Block # 1...Done

I have started a new quilt. It is "Pumpkin Hill" by Bunny Hill Designs. My hope is that it will be ready to hang in my living room by next fall.( I usually have a seasonal quilt up on the wall) I chose this for a fall quilt for my home because my decor (blues with red accents, white furniture and butter yellow walls) doesn't really lend itself to the usual browns and oranges of Autumn. I liked this pattern because of the predominantly yellow background that I think will work well with the walls.

I have something to admit. I have never appliqued a quilt using any method that requires turning the edges of the fabric under. I have always fused, and then blanket stitched the edges. It's faster and I admit, I like instant gratification. 

 

 

I decided I was finally going to try to applique like a big girl so this quilt is it! I got some wonderful instruction from my dear friend Barb, and guess what - it's not that difficult!  I realize I may be a little late to this party, but better late than never. :-) So, I will share each block with you as I finish them - that will be my gratification. Thank you for allowing me to share some of my creative adventures with you. Please come again, anytime.  Love, Derrith

Another Happy Distraction

Last Saturday, I attended the "Fall Event" at "Main Street Vintage" in downtown Vancouver (WA). It was a real treat. It's a beautifully presented antique mall, where the vendors really go all out to make their booths interesting and appealing. It is quite large- I believe I wandered for a good 30 - 40 minutes. I would certainly recommend a visit to anyone who appreciates vintage wares in a upscale trendy setting. This clock really caught my eye. It was large and I would have loved to take it home.

This delicious poster was about 8 feet tall, or seemed to be. If you love it, you should see the rest of the booth!

Pretty hard to resist these cuties.

I loved this sophisticated space.

This was a fun booth-lots of rustic items an a few surprises...see below.

A Blender lamp! Love the Edison bulb in it!

These caught my eye because my daughter-in-law (who taught me to appreciate vintage) is re-doing her kitchen using items in this color. I will post pics when she is done!

Gotta love the confidence of this vendor. She was right.

I never really mind when a Shop keeper feeds me. :-)

Here is their pertinent information for local friends. For non local friends who want to come visit, you can stay with me!  Love,  Derrith

Dabbling with Blackboard Art

I have been loving all the chalk art on Pinterest, so when a group of us got together to plan some fun classes for our church's women's group Crafts Night, I volunteered to try out this technique. I had found the frame 'as is' at a thrift shop and loved the color so I didn't need to change that. My husband and I own a Heating and Cooling company so getting a piece of sheet metal cut wasn't a problem. I painted it with chalk board paint and then went to town. I studied lots of samples and used a combination of them to come up with this design.

Even though it took probably 2 1/2 hours total, I was surprised that it wasn't that difficult. I sketched it out on paper first. Then I drew it in lightly with chalk. Obviously, the great thing about working with chalk is that it is ERASABLE! Cu-tips are essential for repairing boo boos. Next, I went for bold lines and after trial and error, had a finished product. In our class we will be painting our frames and experimenting with different patterns of chalk art. Should be fun! Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope your weekend was fun and relaxing.  -Derrith

 

I Wandered into Montecello Antiques...

Today I wandered into Montecello Antiques in Portland to get some ideas for fall crafts and home decor. They were having their fall preview event.

There were a lot of great displays from the various venders.

Truthfully, I'm not usually a huge fan of fall colors, but this grouping was pretty appealing.

Of course there were pumpkins everywhere but I thought these were the most original: Chenille, old patchwork and velvet.

 

I loved this: it was painted on a chalkboard surface.

I do like the white gourds and painted pumpkins. Can you see the paper leaves that they attached to a raffia vine? Quite cool.

It was a fun day - I got some ideas and a bit of enthusiasm for putting some fall elements into my home. Thank you very much for taking a peek at my blog. I hope you will return. -Derrith

12 X 12 Challenge

As I mentioned in my last post, my quilt group had a challenge to make a 12 X 12 inch block, using any subject and technique we wanted. We were encouraged to use a technique we hadn't tried before if possible. Not everyone participated, but here are the ones that did. I love the diversity!

Click on this picture to enlarge it. The beading detail is very cool.

I thought this was adorable!

I was so impressed with this depiction of Stone Henge.

As for our Fall/Back to School themed quilted post cards, only three of us made one. This sunflower was really fun with a beaded center.

This vintage fabric was perfect for our theme.

I was inspired by the Lunch Box pattern from Lake House.

Now that fall is here, I hope to get more work done on my quilts-in-progress. I hope you are having a lovely day!- Derrith

"What I Did On My Summer Vacation"

Last night my quilt group got together for the first time since June. We all had lots to share with each other, and I am also sharing their beautiful work with you. Barb did this lovely quilt above and below. The one above has redwork embroidery in the center of each block. 

This quilt was very large. I was only able to photograph a small portion of it, but aren't the colors and the design wonderful?!

We had given each other a challenge to do an Americana themed project over the summer and over achiever Pat K did three!

They were all quite fantastic including the one below.

Pat K. also made this beautiful Christmas quilt. I love the bright red flying geese on the border.

Margie did a patriotic table runner using a tricky technique that required no binding. Very nice!

Candy did this gorgeous stamp inspired wall hanging. We all LOVED it!

This is a beautiful example of Barb's machine embroidery. 

Darlene used her embroidery machine skills to produce these darling kitchen towels which she is using for gifts. (See the next 3 pictures)

Pat K. also showed off this bag- we were all drooling. It was so cute with the two pockets in front and the gathered detail on the sides. At our meeting, we also brought in our "12 X 12" challenge results. We were to do anything we wanted to do on one 12 inch square block.
I will post those in a day or two. Thanks so much for dropping by today! -Derrith

Prairie Point Dish Towels

While wandering around blog land, I saw that someone had used Prairie Points on a dishtowel and I thought it was SO cute. Unfortunately, I didn't write down where I saw it, so I don't know who to give the credit to. I decided I would try to do it myself. The above picture is the finished product. I took the picture on a checked tablecloth, so that isn't part of the tablecloth, but it's pretty cute together...maybe next time. :-)

I began by appliqueing my motif. I wasn't sure how to attach the prairie points so that there wouldn't be a rough edge showing, considering how light weight the dish towel was. I decided to pin them to the bottom on the right side...

Then I cut a 1" strip of coordinating fabric and lined up the wrong side with the top edge of the prairie points.

I stitched it down with a 1/4" seam. Then I flipped it up, tucked under the raw edge. I decided to do a machine blanket stitch on the upper edge to stitch it down, but if I do it again, I will just use a straight stitch with a matching thread or blind stitch it down by hand.

I was surprised how quickly these went together. I know lots of people are thinking fall and working with browns and oranges and such right now, but it's hard for me to put down my bright happy colors. I'm so glad you stopped by today. Please come again. -Derrith