Fabric Pumpkin...

Have you every made a fabric pumpkin?

Our Neuse Quilters Guild

went to a neighboring guild for lunch & sharing

on Wednesday and we learned to make this cutie!!

Let me share the instructions that were shared with me...

Select a Fall seasonal/Halloween fat quarter (18"x22")

A brown, green fat eighth ( 9"x22")

Batting appr. (17"x40")

and

a roll of toilet paper!!!

Place the fat quarter on a table w/ wrong side up.

Double the batting and place it on the fabric.

Put the toilet paper in the center.

Bring the fabric up on all sides

gathering as you go along

and push the edges into the hole in the toilet paper.

Fold & Roll the fat eight and push it into the center

for the stem.

Voila`

Isn't this just too cute...

and if you want to make a few more

then use a double roll and a  triple roll.

Take a close look at the picture and you will see a spider on the wall...

I promise I did not see that until I enlarged the picture to preview.

hehehehehehehe

Happy Fall,

Kathy

New book and my Genie...

I won the nicest prize....

Monica at the
 thehomespunheart.blogspot.com 


had a give away and I entered and WON!!!
IF YOU ARE READY FOR A CHALLENGE,
then read this book.  It is wonderful and talks about the mature Christian life that women should be living. 
Each chapter is briefly written so you may read as you have time and not get too overloaded with info.


Thanks Monica!!!

My Bernina messed up while embroidering two jackets for my friends daddy's birthday.  Thankfully, I was on the last line of the second jacket when it started to jumble the threads all up on the bobbin. After trying to fix it myself, I gave up and took it to the dealer!!

Well something good came from it...

I get to use my Genie!!

...Michelle at 
lifewithlou.blogspot.com
can tell you all bout this machine...
Her October 2, 2011 post tells about her Genie that she found, cleaned all up and is read for use.

My Genie was a high school graduation present and only cost $99 !!
I have lugged it all around to college and back each year, to every apartment I rented to the beach, to my aunts houses...you name it and I took it with me nestled in the back of the car to sew...window treatments, dust ruffles, pillows, shams, garments (before my quilting days  ..hehehe), bathing suits, prom dresses...oh my...
it has had a lot of use and has ONLY BEEN CLEANED 2 TIMES !!!!!!
What a great machine it has been.
Well, I am making an adorable bedding set for my friends new
granddaughters high poster bed and my old faithful Genie
is just sewing along !!!
What fun.

Here is my little prayer pal...

The view from my sewing machine. 
And can you believe that as of October 22 my impatients looks better than it did this summer when it was so hot.

I have the privilege of sewing on the stand that my great grandmother and grandmother used with their sewing machine...the machine was kept in an outside shed for too many years and only the metal was still in tact. So  my daddy had it refinished and a new top put on for me to sew on!!

Blessings all on this gorgeous 

Sunday morning.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.     Neh 8:10
and I hope yours too

Kathy

Progress on my sunflower quilt...

Today at guild, Barbara and I pin basted my sunflower quilt.

My goal is to have it all quilted for our quilt exhibit to be held in early Spring 2012.

Kinston, NC is celebrating the 250th anniversary of our town's beginning and as you might imagine it is going to be an exciting event that will take place over several months.

I   really have not had much time to work on many quilts except small projects since I have been guild president last year and this year.

So I would really like to complete this quilt and have it all ready for the show.

My plan is to machine grid quilt the sashing  area and to hand quilt the sunflowers using cross hatch and outline quilt around the sunflowers.Not too sure about the borders yet but would like to free motion some designs including some butterflies !!

We will see......

You may refer to my post 

May 10, 2011

for pictures of inspiration from my garden

and the basting, appliqueing, methods that I used.

http://quiltrestoration.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html

Other things of interest...

new yarn for crocheting...aren't these pretty colors!!

and our lovely little favors from our 

Day of Sharing at the 

Twin Rivers Guild in New Bern, NC

from Saturday.

I selected the four little 9 patch coasters and are already using them.

Have a joyful and blessed week all!!
Kathy

And the winners are...????

It is an absolutely beautiful Sunday here in North Carolina.

Isn't our Lord good!!!

It is good to praise the Lord

and make music to your name,

O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night,

to make music of the ten-stringed lyre

and the melody of the harp.

                                                                         Psalm 92: 1-3

Here are my blog followers that won the 

sewing closet clean-up fabric

give away...

Blues

"Shirley"

Blues & Greens

"Debbie"

at Angel Scraps Quilting

Pinks & Purples

"JNnNC"

at Shade Tree Quilting

Dick & Jane

" Deb"

at Mountain Musings

Congratulations to each winner !! 

Thanks for following

and I look forward to more give aways

in the future...

(But NOT to more closet clean outs!!!)

Kathy

FINISHED !!!!!!!!

Sewing Room- Fabric Storage Make Over

Well this was a lot of work,

that is all I can say.

No wonder I left it for so long!!!

Before

During

After

Doesn't it look much better?

I purchased baskets and a great little table 

so I could use the same closet space.

My fabric is layered so that I can see it without

having to take it out.

Each basket has three tiers of sorts.

My little sewing machine wall hanging

fits nicely over my daddy's WII foot locker.

(He hauled this up three flights of stairs on his back for me while helping me unpack

 in college and I have used in my house since !!) 

I can hang my finished baby quilts on the left side and 

my Bernina accessories on the right side.

Here is  my room all nice and tidy with the closet doors closed

and my fabric all in place!!

Now where did I stash all of the extra fabric??????????????

You will have to join me on my next post to see...

Blessings

my sewing & quilting friends!

Kathy

Closet and cooking....

I have made GREAT progress on my fabric closet...

pictures coming soon!!!

But now for supper.

Hamburger Pinwheels

Biscuits,Ground Beef, Salsa,Grated Cheese, Cheese Slices

Ya'll probably leaned this recipe from you old Home Economic

days in high school. Well, I did not and a quilt friend shared it with me about 2 years ago and I have been making it with success since.

She uses canned round biscuits but I like generic crescent rolls.

On floured tin foil, press the dough into a rectangle.

She sprinkles the 1/2 lb hamburger on but I like to brown it first.

Then I add some salsa (3T) right in the pan and mix,

let cool.

Next layer the meat and add cheese (1/2 c) to within 1/2" of all edges.

Roll up, using the foil and then

cut into 6-8 slices.

Place on greased pan and cook for

30 minutes

at 350 degrees.

Place a slice of cheese on top when you take out of the oven.

My husband especially likes the extra cheese!!

I often make these ahead of time and put in the frig

and pull out before cooking.

Serve with a nice salad and some fruit and you are set.

OR you can just have tater tots like we like!!!

Enjoy,

Kathy

Fabric storage progress...

Well I am working on it ...that is all I can say!!

It is really a job...

But I have decided just to pass along some of the fabric

NOT because I do not like it but because

it just makes no sense to have it sitting her and

and not being used creatively!!

I purchased baskets (half price) at Big Lots!!

And they are ones that I really like with handles so that

I can use them in other places/other times , if needed!!

I am sorting into stacks to 

* keep for me,

* for my guild door prizes,

* for guild yard sale,

AND

* to give away on my blog...for you!!!!

This do not even include my vintage fabric

which I will go through

and decide what to keep and what to sell.

Trying to organize my special things

for  Etsy...

some time in the near future!!!

SO

keep watching and reading and I will let you know when it is

all done...

Blessings

and have fun sewing

and creating!!
Kathy

Santa wall hanging...and double wedding ring...

Hurried home after the shop hop and started right away on

this cute little Santa wall hanging!!

Used the "Flurry" fabric and puffy batting so that his

belly would jiggle!! 

Decided to use Wonder Under Light

and to use it on the outside of the body...

This was it would not be bulky and the tummy would look full...

I think it worked.

Fold the fabric to find your center

and press in place...if you mess up, reheat and lift and reposition

The Plaid Scottie blog  http://www.theplaidscottie.com

wanted to see my first 

double wedding ring wall hanging 

that I made 15+ years ago...

(ew, messy bed...but then I am retired!!)

had NO idea that this was a difficult pattern

until my quilt friend said "I can not believe you made this for

one of your first projects!!"

Oh well, it has been over our bed since then...

and I still L oV e  it very much...

even hand quilted it!!!

I have made TWO matching pillows but we have destroyed

both from use and now I have this nine patch made from the

window treatment fabric...the last pillow cover is still in my

basket of "things to do"...

Blessings

to my blog friends!!

Sour Dough Quilt Progress...

Not doing too well with reorganizing my fabric...but I am still thinking on it...maybe when it gets cooler!!

I have been able to work on blocks for the sour dough quilt and here they are...

Each block has a dark side and a light side. Most of my scraps seem to be brights so my darks are on the left of the black and pink polka dots accents and my lights on the right, diagonally.

This is not the pattern, I just layed the seven completed blocks out on the ironing board so you could see them.

Here is a picture of a completed sour dough quilt that my friend ,Dorothy, sent to us and I think this is the layout that we will all use. I am not sure if there are others OR what it would look like if sashing and borders were added.

We also celebrated my sister's 60th birthday last week and I made her hand prints of her three grandchildren's hands and framed them...

I actually got this idea from a friend so I can not claim originality here!!

And here is one of the little cuties with "G POP"...

His not so little print is the green one!!!
(My daddy is 84!! Doesn't he look great!!)

Fabric Storage...

I need help...in many  ways I am sure!!! 

BUT, for now I am trying to think of ways to store my fabric. I have it on top of my daddy's WW II footlocker ( which I have covered twice to use- yellow in college and now it is blue) in the closet in my sewing room. This was fine when I first started quilting because I did not have much fabric and I could color coordinate it.

 NOW....well all I can say

 is that I probably do not have as much as many of you but it has grown!!

Baskets, metal bins, plastic drawers...

What is your best advice?

The rest of my sewing room is ok. It functions well for me and also

has a recliner and tv so I also have a great "get away!!"

Please let me hear what you use

and help me out!!

Thanks,

Kathy