Design Wall Monday - 7/28/14

On my Design Wall, my Blooming Nine Patch is BLOOMING!!!!

Wow!!!  That lime really adds a PUNCH doesn't it?  Notice the split in the middle - that is so that I can move those boards if needed because my stash closets are behind them :*)  None of these blocks are sewn together yet - that will not get done until all the blocks are done.

I know this quilt pattern has been around a long time, but I was amazed at how many of you said you have made a B9P - and some of you have made more than one!!!!  And I can certainly see why, because it really is a fun quilt to make and you get lots of reward with each row.  Each round of color is a new mystery to unravel!!!

This is where I was last week.....



I was like a little kid with it this week - I couldn't wait for each new color to blend in and see how it would look :*)  Here it is through the orange and violet batiks .... looking very dramatic!

I was especially curious to see how the Luscious floral by Rowan Fabrics would blend with the orange and violet batiks, as well as then the colors to come......

I've had this fabric for quite a few years now, and quite a lot of it too, so I may have been thinking of using it as a backing.  It was a last-minute addition which has proven to be perfect for this quilt!!!  One of those where you think, "Gee, I wonder what it would look like if I use this one?"

If purple/violet could look like fire, then this Paula Nadelstern Prismaglas fabric would definitely be flaming!!!

Much darker than in person - but when I lightened the dark rounds, the lighter center went too light!

I was really happy with this!  But then, of course, I was also nervous about whether the lime would stand out too much in the next row.  Even though the floral brings in some of the lime, I wasn't sure it would be enough.  See how stark the lime is against that floral here?

If I had just sewed a strip of lime onto the floral as a next border, it would be have been way too much!  But with the blended nine-patches in between, it totally works - the colors blend together beautifully!!!!

The lime is much brighter of course, but that was definitely part of my plan!

In this last picture, you can see the next colors to go in the quilt.... imagine their little blended nine-patches in between of course :)

I really wanted to pull some light back into the quilt and break up those dark colors a little.  Imagine how happy I was to find that I had that sweet, soft aqua/lime, and that there was enough of it in my stash too :)  The next fabric, an aqua/deep purple batik, is really beautiful and I am thrilled to have such a pretty quilt to use it in.  I think it is the perfect fabric to introduce the final deep purple for the border :)

Of course, we've been up to lots of other fun shenanigans around here too!  We took Sara to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga yesterday and had a blast!  And I can't wait to show you some of the cute things she has been sewing up on her new machine... so stay tuned!!!!

Go to Judy's Patchwork Times to see the gorgeous quilts others are working on!

And I hope you all have a lovely week my friends!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Also linking up with Freemotion by the River's Tuesday Linky Party!!!

Cute, Cute Selvedge Skirt!

As promised a few days ago, I am excited to share something I saw at Assembly Day last week....

Look closely and you will see some quilting stitching - flowers!!!

You all know how I love selvedges!!!  Kim Emery of Courthouse Quilters Guild in Dickson TN wore the cutest Selvedge Skirt to the event, and as soon as my friend Candice saw it she knew I would love it!  When I came to sit down, she made sure I saw Kim's skirt :)  Of course, I DID love it, and had to have a picture to share with you.  I SO want to do this one day!!! 

She also let me show you how she put in her "Project Runway" zipper - so funny!!!

But really, wouldn't that be a great way to slap a zipper in there?  And I love the style with that skirt - it's totally sassy and kind of says, "Who cares about prim and proper?  I want to be free!!!  I really don't want to do things the way they've always been done!!!!"

I asked Kim if it would be okay for me to share the pics on my blog, to which she replied, "Sure!"  And when I told her the name of my blog, she smiled and said in surprise, "I follow you!"  It's always amazing fun to meet a new blog friend in person!!!  Especially when they are nice people like Kim :*)

Kim used a floral that she no longer loved for her lining, and then she used the lines of the floral fabric to add some lovely quilting lines to the front - such a great idea!!!

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Kim also asked me to be sure to share some news about a Quilt Show & Boutique happening this November at the Waverly United Methodist Church, 115 W Main St, Waverly TN 37185.  This is a FREE Quilt Show, so be sure to mark it on your calendar!  Come on out and enjoy the day surrounded by lovely quilts!!!

November 7                       November 8

10am - 6pm                        9am - 3pm

The Quilt Show is hosted by the White Oaks Women's Exchange.  

For more info:  www.facebook.com/WOWE2012

Hope to see you all there!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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On the Needles 7/25/14

I haven't had much chance to do a lot On the Needles lately, but I do want to THANK those of you who gave me some SUPER advice about how to handle all that mess of stitches on Rocio and the old-fashioned holder I was using .....

I took all the stitches off that clumsy stitch holder by pulling a different color thread through them with a yarn needle for holding until I'm ready to pick them back up on my needles....

Ahhhh.... that's so much better!!!!

I put my finished Right Front stitches on a length of waste yarn the same way ....

And then picked up the provisional stitches to begin knitting the Left Front....

Sorry for the quality of the photos today!  I took them outside on my porch and it was hard regulating the amount of sunshine getting into the shots!

We are going to Chattanooga soon to take Sara to the Aquarium there, so my Happy Dance Socks will get a lot of love on the trip - it's almost 3 hours one way from our house :)  All that remains for them is to finish up the leg cuffs, which I like kinda long.  Lots of mindless knitting - perfect for the car!!!

Today, we will be working on putting some fun and funky pockets on some Goodwill $1 t-shirts for Sara.

She is having SO MUCH fun with her sewing machine :)  She actually left me this note last night to be sure she didn't sleep away her sewing time LOL.....

We finished up her Dolphin Throwpillow the other day and I thought you might like to see how it turned out ...

Her puppy Link insists on being part of the fun :)

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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TVQA Assembly Day - Hot Fun!!!

This year's Assembly Day was a Blast!

Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company was there as the Keynote Speaker - and she was amazing!!!  I was thrilled to get a picture with her afterward :)

Every year, the Tennessee Valley Quilters Association holds an Assembly Day for all the Guilds in their association.  The first year I began quilting, whenever I heard other quilters talk about the upcoming Assembly Day, I thought they meant a day where a lot of quilters came together and assembled quilt sandwiches!  Not so!!!!

What a gathering!  Fellow quilters from all over the area.....

Lots and lots of vendors..... yes I did my part to help the quilting economy!

Delicious food - this year it was catered by Houstons - YUM!!!

These ladies were enjoying their lunch outdoors!

This year the day started out wet .....

....... and ended up VERY HOT ..... we quickly learned the A/C in the building was broken!!!

With almost 600 ladies in attendance, needless to say it got a little stuffy in there!

The theme this year was Christmas in July, and true to theme, our Greeter Elf was Vicki Jeffries of the Iris Quilters Guild, who hosted the event this year ..... you couldn't have found a brighter smile anywhere in Nashville!

Ginger Fondren was the Head Elf, and she certainly did a fantastic job - especially considering that she unexpectedly lost her daughter in the middle of the preparations for this huge event.

After learning that the Iris Quilter's Guild had entered our event into a contest being held by the Nash 103.3  radio station - and that we had WON! - we were all led in singing the Star Spangled Banner by this lovely lady from the radio station....  you can click HERE to watch it on America's Morning Show!

Then Jenny Doan took center stage!!!

Jenny is famous for her tutorials on You Tube - you can click HERE to find them!  Jenny told us she moved to the Midwest because she didn't feel like she "fit" in California.  But once she got there, she was bored and looked for something to do.  When someone suggested quilting, she said, "No, old people do that!"  All these years later, her videos have over 30 million views!!!  She told us she filmed her first video with a broken leg and heavily medicated - so she appears drunk in the video :)  At our event, she apologized for wearing flip flops - she had only brought two shoes, but they were different shoes and both for the left foot!  She was so funny!!!!  And warm, and open and had the most infectious laugh!!!  We all loved her immediately!

Jenny shared many of her "easy cut and flip" blocks with us - with her husband Ron as handy helper!  (I took these pics with my iPhone from my seat in terrible lighting, so I apologize in advance for their quality!)

She has a new magazine called Block that is currently only available from her website ....
She said the magazine stand areas are owned by the Mafia
and they can't afford the cost of space there LOL!!!

After lunch and shopping, Jim Gatling from Arkansas took over Center Stage.  

Unfortunately, a lot of people left because of the heat, but they missed an entertaining show!  

Jim blogs over at Jim Gatling's Crazy Creative Life - click HERE to visit his blog.  He is very funny and his quilts are mostly built from his years as a teacher and huge amounts of quilt blocks/fabrics given to him from friends etc.  He loves to embellish his quilts and told us he has a Button Room - filled with nothing but buttons!  I'll just show you some of his quilts with a few comments....I don't remember all of the stories behind them, which is a shame because he told some good ones!

This was one of my favorites!!!

The below quilt took our breath away!  I believe this is the quilt that he told us if there was ever a fire in his house, he might have to run out of the house naked, but he would make sure he was wrapped in this quilt!

I don't remember the whole story on this one, but it was something about one of his students -
a little colored boy who wanted to represent just how much his mother did in one day

This quilt was so pretty in person!!!  Jim loves to cut designs in his spare time LOL!!!

This is one example of how Jim takes abandoned orphan blocks
and makes them into a beautiful cohesive quilt!!!

I hope you've enjoyed this little replay of our fun Assembly Day event!

Come back tomorrow to see the wonderful Selvedge Skirt the lady in front of me was wearing!!!

Today, Sara and I are off to Goodwill to see what we can find and craft ....

And then we might make another pillowcase for her sister :)

Wow, is she ever enjoying her new sewing machine!!!

But I have lots to teach her before she goes home .....

What will you be up to?

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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The Art of Home - new Summer E-Magazine!

Jacquelynne Steve's newest Summer Edition of her The Art of Home E-magazine went out to subscriber's email boxes today!  Did you get yours?

Photo by Jacquelynne Steves

Inside you'll find some really fun and useful projects - not to mention a few tasty ones!!!  Get a sneak peek of Jacquelynne's newest fabric line, Peaceful Pastimes - TOO SWEET - along with 3 free patterns!!!  You will definitely want to get really crafty and dress up your own pretty notepad with just a few fun things you probably already have around the house and your imagination!  There's a FREE printable gift tags section!  And as always a couple of really yummy recipes!  This issue she shares her favorites of the wonderful summer photo contest!  Our own little Genevieve is there, totally rockin' her sunglasses and lookin' cute as a little button! :)

As promised, a few of the items included were designed by 'Yours Truly' - me - using Jacquelynne's wonderful and whimsical Cottage Charm fabric line!  My See-N-Go Bags are the perfect summer bags for us gals (and guys!) on the go with our projects!!!  See what you need to include at a glance and never again pick up the wrong project bag! As you can see in the below picture, my Happy Dance Socks project in progress fits perfectly in this one :)

This large See-N-Go Project Bag is roomy enough for your hand project, but definitely not bulky.  Approximately 10"x12", it fits nicely into a large carryall bag, or grab it up and carry it along all by itself.  I used one of Jacquelynne's lovely panel prints for the front side....

One of my favorite features of this bag is the inner zippered pocket, perfect for scissors, needles, or anything else you might want to find easily or keep safe from your delicate yarn or fabrics.....

I've already made 3 of these and I'm finding they are like candy - I can't make enough of them!!!

This little See-N-Go Pencil Bag is totally versatile!  Of course mine coordinates with the larger Project Bag :)  You can put pencils, tools, makeup - just about anything you want to carry along with you - in this bag!

Fully lined, so no messy strings!!!

I made one See-N-Go Pencil Bag using the vinyl which is the perfect see-through fabric, 

and then I also made one using screening!

Even though screening may not be quite as see-through as vinyl, I love using it in my bag projects because it is so easy to work with and is a little more durable too. You can find it on a roll at most hardware stores :)

My Selvedge Needlecase project was designed to provide a cute way to use up selvedges from this wonderful fabric line!  As you may know, I love to save my selvedges - they are just too darn cute to throw away!

And of course, they cost just as much as any other strip of your fabric - right?

Don't you just adore this cute little needlecase?

And it's SO EASY to make!!!  I'm already working on a few others as gifts :)

Remember, if you didn't get on Jacquelynne's mailing list 

for the E-magazine Summer Edition, it's not too late!!!  

Go HERE to her website JacquelynneSteves.com 

NOW and get your copy!

Hugs & Blessings

Teresa

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