Civil War Reproduction Quilt

This is  Anne's quilt that has kept me busy for a couple of days now.  She spent quite a bit of time piecing this and wanted custom work.  I looked at it and thought, "Oh, my ... this really does scream Custom, doesn't it?"  I had so much fun with this one.  And again, I used my design tool to help lay out the different designs/motifs.  Just a very gratifying quilt all the way around.

It's a dreary rainy day in Georgia so pictures taken inside the house.  Ok, we have sailboats on the desk and Mojito mix on the wine chiller ... hubby on boat and me with a Mojito!  Life is Grand!

I used two layers of batting ... Quilters Dream Blend 70/30 on the bottom and Quilters Dream Wool on top ... and that wool batting just helps the quilting pop, doesn't it?

Hitch your lil' Red Wagon to a star!

Last month I went to a retreat in Florida and came across one of the neatest 'quilting toys' I've ever seen ... a wagon!  


And was I ever happy when I discovered that the wagon was available in RED!  Woo Woo!  My own Little Red Wagon!  


It holds a bunch of quilting stuff and just makes life a little bit easier.  Don't you hate making 3 or 4 trips out to the car to bring in your sewing machine, your project box(es), your cutting mat, your tool case, your seat cushion, your iron, your extension cord(s), your extension table, yada yada yada.  You know what I mean ... you've done it, many times probably.  Well, this little beauty holds it ALL!  And then when you are done, it collapses into a manageable size for storing in the car.  I love this wagon!  


I got mine from Amazon.com - compulsive shopper that I am - but friend Tina found HER little red wagon at her local Sam's Club! Isn't Tina a clever gal and isn't Sam a clever boy for stocking our favorite quilting toys?


So there I go, with my peep-toe-shoes and pulling a little red wagon.  Wheeeeee ....

If I were a frog I'd say "Time's fun when you're having flies ..."

Yes indeedy, time does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it?  And I must have been having a bunch of fun because time sure has flown by.


Daughter Emily (of "I LOVE Mr. Minkee!" fame) visited from Savannah.  First on our list was to visit a new-to-us yarn store, The Whole Nine Yarns (http://www.thewholenineyarns.com) ... and all we can say is "Wow! This is what a yarn store should be!"   And the customer service is top-notch!  Emily is a seasoned knitter and I am a rusty beginner.  I crocheted a long time ago and still feel more comfortable with a single needle but Em has talked me into giving knitting a try.  And we came away with some fabulous yarn so I think I've committed (yeah, where's the straight-jacket?) myself to getting reacquainted with knitting and crocheting.  Like I need another hobby, right?   So click on The Whole Nine Yarns link if you're into the yarn thing.  What a great shop we have here!  


So Em showed me some techniques on using Photoshop on my Wacom Intuos4 ... what a life-saver!  I learned how to copy and paste!  Woo Woo!  


I'm using the Intuos4 to design quilting designs and I absolutely love it.  No more putting a quilt on Max and standing there thinking, "OK, what do I do?"  With the Intuos4 and the Photoshop Essentials program, I can take a picture of the quilt, upload it to my computer and then sit and design.  And pretty soon, voila!  A design comes forward and I can actually see what it might look like.   I really like this approach much better than the ... uh oh, what do I do now? scenario that I once experienced.  Great designing tool.


And then while Em knitted me a cowl scarf, I started a spiral table runner.  Have you seen this?  It is so much fun!  And the hardest part is picking out the fabrics and then learning how to cut them.  But once that is done, it's easy peasy!  Haven't decided how to quilt it yet.  That will come soon.


Here's some pictures to enjoy.

Spiral Table Runner

Sweet Em knitting while we solved all the troubles of the world!  

Baby's Bow Wow Blankie and a Halloween Boo!

I started back to the gym this week and it feels like I've got energy to spare.  I get more done in the first 4 hours of the day than I was getting in 12 hours ... I've always known this would happen but it seems that putting on my sneakers is the hardest part of exercising ... but once I'm there and then back home, I'm a New Woman!


So I have finished these two customer quilts and they are both so cute!


First up is Jennie's Bow Wow Blankie ... 4 little dachshunds all around the quilt with hearts in the middle.  Isn't it cute?

The second quilt is a fun Halloween quilt that Catherine pieced for someone who loves Halloween candy ... and spiders ... and spiderwebs ... and ... BOO!  It was a lot of fun once I figured out that spiders and spiderwebs needed to grace those jars of candy.    And by the way, I'm blaming the poor pictures on our weather.  It was 21 deg F outside this morning.  This is Georgia, for goodness sake ... not Minnesota!   No way am I going out in that frigid air to take pictures!  Click on the picture and you can see close up all the pretty webs and their inhabitants.  

My by-line - I'm not afraid of a little color!

 I spent some time this week quilting something just for me!  Wheeeeee   .... and now that I've had some fun playing, it's time to get back to work.  Sigh ...


This is my Kaffe Fassett quilt that I pieced sometime before Christmas.  I decided to put it on Max this week ... and then I had another thought ... careful now ... I've always wanted to play with two threads on top so why not try it on this quilt?  There is no way that the quilting is going to be noticed because the colors and the fabrics are so awesome, so why not?  

So I used two Magna-Glide threads .... a lime green and a dark purple ... on top and a pre-wound SoFine Bottom Line in the bobbin.


Let me tell you, buddy ... these APQS machines are tremendous.  I had no issues whatsoever with the two threads!  I tweaked the top tension just a bit ... tighter ... and away we went!  I am so loving this machine.

And here it is on our guest room bed!  Doesn't Snowflake the Teddy Bear look comfortable?  LOL!  


It is really really pretty.  Love those Kaffe Fassett fabrics!

I'm back!

My trusty computer came down with a horrible virus this past week and I just got it back today!  I can't tell you how much work I got down while computer was in the hospital!  You know what I'm talking about ... don't deny it ... stitch a bit, check the web ... stitch a bit, come back and check e-mail ... stitch a bit ...  


Anyway, I'm relearning my system.  They put Google Chrome on for me ... supposedly helps to drive away the virus's (viri??) and malware and trojans.  Sounds like we are continually fighting a huge war, doesn't it?


I have been busy.  I finished a couple of quilts and I'll post pictures soon.  Just wanted to keep in touch and let you know that I haven't deserted the blog.  


Oh, wait for it ... my big ol' Kaffe Fassett quilt is almost quilted and I did something different! 


More later!


Thanks for visiting.  


Sylvia

Cowboy Trail

It's too early for me to write my own stuff here, but just take a peek at this ...

http://silverthimbletalk.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-much-to-tell.html

Scroll down to the Cowboy Blues Trail ... you'll know it when you see it ...

It's mine!  All mine!  Love that Cowboy Blues Trail!

Let me know what you think.  And when it's completed I'll post a new picture.  

Pat was great!  If you ever get a chance to take a class or retreat with her, go!

APQS ROADSHOW IN MARIETTA TODAY

THE APQS ROADSHOW WILL BE IN MARIETTA TODAY STARTING AT NOON.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS OFF OF FRANKLIN ROAD

1250 FRANKLIN ROAD

MARIETTA, GA

COME ON BY AND 'DRIVE' THE BEST LONG-ARM MACHINE ON THE MARKET - AN APQS MILLENNIUM OR FREEDOM OR LENNI!  

BEST PRICES AVAILABLE FOR THESE GREAT MACHINES.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!