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Quilt Sampler Magazine

WELCOME!

Excitement in Janesville, WI!

Our local quilt shop “Life’s A Stitch” is featured in the latest issue of Quilt Sampler magazine!

Here are a few pictures taken from the article. Don’t you want to come and visit?

I’m so excited because I quilted the featured shop quilt. I’ve never seen my name in print before!

I’m not sure why but WordPress is not playing nice with me. It’s taken FOREVER to get this post up.

Hmmmmmmm. Off to read about all the fabulous shops. Now if gas wasn’t almost $4 a gallon……..

Karen

 

It’s been a long-long time….

Since my last post. I have been one busy-busy lady! Where should I start? How about Easter. We spent Easter with my oldest son & family. Had a wonderful visit. We took the kids to a movie and pizza while Mom and Dad went out of town shopping on Saturday. Mike and I had so much fun! D & M watched WI basketball while I played Candyland with the youngest two. Here’s the 3 little monkeys. 

 

Then the next weekend my youngest son and family came to visit. The baby, now 19 months, loves to explore Grandma’s house. I had to rubberband the kitchen cabinet knobs to keep him from rearranging things. The BIG NEWS is my DIL is expecting. I’m going to be a Grandma AGAIN in October! Yeah!! And what does every good quilting grandma do? I bought fabric for a quilt. PINK fabric. Do I have faith or what? 

       

He loves sitting in my desk chair and spinning around.

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And now on the quilting front. I started piecing this quilt 4 years ago. It’s HUGE (100″ x 100″). I’ve been taking it to my monthly sew-ins to finish the piecing. I fear to count all those petals. Plus it’s set on point. Which made me want to make it in the first place. Then to find time to quilt it. It’s hard to schedule in one of my own quilts. I always feel like I’m running behind as it is. But I HAD to finish this quilt. I mean fabric does have an expiration date, right?

Notice the scalloped edges? I’ve never done scallops before. Have you? Any tricks? I’m going to my circle meeting today and plan to apply the binding. We have large tables there so I can spread out. I cut the binding on the bias and it’s ready to go. I’m going to be watching lots of television getting the hand stitching done. Geez, I wish Gray’s would come back on and Brothers & Sisters. I miss my programs! Doesn’t Sally Field look great? No knife for her.

We sent 8 quilts to our local VA hospital in Milwaukee. With pillow cases. My sewing circle decided that is where we are going to put our charity efforts. Wounded soldiers. Hoping our small effort will make a difference to someone. Pray for peace. We need our sons home!

  

Spring is on it’s way! I’m itching to get my porch rockers out. And to smell the BBQ. Maybe this weekend.  

P.S. Hi Andrea!

2 More UFO’s Finished!

Wow, have these 2 quilt tops been waiting to be quilted for a few years or what? 

Remember the “Best Friends” panel? The cutest old quilting ladies. 

The panel is surrounded with bricks and 4 patches from a fat quarter pack from the same line. Backing is from the same line that I found at our local quilt shop in the sale room. Don’t just love to rummage thru a sale room? Who’d thunk after all these years I’d find enough yardage. And at $3.75 a yard! Mike quilted this using the Baptist Fan template. He’s getting really good! In fact, he’s quilted about 6 Quilts of Valor to date. And the one below.

Robyn Pandolph’s Aubrey Rose fabric line. Christmas colors in floral. Talk about busy.

Again, the BF is the perfect quilting design. The back is a tone on tone beige flannel. I still have a few more to strays to quilt up. I going to put these for sale over at my Ecrater Store. http://www.finishingthreads.ecrater.com/. Have you checked ECrater out yet?

Have you given up on me yet?

It’s been almost a month since my last post. SHAME ON ME! Life just gets so darn busy. I worked on my taxes all weekend. Every year I think I’m going to “keep up” rather than “catch up”. Silly me.

I have gotten three of my own quilts quilted! Remember, way back when, I said I was going to finish up my UFO’s? I found a Yellow Brick Road top just waiting to be quilted. ALL flannel! Plus, I had the back and binding ready to go. So when I was plowing thru paperwork in  my little office Mike quilted for me. He was bored. The weather has been terrible here. So he turned on the basketball game and off he went. Thank goodness for March Madness. The Baptist fan is a pattern board. Just drop the stylist in the groove and let it rip. I helped him adjust the rows and a few “ify” spots. All in all he did a wonderful job! I will post the other 2 when I finish the binding. My favorite part. Hand stitching while watching TV.

This “manly” print is the border and backing fabric.

Have you seen the newest place on line to buy & sell? A lot of “EBay jumpers” have moved to http://www.finishingthreads.ecrater.com/. As of this moment there are no commisions or listing fees. The store layout feels more like Etsy than Ebay. And it’s not an auction. You set prices. I put a few quilts on there. Just to see. I did sell 2 quilts on Ebay last month but boy did their fees jump. Between listing fees, selling fees and Paypal fees, my slice of the pie was pretty slim. Well, I’ll have to just wait and see.  

Aren’t you happy day light savings time kicked in early? I love when it stays light out longer. Oh, I can’t wait to get my rockers out of the basement and  onto the porch! Wish you could rock a spill with me. I bet we could solve the world’s problems with just one glass of sweet iced tea.

I will leave you with the promise of Spring. Can you smell the flowers? 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Welcome to Wisconsin…..

The snow drift was level with our front door!

Can you say “Car stuck in the snow?”

Mike helped dig them out. Such a good neighbor.

I was feeling guilty about not getting my Christmas garland & wreaths taken down.

Now, who can see them??

Hope we can get out tomorrow morning. We’re on our way see the grandkids.

Just what I need….

A new hobby. Yes, you heard me right. I can hardly believe I’m admitting to it. Not after  the “let’s get rid of all this stuff” mood I’ve been in.  What was the word I used? Simplify?

OMG, but this is so fun! Are you ready? Notice my new blog header? I made it myself!  After my first, on line, Photoshop lesson at:  http://jessicasprague.com/. Digital scrapbooking! I didn’t realize there was so much of it available on the web. 

After fellow quilter, Suzanne ( http://saltcreekquilts.wordpress.com/) shared the scrap book pages she made for her family, I just had to check it out. And I’m hooked.

Here is my first page.

The tag reads: Grandpa & Aiden  Playing their first game of “pull my finger”        December 2006.  Nothing too fancy. But I was able to put all the elements together!

A few more embellishments on this one.

Now there will be 2 little angels on my shoulders. One saying “You should be quilting” and the other “But scrapbooking is so much fun”. Oh, what will I do?

Off to see the grandkids this weekend. Big basketball tournament. I plan to take lots of pictures. So I can make more scrap book pages! 

Talk to  you on Monday. Stay warm.

Parting is such sweet sorrow…..

 

 

 

Parting with my treausres, that is. I’ve taken a million pictures and feel I have put a fair price on things. If your interested, here is the link: http://community.webshots.com/user/vegasquilter

My hubby is so thrilled that I’m in the “clean it-sell it-get it out of here” mode he can’t stand it! I am such a pack rat. You know, as soon as it’s gone, I’m going to need it!

If anything catches your fancy give me a holler at wiquilter@charter.

Have a safe weekend and enjoy the Superbowl.

I’m cleaning out the stack…

Of quilt tops I have accumulated over the years. I just love the thrill of the hunt! And it’s caught up with me. I am going to part with a few. It’s tough to decide which ones to keep. I love them all. Lord knows, if I haven’t gotten to them after all this time what makes me think  I ever will. Not to mention all the tops I want to piece. And then need to quilt. It’s a real catch 22. But, from what I understand, I’m not in this boat alone. Am I ladies?

I’m going to temp you with a few treasures. I’m hoping by the end of the week to have photos up on my webshots. I’m going to post on MQR first. So my fellow quilters can get first dibs. Then Ebay.

 

Would make a great signature quilt. Wonderful fabrics!

2 Color Dresden Plate

Blue & White Applique

OH geeezzzz……it’s hard to let go!