Can you say fake sampler? :-O

You know I did this on my sewing machine right? lol I finally got my Singer Quantum and I just gotta say "ITS SO DANG MUCH FUN!"

I have never been able to hand sew much but have always lusted after samplers from afar. So after church I sat down and played some more on my new toy and made myself an authentic fake sampler!  I decided to make it into a pillow because I didn't think enough in advance about the size I was making.

This machine has so many stitches and I am just having the time of my life. First computerized machine I have ever owned.

Now my mind won't be still thinking about all the possiblities! Oh and by the way 1853 was a hundred years before I was born which is when I should have really been born....
Happy Sunday Yall!

tick tick tick... when will it get here? so I clean instead...

When oh when will my frame and new machine arrive... still no tracking info yet... so I decided to clean up my poor sewing room and thought I might take some pictures while it was clean because it rarely ever happens! No matter how hard I try to put things back and keep things in order it never stays that way for very long. Do you have that problem too? Or is it just me!

 I am wearing out my hardwood floor moving my chair around, may have to find something to put underneath of it... hmmm... any suggestions out there?

My Juki is still in my Roberts cabinet (another gift from Paul) but as soon as my Hinty gets here I  will move it to the frame and put my new Singer Quantum in my cabinet. I CAN NOT WAIT! Like I said it will be the first computerized machine I have ever owned or operated! Its a very big deal to this old gal for sure!

 I am a lucky girl, I get gifted a lot of old sewing stuff by some good buddies of mine who are kinda like the "American Picker" guys. The shelf is really a an old sewing cabinet I kinda hung as a shelf, a neat gift from John (my buddy). A thimble shelf full of thimbles from Paul (my buddy) Now if I can just find the right sized book shelf for all my quilting books to put under the old sewing cabinet my toe may begin to heal in the spot where I keep hitting on the wooden crate... do ya think?

My table where I sit and cut blocks and square blocks and dream up blocks... On my cutting table right now I am still squaring up bow tie blocks.

 More machines, can there ever be enough machines? My Serger has not been threaded in so long I may have forgotten how...

Lots of scraps from a gazillion different projects, all will eventually be put to good use, or at least I keep telling myself that.

 I have got two Civil War projects going at one time, the "Nawth" and the South... neither is winning at the moment.

I have been collecting blues for my upstairs

re-do. I am going Americana up there eventually.

Believe it or not there is a rhyme and a reason as to why this stack has this stuff and that stack has that stuff. All in good time.

See the little stool? I stand on that to reach the stuff on the top shelf, that little pillow attached is filled with Sweet Annie, whenever I step on it the smell warfs up and I love it... When I had carpet I would sprinkle on the carpet and then sweep, it was awesome.

Well, eventually my machine and my frame will arrive and I will post about that but for now I have a cleaned up sewing room that I will stay out of for well... a little while anyway!

Blessings Yall! Gwen

I Didn't Run Away! I been spending money!

Hello all,

     I'll just give some quick happy dance news.  I have bought another sewing machine because I will be putting my Juki 2000 on my new Hinterberg frame! I am so excited, it should be here within a week or so.  I have never long armed before and even though they say the Juki 2000 is a long arm its really kinda short but it work for the frame I bought. I will be practicing on a few junky quilt tops first and then zooooooom! I'll be doing one for a friend and then a couple of mine.  I still would like to get a laser stylus for pantograms but I did get a regular stylus and some Grace perfect patterns to start with.  I have to get busy this week and make some sleeves for my poles but I think I can manage it.  More info as it comes in and here are some photos of what I bought... And oh yes, a very nice lady named Sandy is taking me under her wing from the quilting board I belong to. I have an date to visit her and her set up this week, how cool is that!

I chose this Singer because of the price, the reviews and I tried one out at Joann's. I love the fact that it has letters and numbers and best of all that it has a hand quilting stitch that looks pretty impressive to me. Its a very big deal to me because I have never had anything but a mechanical machine so I think its pretty awesome!

Have a great week and I'll let you know when they get here and how it all goes down!

Long Cool Woman In A White Bonnet....

I am in the process of looking at some bonnet patterns. I am trying to figure out which one I might be capable of making. I know that bonnet patterns can be tricky. I saw a photo of a line of bonnets in indigo blues (long bonnets) on an old board and I have just got to have one hanging in my hallway. We frequent lots of antique malls and somewhere along the line I bought this photo in PA. I plan on having a little shelf run the length of my board and I want to display some photos of ladies in bonnets.

You are very welcome to copy these photos, they are mine and like I said they came from an antique mall. If any of you all have a bonnet display I would love to see the photos of it or if you know of an easy pattern for a long bonnet and could point me in the right direction that would be great!

Spring Blessings! Gwen

Hobo Quilts...

I just received this book and I gotta say it is sooooooooooooo interesting! However I will have to beat my husband down to get a very good look at it. He has been reading it since he got home from work yesterday and already has his favorite blocks picked out.

I know the reason he likes it. He grew up close to the tracks and there were still hobo's stopping by his Mother's kitchen now and again. She would always give them coffee and a sandwich, she said if you didn't they would mark your house. Looks like she was right.  She was a good story teller and I think my husband is really strolling down memory lane with this book, my book....

If any of you have made any of the blocks from this book or read this book would love to hear from you!
Blessings!

Attention: Ann Sweet & I just listed my Singer 31-15 on ebay

 ( I just listed this Singer 31-15 on ebay)

Happy Sunday everyone. Today in my email I had a note from a lady named Ann Sweet who had viewed my blog. I tried to respond to her email but it says there is a mailbox failure, not the right email. If she reads this please send me the an updated email and I will be glad to respond! Thanks

Hinterberg 17 inch stretch quilting frame, anybody have one?

If you have the Hinterberg 17 inch stretch quilting frame I invite you to blog about it here. I am planning on buying a frame and some have said they use it with their Juki 2000, is it what I want if down the road I wanted to do a few quilts for others on it? The nice thing about this particular frame is the affordable price as well.
Thanks in advance! Gwen

Its Just A Little Prim Quilt...

Mostly made from scraps its just a little prim quilt. I have not grunged it but thinking I might. I quilted in some stars on the outside border. Was a fast project, one more for the stairwell, now there are three.

I am getting a little better at not making so many points in my stippling, its easier with a small quilt though.

I wasn't sure my binding would match but I think it looks ok.

I love the way the little stars look on the backside.

  Well now I have to get busy and clean up my house for Friday my two Gals are coming to sew. We will be sewing a top together for Barb and making pillow shams for Marilyn, its gonna be a busy day but we are ending at 4 instead of 5. We are going to a fish fry at our parish. So probably won't post again until this weekend. Everyone have a safe and fun weekend and try to get a little sewing in!

Blessings! Gwen

Two Little Quilts Bound... Wednesday's Work...

First the Sugar Bowl quilt. I think these must be called sugar bowl's instead of baskets because they don't have all the triangles they usually have. I bound this with "cotton bowl" fabric from Moda. I like the cotton bowl because I am from TN and I have picked cotton when I was little. I tried to make my fm quilting a lot finer for this one. However it "ain't" perfect by any means.

This was the first time I ever did a row of triangles, I have always been  afraid of them because I thought they looked hard and I really thought they would be hard being so small but actually I did OK with them. I have learned not to iron my pieces this the unit is done and I am read to square, they don't stretch out of shape that way.

Now I tried to get a little fancy here and used a curved ruler, I still am not good at following lines like this but I am getting better. I figure making these 20 little quilts in this book would be very good practice.

Now this one I wish I had a queen sized one too! lol, I think its because I like the colors. I was trying to get creative with the border quilting and used a coaster to make the curves. Unfortunately I had to go over some of them more than once because I didn't plan it out right to follow a continuous line... oh well, like I said, glad I don't know any quilt police!  This is the Anvil block.

Well... next I am cutting out the tree everlasting little quilt. I hate to say it but to me it looks monotonous but I need the practice on the little triangles so it will be great for that. In the book its in a solid color but I choose a print that I thought would connect better with a tree. Pictures as soon as I get the top make.

Blessings Yall!

Paranormal Activity? see what you think...

In my dinning room I have a wall Rosary, its really big and in the middle is a picture of Jesus. Here is what it usually looks like...

So the hubby gets up really early this morning and just sits down to drink his cup of joe.. He is sitting in the living room but there is an archway where you can see straight into the dinning room and he notices a light...

He watches it for a minute or two and notices my camera laying on the end table beside him. He turns it on and takes a couple pictures.  I am not sure what the heck to think. Let me know what you think.

Not sure that light coming through the window would make it do this and I am up early lots of times and have never noticed it in the 6 years its been hanging in that same place... well I guess an AMEN is in order!

Blessings Yall! Gwen



Anvil Little Quilt Top... Sat. Sewing...

 

Another little quilt top pieced together this afternoon.  This is the anvil pattern, I guess like a blacksmith used. My gg grandfather was a blacksmith, Christopher Columbus Irvin. What a name! Maybe I should dedicate this little quilt to him on the back somewhere.  I will probably bind it with the fabric that made the anvils. I will post the tops as I get them quilted.

As I write this hubbs is painting my hallway up the stairwell white. I hope to display all 21 quilts on the white walls  ( if I get them all done!). My husband collects old sewing buttons and I suppose a few of those will find their way on the walls too.

 The little blocks were easier to do than the Sugar Bowl quilt.  As I said before all the little quilts are coming from this book.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend! Blessings Y'all!



 

Sugar Bowl Quilt.. my rendition.. Friday Finishes..

I love Gwen Morston's quilts, this is from her book and its called Sugar Bowl. Mine is a little wonky but I love it. It was a little difficult for my novice skills but lucky for me I don't know any quilt police.  I added a wider border than the one in the book because I like it to be a little bigger. I just finished the top and have not got to the batting or backing yet. I started it this afternoon and finished about 4:30. It went faster than I thought it would. There are 21 quilts in the book, I am going to try and make them all. Where I will put them the good Lord only knows but I think it will be great piecing practice.

Here is a little closer view, like I said "it ain't perfect" but its mine and I guess I have to look at it. At least the hubbs didn't think it was a hot pad this time! lol

This is the one from the book, I am not a pink gal but I soooooo thought it was pretty and I love the name of this quilt.

Here is the book, just love this book!

 Blessings Yall! Gwen