Peeling the Love...

Remember this quilt...done by friend and fellow retired teacher, Ann?  Such a happy, summery quilt!

 Well, Ann has been up to her old tricks and created this jaw dropping orange peel quilt!

 She is using scrappy blues and two different size of peels and the blocks are set on point!  Wow...it's incredible!

And LOOK at the petals in each side triangle, with one in the corner!  Seriously LOVE everything about this quilt!  Ann hit this one right out of the baseball park!
Yup, I'm Peeling the love!!  How about YOU?   Are you Peeling it too?:o))  Hey, once a Grade One teacher, always a Grade One teacher...right Ann?  Right?....

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Stitching!~P

June's Simple Pleasures are Coming Your Way...

Just a short post today to share a small finish...but a finish none the less!  

It's a wee pillow to add to the bowl to help celebrate the month of JUNE...which is just a blink away. 

 This is a Buttermilk Basin pattern...an oldie but a goodie and it's part of the 'Simple Pleasure Thru the Year' series.  You can find some of the patterns HERE.  The rest, you will have to dig for...as I said, this is an old pattern.  Don't you wish that old patterns were suddenly new again?!

I hope you have a magical Monday and Happy Stitching!~P

"Stop Me In My Tracks" off to a SLOW start!

As you know, I jumped onto the Painted Quilts Blog Sew-ALong...except they are finished making their quilt tops and I am just starting!  SEW goes the story of my life...but that's OK because I will get 'er done...maybe not in this decade but definitely the next!  :o))

I ordered the fabric from an On-line Shop...mail to Canada from the States is s-l-o-w but mail to Vancouver Island is even slower!  So there was THAT wait...then when I received the fabric I was short fabric...(I NEVER measure fabric after I buy it...but for some reason I wanted to be certain...I guess because I didn't order extra fabric...I ordered exactly what Kaaren instructed).  Dang...but the shop was great and popped the extra 1/4 yd into the mail!  NOTE to self...always measure your fabric before starting...who knew?!

So this week I got out my trusty June Tailor Ruler...the ones with the slats cut out...LOVE THIS RULER!

In a matter of minutes I had tons of strips cut out!

 I have switched over sewing machines...I am now using my Grand Pfaff 1200 for piecing and I love it...Oh man, she goes like stink!!  I means she sails through those strips in a blink!....BUT she doesn't have the 1/4" seam foot attachment...so I got out my green tape and measurement thingy...and I'll be darned if I could get a precise 1/4" all the way down that long 44" strip!!  Kaaren did highlight the part about how that 1/4" seam was SO important...just for me, I'm sure!!  So I stopped until I could get my hands on the foot!

 Saturday morning it was off to Sawyer Sewing Centre for me! OK...I stopped at a few Garage Sales along my way...!  It WAS Saturday after all!

 Yup...they had the right foot and I am now back in business!

 I now have NO EXCUSE for not making perfect 1/4" seams!...Or if a needle should break... or if I don't have an empty bobbin to fill...or if I run out of thread!

Guess what I'll be doing today...and tomorrow?:o))

Have a sunny Sunday and Happy Stitching!~P

Finishing it Off Friday...

I SPY a finished quilt sitting on my floor!  

With plenty of time before it goes out the door!

Complete with label and minky on the back...making this quilt not only fun but cozy too!

 It's going to look great spread out on the birthday boy's bed...

 I SPY lots of fun to be found up ahead....even if the quilt is upside down...oops!

 And this modern quilt just came off the frame!  Such a relief to get this one another step closer to being finished...it's to be gifted next month at a graduation party for a special girl!  It's the Moda Love pattern (found on Moda Bakeshop Blog) and the fabric is Tula Pink's 'Chipper'.

 I will show it one more time sporting binding and a label...

Till then...

I hope you have a 'Finishing It  Off' kind of Friday too...and Happy Stitching!~P

Sweet...Sweet Memories!

Well...and I say this with a heavy heart... next month is going to be a SAD month for me and many, many other quilters!  The Country Loft Quilt Shop in LaMesa, CA is closing its doors for the last time.....Oh man...paste on that sad face!

The owners of the shop have decided to retire...and as much as I am sad about the shop closing, I am happy for them because retirement is out of this world FUN!! Imagine pouring your morning coffee...and not having to think about rushing out the door to work....YOU get to play all day IF YOU WANT TO...and that happens EVERY DAY!! How could I begrudge that to anyone?!  So I wish Kathy and Sharon (and her hubby) well and thank them for my many visits!

Meet Kathy...she was there to greet me and give me the royal treatment!  Happy retirement, Kathy!

                                 
I consider myself very fortunate to have visited this shop six times...and once at Christmas!! Talk about mind blowing experiences!!  What a shop it was!  One of the best quilt shops on the PLANET!!  And I am sincere when I say that!  I remember THAT FEELING upon entry to that shop...you know...when your heart beats so fast that you think you may be having 'the big one' but then realize that you don't REALLY care because you would be 'going out' happy...clutching that sweet bundle of wool and stack of patterns! haha Yup...it was here that I discovered Cheri Payne, JoAnn Mullaly and Kathy Cardiff!!  All designers extraordinaire!!  To see their quilts hanging was such a THRILL! I even got to meet JoAnn and Kathy!  What a thrill THAT was!

Here's a little sampling...the table as I entered the shop!!  Oh my...

Wools and every thread imaginable!!  And LOOK at the Kathy Cardiff patterns at the top of the picture!!  SWOON!

I was lucky enough to take my woolie friends Glynis, Claire, Sandy and Barb...and they all agreed that it was THE BEST shop EVER!

 I got to see Kathy Cardiff's 'Where the Cows Come Home' up close and personal!  And then Kathy ended up gifting me the BOOK so that I could make a Barn Quilt of my own!  I am planning on finishing this quilt off in June...to commemorate the Country Loft!

                                         
If you aren't familiar with the Country Loft Quilt Shop then you need to visit...through my pictures!!  Seriously there is nothing like it....

Go HERE to see my first visit to Country Loft...and meet JoAnn!!

Go HERE  and Here to experience 'my first time'!  Yes, it took me two days of blogging...to describe the experience...it was THAT good!!

My LAST visit is HERE...but be prepared for the UGLY CRY at the end...

If you want to experience my other other visits..(and they were equally as good)...then just go to the SEARCH BOX on the right hand of my Side BAR (bottom of the page) and type in 'The Country Loft'...but first pour yourself a coffee! You will be there for a good section of the day!  Let's hope that you are retired because you will be late for work if you're not!!

SO HAPPY RETIREMENT, SHARON AND KATHY AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HELPED TO MAKE THIS SHOP SUCH A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!  I know that this Canadian Snowbird will never EVER forget it...Ok...now comes the UGLY CRY...

                                                      
Seriously...it's a  happy cry!  It really is....

Have a Wicked Wednesday and Happy Stitching!~P

PS...I wonder if their on-line shop will remain open?  There maybe hope...Check it out HERE!  But better order NOW...you never know...they might really like this retirement gig!

Under The Stars...DONE!

I blogged about this mat a couple of days ago...a UFO that had been gathering dust and was now finished... and  I was trying to figure out what to do with it?  Mat?  Pillow?  Wall hanging? 

Well....(she says with a smirk...:o)...  I found this old, long, skinny, FRAMED mirror in the garage...

I put it on the floor of my sewing room so that I could take a picture of it for my 'BEFORE' the make-over picture....  (Don't you love my new iPhone cover...stitched clam shells...It's reflected in the mirror!  I digress....)

I put the mat on top...EUREKA..it just fit!

I popped the mirror out and used it as a template to draw the shape onto a thin piece of wood, making it nice and easy for Hubby to cut it out for my new frame backing.

 The frame was dull looking so to spruce it up, I put two coats of clear Danish Oil on it. Oh, man I love this stuff!  Gives it a nice rich glow!  Then, while the frame was drying, I put wee dots of Weldbond Glue on the  backing wood to adhere my mat to and let it dry.  (I used books to weigh the mat down so it wouldn't wrinkle while drying).  When both were dry, I popped the mat/board into the frame, then I pounded some "U" brackets into the groove on the back to hold everything in place.  Done!

Cost of frame...$4!

 A finished UFO...priceless! haha

Here it is sitting on the piano waiting for a place to hang...That's the hard part...where to hang it?... Or maybe it will rest here for a while...it's not like anyone around here plays the piano...that is until the girls come home!

This was a 'Piece of Work' design called 'Under the Stars"!  I'm loving it!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Stitching!~P

This and That...

I forgot to show you my finished "Log Cabin Christmas" by Cheri Payne...and she has been hanging for ages.  (The picture that is...not Cheri!:)

Although the name of the pattern is "Log Cabin Christmas" I tweaked it by turning the holly into ordinary leaves...so now I call her "Log Cabin Anytime of the Year".

 And some close-ups....

                           

And my friend, Delores has finished her dining room runner...just in time for Summer...

It's like a ray of sunshine!!  Thanks for sharing, Delores!

That's it for another week!  Yowzers...June will be here before we blink...and another Season will be upon us shortly!  Are you ready for the dog days of Summer?...I know Rylie is! :o)))

Have a sunny Sunday and Happy Stitching!~P

Keep on Trucking...

I seem to be mad for Vintage Trucks these days...Look at what was spotted over at Bear Creek Quilting Company... Is it me...or do these Vintage Trucks keep cropping up...all over the place?!

This fabric is called 'Holiday Traditions' by Jan Shade Beach for Henry Glass and Co!  Wouldn't it have been perfect as the backing on these runners?  

Well it's too late for these runners...BUT not for the quilt that is still in bits and pieces that has MY name on it!  See it pays not to finish things right away!

And look at what followed me home the other day...Yup...I have vintage, rusty trucks on the brain!

                                               
Come Christmas I will tie on some of those vintage bottle brush trees and put it on that FINISHED Buttermilk Basin Vintage Tree Farm Quilt and it will look PERFECT!!

And above the quilt, I will hang this picture...

This was found in the after Christmas Sales section for 75% off at our local garden Nursery!  Yup...I have got to garden more often! :o))

Speaking of PERFECT...if you 'do' Instagram, then head on over to #Buttermilk Basin's IG...OMGosh!  You should see Stacy's newest projects that she has just unveiled in Salt Lake City at Quilt Market!  Talk about a vintage Truck fest!  I am in trucking heaven!!  Man, she is one talented designer! She keeps pumping them out at a rate faster than any gas pump that I have ever been to!  How to keep up...?  I guess we will just do our best to keep truckin' along.... :o)))

Have a SWEET Saturday and happy Quilting!~P

UFO (almost) Busted...

I just finished stitching "Under the Stars" by 'A Piece of Work'!!  YAYYYY!  This has been in a tote for a couple of years now...not long by UFO standards but still...long enough!

So I now have a dilemma of sorts....should I turn it into a mat...or frame it... or turn it into a couch  pillow?  Ahhh.. the decisions of a a quilter!  :o)))  Problems like this, I LOVE!!

                           
This...pillow/mat/picture... is going to make a wonderful Fall accessory, sporting all these lovely Fall colours!

 The pattern and wool were gifts from a fellow woolie...and I LOVE THEM!  SEW...why was it in a tote so long?....  Fifty lashes with a wet piece of wool for me!!

If I was a good blogger, I would have pressed this mat...but you get what you get!  I will have it all pressed for the final reveal...I promise!

SEW...while I mull this over....check out what arrived in the mail yesterday!!  Finishing only UFOs would turn me into a VERY dull girl...so I am jumping on Kaaren (Painted Quilt's Blog) and making her 'Stopped Me In My Tracks' quilt...because frankly 'it stopped ME in my tracks'!

Isn't it pretty...yes, it's the same fabric that Kaaren is using...Thimbleberries fabric (ordered from Missouri Star)!  I say, why mess with a good thing!  I see cutting in my future...lots and lots of cutting!!   Where is 'Edward Scissorhands' when you need him? :o))

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Stitching!~P