Fat Quarters R Us

Look at these sweet little fat quarters in the making!! So white, soft and fluffy......waiting to be plucked and swept away. Wonderful colors and dyes await you my cuties!!

This is behind and to the south of my house. LOOKS LIKE SNOW doesn't it?? This is called 'dry land' cotton because it has not been watered except for what little dab of rain we have had. It was planted and then left on it's own. Most of our acreage is all irrigated except for this little area at the house. This is considered pretty good dry land cotton!! WAY TO GO MR. BROWN DIRT!!!

Here is where I walk everyday. It's a wonderful place to walk....seeing and appreciating Mr. Brown Dirt's hard work...feeling the cool nip in the air and enjoying the quiet!

NOTE : if you want to see how this is harvested go to my previous post HERE.

Have You Ever......?????

..............Have you ever started a new and different project and just DID NOT want to turn off your machine and go to bed???? Have you ever just gone ahead and stayed up all night??? My answer is YES....I have numerous times. That is how this new project made me feel!!
It had me up until 2 a.m....and had me WANTING to stay up all night. This is a quilt along I am following at Bumble Beans blog. Victoria came up with this Waverunner quilt design and has offered up a quilt along tutorial.....done at our own time and pace. Love This!!

My late night 'owlness' has been with me from w-a-y back when I was young. My creativeness started early at around the age of 10 with drawing/art and oil painting. As long as I can remember, if I was all engrossed with my art and painting, my mom never made me go to
bed.....if I was painting I could stay up all night. She never disturbed or interrupted my efforts. I know staying up late or the thought of even staying up all night may seem foreign to a lot of you, but it seems very normal to me.....LOL....of course, the older I get, the fewer and
farther between my late night ventures occur........So.....are there any more night owls out there???

edit note: just so you don't think I stay up late and sleep in late...it has never mattered how late I stay up.....I always wake up the same....I too am a morning person and love to rise and 'get to it'!!

It Only Took 23 yrs.....

..................YES YEAH.......it took 23 yrs. to finish this.........FINALLY!!!! 23 yrs. ago I didn't know how to make up and sew on a label........

It's a nice double bed size quilt.....you can read the story HERE about this 23 yr. wonder............

23 yrs. ago I didn't know how to cut and sew on binding.........I've been about the last 8 months searching for the right binding fabric......nothing looked right......until one day by accident I was digging through some of my older stash and dug out this vintage gingham from an estate sale....PERFECT! I did a little 'happy' dance that day!!

23 yrs. ago I didn't know how...or that you were supposed to hide your quilting knots....LOL...the whole back of this quilt is 'full' of these little knots......I LOVE IT!!

23 yrs. ago I didn't know ANYTHING about HAND QUILTING.....as is visible here with all the varying size stitches......LOVE THIS TOO!!

23 yrs. ago I didn't know that you should line up your seams 'a little' bit better than I did here......the pinky mauve and white strip shown to the left is one of many repair pieces I had to add before I could sew on the binding.....just CRAZY in LOVE over these tiny pieces!!

I LOVE THIS QUILT!!!!! It has MANY warts....flaws....and mistakes....AND was a nightmare to get finished because of all these issues.......but when I finally finished it.....I layed down on my couch and covered up with it......and you know.....I had the best feeling in the world!! This little quilt and I have traveled a lot of miles together ........I THINK IT IS MY FAVORITE!!!

JUST A NOTE.....I have finished some other projects since I started the above quilt.....but this is officially my VERY FIRST one I started.

Who's Fault Is This...????

Look at all this LOOT...!!! Someone gave me an excuse to go to the 'big' city to get all this stuff!!.....LOL......well, it's NOT stuff!!! It is MUST Haves!! Let's see....there is some new thread......new fabric......new machine embroidery designs (lower left) and must have
embroidery thread......11 yards of white flannel (finally) for my design board. I sure am tired of those 8 x 4 foot insulation foam boards
propped up in my kitchen. Ok, I see some tracing paper and mechanical pencils.....hand applique needles....AND who fault is it for my shopping trip to the city?????

LORI over at BEE IN MY BONNET BLOG!!!! Yes....she had this wonderful blogoversary giveaway and I won!!! Of course I thought I was probable going to receive ONE of her great hand applique patterns......BUT LOOK....she sent ALL of these!!! I was just amazed when I opened my package. These are HAND APPLIQUE patterns....and YES...I want to learn how to do this too!! I immediately opened one up and read the instructions and list of supplies I might need. So a quick trip to the big city was in order....I made a list and off I went.....let's just say....my list was long!! Thank you so much Lori!!! You will never know how much I love these patterns and appreciate your generosity!!! You must run over to her blog and she her other fantastic vintage thingies and creative patterns she is working on!!!

Adventures In Machine Quilting

Hot Pad front.......circles / bubbles / pebbles quilting

Hot Pad back.........


Placemat back........

Placemat front......Swirls / skwiggles / loopie loops

Placemat Front......meandering stipple/zig zags/ swirls

Placemat back.........

Love the black and white binding/edges......THANKS GAIL (no blog).....this project IS FROM some wonderful LOG CABIN batik SQUARES GAIL sent me ( see here)......I cut the length GAIL SENT into three pieces....I sewed up the BATIK STRIPS GAIL SENT to make up the back of these wonderful placemats!! These will certainly brighten up our dining!...LOL..I hope you don't think I messed them up too bad Gail! The ONLY THING I CONTRIBUTED to this project was the 'practice' machine quilting!! Oh.....what an adventure that was to figure out!! I started trying to learn the bubbles/pebbles about a month ago.....that was a hair puller but my FAVORITE!!! I finally took the BSR off and just free motioned the rest. I learned that using the BSR on Batik fabrics can be a little more difficult to machine quilt than maybe other fabrics! I can thank MAGNOLIA BAY for helping me figure that out!
My other help and inspiration for learning this machine quilting came from the wonderful ladies at these blogs...FREE MOTION QUILTING BLOG......CRAZY MOM QUILTS......and HANDMADE BY ALISSA BLOG. I am truly amazed at these girls talents and I thank them for being so generous with their videos and tutorials!!!!!
While learning to use my sewing machine to quilt was fast and a wonderful challenge and learning experience......I must say......I still love HAND QUILTING the best!!!!

Practice Makes Perfect

Practicing my machine quilting.............I changed my needle, adjusted my tension just a tad and put in regular quilting thread to practice with and I've had much better results using the BSR (bernina stitch regulator). Getting my hands and the speed moving at just the right cadence is better too....LOL....I feel as if it's like that old trick of trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time!

Practicing my machine embroidery..........oooohhhh.....I have sooo many cute designs to get to!! I'm not completely happy with the contrast on this one...but, hey.....that's what practice is for!!

Practicing on my new addiction......why.....it's Hexies of course!!............TIP: my joint at the top of my left index finger and my thumb began to ache while sewing my hexies....straining to keep the two pieces aligned and together.....so...I had an idea to use those same little hair clippees I use to hold down my quilt binding while I sew it on. Perfect!! Oh wow....now my hand can relax and the pressure on the joints is much better while I'm sewing them together.

I want to thank the bloggers in my previous post for playing along and sharing their quilt 'backs' with us. I wish there had been more participants.....I have seen a lot of lovely quilt backs out there!! So, if you have one you want to share....you still can....just go and add your link!!

Show Us Your Backs

......LOL......Not your bare backs but your QUILT BACKS!! I have been busy lately sewing and designing up several quilt backs for some finished tops. The above photo is one I just finished. I was trying to use up as many of the scraps I had left over from the top...yeah...I know... some of you are thinking...yep....those are crappy scraps all right....But Mr. Brown Dirt likes it and I do too! As I worked on these I began to think about some of the neat quilt backs I have seen all over blogland and how fun it would be to have a place to show off our 'backs'! I know the main focus is about the FRONT of a quilt, but I thought it would be fun to see if some of you have some unusual or creative backs you would like to share with everyone. So hey...find a photo or take a photo of your quilt backs...post them on your blog...put a link back to my blog...then come back here and play along and add your name and your blog link to Mr.Linky (((be sure to type your blog link using the http:// )))....and after you link....Please leave a comment!

Is The 'Blogging' Honeymoon Over...

Today I read a comment on someones blog mentioning something about having a 'stale' blog.I think it was Janet over at Quiltsalott. Hhhhmm, I thought that was a good word. I have been thinking a lot lately about the changes I have been seeing in the blogging world. I first noticed a slight change after the first of the year, I thought well, maybe there were some New Year's resolutions made about cutting back or cutting out so much blogging. Slowly through these last few months I have seen some of my fellow bloggers dropping like flies. Some have just STOPPED blogging all together and a lot have cut W-A-Y back on the number of posts they do. It also seems to be the coming trend to all of a sudden to just stop replying to those who leave comments, even if it is something that blogger has always done in the past. So-o-o-o, is the 'honeymoon' over? Do you find blogging a 'chore'? Has the excitement and the lure of it lost it's luster? Do you think you put out 'stale' posts just because you feel obligated or pressured to?? Everyone talks of Blogging Without Obligation, but we still put pressure on ourselves and others. Do you want to take a break but feel you JUST CAN'T? Teresa from Stitchin Friends recently did a post laying out her new blogging schedule. Sarah from House of Krom has been talking about priorities with her family and less computer time. I have read countless others proclaiming they spend w-a-y too much time on the computer. A lot of bloggers are taking up Facebook instead of blogging....well, I don't think I find the Facebook that much fun. I find blogging more satisfying. Yes, I do have a Facebook account but don't go there much. I Twitter.....that is fun!. You can make quick little sentences about what you are doing through out the day and it only takes a second or two. I'm not finding fault in anyone about how they blog or how they spend their computer time. I have just been thinking about these changes I see.

So, what do you think? What is your take on things? Have you developed a way to manage your time between computing, family and your favorite projects? Is the 'honeymoon' over? Is blogging becoming 'stale'? Are we ready to go on to something new and different?

Goodies Galore

OW.....OW.......This little Owl is sooo cute it's 'hurting' me! I am just always amazed at how talented some of my fellow bloggy friends are. Mel over at My Own Place Blog is definitely one of those who ranks high on the list. She recently had a giveaway for her blogiversary and I was one of the lucky winners!!! Yeah for ME!! Go here for the owl tutorial.

Isn't this TINY little witches hat magnet she made just amazing??? It's a COPY of Mel's 12 1/2" Witches Hat Halloween blocks that I am fortunate to have one as well. What a contrast between the two sizes!

Included in my winnings was all the 'fixins' for one of her table runners. Look at all the yummy reproduction fabrics she so neatly layered. I'm tellin' you.....Mel is a class act at everything she does!!

Her instruction sheet for the table runner was even colorful, cute and well written.

And ALL my gifted goodies just spilled out of this so FAB little gift bag she whipped up.....YES MEL....you are one of those I call a 'WHIPPER UPPER' because you just seem to always be whipping out wonderful creations and appear to do it with such ease!! Yes Mel....you know I am a FAN!! Thank you so much for your generosity and for the care that shows in how you present your gifts to us. You are greatly appreciated!!

If you haven't ever been over to Mel's blog, take some time and go over....scroll down and around and check it out. You won't be disappointed!!!

The Addiction Has Begun...

I have a plan......and this new addiction is coming together with these 1 1/4" Hexies...............And yes......I am still working on the 4 B's ( previous post ).....I only have 7 more quilt tops to go!!!

I've Been Doing The 4 ' B's '

Borders..............Backs............Bindings.......................BORING!!!

My Friend Jenny's Log Cabin

Isn't this scrappy log cabin quilt just w-a-y too cute!! I think Jenny (no blog) did a fabulous job! CLICK ON PHOTO to enlarge. Jenny was my very first blogland swap partner. We swapped scraps with each other. Melly and Me Blog hosted this swap and provided the tutorial for this pattern back in the spring of 2008. Wow...was it THAT long ago!! Hhhmmm.....I guess Jenny is more on the ball than I am. I hang my head as I reveal that my blocks are still laying in one of my project boxes.

Here is a close up.....you can see some of the quilting designs. I like that she made smaller log cabins to use as part of her border.

I love this little diamond/square design she added in the sashing between her blocks.

I think I 'spy' some of my scraps in this photo.

Here is her simple white yet elegant back. Her label is w-a-y down in the bottom right hand corner.....LOL...behind the caladium.

A close up of her floral binding.

And a wonderful finish with a great label. Thank you so much Jenny for sending me these photos so I could share!!!

EDIT:>>>ATTENTION>>>>>THIS IS NOT My Quilt.....it belongs to my friend JENNY>>>>>>

My Completed Halloween Swap Blocks

Here are my completed blocks I sent in for Janes Halloween swap.....THIS.ONE.I.LIKE...

Do these pumpkins and ghost look familiar Gail (no blog)????

Thanks for sending these cutie fabrics too Gail!!!

This is w-a-y cute too! Baby pumpkins and ghosts.

Ghosts and Candy Corn anyone????

This ghost and ghoul fabric is really vibrant in person.

Now this is what I'm talking about.......probable my favorite!!!

For my group I signed up to do BOO letters.....but I couldn't get the word to look right in the required 12 1/2" block size.......it needed something else.........SO......I drew out this ghost to sit atop the BOO.

I determined since this was a larger design I should paper piece it instead of free piecing it. I sewed up the design in 3 separate sections and assembled those 3 together...positioning the little hands where they would fit in the required size.

Since I drew out my own pattern there was A LOT of figuring out as I went along AND A LOT of RIPPING OUT! I think it was well worth it though...I think they turned out pretty cute!!!

Deana over at Dream Worthy Quilts sent me this block. She and I did a private swap with each other. Aren't the dangle-ee witchey legs just the Cutest?? Thanks Deana.....I love it!

**************NO JENNY*******I DIDN'T GET YOUR EMAIL********************