Is this not gorgeous?

OK, I know, I have this thing about one project at a time, but I really needed something to applique to take with me today and I only have the borders on "A Little Porch Time", and it's just a little too big to take along this time.  Not only would I have threads all over me, but all over my husband, which he doesn't like so much, and all over his car, which he doesn't like so much either because next week when he's all ready to go to work in his dark suit he'll have threads all over him again and he really doesn't like that, but I say that's what the lint roller in his desk drawer is for!  Actually, he's a pretty good guy to put up with me!  Cuz guess what?  It's time to go and here I sit trying to get one more thing done before I leave!!  You can guess how much he likes that!!  Anyway, this is a new Block of the Month we are running in the shop called "Pressed Flowers" from Blackbird Designs, if you'd like to join me in making this beautiful quilt!  I've picked and the girls have cut the first four blocks so I'm behind already!  That's a pretty common phenomenon in my life!

Sorry I've been absent on my blog for a bit, but my computer have a bad virus and so did I!  It really wasn't that "milestone" birthday I had in the mean time!  I like to think of it as starting a new decade!  My youngest son, my nephew, and my oldest sister are all starting new decades along with me: 20's, 40's, 50's, and 60's!  I really like it for those few months when my nephew and I are in the same decade:  I feel young and I'm sure he feels ancient and is glad for me to "move along!"  Despite being sick, I did have a great birthday!  Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes!  And I can tell you they were all nicer than that "You aren't old till the Fat Lady sings" card my brother-in-law sent, and yes it was one of those singing cards!  It made me want to fill up my "one drink for every wrinkle" glass I received from my sister!  Not really!  Our mother turned us into a family of jokesters!  Someday I'll tell you about how they all loaded our car in the back of a wheat truck when we got married and we had to drive the truck, with the car in the back, into town to the motel after the reception, and how we were stopped by the police going through Airway Heights because all the cans tied to the back of the car were blowing out behind us and he thought we'd been drinking all that beer!  OK, Tom's reading over my shoulder!  Gotta go!  Have a great weekend!

Where it all began....

This old, primitive picket fence, turned on end, is one of my favorite decorating "finds" and displayed on it are some of my favorite quilts!  As I was thinking of listing them all for you, I realized that most of my favorite designers are also represented! So, starting at the top is "Union Moon" by Cherie Ralston, "Friendship Garden" by Blackbird Designs, one of my own favorites, "Crazy Bears", "Serendipity Sampler" by Kim Diehl, at "Young at Heart" by Brannock & Patek.  On the rocker is "Hugs N Kisses" by Sherrie Saffiote-Payne.  Both "Union Moon" and "Young at Heart" were made back in the day when I was paper piecing.  I've never liked making and cutting out templates, so I usually opted to convert a pattern to paper piecing if I could.  And, for me, since I like to use lots of plaids in my quilts, and didn't always like having the plaids going every which way and bias on the outer edges of my blocks, paper piecing wasn't a perfect piecing method for me but, to my way of thinking, it was better than the alternative of templates!  

Young at Heart



So, after paper piecing all those hexagonal hearts and stars and setting in each and every seam as I stitched the zig-zagging vertical rows together for Young at Heart, I needed to let my mind rest!  I had lots of  left over fabric, which I can't stand to waste. So as Pam likes to to tell you at our trunk shows when asked just how we came up with our "Crazy" technique of piecing, I'd been paper piecing, had a bunch of leftover fabric and decided to sew my way out of my sewing room one Christmas break. 

Which is exactly what I did and "Buggy Barn Crazies" was born!  Recognize those fabrics? And 15 years later we are still going crazy!  I use to worry about what I was going to do next; I didn't think we'd be able to keep coming up with ideas but since I'm in the middle of designing & writing our 20th book, "Still Crazy" (hopefully due out in May), I've tried to let that worry go, since stress makes me stupid and then I can't hold two thoughts together!  However, I do like to ponder and think things over. 

One of the most important things I learned in college I learned from my Fluid Dynamics professor, Dr. Watts.  He always suggested we read through the entire test before starting, and then begin and solve those problems you absolutely knew how to answer, while your mind worked on solving the ones you aren't quite sure how to answer.  And he was right!  It really works!  I'd leave the "holy crap I don't know how to do that one" questions till the end, and lo and behold, by the time I worked my way to that question, the light bulb would turn on!  So whenever Pam gives me a suggestion for a crazy, that I think is going to be impossible to cut up, it usually takes several months of pondering before the light bulb finally turns on!  Last week was a good week: the light bulb finally came on and I was able to finish up this turkey she wanted, added some gourds, and now await the "Pumpkin Pie" fabric so we can get him made up!  Having the design done and instructions written are a major victory for me and "Yes!" I get to put an big old X in the done column!  However, my chart appears to still need quite a few more of those "X's"!!  So best I get back to work!  Happy Quilting!

p.s. my Pumpkin Pie strike offs just arrived!  Don't you think Mr. Tom will look so much better made out of these?



My fingers are itching.....

I brought this kit home, and with the new snow today, my fingers are itching to break it open and get started on my "Snowflakes" quilt.  It's a wonderful combination of gray plaid homespuns (that unfortunately look cream in the photo, sorry!) and wool; it's sitting on my counter calling my name....Unfortunately, so are about a dozen other things!! 

Pam finally  got tired of waiting on me and she took over the "Merry Christmas Quilt" that was also sitting on my counter.  It's so cute!  We are running it as a block of the month; here's our first month, the first row, and the first month's kits are ready to go home with you!  It should be on the site later this week!

Meanwhile, I continue to work on new projects for our next book, new fabric lines, and in the evenings I can sit and stitch on my last section of "A Little Porch Time".  But I just might have to set it aside so I can break into that Snowfalke kit!  Will keep you posted! Just FYI, I hope everyone realizes that the words in blue are links to our website; you should be able to click on the words and they will take you where you need to be!  Happy Quilting!

Happy Valentine's Day!



Heart Crazies

 I hope you'll all be spending time with those you love this Valentine's Day!  Our kids want to go to dinner tomorrow, and so, knowing my husband, that's gonna count for Valentine's Day!  So, in case you'll be like me and have a date with your sewing machine, Pam & I decided, at the last minute of course, that it would be nice to offer you all a discount on our heart quilts!  So between now and Feb 14th,Valentine's Day, place an order on line or by phone for any heart pattern, kit, or book with a heart pattern and you will receive a 14% (Feb 14th!) discount on those items.  You'll also receive the discount on these items in the shop on Monday.  Just to help you out, I can think of these two pictured plus
 "Crazy About Hearts and Stars", "Heather", "Hearts", and "Circle of Love".  Oh- and how could I forget "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"?  I"m sure there must be more....but this gives you an idea; we have both traditionally pieced hearts and our crazies to choose from!  Happy Valentine's Day!



Blaze's Heart


This is a quilt I did when my nephew, Blaze, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.  He's good now, cancer free, but this is still one of my favorites!  It's a small quilt, traditionally pieced, and would make a great baby blanket.  I'm saving it for my grandchildren, that I don't yet have!  But some day!   Did you also know that it's American Heart Month?  So I guess I better go get on the Nordic Track and be good to my heart!  I can't wait until the weather is nice and I can exercise outside!  But for now, we have great quilting weather so it's off to the Torture Track I go!  Happy Quilting!

Hey! That's my line!



"Convenience" quilt yardage from "Pumkin Pie"

 There's nothing better than taking a moment and sitting down with my favorite quilting magazine, American Patchwork & Quilting.  I didn't have a moment but wanted to find the quilt our friend Eileen Houchin had published (congratulations, Eileen!)  in the April edition.  So as I was flipping through, I noticed they have added "Expert tips" on some of the sidebars and saw a picture of our friend Cherie Ralston so stopped to read what she was recommending.  As I continued down the column, I read "If you can bind, you can applique" and thought, "Hey! That's my line!" and guess what? It was!  I'm such a dork! But really, it's true!   If you can sew on binding, then you can applique. I love to piece, but I also love to applique.  Not only is applique portable, but it's easy to pick up and set down.  It was perfect when I was a young mother of two busy boys!  There's no "Now where was I?" with applique because I was right there where I left my needle!  Even though I'm a one project at a time kind of girl, I still have both a piecing project and an applique project going at the same time. If you've been afraid of applique, click on the YouTube links under the header for more applique tips.  Part 1 is mostly about the tools, Part 2 about preparation, and part 3 is stitching and tips.  For those of you who really don't want to applique, we have a "cheater" fabric in our "Pumpkin Pie" fabric line that's due to hit the stores in May.  We think it'll be great for backings, too!  But speaking of applique.....

Here is Gloria's current applique project, "Evening Bloom", another Block of the Month that she is making for us.  Isn't it tempting?  This one has large pieces which are usually easier to applique: no tiny star points in this one!  It's going to be a beautiful quilt!  The background fabrics are from French General and are just beautiful.

And if you don't like needle turn applique, what about wool applique?  No turning under required!  This is a wool applique project that Donna just finished up- she sure has been a busy bee!  Here she is with "I'll be Home for Christmas".  This is another kit I'll be taking home with me!  She and Lynda picked the wool for this project, and they've been teaming up on several different wool projects, including "Sheep in the Willows" and "Barn Chicks".  Aren't we all lucky to have such talented ladies at the Barn!  Happy Quilting!

This will brighten your day!

We just received another completed  "Down in the Garden" block in the mail from our stitcher extraordinaire, Valerie.  With all those wonderful flowers, working on this project is sure to help you beat the winter time blahs!  She has eight of the nine blocks done, so just one more to go!  Here are a few more of the blocks just so you have a bit better picture; the center block will be the one with the verse.  Doesn't she do nice work? 

Some of you know that my mom use to do our stitching for the barn until she lost her vision.  She use to take such tiny stitches and she always said it was because as she was learning to stitch, she would always take her sample to show her dad and get his opinion.  He always replied that it was pretty good but that the stitches could be smaller.  So off she'd go to take it all out and start over again.  As an adult, she often wondered if he really thought her stitches were too big, or if her folks just didn't have the money during the depression to by her more supplies.  Either way, her stitches remained small and she's left us with some wonderful pieces.  Here's one of my favorites right next to my computer screen!  More flowers!  I must really be wishing for spring!  It's just that season of mud that we have to endure before winter turns to spring!  I think I need to reevaluate and be more selective about what I wish for! 

You Rest You Rust



Sweet Birdie Needle Keep-front


I really need to learn to say "No"! Not only just say it, but mean it!  Instead, I find myself thinking "I can probably fit that in...." but really, where exactly did I think it was going to fit in?  I make my husband crazy because, for instance, he's putting his coat on so we can leave, and he's kinda slow (actually he's probably just normal!) and I think I'm pretty speedy so while I'm waiting for him, I can always find that one last thing that I can get done before we leave so he ends up waiting for me with a "I thought you said you were ready!"  My lists are many, and many seem endless!  I have a list, a spread sheet actually, for the projects in our next book.  I really like to put those  X's  in the columns, first when I get the insert done, then the instructions, the diagrams, and finally the quilts! Unfortunately, it only has two X's on it currently! I have a list of the fabric lines I'm working on, what stage each is in,  and who needs what from me,  and then I just have my everyday perpetual "don't forget to do this/this needs done" list that is a rather depressing list of to-do items that never seems to get any shorter!  Yes it's true, I do get the great pleasure of crossing off  the items at the top of the list, but I find I've added how many more to the bottom of the list?  Ugh! 



Sweet Birdie Needle Keep-inside


I told Pam that this cute "Sweet Birdie Needle Keep" was the last sample I was working on for the barn right now; I just had to get busy with the next book.  Donna and Lynda even did the stitchery for me!  But notice all that clutter and my basket of wool in the background.....this brings me to the "I need to learn to say "No" portion  of my rant since no sooner had I said "No more!" than I decided it wouldn't take much to get the project done (as in design, make, and write instruction for) to be included in a new primitive lovers magazine "Primitive Quilts & Projects" set to launch with it's first quarterly edition in April!  What was I thinking?  Correct, I wasn't thinking very clearly while looking through those rose-colored glasses!  We are very flattered that they asked us, and that they like our project and are including it in their magazine which I can't wait to read, but like my mom use to say, "I need another thing to do like I need a hole in the head!" and I really should have that head examined!  But it's done, it's cute, and best of all, it's crossed off my list!  I did ask if I could share a sneak peek with you all, but I guess you'll just have to wait for April! I'll be sure and let you know as soon as it's out. 

So now it's on to the next item on my list which is getting a post done!  There where a few others in between but who's counting?  Anyway, I wanted to show you what Pam has been working on, her "Gathering Baskets" from Needle Love.  We are running it as a block of the month but we did change up the color a bit from the book.  I think it's looking marvelous, but as usual, it's way better in person!  

I've also been practicing my ice skating every morning on the way to the Barn.....not!  That's one serious ice flow and instead of taking my life in my hands, and perhaps breaking one of those hands that I need for crossing all those items off my lists, I've been driving to work every morning....sad but true!  Hope you all are enjoying your new year and now it's off to bed for me just as soon as I cross this one last thing off my list!  Happy Quilting!