Sewing with Sandy in May

Oops, I’m a day late… So sorry but the weather has been so nice I’ve been walking and sitting outside.  

Anyway, on with the projects. 

I got to pick our May projects.  First up…the monthly Buttermilk Basin “By thy hands” BOM

Here’s Sandy’s.

And this one is mine.

A little display.

This next one was a freebie off the internet.  Sorry, no name and no designer. 

Don’t you love the frame and background Sandy chose?

This one is mine.  

Next up is a little quilt from Primitive Gatherings called “Back in Time”, designed by Lisa Bongean.   We both were drawn to this quilt because of the cheddar fabric.  Yummy!

Sandy used fabrics from her stash.

I had a kit.  Funny thing about the kit.   I bought it a couple of years ago,  but when it came time to start working on it, I couldn’t find it anywhere.  I tore my nest apart looking for it but never did. ( I think Jack, the cat, knocked it off my sewing table into the waste basket.  Thankfully, Karen came to my rescue and let me have the kit she bought.  Thanks Karen. 

Now, not to toot my own horn, but those of you who have followed me for awhile know that I “quilt by check”.  Well, not this time.   The center is machine quilted and the borders are HAND quilted…by ME!  Woo Hoo!!!

Up next is another Buttermilk Basin pattern called “Winter Welcome Runner”.   Sandy’s looks like the pattern.  

I decided to just stitch the center and frame it.   

And lastly, the quilt of the month chosen from the book, “101 Fabulous Small Quilts” is called “Jacob’s Ladder”.   This is the largest one that we’ve made so far.  (30” x 30”)

Here’s Sandy’s.

And mine.  

Sew, that’s it for May.   Gotta get to work on June.   It might get tougher to get them done this summer because I’d rather be outside and Sandy has a farm to run.   We’ll try tho….just for YOU!

Till next time… (I was gonna say “month”, but since I’m late posting this, I’ll try be on time in June)  LOL

Hugs, Anne

April Sewing with Sandy

Sorry I’m a bit late with this recap of our projects.  No real excuse.   I guess I’m just out of the habit of blogging for some reason. Anyway, here’s the show. 
This month Sandy picked the projects for us to do. 
Again, first up is the April Buttermilk Basin “By Thy Hands BOM”.  
This is Sandy’s.

And here’s mine.

Thought I’d show where I put it in the house.  

Our stitchery project for the month was called “Frosty Freddie Candle Mat” by Primitive Stitches.
Here are all of them together.   Sandy made the the top 2 and I made the bottom one.

And a little staged photo of mine.   (wow, looks kiinda stark in this picture.   I think it needs a little quilt under it.)

Then Sandy decided on “Never Leave the table before the other guests” from the book “101 Fabulous Small Quilts”
She did hers just like the pattern.

I decided I wanted less of a scrappy look for mine.  (It kind of makes your eyes go crazy seeing movement where there isn’t any.  LOL)

Looks better when it’s surrounded by other things.

The wool project chosen was "Flying Santa Pillow” by Aunt Sanny.   This is Sandy’s…

And here’s mine.

We threw in this little snowman mat because it looked so simple and easy.   In fact, it’s so simple and easy that Sandy made 3.  Hers are the top ones and mine is on the bottom right.   The pattern is by Buttermilk Basin called “Sew Simple BOM” and it’s the January block.   Sandy “claims” she did so many because she had orphan blocks laying around the house.   Sure, Sandy!

I filled mine with crushed walnut shells, so it can either be a pincushion or a little pillow to set out. 

Last fall, we went to a really cute shop in Independence, OR, Ladies of Liberty, and saw this little wall hanging.  We both fell in love with it, so it got added to the list too.   (I have long overdue pictures of the shop to share with you soon).
The pattern is called “My Little Baskets” by Primitive Patchworks.
Sandy chose to do hers in all cotton...

And I did mine in Cottons n Wool!   (get it?)

I had recently picked up this little quilt rack (18”) and lo and behold…this one fit perfectly.   (Don’t you just love the modern technology next to our quilts….geesh)

This next one was left over from our March projects.  We told ourselves that if something didn’t get done in time for our reveal, no big deal…we’d just show it some other time.  
So, this one is called “A Good Night” by Designs by Cheri.  
First up is Sandy’s

And mine.  

And then… trying to finish up some UFO’s, I managed to get this one quilted and hanging in our outside entry.   The pattern is “Simply Spring” by Cottage Creek Quilts.
I’m beginning to feel much more comfortable quilting these little ones myself.   In fact, I’m taking a Freemotion Quilting class on Saturday.   Can you imagine how much it would cost me to have someone quilt all of these little projects?   I’ll still send out the big ones, but will try to do the smaller ones myself.   

And last up…I managed to squeeze in this cute little pillow called “Spring Has Sprung” by Lily Anna Stitches.    I saw it made up when I was staying at Patty’s house in Calif in March.   She generously loaned me the pattern and… voila.   Another fast and easy project finished for Spring.  

That’s it for April.   Sorry to be a day late (and always a dollar short).   LOL
Next Monday is the yearly reveal for our challenge block for my stitching group, Material Girls.   The block that was chosen was the Dresden Plate.    It will be fun to see what everyone came up with.  It’s a fun time and I promise to be back with pictures.  
Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs, Anne

February sewing with Sandy

It’s that time again to share the projects that Sandy (no blog) and I worked on in February. 

This month Sandy chose all the projects.  

We continued working on our BOM Buttermilk Basin little mats called “By thy Hands”

This one is mine.

And here it is with my candle holder.

This is Sandy’s.  She had already made the February one and called it December’s, so she made up her own design.  Cute, huh?

Next up is a pattern from Lisa Bongean when she used to be known as “Backyard Quilts”.  It’s from the book “All things Primitive”.   The name of the pattern is Holly & Hearts Wool Pillow.  

This one is mine. I got the frame at Michael's.

Sandy is making her own frame but didn’t quite get it finished.  More on that later!

This pillow design is by JoAnn Mullaly from her book “Folk Branches”.   It’s called the Heart Branch pillow.  

This one is mine.  

And here’s Sandy and her pillow.

As I said last month, we are making quilts from the “101 Fabulous Quilts” book.   This month we chose “Nine Patch Nostalgia”.  

Here’s mine. 

And Sandy’s…

We are always on the lookout for freebie patterns on the internet.   This one comes from Pleasantree’s blog.  It only measures 11” x 15” and is so adorable.   This one is mine.

Sandy decided to make hers a bit larger by adding an inner border and then slightly wider outer border.   It’s still not very big, tho.

Our next project was taken from another free design by Twigs and Sprigs.   I actually had the pattern, given to me by my friend, Patty.   However, it’s now available as a freebie.  Check out the designs and then have fun putting your touch on them.   I decided to do mine in wool on a flannel background.  

Sandy did the stitchery version and then decided she wanted a wool version too.    I love the vertical placement she did on the framed one.  

And all together.  

Another little freebie came from Cheryl Wall of “Country Quilts”.   It’s called “Christmas at the Cabin Sachet” and measures 6” x 6”.    It was really fun to make and oh so quick and easy.  I stuffed mine with fiberfill because I’m allergic to scents, but it would be really nice filled with some “smellies”.

This gives you a good reference as to how small it is.   This one is mine.

And…Sandy’s.  

Now, if that wasn’t enough, I wanted to finish something that I had sitting around (for years).   This is called “Snowmen” (duh) and it’s from the book “Hollyberry Stitcheries” by Kindred Spirits.   It’s the same book that we used for the little primitive Christmas tree that we made last month.  Great book.  

And Sandy saw this design on Pinterest and decided to whip one up for herself.  

Over the years you’ve heard about Sandy being the whiz kid at getting so many projects finished. Well, now you’ll have a new found respect for her, because in addition to getting all her projects finished (except for the frame), this is what’s going on in her house.  

A total kitchen remodel!!!   They started right after Christmas and have been living in chaos for the past 2 months.    She amazes me!

Once it’s finished, I’ll get her to show us the “after”. 

Hope everyone is staying warm and dry (poor California).   We had a couple of inches of snow overnight, and it’s really pretty and pristine outside right now.   It’s a perfect day to start on our March projects.  

Hugs, Anne

I'm a winner!

A few weeks ago, I commented on Carrie Nelson's blog, La Vie en Rosie when she was offering a giveaway.   Well, lo and behold, I was a winner!

Check out this cute label.  

I never even knew you could buy polka dot tape.  Now I'm on a mission to find some!

The giveaway was a set of "Fit to be Quarter" rulers.   Carrie uses them, so therefore, that means all my quilts are going to look like hers if I use these rulers, right?   Hmmm!

I got extra excited when I saw that she had included two little polka dot scissor covers.   They are already protecting my scissors.  

Thank you so much Carrie!   You are such a generous designer!

Now, on to another challenge that Sandy and I did.   The pattern is by Red Button Company and we saw the sample at Market in May.  

This one is mine.

This is Sandy's.  Click on the picture to see how cute the running stitch is that she used for the vine.  Wish I had thought of that.  

We also finished our "By the Hand" little Buttermilk Basin mats.    This is the September one of Sandy's.  Hmm, now why did it rotate on me?   Geesh!   Just turn your computer upside down to see it.  :)

I have mine set out with my fall decorating which I'll share with you soon.

Tomorrow I'm heading out with 7 other quilters for a week long retreat at the Oregon Coast.   I'm taking my computer, and if we have a WiFi connection, I'll be sure and share pictures of the creativity going on.  

Have a good week!

Hugs, Anne