My Right Foot

This little foot is my #1 stitching foot. It stays on my Janome so I have to make a conscience effort to remove it when I decide to do machine embroidery.

And, no, I'm still not sewing yet.

I was sitting around the house waiting for the guys to come in from the hay fields for lunch when I decided to clean my machine. I noticed all the "feet" I have for each machine (I have 3 at thie point) & thought about the one I use & love the most.

BTW, this foot did not come with any of my machines. I purchased it via Amazon!!

What's your favorite foot or most used foot? Let's talk feet!!

I'll come back with some updates about this post and your feedback as well. 

Since I'm stuck not sewing, I think I'll do a fat quarter give away from those who respond using a random number thingy or have Mr. Cowboy draw a name or two.

Book Review

Oh my gosh! I am so excited about this book:

 "The GHOST of the Yellow Two-Story House"

 by Gail Allison Griffin.

The book has a stamp of approval from Mrs. Taylor's 5th grade reading class who help with proof reading. 

I know you are wondering why I'm so excited. It's because Mrs. Griffin (the author) and Mrs. Taylor (the 5th grade reading teacher) are friends of mine. I taught with these ladies for many years and I'm so happy for Gail's success. Gail's daughter, Stacie did the illustrations. I taught Stacie and her sisters way back when.....OMG! I just thought how long ago that was......;-]

Now about the book. I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down.

This book would make a great stocking-stuffer for your 10 years and older child. It's a wonderful children's fiction.

There's a ghost or two in the house of a new family in town and it's up to Mike (one of the family members) to figure out what's really going on. Everyone in town avoids the house and wants little to nothing to do with Mike.

I give this book two thumbs up.......Five stars.....a great read!!!

Find out for yourselves what weird things are happening in "The GHOST of the Yellow Two-Story House."

Gail is planning at least two more mysteries, so stay tuned.

http://gailallisongriffin.com  - Gail's web page

Gail and me in a "selfie"

Monday, Monday

Make sure to visit Judy, our hostess for Design Wall Monday!!

Most of you remember John Wayne from THIS post .......at the time I made this one, I had no idea what I was going to do but as the 4th of July company visited on and on my mind began to wonder....don't get me wrong, I love family but after all the laughter, BBQ, potato salad, beans, pies, and iced tea.......I needed some down time.

I tipped-toed to the sewing room to ponder and pulled out some cowboy type fabrics. I squared up John by sewing strips around him and trimmed to 12 1/2 in. square.

I chose one of my favorite fabrics as the "kite" design. Normally, the kite would be a square piece of fabric (a foundation, if you will) with the "kite" drawn in, then sew varied size strips of either side.

Here's a sample of each block. I love the look of it. I added the rawhide/cowhide fabric to opposing corners.

First audition arrangement....BTW....this is a fractured diamond design.

Second audition arrangement.......which one looks better, do you think??

Details

 I've gotten the outer brown circle in place and will need to hand stitch a thin circle to add more detail later. So far the circle is roughly 16 inches.

The stars that appear above the eagle's head are supposed to number 13 for the first 13 states but I decided not to depict that tiny detail because my talents are not up to that one as of yet...... LOL

The leaf and berries have the correct number of 13 each and I have 13 arrows.  Not sure of my next step at this point but I'll sleep on it and come up with something soon.
The weather here in central-ish Texas is unusually rainy. Last night we had lots of thunder and very scary lightening. Then the rain came in buckets. It was one of those times like I remember my grandma use to say, "Get somewhere and be still, little girl!" That's what she told me during those time and believe you me, I was very still last night....... smiles!

Final Step and Done

I eked out some time to finish my woodsy project. Now, mind you, this is my take on the photo, which means I can choose to alter the photo to suit what I want to achieve. You know how we quilters are. We see and love a pattern, design or block and sometimes change it to make it ours.

 I think it's important to take photos as you go because it allows you to see what needs to be added or taken away. This way you can evaluate what you're doing with perspective. Sort of like squinting at a block to see you've made a mistake.

The sky fabric I found and added to the backgrounds really helped to define the piece. I also added more shadows around the bottom of the little quilt.

 I then compared the original photo to the piece. I added more branches across the front of the rotted tree trunks and more shrubbery , as well.  I liked what I saw and pressed everything down before I changed my mind. Sometimes I tend to over think a project.... not good..... you can definitely go overboard.

The final piece measures 13 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches but I might trim it more later.  I just love the subtle colors mixed in with the dark shadows.

I have no idea of how I want to quilt it but I'll think of something.

What are your thoughts????

 A few posts ago I talked about my new baby Rowenta.... it's light weight, gets really hot and presses like a dream. I "don't" use the steam part at all and that's fine, too. I love, love, love this iron and recommend it.... but mind you, it's only been 2 1/2 months of bliss.

Meanwhile, I'm back to this fractured diamond block that I just love because you can fiddle with the placement of fabrics and get a whole new look.

I added a red tip to the top of the "kite" area to get the look you see below...... love it!!

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.