Oh Deer

Well look at that, I haven't blogged since April 9 - where does the time go!  I think someone's been taking it from me and using it for themselves.  

It's been a very busy few weeks, but don't ask me why.  A lot of "mom" days, a lot of spring cleaning, pulled out all the summer clothes just in time for the temps to drop again.  There has been little stitching, my "to be quilted" pile is getting bigger.  I just finished this darling little design by Kathy Schmidtz - 

So so cute.  I also finished the Live Simply pattern from Jenny of Elefantz.

Just have to add the buttons and quilt it.

And I'm working on a summer pattern.

Found a great pic from the Dexter District Library here in Michigan - sums up April.  Yes we had a tsunami.

Thank goodness we haven't had the last two, although there's still time.

Flowers are blooming.  

I was anxiously awaiting the grand opening of this gorgeous tulip, until the deer or maybe this little guy came along.....

and now it's gone.

Billie has finished her quilt top, except for borders, her handsome hubby is modeling it - 

pic shameless stolen from Billie's blog

Hi Mick!!!  I had the pleasure of meeting Billie and her hubby when I went to Austin a couple of years ago - I think I'm overdue to have lunch with them again!

And Karen has finished her quilt!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be still my heart!!!!!  Oh I love it so so much - Karen did a fantastic job, I adore the quilting and the fabrics, well done Karen!!!!  But that's not all - oh no - Karen also sent me a huge box of her fabric scraps, oh they are gorgeous!!

Yes, I've already dived in and the applique wheels are spinning.  Thank you Karen!!!

Seeing Karen's finished quilt really makes me want to finish mine, lol, I guess I need to get busy - but golly I keep starting new things.  Do you do that too?  Please tell me I'm not alone!

That's it for me this week, I'm going to try to get something done this weekend and I'm really looking forward to Monday - always feels like a fresh new start to me, when everyone goes back to work and the house is mine again.  I'll see you soon.....

Love,
Allie

Just Stuff

Spring is coming.  It has to.  It's a law or something.  It may get here by June.

Flowers are peeping out in the flowerbeds, and trying to crawl back into the dirt - 

I think these may be more crocuses, there are white ones as well.  Mind you, I didn't plant any of them - it's always a happy surprise to see what's there.  Especially since it's snowing AGAIN.

There has been some planting going on inside, though, my poor African Violets were in tiny pots and feeling the pinch.  They have new homes.

I had such a mess on my cutting table!!  My best friend Cathy had given me an Oriental Lily grow kit - isn't it cute?

You plant the bulb right in the watering can!!  So cute!  She got one for mom too!  I hope it grows, that will brighten things up.

There has been little stitching going on - I've been reading a lot, huddled under quilts with the heating pad.  My poor fingers are too cold to stitch much, but I do have some things ready for quilting, I'll be tackling those later in the week.  And look what just came in the mail - 

Flowers of Provence, by Holly Hill Quilt Designs, for Henry Glass.  I adore this fabric - look for some patriotic quilts coming soon!  I ordered for the first time from Bear Creek Quilting Company, online, and they were wonderful - even sent a free quilt pattern!

Today I had to take mum to the dentist, then we came back to my house for a quick bite of lunch.  Grocery shopping was next, so mum had to make a list, and check it twice...

Tomorrow she goes to the eye doctor, hopefully he will take her off the $100/bottle eye drops.  They're not doing a doggone thing for her except lighten her wallet.

It's dinnertime so I'm going to go heat up some chili, and huddle on the couch with the heating pad.  I'm wearing four layers and still freezing.  I'll leave you with a pic of Karen's gorgeous Grace block from the Garden of Contentment quilt - love it so much!!!

See you soon!
Love,
Allie

Garden of Contentment, Finishing Instructions

***IMPORTANT EDIT***

These patterns are no longer available.  Craftsy has removed them from my shop, and I've found no alternative.  I'll leave the instructions here for those who already own the patterns.  Thank you for all of your support!!

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

It's time to put our Garden together!!  I'm going to repeat the cutting instructions for the sashing and borders, the measurements are already in the General Instructions pdf that I uploaded before we started.  If you don't have that, and haven't started your quilt yet, I urge you to download it - it's free.  I had you cut the borders and sashing before starting the quilt, as they're cut from the same fabric you used for your block backgrounds.

So - without any further ado - let's get busy!

Cutting

Borders:

Cut 2 – 4” x 44”

Cut 2 – 4” x 54”

Sashing:

Cut 6 – 1 ½” x 13”

Cut 2 – 1 ½” x 44 

I have you cut a little larger than you'll need, as a precaution.  Attach the sashing and borders, trimming as you go.  Better to have a little longer than you need instead of running short!

Sashing

Attach a 1 1/2" x 13" strip to the bottom of the Peace block, press and trim even.

Attach the top of the Hope block to the sashing strip .

Attach a 1 1/2" x 13" strip to the top of the Faith block.  Press and trim even.

Attach the sashed Faith block to the bottom of the Hope block.

Repeat for the next two rows.  Press well.

Attach a 1 1/2" x 44" strip to the right side of the first row.  Press and trim even.

Attach another strip to the right side of the second row.  Press and trim even.

Attach your rows together.

Using starch helps a lot with this whole process.

Borders

Attach a 4" x 44" border to the top and bottom of the quilt.  Press and trim even.

Attach a 4" x 54" border to each side of the quilt.  Press and trim even.

Sorry for the poor picture quality!!!

And you are done!  Congratulations - you have a beautiful quilt top!  I'm using a jelly roll for the binding, piecing it together.  I do like a scrappy binding!  I'm not sure yet how I'm going to quilt it, nothing fancy because I don't know how.  I would dearly love to see pictures of your finished quilts, you can email me or post on my facebook page (link on sidebar).

I'm off to get more coffee and think about what's next....

See you soon!

Love,

Allie

(Isaiah 58:11) "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."

Block 9 of 9, Garden of Contentment

This block is available in my shop, Allie-oops Designs, along with all previous blocks

(Nehemiah 8:10) "Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

How appropriate that our very last flower is JOY.  All of our other flowers have brought us to this last one – they all culminate in the joy we find in Jesus.  And the joy He gives us is our strength!  We can face it all with joy, even the hard times, because we can trust Him absolutely.

(Isaiah 12:2-3) "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. {3} Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

(Habakkuk 3:18) "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

And to think, not only do we have joy, the Lord joys over us!!!!

(Luke 15:10) "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."

When you repented and trusted Christ for your salvation, there was joy in heaven.  Not only do we find joy in Him – He finds joy in us!  I find that incredibly amazing.  To know that I, chief of sinners, have been forgiven – not grudgingly, but JOYOUSLY.  God takes joy in our salvation!

(Luke 12:32) "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

I’ll not say what denomination I grew up in – but in it, God was very stern, always watching and waiting for me to mess up so He could hammer me.  I heard the words “God's gonna get you...” a LOT.  To read His word and realize that He loves me and takes joy in freely giving me these gifts was life-changing, to say the least.

(John 15:11) "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Time to add our very last flower – JOY.

Applique

Cut your background block 13” tall x 9” wide.  Trace the layout diagram onto your background using the marking method of your choice.  If using a permanent marking pen, don’t trace the appliqué portion.  I detailed what I use in the tutorial for Block 1.  

Trace your reversed shapes onto fusible web, and cut them out leaving a margin of 1/8^th “. Fuse to the back of your chosen fabrics and cut them out on the drawn lines.

Peel off the backing, and lay out the pieces on your background.  When they’re where you want them, fuse them down.  Stitch the pieces using a blanket stitch with one strand of embroidery floss.

(Optional) Interfacing and Embroidery

If using fusible interfacing, cut your interfacing 12” tall x 8” wide and fuse to the back of the block after applique.  Add the embroidery using two strands of embroidery floss.  The embroidery is worked in backstitch.

Trim your block to 11 ¼” tall x 7 ¼” wide.

Framing

Cut 2 pieces 11 ¼”  x 1 ½”.  Stitch to sides of block.  Trim even and press seams away from block.

Cut 2 pieces 1 ½” x  10”.  Stitch to top and bottom of block.  Press seams away from block and trim even.  

Adding Strips

This block sits in the bottom row, right side.  We’ll be adding strips to the top and left side.

I’ve numbered a diagram for you on the order in which to add them.  Strips are 1 ½” wide by however long you need them.  

 I found I needed very thin strips along the top and far left side to make it measure 13" wide x 14" tall.  Add however many strips you need to get to that measurement, you may not need as many as I did.

After you get it to size, give yourself a very big pat on the back – you are done with all your blocks!!  I’ll be adding the finishing instructions in a couple of days, the sashing strips are 1 ½” wide like the strips.  It will go together pretty quick!

Show and tell time!  First block from Billie - oh how I'm loving these colors!!

I really can't wait to see her finished quilt!  And then Jenny's gorgeous block - 

How precious is that - do you see the deer in the flowers?  Love that!!  Ladies you bless me so much!

Can you believe we're almost at the end of our journey?  I can't - but oh how we'll love spending time in our gardens, admiring the beautiful flowers the Lord has given us.  No matter the season, we can enjoy them.  

I'm going to write up the finishing instructions tomorrow.  Everyone goes back to work, and the house will be quiet and I can concentrate.  I'm hoping to get the post done tomorrow night, but if not, it will be Wednesday.  Be blessed as you stitch!!

See you soon!

Love,

Allie

(Zephaniah 3:17) "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."