Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Autumn?

Autumn is officially almost a month from now and by our 90 deg. weather lately you wouldn't think it was that close. I decided to make another fabric wreath like I made for Spring....Rachel did the tutorial here. This time in fall colors....I used Pumpkin and Spice by Deb Strain for Moda. I got everything prepped.



Then I assembled it. The tying took me about 3 hours total....spaced out.


I sent for this darling seam ripper that was featured on Lynette Anderson's blog. They had a bunch for sale and I picked one that appealed to me. It says on the wrapper that it was made in Hampton. I looked that up and I think it is in Queensland, Australia....am I right my Aussie friends??
I love it and it will make "unsewing" a little more fun!



On a side note, I finally finished the latest Elm Creek Quilt series book. This one came out in April and now I have officially read every single one of the books in the series. I love them!







Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Caught Up

I am really enjoying the FQShops Mystery Quilt of the Month. I love the fabric 12 days of Christmas by Kate Spain and they are really cute in these patterns so far.....and....I am all caught up now and waiting for the next block. Yipee!



Another sweet flower. It is a sedum and has come back every year for 32 years we have lived here. Not one of my favorite flowers, but oh so gorgeous up close. I just love what the camera does with close-ups!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Mia's Finish

This is the tabletopper that Mia started on Spring Break at the classes at our LQS. Karen and Carol were so great to her, letting her take the class even though she was the only one signed up. That happened again 2 weeks ago with classes she took....will blog about that another time. I finished sewing the binding down for her last week....she had done half of it....not perfect, but so cute, she will look back on this and say that it was pretty darn good for a 10 year old! They had let her quilt it herself on their longarm machine......



She even signed her name and the date to it.



Such a pretty color on the Morning Glories.....



Sunday, August 15, 2010

Steamy Quilt Show

Saturday hubby and I went to Wellington to see a quilt show/elk farm! Yes, that is correct...it is a working elk farm where they have special shows also. It is called Bonnie Brae Elk Farm. I would have enjoyed myself a lot more if the weather would have been just down a notch from "unbearable"! If you look at the blue sky, you wouldn't believe that the temp was 92 degrees and the humidity was right up there also.





We only stayed about an hour. The quilts were really beautiful. The vending was really sparse...our local shop was there though!
















Hubby is a good sport about going places like this with me. He takes his newspaper or in this case walked around with me. When we drove into the entrance and had to pay admission, the girl asked him if he "lost a bet" because he was there with me. He got a kick out of that!












Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Nature

This is our man-eating Morning Glory vine that is all leaves....a couple lonely flowers! You'd think there should be gobs of flowers.


The Rose of Sharon really amazes me this year. I know I have posted about it before, but now the buds are just going crazy....I really love this bush!





If I don't have hydrangeas, the next best thing (I think) is a geranium flower head.....so pretty.




Spiders are not my thing at all!! This huge thing is fascinating though....yesterday morning it was just in the web....this morning it has something that it is really working hard on. I am assuming it has eggs in it.




On a side note, I absolutely heart Hobby Lobby!









Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Love

Love is what I had for a very special gentleman that passed away last evening. He and his wife were friends, neighbors and surrogate parents to me. His beloved wife passed away 4 years ago and I still miss her and can hear her voice the last time I talked to her. He was a craftsman with wood. These are just a few of the things that he gave hubby and myself over the years. The wood for the basket on the left was taken from a tree that had been on his property. This piece has always amazed me because of the thinness of the wood.



He would have been 90 years young in December and he was still working with his wood up until this last year. He called me "daughter" every time he saw me and I am going to miss him very much.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

More Shopping

Went here yesterday with the hubster. He is very willing to read his paper and then take a short nap in the car. Of course he could have sat in one of the many rockers for the non-quilters outside the shop! Haven't been down here since earlier in the year....I love this shop and am only about 50 minutes away. Actually came for Bella or Kona solids....can't find them locally. I knew Miller's would have them and they did.....in gobs of colors and shades. I got Bella white, pale yellow and pale green....plus other "stuff".



I collect Dick and Jane things and when I saw this I had to have it. Everything to make that cute backpack is in the lunchbox....even the button!
I bought this yardage for pillowcases for the granddaughters.


Their business card is on the other side of this cute hexie....it is a stiff cardstock and so clever....don't tell anyone, but I took several!


Then we saw these wonderful sites on the way home....one of the Amish schools complete with the outhouse (boy and girl sides) and the backstop for the ballfield.




These cows were definitely not on the right side of the fence.



Straw sheaves in a field....done by hand.




A lot of horses live in Amish country!



A family job.....





A comparison of modern day methods!! Btw, couldn't have asked for a more beautiful summer day!












Thursday, August 5, 2010

Shopping

GD Mia and I went shopping today....for errands and Wal-Mart but also for a quilt shop sale. A Piece in Time has been in business for 26 years and I got 26% off today on my purchases...yippee! Mia picked the greens for the paper pieced trees she is going to learn and make for Christmas. She also picked the teddy bears! Fat quarters were all $1.50....I got several to add to the stash......


Then I got this yardage....omgoodness, I love this fabric....yellow is a favorite and I thought what a cute purse this would make!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Gifts Under the Tree

OMGoodness, I just completed Block 1 of the Fat Quarter Shop Designer Block of the Month featuring Kate Spain's fabric, 12 Days of Christmas. This fabric is so much fun. I have never made a block though with this many pieces...it is a 12 1/2 inch block and it had 49 pieces. It was a challenge to keep that 1/4" consistent....practice makes perfect! Can't wait to start block 2....it is all cut and only has 34 pieces! ;o)


Sunday, August 1, 2010

Caught Up

Well, I finally got back to playing with my toys....sewing machine, rotary cutter and mat (among other notions)! I really missed sewing and now am all caught up with the Jelly Roll Sampler. Tomorrow will be the last block, the 12th!! I've been worried about the sashing because I bought enough white for that, but now I know what I am going to do. Quilt Dad made a few blocks with Verna and he used some Bella Solids from Moda to break up the busy prints. I am going to buy some for my sashing...I'm leaning toward a light green....maybe light yellow...we will see!




Now it is time to break into these babies....I have until the middle of the month to be caught up on them! Think I will press fabrics for Block 1 right now!