The Big Clean Up!

The halls have been decked, taken down and put away for another year! It was a pretty simple Christmas this year...my extended family was dealing with flu and stomach virus!  Yikes!  So I stayed far away....

we had bigger fish to fry anyway....a dead car meant finding a replacement.  It's always a fun to find out a couple of days after Christmas that you will need to make a car purchase :( 

Oh, well, it had to be done.

I hope you have been able to avoid illness this Christmas and big unexpected purchases!

But Holiday Cheer did fall on my doorstep! I had a couple of wonderful packages from far away friends! Yay!  I love packages!

Sweet Clare surprised me with this fabulous stocking full of goodies and a lovely pair of socks (I love fun socks).  The stocking is fashioned from a vintage quilt top!  Clare stitched it so perfectly and filled it to the rim with goodies (most of which were eaten by the time I got a photo)!

And then, my dear friend, Susan, spoiled me with a super cute zippered pouch, a Liberty appliqued feather tea towel and sweet piece of gingham (which I already put to good use).  My daughter, Molly, and I could not get over the precision in this hand stitched applique!  The most delicate blanket stitch I have ever seen!  

I cherish these two friends....I am so lucky they spoil me so :)

I have been on a bit of a zippy pouch run lately.  I made several for friends and family for Christmas...and why stop now?  

If you recall I was stitching some clamshells out of wool felt...

      

I used Valdani perle cotton to outline each curve...bold and bright!

Then I used this piece to make a little zippy pouch!

         

A rainbow, clamshell, wool zippy pouch!

 

Add a pom-pom for a zipper pull...and a few gold chocolate coins....well, those might be a few of the goodies from Clare...

Hope you enjoyed your holidays!  Hope you stayed healthy (and didn't have to buy a new car)....

Here's to a quilty good 2015!

Cheers

mary 

Layout and English Paper Piecing....

Hopefully, you have been pulling out some fabrics for the Flowering Snowball...I know there are a few folks who have not only picked their fabrics but are on to the quilting!  Ahhhhmazing!

Today I will quickly go over pattern layout for cutting the template pieces...and then Clare will share her EPP method for putting together a stunning Flowering Snowball!   

Whether you are using acrylic templates that you purchased or the downloaded template from here...

there are a couple of things to remember when cutting out your templates.

The most important thing to remember is that the straight edge of the template needs to be parallel to the straight of grain on the fabric.

and, again, on the straight of grain...

I know this is exciting stuff!  But it is important to have the outside edges of the block on the straight of grain.  That pesky bias on the outside edge makes for a wiggly block!

If you are cutting acrylic templates with a rotary...it may be easier to use a smaller rotary.  I used my 45mm rotary because I was too lazy to look for the smaller one, but I do think it would help.   If you prefer to trace around templates {and I often do}... you can simply use a sharp pencil.  And for dark fabric, if you can't see your pencil mark, you can use a silver gel pen or a chalk pencil.  The templates are cut on the drawn line, so no need to worry about the mark.  

   

 Before I turn this over to Clare....I wanted to share with you a couple of amazing Flowering Snowballs!

Have a peek here and here!

and you can follow the entire group here!

So now, please pop over to Clare's place! Clare is the go-to girl for EPP!  And you can't even imagine how beautiful her Flowering Snowball quilt is!  Well, maybe you can....because everything Clare does at Selfsewn is amazing!

You will find Clare here....   

happy monday!

keep posting those pictures...these quilts are fabulous!

mary 

SCHEDULE

Post schedule- June 11th.

Yardage - June 13th.

Templates and options for making Templates - June 15th.

Choosing Fabrics::with a special guest Susan@PatchworknPlay- June 20th.

Cutting Fabric using the templates or choosing to make an English Paper Piecing Version::with a special guest Clare@Selfsewn- June 23rd.

Sewing Curves and Piecing - June 30th.

Putting the Top Together - July 14th.

Quilting and Binding - July 18th.

Show Off your Finished or Almost Finished Flowering Snowball - Aug. 8th.

 

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

autumn loveliness

 

a surprise

so fun and so sweet...

 thank you, Clare...you are so dear

and here is what I have been playing with at home....

 

happy wednesday!

mary

Sewing Circle....

Today I am channeling my inner Clare....

of Selfsewn..... 

I need her guidance....I know she could calm my jittery nerves...she has Paper Pieced curves....

she transformed my flowering snowball into a paper pieced wonder!!!!

It is challenging....a clamshell challenge

        

Here is a little peek....

Back to my trance...channeling my spiritual guide ;)

mary

Ta-Da!!!!

I have managed another Rose and Star block!!!

Yay!

Rose and Star is the best for bedside stitching :)

And I ordered a couple of books....

only one has arrived so far.  This is a 'new to me' book.  It is actually in it's second edition and not new at all.  A friend from the shoppe {Stephanie} brought it into the shoppe one day and I knew it was a book I needed for my quilt book collection.

I have a quilt that needs it's binding so hopefully soon I will have a bit more to show :)

Hope you are enjoying a wonderful Spring day in your neck of the woods!

Happy Wednesday!

mary

All You Need Is LOVE......

I have had so many emails expressing well wishes for my mom and family....thank you so much.  I appreciate your positive, prayerful thoughts.  Big Hugs.....

     

And after long, exhausting days - it lifts my spirits to find a package of love waiting for me when I get home....

     

Dear sweet Clare....you can't imagine how much this helped me.  Truly....I can't even begin to explain.  

Not only that, but I popped the candies in my purse and one day while waiting for test results these candies kept me from starving. hee hee!

      

I never realized how sadness weighs so heavy on the heart.....but on this day it was lifted for a brief time....it was welcome relief.....thank you Clare......

And Kris.....great fabrics just waiting for some stitching!  This certainly helped me to remember that there is another part of me just waiting in the wings.  Itching to stitch again and take some fun photos of Blocks With Socks!  Thank you, Kris! 

   

I have been stitching while sitting bedside....photos soon :)

And some wonderful photos from one of my classes - each and every one hand quilted!!!!

So stay tuned! 

Thanks for not forgetting me while I have been away....

mary:)