Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sale!

Kringle Mug Rug

Who doesn't love a sale!  I'm doing a little self promoting today..... Wilson and are are announcing a SALE on our Etsy site.  With the coupon code ~~~~ JINGLE~~~~~ you will receive 25% off now through Christmas  because I feel it's never too late to work on those holiday projects.  So grab a hot cup of coffee, or tea stop by my Etsy shop and take a look.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments.

Happy Holidays,


Using pre~made place mats it was easy to get a set done for holiday giving....
I appliqued my pieces onto white felt added some beads for a cute ornament!
Santa's Little Deer
How about putting an applique on a pillow!  My dear niece made this pillow using the Jolly Penguin Doodlette.  Isn't it cute!  It was a quick and easy project to complete in an afternoon.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

FNSI & Happy Thanksgiving!

So I had high hopes for FNSI so I threw together ham and scalloped potatoes for my family.  That's quick and easy right?  So while waiting for dinner to bake I decided that I would work on machine embroidery on some flour sack towels.  I love flour sack towels, reminds me of my grandma and times spent in North Dakota at grandma and grandpa's farm.  I have some fun snowman designs for my Elna, (aka Lucy) from Tattered Threads.  I downloaded them from EmbroideryDesigns.com.  It's quick and easy and I can choose what designs I want instead of having to buy a whole 'collection'.  I like to have these towels on hand during the holidays, they make quick and easy gifts.  Pair them with a brownie or cake mix or favorite recipe and it's an awesome gift!  It's a great Secret Santa gift too! 



So as I worked on my towels, I spent the evening thinking about grandma and how much she loved the holidays.  I always miss my grandparents this time of year.  It's hard to believe that it's almost Thanksgiving.  I got a few towels done, but while cutting threads I fell asleep in my comfy chair.  Hope everyone had a great FNSI!



Saturday, November 12, 2011

Gardening April-June 1861


Strawberries from my garden this year....
It seems funny to be posting a picture of my strawberries in November when the chill of winter is right around the corner, but, todays Civil War block is called 'Gardening'.  In the diary entries between April and June, Hannah writes about her garden.  She planted beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons and talks about picking strawberries.  Not so different than the garden I plant each year.  Although living in Minnesota I have no luck with watermelons.  I also have a love of gardening and like Hannah I write in a diary.  Hannah wrote in her diary about her daily life.  I keep a garden journal from year to year to record when I plant seeds, first frosts, planting dates and locations of perennials in my flower gardens.  Hannah probably also used her diary to look back on garden dates from year to year too. 

Here is how I completed 'Gardening' from the Civil War Diary Quilt Book....

Using some of my favorite colors from my Civil War stash I picked out these fabrics to do the block with...

I find it easier to write the fabric colors onto the foundation paper so that I can keep track of what I am doing.  I also like to pre-cut my fabric into strips so that it is easier to work with while paper piecing.  It seems like a lot of waste at times when trimming, but I find it to work best for me.

The center of this block is tiny.... you can tell by the picture.  I was 'scared' to do this block at first because of the teenie tiny center but paper piecing makes it so easy!

Here's what the back looks like.... you can see how I sew a 1/4" past each seam line on the block.

'Gardening' was broken up into three sections, this shows the 'center' section.

'Gardening'
This is a favorite of mine!
Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

As we say goodbye to Hannah we will move onto the next chapter of the book next week.  Isabella Buchanan Edmondson, she was a Confederate spy!  I will be working on the block called 'Thousands of Diamonds'.

Happy quilting!



Rosemary Youngs has a new book coming out in May 2012.  I can't wait!
Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and CD's can be ordered there too!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Mail Delivery, Jan 1861

January 8, 1861
"A beautiful morning. E. Crawford, Mary Parkin, Matilda Sanders, Lynch and I went to Richmond in the ox wagon.  Very bad roads. The ice almost gave this morning, but plenty of snow yet. Got a letter from Kitty. The first mail matter we have had for 10 days."

January 16, 1861
"A very nice day. We came home. Kate Green, Mary Fulton, Benny and Drake came with us. Rich and family came along after A. K. Fulton came in the evening. The river to high. The mail could not get over."
Hannah Walton Sanders
The Civil War Diary Quilt Book

As always my fabric choices are very similar to the book....

Here is the foundation paper I printed up using the companion CD.... very easy.  I wrote in some of the fabric colors for reference so that I don't make a mistake.  This block is broken down into two sections and can be easily drafted by hand.  If you draft this block by hand, remember to add your 1/4 seams around each section.

Here I am working on one half.... shoot, I'm working with strips...

Sewing on the lines.... remember to go at least  a 1/4" pass the traced block design.

.... not all of my strips are going the right way.... mmmmmm what to do?  Who will look that closely?

'Mail Delivery'

Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

Next week I will be working on the last block for Hannah Walton Sanders chapter in the book.  The last block in this section is called 'Gardening'  a very fitting block for Hannah.  She seems to have a love of gardening since her diary entries often refer to her garden.

Happy quilting!


The Civil War Diary Quilt Book can be bought through paypal or through the mail from Rosemary Youngs...
The Civil War Diary Quilt book is available for $22.99 plus $4.95 priority mail, (global priority mail $11.95) . You can order the CD with the book, you will need  Electric Quilt 5 or 6 to run the CD, the CD alone is $10 and there is no extra charge for postage when you order the book with the CD, total cost for the CD with the book will be $32.99 plus your postage.
Send a check or money order to Rosemary Youngs, 3704 Nicole Ct., Walker, MI 49534

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Wisconsin Quilt Retreat

So we were off to Pins n' Needles Quilt Shop in St. Croix Falls Wisconsin.  I really didn't know what to expect or even how much to pack.  The retreat center is located above the quilt store.  Very dangerous for a quilt addict with a credit card, and then there's peer pressure.....I'm hoping that by burying myself with tons of projects I will be able to resist the peer pressure.  In high hopes here's the list of projects that were packed  in my bin bins:

6 towels to applique new designs on

Postage stamp quilt from FNSI to bind

 Charm packs from Windham Fabric's 'Sloane' by designer Anna Griffin and
Moda's 'Giddy' designed by Sandy Gervais
(I am sooooooo inspired by my niece's pillows, I want to make some)

My Batik Spinning Pinwheels Quilt all ready pinned to be quilted

Civil War Diary Quilt bin full of fabric and foundation papers along with the book

Spooky fabric and seam binding to make a Halloween Bunting....

(Because not all trees wear skirts....)

Messenger bag pattern and fabric

Pins & Needles Quilt Shop and Retreat Center was about a two hour drive for me after and picked up my mom and sister, Laura. We filled my F150 up.... completely. We were ready to move into the retreat center. You would have thought we packed for a week or so, but we are hard core quilters. We need to be prepared for anything! (Even though we were located above the quilt shop)




Here is the entrance to the Lamb's Inn Quilt Retreat... it's above the actual quilt shop which on the other side of this building is a quaint Main Street and lovely store front.  Darn I wish I took a picture.  St.Croix Wisconsin is a wonderful town.


Here we are!  In back: Kathy (mom), Laura (sister).  In front: Kim, Cindy (me) and Linda.
Taking the picture is Kim's mom

Love this wall.... want to do this in my own studio!

Love this too....

After unpacking, and taking our group photo, we decided to check out the quilt shop.... which is just beyond this door...

Entering the shop, oh how cute! 

Pins and Needles Quilt Shop has all sorts of fun fabrics and a full line of notions.  The staff was wonderful.

Laura's thrilled....

Kim and Linda are enjoying the patterns.  Kim & Laura found an adorable kit for a 10 minute table runner, but in miniature!



Oh no!  My machine fell on the wicked witch of the East! 

I made four messenger bags after I settled into my sewing space.  It was a challenge to find spots for everything.  I ended up storing my bins in the over sized bathroom.  I'm in love with this pattern, it was so quick and easy.  Four Christmas gifts done!

Then I decided to make my binding for my postage stamp quilt.  Many of you have seen me work on this quilt during the FNSI.... What was I thinking piecing 2 1/2" squares together to make the binding.  It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r ....

While I was sewing the binding from hell, mom got her Minnesota 5 yard quilt done.  Isn't it great!

Here's my postage stamp quilt, all done.  Whew!  OK the binding was worth the effort and time.  I really love the pieced binding now that it's done.  There's an adorable screened porch at the retreat center.  I love the red chairs!

Laura worked on a 'calendar'.... This block is one of my favorites....


Then I worked on my pillows inspired by my nieces.  I couldn't wait to take the picture, I ran out of stuffing and didn't want to waste my retreat time looking for fluff at Walmart.  I stuffed and finished them when I got home.

This was Linda's first retreat!  I'm still not sure what she thought...

Here is Linda's 5 yard quilt that she completed!

Mom is sewing away on another quilt... she got so much done at this retreat, she made all of the projects that she packed.  I wish I could say the same....

Here Mom is showing us her Sudoku Quilt that she finished.  It's made out of brightly colored flannel.

Oh my, I'm tired, giddy and sewing away late the last night.
Laura also finished quilting and binding this cute Halloween project.
Then Laura whipped this quilt out the last night.  She cut 45   2  1/2" strips wof, then sewed them all end to end to form one big long strip, then fold in half and sew length wise, fold in half and sew, fold in half and sew until you have 32 rows.  Isn't this a fun and easy quilt!  She was going to take it home to finish it with borders.

I ended retreat working on new designs... this is a glimpse of spring....

If you have a chance to visit Pins & Needles, it's well worth the trip.  If I go to the retreat center again, I think I would spread out into the kitchen - living room area more for space.  A really nice thing about the location of the retreat center is that you are walking distance to anything that you may want or need.  I got up early one morning and walked down the street to Holiday and bought some water and milk.  It was only a few blocks.  We ate out lunch at a lovely coffee shop and dinner at a wonderful 'Tavern' which was full of local art and wine that was for sale.  The food was wonderful!  Otherwise we munched on goodies we all brought to share.  I'm already looking forward to the next scheduled retreat in March at  Cozy Home.  Thank you Kim for organizing such a lovely weekend.