Frustration!

Do you all ever get frustrated with a project you are working on? Well, I am very frustrated. I am not frustrated with this. A finished Verandah View block.Or this. This is a new block I have started for Aunt Millie's Garden.
I am frustrated with this. I had this vision in my mind but this is just not working for me. I think it is the background fabric that is bothering me so much. I am not please with the yellow roses either. You might notice that some of them to the left look a little different. That is because I was doing a second row in a variegated thread trying to make it look better but to no avail.

I started to do a little on the other block with some variegated pink thread and it is not working for me either.
So guess what? It is back to the beginning for me with a whole new fabric choice. I will show the blocks as soon as I get them done. So they will be a go or be thrown in the trash too. My daughter wants me to finished the vase and give it to her, so I will do that.

With Passion and a little frustration,

Carrie P.

Even the darkest days can be brightened considerably by a s simple act of kindness. Help make someone's day a bit brighter today.

Another Passion

Mr. Bluebird has found himself  a wife and there are 4 beautiful blue eggs in their perfect little nest in the bluebird house. I am member of the Bluebird Society. I only have one house in our yard because that is all that will  fit. I know that sounds funny but they are territorial birds. We live on six acres but we are surrounded by woods so there is not room  for any more houses. The houses need to be at least 100 yards from each other so that is why we only have one house. They prefer two acres for their territory but where their house is located is much smaller but because we don't have anymore houses up it works for them. The Bluebirds like open fields so the house that they lay their eggs in is right near the edge the woods facing the grassy area. Last year we had four groups of babies. There were a few that did not survive. I keep count of how many eggs and how many fledged and send the information to the society. Bluebirds were on the endangered list at one time but have really made a comeback. I really enjoy watching them. I have wondered if the couple I have out there now is some of the babies from last year. Mr. Bluebird like to sit up here and look for bugs in the grass.I just have two more quilts from the quilt show for you to see. Hope you don't mind. They are just too great not to show you.  I have longed to make a cathedral window quilt. This one is just fantastic.
Here is one that I thought was very cute. It is all machine appliqued which is done beautifully. I think that is what one of the ribbons is for. Best machine applique.
With Passion, Carrie P.

Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it.  Anne de Lenclos
ps SueQuilts asked if there was a pattern for the raffle quilt. There is not a pattern at this time but if one ever comes available I will be sure to have a post about it. You had "no reply" on your comment so I could not respond personally.

Starts and Finishes

It is always exciting to start a new project but it can be very exciting to finish a project. Sometimes it is sad to finish something because you have so many memories as you have made it or it could be a project you have really enjoyed working on. Today I have a few "Starts" and some "Finishes" to share with you.

Yesterday I mentioned a new BOM by Elefantz that I was going to start. I have the applique finished and I am ready to embroider the roses.
I forgot to mention after the last guild meeting I had that number 5 UFO was chosen. Here is the start of it. A pile of nine patches that I did in a swap several years ago. I know how I want to set them, so my goal is to get the top done by the next guild meeting.
Another Christmas Love block finished.
My calendar quilt for the month of April finished. Isn't this bunny sweet. During the weeks leading up to Easter, Lollychops was making all kinds of things with these outline drawings of bunnies.  I just thought this one was so cute that I had to put it on my block. She is a fantastic crafty person. Her blog is always fun to read.
Lenna over at the Stitching Cow is wanting to make some applique tutorials on her blog teaching different techniques and such. If you have a minute go over and tell her what you would like to see her teach. 

With Passion, Carrie P.

A kind word is like a spring day.  Russian Proverb

You all know how I just love doing all the BOM that are out there in blogland. Now there is another one over on Elefantz. It is just to pretty to pass up. I have done the the applique part on the first two blocks and now I am ready to do the embroidery. Jenny (Elefantz) is having a giveaway so go over and leave a comment and tell her I sent you. If this is the first time visiting her blog you should definitely look at some of her older posts. Her work is awesome.
I wanted to show you one more quilt from the quilt show. This quilt was designed by my fabulous facilitator for the applique group that I am attend.  I have not been able to attend a single meeting since January and I miss them so much. Anyway, this was the raffle quilt. It was appliqued by a lot of different ladies including me. Everyone wanted to win this quilt and you can see why. At the end of the show the quilt show chairwoman pulled a ticket out at the end of the show and she said, " The person that won this quilt is in the room."  We all were standing there looking at each other all excited but it  was not me. So sad, but I can say that a fellow guild member did win the quilt so I know it will be loved.
Melissa at Mel's Own Place has been having Autism Awareness month on her blog. Her nephew Brock has autism. She is going to Walk for Autism in May. I wanted to help out in my own little way. She said that anyone that helped out would be sent one of her bookmarks. Well it was okay if I didn't get anything because I just wanted to help her out.
Here is the sweet little bookmark but look what else she sent as a thank you. I just can't get over it. It is such a nice gesture. Melissa sent the fabric, a pattern that she designed and the little dots on the blue fabric are fabric covered magnets.  Too cute!  Thank you so much Melissa. I hope through your efforts that a cure can be found soon.
With Passion, Carrie P.

I'm working so hard on my time management that I don't get anything done.  Anonymous

Quilt Show

Before I show you some quilts from the show I just want to show you my Tisket, A Tasket block. I used some of the bamboo thread for the ribbon. It sews fine. I like the little bit of sheen that it has. It does the same thing as DMC floss which is that it frays at the end as you pull it through the fabric but not really bad at all. I am going to add one of those tiny buttons to the rabbits collar too.
I had a great time with the ladies at the applique bee yesterday. I will show you some of their works later.
While I was working at the quilt show I had the privilege of meeting Mary from Quilt Hollow. It was fun meeting her and she has a great blog so check it out sometime. She does some great machine quilting too.
This is the quilt I entered in the show. I won an honorable mention ribbon. Aren't the ribbons great?
Here is some of the show. I think there was about 100 quilts entered in the show. Enjoy!












With Passion, Carrie P.

Nothing happens unless first a dream.  Carl Sandburg

Quilt Goodies

Today I have lots of pictures to show you. Yesterday after the BOM group I went to check out a new quilt shop and needlepoint store. I don't do needlepoint but I like to see what kind of thread they carry.  The quilt shop is called Karen Gray Design.  She sells many handmade items that she personally makes. You can check out the inside of both of these stores on Bear Hugs All Around. She remembered her camera. Simply Needlepoint is another store with fabulous threads.

 The fabric in the foreground I got from Karen's which I am going to use in a project from Elefantz's blog. She is doing a BOM called Shabby Roses. I will not use the fabric with the mermaids, that is for my daughter who loves all things ocean. The white looking fabric which I got from another shop will be used for the background in this project. It has tiny turquoise flowers on it.  The thread is from the new store called Simply Needlepoint. It is made from bamboo. I thought I would try it out.

At the quilt show this past weekend I bought this jar that was stuffed full of fabric and the little black heart shape pincushion.  It has a tag with the name and date of the show. A souvenir of sorts.

Here is what was in the jar. Some nice size pieces of fabric, scraps, and selvages. I think I got a pretty good deal for $7.00. I love the colors. I left everything out but the selvages and now it is just full of selvages I have been saving.
There was also a vendor selling wool and this is what I bought.
She also was selling this cute little rug hooked cardinal which I bought.  You know me and my birds.
At the last guild meeting there was also a chicken challenge. So I thought I would share the ideas that some of the ladies had. This first one is mine.


This is a postcard.

This is some punchneedle and it was about the size of the postcard.
I have my applique bee tomorrow so I won't be back with a post until Friday.

With Passion, Carrie P.

Every path has it's puddle.  English Proverb

Quilt Festival

I have decided to participate in the Quilt Festival that Amy is hosting. I have seen a lot of great quilts and read a lot of neat stories. This quilt is one of my favorites that I have created.
The quilt was a challenge put out by my guild. The theme was "Garden View." What do you see out your window? We were given a little packet of five different fabrics we had to use somewhere in the quilt. The cornerstones have one fabric and then next pictures has the leaves with some of the fabric.  At the time there were lots of Robins in the backyard and things were blooming so this is what I came up with. It is actually a combination of three different patterns that I found in my stuff. The bottom vine has a couple of ceramic flower buttons sewn on. If you click on a the picture and look in the bottom right corner by the cornerstone you can see a little green frog button. I tried to take a close up but it was too blurry.
This spider web is up near the center Robin. Hope you enjoyed seeing my creation for the show.

With Passion, Carrie P.

A joy that is shared is a joy made double.  English Proverb

A New Monday

My busy week is over. This week I just have my BOM to go to and my applique bee. So I should be able to work on some projects this week. I really need to get back to my Aunt Millie's Garden blocks. I have started picking out some fabrics so I will have something to work on at the bee.

Last Monday I mentioned that I attended a workshop with Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville. She was also our speaker for the evening at our quilt meeting. I am going to share some the members Show and Tell and some of Bonnie's great scrap quilts.

These next photos are of Bonnie's creations. It really amazing what she can do with a pile of scraps. She brought a varied collection of quilts but these are just a few. If you want to see more of her work check out her website.


We have a fellow blogger in our midst who needs a word of encouragement. Her name is Brenda and she has been affected by some floods in New Hampshire. If you have time, go over and send her a word of cheer. 

Barbara Dieges has published another flower BOM. Check it out and also look at the gallery of blocks that other people have done. Beautiful!!

With Passion, Carrie P.

Happiness is something that comes into our lives through a door we don't remember opening.