This and That and More Info On BOM

Hello Everyone! I hope you’ve had a good week. Ours has been rainy! I think we had rain almost everyday, plus we had rain from the Tropical Storm. The rain always makes it easier to stay inside and work on fun stuff though. I have several works to update you on, but first I want to give you some more info on Jacquelynne Steves ” I Love Home” BOM.

Here is the quilt. Those house blocks are just so cute! Jacquelynne is offering the fabric kit on sale until June 27 if you would like to make the quilt using her fabrics.

I showed you some of my fabrics here,

but I’ve added these Bella solids by Moda to them. Fig Tree had their Peaches and Cream bundle back in stock, so I ordered it. It has all these half yard cuts plus about 6 half yard cuts of low volume prints in the bundle. These solids go perfectly with my fabrics and I don’t have to try to search for them myself. I will not be using the black, but I already have a blue Bella solid that will go nicely with this group. You can sign up for the Free BOM here. Don’t wait, the first block will be sent to you the first Monday in August!

Now, on to other works in progress.

I finished quilting both of these graduation quilts last week and the bottom one for my nephew is completely finished! It’s just been too cloudy to get good pictures, so hopefully the sun will shine today so I can get this sent to him. I need to hand sew the binding onto the blue quilt, then that one can be sent off as well.

Last Monday was the last night of the president’s term for my quilt guild, The Silver Comet Stitchers. Instead of making her a quilt, the vice-president suggested that we each make something for charity. One of the guilds service projects is placemats for Meals on Wheels.

I made these placemats and just finished them in time for the meeting on Monday. I wanted something summery and these hit the mark. They remind me of picnic table cloths. It was sort of hard to give them up after I made them, but they didn’t take long to make, so I think I will make a set for me. I will have a tutorial to make these in a couple of days, if you want to make your own set.

I also made block 15, T-block, by Jo Morton for the Moda Blockheads BOW. They now have all the blocks and instructions listed here in one place if you want to get started. This weeks block is an applique and an alternate pieced block. I’m doing things a little different this week, so stay tuned for my finish next week.

Since it’s nearing the end of the month, it was time to start June’s Mini and More project.

This is it so far. I think I’ll make a pillow from it, that way, I can take it in our camper if I want. The pattern called for some thread embroidery around the banner, but I’m going to add a little hand embroidery to it. Hope to have this finished by the end of the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there and especially to my Dad, Husband, and Father-In-Law.

My Dad and Mom in the late 50’s.

Dad and I (about 1 1/2) sitting in front of our trailer in Blacksburg, VA. Dad was going to school at Virginia Tech and my sister was born during this time. Quite an accomplishment to have your family with you while you are an engineering student.

Obviously my wedding day in 1985.

I have two sisters and a brother and I want to thank my Dad for not treating us girls any differently than my brother. We had to cut the grass, rake the leaves, help work on the cars… you get the picture. We were all encouraged to do what we wanted and we all turned out pretty successful in our work and family life.

He’s also a great “Papa.” Dad loves getting out and playing with the grandkids.

Taking my son and nieces for a tractor ride.

Playing in the sand with my daughter.

I also have a pretty great husband who is also an awesome dad!

He takes his kids to fulfil their dreams, even it it’s on a super secret bridge in Washington that you’re not suppose to go on!

Unfortunately, because of too much vandalism, they have started to take the bridge down. By the way, I drove the get away car in case somebody came, but it was during the week and pretty secluded, so we didn’t get caught!

My husband has taught both kids one of his favorite activities, fishing!

He is actually away this weekend enjoying a fly fishing trip in the Shenandoah Valley with his brother and our son.

I don’t want to leave out my great Father-In-Law.

They are in Williamsburg  having one of my son’s favorite, a Root Beer! We’ve had many great adventures with him, too, over the years.

I’m so lucky to have these wonderful men in my life. Happy Father’s Day to you all!

 

New Block of the Month Starting Soon!

Hello Everyone! I hope you have had a great week. I have some great news to share today, Jacquelynne Steves has announced her new Block of the Month and it starts in August. I will again be a guest blogger and can’t wait to share it with you.

It’s called “I Love Home” and it will have 4 appliqued or embroidered house blocks with piecing around them. The finished block size is 18″ and the applique area is 8″. The houses are so cute and whimsical. You can sign up now on Jacquelynne’s Web Site. She will email each block to you on the first Monday of the month starting in August. It will last for five months, so there’s no long term commitment. There will also be prizes and giveaways every month. This year, Olfa is a new sponsor and will be offering a giveaway. They were also very generous and sent Jacquelynne’s bloggers for the BOM this great package.

I just received it yesterday and can’t wait to try out the new Endurance Blade.  I needed a new mat, too. The one I keep next to my machine is the first one I bought over 25 years ago and my kids cracked it many years ago, so I broke it into two pieces. I’ve been using it for small things, but the cracked part is getting worse. This will be the perfect size for that area.

For the houses, I will be using fusible applique with a hand buttonhole stitch. I will also be incorporating some of the embroidery designs on it. I plan on using Fig Tree fabric lines Coney Island and Chestnut Street with some others thrown in here and there.

I am also using a bundle of Moda Bella Solids that will match the fabrics. Jacquelynne will have the same fabric that she used in her quilt for sale and will announce the availability of it next week. If you want a bundle though, order it early because it always sells out.

I purchased this package of Aurifloss by Aurifil Threads to go with my fabrics and will be using it for the applique and embroidery. You can see I’ve already starting using them!Aurifil is also a sponsor and will be offering a giveaway one month. Wouldn’t you love to have a package of Aurifil thread?

I hope you decide to sign up and will join us. I’ll be back soon with and update on my works in progress. Most of this week has been spent quilting the graduation quilts.

Thanks for stopping by,

 

 

Quilt Show News

Hello Everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. I did! This was the weekend of the East Cobb Quilters Guild Quilt Show, Georgia Celebrates Quilts. I entered three quilts for the first time in the show and guess what…

I won third place for Stars Around the Garden for one person, Combination category. I was so excited. I was glad my daughter went with me to the awards ceremony. She took the pictures for me.

This quilt took 8 long years to complete. It’s queen size and hand appliqued and hand quilted. You can read all the details about this quilt here.

I also entered Maggie’s First Dance in the Combination category and Desert Dance in the Special Techniques category since it was embroidered.

These are the quilts that I made as a featured blogger for Maggie’s First Dance BOM by Jacquelynne Steves last year. You can read more about these quilts here. The quilt show is every two years, so I think I’ll have to come up with something between now and then to enter. Maybe a Mini!

There were so many good quilts in the show. I am going to show you some of my favorites. It’s interesting to me that the ones I liked were more on the modern side and a few of the art quilts. I think I liked the modern ones because of the quilting.

Here we go…

A view from the top.

This was Best in Show and won first place for Applique. It was hand appliqued and hand quilted. Every time I see a Baltimore Album quilt, I want to make one. This one was absolutely beautiful. I’m sorry I don’t have the names of the makers for most of the quilts.

This is Sedona by fellow Silver Comet Stitchers guild member, Tracy. She won 2nd place in either the two person Combination or Special Techniques category, (can’t remember which one).

She embellished her quilt with machine embroidery. It was gorgeous.

 

Here they are wrapping everything up. The East Cobb Quilters Guild did an excellent job with the show this year, especially in the variety of quilts that were in the show.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the show.

Bits and Pieces

Hello Everyone! I just have a couple of updates on my Works in Progress this week.

First up is the Moda Blockheads BOW.

This is block 13 by Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters. It was a very easy block. I like those, especially since I’m doing one every week.

Here are all the blocks together. I’m going to run out of wall space soon.

I also finished the June blocks from the Quilting Life BOM by Sherri McConnell.

The large block is 12″ and has Pondicherry Fabrics by French General and the small block is 6″ and uses Fig Tree Fabrics from different lines.

I’ll have to find a space to get all my big blocks together, but here are the small ones. I think next month, I’ll have to add in some more of the dark color.

Most of this week has been spent on getting the three graduation quilts ready. I made the backing and got them all spray basted.

I even have quilting plans for them! The quilting will keep me busy for a few weeks, plus I need to continue my block of the week and start the June Minis and More project.

This month is our choice of anything summery. I received this kit as a Christmas present from my quilty friend Joyce. Perfect for this month. I’m thinking it might make a great pillow for my bench, then I can also take it with us camping.

Also, don’t forget that my brand new bag pattern, The Quilter’s Carry-All Bag, is on sale right now in my shop until June 17.

Thanks for stopping by and next time, I’ll have some exciting news to share.

 

Another FAL and A Day Out

Hello Everyone! Well, I’ve been busy getting quilts ready to quilt this week, but I do have another finish for the 2017 Finish-A-Long, Q2. You can find my list here.

This is the June Mini Quilt designed by Jennifer Reynolds of Jenny of Elefantz. This is part of her “a year in the garden” series from the 2016 January and February Stitchery Club designs. I got a little behind last year, but am trying to catch up. I still have September – December to do.

Here it is on it’s background quilt and here is a close up of the flowers.

The flowers are all tiny little stem stitches done in two colors. It took me several sessions to get them all done, but I like the result.

I used DMC floss and Aurifloss by Aurifil Threads. The Aurifloss isn’t quite as shiny and smooth as the DMC, but it’s nice to work with. These two threads came out of pack of the Retro Farmhouse Floss for Fig Tree fabrics. I will be starting a new project with these threads, details coming soon.

Last week, my husband, daughter and I spent a day traveling to the North Georgia Mountains and hiking at Tullulah Gorge State Park which is in the north eastern part of the state. And when I say hiking, it was mostly walking up and down steps, almost 1100 steps!

The hike started at the visitor center, at the top of the gorge, then proceeded to this first overlook.  You had two choices, to go around the top of the rim, or go down into the gorge. Both my husband and I said the day before, we were not going to do all the steps, but we did and it was worth the sore calves that I had for several days.

Out first big stop going down, was the suspension bridge that crossed the gorge.

After crossing the bridge, we had the option to go up and out or go down to the gorge floor. Of course, we chose the floor.

It was very pretty down there, but to actually get out on the rocks and be able to hike at the bottom level, you have to have a pass, which is only given to the first 100 people of the day. I think further down, there is a rock to slide on because we saw people with boogie boards.

Back up we went, and went and went. We had to stop a couple of times before we reached the top. There were a lot of steps!

Once back on top, the trail was very easy to walk on. You crossed the main highway bridge to get back to the other side.

This is the view from the highest overlook in the park.

There are six waterfalls in the park, so I was able to check them off on my list of waterfalls to visit in my guidebook. We had a good time, and came home through Blue Ridge, more towards the north western part of the state, so we really did do the tour of the mountains that day.

I am going to the East Cobb Quilt Show this weekend and I’ve already had a sneak peak at the quilts and they are beautiful. I’ll also be back soon with updates on what I’ve been working on. Thanks for stopping by.

Pineapple Minis and More and FAL

Hello Everyone and Welcome! May’s Minis and More was a pineapple block. This was perfect for me because I love the symbolism of the pineapple and have many examples around my home. This is also a finish for Q2 of the 2017 Finish-A-Long. You can find my list here.

The Pineapple is recognized as a traditional expression of welcome and hospitality throughout the south.

Columbus originally brought the pineapple to Europe from his travels. During colonial times, trading ships brought pineapple preserves and candied pineapples to the eastern seaboard, but whole pineapples were costly and difficult to obtain. It was valued for its rarity, expense and beauty. The pineapple became a status symbol of colonial America because of its sparse supply and high demand.

If a hostess could adorn her dining table with a whole pineapple for an event, it would proclaim her high social status to her guests. Guests also felt honored by a hostess who displayed a pineapple, who they felt must regard them in high esteem. Often pineapples would be rented by the day, then sold to be eaten.

Soon, the image of the pineapple expressed the sense of hospitality and welcome in gracious home gatherings. Inns and taverns started to display the pineapple on their signs. Not too much later, pineapple carvings started to show up in furniture and architecture.

I was born in Virginia and have generally lived in the south. I lived in two places where the pineapple is very prominent, Fredericksburg, VA and Charleston, SC. My in-laws live in Williamsburg, VA where the pineapple is everywhere.

Here are some of my pineapple decorations:

Both the table centerpiece and outdoor flag are from Williamsburg. I use these at Christmas. The cross-stitch piece still needs a final setting.

A few of my projects with pineapples on them. The little pineapple is a needle book.

Here are a few kitchen items. I use the red tray at Christmas and the other one year round. I have the big and small tray in both sets. Of course, I have a Virginia mug, too.

I actually use my tray to hold my tea pots and sugar. The small tray holds my olive oil and vinegar bottles. 

When you enter my kitchen, you are greeted with the Welcome plaque and another Virginia Mug. These shelves contain the mugs that have had to have a little surgery on them and can’t be used, but are still meaningful to us.

Now back to the Mini.

I used scraps of yellow, green and the printed black for the pineapple block, then added the black around it. The block is 6″ x 10 1/2″, and the piece is 9 1/2″ x 12″.

I quilted little swirls in the black background, and I pretty much did it blindly. The black thread (Aurifil 50 wt.) was almost impossible to see on the black fabric.

You can see from the back that it’s a little rough, but when I looked at it, I was surprised it wasn’t worse. I was mostly quilting by muscle memory for these little swirls.

Thank you Sherri and Michele for picking this block. Please visit them to see other versions of this cute pineapple block. You can find the pattern here.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the small history lesson on the Pineapple as a hospitality symbol.