learn a few new tricks. I wonder about this "not secure" business. More later....

HOME SWEET HOME

Home Sweet Home is one of the books by Blackbird Designs that I bought when the authors, Alma Allen and Barb Adams, were here in Virginia Beach. Alma Allen is in the photo holding up a table runner that she designed and made of wool. I love it! That project is in the book. I decided to make a small piece of it. I think it turned out really cute! I plan to put a border around it to frame it and also a backing to add support.
















In the meantime, I have also been working on the project from the class that Barb and Alma taught. It is coming along. I haven't really done much applique in the past, but I have always enjoyed handwork, and I am enjoying this as well. This bird block is an adaptation from their new book, Birds of a Feather. Yep, I bought that one also. Take a look at that wonderful toile that is the block background. That is theirs also, from their new fabric line, Nell's Flower Shop. Really, I am not getting a sales commision on their stuff! They just really hooked me!


Judy, from Quilting with Ragdolls, is working on the Birds of a Feather project. She has almost completed hers and I can't wait to see it. I am doing a simplified version. My applique didn't get placed exactly right, but I don't mind taking a bit of artistic license. I just say---it's folk art, right? And I am learning each step of the way. Wouldn't life be boring if we didn't continue to learn?

BBD CAT ON ROOF

Blackbird Designs has quilts for all seasons! I wanted to share this quilt today while fresh on my mind. This quilt was made by Barb Adams (and her Mom!). This design comes in a special package of its own. Isn't it spectacular! If you can't find this pattern, you can call What's Your Stitch N Stuff here in Virginia Beach, VA (757-523-2711). That is where I took the Blackbird Designs workshop.

Blackbird Designs also has lots of cross stitching and embroidery projects. They are big on samplers, which I love! Check out their website and you will find a few little free sampler patterns that you can download. We all like free!

This advertisement is not paid for,

nor in any way encouraged by Blackbird Designs!