Stars and Stripes Forever

This little quilt top has been finished for a couple of weeks.  For some reason it was  put away and forgotten.  Since the next few days is considered a holiday weekend I better share it now or I'll forget again.

"Stars and Stripes Forever"  was designed by me after seeing a much more complicated quilt.  

Here's the inspiration quilt.  Made by Joanne at the Patriotic Quilter Blog., she's also on instagram if you wanna look her up, just search for patriotic quilter.  The quilt is absolutely amazing.  Made of Log Cabin blocks, it must have taken forever.  What a beauty!  The original pattern is by Judy Martin in her book "Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts"  If you would like more information about her quilt click here.  Thanks Joanne for allowing me to share your work of art on my blog.

The border is what really caught my eye.  So my quilty brain started churning and I came up with a plan to get the same visual with a lot less work.  Below is my quilt before working a little applique magic on the border.

The pins were temporary...after working out a plan I glue basted it in place then stitched it to the quilt.

Lets see if we can get a close up of the invisible stitches.  Can you see them?

How about now?  I used Superior Threads MonoPoly thread and a tiny blanket stitch to tack it in place.  Invisible!

The stars are also appliqued but using raw edge applique method.  There's no rule saying all the applique on a quilt must be the same method.

I used Heat -n- Bond Lite and the same blanket stitch just a little wider with a 100 wt white thread.   Now when will it get quilted?...Not this week I can assure you that!

~ Lea Anne ~

Quilt Doodle Designs 2017 BOM

Hi-diddly-O happy quilters!  It's been so long since my last post, but I assure you I'm still here and still just as obsessed with quilting as ever.  So come on in, grab a cup of your favorite giggle juice and have a seat while I share what I've been up to lately.  Since all the blocks have now been released for the Quilt Doodle Designs free 2017 BOM it was time to get my hiney in gear and get them done.  I've never been able to keep up with BOM's.  This year I'm determined to give it my best shot.

 Over the last week the studio has been a complete mess as I made the blocks.  Tiny little pieces of freezer paper pieces all over the floor.  I was doing my best impression of Eleanor Burns...just get rid of that with a quick toss over the shoulder.  The freezer paper applique was a little bit harder than expected.  In order to make some of the blocks changes were made to make it a little easier on me.  Cindy from Quilt Doodle Designs had designed them for raw edge applique.  When doing raw edge you can have tiny sharp points.  Those tiny sharp points are almost impossible (for me) freezer paper applique. 

Now I'm going to admit one major change that had nothing to do with points.  The theme of this BOM is... things you would find at grandma's house.  Well one of the blocks was Lilacs.  My grannie had lilacs but her hummingbirds and feeders were EVERYWHERE.   So I decided to change that block to fit my grannies house.

These blocks are all 100% machine stitched.  No handwork.  The applique was done using a teeny tiny blanket stitch and a collection of Lori Holt Aurifil thread that matched her Calico Days fat quarter bundle fabric used for the blocks.

Calico Days line of fabric is one of my favorite lines of fabric.  However I've a complaint about how Lori is doing her prints these days.  Instead of having 42 prints that can be bought in yardage she designs 3 panel pieces, each having 8 fat eighths printed on them.  I DON'T LIKE THIS.  I WANT YARDAGE IN ALL.  So I'll no longer buy any line that doesn't allow me to purchase all prints in yardage.  Why you ask?  Because I needed more of the small white prints used for the applique background.  In order to get them I needed to buy 3 yards of fabric but only getting a fat eighth of each of the fabrics I needed and then 7 fat eighths of prints that I didn't need.  So I decided to buy a different print.   The little yellow rose buds below is what I've decided to use for the centers and possibly the background fabric.  What do you think?

I think it's adorable.  Wishing I could get in several colors.  Now let me tell you a little secret...shhh... Lean in close and swallow your coffee.... It's Walmart fabric,   can you believe it?  Paid $2 a yard!  You betcha I bought the entire bolt!

~ Lea Anne ~

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I Love Home FREE Block of the Month

Who can resist free?  I know I can't especially when it's so cute.  I wanted to share Jacquelynne Steves new Block of the Month that will Start in August called "I love Home".   I saw the sneak peak of this quilt being designed a few weeks ago and was anxious for it to begin.  Much to my surprise as I waited for the big reveal and launch of the pattern Jacquelynne contacted me asking if I would be willing to be one of the featured bloggers in the sew along...Well of course I would!  What an honor, Thank you Jacquelynne!

To participate you need to sign up to receive the free patterns in your email as soon as they are released.  Isn't that wonderful?  You'll never miss a month with the blocks coming directly to your email.   And If your not a fan of applique like me, there's an embroidery option or a plain pieced block option.   To sign up click here.  

The fun doesn't stop at a free quilt pattern.  If you participate and share your blocks along the way there's several giveaways.  One of which will be right here on my blog.  So hop over to quickly sign up and find out more about the amazing sponsors and giveaways.  Click here to sign up I'm looking forward to seeing your version of this fun free quilt.

~ Lea Anne ~

The Race is On

With so many things to do in Podunk it feels like I'm racing around trying to get it all done.  Sadly quilting takes a back seat to my other chores.  But yesterday I took the day off from chores so I could do a little sewing.

I'm pushing for a 4th of July finish.  It's almost a completed top.  Just need to put the finishing touch of invisible machine applique.  Can you see my stitches on the blue?  It's invisible!  MonoPoly Thread by Superior Threads is some amazing stuff. I can't boast about it enough.

Maybe in a couple more days I'll have a quilt top to share.  For now there's things to be done.  Next chore is to can 50 pounds of peaches!  We picked up these sweeties from The Peach Truck.  If you would like some fresh from the farm peaches you can look at their website to see if they will be visiting your area. Unfortunately they only visit a handful of states. 

~ Lea Anne ~

Monkey Butter and More

 Not a stitch has been made in the last couple of days.   One day was spent working hard in the garden and yesterday was spent canning Strawberry Jam and Monkey Butter.  Monkey Butter?  What on earth is that?!  I assure you no monkeys are in this tasty spread.  It's nothing more than bananas, pineapple and coconut.  This is my first time canning Monkey butter but not my last! YUMMY!  

Now let me say that the FDA says bananas cannot be safely home canned.  Well the FDA says a lot of things I don't think are quite true.  Millions of home canners all over the world preserve bananas and none of them have spent anytime in the ER or the bathroom for days on end.  As long as you follow the instructions you'll be fine.  So if you're still interested in trying your hand at something new and living on the wild side you can find the recipe I used by CLICKING HERE. 

Yesterday while at the grocery store I found pineapples on sale for .98 cents and 5 lbs. of carrots for $3.  So today I'll be canning pineapple chunks and pineapple jelly from the scraps.  Then last years leftover blackberries and black raspberries will become jam.  And the carrots... I can't decide if I want to drag out the pressure canner or just freeze them.  We'll see how I feel after preserving the fruit.

~ Lea Anne ~