January Quilt Group Offerings

We met last night at the home of our newest member, Dorothy. I thought I would show you a bit of her work first. This Heron stitchery/applique/fiber art? wall hanging was so dramatic and striking!

This paper pieced quilt was stunning as well.

She was actually wearing some of her work, so we made her turn around so we could get a pic. So pretty!

Dorothy was almost done with this by the end of the meeting. See a close up below.

Don't you love this?!

Anita made this pillow top by actually weaving fabric tubes. It was really cool.

She also made this graphic baby quilt for a friend's new baby boy .

Darlene brought a few of her latest fabulous creations, starting with this gorgeous table topper.

She can do pretty much ANYTHING with her embroidery machine. Check out these cute hot pads.

Her daughter requested a Cinderella stocking, so she digitized a picture and created this darling stocking!

Margy made this beautiful medallion for her Table top.

She also made this fun mesh bag.

She showed us about 6 of these darling vintage looking redwork blocks that she has already finished.

I cant wait to see them all in a quilt!

Here we were last month at full strength. Since then, our much beloved Loralie has moved to Texas. We were willing to try laying down in their path to prevent them from leaving, but we had to accept the inevitable. We miss you, Lorali!! Thank you, visitors for being willing to take a peek at our "show and tell". I hope you will come again soon. Love, Derrith

Sleighbelle Rides Again

I thought I would take a break from my quilt I am trying to get done this week and post this picture. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to take a horse-drawn sleigh ride. I haven't always lived in a place where it snowed in the winter, so I wasn't able to fulfill my dream until a few years ago. This picture was taken in Leavenworth Washington, which is a town in the Cascade mountains that has adopted a Bavarian theme and is very charming.  I made arrangements for the sleigh ride and my darling elderly parents who were both in their mid-nineties wanted to join us.

At first, I will admit I was a little disappointed because I have always thought of a sleigh ride as a very romantic thing to do with my sweetheart (as a matter of fact, I always pictured it with both of us in full Victorian regalia-Gary in a top hat and me in my red velvet cape!) . Now that both of my parents are gone however, this picture is all the more special to me. The driver stepped out of the sleigh to take our picture and it isn't super clear because it was snowing, and you can't see the horse, but I love this picture and treasure the memory. For those who have never emailed me, my address is sleighbelle2@comcast.net, thus the title of this post. Thank you for indulging this little flashback and thank you for visiting my little world. Love, Derrith

Putting It All Away

Today's the day...get the boxes and tissue out and start putting all the Christmas fun away.  I'm never very eager to do this. Christmas never lasts long enough for me.

I love these little Ice Skates I found at Goodwill and embellished with white fur and velvet ribbon.

Time for the Christmas quilt to come down and the Valentines Day quilt to go up.

My "North Pole Village" will go back up north...

...in spite of the fact that the elves worked far into the night before the big day.

Bambi and his mom go back in the box...

...and the tree comes down.

This sentiment remains true all year long, for our Savior lives! The happiest of New Years to all of you and I hope you visit again soon in 2014.  Love, Derrith

Oh Christmas Tree

We had brunch on Christmas day at my son and daughter-in-laws home and I was admiring her trees. She had 5 on her main floor. This one was decorated to match the beautiful colors in her dining room.

This was her living room tree - really pretty!

Here is her family room tree - a real one - decked out with white and silver with icicles. I loved it.

She had one of these little trees on either side of her couch.

I took a few more pictures around her house for you to enjoy.

They love vintage things, especially Pyrex and display it beautifully.

I loved this tableau. The reflection in the mirror kind of spoils the color arrangement, but you can get the idea. I hope you have enjoyed this. I'm not ready for Christmas to be over so I have a few more posts coming. Love, Derrith

Christmas in the Family Room

I love little Christmas houses - especially sparkly ones. I decided to put all my little houses together on the family room mantle even though they came from different places, including the biggest aqua colored one that I made last year.

I also love reindeer ( I love a LOT of Christmas stuff actually). These are also on the mantle with a backdrop painting I did a few years ago.

Now you can see them all. Unfortunately there isn't a light that shines on them to pick up the glitter. I think that would come under the category of First World problems.

I decided to put my ice skate ornaments on this little tree that sits on the hearth in the family room.

I also put my little white angel ornaments I found on a trip to Southern Calif.  I also have a "North Pole Village" in my living room....next post! Love, Derrith

Snowmen in a Row

This was the project I chose to make for our Quilt Group gift exchange. This was for Jayna, who loves these colors and wool applique. When I saw the pattern, I couldn't resist it.

The pattern is called "Seven Snowmen" by Bonnie Sullivan for "All Through the Night".

Each little snowman has his/her own personality and it was so fun appliqueing their outfits on.

What sealed the deal for me was this wool plaid border. I loved the look of it. I hand appliqued the snowmen but had to machine applique the border because I needed to get it done this century. Fortunately, Jayna loved it. I'm so glad you stopped by today amid your Christmas preparations. Thank you. Love, Derrith

Sisters'n'Stitches - December Party

I am sharing pictures from this months Quilting Group meeting. Barb showed us this beatuiful piece of machine embroidery.

Anita was almost finished with this darling wall hanging. We can guess what it will say when she is done!

Jayna's not really unhappy...She finished this darling pillows she is giving as a gift.

This beautiful quilt was done by our brand new member, Dorothy.

Here is a close up.

Here is another beautifully embroidered Christmas quilt by Dorothy.

Next we exchanged gifts we had made for each other.

Cute pair of reversible aprons.

Darling pillow cases.

Cute hot pad and embroidered panel.

Felted wool scissor holder and pumpkin pin cushion. So cool!

Lovely framed machine embroidery.

Pretty porcelain napkin holder with monogrammed napkins, fun gloves and ...

This darling little basket with felted wool center for a pin cushion and charms attached.

Gorgeous original design appliqued and embroidered.

Fun little bags with other goodies inside.

Cute, tailored personalized bag.

Adorable pillows.

sweet pin cushion

Cute as a button pin.

Handy organizer to hand over the arm of a chair while sewing.

Cheerful wool applique table runner. I will have more pictures of this in my next post.  I hope you enjoyed our "show and tell" for this month. We all laughed so hard our cheeks hurt, but it was great fun as usual. Thanks so much for visiting.  Love, Derrith