Special Delivery

Nothing brightens your day like having a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to your door.  Aren’t they absolutely gorgeous?

They came attached to this pretty wall hanging which I won in Marlene’s giveaway over at Sipiweske Quilt Designs.  She designed it herself and has even been so generous as to share the pattern with all of us. 

Flowers and butterflies go very well together don’t you think?

And the Patisserie wall hanging goes especially well with my Patisserie  hexagon flowers.  So fun!

Thank you very much Marlene.  You really made my day.

Annette

I’ll be warm this winter

My scrappy Sylvia’s Sampler quilt is ready to be quilted.  Yeah!  I’ve been working on this quilt for three years and it’s such a good feeling to have finally come this far.  It will be finished in time for winter.

My butterfly quilt is almost ready for quilting also.  I’ve been working on it for over a year. 
I’ll post it in a few days … I am motivated! 

And a third one is in the works.  It looks springy…wouldn’t it be nice if I could have it done before then.

Ta-da!

I’ve had so many very nice comments from you about my Little Quilt Wall that I decided it must be post-worthy.  So here it is.  (Just don’t judge my wall decorating arrangement skills…or lack of. LOL)  It is right above my desk and makes my sewing room feel cheerful.  I really enjoy making little quilts. 

In the Mood for Little Quilts

Another quilt for my “little quilt” wall.  Its a busy one but I had a lot of fun with it.

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And I have a third one in the works…

mini quilt and cowboys

Last night I finished a new quilt for my miniature quilt wall. This one is 11 inches by 14 inches and is from a pattern by Lori Smith. I love her designs.

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I used some of the adorable scraps from Jodi’s package and some from my own scrap stash. They all went so well together, I thought.

My favorite fabric in this quilt is these little cowboys that I got quite a while ago from Terri. Aren’t these guys just the sweetest ever! Even my husband noticed this fabric and really liked it…and he’s not usually into fabrics. I’m thinking it might remind him of some PJ’s he had as a little boy.

Thanks Jodi!

Today when I came home and found a box on my step, I was one happy lady. You see, extremely lucky me won Jodi’s giveaway a few days ago and I knew that’s what it was.

My sweet granddaughter was here so we sat down on the floor together and admired and sorted all the pretty fabrics. She loved that there was so much pink…her favorite color. We also chatted about how one day I will teach her how to sew and make quilts and told her how much fun she will have to look forward to. She cooed back and smiled and kicked in her bouncy chair. I think she is a little excited already.

Thanks for the fun Jodi. I can’t wait to put them to use.

Scrappy Sampler

Three years ago after reading Jennifer Chiaverini’s book “The Master Quilter”, I became fascinated with the quilt in the story: Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler. Jennifer generously shared the patterns on-line and I decided to attempt my first sampler quilt. My sister, Tricia, joined me in the fun. She lives miles away so we shared our efforts through email and scanners. I am also part of a group of quilters around the world who are making these blocks together.

I am still working on it. I have finished 76 blocks and I think that is enough for a comfy quilt. It has been a scrappy quilt, using up my fabric leftovers. So I am making the sashings the same way…scrappy. I like how this looks so far.

Hopefully I’ll have a top finished soon. Lets see if I can have it all the way done before another three years goes by.

By the way, Jennifer has many other books published too. Very good reading.

Annette

Time for Myself

Today was great! I had most of it just for myself and I spent it stitching baskets for my A Tisket, A Tasket quilt.

And now I’m all caught up on this project….for awhile :-)

Annette

Christmas in August

Last month was crazy so I missed the fun of “Christmas in July.”  I made up for it this afternoon with a little “Christmas in August.”  Our weather is so hot here we could use a little Christmas thinking to cool things down a bit.

These are for an ornament exchange I’m involved with over at IFQ.  But I’m saving one of them for my tree. Ho Ho Ho

Annette

Dressed in White

My sewing project for this week was a pretty white blessing dress for my granddaughter.  The dress was a pleasure to make and turned out sweet but when it was put on this little girl, it became absolutely adorable!

This has been a beautiful day with our families and good friends all gathered together to support her for her special occasion.

Annette

Just for Fun

Kelli doll and Sasha doll think this teeny tiny little Granny Square afghan is absolutely perfect for them to use. Sorry girls, it is going up on my miniature quilt wall where it will be right at home with my other small creations. But they will have a good view of it since they spend their days sitting atop my button box nearby.

The little afghan measures just 6 inches by 7 1/2 inches. I crocheted it using size 5 perle cotton, something I have never tried before. Really fun! For sure I’m going to try something like this again.

Who’s got the Button?

My sister, Tricia, and I have been trading buttons back and forth through the mail. When I get a package from her and sit to sort through them it reminds me of when I was a kid looking at all the buttons in my mom’s button tin. There is just something fascinating about a button, or especially a whole bunch of buttons. Even at my age.

I keep my buttons in little box of drawers on a shelf in my sewing room. It was originally made for screws and such. I found it in the hardware store. I loved that it was red and not the typical gray that you see in men’s workshops.

I liked it so much that I went back and bought a second one to store my embroidery threads in.

My button box is decorated with a button flower:

If I can remember how I did it, I might make a tutorial for it.

I also have a small quilted wall hanging that I stitch buttons to sometimes just because I think they are fun to look at.. These are interesting but not keepsakes because I’m always taking buttons off to use on projects.

My favorite buttons of all time are Mother of Pearls. I LOVE these buttons. There is just something about them. Even old worn out ones look beautiful to me. I get excited when I find one and I keep them all as treasures. Like a little kid with a rock collection!