Happy Monday!

Do you visit  Linda at Stray Stitches? I got the best mail on Saturday! :-)  I was lucky enough to win her birthday giveaway and just look at the goodies she sent!  Lovely half yard cuts~ I need to find a pattern for these beauties! Any suggestions?  And the cute little safety pin pouch! Thank you Linda!!  If you've never been to Linda's blog, you are in for a treat!  :-)

I also did a little retail therapy this weekend~
these beauties are for the red and white 5 inch strip swap I am hosting.  If you'd like to join in the fun, let me know in a comment and I'll email you the specifics. ;-)

We are having some great weather! Hence, not much sewing is getting done, but I am enjoying being outdoors! I've got flowers and herbs in pots and a lot of our shrubs are blooming. Not so great for my allergies, but a real treat to my eyes! :-)

Have a happy day!~

take a stitch for me. ;-)

I ♥ Red and White!

Thank you! for all your sweet comments about my new machine!  I do need to clarify~ I was so excited to tell you about it I may have painted the wrong picture of my DH~ he didn't so much 'insist' I go ahead and get the beauty as 'encouraged' me to. He is very supportive of my hobbies. :-))

After seeing all the gorgeous quilts in blogland from the exhibit in NY, I was drooling! :-)  I already have a few red/white smaller pieces, but I think I need more!  I joined Karen at Sew Many Ways red and white 5 inch square swap. (sorry I forgot to take a photo before I sent my little beauties off).  It's going to be hard waiting. LOL

In the meantime, I started a 5 inch red/white strip swap with my friends on the HGTV quilters forum.  I've decided to open it to my blog-land friends too. If you'd like to join in the fun, just tell me so in a comment and I'll email you the details. We are swapping 5 inch by width of fabric strips. :-)  Here are some I am cutting from~

If that wasn't enough :-)) I also started a block swap!! Oh yeah!  The quicker way to get a quilt! ;-))  The blocks are quilter's choice, pieced or paper-pieced and finished at 12 inches. I did my test block today~  It is called the Folded Star and its from Quilter's Cache. 

Think I'll keep busy? LOL  I just  ♥ red and white!!

Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!

Something New~~~

..in my studio!  Ok, I kinda hinted at it in my last post. :-) 

It's a new embroidery/sewing machine!  Oh my gosh! I am still in shock and awe! Hubby was the one who insisted I get it. :-))  This is a photo of just the machine. I have the embroidery unit in a case~ I need to take some classes to learn all about this baby!  :-)  I still feel like I need to be pinched! LOL

This is what I was working on when my other machine was in the shop. My 99K breezed through those seams!  It is backed with flannel, no batting. Believe me, it is plenty warm because of the denim.  I have been making these raggy quilts for years for 'boy' graduation gifts.  I only needed to make this one this year. Good thing because my supply of denim is running out. ;-)  The pattern is from an old Traditional Quiltworks magazine. (they are no longer in print).

I am off to sew! :-)
Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Has It Really Been Two Weeks!?!

Hello!  Remember me?  I'm so sorry I have been absent so long!~ time is just flying 'round here!  I'll try to do a little re-cap~~

Can you spot the guy in the tree?

First we had a tree-trimming/removal crew here for a day. The large fir behind my cottage was dying and we didn't want to take any chances of it coming down in a storm.  It was very interesting to watch how a tree is removed.  They also removed some smaller trees that weren't thriving, or in the wrong spots and 'wind sailed' our other tall pines.  It took all day long, but they did a great job! :-)

Birdie Stitches blocks for April and May 

 I've been stitching! I finally finished my April and May Birdie Stitches blocks from Little Miss Shabby. I am using vintage sheets for the border squares and I love how they are turning out!! :-)  The next block will be out soon!  For the May block I tried the 'Transfer Ease' method.  It worked really well, but I had to rinse it twice and agitate it a bit to get it all out of the block when I finished.  But it sure beat tracing the block! LOL

Embroidered towels

 More embroidery~ my kitchen towels have been wearing thin.  While I was visiting my Mom I bought a set and a package of Aunt Martha transfers.  I am working on number six now.  And they look great in my red kitchen. :-)

May Le Petite

I finished my May Le Petite project~ and in the nick of time! LOL The pattern is from the Moda Bake Shop.

My sewing machine was in the shop for a week~ I burned the light bulb out with all the retreat sewing I did in April! ;-)  When DH and I went to pick it up, we also brought something else home with us! I am SO excited! But I'll save that news for another post as this one is getting pretty long. I won't be away long! ;-)

Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

I'm a little slow joining the fun, but better late than never, right? :-)

argh! why is blogger tipping my photo's!? sorry

Amy has a great quilt show every year! If you haven't participated or seen it before, you are in for a treat! So many lovely quilts! So much inspiration! You can check it out here~ Blogger's Quilt Festival

I am showing my vintage sheet quilt this year. I swapped vintage sheet FQ's to get a big variety. Then I kinda/sorta planned my quilt in EQ. (I couldn't figure out how to add individual sashings in EQ, so I had to plan the colored sashing with good ol' colored pencils and graph paper.)  I used my 24 inch ruler and cut strips from the sheets, and then angles to get the diamonds. I didn't follow any pattern, just winged it as I went along. It was actually fun!  I like little challenges and it kept me busy for a number of days.  When I got the top together, I rented time on a longarm at my LQS and quilted it. I used poly batting to give it some 'puff'. It is a wonderfully warm quilt and great for snuggling. :-)

I love looking at all the older sheet prints. I know I had some on my bed as a kid. :-)  I hope to do another vintage sheet project soon.

Thanks for stopping by~
I hope you enjoy the show!

A New Beauty~

While visiting my parents, I picked up this little beauty. My Dad found it for me at a sale a while back. It is a 99K. Although it is small like a Featherweight, this one weighs a ton! It was a workhorse machine, all metal parts. (You can see why he didn't ship it to me?) :-)   According to its serial number on the Singer machine dating site, it was 'born' in Scotland in 1954.  The case is a bit worn, but I test drove it and it runs beautifully. I wish it could talk and tell me how it traveled to the US and its story.  ;-)   I'm just tickled to add it to my little collection of vintage machines. :-)

That's all for today. I'm still unpacking and organizing. One of these days I will be sewing! ;-)
Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!

More Travel Talk...

I showed you the back of this quilt a while ago~ this is the front...

It's my Mom's Jewel Box quilt that I quilted and delivered. :-)  I have a set of blocks somewhere, and I need to get mine together now! I love my Mom's quilt. :-)

While visiting my parents, my Mom and I always work on a few projects. She found a tote similar to this on the Babylock website. We revised the pattern a bit and made one for each of us and they became our 'yo-yo buckets'. ;-) You can see both our totes on my Mom's blog~ here.

We also made bunches of yo-yo's for a table topper project. :-) I finished mine, and Mom is nearly done with hers. The pattern is from a Thimbleberries booklet called 'Cottagewood Quilts'.  The fabrics are from my Mom's stash. :-)) Thanks Mom!

If you follow my Mom's blog~ Granny Quilts, you can see a few other things we worked on. We had a great time sewing and shopping! :-)

That's all for now~
until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!