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

Tuesday

Good morning!  How was your long weekend? Bret took some extra days off to extend the time, which was fun.  We managed to do some stuff around here AND get out and about a bit.  And shocker, I even sewed some. 

 

All my sewing projects the past week or so are for the future, so I'll just give you a sneak peek at this little heart until I can reveal it. I have a few days of machine quilting ahead of me.. so there's a hint, small projects.  And no kidding, they're cute!  I mean how cute is this little heart!

 

I hope you had a fun and safe weekend.  It's already hot here and it's taking all I have to not break into a bunch of complaints.  Once it hits 100 degrees though all bets are off.  Summer and I are not friends. But after 10 years I guess you  know that.  The mornings are still nice and I have a new cushion on my swing so I'm all ready for coffee on the porch. 

 

So tell me, what did you do this past  weekend?

Friday

Friday..where did the time go?  I've just been puttering around the house doing a little of this and that with one exciting trip up to the grocers as the high point.  Exciting times people! 

 

I thought I'd finish out the week telling you about the sweetest thing ever.  I'm sure you all know Jodie, I've followed along with her on her blog forever and have had some crazy laughing good times with her at market.  She's smart and funny and oh so very talented.  You can find her on her blog here, and on instagram here.

 

Anyway I knew she was on either the first or second row so I had to rush down to say hi before things got to crazy busy. That's the downside to market, the fleeting time spent with friends.  Thank goodness for the internet. 

 

She surprised me with this sweet P is for Pig and coordinating block ..  I love his little tilted head and articulated arms.  And those ears. Well it's P for Perfect! She also gave me a cute little packet of her line Bunny Trail!  If you haven't seen her wonderful stuffed animals be sure and check out them out here. I am so grateful for her generosity! I can't imagine taking the time to whip out a project as a gift during the quilt market frenzy period!

 

 

I finally have a current block to show off for Splendid Sampler day!  This is Simple Surpises by Amy Ellis.  As you know I'm doing all the blocks that seem easy to me, and this pieced block was fast and fun.  So fun I actually made two of them! 

 

 

I have sure enjoyed seeing everyone's blocks over on FAcebook and Instagram!  There are going to be some wonderful quilts when this is over!

 

Ok, we're having an extra long weekend!  Hope you have a safe Memorial Day! xo

Monday

Good morning.  No exclamation point today.  I'm back home.  Insert sad face here, I started feeling sick on Friday night and decided instead of infecting Nanette and her people, including those two cute kids, I'd just come back home. 

 

The drive home went fast.  Luckily not super sick, just a cold kind of thing.  Phew.  Today I feel like a truck ran over me. 

 

Market was fantastic as usual and I'm glad I got to see a lot of people.  Of course for everyone I saw I missed some more, so that was the downside of leaving early.  Its good we have the internet to keep our friends close.  I know I'd be lost without it. 

 

And just so you know.. I did get to drive in snow.. just a smidge once I hit Donner Pass.  That 'Carry Chains' flashing sign does get one's blood pumping, just ask Elizabeth.

 

Ok peeps have a good week.  xo

Good morning!

Short and sweet this morning my friends!  Sucking up a cup and a half of coffee before I hit the road to Salt Lake City!  I'm thinking of all my favorite places along the road. Things to see, the places that I get gas, the landmarks.  It passes the time along with a good audio book!

 

Cute mug from Frankie with a sweet message.

 

I was thinking about snow, it's been so stinken hot here already, two days in the 90s and people the a/c already has clicked on once!! I sure don't appreciate that! I probably won't run into any, they don't' expect snow in the Sierras till tomorrow!  Just as well I suppose.

 

Ok, see you later gators! You guys are the best! xo

 

All the Colors

Good morning!  Its a quick week for me, Thursday morning I'll be off for Quilt Market in Salt Lake City.  I love every aspect of the trip, including the drive.  Its long for sure, but I have so many great memories of making that drive a couple of times  with Elizabeth and then later on my own.  And remember when we drove through snow both on the way to market then again I had snow on my trip to see Nanette.   Good times.

Just had to share my lovely  painting from Pam Garrison.  I have been following along with her on her artisitic journey since I found blogs and started my own, which  ten years now.   I just can't stop looking at it and I'm so happy to have it.  From the second I saw it on Instagram I had to have it.  You can see a better photo of it over on Instagram here.

Probably not the best way to show it off but Frankie brought me some flowers and the composition and colors reminded me of the painting.  Frankie's friend Amy who is a floristA created this arrangement. I love how cute the name is, with the capital A for Amy and her partner's name is Ann I believe, so both A's, both floristAs.  Clever I thought. 

 

Their arrangements are very eclectic, using a variety of flowers, many of them old fashioned like those white stocks.  Yum my house smells like my childhood. My father used to always bring my mother big bouquets of stocks and their spicy scent would fill the house.  Anyway lovely.  Everytime I walk past them I drink it all in.

 

Ok, I hope to get back here, I'm working on getting my stuff together.  After market I'm heading to Nanette's for a few days of visiting and sewing and sightseeing.  CANNOT WAIT.  Be sure and check on my Instagram account if you want to see what I'm up to! xo

Fri-YAY

Woohoo, Friday!  How was your week?  I got a bunch of small things crossed off my list, which feels so darn good.   I know so many of you are wonderful at keeping things in control and that's something I really envy.

 

I realized that I have forgotten to share my Spring in a Jar block for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Issue 13 with you.  This issue is now on newsstands!

 

 

I love simple applique shapes.  These are perfect to practice your machine blanket stitching. Of course you can straight stitch around the edge as well , which seems to be the popular finishing method. 

'

 

Popular or not, I love the blanket stitch.  I remember when I was looking at upgrading machines from my old used Singer my dad bought me in 1974, the main thing on my list was the blanket stitch. I've spent lots of hours stitching away and it's still my preferred method of applique.   I hope you like my block with the pieced background. 

 

Ok peoples.. hope you have a wonderful weekend!  xo

Wednesday

Hi there!  What's new with you?  The days have rolled by without a lot to show for them here on the blog.  We had some rain, I went to the market, I ran some errands, I had an eye appointment.  Although I did actually instagram a photo of my eye doctor way back in the day, some how it's just not that exciting anymore.  What will be exciting, getting my new glasses. Then maybe all those times when I think my block is right on, it actually will be!

 

In the meantime, I have my stars stitched together.  It's really fun using the Sizzix die for this block, no cutting with templates or fancy rulers. They go together fast.  Well as fast as I do anything these days!  I have a few dies for applique shapes, this is my first die for  piecing.  Pretty fun.  

 

I really enjoyed Cheri's fun Scrapbasket Sew  Along, and it looks like starting June 10  there will be another one!  Here's the sneak peek of the designs.  Each month there will be an applique block and a pieced block.  You can join Cheri's group on Facebook here.   I really enjoy the group. 

 

It's a very positive group, I haven't seen anyone being unkind, as sometimes groups can get.  I know some of you are already in the group, are you making the quilt? 

 

Ok, that's it for today.  Hope you're having a good week!

TGIF

How was your week peeps?  I don't even know what happened to mine, the days just slipped away and now it's Friday.  While I know I was in and out of the sewing room I know for sure I didn't sew a stitch. 

 

I did do some coffee break reading this week.  Fat Quarter Shop sent me a copy of Sherri's new Holiday Wishes book.  Oh my gosh, so super cute. If you click over to FQS to the book you'll see the projects included.  Today's favorite is Norwegian Holiday. I love a pretty red and white quilt.  You can count on the team at FQS to have easy to understand, carefully illustrated instructions.  There's a nice range of projects for   beginner and  experienced quilters .  I can't wait to get busy on it!

 

Ok, it's Mother's Day weekend, hope all your moms out there have a nice day! Happy Weekend!

Easy Addition

Woo hoo it's Monday ! It's May!  Wow, I can hardly believe it.  It was a warm windy weekend here, how about your place?

 

I had mentioned last week one of things I'd ticked off the list was my Easy Addition Quilt.  I scrapped it up with a lot of PamKitty white background prints and I'm quite pleased with the outcome!  I can't wait to have it quilted. 

 

One of the things I love about blogs and social media is all the fantastic photos. I'd love to have the space in my house to set up but there's just no 'back up' room around here.  So my clever idea was to take it to a school.. I mean 'Easy Addition' has kind of a school house  sound to it right?  And where do you learn addition, elementary school.  Bret decided Walnut Grove, his elementary alma mater, would be the perfect choice.  I love the California Mission style of the plaza area outside the school. 

 

But now close up, where you get a feel for the quilt you're stuck with a weird lame photo.  Or should I say another, weird lame photo. 

 

So at the school we saw another sign, so thought that looks good.  Well, that provided some challenges as well, like the crazy wind that came up. And really, kind of my regular just barely ok photos. I guess in my mind I'm torn between wanting a pretty photo and wanting to see a good portion of the quilt.  Old school vs new school. School.  Get it?

 

So we high tailed it back to Livermore to see if Frankie's old elementary school had a better sign.  And it does.  I practically had to get into someone's car to take these photos, but  they're much closer to what I had in my mind, a clever shot about math.  Or is that even a possibility?

Thanks to Brenda for a great pattern and to American Patchwork and Quilting to bringing it to us.

 

I really enjoyed making it, and participating in the quilt along.  It is great to have a community of like minded people to hang out with!

 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 #apqquiltalong

#easyaddition

Strip Smart Mini

Hi there, happy Friday.  How did your week go?  I feel like I got a lot of stuff done.  I've sewn all my rows together for the Easy Addition quilt and it's now a quilt top waiting to be quilted.  I added my borders to the Pie Cherries quilt and I'm pretty excited about how it turned out.  I also stitched the  side borders onto my Scrapbasket quilt.. but I'm on the fence about my choices so I'm setting that aside. I've checked it off the list but I might have to uncheck it and try something else. Hopefully this weekend I can find some sun and get a few photos of all these projects to show you. 

 

No surprise I got sick of my list though. I have one more quilt that needs borders and I just didn't have it in me to do it.  So I took a bit of a sewing holiday and pulled out my Strip Smart Mini that my friend Kathy sent me.   Kathy designed this template for Creative Grids.  I'm telling you it's genius, just like Kathy. You might remember she's written two Strip Smart books, Strips Smart Quilts and Strip Smart Quilts 2... you can make mini version of all those quilts with this template. She's also designed new patterns to go with this template, you can take a peek at those here.  And there's a video and instruction page that includes more blocks and ideas here.

 

I cut myself two  2 inch strips and stitched them together.  Kathy recommends starch, as there will be bias edges.  Then it's just a matter of cutting you pieces. One strip set yields 10 pieces if you cut them as I've shown here.  If you watch the video you'll see there are other ways to cut the strip up. I'ts pretty amazing. 

 

I love this block, is it the double hourglass block?  I don't remember the official name.  So fast and simple. I pressed all the seams open. 

 

I also made a block stitching the to long edges together to yield a square.  I hope you go watch Kathy's video, or if you have the Strip Smart books, pull them out for ideas.  I loved the double hour glass quilt in the strip smart book, called Penny Candy.  You can catch a picture of it on my blog post here.  My books have a new life with this template.

 

One thing I really like about the Creative Grids rulers is the little booklet that comes with them.  I usually store my ruler with the booklet just in case I need help remembering how to use it. 

 

So that was my fun activity yesterday afternoon. But then I'm back at my list.  What did you do this week?   Have a good weekend! Can you believe it's the end of the month already??

Monday

Good morning! Did you have a nice weekend? It was Splendid Sampler time again, and finally we're back to one of the blocks that I've made, Sweet Candy.  I'm sticking with what's comfortable for me, and that's the great thing about this, you get to do as many or as few blocks as you'd like. 

 

This block is Sweet Candy by Kris Thurgood. Kris owns My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe and it's a charming store in Logan Utah.  I had the chance to visit there last year when I was visiting Nanette. Its a cheerful store and I recommend going it you have the chance.

 

I had a productive weekend.  I've organized more things so I'm ready with a list of what projects need to be completed.  Lots of things need borders.  Obviously something that's not my favorite.  I determined what to use on those quilts and have those ready.  I stitched all my Easy Addition blocks into rows, so that's another project that is so close to being done. All I need is some good TV and I'm set there. There are some projects I'd like to start soon, but I'm trying to clear up a few things first.  My sewing table isn't totally cleaned off because well, we're talking about me. But it's so much better.  I am trying to set reasonable goals that I can actually accomplish.

 

Hope you have a good week ahead of you!  See you later aligators! xo 

 

 

Cuppa with the Queen

Today's the Queen of England's birthday so I'm having a cup of tea in my fancy  mug.  I'm not going to lie, I totally got a jump start on  the whole cool mug thing this time, luckily I saw Sarah with her Queen's birthday mug over on Instagram and wasn't going to be caught without a full choice of mugs. Do I have a problem?  YES I DO.  But sometimes doesn't IG make you want to buy stuff?  Most of the time I'm able to quash it but I knew the mug was going to get to me.  I remember hunting down that Cath Kidston Jubliee mug like it was big game!

 

Phew.  I have a cool mug.  It was a tough choice, just look here at all these options! My mug is by Dunoon but there are plenty of fantastic mugs out there.  I'll be chugging some coffee out of this one later. I mean tea. Come on. 

 

More sewing done this week, pretty excited to have all the applique done on my Scrapbasket Sampler.   I thought about doing the majority of the applique without sewing the border onto the body of the quilt, but in the end I attached it so that I could make sure I was happy with the layout.  Some of the pieces overlap into the first row of blocks.

 

It does make blanket stitching more challenging but not impossible.  For a few minutes I thought I was done but then remembered there were side borders. So close.

 

Wednesday I went over to  my mother-in-law's with my Easy Addition blocks.  Doris  has a big floor space and plenty of patience to make sure that all the blocks are laid out without two matching pluses ending up next to each other.  So those are all in a pile and I'll start sewing rows together.  Hopefully it will go together easily. 

 

Hope your week finishes out great!  We've had some nice sun and we're expecting rain tomorrow, or maybe Saturday depending on where you look.  I'm happy for the rain, it will extend the wonderful green season here longer. Have fun !xo

 

 

Sunny Monday

Hi there! How was your weekend?  I got some sewing done, I was going to say a lot, but there are people who really do get a lot done, so I'll just say some and be satisfied with that.   I laid out my Scrapbasket Sampler blocks from Cheri's Facebook Group/Sewing Bee.   It took me a while to decide what to use for alternate blocks.  I ended up going with the same backgrounds, keeping it predominately pink and aqua.  I had waited till Cheri released the applique portions to decide what to do.  I know this is just a snippet of the quilt, it's long and narrow, but you can see the addition of the bottom applique.

 

I was able to do all the blanket stitching and then attach the piece to the bottom, I think it's kind of fun and makes the little green bits in the body of the quilt pop a bit. The applique is quite a bit darker than the quilt.. so I'm not sure if it will be successful in the end.  Maybe all you're going to notice is OMG LOOK AT THAT APPLIQUE.

 

 There's a lot more pieces in the top applique, lots of flowers and more stars.  I'd worry about it, but you know what, it's just fabric and so there's no risk in using it and making a mistake right? I used to be a lot more carefree with my projects, less worry about how it will all look, so I'd like to capture some of that again. 

Now for some coffee break reading.. Sunday's reading was Kerri's cute Lovely Little Patchwork book.  Chock filled with adorable projects. I'm sure you already know how adorable everything she makes is.

 

 

 

I am very excited to see some Pam Kitty Fabric featured in this cute table runner.  Very cute book, congratulations to Kerri. You can follow her on Instagram here, and check out all the cute stuff people are making using the hashtag #lovelylittlepatchwork here.

Ok, lets keep this week on the straight and narrow.