Me Time

August and September have been very busy months for me.  So the last few days with a multitude of things to do and no real desire to do them I pulled out a pattern I had picked up from a quilt show.  This quilt was captivating and reminded me of fall, home and afternoons spent with a good friend.  I threw caution to the wind and chose fabrics, and started making the 59 six inch squares it will take to complete.  AAAAhhhhhh it felt good.  Above is a picture of my first 3 blocks.  

Reality has now set in however and I am moving back at a slightly frantic pace.  I teach Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and on Wednesday leave for CA.  Today I am prepping for my Sun., Mon., Tues., classes and tomorrow I will get myself ready for the classes and time in CA.  I am so excited to be able to see my children again and some very dear friends.  Thank you LeAnna for driving up from San Diego to see your mama.  A big thank you to Melissa and Leslie at In Between Stitches for letting me play with all my CA quilting friends at your store, especially the night before a big quilt show.  You are awesome.

The leaves are turning color and the air feels different.  Fall has arrived.  Enjoy it!

Blessings,

Dee

Stashbuster Sampler Sew-a-long

The time has come to bust some more of my stash.  I'm inviting you along.  I will be making an 8 inch block every other week and posting a tutorial for you to follow along with me.

Step 1:  Open those stash bins, drawers, shelves or boxes and find a theme fabric to build your sampler
             around.  I started with 3 different fabrics and found as much fabric from the stash that I thought
             would work with each one.  I settled on a deep brown with red flowers.  I'm getting in the fall
             mood and thought it could also work as a Christmas possibility.

             Here is my final palette.  Obviously a lot more fabrics than I need but it will certainly open up                                  the choices for each block for me.

Step 2:  Time to decide which blocks I want to include.  I searched through my library, drew some on 

             my own and searched the internet.  There are a lot of possibilities but I hope that what I've 

             chosen will be wonderful.  My designing tends to be somewhat organic and develops as I work

             on the quilt so in some ways this will become a mystery.  (For you and me)

Step 3:  This is the block I chose for the first one.  It is a variation on the Ohio Star.

Step 4:  Fabric requirements:
             A - the white background - 5 1/4" square cut twice diagonally for the geese triangles and
                   four 2 1/2" squares for the corners
             B - dark gold for the snowball corners and star point triangles
                   four 1 1/2" squares,  two 3 1/4" squares cut diagonally twice
             C - brown for the star point triangles - two 3 1/4" squares cut diagonally twice
             D - peach for the center snowball, one 4 1/2" square

Step 5:  Sew the star point triangles together to form triangles.  You will need four of them with the
             darker fabric to the right and four with the darker fabric on the left.

Step 6:  Sew these units to the sides of the geese triangles to make 4 flying geese.

Step 7:  Draw a sewing line diagonally through the 1 1/2" squares and sew them to the corners of the
             peach snowball block.  Trim away the excess fabric and press.

Step 8:  Assemble the Ohio Star block according to the picture.  We're on our way!!!!!!!

If you have questions or need help please leave a comment or email.  I would love to hear from you and see your blocks as we progress.

Have a Happy!!!!!!!!

Dee

It's Coming!

The air feels a little different and the trees are starting to show signs of changing colors.  It's boggles my mind to think that it has been a year since arriving in Michigan.

The block sew along is also on its way.  Coming next week we will be starting our Scrappy Block Quilt.  I hope you are planning to join along.  I am determined to put a dent into my stash this year.  I am so ready to move out the old and bring on the new.

I received another recipe from my son.  He is becoming quite the little cook.  This one is quite good so I thought I'd pass it on to you.  Enjoy!

Dice red and green peppers and onions.  Put diced vegetables, can of corn and one can of black beans drained in frying pan.  Sear.  Onto a piece of flat bread pita layer BBQ sauce, diced grilled chicken and the seared vegetable mixture.  Bake at 325 for 10 minutes or until pita bread is crispy.

Looking forward to Quilting in the Garden!

Dee

Inspired!

This little guy was crawling across my patio yesterday.  I had to go out and check him out.  You cannot tell from the picture but he is long and fat.  I was amazed by the vibrant lime green color and the small orange dots on his back.  Love that color combo.

Where else do you find color inspiration for your quilts and sewing projects?  I have several places I go to when I start a new project besides looking at green crawly things on my patio.  The cover of my favorite magazines are great.  They have a color scheme and usually give me a clue as to what color I want to use the most and least of for good balance.  Pictures and nature are two other places I look for inspiration.  With the changing of seasons the scene out my window is ever changing in color and hue.
The paint store is another good source.  The brochures they have for free offer a wonderful variety of palettes and finally pinterest offers up a slew of color combination posts.

In a couple weeks I will be teaching the quilt below at Quilting in the Garden, Alden Lane Nursery, Livermore, CA.  For those of you near there I would love to see you in class or at the show.  Look closely and you'll see the little green crawly things color combo in the quilt and flowers. :)

Be Inspired today!
Blessings,
Dee

Back To School

Labor Day is over and kids are back in school.  For me, the summer has simply flown by and it is hard to believe it is September and fall is around the corner.  Seeing the school bus this  morning gave my heartstrings a tug.  I do miss the excitement of getting the classroom ready and meeting the new group of kids and the anticipation of what a new year of school will bring.  I will just enjoy living it vicariously through my two children who are both teachers and recently experienced the excitement of that first day.  LeAnna experienced the high energy of both the parents and her kindergardeners while Brett enjoyed the tentative eagerness of high schoolers.  I am so proud of both of them.

Sewing was put on the back burner for the last couple of days.  Sunday I worked at the store in Ann Arbor and enjoyed dinner with friends.  Yesterday my husband and I visited the Outlet Mall and tooled around the countryside.  It was wonderfully relaxing.

Entering the quilt room this morning I realize it is time for some serious organization again.  Things have a way of migrating and not finding a permanent home.  It's because I am a piler and push-it-aside-er.  While walking through Ikea there were a number of organizing items that caught my eye.  They met the cuteness and practical test.  One was the Riktig curtain hooks and clothesline.  When I am working on sampler blocks I like to have them displayed so I can keep track of color and value theme.  This line with the adorable little clips would do the trick.  How fun to have a clothesline of your blocks hanging along your wall or you could hang your child's artwork there too.  The second item was the Fintorp series of buckets and hooks.  I can just see all my pens, brushes, rotary cutters, FQ's, etc.  beautifully displayed and easy to get at.

Here is hoping you had a wonderful holiday weekend and that you find inspiration to do the things you love.

Dee