Opening the Mystery Boxes

 Hey Quilty Friends!  Today we're finally going to dig into those mystery boxes.  I thought one of them held my very small stash of Home Dec fabric but I was wrong. 

So let's start with the one on the bottom first.  It's hiding something super cute.

As soon as I opened it I remembered it and wanted to start working on it again.

I designed this one a few years ago. 

I'm pretty sure everything I need to finish the quilt top is in the box.  Let's find out!

The test block is the only block that is completely finished.

Several partial blocks, lacking only the flower and stars.

Three blocks still needing all the applique.

Oodles of arcs for the rest of the quilt.

A few scraps because I over cut.  But maybe they can be worked into the design. 

All the fabric is here.  I might have included the backing and binding too.  

Now onto the next box.

More patriotic fabrics!

This is what was left of the fabric pull when making my Stars and Stripes Forever quilt.  The plan was to keep using the fabrics until it was gone.  Maybe a Bonnie hunter scrap quilt in red, white and blues or a simple log cabin quilt.  Later in the day this box sent me on a Google and Pinterest patriotic quilt pattern search.  You can see my Patriotic Pinterest Board I started years ago by clicking here.

But before wasting a couple hours looking at patriotic quilts I thought it  would be a good idea to straighten up the mess in this box.

It didn't take me long to realize, I really don't want to sort fabric today.  This isn't fun at all!

So I the little sorting I dud was neatly placed back in the box.

Both boxes will be going back in the cabinet.  You see, I have a procrastination problem.  There's other messes to tend to in the Studio and a quilt needing to be quilted in the background of the picture below.

Sigh...priorities and goals.  Had I stuck to this type of thinking years ago I wouldn't be in this situation now.  So I better stick to the list of goals and priorities. Yes, I'm pouting and stomping like a 9 yr. old little girl that has been told to stay in his room until it's clean. 

Picture from

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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~ Stars and Stripes Forever ~

 Hi Friends!  Thanks for dropping by Podunk!  This week we've been blessed with  picture perfect weather.  The sunny days with low humidity are amazing for outdoor quilt pictures.  So you're scratching your head thinking, low humidity?  How does that effect picture taking?

Well, high humidity really doesn't effect the quilt or the camera, it effects ME and my willingness to stay out in heat to get the perfect shot.  Wallace Farms has so many awesome little nooks great for staging quilt photos.  I have my favorite spots but have decided to expand this properties full potential.  The owner, Debbie Wallace, gives me the freedom to roam about and take all the pictures I want.

While trying to set up the perfect quilt photo it's easy to forget I'm here to get good detailed photos of the quilt and not the background.  However the lighting was perfect yesterday for quilting details.  There was no need to up close and personal with the quilt.  My simple, quick and easy free motion quilting shined bright in every picture.

There's a little ruler work on the stars to make them pop out to the quilt.  I used the same backing on this quilt as in my last patriotic quilt.  It's from the fabric line Hope Chest by Penny Rose Fabrics.   When I saw this fabric at Ben Franklin Crafts in New Albany Indiana for $2.99 a yard...I bought the entire 12 yard bolt!   That's better prices than Walmart fabric.  Which reminds me, most of the fabrics in this quilt are from Walmart.  There's a few designer prints.  The binding and the star in the bottom left of this picture is Lakehouse Drygoods.  

The truth be told I wish we could all afford to work with nothing but designer fabrics but that's just simply not the case.  When you love what you do, you will find a way to do what you love.  Will these fabrics last as long as designer fabrics?   Only time will tell, so lets just enjoy our creations now and hope for the best!  

What I can tell you is, as I stitched down the raw edge applique stars, they all behaved the same.  Meaning....none of them frayed on the edges, the fusible wasn't more visible, the whites didn't shadow the background fabrics any worse than the designer fabrics.  The wavy blue border is designer fabric that is bias cut and not fusible applique, it too behaved well with the cheaper fabrics as I glued and stitched it into place. You can see how the wavy blue was attached here.

But the one thing I loved was seeing this on the cheaper fabrics.  

Stars and Stripes will be a published pattern sometime next week.  I'm gonna say Friday but it could be sooner.  Keep your eyes open!  There will be a special offer when it's published!

See you soon!

~ Lea Anne ~

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~ Lost and Found ~

Hello, Sweet Friends!  Look what I found hiding in my dresser full of unquilted tops.  Another patriotic quilt!  Funny how we make things and forget about them.  This top was started last year about this time of year.  You can read more about the fabrics and the star block here.

After searching my history on this quilt, it looks like it already has name.  Stars and Stripes Forever.  You can read more about the quilt design, the wavy border and the quilt that inspired my design here.

The quilting is going to be super simple, lots of free motion mixed with a little ruler work.

Linking up with these fine bloggers!

https://www.quiltfabrication.com/2018/06/midweek-makers-127.html

See you Friday for the finish!

~ Lea Anne ~

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~ A Quicky Quilt ~ Free Quilt Block ~

Hi! Quilting Friends!  The last few months have been full of work, work, work.  To be honest I get tired of work...who doesn't.  While I love designing new quilts, the writing of patterns takes away from my real love....making them!  So this past Saturday I decided to take a day off from the work part and just throw together something that someone else designed.  Something that wouldn't require a lot of time.  When I found this video tutorial it was apparent this quilt fit my needs.  The large 18.5 x 14.5 blocks have 8 pieces in them so you can make a big quilt quick.  Here's a link to the video tutorial I used.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgYS_7HJAiQ  

The tutorial called for less blocks and a different sashing layout.  If  I can get permission from the designer I'll share my measurement adjustments when the quilt is finished. (Friday)

The cutting for this quilt started on Saturday around noon.   By Sunday around 1pm I had a completed quilt top!  WOOHOO!  That's quick!  No cooking, no cleaning, and I kinda threw hygiene out the window.  A quick brush of my teeth and I was ready to power sew in my jammies.

My hopes was to have it finished, quilted and bound by midnight Sunday.  After all the power sewing I pooped out after a few technical difficulties with my quilting.  But I'm back on track and things are progressing quickly again.  What a fun challenge and change of pace.  Do you ever push yourself just to see if you can do it?

See you soon with the finish! 

Linking up
https://www.quiltfabrication.com/2018/05/midweek-makers-126.html

https://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/2018/05/lets-bee-social-229.html

~ Lea Anne ~

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