Anyone Can Quilt

Attractive anywhere.

I unpacked the Crystal Pine Tree.  Given to us by my mumsy-in-law.  She gifted me with lots of treasures that had belonged to her mother.  This is the first time I opened this wonderful box.

Oh my new Crystal Pine!  Since it's 'Attractive anywhere', I decided to put it in my sewing room.  I also decided to put it in my sewing room so Mr. Precious wouldn't break it to pieces.  Not that he ever does anything naughty. 

Oh no, he's the perfect little gentleman.

Back to the tree.  It makes me happy.  Happy in a way only a little old plastic tree with little old glass ornaments could.

 

 

 

We're starting to feel all Christmas-y in these parts.

Hot chocolate with marshmallows.

 

Baking.

 

A warm fire.

Decorations.

I won these trees at bunko!  They look like ice and have lights in them that change color. 

 

Mama brought me a couple of antique dust pans last time she was here.  One is hanging by the front door and contains Rosie's leash and doggy poo-poo bags.  The other one is hanging here. 

(Yes, still have the tape on the stove.  It's been working to keep the cat from sleeping up there, but doesn't look so pretty. )

 

Even got a little knitting in.  Arm warmers for my girls. 

 

I hope you're feeling all Christmas-y too! 

Enjoy every minute. x

 

sick day, sewing day

Big Sis is a but under the weather today.  So lots of cartoons and cuddling, 7up and dry toast.  And of course mama waiting on her hand and foot.  But best of all today seems to be this.

Priceless puppy therapy.

 

While everybody is snuggly, comfy and content, I am stealing away to the sewing room throughout the day.  

 

I can't wait to get this quilt top finished.  These are the blocks I worked on at the retreat.  They are so pretty, and each one seemed to take forever to finish.  But I got all nine of them done.  Phew.

 

 

 

This quilt pattern is called Toulouse, by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. 

 

Ya, I think I'm so cool finishing all of my blocks and then I look at the pattern... lots more to do.  Like all of the sashing bits and then the flying geese border!!  But won't it be gorgeous hanging on the wall above my couch for the holidays?  I am clasping my hands and giggling in anticipation.  I know I've jumped ahead, as I tend to do lately.  I have plenty of quilts ready and waiting to be quilted.  And then there's the vintage sheet quilt ready for binding.... still.  But nope, I won't think of that large to-do pile.  I will work on whatever the heck I feel like working on, so there.  Really it's the creative process that's important isn't it?  Not what gets finished in what order.  So you can just hush up closet full of quilt tops, and wait your turn.  And that goes for you too dishes, I'll wash you sorry suckers when I'm good and ready!  And if I hear one more peep out of you laundry pile, you're gonna wish you were never born.  Ooooh I'm so mean.  hehe

 

Ok, the sashing is calling to me.  I hope you get to work on whatever makes you happy today, and feel free to shake a fist at your house chores, and then call them a bad name.  You know you want to.   :)

x's and o's

p.s. Big Sis is feeling much better.

The most fun ever.

I got to go on a quilting retreat!!  Four days of non stop sewing, eating, visiting, laughing, sewing and eating some more, more laughing... you get the picture.  And my mom even got to come with me.  We had an absolute blast.  Guess who my next table neighbor was...

Here's a clue:

 

Here's another hint:

 

It's my friend Monica of Happy Zombie!  She is so fun.  And her sewing table looked just like you would imagine it to.  Full of Happy... and booze.  Ok, not full of booze, but there were cocktails and fun snacks.  We knew we were destined for fun when we realized that we both had a My Little Pony toy from our Happy Meals to sit on our machines.  We put bows in their hair and they became our retreat mascots.

 

... and they got into the booze.  Monica's is passed out and mine is still dancing.

It rained the whole time we were there.  Which was wonderful.  I loved listening to the rain as we all stitched away.  All of our meals were provided too, so we didn't have to do anything but sew!  What a dream it was. 

 

Show and tell was amazing.  There were so many gorgeous quilts.  These were my favorites. 

 

This one was from the 1800's.  Holy cow.

 

 

 

 

 

Robin there on the right makes these huge quilts out of 2" squares.  She makes millions of them!!  Ok, maybe not quite that many.  I love her quilts! 

 

This one above is my mama's quilt.  She lives in Montana and sleeps on a log bed. 

 

 

 

This is fellow blogger/new friend Evelyn's vintage sheet quilt.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I even recognize some of the sheets from my vsq in this.  I love the zig-zags!

Ok, here's where the major heart palpitations started.  I've been wanting to make a Union Jack quilt for a few months now but wasn't sure how the best way to go about it was.  Then there was this:

 

Not only did the beautiful Michelle make this quilt, but she is the designer!  She is the designer of Busy Bee Quilt Designs and is so talented and kind.  She even gifted me with some of her patterns including this one called Liberty Garden.  I am so exited and can't wait to get started on one of these!  Thank you so much Michelle.

 

 

Look at this teapot quilt! 

 

 

One night nearly everyone was off to bed, except for Monica, Karen (the fabulous host of this fabulous retreat), and I.  It was so quiet. 

 

As I strolled around looking at everyone's projects I spotted these.

 

These were my favorites:

 

 

Then somehow this happened:

 

Oh yes I did.  There may or may not have been rollerskating/office chair with wheels races... and synchronized office wheelie chair dancing.  And there may or may not be a video of such an event in existence.  p.s., I didn't fall, and I give Monica a 10.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Monica:

Can you tell we had fun?  The retreat setting was beautiful. 

 

 

 

 

 

The building on the left was where we ate and the building on the right was where we sewed. 

 

 

 

It was sad when it was time to pack up for the 5 hour drive home.

The ponies said their goodbyes:

 

My purple pony thinks she's so cool. 

 

But Monica's pony is a little bit of a tramp.  Look, she's showing off her tramp stamp.

 

We said our farewells and headed on home.  The drive is so pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait for next year!  x

Happy Halloween!

Have a nice, cozy, yummy and creepy night friends!  We are busy rushing about this evening.  Getting pumpkins carved, pumpkin seeds roasted, costumes assembled... Whew!  I don't have any costume pictures for you yet.  But if you'd like, please take a stroll back in time to here.  It still cracks me up every time.  Can't wait to show you what we cooked up to humiliate her this year.  Stay tuned friends, there's nothing like the look of embarrassment on a dachshunds face. 

Merry Halloween! x

Once upon a time...

... there was a shiny new sewing machine.  Fresh out of the Elizabeth, NJ factory in 1923.  She was a sturdy gal, and ever so lovely.  She was powered by a treadle, and was always reliable while mothers made clothes for daughters, and patient while little girls spent hours learning to sew.  She was loved for many years and was brought from house to house and even traveled all the way across the country.   She was happily handed down to grown up daughters.  

 

When this precious sewing machine was about 50 years old, she was sold to a new family.  She would miss the kind family that she was used to, but bravely moved on and did her job proudly. 

 

As the years went by, she seemed to spend more of her time sitting quietly in the background, and was used less and less.  Finally she was replaced all together by modern electric machines.  Each year she continued to gather dust, dirt and spiderwebs.   She wasn't so shiny and lovely anymore, but she didn't care too much about that.   What she really longed for was to sew, to be useful again. 

 

Then one foggy fall day she found herself in the back of a car!  She was being moved again after all of these years. 

She was set in a special spot in a warm sewing room, and her new owner got to work, carefully scrubbing her clean.  She was beginning to feel like herself again.  Even her wood was polished, and each gear carefully oiled.  There was something familiar about her new owner, she reminded her of her first family.  She couldn't believe she was being fussed over so!   And then it happened... she began to sew, happily purring along with every perfect stitch.  She was home.

 

 

Please say hello to my new sewing machine my friends!  I am over the moon.  I still can't believe how she came to be mine.  Not too horribly long ago my family was visiting an old church in our little town.  It's not our church, but the one that my grandparents belonged to when I was a baby, before they moved from Oregon to Texas.  While we were there a kind old woman came over to say hello, and in conversation I told her who my grandparents were.  She fondly remembered them and then she asked me a question. 

"I have your grandmother's old treadle sewing machine, would you like to have it?"  ---

I can't believe it, after more than 30 years of selling the old machine, that has been in my family ever since my mom can remember, and that could have been gone forever, is in my sewing room.  My great-grandma Martha's machine.  The very machine that my mother, and probably her mother, used to learn to sew on.   My mom was so exited when I told her.  She can't wait to see it. 

 

It's got an electric light on the back.  Ooh so fancy!  The plug was all smooshed so my sweet husband got right to work and attached a new plug for me.  Good as new!

 

 

 

 

She really does have perfect stitches!  My little girls even took her for a spin.  They told me that this is the only machine they want to sew on from now on!!... Unless they get a Hello Kitty sewing machine... of course.

 

 

 

 

There are even left overs in the drawers!  And some CRAZY looking feet.  I vow to learn what the french toast they are for, and how to use them. 

 

 

Can you tell that I'm beaming?  While playing with my great-grandSinger I came up with a little idea.  I like being able to have patterns for whatever project I'm working on up and out of the way of my work space, but so I can still see them while I'm working.  So this idea popped into my head this morning. 

Take one old wash board, (thanks mom!!) and some pretty magnets, and voila!

 

 

 

 

Enough pictures for ya?  Admitting I have a problem is the first step...

 I can't stop myself.  Here's one for the road.

 

Thank you all so much for spending a little bit of your day with me!  I'm hoping to crawl out of my 'I'm really far behind on everything and can't seem to catch up' hole and get caught up on all of your fabulous blogs this weekend. 

That, and do some old school sewing on my new machine.  Really it's not mine, it belongs to the wonderful women in my family, past and future.  I'm just thankful she made it back to us, and that I get to be her caretaker for awhile.  x