Daffodils

Just gorgeous, so real you want to pick them!!

Notice the green backing and quilting

I was humbled to receive this Doll Quilt today from my partner Brendalou at  Scottie Dog Quilts.  She put so much labor of love into this Daffodil Delight Quilt!! I LOVE IT!!  I just entered into paper piece quilting a couple of weeks ago and so I KNOW how painstaking it was to make this precious Doll Quilt . Thank you Brendalou, if you stop by!! Thank you for sharing with me your Daffodil Blessing...  I posted it also at Doll Quilters' Monthly ,
 I am just speechless!!
May you all have a blessed Easter with family and friends and live in the Resurrection Peace and Joy Christ provides us.  Quilted Blessings!!
 Life Time Verse fits how I feel today....  Psalms 37: 4,5
Karen

Even a Quilted Magazine was Added

Embrace Spring

As I embrace March Madness with a house divided by being born and raised always a Buckeye and now living in Indiana with a son and family in the Bloom pursuing his Masters' degree...we have to love the Hoosiers". So, I watch basketball, piece,  make Roses....and now even though it is March.. I must think ..... about..... April Quilting.

My Only Grandson...A=Awesome!

  I know it will include 3 of my precious Grandgals quilts, two for graduating teens (again, how can that be!) and one grandgal coming into her teen years this summer, wants to celebrate it with Roses!....the Grads' Dad would draw us a picture of a house every day in Kindergarten; one day I thought to encourage him to maybe be full of imagination with his drawing that day, and he brought home a picture of a house on one side and an Indian Tepee on the other!! That made us laugh and know he would always be dependable in life, always thinking of his family; and now at 40 it has surely been proven so true.  So their quilts will have a house on them and we want to add pictures of their precious growing up days onto the Quilt too. I also joined a Blog Hop to use Pompoms. I already have that idea set up in my head and last but NOT least is my Doll Monthly doll quilt to do for my new partner.  We are opting for Spring since, April surely does bring us that fresh Spring fragrance and flowers popping up, the first cutting of the lawn, early garden plantings as the Earth seems to Rejoice that is it awakened from it's Winter Sleep.  So, please enjoy my partners' blogBungalow Bay Quilts and encompass more creative Quilting by learning from others' designs.  How blessed we are to be Quilters'!!  Blessings! Karen

Blessing Flow LIke A River

EASTER!!

Eatin Bread on the Window Seat

DOBBIE!! We found you!!!

Love on that BABY!!!

Spring plans sometimes come to an end like winter plans, due to snow, and this Spring trip to see our daughter had to be delayed due to her amount of snow and wind, not ours.  We are further north, but this time the snow headed down I70....so!  her daughter who is a teen now, or soon, wanted a Rose Quilt for her room; growing up!  So, she never asks for anything, and her wish is my command as her Dobbie. So, with the last storm of this season, we hope, I do what all good quilters do..... QUILT!...

Roses for a very Special Grandgals' Quilt

 Last week the youngest Grandgals sat on my lap while we sewed up an outfit for dollies;  and they, at times,  got up and ran around or brought back my I Phone with a story running on it. They did lay their sweet hands next to mine and I do have a few picks of our hands together; sewing;  Oh,   They were SO PROUD of their dolly outfits that they HELPED to make.

It doesn't get much better than that, in my world!  Quilted Blessings!!  Karen

The Potters' Hand This Easter Week

THE POTTER: REFLECTIONS OF A MASTER ARTISAN - Day of Discovery

Laundry?

Laundry?....really?......yes, Quilters do laundry.....and mop and sweep and cook!!....so, I thought I would share a link to a Laundry Soap Recipe....for real.....The Beehive Cottage

Fresh Vintage Patchwork

So there!!  :)
I also found the quilts I want to do for our oldest Grandgals that are graduating in May and June.  They were born in the same year, to the same parents! One in January and the second one in December! Yep!  So, these two quilts from my new book With Fabric and Thread by Fig Tree Company is just so perfect!  I will put their photos of growing up in the blocks..and maybe a couple tiny ones in the houses.  I went to Joannes today and bought the start of my photo fabric to use, now to pick the photos!!....hard decisions....but God will lead me to the very best ones!!
I decided to make my Liz's Gift into a Queen size......fell in love with it, so it is going on our bed!!....so, I have to sew up 7 more blocks after our visit with our son and his wife and two sweet to the moon and back gals!!....
Oh, and getting a good styled up hair cut with highlights, never hurts a quilter.....it is all in a days.....worth!!
Quilted Blessings!! Karen

LOVE IT!

I knew I would love the Liz's Gift in these two fabrics.  I love the feathered blue from the 1850 period of Reproduction fabric and the background is also 1800's.

Do you like the background fabric? I love that too, and think it  would work up into  a wonderful tote that I found at Fig Tree Quilts in the book  Fabric & Threads.
 I also want my Liz's Gift a bit bigger than the pattern that I am following; so, I have 2 more units of 8 blocks to sew up tonight.
 I HOPE to post the top together sometime tomorrow.  Can you say YUMMO with fabrics?  I also got the go ahead to offer Jodi's Barrows technique in my shop!
 It has been a good day!!

Well, girlfriends,  I just had to share this block, even if it was taken with my phone and by my mess!! Enjoy!!  Quilted Blessings!! Karen
Oh, by the way have you looked for the Comet?

Just Imagine!

Come Ride With Me!

Scottie Basket

Quilt Retreat Barn

I am so excited! I got my Doll Quilt done for our Monthly swap.  I did both sides with a design, we had chosen Spring as the theme.  My partner runs a Quilt Shop and even does retreats as I have on my to do  Basket List!  It was a fun change with embroidery work on both sides. Clover & Violet I am still working on my Liz's Gift Quilt and think I will had two more colors to make it a little larger than the one in the instructions...just want it to be big enough to cover a bed....Anyways, enjoy the pictures; heading to the Post Office to send it out.  Spring Blessings! as you Quilt.....Karen

A Little Peak

Liz's Gift

I really like the way these blocks are going together....there will be 5 colors with 4 blocks of each in the quilt..I decided to use some 1800 Reproduction fabs from my shop....like my hub says, I am a lady with ALOT of fabric!  Chat Later.....Piecing blessings!! Karen

It's All About the Engineer

A few days ago, I was cutting out the Winter Turkcy Tracks quilt...I did mention it frayed terribly on a previous blog, bare with me, ..I put up with it,  and thought it was the fabric...not the engineer, me.... i.e. you know when your sweeper won't turn on and you find the cord been pulled out of the wall socket type thing.....well! "lightbulb moment"....I am cutting out the Liz's Gift quilt from Jodi BarrowsMailly Women Pattern Book
And the fabric I am working with was  also fraying......ok, so, the engineer thought, " let's just change the rotary blade or sharpen it."  I do have that nice blade sharpener in my shop also.....save alot of money on blade, for sure...  Anyways, I had 2 blades in my rotary cutter!!!  it was FULL of threads and a mess!!.....wha la!! ANSWER!! jokes on me!!.....wow! does it cut the strips I need for the LIz's Gift quilt so nicely now!!  wooohooo! A happy Quilter here!!!

tulip basket

Up Close

I worked last night on paper piecing....I have used that with my Dear Jane Quilt blocks also but, honestly, I put away my Jane in November to start my American Girl Sewing Christmas Bonanza, I kept busy at for weeks for my sweet youngest Grand gals.....Anyways, I found a couple free patterns online for paper piecing last night....I did do a tulip in a basket and somehow I thought a Farmhouse would be so" easy".....well, the tulip is fine but I have to tweak my farm house......When you paper piece do you leave the papers on the back if you are putting many rows of pieces together? Or do you take the paper off and do the 1/4 seam allowed? I left the paper on my farmhouse pieces and found it bulky; and think that is what did my porch roof "in"... My hub asked me if I used a level?...funny, carpenter Hub!!
  I am so new at this but want to conquer things so I can teach it in my shop soon.  I have to 'FIX' my farmhouse....the roof is not quite right and my porch rail ends up not under the porch roof! I think it was kind of a hard one to start out with....think I will do a kitty in a basket next....keep it simple.
Back to my Liz's Gift.....can't wait to see it come together.  This has been on my to do "Basket List"  for a couple years now.  If I can ever help you out, just let me know!! Quilted Blessings!  Karen

Paper Piecing

I am entering a new world of quilting to me today, plus I found the idea of using freezer paper designs with your longarm or free motion sewing machine quilting.  Any help is always welcome huh?!! Sometimes, it seems it just comes knocking at your cabin door!!!

 

Source: flickr.com via Kenny on Pinterest

After seeing this on Pinterst, I figured doing some paper piecing with my picture Grad Quilt would really work well. Recently, I was able to connect to a great paper piecing Queen online and on Alex Anderson, & Caorl Doaks  
I will see how my experiment goes with my ideas and give you a peak in a day or so.  Quilted Blessings!  Karen

It's Working

Winter Turkey Tracks

94x94

I did work last night and got the Winter Turkey Tracks together! This took me 2 days to cut out and sew together. Not bad. :)  I thought it was appropriate that I was working on it,  since we had our "last" big snow this Winter during it's completion

.  My hub got his truck loaded with extra weight from rock salt bags and was able to get out !! So, the many Blue Spruce we are blessed with on our country property are scalloped in snow...it isn't going to last though, it will be 50 degrees in a few days....but it is Winter!!  Spring is just 2 weeks away though and I think the groundhog did NOT see his shadow this year, so that could mean an early Spring.  I can't wait to see our tulips and daffodils we buried in the ground last fall.  It is always a great surprise to see where you planted them.....Seasons that God gives us without fail are just amazing; each has it's own importance and beauty.  Enjoy the work, my pics are NOT that great...I have a stack of 6 quilt tops now to longarm but want to do a paper pieced top for my shop before I jump into the 2 Graduation Picture Quilts I need to start!  God Bless, keep warm, and as always Quilted Blessings, Karen

PomPom Challenge

Meow!!

I just HAD to share this PomPom Idea my daughter in law sent to me this morning.....the challenge is on!!!  The Pompoms in the sky is your only limit!!!  So Funny!!  Blessings!!! Karen

Pixel Quilts

Contrasts?

Usually when I see picture quilts as an idea I think of the traditional ones, use a photo, scan it and then print it on photo fabric. That is great! and that is what I am going to do for my first two Grandgals that are graduating from High School this year (how did THAT happen?)......and it will be a great gift.  I really do have to get busy on that.  But, the back fabric, what do I do?  I want them to use the quilt, so I thought just a whole cloth on the back, but I found something better, I think, and wanted to share it.  It is a free Craft class for using photos with alot of contrasts to pixel and do into an art Quilt......really, now how cool would that be on the back.... Now, I have to search my old Printed from 35mm film (remember those) photos to find a really cute one of each of them to enlarge and pixel and then do the back out of it.....it could be just their precious baby eye, or hand, or their little feet in tennis shoes.....or SOMETHING!!....my creative juices are flowing and my right side of my brain is doing the dance of joy!!  so, if you are in for a snowstorm like we are here in northern Indiana, go to crafty and join the free class!!Photo Art Class at Crafty 
Spend your snow filled day making pixel snowmen? maybe, why not!! 
Get the picture?.....Hey, maybe this would be a way to get younger gals interested in Quilting....the more modern approach, outside the box or inside the pixel frame? I'm just sayin".....and maybe if its not on this snowy day, then a rainy one?  I hope those are coming soon! and our tulips and daffodils.......Love Spring!! 
Just wanted to share this FREE class; I do love Crafty.com!  Quilted Blessings!!  Karen

Coming To The Aid

Lets' Roll !!

You know there are such great people in this world....in America!!....today I was struggling to figure out why I am a non-reply blogger....I am new to this and last week was my first Blog Hop....and I wanted to join one in April and when I did say I would join I also asked our "cheerleader" how I could fix my status.....she was wonderful..Pig Tales And Quilts..she had me call her and from there we went into the google plus and change a couple things and whala!! I am now on basic also and when I do join a Hop they will go to a simple page where my email is "up front and fancy free!".....

Winter Turkey Tracks

Yesterday I spent some time doing Jodi Barrow technique to make a quilt for my Cabin wall....shew! the dark blue fabric frayed ALOT!!.....but we got through that and also finished up the white.....then to put the strips on the squares and cut out the flying geese and there you are!!....I was able to get one block of the quilt top done.  Not bad for a day and a half.  I wasn't working on it constantly but her technique is easy to get use to and you can come and go with it too.  I like to get all my things cut out and then stacked in a basket or a small TV tray stand.... which I plan to cover and make into a small ironing stand too.  I feel pretty good about today.....figured out a computer issue and got a block finished too.  There is a snow storm in the horizon I hear.  That is not difficult for an addicted quilter like me.....no Quilting Regrets live here!.....Have a safe day and may it be blessed also......Quilted Dreams!!  Karen

An Apple A Day....

WOW! just had to share this great wallhaning....remember our challenge a couple days ago with Doing something in Chenille? Looking closer, I think it is ruffles of fabric!! fooled me; I think it would be cool in Chenille though....  Well, this Rocks My World ! :):)

I am still working on my Winter Turkey Tracks......Love it so far!! will share my progress tomorrow, for now, enjoy the Apples

Source: trueup.net via Cyndi on Pinterest

Winter Turkey Tracks

Jodi's Book that comes with the mini Square in a Square

Her instructions are concise

Hello Friends,

     Thinking that it is STILL, winter I came across this pattern in Jodi's first book and she does have it on her page in the Videos and hanging on her stairway.  I plan to hang mine on my soon to be lighter yummy blue wall by my stairway too.  Stay with me as I post from my IPhone to Flickr and then to my post. (my camera is in hiding!)....I love Jodi's techniques;  the points are always perfect and her many books that she has out now are just fabulous. In case you don't know about her, she does write fiction historical books also; based on stories and facts of her family and their settlement into America out West.  I love the West!!  She has a Pony Express book with a story and fabric and patterns. I always wanted to be Annie Oakley growing up!! Jodi does have her own fabric now too.
 We once lived in Dallas, so I have a tie to her that way.
  Anyways, today I am cutting this blue and white fabric out in strips today and then to begin her Square in a Square technique....yes, you can hear me humming!! The fabric is from Judie Rothermel and I doubt they make it now, sorry!!
  Please relax and enjoy Jodi's videos;  her link is on the right side of the blog.
 I just want you to feel good about quilting and to be successful in it and this will get you there!!  Maybe its because I did work at one point in OB and I always wanted those precious ladies to be happy in nursing their babes too......These quilts are my babies now!!!

Sturbridge Village Blue

So,  I promise!!  you won't look back!!
 Quilted Blessings!! Karen

Tips with Jodie

Hi,

Jodi Barrows Square In A Square

  I am about ready to cut out my quilt with Jodie, I revisited her page and she has a great segment to the right and top on the media section of her instructional videos.  I am partial to her technique and love her quilts, ideas and designs.  I would love to purchase her Pony Express fabric, I do have the book to get started.  But, for now I am going to do a 2 color quilt from her first book....its the red and white one that she shows, I am not decided quite yet, mine may be a dark blue as I am going to paint a huge tall wall at our cabins' double French door entrance by the stairway.  I do LOVE that new blue that is out..... I was born a Painters' daughter, grew up on paint and varnish fumes, covered in wallpaper at night....so! after 5 years of a dark blue I am ready to dress that wall up. My sweet hub put a double small barn window in it that opens up into our bedroom.....so, yes, it does need a special quilt.....so! that is what I am up to and also finishing the Doll Quilt for my California Partner in March.......Enjoy! and please if you don't have Jodi and her rulers and books, it is a 'TO DO ' on your Quilted Basket List.....OK?.....Quilted Blessings ! Karen.........Square In A Square...
OH! Go  IU.......and Go Buckeyes!......March madness is about to begin!!........