Why Not Sew?

Chicken & Duck Love

2013-05-14T12:23:00.000-04:00

I hope all you mamas out there had a lovely Mother's Day! Mine was wonderful. My husband built our chicken coop this weekend and then took me to pick up my chickens. We found this nice couple that has a really cool homestead a couple of counties over from ours. The only chickens the lady has are Americanas and those are the only ones I wanted. They are the kind that lay tinted eggs in blue, green, pink and sometimes yellows. I'm hoping for blue! My husband got 4 ducks. They are adorable. Three of them are about a week old and one of them is about 3 weeks old and it is living with the chickens right now. The man that we bought the chickens from gave us some quail eggs for eating. They are really pretty eggs and are very small.
My daughter's rose bush is blooming. It's beautiful. We have blueberries on our blueberry bush. My husband cut back our Lemon Verbena plant. I've had it for about 6 years and it was getting very thin and spindly. Now there is a lot of new growth coming on. Have you ever smelled Lemon Verbena? It's such a great smell. My Hens and Chicks that my mother potted for me before we moved are coming back around. I'm really excited that my Echinacea sprouted. When we moved I had to leave so many perennials. A really well established patch of Echinacea and my three Clematis plants that were 8 years old, lush and beautiful. So I'm spending most of my free time working on getting more perennials started. Our garden is growing with much more to put in still. That's what I've been up to. Enjoying all this beauty that surrounds me.
Sorry I have no sewing to show you right now, but I did cut pieces for some Honey Bee blocks. I'll be squeezing in some sewing time here soon. We are going to be having family & friends visiting throughout May and June so I'm really excited about that. Hope you all are well and getting some time to sew or do whatever it is that makes you happy :)
xo Erin

Sweet Quilt Finished

2013-05-03T09:52:00.000-04:00

I finished my "Sweet" quilt!!! The quilting was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. It was heavy and big but I broke it down into quarters and never had more than that under my machines throat at one time. I only quilted about 1 bobbin at a time. That's all baby and my shoulders would allow. So 11 bobbins later (including binding) it's done and we have been sleeping cozily under it. This is about a 3 year old (slow) work in progress (WIP) and my all time favorite fabric line (Sweet by Urban Chiks for Moda). I am so happy it's finished.

The weather has been gorgeous and it's hard to stay indoors when the sun is shining and birds are singing. We found a hatched Robin's egg and that led us to do a little study about Robins. Here is neat site with lots of info. They are very interesting little birds. All the buds and blooms are beautiful and smell so good. I receive a bundle of wildflowers almost daily from eager little hands. There really is nothing more sweet. The windows are open at night and we fall asleep being serenaded by some of my favorite sounds, peepers and the whippoorwill.

Have a happy weekend!!!
xo Erin

***pattern is from Crazy Mom Quilts Flea Market Fancy quilt***

The Sun is Shining

2013-04-17T15:21:00.000-04:00

I got the chance to baste my Sweet quilt. I used a cafeteria sized table to baste it, as many of you suggested. I think it's gonna have some puckers because I couldn't get it as secure as I do when I floor baste. I'm going to quilt slowly and adjust as I need too. It's the biggest quilt I've made, like a queen/king size. Wish me luck.

I made Kerry a house block for the cocorico bee. She gave this link to a free pattern. I used the paper piecing technique. I think it came out really cute. I could totally see a whole quilt made of scrappy houses. This was a fun block.

I painted some clothes pins with the Valspar Tranquility paint I mentioned in the prior post. I love this color!

We've been spending a lot of our time outdoors. Planting gardens, flowers and veggie. Hyacinths have always been one of my favorite flowers. Don't they smell wonderful? Everything is starting to come alive. I love this time of year. We have always gardened and started seeds but this is our first year starting asparagus from seed. They actually germinated rather quickly. It was so exciting watching them pop up through the soil. Now just three years until a good harvest!

My father-in-law was visiting this weekend and he and my husband built us a deck from repurposed lumber. A friend of ours asked if we wanted an out building he was gonna tear down. So my husband and his dad took it apart and salvaged all of the good lumber. It was really cool to watch them work together. My FIL is an excellent carpenter. My husband's not half bad either ;)

I hope the sun is shining on you wherever you may be!
xo Erin

Hey, Hey, Hey...

2013-04-14T10:16:00.000-04:00

What's happening?! I started this post 2 weeks ago. The title and first picture are all I got on here before I had to get off. I just wanted to take a minute to say "hey" and catch up. I finally made a permanent little sewing space for myself. I'm really happy about that. I painted an old sewing table we had and added new knobs that I also painted. I think I found the perfect shade of aqua. It's Valspar Tranquility. Love it! I have only had the chance to use my sewing space to make a few small and quick things. I made these cute little fabric baskets from this tutorial as thank you gifts. I machine bound mine. They sew up in about 20 minutes.I wanted to make the baby a few dresses. I found this cute Peasant Dress pattern here. They sew up in about 20 minutes also. I got two made and have fabric pulled for one or two more. So no quilting going on but I am drawing out quilts again and have the backing almost ready for my "Sweet" quilt. That is going to be a beast to quilt on my machine.
I hope you all are well and hopefully having some nice weather.

Hope Valley Twister Blocks

2013-03-23T12:40:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to decide what to do with these blocks. I'm not sure if I should just make it small like this and use it as a wall hanging or if I should use the little bit of Hope Valley I have left and mix it with some other prints to make a bigger, more useful quilt. Any thoughts?

Random Acts of Kindness

2013-03-21T16:15:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for the congratulations on our new baby! Your comments were very sweet and I appreciate each and every one. I'm sorry I haven't replied to them yet. My inbox is overflowing right now from not checking it regularly and with all this Google Reader ending stuff I am getting a lot of notifications from Bloglovin when someone follows me on it. Thank you for that by the way!!! I am so happy that you want to continue to read my blog. I'm considering replying to comments in the comments thread for a while until I resolve some e-mail issues I've had.

I also want to take the time to say THANK YOU to a few special ladies. My very dear friend, Heather, restashed me!!! She sent me a beyond wonderful package of my all time favorite fabric Sweet by Urban Chicks. The package included a very thoughtful card that made me ball like a baby. Not much longer after this package arrived she sent me the nicest package of baby things. Diapers, a sleeper, a Moby blanket and nookies (pacifiers). Thank you, Heather! Your kindness touched me beyond words, really. Thank you, friend!

Then, my very sweet friend, Heidi sent me this beautiful baby quilt. I love every print she used. Heidi also sent along a card, and it too, made me cry. Thank you so much, Heidi! The quilt is already well loved! The gifts are so special but when someone says that they have been praying for you, well, that is something that means more to me than anything. But I love the gifts too ;) Heidi has some great pictures of this quilt here.

Kylie, my friend and bee mate for the cocorico bee, sent me an adorable baby bib along with her bee block for me. Isn't it sweet? Melinda and Leila also sent some cute fabrics that I can use for a few baby things. These random acts of kindness blow me away and it really reinforces the fact that quilters are the most awesome people ever!

(melinda's itsy bitsy spider, amy's there was an old woman who lived in a shoe, kylie's hey diddle diddle, muriel's a little mouse with clogs on dutch nursery rhyme, leila's twinkle, twinkle little star)

Speaking of awesome quilters, I got to play with the cocorico bee blocks I've received so far from my bee mates! Boy, do I ever love these blocks!! My theme was Nursery Rhymes. Aren't these the greatest blocks? So much detail and thought went into each and every one.

Thank all of you so very much. Every package was a little piece of sunshine!

She's Here

2013-03-08T11:54:00.000-05:00

Our little pumpkin was born Friday morning at home. She is so sweet and calm and has brought such joy to our home. I praise God for a healthy pregnancy, labor and delivery. Thank you all for the comments, e-mails, prayers and gifts. I am so touched by the friends I've made through this little blog of mine. I treasure your friendship.

It was so pretty out this morning I wanted to get a few pictures of my finished scrappy trips quilt. I love it all washed and crinkled. It was really windy and I couldn't get many good shots but it felt great to be outside with the sunshine.

I hope you all are well! Happy Sewing!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday!

Waiting...

2013-02-27T11:56:00.001-05:00

Still waiting on baby here. Guess she's just not ready yet. I feel great, baby is doing great, so we will just wait a bit longer.

To keep my mind busy I've been working on my hexagons I started in April of last year. My mom is visiting so we've been sitting and sewing while watching The Waltons on DVD. I am glad I had some hand projects waiting to go because it is not comfortable to sit at my machine at this point. I've totally fallen in love with these hexagons again. I'm going to make a Grandmother's Flower Garden, something that has been on my "list" since I started quilting.

I pulled out these old Twister Blocks from June of 2011. I think they are one of my oldest WIP's now. I've always loved them but just haven't taken the time to work on them. I pieced them on the machine but I'm going to put them together by hand and finish the quilt by hand too.

My husband's dad and step mom sent me an Amazon gift card for my birthday (last week) and I was able to get a few books that I've had in my cart FOREVER. That was fun! The day after the books came all of us girls (me, my mom and daughters) snuggled in bed and looked through the books and picked out projects we wanted to make. I haven't had a nice morning of lounging around like that in a long time. It was lovely!

I hope all is well with you and hoping my next post will be of my finished Scrappy Trips quilt and cute little baby feet :)
xo Erin

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Spam Sushi, Anyone?

2013-02-07T15:16:00.001-05:00

I finished Tamiko's block for the cocorico bee. Her month was October (yes, I know ~ hanging my head in shame). Her theme was Hawaii. She had a list of different ideas and one of them was Spam. I had seen something about Spam and Hawaii a long time ago on Netflix, maybe it was Bizarre Foods or No Reservations?? I can't remember now but I thought it would be fun to make Spam into a bee block. I drafted SO many blocks for this it's silly. Then I thought maybe I'll make something else, like Elvis or a ukelele, but I kept wanting to make a paper pieced can of a Spam. I just could not get it to look right. So then I decided to just go with the Spam rolls. I think their proper name is musubi. Although these still are not paper pieced I think they came out pretty cute. If Spam can be cute. I think this block feels hawaii-ish. I hope she thinks so too.

Free Log Cabin e-book from Fons & Porter

2013-02-05T18:15:00.004-05:00

Recently I was asked to review a free e-book from Fons & Porter. Build Your Best Log Cabin includes many pictures and detailed instructions for making traditional and variations of the Log Cabin quilt block. The book contains 24 pages packed full of Log Cabin history, layout names and ideas, strip measurements for 5 different block sizes, full instructions and measurements to make several whole quilts, tips for organizing your strips, and tips on quilting and binding. I think it's a wonderful e-book. Here is a link if you are interested in the free download.

Free Log Cabin Quilt Patterns from Fons & Porter

*disclaimer : : I am not being compensated for this review. I like Fons & Porter. I think this is a great e-book and think many quilters, from beginners to advanced, will enjoy it.

Scrappy Trip Quilt Top

2013-02-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

I was able to put together my Scrappy Trip quilt top over the weekend. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. My plans are to baste, bind and quilt it this week. I'm thinking aqua binding will set the aqua diamonds off just right.
We are busy here with school and baby appointments but I have a review coming up this week for a free e-book from Fons and Porter so check back for that. Speaking of baby appointments, I have been controlling my Gestational Diabetes with diet and exercise and after turning in my blood glucose numbers this week I now only have to test every other day. I am so grateful for that!!! Thanks to all of you who have sent me messages, prayers and well wishes throughout this pregnancy. I appreciate them all more than you know.

Here's a pic (not the greatest) of what is now our "ice cream" around here. Frozen fruit (berries), a splash of 1/2 &1/2 and homemade whipped cream (all sweetened with just a sprinkle of stevia). Toss all in the food processor and voila! Lower in carbs, high in fiber and antioxidants and so fresh and yummy! This was wild blueberries, red raspberries and strawberries. My favorite is made with only red raspberries!

Have a great day!

Scrappy Trip Progress ~ 9 Blocks Finished

2013-01-28T14:07:00.001-05:00

I was able to make more scrappy trip blocks this weekend. I really love seeing this quilt come together. I have to repeat some of the lighter prints because I'm running low on them. I've decided that this will be the baby's quilt. I was going to use my stash of Bliss, Ruby, and Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille for her quilt. Then I started making these and thought they would be perfect for a little girl. So far I'm thinking of a 4x4 layout (16 blocks) so all of the aqua diamonds are complete. I plan to keep working on it and get it finished before the baby is born. Only a few weeks to go :)

These are my two favorite blocks right now. I didn't use the strip technique for these 2 blocks because the fabric was already cut into 2.5" squares. So I pieced them. I've said over and over again through the years on this blog that this is my absolute favorite fabric. It's Sweet by Urban Chicks for Moda. I only have scraps left. I use them very sparingly. I will be sad when it's all gone.

Scrappy Trip Progress

2013-01-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

Yup, it is as addictive as I heard it was! And so fast and fun. Guess you know what I'll be doing on this snowy weekend :) Hope you get in some sewing time too!!!

I caved...

2013-01-24T17:07:00.001-05:00

By now most of you have probably seen all of the Scrappy Trip quilts that have been the recent craze in quilty blogland. I've really liked all of the ones that I have seen so far. Still, I was trying not to start anything new. I wanted to finish up some quilts, bee blocks, use up those leftover blocks I found, etc. Then I saw Charise's blocks for her Scrappy Trip quilt and it was all over! I had to make one "just like hers". I have quite a few of the same prints that Charise used and I hoard them. I decided it was time to use some of them. I pulled my fabrics today and this is my first block. I'm using up the very last of some of my favorite fabrics. I had to piece a few of the strips for this block which you can see in the top right corner with the American Jane red w/ white flower print and the graph paper print. I can see why this quilt along caught on the way it did. These are so easy and fun to piece. I know I'm really late to the party but I am glad I joined in!

Solids Baby Quilt

2013-01-23T10:40:00.002-05:00

When I was looking through my unfinished projects for blocks, to make the next baby quilt to give to my midwives, I found the solid blocks I had started way back here. I thought some of them might work as a baby quilt because they were nice and bright and because some mamas aren't into the cutesy baby stuff. They might want something a bit more modern looking.

For the quilting I wanted to do something different than my usual stippling. I decided to quilt random lines from each side for something different (for me). I wasn't sure how I felt about it until it was bound and washed and then, of course, I loved it!

All of the solids were Kona. Kona Cottons have the best names, don't they? I bound the quilt in Kona Ash. I thought that it framed all of those bright colors rather nicely. For the backing I used a print that one of my sisters-in-law gave me a few years ago. All of the stars in the print went pretty well with the blocks on the front.
I really like the instant gratification of making these small quilts. Especially when the blocks are already made. It's also really nice to use blocks that would otherwise sit and not be used for who knows how long.

36 Patch Baby Quilt

2013-01-21T11:22:00.001-05:00

I finished a baby quilt this weekend using the 36 Patches I found in my leftovers bag. I hasn't been washed and dried. So it doesn't have that crinkely feel yet. For the quilting I did some bigger meandering so that it would be softer. Sometimes I quilt my quilts pretty heavily and they can be stiff until washed a few times. I backed it with white muslin I had on hand. It's so soft and I think it will be perfect for a baby. I have a baby size whirlygig quilt and strip quilt planned next. I also have my Granny Squares quilt that I need to quilt. I may do that first. Although the other day when I was looking at it I thought I "might" want to take the borders off and make it much bigger to fit a queen size bed. We'll see. I have so many 2.5" squares that it seems like a good idea.

It seems hard to get a good picture this time of year. It was windy yesterday and overcast today. So please forgive my not so great pictures recently. I do have to find a better spot for picture taking I think. I know there are so many really neat barns and fences around our area that I'd love to use. Maybe when it's warmer I'll venture out and see what I can find.

Quilt Wall

2013-01-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

Today I hung up most of my small quilts for my "someday" quilt wall. I have mentioned this quilt wall a few times before. I originally saw it here. I was going to wait until we painted our bedroom but that is just not going to happen before the baby is born. I had to do something though. I am not fond of the wallpaper/border or the color of the room. The wallpaper is bubbling and peeling in spots and it drives me nuts some days. This is my temporary solution to that problem. I can ignore the wallpaper and just look at the quilts. I like it!

If you're wondering why there are 2 quilts on my bed, it's because I'm pregnant. And hot. All the time. So I use our summer quilt while my husband uses the winter quilt. This is about as made as my gets :)

Thanks for all of the advice on baby quilt sizes. I hope to be putting a top together tonight that I can show you this week. I'm still working on responding to comments. Yahoo does not like my dial-up internet. So I'll be working on that too!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Using Forgotten Quilt Blocks and Quilt Size Question

2013-01-17T14:03:00.002-05:00

I pulled out my bag of miscellaneous quilt blocks today to sort through them because I want to make a few small quilts for my midwife to give to her clients. I found some great blocks and it makes me want to really use up my leftover blocks and scraps. These blocks are from Crazy Mom Quilts 36 patch along. I thought I might start with them for the first quilt. My question is ... What size is a good size for a baby quilt? I don't really know that I would need to make them crib sized, just stroller size or something along those lines. But what do you think? Is it not worth making them if they aren't very big? I was thinking maybe something just a bit bigger than the size of a receiving blanket. I would love to hear your thoughts on this!!!

First Finished Quilt of 2013

2013-01-14T22:25:00.000-05:00

I am excited to show you my first finish of 2013 and in January none the less!!! I have felt like such a quilting slacker lately so this feels like an accomplishment for me. I used 28 of my Farmer's Wife blocks a little yardage and some charms of Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree (love) to finish the quilt. I did quite a bit of stippling, making it super crinkely. My littlest loves her new quilt and as soon as it was out of the dryer she was ready to take a nap in her new bed with her new quilt. The nap never happened by the way :)

I used my table to baste the quilt so I wouldn't have to climb around all over the floor. It worked out pretty well. I'll be using that method again.

I hope you all are well. We had the stomach flu / flu for the first week of the new year. I'm glad we are better and I can't really complain as it was the first time we have ever had the stomach flu. Obviously, it was miserable and I don't want to revisit it. Ever. So I hope you all are staying healthy and flu free.

The baby and I are doing well. Thank you all for your sweet and encouraging comments on my last post. I plan to continue my new way of eating even after the baby is born. Here's a shot of one of my new favorites. I use a yellow squash or zucchini instead of pasta when we are having spaghetti. It's really good and I don't miss the noodles at all. I found a really great Paleo/Grain Free/ Gluten Free bread recipe and have made that a few times. It's been fun finding so many substitutes for conventional foods.

Sugar Mama

2012-12-31T12:09:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year's Eve! I did not intend to be gone so long from my little blog here. But as per the usual lately things don't always go as planned. Last month I took that yucky 1 hour glucose test to check for Gestational Diabetes. My results came back 4 points higher than they wanted them to be. So I was scheduled for the 3 hour. No big deal, I thought. Well 3 of my 4 numbers for that test came back elevated. To make a long story short(er), I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I have had a bunch of appointments and found a wonderful midwife that will be co-managing my care with a perinatologist. Also, so far, I am able to control my blood sugar with diet and exercise and for that I am truly grateful. As the year comes to an end I am trying to focus on the positive and put the negative things from the past year behind me. I am so looking forward to our new baby girl, sunshine, warm weather, gardens, chickens, kids playing, fishing and catching crayfish, planting flowers, the sweet smell of spring.

As far as sewing goes, it had been weeks since I sewed anything and, I finally sewed something! As we are preparing for the newest addition to our family, we moved our youngest into a big girl bed. So as any quilting mom would do, I had to make her a quilt. I am using the Farmer's Wife quilt blocks I had made, minus a few that weren't my favorites, to make her a very sweet little girl quilt. I want to add 2 more borders and then I'll baste, quilt and bind it. I'll be working on it today and hope to get it basted by tonight. Should be fun crawling around on the floor 8 months pregnant, no? I may revisit the Farmer's Wife book and make some scrappier blocks sometime but I just thought that the blocks I had made with Fig Tree's Strawberry Fields fabric were perfect for this quilt and to lighten up what has been a dreary winter so far for me.

I am wishing you all the best in the new year to come!

Quiltmaker's 110 Blocks Vol. 6 Giveaway Winner

2012-11-12T16:44:00.001-05:00

Thank you all for your really nice comments about my block for Vol.6 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. I appreciate every one of them!

I used Random.org to select the winner.

Thank you all again!!!

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour

2012-11-05T05:56:00.001-05:00

Hey there!!! I am so excited about today's post. I'm not even sure how to gather my thoughts and put them into one coherent post, but I'll try.

Last year I was invited to submit a block for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 6. I reread the e-mail several times. Made sure it was sent to the right person. Jumped up and down. Reread it. Got scared. E-mailed one of my quilt heroes so she could talk me down. Reread the e-mail again. Then got to work.

My advanced issues of the magazine came Thursday and I could hardly wait to open the package!!! It was awesome to see my name and block in the magazine. My husband and kids were so happy for me and proud of me, it was a very good feeling. As cliche or cheesy as it may sound, this was one of my dreams come true.

My block is #536 in the issue. It's called Birds Holding a Quilt. The fabric I used was Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. One of my favorites. The block is simple and cute. I draw the birds onto Heat 'n Bond to fuse them onto the background squares. Then applique them with a free motion sketch/drawing technique I learned here @ Bloomin' Workshop. The block is a basic nine-patch with a small "quilt" as the center block. The magazine has great instructions and a pattern for the bird. You could use the block for a table runner by including 2 more 12 inch Nine Patch blocks (without the birds and quilt center), or as the center for a round robin quilt, for the front of a pillow, or my favorite thing would be to add a border and make it into a wall hanging. My block is also charm pack friendly (that's what I used).

Don't miss the other designer's blocks for the issue. Check out the blog tour here. There are LOTS of great giveaways and prizes.

Quiltmaker is generously giving away an issue of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks to one of you lucky ducks! If you'd like a chance to win a copy leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner using Random Number Generator on November 12th! The magazine hits newsstands Nov. 13th!

Thank you all for stopping by and thank you Quiltmaker for letting me be apart of something so fun!!!

little finishes

2012-10-31T19:53:00.002-04:00

I had a couple custom orders this month that I wanted to show you but I had to wait until they arrived at their new homes before I did that. I love this colorful bird family quilt.

I used my precious (and dwindling) stash of American Jane fabrics along with some other favorites.

The second order was for a Christmas stockings bird quilt. It is very similar to the one I made last year only made to order with the number of stockings representing the number of children the customer has.

These aren't really custom orders but things I made and never blogged about. I made this bird quilt this summer as part of a trade with Kristine. She sent me a Humpty Dumpty Irmi switch plate. I love Irmi!!! and it matches the lamp I have. She also sent me a beautiful pair of earrings and vintagy recipe cards! Love it all!!! Thanks Kristine!

and I blogged a little about this last year when I was making it but I never showed the finished quilt. This was for one of my best friends. Her husband e-mailed me asking if I'd make something for their 2nd anniversary. The traditional gift for a 2nd aniversary is cotton. So this is almost 100% cotton excepting the little piece of linen I used as sand. They were married in the Caribbean . Is he thoughtful or what? Can you tell I had it already packaged and forgot to take a picture of it? Hence the wrinkle through the middle :)

( I miss my barn & silo shots!!!!)

I'll be back with some super, dooper, over the moon exciting news that has something to do with this magazine! Can you guess what it is? It will include blog hops, giveaways and quilt blocks galore!!! And I am totally thrilled to be apart of it all!!!

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Fall 2012

2012-10-26T17:08:00.001-04:00

Thanks for all of your comments on my finished quilt. I decided to enter it into the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by the very lovely Amy @ Amy's Creative Side. Thanks Amy!

For anyone new visiting from the festival, Welcome, here are some stats on the quilt. For my friends who have already read about my quilt, please indulge me one more time :) Thanks!

I started this quilt in January 2012 as part of the Hand Pieced Quilt-A-Long I hosted. I wanted to learn how to hand piece and so that is how it began. I took my time with the pieces in each block as I marked them for stitching, sewed tiny stitches to put each piece together. The sashing and borders are all attached by hand. It is hand quilted. The binding is attached to the front and back by hand. The only electrified thing that touched this baby was an iron. I mentioned in my previous post that we were without electric for over a month collectively this summer and my hand pieced quilt was perfect to work on in that situation. I also love that it was part of a quilt along and many people tried their hand at hand piecing, literally :) This is absolutely my favorite quilt to date. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I look at it. I also plan to incorporate much more hand work into my sewing life. It's so satisfying!

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 24" x 32"

Special techniques used :hand pieced, hand quilted, completely done by hand, applique

Quilted by : Me ~ Erin

Best Category : Hand Quilted Quilt, Mini Quilt, Wall Hanging Quilt

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy all of the beautiful quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!!!

Hand Pieced Quilt Finished!!!!

2012-10-26T07:11:00.000-04:00

I appreciate the comments you left on yesterdays post. They were very comforting. I am so grateful for all of the friendships I've made through quilting and blogging.
Today I have less words and more pictures! I finished my hand pieced quilt. I am so happy with it. I keep staring at it. Picking it up, putting in down and picking it up. I love it!!! I had no idea when I ventured into hand piecing that I would get so much satisfaction from doing so. I NEVER thought I'd have the patience for hand piecing. But I enjoyed every block, every stitch. I never rushed anything while making this quilt. I guess that's why this little thing took 10 months to make :) It's a really good feeling knowing that a machine never touched it. Well, except the iron. It also fit in so perfectly with our move and being with out of electric for weeks, getting electric back and losing it again for 2 weeks. Ma Ingalls I am not, but at least I know I can live without electric, if I had to, and still make really pretty quilts.

P.S. I ♥ electric and running water and every time it storms I pray we don't lose it like we did this summer!!!

I hope you have a happy weekend!