What do you do??

So what do you all do with Fabric you don't no longer love? Do you give away? Do you sell it? I'm curious. As you all know I started revamping my sewing room once again. Today I pulled out a ton, I mean a ton of homespun fabric I used in dollmaking/quilting that is taking up much needed space. I've got plaids and solids as well. Then I started on another drawer of country colors filled up two huge paper bags of scraps, fat quarters & large pieces. Then I filled a leaf garbage bag filled with large pieces of batting. ( why I was keeping all of that I have no clue) Next I tackled one of my craft making drawers, another bag filled to the brim. I piled my extra sewing desk, plus the table that holds my copier high with stuff I really no longer want, which got me thinking what to do with it. Should I ebay it? Etsy it? give away to someone in need? yard sale it? Tomorrow I think I'll try to tackle my patterns/books. I look at some of this stuff and wonder why did I spend my money on that.. ggeesh I must have been out of my mind. Give me some idea's ladies... who know I may send something to someone if I love their idea...

Have a blessed day~~~~

Back To School

Caleb is back to school & I now have my afternoons to myself when I'm not at the quilt shop. Since I'm on a simplifing kick, I started back on the sewing room. I have a bunch of homespun fabrics, a ton of primitive dollmaking stuff from old vintage handkercheifs, lace, vintage pillowcases and a lot more, that is boxed up for either to give away or sell haven't decided yet. But it felt good to box it all up. I'm going to hit my shelf wall today and declutter it all. I'm so tired of looking at everything & thinking well you never know I may need it. I decided if I hadn't used it in the last year outta here with a few execptions of course like fabric, patterns and books that I still love & smile when I see it, the rest is gone~~~ So if anyone is interested in stuff like that above shoot me off an email, I'm in the mood to deal.. I'll take some pictures this afternoon and post. So be sure to let your quilting friends know. :-) We're Dealing baby~~~

Many Blessings to you & yours~~~

Where did summer go??

Okay where did the summer go?? I missed it all I guess. This has been the most busiest summers ever I have had in such a long, long time. I did however got a long weekend getaway with the ole man and Caleb. We headed over to shipshewana Indiana for a nice relaxing long weekend. We stopped overnight in Auburn Indiana which was very nice. We ended up at the bass pro shop in Portage, Indiana, then road down a bunch of backroads to visit the Amish country Indiana and overnight in Shipshewana. I had a great time visiting some off the beaten paths of shops. Hit some antique places, quilt shops, variety shops and hunting shops as well. We ate that evening at the Blue Gate Inn, I highly recommend it!!! It was wonderful!! We ate family style it was oh so good~~ The place was packed but worth the 15 minute wait. We stayed the night in Shipshewana visited a lot of shops there, had planned on staying the night again there but decided we would go back over to Auburn to the hotel we stayed at the beginning of this trip. The hotel we stayed at was not the best, since they had paper thin walls & the neighbors were not the quietest I was out of there. But overall we had a great getaway~~

Now it is August & it almost 1/2 way gone. Caleb will be starting school on the 22nd & I can't wait. I think us parents are more excited then the kids are when the date approaches. I know I am~~ It seems I get more stuff done at home when they are away him and the ole man. I did start cleaning out closets, cupboards and packing stuff in boxes to either have a yard sale or goodwill. I just wonder where all of this stuff comes from at times. I mean I've got bowls without lids, way too many plastic items and clothes I no longer where or like. So my plan if I had used it or worn in last 6 months or year ago it is gone, no questions, gone out of here. It sure does feel good. wonder if I can apply that to my sewing room??? hhmmmm NOT!!!

well off to take some cookies out of the oven~~ Stay cool & enjoy the last part of the summer. Many blessing to you all~~

Carolyn

Heading to Another Retreat~~

It is time for another retreat~~ Oh I need this so bad, nothing like some sewing/quilting to get a much needed break in life. Still trying to deal with mom's passing some days better then others. Leaving tomorrow and won't be back until Sunday. A great bunch of gals, lots of good food, and my sewing machine with some fabric ( prefer Moda please) , I'll be a happy camper. Now I need to get some projects to get packed, hhmmm what to pull from my stash, what patterns to get started with or should I just grab some kits blind eye style. I did pick up a new book by Kathy Brown from the Teacher's Pet called Strip Smart Quilts, using a cool ruler from Creative Grids called 90 degree Double Strip ruler. I'm stepping way outside of the box with this baby, but oh it looks like a winner to making some awesome triangles especially with the patterns in the book. So I'm packing it for sure & giving it a whirl at retreat. I'll take some pictures at retreat to let you see how it goes, fingers crossed~~ Well off to make some potato salad, bake some type of dessert and find me some project to sew.

A Sad Day~~

Saturday May 21 2011 I lost one of the most important people in my life. My mom ( Juanita Kay McGuire) passed away so peacefully that afternoon. She went to be home where she was longing to go. She passed away so gracefully and at peace. She will be so missed, beyond words can describe. She had taught me so many things about the love of God, how to be kind to others, how to be a strong person, how to a good mom and so much more. I will miss hearing her voice most of all talking for hours on the phone and almost every day. No matter what she was there for me and others as well. She freely gave herself & didn't complain. Inspiration to us all & how someone should treat others plus ourselves. She always supported me in whatever I did, even when I made a mistake. She loved others so freely, unconditional and accepted others for who they were on the inside. She stood by her beliefs no matter what and for those who didn't accept her, she would say "oh well their loss". She said you will not be accepted by everyone, and that is okay. But if you agree with everyone, you will not be happy on the inside. Stand for something or else you will be walked on by everyone. Certain people come into your life for a reason, some stay & some go, but you can learn/appreciate something from them all. She taught me a lot. God received one of his best angels back into heaven. She was a wonderful loving person~~ Love you Mom~~~

Raffle Quilt~~

This is the quilt that the Stitchin Babes (http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=31605&team_id=923066).
Is raffling off during Relay for life at the Ross County Event June 10 & 11th, 2011. The person who wins the quilt will be drawn on the 11th at the event.
I made the quilt and was quilted by Wanda Stivison from Union Furnace, Ohio. This quilt is a work of art~~ If you'd like to purchase raffle tickets they are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00 the proceeds go to the Relay for Life - Stitchin babes group. If you'd like to purchase any you can contact me via email or send me something through my blog. You can send the money through paypal & i'll send you the receipt/ticket stubs. If you'd win I'll mail the quilt to you via ups with insurance~~ Your more then welcome to join us at the event which starts at 6 pm on friday. Our motto is "Stitch by Stitch we can cure cancer"

Publish Post

Welcome Rita to Blogging

Welcome my friend Rita to the blogging world. She is the owner of Creations Sew Clever in Chillicothe. She also does demo's for creative grids, is a published quilt author and tons more. Here is her blog so be sure to stop over and say Hi, welcome her to the blog world. Here is her blog creationssewclever.blogspot.com.
Ohio's Weather is crazy~~ after teasing us with warm short/capri weather we are back to jeans and jackets, plus throw in rain gear. We've had so much rain I'm going to have to get my dad's pontoon boat just in case needed. Good thing I have lots of quilts I can snuggle over if it gets too cool out. Keep warm~~
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Another Quilt Retreat Done

The Annual OhioQuilters Retreat is finally done~~ It was so much fun this year. We laughed till we had tears in our eyes & our sides ached. There was some great wonderful ladies there this year as always. We had some good food, both brought by the gals attending and the cater. The things everyone was working on was very inspiring to say the least. That is one great thing about a quilt retreat is charging your quilt inspiration batteries so to speak. We have such across the board quilters from some working on batiks, flannels, 30's reproductions, novelty and kansas troubles, in all kinds of patterns. I can't wait till the next one in 2012. I was really thinking of no longer putting this retreat on since I've done it over 10 years, I was getting burnt out but this year was so great, no drama, no stress, and it reminded me of why I do the retreat. I hope everyone else had a great time as much as I did. Now I'm looking forward to a get together with some close friends in June then onto Knoxville Quilt Show. I was debating whether or not to go there this summer since we had to replace my son's car since his was destroyed in a horrible accident. Then I found out this is the last year it will be held there, in the beautiful state of Tennessee ( one of my favorite states). It will be held in 2012 in Michigan. Closer to home but still...not the same. My goal this summer is to get most of my quilt tops sewn & bound, which I need to work on my binding skills. Binding is not thing I just don't enjoy it. I wish there was a good binding tool out there to make it easier and I can use with my Janome.

Amish Shop Hop

I had such blast with the stitchin babes up at the Amish Shop Hop. There as 11 of us that gathered together to start the shop hop & cuisine. 6 of us decided to stay up there overnight on a Friday plus do some additional shopping before the shop hop officially began on Saturday. We started out in Charm Ohio at Grannie's Kitchen to have lunch, which I had some of the best meatloaf, sweet potato fries and green beans. Then we headed over to Somewhere Sewing Quilt Shop. She is new to the area just outside of Millersburg. Well needless to say you gotta get over to there. She has a ton of fabric, lots of notions, plus they are so friendly & helpful. So be sure that is one of your stops if coming up there. The shop hop was fun. We hit around 6 shop within 6 hours, not much shopping time but that is okay. Then by 3:30 we had to be at Kidron for the ending which we saw the quilt that we received patterns to make from the shops plus we got to taste the food from the recipes we received also. We laughed, giggled and had made some great memories. Now I can't wait until the OhioQuilters Retreat at the end of April~~~ Heading back up there with coupons in hand, projects packed, snacks ready and praying for great weather. Doesn't matter because we always have a ton of fun. Now off to finish my sample for Creations Sew Cleaver & to work to repair a quilt for them. Have a blessed day

Busy ~~~ Love it~

Has been a busy couple of weeks. My Dad had his shoulder replaced so I was playing nurse since my brother & one of my sister works. All went great, giving the praise to God for it.

I recently got a new book in the mail called Civil War Sewing Circle, The: Quilts and Sewing Accessories Inspired by the Era. I absolutely fell in love with this, talk about getting my quilting juices flowing. So I'm breaking out some of my reproduction fabrics to get started on something this weekend.

I did however finish up my mystery quilt, going to post some pictures once I get my camera all charged & ready to go. How did you gals doing the mystery quilts turned out?? I'd love to see some pictures.

I'm also in the middle of getting ready for a quilting getaway a couple of friend are doing. I can't wait, need a break from life, LOL. I'm hoping to get some quilts quilted out so I can bind them there, and the way it looks I'll be doing some small quilts as well. I'm thinking of doing a muted pink & brown quilt, a scrappy one, and even maybe a kansas trouble one as well. I love decorating with small quilts, I use them with my primitive dolls, on top of my singer treadle, on top of tables, and hanging on the walls.

Have a blessed day
Carolyn

Sewing Today I hope~

Today I believe I'll be sewing I hope. ;-) We've had some snow, rain and ice. Typical Ohio weather but I do love the snow, watching it out of the window & the birds. Just seems to make everything so peaceful, beautiful and clean looking.

I've been reading some mystery books lately by the author G.A McKevett, I do like her sense of humor. So I haven't been sewing much, but I've been tucked under a quilt, cat on each side, enjoying a good book which isn't so bad huh??.

But sewing related I've been working on the 10th annual Ohio Quilters Retreat stuff. When I first started doing the retreat geesh 10 years ago, it was so hectic doing everything myself. Then I got some great gals to help, with a few bumps, some have came & gone that has help, a few tears, I'm finally got everything down pat & running smoothly. I've got90% of the same wonderful group of gals coming back year after year, which makes it so much easier. I've had to tweak some rules, but over all it has been a blast. I have a really good feeling this year that I'll be the most relaxed ever this year. I've even hopefully, keeping my fingers crossed, got a couple of surprises this year for the ones attending. The hardest part is getting things for the goodie bags and the raffle we do, but in the end so worth the time & effort to pull it all off. Oh did I mention the food we have there, we have a Mennonite lady come and serve us wonderful, wonderful food. Plus some of the gals that come bring the best snacks and lunch stuff. There are not too many Quilters I've met that can't cook something yummy~~ Nothing beats being surrounded by beautiful landscape, great people, wonderful food, laughter, sharing, friends and quilting. Life is good.

Today I got the first donation to the retreat from Honey Fork Fabrics. Ellen & her staff are so wonderful, plus those gals are quick on shipping. She sent us a book, some fat quarters, and some business items to hand out. Thanks so much Ellen!!!! I would recommend them to anyone for quilting needs, plus she has neat quilt shop out in the hocking hills of Ohio. So if you out that way be sure to stop by & say Hi~~

Have a blessed day & stay warm~~~

Carolyn

The Winner is--

The winner is from the jar of name from people who commented on the mystery post~~~

Congratulations Margaret~~~ You are a winner.... pop me an email to get your mailing address...plus we have a 2nd winner of a gift card from Joann Fabrics to Lewcrese so please both you ladies email me your address so I can get these in the mail by the end of the week.

Thanks to all of those who posted and followed along. I still need to finish off the borders, life has just came in to play this past week. Have a great week & stay warm

Many blessing to you

Carolyn

Mystery last part

So now are the last steps of putting this quilt together. So go get your Fabric #1 ( Background) squares they were I believe 2" in size plus get those forty strips you cut out of the Fabric #4 ( Border fabric). They were 2" x 11 7/8". You will make five of what is show in the picture. Begin with a square and end with a square.
Then get your 16 blocks and assemble the middle just like the picture. :-) I'm not sure how to tell you how to do this except I sewed the remaining strips from Fabric #4 ( 2" x 11 7/8') on the sides of the blocks as shown then I put the above strips on the blocks from top to bottom.
Now you'll want to get your fabric #4 that you cut earlier the two was 53 1/2" and you want to attach them to two opposite sides of the quilt center. Pin and ease as needed. Press the seam allowances toward the borders. Then take the remaining Fabric #4 the two sized 60" long and attach them to the remaining two sides of the quilt. Press seam allowances toward the border.

Okay now we are doing the pieced borders next to the last step.
This is a preview of what the finished quilt will look like, notice the different fabrics ect. I'll post my finished quilt tomorrow. This Ohio weather is hard on my arm with r.s.d so it has taken me longer then usually to complete. I can't wait to see your ladies quilts. I hope you all had fun doing this. next time I'm doing a smaller one.
Many Blessing to you all~~~

Mystery Borders

Here are the cutting requirements for the borders, so be sure to break out your border fabric & also your focus fabric as well for this step. Then tomorrow I'll tell you how to assemble it all together. Now this is the cutting part only so don't get nervous. These will go with the nine patches we have plus the squares we cut out earlier from the background/light ( fabric #1). In one part tells you to refer to the photo well, you won't see the photo's till tomorrow, so relax a little. You can click on the instructions below to get a larger view, click again on them and get a larger view. Figured this was better them trying to type them out & explain them to you. *** When it talks about the fifth fabric that is your Border fabric. You will have only one more cut and it below the picture instructions which uses the rest of your Fabric #3 the Focus.
Fabric #3 ( Focus Fabric)
Cut the reserved border panel of fabric #3 lengthwise into four - 3 3/4" wide borders. Trim two of them to 53 1/2" long. Trim the two remaining border panels to 60" long. You will use these tomorrow when assembling the quilt top.

This is such a neat quilt top and so worth the work. I do hope this hasn't been much of a hassle.
I'm doing the drawing this weekend for those who post a comment under any of the mystery quilt posting. Got some goodies to mail to you.
Many blessing~~~
Carolyn

Mystery Piecing

Okay we are going to start assembling some blocks now. Make sure you gather your blocks from the previous step. You'll be making the main blocks now.

Out of your Fabric #1 ( Background/light) cut one strip 6 1/2" x width of fabric. The cut this strip into sixteen 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" retangles.

Cut two strips 2" x width of fabric ( yes out of fabric #1 also) Cut these strips into twenty five 2" Squares. ( set these aside to use later)

Take your fabric you just cut from your fabric #1 the 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" & sew it on both sides of the unit. You'll make 16 of these. Look at the picture. When pressing press towards the fabric #1. Look at the picture to make sure you have the right blocks to sew too.

Take the other units and sew them onto the above 16 blocks on both sides to complete sixteen "Chicago Pavement" Blocks. Press the seam allowances away from the middle. I aligned the focus fabric ( #3 fabric) to match seams to sewn on the other blocks to center it. I hope that made sense. Note the bottom picture I have the block turned, so don't let that throw you.

The squares etc will be posted later what to do with them, after that only one more step to complete the quilt, which I'll tell you what to do with those nine patches. any problems please email me. Make sure your trimming those blocks as your sewing. I hope your enjoying this process, can't wait to see the finished quilts. Sorry this was posted late but had a malware on my computer that took awhile to get off of it. Will post another step later on this evening before the last step putting everything together. Have a great evening. BTW Yes I know I need to change the date on my camera, I pull the batteries to switch them & it changes the date, I just forget to fix it to the right date. Thanks for those who let me know. :-)

Many blessing to you~~

Ripping?? Yep I am..

Well I spent hour ripping out some blocks all 60 of them!!! I hate it when I'm sewing along, jamming out to some music, just humming along.. Then bam.... I run out of bobbin thread a few blocks back. Darn it~~~ So I then clean the bobbin case out, put in some new bobbin thread ready to roll. Nope I dbl check the picture & layout, well crap, I sewed all of them backwards!!! Yep I did it. So much for a relaxing evening of pressing them all to sew today. Nope I turned the machine off, gathered them all in a pile & left the room. I figured I'd deal with it later. That was today. So turned me on movie, grabbed the blocks & my handy dandy clover seam ripper ( which is my favorite by the way) , let the ripping begin.

** *Note to one self, keep dbl checking the picture of the pattern your putting together***

*** Be glad I like miss Rosie's Quilt pattern, remind myself how much I love the finished product***

Pray this isn't contagious or happens for awhile, I'm humble now....

Many Blessings

Carolyn

Mystery Step 2

Well are you ready for the next step??? I hope all is going well. :) So here we go, now remember which of your fabric is #1 ( Background) #2 ( Medium or accent to focus fabric) #3 (Focus Fabric). Which is very important not to get them mixed up. Let's Begin

*** Remember all strips are cut the width of the fabric, 42-45" Wide****

Fabric #1 ( Background) Cut five 4 1/8" wide. Then cut those 5 strips into 48 4 1/8" squares. Cut those squares twice, diagonally, to make four quarter-square triangles from each square. To get a total of 192 triangles. See the picture.

Fabric #1 ( Background) Cut Two 2 3/8" Strips. Cut these strips into 32 2 3/8" squares. Cut these squares once, diagonally, to make two half square triangles from each square. To get a total of 64 triangles. See the picture.

Fabric #2 ( Medium, Accent to focus fabric)

Cut Four 2 1/2" strips. Cut these strips into 64 2 1/2" squares.

Fabric #3 ( Focus Fabric)

Cut two 6 1/2 strips. Cut these strips into thirty two 2 1/2 x 6 1/2" rectangles.

NOw the fun part putting these babies together.

Step #1 Sew a quarter square triangle fabric (fabric #1) to the two ends of each of the thirty two Retangles ( Fabric #3) ** Make sure you put the triangles the way they are positioned in the picture shown Press seam allowances toward the rectangle. TIP: When placing the triangle in position the tip will extend 3/8" beyound the rectangle at the bottom. Don't ease this in and try to make it match at the seam line, doing so robs part of the seam allowance from the next seam.

Step #2

Sew the remaining quarter square triangles ( fabric #1), to two opposite sides of the sixty four squares ( Fabric #2) Align them as shown in the picture. Press seam allowances towards the triangles. Next Sew a half square triangle ( fabric #1) to each of the above 64 units on the bottom as shown in the picture. Press seam allowance towards the triangle.

Step # 3 You need to get those units from the previous Steps we done last week. , so go get them. Sew half of the triangle units from above step #2 to the Units from last week. You will need to make thirty two of these. They are shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowances in the direction shown by the arrow.

The last part of this you will use the remaining units from step #2 and #1 to make thirty two sections like the one in the picture below. Press the seam allowances in the direction show by the arrow.

That's it for now, next week we will finish up only two more steps left and you will have a completed quilt top for yourself or gift. I hope to see some gorgeous picture when they are all put together.

Email me with any questions. I hope the pictures help you out & I'm writing directions as clear as mud so to speak. Remember to post your name and if your friends are joining in make sure they include your name in the comment section to get in the jar of name for a drawing of some cool free stuff. I'm still putting things in the box as I'm out shopping. Happy Quilting~~~

Many Blessings~~~

Sewing Step Part One

Make sure you use an accurate 1/4" seam on all sewing. Take your fabrics #1 & #2 which was cut out earlier. Those were the 2 1/2" strips width of fabric in size. ( we will deal with what you've cut out of #3 fabric shortly )

First Set You will make two of these sets sewn together just like below is stated ( one top of each other like strip piecing, in the order below, medium #2 fabric in the middle)#1 light (background)#2 medium ( 2nd accent)#1 Light ( background) See picture below

2nd Set You will make 6 of these sets sewn together just like below is stated one top of each other like strip piecing, in the order below, light #1 fabric in the middle)#2 ( medium (2nd accent)#1 light ( background)#2 Medium ( 2nd accent)After those sets are sewing together pressed to the dark.See picture below ***** Make sure when you get ready to cut these out you have your sets laying vertical like stripes going across**** I hope this makes sense.

Out of the first sets of ( #1, #2, #1 sewn together) You want to cut 2 1/2 wide across the sets to come up with 32 pieces measuring 2 1/2" wide by 6 1/2 long . see picture below
Out of the 2nd sets ( #2, #1, #2 sewn together) You want to also cut 2 1/2" wide across to come up with 96 pieces that will measure 2 1/2"wide by 6 1/2" long.

Okay now your going to make 32 nine patches with some of the above leftover for the next step so set those aside. See the picture above.

Your nine patches should look like the following:

#2 #1 #2

#1 #2 #1

#2 #1 #2(the medium fabric which is labeled #2 will make the corners and center)

Make sure you press seam allowances away from the center . They will measure 6 1/2" square nine patch.

Part 3 Sew the retangle ( 2 1/2 x 6 1/2) of fabric #3 ( focus fabric) to 32 of the sections That were cut from 2nd set of fabric ( the #2, #1, #2 sewn together above) to make 32 of these types of blocks.



That is it for now until next thursday or Friday to see the next set of cutting and sewing.