Friday, August 29, 2014

No Homes in This Tree

As Laurie and I were hiking Oyster Dome I told her I'd have to make a mini quilt to commemorate our hike. I even picked the fabric at Two Thimbles Quilt Shop after hiking.  I knew right away I'd be making TWO quilts. One for me and one for Laurie. I've never made a tree of life quilt so finding a workable pattern was a challenge
Here is the one I kept for me. I machine quilted both of them.
I had a bit of a size issue when assembling it. 

Oops! Once for a swap I always regretted sending my humble little quilt with funky unmatching seams so I knew I would keep this one.
I changed patterns and this one added a little triangle at the base of the tree. It was kind of confusing so I machine appliqued it down. 


But I think it turned out really cute.

Fun memories with a new friend.

If you have your eagle block done and do not have a blog please send me a photo and I'll post Sept 1, which is Monday.  Let's go ladies!!

Have an awesome weekend!






Wednesday, August 27, 2014

A Peek into Linda's Sewing Room

 Here is more fun and inspiration from blog reader, Linda. She obviously loves horses!
I adore the posters behind the ironing station.




 Isn't that fun?! I love where she protects (and hides) her stash!  Thanks Linda for sharing your room with us!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Flags of American Revolution Quiltalong


This great old quilt doesn't have one flag in it, but because we are working on our center eagle I'd share this photo from the quilt index. 

Anna Catherine Hummel Markey Garnhart was known to have made at least 11 quilts including a crib quilt, a quilt owned by the Pioneer Museum in Oklahoma, and one still in a private collection. She lived her entire life in Frederick County, Maryland.

The month is winding down. How are you coming on your center eagle? Several of you have done the stars around the eagle too- no problem, I'll start mine soon. I do plan on putting 13 stars instead of 12 for the 13 original American Colonies.

If you are sewing along and do not have a blog send me a photo and I'll post it here. If you have a blog,  post your eagle center on Sept 1st. I thought Monday the 1st would be a great day to reveal our first month's work. 
I have a photo of Terry's block and DarLynn's block. 

Happy Tuesday! Fall is in the air here in Central Oregon. I'm having to wait for it to warm up a bit before going out on my early morning run. I'm always sad to see summer go, but this year I'm looking forward to fall more than usual.


Monday, August 25, 2014

Labor of Love


 I finished this shirt quilt this weekend and presented it last night. 

Quilt started HERE.  Continued HERE along with back story.

I finished the binding while out camping and thought it was a great setting for a photo.



It was a lot of mental work and was thrilled with the outcome and the reaction to this gift.




Friday, August 22, 2014

Makin' A List

Lists tend to keep me organized and summer is not my list making time. But, enough is enough!
I got backings and battings together for 5 little quilts. (You can see a corner peeking out under Santa) These are ready to baste!
I have the batting and Love More next to my machine and am figuring out if I have enough scraps to piece the back. I believe I do. 

I've had bits and pieces of purchases in different corners of my sewing room. I thought I'd snap a photo while I had some of them laying out. I'm happy to report I still love every new piece of fabric! And they are all put away.

I'm on the downhill slope to a big finish!! Woop! Woop! Have a lovely weekend. We are going camping!







Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Laura's Decor and More!

Laura is one of my blog readers and has offered to share her home decor and little quilts. I love taking a peak into other quilter's homes! I need to rearrange and decorate!


I'm loving this little red stool with patriotic little quilts.



I'm a fan of doilies, too.




Thank you Laura! Every time I look at  your photos I see something else. 

I hope you all are inspired like I am !

Monday, August 18, 2014

Inspired All Over Again

If you have been reading my blog long you would have met Laurie HERE. I think we were all inspired by her quilts and fun decorating sense. I got to see it all over again when I stayed with her this last week.


I got to sleep under this beauty!

The way the light was falling on this quilt in the evening the quilting showed up so well. Look at that! 

I have a pattern for this difficult block. It is so sweet. I think Laurie said her sister made that for her.

This adorable little jacket is in her sewing room.

This is just a fraction of her stash.

This is an evening photo so not very good,  but I was so inspired by this on my last visit, I changed a few things around at my house. Her little quilts are so adorable!

If you do not have a blog but would like to showcase your quilt decor or antiques, I'd love to see them and show your photos on my blog. Let me know!

Happy Monday!

Friday, August 15, 2014

WA Quilt Shops

I got out of town this week and made my way to a couple of Washington state quilt stores.
Personally, I love a store with lots of samples! Look at that beautiful quilt! This is at 
Two Thimbles Quilt Shop in Bellingham, WA. 

This one is going to be done as a class. What a terrific setting for a star sampler.

Lots of Jo Morton and lovely reproductions. 

I can never get enough of little quilts.

Then we ended up at FolkTales in Lynden. I think the owner is the master of the needle arts.
The shop was full of lots of stitchery and threads. I have to say, it was somewhat piled up, but it didn't stop me from making a purchase. I bought some lovely Moda wool and a few other goodies.

If you want to see why I came to WA please check out my other blog HERE. 

Monday, August 11, 2014



If you love Amish quilts here's a terrific book for you to look for. I found it at a thrift store and it is a gold mine!
There are wonderful color photos. Here are 2 pages of railroad crossing quilts.


Block 8 of Benjamin Biggs quilt. 

Have a great day!



Love More, Fear Less

Remember this post a few days back?  I had an afternoon of sewing time this weekend. It felt great!

 Look at the detail of this fabric by P&B Textiles. It really was a joy to work with.

 The medium value was difficult to work with. I took the lightest print and used that consistently while making the Puss in the Corner blocks. I could tell right away it wasn't going to make the pattern I thought it would. I feared less and moved ahead with my plan.

 It seems the center is a bit of a jumble, but it is growing on me. It begs for a closer look, which is good since it is the fabric that steals the show. I fussy cut to make the border, which I think helps define it. Overall I'm happy with it.
Lizzy suggested a market bag, so I found an online pattern and whipped up this hobo bag. When my husband came home from work he said, "You don't make bags" LOL I do now!  I didn't have enough P&B fabric for the lining so I added a neutral stripe.  
I couldn't resist. He wasn't happy about it though.




Friday, August 8, 2014

More Vintage Quilts

Here are the quilts Claire purchased this year at Sisters. 

This one has quite a few older fabrics in it. although a quilt is dated from the newest fabric.


This one was great. The zig zag setting is stunning. I like what the maker did at the top to make it a little longer. What's not to love about the fan quilting?
Sarah S made it. Too bad she didn't date it as well.


And this one, which the fabrics seem to say 30's, has a setting that is used in much earlier times. Large 4 block quilts are another favorite of mine.

Even though the top one isn't in great shape, it is a favorite of mine because of the variety of fabrics.

Although I didn't actually sit down at the machine, I got some marking done on a quilt I NEED to finish, so I did get something quilt related  done.

Enjoy your weekend!