Up to my elbows

Popping in on Mondays to share my weekend progress is my favorite post of the week.  It became a habit when I found Judy's blog a few years ago.  Every Monday she hosts a Linky Party called Design Wall Monday.  So what did I stitch up this weekend, not a thing.  Most of my time was spent in the kitchen.  But I did come up with another idea for my Lilies of Love quilt.  Yes I finally came up with a name!  You can see more design options here and find a so called tutorial for the quilt block here.  

While up to my elbows in fruits and veggies this weekend my mind was wandering around my Studio.  Tossing around more border options.  That's when I started thinking...this is a scrappy quilt, why can't the borders be scrappy.  The last time I used this inner scalloped border was on my Promenading tulips quilt. (below) Look at the super scrappyness!(is that a word?)  Cutting a piano key border doesn't appeal to me right now but I could do a different print on each side like in the picture above. HMMM...maybe.  We'll see what happens when I actually have time to be in the Studio.  

For now it's time to clean up the weekend canning mess and organize the pantry.  The canning season is almost over.  YIPPEE!  Just a few tomato's and squash left on the vines.   We still need to harvest the sweet potatoes but that won't be for a few more weeks.  It's been a good year for preserving, I actually ran out of jars and will need more before canning the potatoes.  This weekend was whole tomato's, acorn squash, apple pie filling, and apple butter.....YUM!  So here's my tip of the day for all my canning buddies.  A trick my momma taught me years ago.  Add a couple handfuls of red hots to your apple butter, when they melt it gives a little extra kick(not hot), everyone will want to know your secret for the most delicious apple butter ever.

~  Lea Anne ~

Podunk Pickin's #3

It's time for another sweet batch of Podunk Pickin's.  If you missed last weeks post you can easily find all the previous weeks Pickin's by clicking the Podunk Pickin's picture in the sidebar.  They will be listed from newest to oldest.  A big ole virtual hug to all who entered a link last week.  Thanks for making Podunk Pickin's first week a success!

To start off this weeks Pickin's here's my latest block design from earlier in the week.  Due to my busy schedule right now, there's no time for writing a tutorial, so I've shared a quick visual aide to help you make your own block.  You can also find my ideas for the quilt layout and borders here. 

Now it's your turn!

Podunk Pickin's theme is pretty simple...Sewing and Quilting tips and tutorials.  It can be an old post on your blog that you want to revive or a new one. No tip or tutorial is to small, the little things can make a big difference to a new quilter.  I'm going to ask that you only add one link per week.  

And whats a party without prizes!  So to start off my new Podunk Pickin's linky party I'll be giving away a surprise quilty package containing fabric and a few other sewing related goodies.  A Hint on it's contents, I love bright fabric and applique.  The winner will be announced  on September 13th, 2015.  So there's plenty of time for you to write and link up new tips and tutorials every week until then.  You can earn two entries per week by doing the following.

• Earn one entry by adding a new link to one of your tip or tutorials on your blog.    

• If  you link back to Podunk Pickin's linky Party and add the Podunk Pickin's image  on your linked post you get another entry 

Please add a new or different tutorial or tip each week during this giveaway period.  Repeated entries will not be counted in the giveaway.

One more exciting thing...I've a sponsor for next months linky parties!  Yeah!  What does that mean for you?  Well it means there will be another giveaway in October for those who link up.    If you have a shop and would like to sponsor a month of Podunk Pickin's send me an email.

An InLinkz Link-up

Making quilt decisions

Top of the morning quilty buds!  Thank you to everyone for the well wishes to momma.  It'll make her day when I show her all the prayers being sent her way.  The plan was to show her the comments yesterday before they put in her chemo port but wouldn't you know it I've caught a horrible cold.  We decided it's best for me to stay away from her until my cold is gone or until they absolutely need my assistance.  So I've purchases some lovely surgical masks just in case.

The progress on the lily quilt.   She's still nameless even with all the great suggestions on my last post.  If you missed my post about this block you can see it here and find measurements for making your own Lily block.   I will not be doing a tutorial or pattern for this quilt due to momma's illness.

Right now ideas of how to finish are being tossed around.

Leave it as is and bind it.

The decision was made to leave out the applique but I could still add a little.

Or maybe I could do a fancy border.

Add some yo-yo's

Or go hog wild by adding the leaves, border and yo-yo's.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!  

I'm linking up with some great Linky Parties today.  Hop on over to see more quilt inspirations and link up your projects also!  You don't need a blog to link up, most linky parties allow other social media pictures!

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP@Confessionsofafabricaddict

FabricFrenzyFriday@FortworthFabricStudio

LinkaFinishFriday@RichardandTanyaQuilts

CreativeGoodness@QuiltShopGal

~ Lea Anne ~

Spun Sugar Quilts

It made me happier than a Unicorn eating cake on a rainbow to win this bundle of Ella Blue Basics from Spun Sugar Quilts Blog during the Winter Wonderland Sew Along.  This fat eighth bundle fits right in with my stash.

I'm sure many of you have heard of Vickie@Spun Sugar Quilts from her tutorials at Moda Bakeshop.  But did you know she also has several free patterns on her blog that you can find by clicking here.  When trying to pick out a favorite free pattern I had a hard time because she has so many great patterns with unique techniques.  Like this Chair Scarf with a Yo-Yo border.  How cute is that!

Now that you've found some awesome free patterns you need just the right fabric.  Well Vickie can help you out with that too.  She has a Etsy Store with a large selection of Low Volume prints and bundles, 30's reproduction, and Lecien fabrics, a huge selection of 60% off prints.  I found this sweet bundle(not on sale)  to add to my wish list that I keep on hand for Mr. Podunk.

Hope you find some goodies!

~ Lea Anne ~

Design Wall Monday- A need to create

Good Morning dear quilty friends.    I've had a need to create, to distract my mind from what's really going on in my life.  Quilting isn't really a distraction for my thoughts but a time of meditation and reflection.  Allowing my thoughts to go where they will.  I'm sure many of you can relate.  The HST's below were trimmed a few days ago with the plan of something simple....but

All it took was one phone call to put my mind in a total jumbled up mess of gobblity gook and chaos.   Just as an alcoholic would need a drink, I immediately knew I needed to create a quilt.  My auto pilot took over and before I new it there was a test block that you can see at the top of the picture below.  Funny how such chaos in the mind can produce something so pretty.  Would that be the beauty of chaos?  The plan is to add some applique...of course.   Maybe some petals between the second and third black squares.  And a possible appliqued border.  Any suggestions on a name for this block?  There's so much other gunk in my brain I'm coming up with nothing.

There's really no time to write a tutorial for this block or quilt.  But with the dimensions below I think you gals might be able to make one for yourself if you'd like.  It finishes at 10.5" in quilt.  As for pressing, my first block had a couple bulky spots so you might be better of with your own pressing plan.  

The rest of this post is non quilty personal stuff that you may not feel like reading.  If that's the case, believe me I understand.  A person can only read or hear so many sad stories in a day before you need your own meditation time.  

Our personal lives and blog lives effect one another.  And if you or I were to stop writing posts we'd be concerned even though we've never met.  This is basically just a little heads up that I may become a little MIA again.  The phone call I mentioned earlier was from my dad letting me know that moms test came back as cancer.  She's been admitted into the hospital for pain management.  Once the pain is under control she'll go home and the treatments will start until the cancer has shrunk enough to remove.   So  in a couple weeks I'll be spending a lot more time away from my studio.   You never know it may not effect my blogging. Only time will tell.

Just a quick reminder about my give away.  Click here for the details.

I'm link up to today with

DesignWallMonday@PatchworkTimes

Oh Scrap@QuiltingisMoreFunThanHousework

MainCrushMonday@CookinUpQuilts

MondayMakers@HugaBitQuilts

SewCuteTuesday@BlossomHeartQuilts

LinkyTuesday@FreeMotionBytheRiver

FabricTuesday@QuiltStory

~  Lea Anne ~

Podunk Pickin's # 2 and a GIVEAWAY

The first official Linky Party of Podunk Pickin's!  

Before starting the linky party I want to share with you a cute tale about Fred the Fugitive sent to me by Susan@QuiltFabrications.  Keeping this feisty ole bird fenced in is easier than you think with Susan's tutorial for chicken wire quilting.

Okay it's party time!  A good hostess knows that every party should have a theme.  Podunk Pickin's theme is pretty simple...Sewing and Quilting tips and tutorials.  It can be an old post on your blog that you want to revive or a new one. No tip or tutorial is to small, the little things can make a big difference to a new quilter.  I'm going to ask that you only add one link per linky party.  

And whats a party without prizes!  So to start off my new Podunk Pickin's linky party I'll be giving away a surprise quilty package containing fabric and a few other sewing related goodies.  A Hint on it's contents, I love bright fabric and applique.  The winner will be announced  on September 13th, 2015.  So there's plenty of time for you to write and link up new tips and tutorials every week until then.  You can earn two entries per week by doing the following.

• You can earn one entry by adding a new link each week to one of your tip or tutorials on your blog.    

• If  you link back to Podunk Pickin's linky Party and add the image below on your linked post you get another entry.

Please add a new or different tutorial or tip each week during this giveaway period.  Repeated entries will not be counted in the giveaway.

I'm new to adding the link up widget so if it's not working right please let know and bare with me as I fix the issue. Of course remember to come back and link up after I fix any issues.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Throwback Thursday Quilt

Well I'm a day late on my Throwback post, it totally slipped my mind.  This is quilt #3 of my own little throwback story that you can find here.  If your interested in the other quilts of my little mini throwback series you can find them  in my blog archives for this month.   Okay this quilt was made for my oldest son Derek.  It was a real adventure from the word "Go".  We ran from store to store, covering 3 counties to find just the right red print fabric to suit Mr. Picky.  And wouldn't you know I ran out of the red print due to a cutting error.  So again we took to the roads looking for more of the special red print.  I bought all they had and still needed to add the huge black border to suit Mr. Picky.  

Oh I give him a hard time over this quilt but it was fun to make the quilt and the memories that came along with the process.   

The pattern was from this book.  I think it was called "The Double Pinwheel".   This was my first real quilting book.     When I purchased it I can remember thinking I'd never need to buy another quilt book.  101 patterns who could need more than that!    HAHAHA!   Even then I designed most of  my quilts or found freebies online changed them up a bit to make them my own.  Not much has changed, I still buy books, look at the pretty quilts, but never make them.  It is what it is, I've tried to change it and fight it but that's just my quilty style. 

So do you have some older quilts that have story to tell?  If so hop on over to

 Krista Quilts and link up for Throwback Thursday.

Free Mini quilt pattern - Grow Up

At the beginning of the year I promised myself to make all the free mini quilts in the Aurifil Designer of the month program.  For those of you that follow my blog regularly you know I've failed at my attempt to be part of a quilty group once again.   This is  the second mini completed.  My January Aurifil mini, can be seen here.  The excuses for not honoring the promise to myself are many.  So let's just act like it never happened and take a look at the one I made this month.  In true Podunk style sticking with a pattern as written was impossible.   The borders were omitted because there wasn't a fabric in my stash that tickled my fancy.   The pattern also calls for wool applique.  There's no wool in my stash, it's just not my style at the moment. 

  

These little quilts are a great way to use up scraps and get the satisfaction that only comes from finishing a project.  All of the fabrics in this quilt are scraps.  Well all but the backing. The backing fabric is one of my favorite prints.  I've been holding onto about one yard of it for just the right project.  

The pattern also called for hand embroidery on the tulips.  My version of this quilt was to make the tulips the focal point.  I felt like the embroidery would have been too much since my tulip center print was sorta busy to the eye.

While digging through the scrap bins looking for red gingham binding strips I found the red stripe fabric.  It was almost a squeal moment!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it looks on this quilt! 

The SITD quilting around each basket keeps the quilting simple letting your eye rest on the red tulips and binding.  If you look closely at the bottom row of baskets you can see where I ripped out the start of quilting inside the baskets.  

So who wants to make one?!  You can find  Nancy Rinks free Grow Up pattern at Auribuzz.   If you make one and share it on the flickr group your automatically enter in a give away.  All the details can be found on the Auribuzz Website  along with links to the previous months free patterns.

  Hope to see you there!

~ Lea Anne ~

Linking up over at My Quilt Infatuation

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Crazy Mom Quilts

Quokka Quilts

Wordless Wednesday

Okay I really can't keep my big mouth shut for a Wordless Wednesday.  I should be quilting my last quilt on the frame but I was seduced into making this adorable little quilt.  Can I help it if it has 3 very seductive elements.  

1. its a free pattern

2. baskets

3. flowers

Need I say more?

~ Lea Anne ~

Feather Ready!

Well after hours of fiddling with different applique idea for this quilt I've decided, it's a quilt top, ready for quilting.  No more applique just tons of feathers, maybe some cross hatching.

Just look at all the wide open spaces....oh yes... just right for feathers galore.

After all the fussing about the applique it came together in the middle perfectly, what a relief.

I'll start marking it for quilting this afternoon and hope to have it on the frame by tomorrow morning.  Dolly(my BHQ 15) has been sitting idle for over 6 months.  Waiting patiently for me to get over my keeping it simple stage.  The wait is over!   I'm dusting her off, giving her a lube job and taking her for a test drive to blow out the gunk....YeeHaw!  My Mojo is back!  Hold on tight old Dolly, I'm putting the pedal to the metal and we're making up for lost time!  See you gals in a few days with sneak peak at what me old Dolly can do when we team up!

I'm linking up today's post with these fun linky parties.

Design Wall Monday@Patchworktimes

MainCrushMonday@CookingUpQuilts

MondayMakers@HugABitQuilts

LinkyTuesday@FreeMotionByTheRiver

Podunk Pickin's Week 1

I'd like to start out this weeks Podunk Pickin's by thanking all the bloggers for sharing their FREE tutorials and patterns.  The tutorials are listed in the order in which I received them.  So let's get to the FREEBIES!

Jill at Apple Avenue Quilts shared two free patterns for mini foundation pieced quilts.   Two adorable ways to use up the tiniest of scraps. You can see both mini quilts and download the free patterns by CLICKING HERE. 

Daryl from Patchouli Moon shared a creative and cute tip for hanging wall art.  You can read more about it by CLICKING HERE.   

Sharon at Vroomans Quilt shared her tutorial for a Faux Braid Quilt from a jelly roll.  This tutorial takes all the fuss out of making a braid quilt.  You can find the tutorial by CLICKING HERE.

This last freebie was from my list of freebies to share if I had no email responses.  Kaaren at The Painted Quilt has a little mystery quilt in progress.  You can find the instruction for the first step by CLICKING HERE.  

That's it for this weeks Pickin's. Eventually I might make this a linky party, if there's a good response.  But for now if you written a quilting or sewing tutorial or tip on your blog that you'd like to share please feel free to send me an email(podunkpretties@gmail.com) with the following.

1. a link to your project or tip  

2. a picture of your project(for sharing on my blog)
3. and a brief description of your project. 

 It doesn't need to be a new post it can be an older post that you'd like to revive.  I'll share your link and picture on  Podunk Pickin's the following Sunday.  I'm hoping for tons of emails with great projects so I'm asking that you only send one a week. So what happens if I get no emails?   Then it's business as usual, me sharing the freebies found while surfing the internet.  So from now on anytime you see the Podunk Pickin's image you know my post contains links to some great free patterns and tips. 

Thanks again to all the bloggers who shared their projects and made the first Podunk Pickin's a success!

~ Lea Anne ~

Throwback Thursday- Ignorance is bliss

A couple of weeks ago I shared a quilt my first scrappy quilt.  You can find it here.  It was stitched full of memories for my kids, and they wore it out.  In my effort to save the quilt I offered each of my 3 kids a new quilt of their own, any pattern they wanted.    Since my daughter was living in another state we decided she would be the first to pick a quilt pattern.  What a shock it was when she requested a Rebel flag quilt.  Just what in the heck is my daughter doing one state away!?    I understood what this symbol meant to some people but did she understand?  Maybe I was being overly sensitive, but I won't quilt negativity. After some questioning I realized that my little girl had absolutely no idea what this symbol meant.  She thought it meant she was a country girl, a tomboy who liked driving big trucks, fishing and living a little bit old fashion.  When we discussed its real meaning she said and I quote "Well it may mean that to them but it doesn't mean that to me, that's stupid, it's just a flag."  Her ignorance about the symbol satisfied the MOTHER in me and I made the quilt, not just one but two.  When her first baby was born she requested a baby size.  

A couple years later a young woman at work saw my baby flag quilt and requested one for her newborn.  Again I had to ask why she wanted this flag.  She too was just a clueless young woman that had no idea the negative meaning that some attach to the symbol.  So I made another.  Over the years I've had many more requests for this quilt from people who I felt attached negative meaning to the symbol, they didn't get one or any other quilt.  

This quilt may offend some of my readers, that's not my intention.  If I made a quilt with a skull and cross bones would you think I was a witch mixing up bad potions, casting spells, drinking blood and doing animal sacrifices ?   Maybe all those star quilts I've made are Satanic symbols!  You see it's all about perception and intention.  So please don't leave negative comments.  This post was to share older quilts I've made and a little history behind them.  My daughter cherishes this quilt because to her it's means she's a country girl just trying to survive in a world gone crazy.  She lives a simple life with no cable, no TV black box, no internet, she doesn't even read the newspaper.  Totally clueless of the turmoil this symbol has created in the media over the last year.  Yes ignorance is bliss, she's living a life that most of us could never imagine.   

I'm linking up today with Krista Quilts for Throwback Thursday.

~ Lea Anne ~

Scalloped quilt border

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you a mini made from some miscut fabric.  Several of you wanted a tutorial for the scallop border.  Being that the quilt was already made and I don't want to make another doing a tutorial was out of the question.  I knew I had seen this as a tutorial somewhere but my mind was drawing a blank.

So I googled "scalloped quilt border tutorial".  Google is my own personal library full of everything I could ever want to know, how did I ever live without it!?  Remember the days of running to the library or book store?  Oh don't get me wrong I still love my books.  And to be honest I think its sad that sometime in the future a book with actual paper pages will become a thing of the past.  Anyway back to the scallops, I found a tutorial using almost the same method.  The only difference was I used a stabilizer to stiffen the scallops because mine would be hanging on the wall.  Wouldn't want floppy eared scallops on the wall now would we?!  Click here to veiw the Riley Blake tutorial, its also a free tutorial for the entire quilt.

Enjoy!

~ Lea Anne ~

Freezer paper applique WARNING!!

After yesterdays internal struggle things didn't get any easier in the studio.  By the looks of the picture below you'd never know expletives were bouncing around the studio walls like a flock of birds trapped in glass house.  Oh yes, the foulest of words with a few paper crumbling, foot stomping, scissor slamming temper tantrums.   Normally I'd just fix the issue and move on, but with my time being so limited it just...well...got the better of me.  So what's my problem?

Shrinkage!  The little red arrow areas I can live with.  Once in the quilt no one would know there was shrinkage on the scallops.  But that circle area, that's another story.

It's a critical area, these HAVE to be perfect in order to meet at the corners with no gaps.  That's almost a quarter inch off.  Now I bet your wondering how many I made that were too short.  TWO!  And the only reason I caught it was....

When I tried to line up my template with the edge of the fabric... I couldn't.  They started out straight as an arrow, cut with my handy dandy old rotary cutter and ruler.  I've been using freezer paper applique for years with no issues, but I've never needed such accuracy in my applique pieces.  A little shrinkage or distortion on an appliqued leaf, who's going to notice?   Templar would have been the better option for these pieces, but all my pieces of templar were to small.  And going to the closest store that carries it is a 30 minute drive.  I'm way to practical(cheap) to do that. 

Now this is where the foul mouth really comes into play.  I used my last piece of Studio stash freezer paper to make the incredible shrinking templates.  $#@!  And I knew the roll in the kitchen was almost gone.  $#%!!  Luckily Mr. Podunk keeps a roll in the garage for processing deer during hunting season.  Yeah!  Using a template only once seems wasteful to me but it's cheaper, and quicker than running into town.

It all worked out in the end, and I felt rather silly for getting so upset.  My goal for the day was getting all the border pieces made, and I accomplished it, along with all my other Podunk chores.  So a good day can come with it's valuable lessons on shrinkage.

Linking up with some great bloggers today!  There's always tons of inspiration even if you don't link up you should hop over for excessive amounts of eye candy.  It's a good thing eye candy is calorie free otherwise I'd gain 10 lbs a week from all the sweet projects!

Linky Tuesday@FreeMotionByTheRiver

Show and Tell Tuesday@IHaveToSay

Sew Cue@BlossomHeartQuilts

Fabric Tuesday@QuiltStory

Let's be Social@SewFreshQuilts

~ Lea Anne ~

That inner voice

The ideas have been flowing in like a tidal wave!  So many cute ideas.  The problem with that is I'm a visual/hands on kinda quilter.  Which means I need to see it, feel it, play around with it and that makes scrap pieces when there's several ideas.  I could use EQ7 to draft a quilt, but it can take longer, especially when drawing applique pieces.  So most of the time I use good old paper and pencil.  Another problem is my mind sees elaborate applique that me, myself and I have no interest in making.  The little pink mustache or grammar school bird shape was one of those ideas.

Here's the little birdy shape strutting her stuff.  Oh yes, a scallop around this dresden would be ADORABLE!  But the three musketeer alter ego's rejected the plan. What a lazy gang of naysayers.   They quickly put in their two cents of how long it would take to make the pieces, let alone stitch them down. (sigh)  So what's a gal to do but take the advice of a group that knows me so well.  They know if I go with this plan it'll become a UFO.  I tried my best to let them know that it's ONLY a four block setting, and they reminded me that it's canning season in Podunk, and free time for quilting is very limited.  The voice of reason, where were you when I buying fabric, templates I'll never use and what about during the expensive sewing machine purchases?   I don't recall you helping me out then!  Oh well what's a gal to do, this is a democracy. So me, myself and I have voted to go with the easier plan.  But I want everyone in bloggyland to know Lea Anne wants the scallops!

The one thing that we all agree on is linking up at these great linky parties.  We voted and its unanimous you should visit each of these links, and of course link up your lovelies too!  If you don't have a blog that's okay, because most linky parties let you link from other social media.  Me, myself and I are very powerful persuaders so...see you there!

Design Wall Monday@PatchworkTimes

Main Crush Monday@CookingUpQuilts

MondayMaking@LoveLaughQuilt

~ Lea Anne ~