Farewell, Old Friend. Hey There, New Love!

 It was a sad day when my trusty Brother got cranky and finally decided he had sewn his last stitch. The day wasn't without tears and desperation. But light began to shine again and through a few resources (including selling some handmade items--if you'd like to purchase various items like Bible covers, coin pouches, tote bags, etc... let me know!)  that were made available to me I was able purchase a new one.

So, this is farewell to Brother. I sewed my first quilt on him and he was a great teacher as I learned different sewing techniques. I enjoyed his ease of use and simple instructions. Thank you, my friend.

 The time has come to upgrade. And upgrade I did! May I introduce to ya'll to my fancy new Janome MC6300P! MC for short. She arrived UPS and when the man finally got here I leaped up and ran to the door! I ripped the box open and look what was inside!

 Here she is all put together with that lovely, spacious quilting board! She was so much larger than my old machine I had to come up with a new table to put her on. I finally ended up setting her on an old sewing cabinet that actually has a Kenmore sewing machine (that doesn't work) under her. This is a temporary fix until I can find a more suitable table. Right now, she is too elevated and my chair is too short so I'm reaching up a bit which makes for painful shoulders and back.

 

 Here she is sewing her first stitches in her new home!! I think she is excited! I can't believe how smooth and quiet she sews. It really is amazing. I love how you can wind the bobbin separately and don't even have to unthread the machine to do it.  I also love the button that cuts the thread after you finish sewing! That just amazes me every time! She also came with a knee lifter (not pictured) that I can use to lift the foot with my knee when I need to keep my hands on the fabric! Wow! Sometimes I just sit and admire her! There are foots galore that I can't wait to explore and I'm sure she does even more things than what the booklet says.

Ok, enough of this! I have to get back to my sewing studio!

Christmas Presents

 Here are the last of the Christmas presents I made this year.


This is a set of a table topper, grocery sack dispenser, and a hanging dish towel set.

Two fabric stockings held little goodies.

I should get my sewing machine this week and I can't wait to share it with ya'll!

Barn Raising

I made this blue and while quilt in a barn raising pattern for my mother-in-law. It is made up of almost 600 squares.

 I quilted it with white thread and a loose stipple all over.

This picture is a little blurry. I took it in a hurry before I wrapped it and it was too wet outside for a photo shoot. But you get the idea of the pattern here.

Modern Stripes

This quilt was a Christmas present to my mother. I will be featuring all the Christmas presents I made over the next week.

 I used brown, tan, blue, and green. Colors to match her home.

 I pieced the back with leftover fabrics from the front and I love how it turned out. The result is a reversible quilt that looks as good on the back as it does on the front.

 I quilted it with all over stippling in a neutral thread.

Here is a full shot of the back. I had to get creative to piece enough together to make the back as I quickly ran out of fabric from the front but I like how it turned out.

And the reception was pleasing to all. Especially the dog!

(My trusty Brother sewing machine decided to give up the ghost recently. Thankfully after I had finished up my Christmas sewing. I will be purchasing a new one soon and will post about that later. )

iPhone Case!

 With the much anticipated turning on of a cell phone tower near our home we now have great cell phone service in our home! Husband and I decided to get new phones (we were using models that my pre-teen niece wouldn't know anything about!). I found this cute fabric on clearance at Hancock's Fabrics. It is by M'Liss and I just love it!

 Here is a pic of it all closed up and being cute!

Here it is open. I used Velcro to close it. 

Here is a peek at the interior fabric. It's also from the same M'Liss line. Adorable! I just love my new phone and cover!

I got the tutorial here.

Pumpkin Pickin'! A Finish!

 May I present to you Pumpkin Pickin':

Edith though she added to the fall look

See the bird nest to the left?  Cute! 

Pieced back from left over pieces

Final resting place

This pattern comes from the 2008 Oct/Nov issue of Quilt Magazine. Free motion quilted. Poly batting. Machine applique.

Fall is on its way!

We are having crisp nights and cooler days here in Kentucky! The beginning of September means it is time to decorate for Fall! Fall is my favorite season. All the beautiful colors, the farmers working to harvest their crops and the smoky smell of tobacco barns working overtime. The clean crisp smell of Fall is like no other smell and I'd rather be no where else but here in my Old Kentucky Home experiencing every minute of God's beautiful splendor. I hope you take time to reveal in this season. 

I've been decorating my home to welcome Fall and wanted to share some pictures with you. I made this wreath mostly from things I found at Wal-Mart on clearance last year. 

 

Here is my staircase with leaves and pumpkins:

 

 I fixed up a couple of these baskets with some random pumpkins, pine cones, and leaves.

I have never made anything quilty for fall because I never really had any fall fabrics. I changed that problem this year and am working on turning these cute appliqued pumpkins into a throw. I'd also like to make me a table runner and a table topper but we will see how far I get with those plans. Christmas is approaching fast I have to get to work on gifts!

Happy Fall Ya'll!