Houses…houses and more houses…

Yowzers!  It’s the LAST day of 2014!  Now how did that happen?

Seriously, as you get older, time really does seem to speed up…or is it because when you get older you are having more fun…trying to pack as much into those remaining years as is humanly possible!  Let the good times continue to roll…

Yup…life is good, at least until the back goes or those darn arthritic fingers seize up on you!  But enough about THAT!  Less talk about building houses!  These houses…wee, small houses!

The other day…OK… it was back in October (SEE WHAT I MEAN?!)…I said that I wanted to make a quilt out of these WEE HOUSES!  Several of you also expressed a desire to do so…which to me, constitutes a SEW-A-LONG!!  I told you to hurry over HERE to download your FREE patterns…I sure hope you did that because I’m not sure if they are still available!  If there is one thing that I have learned about blogland it’s~ if you see something free today and you like it, then PRINT if off immediately as it may not be available tomorrow!  Try this site…you may have to become a member…or you can try Hanne’s Quilt Corner .  Hanne is giving away the sweetest house patterns too.  She has put a strip of green fabric on the bottom of the house pattern for grass…a very nice touch!

Yesterday I took my pattern to Staples (I first tried my own personal copier but it didn’t give me the EXACT size…check this before you print off a hundred!). 

Staples gave me the exact size…I also asked them for the thinnest paper that they had…it’s almost like newsprint.  It’s also a different colour…grey like newsprint!  I am hoping it will tear easier when removing the paper from my project. (the original is on top…newsprint copies on the bottom)

Then I prepped my fabrics….blue for sky…and then greens, browns, reds and beiges for the houses.

I’m ready to roll! 

I will be setting a monthly goal for myself…something that will keep it FUN and not be too taxing (because I have other projects on the back burner!!)…I am thinking MAYBE ten houses a month.  If ten is a breeze to do in a month, I might do more…or not…This is a feel good Sew-A-Long.  You do what you can…the GOAL is to have FUN and hopefully by the end of 2015 we will have a very sweet house quilt!

Hope you can join me!  Let’s keep it simple!  Build your houses during the month ahead and then on the LAST day of the month we will SHOW AND TELL!  A few days ahead, email me and let me know that you will be sharing on your blog (that way I can provide a link to your blog)…and if you don’t have a blog, then send me a picture and I will post about it!  Simple!!

January 2015 starts tomorrow!!  On your Mark, Get SET, GO! 

HAVE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!! And Happy Building!~P

It’s all ‘bout the …loot?

Because you know I'm all about that loot,
'Bout that loot, no trouble
I'm all 'bout that loot, 'bout that loot, no trouble

So do you have Meghan Trainor’s song stuck in your head now?  I do LOVE that song…cause it gets the booty moving!  Ok…maybe her song is ‘slightly’ different but it works for us!  If you want to get the morning off right you can listen to the real song HERE…but be prepared to shake that booty…

Three bags FULL…is what followed me home after the SALES at The Fat Quarters Shop and Grand Country Quilters!

Spread out it doesn’t look like THAT much…but they are all treasures…

The bundles in the middle are Christmas fabrics bundles on for 50% off…they HAD to come home with me and in the back ground a few prints to go with two charm packs of Richmond Reds and Petite Wovens by French Generals and a big bundle of off white Minkie for more baby quilts! 

I talked about THIS QUILT back HERE…it was in the Quiltmania Nov/Dec issue and I loved it.  Well the kit was 25% off so of course that was a no brainer!  Bag ‘er up!

These homespun wovens are for the Norma Whaley Winter Wonderland Sew-Along happening on the Facebook Winter Wonderland Sew-a-long!  In real life these blues are much darker.  My camera flash picks up all the whites…

So much for the LOOT!!

Now let’s talk quilting…remember these little guys…

I bet I had 15 or 20 quilters who were keen on making these wee houses in 2015!  Well that time if fast approaching…sew…I will be talking more about these tomorrow…the last day of 2014!  You give it more thought…but let me tell you, they ARE dang stinking cute…

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Grand Country Quilt Shop…

…is a lot smaller than the Fat Quarter Shop but man, it was GOOD, REALLY GOOD!  Being smaller, I didn’t get that overwhelming feeling of where to start! 

I was greeted by this sign…a definite sign of GOOD THINGS to come!!

So pour yourself a coffee and have a little tour…

This quilt BLEW me away!!  Loved the fabric and I wasn’t surprised when they said that they were sold out of it!  I kick myself for not asking the name of the line of fabric though!  The pattern was in a modern book.

In many ways, exploring this shop is like going to a Quilt Show…Quilts EVERYWHERE…with patterns and fabric available (most of the time)!

They are having a workshop on this Norma Whaley pattern called ‘Navajo Code Talkers’…gorgeous blocks…love the way the wee blocks are intersperse amongst the homespun!

And these blocks are for another workshop on applique…looked like the starch and turn method and let me tell you, the turns were perfect!

You can tell that this is one BUSY QS…their workshop area is a feast for the eye…lots happening here!

As I stood in the classroom, I HAD to take a picture of the whole shop..small but VERY IMPRESSIVE!!  Tons of wonderful fabrics and tons of samples!

I am ‘fairly sure’ that I have this pattern!  So sweet!  Don’t you HATE it when you aren’t positive…geeze…I sure hope this isn’t a sign of things to come?!

This quilt was so pretty…like falling poinsettia leaves~

I bought the bundle of fabrics to make this quilt but the pattern was sold out.  At half price it was a steal!

I love STARS…and this one was made out of knives…Of course I looked to see how it was made…there were no drill marks that I could see, so it must be glued together!  Very effective!!

SEW sweet!!

I love that red, green and gold quilt!!

I enjoyed seeing this Christmas Wool work…I think the pattern was in the last issue of Primitive Quilts Magazine…or Quiltmania?  Regardless…LOVE IT!!  And look at that WEE little log cabin on the right…didn’t even notice it when I was in the shop!  Looks like I have to go back!! haha

This is another one that is in one of ‘those’ magazines!!  Dang cute!

And of course there are lots of examples of Primitive Gathering patterns!  Lovely!

A Cheri Payne pattern…that is wonderful made up!

And I LOVED seeing ‘Summertime’ by PG…I have the blocks all stitched, WHY haven’t I finished this one?  Maybe this is the push that I need!!

This is another PG pattern…I have those baskets and flowers all traced onto Heat and Bond Lite…ready and waiting…at home!  I LOVE the setting that the shop used!  You notice the baskets more in this version!

So…there you have it!  Now wasn’t that a wonderful shop…packed full of quilting goodness!  And no, that wasn’t a question…it’s pure FACT!

Grand Country Quilters has a blog which you can find HERE and from there you can go to their ON LINE SHOP!!  Have fun! ;o)

A lot of you were asking about the ‘LOOT’…well, like all good stories you have to have a cliff hanger…come back tomorrow and see how the story ends!

Have a Marvellous Monday and Happy Quilting!~P