Glenna's Gabfest

The Hollyhock Quilts Blog Has Moved!

2010-10-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

If you haven't visited for the last few days, you may not know that the Hollyhock Quilts blog has a new address! Visit us now at the NEW Hollyhock Quilts Blog! We've started out with a BIG Giveaway and a LOT of fun! For more info about the move, go to this post. Can't wait to see you there!

Day 5 Giveaway Posted!

2010-10-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! The Giveaway for Day 5 is posted here.

PLEASE NOTE: If you haven't already entered for the giveaway, please go to the Oct. 4th post of my NEW BLOG to find out all the ways you can enter. I don't want you to miss out on anything! If you have already entered, you're covered. Thanks so much!

Day 4 Giveaway Posted!

2010-10-07T08:14:00.001-05:00

Good Morning! The Giveaway for Day 4 is posted here.

PLEASE NOTE: If you haven't already entered for the giveaway, please go to the Oct. 4th post of my NEW BLOG to find out all the ways you can enter. I don't want you to miss out on anything! If you have already entered, you're covered. Thanks so much!

Day 3 Giveaway Posted!

2010-10-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! The Giveaway for Day 3 is posted here.

PLEASE NOTE: If you haven't already entered for the giveaway, please go to the Oct. 4th post of my NEW BLOG to find out all the ways you can enter. I don't want you to miss out on anything! If you have already entered, you're covered. Thanks so much!

Day 2 Giveaway Posted!

2010-10-05T10:24:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! The Giveaway for Day 2 is posted here! Be sure to enter today to be eligible for all 5 giveaways!

BIG Changes and BIG Giveaway!!

2010-10-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! As you probably know, I have taken a Sabbatical for a couple of years since my Mom got so sick and passed away. It has been a well needed rest, but it's time for me to get back to work! So... the Tulip Quilt is off to APQ and I'm busy at work here on the computer.

We are making a few changes here at Hollyhock Quilts. First of all, I am moving my blog! It is now under the name of Hollyhock Quilts instead of Glenna's Gabfest. But I need your help! In order to kick off the new website, I am having a huge 5 DAY GIVEAWAY! You'll have several ways to enter so be sure to check it out.

Secondly, I am closing my regular website. I only have my book and patterns there anyway and I am in the process of moving all my patterns to my eBay and Etsy stores to sell as PDF Downloads. I can sell them cheaper and of course, there's no shipping fees! A good deal for all and it frees Bill from having to keep the website up to date.

You'll see some other changes coming on the new blog, too, but we'll talk more about that after the giveaway. Thanks for including me in your lives here on Glenna's Gabfest and I can't wait to see you on the Hollyhock Quilts Blog!

STAMPEDE!! (And Other Stuff)

2010-09-23T14:40:00.001-05:00

Funny thing happened while we were in Michigan. The RV park where we were staying was right next to an Equestrian Club, so we were accustomed to hearing horses whinny occasionally. But one morning Bill and I looked at each other and said, "Did you just hear a cow moo?" We looked out the front window of our motorhome and here's what we saw!

A whole herd of cows was headed straight for the pond in front of our RV! They watered for a minute then turned around and some headed back home.

One little guy stopped to nibble at a little tree right by our rig before ambling off!

Some of them headed for the highway, so I encouraged Bill to use his "cow wranglin'" experience (he grew up on a farm with cows) so off he and another guy went to round up the errant cows successfully. Should have had a pic of him waving his arms and yelling "HEEYAH!!" at the cows!

Needless to say, it was a very exciting morning!

Also wanted to tell you-- I had a couple of nice surprises while we were gone. Went to an Arts and Crafts show and a vendor there was selling aprons she'd made out of my Hydrangea fabric! She used rickrack (which I LOVED, of course) and they were SO cute!

A few days later we were at an Antique & Craft Mall and saw these made out of some Rise N Shine fabric! Again, so CUTE and I loved that they had made little girls aprons, too!

I was a real treat to see these! So that's it for now, kids. Blessings~

Let's Talk About Solids!

2010-09-16T16:01:00.000-05:00

I found it rather interesting and surprising that so many of you who entered the last give-away did not have any or had very few solids in your stash. So I thought I'd just talk a bit about my relationship with them!

I started quilting almost 30 years ago and Amish quilts were huge at that time. I fell in love with the look and, of course, solids are all they use. So my collecting began. As I became enamored with Vintage Quilts, I noticed that they also used a lot of solids. It became apparent that the solids were what made those wonderful old prints really stand out! So on I went collecting them! Then when I began using feedsacks, I noticed the same thing. Although the colors were bolder than the 30s prints, the solids are what really set them off! AND they even made feedsacks in solid colors! This is a little piece that I did with English Paper Piecing and feedsacks.

If you have my book, look closely at the quilts to see how the solids play a part. In an excerpt from my book (Sugar Sack Quilts) on page 30, I say the following when talking about sewing with feedsacks: "The first thing that comes to mind is solids, solids, solids. The solid fabrics are what really make the feedsack prints sing. You need those areas of solid colors to rest your eye and make the quilt patterns pop."

And now I see that even Modern Quilters (which I absolutely LOVE) are using solids to give their quilts a punch! Tallgrass Studio is a perfect example. Below are a couple of groups of Amy Butler fabrics that I recently purchased. Can't wait to use them! I found it interesting that the solids in her group are very similar to many of those repro colors I've got.

So all this to say... If you haven't tried working with solids, go for it! I dare say when you see how they work with the fabrics you love, you'll enjoy the results.

Blessings~

WINNER and TULIP QUILT NEWS!!

2010-09-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

Good Monday Morning! The Random Number Generator picked #22 as the winner of the Quilters Dozen Bundle. Congratulations, Colleen! And thanks to all of you for entering. I'll be doing that more often in the future so keep in touch! And thanks for all the purchases you've made! Lots of fabric has left the building, but there's lots more to sell. I'll be adding Bundles of 10 Half Yard Cuts this week. So keep checking!

In other news---

You know that Tulip quilt that I have been working on FOREVER?? Well, I just got word that it has been picked up for publication in one of your favorite magazines! I'll let you know the details as soon as I get them.....

Have a great week! Blessings~

SALE and GIVEAWAY!

2010-09-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

When we were doing shows, I sold a LOT of Reproduction Solids and really stocked up. And, of course, when we quit, I still had TONS of solids in my inventory! So I have them all listed for $2.95/yd in both my Etsy and eBay Stores and I wanted you to know while there is still a good selection. I've got over 20 colors listed!

I'm going to be selling Quilter's Dozen (13) Fat 1/4 Bundles as well so I thought I'd give one away to get started! Leave me a comment by midnight, Sunday, Sept. 12th. The drawing will be Monday. Good Luck!

Have a great week! Blessings~

Michigan Quilt Barns!

2010-09-01T14:06:00.022-05:00

So... when I left you last, I was on a Shop Hop and overheard something that put me back on the road for a new adventure! Just as I began looking at the next shop, I overheard one employee telling another that she didn't know there were Quilt Barns on the Old Mission Peninsula. Well, that's all I had to hear! So we grabbed the map and headed for the Peninsula.

I saw there was a historic lighthouse at the point so we went there first. Fascinating! They were out of brochures telling us where the barns were, so we decided to wing it. I think we found about half of them, but it's a good representation for you to see. I absolutely loved every one of these! Some of the pics are not great due to the angle of the sun, etc. (and most probably the picture taker and her $40 camera), but you'll get the idea.

This last one (my favorite) was at an Antique Store which of course, I had to check out. Did a little bit of damage to my cash flow, yessiree!

While we were driving around, I saw a strange looking bird in the middle of the road. I told Bill to get closer and look what we saw!

I was hoping he'd open his tail, but no such luck...

The Old Mission Peninsula is very agricultural and we saw lots of wineries and produce stands. They are famous for their Northern Michingan cherries and when Bill wondered if this next picture depicted an applique block, I knew it was time to leave. So we leisurely drove back to Petoskey with lots of great images in our minds for the day.

I've got some more fun things to show you on this trip. Until next time....

Blessings~

Quilting in Northern Michigan ~ Part 1

2010-08-19T11:48:00.035-05:00

Can you believe it? When I went to the first quilt shop in this area I found out that a Shop Hop was going on! How lucky is that?? This darling quilt shop, Hearts to Holly, is in Charlevoix, one of the most charming towns I've ever seen. It is owned by Sue (2nd from left) and her daughters, sweet granddaughter and a good friend were there helping out on that busy day.

Sue carries TONS of great fabrics and everything else a quilter needs, all arranged beautifully throughout several rooms. Instead of having 'door' prizes, she gave away 'FLOOR' prizes! They tell everyone to stand on a number and then have a drawing to see who wins. It looked like great fun!

Now, get this..... I'm browsing the books, and lo and behold! My eyes land on 'Sugar Sack Quilts'!! Well, being the dork that I am, I shout out, "Oh! You have my book!!". Immediately, several people look at me thinking that I am awfully weird to get so excited to see a book that I have already purchased, available in another quilt shop! Then of course, I have to explain. They were very nice to Miss Blabbermouth and sisters Sharon and Judy even bought themselves a copy since I was there to sign it. Maybe that made up for my outburst.

Anyhow, everyone was delightful and the experience was a perfect way to start my day. After bidding Adieu, I was off to the next shop. A few miles down the road to Bellaire and I entered another wonderful shop, Cousins Quilt Shop.

I found very little in common with the 2 shops which is what you hope for. This shop carried LOTS of Batiks and Wool. I especially liked the vintage pieces that were used for display.

So after a good amount of time, I was off to the next shop to look for more treasures. Shortly after I arrived, though, I heard something that made me abandon the Shop Hop altogether and head for parts unknown! Stay tuned for the next installment to see what it was that got me back on the road.....

Blessings~

Greetings from Petoskey, MI!!

2010-08-15T14:26:00.019-05:00

Well, when they tell me that we're going to have a string of 100-105 degree days, I say it's time to get the heck out of Dodge! So we hopped in the motorhome and took off for Michigan! I've never been here before and it is wonderful! I thought you might enjoy some photos of where we are and what we've seen. If any of you are familiar with this area and have ideas for food or things to see, please leave a comment and let me know!

We're in a gorgeous RV Resort. Here's our front view [Pardon the SUPER BLUE HUE on these photos!!-- Don't know where that's coming from.... Ummm--Do ya think it could be because I forgot my camera and had to buy a $40 cheapo???] :-(

These Lake Michigan towns are some of the most charming I've ever seen. I had no idea. You almost feel like you're back in the 50's with the laid back and carefree attitude of the area. Of course, many of these folks are summer only and will head back to real life when the fall comes, I'm sure. Here's a view of Lake Charlevoix. There are some amazing boats to be seen around here!

Also in Charlevoix is an area of homes that were built by a famous architect named Earl Young. I guess people come from all over to see them. They are referred to as "mushroom houses". Very charming! Here's a pic of one of them:

Yesterday we took a 20 mile trip along Lake Michigan through the Tunnel of Trees....

We got to an area called Good Hart absolutely in the middle of nothing, but you could buy crepes from a trailer if you wanted to! How cool is that??

Then we went to a Polish restaurant that has been around for over 80 years! Again, in the middle of nowhere and with people standing in lines to get in! It's called Legs because the entire top of the roof is lined with old kitchen stove legs! We ate in the garden...

Across the street was this wonderful old Presbyterian Church:

Then returning home, this was our view of the sunset.....

It has been great to see things we've never seen before. I've never spent time this far east and it is such a wonderful part of the country. Tuesday we're off to Mackinac Island for the day. I'm hoping to see some quilt shops in Northern Michigan and give you an idea of what's going on around here quilt-wise. I find it interesting that there have been no quilt artists in the galleries we've been in. Any thought as to why?

Blessings~

How Nice!

2010-07-27T10:40:00.005-05:00

If you haven't visited the Quilt Inspirations blog, take a minute and check it out. They feature several quilts by theme in their posts. Not long ago they talked a bit about my Rickrack Baskets pattern which is now part of "Sugar Sack Quilts".

This week they're featuring Nautical Quilts and included my Sailing Sailing quilt that I recently told you about in a blog post. I think they do a great job. Enjoy!

Hope you're having a great week! Blessings~

Took a Little Break!

2010-07-05T11:25:00.010-05:00

Happy belated 4th of July!! We just got back from a month in Santa Fe. Decided to head out there and enjoy some cooler, drier weather at the end of May. Well, the air was drier for sure, but we were there to witness Santa Fe's FIRST EVER 100 degree day! Great!! At least it felt like 100 instead of 112 with Tulsa's humidity!

We had a wonderful time visiting old friends and making new ones in the RV park. That's the greatest thing about RVing. You make instant friends and keep some of them forever! I don't know about you, but I've never stayed in a motel and made friends with someone who I went to dinner with later that day! It is a nice lifestyle for sure.....

I actually did a little sewing while there. Believe me, LITTLE is the operative word! I wanted to show you my set up, though. I had bought one of those little portable tables that has a cutout for your machine some time ago. We also purchased a couple of small adjustable chairs on rollers from IKEA to use instead of the regular dining chairs. It all worked out great! I guess I don't need all that space upstairs after all :-) Please excuse the mess in the pictures---

So back to work for me at least until next trip! Have a great week---

Blessings~

My Dad

2010-05-26T10:05:00.014-05:00

This email has been around for awhile. Snopes says it was written by Wisconsin resident Michael T. Powers after he videotaped James Bradley at the Memorial. I've tried to remove the items that weren't in the original essay. (NOTE: I just heard directly from the author of this wonderful story below. He has sent me his copyrighted version just as he wrote it. Thanks so much, Michael!)

It was really hard for me to read knowing my Dad was at the bottom of that hill watching them put up the flag. He was like James Bradley's Dad. Never talked about it. What little I knew was from what he told my Mom right after the war. He was a Corporal and older like the sergeant. The guys looked to him as their dad or older brother. He told Mom that as they came on shore, men were dropping around him like flies and he had no idea why he wasn't shot. Only by the Grace of God. He died on Memorial Day weekend 13 years ago and I still miss him every day. Just wanted to share....

Each year my video production company is hired to go to Washington, D.C. with the eighth grade class from Clinton, Wisconsin where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave men raising the American flag at the top of Mount Surabachi on the Island of Iwo Jima, Japan during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "What's your name and where are you guys from?

I told him that my name was Michael Powers and that we were from Clinton, Wisconsin.

"Hey, I'm a Cheesehead, too! Come gather around Cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story."

James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, D.C. to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good-night to his dad, who had previously passed away, but whose image is part of the statue. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, D.C. but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night. When all had gathered around he reverently began to speak. Here are his words from that night:

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called Flags of Our Fathers which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game, a game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game.

Harlon, at the age of twenty-one, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out; I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen years old.

(He pointed to the statue)

You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken, and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph. A photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection, because he was scared. He was eighteen years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men.

The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already twenty-four. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, "Let's go kill the enemy" or "Let's die for our country." He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, "You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.

"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, "You're a hero." He told reporters, "How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only twenty-seven of us walked off alive?

"So you take your class at school. 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only twenty-seven of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of thirty-two, ten years after this picture was taken.

The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky, a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, "Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epson salts. Those cows crapped all night.

"Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of nineteen. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Kronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say, "No, I'm sorry sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.

"My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually he was sitting right there at the table eating his Campbell's soup, but we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press. You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died, and when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.

When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, "I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. DID NOT come back.

"So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time."

Suddenly the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero in his own eyes, but a hero nonetheless.

Michael T. Powers HeartTouchers@aol.com

Write Michael and let him know your thoughts on this story!Michael T. Powers, the founder of http://www.facebook.com/l/bdb3f;HeartTouchers.com and http://www.facebook.com/l/bdb3f;Heart4Teens.com, is the youth minister at Faith Community Church in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is happily married to his high school sweetheart Kristi and proud father of three young rambunctious boys.

He is also an author with stories in 29 inspirational books including many in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and his own entitled: Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter." To preview his book or to join the thousands of world wide readers on his inspirational e-mail list, visit: http://www.facebook.com/l/bdb3f;HeartTouchers.com

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Blessings~

Mothers Day & Cameron's Quilt

2010-05-10T13:55:00.004-05:00

As you may know, this was the first Mother's Day I spent without my Mom. It seemed very odd not to be thinking about what I could do for her to make her day a little special. It's been 9 months now since she's been gone. I think so often about your kind notes during that difficult time.

But there's always a bright spot. My daughter, Kim, is a mother now, only by the Grace of God. Because you are so tenderhearted I thought you might like to read the blog post she wrote about her son. It's at sportsmomcooks.blogspot.com. While reading it I was reminded of a story that I tell often when I'm doing trunk shows. It's about Cameron's Quilt.

Not long after I started designing patterns, I had this idea to do a little Sail Boat quilt. Now, mind you, I've never ever been around little boys and had no idea where this idea came from at the time. But I made it and it's been one of my best selling patterns. I remember thinking that I wish I had some little boy I could give it to.

Time passed and Cameron came into our lives. When we had a shower for Kim to welcome him as their son I realized that this quilt was made for Cameron. I had actually made it about the time that he had been born! I knew then that God had been preparing us all for him to join us. What a wonderful gift we've been given. Now Bill and I are Mimi and Poppy to a sweet boy that we love as we never could have imagined. And we are ever thankful....

I hope your Mothers Day was special and perfect. Blessings~

Home Again!!

2010-05-05T15:17:00.010-05:00

Hi Everyone! I've missed you! It was exactly 4 weeks that we were gone. That's a LONG time! This was the first extended trip that we took in our motorhome since Mom died last August and we had a great time.

We had a chance to "see how the other half lived" when we stayed at a Motorcoach Resort in Las Vegas. It was beautiful! The lots there are owned by others and can be rented by peons like us. Some of them were so elaborate it was amazing! Here's a few pics to get the idea....

Then on to St. George where I got to see all my blogger friends that I talked about in the last posting. While I was having fun with them, Bill thought he'd died and gone to heaven at the golf course where our friends Nick and Mary took him to play. Nothing like a desert golf course....

We'd never been to Zion National Park and enjoyed a day there. On our way home we drove up to a meadow at the top of a mountain and saw these:

And on our way back down these cuties were waiting for us in the middle of the road....

On our way home, we got stuck in Williams, AZ waiting for weather to pass. They had wind gusts up to 70 mph and closed I-40! Here's what it looked like...

So that's the trip in a nutshell! Now back to work and get something done. I think some of the girls showed you a sneak peek of my new quilt, but here's a quick look if you didn't see it. Obviously it's not sewn together yet...

Hope you're having a great week! Blessings~

An Afternoon With Some of Your Favorite Blog Stars!!

2010-04-20T14:44:00.006-05:00

I had the most wonderful day on Friday. Bill and I are in St. George, UT and just happened to be here at the same time that Nanette, Sherri, Dawn, Lori, RaeAnn, and Nedra were getting together for a retreat! Nanette's sisters Michelle and Paula also joined them. Nanette and I stayed in touch and I was able to visit them at the cutest quilt shop while they sewed. I was just STAR STRUCK at getting to meet all these fabulous bloggers all at once!! Lori was teaching her new pattern "Eat Cake" and she is a great teacher! These gals are so talented and have so much to offer. They are also some of the most generous and sweetest people I've ever met. I'll treasure it always. Here are a few pics showing the good time that was had by everyone, me especially!

Here is a pic of everyone there..... from left to right Paula, Michelle, Rae Ann, Me, Dawn, Sherri, Nanette, Nedra, and Lori.

I no more than got in the door and they started showering me with gifts! I told you they were generous! I love them all!!

Needless to say, it was a fabulous afternoon and I was thrilled to get to meet these gals in person after having visited through blogs for so long. I consider myself very, very blessed~

Vintage Quilt Top #3

2010-03-26T09:00:00.006-05:00

This is the next quilt top I have to show you. A vintage 1930's Double Wedding Ring with "That Green" in the background. It is just wonderful! Enjoy!

Blessings~

Another Wonderful Old Quilt Top!

2010-03-24T17:17:00.004-05:00

Well, I've listed another top on eBay that I thought you might enjoy seeing! It's pretty hard to part with these, but I know I have to eventually! This one is a Log Cabin from the mid to late 1800's. Gorgeous graphics! It's about 60" square which would be perfect for hanging! I know someone will give it a good home.

OK-- I'm such a dweeb! I just now noticed that I had several followers on my profile so I've added it to my sidebar. So please add yourself if you're interested!

Blessings~

Another Stunner!

2010-03-15T07:24:00.005-05:00

I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor! You know that feedsack I previously posted about that sold for $162.50? Well, another one just like it sold yesterday for $213.39!! Can you believe it??

This one just sold for $164.49! Dang! Don't have any of these, either!

Have a great week~

Got Any of These???

2010-03-09T08:21:00.004-06:00

I usually look at what feedsacks have sold for the day before just to keep up to date. Sometimes I am STUNNED!! This one sold for...... Are you ready???? Look for the price below the picture--

$162.50!!!

Wish I had a few to sell!! Blessings~

Wonderful Quilt Top and My Kid's New Blog!

2010-03-04T08:36:00.008-06:00

Good Morning! I have decided to go through my vintage quilts and tops, etc. to see what I can part with. You've seen my room. You know I HAVE to do this!

Anyway, here's the first one I decided to sell. It is amazing! I'm actually selling it because there's not a lot that has to be done to it. I'm yearning to get back to rescuing and giving re-life to those old things that can't be used at all as they are. This is what I first did when I started this business and the thing that most feeds my soul. I'll share some of those with you later. Today I just want you to enjoy this wonderful piece while you can.....

In other news--- My kid is now a blogger! If you knew anything about my wonderful child, you would be as stunned as I am. Anyway, she has a recipe blog. She was a highly successful Pampered Chef consultant for 5 years (which is another shock in itself! Not the successful part, but the cooking part!) and had to give it up to spend more time with Cameron and his sporting endeavors. OK-- they're partly his Mom and Dad's sporting endeavors, too. She has tons of quick and easy excellent Pampered Chef type recipes. Check out sportsmomcooks and see what you think! I just looked at it right now and she has a memorial to my Mom out there. Makes me want to cry......

Blessings~

Happy Valentines Day!!

2010-02-13T15:00:00.010-06:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend filled with lots of enjoyment with those you love! I listed some Heart Feedsacks on eBay this week and thought you might like to see them and a few others I dug out. I guess hearts were a pretty big theme back then!

This first one is very unique! The red hearts are actually FLOCKED! I have a green one like it, too. Only flocked sacks I've ever seen!

The thing that makes this sack unique (other than the fact that it is very cute!) is the black background! Did you know that black backgrounds are the rarest color in feedsacks?

This one looks more like bridge cards, yes?

One of the cutest!!

I like this one alot....

Polka Dot Heart Flowers! Too fun!!

That's it for me! Our snow is long gone and in the 50s today. Know that those of you on the East Coast are in our thoughts and prayers. It's been an interesting winter for sure! Blessings~

SNOW!!!

2010-01-30T11:36:00.006-06:00

Good Morning!

Here's what we woke up to today! I know it's no biggie to those of you in northern climates, but it's a treat to have snow here and not just ice! The last pic is of Mr. Bill looooking gooood and having WAY too much fun! Have a great weekend...

Fabric Sale!!

2010-01-26T07:38:00.006-06:00

Good Morning!

Just wanted to let you know that ALL my Repro Fabric is now listed for $4 or less in my eBay and Etsy shops in case you're interested. It includes Rise N Shine as well as some older pieces from Bees Knees and Sugar & Spice. When it's gone, that will be it!

Have a great week!!

Blessings~

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-08T14:21:00.011-06:00

Hi Everyone! Boy, did I miss you! I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for the New Year! I had a great month off. I've decided it's a good thing that I have my business because I'd be worth nothing if I didn't! I just piddled and played and didn't accomplish a thing. But it was great!!

We took off before Christmas and went to San Antonio. We had never been there before so we really enjoyed scouring the town and finding interesting things to do. We stayed right on the Riverwalk and the weather was great and we got to eat outside every evening as the following picture can attest--

Here's what Bill was looking at--

TONS of ducks on the river. Great entertainment! If you've never been to San Antonio, the river is the draw. They run river boat tours all day long every day. Here's what the boats look like--

We opted for an evening cruise so we could see the lights. It was just beautiful--

Our hotel room was just OK, but the location was wonderful! Here's what we saw from our balcony--

And here is the balcony itself--

This is the hotel view from the river---

Anyway, we had a great time and really enjoyed our time away. We missed the great blizzard of 2009, but came home to a LOT of snow and COLD. We are having the worst cold period in 15 years. Supposed to be 3 below tonight. Brrrrrrrrrr----

We went to the kids on our way back home to celebrate Christmas and Kim's birthday. Here's the chair and footstool we got Cameron. Now he can "kick back and relax!" (his words).

I actually sewed a bit during the month. Almost have a piece to send to the quilter. Amazing, isn't it? Do you realize I did not sew for a YEAR??? It feels great to be back at it, even just a little.

My New Years Resolution is to try to be more balanced when it comes to work and taking care of myself physically and spiritually. I'm trying to spend a little time each day with the Bible and with my WiiFit. I'm enjoying them both immensely!

My best to you in the coming year! I pray for God's richest Blessings on all of my blog friends--

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-01T08:57:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, we did back-to-back 2 day Antique Shows last month and the Flea Market last weekend so we are through with selling antiques for now! In between those we helped a friend do an Estate Sale.

You would not believe how much we have sold. We started out with a trailer and 3 car loads and when we packed up after the flea market last weekend we got everything into 4 plastic bins and a few odd pieces. Can you believe it? Now just to get the garage sale stuff and Mom's furniture out of the way and we'll be in good shape!

So you won't be surprised when I tell you we're taking the month of December off! I'm putting my eBay and Etsy stores on hold (they're mostly sold out anyway!) and the blog to rest for the remainder of the year. We need time to recoup and spend with friends and family.

So my wish for you is that you have a Blessed Christmas Season full of the magic and wonder of it all! May you experience the peace of Christ and hold the Savior near to your heart.

We'll see you in 2010!!

Antique Show!

2009-11-04T09:52:00.010-06:00

Hi Everyone! I've sure missed you!! I thought you might like to see what I've been working on the last month. I've have been through and handled more stuff than I'd like to think about. We sat up for the show in pouring rain. Thank goodness we were under a tent, but we still got soaked! The shows days were beautiful, though and the folks came out to buy. In fact, these pics are after selling tons of stuff on the 1st day, so you can only imagine how much we had! In fact, there's enough left to do another show this upcoming weekend. The rest will go online or in an Estate Sale. It feels great to be ridding myself of so much STUFF. I still have scads to put online, too!These pics will take you around the 20' x 20' tent.

This table is guy stuff and kid's things.

This is my "shabby chic" table.

This is kitchen glass and pottery.

This is wood stuff and finer china and glass.

More kitchen stuff.

McCoy Pottery an Akro Agate.

My beloved spool cabinet is gone!

And this is Mr. Bill smiling after counting his money.

So there you go! I may actually get back to feedsacks and fabric soon! Take care and I'll be in touch---

Blessings~

Back to Business

2009-09-28T05:57:00.016-05:00

Hi Everyone!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. Have you ever felt like your life was changing and even though it's not out of your control, it just seems like it's morphing into something completely different and unexpected? It's like that for me right now.

We have been wrestling with the best way to dispose of Mom's things. Thought about a garage sale and we will have to do that for sure, but it doesn't seem to be the best way to take care of nicer items. And the thought of hauling furniture and messing with the big stuff is not a pleasant thought. Over the last 10 years, we have moved my Mom's stuff SEVEN times! We had one Estate Sale when we moved her from the house and another garage sale when she went into Assisted Living. She still has an apartment full of furniture. And we moved Bill's Moms 3 times in addition to having an Estate Sale when she moved to the retirement community and a garage/estate sale when she passed away. So dealing with 'stuff' is getting kind of tiresome. Obviously, I can't and don't want to keep everything.

In addition to that, you've seen my own 'stuff'. We are feeling overburdened with 'stuff'! I still have closets full of antiques that I never got around to selling when we were in the antiques business, too. Not to mention the sewing collectibles that we offered when we actually had the time to set up at Festival and other quilt shows! Oh my goodness, did I mention we had 'STUFF'?? So.... What to do, what to do?

Well, here's where we have begun. A gal who has been in the antique business for many years here has had a wonderful Antique Show on her property in the Spring and Fall for the last several years. I visited with her last week and she has space for us in her show at the end of October. So that's where we'll start. In addition to that, we are so fortunate to have a wonderful weekly Flea Market in Tulsa that has been going on for over 30 years. I've been in contact with the gal who operates it to see if we can start setting up there in November. It may take several weeks to really clean things out. Some things will go to eBay and Etsy as well. Then what's left will be sold in a garage sale next Spring.

So you see? All of a sudden I'm back in the Antiques business! Needless to say, there will be very little quilt related things going on except what I'm selling so what you'll be seeing here are some interesting things that I come across as I'm getting things ready.

The items below are some of my favorites! I talked about these and had some pictures in my book, but the ones below are others I have found. The flour companies gave away as advertisements little pincushions made in exact replicas of their sacks of flour. You need to make sure that they are not new ones made as miniatures for doll house collectors. Two of these are from Polar Bear Flour and the other is Hunters Flyer Flour. Great names, huh? They typically sell in the range of $25-$50 depending upon condition. I got a great buy on these, so I will pass that along to my customers. Have you ever seen them before?

Another thing I found recently was this fabulous quilt. I actually found it in a Thrift store! It has some of the most beautiful applique and quilting that I've ever seen. It has a beautifully scalloped edge and is in beautiful condition.

So that's it for now. I'll be in touch as I come across other fun stuff. Can't wait to get sewing again! Blessings~

I'mmmm Baaaack!!

2009-09-05T12:47:00.009-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for your visits and notes over the last few weeks. Mom's service was a joyful celebration of a life well lived. I had no idea how many people would be there since she had outlived so many of her friends, but all of the things she was involved in were well represented. I'm sure she was pleased to see them there! We are progressing with getting her estate tied up and will have a garage sale this month to finish up that part. No point in just having everything in storage. So things are going fine. We miss her terribly and it's still very odd not to go see her every day, but we are adjusting OK. Thanks so much for all your well wishes and prayers!

I've actually had a bit of time to list a few things on eBay and Etsy. And you won't believe this, but I even spent a day sewing this week! A small group of friends have decided that we will sew every other Thursday and see what we can get done. I really need to be more intentional about it. Do you realize I haven't made a quilt since my book and last fabric collection were released almost a year ago!!!! Oh my!!

So obviously, I have nothing to show you, but thanks to my friends, I have some pictures of their work! It seems that there have been some darling aprons made from my fabrics and here are a couple of them. The first one is from Chris Eilts who made this for her sister as a gift using the Rise N Shine fabrics. She used a pattern called "Delicious 4 Corners" by Vanilla House Designs. I think it is just darling!

Patrice Heisler is an online friend who has a fabulous blog AND website! She also handcrafts items to sell at wonderful venues such as Brimfield. Here are a couple of aprons that she has made using one of the Sugar N Spice fabrics. I think she has used a vintage tablecloth with the first one. They are both wonderful!

Thanks to both Chris and Patrice for sharing! What would I do without my friends??

So that's it for me. Thanks again for being such wonderful friends and keeping in touch.

Blessings~

Quick Update

2009-08-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

Just a note to tell you that my Mom joyfully finished her marathon yesterday at 97 years of age. She died very peacefully, never in any pain or distress and for that I am very thankful.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your ongoing prayers and good thoughts during this time. You all are the BEST!

I'll be in touch soon~

Tidbits and Update on Mom

2009-07-30T10:05:00.005-05:00

Hi Everyone--

It's been a long week. We thought we were going to lose Mom on Saturday, but by Monday she had stabilized slightly. I guess she's just not ready to go yet. I nearly did myself in spending so much time at the Nursing Home. I don't ever remember being as tired as I was on Monday night. On Tuesday, I asked her if she knew who I was and she shook her head no. I'm OK with that. If she doesn't know it's me that's there, I don't feel so inclined to stay and wear myself out. It's a gift. As of yesterday, not much change except that the Hospice Nurse said she's beginning to hear a bit of fluid in the lungs and her bowels sounded "airy". So who knows how long. I'm just patiently waiting, knowing that God's timing is perfect......

You don't know (you probably do) how much it means to me that you have left such wonderful notes of caring and encouragement. Thank you so much. I am constantly amazed at how a group of people, most of whom you've never met face-to-face can be so much support! I know I haven't responded to everyone yet, but I will. Thanks again.

On to happier and more interesting things! I got an email from Jody at American Patchwork and Quilting to say that an article in the Summer issue of Quilts and More had a project using Rise N Shine! Here's a pic:

Isn't it cute? What a great idea! For more info, visit Jody's blog. She also told me that the Oct. 09 issue of APQ has a review online of my book. I haven't read it since the link isn't active yet, so I hope it's good!

I have to tell you what happened yesterday. They say jokingly in this business that you know you have it made when one of your quilts get reproduced by the Chinese! Well, believe me I haven't "made it" by any stretch, but here's what I saw in an "Antique Mall" yesterday.

And here's one of the quilts in my book called "Strippin' in the Garden". Sorry it's not a better picture. After being sued too many times, I guess they've learned to change it just enough to say it's not a repro. What do you think?

They've changed the background from red to yellow and they changed the flower. Instead of outlining the curve on the stripped piece with rickrack, they just put a circle around the flower. They put blue in the 4 corners. Also, they added that little outside white border and did an envelope turn to finish the edge. Pretty funny, huh? It's actually pretty cute! And a LOT cheaper than I'd sell one for!!

That's it for me right now. My eBay and Etsy stores pretty well sold out while I was gone so I'm trying to get some new things listed. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

Blessings~

Back Home & Sad News

2009-07-24T12:41:00.008-05:00

Well, here we are in Tulsa again! Kim, Jack and Cameron came to Santa Fe at the end of our vacation to spend a long weekend. They enjoyed lots of New Mexican cuisine and spending time at the shops and restaurants around the Plaza. A real Santa Fe experience!

We finally got a chance to walk Canyon Road. As you probably know, Santa Fe has always been a magnet for artists. Canyon Road has long been where they hang, and is lined with one gallery after another. Saw some great stuff and didn't spend a dime! The thing I enjoyed most was the flowers planted along the way. Here are a couple of pics:

But my most favorite is the hollyhocks! That's the flower I remember growing in abundance during my childhood. Hence the name, Hollyhock Quilts! Here's a sample:

Now for the sad news. We were scheduled to leave for home on Monday. I received a call on Friday eve that Mom had taken a little fall and bloodied her nose. She seemed fine, knew where she was and what was going on. By Sunday morning she was mostly unresponsive and we headed home, arriving Monday afternoon. She is still pretty much the same, responding only occassionally. The hospice nurse says that if things don't change dramatically, she will probably last 1-2 weeks. I think that little trauma was all she needed to say "I'm done!"

So I'm spending quite a bit of time with her. She sometimes knows I'm there. She is in no pain and resting comfortably. That's all I care about. My prayer is that she remains pain free and doesn't linger. I know she is so anxious to see my Dad and her family members already there. Not to mention getting to see her Savior face-to-face! What a JOY for her! I'm so grateful to have had these three weeks to relax and enjoy. I'm much more able to handle this now than I would have before we left. It was a real gift.

I'll keep you posted as things progress. Thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers. Hope you're having a great summer!

Blessings~

Santa Fe and My Favorite Thing!

2009-07-12T15:56:00.015-05:00

It doesn't seem possible, but we've been in Santa Fe for a week! I have done NOTHING but veg! It's been hotter here than normal, but still better than the 100+ that it's been in Tulsa. I have a couple of pics for you. We're in our Motor Home at a nice park pretty close in. It's Old Santa Fe. Here's where I sit every morning to read the paper and drink my coffee. You see the laundry building in back of the pic and the clothes lines to hang out your sheets to dry. Nothing like fresh sheets dried on the line in Santa Fe air! More about the quilt you see later. We've seen some old friends and found new ones here in the RV park. That's always the best part!

We seldom do the tourista thing in Santa Fe, but decided to take a trip to the Plaza. It looks just like it did 40 years ago.

For those of you who have never been here, the Indians sit on the portal at the old Palace of the Governors and sell their wares. I tried to take some closer pics for you, but they wanted me to buy something for the privilege!

Enough about Santa Fe. Let me tell you about this old quilt I'm working on.......

When I decided to make a business out of old quilty things, I was drawn to rescuing old tops, blocks, etc. that were not usable in their present condition and remaking them into something that could be used and enjoyed. Now I know that many of you are choking on your tongues right now, but I have to tell you I'm a bit of a rebel in the "old quilt" mindset. After buying 100s of tops and other items, I have learned that there is usually a reason that these things were not finished. They are either in horrible condition with stains or holes, terribly put together and unquiltable or just plain ugly. You know, if it was too ugly to quilt 100 years ago, it's probably still too ugly today!

I also see absolutely no reason to fold an ugly old thing up and stick it in an acid-free box and put it under the bed! So my answer is do something with it! In fact, I built a whole lecture around this called "What in the Heck Do I Do With This?" Can you actually tell me you've never bought an old thing and then got it home and said that to yourself?

I only have one rule, and that it is that the integrity of the piece must be maintained. That means no Bunnies or Bears or Jackets! I limit my artistic license to Wall or Small Quilts as well as Tablerunners or Table Toppers.

So.... I usually start by taking the thing apart. For many years my friends did not think I knew how to quilt because all I did was take things apart! And you should see the junk that people threw my way to make themselves feel better for not tossing their old ugly purchases! They soothed their consciences by giving it to me. Little did they know!!!

Here's a pic of a fabulous old top that I picked up recently. I guess I thought any of the 100s I already had just weren't as interesting! I believe that whoever made this top used up all her previously started projects and put them together. It's been very interesting to study how she segued from one piece to another. There are even single blocks unlike any others in there. I am in the process of taking them down to the largest possible pieces, mostly blocks. I will have to repiece some blocks to replace fabric that has disappeared as you'll see in the pictures.

Here are a few of the problems. In the pic below, the fabric between the stripes in one block has just evaporated!

That just scratches the surface! The other thing I find so interesting is how she used coping tools to go from one size to another. Obviously they did not have the accurate tools available that we have now, so alot of what I will do is resizing. Notice how she cut the row of squares in the middle to join them to the pinwheels. She must have thought that 1/2" would have made a lot of difference!

Then in the case below, she just used strips and wedges to get the size she needed. Very creative!

Well, I could go on and on. In any case, it's a wonderful piece that deserves to be saved. The fabrics range from the 1850s-1870s and up until about the turn of the century in the double pinks that are in the pic below. I'll keep you posted on it's progress.

I have to say that although I love designing fabric and publishing patterns for my wonderful customers, this is the type of thing that feeds my soul. I seem to really connect with the woman who made these unfinished projects and picture her smiling in approval when I am finally able to make something that others can appreciate. I'll post pics of some of the other things I've done sometime.

Have a wonderful week and stay cool!

Blessings~

Retreat!

2009-07-02T18:10:00.008-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, I certainly didn't expect to be so long in posting this, but my intentions never seem to work out with my actuality! We are finally on a road trip! Mom seemed to be stable enough so that we felt OK about leaving knowing that if we need to, we'll just go home. I call to check on her every few days and let her know where we are and what we're doing. Seems to keep her satisfied.

Right now, we're at Ghost Ranch in Northern New Mexico. It's a Presbyterian Camp/Conference Center and several folks from our church come out here once a year. We're doing a Bible Study on Genesis and the First Family and it's very interesting and thought provoking! Here is our Pastor, Rick who is getting ready to slap a big bug on his leg! Who does he look like?
This is the area that Georgia O'Keefe lived and worked in for about 50 years. It is in a very remote area, so no cell coverage unless you go to the top of the mountain, but they do have irregular wireless in the Library on Campus. So that's where I am writing you from!

We're in the High Desert, about 6500 feet above sea level. I'm just about to get acclimated to the altitude! Had a wonderful massage today and I am so relaxed. Bear with me if I fall asleep on you.............

OK, I'm awake now! Thought you'd like to see some pics. Since we're in the motorhome, we opted to fix our own food instead of eating in the Dining Hall, which I understand can be real iffy. Here's Bill at our first evening meal eating left overs! Don't know what he thought was so funny!

The desert is in bloom this time of year. Here are the flowers outside our RV:

Did you always think cactus was ugly? Think again-----

How about some wild asters?

We are surrounded by red rock formations. Here is Chimney Rock:

So that gives you an idea of what we're experiencing right now. I desperately need some Spiritual Rejuvination after the last few months with Mom. After we leave here on Sunday we'll go to Santa Fe for a couple of weeks (I hope). That's my home. Born and raised there and it's always a treat to visit with friends and family. I'm hoping to actually work on a couple of quilt related things while I'm away. I'll show some pics next time of my project.

So, that's it for me! Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and that you get that needed rest and rejuvination, too!

Blessings~

My Other Collections

2009-06-13T13:13:00.010-05:00

We've kind of been thinking about whether we'd like to sell the house and move to smaller quarters. It appeals to me a lot. But I sure have a lot of stuff I'd have to shed. You've seen my feedsacks and vintage stuff. Unfortunately that's not my only addiction. Here are a few pics of other stuff I have collected. EBay may get even busier when I get this stuff going!

Here's my collection of Fire King and other Jadite:

Here's more Jadite and other Fire King stuff. Sad to say I actually have more than is shown in these pictures!
Here's some of my McCoy Pottery. Love the colors!
And here's some of my vintage Fiesta and Lipton Teapots. Love these colors, too!
So you see, I have a LOT of STUFF! And this doesn't even count all the Sewing Collectibles and other items packed away in closets that need to be sold! But it will be fun and it'll take years, I'm sure. Fortunately, we're not in any hurry to leave! Could you tell I used to be an antiques dealer? There's still nothing I enjoy more than shopping for this stuff and I still can't pass up a bargain! Have a great week~

The Care and Keeping of Feedsacks!

2009-05-22T10:49:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone! As you probably know, I'm still selling feedsacks and rickrack like a mad woman! And I remembered that I'd talk to you a bit about caring for feedsacks, so here I go!

First of all, if you ever find feedsacks that are "perfect", it'll be few and far between. I seldom find one that doesn't have at least some staining and a few peck or pull holes. What are those you say?

Remember that many of these sacks were taken to the coop or the barn and possibly thrown on the floor where the chickens could get to them and peck at them to get a nibble! Hence, you have a "peck hole". Or when the strings were being removed, they might be pulled a little too hard and you'll get a "pull hole". So there you are!

The good news is that I believe that they must have used steel in the manufacturing of these things! Not really, but they are VERY durable! I wash all my vintage fabric when it comes into my house for a couple of reasons. First, you never know what you're bringing in with it! And secondly, since I sell so much, I want to make sure that the fabrics are stable, both in color and strength. My stain remover of choice is OXYCLEAN. This stuff is fabulous! It takes those stains away and doesn't fade the color. I love it!

For feedsacks, I usually use a 5 gallon paint bucket. I fill it up with hot water and put 1 heaping big scoop full of Oxyclean in and swish it around till it's dissolved. Then I add 12-14 feedsacks. I let them soak 24 hours!! The biggest problem I find is when folks don't use enough product or they don't soak long enough. So don't be stingy with your Oxyclean OR time!!

When that's done, take out the sacks and wash them in your washer with your favorite detergent. No, don't put them on gentle, or be afraid to agitate them! I'm telling you, they are made with steel!! Run them through the full cycles and throw them in the dryer! Yes, the dryer! You will be amazed at how beautifully they come out. If, by chance, after all that, they still have some light staining, then soak 1 or 2 at a time in a plastic dishpan with a couple of heaping tablespoons of Oxyclean for another 24 hours. If the stain is still not out, you'll have to live with it. But hey, if you're cutting them up, no big deal, right??

I generally store them without ironing them because I'd just have to do it again later. You've seen my sewing room so you know that I keep my stuff on open shelves. That's partly because I don't have much natural light in there. I don't think feedsacks fade easily, but if I had lots of light coming in, I might consider covering my shelves. Not just for those, but all my fabrics.

So there you have it! The one thing I always stress to the audience when speaking about feedsacks is to USE them! I inevitably hear someone say "I have a whole stack of these, but I just can't cut them!" My response is "Well, then, sell them to me!" I'm just a believer in using what you have, but if you just want to look at them and fondle them, I guess that's OK, too. In any case, enjoy!

Blessings~

Fusing Rickrack Tutorial

2009-05-09T11:06:00.012-05:00

Hi Everyone!

As most of you know, I put rickrack on almost EVERYTHING and really needed a faster and more accurate way to do it. Here's what I came up with and I want to share with you a tutorial on my technique of fusing it..

First of all, let's talk about fusible web. I have found that the best fusible web for any project is Vilene, now known as Soft Fuse. It's a Japanese product and not easy to find. I am planning to carry it in my web store soon. It is so light weight that you cannot even tell it's there.
You really need to use a teflon applique sheet for this. I cut my fusible in 1/4" pieces by the length I need. If I need a long piece of rickrack, as in a border, I still cut the fusible pieces fairly short (10"-12") and place them next to each other. It's much easier to handle and won't matter if you leave a little gap. Then I press the fusible web strip to the rickrack as shown in the picture below.
Then I peel off the paper strip and place the rickrack on my block where needed. This is where you really need the Soft Fuse. You'll notice in the picture above that you can see the fusible in the dips on the rickrack. When you iron on the rickrack with Soft Fuse, it simply melts into the fabric and disappears. I have tried it with Heat n Bond light and other brands and you can actually see the fusible sitting on top of the fabric. This is so much nicer!
Here's a picture of longer pieces for a border. One thing I really like to do is change colors under a flower!

I have to stress that fusing is simply a basting technique for me. It allows me to be more accurate than I can be with pins and is less of a hassle. It is not permanent and the rickrack still needs to be sewn down. I have 2 techniques that I especially like for doing this. I NEVER sew down the middle of the rickrack. That just leaves the edges to curl. Yuk! My most preferred method is to tack the rickrack at the inner and outer points by hand with a matching thread. I'm not talking fine hand applique here! I'm talking tacking! It really makes the rickrack smooth and has a fine finished look. I tend to use this method when I am hand finishing my applique pieces. This is how it looks:

The other technique I like is to sew it by machine following the curves of the rickrack. This elimates the curling that you get by sewing it down the middle. I tend to use this method when I'm finishing my applique by machine. I should tell you that this is particularly why I bought my new Pfaff! It has a way of automatically lifting the presser foot when you stop sewing so I can have both hands free to turn the fabric. If you had to do it by hand or knee lift, you'd be goofy by the time you're done on a long piece!! It's kind of hard to see here,but I think you get the idea.
So that's it for fusing rickrack! If you have any questions, just put them in the comment section or email me. Let me know how it works for you!
Have a great weekend! Blessings~

Quick Note

2009-04-24T11:08:00.002-05:00

Hi All--

Thanks so much for being such wonderful friends and checking in with me so often! Mom is actually beginning to rally a bit! Whatever was causing the jaundice appears to have resolved itself and we have found a routine that seems to suit her real well. She's just happy to be in bed most of the time, only getting up for meals and the bathroom. She will not be leaving the Nursing Unit, but seems to be OK with that. I think she likes the attention! Bill's been packing up her apartment and we will move everything to storage on Monday. So things are better on that note.

As you know, I'm selling full feedsacks like a mad woman on Ebay. Such fun! Thought I'd mention that (hopefully) next week I'm going to list TONS of COTTON RICKRACK on Ebay and Etsy at Buy It Now prices and it will be a BLOWOUT!! How's this??? 5 YARDS for $1!! Yep, you read it right!! So watch for it!

Other than that, I had been interviewed for an article on a News Website about feedsacks, etc. Thanks to Amy for putting them in touch with me! If you're interested in reading it, the link is http://www.recessionwire.com/2009/04/15/quilting-in-the-depression/.

Again thanks for caring about us. You'll never know how much it means. I'll get back to something interesting on the blog soon!

Blessings~

Update

2009-04-18T09:40:00.008-05:00

Hi Everyone--

I apologize for not posting this week. As you can imagine, it's been crazy! To those of you who had to endure looking at my sewing room yet again, thanks for your patience. If you're a new visitor, I hope you enjoyed it!

We moved Mom from the hospital to a Nursing facility a week ago last Wednesday. She hallucinated non-stop for 4 days. That means 4 days with no sleep. They even had to restrain her at one time. On the day we were to move her, when I arrived at the hospital she was finally asleep. She slept for about 24 hours. Not even aware of her move!

They have been discontinuing the sedating meds slowly over the last week. The hallucinations have not returned and her mind is OK, but it has really taken a toll on her body. She began to get yellow again and I wondered if the problem with the gall stones was returning. She had all the symptoms that were present before we took her to the hospital. However, that has improved. Her lab tests are a wreck, though. Her kidney and liver funtions as well as the proteins are all out of whack and I have to suspect that her body is beginning to shut down. We will probably call in hospice next week.

So on to other news--- In the time I had available this week, I started listing full feedsacks on Ebay. There are some great ones out there if you're interested. A few samples are below. I've started including a coordinating solid repro fat quarter for use with the sack.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, too! Here's a pic of Cameron with the Easter Bunny!

So that's it for now. I'm off to list some more feedsacks today. Hope everying is having a great weekend!

Blessings~

Welcome to My Sewing Room!

2009-04-09T19:50:00.014-05:00

I'm going to take you around the room from the point that I enter at the top of the stairs..... This is where I cut. Underneath are all my repro solids. You can also see the chair I sit in occasionally. I can also watch the TV from there:
This shelf holds SOME of my books and misc. stuff. Actually, I moved the lion's share of my books to the shelves in the bathroom. It doesn't get too much use, so I'm not too grossed out! The solids on the floor are all vintage solids:
OK--Now here's the new things we've added recently. Bill put the large shelf on the right together that we got from Wal-Mart. It holds all the repro fabs I use to sew with. Before they were all stacked on the floor! He built the smaller shelf unit to the left of it. It holds all my felt, some of the feedsacks I use for myself, and my chenilles. Some of it was on the floor and some came from other shelving units.
The other large shelves to the left of that one were already there and hold my regular and vintage cottons plus 25 years worth of ufos.
Continuing to the left is my TV and more of the feedsacks I use for sewing. The small shelf unit to the right of the TV are all novelty feedsacks that I will eventually sell.
Here are some of the feedsacks that I will sell in some form or another. The mess you see on the floor is me putting feedsack pieces in groups to list on Etsy & Ebay.
Note the shelf Bill built above the doors to the bathroom and closet! Isn't he handy?? And some of it is still available! What should I do????
And here's my NEW ironing station! Bill built me a cabinet to hold my Big Board. It is the best thing to have that extra space underneath! Did you notice my Christmas present to myself?? I LOVE that Rowenta Steam Iron!! I got it at Bed, Bath and Beyond using my 20% coupon and it ONLY (LOL) cost me $137. It hurt, but it was worth it!
One of the things that Bill did that I like the very BEST is my new design wall! It used to be a Warm and White batting tacked to the wall. It was a real problem if I needed to pin something. He saw Linda Jenkins' new design wall when we visited them this summer so we copied hers. He covered 2 big pieces of wallboard with batting and mounted them to the wall. Now I just pin into wallboard which is SO much easier! It's also great for picture taking. It measures about 7' x 7 1/2'. I LOVE it!!
OK-- I confess that I still have one rat's nest to clean up. OK-- I confess there's more than that. OK-- I confess there's STILL a LOT of stuff on the floor!! Anyhoo, here's all my vintage quilts, tops, chenille spreads and no telling what else. This is a before pic. I'm betting that you won't see alot of change in the after pic!
So that's it! Scary, huh? At least I know where everything is! And I must say that when I was going through my stuff I found some great things!! Very fun....

Thanks for stopping by!

Update on Mom

2009-04-06T02:32:00.002-05:00

It's been interesting.....

On Friday afternoon, Mom was taken in to have some gall stones removed from her bile duct. Get this, her gall bladder had been removed 40 years ago! Apparently back then they did not remove the bile duct with it, so if you had some microscopic stones in there, they would just keep growing!

So the good news is that her color is good and physically she is much better. The bad news is that because of the anesthetic, the hallucinations (you remember last summer?) have recurred and are worse than ever. They're not controlled as of last night. Fortunately she's too weak to get out of bed and they have a monitor on her or we'd really be in trouble.

So I don't have a clue where we go from here. I've contacted the people I need to talk to about getting her into the Nursing area where she lives. Of course, you can do nothing on the weekend. Just hope it's not a hassle to get her in.

Bless her heart. She's so tired and it's so sad. I'll keep you posted....

Blessings~

Roadtrip Cancelled!!

2009-04-03T09:39:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone--

Just a quick update to tell you that we're not going anywhere right now. Bill's on the road to feeling better, but we took my Mom to the hospital yesterday afternoon. They're not sure yet what's going on. Tests to check her pancreas today.

So I'm sitting in the hospital and will have some time to catch up on magazines, etc! I'm really trusting God on this since she has been ready to enter into His presence for a long, long time. Keep us in your prayers, please. I'll keep you up to date.

Blessings~

On Vacation - NOT!!

2009-04-02T10:21:00.007-05:00

Well............. You'll have to excuse me, I'm rambling a bit today......

We were supposed to leave for a road trip to St. George, UT to see our friends Nick and Mary. But Bill woke up yesterday with a nasty upper respiratory something so instead, he went to the Dr. to get fixed. Well, not "fixed", but you know what I mean!

So we'll give him a few days to get better and THEN we'll head west. The motorhome is all ready to go!

Nanette is supposed to be in St. George this month, too, and I was hoping to see her. But it looked like we were going to miss each other. However, with this delay, things may work out after all! Maybe a silver lining, yes????

This has been an interesting week for a couple of reasons, nothing related to quilting! I'm not a native Okie, but have lived here a long time. I've come to understand that the very best thing about Oklahoma weather is that it's never boring! A couple of weekends ago we were in the 80s. Then last Saturday we had the most gorgeous snow!! Got about 7-8 inches of great big flakes all day long. Just beautiful. The Best part about it was that Sunday it was in the 60s and the snow was all gone! Our daughter and family live just outside OK City (about 100 miles away) and they didn't get as much as we did, but enough for Cameron and his Dad to play in. Is this not the cutest snowman you've ever seen???

The other thing that happened was termites! They say that there's two kinds of houses in Tulsa. One that has termites and the other that's fixin' to! (A little Okie Speak for you.) Well, now ours has gone from one category to the other. We walked into the bedroom last week to see all these flying bugs coming out from one of the light switches! So called the friendly pest control company and got that all fixed up. Sorry, no pictures of that for you.

So I'm trying to decide what to do with these extra couple of days. Sew?? List feedsacks on eBay?? Both???? I think both. Maybe list today and sew tomorrow. I put my roadtrip hold on my website and am caught up with cutting feedsack orders til I get back, so this 'found' time might be kinda fun!

Hope you're having a great week!

Blessings~

FEEDSACKS!!

2009-03-25T13:58:00.006-05:00

OK ~ You asked for it, you're getting it!! I had an opportunity to buy over 200 feedsacks a couple of weeks ago. There are many duplicates so I am selling FULL sacks, which I don't do very often. I've got a few listed so far and will get them listed as quickly as I can. They are available on both eBay and Etsy, whichever you prefer. If you need more than one just let me know. I've tried to keep the prices as fair as possible at $12.50 each. There will be some that will go to auction, but these are at fixed price. Here's a sample:

In other news, many of you know my friend, Karen Snyder. She recently "retired" from her fabulously successful shop in Long Beach, WA. I don't know how you can be retired when you are still designing fabric and writing books, not to mention being the "face" of Elna Sewing Machines. But I digress.....

She bought herself a fabulous 1973 Airstream Trailer to travel around the country in and has written David Bromstad of Colorsplash on HGTV to redecorate it for her! He and the producers LOVE the idea, but HGTV is balking.

SO--If you want to participate and write to HGTV on her behalf, she's giving away a bundle of my RISE n SHINE fabrics to the winner of the drawing. You'll find all the particulars on her site. Wouldn't it be cool to see her on TV??!!

So that's it for me! I'm off to cut feedsacks to fill orders. Yep, they're still coming fast and furious! Thank you!! Have a great week--

Blessings~

Let's Talk About Rickrack!

2009-03-19T14:18:00.013-05:00

Some of you may have already seen the new Quilter's Home issue featuring collecting Rickrack. It inspired me to show you some of my collection! Hope you enjoy!

Before I start though, I want to show you the cute Iron Keeper that was also featured in the magazine using my Rise N Shine fabric! Thanks, Stasia, for emailing me and letting me know it was there!

Now on to rickrack.....

As most of you already know, I am a rickrack fiend! I absolutely love the way that it looks with feedsacks and repro fabrics. Before I found a good source for cotton rickrack I used only vintage cotton because the colors are so much nicer with vintage fabrics.

After collecting quite a few, I noticed that the labels were just wonderful! Many of them are from companies that we would expect like Wrights, Penney's, Talon, Coats and Fruit of the Loom. Oh, you didn't expect Fruit of the Loom???

But the really fun ones are those that we've never heard of today such as those below:

Notice how they seem to borrow themes from one another? Cameo starts out as a rose, then adds a cameo which is picked up by Lady Fayre. Here's another example from Warren's old and newer label and it's similarity to Boiltex. I have no idea which came first.

It's interesting to see how Wright's changed it's label through the years, along with it's price!

Penimaid was an old label for JC Penney's as you can tell from the package on the right.

Some companies even included a spool of matching thread to use in sewing your rickrack!

The next picture is one of the cutest I've seen. Little Prudence was precious!

I also love the Tailor Bird brand and once in awhile you see odd ones like the Princess rickrack that is wrapped sideways.

One of my most recent finds is this rayon rickrack in a box from Trimtex! Don't you love it? Next to it are their cotton cousins in more typical packaging.

Well, that's it for rickrack! Hope you enjoyed looking at some of my collection. Do you have any interesting ones to share? I'll put them on my blog if you do.

Hope everyone is having a great week! Blessings~

Guess What I've Been Doing??

2009-03-10T10:32:00.005-05:00

Can you guess it? Right!! Cutting feedsack squares!! Thank you to EVERYONE who has already placed an order. No, I haven't developed carpal tunnel YET!

It has been fun to get back to playing with feedsacks. There's just something about them...... Here's a pic of a bundle of 100 off to play in someone else's house today!

I promised you a sneak peek of the quilt I'm working on. Actually, I'll show you the before and after. At least one block. The setting will be much different so I'm not giving too much away. Here's the quilt that inspired me:

And here's the block I came up with. What do you think?

That little inset piece was not as easy to figure out as you'd think! Of course everything I do is fusible, so I had to work around that. That's what got me to thinking about a picture tutorial blog.

I'm sure I don't need to say this, but I notice that other designers have it on their blogs, but everything I do is copyrighted, so please don't reproduce without my permission. You'll also see this on the sidebar.

That's my big week! I'm off to cut more feedsacks now. Hope everyone is have a great week, too!

Blessings~

Feedsacks!

2009-03-04T11:58:00.012-06:00

This week has been a jumble. Bill and I have spent 2 days updating the website. Don't ever let anyone tell you that MS Front Page is user friendly!! It always turn out to be an ordeal!

One thing I added is that I am now back in business of selling 6" feedsack squares. I had them on my website for a long, long time and just could not keep up with the cutting demand along with everything else. I have continued to sell them without advertising to my customers who contacted me personally. But now I am telling everyone that they are back! They are still by Special Request, meaning that they need to contact me to order and when the order is ready, I will invoice the customer. Seems to be a good compromise for all. They will sell for $27.50 per bundle of 50. You can go to the Hollyhock Quilts website to view the particulars.

Every once in awhile, I get lucky and have a chance to buy a pretty big collection of feedsacks. Last week was one of those times. So needless to say, I've been soaking and washing feedsacks like a crazy woman. They were really nice. Florals mostly and several duplicates. Here is a pic of only about 2/3 of the ones I purchased.

It got me to thinking.... Some of you might know that I have reserved another blog name for Hollyhock Quilts. It was actually my intention to just transfer this blog to that one. But instead of that I think I will use that blog as a tutorial blog. The first entry will be the Collecting, Care and Keeping of feedsacks! It's not out there yet, but look for it soon. I also plan to have a picture tutorial for all my patterns and several of my techniques. What do you think?

Along with the box of printed ones, there was another box full of odd white sacks like sugar sacks, flour sacks, seed sacks. etc. Not sure what I'll do with them. Most of them are pretty faded or stained. But this one was in there and I think it's my favorite of the whole lot! Note what it says at the top about the Pert Little Pullets and Foxy Little Roosters. Don't you just LOVE that??

So that's it for me. Off to read my Bible Study lesson for tonight. Yes, Presbyterians sometimes go to church other than on Sunday and even study the Bible! I know you're shocked. Bill and I are leaders of a small faith group at church and it's always a good thing for the leader to read the lesson! Have a great week!

Blessings~

Wild Wednesday (Not!)!!

2009-02-25T13:43:00.007-06:00

BORING, BORING, BORING!!! I apologize for not posting earlier this week. Let's see....

Monday was cleaning day and laundry. Sound familiar?? Tuesday was 4 hours at the Eye Dr. with my Mom in the afternoon. Wait, wait, wait.

That morning we went to the cemetery to purchase crypts because they were on SALE!! Oh yes!! You read it right! The crypts were on sale!! 50% off no less. Does that strike you as hilarious as it does me???? Not really where I would have liked to spend money, but I could just hear ourselves later saying, as we were writing that check to bury one or the other, OH WHY did we not do that??

No new fabric, nothing exciting. So I'll take the opportunity to show you a couple of Gallery Photos! Thank goodness for my friends!

This is a wonderful piece done by Lina LaMora in Purcellville, VA. It is a Drunkard's Path design done in authentic feedsacks. She says it was her 1st attempt at machine quilting. I think she did a beautiful job! Thanks, Lina!

I also want to share these darling dolls made by Jenny Alcorn from Victoria, AU. She dressed them in several of the "Fun with Feedsacks" prints. Thanks for sharing the pics, Jenny!

Other than that, I do have some good news! I got the results back from my Dr. on my blood sugar. I'm happy to say that it is back in the normal range so I guess my diligence has paid off! This week will be my last posting about my weight (which hasn't changed), not because I'm not still working at it, but I'm down to those last few pounds which may take forever to get rid of. I just can't bear filling you in on the ounces gained or lost over the next few months! But I will let you know when I reach my goal.

I give many thanks to General Geranium for her encouragement and kick start to get so many of us on the road to getting healthier. Thanks, Sharon!!

I'm actually still working on the quilt that was inspired by the vintage piece I showed you. I'm really happy with the way it's working out, too! I'll give you a sneak peek soon. I think you'll be surprised.

Have a great week, my friends. Hope you get to do lots of quilting!

Blessings~

Another Manic Monday (OK - Tuesday)!!

2009-02-17T13:20:00.005-06:00

My apologies to any of you who tried to look at my blog yesterday and were greeted with a blank page! Apparently a link I had added caused the posts to disappear. How weird is that? Anyhoo--hopefully it's back now and working properly.

We had a fun little trip last week. I actually didn't take the camera (duh!) thinking there wouldn't be much to take pics of, but you might have enjoyed it more than I thought. Bill and I had gone to a travel show here in Tulsa a couple of weeks ago and at the booth for a new Indian casino on the OK/MO border, we won a couple of free gift certificates! His was for $50 worth of food and mine was for $25 worth of play money. So off we went on Thursday for a little Valentine's getaway.

I really wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. I had found that if you mentioned "the web" when you made reservations that you got $30 off your room! That made the room $69. And BOY!! Was it beautiful!! They spared NO expense with gorgeous granite, big flat screen TV, and a beautiful tile steam shower along with a huge king sized bed that you practically needed a ladder to get in to! Wow!! So we went to the casino and spent several hours playing. They had a Valentine's deal where, if you accumulated 50 points on your players card, they would give you a little box of chocolates. We both had done that and when I got mine, they had me turn it over and scratch it off to reveal Happy Valentines. Great. Then Bill turns his over and wins ANOTHER $100 in play money!! Besides that we enjoyed a delicious steak in one of the 4 on-site restaurants with the gift card and had a delightful time. Came home with a little money even!

After a leisurely breakfast we took off for Joplin and I did a little SHOPPING! We stopped at the darling shop in Carthage where I did the book signing last fall and I got this gorgeous group of fabric. Haven't decided what to do, but the colors are wonderful!

Then hit a couple of antique malls and can you guess what I found???? Let's see--- Could it be FEEDSACKS??!!

Other than that, by the time we stopped for our famous fried chicken, I guess you can figure that I didn't lose any weight! But I didn't gain, either, so I'm OK with that! We had a lot of fun and now I'm back to work..... Sorta, anyway.

Hope you all have a great week and get lots of time to stitch!

Blessings~

A GREAT WEEK!!

2009-02-09T16:32:00.008-06:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, I had a great week and lots to tell you! FIRST, I lost that 1/2 pound I gained and another pound to boot!! Yaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Little bits of progress, but progress none-the-less.

NEXT I guess people felt sorry for me talking about my boring life of work, eat, and sleep so I got gifts!! I opened a totally unexpected package from Sharon at Red Geranium Cottage and look what I got!! DOTS and SOAP for Valentine's Day!! Two of my favorite things!! I've been collecting dots for a long time and these will go great with them. Now ~ What to make?? What to make??

THEN I opened an envelope and there was this DARLING group of fat quarters from Barbara at QuiltSoup!! It's her new fabric line called Bubblegum Basics. It is so cute and I just can't wait to play with it!

THEN I had a couple of really nice things happen in magazines! First, I looked at the April APQ and saw that Laura Boehnke had used my Rise N Shine fabric to test one of the patterns! I have to say she did a great job and the pattern is darling!! Darn! Why didn't I think of that first!!

THEN I got an email from a friend telling me that Mark Lipinski had reviewed Sugar Sack Quilts in his March issue. GULP!! He doesn't mince words, does he? But he gave it a wonderful review and to answer his "Should I buy it?" question he said "In a heartbeat, sister!!" Wow!! How cool is THAT??

So there you have it. Today I'm filling orders from my wonderful customers that came in over the weekend and hoping to sew tomorrow. We went to see the kids this weekend and went to a huge Arts and Craps (my husband's term for crafts) show. Also, got to see Cameron play basketball! It's amazing how good 5/6 year olds can be! Unfortunately, that was the other team!

Hope you all have a great week! I'll have to remember to complain about my boring life again sometime. If I do, will you send me presents?

Blessings~

Monday Update

2009-02-02T10:33:00.005-06:00

Well, I have to say that there is no weight dropped this week. I forgot to weigh on Friday and after attending a Birthday Party on Saturday night and a Super Bowl Party on Sunday, I weighed the same (maybe 1/2 pound more!) that I did last week!! So this week I'm doing damage control!!

I've decided that I have a very boring life. I cannot think of one thing interesting enough to tell you today. All I do is work and eat and sleep. I did get to play in my room on Saturday and got a tiny start on that quilt I told you I was excited about making. I'll show you a picture of the quilt that inspired me and then you can see the finished product whenever I'm done. Here it is:

When I am designing a quilt, it speaks to me as I go. That's one reason I have always found it difficult to computer generate a quilt. Already since I started this one, I have changed it 2 or 3 times. Hopefully for the better! I'll let you be the judge when you see it.

I haven't shown you a Gallery quilt lately. Here's one from a fellow Tulsan, Valerie Fischer. We have never met except on the blog, but it was really fun being in touch with a neighbor! She used my Tin Star Cowboy pattern and added those fabulous guitars along with the Roy Rogers fabrics to make a Christmas present for a Roy Rogers fan. I think it is wonderful!! Thanks for sharing, Valerie!!

Well, folks, I guess that's all the excitement I can handle on this Monday morning! I'm going to do some laundry and go upstairs and sew a little more. Have a wonderful week!

Blessings~

Loser Monday and My New Cabinet!

2009-01-26T09:12:00.004-06:00

Guess what I got?? WII Fit!! I am SOOOOOO excited. I decided that I had to get more serious about exercise and Kim (DD) had one at Christmas that looked really fun so I rushed home to go shopping and pick one up. Yeah right!

Guess what I found out? So did everybody else!! I've been checking here and there since Christmas and nope, they just sold the last one. So Bill was going to Sam's and I said to check there (never expecting the would have one, either). So he asks the guy if they have any and the guy says "GO NOW to this aisle!! We just got some in this morning! GO NOW!!" So off he went and voila'! Here is my WII Fit!! Now I just have to figure it out!!

Oh, yes! And I lost another 1/2 pound last week! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! At least I'm making progress.

OK--More news!!

You know I told you in the post about my sewing room that Bill was going to build me a cabinet for my ironing board? Well, here it is!! I LOVE it. I'm sure I'll find all kinds of stuff to add to it, but I got a little more stuff off the floor for now. It is SO cool!!

I spent several hours playing in my newly organized room (OK-so I'm still not done) and I came across an old quilt that gave me great inspiration so I pulled out some of the fabric that I bought in Houston last fall and I can't wait to get started!! I am SO excited to sew again!! I'll let you in on a sneak peek as I get some of it made.

Hope you all have a great week. We're supposed to get freezing rain this afternoon and tomorrow so I'll be huddled in my room upstairs and wait it out. Please pray that the power doesn't go out again like it did a year ago! I would be so sad if I couldn't sew!

Blessings~

OH! I Forgot to Show You---

2009-01-18T14:31:00.004-06:00

In my last post about my sewing room, I forgot to tell you about one of the things that Bill did that I like the very BEST. It is my new design wall! It used to be a Warm and White batting tacked to the wall. It was a real problem if I needed to pin something. He saw Linda Jenkins' new design wall when we visited them this summer so we copied hers. He covered 2 big pieces of wallboard with batting and mounted them to the wall. Now I just pin into wallboard which is SO much easier! It's also great for picture taking. It measures about 7' x 7 1/2'. I LOVE it!!

Blessings~

My Sewing Room!

2009-01-16T18:24:00.014-06:00

Hi Everyone--

In the last post I told you I had been reorganizing. Well, now before you look at these pics, let me assure you that it IS better than it was before! I unfortunately didn't think to take before pics, so I can't prove it, but you have to trust me!

I'm going to take you around the room from the point that I enter at the top of the stairs.....

This is where I cut. Underneath are all my repro solids. You can also see the chair I sit in occasionally. I can also watch the TV from there:

This shelf holds SOME of my books and misc. stuff. Actually, I moved the lion's share of my books to the shelves in the bathroom. It doesn't get too much use, so I'm not too grossed out! The solids on the floor are all vintage solids:

OK--Now here's the new stuff! Bill put the large shelf on the right together that we got from Wal-Mart. It holds all the repro fabs I use to sew with. Before they were all stacked on the floor! He built the smaller shelf unit to the left of it. It holds all my felt, some of the feedsacks I use for myself, and my chenilles. Some of it was on the floor and some came from other shelving units.

The other large shelves to the left of that one were already there and hold my regular and vintage cottons plus 25 years worth of ufos.

Continuing to the left is my TV and more of the feedsacks I use for sewing. The small shelf unit to the right of the TV are all novelty feedsacks that I will eventually sell.

Here are some of the feedsacks that I will sell in some form or another. The mess you see on the floor is me putting feedsack pieces in groups to list on Etsy & Ebay.

Note the shelf Bill built above the doors to the bathroom and closet! Isn't he handy?? And some of it is still available! What should I do????

And here's my ironing station. Karen said that she learned that ironing boards are a waste of space and I agree! So Bill is going to build me a cabinet there that will hold my Big Board. Did you notice my Christmas present to myself?? I LOVE that Rowenta Steam Iron!! I got it at Bed, Bath and Beyond using my 20% coupon and it ONLY (LOL) cost me $137. It hurt, but it was worth it!

OK--I confess that I still have one rat's nest to clean up. OK--I confess there's more than that. OK--I confess there's STILL a LOT of stuff on the floor!! Anyhoo, here's all my vintage quilts, tops, chenille spreads and no telling what else. This is a before pic. I'm betting that you won't see alot of change in the after pic!

So that's it! Like I said, you have to trust me that it's better than it was before. Scary, huh? At least I know where everything is! And I must say that when I was going through my stuff I found some great things!! Very fun....

Have a great weekend!

Blessings~

Loser Monday!

2009-01-12T10:32:00.011-06:00

I'm doing my part to participate in Sharon's challenge to lose weight! Miss Red Geranium Cottage is determined to lose weight and has included any who want to follow that path in her effort to do so. I'll post my weekly weight loss updates at the end of this page. Here's my story:

I've been overweight most of my adult life. I have dieted on and off and lost a few pounds and gained back more. Sound familiar? I'm absolutely convinced that I'd weigh 20 pounds less if I'd never dieted.

Anyhoo, several years ago I learned about the Weigh Down program. If you're not familiar with it, it's a faith based weight loss program developed by a Gwen somebody (can't recall her name right now). It is the only eating program that has ever made any sense to me at all. It's focused on getting in touch with your body and what it feels like to be hungry and full. For anyone who has ever been a compulsive eater, that is a whole new thing. It becomes a way of life to actually eat in response to your body's needs. What it really boils down to is portion control. Not what you eat, but how much. I'm not good at denying myself things that I enjoy, so this lets me eat small amounts of them which I find is enough to satisfy.

Back to a few years ago..... I lost about 20 pounds and it was the only time I didn't gain it back. But I got lazy and didn't lose the rest. Until about a year ago and my Dr. told me I was mildly diabetic and said I could control it if I lost 25 pounds. What??? I have NO diabetes in my family and I thought diabetes was for grossly overweight people!! 25 pounds?? Please!!

Well, he didn't put me on meds and just wanted me to lose the weight. OK. Back to the Weigh Down thing. I lost another 20 and plan to lose my last 10 now. I will be going back to see him to have my blood sugar tested and see where I stand. I hope he's right about the weight loss. We'll see. I have since learned that there is a HUGE connection between stress and diabetes! That's one reason I'm trying to reduce as much stress as possible in my life, such as deadlines and pressure from outside sources.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! I'll keep you informed as to my weight loss by posting on Mondays and let you know about my blood sugar count when I get it. He hasn't put me on a monitor yet. I actually appreciate that he has not been real agressive about it since I hear there are a lot of unwanted side effects from the medications that control blood sugar. So keep your fingers crossed! And a few extra prayers to keep me focused and eating healthy would be greatly appreciated.

I actually weigh on Fridays since I tend to splurge a little more on the weekends. But I'll still give you the results on Monday.

Jan 19th - ONE POUND!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy!!!
Jan 26th - Another HALF POUND!
Feb 2nd - BOO HOO!! I think I gained back that half pound!!
Feb 9th - I lost the half pound and one more!! Yaaaaaaaayyyyy!!
Feb 16th - No weight lost, but that's OK! I had a lot of fun this week!!
Feb 23 - No weight lost, but got the results that my blood sugar is back in normal ranges! Last post until my goal is met. Another 7-8 pounds to lose.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T11:37:00.010-06:00

I guess it's time to get back to the real world and tend to business. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are on your way to a fabulous 2009!

The last week and a half has been busy and a lot of fun. On the 23rd we enjoyed visiting with friends at their annual Open House. On Christmas Eve we had Mom over for a simple meal before we headed to Church and then to some friends for a casual get together. Christmas Day had us driving to OKC to see the kids and have dinner before we headed home with Cameron for a couple of days. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but all he really wanted to do was stay home and play with his new Wii games!

Then on Saturday, they drove here and we picked up Mom and went to lunch to celebrate Kim's birthday (which was the next day). After that, we came home and had our family Christmas here followed by cake that Cameron and I made on Friday for Kim's birthday.

They took off in the late afternoon and peace descended on the castle again! Whew! I don't know what you peeps who have a million kids and family do!

We had a quiet New Year's Eve. Didn't make it until midnight I'm afraid to say. And today is restful and quiet, too. I ended up in the Urgent Care center yesterday with an ear infection and PINK EYE!! I have NEVER had that in my life, but here I am at 58 years old!! What's that all about??? Fortunately I don't feel bad, but I'm being good and trying not to expose the entire city to it. We have a couple more Holiday Open Houses to attend in the next few days, so hopefully it'll get under control quickly. Heaven knows I don't want to miss a thing!!

I want you to know that I followed through with that baking thing and I have pictures to prove it! We made the best new cookie recipe. Just 6 ingredients and they were kind of like shortbread or wedding cookies. Just delicious!

Then of course we made Bill's favorite, Oatmeal!

And finally we did the best Caramel Corn. So easy and good!

I also wanted you to see the little Charlie Brown tree I always put in my kitchen. It's actually my favorite!

So that's it for us! The orders have been pouring in with the Free Shipping, too! So cutting and packing have been on tap for us as well. That will be over after today, so things should slow down a bit. I'll be listing more stuff next week on Ebay and Etsy I hope.

Have a Happy and Healthy and most Blessed New Year ever!

Sweet Saturday!!

2008-12-20T09:32:00.004-06:00

Hello My Dear Friends--

It has been a lovely week. COLD, COLD, COLD here!! I did not peek my head outside from Monday until Friday except to visit my Mom once. I did not put on any makeup, nor fix my hair! It has been wonderful!! Boring for you, but wonderful! It got into the 50s again yesterday, but a cold front coming back in today will make tomorrow in the 20s. Brrrrr for Tulsa!

Mostly what I've done is take advantage of the time to put LOTS of stuff on Etsy. I have almost gotten all my extra sale fabric listed except the Bees Knees. I'll start on that today. Then I'll move on to the solids! I TOLD you I have more stuff than you can imagine!!

I'm taking next week off to enjoy Christmas. I hope you do, too. I may even be able to bake a little. Do you KNOW how long it has been since I have had time to do that?? I was telling some friends last night that this is the first time since I started this business that I am caught up and have NO deadlines in front of me. What a wonderful place to be!!

I am sharing a wonderful quilt with you today. It's from Josephine Gaaf from Holland. She loves feedsacks and has an abundant collection. She also has a fabulous and popular blog that she writes in both Dutch and English. Such fun to read! Check out Josephines Blog when you have a minute. Thanks for sharing your quilt, Josephine!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and that your dear ones are near to you. We'll drive over to the kids on Christmas Day and then they'll be here the following Saturday to celebrate with Mom. I fear this may be the last time she'll be able to participate either because next year she won't be with us or physically unable. We're trying to make this year special for her holidays.

So til next time---

Much Love and Christmas Blessings ~

Fabulous Friday Again!!

2008-12-12T14:28:00.007-06:00

It seems like I'm doing well to post once a week, always on Friday! What's that all about? I cannot believe that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away! I hope you are not driving yourselves crazy trying to get ready. We have such a small family that it doesn't take much, thank goodness.

I have no idea what I have been doing this week. Bill and I took the day off yesterday and drove to his home town of Neosho, MO so he could pay the tax bill on a piece of property he and his brother still own there. I got to do a little antiquing (didn't find much). We stopped at a big new Casino on the OK/MO border to check it out. I'm not much of a gambler, but put a few bucks in and won $30!! That was cool!

On the way home we stopped at one of our favorite places in Vinita, OK for fried chicken. I must say they have the BEST fried chicken I've eaten! Lots of crispies to mix in with the potatoes and gravy. Yummmmmm! Here's the leftovers (We alway order way more than we can eat so we can bring it home.....) Then you follow it up with homemade chocolate pie!

Today's gallery pics are from one of my sweet customers in Japan. Mika has bought so many feedsack squares from me, I've lost count. Here is an idea of what she does with them. I think the bags are wonderful! Wouldn't you love to have one? Thanks so much for sending me the pics, Mika!!

That's about the most excitement I've seen this week. Other than listing on Etsy and shipping, that's it for me. I've still got so much to put out there it's overwhelming.

Have a wonderful weekend and we'll be in touch next week!

Blessings~

Another Fabulous Friday!

2008-12-05T10:05:00.007-06:00

Excuse me? Where did this week go??? I would love to tell you that I've been working my buns off, but no! I actually have gotten a bit of Christmas decorating done, which most of you don't know, but that's a real miracle in this household!

I can't say when it started, but many years ago I became the Grinch when it came to Christmas! I just got fed up with the commercialization and all the stress and said enough! I found I enjoyed Christmas from Dec. 23 until after dinner on Christmas Day. So minimal decorations went up about a week before and came down on Christmas Day night after everyone went home. My friends think I've lost my mind.

Well, this year we are having a few friends from church over on Sunday eve before the holiday gets too crazy and guess what? I'm putting up my decos now! Will even trim the tree today. Now that's amazing!! Here's my little entry table. Found this cute vintage felt runner when my friend Ann and I went antiquing on Wed. They probably didn't have that in the manger or a Merry Christmas sign above it, but it went well on that table! LOL!! That silly lamp only comes out once a year when I put it's Christmas shade on, too. My poor shepherd has lost his staff. Oh Biiillll!! Can you make me a new staff???

Other than that , wanted to share the sweetest email I got with you. These notes just make what I do worth every minute. It's from Connie Mounsey who lives here in OK. It's followed by a pic of the sweet quilt she made for her Mom.

Dear Glenna,

I enjoyed your book so much and was so inspired that I just had to make the "For My Dolly" miniature quilt. It was so easy, and this was the first project I made all by myself from start to finish. I had broken my ankle in February and my mom has been after my sister and I to get involved in quilting. She has quilted for years and wanted us to share her hobby with her. She came to take care of me and brought me a 40s featherweight (she owns 7 and is always looking for more!) and so she took me to buy material for my first project and I am hooked! I made the doll quilt for my mom as I had made a simple 9 patch one that she bound for me and she really liked it. I didn't tell her about the doll quilt I was making for her as I wanted to surprise her and after I finished I was so proud. I mailed it to her (we live 4 1/2 hrs away from each other) and when she got the package she called and asked about the little quilt. I told her it was for her...a present and she cried! That was probably the best gift I ever gave her. I have attached a photo and can't wait to get started on another one of your designs!

Connie Mounsey

Thanks so much for letting me show it, Connie!

And that's it for me this week. Hope all of you are not feeling too stressed by the holidays yet. Be sure to take some time for yourself and enjoy all the sights, sounds, and blessings of Christmas~

Off to See the Fleas!!

2008-11-29T11:40:00.005-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our daughter, son-in-law and grandson came over for the day. My Mom could actually hear the conversation and really enjoyed having the family together. She stayed longer than usual and was exhausted but it was a "good" tired. Here's a pic of the kids. Cameron really wanted you to see all his missing teeth. I guess he'll be singing "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" this year.

He brought us a decoration that he made at school. It was lovely on the table, but he wanted to take it home so he could eat the suckers.

I'm sure most of you were exhausted, too! I know I was. Being on your feet all day in the kitchen is about the only negative I can find for the Holidays. Small price to pay.....

So off we went to the Flea Market this morning! Tulsa has had a wonderful weekly flea market for over 30 years on Saturday morning at the Fairgrounds. It has kind of been bounced around for the last few years due to building and expanding at the Fairgrounds, but the Saturday after Thanksgiving is always it's biggest day. Here's my haul---

I know you can't tell much, but there's over 30 feedsacks, a baby chenille spread, some buttons and a needle card. Not bad, huh?

You probably all know it, but Nanette at Freda's Hive had a Christmas Cottage swap this year. They are so cute! Imagine how fun it was to see some of them made out of my "Sugar N Spice" Christmas fabric! Here are some that Jane Remus of Jane's Fabrics & Quilts made out of it.

Thanks for letting me show them, Jane! This is some of the fabric on sale in my Etsy shop if you're interested.

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to do your part for the economy this weekend! LOL!! Were you at the stores at 4 am to get the bargains yesterday?? They'd have to pay ME to do that!

Blessings~

2008-11-26T10:21:00.004-06:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I guess everyone is cooking and getting ready for Thanksgiving today. I'll be off to pick up pies (what did I ever do before Marie Callendar's opened?) and other last minute things I need to get.

I actually got several fat quarter groups listed on Etsy yesterday. If you're interested, I'm closing out all my earlier fabric collections at $5 a yard or $1.25 a fat quarter. I've just begun to list what is available. I'll be listing some yardage as well. Trying to clear out inventory!

Have a great Holiday weekend, all you wonderful people. I'm grateful for each and every one of you!

Blessings~

Fabulous Friday!

2008-11-21T11:32:00.010-06:00

I wanted to show you what greets me when I open my front door. It's just breathtaking right now!

This week has been spent getting my Mom taken care of. To the eye Dr. and the Audiologist. He fitted her new hearing aids yesterday and she can hear! What a thrill for her (and us!). A real blessing. We're having Thanksgiving at our house next week and she'll actually be able to participate in the conversation.

Her macular degeneration seems to be getting worse. The Dr. is trying a new drug. Do you know they use chemotherapy to treat it? A shot in the eyeball every few weeks. I guess it beats going blind, yes? My Mom would say it sucks to be 97.

Today's beautiful quilts are from Nanette at Freda's Hive. She does fabulous work and loves vintage stuff. Here are some pics of feedsack quilts she made. I love the red in this snowball with the yellow border.

The little daisy block in this darling piece is from my Daisy Patch pattern. I love how she combined it with other applique blocks!

Here's are some closeups.... I think she bought some of the fabrics from me, too.

Don't you just LOVE the rickrack handle on the teapot?

Thanks so much, Nanette!! I'm sure all of you know that she is a terrific designer and one of the biggest blog stars on the network! If by chance you haven't visited her blog, be sure to do it soon.

Keep sending the pics! I just love seeing and sharing them. Have a great weekend!!

Blessings~

Shopping!

2008-11-15T16:16:00.004-06:00

I got to have lunch and play time with my friend, Ann, yesterday. There is nothing I enjoy more than wandering through antique stores and malls. So relaxing and inspiring. I did find a few things I wanted to show you. The 40's floral is to die for and the little scottie fabric is too cute! Paid a lot for it (probably too much), but decided I HAD to have it!

I LOVE those old button cards, too! Look at the colors!! Those were what the salesmen carried to sell buttons with. Have no idea what I'll do with them, but something will come sooner or later.

That's it for today. I might actually get some things listed on Etsy next week! Ya think it's time??!!

Blessings~

Wonderful Wednesday!

2008-11-12T11:01:00.003-06:00

Finally, things are beginning to smooth out a bit here. I should be done with wrapping up orders that came in while we were gone. My Mom's hearing really took a dive while we were away for some reason. She was very hard of hearing before, but now is almost stone deaf. I took her to the hearing specialist yesterday and at least they have some hearing aids that should help. Just one more hurdle for her. Bless her heart!

I've been washing fabric and petting it while putting it away. Getting very inspired to work with it and think I have my first quilt formulating in my mind. Can't wait!

Since I have nothing exciting to share, I'm showing a quilt today that Carla Rives of Sugarland, TX sent me. She used my Bees Knees fabric to make up the Tutti-Frutti pattern from Super Simple Squares by Possibilities for a shop sample. I love seeing how my fabrics translate into other patterns! Thanks so much, Carla!!

BTW--I know many of you haven't received the Free Pattern I promised for sending a pic. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I even took them with me to Houston to send, but no time. They should be on their way this week! And PLEASE keep sending pics!! I love showing what you've been up to.

Hope you're having a great week! Till next time--

Blessings~

Check Out the Loot!!

2008-11-05T14:46:00.010-06:00

We're back from our visit to the kids, but I'm sorry to say that things didn't quite go as planned. Bill woke up yesterday at 5 am with a dreadful intestinal thing and we couldn't make it to Grandparents Day at Cameron's school. He just wanted to get home!

I had 2nd thoughts about that but I understand wanting to be in your own bed when you're sick. So I piled him into the car and about 5 miles down the road, he needed me to pull over. He opened the door and sat there a minute then crumpled out and hit the ground, out cold. Scared me to death! He passed out once before with a stomach ailment, so I hoped it was the same kind of thing. Called 911 and he was awake before I was off the phone, but still sick, sick, sick. So the ambulance came and we were in the Emergency room from from about 10:30 am to 6 pm yesterday. Then checked into a hotel and came home this morning. He's sleeping it off today. What an ordeal!! I'm just so grateful that's all it was. Many angels both human and otherwise came to our rescue.

Beyond that I promised to show you all the goodies I found on our trip to Market and Festival. The first night we stopped in Corsicana, TX and found a great antique mall. The very last booth had these feedsacks and you know I scooped them up!

Then during Festival I found these great pieces of vintage fabric.

There were several really good vintage booths. In one I found this wonderful pumpkin color rickrack on the bolt. They also had this fabulous nile green rickrack and bias tape. You don't see the ones with the matching thread very often, but I think they are so neat!

I also found these fabulous vintage millinery flowers. Have no idea what I'll do with them, but loved the colors!

As for new stuff, I bought these great Moda collections to play with. I don't know if you are aware of it, but the Rise N Shine group will be my last fabric design for awhile. I just need to back off from deadlines and this is one way I can do that. My Mom is really going downhill and I need to be more available for her. One of the fun things about not designing fabric is that I can now use some of the terrific fabrics out there by other designers! I haven't had a chance to really work with charms squares and some of the other fun stuff. Can't wait!! I'm thinking some seasonal things.....

And some kids stuff.....

And something in wool.....

Other than that I bought a few things for inspiration. So there you have it! My travels in a nutshell. Thanks for letting me share some of my goodies with you. We're finally home for awhile so I'm looking forward to spending more time with you here. Til next time---

Blessings~

Blog Stars and More!!

2008-11-02T09:08:00.017-06:00

I told you yesterday that I was going to show you all the fab gals I've met through blogging that were at Market. It was such fun to be able to put names and faces together! My first event was Schoolhouse and I saw Sharon of Red Geranium Cottage and Nancy Noblog in the audience! I was so tickled to see some friendly faces there. Here we are I after Schoolhouse. Nancy took the picture so I stole one of her from Sharon's blog. Don't mean to imply she drinks alot, but it's the only one I could find of just her and you know, Sharon had all those drink coupons!

The next day I had a book signing and Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works was there! She had this pic of us taken and I have no idea what I was looking at!

While walking around I ran into Cyndi Walker of Wishful Stitches! Note the bag she's modeling made from the Bees Knees fabric!! How cute it that??

Not far away I got to meet the infamous Pam of PamKittyMorning! She's as much fun as I knew she'd be.

She was there with Late Bloomer Quilts as Elizabeth's Trusty Sidekick! Her quilts are absolutely darling!

Meeting all these gals was such a delight! I aspire to be half as good at blogging and admire their talents. What a joy!!

I also got to visit with some old friends while I was there. Karen Snyder of Anna Lena's (soon to be not!) and I got to stroll the aisles and have lunch together. Her new fabric collections with Timeless Treasures were wonderful! Did you know that she has been recently tapped as the new "Face of Elna"? You'll be seeing her alot in the coming days! Karen and I also got to play in Spring, TX one day between Market and Festival. More about that later.

I also got to spend some time with my "Soul Sister" Darlene Zimmerman. Our stuff is so alike sometimes it's scary! No pic of us together - forgotten camera thing again, but here is one of her. Like you don't know what she looks like!

Linda Jenkins of Piece O Cake and I got to have an early dinner and shop the Festival on Wed. night together. We've been friends for a long, long time and we always have a great time. Here's a pic of her and Pat Sloan who I met when we were both designing for P&B. That girl works harder that anyone I know!! I have no idea how she does it. She's the new demo girl for the George machine with APQS.

Here's Pat & me looking a bit fuzzy. Could it be that Bill's hand was shaking from taking in so much beauty at one time??

Bill and I got to have a lovely dinner with Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup and her hubby one evening while we were there. We had such a wonderful visit. She always does something fun and fabulous with my new fabric. Here she is with a quilt called Oklahoma Pop-ups. She named it that because I live in OK!! She just started blogging and is doing a GREAT job! She also has a new fabric coming out soon with Henry Glass. I got to see it on paper and it is WONDERFUL!!

Well, there you have it. You've met all my buds both new and old. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to know all these gals! We're off to see the kids in OKC this afternoon and go to Grandparents Day with Cameron. When I get back I'll show you how I tried to keep the economy going while I was gone. See you then!

Blessings~

Quilt Market - 1st Post

2008-11-01T12:38:00.009-05:00

OK!! I'm home and my pics are readable so I'll start at the beginning - boring as it may be! Bill and I travel in a motor home and tow our car. To quote another friend - I didn't know I was a turtle. I want my house on my back! To be clear.... I am NOT a camper! I just prefer my own stuff and my own bed and my own potty to a hotel room. Let's just say that I like to have my condo on wheels.

This is where we parked in Houston. A nice place around a pretty little lake where we'd stayed before. The weather was mostly gorgeous!

The RV Park was FULL of people there for disaster relief from Hurricane Ike. There were 5th Wheels as far as the eye could see!

As soon as we got there we were off to deliver quilts to the Maywood booth to be displayed. Here's how my quilts looked...

And here's a close up of the chicken coop. Another pattern designer (I'll find out who) made these pincushions and needle keepers with the Rise N Shine fabric. Are they not the cutest things?? I think they're going to be in Nancy's Notions. Also note the darling Rooster quilt beneath the coop.

And another designer (again, I'll find out who) did a fabulous Block of the Month with the fabric. You can do either the big quilts or two smaller ones which are hanging on the sides.

After hanging quilts we were pooped and headed for home. Come back tomorrow to see the best part. I got to meet all kinds of wonderful blogging stars!!

Til then... Blessings ~

Quick Update

2008-10-30T07:52:00.002-05:00

Well...

I had fully intended to have several posts online by now, but my laptop won't read my photo card (grrrr) so I'll have to wait til we get home!

I've got some great pics to show you and lots to tell you so be sure to check back over the next few days. I did my best to help out the economy while we were here!

Blessings~

Last Day Before Market

2008-10-21T18:46:00.012-05:00

Well, this week we're tying up loose ends and getting ready to head out. I'm looking forward to seeing many of you this week in Houston. If you're there and have a minute, here's my schedule:

Schoolhouse on Friday from 12:20 - 12:50

Book signing at Krause on Saturday at 11:00 am

Book signing at EE Schenck on Saturday at 3:00 pm

Book signing at EE Schenck on Sunday at 11:00 am

Other than that I am going to have fun looking around and seeing what's new! And hopefully visiting with friends.

My Mom got sick last week with bronchitis. You might remember that we had to cancel our vacation last summer when she had hallucinations. What a nightmare that was! I took her to the Dr. on Friday and he put her on some med that made her hallucinate again. I think we nipped it in the bud and she seems to be some better. I've got a nurse checking on her every other day for awhile. Keep your fingers crossed that she does OK until we get back.

I wanted to show you the quilts that Denise Schillinger of Swanville, MN sent me pics of. The first one is a butterfly quilt that she made for her church for an auction from some feedsacks that had been donated. Lucky gal! The second is another butterfly that she made from repros and a closeup. I never get tired of butterfly quilts. I know there's one in my future. Thanks so much Denise!

Don't forget to keep sending the pics! Can't wait to see what you're up to!

I'll keep in touch while I'm gone. Til next time---

Blessings~

Quick Note

2008-10-16T11:00:00.003-05:00

If you haven't visited Pat Sloan's blog, take a minute to check out her interview with my dear friend Linda Jenkins of Piece O Cake. Her celebrity interviews are really fun!

Linda wrote on Oct. 7th about our visit to see her and her husband, Paul, this summer. If you didn't have a chance to read about it, check out the Piece O Cake blog for that date.

Blessings~

Terrific Tuesday!

2008-10-14T08:34:00.006-05:00

Finally! I'm DONE with my last project before Market and it's off to the quilter!! Woohoo!! I do have a couple of bindings to do, but I can sew those down in the car. It's a great feeling to have that done. Here's a pic of the newest Rise N Shine project. All the new quilts will be available in kits after Market.

Today's Gallery Quilt is from Kathy Holscher in Greeley, CO. She has done a fabulous job with this feedsack quilt she calls Feedsack Frenzy. The large squares look like they are all novelties and she has sashed with an amazing array of feedsack triangle squares. Absolutely stunning! Thanks so much for sharing, Kathy!

Don't forget to keep sending pics to share!

Have a great week!

Blessings~

Home Again!!

2008-10-06T14:06:00.009-05:00

The retreat was so much fun!! It was a lot of work and long days, but such a pleasure to be with 225 people who love quilting as much as I do! Sadly, this picture of me doing my lecture was the BEST of the bunch! Does that indicate a lack of photogenic aptitude????

I taught the Bees Knees pattern in my all day class. They didn't need me. All really good quilters that worked hard and hopefully had a little fun, too. Here are some of them with their heads down.

And here they are with a finished block. Some used the fabric from a kit and others used their own creativity with their fabric. I thought they were all great!

It was very appropriate that this retreat was my last class to teach. I was a charter member of the guild that began the fall retreats at that facility over 20 years ago. It was like coming full circle. Maybe I'll actually have time to attend as a participant in the future!

It did make me think about all the friends that I have made over the last 25 years. Many have remained close and I treasure their friendship more than ever. I don't know of many things that builds kinship like quilting does. We can pretty much go wherever we want and there will always be a place to fit in. How lucky we are to have so many sisters! Quilting supercedes all other things in life. It doesn't matter whether we're married, have children, which church we attend, which political party we follow, what color or sex we are. We are still sisters through quilting (except for the brothers!) And now I'm making friends through the internet and this blog! It just goes on and on. I'm feeling very blessed!

So now to catch up with orders, calls and email. THEN to list items on Etsy and work on one more project for my new fabric for Market. Hope all of you had a terrific weekend and are off to a great week. I'll be in touch soon!

Blessings~

Off to the Retreat!

2008-10-02T09:19:00.008-05:00

I'm not quite ready, still cutting feedsacks squares, but here's what I've been working on all week. Doesn't seem like much, huh? It's amazing how much time it takes to get ready to go to an event. Still have to pull quilts, etc. together to show. At least it's fun when I get there! But I'm reminded as to why I don't do shows anymore!!

Thanks to all of you who have sent pictures! I appreciate it so much. They are all wonderful and I can't wait to show them. Don't stop sending though! The more the better and I know there are lots of quilts wanting to be seen.

Todays pic is courtesy of Cheryl Tooker from Yucaipa, CA. You can visit her wonderful blog at Polka Dots and Rickrack. She used my Sailing Sailing pattern which until Square Dance was my best selling pattern ever. I think she did a terrific job with it. Thanks so much Cheryl! I'll get your free pattern in the mail pronto! Don't you just LOVE quilts with feet???

As you can see on the sidebar, I am once again sold out of feedsacks. Thankfully I cut some for Etsy as I was cutting for the retreat so you should see some next week. Thank you so much for being such loyal customers. I'll get better as my time frees up. Don't give up on me!

I hope everyone is having wonderful fall weather. This retreat is located at a State Park not far from here and it's always gorgeous this time of year. Again, if I remember to, I'll take some pics! Have a terrific weekend and I'll see you next week---

Blessings ~

Changes to Calling All Quilts!

2008-09-28T15:37:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking about the post I wrote yesterday and I want to make some changes. Here are the new ideas I came up with.

1) Any quilt that contains fabric I designed. You didn't have to buy it from me.

2) Any quilt that is made from authentic feedsack fabric.

3) Any quilt made from one of my pattern designs, even with changes and regardless of the fabric used.

I think I like that better! The whole idea is to see some quilts so I don't want to restrict it too much.

For your trouble, I'll send you the FREE pattern that I designed for my first fabric collection called "Fun with Feedsacks". Just send me your address with your picture and I'll get it off to you.

Thanks so much!

Blessings ~

Calling All Quilts!!

2008-09-24T07:58:00.004-05:00

I need your help! I would like to develop a gallery of quilts (finished or not) that have either been made with fabric or feedsacks purchased from me OR quilts made from any of my patterns. I think it would be so much fun to see them and show them on the blog!

If you would just send me a pic of a project with your name and hometown (and blog address if you have one) I would love it! Thanks in advance.

This week I am working toward getting things pulled together for the retreat I am speaking and teaching at the first weekend in October. They have about 225 people signed up and I always try to take as much as possible to sell. So we are cut, cut, cutting fabric and feedsacks and getting things ready to go.

Today I spend and hour and a half in the dentist's chair getting a temporary bridge. YUK!! Over the next year I will have 2 implants done and then get several crowns. I've had SO many root canals on my teeth from an accident when I was 13 years old, it's unbelievable. Amazing how you still deal with something 40+ years later. I've had a bridge for over 20 years and now I'm going to eventually go back to having individual teeth. Amazing! It costs a FORTUNE, hope it's worth it!

Here's the first picture I have to show you. It was made by Owanda Arms in Silver Springs, MD using my Square Dance pattern. I LOVE the pastels she used. Thanks Owanda!

Have a great week! Blessings ~

Off To Another Book Signing!

2008-09-18T00:40:00.003-05:00

I wish I had something exciting to tell you about, but no! All I've been doing is cutting kits for an upcoming class I'm teaching at a retreat and trying to get a few things listed on Etsy.

But tomorrow I'm off to Springfield, MO to sign some books in a vendor booth at the quilt show! Same cute shop I was at in Carthage. Bill graduated from Southwest MO State University (I think it's just called Missouri State now) and we enjoy going back there as often as possible to eat cheese enchiladas at the Mexican Villa.

He told me 30 some odd years ago before we got married that the best enchiladas in the world are there. HA! I said. Being from New Mexico, I knew that couldn't be true. So off we went to Springfield, MO to eat enchiladas. Dang!! He might be right!!

So we stuff ourselves and then go eat "Springfield style Cashew Chicken" at the next meal! If you haven't had cashew chicken in Springfield, you haven't had good cashew chicken! Didn't know Springfield, MO was a mecca for foodies, did you? If I can remember to take my camera, I'll send you some pics!

The weather here is exquisite! I hope everyone is having a lovely fall and enjoying some time outdoors. Till next time...

Blessings~

And the winner is....

2008-09-08T15:27:00.005-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Hope you had a great weekend and are settling back into the work week smoothly. I had Bill pick a name from the bowl (after he got back from golf, naturally) and here is the winner of my new book:

So there ya' go! MJ in Michigan needs to send me her address etc. and I'll get it right off. Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to enter!

Have a great week & blessings to all~

Only One More Day!!

2008-09-06T14:45:00.009-05:00

I've been a busy girl since I posted last! Thank goodness!! Here's what I've been working on---

First, I got that little tablerunner pattern done that I posted a pic of earlier on the blog. It's called Cock-Tails. THEN I got another quilt made with the new fabric AND the pattern done! It's called Baskets and Blooms. They'll both be on the website next week if I can corral Bill long enough to get it out there. The weather's cooling off and you know who wants to go play some golf!

Last Thursday we went to Carthage, MO to the cutest quilt shop for a book signing. Amy Campbell is the owner and was participating in a 12 shop hop so she had me over to sign books while it was going on. This shop is darling! If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop. The customers tell me that they never say they like a quilt because Amy ALWAYS has a kit for it!! LOL!! Here's a couple of pics I took (are you impressed that I remembered to take them?)

When I got up on Friday morning I got in the shower to get ready to go back and slipped and cracked my head on the soap dish! Ouch!! The urgent center stapled my head back together for me, but it could have been so much worse. One of my friends told me that was definitely an 'old lady' thing! Ouch, again!!

Beyond that, the orders for the books and that kit in the new McCalls are coming fast and furious! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I treasure each and every one of you!

Don't forget to enter the book giveaway! Tomorrow's the last day and I'll reveal the results on Monday. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to enter with a comment or email.

So until Monday - Have a great weekend!

Blessings~

My Book on Feedsacks ~ Sugar Sack Quilts

2008-08-27T10:20:00.016-05:00

If you haven't seen Sugar Sack Quilts before, here's a preview below. The first half is all about feedsacks and the 2nd half contains 12 project using them or reproductions.

Vacation!!

2008-08-02T11:31:00.005-05:00

This has been quite a week! We have decided to try our vacation again. Mom is pretty much recovered physically from her ordeal. Her mind is not quite back and probably won't be completely. I just think that every time something happens she'll regress a little bit. But still at 96 she's amazing! She decided she did not need any more help at this time and does not want to move. So we're back to things as before. I am going to have a nurse check on her a couple of times a week just to give me some peace of mind. Sooooo---off we go soon!!

I got her doctor appointments out of the way and am trying to pull loose ends together to leave. The Sweet 16 Quilt that I did for McCalls new magazine will hit the newsstands while we're gone so I'm taking the kits with me. That's one thing about having a website. You're NEVER really on vacation! Small price to pay.....

Be sure to check out the new magazine called America Quilts Fast by McCalls. It's structured for quilts using pre-cut bundles such as fat 1/4s, charm squares, jelly rolls and sweet 16s. It should be available after August 12th. This is the quilt that I made and will have a kit for on the website.

Have a wonderful weekend and keep your fingers crossed that things go well and we can actually enjoy our time away. I'll send you some pics now and then.

Blessings~

Check out the Book!

2008-07-24T09:55:00.008-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I got an advance copy of my new book! I'm very pleased. They say I will have some in a few weeks. I'll have a giveaway when I get them so stay tuned!

I'm just stunned, but they tell me the pre-sales have gone so well that they are having to reprint before it ever gets to market! Who knew???

Here are a couple of pages for you to look at. Let me know what you think!

Blessings ~

Sneak Peek!

2008-07-15T16:24:00.003-05:00

Gosh! I almost feel like I'm getting my life back!! Here's a look at the new tablerunner using the Rise 'N Shine fabrics. It'll be in an ad in American Patchwork and Quilting. I'll let you know when. There will be a kit available for it as well.

I actually got a few more things listed on Etsy! See some of them on the sidebar. Hopefully more to come soon.

Blessings ~

Update on Mom

2008-07-12T11:24:00.004-05:00

Things are improving with my mom. She's started going to the dining room again for meals and seems to be getting some strength back. I will discontinue her private care after this weekend. I received a letter from the Director of Emergency Services at the hospital that we had such nightmares with. She was very apologetic once again and assured me that her discussion with the nurse had helped her "grow personally and professionally." That's all I wanted.

I think we are going to be able to move her to a wonderful facility that will have great care in the nursing center when she needs it. Thanks to all of you who have been thinking of us and praying for us. I am so grateful for you!

I've actually been able to get a little quilting done! I'll give you a preview when it's far enough along for you to tell what it's going to look like. The new fabric is great fun to play with!

I found a way to post some of my Etsy listings on the blog sidebar! It'll take you directly to the item listing. These feedsacks are selling faster than I can get them listed! Keep checking for new stuff if you're interested.

Until next time, have a great weekend!

Blessings ~

Something Fun!

2008-07-04T13:34:00.005-05:00

Happy 4th of July!! I hope you all are having either a terrific day with your friends/families or able to enjoy a bit of laziness and doing what you like. My mom was a bit better yesterday! I'm trying to get her down to the very lowest dose of the anti-psychotic needed to control the hallucinations, but not make her feel 'rum-dum' as she calls it.

I had to show you what I received in the mail a couple of days ago! It's my newest fabric line called 'Rise 'N Shine". Of course there are a lot more pieces, but I just wanted to give you a teaser. I think I'll have yardage in a couple of weeks to start working on.

I have to have a pattern done for it by August 1 to include in an ad coming out in American Patchwork and Quilting. Yikes! Keep your fingers crossed that I find the time to do it!

Blessings to each of you on this special day that we celebrate our freedom. And unceasing prayers for the young men and women that are not able to celebrate with their families today because they are doing their service for our country.

Another Quick Update

2008-07-02T10:29:00.002-05:00

Boy! What a tough week so far! I talked with the Director of Emergency Services yeserday for a half hour on the phone and vented every one of my complaints. She absolutely agreed that everything was poorly handled and will investigate and get a letter off to me with the results. She also said that there are ways around the HIPAA laws and that the nurse I spoke with will be instructed on how to do that. If nothing else, she should give the matter to her superior.

Sadly, my Mom's hallucinations were back yesterday. It seems like they are going to return when she is not receiving the anti-psychotic drug with a sedative. Just makes me sick. Only time will tell if this will be resolved. She's going downhill quickly. I'm OK with that and I know she is, too. She has been ready to be with her Lord for a long time now. I just want to make sure that she's comfortable and safe.

I visited a Nursing Home yesterday and talked to a couple more. There are probably only 3 or 4 that I would consider for her and of course, they're all full and you get on a list if they're even taking names! It's so frustrating and sad. I know that God will work this out and I must be patient. Meanwhile, I found a great gal to help with her until something comes along.

Thank you so much for your wonderful notes and support on this! I treasure each one of you whether you post a comment or not.

Blessings~

Update on My Mom

2008-06-30T09:31:00.002-05:00

This has been an outrageous week. I have so many complaints about the medical community I don't know where to begin! Don't worry, though. I won't go on and on.

As many of you know, my mom is 96 and failing, but she's in her right mind and pretty alert. She lives in assisted living and only gets help with her meds and bathing. Her doctor had started her on a new Parkinson's drug to manage her tremors and she began having hallucinations. She knew what she was seeing wasn't real. We were scheduled to leave on a REAL vacation (not business) trip for Bill's birthday and they kept saying that the drug would work out of her system and it would be OK.

We took off last Wed. and by the time we were 600 miles away, she was much worse! They took her BP and it was over 200 so they sent her to the hospital. Of course her Dr. was going out of town, but his partner was on call. Needless to say, we turned around and started home.

The hospital ran every test known to man to make sure they made their money! She was dehydrated and had blood in her urine, but they didn't treat her for anything!! They just blew it off as her being old. And to top it off-- get this-- THE NURSE HAD A PIECE OF PAPER IN FRONT OF HER THAT GAVE ME HER MEDICAL DIRECTIVE, BUT SHE WOULDN'T DISCUSS HER CONDITION WITH ME BECAUSE SHE DIN'T KNOW I WAS WHO I SAID I WAS!!!!!!! Even when I told I was hundreds of miles from home and her ONLY family. Nope, they couldn't do a thing for her so they were sending her home in the same condition she came in! I explained that she lived ALONE, but it didn't matter. They had talked to the doctor on call and he said to release her and return her by ambulance! Can you believe it?????

I got a friend to pick her up and called the Dr. and pealed his ears back so he ordered her an antibiotic and a sedative to help her sleep. She hadn't slept for at least 2 days. When I got home, I got her 24 hour care (at $500 a day)! Her hallucinations have gone away at this point and she's much better. I will be filing a complaint with the hospital and anyone else I can find to yell at. I just don't know what is in store for us with the health industry. It's just awful----

OK, I'm done. On a more fun note! I happened to see Cyndi Walker's blog. She's making a new bag with the Bees Knees fabric. Ought to be fun! Check it out at Wishful Stitches.

So I'm home for now. At least maybe I'll have time to list some things on Etsy and sew on a project or two. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Blessings~

Out of Touch!

2008-06-19T16:01:00.002-05:00

Wow! What a week this has been! We took off to hand deliver the fan quilt with the scallops to Bill's friend in Branson and spent a couple of days there. We were taken to dinner at a wonderful restaurant as a thank you which of course, wasn't necessary, but enjoyed none-the-less! Then we went to Bella Vista, AR for a couple of days for Bill's Father's Day gift. He got to play a little golf and do a LOT of relaxing!

When we got home we found out our computer modem had been fried by a lightning bolt and that took 2 days to fix! I could use the laptop, but really felt out of my element when I couldn't work at my own desk and my own computer! Is it good that we're so dependent on these things?

I've finally had a chance to visit most of the blogs created by you great folks who left comments on mine during the giveaway. They are ALL wonderful! What a fabulous group of creative and talented quilters and crafters you all are! I promise to make every effort to visit any blogs written by those who leave comments on mine. It's pure fun to get to know you through your blog!

I got a few things listed in my Etsy store, but several have sold and I need to get to work! I really like that Etsy! Hopefully tomorrow I can get with it. In the meantime, have a wonderful day---

Blessings~

And the Winner Is----

2008-06-08T20:14:00.006-05:00

Good Sunday Evening! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are ready to get back to the grindstone or whatever you do tomorrow.

I can't thank Nanette at Freda's Hive for putting my blog on her blog! She has sent me the most wonderful people this weekend. I feel like I've made many new friends. I'm kind of new to blogging, but I can tell already, it's addictive!

Before we find out who won their choice of pattern, I have a couple of things to share. First, for all those wonderful comments about my new look and the polka dot fabric in my header, you might be interested in knowing that it will be included in my upcoming new fabric collection which will be out soon! It's called "Rise and Shine!" Can you guess what the focus fabric is?

Secondly, for those of you who are looking for me to get back to selling feedsacks, you'll be glad to know that I just opened a new Etsy shop this weekend and there are a few things listed out there. There will be lots more to come, so don't despair if you don't find what you're looking for.

You may wonder why I chose to open a store rather than sell those items on my website. In a nutshell, the program to run the website is not real user friendly and I'm, well, DUMB when it comes to programming! Bill for some reason doesn't want to spend his days listing one of a kind items for me and taking them off when they sell. He thinks he'd rather be golfing or something silly like that.

Anyhoo, I am impressed with how easy Etsy is for both buyer and seller. If you're not already registered, it's a breeze and they make purchasing very simple. You'll still deal directly with me and will pay the same way that you do on my website.

If you're not familiar with Etsy, it has had some great press lately in Country Living and other magazines. The site is specifically for artists and crafters to sell their handmade work and purchase supplies to make their items. What quilter wouldn't love that?

OK-- on to the important stuff....

Here's the bowl with all the names in it:

Here's Bill picking the name out of the bowl (note that he's being very honest about it!):

And here's the winner!

Congratulations, Amanda Jean! Just send an email to hollyhockquilts@cox.net with your pattern choice and address and I'll get it to you right away!

This has been so much fun. I look forward to doing it again soon. Have a wonderful week! Blessings~

New Look for My Blog!

2008-06-05T10:06:00.004-05:00

OK-- Don't be shy!!

Tell me what you think about my Blog's new look!

Everyone who leaves a comment (good OR bad) by 7 pm on Sunday, June 8th will be placed into a drawing for the pattern of their choice!

Blessings~

Fun Stuff!!

2008-06-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I wanted to show you what I've been working on. A good high school friend of Bill's lost his mother a few years ago and found this 30's quilt in her stuff. It had been hand guided machine quilted (and we think we're doing something new?), but never bound. As you see, I'm sure all those little scallops were the reason why. Anyway, I promised to bind it for him never realizing that it would be YEARS away that I would find the time! Let me assure you, I NEVER want to bind that many scallops again! But I LOVE the fans done in the print/solid. Think there's a new feedsack pattern there? Without the scallops, of course!

I also want to show you the wonderful pincushion I got from Janice Bohannon of BluebirdMountain on Etsy. I just had to have it when I saw that it was made from the pink version of the bee feedsack in my Bees Knees collections! How cool is that??!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. It's hot and humid here! Typical Tulsa weather. Blessings~

Finally Home and Honoring My Dad

2008-05-25T10:39:00.000-05:00

Wow! That was a LONG and EXPENSIVE trip! Glad we don't have to do that again anytime soon. Market is always fun and exciting, but it's good to be home. We actually ran into SNOW in Flagstaff! What was that all about on May 22nd???

Here's a pic of Barbara at Quilt Soup with her new quilt using Bee's Knees. It's called "We Be Jammin". I just love it! She has used my fabric in other quilts, too and always does a wonderful job with them. You can visit her at http://www.quiltsoup.com/.

I'm looking forward to getting back to work. Katie at Maywood told me my new fabric should be here in about a month. This will be the first time I will have had fabric this long before Market so I should be able to get lots done with it! Can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful long weekend. My Dad died over the Memorial Day weekend 11 years ago. It was very appropriate since he was a proud WWII vet who served in the Pacific Arena. In fact, he was at the bottom of the hill on Iwo Jima when they raised the flag. He had chosen to be buried at a cemetery where they display the flags of the veteran's buried there every Memorial Day weekend. It's a huge thing. Here's a picture of him in uniform to honor him on this holiday weekend.

Blessings~

The Quilt Company

2008-05-17T22:45:00.000-05:00

Just wanted you to see the DARLING quilt that Melissa and Arlene at The Quilt Company designed using the 'Bees Knees' fabrics. It's called "Mrs. Potter's Garden" and is a Block of the Month with six installments. I just love it! It's so much fun to see how other people use the fabric and I love that it's so different from what I do.

Visit them at www.quiltcompany.com to find out more.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff!

Blessings~

Greetings from Portland!!

2008-05-17T09:10:00.000-05:00

Market started yesterday and all was buzzing. I haven't made it around to look much yet, but will keep you posted on what I see.

I had breakfast with my publisher and all the other authors. They seem very excited about the book and think it will be out this summer. I'll let you know when I have a date.

Tonight is an Open House at EE Schenck. For those of you who might not know, Schenck is a distributor for all things quilting and owns Maywood, which is the fabric company I design for.

Sunday is the last day of Market and the designers are treated to a fabulous evening of dinner and fun by Katie Frym who is the person behind Maywood. Then Monday will be an all day meeting with Maywood designers and the company folks who are involved. Anything anybody wants me to pass along?

The big news here is the HEAT! Oh my gosh! It was almost 100 degrees yesterday! Setting lots of records. I feel like I'm in Tulsa in August!

Portland is a gorgeous city. I'll show you a few pics later. Last night we ate at a wonderful seafood restaurant that's been in Portland since 1895! Fabulous food and a terrific atmosphere. The restaurant is located in a funky, hip part of Portland called the Pearl. Hope I don't gain back all the weight I've lost in the time I'll be gone!

Hope your weather is beautiful and have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings~

Problems with Square Dance Pattern

2008-05-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

Hi All--

Just got a message from a customer having problems with the Square Dance arc fitting on a 6 1/2" square. I've had several questions about this and it just dawned on me to put the info here. Duh!!

It became apparent that the arc had become skewed in the printing process and anyone who needs a new pattern is welcome to email me at hollyhockquilts@cox.net and request one. If you don't want to bother, you can place the arc on the square as shown in the diagram and trim the ends to meet the edges of the square.

There have also been questions about getting all the pieces from a Sweet 16 when you have to cut a circle. I have included more extensive directions and also have a picture I can email for the layout.

Needless to say, if I'd know how hard this was going to be, I'd have made the pattern a half inch smaller! So sorry to anyone who's had trouble with this. I feel terrible about it and hope it can be worked out for everyone.

Let me know if you need any additional information.

Otherwise, I'm on the road to Portland! I'll let you all know what goodies I see there.

Blessings~

To Market To Market I Go!!

2008-05-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

Just wanted you to know that I'm definitely planning on making it to Market! If nothing happens with my Mom, I'll see you there! Come by the Maywood booth and say hi. I look forward to seeing you---

Blessings~