Orange’s Last Hurrah!

I kind of hate to see Orange leave for this year.  It’s been such a fun color to play with :*)  

I am combining my posts for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Kathy’s Slow Stitching on Sunday.  It’s Ryder Cup time in the golf world, so hubby and I will be cozied up to the TV most of the weekend, watching to see how the US fares.  Which is of course a perfect time for me to do some really relaxing slow stitching :*)

This is the block I am working on today.  It is part of The Blue Collection, an old project that I've been stitching on for years now, in an off-and-on fashion.  The below picture is the designer's quilt... isn't it just so gorgeous???  And with all those blues, it was way too tempting for me to not attempt it!  =^..^=

The Blue Collection, designed by Maggie Walker
Photo from maggiewalkerdesign.com

Sometimes I put it down for months, because I can only handle so much needleturn applique without a good long break.  But I always pick it back up because I love it so and would love to have it hanging on my wall! =^..^=  And since I finished up my Orange mini-pineapples earlier in the month, I thought this old UFO would be perfect to work on today.

Almost all of these fabrics are from my scraps.  I bought most of the patterns as BOM sets from a friend who sold some of her stash when she moved north.  Then I contacted the designer, Maggie Walker, to purchase the remaining 5 patterns.  She was so warm and helpful, delighted that I loved her pattern of course!  Most of the fabrics in the kits provided by the quilt shop to my friend were not fabrics that I would have chosen, so I have mostly replaced them with my own, and many of my replacements have come from my scraps.

I thought this might be a good day to show off my Sewing Basket too :*)

I made this basket last year in a class taught by Donna Christian, a local award-winning basket & quilting teacher.  Thanks Donna!!!  Isn’t it amazing!?!  I never thought I could make such a thing, but I learned that basket making is not really that hard when you have a great teacher =^..^=  As you can see, it has everything you need for hand stitching!

And I love the different compartments which keep me from having to dig out the tool I need from a jumbled up mess in the middle of the basket!

I put my silk threads for applique on the bobbins - all the thread ends held neatly on the bobbin by little pony tail holders! - and then add other spools as needed for colors since I don’t have a very wide variety of colors in the silks.  The bobbins & spools are held in place on dowels that run through the handle.  And on each side of the dowels, are these cute little decorative charms!

My initials on the left.....

And on the right a lovely red heart & a musical clef symbol for Music City Quilt Guild

So it appears I am all set for some lovely stitching this weekend!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and fun projects to play with :*D

As for Stash Enhancement, there was no fabric in and none out this week!  Be sure to go to Patchwork Times to see what lovely fabrics others added to their stashes, and maybe I'll do better next week ;*)

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Running Away & Stash Enhancement :*)

Boy-oh-Boy did we have fun at Runaway!!!

Sorry this picture is a little blurry, but we were working so fast it was hard to get a good picture :*D

My biggest achievement was getting my Girls Just Want to Have Fun quilt top completely finished!!!

WooHoo!!!!  I have to admit, this one was NOT fun for me, especially by the time I was getting close to the end.  But it is a beautiful quilt and I'm really glad I made it.  This was a class I took last year at Runaway Retreat.  One year in the making :*)  Thanks again Joanne for sharing your 30's scraps =^..^=

Other than the big finish of GJWTHF, I also managed to catch up on my Piecemakers Mystery Quilt.  This was a good deal for me because I had only cut out the fabrics and was 3 clues behind!  I also got a little work done on the August Calendar Quilt, but not a lot.  These are my socks at the end of the day on Wednesday..... LOL!!!!!

Would you say the floors were a little dirty?  I finally had to give up trying to keep my quilt off the floor when ironing it and trust that it will all come out in the wash :*)

I had to share this cute little souvenir I brought home with me....a totally adorable turtle pin cushion!!!

Isn't she just the cutest little thing????!!!!

This is another one, all blinged out with earrings and a necklace, and it already has a little history .... Carol bought it because she loved the colors and the bling.  It suited her perfectly!  But then Lynn - who loves purple - saw it, and fell in love with it too.  Lynn had not gone to meeting that night, so she didn't know about the turtle pin cushions and didn't have a chance to get one.  Sadly for all of her friends here in Nashville, Lynn is moving to Seattle in a few weeks to be nearer to her grandchildren.  So when Carol saw how much Lynn loved this little turtle, she gave it to her!  Now THAT's a good friend :*)

I've decided I'm going to have to add a few little blingy things to mine too.  Once we found out these were available at the vendor, there was a huge rush to get them and options were limited by the time I got there.  I love her bright colors, but it will be fun to see what I can find to bling her out a little :*D

We spent all day Tuesday quilt shop hopping - what a fun day!!!  I couldn't have picked out any more fun people to spend a day with :*)  I wish I had gotten a picture of all of us together.  It did cut down on our sewing time, but we had a wonderful time and I added quite a few fabrics to the stash :*)  I'll just share some of the eye candy now and let the fabrics speak for themselves with a few captions.....

I plan to make a new Stitchery Keeper out of these cute fabrics!  They are from a line called McCall's.  I actually got these at Whittle's on our ride home :*)

The dots on the left are for my In Flight Butterflies blocks, and the yellows are for Hawaii Sunset

I added these solids for a quilt I hope to start soon.....

I absolutely love this lime green print!  It was on sale so I grabbed a couple of yards :*)

These pinks are for Hawaii Sunset.  I also got some poison greens but they just didn't photograph well.  I think I have all I need now to get busy on this awesome quilt!

These one-yard cuts were in a basket marked $3.00!!!  Can't pass that up - no way!!!  I got a few others too :*)

I fell in love with this quilt hanging on the wall of one of the quilt shops!!!  Lime and aqua and raspberry - YUM!!!!
They didn't have the pattern, but they did have one kit left and the binding fabric.... Yep, I snapped them up :*)
I'll have to find the pattern somewhere later.

These are the kit fabrics, binding fabric on the far right.  I'm in love with that aqua with the big white dots!!! 

I sure did have fun this past week, but I'm energized and excited about getting back - and I'm really excited about cutting into some of these new fabrics :*D

Here's the report for this week.....

Stash Enhancement Report - September 23, 2012 

Used/Destashed this week: 13.50 yards

Used/Destashed YTD 2012: 209.25 yards

Stashed this week: 23.00 yards

Stashed YTD 2012: 215.00 yards

Net Used for 2012: -5.75 yards

I'm back in the red, but these fabrics were definitely worth it!!!  And it helped to have a nice finish this week too :*)  Be sure to see what others are stashing this week at Patchwork Times!

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Fun with Dots on Dots!!!

I'm going Dotty!!!  Anyone want to go with me :*D

Today is my day to share my block !  

I had a TON of polka dotty fabrics to choose from when I started planning my block.  I actually didn't realize I had that many different dot fabrics until I started pulling them all :*)  LOL!!!

Just a sample of what I pulled !!!

I gave a hint in THIS POST about some of the fabrics I was thinking about using for the block.  And you'll be happy to know that I used almost all of those fabrics to make these CUTE little teapots :*)

I'm calling it A Spot of Tea.  How's that for a catchy title, huh???

I found this wonderful paper-pieced teapot pattern on Craftsy and HAD TO HAVE IT!!!  It is so sweet and just perfect for letting me play in lots and lots of my dotty fabrics =^..^=  (The corners are square, it is just the way I had to pin it to the frame because I didn't have time to make a hanging tube!)

And of course, four teapots are always better than one, right?!?  

Each teapot was a challenge because I fussy-cut the main motifs to fit perfectly in the centers.

It had been quite a while since I had done that, but I think they turned out pretty nice.  

Let me know if you would be interested in learning how to do that, and I'll put together a tutorial post :*)

No, I was not drinking anything alcoholic when I took this picture!!!   :*)

There's even a sweet red & white polka dot heart button in the middle!!! *swoon!*

I had fun finding cute places to photograph my new quilt ....

What did that cup say again????

Yep!  That's what I thought!!!  ***hehehehe***

I hope you have enjoyed my totally hot and spotty, polka-dotty block! =^..^= 

I really had planned to do a couple more, but time got away from me.  

You all know how that is, I'm sure :*)
If you're new to A Quilt and A Prayer, I'd like to invite you to follow along =^..^=

I'm sending much LOVE & APPRECIATION to Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt for all the fun blog hops she has been putting together for us!!!  And she has a lot more planned too, so go on over to see what she's cooking up next :*)  And a huge thanks to Corrie at Quilt Taffy who has been our cheerleader for the Dots on Dots Hop!  What a huge job, and these ladies have handled everything beautifully!

Don't forget to go give some love to these other wonderful bloggers who are also sharing their blocks today too, okay?

September 17th

A Quilt and A Prayer 

Krislovesfabric 

Kelsey Sews

Gmama Jane

501quiltblocks 

Cherry Blossoms 

Quilting Linda 

Sheila's Quilt World

The Sunflower Patch

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Design Wall Monday - on Sunday???

Go HERE to see my Dots on Dots block! =^..^=

I'm off to retreat tomorrow - whoohoo!!!!!

And since tomorrow is my day to show off my Dots on Dots block, I'm going ahead with my Design Wall Monday post today :*)  You can check out all the other DWM posts on Monday morning HERE.

I'm planning to get a lot done while I'm at retreat!  Hopefully, I'll manage to put together a blog post or two in between projects, but I know you'll forgive me if you don't hear from me for the next few days, right?  You look like a really sweet, forgiving bunch :*)

We'll be at retreat until Friday noon, so lots of time to get some serious work done on several UFO projects, as well one of the Calendar Quilts that I did not get around to in August.

Picture from the book, Calendar Quilts by Kim Schaeffer

It is the Bee Hive design and one of my favorites, so even though August has come and gone, I'll have lots of fun doing this one and will be able to hang it next year :*)

My design wall is currently bare because I've pulled these off and labeled them in their rows, ready for assembly into a top! ................

25 of these.....

and 24 of these!

This is the Girls Just Want to Have Fun quilt.  I still have to make some more of the four-patches before I can finish assembling the inner border design blocks.  Then I can assemble the center and finish up with the scrappy piano key border!!!

This was a class I took at Runaway last year, so I'm happy to have it to the stage of sharing the finished top this year.

I've also pulled the fabrics to begin my first In Flight butterfly block.  I'm starting with the Monarch block because it is just SO STINKING BEAUTIFUL!!!!  ( Okay, well.... I'm glad I've got that out of my system, aren't you?!?  =^..^= )  But seriously.... isn't this just gorgeous?  Of course, this is the designer's block - mine is yet to be created :*)

Photo courtesy of Zebra Patterns
http://www.zebrapatterns.com/Butter_1Monarch.html

I don't know if I'll get around to working on this one at retreat or not.  Because I'm using a relatively new technique on these blocks - Beth Ferrier's Hand Applique by Machine - I may wait until I get home and can really concentrate and be sure I have everything I need at hand.  I'll certainly have enough projects to work on if I decide to wait on this one.  I always take too much with me :*)

 And just to get you in the Dots on Dots mood - I found these oh-so-CUTE little travel tags at Tuesday Mornings this week.... isn't that just the cutest thing???  The other side has a see-thru pocket for name & address info.

Gotta run now and finish packing up!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week -- I'll miss you!!!  

Hope you miss me too :*)

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Scrappy Pumpkin Pineapples

Pumpkins and Pineapples .... 

Hummm.....Ever thought of those two together?  Nah, me neither :*)   But......then again......

What about these "pumpkin" pineapples?  Don't you just love them???

I admit it - I could just eat them up :*D  Each one is more scrumptious than the last LOL!!!

Check out the pumpkin loveliness others are creating today at SoScrappy.....

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Design Wall Monday - Sept 10, 2012

My design wall has been getting quite a workout lately :*)

I couldn't wait to start on my Hawaiian Sunset blocks, so I jumped right in - these colors are so much fun!  Here is my first block ...

This block has visual impact like nobody's business!!!  I had a group of friends over to sew together Friday, and as each one arrived and glanced over at the block I had laid out for them to see, they ooooo'd and aaaaaa'd like crazy!  It's a big hit with everyone.

Here it is with the sashing laid out.  I'm absolutely in LOVE with the look of the navy blue alongside the pinks and poison greens :*)

Of course, I won't sew the sashings on yet, I just wanted to get a good look at the overall color scheme to be sure it was working.  Um, yes, I think it is :*)

Basically, this block is made up of bubble-gum pink wings on the flying geese with scrappy "bodies", and poison greens for the cornerstones.  Then the nine-patch and sashing around it in the middle layers are all scrappy.  I'm using reds, bold yellowy-golds (pattern calls for chrome yellow of which I have NONE!), bright blues to add sparkle, some darker greens, and browns.  Of course most of my fabrics are not reproduction prints, just current prints in colors that pretty much fit the colors in the original quilt.

I really appreciate Angela at SoScrappy who said she had drawn up a paper-piecing pattern for her flying geese.  Wow!  What a time saver!!!  These little puppies go together so easily & a group of six is done in a flash.

I'm pretty sure I fried a few neurons or electrons or whatever it is there in the brain that gets burned up when we expend too much mental energy.  Math has never been my strong suit, and I always count my results several times before I act just to be sure!  The pattern for this quilt is adequate, but there's a lot that's not provided, such as the finished size of each block component.  So even though I was given the size of the base piece for one flying goose - 1-3/4" by 3" - it did not provide a measurement for the completed set of 6 geese.

Now, to my mathematically minded friends out there that may not a problem because they just pause a minute, add it all up, subtract the correct amount for seam allowances and Whamo! they've got the correct measurement.  For me, it takes a little longer and a lot more mental gymnastics, not to mention some written calculations and even a few drawings LOL!!!  There are two things about myself I've learned to NEVER trust - my math results and my directional sense LOL!!!  =^..^=

So imagine my delight when my first set of geese from this hand-graphed pattern worked perfectly!!!

This block was so much fun that I can't wait to work on some more :*)  

However, this weekend I had to work on some other things that were calling for my attention.  Such as my Dots on Dots Blog Hop block! :*)

Click HERE to see the schedule!

My day will be the 17th, which is next Monday and I am excited about showing you my block :*D  Here is a sneak peak at some of the fabrics I had to choose from....

What's your favorite combination out of these?  Wondering what I chose for my block?  You'll just have to come back on the 17th to find out ;*)  I know, I'm such a tease!!!

I'm also plotting and planning my first Butterly block - the patterns came this week!!!  I'm so excited because they are even prettier than I thought they were :*)  The series is called In Flight.

Right now I'm just at the stage of pulling fabrics for the monarch butterfly.  I'll keep you posted on further developments on this project :*)

What's on your Design Wall?  Join in the linky party over at Judy's Patchwork Times and see what others are working on.

I'm also linking up with these fun blogs.....

Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=