This and That + a Recipe

Sat was my Applique Society meeting, aka TAS.  I joined this group  a year ago, and I have to say, it's the best group.  I always learn something from one of the members and the skill level in the group is amazing. If you don't have a group in your area, why not start one?  I got a few more grapes sewn on Block #16, I'm almost finished!
I'm still looking for the sunshine. Just when my daisies have started to bloom, the rains came and beat them down. Here are a few I picked for my kitchen table.

I also picked some fresh rhubarb and made a recipe from My Yellow Farmhouse.  OMG, they are fabulous.

I'll take this batch over to my gal pal's for coffee this morning.  Her mom passed away in May after a 6 month battle trying to recover from heart surgery.  The memorial is at her house, so a bunch of us will arrive early to help make sandwiches.  This isn't just anyone, this is my gal pal that I met in Grade 2, back in 1969.  If I wasn't at her house, then she was at mine.  We were inseparable growing up.  Aside from my own family, I've known this family longer than anyone else. It's kind of like loosing my mom all over again. The evolution of life.  But we will all be there to support our friend, that's what we do.   I'm blessed to have such an amazing group of girlfriends, through thick and thin, good and bad, we've stuck together forever. 
Thanks for stopping by today, take time to smell the roses!
Happy Birthday DP
Sharon

Christmas in July

This smart piecer will be prepared for the holiday season, unlike a quilter I know *wink*.  I am always in the moment, but maybe my red & cream Pineapple Blossom will be finished for the Christmas season.

Speaking of that, Lori over at Humble Quilts has started down a Red &White path and I thought I might stroll with her.  I'm thinking a 9 patch on point; Kona Real Red and Natural may just be the ticket for this project.

I've got to keep my head down and focus on my longarm quilts for customers, that will be my priority these next few weeks.  Quilts come in spurts and I don't like having someone's top for very long.  This one belongs with the Christmas Applique, and they both will be heading back to Idaho this week. It's so pretty and feminine.

I managed to slip a table runner on my longarm inbetween these two quilts. Now to turn and hand sew the binding. I'm hoping to have it finished so I can gift it on Sunday.

I love this feathery pattern, it's one of my favorites.

I have a yard guy. Yup, my lawn is getting mowed by someone else.  He just shows up, mows and edges, picks up his money and shows up two weeks later.  That way, I can come home from work, head right to my studio and look out at my freshly mowed lawn and quilt guilt free.  Life is good!

Sharon

Stitching with Friends

Last night my friend L came over and we did some hand work.  Some of that work included hand to mouth to enjoy this delicious Raspberry Crisp, hot from the oven with whipped cream!

OK, I didn't get a before photo!

I have two projects that I'm doing by hand.  One is this, Block 16, from BTCT. No I don't have 15 blocks all done, I think I have 11, but I jumped to this one because I had the purple circles all done ahead of the block.  I do have a couple others prepped, so I'm ready to move to the next one as soon as I finish this one.

I'm also hand quilting this little number.  I know you've all seen it before, I'm just saying, "it's in my pile of current hand work"  I've got 5 of the 9 blocks quilted, so I'm making headway!  I've tried to work on this every night before going to bed, even if it's just for 15 minutes.  Every bit helps.

Tonight I'll be back at the longarm, finishing up a Christmas quilt for M. It's super cute, photos to follow.
Sharon

July Bounty

Every second day I go out to my garden and pick my raspberries. It was about 8pm when I got home Monday, 7:30 Tuesday night and today I was packed up and ready to exit at 4:30 sharp. I got out by 4:45, so that wasn't too bad. Here is my bounty from today.  This will be the bottom of a hot crumble that I will serve tomorrow evening when my friend L comes over for some gabbing and sewing.

This made it easy to make dinner. I love raspberries, they are probably my favorite berry. Add a little whipped cream and "oh my".

A few flower pics as my garden has now started to bloom. It still has a few more weeks before it becomes something more than splashes of color amongst the green.

These pansies are super cute.

This is the front corner of my flower bed, so it looks pretty right now,  I have lots more that will come into bloom, we just need more than 2 days of sun at a time.

Now I'm off to the studio, I'm working on a Christmas quilt for a customer, and the way I've been going, well, lets just say I want to get it back to her before the season!
Thanks for stopping by today!
Sharon

Powering Through my Pinks.

I kept my head down and made great headway.  This is easy sewing and trimming, it's just time.  Here are 200 1/2 sq triangles,

90+ 4 patches

and 140+ solid squares.

 I've also got "Imagine" put together and cut down to the right size.  I need to work on making my letters a little bit smaller!

 I have the pattern sketched out on graph paper, so that makes putting it all on the design wall easier. I can only put the top 1/2 together  and then I have to stitch this up to make room for the bottom half of the pattern.

And here is the start of the design on my wall.

I've made more pieces than I need for this top and I do that for two reasons.  Now I can play with placement of prints and values AND I've already got a start on next years raffle quilt.  Knowing what you need in advance is a big help and with all the beautiful pinks that I have been gifted, I will keep all this together in a box.  When I just want some easy sewing, I can pull out a few pieces, make a few blocks and put it back.  Then I"ll be that much closer to the next top, and there will be plenty of pink tops coming from this gift that will keep on.

Sharon

Aloha

No, I'm not going to Hawaii.  I wish I was the way our summer has shaped up.  Instead, I've completed my first Hawaiian applique. 

Here is a batik I picked up while out shop hopping.  I will use it in my next Hawaiian project.

If you have a project that you think it above your skill level, just jump right in.  By the time you finish, your work will have greatly improved, and you'll know if you want to tackle a larger, more detailed piece in the same technique.
Now to hand quilt this and put it together into a pillow case.  I've said it before, I just want more time!
Sharon

Class Projects Revisited

My two days in May with Gwen Marston were fabulous, I'm still talking about it and many things she talked about are still rattling around in my mind. I learned so much that I signed up for 2 more days in May 2012 with Gwen.  Money well spent, I say!  We did the Lib Log cabin one day and 18th Century Applique the second day.  I decided to use up the pile of left over strips and make a second log cabin.

This one is for a friend of mine who have never been gifted a quilty item from me, although she has been promised something for quite some time.  I have it all basted and now to finish the hand quilting!  Again, I'm using a rusty color of thread, this time it's a Gutermann color.

I've also worked on my one block applique.  The hand quilting is finished and it now needs its binding turned and stitched to the back and then I'm finished.  I believe this will be #1 in a series of small appliques.  I so enjoyed working on this. 

Forcing myself to use the needleturn method on the above project has led me to pull out this project. 

My gal pal DebS brought this back from Hawaii. I felt this was way above my quilting pay grade, but honestly, I'm having a great time working on this.  It will be a wall hanging or pillow case, and it will be donated to a United Way fundraiser. I'm so glad I was gifted this, as I know I want to make some other Hawaiian styled pieces and this was a great way to try out this type of applique.
What new techniques have you tried this year?
Sharon