Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Warm Wishes

Remember the "Warm Wishes" link from last week?
Well, one of my quilting buddies, pieced one for her son's wedding gift.
Didn't it turn out beautiful?
I'm sure the Bride & Groom will love it! 


Look at the perfect "love" fabric she found.


The chocolate brown color adds such richness.
And the striped inner border, a perfect accent.


At our August "Saturday Sew Day"
I demonstrated how to make bias binding
using my favorite "tube" method.


Doesn't the diagonal stripe bias binding add zing to the quilt!
Notice the perfect backing fabric?


Check out the bowl she made using
fabric covered clothesline.
Don't ya just love when a project comes together.
Perfectly.

Last weekend we had a "family gathering" at my son's home in Tomah.
It was so nice to see family and catch up on their lives.
Hard to believe I'm one of the "old aunts" now.
Where have the years gone?
I was able to corral my grandbabies for a picture.
They had such a good time, jumping on the trampoline, playing whiffle ball,
and, of course, a water balloon fight.

 After all, isn't this what life's all about?
***************
I'll leave you with a little campfire entertainment.
The beautiful voice belongs to my niece Ariel.


Don't forget to check out my new Buy-Sell Shabby Chic group on FaceBook.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Not Much Going On

At my house.
Except that the "Brewers" are kicking butt!!
Hubby is a St Louis Cards fan.....what can I say?
I made this quilt for him..... Christmas 2004.


It is a free pattern called "Warm Wishes"
from Quiltmaker magazine.
It's easy to piece! A rail fence really.
Take a closer look.


Unfortunately, the fabric is no longer available.
(Except on Ebay for $75.00 a yard, I kid you not).
I purchased the logo blocks from a seller on Ebay.
Speaking of Brewer fans,
 I just have to share this picture of my grandson.
Again.


He's gonna hate me when this shows up
 in his high school year book!

I did quilt a Sampler for my sis-in-law in MN.
Her first quilt.
She did a great job. Love the colors! 
I am going to deliver it this weekend at a family get together.


And of course, my favorite, the back.
The quilting add so much texture.
Don't you think? 

Love those curly border feathers.
I never tire of quilting them.
(Yes Leeanne, my feathers are freehand.
I use school chalk to mark registration lines).  

 I'm busy selling over on Facebook.
Check it out.
Karen's Mercantile......a little bit of everything.



Thursday, August 18, 2011

Fried Chicken and Pie

Spiral phone chords, fried chicken and pie!
Did you see it?
The movie “The Help”?
Equal parts laughter and tears.  
 It's a beautiful story of women. And friendship.
 
The movie will not leave any fans of the book disappointed.
It follows REALLY close to the story and is perfectly cast.
Sissy Spacek takes the cake (pie) as the senile mother.
Watching the Guiding Light on a black and white television
 and eating her ambrosia salad.
She was an absolute hoot!

There are no male characters that stand out
except for the editor of the local paper
who wants his door kept closed at all times.
He's convinced that
"one day they'll figure out smoking cigarettes is bad for you."

Here are the three "Best Actress in a drama" nominees for 2011 in my book.
Can you tell I LOVED the movie?

********************

The Elkhorn Flea market was fantastic!
Hubby and I arrived at the gate about 6:45 a.m.
A perfect cool morning, no rain in sight.
I found some great linens.

This adorable kitty crib sheet and pillowcase.

And these gorgeous embroidered pillowcases.
With hand crocheted trims.
The workmanship is exquisite.

And I rescued another quilt top!
Just in a pile of "stuff' on a vendors' table.
Waiting patiently for me to find it.
A Dresden Plate.
75" x 95".
Someone put a lot of work into the hand piecing
and then just to be discarded......
Breaks my heart.
The basting is still in some of the plates!
Notice the rows are not straight?
None of them matching.
Charming......isn't it?
I think of all the time and energy I spend worrying about
color placement and accuracy. 
Look at all the scraps.
Makes you wonder....
Was this quilt going to be a gift...
or was it needed to keep her family warm?
Why wasn't she able to finish it?
Who packed it away?

Each top I buy is a piece of lost history.
Lost is the name of the maker and what her intentions were.

Can you imagine how happy she will be
to see her quilt finished?



 

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I haven't been very motivated this week.
Busy with summer and enjoying the beautiful weather.
Hope they're not right about rain Friday & Saturday.
Just so it doesn't spoil my Sunday plans.
The Elkhorn Flea Market.
Ohh, my fingers are itching......

Finished the August Birdie BOM.
Look at the perfect birdhouse fabric I found for the backing. 
It's going to be sew cute!


Don't ya think? 

I've found 2 more playgrounds out on the web.
Did you know there are selling/buying groups on Facebook?
Knock me over with a spoon! (Grandma used to say that)
I've sold tons of treasures, and the folks are really friendly.
Much more profitable than the "big E" sites.

Oh, and Pinterest. The red box on the side bar.
Just be sure you have a few hours, yes, hours to see all the eye candy.
Whoever came up with that idea ......pure genius.

Quilt guild is tomorrow night.
We are having a guest speaker/program on wool applique.
Going to "Show & Tell" my Jelly Roll 1600 quilt.
Not that I have it quilted.

Wish me luck in Elkhorn Sunday.
I find the best deals there.
Wish you could come with.......


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Magazines anyone?

Yours for the price of postage.
I can fit 22-24 magazines in the box.
Approximate weight 11 lbs 9 oz..
I checked the USPS site and the box can be shipped media mail
for about $7.00 or so.
Less than the cost of one new magazine.
While the majority are Fons & Porter's
"Love of Quilting"
there are a few Quiltmaker, Country Living and
Romantic Homes in the mix.
I hate to throw them away but I've gotta do something
 I'm running out of storage space!
If your interested leave a comment
or email me (link on the top bar).
Please include your zip code. Payment made thru Paypal.


This is what I've been working on the last couple weeks. 
It's the block of the month from JoAnn's.
Isn't it a beauty!
I love the brown and pink combination with the dark red accent.

When I stopped by to make a "special delivery" she ran and put it on her bed.
 Fit Perfectly.
Good job Jean, Gorgeous!


Our sweet baby girl spent the weekend with us.
I put her high chair on the front porch Sunday morning
so she could read the paper and have coffee with Papa and I.
She loves watermelon and yogurt.

Her Mommy & Daddy purchased a "new to them" pop up camper 
and made their maiden voyage.


They camped close by so we were able to stop in for a visit.
Needless to say, the older grandbabies loved it.
Well, I'm off to clean and organize.
I see a garage sale in my near future.......