Project updates - Something old, something new, something maybe

One of my old projects. I'm currently sewing on a wide white border and want to do mitered corners. The hearts have to be appliqued.

Two brand new tops put together over the past week. I might add more to the blue one. The applique is still in the works.

Part of the back of a Christmas wall hanging that I started at the beginning of May.

This is a "maybe" quilt that I designed and started at the week-end. I'm playing with the colors at the moment.
I will be off in the "wild blue yonder" for a while so no interneting for a while :)

Another Little Quilt Swap 4 - the reveal- "Flowers In My Garden"

This is my first time participating in this event. It has been an enjoyable experience. Since I will be out of town when the quilt photos are due this posting is mainly for Kate so she can pull the pictures to add to her site. This is a two sided wall hanging "Flowers In My Garden" and measures approx. 19"x19".

The "Retro Pinks" side is raw edged machine applique hand stitched on top with embroidery floss to "rough up" the flowers and flower beds.  It represents when everything is in full bloom.

The "Dreaming of Flowers Emerging" side is a mini Irish Chain machine sewn together then hand quilted with quilting thread. The yo-yo flowers were hand stitched onto the background flower beds. This side represents the quietness that exists just before everything starts to burst forth from the ground.

Both sides are quilted to the cotton batting but not to each other. The fabrics are all cotton and taken from my fat quarter collection.

Now the hard part starts. The participants have to pick 10 quilts from the pictures provided and Kate will then decide which one we will receive and which one we will send to. http://anotherlittlequiltswap.blogspot.com/ So many lovely wall hangings. It's going to be a rough decision to make :)

Some more photos "just for fun." They were all taken in our peach tree which is currently growing it's peaches..

Blog of the Week - Ane Scherrer

There's very few blogs out there that concentrate on one item and consistently do excellent variations on that item. Ane Scherrer is one artist who has done just that. She does not blog often but when she does the result is gorgeous. What does she do?

Globe tree ornaments using prairie points which are often accompanied by stories or poems. Each ornament is given a title and the story or poem harmonizes with that.
Ane hails from Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and has been sewing since she was 7 years old. She also crochets beautiful snowflakes.
Visit http://anescherrer.blogspot.com/ to see more of her gorgeous designs.

Local Life - The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957

Kris and I got back a wee while ago from the opening day of this wonderful exhibition at the Frist. It's part of the V&A collection and I believe the only scheduled stop in the US so we are privileged indeed.
We caught a sneak peak when we were leaving the building last week and Kris was adamant we had to go visit as soon as it started. We got caught up in all the traffic for the Artisans Festival at Centennial and I thought my van was going to expire in the heat (mid 90's) but we got there and enjoyed ourselves.
Our favorite overall was the miniatures. Such detail.
If I can track down some photographs I'll add them in soon.

The other exhibition that opened today is - Presence or Absence the Photographs of Tokihiro Sato. I think this one is going to suffer a bit from being surrounded by stunning costumes on all sides and Chihuly upstairs. It does give a moment for quiet reflection though so don't pass it up.

I got a reminder e-mail about the textile exhibition at the V&A in London. It's winding down so if you have not seen it head on over there, either on foot or on-line. My brother sent me a couple of Youtube links about it that are interesting to watch and is planning on being my "visit in person for me" duplicate :) Okay so that's a bit of a stretch but it was sweet of him to agree to my "demands". (While he looks bonnie in a kilt, a dress would be a bit of a stretch !!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fa4tn57Pog&feature-email
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEIh4_cNigk&feature=mail
If you want to open up your wallets then visit the on-line store at www.vandashop.com/section.php?xSec=357 Also check out the ever increasing on-line submissions for the Quilt of Quilts http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/

Project updates - a smorgasbord

My two sided "Flowers in the Garden" wall hanging is about complete. Just have to finish embroidering some flower centers. I might reveal next week what it is actually for :) It needs some dog hair removal because darling Lucy decided to jump up on the bed and lie on it and left some blow out behind. Aaaargh !!!!!!
Fabric package #2 has arrived and now I wait for #3. Then I can start my two new quilt projects. Here's a peak at a couple of possible combinations.

4 of the 5 500th posting giveaway packages are in the mail. Keep your eyes peeled ladies :)
My PIF gifts have started arriving. Micki received the mini pillow/pincushion (front and back shown below) and appropriately enough it arrived close to her birthday which was yesterday :) I have to follow up with my other two ladies.

I'm making progress with my main crocheting project. I've discovered muscles in my fingers I forgot I had :) Michaels has a sale at the moment so I bought enough yarn to finish up this project, another one I am working on and an idea for a Christmas present.

I got a fun box in the mail but you will have to go to my other blog to see what that was all about. http://stitchacrosstheborder.blogspot.com/2010/06/lady-of-steeles-hand-embroidery-crafts.html
There's some other fun mystery projects in the works, more about those later.
I sent of my Postcard Pizzazz fabric postcard to Carole Marie for the mystery challenge and realized after it left that I forgot to take a picture. I hope she takes a decent one that I can borrow.

Simple Sampler Quilt-Along

This looks like it will be a fun quilt-along, especially if you are new to the hobby/craft or just want to get back to basics :)

Hop on over to Amy at http://www.amyscreativeside.com/2010/06/simple-sampler-quilt-along-details.html
to find out more.
It's been interesting watching Amy's progress over the past 12-18 months :)

500th posting giveaway - and the winners are ........

1. "Birds in Tree" mini-pillow ..... Elaine (Scotland) - responded
2. Snowman christmas ornament ..... Fiesta (USA) -  responded/mailed
3. Quilt templates ..... Linda T. (Canada) -  responded/mailed
4. "Top it With a Runner" quilt book ..... Delia (Australia) -  responded/mailed/received
5. 2 yds. of quilting fabric ..... Shirley (Finland) -  responded/mailed/received

Well that turned into an very international giveaway :) Congratulations ladies. I have contacted all of you already either by e-mail or at your blogs. Please respond by FRIDAY with your mailing addresses.
In the event that I do not hear back then I have an alternate winner in reserve.

Thanks to everyone else for participating that was fun and I enjoyed visiting your blogs.

6. I won a giveaway today. Woohoo :) I'll tell you more when it arrives.

Project updates - somewhat

It's a bit of a variety and a few I cannot show yet :0 If you are visiting for the giveaway scroll past this post.

Back in May I featured Jill Buckley from The Quilt Rat and she challenged me to do doodles so here is #1 :) It's a Kiwi bird....why? ...... I'm one of the cabin mom's at our upcoming church Young Womens camp and our cabin theme is New Zealand. I'm going to try some other doodles with the same bird.

Here's the latest "I love it and want to make it quilt" that's going on my ever expanding list - "Room to Bloom" in the current issue of Quilt Sampler. I love the muted tones, and the contrast between the swirl of the flower stems and the zig -zag effect of the middle border. What can I say, I'm a sucker for almost anything that incorporates applique.

I received my swap package from Dianne K. in the mail this week. Lots of silky goodness. I love the background fabric and have some ideas for it. I'm looking forward to making a quiltie and a few other pieces from all the items. This is a straight swap so she is the recipient of my "beautiful blues" baggie.

Look what Mary from Postcard Pizzazz made :) I  am the lucky recipient of her Texas Bluebonnet mini quilt and her "safety from the flood" prayers.

Sometimes my brain is just downright weird. I was crocheting away and this little object appeared. It's actually a mushroom (shaped) purse but John thought it would look good as a doll hat so here is my wee teddy showing it off :) I am almost finished my first granny square. Two weeks of starting and ripping out etc. etc. but yesterday it was looking like it's finally coming together.

Meet Pumpkin. She and her family have survived the flood but their house needs a lot of work done to it. She is visiting tell the end of next week while her beloveds are out of town on a much needed vacation.

I'm participating in a BofM challenge with Lady of Steeles Hand Embroidery Crafts. I finished up my drawings this week and have sewn up a test square. I cann't show it to you because I am sending the drawings to our hostess and it's not my month yet :)
Some of the fabrics have arrived for my new quilt designs. The rest should be here in a few days. I'm using a combination of fabrics ordered from Sew Mama Sew and Jo-Anns on-line. I'm looking forward to getting the tops started and finishing up some others.

Giveaway - 500th

Whodda thunk it -  I've reached posting #500. I am surprised my blog has lasted this long :) So to celebrate I'm doing a VERY SIMPLE giveaway.
The drawings will be done on Monday 14th June in the afternoon.
Instead of one big drawing I'm doing 5 mini drawings.
Leave a comment indicating which # you are interested in.
For the ever increasing no-reply bloggers please leave a way to contact you if you are one of the winners. (I will ship internationally.)

#1 "Birds in Tree" mini pillow made by myself 2010.

#2 Snowman Christmas ornament made by myself 2009.

#3 Two cardboard quilt templates. New.

#4 "Top it With a Runner" quilt book. Great designs, gorgeous photographs. Never used.

#5 Two 1yd. pieces of fabric. Bought from Sew Mama Sew for this giveaway.

Project update - packages

My little stack of packages waiting, on my reading chair, to go to a post office. PIF gifts, Postcard Pizzazz mini-wall hanging, hostess gifts and birthday cards. The little quilt on the back of the chair was made by my friend Cynthia and I won it a few years ago in a "silent auction". She was making a lot of baby quilts at the time and since I am well past that stage I "threatened" everyone with grievous bodily harm if I was outbid :)

I've also been participating in a Postcard Pizzazz mystery make and send card. Those of us who signed up were sent items to make a card and have to return it soon. All I will say about mine is "there's a lot of laundry going on" :) Cannot do the reveal yet because the group has to do a vote. For those of you who like seeing my postcards I apologize for the dearth of new ones this year.

I also decided to participate in a "super fast collect and package" swap with one of the yahoo groups. We had to fill a baggie with items we already had then post a picture to the group. My package is called "beautiful blues".

Thanks to those of you here, and elsewhere, who gave me great suggestions for how to sign my double sided quilt.

Sketches for two new wall hangings I am working on. I have not decided yet if they will be two sides to the same quilt or if they will be separate. I've ordered fabric which I hope will show up some time next week.

I'm going to do a full size dummy run using paper before I cut into the fabric. It's very rare for me to name a quilt before I make it but these ones came to mind as I was doing the drawings.

Enjoy your week-end. We have scouting stuff going on as in Nik has badges to complete, I am sewing badges on his uniform and some of us are assisting with a friends' Eagle scout project.