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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Americana Annie


Once upon  a time our fabulous Aunt Pitty Pat hosted an American Annie swap. You know that infamous swap of 2012. 

Well, having never done a doll swap before, someone jumped in with both feet. Now you know, or at least you know now, that Raggedy Ann has been an all time favorite of mine, right. But did you also know that Brenda over at Lillie Mae's Crafts has about a gazillion patterns for us to use, for free. She us such a talented and generous soul! 

               So put this all together and this is what you get.

 One American Annie, who went to my swap partener Pam, who has graciously adopted her and named her Millie.



And two, who I am so excited to introduce to you. Joy and her "blankie", who made her way to me from Pam. I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am with this little one!

After all with a face like this...


                                      Who wouldn't just fall in love!



                        Joy came complete with her sidekick ole "Glory Bear".



 And just like any of us girls, is ready for shopping, as she has her very own purse!

Lastly, I just had to pull up her dress and show you her "private parts".  No need to close your eyes, it's even fit for internet viewing!  :-)  :-)


      So now I ask you, are you all not sorry you didn't participate too? 

Thanks to my wonderful swap partner Pam, for a delightful little dolly who will be cherished forever. And thanks to Aunt Pitty Pat, your swap has just make my day!   Oh, who is kidding, my year!  And a big ole thanks to Brenda, for sharing your wonderful patterns with us all.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Inspiration

We all know how much we gain from our online friends. The inspiration we find in reading blogs and boards, surfing thru Flickr, and Pinterest... The list goes on and on. 

Yesterday I had one of those incredible AH-HA moments while reading my Quilting board.  Postal Packin' Mama, posted pictures of a Quilt as you go, reversable, scrappy quilt that knocked my socks off.



Is this not just the most devine quilt you have ever seen. Better yet she was kind enough to share where her inspiration came from.

Buggy Wheels
String Quilting


So now you know what I am up to (and will be for many moons to come)!! I just couldn't help, but dump my scraps drawers and start cutting up stuff yesterday. You know I think this one is going to not only clean out all my scraps, but force me to actually go buy more, by the looks of things. Now that's a win-win isn't it.

So please check out Postal Packin' Mama's post and thank her for sharing this beauty with us all.

:-)

It looks like all those PIGS  (projects in grocery sacks) I was so hot to finish, are going to remain in their sacks for quite awhile longer!   hahahahaha
Isn't that what quiltin' is all about anyway?

Friday, June 15, 2012

It's official I am addicted

Remember the Apple Core quilt I showed you a few days ago?  I have not been able to stop making them since. I'm not sure if it's the fast and fun technique, or the fact that I now have an empty drawer in my scrap bin. Whatever the motivation is, I am so delighted with this pattern, I just can't stop myself.


 And, I did discover that a 4 block by 4 block arrangement, is in fact the perfect size for a baby quilt, too!   Hooray!!!



Patriotic Blooms


It's almost that time. The 4th of July will be upon us before you know it. I have been getting ready myself.  Here is my latest, "Patriotic Blooms". A fusible applique, that gave me a great chance to play with some free motion quilting. Best yet, it's a free pattern!  :-)  :-)

The great folks over at This N That Fabrics has some fabulous free patterns for us.  Check in on them and see all the fun things they have to offer!

http://www.this-n-thatfabrics.com/free_pattern.htm

Monday, June 11, 2012

I took Advantage

It's been HOT here, but yesterday we were in the 60's and 70's so I took full advantage of the day to make a flannel quilt.

You see my Fon's and Porter, Love of Quilting magazine arrived the other day.

As I am flipping thru it, I spied this delightful quilt!



I've always been enchanted with Apple Core quilts, but have never took the plunge. Since these cores are a big 12 1/2" long, I decided to give it a try. Heck at best it has to be fast, right? It was!  Only 36 pieces that stitched up in a few hours.

I have some flannels that have been around for years now, so out they came. I busted thru stash, oh happy dance, happy dance!  The top, backing, binding and batting are all layers of flannel. It is a perfect weight for this quiltie!

I have a few more flannel pieces that would make great baby quilts. I am thinking about using 16 cores for them.

But that's for another day! This one is getting put away too.
It's supposed to get back into the 90's today, and I sure do not want to think about flannel! 
:-)



Friday, June 8, 2012

Another Finish

Wow this didn't even make my PIGS list. Just how did that happen.


This is over 2 years old now. I took a class at MQX in Rhode Island with Anna VanDemark, on collage landscape. It was so much fun to play with scraps. Oh, I guess I should say, not even scraps, but shards. You know those bits and pieces of fabrics that are just too small to save. Yep, that's exactly what we used in this. We started with a photograph and enlarged it on a copier, then drew the main lines onto muslin. You just start putting down scraps until you have your design covered. There was a little fussy cutting for the mountains and leaves, but for the most part it us just a bunch of tiny, nothin' nothin's.  Who would have guessed that it would be so easy and so much fun. Now the question, just why did it stay pinned to the foam core board for such a long time. We had an option of using our own photos or one of hers that she had made into a pattern. I chose to go with hers, but now that I have finished this, I think I am ready to venture to my own photo next. With so little required to make this, it's truly a bonus quilt.

It was a great way to play with thread painting too. Oh, and just so you know, the project is covered with a netting before you start stitching it. It is really fun to see just how different colors of net change the look of this thing. I chose yellow, as it toned things down a bit and softened it. Such a little thing, that makes such a big difference.


I love the finished project.
Now about that warning with pressing nylon net.
Gheez, go figure I would forget that, but it's easy to patch and you can't even tell where!

A very belated thanks to Anna, for turning me on to this great technique!

:-)

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Another PIG Done

Ya-hoo, that Projects in Grocery Sacks (PIGS) list just got shorter by 1. Hey it's a start!  :-)


Since it's summertime, I figured that "Sun Bathers" needed to come out of the sack and get done. Better a swimsuit on these guys than me!  :-)  :-) 

This behemoth almost required me to put the extra leaf into my table. Whew!
It finished out at 16"x67", and that's a lot of sun bathin goin on!  :-)

It's a Mount Redoubt Design and a kit I bought....   I can't even remember how many years ago. It's going to be a fun one on the picnic table this summer for sure.




You just gotta love these faces, don't you?  I used a glow in the dark for the tusks, just for laughs!








Now lets see, what else can I get into today!  I'm still dealing with this retirement thing. I don't seem to be quite as organized as I was when I worked. Just why is that I have to wonder!!!

                                                  Have a great day!

Monday, June 4, 2012

South from Alaska


Young son is home from Alaska now. That was some adventure. We took the Alaska State Ferry from Whittier Alaska. Which you can see is a very small community with a sea port. The only way there is thru a tunnel. Up until just a few years back, you had to drive your cars on a flatbed rail car and go thru on the train, but improvements now allow for your driving yourself thru the tunnel.






This is our accommodations for our 4 1/2 day adventure on the ferry! I know you all have to be soooo jealous!!  It had that prison cell kind of feel to it. All we could do was laugh when we got in there. There was about a 2 foot path you from the bed to the other wall. Just enough to put your luggage in, and trip on daily!  :-)

Our sink area was quickly turned into a little "wet bar" for the week, as it was certainly going to be a long one in this room! :-)


The shared bathrooms and showers was just across the hall, which I appreciated. Nothing like wandering around a ship in your PJ's in the middle of the night to use the restroom! 

First stop was Yakutat.




Not your mega-metropolis.


Fishing is what this town is here for. The only way in and out is by boat. A very hardy bunch that can live in a place as remote as this. While I am not sure of the arrangements, but the town ascended on the ferry for a hot meal while we were in port.

When we loaded on the ferry we drove in on the end. In this town we had to pull sideways. It was quite fascinating to see them using an elevator, on the ship, to bring up 4 vehicles at a time on a platform. Now that's some elevator, since this ferry had semi trailers, boats and all kinds of cars and trucks on it.



It seemed to be the kind of town that these guys loved to be in. No one to bother them. They just hung out in the dock area watching the commotion.

And yes, it was COLD.  I am sure the locals thought it was summer, but there was still snow on the ground, and that wind was biting cold!
Definitely not for me!

Although...

There is potential for a quilt retreat house in this town, with just a little fix up required.
It' right next to the fly shop.

One thing for sure, you could get loads of projects finished while you were here. They is absolutely nothing to distract you from your task, other than the ferry coming thru once a week. That is, as long as you don't forget anything you need for the job!  No running to a store for anything!

We had stops along the way in Juneau the state capitol. It's the only capital city that is not accessible by car. You have to fly or boat in. Needless to say, the cost of living is horrendous. Our cab driver drove us by Mel Gibson's estate. It's a huge thing that sits up on a mountain and overlooks the city. With the troubles that ole Mel has had in the past few years, it's probably a good thing he can tuck himself away and keep from being seen by many.

 

It rained the entire time we were there, but the spring flowers seemed to just love it.

I for one, love the Inuit art you see in Alaska.


Next stop is Ketchikan, and what a difference a day makes. The sun was shining, and we were able to shed our winter coats finally.


                  I found this, one of the most fascinating things of the trip.


Yes, an International Airport! But wait, you won't believe this.


Here is where they park the planes. No jetways for you here!

Here is one coming in for a landing!
It gets better, this airport is across from the town
so...

                                                      Again, a ferry.



I can't imagine the costs to operate this!


I love the art in this town




And the spectacular views. I am thinking about having this photo made into a puzzle.



This is one of the hottest seafood restaurants in town. The crowds just kept coming!


I sat on the docks enjoying the sunshine. That song "Sittin on the dock on the bay" kept running thru my head.





Ketchikan is such an eclectic town. I really think I could live here.

I found myself captivated by the things I don't see everyday!




 The size of these buoys, next to the cars really put things into perspective for me.
                                                           



I don't know what it is, but it's pretty darn fascinating to me!

So that's my week on the water. Oh yes, there were quilt shops! Yippee.
I found 2 along our way, but that's for another day!
:-)
Have a great day!