Pink and Purple

I finally finished another Aunt Millie's Garden block. It is pink and one of my favorites that I have done so far.
More pink! Stephanie send me two copies of her new bag patterns and some pink Flea Market Fancy fabrics tied up in pink vintage rick rack. It was fun being a pattern tester and if you like this pattern go on over to Stephanie's and check out all her great patterns. Thank you Stephanie for the unexpected surprise!
Take a look at this beautiful block. Mandy (no blog) has sent me a picture of her third AMG block that she has finished. Great job, Mandy! Thanks for sharing and keep sending your pictures as you get the blocks done.
With Passion,

Carrie P.

Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Sir Winston Churchill

Block Swaps

As many of you know I am participating in a few block swaps. I have just finished all my blocks for the red and aqua swap that is hosted by Jane. I will be putting my blocks in the mail soon. I can't wait to see the blocks I get back.

I am also participating in the the civil war signature block swap that Melissa is hosting. I sent my blocks already and can you believe I forgot to take a picture? Two of my blogging buddies who are not in this swap decided to send me a block. This first one came from Stephanie right after I signed up for the swap. I was going to wait and share her block with you when I got my other blocks but...
then this past week I got another block from Cathi. It was a sweet surprise from them both. Thanks so much Stephanie and Cathi for sending me the blocks
And you all know about the International signature blocks I am exchanging. Here are the newest ones. I do not know how many I have at this point. I will count them at the beginning of the new year and decide if I will continue with this swap. Aren't they all great?
With Passion,

Carrie P.

Turn you face to the sun and all shadows fall behind you. Maori Proverb

Let's have Show and Tell

Yesterday my applique bee met and you know what that means. Show and Tell.
This quilt was made by Patti. She took this design from a painting book and made it into an applique design. Pretty neat idea.
This quilt was made by Ellen F. I love the combination of yellow and purple.
These two pictures are blocks made by Lynn. The one below is a close up of the block on the far left. I just had to show you the little roses.
The lovely tea sets were done by Alice.
And these house blocks were done by Jane.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one.

Elbert Hubbard

Portholes

Look Allie! I finished the Portholes. You can see Allie's finished project here. You can still go to her blog and get these patterns. Just click on the Portholes button on her sidebar. Thanks Allie for sharing.

I embroidered the designs onto some of the feed sack towels I won a while back from Lori. I made these for my daughter who loves everything "beachy." I added some batiks strips of fabric to dress up the towels too. My future daughter-in-law saw the towels as I was working on them and she wants me to make her some too.


Hey, you have to check out this blog. Kim shared it on her blog and that is how I found it. The blog is called 365 days of Free Motion Quilting Filler Designs. Leah has put short videos on her blog to show you how she does the designs. If you need ideas check it out. And she does this all on her regular sewing machine. I think I might even be inspired to give some of the designs a try.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Do what you know best, if you're a runner, run if you're a bell, ring. Ignas Bernstein

Using Templar Plastic

I have been working on little dresses from Nanette's very cute pattern. When I am going to be making a lot of the same pattern I like to use this Templar plastic. Some plastics will melt when you just barely touch an iron to it. So if you are going to use plastic make sure it is the right kind for the technique you will be using for. As you can see I save everything because you just don't know when you will need a tiny piece.
I take the Templar and trace the pattern onto it using a pigma pen. If you use pencil it will smear as you handle the plastic piece. Cut it out. After I cut it out I will rub my finger along the edges and if I feel any rough spots/points I will take an emery board/nail file to smooth the edges of the plastic. If there are any little points left over from cutting those will actually show up when you are trying to iron the fabric around the plastic. The edges will not be smooth. Next I will trace the pattern on the back side of the fabric. I will trace on the bias of the fabric when I have curves because then you don't have to fight the curves as you are working with them. Cut out the fabric pattern leaving 3/16" for the seam allowance. I will then spray some Magic Sizing in a little cup and let it become liquid. Next take a small paint brush and paint the edges of the seam allowance with the Magic Sizing. Put the Templar pattern back onto the backside of the cut out piece of fabric. I will use a Clover mini iron to press the edges of the fabric up around the Templar plastic pattern. You can see from the lavender dress that I have clipped a few places on the fabric. This helps the fabric go around the plastic easier. Do not clip past your drawn line. If you do the fabric will have an irregular shape to it. You want to try to stop the clip mark right before the drawn line. After you have finished ironing, let it cool, and then pull out the plastic carefully and you will have a perfect shape ready to applique.

Here are some of the cute little dresses I have finished. I have a lot cut out but I am adding trim to those. So I have to do that first. As you can see two of the dresses have some trim at the waist of the dress. This pattern would be great for those of you are new to applique. Very good for beginners.
If you are new to my blog and to applique you can check out my other tutorials on my sidebar.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

The best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as is rightfully possible today.

Charles W. Eliot

New Siggies

I am still swapping International signature blocks. Here are the newest ones that have come to my mail box. If you want to join just head on over to Quilts and Siggies. There is no commitment as to how many you need to send out and you can stop any time you feel like you have collected enough. I have really enjoyed getting them in the mail.

I made some more to send off. I decided to make Pilot Mountain look like fall is coming. It won't be long before the leaves start changing. I have some dogwood trees changing to red.

It has been rainy and cool here for the past week. This next week is going to be the same but we do need the rain so I am not complaining. Yesterday evening we saw some sun rays as the sun was going down. Just this little section in the whole backyard was shining. I thought it was very pretty and I wanted to share the beauty of it with you all. Have a great weekend.
With Passion,

Carrie P.

Thing turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out. Anonymous

Fall is in the Air!

Look I actually finished something that I started. It is the First Friday free pattern from Kaaren. I stitched it with batting on the back of the fabric and used a piece of wool for the blackbird. Thanks again Kaaren for sharing your talent with us all.

This is probably old news for a lot of you but there is a new blog from some Australian designers. It is called Among the Gum Trees. They are going to make available free patterns beginning in October. They will also be having giveaways until the end of this month. Wow!

There is also another new blogger in our midst. I love the name of her blog, In Awe of Applique.

If you have a second go over and welcome her.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Keep your fears to yourself, but share your inspiration with others. Robert Louis Stevenson

New BOM

Well, I have done it again. I joined another blog BOM. This one is from Dawn of Linen Closet Quilts. When you click on the blog name it will take you to the entry that gives all the information and the pattern. The quilt is called Vicksburg. It is a ten month program with 9 of the blocks being done in applique and one pieced block. The blocks are set on point and that is what intrigued me because I don't have many quilts that are set on point. Several people have already finished their blocks and pictures are on Dawn's blog.
Check out Barbara's new block. I have been collecting these patterns but have not done one yet.

And you have to go here and here to check out Pam's Aunt Millie's Garden blocks. Fabulous!

You also have to go to Janet's blog and see here awe inspiring Mary Mannakee blocks. She also has some great tips on this post too.

It is here! Dorothy has released her first Sweet Nostalgia block. It will be available for 3 months.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

There are no secrets to success. Success is doing the things you know you should do.

Quilt Show

Last Labor day weekend my husband labored all three days cutting down some dead trees on our property and chopping them into firewood for the winter. He has one more big one to cut down but during the week I casually mentioned that there was a quilt show in Wilkesboro. So this Saturday morning I expected him to want to cut down the other tree but he said he would like to go to Wilkesboro and take me to the show. Well, who is going to say no to that! So off we went.

The quilt show is not judged and I believe it is an annual show according to some of my guild members that I saw at the show. The judges are the people who attend. At the entrance we were handed a paper with the categories of quilts. After viewing the quilts we then circled a number in each category of the quilt we liked the best. We don't know who got the ribbons but it was a very nice show.

There were some vendors who came to sell their wares. As you can see I did not buy much. The reds and aquas are for Jane's swap.

Now let's get to the quilts. This first one was a trip around the world and I just took a picture of the quilting because I really like the leaves.





This quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted.
Maybe one day I will be able to get my quilting stitches this little. It was fabulous.
We were handed a little brochure that showed a barn quilt trail in Wilkes county. It is a collaborative effort from the Wilkes County Quilters Guild and the Cultural Arts Council of Wilkes to hang pictures of quilts around the county for viewers to see. We saw these two which were in town.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson

What's on Your Design Wall?

A week ago I was reading Crispy's blog and she showed a picture of her design wall. I discovered that I was not the only one that has a design wall full of projects. My design wall is just some flannel sewn together and stapled to some molding to match the molding in the room. It works great and I usually don't have to pin the pieces to the flannel. So do you have a design wall that is full of projects?
With Passion,

Carrie P.

A multitude of small delights constitute happiness. Charles Baudelaire

Pattern Tester

I had the privilege of testing a pattern for designer Stephanie of Loft Creations. I let my daughter pick out the fabrics since the bag was going to be hers when I finished it. This one is called Prickly Pear and my daughter and I are both pleased at well it turned out. She has carried it around already and has gotten lots of great compliments. Everyone loves the touch of rick rack. We do too. Great design, Stephanie!

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be. Grandma Moses

A First

My daughter who is a senior in college this year is taking a craft class this semester and she had to do an applique project the first week she was in school. This is her first and probably her last. She is not real thrilled to do applique but I think she did a great job for her first try at it. Her professor required her to do a running stitch on top of the pieces instead of the invisible stitch. She also did this in needle turn. She is now working on a small quilt that she has to make all by hand too.
I am sure a lot of you have read about Dorothy Baker's new embroidery BOM of the month. If you haven't, go over to her blog and check out her giveaway. She will be revealing the block soon so be on the lookout. I have a button on my sidebar that gives an indication what a block will be like. Cute!

You probably noticed another button on my sidebar. I have joined Jane's swap. Jane had a poll on her blog and I voted. She is swapping red and aqua disappearing nine patch blocks. I love the color combination so I signed up. She is still taking sign-ups.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

The grand essentials for happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Chalmers

Fabulous Facilitator's Wonderful Works!!

Okay, here are the photos of my fabulous facilitator's wonderful works. She is amazing. I will tell you her first name is Kathleen. Here is her finished quilted version of Country Sunshine designed by Lorraine Hofmann. Lorraine's pattern is in the Blackbird Design book called You're Invited!
Kathleen sent the quilt off to be machine quilted and the quilter did a stunning job. Her name is Rosemary.


Here are two pieced quilts done by Kathleen.

Look at this quilt top done by Kathleen also. All wool appliqued on flannel. This is called Folk Art Album by Primitive Gatherings.


Kathleen is such a inspiration to many ladies and she is also a fantastic applique teacher. Thank you Kathleen for sharing your love of applique with so many, me included.

With Passion, Carrie P.

Where flowers bloom, so does hope. Lady Bird Johnson