Introductions...

May I introduce you to my version of

Simply Charming #1...

Bits 'n Pieces:

I used my pre-cut scraps

(YAY FOR SCRAP BUSTING!!!) -

I changed the pattern a little,

as I made my little quilt seven blocks long & used 3" sashing.

It finished 18" by 27".

1 1/2" squares for the four-patches

and 2 1/2" squares for the light setting triangles.

Since I have a whole box of 1 1/2" scraps,

I whipped the blocks up in no time at all.

Thanks, Terry, for sharing your finish today! and giving me the "push" I need
to try to keep up with you!!!
And,
Thanks, Darlene, for the group challenge project...
I'm starting to ROCK! :)

promises, promises

do you ever promise, in passing, a new quilt?

and the promise is to a youngster?

and in your mind, that means sometime in the next few months?

but in the little persons' mind it means tomorrow?

no matter if there were three holidays

in between the promise and tomorrow?

In between the time of my own children and grandchildren,

I had forgotten this "time/promise" thing that happens...

So, I chose some new fabrics:

two charm packs in pinks and purples,

two border fabrics, also in pinks and purples,

and a nice pink backing fabric.

Can you see the theme here?

I'm thinking some scrappy hourglass
or half-square-triangle blocks,

in pinks and purples, of course.

A couple of borders, with

the darker purple for binding,

and Voila!

Quilt - tomorrow!!!

 (or close to tomorrow :)

I got these lovely pink and purple batiks

(yes, me & batiks... two worlds that don't usually collide)

from Peggy at Connect The Blocks -

an online quilt shop.

(Peggy and I worked together back when she first moved from Texas,

and we found out that we are birthday sisters, just a couple of years apart!).

She is a Texas gal, living here in Ohio now,

and she has a wonderful online shop 
(batiks are her first love, so no repros (yet!, but I keep asking)!!!
 

Great fabrics, great prices, and her shop is

"Home of the 40" yard"!!  Isn't that a great bonus??

 After I shopped for my "promised quilt" quilt fabrics,she gifted me with this t-shirt: (and it's not even our birthday!)

 Something Peggy found while back in Houston,

last time she was there!!!

Perfect, and thank you, Peggy!,

Life IS a Stitch,

and I LOVE it!!!

OK, need to rest,
then I'm off to whip-up a promised quilt!

I need to have it finished yesterday! :)





Sally Post, Lucy Boston, the Garden, and a Club House

The last few weeks while 
recuperating from Flu York,
and online browsing,
I found another quilty project!!!

It's Sally Post! 

The Sally Post quilt is an 1854 applique beauty -

and a group of gals are doing this quilt

as a sew-along this year! 

Isn't it gorgeous??!!

 (Thanks, Karen at Log Cabin Quilter

for sharing your first block

that got me hooked on this beautiful quilt project!!!,

and for welcoming me into the Sally Post /
Prim Folk Art Quilts group!)

 (If you are interested also,
visit Karen's blog: Log Cabin Quilter - she has the info link!)

Here's me,
telling MYSELF
the reasons why
I can start
another project:

The Sally Post quilt is applique! - 

so I can do some much-loved needleturning.

It's small blocks! - 

I love small blocks.

It's ongoing! -

a block a week for the next year.

It's a free pattern! -  

just print the block templates as you need them.

And, It's a pretty laid-back group! -

 no rules, no commitment, do as many as you want!

Yeah, I know I NEED another project.

Especially another large project...

• I've just started Lucy Boston the English paper piecing beauty (goal: one block/week)
• I also have at least two, large, hand, redwork embroidery projects going- one of them the Gardener's Alphabet  by Crabapple Hill (hopefully to finish this year)
• I have quilt tops  (plural) that I've had ready to quilt for years (yes, plural, again)
• I need to do a total redo of my quilting studio (it's looking like a cave, it's so loaded with fabric/projects/scraps)
• speaking of scraps...I just got the book Simply Charming - Small Scrap Quilts of Yesteryear to use up some scraps/stash, so those little projects are on the horizon as well

But, I've decided, I like having too many projects ongoing.
It's a great feeling -

Sally and Lucy will become friends,

and then meet in the garden 

of my Gardener's Alphabet...
with their Simply Charming little quilts...

Like it's a CLUB HOUSE
in my messy quilt room!

So, Welcome 
to the club house, Sally!!

Winners & another quilt-a-long

This is what I sent to my winners from last week:

"The yellow ones don't stop" 
was a trivia question from my New York City trip -
you know...the trip THREE WEEKS AGO
 where I came back with Flu York...
I'm finished with feeling yucky-finally, mostly.  
Flu is gone, it's now just a residual bronchial happening.   
I can deal with that - drugs and more drugs.

Anyway, 'cause I was bored, 
(three weeks without leaving your house will do that)
and shopping browsing online,
I ordered this book for myself...a get-better-quick gift.

Simply Charming 

Small Scrap Quilts of Yesteryear

by Tara Lynn Darr

I also ordered a couple extra copies of this book
to send to my WINNERS!!

It's a great book for vintage, small quilt projects.

Also, since I've been bored and online,
I found a group of quilters
doing a quilt-a-long FROM THIS BOOK!!!
HERE (Kathy at Kindred Quilts)
and HERE (Darlene at Quilting Daze).

What's better than that?

A great new book 

AND 

a vintage, small quilt quilt-a-long 

at the same time!!!

So, congrats Cheryl and Terry!
I know you'll love the the book!
Just don't know if you'll love me 
for finding you a new, YEAR LONG, quilting project!!

Happy Stitching!!

Do you LUCY?

I LUCY!

It's a "playing with fabric" project!

And who doesn't love to play with fabric?

Fussy-placement and fussy-cutting -

so many options with the same fabrics!!!

English Paper pieces...

one inch honeycomb progress!

 24 pieces makes the center of one block...

Add 24 "border" pieces to each block center

to make this finished block:

I LUCY - and love it!
Yep, I love Lucy.

Patchwork of the Crosses

A Lucy Boston masterpiece!!! 

My plan?  I'm doing one block a week.

Started with the new year.

The original "Lucy - Patchwork of the Crosses"

has 56 blocks.

So, if I make a block a week for the 2013 year plus 4 more weeks,

I'd have 56 blocks by February 2014.

Each block measures about 11 1/2 inches,

making the 56 block quilt

88" by 99".

I don't know if I'll make mine with that many blocks or not.

I'm just really enjoying the process

of auditioning fabrics, hand-stitching the paper honeycomb pieces,

then whipping the honeycombs together.

Anyone else out there playing with these?

Let me know if you are...

I'm thinking that I am going to need

not only a couple of new thimbles,

but a support group by the end of the year :)

[There is a gal in Australia, HILDA, that I know has her "Lucy" ready to quilt...

She is a wonderful quilter/applique-r & so proficient!!!,

I think she shared her finished "Lucy" the middle of last November.

Her blog is Every Stitch.  If you stop by, tell her I said hello :) ]

Happy Stitching

this forth week of January!

But who's counting?!

happy Tuesday! winners, & back to stitching

from my last post,

"the yellow ones don't stop"

I had two folks answer my question before the cutoff time:

"ELF" was the answer,

so instead of just drawing one person as the winner

I'm sending both of them some quilt-y somethings!

Congrats, Terri and Cheryl!!!

I'm an ELF, the movie, fan,

and yes, I know it's silly/stupid/funny

but it makes me smile.

While I was in New York City a couple of weeks ago,

the movie scene came to mind:

Buddy the elf: "the yellow ones don't stop!"

And that made me smile!

Then I had a doorman ask me what I was smiling about,

and that made me smile more!!!

And, yes, I still am fighting FLU York;
I'm happy to report, I'm on the mend-FINALLY!
(thanks to those who've asked about my well-being)

It's been a doosey!

For fourteen days now I've felt,
 well,

like I have the flu.

(by the way:  if you feel like you have the flu, stay home!!!

My doc said this flu is contagious for 10 to 14 days!!!

and yes, I know that staying home for 2 weeks is boring,

but there are immune compromised people out there

who can't afford to contract this)
Sorry, down off the box now...

Anyway, 

Until yesterday, I didn't even stitch a single stitch!!!

Neither have I cooked! 

Now I know I was sick! -

no stitching & no cooking for two weeks!!!

Not like me.  Not like me at all.

Yesterday I felt a little more energetic,

so I grabbed my

A Gardener's Alphabet stitchery bag.

I finished the last few stitches on a few blocks... 

"Wx"-winter: just needed some berries

"Tz"-trellis: finished the zinnias' petals and french-knot centers

"Uv"-violets: needed the flowers stitched

  and

"Y"-yarrow: stitched the whole thing! (it's a small block!)

Now, I know they all need to be pressed,  
and that will come, eventually.
I'm just glad to say I'm getting back to some stitching!!

I may even cook something -

maybe tomorrow :)

Raise your hand if you LOVE

Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.!!!

*Raised hands here*

I LOVE Miss Rosie. 
Who doesn't, right?  
And, now I know - she LOVES ME TOO!!

Look at the envelope that she mailed to me:

  All those "LOVE" postage stamps are for me :)

Carrie aka Miss Rosie?
She's the creator of all those "Schnibbles" patterns.
And who doesn't love Schnibbles?
So, when I saw on her blog that she was working on a new template/pattern,
I stalked her... I admit it.

It seemed like forever, but in reality,
 it was not long at all before she offered
the pattern/template:  CRUMBLER. 

C for Carrie, R for Rosie, UMBLER for Tumbler = Crumbler :)

 I ordered multiple "Crumblers" - for Christmas gifts...
and of course, one for myself.
You have to "test" it if you gift it, is my policy :)
I had wanted to share this package when it arrived,
 but had to wait until I had gifted the contents!

Finally, here's the sharing of the package:

Hand-addressed, with a special message "do not bend",

and LOTS!!! of  L-O-V-E postage stamps!

Can you read the personal note Carrie left me within

the LOVE stamps???

"yes, yes...love you lots!

I ran out of "big" stamps and didn't want you to have to wait :)"

Have I told you  that I LOVE Miss Rosie?
Just one of the reasons why...
proof is in the picture...
she loves me lots and didn't want me to wait!

I love you, too Carrie!!! :)

And I'm lovin' the new Crumbler, too!

(I grabbed this pic from Rosie's QC as her pic was much better than mine :)

"the yellow ones don't stop"

Do you know where that quote is from?

Weekend before last, starting
Thursday 7 a.m., all Friday, and through Saturday 5 p.m.,
 another couple of friends, Sweetie and I...

embarked on a whirlwind tour...

Garment District and
Mood Fabrics

Top of the Rock

NBC studio tour,

Rockettes studio tour,

Central Park,

Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Modern Museum of Art,

Churches,

Cemeteries,

 

911 Memorial,

China Town &

Little Italy,
food, food, food,
AND
cabs and the Subway system...

Grand Central Station more than a few times!

(even at rush hour more than once).

Walked my legs off
in New York City
but loved it all the same.

Still, this country gal
is glad to be back home,
sweet home...

Ended up bringing back "Flu York"
Thank you very much NYC.
And no, Flu York is not the 'yellow ones' reference :)!

Hope your week is great -
even with the "yellow ones"!

Leave me a message
if you know the answer to where the quote:
"the yellow ones don't stop"
comes from.

I'll give a quilt-y something
to one person who knows the right answer.
[random draw on Friday evening (9 p.m. my time) Jan. 18th]

Hope your week is flu-free and
Happy Stitching!

There's a blog hop going on

with lots of fun and talent-filled blogs to visit!

SewWeQuilt! is one of the hosts

and there are great quilty projects using words!

So, guess what I found this morning?!
What's "HI" in the middle and "Round" on the ends?
O-hi-O!!!

It's MY O-H-I-O Snowmen pattern!!!

Kathy G. at Kwilty Pleasures, one of the Hop participants,

shared her hand embroidery stitchery finish:

I LOVE it, Kathy!  Thanks for sharing!!

Hop on over to Kathy's blog (on the link above),
then do the whole hop each day by visiting the SewWeQuilt! blog (link above) !
It's a great time so far!

pics are now able to be inserted into my blog after I upload Chrome)

ARRGGG!!!  Blogger is having issues today, so no pics... :(

But, hopefully tomorrow - 
O-H-I-O Snowmen!!
O-H-I-O Snowmen is 
one of MY redwork hand-stitchery patterns
and was recently shared on a Blog Hop -

Thanks, Kathy at Kwilty Pleasures!  
More tomorrow, hopefully!!!

Happy Stitching!

blessings

I love working playing at the LQS a couple of days a week.
It is a great reproduction and wool only shop
and the owners are WONDERFUL folks. 

I feel very blessed to be able to work at Good Wives Co. 

and contribute to the quilt-y-ness

in my small part of the world. 

I get to help choose fabrics,

see new products & patterns,

and

smile everyday
not only during work,

but on the drive there and back!

I have been busy this year
 at home, too, working playing 
with the long-arm quilting machine - "Big DD". 

 I just did a quick count of quilts (pictured on this blog),

and I have gotten to meander and quilt across
 +/- sixty-five.

65!!! 

Wow, I wouldn't have guessed! 

I didn't count as I stitched,

so this number is a nice surprise to me :).

  I just knew I was having fun quilting along!

 

I also am blessed with great friends...
in life and here in the world of blogville...

blog-friends I have never met, but hope that someday we might meet.

(That would be some road/boat/air-trip, wouldn't it?!)
I thank each of you for your friendships and interest.

 

Thank you to all the pattern, fabric, and notion designers/makers, too.

Your creativity helps me keep my stash growing!

SO,
A big Thank You
to everyone for a great 2012!!

My wishes to all
for great health,
greater peace and happiness,
and the greatest abundances in your lives
for this year of 2013!!!

And, finally, a few quilt photos -

the last commissioned one for 2012...

Judy's beautiful toile'-centered quilt
(that she is planning on finishing with a
scalloped border):

and a close-up of the Sashiko quilting:

 Lastly, a quilt-y finish for me:

50" x 50" farm animals for Logan

that I gifted to the latest great-nephew on Sweetie's side
(no pattern, just modified a friends' quilt finish).

Happy Stitching in 2013!