The Big Reveal

It is time. The Big Reveal! Missie of Traditional Primitives has gotten the quilt done and the pattern will be ready soon for all of you who love to paper piece and applique. I love her patterns and reading her blog. This past summer she asked me test some paper pieced blocks. It is called The Gardens of the King. My reveal is just a few of the paper pieced blocks. I only made four because I have had some family stuff going on and didn't have time to more. One day!

I made a table runner using some modern fabrics. Missie and Karen H. of Faeries and Fibres have used reproduction fabrics.

Sometimes it is fun to see a pattern done in different fabrics. Either way the blocks are pretty fascinating.

I did big stitch quilting with perle cotton thread.

If you like to paper piece, do applique or both I highly recommend these two products which you can get from Missie's web store. I haven't ever seen this finger stiletto before but it is awesome. Use it when you are using your iron to prep pieces. You won't get burned. I haven't tried it yet but I bet you could use it when sewing too. Just be careful as with any stiletto.

These freezer paper sheets are the best. I would rather use the sheets than the freezer paper from the grocery store. The shiny side sticks much better and will stay stuck for longer periods of time than the the roll of freezer paper. These sheets are the only thing I use.
Missie also sells a starch brush too. Check out her notions page for it too.

Now that you have seen my version of  "The Gardens of the King" (Missie's version of the King George III coverlet) go see Missie and Karen's quilts. You will be amazed and awe struck! I hope you will be inspired to make your own version of Missie's new pattern.

Be sure to let Missie know that you want the pattern as soon as it becomes available.

With Passion,
Carrie P.

ps I just wanted to let you know that surgery went well. There was a little bit more damage than the doctor expected so I will be in a sling for 3 weeks. Typing with one hand is hard. Thanks for all the well wishes and kind comments for my speedy recovery. Be back soon.

Blog Break

Today I attended the El's Kitchen BOM at my local quilt shop. This is the block we had to have done by today.

I looked ahead to see what the next block was going to be for December. I made it sooner than I needed to because tomorrow I am having shoulder surgery on my left shoulder. I will have to wear a sling for 10-12 days if the doctor doesn't have to sew up the torn tendon. If he has to sew it up I will be in a sling for 3 weeks. We won't know until he goes in to take a look. UGH! I have been suffering with the shoulder for several years but just was not ready for surgery. Now is the time.

So what's a girl to do when she doesn't like sitting with idle hands? I will read these books. I have been collecting wool to hook a rug which I will start next year. I also have some quilting magazines that I will finish reading.

I have a lot of favorite recipes that I have wanted to copy onto recipe cards. I have been putting it off because I would rather quilt when I can. I am right handed so that is one good thing about having surgery on my left shoulder.

My house is clean, laundry done, meals in the freezer, bills paid, and house plants watered.

I decided to get my sewing room in order too. My fabric is all folded nice and neat again.

 I thought I would just show you this photo because my Christmas cactus is blooming. It is in my sewing room.

My sewing machine is also cleaned. I will peek in my sewing room now and then to take a look at my design wall of projects that will be waiting for me when I am all better.

I decided to treat myself to a new cutting mat. The one I had was so old that the flannel and batting I was making for the Christmas rag quilt would get stuck in the cutting lines. Plus I think it was causing my rotary cutter to get dull sooner than normal.  Linda of Flourishing Palms shared this technique to revive your cutting mat. She shares how Olfa cutting mats love moisture. I guess it would work for other brands too. I might try this as time progresses.

My son found a friend who will watch my grandson for the next two months while I recover from surgery and go to physical therapy. I sure am going to miss him coming over during the weekdays.

I will have a 'scheduled' post this Sunday to share the Big Reveal of my English Paper Piecing project. Remember I was testing a pattern for Missie of Traditional Primitives. Check out this post to read about the beginnings of this quilt that Missie is reproducing. She will have more posts to share this week too. I  can't wait to see the quilt all done.

With Passion,
Carrie P.

Sew Alongs

If you have been reading my blog for very long you know how much I love Sew Alongs. Another one has started. This one is by Jacquelynne Steves.  To get the blocks you need to sign up for Jacquelynne's newsletter. Just go to her website and click on "BOM" if want to Sew Along too. She also includes a design that you can either embroider or applique.

My daughter just moved to a new apartment. We helped her buy a new beige couch. She loves anything "beachy" so I thought I would make a new quilt for her new apartment. I had this seashell fabric which will be perfect for the center of the block instead of embroidery or applique. This is the first block of Jacquelynne's Sew Along.  I think my daughter is going to like this quilt.

I have also been Sewing Along with Jeni from the Willow. Here are some more of the blocks I have finished. Isn't the cat cute?  She just added two more. Better get busy!

With Passion,
Carrie P.

Someone's in the Kitchen with Carrie

Do you know the song titled I've Been Working on the Railroad? For some reason that song came to my mind when I was working on this block from Quiet Play. In the song there is a verse that says Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah. I remember this song as a child but I didn't remember that this verse was a part of the song, I've Been Working on the Railroad. You can go to this YouTube link  to see a young woman singing the song.

You can see "Dinah" is looking out her window to see if some raspberries are ready to pick. I used a blue crayon to add some blue to the background of that piece of fabric. I think I will add more blue to it. I am also going to embroider a face on Dinah. I will add some knobs to the cabinets. I will also embroider the words--flour, sugar, and tea and the yellow canisters.

I also finished making the kitchen tool caddy.

Here are all the completed blocks. For some reason even though I printed them out the same way each month they came out different sizes. I will probably add some sashing in between the blocks but I am going to think about it. I had fun working on these blocks. Paper piecing is not so scary anymore!

I am linking up my finished blocks to Kristy's blog Quiet Play. Thanks Kristy for sharing such fun blocks.

With Passion,
Carrie P.

Log Cabins

Have you ever made a log cabin quilt? I made this one in the early 2000's. I didn't put a label on it. I was new to quilting back then. Shame on me! I took a class to learn how to make this quilt. I hand quilted it in blue thread. It seems funny now that I took a class because the log cabin block is one of the easiest blocks to make.

This is my newest log cabin quilt. One of the monthly groups I attend, Modern Quilt Therapy, voted to make this quilt during the year. It is from the Nov/Dec 2013 Quilty magazine. Cynthia Brunz is the designer.  I used the border fabric as my focal fabric to pick out the "logs". All the fabric was from my stash. My friend Laura did the machine quilting.

Here is the quilting design. It reminds me of a rose of sorts.

Here is another version of the log cabin block. I made this for a friend a couple months ago.

The pattern came from this new magazine--Block. I decided to subscribe for at least a year. I like the stories written along with the patterns.

So this month Modern Quilt Therapy met. One of the ladies brought this log cabin quilt.

 Two more of the ladies finished their log cabin quilts. As you can see this one was done in opposite lights and darks compared to mine.

 Here is the back of the quilt.

 Another one done. Sorry I can't show the whole quilt. We meet in a small room and it is hard to get good photos.

With Passion,
Carrie P.

All Caught Up!

Whoo! Hoo! I am all caught up with my Bertie's Year BOM! One more to go which is the December kit. I look for it to arrive the first of November.

These little kits look like they are made from wool but it is all flannel. I did win some lovely wool from a giveaway Karen was having a few weeks ago. You might remember I did a pattern test for her back in April. You can see it here. She has some lovely patterns. Thanks Karen!

Speaking of wool, look what Beverly has been working on. I went to my last applique bee for the year last week. Aren't these blocks great?! These are blocks from Primitive Gatherings block of the week from a few years ago.

And look what Carolyn is working on. I just love these colors together. This pattern is from Blackbird Designs.

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Busy Times

It is a busy time of year for me. When not working on other things around the house I have been sewing to catch up on this sew along with Lisa Bonegan of Primitive Gatherings. I wonder what the next round will be.

 This past Saturday Mr. P. and I drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful crisp fall day.

 We drove into a town called Blowing Rock. We got there in the morning but by early afternoon the crowds were overwhelming. We decided it was time to head home. It was a nice get away while it lasted.

 I have been busy cleaning up the garden from the summer crops. I have all the empty beds refilled with leaf compost ready for a winter's nap. I got the garlic planted too. The other beds with fall veggies are doing really well. Picked fresh spinach, lettuce, some kale, and two carrots. I beat the voles from getting them. So far so good. I am going to try my hand at making kale chips.

With Passion,
Carrie P.

Another Sneak Peek

More English Paper Piecing from Missie's new pattern that will be coming out soon. It is a reproduction of a quilt from the 1700's. The blocks are from the King George III coverlet. As you can see from my sneak peek I did mine in a little bit more modern fabrics.

 If you are a little nervous about English paper piecing you might try a kit from Missie. She sells them on her website. You could by one kit that has the pre-cut freezer paper pieces along with excellent instructions. She has six patterns to choose from.

 Another kit you can buy has the pre-cut shapes and fabrics to make the pincushion. You can let Missie know what color of fabrics you would like and she will do her best to pick out some really pretty prints for your pincushion. How easy is that?

With Passion,

Carrie P.

Three Finishes!!!

 I have three cute finishes to share with you today. These are the BOM that I have been doing through Shabby Fabrics. These are called Bertie's Year by Bonnie Sullivan. I got way behind and I am determined to get them all done this year..

 Aren't they sweet? You know how I love birds so I had to join in.

 I am linking up to What a Hoot! BOMS Away!

 I thought I would share my fall garden too. I actually took these pictures last week. We have had lots of rain since the weekend so these plants have really grown.

 I have my plants which all started from seeds in different beds. I hope by doing that I will get some of the veggies and the voles won't get so much this fall.

 This summer I tried growing pumpkins up on a trellis. I got two that survived the bugs grown this way. I don't know where I saw this idea but you take some kind of fabric, I used one of my husbands old knee socks, to make a hammock to rest the pumpkin in. That way it can grow and not break off from the vine. Pretty neat idea and it worked.

 Last but not least a photo of my sweet grandson. He is a big boy now sitting in his new highchair I bought this weekend for him. He is enjoying eating baby food now.

With Passion,
Carrie P.