Won't you come to my friend's Party ? An Invite for YOU !

Oh my gosh, it has been so long since I blogged... I need to get back to this.  I can assure you I have not been slacking anywhere !   Our summer remodeling project is ( or was, 'till the cold weather hit) coming along, we thought we would be able to texture & paint 2 bedrooms before winter, but that just "ain't" gonna happen....  However, they are insulated, rewired, sheetrocked, taped and ready to go for spring !  That means texture, paint and trim right away next spring...still need to figure out if we can just "clean up" the existing trim or if we will have to refinish it...     I will post before, during and after pictures when we are done.   I just want to make sure we ARE done when I do ! LOL.   That will give us 2 bedrooms to move the remaining bedroom furniture in, while we finish the hall, the 3rd bedroom, the bathroom and the stairway.    We won't talk about the downstairs, yet.  

  So, in lieu of any pictures from me... I will post about this fun stitching event in the Minneapolis area... IF you are near there... GO !  This sounds like a fun deal- I love her designs !    Check her out !

Only wish I could go !   I hope she takes lots of pictures !     ....and I hope to be back here soon........

A New Pheasant Quilt

What have I been doing since the last post...well, still recovering from hip surgery, which is going quite well (about to start rehab), and customer quilting, and trying to set aside some time to get organized so I can do some sewing & piecing  for myself !   In early Feb, a benefit was held for my DIL's Dad, and I really wanted to make a quilt for the auction, and I really wanted to use one of the pheasant panels.    I didn't have time to do any elaborate piecing, so I came up with this pattern. 

I probably spent more time wondering what I was going to do for a pattern than I did piecing it !  I really agonized over the whole thing.... and finally ( like most things, I am finding out..) I just got started.  The only plan I had was to use the panel in the center as shown, and the 4 blocks in the corner.   Once I framed each panel, the rest just sort of worked itself out.   Now, I am not one to go into mass production, by the time I am done with a project, I just want to start a new one, and definately do not want to make another, but I think this is the exception.  I actually still liked this when I was done, and now that it was sold at the auction, I am thinking I need one for my house ! 

 Close up of the front, I wonder, you used to be able to double click on a picture on blogspot and it enlarged, does it still do that ?  Anyway, I hope you can see my quilting on here, it is of pheasants in flight and pheasants at rest...the quilt back tells it's own story !

The label...

Close up of the back

The quilt back and my DH.

Anyway, now my project list is a bit longer, and I did have to purchase a bit more fabric ( for the borders ),  my SIL says she has an extra panel for me to uses, I have enough left over of all the interior borders and squares, AND the clincher was when I went back to my LQS ,

 Comforts of Home    and they still had some of the fabulous flannel backing left... and I mean JUST !   There is JUST enough to make the back of the quilt... and NOT enough to pin it to my longarm !   I will probably have to baste on some muslin strips in order to put it on my machine... not my favorite thing to do, but for some fabrics it is worth it, and this fabric is worth it !   It is the coziest flannel I have ever seen, it has a bit of a fuzzy nap to it...

I am happy to say that the benefit was a huge success, too !  Great turnout by the community.  

Happy quilting to you all...

Beth

Catching up and trying to be "Pinteresting"

Well, here I am again with nothing but time for a few days while I get my other hip replaced...   Pretty much a ditto of Jan 2010 so if you REALLY want to read about it you can go back in my archives...actually it is going better than the other hip did, or at least is, so far !   So I will think positive.  Will be going home in a couple of days and get right back into quilting, because, I can stand at that "job", and that is much more fun than trying to sit on a rear end full of staples ! 

Rylind's first Christmas.... 7 months old

Now to catch you up on the new Grandson... Here is his Christmas picture...  too, too cute, right ?  He is so sweet.    I ( and his parents, I'm sure ) would like to take credit for the photo idea, but we found it on PINTEREST....  I imagine you have heard of it by now.  

 I gotta say, I vainly thought I was clever, but man, if you really want to see clever, just spend some time on Pinterest.  Be careful, it is addicting, but it is SO saving me TONS of paper.   If I saw something I liked online, I would print it out.  Sometimes it was a free pattern or recipe, or often just a picture as I am pretty good at figuring out how to make something crafty, or furniturey or quilty, just from a picture... after all, I am a draftsman.... but these people on Pinterest are genius !     I think I have a Pinterest button on my blog side, feel free to see what I have pinned, and follow me if you like my style,  I would love to follow you too !  After all, if you are reading this blog, we must have similar tastes, right ?   I think the first thing I saw and "pinned" and actually made was the sugar cookies that look like candy corn, and that was back in October.  They were so good, easy and CUTE....  another favorite of mine... and please, if you have an idea of what I can put in there, please let me know....  but for some reason I think this is so cool... Did you know that the top of a Parmesean Cheese ( Kraft) container will fit on a regular  Mason Jar ?    I don't know why that makes my world go around, but it does.    as you can see, it doesn't take much !!! Oh, and another thing I love... I don't know about you, but even though I have real chip clips, I usually don't have them where and when I want them.    I buy lots of office binder clips and are always using them too... not just for chips ( we really don't have that many chip bags sitting around at our house, trust me....) but the office binder clips I just use for SO many things.... ok, I digress...  HERE is the Pinterest tip....   when you get those plastic hangers at the store that have clips on them for slacks or whatever.... well, don't just leave them at the store, take them home and snip off the clips.. they are strong, and make great chip clips.    Like I said, it don't take much to tickle me... but this hint did too !! I was to the point that I would just leave them at the store, but not any more !!!!  

So... enjoy Pinteresting... but don't blame me.... lol...

Ok... I imagine I could find a  pretty quilt picture to post here... I really do have lots to share, lets see what I can find.    .....

oh boy here it is... and it is my favorite this season- but really, you would have to see it in person.   Here it is before it is quilted.  It belongs to my friend and customer Carrie.   She brought it to me to be quilted, and we put it on black minkee, no batting, because she wanted it to be really soft and wrappy and cuddly.    If you were to see these color up closely, it is just stunning.   The black is so black and the reds and greens are SO vibrant.    I quilted it with black thread, in a large overall poinsettia design.  Actually the quilted poinsettias are about the size as the fabric ones.   The back turned out so well, and the stitched poinsettias gave such texture to the minkee.    We will have to get pictures of the finished quilt and post them later.    The top was a kit from Keepsake quilting, I think Carrie used a different green fabric for the stop border.     I loved this quilt so much that I found the fabric and hope to be making my own soon!  and THANKS, Carrie for giving me your scraps...I'll never turn down a good scrap !!

ok...gotta go, the nurses want to have some time with me... they just took away my saline bag so now I am not "tied" to that anymore.   This afternoon it will be walking in the hall... can't wait to get back home and to my quilting !!!

I LOVE MY CUSTOMERS.....

for lots of reasons, here is just a couple of them ....... ! My customer came this morning to pick up her quilt, and brought me 2 boxes of homemade caramel rolls ... they were still warm..... well, there is only one box left now. I also can thank her for helping me get my calcium today, as there is nothing better with a warm, fresh, homemade caramel roll than a cold glass of milk ! Oh.... they were SO delicious !

 

Now for a peak at her quilt..... this is just one corner, but I think she had 20 cross-stitched blocks in this quilt. She wanted an all over quilting design, so that means one color of thread and that means a decision ! Well, this one was easy..... white thread, so it "goes away" and doesn't interfere with the cross-stitching, it just gives the backround some nice texture. Usually I like matching my quilting thread with the fabric color, but quilting white thread over the maroon sashing and borders and the dark green stop border all looked great, and really spread the white throughout the quilt and "tied" it all together. Who says you can't quilt over cross-stitching ? !

Let's give a big Hip Hip Hooray for Piecers and their Caramel Rolls !

Junkfest...

Now, just because this is my second post of the day, don't think this will be a habit...

Junkfest ( one of my favorite events ! ) was a couple weeks ago... and 3 of us peeps went.  I reviewed the some of the rules:

1.  No heels  ( there is a need to be comfortable AND swift... ! )

2. Large Vehicle ( you will probably need the space ! )

3. Only 3 peeps per vehicle  ( more peeps - more vehicles - more room)

4. Leave by 7 am ( or 7 am-ish)

so here we are headed north for the 45 minute drive.  Brenda on the left, Linda on the right.  I'll be the backseat driver...

Made the first stop at the Junk 'n Java house by 8 am....  They have a very nice set up there and lots of neat things ! Between the 2 gray sheds ( which are full of great junk for sale...) is a firepit seating area, all fenced in,  very cozy and cute.  I should have taken a pic of that !    This year I bought a 3 gallon redwing crock here.

We are at the front of the line ( almost !) waiting to get in.  Check out the additional vendors, all the quonsets on the left were full, and all the white tents and others out in the open.  The Junk Fest girls are in a quonset to the right of this photo. 

My son and DIL came too, and brought little Rylind.  He seems pretty impressed by the whole affair !   It was chilly out that morning so he was glad to have his hat on, knitted by his auntie Ariel !

Here are some of the crowd waiting to get in.  Glad I was at the front of the line....but with that comes pressure, you want to be quick so you don't get run over by the eager Junk-finders !   note the ratio of men to women ??

The inside happenings in the Junk Fest quonset.  Rule # 1 here is:  If you see something you like, you had probably better buy it, 'cause it won't be here when you come back for it !   Check out the porch post little seating area there.... I have 3 fully restored posts like this and have a plan for 2 of them.   Any suggestions on what to do with the 3rd ?

My Junk Fest Peeps... Linda & Brenda.  Ready to go again next year, girls ?   I AM !   It was a blast !

Here is an old wood box that I would like to make sometime to my specifications.... I like the style, but would like to use it as a recycling center, and fit several kitchen sized trash bins inside for cans, bottles, etc.... below is another one I like...

That's Linda in front....get out of the way so I can see my bin  (  just kidding......☺)  I really like the color of this one.   I was tempted, but better stick to my guns and build one to fit.

and here is what I ended up with.... my crock, a little nightstand/dresser,  what I thought at first glance was a doll crib, but when I found out it really was a magazine rack, I still wanted it.   It will match a black bookcase I bought here a few years ago ( see an earlier Junkfest post )  and...  I am really excited about this.... the green foldable outdoor table.  It folds up like a tv tray, but it is BIG !   well, not huge, but bigger than a tv tray !  I can just see it on a porch......

Ok... that's my documentary on Junk Fest...    check them out   http://www.junk-fest.com/   They are fun gals with great junk and ideas !