Bread for the Journey

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

Isn't it Grand!

Easter has come and gone. Every year we have a family gathering started by my late MIL. This year there was a new member to celebrate with us.

 Nine month old Lillian Grace seems to be fascinated with her grandpa. Once she checked everyone out and warmed up, she was all smiles and totally entertained us.

Next Easter she will have a little cousin to join the party. Grand baby #2 is on the way and his name is Jonah. I've got the fabric all lined up for his little quilt.

I guess I better get busy :-)

Happy Quilting!

The Quilt show adventure

In just two days the AQS Quilt week starts in Paducah. What a fun adventure.

A dozen years ago, I attended my first major quilt show in Nashville with two of my quilting buddies. We stayed at the Opryland hotel, which hosted the quilt show. We entered the doors and could not believe how much there was to see. Where to start? Do we look at the quilts first, or do we scope out the vendors for that prize piece of fabric or the latest designs in patterns. It's enough to make my head spin. Rows and rows of vendors and some of the most beautiful quilts we have ever laid our eyes on. We attended two lectures by Alex Anderson. What fun! By the end of the first day, we were on overload and headed back to our room. We brought out all of our bags and took out every item for close inspection. We would oooh!! and ahhh! with so much delight, stroking each others fabric and reviewing all of the books and patterns. For the next two days we enjoyed the euphoria of every quilting treat that was available.

In the years since, I attended the Quilt Festival in Chicago, and the AQS Quilt show in Paducah. Each one has its own unique spin on the quilting community. It's what drives the psychological part of our desire to make beautiful things. Whether it is art quilts or traditional, batiks or reproduction. The mere thought of a trip to a quilt show is enough to start my exit from reality. It's a mystery that once again brings me back to the reason why I quilt. For the beauty of it, and the love of experiencing what others have created in a world of fabric.

Which quilt show will you be attending this year?

Bread for the Journey

How could I resist?

Yes, I had put myself on a moratorium on buying new fabric.

And Yes, I had purposed to use up the fabric in my stash.

And YES, my goal this year was to finish the UFO's that are still hanging in my closet!

BUT...
how can one resist, when the sale price says 70% off, PLUS an additional 20%!

I've made several quilts for children, and my pink stash was sorely lacking. When I spied these  beauties at JoAnn's,

at that amazing discount price (less than $2.00 a yard), all my restraints gave way.  Although these prints were not in the Easter selection...

...they were still on sale. It became apparently clear that this collection of fabric would make perfect quilts for a friend's two little girls.

Progress will be forthcoming :-)

Happy Quilting!

Leaky Iron?

This weekend I did a thorough cleaning of my work horse Bernina. Vacuum and cleaned and oiled to give her another round of sewing.

At the same time I also cleaned my Rowenta iron.

I never put water in any of my irons. I use a spritzer whenever I need to dampen my fabric. But as I was re-reading the directions for cleaning my iron I came upon this little hint -

Rowenta irons are designed to be used with regular tap water (up to 12 grains of hardness). If your water is harder than this, Rowenta recommends mixing half tap water with half distilled water. Never use 100% pure distilled water since this can cause the iron to spit and leak.

There are many types of household water softeners. Many of them are perfectly acceptable for use in an iron. HOWEVER, some types of softeners, particularly those that use chemicals such as salt, can cause the iron to leak or spit during use. If you experience this type of problem, we recommend that you try using inexpensive bottled spring water. NEVER USE 100% PURE DISTILLED WATER. Once you have changed water it will take several uses to correct the problem.

So peeps, just a word to the wise. These are suggestions from the Rowenta cleaning kit, but it may be applicable to other brands as well.

I hope this will make for some Happy Quilting :-)

Bread for the Journey

 

Please enjoy this beautiful music.

They Could Not

 Wishing you a very blessed Easter.

Finding a few gems

A wonderful place for finding quilting publications is my local library. I'm sometimes amazed at what they offer.

Whenever I'm about town, if I know there is a library close at hand, I stop in and see what is offered under catalog #746.

I enjoy looking through these books for color study and it's always fun to see how designers present their patterns. I may not actually make one of the quilts, but it's food for thought. Some libraries carry current Quilt magazines. In our library system, I can check out books for 3 weeks, and extend for another 3 weeks via my computer. I can also look up other titles in their system and have them shipped to my library location.

So don't let this valuable resource go unnoticed.

Happy Quilting!

In love with old sheets

I have become enamored with Vintage sheets. I had a few sheets, but after seeing some quilts made up in blog land, I've been on the hunt for them.

This quilt sent me over the edge and gave me a goal.

Anyone Can Quilt

So take a look. You may fall in love. As for me, I found these two pillowcases over the weekend.I've collected quite a few but Vintage sheets are getting harder to find in our area. Maybe everyone else is falling in love with these soft lovely oldies.

Have a happy quilting day!

Welcoming Spring

We have had a super mild winter here in the Sunshine State.  But even so, spring just lovees to burst forth with color.

And although we usually have gorgeous azaleas, this year, they budded out early and were gone before we could even enjoy them.

 

Enjoy Spring!

Bread for the Journey

(source)

Even before they call, 

I will answer;

while they are still speaking, 

I will hear.

Isa. 65:24

Fun, easy, FREE pattern

Lots of bloggers are posting bags they are making. Several years ago, I made this fun bag. And the pattern was FREE!

The pattern for this tote bag came from AllPeopleQuilt.com.

I went to the website and downloaded the pattern.

I had this wild fabric that was waiting for a great project, and this tote turned out to be perfect. The fabric was Michael Millers Gypsy Bandana. The pattern was so easy, although it took me a couple of days to complete it. Only because I changed my mind on the straps and had to rip out what was sewn and audition other fabrics.

This one, made by the same pattern, was made for my niece.

 

A great FREE pattern that works up into a really great little tote.

Happy Quilting!

Emergency Kit

Whenever you travel, it's always good to have an emergency kit along. Even for sewing!

Don't you just love the pretty red and white fabrics??

This cute little pouch makes a great portable case for the essentials. As it turned out, I was glad I brought it along on our last trip.

Remember the cute little pink quilts I made? We were going to deliver them to friends as we traveled. On closer examination, I discovered that not all the fabric was caught under the decorative stitching of the binding. The emergency kit to the rescue.
I ended up hand stitching all the way around the binding, just to make sure the fabric was inside and not peeking out.

There is plenty of room inside the pouch for a small cutting board and two acrylic rulers.

A small skein of thread fits right inside the smallest rotary cutter.

Needles, pins and a wooden presser complete the emergency kit.

All packed and ready to go :-) Perfect for any emergency!

Bread for the Journey

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land -
you will be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail."

Isaiah 58:10-11