Lazy days, not much sewing.

Encouraging words of the day:

For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT

We’re still at our ranch in the Texas Hill Country so I’m doing that scene lately.  This enjoyment of nature sure takes me away from my sewing maching.  We’ll be traveling to Ft. Worth tomorrow so I’ll have more hand-sewing and sight-seeing time.  I’ve been doing very little sewing on my machine but have made 2 paper-pieced blocks from Carol Doak’s book.  Photos later. 

It’s “One Flower Wednesday.”  I’ve made 3 flowers.  These road trips make for quality hand-sewing time.

Giveaways I've run into while checking blogs:

"Bee in My Bonnet" is having a giveaway of two sets of 22 fat quarters. Ends March 19^th.

"From the Blue Chair" is giving away 75 charm squares.  Ends March 21^st.

 "Churchill Park Studio" is having a jelly roll giveaway.  Ends March 21^st.

 "Jackie's Art Quilts"is having a giveaway of 4 spring-like fat quarters.  Ends March 31^st.

That is all.

Hunting in the Hill Country

Encouraging words of the day:

For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT

A little more on feedsacks:

By the late 1930s there was competition to produce the most attractive and desirable prints. Artists were hired to design these prints. This turned out to be a great marketing ploy as women picked out flour, sugar, beans, rice, cornmeal and even the feed and fertilizer for the family farm based on which fabrics they desired. Some sacks displayed lovely border prints for pillowcases. Scenic prints were also popular. Manufacturers even made pre-printed patterns for dolls, stuffed animals, appliqué and quilt blocks.  By the 1950s paper bags cost much less than cotton sacks. Companies began to switch over to this less expensive packaging and by  the 1960s, feedsacks were gradually replaced by other materials.

About my sewing…

The   "Penny HarenPieced Applique"   quilt-along continues.  This week’s block is "Chain of Diamonds."  Mine continue to be the oddest of the blocks posted. My block ended up with little arrowheads in the corners that are not supposed to be there.  Go figure.

 Is that all I’ve done?  Yes, as far as quilting.  I’ve been hog hunting.  Feral hogs are predators in the Hill Country of Texas. They eat baby whitetail deer and compete with whitetail deer for food so they are hunted year round.  Sows can have their first litter (4-16 in number) as early as 6 months of age and can have a litter every six months so, you do the math.  Here’s a picture of me and my Dad  with the boar hog I killed.

Giveaways I've run into! 

 "Quilt Cookies"   is having a fabric giveaway.  Not sure when this ends.

 "The Material Girls Quilts"   is having a  giveaway which ends March 16th.

That is all.

Beautiful feed sacks

Encouraging words of the day:

Shout to the LORD, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!
~ Psalms 98:4, NLT

We’re at our little ranch in the Hill Country of Texas for a couple of weeks.  The days are warming up somewhat and we’re looking forward to beautiful weather.  We’re involved in “Wildlife Management” and one of the things we do is supply supplemental food in the form of “deer corn” and “wildbird food” which come in plasic or paper feed sacks.  

This got me to thinking of feed sacks of old which were much more interesting.  Aren’t these feed sacks beautiful ?  Even better, wouldn’t it be wonderful if these feed sacks were still made of cotton?

According to  "Feedsacks in Georgia: Their Manufacture,Marketing, and Consumer Use"
by Ruth Rhoads from Uncoverings 1997  farm and food products were initially shipped in barrels. Between 1840 and 1890 cotton sacks gradually replaced barrels as food containers. Women quickly discovered that these bags could be used as fabric for quilts and other needs.

Cotton had been king until the period of 1914 to 1929 when the price dropped out of the cotton market because synthetic fabrics like rayon became popular for dresses and undergarments. With the drop in the price of cotton even more companies began using cotton sacking as packaging.  It took a while for feed and flour sack manufacturers to realize how popular these sacks had become with women. Eventually they saw a great opportunity for promoting the use of feedsacks.  First feed sacks began to be sold in colors then around 1925 colorful prints for making dresses, aprons, shirts and children’s clothing began to appear in stores. 

Back to my sewing:

I finished Block #10 from the “Layer Cake Quilt-Along.”  This block was designed by Kari Ramsay of Fresh Cut Quilts.  This was also an easy block.  I guess I’m getting better at since the first one was probably easy as well but SO HARD for me.

Giveaways I've run into!   

  "The Vegetarian Hunter"  is having a giveaway of 4 fat quarters and a quilt pattern.  Ends March 20^th.

 "Amy's Creative Side"   is having a giveaway of your choice of two beautiful fabric bundles from the Fat Quarter Shop.  The winner will be chosen on March 14^th.

 "Sew Fabulous"   is having a giveaway of a Central Park fat quarter bundle.  Ends March 31st.

 "Leona's Quilting Adventure"  is giving away three copies of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 2!   This ends on March 18^th. 

 "Desert Quilter"  is having a “March Madness Giveaway.”  You have the chance to win 12 Fat Quarters of "Rouge et Noir" by Michael Miller and a 100m spool of red Gutermann thread.  Closes on March 12^th.

 "Sew We Quilt" is having a huge giveaway of layer cakes, charm packs, jelly rolls, fat quarter bundles, patterns, silk fabric, silk floss, embroidery

packages complete with pattern and floss, background fabric...books...

Ends March 12th.

 "The Plaid Scottie" is giving away a fat quarter bundle and a box of scraps, ends March 17.

About  UFOs:

UFOs will remain on the shelf for a while longer as the Dresden Plate quilt is taking me forever and I have other projects I’m working on .  I’ve decided to quilt at least one of the blocks each day but that’s kinda faltering…

That is all.

We have a giveaway winner!

Encouraging words of the day:

The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive. ~ Proverbs 16:21, NLT

 

We’ve posted our first 5 blocks on the Penny Haren Pieced Applique group.  This is our catch-up week so there block #6 is not due until next week.  Here are my first five:

We took a 6-hour road trip yesterday so I was able to work on my hexies.  I got several petals made and four flowers so I am prepared for “One-Flower Wednesday.”  Here they are:

 

Giveaways I've run into! 

"Pins & Bobbins" is giving away a Cutting Edge ruler that sharpens your blades as you cut, doesn't slip around and is perfect for squaring up big blocks.

"Alderwood Quilts"  has a 16-page pattern booklet with instructions for 5 beginner-level quilts along with quilting basics to give away.   

"Gone Stitching" is giving away a package of goodies as yet unnamed.

And finally there’s my "Birthday Giveaway"   of 9 fat quarters from Connecting Threads, an Olfa 45 mm refill blade, and a spool of 100% Egyptian Cotton Thread.  I couldn’t figure out how to put an image of the “Random Number Generator” and the number it chose on my page, as some do, but the number that came up is #26.  Robin who said:

“I just blogged about your giveaway” in post #26 is the winner.  She also wished me a happy birthday and became a follower in a previous post.  Thanks, Robin, and congratulations.  This giveaway will be on it’s way to you as soon as I receive your pertinent information.  Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway.

About  UFOs:

UFOs will remain on the shelf for a while longer as the Dresden Plate quilt is taking me forever and I have other projects I’m working on .  I’ve decided to quilt at least one of the blocks each day but that’s kinda faltering…

That is all.

 

 

Getting “in shape.”

Encouraging words of the day:

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!  ~ Psalm 147:5, NLT

 

I bought a Wii system and the Wii balance board some time back in an effort to get my body back “in shape.”  I guess it would work if I used it more consistently but like most exercise, it’s easy to slack off.  Today “it” asks me “Do you have trouble walking?” and later tells me to “try to feel the rhythm of the beat” as I fall off the WiiFit balance board.  As my son says, “I can’t believe you paid that much money to have a machine insult you.”  Oh well.

I’ll stick to my sewing machine.  Here’s my latest block on the Penny Haren  Pieced Applique.  These are getting more difficult with each block.  Here it is, my 5^th block.

The “House Blocks” we’re sewing in another group are much more fun.  This month we made a barn.

I won!  I won a copy of "Redwork From the Workbasket" as well as Pearl Louise Krush's "Redwork Winter Twitterings" from the "Hand Quilting"    blog.  Thanks so much.  I’m busy now trying to select a project to  start on.

 Giveaways I've run into !

  "The Plaid Scottie" is having a giveaway which ends on March 9^th for a fat quarter bundle and a copy of Denyse Schmidt Quilts.

 "1choice4quilting"  is having a giveaway of Sunkissed fabric, your choice of

1/2 Yard each of the 8 different Sunkissed fabrics or 1 Yard each of 4 different Sunkissed fabrics .  There will be 2 winners.  Closes March 14^th.

"Inch Worm Fabrics"  is giving away 5 Batik fat quarters. 

And or course there’s my "Birthday Giveaway"   for a chance to win 9 fat quarters from Connecting Threads, an Olfa 45 mm refill blade, and a spool of 100% Egyptian Cotton Thread.  This ends on Tuesday, March 8th. 

About  UFOs:

I have a Dresden Plate queen size quilt I’ve been working on forever.  I am now quilting it and hope to complete it some day.  I didn’t work on it in the summer because it was too hot to have the quilt draped over my knees as I sewed.  And now that winter is almost over, I got started again.  Soon it will be too hot again, ha.

That is all.

Pay It Forward 2011!

 Encouraging words of the day:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Pay It Forward 2011!

I'm participating in Pay It Forward this year! I'm very excited - I've seen this around blogland for a while and always wanted to participate.

I signed up over with Jessica at "Quilty Habit"

  and now I need three people to send things to, who will then send things to three people  etc.

This is how it works:

I need three people that would like a gift from me.

I send each of them a gift sometime in the next year.

In turn, you post about this and send three other people gifts.

I think it can be done.  We have a whole year in which to do it!

It kind of reminds me of the”random acts of kindness.”

No need to be big and fancy, just kind and considerate.

I love the idea of making gifts for people, and you making gifts for people, etc.!

Let's “Pay It Forward!”

I'll take the first three people who want to commit. I hope someone does!

It’s “One Flower Wednesday”  and my garden is growing.  I've made two completely different flowers.  I think my garden will have all sorts of flowers. 

Oh.  I won the "Block Lotto"  Well, I won along with four other people in the lotto.  We win blocks made by the other participants.  I’ll be getting 48 blocks total of  “String Heart Blocks” we all made.  I only made 4 because they were difficult for me but they are beautiful.  Here’s a photo of the ones I made.  I'm excited to start receiving blocks to see what others made :)

 

Giveaways I've run into ! 

"Vignette in Stitches"   is having a giveaway of a bundle of 15 fat Quarters from 'Where the Wind Blows.  This ends on the  10th of March.  

"Pleasant Home"  is having a GO! Baby giveaway.  You could be the lucky winner of a GO! Baby and 3 dies just for entering a comment about being a grandparent.

 "Why Knot Quilt"    has made a cute cloth bucket with a charm pack for her giveaway which ends today.

And or course there’s my "Birthday Giveaway"   for a chance to win 9 fat quarters from Connecting Threads, an Olfa 45 mm refill blade, and a spool of 100% Egyptian Cotton Thread. This ends on March 8th.

About  UFOs:

I finished my “Alice in Wonderland” quilt which I started about a year ago.  What got me working on it is that it will be a gift for my god-daughter who is graduating from high school in May.  So, here it is!  

I don't know why I can only get this photo to come out sideways.  Curiouser and curiouser...
That is all.

Happy Monday!

Encouraging words of the day:“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 NLT

More info about the sewing machine.

In the early 1800s, clothing was made by hand, families sewed their pants, shirts, and dresses using a needle and thread. But in 1846 Elias Howe changed all that, he came up with another way to make clothes, he patented the first practical sewing machine..The sewing machine industry based on his original invention made possible the mass production of clothing on a much larger scale than had ever been possible with hand-stitching.

Speaking of quilting and blogging:

Something strange seems to be happening in my life (or maybe I mean TO my life).  As if I didn’t already have enough things pulling me away from my sewing room, now I’m into blogging.  I’m so exhausted from working on my blog that I don’t have time to sew.

Back to quilting:

I received this beautiful “hexie” from a friend in The Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.  Hanne from Denmark sent me this beautiful flower for my garden.

 

Giveaways I've run into !

"Leona's Quilting Adventure" is having a giveaway consisting of a  copy of the book Scatter Joy by Kathy Davis and eight cuts of beautiful Journeys fabric.

 

 "Cut to Pieces"  is having a giveaway of two jelly rolls of Sherbet Pips.

 "Happiest When Crafting" is having her first fabric giveaway.   The giveaway closes at 11p.m. on the 28th  February Lisbon time so I’m thinking we don’t have much time to enter this giveaway.  Let’s see, it is now 9:00 am in El Paso and I wonder what the time difference is…I had to go look it up.  The time difference between El Paso, Texas (Mountain Standard Time) and Lisbon, Portugal  is 6 hours so it closes at 5:00 pm MST.

And don’t forget about my "Birthday Giveaway"   for a chance to win 9 fat quarters from Connecting Threads, an Olfa 45 mm refill blade, and a spool of 100% Egyptian Cotton Thread. 

About  UFOs:

I did a little work on my “Alice in Wonderland” quilt.  I got the sandwich made and am now in the process of finishing the quilting part…and so it goes.

That is all.