Mountain Trail - Almost Finished

Good morning fellow quilters!! It is a beautiful fall morning here in Texas - we don't get color until November, but I am absolutely LOVING the crisp morning air!!

I have had Lori's Mountain Trail SAL flimsy done for a couple of weeks, but haven't had time to quilt it - I originally was going to hand quilt it, but am thinking about simple diagonal machine quilting. I have so enjoyed seeing everyone's version! Such creative and inspiring quilter's you are!!!

Just a little note of interest - more just because I wanted to know. Not counting the red pieces in the quilt, there were 200 other pieces. For those, I used 93 different fabrics!!! It was fun for me to dig in my little shoes box and pull out favorite fabrics that wouldn't have been used any where else! Thanks Lori for this little project! I'm so glad I joined in!!

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!!!

What a Surprise!!!!

(photo from the internet google - dairy cow in New Zealand)

I'll bet you are wondering why I've posted a photo of dairy cattle in New Zealand - right. Well many of you know that I live on a ranch in Central Texas, we raise beef cattle, meat goats, Quarter Horses, Border Collies and yes I have a Holstein/Jersey cross milk cow. A "house cow" in kiwi terminology. Well, my dear friend Raewyn is from the North Island of New Zealand. She and her husband have a dairy farm - so we have developed a "common ground" - we both love to quilt!!

So, please go here and read Raewyn's post and read the comments, too - especially mine!

Guess what came to my house today!!! Boy was I SURPRISED!!!!!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! Now, I don't have to make my own!!!


Thanks, Raewyn

Block Bonanza & A Winner!!!

A quick update of the quilt blocks that I'm "dealing" with right now!!

Our guild has a BOM, where one of the members presents a certain block and then those that want to participate make the blocks (or as many as they want). Then at the next meeting, we put our names in the post and a winner is drawn! Well, I won (for the third time in a year) last month's blocks!

Now, I need suggestions on settings!!!! The original called for them to be set next to each other, but the colors were the same and it made a nice saw tooth sashing - but I'm not crazy about that with the different colors. So please, I covet your suggestions!!


Additionally, I presented the BOM for this month (we present it one month, to make for the next month). I chose a very simple Vintage Churn Dash in Blue and White. I've made four blocks, not sure if I will put them all in the drawing because I love them so much that I might just make one for me!!

I caught up (I was 3 weeks behind) on Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice BOW. I'm still in love the royal purple!! So rich!! I've added a couple other fabrics for a little diversity and I'm liking it! What do you think? Are my colors speaking to you?

I've completed 20 Petite Granny Squares and I thought I was done, but after I laid them out, I decided to make five more. But, I'm liking how they are coming together!!

This evening I captured the resident cowboy and his trusty black hat and drew a winner!!

Rockgranny, you are the winner!!! Please email me your snail mail address and I will get these FQs in the mail for you ASAP!!  Congratulations!!!

My deepest appreciation for each and everyone of you that take time to leave a comment! Again, I say, bloggers are the best!!! How you have enriched my life!!  Blessings!!!!!

A Few Finishes

Wow, the days fly by for me!! I'm mostly making this post to let you, my faithful followers and dear friends, know that I will draw a winner on Monday for the Indigo, Pewter & Honey FQs. So, stay tuned. Plus, if you haven't entered, just go here and leave a comment.

But, I do have couple of photos of projects in progress.

Remember Pam had a cute little SAL "Forget-Me-Not". Well, I finished the flimsy, and it turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself - "self, this is pretty cute!!"

I've never done a "leader/ender" project before, though I always chain piece everything I'm working on! But I have a "REAL leader/ender" one now!  Christmas FG - they measure about 2 1/4 x 4/12 and I'm going to make a strippy bed size quilt. (I need about 420, and I have about 120 finished!)

Last but not least for this post. Janet O. sent me (she is such a sweetie!!) 4 pieces of solid purple fabrics for Randy's SAL!! So, needless to say, I was "glad" that I was behind, because I got to use them for the last 3 blocks! Aren't the purples just gorgeous!! Thanks, Janet, a perfect addition to my solids!!

Hope each of you are having a wonderful Saturday. It is very cool and misty here! Yeah!!

Blessings Ya'll!!!!

Weekend Treasure!!

This past weekend was our annual "girls only weekend" where we trek across the state of Texas for a long weekend of junking/antiquing/shopping at a huge trade fair. When we first started it was a "day trip" now we are at 3 days and 2 nights and it still isn't quite enough time to see everything - though we are bushed!!

We rented a B&B old farmhouse this year. It was built about 1904 and sits on a lovely property! We really enjoyed our stay there. The weather this year was rainy and cool, but not so rainy that we couldn't shop!!! And the cool was so refreshing!!!

I really didn't have many items that I was searching for, so I mostly looked at furniture (we want to upgrade our dining table) and quilts. I saw many, many many quilts, but alas didn't take photos. There were a couple in my budget, but they just didn't "grab me" so I waited and looked. Of course the ones I really love are the antique ones especially with fan quilting - and they were way out of my budget!! But Sunday morning, as we were shopping in a large enclosed building (out of the showers/mist/cold wind) I came across a vendor who a vast array of quilts of each age, plus some antique/vintage fabric and some antique quilt blocks!! I ooooood and aaaaaaahed and looked at each block. Two of my daughters were with me (in the building) and of course lost me!! Well, when they found me, Mollie asked the vendor "How long has she been here?!!" Well, I bought some - and I am so excited. I haven't "quilt soaked" the blocks yet, but I will. I have enough to make 4 small quilts. Each block measures about 6 inches and are hand pieced with a very scant 1/4" seam and some pieces are "pieced" to make the square big enough (I love frugal blocks like that!!).

So without further ado...feast your eyes are my very humble, simple treasures!! (be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge so you can see the details!!

I just love all of them, but my favorite is the dark (mostly blacks) and pink nine patches!! I had just ordered some repro double pink fabric that I'm going to use for setting blocks or sashing and I had the black with gold yardage from an earlier win from Maureen! So, it will be one of the first that I assemble!! I think the shoo fly blocks are awesome! So, I'll have several little projects to keep me busy - like I needed another project!! LOL

By the way, Janet O., I didn't post yesterday because I was rocking Gracen!!

 I'm keeping her this afternoon, too, but she is asleep in her little infant carrier - so no rocking yet!


Here's my fall decor on the front porch!

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!!

Really, I'm still here...

Okay, okay, so I'm really, really, really, really late with this months FFFF, so here it is...

Eight Fat Eighths from Judie Rothermel's "Pewter, Indigo, & Honey" collection. I love this fabric, but have not decided what I'm going to make with it - so to enter this months drawing, please leave a comment on this post and tell me what quilt you would make. I promise I will draw a winner before toooooooo loooooooong!!!! LOL!!!!

Now to tell/show you why I have been negligent in posting!

On September 6 (Just one day after my last post) Gracen Kate was born. So, I've been doing a little rocking!!! (They live in our guest house, so though I'm not a "hovering grandmother" -Nene (me) gets to see her every day!!!!)

So, you tell me, "Post" or "Rock"!!!!

We have also been working cattle, weaning calves and moving cattle around.

Oh yeah - I've been rocking Gracen!

I also fancy myself as a" wildlife photographer" and have been catching shots of various fowl.

Oh, yeah, Gramps gave Gracen her first horseback ride!!

Also, the fall Sheep Dog trail season is upon us and I've been readying Tate for several trials in October:

I did finish the Porter Brothers (grandsons of a dear friend) quilts and put them in the mail today!!!

Oh yeah. I've been rocking Gracen!!!

I PROMISE that I will post the winner and more "quilty" stuff next week. I'm currently working on 7 quilt projects, so hopefully I will have at least a couple of pictures!!


If you have time, enlarge the photos - the details are amazing!


Blessings Ya'll!!!!

Piecing Frenzy/Overload - Segment #3

Rather than take a separate photo for each of my current block piecing projects, I just spread the blocks on the grass (which is sort of green - even though it has been 100+ again!)

From top left:

     Barrister SAL blocks - I'm caught up!!!

     Our guild's Block Exchange for September - I got a little carried away - fall colors and couldn't just pick one - plus I just used scraps from previous projects!

     Pam's "Forget-Me-Not" Pocket Patchwork! I'm loving these little blocks with the Dear Jane fabric!

     Four more Petite Grannys for Emma's baby quilt (Emma is due in November, but is my soon to be born granddaughter's first cousin).

    And the three blocks on the bottom - Barbara Brackman's newest BOW - Grandmother's Choice. We will be making 49 blocks and I have already decided to set them with chain blocks, so each week I will make the BOW and one chain block and assemble as I go. I'm loving the royal purple that I have chosen for the main color. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the delicate grayish flowers on the royal! My background fabric is a small flower tone on tone gray.

Blessings Ya'll!!!!!