Loving Those Strings!

Several days this week, my friend Deb has been coming to help me with piecing a new quilt.  The project will have thousands of little, tiny pieces.  We have both made a big mess with loads of scraps spread out all over several tables.  We're watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music and otherwise having a great time while we work to make several hundred of these little cuties........

This will not be a quilt you can make quickly...and that is so OK with me.  In the end, it will be worth it.  We all have those projects that take their sweet 'ol time being made, and others that are done in a jiff.  It's nice to have both.  As I dig in my scrap bin, I'm finding fabrics that I haven't seen in years.  They remind me of projects made long ago, or the store where I bought them, or the friends I was with at a particular quilt shop.  So...this quilt is already full of memories....and while we're sewing, I'm making more!

Just another example of how I feed my soul with the stitches I sew.

Wishing you many happy stitches, too!   Pam

I Shouldn't Be Multi-tasking!

For those of you who know how Blogger works...it's really great, but uploading lots of photos seemingly takes forever.  When I created the show-n-tell posts last week, I confess that I was multi-tasking, taking care of other things while the photos loaded.  It made good use of my time, but in doing so....I omitted one photo from a dear quilter, Sylke, from Norway.  Sylke was the very first person to send me a photo of her completed quilt top, and I feel very badly that her photo was omitted.  Let's take care of that problem right now!!

Sylke from Norway

My apologies, Sylke!  Also...I received another entry just this morning......

Mary Ann from IL

Thanks, again, everyone, for participating in the sew-along.  Loved every moment and I'm looking forward to the next one, starting January 4th! 

Yesterday, I spent the day teaching the 6th Gathering of the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle club at The Quilt Merchant.  It is one of my favorite ways to spend the day.  I've made preliminary progress on Journey Five, but haven't really begun working on it in earnest as other priorities have needed my attention.  Right after the first of the year, I'll get to work. 

Next week, my friend Deb will be coming over to sew with me several days to help piece a new quilt that has several thousand pieces!!  Yes...thousand!!  I'll try to give you a little teaser....but can't reveal too much right now.  We'll sew, and sew and then I'll set my sewing machine aside to concentrate on preparations for the holiday.  I know we're all busy doing much the same things....juggling many tasks while humming along to White Christmas, or Jingle Bells. 

Still waiting for the white stuff to fall.....

 

Pam

Forget Me Not Show-n-Tell Part Three

Are you ready for Christmas yet?  Not me!  The house is decorated, but I still have about a third of my shopping left to do.  Presents are being wrapped slowly but surely.  My daughter, Nicki, has begun making Christmas cookies.  I used to love to bake them,  usually making 15-17 different kinds of cookies, but I no longer have the time, and she wanted to carry on the tradition.  Win, win!!  It's been very warm here in Chicagoland.  Last week, on December 4th, it was 70 degrees!   It's nice, but my body clock says it's time for chilly, snowy weather.  Christmas just isn't the same without snow!  I hope your holiday preparations are coming along nicely for you. 

Let's take a peek at the last of the Forget Me Not quilts.......

Marilyn from Idaho

Martha from Minnesota

Mary from North Carolina

Nancy from Indiana

Patti from Texas

Patty from Illinois

Sara from Italy



Sheri from Illinois

Sue from Michigan

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in my Forget Me Not Sew~Along!  Isn't it much more fun to sew with friends?!!  I hope you enjoyed all the quilts as much as I did.  My next sew along begins in just a few short weeks.  And.....I'm already planning one for spring time that will be a bit different from the others!  More fun in the works!!

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I know many of you are addressing your Christmas cards right about now and I wanted to encourage you to remember our "Wounded Warriors" recovering from their injuries in the VA hospital.  I'm sure they would love to receive a card of well wishes and holiday greetings from your family.   If you'd like to, you can send a card here:

 

A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue

NW Washington, DC  20307-5001

 

Thanks so much for visiting with me today!

 

Pam

Forget Me Not Show-n-Tell Part Two

This week, I'm immersed in creating two new fabric lines.  I tell ya...it's exciting and I'm already wishing I had the fabric to sew with.  It will be many months in production, but well worth the wait!  Coming much sooner will be two fabric lines already well into production.  One is a new wovens line and the other all cotton.  Did you know that wovens and/or homespuns are becoming very popular again?  I wanted to do a wovens line because they are prominent in so many early American quilts.
I'll be blogging about that very soon, with a bit of show-n-tell from my pile of antique quilts!

Speaking of show-n-tell......let's get started on the next batch of beauties from the Forget Me Not Sew~Along.....

Jan from Utah

Joyce from IL

Joyce S.

Judi from Illinois

Karen S. from Illinois

Kathy from Indiana

Kerry from Australia

Leanne B.

Lesley from Canada

Louise from Washington

Lynn from New York

 The next few photos are all from Jennifer G from Texas.  Jennifer sent me this photo of her Forget Me Not quilt....

Jennifer G from Texas

She added some fun things to her quilt, like this.....

 

Jennifer G from Texas



She played with several design elements and this is how her quilt turned out.......

Jennifer G from Texas

Just lovely....don't you agree??  Well....a little while later, I received another email from Jennifer that she just wasn't satisfied with the way the quilt looked....saying it needed a little something more.  So, using the scraps from her kit, she added a touch of applique, and sent me another photo......

Jennifer G from Texas

Jennifer...I think you were right!  You're intuition was spot on and your Forget Me Not quilt is lovely and unique....and you!!  Everyone did a great job and I've enjoyed each and every photo.  I hope you did, too.  More quilts in my next post. 

Enjoy your day.....

 

 Pam

Forget Me Not Show-n-Tell Part One

It's finally time to begin posting the Show-n-Tell photos from my last Sew~Along....

Forget Me Not

 

I have tell you all how I thoroughly enjoyed hosting and sewing along with each of you.  My heartfelt thanks to all whom participated, sent me comments, and to each person who took the time to email me the photos you're about to enjoy.

It makes me crazy happy to know that not only did we sew along with quilters from all over the United States, we had quilters sewing along from around the world!  How cool is that?

As you scroll thru the photos, not only did we have a nice variety of fabric palettes, but many quilters chose to set their blocks differently, added borders, and some added applique! 

I L O V E that!!

The show-n-tell will take place over three posts, and these wonderful photos don't need any commentary from me as they speak very nicely for themselves.  


 

Betsy from Illinois

Beatrice from France

Carol from Nebraska

Celtic Rose from Arizona

Christi Jo from Indiana

Dale from California

Deb from South Carolina

Debbie (on the left) from New York

Diane from Illinois



Doniene from Texas

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Pam

 

A Very Old UFO

A few weeks ago when we were antiquing, this sweet little sampler was one of the things I purchased and I wanted to share it with you.  It's a Schoolgirl's sampler, and obviously she was still working on it.  It was still in the hoop when I bought it.  Notice that the hoop doesn't have any screw or other device to tighten it.  While the sampler itself is a treasure (I adore and collect old samplers when I find them), it was when I turned it over that it stole my heart, and I instantly knew I just had to have it.

In order to create the needed tension between the two hoops, several pieces of beige cloth have been wrapped around the inside hoop, then stitched in place.  What a wonderful make-do find!  The top hoop really isn't all that tight against the inside hoop.  It barely gives a bit of tension to the linen.  I wonder how many pieces of linen have been in between these hoops?  Perhaps a mother and her daughters all used it?  The hoop itself has a lovely feel and the patina is glorious from wear.  I suppose most people would pick it up and put it down without a thought.  But, as you know, my mind and heart live in the prairie most days, and this unfinished sampler in its old hoop instantly transported me back to the 1800's. 

Truth is, I could go on and on as to why this speaks to my heart, but I won't.  I'm thinking that for many of you, you know exactly what I mean.  Do you have any items from the past that touch your heart?

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1800's Trivia

 



The Prairie Diamond

 

 

Sherry K., who is one of the ladies in my Prairie Women's Sewing Circle club, brought me this "Prairie Diamond" ring.  She told me that, in the 19th century, especially when immigrants were headed west to homestead the prairie, sometimes when they became engaged to marry, the young man would fashion an engagement ring from a nail, bending the nail into a ring for his beloved to wear.

 

Now that's really making-do!!

 

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by.....Pam

Announcing My Next Pocket Patchwork Sew~Along!!

As promised, I'm ready to announce the next Pocket Patchwork Sew~Along!!  I was thinking about this even before the last one was over!!  Before I get into the details, I'd like to tell the many new folks reading my blog what this is all about.

First, this is a freebie pattern in the form of a Sew~Along.  Each Friday for 5 weeks (they vary in length depending on the project) you'll receive the instructions for one block.  It's a mystery what you'll be creating, and you get your "clues" every Friday. 



Lucy's Prairie Pocket pattern by Heartspun Quilts

The term "Pocket Patchwork" refers to the pocket (like the one pictured above) that 18th & 19th century women wore under their clothes as they didn't have inset pockets in their garments as we do now.  They kept all kinds of needful things in them, including bits of patchwork to sew when they had idle moments (although knowing how much work there was to do everyday, I don't know when their hands would have been idle!!)  I'd like to think if I wore a pocket, I'd have patchwork in mine.  Hence, all of my Sew~Alongs are Pocket Patchwork!!

I'm betting, like me, you have lots of orphan units and loads of scraps lying about.  Well, we're gonna make good use of these in the Sew~Along!  Don't worry if you don't have orphan Flying Geese or Half & Quarter Square Triangles 'cause I'll give you directions on what to make.  Here's some things you will want to know to help you prepare for the Sew~ Along I'm calling..........

 

Pocket Patchwork ~ Orphans & Scraps

* I won't be able to give you any yardage because...we're using nothing but scraps.  Even if you want to make your project "controlled scrappy", it's best to use a wide variety of fabrics. 

* I used a wide variety of colors for my project, and it will look great made from a specific color palette.  Two colors, three colors....whatever is your whim.  Honestly, I used all of the scraps I had in a bag leftover from a scrappy quilt I made, along with the orphan blocks.  I didn't spend too much time choosing the fabrics.  The point is....use your scraps!!

* The units are on the small side, (nothing terribly small!) so choosing small prints will be key.

* The Sew~Along will take place over 5 weeks.

* The start date is Friday, January 4, 2013.  (When the holidays are over, and you'd like to do something just for you!!)

*Click here to review my instructions on making Half Square Triangles and Flying Geese units. It's just ordinary, basic stuff, and I won't be giving these instructions during the Sew~Along.

I think that's about all you need to know in advance.  Please pass the word along on Facebook, your own blogs, and tell your friends!!  The more, the merrier!!  If you've never participated in a Sew~ Along before, please join me...it's lots of fun. 

The best way to receive the Sew~Along instructions are via email....that way you can print them.  To do this, enter your email address in the "Follow by Email" icon found in the right-hand column of my blog.  You may have to scroll down to find it.  All of my blog posts will be sent to you as an email from then on.  Easy, breezy.

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This is also my LAST CALL for photos of the

 

Forget Me Not

 

Sew-Along quilts.  Please email your photos to me

by Friday, November 30th. I'll be posting the photos next week!

 

Remember, your quilt does NOT have to be quilted and bound.

Please include your name and where you live, i.e., state or country.

 

I'm very jazzed to have another Sew-Along with all of you!

Great fun!!

 

Enjoy your day.....Pam

 

 

Antiquing with Girlfriends

Left to right: Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles, Docia Fuller-owner of The Quilt Merchant,
and Tara Darr of Sew Unique Creations

Several weeks ago, three of my dearest friends and I headed down state to shop the antique fairs.  Lynne Hagmeier (Kansas Troubles Quilters) drove in from Kansas, and we spent several days gabbing, eating and literally shopping until we dropped every day.  What a blast!

For those of us who love the gems of the past, this was a wonderful experience.  There's something to be said, so hard to put into words, about being around old, old things.  If only they could talk....what stories they would tell.   Wouldn't we love to ask quesitons like....  Who made you?  Where did you live?  What are you, exactly??  Who has cared for you until I got the chance to see you today?  How did you get those scrapes and gouges?  What a fine patina you have!  I know...I'm weird!

Sometimes you round the corner and find your heart skipping a beat over a treasure you've only seen in magazines.....like this Sparking Lamp.  (See my post from a week or so ago.)  Yes...the price tag is $335.00....which also makes my heart skip...not the same way, if you catch my drift.  Or...the burled wood hand carved treen bowl, over $1000.  A thing of beauty I'll just have to admire from afar.  Did you know the term "treen" or "treenware" basically refers to an object like a bowl, spoon, platter, pedistle, etc, that has been hand carved from wood?  Burled wood is from the knot in a tree....making it a  very, very hard wood.  The knot doesn't have the straight line grain you normally see in wood, instead it's mushed and blotched together giving it a truly lovely look.  How big the knot of that tree had to be in order to carve a large bowl from it!  Remarkable.

Textiles were also well represented as with this coverlet signed and dated 1836.  Only $2850!  Isn't it a treasure?  Nope...this didn't make it home with me either, but I sure did linger, and touch, and wish, it too, could tell me its story!

 

 



 We found a few antique sewing items here and there, like the handmade pin cushion with clamp that Tara is holding.  How sweet it is!

Loved the clothes and this worn and loved Log Cabin quilt.  Sure does look like it once lived on the open prairie, doesn't it? 

I guess you could say we found some treasures to take home with us.  Best part was getting to hang out with each other, share the weekend, and do a whole lot of laughing.  Can't wait to do it all over again!

 

I will have news about my next

 

Pocket Patchwork Sew~Along

 

in my next post....so stay tuned!!

 

A Thankful Heart

 

Wishing you and your family a wonderful

Thanksgiving with many blessings to come!

 

Pam