A Quilt for My Mother-in-Law

Several years ago,

when my husband's grandmother passed away,

my mother-in-law acquired a bag full of

hand stitched butterflies she had made.

When all the grandchildren started having babies,

she would take these butterfly blocks and make a quilt

for the newest addition of the Smith family.

 

I thought it only fitting that my mother-in-law should have a quilt

made from these beautiful, treasured pieces of art.

 

 

My brothers-in-law and their families chipped in for the items

needed to make these blocks into a quilt.

 

Each butterfly was hand stitched by Grandma Smith

(who is actually my mother-in-law's mother-in-law)

did you catch that?  hee hee

 

I used a floral fabric for the sashing.

I found that fitting for butterflies.

Don't you agree?

 

 

I just did a straight line quilt,

because I didn't want to take away from the

memories of the butterflies.

 

 

She really liked it.

Whew!

:)

 

 

I'm very happy with how it all turned out.

I love the story behind it.

 

I hope Grandma Smith is smiling down

and happy that her memory is cherished!

 

xoxo

Cindy



Across the Pond - Skinny Pinny

I LOVED this months project for the

Across the Pond sew along.

 

Incase you need a refresher,

this monthly project is hosted by

Amy of Amy Made That!,

Susie of Susie's Sunroom, 

and

Amanda of The Patchsmith

 

They take turns sharing a project for the month.

 

This month was hosted by Susie and her project was the Skinny Pincushion.

You can find the tutorial by Green Bean Patterns

HERE

 

This goes together very quickly

and is SO cute.

 

The first one doesn't work for my machine. 

I keep my extension table on,

so I needed to make mine a bit skinnier to

accommodate the small space.

 

So here's my first one.

 

 

 

I will be giving this one as a gift.

I'm pretty sure I know who will get it.

 

 

I used Amy's measurements to make my second one and it worked perfectly.

 

I like to use crushed walnut shells

to fill my pin cushions.

My sister and I buy a bag of them

from the pet shop and then split it.

(because you get a HUGE bag!)

I love the weight and firmness the crushed shells

give the cushions.

 

 

I also did a little embellishing

 

I love those polka dot buttons!

The lace and button can be found at

the Little Red Cottage on Etsy.

You can find them

HERE.

 

 

So hurry up and go make yours!

And if you do,

make sure to share in the Flickr group.

:)

 









 



Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's that time again!

The Blogger's Quilt Festival

hosted by Amy of Amy's Creative Side



 

I chose to enter one of the most favorite quilts I've made.

The pattern is Smitten by Rachel Griffith of psiquilt.

I used fabric I won from Laurie Wisbrun called

Don't Be Crabby.

 

I knew right when I won the fabric what I wanted to do with it.

I needed to make a warm quilt sewn with a lot of love

to give to my dear friend's son.

 

I totally adore this quilt!

 

 

Her son is now a year old,

and she also just had a beautiful baby girl

(for which I am making another quilt!).

PS...please, Michelle, stop already! 

LOL

 

I think sweet Nick will be happy this winter snuggling in all this quilty love.

 

 

 

For the back I used a high quality, very soft, flannel.

 

 

Since the weather is getting a lot cooler,

I really need to get this sent off so Nick can enjoy it!

 

 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I love visitors!

 

Make sure to check out all the other beautiful quilts,

and their stories, during the festival.

Voting will start on November 1st.

I'll make sure to remind you to vote for your most favorite!

 

 

Enjoy the show!

xoxo

Cindy

Snow!

I think I chose the perfect day to take off work.

It was a last minute decision

and I am so happy I did!

 

We are having our first snowfall of the season.

 

 

The snowflakes are huge!

 

 

The apple tree we planted 7 years ago, which never, ever had apples,

now has 5!

 

 

(I can't believe my husband never noticed when he was mowing the yard!)

 

I think my snow-topped asters look beautiful!

 

 

 

 

Our gourd bird houses are also enjoying the new weather.

 

 

I think everything looks nice covered in a bit of white.



 



But I think today I will take the lead from Miss Rosemary.

 

I hope you are enjoying your day!

xoxo

Cindy

 



I Love Fall

Today is just sharing

fall around our home.

I love decorating for the seasons/holidays.

Enjoy!

 



My First Taste at Pattern Testing

I am so excited to share my first

experience as being a pattern tester.

 

In my own secret way, I feel a little part of Market.

(which is my DREAM to be invited there one day!)

Aria Lane needed their Frames pattern tested quickly

in order to have it ready for Market.

Lucky for me, I got to test the throw size of the 

Frames quilt by Megan Nichols for Aria Lane.

 

I am beyond thrilled with how this turned out.

 

 

This calls for cutting 2-1/2 in strips for the frames,

(and even several 2-1/2 strips for the solid fabric as well)

so a jelly roll would also work perfectly.

Since I was actually testing the pattern,

I wanted to make sure to follow what was written,

so I dug in my stash for the fabrics

and cut all the strips.

 

It also has instructions for a pieced back.

 

 

This is a great pattern for someone who loves to

quilt, but doesn't have a lot of extra time.

(aka...ME!)

 

They even give instructions on how to quilt it,

which I will follow.

 

The end result? This is the perfect pattern for the busy person,

or if you need a quick gift that has a lot of personality.

There are six different sizes for this pattern; king,

queen, twin, throw, crib, and wall.

It's extremely informative,

very easy to follow,

and helps you create a quilt you will love.

 

If you don't want to piece your back,

there is also information included for the yardage needed

for a plain back.

If you're interested, you can purchase the PDF pattern
HERE

 

Thank you, Aria Lane,

for letting me share in your pre-Market fun!

 

Next on my list is the project for the

Across the Pond sewalong.

This month is hosted by Susie of Susie's Sunroom.

You can find this month's project

HERE.

 

Enjoy!

xoxo

Cindy

 

 

Friday Night Sew In Across the Pond

As I mentioned in my post the other day,

Friday Night Sew In was last night.

It was hosted by the lovely Wendy of

Sugarlane Quilts.

You can take a peak at her fun blog

HERE.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone,

as the saying goes,

and also complete this month's 

Across the Pond

item.

This month we were to do a key ring zippey pouch.

We used Erin Erickson's free tutorial, which you can find

HERE,

or you could use any pattern for that matter.

(or create your own!)

Here's mine.

lol....I must be tired....I see I spelled 'singing' wrong in my watermark

These little pouches go together very quickly.

I loved it!

When I got done, I also decided to make a matching 

phone sleeve.  

You can find that tutorial, also by Erin,

HERE

And here they are together,

so you get the 'cool' affect.

I always love how Amy has her labels 

applied to the goodies she makes. 

I don't have any labels with my logo yet, (first I have to design a logo!)

but I do have these cute labels I purchased from Etsy

(and for the life of me, I can't remember which store!)

So, I ironed one on the inside. 

Only to have my iron leave a mark as well!

Darn it.

I also made up a thread catcher,

just for fun.

I wanted to experiment a little more with my Sizzix dies

and free motion applique,

so I came up with this.

Over all, not too shabby!

So THANK YOU, Wendy, for hosting FNSI,

and thank you, Amy, Susie and Amanda

for another month of goodies to create!

PS....I have it on good authority that it's someone's birthday today.

If you have a moment, pop over to Shay at Quilting in My Pyjamas

and wish her a fabulous day!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Cindy