The Farmer's Wife Sampler QAL, Book Review and Sunday Stash

Two weeks away. Two posts in one day. I have a reward waiting for me when I finish my swap obligations. The Farmer's Wife Sampler QAL which I believe will be the largest QAL in web history to date. There is the Flickr Group and tying in with that the Yahoo Group which will help line you out on about any issue. I thought I would be able to start on time but not to be. My book arrived and I began to read it. I couldn't stand it. It should be a staple in most quilt libraries. I believe it will be by the time this quilt along ends. That is the thing. I do not think it will end. As more and more quilters enter our internet community and begin quilting they are going to eventually face this quilt along. Reading online at the difficulty with templates, blocks and, oh my gosh, what fabric? I have read everything from our modern sisters to the civil war repro women. They have an entire group of their own!

The book is fascinating with letters from women accompanying the pictures and instructions for two blocks of the 111 blocks that make up the book. I have a feeling I will be transformed to the farm when I get going. I cannot wait. Oh yes, it has a CD in the back with the templates for the blocks. So, this book gets an A++ and I know I did not need to review it as you are probably already working on yours.

The second book gets an A++ as well if you like to make bags and Amy Butler bags at that. Style Stitches gives you a total of 26 bags by giving options of sizes which can be a problem with her patterns. There is not one bag in this book that I would not want to own. Some are very time and material intensive, but most are no worse than The Birdie Sling which I think a lot of us have made.

love the ruffle on that bag.

Time for some eye candy. Thanks to Pink Castle Fabrics, Cias Palette,  Fabricworm, Sew Love Fabric and  The Intrepid
Thread on Etsy...whew! Good couple of mail weeks. It seems everything came at once....darn..I hate that!

Loulouthi

thanks to Lara for the AU DS prints

new pearl bracelets! Lizzy House

stuff i needed

bella solids

shot cottons...omg...you cannot imagine

let me help....you can see the colors..mouth waters...

Whew! Time to get back to sewing some of this stuff up!

I am also starving to death and I am certain my sweet hubby is.

Are there threads all over your house? Like all the time?

Do you have a lint roller in multiple rooms and the car?

mmm...hmmmm....thought so.

happy sewing

leslie

Time's UP! Bees, Swaps and Projects.

Hello friends. Where does the time go? How do some of the quilters and crafters get done in a week what takes me a month (or more) to complete. I think we all have a style. My style is circling the wagon. I get an idea and I drive myself crazy planning it. I can get quite carried away. By the way have you all seen Tula Pink's quilt Spacedust? Oh my. There are no words.

look at the quilting...geesh

 The reason I mentioned that is if you read how she came up with that design and the description of the drawing and layout you will kind of get the idea of how I do things. This is the drawing before the quilt.

Quote from Tula "  So this is the crazy map that was supposed to tell me what went where. I had this quilt idea pop into my head around three A.M. one morning. During this time of night my mind works a little differently than any other time of day. I remember this seeming extremely logical at the time."  

 The difference is obvious...hers turns into something awesome...mine turns into something less awesome that I sometimes have doubts about (see previous post which was ridiculous.)

So now I still have three more blocks to make because I had to pick the complicated block in the same months that i was leaving town and watching Mother in Law. I did manage to get the Mug Rug Adventure Swap 2 complete ON TIME! That is another thing. I had this idea and drew it out on paper and then spent days agonizing over the tiniest details.

Then if something could go wrong it did from thread issues to major mistakes. This mugrug has been ripped and reripped. In the end I think it turned out pretty cute although I should have appliqued the bubbles BEFORE I put the backing on. the bubbles are all different colors and although the bobbin thread was natural that much color cannot help coming through...oh well...character right?

Then there are always these lofty projects I see online. Angela at Cut to Pieces has an awesome tutorial for fabric organization here. I thought it was genius to use comic book backs to access your fabric. Let me tell you this is no small task for me. This is as far as I got with that.

I have another partial shelf but I went through 200 of these in a jiffy. This is some of what I have left..some. If you have a large stash I would suggest buying in bulk. I would start with at least 500. You can wrap everything from 1/2 yard up to...well..I did 3 on a few. Remember, a major destash awaits at the end and as I have missed any blogiversary I will be doing something special for my friends.

I am still trying to find a good scrap system. Any ideas? Seriously, I almost paid for a class. I may still if someone doesn't help me with a better system.

My poor daughter. Summer and pregnant. She had wanted an apron and I just love "The Pretty Ditty Apron" by Jamie Christina which I purchased here. 

What you see Hanging out of the sides is wide elastic which just sleeves through the waistband. I still need to add the waist ties which I will feed into the waistband several inches. Room to grow! I really love aprons. I kind of collect patterns...a few. I need to whip one out for me!

So that is what is going on at the moment. My reward for finishing is the beginning of what I think will be the largest quilt along ever.

Next post.

I hope all of you are caught up and have fabric that you love.

Leslie

Oh my....

I do not know how to blog and live my life at the same time. I am at the age where parents are beginning to be an issue. For the past two weeks I have had my mother in law with Alzheimers to give my husbands brother and sister in law a break. Even though I am a nurse by profession it is not a job for the weak at heart or anyone with a hobby...like sewing. If my camera battery had not died I would show you what I did manage to get accomplished which is organizing some of my fabric BUT the reason for this post is this.

Is this a stupid block? Do not be nice.

I need to make

four more blocks, they are time consuming and I have a backup block. I just do not want to give a stupid block. The colors were obviously aqua, orange and yellow. The person likes HR...well, who doesn't but have I stared at this block for too many hours and blinded myself against it? I have made only two of the six I am to make. Here was the initial one

I had no reservations about this one. Came together quickly and i like it.

Did my mother in laws alzheimers skew my thought processes and creativity

or am I just having a mini breakdown?

Help a girl out before someone gets a bad block.

If I were doing it again i would do a wonky log cabin in a circular design.

similar to this but not as structured.

thanks for your input!

Sunday Stash and a quick book review!

Two posts in one night. Must be the sun today. I need to grab Pink Chalks button. The girls at this store are amazing.  They will bend over backwards to help you find what you need. So, I wanted to mention the Monthly Solids Club. Has anyone else joined this but me? You can choose FQ, HY or FY and I suppose any amount that you want. I chose FQ because every month for a minimal price (like a pizza) you receive one of these lovelies.

No, you do not get the Perle Cotton or the Mason Jars but you do get eight beautifully coordinated colors with an awesome color card telling you exactly which company and color they are. I have a kona color card but with the little swatches sometimes it is not spot on. This is like having a large color card on file that you can use! Some of the colors I would never think of ordering but they are heaven in person.

They began this in March and I think it is worth the investment. 

THIS arrived today

I can honestly say where some lines there are a few prints you are not crazy about. This is not one of them. The colors are divine. Fussy cutting....get ready. Tula Pink has outdone herself with Prince Charming. I cannot wait to see what all will be created with this line.

No pic but I finally finished collecting all the voile in Little Folks 

Now I am on a stripe and polka dot kick

I am getting ready for major destash. I am tired of looking at quite a bit of what I have.

Finally, I received two books I have been interested in looking at. I am just as bad about buying quilting books. I have seen these patterns online most of the time so I do not know why I do it other than I cannot get enough of beautiful, creative quilts. I can waste a lot of time doing this instead of creating them.

One I love, the other I will be sending back. Block Party is a delight. I know of and follow most of the girls in it and it is not really a quilting book, although it is, just more like a story. A story that you and I and all the girls/guys we swap fabric with, blocks with, mugrugs with but mainly the way most, not all of us learned this new way of quilting. By reading blogs and finding inspiration. To me it is fascinating. The way we help each other, support each other, have our own language. We understand each others artistic abilities and struggles and inability to cut into that fabric. I loved the intro by Denyse, she was spot on. Anyway, definitely a book worthy of reading, the quilts are adorable and is generally a fun book. The second book, Fresh Fabric Treats,  I was really disappointed with. I thought Moda would put out a book with, I don't know, something I couldn't get off Moda Bakeshop? I mean no offense to any of the bakers. All the designs are good and the quilts pretty but I do better looking through them on my own on the website. If anyone wants to buy or swap this book I am in!

Have a great holiday weekend!

I hope everyone gets to sew!

Leslie

Family heirlooms

Well I went to Walmart....yes....Walmart to replace my camera. I know...I am usually not caught dead in there unless it is an emergency. I decided to get an inexpensive camera, holding out for big daddy at Christmas. I chose a Fuji. Honestly out of all the cameras I tried it had the sharpest pics and ease of use. Here is the kicker to this story. You know when you download a pic say...to flickr? Do you know what mine reads? Fuji/model#/then it states/Walmart!!! OMG! Now, not only was I in Walmart but I bought a camera and am taking my most precious pics with the dang thing. My hubby is trying to make it go away but it is not working. So just know I replaced my camera with a Fuji at Walmart like the complete dork that I am. So..I lost all my precious pics from   home but I can share with you what I scored in T-town (Tulsa) for those of you who know nothing about it.

1. Two t-shirts that boast of Tulsa or Oklahoma. I just had to mention that.

2. My parents met and fell in love when they were 12. They have been together since that time and they are now 75. This quilt is the one they slept under the first few years of their marriage and I wanted it bad.

Sadly, I have no idea who made this for them and it is pretty worn. I am going to have to patch several squares but I love its uniqueness and the unusual feedsacks that were used. My mom could not understand why I wanted this worn one when a pretty pastel nine patch that looked unused and had no character sat there for my choosing. I like my choice.

Then I went snooping out in the garage in their other home where my daughter lives and found this lamp. My mother found the urn in an antique store in the 60's and my Grandfather turned it into a lamp with wood and metal workmanship. It became separated in a couple of spots so it will visit the lamp doctor here in town. I think it is awesome.

Next, I took my mother to a lovely place called Windsor Market where they have a little something for everyone and i found these unbelievably awesome curtains. they are 100% linen with French script and these babies are big! I can't wait to get them up. Won't they look great with the lamp?

No heirlooms but picked up a bit of stash from a LQS along with a couple of rulers that looked interesting

That is all I could salvage out of the trip to OK. I will be back with a stash report soon.

If it is as nice where you are as it is here get outside and plant some things!

Look at this beauty from Japan

A climbing "bleeding heart"

I thought i would just die when i saw it.

Happy Saturday!

Leslie

A Poll

 I need your help. I have been on vacation, going back home to Tulsa for the last week. It was wonderful to see all of my friends, family and especially my two year old grandson Jackson. He is really something else. I cannot believe how much he reminds me of my daughter and the love I feel for him is so similar. I will not go on and gush but I was looking forward to sharing some pictures with you all of an awesome family quilt i scored, the pile of fabric I obtained from the LQShops in the area.

The dilemma. I left my camera behind at my parents house. Ordinarily this would be no big deal but you do not know my parents. It is gone for an eternity. It will eventually surface but who knows when. *sidenote* They are not hoarders. They have a lovely home. A very large home with tons of decor, shelving, etc. My mom lost her Ipad and we ended up finding it two weeks after she lost it. I needed a new camera anyway as I have expressed the last couple of times I have posted. Somehow I could not get things just right. So this brings me to you fellow bloggers, artists and photographers. I have been doing my research by reading and even looking on flickr at who takes good pics and the cameras they are using.



interesting



i personally think this is awesome



i like to look at this



do these work? hmmm...

Okay, enough fun. If you all could help me I would be grateful. You know how many cameras are out there and you know what we use them for. I want something reliable, takes multiple shots without a lot of hassle. ease of use is huge to me although I do have photography experience and know how to adjust f stops and lighting and it may be nice to do that sometimes. I need a motion stabilizer. I like to do all my editing on the computer not the camera. I do not like to use aa batteries because it is not cost effective. I am looking at anything in the range from $200-500. I am looking at another Canon but I kind of like the Nikon for motion stability and the speed of rapid shooting. I know very little about fuji, pentax, olympus.

Please leave me a comment on your experience or opinions.

thanks to all my friends,

leslie

MUGRUGS!!!!

Hi, ya'll! Okay, I will say I have never made a mugrug or a dollquilt before but....WOW....instant gratification. I am intrigued although I suppose you could only make so many. With my first mugrug swap pending and an additional present needed for my mother for Mothers Day I decided to try my hand. I could use a little practice like all of my projects but these were super fun.

I agonized over what fabric to use for my Mom. She knows absolutely NOTHING about quilting or designers of fabrics. She wears lots of diamonds, has maids and an interior decorator that would gasp in horror if I hung one of my quilts in that house. So, on that note I poured over everything. She loves toile. Great. I have only Jennifer Paganelli bright pink, mint and lavender. Nope. Nope. Nope. Then I thought if I am making one for my Mom why not make one for my Dad. He was easy to make a quilt for this Christmas. Well, the only masculine fabric I had in my stash other than solids was Lush, then it occured to me! I could make a practice run on block making for the his and hers Lush and Uptown Paint by Number quilts I have planned (when...hmmm..sometime) for my husband and me! So there you go! Solution. Then the guilty question. Should I use my prized fabrics for someone who has no idea how hard these are to come by? Why, of course! I should use those on the people I truly love and who wants to work with crummy fabric anyway....toile...arrrggg.

These are easy and fun. I did have some issue with FMF as binding as it is so soft or maybe the piece I had has been passed around for ten years but it gave me fits and did NOT want to cooperate. It shows but my mother will never notice. The other thing I did that kind of bugs me is this was a last minute decision. I am leaving tomorrow. (If you are a robber my husband and big black biting dog are still here.) I used monofilament thread. I have used it before when I had a color situation. I would have rather hand quilted this and would have if I had time. I had no issue with the thread but I sure wish I would have thought of doing this a week ago.

That's it for now. My bee blocks are on hold and I will not be able to sew for a week. They do have a cute LQS in my hometown and I have buy back bucks to use there. yippee!!!

Fabric....so diverse

WORDS

Have a good week everyone,
Leslie

ME PLUS YOU CROSS QUILT COMPLETE

It seems like a long time ago but the West Virginia MQG had a quilt along, for whoever chose to participate, on any cross quilt project. I went with the Me + You quilt as I had agreed with a friend to make one. We both got very busy and I completed it last night. I love the aqua and red version but i was yearning to use some modern meadow and fell into a navy and lime combo. It is hard to tell but I added Amy Butler lime full moon dots as well as AB lime seeds and used a navy pindot for the opposite effect.

Sorry for the poor lighting but we have had no sun for a long time. I was lucky to be dry.

I quilted it in a double grid pattern on either side of the seams in navy and since then wished i would have hand quilted it but I am already ripping out two quilts so that is not an option.

I tried my hand at machine binding. I know some of you love to bind by hand but sometimes I just want it done and last night was one of those nights. I used this tutorial by RPQ. I had a few errors that needed touch ups but with a little more practice I could have it down.

Now onto the rest of those blocks and it is time to dig into something new.

thanks, leslie