Jersey Boys Movie!

This is the best movie I've seen in a long time! Directed by Clint Eastwood, the story is so well told. 

The acting is wonderful and the music stayed with me for days. See the trailer here. 

I think the movie is better than the Broadway version. Go see it. I'm planning to see it again, 

and I almost never see a movie twice. 

Moisturize My Cutting Mat?

Have you ever heard of such a thing as moisturizing your cutting mat? I found this on Generations Quilt Patterns. Here's what she had to say:

To soak it, put your mat in a bathtub or large container (would have to be large so it can lay flat) and soak it for 15-20 minutes in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar to every gallon of cool water. Let me repeat, cool water. Do this every so often to help extend its useful life.

Then use a squirt of mild dishwashing soap (Ivory) and clean the mat with a mushroom brush (soft is the key word here). The purpose of this gentle scouring is to remove the fibers that get trapped in the cuts marks preventing the cuts from "healing".

Keep 'em clean, keep 'em moist, keep 'em flat and NO heat. Your cutting mat is not a coffee cup coaster!

Arm Knitting!

Have you ever seen someone arm knitting? This is a first for me! From Not Quite Snow White.

Here's a good video showing how to arm knit from Simply Maggie.

Here's another video by Maggie showing how to arm knit a blanket in 1 hour.

There are more arm knitting videos out there, but Maggie's are the easiest to follow.

Thank you to my friend Barbara at Amber Studios for finding this!

Happy First Day of Summer!

If I had to have a tattoo, this would be the one. This must be a temporary painting, with all those colors. I found it on Pinterest, but the link didn't go anywhere. Too bad. I'd like to know the story here.

Visit my Pinterest page and Follow me. I'm finding so many remarkable quilts!

Pinterest is such a rich source of inspiration for quilts (and food, gardening, travel, books...).

I hope you have a wonderful summer filled with all your favorite things.

Hugs to all the quilters down under too. 

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt by Masako

This beautiful Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt is the creation of Masako. It was featured on the Postcards from Panama blog. I like how the flower centers stand out. Very nice colors.

Patchwork Dining Room Chairs

Anna Maria Horner covered these dining room chairs with some extra quilt blocks that she bought a while back. See her blog for more.

Comfort and Joy Fabrics on Etsy!

There is a new fabric shop on Etsy where you can get the latest gorgeous fabrics for $4.75/ half yard! 

I just found it yesterday: comfort and joy fabrics. Valerie Ralston, the owner, is very nice too. 

The fabric in the photo is by Jennifer Paganelli.

Tiny Houses Quilt - Amazing!

Jeanneke from the Netherlands led a group of quilters in making lots of scrap house quilts. You can see photos of all the quilts at BuildingHousesFromScraps. They used rubber stamps to mark the fabrics. These houses are tiny! They measure 3" square! (Thanks for that info in your Comments.)

Helle's Crocheted Coral Garden Hat!

This crocheted coral garden hat was made by Helle Jorgensen of Gooseflesh in Australia. She loves to witness the expressions of surprise people have when they first see it. Isn't this amazing? Go Helle!

Very Red Quilt

Found on Pinterest, you can see the pattern for this quilt here. I would not have thought to combine these bright red Westminster prints with solid red. Maybe ivory, or light green, or pale aqua. But it really works. 

I love these prints. The newest batch from Westminster is beautiful too.

Unique Star Quilt

I've never seen a star quilt done like this before, and I've seen a lot of star quilts!

 I found it on Barb Vedder's Pinterest board. 

The source was Bloglovin' but there's no info about who made it. 

Barb's blog is Fun With Barb. She has great photos.

Meet Rahna Summerlin of Blooming in Chintz!

Rahna Summerlin is an artist and quilter in Florida. Her blog is Blooming in Chintz.

I love her Pinterest boards. So much beauty and inspiration! You can follow her on Instagram too. I follow her everywhere:) That's easier than pinning everything on her sites!

Rahna made the quilt above. She quilts using a quilter's walking foot. See more photos on her blog. 

Nice work, Rahna!

Pencil Socks

Haha, very clever! You have to have your shoes off for the full effect. 

See these and more at Sock Dreams. 

Do You Have OQD?

Fortunately there is no known cure. Thanks to Mrs. Bobbins at Kansas City Star for the chuckle.

Raw Edge Reverse Applique!

Can you believe this? I never thought of raw edge reverse applique! This is from The Long Thread blog by Ellen Luckett Baker. She suggests that if you're going to put this pillow or quilt to use, that you should machine stitch around the circles too, of course.

Note for new quilters: Reverse applique is when you cut an opening in your fabric in the shape that you want (like circles in this example), then place the printed fabrics underneath. Normally you'd turn the raw edge under and hand sew the opening. 

Audrey Hepburn Tutu Dress

This cute photo cracks me up! 

The Audrey Hepburn tutu dress is listed on Etsy by Atutudes.

 I found it on Amber Studio's Pinterest board, Style.

Barbara has awesome Pinterest Boards!

Big Star Quilt and Pincushion Winner!

I made this string quilt using a big diamond ruler. The larger triangles were made with the help of some paper "patterns." Machine quilted by Linda Aquavia of New Hartford, CT.

 

I couldn't resist including some cherries and a sock monkey. See the black and white print above? I put it next to the darkest darks to get some high contrast at the star points to make the star pop. 

***

The winner of the sea urchin pincushion is Liz from East Berlin, CT. (I don't already know Liz; she was random #17.) Yayy, Liz! More giveaways coming soon.

Wearable Art from Amber Studios

Barbara of Amber Studios in New Jersey is a very talented creator of wearable art. I love it.

Some of her coats were recently exhibited at the Delaware Art Museum.

 Look at her Sold Items on Etsy too. She has an extensive body of work to admire there.

Good work Barbara!

String Quilts 101

If you're a new quilter, take a look at this fun and easy way to make a string quilt. Make your block bigger than your ruler, then trim. Easy, right? Use any size ruler you like. I used a 6" square in this photo. These strips are about 1 1/2" wide but you can vary the widths.

If you like this, please Pin It. Thanks.

See more patterns here. 

Button Cookies

This is so clever! Click here to see how to make these button cookies! From: Made in Pretoria.

The photo below is from Button Lust. 

Pincushion Giveaway!

Enter the random drawing to win this pincushion. It has over 60 beaded pinsies in a cotton cushion sitting on a scalloped-edge glass dish. Pretty in the sunlight. I really enjoy mine.

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit my Patterns page. Click on any pattern to open. Click on "Pin It." (The little Pin It button is to the right of the 5 thumbnail photos in the ad.) 

2. Come back to this post and leave a short Comment, like "done." 

If you Pin more than one pattern, enter a Comment for each pin.

Winner will be announced on Friday. 

Happy quilting!

Gatsby Quilt is Finished!

This string quilt is loaded with floral fabrics arranged in rows and divided by narrow strips with the black background. That narrow strip sort of comes into view, then hides. There are also lots of surprise images: teacups, jellybeans, etc. This formal garden/party treats theme led to the name "Gatsby." 

You can see more about this quilt here. I may make a pattern for newbies. It's easy; no seams to match.

It measures 67" x 84." It was machine quilted by Linda Aquavia of New Hartford, CT.

Does She or Doesn't She?

I think she does! Color her hair, that is. How did she get such great color? It reminds me of beautiful hand-dyed yarn. 

Memorial Day

We remember. I remember my uncle Bill Hart who died at age 17 in a typhoon in WWII. I never met him.

Here are some beautiful patriotic quilts found on Google.

16-Patch Wedding Quilt

I like this quilt so much that I decided to offer similar custom quilts on Etsy. 

Would you Pin, facebook, blog or Tweet this photo and link? Thanks so much.

This weekend at the wedding I'll try to get a photo of the bride and groom with their new quilt. 

The backing is lighter and prettier than it looks on my screen. I always add a sleeve just in case anyone wants to put it on a wall. It might be charming on a guest room wall. I like that fabric with the sticks on it (see below, bottom right). It's new from DearStellaDesign. 

Wedding Quilt Finish and Pincushion Giveaway Winner

The wedding quilt is finished and ready to be given this weekend. I really like how the machine quilting gives a nice finished look. It was done by Linda Aquavia of New Hartford, CT. 

The winner of the little baby shoe pincushion is Loretta from West Virginia.

 Her blog is 365 Days and Other Ramblings.  Yayy, Loretta!

Jacket Perfect for Selvages

 This jacket is offered on Razumikhina.com from the UK. She also has a page on Google. 

Kim Brandt sent me this link. She suggests making this out of selvages. That would look great!

Selvage Eggs?

Another clever idea from Riel Nason of Canada! She is so creative. Read more about her selvage Easter Eggs on her blog: The Q and the U. Nice work Riel!

Riel's Green Selvage Quilt

This green recycle symbol selvage quilt is the creation of Riel Nason of Canada. Her blog is The Q and the U. Browse her blog for more amazing selvage quilts. Riel is also the author of The Town that Drowned, available on Amazon. It's a very good story. And it's not scary, despite the title. I highly recommend it. Good for young readers too.