Spring Tulips are growing in my sewing room!

I must have a gazillion projects in progress but the comforting part is that I am never bored. This is a good thing because in this land of “winter that won’t end”, I always have something to do!! LOL!! Like today when I started a new project from a pattern I did a few years ago - the tulip penny rug in the picture. I wanted to test my directions so I was working through the project for my Wooly Buddies group.............and so............. I gathered up my supplies………

and after some serious indecision on what wool color to use for the scalloped background ...................... I finally ended up with the piece you see in the picture and it's all ready to stitch. :-) I am liking the colors I chose and will be using some new threads from TheGentleArt to do the embroidery on the penny rugs. I learned of their threads from Jacquelynne at theNobleWife and had to check them out. Their colors are gorgeous and I look forward to getting more colors for a lot more penny rugs that are on the drawing board.
Tulips will also show up in the Seasons of the Heart block for April and the Snowman block, too. As noted last night, I hope to have those available for you by the end of the week. I am a bit behind which is often the case for me because I get involved in so many things. But it's also because sometimes life things go on that don't need to be blogged about but are part of life. So sometimes the road is not always smooth but it makes the journey interesting. I am just glad to be blogging, to be able to stitch both projects and stitch together new friendships. My kids are doing well and so is my mom and I get to see my grandson more since we moved here. I am blessed. Thanks to all of you who seem to enjoy reading my blog.

It's that time......light's out!

See you tomorrow.
Sandi

Change is in the Wind!!

Looks like March will go out like a Lion here in Minnesota. The weatherman is predicting some more snow for us and could be a little windy!
So speaking of wind, there is "change in the wind" that will be coming to my blog. I have been working on some things that will make it easier to share the monthly block of the month designs and other needlework patterns that I love to design, plus some lovely vintage designs that are just waiting to "see the light of day". I will be working as fast as I can to set up this new process and should have it finished so that you can access any block all year long. More information will be available in the next few days and I expect to be able to post the April blocks by the end of the week. The easiest part of offering these free designs is the sketch and the finished block. The hard part is the technical side of loading it and offering it to all of you who want to do the BOM series. If all goes as planned this will work so much more efficiently and you will be assured of getting each month's block. Stay tuned plus, I will send an e-mail with the "change in the wind" info to everyone who has signed up to receive the "Seasons of the Heart" BOM patterns.
Thanks much......
Sandi

Gas Station Dolls!

I'm still on last weekend and the visit with my mom.......I always bring lots of bags with me full of projects and then I shop while I'm there so I end up with lots of bags to keep track of and at some point one of my bags from the thrift shop got tucked behind my suitcase. I discovered it late last Saturday night and here's what was in it........

Red Riding Hood!

Scarlett O'Hara!

and the Coronation Doll!!

I bought them for my mom and paid just $7.00 for all three of them. She has always loved dolls - so do I - and these were in such good condition that I knew she'd like them. When I took them out of the bag, she said "oh, those look like gas station dolls that you used to get when you'd fill your car with gas." All I remember getting with gas purchases was free glasses at Holiday and that was many years ago!! LOL! Anyway, I have a couple of these dolls from when I was a kid and they were old then and didn't have their original clothes so I made clothes for them. These dolls are in their original outfits complete with the staples that hold them in place. I'm guessing the Coronation Doll is in celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Red Riding Hood never looked so fine as she does in that red polka dot dress. The little doll is not the cutest but her dotted swiss dress just made me think of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind!! There are no markings on the dolls so I have no clue to their manufacture. They just called my name when I saw them on the shelf. ;-) That's the last of the items I found at the Country Peddlar Thrift Shop in Algona, Iowa.

I've been on the computer a lot today so time to close the door on it. Had lots of new members join my Wooly Buddies group. If you like working with wool or want to learn more about it, click on the Tulip Penny Rug on my sidebar and it will take you to the homepage for Wooly Buddies. It's a fun group!!

Back tomorrow night.....

Sandi

Let there be light!

Today was a much more productive day. After a good night's sleep, I definitely felt better and got several things done on my "to do" list for home. Then I ran errands in the afternoon and off to our crazy quilting meeting where we had a great time as we always do. More on that later. Have a couple more things to share related to my weekend in Iowa and Hobby Lobby.

Here's the scoop.....

My mom had these two cute little lamps that sit on each side of her bed. However they were always falling over at the slightest touch. So when we were at Hobby Lobby, I picked up two round wood bases for just $.99 each plus some paint and glue. I painted the bases with the metallic black paint (two coats) and let them dry overnight. Then.........

and I realize this picture is very dark......I glued the bases to the bottom of each lamp and poof!! no more tipsy lamps!! And the lamps even look better!!
We thought it looked so good that I just had to share our cleverness. LOL!!
Sandi

Dinner at the Nifty 50's and more...........

First, let me say that I did almost nothing today. I think I was a slug. Or perhaps I am a steam engine who has lost it's steam. LOL! Whatever the case may be, I accomplished almost nothing and capped the evening off with a trip to Menard's for basement bathroom lights, etc. with my husband. How's that for exciting? We even stopped to eat supper at Taco John's so it got even more exciting!
And speaking of food, this post is titled "Dinner at the Nifty 50's" so I best tell you where that is.
Check it out in the photo below...........

If you are passing through (or are near) the little town of Lehigh, Iowa and you'd like a good burger and fries or the Sunday dinner (ham or pork loin and all the fixings) that my mom and I enjoyed this past weekend, well, you should stop at the little cafe on Main Street called "Nifty 50's". Don't be deceived by the empty stools. There are folks on the left that I couldn't include in the photo because I didn't know them and wasn't sure I wanted to interrupt their dinner to ask if they would mind being on my blog.

From the Nifty 50's we went on to the Care Center to visit friends. Coffee hour is at 2:00 so I had brought along some of my Irish tea cakes that I had put in the freezer just so I could bring them along. My mom bought a cinnamon brunch cake at Wal-mart that was incredibly delicious! Everyone enjoyed the goodies and we had a nice visit. That's my mom, Mary, in the photo above and her friend, Jean, to her left. Also visiting that day were Lucy (left) and cousin Shirley (holding the coffee cup). Jean reads my blog so "Hi Jean!!"

As you walk out of the dining area this quilt rack is along the wall and every so often the quilt is changed. I liked this elongated churn dash pattern. And yes, it's a walk down Memory Lane when we visit there. I love good memories and sharing them. That's precisely why I called my pattern business, Pleasant Memories. I consider myself blessed to have so many pleasant memories to recall. :-)

Very tired tonight so I am "hitting the hay" before midnight! How can that be? Thinking that a good night's rest might mean more energy for me for tomorrow!

Sandi

Emma's Hope Update

Just a quick update on blocks for the "Emma's Hope" fundraising quilt..........here are a few blocks that have come in the last few days................

The blocks above are from Rhonda and the blocks below come from Pat, Kaye and Sherry.

The Ohio Star block in the photo below is from Claire's mom in Ohio and one will come soon from Claire, too. She is a cancer survivor (as are a couple others who have sent blocks). Then there are two bow tie blocks from Katherine in British Columbia and a block from Pat just east of here in Le Center, MN.

Yesterday, there was a fairly large box left on the front porch by the mailman and when I opened it I found the beautiful, plush bathtowel you see in the photo below. It's even embroidered with Emma's name. Virginia in Oregon sent this so if you are reading this please e-mail me so I can send thanks. She also sent the two 6 1/2" quilt blocks you see on the towel and she sent this lap-sized quilt top, too!!! Thank you!! I called Connie, Emma's grandma and had her come by tonight to pick up the towel and the quilt top, plus show her all the blocks that have come in so far. Deadline for me to receive the blocks is April 10th! Send me an e-mail if you need my address.

Next week, Emma and family will be taking a trip to San Diego that is granted by the Make-a-Wish Foundation. If you want to read more about Emma you can go to www.hopeforsweetemma.com/ . Thanks to all of you that have made and sent blocks and for those still on their way!

Sandi

EDIT: Next post on Emma's Hope project will come next Friday, April 3rd. I am still taking blocks if you want to make one for the quilt that will offered at Silent Auction on May30th. It's a fundraiser to help with medical costs for Emma. Check out the link posted above for more info. I need to receive the blocks by April 10th. Thanks again!!

The Lions Club Breakfast and more Hobby Lobby....

So, when I left off last night I said I had more to tell about our shopping adventure at Hobby Lobby. You see, there was this sale going on and all sorts of stuff was 50% off. My mom wanted some shelves for her living room and found just what she wanted and they were 50% off. I found a little wicker footstool with a faux leather top that lifts off that I had been wanting and it was 50% off. Then we found some decorator goodies at 80% off!! The nice thing was that the items we had on our list were on sale. Usually when I have a list, the items I need were on sale the week before I hit the store. I really like Hobby Lobby and could spend a small fortune in that place. We ate dinner at the local Hy-Vee deli and I had one of Iowa's best tenderloins. :-) Then it was grocery shopping and home to put it all away.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Lions Club Breakfast. It was a fundraiser for Dollars for Scholars.
That's Donnie, one of my mom's neighbors smiling as he takes our order. It was eggs, sausage and pancakes and it was deeeelicious.

After breakfast I walked across the street and out onto the bridge to take a picture of the river. It's the Des Moines River and it runs right through my old home town of Lehigh. The photo above is looking to the south.......

And this photo above is of the dam, to the north. The old pier is all that's left of the old bridge that was replaced in the late 50's. When I was a kid we walked to school everyday and that walk across the bridge - whether it was the old one or the new one - was always a cold walk and you liked to hurry from one side to the other.

In the afternoon, I hung the shelves for my mom in her apartment and then it was such a lovely day that we went outside and did some work in her little rock garden.........

I rolled all these rocks away and cleared leaves, then put my mom's favorite yard ornaments back in place. My sister helped with this a couple of weeks ago and now the only thing missing is perhaps a bit of flowers.

Since we had worked up an appetite, this is what we ate for dessert at dinner. My mom picked it up at Wal-mart. It was two slices of "Chocolate Champagne Cake", one for each of us. I don't think there was any champagne in it which was fine with me because chocolate is my champagne!! :-)

There's still a little more to tell about my Iowa visit but that will come tomorrow.

As far as today went ............ well, it rained. It started as mist in the morning. I had a meeting to go to and by the time I returned late afternoon, I was driving through heavy rain. I had been home about a half hour when the rain finally stopped and the sun peeked out. I looked out the kitchen window and here's what I saw...........

GREEN Trees!! They are covered in moss. Now that may be common in southern states, but I don't ever remember seeing the trees green with moss here in Minnesota. You can see the grass is turning green, too. Guess what, though?........ Snow is in the forecast for later on this week and very cold over the weekend. I don't mind. I have block of the month work to do so I can get the April blocks posted on time. I received more Emma blocks today. If you signed up to send a block for the Emma's Hope project, I need the blocks by April 10.

Time to turn out the lights.

Sandi

Great weekend and some thrift shop fun!

Well, I've returned from my visit with my mother and it was a very busy weekend. It will take me every day this week to tell you about our weekend. I was planning to post last night but I was too tired.

I left Friday morning and it was a beautiful day. And so, what did I find on my way to Iowa? Well, the scenery wasn't much at this time of year because everything is so brown and blah. The snow has melted and the sun was shining and it was warm so in just a few weeks it will be green and lovely when I make my next trip. When I take 169 south, I have all these favorite places that I pass. Are you like that on a trip? Do you watch for some certain old barn or pretty valley that you pass through? I sure do. I think if my car were a horse, it would know the way by heart as we have traveled this route for so many years. I have stopped many times to take pictures of favorite barns or cows, even corn in the field!! But since there was no scenery for picture taking, I thought you might like to see what I found at the thrift shop. I stopped at The Country Peddler, just north of Algona, Iowa. I knew I needed to get out and stretch and what better place to do it than there? I was looking for wool items (skirts, sweaters, etc.) to felt and use in penny rugs. Didn't find a single thing but I found these..........














When I saw these little reproduction clothespin bags, I thought "how cute"!! When I saw the price, I thought "they're mine!" They are homemade, very nicely done, and were only $3.00 each!!! The one on the left is for me and I gave the one on the right to my mom. She likes chickens and roosters and loved this one!
I found a few other things that you can see in the photo below.................

I rummaged through the fabrics and trims and came up with these treasures. And then I found that lovely strand of pearls. They are gorgeous! The clasp says "Japan" on it and the tag said $3.00. Yep, they're mine! ;-)


I also found these three teacups for just 50 cents each. The fabric is from Hobby Lobby. That's where my mom and I went shortly after I arrived at her place. We visited a bit and then left to go do some shopping and get groceries for her. We both love Hobby Lobby!!! And since I can't resist fabric, I just had to have some of it! I think it will make a pretty table runner.

I also found this cupcake fabric at Hobby Lobby. I picked up the magazine at the grocery store as the fabric is almost identical to what I found at HL. I think it'll be great for a little project for a birthday cake mat. :-)

There's more to tell about our shopping adventure at Hobby Lobby but that's all for now.
Sandi

Emma block update.......received three more 12 1/2" blocks and twenty 6 1/2" blocks. Will take photos tomorrow.

Happy First Day of Spring!!

Happy First Day of Spring! Look above and see my colorful penny rug that says “Spring is here!” Remembering that this is Minnesota, though, the possibility for snow is still quite likely. However, look below and you might think it's still Christmas. That's because My lighted garland was still along the front porch and my teddy bear wreaths were still hanging on each side of the garage. I decided it was time to take them down and went out to do it and thought, "picture time"! All winter long the wind whipped both wreaths around and most of the time they were facing the wall as they were today............or could it be the bears are just embarrassed that it’s March and my Christmas decorations are still up!! :-)

Of course, I can always say it’s because I am “keeping Christmas all year long this year” but we know that’s not the case. It was just too cold to go out and take them down until this past week when we got several days of 50 degree weather. I've hung these wreaths for almost 15 years! Every year, I add new ribbons, and glue the bears a bit more then reshape the wreath, mist it with glitter and poof! looks like new. They're looking a little "bent out of shape" but I'll tweek them again next year and they'll be good as new.

Now, speaking of Christmas things.............I am not doing a very good job of posting my “once a month ornament" and I am behind in updating my BOM list and I have not posted anymore on the CQ exhibit. This is not good. I'm always asking for patience with me and so, again, I ask "be patient". All that I have, I give for free so if you can wait a few days all will eventually be posted.

I need to visit my mother and so will not be blogging for a few days. I'm leaving hubby and Kaiser at home so I can take my mother for some shopping and help her do a few things in her apartment.

I’ll get the BOM list updated and those of you waiting for the past blocks will finally get them by the end of next week just in time for April's blocks to be posted. I have a cute Snowman with tulips all ready for just a few adjustments and then I can post him or her. Then the Christmas ornaments will come right after that as they sort of have an Easter connection because it involves clay.

I’ll be back on Monday to share the fun stuff we do over the weekend and the goodies I may find at the Thrift Shop and the quilt shops I have to pass on my way to my mom’s!! And don't forget......It's National Quilting Day on Saturday so treat yourself to some special project or a trip to your favorite quilt shop or a gathering with friends!!

Have a great weekend!!

Sandi

Update on blocks for Emma's Hope project.......

Here's a quick update on the blocks that have come in so far for the Emma's Hope fundraising quilt..................

The four blue and navy blocks are from Kathy in British Colombia......the two 12 1/2" blocks with white backgrounds are from Denny in PA and the four 6 1/2" blocks with white backgrounds are from Crispy in ND. Then the two red and the two navy 6 1/2" blocks are from Heather in northern MN (and I think it gets cold here in southern MN - don't even like to think what it's like where she lives!!). The 6 1/2" block in the far left corner is from Jackie in nearby Arlington, MN and my block is the one 2nd from left in the top row. The blocks will not lay out like this. I was just laying them out to see how they might look. I know of about a dozen more blocks that will be headed my way so it will be interesting to see how it all lays out.

I've been a bit busy this week working on a Wooly Buddies project plus I did a little program for the local Women's Club group on Tuesday morn. They titled the program "Gifts galore to share" so I brought a basket overflowing with projects from miniatures to penny rugs and quilts and poems that I've written and tied it all together into a neat little program. It went well and was a good chance to know what I will bring to the next program I do which is for the Women's Club in my hometown of Lehigh, Iowa at the end of April. Then just a few days later, I'll be doing one in nearby St. Peter, MN for their quilt guild. I am so excited to share my projects and poems. Sometimes my projects make others smile and then that makes me smile to know that I have made them smile and well, it's contagious. :-) see :-) smiles and more smiles. :-) another one! Okay, getting a little silly. Might be time for me to go to bed.

Part of why I am so late is that I started reading a little book that I was going to read at Christmas time and never got to. It's called The Christmas Wish by Richard Siddoway. It was so good. I started reading it and couldn't put it down so curled up in my sewing chair, relaxed and read til I finished it!!

Time to turn out the lights!!
Sandi

A little edit.... Blocks you see in this photo arrived in the mail today from Deanna in MN, Kathy in British Columbia, Holly in Florida and Linda in Georgia. When the quilt is finished, I will post exactly who made which blocks with a diagram for all who participated.

Wishing you...............

a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I have a trio of Irish themed items to share for a wee bit of show 'n tell. This piece is one that I appliqued sometime in the early 1980's (before I discovered fusible web). It's sort of Pennsylvania Dutch-like but it's just a design I drew and then cut the pieces and stitched them in place with really tiny blanket stitching. It measures about 10" in diameter.

And then I thought I'd share this heart that my friend Kate gave me for I love the saying on it.......... "A friend is one to whom you may pour out all the contents of your heart, chaff and grain together knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
Isn't that a lovely sentiment? She got the heart at a craft show and I treasure it along with her friendship. I am lucky to have a friend like Kate and a whole lot of others that fit this saying so well. Some are longtime friends, some are new friends, some are friends for a short time and then move on, some are near and some are far but everyone is cherished.

And one last thing to share is one of my favorite penny rugs. In the late 1990's I learned through some genealogy records that my great great great grandfather Issaac Linn was born in Ireland. I honor that heritage with the shamrocks and the daintly white flowers that are surrounded by 36 lucky gold coins. The piece is made from wool and the gold coins are a vintage piece of wool given to me by my mother-in-law. I drew the design in 2002 and made the piece in 2003.

And there you have it. A trio of green things for St. Pat's Day. Hope you all have a lovely one!!

Sandi

There's more Irish good wishes over at my tea blog so just click here and you will find a little shamrock pattern you can stitch for next year. :-)

It's been a great day......

as the snow melts away!!

That's as exciting as it got today. Well, that and the fact that the spring weather must have had everyone in the mood to be out and about. I couldn't find a place to park when I went to church and the ushers ran out of bulletins because there were so many folks in church. And that is an exciting thing! :-)

I played in my fabric all afternoon, did a little sewing, too - finished the pincushion I started in the extension program from Thursday night (go here for more on the pincushion) and did some crazy quilting. That reminded me to give my friend Deanna a call so we could chat about a crazy quilting project for the Victorian home at The Landing. Then I had to think about what to fix for supper so I made goulash (anyone interested in the recipe?) and baking powder biscuits. Very nummy. Then we - hubby and I - sat down to watch "Desperate Housewives". Tomorrow night we'll tune in to "Dancing with the Stars". Wow, as I said, not too exciting around here. :-)

No other news to report. Hope you all had a goooooooooooood weekend!!


Sandi

The Joy of Handwork!

That was the title that the coordinator gave to a program that I did last evening for a local County Extension group. I liked it alot!! There really is joy in handwork and here are the photos to prove it. Loads of smiles, lots of laughter throughout the evening and some tasty treats, too!! The program was actually just a little class on making my Turkish Rose Pincushion. I brought along a few penny rugs and other items in wool just so they could see the fun things one can create with wool or woolfelt and lots of thread and hand stitching. Initially, I was going to make up kits but I decided instead to bring my basket of woolfelt (National Nonwovens Centennial colors) and let everyone choose their own colors. We all enjoyed seeing how different each pincushion looked in the various colors chosen.


Once the woolfelt colors were chosen, it was time to choose thread colors. Again, I just brought my entire basket of Perle cotton so everyone could choose the color they preferred. I also brought my embroidery floss in case it was needed but my personal preference is to use Perle cotton on my woolfelt projects.
That's my friend, Joanie on the left and Sharon on the right and I can't recall the name of the lady in the center. I do recall that she was a very good handstitcher and very helpful to the ladies at her table!!


This is the table she was at and I took this while she was still selecting threads. Everyone was very busy working on their pincushions. Most of the ladies were new to me but I had met Gayle (dark green shirt in the middle) when we both enjoyed a German dinner and music in Henderson last summer. We were all treated to lime green punch, green sherbert and sugar cookies by Mary the coordinator. The sherbert was really, really good!

Sharon and Sylvia are very focused on their stitching and so is Shirley. She's happy with her colors. I was, too. I wanted to make one in every color combo that they all chose!!

It turns out I had also met Jackie (below)at the Henderson Library quilt shows last fall. All evening, I kept thinking "I know her from somewhere" and thankfully, she solved the puzzle for me. LOL!! Here she is with her pieces that are stitched and ready to become a pincushion.

Big smiles here.....first finished pincushion!!!

If you want to make a pincushion and smile, too, go over to my pincushion blog MommasPrettyPincushions and you'll find the pattern for the Turkish Rose Pincushion. If you are interested in a woolfelt kit, just e-mail me for more info at stitchinglegacy @ gmail (dot) com.

My friend, Joanie, has the most wonderful smile and is just the nicest person you could ever get to know. She also has a wonderful laugh. I've written about her before as she has a wonderful gift for floral arranging and beautiful gardens at her home. She doesn't do much sewing but she did fine on her pincushion. That's her daughter-in-law Nicole who also came to the program. If Nicole is as lucky as I was in the "mother-in-law department" then she has the best "mother-in-law ever". In all the years I knew my mother-in-law, Ora, she never said an unkind word to me. Now my husband agreed to that but also agreed that she probably chastised him a time or two............but well, this is about pincushions.......so back to the subject at hand.

Here's one more finished pincushion and Joanie must have been color coordinating it with her outfit. If I had been thinking, I would have lined up the color selections so you could see how different they all looked.

The evening was great fun and I especially enjoyed it as it was the first teaching session I've done in over a year. With all the family health issues and the passing of my dad, it just wasn't possible to schedule classes or programs. I have another program coming up in just four weeks then one four days after that so there's more fun to come!

Sun is shining here today and temps are in the 30's. We are to be in the 40's all next week so I am hanging up the winter coat til next season!! Won't get out the shorts and sandals yet but I hope this is "bye-bye winter"!!!

Have a great weekend!!

Sandi

Polka Dot Snow!!

First thing, thank you to all of you who have e-mailed me that you will make blocks for a fund-raising quilt for Emma. I deeply appreciate that you will take time to make and send blocks and I know Connie, Emma and family will be, too.
Some of you may know that here in Minnesota, we got more snow yesterday. It started here as freezing rain/slush, then snow, then wind, and then more wind all night long!!! I was glad to not have to go out. About 9:00 last night, I was finishing up in the kitchen when I looked over at the door and this is what I saw. Well, it was "Polka Dot Snow" and, of course, I grabbed my camera.

Does that look cool or what? By morning the effect was gone so I am glad I captured it on film. The wind finally died down but the cold stayed and my sewing room didn't warm up til mid-afternoon!! Good grief, Spring must be out there somewhere!! Seriously, though, my thoughts and prayers were with anyone who had to be driving last night because it was not a good night to be on the road.
As much as I don't like having to go out in the snow, I do like the feeling of being "snowed-in". I also don't mind the sound of the wind as long as I am not out driving or walking in it. I do have to wonder, though, just how did our forefathers and mothers survive in these places in the winter. Probably they did it because they weren't as used to furnaces and air conditioners like we are. :-) So that I could watch the snow and listen to the wind, I decided to sit in the living room and sew and organize my crazy quilting stuff. After a while my fingers got cold because the heat went down for the night, but I got everything back in order and am ready for our next crazy quilting meeting. If you want to follow along with our crazy quilting exhibit and activities you can go here and read along.
Since my sewing room was so cold, I decided to start earlier in the day with the goodies I baked for my "Tea and Stitches" post. If you go here you can read what kept me warm this afternoon.
That's all for now. I need to collect my supplies for a program I'll be doing for a County Extension group tomorrow evening. More on that later. And there is Wooly Buddies fun to plan as we are doing a Spring Eggs Wool swap and tomorrow I will post partners and it will be fun to see what "eggs-tra special things" everyone receives. :-)
Have a good day.
Sandi

Emma's Hope

I have a special request today. During my blogging journey I have met many wonderful bloggers and enjoyed many fun swaps. During that time I have also come to know my postlady, Connie, very well! Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago, I told you about Connie's seven year old granddaughter, Emma, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Plans are in the making for a fundraiser to help with medical costs and Connie has asked if I could collect blocks from my blogging friends that would make a really unique quilt. The finished quilt will be sold then at auction. So, if you are reading this and you would like to contribute a block, please e-mail me. The blocks need to be in the colors of red, blue, white, maybe some green and a little purple. No orange or pink. You may make 6 1/2" blocks of any design or you may make the block 12 1/2" in size (4 patch, 9 patch, anything) . I see a plan in my head, so I know it will work out when the blocks come together. For my friends who know me and wish to send a block, thanks in advance. You all have my address. For those who need my address, please go to my profile and click on my e-mail address to send a message. I need to receive the blocks by April 10th, 2009. Many thanks for any help you can offer.
Sandi

Note: The Emma's Hope pic shown above is a jpeg file and if you wish to copy and post it to your sidebar that would be great, then link back to this post. My e-mail address is stitchinglegacy @ gmail (dot) com.

And I forgot to mention that when the blocks come in and then they become a quilt top, there is a group of ladies just waiting to begin hand-quilting it!! Thanks to all of you that have said you will send blocks. It's very much appreciated!!!

March Block of the Month is here!!

Finally, they're here........the March "Seasons of the Heart" blocks!!

In the picture above you can see that I choose a pretty dark green print for the shamrock. I fused it to the background fabric and buttonhole stitched around it in a lighter green thread. I followed that with an outline border in a darker green. All of these blocks are fairly simple but can be enhanced with as much or as little embellishment as you wish.

The pages above and below are the pattern pages. I'll be embroidering the words on strips of fabric that will be added to the blocks. I was planning to give you the info on that this month. It will have to wait til April. Just concentrate on making blocks right now. You may not want to do the word part and it is not necessary to do that part as you are doing the blocks.

And here's the Snowman of the month for you. He's sending off an Irish greeting just for you!

You can stitch him in Redwork, trace and color him, cut the pieces from wool and applique......remember, just use your creativity and do what suits your fancy!!!

For those of you who have requested that the files be e-mailed to you, I'll be adding the names to the list from those who signed on this past week and will send those files tomorrow/Monday.

Have a good Monday!!

Sandi