OOOOOO!!!! I WON!

OOOOO! SQUEEEEEE! I actually won something!!!! How kewl is that?  I won some yummy hand dyed fabric from vickiwelsh.etsy.com hand dyed fabrics ! LOOKIE LOOKIE!!! Isn't it the most fabulous colors, so bright, so happy, so...well me! (I blame my love of bright colors on my Japanese heritage and growing up in the 60s and 70s!) Thank you Vicki for such a fabulous gift! This will have to be for something special with these 10, yes 10 fat 8ths. I'm thinking they would be most very awesome in a Twister quilt with black border, or maybe to use for the Flower Garden applique quilt I have planned. Anyway, the give away was sponsered by Quilting Bloggers.Go check the site out, there's a button on my sidebar. They have give aways all the time.( You never know...you could win too!)

Once Upon a Time...

a kind friend named Ms Julie, give me a couple of huge bags of scraps. They were most colorful happy scraps, and I was overjoyed! I cut the scraps into 2 1/2 " squares and pondered, what shall I do with said lovelies? They were most precious and special soooo, they were stashed away in normal saline tubs awaiting the day that a most special use was found.

While watching Bonnie Hunter on Quilt Cam piecing together her Sister's Choice blocks, there was an epiphany! Hey! I love those blocks! Hey! I have a bunch of 2 1/2 square blocks cut out! OOOOOO! I have a bunch of white on white/cream fabric left from Easy Street! And so now I have this, 18 Sister's Choice blocks with rainbow points! See!

Now while I was sewing blocks, Addi, my 4 year old granddaughter, came up and said," Can this be for me Nana?" . Why yes! Yes it can. She loves the rainbow points too!

This is my favorite block. The yellow fabric with blue pansies is so gorgeous and I wish I had more of it.

So now Nana still needs to make at least 6 more blocks, maybe 10. I'm aiming for a twin size quilt for Addi's bed. I think I need some green points to mix in for the rainbow colors.

Now this isn't the end to my story! To be continued! 

Learning To Quilt, Part 2

Again no pics, yet another story.  My first mother in law was Vesta Lyons. She was the kindest soul I'd ever met. I was too young when I married my first husband. Vesta took me right in. She was an older lady in her late 60's. Her eyes were bright, and beamed with goodness. I love her so! She taught me gardening, cooking, and took me everywhere with her like I was her own daughter. She also took my quilting to the next level.

 Vesta taught me to make string quilts. We would take old sheets, some purchased at yard sales, and tear them into 6 inch strips lengthwise. Once again, double knits came into play. Old pant suits, shirts, and what ever we could get our hands on would be cut into 2 inch strips. She showed me how to lay the strips on a diagonal, and we'd zigzag the strips into place. Once we covered those long strips with colorful  doubleknits, we'd then alternate them into a zigzag pattern and sew them together. Old blankets served as batting, and a new sheet or a used one in good shape would be the backing. Now I learned about tacking and tying. She taught me about binding. There wasn't a lot of money back then, but let me tell you, the quilts we made one year, enough for all her kids, grandkids, including myself and my husband, were beautiful and warm.

Vesta used to tell me all the time,"If a person was to make one quilt a year, every year, she would never have to worry about her family needing covers." . So true, so true! Love you Vesta!

Strange Feet Indeed!!!

While tuning up Ms.Bessie, who's purring like a kitten... I came across these in her box.

Never really paid that much attention, but these feet don't go with her. From what I have found out, they are Griest feet, made for Singer? Anyway, I don't own a machine that uses these feet. There is a bit of rust, but it doesn't affect the mechanism, and some ingenius person might know how to deal with said rust. Point is..does anyone out there want these feet? I would most happily send them to you. They're just in my way, but I wouldn't dare pitch them knowing someone out there would love to have them.

Sooooo, if your that person, leave me a message. These feet can be yours!