Another Quilt Top

Yesterday I finished my last QOTM top from 2014. It had gotten put on the side burner because I cut a section at the wrong width. I had to go to BSC to get replacement fabrics. We found three of the fabrics immediately. The fourth one took a few days as they had to search in their scraps for it. Fortunately enough of all the fabrics were found. By then I'd moved on to other projects. I finally got back to it a couple of days ago. 
I started this quilt on February 3rd. The beginnings of the project are on my February 4th blog post entitled Studio.
The quilt pattern is by Villa Rosa Designs and called Cloud Nine. (The model of sewing table I have is also called Cloud Nine.) I used the kit BSC had available. This is going to be another charity quilt. Here's the pieced top. Enjoy!

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Peace!

Teapot BOM

In January I decided that I wanted to do the Shabby Fabrics Teapot Block of the Month. It's a six month BOM. I got my first pattern and fabrics the end of February. The company gives you plenty of fabric and excellent directions for each block. I finished making my first block last Thursday. Here's the finished block.

Below is the pattern for the second block. I have all the applique patterns traced on fusible. This pattern arrived two days after the first block was finished!

The piecing is a little tedious, but I so love doing the appliques. The steady sound of the machine making the stitches is soothing and relaxing. It's nice to do between other projects. The cheery fabrics make doing these blocks so much fun. Applique quilts are my favorites to make. 

I use the applique techniques taught in Sue Nickels and Pat Holly's  book Stitched Raw Edge Applique. You can find this book at Sue's website.

Use your time wisely and with intentionality. You'll get so much done. Have an awesome day! 

Peace!

Bebe and Isabel

A couple of weeks ago, while out to lunch with friends, we stopped in the Quilt Shop of DeLand. They had an adorable doll clothes pattern, which I purchased. Our youngest granddaughter Faith, has a Bitty Baby, Bebe, and an American Girl doll, Isabel. The pattern had outfits for both size dolls. Sweet!

One of this year's goals is to use my fabric stash whenever possible. I looked through my stash to find fabrics for the doll clothes. The pattern takes several fabrics for each outfit. Faith likes pink and purple. I found a coordinating line of fabric with those colors to use.

Indygo Junction produced the pattern. It's called Dolly Dress-up. There were a couple of errors in the pattern pieces. Nothing major though, so easy adjustments. I couldn't find an errata page with corrections on their website. I suppose I should email them and let them know.

I made Bebe and Isabel each a jumper. Bebe's has bloomers and Isabel's has shorts to go with it. There's also a t-shirt pattern included. There wasn't a suitable knit in my stash, so I went to Bernina Sewing Centre and purchased a quarter yard of cream knit. That was enough for both shirts. It calls for Velcro for the back closures. I tried to use some old Velcro like stuff from my mom. The little squares were sewed on with my Bernina 750. They wouldn't stick together. I don't think it was real Velcro, but some poor imitation! I had to pick all those little stitches out of the knit fabric. Colored snaps that coordinated with their outfits did the job!

Faith was very happy with the new clothes for Bebe and Isabel!

Peace!

Wordless Wednesday

One nation under God?

The people of the United States claim to be a nation under God and as such we think God will bless us. Are we a nation following what God had Jesus teach us in the Bible? Do we love one another? Do we do to others as we would have them do to us? I don't think so. If we truly love everyone as God requires, we would be helping to provide food, clothing, medical care and a great education for everyone. Instead we're focused on lining our own pockets, building our treasures on earth and serving ourselves!
We're not alive to serve ourselves. We're here to further God's kingdom. We're here to serve God. If you want our nation to be blessed, I challenge you to read the gospels. Does your life line up with Jesus's teachings? Seek his guidance, search yourself, to see what more you can do to serve God. That's what I'm doing. 
In serving God you will be changing our country and in turn the world.
Peace!

70/40 Birthday Party

The past week, my daughter Kim, son-in-law Roger, grandson Ryan and granddaughter Shelley, were here for the week. It was a really cold week in Florida but far warmer than they would have been at home in Georgia. My husband had Monday off for President's Day, but worked the rest of the week. My SIL worked from our house all week. The rest of us cooked, ate, sewed, read, played on the Wii and relaxed.

Friday evening we celebrated my husband Chris's and son Geoff's birthdays with a 70/40 party. Shelley and granddaughter Angelica helped us shop for the decorations at the party store. They, along with Ryan and GD Faith, did the decorating. It was a small party with family and a few friends. There was lots of laughter, so I think everyone had a great time. Certainly my husband and I did!

Kim and I did most of the cooking. We served appetizers of olives, Jarlsberg cheese dip, beet hummus, crackers and French rounds.

Our dinner menu was pistachio encrusted salmon, sautéed yellow squash, zucchini and onion, steamed asparagus, and ciabatta bread (made by our friends Dan and Susan). Everything was delicious! Shelley made Ghirardelli brownies and Angelica made gluten free brownies for dessert. We served them with Publix Organic Vanilla Ice Cream. Yummy!

We had to have a kids table and an adult table since we couldn't fit fifteen around our dining table.

The kids played tic-tac-toe on my iPad!

Peace!

Bernina Presser-foot 97D

Toward the end of 2014 Bernina came out with a new 1/4" foot for their models with 9mm feed. The 97/97D feet are made with a wider toe on the left side so it will better keep your fabric from shifting! The 97D is for the Bernina's with the built in dual feed. The right toe is just like the 37 and 57 feet. Since these feet were back ordered, I just recently got mine and I love it. The foot also comes with a guide that screws into the base of your machine. The right edge of your fabric is against it as seen in the a picture below. This gives you a perfect 1/4" seam! It's your choice whether you use the guide or not. I'm very happy with my new foot! Thank you Bernina Sewing Centre for ordering the 97D foot for me.

Peace!