Voting is Open!

I thought I would add a new post for the voting. There are a lot of wonderful pieces, so enjoy the photos and vote for your favorite. I truly believe that you should vote for your favorites, not to vote for me, if I ask, I don't find that fair.

My favorite is the kitty house and the ocean piece.
You can see the entries and vote at Stumbles and Stitches.

Here is another photo of the mat in a new setting.
I really think I need to switch those two stars, it is really bugging me, lol.

I haven't been feeling great this weekend, so hard to get a steady shot.

Antique Black Cat Penny Rug!

I entered a contest this month, to make something for the house and something using recycled materials and it had to be stitched. It is being sponsored by Stumbles and Stitches. I wanted to do an art piece, but time slipped by, way too fast and I was down to the last week. I wanted to make my cat piece into a little mat, so this was a great time to try it. All of the wools are recycled, even the buttons on the eyes. There will be an open voting, so I will let you know the when and where, when it gets listed.

I finally noticed that I messed up, and put the right sides in the opposite places. I must have re-pinned and not been paying attention;) If you have the antique cat punch needle pattern, this is another item you can make with it. I just blew up the design, so you can make any size you want.

Here is the mat, with a straight on shot, lightened up. Men's jackets make great textures for penny rugs.

Finches, Fabric and Freebie!

Today I heard a bird chirping and couldn't see it. It was high in the tree tops and the wind was gusting over 30 miles an hour. He finally moved and I realized it was a finch. He was sitting at the top and trying to keep his balance while the wind blew him back and forth.

Hard to get a clear photo with the wind blowing the poor guy, around.

Last week I bought a lot of supplies with coupons and didn't realize that I got a coupon for spending so much. I got 30% off my purchase, even sale items, so of course I had to use it today, before it ran out. I was able to get 4 king battings at 70% off, so well worth the buy and I can use them for charity quilts too.
When we go to Jo anns, I always stop at Savers, which is across the street. I found this fabric and loved the design and colors. It is cotton, with a dyed look from Nigeria. Not sure what I will do with it, but think it would make some nice summer tops. It is about a yard and was only .99 cents, couldn't resist;) Looks so much better in person, more faded, dyed look to it.

And, I had a lot of interest in the RI Reds quilt from the show. Barbara of Cat Patches did a search and found the pattern online, for the chicken. So, if you liked it, you can make your own. And if you didn't know, Barbara has a giveaway every friday, so be sure to check out her blog. You can find the pattern at Sew Inspired. Here is a close up of the chicken from the show. As you can see, she appliquéd the beak and comb, then added stitching to make a wing on it's side.

Davis' Daughter Block Two!

I finished another block, only 4 more lady blocks and one for the middle section, guess I better work faster;) I am staying with the red and blue, mixed with tans and creams, so the dresses will be red, blue and brown shades. The next one will be in the brown family and I am using Barbara Brackman's 1862 Battle Hymn for the dresses and plan on using it for the border, if i can find some in the stores. I do like the look of the original pattern with blue and tans for the sashing and border prints.

I gave this lady, lighter hair and the green is a lighter shade. I am trying to keep them similar with a little bit of change, to mix it  up. I added an eye to this one, which I will do with all of them and I am thinking of adding laces to the boots.

Quilt Show Finale!

Here are the last of the photos. There were a lot of beautiful quilts and a lot of primitive and art pieces, but I didn't get shots of them all. These quilts just stood out to me and ones that I thought all types of quilters would enjoy.

The ones on the walls were the hardest to photograph. To be truthful, they really didn't hang the quilts that well, it seemed like they were put up in a rush.

This one is so beautiful, wonderful use of 3 D and art mediums.

Of course I had to take a shot of our state bird, lol.

A Barbara Brackman pattern, have always loved this one.

Imagine the work that went into this one, just gorgeous in person.

Beautiful appliqué work.

A block that I love and would like to do someday.

Two beautiful quilts, great fabrics.

And a very abstract quilt with lots of colors and fabrics. I think it is fun and great artwork.

This is the booth from our local Folk Art Quilt Shop. I was surprised that she had more brights and modern fabrics at the show. 

And this is Leslie from the Pfaff shop. She had lots of beautiful pieces and demonstrations, but this is a local store, so I can shop when I need something.

I hoped you enjoyed the show, and found some inspiration in some of the beautiful pieces. I have been lazy this week, Bill was away and then goes back out tomorrow, so we have been doing things together and I haven't been getting many projects done;)

Quilt Show: Part Two

I am glad that everyone is enjoying the photos of the quilts, from the show. It is nice to be able to see quilts from different parts of the country and world, and share them with each other. So, here is another set of quilts for you to enjoy.

I would swear I saw this in the show, two years ago, but I still love it.

This is for all the cat lovers, out there.

This is such  fun quilt, I love mermaid art.

Beautiful thread art and love how she over layer the leaves.

This is all machine stitched, not my cup of tea, but beautiful work.

Really beautiful shades in this one.

This is my favorite piece. Her son drew the birds and she made a quilt from them, so fun.

I love the idea of doing an irish chain with fussy cutting.

These are hand painted quilts. Wonderful vintage look to her pieces.

One area had a Harry Potter theme.

I hope you enjoyed today's show, the rest I will save for tomorrow.

Narragansett Bay Quilter's Show: Part One!

Today we went to the quilt show and I made a video of the show, but the quality is horrid and the photos are too small to really see the quilts, so I will show a set at a time. I wasn't as impressed with this show, as I was with previous ones, but there were a lot of beautiful quilts and inspiration. I didn't buy anything, but Bill bought a bunch of tickets for the Basket raffles. He filled them out, then gave them to me, to put in the ones that I liked the most, so heres hoping I win one, though I won't count on it, lol. I hope you enjoy the quilts.

I loved the use of shirting in this one.

This one is a basic nine patch, but made special, by the fussy cutting of the squares.

A fun quilt with a lot of piecing and wonderful use of fabrics.

Beautiful colors and designs

An interesting take on americana and nine patch

This is just fun

I really like this, unique piece of art in fabric

Truly gores, beautiful appliqué and quilting

A nice folk piece

What is so wonderful about this piece? It is a mini quilt, so much detail in such small spaces.

And the last one for tonight. This is a unique piece, love the idea of using a seed package as a design

Davis' Daughter Block!

I finally finished my first block. This is for a quilt called Jeff Davis's Daughter by Barbara Brackman, from her Civil War Woman Book. I think it will be perfect to hang for the summer and makes a nice americana theme. As usual my pieces are a bit cock eyed, but it lends to the prim charm, lol. I am also using wools for some pieces, makes it easier than all needle turn. The dress is made with Barbara's new fabric line, 1862 Battle Hymn. I plan on doing all the dresses with her fabric, using the blues and browns, along with the  red.

Tomorrow I plan on going to our local quilt show, if nothing goes wrong, so I will try and get lots of photos of the quilts.

Want a fun free pattern to make, especially the cat lovers? Go to Create and Decorate and check out their newest free project, Blue Skies Ahead.

I lightened it up so you could see some of the texture in the wools I used.

Seal Watching!

Today was the perfect day for a walk, a warm sun and a cool breeze off the bay.
We lucked out and came at low tide, so we were treated by the seals who love to sit on the rocks in the middle of the bay.

There is a rocky area that pops up during low tide. This is just a part of it, the tide was still going out. From the shore, you can see a few blobs, that might be seals.

On closer inspection,  I found one little guy, sunning himself.

Then after we sat for awhile and the tide lowered, the rest of the gang showed up. How many seals can fit on one rock? LOL Before we left there were seals on all of the rocks. This is when I wish I had a higher zoom.

Angel Wall Hanging!

I really liked the angels I made for my sister, so I decided to make a wall hanging for my bedroom.

The pattern comes from Jan Patek's Angels book. I did some star stitching and there are x's on the top and bottom parts, but they got washed out in the photo. I added a little apron to my angel, an idea I liked in a pattern by Cheri Saffiote. 

Liberty Punch Needle!

It has been a slow week, Bill is away on a trip and he gave me his bug, before he left.
I have been getting some things done around the house and finally finished my Uncle Sam punch needle. I think I need a new needle, mine has been dropped too many times and either I have a bad needle, or my punching is not up to par, so need to buy a new one.

The design is by Brenda Gervais of Country Stitches. I decided to make it into a flat piece and attached a piece of wool to the back. This way I could put double backed rug tape on it and attach it to my candle holder. After the summer, I can just remove it, without hurting the piece or the wood. It is a great way to redecorate for the different seasons.

I also had some library books that were due back. So, before I took them back, I scanned the pages from the patterns I wanted to make. This one is from Barbara Brackman's book; Facts and Fabrications, Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery. I love the simplicity with the touch of appliqué on the corners, I think this would make a nice quilt for my bed too;)

Homeward Bound Quilt!

I am planning on a quilt for my bed and I want it to be simple, but nice. Someday I will make something more detailed, but for now, I want something I like and something I can make quickly. So, I went through all of my old quilt magazines and found one I like in a 1997 Quilt magazine. It is called Homeward bound and I like how they used shirting in the blocks. I want to do mine with darker colors and mix up the shirtings with homespuns, I have a few with stripes and in all types of colors.

I was thinking of using my blacks in place of the orange blocks and darker white or cream for the light whites, they mixing up the triangle blocks with hit and miss fabrics from my stash.

Here are some of the fabrics I am playing with, I love the blacks and some of the homespuns, some might be too light. Would love suggestions on colors and layouts, it is getting warmer, so want to get this one done first, so I can use it. I definitely want to use the blue and tan striped on the bottom left and the blue stripes on the top of the pile.

Happy Easter!

Today was spent, cleaning and cooking and a bit of thumb mutilation with a chopping knife, lol.
I think I over did it and just got tired and wasn't paying attention, but it was a side slice, so no real damage.


We have a bunch of daffodils that started growing under the briar bushes, so today I went out and took what was on it, so I could enjoy them. They are a beautiful pale yellow.

And since I had the windows open to air out the house, the kitties enjoyed sitting in the windows. The problem is, they always want the window that the other one has. Here Moki is giving Izzy the look, and she is keeping her head under the window to keep him from pouncing on her. She decided it wasn't worth the stress and left, and he jumped into her spot;) I hope every one has a wonderful and Blessed Easter.

For tonight's link, Kyra's blog has wonderful postings about african american quilting and Harriet Powers patterns. Tonight she has a free pattern for her visitors.

Signs of Spring!

With this beautiful weather we have been able to get out and go for walks at our local parks. One are I love is just down the road and the paths go around the fishing pond and it seems the birds have come back for nesting.

I was so thrilled to see a blue heron so close and of course, just as I go to shoot, he flew away.

This pond has a few swan families and they are very territorial, so they each have their own spots. This guy was just enjoying himself and the beautiful weather.

This is one way that they rest.

And he was just as curious about me, as I was about him.

And I am not sure what he is thinking here, but he sure is a contortionist. 

And here is a wonderful contest I found today, gorgeous fabric colors. Visit Quilted Works and enter and watch for more giveaways this month.