Happy Scrappy Spring - Row 1 and Introduction

April 1st has arrived and so has the first instalment of my new BOM...no fooling! 

HAPPY SCRAPPY SPRING!

To download the PDF file which includes the introduction, instructions, photos and line drawings, just click HERE.

Please feel free to grab the button below and link it back here to my blog in order for you to be able to share it with those who may not have found their way here as yet.

I am not a computer-savvy person at all and do not know how to make one of those buttons with the code beneath to make it easier to add to the sidebar of your blog.  If there is someone out there who feels sorry for me and would like to make one, I'd be forever grateful!  (If that sounded like a whine, it was intended to. *wink*)

Edit*  Kristie came to my rescue and created the code which appears just under the button for Happy Scrappy Spring on the top right sidebar of my blog.  Just copy and paste the code into the "HTML" gadget under "Layout" and it will appear like magic.  Thank you so much, Kristie!   

Row 2 will be available on the 1st of May so we'll see you back here then, if not before.

Have fun and I hope that you enjoy making this quilt as much as I did.

Happy stitching!

Happy Scrappy Spring!

Yep, that's the title of my new BOM (block-of-the-month) that will start on Monday, April 1st.  No fooling!  And just like my last one, it's FREE!

It's actually going to be a ROM (row-of-the-month) because on the first day of every month for the next five months, I will be introducing a new row.  

September will be the sixth and final month which will include the finishing instructions.

  
You will have a month in which to complete each row before the next one is released.  

This quilt includes my three favorite things...redwork embroidery, piecing and wool applique, all executed in a primitive, scrappy style.  The entire quilt was made from scraps or from a variety of fat quarters that came from my stash. 

Of course there is always the option of substituting the wool elements with cotton and completing the applique either by machine or by hand.   

  
The finished quilt measures approximately 66" x 70".

Here's how it looks on the bed in Emily's room...

and from the doorway looking into the room.

Please feel free to grab the button below or the slightly larger one on my sidebar and link it back here to my blog in order for you to be able to share it with those who have not yet found their way here.

I look forward to seeing you all on Monday, April 1st when you will be able to download in PDF format the introduction, instructions, photos and line drawings for the first row.

Will you be joining in?

Retail Therapy

It all started when Nora and Debra picked me up at about 8 a.m. yesterday morning for a day of quilt shop hopping.  When we started out, it looked like the weather wasn't going to cooperate because the rain that had been falling overnight turned to wet snow just as we were about to set out.  Well you know that a little snow couldn't stop the plans of three serious shoppers!

I have to confess that I was dead tired when twelve fun and laugh filled hours later, we rolled back into my driveway.  The back of Nora's Nissan Highlander was filled to the brim with our purchases.  I made a list of everything that I wanted and needed and managed to find everything on the list and more.

I needed some yellow Kona cotton to complete my Grandmother's Flower Garden and even though I brought along a sample of the yellow that I used for the flower centers, I ended up buying three different yellows because I wasn't sure which one I liked the best.

Did you notice that some snow white and bone Kona cotton fell into my cart as well?

And not being one to pass up a bargain, I also added some additional yardage to my stash, all for under $6 a meter (39").

I must be the only person in Nova Scotia who likes toile fabric because I found the red and cream print above in the bargain bin at one of the shops for $5.99 a meter.  At that price, I took the entire 6.5 meters that were left on the bolt.  

You've probably guessed that Toile is one of my favorite fabrics to use as backing for my quilts.

Also on my list were a package of 100 Schmetz #70 universal sewing machine needles which I picked up for $50.  This is the lowest price I've found, even on the internet...and no shipping costs!

And here are the rest of my goodies...

Additional bobbins for Husky Henrietta, Clover binding clips, some 2" long straight pins which I intend to glitz-ify, some of the Aurifil 2 ply, 12 wt thread that I use for most of my redwork, a spool of variegated green embroidery thread reduced to $3 and of course my needles.  The newest Kim Diehl book Homestyle Quilts was on special at 40% off.  I couldn't resist!

When I got home, the two scrap bundles of Civil War and reproduction fabrics that I had ordered from Homestead Hearth were waiting for me on the kitchen table.

I was very pleasantly surprised because all of the fabrics included in the bundles were of a decent size and can easily be incorporated into a scrappy quilt.

After a good night's sleep I was determined and motivated to reorganize the sewing corner in my studio.  It was just too crowded and I struggled long enough with the fact that there was nowhere for the fabric to go as I fed it through the machine.  

So while Mr. Painted Quilt took Ollie for a long walk, Frankie and I moved things around from this...

to this.

Of course Frankie was a big help.

Much better, huh? 

Husky Henrietta is sitting on the floor just waiting her turn but I still need lots of practice before she becomes my #1 gal!

And whatever would I do without my faithful companion and helper?

I wonder if Ollie will find me in here?

Get a lot more work done, that's for sure!

Happy Easter everyone!

Suggestions, please!

At about 8:30 last evening, I put the final stitch into the last hexagon of my Grandmother's Flower Garden.  I can now officially call it a flimsy...or can I?

What's all the fuss about?  Relax...we're just trying it out!

My original thoughts were to bind it using the natural flow of the hexagons on the outside edges of the quilt.  I trimmed it to round off the edges so it now looks like this...

which I really don't like.

Why do I do this to myself?  Grrrrr.

So I've come up with a Plan B to square it up then add a 1" yellow border using the same yellow as the flower centers.  Then I'll add a second 2" saw tooth border incorporating the 1930's fabrics that I used for the flowers and the same white as the pathway hexies.  Depending upon how it looks and if needed, I will then add an additional 3" border using the same yellow and finish it off with a scrappy binding using a random selection of the 1930's prints.

I'm so disappointed that after all this time, I'm not happy with my original dream.  *sigh*

I welcome any and all suggestions!

   

Still plugging away...

Yes, I'm still plugging away on my Grandmother's Flower Garden and I'm still determined to have it finished by the end of April...or sooner.

As of yesterday, seven out of the nine rows have been completed.  

I had to stop because I ran out of the white pathway hexies again.  This is the second batch of 100 that I've had to prep in the last five days.  Obviously math is not my forte because my calculations were way off!

Believe it or not, there are 120 hexies in the pile below.

The flowers have been prepped for ages...all 63 of them.  Only 14 remain...but who's counting?

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel so it's full steam ahead until the finish!

Now for some exciting news.

Two weeks ago when I went to my NSLQS (not-so-local-quilt-shop) to purchase some embroidery thread to complete the machine applique portion of Darlene's mystery quilt, I happened to walk by as the owner Anne was demonstrating one of the Husqvarna machines that she sells in her shop.  I made the HUGE mistake of stopping to have a listen.

Before I knew it, I was sitting down...not that I had to be coerced...and playing and having a grand old time.

She made me an offer that I couldn't refuse but I told her that I couldn't commit before talking it over with Mr. Painted Quilt and that I would let her know by the end of the week.

You probably have guessed the rest of the story, huh?

Last Friday, Mr. PQ and I were on our way back to the NSLQS...

and here it is...my shiny, not-a-mark-on-it Husqvarna Sapphire 875.

I will never get rid of my Bernina but I think that Husky Henrietta and I are going to become close friends very quickly.  There's still so much that I have to learn because there isn't too much that she can't do and I have to remember to just take my time.  

Practice, practice, practice!

  
In the meantime, we've gone from spring with robins out in the back forty to about six inches of freshly fallen snow yesterday.  Even the bluebells that had pushed their way through the ground are now covered with snow.  *sigh*  But on the bright side, it has started to melt and I'm hoping that it'lll be gone as quickly as it came.

Ollie, Frankie and I say, "Bring on spring!"

Wake us up when it's time for dinner!