Interesting commentary on Mindful Living

http://empressofdirt.blogspot.com/ I have subscribed to this blog before because of her great gardening posts. Now, she has done a very interesting post or two on mindful living. Check it out!

Pocket Tissue Holder

So Terri showed up at the quilting group with a present for me and a present for my beautiful daughter who is moving in a few days to Birmingham, England. She gave no lecture on how I would be fine, nor one on how wonderful it was for Emily. Instead, the knowing mother brought a homemade tissue holder and tissues for my parting tears. She also brought a matching fabric envelope with a picture of my husband and myself for Emily. Thank you Terri...so clever and very very thoughtful!! Once I had recovered from the gift, my mind went clicking along....so I googled the tutorial and found it at http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/09/02/3383/.

So much fun I had tonight while my husband was off at his tennis tournament!!! In just one or two hours, I cranked out 6 of these to put away for the holidays. The pocket tissues are 3 for a dollar at Walmart.

Thank you Terri....thank you Terri...thank you Terri...hugs...

Help in the studio

Grandson Evan, age 5 just finished sitting on my lap sewing and stuffing his new Batman pillow.

Gotta have all the help I can get!!! Thank you Evan!!

Nik and Geoff's wedding quilt top finally done!!

Trying to subdue the bright yellow of the blocks was challenging! Finally, I decided on the pale yellow/green/brown lattice with the green border. I think it works. By the way, this is a disappearing nine patch!

Hopefully to be quilted soon and I will post a finished picture then...Sorry Nicola, I know that the wedding was in April, but your mum took the blocks to England and I just got them all back in July...but still...soon it will be yours..hugs...

Fabric Postcards

So, Charlotte sent me a thank you note on a fabric postcard and it was beautiful. She used selvedges and pretty scraps. It got my mind a thinking....and I decided to do the same. I cut some Timtex to size of the old postcards that I found in a drawer in my desk. Then I sewed scraps to the Timtex and embellished them with different thread designs with my machine. I zigzagged the edge, did a bit of fray check and then glued the Timtex to the postcard...Voila...two are already in the mail as thank you cards!!!! Thank YOU, Charlotte.

Well....This did not work as well as I had planned. I had to stitch thru the postcard at the end because the glue didnt work. So I googled ATC (artist trading cards)/postcards and found this link: http://www.quiltingarts.com/blogs/pokey/archive/2006/08/08/fabric-collage-postcards-and-atcs.aspx The real way to do it next time....have fun!

WIP ..cannot decide

I am trying to make this wedding quilt. The last post had it latticed with the green which did not work...I am trying to tone down the yellow and make the quilt more conservative. So I am auditioning the light brown lattice and the darker brown lattice between the blocks. I am really not sure that either work and that maybe this quilt is just too conservative now or just plain ugly. One thing I realize is that the design wall is too crowded and that I need to audition more sections of the choices in order to really tell. I do love scrap quilts...my favorite, but they are certainly more of a challenge.

WIP's

I left my camera in the rain when I was taking pictures of my grandson in the garden. Soo very sad and dumb. Just bought a new one an hour ago and am eager to post my WIP's!

I can see that WIP's are not as nice as the finished thing, but people seem to want to see the process. The green in this "X" block is about 30 years old and I wanted to use it up. Perfect with all these scraps from my stash. But, then it looked so flat and uninteresting that I had to cut from some of my favorite yellows to cheer it up. Initially, my old feelings of hoarding arose...but the new me used them anyway and this quilt perked right up. Will quilt it soon and then post it finished. I think that this is one of my favorite relaxing, easy quilts to make.

Nicola's wedding quilt using disappearing nine-patch on the design wall. Still thinking on how to arrange it all.

Dog Food bag

Someone just posted this idea this morning and I cannot find for the life of me which blog it was on. Please someone who sees it...let me know so I can give credit as credit is due. I had to make it immediately. Took the bag from the garbage, soaped it out with the hose, toweled it dry and it was made and ready to deliver old books in...in 15 min!!! A totally great idea...bag so strong:) Found it!!! http://www.joscountryjunction.com/?p=2137
Jo's Country Junction!!! Thank you for your great post!!

Vintage Hexagons

I bought this vintage hexagon piece for a few dollars two or three years ago at an antique store here in Charlotte. On my trip this past weekend to Asheville, I needed a bit of handwork, so I needle-turn appliqued it to the red background. Now what to do?? I was thinking a bag, now maybe it will be a center medallion for a quilt...not a pillow...too many of those. I guess it is now at stage two and I will just have to put it with my other WIPs and keep thinking on it!

Antique Snow Chrystals

From my collection, one of my favorites...Snow Chrystals. I bought this quilt from an antique store in Miami about 30 years ago. I just love blue and white and red and white quilts. This quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted from the early 1900's.

The blue of summer

This was sooo much fun to make...thanks to Karrie Lyne of Freckled Whimsy...I just loved it...Thank you.............
http://www.freckledwhimsy.com/

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/07/random-reflections.html

The last Ruthathon

Check this out for the awesome things we did at this weekends Ruthathon....from Friday to Sunday...sewing all day..three machines never stopping...eeek so much fun!!https://www.google.com/reader/view/?tab=my#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fruthsloan.blogspot.com%2Ffeeds%2Fposts%2Fdefault

My design wall

What to do when my design wall is already occupied???? When I am bored with what I am doing and have an itch to start something new??? Here is the design wall alternative. A felt backed vinyl tablecloth. This one was purchased at Walmart on after Christmas sale for 50 cents. I have Halloween ones, Christmas ones, etc...no matter what they are on the right side, it is the flannel side that I want. Here I have caught it in the doors of my hutch and stuck the blocks of my latest quilt on the flannel without pins. The beauty of this, is that once the blocks are placed right, I can pin them on to the flannel and fold it up to carry with me or to put away with other UFO's while I start still another new one:) I always take a tablecloth like this to a workshop to have an instant design wall.

This is a close up of this work in progress from Moda Bake Shop...http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/07/random-reflections.html

Random Joy...

This is the best that this grandmother can do!!! The cat cake with five year old Evan's favorite eyeball candy!! Happy Birthday Evan, from Grandmaw.....(never, ever thought I would have a grandson with a southern accent!) Homemade birthday cakes are a family tradition.

Ruth and Emily bringing me joy in Ruth's awesome apt in Asheville...Nice to be young and beautiful and creative and smart and.......................

Marie's grandson Jonathan just turned two, so he needed a birthday superman book bag from me.

Just a cuddle quilt to share...

This is not a remarkable quilt as far as aesthetics go.... it was just made to make someone happy.
I fell in love with the cute fabrics from the IKEA children's section and used them here in this quilt.

You are being watched............

Since I am going through my things, I am seeing them with new eyes. Thought I would share... This is not an original pattern, but of course I cannot find the source to give proper credit, since it is from forever ago. ...maybe ten years..I had the best time sewing on the button eyes. I think that the eyes have it...cat style.

and..they do not need flea medicine and they do not eat expensive cat food or beg for my tuna sandwich.....

Stuffed Butterflies...from yesteryear.....

The label I put on this quilt says 1980, Miami, Florida. So is that vintage or just plain old?? I made this quilt 30 years ago in my hand applique and hand quilting stage. I quilted bees and bugs and flowers and the butterflies are stuffed trupunto style. It seemed so dated, but my mother loves it and so it hangs on her wall in her room at the assisted living facility where she has lived for 8 years. It is there where she writes her poetry and struggles with Parkinson's disease. I am pleased that she feels that my quilt inspires her.

Camille's quilt

Camille is having surgery tomorrow. Good luck Camille. This is a signature quilt for her to get encouragement from her family/friends/doctors....et al. (fabric pens included with the quilt) Now making a disappearing nine-patch is pretty easy and routine, but one like this comes from Jo's Country Junction. Check out the tutorial here....Thank you Jo! http://www.joscountryjunction.com/?p=1732

Going crazy over the Potluck travel cover...

See previous post of June 22, 2010 and the tutorial below.....

http://allysonhill.typepad.com/photos/eco_lid/dsc_0088.html#tp

Vintage 40's Jacob's Ladder

Lovely green backing. Bought this quilt in 1995 from an antique store in Concord, North Carolina. It is in very good shape and we have used it on our bed off and on since it fits a queen bed on top. It is hand pieced and hand quilted.

Great upside down picture, but you get the idea. The yellow is stronger..guess the sun was out.