small quilts

i really am warming up to 'miniquilts'. you can try a new technique or block and get it together quickly! i quilted these littles last week for pam...


first, gameboard...

it was fun...pam likes feathers...not a problemo!

i like the way i quilted that curved frame around the star...i felt 'smart'

then there's the pink applique...

i CC all those little churn dashes. they measured 4"

then the red,white, and blue stars...
feathers again

check out the back

pretty...

busy bee this weekend

me and davis went to his dad's land on saturday and boy did i have fun! while they did 'boy' stuff (mowing) i went over the fence to the neighbor's field to say howdy to the four legged that call it home


this is a steer i've nicknamed bubba...i remember when he was a calf.

he loves! attention.

when you scratch his back, he sets his nose on the ground and his eyes get all sleepy. he's always a character. he's acts like a calf, but you have to be careful...he's a 3000 pound 'calf'

there's hannah with her goats. she has never gotten close to me...(people put donkeys in with their livestock herds to protect them from coyotes. donkeys kill coyotes)

then there's Mack the horse...he's usually very social, but he wasn't into entertaining visitors saturday. so i'm taking this picture and i felt something 'bump' my butt....it turn around and it's

hannah. um, hello! for the first time in six years that donkey let me pet it! i noticed that davis and his dad both stopped what they were doing and were watching...

the dogs love going down there, they run around with these big ole grins....tons of scent mail to check :)

look at barney's tongue! how does he fit it in his head??? he so looks like a greyhound.

lucky is getting up there in years, so he tends to 'survey' and audit all activities :)

then we hopped on the 4wheelers to take a ride to cool off...



here's davis...

and me

we rode up to the 'falls' it's about an hour trip one way. i told davis i want to go when the weather isn't as hot, take a picnic and the dogs, and hang there for the day...

if only we had horses, it would be a great horseback ride...

i found a hole in the rock that looks like an eye...

the water felt so good....

davis got into a deep mud hole....here's his shirt. thank goodness he didn't get stuck, it's a lllloooonnnngggg walk home...


i got most of the clay out, but it did lightly stain...GA red clay is bad for staining...if you leave it on your tires too long, it'll even stain them...



it was a fun day! wish you could of been there....i have quilty stuff to share later on...i cleaned up the piles in the sewing room and i finished some UFOs that were buried in those piles

ah, that new fabric smell

i've been very good about bashing the stash, but sometimes you just have to scratch that fabric itch...i decided i wanted needed to make a Halloween quilt (there are some too-cute-for-words prints on the market, not to snatch them up and make a quilt with)...

plus, i found the perfect excuse reason to buy some new fabric...

my friend Kristina has been teasing me about posting her mystery quilt directions to her blog for quite a while (it's the whole reason i convinced her to start one)...welp, she has decided to finally post the directions!!...there's my fabric choices. you need three for the quilt. the black will be my background, the orange spiders (don't they look real?) will be my 'focus' and the black cats on purple will be my 'contrast'...the lime will maybe be a border and the stripe i will cut on the bias for binding...

i'm doing a Halloween quilt!

if you don't read her blog, you might wanna start....that way you won't be left behind :) it's what all the cool kids are doing...

varicose threads

let's face it- quilters come with strings attached and sometimes they end up where we don't want them....

i consider any thread that shadows through the fabric of a  quilt a varicose thread. 9 out of 10 times, i notice it after i get right up on it with my machine.


(p.s. - judges HATE varicose threads and seam shadows!)

so this is the easiest way to remove them. first, you'll need a Clover crochet hook...size 14/0.50mm and a pair of tweezers. (i have to wonder what the hell someone would make with this micro-hook...dollies for mice???)

(ETA: silly me, i forgot to add a link for the crochet hook....click here )

carefully poke the crochet hook through the fabric of the quilt and ever so slightly pick up the hook under the fabric. do this gently or you'll bend the tip of your hook (see my tip) by slightly picking up on the hook, you'll minimize the amount of batting you catch in the hook.

then very carefully pull enough of the varicose thread  to be able to grab it with a pair of tweezers. be especially careful pulling the thread if you have already stitched over it- you could break those stitches if you pull too hard. if you pull out some batting with the varicose thread, just snip it close to the surface of the quilt with a pair of scissors and run your fingernail across the hole to close it up.

using the tweezers, carefully work the thread out of the quilt sandwich.

it might take a couple times to coax that thread out, but the end results are worth it.

wha-la, no more varicose thread....now i can continue quilting...

i've used this method to bury short thread tails from knots, to hide the tails of embroidery/applique threads, and to flip twisted seam allowances.




now, if it were only that easy to get rid of varicose veins....

just how bad is it?

you wonder how bad the economy is....

it's pretty bad.....

i will be returning to my quilty content soon, pinkie swear...

huh?

there's a new keyboard that is 'more efficient' called a Dvorak keyboard

but i just got use to this one....crap..

click here to read more

let's do a....

giveaway.....haven't done one in a while. i like doing the whole caption contest, so why break with tradition....

come up with a cute/funny/clever caption for lucky's picture (to the left) and leave it as a comment. i'll pick my favorite.....to you anonymous posters-make sure you leave your contact info please! (email) you can enter as many captions as you can think of...


deadline: September 1st.

whatcha get: Ayumillis over at Pink Penguin posted another great tutorial for a bento box lunch tote...i'll make the winner one in their chosen color palette....i made this one earlier this week...i'll post about it fully later...i love the drawstring cover!!!

good luck- thinking caps on....

peacock in my garden

this is diane's kaleidoscope/stack and
whack quilt. it's a very beautiful quilt.

she told me it took as long to figure out the border as it took to piece the quilt. i agree....figuring out how to quilt that border was a challenge- but i'm always up for a good challenge...it keeps me on my toes.

it was a big quilt....a large queen....

i couldn't let my mind wander while quilting...the design was continious, but i got lost.....alot :)



thanks diane for letting me be a part of this quilt!

Easy Pleazy Tote Tutorial

i haven't posted a tutorial in a while....

Finished tote: 14 inches tall
12 inches wide
5 inches deep
Straps are 30” long

This tote is fully lined and interfaced with finished seams. It is easily customizable to fit your needs.

CLICK HERE for the pdf file

(click the back button to come back here)

This tote makes a great gift. What teacher wouldn’t appreciate a hand made tote? Make one with team fabrics for the sport fan on your list. A little girl would be proud to carry her dance outfits to class in a tote with ballerina fabrics. With the variety of fabric available- you are unlimited with your fabric choices.

if you make one- let me know...

thinking....

as i load quilts, i only have my thoughts to entertain me....

so i had a thought train that ended with:

i know God is busy and all, but if He took the time to make a quilt, what would it look like?

then it hit me....he already did.....

remember what fields look like from a plane?

role reversal

i've had this quilt as a flimsy for a really looonnggg time....probably 7-8 years. everytime i dragged it out to try to get it to talk to me about quilting it, it played pouting three year old and clammed up.

i made it to use.... hanging on a hanger in the closet wasn't being used.

so i posted on my LA chat forum that i'd be willing to trade quilting. monica jumped all over that offer. so off to canada my flimsy went and today it returned!

she quilted it with the 'splash' panto.

*clap* thank you monica for quilting my quilt....i'm excited to put it on the bed this winter!

here's the back!


(i love that fabric. i bought it at a end-of-bolt sale and it just sat in my studio forever...now it's being used too! i love bashing stash! i did, after all, buy all that fabric to make quilts!)

barney approves....now to find binding fabric....





(ETA: pattern is 'Rustic Cabins' by Lil' Miss Sloppy. found here. it's a 'beginner' pattern using a controlled stack and whack technique.)

happy friday the 13th...

i was reading Pickledish's Blog today (written by Edie McGinnis)  and saw these 'sewing/quilty' related supersitions and couldn't pass up the oppurtunity to share....watch out for black cats crossing your path today :)

Seal nine pins, nine needles and nine nails into a jar to keep the evil quilt fairies away.

See a pin and pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck. See a pin and let it lie, luck will surely pass you by.

Never sew on Sunday. You will have to pick out all those stitches with your nose when you get to heaven.

Scissors should never be given as a gift, it will cut the friendship.

If you upset a box of pins a surprise is coming your way as long as a few of the pins stay in the box.

A maid with no quilt at twenty-one will never see her bridal sun.

If you mend a dress while wearing it, someone will lie about you.

For every time a quilter pricks her finger, she will receive a kiss from her beau.

It is bad luck to sew clothing while someone is wearing it unless the person wearing the clothes has a piece of thread in their mouth.

Hearts should only be used on bridal quilts.

Always make a pillow case on New Years Eve to hold all of your troubles.

When you are sewing and your thread knots and tangles, someone is talking about you.

If you drop your scissors, your love may be unfaithful to you.

Leave a deliberate imperfection in a quilt. It’s a reminder that only God’s creations are perfect.

Sewing a swan’s feather into your love’s pillow will ensure fidelity.

Breaking a blade on a pair of scissors foretells discord and quarrels, breaking both blades at once is a sure sign that calamity is about to enter your life.

A girl who completes a patchwork quilt by herself will never marry.

If you make a bedspread, or a quilt, be sure to finish it or marriage will never come to you.

If you sew clothing on New Year’s Day, someone in your family will pass away.

Bridal quilts should have continuous borders of vines or ribbon-like patterns. A broken border foretells a broken marriage.

If you break your needle while sewing a dress, you will live to wear it out.

If a single woman is the first to sleep under a new quilt, she will dream of her future husband.

If you put the last stitch into a quilt, you will be the next to marry.

dorte's first (finished) quilt

dorte finished her very first quilt! i am honored that she wanted me to quilt it.



she made it at the same retreat joyce made hers. it's cool to see the same quilt made with different fabrics...

my favorite- feathers in the border....



she loved! it...and mentioned bringing the one she's working on currently to me when it's finished...

great job dorte! welcome to the family :)

settling back in

going out west was great and all, but boy, did it take a while to get back into my routine. the hardest was getting back into a 'normal' sleep pattern when i came back. i got to use to the time out there...okay, i'll hush

here's toni's christmas candy quilt!

the candy applique goes all the way around the edge of the outer border.

(ETA: found pattern here)

she gave me the pattern! she even included her freezer paper templates!


sweet as candy :)




i'll add it to the ever increasing tower of QIWTMOD (quilts i want to make one day)

i like magenta as a christmas color...i'm not a red fan....