Podunk Pickin's

As most of my readers know I'm all about freebies.  Sharing my creations as free tutorials and patterns as well as the freebies posted by other bloggers.   Podunk Pickin's posts will be all about YOUR tutorials, tips and free patterns.  

Image above was a free image found here

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 send me an email (My email address is podunkpretties@gmail.com)

Include these 3 things in your email.

1. a link to your project or tip post  

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.  And that's the cue for this weeks finds.

Becky over at PatchworkPosse has shared a tutorial for a sweet little baby quilt called Early Bird Baby Quilt.   You can find the tutorial by clicking  HERE.

Another adorable free baby pattern Maverick's Hippo Quilt by Rebecca Danger.  You'll need to scroll down on the page to find the link to the free printable pattern.  Click Here

Enjoy!

~ Lea Anne ~

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Finding time to play

 There's been little time for sewing in the last couple of weeks.  Most of my time is spent in the garden or in the kitchen, but my mind is always thinking of quilting.  In between the batches of preserving food I've played with an idea or two in the Studio. 

Drafting the dresden block was a little easier on paper than it was in EQ7.  After drafting it I needed to make a template.  As you know I often make my own Acrylic templates, but if I can use one that I already have that's even better.

So I pulled out every template in my stash and this one is the only one that fit in the wedge shape.  Glow line tape was added for easy placement onto the fabric.

My test block was a success!  Well...one fabric placement booboo but it can stay in the quilt.  It sticks out like a sore thumb to me, can you see it?

Now the playing begins.  This is my favorite part of the designing process.  I always have a general idea, but there's always room for improvement and improvising.  The circle and petal pieces were left overs from the my last little quilt that you can find here.  Not so sure that the red one is going to make it into this project but it's doing a good job of being useful as a visual aid.

I love the octagon shape that's made when the dresden tips are put together.  It wasn't part of the plan but I could play around with it a little bit more later on. 

For now the playtime is over and it's time to get busy doing the so called "important stuff".

So do you design your own quilts?  Do you play with the design after cutting a few test pieces?  What's your designing process?

~ Lea Anne ~

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Throwback Thursday

Are you ready for another blast from the past?  Before sharing my throwback quilt today I'd like to invite you to share your own over at Krista Quilts.  It's a brand new linky party and we're having fun sharing the quilts at the beginning of our quilting journeys.

My quilt this week isn't the one I wanted to share.  It just happened to be the first older quilt picture I came across while searching my old picture files.  Mom started this quilt when I was pregnant with my daughter back in 1987.  Well like mother like daughter, it became a UFO for 20 plus years.  This is what it looked like when she gave it to me to finish for my first grandchild.  All I can say is UGGGGGLY!  It needed a bit more character.  At the time I had a full time job that left little time for quilting, so it was laid aside and forgotten.

A few years later while rummaging through the ever growing UFO pile I ran across the hand embroidered blocks that I had removed, washed and pressed.  It was time for a shopping trip!  I took the blocks with me to the LQS and found that the colors mom used in the hand embroidery matched very well with 30's reproductions.

Luckily I was able to find a muslin that matched perfectly with the fabric she had used over 20 years ago.  The quilt pattern was a freebie called Hugs and Kisses.  Moms embroidered blocks had to be squared up and enlarged using the muslin.

I didn't have a frame quilter at the time so I did some straight line stitching to secure the blocks for quilting with my embroidery machine.

Instead of giving this quilt to one of my grandchildren I gave it back to mom on her birthday in 2011.  The label reads

Embroidered 1987

by L.F. Mason

Pieced and quilted 2011 

by L.A. Brummett

It's not very often that my grumpy ole momma gets teary eyed but this put a lump in the grumpy Gerties throat.  Not the reaction that was expected...but better.  

~ Lea Anne ~

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Mini Basket Finished

Hello quilting buddies!  I'm still here plugging along.  There's so much to do that my quilting is taking a backseat.  

The original plan for this basket block was a larger quilt with several of these blocks and an applique border.   I may eventually make a larger quilt using the block design but for now I just want a finished project.  The base of the basket block(red gingham) is as wonky as it looks.  It was a scrap piece of gingham cut on the bias that obviously didn't get enough starch.

The simple little bud bloom has also inspired a couple other design ideas for other quilts.  For now they are just scribbles on paper .  However I did make a few more of the blooms just so I could have hands on playtime with design ideas.

Due to the desperation of needing a finish the quilting was kept simple and done with  my walking foot on the domestic machine.  The backing pictures were horrible, so you'll just have to imagine what the polka dot binding would look like as the backing.

Linking up with 

FreemotionbytheRiver

and

BlossomHeartQuilts

and

QuiltStory

and

IHavetoSay

~ Lea Anne ~

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