FANTASTIC sale coming up at my fav quilt shop

Just thought I would tell anyone that is close to Charlevoix about Hearts To Holly's BIG SALE. Tomorrow and Monday they are having a birthday sale .... daughter Em's 29th birthday (well actually the 9th aniversary of that birthday). SO to celebrate they are having 29% off of yardage and GET THIS.. buy 9 FQs and GET 9 FQs FREE (pre-cut fats only).

Now I know lots of you don't live in northern Mi but if there is a certain fabric you're looking for it wouldn't hurt to email them or call. They can always pack up a flat rate shipping box and send it off to you. They have MODA's Circa 1934 (which I love), Central Park, lots of civil war, lots of 1930's, Hometown, American Banner Rose, Charlevoix (of course), Fig Tree fabrics, LOADS of blenders and solids, Amy Butler, Kaffe, soooooo much more. You wouldn't believe the fabric stuffed into this store.

Hearts to Holly Quilt Shop has a blog: www.heartstoholly.blogspot.com
Phone is: 1-231-547-2729
More info: http://www.heartstoholly.com/Cart/contact-us.php

Just had to let all of you know ... I know I love a good sale so I'm sure plenty of you do to.

I'm out having breakfast right now with Al. It took us half the morning to get out of our driveway... YES, the snow did come. It's blowing around and drifting. Was over 18" in one spot of the driveway. Al ran out of gas for the snowblower but thankfully our friend Larry was driving by in his plow. He quickly finished up the job for us.
Well, time to get home and do some more stitching.. I'll be quilting a couple of quilts the next couple of days. Posting a pic soon :)

A Sunny Quilt for a sunny January day

Here's my sewing room and the yard beyond... doesn't look like a normal January day in Michigan out there, does it? The sun is shining and the grass almost looks green. It was so warm out I ALMOST didn't need a jacket... BEAUTIFUL! So when I wasn't outside I worked on a sunny braid quilt that I'm doing for a shop sample. It uses a really nice trapezoid strip ruler. This is the first time I've tried using it and I'm hooked. GREAT TOOL! I'm going to demo it at Hearts to Holly ...at the end of January. This is the quilt I'm working on using the tool.

The fabric is mostly Central Park ...on of my favorites.. Kits will be available at Hearts to Holly if anyone wants to make one.
I made 6 braids then added a yellow border to each... then added a spacer between each of the braids.



It gets a final border after all the strips are done. There are two fabrics I brought home with me to try out... one is an olive print and one is an orange daisy floral that is in the braid.... leaning towards using the orange.


With some of the leftover braid pieces I made one more braid and used it on the cuff of a pillowcase. I didn't take a picture of that but it was quick and easy. It would be a good use of leftover strips and scraps to make a matching pillowcase for more of my quilts.

Ahhh... the holidays are over!

Don't you just January?! The winter holidays, ALTHOUGH FUN, are over... no more major shopping to worry about... no more cookie baking marathons... the decorations are down and put away... the house is clean and clutter free... well almost all of the house.. NOW I can spend lots of time back in my sewing room and that's a whole new mess... but a good one :) I love Christmas time and I love all the decorations and the parties and the eating but it feels so good now that it's done for another year.

Lisa and Jenn were home for a bit along with Jenn's HUBBY-to-be, Jon. We had a couple of sewing hours tucked into our regularly scheduled holiday doings. Jenn made a cute set of chair cushions for her Grandma-in-law-to-be (boy, that's a mouthful) and a couple of other goodies for friends and family. Lisa worked on some BEAUTIFUL window hangings (Lisa, do those things have a name?). They're kind of like stained glass in fabric. She used some really pretty shot cottons (Kaffe) that she bought downstate. I wish I had gotten a picture of the finished product...darn... but I DO plan to make my own so I'll post a pic when I do. I did get a few pictures of us hanging out in my sewing room just before Xmas and on Xmas eve.

Grocery / Travel Tote Pattern GIVEAWAY!

This week I'm doing another giveaway. It's to introduce my new pattern:

The GO GREEN Grocery Tote!

This stitches up VERY quick... just over an hour and you'll have both the tote and the storage pouch.

The two can be made using only a 1/2 yard of fabric.

I sometimes add an extra strip of a coordinating color to accent the top facing.

Fold the tote into quarters then roll it up and put it into the pouch.

Nice and convenient. Pack it into your luggage when you go on a trip... you know... for all that fabric you buy ;) Keep a few in your car or purse for unexpected trips to get groceries... you know you want to be GREEN!

And what a great extra something to tuck into a gift for someone.

Leave me a comment on my blog and you'll be entered into the random draw. I'll have the internets RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR do the drawing.

If anyone wants to purchase the pattern, Hearts to Holly Quilt Shop has it or email me at northerndeb@ymail.com.

So what am I giving away? The pattern of course... a half yard of fabric to make the bag... the interfacing needed... the drawstring AND the locking device.

You'll get a complete kit! Drawing will be next SUNDAY... December 18th... GOOD LUCK!

New happennings up here in northern Michigan...

OHHHH.... where to begin this time?....

MY OLDEST DAUGHTER IS ENGAGED!!!!!

Yup, daughter Jenn and soon to be son-in-law Jon, went on a cruise to Greece, Italy, Turkey...and a bunch of islands.. and they came back engaged! Her sweetheart of a guy suprised her with a proposal on the Greece island of Santorini. They rented a smart car and cruised around the island seeing the sights. They stopped by one picturesque cliff overlooking a church, he set the camera to video (she didn't know this) and proposed to her. I haven't had a chance to see the video but she said she was surprised, confused and well... SAID YES :D Before they left on the trip he asked us permission to marry her and we gave our blessing. Of course, it goes without saying that we love him.

So the plans are for a fall wedding.. August/Sept of 2012. I have to get stitching! I promised her a wedding quilt of her choice. She picked a pattern from Quiltmania using Moda Martinque.

I'm collecting as much as I can for it. If I need more to add to it, I'll use some of Moda's Etchings. This is a line that came into the shop, Hearts To Holly, a few weeks ago that will work well with it. It has some of the same aquas and grays. Okay, so another new addition to our family was Charlie Boy. Daughter Lisa has adopted a sweet kitty and named him Charlie. His formal name is Charles Eames (can you tell she's a fan of his?) We bought him a catnip mouse for Thanksgiving that he seems to enjoy. I'm allergic to cats so I can't pet him or I'll be itching and scratching for forever. Sure wish I could, he looks so soft and cuddly.

Well, that's all of the news for now... I'm WAY behind on Xmas sewing. I have a dozen projects I'd like to finish up and hardly any time to do it. I can see some late nights in the sewing room coming up.

AND then there's the baking. I do a cookie trade with my brothers that live in CA. We swap cookies for seafood. Got to get making those.

Still have some Xmas decorating to do... Xmas cards and letters to write out...Still have some presents to shop for... ahhhh....

Don't you just LOVE this time of year!?!

Farmer's Wife Blocks from class

Here's some of my finished blocks from my Farmer's Wife class at Hearts to Holly Quilt shop. We've been working on these for over a year now doing about 4 or 5 a month. I think I have 50 done so this is just a small sample of my blocks. I'm doing the first 55 or so in 30's repro prints and then I'm going to change to civil war repros for the second 55.
This is Wrench #2: And here is Weathervane #100:Morning #57: Maple Leaf #56: Linoleum #55:Friendship Star#41:Contrary Wife #21: Churn Dash #20: and finally Calico Puzzle #16: Now that the quilt blocks for the first quilt are just about done, I'm thinking about settings. I may put them on point since there are a few basket blocks. Those look best on point to me. I suppose every other block will be plain... maybe a sashing between? Not sure. Whatever I pick, I'll probably do the second set (the civil war colored blocks) with the same setting. I want two very similar quilts when I'm done. Maybe two twin sizes? I might have to get creative in my borders if they're not large enough.
If anyone is considering doing Farmer's Wife and wants an easy way to make them, give Sue at Hearts to Holly a call... or email her. She still has packets for making all the blocks. You can get them through the mail... you'll get the instructions for about 5 blocks a month... It's about $10 per month plus shipping cost. This program has paper piecing, pieced applique, regular piecing... well, it has it all... the creator of the program has you making each block in the easiest way. We're really having fun with these. And if you live in the Traverse City/Charlevoix area, give the shop a call and join our class.

Garden Party Quilt Sample

I thought I would post a picture of the sample I finished up a while back. This is a block of the month we are just starting through Hearts To Holly called Aunt Grace's Garden Party. If you want to get in on this, contact Sue at http://www.heartstoholly.com/. The sample was a fun project to work on... I love doing english paper piecing (the hexagon flowers are made that way) and I like applique. The flowers in the center are appliqued by hand but then I did some of the leaves by machine using invisible thread. It's had to tell the difference... you have to really get up close. Don't you just love the scalloped border? I sure do. So now that this sample is done, I'm starting another block of the month. This one isn't for the store... just for myself (well, it'll probably end up being for someone in my family). It's The General's Wives quilt.... beautiful civil war fabrics in that one.
I'm also working on about 3 other projects at the same time... can you tell I get bored easily :)
Sue ordered some SPOOL paper pieces for me and I'm using those (along with my collection of civil war fabrics) to make a large spool quilt. The blocks are 4" and the quilt will need 144 of these. They're all hand stitched (english paper piecing again). I have about 20 blocks done. If I get a chance I'll take a picture of it.

Now for an update on how Mom is doing. Her last surgery went well... she has to work on getting her voice back but it was the same problem last time. It took a month or so and I'm sure this time will be at least as long. Doc said he didn't cut any nerves so it'll just take some work. Her eyesight in the left eye is back!!! The bypass took care of that problem. There are still things that mom has to work on... lung power, talking, swallowing... but I'm sure she'll do it. She's a strong woman... anyone who has gone through what she has and is still here to talk about has to be. I have to give LOADS of credit to her doctor too. He's wonderful... amazing really. So this Thanksgiving our family has lots to be thankful for. And as long as I'm talking about thanks... Thank you to all you who prayed and sent good wishes for her. I think it's all good from here on out.

1930's Reproduction Dresden Plates

These are the blocks I've been working on at the hospital while mom was recuperating. There are 16 of them now so I think I'll do 4 more. Twenty (4x5) would make a nice quilt for a child. The blocks get trimmed down to 8" finished size. The dresdens are done with paper pieces cut in that petal shape. Sure makes it easy and it's all hand sewing. Perfect for a take-with project.

I'm still deciding on sashing and setting. I know it's hard to tell in these pictures but the background is a very pretty aqua. I have red and white gingham, solid red plus more of the red and white polka dot that is in the centers. Somehow I want to combine all of those in the sashing design....well, we'll see...

While I was going through the camera taking the pics of these blocks, I found a picture of my mom and my daughter Jenn from this summer. Just before all of these problems started, mom visited me up north. I took this pic of them at the castle.

Mom came home from the hospital today and is doing well. I head home to Charlevoix tomorrow. I'll be playing catch up with my outside work, inside work and sewing... but I can't wait... I miss my bed, my tub and mostly MY SEWING ROOM!

Handsewing At U of M

Lots of hand sewing going on right now... lots of waiting. I'm at U of Michigan waiting for my mom to have a feeding tube put in. She's still having trouble swallowing. They haven't allowed any food or drink for a couple of days now. Hopefully she'll be getting the tube in and within 24 hours will have something in her stomach. Her spirts are amazingly good... I don't think I would have a smile on my face like she does. I'd take her pic but she'd hit me over the head. We curled her hair for the surgery today... want her to look nice for the ride down the hallway.





I'm working on an English paper piecing project I started with my daughter in Shipshewana. It's a small daisy or dresden appliqued on a 9" aqua block. I'm using 30's repros of course...my fav. I have 12 blocks done and am just going to continue until I get home. If I have 16 done then the quilt will be for a baby... If I get all 36 done, it'll be a twin... we'll see.





Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers... I know it's helping.


Big Hugs to Rebecca... hope all is going well with Gregg.

UFO list going down

I've had a chance the last few weeks to work on my UFOs. This first one was going to for a gift but I changed my mind. I'm donating to mom's church for their auction. Hope it's gets them a few dollars. I used lots of 6" squares that I traded with my friends from our old forum, Block Central... sure miss that place. The backing was a sale fabric from Hearts to Holly Quilt Shop. It was bright and had most of the colors from the top. If anyone is interested in how I made this quilt (VERY EASY), go to this page: http://northerndeb.blogspot.com/2010/03/making-quilt-from-6-inch-charm-squares.html of my blog.Now here's the quilt that started off being the donation quilt but changed to the gift quilt. The blocks were made by a friend up here in Charlevoix. She didn't have any plans to use them and said if I could make use of them, go ahead. Well they turned out much prettier than I expected. Used plain white for every other block, set them all on point then added a large white border. I had the navy and white floral background in my stash. The batting was in my stash also.

Both of these quilts were quilted on my home machine.... nothing fancy, just a meander/stipple pattern.
I finished up the sample quilt, Aunt Grace's Garden Party and that turned out really nice too. I don't have a picture yet but it's hanging up in the quilt store. It's going to be a block of the month starting in Nov. If anyone wants to make that one, give the store a call.

Now, for anyone wondering how my mom is doing... well, Al and I are downstate at mom's right now. The church auction is tomorrow and I'll be going with my sister, my niece and some of mom's friends. Mom is not up to going since she just got out of the hospital. Her voice is starting to come back, sounds a little stronger to me. She's fed up with her thickened liquids but knows she doesn't have a choice for right now. We all hope that her throat will get back it's ability to swallow. Mom has her bypass coming up in the beginning of November and we're all anxious for that. The hope is that this will be the fix that takes care of the stroke symptoms. Thanks to all of you that have her in your thoughts and prayers.

This past week was Grandma's birthday. She was 103!!! A few of you have asked me how she's doing. Grandma is just like the enegizer bunny...just keeps going. Her vision is gone is one eye and the other is almost gone. She's been legally blind for years. She seems to get around the nursing home just fine though... uses a walker and feels her way down the hallways. I made her a Charlevoix Apple Cake... the same ones we sell every fall at the apple fest. Anyone still making those? (I posted this recipe on block central a few years ago). I know a few husbands that are addicted to this cake ...right Jenell? LOL This is one of grandma's favorite cakes.

Well, off to bed. Busy day tomorrow.

Barn Quilt

Al has been busy painting his barn and adding a little something for me. Here's a picture of Al painting our barn quilt block. This is called "Pat's Pines" named after my mom, Pat. Al painted this while I worked and was busy with other things. Didn't he do a great job?! I'm going to add the directions to this block (12") the next time I'm online. It's really easy if you have the Tri-rec tool.

UPDATE (4-16-12):
I've stiched up the Pat's Pines block so that I can post a tutorial for anyone that would like to make it. You'll need to purchase the Tri Tool/ Rec Tool. These come together and are wonderful acrylic templates for making all kinds of blocks and rows that use triangles.

For my pine trees, I used up scraps of dark green. I had lots of 2-1/2" strips so I stitched three together to form a long 6-1/2" strip. I trimmed this to 5-1/2" wide. If you'ld like you can just cut a 5-1/2" strip of fabric. The strip length I used was half of a WOF (width of fabric) or about 21" long.

Pat's Pines Block Tutorial

Fabrics:

Green: (1) 5-1/2" wide strip (mine was a scrappy strip)
Background: (1) 5-1/2" wide strip  AND (2) 2-1/2" strips
Brown: (1) 1-1/2" wide strip
Red: (1) 2-1/2 x 2-1/2" square

From the strip of green, cut FOUR trees by using the Tri Tool. Line up the 5-1/2" line at one edge, the top should line up on the other side, and cut the two angles. Flip the tool to the opposite end to cut another. Repeat cutting until you have 4 trees.

Fold the 5-1/2" background strip in half, right sides together and cut 8 triangles using the Recs Tool. Line up the 5-1/2 line on one edge and cut the two other sides. There is a TINY little extra cut at the tip that you cut also. Seems like a little thing but this little clipped point helps to line every thing up for sewing.

Using one of the "trees" and two of the background triangles, stitch the sides of the tree to for a 5-1/2" square block.

Here's that extra cut you made with the Rec Tool. This makes everything line up nicely.

Here's how the second seam line up. You should be stitching your 1/4" seam so that you stitch right off the end in the V made by the two pieces.

Now stitch together one 2-1/2" background to the brown strip and then add one more 2-1/2" background to SANDWICH the brown between them.

Cut off FOUR 2-1/2" slices.

Lay out all of your pieces to look like the picture above. You have 9 pieces. Put this together as you would any 9-patch block.

On any 9-patch block, I press the seams out for the outer rows (top and bottom) and in for the inner row. This helps to "lock" my seams together when I complete the block. Here's my idea for finishing up the quilt. I would probably put a sashing between my blocks... maybe a 1-1/2" to a 2-1/2 wide....then border the whole thing a few times. The one below would be a lapsize... use 20 blocks (4x5) or more for a bed size.