Happy New Year!

(scroll down to read about my Lil Sis)

May 2009 bring you health, wealth and happiness! I especially wish you many hours of enjoyment with your needle and thread.

I'm very excited about 2009 because I'm making much needed changes in my corner of the world. I've been self employed for 6 years and in 2008 the demands of my time with this business became beyond stressful. I have decided to close my business. I, also have a part time job and plan to continue working two days a week for awhile until I decide what the next chapter in my life will be. This decision was not an easy one for my sweet and supportive hubby and I to make but it's the right decision for us. I'm really looking forward to enjoying a much needed respite. I especially looking forward to many, many hours with my needle and thread. :-)

My Lil Sis :-)

I received the sweetest package from my Lil Sister, Tammy! You may have noticed in comments that Tammy and I leave for each other that we refer to each other as Lil Sis and Big Sis. In fact, I've gotten a couple of e-mails in the past asking whether or not Tammy and I are really sisters. LOL No, we're not sisters in the true sense of the word but if I could pick a little sister it would be Tammy!

Let me share the "Sister" story! Last January I called The Country Loft in California to sign up for the Primitive Four Seasons BOM and I got to speak to Joanne (aka JAM - designer of the patterns). I told her that Tammy had told me about the BOM and she said that Tammy had just been there. So, later in the day I sent Tammy an e-mail and asked her what she was doing at the Country Loft. LOL She responded with "How did you know I was at the Country Loft today?" I told her that she needed to be careful because Big Brother is always watching - LOL - she said she knew that but in her case it was "Big Sister" (Me). And, we became Lil Sis, Tammy and Big Sis, Darlene. I hope that one day I will have an opportunity to travel to Southern California and give my Lil Sis, Tammy a real hug - she doesn't know how much I adore her. :-) Please don't tell her - she'll be very difficult to live with. LOL

So, here's a picture of the treasures and goodies that my Lil Sis, Tammy sent to me. I love everything and will enjoy everything for years to come!

Tammy, thank you so much for the wonderful package.



Thank you for stopping by to visit - please come again because you know I love it when you do!

In Friendship!

The Great Swap of 2008

Last Spring, Carol and I were chatting via e-mail about the sweet quilt Wendy showed on her blog and how much fun it would be to swap 3" 30's rail blocks. We got super excited and we asked Wendy, Judy & Sharon to join us in swap. Kathie was going to swap with us but life got in the way! Everyone was thrilled and enthused and we started swapping immediately. We finished the swap a few months ago and my blocks have been sitting in a basket waiting to be sewn together. The other day I decided that I needed to get this quilt assembled before the new year!

Here's a word problem for you - teehee!!!

When you add five bloggy friends, Carol, Wendy, Judy, Sharon and I

Plus - 414 3" 30's rail blocks ( 1,242 1.5" x 3.5" pieces)

Plus - 374 3" white Kona alternate blocks

Plus - 78 white Kona setting triangles

Plus - 4 white Kona corner pieces

Equals - 76" x 100" adorable quilt filled with great memories!

Ladies, thank you so much for playing along with me - it's a treasured quilt and one with a great story!

This quilt would be adorable made with darker prints for the rail blocks and beige/tan/cream, etc for the alternate blocks and setting triangles (Libby made one and it's great). Whimsical brights for the rail blocks with black for the alternate blocks and setting triangles would be super cute!

Thank you so much for visiting and please come again!

In Friendship!

Hug Quilt #3 & #4

I hope that your Christmas was merry, bright, and jolly!

I was able to finish and deliver Hug Quilts #3 & #4 on Christmas Eve day but this is the first opportunity I've had to post pictures. I need to get #2, #3 & #4 back to complete the bindings and labels.

# 3 - made for my friend who lost her sister this year. Her sister was very fond of dogs so I used a Moda Posh Pooch jelly roll and the Fields of Flowers pattern by Sandy Gervais. It's very blendy but my friend loved it.

Hug Quilt #4 was made for our friend who lost his son this year. I used some Kansas Troubles fat quarters with a pattern called Cake Walk by The Calico Horse. I like it's simplicity and think it looks very masculine. He was very happy to receive this hug from my DH and I.

I'm very excited that I was able to make all four Hugs Quilts for our friends. And, I'm especially excited to say that all four were made entirely from my stash! WooHoo!

I hope that you're enjoying a relaxing week end plying your needle and thread.

Thanks for stopping by and please come again very soon!

In Friendship!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

HUG QUILT #2

I finished piecing and quilting Hug Quilt #2 and we delivered it this evening. This quilt was given to our friends not because they suffered a loss in their lives but because they've been incredible friends to my husband, Ron and I. They are very special friends and we decided that a quilt would show them how much we appreciate their friendship. They were thrilled with this quilt and it was fun to watch her sitting in the chair "hugging" the quilt with a huge smile on her face. No one has ever made a quilt especially for them! I opted not bog myself down with the binding so I'll get all the quilts back next week to attach labels and binding.

This pattern is called Boxed Squares and is on Mary's website. Thank you so much, Mary for sharing this pattern. I like it so much I'm planning to make one for me! :-)

I've challenged myself to make all four comfort/hug quilts from my stash. This quilt was made using a Shangri-La jelly roll and Vienna Nights scraps I had from a quilt I made a couple of years ago.

If you're living in an area that's been hit hard by snow please stay warm and safe. Perfect time to spend time with your needle and thread. :-)

Thank you for stopping by - I do appreciate that you do. Come back soon to see quilts #3 and #4.

In Friendship!

Gifts for you and for me! :-)

I'm finally here with winners of my little "Can we talk" drawing! Thank you for your patience.

Without further ado - here are the winners:

Paula - A Latte Quilts
Teresa - Stitchin Friends
Sweet P - Coffee Time Stitches
Lurline - Lurline's Place
Julia - Little Girl Quilts

Please send an e-mail with your mailing address and I'll pop a little surprise in the mail ASAP!

This week the postman brought packages with surprise gifts for me.

Nan sent the sweet Snowman door hanger and there was a sweet scissor fob, too but I failed to include it in the picture. Duh! Nan remembered that I love Kim Diehl designs and knew I'd love this little fella! She's absolutely right - I love him! Thank you for remembering! :-) Thank you so much, Nan for thinking me during this holiday season! You've touched my heart - you're a true friend.


And, then there was this BIG box from Carol. The tape was removed and inside I found this.....

Wrapped in the 'cute beyond words' tissue was this........

And then I removed the bow and found this...................

wait for it

here it comes

LOL

I was stunned, surprised, speechless (that doesn't happen very often - LOL) and had tears in my eyes! I will love and enjoy this beauty for years to come. Carol, thank you so much for this gift from your heart - how do I ever thank you? I appreciate your friendship - you, too are a true friend.

I had a rough week - demands made on my time that I just wasn't willing to give. How many times do I have to say "I'm on vacation". It's been very stressful so receiving these gifts from two lovely ladies was exactly what the doctor ordered. :-)

I'm diligently working on my comfort/hug quilts for my friends. My sewing machine and I have become "One" - LOL!!! Quilt #2 and Quilt #3 are pieced and will be quilted and bound immediately. Have to make a decision on Quilt #4 but I'm sure I'll think of something. Patti asked me how I could possibly give four quilts made in time for Christmas - focus and determination will help me. :-)

Thank you so much for popping in to visit - please come again!

In Friendship!

Whew!

The past couple of weeks have been super busy in my little corner of the world. Some days have gone by in a complete blur - Sigh! My 'work life' is a bit different - I am self employed and I work a parttime job, too. (and on occasion there's been a third job, too). I've been working diligently to get all my work done and out the door so I could take some much needed time off - I really do need some Darlene-Time! Call it a vacation, a staycation, a break, Darlene-Time, etc - it doesn't matter - this is a much needed break.

Wow, thank you so much for all your wonderful comments on my previous post - it's been so much fun to read everyone's thoughts, ideas, solutions, etc. I promised a give away and if you left a comment I'd toss your name in a hat/basket/jar - I'll be back tomorrow with a list of winners! Yes, more than one but I need to see how many prizes I have. LOL

I'm in the midst of making four comfort/hug quilts for four friends who suffered losses of family members this year. I decided that since this was going to be their first Christmas without their loved one and the hugs of their loved one then a quilt with hugs sewn in would be a nice thing to do! I finished one on Saturday for a couple who lost their son this year. We delivered the quilt and explained why I made the quilt for them and they were a little shocked but very excited by our gesture.

It's a pattern called Patchwork Tiles for Moda University and I used fat quarters from Aunt Purdy's Parlor by Kansas Troubles. I was trying to achieve a masculine look but keep it a touch feminine, as well.

Pieces Parts for the second and third quilts. Bear in mind that I want to have all four completed by Christmas Day
I'll be back sometime tomorrow with contest winners! Thank you so much for visiting - do come again a real soon.




In Friendship,
Darlene

Can we talk?

When I started quilting almost 10 years ago the major fabric companies had already started making fabrics in coordinating prints and everyone I knew was purchasing the coordinating prints like wildfire! I would walk into a local quilt store and purchase a fat quarter bundle (aka tower), yardage for borders, binding and backing, take it all home and make a stunning quilt. Everything matched perfectly. Made me a happy girl, after all, I didn't have to do much thinking or planning. I've never been comfortable walking into a quilt store and selecting a variety of fabric from the color walls to make a quilt. Yes, I've done it but it's very difficult for me - however I do find it easy to do it for others. Go figure! LOL

It started with the fat quarter bundles and then charm packs, followed by Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes - whew! They are very difficult to resist however I have found them easier to resist in recent months because in my mind's eye they are all starting to look alike. Please, this is just my humble opinion and I don't want to press it on you - we're just talking! :-)

So many of you have such a talent for selecting a variety of prints and making stunning quilts. You buy fabric because you like the color and/or print and then take it home and coordinate it with others in your stash! I can't do that! No, really I can't. Oh, I've purchased fabrics in the quilt store because I liked them but seldom do they get used - the drawers and shelves are stuffed with these fabrics - Sigh!

Take a look at the fabrics in the next picture - they are going to go in the same quilt and my quilt will look beautiful. Kathie shared these from her stash with me so I can add them to my Itty Bitty Basket quilt - see I'm going to needs hundreds of Itty Bitty Baskets - LOL I could never, in a million years, go out and purchase these different prints and use them in a quilt. I'll use them because Kathie makes beautiful quilts and I trust her judgement. And, how do I repay her for her generosity? I'll think of something. :-)

So, what's my point in all of this? Oh, I don't know - guess I'm just thinking out loud and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

If you leave me your thought and/or opinion I'll toss your name in a bowl/hat/basket, etc and have a drawing for a charm pack or two. :-) I'd love to share with you.

Thanks for visiting!

In Friendship!

JAM or
Prim Style times Two

I do enjoy the primitive style stitchery patterns by JoAnn Mullaly - available at The Country Loft. I'd love to own every stitchery pattern that she has designed and my dream is to visit The Country Loft and hopefully meet her. Can you imagine the serious shopping I could do. Oh my! Could happen - dreams do come true! :-)

I spent a few days doing the stitchery on "Here Comes Santa" and I'll do finishing touches this week. Need to applique three stars overlapping the open area and borders and those shouldn't take long. Some simple quilting, binding and done.


And, I've finished "The Four Seasons" stitchery quilt that I've had the pleasure of enjoying this year! Yes, another JoAnn Mullaly pattern. I've received and enjoyed lots of block of the month patterns but this one had me captivated from the start. I was diligent with this project. My envelope would arrive every month from The Country Loft, I'd immediately get the stitchery done and assemble the block and then wait patiently to repeat the following month. :-)

I hope that you and yours had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday week end. My little family and I did. I can hardly believe that November is now over, soon Christmas will be here and gone and the year will come to an end, too. Where does the time go?


Thank you so much for stopping by to visit with me and my little blog. I appreciate it more than I can ever express via the written word.


In Friendship!

Shangri-La - Done!

On Wednesday I got the center of the quilt completed and then this afternoon I added the borders. This pattern is called "Split Decision" and by The Teacher's Pet. The Shangri-La jelly roll and border fabrics were deep on a shelf in my stash closet taking up space! LOL It's nice to have them out. I think I'm going to add this one to my quilting challenge pile.

I hope that you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and if you are a 'Black Friday' shopper I hope you found lots of great bargains.

Thanks for stopping by - come again soon!

In Friendship!

Enjoy your day!

In Friendship!

Shangri-La

I'm in Shangri-La today! Big Sigh! It's a cloudy/rainy day - my kind of sewing weather. WooHoo! I truly crave this kind of weather - crazy I know but bear in mind that it seldom occurs.

I've been attempting to find a new project and all I seem to do is SIGH!!! LOL Well, I pulled my box of patterns, selected one, found the jelly roll I wanted and started cutting. Everything is cut and ready to sew.

Lady, start your engine - I'm off - vvvvvrrrrrooooom!

I'll be back later to show you what I've accomplished. :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

In Friendship!

Number 1

I quilted this one first because it's the oldest in the pile.

Obviously this is a Yellow Brick Road pattern and I used Folk Art Christmas III by Moda - designed by Robyn Pandolph. Yes, a long time ago!

When the Yellow Brick Road pattern was first released by Atkinson Designs everyone I knew was making one, two or a bunch. I have a friend who made one with every new bunch of fat quarters she purchased. There were so many - sigh! LOL One day she had a large bundle of fat quarters and she told me that she was going to make a king size quilt - I looked at her and told her that wasn't going to be a Yellow Brick Road, it was going to be a Yellow Brick Highway. LOL I made up my mind that I was not going to make one and I was quite stubborn about it. Another friend and I used to make the same quilts - yes identical and one day we were out shopping and saw that someone had a quilt made with this very line of fabric. Oh, it looked so pretty all folded up neat and tidy so my friend asked her to show us - it was the Yellow Brick Road. So, my friend looked at me and said "that's what we should make with our bundles of fabric" - I looked at her, rolled my eyes and said, "No, I told you I'm not making a Yellow Brick Road quilt, but you can feel free to do it". Well, there was no way she was going to make one unless I did because she feared I'd do something she'd like better. LOL Anyway, she begged and begged and then said "if you make this one with me, I'll buy you lunch". LOL - I finally relented and said, "OK, but just one". If you read my blog then you know that there have been other Yellow Brick Road quilts but this one was the first. As I was working with this quilt the past couple of days I couldn't help but smile and occasionally snicker as I remembered how this quilt came to be. :-) I really excited that it's finally quilted and look forward to enjoying it this holiday season.

How many Yellow Brick Road quilts have you made? :-)

Now, I need to decide which flimsy to quilt next. HMMMM!

Thank you for letting me share my Yellow Brick Road story! I appreciate that you stop by - please come again soon!

In Friendship!

Quilting Challenge!

I've decided, like so many others, to challenge myself to quilt some of the "flimsies" that are lingering in the pile. I haven't quilted anything since Peg's July Challenge so this my own Nov/Dec challenge. There are five quilt tops in the picture and only one is an oldie. Wish me luck, please! :-)

He's right! Who? My sweet and incredibly supportive husband. Why? Well, last week we were chatting about my quilting and such and he made a very valid statement that hit me right between the eyes. He said, "It's been a long while since you've worked on something from start to finish and that's not like you". OMG, he's absolutely right - I haven't done much piecing in several months. So, I've been thinking about a new pieced project and hope to get started this week. Stay tuned!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit - come again soon!

In Friendship!

Just In Case!

When I work on a block of the month project I have a tendency to keep all the scraps from each block in a handy zip lock bag - just in case!

I was really glad Thursday evening when I was working on my Designer Mystery Block #6, designed by The Pattern Basket for The Fat Quarter Shop. I made a major boo-boo - see my flying geese unit in my picture - it's definitely wrong! This is the first block that has used the darker background fabric so I didn't have any scraps but I needed a 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangle. Even in the scraps I had left from this block I didn't have a piece big enough. I didn't panic I just sewed two pieces together and "made" a larger piece of fabric then cut my required rectangle - I cut new pieces of the green and brown florals and completed my flying geese unit. WooHoo! You have too look really close at my block to spot my 'band aid'. And, I do plan to save the incorrect flying geese unit - just in case! :-)

Thank you for letting me share - do you do anything like this?

And, thank you for all the compliments on my Itty Bitty Baskets - they really are a lot of fun and now I have a plethora of finishing ideas. I have a squillion baskets to make so it'll be awhile before this project is completed. :-)

I appreciate your visits - ya'll come back!

In Friendship!

Itty Bitty Baskets ;-)

These itty bitty baskets (4" x 4") have been keeping me busy while watching TV in the evenings! This is one of those projects that's being planned as I go along. No duplicate baskets - all different fabrics. I have no idea how I will set them. Any thoughts??? I've considered narrow sashing and cornerstones or an alternate block but for now I'll just keep making baskets till I'm tired of making baskets! LOL

Thanks for stopping by - ya'll come back!

In Friendship!

Oh Me, Oh My!

I'm so ashamed of myself - if this post mentions "you" (and you know who "you" are), please accept my sincerest apology!

In recent weeks (OK, months) I've received some wonderful gifts that I have failed to acknowledge - yes I'm hanging my head in shame! :-(

The following is a picture of all the treasures I found in a birthday box from Sharon. Wait, the small zippered tote was a giftee for a swap we did with three others (Wendy, Judy & Carol). The stitchery pattern that you obviously cannot see (my camera skills leave alot to be desired) is called "Rabbits Haven" by Cherished Memories. It's darling and you'll see it better when I start stitching. :-) And, there was another surprise that arrived from Sharon but I couldn't find it to include in the picture. What? The "Square Dance" book - we were chatting via e-mail about the pattern and she ordered it and had it sent to me. I was stunned and shocked when that arrived.
So, Sharon, thank you so much for all my goodies - I appreciate your thoughtfulness!
These goodies arrived from Nan! She went on vacation and while visiting the Hershey Chocolate Factory she nabbed the chocolate candle - YUMMY! And, the adorable scissor fob. I had to go out and buy a new pair of scissors just for the fob. LOL! You should see my collection of scissors - I love scissors - yes, I do! Nan, thank you so much for thinking of me while you were traveling hither and yon - you're sweet!

And, last but not least! Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's fame has started a blog La Vie En Rosie (don't you just love that title - lol) and she recently posted a giveaway. Well, imagine my surprise when everyone that left a comment won - yes, we all won! She sent a kit for her Schnibbles pattern "X-Rated", a project bag and a ruler (the red fat quarter is just to show the ruler). BTW, have I mentioned that Carrie and I have been friends for a very long time - I knew her before she became famous. :-)

I hope that these generous ladies will forgive my HUGE Faux Pas! However, please know that I love every little treasure that comes my way!

Thanks for stopping by! Come again soon!

In Friendship!

Time to Thread my Needle :-)

I've been having so much fun! Why? I've been prepping more blocks to applique. WooHoo!!!!!!!



Don't you love my adorable party dresses? These are from Nanette's pattern called "All Dressed Up". You, too, can have this wonderful pattern by just visiting Nanette's blog.

Just need to decide on a background fabric and I'll be on my way. :-)






And another tulip block :-)


I need to add a bird and a couple of hearts. Some of you may recognize my tulips. It's a pattern that I've owned since before I started doing any kind of applique because I fell in love with it.

This pattern is called " Tulip Farm". It was designed by Blackbird Designs and released in 2001.


Thank you so much for telling me your preferred applique method. I hope you'll visit again.

In Friendship!

"A" is for Applique

Yesterday afternoon while tracing and prepping these cute baskets I was thinking.

What's your preferred method for prepping your applique projects?

Do you applique
by hand
by machine
or both (and which is your favorite method)

Thank you for stopping by - ya'll come back!

In Friendship!

All Thumbs :-)

Thank you so much for leaving all your wonderful comments, full of compliments, thoughts and ideas. I was overwhelmed! :-)

I haven't exactly decided how I'm going to proceed with plans to finish those projects but something will happen. I like Carrie's idea to do a different project every week - rotate them weekly. Thinking and making plans!

In the meantime I finally managed to prep a new project. Eileen thought it was a tulip - yep! Good eye, Eileen. Oh my goodness my applique prepping skills are very, very rusty. I was all thumbs but I persevered. It's a little "wonky" (that's for you Nanette -LOL) but it'll do. Shouldn't take too long to stitch it down. :-)

I appreciate that you stop by to visit - ya'll come back!

In Friendship!