A few final finishes of 2017

Thanks to my good friend Jan, I have two more finishes to share!

Jan framed this piece for me!!! I am so thrilled!

This was truly a work of heart - it took 18 months on and off 

and has many memories stitched into it along with prayers.

I'm sorry to say that it is not yet hanging on my wall. It measures almost 2 feet by 3 feet and I haven't found just the right spot for it yet...

I love the frame! It is made by Yellow Creek Quilt Designs, who also designed and kitted the quilt. It is made of old barn wood and I love the age and history of the wood! 

"Stone Flower Sewing Pocket"

by Stacy Nash for Country Sampler's Girls Club

Jan also finished this beautiful piece for me!

It was definitely beyond my hand stitching skills. 

Thank you ever so much Jan for your beautiful finishing!

I love the subtle colors of this piece.

Of course the dogs morphed into dachshunds as they tend to do on my stitches :)

I have lots of finishes of my Mom's to share too. 

I think I will break them up into some shorter posts, too.

You greatly rejoice in this, even though you have to suffer various kinds of trials for a little while, so that your genuine faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed.

~1 Peter 1:6-7

Blessings, Patti

Happy Halloween!

Do you remember these from years ago?

I sure do! I was so tempted to buy one on a recent day of antiquing, but I refrained...

I finished this mug rug from a Missie Carpenter pattern using Halloween fabrics 

that I bought at Yellow Creek Quilt Designs.

I love Missie's technique for finishing the back!

When decorating my house for Halloween, I realized that I did not have a single Halloween table mat.

How could that possibly be?!?! I have lots for autumn, but not specifically for Halloween.

Luckily I have a pattern or two in my stash and Mom was here to help!

We did a little color planning.

Then tested out two different background colors.

Mom was such a help and cut out all my pieces!

In no time at all, it was completed!

Just in the nick of time!

"Halloween Pumpkin Mat"

by Buttermilk Basin

It is so hard to take photos during the week this time of year.

It is dark when I leave in the morning and dark when I get home at night...

But you get the idea :)

Thanks Mom for all the help!

I have some great news to share.

Mom has finished radiation treatments and is now back home and ready to create another edition of Pennies from Heaven. She'll be back in a few months for some follow up appointments. Maybe she'll be willing to work on another joint project - this time I should help her with one of hers :)

Happy Halloween!

Blessings, Patti

I'm back from a lovely week!

Well, to be honest, I have been back for almost a week.

Where does the time go?!

On my way to meet my Bittersweet Stitching Sisters, I was driving by Galena, IL and just had to take a peek at the lovely town.

I also had to stop at a few antique shops along the way.

This was my favorite booth.

My most exciting stop was in Pearl City, IL:

Below is a glimpse of the treasures found inside:

Once you walk in the door, it is hard to decide where to look first!

Of course I was drawn to the fun Halloween / Autumn display.

And their very own fabric line.

Eventhough the owners were at the Des Moines Quilt Show,

there was still a lot remaining to be seen.

I took more time than I  planned as it was hard to make decisions.

Not only is there a great selection of quilt fabrics,

But wool applique

And lovely frames

Wool and the entire antique cabinet on the left was filled with Valdani.

I bought two backing fabrics on the left for wool table mats,

some blue and cream fabric sticks calling my name,

and the cutest Halloween fabrics!

I want to drop everything and start a Halloween EPP table runner, but I am trying to hurriedly finish up my current EPP project first...

We will see if I can stick to it.

You know that I could not leave the store without some wool:

The Plays With Wool candle mat was finished at the shop and oh so sweet!

As was the White Pumpkin Patchwork. I loved that the kit contains all the original materials used in the Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine. 

A Jill Shaulis original design and a great souvenir of my visit to her shop.

Yellow Creek Quilt Designs has a website here.

And the best news... I happened to be there during their 25th anniversary sale and I won a gift certificate!!! I can't wait to go back for another visit to spend it.

I'll be back shortly with so much more to share!

Truly my soul finds rest in God;

    my salvation comes from him.

~Psalm 62:1

Blessings, Patti

Hexie Love ~ Part 1 ~ A Finish

Eighteen months ago, I visited Yellow Creek Quilt Designs on a day trip with some friends.

You can read about it here.

I purchased their "Stars in the Garden" half inch hexie kit and couldn't wait to get started!

 Before I knew it, my first star was finished!

I was hooked!

I made progress and enjoyed each step, but sometimes I would put it down and would forget about it for a few months. 

Before I knew it all the full stars were completed and I only had partial pieces left...

When Mom was headed to the hospital, I had the quick thought to grab this project bag to bring with me. Mom and I did some color planning as to piece placement while there.

And now the big reveal!

"Stars for the Garden" is complete!

I don't consider it finished until it is in the frame and hanging on my wall lol ;)

Oh Jan! I will be contacting you soon...

If you are interested in this pattern/kit, you can find their website here and their Facebook page here.

It's funny, as I started closing in on this project, my mind started wandering to my next English Paper Piecing project. That will be in my next post.

I never do this, but I had to share the back - it really intrigued me.

Since the half inch hexies are so small the fabric fully wraps around.  I thought that it was pretty.

A close up of the back.

I have to share some happy news! 

Mom is done with chemo! We are now gearing up for the next step - radiation. 

I think that the hardest part is behind her. 

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! 

They are greatly appreciated!

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

~Romans 12:9-13

Blessings, Patti

International Quilt Show 2017 ~ The Shopping

So after much agonizing at all the wonderful vendor booths, what did I bring home?

Well, of course I had to purchase more of my new favorite thread - Rustic Wool Moire!

Just look at these luscious colors!

And who can resist a few pieces of antique ribbon and an old velvet heart pincushion?

Not me ;)

At Yellow Creek Quilt Designs, they displayed this wonderful antique quilt made of elongated hexies and their interpretations in smaller sizes.

Paper Pieces has created special paper pieces and an acrylic template for them to recreate the antique - named Yellow Creek Kindred Hexies! Love! I also bought their Boston in Bloom kit - the design appears in Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine Spring 2017 issue. You can see it here.

Ok. I admit it, I went a little crazy! I love these new Primitive Gatherings patriotic designs! The tumblers are all precut and I am going to create using English Paper Piecing. I couldn't decide between the thimble size and the regular tumbler size... So I bought them both *sigh*.

I first saw the beautiful model of "Garden Memories" at Olde World Quilt Shoppe in Arizona and regretted not purchasing it. I was so happy that Red Button Quilt Company had the kit!!! Such beautiful colors and packaged so prettily. Again, since I only handsew and don't own a sewing machine, I plan to adapt to EPP.

I guess it was an EPP kind of day ;)

(By the way, The Olde World Quilt Shoppe just brought their kit shop online! You can check it out here. They have wool bundles, too.)

But never fear, you know that I had to go home with something wool ;)

My major purchase of the day:  

From Sew Cherished, I purchased the full kit for Cricket Street Wool's

Harvest Wall Quilt!

Here is the model:

Let me just say that each and every wool in this piece is gorgeous and absolutely pops against the wonderful backgrounds! It was even more stunning in person!

I better get my fingers busy! I want to start everything, but need to finish a few WIP's first!

I think I covered a lot of ground in three hours! And I went home at closing very happy!

 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

~John 10:14-15

Blessings, Patti 

Slow Stitching

Stitching has been rather slow on the home front. I like to share finishes, but don't have anything that is near completion. Life is busy at work and at home, so my limited stitching time has been curbed even more.

It doesn't help that I have been flitting back and forth between mediums - wool, cross stitch and even an English Paper Piecing project that I haven't touched since last summer.

So instead of sharing finishes, I thought I would share projects in process.

I am so excited that I have signed up for another Rebekah L. Smith class at Wheaten Woolens in Davenport, Iowa! I had such a wonderful time last year that I shared a series of three posts.

You can find them here:

Part 1 - The Shop and Class

Part 2 - The Home

Part 3 - The Progress and The Shopping

I've decided that I must absolutely finish last year's class project before this year's class in June,

so my progress is what you see above.

On the cross stitch front, I have been working on Stacy Nash's "Ann's Sampler".

36 count is a bit small to work on when traveling by train and bus on my daily commute,

so my stitching is slower than usual. But I think it will be worth it in the end.

As usual, I've made a few of my usual tweaks, but I don't want to share those until the finish ;) 

so these are just a few cropped peeks.

And yes, the English Paper Piecing has been pulled out once again.

"Stars in the Garden" by Yellow Creek Quilt Designs.

The central motifs are all finished and I working on the outer pieces.

Here is my last status picture of the same project taken last summer.

I've gotten so far that I really need to finish it! :)

Last month I had a post that included one of my favorite photo bombers.

I was surprised to receive several comments that people were happy to see Mr. Peanut as he hasn't appeared on my blog in a while. Sometimes I think people might get tired of pet pictures. I take photos of them quite frequently and since some of you asked...

Here are a few:

Peanut and Leia catching a few rays of sun during the dreary winter.

While they have such different personalities like most brothers and sisters,

they still love to snuggle!

Whenever they get a chance!

Since "finishes" still seem a ways away, I guess I'll try to share more progress in another week or so.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

~Colossians 3:12

Blessings, Patti