I’m Done!

Oh happy day!  All my obligations for this year are complete and now I can start thinking about projects for me.  My swap gifts are made and have been sent out except for one which according to the rules cannot be sent out til November. Woo hoo!  I have so many things on my ‘to do’ list I just don’t know where to start…but I’m sure I’ll find something to occupy both my hands and mind.

Four more great gals sent me photos of their completed First Friday Freebie, ‘Fall is in the Air!’

The first one is from Bea who made hers into a pillow.  What a beautiful photo!  Bea is from France and she was my swap partner in the ‘Good ‘Ol Summertime’ mini quilt swap.

This next one is from Karen in Florida.  Cool, huh?

This one is from Carol Lewis.  Love that homespun border, Carol!

And this last one is from Kathy in British Columbia.  Unfortunately Kathy didn’t send me a link to her blog so I can’t pass it on to you.

Thank you all so much for sharing.

While I’m on the subject of new designs, don’t forget to come back this Friday because it’s the first Friday of the month and you know what that means… First Friday Freebie day!

I don’t know about you but I’m sure excited!

See y’all on Friday!  Til then…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

 

What A Day!

Subtitle: Confessions of a Shop-a-holic!

What a day we had yesterday! 

Nancy (no blog) and I left bright and early to do our own quilt shop hop in NY and Vermont.  Nancy is a friend and longarm quilter extraordinaire who worked her magic on my Lemoyne Star  quilt that I pieced when my modem died about a month ago that you can see and read about here.

The main purpose of our trip was to visit  a shop where Nancy buys some of the thread for her longarm machine.  She currently has a quilt on the rack for which she needed more thread to complete. 

Our first stop was at a relatively new quilt shop in the picturesque little town of Rouses Point, NY.   Here’s Nancy pictured at the entrance to the shop.

Fibre Junction has only been open since May of this year but if you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re into Civil War and Reproduction fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s Nancy paying for her purchases…

and here’s what I bought…

From there, we crossed the bridge over Lake Champlain into Vermont.  We proceeded down Interstate 89 to Williston and to our next stop…Strawberry & Rhubarb.

 

Nancy bought her thread and I bought some fat quarters which will be used for  some of the blocks for the ‘Aqua and Red’ swap which you can link to from my sidebar.

From there we headed just down the road, made a right turn at the first traffic lights and proceeded about 1. 5 miles to Sew Many Treasures.

I was only able to obtain one inside photo of the shop before the battery on my camera died.

Here, I bought some of the most amazing turkey red fabrics.

Aren’t they stunning?  All the way home I kept on repeating how much I ♥ these fabrics!

From there we proceeded to Yankee Pride.  This is another great shop in Essex Junction, VT.

Here I managed to find some fabric from the Sampler Collection by Windham Fabrics that was being sold at 50% off so I bought all the remaining yardage that was left on the bolt to use as backing for a future project.

Our shopping extravaganza lasted about 10 hours…and we didn’t even stop for lunch!  I arrived back home at about 8 o’clock last evening, tired, hungry and ever so happy with my purchases and especially my day.

Thanks so much, Nancy.  I can’t wait to do it again!

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Can You Resist A Sale?

Now tell me honestly, what would you do if you received an email from your LQS telling you that they were having a 40% off EVERYTHING sale?

A. Click on ‘delete’.

B. Roll over and go back to bed.

C. Call in sick.

D. Call your bank to get an increase on your line of credit.

E. Get yourself over there ASAP!

Well I don’t know about you all but I certainly selected ‘E’ …contemplated ‘D’…and  made my way over post haste.

The shop is called Quilte Classique and is located in Pointe Claire, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal.  It is a cozy little shop located in a picturesque village setting.  I have been there a few times but because it is located about 65 miles from home, it is not somewhere I frequent that often.  

But who can resist a sale?

I did my best to help stimulate the economy and purchased some wonderful fabric from the Welcome Home collection by Lydia Quigley for Clothworks.

The colors are very warm and rich looking.  Lydia is an amazing designer and you can find her patterns at the Rabbit Factory.

I also purchased some notions which I couldn’t pass up.

Now I have to find the perfect design for this wonderful fabric.  Any suggestions?

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

I’m A Supreme!

No, not the Diana Ross kind of Supreme but a Supreme Sewer.

Stephanie from Loft Creations designs the most awesome bags.   A while back, Stephanie asked me if I would like to become a member of her Supreme Sewers, a group of bloggers who test her patterns before they are actually offered for sale in her Etsy shop.   Of course I said yes!

Stephanie asked me to test her Prickly Pear design.   I chose to make mine using the Dandelion Girl line of fabrics from Fig Tree Quilts by Moda.

 

I absolutely ♥ this design.  The pattern instructions and diagrams were well laid out and extremely easy to follow.  It worked  up quickly and I will certainly be making a bunch more to give as gifts for the holiday season coming up.

Now, if only I could sing…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Fall Decorating

The cooler nights and sunny, bright days with little or no humidity is a definite sign that Fall is in the air!  I love to decorate for Fall and yesterday was the day.  Mr. Painted Quilt was away for the weekend so I had all the time in the world.

 

After bringing the three plastic bins upstairs from our utility room, I made a cup of tea and started the task at hand.  I emptied all the items onto the kitchen table and counters just to take stock of what was there.  Most of the items were purchased while I was on the road teaching and every year  when I see all my ‘treasures’ once again, they always bring back fond memories of people I’ve met and places I’ve been.

It took a couple of hours to complete as I dusted, vacuumed and moved things around as I went along.

I started in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Then came the sideboard in the hallway…

and the den came next.

 

 

 Then the living room.

 

 The guest bedroom needed a little something too.

And two other views of the hallway…the bucket bench on the left and the hunt table on the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The front entry…

and even the bathroom needed a touch of Fall too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crow is watching over some of my favorite things on the shaker table in my studio…Darlene’s Civil War quilt and Julie’s pincushion!

And last but not least…Mac, our Westie, who said, “Whew!  I’m glad that’s over with.  Now I can relax and enjoy!”

 

I hope you enjoyed your visit and please come back again!

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Remembering 9/11/01

  

On September 11, 2001,  a total of 2,993 people lost their lives when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a commandeered plane that crashed into a farmer’s field in Shanksville, PA.

I will never forget. 

May they all rest in peace.

Kaaren ♥

A Bit of This and That

At the outset, I’d like to thank you all for your most wonderful comments about my First Friday Freebie pattern.  I am thrilled to bits and as of last night, there were over 700 downloads of my ‘Fall is in the Air!’ pattern.  Can you hear my heart singing?

Three wonderfully speedy stitchers have shared their completed projects. 

Darlene from Quilting Daze

Tudy from Tudy’s Craft Cupboard…

 and Julie from Julie K Quilts…

Cool, huh?  Now these gals work quickly, don’t they?

Yesterday I completed the line drawing for next month’s First Friday Freebie which will be available on Friday, October 2nd.  I’m excited about it and I hope you’ll like it as well.

Last week, I received another RAK, this time from my ‘bestest’ blogging friend Julie from OZ.  I met Julie through a swap I joined, not too long after I started blogging in January of this year.  Julie was the swap hostess and because there was an uneven number of swap participants, when all was said and done,  Julie became my swap partner and the rest as they say is history.

Here’s what Julie sent to me…

The pincushion is amazing, personalized with a x-stitched  ‘K’ .  It’s much too nice to use so it sits on the antique Shaker sideboard in my studio along with my other ‘special’ things. 

The Australian flag hangs on our patio doors going out to the garden…

And of course the boomerang key chain is already keeping my keys company…

Julie is also having a giveaway on her blog to promote breast cancer awareness and research.  Rosalie Quinlan, an Australian designer and breast cancer survivor herself has donated some awesome prizes.  Robyn and I have also donated items which are included in Julie’s giveaway.  Click on the button below to find out more.

 It’s been a busy week.  I hope you all had time to share with your family, friends and hobbies.

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥