Aqua and Red Disappearing 9-Patch

Have you joined Jane's newest swap? I enjoyed her Halloween swap that just finished so decided to do another one with her. The color scheme is to use only aqua's and red's. I thought I had more of each but as you know I love looking for new fabric so having to shop for some new stuff with just the right colors was fine by me!

 

Nothing to do with quilting but have to share....this lil' guy has my heart. I heard my cell phone ringing today and ran to answer it. No one on the other end. I could tell by the number that it was lil' guy's mom's phone so I said her name a few times. Then I wondered if a lil' cutie could be playing with his mom's phone so I said his name a few times. No answer so I hung up and redialed. Here comes this little voice..."Hi Gramma! I call you!" I heard his mom asking to see the phone and who he was talking to. She told me that he kept telling her that he wanted to call me so I talked to him for a few minutes.....something about trucks.....haven't quite learned how to decipher all the words he says yet. I could hear his dad walk in the house for lunch and the lil' guy says to his dad, "I talk to gramma!" My son took the phone and told me that the lil' guy was now running around the house all excited that he could call me. LOVE that lil boy of ours! I'm so glad it was my number he called when he punched numbers! Makes me smile.

Now back to sewing up some 9-patches for the swap!

Convoy

While at the cabin, this is what I worked on. A lil' quilt for the lil' guy. It's a Buggy Barn pattern from the book, Those Crazy Kids. I have mentioned before that I enjoy Buggy Barn quilts. You don't have to match seams and everything still comes out great. They are fun to sew after you let go of your mind set that everything has to match!

 

I had a beautiful view to look at all day long.

 

My makeshift sewing area.

 

The truck blocks are done...now to put on the wheels and finish the tractors.

 

I followed my "fortune"......

I was here for several days.....

 

...to watch this be painted....

 

...then back home for a day....

 

...before driving here.

 

It's been a very busy week!

Fortune Cookie says......

"Get away from home awhile to restore your energies"

 

I really need lots of energy this week...hope my fortune comes true!

Almost done and Saturday Sampler

I need to still sew my buttons on my witches' hats but the quilt is done! I'm very pleased with the quilting on this one. Lots of scaredy cats, bats, ghosts, new moons and witches.

 

Even though I live in a small town, we are lucky to have a very nice quilt shop in our midst. One of the ladies who works at the shop is also a pattern designer. These are a couple of her new patterns. Months before I moved here, I came over to attend a benefit auction for someone in the town. A quilt was auctioned off with a darling scarecrow in the center. It has been on my mind ever since I first saw it! It had been a previous BOM from the fabric store. There were no patterns left by the time I moved over so I have been asking Geralyn for another scarecrow pattern all these months. I have even searched online for something similar to what I saw to no avail. Nothing was quite like it. I was so happy to see this scarcrow on Saturday when I went to pick up my free BOM from the shop. Both patterns are made to be doorhangings and they are darling, let me tell you! Geralyn said she hopes to get more designs made like ones for Christmas and Valentine's Day. You can actually buy over the door quilt hangers that go with the quilts! If you look at her website, check out the Moose & Company pattern. It was last year's appliqued BOM! You paid $6 the first month and then the rest of the months were free if you brought back your finished block each month to the store. The shop also does a pieced BOM the same way.

 

Fruits of our labors

Well my lil' garden is still coming along. I am hoping we won't get a cold snap so my tomatoes can keep turning red. Pumpkins are looking good and a few are beginning to turn orange. Zucchini is still producing and I have actually been able to pick a few beans.

Here's a pic of what I picked Wednesday a.m. My plate says "Mama always said eat your veggies". To some seasoned gardeners, this probably looks silly but keep in mind that I have never had a real garden before. Even though they are few in numbers I love seeing even my little beans! I am even getting potatoes! Corn is next to be picked and then I think I will have had success with everything I planted this year.

 

Remember how I was gone all last week? I didn't pick these big guys because I didn't want to deal with them right before we left. Lookie how huge they grew! The little one is about the right size of what you would buy in the store. I love these lil' monsters!

 

Oh! Who am I kidding????

My name is Jana. I am a fabric addict.

Did you think that while on my travels last week that I wouldn't stop at a quilt shop every chance I got?!

I was excited when I searched online and found a shop right in the Amana Colonies. It had even been featured in the 2009 Spring edition of the magazine Quilt Sampler. This is Heritage Designs in Amana, Iowa. A nice, large shop filled with lots of batiks and Japanese fabrics.

 

Since the shop was filled with Lecien fabrics, I had to buy a few fat quarters. Also had to buy fat quarters of Metro Market. Love the retro feel and bright colors of the fabric.

Next stop was also in the Amana Colonies. Fern Hill. Oh my! What a shop! The bottom floor is filled with architectural antiques and flowers. Upstairs is where you find the fabric. Fern Hill is also home to artist, Stephanie Brandenburg. You can see her studio where she paints upstairs. While I was there, she was busy standing on a ladder trying to make sure some antique columns didn't come crashing down. They had a photo shoot the day before in the gardens outside and used some of the antiques in the pictures. From what I understood, their gardens have been featured in many magazines. Of course I had to buy some of her fabric after meeting her.

 

Stephanie's fabric is the grouping in the center of the picture.


By the time we finished exploring the Colonies, we were too late to go to Winterset and see the Fons and Porter shop again. We were there a few years ago and fell in love with the darling town square. Next time. So we headed onwards to Nebraska.

After a night's rest in Lincoln, headed west again. Let me tell you, I-80 is one long highway! I made sure we took a break in Cozad, NE because of a cute quilt shop I found last year on the same trip. Prairie Point Junction is a shop that was also featured in the 2005 Quilt Sampler.

 

On this stop, I found a couple of kits to buy and some sale fabric.

While at a truck stop filling up the truck with diesel, I found a map of Nebraska quilt shops. I was sneaky enough to "need" another break to get out of the truck when we reached Ogallala. Silver Thimble was crammed packed full of machines, threads and fabric. When I first walked in I was a bit disappointed since I didn't see alot of fabric but as I walked back to the end of the store, I found it hiding behind a book wall. It isn't a cutsy store, but if you are a quilter and live in the area, it would certainly serve you well.

I didn't get a picture of the store but here are my goodies. The owner was sweet enough to even let me be a frequent buyer for the day and let me pick out a fat quarter. See the sewing machine fabric in the middle? It was my gift for being such a good customer! As you can see, I bought a couple of patterns and fabric to go with them. I also found some backing for a quilt I am making for #1 grandson. And have you seen the fabric towards the back yet? I LOVE IT! So retro and funny! It's called Housework Whenever. The other piece of fabric has recipes on it. I might have to try them to see if they are any good. It is from Timeless Treasures.


So. Can you tell I have a problem? I love fabric! Always have. Even when I was a little girl I loved going to the fabric stores with my mom while she bought fabric. I just hope that some of this fabric from this trip actually ends up in projects and quilts! If not, it is still fun to touch and look at.