love

I fell in love this week.

Isn't this the sweetest collection of fabric?

It looks like it has been around a LONG time, doesn't it?

I love ALL the little bits of fabric and little blue ties.

Someone, a long time ago, hand pieced all those

little, itty bitty pieces together for something that she

would use in the kitchen everyday.

The back.

Simple.

Are you in love too??

we're covered.

Everything at my house is covered with a quilt.

How 'bout you?

Do you find things to cover?

Every piece of furniture.

Many walls.

There's even an "I spy" quilt on my daughter's floor!

This is my first paper piecing adventure.

It was made during a class with Peggy Martin.

It was fun to learn her way of doing things

and

also fun to quilt with a bunch of friends!

Peggy taught us how to make those stars

and then...

I had to make it my own by adding the applique'!!

This is one of my old favorites.
It lives on my rocker.....

ready for that afternoon nap!

Tuesday

My flowers sure enjoyed the rain this last week.

Actually the flowers are only possible because of my

husband's care. If it were up to me...

I don't think I'd be enjoying them at all.

I received a little package a couple of days ago.

Fabric with a plan!

Shelly had it all worked out for those of us who

signed up for the modern quilting bee.

She sent two triangles cut from newspaper,

fabric, and some very clear instructions.

There's a tutorial on her blog!!!

I enjoyed making these little blocks and

hope to send them off to her soon!

I just love getting things done!

Then I can cross them OFF my list!

Here's what I'm working on when I'm avoiding
all the things I should be doing!
I made some more blocks.
Looks like we need some more handles and
some more feet on those baskets.
Can you find the one that's complete?
Right there in the middle.
As I looked at these and played around with placement...




I found out I kind of like those blocks with all strips!
Now what should I do??
I will ponder some more.....
And sew some more....



You can see I have a lot to think about!!

It's Happy thinking though!

sewing party.

Did you know you were invited to a virtual sewing party Saturday night?

I found out kind of late and contemplated attending.

But I wondered...

"How am I going to go to a party, blog and

sew something all at the same time?"

I wasn't sure I was up to the challenge.

I was inspired to make something for

Valentine's Day though!

I pulled a few pieces of pink out of myscrap drawer.

Started sewing some pieces together.

Cut a few pieces.

Sewed some more pieces together.

That orange spices things up...don't you think?

Then I simply put flannel on the back,

quilted and added a pink binding.

My little placemat will live

in the middle of my busy table this month.

Thanks to Jan and Kelly for hosting the party...

maybe next time I'll figure out how to attend! ;/

cat house.

I told you I would be making this cat house,

ala sewtakeahike.

And since I told you I'd show you,

I have to write a post about it....

even though I'm not excited about writing a post about it....

So....since I told you I'd show you.....

Guess I'll have to show you....

This is one of those projects that I was excited about beginning...

and then half way through I didn't want to finish it.

Maybe the reason is I had a few problems:

1. bought the wrong width pellon. Mine came in 20" width

the directions call for 30" wide.

2. Pellon did not stick too great...so I had to "quilt" the pieces

before putting them all together.

3. The color is not MY color (but, since it's a gift, we'll let that one go)

4. the fabric I chose tended to unravel at the edges.

5. the white interfacing shows up on all the edges and

looks tacky...lesson learned:

Don't use black fabric with white interfacing.

You can see all my "quilting" stitches inside there.

That little name plate up there....my favorite part.



Then to make myself feel better I made this.



Banana cake (that I call banana bread)
it cooks faster than bread, serves more and tastes just the same to me.

2 or 3 ripe bananas - mashed or cut fine
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla



mix these together.
add:


2 Cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt


now add:


1/2 chopped nuts (I use walnuts)


bake at 350
in a greased 9"x11" pan
20 - 25 minutes.




End of story:
I gave the cat house away.
They loved it.
I had a LONG coffee break with a yummy snack.

solids.

I'm so excited about this block!!

This is my first quilt block made ONLY with solid colors.

I've wanted to do this for a l-o-n-g time!

I've been collecting some solid color fabrics.

They were either free or in the dollar pile

at the discount store.

I love the challenge of using what I have.

for example...

Why the brown background?

That was the biggest piece.

I'm having so much fun with this!!

Happy Quilting!

I'm off to play with solids!

I'm also adding this to Amy's

sew and tell fridays!

shopping

Once in while, I get these coupons in the newspaper.

When I do, I always have to evaluate my batting supply.

Yup!!!

I need some.

I bought one huge, gigantic roll.

40 yards.

How long will take me to use it all?

Not long.

I sure like having it on hand when I'm making quilts!

The only problem:

Where do you store something like this?

I solved it:

On top of one of the kids bunkbeds that doesn't get used.

It actually kind of hides there, the way the room is set up.

JoAnn's also had books on sale!
40% off!
Woo Hoo!!

Didn't know I needed this book until I saw it!!
:)





Last, but not least, I bought this.
This is for a cat house (my project for this week).
I'll be making it for my son and Daughter-in-law.
They like black or brown...so it may turn
out kind of plain.

If it were for my cat, which I don't have,
I'd love to make it with polkadots and wild fabric!!
If I get it done, I'll be sharing with you, I'm sure.

Blog friends are the best!
My projects are so much more fun when I can
blab all about them!
Thanks for listening. ;)


After using coupons at JoAnn's,
I went to a thift store:
my favorite kind of store!


Look at all these buttons!!
They came in that little basket..
$3.

Last time I bought a large new button for a bag,
I think it was $3 for ONE!

And under those great buttons
I bought two cotton sheets.

Maybe I'll start collecting some vintage sheets and make a quilt!


Found these too.
I can always use sewing supplies. :)



Then, just so you know I didn't just SHOP,
I made this bag.
My friend would like one and wanted me to
make a sample for her.
Well...what do you think?

Kind of boring, huh?
Yeah, that's what I thought too.

home

The rain came down in buckets yesterday.

Thankfully, the only time I had to go out

was when the rain had subsided!!

While it was coming down, I was finishing up this baby quilt.

This is one that will be hard to say goodbye to.
I just love those soft colors.

All the little 1 1/2" pieces are scraps.

Even the whites!!

Yes, all the whites are different, but I tried to make

sure they were all white and not off-white.
You wouldn't believe the amount of scraps I have

and I want to make a dent in my pile...someday!

After one of the large downpours I was admiring my
husbands flowers.
He loves these icelandic poppies that are just ready
to bloom!


This little guy loved the rain!



So did these pretty flowers.




I even have a nice paper white bloom inside!
Looks like those roses are at the end of their life.:(

My last rainy day activity involved this.

Do you know what it is?

This machine has been in a cupboard for a long time.

After reading Mama Pea's blog about bread...

She inspired me to make bread.

But...I made it the easy way.

I wish I could say that I slaved over this bread.

kneading.

waiting while it was rising.

rolling.

etc.
But that bread machine did ALL the work.

The family doesn't know, though, how easy it is.

Let's let 'em think I really outdid myself...huh?

Here's the recipe I used....just in case you want to impress

friends or relatives.:)

Whole Wheat Bread-small loaf

2/3 Cup plain yogurt

2 1/2 T. water

1 1/4 T. butter

1 1/3 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 Cup white flour

1/3 Cup oats

2/3 Cup wheat flour

1 t. yeast

Fill your bread machine with the ingredients in THIS order.

push the button.

Enjoy!

Diana's quilt

I finally

finished this quilt!

I made the top last summer and decided it was not quite right.

So, it's been folded up with my quilt tops

waiting for an occassion!

An occassion came!!!

Yeah!

My musician, USC alumni/fan friend had a birthday!

The colors and theme seemed just right for her.

All I had to do (cough, cough, sputter, sputter...)

was to add a border, quilt and bind it!!

Isn't that gold swirly quilting fun?

It was fun and I don't usually really enjoy the

quilting step that much.

I even had that nice yellow in my stash for the back.

It kind of softens the quilt without clashing.

I'm especially proud that I was able to finish this

without a trip to the fabric store!

That probably means I have way too much fabric...

???

quilt show=adventure

I went to a quilt show yesterday with my friend Jennifer.
We weren't looking for adventure...

but adventure found us anyways!

1. Your's truly got a little lost getting there.
2. Chloe', the littlest member of our party (2 years old), got car sick
during the 1 hour plus drive there.
Was it my crazy driving?
3. We were not allowed to use a stroller at the show.

Mind you...I looked at the web site the night before.
I remembered that there was a quilt show somewhere,
at sometime that did not allow strollers.
I wondered...."Is it a rule at tomorrow's show?"

I looked and looked.
No rule that I could find.
And if YOU find it...well, maybe I'll have to eat my hat.:)
We still had a good time looking at these beautiful quilts.
I wondered...
"Do I even know HOW to make a quilt?"
My quilts are just Kindergarten stuff compared to what we saw.



Jennifer and I took turns carrying her precious little
bundle around the show.
We weren't going to be staying long,
so that we could both get back to pick up
kids afterschool!





Chloe' was an angel!
I couldn't believe how easy it was....
Even though we DIDN't have one of those
handy, dandy strollers!
Well...Jennifer may say it was a heavy morning. :)

It was very crowded,
So I guess I understand the rule.
I told management....
"PLEASE, Please, please....advertise your rule!!"
and put it in bold for me. :)



Isn't this lovely?





Look at all that detail.

And next time you go to a quilt show,
don't be surprised it you get more than
you bargained for!

crafty morning.

My friend Jennifer came over last week and finished up

these super cute cubes to organize her crafty things.

We "loosely" used the pattern that AmandaJean has on her blog.

Aren't they great?

Then she came over again today and paid me a huge compliment.

She brought over the supplies she thought she would need to

make the bibs I blogged about 2 days ago.

Isn't there a quote about the best form of flattery being

imitated?? wish I could remember the quote.

Well, she flattered me. :)

And I do believe her bibs are cuter than mine.
I know they're softer!!

AND easier, because she bought the right size towels!

Then...since she really wanted to get a lot done....

she made this Bible cover for her husband.

The best part...

She used an old pair of pants!!