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Sunday, August 24, 2014

A Little Bit of Everything....

While working hard on getting my upcoming classes in order, I've managed to get in a little FUN too ....


I started sewing together the rows for my Blooming Nine Patch this past week using them as Leaders/Enders, and although I was suspicious that this might take awhile, you may be happy to know that I am no longer suspicious - now I know it!  I think there must be a million 3-1/2" blocks in this top!  I started from the middle, planning to do each side separately, joining the two halves at the last to eliminate some of the bulk.


One at a time.....  they sure do make lovely strips though, don't they?  I'm chain-stitching, but carefully, carefully!  I don't want to get these out of order - that would be disaster!

Friday night I took all of these off the Design Wall and bagged them up - carefully marked on each bag and pinned in the correct order! - to take to my Piecemaker's sit-n-sew.  I decided to further break the sewn sections up by the bag.  As usual, we had a lot of fun, but not much sewing happened for me....


Yep, that's all I got done!  ONE BAG, LOL!!!!
But I really enjoyed catching up and having a good chat with some of my friends :*)

In my defense however, I should also let you know that I did take part in a class on English Paper Piecing (EPP) and Hand Piecing taught by Marita Wolf from The Quilter's Path that night which took up about an hour of our time. Coming up in September, TQP will be offering a BOM on the Patchwork of the Crosses by Lucy Boston.  Finally, I have some Slow Stitching to share at Kathy's Quilts!!!

My center crosses - the black is hand pieced; the red is EPP using the templates shown by the arrow.

Marita had these already stamped for us to use the lines - such a great way to hand piece!
(I hope you noticed that the back is as neat as the front!!!)

I worked so hard on these, I bent my needle!!!

I've always loved this quilt block - you can do so much with it by fussy-cutting interesting fabrics :*)  I don't want to show pictures without permission from a blog, but you really should GO SEE THESE examples by 3 Dog Design Company using Jenny Beyer border prints - WOWZA!!!  One of my favorites using this block is the below design by one of my favorite designers, Postcards from Panama, (picture from Pinterest) - OOO-LA-LA!!!!  This girl has an absolute genius for using fabrics to create something gorgeous!!!!


I'm sure this will end up being another WIP, but it will be a fun process, right?

On Thursday, I taught a Raw-Edge Machine Applique class at Music City Guild ....


My little wagon helps me come well prepared 
=^..^=

These were some of my samples for the class - you may recognize some of them....


The blue and cream quilt top, bottom right with the bees on it, served as my example.  It is one of the Calendar Quilts from Kim Schaeffer's wonderful book, and one that I've wanted to make for quite some time.  And since I didn't have time to do the Lime and/or Bright Green blocks for SoScrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month, I enjoyed playing with all scraps for this top!

Ahhh - gotta love those blues!!!
I used the bee section to show how to put together a section separately on an applique sheet and then transfer it to where you want it on the background.


These are the cutest little bees - and they'll show up better when I stitch around the head/antennae with white :)

One of the best perks for doing this class was receiving these AMAZING cards from the oh-so-talented Sylvia Ballard as her way of saying thanks for teaching the class!  OMG!!!!


Sylvia has been making lovely crafty items for a long time, and I treasure each item I have that she's made.  I admit I was absolutely speechless when she gave them to me at the end of the class!!!  Can you see the little scalloped edges?  And the cute tiny buttons?





Each one is a delicate work of art!  I don't think I'll ever be able to mail them to anyone... would you?  Perhaps, for someone really special one day - we'll see :*)


Thank you Sylvia - I can't tell you how blessed I feel to receive these from you :*)  

I also wanted to share with you the talent of another of my friends - Joanne Schlichting.  You've all heard me talk about Joanne, right?  She's a great quilting friend and also is my knitting partner in crime :*)


Isn't this an AMAZING quilt?  Joanne made this quilt for her granddaughter who has a heart to become a missionary in Africa.  Aly left for college last week, and this gorgeous quilt is now hanging on her wall there to remind her of her dream!  She has already visited Katie's kids in Uganda (see the book Kisses from Katie here) and would love to go back someday and help Katie in her work.  My prayers go with you Aly!!!

That's enough for now folks!  I don't want you going cross-eyed trying to read any more LOL!!!  I'll be linking up with the following fun linky parties!


Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=







24 comments:

  1. You have been a busy "bee"....grin. I love all your bits and pieces.

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  2. SO much eye candy in this fun post, and you 'had' me at the blooming nine patch! WOW! :)

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  3. Your bloomin nine patch is so pretty! You will be hooked on Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses. They are so fun to make! Happy Stitching!
    xo jan

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  4. I am not at all surprised at the slowness of sewing the rows of your Blooming 9-patch. You would have to be so careful--and that is a lot of little blocks, girl!!
    Your hand stitching from the back is way TOO neat. I will NEVER show you mine! Seriously, that is excellent work!
    Those cards are amazing! Are they folded paper or fabric?
    That is a very cool missionary quilt. I have friends who were missionaries in Africa last year, if she wants to make another one!! : )

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  5. Your comment on 3 inch blocks made me laugh. Can't wait to see your Lucy Boston blocks coming together.

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  6. I get dizzy thinking about you sewing all of those little squares together!!!! The EPP is going to be awesome. That's a great long term project.

    Those cards are unbelievable. Yep...those are keepers!

    That Africa quilt???? Oh my. That is a piece of art and stunning.

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  7. Re B9P, I tried to tell you to sew-as-you-go. I could never have managed mine if I didn't. Can't wait to see it finished.,

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  8. Oh, my...what a lot of eye candy! I especially love those crosses!

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  9. Take your time with Blooming - it has been along process to get to this spot, savior each row. Love the Lucy Boston - but will leave those to you. The cards are just stunning, I would keep them - they are little bits of art work.

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  10. You have been busy. Love the hand piecing. The back is perfect! I can't even see the stitches. The hand made cards are such a thoughtful gift. Way too pretty to use.

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  11. You find the most amazing projects Teresa! Wow all the way down your post!!

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  12. Okay, girlfriend, I am finally sending you a comment. I've been quickly browsing your posts - they are always so colorful and make me smile!!! Life has been kinda crazy for me. I've wanted to tackle the Lucy Boston blocks - too many things on my plate, so I will admire yours! LOVE Blooming - Amaaaaaazzzzzing color! So you, and so vivacious and cheerful! (Can't wait to meet you in person someday!). And your knitting projects - scrumdillicious! Tell me a simple sock pattern and mitten pattern. I so want to learn! I have picked up my needles again and am finishing up a scarf. Of course I have several quilts in progress and a couple of finishes and an almost finish! Just not enough hours in the day to take photos and post. But just had to touch base with you again. Blessings on your classes! So exciting and I know it will be a resounding success for those that attend!

    Hugs, dear Music City friend!

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  13. THose cards are adorable. I love the EPP block to be. I quite fancy a quilt of that. I'll have to put it on my to do list xx

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  14. Do you ever sleep Teresa?? What a lot of lovely things going on with you and your Blooming 9 patch is looking so good!

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  15. What a wonderful post! Love seeing your design wall quilt come together. Your class samples are wonderful and the Lucy Boston blocks are awesome. The little dresses are adorable...I can see why you were thrilled to receive them. Thanks for a great morning read with my coffee!

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  16. Wow! So many wonderful things to look at today. Your blooming nine patch looks like a collection of jewels that have lights behind them. Gorgeous. Your paper piecing is beautiful. Love your wagon... great idea to carry all of your gear into classes! And your friends "Africa" quilt...stunning! You have been very busy!

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  17. Teresa, you are one of the most productive and most talented people I know! I love visiting here ... I'm always so inspired.

    I do have a question. How were the POTC patches stamped? I'd like to do some hand piecing on our travels (when I finish my Martha Washington's Flower Garden), but I'm definitely going to need to have at least my seam lines marked. I'm not very interested in marking by hand (too tedious and time consuming ... not to mention the inherent inaccuracies), but stamping fabric sounds perfect!

    Ok, I have another question. Where did you find that cute little cart? I bought an extra large sewing machine case for holding all I'd need for retreats, etc. And while there's enough room, I've learned that it becomes too heavy to pull (it's got a handle and is on wheels) if it's loaded up. :-( A little wagon like yours would be perfect!

    Those little dresses are adorable ... no wonder you were so thrilled.

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  18. Those 'dress' cards are sew cute! If you do ever mail one of them, I'm sure the recipient will hang it on the wall. I have some raw edge applique to do on 2 wall quilts. I'm doing mine a bit different, since the quilts are 'finished' and I'll add the applique last.

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  19. Wow, Teresa! You've been very busy. Wish I were close enough to take one of your classes!

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  20. So many many fun things going on! Of course I love your new hand stitching project :)
    What a great little wagon you have for toting quilting supplies around!

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  21. I don't know what to comment on, everything was so wonderful. My first thought of the first quilt is how did you ever keep track of what goes where...totally amazing!

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  22. Yes, I see, you could not get one block out of sequence in sewing together your BNP. That would make me nervous! I have been seeing the Lucy Boston blocks on several blogs. I will probably have to make some of those. I love the fussy cutting! I am sure everyone really enjoyed your class! Cute wagon. Awesome cards!

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  23. Oh, my goodness, Teresa, so much quilty goodness. Those cards are amazing. What a nice thank you gifty!

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  24. those little dresses are so sweet.
    which way do you prefer to make the cross block? I have always admired that block too. Maybe one day!

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