THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS!

WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

 

EVEN GINGERBREAD IN THE DINING ROOM!

 

 

I want to share my own holiday design called "Pomegranate Holiday" which is hand stitched using cottons and wools.  The perfect match of glass bead for the seeds just made it come to life!
I used my glass oval from my living room coffee table for the oval shape.  My friend, Char, helped me with that.  I plan to make a pattern of it some day soon.  I know how much my fellow quilters love to work with the perle cotton threads. 

   

     Gingerbread Buyer's Choice Carolers

                                and

           Vintage Christmas Tablecoth

        Williamsburg Buyer's Choice Carolers

                                     and

                               Polish Pottery

 

I LOVE GINGERBREAD MEN!

 

 

EVEN HAD TO STITCH SOME!

 

 

TABLERUNNERS OF GINGERBREAD!

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays to all my friends, may they be stitchers or quilters!

I want to share with you all some of the things that I have been enjoying, including decorating for Christmas around the house or finishing up a quilt or two.  I have even attempted to raise my first plant, pictured above!  Wish me luck!  Hope you all are enjoying the fresh snow and are inside safe and warm!  Maybe you will even have some time to sit and stitch on your current project.  I hope you enjoy my snapshots around the house.  Hope to see or hear from you soon.  Take care.

 

 

I thought you would all like to see my little Laundry Basket Quilt that I finished

while I was away in North Carolina.  I can't wait to get it quilted!  The border fabric was chosen first and then the others.  Had so much fun with my friend, Karen, selecting all the fabrics!  I still have to embroider "Est. 1960" in the bottom beige border below the house.

Another project I have gotten underway is my "Women of Courage" quilt!  Lots of tiny pieces measuring 1 5/8" -- glad to get the harder blocks finished! 

And -- you must think, where does she get all the time to complete these all -- well, the weather has been kinda dreary and humid and I locked myself away in my quilt room with the nice air conditioner!  Also, my husband is out of town!

I put the last border on a little while ago on my Christmas panel quilt that I purchased over a year ago!  My husband really liked the last one I made.  He did not want to give it away to our son for a Christmas present!  Maybe this one!  

Thank you for following my blog and I hope you are having a wonderful summer!

                                        SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME!

Today I am enjoying my time outside mowing the law and trimming and watering all my flowers!

But -- There is always time to take a picture of a new quilt I made!  This small quilt was made as my "Tie" Challange in our local guild.  I used seven ties of assorted small paisley prints in the 1" strips of the log cabin.  The last touch was using a tie as the small flowers in front of the log house!  Don't you love it!

I designed the flowers to match the outlined flowers in the Moda fabric.  The flowers came to life when they were stitched with two different rose threads and gold thread for the french knots.  Wa La!

I named this quilt "The House That Jack Built" because I had no idea what the end result was going to be.

My Memorial Day Project is finished!

My inspiration for this penny rug was my friend, Barbara, who I recently saw during my trip to Virginia!  We ate lunch at the Martha Washington Inn at Mount Vernon and while shopping in the beautiful gift shop I found this cute pie bird with a cherry on his chest!  He now has a special home!  The penny rug design is called "Blackbird Pie" from Leisure Arts book on "Quick and Easy Penny Rugs".  I had just the perfect wool for the pie crusts!  My friend, Karen, found this piece for me to be used on a previous winter project.  Thank goodness there was enough for my crust!  The rug is about 20 inches in diameter.  I may sew some black buttons in the center of some of the pennies.  Wouldn't that be great!  

ANOTHER BLACKBIRD DESIGNS SAMPLER IS FINISHED!  THIS WAS A MYSTERY SAMPLER OF THREE SEPARATE PATTERNS CALLED SUMMER, AUTUMN, AND WINTER.  JUST LOVE THE RICH COLORS!

              My quilt show and lecture at the Fairfax Quilter's Unlimited Quilt Guild is on May 17th!

A Wonderful "Weekend"

I hope you are having a wonderful "Weekend" and want you to see my finished bed runner (or now table runner) from Blackbird Designs "Weekend" quilt book.  The blueberry crumbcake fabrics from Moda and designed by Blackbird Designs make this a beauty!  There are three different whites used for the coneflowers and three different deep blues for the leaves.  It is all needleturned and heavily quilted by my friend, Linda.  I will be teaching this at a local quilt shop and hope the ladies enjoy making this as much as I did.  I have kitted it for all of them! 

Lying on the table is my small pin cushion I made to match my new sewing box.  I decided to stuff it with wool that I rolled into a small barrel shape.  I then pulled it into the sewn stitched piece and appliqued a top and bottom.  I decided to use a beautiful blue thread called "Midnight". 

When I purchased this new blueberry crumbcake charm pack I just had to make this sewing box to match my pincushion!  It just happens to be in Blackbird Designs quilt book "Weekend" also!  I can't stop making things from this book.  Love it!

But for a change of designs -- wait until you see my new "Make Do" from French Inspirations.  Meet "Peace Dove" done in soft white wool and valdani overdyed thread.  I did change the color of the thread because I just love soft blue.  Had to make a quick trip to the store to get just the right buttons for his wings!  His collar is velvet ribbon from the bridal aisle.   He stands on pieces found in my workroom -- a fencepost finial and a candlestick.  I glued them together and wa ha!  Walnut stain made it look finished and a large screw to attach him!  As I said before, what we go through to make our make do's!!

I hope you enjoyed all the blues and whites and do have a wonderful "Weekend"!

Now, you were probably wondering what Mrs. Crowfut was standing on!  Well, it is my quilt I made and taught for Jo Morton's Little Women Club called "Holiday Inn".  Here it is hanging at our annual quilt show that was held this past November in Elmira, New York.  It has lots of reproduction fabrics in it and is a true medallion quilt.  Teaching this quilt was a challenge and I was so happy when all the ladies finished theirs with much success!!  My friend, Linda, quilted it beautifully and even did a miniature stipple among the birds!  I hope you like it.

I promised you another "Makedo".  Well, meet "Mrs. Penny Crowfut".  I was lucky enough to have a friend in our local embroiderers' guild show me what her friend had made and was asked to re-create him.  This is what I came up with!  He has a warm pennyrug coat made with soft grey and gold wool and vintage buttons.  He is standing on a glass candlestick that my friend had gotten lots of for her daughter's wedding which she decided not to use.   Guess who got the rest of the candlesticks!!  My poor closet!  I love her!  I have given the ladies I taught in a wool applique class a challenge that when they finish their quilt I will share the crow with them and they can make one of their own.  That excited them!  Have to get this planned.  Well anyway, enjoy Mrs. Crowfut.  She is also named after my friend's maiden name! 

"Anniversaries of the Heart" Sampler by Blackbird Designs

My sampler, Anniversaries of the Heart, by Blackbird Designs was finally completed in the fall of 2011.  Each house block has a name or initials of someone in my family where their birthday or anniversary occurs in that month.  The last large block in the bottom right records my name, birth date, and home town.  I hope this sampler will be enjoyed for many years to come! 

It is nice to have something special to put on your dining room table when you remove your Christmas tablecloth and are anxious to redecorate.  I made this "Winter Apple" table quilt, which was designed by Blackbird Designs, this past fall.  I just love the fabric I selected and really enjoyed appliquing the four segments until all four went together into a quilt!  I eventually taught it as a class at a local quilt shop where all the ladies got my fabric selection.  They all did a wonderful job!  My friend, Linda, machine quilted it using a mactavishing technique she is great at.  My mother helped select the binding fabric, which put an elegant finished edge to the quilt!  I put my heirloom etched glasses on it to add another touch.

Scarlet Letter's Elizabeth Sheffield 1784 Sampler Reproduction

Wanted to share with you my Elizabeth Sheffield sampler that I did in 2010.  The framing of the sampler was a Christmas gift from my husband.  I began this sampler last June and worked on it diligently with my friend, Carole.  We had so much fun seeing the beautiful colors emerging on the sampler.  The dirty linen was 35 count and quite a challenge with all the petit point stitches.  I was lucky enough to have a four bulb floor lamp that made it possible!  The sampler was reproduced with the permission of the American Folk Art Museum in New York City.

My French Inspirations Pillow and Mr. Tomato Bird

I loved making this pillow using the new Moda toweling and hand dyed wools!  I stitched the wool applique pieces using buttonhole and overhand stitches with beautiful hand dyed threads.  The soft colors of pink, rosy red berries, bordeaux pomegranate, blue heron, and green look lovely on my applique "Harvest Basket" quilt by Blackbird Designs.

Now meet Mr.Tomato Bird Makedo.  Every now and then I just have to make a "makedo".  This one is now my favorite!  It is French Inspirations design creation which I love.  I used Moda red wool and Valdani green 202 hand dyed thread for the feather stitch and buttonhole stitch.  He came to life when I placed him on a fence post finial which I stained walnut.  Boy what we go through to create our "makedo's".  Wait until you see some of my others in the near future!