Monday, August 29, 2011

I Tried Something New


Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. 
~Terri Guillemets

I hope all of my friends back east weathered Irene without any injuries or damages.  I spent some time on Saturday watching the news reports and was amazed at the speed of the winds.  Our Saturday was spent running errands in horribly hot and humid weather.  We made it to the Farmer's Market and were able to refill the produce bins in my refrigerator.  It has been a long time since they had been so barren.  We had to make our Walmart/Costco run and surprisingly, Walmart was a much better experience that Costco this time.  The poor pups thought we would never stay home with all of our quick visits to drop off cold/frozen products that had to be put away.  However, they were happy to see us home after our visit to Petsmart where we picked up their food supply and even brought them home a purple squeaky spider toy.  Sunday was the normal washday and catching up on some recorded TV programs.  I am ready to get back to the sewing machine and look forward to a great week.

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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

Cherry Turnovers

Sunday, August 28, was National Cherry Turnover Day.  Yet another yummy dessert is celebrated.  Although there isn't much to learn about turnovers, how about some info on cherries.....
* Cherry blossom and the cuckoo appear at the same time. Apparently the cuckoo had to have three good meals of ripe cherries before it stops calling. Work that one out - it means you could hear the cuckoo right through to July.
* The bark and stems of wild cherries has an odour of almonds
* In the 17th century, cherries were preserved more or less in suspended animation by 'hanging them under bell jars standing in pans of water.'
* Hot cherry stones were used in bed pans to warm beds.
* The volatile oil of wild cherries contains a small quantity of cyanide.
* Apparently cherries are a symbol of fertility. The owner of a cherry tree was supposed to have a rich crop if the first cherry was eaten by a woman who had recently given birth to her first child.
* In an average crop year, a sweet cherry tree will produce 800 cherries.
*Broadway in New York shifts west at East 10th Street because a cherry tree once stood there.

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LITTLE SWAP BLOCKS

Friday I made two blocks for my swap partner in the 6 Inch Swaps Block Australia....

Boy my picture taking really needs to improve.  Every block I posted today doesn't look like it is square when really they are.  Anyway, Anna asked for autumn colored blocks in the 9 patch pattern.  This one is done in the darker tones of autumn with a yellow sun center.

This is the lighter tones of autumn.  These will be winging their way to the Netherlands in today's mail.

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A NEW TECHNIQUE TO ME

Friday I decided to finally try some foundation paper piecing.  Tonya, of Hillbilly Handiworks, was putting out a call for heart blocks for a charity quilt.  Well, she actually put the call out earlier but somehow I missed that post.

This is the very first foundation paper piecing that I have every done!  Wouldn't you know it, I had to rip out the very first seam I put in.  Oh well.  I guess that's why they call it learning.  After only one more seam error, I finished up this heart.  I was so happy with how it turned out that I made another one....

This one had no errors in it and went together much quicker.  Tonya has a great tutorial on foundation paper piecing that can be found HERE.   These two hearts started their journey across the country on Saturday.  Thanks for introducing me to foundation paper piecing, Tonya!

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FRIDAY'S FMQ

Friday I started the day with my FMQ practice.....

This is called Spiky Vine.  I forgot to dot my i's when I was stitching - lol!  I put too much curve in my 'leaves' and I was supposed to put the vines closer together but you get the general idea.  It was a good practice and I'm getting better at tracing over previous lines.

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will make another bee block and hopefully start the Designer Mystery Block

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GIVEAWAYS

Pigtales and Quilts is celebrating reaching 300 followers with a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Freehand Filler Patterns by Sue Patten.  This giveaway ends Thursday, September 1, at 2:00 pm EST.

Fort Worth Fabric Studio is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Fabric Remix by Sandy Stone.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 31, at midnight CST.

Adventures of a Cross Stitch Drama Queen is having a sponsored giveaway.  You could win a fat quarter bundle of Promenade in blue from Intrepid Thread.  This giveaway ends Friday, September 2.

Sunshine Yellow is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks vol. 2 magazine, a Schnibbles Short Story pattern, and a stack of magazine patterns.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, September 7.

Meemaw Love To Quilt is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of American Patchwork, true stories from quilters.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 31, at 11:00 pm.

Yankee Valley Stitcher is having a giveaway.  You could win 8 f 1/8's, embroidery scissors, tape measure, note book, post its, and marking pen.  This giveaway ends Thursday, September 1.

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FINAL THOUGHT



The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't. 
~Henry Ward Beecher

31 comments:

Barb said...

I sooooo love cherries, I have made myself sick on them before.

Love your blocks...

krisgray said...

Happy Monday!

Each time I paper piece I have to rip out that first stitch at least once! Takes a few stitches to wrap my head around the process, then I'm ok - LOL.

Cheryl said...

FPP is hard to learn at first, but looks like you mastered it. Love the final thought of the day!

Little Penpen said...

I have never foundation paper pieced, but the blocks look so exact and perfect. I may be willing to 'learn' one day. :o) I think the heart blocks are beautiful!! Nice autumn colors for your swap partner, too.

Teresa said...

I really like your new heart blocks. I don't think I have ever sewed a project where I didn't rip out something.
Now I feel like eating cherries.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches

Annie said...

Those heart blocks are really lovely.
Survived Irene with barely a branch
down in our yard and we have a gazillion huge oaks all around us. My prayers were answered, no damage, or power outage on my road. Our county had the most power outages in the state, so lots of my fellow Mainers ...not so good. There was mostly flooding damage and trees and branches over power lines.







I loved your final thought.... I'm both perserverant and obstinant!
: )

Staci said...

And now I want cherries. . . .
There have been some good ones this year. Seems like last year we never did get any that were worth eating, but this year we've had some wonderful cherries! I'll be adding cherries to the grocery list!

Your PP hearts are so sweet! It is kind of a fun thing to do, isn't it? I'm such a newbie with it, and it still gives me big time nerves when I do it, and the wasted fabric makes me a bit nuts, but the end result can't be denied, there is something to be said for perfection!

Hope you have a lovely Monday!

Sheila said...

Great heart blocks and PP does come in handy now and then but it doesn't mean I like it :-)

WoolenSails said...

I have done pieced hearts, sort of like a crazy heart, then appliqued them on, I like the way you did yours, came out really nice.

We got lots of wind and rain, but no real damage, just have no power and sure hope it comes back today.

Debbie

Linda said...

Great job on the paper piecing! Your little heart blocks are so pretty! Love the FMQ, too.
Stay cool if you can!

Needled Mom said...

It was a warm and humid weekend, wasn't it. I am sure it was much better than the east coast.

Your hearts came out great!!! Isn't it nice to see the perfection in paper piecing?

Your FMQ is coming along nicely. I forgot to say that I enjoyed Friday's piece with the solid circles added.

I hope you get a week with lots of fun sewing projects completed.

Mad about Craft said...

Love the heart blocks, I also love your final thoughts, keep 'em coming!

Maria said...

Lovely swap blocks and the hearts look great.
Your last sayings ids really good.

Christine said...

Your heart blocks are so pretty!

Pokey said...

It's good to learn something new, aren't those hearts sweet?
:-}pokey

Melissa said...

Your paper piecing turned out fabulously!

Average Quilter said...

Your paper piecing looks good - I love paper piecing makes me feel close to perfect (need all the help I can get)

Browndirtcottage said...

Pretty darn cute hearts, even though there was a little ripping involved!!! I love the scrappiness!

Jessica said...

I love your paper-piecing, Linda! You did a fantastic job and I like how honest you were about the seam ripper... ;) I would have probably had to do the same thing. I haven't tried paper-piecing yet, but it's on my list. Thanks for the inspiration!

Lynda said...

Such sweet little heart blocks. I'm not a big fan of paper piecing either but the blocks do turn out perfect. I just don't like tearing all the paper off!

Nancy said...

I love the heart blocks. I really must try that sometime. My someday list is so long, I could live to be 150 and never get to all of it.

Linda Big D said...

We just returned from northern Montana where we purchased fresh cherries from a roadside stand in Flathead Lake - a cherry tree "micro-climate". I never knew cherries could taste so goooood!

Joanna said...

Now I want a cherry turnover! I do have cherry jam that is so good. I like all of your blocks, and the hearts are especially sweet.

Bev C said...

Love the Spiky Vines, hope you get to use it on a quilt someday.
Happy days.
Bev.xoxo

Barbara said...

Great job on your paper pieced blocks. It's fun, isn't it? I love how crisp the lines are.

Snoodles said...

Hi! Love your paper pieced blocks! Yours look wonderful! Mine were a definite pain in the keester...not one of my fav techniques!

quiltingnana said...

you did well with the paper piecing. I have tried it but it is not my favorite

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Your paper piecing is really neat and I love your Spiky vine FMQ!

elizabeth said...

Beautiful paper pieced hearts! I am not fond of paper piecing....I waste lots of fabric...but the end result is very nice : ) and yours are lovely.

Miss Hillbilly said...

I got them in the mail today, yay!! They are so beautiful. And someone that follows your blog wants to do ALL the rest of the hearts. Isn't that cool??

Anonymous said...

great post,interesting history of the cherry

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