Swatch Sheets for Hazel Ilene's Quilt Along

I checked in with Shelly on her Prairie Moon blog and her new blog for the Hazel Ilene's Diary quilt along and I went ahead and signed up. It will be a year long event with small quilting tasks to do along the way while I enjoy reading portions of her mother's diary. It sounds like so much fun. Shelly already has many fine vintage photo uploaded to go with her mother's story.

If it sounds interesting, I'd like to encourage you to click on the button in my side bar.

Hope you can join us in the fun. Bloggers and well as readers are signing up to quilt along.

My baskets hold fabrics for both the 67" x 84" and the smaller one that will be 33 1/2" x 42". Both will be planned around a red and a creamy golden yellow color scheme.

Snowy Peppermint Runner

Just before Christmas I was browsing on the quilter blogs website and ran across a very cute red and white striped table runner called Snowy Peppermint Runner.

It was designed by Jodi of Pleasant Home. I just loved the fresh look of the true reds and bright whites of her fabrics. Plus, the ends of the runner had such cute prairie points. I do remember learning to make prairie points back in my college days, but I had never before actually used them in any quilt. I love them a lot. I just never happened to use them in any design. Now I had the perfect excuse to fold some little squares into the cool looking embellishments!

This was so easy to make, that I'm sure I'll do more later for gifts. I got so excited about it once I had sewn the edge and turned it right side out, that I put it onto the table right away.

I do need to go back in for some simple machine quilting, but I just couldn't resist setting it up on my kitchen table!

Happy Holidays & Looking Forward to 2010

Hello fellow bloggers and readers. I hope you've had some nice holiday gatherings and have had the chance to get together with family and friends. Best wishes for the new year in 2010!
For one recent project, I used a bunch of red and white prints in the cutest little table runner. I will post more about it tomorrow.

I am looking forward to using up some of my red, cream, and tan fabric stash in a new quilt project. I will be doing a quilt along with Shelly P. She has made up a fabulous mystery quilt that goes along with her mother's 1951 diary. Along the way she will share vintage photos, recipes, stories, transcripts from the diary, and of course the directions to make the quilt.

The quilt along has its own blog called The Life of Hazel Ilene. You may want to check it out and join in!

I am getting excited to start another year of Thimbleberries Club. I have signed up to do the Village Green quilt in large throw size. It should be fun. I noticed that many of the blocks feature very cute houses. I've always wanted to do a house or school house quilt, so now is my chance. I kept up pretty well with the blocks from the 3's Company 2009 quilt, so now I will begin to sew those together.

I do have a large stack of RED color blocks from the 4 seasons color block swap this summer. I really should invent or design something creative for those 6 inch blocks. I also have so many wonky roses made up for a Little Bouquet Quilt and I need to get busy on that hanging too.

So much to Sew!!! I'd better schedule time to work on all these ideas in the new year.

Quilt Lover's Home in the Pink

This is the last set of photos from the Christmas home tour that my mom and I went on at the beginning of December. The pink stucco house is owned by Janet Papenfuss and is known in our home town as a landmark beneath Grandad's Bluff.

Her beautiful collection of Christmas and winter quilts was made by her mother.

This soft pink tree was on display in the sun room, that was accessible from both upstairs bedrooms.

The paper pieced cardinal quilt had a wonderful display place above the main floor fireplace.

A very full poinsettia was displayed on the coffee table.

Another sun room was on the main floor just off the kitchen. What a quiet place to sit and read a book.

Time to relax by the fire in the cozy basement. The white tree with the black and white ornaments was perfect for the harlequin floor.

An Art Lover's Home

Welcome to the home of Barry and Jennifer Friends and their family. This home was a real treat to tour because the Friends have an amazing art collection. I so loved seeing how the family displayed the paintings and sculptures throughout the home. There were many lizards tucked in unsuspecting places.

The picture to the right shows my mom entering the house at the beginning of the tour.

There was a very nice atmosphere as someone was playing the piano in the living area.

The dining room had the most beautiful mint green and white striped wall paper. It was definitely set off by the black and white valances and the colorful art work.

Views to the east looking toward my two of my teacher friends homes. Our music teacher lives in the dark brick house with the green roof. The white stucco house belongs to my good friend that is retired from teaching second grade.

What an interesting house and the garage even included a guest house room. It had great accommodations and included everything except a kitchen.

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

There are a few things I could use from The Fat Quarter Shop. I hope you have time to put them in your velvet gift bag before you leave the North Pole. I will be staying over atmy sister's house and will hang my stocking there! Hope you can find me!

The Boutique charm pack by Chez Moi would be great to stuff in the stocking.

I could use the Thimbleberries Twice the Charm Roll in the Dusk Village Green color. I'll be making the large throw with the Village Green pattern. It's always nice to have some extra long chunks of fabric available to make coordinating runners and candle mats.

To continue my Holly Jolly and Merry & Bright decorating theme into next year, I could also use the pattern from Schnibbles called Scratch. It seems like something I'd like to make with my large stash of Sandy Gervais fabrics that I so love. The bright colors really go well in my "Gingerbread Kitchen".

It would help me stay organized if I had the sewline pencil case. I have several colors of the leads already and one pencil, but it sure would be nice to have the case to keep all the supplies together. This is my favorite pencil for marking quilt tops before handquilting. I would use it often.

I've been a very good girl and will continue to be in the new year of 2010. Hope you and Mrs. Claus have a very lovely Christmas.

If these things are too hard to get so close to Christmas, I always love gift certificates to the spa, garden books, and expensive diamond jewelry.

Fondly,

Kathy

Inchies Ornament

Inchies Ornament
Originally uploaded by quilterinagarden

My turquoise and purple inchie ornament looks lovely on my white tree this year. I had fun making this little trio of squares and want to make more soon.

Ornament for Michele

Ornament for Michelle
Originally uploaded by quilterinagarden

I heard Michele and her family like polar bears, cardinals, and Santas, so I made this up quickly when I heard she hadn't received her swap package in the recent Holiday swap. Hope she will enjoy it on her tree.

Simply Beautiful

It was enjoyable to take the tour through this home. I have a love for its simplistic beauty. Each tree was beautifully decorated by the family of Dan and Jean Schreiter and their son James.

The entrance was very welcoming. Look at the old time typewriter that was out for display, with a letter started to good old Santa Claus!

I lost count and don't even think I took photos of all the cute trees in the Schreiter home. I remembered that they also had a tree on the back porch that had shiny apples on it. But the photos here show the varied looks in all the trees. The close up shows the punched tin reflectors that go over the white lights. They were authentically vintage and not a reproduction.

The blue and white dishes are something I collect too. I have a very large set of Currier and Ives dinnerware and use them daily. It was fun to see the dining room tree decorated in such a beautiful way with gold, white, and blue.

An Elegant Home

Robert Jones and Tim Rortvedt have continuously been improving their home. It is a place is beauty and it's full of inspiration for decorating.Currently, each space is classy and very welcoming. Although it was open for a tour in a different year, I didn't mind seeing it again. The kitchen was not remodeled at that time and now it has been redone. I liked the look they achieved in the kitchen with the metallic embossed wallpaper as well as the replica pressed tin for the backsplash. Each room was lavishly decorated for Christmas and the decorations are very elegant. The home's interior reminded me of what I see when I page through expensive decorators magazines. It was very classy and stylish.

The house was originally owned by the Kroner family, early citizens of our city. I will have to walk by sometime in the warmer summer to see if the owners have developed any garden. The yard certainly has the potential for a beautiful flower garden since it sits on a double lot.

This tree was done up in fuchsia and had a combination of pink and fuchsia. It also had many soft feathers. It was on display in the guest bedroom at the top of the steps. The tree and its bright colors were a nice contrast with the buttercream walls.

This unusual tree has a split top. I'm not sure if it has a name, but it is breathtakingly beautiful. I enjoyed seeing bright red and the contrasts of the lime green hydrangea blossoms. There were some vintage props in the front room such as a camera on a tripod and cute little trike under the tree.
This shot shows more of a close up view of details on some trim in the same room as the Tri-Topped tree. Click on it to enlarge this or any view of each of the photos. I just love the full hydrangeas. I have 2 bushes myself, but I should work on finding areas to plant more in my backyard.

Here's an item of great beauty, don't you agree? I am in awe by the lovely color of periwinkle. I could definitely find a special place for this treasure in my home if anyone wanted to gift it to me.

These two photos represent the decor of the family sitting room attached to the dining space. It was lavish and fun with all the peacock's brilliant cool colors. I like how they contrasted that with the warm copper metallics. The fireplace in this room was lit and it was throwing off a lot of heat. It would have been a cozy place to sit down with a book.

... a few parting shots of more trims and trees. The last one is of the medallion in the dining room above the chandelier.

Very Cute Brick Home

The very cute brick home belongs to Virgina Thompson. It is on a corner lot pretty close to where my Mom grew up. The old chicken coop is still attached to the garage. Even though it is not in use by chickens, it makes a handy garden shed.

The steps in the kitchen used to lead up the the bedrooms. Now Virginia uses the treads to display fun toys and chicken items. Isn't it cute? It is such a cozy little house and has such a farm house feel right in town!

The dining room decor is also influenced by the French Country look and has many Roosters. There was so much to take in about the room. I love the warm golden yellow on the walls.

Upstairs there were a couple of bedrooms. This one was very inviting with it's cute little corner table that would make an excellent writing desk.

The magazines arranged on the trunk were a lifetime supply of Mary Engelbreit's. Oh how I love her cute art about her family memories and seasonal inspiration.

The front room had so many comfy looking sofa. I just wanted to snuggle in with a good book by the cozy fireplace stove. With all this red it was very cheerful and welcoming.

The tree in the front room was so perfect for a quilter. It had a garland made of wool balls and the angel was also made of red wool.

Holy Trinity Christmas Home Tour

The home tour was a real treat this year. My mom and I were able to wander through 5 beautifully decorated homes this weekend. I had my cameral along this year with the intention to make some inspiring blog posts over the next week or so.

This article appeared in the Tribune to announce and stir up interest in the homes that were going to be open for the tour.

The home of Virginia Thompson was sweet and cute. If you are a fan of Mary Engelbreit you will love the decorative details in her home. It is filled with many vintage treasures.

This home is owned by Robert Jones and Tim Rortvedt and it is a home decorator's dream come true. They have several lavishly decorated theme trees. I am in love with the peacock tree that they had in the main living space. It was done up in my favorite combination of cool colors, turquoise, lime green, and purple.

Now this was a home I would love to move into. I just fell in love with the beautiful woodwork and simplicity of the decor at the home of Dan and Jean Schreiter. Perhaps the exterior of this black and white home would make you think that it was rather plain, but don't let that fool you. Step inside and prepare to be amazed at the lovely simplicity.

The home of Barry and Jennifer Friends has the brilliant colors and artwork that I adore. The art is also set off by many black and white accents, so I was even more attracted to this lovely home.

The pink stucco house is really a landmark in our city. It is owned by Janet Papenfuss and is a delightfully cheerful inside. I must say, it a quilter's dream as well because Janet displayed many of her mom's lovely Christmas quilts and she was a expert quilter. I hope to share more with you on all these homes as the week goes by. Tune in for some more spectacular views on all the cute decorations and trees.