Sending Love Lucy's Way

I love making quilts, and I love my family.  So when Lucy was visiting recently, I had to give her a little quilt love.

After looking at all the quilts I had to "give away" she picked this one.

The cardinal fabric on the border is still one of my favourite fabrics.  This quilt was a mystery quilt that I taught a couple of years ago.  I can remember where I bought each of the red fabrics in the quilt.  Just don't ask me what I had for supper yesterday. LOL!

And of course, here are this weeks hexagons.  I decided the quilt needed a little red in it so I went hunting through my stash of batiks to come up with some.

 

You'll Never Guess......

You will never guess where my farmer's wife blocks are this week.  The Checkerboard and Churn Dash blocks snuck into someone's suitcase and went for a grand adventure.

Ken and Patricia went on a cruise starting in Chile, sailing around the tip of South America and back up to Brazil.  Along the way they took these pictures for me.

The blocks are hanging out, literally, at Iguassu Falls, Brazil.  Doesn't Patricia make a great quilt block model?  When my quilt is done it should be one of the most travelled quilts around.  Thanks Ken and Patricia for the pics!

Betty's 3 D Quilt

Betty's version of this quilt pattern by Jenny Rofe's is exquisite.  The three dimensional appliqué is one that I hadn't seen before on a quilt and I was quite taken by it.

Betty complained that some of the appliqué wasn't perfect.  Looked pretty darn good to me and I look at it a lot closer than most when quilting it.  It was a joy to have this quilt in the house, and I certainly had a hard time letting go of it.  What a treasure!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Happy Thursday!

Well, the sun is shining and I'm having a great day.  Hope you are too!

It's hard to believe that it is week 8 of the Hex-a-thon.  Where does the time go?  Once again I did a little fussy cutting.  I love the hexagon blue fabric around the dinosaur.

If you remember a while back I showed you a jelly roll and background fabric of brushed cotton.  It was calling to me and I just had to take it home.  This is what it became.  A double pinwheel baby quilt.

Of course I used the Easy Angle Ruler for this one.  I sewed a feature strip and a background strip together then used the Ruler to cut 8 units with the strips right side up, and then 8 units with the strips wrong sides up.

Pair up the Easy Angle units up as shown above and then sew your two squares together.  I cut 2 1/2" squares from a feature strip for cornerstones and cut 2 1/2 x 8 1/2" background fabric pieces for the sashing.  A 2 1/2" border of background fabric all around, and it's done.

I think this pattern would be great done with a Bali Pop.  Oh if only there were more hours in a day.

A Postie Sunday

This week my Farmer's Wife blocks when to a Postie Quilting Sunday.  A group of Postie friends (and assorted others) get together at the local quilt shop and for a great day of sewing, eating and friendship.

They looked pretty lonely on the wall so a few of their friends joined them.

Donna's admiring some of Joanne's lovely work!

Wanda was pretty pleased with herself for getting this top together.  It is to be a raffle at an upcoming family reunion.  What a lucky family.

Everyone took a break for a minute and posed for a group shot.  I can hardly wait for our next Postie Day!

Another week of Hexagons

I would like to welcome all those who are visiting from Carla's Blog.  I hope you poke around a little to see what I've been up to.

This is the time of the week that I like to show this weeks Hexagons from Katja's Hex-a-thon.

With the nice big centre diamond I decided to feature a hummingbird in one and a flower in the other.

Now for some more hexagons!

This quilt I call Birds in Grandmother's Garden.  The block consists of four Birds in Air block pieced together and then a flower appliquéd in the centre.  To quilt the block I quilted in the ditch for the piecing, 1/4" from the seam on the hexagons and then a feather to fill in the area around the hexagons.

This quilt featuring more 30s reproduction prints is a pattern from the book Scrap Basket Surprise.  I quilted this with overall hearts on the 30s fabric and then a rose in the centre.

Both of these quilts were made as samples for Katja's.  After some time all my quilts get to come home.  I'm so happy to have these two home as they are a couple of my favourites.  After they visit with me for a while, I will have to find them a forever home!

Shopping Spree at Nee Nee Girl's

Nee Nee Girl's Yarn Shop in the Falkland Store is the sweetest little yarn shop you will find anywhere in BC.  Now that I know it is there, it is mandatory that my car pulls in whenever we are passing by.  This past weekend was no exception.

The wool is the most delectable merino silk blend.  So soft and adorable.  Don't know what I will make with it, I just had to have it.  The Tatting book was a nice surprise.  It is hard to find tatting patterns so whenever I see a book I don't have I just have to buy it.

So I know you are all thinking Tatting, has Linda lost her mind.  The answer is no.  Years ago I met a woman selling tatting in the mall.  I had her show me the secret to tatting.  And yes, I'm talking about tatting with a shuttle.

I made a few items, most of which I gave away.  I just couldn't part with this sweet little angel.  Some day I will get back to tatting, so in the mean time I have to collect as many patterns as possible.  LOL!

A Coffee Cozy Surprise

Barbara did it again.  She showed up at my house with the cutest surprise.

Coffee cozies for both Doug and I.

Doug couldn't wait to try it on a Starbucks cup.  He ran out to his work truck to get his thermal cup and tried the cozy on for size.

Barbara is selling these to raise funds for the MS Walk.  If you are interested please email me and I will put you in touch with her.

I just finished quilting this adorable little baby quilt for a friend.  A great idea for a quick gift. She took a panel that was a book, cut the pages out, added sashing to each page and then a border to the whole thing.  Something I'm sure most quilters could whip up in an afternoon.

Have a great Valentine's Day everyone.  Hugs to all!

Farmer's Wife Blocks 15 & 16

My Buzzard's Roost and Calico Puzzle blocks went on a small trip this weekend.  On the way to visit my Dad for his birthday we stopped to take a few pictures at a place that brings back a lot of great memories for me.

If you grew up in the area you might recognize these doors.

Any ideas yet?

This is St. Luke's Church and Cemetery in Westwold.  This building holds a lot of great memories for me.  One of the last alone times I had with my Grandma King was in this building attending a Harvest Fair service.  My Grandma was a farmer's wife and I'm sure would of agreed with a lot of the letters in the book.

Grandma spent most of her life in Westwold and here is where she lies for eternity.

Now for someone else's farmer's wife blocks.

Once again Linda's blocks are hanging around the house.  They really need to get out for a little adventure!  Thanks for sharing them with us all.

A few thoughts!

My first thought is how easy this weeks hexagon was.  I made three the same because I got a little carried away cutting, so.....

Sorry about not cropping the picture.  Didn't realize I hadn't until I posted.

Now for another thought that had been driving me crazy.  When all the Swoon blocks first started cropping up in blogs I was certain I had made this block before.  I found out that the block is a Carpenter's Wheel block, which didn't help me figure out when I had made this block.  Then Carol brought me this quilt to quilt.

The centre is the mystery block.  HaHa.  I have it.  I made this block years ago while participating in a Quilt Sitter's Circle challenge, just like Carol had.  We won't say how long ago this challenge was but some of you might not of been born yet!  Mystery solved.  Apparently everything that is old is new again.

As some of you may know, I have a few Bali Pops hanging around.  I was cruising some blogs a few days ago and came across this tutorial that I might just have to make.  Check it out and let me know if you like it.

Now my last thought is how many people are still reading at this point of the post.  I try to keep the posts short because I know I have a short attention span, and wonder if you do to.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

Farmer's Wife Blocks 13 & 14

Where do you think the buckwheat and Butterfly at the Crossroads blocks are this week?

Does this help?  They are sitting on The Spirit of Haida Gwaii statue in the International Terminal building at the Vancouver airport.  If you would like more info on this beautiful piece of art click here.  Once again thank you to Noeline for taking my blocks in her suitcase.

These two blocks belong to Linda (yes the Linda that won the giveaway.)  Blocks 8 and 18 have never looked so good!

Maxine on Super Bowl Sunday

Today is the day all quilters wait for.  The men folk are all obsessing over super bowl, so we have the day to sew.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

And the winners are........

I decided I would let the random generator on my phone pick the winners while I was having tea at the local quilt shop.  I had the two most honest women I know be the scrutinizers. Thanks Marie and Sonja.  The winner of the Bali Pop is Linda Reid who had posted that she would share her prize with Barb.  I'll be checking in with Barb to make sure she does.  The fat quarters go to Sophie who has her location as "deep in the heart of Texas."  Congratulations to both winners and a big thank you to all of you who participated in the draw!!!!!!

Now while I was at Katja's these gems somehow managed to come home with me.

The jelly roll is Grow With Me by Deb Strain, Katie Spain & Arrin Turnmire.  I have an idea for a sweet baby quilt and since a couple of sweet babies are expected to join the family this year, I had better get off the computer and get sewing!  Have a great weekend everyone.

Still Hexing along

I decided I had better start sewing some of my hexagons together so that at the end of the year I'm not overwhelmed by the task.  This week's block was fun to colour differently to create blocks that looked very different from each other.

These are the tools I'm using that may be a little different from what you have used for english paper piecing.  Following advice from Sue Daley I am glue basting the fabric to the papers. Sue uses silk finished papers.  I am using regular card stock and the glue releases just fine. The thread I am using is Superior Threads bottom line 60wt polyester.  It comes in the Super Bob donut preloaded with a variety of colours.  Sue had recommended this thread.  I was a little sceptical until I tried it.  I love it.  The fine thread sinks nicely into the fabric making my stitches ALMOST invisible.  The circular cutting mat is made by Sue's company and is the perfect size to hold on my lap for cutting and glueing the fabric.

Katja carries most of these supplies, or you can ask your local quilt store to order them in for you if you don't live in the Kamloops area.

I have just linked up to Lily's Fresh Sewing Day.  If you are visiting from there, welcome.  So what have I been sewing lately besides my Hexagons and Farmer's Wife?

I am playing with some 30s fabric and Dresden Plates.  I have the borders, quilting and binding to go yet so I will show you the whole thing when I'm done.

I just finished quilting this sweet little quilt for Carla.  Pop on over to her blog to check out the finished quilt.

Last but not least, don't forget to enter my Bali Pop giveaway on last Thursday's post.  The draw is on Friday.  I am so excited by all your lovely comments.  I can hardly wait to see who wins.
If you are commenting as anonymous make sure you give me your name if I know you personally, or give me your email address if I have yet to meet you!