Polka Dot Girls Block 4

A quick post to show some progress on the Polka Dot Girls, this is block #4. I still need to finish the piecing for this block. Each block has a larger stitchery and a smaller stitchery, I've finished the piecing for Blocks 1 to 3 see here, here and here. Darlene is doing her blocks all in redwork, hers looks fantastic, I love them ALL. This lady is ready for a busy day in the garden. We've had a little sun on and off, mostly off. My camellia, tulips and the bleeding hearts are all starting to bloom. The snow turned some of the flower petals brown before they could fully bloom but I'm still enjoying the colour coming out in the garden, we sure need it after such a looog winter. I can't complain too much as Karen is still having huge snow falls, don't worry sister it will be melted in no time....LOL

I hope you are having a good week so far. Keep Stitching!

Quilting or NOT

Jeez....3 tests in 3 weeks....how do these instructors expect me to cram that much information in my little brain and not have some information start falling out...LOL I know the light at the end of the tunnel will show up soon.

My sewing room has been missing me and feeling ignored. I still have to finish my little sewing case and Polka Dot Girls, the next block is almost done. I've started a miniature tumbler quilt and my square in a square blocks are wondering when I'll start playing with them again.....soon...soon I'll be back to sewing.

I found this book at an antique sale last weekend, it was published in 1929. In case you needed instructions on how to serve your family this is a good book...LOL Imagine a time when women spent all day planning meals and learning to set the table just right, the water glass is placed 1" above the fork....who cares. Can you imagine ovens didn't always have temperature indicators, this book talks about testing the oven temperature using the paper method, seems risky to me. Who knows I might find a really good recipe in here.
This jug was also something I bought. Most of this "style of jugs" were used to hold Whiskey but this one has written Botanical Works on the front and no mention of Whiskey. I was curious to find out what this jug held, my first thought is maybe liquid fertilizer for plants. My FIL tells me they didn't have liquid fertilizer in 1938. I found the company that made the jug and it was operational until the mid 70's under the name of Govencroft. Maybe a trip to Glasgow would be helpful....LOL
Jenny is enjoying a bit of sunshine at the back door. It's so cute how she brings her back legs up over her head just like doing pilates.

This and That

I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last post. Homework, studying and 2 hour test after test have been getting in the way of quilting. This dental class is a bit more intense than I expected. I just have to hang in there for the next 2 months. I hope I can do it.

I started these square in a square blocks using civil war fabrics. The blue background I really like but unfortunately I bought that piece a few years ago and there isn't enough even for a lap quilt. I might have enough for a small table quilt. Maybe, I'll have to see if I can "make do" and introduce another blue that will imitate this same blue, as close match as I could find. I could just go out and buy a different blue but I was hoping to make this quilt from my stash...we'll see.

My Little Jo club was last week. Here are some of the 4 patch quilts from the group. Looks like I didn't get them all in the picture and it's not the best picture. One of the ladies used a feature fabric and made large borders around her 4 patch, it really looks spectacular in person.


We had snow yesterday which is very unusual for this area. I hope we'll get spring soon, I'm very tired of the cold....brrrr.

BOM Update

I'm all caught up with my Pieceful Nights BOM....woohoo....yippee I'm very excited. Feb, Mar and Apr blocks are all done! I try and work on this block as soon as I get it. If I put them aside then who knows when I'll get to it. These blocks are very tricky, the block in the top left, watch out that's a tuffy, not for a beginner. I'm so glad each block is different, I wouldn't want to do that one again. This pattern offers different suggested layouts I haven't decided if I'm going to do the medallion style pictured on the pattern or on point or sashing or or there's too many to list. I'm thinking of sashing with a small pieced block for the corner stone but what it might be is still a mystery to me.
A close up of one of the blocks. I just love the fabrics going into this quilt. For me it's not the pattern but the fabrics choices in the BOM. Look at that red in the star points...I love it.

I've started working on these blocks here and here, I'll show a picture of my version in a couple of days. But that will have to wait, with the sun finally coming out sewing will be put aside for a few days. Time to do some clean up work in the garden before it starts raining again.

Have a good weekend and Thanks for stopping by, I really love reading and responding to all your comments.

Alotta LITTLE Stuff

I've been working on many little things the last couple of weeks. I can't believe how far behind I am in posting these little projects, I have quite a few pictures to show today. I made a couple of cellphone cases for my daughter and her friend. Pretty simple to make and they come together quickly. I thought they would be fun accessory for the summer. My daughter invited me to tea and scones on Sat, we went to this place that serves tea in real tea cups. It was fun, none of the cups or plates matched and the place was all decorated just like being at Grandma's house, with gingham table cloths and if you were really in the mood, there were fancy hats for everyone.
I finished hubbies socks, no I didn't just whip this up. I started them in Jan and have been working on them very slowly. It's good to have them finally done. He loves them.
Have you ever seen such a small Dresden plate? There are 12 petals in this tiny thing. I found this book and had to give the little piecing a try. Galloping Pony web site also offers tips and tricks to making such teeny tiny piecing. These are NOT paper pieced. And yes the seam is 1/4". She has a fun little story about how the Galloping Pony came about. "The galloping horse theory says if you can’t see a mistake in a quilt from a galloping horse it really doesn’t matter". Isn't that a hoot!
The finished size of the 16 patch is 2". I think this might go in a frame for hanging on the wall. The finished size of the whole quilt is 8"x6".
Galloping Pony does collage style with tiny blocks. Here's my version of a collage. The churn dash blocks are 2" finished as well.
I promised some progress on my little sewing case. Here is the outside all stitched up with zipper and gusset set in. We've only been working on this case as a group once a month, so that's the reason it's not finished yet.
The handle is very small, this might get replaced with something a little bigger.
A view of the front and back with the case open.
Inside of case with raw edges showing. These will be covered and part of the centre zipper area will be cover as well.
I haven't finished the inside yet but I thought I would show this in progress anyway. I've covered the raw edges and started making the pocket. There will be thread holders, scissor holder and a holder for a small ruler. So that's it, all the LITTLE things I've been working on. Did I say little enough times....LOL

Little Jo Club

I signed up for Jo Morton's Little Quilt Club part 7 at this shop. This little 4 patch is the first quilt in the class, we have 6 classes and will be given a different pattern each time. The 4 patches are 2" finished, I love how the blue and brown look in this quilt. As a added bonus I've met some wonderful ladies from the session before us. I look forward to chatting and getting to know this group and being the first to see their versions of the 4 patch. Our next meeting is still a couple weeks away. All these quilts are absolutely stunning, the picture is only about half of the quilts these ladies made. I love them all!
Are these little quilts inspiring or what, makes me want to get started on making ALL of them.

Next time I'll have some progress on my little sewing case and some even smaller quilts.
It's sunny again today, spring is on it's way...yippee.