little quilt monday~~~hole in the barn door

Little Quilt Monday

I decided to make mini quilts for the AAQI, and I showed you the first two that I will be donating here.  Well, since then, my step-father, who had alzheimers has died.  I was going to make these in his honor, but now I will be making them to honor his memory.

He was a farmer/rancher that loved living in the country.  I chose to make the Hole in the Barn Door quilt block in green to signify  the green color of the winter wheat that he would plant each year.  He lived a very disciplined life.  He always had breakfast at 6:30, and lunch at a diner called Vivian's.  Supper depended on the time of year, sometimes brought out into the field during harvest.  He was born on the farm, and lived in that very house until after my mothers death, when he could no longer be cared for there.  He took an active part in his community and church.  Most important of all, he loved my mother, and became part of my life when I was in college.

I hand stitched this mini quilt with variegated crochet thread.  It is a random pattern going around the square,  and it reminds me of rows of crops.

The measurements are 9 X 9 inches and the backing fabric is linen.  I added corner squares, as requested by the AAQI, for ease in hanging on the wall, if desired.

I hope to get my 3 quilts registered to the AAQI and sent by the end of the week.

Now it is your turn to link up something to

Little Quilt Monday

1.  This link-up party is for any small project.  For example, mini quilts, doll quilts, baby quilts, place mats, mug rugs,

wall quilts, table runners, etc.

2.  They can be a WIP(work-in-progress) or finished.

3.  If it is something from the past there is no need to write a new blog post, just link the one that you have already written, and, please link back to my blog post.

4.   If you are interested, you can add your pictures to my flickr group here, or join my Facebook group here. 

Let's inspire each other!

piece,

elizabeth

I have linked up to Sew Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday.

finally finished

I have been working on this quilt for a while.  I finally got motivated when I decided to give a comfort quilt to a friend that is going through chemo.  It is made with some of my favorite fabrics, and I enjoyed hand stitching a larger quilt for a change.

These fabrics are from my stash, the original Amy Butler's Gypsy Caravan collection.  I don't think I am going to buy any from her new release, but I still think they are pretty!

This sweet friend is someone that I have known since grade school, but we didn't reconnect after high school graduation until a few years ago when we became Facebook friends : )  I have enjoyed the chance to reacquaint myself with lots of old friends from the past.  I am definitely a fan of Facebook.

I hand stitched this comfort quilt with lavender crochet thread, and backed it with some

 Kaffe Fassett fabric.

The quilt measurements are 42 X 62 inches.  Just right for a lap quilt.

I am sending prayers, hugs, and love along with this quilt.

piece,

elizabeth

Amanda mentioned that she will not be doing the Finish It Up link party for a while, so if there is an interest I have a link account that I would be happy to use on Friday.  Let me know if I should continue the party.  I will call it something like Friday's Finishes, if there is an interest : )

edited on May 4th~~~I am calling it Show Off Friday and I hope to see you there!

I am linking up to Finish It Up Friday and

poetica

I entered my tea towel in the Farmers Wife for Your Life contest over at Sunni's blog and I won one of the prizes!   This week I received my two FQ bundles of Poetica by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop.  One bundle is called Rose Ballad and the other is Seafoam Symphony.

The fabric is gorgeous and has a wonderful, soft feel.

Click on the pictures for a closer look! 

I am one lucky girl!  I haven't decided what to make with all these lovelies, but it certainly will be fun playing with them.

Count them, twenty yummy fat quarters : )

piece,

elizabeth

little quilt monday~~~amish stitching

Little Quilt Monday

I have been hand stitching a little quilt top that I have had in my WIP pile for a while.  I love the Amish design with the bright, bold solid fabrics.  I chose a turquoise crochet thread for the big stitches.

It is about 28 X 28 inches.  It will make a nice wall hanging or table topper.

I hope to have it finished by the end of the week : )

Now it is your turn to link up something to

Little Quilt Monday

1.  This link-up party is for any small project.  For example, mini quilts, doll quilts, baby quilts, place mats, mug rugs,

wall quilts, table runners, etc.

2.  They can be a WIP(work-in-progress) or finished.

3.  If it is something from the past there is no need to write a new blog post, just link the one that you have already written, and, please link back to my blog post.

4.   If you are interested, you can add your pictures to my flickr group here, or join my Facebook group here. 

Let's inspire each other!

piece,

elizabeth

scorching hot finish

I scorched one of my hexagons as I was ironing the edges for machine applique.  I first showed you my hexagons here.  I had no luck getting the scorch stain out, so I soaked the block in my leftover coffee.

 

Then I laid the block on a towel to dry, and decided to make a potholder out of my mistake.

Here you can see the difference in the coffee dyed quilt block and an original white block.

I used some Insul Bright for my batting to make the potholder able to withstand the heat.

I used a variegated thread for the machine stitching and black embroidery floss for the out line quilting.

 Although, I will be careful not to scorch another quilt block, I am happy that I was able to turn my mistake into a cute, useful potholder : )  

piece,

elizabeth

I am linking up to Finish It Up Friday.

wip~~~hexagons and naps

We are spending a quiet week in Colorado.  As you can see, Tiger loves the sunshine.  He claims the spot that I want to take pictures and won't budge : ) 

I am playing with my Colorado fabric stash and cut some 5.5 inch hexagons using the Darlene Zimmerman hexagon template.  At first I was machine sewing them together, but I decided that it was too tedious and changed my plan to applique.

I have a few more ready to machine applique, but first I need to iron around the edges.  I decided not to make these blocks raw edge applique.  I will plan how to use them in a quilt after I get them all sewn.

We move pretty slow while in Colorado, so I am not sure if I will iron and sew before or after my nap.   Tiger  just made me yawn!

piece,

elizabeth

I am linking up to WIP Wednesday.

may for me~~~ b i n g o

• 

I finished my BINGO card for the May For Me game that I first mentioned here.

Tiger helped me with the photo shoot this morning, and of course, his favorite space on the board is the cat....oh, maybe, the bird : )

There are still a few days left if you want to link up a B I N G O card and

play along here.

Here's my card with a list of the spaces.

B    I   N   G   O

Row 1~~~horse      bunny     cat     flower    tree
Row 2~~~car          bee     strawberry     grape      deer
Row 3~~~dog      moon        free space     dragonfly     egg
Row 4~~~cup      bus         apple        peace         bird
Row 5~~~boat         duck      heart     plum        butterfly
(edited to correct list)

This ought to be fun!  Why don't you join me?  Each time one of my spaces is called, I will sew a button on the square.   Let the games begin : )

piece,

elizabeth

little quilt monday~~~swap quilt

Little Quilt Monday

I received my darling little quilt from the OKC Modern Quilt guild swap.  We each gave a friend some of our scraps and then waited to see what they made with them.  I hit the jackpot when I gave my scraps to Amanda.  She made me the cutest little quilt with my scraps.

The little quilt measures approximately 24 X 30 inches.

Amanda's quilting is gorgeous! 

 Now I definitely want to try some straight line quilting by machine.

This little quilt will most likely end up on my sewing room wall : )

Now it is your turn to link up something to

Little Quilt Monday

1.  This link-up party is for any small project.  For example, mini quilts, doll quilts, baby quilts, place mats, mug rugs,

wall quilts, table runners, etc.

2.  They can be a WIP(work-in-progress) or finished.

3.  If it is something from the past there is no need to write a new blog post, just link the one that you have already written, and, please link back to my blog post.

4.   If you are interested, you can add your pictures to my flickr group here, or join my Facebook group here. 

Let's inspire each other!

piece,

elizabeth

little quilt monday

I am taking a little break this week.  Lots of fun family stuff, and also a family member who is not doing well.  Life : )  I hope everyone had a blessed Easter.

piece,

elizabeth

wip~~~leftover strips revisited

I got the leftover strips that I first showed you here out to play with again.  I found a neat tutorial on the internet and decided to make my blocks with 4 strips instead of 5.

Here are a few pictures showing the process.  If you have time, watch the tutorial for a better idea on how this block is made. 

After you have sewn your strips together and cut them in squares, you put two of them right sides together with the strips going in opposite directions.  Sew all around the square and then cut as shown.

This is what it looks like after you iron them open.

Here are the same 4 segments in a different arrangement.

Now you can begin playing with the design!

I decided to make my quilt blocks uniform by matching fabrics, but I think it would be darling like the blocks shown above too.

The unfinished quilt top measure 32 X 42 inches.  The perfect size for a baby quilt.

I know I will be making more of these.  I have lots of strips to play with from a strip swap with friends a few years ago : )

piece,

elizabeth