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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A Little Gift

Now that this little piece has arrived at its new home, I can share pictures.  I needed a gift for someone and found out she loved all things Mary Engelbreit so I immediately knew I wanted to do a teapot wallhanging.
Years ago I did a ME quilt for my daughter.  I still have scraps left (imagine that LOL) - it was so much fun to re-visit all these cute fabrics.
The thing about ME fabric is that they have such a personality, they are almost like "friends" :).  And they are so quirky that you don't have to stress about what goes with what.  I hand appliqued and hand quilted this little piece.  The border was a little hard to do with the small pieces and seams.  But it was still so much fun.
I just cut little pieces of lots of different scraps.  And then in true ME style, you anchor everything with black.
Don't you love this little face??
The back was just a blue  piece of ME I had.
And of course, the hidden kitty :) - my trademark.
Have a great day,
Karen

Friday, November 9, 2012

My Fall Quilts

Fall is such a great time of year, even in Florida where we don't see much color change.  Of all my fireplace quilts, this might be my favorite.  It was the last one I made during my NYB series (8 in all).  I pulled in the clay/red color and made the golds a little stronger - love this one!  It almost glows at night.
My hand pieced and hand quilted apple core is always a favorite.  It's a good size and has so many wonderful memories attached to it.
This little fall wallhanging used to hang in my office in my ever changing series of  "Office Art", but now it gets to hang out in my living room, making me smile.  The applique is all by hand and it's hand quilted.  This is one of the quilts I've made using the "One of a Kind" method.  Love it!!
This last one is one I haven't shown before.  I made this quilt in 2003-2004.  We had just gotten this new couch and of course I had to make a quilt to match.
I'm not sure what this pattern is called, but it was fun and easy.  I carried this pillow around with me for weeks, making sure the fabrics would match.
It matches so well it almost doesn't show up!!  This was one of the last "utility" quilts I hand quilted before I started learning to machine quilt.  Now I pretty much save the hand quilting for 1st time baby quilts for the grands and the quilts I put in the quilt show.
It's not a really "wow" quilt, but was perfect for what I was trying to achieve.
Have a great day,
Karen

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Mini Trail Mix and HST's

First, thanks for all the comments about my sweet punkin - aka the cutest owl ever!!  Less than 2 weeks until she's here (along with my other 2 munchkins)!!  I can't wait!
I've voted today and now it's time to get this little quilt basted and quilted.
I chose a tan print for the outer border and a cheddar for the inner border.  It looks really good I think.  Now I need to decide on a quilting design - always the hardest part for me.
I found this orphan block stuck in a box and put it on the design wall.  My leader/ender project (remember that bag of triangles from Karen?) has yielded over 60 hst's so far :)!!  Makes me feel so productive.  Right now I'm just sticking them up there - no real idea where it will go.
But so far I really like it!! 
So glad to hear some in the NE are slowly getting back to normal - hang in there.
- Karen

Saturday, November 3, 2012

The Cutest Owl You've Ever Seen

This is a non-quilty post, but one that I just had to share.  This is quite possibly the cutest owl you will see this season :)!!
This is my sweet granddaughter - the one living with her parents currently in Iowa!  My incredibly talented DIL made this Halloween outfit for her - without a pattern!!
Not sure how she got in the tree (I think her Daddy had something to do with it) -  :).
My DIL made this so that the wings attach to the arms so she could move around.
Those boots are so cute - look how the tail flows behind her.
Here's a picture of the back.  The only thing she purchased was the hat.  And yes, in case you're wondering - she is a very creative person in many areas!
Here is my sweet punkin :).  She is 14 months old and coming for Thanksgiving - it will be her first time to Nana Girl's house!!  In case you're wondering.... I'm not too excited :).  Thanks for letting me share.
Until next time,
Karen