One Piece at a Time

Introducing Miss Amy

Well, I have finally named my little fall basket quilt. I’m calling her Miss Amy. This is in honor of my dearest dearest friend Amy without whom I would not have survived being a mother. She sings beautifully, talks me through all my mothering dilemmas and drags my sorry butt to Jazzercise three times a week. I think it is perfect to name this one after her since it is a month for thinking of gratitude and she is always at the top of my list.

Lord willing these are at the printer right now, which means I have one to give away. Don't worry if you have laready ordered one, I will refund you if you win.Just leave a comment telling us what your favorite holiday pie is. Mine is NOT pumpkin, believe it or not.

Next week I will have a tutorial on how I appliqued that sawtooth border on AND Block 11 of My Tweets...Yikes!!!

Don’t foget to visit the Quiltmaker blog tour and check out all the fun at:

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/

The 100 Blocks winner is...

Michelle M who likes daylight savings in the morning but not in the evening...I with you there girl!

I have more of these to give out over the next few weeks so keep checking back!

Blobbie-Do Flowers…it’s a technical term

As I have been working on my little fall basket quilt I have been craving a bit more of that red. When I tried it for the first border, however, it really overpowered the quilt. So, I thought I would resort to my favorite “move the color around” trick. I call it the Blobbie-do flower. If you are doing My Tweets you may have noticed some of these already. They are slightly amoeba shaped flowers that add a whole lot of punch and move the color around. I would have named them amoeba flowers but when I was young I got very sick and I had to be tested for amoebic dysentery…needless to say, the name brings back some bad memories…I don’t know why I share this stuff…sorry.

Anyway, the above shot is pre Blobbie-do flowers.

Here is my template.

At first I put the blue in the center but it looked awful so I switched to yellow.

Here it is with the flowers added…fun!

Be sure to check out all the other blog stops today at

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/

Little Oval Leaves

I wanted to try some new leaves on my fall basket quilt. My neighbor has this tree that has all these little oval leaves that I find very charming. I figure since ovals are close to circles I could use the perfect circle trick to make these leaves. Here’s how I did it.

I made an oval template.

Traced it onto some fabric and cut it out with a seam allowance.

Sewed a running stitch in the seam allowance…it’s good to start in the flatish part of the oval.

Pulled it tight.

Starched and pressed.

And wa la…oval petals

Be sure to check out all the other blog stops today at:

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/

My Stop on the Quiltmaker Blog Tour

Welcome everyone to my little stop on the Quiltmaker Blog Tour. I was so excited when my block was picked, especially since the very first quilting magazine I ever bought was Quiltmaker!. There was a pattern for this really cute star quilt with all these teddy bears appliquéd on. I made that quilt FIVE times! I even made one for my son when he was little. Gosh that brings back some very pleasant memories.

Anyway, you can see from my block that I haven’t stopped appliquéing yet. I made this block using the starch and press appliqué method. People who’ve been to this site before know that I am slightly nuts about this appliqué method. If you haven’t tried it before and want to please check out one of my many how to tutorials. I had a lot of fun designing and sewing this block. Here is just one way I think it looks great.

This issue of 100 Blocks is just packed with totally fabulous blocks from some very special designers. When I read the list I nearly swooned. Best part is, I have copies to share with you. Just leave a comment telling us whether you love or hate the end of Daylight Savings.

Be sure to check out all the other blog stops today at

quiltmaker.com/100blocks

there are YUMMY prizes!!!

...and the WINNER is

Jeanette who wrote

"How about you and Sandra Leichner? That would be a super treat."

That would be a super treat!!!

Design Wall Monday

I’m still tweaking my pumpkin quilt here this fine Monday morning. I think I need a little more of that red so I’m figuring that out right now. I like these fabrics for the borders so far.

Head on over to Judy’s blog to see what inspiring things other people are up to.

I will be back after exercise to announce the embroidery hoop winner.

ALSO...Don't forget to check out the 100 Blocks Blor Tour today! Here's the link:

www.quiltmaker.com/100blocks

Adventures in Embroidery: Step 1…oh and a GIVE-AWAY

Well I started doing a little bit of embroidery on my pumpkin quilt and so far so good. I’m sure there are tons of people out there who do this better than I do but here is a little tutorial on what I’ve done so far.

First, I marked a very slight line where I wanted my stem to go.

Placed it in the hoop.

I figure since it’s a stem I should use the stem stitch, which I’m sorry to say I had to go look up in this super lovely book.

Here I go.

All finished.

Here are a few details from other areas of the quilt as well.

A few weeks ago I found this little embroidery hoop on Sandra Leichner’s website. It is really really great.

It’s small enough so you can get to all the areas you need to stitch and it holds the fabric really well. Best part is…I have one to share with you as well. Just leave a comment telling us what famous person you would invite to dinner if you could and why.

Quiltmaker ‘s 100 Block Blog Tour

I have some exciting news. Quiltmaker has picked my block for it’s fourth volume of 100 Blocks. Even better, they are having a blog tour to launch this issue… and it’s next week... and there will be tons of goodies to win!!! (pssst...I dropped my contribution off today)

Head on over to Quiltmaker to see what fun is in store for everyone!

Dia de los Muertos

Thanks to alert blog reader Marilee I realized I didn’t miss Dia de los Muertos after all since it is celebrated on November 1 -2. I thought I would fill you in on why I have a fascination with this holiday. In 2003 My father died somewhat suddenly and unexpectedly on October 29. When my mom died almost exactly 20 years before my dad purchased a double grave in the cemetery where our entire family is buried. My brother and I made the necessary arrangements for our dad to be transported back home and buried with our mom. The funeral was scheduled for November 2. Since we grew up in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood in Los Angeles, Dia del los Muertos was going full swing at the cemetery where my parents are now buried. Families were there decorating graves and having picnics. It was a very happy thing to behold, seeing people honor their lost loved one is that way. It was a huge comfort to us as well. I love the thought that once a year there is a huge party where my parents are buried since I cannot visit there as often as I would like. I also love that there is this “laugh in the face of death” quality to this celebration that reminds me that I am human and will someday join them. Someday I am going to make a Dia de los Muertos quilts with my parents as the skeletons. I will have them playing tennis because that is exactly what they loved to do. It will be a happy quilt because that is also how I remember them.

I hope to finish my Calavera penny rug for next year. I found a definition of calavera that I really like:

Calavera: grotesque yet lively costumed skeletons...here are a few of my favorites

These are from The Day of the Dead from Dover.