Quilt Show Continued

Grandma's Garden by Norma Phelps

Another copy of the String Star Quilt

{since the last post didn't allow enlargement}

Sandy Cleavland's Bears Paw,
Quilted by
Brenda Salinas (left)

Barbara Olson's Stop the Recount, quilted by the Church Ladies (right) 

   1930s reproduction fabric----love that Little Bo Peep!

 Feed Sack Flowers

Antique Scrappy Sunflower: unknown

 The Diamond Field: Unknown

 I hope you've enjoyed the mini tour.

Be sure to check out the biennial show at Porter County Expo Center

if you can get to NW Indiana.

The String-A-Long Guild puts on a great show!

Heather

Quilt Show Highlights

Going gaga over the feedsack prints....reminds me 

of the treasures sent over by Marjorie. 

They're tucked away for the perfect project.

String Star, Pennsylvania Circa 1880

For you string quilt fanatics out there {and those of us who thought this was a relatively new phenomenon}, String Star from the 1880s.

1910 Vintage Blocks
Old Fly Foot Friendship Quilt by Pat Atwell, Quilted by Susan Atwell

 This quilt was such a treat to see and then we noticed the 2 embroidered names

...and the paper names that were attached to the original blocks. 

What a find!

Special thanks to Karen & Diane for tolerating all my picture taking

and quilty ramblings.

More to come in the next installment.
Happy Quilting,

Heather

Antique Applique

This beautiful quilt was on display at the String Along Quilt Guild show 

at the Porter County Expo Center over the weekend. 

Don't you just love the D.W.??

Gorgeous and in such fantastic condition, too.

The hand quilting is positively exquisite.

There are more photos to come, including some vintage 30s

{but of course!} and more antique blocks that made me squeal in delight.

Heather

More 30s & Blooms

 Spring is in the air, 30s are my choice in fabrics and 

there are even more flowers out in the yard. 

Life is good.

 The strawberry patch has about 2 dozen flowers in bloom....and it's March! 

Can you imagine how many berries we'll collect this year?

 The tulips are a nice new addition to the backyard. 

And they're a welcome sight.

Ah, my violets. Nothing says spring like violets and these white ones with purple throats are my absolute favorite. They remind me of helping out in great grandpa Eddie's garden when I was just a toddler.

Wishing you a wonderful week,

Heather

Dotty FWQAL Block

It's been a long, l-o-n-g break from the Farmer's Wife Quilt along. Happily, the polka-dotty postage stamp block {#68 in the series} came together without a hitch.I'm looking forward to some more piecing soon.

piece.

Heather

Spring is in the Air

It's unbelievable in this area to see a monarch butterfly March 20th. But I did this year
and I've seen some smaller butterflies over the past couple days. Flowers and ground cover, hostas and violets are opening en masse...it's like nothing we've ever witnessed here.
Our snow fall for the entire 2011-2012 'winter' was an inch LESS than just one day of accumulation 2010-2011.
It's been phenomenal!
It's no wonder the sewing isn't getting done.
Tip toe through the tulips
Happy Dancing,
Heather

Feed the Stash

Some sweet 30s reproductions to add to the stash.

Cute, right? I'm looking forward to getting back to a bit of piecing shortly.

Have a wonderful day,

Heather

chick, chick, pastel chicken fabrics

Special thanks to Colleen of Lucky Duck Dreams for

reading the 'Which Came First?' post & answering my plea. 

The only Authentic Prints by F+Z for SSI C1920's to 1940's 

she didn't have...was the mint in my photo.

Funny how things work out that way.

Maybe my Jane timing isn't SO bad after all.

I know with the redos on the list and some bits here & there

I can find some room to work these fabrics in

 to the final design.

Happy Sewing,

Heather

Make Your Own Sanding Sugar!

Warm wishes from our family to yours this St. Patrick's Day.

We're having some luck of the Irish cake to start of our morning...

{not too shabby for gluten free vanilla}

but to spice it up and make it a bit more festive,

I added a sugar shamrock to each piece.

If you are ever in need of a bit of sanding sugar 

but don't have the color you'd like on hand,

save yourself a trip to the grocery store 

{and the $2.59 for a small container of single color}.

It's SO easy!

All you need is some turbinado sugar

(always on hand in our pantry in the individual packets)

and some food coloring.

Open a few packets of sugar and place them into a bowl. 

Add a drop of the food coloring and mix well with a fork. 

When all your liquid is absorbed, add another drop at a time until 

you have the amount of sugar you need and the exact color you're looking for. 

It's Easy Peasy. 

 Enjoy this little tip for year round sugar,

just the way you like it.

Heather

=D

Shamrocks Adorn Us

These clips were so much fun to make, 

thanks to a fantastic tutorial by Christina Williams.

I purchased the smallest set of covered buttons for this project, using

some Judie Rothermel 30's prints {shamrocky, of course!!} 

so we can be festive tomorrow. 

The first set of small covered buttons
I purchased had teeth on the top's underside,
hoping the newer set looks a little smoother around the edges.

Oh, the possibilities!

Happy Crafting

& a Very Happy St. Patrick's Day,

Heather

The {Usually} Windy City

Michigan Avenue will never be the same, Marilyn.

They don't call it the Windy City for nothing
-usually-

We've never experienced the city on a more beautiful day.

The weather was sunny and clear with just the softest breeze.

Warm, mild weather continues
and I think it's safe to say it's here to stay.
{knocking on wood & crossing my fingers}

With temperatures in the 70s, 

our first daffodils of 2012 arrived last night...

more to open later today, I'm sure.

For now, we're living it up in flip flops, 

outside every day basking in the sunshine.

Thanks for taking the virtual tour of Chicago 

with us this week.

Have a wonderful day,

Heather

Sweet Home Chicago---Fave Spots

The florist at the train station

makes the whole area smell like roses & lilies.

Plus, fabulous displays & major eye candy 24/7.

MMM. Garrett's popcorn. Nothing like it anywhere else. 

DELISH!

Any fan of older SNL episodes knows the cheezborgor & pepsi

John Belushi skits....all based on the experience

at the Billy Goat. It's a must see, whether you think it's the 

best cheeseburger around or not. 

We love it!

Gino's East. Best pizza around....I'm a thin crust girl, so if you love your deep dish, I haven't tried it here. They now offer gf pizzas with limited toppings. If you're up for anything, must try the extra cheese & bacon.

mmmmmmmm.

 The street performers are fantastic on the weekends. We saw a disco puppet show (pic above), a group of talented drummers, the silver dancer on a boom box and an amazing singer, too. Awesome!

Just one more photo to finish off our grand tour, coming soon.

Heather