Giving Quilts

We have had out of town family this weekend from South Carolina and Pennsylvania.  My father in law's brother and his sister both came for a visit.  Uncle Don has a special place in my heart and I wanted to do something nice for him.  He had a stroke a few years ago and during the winter his leg and foot stay really cold.  So I sent him home with the picnic quilt I made for our picnic trip to Duke Gardens.  Now he can be toasty and warm when he watches television.

When the realization set in that I was giving it to him, he became all smiles.  He was pleased as a little piggy to be taking the quilt home with him.

Picnic At Duke Gardens

Hubby and I chose to go to the beautiful Duke Gardens for a picnic.  They are located in Durham, NC only 30 minutes from our home.

When we arrived we started scoping out that "perfect spot" to set up our picnic.  We wanted to have lunch before roaming the gardens so the food would not have a chance to spoil... and because we were a little hungry. It took us about 10 minutes to uncover a hideaway spot just perfect for 2 romantics like ourselves.

Can you see the benches nestled away back there?

Perfect!

Looks like some other romantics found this spot too!

I made a picnic quilt special for the occasion.  We spread our picnic quilt out over one of the benches and sat up our basket.  What is in that picnic basket, you ask?  Well, we all know you need fried chicken for any picnic, right?  Hubby's favorite food in the world is fried chicken. He doesn't get it very often because I cannot fry it too well... the outer crispy coating does not stay on.  This yummy chicken came from Popeye's.  Perfect every time!  And no, that is not wine in those glasses.. it is Coca Cola! ha!

A close up of the picnic quilt showing you that yes, I did use pig fabric! :)  I bought these fabrics in 2009 in New Hampshire when I was on a quilting retreat with 70 friends from the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum and they have sat patiently waiting to become something.  This picnic was the perfect time to get them out and make them useful.  I made 10 1/2 inch 4-patch blocks and cut 10 1/2 inch  squares from the pig print to create my quilt.  I quilted it with a free hand square spiral.

I actually made it to fit my eating table but once it was finished and I laid it on the table, I am not so sure I want to use it there.  I added the black to make it wider and longer and I just don't know if I like it in the end.  I think I will put it in the charity cupboard and let a sweet child wrap up in it this winter.

I will tell you now that I cannot get down on the ground and sit so that is why we are not all snug as a bug sitting on the quilt.  There was a second bench so we both sat there and secretly watched everyone coming and going as we had our lunch.  They never knew we were there. :)

As we were leaving our picnic area, we went down by the pond and mama goose was there with a couple of her babies.  Are they not sweet!

And way across the pond were some Canadian Geese.  We are often visited by Canadian Geese here on our farm... 3-4 days a week, most weeks.  I love to hear them honking when they get ready to fly away.  It always makes me smile.

We started making our way around to the various flower gardens... But first I HAVE to show you this!  Is it not the most incredible water fountain you have ever seen!  I told hubby that I would love to have one just like it and he quickly replied, "well, you better win the lottery". lol

These photos are of some of the flower gardens that we enjoyed today...

And a couple of shots with the picnic quilt once again.. Did you notice that it has pigs on it!

I hope that you have enjoyed our picnic and the gorgeous Duke Gardens!  Thank you for taking the time to come and visit today!

Quilt Of Valor

Several quilters got together and made blocks, then sent them to me and I made a few extra blocks and then put the quilt together and quilted it.  I then sent it off to the Magnolia Park Retreat Center where it was presented to Sara, a friend of mine and the ladies who took part.

Flags On A Stick For Myself and Marie

Flags On A Stick have some amazing flags and flag poles!  Visit their website to see the variety! 

The owner over at Flag-Outlet.com sent Madame Samm 8 flag poles to send to some lucky recipients and I was one of the lucky 8!  My pole has a horse finial and I am creating a flag for a very good friend of mine!  Thank you Flag Outlet for my special gift!

My friend Marie loves horses... has one, and rides every day that she can. So I decided to make her a flag for her outdoor flower garden... I cropped the photo a little large so you could see her horse in the background.  I didn't realize I had photographed the horse until I downloaded the camera.

Close up

I google searched for horse silhouettes and found this fabulous horse head. After tracing the outline on to wonder under,  I ironed the wonder under to the black fabric and cut the horse head out, including all of the snippets inside the horse head itself.  I love how the background fabric shines through these snippets.  The background is a beautiful batik and the horse is black Kona solid.  Inside, I added a layer of the fusible fleece that we use in the Tammy Bags to make it hang good and be a little stout.

I presented this to Marie on Monday and she loved it.  But then again, I knew she would.

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I also made myself a flag... I bought these fabrics back in 2009 when I went to a quilting retreat called Circle Of Friends in New Hampshire.  They have laid dormant in my sewing room waiting for just the right time to use them.  Now was the time.

My flag.... amongst the buttercups... Yep, it is a pig..   Doesn't he look as happy as a little pig in the mud... dancing around with his umbrella.  I found this image doing a search for pig silhouettes and I added the words Be Happy to the bottom.  We all need to be happy.  Life is too short for anything else. :)

I went over to our local Ace Hardware and bought this flag pole.  It is perfect for my flag.

Close up

I made my flag the same way I made Marie's.  I love this ticking fabric and if you look close enough, you will see hearts in between the pinstripes.  The black in my flag is a black batik with hints of a beautiful dark blue in it.

The flag will be displayed by the front porch when we are expecting guests.  I will keep it out of the elements in between times.  There isn't anything blooming yet but you can see the hostas are coming up already. I think the flag looks right at home with our little pig friend who sits on top of the porch steps. :)

Thank you for visiting my blog today!!

Ruffled Pillow For Dear Charlotte

This post is centered all around my sister Charlotte.  Charlotte loves to read, has tons of flower gardens.. I think she and my hubby are in a competition to see who can have the most flowers... and she has a heart as big as Texas!
I entered a crazy quilt round robin a few months back and the theme was Kate Greenaway. I googled images from her works and found this woman sitting under a tree reading.  Just perfect for my block.  It was at that time I decided to give the block to my sister once it was completed. I have Carol, Diane, Judy, and Nark to thank for such a gorgeous gift to give to my sister.

Funny thing... tonight I was upstairs stuffing the pillow getting it ready to ship to her.  I called Charlotte to chat while I was working. She could hear the beads clanging on the table as I worked the stuffing in and around the inside of the pillow.  She asked what I was doing.  I told her that I was stuffing a pillow.  Well, she wanted to know why I was stuffing a pillow and I told her that I had made a pillow for her.  She said "yeah, right"... you aren't making me a pillow.

After 2 or 3 counters back and forth of "yes, I am" and "no, you aren't", I gave up and said ok, I'm not.  It is now in a box ready to head for Alabama tomorrow morning.  Won't she be surprised!! haha!

Do you think she will love it?

Little Lamb Door Stop

Meet "Blossom"

She is just the cutest little lamb you will ever see.  I used 3 skeins of white knitting thread to make her body and tail.  I used a little over half a skein of black knitting thread for her feet.  Black and white felt for her face with button eyes and nose.  Yep, I think she is right cute!

If you want to make your own little lamb the instructions and pattern for the face can be found here.

When you get there you will see the lamb came from a book called 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders: A world of possibilities inspired by just one skein.   

Yes, the one in the book is made from one skein of yarn.  Mine has 3!!  So you can tell that Blossom is really a good useful door stopper!   Make yours any size you wish... the "ball" of yarn is on your court. :)

What Is On My Needles

I dabble a little in knitting.  Nothing major, just your basic knitted blanket or afghan.  I have made a few baby blankets and one larger afghan for my hubby back 12 years ago.  I have also made some scarves for friends...none for me as I don't wear them.  I have never been able to wear anything around my neck... not enough turtle neck tops. I don't have photos of the scarves but this one is of the afghan I made for my hubby so many moons ago.

I knitted one pair of house shoes in the 11th grade.  That is the only item other than something "straight" that I have ever knitted.  I don't know if I could knit another pair now or not.  I did purchase a book to teach myself to knit more things than blankets and afghans and I am hoping to put it to use this year.  I would love to be able to knit baby layettes.

I can crochet but my elbow will not let me.  Crochet is so much faster than knitting.  But I can crochet for 30 minutes and it takes me an hour to get the stiffness out of my elbow so I refrain.  My older sister crochets beautifully so I leave it to her.  She has made several baby layettes that included the sweater, hat, booties and blanket.  She also knits and has made 4 blankets using the stitch where as you knit, you are building a cross stitch area.  I will have to get some photos of those 4 blankets on my next trip home if I can.  She cross stitched baby animals in each square and they are beautiful.  Here is one of those type blankets that she did for me and hubby.  She always finishes her blankets with a cute edging!  I love it!

This is another blanket that my sister made for us.  her hubby almost died 2 years ago rendering him unable to work and we helped them as much as we possibly could.  She felt she needed to do something for us in return and gifted us this beautiful blanket.  We will cherish it always.

This was actually the very first crocheted item that my sister gifted me with.  Isn't it darling!

And finally... This is what is now on my needles... I have no definitive plans for this afghan.  I saw the thread and thought it was gorgeous so I bought it and put it on the needles.  I will most likely gift it to someone once it is finished but right now, I don't know who.  The colors are what I use in my master suite so who knows, it may find a place across the foot of the bed  so I can grab quick cover when I take a power nap during the day. :)

So, do you knit?  If so, what is on your needles?

A Birthday and Albino Roosters

Today is my birthday!!!  Happy Birthday to me!  My hubby surprised me with these beautiful roses yesterday!  A day early... hmmm... Now how can he top that today on my actual birthday? :)

This is a wallhanging that I made with the Radical Rooster patterns.  I just love the look of these  albino roosters... and they turned out really awesome all done up in white on white fabrics!

I wanted to put them on black fabric to really show off the albino part of my idea and I added a moon to add to the illusion of it being nighttime.  The border fabric came from JoAnns and is perfect for this quilt with its silvery irridescent moons!  I fussy cut the fabric so the moons surround the quilt evenly. Perfect finishing touch!

I took my quilt to a neighbors who had a chicken coop to get photos but the photos did not turn out so when we got home, hubby put the quilt on the side of our corn crib.  I cropped a rooster out of the other photo and transplanted him on to my photo. :)

I am in a quandry as to what to name the quilt.. I like Moonlight Serenade but I also like Moonlighting In The Barnyard.  Which one do you like best?... or do you have any other ideas for a name?  Any and all ideas will be welcomed!

For This Man of Mine!

I was in Walmart back in 2006 and spied a blue flannel fabric with pink pigs on it.  And if you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know our love of pigs is pretty big.  Well, I bought that flannel and came home, quilted it up, and surprised my hubby with a couch throw.  At first he was kind of put out that it had pink on it but as time waxed on he grew kind of fond of this old quilt.  Even with all of the ribbing my brother has given him over it, he still loves it even now.... and trust me.. my brother can rib pretty hard.

As he has spilled chocolate ice cream on it, coffee, and anything else in his hands.. it has had quite a few washings.  And what does flannel do when it is washed?...it shrinks... So now he has a hard time keeping his feet covered. 

He has complained a few times that I needed to make his piggie quilt longer but as hard as I have tried, I could not find any more of that fabric.  So I decided to make him a new quilt!

Now he is as happy as a little pig in the mud!  You can see how much longer this new quilt is and it is wider too. And this quilt is perfect for a middle aged man... Warm colors, brushed cotton, boxy pattern design, nothing fussy... and critters in the quilting design.

I made the new quilt with brushed cotton fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop which feel and look like flannel....they also quilted up like flannel.  One thing for sure, it is going to be a very warm and cozy quilt for hubby this winter!

My quilting design is frogs and lizards with stippling in between.  I used a  pantograph which had the frogs and lizards and other bugs and armadillos on it as well but it would have been ultra dense and most likely would have come out stiff as a board.  So I chose to skip those elements and only quilt the frogs and lizards.  Perfect for this man of mine!  He loves bugs of all kinds!

I have put a white square around some of the frogs and lizards.  Can you see them?

I asked him what he wanted to do with the flannel quilt now that he has a new quilt and he promptly said, "I want to put it in the cedar chest and keep it" ha!  I figured he would say give it to someone but he wants to save it for Miss Allie one day.  Isn't that sweet!!

We did threaten in one of our conversations way back to send the pig quilt to my brother if I ever made him a new quilt.  The amount of ribbing that my brother gave him over having a pink piggie quilt would serve him right to open a package from us with the quilt in it.  I know my brother... He would shake his head and say "good grief". lol

   

Quilted Finishes!

I am ready to mail the Love Is Wicked and the Our Wicked Family Tree off to their new owners come Tuesday morning.  (Monday is no mail - holiday).  I had a lot of fun quilting these 2 little quilts.  Hubby liked the family tree so well, he wanted me to keep it.  i told him too bad... it was already promised. :)  He didn't actually really like the cats... because we don't decorate for any holidays... he just loved the quilting... So I told him I would quilt another wallhanging that had a lot of background to it and do the same kind of quilting on it.  I think that made him happy. :)

So here goes... I love the texture...Enjoy the picks..

I did the blanket stitch applique once this mini quilt was loaded... and how cool are their tails!