Springtime Reading

Morning friends! The weather has been lovely here in PamKittyVille and I've been spending time outside on the patio.  I don't have a fancy yard but I love sitting outside on my swing enjoying the fresh air and listening to my little frog fountain and seeing my pots of flowers.  I have the feeders all filled up and there are lots of birds coming around.  Spring is the best time of year.  Sadly it's probably over in another 20 minutes or so and there will be nothing but relentless sunshine and high temperatures but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

 

Yesterday I sat out back and read through Lissa's new book Oh, Scrap!  ( I received a digital copy from Martingale to read and review, and the following photos are from their website. ) Lissa's scrap quilts are legendary.  Oh, Scrap! reveals Lissa's secrets of fabric selection by showing swatch cards for the quilts and a bit about the fabrics on it. 

 

 

Surrounded is my favorite quilt in the book.  I've seen so many wonderful examples of this quilt made both scrappy and with two colors.

 

Of course I'm drawn to the cheerful colors of all the quilts.  This is another quilt that says MAKE ME.  The whole book is filled with them. Lissa's instructions are great, and the photography by Brent Kane and Adam Albright is wonderful.

 

The book is filled with inspiring  projects and beautiful photographs, but it also provides lessons on color, scale, density and value , fabric storage with scrap quilts in mind, and that nudge you need to get started. The introduction by Barbara Brachman gives you a history of scrap quilts in America.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Thanks to Martingale for sending me the copy of this book! It's inspiring!  Hope you guys have a great weekend. xop

An Apple a Day

Good Morning friends!  How are you?  Things are perking along here.  Last week Bret, Frankie and I took a quick trip down to SoCal for a visit to Disneyland.  We spent one day park hopping  between Disneyland and California Adventure and it was a fun and exhausting day.  I took hardly a picture the whole trip.   On our second day we headed over to the City of Orange to my favorite antique shop Country Roads Antiques and Gardens.  Then we headed over to Studio City to Bonjour Fete, a delightful little shop that Frankie had been following on Pinterest and Instagram for a while.

Back in PamKittyVille I'm still trying to get back in the groove. Yesterday we had a rainy day which was perfect for sewing. I've been unable to focus on a project but when I saw these scrappy apples on @abrightcorner 's Instagram feed I knew I had to make one. 

They're so cheerful, so thanks Andy for the happy inspiration.  The apples are from Lori's Spelling Bee Book, made scrappy by exchanging a solid print apple with 4 prints.  So clever.

 

That's it for me, what are you up to?

Saturday Spelling Bee

Morning friends!  It's Saturday Spelling Bee  time again here in PamKittyVille !!!  This sew along has been so much fun. I really admire Lori and how she manages to keep coming up with more and more adorable things for us!

My letter today is uppercase U!   Like all the letters, U comes together quickly and instructions are available it two sizes.  U won't be sorry you started this project.

Don't you love how this book lies flat. I'm not good about keeping my sewing area cleared off so being able to fold the book in half with my instructions next to my machine really is convenient. 

 

The illustrations are perfect and make it easy to follow along with  just a glance.

 

I sure had a good time with this sew along and I appreciate Fat Quarter Shop and Lori for including me.  It was a lot of fun! Be sure and hop over and see what Charise is up to. She's making lower case u and I know everything Charise makes is amazing. 

 

To see all the fun Spelling Bee sew along photos be sure and check out the hashtag on Instagram #sewingbeesaturday .

Something Cute!

Morning pals! How are the days treating you?  We've had a lot of rainy days lately and it's been wonderful.  Yesterday Bret and I went to the nursery and picked up some flowers for my wire basket on the back step.  The sky was blue and filled with puffy white whipped cream clouds.  He planted the basket up for me and put on a string of new fairy lights (on a dusk to dawn timer) so my back porch is sorted for now.  It feels like spring, cheerful and fresh.

 

Speaking of cheerful, how cute is this pincushion kit from HollyHill Quilt Shoppe? I think it's SUPER CUTE.  I follow HollyHill on Instagram and had seen the wonderful Mother's Day Celebration Brunch that included this cute project and was so envious of the attendees. 

 

ENVY. But luck was with me and in January I saw that they were offering kits.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to work on it immediately, but it would be something to stash away (but not too far away) to make later. (FYI Since Jan hand-paints the pitcher for you and the kits require time to prepare, it does not ship immediately.)   

What a fun project.  I loved making all the adorable pins.  Each little pin is packaged separately so you don't need to worry about using the right beads for each pin.  And it's all labeled to go with the great instructions. 

 

It was so fun. It's a dainty little pitcher.  Couldn't be sweeter.

 

I'm at the bottom of my coffee cup so time to start the day!  If you feel so inclined, tell me what you're up to!  Happy Monday friends! xop

Coffee time.

Morning friends!  How are you?  I'm trying to get back in the groove around here. I love this space to spend time with you.   Its been a rough year for us, but we're slowly getting back to our regular routine.  

I received a great treat in the mail, look at these great new Splash Olfa self healing mats and the new Splash rotary cutter.  They're sure going to sewing a lot more cheerful.  Thanks to Olfa for sending them to me. 

 

Do you know Olfa has a blog?  You can check it out here. They've started a brand Ambassador  program and they have a new Design Team.  Be sure and check them out .  There should be a lot of great new content coming our way. 

 

I hope to be back here on a more regular basis soon.  I miss hanging out with you!  Tell me how things are with you!!!  xop

Sad times

Yesterday we said goodbye to  mom.  We're sure going to miss her. 

 

Lorraine Vieira

1925-2018

 

 

 

Spelling Bee Saturday

Good Morning and welcome to Spelling Bee Saturday! Today is brought to you by the letter "N".  Jody from Pleasant Home is showing off her uppercase N and I'm showing you my lower case N.  We're both using Lori's cute Spelling Bee book to make our blocks.  And are they ever cute!

N is for nice, and that's what this project is!  The blocks come together in a snap and you'll be done before recess!  I'm using the cute 30's Playtime by Moda that I had left over from my tablerunner project, these blocks are perfect for scraps. 

Just in case you haven't been keeping up, here's a list of everyone stitching along with us!  Happy Sewing friends! xo

• Saturday, 10/7 – Melanie (A Bit of Scrap Stuff) and Amanda (Jedi Craft Girl)
• Saturday, 10/14 – Kristie (crosshatchquilts on Instagram)
• Saturday, 10/21 – Melissa C. (Happy Quilting Melissa)
• Saturday, 10/28 – Sharon (Lilabelle Lane) and Joanna (cottonjo on Instagram)
• Saturday, 11/4 – Holly (holly_draney on Instagram) and Debbie (Happy Little Cottage)
• Saturday, 11/11 – Jennie P. (Clover & Violet) and Megan (Quilt Story)
• Saturday, 11/18 – Heidi G. (Buttons and Butterflies) and Pam (Pam Kitty Morning)
• Saturday, 11/25 – Anorina (Samelia’s Mum) and Heidi G. (Buttons and Butterflies)
• Saturday, 12/2 – Taunja (Carried Away Quilting) and Cynthia (Dream Quilt Create)
• Saturday, 12/9 – Taunja (Carried Away Quilting) and Cynthia (Dream Quilt Create)
• Saturday, 12/16 – Cynthia (Dream Quilt Create) and Charise (Charise Creates)
• Saturday, 12/23 – Melanie (A Bit of Scrap Stuff) and Jennie P. (Clover & Violet)
• Saturday, 12/30 – Heidi G. (Buttons and Butterflies) and Jennie T. (Porch Swing Quilts)
• Saturday, 1/6 – Kerry (Very Kerry Berry) and Kristyne (Pretty by Hand)
• Saturday, 1/20- Jodi (Pleasant Home) and Kristi (crosshatchquilts on Instagram)
• Saturday, 1/13 – Kim (Persimon Dreams) and Joanna (cottonjo on Instagram)
• Saturday, 1/27 – Melanie (A Bit of Scrap Stuff) and Melissa C. (Happy Quilting Melissa)
• Saturday, 2/3 – Jodi (Pleasant Home) and Pam (Pam Kitty Morning)
• Saturday, 2/10 – Megan (Quilt Story) and Jina (Jina Barney Designz)
• Saturday, 2/17 – Kerry (Very Kerry Berry) and Taunja (Carried Away Quilting)
• Saturday, 2/24 – Cassie Putney (sewstitchinghappy on Instagram)
• Saturday, 3/3 – Christopher (The Tattooed Quilter) and Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting)
• Saturday, 3/10 – Elizabeth (In the Boon Docks) and Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting)
• Saturday, 3/17 – Melissa L. (Oh How Sweet) and Nadra (Ellis & Higgs)
• Saturday, 3/24 – Sherri (A Quilting Life) and Sondra (Out of the Blue Quilts)
• Saturday, 3/31 – Connie (Freemotion by the River) and Amanda (Jedi Craft Girl)
• Saturday, 4/7 – Pam (Pam Kitty Morning) and Charise (Charise Creates)
• Saturday, 4/14 – Kim (Persimon Dreams) and Kerry (Very Kerry Berry)
• Saturday, 4/21 – Sharon (Lilabelle Lane) and Jina (Jina Barney Designz)
• Saturday, 4/28 – Christopher (The Tattooed Quilter) and Jennie T. (Porch Swing Quilts)
• Saturday, 5/5 – Sinta (Pink Pincushion) and Jina (Jina Barney Designz)
• Saturday, 5/12 – Melissa L. (Oh How Sweet) and Heidi S. (Fabric Mutt)
• Saturday, 5/19 – Sinta (Pink Pincushion) and Pat (Pat Sloan’s Blog)
• Saturday, 5/26 – Sinta (Pink Pincushion) and Amy (Diary of a Quilter)
• Saturday, 6/2 – Keera (Live Love Sew)
• Saturday, 6/9 – Connie (Freemotion by the River) and Heidi S. (Fabric Mutt)
• Saturday, 6/16 – Andy (A Bright Corner)
• Saturday, 6/23 – Sondra (Out of the Blue Quilts) and Jennie T. (Porch Swing Quilts)
• Saturday, 6/30 – Pat (Pat Sloan’s Blog) and Holly (holly_draney on Instagram)
• Saturday, 7/7 – Greg (Greg Dogwood Studio) and Joannat (cottonjo on Instagram)
• Saturday, 7/14 – Kristyne (Pretty by Hand) and Debbie (Happy Little Cottage)
• Saturday, 7/21 – Anorina (Samelia’s Mum) and Sherri (A Quilting Life)
• Saturday, 7/28 – Elizabeth (In the Boon Docks) and Greg (Greg Dogwood Studio)
• Saturday, 8/4 – Nadra (Ellis & Higgs) and Amy (Diary of a Quilter)

2018

Wishing you the best for this new year! Thanks for your friendship and encouragement!  I'm looking forward to what this year may hold. Xo

Merry Christmas!

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS!

 

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

xop

Bee Happy

Morning friends! How are you?  Knee deep in holiday plans?  Chaos? Fun? Everything going as planned?  Low key here.  Our tree is up, Bret put it together and Frankie put all the ornaments on it and it looks better than it has in years.  We went through our boxes of ornaments and she pulled out all hers, and we edited out some of the things we didn't love anymore and our tree looks better for the update.  I love Christmas lights and I love that with this fake tree I can have the lights on whenever I want for as long as I want.

Finished this bee FINALLY .  I'm not great at embroidery but I had a lot of fun doing it.  I was inspired by Bits of Stitching, seen originally on IG but here's her post on her blog. You can find the pattern at Colonial Patterns here.

 

Frankie has been having some fun making wreaths, you probably saw some already if you follow me on IG, I love them so much. 

 

It's fun to see the combinations of colors and patterns and those fancy blown glass ornaments!!!! OHMYGOSH!  I just want to keep seeing combinations!  It's crazy. (video tutorial she used  here)

 

Ok,  crossing my fingers everything is going well for you friends! xo

Sew Time

Morning!  There's no time like SEW TIME around here.  And I do mean no time.  Or almost no time.  When Margot released her Potted Pines block pattern, I tried to resist it, knowing I'd have no time to devote to making a potted pines quilt.. but resistance was futile. 

 

I indulged myself in making one block.  That's all I'll get to this year I'm afraid, but already I'm thinking maybe pink and aqua? Kind of a vintage Christmas feel?  Or maybe black pots and green with an English topiary garden feel.  I'm not sure.  But thinking about sewing is almost as good as sewing to me. 

 

I hope the holiday season is treating you well. There's always so much to be grateful for this time of year, as in all times of year. xop

Your long lost pal

Good morning friends!  It's been so long since I stopped in here.  I've missed visiting with you of course, but family first, right?  So that's what I'm up to these days. 

 

I've had this baby quilt ready for it's applique for quite a while, I mean face it, I'm a procrastinator of the highest order.  But yesterday sweet little "A" was born a couple of weeks early  so I needed to kick it into high gear.  I'm ready for machine quilting later today. 

 

A week or so ago  Roseann's Facebook memory reminded me of my Aurifil Christmas ornament. You can download this little embroidery design here if you want a fun small project to work on!  I think the little covered button makes it!

 

 

Today after my visit with mom I'm headed next door to do a little dog-baby-sitting.. or is it baby-dog-sitting.  Either way Pyper is one adorable pooch and I'm happy to check in on her.  There's nothing like a puppy smooch to cure what ails you.

 

Hope the holiday season is treating you well friends.  xoxo

Thanksgiving

Good morning friends!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful day! I'm thankful to all of you for spending time with me over these last ELEVEN YEARS!  You all have enriched my life so much and I am grateful for your friendship!   Be happy and safe!  xo

Spelling Bee Saturday!

Good morning! It's Spelling Bee Saturday here in PamKittyVille!

I'm so in love with these 30's Playtime by Chloe's Closet I grabbed my leftovers and chopped right into them. 

 

 F IS FOR FUN! AND FRIENDS!

F is also for flowers! And how cute is this little flower from  the Spelling Bee book!  I had to make it!

 

And who could resist making an upper case F to go along with my little f?  NOT ME. These blocks are so easy they practically make themselves!

 

For more Spelling Bee sew along fun check out Heidi's blog !  And don't forget to check in with Lori, and the Jolly Jabber!  And to see all the fun Spelling Bee sew along photos be sure and check out the hashtag on Instagram #sewingbeesaturday .

 

Happy sewing FRIENDS! xo

Quitmaker 100 Blocks

Exciting news arrived in the mail this week, the latest copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine.  Volume 16 should be on newsstands now! I'm excited to be included in this magazine for the 16th time!

My block is a combo of my favorite tulip shape, kind of curvy and old fashioned and strawberries, in a simple basket shape. It's machine appliqued using the blanket stitch in matching thread.  You know how I love blanket stitching.

 

These shapes are pretty simple, long curves, just a few points, so perfect if you're a novice at this kind of machine applique.  Pair this block up with some chaining blocks and you'd have yourself a pretty cute quilt. 

 

My sad news here is that I missed the deadline for Volume 17, so this is my last consecutive issue.   End of my long run in this great publication.  I can't thank the editors enough for always including me!

 

Hope you grab up a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 16! 

xop

 

 

 

 

The Long Catch Up

Hi hi hi friends!  It's been so long since we met here, and I have missed you all.  I haven't forgotten how much I love meeting with you here and sharing what's up on my side of the screen and reading your comments about what you're up to. 

 

Last weekend Bret and I took a little road trip down the coast to stay at our favorite place, the Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo.  I love the town, I've been going there since I was a little kid when we camped at Morro Bay and visited my great Aunt Milly. 

 

On the way down we drive through Greenfield, and one of the landmarks along the road is the wonderful Greenfield sign.  I was sure I had blogged about it, Elizabeth and  I loved that old fashioned look of it, but looking through my blog photos I can't find it. Seems weird.  Everytime we drove by it I took a photo and would send it to Elizabeth.  Because that's the kind of thing we do.  Anyway this is the spot. I had my camera ready....

 

 Gone.  In both directions.  Its' great shape, and it's cool fonts, I loved it.  I guess old wooden signs eventually break down.  Still. Sad.  Here it is on one of the many trips past it.

We sat outside in front of the inn and watched the hummingbirds flying around the lantana.  The grounds of the Apple Farm are filled with flowers that draw in birds and butterflies.  Really pretty.  It's just close enough to the coast to have a great climate for flowers and plants.   

 

Years ago on a visit I had an apple dumpling and it was wonderful, so I had one for dinner.  No regrets.

After all the hot weather it was nice to see fog at the coast, but except in a few places, you couldn't even see much of the ocean unless you were right up at the beach.   Still, wonderful to be there.

 

Saturday we went to Solvang, and walked around a bit.  The whole town was mobbed with people.  Fall is nice in California, warm but not too hot.. at least in the central coast area.  

 

Then we headed back home.  It was great to get away, and of course always good to be back home. 

 

I pulled out my book and fabric, it's time to get busy working on my letter for the Spelling Bee Sew Along.  I am using my fabrics left over from the Tablerunner Bliss Sew Along, I love it so much!

 

That's it for me! Hope you're well!  Have a great day ! xop

Bee cute

One of the fun things we did at Nanette's was have lunch with Lori Holt.  Always happy when she can spend some time catching us up on what she's up to. She brought us each her cute new dishtowels and Cute Little Buttons 2... all adorable and made to match her fabrics. 

I'm excited that I'll be participating in the Spelling Bee Sew Along! 

I can't wait to see all the blocks and what people do with them. The Spelling Bee book is chock full of blocks and quilts.

I even enhanced my stash a bit while out shopping, picking up some cute fabrics for future projects whatever they might be. There are so many great choices and so many great places there to shop. 

 

 

 I hope this finds you well.  xo

 

 

Time flies!

Time has flown by since I returned from my trip.  It was a great time and I am know I am so lucky to have great friends with great families who welcome me into their home like a long lost member.  Nanette's family is so wonderful and I really enjoy spending time with them.  I was lucky to meet two of her sisters this time and a third sister sent me the most adorably sweet Christmas ornament she had made.  How lucky am I?  Well super lucky.   The weather was amazing and I did get to drive in snow just a tad, the fall weather there is glorious which of course made it hard to return home to ninety degree plus weather, but what can you do? You can't just move in with people.  (can you?)

 

I came home with a bit of a cold, so I took it easy for the past couple of days but that's boring after a while.  Plus my little give away has been weighing on my mind, so today's the day. I picked a number and counted down and Sharrieboberry, who said "Suh-weet! I love this Buttercup mix. So cute. I'm partial to the name buttercup. That's the name of my sweet pup!" is the winner!   So Sharrie email me at rocketqltr at yahoo dot com and give me your mailing address and I'll send this little kit along to you.  I hope you ordered your copy of Tablerunner Bliss by Sherri Falls!  Also Sharrie, we'd love to see a picture of that sweet pup !!!!

 

That's it for me.  What's new with you? Hope you have a happy weekend!

A little escape!

Morning friends! How are you?  In an unexpected turn of events I'm headed out on a bit of a road trip this morning. 

 

I hadn't gotten any farther on my runner than those gingham centers so I packed it up, along with my machine and some other odds and ends and I'm headed out.  Because I am going to be gone, I'll leave the give away open till I get back so there's more time to sign up. Not too many comments there! 

 

I'm excited for my little trip, maybe I'll see you on Instagram!  xop

Tuesday

Good morning friends! How are you?  I've been thinking about all my friends in Texas and now in Florida and other states effected by the hurricanes and hoping that you're all safe and sound. 

 

Well today is the second Tuesday of Tablerunner Tuesdays.  You may remember that I showed my book and some PKM fabrics to make the Buttercup tablerunner.  I really loved the combo I picked out and now I'm working on  PKM version of Buttercup.  No photos though.  I'm only at the beginning of sewing it all together. 

If you'd like a chance to win a little kit of the PKM fabrics for Buttercup leave a comment   for a chance... here's the fabrics, yellows for the gingham centers, navy for the flower petals and green posy for the leaves, apples on white for the background and a nice green plaid for the binding.   Remember I'll need your email address if you're a no-reply commenter. 

 

Of course this DOES NOT include the book, so you need to grab one of those over at Fat Quarter Shop. 

 

That's about it here.  Hope all is well with you!  xo