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.

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

http://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/playing-hst-making-buggy-wheels-t50718.html

String Quilting

http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutorials-f10/ditters-string-quilt-t60764.html

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.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/declared-war-my-scrap-bag-resulting-reversible-qayg-quilt-t192134.html

:-)

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?

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

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! 

:-)