We Will Never Forget

 As a country we will never forget the horror of 09/11/01....I will never forget this horrible attack on our country and upon the lives of the innocent victims of this day...

 ...my heart and prayers goes out to each family that lost a loved one on this day.......to each child that lost a father, mother, brother or sister I pray that you find comfort.......for every wife, husband, mother, father, brother and sister who lost a loved one I pray you have peace and comfort on today.....for those who lost friends and co-workers I hope your memories of the good times bring you comfort.....May we never forget those who died that day in all the locations that was targeted......May the families and friends of those who perished find peace when none can be found in the loss of life that was forced upon them in such a way......

 Thank you to the heroes that was born on that day that saved many lives.......May our country always remember what this act of terrorism did to our country and those who lost their lives.......As Americans may we always strive for peace and be ready to defend our country and those we love for the sake of the freedom that we enjoy daily.......

 GOD BLESS AMERICA AND HER PEOPLE!

New Blog

After much thought and consideration I have decided to start a food blog.....I love to cook and am always being asked for recipes......so I thought why not have a blog that is dedicated to food only, that way I can share my recipes and food and leave this blog for my quilting and such......you can find my food blog here:    
http://wendy-fortheloveoffoodandcooking.blogspot.com/

I would love for you to drop by and visit.....and I would love for you to follow if you are so inclined.....

Until next time,

Wendy

YoYo's

Cutting more yoyo's for the grand project! I decided to use my GO Baby with the circle die to cut them with.....and I am so glad that I did.....much quicker and it saves the hands from cramps!lol....since I am going to need 2500 of them this tool is going to come in handy.....and the waste is very little, really I am serious! I had read some comments that there was a lot of wastage when using the GO cutters.......I disagree and I have proof! (more on that later).....as I was saying I used the cutter to cut out more circles.....140 to be exact in a matter of minutes!

I had been cutting strips 5 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches to use....that was okay with little waste left over.....then I thought about using some 5 inch charms that I have had forever and a day just to see.....again I read on someones blog that you could not use them as they were too small......wrong again! and I will show you later in this post.....and using the 5 inch squares had very small, teeny tiny waste! I am not kidding.....I was so happy with the results that I had to post about it.....
 5 inch charm square over the large 5" circle die......

After running it through the GO Baby cutter......see how little the waste is!......

Close-up of what the circle looks like after going through the die.....notice that there are still a few pinked edges on the circle...it doesn't matter as that will be in the 1/4" that you turn under as you baste for the yoyo and will be hidden.....

 So to all the quilt police who say you cannot use the 5" charm squares......I am here to inform you that you need to go to jail yourself as you do not know what you are talking about.....stop scaring people into not using the cutter with 5" squares......Now mind that you have to make sure you lay the squares on the die properly in order to get these results......but I cut out 50 of the above circles with no problems and just a teeny amount of waste!.....well worth the experiment of trying what others say was not  possible....now you know that it can be done with great results.....now you can sew these together and they do come together quickly......someone asked if I was doing these by hand or using the clover yoyo maker.......I am doing these by hand.....I do have  a clover yoyo maker but you do have to use 5 1/2" squares to make them work....not only that, but I found the maker to be too fiddly for me.....I can hand sew and gather quicker by hand than I could with the yoyo maker, so that is the way I am doing it......if you want to use the yoyo maker you have to revert to hand cutting......and the funny thing is both ways turn out the same size yoyo! So I guess it comes down to which method you prefer...now back to my coverlet........while cutting out said circles I discovered that I had no where near the fabric I will need for this project.....as I am using jewel tones and bright prints for this project......no pale or soft colors here! So this project may take a bit longer than I thought to finish up.....but that is ok as I will make it a slow work in progress......I am going to try and cut all the fabric I have soon to see how many yoyo's I will be able to make before I have to buy......my hope was to only use what I have on hand, so we will see......this is what I have left to work with....these are fat quarters........

Another set of fat quarters.........

This is yardage......1yd....each......

 Hopefully I will put a large dent in the amount of yoyo's needed for this project.....I will give an update on the count after cutting all this fabric some time next week.....
Until next time,
Wendy

New Mug Rug

This is the mug rug I sent out to my partner......And this is the Haiku that went with it.....

Cut, sew, press

Chirp, tweet, chirp

Silent contentment

 And this is the mug rug that I received......and the Haiku that went with it....there is a peacock stitched in the mug rug....

Beautiful peacock

Feathers spread in glory

A fabulous sight

Until next time,
Wendy

Doll Quilt 11 Received

I have been so busy that I have not had time to post about my doll quilt that I received in the Doll Quilt 11 swap.....this is the stunning little quilt that my partner Suejoy sent out to me.......

 And this is the one that I sent out to my partner.....I did add another row of stitching next to the binding before I mailed it out.......looked much better after the second row of stitching was added....

Until next time,
Wendy

Help!

Help I am drowning in peas!lol... We harvested the first round of peas on Saturday......this is what the back of dh truck looked like minus six bushels of peas.....

 the truck is a 3/4 ton full size bed on the truck.....this is what we brought home after giving away the six bushels of peas......lots of shelling going on here.....my mom and I are canning and freezing these....my dad, dh and I picked from 7am until 3pm and still had four rows left unpicked......the green peas that were not ready will need to be picked again this coming week......which is more than we picked this go round.....plus the cukes and squash will be ready oh, don't let me forget the eight rows of okra will be ready to cut also.....my back, arms, legs and muscles that I had no idea I had hurt like crazy.....my fingertips are so sore from picking and shelling......how was your labor day? Mine was truly a day of labor....but in a good way, we are truly blessed by Gods' bounty in our garden.....

Until next time,
Wendy

Coasters

Here are some coasters that I had made and am just now posting the pics.....

 These were a lot of fun to make and I am in the process of making more.....

Until next time,
Wendy

YoYo's

I made all these yoyo's today while at the Dr.s office with my mom for them to check her pacemaker/defibrillator.......it was a long wait as they had to check the amount of battery left and also do a round of blood work and chest x-rays (one of the meds for congestive heart failure can cause scarring on the lungs).....her battery pack is good for another six months then they will have to go in and change it out.......she fell on yesterday and cracked her tailbone so not a fun day for her at all.......but we are happy that she is clear for another six months if all goes well with her heart......so much to be thankful for........so while we waited I worked on these..........54 of them, so this is a good start.....I need 2500 to make a king size with drape over the sides......

 This is the yoyo jar.....they look so nice inside......

Until next time,
Wendy

Another Mug Rug or Two

Another mug rug I have made recently....pic is before the binding was put in place......I so love this one....this is before the quilting was started..........

 And this is the mug rug after the quilting is finished....I used spirals on the peacocks and stippling for the sides.....I love how it turned out......

 It is now finished and ready to use.......here is another one that is in progress......

 I am using variegated green thread on this one.....I am not sure how I like it at this point.....so we will see how the finished mug rug looks before I decide.....

Until next time,
Wendy

Pin Cushion Tutorial

After I hosted a pin cushion swap I was asked to do a tutorial on the one that I made.....I have finally sat down and made a new one and thought to do pics as I went....below is the tutorial......Ruby this is for you.....

This pin cushion is made using a small jelly jar.....you can find these at just about any store.....I picked mine up at Wally World!:).....
Supplies List:
1 small jelly jar with ring lid not solid lid
fabric scraps x 2
circle template or bowl, saucer to trace
thread
scissors
stuffing

The first thing you do is cut out your circles for the yoyo's you will need one large and one small.....the small circle should be about five inches....the larger circle I just used a cereal bowl turned upside down and traced around it......the larger yoyo must be large enough to hold the stuffing and still pull tightly over the inner lid making a closed yoyo...

Next you sew up the yoyo...

It should look like this when finished......

 Now is the time to stuff the yoyo.......really simple....be very generous with the stuffing as you want a really nice lift when you put this together....do not be stingy!

 Be sure and hold the bottom of the fabric over the insert while stuffing or it will slide off......pack the stuffing really tight in there.....once you have your stuffing in close the yoyo around the seal.....pull tight and then sew it shut with a few stitches....next place the smaller yoyo that you have made on top and stitch it into place with a hidden applique stitch.....easy peasy.....press the small yoyo to lay flat....

Next you place the pin cushion into the ring....this takes a little bit of pushing but I promise it will go in there....once you have it pushed through go around and tug gently to bring it up through the ring....do this until you can leave the pin cushion in the ring without it falling out......your done! Easy peasy.....these are so fun to make....if you like you can embellish them.....

 This is the top.....I so love peacocks.......

 After a little embellishing.......

I would love to see yours if you make one using this tutorial......if you have any questions please email me and I will try and answer them as soon as possible....

Until next time,
Wendy

Little Star Quilt Finished

Finished my little star quilt......this was a real learning curve.....(1) I love hand piecing (2) hand piecing is a slow progress, no rushing through here (3) keep plenty of hand lotion ready as your hands and fingers get really sore and this helps...(4) the end product gives much satisfaction to the maker!

 I did add another round of quilting next to the border after taking this pic......that made a world of difference in how it looks......I am so proud of myself.....each little piece was only one and half inches big and was really fiddly.....My larger two inch ones will take a while as it is bed size.....but now I know that I will love the process.....so the bigger quilt will be a slow work in progress to make.....then will come the hand quilting.....this was the first time I used the perle 8 to quilt with and I love how it worked out and the look of it....this will be how I quilt the bigger one when the time comes to finish it up.....

Until next time,
Wendy

Great Mail Day

Today was a very good mail day........my friend Cat sent me these lovely scraps for my diamonds........
thank you so much Cat, I will be using these shortly.....

Next I received this package from Amy in the MMM Summer Swap.......this is the awesome package that she sent out to me.....a mini quilt, a thread catcher, a mug rug, lime green necklace, peacock pin, peacock shrinky dink, and awesome fabric. She even made the card that she sent along......thanks Amy I love all of it....

 Next is was a package from Gina who was my partner in the Tilda Tea Party Swap.....I will post about what I sent out to her when she receives it......a lovely peacock mug rug that is just gorgeous, a tea towel that is awesome and some napkins......thank you so much Gina I love everything you sent!

The above Tim Tam's were included in the box.....oh my goodness! These are the best ever cookies......my son wants me to try and order him some! So far no luck as they would be way expensive......but they are really good! Thanks Gina for that wonderful treat.....

Until next time,
Wendy 

New Mug Rug

Made a new mug rug......I love how it turned out......

Also made a new needle book......

  I have been using the GO to cut out some circles for my yoyo quilt and will be showing those soon......I am gathering fabrics for the apple core die and hopefully will soon be able to start on that as well......

Until next time,
Wendy

How Does Your Garden Grow Sunday

Here is my hexi flower for this week......this is one of those swip (slow works in progress) I am not in a hurry with this one...although I do have more cut out and prepped I am just doing them as I think about it......this is my hexi garden.......

 Next is my diamond garden stars.......I have been working on the mini diamonds this week.....this is what I have so far....these are for a mini doll quilt......I have two more rows to add and then hand quilt it......

I am linking up over at Pigtales and Quilts for Thearica's How Does Your Garden Grow Sunday's.....go on over and check out all the other gardens in bloom......

Until next time,
Wendy

Night Blooming Orchid

My night blooming orchid bloomed last night.....so pretty and smelled heavenly.....usually they take all night to fully open but mine was open around 11:30.....so I walked up the hill to my moms and sure enough hers was blooming also.....had to get her up so she could see......we had been waiting all summer for the blooms to appear......

 Until next time,
Wendy

Gypsy RR Blocks

Here are two more of the gypsy blocks that I have worked on for this rr....the first one is Pegsue's block, I decided to embellish the central silkies on this block......I think she turned out well....I purchased a ring to make the crystal gazing ball......hope she likes what I have added to the block......

Next was Lauri's block, she stated that she liked lots of bling so that is what I gave her......I added silver hearts (these were originally earrings) and then stitched detached chain stitch on top of them....next I added the red sequin applique for more bling to help bring out the wonderful red velvet patch next to it.....then I added an orange/peach butterfly....last I added some vintage 20's ribbon that I had next to the blue patch......hope Lauri likes what I added to her block......

Until next time,
Wendy