Bird's And Bee's--Debbie's Block

This block is finally finished! The journey to me finishing my part on this block is a long one. First off the USPS lost the first block. It is out there floating around and around in never, never land.

I finally received the second one in the mail. That is the one that I stitched on. I started working on the spider web on the block then moved on to the Fly Stitch then the Buttonhole..........

I decided that I needed special ribbon for the roses. THAT is what took so long in finishing this block. I had everything else stitched and waited for the ribbon that I HAD to order! I am glad that I did! It just makes the block!

Here are a couple of pictures:

Here is hoping that Debbie likes what I did on the block. It will be off to the next stop this weekend.

TTFN

"How The West Was Warm"

I went to the wonderful Georgetown quilt show last Saturday. It was entitled "How The West Was Warm". In the front of all the modern quilts that were there to be judged there was a display of beautiful antique/vintage quilts.

Walking up and down the first isle were the quilts of yesteryear. These quilts conjure up the memories of staying at grandmas house on fall and winter nights. For me really when I went up into the Texas hill country in early spring to spend the month with my grandparents. (In early spring in Texas the hill country can get down right cold!) Remember snuggling up under the old quilts that grandma would bring out? Everyone can remember how they smelled, too. Cant you?

While laying under mine I had always thought that I would make a bunch of my own someday so that they could be passed down from generation to generation. (Well really so I did not have to share mine with my cousin!) I have made a lot of my own. My husband is curled up under his favorite right now! I can just see my grandchildren curled under their favorites also! Just like my sisters and cousins and me at my grandmothers.

I know that you are smiling! You are remembering Christmas aren't you! Me, too!

Here are the pictures of those wonderful quilts:

The venue where the Georgetown quilt show was a little bigger that La Granges but they still did not leave you enough room to get a complete picture. But I think that you get the idea of how wonderful they are! I bet you had seen one just like grandma had?

I have tons of pictures from both shows left and will still be putting them up for a while. I hope that you are enjoying all of them!

TTFN

A Trip To Gerline's

My daughter came home one day last week saying that her color guard instructor was having a baby shower. She had an invitation to it and she wanted me to make her a quilt. (I usually make baby quilts from 1940's replica fabric for the ladies who I know that are having a baby.) Since I have not made one in a while and I needed more fabric for this one that ment a trip to Giddings, Texas. A trip to Gerline's Quilt Shoppe. Gerline has so much fabric it is hard to choose just a few pieces!

While I was there I found these two pieces of fabric:

Cant you see these being used as silkies??

While I was getting the fabric cut she had asked me what I was planning to make. For these two pieces I had said that I was going to use these for silkies. She looked at me like I just grew three horns out of my head. She was more interested in the baby quilt that I was making. So I let the conversation flow in that direction. I figured that was one she was more comfortable with.

When we (My daughter and I.) left the shop as we were driving down the road my daughter looked at me and said "Did you get the feeling that she had no clue what you were talking about?" I said "About the silkies?" "Yes" she said. I said "Yes" then I asked her "Do I have horns growing out of my head?" She said "No, but I get the feeling that a lot of people don't understand what you are saying when you talk about your crazy quilting."

Of course I get that feeling also. It is like a language of my all my own! Does anyone else get that feeling???

TTFN

Lisa's Shell

The Under The Sea RR is under way! I have finished the first block for me. Lisa had made some really beautiful blocks. Very unique! I got to be the first to work on them! I chose the "inside" of the shell to do. Of course as we all know the inside of shells are normally a pinkie-peach type color. Maybe it is the inside of the shells I like................................. Well any way the inside of this shell started out pinkie-peach! I used lots of those colors and in the beads I used pearl like colors. As I was working on this block I had started calling it "A Mermaids Treasure". I usually don't name the blocks that I stitch on in a round robin, I just could not help it with this one!


The tear drop beads are from a vintage necklace I found at my favorite thrift store. At the time that I bought them I had not a clue as to what I would do with them, when I saw this block...... I also used silk chenille, silk organza, lots of sparkly pink beads, some Rainbow Gallery pink braid, and of course the mermaid and her treasure with a back ground of a cut up doily!

Lisa, I am hoping that you like what I have done and it is what you envisioned!

TTFN

New Block For "Seanes"

Yes, I have another block done for "Seanes"! I have another block up and ready to be done, I have it in stitching order!

I thought that pink would be the thing for this block. I really like working on under the sea blocks. The ocean is so full of colors and different plants, fish and more that you could just keep going on and on. Only thing is that soon you would have a quilt that would be as big as Texas! I hope that y'all enjoy looking at this newest block!

TTFN

Crazy Quilts From La Grange

It seems like I still have tons of pictures to go from the La Grange quilt show! I now have another quilt show to blog about! I went to the Georgetown quilt show. They entitled it "How The West Was Warm" Great name! I have pictures of some beautiful antique/vintage quilts to post about. One crazy quilt. Next year they will get a surprise when I enter "Seanes" into it!

Now here is some more quilty things from La Grange! Here is some of the crazy quilt items entered this year!

I hope that you enjoyed these pictures I still have more to go! As soon as I down load the pictures of the Georgetown show from my camera I will start posting that one!

TTFN

Fairy's!

Here is a glimpse of a very cute fairy quilt that caught Stephie's eye. I wish that I could have got a picture of the whole quilt these little teaser pictures do not do this cutie justice!

Just giving you an idea on how cute this quilt really is! Hopefully this quilt gives you some inspiration!

TTFN

Real Rain????

YES, Virginia it really rains in Texas! It started raining last night off and on but the real rain started at about 2:30 this morning. Wha-Hoo! I got home this morning and found two new leaks in the roof! I started to get upset, and then thought about those who lost their homes in the recent fires. Makes me kinda happy to have those said leaks. I say a prayer for those who don't have a home anymore every time I see those leaks in my roof.


Here are some pictures that I took just a little while ago in my wet yard. The yard looks wonderful wet!

Hope that you are having a good day!

TTFN

Silkie Talk

I was recently asked a question about "silkies" and thought that I would blog my knowledge about them as limited as it is. This post is for all the new to the Crazy Quilting world.

Cigarette silks or silkies started out being sold in packs of cigarettes. That was the then marketing ploy for the women to get their husbands to buy certain brands of cigarettes. (You know when it was a bad thing for women to smoke.) The manufacturers would make silk prints in series, like flowers, butterflies, birds, to name a few, just for the women. The women would then "hen peck" their husbands into buying "that" brand for the series they wanted for their crazy quilts.

These days we have all sorts of sources to buy silkies. Or you can even print them yourself with fabric printer paper. You can buy the vintage silkies, or original silks in antique stores. Be ready to pay a little bit of money for them. I have found them ranging from $3.00 to $20.00, of course any price in between. You can also buy them off of ebay or any other online auction, or antique store.

The replicas are much better for the budget, they range from $2.50 to $5.00. I have mainly bought my replica silkies from Keepsake Fabrics and Needle Arts. (http://www.keepsakefabrics.com/main.sc;jsessionid=1600B6DDB9C9D503B120B072E00664C7.qscstrfrnt02 )
The quality is wonderful and she has a great selection.
I have also bought them from Ribbonsmythe. (http://ribbonsmyth.com/ ) The quality at Ribbonsmythe is also real good. Ribbonsmythe is a GREAT source for anything crazy quilt.

Why limit yourself to what other people produce, in replica silkies. Make them yourself! You can buy silk or cotton printer fabric, at any craft or fabric store. You can also buy it on line, it is up to you. Once you start making your own silkies you are able to print the pictures you want. Family pictures, come to mind first off! The door is open so to speak. You are limitless in sources you can use to print your own silkies. Vintage greeting cards, vintage trading cards, family pictures(Of course!), pictures of interest, I could go on and on. You are limited to your own imagination when it comes to printing up your own silkies!

This is a vintage picture that was cut out of a magazine. I bought this at my favorite antique mall.
This is a vintage trading card that I bought from that same mall.

These are vintage cigarette silks.

As you can see there is quite a few series out there in the vintage cigarette silks, these are just a few. These are just a few out of what I have collected!

When you use vintage silks in your crazy quilting you will need to have special care. I have had the privilege of having made the acquittance of a lady who restores antique dolls. She gave me a lesson on her method of using vintage silks and restoring them. I will post a tutorial when I am ready to start "Catch My Star" on her method. So keep looking for it!

I hope that this answers any questions that you may have on silkies. For all the seasoned crazy quilters out there who read this. If I have missed anything or need correcting on anything please post a comment so that everyone can read the information, and thank you for your help! Knowledge is power!

TTFN

UTS Teaser.........

I am about to start on my first block to embellish for the Under The Sea RR. I get to start with Lisa's fabulous sea shell blocks! I chose the "inside" of the shell.

Now here is where the teasing begins. I have pictured the beautiful block that Lisa made, with all the embellishments that I thought would be great in this block. I may use all and I may not, that is where the teasing comes in! Lisa, the only thing for sure is the mermaid and the pearl-like buttons.



Now ladies let your imagination run wild!!!

TTFN

Around The World Swap

The time has come to remember my manners! I have alot of thank you's to go for my baggies for the Around The World Swap. I got so many nice trims, buttons, fabric, beads and charms that it is hard to believe that they all came in the same box!

I want to thank Shannon R for being a great hostess! Big cyber hugs and smooches to her! Now the pictures.......................................


These top two pictures.... All the embellishments!

These bottom two pictures............The fabric!

I received baggies representing quite a few countries of the world. The countries included France, England, India, Ireland, Mexico, China, Japan, Africa, and a great seaside baggie! Awesome stuff ladies!

Big THANK YOU'S go out to Shannon R., Pam Horne, Winnie Ursini, and Gayle Morris, and to any one who I might have left out by mistake! (So sorry if I did!)

I love everything! The fabric's are so rich and beautiful, and the embelishments are so wonderful and sparklie! Thank you ladies for all the time it took you to put together the swap baggies, it was a wonderful swap and all of y'all make GREAT swap partners! Y'all are just so thoughtful, and generous!! I hope to meet y'all in another swap one day!

TTFN

Pictures For Quilter Beth

You know how when you are at a quilt show and you round a corner and see a quilt...............Then you exclaim "I can see my friend so and so making THAT quilt!" It happened quite a few times to me at this show!

Here are two:

Totally cool, huh! These are for my cyber friend Quilter Beth. When I saw these two I told my daughter that I could see these posted on Quilter Beth's blog! So Quilter Beth these pictures are for you! I hope that you like them!

TTFN

A Work In Progress!!

This past week had been very relaxing. The massive over time at work has subsided, so last I could relax a bit and do some leisurely stitching! I finished a pin keeper for the March blog teaser and I posted it on my pin keeper sister blog the Lions CQ, http://thelionscq.blogspot.com .

My other work in progress is this front of a purse.

My daughter wanted me to make her best friend a purse for Christmas. Well, it is a tad past Christmas, but as they say: "Better late than never"! I still have the back to go but that will have to wait I am in "Under the Sea" mode. I have received Lisa's UTS RR blocks and am itching to get started but one of my own to let the juices flow to be exact!

TTFN

The Winners And Answers For March Teaser

Here they are the winners and the answers for the march blog teaser!

First off the answers:

1)"The Yankee Prince", It ran from April 20,1908 to Augest 29, 1908 at the Knickerbocker Theatre, NYC

2)In the movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" Jeanne Cagney, sister to James Cagney.

3) Her Brother George M Cohan, first Broadway hit "Little Johnny Jones".

The bonus:
Her husband is Fred Niblo. He has seven films and were asked to name five:

1)"Free And Easy"
2)"A Mysterious Lady"
3)"Ben-Hur"
5)"Blood And Sand"
6)"The Three Musketeers"
7)"The Mark Of Zorro"

Her son Fred Niblo Jr. his Academy Award nomination was for "The Criminal Code".


Now for the lucky ladies who won this months teaser:

1)Amy Arnold
Amy was the first to get all the questions right including the bonus question. She will get the squishie with the replica silkie of Josephine Cohan, and for the right bonus question she will get a pin keeper!

2)Kerry Leslie
She was the second to get all the questions right so she gets the replica silkie of Josephine Cohan!

Congratulations!!

Thank you to all the ladies who participated in this months teaser! I hope that y'all had as much fun as I did!

TTFN

Blog Giveaway

For all who like vintage items, there is a really great giveaway going on over on the blog "Spun by Me".

Here is the link: http://spunbyme.blogspot.com/

Have fun!

I forgot to put in on my blog teaser what the prizes are and here they are listed in order:

The first person who gets all the answers right gets a squishie with a replica silkie of Josephine Cohan(made by me).

The second person who gets all the questions right gets a replica silkie of Josephine Cohan.

The person who gets the bonus question right gets a pin keeper!

Have fun with all the giveaways!!

TTFN

"Catch My Star" Blog Teaser For March

Hello everyone, and welcome to "Catch My Star" blog teaser for March! This month I am featuring an actress who started out at a very young age in Vaudeville. She was part of an act with her father, mother and brother!
She unfortunately died at a very young age from heart disease. I would not feel sad as she had lived more in her young life than most people who live to be 100! Imagine growing up traveling and acting with your family!

Here she is Josephine Cohan:

1)Under her name, Josephine Cohan, she was listed as acting in four plays: What was the longest running play that she was in? What was the date that this play opened and what theater did it open in?

2)Years after she has passed away she was portrayed by the sister of a famous actor in a film. Who was the actress who portrayed her and in what film? Who is this actresses (the actress who played Josephine in the movie) famous brother?

3)Who was Josephine's famous brother and name his first Broadway hit.


Bonus question----

Josephine married a famous actor-writer-director. What was his name, and name 5 of his biggest movie hits. She also had an equally famous son, what was his name and what film was he nominated for the Academy Award?

I hope that y'all enjoy this months blog teaser.

TTFN

More Antique Eye Candy

Yes, Yes, Yes, I have been holding out on you. Here are some more pictures of another stunning antique crazy quilt. I can only find two pictures of it. One of the WHOLE quilt, and one close up, I thought I had taken more....................... Ahyhooo, These pictures are for the making of more inspiration! As y'all can see the display was simply breath taking! This one I was told was made after America won some sort of yachting cup In the 1800's.(I cannot remember the name of it. I thought that I had better right it down at the show then thought:"NNAAHH, I will remember the name." Yeah right I forgot it!)

As y'all can see this quilt is as stunning as the first one! I do love the ship in the middle of this one! The satin flower in the top picture......I would like to try and re-create it is just awesome!!

I still have pictures of smaller crazy quilts from this display that I will save for another post!

TTFN

A Crazy Inspiration

Did I mention that this years La Grange quilt show featured crazy quilts??? Well, in case I did not they did! They had a display of antique crazy quilts! There were not very many but look how gorgeous the one on the bed was! I made sure to take lots of inspiration pictures!

The peacock feathers! This quilt has some stunning peacock feathers!

The awesome sunflower!!

I tried to get a good picture of this motif. I put it up any way I thought that it was just beautiful!

An awesome silkie!

The fan is just stunning!

To just dream of making something this beautiful! Just looking at these pictures makes the inspiration flow!

I still have more pictures of other great quilts. I will post more soon.

TTFN