When Nature Calls - BOM Trees 1 & 2

 As promised here are the first two tree designs. 

You can also find the link on my sidebar.

This wonderful little 6 1/2 by 12 /12 inch fabric would be great as tree bark. I'm giving it away in a few days. To get your name in the "HAT" just leave a comment on this post.

Every Chance

What is this post about, you ask? Well recently it was brought to my attention that things are about to change in the way bloggers and Internet buddies will be able to "follow" one another.
I use GFC (Google Friends Connect) and last month added Bloglovin' but that wasn't enough, I was told. So I've added "Linky Flowers" to my sidebar. I want anyone that wishes to find and "follow" my blog, to be able to do so.
So whichever way you got here...... thanks for "FOLLOWING" my blog.

Next, I wish to address the "no response to comments" issue. I've been thinking about this for awhile.
 When someone comments on my post, I want everyone to know that I really, really appreciate your comments. So if you're looking for a response from me and don't ever get one, there are two reasons why...... (1) you haven't turned on your response thingy and did not know it had to be manually turned on via your dashboard or (2) you haven't turned on your response thingy and don't want to because you don't mind that you don't get a shout out from the owner of the blog.
I just wanted everyone that thought enough to leave a comment to know that I love reading your thoughts and critiques. It gives me  confidence and inspiration to carry on................................ Okay, I'll be quiet now!!

Back From Retreat

Annie (no blog) worked on and/or showed off the above projects.

The yellow star you see beginning to take shape is from our Christmas tree challenge 2011.

 

Molly finished these two fabulous quilt tops. You may recognize her "Boot Bash" BOM designs.

Kathleen (hasn't blogged in awhile) worked on our new challenge 2012 which I will post about in more detail soon.

I finally finished my "FONT" quilt top and was very happy with the way it turned out.  This might just turn into another BOM.... maybe but don't hold me to that one.

Kathy got all her cutting and sorting done before she started on our challenge.

A great time was had by all!!!

Retreat - Little Princess

Little Princess #1 came for a visit and decided to read to GoGo.... Needless to say, I was very impressed and listened to the story again, and again, and again......
Ayden knows all of her colors and can count to twenty. She's three so this is awesome.
She helped me get ready for my retreat this weekend. So don't worry about me, I'll be sewing and laughing it up with my "wacky" girlfriends. I hope to get something done to show on Monday.  Well, we'll see.... hehehehe

Design Wall Monday

 Sorry about the quality of the photo.... I think I need a new design board. Anyway, this quilt came from More Nickel Quilts. Of course I got to use up more scraps but didn't seem to put a dent in that large bag.

I bought these books years ago and have enjoyed them greatly. So I'm recommending them to everyone from beginners to advance. There are several projects for all quilt lovers!
Next, I worked through the weekend to get this far on my Texas medallion type quilt. Yes, that's hand freezer paper applique.  I know, what got into me??? Well, I just wanted to do several sewing techniques in this particular quilt.  Did you all buy that one.... hehehehe
I wanted to continue the circular impression of the quilt by adding the bough shapes which is my own design. I drew out the shape on drawing paper, did a load of reshaping, added the scalloped edges to the underside of the design and transferred that to freezer paper.
My next plan is to add some 3 dimensional thread work to the leaves of the flowers by threading several different gold-tone thread through the eye of one needle of the machine and sewing very slowly. It works and it's amazingly realistic of the veins on a leaf.

So far it measures 40 1/2 inches square..... Love it!!!

Make sure you pop over to Judy's blog to see what other quilters are up to.

Flowers for Texas

 I could hardly sleep last night thinking about what I wanted to do next with the Texas block. I knew I wanted some sort of flowery fabric but what?????  Looking in my vast stash of scraps, I ran across the above fabric. Great! 

Large flowers - check

The color range needed - check

Plenty of Steam-a-seam - check

Let's do this!

I added a 3 inch border of the gray fabric and then fussy cut the flowers and leaves needed. I love it! Now to stitch it all down...... maybe tomorrow.  

32 inches square, so far.

Thought About Adding .......

I've thought about adding a border of Fractured Diamond blocks to my Texas center block. Remember this one. It's been awhile since I've worked on it. Actually, it was stashed under several other projects and I just ran across it purely by accident.... anyone else been down that road before???

  You may remember these two quilts and the templates that I made from pieces of cardboard.

In the above photo each block's  first two sewn strips are of the red color tones giving the effect of an outline around the green inner diamond shape. This makes for a more dramatic quilt.

It's easy to draw your own template. Choose the size square you want. For example this is a 12 1/2 inch square.

Next, decide how much (wide) you want of  your foundation fabric to show. The illustration below shows a 5 inch gap but you can decide how wide you want your "kite" shape to be.

Notice in the bottom corner of the illustration above there is a tiny square. That is the 1/4 inch square that relieves the sewing area..... hope that made sense. 

This is what the template looks like no matter what size square you choose. The shape of a "kite."

 Place your template ("kite") on top of your chosen foundation fabric as shown.

 Press the sided over the template.

Once that's done remove the template. Now you have pressed marks to follow when sewing on your first two strips. If you are uncomfortable with this method, you can draw the marks on using a pencil or removable ink pen.

 Sew the first strip using the press mark.... do not press open yet.

 Only after you've sewn the second opposite strip over the mark, do you press.

You can chain sew the blocks which is a wonderful way to see results as you go along.

Here, you can see the beginnings of the secondary design.

If you're going for an old fashion look, use muslin or a tone-on-tone type fabric as the foundation.

Note: The smaller the blocks, the more design possibilities.

I decided on "half" blocks of Fractured Diamonds which means to sew one half of each block but be careful if you choose to make these types of blocks because they are sewn in the left and right direction. I used 3 1/2 inch gray squares and varied strips of fabric in tones of browns, red and black. Black was my beginning strip and red the last.
My "kite" was 1 1/2 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches long.
I'm using the photo below to illustrate and remind you of the shape of the kite.

I like the way the border looks... so it's onto the next round.
Any thoughts?????

My New Baby

Yep, it's a Rowenta..... my very first one. Usually I buy the cheapest iron I can find because they usually wear out so quickly, but this little baby came highly recommended by one of my girlfriends. So, of course I couldn't resist. So far, so good. It's gets as hot as I need, it doesn't shut off (quilters really don't like it when their irons shut off) and it's light weight..... Love it!!!!

Show & Tell Swap

Recently I joined a swap for Valentine. Cheryll was our hostess and got everything organized. I made several things for my secret swap buddy, Beth. We were to make something heart shaped or with hearts on it and place the initial of our swap buddy on the object. I got a little carried away.

 

 Rug Mug

 Rug Mug

 Tea Towel

Table runner

Last week I got a wonderful package from Sharon, the person who pulled my name. I was so excited and ran in the house to tear open the package. I think I've mentioned that my mail lady is just as excited as I am.  She loved to deliver the mail just to see me running for the mailbox..... LOL

This is the beautiful wall hanging that Sharon made for me. Notice her intricate needlework.... Love it!!!!!

Thanks Cheryll for hosting this fantastic swap. 

Back From The Dust Bunnies

Yes, friends, I'm back from the world of cleaning and dust bunnies. Where does all the dust come from, I ask you? Don't bother trying to answer that question because I've studied the situation, looked at it from every conceivable angle and have come to the conclusion that even if I wrapped my house in plastic wrap, dust would still get in.
Now, onto the more important stuff. I did the random picker thing and after my computer shut down for no reason that I could see....... we have a winner.
The envelop, please.....
Drum roll, please........
And the Oscar, ah, fabric goes to....







Margie!
Confetti!
Fireworks!
Hooray!
Congratulations!

Out of Pocket - Give Away

I have to confess to all my friends that I haven't been taking care of business with the chores around the house. You know, vacuuming, mopping, sweeping and other general cleaning activities. So, I'm going to be out of pocket for a few days getting that stuff done along with the grocery shopping, mowing the yard because it has rained, we've had a bit of warm weather so the grass thinks it's spring (#$%&~). That sort of thing but I'm babbling. Let's get to the fun stuff..... The Give Away !

I was out in the ah, well, ahem, sewing studio for just a few minutes instead of getting to those chores.... and decided to cut some 6 1/2 inch squares of my favorite When Nature Calls fabrics..... and right then and there I decided to do an Out of Pocket Give Away..... get it... out of pocket....... never mind.
I have also included a 9 inch nighttime background square in the mix making a grand total of 15 squares in the give away.  Here's how to enter. You must be a "FOLLOWER" of my blog and believe me, I know my followers and appreciate them, and you need to
leave a comment stating that you want in on the give away. That's it!
It will probably take me several days to complete all the chores that have piled up around here so you have plenty of time to get in on the action. I'll do a linky number pick thingy or have a cousin draw a name from the "hat" early next week and announce the winner.
Okay, I'm stalling so I'll just hit Publish Post and get on with the cleaning already..............

Duh!

I want to thank everyone who commented on my nine patch drama. You all were so inspiring and insightful. I thought about what you all said, slept on it, worried about it and then got a notion.

It was a DUH moment for me.

Here's what I came up with.

 Light fabric for the folks who voted that way and dark fabric for the others. LOL..... I titled this post "Duh" because it suddenly dawned on me that I had enough blocks to make both quilt tops. I even managed to do one on the diagonal... a real feat for me.

Thanks again everyone!!!

Another Decision

 Alright, as you can see I've taken your wonderful advice about "not" confusing the nine patch with a mixed colored block. So I turned the nine patch on point and went with a solid block between.  Then it hit me..... light or dark solid fabric?????

What do you think????  

HELP, again..... LOL

Decisions, Decisions - Design Wall Monday

Help! Which Nine Patch design do you prefer?

Design #1

has various solid blocks between the nine patches.

 Design #2

has assorted color patches between the nine patches.