A BUSY BEAVER

2011-10-30T16:58:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple items I purchased at the Country Living Fair. The wooden spoon was hand carved by E. Gregg Kristophel from http://www.riverwoodtradingco.com/. He had some really great stuff.

The plate on the right was made out of recycled pop cans. Each piece is hand-hammered from the recycled aluminum by experienced craftsmen. The first step is to have the design hand engraved in reverse into a block of steel using a hammer and chisel. They then place the piece of aluminum on the engraved steel and the craftsmen force the metal into the engraving, creating a forward design. After cutting the piece to the desired size, it is edged and then colored to detail. The art form is called, "repousse." I am giving this plate to my Mom for Christmas. You can see more of their items as www.AmericanForging.com

Country Living Fair 2011

2011-10-30T16:00:00.016-04:00

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Country Living Fair at Stone Mountain in GA with my husband and daughter. We had a great time. It was filled with antiques, hand crafted items, demos and of course food. Below are just some of the items that we saw at the fair. I will post a few more pictures tomorrow of a couple items I purchased. I loved the chair that was redone and also the hand-carved horse that holds up to a 500-lb adult. It takes him 3 months to make one of these horses and it is made using real horse hair and horse shoes. You can read more about him at http://rockinghorsecarver.com. The cute little trailer was redone and the picture to the right was the inside. What a nice little retreat. The girl putting the necklaces on was from the show Cash and Cari (HGTV). Of course, I had to have one. It is really versatile. You can use it as a headband, necklace or bracelet and for only $15.00, it was a great deal also. I believe they are called Snake Necklaces.

It was a beautiful Fall day and what a great way to spend it.

Wild Thing Pattern

2011-07-26T20:25:00.007-04:00

This has got to be my new favorite pattern. I have been looking at it for some time and decided to give it a try. It is so easy and fast. I have spent the last two days making a couple of baby quilts from the pattern. For the first quilt, I used mostly fabrics from My Little Pupply line by Blue Hill Fabrics. The red is from OZ by Moda and the green is from Playful Pups by Benartex.
I used four different prints for the pinwheels. I cut a 5 inch strip and was able to get all the blocks from the four different strips. Inner border was cut 2 inches and the outer border was cut 4-1/2 inches.

The second quilt is made from a layer cake by Moda. The line is by Bunny Hill Designs. I cut the 10 inch squres down to 5 inches. I then cut 2-1/2 inch strips by 8-1/2 inches for the outer borders.

A closer look at the blocks.

The quilt ended up using only about half of the layer cake, so I will spend the next few days coming up with another quilt to use up my scraps unless I decide to piece them for the backing.

Spencer makes a quilt!

2011-03-14T18:23:00.002-04:00

My grandson, Spencer, was visiting before Christmas and was extremely bored! Hmm - what to do? He then stated he wanted to make a quilt. My daughter and I looked at each other and decided to let him try. He is six! The challenge begins!

We decided to go with Moda's precut triangles so we didn't have to get out the rotary cutter. We chose Mary Engelbreit's, The Caroler, turnovers. We used two packs. I added borders using a yellow and red from the Merry and Bright line by Moda. Spencer chose a cute Christmas themed backing with mice opening Christmas presents from the Christmas Joys and Toys line by Maywood Studios.

He had fun matching the fabrics together, loved ironing, and most of all I let him take over my long arm quilting machine at the end by himself---made me a bit nervous, but he did quite well at it. We followed a panto (all-over design) to make it a little easier. It was his favorite part. Although the design got a little wonky at times (my husband said it added to the charm), it turned out rather great! He presented it to his other Grandma, Paula, at Christmas! It was a great present for both of us. Although she got the finished quilt, I have memories to last a lifetime.

Spencer makes his first quilt!

2011-03-14T18:21:00.003-04:00

2011-03-14T17:05:00.005-04:00

My Daughter's Wedding

2010-11-05T08:10:00.009-04:00

Yes, it has been quite some time since I posted on my blog. It has been an exciting summer. My daughter got married at Inlet Beach, FL on July 31st. After that we had a reception in Omaha, NE in August. It was such a great wedding and we had a fantastic time! However, I have spent the last few months playing catch-up. Many of you have seen Heather's name at the bottom of your invoices. Here is a few pictures of her day, starting with my adorable grandson, Spencer!

The picture above is my wonderful husband walking my daughter down the aisle (or beach!)

My cute Bunny!

2010-07-06T17:41:00.008-04:00

During our stay in Waynesville NC, my husband and I attended Art after Dark. We walked into Burr studio(http://www.burrstudio.com/) and I fell in love with this bunny made from pottery. It was made by a local artist, Susan Phillips, from Dillsboro, NC. She was a school teacher. Her studio is called "Fat Cat" and this little guy has the initials on his overalls.

Andon Reid Inn

2010-07-06T17:29:00.009-04:00

Our second day was spent in Waynesville NC. What a cute city and it has lots to offer with a population of only about 10,000 people. We loved the B&B we stayed in. It was the best experience we have had to date at a B&B. Ron and Rachel really know how to make you feel at home and Rachel made the best 3-4 course breakfast. Blaine said we should book another night just to experience Rachel's cooking. They have a pool table and game room in the basement along with work-out machines. Homemade cookies are served in the afternoon and the Inn Keepers are great about helping you out with suggestions of where to eat and what to do. We ate at the Chef's Table in town and all I can say is wow! Our meal was excellent!

Ron was inspired by the quilt blocks on the barns and made one for his garage. I loved it!
Blaine and I would both highly recommend this as a place to stay if you are in the area. We look forward to our return visit.

Smokey Mountains of NC

2010-07-06T13:02:00.009-04:00

My husband and I just returned from the Smokey Mountains for some much needed rest. He likes to whisk me away during my birthday each year which just happens to be around the 4th of July.

We stayed at a nice bed and breakfast in Bryson City, NC, but not before we hit the casino close by. My husband did well on the Wheel of Fortune as I preceded to lose most of his winnings. We had a great time and walked away $200 ahead. Our drive to the B&B was a bit scary as we took the road the Inn Keepers told us not to take and learned our lesson to listen to the locals. Our stay with Steve & Eva was great and the breakfast was excellent. I loved our room and the pictures above are from the Inn.

Baby quilt done!

2010-02-25T16:57:00.002-05:00

My husband wanted a quilt for a coworker that just had a baby boy. He asked me to whip one up quickly in my spare time. "What spare time?" I thought to myself. Oh well, he asked nicely. Here is what I came up with. I cut 5" squares in four bright colors and the sashing was 2-1/2" strips from a Michael Miller stripe with 2-1/2" cornerstones of a multi dot. I then added a 5" outer border and before long I was done!!! I decided a soft block ball might be fun when he gets a little older so I made a matching one for the quilt. I have a pattern available for the ball on my website. It is called "Minkee Soft Blocks" by Cotton Ginnys.

Wool Quilt

2010-02-17T08:32:00.006-05:00

I finally finished my wool applique quilt. I had it done several years ago in cotton fabric and decided to redo it about one year ago in wool. I am so glad I did. It was done on black flannel and I hand quilted it. That alone was an accomplishment. I don't hand quilt very much. I used Thermore Batting, which made it a little easier on my fingers and is nice and thin for wall hangings.

My son's First painting

2010-01-20T14:50:00.002-05:00

My son received some instruction from a professional artist and this is the result--his first painting. I love it! He let me have it and now I am off to get it framed.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-12-27T07:59:00.004-05:00

This was one of my favorite cards I received this year. It was from one of my husband's coworkers. It was created by NuArt.
"Peace on Earth"--wouldn't that be one of the best presents. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

Also, I am having a Year-End Clearance sale at my website. Lots of fabrics have been marked down. Stop over and check out the bargains.
Just click on the link located on my website and start shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T08:09:00.004-05:00

My grandson made this cute little turkey at preschool. We are so thankful for him. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoys time with family and friends.

I love this quote by Erma Bombeck:

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. --Erma Bombeck

I also wanted to let you know that my sister is giving away some great items on her blog. We all love free stuff. Just leave a comment with your favorite color and quilt pattern and they could be yours.

http://rebecka-rasmataz.blogspot.com/

New bundles arrived!

2009-11-10T13:22:00.003-05:00

Lots of new bundles and kits from Robert Kaufman have arrived. I will try and get them entered into the website this week.

I Love Fall!

2009-11-09T19:38:00.003-05:00

I just love the fall trees!

I have one Hydrangea out of 8 that has not stopped blooming. The other seven are dying and this one still thinks it's summer!

Wool Pincushions

2009-08-21T12:22:00.007-04:00

I found a wonderful lady named Ellen in Port Angeles, WA that makes these fabulous hand-crafted pincushions. She even sent me a small gift. The cute little bunny on a vintage spool of thread. How cute is she? Thank you Ellen for the thoughful gift. I LOVE IT!

Sorry, the bunny is not available for purchase, but you can find the other adorable pincushions on my website. Since these are all handcrafted, it takes a little longer to get them back in stock. Some variations will occur when reordering.

Butchart Gardens Canada

2009-08-10T18:23:00.012-04:00

My husband and I just got back from Seattle, WA celebrating our 26th wedding anniversary. While we were there we took a ferry to the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, north of Victoria in Cananda. I believe this must be what Heaven looks like. It was absolutely the most beautiful world-class gardens. The purple flowers were my husband's favorite. It is definitely a must see. I am in love with the island and would love to live there.

Holly Jolly Snowman Kit by Moda

2009-07-16T08:28:00.003-04:00

Just arrived in the store is a prepackaged kit by Moda with fabric by Kathy Schmitz. Kit includes Winter Welcome pattern by Coach House Designs and fabric for the 50" x 54" quilt top and binding. Backing not included. You will need an additional 3 yards for backing. You still have plenty of time to get it done before Winter arrives!

Heart tablerunner

2009-07-07T07:38:00.002-04:00

I finished the tablerunner yesterday and used up the rest of the fabric from the quilt. I squared up the heart blocks to 9-1/2" and cut the white and red squares at 3-1/2". I hope to have both of them quilted this week. Kits for the shop are almost cut. Pattern for heart block and quilt is from Kwik Scrappy Heart.

Stayed up late!

2009-07-06T08:30:00.003-04:00

I stayed up late last night because I was determined to get this heart quilt done. It was late and I made a couple mistakes, but it is done! One block was too small so I just added an extra strip. I decided I wasn't going to redo it and when I laid it on the floor I think it looks really cute! Anyway, I am cutting some kits for it this week and will try to get them on the website. I had extra fabric left.....So, today I think I will come up with a tablerunner to make. Two projects in one kit--how cool is that!

Mark Lipinski's Top 75!

2009-06-29T07:42:00.002-04:00

Mark Lipinski has a magazine call Quilter's Home. In this issue he has listed his top 75 websites that ever quilter should visit. I am slowing working my way through the list. I was so honored that he chose my website as #20 on his list. Thanks Mark!

Quilt Calendar 2010

2009-05-28T16:30:00.004-04:00

The new Quilt Art Calendar is out for 2010. This is a beautiful engagement calendar for keeping track of those important appointments. Klaudeen Hansen has found some of the most beautiful quilts from quilters all over the nation and has featured a different quilt each time you turn the page. I had the pleasure of machine quilting one of my favorites for Pat Current of Apple Valley, MN. Her beautiful Mariner's Compass quilt was chosen to grace the pages for the week of March 29th through April 4th. Congratulations Pat! The calendar comes with a spiral binding so it lays flat and is printed with 7-day spreads. It also has plenty of room to write notes. This would make a great gift for any quilter or for yourself.

Take Care of the Future

2009-05-20T19:28:00.008-04:00

These cute bags have just been added to our website. They are made from recycled water bottles and you can recycle them again!

They are great for lunches or used as gift bags. You can wipe them clean and there is a inner pocket for a beverage.

Cute designs by Patty Reed.

11.5''H x 10''W x 4.75''D

Love Antique Quilts!

2009-05-18T09:26:00.008-04:00

Oh my gosh, I love antique quilts! I just recently purchased this quilt top off ebay! It is in perfect shape. I am also a huge fan of scrap quilts!...so, of course, it said buy me all over it. I love to sit and look at all the wonderful fabrics. I also appreciate how the quilters back then always made do with what fabric they had by piecing their scraps together as you can see by the close up picture. I need to do this more often, but as a quilter we always love that excuse to run out and buy more fabric.

I just got in lots of new patterns by Bonnie Blue Quilts. These are great patterns to use up some scraps and if you love reproduction fabrics...you will find them twice as nice.

2009-05-11T15:19:00.001-04:00

I am not sure if you have seen this video on youtube.com, but what a hoot! It is called the Mum Song. Take a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nem0bkErGVY

Enjoy!

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands...

2009-04-16T13:51:00.003-04:00

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you are eating too slowly. ---Author Unknown

We just got back from America's Heartland, Nebraska, over the Easter Holiday. I had to bring home some of my favorite chocolates from Baker's Candies. They are the best and they go so well with quilting! I am not sure if there will be enough to last before I finish my next quilt. I will just have to call and order some more. If you want some too, here is their link:

http://www.bakerscandies.com/index.html

50th Anniversary Sampler Quilt

2009-04-07T15:35:00.007-04:00

My parents are celebrating 50 years together over the Easter holiday. We decided to make them a quilt to honor this special occasion. My sisters, niece, and my daughter each made one or two 12-inch blocks for this quilt. We used fabrics from LakeHouse and I quilted it with an all-over butterfly and flower design. I decided to add six stars to the sashing in the center to represent their six children. Congratulations to Marlus and Wayne! My dad was a farmer until he retired. I come from a talented family. My mom was always a crafter and taught all five of us girls how to sew. My brother even made a shirt once. My dad was always making things from wood or jumping in to help with our 4-H projects. Many of you have probably read my "About Me" page on my website and know that the store was named after the small creek that ran by our house. What a great place to grow up. I am sure my parents are reflecting back on all these years, and like me, realize how special they are.

2009-03-17T07:42:00.002-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I found a link to some interesting videos about this holiday. Enjoy!

Click here!

It's Raining, It's Snowing, It's Dark!

2009-03-02T07:22:00.006-05:00

It rained all day on Sunday morning in Canton, GA. The rain had turned to snow by Sunday afternoon. This is exciting since we don't see much snow in Georgia and I have been missing it (sometimes) since we moved from Minnesota. It was great until about 4 hours later and our power went out about the time it was getting dark outside. So...what do you do when the power goes out? First, you realize how much you depend on it and then we decided to play cards with my grandson. GO FISH was his game of choice. He was having a great time and commented, "this is like camping inside." After a few rounds of GO FISH we all decided since there wasn't much to do and it was really hard to see by candlelight, that going to bed would be the best thing to do in this situation. Our power did finally arrive back on sometime during the night. This morning while writing this blog, I realized it’s hard to truly appreciate something until it’s gone. They always manage to get the electricity to come back on (thank goodness), but there are lots of things in life that can't be brought back after they are gone. Let's appreciate them.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T07:57:00.006-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and fun weekend! Yesterday, my husband sent me these flowers (he's the best) and we went out to a nice Italian restaurant. Tonight, we get to spend the evening with my adorable grandson. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy!

Mitten Mitten

2009-02-13T05:53:00.005-05:00

My girlfriend in Minnesota just sent these adorable mittens to me in the mail. She goes to thrift stores and buys old wool sweaters. She then felts the wool by washing and drying it. Cuts out the mittens and lines them with fleece. They are the most comfortable mittens and so darn cute! The buttons on the cuff are perfect! You can find the pattern here: http://www.sewnews.com/pdf/hol06.pdf

Mittens

Stripes or dots or sparkling white,

Mittens in winter fit just right.

Wool and cotton, maybe leather-

Mittens warm us in cold weather.

In rainbow colors and darkest black,

Mittens fit in a pocket or in your pack.

Thumbs alone, fingers together,

We love mittens in the cold, cold weather.

Incredible Gripper

2009-02-10T22:29:00.000-05:00

I just love these new grippers. The Incredible In-Between Grippers just arrived in the store. The star under the rulers is a sample I am working on for a new table topper kit. It looks pretty easy, so I hope to have it completed soon.

Scrap Quilt for Auction

2009-02-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

I finally finished this donation quilt for our quilt guild. It is going to the Historical Society in Canton to be auctioned off. The pattern is from Bonnie Blue Quilts called "Second Hand Clothes." What a great way to use up your scraps. Members from the guild helped make the blocks and I quilted it with an all over design.