She's a STAR!

NOW...I'm not quite sure of the whole story...but somehow Hazel got her hands on a bag full of diamond cut blocks...they were either on the Share Table or someone gave them to her....! 

 Regardless, Hazel took them home, played around with them...and came up with this Star Medallion QUILT.  She had it together in no time, put it on her quilting frame and then beautifully machine quilted it and ....

 ...then DONATED it back to Heritage Quilter's Guild to be used as a Charity Quilt!

What a gal!  What a trouper!  What a quilter!  What a quilt...What a border!

I love a happy ending, don't YOU?!  Thanks for sharing, Hazel!  You are one in a medallion!

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Stitching!~P

SEW...Better late, than never...

What kind of a mother am I?!  I should be flogged with a wet Jelly Roll....I am such an terrible mother!  I forgot to brag..errrr...I mean...I forgot to show you what my quilting daughter, Erin, has been up to.  I took these pictures while in her Calgary home and then forgot to share them with you!  I was going through my iPhone pictures and came across them...pictures of the quilts that are laying around my quilting daughter's house!

SEW...better late than never...

I love this chair...it's Lola's chair...Lola is Erin's golden-doodle pup!  It's pushed into a corner, in front of  a window on their sun-porch....so that Lola can curl up in it, enjoy the rays and yet keep an eye on the neighbourhood! It's her favourite place to 'hang' and I can't blame her... such a pretty quilt by Jaybird designs!  A quilt fit for a Queen...as in Queen Lola!

 Erin 'found' this antique quilt at an Estate Sale....it's gorgeous draped over her white leather couch...but I had to spread it out for full inspection!  I love that Erin appreciates the history behind quilts...and loves the old, as well as the new!

 In Erin's sewing room she has several small wee quilts hanging.  Some she made and others she received in Quilt Swaps!  Here is a glimpse at some of them...

I love how all of these quilt seem to go together!  

 This is the beginning of her antique scissor collection...LOVE THEM!

Aren't these sweet!

And more!  Love the tulips!

Erin attended Quilt Con, in Pasadena, CA in February and took three workshops...one from Carolyn Friedlander....This was a postcard that was part of the kit that she received.  She had Carolyn sign it and then framed it on top of a piece of Carolyn's fabric!  Such a nice keepsake of her FIRST Quilt Con!!

And this was on Erin's design wall...she is practicing her bias making skills and applique skills....

                                                
This quilt top is in the making and was part of another workshop that Erin took while at Quilt Con....tackling the dreaded "Y" seams!

 And her shelf on the chevron wall...

I have to show you Erin's silver plated tray collection....she is always on the look-out for small and unique trays....which means thrift shops finds!  Yup...a chip off the ol'block!

                                                

I forgot to take pictures of Erin's Carolyn Friedlander project...so that will have to wait till next time...if I remember! :o}}

Now, if you will excuse me,  I have to dry out that wet Jelly Roll...good thing it's a sunny day!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Stitching!~P

Stopped Me In My Tracks...

Have you been over at the Painted Quilt Blog recently?  Well if you have, you would have found Kaaren rolling around on this quilt...OK... right now, that roll is in her mind!  She stumbled over this quilt and now wants to host a.... SEW-A-LONG to make this quilt! 

I love the name that Kaaren picked for this quilt...She is calling it the "Stopped Me in My Tracks" quilt...haha...which is EXACTLY what happened to me!  Before I read what Kaaren wrote, this quilt literally stopped me in my tracks!  

I confess...I have wanted to make a yellow and white quilt forever...ever since I saw one in a vintage/antique quilt show at the Parksville Quilt Show!  

I found this picture on Pinterest...but it was VERY similar to the one that stopped me in my tracks!

So unlike Kaaren, I am not rolling around on the bed, I am JUMPING on the bed!  I say BRING IT ON, Kaaren!!  

How about YOU...care to take the plunge?!!  Do a little jumping of your own?  Come on, you know you wanna...

Now I need to find me some yellow fabric...which isn't the easiest task...I want the PERFECT yellow fabric because it has to be a buttery...melt in your mouth... yellow!  Go over to Kaaren's and sign up for the Stopped Me in My Tracks Sew-A-Long...and then drool over her new Thimbleberries-Melt-In-Your-Mouth yellow fabric!  It's perfect!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Stitching!~P

I Spy...Progress!

SEW...what do you think?  I finished the "I Spy' topper...and decided a name at the top was in order.  I have a book of letters...SOMEWHERE...but of course when you NEED something it always goes into hiding!  So I drew my own letters...positioned them at the top of the quilt, in the middle...then moved them to the side...UGH!  The letters were too small!
                                              
I kept the M the same size but made the lower case letters much larger...

 SEW much better, don't you think?

I will buy some matching thread today and machine applique the letters down and then it's ready for quilting! (happy dance!!)

 Mason's birthday is in June...so I am ahead of the game!  The quilt turned out much bigger than I thought it would...but then...it IS a BIG BOY'S quilt!  I Spy some fun happening with this quilt!

More importantly, I Spy a new project looming in my future!!  YIPPEE!!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Stitching!~P

Here a Stitch...There a Stitch...

Marie, a blog reader and woolie extraordinaire, sent me a picture of her current handwork project...proving once again that, here a stitch, there a stitch...you gets 'er done! This was a project that Marie worked on every Tuesday and Thursday, for two hours, as a hand stitching project.  (I'm thinking she is doing something else at this time...visiting a friend, watching a TV Show, or riding in a car or maybe attending a guild meeting?)  Whatever she is doing, it doesn't matter...what matters is, that her hands kept busy and she was able to eventually get a quilt top DONE!

Marie confessed to tweeting the pattern to this 'Autumn Quilt' by Heart to Hand as she wanted to make it more her own.

It is absolutely gorgeous!  Well done, Marie!  And now it's onto the borders for her...and rest assured, we KNOW that Marie will eventually 'get 'er done'!!  Here a stitch...there a stitch...:o))
Thanks for sharing, Marie!

Have a Sunny Sunday and Happy Stitching!~P

The BOMS are the Bomb!

The Buttermilk Basin 'Let it Snow Mystery Bom' blocks for this month are prepped and ready for stitching...

Block four...

 This has got to be one of the cutest BOMS EVER!

Block Five..

 This is guess work as to how the layout might be...remember it's a mystery....

I have also prepped and started stitching blocks five and six of Linen Closet's Mystery Basket BOM...

 Another VERY sweet BOM...

What about YOU?  Have you started your BOM Blocks yet?  If not...you can find the free patterns to these BOMS HERE, for the 'Let it Snow' and HERE, for the Baskets!

Thanks sew much, Stacey and Dawn!  I am having way too much fun with these blocks!!  You have got to admit that these BOMS are the bomb!

Have a super Saturday and Happy Stitching!~P

Glynis' Show and Tell...

As you all know, there are no flies on Glynis!  And as you ALSO know, whenever you see Glynis' name, you KNOW that you are in for some serious EYE CANDY!  Just look at her latest creations....

Bottom...

This is the latest FREE BOM from Cheri and it is gorgeous!  

...middle...

 Cheri's FB page, called 'Quilts by Cheri~A Friendship Group', is where to find it!  I have to tell you, before joining this group, I was not 'really' a FB person but I am REALLY enjoyed this group!

...Top!

Cheri wrote about how to join her Face Book group on her Blog yesterday...even for those quilters who don't like or 'do'  FB and don't want an account in their name.  You can read about it HERE.  Seriously if you love Cheri' Patterns, then you will love this group!

Anyways...Glynis finished her top...and it is just wonderful!  But let's not stop there...

Glynis also finished this wonderful Kathy Schmidt project....these embroidered blocks have been her 'car' project and her Heritage project for awhile now.  Here a stitch, there a stitch, they all add up to be something petty special!

 I just love this wee mat...the blocks are small and according to Glynis, fast to stitch up!

Yup...this quilt gets the 'dang-stinking cute' label!  Thanks SEW much for sharing, Glynis!  It's always fun to show your 'work'!

Well this week sure got away from me...I actually had to go to the computer calendar to see what day it was!  Ahhh yes, the retired life!  It's FRIDAY?!  Another week just flew by!
As I mull that one over, I want YOU to have a the best FUN Friday EVER and Happy Stitching...remember here a stitch, there a stitch, it all adds up to be something pretty special!!~P

The (NEW) Loot...

SO while in Calgary last weekend, I was lucky enough to go to THREE Quilt Shops...

Along Came Quilting....

My Sewing Room...

 And my personal favourite...Out of Hand.  The others were nice but 'Out of Hand' had everything...literally EVERYTHING!
                                      
Every kind of thread known to mankind, buttons, ribbon, wool, wool pattern and wool threads!

 Valdani of every colour...

 Yup..'Out of Hand' is a bit out of hand...but in a good way!  Look at the Diamond Textile/Daiwabo fabrics!!  LOVE!!

 Modern fabrics and all the latest lines, Civil War, even Homespuns and Liberty floral!

 They have all the Quiltmania Magazines...modern and vintage...old and new copies!

 And YES, you have to dig but what quilter doesn't like to dig if the end result is the perfect pattern/book/thread or fabric!

 They have tons of wool...tons!

 So soft and pretty...

And the ladies who work there are VERY friendly, knowledgeable and fun!  I even bumped into a blog reader, ANITA!  "HI ANITA from Calgary!"  It's always nice to meet an old friend!

 SEW...what did I buy...wool threads, the book~ 'Farm Girl Vintage', an older Simply Vintage (one that I missed), some red striped homespun, muslin, and a layer cake roll of Tula Pink's Chipper and matching grey Kona Cotton.  I know what you're thinking...Farm Girl Vintage and Tula Pink!  She's gone over to the wild side!  Nope, NEVER!! haha The Tula Pink Fabric is for a quilt that will be a graduation gift and it needs to be modern and fresh for a young woman!  And I have to admit this fabric is all of that!  The Farm Girl Vintage blocks are just plain FUN!  Have you seen the lamb, cherries and strawberry blocks? Dang cute and would be perfect in a picnic quilt or even a baby quilt!

Nothing terribly exciting... but I am happy with my purchases!  I have to confess, Erin and I hit 'Out of Hand' twice...once on Friday and once on Saturday!  It's that kind of store! :o))

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

The LOOT!

Whenever I am blog surfing and spot titles like 'Thrift Shop Finds', 'At the Antique Mall' or 'Garage Sale Loot', I get excited!  I hear myself say (often out loud) "SCORE!" or "Yes! Good find..." or "Put it back and walk away..." but then I remind myself that, one (wo)man's junk is another (wo)man's treasure!

So let me show you the loot acquired this weekend...first from the Quilter's Garage Sale that was held in Calgary this weekend and the new stuff from the 'Out of Hand Quilt Shop'.

So a bit of background on the Garage Sale...the Ujamaa Grandmas of Calgary host this GS,  raising money to help the African Grandmas who are bringing up their grand-kids after their parents died from Aids or War.  They raise a ton of money throughout the year and one of the ways is by having this annual Fabric Garage Sale! (Last year they raised $38,000 just on the GS!)  You can read more about their fund raising HERE...and let me tell you, it's pretty impressive!

This is the Ujammaa Grandmas' 9th Annual Garage Sale.  My new to quilting daughter, Erin attended last year and she was VERY impressed!  She told me the secret to success was to get their early.  Well isn't that my motto..."THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE FAT QUARTER"!  We arrived an hour and 45 minutes before opening...and got in line.  The line was fairly long by that time but by opening it was way down the block and then snaked around a corner into infinity!  YIKES!!  We were numbers 120 and 121 going through the church doors...they allowed only 200 quilters through the doors first!  We made it!

 Do you see the lady in red right in the middle. We were standing right in that mix...

When we left the church (with our loot) the line was the same!  So getting there early was key!

My head is hanging in SHAME...my mind turned to mush upon entry to the facility!  I have NEVER seen so much quilting stuff!  FABRIC, and notions... kits, and patterns and books...piles and piles and piles of it!  The main room was wall to wall tables and was stacked with random fabric just like in this picture (taken from Ujamaas Website)!  Seriously...I found this room to be too much and didn't look at any of it! It was just too overwhelming!  Apparently there was wool in these piles...it was trying to find it!  All fabric in this room was $1 a metre (39") so if you found any, it was a steal!

Off this huge room there were other rooms with big signs over the doors.  The Quilter's Fabric room is where we headed first..then to the Quilt Kits Room (we decided this is the room to start in next time!!), then Notions, Crafts, Knitting, Home Decor and upstairs we found books ($1each), magazines and patterns (5 for $1).

 A close up....I was very selective and didn't buy all that much...

 A lovely piece of taupe linen for stitcheries...bundle of neutrals...and I love that sweet bundle of reds...and some homespuns:o))

At the top of the pile is a lovely huge piece of green wool...I did a happy dance when I spotted that for $5!

 Books....some oldies but goodies!

And a whack of patterns...the ones that I won't use will go to friends or the Share Table at Heritage.

                                       

So there you have it!  

Yikes...this took longer than I thought...maybe because I savoured each and every picture!  See those patterns...I found most of them while lying on my belly, looking through boxes that were under tables!  So worth it!  Yup...I had some bonding moments with two quilters from Calgary while under those tables! :o))

SEW...I am going to have to leave the NEW stuff for tomorrow! Hope you can stand the wait! haha  I have errands to run and the morning is half over!

Have a wicked Wednesday and Happy Stitching!~P