Busy Little Quilter

Friday Night Sew In: Part 2

2011-04-16T22:28:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how much you can get sewn if you just sit down and sew. I have been looking at this quilt for a couple of weeks as I would pass my sewing room. I knew I needed something that would just make me stop everything and sew for a little while. Heidi's Friday Night Sew In was the best way for me to get this little quilt finished.

From the Spring 2011 Issue of "Quilts and More"

I had the top sewn together, and Terry quilted it for me. I still had to applique the little bird and sew the binding on. I fused a piece of light weight batting underneath the bird/background applique so that the quilting wouldn't show through. Then I zig zagged along the edges using thread the same color for each piece I appliqued. Terry's technique of sewing on the binding by machine made this project quick to finish.

I didn't have anyone at home to hold it up for me, and it was raining outside so I couldn't throw it over my wooden fence, but it's larger than it seems.

The floral brown fabric, the brown polka dot, the stripes, and the pink print behind the bird came from Hobby Lobby. The other fabrics came from stash. I bought enough of the pink print to do the binding.

Terry free motion quilted the feathers all over.

Sometimes that's all that our UFO's need; just a few minutes here and there, and they would be finished. What I'm really excited about is that I have a present completed weeks ahead of when it's supposed to be given. That rarely ever happens!

You can go see what everyone else was sewing on last night by going here.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Friday Night Sew-In

2011-04-15T17:09:00.001-05:00

Hello! Yes, I know it has been January since I have written anything on my blog! I haven't forgotten about you, though.

I love the new button!

I worked most of the day today, and, as I was working, I was really wishing that I was sewing. Then I thought it would be fun to sew with friends, especially since it is a cold, windy, rainy Friday night. So, I popped in over at Heidi's blog to see if it just happened to be another Friday Night Sew-In, and it is!

You can join in on the fun, too by signing up on Heidi's blog, Handmade by Heidi. We will sew tonight, and show what we are working on tomorrow. I'm hoping to get a baby quilt appliqued and the binding attached. Sunday, a prize will be given away, but the prize for me will be finishing something.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

I'm Ready to Sew

2011-01-22T20:53:00.000-06:00

I spent most of the day getting ready to sew for the Friday Night Sew In. I cleaned house and started putting Christmas away. I'm sure the neighbors are glad to see the wreaths out of the window. Just sayin

I am in the process of trying to finish my Scrappy Hearts quilt. It's been 2 years in the making.

Oops! It looks like I forgot to take the Christmas quilt off my bed.

This is how much I had done when I put it away 2 years ago. I look at it and think, "Wow! I made that?" With so many quick and fast quilts that I made for the kids and grand kids sometimes I wonder if I still know how to make a half square triangle!

I loved the idea of knowing that all of us were sewing together, but I sort of got lonely. I messaged my quilting buddy Mary Ann on Facebook to see what she was doing, and she was sewing at the Friday Night Sew In. We chatted while we sewed, and it made for a fun night. Neither one of us could stay up all night, but sewing for a little while is better than not sewing at all.

The quilt is a queen size quilt. I didn't get it finished last night during the sew in, but I did finish making all of the hearts, after I ripped out a couple that I had sewn together the wrong way.

I know that it's fun to get things finished really fast, but for me, I need to slow down and enjoy the process of quilting. I really had fun matching seams, squaring up blocks, and admiring my beautiful half square triangles.

Thank you Heidi for hosting the Friday Night Sew In.

Amanda

Friday Night Sew In

2011-01-20T20:22:00.000-06:00

So much for decluttering my blog. I'm a softie for cute blog backgrounds, especially ones with Valentine's Day themes. It's this adorable little day smack dab in the middle of a cold, dreary winter, and it involves chocolate!

I'm trying to get back in the groove of things, as I have already told you. I saw on Kim's blog where tomorrow night is the Friday Night Sew In. It's perfect since it's snowing a lot here. I still have a couple of hearts to ~~rip out and sew back together~~ sew and some sashings to make, so that will most likely be what I am going to be doing.

You can join in on the fun, too! We sew on Friday night, show and tell on Saturday (I don't think you have to have something finished; just show that you sewed something), and on Sunday there will be a giveaway. There's another "special", too, but you will have to go to Heidi's blog to see.

So, what project are you sewing on this weekend?

Have fun!

Amanda

Excuse My Mess

2011-01-08T19:28:00.000-06:00

Please excuse my little mess here on my blog. As you can see, I have been changing things around and doing a little "house"keeping. I'm still in the process (I can't believe I finally learned how to change my blog into a 3 column blog!) and I'm on my way to, hopefully, making it a little less cluttered, a little more organized, and maybe it will be easier to read.

And just so this post isn't pictureless, I'm sticking to my New Year's resoultion, so far.

This is Terry and I holding up a quilt that I started a year and a half ago. Since Terry works at home being a long arm quilter, and I work at home, it's easier for me to come to her house and sew while she quilts. My work doesn't involve being tied down to my house. I can answer my phone and take orders. Our other friend, Alana, is a former police officer and is now a 911 dispatcher. What's most important, though, is that she is a beginner quilter. We have decided that every Wednesday we will meet at Terry's house and sew while she quilts on customer quilts. It gives us something to look forward to, and I'm beginning to get some things finished. This week I finished squaring up the blocks to my Heart quilt. I hope to get all of the hearts sewn together so I can put the quilt top together next Wednesday.

It's nice to get some quilt tops tops finished, the backings sewn together, and out of my sewing room (and into Terry's for her to quilt them for me). It's amazing how much space it takes to keep unfinished projects unfinished.

I'm back to working on my blog, again. I would like something, though, and maybe you could help. I really like to look of simple blogs; uncluttered with a simple background. I love puting other blog buttons on my blog and sometimes I feel that when I have a busy blog background there's just alot to see and it's sort of chaotic. If you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T22:58:00.001-06:00

Happy 2011! I am so excited about this new year, and, what's funny, is that I'm not really sure why. I just am.

Maybe it's because I started the year off right by finishing something. Yes, I finally finished something. That didn't happen much in 2010. My quilting sort of fell on the way side, as did my blogging, as you very well know. I'm not really sure why, but I have decided that this year is going to be different.

I started my year off right by joining Pat Sloan in her New Years Eve/Weekend UFO Busting Hawaiian Luau. I had just gotten back from my annual trip to Louisiana to visit my family for Christmas when I found out about the party. I pulled out a project that has been in UFO box for four years. It has these adorable little snow men and women (Snowdays by Moda) and it would be so fun to cuddle up with on the couch while watching TV. It's perfect for this time of year.

The pattern is "Take Five" from Teacher's Pet. You can take 5 fabrics and in 5 hours, or in my case 4 years, and make this quilt top.

It felt so good to finish something!

During our party Pat asked us what our word for the year is. Her word is travel. My words are ones that I thought of last year, but didn't follow through with them so I thought I would try them again. They are Bright and Balanced. It was once the name of a blend of coffee at Panera Bread. I really like the way it sounds. What it means to me is to find joy in everything I do and to be present. I want to be focused on whatever I am doing without my mind being in a million other places. I want to find time for the things I love to do, whether it be spending time with my family, doing things for my home, working in my flower beds, excersising, being with my friends, blogging with my bloggy friends, quilting, and running my business. Doing all of these things requires balance. Now that I look at it all it requires a lot of balance.

I hope that each of you have a wonderful new year with lots of happiness and many blessings.

Amanda

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T14:18:00.003-06:00

Originally uploaded by BusyLittleQuilter

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T20:57:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! It's over the hills and through the woods to Terry's house I go. It's our Thanksgiving tradition. I'm so thankful to have a best friend who includes my family in her family holiday celebrations, especially since our families live so far away.

I'll be bringing my Pumkin Gobs (also known as Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies).

I have to bake three batches; two for her house (and some at mine for late Thankgiving night relaxing and drinking coffee), and one for my son's co-workers.

The recipe is on my sidebar, in case you would like to make some, too.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Amanda

Focused on a Quilt Magazine

2010-08-17T18:26:00.001-05:00

I knew one of my favorite quilting magazines, "Quilts and More" was going to be in the stores today, so, instead of going out first thing this morning to buy it, I decided it would be my reward for enduring Physical Therapy.

It's nothing bad, just a frozen shoulder. What started out as something small turned into me not being able to move my shoulder. It was hard to put my hair in hot rollers, and it kept me awake at night. Last week I went to out-patient surgery, and after a "snap, crackle, pop" (but probably much louder than Rice Crispies ever thought about being) they sent me on my merry way with pain killers in one hand, two weeks of Physical Therapy, and a life time of home exercises in the other. My left shoulder is thinking that maybe it needs to join in on the fun, too. That's not a bad idea!

Who knew that childbirth classes would come in handy while someone twists and turns your arm in directions that makes tears roll down your face? ~~And who knew it would come back to you so quick even when you haven't had a baby in 17 years? I guess it's like riding a bicycle: you never forget how.~~ Focusing on knowing that my quilt magazine was waiting for me at the bookstore, and knowing that soon I would be home sitting on my little couch on my patio reading it, made it worth all the pain.

Okay, so maybe not worth the pain, but well worth the wait.

I won't give any secrets away; several of our blogging friends have quilts and other fun projects for us. My sewing room wants to look like Karen Snyder's when it grows up. I'm just sayin'.

I'm thankful that quilting is my therapy. Aren't you?

Blackberry Pie

2010-08-15T21:32:00.001-05:00

Blackberries picked from the neighbors blackberry bush (with their permission, of course) makes for a very good blackberry pie. I'm not a pie maker; more like a cake and cookie maker. Usually I make a black berry cobbler using a Jiffy yellow cake mix, but this time my daughter, Julia, wanted it to have a pie crust.

This was an easy one, especially when you use a Pillsbury Pie Crust (and you have really sweet neighbors that grow the blackberry bush and let you pick all the berries you want).

You'll need 4 cups of blackberries, 1/2cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 1/8 teaspoon of almond extract. Mix everything together in a large bowl.

The pie crust package contains two round pie crusts, so you'll need a round deep dish pan. Unroll one of the pie crusts and place in the bottom on the pan. Pour the blackberry mixture on top of the pie crust. You could cut the other pie crust into strips and braid it to put on top of the pie, but I just laid it on top of the blackberry mixture and took a fork and poked holes in the top of it. Then I sprinkled sugar on top of the pie crust (this was my husband's idea.)

Bake in a 400 degree oven until golden brown. If the edges get done before the center does, just take some alluminum foil and wrap it around the edges to keep them from burning.

It looks really pretty with a scoop of ice cream on top, but everyone ate their piece of pie before I could get a picture.

Spring Bloggers Quilt Festival

2010-05-21T00:00:00.020-05:00

If you have never visited my blog before, welcome! My name is Amanda, aka "Busy Little Quilter".

Every time my neighbor, Pushpa, calls me, the first thing she says is "Amanda? Are you busy, busy, busy???" in her high pitched voice. She knows I'm always busy doing something; there's never a dull moment around here. If I say that I'm busy quilting, she says, "You're such a busy little quilter." So, that became the name of my blog.

Not only do I love quilting, but I love to garden, as well. Sometimes my quilts are inspired by a color combination that I see in my garden ( I love pink petunias and yellow marigolds together) and every once in a while, by a flower bed theme.

It wasn't until my first grandchild was born that I was inspired to make a quilt that reflected my love for my butterfly garden. Since I had a butterfly garden I thought my little grand daughter, Alexis, should have one, too. I looked in quilting magazines and quilt books for ideas, took bits and pieces from each one, and came up with "Alexis' Butterfly Garden". The fabrics are 1930's reproductions. It is machine appliqued and the antannae are hand stitched. The quilt is machine quilted by Judy Laquidara.

(Photo snatched from the pages of a scrapbook.)

It's amazing how a sweet little 6 pound 13 ounce baby can make a baby size quilt look huge and bring such joy.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. Thanks, too, to Amy for organizing this event and to the many sponsors. The quilt festival is from May 21-28.

Have fun!

Amanda

Spring Quilt Market and the Spring Bloggers Quilt Festival

2010-05-20T20:29:00.000-05:00

It seems as though everyone has gone to Minneapolis, MN for the 2010 Quilt Market. I wish I could be there, too, but I don't have a quilt shop, I'm not a designer, but I do love to shop! It will be exciting to see the new fabrics, patterns, and gadgets that will be in our local quilt shops or our favorite online quilt shops, soon!

Just so I can make sure I don't miss out on too much, I'll be tuning into KMKM's Quilt Market Reports with Pam Kitty Morning and Happy Zombie, as the weather girl.

I'm sure Miss Happy Z will see clear skies with lots and lots of sunshine as she debuts her first fabric line. Check out her blog, too! There's free patterns and more!

And to add more fun, Amy is hosting Spring Bloggers Quilt Festival. It's a virtual quilt show that starts tomorrow. If you have a quilt you would like to enter, it's not too late. I have my post written and ready to go, so be sure to come back to see what I entered.

Amanda

Thank you!

2010-05-19T11:54:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and sweet comments concerning Izzie. My family and I have loved seeing your cats, dogs, and the stories that you have shared about them and their quilting adventures. I didn't realize there were so many quilting pets in blogland! I love it!

Thanks, again, for thinking of us.

Big hugs to you all.

Amanda

My Cat Izzie

2010-05-05T21:47:00.000-05:00

Izzie Harvey

August 2000-May 5, 2010

It's too sad to write about Izzie, today, but I had to honor him in some way because he was so much a part of my quilting life.

He was terrible at arranging quilt blocks, but he always approved the way I arranged them and sewed them together.

He would sit and look at them, or he just had to touch with his paw,

or with his tail.

He was a funny cat and always made me laugh.

Last year I rearranged my sewing room much to Izzie's surprise. I wrote about it here, but it seems fitting to have the pictures in this post, too.

Izzie was with us for almost 10 years. He was left abandoned in an old farmhouse where the farmer fed him cornbread and bologna. The farmers daughter (my neighbor) told him that she knew someone that would love him so much and take good care of him. We did.

When I first saw Izzie I thought "she" looked like Liz Taylor with a big fur collar and that cute little spot above "her" lip, so I named "her" Lizzie. I took "her" to the doctor to find out that "she" was 6 months old and weighed 3 pounds. For two weeks I treated "her" ear mites and other things that were wrong with "her".

I took "her" back to the doctor and when she kept saying "he" I said to her, "My cat is a girl." She said, "No. I don't think so!" I was in total shock! I guess I didn't get as up close and personal as I thought I had! I said, "I guess I should have named him Richard!". You know, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton? The young girls in the office didn't know what I was talking about. Since I had been calling him Lizzie for two weeks, I decided to call him Izzie instead.

I will miss our quilting time together, playing hide and go seek, his cute little back leg that always stuck out (you can see it hanging off of the fabric cabinet), our little afternoon "cat naps" where he would jump in the recliner with me and take a 15 minute nap, his hugs, his constant need to be in my lap, and his adorable personality. I will be forever grateful that God blessed my life with something that loved me and my family, brought us much happiness, and taught us all about unconditional love.

We love you, Izzie!

Friday Night Sew-In Project

2010-04-17T18:02:00.000-05:00

I hope it's not too late to show everyone what I sewed on last night for the Friday Night Sew-In with Heidi.

I woke up early this morning only to find that the Internet wouldn't connect. We had a storm last night, and I guess it knocked the cable out, along with the high speed Internet. I'll have to admit, though, it was kind of nice to be unplugged to the outside world.

Here's what I made: another bag. I keep making bags! They're so fun though.

I bought the pattern from Alicia last year. It's her "Jane Market Bag".

I sewed the pattern just like she said, but I added cotton batting to it to firm it up a bit. I like the softness of the batting, and yet it helps the bag to maintain it's shape.

It's perfect for my "Party in a Basket". I sell Scentsy Wickless Candles. The "Party in a Bag" or "basket party" is an alternative to a home party in that the hostess gets to carry a warmer, all 80 of the scents, catalogs, order forms, and a hostess handbook everywhere they go to share with their friends, family, and co-workers. The hostess doesn't have to clean house or make refreshments, but she still gets the same hostess rewards. I thought if someone is going to take the time to sell Scentsy for me, the least I could do is make a cute bag for them to carry everything in.

Of course I get the bag back for the next person who wants to host a "Party in a Bag".

I do home parties, too. They're fun. Every time I go to work I go to a party!

I can't wait to see what everyone else was sewing on during the Friday Night Sew-In. It's fun the think about all of us sewing at the same time.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2010-04-16T13:13:00.002-05:00

Terry and I are heading to Paducah next week to the American Quilter's Society Quilt Show. We feel very fortunate that we live close by, especially when we talk to people who have traveled across the world to get there. Personally, I can't imagine doing that, but maybe that's because I live two hours away. I'm spoiled, I guess.

We're leaving Wednesday morning and picking up friends along the way.

This is Terry's purple car. Isn't it adorable?!!

Our friend, Julie, has a sister-in-law that has a mansion in Paducah so that's where we'll be sleeping. There won't be much hanging out there, because we'll be too busy shopping and eating at some of Padcuah's fun restaurants down town. We may even shop at a few of the antique stores, too.

Speaking of downtown...our friend, Betty Cummings from The Village Mercantile, will have a store front shop downtown, as well.

I just clicked on her website to see where she was going to be, and she has a 10 percent off coupon for everyone who shops at her "store" in Paducah. Click here to get your coupon, too!
It will be great to see her and her husband, Steve. I love them both!

I'm sure I'll see Eleanor Burns, from Quilt in a Day.

I owe this quilting obsession to her, and that's a good thing. Her shows are fun and the fabric deals are fantastic.

I hope to see, too, my quilting/blogging/facebook friend Tammy Tadd. (Please go visit her. She has fantastic news.)

Every time I see her I want to say, "Woo Hoo"!! Her shop is always bright and cheerful. I love her pink and green.

Of course it wouldn't be Paducah without visiting Hancocks of Paducah. It's fabric as far as you can see, and then some.

I think we should have started saving money ever since last year! It's a good thing we're getting a refund on our taxes!

See that cute bag Terry is wearing? Every year Terry and I make a new bag for our Paducah trip.

This is what we made for this year's trip:

Her's is the green polka dot, and mine is the one that says "Authentic". The pattern is by Sweetwater and it is their Market Bag. It was easy to make. This is the only thing I sewed on this week, so it's my finish for Sew and Tell Friday.

Do you remember how I told you that Terry was getting trading up for a newer long arm quilting machine because we both thought she may have worn the other one out?

Well, she did! It's official!!

At one point the two machines were next to each other. I heard the old one was telling the new one how sweet Terry is, and what a good home and loving family she has, but that was while Terry was standing there.

When she walked away I heard the old one whisper to the new one, "Good luck! You'll need it!"

Be sure to stop by Amy's to see another week of Friday finishes for Sew and Tell Friday.

I almost forgot...It's Heidi's Friday Night Sew In! I better get busy and finish cleaning my house so I can sew tonight!!!!

I Have an Accounting Abnormality

2010-04-15T19:51:00.000-05:00

For years I always looked forward to April 15. It was the day "tax season" was over and we would take Mom out to dinner for a celebration.

Ever since my mother was in her early 20's, she worked for Mr. Hawkins, at his accounting service, along with her friend, Alice.

I grew up going to Mr. Hawkins' office every day after school. He set up a desk for me so I could write, draw, or do my homework. When I got a little older, 12 or 13, he let me "keep books" for a couple of his customers. I would write down numbers in these huge books with columns. I think it was called a ledger. I didn't know what I was doing, but I always thought it was fun. It was even more fun when he would pay me.

Eventually one day, Mr. Hawkins decided to retire, so my Mom and Alice bought his business. They would keep businesses' books all through the year, but come January 1-April 15, "tax season", they were busy doing their regular business and individual taxes.

I remember Mom talking about how some people are organized, and some people would bring their information in brown paper sacks. I guess they would just throw receipts in the bag and hope for the best, or hope that my Mom would be patient enough go through everything. She was. Her heart would break when people would owe a lot of money, and she was happy when people broke even or got a refund. She always said that it was better to break even, but I really like getting a refund. How about you?

Mom was happy sitting behind a desk. She typed so fast you couldn't see her fingers, and she could punch numbers on an adding machine just as fast as she could type. She loved accounting and would spend hours trying to find the reason why two columns didn't add up to the same amount, even if they were just a few cents off.

When I graduated high school and went to college, I decided to major in accounting and work with Mom. That idea soon came to an end when I took my first Accounting class. I knew when my teacher begged me ~~three times in the hallway~~ to drop the class, accounting wasn't for me. I really didn't care if two columns didn't equal each other. I say take some change from your pocket and get yourself out of the misery of spending hours trying to find where the problem is. Evidently there is a little bit of obessive compulsive nature that accountants have that I don't have, so I changed my major to Elementary Education.

You know what's funny? My niece is a CPA, my cousin (Mom's niece) is a CPA, and another niece is an accountant. The accounting gene skipped me!

Mom loved to sew, cook, bake, clean house, garden, and craft. Those genes didn't skip me, thank goodness, but you wouldn't know it by looking at my house, my flower beds, the chili dogs we're having for dinner, or the lack of sewing I have done lately (I did get an adorable bag made this week to show at Sew and Tell Friday that I will show you tomorrow).

Heidi is hosting another Friday Night Sew-In tomorrow night. Maybe this will inspire me to get my house cleaned and maybe a few flower beds de-weeded. We'll be sewing Friday night, sharing photos on Saturday, and our names will be entered into a drawing on Sunday for a door prize. I haven't decided what I'm sewing on, yet, but I may make another bag or two. You should join us!

April 15 isn't as exciting as it was when my Mom was still living and "tax season" was finally over. It is a good feeling, though, not to have to think about it for a while, especially since I still have an accounting abnormality.

Have a great day!

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2010-04-09T16:31:00.001-05:00

Easter sort of sprung up on me really fast, and for some reason I didn't decorate until the day before. That's so not like me!

I have a Red and White Hoosier cabinet standing in my kitchen. I bought it about this time last year at a flea market. Happy Birthday, Miss Hoosier.

Yes, she's a girl. How do I know? I just do. She looks as though she is standing there holding out her little apron (her marble table top). Sometimes she holds the cup of water for me while I get the dogs water bowl, but, for the most part, she holds mixing bowls, a couple of cook books, and a turquoise flour sifter. She sort of has a June Cleaver look about her, especially when she has pearls around her neck.

A Hoosier cabinet wearing pearls? Sure!

Well, they're not pearls, but they are to me because they make her look so pretty. See. Vanessa has a tutorial on her blog about how to make your own little banners. I have made Miss Hoosier several of these for different seasons, but I haven't made her one for Spring. She needed some Spring fashion!

Look how sweet!! And they're so quick and easy to make. I used 6 1/2 inch squares, instead of the 5 inch square that you find in charm packs, and double fold bias tape.

A couple of bunnies, a wreath with plastic Easter eggs hot glued on, a chick cookie jar that I bought from Target last year, and a cute Happy Easter sign made Miss Hoosier look so pretty for Spring.

The banner is the only project I finished sewing on this week. Be sure to go see what everyone else sewed this week at Amy's blog. I'm always amazed at the talent the Sew and Tell Friday sewers have.

Charming Girls and Guy's Quilt Club

2010-04-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

I agree with Kelly that these months are going by fast in the Charming Girls' and Guys' Quilt Club. It seems, though, that I haven't been able to finish my goals, but this month will change. It has to! My Quilt Guild is having a quilt show at the end of June, and I have got to get busy!

Terry's long arm quilting machine broke, wore out, and bit the dust. For two weeks she is going to be without a quilting machine which means...we can get together and sew before her new one comes in!!. I can't wait!

We're getting together on Monday. Our goal is to finish a project that she and I started 6 years ago. There is a lot of piecing and a lot of applique. We have all of the piecing done, but I still have some of the applique left to do. My homework for Monday is to have all of the applique completed before I come to her house so we can sew the quilt together.

The only thing is, though, I can't show you the entire quilt because we want it to be something special for the quilt show. It's always fun to have a surprise or two for all of your friends to see. It's deffinitely going to be a "WOW" factor. I haven't made anything this beautiful in a long time.

My other "homework" is to have the backs sewn together for a couple of quilt tops so, when the new machine comes in, they will be ready to quilt. The one above is one of my grandsons' race car quilts. My other two grandsons have one, too, but they are already quilted. The museum has a Speed Museum display, and their race car quilts will look great hanging beside a race car.

I really need to get back into my "One Hour a Day" sewing. I seem to get more done when I plan my sewing time. The quilt show will be here before I know it, so it's time to get busy and get something finished! Wish me luck!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T06:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!

Happy Last Day of March

2010-03-31T22:29:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe it's the last day of March! It was a busy month, for sure.

Every Saturday this month, (except for one. I went to Louisville on a business trip. That sounds so odd!) I helped Terry and Rita with their beginner quilting classes.

Here is Terry (in the green) teaching this lady how to cut.

Now, here's the part where I tell you that our daughter, Julia, got her drivers license this month, and we bought her sister's old car for her to drive. She's excited, but I'm not. I never see her! She works, goes to school, and hides the camera cord to my other camera so I can't find it. (Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you about the camera cord, but if you have teenagers you know what I'm talking about!) I'm not really sure if she would know where it is even if she were here right now. So, for right now, my pictures of the beginner quilt classes, Julia with her license, and my business trip are stuck in my other camera.

Terry says that she isn't a teacher for a beginners. I think what she means is that it's hard to un-teach a person once they have been taught the wrong way to cut, sew, and press. I guess you could say that she likes to start them young.

Okay, maybe not that young, but isn't this a sweet picture of her with her youngest grand-daughter? All of the girls in Terry's family (and me!) went to her daughter's lakehouse to sew for the weekend of Terry's birthday. All 19 of us left with a Turning Twenty quilt top completed, even the baby. Now if we could just get them to touch their machines before we go again next year!

I didn't get a chance to quilt on anything this month. I have done some sewing, but not much of anything quilt like, unless you consider using batting instead of interfacing for a bag that I made.

I guess I quilted it when I sewed down the ric-rac along the seam lines. It's my one finish this month for the One Project a Month challenge. I was really hoping to get my Bulls Eye quilt completed (my one goal for the Charming Girls and Guys quilt club), but maybe next month.

I can't leave without showing you what Steve made. I love it that he is a woodworker because he understands my need for good materials, good tools, and lots of fun gadgets that make life easier. He built this cabinet for Terry.

Terry likes primitive, so the more beat up it looks the better. It was hard for Steve to bash it with a hammer and sand paint off of the corners. I told him he should beat it with a chain and he just looked at me funny. I guess he hasn't watched the same shows that I have watched on HGTV. Now that I think about it, it would look odd to see Norm Abrams beat a piece of furniture on PBS.

Take care!

Amanda

I have added this post to the Sew and Tell Friday group over at Amy's. It's always fun to see what everyone else has sewn for the week. I just added this to Vanessa's blog, too! It's her first "link up". It's so fun to see what everyone is creating!

Happy National Quilting Day!!!

2010-03-20T22:36:00.015-05:00

Happy National Quilting Day!!!

I don't know about you, but I love, love, love that there is a national holiday for the hobby that we love so much.

This is the first time in years that I didn't celebrate quilting by going to a National Quilters' Day event with my guild and three other guilds that usually celebrate the day together. I didn't even go to a quilt shop today!

This is about the only thing I have seen as far as quilting goes today:

a barn with a painted quilt block mounted to the side. It sits on the county line right after you cross the bridge from Indiana to Kentucky. Isn't it beautiful? I have always wanted a barn, and now knowing that I could mount a painted quilt block to the side of one makes me want one even more!

I'm excited to tell you this, though. My community is in the process of creating their own quilt barn trail!!!

See, a few years ago I was the chairperson of the National Quilters' Day celebration for my Quilt Guild. I had heard there were quilt barns in eastern, Kentucky, so I invited someone to come and be our guest speaker that day to talk about the barns and maybe show us slides of barns in the area.

I don't even know where this quilt barn is located, but I needed a photo here.

What was so cute about it all is that when I called the lady to see if she needed a slide projector, or some other piece of equipment to share her photos with us, she said, "Sure! I'll go outside and shoot their pictures now!" For some reason knowing that she could just "go outside", wander down the road a bit and get chased by dogs, crawl through a ditch and climb over a fence just so she could shoot pictures of the barns, made me wish I lived there, too.

During her presentation, I was so overwhelmed by their beauty. Words can not express the feeling I had inside of me. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. It's silly, I know, but there's something about a barn sitting on a hill, or peeking through some trees, that does something to me. And one with a painted quilt block mounted to it...I just can't explain!

I don't think these are some of the same barns that Hope showed us that day, but just so you can see what I'm talking about you can go here: http://rcquilttrail.tripod.com/locationofquiltbarnwebsite.htm. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom where you will see the names of the quilt blocks. Click on the block and you will see the barn with that particular quilt block mounted to the barn.

Although Terry and I had this dream of inspiring barn owners of our community to agree to have painted quilt blocks mounted to their barns, some life altering events that happened to both of us (we never can do things alone. What happens to her usually happens to me.) prevented us from having the time and energy it would take to devote to this project. However, we are thankful that someone else had the dream, and is seeing this through. You can't imagine how excited we are that our community will soon has it's own quilt barn trail. Quilt blocks are being painted as I write. It's exciting!!! I'll let you know as soon as they are ready for viewing.

Well, I got a little sidetracked, and it's getting late. I may just go in my sewing room and piddle around for a little bit while I'm waiting for my youngest daughter to get home. She started driving. Uggghhhh!!!!!

So, what did you do to celebrate today?

Edit: Okay, now I'm really excited! I had heard a comment here and there about a quilt barn project happening in one of the counties not too far from where I live. It is in Ohio County. So, I googled them, and it looks like their quilt barn project is completed! You can click here to see their quilt barns. I'm sure there's more by now though.

And, another exciting thing that I can't wait to announce to my guild is that Eleanor Burns' newest book features barn quilts with quilt blocks on them. Patricia Knoechel, her sister, is traveling around the country doing demos on this book and another book named Orion's Star. She will be coming to my guild in June to our Quilt Show and will be giving demos both days. I talked to her the other day, and told her about the quilt barn trails close by and how my community is in the beginning stages of creating one, and she's excited, too. It's perfect timing!!!

Charming Girls' and Guys' Quilt Club

2010-03-03T23:57:00.002-06:00

It's time to post what I would like to get finished in March for the Charming Girls' and Guy's Quilt Club. There are a lot of things I would love to get finished, but March is a busy month for me.

Did you know that March is National Quilting Month and that March 20 is National Quilting Day? So, what are you going to do to celebrate the whole month?

I'll tell you what I would like to do. First of all, I would love to unpack my sewing machine from when I went away a few weekends ago and finish my Bull's Eye quilt. I decided, afterall, it would look beautiful hanging in my Quilt Guild's Quilt Show in June. I am remaking some of the super, duper wonky blocks and make them look a little prettier. This will be the perfect quilt for finishing up especially since I started it in 2000.

Next, I will be helping my best friend, Terry, and another dear friend, Rita,teach beginner classes every Saturday in March at one of the museums here in town. I am so excited! There are about 10 people that signed up to learn everything there is to know about quilting. There are no better people than these two to get beginner quilters started in the right direction. I'm excited about helping them!

Thursday (today) is my Quilt Guild business meeting, which is always fun. Last month we had over 20 show and tells! Most of it was from a challenge that I issued to the guild to finish up some projects. They have been working like crazy getting things finished for our big prize drawing in May, which may be extended because everyone is having so much fun. The prizes are worth it, though. First place gets a free machine quilting from Terry. Second place gets a handmade basket from Rita. Third place gets a wooden quilt holder from me (which I will be buying from a wood crafter that makes quilt related wood projects). The best prize of all, though, is finishing projects and seeing them hang in our Quilt Show.

The third Thursday, Terry is teaching a "Start to Finish" class where she talks about all things quilting from tools to her "Theory of Color Relativity" which is so awesome. The class uses her stash that she brings along to choose fabrics for a quilt while learning more about value than color. Sometimes we travel to other guilds, and I help hold quilts and fabrics while she teaches her "theory".

This isn't a picture of us at one of her theory classes, but this picture makes me laugh everytime I see it. Terry taught this heart quilt at a retreat that I went to. We didn't shop together to get our fabrics. I didn't even borrow any of hers. What makes me laugh so hard about this picture is that it looks like we just delivered this baby from it's mama behind us. I've got a big grin with, what looks like a stethoscope (but is my sizziors) hanging around my neck. Terry looks as though it was a hard delivery! (It probably was. This quilt is a booger to make and teach).

This one is better.

I probably wouldn't be a quilter if it weren't for Terry. Let me put in another way...

I would be a quilter, but my color choices in quilts wouldn't look pretty and my piecing might not look so great. She's a fun friend to have, and even more fun that she's a quilter.

So,what are you planning to do for National Quilting Month?

Amanda

One Project A Month

2010-02-28T16:22:00.001-06:00

When Peg and Kris challenged their blog readers to completely finish one project a month, I thought to myself, "I'm sure I could do that!"

It's a low key challenge, but in order for something to "count" it has to be completely finished. This means that if it is a quilt, it has to be quilted and bound. If it is a bag, or some other "soft project", it, too, has to be completely finished.

So, you've seen these before, but for the month of February I finished the valentine quilt "Text Messages"

and the diaper bag I made for my friend.

It's a good feeling to get something fully completed.

Have a great day!

Amanda

Edit: One of my projects that I said that I would love to complete in the Charming Girls' and Guys' Quilt Club was the diaper bag. I think this is the first time I got something completed since I joined! I always have such good intentions.

Sew and Tell Friday

2010-02-18T22:43:00.000-06:00

I didn't mean for it to almost be 2 weeks before I posted anything on my blog!

There's been a lot of this: One snow storm after the other.

A lot of this: teenagers out of school hanging out at my house (which I love).

There's been a little bit of

sewing. I got the diaper bag finished.

(This is my Sew and Tell Friday Finish. Be sure to check out Amy's blog to see what everyone else finished this week.)

and a little bit of sleeping late (really late) which is unusual for me.

There's been a whole lot of this: doing the Quilter's Winter Olympic Challenge with Pat Sloan.

It's harder than I thought to watch the Olympics while sewing! My finger came close to getting sewed in the seams of the diaper bag. (I've done that before. It's not fun!)

After I finished the diaper bag I started

fusing the applique to a quilt that I started 5 years ago.

This is as far as I got. I still have the top, bottom, and side borders to fuse together, but this will keep me busy (along with several other projects) when I take it with me to

the lakehouse with me this weekend to celebrate Terry's birthday. Her entire family of girls/women (from 1-65) and me (there's 19 of us) are going to sew all weekend. Terry and I will be teaching them how to make Turning Twenty quilts.

We'll sew, eat (they requested I bring my Italian Cream Cake. The link to the recipe is on my sidebar.), and most likely get snowed in. Yes, another snow storm is on it's way.

And, speaking of snow storms, I finally figured out who's fault it is that we're having all of this unusual snow. It's Sharon, little miss red geranium cottage herself. She moved to St. Louis (4 hours from me) from California. All she has talked about since she moved there is how much she wants to see snow. Well she got it, and she's enjoying every bit of it!

I'll be back next week!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Charming Girls' Quilt Club

2010-02-08T19:18:00.000-06:00

It's time again to announce what I would like to finish this month for the Charming Girls' Quilt Club.

I forgot about it last month, but that's probably because I had just gotten back from our trip to Louisiana to see our families at Christmas.

I am invited to a baby shower this coming Saturday. The mother-to-be, Fallon, used to take care of my grand-babies when they stayed in a day care center while my daughter was at work. She loved the diaper bags that I made, so I decided to make her a diaper bag for her new baby girl.

Amy Butler's pattern, Nappy Bag, is roomy, has lots of pockets, and it's easy to make. Fallon likes black and pink, so I thought these fabrics were perfect.

The black and pink swirl will be the outside of the bag, and the pink polka dot will be the inside.

My next project I need to finish this month is another "Butterfly Love" designed by Elizabeth Scott of

Late Bloomer Quilts.

I taught this as a class for my Quilt Guild this past June. I posted about it here.

I have the opportunity to teach at a retreat in the Fall. I have to turn in a teacher application the first of March. Although I have already made the quilt, I want to make one again using different fabrics. I love Sandy Klop's (aka American Jane) fabric line "Snippet's" from Moda. I bought a fat quarter pack when I went to Hancocks of Paducah when I went to the AQS Quilt Show this past April. It has been sitting on my shelf just waiting for the perfect project.

The little florals, stripes, and polka dots will make pretty little butterflies.

I want my quilt to be larger, and maybe do 10" butterfly blocks. I figured it up that I would have to make 45 butterfly blocks. That's a lot of butterflies!

Another project I would like to finish ~~because it's strewn all over my sewing table after the Camping Trip with Pat Sloan~~ is my Bull's Eye quilt that I started in the year 2000. If you scroll down to the next post, you can read about it there.

I think these projects will keep me very busy this month.

To see what the other girls in the "Charming Girls' Quilt Club" are working on this month click here.

Happy Quilting!

Amanda

Happy Monday!

2010-02-08T12:47:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday, everyone!

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I spent most of it on my virtual camping trip with Pat Sloan, sewing, and watching the Saint's win the Super Bowl with my family. Way to "geaux" Saints!!!

It was the perfect weekend for our virtual camping trip. It was snowy at my house, but not as snowy as it was at Pat's house. She got 25" of snow! Looking at her photos brought back memories of when we lived in PA. Snowstorms weren't something that we experienced living in Louisiana, so you can imagine how shocked we were to see our first real snowstorm which brought 36". I think the most snow we ever saw, though, was when it snowed 48"! That's a lot of shoveling!

Pat designed this really cool block that is perfect for busting your stash. You can find the block here.Yesterday, she had a little contest and asked us to name her block. One of the campers named it "Tent Flaps". My idea was to name it "Possiblity" since there are so many different ways to lay out the blocks. "Tent Flaps" was the winner, which is perfect for the theme. You can see everyone's blocks here and their idea for laying out their blocks. I love them all, but my favorite is the Zig-Zag. I would have never thought of that idea. .

My blocks are the two circles that you see in the photos. I decided that this would be the perfect time to ~~wipe the dust off~~ pull down one of my UFO boxes that held the parts to a scrap quilt, "Bull's Eye", that I started in the year 2000. One of the women in my Quilt Guild taught it as a workshop. Evidently I was talking (imagine that!) and not paying much attention to the placement of each of my circles.

Obviously I did the "slap down and sew method", which looks okay here, but

not so much here!

This one is a little better, but not that much better!

Are you laughing? So am I.

I think this quilt will drive my kids crazy because it isn't perfect.

I'm not about to undo all of those blocks or toss them in the trash and start over. My fabrics bring back lots of memories of where I was when I bought the fabric. The black with the pink little flowers is the fabric from the last dress my mother made me before she passed away in the late 80's.

Since it's rough edge applique (where you sew 1/4" around the edges of the circles instead of satin stitching or blind hem stitching to finish the edges), I'm sure, once the quilt is put together and thrown in the wash, all of those little unfinished edges will ravel and they won't even notice that everything doesn't match.

They'll notice.

Looking at these blocks has made me realize how far I have come since I first began to quilt. I have learned about value of fabrics, variety (of my background fabrics), and, hopefully, I'm a little more accurate in my piecing.

The quilt may not hang in my Quilt Guild's quilt show this coming June, but I'm sure it will be perfect for snuggling on the couch, covering the grandbabies when they fall asleep on the floor, or, who knows, maybe it will go on a camping trip!

Thanks, Pat, for a fun weekend! I'm looking forward to another one!

Have a great Monday!

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2010-02-05T23:39:00.000-06:00

It's time for another Sew and Tell Friday. I am excited to say that my finish for this week is...

(drumroll please)

TA-DA

My Valentine quilt

~~that I have talked about for the past 2 weeks that you're probably sick of seeing.~~

The little last minute changes I made before I gave it to Terry to be quilted is that I added two more rows

of ric-rac. It just sort of evened things out and made the quilt not look quite so bottom heavy. If it were only that easy in real life to make my body not look so bottom heavy. I could wrap ric rac around my head to distract from the bottom half. Hey, that may not be a bad idea! I digress.

Terry did a beautiful job quilitng it, as always. There are feathers, swirls, and who know what else that she free hands. Each little section is a different quilting design. And I love that she changes thread colors. Gone are the days of white thread all over my quilts (thanks to Judy and Terry).

It's all ready to be snuggled up by the kids. It looks sweet in it's wooden quilt holder.

I was trying to figure out what to name the quilt. I thought about Love Notes, but then I thought about

"Text Messages" since that's the reason for the "love u!". What do you think?

Be sure to check out Amy's blog to see what everyone else has finished this week for "Sew and Tell Friday". I'm always amazed at how much people get finished. To be honest, I really should start something called

"Say It Ain't Sewn Wednesday". I would have something every week to show for sure!

I'll be back this weekend with my "hope I get them finished this month" projects for the Charming Girls' Quilt Club.

I'm late to Camp Sloanie. I could say that the 1-2feet (can you imagine!?) of snow that Pat is getting is the reason, but

she will blow the whistle at me on that one!

Have a great weekend, everyone. Go Saints!! or as us Louisianian's would write Geaux Saints!

Amanda

Happy Groundhog's Day!

2010-02-02T18:35:00.000-06:00

Thank you for all the sweet comments about the Valentine quilt I made. I made a couple of little last minute changes and gave it to Terry (BFF) for her to put her "pizzaz" on it with her quitling machine. It will be a surprise for you and me, both, to see it quilted and finished!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I can't believe this, but I forgot all about it being Groundhog's Day until I heard the weather on the Today Show. Back in the early 90's we lived about 20 miles away from Punxy (as the locals call it) in another little town in the snowbelt of Pennsylvania. We have lots of fun memories of getting up early, drinking hot chocolate, and watching on TV to see whether or not "Phil" (the groundhog) saw his shadow. Julia came home from school today and told me that I forgot it was Groundhog's Day. I told her I remembered it later on. Then she said, "Why aren't you wearing your sweatshirt?"

I forgot about it, too!

According to Phil it looks like we're going to have six more weeks of this:

It snowed 6 inches on Saturday.

Julia and I say, "Yay!!" We love snow days!

********************************

Have you heard about Pat Sloan's "Camp Sloanie"? It's a winter stashbuster and it's this weekend. Pat has gone through her stash and shot pictures of all of her cute, polka dotted storage bins. It's nice to know I'm not alone (not that I have polka dot storage bins, but I do have an overflowing stash). If you start reading her blog posts from the 26th of January until today, you will see how she is organizing her sewing room and clearing out spaces.

Over the next few days I will be going through my stash and unfinished projects trying to decide what I am going to work on during Camp Sloanie and for the Charming Girls' Quilt Club.

I think I overheard the weatherman say that another snowstorm is heading here this weekend. That's perfect stashbusting weather! Thanks, Phil!

Have a great day!

Amanda

Valentine Sewing Party II

2010-01-24T23:00:00.002-06:00

Even though I didn't get to sew as much for Kelly's Valentine Sewing Party as I would have liked to, I did, however, manage to get one finished! Woo Hoo!

I stayed up unitl 2:30 this morning sewing the peiced borders on the Valentine quilt I started last weekend.

This quilt is so easy and perfect for using holiday fabrics that you don't want to cut up into tiny little pieces. It's a lap sized quilt which will be perfect for cuddling on the couch watching chick-flicks.

After I looked at it for a while I decided it needed something a little fun added to it. Last week Natalia posted a quilt in the Moda Bakeshop, which I l.o.v.e.d!!! So, I decided to tweek this quilt a little and do this:

It's amazing what a little ric-rac and some fun lettering will do to add some pizzazz.

My kids will probably be the ones to use this the most. And, since I'm getting really good at texting both of them these days, I thought I would applique them the perfect message: Love U! (or is it supposed to be Luv U ?)

Thanks, Kelly, and the rest of the girls, for a fun weekend of Valentine sewing.

Amanda

Edited: I have linked this post to Amy's "Sew and Tell" Friday link on her blog amylouwho.com. You can go there, too, and see what everyone else has sewn this week!

Valentine Sewing Party

2010-01-23T11:46:00.000-06:00

Today is the day for the Valentine Sewing Party at Kelly's. There are several of us joining in on the fun.

I am having a party at my house today (an Open House, so you know what that means: lots of cleaning!!). I won't be able to start sewing until later on tonight. I can't wait!

How You Can Help

2010-01-20T12:01:00.002-06:00

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti and to the many people that have gone there to help.

Here's how we can help, too!

Go here to find The Fat Quarter Shop's silent auction, Helping Haiti, and click here to go to Craft Hope for Haiti.

Amanda

Valentine Quilts on the Brain!

2010-01-18T07:23:00.000-06:00

I've got Valentine quilts on the brain and I can see a lot of other people do, too!

Kelly, is hosting a Valentine Sewing Party on Saturday, January 23. It's another "virtual" sewing party, so you don't have to go anywhere! All you have to do is gather your Valentine fabrics, find an easy pattern, and start sewing.

I nearly fell off my chair this morning when I clicked to see what was baking in the Moda Bakeshop. I know a lot of you have probably already seen it, but just in case you haven't it's an amazing Valentine quilt that you can put together in an afternoon!!!!! It's perfect for the Valentine Sewing Party. And you just have to visit the designer, Nalalia at her blog. There are lots of pretty quilts and great tutorials .

Have a fun day!

Amanda

More Sewing for the Friday Night Sew In

2010-01-17T13:15:00.001-06:00

Do you remember the Valentine fabric kit that I put together for a quick quilt? Well, here it is. I changed the fabrics, though. After looking at the photo I showed you I could see that there wasn't enough contrast going on there. It's that "value thing" again.

There are 6 1/2" squares of each of the fabrics that are used for the borders, but I don't have time to put them on today. I am going to a baby shower, and my daughter and my grand-babies are coming over for dinner. We'll probably pull out my Wii (I'm such a cool "Mom-Mom") and dance with the new game that just came out. I've been wanting to try to dance to "Who Let the Dogs Out". I'm sure there will be lots and lots of belly laughs.

Thanks to Heidi for the weekend of sewing fun.

Amanda

Friday Night Sew-In

2010-01-16T22:51:00.001-06:00

My Friday Night Sew In got started kinda late. It was 11:30pm. I didn't plan it that way. It just happened.

Long story short, and it's a long one (I just deleted 7 paragraphs of my explanation), a puddle of water in the family room led to a huge investigation by two plumbers, Steve, and a probe with a little camera on the end (when did plumbers get so high tech?) only to find (after removing part of the wall in my bathroom) that there was a leak where two pipes connect. Thank God they found it because it could have been bad. Real bad.

We were tired and hungry after all of this investigating, so we went out to eat and went to Target. And that's the reason why I didn't start sewing until 11:30.

I started sewing on my little snowmen. I kept falling asleep while I was machine blanket stitching my little snowmen, stars, and trees. As I was dozing off it occured to me that this quilt looks a little bland (which could be the reason I was sewing myself to sleep). Then I realized that I started making this quilt probably 9 years ago. That was before I learned "Terry's (Bff) Theory of Color Relativity". It's all about value, and this quilt needs some value. Besides that, it looks a little Christmasy, so I put it away. Maybe I will finish it in July.

I didn't have anything else prepared to sew. I looked over and saw a couple of charm packs (Love is in the Air by Deb Strain for Moda) that I had bought last year for Valentine's Day sewing, so I took them and made a disappearing 9 patch tablerunner.

This is as far as I got on any sewing this weekend, so far.

I put a little kit together for a fast Valentine quilt.

I have a lot of Valentine fabrics and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I decided to search Flickr to see if anyone had made a Valentine quilt and uploaded it to their flickr account. There are lots of Valentine quilts on Flickr.

I had to laugh because the quilt I liked the best belonged to Jody at Pleasant-Home. She made a Happy Hour (a Terry Atkinson design) out of her Valentine stash.

I think I have enough for several Happy Hour quilts, and then some.

Be sure to check out all the other people who linked up for the Friday Night Sew In over at Heidi's blog. There was a lot of sewing going on in Blogland this weekend!

Amanda

Valentine Quilt Idea Search (with links so you can find them, too!)

2010-01-14T20:47:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to decide what I want to work on during the Friday Night Sew In, and I think I've got it figured out. I'm still debating on whether or not to do something with a Valentine theme or snowman theme.

I think I might work on a quilt I started several years ago: Snow Cabin. It's designed by Meme's Quilts, and it's adorable.

In the meantime, I was over at Cherry Hill Cottage and Tina is making a Valentine wreath out of a heart shaped styrofoam form and some red polka dot fabric squares. Talk about cute!! She has a link with the tutorial, too!

I've been on the lookout for Valentine quilt ideas for a quilt that would be large enough to hang behind my couch. I always do that in January when I really should be doing it in October, but then I'm thinking about Halloween . Maybe since we should think about Christmas in July, Snowmen should be in June, and Valentines should be in May especially since I'm not thinking about too much during that time of year (except maybe how I should have exercised more during the winter months so I could wear a swimsuit without having to wear shorts to cover my bottom). I digress.

Check out this Valentine quilt pattern, "Heart Attack", that I just ordered from Crazy Old Ladies. I ordered mine the other day, so it should be here soon. She has a blog, too, and you can find it here.

Kim, at Bitty Bits and Pieces, has some really fun Valentine tutorials. There is a heart shaped pillow called Love Notes, a quilt called Hugs and Kisses that has X's and O's, and she has a tutorial for a quilt she calls Holiday Squared where she used Halloween fabrics, but you could use Valentines' Day fabrics, too, or any fabric you choose.

The Happy Zombie has her Penny Pocket tutorial over at the Moda Bakeshop.

I made these last year for my grandkid's teachers and daycare workers. They loved them!

I really need to do something quick because I'm having a party at my house next weekend, so I need something that won't take much time to put together (also known as a "UFO", "work in progress" ~~whatever it is you call those projects sitting in cute containers that are collecting dust~~). I'm thinking Snow Cabin has snowmen and hearts, so I could get a two-fer there: winter and Valentines. Terry (BFF with a long-arm) said she would quilt it for me next week, and it will be ready to be hung behind my couch whenever I have my party! I still have plenty of time, and tons of Valentine fabric, to make all the Valentine quilts my busy little heart (no pun intended) desires after the party is over.

Do you see the Valentine quilt in the header that Terry and I are holding? I forgot about it. It's nowhere near done, so I've given up on that ~~monster~~ until I have more time to focus on it.

So, what are you sewing on at the Sew In?

Amanda

Friday Night Sew In

2010-01-13T21:20:00.024-06:00

I'm so excited!

See, the other night Kim and I were e-mailing each other back and forth and she mentioned that she was pulling fabrics for a project that she was going to take to the Sew-In on Friday night. I just figured it was another one of those fun quilting parties that she and her friends do at their favorite quilt shop, Bear Paws and Hollyhocks.

I'm always wishing that Kim and I lived closer. (Come to think of it, wouldn't it be great if we all lived on the same street? ) She teaches these fun quilting classes, she decorates for all the holidays, she loves to shop at thriftstores, she's creative, funny, and she's smart!

After I read her post about going to the Sew In, her friend Eileen posted a comment and said that she would be there, too. Now I'm really wishing I lived closer because that would just be fun! I'm ready for a little quilting getaway.

After I posted my comment I started looking around at her feet, and some of her other little buttons on her sidebar, then I see the button for the Friday Night Sew In. I clicked on it thinking it was going to take me to Bearpaws and Hollyhocks, but instead it took me to Heidi's blog. It was then that I realized through the magic of blogland, I can go on a virtual sew- in with Kim. And you can join us, too!

That's right! You can join us, too! It's not too late to get a project together and join us for some Friday night sewing fun! All you have to to is sign up on Heidi's Mr. Linky list. On Saturday we'll all get together for our virtual show and tell. And on Sunday( I hear Al Roker saying SUNDAY,SUNDAY,SUNDAY) there are prizes!

I'll "see" you there! I'll be the one in the pink leopard pj's with a red and white polka dotted cup of coffee and a plate full of chocolate chip cookies. Now that I've figured out what I'm going to wear and snack on (I'll share; I promise!), I need to pick out a project to finish.

Amanda

Banana Split Pie

2010-01-12T21:10:00.005-06:00

Banana Split Pie

Ingredients:

Edited: When I posted this I forgot about the main ingredient: Bananas!! You will need 4-5 bananas (depending on how big your bananas are) cut up into little round circles.

1 box of Graham Crackers

2 small boxes of instant sugar free/fat free vanilla pudding

3 cups of skim milk

2 packages of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

4-5 bananas (all depending on how large they are) sliced into circles

2 cans of crushed pineapple (in it's own juice)

1 large container of lite Cool Whip

chocolate fudge ice cream topping

marichino cherries

Mix the pudding and the milk according to the package instructions. Mix in the 2 packages of cream cheese until well blended.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish with graham cracker squares. Layer the pudding/cream cheese mixture, a layer of bananas, crushed pineapple, and the cool whip. Garnish with chocolate fugde topping and cherries.

Whoever thought of mixing cream cheese and vanilla pudding together was a genius!

Refrigerate (if there is any left).

Enjoy!

Amanda

Snowbound

2010-01-11T20:55:00.003-06:00

Free Block of the Month from Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs

The teenage girls were all happily snowbound together at my house Thursday and Friday.

Photo from News 25

Okay, so you can stop laughing now.

(Remember...we live in the south; not too far south, but still.)

Frigid temperatures made it dangerous to drive, or so they say. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't even go outside. I stayed inside and hibernated in my sewing room while the girls slept, ate, watched movies, colored their hair, baked chocolate chip cookies, baked brownies, drank hot cocoa, and invited boys over (I came out of the sewing room for that).

Do you remember the song, "I Shaved My Legs for This?". They need to write a song titled "I Cleaned My House for This?" Did you know that 5 girls can use an entire closet of towels in a day? And they are messy! At one point I said to my daughter, "I hope when you go to other people's homes that you pick up after yourself." She just looked at me, rolled her eyes, made a hummppph sound and walked away. I guess that means that she does; at least I hope so.

As I said before though, I wouldn't have it any other way. I really mean that. I will miss them all when they move away to go to college in a year or so. They're sweet girls; messy, but sweet.

So, you may be wondering what I was doing while I was hibernating in my sewing room. I may not have been outside building a snowman (I don't think I could have! The grass was still showing!), but I was inside finishing up some snowmen that I had started a few years ago.

Here is a snowman table runner that I started 6 years ago, put it away, and forgot about it. ( Excuse my coffee table. I can see that my grandsons have been using it as a race car track for their Hot Wheels. Hmmmm. Messy Teenagers and Grandkids. It's a wonder my house is still standing!) All I had to do was turn it inside out, sew the seam shut, and handstitch the little stars. It was a huge surprize to me when I opened it up to see what fabrics I used for their scarves!

And this little cutie, Seymore (designed by Pat Sloan for Indygo Junction)

was started several years ago. (I bought the pattern in 1998. I don't think it's published anymore.) All I had left to do for him is to sew on the binding and hand stitch the little snowflakes.

I'm sure this won't be the only time that we're snowbound for a few days. Maybe then I will finish a couple of other snowmen UFO's.

Everyone needs a snowman quilt, and the one Anne has designed is perfect! Be sure to check her blog or her website the 5th of every month for the free block. Just think... this time next year you could have your own snowman quilt! Fun!!!

Be sure to check out what everyone else made this week for Sew and Tell Friday!

Amanda

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T23:32:00.003-06:00

I got a sweet comment from someone saying that she misses my blog posts, so I thought I had better write something! (Thank you!)

I went to Louisiana over the Christmas holidays and got back a few days ago. We celebrated Christmas with Laura and the grand babies this past Sunday since we couldn't be with them at Christmas (the Suburban isn't big enough for the entire family). All of the pictures are still in my new camera, which, by the way, I learned to use after my dad showed me the "A" on my camera lens. No more blurry pictures!

So instead of seeing Christmas pictures, I am showing you pictures I took of my cat when he discovered that I rearranged my sewing room. I have never seen him be so curious! I don't usually have my cutting table pulled in front of my cabinet, but I moved it around so I could cut out a quilt and watch TV at the same time. I also moved my scrap bins from the white cabinet into my closet, and part (a really small part) of my fabric stash from my closet to out in the open where I can see everything. At first, he did what he always does: climbs on my little stool to look out the window. Then when he turned around...you'll see.

The weather channel predicted a snow storm was heading this way, so I've been cleaning and getting the house ready for a snow day or two. All of the bills have been paid, the food has been bought, and my sewing room is clean and ready for me to sew up my own little storm.

In the meantime, my house is filled with teenagers (my daughter's friends) all hoping that school is cancelled tomorrow.

My house, evidently, is the "place to be" for snow storms, ice storms, and other weather related events that would cause kids to have to stay home for a few days. Heaven forbid it would snow during the night and they would be snowbound in their own homes. So they come over here, just in case, so they can be snowbound together. It must be the chocolate chip cookies.

Izzie approves of the change and says he would like some chocolate chip cookies, too!

Amanda

Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T10:51:00.004-06:00

I know you're all busy, just like me, so I thought instead of writing too much, I would share pictures of a little bit (just a tiny bit) of what our Christmas season has been.

I've been sewing,

Belinda's apron she won!

Three of the 12 Pennie Pockets (designed by the happiest zombie I know) I made for my quilting friends for our Christmas Fat Quarter Exchange.

Holly Table Runner from Art to Heart

Spreading Christmas cheer to my sewing room with my No Sew

Curtains.

cooking,

Banana Split Pie

(The following pictures are of me with the grandkids for our annual Christmas Cookie Baking Party.

Alexis

Cameron

Brayden

Gatlin

Caramel Pull Apart Bread (aka Monkey Bread)

Red cake stand from Target (I thought I didn't need it but after seeing Pam's, Elizabeth's and Pat's I changed my mind!)

Chocolate Spice cake for Laura's (daughter) 25th birthday!

She also requested Chicken Enchilada's. Mmmmm.

decorating,

Our new Christmas tree! Now Julia isn't taller than our tree!

Family Room (gingerbread man quilt designed by Terry Christopherson).

This is a wall in my kitchen. The stocking I received at my guild's Christmas party, the Apron that I made Belinda, and the Santa is another Art to Heart pattern.

(This isn't all the decorating I did this year; believe me!)

visiting with friends, Terry,

Bff Terry. I made her an apron, too!

and her furry kids

Jackie

and

Remshot.

I love her upside down tree!

(I also saw my quilting group "The Girls", but I forgot my camera. They loved the Pennie Pockets and my Italian Cream Cake.)

and sooooooooo much more.

This Christmas will be known as the year that "Mom got a new camera and didn't know how to focus it", (but really it should be " Mom needs to wear her bifocals when she's using her new camera". ahem...our little secret). The rest of the year will be busy visiting with family and spending time with them.

All of you are a blessing me. I cherish our friendships and I look forward to another year with you sharing ideas, laughing, and spending time with you. I love you all.

So, from our family

Steve, Amanda, and grand kids

Wade, Laura, and Julia

to yours,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (and Decade!)

Love,

Amanda

Ho, Ho, Ho!! We Have a Winner!!

2009-12-10T06:22:00.002-06:00

Thanks, again, for entering the "Apron In an Hour" giveaway! There were 39 people who entered. I did the random number generator thingy, I checked the list twice (okay 3 times) and the winner is number 19, Belinda!!!

Belinda loves Santas, so I'll be making her a Santa apron. Congratulations, Belinda! I will show it to you, along with the little gift I made each of my quilting friends for our Christmas Fat Quarter Exchange, tomorrow during Sew and Tell Friday.

Amanda

Charming Girls Quilt Club

2009-12-07T23:07:00.001-06:00

Wow! That's so sweet that so many people entered my apron giveaway in the last post. Just in case you didn't see it, scroll down to the next post, read it, and leave me a comment. And I'm excited that I gave you an idea for your next quilting group's Christmas party. I have another idea, too, which you will see a little further down in this post.

Most of you know that I am in the Charming Girls' Quilt Club. To keep this post from being sooo long (like the last one) you can find out about the Charming Girls' Quilt Club here. It has been a few months since I have posted any UFO's that I would like to finish, so I'm happy that I'm still in the club!

My first UFO that needs to get completed is the apron that I'm giving away. Just in case you're wondering, here are the fabrics I chose:

Both of these will look adorable with red polka dot apron strings!

On Thursday my quilting group, "The Girls", are getting together for our annual Christmas Fat Quarter Exchange. I have blogged about it here. It looks fun, huh? It's like a cookie exchange only you don't bake cookies and your hips don't get larger unless you eat too much of the good food everyone brings and my Italian Cream Cake, in which case my hips will get larger. I'm making something special for them as a little gift. I need to finish those, too, so here's a sneak peek.

As you can see it involves triangles, prarie points, little handles, and yo'yo's. Since some of my friends read my blog, I'll show you what they look like on Sew and Tell Friday.

Here's a Christmas present that I can't show you until after Christmas.

It's a surprise. Again, friends and family read my blog.

If I get those things finished it would be fun to finish these, too.

It's a design by Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart. It says "Kisses Under the Mistle Toad". I think I'll embroider the letters while visiting with my friends at the Christmas Fat Quarter Exchange.

I bought the kit for this tablerunner by Sandy Gervais last year and didn't get around to making it.

It would look great on my kitchen table.

Now I'm really going out on a limb here when I say that I'm going to try and finish all of this by the end of December, but I could get snowed in and not be able to go anywhere! I wish!!

Be sure to leave a comment on the previous post if you would like to win an apron. Comments close Tuesday night at midnight CST. I will draw a number Wednesday morning.

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday and a Giveaway!

2009-12-04T15:22:00.003-06:00

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!! I've missed you!!! (Here's where if I saw you in real life I would give you a huge hug cause I really have missed you!)

It's been crazy busy around here, as always. There's so much to tell, but I'll start with my Sew and Tell Friday.

Marsha standing in front of all the challenge projects

So, several months ago Marsha issued our Quilt Guild a challenge. She gave us each a Christmas fat quarter and challenged us to make something (anything we wanted) that included the fat quarter. At the December business meeting/Christmas party (which was yesterday) we would bring our finished projects for a little gift exchange.

I'll have to be honest. The fat quarter fabric isn't something that I would have chosen, but maybe that was part of the challenge. I don't know. Either way, it was a challenge for me to try to figure out something to make.

I was looking around in my sewing room holding my little fat quarter up against my fabric stash. Hmm. Those red polka dots look cute. Afterall, red polka dots make anything look adorable. Then I went to my flickr groups to ~~clear my head and get away from the stress of trying to figure out what in the world to make~~ to get some inspiration and I just happened to check in to see if any more aprons had been made in Jona's "Apron in an Hour" group. Then it hit me! I could make an apron!!! All it takes is a fat quarter and a half yard of fabric. Woo Hoo!!!

Ta Da!!! Isn't it cute?!!

At the Christmas party all of the finished projects were numbered and pinned to the wall behind us. (Just in case you're wondering...the large ornament quilt behind Marsha wasn't included in the challenge. It was hung for decoration and I guess someone forgot to take it down!) Marsha had a bowl with numbers. She drew a name to see who would go first. That person drew a number and got a project. Then whoever made her project came up next. For example:

Teresa drew the number for the apron. She was so excited! Since I made the apron I was next to draw a number.

I drew a number and got a really long stocking. The little mittens are made from the challenge fat quarter.

Joyce made the stocking so (after getting a huge hug from me) she drew a number and got this:

a stuffed snowman from Terry! I forgot to shoot Terry's picture with her gift, but I think it was a casserole carrier.

The Christmas party was a lot of fun. As with any party sometimes people show up in the same outfits.

At least we all have good taste!

**************************************************************************************

Just in case you've been wondering where I have been, I've had lots of company including my dad and Sylvia (his girlfriend). I have lived here for 13 years and my Dad and Sylvia have never been to see me. They both work, so it's hard to get away especially since they live 12 hours (20 if my Dad is driving) away. He saw great grand kids he's never met ( too many babies to fit in our Suburban for our travels to Louisiana). It was fun to see him with them. He said, "Amanda. Every time you talk about those babies you always talk about how sweet they are. And you're right...they are such sweet children." They were good with all of our company here. I told them one night that I was so proud of them because they had been perfect every time they came over to see us and whoever was visiting. Alexis walked over to me, winked at me, and gave me "five".

There have also been a few little changes in our lives. Change isn't something that I do well, but change is the only constant in the world, so I deal with it as best as I can. I don't think that I have ever mentioned that my husband took an early retirement in June. It was either go to Poland or retire early. He chose to retire early since he has been traveling around the US and Canada for the past 8 years flying home every other weekend to see us.

I guess you could say that we have sort of been reinventing ourselves. Steve wasn't really ready to retire, but it was something he had to do. He has always wanted to learn Auto CAD (Computer Aided Drafting), so in January he starts back to college! Yay for him!!!

The other little change is that I have started a business where I could work from home. It isn't sewing/quilting related because I want to keep that my hobby. I teach quilting, too, whenever I can so I want to still have time for that, my family, my home, and my friends. My business hopefully will help support my hobby, which is all I really want (and to re-upholster my couch). I'll tell you more about it later. I'm excited about it. It's deffintely stepping outside of my box, but I think it will be something that I enjoy.

***************************************************************************************

Now for the Giveway! I'm going to make it easy. If you want to tell people, go ahead, or if you want to keep this to yourself that's fine, too. Just leave a comment by Tuesday, December 8 at midnight CST. Tell me if you like Santa Clauses or Candy Canes. Both of these go really well with red polka dots! I will make you an apron from Jona's "Apron in an Hour" tutorial. Oh. And you might pop over to Jona's blog and leave her a comment on how you like her apron tutorial. Check out her fabric store, too, Fabritopia!

Good luck! Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check and see what everyone else has been sewing this week to share with Sew and Tell Friday at Amy's blog amylouwho.com.

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2009-11-14T00:28:00.001-06:00

So, have you had a chance to make the pumpkin gob cookies yet? (Click on the link for the recipe!) I made a batch for our company that was visiting. They look so pretty on my pumpkin platter (that I found at Walmart for $4.50) on top of my new table runner for my kitchen table.

I found these leaf place mats on sale at Walmart, too, for $2 each. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but I bought them anyway. Then I thought about how cute my leaf tablerunner that I bought from K-mart looked on my dining room table, and I got busy! First, I laid out my leaves (I really like them kind of turned a little. It makes it look like they fell off the tree and landed on my table.) on the table until I arranged them how I wanted them. Then I pinned them together and took them to the sewing machine where I tacked them down. Easy Peasy!!! See those gourds in my little basket? I found those for a penny a piece!!! Yes 1 penny! Here's a few more that I gave to my daughter for her to decorate with in her home.

*********************************************************************************

Are you enjoying the Cross Country Quilt Designer Blog Hop? I am. It has gotten me in the Christmas Spirit like you wouldn't believe. The projects are wonderful, and the stories that each of them share every day brings back memories of my childhood I had forgotten about.

It's perfect timing, the blog hop and the fact that Kim has a Christmas Countdown on her blog. Who knew it was a little more than 40 days away until Christmas??? I sure didn't! Oh well. Tomorrow Terry and I are leaving for our annual Christmas Sewing Retreat. This year we're going back to the Lakehouse. Hopefully I will have lots of "Sew and Tell " Friday projects for you to see next Friday. (Be sure to check at Amy's blog to see what everyone else finished for Friday.)

Until then, keep visiting the designers on the blog hop. I have a list of them on my sidebar, so you can click on their link and it will take you to their blog. I'll be blog hopping from my I-phone.

Have a great week!

Amanda

Cross Country Christmas Quilt Designer Blog Hop

2009-11-08T17:23:00.000-06:00

If you're like me, you love blog hops and this one is going to be fun!!! (Aren't they all?)

It's called the Cross Country Christmas Designer Blog Hop. It includes all of my favorite quilt designers, plus a few that I have heard of, but have never visited their blogs!

Each designer has a particular day where they will share a free pattern that will be perfect for gift giving or making for yourself. To find out more information, visit Gudrun. She's the designer who came up with this great idea! To add to the fun, all of the designers will be sharing a Christmas memory of long ago and more! (You will find a list of the designers and links to their blogs at Gudrun's.)

The blog hop starts tomorrow (Monday, November 9) and ends on November 20. Terry Atkinson said that she is going to make a Christmas quilt during the blog hop. That sounds like fun! I may do that, too!!!

Have a great evening!

Amanda

Pumpkin Gobs

2009-11-06T08:36:00.013-06:00

It's been busy around here, as usual. Steve's parents and his Aunt and Uncle are still visiting. Although we've had a fun week, I haven't had time to blog or sew.

I just looked at the heading of my last post, "Sew and Tell" Friday. I don't have anything to post about sewing this week, but be sure to check out everyone's sewing accomplishments this week at Amy's blog here.

Today they are wanting me to make Pumpkin Gobs, little cookies that I discovered when I lived in PA while visiting a pumpkin farm one day. It's become a fall favorite around here, so I thought I would share the recipe with you!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

Two cups of brown sugar

1 cup of shortening

2 eggs

2 cups of canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the brown sugar, eggs, and the shortening. Add in pumpkin and vanilla. To the mixture add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Blend well.

Drop on lightly greased cookie sheet whatever size cookie you desire. Smooth and flaten slightly. It's important to make the cookies all the same size and that the bottoms are flat. You will be sandwiching them together with the cream cheese filling after they have finished cooling.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Filling:

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 stick of butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 pound of powdered sugar

Mix together and spread between two cookies.

Let me know if you bake these. Hopefully you will love them as much as we do!

By the way, the article in the paper about the postal worker retiring was in the paper on Wednesday. My name was in bold lettering, so everyone at Quilt Guild yesterday was calling me a celebrity. It says

"Amanda (then my last name), who was mailing quilting squares, said she's been using the downtown postal station for 13 years. Unable to get all the squares in the cardboard mailer, (my last name) handed it over to Abney who shoved and squished the material until it fit in the package. 'He's always so helpful,' she (that's me) said.

(My last name) belongs to an online quilt swap. When the quilter receives her package, she will mail 100 squares to (my last name). "

I don't think the reporter fully understood what I was doing, but the article was great. It's funny, but, even though that particular postman has been sending my packages and selling me stamps for the past 13 years, I never knew his name. I do know, however, that Jane received my Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-patch blocks, so I guess all of his shoving and squishing were okay. I do remember asking him if that was "legal"! :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Edit: My thoughts and prayers go out to the soilders and their families who were either killed or injured in the attack at Fort Hood. My dear blogging friend, Cherri House, has a son, Luke, who is stationed at Fort Hood. Luke wasn't killed nor was he injured, but Cherri has a special request on her blog I thought I would share with you. May God bless all the families affected and everyone at Fort Hood.

Sew and Tell Friday

2009-10-30T23:59:00.001-05:00

First of all, thank you to everyone who left a comment or facebooked me wishing me a happy birthday. I had tears streaming down my face as I read them!

This is my grandson, Cameron, and I sharing the birthday Sombrero at the Mexican food restaurant where our families took us to dinner to celebrate our big day. I got a Wii, a purse, a quilting book, money to shop for fabric, and a night out to the movies with my son.

I got several things accomplished this week for Sew and Tell Friday.

About three years ago I made valances for my family room and "not so formal" formal living room. I decided a few months ago that my valances needed the side panels to go with them to sort of dress things up a bit. So, I bought 10 yards of fabric and 10 yards of lining and got busy!!

All in all I made 8 panels. I really love the look and I think it makes everything look complete. This photo is how the curtains look in my family room. As you can see, I now have a large screen TV on top of my entertainment center, which can seem sort of , well, not pretty. I'm all about making things look as pretty and the curtain panels were exactly what it needed.

The other project I got completed this week were the 25 blocks for the Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-Patch Swap. Here they are as 9-patches,

but I forgot to shoot their picture once I got them all cut into their little 6 1/4" squares. They looked so cute!

I have to tell you this story. Today when I went in the post office to mail my little 100 squares I sort of had a hard time squeezing the little cuties into my $4.95 flat rate package. My favorite postal worker (big, tall, doesn't smile much, has that "oh it's you again" look on his face, but he's really sweet) squeezed them in all nice and neat. As I was writing the check to pay for everything, there was this lady standing to the side. I heard him say, "Yes. She told me you were coming in this afternoon." "Yes, this is my last day". I said, "Are you retiring?" He said he was, and I said, "Awwwwww I will miss you!!!" He got this odd look on his face and said, "Really?" I said," Who's going to take care of me when I do swaps? You're always so sweet about it!!" He just smiled. So, the lady standing to the side just so happened to be a newspaper reporter. She said, "Since you're such a fan of his do you mind if I do an interview with you?" So I did and it will be in the newspaper on Wednesday. I'll let you know how it goes. I just hope she doesn't make me sound stupid.

Thanks, again, to everyone for all the happy birthday wishes. It was a great birthday. I apologize for not responding to your e-mails, yet. On top of sewing curtains and 9-patch blocks, I was also super cleaning because Steve's parents and his Aunt and Uncle drove in from Shreveport, LA today to stay for a week.

Be sure to check out all the other Sew and Tell Friday sewers at Amy's. It's always fun to see what everyone accomplished for the week.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Fall Decorating Idea Tutorial

2009-10-28T01:28:00.000-05:00

This is an idea that was inspired by one of my favorite magazines, Country Living. I'm always on the lookout for something quick, affordable, and easy to create.

Here's what you'll need:

1 Hurricane Glass Candle Holder (I got mine from Dollar General for $2.)
1 orange candle
1 bag of candy corn
a piece of twine

Fill the bottom of the candle holder with candy corn.

Place the candle in the center, and add more candy corn to support the candle to keep it from leaning to the side.

Wrap the piece of twine around the candle holder and tie in a pretty bow.

For Halloween you could add a spider ring to the twine and sit it on a table runner.

Every once in a while I forget that I put the spider there and I jump when I see it. So, if you're deathly afraid of spiders, just skip that part.

For a Fall table scape you could sit them in between pumpkins as I have done here.

I found these pumpkins 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I also found the sunflower floral pick 50% off there, as well. The quilt on the table is one that I made several years ago (and wondered why in the world I made it). Last year I was looking around my house for a fall themed table cloth and I ran across this quilt (from the bottom of the stack) and it went perfect with my pumpkins. The adorable leaf table runner I found on sale at K-Mart pulls everything together.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I love to decorate my home for the seasons/holidays and sharing my ideas with you.

Today is my birthday. This is the first time in many, many years that my husband has been home for my birthday. We usually celebrate on a weekend that he is home, and I end up spending my actual birthday alone. Tonight we're celebrating with my kids and grand-kids so it will be loud and fun!!! I can't wait!!!

Random Thoughts

2009-10-22T08:54:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've seen my best friend, Terry. I've been busy; she's been busy. This photo is us at a retreat that she helps coordinate. She taught this Scrappy Heart class, and I took the class from her. Remember how I made a ~~million~~ lot of red nine patches? Well, this is the reason. Terry's quilt is hanging in the background. It looks like Terry's quilt had a baby and we're both holding it. It's funny, but we

didn't share any red fabrics or background fabrics.

Julia, my youngest daughter, is on Fall Break this week. The house has been filled with teenagers, and at times, grand kids. She has a job now, so, when she isn't working we've been spending time together shopping and going to the movies. In between times I've been sewing on my red and aqua disappearing nine patches for the swap at Janes. The house is quiet today (I think), so hopefully I'll have those ready to show for my Sew and Tell Friday.

By the way, I did find the blog that inspired me to make my little table mat that I showed you in the last post. I had seen the one that Peg made at her blog, Happy in Quilting, and she gave the link to Jenny, who has the tutorial on her blog. It really does take less than an hour to make one.

The weekend and next week will be just as busy.

My youngest two grandsons, Gatlin and Brayden, will be spending the weekend with me. I'm sure there will be digging in dirt, maybe a visit to the pumpkin patch, and a whole lot of grand baby hugs. They still let me rock them. I love to rock babies.

Next week my oldest grandson, Cameron, and I will be celebrating our birthday that we share together.

Here he is in his little go-cart that he races. He's such a sweetie. He thinks it's cool that we share a birthday together. I'm sure when I'm 80 and he's 40, he'll still think it's cool. So will I.

Steve's parents, and his Aunt and Uncle, are coming to see us at the end of next week and will be spending the following week with us. My house is ready, but I still have things to do. I want to make curtain panels for some valances that I have hanging in my family room and "not so formal" formal living room. I found out the company that manufactured the fabric for my valances has gone out of business. Thankfully, Hancock Fabrics still had some of the fabric in their warehouse and I was able to buy the fabric 50% off! They had exactly the amount I needed, so it was meant to be! Now I'm trying to figure out how to hem lined curtains panels. I haven't blind hemmed stitched anything in a really long time.

I may not see Terry as much as I used to. Hopefully that will change in the next few weeks (even if I have to go play in her sewing room while she quilts on the longarm.) She doesn't have a computer, so there's no e-mail, blogging, Facebook, or Twitter. She does have a phone, though, and I'm glad that we are just a phone call away from each other. I think I'll give her a call to find out how to sew the hem on lined curtains. She'll know. She knows everything.

Have a great day!

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2009-10-17T16:52:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know it's Saturday, but I know that my "Sew and Tell Friday" friends will understand.

I have had the best week! Our friends, Ross, Nanette, and their daughter, Kimberly came to visit us for a week.

Ross and Steve.

Nanette and I.

Julia, Wade, and Kimberly.

They were our best friends when we lived in PA. We have driven to PA several times to see them since we moved from there 13 years ago, but this was their first time to visit us. We've spent the entire week shopping, talking, eating, and watching movies past midnight.

The highlight of Nanette's trip was to see me, of course, but she loved our home and my quilts.
She loved them all, but her favorite one was my leaf quilt that I finished last year.

Turning Leaves

I have it hanging in my "not so formal" living room on a shelf/quilt hanger.

I think she may have caught the "I want to learn to quilt bug" when I gave her this quilt that I finished yesterday morning just in time for my "Sew and Tell Friday" project.

Turning Twenty in "Poetry" by April Cornell

There wasn't enough time to teach her to quilt, but I did take her to Hobby Lobby where she bought Pat Sloan's book, I Can't Believe I'm Quilting. I love this book for beginner quilters.

Okay, so back now to Sew and Tell Friday. Last week we were all busy getting our quilts ready to be entered into The Bloggers Quilt Festival at the other Amy's, so Amy said that we could show our finished project this week, too.

Quilted Table Mat

I saw this idea on someone's blog, but I can't remember who. I always give credit where credit is due, so if anyone knows where I got this cute idea, please let me know. It was easy to make, and adds a touch of cuteness to my Halloween decorations. I'll show you.

My trick or treat bowl is adorable, and it looks fine on my table, but look how adorable it is sitting on my table mat! I can think of other embelishments to make my table mat a little more whimsical, but the large rick-rack works great for covering up the seam line. I can see me making lots of these out of my stash of Christmas fabrics for my Christmas decorating.

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my quilt that I entered in the Bloggers Quilt Festival. I haven't had time to respond to everyone through e-mail because I've been busy this week with company. I'm slowly, but surely, making my way through all of the beautiful quilts that have been entered. Each one is beautiful, and the stories behind them are awesome. Some have made me cry, others have made me appreciate that I live in a country where I can buy fabrics and supplies. It just goes to show, though, where there is a will, there is a way. And when there is that "need" to quilt, there's no stopping us!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

My Entry for the Bloggers Quilt Festival

2009-10-10T15:06:00.003-05:00

It's time for Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival! As you probably know, the International Quilt Festival is being held in Houston this week. Several of my "in real life" friends fly every year to this huge event, but I have never been. They always come back telling me about the quilts and all of the many vendors that are there. There's always some new gadget or new fabric lines they come home with.

I may not be able to go to Houston, but because of Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival I can look at quilts, shop with vendors, and (this is the best part) have a quilt "shown"! I"ve never had a quilt hang in a huge quilt show, and this quilt show is HUGE!!!

So, here's my entry.

I flung this over my cedar fence to shoot it's picture. My oldest daughter is holding on to it for me; she's the fingers at the top. The name of this quilt is Harvest Time. It is designed by Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries. The pattern used to be sold seperately, but it is also in one of her books, Classic Collection of Quilts. I used Thimbleberries fabric and some fabrics from Jo Morton.

I have an area over my couch where I hang seasonal quilts. This one will hang during the months of September and November. During the Spring, I hang a quilt that I "showed" during Amy's spring Blogger's Quilt Festival. You can see it here.

My best friend, Terry, machine quilted this quilt for me on her Gammil. She free motion quilted all of the swirls, feathers, and everything that makes this quilt gorgeous.

I love this idea of having a quilt show in Blogland. We can look at each other's quilts and shop with the vendors on her sidebar. Just go to Amy's blog and read how you can enter a quilt, too! There's lots of prizes the vendors are giving away to bloggers who enter their quilts. How fun is that?!!

Thanks, Amy, for hosting this. Thanks, too, to the vendors and sponsors supporting this event.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

To Market, To Market

2009-10-08T22:57:00.009-05:00

Heck! What am I thinking? I'm not going to quilt market! Instead I'll be having fun at Monica's slumber party, under our quilt tents, while we watch for the quilt market reports from Pam.

You can watch them, too. All you have to do is click on the KPKM radio on the bottom of my blog (don't ask me how my sidebar slid to the bottom of my blog. It's bad enough to be sagging in real life much less sagging in blogland!) Anyway, click on the little radio and it will take you to Pam's blog where you'll see a Mr. Linky box. This is where the Quilt Market Goers (QMG) are linking their posts about quilt market.

Here's the best part, though. Monica has invited us Non Market Goers (NMG) (you and me) to her slumber party. We're supposed to bring our jammies, our pillows, and a quilt for the big quilt tent that will be set up in her living room. Oh, and food, too! How could I forget the food? I think I'll take my Chicken Ranch Pizza.

I'm packed and ready to go! I've got my jammies and my slippers.

I just love that pink leopard print.

Here's my pillow and my quilt.

This is the quilt I take with me to quilting retreats. It's a Turning Twenty using 20 different sewing themed fabrics.

And here is my Chicken Ranch Pizza!

Mmmm. It's so good. Here's the recipe:

1 Pillsbury Pizza Dough (Don't get the cheap brand. They don't spread out as well.)
Ranch Dressing (in the bottle)
Chopped Cooked chicken that has been cooked with salt, pepper, and garlic.
Bacon that has been cooked and crumbled.
1 Bag of Shredded Mozzerella Cheese
Green onions (optional)
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Spray your pizza pan with the non-stick cooking spray. Open the can of pizza dough and spread it out onto your pizza pan. Spread Ranch Dressing over the top of the pizza dough. Top this with the cooked chicken, crumbled bacon, and mozzerella cheese. Add green onions to the top.

Bake at 350 degrees until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is melted.

Okay, so I think I've got everything for the party. I can't wait! I also have to leave a NMG link in Pam's Mr. Linky box. Other NMG will be linking, too, sharing their recipes as well!

Amy's Bloggers Quilt Festival is starting tomorrow, too! I sewed on the border to my quilt and it's ready to show!

Whew!!! I hope I'm not the first one to fall asleep at the slumber party! I don't need my bra frozen!

Amanda

Fall and Halloween Ideas to Pass Along

2009-10-08T09:14:00.005-05:00

As my neighbor would say in her cute little accent, "Amanda is busy, busy, busy!!!" And am I ever!

Our best friends from PA are coming to visit us for a week. I'm in the middle of Fall Cleaning. I've been cleaning, and decorating the inside and outside of my house for Fall. Things are starting to look pretty, but I'll wait until everything is done before I post photos.

Inspiration is everywhere in blogland. There are some really cute ideas for Fall and Halloween decorating I thought I would pass along since I'm not quite ready to show mine.

Jodi, at Pleasant-Home is having fun making projects for her Halloween decorating. Her little ghost family is so sweet. My husband keeps scraps of wood like I keep scraps of fabric. I'll be digging around in his scraps to make these cuties! She also made a treat bag using Monica's Poochie Bag tutorial.

Candace introduced her blog readers to Kaaren a month or so ago. Kaaren is a decorative artist that has retired from her profession as a designer. She still feels the need to create and design, so she started something called "First Friday Freebie". The first Friday of every month Kaaren has a free design for us to download. The first one was in September. You can find it here. The one for October you can find here. On her sidebar Kaaren has other tutorials. I want to make the Crazy Quilt Style Pumpkins! These are just too cute!

It's back to cleaning for me!

Have a great day!

Amanda

Remembering My Mom

2009-10-07T21:45:00.004-05:00

Today is the anniversary of my mom going to heaven 20 years ago. She had breast cancer, which she battled with on and off for over 10 years.

The cookies above are teacakes on her Franciscan "Desert Rose" plates. When I was a little girl she would bake these while I was taking a nap on Sunday afternoons. They always made the house smell so good. You can find the recipe here.

To celebrate my Mom today today, I baked tea cakes for my family and we went out for Mexican food (her favorite). I might even get a chance to sew a little later tonight, which was her favorite hobby.

A lot has changed as far as research about breast cancer since my Mom was diagnosed with it in 1979. As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So please be sure to do your self checks every month and get a mamogram.

Linda Lum DeBono has a new fabric line in honor of breast cancer awareness. It's called "Inspiration". Linda is hosting a giveaway (fat quarters of her new fabric line!) and she has a free pattern on her website. You can find it here. Be sure and tell her that I sent you. She's busy getting ready for quilt market, so I'm sure she would love to see your comments.

Be sure to scroll down to read what I would like to finish for the Charming Girls Quilt Club for October. I'll be busy, for sure!

Amanda

Edited: You can find the recipe, too, if you look under "recipes" on my sidebar. It's "Tea Cake Cookies".

Charming Girls Quilt Club for October

2009-10-07T20:42:00.011-05:00

It's time again to post what I hope to finish this month for the Charming Girls Quilt Club, a group of bloggers that are trying to finish some UFO's. Every month we post what we think we will get finished. If we finish everything by the end of the month, Kelly enters our names in for us fabulous prizes! I haven't won anything, yet. In fact I didn't finish anything in September, but I'm hoping to do better in October.

Here's what I hope to get finished in October.

1. My blocks for the Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-patch swap. (This probably doesn't qualify as a UFO, but it is something I need to get finished and mailed off this month).

2. The binding on my Fall Harvest quilt. I don't want to show you pictures of it because it will be displayed during the Bloggers Quilt Festival.

3. The October button-up wallhanging that I wanted to get finished in September.

I finished Happy Hour in August. Terry (bff with a long arm) quilted it and it's gorgeous!

5. Quilting and binding on Halloween quilts for the grand kids. I would show photos, but they are at Terry's.

Edited: I was scrolling down and forgot about my September Schnibbles project! And I have to finish my October Schnibbles project!

Whew! That's a lot to finish in October, but I think I can do it!

Amanda

My Wish Came True

2009-10-06T19:50:00.008-05:00

Just yesterday I was wishing I was a fly on the wall at Houston Quilt Market. Blogland is buzzing with quilt designers getting ready to fly (or drive) to Houston. It would be exciting to see everyone together in one spot and getting to see the new patterns and fabrics they have all designed, not to mention all the fun they will be having.

Thanks to the genius of Monica and Pam my wish came true. Well, not the part about being a fly, but the part about seeing everything in one spot! Quilt Market Goers (QMG) have linked their blogs to Pam's blog so that we Non Market Goers (NMG) can watch all of the exciting, fun happenings every time they post something to their blog. Monica explains it better here.

I'll be sitting with Monica in her living room under the big quilt tent, eating cupcakes (my favorite food) and other things we NMG are bringing to the potluck, watching our quilting friends with quilt market updates. Monica e-mailed me today; it's offically now a slumber party. I'm bringing my jammies and my pillow. I can't wait! You're invited, too!

After Quilt Market is the Houston International Quilt Festival. I won't be going to that, either, but I will have a quilt ready for the Bloggers Quilt Festival Amy is hosting here in Blogland!

All I need to do is sew the binding on my quilt, and it will be ready to show! How about you? Is your quilt ready to show in the Bloggers Quilt Festival? The more quilts the merrier!!!

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2009-10-02T14:17:00.005-05:00

This week for Sew and Tell Friday I was able to finish a cute little banner to add to my Halloween decorations.

Vanessa has the tutorial on her blog. I cut 6 1/2" squares from my Halloween scraps and fused the word "boo" on three of the little triangles.

I think it looks so cute draped across my Hoosier cabinet. It looks as though she has on a necklace.

You can see more Sew and Tell Friday finishes at Amy (Amy Lou Who) and Amy's (Park City Girl) blogs.

While you're at Amy's (Park City Girl), be sure to read all about the Bloggers Quilt Festival starting October 9. I have two fall quilts ready to display, and I can't wait to show you. The more quilts the merrier so be sure to join in on the fun, too!

It's starting to feel like Fall here in Kentucky. I love it!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Today's The Day (And I'm Not Ready)

2009-09-30T19:48:00.009-05:00

Today is the day to show our year of Schnibbles completed project for September and our completed finished projects for the Charming Girls Quilt Club, and I'm not ready.

In a perfect world all I would do is have fun with my family and sew, but it's not that way.

Nope.

It would help if my brain would get back to where it used to be, or that time would slow down. Both would be great.

I went on my retreat last week thinking that I still had two weeks to get my projects finished for the Charming Girls Quilt Club and my Schnibbles project. Boy was I wrong!

It doesn't help that my Schnibbles pattern got lost in the mail and then when I finally got it (last week while I was gone), I lost it, or so I thought. It was in my sewing room right where it was supposed to be, but it was so little I didn't see it!

I should have had my bi-focals on. My brain and my eyes are a little fuzzy. That's not good.

If my world was perfect I would have completed this cute wall hanging for the Charming Girls Quilt Club.

It's a cat in front of a pumpkin. It's supposed to have a moon and stars appliqued above it with the word October on one of the borders. It's a Joined at the Hip month by month pattern. Hopefully I will get it finished by this weekend.

This is what I would have finished for my Schnibbles for a Year project.

Once I found my pattern I decided it would look cute made out of my Halloween scraps. Maybe I'll finish it by this weekend, too.

I'm sure there are lots of other people that finished their projects. You can go to Sherry's blog
to see her sidebar of Schnibble participants. I've clicked on several and each one is different and beautiful. And you can go to the Charming Girls Quilt Club and see who finished their projects.

Congratulations to everyone who completed their projects. I can't wait to see them all!

Amanda

The Sum of Its Parts

2009-09-21T07:21:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday, everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was a busy one. Julia went to Homecoming, Alexis (my grand daughter) spent the weekend with me, and I finished up making all the parts to the Scrappy Hearts quilt that I am learning how to put together this week at the retreat that I am going to.

That's 32 red nine patches for the heart centers, 32 off white tone on tone nine patches for the backgrounds, 64 nine patches for the tops of the hearts, and 14 side triangles. See? I told you it was a million 2 1/2" squares! After I get them squared up, the sum of these parts are deffintely going to equal to a gorgeous quilt!

And, evidently there's more to make once we get to class because the instructions said to bring my extra 2 1/2" squares!

I'm so glad Steve and I went to my favorite quilt shop and bought more red fabrics. Yes, I ran out of reds! You know. I just love my quilt shop. It's 45 minutes away from me, but I love how I can just go in there and find exactly what I need (and probably things I don't need, but I can't live without.)

Speaking of red, have you heard about this?

Jane at Jane's Fabrics and Quilts is hosting this swap. She's wanting 100 people to sign up. As of Friday she only had 77 swappers. So, head on over and join the fun!

I'll be spending the rest of my Monday packing for my trip and hoping I don't forget anything. This coming Thursday is my son's birthday. I'll be gone and he's going to Chicago, so were celebrating tonight.

Have a great day!

Amanda

Starting Something New

2009-09-14T17:40:00.015-05:00

Hi, everyone! I've had problems with my Internet being slow and everything freezing up when I uploaded photos to my blog, so I downloaded the latest version of Adobe Flash Player hoping that it helps.

You wouldn't believe the posts that I have started. I gave up and started writing them on paper. Do you do that? Do you write things down first before you type everything, or do you just fly by the seat of your pants and hope for the best? I can't do that. I have to write everything down. Then I edit, and edit, and edit some more. You'll be glad I do that. Sometimes I write 3 pages full of stuff.

So, here's my post about the new quilt I'm starting (that I have tried to post I don't know how many times).

Although it's fun to finish projects that have been on my UFO ~~shelves~~ for ~~years~~ a while, it's also fun to start something new. Don't you agree?

Next week I'm going on the annual quilting retreat that I go to every year. I know. I know. I go on lots of retreats, but this one is different. I have my choice of either sewing on UFO's or taking a couple of classes. I have plenty of UFO's to finish, but I always like to take classes. Not only do I learn something I may not already know, but I also get to make new friends, and visit with ones that I have made over the past 13 years.

My friend, Terry, is teaching this class.

I don't normally make Valentine quilts in the Fall, but this one is so pretty. At least I'll be ready for Valentines Day!

The entire quilt is made with 2 1/2" squares; a million of them. Well, not really, but it seems that way. At first I was going to use my collection of 2 1/2" scrappy squares, but I decided to use reds. I could strip piece them instead of cutting out a million 2 1/2" squares. So, I gathered up my fabrics and tossed them on the floor to see if they all played well together. Some were too orange, some were too burgundy, and some were too busy. If I wasn't sure, I would leave it in the pile and walk out of the room. I would take a little peek when I would pass by the room. If it screamed at me and stuck it's tongue out, I would take it out and put it away with the rest of the reds that were being bad.

The one on top is sort of screaming at me a little bit. It has light and dark parts, so I used it sparingly.

For the past week I have been sewing, sewing, and sewing. Every time I think I've finished a part of the quilt, I realize I need to make more. It just seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

I have felt like a slave to my sewing machine. All day Sunday this saying kept popping into my head "the sum of its parts...the sum of its parts". I googled "sum of its parts" and the saying is "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts". I didn't read any further on the meaning of this saying. I was just excited that I could relate it to this quilt; every quilt, I suppose.

Speaking of which...

The other class I am taking Miss Rosie's "Come On-A My House".

I've been so busy sewing for the first class I haven't even started cutting for this one! Anyone want to "come on-a my house" and help me cut?

So, if my post had worked last week I would have told you about someone else starting something new. Jodi did a total makeover of her blog (new name and all) and it's fantastic. She posted a project in Moda's Bakeshop, so hopefully you knew about her blog and were able to enter the giveaways. In case you didn't though, she's having another giveaway. You can find out about it here.

Okay. So this post I have finally gotten finished. I've been kicked off 4 times since I have been writing this post, and I've hung in there, determined to get this one posted. I hope it works!

Yay!!! It worked!!!!

Amanda

Sew and Tell Friday

2009-09-04T22:27:00.005-05:00

So, one day Amy and Amy were "talking". Click here and you can see the conversation. And that's how "Sew and Tell Friday's" were born! What a great idea!

Here's what I finished for my Sew and Tell Friday (a few minutes ago!).

It's an appliqued tablerunner designed by Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries. I can't remember how long ago I started it, but I do know the fabric is from Nancy Halvorsen (love her!) of Art to Heart.

September. Apples. Cooler weather. Leaves beginning to change colors. School starting. It's starting to feel like fall!

Be sure to click over to Amy's blog to see the other bloggers who have "Sew and Tell". Maybe it will inspire you to join in on the fun next Friday!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Finished UFO's for August

2009-08-31T06:32:00.014-05:00

It's been since August 7 since I posted anything! I have missed you all, but I've been busy getting some UFO's finished for Kelly's Charming Girls Quilt Club and for Kim's Finish it for August. The deadline is today...August 31.

In my last post I showed you two quilts that I would try to get finished for this month for the Charming Girls Quilt Club, and I told you I was going away for a few days on a quilting retreat at a friend's lake house.

Here I am sewing on my Thimbleberries Harvest Time Quilt with my Bernina 1530 on my Sew Ezi Table with my coffee on one side and diet coke on the other. I am set and ready to sew!

This was my view.

To be honest, Terry was sewing facing me, but, had she not been there, this would have been my view. Every once in a while I had to let out a squeal (and made some people jump). It felt so good to get away and sew with friends.

Sewing from 8:00am until midnight, or later, is something I never get to do at home. If I did I wouldn't have any UFO's, and I would be able to finish projects like these that have been sitting on my UFO shelves for a few years.

Ta da!!!
Harvest Time designed by Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries.

Happy Hour designed by Terry Atkinson

Wait there's more!!!

I also finished this quilt that I was making for someone for her 50th birthday.
Trip Around the World

I had sewn all of it's sections together, and, for some odd reason, put it away in a drawer to finish a few days later. When I went to work on the quilt again one of the rows was missing. I looked everywhere for that row. Then her birthday passed, so I gave up. One day (a few years later) it occurred to me that maybe the row had fallen behind the drawer. So, my son, with his really long arms and fingers, reached in behind the drawer and pulled out the row! Yay!!! The person is long past 50, but maybe if I don't tell her it was for her 50th birthday she'll still enjoy it as a Christmas present. UFO's with a past...I have a lot of them!

Here's another one I finished.

Turning 20 made with Jo Morton fabrics.

It, too, has a past, but I'll spare you the details. It's embarrassing.

I also sewed blocks together for a future UFO finish.

I had all of the little sections sewn; I just needed to sew the sections together. Maybe this will be a UFO project to finish for September. I'll think about it.

Part of being in the Charming Girls Quilt Club is that Kelly tags us around the 15th of the month to share ideas and tips with each other. This month she wanted to know three things:
1. Share your favorite quilting or sewing tip. I try my best to keep my quilting/sewing ready for the next time I can sew. It doesn't always work out that way (all depending on if the kids need me, I run downstairs, and don't go back to the sewing room), but I do try.

2. Share your best tip for managing time for effectively. If I knew all the answers about time management I wouldn't have UFO's, I would blog every day, and my home would look like the pages of Southern Living Magazine. Well, for me #1 and #2 go together. Before I started writing this post I jotted down a few things. My few things ended up being a few pages long. To keep this post from being too long I tried to condense my ideas about this subject, and what I saw was that time management, for me, is always changing all depending on how busy my life is. There have been times I could sew for many hours a day, and there have been times that I didn't touch the sewing machine for months. For me, quilting and sewing are what make me happy inside, so I try to get some sort of sewing/quilting done every few days. Every day would be perfect, but it sometimes doesn't work out that way. Nancy wrote a little booklet called "10, 20, 30 Minutes to Sew". You would be surprised at how much you can get done in little snippets of time. If you follow my tip in #1, then you can sew a couple of seams in 10 minutes, press some blocks in 20 minutes, or square up a stack of half squares in 30 minutes. It doesn't seem like much, but over time you'll be amazed at how much you get finished.

3. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? In the 5th grade I did a report on Switzerland. I have wanted to go there ever since then. The closest I ever came to being anywhere like that (with tons of snow) was when I lived in DuBois, PA in the snow belt, sitting in the Ski Lodge(Swiss Chalet) watching skiers on the ski slopes while I drank hot chocolate (Swiss Miss).

I finished putting the binding on these two quilts.

"Just Can't Cut It" by All Washed Up Quilts

I made pillows for my daughter's couch

and a wreath for her front door.

I know this isn't a quilt, but it is something I have needed to finish. I'm not great at making wreaths, but I thought this one turned out cute. It was supposed to be finished when I made her this for her front porch a year and a half ago.

I was so excited that I got so much done while on my retreat that as soon as I came home I unpacked everything and put it away. Then I started rearranging my sewing room. I'm still working on it so I'll show you as soon as it's finished.

Have a great Monday!

Amanda

Charming Girls Quilt Club

2009-08-07T22:37:00.004-05:00

I know it's been a few weeks since I posted anything. I still can't get the photos from the Knoxville Quilt Show to upload from my new camera, and my trip to Florida was great.

I know I sound like I'm in a hurry, and I guess I am.
See, I joined a club called the Charming Girls' Quilt Club in hopes of making some new blogging friends, and getting some projects finished. You can read about it here. Today is the deadline for posting the projects that I would like to finish for August.

Ever since I came back from Florida, life has been crazy. Just to give you an idea of my crazy week, yesterday at Quilt Guild we were in lock down because a heavily armed gunman was in the parking lot of the church where we meet. See, the night before, a gun shop was robbed and over $30,000 worth of assault weapons and amunition were stolen. During our guild meeting police officers pulled a car over during a routine traffic stop, and one of the guys bolted out of the car and ran into the parking lot of the church where we meet. Beside the parking lot is a huge corn field.

I was in the middle of issuing a challenge to my guild called Finish It Up. I'm really wanting to finish my many UFO's and I thought it would be fun if the ladies in my Guild joined me. We're having a quilt show at the end of June, and now is the time to start finishing projects to display in the show. Just when I was almost finished pepping them up for finishing things up, the Vice President said, "Amanda. I need to interrupt you. There's an emergency." So, I thought someone fell or something. You can't imagine the horror I felt as she stood there and told us about the gunman, all of the police officers surrounding the building, and the attack dogs searching for the guy.

For several hours we were in lockdown. Helicopters were flying over and you could see snipers ready to shoot with their guns. It was an scary experince, but you know all 75 of us did really well. It's too bad it wasn't a workshop day where we would have our sewing machines or handwork. Instead, people visited, shelled peas (yes, shelled peas. I guess someone had a lot of peas to share from their garden and brought them to Guild to share.), and looked at books that people had ordered from our book order lady. It really was nice to visit with everyone.

At one point, though, hunger pains started to set in. Several of the ladies are diabetic or they need food with their medication, so some of the ladies that go to church there raided the cabinets and freezer and found hot dogs, barbeque meat, buns, peanut butter, crakers, chips, and gold fish. They had enough food to feed all 75 of us. It reminded me of when Jesus fed the crowd with the fishes (goldfish crackers) and the loaves (hot dog and hamburger buns)!

We were on lockdown for about 4 hours. The guy was found in the cornfield. He gave himself up. The police were able to talk to him on his cell phone and talk him into coming out. He left the bag with the guns and amunition in the cornfield, though, so hopefully they'll find that soon. I'm just glad no one was hurt.

So, back to the Charming Girls Quilt Club. Today is the day I'm supposed to post the projects that I would like to get finished in August.

This quilt is called Happy Hour by Terry Atkinson.

I won the fabrics from Sharon almost 2 years ago. I started the quilt last fall and never finished it. I have 36 of the blocks made. All I need to do is square those babies up, and sew them into rows. There's no border, so it shouldn't take long to finish this one up and get Terry to quilt it for me.

I have always loved this quilt from Thimbleberries.

I bought the book and fabric for my birthday in 2005. Last year I cut it out and started sewing on it when I was at a quilting retreat. Every thing is organized and ready to be sewn.
I am going on a week long retreat in a week or so, so hopefully I will get these quilts done plus a few more.

If you would like to be a part of a "Finish It In August", Kim at Kim's Big Quilting Adventure is finishing projects and clearing out her patterns with giveaways. You can join in on the fun, too.

I wonder if there's an acronym for catching up on blogging. I have a lot of that to do, too!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

2009-07-27T01:21:00.000-05:00

I feel so bad!!! The photos that I took on my bus trip to the AQS show won't upload to Picassa. Then I thought, well, I'll show them photos of the antique quilt auction that Terry coordinated. They won't upload either. I guess blogger is having difficulty tonight.

So, I'll just answer a few questions that have come up here lately. Most of my questions have had to do with my chocolate spice cake recipe. Several of you have made it and love it. I'm so glad. My mother made that recipe up about 26 years ago. She would be so happy, and amazed, that I have shared that with people all over the world. She passed away 20 years ago, just in case you're wondering, from breast cancer.

Someone asked whether or not they could double the recipe, make two cakes, and freeze one for later. That sounds like a great idea! I have never doubled the recipe because I don't have a bowl large enough and I don't have a large freezer. I always save the rest of the cake mixes and keep them for another cake. I really like this one ladies idea of baking the cake in a long cake pan, poking holes in the top, and pouring the frosting over it. Mmmm. That sounds good!! Thanks for sharing that idea.

I guess since we're here just talking...several of you leave me really nice comments and I can't reply to them because your e-mail setting is set to "no-reply". I'm not sure if you're aware of this. Just know that if you are leaving comments and no one is ever responding to you, it's most likely because your settings need to be changed. I did that, at first, and someone suggested I change it so they could e-mail me. The only problem is, I forgot how I changed it! I'll find out and let you know. Once you change it, you'll love it because that's how bloggers communicate with each other and make friends.

Speaking of friends, my bloggy friend, Kim, wrote a beautiful post about friendships, in real life and in blogland. She had a birthday this past week, so if you read her post about friendships, wish her a happy birthday, too. I'm sure she's still celebrating.

I do wish my camera, Picassa, and blogger were working tonight. I'm leaving tomorrow for a much needed vacation to Florida. I can't wait to walk on the beach and have fun with my family. I'm not taking my sewing machine, which is unusual for me. I am taking some quilting books, magazines, and a few applique patterns to copy onto fusible webbing. That way everything will be drawn and ready for me to fuse when I get back home. It's my way of making sure I don't get bored.

Again, please accept my apologies that it will be a week or so before I can post about the Knoxville AQS quilt show. I know you, my bloggy friends, will understand.

Have a great week!

Amanda

Road Trip

2009-07-21T22:12:00.006-05:00

A bus.

A few of my quilting friends (and 30 more from my quilt guild).

We really need to have our photos taken more often than Christmastime.

A quilt show.

I can't wait to see Tammy Tadd and her girls!!!

It's a good thing.

I'll be back Friday to tell you all about it!

My First and Last Quilt

2009-07-12T16:05:00.010-05:00

Hi! If you are new to my blog, welcome! I'm so glad you came to visit me! My name is Amanda and I have been quilting for 14 years.

In case you didn't know,Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company and Camille Roskelley of Timbleblossoms had this great idea for everyone to show their first and last quilt!

My first quilt was one that I made for my youngest daughter, Julia, when she was born 16 years ago this coming Tuesday. It was a floral print and I took fabric doilies and appliqued them by machine, and then I machine quilted it. You're not going to believe what I did!!! I gave it to Goodwill when I was getting rid of baby stuff. So, my "other" first quilt is this one:

a Quilt in a Day Log Cabin. I made it in 1995 when I lived in PA. It was Superbowl weekend. My son's Kindergarten teacher decided to host a Super Quilt Weekend where she would teach us how to make a quilt in a day! And we did. I learned how to cut out the quilt, chain piece, and I caught the quilting bug in a really big way.

I have made a lot of quilts since that Super Quilt Weekend and, I don't know, it seems that I learn something new with each quilt I make. It's sort of an on going "thing". My best friend, Terry, is a fantastic quilt maker. I have learned so much from her as far as color theory (of relativity), piecing, pressing, and how to loosen up and have fun. I have so much fun sewing with her and the many friends in my sewing group and Quilt Guild.

Here are a few quilts I have made since that Super Quilt Weekend.

This one is on my bed.

It's named Stars and Chains and was in the 2000 winter issue of Quilt magazine. The fabric is Folk Art Wedding II by Robyn Pandolf. I had never done anything in a fabric line before, but when I saw this fabric I ~~spents lots of money~~ fell in love and completely redecorated my bedroom. That's been almost 10 years ago, and I still love it. Judy Laquidara beautifully machine quilted it for me. The little pillows I found at Walmart a couple of years ago.

Here's what the same quilt pattern looks like, but I used fabrics from my overflowing scrap collection.

I love to make seasonal/holiday quilts, too. Here's one I made to hang behind my family room couch in the month of October. It was quilted by Terry.

My last quilt is one I just finished yesterday. Well, the top is done. I still have to quilt it, applique the letters, and sparkle them up a bit with little jewels.

As I said before, Julia will be 16 on Tuesday. This little birthday cake will become a signature quilt for her friends and family to sign. The fabric is Clementine and the pattern is "This Takes the Cake" by Sandy Gervais. (Click on her name. She has a blog now!!!)

Have fun on the parade of quilts! I hope you enjoyed seeing mine. Come back Wednesday where I'll show Julia's birthday quilt all quilted, jazzed up, and signed.

Amanda

He's 50 (part II)

2009-07-09T13:05:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was Steve's 50th birthday. If you missed part I, scroll down to the previous post.

Steve standing by the yard sign announcing his birthday.

I ordered this yard sign so everyone in the neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods could see that it was Steve's birthday. Many neighbors dropped by to wish him well. In return they got a tour of the ~~man cave~~. I look for more of these to pop up in the neighborhood.

Laura, our oldest daughter, took us out to dinner to celebrate Steve's birthday. It was half price Margarita and half price dinners at the local Mexican restaurant and the place was packed with fun ~~drunk~~ people. You'll see what I mean.

First, though is Steve in the birthday sombrero. That word just makes me want to roll my r's.

Mmmm. Fried ice cream. Oooo La La!

The lady behind us saw that Steve was wearing the sombrero so she started singing "Happy Birthday" and made everyone in the restaurant start singing not once, but twice!!

Hmmm. I wonder if today she remembers doing that??? Oh well. It made for a fun night.

Sharing fried ice cream.

Steve with Laura and Wade.

Wonder why Julia, our youngest daughter, isn't in the picture? She's in rainy Panama City, FL on vacation with some friends. As for the grand kids, well, they were with the babysitter. They did, however, call Steve and sing "Happy Birthday" to him. It's so cute how they all sound so well together. We'll have a big celebration next week when we celebrate Julia's 16th birthday!

Now for something quilty...

On Pat Sloan's blog she posted what is currently on her cutting table. She asked for her readers to post in her flickr group what was on their cutting tables.

Here's mine (after a little bit of clearing off and some rearranging).

On the cutting mat is a birthday cake pattern from Sandy Gervais and some Clementine fabric. Since it is Julia's birthday next week I thought I would make her a signature birthday cake quilt for friends and family to sign.

In the orange basket is a bag pattern and Darla fabric I ordered from Jona. The bag will be great for when we go to Florida at the end of the month. Hopefully it won't be rainy and Julia can work on her tan.

In the pink basket are fabrics I am using to make 2 1/2" half square triangles for our Guild's donation quilt for next year. Those have to be made by next week! I better get busy!!!

Thanks for sharing Steve's 50th birthday with us. Here's to 50 more!

Amanda

He's 50 (part 1)

2009-07-08T21:25:00.009-05:00

Today is my husband's 50th birthday! Happy Birthday, Steve!!!!
I've known him since he was 17. It seems like yesterday since we met.

Our daughter, Laura, took us out to dinner to celebrate. I shot lots of pictures, but I left the camera in the car. It's storming really bad outside and I'm not about to go outside to get the camera, so I'll show pictures tomorrow.

Until then, here's a photo of us together at a wedding not too long ago.

Steve and I at a wedding.

We didn't intentionally color coordinate. Sometimes it just happens, and then it's too late to change into something else.

I'm getting Steve a new band saw for his birthday so he can create beautiful woodwork (along with his many other woodworking tools) in his ~~man cave~~ garage.

Here it is, as of today.
Front of garage.
Side view and back of garage. Check out that cute little porch! It's adorable!

Here's what it looked like exactly a month ago:

Isn't it pretty? I am so happy for him. It is a dream come true for us. We've always wanted a barn (I know that sounds strange) and this is the closet we're ever going to come to having one. I keep teasing him that the upstairs will be my quilting studio. He said that if I wanted to I could bring my sewing machine upstairs and sew, especially if I had a big quilt and needed space to spread it out everywhere. He's such a sweetie! I may take him up on that!!!

Tune in tomorrow for pictures of Steve's 50th birthday celebration.

Amanda

Chocolate Spice Cake

2009-07-05T13:08:00.011-05:00

My cake and cookies were a hit yesterday at our July 4th celebration.

I called my neighbors behind me to tell them I had cookies for them and their company. I gave them cookies, and they gave me fresh picked corn.

Yep, I got the better end of the deal.

We had a great time at the fish fry. William and Tiffany's older children were there, as well as her mom, brother (and his family), and my neighbors that live in between Tiffany and me. The food and conversation were great.

Afterwards, Tiffany suggested that us girls take a garden tour at my house.

What??? My house? Oh no!!!

I felt like I had gotten caught with my pants down!!! I have a few weeds, some plants to be divided because they're too big, but it's too late now; they're coming over!!!

Tiffany's mom, Diana, is an avid gardener. She had suggestions as to what I need in my flower bed for those "in between times". I always appreciate suggestions. My tall lilies are no longer in bloom. I had just deadheaded the daisies (but more will come, soon), the sunflower hasn't bloomed yet (but he's super tall), and the black eyed susans are about to burst open. The zinnias are a little slow growing, and the cosmos will be blooming soon. She suggested tall Phlox and Hollyhocks. That's a great idea!!

They were impressed with my vegetable garden inside the picket fence. It is cute, if I do say so myself,

especially with a beautiful grand daughter standing by the gate. I was enjoying the praise, but I had to be honest and give Steve the credit he deserves. He plants, pulls weeds, picks the vegetables, and cooks them. I just water. It's an important job.

Afterwards, the kids did a fireworks display, and everyone went home. Steve and I still heard fireworks, so we jumped in the truck, went down a dirt road, and watched fireworks over the hills. I'm such a country girl at heart.

Here's my Chocolate Spice Cake recipe. My mom came up with it. She was always making up recipes. Normally I would write the recipe down for you on a Mary Englebreit recipe card, but I don't know how to do that in blogland. If someone knows, maybe you can help me?

Amanda's Chocolate Spice Cake

1 box of Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix

Pour one half of the devil's food cake mix into a bowl. Into the bowl, pour one half of the spice cake mix. Save the rest of the cake mixes to bake another cake, later.

Mix according to the instructions on the back of the box for the eggs, water, and oil.

Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Turn cake onto a pretty cake plate.

Cover the cake with the icing.

Icing:

1/2 Cup butter
6 Tbs. coke
2 Tbs cocoa
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 box of powdered sugar
1 tsp,. vanilla

In a medium sized bowl, pour in the powdered sugar.
In a medium saucepan combine the first three ingredients and stir until it starts to boil.
Pour over the powdered sugar and add nuts and vanilla. Stir.
Using a spoon, cover the cake with the frosting.

The frosting will sort of harden and be fudgy. Mmmm. It's good.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!