Prom Is In The Air...

I haven't gotten much done over the last week... Prom is in the air.... my youngest son has asked his sweetie if she will go to prom with him.  It's very cute how he asked her, he WROTE all over his car with window markers.  (His friend, Josh, also had a blast writing on his car too!) Then Thomas drove to her house and handed her a marker for her answer.  Thank goodness she said 'yes'.... of coarse she also had fun drawing hearts and flowers all over his car too... the neighbors slowed down past my house for a few days laughing.  Now I know why.... it doesn't wash off easily.  Oh my, you would have thought the sky was falling.  Luckily I'm married to a brilliant man who used 'paint restore wax' and a buffer.  It took a couple of nights of waxing and buffing. The prom graffiti is gone, Thomas is back to a white car with primer accents!  His big dilemma now is what color to paint his car, dad is working on his car this weekend.  Yesterday 'neon green' was the color of choice.  Wonder what it will be today....



Aren't they cute!



A Little Side Tracked...

It happens to all of us... we get side tracked.... start a new project.  Instead of working on my Civil War Diary Block yesterday, I worked on Garden Party Blocks... the blocks so far have been wonderful, whimsical and so much fun!  I wait in anticipation for Sewhooked's post every morning, print the patterns up and then wonder when I will have the time to get them done.  Well, I worked on several blocks yesterday.  The Garden Party is at the half way point, it's not too late to join the fun!   I have made a personal oath to work on quilts that use only my stash, my new year's resolution.  This project is perfect for such a quest.  My house blocks and Just Takes Two Quilt are my other projects that I'm sticking to my resolution with. 





Garden Party Blocks that I have done so far....

 

Don't Forget!  In honor of the Garden Party Blog Hop sponsored by Jennifer at Sewhooked..... Wilson and are are having a SALE on our Etsy site. With the coupon code ~~~~ TULIPS~~~~~ you will receive 20% off now through the month of April.  Remember you need the code TULIPS to get the discount!  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. The coupon code is only good in my Etsy store.  Hope that you are able to visit the Garden Party Blog Hop,  30 designers, 30 paper pieced blocks!  It has be so much fun. 

I've got to get back to working on laundry and in between loads I can be found in my studio, working on some more blocks.  I also have a quilt to quilt... It's the perfect rainy Sunday to work on some quilt projects.

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Garden Party Blog Hop!

Spring Time Blooms

Spring has sprung and it's so nice to be part of the Garden Party Blog Hop!  I love to do foundation piecing and here is my block.  I'm calling it 'Spring Time Blooms'.....  The finished block measures 10 1/2"x10 1/2" (this includes seam allowance)  It is made up of 2 1/2" paper pieced blocks. The blocks are sorta tiny, but that's the advantage to paper piecing, you can do those teeny tiny pieces fairly easily....  I have a couple of places that you can download the free pattern for this block.... it can be found on my website or on my Craftsy site.... both are FREE!  You can also Download the pattern here.
 I'm also having a springtime giveaway!  Leave me a comment about your favorite flower!  That's it to get a chance to win some Bali Handpaint fat quarters from Hoffman Fabrics. If you want a second chance to win, follow me to and leave a comment that you do.  Let's welcome spring and have fun with the garden party blocks!  What will I do with my block, hummmm, I have a few ideas... I could make a couple more for a table runner.  Or make a total of 20 blocks and add some sashing for an adorable lap quilt... or make a sampler garden quilt using all of the blocks from this months Garden Party Blog Hop.

 So here is how I put together my Spring Time Blooms block....

I dug through my fabric scraps for the flowers, leaf and flower pot colors... I used a fat quarter of cream fabric for the background...

Here I am working on the flower pot blocks, I used two fabrics for the flower pots.  You can use only one if you want, or several, it's up to you!

Sewing on the line.....

I love the tulip block... isn't it cute!

My 2  1/2"  blocks are all lined up and ready to be put together.

'Spring Time Blooms'

Leave me a comment about your favorite flower!  That's it to get a chance to win a set of five Bali Handpaint fat quarters from Hoffman Fabrics. If you want a second chance to win, follow me too and leave a comment that you do.  Wilson and I will announce a winner on May 1st.

Have fun this month at the Garden Party!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you,

Late Dispatches, Letters and Papers

This last weekend I worked on the block, 'Late Dispatches, Letters and Papers' from Rosemary Youngs Book.  It was a delightful block to finish.  The foundation paper was all one piece, love it!  It went together easily. In this diary entry Isabella is encouraged by news brought to her in letters and papers that Mr. Wilson brought to her. 

So here is how I completed this weeks block....

Printed up foundation paper, using EQ 5 and Rosemary's companion CD.  I'm using a navy blue/ rust fabric and a gold fabric to complete this block.

Sewing on the lines following the order printed on the foundation paper.

'Late Dispatches, Letters and Paper'
May 29, 1864

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

Next time I will be working on 'Sad Fate' from the Civil War Dairy Quilt Book. 
Have a wonderful week and hope that you can join me next week as I continue on my Civil War Diary Quilt journey.

Happy quilting!

A Dash Quilt....

"Christmas Dash Quilt"

I have been working on a quilt, a traditional quilt.  I wanted it to be a 5 yard quilt, but alas, I'm 1 1/2" over on one of the fabrics!  You need 37 1/2" of yardage in the cream.... aaarrrrgggg!  Well, it's still a fun pattern but can't be considered a 5 yard quilt.  Close but no cookie, if you have a quilt shop that cuts your fabric generously, then it's a 5 yarder.  Love the size, 56" x 68", a great quilt for a family room, guest room, or as a gift.  It can be easily pieced in a weekend.  It's a dash to make!  I made mine using "Spirit of Christmas" from Marcus Brothers.  But you could use any five fabrics.... You can also make it scrappy using whatever fabric you have on hand.  I got mine pieced together in an afternoon and then sent it off to Mimi's Quilting Cottage. Stacy does a fantastic job quilting!

Here's a picture of my quilt that Stacy took in her studio.  She did an overall design on the quilt, it turned out very nicely.

How about making Christmas Dash using Batik fabrics!  An 'Island Dash Quilt'!

1930's fabrics would make a colorful quilt, 'Grandma's Dash Quilt'

I hope that you have fun with 'Christmas Dash'.  I'm thinking of making a scrappy version using fabric from my stash. 
Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you,

Arrest Order

Happy LATE Civil War Diary Quilt Saturday!  It's been a while since I've worked on my quilt.  I've been too busy having giveaways and blog hopping... and this weekend was especially busy with getting ready for Easter on Palm Sunday. Had cookies to make, Easter eggs to fill, bread to bake.... a fun busy weekend, so I apologize for the late posting. This last weekend I worked on 'Arrest Order' from Rosemary Youngs book, 'The Civil War Diary Quilt'. 'Arrest Order' is the first block in row 5.  In this diary entry, Isabelle Buchanan Edmondson writes;

"...I was to be arrested and carried to Alton on first boat that passed - for carrying letters through the lines, and smuggling, and aiding the Rebellion in every way in my power - he sent me work I must not think of atteding Jeannie Eve's wedding, or go out of doors at all, he would be compelled to arrest me..."

Isabelle Buchanan Edmondson

The Civil War Diary Quilt Book by Rosemary Youngs

So here is how I completed the next block in Rosemary's book....  

Here are the fabric choices that I pulled out of my Civil War fabric...

I cut my fabric into strips to make it easier to work with.  I also marked my foundation paper so I can keep track while I sew as to what color to sew where.  I printed up foundation papers using EQ5 and Rosemary's companion CD.

Sewing on the line...

Trimming my pieces for the block.

This block is broken down into nine sections.
(two of the sections are sewn together)

The center section all pieced...

Sewing sections together....

'Arrest Order'
April 21, 1864

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

Next time I will be working on 'Late Dispatches, Letters and Papers' from the Civil War Dairy Quilt Book. 
Have a wonderful week and hope that you can join me next week as I continue on my Civil War Diary Quilt journey.

Happy quilting!