Quilt Auction - Central PA over the weekend

If you happen to be in Central PA over the holiday weekend, there is a Quilt Auction called the Relief Sale being held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex.  It is an annual event.  All sale day proceeds, (over $11 million to date), benefit the worldwide relief efforts of Mennonite Central Committee which include aid to the victims of poverty and other man-made and natural disasters.  Here is a review of the quilts that will be auctioned off for inspiration. 

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Block 3 - Jelly Rolly Sampler Quilt Along

I finished block 3 of the Moose on the Porch Quilts Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along.  The blocks are all so different and I really like how this one turned out as far as colors.  As usual though, I have twists and shortages here and there but I think I may be still close to 12" squared.  Can't wait to see how they all come together.

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Bears, Borders and Beans

I had a busy busy Sunday. I whipped up a second bear using using a new pattern.  This time I used McCall's Craft's Pattern M5605. It was easier than my first but I am not too fond of the pointy nose. It only had 4 pieces instead of 10.  This time I used real teddy bear eyes. Each time I'll get better. Not sure what I'll do with all the experimental bears along the way. This one is 8" tall.

I finished the border on a T-Shirt quilt I am working on for a friend. The T-Shirt quilt has a band of squares in the middle that are made up of swimsuits. I just backed them with interface like I did with the T-Shirts and they cut well without stretching. The person was a synchronized swimmer. I blurred some of the TShirts because there were names on them. I used an offset corner block design for the corners.

Finally, I made Chili. That's a big feat for me. I am been frequently visiting a certain fast food chain for their chili. I thought, a similar recipe should be out on the internet somewhere. I found this recipe for Wendy's Chili (oops, I spilled the beans) on the internet. I bought diced tomatoes and chili's in a can. I used 1 & 1/2 cans of them instead of the tomatoes. I also added a small extra can of diced green chilies. It is really good. Tastes pretty close to the original. However, it made a large pot. I'm going to have to freeze some of this!

Thanks for stopping by!

~*~Trish~*~

Quilt show or Cabela's - What's a girl to do?

On Saturday, our main direction was to go to the Lancaster AQS show where I could be like a kid in the candy shop. I've been to some large quilt shows that came to Harrisburg and Hershey PA but this one looked to be even better. The local news said there were thousands and thousands attending. That's the one thing I don't like about big shows... the tons of people. Not that I have a phobia, it's just when that many people get together, a lot of people forget their manners. When you want to see something, they are 4 deep to get to it. When I attend these shows, I walk through the quilts and take photos and then love to walk through the vendors. But, I tend not to buy much at all. I don't know why, but, I don't.

So, the idea came up that I would take the hubby to Cabela's. He's never been there yet. He wanted to take me to the quilt show and I wanted to take him to Cabela's. Since hubby just finished up on 2 months of treatment several weeks ago, I persuaded him for us to go to Cabela's. I did not want him to be around that many people at the quilt show.

So, Cabela's it was. Every clothing item I saw was like fabric in my eyes. The fishing containers were like gadget holders for quilting trinkets. The way the guys looks at the stuffed animals in amazement was like us looking at completed quilts. Like the commercial... 2 gallons of gas - $5 something, 1 hour drive = good conversation, the smile on his face when we got there - priceless and so worth it.Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Bold Binding - Simplicity's Bias Tape Maker Review

Well the votes are in and the bold binding has won. I cut all my strips and joined for approximately 290"+ of 2.5" strips. I pulled out the purchased, but not used yet, Simplicity's Bias Tape Maker. The directions weren't fantastic but they got me through. I rolled my strip on to the spool but realized the foam bottom was hitting that much binding so I took it out.

My biggest issue was trying to get the fabric into the biding clip to feed under the iron. I tried using the "window" to pull through, but, I could not get it so I was going to give up. Then I got desperate and taped the fabric to a thin piece of cardboard and fed it through. Worked like a charm for me but I was concerned the tape would come off and stick inside the binding clip.

I was able to test out the process with a single 2.5 in strip. When I got it set under the iron cover and then replaced the cover and pressed start on the machine. I had to hold the iron cover to get the strip to feed. Here it turned out I did not pull the iron cover left into locked position. Once I did that, the real binding strip fed through so fast!. I am in love with this machine now. Wow, that was fast!. Here's a little snippet I took. Also, here's the video from simplicity. Just click on the video tab, I could link directly to it!

Here's my quick video of how fast this item works. Not the best quality but will do. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Bold Binding Option - Too Much??

When I was browsing in Joanns (it's my closest fabric shop) I thought maybe I can find a black fabric with bright colors to go with my Western Stars shirt quilt. Oh did I ever find a brightly colored black fabric. It's so busy but, I really like it. I'm just not sure the modernness of the fabric goes with the western shirt fabric. The colors match nicely but I'm just not sure. I'd love to have your opinions. I was thinking of giving this quilt to a neighbor to for a fund raising event for Cancer. Cancer has touched the lives of so many close to me that I will do what I can to raise funds. I appreciate your input!! On the second photo below, I used a snippet of the fabric to mock what the binding would look like. If it were only that fast and easy :-) Click on the photos for better views.

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Finishing a second UFO Quilt

When I found my turning twenty quilt in the chest unfinished with only the binding to go, I also mentioned a second one. Over the weekend, I'm hoping to add the binding to this second quilt that I had finished by sending away for quilting. The only thing left to add is the binding. I Don't know why I would have left these two quilts in the chest and forgot about them. The only thing is that this one did not have the binding in the storage chest. So, I might be delayed by finding the appropriate binding. If I have to make it, It will give a chance to test out my new Simplicity binding tool that I purchased with one of my Joann 50% coupons which made it somewhere around $55.


Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Great Odds of Winning GiveAway - Last day to Enter!

Just a little over 24 hours left to enter my Bloggiversary Giveaway.  A chance to win 2 Jelly rolls and more.  Leave a comment on the Bloggiversary Posting and add your name to the giveaway.  Not much crafting this weekend.  Went to visit with family and had a great time!  I did get a chance to stop by Joanns and pick up some patterns.  I thought I would try some teddy bear patterns using a purchased pattern.   I had no idea how expensive patterns were now.  For tissue paper, please...  $15.95 each is a shame!  Just show's you how long it's been since I bought a pattern.  But, I at least used a 50% off coupon for one I really wanted (another purse pattern) and then bought some McCall's patterns for 1.99 sale price.  

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Turning Twenty Quilt Finally Completed

It was such a rainy, rainy weekend here.  One that makes you want to stay in and complete a project at home.  I made the best of it because it gave me a chance to finally finish the my 2 year old Turning Twenty quilt.  I had forgotten how big this quilt was! 82" long and 68" wide.  DH had to stand on the couch and hang the quilt over the banister to get a decent photo of the quilt.  You can see a little of the banister in the bottom right.  Here's the finished quilt and a close up of the Moda binding.  The binding has such a great tone on tone pattern to it.

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Bloggiversary Big Giveaway!! 2 Jelly Rolls and More !!

Hard to believe that I hit the 200 posts milestone.  That's a surprise to me.  So, in honor of my bloggiversary, I'm having a give away.  Here's the prize: One Robert Kaufman Amalie Jelly Roll and one Moda Odyssea Jelly Roll and more below.  Click photo for larger view. 

There is also Fon's & Porter's directional pins and a Queen/King Quilt storage bag.  It's a great giveaway and pretty easy.  Here's how to enter.  Leave a comment and a way to get in touch with you (either through your site link or email) and share with me what's your favorite craft item to make (quilts, purses, etc) and earn one entry.  One comment per person.

Here are the other ways to earn multiple entries.   Since I redid my Blog Layout, I found the "followers" application add-in.  So I am adding that as of today.  If you add yourself as a follower (or reader) you will earn 5 entries.  If you blog about the give away, you'll earn 3 entries (but you need to email me and tell me about your blog entry or I probably won't know.  Email is on my profile) It's that simple.

The deadline to enter is 10 days away.  Monday, March 22nd at Midnight EST.  The winner will be drawn on Wednesday, March 24th.  Contest open to only US and Canada Residents.  I look forward to your ideas in your comments.  If you have an online link, feel free to share that too!

Thanks for stopping by!
~*~Trish~*~

Turning Twenty - Two Binding Options

I found that I have two binding options for the almost 2 year old unfinished Turning Twenty Quilt.  Maybe this is why I did not finish it. I could not make up my mind.  Luckily I kept the binding options with the quilt.  Here are my options, a handmade red/white stars binding in the top right or a Moda Red binding on the left.  They both match in reds.  Once I decide the one to use, my goal is to attach it this weekend!  Let me know which one you like either via email off of my profile(which I think people prefer) or comment.  Thanks for your great input on the turning Twenty Quilt.

Thanks for stopping by!

~*~Trish~*~

Turning Twenty Two years later

Time flies when life keeps you busy. I'm ashamed to say that I discovered my turning twenty blanket in the cedar chest where it has been hiding for two years and it still does not have the binding on it. It is beautifully quilted by Rachel with an all over daisy design she had.  I can't believe its been just sitting there 99% completed. I didn't finish it. I just did not add the binding.  Actually there were two quilts like this.

However, two years ago, I hated binding. So, my goal for this weekend is to add the binding to my Oopsey Daisy Turning Twenty Quilt and finish it! I love black red and white. Here's the quilt when last completed and the Daisy quilting.

Thanks for stopping by!

~*~Trish~*~

Pretty Posies

I am so ready for Spring!  I am so looking forward to seeing spring flowers.  I was tickled pink when a friend gave us these daffodils to support our fight.  At the same time, I was working on Arlette's Wired Edged Flowers tutorial.  I just love the fact that I can use up my favorite fabric color scraps from quilting!  Here's my version of the brightly colored wire edged flowers.  I added a pom pom in the center of each flower for some fun.  You should try these, they are so cheerful and easy to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

~*~Trish~*~