A Little of This and a Little of That!

The thing I love most about a Shop Hop is not only seeing all of the beautiful quilts... but being able to buy some of what you see. Every year I find myself a few treasures and end up buying a little of this and a little if that. Perhaps I should have said... A little of this and a whole lot of that! That would probably be a little closer to the truth!

It's time to see my Shop Hop treasures!

 

I couldn't resist this fun little bundle I found at Broadbents. I even picked up one of the new Frixion Fine Point Heat Erase Pens that are great for marking embroidery. Can't wait to give it a try...





or to get started on making this lovely piece of fabric that I found there... into a skirt for myself. I already have the perfect shirt and jacket to go with it!

Remember this block that I showed you?

I bought the kit at Just Sew...

to make this simple quilt for a wall hanging in my kitchen.

Now... here is where I get into a bit of trouble... LOL! You know my love of Civil War fabrics... well...

I guess I was feeling very patriotic and thought perhaps these little pieces would go well in my next Americana or Civil War quilt. 

When I got to Quilts, Etc. ... I fell in love with some other pieces there that would go well with what I had just purchased. The next thing I knew I was designing a quilt in my head.

I knew then that I was in deep trouble! 

And... If you know me well... you know I can't pass up those darling 30's either... so I had to snag a few of those too! ;)

 

I think that Marilyn at Elaines Quilt Shop knew I would be coming so she put out these great Civil War statues so that when I saw them... she would have me hook... line... and sink(Her)er!
Well... it worked!!! I went into her Civil War fabric room... no lie... a room overflowing with the greatest selection of Civil War fabrics...
 and went crazy!

First... I got myself a wonderful layer cake... "Clermont Farms"

by Minick and Simpson for Moda.

(I actually have already started a little project out of this.)

Next I found myself picking up more pieces to help build that Civil War quilt that I had started to design. Then... to top it all off... I found the MOST incredible book that I just couldn't live without... "Stars"! It is a study of 19th century star quilts... need I say more!

 This "Star of England" quilt by Cindy Vermillion Hamilton is incredible and the first on my list from the book to make!

Another favorite!
I would dare to say... this is a book that you don't want to be without... A must have!

Last but least... I found these little beauties at American Quilting. They were screaming for me to take them home...

how could I resist?!

All in all... I was very pleased with all of my wonderful finds along the way. Needless to say... I am now GROUNDED!!!

Happy quilting!



Gifts from the Heart

I thought it might be fun to share with you all some of the "special gifts" that my sweet Great Aunt Edith sent me at Christmastime. And yes... I am missing her terribly!!!

I honestly keep waiting for the phone to ring or think that I will give her a call to find out what is going on in her day and with her blue kitty... Lucky!

Some of you may remember last year's... "Something I Will Always Treasure"... where I shared with you the wonderful gifts that Aunt Edith had sent me for an "Old Fashion Christmas." I will always think of them as "Gifts from the Heart"... as are these that I am about to share.

This granny square afghan belonged to my

Aunt Edith's mom... my great-grandmother.

It is made of all wool yarn and...

it was made before 1930.

As you can see on the top right hand square...

 it does have a few places that have come undone.

Any suggestions on what I should do? 

This darling 3 dimensional afghan was made
years ago by Aunt Edith.

She wanted to make sure

that I had an afghan that she had made.

I dearly love it and the colors are so her!

I adore how the edges of the flower are

crocheted to sit upon top of the block. 

All of these things were part of my

"Old Fashion Christmas" for this year...

from Aunt Edith.

The little locket bracelet was her mom's

when she was a young girl.

The seashell broach was one that Aunt Edith wore

years ago... but my favorite of all...

was this gorgeous ivory lapel pin with my great-

grandmother's name... Fannie... engraved on it.

The white dish clothes underneath of  the little

"Learn How Book"

were made for me by Aunt Edith just before Christmas.

What a surpise because she could barley see

due to her glaucoma.

Lots of darling things in this little book!

 I loved this cute embroidered Bridge Cloth.

This is a special pull out section on embroidery stitches...

from a 1961 Woman's Day that she had saved.

It's been fun sharing a little bit of Aunt Edith with you.

She will forever be in my life and in my memory!



Check Out My Post!

Hello everyone! I hope that you are off to a great weekend. It is a busy one for me!

I am just writing to let you know that I did a post this morning on a Trapunto quilt over on my other blog... Stash Manicure. You may want to go and check it out! The quilt has quite a story!

See ya there!

He's Singing My Song!

Who knew that when my son left home a few months ago to serve a mission for our church that he would find himself serving in a Salvation Army for a day or two. While there he came upon something that he knew would make my heart sing. After telling the women in charge that he knew his mom would LOVE having this… I got a call from the Salvation Army. It was this sweet woman Teresa on the other end of the line telling me that she had my son standing there and he had seen this little sewing machine that had just come in that day and thought perhaps I would like it. She asked me if she could send it to me…
and then if I liked it she would accept a donation and have me reimburse her for the postage. After inquiring about the machine to see what kind it was I was CERTAIN that it was something that I wanted!

It was this adorable little

 "SINGER FEATHERWEIGHT"

made in 1939 in New Jersey.

I am not kidding!!!

She mentioned that the case was not in good shape

as the bottom of it had rotted out, but that the tray was...

and that it was full of all sorts of goodies!

Well... just after it arrived...

I got it out of the case and decided to see if it worked.

It not only works... it PURRS!

I am still in SHOCK!

I think the thing that shocked me most was to know that there are still sweet people in this world like Teresa that put their trust in you and that she would take time out of her busy schedule to send this to me not even knowing me.

Oh… my

 "Sweet, Sweet Son"

 for thinking of me. He was definitely...

SINGING MY SONG!

"More Sweet Eye Candy"

The celebration continues and so did the buying! Our next stop was to a place called...

This is Lori's favorite vintage hide out.

I could see why after walking up onto the porch.

Inside it was even better than out... as you will see!

 

Lots of darling pincushions...

everywhere we looked.

I loved this one made in a vintage cup.

Love the dollie dispalyed this way!

Lori bought this charming vintage plate...

and the two red salad bowls for her treat.

My little treasues were another vintage tin...

and these adorable earrings...

along with a cute friends magnet.

Next stop... another of my FAVORITES!

Material Girls Quilts...

where I got myself into a little more trouble

buying these 30's.

But how could I help it... they were sooo cute!

This pattern is brand new and it kinda 

hopped into my hands...

so I felt like I had to take it home. ;)

This shop was chucked full of darling things.

Lori teaches here and has several of her

incredibly cute designs all around in the store.

My all time favorite by far was...

her wonderful apron pillow. Sweet!

I also love her flower pot wallhanging!

But this takes the cake... her Paper Doll

quilt... which is her latest block

of the month that she is teaching.

Just look at the details in all of the blocks.

This quilt is truly a work of art. Too precious!

Lori is a very talented gal... that's for sure!

I hope you have enjoyed the pieces of

"sweet eye candy".

It has been fun and I am happy that you

came along to my party so that I could share!

Thanks Lori... for making my birthday a special one!