Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Mystery quilt progress

 Here is where I am on Bonnie from Quiltville's mystery Quilt, Allietare.  Step one, step two, step three, step four, and a few of step five are done.  I started sewing step five together backwards, so I am taking a wee break, LOL!!





http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-5.html


This is the link up for all the latest progress from the mystery quilters!!

 Above are my pieces and parts, before I started step five.


 This step took me 6+ hours...I am a slow poke these days!!


Did your mom ever make you Silver dollar pancakes as a kid?  They were so special to us...I made some this week, just for us.  They reminded me of my mom!!






Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Sunday, December 27, 2015

A Free quilt along...a little behind-ish!!

 Lisa of Primitive Gatherings participated in a Quilt along for Christmas...although my blocks are not stitched down yet, I have been trying to catch up with prep work. Above is a cute Santa fellow...I like his beard!!
 Here are all the blocks so far.  Lots of work yet to go!!
 This crooked little block is one that I changed up, so it is uniquely mine.
 Hey, Santa Claus came!!  And he brought me this lovely sewing chair!!
I love the storage in the seat...it seems the perfect place to keep threads.



Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration!!  I am working on two mystery quilts today...stay tuned!!


Julie

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas quilts!

 I made this quilt when it was offered as a free quilt-along, by Gail Pan.  I loved making it, and enjoy it each Christmas.  Thank you, Gail!!
 Marcie Patch!!  She also had a fun quilt along, and I made this quilt...twice!  Additionally, she has a new free pattern, for a smaller version.  I love it too!!  Thank you, Marcie!!
Embroidery close up, and hand quilting.  I hand quilted both of these quilts.



Hope you had a fantastic Christmas day!!

Julie

Merry Christmas!!

Yep, it's still like this for some of us blessed enough to live in the country, on a farm.:


Merry Christmas to everyone!!  You make my life so much fuller, and I wish each of you an amazing day!!!

Friday, December 18, 2015

Binding!!

I have been working on binding this quilt for December...and I needed to pick a winner for the binding blitz for November!!  So...Nancy!!!  Would you please send me your snail mail, and your gift will be on the way for you.

Nancy blogs HERE:

http://joyforgrace.blogspot.com/2015/11/1-november-finish-for-lovely-year-of.html


You will love your visit to her lovely blog...I visit all the time and love it!




Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

It was a squeaker!!

 A celebration is in order!!  I finished the "Ocean" quilt top!!  I already had the sashing cut, in the 1.5 inch box, so that is what I used.  The border is just muslin, but it reminds me of the beach...and I did not have to go buy any new fabric.  So there!!  I am using up stash, and feel quite smug about that, LOL!
 The photo just does not show the vibrancy of the colors inside...
 This quilt needs to live in a beach house somewhere!!  I think there are a zillion little 2.5 inch wide strings, and some as narrow as an eighth of an inch...each one sewn to the next, rather mindlessly, as I listened to music or the TV.
I have saved this particular color of strings, (read hoarded them) for years.  I just love this color, or the feeling that this color imparts...the color of the ocean for me.  In my memory, this is what the ocean looked like...a million different colors.  Not quite blue, and not quite green, and some sea foam mixed in there too.

Above is all I have left...very little variety...it was a squeaker to get the blocks all made and still maintain some variety in the blocks.




I may be reckless and throw this handful away!!!  Perish the thought!!!



Have a great day, everyone!!




Julie

Monday, December 7, 2015

Turning Twenty Monday!! (Seeing Stars Mystery Quilt)...and the Quiltville mystery quilt too!!!

 Here is Step two of the Quiltville mystery quilt...all done!  A variety of reds, and a variety of backgrounds too...the quilt stepped up and told my scrappy backgrounds would be just the thing!  (What?  Your quilts don't talk to you?  How strange!)  Hee!!!


Please see the LINK to Bonnie's link-up here!!


http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/12/allietare-mystery-monday-link-up-part-2.html



 And of course I kept all the cast off triangles, and will create something from them.  Just playing, see above!!
 Here is Block Eleven for Tricia of Turning Twenty's mystery quilt! I love this one too...please see Tricia's websites below!  It will great fun to see how it all turns out!




See the Turning Twenty blog here!!!



See the Turning Twenty website here!!!!


See Tricia's face book page here!!!


This is part of the Seeing Stars Mystery Quiltalong!!











 Audrey of Quilty Folk is having a quilt along with circles, and I am in hot lust over her project....but the hearts are kind of winning out, just by a nose!  So here are my circles(hearts) for the week.  I plan to use every pink and every red I have, and kind of make a color wash sort of arrangement...so that is how it is going on in my little brain.  BUT!!  I reserve the right to start in on that circle quilt at ANY MOMENT!!
 I got to go by a cotton field lately...and I hopped out and grabbed a couple cotton bolls.  I think it is fascinating to think of going from this raw cotton to the lovely fabrics we love to play with.  The farmer in me just loves it!!
And this little fellow wanted to be sure and show his best features...handsome indeed!!  I showed him last post...but I really like him, so here he is again.







Have a great day, each of you!!


Julie

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Falling leaves!!

 This is AFTER we raked today!!  The leaves were swirling down so fast...we got 18 huge bags of leaves picked up and when we looked behind us...the leaves were thick on the lawn again!  Well, there is always next weekend...
 Acorns!!  Tons of them, all over!!  We have over 60 inches of rain so far this year, and the oak trees are loving it, and have responded by producing acorns by the millions!
And a sweet companion, in and out of the sun, on the porch...





Hey, did you do any bindings for the binding blitz???  Please link up below for November!!  This is the last one for this year, as December will pass me by in a whirl...let's think of something fun to do for next year!!



Julie



   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   


Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Making progress on the Ocean quilt!

 Here is where  I am on the "Ocean quilt".  All those little pieces, some as small as 1/4 inch, sewn together one by one...Loving it!!
Closer...


The sashing is some that I had had cut out for a long time, so nothing new there, and I am using up stash.  Win/win!!


Have you ever seen the ocean?? I have only seen it a small handful of times. When I was a little girl, I longed to see it...and when at last I got to see the ocean, I thought it would be a flat blue...but no!!  It is hundreds of colors, from deepest indigo, to aqua, to foamy light colors.  I stared and loved it as long as my parents would allow, on that long ago trip.  When I see this quilt, it just reminds me of those colors I loved so long again, in my beloved ocean.


Now this is not what this quilt began as...I just love the color dusty aqua...but somehow greens, blues and brights all crept into this particularly loved basket of saved and cherished strings.  The combination is so calming to me, and I love it!!


This is based on a scrap quilt by Audrey, at Quilty Folk!!  Thank you dear Audrey!


Never saw a string I didn't like, LOL!!!


Have a great day,


Julie

Keeping up with the mystery!!

 As you probably know, Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville has a mystery going on!!  I have finished the first clue, above.  296 half square triangles of grey and neutral.  TADA!!  That was fun!!  Actually there are close to 350 there...so I have extras for my yearly "leftovers from the mystery" little quilt!
I am making progress on the Ocean quilt, inspired by Quilty Folk (Audrey!)  She made the most amazing scrappy quilt, and I have been saving these strings for a long time...time to GETERDUN!!   With her gracious permission, I am making a quilt like hers...and yet very unlike hers, too.   I am loving this so far, but it does not photograph well...needs some natural light for those pretty colors to shine through.





Have a great day, one and all!  I am linking up to Quiltville, with all the other zillion people making the mystery quilt!!


Julie

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Ocean...

 I recently was on a road trip, and finished the applique and binding of this little quilt.  Kind of a crazy quilt, isn't it??  I do a lot of hand work on the road...keeping those hands busy!
 I imagine this will find a home as a table topper, and I am glad it is completed.
 A little mug rug, out of scraps and leftover hearts.  Don't you just love a striped binding?
 Closing in on finishing the hand quilting on this quilt!  It is my own design, and is a signature quilt from my son and DIL's wedding.  Just a few years overdue...not too bad, LOL!!
And my Quilty Folk inspired scrappy quilt!   The colors are washed out in the photo, and it needs a pure white background, so you can see the colors properly.  This one reminds me of the ocean...I always just thought the ocean was "blue", but when I actually got to see it..there are so many colors, from greens to deep, almost blue-black colors!!  If I lived by the ocean?  I would walk by it EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!






Hope everyone is doing fantastic, and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (at least here in the USA)!!!


Julie

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Turning Twenty blocks!!

 Turning Twenty Monday was yesterday!!!  These were fun blocks to make.  Please see Tricia at Turning Twenty here:




See the Turning Twenty blog here!!!



See the Turning Twenty website here!!!!


See Tricia's face book page here!!!


This is part of the Seeing Stars Mystery Quiltalong!!









I made this quilt called Crabapples; a Bonnie Hunter pattern.  This past month, I gave it away to a patient.  She cuddled with it and loved it, so I think it was a great thing!!!  Did any of you make this quilt too???



Have a great day, each of you!!

Julie

Friday, November 13, 2015

A few more stars in the Galaxy!

 A few more stars are emerging!  I found that I had cut this quilt out...twice.  I just thought I had one quilt cut out, but found two!  So I loving the old and new plaids being combined.
 Rosie likes it too...or the warm blocks from the iron!!
This is something entirely new.  Audrey from Quilty Folk made the most beautiful scrap quilt this past year.  I have been in severe love with it since the moment I saw it!!  I had an idea, to use all this shade/shades of fabric to make a scrappy quilt like hers.  Here is my start....hmmmmmmmmm we shall see!!

please see her blog right here!!


http://quiltyfolk.blogspot.com/


Have a super weekend, each of you!!


Julie

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Stars!!

 I am continuing to make a few plaid stars!!  These are such fun to make, and all from the plaid scraps.
Let's give away this book!  It is a super fun one, and it is the prize for the November Binding Blitz. I am sure I will find some fun fat quarters to go in the package, too. So rev up those binding fingers...and finish some bindings!!!  Random drawing is at the end of the month...


Have a great day, each one of you!!

Julie

Saturday, November 7, 2015

A few Christmas blocks!!

 There is a Christmas Blog Hop in the works!!  I joined in, and have started making the blocks.  You can read all about it HERE!

  http://lisabongean.com/2015/10/05/christmas-blog-hop/


 Lisa has all the bloggers listed, one block a week.  I am using up some wool scraps, and some felt too. Above is the first block!!
 I think I may change this to a red, shiny nose!!
 A little lamb of Peace...
 Santa, you need a face!!!
And his sleigh as well.  All of these still need stitching and embellishment, but at least I am this far along!!

Above is Cindy C.'s beautiful quilt, for the binding blitz.  She is donating this quilt...isn't it lovely?  Thank you, Cindy, for participating....I took a picture of my screen, because I really wanted to share this beautiful quilt with all of you.





Speaking of the Binding blitz...Congratulations to Debra, of Feathers in my Nest, HERE!  




Her entry was randomly chosen for the winner of the Binding Blitz for this month!!  Now her blog is new to me...but wow!!  Please go over for a peek...Debra is a wonderful quilter, and has such a fun blog!!  I will send you an e-mail, Debra, for your snail mail info.


I want to tell each of you how much I appreciate you, participating in the Binding Blitz!!  It is so very much fun to see all your amazing quilts!!!





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Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!!!


Julie

Hexies, rainbow quilts and plaids!

Good morning to all!!!  Above is a hexagon, for English paper piecing.  My kitten Lucky has discovered them, and decided that they are great...