Another Blog Hop with a GIVEAWAY!!!!

Do you all remember about a month ago when I revealed a sweet little wool block I made using Terri Stegmiller's pattern, "Paws in the Garden"?

Paws in the Garden - Created by Teresa Raleigh
Hand applique in wools - 10" square
Pattern by Terri Stegmiller

 Just LOOK at all those sweet details on this pattern.....

Terri sure knows how to brings these kitties to life, right in front of your eyes!  

I made this block because I accepted Terri's call for pattern testers.  I mean, you know me, right?  Have you ever known me to resist anything to do with a cat?????  Of course, I tweaked the pattern a little to make it fit the small 10" block size for the project I was working.  (You can see more about how I made this block on my post HERE.)  Working with wools presented some challenges as well, but I was absolutely delighted with the finished block!!!

I just loved Terri's original "Paws in the Garden" quilt --

Paws in the Garden - 24"x37"
Photo courtesy of and copyright of Terri Stegmiller

Some of her testers were given a different pattern, also adorable of course!

Butterfly Moments - 20"x24"
Photo courtesy of & copyright of Terri Stegmiller

She has SO MANY cute things she has created - check out her other art at her Etsy Shop HERE!!!

And for some wonderful eye candy, click on these links below to Terri's site where she shared more of the quilts her other pattern testers made - I love the variety of color and techniques :*)

http://stegart.blogspot.com/2013/11/more-results-from-pattern-testing.html

http://stegart.blogspot.com/2013/11/kitties-kitties-everywhere.html

http://stegart.blogspot.com/2013/10/paws-paws-everywhere.html

So now, here's the fun part!  Would you like to WIN one of these patterns?  Who wouldn't, right?  Well, it's easy!  Just leave a comment on this post telling me which Terri Stegmiller pattern - Paws in the Garden or Butterfly Moments you would like to win!  This is a tough choice my friends, I'm telling ya!  At the end of the week, I'll draw one name from all the comments to win their choice of pattern from Terri.  Whoohoo!!!  Could that be any easier?

The pattern will be provided to you in PDF document format, which you download and print yourself.  It will be delivered to your email address from Terri herself.  Please be sure you provide contact information when you comment, especially if you are set up as a no-reply blogger.  No-reply comments will only be considered if the email address is provided in the comment!  And because the pattern is delivered by email - everyone is eligible to win - domestic or International!!!!

A winner will be randomly drawn the morning of Friday, December 13.   

Please visit ALL of the following blogs for more chances to win 

(each blog will have a winner!)

Blog Hop Order

Terri Stegmiller

SewCalGal

Jill Buckley - The Quilt Rat

Teresa Raleigh - A Quilt and a Prayer

Marsha Leith - Cool Quilting

Snoodles - Lily Pad Quilting

Judy Applegarth - ScampAlot

Margie Kraft - Margie Quilts

Joy Manoleros - Bjoyful Studio

I'm so looking forward to giving away one of these patterns!  

I know you are going to love it just as much as I do :*)

Have a very blessed week, my friends!!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Paws in the Garden - Terri Stegmiller

I am so excited to share with you my test version of Terri Stegmiller's wonderful pattern, Paws in the Garden!!!

I have SO enjoyed working on this whimsical design - have you fallen in love with these cats yet?  I certainly have! There is so much purrsonality going on here, so many little details that make Terri's Paws in the Garden such a delight!   =^..^=

Paws in the Garden - wool applique

Below is Terri's original design for the pattern, featuring her signature stencil-painted background and some awesome sherbet colors....this girl is one talented artist!!!  She has this pattern for sale in her Etsy shop HERE if you'd like to make your own version of these sweet kitties.  Take my word for it, it's a fun pattern and very well designed :*D

Terri Stegmiller - Designer, Paws in the Garden

When I signed up to test the pattern for Terri, I thought it might work well as part of my Summertime wool wall quilt project.  However, because the original pattern is 24" x 37" I needed to reduce it down quite a bit to fit the 10" block size for this project.  When I tried to get all three kitties in the block, the features lost a lot of those wonderful little details, so as much as I hated to do it, I had to choose to use only two of the kitties.

Many of my wool fabrics in this block were taken from suit jackets and skirts - can you imagine my delight when I found this wonderful deep aqua wool skirt????

I wanted to preserve the smoothness of the muzzles and paws without a lot of stitching, so I took the suggestion of a few of my more experienced friends and simply did an invisible applique stitch slightly beneath these shapes with a thin cotton thread.  I love the play of the pale mint green muzzle and paws on this dignified aqua kitty.....

And of course, a purple muzzle and paws worked purrfectly on this flirtatious little pink kitty....

My favorite feature of this design is the way Terri gives so much purrsonality to these little felines' eyes!

I really wanted to do that justice, and sometimes details are difficult to do in wools.  I decided that the eyes would need to be reverse applique, which means I cut holes for the eyes and placed the bright green eye fabric behind the holes.....

They look a little spooky here, don't they?  Hahaha!!!!

Then I drew in the lines and pupils in the eyes with a black, fine-line Sharpie so I would have a pattern to use for the black stitching.  This is also where I sketched in the features of the nose & muzzle for stitching.....

See how the green eye fabric sits behind the aqua kitty fabric in this pic below?

This forced the stitching to go outside of the eye, giving the impression of eyelashes ......

If I had just cut ovals for the eyes and stitched them down, the eye sections would have been very pronounced, not allowing the natural appearance of the eyes being inside the head.  Plus all the stitchery around the eye would have appeared to be behind the eye instead of surrounding it, as it does here.  (Hope that's clearer than mud LOL!!!)

I added a tiny little hot pink tongue hanging out on each kitty =^..^=

Each kitty has a "design" on its back - the aqua kitty has black dots, while the pink kitty got tiger stripes which I created using the satin stitch - a stitch I really don't enjoy, but it was definitely called for here....

I also added in some french knot centers on the flowers and a few sprigs of grassy stitching with little tiny daisy-like flowers to add interest to the solid black background.....

Terri's design didn't need that because of all the fun stenciling she did on hers :*)

Here it is with the first block I completed for my Summertime wall quilt, and I'm thinking they go together very well indeed!  What do you think?

And I bet you are wondering what my own amazing feline, Gypsy, thinks of this new block, right?

Well, mostly she was quite miffed that it took up her space in my lap 

when we took to the recliner as is our usual custom in the evenings LOL!!!

She was not very pleased to be relegated to my feet!!!

I hope you've enjoyed my version of Paws in the Garden!  

I'm so happy that Terri allowed me this opportunity to play with her design!  

Thanks so much Terri!!!

If you would like to learn more about Terri Stegmiller and her designs, you can find her at any of these cool spots ....

     Web - http://terristegmiller.com/
     Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/TerriStegmillerArt
     Blog - http://stegart.blogspot.com/

I'm linking up with Kathy for her Slow Stitching Sunday linky party; Judy for her Design Wall Monday and Connie's Tuesday Linky Party!  Be sure to pop over to see how other stitchers are partying!  And may you and yours have a beautiful and blessed Sunday ♥♥♥

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

October End of Month Reports

Nothing like being just a "little" bit late, right?  Let's see.... October ended a week ago, didn't it?  

Oh my!  Life has just been so busy, and blogging has had to take a back seat.  Actually, that may be the case for much of November too.  I have two baby quilts to finish up in two weeks time - one hasn't even been started yet -  yikes!!!  I promise I'll try to pop in and keep you updated with short posts about my adventures :)

So, what did I accomplish in October?  

October 2013 NewFO Challenge project:  One of my favorite things to do each month is start something fresh and new, and then LINK UP with Barbara at Cat Patches!

Sneak peek - "Paws in the Garden" wool block in process

Terri Stegmiller - amazing mixed-media artist and art quilter! - asked for volunteer pattern testers last month, and I just couldn't resist these adorable, purrsonable kitties in her pattern called "Paws in the Garden" - so I said, "Sign Me Up!"  I thought these kitties would be a really cute addition to my Summertime wool quilt (click on the name to see the designer's quilt).  As a reminder, I'm only doing 9 blocks and substituting some of them with a few of my own choosing - such as my wool rendition Terri's "Paws in the Garden."  I had SO MUCH fun with this NewFO in October :)  You'll be seeing the finished project soon!!!!

As my regular followers have already seen, I finished Moonglow and it won 1st place at our local Oktoberfest Quilt Show (click here for more) - woohoo!!!  

I'm hoping to get a better picture of this quilt soon!

After a marathon quilting session that lasted 2-1/2 weeks, I was pretty much "quilted out!"  I took a much-needed break from the machines and did some soothing hand work instead.  I sat down to my sewing machine for the first time last night to sew together a backing for a quilt to go on Joanne's longarm today.  I'll share pics of that fun finish in a few days :)

We also had some company this month, which is the absolute BEST reason I can think of for not getting all my Get It Done items completed this month, wouldn't you agree? :*)

Mom & me, at Olive Garden with our favorite fellows, celebrating my birthday - shhhhh!!!!!!
(It was such a fun time, we couldn't sit still; hence, the blurry pic LOL!!!)

Early in the month, we had our oldest grand-daughter Emma for a week - always a pleasure!  And then last week we had the rare treat of my mom and stepfather here for a few days while on their way to visit my brother in Los Angeles.  My friend Lynn came in from Seattle for a visit also last week, and we enjoyed some wonderful time together piled up in the recliners and covered with comfy quilts while I introduced her to the excellent PBS series, Call the Midwife. This is absolutely my favorite show on TV right now.  They are showing repeats right now, gearing up for the 3rd season which starts in March 2014 - can't wait!!!

Since I was in a place where I just wanted to rest and relax, I picked up my needles and put on a new pair of plain jane socks - and I finished them in 10 days!  If you had told me a year ago that I could make a pair of socks in 10 days, I would have sworn it was impossible!  But here is the proof...

Surf Serenity socks
Two at a time using Magic Loop

They fit very nicely!  

Still a tad loose around the foot though - I'll take a few more stitches out of my next pair.

For the cuff, I went to DPN needles one size smaller than those used on the socks, 

and tried out a new-to-me method called Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off.

The cuffs are easy to stretch out but hug nicely when worn and

go back to shape quickly when I take them off  ----

Yes, I was happy with Jeny's bind-off and I'll use it again :*)

So, in summary, my October accomplishments - or lack thereof - look something like this ..... *drumroll please!*

October 2013 Goals:

• RSC Challenge Blocks - The color was Black/Gray, so I chose to let these blocks slide last month so I could concentrate on getting Moonglow quilted.
• NewFO project - ?????? - I want to do a pumpkin project - will I have time???  No, I didn't have time for a pumpkin project :(  However, "Paws in the Garden" has been great fun!!!
• Quilting - Moonglow, Genevieve's Banners, Mom's Valentine table-topper - Moonglow is DONE, but the other two are still on the To Do pile at the side of my machine.  They MUST be done by the week before Thanksgiving - yikes!
• Finish prepping and begin stitching on the next Summertime block - DONE!
• Yarn Projects - start Wingspan knitted shawl so I'll have an easy take-along, no-brainer yarn project - YES STARTED and two "wings" done :)
• Christmas QAL - Finish Bargello Tree Skirt; start on Jovial if I have time - NOT TOUCHED!
• Make at least half of the Talkin' Turkey flying geese - Cut most of the neutral pieces, but still a lot of cutting to do before I can even start sewing on these geese :(
• Continue washing stash - this one is ongoing and I did make some progress this month - Yay!!!

November 2013 Goals:

• Finish and post about Paws in the Garden project
• Quilting (domestic sewing machine DSM) - G's Banners, Mom's Valentine table-topper
• Quilting (longarm) - UFO - Christmas Geese (Christmas QAL)
• Make a baby quilt for newest grandson for shower the week before Thanksgiving
• Make several receiving blankets, etc., for shower also
• Yarn Projects - continue Wingspan; cast on new socks for working on over the holidays :)
• Enjoy time with family for the Thanksgiving season!!!!!

Linking up with -

Cat Patches - 2013 NewFO Challenge

Patchwork Times - Get It Done!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

What I'm Up to....

Since I finished the quilting marathon with Moonglow, I've been trying to tie up a few loose ends in the sewing studio.  And I have been busy in the evenings with my knitting needles.  First off, I finished up Dreambird!

I decided to finish it off with only 15 feathers, rather than the 21 called for in the pattern.  I'm a small-size person (except around the middle LOL!!!), and I felt that too many feathers would just overwhelm me.  I'm very happy with the size and how it turned out!  A huge THANKS to Judy & Denise for hostessing the Knit-along to encourage those of us who might not have started this project otherwise :*D  I can definitely see me making this shawl again someday - it was a truly fun project with just enough challenge, but still easily make-able once you got the hang of it.

On my needles right now are two pretty easy projects.  First, here is my progress on Wingspan....

Not a whole lot more done since my last picture, but this is my "to go" knitting project, so it hasn't come out a lot lately.  But I'm pretty sure I'm going to LOVE IT when I'm done :*D

Next, I've started my third pair of socks - again using the "Toe-up, Two-at-a-time, Magic Loop" method that I really enjoyed with my second pair.  The yarn is Serenity Sock Weight in the Surf colorway...

Can you believe I started these socks last Sunday, and I already have them past the heel????

Photo taken last night

They've been a very relaxing project for TV watching in the evenings.  We're going to be doing a little day travel this weekend, so I expect to get these done pretty quickly - don't blink or you'll miss the finish LOL!!!  I'm just doing a "plain jane" stockinette stitch for the leg sections.

Don't you just love this "Eye of the Partridge" design on the heel?  I do!!!

This pattern incorporates what they call a "faux" heel - which means that you don't knit a heel flap and then pick up stitches to attach it to the rest of the sock like in usual sock patterns.  I don't really know how to explain it very well.  You still use short rows but you attach the flap by way of knitting back to your other heel stitches - you don't go into the sides and pick up stitches there.  Sorry if that doesn't make any sense.  If you're interested, go HERE to download the pattern and try it - its free on Ravelry, quick and fun, and really easy!

For my next big knitting project, I must confess I bought yarn!!!!  It will be a birthday present :*)  I love the 100 Diamonds Shawl that is designed by Sachiko Uemura, one of the most amazing knitters I have ever seen!  Her work is flawless!!!!  I'm not sure if it is okay to post pictures of other knitters' projects from Ravelry  even with the proper credits, so I'll just provide a couple of links here for you to go look if you like - both of these are just gorgeous!!!

Purple version - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/100-diamonds
Newest Caffeine version - http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knittimo/100-diamonds-3

Of course, my knitting will not come close to Sachiko's perfection, but I can't wait to make one of these elegant shawls!  I ordered my yarn from Knit Purl because I wanted to use the same exact type of yarn = Shibui Silk Cloud - mine will be in this luscious Raspberry colorway....

Isn't that just a gorgeous color?

(There will be crystal beads too!  BLING!!!)

I also ordered the Addi Lace needles for this project.  Sachiko mentions that working with this yarn can be "fiddly," and lace-work can be fiddly enough for me all on its own, so I decided to get the best tools for the job.  I used Addi needles on my Dreambird project and loved them - nice sharp points and the yarn slides along nicely without losing control and dropping stitches.  Knit Purl describes the Addi Lace needles this way - "smooth needles with defined points for knitters who need a little more control over fine yarns than the traditional Addi TURBO needles"  I decided they're worth the extra expense for this special project.  I'll keep you posted on my progress, of course :*)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the "quilty" side, I have been busy playing with Terri Stegmiller's Paws in the Garden pattern and having a ball!

I've already prepped pieces to make two different projects but I don't really have much to share yet.  I've chosen fabrics, traced and cut out the fusible pieces so far, that's it :(

I will give you one hint though - one of the projects will be done in wools!!!

And I want to show you my oh-so-lovely winnings from a giveaway recently by my friend Lesley at The Cuddle Quilter.  If you haven't visited Lesley - you need to go NOW!!!  I just love her blog :*D  Lesley was celebrating her two-year Blogiversary and she decided to offer a giveaway.  My name was pulled for a gift certificate to Christa Quilts - one of my favorite on-line fabric shops - YIPPEE!!!!  This is the fun bounty I scored from Christa's sale section....

3 yards of that luscious batik on the left and 1 yard of the happy lime Christmas print in the middle.
And Christa includes a mystery fat quarter if you order over $25 - how could she know how much I love text prints?

 A closer look at the batik...YUM!!!!

Thanks Lesley!  And Happy Blogiversary!!!!  I'm so glad you decided to start a blog so all of us could follow along and get to know you - such a bloggy treasure!!!!

And lest I run out of things to work on - it could happen!!!!! - I signed up for this too-cute BOM at Shabby Fabrics....  Berties Year Club at Shabby Fabrics.....

Photo courtesy of Shabby Fabrics

The applique pieces will arrive at my doorstep already laser cut - woohoo!!!!  And I know I don't have to tell you that I am a true sucker for small quilts that I can change out every month for a new one :*)  I love the simplicity of these designs - they shouldn't take very long to make at all!  And the borders really add something special to each quilt.  I'll be eagerly looking forward to this package from Shabby Fabrics every month!

Linking up with On the Needles at Patchwork Times!

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Moonglow Won!!!

It's been hard getting back to "ordinary" life and blogging.  

I worked practically non-stop for over 2 weeks on the quilting for Moonglow so I could enter it in the local Oktoberfest Quilt Show, and I am happy to report that I made it!  I skidded in just 1-1/2 hours before deadline to register both Moonglow and Rainbow Pineapples.....  and they both took 1st Place ribbons in their categories!!!

 This event is sponsored by Wilson Bank, and they provide the ribbons 

which are all the colors of the bank - burgundy and gold.

I'm so Happy!!!!

I'll share more about Moonglow and the quilting process with some pictures later this week.  

The first day after I finished, I worked as a scribe for the Judge, so I was able to be there and hear her comments about both quilts.  She used a 1-4 scale, with 1 being "Best", 2 being "Very Good", 3 being "Good", and 4 being "Fair".  Moonglow scored a "1" on all points - Color & Design, Piecing/Applique, Quilting, and Binding.  Woohoo!!!!  Looks like all that hard work and focus really paid off :*D  There are things that I might have done differently if I had had more time, but overall I am very happy with the quilt and will very much enjoy seeing it on my bed every day.

Rainbow Pineapples scored a 1 for both Color & Design and Piecing.  She gave me a 2 on Quilting because she said it was just "sufficient" for the quilt.  She was right.  I really didn't do a lot of quilting on it because it is small and it's a wall quilt, so it didn't need a whole lot.

The second day after I finished quilting Moonglow .... I did NOTHING!!!  Seriously, ya'll... I didn't do anything at all.  I was whooped!  I piled up in my recliner with my cuddly rag quilt covering me and started a new pair of socks.  And I watched 4 episodes of Revolution in a row LOL!!!  It's been a low-key weekend for me, but yesterday I began to get my energy back and spent a good part of the day in my sewing studio straightening things back up after the quilting marathon and getting it back in order.

Then today I started a new project!  

(Getting that October NewFO taken care of instead of waiting until the last day - LOL!!!)  

One of the blogs I love to follow for her amazing eye candy is Terri Stegmiller - an amazing artist and fiber art quilter!  You can visit her wonderful Blog by clicking HERE.  You can also find her on Facebook HERE, and she has some absolutely gorgeous things for sale in her Etsy shop HERE!

Not long ago, Terri put out the call for a few pattern designers.  I know!  I have SO MUCH going on!!!  But I'm telling you, Terri's designs are so marvelous that I just couldn't resist throwing my name in the hat!  And just in case that doesn't convince you, would you believe the designs had cats in them?  Yep, resistance had no chance at all!!!  :*D

"Paws in the Garden" by Terri Stegmiller

Once I saw Terri's "Paws in the Garden", I just had to play with it!  Don't you love the expressions on these cuties' faces?  The lids on their eyes is a genius touch - it gives them so much purrsonality :*)  I spent a few very happy hours today working with the pattern to get it to the size I need for my planned project - what fun!!!   Of course, Terri is a mixed-media artist, so her rendition of the pattern was done with hand-died and stenciled fabrics (that she did herself of course), and lots of embellishments.  Mine will be a little tamer, but I think it will end up being just as beautiful in its own way - I hope it will, anyway :*D  Terri wanted us to do "our own thing" so she could get different looks for the designs, so I'm just doing my thing and having a ball!!!

As for the rest of my Design Wall, it is currently empty.  But of course that doesn't mean I don't have lots of things in progress.  For our upcoming visit to family in November, I'll finish up Genevieve's Banners baby quilt, as well as a new bib for her.  I found this pattern while at Runaway and couldn't resist making one for our little girl, who is now a big girl at six months old!

I'm having a hard time deciding which one to make, so don't be surprised if she gets more than one LOL!!!

I also want to take some hand-sewn gifts for my daughter-in-law's baby shower for our newest baby boy on the way around Christmas time.  Among the items I hope to have for the shower will be some over-sized flannel receiving blankets from some fun fabrics I've been saving in my stash for just such an occasion ....

Aren't they cute????  I think Anna will like them, and I'm pretty sure Cooper will enjoy their cheerful color in his new world :*D

I also have several gifts I'm making for other loved ones that I just can't share right now.... you know how that goes, right?  I'm going to give my October Get It Done list a good look-over to see if I need to adjust anything so I can focus on these things right now.

What are you focusing on in your sewing room?  Is your Design Wall full of fun things, or is it empty like mine?  Please join me in sharing your current projects at Judy's Patchwork Times linky party!  I'll see you there!!!

Hugs & Blessings,

Teresa

=^..^=