Guilt Free Shopping!

First I want to show you the wonderful fabric, that I won from Evonne of The Clothesline Quilter, Jo Morton's reproduction fabric. I love the colors and they will be saved to go into my bed quilt. I plan on spending time this year on finishing and making things for me and one will be a nice quilt for my bed. This was part of the 100 blocks tour and I didn't win the magazine, but second prize, I think I made out, lol.

Today was a me day, for an early Birthday treat. My husband took me to Whispering Hill Farms, Rug hooking store. I love shopping there, love to walk around her rooms and see all of the wonderful antiques and rugs, which she has on the floors and displayed in all the rooms.

You find them in the kitchen, yes you can walk into her kitchen and use her bathroom, it is a store where visitors are treated like friends and family. Even the pup has his own rug to rest on.

Rugs line the walls, Donna is an avid antique collector and has some beautiful antique rugs.

Visitors can sit and hook, a great place to create and chat. You never have to worry about running out of wool, there is plenty, lining the shelves and cubbies.

And a cozy nook to enjoy a quiet moment or a bit of sun.

I have been rug hooking for years and have extra equipment that I don't need, so I took my puritan frame and bliss cutter and she bought them from me. Donna also buys and sells used equipment and have an extensive collection of antique and out of print books. The great thing is, no guilt shopping, I used this money to pay for my wool;)

I was looking for white and lights for snowmen, and found some nice wool off the bolt and some beautiful dyed pieces that will be nice to mix up with the other whites. Lots of beautiful wools and some pieces to use in penny rugs. And a first for me, I have never bought hand dyed wool, I have always done my own, but it was time to treat myself;)

On the way home we took the scenic route and I had to stop at an antique consignment on the way. It was a wonderful shop and they even had a book rack, and look what I found! I love the angel in this book, that will be fun to do for my daughter. It is in Heart Warmings from Pieces from my Heart. And a
Kansas Troubles book, only 2 dollars each, nice find.

The trip to Donna's Shop is well worth a trip, if you are in the area. Wonderful place to shop and beautiful drives along the scenic routes. I lost track of how many churches we passed, but this one is my favorite, love the green shades and the style.

Presents and Freebies!

The other day I received a wonderful gift in the mail from Mary of Quilt Hollow. She made me a mini quilted piece with an opening at the bottom, so I could make it into something I want. I am going to fill it with pine balsam and place it on a shelf, so I can enjoy looking at it and a fresh pine scent in the house for christmas.

And I am working on gifts for others. I made up a couple of snowman ornies. I will add bells to the front and on the top of the hats.

I also found some new freebies on the web that I thought you might enjoy. It is fun to have things to make for the holidays especially if they are free!

Marjory of Pecks Pieces has a wonderful wall quilt with appliqué santas. She has the quilt and the first santa up, for you to download.

Check out Lyn Brown's mini quilt pattern pak. There are appliques for the different seasons, I love the pear block, it is an extra in the booklet.

Christmas Punch Needle!

I bought a couple of new patterns when I went shopping and one was Seven Snowmen by All Through
the Night. It is a penny pattern, done with wool, but I like the small version for an idea I had. This will be the front of a pouch bag for a swap I am doing. I started out using 3 strands and valdani, but when I got to the background I knew it would drive me nuts, trying to fill it all in, so I switched to 6 strands and changed the height to make the background shorter. This way the design stands out more and gives it a 3D effect. It is hard to tell by the photo.

The tree is done with a floss that I over dyed. It looks crooked because I have it sitting on the frame. I also see some white, I still need to go over it and fix a few things and fill in the bare spots. I also plan on adding a few embellishments, that is why I left the buttons and star out of the piece. Of course I will have to antique it too. Once it is done, I will make it into a simple bag with a handle to hang on a door or peg rack.

Unfortunately the flash tends to darken areas of a piece and then when I lighten it in photoshop, it over lightens areas and makes the darker ones appear too dark and contrasting.

Freebie Friday!

I decided that I would share some free things that I have found on the internet for those of you who like to find freebies to make for the holidays. I am working on a new project, but still working on it, needed a break today.

One of the fun things I found are free digital images from Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps. She has some wonderful images and they would be fun to enlarge and do as quilts or use for cards. You can do a search to find images or you can spend the day going through 100's of images, lol.

Another fun design I found today was from All People Quilt called 12 Days of Christmas Banner. This would be really fun to make for Christmas or if you don't have the time, make a few of the ornaments for your tree.

And here is one that would be fun to make for gifts and it could be done in more prim fabrics too. It is a free pdf pattern by The Red Boot Quilt Company. Now if I can only find the time to make all the fun things I find.

Wins..Buys and pillows!

Thanks to my friends and family, I won second place in the contest sponsored by This-n-That Fabrics. I tend to be practical, and I plan on making a lot of quilts and gifts, so I bought two packages of blades. Then I used the rest to treat myself to some fabrics and got a mix of fabrics to try. The ABC panel is beautiful, I was thinking it would be a nice panel for a charity quilt and something the kids would have fun looking at and learning with. The blue patchwork will be fun to use with dolls or patchwork animals, christmas writing to use as a background for wall quilts, and a gold homespun for my stash. I got the tan prairie cloth to try, have no idea what to do with it, but have heard others love using it. Be sure and visit This-n-That fabrics and follow if you haven't already, there is another contest running this week with a wonderful prize package.

Last weekend, we took a ride up to Massachusetts to visit The Quilted Crow. I love their store and I know I should have taken photos, but it was crowded and I was too busy walking around the store and ogling all the goodies. I got two patterns, but I just realized I didn't add them to the photo, duh. But I will be making them and show them off then;) I went up with ideas in mind, but they didn't have any of the patterns I was looking for, the owners had taken a lot of the punch and wool patterns to the show in NH. I was able to get some beautiful homespuns to add to my stash and more green and red for my christmas pieces. The blues are from the new Jan Patek homespun line, they are so beautiful in person, beautiful blue shades. This was an early birthday present to myself;) The tins are for pin cushions.

I am working on a new punch that I adapted from one of my patterns, but I made a couple of pillows for fun and to give my hands a break. The snow heads are a pattern from Primitive Blessings and the cat pillow is a design from Heartfelt Designs. Great ideas to add to packages.

Sunday Stroll!

This week so many have been recovering from the recent storm and our state still has areas that have been destroyed by the forces of the waves, but it is slowly coming back. 

Today we went back to Beavertail lighthouse to see what the area looked like and to enjoy the beautiful day we were blessed with. Most of the damage has been cleaned up, there are areas with sand piles, a few with rocks littering the roads, but all in all, the area was back to normal and a lot of people were out, enjoying a sunday drive.

We always park in the last lot, nearest to the lighthouse, so we can walk along the cliff paths and enjoy the views. 

The lighthouse is at the point and you could see the damage there. A lot of rocks and shale got thrown up onto the roads and the lower area was exposed to the force of the waves at high tide. This rock pile was the site of the original lighthouse. It has been slowly eroding over the years, but the storm really took it's toll.

We walked along the road on the opposite side of the drive since the paths along the cliffs, was so bad with erosion, I didn't want to take the chance of falling down one;)

We went to the other side of the island, so we could walk along the old ruins of the forts and enjoy the views of Newport Harbor.

A view of Newport, beautiful area to visit, as well.

A lot of people were enjoying a sail while the weather was nice. How would you like to live here, could fit quite a few families in that mansion.

We ended out walk and day by standing on the cliff, next to the coves. This area is a divers mecca and we caught a few coming out from a dive. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Christmas Quilt Finished!

First I want to thank all of you, that voted for me in the challenge at http://tnt512.blogspot.com. I came in second and was thrilled. I was practical and got a few packs of rotary blades, I will be doing lots of quilting in the next few months. I will show you the fabrics when I receive them. They are also running another giveaway this week, so be sure to visit and enter to win some fabulous fabric and a pattern.

Yesterday I finished my quilt, but I wanted to take an outdoor photo, so I waited. It didn't help, the photo still didn't come out nice. I think I need to take my camera in and see if it needs inside cleaning on the lens, the hazard of taking photos on the water;)

I hand quilted around the blocks and the sashing with black pearl cotton. I use the border as my binding, so when it is done, I fold the extra front, to the back and hand sew it down. This time I tried a tea stain, but it wasn't dark enough, so I added coffee and still didn't work. I finally added walnut crystals to the mix and a little vinegar and it came out just right. It primmed it up without over darkening the design.

The stitchery designs were all freebies from Tiffany of Primitive Blessings. Tiffany's designs are great for stitchery or punch needle, and great for gift ideas.

The quilt measures 25" x 19".

Here is a closer look at the blocks and stitching. I used black to keep it prim. The one difference I would make, would be to put the greenery around the saying, further out on the top block.