Finished Rose-Star runner!

I'm happy to have finally finished my table runner for our dining room! 

I participated in Clare's block party where she shared her pattern for the Rose-Star block which is paper pieced.  (See my side bar).  I've made four of them but these are my two favorites.  I took them to Texas where my son, Jack, and I recently vacationed.  We found the red gingham fabric at the quilt asylum in McKinney and chose it to encircle the Rose Stars and connect them.  The spartan pieces were added to square off the shapes.  What do you think of the dish towel binding?  I'd purchased those a few years ago and knew I'd find a good use for them!  One dish towel cut up in to 2.5 inch strips completed the runner.  I think the large ric-rack is a fun addition, too.  Several of the fabrics are from the Going Coastal Collection"which suits the look of our home in a downtown harbor.  The center apples are a cut up dish towel from Target that caught my eye.  I hand quilted inside and around the stars in white, blue, red and green.

I used Rachel's zigzag-binding-tutorial.

There's Duke checking it out!

(or is he looking at his treat dish?)

Linking up to Amanda Jean at Finish it up Friday!

over at www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com

Kris

What's NOT a WIP Wednesday

It's Work in Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  That works for me since all of my stuff is "in progress" at the moment.

I think the dish towel binding is going to be a nice match to the fabrics! 

 Bust Yo Scraps Quilt

Chasing Chevrons Quilt

Thimbles....so I posted awhile back that I couldn't find the type of thimbles that Mary at Molly Flanders uses.  (I've linked you to her hand quilting tutorial which I love!)  Well next thing I know she sends me the thimble along with the thimble in the next  picture which she also really likes to use.  I was so touched by her thoughtfulness!  After trying both, my preference is the one in the first picture. (above)

As you may have read before, when I am crafting, Jack is never far behind!  Here he is designing a T-shirt for his new logo "DO2"  - which is "dos" (Spanish for 2) and the 2 is a backwards S (says Jack).

He is so proud!  He wore it to school today.

Had some requests for the paella recipe I use.  It is in this book - which is a wonderful book of Spanish recipes.  The author is American.  She lived in Spain as a student and then went from kitchen to kitchen collecting recipes.  As an American that also studied in Spain (Sevilla), I could relate to her passion for Spain and bought the book.  It's available on Amazon.

Get your reading glasses out!

 

Duke and I did enjoy a beautiful day at the dog park.

and he made a new friend!  Though she didn't have the long legs Olive has...

Meet Maggie.....

Duke had a hard time getting her to play chase. 

She preferred to lay down and watch everyone else run.

Then we were off to Starbucks drive-thru where Duke always scores a dog treat.

Me and my favorite guy!

Who can ALWAYS be found laying on a quilt.

Sew Modern Monday

Made some progress on the starlets table runner!  You can find the pattern over at Clare's old blog along with this tutorial.  If you enjoy English Paper Piecing you will love her new blog selfsewn.blogspot.com. Even if you don't you can look at all of the beautiful things she has made!

 I lost my sewing enthusiasm these past couple of days as I was caught up in a book called "Where are you now?" by Mary Higgins Clark.  Once I started it, I had to read the whole thing.  It's only $3.99 on kindle right now and a great light read! 

I've had some new blog friends reach out to me lately.  I've been tagged for a few question and answers and nominated for the Liebster award.  More on that later. It's fun to have new friends in blogland and I'm excited to hear from you!

Krista over at Kristastitched is an instagram friend and blog friend.  Yes we are getting to know each other quite well! :) 

The rules: Answer some questions. Post some questions. Tag some people.

Here are Krista's questions and my answers:

which do you prefer?
1. starch or no starch?    Starch!  I use the lavender Best Press.  I like the smell and it works great.
2.  prewashing or not?   If we are talking fabrics, no prewashing.  It sounds like too much trouble to me and I haven't had any fabrics bleed so far.  Now a good ol' vintage sheet from the Good Will? Straight to the washer! 
3.  Solids or prints?   Prints -  I have to make myself buy solids.
4. Dogs or cats?  Do you even have to ask?  I haven't had a cat since I was really young.  Recently, my Mom gave me the first quilt that my Grandma made me for my first "big girl bed".  It has cats all over it and it's pink!  Love it.  I am crazy for dogs now.  Sometimes more than humans...

Sir Duke

5.  Big quilts or little quilts?  Big ones to cuddle up under, little ones to make. :) My husband wants me to go bigger with mine for our home so that's the plan. 
6.  Thrifting or buying new?  I'm more of a buy new at a bargain price. 
7.  Wood floors or carpet?  Definitely prefer wood with pretty rugs.  I have a plan to make a rug by weaving fabric, but it hasn't happened yet.
8.  Beer or wine?  Wine drinker here. But even better...a White Russian!
9.  Staying in or going out?  Depends but usually staying in.  I do love to go out to the movie though.

Parachute of candy made by my friend Sheila for all of us going to see The Hunger Games last night - she's so creative!

10.  One fabric line per quilt or mix and match?  Mix and match for me - I like to select the fabrics and put them together myself.  It's half the fun.
11.  Watching tv or listening to music?  Usually music.  Unless it's downton abbey!  But I flew through that streaming it through netflix and pbs on my ipad.  So technically that wasn't TV.  I do love the show Psych.

Here are my questions (I'm keeping it short)
1.  Besides sewing what is your favorite thing to do in your down time?
2.  What was the last movie you saw?
3.  What book have you read in the last year of so that you recommend?
4.  What is one of your favorite things you have made? And please post a picture if you have one.

I am tagging:

krista@kristastitched
http://aroundtheblockdesigns.blogspot.com/
Deb@simplymissluella
Mary@MollyFlanders
Christie at Describe Happy
http://www.archiethewonderdog.blogspot.com/


Don't feel like you have to answer - I understand if you don't have time to play!

Have you checked out the beautiful modern creations being linked up to Megan over at Canoeridgecreations? I'm linking up!

Kris

He's BAAACK with a winner!

We have a winner!   I recently posted here about the St. Patrick's day blog hop and a retro give-away.  Duke was kind enough to help me announce the give away.  Well, today he is back with the winner!

Thanks to all of the new followers that found me through the blog hop.  It is so much fun to share a love of dogs and fabric with like minded new friends.  I am checking out all of your blogs, too.

"I hope this is the last time she puts me in this silly hat.  Please don't let Olive see this."

MCMar 16, 2012 02:23 PM

Duke is saying "These would make a perfectly good doggy bed, and it's not going to be for me..."

Congratulations MC! 

Duke and I had a blast reading all of your comments about what he was thinking while posing with the sign in the silly hat (that I photo-shopped in).  I loved MC's comment but the thing is....Duke doesn't sleep in a doggy bed, he prefers MY bed!  But you're right, he does like to rest his head against something soft.

We finished the "top" of the table runner while watching "Missing" last night!

He's such a good sewing partner. The sun is shining.

I think I'll wake him up and take him to the dog park!

Linking up to Amanda Jean's "finish it up friday" over at

crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2012/03/finish-it-up-friday-week-20

I received my signed copy of her new book that I bought

from her shop!

  I love it! You should check it out.

Kris

Catching up!

I made an apple pie yesterday!  I love to bake.  And my family loves an Apple pie which is easy to make, living in the land of apples. (Washington State)  I had plenty in the refrigerator to whip this up without even a trip to the store.

I decided to check out The Grand on Netflix while I made it.  A friend told me it was a good second bester to Downton Abbey.  It is definitely not as good, but yes I think I might watch episode 2 and see if it's going to become my new thing.

All cut up with cinnamon and sugar added.

I also threw together a Spanish Paella.

It's another one of my go-to dinners that I've gotten fairly speedy at making.  Fresh garlic, onion, pork churizo, spanish saffron, short grain rice, chicken broth, green onions and then whatever meats I have - this one was ham and chicken.  This is one of my family's favorites! 

Duke wandering what is going on in the kitchen!

(See how he carries his treat around the house with him)

Then later he has moved all the way to the other end of the couch.

But THIS has been the biggest accomplishment of yesterday and today.  I've been working on my High School Senior's Grad Ad for the yearbook.  It is the tradition at Gig Harbor High School that parents make a page (with the help of the yearbook staff )of their son or daughter that goes in the back of the yearbook as a tribute to your Senior.  Granted, you have to pay money to do this and it's not cheap.  But how can you not?  Mitch is so active in his school that it was hard to narrow down what to show and say.  I hope he will like this.  His little brother, Jack, saw the draft and was thrilled to be in it!  Duke made it in, too! (bottom right, hard to see in this shot).

Finally, on the sewing front, I have been quilting a quilt for Sheri's daughter, Taylor, who made this quilt top and brought it to me when they visited last week.  She started some straight line quilting while here, but we ran out of time to finish it together. 

This morning I cut out the binding - here it is laying around the quilt, not ironed in half yet.  Didn't she make a beautiful quilt?!  She took a lesson at her local quilt shop 4 years ago.  I'm helping her reach the finish line!

Such a beautiful quilt, Taylor!  Maybe she'll start blogging!  (wink )

I'll be back tomorrow with the winner of the St. Patrick's Day blog hop retro bundle! 

Good luck!  I bought the CUTEST box to mail it to you in!!  It's pink!!! :)

and I've got to find some "stale stash" to participate in this swap/are you in it yet?

Kris

and

Duke

Getting closer!

Hello you St. Patrick's Day Blog Hoppers! 

My give away post is here!

 
I've been working on my starlets again.  I am joining two together for a table runner.  I used the pieces that were in the starlets as joiners, then wanted a straight edge so I laid them down on the table and drew straight lines around them on computer paper, then cut the paper and started attaching the spartan fabric papers to the rest of what I had done.  I'm winging it!  I definitely want to do some hand quilting around the starlets so you don't forget they are there amongst the chaos going on!  I think in the end it will all come together.  I plan to attach  a binding around all of the edge, too.  The right side is all connected, working on the left side then I'll stitch them together.  As I lay it out over a stool in the family room I am thinking .... stooll cover instead?  But don't know how I would feel about people putting their FEET on my hours of hand stitching.  And what if their shoes were on....and dirty?!  So may be better to stick to the original plan.

Duke will be losing his spot on the pillow next to mine in the bed tonight.  DaddyO (my husband) comes home from a long business trip today.  That means Duke is back to sleeping at the foot of the bed.  Hope he takes it ok.

...growls at me for even suggesting it.

I'm linking up to Megan over at Canoe Ridge Creations!

Happy Monday!!

Kris