Sweet and Delicious

So sweet and delicious to indulge in applique once again.  I'm back working on my Civil War Bride quilt and about halfway finished block ten.  This will be my fifth block of twenty.  The stems and strawberries have been appliqued and now I'm working on the berry tops and leaves.

Prepped and ready to go are thirty 1930's Klosjes.  That also finishes up the last of my background fabric, but I have been on the lookout and was successful in finding other fabrics that match nicely.  So, I am still aiming for 500.

Hanging among the tablecloths was this long since forgotten cross-stitch, of quilt blocks, from 1996.  A pleasant surprise, but I really don't know what I would do with it other then hang it back in the closet.

My Sewing Chair

Polka-Dot Girls

I can't tell you how long I have been working on this block, but it sure felt good to finish it up over Christmas along with my last two Ring in the New! blocks.

December

I will honor Christmas in my heart,

and try to keep it all the year.

Charles Dickens

November

How bountiful is the good earth.

I am a little overdue for a One Flower Wednesday report, but I have been working on my garden, every Wednesday at teatime and now have 43 flowers joined together. 

As I piece my flowers together I continually change my thread to match the colour of the darker of the two flowers I am joining together.  This way, I don't have to worry about that odd stitch that makes its way to the top of the quilt being noticeable.  Does anyone else change thread colours as they go along?

Last Saturday, at Sew Saturday, I spent the day working on my Confetti doll quilt.  I just love the diamonds and squares pattern and as each row is added the more I love it.  About three more rows to go, then the center will be finished. 

And, speaking of doll quilts, I ordered three of Kathleen Tracy's books; Prairie Children and Their Quilts, Remembering Adelia and her soon to be released book, The Civil War Sewing Circle.  The first two books have arrived and I like what I see.  It is going to be a fun year of little quilts.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Little Bit of Orange

Road Trip

We covered miles and miles of road and enjoyed the fall foliage along the way.  Twelve quilt shops and 23 yards of fabric later, I had a very good time indeed.   Just one photo to show you, I seem to have taken a fancy to the colour orange.  Not everything was orange; I bought lots of other colours too!

Ring in the New!  BOM

I fell behind on my Ring in the New! BOM, but now I am caught up.  If you remember, I added an accent colour to the January and February block and thought I would do the same on the October block, but I do not like it, so the moon with be changed to black.

October

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,

Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween!"

D. Kozen

September

Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.

August

Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,

Ripening fields lush - bright with promise...

Michelle L. Thieme

Lucy

Left all alone in a very big world, how do things like this come to be?  Looking out my window exactly when I did, I guess it was meant to be.

Say cheese for the camera Lucy!

October Clamshell Report

October was not as productive a month as September when I started fresh and stitched 67 clamshells together, but I did squeeze in a little time and added 18 new clamshells to my quilt, for a total of 85.  Just 635 to go!

149 Klosjes Completed

4 made this week

I'm seeing more and more finished and near finished klosjes quilts and they are all so beautiful!  My background fabric will soon run out, but I have found a couple other fabrics that will match nicely.  My goal is to make 500 klosjes, and then I will start piecing them together.

Patchwork of the Crosses (POTC)

Shades of Autumn

Back to working on my POTC quilt, I did a rough count and believe I need 504 elongated hexagons for sashing and the border.  The thought of tracing and cutting out that many pieces from a plastic template is delightful! 

When witches go riding,

and black cats are seen,

the moon laughs and whispers,

‘tis near Halloween.

~Author Unknown

Well, it is time for some milk and cookies, and then back to my sewing machine.  Soon I will be finished Louisa and another one crossed off my list.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Gift from Simone

Because she enjoys Marjolein Bastin as much as I do, a gift from Simone. 

My new address book has been filled in and I am already posting notes.

Thank you Simone!

133 Klosjes Completed

11 made over a week ago!!

Time to dig into my stash, for the next round of klosjes, as this is the last of Miss Jump's Scrapbag charm pack. And, things are moving along nicely with Ring in the New!  My July block is completed and August is ready to be stitched.

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Please send a little rain my way said the garden to the gardener and the birds to the sky above.  What I would do for a little rain!  Such a hot, humid, dry summer and we still have a ways to go.  Time spent in the garden, or outside for that matter, has been kept to a minimum. 

Why is it the weeds don't seem to care if it is hot and dry, they just keep growing.  The cost of water keeps rising and where I once watered the garden every other day, during dry spells, I now only water once a week.  Sometimes this seems for not as it is rain water that makes a garden (and gardener) happy.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Road Trip

June

The green grass and the happy skies court the fluttering butterflies.

Astrid Alauda

Summer has officially arrived and what better way to start the season then with a quilt related road trip.  Our bags are packed; we are ready to go, to Shipshewana, to see the show! 

I've been twice before, but not for the Festival and Shop Hop, which has a basket theme this year.  And, for the long drive ahead of us, I have selected a project or two to work on in the car.  Shipshewana Quilt Festival, here we come!

Clamshells

They say patience and accuracy is what you require to make a Clamshell quilt.  Well, when it comes to hand piecing I have the patience, but I will just have to wait and see if I have the accuracy to keep my clamshells in nice straight rows.  It was not easy finding instructions for piecing and what I did find was not very detailed, then I stumbled upon Jossie's blog and her Clamshell quilt.  Needless to say, I had questions for her and now feel comfortable enough to begin my journey.

73

Klosjes Completed

7 made last week and 0 made this week

A Garden Party Report

This week, I sure needed a pick me up and it happened well on a garden tour. Wednesday and Thursday evening I visited all the members of the Garden Party and was delighted to no end.  Such beautiful flowers, created so lovingly and so very inspiring. 

I have put together an information page for One Flower Wednesday and will be updating it on a regular basis.  Also, I have moved the list of members from my sidebar to this page.  And, speaking of members, I would like to welcome Sharmayne, Lynn, Sharon, Bobby Ashley, Bep, Miriam, Marianna, Melissa, Joan, Marieke, Carol, Saskia, Cindy, Martina, Anita, Kathleen, Rockgranny, Sarah, Gisele, Jossie, Danetta,  Sheila and Heather to One Flower Wednesday.  We are now up to 42 gardeners! 

I feel very badly, but I have has to say no to a couple of people interested in joining.  Hexagons can be stitched together in so many ways and create so many beautiful patterns, but it's One Flower Wednesday and you have to be making traditional hexagon flowers. 

I look forward to touring the gardens again next week.  Did you know that 34 members posted this past Wednesday/Thursday?  How great is that!  Well, that's it for the Garden Party Report and remember you must post at least once a month.  Now, have yourself a blooming good day!

May
See the blossoms blooming sweetly!

And, thank you my sweet little sister for this memory of the past. 

Now, to find the perfect spot in the garden.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Klosjes, Honey Bees and Flowers

45

Klosjes Completed

11 made last week

One Flower Wednesday

32 of 92 made

My goal last week was to get back on track with my hexagon flowers. I decided that Wednesday would be the day of the week I would make at least one flower. Afternoon tea seemed like the perfect time to do so. Ends up, last Wednesday, I had time to piece together two flowers during tea and I made a third one in the evening. Valentina and Jan are also going to set aside time on Wednesday's to work on their flower gardens.

April

The pedigree of the honey, does not concern the bee;

A clover, anytime to him, is aristocracy.

Emily Dickinson

 Civil War Bride
Block 12

And my fourth Civil War Bride block is now complete.  Would you believe it has over ninety pieces in it? 

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Klosjes Saturday

After reading Nadine's postings about Klosjes, I just couldn't resist!  Out came the graph paper and I drafted a 2.5 inch block.  Like Nadine and Valentina, I made mine a little wider.  They do look more like spools that way.  

According to Valentina, there are many quilters in Holland that dedicate Saturday's to making little spools.  I have made spools before, by machine, and they were constructed a little differently then the ones I will be making by hand.  I like the idea of making spools every Saturday, just not as an all day event, but it will become a Saturday ritual.

I'm not sure yet just how many Klosjes I am going to make, but I see some are planning to make  five or six hundred!    After bouncing all over the world, looking at all the Klosjes being made, I went stash digging and found a nice neutral fabric for the background.  This should work with different coloured spools.

So, what I did on my first Klosjes Saturday was make a test block and then I started cutting out more Klosjes parts.  By the end of the day I had one block pieced and 62 prepped and ready to go.   The question now is will I be able to wait until next Saturday to start stitching?

Kathy at Humble Quilter is working on a BOM called Tree Time.  A simple, fast block made from a combination of applique and stitchery.  Surely I could squeeze in a few minutes each month to make these little cuties?  But first, I would need to get some Christmas fabric.   Maybe something with snowflakes on it would be nice.

March

May the luck of the Irish enfold you.

I said I was only going to add a touch of colour to a few blocks, but now I am wondering if the little stone on the crown should have been done in green.  What do you think?

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Love is in the Air

February

The sweetest joy is love.

The month of love and chocolate!  And, what better way to ring in February then with a pretty little stitchery.  

Now off to my sewing room.  It's time to piece together my Country Calendar quilt.  No chocolate for me, until it is done!

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

January

Something about January feels good. I don't mind the cold, dark, snow covered days outside my window. It's warm and cozy inside. A pretty new calendar hangs on the wall. My day planner is organized and I dream of the year ahead.

Last year ended on a tidy note. I re-organized my sewing room and then got down to business. Three more Autumn Shades POTC blocks are ready for stitching. The September through December blocks for Sweet Nostalgia are traced and ready to go, as are all 12 blocks for Ring in the New! Lots of bobbin winding took place and now the last of my DMC and Cosmo floss are ready and waiting for new projects. The last three A Tisket, A Tasket baskets are complete. And, I met my Dear Jane goal for 2009. Because of lack of contrast, I was a little disappointed with a couple of blocks.  But, it was a good year overall.  So now, on with the New Year!

This year, I think I am going to try something a little different with my blog postings. Instead of once a week, I'm going to post a little more randomly. Definitely it will not be more then once a week or too long between postings that you forget about me. I must sacrifice some computer time in order to gain more sewing time. Lots of projects need to be finished and new ones started.

January

A childhood friend who reappears with every winter's snow.

First up, this new BOM that has me all excited. The original pattern was done in all black thread and for some reason a little dot of colour was used in just two blocks. I didn't like that at first, but since changed my mind. I can now see in other blocks where a hint of colour would be nice. For example, the carrot nose on the snowman. I'm not going to add colour to all the blocks, just a few.

Feeling bad that I fell behind on my A Tisket, A Tasket baskets, I worked hard over Christmas to get them done.  Now I am ready to piece together my quilt top.  Did you notice that Anne has a new free BOM for 2010, called Snowbound?  I wish I didn't see that!

October

November

December

Well, that's it for now.  January has been a very busy month for me and looks like it will continue into February.  I'm itching to get back to my Civil War Bride blocks and other ongoing projects.  First I would like to get A Tisket, A Tasket, Veranda Views and Country Calendar pieced and quilted.  My goal was the end of January, but seeing the month is almost half over, I'm now aiming for the end of February.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

One kind word can warm three Winter months.  ~ Japanese proverb

Ring in the New Year

Stitching a little cheer to ring in the New Year!

My sister returned from California, last summer, with a cute stitchery quilt pattern by Kathy Schmitz called Ring in the New! During our autumn trip to Pennsylvania, I found the perfect fabric to go with it. The fabric is Kansas Winter by Kansas Troubles. This time I'm going to be smart and piece the BOM as I go along.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Until next year.....happy quilting!

Karen