~ It's PKM Playtime ~

This past year has been  a whirlwind of deadlines, tech work, numbers crunching..yukky this and yukky that.  It's so nice to just play.  Nothing soothes my soul like a little PKM playtime.     

To once again feel that freedom of just sewing and design as I go.  Back in my element of flying by the seat of my pants feels so right.  When there's no pressure to get it done I can just enjoy the little things like how pretty these fabrics are as they sit in a pile waiting to be sewn together.

Or how much I love the look of the scrunched mess behind the presser foot.  

Dresden blocks are my go to blocks.  They have never let me down when I want  to stitch up something cute and unique.

I'm not sure exactly how this is going to finish.....And that makes me happy.  Just letting it take on a life of it's own.   *sigh*  Life is good.

Maybe I need a few more blocks?...Only time will tell!   So I'm curious about your quilting process.  Are you like me and just fly by the seat of your pants?

Do you like to have a design plan with drawings?

Do you buy patterns so you don't have to think about the quilt design?

Linking up at all these fabulous linky parties.  Hop on over to be inspired!

http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/2018/07/design-wall-monday-july-30-2018.html

https://www.cookingupquilts.com/mcm-125-tackling-another-ufo/

http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/2018/07/monday-making_29.html

http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/2018/07/oh-scrap-somebody-stop-me.html

~  Lea Anne ~

~ Bee Skep Pin Cushion ~

Happy Friday Quilting Friends!  Its a Friday finish and a FREE-BEE for you!  

EDITED ON 1 22 2022

The Bee Skep Pin Cushion tutorial can now be found on my YouTube Channel.  Click the image below to go to the video tutorial.

Mr. Podunk has been a bee keeper for a few years.  I've been wanting to make a bee quilt but something always keeps me from designing one.  So when Jacquelynne Steves asked if I would like to be a featured blogger for her new Save the Bee's Block of the Month I was elated!   If you would like more information about the Save the Bee's Block of the Month CLICK HERE.

While waiting for the Blog Hop to start I stitched up this super cute and easy Bee Skep pin cushion.  

The little queen bee was a last minute idea that turned out adorable.  I will not be giving instructions for the bee but I will tell you a funny little fact about it.  This sweet little queen bee body is made from a cinnamon capsule.  It's a pill filled with cinnamon!  Cinnamon is good for regulating low and high blood sugars.  I usually run on the low side.  Anyway....with a black sharpie marker I drew some lines on a piece of scrap yellow fabric.  Then glued it to the capsule.  A black button with yellow head pins made the head.  The only thing holding the button is the pins stuck into the capsule.  The wings are 2 layers of fabric fused with Heat N Bond Lite in between them.

  

 Now what does every Queen Bee need? ..... Worker bees!

After about an hour of searching for Bee pins I found them....in Jacquelynnes shop!  Geesh....I should have looked there first.  NOW OUT OF STOCK Click here if you like cute pins...she has several different style of pins with different heads.

Awe.....that's better.  

~ Lea Anne ~

~ It's the little things ~

We've all heard it's the little things in life that matter.  The same could be said about the little things in quilting.  While working on a true quarter inch binding I realized the quilt just wouldn't be as cute with the standard binding.

As with any rule or saying there is always an exception.  The little binding clips....

...I found them to be in the way more than they helped.  So they were removed and I stitched the binding to the back without them.  But the little storage tin put a smile back on my face.

While nearing the end of the tiny little binding it occurred to me, this binding went so smoothly due to the fancy new self threading needle.  This little invention is one of my favorite sewing notions.  Not perfect for every hand project but it sure comes in handy for bindings and the multiple times threading the needle.

 Well my little quilt is complete but I can't share it with you for a couple of weeks.  A little secret sewing that is sure to make you smile.

The pictures above made it look like this project went together smoothly.   Behind the scenes was a few little hiccups.  My memory was a little off when cutting the binding strips.  It would have been nice had I cut them too wide...easy to fix...just trim them down to the correct size.  Not the case.  They were cut to narrow.  So I cut the correct binding and made this little chart for reference later.  Most of my bindings are cut 2 1/2" or 2 1/4" for a normal size quilt.  And I thought I cut strips for a true 1/4" binding at 1 1/4".  As you can see by the chart below it should have been 1 1/2".  There's sizes on the chart that I may never use but they are there if I decide to live on the wild side and go LARGE. Since I made this I might as well share with those of you who might need one also.re.  Click here to save and print.

~ Lea Anne ~

~ Pin Cushion ~

Come on in quilty friends!  Grab a cuppa whatever and pull up a chair.  Lots of secret sewing has been going on over the last few weeks.  And it's finally over...YEAH!  But I still can't share the secret.  Well it's still busy, busy, busy, everyday.  I get so busy that the occasional break is needed from the secret and technical stuff .  That brings me to what I want to share with you today.  A few weeks ago the most loved pin cushion in the studio tumbled to the ground, breaking the the base in half.  BOOHOO....but... This BIG ole cutie is moving into it's place as most loved.

No pattern was used, I just flew by the seat of my pants after pulling a few pretty scraps of LakeHouse Drygoods.  Pam Kitty and Holly Holderman come together and worked their sweet magic once again.

Linking up over at

http://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com/2018/07/moving-it-forward_23.html

and

https://conniekresin.com/2018/07/linky-tuesday-july-24th.html

and

https://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/2018/07/lets-bee-social-235.html

~ Lea Anne ~

~ Save the Bee's ~ My Fabric Pull ~

Hi quilty friends!  It's almost time!  Are you ready?  Have you signed up?  Have you pulled your fabric?  Well I've been as busy as a little bee in the Podunk Studio.  Jacquelynne Steves has designed the cutest little Free BOM called Save the Bees.  This one hits close to home for me, Mr. Podunk is a bee keeper!  It's going to be so much fun and I can't wait to see everyone's creations! You need to sign up so you'll never miss a free block.  They'll be sent right to your email every month.  Just CLICK RIGHT HERE TO SIGN UP.

So here's my pull.  I'll be working from my treasured Lakehouse DryGoods scraps once again.   These two little boxes may not look like much but they have made several quilts in the past 3 or 4 years.  No scrap is left behind, every little bitty piece is saved.  They come in quite handy when its time to do applique.  

The really good stuff is in the plastic baggies.  To get the fabric requirements for this quilt click here.  There's  tons of  Save the Bee's color inspiration if you click here.  But remember you still need to sign up to receive the blocks by email.

The 3 baggies of scraps are sorted by size.  

1.  2" or larger but not a FQ

2. Smaller than 2" wide 

3.  Itty bitty scraps but no smaller than a dime.  Yes that's right if I can place a dime on it I save it for itsy bitsy applique.  You can see one of my projects using them here.

The plan is to not to use any fabric out to the boxes unless there's nothing that suits my fancy in the bags.  There's lots of good stuff in the boxes but these smaller scraps need to find a home in a quilt.

As a featured blog hop participant for the Save the Bee's BOM we are given the same freedom as you to step outside the box and play with the pattern.  All we are required to do is make the blocks, then we can set them however we like.  So this year I've chosen to make mine into wall hangings for my mini quilts wall.  The fabric below is my pull for background fabrics.  Not all will make it into the quilt.   

 After about 30 minutes of fabric play here's what I've decided for block one.  I can't wait to show you the finished little cutie on August 6th.   So who's with me?  Are you going to join the fun?  So you're still not convinced.  Well if you fly on over to Jacquelynne's blog you can see the finished quilt layout.  It's ADORABLE!  Click here to be amazed.   Oh....I almost forgot to tell you, there's prizes every month.  You'll definitely want to be a part of that!  So if you don't follow me or Jacquelynnes Blog you might want to, lots of great stuff.  You don't need to make the quilt to win great prizes.  There's several follow me options on the right hand side of my blog.

~  Lea Anne ~

~ Autumn Memories ~ Autumn Love ~

Howdy Sweet Quilting Friends!  While summer is in full swing I can't help but long for the cooler days of Autumn.  The farmers around us are bailing hay and the corn in the fields is starting to show the first signs of drying.  It won't be long until we're roasting marshmallows and gearing up for the end of the year holiday parade.  This year I'm trying to stay a step of ahead of the holiday rush.  When I saw the new line of fabric Autumn Love  by Riley Blake the quilty wheels started turning. Thank you Riley Blake for allowing me to work with new line!

 My newest quilt pattern Autumn Memories.

 Autumn Memories was so much fun to make and just as fun to photograph.  She measures about 61 x 71, the perfect size to take along on hay ride or to toss over the back of the couch.

As you know, I've a new found love of the little red truck on my quilts. It  could be because until recently I was the owner of an older red truck.  My ole truck was sold last year but we had about 10 years of fond memories together.  The applique was made using Heat N Bond lite and a straight stitch around the edge of the applique to hold in place.  Templates and Applique placement  sheets are included in the pattern.

The star block is a variation of the Rolling Star block that I've named Bailing Hay Block.   

Here's the original block that I made a few years ago.

The scrappy border and binding is made from the leftovers of the fat quarter bundle and the backing is a Lori Holt Bee Backing and Borders.  You can purchase the Autumn Love Bundle here.  And the Bee Backing here.

 A big thank you to Judy Willis Stanton for use of her old red barn you see in the picture below.

And to Wallace Farms that makes many appearances in my photos.

You can find this quilt pattern on Etsy as a PDF download or a Mailed pattern.

~ Lea Anne ~