Slow Stitching

As I had planned, this summer has been busy with a lot of traveling and down time because of school break, but it's been a good one so far. My whole intention of of my Summer Garden Chuck Nohara blocks was to have a slow sewing project that can be taken almost anywhere, (well maybe except the beach) and even though sixteen blocks is no where near a quilt top finish, I'm still happy with "only" sixteen blocks. Just look how my garden has grown... It's been somewhat surprising to me that a couple of the blocks have taken so much time, but it's the detailed blocks that give the most bang for the buck. This block is becoming one of my favorites... hmm, could have something to do with the notion...

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Bee Blocks

My quilting bee really is quite a diverse group, and I really appreciate the many facets of the group... there's a German married to an Irish guy, a Swiss in Germany, a Polish girl in Denmark, two German girls who speak English just as fast as I do (if not faster) and then of course there's me... an American in Germany.  The personal stories of each bee member are just about as diverse as our tastes in quilting... which is fun to work with combinations that are different than mine. Melanie was the the last quilter who was up, so I'll start with the most recent blocks and work my way back.  Mell's vision for her quilt is a "Good Wishes" quilt... text or symbols in black on a...

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Christmas in July Take II

With two boys that are fairly close in age, I find that if I do something for one kid, that I have to do it for both kids... so this past Christmas I really wanted to give the boys something that I had made for them. I love paper piecing, and my oldest guy loves pirates... so why not combine the two? For the last three years his birthday parties have been about eye patches, treasure maps, and of course treasure hunts. Ahoy, Matie! Pirates don't exactly fit to his tractor/automobile themed room, so it was a bit of a stretch, but I knew that this guy would flip over the dangerous pirate ship that was sailing the seven seas, (free pattern found here) and I would simply be happy that it somewhat...

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#30daysoffabricstacks Take II

This the second round of the #30daysoffabricstacks challenge, and can I just say that I am truly in my element? If only actually quilting quilts would be this much fun too... hmmm. #yellow is a pretty important color in my color stash, and I love to grab a little touch of sunshine for my projects. With that being said this good mood color can sometimes be tricky to mix and match because there are so many different shades... lime, gold, primary. #handprinted. you may remember some time ago that I had shared those fabulous lampshades that I'd been drooling over for a long time... well, when I ordered them I threw a scrap pack into my cart with them. These treasured bits match my living room...

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Christmas In July

It dawned on me recently that the Christmas holiday seasons were so full, that I finished two projects that I never had a chance to share. Just when the weather is starting to warm up and one is thinking about cook outs, shorts, and swimming pools, and I'm talking about Christmas... talk about a way to make your ice melt in that perfectly chilled beverage?!? So, how about a little "where's waldo" search with me, then you might stumble onto a few background decorations that don't exactly fit in the hot weather months. Last winter I had asked my youngest son what his favorite animal was? "A Bieber, Mama" (that's beaver in German) Well, I knew exactly where I needed to go for the perfect...

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