Bloggers Quilt Festival

I am taking the plunge and joining in on the virtual quilt show! What a very fun idea from the likes of Amy at Park City Girl.

As I have said over and over, I am not a garment sewer. Two years ago, I met my BFF at the Chicago Quilt Festival. We had a wonderful time together. We looked at all of the fabulous quilts and of course all of the vendors. At one booth, my BFF saw this jacket. She immediately wanted to make one, and she said that I needed to make one too! Whoa-ho girl, I don't do garments! She finally convinced me and we purchased the pattern. As my BFF lives in cold country, and I live in the south, we have to use our time wisely when we do get together. BFF was coming to my end of the world and she said we were going to make these jackets! Whewww........ now I was in trouble. The first objective was to find a 100% sweatshirt. Ha, ha, well let me tell you that it is VERY difficult to find any kind of sweatshirts in Florida in the month of May! After much searching, we did finally come across sweatshirts that were 80% cotton. As I drove around, she had seamripper in hand and tore out the cuffs and the neck trim.

We used the fabulous Kansas Troubles, and Thimbleberries line of fabrics. I love the rich color combinations. My BFF worked diligently on her jacket and I followed along. It was a very fun project and we both came out with great looking jackets.

That year I decided to enter the jacket in the Florida State Fair. I have never entered anything in the State Fair before, but I felt that the jacket was something a little different and maybe was worthy to show. To my amazement, the jacket took a second place red ribbon! What a wonderful surprise.
Here are some close up shots of the back and quilting. I also added a nice closure at the top.

















Thank you Amy for letting us be a part of the first ever Bloggers Quilt Festival. I am looking forward to viewing the beautiful quilts online.

Free blog sites

There are two really cool blogs that I have recently found. They are full of fun free stuff. "Make it do" is about using things you have around the house already. Which is always a great resource.

And the other one is "Freebies for crafters". Lots of free patterns and designs. I could spend a lot of time looking through this blog.

And while I am at it, check out Park City Girl's blog. She is hosting the first ever Bloggers Quilt Festival. Now what could be better then going to a quilt show and not have to leave your own home? And you can participate and there are prizes and everything. Great idea Amy.



Let the show begin............

Gratefulness

There are bloggers who write posts about being grateful. So I was thinking about some of the things I am most grateful for......

I am grateful for each new day that the Lord gives me. It is certainly a gift. I am to celebrate life and use the day in a worthy way.

I am grateful for a dear sweet husband who has been my faithful companion and friend for over 30 years.

I am grateful for three precious children, which the Lord gave to us. There are others waiting in heaven that I look forward to meeting one day.

I am grateful for family and friends who enrich my life and encourage me in my daily walk.

I am grateful for spring, and all that it represents. New life, a renewal of the earth. The fresh smells of rain and flowers.

I am grateful for the new friends that I have made via this blog. What an incredible array of inspiration you share with me.

But I am most grateful for a free gift. It is the gift that was given to me when I realized that I have done wrong things and I fall short of standing before a righteous God. God reached out to me and wants me to be His child. The promise of eternal life is the best gift of all! All you have to do is accept Christ as your Savior and believe in Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and it is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)

That surely is the best gift ever! And I am very grateful.

A profitable day

Today I had some errands to do. While I was out, I thought I would stop at a couple of thrift stores. I like to browse through and see if there are any great treasures to be found.

At my first stop I must have come on just the right day because I found this little gem.



Can you see that it is marked 20c? Even though I am not a garment sewer, I thought the book was so charming. It was published in 1966. A very nice addition to my sewing memorablia.

As I scoured through more of the book section, my eyes fell on this quilting book.....


Now I have looked at Quilts, Quilts, Quilts by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes for years. A couple of times I saw them at quilt shows in the resale bin, but I never bought it. Well today it was had for a total of 40c... Yes you heard me right, the complete guide to quiltmaking for forty cents! Whewww..... it was an amazing find!

But that is not all............. there were 4 more quilting/craft books that I bought. They ranged in price from 40c to $1.91. I thought this book looked very interesting.

It has primitive type patterns, which I think could be used in lots of projects.

For a grand total of $5.62 I came away with six quilting/craft books that can be added to my ever growing library.

I think I had a profitable day. I hope yours was a good one too :-)

Isn't She Lovely?

I just love this sweet little girl! I found this tinplate picture at a gift shop last week. Who could not fall in love with the sweetness of the little round innocent face. The envelope says "To Mama" which just melted my heart. Just makes you want to scoop her up in your arms and love on her. She is hanging above my sewing machine table, and I so enjoy looking at those precious eyes.

On the same day, I found these delectable fabrics.........

White POLKA DOTS!!!! I just about fainted when I found this fabric. So yummy. And the other pieces took me away too. The front piece is from the new Fig Tree collection "Patisserie". Polka dots and roses, what a combination.

Hope you are having a happy quilting day! I've got a project in the works, and the figuring is making me a little crazy :-)

Preparing for the big day

When my in laws bought five beautiful acres on a lake almost 60 years ago, there was nothing but woods way out in the country. They moved an old house there and raised their 5 little acorns. It has been a steadfast source where everyone likes to return to regather their roots. Today my dear sweet husband and one of our sons is out there mowing and preparing for the Easter doings tomorrow. I thought I would just share a little glimpse into the camelot where my dear sweet husband was raised.



Looking forward to a beautiful day tomorrow.

Easter is coming............

I was at my in laws today, sitting with my mil. The house is all decorated and ready for Easter. There will be a big picnic on Sunday afternoon, and all the extended family joins in the celebration.

Every year my mil puts a ton of candy at the base of this tree. And everyone enjoys the treats

I am not sure where this happy figurine came from, but they are just the cutest little bunny couple. It reminds me of how tender my father in law is with his wife. He is always bringing her flowers or a card or a box of candy. She is one lucky lady. And so am I! I married their son :-)

Sunday there will be lots of food, an egg hunt for the children, a raw egg toss (!), singing, and the remembrance of serving a risen Savior. May the special blessings of this beautiful season fill your world with happiness.