Whew!

The last couple of months have been----well let's just say different. Lot's of family matters to take care of. Things are getting back to normal again and it's nice to have a little time to spend on the blog. I missed posting and reading your comments.

There hasn't been much quilting going on but I was able to do a little Internet shopping. I found these three great books on Amazon.

I just love to get new books even if it's only to look at the pictures and dream.

I also found a moment here and there to work on the borders of Comfort and Joy my Christmas quilt.

I have gotten a little behind on Beyond the Cherry Trees.

The patterns for one of the borders and block 24 are out, but that's just fine.
 I have to keep telling myself---- it is not a race after all.

Now all I need is a little piecing time at the machine.  I have been having withdrawal systems.
I know you understand.

Nancy

Fall Theme Blog Hop

Just a quick post to let everyone know about the  Fall Theme/Accuquilt Blog Hop Sewcalgal is hosting.
I was supposed to be a part of this but family matters need my attention at the moment.

I know it will be fun so click here and go over to Sewcalgal's blog to check it out.

I am looking forward to getting back to stitching and posting in the near future.
Nancy

Beyond The Cherry Trees

Seems like forever since I have found the time to post to the blog.

  

First,  I want to thank Katrina over at Sunshower Quilts for the nice prize I won.

She had a giveaway for a ScrapMaBob and I was lucky enough to win.

Katrina has a very interesting blog you should check it out.

I finished blocks 21, 22 and 23 of my Beyond the Cherry Trees quilt.  

It's getting close to the end  only two more blocks left to do and then the borders.

I here the  borders have hundreds of circles.  What fun!

It is always exciting when I get to the end of an applique' quilt.  When I pick all the colors for a scrappy quilt I am never quite sure how they will all look together.

Hope you are all finding time for some stitching.

Nancy

Irene Update

The storm has passed us and I think the worst part was trying to sleep on the couch in the basement with a nineteen month old.
It's still raining and a little windy but the worst is over.
We had very little damage in our immediate area. A few branches down, no flooding or power outages. I just wish everyone could have been as lucky.
I have no idea how to publish pictures using this iPad--something else I need to learn.
Looking forward to a little sunshine.
Thanks for all the good thoughts sent our way.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Irene is Coming!

This past week I have been in Alexanderia, Virginia visiting with my Daughter. It seems like every time I come for a visit there is some sort of natural disaster.
Last week they had an earthquake here. At first we thought the washing machine was out of balance but when the whole house started moving and shaking we figured out it was an earthquake. She didn't have any real damage just a lot of crooked pictures and things falling off the cabinets.
Now we are trying to get ready for Irene. Rounding up batteries, a generator, water and anything else we can think of. The powers that be are saying we will loose power for several days.
If all goes as planned I will be returning home Tuesday----Maybe there won't be anything else before I get out of town.

The Ice Cream Dress

One of the patterns I used and  really liked is called the Ice Cream Dress.  One day as I was blog hopping I came across the Badskirt blog.  Amy was having a sew along making the Ice Cream Dress.  It was so cute I decided I needed to make one for Lillian.
On the yoke of this dress you have to turn a hem before you sew it down and it needs to be nice and even since you are turning it to the right side.
Here is a little tip I have for pressing hems so they look nice and straight .

Cut a manilla folder into approximately 2 to 3 inch strips and mark the amount you want to turn under along the edge.  I guess you could use any type of folder just be careful if you choose a colored one because steam might transfer the color onto your fabric.

Then place the strip on the wrong side of the fabric and press the hem -  folding the fabric over the edge of the folder strip.

  This gives you a nice crisp turn with a smooth edge to sew down.  It's very quick and easy and could be used to turn a hem on almost anything where you want a nice even edge.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Lillians Clothes

Not much time for quilting lately because I have been busy sewing for little Lillian.  I haven't made any little dresses in quite some time and it was fun.
I was a little surprised at how expensive the patterns for these little gems were.  Most of them were bought at the quilt shop and are not anything like I remember patterns.  You have to trace your own  pieces and you need to have a little dressmaking experience because the instructions are somewhat lacking.
Still a few left to finish but I put these in the mail today.  Sure hope they fit.
If you know of any cute ones I have missed let me know.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Out of Town Visitor

I have had a visitor from out of town for the past few days.  Meet Rolly the Accuquilt rolling pin.  Since the Accuquilt Retreat in Fremont Nebraska he has been traveling around the country visiting all the friends he made at the Accuquilt Retreat.  The purpose is to encourage Accuquilt to hold another retreat.

Rolly belongs to Steve Nabity the CEO (Chief Energizing Officer) of Accuquilt who used his wife's rolling pin and cookie cutters as dies to cut out paper  shapes and so began the Accuquilt die cutting system.  If you would like to read more about the Accuquilt company go here.

Rolly is getting a few flying lessons in my Husbands newly restore Stearman airplane.  If you remember about this time last year there was a little accident.  You can read about it here but after a lot of hard work the Stearman is about ready for it's first flight.

Keeping Up!

Sometime keeping up is not all that easy.

Blocks twenty one and twenty two prepped and ready to stitch on my Beyond the Cherry Trees quilt.  Only three more blocks and then the borders.

I am up to date with my BOM Comfort and Joy Christmas quilt.  But this months block is ready to be picked up so I guess I need to go get it.

 I managed to complete two tops for Healing Hugs a group that makes quilts for chemo patients.  Only the  quilting left to do.

 This is my progress on my GO tumbler leader and ender project.  Long way to go with this one and silly me I bought cheddar fabric to make the Bow Tie leader ender project Bonnie Hunter is hosting.

Better get off the computer and get busy.
Happy Stitching,
Nancy

Red and White Swap

Several weeks ago I signed up for a fabric swap Sew Many Ways was hosting.  Not that I need more 5" squares of fabric but I do love red and white.  

We all sent in 125 -  5" squares and were supposed to get 125 different ones back.  I guess a lot of people sent in the same fabrics because when mine came back I had lots of duplicates.    I know seperating all these squares was a lot of work and   Sharon always does such a nice job. She always includes a little gift in your return package. This time she  sent everyone a sweet little red and white spool and bobbin holder.  Thanks Sharon.

I picked up my machine yesterday over $400 so glad to have her home.  Please don't unplug your power cord from your machine when you are shutting down.  Unplug or turn the power off at the wall.  I learned an expensive lesson.
Happy Stitching,
Nancy

Rob Peter to Pay Paul

My latest project using my GO is Rob Peter to pay Paul.

I choose to make this a two color quilt and use some of the black and whites I had left from a previous quilt. I wanted all my Peters to be white and the Paul's to be scrappy black and white.  So I began cutting and was able to cut out the entire quilt in just an afternoon using my GO and the Rob Peter to pay Paul dies.

I did starch and press my fabrics before cutting to ensure I would get accurate cuts. You will need to cut at least two paul's of each fabric pattern.  It takes four Paul pieces for each block.

One thing you need to remember when making your paul's scrappy - you are going to have to layout your blocks before beginning to sew.  This way you can be sure they match up correctly.

When I began sewing  the pieces together I soon realized just how important it is to match the ends perfectly.  I fiddled with pins for a while and then decided to try Roxanne's glue.  This worked much better for me.





I know some people sew their blocks together without any pins at all but that method just didn't work for me.

This is a picture before and after pressing. They sure look strange before you press.

I pressed the seams open after I sewed the blocks together to help with the matching and reduce some of the bulk.

A picture of  what I have accomplished so far.  This won't be one of those quilts you make in a day but I really like it and think it is going to be worth the effort it takes.  

Accuquilt makes it much easier because there are little notches showing you where to match your pieces and there are no templets involved in the cutting.

Happy Stitching,

Nancy

Simple Things with Borders

All that's left is the quilting.
Well, I just couldn't help myself.  Knowing myself as I do I just had to remove the brown bits.
If I had enough to put some in the borders I would have left them but since I did not I knew they would drive me nuts every time I looked at the quilt.  Removing them wasn't too bad and I did learn a lesson. Stack all your fabrics together and look at them before starting to see if any one  fabric jumps out at you. This is something I knew already but never seem to remember to do.  Maybe this little quilt will help me remember.
Thanks Kelly for a fun little quilt.

Happy Stitching,
Nancy

Simple Things Quilt Along

This is the latest installment of the Simple Things quilt.  These blocks are for the border.  If you would like to see some of the other quilts people are making in this sew along click here.  We are almost finished and I think it has turned out to be a very cute quilt.  Thanks Kelly for the quit along.

Bust My Stash Photo Challenge

Have you stared at your fabric stash and wished that you had the time and energy to cut up your fabric for future projects?  AccuQuilt has the answer!
 Click here  to participate:  or go to AccuQuilt's Facebook page and click "Like".  
Then go to the "Bust My Stash" tab under their profile picture and upload a picture of your fabric stash.  Submit your photo by Friday, July 22nd and you'll be eligible to win a GO!  Mix & Match 12" Starter Set.  The photo with the most votes by July 31st wins!  Photos will be voted on by the following criteria:  relevance, creativity, and originality.  Share with your friends during the voting period to increase our odds of winning!  

Good Luck

Accuquilt Retreat Quilt

I finished my Accuquilt Retreat quilt.

This was our project at the Accuquilt retreat in June.  It was all cut with the GO using the drunkards path dies.

I can't  believe how easily these blocks went together.  I have always been told to sew your blocks with the pie shape on top but Leslie at Country Traditions suggested we sew with the  L shape  on top and it worked so much better for me.
I did use two pins - some people didn't use any.


Accuquilt already has a little notch in the center of each piece so you don't have to do all that folding to find the center.

One thing I found to be very important with this die is the fabric grain. It is absolutely necessary to place your fabric on the die with the length wise grain of the fabric running along the length of the die.  If you don't your blocks just won't sew together as well and will be misshapen.  Ask me how I know this.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Accuquilt Rose of Sharon die

I have done a little more work on my new project with the Rose of Sharon die by Accuquilt. I am always amazed at how quickly you can cut out a project using Accuquilt dies.

For this quilt I decide to try my hand at felted wool applique. Never having done this type of applique I didn't have the proper threads and my local quilt shop "Sweet Home Quilt Co" didn't carry them so I had to order on line. This is always a problem for me because it is so hard to choose the right color. Some of the colors I picked were useable but some were not and so I need to order a couple of more. I wonder how you decide on colors when you order on line?

I used the  Rose of Sharon die and the Stems and Leaves die for this project.  First I fused Steam A Seam Light on the back of the wool and then I cut it into small pieces that would just fit the design I wanted .

I didn't want to waste  fabric.  

When I run the die through my GO I only place the mat over the piece I want to cut.  That way your mat lasts longer .Now I have all these pieces ready to place on my background fabric. 

I am using Antique muslin for my background.  This is a new fabric for me and I really like it.  I did a little stitching last night and found it wasn't as easy as I thought.  It's really hard to keep all those little stitches spaced the same especially when you have old eyes.  Five of these little gems to do.  The stitching may take a while but the cutting was a breeze with my Accuquilt GO.
Happy Stitching
Nancy

Simple Things Quilt Along

I finished this weeks blocks for the Simple Things quilt along.  These are the last of the center blocks.

I put my center together and discovered I don't like how all those little brown bits stand out so much.
They were a part of the fabric group but I really wish I had left them out.  I thought about ripping them out and replacing them with another fabric but decide NO too much trouble.
I do like the little quilt even with the brown.
I haven't made very many blocks this size and they are so cute.  There are quite a lot of seams to match up and which way to press the seams has always been a bit confusing to me.  I never seem to have them in the right direction.


Next week we will work on the borders.