Pennies from Heaven ~ Volume 6

This past weekend I visited my parents and we celebrated Dad's birthday.

Mom also showed me her latest finishes. It's been a bit over two months and she only had two finishes to share...

The coneflower above is designed by Jan Goos of Goos Nest.

Mom's second piece isn't quite finished, but she let me share some photos :)

And now you'll know why she has only worked on two projects:

WoW! The lighting was a bit too bright, but you get the idea :)

(I'll take more pics next time when it is truly completed.)

This kit sat in my craft corner for over six years and Mom did all this incredible work in just seven weeks!

She is amazing!

Done in all Blackberry Primitives wool - the colors are perfect for Maggie Bonanomi's "Settler's Pride".

It is hard to pick a favorite block - I love them all!

As always - Mom's work is perfection.

(After we took the photos, she found a few things that she wasn't thrilled with, so she ripped out and re-sewed them.)

I'm sure that her backing/binding will be perfect as well :)

Wouldn't you love to just move right in?!

After we were done admiring Mom's masterpiece, she demonstrated her new favorite wooly gadget:

The Sizzix Big Shot! 

Sandwich together the plates, die and a few layers of wool. 

Crank the handle a few times and:

Voila! Instant pennies!

No more tracing circles on freezer paper and hand cutting each of them individually.

Now Mom is really going to be whipping out the penny rugs!

Look how many she created with scraps of wool in just minutes!

Can you guess what I'll be putting on my Christmas list this year?!

Especially after seeing all the cute dies that are available...

I'm hoping that Santa will think that I've been good this year ;)

We stopped in a few shops in town and I found a small handful of new treasures:

They absolutely did not look like this when I bought them. How lucky am I that Dad cleaned all of my purchases before I went home! They were all so rusty, tarnished, and dented that they were too extreme to even be called primitive, but Dad fixed them up for me. The thimble from England is so big that I could put two fingers in it :) The teeny tiny salt shaker is perfect for needles I'm thinking... The brass medallion is an old pocket watch fob from an Elks club and the button hook handle is made of Tigers Eye.

Thanks so much Dad for cleaning them up for me on your birthday :) 

And congratulations Mom on your beautiful masterpieces! Can't wait to see Settler's Pride completed!

O come, let us worship and bow down,

    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    and the sheep of his hand.

~Psalm 95:6-7

Blessings, Patti

Pennies from Heaven ~ Volume 5 Part 2

Here is Part 2 of my Mom's creations. You have to remember that everything that I am showing has been created since March, when I visited last! Mom is amazing :)

My sister and I look forward to Mom's "throwdown" and we declare each one the best ever!

This is a Maggie Bonanomi design from one of her books. I love Mom's sparse use of red and how it really pops against the other colors.

I love how she added her town and state using all the wools from the vine :)

And you already know how I love winding vines ;)

 

The round penny rug was completed previously, but Mom created an oval companion.

I love all of the colors! 

And here is the home for the new oval mat.

The round mat is at home across the room under a large glass hurricane candle holder.

This little kit was a gift from me that she whipped up in no time.

As was this one:

So sweet!

Mom and I have talked a lot about the new Rebekah L. Smith Wool Applique book and waited for it with anxious anticipation. There was no doubt who would be the first in our family to work on a project from the book. 

Mom's first project from the book was an applique for a tote.

I love how the specialty stitches really add dimension!

Mom had her own idea for the design and decided it would make a great table runner.

Sew beautiful even in it's "in progress" state.

Imagine my delight when a mere week after we left she put this photo on Facebook!

All done and absolutely gorgeous!

While down in Illinois' Amish Country, we did a bit of shopping:

Miller's Dry Goods

and Yoder Lamps Antiques

Such a beautiful selection of crocks

and of course, lamps

feed sacks and seed sacks, too.

I behaved myself and enjoyed looking :)

I brought with some little gifts for our visit:

Dad received a book and some smoked fish from the fish shop that just opened down the street from my home.

Mom received:

A strawberry make do of antique wool paisley on a glass bottle purchased on my last visit. 

And for my sister:

A little pinch purse with her two kitties - one on each side - made to hold her knitter's counting rings.

And now one last finish of Mom's which includes the bible verse for this post:

Yes, Mom cross stitches too! I love how there is a cross on the right hand penny!

Well, now I am off to bed.

I leave for Stacy Nash Stitch Camp at Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin in just eight hours!

Better get a few hours sleep if I can!

I'll be back with a full report!

Blessings, Patti

April finishes...

It's time to share my Buttermilk Basin April finishes!

First is April from the "Year in Stitches Collection"

This is April from The Live Simply BOM

bound in blush velvet

And my most recent finish - April from Basin Banners Thru the Year

bound in tea dyed blush velvet with black snaps for the chicks eyes.

I love those chicks!

And do you remember this wonderful mat?

My mom had made it for my sister for Christmas

Well, I decided to make my sister a little Easter present to go with it.

It's not very "Eastery", but

I made her a little wool box out of the same color family of wool.

It has an antique shoe button and old key closure.

And inside a star to match her mat.

I think she liked it :)

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

~Hebrew 1:3

Blessings, Patti

International Quilt Show ~ Purchases and Progress

I tried to be good at the quilt show this year ~ truly I did!

Craft Corner is bursting at the seams and I could never possibly stitch all that I have, 

but still all the lovely things I saw beckoned to me...

Who can possibly resist a few wool packs from Primitive Gatherings and Mary Flanagan Woolens?

And lovely mustard wool from Holly & Ivy

I have a specific project in mind for these, but don't think that I will get to it until June...

I loved these hand-dyed #5 perle cotton thread cards from House of Embroidery and these tweezers from Primitive Gatherings will be perfect for the next time I use Glad Press'n Seal !

Two new patterns followed me home...

And these two little pincushion kits were just too sweet!

I just knew that I had to purchase something from Carried Away Designs! Aren't these colors lovely?! 

And another kit is on order...

My Mom brought some show and tell with her on the train.

One project is in process and it is a stunner! She completely redid the color planning from when I was down last and she really knocked it out of the ball park! But I think I will wait to share until it is completely done...

In the meantime, Mom is all caught up on the Buttermilk Basin mystery block of the month.

Her stitching as always is lovely.

And the antique flour sack background is perfect.

I love that the she is keeping the color scheme consistent :)

I can't wait to see more!

But all in due time...

"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

~Hebrews 12:2

Blessings, Patti

International Quilt Show ~ a lovely weekend

This past weekend was the International Quilt Show in Rosemont, Illinois.

Lucky for me it is only 10 minutes away.

This year the show was celebrating its Ruby Jubilee - 40 years.

In honor of the celebration, they put together this exhibit inspired by the "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts" show held in New York City a few years ago.

The graphic red and white quilts, both large and small, made quite a statement.

This year was also special as my Mom took the train up so we could attend the show together.

This was her first time purchasing wool in person. She doesn't have any local shops and has always bought her wool online.

It was so much fun to walk down aisle after aisle of quilting treasures

and woolie goodness!

One of the best parts of attending a quilt show is meeting designers and shops that you aren't familiar with.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Carried Away Designs took my breath away!

Her sense of color and beautiful embroidery is so stunning in person!

How can you ever decide which to purchase?!

You can see her lovely designs close up here and her Facebook page is here.

Holly & Ivy from Ripon, Wisconsin was another favorite booth.

Her website is here and she even has an Etsy shop here.

So much lovely wool in one booth!

(And she didn't get mad when I riffled through all her golds looking for the perfect shades :)

So pretty!

 Next up is Back Door Quilts from Indiana - home of lots of paper piecing!

I did a little stocking up :)

Their website can be found here and their Facebook page here.

I may need to plan a road trip ;)

Here is Farmhouse Threads - their booth was so sweet that you wanted to move right in!

I loved the screen doors!

And the picket fence!

Their website can be found here and Facebook page here.

And when looking at wool , you know we are going to spend a lot of time in the booth of Mary Flanagan Woolens!

So many colors and so little money LOL!

There are more pictures of her beautiful wool here.

Of course, you know we also spent a substantial amount of time in Primitive Gatherings booth as well, but I was to busy shopping to take pictures. You can see their booth here.

Well, I think I have taken up enough of your time!

I'll be back with my purchases and my Mom's latest work!

"She sets about her work vigorously;

    her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable,

    and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff

    and grasps the spindle with her fingers."

~Proverbs 31:17-19

Blessings, Patti