Peddler's Market Feb 2014

  Today I went to the Peddler's Market

at Piecemakers Quilt Shop in Costa Mesa

with my friend Amy :)

They have this event twice a year.

Once in February and again in August.

It's like an Estate Sale on steroids :)

This is what I came home with.

A large square hand embroidered linen tablecloth for $5.00!

That darling happy flower pattern is repeated on all 4 corners!

A smaller hand embroidered table topper for $1.00

A vintage box of thread for $1.00

(what will I do with it? I have no idea. I just loved the look)

Assorted fabrics for $1.00 a yard and

a few pieces were free....yes free!

 Look at the dark blue button hole stitch and those tiny daisies!

All that handwork and I bought it for $1.00....

 Another close up of the happy daisies :)

You may be wondering what Amy bought?

How about a vintage sewing machine with the case 

and original owner's manual for......

wait for it......

FIVE DOLLARS!!!!

Yeah....it was a really good day :)

A bit of handwork...

I can't believe that January is almost over.

How did that happen?

Today is your last chance to get your projects

posted in the Week 4 Flickr Group.

I will post the winner of the $75.00 gift certificate

to the Fat Quarter Shop tomorrow morning!

I spent last night doing some fun needlework.

I can't show you exactly what I'm working on yet

because I'm in a super fun blog hop next week.

Be sure to stop by on Feb 4th to see my completed project :)

And in the meantime,

click on the She Who Sews link on the right

to see all the cool projects so far!

A bit of Needlework.....

It's been a while since I posted.

I've been sewing and stitching 

but not a whole lot of time for blogging.

I have to admit,

I miss it.

I miss you guys.

I miss hearing from you.

I'm going to try to keep up with my blog posts.

I wanted to show you one of the projects 

I'm currently working on.

I'm embellishing 4 fairies

with Mill Hill beads

DMC metallic and silk threads.

It's been fun to let my imagination flow.

No rules,

just go with what I like.

I'll admit I've taken out quite a few stitches and beads.

I'm hoping this all turns out the way I see it in my head.

This red fire fairy if my fav.

She's red, so I know that's a big surprise, right?

That being said,

if you know me,

you know I'm not a fairy fan.

But these girls just called out to me.

I'm looking forward to showing you 

the completed project very soon :)

My fire fairy still needs some work.

I just started on this purple one last night.

What projects are you guys working on????

Sneak Peek :)

Just thought I'd show you a sneak peek 

at what I'm working on :)

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to show you 

the whole project.

I also wanted to show you the fun stuff

that the mail carrier brought me yesterday.

Do you see that little bunny?

How cute is that?

Seriously!!!

The bunny and the sheep are 

cross stitch charts and fabric 

from CrazyAnnies's Stitchin'.

They are auto-ships that I signed up for.

Who doesn't love fun in the mailbox every month

and at a discount price to boot?

The trim packets are from Peachy Cheap.

Every day they have one "deal"

and when they are sold out, they're gone.

It can be addicting,

but you can find cool craft supplies

really cheap :)

Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop!

Hello and welcome to day 10 

of the Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop!

Today is my turn to show off my Fall Themed blocks!

I have called them "the Bers" :)

Shocker I know....... 

 I decided to use homespun fabrics.

I used Osnaburg for the centers and 

embroidered September - December

on each square along with a few words

that represent what these months mean to me.

These blocks are already joined together

for a table topper and I'm working on the hand quilting.

I'm hoping to have it done in the next few days.

Thanks so much for stopping by today

and don't forget to hop on over to all the other blogs

that are displaying their blocks today as well!

Quilter in the Closet

SewMuch2Luv

Peanut's Patchwork

Quilting Lines

Mochawildchild

Ariane Quilts

Lily Patch Quilts

Cindy's Crafty Creations

Hill Valley Quilter

Count it *all* JOY!!!

Sew We Quilt

A bit of quiltie goodness :)

So for my Friday night sewing I ended up making theses blocks

from "another Bite of Schnibbles".

 I decided to make the "Tag-along" quilt.

On Saturday morning I worked on piecing the quilt top

and adding the sashing and outer borders.

Sometimes I buy fabric and it lingers in my home

for months or years.

But the minute I had my hands on "Give Thanks"

I just had to start quilting!

I love every print in the stack

except the Indian corn........

what were they thinking?

Oh well.....

I had to use it because with Schnibbles patterns

you pretty much use every tiny piece of 2 charm packs

to make one small quilt.

I  ended up going through my stash

to find a co-ordinating fabric because I didn't 

fully understand the cutting directions

and mis-cut some charms.

Luckily for me I had that fun brown with

polka dots that blended in well :)

I'm not saying that the directions were difficult to understand,

but maybe the glass of wine I drank while cutting played a small part?

After I had the quilt top assembled,

I decided that I didn't like the Oyster Kona I used

for the sashing and now I'm going to replace it with 

a sunflower yellow. 

It's actually a deeper yellow than it looks

in the photo.

I'm also planning on embroidering some

of the things I'm thankful for in the sashing.

We'll see how long it takes me to actually 

get this thing done!

It only took 40 years to finish!

It's amazing to think that these 3 little pieces of linen

that started this whole quilt

were in a box with my embroidery floss for over 40 years.

My Oma Luise was here in California visiting us

and taught me to embroider on them.

To find out more about the story of this quilt

you can read about it here and here.

For now let me just say

that I am soooooo happy it is done

in time for my Mom to take it to Germany

with her next week!

The 3 embroideries represent

my cousins, Maika, Norma and Sonny :)

I hope my aunt feels all the love

that went into this

and the fact that my Oma (her mother)

actually stitched a part of this makes it so much more special!

You may be wondering why my German aunt

is called Tia Helene?????

well that's because my hunky Cuban hubby called her that

when we visited them 16 years ago in Germany

and she loved it and it stuck :)

Latin men.....they have a way about them!

Pretty much anything said in spanish

sounds romantic!!!

SQUIRREL !

Has anyone seen the movie "Up"?

I crack up when the dogs are talking and then suddenly

mid sentence they say "squirrel"!

It's like they can't keep their focus on what they were doing

because a squirrel runs by.

That's how I feel with sewing and stitching.

I'll be working on a project and then I'll stumble across

something beautiful that catches my attention

and before you know it I'm spending hours

on the internet trying to find the pattern

or the shop that carries the pattern I need

to make whatever beautiful thing I've just seen.

And the whole time

 I have other projects to finish!

Case in point -

I found these 3 awesome blogs:

Miss T - Stitching World

Tillymint's Desk

Steekjes & Kruisjes

Talk about eye candy!

Between reading the blogs

and trying to find the patterns

I spent HOURS online!

Why are there SO many fantastic stitchery

and cross stitch designers in Europe?

I finally found the french cross stitch magazine

that I wanted, but they went out of business

and all the back issues were purchased

by a Japanese company.

It would cost 24.00 per issue to get them

and I want them all......all 71 issues! Ha :)

So in the meantime I was happy

to find some great free patterns

in the "freebies" section at Steekjes & Kruisjes blog.

Her blog is written in Dutch and English.

I had to make this cute little bird with the cherries!

You can find the free pattern HERE.

But just like the dogs in the movie....

I am currently working on a flag pattern

and was distracted :) 

The next photo shows how my mind actually works :)

I really need to learn to finish one project

before starting a new one!

There has got to be a 12 step program

of some kind to help me....... 

Garden Steps Block #3.....done!

I was super excited yesterday when I saw

that the pattern for block #3

was available over at Clover & Violet!

I should actually be working on the hand quilting

of my Aunt's quilt.......

but

I just couldn't wait to get started on this :)

I used a back stitch for the wording,

split stitch for the flower petals

and a chain stitch around the center of the flower.

I made the flower petals a bit shorter

than the original pattern to leave room for the wording.

I realize that one of the things I love most

about my new obsession (quilting) is that no

two quilts are ever the same.

Even when you use the same pattern.

Everyone adds their own "flavor"

and that's what makes them all so wonderful!

And no matter what your skill level

or what you think your abilities are,

you can create a work of art that is uniquely you!

I remember when I used to scrapbook all the time,

so many women would complain about their handwriting.

Their own handwriting is exactly why those

scrapbooks will be cherished by the next generations.

I'd rather see my grandmother's own handwriting than

some computer generated "perfect" font any day!

It's the "uniqueness" that make quilts so beautiful :)

Garden Steps Block #2...done!

Just wanted to share block #2

of the Garden Steps quilt along :)

Just finished it this morning.

Thanks so much to Jennie and Clara

for this totally fun quilt along!

It's not too late to join in the fun!

Garden Steps Block #1...done!

Last night I finished the embroidery

on block #1 of the Garden Steps Quilt Along :)

I'm sooooo loving this!

It's a good thing that Clara and Jenny

over at Clover & Violet

are making me wait a month for each

embroidery pattern,

because I'd probably spend all my time

on the handwork of this quilt and get nothing else done :)

I used backstitching to outline the design.

Then I used french knots in 2 colors for the topiary plants.

I used a satin stitch for the butterflies

and lazy daisy stitch for the flowers on the pots.

I used a french knot as the center of each little flower.

OK....time to get busy on my tiny houses quilt!

I mean.....laundry and housework :)

Stitchin Season :)

I may have mentioned this before, but I tend to get bored easily. I think that's why I have multiple hobbies. I go for a few days or weeks deeply involved with something and then from one day to the next, I'm on to something else. A few weeks ago I went through serious withdrawals when my sewing machine went in for service, and now it's here and ready to go and I haven't done much sewing. I've been stitching instead. I finished the little tea pots yesterday. This is the top piece for a wooden tea caddy that I have on order. As soon as it arrives I can assemble it and I'll post pics of the completed project. I have also completed the embroidery pieces that I found in the garage that I started when I was 10 years old. I'm going to start cutting the fabric for the quilt that these will be a part of and hopefully finish it in time for Christmas. If not, my Mom is traveling to Germany again in April and she can take it with her and give it to her sister when she's there. I showed these to my Mom to ask her about them last Sunday because I noticed that some of the stitching on the boy was so far superior to the stitching that I had done, so I needed to know if she had done it or my grandmother had done it. She said that my grandmother had given me these patterns to stitch and that my mom had done some of the stitching on the boy. Now this gift will be even more special for my aunt! 3 generations of women in the family have had a part in this quilt for her. I love things like that!

Look what I found.....

I'm working on some cute sock rattles and I needed 2 jingle bells (that I'm sure I have somewhere) so I ventured out into the garage to look through some of my crafting supplies. I opened this tin and found all my old embroidery floss along with these three embroideries that I did when I was probably 10 years old. My favorite Aunt & Uncle in Germany have 3 children, Maika, Norma and Sonny (Jr.). I was stitching these for her as a gift and for what ever reason, I never finished the last one. A few years ago my cousin Sonny was killed in a terrible car accident at the age of 39. He was survived by 2 teenage children and for all of us the void is still so painful. He was one of those people who always made you laugh and had such a fun personality. I find myself sitting here in tears at the thought that he's really gone. Having found these, I really want to complete the 3rd one and make them into a small quilt for my aunt. Sonny died shortly after Christmas and this is always a really hard time for them. I'm hoping that this gift will warm her heart and not cause her more pain.

 Does anyone have any insight?

\

Also in the box was this handmade kitty that I did about 15 years ago. I sewed her, painted her, sanded her and then painted the face. I'm going to list her in my shop and see if anyone is interested :)