Happy New Year

Can't believe we have started a new year....2015.   Isn't there a song about that....oh wait, I think that was ' in the year 2525 '. Guess we have a few years till we get to that !  

Packing up today for a little road trip.... Thought I would see if this blog thing was still active, might give me something to do on the road, we will see how it goes...

Beth 

Back in the saddle again....

Really?  It's been this long since I have posted ??  Well, I just downloaded the Blogger app for my IPad, so just maybe this will make it easier for me to post a little more frequently.    And, just finished quilting a quilt that I had been stressing over for several months !  It was my LQS  block of the month this year, and it is the store sample, so it has been hanging in the store all year, unquilted - there was no hurry for me to get it done - not like the many baby, wedding, graduation, etc quilts I have quilted this year that did have deadlines.  So that gave me time.....way too much time to stress over what I was going to quilt on it.  Sometimes that can be so crippling!  AND I find that usually -wait- actually, always, once I get a quilt ON my machine, I get inspired and am able to move forward with the quilting process and find that I (and more importantly my customer ) are happy with the results.   Of course, I always have the fear  that once the quilt is on the machine I will still not have any idea of what to quilt on it, and then (horrors!!!!) have to take the quilt off .....but so far in this career, that has not happened.....so I guess I should not stress over that anymore and trust in my instincts !    That being said, if this new app lets me post pictures, I will post pictures of the quilt !

Cool, it works...will try and add a couple more !

Well, that will gave to do for now, not sure if these are the best pictures, I may need to run up to the quilt store and take better pictures, but we all know how expensive THAT could get !!

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 !

It's Almost October.....

and here is a little early Halloween "candy" to look at:  a new thing... this is a fireplace mantle quilt....

 this is the left side of it, with the owls, cat and ghost sitting on a limb, and the bats hanging from it....

 the middle, with a witch flying in front of the full moon,

and the end of the mantle quilt .. "Trick or Treat", Mr. Bones and of course & JACK !

This looks so cute on a fireplace mantle, but, I thought, I need to find more uses for these stitches !  So, I figured out a way to add a rod pocket to the top, and it can be a window valance.  Also, with a little pattern manipulation I can make it into a table runner with scallops and designs on both sides.... I think I really need to make one of those for myself !

It's time to play Catch Up ! or is it Ketchup ?

ok... I've been awol long enough, and probably like you, can't believe how fast this summer has been flying by. I've been busy with the usual.... family ( a new grandson was added ! ☺ ) and the old one ( 6 ! ) was here for over a month ...having fun with Grandma and Grandpa...taking swimming lessons, sailing with Grandpa..... quilting..... the band..... So now, I intend to get back to blogging, and will share some pics about our adventures.

You may have heard in the news... we have still been having flooding in North Dakota... seems every year now there is a problem, and not only has it been affecting Fargo, ( not so much Grand Forks anymore, because after the 1997 flood, they fixed that ! ) but now Minot and Bismarck, Valley City, not to mention many smaller towns, and Devils Lake, which just keeps rising and when it gets much higher, will find it's own outlet and be disasterous for much of the state. Anyway... this leads into a little event that we put on, our Not so annual USFEST. We have had a couple in the past, up at our other Money Pit ( at my old hometown) where we are fixing up an old 1917 home ( more blogging material......) . Well, in June, we have our annual Missoui River Bluegrass Festival on, where else..... Cross Ranch State Park on the Missouri River. You know, the one Lewis and Clark and .......was it Sea Bisquit ? the dog..... anyway, we are a big Lewis and Clark state... I digress. Well, the Missouri River, being one of the new areas of the state to flood now, was just reaching it's crest when the fesitval was to take place, so therefore, the festival had to be canceled. Well... what to do ? So many of us had taken time off of work to attend, so we still wanted to get together, and started looking around for a centrally located campsite that had openings and would let us jam all nite long. Well, there wasn't too many campgrounds around that weren't flooded, and of course all of them have a noise curfew, so I offered up our little place to have it. We just happen to have put up some full service campsites up there a couple years ago to accommodate all the wind generator workers ( we are now in the middle of a wind farm..... more blogging material for later....) so we had the perfect set up. About the noise ordinance ? Well there isn't one. There are only about 24 people in town and 26 when I and the DH are up there, well, that is an estimate... but we did double the population and made some pretty darn good music ! It was a great time and I hope we can do it again sometime ! !

This is Mel from Canada. He plays some awesome mando, guitar and banjo ! And he has the nicest wife Sheila.

Here are some of my friends from around town. I think we made Bluegrass lovers out of them ! They're asking when the next USFEST will be......One of our small town sunsets...

kind of a dark picture, but here we are jammin' all night long ( gotta love a small town). We put up a canopy to keep the sprinkles out, and of course have to put up the icicle lights for ambiance !

John and Joe.... father and son banjo pickers ! Gotta have a bass player ! we were lucky and had 4 in attendance !

Here we are in the middle of a bluegrass song. I'm the one on the far left - kinda in the backround....to my left are Linda and Terry, members of our band, Spiritwood Creek. You can see the back of another member, Carrie, she's the blonde with the teal dress on... check out the next picture....

Carrie modeling an old dress we found in the house ( it was my parent's home ).. I think it may be my Grandma Johnson's... and is probably from the '40's or 50's. Let me tell you, it is in awesome condition and the style is really cute.. it could be worn to any formal function today and still look in style. I only wish it fit me ! Picture taken inside the house. I am not too attached to the paint color, so it won't be there much longer. The stairway will, however !

ok... that is enough for now... if you have time, do an internet search on the Minot flood, it is just devastating. Minot hometown boy Josh Duhamel ( Vegas, the Transformer movies ) is hosting a benefit there in Sept. It is a Black-eyed Peas concert- he is married to Fergie . Hope it raises LOTS of money for the flood victims !

well... I am off to a Bluegrass festival in Minnesota ( more blogging material ) this weekend.... don't you think that this is all I did this summer.... I had already quilted more quilts by May of this year than I did all of last year ...... and of course, that is more blogging material, yet to come !

have a great weekend everyone !

AMY BARICKMAN GIVEAWAY !

Check out this great giveaway from Amy Barickman..... Don't you just love redwork? Check out her post here. LOVE LOVE LOVE these colors !

Rustic Log Quilt Ladder

Fresh from the Mystical forests of Lake Country, Minnesota.........
Don't you just love my new quilt ladder ? My brother custom made it for me from wood on his own property. He has been busy building custom chairs, benches, swings, tables, kitchen island/buffet for people, and they are just beautiful !

As you can see, mine can hold alot of quilts/runners and has 4 rungs. He will build them to suit whatever size you need. so, in case anyone is interested.... contact me for more information !

Don't you just love brothers ! Soon I will post some special pictures of my other brother's creations !

The last day of 2010 !

I can hardly believe it.... where did this year go? Busy year! What will next year bring? I guess we will see shortly !

Thought I'd post one last time this year, since I can now reach my keyboard with my mending shoulder! I think I will be starting PT next week, but am still wearing my little "strightjacket" !

In the meantime, I'll post a couple of pictures for the season.....

Above is a little table runner I made using the Easy Striped Table Runner pattern and a 60 degree ruler. I love this pattern and the first thing I usually look for when entering a quilt shop are and striped fabrics !

Here is the back, with the snowflakes I quilted on it. It's nice to have the table topper be reversible... I should work on something for Valentines day.......If you know of any cute Valentines stripe that I can use, send me the name of the fabrc, will you? Then I can start the hunt to see if I can find it. Sometimes the funnest part is the 'hunt' !

Next I want to show you a customer quilt that I just love..... I really like evergreen trees, and have a couple patterns that I want to make into quilts. I don't know the name of this quilt pattern, but if you do, please let me know !

Here's a little close up of the pinecone stitching........

Another pattern I found on my travels this weekend ( I'm in Minnesota for the New Years weekend....) is the Thimbleberries Trees by Starlight. It is the first pattern of their 2010 BOM. I had actually seen the block before, but hadn't seen it made into the quilt. I saw the quilt this weekend made up in Brainerd, Mn. and now want to do the full quilt sometime. Another wish for my wish list.

2011 should be a stash manicure year for me.... not sure if I am ready to commit yet.... I do, however need to get the stash organized. That is probably where I should start.

Well... I had best go now... we are heading out to a fun New Years weekend at the farm near the lake.... expecting another snowstorm...and a nice big bonfire tonite if the weather lets us.

Here's wishing you a safe and wonderful New Years !

Beth

It's gonna be a plain, simple Christmas this year....

They say that if you want to exercise your brain, use your non-dominate hand more often. well, I will be exercising my brain alot . Family & friends, hope didn't have your hearts set on something quilty for Christmas. I did have some grand plans, but the only plan now is PLAN B.

I had been having some shoulder problems in my right shoulder, and after exams & xrays, it was determined that I could come in and have some minor surgery done, removing some irritating bone spurs. That was to be a 45 min. surgery. 2 hours later, they were done fixing my torn rotator cuff (which had been damaged for years, they noted), and I get to NOT USE my right arm for awhile! Not what I had been planning on, didn't have much ready for Christmas, no baking either.... but I did get the tree up before the surgery, so we will just scale back on the plans. I am in a couple Christmas Swaps, so hopefully they won't mind if they are a little late!

Other than that, I think I will take it easy on this arm and not worry what didn't get decorated, didn't get baked or didn't get made! I hope the rest of all you busy people out there don't overdo it, and enjoy your own little Christmas in your own way!