Heat Stroke

Greetings from the desert where the temperature is hovering around 100 degrees. The streets are deserted and people do not venture outside unless they must.

I finally have a little bit to share, so here goes.

Last year my nephew was expecting a baby boy and they opted for gray in the baby's room. I found some really cute Buggy Barn fabric to make them a baby quilt. This summer I decided to try and use up the scraps on an additional quilt. I changed the design somewhat, but think this will be a nice little boy quilt as well. It has gone to the quilter. Yay!

Now we have a new grandbaby coming and thus another new quilt to create. I am using the same chain block, but in soft and sweet colors for our new little girl! I really need my cage rattled to come back from the Civil War, but this is a nice change. Today I will sew all the rows together. It feels good to get something done!

Last week I got a nice surprise. A message was left on my home phone from Judy Hodges in Tempe, AZ who wanted to share her quilt with me. This is the second memory quilt that Judy has made using my Saddle Tramp pattern. Follow the link to see my original. Judy did an outstanding job of taking my simple design and changing it into this beautiful memory quilt. She placed photos in the stars and chose a palette of purple and green. Since I am still in Arizona I was able to meet Judy and see her quilt in person. Let me tell you, this photo does not do it justice! It is a beautiful quilt! It was taken directly to the quilters after we met, so maybe I can share a quilted photo in the future!

Anyone wondering about Rembrandt can rest at ease. I hear from Sandi regularly letting me know of her well being. She is adjusting in her new home and has taken to snuggling in bed at night with Sandi's son. I know Karen would be pleased. I sure am! 

A week ago we drove a little way out of town to find this pretty sight. Saguaro Lake, with boats even! Saguaro is the name of the cactus in the foreground. The saguaro cactus grows only in the Sonoran Desert which is in Arizona and Mexico. The photo shows buds where the cactus is getting ready to bloom. This lake was a pretty sight, but let me tell you, it is so blasted hot that it didn't even tempt me. Give me a good old Minnesota lake where they actually have breezes!

Signing off from under the fan in Mesa, AZ.

Hi everyone, I have been absent from Blogland for a while, traveling and spending time with family. Not much quilting going on with me, but nevertheless, I am hearing from people who have questions regarding my quilts.This makes me happy to know that someone remembers me, even tho I have not been "on the scene"!

I got a phone message from Sylvia in Australia asking about the fabric I used in the quilt Picks from the Past, above, published by American Patchwork and Quilting, Feb. 2012 issue. Sylvia did not leave a way for me to contact her, and I am not at home to answer the phone, so maybe Sylvia might read my blog. Like fruit, fabric does not stay on the vine very long. It is replaced regularly by something new. The fabric in that quilt was out of season by the time the magazine hit the stands. I can tell you that the fabric line in that particular quilt was called Civil War Chronicles, by Judie Rothermel, from Marcus Fabrics. And even tho that fabric is long gone, you can check the Marcus website and see that there are new, beautiful fabric lines available. For Civil War reproductions, Judie Rothermel always has a new, irresistible line available, as does Paula Barnes. Also Pam Buda is designing for Marcus now and has a great new line called Prairie Dobbies! If your LQS doesn't carry these lines you can do an online search of the name and find a store. 

On another note, a quilter contacted me regarding my table topper, Calico Pennies, in the recent Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine (Summer 2013). She was having trouble  tucking in the ends by the tabs and didn't have enough fabric left to do so. Since the directions call for quilting the little top before tucking in the ends, I believe the quilting gathered up the fabric just enough to cause this problem. If you make this project you can hopefully avoid this by adding an additional half inch to the length of the back and give a 1/4" for each end to tuck in. I suspect that when I made my own I pinned it tight to prevent this, but the small additional length should help avoid this problem. 

Back to my actual life, my husband and I are in Arizona. He retired May first and then we flew here to spend some time and see family.

We were here to see our darling Danielle go off to prom. Yup, she was wearing HIGH heels, and I definitely was not! I'm the little short grandma! (OK, I may have been bending my knees a little for effect.)

We took a drive to Carson City, NV to visit our kids there. Kathryn, now 8 years old, was baptized while we were there.

We got to spend some time with Becky and the twins both in Nevada and in Utah. Here is Micah and Grey snuggled up under one of my old quilts watching TV. So fun to see them AND my old quilts! Notice that Becky had Grey's hair cut shorter so we can tell them apart. It really helps!

We visited Ellie and Isaac in Provo, Utah. They are our youngest and so full of life and cuteness! They loved watching Netflix on my i-pad. I miss these kids so much, I can't stand it!

Back at the house in Mesa we are delighted to have Mary, one of our oldest grandchildren, staying with us. She was slicing watermelon and look what she found! A heart was inside the melon! Must be a good omen for Mary, right?

My quiltmaking has come to a standstill for the past several weeks. I have been designing, and I have a few things that I need to start working on. I'm excited to get going on it all! 

That's it for now--more will be coming, hopefully soon!

I am a Scrapper!

I have been cleaning up and putting away in my sewing room. When I get serious about it I also clean up all the scraps laying around on the cutting table, floor, etc. I trim them into useable sizes and put them in appropriate boxes. It is menial labor, but relaxing to me as I listen to audible books. I feel like I am getting sooo much done! In fact, I still have a big box of scraps that are just a little too big to trim up. Ah, but I am a scrapper! I love this stuff! Making scrap quilts is always more labor intensive than a regular quilt because you have to do a lot of digging for a variety of fabric and then trim it to size. No worries, I revel it it! And using pre-trimmed pieces during quilt construction makes easy work in scrap quilt creation. So whatever I accomplish now will reward me later. 

During this process I have uncovered remnants of past quilts. I always make extra blocks and have a stash of them. I decided to put a few of these little blocks into little quilts.

These are such simple little things, but simple is always my favorite! Like many of you, I am trying to build up a nice selection of little quilts for a wall display. But I always find myself placing them under table displays or lamps, etc. 

 This one I made for my grandson's dresser. Simple and masculine I think. 

On another note, let me direct you to Lori's blog, Humble Quilts. Lori has decided to sell some of her quilts, and you know what beautiful work she does! Follow the link and see for yourself!

A Variety of Feathered Friends

Our clever blogging friend Julie from Julie K Quilts made my pattern called Feathered Friends, and then she took it a step further. She made this darling tote bag! I love it so much that I must make one like it for me!

 Here is Julie's table topper or wall hanging. This turned out darling also!
If you read Julie's blog you already know that she makes lots of strip quilts. She is very creative and it is always fun to see what she is making. On top of all that talent Julie is a real sweetheart as well. We meet the nicest people on quilting blogs! 

 I am also very impressed with Janet from Mrs Sew and Sew. Not only is she a really neat person, but she has the magic touch with fabric choices. Here is Janet's adaptation of Feathered Friends. As you can see, she stretched it out to cover her dresser. Check out her blog too!
Both of these projects are a wonderful examples of how quilters adapt patterns to suit their needs. 

 Here is my original version of Feathered Friends. Most of it came from a charm pack that gave me a pretty selection of colors and textures. 

 Don't forget my BOGO sale going on now--it ends Tuesday, April 30. Find the pattern under Doll Quilts and make one for yourself!

 

Button Bandits

I just want to remind those of you who may still want to take advantage of the *BOGO* sale at Patchalot Patterns that the sale ends Tuesday, April 30th.

Button Bandits has been a very popular recent design and it is back in stock! This whimsical little quilt combines simple piecing with wool birds and is embellished with buttons. Did you know that crows are attracted to little objects that they can pick up and hide? I know I have told this story before, but years ago my Great-grandfather Chambers had a large crow that adopted him. He would wait for Grandpa to come home from work and then hop off the roof and onto his shoulder and ride into the house with him. He would hide little things behind sofa cushions, etc. They discovered keys and other shiny objects in strange places and finally found that it was all the work of their feathered friend! These Button Bandits are dedicated to Grandpa's crow! 

 

Dear Little Rembrandt

I mentioned two months ago that our dear little Rembrandt, the kitty who entertained us on Karen's blog Sew Primitive, had found a home. Many of us were concerned about Karen's cats after she passed away and so we were gratified to know that they had been adopted by new families. Well, about two weeks ago I received the sweetest email from Sandi in Atlanta letting me know that Rembrandt now resides with her family! Sandi doesn't have a blog, but she read Karen's blog and she reads mine, and maybe yours! She said she enjoys seeing Rembrandt's picture on the side of my blog and that Rembrandt is being loved by her family in her new surroundings. Rembrandt has always been a little skittery and so Sandi sees her zipping from one hiding place to another as she becomes familiar with the house and the hiding places. She also comes out for food and affection. Good to know! I imagine she is getting to know the children, but Sandi says she hasn't quite warmed up to the dog! Karen's house was very quiet, as you might imagine. Filled with fabric and art supplies, it was Karen's own little den of creativity. I can't believe Karen has been gone almost three months. I miss her every day. I often go back to her blog and read old posts from when she was healthy and productive and funny! How nice to have that available at my finger tips. I am so touched that Sandi would contact me and assure me that Rembrandt is being loved and cared for. That was such a concern of mine. I know Karen would be pleased to know that Rembrandt is in a loving home. And now I have made a new friend online as well! Thank you Sandi! 

Ever the artist, Karen had rooms dedicated to her many endeavors. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Fabric Love

I have to share some yummy fabric I got in the mail recently. On her blog Barbara Brackman has been showing her new line called Metropolitan Fair, by Moda. I fell head over heels for it and had to find some for myself. 
Then Judie Rothermel, who designs for Marcus, has a beautiful new line called Civil War Melodies, and I gasped when I saw it online. 

 You know how we all try and set up a pretty little vignette when we display something. According to Wikipedia, "a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, idea, setting, or object". So here is my attempt. But now I have to look up "trenchant".

And here is a close up so you can get a better look at the wonderful fabric. Oh yum!

I have not purchased fabric for a really long time and so I didn't even feel guilty when I got it. No, in fact I felt so good that I decided I better clean my obscenely messy sewing room to justify feeling this good. Still cleaning...