Maybe I Need an Intervention...

My husband and I collect quite a few things... antique clocks, pottery, postcards, thimbles, majolica... to name a few.  It's something we have enjoyed since before we were married.  

 I also happen to love pincushions.  I never really thought of this as a obsession collection because I use them everyday.  As quilters, we know that stitching involves a lot of pins and needles.  And we also know that we need to have a receptacle for these items at our fingertips at all times.  So have pincushions in several locations throughout my studio and also other places throughout the house. 

It wasn't until I gathered them together for this post that I thought.. well maybe I have the teensy tiniest obsession....

Most of my pincushions I have made myself.  Here are the wool ones.  The strawberry on the lower right is one of my favorites and sits next to my sewing machine. 

Some have been given to me by friends.  Love the shoe fabric in the one on the left.  The one on the right was given to me by a girlfriend who went to England.  It is designed after an antique cushion from Cornwall and has a beautiful brocade fabric covering it. 

These two wonky patterns use bright modern fabrics.  The long narrow one on the right is great for small applique pins. (See, I really can justify having so many pincushions!)

Some are made with reproduction fabrics and vintage lace.  I hand quilted the mini hexagon cushion, it seemed appropriate.  The little courthouse steps cushion is great to tuck into a travel stitching bag since it is so small. 

This little chicken pincushion was made from batiks.  Her little tail has seen better days!

I even have a small collection of antique pin cushions.  That little red dog pin cushion was my maternal grandmother's.  She was an amazing seamstress, but not a quilter. 

So after seeing a beautiful dresden plate pincushion on Instagram made by Hilda at Every Stitch...well what do you think happened? 

By the way, Hilda is a phenomenal quilter from Australia.  You really should stop by her blog, her work is amazing. 

And when I couldn't decide on what color to make my dresden plate pincushion... I made a red one too...

Okay maybe an intervention is needed...

I will be slow stitching today on this sweet dresden plate which will eventually become another pin cushion... what can I say?  Send in the intervention team. 

So what do you collect?

If you would also like to make this little beauty you can find a tutorial over at Sunny Day Supply blog. 

Happy Stitching!

Deb

How Can it Be April Already?

I am not sure where the rest of March went since my last post... Eek!  A lot has been going on...  I guess I need to give you an update!  Work has been busy.. .but I suppose no one wants to hear about that! LOL

Let me start off with my March finish for the APQ UFO Challenge 2016 and the OMG (One Monthly Goal) link up.  I was able to get my Audrey's Flowers quilt totally pieced together.  Ta-Da!!!

I really struggled on what fabric to use for the setting triangles and the border.  I had originally purchased this fabric from one of my LQSs.  The ladies there were very helpful.  I liked it, but something about it bothered me.  I finally realized that the tan fabric looked too formal for my style of flowers and the border was too 'solid'.

I finally decided on these two fabrics... pulled from my stash.  The tan is much more primitive, like my flowers and the border has that same tan in the small flower.  Done!  This choice felt so much better!

I also never shared the awesome time or all the wonderful quilts that Dawn and I saw at the AQS show in Lancaster two week ago... where does the time go?

Or some of the great fabrics I picked up for the vendors there!
The show was great and it is always a treat to connect with quilting buddy!

It looks like Dawn is already looking forward to next year's show - I know I am!

Another finish for March!  I finished the wool Colorful Daisies candle mat just in time for Easter!

I totally forgot that the linkup for the OMG challenge closes BEFORE the end of the month.. so I need to get better at that!  My project for April is Stars in a Time Warp.  I am eager to get these blocks sewn together!

Happy April!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I have to honor my Irish heritage by wearing green today and by wishing all of you a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 I made some Irish Soda bread last night.  One for the office and one for home.  Can't wait to cut into these!  I have a wonderful recipe made with lots of butter and buttermilk so it isn't dry.

 Also, I have been working on the Colorful Daisies candle mat that I picked up the pattern for at the quilt show last week.  The green in this picture is a little off.  It is more like the green below - bright and cheery!

Very colorful daisies (thus the name - lol) and really puts me in the mood for Spring!

Another pincushion?!  Yes, they are my weakness and you can never have too many pincushions in my book!  I made this one last week.  I saw something similar online somewhere, but unfortunately I can't remember if it was on a blog, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.  Sorry,  I would like to give credit if it was yours.

Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day!  Erin Go Bragh!

...and Happy Stitching!

Deb



NJ Quilt Fest and Update

I have been away from blogland for a little over a week.  I have tried to keep up with some of your posts at least.. but I  haven't always been successful.  It's been a busy week here will all three cats sick with some sort of virus the vet can't identify... but has kept us busy running the kitty infirmary and trips to the vet.  Hopefully we are on the recovery end of this journey, although Gracie seems to be the hardest hit and still is not eating and drinking like she should. 

In the meantime, I have been working on my red and white Oak & Reel quilt.  I decided to add birds to the borders and also the year.  Jury is still out on whether I will add my initials.

Last weekend my husband offered to take me to the The Quilt and Sewing Fest of NJ, about an hour from our house.  He is such a great husband!  Here are a couple of things that I picked up there.  Love this Colorful Daisies pattern for a wool candle mat.  Also got that hand dyed bright green wool for the background.  I also found a cute airplane fabric for a baby quilt that I want to make for a girlfriend at work who is expecting a boy in June.  

So grab a cup of tea and I will share some of the awesome quilts I saw at the show.  These were from an exhibit of the top winners at the recent Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

Beautiful quilt, Ode to Spring, by Margaret Solomon Gunn

This is made of silk.  Amazing, no?

Close up of dragonfly and incredible quilting.

Elizabeth's Garden - A Tale of a Thousand Threads by Elizabeth Frolet

This quilt was truly amazing and the pictures don't do it justice!

A few of my favorite blocks, although it was so hard to choose.  Look at the details on this quilt.. the embroidery of threads, needles, etc. was amazing.

No wonder it won two ribbons at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. You really have to see it in person.

Quintal Vases by Becky Brown of Montpelier, VA

Her applique was amazing and I really liked those pieced stems.

This won for Best Hand Workmanship - Traditional

Moonflower by Molly Hamilton-McNally. Another first place winner for Innovation.

Another beautiful quilt by Margaret Solomon Gunn.  Gorgeous work!

Silk Road Sampler by Melissa Sobotka from Richardson, TX

I think this was my absolute favorite!  Yes, this is a quilt.  Even my husband was blown away by this one.

It is all raw edge applique.  The colors and imagery are amazing.

This was Best of Show at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.  Well deserved. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing these amazing quilts.  There was also many, many beautiful quilts in show that I was not able to show you.  So many talented quilters! 

Next week will be the AQS show in Lancaster, PA.  I have not made it to this show in a couple of years.  I am so looking forward to this one!

Happy Stitching!

Deb 

Update on Some Recent Applique

Finding time lately to quilt has been a challenge.. and finding time to blog about it has been even more of a challenge.  I guess it is just that time of year.  We have had some family visits, weekends away, and time spent getting our beach condo ready for the rental season.  The condo is now ready for our first guests which arrived yesterday, so now we can relax a bit.  This time of year, with the warmer weather upon us,  is a time to slow down, get out of my studio, and get back to some slow stitching. 

Do you remember this?  If you don't, you shouldn't feel bad because I am not even sure I ever posted the start of this block.  I can't find any reference to it, but I am guessing it was close to a year ago that I started this block from the A Bountiful Life quilt.  Where does the time go???

I finally picked it up again a few weeks ago.  I think I know what was stopping me...  those darn bird feet!  I love all the birds in this quilt, but those feet sure are challenging!

 Four feet... I just needed to get them done so I could move on with this block.  I label the freezer paper patterns so I remember where they belong on the block.

Once I got them done, I could add the Red Winged Blackbirds to the block. Will anyone notice I changed the fabric for the bird feet?  I knew that a batik would fray a lot less than a regular cotton fabric.  And it was easier... but still challenging.  I also changed the beaks, making them closed rather than the open beaks in the pattern.  Much easier!

After a dip in the spa, my block was clean and ready to be pressed. Oh it felt so good to get this one finally done!! 

I wanted to keep this momentum going and moved right on to the next block, The Peacock.  I always start with the stems and baste down the leaves.  You can see the blue marking pen I use to mark the pattern on my fabric.  There is a lot going on in these blocks and it is easy to not have everything fit together. 

Here are some of the fabrics I have chosen from my stash for the peacock and the roses.

And, of course, I will have more bird feet to deal with.  I need to change them a bit to make them easier to applique.. besides they look a little strange to me. :-)

Also completed awhile ago is this block from My Enchanted Garden.  Funny that I am working on both of these quilts and they are both based on the Bird of Paradise quilt. 

Love the wool and cotton combination.

And the addition of the beads. 

But my favorite part of this block is the bunny. So sweet. 

I'm linking up at Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching.  Hopefully I can get some stitching done today!

Happy Stitching!

Happy Father's Day to everyone.  If you are lucky enough to still have your Dad with you, give him a big hug if you can!!

Deb

Garden Update and Quilters are the NICEST People!

Hope everyone had a wonderful and joyous Easter!  The sun was shining most of the day here and we are finally without any trace of snow!  

I did some work on the My Enchanted Garden quilt.  This is block number 6 - Bountiful Tree.  I wanted to work on this rabbit; thought it was appropriate for the day!  I made one small, but important change.

You can see here that the rabbit in the pattern doesn't have a tail...  ???  How can that be?

I felt that this poor little bunny just had to have a tail.  You can see I added a nice tan tuft on his back end. LOL

I am adding the grapes and berries... and some embroidery details to some of the leaves.

 

Now for the Quilters are the nicest people part.... but you already knew that, right?

I received in the mail on Saturday an envelope from Diane at Butterfly Threads Quilting.  If you remember, Diane was the winner of my National Quilting Day giveaway. 

She was so appreciative and happy with her prize, she sent me three of her patterns as a Thank You!  Is that not the nicest thing!!!???

Thank you Diane!!!  I love the patterns!

 

You can see these and more of Diane's patterns by clicking here.

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Deb