Quilt Group for August,Part 1

I always enjoy seeing what my Quilt Group friends have been up to, and this month was no exception.

This is Dawn's Pinwheel Circles. She started with pinwheel blocks and then reverse appliqued them under the white fabric blocks with turned edge circle cut outs. (A lot more work, but this technique avoids the raw edges of our group's usual circle quilts.)

This Log Cabin quilt will be auctioned to raise money for Breast Cancer. Our group made blocks for Dawn who finished this pink and white beauty. (All pinks go together, right?)

 

Oh, and as part of the fundraising event, Dawn has made a set of festive pillow cases. So cute! We had quite a discussion of our different sewing techniques! We had our favorite methods that resulted in fun combinations of fabrics, and we aggreed that once you get started making them, it's hard to stop!)

These are a few I made last week..some for our September 11th Day of Service & Rememberance, and some for Christmas....

       (This is my favorite- the main fabric was thrifted (Value Village), so that makes it all the more fun!)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Black-Eyed Beauties

Have a Wonderful Day!

1968

I came across this issue of LIFE Magazine while I was going through a few things in the cedar chest. It's dated December 27, 1968. So I was 14 when this was published- a special two-in-one issue for 60 Cents. Boy, do I feel old...

 I was already pretty sure what I liked. I was planning on studying art, and my parents were supportive of that. I know we didn't subscribe to LIFE, but a neighbor must have, and I'm sure my mom thought I'd like to read this issue. And I've kept it all these years, along with another double issue about the Bible. It's also filled with artwork. (It's from 1964, and it only cost 50cents!)

As much as I loved seeing the art and reading about the artist, now it's the advertising I find so interesting! This one's a fold-out ad for Campbells Soup... 

...But once folded out, the copy promoting the bowls calls them "Pop Art Bowls". Guess Andy had already made his soup can paintings by then!

And I love this ad promoting sugar as a way to control your appetite!

Here's another ad that was a sign of the times...

And check out this one for a Singer Sewing Machine contest...Love her outfit!

Oh, an ice cream truck is just driving by! The perfect soundtrack for my little trip down Memory Lane!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Pillow Case

You probably already know about the Million Pillow Case Challenge. You make a pillow case (or a bunch!) and then take them to your local participating quilt shop. Foster kids and others in need will love this little touch of love from you! Once you make your donation, report back to the Million people so they can track all of the donations and reach the goal of a million handmade hugs!

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/

(The photo is one I made recently.... You may remember the fabric- a great thrift store find of mine a while back! Just wish the horses were running the other direction...
Note to self- pay attention to that next time!)

Maybe I'm the last one to know, but I LOVED the "tube" or "sausage" technique I learned about- you pin all the fabrics together, roll it up, stitch, and then the inside of the cuff is as nicely finished as the outside, all in one seam. The side seam is finished using a French seam, so no raw edges anywhere.

I followed these video instructions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLnrC9yo8tY&feature=related

September 11th is a National Day of Service, and our church is participating. One of our projects will be pillow cases, so I'm practicing! (These are so fun and quick to make, I think I'll make a bunch for Christmas too! At least some for my grands...)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

A Sign of Things to Come...

Have a Wonderful Day!

For Sale

(Happy Anniversary Kate!
Hope you don't mind that I parted with your reception centerpieces on your 7th anniversary!)

It's been quite a summer. As you may have noticed, my posts have been few and far between! Life has been BUSY!

One of this summer's accomplishments was holding a garage sale with my sister last weekend. Friday & Saturday, hot weather, a sore knee, fun visiting with sis and the shoppers, but too much work!! Next time, we'll just box everything up and donate it to charity (and take the tax write off!).

My work is on the school schedule, so summer is when I  try to get caught up on all the things I don't get done when I'm teaching. And I try to get creative too.  But with moving and remodeling, I haven't had time for either! (Does changing my mind THREE times about paint color for an accent wall in the family room, after the wall was painted, count as creative, or just silly? I know creativity is often not a straight line, but really....and I won't tell you about the other rooms that got more than two coats of paint 'cuz I changed my mind..)
And can I just say it's hard to part with STUFF when you can ALWAYS come up with a creative use for whatever it is you're saving??

I even had a hard time parting with the old encyclopedia...so many memoires of family dinners, when one of the kids would ask a casual question that needed an answer. I'd grab a volume, and we'd read what the World Book had to say... (now when we're together, someone just grabs their phone and we Google it.)

And even if I never used these gilded books as a reference again, I considered keeping them to use the pages in some art piece. (There is an artist whose name I can't remember who glues the books together and then carves them...one piece I recall was an encyclopedia carved into the Grand Canyon, with all of the pages looking like the layers of rock...very beautiful and yet disturbing on a certain level too.)

But a friend who doesn't have a computer was glad to take the set off my hands, and my price of FREE made us both very happy!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Pink Tucked In...

Have a Wonderful Day!

Hues of Summer

Have a Wonderful Day!

Flowers at the Locks

Have a Wonderful Day!