I had a request to share the stitching path I used on the Anita Shackelford feather stencil , I used in my last customer quilt. I tried to just draw it out on paper, but that wasn’t making much sense. My son helped me make a little video tutorial. After we were finished, he told me he should have been standing on the other side of me…oh well. I hope you can get the gist of it ok. Also, I would like to state that this may not even be the BEST way to stitch it out. It is simply the way I figured out to stitch it that seemed to work best for me. Maybe next time I actually stitch it out on a quilt, I can get my son or husband to video that. That would be more fun, wouldn’t it?
Author: Wild Rose Quilter
I’m a simple woman…at least that what my DH (Dear Husband) used to say about me…I was a wife, I am now a widow, mother, step-mother & step-grandmother, quilter, and have a full time job in criminal justice. I lost my DH on May 22nd, 2011. I live in a small town in Texas. I love piecing quilts, I love quilting quilts. I have a serious addiction to fabric. I’ve been quilting since 1998, and purchased my first longarm, a Gammill Premier, in 2004. I upgraded to an A-1 Elite, named Corky, in March, 2007. I am in the process of rebuilding my life after losing my spouse. All photos and content in this blog are my own, and I request that you not download, copy or otherwise use anything here without my permission. I hope you enjoy visiting my blog and would love to hear your comments. Thanks for stopping by!
Stash Busting BUSTED Report
Right here at the end, when I was doing so well…I busted it big. And I’m not a bit sorry. As I stated in a previous post, the fabric store, that my Mom & I like to visit together, is going out of business. Everything was 50% off. I love that fabric store and it was my last ever shopping trip there. I bought big, but I think I made wise choices. Things that will be very useful when shopping the stash.
Here is the sack. It reminded me of Santa’s.
My shopping spoils.
Mmmmm….68 yards of yummy fabric goodness. Love it!
My final totals for 2008:
- Incoming Yardage to date: 152 yds.
- Outgoing Yardage to date: 120 yds.
- Total Stash Busted to date: <32> yds.
Today I have been in a piecing frenzy, but I will save those pictures for later this week. Maybe my Wednesday WIP post. My new header will give you a tiny sneak peek. I’ve been working on three projects at one time! 2009 may be the year of project-itis. I have two days of vacation left. I am enjoying it so, so very much. I wish it didn’t have to end.
Lots of Stitching Going On
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very nice, laid back day around here. It was just my husband, son and me. Then yesterday, we went to Pampa to spend the day after Christmas with my parents. We had a wonderful day with them. We waited til the day after because the fabric store there is having a going out of business sale, and it was open on Friday. I am sad it is closing. Mom & I really enjoyed our little outings there together. So of course, we had to have one last hoorah there 🙂 There will be more about that in my Sunday stash report…hehehehe.
Today was a great day, as well. I finished up the quilting on my customer quilt, and I am pleased with it. I hope she will be. I sure had fun working on it.
After I finished this, I felt like just doing some piecing. Piecing for the sheer fun of watching the pretty blocks come together. Remember these fabrics I purchased earlier this year?
I couldn’t stand just looking at it any longer. I had to start cutting it up and sewing it back together.
These blocks are FUN to sew together. I also washed some white fabric and some 30’s repros that I want to use in another quilt. And I’ve done some sewing on the leaders/enders scrap quilt I’m making for my Mom. I’ll put pics of that in tomorrow’s post.
I am truly grateful for days like this. They are like a little gift. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and doing something you love!
To Answer Terri’s Question…
In the post preceding this one, Terri asked what I was going to quilt in the alternate blocks. Now that I have a row of them done, I will show you.
The stencil design is by Anita Shackelford, and it looks so beautiful stitched out. I have wanted to do this one for awhile, but honestly, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. It’s actually quite fun to do. Carla Barrett inspired me to purchase it after she posted a couple of quilts that she used it in, on her blog. One was this beautiful log cabin. The other was a stunning Carolina Lilly quilt, which you can find if you click her gallery tab.
Wow, two posts in one day. I’m on a roll…
Why Am I Up So Early?
It’s 5:30 and I’ve already got a loaf of cranberry nut bread in the oven. Did I mean to be up this early? No way! 3:30 this morning and I was wide awake. At 4:45 I finally just gave in and got up. I’m sure it will catch up with me later today.
The Red Velvet Whoopie Pies were a hit. Mine aren’t near as pretty as the ones in the magazine, but they taste good. I didn’t follow the recipe for the filling, though. The recipe calls for a filling made from cream cheese, marshmallow creme and butter. I was getting ready to make it and my son stopped me and requested that I use my butter cream frosting. Since I’ve never had them before, I can’t say which way is better, but my butter cream frosting sure is yummy in there.
They look pretty sitting on the counter next to my new mixer, as they are almost the same color red. I chose the cinnamon color mixer, which is a deeper color than the bright red. The recipe for the whoopie pies can be found in the December Better Homes & Gardens issue, or the BHG recipe site, by doing a search for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. You will have to register at the site to view the recipes, but it’s free.
I also made a batch of beef jerky yesterday. It’s my second try in my new dehydrator. I tried once using the oven, and I ruined all my jerky meat. This batch came out really good, so I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. We like it hot. Can you see those red pepper flakes?
Since it is Wednesday, I will throw in some more pics of the WIP that is on the machine, and a pic of the memorial t-shirt quilt I have started.
Oh yum! The cranberry nut bread just got done…can you smell it? 🙂 My house never smells like this at this time of day…lol. This will throw my little family for a loop! Me…cooking before coffee…how in the world did that happen?
They really won’t care, though, since it doesn’t involve bacon, eggs, toast or pancakes. Those items are a supper dish around here. I tell them if they want them for breakfast, there’s a perfectly good restaurant in town that serves them in the morning.
Merry Christmas Eve! I hope Santa is good to you!
Have I Mentioned I love VACATION!?
Late yesterday afternoon I made Turtle Pumpkin Pie.
Oh yes, it is good.
Today, I got up about the time I would normally be arriving at work. Drank some coffee, actually took a shower and dressed. Then I loaded a customer quilt and got started. The customer does not like this top. I hope she likes the quilt when I get finished with it. I was going to use a template to do all the CC (continuous curve). But after the first block, my attitude regarding using a template for all that CC was “screw that!”, and went back to freehanding it all. Sure it’s not perfect…but I think it looks pretty good. Goes lots faster, too!
I think the back is going to look really cool.
After working on this for 4 hours, I decided it was time to go back to holiday baking. I am trying to make Red Velvet Whoopie pies for my son. I have no idea if these will be good or not. Never made them before, but he loves Red Velvet cake. I’ll let ya know how they turn out in a later post.
Which brings me to a newsflash I have not yet shared with you! Santa came early at my house. He brought me this mixer!
And speaking of my son, this is the picture from the Christmas cards his dad & stepmom did this year. Derek and his little sister…aren’t they cute?
Well, if you are still reading at this point, I hope you are having a great week!
Sunday Reporting, December 21, 2008
I have had a pretty productive weekend. I’ll start with my stash totals. I busted about 5.5 yds this week, between 2 projects. I started on the t-shirt memorial quilt for the Martinez family. This is the 2nd of the two they commissioned. The remaining 3.5 was busted making rice bags.
- Incoming Yardage to date: 84
- Outgoing Yardage to date: 120 yds.
- Total Stash Busted to date: 46 yds.
I’ve meant to make rice bags for a long time, and today Carla gave me just the motivation I needed to get it done. She had this super easy tutorial posted. I pulled some flannel from my stash, had DH pick me up some rice at the store, and I got busy. I made eight of these today. I did make one change, in that I decided to make little bags that can be removed for washing, to go over the actual rice bag. I made eight of these today. Thanks for getting me going, Carla!
The next pic will serve as a warning to all the other klutzes out there. Do not hold the bag up to ask your husband if he thinks you have enough rice in it, before the end is sewn shut, if you are a klutz. Otherwise, the following will most likely occur.
This took longer to clean up than it took to make a bag…lol. I needed to vacuum up dog hair anyway. 🙂
Yesterday, I finished the quilting on Anita’s quilt. I still have to trim threads, so just ignore those.
I’m not sure why the one snail block looks like it has a pleat or pucker in it, but it doesn’t. I took another pic just to prove it. 🙂
I also got some pretzels dipped today, for holiday snacking. Tomorrow, I hope to do some more baking, and some more quilting. I love vacation!!
Christmas Blessings
I wanted to share some blessings I have received this week. First is this cute little tower of notepads, given to me by my dear friend, Betty.
It was so pretty, I hated to take it apart and start using it…but I did!
Next is this beautiful Christmas arrangement from another friend, Ramona. The flowers and greenery are real.
I am really enjoying it this Christmas season.
Next up is a real cutie! We did a “Dirty Santa” ornament exchange at our guild party. The first ornament I opened was this little reindeer. I loved it. Of course, it got stolen away from me, and by the time my next ornament was stolen, he was already out of play, so I couldn’t steal him back. I ended up with a beautiful Jim Shore ornament, but I still did covet that little reindeer ornament.
The lady that made him works out at our hospital, in the office. I dropped by there yesterday, to pay what was left on my MRI bill, and she was there and said “I have something for you. It’s in my car. I ‘ll be right back.” And she came back with this.
What a complete surprise! It made me get all teary eyed. I love giving surprises, but doesn’t it make you all warm & fuzzy when someone thinks of you, too? Especially something so unexpected. Edited to add: The pattern for these is Jingle Bell Jollies, by Twice as Nice Designs.
I started some much needed vacation time yesterday. I hope to get caught up around this house, and get caught up on some quilt work. I’ve gotten started on the 2nd of the memorial quilts for the Martinez family, and I’m almost finished quilting my friend Anita’s quilt.
Right now, I better go eat the buffalo wings I made for lunch, before they get cold! Enjoy your Saturday!
Stash Report
Nothing in and nothing out this week. That’s boring, isn’t it? I had hoped to bust a full 50 yds. before the year is over, but I don’t think I’m going to get there. That’ ok, though. My plan for next year is to just keep plugging along, making forward progress. I don’t think I want a set number I am aiming to reach. That just puts added pressure on me, and makes me feel like I failed, if I don’t reach it.
I took some pictures of the current state of my stash. The fleece stack has shrunk from what it was, and I now have room to store some of my thread on that little fabric shelf. Before, that was full of fabric. Also, there is some space on the one bolt slot. Those were packed in tight. The bottom area definately needs some attention…lol.
Last year, I posted pics of my stash, when I first started this stash-busting venture with Judy. I really can’t say you can tell a lot of difference yet. Maybe by this time next year, I will have more space on my shelf for thread. I hope so. I also hope someone straightens up those bottom shelves, and the floor. 🙂
WordPress Photo Posting Change
I mentioned this in my last post, but I wanted to give it a post of it’s own, so it doesn’t get overlooked. When the last WordPress upgrade went into effect, it caused a change in the photo posting process. If you have noticed that your pictures are not “clickable” now, after you post them, allowing the reader to click on it and view it larger and in more detail, it’s a really simple fix, and you only have to do it one time. These are the instructions I got from WordPress support. When you are uploading an image into your post:
Make sure to click the File URL or Post URL button before you click the Insert into Post button. Once you’ve done this, your choice will be remembered for next time.
I miss being able to click the pictures on the quilting blogs I read, to see the quilting detail. I hope this help get the word spread on how to fix it. Seems like WordPress could just turn that back on to where it does it automatically like it did before.
And, just to dress this post up a bit, I thought I’d share some pics of my Christmas tree. I splurged a bit this year, by going to the local flower shop and asking the owner to help me put a “topper” together. Next year I hope to be able to pick up some items to “fill in” some spaces on the rest of the tree.
This is the tatted wreath Joanna gave me. It looks so pretty on the tree.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Ramblings From Randi, The Wild Rose Quilter 