Fabulous antique store quilt treasure found!

 You will not believe I only paid $6 for this! It is completely hand pieced and hand quilted! It looks like 1930s feedsacks but could be later. It is a full size quilt...with one hole about 5 x 5 inches.

Pumpkins! Appliqued, quilted wallhanging ALMOST finished!!!

Sitting in the recliner propping the fractured foot has its advantages. I hand appliqued this quilt in about a week!

White pumpkins! Apparently they are real! I've never seen one but I hear they grow in California.

I love the "corn cob" fabric: I had to include it even though the pattern did not call for it.

The completed top! I would have finished the machine quilting yesterday if I had not put the machine needle through my thumb. Thankfully no blood on the quilt.

Pumpkins! Appliqued, quilted wallhanging

I recently started a project found in the newest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. It's my first attempt at reverse applique. I love it! This is one of the white pumpkins. The bottom piece is chocolate brown linen. The top is bleached muslin. Blanket stitched with cream color.

This is the first "P" for pumpkin. These are  other letters in various stages of completion. It's August and 110o here in Oklahoma. This is to the hope that fall will come, and it will cool off. Meanwhile I sit in the airconditioning with my fractured foot propped, doing hand applique.

Roberta's dress

So a few years ago, I ran into my good friend, Roberta, at a conference. I was wearing a dress I had made. So she asked me to make her one. I did. Fast forward four years later, she brings fabric to the next conference we attend. Says, "make me a dress out of this." LOL. What is really funny is that she gave me the exact amount of fabric needed for this dress minus two pieces of flannel for the pockets. 

How to Make Your First Quilt

1. Choose a simple project. A Baby/Crib size is a good start.
Simple squares sewn together work well. You can purchase charm packs at http://www.connectingthreads.com/ or most fabric stores. They are 5" squares already cut.
2. Lay out how you want the finished product to look before you start sewing. The floor, bed, or table works.
3. Pin the squares together before sewing. Quilts usually use a standard 1/4" margin. Look at your sewing machine for those measurements.
4. Iron each seam. You don't have the iron the seam open like clothing, but iron to one side.
5. Sew in rows. Then sew the rows together. Pin at each seam to keep them straight.
6. Choose batting made for quilts.
7. Use 100% cotton muslin for the back. You can buy muslin at fabric stores in 44" and 90" wide. Don't use a bed sheet. Sheets have too high a thread count for ease of quilting.
8. Lay muslin out, batting, and then the finished quilt top. Trim around quilt top, leaving at least 2" excess around each edge.
9. Safety pin together at the edge of each square
10. For handquilting, always use 100% cotton quilting thread, and a small quilting needle. You will probably need a thimble. I use a bandaid on my middle finger, right hand, or a leather quilting thimble.
11. The easiest way to finish edges is to buy prepackaged quilt binding & follow the directions on the package.

You can search Youtube for vidoes on handquilting.

Blue, Green, Pink Star Baby Quilt

Baby quilt made this summer with five inch charm squares.There were different colors, but same pattern. All were decorated with white stars. The quilt has the baby's name after the phrase, "A Star is Born," painted with acrylic paints. If you use acrylic paints, paint thickly or it will wash off in the first few washes.

Instead of the usual batting and back, I used cuddly fleece and machine quilted.

Handquilting time!!!

I finally finished my 1930s reproduction fabric quilt top. I made squares of 25 2" smaller squares of a large variety of colors and patterns. The finished top is 90" by 80". It took me a year to piece it, and now my goal is to have it handquilted in 2011.

Princess Marie is helping me as usual.

fleece rag baby quilt

My latest

Dairy free Tomato free meatloaf

I'm on a constant quest to find dairy free/tomato free meals at our house.

1 pound ground beef
2 Tablespoons worchestire sauce
2 eggs
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon steak seasoning with pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Mix together.
pack into greased bread pan

Bake 30 minutes at 375oF

Baby Quilts of June 2010

This was a 4' x 3' baby girl quilt made of 80% flannel, 20% cotton. The back is shown first, with a couple of patches for artistic effects. The front was made of 2" x 4" rectangles connected with 2" sashing. I used medium loft batting, so it is cuddly....machine quilted.

Kelly's Tomato-Free Pasta Sauce Recipe

One of the first things people find out about me is that I am allergic to tomatoes. Just try to go a pizza joint with your friends...

Anyway, I have successfully created a pasta sauce that ALMOST satisfies my spaghetti cravings.

Here it is

1 12 oz can of Clam Sauce
1 12 oz can of artichoke hearts
1 onion
1 T minced garlic (I used the jar of minced garlic in olive oil)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 T olive oil
1 t sea salt
2 t ground pepper

In large skillet, add olive oil, then brown the ground beef. Add onions and garlic, salt, pepper, simmer about 10 minutes. Add clam sauce and artichoke hearts (do not drain them first), simmer 20 minutes. You can cook it longer on low heat if you want...or put it all in the crockpot for a while.

Pour over cooked pasta of your choice. 4 servings.

Feminist rant of the day

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute. ~Rebecca West, "Mr Chesterton in Hysterics: A Stud

WHY IS THIS STILL TRUE???? It is 2010, people. Wake up and smell the feminism brewing.

More pics of 1930s quilt

1930s Reproduction Quilt is getting there

Princess loves the new 1930s quilt...I've got it to twin size but I really want it king...so I need to double it! I sewed most of the smaller pieces by hand while I was sick with pneumonia this winter...too sick to sit at the machine..