A Little Chenille Trim

Since my post for our Buttermilk Basin Summer Blog Hop, I've received a couple dozen inquiries about the red chenille trim I added to my Americana Pinkeep.  I promised to let everyone know how easy this really is.

The hardest part of adding the chenille trim is finding the chenille trim.  (I've solved that problem for you...read on!)  The chenille comes in a soft ecru color and it takes the color in dye very, very well.  I chose a color of Rit Dye (wine) I wanted, and mixed it up in a Ball jar with very hot water. (Follow the directions on the box/bottle.)  Then, just drop in a length of chenille into the jar and let it sit in there a day or two.  Check to see if the color is what you're looking for, and wearing gloves to protect your hands, rinse the trim, and hang to dry.  That's it!

I stitched the trim to my finished pinkeep by whip stitching (or couching it) over the seam.  Use thread to match the color of the chenille trim and sew it down as you go.  When you get to the ends, have them overlap about 1 inch or so.  Easy, breezy!

It adds just a little touch of something special to the whatever you're making.  You can double the chenille to make it thicker if you have a larger project.  You can twist it, too.  

Now...about finding the chenille trim.  I bought mine from one of my all time favorite shops, Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit, MO.  I called there today, and they still carry the chenille, and would be happy to send it you by mail.  Or...if you're lucky enough to live nearby, definitely stop in.  You won't be sorry you did....and it's a must see if you're traveling in Missouri!!!  

You can call the shop girls to order yours at Quilter's Station at 816/525-8955.  The chenille is very reasonably priced.   

If you missed out on my Buttermilk Basin Summer Blog Hop day, no worries!  Click here to get all the goodies you missed.   The blog hop is still going on, so be sure to check the Buttermilk Basin blog for the designer schedule.  There's so many wonderful projects and recipes there just for you!

There's just 7 days left to take advantage of my special price offer for my brand new Tokens of the Past: Union Forever! quilt trio.  This has been a very hot item (thank you, everyone!!!) and is only available by pre-order....if you've been thinking about ordering this quilt kit, there are just days left to do so.  Click here to read all the details.

Happy Summer Stitches!  

Welcome to our Summer Blog Hop!

Welcome to my day on the Buttermilk Basin Summer Blog Hop!  

Summer is in full swing here and I'm doing my best to enjoy every lovely day.  We've had a run of warm and comfy days here where the weather is perfect and being outside is wonderful. 

The house is still decorated in all things Americana, and I've been in this patriotic mode for awhile.  I'm sure it has everything to do with my new patriotic fabric line, called Star Spangled Liberty (Marcus Fabrics), about to hit your local quilt shops next month.

Stacy asked all of us some summer related questions, so I'll fill in my answers for you:

Do I have a Green Thumb?  Well...I can grow things outside the house but have no luck growing plants and flowers inside.  I'm OK with that.  

Average Temp Where I Live:  Here in the suburbs of Chicago, we average temps in the high 80's to 90's with some humid, sultry days getting into the 100's.  I'm not a fan of the hot, humid days and look forward to the cooler days of fall.  

How Do I Stay Cool During The Summer?  Staying indoor with the A/C.  We used to have a pool, but no longer.  I try to enjoy the cooler mornings.

Favorite Summer Drink:  Iced Tea (year round favorite), frozen peach slushes and strawberry martini's.

What Did I Do For July 4th?  Stayed home this year, had a BBQ, and enjoyed the mild weather outdoors.

S'Mores:  Well....I've only had one once and I don't care much for marshmallows.  Am I the only person who doesn't enjoy S'Mores?

Do I Frequent Farmer's Market:  YES!!  We are so blessed to have a truly excellent Farmer's Market about 10 minutes from home.  You can see more about this below.

Favorite Summer Fruit:  Summer brings all of my favorites.  I adore dark cherries and haven't met a berry I didn't love.

Do I Enjoy Handwork Outside?  Oh yes...outside, inside, in the car, on a plane.  I enjoy hand stitching wherever I go.

Favorite Summer Tradition:  It's funny how our favorite summer traditions have changed over the years.  They are so different now than when our kids were small.  The one thing that remains over the years are cooking and dining outside to enjoy the weather because winter will be back before we know it!  We frequent places with outdoor dining, and several places where we meet our friends to enjoy live music, drinks and good food.  

Every Sunday in Frankfort, IL, which is the next suburb over from where I live, they hold a spectacular Farmer's Market.  The village of Frankfort has a town square, village green, loads of artisan gift and antique shops and lots of wonderful restaurants.  (On Thurday evenings, they also have a terrific Cruise Night where my hubby goes to show his collection of vintage cars and hang out with friends.)  We try hard to attend the Farmer's Market every Sunday, weather permitting.

They always have live entertainment.  We bring lawn chairs, a small cooler and choose a shady spot to enjoy the music and people watching.

Loads of people, old and young, families with little ones, and dogs all come for the fun.

Of course, we all come for the food and special items by local farmers and artisans.  The variety of offerings is quite amazing.

Our absolute favorite booth is Stamper Cheeses.  They're a local family whom make their own over-the-moon delish artisan cheeses and offer samplings of everything.  Smart move as they often sell out early in the day which is why we make it our first stop.  We enjoy so many of their creations with the Almond Apricot Gouda and Raspberry Asiago being our favorites.  This Farmer's Market is such a gem in our community and it's absolutely free.  What is not to love?

The Potluck recipe I want to share with you is a big, big hit whether I take it to a Potluck, or just make it for us at home.  It's easy, has just a few ingredients, and is absolutely delicious!

Ice Cream Jell-O has been in our family since my kids were young and a neighbor brought it to a block party one year.  It's something cool, light and fruity when you're serving heavy things like BBQ chicken or ribs, bratwurst and smoked brisket.  It's so, so good, we often have a little as a dessert!  Are you groaning over another Jell-O recipe?  TRUST ME, this is not your ordinary Jell-O recipe and is quite DIVINE!

There's nothing hard about making it.  Like all layered Jell-O recipes, it just takes time and is totally worth it.  You can substitute any flavors of Jell-O you like, but lime, lemon, peach and black cherry are the standard flavors the recipe calls for, and we love them just the way they are.  Click here for a downloadable/printable copy of Ice Cream Jell-O.

In keeping with my Americana theme this month, I was inspired to design this little Americana Pinkeep for your stitching pleasure.

Just the perfect, small stitching project to bring to your porch or patio and whip up.  You'll have the remainder of the summer to enjoy it!  

Click here to download/print my Americana Pinkeep pattern.

If you love making patriotic quilts, be sure to visit my blog for a limited-time special offer on my new Tokens of the Past: Union Forever! quilt trio.  

Click here to read all the details.

My thanks to Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin for once again hosting this oh-so-fun Summer Blog Hop. 

Hey, it's so very nice outside, I'm gathering something fun to stitch, a strawberry martini, some cherries, and a slice of Raspberry Asiago cheese.  See you on the deck!  

Summer Blog Hop Begins Today!!

The hopping fun begins today as Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin invited 12 designers to participate in another of her super popular blog hops.  She's added two more to make a total of 14!!  Beginning today, hop on over to each designer's blog to see what FREE project and summer recipe is in store for you.  What's not to L*O*V*E about this event, right?

Designer Cheri Payne of Designs by Cheri kicks things off today.  Click here to see her posts and free summer design.  You can also see the entire line-up of participating designers there, too.

Be sure to come back here to my blog on Monday, July 11th for my project and recipe.  

Lots of goodies in store to inspire you and keep your sewing needles humming.

Christmas Joy Blog Hop!!

Are you getting in the mood for Christmas yet??  Whether you are or aren't quite there yet, we have some great fun going on right now to bring J*O*Y to your holidays!  

Here's the line-up of talented designers who have created a special project just for this occasion.  

Nov 6th * Plum Cute Designs
Nov 7th * Gail Pan Designs
Nov 8th * Wooden Spool Designs
Nov 9th * Sheri Glasscock of Calico Moon
Nov 10th * Ali Strebel Designs
Nov 11th * Notforgotten Farm
Nov 12th * Woolen Willow Designs
Nov 13th * Cottage at Carfiff Farms
Nov 14th * Heartspun Quilts
Nov 15th * Crabapple Hill
Nov 16th * Bits n Pieces by Joan
Nov 17th * Primitive Gatherings 
Nov 18th * Buttermilk Basin

Click here to see the projects that have already been revealed.  You know the projects will be really great, and there's a new recipe posted each day as well to enjoy over Thanksgiving, Christmas or any special day.  

Enjoy, and see you back here on November 14th when it's my day!!

Blog Hop Winners & Treenware Quilted

Our Spring Thyme Blog Hop is over now, and we really hope you enjoyed it.  Did you find a few projects that inspire you?  I know I did, and I gained quite a few new recipes to try as well.

As promised, I have two lucky winners on this "unlucky" Friday the 13th.  They are....

Anonymous, who posted......Pam, thank you for the lovely pinkeep pattern and yummy salad recipe. Can't wait to try them both. the Union Forever fabric is awesome - is it still on the market for purchase. Thank you so much for all your wonderful tips and all you bring to the quilting community. Here is Michigan the weather is slowly creeping into the 40's - Spring is on the way!! Take care. Dolores

Dolores, to answer your question about the Judie Rothermel fabric, it may still be available at your local quilt shop, but is at least 2 years old.  Happy hunting.

and....45th Parallel Quilter, who posted.....

Lots of quilting and sewing accomplished this winter. Northern Michigan is known for its cherries so I definitely will be trying that salad ... thanks for sharing! Pinkeep is adorable and would make the perfect Christmas exchange gift for my guild dinner ... thanks for the instructions! Thanks also for the contest ... always fun! Linda

Congratulations to the winners!!  Please email me at Pam@HeartspunQuilts.com, and I'll send your leather thimble dots and perfect patchwork pins out to you right away.  Hope you like them!!

And my heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading every one, and hearing about where you live, and what you're stitching on.  Thank you so much!!

Treenware & Berries by Pam Buda using the Treenware & Berries fabric collection for Marcus Fabrics

My Treenware & Berries quilt has just come back from my friend and quilter extraordinaire, Ronda, who worked her incredible magic quilting my quilt.  I will be stitching binding all weekend (woohoo!!) so it's ready for photography Monday morning.  

I thought you might enjoy seeing more pictures of the quilting designs she chose for the quilt.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.  Spring finally arrived here in Chicagoland, and we're enjoying every lovely moment of it.  And, I hope you find time to spend with needle and thread.....Pam

Spring Thyme Blog Hop!

Welcome to my day of Buttermilk Basin's Spring Thyme Blog Hop!  I'm so glad you're here!

Most of us have been living through a dreadful winter that just keeps on going.  We're SO ready for Spring Thyme, aren't we??!  It's been nice to visit each designer's blog to bring a little Spring into our lives.   

I'm betting your anxious to get to my Spring project...so I won't keep you in suspense any longer.  

Patchwork In Bloom Pinkeep 

Pastel colors just don't live at my home, so I chose to create my Patchwork In Bloom Pinkeep to match the colors of my kitchen.  Of course, you can certainly choose to make yours in any colors you'd like, for where you want to display or use your pinkeep.  

Making it is very easy.....

Begin with the patches.  It's fun to choose some sweet prints you can fussy-cut to make things a little more interesting.  They're happy, little surprises in your projects.

The Union Forever print by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics

I adore this little red 'The Union For ever' print, and try to fit it into as many projects as I can.  

Fussy cutting can be tricky sometimes, and I want to keep every little scrap I have of this fabric, so I used my Frixion pen to outline the design area I wanted, and add the seam allowances.  When I was happy with the position of the center design, I cut it out.  The Frixion pen is great because any heat (iron), or friction will remove the ink, so you can draw again, and again if need be, to get the design exactly where you want it without cutting into the fabric.  (Frixion pens are available at your local quilt shop and some office supply stores.) 

Sew your patchwork top together.

Add a pretty fabric for the bottom of your pinkeep.  

I chose to use red twill tape to add a little splash to my pinkeep.  You can use ribbon or any other fun embellishments you want.  I used Roxanne's Glue Baste-It (love that stuff!) to tack the ribbon in place before sewing it.  

I used blue thread and big stitches to sew my twill tape to my pinkeep.  The Roxanne's glue allowed me to keep the twill tape positioned exactly where I wanted it to be with no pins in my way.  

Sew your pinkeep together.  Using pins meant specifically for patchwork will aide greatly in keeping your seam allowance accurate.  See how flat the fabric lay even with pins in there! They're the greatest!!  If you'd like, you can order these pins here.  Turn and stuff your pinkeep.

Add a little wool flower, and some cute buttons, and you're all done!  That was pretty easy, right?

And here is where my Patchwork In Bloom Pinkeep lives, in an antique dough bowl, on my kitchen island.  It makes me happy!  

Click here for the Patchwork In Bloom Pinkeep pattern.  

As salads go, the usual garden salad with bottled dressing is a ho-hum for me.  I love a salad with inventive ingredients and home-made salad dressing.  This one is a favorite in my house.  If you don't like dried cherries, you can substitute dried Craisins, dried blueberries, or pop in fresh fruit.  The salad dressing is oh- so yummy with a hint of maple syrup.  It makes a fabulous pairing with the salad ingredients.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  

Click here to print the recipe.

Those wonderful patchwork pins are a must have for me now, as well as a new notion (new to me, anyway) my friend Deb gave me.  The little thimble pads are just great when hand sewing. I hate wearing a thimble, but there are times you just have to have one on.  These little leather pads stick to your finger, giving you the protection you want without the feeling that you're wearing a giant bandage.  Click here to order Thimblepads. 

I have a few extra packages of these little goodies to give away!!  Leave me a comment about how you've been surviving your winter (including those of you in warm climates!), and what you plan to sew in the spring.  I'll chose two winners on Friday, March 13...lucky Friday the 13th!!!

I'm so glad you stopped by my blog for a quick visit.  My thanks to Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin for coordinating our Spring Thyme Blog Hop!  Hope you're having as much fun as we are.  

Be sure to visit NotForgotten Farm tomorrow!!

Sending a special thank you to Charlotte S. in California, for her kindness and inspiration.  

Pre-Wash or Don't Pre-Wash?? That is the question!

You may have noticed that lately....I have a few red quilts out there.

And there are lots and lots of pretty red fabrics in your local quilt shop.

I have received more than a few emails asking about whether or not to pre-wash all of this red fabric.  

Do I pre-wash?  Is it safe?  Will the dye run??

That is an age old question, and I thought perhaps, with all this red fabric out there, that I should address this question.

First, let me share what I do.  I don't pre-wash anything.   

If you'd like to pre-wash...go right ahead.  There are exceptions to that rule, however.  I don't recommend pre-washing quilt kits unless you know for certain you have plenty of fabric.  Also, I wouldn't pre-wash precuts like 5 or 10 inch charms, or jelly rolls, and the like.  Many of the patterns using them use every inch and every thread, so you don't want the shrinkage that comes with pre-washing or you may find yourself short of the needed fabric.  

I don't pre-wash because I like the sizing the fabric has when it comes off the bolt.  When I'm about to work with fabric to make a new quilt, I add starch or sizing to my fabrics before cutting them!!  

Having stiffer fabric to work with aides you in many ways throughout the piecing process.  Because the fabric has more body, it behaves better thru cutting, piecing, and pressing.  To me, working with washed or un-sized fabric is like trying to style your hair with no conditioner or any helpful hair care product.  No mousse, no gel...just limp, unconditioned hair.  (You wouldn't want to see my hair without that stuff!!  Eeekkk!!)  Sizing and starch give the fabric a lot of body, and the difference is amazing!

But...what about the red dye??  If you wash the quilt without pre-washing the fabric, will the dye bleed and ruin your quilt?  

The answer to that question is.....with quilt shop quality fabric from a major, well-known manufacturer, you should not have any problem.  You would not need to pre-wash any fabric.

That said, when in doubt, TEST!  Test some swatches for yourself to be sure.  No manufacturer gives a guarantee because so many factors are at play.  What type of water do you have?  Hard, soft, well water?  How does it mix with the detergent you're using?  Any number of things can be happening, and because a fabric company has no control over that, they cannot give a guarantee.  But honestly, I trust the quality of really good quilt shop quality cotton.  

Does that make you feel any better?  Maybe...a little.  That's not good enough!  So, I did a test with one of my quilts so I can share the results with you.  

 The quilt above is the bonus project included with my Prairie Gathering Quilt of the Quarter program.  It's made of all the same red prints in the Prairie Gathering fabric collection.  The fabrics were never washed, but were heavily starched, then cut up, sewn and quilted.  The quilt has never been washed.....until now!  Notice I will use my everyday detergent and not a mild quilt soap.  I wanted to see what would happen when I washed it.  

I added a color catcher to the wash to see if it would pick up any dye that was released into the water during the wash.

It has loads of suds!

 This picture shows the quilt still wet and what the color catcher looked like when it came out of the washer.  It's really clean and clear.  

 Here you can see a close-up of the fabrics still wet.  The red dye has not run at all.  

This is a close-up of the quilt center after drying the quilt in the clothes dryer.  The quilt has that nice crinkle to it (LOVE that!!) and looks great.  

I hope this helps you feel more confident in using Marcus Fabrics.  Again, when in doubt, please test for yourself.  

The folks at Marcus Fabrics have a bit more to add on this subject on their blog today.  So, click here to visit the Marcus blog and read a bit more about this.  

Have you been Blog Hopping with us??  Our Spring Thyme Blog Hop has just begun!  Be sure to check out all of the designer's blogs for a free spring project, inspiration, and a yummy recipe.  Click here to see the full list of designers and the schedule.  

And, please return right here to blog on my day....MARCH 9th!!