Well, That's Over....

Christmas that is.   It is always a little surprising how fast the whole shabang is over after the weeks of preparation.  Fortunately, there are still lots of cookies, candy and wine to consume :)

Here are a few things that I got for Christmas.  A new sewing chair from Ikea.  I may change the cushion, but for now I like it.

A new Quilt Book.  It is good, more words than photos, but still a good additon to my collection.

Hooray!  Santa brought my custom stencils!  Here is the double baptist fan.

The basic large baptist fan.

And here is one that I designed called "wave length".   The company is adding it to their wholesale on line catalog.

They will not be offering my large fans as they said that quilt shops don't have the room to display them.  No Problem, I will be selling them here at the blog and will add the pricing and order information soon.  I also have to order more as they only sent a sample set.

Not technically a Christmas gift, but I did win an awesome give away from my friend Rachael, at Bluemountaindaisy.  Rachael's blog is always a wonderful place to visit.  Her work and style are a constant inspiration to me.  She makes beautiful things and always has wonderful photos.

I won this delightful group of kittie fabrics.  I plan to make a little Luna memory quilt from them.

She also sent this large piece of bonus fabric~  She remembered that I was really taken by the Shelburne circus exhibit a couple of years ago.  I A-dore this fabric!!  Thank you so much Rachael for a super fun surprise package.

Speaking of Luna, I made this label for my Hot Flash quilt, which included a little tribute to her.  Was a sweet visitor to the sewing room.

 I mentioned in my previous post that I made a wide binding.  It was an after thought.  Here is how I did it:  I cut 4 strips 3 1/2" and pressed it in half.  I  attached the binding in the usual way then I trimmed the backing and batting 1/2" from the edge of the binding/quilt.  It is 3/4" finished on both sides.

I have been using Sharon Schamber's method of gluing the binding down on the back side and drying it with a hot iron.  You must use school glue ONLY so that it washes out completed.  I use a spare amount a bit away from the edge that I'll be stitching.

This makes sewing the binding down a pleasure!

From my home to yours, I hope you had a nice Christmas and have a safe and Happy New Year.

See you in 2015

whole lotta nuttin'

Thank you for all the great book suggestions!

It seems we are hitting the doldrums of summer here, which is actually quite nice.  Most of my days seem to be a filled with a little of this....a little of that.... and not much.  I think they call it the dog days of summer.

I did finish designing the last two blocks of my Hot Flash quilt.  This was a bit of challenge working with all these different prints. (gosh red is hard to photograph!)

and I've been making patches for the nine patch swaps which are due here to me on October 1st.

My Sailor took part in this year's Chicago to Mackinac Island yacht race.  He was part of a 8 man/woman crew aboard Slapshot, a 135ft. J109 sailboat.  The race is 333 miles.  They started on Friday at mid-day and finished on Monday at mid-day.  They came in 5th in their class - Congrats to the Crew of Slapshot!!

I picked up this pretty plate at a flea market recently .  How could I resist red and white, transfer-ware and my new great state of Connecticut.   Love the gilded fluted edge.  $8.00

I also picked up this wonderful folk art painting.  I love the simplicity of it.  The frame is nice and plain.  It looks great in the kitchen.  $12.00

Hanna and I found these socks shopping in New Port.  We laughed so hard.  They had others with foul language.  I would have bought them all, it was hard to pick.

Tomorrow I'm off to Hershey, PA for the Quilt Odyssey show.  If you see me say hello!

What am I DOING?

Happy Friday!  I don't know how a whole week slid by.  But there it is.

I'm still pulling the rooms together that got painted but in the meantime here is what's up:

I've basted 2 more of my Hot Flash blocks.  This one has a new surprise~

I took photos outside on the front yard rock outcropping.

 It was sunny right before I got my camera and blocks, naturally.

I'm working on my doll quilt swap from Lori's blog, Humble Quilts.  Quilting little fans.

I hope my swap recipient likes it.

Spring!  Just this week I swapped out the little artificial pine trees for fresh pansies in the urns.   As usual coco is wondering what I'm doing.....

Tip of the day:  if you have these side-light windows, put your planters in front of them so you can enjoy them from the inside too.

Daffodils coming up - hooray!!

I'm working on the border of my Jubilee quit.  I haven't been quilting for about 2-3 weeks - where does the mojo go?  Hopefully I'll get back in the groove.

That's all the news I have - hope you had a good week!

Color My World!

Popping in for a "Hot Flash" update.

My little sparrow has flown into the project

Aren't they Cheeky?

Here are my first four blocks -

Here are Susan's blocks.  I love the shape of her flower.

We put them on the design board together.  They don't look as bad as I thought they would!

Hooray for Color!  The painting crew started yesterday.  It sounds and smells like progress!  Coco and I are sequestered in the basement together.  Mr. V and I usually do our own, but didn't have the ladders for this house.

I can't wait to have some color in my home!  Here are my master color lists.

Hope you are having a great (and colorful) week!

News (Hot) Flash

In the Nature of things....what comes after a Jubilee Quilt?  The Menopause Quilt!

Here is my new applique' project which I'm calling "Hot Flash" for a number of reasons, which I know you'll understand.

First block -

After the formal and technical applique on my Jubilee Quilt, I wanted something fun and easy.

Second block -

I have machine basted it, which makes it so easy to pick up and stitch.

The center is reverse appliqued to the background.

My friend, Susan is also working on a modern version of this quilt.  I'll share photos when I get some.  We have made our own patterns.

Here is the inspiration antique quilt that Susan saw at a quilt show.

I'm off to NJ for the Brownstone Quilt Show.  Hope to see some of you there!  See our Website for details.