Thank You Lord for Every Drop!

This photo is from our local TV station, I was too in awe to run and get my camera and take my own photos but I may get another chance. It even thundered a little. I did have enough sense to stick an old tin tub under a drain spout that was pouring buckets. It filled it to the brim!  I may get the chance to get my own photos because it looks like we may get another rain storm soon.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!
Gwen

Finally got the beds made...

I finally got off my butt and pulled some weeds and spread some black mulch and planted a few flowers. Not sure what took me so long this year, possibly because I was working out back, or repairing a sewing machine or sewing away, who knows. But yesterday I spread a whole pickup load of mulch and planted a couple new poesy's. Thought I would post a few pics before heading to Mass this morning.

Happy Sunday Yall!

Bernina 930 Loaded starts on Ebay tonight...

This baby is loaded, tons of feet and even the Bernina Cut "N" Sew. Very nice case and accessory case, manual and all the bells and whistles. I sewed with it for quite awhile and now I'm in love. Check it out, its starts around 6PM NE Indiana time. We are giving free shipping too.

Happy Sewing All Yall (plural for yall..) :-}

Two flimsies ready to quilt baby!

Looks like I am getting ready for the 4th of July does it not? Actually these are going in my upstairs hallway where an Americana make over is under way.  I think I may need to more yet to fill up the walls up there, running out of red white and blue ideas but I suppose any block would look good in those colors for sure!

I am so ready to quilt these if I can only work them in with all the other stuff that's waiting on me to do... The one on the left is my first paper piece quilt. I doubt I will ever go back to regular piecing but I might make myself learn to applique someday..

Looks like I may want to tea/coffee dye them a little.  I want them to look a little more primitive so I will do that before the quilting begins, I am afraid I would screw up the spray stain technique.

Well anywho, its one hot Thursday here and I gotta go water my corn field, see yall later!

Believe it or not YOU can paper piece too...

I thought I would not be able to do it. I thought I would need to know some kind of freaky math or something so I wouldn't even let myself look at the directions. Then... I was bored that afternoon and decided I would just take a peek. And the rest is history.

My advice to those who keep putting it off, go ahead and give it a shot. I promise you will like it, its easy, fun and I am afraid very addictive.  Read all you can about it and then download some free paper piece patterns online and give it your best shot. You'll be glad you did. I am glad I did!

Almost done..

Its all over but the "shoutin" er ah I mean binding. I think she will love it. Getting that quilt quilted is always such a magical moment for the piece maker isn't it. Congrats to you dear friend on your very first quilt ever!

Hinty now together and first quilt loaded...

Just a quick report this morning because I am on my way to do scrip at school. My Hinty finally arrived and I am my friend's quilt is loaded and I am about done with the quilting on it (I think).  I had no idea there was about 6 different ways to load a quilt until I started looking around! I wound up buying the original frame instead of the stretch, added 10 foot poles and extension legs. The original came with the handle bars so it worked out better financially with me. I read that I can buy a conversion kit for it should I go with a bigger machine.  My friend's quilt is the first she has ever made, she is giving it to her son and his new wife.

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!