Mid-Ohio Knitter

Pie plus a couple of giveaways...

2008-10-13T21:59:00.000-04:00

Dutch Apple Pie to be exact. My hubby and I made it last night. OK..I fess up... I cut the apples and he assembled. He is a much better cook than I. But it still tasted great!
I did finish a few items this weekend...7 pincushions....I puttered around on several other projects but nothing to blog yet.
I have 3 unclaimed pincushions. Leave me a comment on what you like to read on blogs and I will put your name the draw for one. Post about my giveaway on your blog...and I'll give you another chance. I will draw on October 24th...my nephews birthday!
Also Pigtails and Snails is giving away this great quilt or the pattern if you are a runner up......I LOVE her fabric choices!!!!!

Doing well here.

2008-10-12T11:24:00.000-04:00

But....I was tempted again to buy online. This time from Hancock's of Paducah. I found some great close-out deals on "Flirt" and Summer's Basket. I have FQ's and charms packs for projects from each line. These will be backings or borders. I have been looking and looking for a light colored batik and took a chance on this print on the bottom. It actually has a blue/purple tint to it but it will work fabulously with my Mulberry Bali Pop! I've cut it and have some pinned for piecing. I am going to make a quilt from the "Jelly Quilts" book. So simple but I think it will pack a punch with the bali's (post coming in future). In addition to the yardage....I bought charm packs oh yes I did......Portugal...I NEEDED (LOL) to make some Posie's (post coming) to coordinate with a quilt I am making with this line (post coming-- I promise). I also pickied up some Peace of Earth to use with a Bunny Hill pattern "I believe in Angels" that I started. There is a little Maypole and Nest in there as well...but for between $2.98 and $3.98 a pack...how could I pass them up??
Anyhow, I have been plugging away at the pink/brown pincushions...and another quilt I started a few months ago. I hope to have the borders and pictures made by the end of the day. Cross your fingers for me.

Huge fall giveaway...

2008-10-08T19:47:00.005-04:00

check this out..40+ bloggers giving!!! I have only been to maybe 10 blogs...I hope I can get to all of them! Here's the link for the Fall into Fall Giveaway.

It's Tuesday?

2008-10-07T21:23:00.003-04:00

I should be watching the debate. Ok I was...and I just had to take a break so here I am. On sunday Dh used some of the apples from the orchard to make apple fritters. They were amazing. I know it's not the most gourmet picture but I wanted to show them off. Now I have done some more sewing. I had planned on making 4 gateau pincushions using Fig Tree Quilts' pattern. I don't make half square triangles very well so I counted out some thangles and started sewing. Somehow I ended up counting wrong and now have 8 pieced blocks for pincushions!!! Yes ....8..and what am going to do with 8????
Anyhow, so far one done...and several in various stages of production.....
I have already given this pincushion away to one of my staff who said she only had 1 pincushion. I knew she'd appreciate it. I still need 4 pincushions for gifts....and that will leave 3 if I can get them done. Perhaps a giveaway is in the future...when I finish them!

Fun at the Orchard...

2008-10-04T11:14:00.005-04:00

Today was kids at day at our local apple/fruit orchard. The girls picked apples and went on a hayride around the orchard. It was perfect weather, sunny and about 50 degrees...not too hot or cold...a crisp fall morning...LOVED it.... DD1.....
DD2...notice her little feet sticking out!

The view from the hayride...
I'm in the mood for decorating...speaking of decorating...did you notice my new look? I copied the idea from Dandelion Quilts and went straight away to Ally's blog and found me a cool layout. It took some tweaking...but it looks fairly good. Now I am off to try to sew. I have some super super cutey things I am making.

Vintage Fruit....

2008-10-04T09:01:00.002-04:00

Um how did I forget to post this...I finished it last week. I love this pattern so much I'd like to make every design....I need more hours in my day! Update....you can find this pattern on Bareroots website.....

It's Friday YEAH!!!

2008-10-03T14:19:00.007-04:00

Ok I have been super lax in posting but things have been hectic on the home front. I just HAVE to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister...She's 30 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ann, I wish I was home to celebrate with you and a big Happy Joe's Pizza.....

Anyhow, I have slowly been working on The Noah's Ark Stitcheries by Lynnette Anderson. 4 done and I think 4 to go so far...she adds a new part each month. I am working on 2 cows at the moment. The carpets were being cleaned today ( necessity with 2 cats!) and so I went to my local quilt shop. Brought home a bit of fun...the JUMBO yo-yo maker.....and American Patchwork and quilting mag...
When I got home, I sat down and made a 3.5 inch yo-yo immediately.
My review of this maker (if you don't have one already) is that is requires a much larger square/circle of fabric than I imagined. I think I used a 7 inch square to make this yo-yo. It's size makes it a bit more clumsy to use. AND you have to use a LOONNNNNG piece of thread...yes you draw it up but until it's drawn up...you need alot. Will I use it again? Absolutely...as soon as I post this LOL....I am dreaming up what nifty little projects I could use these yo-yo's for.

Just a quick post

2008-09-28T21:25:00.005-04:00

Myra is having a 200th post giveaway...check it out!! She has some interesting tutorials.
Note*** The link wasn't there for some reason (of course NOT my fault LOL) and so it is now...

In the mail and other odds and ends

2008-09-27T21:39:00.006-04:00

Well I just haven't felt like blogging this week. I don't mean to say nothing has happened because it has...just didn't feel like transferring pictures, making pictures or anything. I spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night watching Dancing with the Stars. Yep I did! and I LOVE it. I love watching Max dance...anyhow I digress....back to quilting....I was very happy friday when a package arrived from Hens and Chicks for me! Heidi took time out of her busy schedule to cut me a kit for her latest giveaway. It is awesome. AND several small packages have arrived from 10 quiltshops...of the Patchwork Party 2008. I joined, well sort of. I bought 11 blocks..I still have one shop to order from. I haven't decided on a setting for them either. I just really liked the Cottage fabrics for this round...so I took the plunge.
I have been working on multiple projects and finished one today. I hope to finish another tomorrow...and make pictures and blog about it. Is that too ambitious?? could be....

Sew...

2008-09-21T12:05:00.004-04:00

I was able to make saturday a productive crafting day afterall. It was fun. I mean don't get me wrong I did do 6 loads of laundry, dishes and meals and baths for the girls. In between I finished up a couple of WIP's. This is a pincushion I started about a year ago. I put the finishing touches of beads and stitched it together and stuffed it with Lizard liter. It's kind of heavy but I really like how it turned out. This snowman is a rug I hooked with a pattern by the Potted Pear. I was stuck on turning the raw edge, mostly because I hooked this before I learned about rug hooking tape and sewing it on BEFORE you start hooking! Anyhow, I managed to stitch the tape after I hooked it and slip stitched it to the back. It's ready for winter decorating finally. (It's been hooked for over 2 years).
Ah and here's Chew Chew my female cat, she's cozying up to the wool pillow I just finished this week...she's no dummy LOL.
Ah and through the day of organizing and finishing WIP's...I ran across this little girl. I had made this about 7 years ago..but didn't get her stuffed. Well when DD1 spotted her, I had to finish her immediately...ok I didn't finish her until this morning. I also made the bunting and started another one identical for DD2 whose freaking out over this doll. It is a Butterick pattern.

ANd last but not least I DID finish my Mystery BOM block #4. Whew...busy busy....and I hope to have more to show in the coming days....

It's been a week?

2008-09-20T14:34:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I last blogged. I have been so busy at work..which is good, plus it was fair week. I only went one evening with DD1. That was fun. We spent the 2 hours with her little friend and HER mom...who's my friend (poor english?). They had been without power for 3 days. Hurricane IKE devastated Texas and did a number to Ohio and other midwestern states as you know. Anyhow, we were fortunate to have never lost power. So I offered our showers/home to them until their power came back. They showered but they didn't stay. We were certainly glad to help at any rate. I did do some crafting this week. I started this wool pillow with the Oxford punchneedle about 2 years ago. Yep 2 years ago, before we moved. I have had it on the hoop that long. I finished it this week and I will tell you it feels so good to have completed it. AND I still love it. It's very primitive looking but brighter colors which I like. Here's my Merry and Bright table topper in the works. I am embroidering the ornament hooks. I started my Fat Quarter Shop Mystery BOM block 4 but it's not done yet. So I am hoping to have some more finishes in the next couple of days.

What a weekend

2008-09-14T21:37:00.000-04:00

Where do I begin? well that's start with the positive....I picked up my last quilt from my machine quilter on friday. I have the binding half sewn on already. I love the flowers and vines. This probably one of the fastest quilts I have ever made start to finish. I started it in July....mmm maybe mid-month and am nearly finished. It usually takes me a year to finish one!! LOL Here's a close up of the quilting.
Now for the rest of the weekend.....Friday night I arrived home from my second trip to Jo-Ann's in one day....it was 9:30pm...our mail box was up right and normal. When we got up saturday..it was like this:
It seems some IDIOT backed into it and then decided it wasn't important to let us know who they were. They drove off....but left behind bits and pieces of their tail-light. Now peeps..I have to tell you you that my husband and 2 other neighbors tried to up-right it. Well....it weighs like a ton literally...literally 2000 pounds. So you think that person that hit it knew they hit it???? I bet so...and I am betting they were drunk or something...I'm just speculating here. Anyhow, we had the sheriff out and filed a report. I doubt we'll find the wahoo that hit it. In the mean time my DH spent 3 hours breaking it up to move the bricks....each brick weighs 5 pounds and so it took several wheelbarrels full to move it to our back yard. We put up this for now...
I wonder how long it will be before someone hits it? I shouldn't ask....really I shouldn't.
So this weekend was kind of a bummer. We started positive and worked through some negetive. I hope the crap is out of the way for the rest of the week.
My DH also assembled ANOTHER cabinet for me and put it up...2 more to go...plus he put up some shelves too...ALL today. Superduper man I tell you!!!
I finished my Secret Stitcher's Angel swap stuff...um I did a quick calculation on shipping..and Oy Vey..I can't even go there.....ok so that's enough out of me for the night....I hope I can post more this week. Work could be a stickler though..OH and it's fair week...how could I forget.

It's a secret...

2008-09-13T06:26:00.004-04:00

My Stitcher's Angel sent me a lovely postcard this week. I've wanted to blog about it every day but work and other garbage were in my way. She's a neat gal from Tasmania. I have no idea who she is...the element of surprise is soooo fun for this swap. I am working on my items for my S.A. partner. I don't want to show everything...yet. I can only show bits and pieces. I mean what IF she's a regular reader?
Wow I NEED to iron that! LOL...I didn't see the wrinkle until the picture enlarged it 100 times!
Anyhow, I spent FAR too much time taking my car to have repairs yesterday. They finally gave me a rental and I need to pick up my car today. I did make it to Pat Catan's, Jo-Ann's, and Country Charm...my LQS. Oh Cindy at Country Charm had so many new things. She buys fabric that may be 6 months old in terms of when collections are released...but she sells yardage for $5.98! You can't beat it for quilt backs. I also picked up my last quilt from the machine quilter. He's getting backed up now. But turns out I don't have any to give him..which is good for my pocket book! I will blog it hopefully tomorrow...to show what he quilted for me. So much blogging...so little time.

BLog Award

2008-09-11T20:19:00.011-04:00

Vickie gave me this award and I am so honored to have it. I have been lax the last few days with posting...it seems my job is getting in the way. Perhaps I will catch up this weekend. I want to blog about 10 different posts! Anyhow....I am allowed to nominate 7 blogs...wow that's almost a chore...how d0 I choose? I have to post them on our blog and on our bloglist and then let them know! They in turn have to do the same, if they want! I hope that the bloggers I award don't feel like they have to do this too. I enjoyed making my list!! I just hope they realize how much I enjoy reading their blogs everyday!

I am going to nominate:

1. Passionate Quilter : Karen, one of the first 3 true friends I made when I moved to Ohio.

2. Dandelion Quilts : Great blog, it inspired me to want to post more, and to figure out how I can begin to maximize my blogging.

3. Ginger Patches : Tammy...I don't know how you do all you do...and you and I have very similar fabric taste.

4. Kim's Big Quilting Adventure : Such and Inspirational blog...she ought to be a quilt designer~

5. Mom-o-matic : She is so real. My favorite read any day.

6. Raggedy Old Annies : because I LOVE Nicole's dolls. I only wish I could make a doll half as cute as hers.

7. LA Quilter : Vicki ...a stash busting inspiration. I enjoy seeing your quilts process to completion.

Getting Into A Decor Mood

2008-09-09T07:00:00.001-04:00

With this stitchery pillow, I finished last weekend. It's a buttermilk basin pattern.

The quick contest winner...

2008-09-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

There were 8 correct answers. The names are from the movie "Hairspray". My 18 month old LOVES to watch and listen to the music on that movie. I watched it literally 7 times over labor day weekend. She'll fall asleep to it, dance to it...and sing (what she can). It's wild. Since I have seen the movie soooo many times, I have those girls names dancing through my head once in awhile. When I unpackaged my quads...the first thing I thought was "they're twins like Noreen and Doreen"...and that's where it began. My DH thinks I should make a chubby one...and of course call her "Traci"!!

So without further a-do...the winner of a charm pack....(uh I forgot to take a picture (dough!))

is.....Lesley. Lesley, please send me your snail mail and I will get a charm pack right out to you!

It's a monday...in a good way...

2008-09-08T06:30:00.000-04:00

It's back to work today but...it was a great weekend.

These lovely little patterns arrived this weekend from Raggedy Old Annies. I have 12 of her dolls and am going to someday try to make my own....ah not sure when that will be LOL. I have been stitching...I am thinking of framing this but I need a trip to Jo-Ann's first.

And this is one of my newly decorated shelves with some of my painted jars. Since I made this pic...I have added buttons and things to the jars. Actually yesterday DD1 and I sorted all my buttons by color. Then I started a new stitchery for my Stitchers Angel partner....is it ever going to be cute!

I'm very lucky..

2008-09-07T09:26:00.000-04:00

For so many reasons I am so lucky. It is easy to forget that sometimes when we are micro-managing our lives or had a really rough day today at work. Most of what I post here is fabric related, crafting, or quilting related with some family stuff thrown in. I try to keep things upbeat as much as possible. I was really struggling the day I found out I was one of the winners on Anne's blog. I first found her site searching for free quilt patterns and through her website I ended up at her blog. I have followed her pink adventures for months and months. I have her fabrics, patterns and made the jelly bag. I love her applique and all she contributes to my quilting world. So it was an awesome 'pick me up' to know this was on the way:
It perked me right up and reminded me how lucky I am every day.

Weekend goodies

2008-09-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

The Books.... The kits....
The Patterns....
Oh whoops...more Books....
And Stitcheries....
I have so much to say...but no time to say it...so it's pictures today.

My first Quilt...

2008-09-06T09:41:00.000-04:00

Have I shown this? It is technically my first completed quilt. I made it 10 years ago. It is designed after a quilt in the "Little Quilts" All Through the House book.

WIP's...

2008-09-05T09:42:00.004-04:00

So yes I HAVE been sewing ....well stitching A LOT!!Just a couple of projects I have going. This is a business card holder for my mom. She's a hairdresser and the fabric has bobby pins on it! And these stitcheries are from Lynette Anderson's free BOM Noah's Ark. I have 2 stitched and working on 2 more...so I'm behind. I have even picked border fabrics yet....

They're Here!!!!!

2008-09-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

My Quads have arrived. Thanks to Nicole..who's come up with these cute lil gals....and I'm a sucker for lil' annies...or in this case 'molly's'. I've decided to call them Noreen, Doreen, Shelly and LouAnn... Sooo....why would I pick those names? Leave a comment why you think that I would give them those names and I'll pick a winner from the correct answers....um IF I get one LOL ...it's kinda odd. I'll send the winner a charm pack of fabric....I have alot of charm packs LOL!

And the WINNERS are.....

2008-09-03T21:00:00.000-04:00

Ok I tried to post this yesterday but it wasn't working for some reason. I put a pic of each winner's name and it crashed on me...didn't save. I was pretty frustrated so I just went to bed. Ok tonight is a new night. I gave up on the pics and am just listing the winners. First here's the loot...there are several piles of goods....Well I did get some great things on my trip....I bought a few extra items at Jo-ann's as they were having a sale... I wanted to add some things to the 4 giveaway piles....and add 4 more! that's right 8 total...how did I figure that? no idea... I just felt like it.

DD1 picked the names for me....
8 lucky gals.......Karen the Passionate quilter, Regina, Jackie from Canton Village Quiltworks, Debbie, May Brit from Abyquilt, Tammy of GingerPatches, and Alice Grace the southern quilter...and Jen ( no blog...I think my cupcake swap partner???? am I right?) you are ALL winners!~~
Ok I have had about an hour with messing with blogger to get pics up. It isn't working right. So I just listed the names. IF you see your name/blog send me an email to the address in my profile. I will also try to email all of you within a couple of days to get your full name and address to mail out the packages! I hope that makes sense! LOL

~ 200th post....of course a GIVEAWAY ~

2008-08-24T11:03:00.010-04:00

******************

....I've reached my 200th post much sooner than I expected. I love that there are so many talented crafters in the world and that you take time to read my little blog. So I am going to host a giveaway in celebration. I will draw some names (atleast 4) on September 2 after we return from a Labor Day visit with my parents. I may not be able to reply to all of your comments, I will try, but they will all be entered. PLUS if you link this post etc. to your own blog I will give you an extra entry. I want to see your blogs!! That's a lot to keep track of LOL. Now for the prizes......here's a sample...I may add to my gift 'stash' while I am shopping over labor day..... And IF you noticed I said I will draw some names...because I am never sure IF I will want to give 1 or 2 extra gifts out, so I'm leaving it open ended.......

2 more done....

2008-08-23T10:24:00.005-04:00

Two more quilts arrived from my machine quilter. This cherry quilt is from the book "Quilting with my Sister" by Barbara Brandeburg and Terri Christopherson (sp.?). I used Pat Sloan fabircs from about 4 yars ago.
And the quilting is with a mauve colored thread that matches perfectly. The bindings made, now I just have to stitch it down and it's on my kitchen table. This quilt, my MIL made. She used some of her scraps and mine. Since there were so many different colors he used a varigated thread and a balloon design. It's a bit hard to capture with my cheap camera....
My girls love it....
Technically this is my 201st post...look for my giveaway post tomorrow.....