fun little quilt film

A friend sent me this link and it is a very clever film using quilt patterns....enjoy : )  Just click the word below:

Quilt

~piece~

elizabeth

socks and selvages

I had an excellent mail day today.  I received my sock quilt blocks from my swap with Mary Lou Weidman's yahoo group and a box full of selvages from Tiffany at Pinks Sweet Treats blog.   I haven't decided what I will do with the sock blocks, but they are so darling.   I plan to make a spool block quilt with the selvages.  I have seen several cool spool quilts on the internet and decided that I would give it a try.  Tiffany is in my Block Swap Adventure group and was kind enough to share her selvages with me.

 OH..there were some birthday cards too, because tomorrow is my birthday : )

What fun!

~piece~

elizabeth

free vintage sugar stitchery pattern

Here is the second pattern from my vintage tea set found here.  I also have my creamer stitched up in variegated red floss and the pattern for it is found here or above by clicking the free pattern tab.  Once again you may want to enlarge the pattern because it is printing smaller than the original!

I haven't decided on the fabric that I will make this little quilt with, but I am going to use something that I already have in my stash : )   Next week I will have the pattern for the cute cup and saucer.

~piece~

elizabeth

hexagon flower power

My hexie for this Wednesday is made with some of my favorite fabric.  I used a similar hexagon flower in a recent mug rug swap here.  Now if only the sun would shine : )

~piece~

elizabeth

time to organize

My sewing room is out of control and it is time to get it organized so I can enjoy myself when I sew.  That is what happens when you have too many projects going at once.  I am working on rearranging my fabric and also my sewing area, and that is why it is messier than usual : )  It is always a good feeling to get things back in order!

I have been making a few hexagons and another mug rug, but most of my projects will have to wait until I am satisfied with my sewing room organization.  Spring cleaning is a good thing and I am ready for Spring!

~piece~

elizabeth

from orphan quilt block to mug rug

I decided to work on something quick and easy and there probably isn't anything faster than a mug rug made out of an orphan quilt block!  This is one of the few applique blocks that I have ever attempted.  I used a variety of hand dyed fabrics from my local quilt shop and added some stitching in variegated blue perle cotton.  This quilt block measures 8" square.  I don't know who came up with the mug rug idea, but it sure is a fun name for a little quilt : )

I have linked up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story!
~piece~

elizabeth

free vintage creamer stitchery pattern

I am going to copy the cute vintage tea set of stitcheries found here and offer them as a free pattern.  I plan to embroidery them in a neutral color on linen and I thought some of you might want to stitch them too.  I will add a different pattern each week for 4 weeks beginning today.  I hope you will join me : )

The pattern is found under the free patterns tab above or here.  When you click on the picture to print, it will be smaller than the original because I haven't figured out how to add a pdf file to my blog.  You may want to enlarge the design when you print the pattern.  Please send me a picture if you decide to follow along!

~piece~

elizabeth

vintage stitchery

I found some vintage linens with a precious tea set embroidered in blue.  I already had some Liberty of London fabric in my stash just waiting for a small project.  It seemed quite natural to put them together in this little quilt.   Now I am preparing it for some hand quilting.  There are some perfect little french knots in this piece...oh, how I wish I could figure out how to make those little knots myself : )

~piece~

elizabeth

happy valentine's day

                                                             Happy Valentine's Day!

                                                                          ~piece~

                                                                          elizabeth

30 years ago today

  

              I had my first date with TR, my dear husband, 30 years ago today : )

                                                                         SWEET!

                                                                          ~piece~

                                                                         elizabeth          

mug rug swap

I am participating in the Quilting Gallery's Mug Rug Swap.  It is a secret swap and the person I am sending to is not the person who will be sending to me.  We send 2 mug rugs that are approximately 6"X10" and they do not need to match or coordinate.  I had fun visiting my swap person's blog, and I discovered that she likes bright colors.  As you can see, I used lots of color in my choices for her mug rugs.  I will send them out on Monday, and then I will be anxiously waiting for mine to arrive : )   I wonder if someone has been checking out my blog to see what I like!

For the first mug rug I used some batik scraps from another project.  My swap partner likes to knit and crochet, so I thought this looked like something that she would enjoy.  I used a glue stick called Lapel Stick instead of pins to hold my quilt sandwich together and I was very pleased with the way it held it in place while I stitched the binding on the mug rug.  I  hand quilted the mug rug with floss using a big stitch.

The second mug rug is a hexagon flower machine stitched onto osnaburg cotton.  I used some of my Kaffe Fassett fabric collection and also hand quilted with floss and a big stitch.  Once again, I used the Lapel Stick to hold the hexagon in place, instead of pins, while I machine stitched it onto the cotton.

My cat, Tiger, is showing you the Lapel Stick that I used for these projects.  It is a temporary non-toxic fabric adhesive that dries clear and it won't gum up your needles or machines!  Lapel Stick is water soluble and safe for most fabrics.  I am glad that I had the opportunity to try it in these quilting projects, and I know I will use it again : )

I am linking this to Fabric Tuesday over at the Quilt Story blog.

~piece~

elizabeth

fun mail~~selvage pincushion

Today was a fun mail day.  I ordered a selvage pincushion from Cindy at Live a Colorful Life's etsy shop,  Sewing on the Edge.   It is a pincushion for a flower child : )   I enjoy her blog and when I looked at her etsy store, and saw the Peace pincushion, I knew it was the one for me!

Gotta go do some cleaning so I can do some sewing later.

~piece~

elizabeth

sock block

I am working on an exchange of sock blocks designed by Mary Lou Weidman.  They are cute and not really hard to make, but a little time consuming.  I can't show the process because she is putting the pattern in a future book, but I can show you a few of the socks I have made.  They are to be in red, cheddar, aqua, and green with a splash of black on a cream background.  The sock block sizes will all be different, because it is a basic pattern that you cut without using templates or measurements.  I ended up making mine all with similar dimensions for the sake of time.  I felt like I was wasting too much fabric until I let myself just cut and not worry about the odd shapes that were left.  And then after I developed my own pattern to follow, I was able to turn them out a little faster, with less waste!  I am not entirely sure what I will make when I receive my group of sock blocks from the exchange, but I am sure that I will think of something : )

Mary Lou writes books and teaches all over the country and she has a great blog.  It is always full of bright, fun quilts and pictures.

~piece~

elizabeth

cross timbers block

The block I made for the Block Party at Quilt Story is called Cross Timbers.  As far as I know it is my original design.  I drive by an elementary school almost every day by that name and the design at the entry of the school building has been my inspiration for this quilt block.

I used some Amy Butler fabric by FreeSpirit called Temple Flowers that I have in my fabric collection along with some Kona brown.  It is 15"X15".  I will make another block and take pictures so I can blog about my process and give a mini tutorial for anyone who might be interested.

I have seen asterisk blocks on the internet, but I don't believe that I have seen my cross timbers block anywhere.  I am very pleased at the result and I plan to make many more : )   I am adding this block in the Modern category at Quilt Story.

By the way, cross timbers is a geography term, and I live in the cross timbers area in Oklahoma.  It is an area that covers the central US from Canada(north) all the way to Mexico(south).   Just a little fun FYI about where the elementary school got their name and then how I named my block!

~piece~

elizabeth

retro nine patch

I have another project to show you that I have been working on while I am snowbound.  I would be working on these projects anyway, but the fact that I am stuck at home due to the crazy weather means I have a little more time to work on my sewing/stitching projects : )  Count it all joy!

Anyway, this is the free Retro Nine Patch embroidery project at bluebirdquilts.  Lyn hasn't shown us the big picture yet, just this first block, so I am not sure what is coming in the next few months.  I am planning to use Central Park by Moda with these stitcheries, so I am using floss colors that go with that fabric. This first block is pretty cute, so I am looking forward to what she has planned for this month.

After looking at my pictures, I noticed I hadn't washed out my blue pen, so I will do that soon.  I haven't ever had a problem with the blue pen, but I sure don't want to leave it in too long.  I am stitching on linen, and I really like the way it looks.  Why not head over to Lyn's blog and join me in this stitching adventure!

~piece~
elizabeth

postage stamp quilt along

The Postage Stamp Quilt Along is still going on at my house.  It is officially over today, as far as the give away to be chosen from all the finished quilts.  Fat Quarter Shop is the sponsor and the drawing is today for 3 great prizes.  I am going to consider my finished quilt my prize : )  It has been fun participating in a quilt along, but I still prefer going at my own pace.

There are some super quilts and I recommend taking a look at all the pictures of the quilt along on Flickr.

It is still cold and snowy here in Oklahoma, so I have had fun staying inside, stitching and sewing(and cooking and cleaning).  Hopefully, I will be showing you the finished project soon, but here are some pictures of where I am today.

~piece~
elizabeth

Botany by Moda