Tea Party!

Mom--on her 70th Birthday.

My Mom turned a milestone birthday this year and since she moved away from me when I was just still a kid (well, I was married with a baby), but I was YOUNG! I have never been able to 'do' anything for her birthday and decided this would be the year. And having a tea party seemed like a fun thing to do. And it was! And with the help of some dear friends, it was a beautiful party that all my Mom's friends enjoyed. I took lots of pictures and even got the mini scrapbook done, now that should be a record!

As each lady arrived, I took her picture, complete with hats and gloves (per the invitation). It was so much fun. One lady said she just didn't have any fancy gloves, so were her surgical gloves okay? What a hoot! My type of humor indeed. In fact, I really wanted to do a little skit with me and a friend where she is 'advising' me the do's and don't's for a 'proper' tea party. It would include me with rubber gloves, a ball cap, tennis shoes, toilet paper streamer hanging out my mis-matched outfit and wanting to serve 'fancy' bologna sandwiches, with the crusts cut off, of course! It didn't work out as one of my friends had to leave town (she helped fix some food) and the other came in the night before. (she helped doing last minute preparations and cleaned up and most important--She POURED!--I guess that used to be really important back when tea parties were in vogue--so I'm told!) So, no skit--but it would have been funny! A partial view of the food table..I served: Honey Almond Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Pimento Cheese on Rye, Lemon Poppy Mini Muffins, Mini Eclairs with Custard, Shrimp Tartlets (courtesy of Martha), Radish Sandwiches, Key Lime Mousse in Chocolate Cups, Whipping Cream Poundcake (another Martha delicacy!), Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Lemon Curd Tarts and Norwegian Sweets..oh and English Breakfast Tea. Were they a happy bunch, or what? what a fun day getting to meet some of Mom's friends and honoring my Mom on her special day. Happy Birthday Mom.
For favors, I took card stock, folded it into thirds and made a 3D triangle--on the inside I suspended the coolest pyramid silk teabags that were Vanilla Caramel Truffle flavored. Believe it or not, they were made by Lipton and I found them at Wal Mart!

more quilt show pictures

I sure wish all these quilts were mine! There were a lot of neat ones this year. It's amazing how many people stopped by, thinking they were for sale! LOL

and more yet

I won't show ALL the pictures of the quilts--but at least you get an idea of how nice they all looked. It was a lot of work, but so worth it. So many people enjoyed it and over half of the people were not even quilters. But people just like to look at quilts, which is why I make this a non-prized Quilt Show. Even beginners can be proud of what they have accomplished and the general public just likes to see how creative people really can be. Thanks for stopping by my show..even if it was a virtual one! :)

some of the Quilt Show

Ahh..to be home and have things work again! :)
Here are some of the shots from my Quilt Show that held last Sunday. Over 100 quilts were hung all around my yard--from tree to tree! It was the most perfect day for it, 78 degrees and low humidity and plenty of sunshine. There were quilts by me, my students and some of my quilting friends.

My Middle Name is..

I've been tagged by Vickie (who found it at Jolly Jabber blog--join in to win FREE fabric!) and so here it goes..
we are supposed to tell something about ourselves using our Middle Name--glad I have a short one.
S- sinfully passionate about my quilting
U- usually can be found in my studio or at the computer
E- eager to try new things

And who to tag? whoever would like to play along! I hate to single out people and leave someone out...so consider yourself invited to join the fun!

best laid plans...

I thought I was really well prepared for leaving on my trip by getting a few posts into draft form and then I could post real easy while I was gone. Well, for some reason, it won't bring up my drafts and it stalls out...so I'll just share a picture of a quilt of mine that's on my computer that I don't think I've shown. It was a Spinning Spools that I probably did 10 years ago for my hubby. I don't think he ever noticed it was spools..he just liked the colors! LOL

My hubby's tournament is over, brownies included and I headed further down in SC to plan and prepare for a Tea Party for my Mom's birthday. I have never 'done' anything for her on her birthday since she moved away when I was 18--so I thought I would take this opportunity to do something nice. It's been fun planning, decorating and cooking. I even took the time this week to make her a blue and yellow flannel rag quilt (she's been coveting mine ever since she saw it!). The party is on Friday and then I'm home free! It's been a whirlwind month with many big events. When does life start to slow down? or does it? LOL

Is there a mouse in the house?

My husband puts on a large Showcase tournament for high school athletes to showcase their talents to colleges. I do the Hospitality table (i.e., free food) for all the coaches and our staff of about 60. It's being held this weekend and so I started baking all the brownies yesterday (32 dozen). Well, I went to bed last night with all the pans on the counter and when I got up there was a piece of mail in the middle of one of the pans?? That was odd, so I picked it up and look what I found! What a creative mouse we have!

On a quilty note....here is my Shoo, Plaid Fly quilt done! I used my Baptist Fan template on the HQ16 and was quite pleased with how it turned out! I'm giving this to my brother and his wife.

The Story of Grandma's quilts

The quilt on the right is a quilt top supposedly made by my grandmother (there seems to be some confusion on some of the tops she owned--they could have been her sister's and now they all have passed away and no one really knows). It doesn't matter that much because my grandmother is the one who gave it to me. Okay, I had to twist her arm--HARD!! And don't laugh, it's true! I sweet talked her, played the guilty hand, everything to make her give it up to me! LOL I had learned to hand quilt (the start of my quilting career actually) and my mother gave me a quilt top that was my grandmother's so I could practice, because certainly it wasn't that nice of a quilt. Well, I got it done and it looked great. See?I brought it out to her when paying a visit (she lived in CO and I live in OH). I asked if she had any more quilt tops and she said, "Yes, but I promised them to Mona". I asked her if Mona, my cousin, quilted? No, but Mona was to get ALL the quilts and ALL the tops because she promised them to her. Well, I did the adult thing and pouted and whined and cried, trying to convince her that she should give ME the tops because "I quilt". ;) I left her house that day with only partial Sunbonnet Sue blocks and a few odds and ends. I was bummed. When I arrived to my aunts house, she said Grandma had called and if I really wanted those tops, I could have them. I turned right around and drove back and got them! They aren't valuable in the piecing of the tops (which turned out to be quite the problem to quilt--and my Amish friend ended up quilting it for me--another long story LOL) but they were hers and that's what I cared about. Whew--was that a story or what??? Cut away from 1989 or so to the present......

I meet up with my cousin Mona after 27 years. She was JUST starting to get into the quilting thing and I told her the story about Grandma. And she was shocked! Not only did she not get all the quilts--she wasn't promised them either. Too funny. She did have a few, but not all that Grandma owned. Where are they now? Well, Mona found a few more in her Mom's storage unit and so graciously gave me the Glorified Nine Patch quilt top on the left. I went ahead and had my Amish friend quilt that for me too. And I didn't have to even beg Mona for any! LOL What a great find that has been--rediscovering my cousin. :)

A few of the finished quilts

"Candy is Dandy" I made this quilt with a friend. (well, we each made our own, but together) We both had been collecting Kaffe Fassett fabrics and I tend to go for the warm colors and she goes for the cool colors. To make the block, you make a strip set that is 10 1/2" square--then cut it in half diagonally and swap the triangles with another strip set. So we each made the blocks we needed and then swapped one half of the triangles with one another. We ended up with a huge variety of fabrics.
Close up of the quilting. It took me almost a year to get up the nerve to freehand motion quilt this without doing more loopy loops or stippling. I practiced on the borders, where semi-following the flowers got me into a rhythym and I continued inside the quilt. I'm tickled with how it turned out.
Omigosh--this was an OLD quilt! "Quilt Friends Row by Row" I swapped the rows with my internet quilt group (Nancy is part of that group) in 2000!!! I had it put together and partially quilted and then never knew how to finish the rest. I don't like an allover stipple on every quilt. But couldn't think of anything else. Well, I decided this was the time to finish it...and man, have I improved on my quilting since then!! LOL Oh well, it's done and THAT is a good thing!
"Looking into the Windows of Kaffe" My first challenge to myself to use up all my FQ's--this was number one. I don't have close ups of the quilting--it's just okay. But again..it's done!!
"Coneflower" My own design. Well, actually I saw the background pattern somewhere and thought it 'needed' something. So I added the outline of a coneflower using bias binding (the fusible kind). Again, it was another quilt just waiting for me to get the nerve to do 'something different'. I took a few long arm classes last year and really liked the look of the 'onion slice' for a background. I finally did it and I love the way it looks. I created my own design for the last pieced border--a half of a daisy--flip flopped back and forth and somewhat interlocking. I took a close up of it and it doesn't really show. So you'll have to trust me. LOL

this and that...

Lots of goings on around here..so much that I'll have to break it into chunks of news/photos. First, wanted to share a picture of a plate I made several years ago when I hosted one of our quilt group's retreat. I had photo copied a picture of an antique block, shrunk the size and decoupaged it onto the reverse side of a glass plate. And then I decoupaged a doily (paper) over that....kind of fun to serve the quilt group dessert on these plates when I'm the hostess.

Today was FINALLY the day that I have been working towards ALL summer...finishing quilt tops......making samples.........painting...etc. I host a bi-annual Quilt Show that features my latest quilts, my students quilts and my quilter friends quilts. I'll share photos of the day in a later post. But I wanted to share a picture of my granddaughter who proudly had her quilt in the "Quilt Show in the Woods". She was all excited. When she arrived, she ran around the yard looking for it. We live in a wooded setting and it's perfect for hanging quilts among the trees. My hubby put eye hooks in the trees and then hung rope from tree to tree. He had to make quite a few support posts--because quilts are heavy! LOL More on the quilt show later....

Summer Garden

Nope--don't have one except one lone tomato plant. I'm referring to a quilt I designed a few years ago to teach people how to do prairie points. Most of the time the prairie points are on the outside of the quilt and applied AFTER the quilting is done--kind of hard to teach a class like that! LOL So I made a quilt that had them on the interior of the quilt. I just taught this class again last week..so thought I would share.

Speaking of tomatoes...I was searching for a good tomato/basil/mozzarella salad and I think I was on Judy's blog to start and somehow ended up on Libby's blog--and she had the MOST delicious recipe for Tomato Basil pie EVER!!! My husband can't get enough of it--I've made it 3 times in the last week and he wasn't too happy when we had company and had to SHARE it! LOL

The Fruits of Summer

Ahh--don't ya love summer and all it's sweet, fresh produce? I sure do...I'm thoroughly enjoying going down the road a few miles and picking up sweet corn and tomatoes that were picked that morning. And the watermelon this year has been the BEST! And of course, I had to share the fruits of some of my efforts..a watermelon quilt. Actually, it was done a couple of years ago...but I'm not quite ready to show what I've been working on all summer. But be prepared..I've been busy! Finishing lots of quilt tops, finishing quilts (some have been hanging around for 7 years, waiting to be quilted!),making class samples, painting my studio, cleaning, reorganizing, purging and whew! I'm tired.

Right or Left Brained?

While searching for something else today..I came across this..and found it quite fun and interesting..try it..it's a bit harder than you think..I found myself hestitating all the time! Say the words out loud!


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starting them young...

It's never too early to get those grandkidlets started quilting for me--after all, they need to earn all the goodies I spoil them with! LOL just kidding--I really don't spoil them with 'things', in fact, can be a bit Scrooge like with them, preferring to spoil them with my time. As I'm on my quest to get tops done, my granddaughter's quilt was on top of the list. And since she was visiting me, I figured she should do it herself! I set up a platform in front of the machine and since she had to hold the handles, it was pretty safe for her. I stood by them the whole time, so nothing could happen to the machine. Of course, little brother wanted in on the act--so they both quilted her quilt (well, he did a few places and the bottom row-which he recognized!). It won't win awards at the quilt show, but it will always be special to her. Next is to bind it--and we will work on that next. Never too young to get them going....

Hummingbird? Well, we were pretty sure it was a baby ruby-throated hummingbird that we saw in our garden last night. That is until we started talking to some other people today. Seems they, too, saw what appeared to be a baby hummingbird, but it was a bit weird. Like it was an overgrown insect. I didn't have my glasses on, but when I got closer, it did look pretty much like a hummingbird. It's wings fluttered so fast you couldn't see them, it hummed like a hummer, flitted from flower to flower, feeding on the nectar. And you know what they say, if it sounds like it, looks like it, acts like it...it must be one! Curiosity got the best of me though and I looked it up and one blogger (who is a birdwatcher) mentioned it in a blog last year, that most people are confused about it. It turns out it is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth! Well, looking at still pictures, you can tell it's not really a bird. Totally fascinating! Picture above is from Wikipedia, but there were a lot more out there that show this interesting little critter!

Outta Control!

AAARRRGGGHHH!! Working on my Leaf One Hour quilt--as usual, I decided to make it 'my own'. No, I just couldn't follow Judy's directions, I had to add my own touch. I was thrilled when she initially did the Challenge in that I found a bunch of leaf blocks in the RIGHT size for it. I never got around to finishing that quilt, so I was well on my way, right? I just had to add a few more leaves. No problem. And that little window in between the blocks? How cool would it be to put pictures or appliques of real leaves? Well, now I finally decide to get that done and that tub of unfinished blocks off my worktable! I had pressed the leaves in a book last fall, so I dug them out and since we need 5 1/2" squares--I could fit two on a page--which was great since that computer fabric is a bit pricey. After a few practice tries, I decided that I liked the look of a fabric background rather than white, so I taped my leaves to the fabric and then copied them. The colors of the fabric weren't quite the same, but they look similar and that was good enough. I followed the directions to heat set the ink, rinse in cold water and then let damp dry and then iron. So far so good!

NOW here was the problem--did you know that the computer fabric by June Tailor shrinks? Almost an ich! So, now I can't cut my 5 1/2" squares, I was down to 5 inches. Problem--big problem! Everything else was cut for the quilt and a 5 1/2" square HAD to go in there. Problem #2--since I copied the leaves on fabric--I would need to have more of that print! So, I pieced together all the little pieces of computer fabric leftover to get 1" strips to add to the blocks. Sheesh! What an ordeal--some of the blocks now have 2 seams in them! Oh well. It's the best I can do without wasting all that computer fabric.

I also did slightly different borders than Judy because I had a lot of HST's leftover (remember these were leftover from another abandoned quilt project) and I wanted to use them. So I figured out what size my borders had to be so I could use these HST's. Used up the last of my fabric and got all my borders cut. Started sewing them on--and when I get to the HST borders, they don't fit--by a couple of inches! Well, it turns out that borders #1 OR #2 should have been a little wider. Now what? And since there was an odd number of HST--adding a 'filler' would be a little obvious. But I reallly couldn't think of what else to do, so added the filler anyway. I couldn't take the other borders off and fix them, because I was out of fabric. What a pickle I was in! I was way beyond frustration--so I decided to go do something in which I had CONTROL!

And that was my pantry--sorry didn't take before pictures--but believe me, it was bad! I totally emptied all the shelves, bought containers to control the loose things and totally re-organized the whole thing. As I was putting things away, I thought I should have painted--but it was only a fleeting thought! And now I know I don't need any more corn--I have 12 cans!!

and after immersing myself in the pantry for a day and a half--I was able to calm down and go out and sew again. So, it's not perfect--that added filler strip is obvious to me--off center and I thought of a few other ways I could have solved the problem (but not until after it was done naturally!). But the top is done and I was planning on donating this one too. Hopefully whoever gets it won't be disturbed by all the boo-boos! Boy, it's been a while since I've done all that!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad says he's the luckiest guy around--the whole country celebrates his birthday in a HUGE way each year--4th of July. When I was little, I believed him--heck, I still do! :) Here's to ya, Dad! (My daughter was down in SC visiting him--so thanks to them for the picture).

And while they were playing, I was back home sewing away. I'm trying to get samples done for the fall classes (my Open House/Quilt show is at the end of August)....here's some of what I've been working on...I FINALLY got the binding on my Grandma's Double Wedding Ring quilt. This is a top I finally talked her into giving me..I had it quilted by my Amish friend and then stalled for quite a while (I'm taking the 5th on this one! LOL) and decided since it's about my oldest UFO--I should get it done. and it finally is..hallelujah!

I'm playing around with my HQ16, aka Zoe, and am doing a modified Baptist Fan. Still working out the kinks, but it looks pretty good to me--and it's another DONE quilt! I'm donating this one to a local charity that supplies foster kids with basic neccessities and their very own quilt.Finally got the Tennessee Waltz quilt done--I named it "Vintage Paradise"--after the fabric by that name. It actually was leftover fabric from another project I was doing that got changed and I had a lot left. It's now almost gone! A great stashbuster for sure!

on a whirlwind tour

Yikes! It's been 2 weeks since I've last posted? Hmm. lots to catch up on..but this month I've been to Denver to help my cousin, Mona, pull a trailer with my grandparents cupboard with leaded glass to my house. Home a few days, then to the NQA show in Columbus and then on to Canada with 4 other quilters for a retreat on Georgian Bay for 9 days! A lot of quilting, gabbing, laughing and eating went on and we enjoyed the beautiful sunsets each evening from the deck. Then we returned home to work on a few special projects (not quite done yet), pick her daughter up at the airport and spent 2 days quilting with her before they headed back to Denver. An hour after they left, I packed up my car and drove to my own quilt group's summer retreat. I have been playing catch up all week! I'll be posting pictures in the next few days--cuz I have lots to share!

Today was the first day I have had with my hubby (other than an hour or two at nights), so we noticed the forecast for today was gorgeous weather, so we made our plans for the day. I picked a few quilt shops from the Quilter's Travel Companion, and a postcard from a new quilt shop and hopped on the motorcycle and took off. Here's what we found today:

We left home and headed to Urbana (OH) and stopped at Rothschild's Farm on the way. They have grown from a little local farm with raspberries and other crops to a large corporation that sells their gourmet jams, their famous Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip and all kinds of goodies in speciality food stores--YUM!

Back on the road to Urbana, we found Quilter's Outlet/Antique Alley (sorry--no website to send you to) on the main drag, among all the neat little shops. Good thing there was a coffee shop on the corner so hubby could kill some time. Nice little shop filled with fabrics she bought from another quilt store that recently closed in Marysville (Sweet Mountain Quiltery). One side of the store had the fabrics and books and the other was set up similar to a antique vendor's mall. A small, but nice collection of neat antiques and one booth in particular had lots of sewing memorabillia, including quite a few toy sewing machines. You know, my hubby is smart...he offered to take me all these places.....on a MOTORCYCLE! Now just guess how much I can buy? LOL I did find a book and a box of old wooden spools of thread for a few bucks. And on our way to Yellow Springs...where we passed by Young's Dairy Farm--and man, what a hoppin' place! Not only did they have homemade Ice Cream, but a petting zoo,miniature gold, driving range, a restaurant, kid's rides and much more. Hmm, we've never even heard of it. We made a note to check it out on our way home. We arrive in Yellow Springs and immediately went back about 30 years...to the 70's complete with tie dyed shirts, war protestors (it was hysterical--it looked like they let the nursing home people out on the streets with posters--have they been there since the OTHER war?), natural food shops and much more. It was in the National news recently where the local college, Antioch, is being closed down. Of course we found many people trying to sell shirts to save the college. Home to Amy Butler (we tried to find her studio, but I don't think it's open for retail purposes) (ED.note: when checking Amy's website to provide you with a link..I discovered she doesn't live here! LOL She actually lives in Granville, OH--I guess that will be another day!) and many other artists, they definitely listen to the beat of their own drummer. The smell of BBQ pulled pork lured us to their outdoor stand, but we could have stopped at any one of the little bistros along the way with their tofu/sprout sandwiches. I didn't notice any quilt shops, so we vowed to come back another day to check out many of the little shops and art galleries this town had to offer (as well as jump on the 75 mile bike trail that begins here).

And finally on to Waynesville, OH...home to more than you can count antique shops/speciality shops and gift shops...and one quilt shop....Fabric Shack. What a store..they are midst a remodeling/updating state, but was full of the latest fabrics and ones that I adore..Amy Butler...Jennifer Paganelli...Moda's...and many more. Several jumped in my hands before I left the store (but not enough to not fit in the side saddle of the bike!). Very nice store and was glad to return!

We turned around and headed for home, but not without stopping in Plain City (a small Amish community) at Der Dutchman (a VERY well known Amish restaurant) for some good homestyle cooking. We had called our kids to meet us there, so we enjoyed a visit with the grandkids, had a delicious meal, did a little shopping at the attached store and bakery and on home to plop our feet up!

What a day..er..what a month!

Is getting rid of ALL your scraps a good thing?

I recently had that quandry. I kept thinking that it would be nice to get rid of ALL my scraps by using them, or letting other people have at it or just tossing them. They do seem to get old and stale at times. But just a few days ago, I was working on finishing a quilt I had made for a sample for a class and didn't finish. (Tennessee Waltz--done all out of my leftovers--except the black) I thought it would be good to go ahead and get it done. I should leave notes to myself on what I was thinking when I quit working on it, because it took me over an hour to figure out where I left off, what fabric I needed to finish cutting, etc! As it turns out, I must have cut what I had and then quit. My black was easy enough--I always have Kona cotton in black on the bolt, but it was the little brown dot on tan that I couldn't seem to find anywhere else. I needed just 3 more 9" blocks cut and didn't have anything left but scraps. I sewed them all together, end to end (they were the ends of the strips from when I cut the others) and was still short. After digging through all my stash (no wonder that closet is always a mess! ), I could NOT find any more. I thought, well, my last chance is my scrap bins and my neutrals IS overflowing...could I possibly find some in there? Now this fabric is OLD--at least 10 years old, I would venture to say. I kept digging and digging and fluffing up the scraps and lo and behold--I found ONE scrap--it was 9" x about 12"!!!! I sewed it to the end of the other scraps and by golly, I got my 3 9" squares. Another SERENDIPITY day!

That also got me to thinking--should my goal REALLY be to get rid of all the scraps? Or just keep them to a manageable size? Meaning, not overflowing the bin, like they are now? There is some benefit to having scrap bins........

1. great to dig through for applique projects

2. great for grandkids to go through and practice their cutting skills, playing with designs of their own

3. great for when you need just a little more of that fabric you used 4 years ago

4. great to make wonderful scrap quilts for "FREE", yes I know--it's not free, it still costs the same per yardage, but I somehow feel that these are 'bonus' quilts because I made the quilt that I intended to out of the fabric

5. great for testing blocks or designs and you don't want to use "REAL" fabric from the stash!

And so my thoughts are that it's okay to have scrap bins--just keep them manageable. If they get too full, start the scrap quilts again. More Heartstring blocks!

Here's how I sort my scraps:

1. Neutrals--whites, creams, tans

2. Blues and purples

3. Greens

4. Reds and pinks

5. Blacks, browns and some yellow

6. Brights (I keep these all together because they all play together so well!)

And I keep anything in there that is really less than 1/4 yard pieces. I have separate drawers for my cut strips (another story). If they get too small, I have a basket that I keep the small pieces to make more diamonds (which are currently my leader/ender project).

So, how do you sort and handle your scrap accumulation?