Potato Barn Chic

I am still in Arizona and will be for at least two more weeks. My dear Dad had a small stroke two weeks ago and so I am really happy that I have been here to attend to his needs. He returned home from a rehab facility yesterday. He is doing quite well, but hasn't quite got that old spark back yet. He wonders why he is feeling so tired. We have his 90th birthday party planned for next weekend and lots of family is coming to town for it. We are all really excited and are looking forward to being together for something happy! My granddaughter's husband is a professional documentary film maker and plans to film us. Scary, but cool! My nephew has been making a DVD slide slow of lots of old family photos, and that will be really fun. He has done a great job!

 My cute Dad with Linda, Marcie and Randy

On another note, my DIL and I went shopping for a bed for the granddaughter who deems herself the favorite. She has been known to sit in front of babies to make herself seen, and hide the babies. She is 16 years old and makes us laugh. There is a chance that she is serious tho. So we went to a store called The Potato Barn. I was there several years ago, when the store was in a big barn. Apparently their success has moved them into shopping centers now. I took a bunch of photos with my phone because I want to share their very shabby, but new furniture. 

 This chair made me laugh. Can you see the 

patch on the side?

 Seriously stripped down paint job!

 Loved this chair with the stars stitched on!

 Nifty cubbies!

 Another stripped down piece. Some were done in teal, or whatever that popular blue color is. 

You can see some of it in the background.

  These last pieces were my favorites. They have  removable galvanized bins. I can see them in my sewing room holding scraps in various sizes! So easy to toss pieces in as I trim them and so easy to draw them out as I need them. I think these were $285 a piece. It's a stretch for saving scraps, but cuteness does count for something! Since I want to keep the husband freaking to a minimum, I think I will just covet them for a while.

Karen Mowery

My dear friend Karen Mowery passed away on Friday, February 1, 2013, just one year after being diagnosed with cancer. It was a really tough year for her and she was sick for most all of it from the treatments she went through. She went peacefully, and her wonderful son Timmy was with her at the end, as he has been all along. He was her greatest joy and treasure. 

Karen was always reluctant to have her picture taken, so I scanned this from her beautiful book, A Bountiful Life, published by Kansas City Star.

 

My one comfort is that I know she is in another realm where there is no pain and love will surround her, and peace will comfort her.
I know that we have many quilting friends in common and you will feel her loss as well. She was a person of enormous talent and also of great humility. She took joy in her artistic pursuits and had so much left to offer. I am sure that our Heavenly Father has a whole new palette of color to offer her. 

I will miss her every day.

Another sunny, but cold day in Mesa, AZ. And by cold, I mean it is 54 degrees, so don't feel too sorry for us. I have to wear a sweater when I go outside! Pretty brutal, huh?

Since Christmas is over I have gotten a couple little projects quilted that I made last year. You may recall that I am not much of a machine quilter, unless it involves straight lines. So when I can accomplish this and it turns out OK I am happy! Here are a couple of examples:

 The first little quilt with the trees is one of my free designs from a few years ago. Initially it was much larger, but I decided to make a few that are much smaller, and they were great for gifts. It measures 12-1/2 inches, as does the little one next to it. That one is a Cheri Payne design that she had on her blog several months ago, HERE. Check Cheri's blog for a new project she is sharing right now!

 This little quilt was born from extra little 1-1/2 inch 9-patches left over from another Cheri project that I showed HERE. Cheri calls it Sew Thankful. I just got that one quilted too. The beautiful blooming amaryllis is from my Dad. He bought it for me before Christmas and I have watched as it sprouted from that big bulb and bloomed. A family tradition I guess. My Mom used to get one every year, so I always think of her when I see one.

 Sew Thankful, all quilted and rather dull looking in color, but the perfect primitive looking quilt. Thanks Cheri!

 Finally, I want to share this darling copper bucket that I picked up at TJ Maxx for $10! Can you believe it? I love the shape and the color, with some blue showing as copper does when it becomes oxidized.  Then the darling frame my aunt gave me.

 Finally, a little showing off. This is Isaac and Ellie, my son's children, who came to spend Christmas with us this past December. Oh, and George, who I dare not forget, as he demands his own chair at the dinner table. It is pretty clear that babies make the world go round. They certainly make our world go round!

I am so hooked on Hulu and Netflix. I love watching complete TV series, one episode after another! I got into Once Upon a Time and watched two seasons and am now caught up. Also, Scandal is a great show! I am caught up on all episodes of that as well. Now I am into a series called Flash Forward. Most of these I can watch while sewing, but Flash Forward requires concentration. Are you watching anything good?

 

Winter Blues

I know it has been a while, with Christmas, New Year's, etc. all taking a share of our time. I actually have a few things to show, but the thing I am most excited about right at this moment is this:

My granddaughter Becky, mother of the twins, made these darling quilts for her boys! Aren't they terrific? She wrote all about it on her blog. I am just so proud of her. She made two other bed quilts also in big bright colors. Her fabric choices are young and vibrant and suit her. 

Becky lives in Salt Lake City, and I am currently in our home in Mesa, AZ. One thing I have noticed is that these two areas are big on the bright, young designers. I personally am into the reproduction fabrics and favor the traditional quilts, leaning toward old fashioned. I'm old and I'm not afraid to say it! Ha! I know I told this story once before, but Becky and I were in a fabric store one day and they had some Judie Rothermel fabric on sale. I bought several yards of this brown print. I told Becky that one day she would inherit all my fabric, and she said, "Well then don't buy that"! I have been laughing about it ever since! 

I seriously don't know where I am going to shop here in Mesa. I may be shopping mostly on line or on trips. Can I adapt? I like the modern fabric, but I seriously don't know what to do with it. Pretty funny, huh? I guess that as long as Jo Morton and Judie R are designing fabric, I will be buying it.  

I made the little quilt above for my friend Karen Mowery of Sew Primitive. I was able to spend some time with Karen when I was in Atlanta in December visiting my daughter. 

Take a close look at this photo and you will see that our clever Karen has put pieces of straws on the pegs for the spools so that she can stack them two high. Genius!

Oh, I should mention that I finally opened a Facebook page for Patchalot Patterns! I would love it if you click LIKE on it!

Best wishes for a very happy 2013!

 

Anticipation

Anxiously waiting for something to come out of the oven.

Not sure which one of the twins this is, but love the pose!

This is my favorite photo of Grey and Micah from last year. just had to share it again!

Christmas is speeding into view! I love all the decorated houses in the neighborhood. We are in Arizona for Christmas and enjoying our home here. It is partially furnished by friends and family and we have the basics. I bought a tree at Target that had the lights already installed. We have never had an artificial tree before and it was so easy! Especially with all the lights already on it, which is my least favorite part. Seriously, I haven't decorated a tree in over ten years! We are always out of town with family. It was such fun to see all the old ornaments again. 
Remember  Joan Walsh Anglund and her darling little characters? Here are two cuties from the 1970's.

You can also see that I made lots of counted cross stitch ornaments when my kids were little.

This pic is of my daughter Jennie's tree in Atlanta. I was there recently. She still has a couple of Santa Bears from Dayton's dept store in Minneapolis from long ago. They made one each year for a long time. Classic!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!  

Friendship Sampler

I got a big surprise the other day when the mailman delivered this darling quilt to me from Mary Flynn at Quilt Hollow! For some reason Blogger decided that it should be shown vertically rather than horizontal.

 

 Luckily, it doesn't matter! Mary said she was following a pattern from Pam Buda, and she even used Pam's wonderful fabric line, Heart of the Prairie, from Marcus Fabrics. Would you believe this is my first sampler quilt? I have always meant to make one, and the blocks in this one are so adorable! Also you can see Mary's wonderful feathers quilted on this little quilt. Mary does wonderful work. She has quilted a few of my larger quilts and I know I can always count on her! Thanks Mary for this darling gift! You are the best! 

On other current events in our family, guess whose little grandson turned three years old! Yup, mine! This is our darling Isaac with the Curious George cake that his mom made for him. She is so clever!

More later!

 

Thanks to Cheri!

I know, I know. You don't hear from me for ages and then here I am two days in a row. I just wanted to show my little quilt that I made from a design that Cheri Payne shared on her blog. Cheri calls it Sew Thankful. I didn't quite have it ready for the Thanksgiving table, but I worked on it over the weekend.

Cheri's blog is HERE, and you can find the quilt  project HERE.  Cheri is a favorite designer among the primitive crowd. I am not as totally primitive as some, but I do have one foot in it, and I love Cheri's designs!

In order to make it easier for myself, I worked up Cheri's design in EQ. I lightened the background and then printed off the copy. It looks pretty cute in gold too! But after laying the blocks on various colors I decided to go with a really dark olive. I love it! It is made with one inch strips, making each square in each 9-patch a half inch. The 9-patch blocks measure 1-1/2 finished. Thanks so much to Cheri for her great designs and her generosity in sharing!

While Joan and I were at Quilt Market we ran into Cheri's sister, Barri Sue Gaudet of Bareroots fame. It's funny who you meet in hotel elevators! Barri Sue is as sweet as can be and invited us to a book signing where we were delighted to get a signed copy of her latest book! I have made several of her projects over the years, and a good many of you have too, I am sure!

 We also were happy to meet Joyce Weeks and Norma Whaley of Geoff's Mom Quilt Patterns. They were also at our hotel. I kind of wanted to just start knocking on doors to see who would answer! I have been so impressed with the work that these ladies do. Some of you may remember the Ancestor Quilt I made a couple years ago. That was Norma's design before she and Joyce were partners. It was fun to have Joyce recognize me because we follow each other on Pinterest! Isn't the world a funny place!

It wouldn't be market without a stop to see Anne Sutton at Bunny Hill. Her booth is always so sweet, as she is, with playful little characters flouncing around.

Now it is time for me to get to work on cleaning and packing and hopefully sneak in some sewing! Thanks for stopping to visit!

Snowy Stitches

I hope my American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving! The weather is cooling down around the country and snow is once again falling in the northern climes. Quilters are nestled down in fabric and batting stitching up favorite designs. Some quilters, like Lisa Bongean, shown below, have the most adorable snowman quilts, along with other winter confectioneries.

 I had the pleasure of meeting up with Lisa at Quilt Market recently. Her booth, Primitive Gatherings, is always a hot spot at market. Does this not look like a winter wonderland? Follow the link to Lisa's shop and find all kinds of wonderful treasures and kits that you can order on line. I was excited to find my own newest patterns (page 8 and 9) on her link to NEW items. Yes, Lisa buys from me on the condition that I quit stalking her. It's not easy, but I try.

You may know Pat Wys from her darling Silver Thimble Quilt Co. Her designs are cheerful and colorful, often with lots of applique. Pat is lots of fun and shows everyone a good time! Visit her blog at Silver Thimble Talk.

Since we began with snowmen, this is such a darling snowman quilt designed by Pat! It's called Snowbound, and gives you a taste of what Pat does. I love it!

 Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robinson, co-owners of Red Crinoline Quilts (formerly Bonnie Blue Quilts) had a booth right close to mine. Paula's designs are fabulous! And Mary Ellen stitches them to perfection. What a team! I loved visiting with them and their booth was beautiful!

This is a pretty little corner of my booth where I framed one of Karen Mowery's Primitive Children. Doesn't it look sweet? You can see a better picture of it on her website Primitive Children. Karen is a dear friend of mine and her talent is amazing! You probably know Karen from her blog, Sew Primitive. And of course she is the now famous author of A Bountiful Life!
Hey, it has five stars at Amazon!!! But ask for it at your LQS first. We like to support shops!

More from Quilt Market 2012

I am back home in Virginia Beach for a few weeks. I haven't been on line much, and you may have seen tons of photos from Quilt Market already, but I have more to show, so check it out!

 Meet Becky Delsman of Plays with Wool Designs.
 I got to meet Becky and her partner Kim Schueffner at their booth at market. You may recognize the project she is holding, "the Great Pumpkin" from the Fall 2012 issue of this magazine below--Primitive Quilts and Projects. This is such a stunning wool project.You can order a kit at the Plays with Wool website. Order now and you will have it ready for next fall!

This magazine is, of course, everyone's favorite! I am excited to tell you that I have another project coming up in this magazine next year. Below is a photo of me with "the Prim Sisters", as Kimber likes to call them. Jeni, me, Judy and Gretchen! Their booth was close to mine and I ran into them every day. These sisters got the magazine going and it took off like a shot last year. If you can't find it in your LQS, look at Barnes and Noble, or even better, get a subscription! Be sure and tell them that I sent you! Follow the link: Primitive Quilts and Projects.

I love meeting people at market that I "know" but haven't had the pleasure of meeting. Above is Kathy from the Cottage at Cardiff Farms. I bet you have seen her work in magazines, etc. I was definitely a pleasure to meet Kathy. My friend Joan kept raving about her booth and so I went to see her. She is so nice and so full of talent. You have to check out her website and see the great projects she has available.

This is my dear friend Janna from Bloc-Loc Rulers. I met her and her husband Paul in Houston two years ago when their booth was close to mine. Now we are always so delighted to run into one another. Their business is going like crazy and I LOVE their products. If you go to their website you can see the nifty rulers they have created for trimming down small blocks. I use them all the time because I love perfection! And these rulers give you that. I wrote about them previously HERE.

This final photo for today is from the Marcus Fabrics booth. You know I love Marcus fabrics, and Judie Rothermel is at the top of my list. You can follow the link to their website and peruse the wonderful fabric lines that they have out. You can also download these fabrics to EQ7 if you have it and see what they look like in your quilt designs. Love that!