Christmas Goodies!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Our is not over because on Friday we will open gifts with our son and his fiance. He spent Christmas at her folks house this year. So the tree will be up for another week which is fine because it smells so good.

This first photo is what my husband gave me for Christmas. I actually requested it. This wooden bowl is the first bowl he has made. If you follow my blog you know that when we go to antique stores he looks for old woodworking tools. So with his tools he made this beautiful bowl for me. I am so proud of him.
Stina had a surprise giveaway on her blog. She just decided to draw a name from the comments on a certain post and I won. I was so excited to get a package all the way from Sweden. She made this oh! so cute snowman embroidery. Look at the bottom of the picture and you can see a scissor fob. It has beads and little wool strawberries.
She also made this wire angel with a wool heart. Such sweet gifts. Thanks so very much Stina. Love them all.
Look what Terri sent me. A pincushion and scissor fob with her fantastic crochet on them. A very nice surprise! Love these too Terri, thanks bunches.
If you read Nanette's blog you probably saw a box that was full of packages that she was sending out for Christmas. I was one of those recipients of her sweet little package. She uses the most fun fabrics and she sent me a little pile of them with some pretty rickrack wrapped around it. Take a look at the little fabric button with bees on it. Too cute! She made a pile of these sweet star ornaments too. Thank you very much Nanette for such a great surprise! (sorry the picture got twisted)
I won a giveaway at In Stitches! Did you play the Bingo game? It was fun! I won a gift certificate and I went straight away to the site and picked out some great stuff. I can't believe how quick it arrived at my house too. Thank you for picking my name. It was fun shopping at the Quilt Shoppe. They are having a Blow Out sale until the 31st. (sorry this one got twisted too)
My mom sent me some money for Christmas so I decided to go shopping at two of my favorite web sites. The first one came from The Quilted Crow which was having a sale. Look at the cute wool pattern. More thread for a punchneedle project.
The other web site I like to buy from is Colonial Crafts. They were having a sale too and are now having one on Christmas fabrics. I guess you figured out I like to buy at sales. Sherri just finished the Fresh Vintage quilt and I had to get the pattern. I bought some fabric for some embroidery projects. The little spools are Valdani three strand floss for a punchneedle project that I have designed my self. I will show it to later. I am going to try to get it drawn on the fabric this week.
Have a great last week of December. My husband is off this week so I am not sure if I will do another post this week. If not I will talk to you all next year.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward. Charlotte Bronte

Merry Christmas to you all!

I would like to wish

you all
A Very Merry Christmas!
May 2010 be the year you finish many UFOs!
Blessings to you all.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Christmas began in the heart of God. It is only complete when it reaches the heart of man.

Back Basting Applique Tutorial

Today I am going to share an applique technique that I learned about 5 years ago. I don't know who invented this technique so if any one knows who did let me know so that I can give that person credit. Here is the finished block. I am going to show you how I did the ribbon. There are some pictures that are blurry and I apologize.
The first thing to do is trace the entire pattern on the wrong side of the fabric. I use a mechanical pencil. Use a marker that will not show through on the front side.
I then measure the original design and cut the fabric that size to be placed on the block.
You can see here that I cut a rectangle piece of fabric. Hold the block up to the light to make sure the fabric covers your drawn design.
Next you will use a thick thread like quilting thread that contrasts with the applique fabric and a large needle and sew a small running stitch to baste the applique fabric and background fabric together exactly on the drawn line. The basting keeps the fabric in place and the large needle and thick thread perforate the stitching line, making it easy to turn under the seam allowance exactly on the line. In the photo you can see three colors of thread.
Usually black or white is fine but neither worked for this purple fabric so I use the blue thread. Sorry it is hard to see.
A very important step that I was taught was to spray the front of the fabric with Magic Sizing and iron it. This makes the perforation set into the fabric better.
After ironing the fabric you will begin to trim your fabric a scant 1/4". Clip the inside curves. Next you will clip a few of the threads and begin using traditional needle turn applique. Use an applique needle and a fine thread that matches the applique fabric. You will continue to clip the threads and needle turn the fabric. If you try this technique you will be able to see the tiny perforations which will disappear as you work with the block. Those perforations are what makes the fabric turn easily and you will see them on the background fabric which will also be a guideline too.

Here is the back of the block and you can see the pencil line that I followed pretty closely. I don't look at the back while I am stitching but because of the perforations you end stitching very closely on the pencil mark on the back of the fabric.
The ribbon all done.
I used the Perfect Circle maker to make the circles that are sewn to the center of the bows.

Here are all the blocks finished so far. These blocks came Linen Closet Quilts where Dawn is offering a free BOM. You can still get these blocks on her blog. I am all caught up now.
Sentimental Stitches and Kay at All About Applique also show you how to do the back basting technique. Their pictures are much better than mine so check them out too if you think you might want to try this technique.

I really like this technique when you don't have to worry about the design being reversed. I have taught this in my classes and several of the students use this technique all the time. If you are new to my blog you can check out my other tutorials on my sidebar if you have questions about some techniques. I hope you will try this technique. It really is fun.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at His birth. Luke 1:14

Signature Blocks

I have another project to work on next year. I received my signature blocks from Melissa who was hosting this swap. It is fun to look through the blocks to see the fabrics and where thee blocks came from. Thanks Melissa and thanks to all those of you who participated.
With Passion,

Carrie P.

I wish we could put the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.

Harlan Miller

Christmas quilt!

I have finished the quilt I will be giving my oldest son and his wife for Christmas. This was the $5 BOM at one of our local quilt shops. There were three colorways you could pick from. I chose to do the black and white and the red and white fabrics. I have not put the red and white blocks together yet because I am going to add some redwork blocks to the quilt.

I had it machine quilted by Heritage Quilter. She also did the bright quilt that I finished for my daughter. The picture above shows the quilt before I washed it. Here is a close up of it washed and all ready to be wrapped up in.
With Passion,

Carrie P.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year. Charles Dickens.

Christmas surprises!

I received some very sweet Christmas surprises in the mail this weekend.Don't you just love little surprises in the mail. So much nicer than junk mail and bills.

This first photo is what Stephanie sent me. A great pot holder with such fun fabrics. A very cute pincushion. Notice the bird on it and look at the card with all those birds that I see in my backyard all the time. Stephanie knows I like to watch the birds. And check out the red bobbin. Love it. I have never seen a red one before in all my trips to antique stores. I don't think I am going to wind any ribbon on it. I think it will just lay on the counter top in front of the container with all my other bobbins. It is going to be a show off. Stephanie you are so kind and sweet to send me these goodies. Thank you so much.
Check out this needle case that Kaaren sent to me. She has noticed that I likes birds too. Look at the button.
And look inside at the scissor fob she made too. On the end of it is a sweet bird charm. Too cute. Thank you Kaaren for taking the time to get to know me and make a gift that is personal.
Remember I mentioned on this post these lovely things that Deb made me during the July swap. Well she made me a sweet hand embroidered Christmas ornament. From her house all the way from New Zealand to my house. Thanks so very much for thinking of me, Deb.

Check out this new block from Barbara Dieges. Great for Christmas. You definitely need to go over to Kaaren's blog and see her A Tisket, A Tasket quilt all finished. It is fabulous.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other. - Emily Matthews

Christmas gift!

Well, I had a little interruption in my tutorial. One of my daughter's classes for the fall was finished and she had a day off so we spent it together. We took the day to go shopping and just enjoyed the day together. Today will be another busy day. Tomorrow will be filled up too so maybe I can get back to working on the tutorial on Sunday. I know some of you are interested and I will tell you it has to do with an applique technique.
I did want to share with you this Christmas surprise gift I received in the mail this week. A very sweet surprise from Cindy. On the outside is a little bag of red and green buttons, a little kit to make a yo yo ornament, and...
this ornament that Cindy made on one of her embroidery machines. I just think it is so pretty.
And take a look at what was inside the wrapping! This panel with these sweet little dresses and some yardage to go with it. It is going to make the cutest quilt.
Thank you so much Cindy for blessing me with this fantastic Christmas surprise! I love it all!

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Keeping Christmas is good but sharing it with others is even better.

Greetings!

Welcome! to you all. I have been working on a few things. One of the things is the November Sweet Nostalgia block. I got it colored and have done some stitches. I am still working on the binding of the black and white quilt.
While I am working on those few things I am also working on a tutorial that I hope to have up in a few days. It does take time and I appreciate all of you that do tutorials.

The three gingerbread men hope you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas season!

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Remember if Christmas isn't in your heart, you won't find it under the tree.

Charlotte Carpenter

Watching TV

My daughter and I have a Christmas tradition. We like to take some time to watch the movie "White Christmas." So Saturday night as we were watching it I decided to work on the November block from Crabapple Hill. Very quick work.

Sunday night while watching the final show of Amazing Race I worked on making binding for another Christmas quilt. I'll show it when I finish.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart. Eskimo Proverb

Show and Tell!

How about some beautiful show and tell from the ladies in my applique group? Check out the bird on the snowman's hat. Too cute. Sorry I don't know what pattern this is from. Carol if you read this post leave a comment as to where the pattern is from. Thanks. (Edit: the pattern for the snowman is called Tis the Season by All Through The Night.)
A wool ornament pattern from Indygo Junction.
A quilt perfect for Christmas time.
This was a BOM that one of the ladies did from a shop in another town from ours. It is beautiful and from Blackbird Designs.
Isn't this house so sweet? Check out the wreath on the door.
This is a pattern and kit that was bought about a year ago from Fons and Porter.
A Tisket, A Tasket Block that is being colored and embroidered.
This pattern is from Crabapple Hill.
Here is a close up which is also colored and embroidered.
With Passion,

Carrie P.

Joy is not a precious concept reserved for holidays and special occasions. Rejoice in simple things. Make joy at home in your heart today.