CHRISTMAS GREETINGS 2016

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From our family to yours, we wish you Christmas blessings.

We will be spending the day at home with the Girls, as this will likely be the last Christmas with our Little Olive.  We sure could use a Christmas miracle for her and your prayers are greatly appreciated.

I have a pumpkin pie in the oven and afterwards I will bake our Christmas cake.  Today food will be simple....beef with horseradish sauce, Duchesse potatoes and roasted asparagus.

The black Christmas quilt I made for our daughter was well received and now I can post a picture of it..... 

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas.

GIFT QUILT

Yesterday I finished hemming the Gift quilt I made us for Christmas.  All the years I've been quilting I hadn't made a Christmas quilt for us until last year.  So we now have two.

 

 The gifts and borders were made from a Flourish layer cake.  The background, backing, ribbons and bow fabrics are from my stash.  I decided on traditional colors but it would look great in any colorway.

 

I hope your holiday projects are coming along well. 

 

Warm holiday wishes to you and yours.

 



THANKSGIVING WISHES

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. 

Two pumpkin pies just came out of the oven and our house smells wonderful.  We will be spending the afternoon with friends and eating with them and their large family ~~ so many that our meal will be held in a community room.  That's what happens when there are 11 children in a family and they grow up and have families of their own!

We broke with tradition this year and partially put up our Christmas tree last night.  Tonight we will add the ornaments and officially kick off the Christmas season.  My husband LOVES our Christmas tree and the whole season of friendship, sharing, good food and gifts.  We don't buy gifts for each other but for children and families that are having a difficult time making ends meet.   

 Wishing Thanksgiving Blessings from our family to yours.

VETERANS' DAY 2016

Today is the day we take time to honor our veterans and thank them for their service to our country.  This day also makes me remember my Dad who fought in WWI and the Korean War.  He was a patriot to the end.

My sewing room is beginning to look a bit like Santa's workshop with parts of several projects in stacks everywhere.  I got up extra early today to do some machine embroidery before the household woke up but my machine had an issue and I had to take it apart to find the nest of thread that had built up in the works.  It's working fine now.

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I like to think of this mess as creative chaos!

 

 

Wishing everyone a wonderful day.  Remember to thank a veteran for their service.

OCTOBER IS NEARLY GONE ~~~

 





October is almost gone and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I can almost smell the dressing and pumpkin pie now.

In another week or so we will find out who our new president will be and whether or not that candidate can make his/her promises a reality.

I just finished another Present Quilt top in a totally different colorway than the previous one I recently posted~~~~

 

This one is for someone special for Christmas.  It is with my quilter and it should be back in a month or so.  How do you like this pattern in black/gold?  The other Present Quilt top in is the post before this one.

Wishing you a blessed day ..... Barb

"PRESENT" QUILT

Fall is gracing us with her fickle weather.  Yesterday I was wearing flip flops and today I need to wear socks and boots.  This normal for our weather.

I finish piecing the top of the Present quilt I hope to finish this year.  Here it is before quilting....

 

This is a fun block to make.  The fabric is Holiday Flourish by Robert Kaufman.  It has quite a bit of gold metallic and it's definitely festive.  The ribbons/bows are made from stash fabric.  The background is a soft cream with very pale leaves and berries. 

Now I'm off to work on another Christmas project. 

Be blessed   ~~~  Barb

A DRIZZLY FRIDAY

This is another dreary day.  Some people have trouble dealing with days like this, but I love them.  There's nothing nicer than lighting a few candles, making a cup of tea and settling in with a good book or some sewing.  Dottie and Olive love these days, too.  Here's what Dottie has been up to this morning......

My sewing room is looking like it exploded, or may imploded would be a better word.  I'm working on two quilts that I need to get to my quilter asap since she's retiring the end of this year.  Here's a peek at two of the blocks for our Christmas quilt....                                 

I will be making a large pot of beef stew this afternoon for dinner and take half of it to our neighbors.  Time permitting I may put together a couple loaves of beer bread to go with the stew. 

I hope you are snug and cozy wherever you are.  Thanks for stopping in ~~~~~

WILL I EVER CATCH UP???

The last time I blogged it was Summer...now we are in the beginning of Fall.  The leaves are starting to turn, acorns are falling and mornings are chilly.  This is my favorite time of the year.

Despite my good intentions, I'm so far behind with everything.
So what have I been doing?  I had a spell of health issues that are somewhat resolved for now;  our little Scottie Olive had to have major surgery and spent ten days in the hospital and had to have lots of attention when she came back home; and we have been super busy with our company.  This was a rough Summer but we are looking forward to the rest of this year being slower and much more peaceful.  Thanksgiving is next month ~~~  can you believe it!

I joined a group at Missouri Star a few weeks ago and we made pillowcases for the kids in Louisiana who had been flooded out of their homes and schools.  It was a blessing helping out.  We all pulled together and surpassed our goals!!

I finished the Flutterbye quilt I was working on and it's become one of my favorites ~~

A few weeks ago I received a wonderful package from a friend on the Missouri Star forum that contained about four yards of this wonderful fabric ~~~~

 

 

I'm working on a few little gifts for Christmas but can't post pictures until after they are given. 

 

That's pretty much it for me right now.  I hope you are being creative and being blessed.

 



CATCHING UP

We are in the dog days of summer, a time of extreme heat and humidity that also happens to be the time for most snakes to shed their skins....just charming.  We have to take extra care when Dottie & Olive are outdoors that they don't go after snakes.

I just finished the Sashed Half-Hexie Quilt I was working on a while back.  I'm not totally thrilled with it but we will use it as a utility quilt ~~~

The fabric is Bella by Lotta Jansdotter and the sashing is something I had in my stash.  The backing is grey with gray vines.  I've been using a lot of gray lately.  I think my next project may be a Christmas quilt.

Wishing everyone a great Summer day.  Keep Cool!

PLUS SIGN IN GRAY

The Plus Sign quilt I've been working on for so long is finished. It measures 85x92 and the 'beams' of the crosses are 25 inches.  I thought that making a quilt with large pieces would be easy, but I found it a bit awkward to sew and press. Reggie did a lovely job with the quilting as usual.  In most ways this is a modern quilt with its geometric design, monochromatic color scheme and no borders. 

It was hard taking the pictures because the quilt took up most of the living room. 

I think the backing is really nice ~~  watercolor flowers and vines in shades of gray. 

Thank you for looking!

SO WHAT'S NEXT?

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So, Summer is bearing down on us with high humidity and scorching temperatures.  We had a strong storm Sunday and our flag pole was bent in half.  I rescued the flag but I have doubts about saving the pole.

Yesterday I got the Plus Sign quilt back from Reggie and this morning I trimmed the edges and made the binding.  I will try to get it sewn on tomorrow and then spend the next several days hemming it by hand.  This is a holdover from my hand quilting days. 

So what's next....Well, I've been piecing some framed square blocks with snowballed corners on opposing sides.  The fabric is Small Talk and the prints are sewing related.  The black, white, gray, tan and orange look nice together.  More on that later...

We have been royally invaded by zillions of millipedes on our front porch.  Each day I sweep up at least a gallon of dead ones.  Sevin Dust kills them but the army hasn't surrendered and there's a new onslaught every day.  I was told that they won't quit coming until the weather turns cold. 

What unexpected things have you been doing this Summer?

MY NON-COLLECTION ADDITION

 

Yesterday was a typical Midwest Summer day, drenched in sunshine and humidity.  Jeff and I decided to take an hour or so and visit a few of the flea markets in town.  Jeff was looking for some old fishing reels and I had my eyes open for any vintage Tupperware in great condition.  I got lucky and found two pieces of Tupperware that look brand new, a celery keeper and a deviled egg container.  I remember these pieces from when I was a young wife and couldn't afford to buy much at the never ending Tupperware parties I attended. 

While we were exiting a flea market I asked the owner if she by chance had any Singer Featherweight machines and she promptly lead me to a glass display case with a nice little Featherweight, but the price was $350 and it had no case.  She wouldn't budge a cent off that price.  I declined and then she asked me to wait a minute and she came back with an old motor oil box she had to dig around to find and in it was the cutest little Featherweight machine.

The machine belonged to her husband, who got it at a yard sale, and he wanted $275 for it and not a penny less.  We checked it out and it ran but it was filthy and needed a bit of TLC.  There was no case, booklet or accessories, so I offered her $75.  She was a little offended but told me to leave my phone number and she would run it by her husband, but she was positive he wouldn't accept anything less than the full price. 

A few hours later the call came and our offer was accepted.  This is a dream of a little machine.  She was cleaned, oiled got a new needle and she runs like a deer and purrs like a kitten.  Her birthday was 1952.
 
I don't consider myself a Featherweight collector ~~~  I just love these little machines and this one is #4 in my non-collection.  Her name is Ruby (after my Mom).

If you are on a quest to find a FW for yourself,  I encourage you to dig when you visit flea markets and ask if they have any.  Don't be afraid to offer considerably less than they are asking.  There just might be one waiting for you in an old box.....!!

A LAZY SUMMER DAY

I believe today is the day Summer has arrived.  I finally took the flannel sheets off our bed and replaced them with thin Summer sheets.  I also changed the top quilt and coverlet ~~~

The new quilt is the one I finished just before the Bee quilt.  I love the soft colors and the different prints.  The shams and coverlet are perfect for warmer weather. 

I have also been servicing my Featherweight machines and have decided to leave one set up for use.  I love the perfect straight stitches these little gems make.  No wonder their popularity has endured for decades. 

 

 

I told Miss Dottie she could help me water flowers and she's ready to get busy!  She's all about running all over the yard with the hose.  Olive is afraid of water, especially when Dottie has the hose, and she hides behind the garage and peeks around the corner at us.  It's time for me to dig out Dottie's water toys, too. 

 

 

 

Have a great day everyone.

Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz!

At last the Bee Quilt is finished and we love it!  Eventually it will go to my Granddaughter Bree.  When she was little she called herself Bee.  I hope this will bring back some happy memories for her.

So here's the quilt ~~~~

The fabric line is Tiger Lily Ballerina and I think the colors are lovely.  The squares are 3" finished and since there were so many of them, I decided to make the quilt in quadrants and handle them like a 4-patch.  The quilt measures approximately 50x60 and the backing is the coral butterfly fabric from the front.  Reggie did her micro-mini stippling on the wings ~~~

I also got back a beautifully quilted runner I pieced from strips of fabric from the Asian Legacy line.  This fabric feels just like silk.  Reggie free-motion quilted a different motif in each strip.

That's it for me this time.  I have loads of housework to catch up on today.  It also looks like another storm is headed our way.  I hope the sun is shining on you today!

A DAY OF FRUSTRATION

After almost a full day of trying to make room in my sewing room and organize my supplies I have to admit that I've exhausted the limits of the room.  It seems that all I can do is move everything around.  I'm sure the solution is to get busy and sew up some of the piles of fabric and also to quit buying new fabric ~~~ like that's going to happen!  I'm doomed. 

I managed to fit most of the charm squares into one drawer and create a smidgeon of room in a small cubby for some of my special gray fabrics.  How is it that I need a cubby for the 'special' gray fabric?  What makes this stack more special than the rest of the grays? Here's are pictures of the special grays and the charms in their new homes ~~~~

That was the extent of my success.  Fortunately all of my house is not in this mess.

Today feels like a genuine summer day, hot and very humid.  We are supposed to get more storms tonight and tomorrow but until then we will enjoy the sunshine. 

I hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world.

Thanks for stopping by...............Barb

MOTHER'S DAY 2016

Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day filled with everything that makes you smile. 

Blessings to you all ~~~  Barb
 

A SLOW SUNDAY

The Girls and I have had a slow weekend while Jeff has been away.  He will get home today and life as usual will resume.

I planned to make the most of my time alone to sew, but Friday an emergency at our apartments called and I had to drop everything and drive for three hours to handle that matter.  Yesterday I sat down to sew and had to shut everything down due to electrical storms.  Today is a gorgeous day to be in the garden. 

My current sewing project is a large scale plus sign quilt.  So far I'm not in love with how it's coming along.  Sometimes you have to wait until the quilting is done to decide if you like a quilt or not.  This one is leaning heavy into the "Don't Like" category. Being all gray isn't adding to my enthusiasm either. 

Dottie and Olive are lined up like little soldiers waiting to go for their morning walk.  I can't ignore those pleading eyes any longer.  Wishing you a great day!

WHAT NEXT ~~~~~

The bee quilt I have been working on is in the capable hands of my quilter, Reggie.  Despite a few bumps in the road it went together easily and I thoroughly enjoyed working from a chart.

I'm auditioning some gray fabrics for a modern Plus Sign quilt.  It's amazing how many different shades of gray I was able to find.  Honing them down to 12 prints is going to be fun. 
Take a peek at just a few of them....

 

 

 

 

Because there will only twelve crosses I would like them to play well with each other. 

Even with the severe storms we've been having it's wonderful to have the warmer days and watch everything spring back to life.

Thanks for stopping in.......Barb

MAKING PROGRESS

Square by square the Bee quilt is taking shape.  I've come to the point that I have to wait for more fabric to arrive.  After tracking my package this morning I found out it should arrive tomorrow.

The top half is done and I have a start on one bottom section.  Here it is ~~~~

 

 

Except for being short on fabric this has been a fun project so far.  I'm very comfortable working from a chart, a holdover from my x-stitching days.  My mind is wandering to what I'll make next.  Don't we always do that as quilters?

Thanks for checking on me......Barb

THE BEE QUILT

I fell in love with a pieced bee quilt several months ago and did something I rarely do, I bought a quilt kit. I'm finding that I'm short on some fabrics and the instructions say to rip apart scraps for making other blocks.  This is cutting it a little too close for comfort.  I've already gone into my stash for substitute fabrics.  I have been able to find a fat quarter pack of  the designer fabrics, but not the solids that were also in the kit.  It's a great design and a wonderful fabric line....just not enough fabric.

On the positive side, I think I will love the quilt when it's done, as it reminds me of my granddaughter, Bree.  When Bree was small she called herself "Bee".  This is not a sophisticated quilt so I know it wouldn't appeal to Bree now, but maybe when she's a Mom she would like to have it.  That is IF I'm able to finish it.

The directions are on a graph (thankfully) and I decided I would divide the graph into quadrants so it would be easier to handle.  This is what I have so far......

Back to the drawing board ~~~~  Barb

NOD-TO-MOD QUILT DONE

Yesterday I finished hemming the binding on the Nod~To~Mod quilt I recently put together with a pack of 10" squares from  the Glimma line.  I had the fabric for about two years and decided to make a very simple quilt that would showcase the nice prints.

 

 The prints have a lot of white and I like the clean, crisp look.  It was a simple sew and my quilter Reggie did a wonderful job  bringing it to life.  The border is white and the binding is a gray geometric print.  It measures about 74"x84" and will be nice on the foot of our bed or the back of the sofa.  I would recommend this or a similar design if you have prints you would prefer not to cut up too small.

 

I hope you are making something fun for Spring/Summer. 

 

Thank you for stopping in ~~~~~   Barb

 



A BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE

We enjoyed a glorious sunrise from our front porch this morning before Jeff left for work.

Our family is safely back home after their visit with us and life is going on as usual.  My MIL was given her Orange Peel quilt while she was here.  She is not a quilter or even a quilt lover, but I think she will like it after she lives with it a while.  Blue is her favorite color and it will go well in her home.

The last side of the binding on the modern quilt will be sewn on today.  It turned out to be larger than I thought.  I think it would fit nicely on a queen bed.  Pictures will follow in my next post. 

Wishing everyone a perfect Spring day!

AN APRIL FRIDAY ~~~~

Spring is definitely springing here in the Ozarks, but it's still chilly and very windy.  Above is our weeping cherry tree before most of the blooms were blown off by high wind.  The dogwoods are beginning to bloom and in another week it will be glorious around here.

This is the weekend Jeff's Mom and Sister will be with us, actually until the middle of next week.  My MIL will be given her Orange Peel quilt that I posted pictures of before.  I hope she likes it.  Jeff will make sure she knows how much time it took to make.

I plan to bake a carrot cake and a batch of oatmeal cookies today.  I think I have a few nice meals planned and I hope we have a good visit.  They have several  other family members and friends to visit beside us. 

I should be blogging again about the middle of next week.  Take care and have a great weekend!

A SIMPLE RUNNER

After a long weekend of working outdoors I settled back indoors yesterday and stitched a few batik strips together to make a runner for the coffee table.  We bought a different table last summer and it's square, meaning I need to make a few new toppers for it!
 
I prefer simple runners with a  wide band on each end and no other borders.  It took minutes to make.  As usual my photo isn't all that good. 

 

 



The strips have been tucked away in a drawer for quite a while.  I can't even remember the fabric line.  I can say that the strips feel more like silk than cotton ~ very nice to work with.

Are you working on something special right now? 

GREAT SCOTS!

 

 

Who knew when we bought our daughter her first puppy in the 1970s I would fall love with Scotties for the rest of my life?

Yesterday I finished a little scottie quilt that I started in the 1990s.  At that time it had a black/red checkerboard border (very scottie, right?) and while it was cute enough it just wasn't fun.... so into the UFO pile it went.  It may have been my first UFO ever!
 
Fast forward to 2009 and I had the scottie top machine quilted.  I didn't like the design I chose so I picked out every stitch of the quilting and also removed the border and back into the UFO pile it went.  In late 2015 I found a happy print for a new border and back to the quilter it went....this time I was thrilled with the results.  A few hours of embellishing fun later and this was the result.  The girls have tutus, bows and some bling.  It's a funky little quilt for sure, but it evokes ever so many wonderful memories for us. 

 

 

Thank you Brandy (17 yrs), Chloe (11 yrs), Molly (14 years) and Bogey (2 yrs) for sharing your lives with us and allowing me to be your Mom.  Dottie and Olive are 8 and 6 and are doing their best to honor their ancestors.  The quilt will hang in the room where they sleep.

Warm regards, Barb