Big block Beauty

It doesn't take long to put a quilt top together when the blocks are HUGE.  Friday morning I started cutting out the blocks.  All that's left to do is it square up and add the simple white borders.  About an 2 hours worth of work.  

Maybe it went together so quickly because there's no actual block.  This quilt was pieced in long diagonal rows.  The block pattern has several names.  Chimney Sweep, Friendship Album, Sarah's Choice, Cabots block are just a few.  Resembling the Granny Square block that was all the rage last year.  Remember last week when I was looking for a pattern for that Civil War Reproduction bundle.  Well I ran across many patterns with this block, usually the block was 10 inches or less.   The wheels started turning later in the week when adding the finishing touches to the Houses quilt.  It's big, modern and Shabby chic all in one.  Love it!

Digging into my stash to find just the right combination of fabrics.  When was the last time you saw REAL Swiss dots fabric?  Look at those cute little fuzzy dots.  This is one of those treasured pieces from my moms stash.  I've inherited it in baby blue and mint green also.   No it's not 100% cotton, but it'll still quilt up just fine.  Swiss dots is a bit stretchy, so handling with care is a must.  

 Now this is Podunk Pretty!

Want a chance to have the Traveling Stash box visit you?  You can still enter here on my blog.  When searching my stash this morning for more pinks I ran across a bundle 1/2 cuts to add to the box.  

  There's still time to enter for a chance for the box to be sent to you, just leave a comment on the Stash box post.

I'm linking up with Judy over at PatchworkTimes for design wall Monday.  

~ Lea Anne ~

FREEBIE ALERT

click here, you'll need to translate 

Traveling Stash Box #3 - USA -UPDATED WITH MORE FABRIC ON 6/30

This is my first time winning The Traveling Stash Box.  And you're next!  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post to be entered.  Getting it back on the road quickly is the plan so I'll draw a winner

 THIS THURSDAY JULY 3 at 6pm

Before entering make sure you read the rules at the end of this post.  

 When Lisa @ In the Boon Docks posted my winning I squealed like a little girl.  If you're like me and have never won one of these boxes you can find more information about them from the Administer Tricia @ Ramblings of a Quilter.  There's several of these stash boxes traveling around the USA.   Even if you don't win this one you could win one of the others and meet some great new bloggers along the way.  

So here's what was in Box # 3 when it arrived

A lovely assortment of individual cuts.

Some precuts

There was even one piece of yardage and a couple of whimsical pieces. 

 Several patterns to OOOH and AAAH over.

 Notions, notions, notions!

 Here's what I decided to keep from the box.

And here's what I'll add to the other stash in the box in the box for you!

1. The Comfort of Psalms panel is great for comfort quilts and quilt labels.
2. A bundle of "Blooma" by Jessica Swift (half yard and fat quarters.)
3. The Dritz LED light  (one of my favorite notions.  I have one that I use all the time.)  
4.  pattern "Yellow Brick Road"
5.  "Little Bits"  mini paper piecing pattern

Oh there's more to be added!   Some assorted FQ's.  

This box is so full!  I had a hard time getting everything back in!
EDITED on June 30th TO ADD MORE FABRIC!
1/2 yd cuts bundle of Robotek by Northcott.

See something you like?  So would you like a chance at the new box?  

The RULES are simple.

(copied from In the Boon Docks)

1. Be an active USA blogger. Post about receiving the box and the giveaway on your blog in a timely manner.
2. There's a note in the box that logs where the box has been. Please add your info and place the note back in the box.
3. There's a list of Rules and Guidelines in the box. Please read and follow these and return the list to the box.

4. You may take anything you like from the box. Just replace every item with comparable quilt shop quality items equal to the amount taken.

5. Ship the box to the next person in a reasonable amount of time.
6. Due to the amount of postage shipping is only within the USA. Postage is about $13

Remember just leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win.

I'LL PICK A WINNER ON THURSDAY JULY 3

Good Luck!

~  Lea Anne ~

Flimsy Friday

Here it is!  The lighting in the studio is horrible this morning. So I wanted to show you the truer colors of the quilt before showing the quilt.  Even with my limited photo editing skills the rest of the pictures are wishy-washy.

There's no purple in this one.  LOVE the flowery fabrics...so Shabby style, don't you think?  What?  You thought that just because I carry machete when picking berries that I'm not a girly girl!  I suppose I'm a Gretchen Wilson type of girly girl.  For those of you that aren't country music fans she's a Country girl with attitude.

 These have been in my stash for about 10 years.  The green vines are not part of the collection.

 That roof fabric isn't part of the line either but it is Walmart fabric.  I bet your wondering the line of fabric. 

 I bought these a Walmart!  Can you believe it?  Remember the good ole days before Walmart decided to stop carrying fabric?  Well they had a quilt of the month program.  Each month I'd get the free pattern along with the fabrics for that pattern.  I think I've only made one of the patterns.  It's not LQS quality, but let me tell you something.  The older Walmart fabric makes the softest quilts.  I actually love working with them.  Even after washing they don't fray like some of the more expensive LQS quality fabrics.  Now don't get me wrong I also love designer fabrics, but I'm no fabric snob.  If I can put a stitch in it, I use it!

The plan for the quilt was much larger, about 90 x 100.  But one thing lead to another.... it finished at 64 x 76.  Nice lap quilt or large wall hanging.  More than likely it'll end up in the spare bedroom as a display quilt.

There's plenty of fabric leftovers for another!  I've already started cutting.  Oh the shame when there's 3 WIP already on the design wall.  Here's a snippet of my plan.  This one will be bed size and super simple.

~ Lea Anne ~

Today's freebie is from Cluck Cluck Sew

Click here for the tutorial

Go ahead...Laugh

If this doesn't humble a gal nothing will.  Yep that's me.  Not one of my better pictures.  One of my blog followers said they would like to see me in my berry picking gear.  I took it more of a "double dog dare you!"  Well here you go Margaret, scary huh?  The long sleeves were smothering me, by the time I'd get back to the house I would be soaked with sweat from head to toe, and physically weak.  So yesterday I bravely tried short sleeves and taking a break at the halfway point in the property.   I also decided to get rid of the garden hoe and take the machete.  

 It serves two purposes, protection from critters, and protection from thorny vines.

 Lobo always goes along with me as added protection.  Not that I want or need him, he takes it upon himself.  Never getting out of eyesight.  Occasionally he'll  take a dip in the pond to cool off and get a drink.   It's funny how  he doesn't feel a need to protect Ross when they go for walks around the property, Lobo always takes off on his own.  What makes him think I need the protection?   I'm glad he's there you never know what can jump out of the weeds!  

hunting for squirrels while waiting on me

 I've never seen the vines so loaded with berries.  Yesterday another gallon of picked raspberries, that's about 3 hours of sweating.

 No picking today!  Yeah!  I'm going to do some sewing.  Hopefully I can get a flimsy done by tomorrow.  

~ Lea Anne ~

Freebie

Another great block tutorial from Julie at The Crafty Quilter

Click here for pattern

Just Jammin

It's been a busy week so far with very little actual sewing.  Between the the garden and the Black Raspberries there's little time for anything else.  Besides these jars of jam I've also made a Black Raspberry cobbler that Ross has plowed through and is now asking for another!  As you can see I take the easy way out and leave the seeds in the jam.  Also I prefer not to use pectin to thicken my jams and jellies .  Here's a link to a basic Jam recipe with no pectin added.   If you've never made jam or jelly and want to try, here's my advice.  Wear cloths that you don't mind getting stained, and wear an oven mitt when stirring the boiling berries.

Last year  we gave home canned goods to friends and family for Christmas.  If we do that again I'll need to make some pretty labels.  I found these super cute free printable labels.  Even if you don't need labels you need to take a look at this blog....CUTENESS!

There's plenty more berries to be picked for freezing.  We've a bumper crop this year.  Normally the Raspberries don't do as well as the Blackberries.  

 Because they both grow wild we've really no way to control where they grow.  So they're intertwined all over the property.  This is the little patch at the side of the backyard.

While working with the berries my mind is still on quilting.  How about some Jar quilt patterns?  Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt has a easy pattern using charm packs.  Just click on the picture to watch.

 Over at Crafttown.com you'll find a tutorial for a larger version of this block.

And my personal favorite is from Creativity Amongst Chaos.  How adorable are these!  I just can't get enough of Cori Blunts patterns.  She's offering this one for FREE as a stitch along that is currently in progress.  There's still plenty of time to join.  And her tutorials are excellent if you're new to applique or embroidery.

Well the fog is starting to lift outside which means the temperature is on the rise.  That means I need to get out there and pick some berries before the heat cooks them on the vine.

~ Lea Anne ~

Design Wall Monday

 After the morning ritual of hog sweating yard work, I pulled out a couple of colorful UFO's.   I've no intentions of working on them right now.  It just makes me smile to pull them out and look at them from time to time.   Both have a few years of off and on work.  The "My Tweets" by Erin Russek needs 3 more blocks and the borders.  The time consuming hand applique is the main factor in it becoming a UFO.  And since I can't make a pattern as it's written I've been tossing around the idea for a different setting.    For now they are going back in the Ziploc bag I've too many other projects laying around the studio.

This GFG just needs to be set into a top.  The decision to stop making them was made a couple of years ago.  The plan is for a non traditional medallion style applique setting.  If I knew what I wanted to to with these two projects it might make them easier to finish.  They too are a project for another time.  So do you have projects you love waiting for that special touch?    

Linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday and Connie at Free Motion by the River for linky Tuesday.

~ Lea Anne ~

Jungle Garden

Excuse the purple tint to all my pictures today.  I think my camera is trying to tell me that its a good color.  For some reason almost every picture I've taken in the last 2 days has a purple tint.  PURPLE!!! Yuk.  

When you look at something day in and day out you don't always see it as it really is.  Our wooded area in real life didn't look so dense until I took these pictures.  It looks like we've planted our garden in the middle of a jungle.  That's why there's a fence around it.  Deer will walk right through a garden, destroying anything in it's path.  They really don't like to eat anything in there, they just want to be nosy.

For the last 3 years we've not had a good tomato crop.  So this year I'm focusing most of my attention on them with the hopes of canning salsa.  So far so good.  But now the jalapeno and bell peppers for the salsa are having issues.

 We also planted a few more green beans than normal, they're growing on the tripods and fence.  As a child I didn't understand Jack and the Beanstalk, but now I do.  I think beans grow a foot a day!

 We ate our first zucchini harvest last night, there's always enough to share with just about everyone we know.  Now if we could just get the acorn squash to produce as well.

 After last years bumper crop of cucumbers we decided all we needed this year was enough for fresh produce.  Hopefully I won't need to can anymore pickles until next year.

 Look at my pretty tomato's!  Can't wait for a tomato sandwich!

 My camera would not focus on this little pea(below).  They too pop out overnight. We picked a bunch last night and this morning there's more ready to be picked.  I kid you not this little guy double in size overnight.  They'll have to wait.  This morning I'm going black raspberry pickin. 

 If you've never been it's so much fun.(sarcasm)  Because wild ones grow in the most unfriendly places where bugs and critters thrive.  I'll suit up in long sleeves tucked into gloves and tucked into pants that will be tucked into socks, with a garden hoe for protection and to pull the vines closer.  My waist length hair will be put up under a bug repellent sprayed do-rag.  It's also tick season here in Podunk, so I'll spray my cloths with bug repellent before putting them on.  I know some of  you are thinking "NO WAY"  but really those tasty berries have a much richer flavor than the hybrid vines that you can buy.  The real fun thing about this about this adventure is its humid and hot when black raspberries ripen, and even hotter when the blackberries ripen.  Well maybe I'll sweat off a couple of unwanted pounds this morning.

~ Lea Anne ~

Todays freebie is "Red Birds and Berries"  Designed by

 http://karensquiltscrowscardinals.blogspot.com/

Click here for the Moda Bakeshop tutorial

Thrifty Thursday

Yesterday was spent running errands, taking mom for pre-op tests, 

and shopping. 

 Since I've a couple of family members that read my blog I should mention that mom will have Carotid Artery Surgery on July 2nd, with an overnight stay in the hospital.  Nothing major really, just cleaning out the gunk so the blood can flow to her brain better.  We all knew something was wrong with her brain!...HEHE!   

Well before spending almost 3 hours at the hospital we hit the thrift stores. 

 And for $1 ...I couldn't pass up these homemade gingham pillowcases.  

 Coffee cups $.25 a piece.  And a few 100% cotton items to be cut up for quilting fabrics.  Each priced under $2.  Look at that bottom piece...

THE DREADFUL PURPLE. 

 I've found that when thrift shopping for cute up-cycling fabrics, little girls cloths and nursing uniforms usually have the best 100% cotton prints.  The first 4 at the top are homemade items from 100% cotton.  The PURPLE is manufactured pajama pants.  Another good source for 100% cotton clothing is adult summer dresses.  

I know that some quilters won't use anything but name brand quilting fabric.  They have been convinced by the manufactures that it's better.  Do you really think they would say it wasn't?  It's called marketing, they want you to believe that only quilting fabric can be quilted.  Personally I think cotton is cotton.  And it seems to me Bonnie Hunter has made a pretty good living  proving the fact that you can mix LQS quilting fabric with up-cycled clothing.  If for some reason you've not heard of Bonnie you can find her blog here.  

~ Lea Anne ~

Today's freebie is a video from Bonnie Hunter on how to debone a shirt for quilting.