Colorful Leafy Friday

Before the clock strikes midnight in my part of the world I thought I would participate in Robyn's Colorful "Leafy" Friday.
Leaves come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.
What an inspiration even a simple leaf can be to a quilter.
With Passion

Carrie P.

Summer Time Fair

Have you ever entered a quilt, animal, produce, or a baked good in your county fair? Annemarie of Gen X Quilters is having a Summer Fair. We can enjoy this fair in our air conditioned home!

For this Summer Time Fair I thought I would enter this quilt I made in 2005. I don't think I have ever shown it before. Wouldn't this pattern look great done up in Amanda Murphy fabrics or Kate Spain fabrics. The list could go on and on. I believe the pattern was from a book called Super Simple Strips by Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan. It has been such a long time since I made the quilt don't hold me to it.

Our county fair is always held in the fall at the beginning of October. This fall will be our 129th fair and the theme is "Everyone's a Hero." Last year attendance was the second best in the fair's history. 353,762 people attended last year. You are probably wondering how I know all this. I get a catalog every year because I have entered quilts and crafts for the last several years.

I have never entered any food in the different categories but for the Summer Fair I am going to share one of my favorite cake recipes.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 cup butter

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

1/4 t. baking soda

2 t. vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

3 cups all purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Beating well after each addition. Mix baking soda and vanilla with the sour cream in a separate bowl. Add alternately with the flour to the butter mixture. Mix well. Pour batter into a greased and floured tube pan or Bundt pan. Bake at 325* for 80 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired or serve with fresh berries.

Now that you have seen my entry in the Summer Time Fair go check out the other entries.. Then enter your own.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

I won!

Yep! I won the book, Avian Architecture, from KaHolly. I want to thank you all for helping me to win it. If it wasn't for you taking the time to go over to KaHolly's I am sure I wouldn't have won. I especially want to thank Jenny McH from Australia who came my blog, then went over and left a comment. It was her comment that KaHolly chose that made me a winner. Thanks to you all. You are the best. And thanks to Karen of KaHolly and Princeton University Press.
As soon as I got the package I opened it up and started looking at every page so I could see what was in the book. When I got to this page I had to read it. These two pages are about the bird called a Song Thrush which is in Europe but in the Eastern United States we have one called a Wood Thrush. When we moved to our six acre wooded property 14 years ago I heard this wonderful song bird I had never heard before. I got my binoculars out and I went searching for this bird. It took me a while but I finally found him. I was so excited. Most springs and summers I enjoy the Wood Thrush song even though I never get to see him. According to my guide he winters in the tropics. Lucky bird.

This book is so fascinating. If you are are bird lover or even a nature lover you will enjoy this book. There are 12 chapters about different kinds of nests. The photos, drawings, and diagrams are super. Did you know that birds make Edible Nests? If you think you would like to order this book from Amazon which is where I get most of my books these days, you can go to KaHolly's and click on the "Amazon" button. She earns a percentage of each order when people use the link from her blog. Which in turn earns her e-card she can use later to buy a book. I am glad to help her out next time I buy a book from Amazon.

There is a decline in the Wood Thrush. If you are interested in helping the Wood Thrush to thrive if you live in a wooded area you can download this land manager's guide.

I leave you with this quote that Thoreau wrote of the Wood Thrush:

"Whenever a man hears it he is young, and Nature is in her spring; wherever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of heaven are not shut against him."

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Old Meets New

Remember when I was pinning and pondering in this post? As you can see I finally figured out how to quilt this table runner. Look close and you can see the quilt design which is diamonds. According to the book, the design is something that quilters might have done in 1810-1830. Who knew? The fabrics are all from the new line called Prince Charming by Tula Pink. I did the hexagons first. Then I appliqued them onto the borders which I trimmed to width I liked when I finished quilting.
Still pondering the other quilt from the same post. Maybe next week something will come to me.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

That's One Way

You are probably wondering what the title means for my post this time. The month before last when I was teaching my applique class one of my students asked if I could teach a Celtic applique class. I said, "Sure." "I even have a sample I could use for the class." All I need to do is finish a little hand quilting and the binding.

I actually took a Celtic applique class around 2000 or 2001 and never finished this one. I made another one of these in blue and yellow. Finished it and gave it to my mom.

But now I can say I have a finish and that's one way to get it done by saying you will teach a class.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Seeing Double

No, you are not seeing double. It is funny how two of my students chose to do their flowers in the same colors. This is what they worked on during the past month. We met this past Saturday for more instruction. I have created some applique monsters. These two ladies definitely have a passion for applique. (Pattern is from The New Applique Sampler by Piece O' Cake Designs)
If you have a minute go check out Teresa's top to see how she used red and aqua with a touch of brown in her applique top. Go by and say hi to Judy in Michigan. She is a new blogger and is going to be starting this quilt soon. I think she is excited. Check out her "Smilebox."

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Signature Quilt

Remember this sneak peek I showed to you a while back? It was the signature quilt I was making from my son's wedding in 2010.
I actually got the quilt done several months ago but did not want to post it until I gave it to my son and his wife for their first anniversary which was yesterday. They came over for a celebratory dinner on Friday night. I presented the quilt to them as we were eating dessert.
They got a kick out of reading the messages from those who attended the wedding.
Here is a close up of some the quilting on the borders. A little VW bug with a surf board on top. Both of them surf so it was the perfect quilt design.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

(quilt pattern from a Quiltmaker magazine and the longarm quilting was done by Jennifer of Sew Together)

Little Bit

Don't you love surprises in the mail? Well I sure do! I got this sweet little bit of a name tag in the mail all the way from Canada from my blog buddy, Karen, aka--KaHolly. Paper piecing is not my passion either so it just makes me smile every time I look at it because it is such tiny paper piecing. The size of the name tag measures at 2" x 2 1/2".

Thanks so very much Karen for thinking of me. I love it!!

And thanks to all of you who read my blog and have taken the time to go over to KaHolly's to "tell Karen I sent you" for another entry for the book. You guys are the best!

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Birdwatching

You all know how much love birds and bird watching. This is a photo of a male cardinal from last winter. KaHolly is having a really cool giveaway. It is a book called Avian Architecture by Peter Goodfellow. It is a book that reveals how birds design, engineer, and build their nests. I know you think I am crazy but I would love a to win this book and if you go over to KaHolly's blog and let her know I sent you I would get another chance to win the book. Plus you can see all her great nature photos.
When you visit her blog if you scroll down from today's post you will see a really neat quilt show that was held inside a church. Some totally awesome quilts too.
So go by and tell KaHolly I sent you. Thanks.

With Passion,
Carrie P.

Pinning and Pondering

I finally got some batting and pinned the layers of these two small projects together. I pulled out these two books for a little inspiration. I wish I could say machine quilting was my passion but it is not. Free motion takes a lot of practice so usually when I machine quilt it is straight stitching which can be pretty neat too. I hope to get to work on these two projects soon.
I have also been adding lace to some of these embroidery blocks from a Crabapple Hill free BOM that was offered a while back but as far as I know is no longer available. This little heart is actually a pocket. I will show you later how it makes the pocket when I get it sewn onto the back ground fabric. This is my favorite heart out of all of them.
With Passion,

Carrie P.

Delightful Dresdens

Delightful Dresdens Done! I am so pleased with how this quilt turned out. My plan was to make them into circles but as you can see I changed my mind. This is my own pattern even though I am sure it has been done many times.

This quilt all started when Stephanie sent me some Denyse Schmidt fabrics that she bought at Joanns. That is when I knew it was time to make a Dresden quilt. I started sewing the blades and bought the DS gold fabric for the background which I think is perfect. After I got the top made I went back to Joanns to get the border fabric and the backing. The choices were very few but I found something I liked.

I just love this plaid for the back. Here you can also see the quilting design which was done by a long arm quilter. (Sew Together) With the plaid on the back it could be a reversible quilt.

I am not sure what I will name this quilt. No, Delightful Dresdens is not the name. My daughter said the Dresdens remind her of dragonflies. I also think of a picnic when I look at this quilt. So I will think on it for a while. Feel free to give me any ideas. :)

With Passion,

Carrie P.

More Applique Group

Here is the other quilt I wanted to show you from the applique group. This was made by Virginia. Isn't it stunning? She loves red so she decided to make all her houses red. This is from Blackbird Designs.
Here is the back and detail shots of the quilting. A local long arm quilter named Theresa did the quilting. The applique and quilting are just stunning.
Here are the newest Hop To It blocks from the other ladies. I did not get mine done because I have been so busy sewing samples. I will do two this month. I don't want to get behind.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Summertime

There are lots of great things about summer but one of my favorites is all the fresh fruit and veggies. My husband and I go to the local farmers market every Saturday. He even likes shopping there. Check out these really cool scissors for herbs. I used them to chop up some fresh basil on this veggie dish. If you look close you can see the silvers of the basil on top. I got these scissors at the Crate and Barrel store in Washington, DC when I went to see my son and DIL last year.
Look at these luscious green Japanese plums I also got from the farmers market. Some thing new I have not ever tried. They are so sweet and juicy.
Summertime is a great time to do lots of sewing too since it is so hot. As you can see from my applique group show and tell there has been a lot of sewing going on.
Paula made this quilt, "Barefoot in the Park", designed by Stephanie. Paula bought the kit from Karen Gray Design and put it together in a jiffy. Paula also got her Primitive Gatherings wool quilt done too. It is fabulous.Our facilitator, Kathleen, won this Tree of Life raffle quilt. Congrats Kathleen.
She also made this new top by Jan Patek.
Come back tomorrow. I have a few more show and tell photos from the group to show you.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Sewing Up a Storm

I have just spent the morning cleaning my house of all the dog hair from the Labrador we were taking care of this past weekend. After 4 days I could not believe how much fur a dog could shed. I was sweeping my kitchen twice a day. It was a never ending job. He was a great dog and we enjoyed having him here but I did not enjoy the fur all over the house. My Schnauzers never shed because they had hair so I had no idea what to expect.

Since we were dog sitting my husband and I decided to just devote our time to our hobbies. He was in the garage doing his thing with his wood and I was upstairs above him working with my lovely fabrics. I took the dog up there with me so he wouldn't get lonely so now I have to clean upstairs too. lol
Here are some of the projects I have been working on. The one above is a new project for a class.

This one is a UFO I am trying to finish so it will be ready for the quilter when she calls.
This one is for another class too. The two class projects I will be machine quilting myself so as soon as I get them done I will show them to you.
And look at this pretty new fabric that has come out recently. I am starting a new project with it.
I got a lot accomplished this past weekend and it feels good. Hope you all got to do some sewing too.

With Passion,

Carrie P.