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.

By Shelly Rodgers.

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?

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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.

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.

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?

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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?

　

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.......

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.......

SUPER FAST Jelly Roll Quilt

Okay, I maybe a little late for the party.....

but have you seen this video?

I couldn't believe it.

Piece a jelly roll top in 35 minutes?

(That's the record time).

I was fascinated to say the least.

Of course, I had to try it.

It took me about 90 minutes

start to finish.

I started with 2 half price jelly rolls from JoAnn's.

Each one contained 20 strips.

You need 40, or 1600 inches. 

The most important thing to remember is to cut the first strip in half.

(you won't need it)

This enables the seams to be staggered.

Next, sew all the strips together, end to end, on the diagonal.

I believe this is what took so long to do.

Or sew it seams.

I just picked a color, at random, no set pattern.

Then, find the two ends of the long strip and stitch, right sides together.

Cutting loop apart at end.

You now have a L-O-N-G (800") strip that is 2 jellyroll strips wide.

Find the 2 ends and stitch again.

Your strip is now 4 strips wide and 400" long.

 Repeat stitching ends 4 more times

 your piece should be 32 strips wide.

Your Finished!

My top measures  50" x 62".

Add a border and you've made a nice size lap.

Clear as mud?

Here's the tutorial from

Heirloom Creations.

Last night I kept thinking about the box of 2 1/2" strips I have cut.

Hmmm.

My strips were 22" long so I chose 40 and used the same technique

for a baby quilt. I didn't time myself but is went together QUICK.

This one I pieced the strips together straight edge.

Really scrappy.

Just what I had on hand.

Finished size approximately 34" x 50"

Notice the strips are vertical?

With a little more thought I maybe able to make it work!

What a wonderful charity project for our guild.

Can't wait to share it with them next month. 

Let me know if you try it!

Or have made one.

Happy Monday

For lack of a better title.

Life is busy but not exciting.

Which is fine with me.

Life without drama is good.

I did receive a package in the mail!

Christmas in July.

The cutest  red & white polka dot chicken

 sugar and creamer set.

Thank you Peggy Sue!

I've been busy quilting customer quilts.
Sue loves-loves-loves her embroidery machine.
She always leaves wide open spaces for my quilting.
The wavy edge really adds something extra.

And Lin's "Contemporary Blues".
It's hard to see but I quilted circles.
Hoping to soften all the straight lines in the design.
Adding to the 3D effect.

This week is much of the same.
Trying to stay cool.
Working Quilting.
And anxiously awaiting for August 12th when

this movie opens.
I enjoyed the book so much!
Have you seen the previews on TV?
Sissy Spaceck looks like the perfect choice for a
movie set in 1960's Southern Mississippi. 
Oh, the hairstyles and  fashions, I can't wait.

My all time favorites:
#1 "Fried Green Tomaotoes"
#2 Steel Magnolias
#3 Terms of Endearment
What's your favorite "chick flick"?

Bragging (alittle)

I just have to share these fabulous photos

I received this morning.

My customer, Kathleen, was the Featured Quilter

 at her local show this year.

What an honor!

I emailed her for permission to post her pictures and she said

"Sure,

but make sure you say that YOUR quilting was over the top!"

Awww shucks.

Kathleen displayed 35 beautiful quilts.

Many I quilted and showed here on my blog.

Her love of traditional pieces works well with my

style of longarm quilting.

Her crazy quilt won the Judge's Choice Award.

And this is her stash of ribbons.

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I've been meaning to share these two new frames I made.

This one sits on my shelf in the dining area.

It's fits a 5 x 7 frame.

To make one of your own, click on the image to enlarge

and save to your computer.

This next one, is my favorite.

4 x 6 frame from Wally-World.

I couldn't get a picture without the glare.

Without the flash the colors looked sick.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Save to your computer.

We've been having a  record HEAT WAVE.

So I'm staying cool in the lower level

quilting customer quilts and planning on what to

take to our Saturday Sew Day.

So many projects to choose from finish.

We had such a good time at our Guild picnic last week.

BEFORE the heat wave.

Becky made a crockpot of BBQ as they call it here in WI.

I call them sloppy joes.

Whatever you call them they're delicious!

Stay cool and remember what I tell my hubby.

"At least you don't have to shovel heat!"

P.S.  Thank you to Madame Samm for noticing that my email & comment sections weren't working and took the time to call and help me. It seems there's always something going on with Blogger.

Madame Samm you're the GREATEST!

 

Stormy Weather

WOW!

A storm passed thru this morning and left our deck a mess.

Guess I'll be looking for a new table at the end of the season.

We went to MLK on Sunday to celebrate Piper's First Birthday.

What a cutie!

I did a little stitching this week.

Finished up my BOM's for June & July.

And sewed 3 rows of my quilt together.

I'm half way there!

When the last block is posted I'll be on the home stretch.

(photo from Hoot-n-Nanny)

This pie recipe is perfect for summer.

NO BAKING.

But.........it must be refrigerated 8 hours before serving.

A good "make the the day before" if you remember.

I found the recipe here.

Lanell has how to photos and lots of tempting recipes.

(click on recipe to print)

What can I say......I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!

Busy week ahead.

Friendship Stars Quilt Guild Picnic.
Sure to be a good time.
Isn't show & tell the best part of guild meetings?
Working on customer quilts.
And a "how to" on bais binding.
I've had several emails inquiring
 about the scallop edges on my redwork basket quilt.

Stay safe.