new block of the month starting in Jan.

Civil War Tribute

Honoring the upcoming 150-year anniversary of the American Civil War.

Create a reproduction quilt that recalls the drama of this significant era. The Civil War Tribute Collection by Judie Rothermel encompasses the historical accuracy and current appeal for which Judie is well known. Highlights include an antique toile-inspired design and a commemorative print denoting key battle locations and leaders, depicting both southern and northern points of view.

 The program runs from January through December, 2010.  

The finished quilt is 100” x 112” so it will fit any size bed—a double-size bed will have enough available to cover the sides of the bed and the quilt will also comfortably fit a king-size bed.

 

Monthly patterns will include the following:

• Detailed cutting and piecing instructions to make the blocks needed for that month;

 

• Historical notes about key battles in the Civil War including source material and quotations from prestigious university librar

ies including Duke University, Notre Dame, and others;

• A swatch chart so you can identify the fabrics used in the blocks.

If you sign up to receive our monthly kits, you’ll also receive generous cuts of fabric to make the block sections each month. By the end of 12 months, you’ll have all the fabrics needed to complete the top and binding  The price of the pattern and exact fabrics to make this quilt is $24.00 plus a minimal shipping to your location.

 Pattern only will be $60.

Make sure you have this special fabric for the backing of your Civil War Tribute quilt. A gorgeous, intricate scenic print with drawings of soldiers and generals and war scenes along with battlefield listings and quotations. A mini-history lesson on one piece of fabric! Beautiful colors of deep red, soldier blue and tan are the perfect complement to your quilt top. You’ll need 9 1/4 yards of this regular width fabric for your back. Order backing when you sign up for BOM and receive 20% off.  This special goes for any kit you order in our shop if you buy the backing at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Houston…Market and Festival

It is nice to be home from Houston, it is fun to go, but always nicer to come home.  We have been home since Monday and now tomorrow (Monday) we leave for Des Moines, IA, for our last show of the year.  Nick & I are going alone, so hopefully it won’t be too crazy in our booth!  Our booth will mostly be the same as the last one, with a few new things the girls at the shop  finished while we were gone to Houston.

Here is a photo of our booth  …lots of stuff in there.  We basically had a few days to restock and get back out.  

 

Before Market opened Tina was able to get a hair appointment in the big city, to get her new “look”.  She is too busy dyeing wool to go before we left.  Here is her before and after.

 A little wine to sooth her before and Oooola..la…look at her now!   Since I would not leave WI with out my hair done…I had a nice facial……no pictures of that! Please…

Here are a few of my favorite quilts from the show in Houston..              

                                                                                                                                                                                       THIS ONE MADE ME SMILE!                                                                                                                            I LOVE THE BIRD BORDER-ANTIQUE QUILT

I LOVE THE LITTLE ECHO QUILTING ON THIS FEATHER QUILT DESIGN.  I TAKE PICURES OF QUILTS FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF REASONS. I ALSO LOVE THE HALF LOG ANTIQUE QUILT BELOW.  NOTICE THE QUILTING IN THE LIGHT PART…  

 

 

HERE IS A CLOSER SHOT.

 

LOOK AT THE LITTLE BLOCKS IN THIS QUILT BELOW…HOW COOL ARE THEY…LOVE IT!

 

 

I SHOULD HAVE CROPPED THIS PHOTO…BUT THIS QUILT HAS EVERYTHING..

I LOVE SCRAPPY QUILTS…HERE IS ANOTHER ANTIQUE QUILT.  WE MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS…ONLY A LITTLE MUDDY-ER.               ALL FOR NOW…TAKE CARE AND SEE YOU WHEN I SEE YA!

ready or not…houston here i come…

boy it has been a busy week… i just finished doing the dishes from the Monday Night football game…I know I shouldn’t admit that, but that is how busy I am…it is Wednesday night… i am running brochures for fall market in Houston, trying to pack, can’t leave any dishes in the sink…and oh yeah..take the garbage out…just too much stuff…laundry…don’t leave anything in the washer..hey minnesota…i hope you go to the Superbowl!!!!!    Can’t forget to pack some sewing for the airport and hotel…think i have to check 2 bags…too many brochures and samples that i have loaned out and did not get back in time to make the trailer…speaking of trailer, Hubby is in Houston, watching the Yankees by himself in our Hilton Hotel room.  did i mention i finished that quilt!  As the crow flies….see all  those lines…that is hand quilting! all 66×66 inches of it…Now really it wasn’t that bad, i just think i can alway do one more thing…I got up at 4:30 am today to finish binding!  I did treat myself with a massage at 10am, for getting it done! and to get all the knots out of my neck and back…as i sit here i actually am sore in my back where she was working them out..first time that has happened.  I am a little bummed about going to Houston for only one reason.  I started working out 2 days a week with Sargent Brenda show here below…( I made her flex for my photo)  I work  with her on tues. and thurs..I have had 4 sessions so far and survived…I want to keep going, even though she made me almost pass out the first session, guess you have to eat before your go work out…who eats at 7:30am??? But anyway… I am pretty serious about getting another 20lbs off.  I did 2o last year after Houston, so I am starting earlier this year, because it is going to be harder. I also go to kick boxing on monday and friday and on sat or sunday I will do Flow which is Yoga/Pilates/ti chi class…i love this class you don’t move off your mat hardly but i sweat just as much. So in Houston, I have to try and workout as much as possible…yah right!  Its always a challenge, but hopefully I can do it…the Sarge, gave me a little w/o to do in the Hotel gym….anyone want to join me??? I let you know who joined in…I will try to blog while in Houston..let you know what is going on NEW in the quilting world. My plane leaves at 6:15..way too early to have to get up for that…

"Sargent" Brenda...oh how i would kill to have arms like this...

natural encounters…a new place to shop

A couple of weeks ago, Carole dragged me out of the house to visit a new store that one of our customers, Sharin Lauren, opened up.  Sharin’s husband does concrete counter tops, in the lower level of the barn…  It was totally amazing.  I loved the outside gardens with it’s beautiful water falls and inside was full of home mades, funiture, lots of home dec and much more…so- here are my purchases…the bag…i am assuming the fabric came from our shop..but it is just nice, sturdy and short..so my stuff doesn’t get lost in it..it also has lots of pockets…it was made by Kerry’s Kreations, I think it is Kerry Olsen,who I think is Sharin’s sister…but anyway the bag was  worth every penny I paid for it and i don’t even lie when people ask if i made it…Nope..i bought it!…I want to see if I can get her to make me another in black..i think i know where I can get some fabric for her to do it in…then, of course a treat for the birds in the garden..a new birdhouse.  Here is their address:  Natural Encounters   2002 N Lynndale Dr    Appleton, WI 54914    (920) 731-2500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a photo of the outside of the building…great huh! then a shot from up above looking down on the store….go visit…hwy A (Lyndale Ave.) in Appleton.  It is set back off the road.  You will see a house with a gazebo and this is in back of it… I will get the address and post it later..

still..hand quilting..the trailer is packed, Nick will be leaving tomorrow morning…i will be flying with this quilt and its patterns!  Oh well…it just didn’t happen the way I planned.

a good friend…who knows what we would do without them…

As i am trying to get all my quilts done for market and knowing my deadlines before the trailer is leaving, my very talented friend Carole told me she would quilt this little vintage tulips for me.  I gave it to her on wednesday and it showed up today (friday) with the  most beautifullest quilting on it, better than it deserves. I could not ask for a better friend, someone who truly cares about me and my mental health. All i can say is WOW!  ps. I know most beautifullest isn’t a word but it is for this…vintage tulips has 4 1/2″ blocks so it is little.  Hope you can see the quilting…now i have to get the pattern done!

cornerstones

Quilt number 3 for market.  Finished it today.  Made from my new line of fabrics with a little wool circle and star in the cornerstones.  Now time to write the pattern. I also am STILL quilting  As the Crow files…fingers are sore…later

 

 

Canning tomatoes

About every other year  I make my mother come over for a day of canning tomatoes.  I love to be able to make chili, lasagna or almost anything with our canned tomatoes.  I am trying to eat healthier and this will help with fresh tomatoes that we know what all is in the jar!  I do not want to forget how to do this , so I am going to blog how…that way if you don’t have an awesome Mom like mine, you can learn too! So here goes …first you must make sure all of your jars are clean.  I run mine through the dishwasher.  If you are in the market for a new dishwasher, I just love my two drawer one from Fisher & Paykel.  It was a great descision.

Gather up all your necessary equipment as follows: Pressure canner, canning salt, funnel, big ladle, paring knives lids, rims  and jars and jar grabber for taking out hot jars from the canner.  We made two kinds of tomatoes: Stewed ( with green peppers, onions and celery) and then just whole tomatoes alone in the jars.  So if you want to make stewed tomatoes, you will need some green peppers, onions and celery.  

Cut or chop your green peppers, onion and celery  then add a little water and simmer them for a bit to soften them a little .

While that is simmering, dump your tomatoes into the sink and rinse them to get any dirt or bugs or junk off of them.  

Then place them into a roasting pan with boiling water to scald them for a few minutes.  The skins with break.  Do not leave them in too long or they will become too hot and mushy to handle.  

Transfer them into a sink of cold water.  You will then remove the center stem and all of the skins,  Cut then in quarters and place in a bucket. Do this until you have all of your tomatoes cleaned, scalded and peeled and cut.

Add fixings for stewed tomatoes if desired to pot of cut tomatoes, stir…

Looking real good right now!

add about an 1″ or two of water to the canner.

add a teaspoon of salt to each jar

using a large funnel (get it at fleet farm) scoop your tomatoes in the jar- i used small mouth jars for the stewed tomatoes and wide for the whole.  You would use your hands to pack the whole tomatoes.

fill jars almost to the top and leave a half inch of space at the top not counting the lid rim.

 

 

 

 

carefully wipe of the top of each jar- so the lids will seal properly

Place lid and ring on jar

place 7 jars in canner, place cover on  and place the “jimmy” that is what I call the pressure gauge, on 10lbs of pressure

I place the burner on HIGH until the “Jimmy” starts to jiggle.  I then turn it down a little.  The “Jimmy” does not have to jiggle constantly.  Once the canner start to jiggle you need to let it pressurize to 20min.  After 20 min.  turn off heat and let the canner release its pressure.  When it is all out  it will allow you to open it.  I have to admit Mom taught me how to cheat and hold a long meat fork on the pressure gauge until all of the steam is let out.  This helps if you have lots of canning to do and don’t have time to wait, but I am sure this is not recommended anywhere and you cannot hold me accountable if something happens to you when you are doing yours.

When all of the pressure is released from the canner open the lid and lift out your jars with the canning tongs.  

Place hot jars on a protected surface.  I used towel on the kitchen table, double folded.  The jars will ting when the lids seal.  

Here are our 84 jars!  It took us from 10am to 7pm when the last 7 were processed.  We have 31 stewed tomatoes and 53 whole tomatoes.  I think we will be set for awhile.  We did this last Wednesday.  My uncle brought us over 2 bushels and this is how many we ended up with.  Now I will remember how to do this and maybe you will now try it yourself!

Hey…here is a pic of my Mom…on our boat this summer..in her “Jackie O” sunglasses…she wore them long enough that they are back in style now..

Holy MUM!

Hey what do you think of this mum!  It is about 4 feet across…It is huge.  I just had to show it to you all.  I have been getting ready for Fall Market in Houston. Here is a quilt i am hand quilting.  I am using the stripes in the fabric as quilting lines.  So this goes pretty fast.

sorry about the flash…i is pretty harsh.  This is my dancing with the stars entertainment…I have been having a rough time with some personal issues so I am kind of in a funk. This hardly ever happens to me so It is kind of a weird feeling.  But we are not solely in control are we?   Sorry I have been away for a while… I have lots to blog about so as things are looking better and I will post more often.  Below is another quilt using my new fabric line…Mary Klein is quilting this for me, I know i should be quilting it myself but there is lots to do.  More to come later and good by…time to piece, I have 24 blocks out of 42 done….I can do 4 in an hour…I do not think I will get done tonight! I will show you that one next time…

off to madison…

Here is one of the new quilts we will have for the madison show… I am sorry it is sideways…it is not when I insert it..but anyway Sue made and quilted this Bonnie Blue quilt design herself.  It is a nice big quilt called Aunt Nellie”s wedding quilt. So hope to see you at the show! Come say “HI!” Nick, Judi, Rachel and I will be there.  I am also teaching a lecture each day of the show at 11:30 about Working with Wool.

door county lunch

Last week Carole and I were invited to join Joanne Blank, Rosie Krieder, Karen Borshiem and Doris Doggs at Barb Herricks’s House in Sturgeon Bay WI. Barb hosted at her beautiful home.  I call it a true quilter’s home…the kitchen even had quilt block wall paper.  This group of girls, minus Colleen Foley, has met for years sharing their quilts, meals and friendship.  Colleen has recently moved to MI.  They miss her dearly.   I think that is why we were invited, but that’s ok with me!  Barb made a salad lucheon that would put any to shame.  Using all fresh ingredients from her garden.  The cherry pie was also do die for..Pictured below is her table, before we ate.  Anyone recognize the quilt?  It is a cheater panel from Worn & Loved II.  How perfect for a table cloth.  NO SEAMS to deal with.  

 Show & Tell was also great! I have pictured one of each girls show & tell, even though there were many more…here are my favorites:

THE BIBLE QUILT FORM JAN PATEK.  CAROLE DID THIS AS A BLOCK OF THE MONTH FOR OUR SHOP–WHOOPS…I SHOULD HAVE CROPPED BARB’S TOOTSIES.

DORIS DOGGS–FIT TO FRAME, FROM LORI SMITH– NOW ALL IT NEEDS IS THE FRAME!

ROSIE KRIEDER’S  HOUSE FROM COTTAGE CREEK QUILTS.  ROSIE ADDED THE BORDER TO MAKE IT BIGGER.

KAREN BORSHIEM- A TERRY ATKIN’S DESIGN  I THINK THIS WAS A LAYER CAKE PACK…I COULD BE WRONG…I GUESS I NEED TO TAKE NOTES NEXT TIME.JOANNE BLANK- SHE MADE THIS USING THE EAGLE PANEL…IT IS HER OWN DESIGN.

ANOTHER FROM JOANNE…HER FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT CHALLENGE WITH HER SISTER.  I HOPE FRANNIE DOESN’T HAVE A COMPUTER!

NOW FOR THE BEST PART……BARB’S QUILTS AND HER SEWING ROOM

I KNOW THESE PHOTOS WILL NOT DO IT JUSTICE.  THE ORGANIZATION WAS TRUELY BEAUTIFUL…I WANTED TO RUN HOME AND FINISH ORGANIZING MY STUDIO…I WILL GET IT DONE SOMEDAY, BUT BACK TO BARBS.  THIS WAS A SPACE I COULD CERTAINLY FEEL RIGHT AT HOME IN.  THE ROOM WAS NOT BIGGER THAN 10X12 I AM GUESSING. BUT IT WAS FLOOR TO CEILING, JUST AMAZINGLY THOUGHTOUT AND FUNCTIONAL.  BUT BARB IS A LOVELY LADY AND SHE DESERVES IT!

THOSE BOOKS ARE ARRANGED BY METHODS, QUILT HISTORY, APPLIQUE AND SO ON…

THIS IS WHAT IS IN THAT CLOSET DOOR FROM THE LAST PHOTO.

AND HERE IS BARB…THE HOSTESS

ALWAY REPRODUCTION QUILTS…WHAT CAN I SAY…

WELL I HOPE YOUN ENJOYED THIS SHOW…MY BATTING SHOULD BE DONE FLUFFING IN THE DRYER. I AM GOING TO MACHINE BASTE A QUILT THAT I AM GOING TO HAND QUILT.  I WILL SHOW A PIC ONCE I HAVE IT ON THE FRAME…ALL FOR NOW..LB