Gift Exchange

These are the Christmas coasters that I made for the handmade gift swap over on Craftaholics Anonymous......I made these for Danielle......and there are eight of them......

And this is what she made for me a cute appliqued hand towel and a key fob........thank you Danielle......

It's Here!

Fresh off the ups truck! My Baby Go cutter is here with my three dies.......I am so happy about this win.......I have been thinking of getting the studio cutter and now I can try out the product before I invest in the bigger machine......I know its not the same and will have some differences but it will give me a chance to try out some of the dies that Accu Quilt has......Thank you to great people at Accu Quilt for sponsoring these giveaways.....and thank you to Vicki B on who's blog I won this little gem of a cutter with three dies......Here is the Baby Go and the three dies that I chose......5" squares, circles and apple core.......now to go play with my new cutter......see you soon.....

Until next time,
Wendy 

How Does Your Garden Grow Sunday

I have two different flower gardens that I will be growing.......the first one is a diamond star garden......below are my first two star flowers.....

 My second garden is a traditional flower garden and I will be posting those flowers also......below is a pic of the first two in my garden.......

 Go on over to Thearica's blog and check out the other flower gardens that are growing....you can join up at any time and grow your gardens as well.......hopefully I will have more than two of each next week......
Until Next Time,
Wendy

Short Tutorial on Making Diamonds

I have been wanting to do this tutorial for a while now and thought now would be a good time to do so......I am making a EPP quilt using diamond shapes.....this is by no means the only way to do these, this is just the way that I do them......my diamonds are 1 1/2 inches from point to point on the sides.....I printed them out and then cut them out.......I have 1020.......these will last a long time as they are reusable the way that I do them.......I do not stitch through the paper as that is more work later on......and since I do not baste through the paper I can leave my basting stitches in.....which cuts down on the steps and I am all for saving a few steps......this quilt is not for me since it is not in my colors......these are soft and romantic and will be for a special someone......I am using POM POM De Paris with pink and banana........I cut 2 1/2 inch squares to use.....some people cut out diamond shapes, but I find this quicker......you can do this step however you would like.....
Step One: put paper on fabric at an angle....tip of diamond pointing to tip of square like so....

Next fold the right side over onto the paper.....then do the same for the left side......

 Now take the first stitch......make two tiny stitches and make sure you do not go through the paper.....

 Once you have the first stitches in you will turn your diamond and fold the middle section down and place two small stitches where the fabric meets......be sure and catch both layers in your stitch....pull thread until it is stable.....do not pull it tight as it will bend your shape....if this happens loosen the thread before moving on.....

 After you have made this stitch it is time to go to the top of the diamond once again and fold the fabric over....then make two more small stitches....

 Now turn the diamond and fold the fabric over again just like you did the first time......make two stitches.....

 Pull the thread through and make two more tiny stitches at the top of the diamond where you started....this last step is important as you make a knot but do not cut the thread.......below is how I make my knot and then add another diamond until you have a string of diamonds.....this keeps you from having to stop and start all over each time......depending on your thread length you can do about 10 to 12 diamonds per thread cut......I use about 1 1/2 yds of thread......I use quilting thread in one strand and I have not had any problem with the length....you can use the length that you are comfortable with.......

 To make the knot in the above pic take your lead thread (the one with the over lap of thread) and wrap it around the needle from the right side.....then take the single thread and wrap it from the left to the right side.....pull the needle out of the fabric and pull the thread until it forms the knot......this knot will lay flat and keep your stitches safe.....leave a small distance and start another diamond.....when you come to the end of your thread you will have a chain of diamonds like this.......

 I hope this tutorial is a help to you......I also use this same technique on my hexi's that I make......it is easy and I can whip them out pretty fast.....tomorrow I will be sharing a tutorial for a pin cushion that I make with a canning jar.......
Until next time,
Wendy

Look What I Won!

I won this cute little bowl over on Thearica's blog......she is hosting "How Does Your Garden Grow" sew along on her blog.....l will be making hexi flowers and linking up to show our flowers or projects on Sunday's......if you want to make hexi flowers or yoyo's or something else join in......she will be having giveaways all during this sew along.......I won this cute little bowl that is just perfect for use during beading on my crazy quilts........so go ahead and  hop on over to here  to sign up.....

 Until next time,
Wendy

What I Have Been Up To.........

The heat here is so unbearable that it makes you wilt when you go outside......all the thunderstorms and rain in the evenings makes it worse........we need a cool breeze to blow in......weather aside I have been busy.....my dd and I went and picked five gallons of blueberries and we put up 24 jars of jam and syrup.....made a blueberry cobbler and put some in the freezer so dd could eat them frozen......here is the results of our labor......yummy!

I was in a mini quilt swap over at Christine's blog a while ago.......this was so much fun to create a special quilt for Cindy from here......
Delivery confirmation said the mini quilt I made for Cindy was delivered......I feel pretty safe in posting a pic of it now.......her color was aqua, so I used some of my Bliss stash to make a Dresden for her......Cindy's new sewing space is done in aqua so I wanted to make something that would go well in her new space.......

And below is the quilt that she made for me......I love that she used Kaffe fabrics and she even sent along the leftover fabric from the backing.....thanks Cindy, I love it......

Until next time,
Wendy 

Exciting News! I WON!

I was going to wait about sharing this but decided to go ahead and share.......on July 4th I won a Baby GO from Vicki B's blog! A big thank you to Vicki and the people of Accu Quilt! I also won my choice of three dies.......I picked 5" squares, Apple Core and Circles dies........I am waiting on the delivery and will be posting about it again........I am so excited about this win...... 

Until next time,
Wendy

Stolen Quilts

I was appalled to learn that one of my favorite crazy quilters had a quilt stolen from market! Allie Aller had her beautiful "Crazy In The Garden" quilt stolen along with three other quilts! This is so sad that someone would take a quilt that did not belong to them......C & T Publishing has posted a reward for the quilts......if you see any of these quilts please contact them with the info.....if you are  the person who took them shame on you! Bring them back to those who rightfully own them as they do not belong to you......my heart goes out to all the quilters who lost their quilts......I had planned to put a quilt in the state fair this year, but now have decided it is not worth the possible loss of my quilt......if you see these quilts sound the alarm! I know I will......

 

Maybe if  these quilts are put out there enough they will be found and returned to the owners.......you can help by posting this on your blog as well as keeping an eye out for them......

Until next time,

Wendy 

 

Had To Share Some Good Eats!

Last night for supper we had an awesome curry dish that I found here.....so delicious! I made a huge pot of this and there was none left......my bunch ate every single bite with none left for today's lunch......thanks Chooky for an awesome recipe that will now become a family favorite go to dish......if you want the recipe follow the link above and try it out.....you will not be disappointed......the only thing I did different was to use 2tbls. of hot curry powder we love spice!.......just awesome!

 Until next time,
Wendy

What I have been up too.......

I have been busy with outside things lately such as gardening and such......my dad and I planted four rows of bunch beans, thirty one tomato plants, and two and a half rows of two different types of squash......dad had already planted forty two rows of peas.....now to water, weed and watch it grow......my peaches are ready and the fig trees are loaded with figs.....one grape vine has lots of grapes and the muscadine vines are loaded which means lots of jelly.....also the crab apple trees are loaded as well as the regular apple trees......will be making jelly and applesauce come fall...may dry some for pies also.......on the sewing front I have been busy......Made a Santa Sack, Christmas coasters and a mini quilt......they are below....
This is the Santa Sack I made.........

This is the Santa Sack that I received from Sammie...

 

 We sent along three gifts with our sack for the first month.....this swap runs from July to December with each person sending their partner two gifts a month to put into the sack......on Christmas we open all the gifts that our partner has sent to us.....so I can't show the gifts I sent until Christmas.....

These are the Christmas coasters that I made for the handmade swap......I made these for Danielle......and there are eight of them......

And this is what she made for me........thank you Danielle......

This is the practice mini quilt I made for the DollQuiltSwap11......the theme is true mini with the size being 9" to 18"......this was fun and I enjoyed making it....

Now all I have to do is make my mini quilt for my swap partner.....will post the plan tomorrow.....below are the fabrics that I am using....

 I have some wonderful news to share in a week or so....I am so thrilled about it and it is really hard not to post about it......but once I receive a certain item I will tell you all about it......On a different note, my sweet hubby came in today with a most awesome gift for me.....a singer treadle sewing machine.....this machine is in excellent shape and is sew ready!!!!!!! I am doing such a big happy dance!!!! I have wanted one of these for over 10yrs......it has lots of attachments also.....I will post a pic soon......I am going to give her a test run later today.......now off to draft the mini quilt.......

Until Next Time,
Wendy