It's hot.

Statement of fact, the hot weather is upon us.  I'm not a fan, and while I like to keep my complaints to a minimum, I can't help it. I hate summer.  Ok, I said it, I guess I can move along now. 

 

Thanks last week for all the nice comments on the Splendid Sampler block.  The Facebook group is full of blocks, wow, people are so on top of this project, blocks started popping up in no time.  People are clever and I saw a lot of pretty broderie perse style blocks.   There were a lot of people who embellished their blocks with embroidery and there were some fun embellishments to the rick rack handles as well.  You can see a lot of blocks I found using the Splendid Sampler hashtag that I shared here, just in case you don' t regularly look at instagram.   Its been fun to see the blocks and the positive comments are more than welcome. 

 

Frankie popped in for the weekend.  Didn't turn on my sewing machine once, and I'm not even sorry.  There's always today! 

Ok, I am working on a little pillow for Frankie's sofa, so I better finish that up today.  I had thought I'd get it done for her but you know, things get in the way. Now I'll have a surprise for the next get together!  Have a great week everyone! xo

 

 

Happiness in Stitches!

Good morning old  friends and new!!  Today is my day for the Splendid Sampler .  When Pat and Jane invited me to design an applique block for their project I was so excited.  There are so many wonderful designers participating and I'm grateful for the opportunity to join them!

 

Back in November I received my roll of fabric from Moda.  I also got a wonderful box of coordinating threads from Aurifil to use with my block. 

 

Here's what I came up with!    Vintage Flower Basket is   inspired by old heat transfer embroidery designs.  Growing up we embroidered pillow cases  and tea towels for Christmas gifts and I  love those old patterns.  

 

 

Although it looks like a complicated block, it really isn't.  I chose rick rack instead of a bias handle, I think it adds a bit of whimsy and it's a lot  easier. I like to use just a couple of drops of glue to baste it in place until I stitch it down, which I do with matching thread and a straight stitch. You can trace your pieces onto fusible web, fuse onto the wrong side of your fabrics and cut out. Use the third page of the pattern, which you can download from the Splendid Sampler website, to layout your block. Then just fuse in place, and stitch it down with a blanket stitch like I did or  whatever your preference is.  I'm NOT and applique genius, so I if I can do it, you can do it!  The Splendid Sampler project is a great one in that you can try new things in a no pressure way! 

 

For my own  Splendid Sampler quilt I looked around for some color inspiration and found this fun basket of cookies and thought they were perfect. 

 

 

 

Of course I'm always drawn to pinks, reds and greens with a bit of yellow. 

It was so fun to design this block.  I played around with it for a while before I came up with my final design.. hard to resist the urge to just cram a million tiny flowers on it. 

  

 

 

But I love how it turned out in the end.  I hope you  do too.  Thanks for inviting me Pat and Jane, and thanks to all of you who came by to read about my block!!!  Can't wait to see your Vintage Flower Baskets on Instagram and Facebook!  Tag me on IG (@pamkittymorning)  so I don't miss a block!

Monday

Good morning! Happy Monday!  Did you have a fun weekend? We had fun planting up a few pots of flowers and puttering around the house, having a nice lunch out.  Nothing too exciting really, but very nice. 

 

This week's Splendid Sampler block by my friend Laura Flynn is adorable. You can read about her block here, she has some great tips about fabric selection and tips and  tools that are helpful. I had a lot of fun making it. 

 

Hope to start some fun new projects this week, and maybe get back to some neglected ones.  I'm a great procrastinator, and so I also have some pictures to take for upcoming things.  Not long now! 

 

Thanks for all the nice comments and emails about my Farm Girl Vintage cake. I sure had fun making it, and fun seeing all the cute cakes everyone made.

 

Do you have plans for the week? It's heating up here, so perfect time to get some sewing done.  Have fun!

Happy Anniversary Farm Girl Vintage!

Hard to believe that today is Lori Holt's  book Farm Girl Vintage  1 year anniversary! Lori's at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shop celebrating with another Farm Girl Vintage quilt retreat, and you can see a cute picture of Lori here.

 

In typical Lori style, she's celebrating with this cute new cake pattern!  You can hop over to the Jolly Jabber today and pick up the pdf. 

I was inspired by all the cakes from the Quilty Fun birthday celebration and made a cute Sunrise Studio strawberry cake with chocolate frosting!

 

I couldn't resist a Fire King Green cake stand! I added a border to my block and made it a mini quilt.  Crosshatch quilting always makes me happy. 

 

Check out all the fun people blog hopping along with Lori and the Fat Quarter Shop today!

Kerry from Very Kerry Berry

Vickie from Spun Sugar Quilts

Sedef from Down Grapevine Lane

Erin from Why Not Sew?

Kelly from Kelbysews

Debbie from Happy Little Cottage

Greg from Grey Dogwood Studios

Renee from Sewn with Grace

Sinta from Pink Pin Cushion

Lisa from In the Boondocks

Connie from Free Motion by the River

Dana from Old Red Barn Co.

Barb from Me & My Sister Designs

Melissa from Happy Quilting

Sharla from Thistle Thicket Studios

Kim from Persimon Dreams

Marni from Haberdashery Fun

Jacque from Lily Pad Quilting

 

 

Are you making a cake this weekend??? Hope you have a happy one! xo

Rodeo Weekend

Hi there cowboys and girls!  It was rodeo weekend  in Livermore this weekend.  Not that I went, when the temps almost top 100 I am totally a stay at home club girl.  But as you know it's one of my favorite times of year to see all those crazy cowboys around town advertising the rodeo.  You can see a different selection of them here. Once I saw them for sale at the feed store.. why oh why didn't I buy my own? 

And what is this guy doing at the grocers when he used to live around the corner? 

And why are so many of them outside of local bars?

All mysteries that will remain unsolved for another year. Have a good week friends!

Friday?

Hello friends!  My phone tells me it's Friday, I hardly believe it but it must be true.  Weather wise the week  has been so lovely, temps in the 70s, cool breezes, afternoons on the swing.  If only all the summer days could be so delightful. 

 

Looks like we'll have another week of mild temperatures. Perfect. It makes for better sewing weather for sure. Have you picked up the latest American Patchwork and Quilting?  Wow there are some wonderful projects in there, particularly Just Rosie by Laurie Simpson and Great Scott by Lisa Debee Schiller.   Perfect afternoon browsing material.  

 

Hope you all have a  great weekend! xo

Monday

Morning friends!  How was your weekend?  It was a scorcher here, but I stayed inside mostly so no big deal.  Did you do something fun?  I sewed a bit, got a couple of projects completed and some pretty close to completion so I feel pretty happy about that. 

 

They're very fun, and I look forward to sharing them with you.  You might catch some sneak peeks on instagram .. I can't help myself sometimes. You know how it is.  I enjoyed some early morning coffee on the porch, you have to get up pretty early though to enjoy the cool weather. 

 

That's about it here.  Not too exciting.. sorry.  What did you do?  Something fun? Tell me about it!  Have a good week! xo

Friday

Good morning my sweet friends!  I hope this week has been good to you!  With the holiday and the extra days off that Bret had, the week was super short and I'm barely catching my breath!   I 'm happy that I've managed to check some things off my list, phew! 

 

It's been pretty hot here in PamKittyVille, but luckily the mornings are nice and cool.  I'd gotten out of the habit of mornings on the swing, but I'm trying to spend some time out there appreciating the fresh cool air and soaking up some Vitamin D!  We're never going to have the lush green landscapes I am so fond of looking at on the internet, so I'm working on enjoying  what I can have.  Happy mediums right?

 

The Splendid Sampler offered up a lovely little block  by one of my all time favs Laurie Simpson.  Sweet and simple, this is the perfect block to work on your applique, machine or hand.  You know me, any time to blanket stitch is the perfect thing in my book! 

 

Ok my lovelies happy weekending! xo