It's My Turn!

 Welcome to my day of Pat Sloan's Girls in the Garden Blog Hop!  Pat asked five designers to use the  patterns from her new series published by Bigfork Bay Cotton Company and make projects in our own styles (and I'm so excited to be taking part ~ I had a blast!)  Well my first dilemma was that my "style" is kind of all over the place ~ I like it all...and I've come to the conclusion that that's OK!  What I've always loved about Pat Sloan patterns (even from way back in the day when I facilitated the Sloanies Club at the quilt shop where I worked), are that they work well in a variety of fabric styles, so I decided to make a couple of projects :)

So remember I teased you the other day and said that I was working on something from cutting up this old wool sweater... 

Well I thought it'd make a great background for a Cardinal pillow using wool applique.  I used the Ava's Winter Flurries pattern and just chose some elements from it.  I laughed outloud when I saw that yesterday Heather of Olive and Ollie made a pillow with the same cardinals!  But hers is done in modern fabrics and I think just proves the point that these patterns play well with all fabrics!

I did fusible applique, and a machine blanket stitch with the wool, I think that works well to keep everything stable and it's quick.  One little tip that I'd like to share... when doing the machine blanket stitch around multiple elements like the parts of this snowflake, sometimes it's easier to stitch around them all in one pass instead of a lot of starting and stopping (see how I just crossed over in the center).

And then fuse the center of the snowflake on and blanket stitch around that.  Btw, I used an old scrap of batting for the snowflake instead of wool because I don't anticipate washing my pillow (and I was out of white wool).

Then I just loved this Amelia's Spring Delight design, and my foyer is in need of a new Springtime quilt on the wall, so I pulled some traditional cotton fabrics and I made this quilt top.  All the fabrics came out of my stash and scrap bins, no new purchases for any of these :)

The pattern directions are very clear and they all come with a full size lay out sheet with the pieces numbered, so it went together in a snap.

I finished the blanket stitching, but I didn't get to quilt this one this week, but it'll be finished and hanging up in time to welcome Spring!

Then last but not least, I wanted to work with some of my more modern fabrics, so yesterday I hand appliqued this purple coneflower from the Chelsea's Summer Garden pattern and I decided that I needed to dress up my garden notebook.

Doesn't it look sweet standing up on a shelf?  This was so simple to do.  After appliqueing the flower I just added a little batting to the back, figured out where the spine would fall, and wrote the word Garden by stitching it in on my sewing machine like free motion quilting.  Then a little hot glue and trimming, and she's done :)

Every year I say I'm going to keep a nice garden journal so I remember where I plant stuff (and what it's called, I'm terrible about that), now I have one all ready to go :)  (This should not make me as happy as it is)

So if you've been following the blog hop all week over on Pat's blog you know that she's had us all answer a few silly questions (and you can read my answers over there today).  Well I decided to turn the tables on my friend and ask her to answer her same questions ~ after all that's fair, right?  So here are Pat's answers:

·  If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you want poured all over you?

Yes I DID ask this one... and I do believe I'd have to go with Blue Cheese as it is decedent, creamy, and one I shouldn't have as often as I do!

·  Who would play YOU in the movie version of your life. or If I'm in Thelma and Louise.. who am I and who is my sidekick?

I'm going to pick the movie as I LOVE this Chick Flick.. I'd have to be "Lousie" played by Susan Sarandon as I just ADORE her and she looks super in those sunglasses! My BBF Brenda B. would be Thelma. Although Brenda does not have Thelma's personality , she is the one I want with me as Brenda can get us INTO and OUT OF any situation and to anyplace we might need.. ummmm...  want to go!

·  If you were a car, what kind would you be?

I switched the 2 questions because you will see WHY I asked about Thelma and Louise... Vintage car ALL THE WAY and a powder blue 1966 Thunderbird Convertible is my ride of choice.. anyone have a spare to give me?

Now the truly fun part for you!  The folks at Bigfork Bay Cotton Company are giving away one pattern of your choice to one lucky reader of mine! To enter, please leave a comment at the end of this post. I'll use the random number generator to choose the winner, and the giveaway will close at midnight EST on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Here's the rest of the Blog Hop line up for the week, visit everyone for more chances to win:

• Tues Feb 21 Michele of Quilting Gallery http://quiltinggallery.com/2012/02/21/my-day-on-pat-sloans-girls-in-the-garden-blog-hop/
• Wed Feb 22 Heather of Olive and Ollie http://www.oliveandollie.com/
• Friday, Feb. 24:  Amy of Amy’s Creative Side
• Saturday, Feb. 25:  Heather of {House}of A La Mode Fabric 

The Fat Quarter Shop is also giving away five full sets of Pat’s patterns. Visit their Jolly Jabber blog to enter.
Finally, visit Pat Sloan each day too as she shares her inspirations on designing “Girls in the Garden” and she’s giving away another full set of the patterns!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Better Late Than Never

It's been deadline central around here lately. My son's college classes are winding down, so he has been frantic with assignments, I've had financial deadlines to meet for my dad, and I've been busy with meeting deadlines for publications, and the quilt shop. I made this sample for the quilt shop to have in time for the quilt show last week (And Sew It Goes was a vendor at the show). It's called Wild Rose Quilt from Pat Sloan's Quilt the Seasons Book 2.

Well, I mostly had met the deadline on this one. I had it up as a sample at the show, but most of the applique was just fused down...And today I got to stay home and sew, so I completed the blanket stitching today.

Then since I had a day with my sewing machine, I finished this one for a Mountain Baby Blanket donation. I have had this panel for quite a while. Today I simply finished the quilting on it and put some binding on.

All ready to ship! That's two finishes in one day ~ Hopefully I can be even half as productive tomorrow :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Ok, So I Couldn't Resist...

Ok, so I guess I don't have enough to do, because I just couldn't resist jumping in on Pat Sloan's Meadow Breeze BOM before I got too far behind ~ you know I couldn't miss the party! The center applique design was month One released in February.

Month Two, released in March, gave directions for this pieced inner border and the little butterfly that will be in the bottom corner.

The rest is a mystery that Pat is giving out one month at a time for the next seven months. I decided to go ahead and make this quilt because it will finish at 36 inches and will fit perfectly on one wall in my new green satellite sewing room that we finished yesterday (I almost have all my stuff moved back in ~ hopefully pictures will follow soon).

Now that I have my fabrics all picked out and these little guys fused, they are on my pile waiting for my next "blanket stitching day".

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Americana

I've been busy whipping up little flags this weekend, enough to make Besty Ross proud. I've pieced all of the little flags that are needed to complete the blocks of Folk Art America designed by Pat Sloan.

And I've finished a couple of the blocks for our Sloanies Club meeting at the shop on Wednesday morning.

I'm putting mine together using the fusible applique method, and I ran out of Heat n Bond Lite (my fusible of preference).

So I had to stop for now at three blocks done. I'll pick up some more fusible and see if I can get a few more whipped up next weekend :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

A Little Springy Simplicity

In keeping with my theme of Simplicity for this year, I started off 2010 with my first project being a simple light-hearted little ditty.

With the cold winds blowing outside, it was nice to sit in my comfy chair in the evening, wearing my new nappy socks, and drinking hot tea while binding this little guy and thinking of Spring.

It's called Wild Rose Table Runner and the pattern can be found in Quilt the Seasons Book 2 by Pat Sloan. I even got it finished early for this month's Sloanies club meeting...bonus!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Sloanies Show and Tell

Ruth Green brought some of her recent Pat Sloan quilts to the shop for our Sloanies group this week, and it was such a treat to see them. This first snowflake quilt is from Pat's Quilt the Seasons Two book. I just love the fabrics in this one!

Ruth got her Harvest Moon all quilted up. She shared that she pieced the background and borders, quilted it, and then added the fusible applique and blanket stitched through all the layers. This quilt is not too big, so I thought that was a good way to approach it. Harvest Moon can be found as a stand alone pattern by Pat Sloan, and in Pat's Folksy Favorites book.

And finally, this is Folk Art America (it's a stand alone pattern designed by Pat Sloan). Ruth used great fabrics and the little wavy flag fabric was just perfect in it! I think I'll have to make this one, it would look great on the wall in our spare bedroom :)

Thanks Ruth for the great show and tell, you are such an inspiration!

Enjoy the day,
~ Dawn

Some Autumn Show & Tell

Yesterday was our Sloanies Club and we are working on Pat Sloan's Harvest Moon. The pattern for this quilt can be found in the book Folksy Favorites. I have my top almost finished, just need to blanket stitch the letters and star, and do some embellishing.

I added wool for the pumpkin, basket and black cat. I find I like to do that especially on Autumn quilts.

We always have some show and tell at our club meetings and Ruth Green brought in some projects that she's been working on. This little Autumn panel was a fabric line designed by Jackie Paton for Red Rooster Fabrics. I love the way Ruth quilted it with a big spider web design.

This neat block is from a class that Ruth took. The way it is set a little off kilter makes it so interesting!

It makes for a really neat little quilt with a twist on the New York Beauty block.

And finally these cute little guys were made from the Whimsyland book by Lizzie B. Designs. Ruth liked the pin cushion so much that she adapted it to a tote bag. Again I love the use of wool here on the light blue denim fabric.

Enjoy the Day!
~ Dawn

Fun Summer Quilts

Yesterday was the Sloanies day at the shop and Ruth Green brought in a couple of her finished quilts for us to see! The cute one above is called A Slice of Summer. The pattern can be found in Pat Sloan's Folksy Favorites book, and it has been released as a single pattern.

This is Ruth's Heartfelt Welcome, also found in Folksy Favorites. I love Ruth's choices in color. My camera doesn't do it justice, but her colors are soft and light, and Ruth does all of her own quilting.

I have done the Heartfelt Welcome top ~ haven't gotten to the quilting of it yet. My colors are darker and more similar to the colorway in Pat's book.

This last set is not a Pat Sloan pattern but from a pattern called Melon Madness from Meme's Quilts. The colors are so bright and happy, and the watermelons just sing summer!

Ruth does such beautiful work, I enjoy seeing everything she does and what fabrics she picks out, so I just had to share.

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Gingerbread in June?

Yesterday was quite possibly the hottest day of the year so far here (or at least up there near the hottest) and I was making Gingerbread Men. I made the top for this cute table runner from Pat Sloan's pattern called Gran's Gingerbread. It's a pretty good sized table runner measuring 20 x 42".

I embellished the little guys with buttons, but the smallest buttons I had were just too big for their eyes...so I'm deciding if I need to embroider little eyes, or just leave them as is. Suggestions are welcome :)

We're getting ready for our Christmas in July event at the shop coming up on July 10 - 12th, so we've all been working like little elves on some Christmas projects and cutting kits for them.

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Quilts to See and Some New Fabrics In the Shop

Yesterday we had our Sloanies club, and while we don't have anything new to show because we are still toiling away on our Walk in the Moonlight and Slice of Summer Quilts, Ruth Green brought in two other machine appliqued quilts for us to see. The one above is from Country Lore Designs called "A Slice of Summer". I have this quilt top made too, but I don't have it quilted yet. I love to see how Ruth quilts her backgrounds with the wavy grid work.

Ruth also did this quilt from Nancy Halverson's book called Calendar Quilts and Stitcheries. It's a really cute little quilt that can be done like a block of the month and she has embellished it with the button set that can be purchased through Just Another Button Company.

I love quilts that combine applique and stitchery. Thanks for sharing them Ruth!

Then in the afternoon, I opened some boxes of fabric for the shop and it was like Christmas! For you Jo Morton fans, we now have Harmonies in the house!

...And also from Andover is Stone Cottage designed by Renee Nanneman of Need'l Love.

I'll be loading all of these new fabrics on the shop website today. I can't wait to cut into some of these bolts, I definitely see a handbag somewhere in here :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

"Ketchup" Day

This weekend Pat Sloan is having a "Ketchup Challenge" to take a project and bring it forward. I started today because Heather and I are taking a little road trip tomorrow to hit some quilt shops in Burke and Occoquan Virginia, and then to spend the night babysitting Elsie. So my "Ketchup Weekend" was a "Ketchup Day".

I started with my Walk in the Moonlight pieced background, and today I got all of the rest of the applique fused down.

I think I have about half of the blanket stitching done, so Monday will be a marathon blanket stitching day!

By the end of the day, this is what my "Ketchup Project" looked like :)

This pattern can be found in the book "Learn to Applique with Pat Sloan". Have a great "Ketchup Weekend"!

Enjoy!
~ Dawn