HAPPY SCRAPPERS MEETS AT THE ATTIC WINDOW QUILT SHOP

I had a crazy schedule today, but I wanted to stop by the Attic Window Quilt Shop to see if any of the Happy Scrappers had anything for Show-N-Tell.  Above, Buffie shows us her latest Tea Leaf quilt.

This is a closer look at her quilt.  I love how her inner border blended so nicely so that there is not a distinct line between the inner tea leaves and the outside border.  When you see mine, you will see what I mean as I added a solid blue fabric as my inner border.  Since I want to make another one, and have been collecting flower fabrics for it, I am now going to start looking for a fabric like Buffie used.

I also want to find a backing fabric like this.  Isn’t it lovely?

Remember that last month I asked for volunteers to donate these 12 ½” blocks for a charity.  The one above was made by Bev.  Thank you Bev for your kind donation.

And this one was made by Buffie. Thank you Buffie.  I love your colors.

It's still early and I'm looking forward to getting more blocks for this charity quilt.  There is no time limit.  I will make the quilt once I have enough blocks.  Don’t forget that the next Happy Scrapper’s meeting is this Saturday.

Remember the link I gave you yesterday for the scrappy block?  I saw scads of fabrics in the SALE section at the shop that would be perfect for those end pieces in that pattern .  Take a look when you come to the shop. 

ON ANOTHER NOTE:   I love this woven quilt that Moda Bake Shop has.  You can use the Jelly Rolls as suggested, but I also think this is a great pattern for your scraps.  Take a look.

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

THIS BAG IS A CUT ABOVE THE REST!

I have two things to show you today.  Above is the darling bag that Lee Ann made.  It is the Vinyl and More Bag, and, of course, the outside is made of vinyl fabric with a bright cotton lining and straps.  You can make your own quick and easy bag with vinyl or cotton with Lee Ann during a class at the Attic Window Quilt Shop on Saturday, March 30th, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.  Call the shop to register.

Check out this tea leaf quilt that Judi made.  I showed you part of it last week, but Judi decided to add a row of tea leaves around the outside border.  I love how this turned out.  She has inspired me to hurry up and get mine finished.

On Another Note:
Mark your calendar NOW!  It’s almost April and you want to get this on your calendar NOW!  Jodi Barrows, author and creator of the amazing Square in a Square technique, will lecture, demo and have a Trunk Show at the Attic Window Quilt Shop on Thursday April 11th from 6-9 p.m. Call the Shop to reserve your seat as space is limited.

On Another Note:  The Great Lakes Modern Quilt Guild is having a "virtual meeting" instead of an actual meeting in April. They have a block for you to make and at the end of the month the blocks will be displayed online.  Participants will be entered in a drawing to win the all blocks!  The block pattern is Converging Corners and can be found at Film In the Fridge.  I love this block and am excited to see the posted blocks.  Check out the Great Lakes Modern Quilt Guild (see link above or on the sidebar under Blogs I Follow) for all the details.
Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

PROGRESS ON TEA LEAVES

I’ve managed to accomplish a few things this past week and wanted to show you my progress on the Tea Leaf quilt.  I still have to decide if I want an inner border and, if so, what fabric will I use.  I kind of like this soft blue that I’ve placed the blocks on and think it helps calm things down.  This is a busy quilt.  However, I want to check out some other fabrics.  So I think I’ll be busy working on this quilt this weekend.  What will you be working on?

On Another Note:

• The Happy Scrappers Bee meets Saturday at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  They also meet the following Wednesday at the shop, so stop by and join the fun.
• The Spring Fling Shop Hop will be held the week of April 12-20.  Seven shops are participating.  Daily drawings for $20 gift certificates from each shop.  Someone will be the winner of the grand prize: a Janome Sewing Machine!   Get your passport now for only $5. 
• Quilters Road Trip will be held during the months of April, May, and June.  Twelve area shops are participating.  You get a chance to win a $25 gift certificate each month at each shop.  Also available will be new projects, patterns and giveaways.  Passports are only $5.

On Another Note:  That Girl That Quilt has a tutorial for a Quilted Dish Rug.  I’ve seen a Dish Rug in the department store, but it is not nearly as pretty or as satisfying as making your own to match the colors in your kitchen. 

PS:  Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Check it out.
Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll  (ኬሮል)

WHAT WILL YOU DO THIS WEEKEND?

Remember these?  It seems like I’ve been making tea leaves forever, but I still have only 150 of the 260 that I need.  So, guess what I’ll be doing this weekend.  How about you?  What will you be doing this weekend?

I’ll also be cutting out the 4” background squares (maybe).  I couldn’t wait and decided to just see how things were going to look.  Ugh!  I don’t like this at all.

This is what Buffie’s sample quilt looks like.  I love her subtle colors.  However, I don’t think I’ll be getting that with my 30s fabrics. 

I thought about using grey fabrics for the backgrounds, so I tried placing some leaves on these fabrics.  I think I like it, but I’m just going to continue to make leaves and wait until the Happy Scrappers meet next Saturday.  Buffie said she would help me choose background fabrics. 

ATTENTION:  I know one other thing I will be doing this weekend - attending the West Michigan Quilt Guild's show.  Quilts On The Grand is this weekend (Oct. 5-7) at the Delta Plex Arena in Grand Rapids, MI.  There will be over 250 quilts on display, demonstrations, quilt raffles, special exhibits, and a vendor mall.  I can’t wait for those doors to open!

On another note:  Bee in My Bonnet has a nice tutorial for an Easy Square in Square.  Since I’m trying to improve my piecing skills, this might be a great one for me to try.  Check it out.

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

QUILTING FRIENDS ARE THE BEST

Sometimes we just don't realize how we touch another life.  In my last post I told you about our Tea Leaves Class at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  I thought my special gift deserved a post all its own.  Above is the mini pouch that Stephanie made for me.  Stephanie has her own blog, Peas in A Pod, and came up from Kalamazoo to spend the day with us.  She told me that as she was leaving to come to class she grabbed this darling (my word) pouch with the thought that it would cheer me up.

She was so right!  I have been a little down lately (just having a little stress) and this lovely gift was what I needed.  It not only boosted my spirits, but made me realize how nice it is to know someone cares.

It looks so professionally done with its zipper and little tabs at each end, and this cute little zipper pull!  Stephanie is not only a talented quilter, but she knits (see her most recent post about her knitting here),  and makes beautiful decorative stitching, and is now learning to spin wool!  And on top of that she’s smart!  We should all call her Doc Steph because she has a PhD and is a university professor.  I am in awe that she does.

This is the inside of the bag.  I love that lining.  And...besides all the things I pointed out above, Stephanie is a wife and a doting mother to a seven year old (She may be eight now.  I can’t keep up!)  I posted about Little Pea as the Attic Window's youngest quilter here.

The bag is just the right size for storing all my Tea Leaves!  Not only will they not get lost or get in a folding mishap, this makes it easy to carry them from place-to-place when I want to hand stitch them to the backgrounds. 

Stephanie I can’t thank you enough.  You made my day!

On another note, Crafty Cupboard has a tutorial for a baby quilt.  It will be a great way to use that charm pack, or use up those scraps. 

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

TEA (LEAVES) ANYONE?

This past Saturday was an awesome day.  I attended Buffie’s Tea Leaves class at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  Buffie heads up the Happy Scrappers Bee and has a great eye for color and design.   Above she demonstrates as she talks about color and contrast and value and gradation.

Here,  Buffie shows us her quilt that drew all of us to the class.  Isn’t it beautiful!  I’m used to bright fabrics, but I love the subtle shades in this quilt and am anxious to understand her technique and thought process.

Buffie shows the group how to make the tea leaves using the starch and freezer paper method.  By the way, there is also a tutorial on my sidebar for the freezer paper method.  Just click on the witch’s feet and it will take you to all the steps involved.

Rosa shows us her first tea leaf.  Looks perfect to me!

These are Stephanie’s leaves.  She has a good start on the 260 leaves that she needs to make the quilt.

These are my leaves.  I’m not using all yellow in the quilt.  I started out using only 30s fabrics and Buffie suggested that I add other lines of fabric.  So I started with my pile of yellow fabrics.  It’s a wonder Stephanie and I got this much done as we spent a good part of the day laughing and socializing!  It was so good to see her again.

Adrienne is using these beautiful oriental fabrics that she got when she was in Japan.  She said it will be a small wallhanging with a single color background.  I can’t wait to see how this turns out.  It was so great to finally meet Adrienne.  We had been corresponding via email for some time, but had never actually met face to face.  What a joy she is.  I love her sense of humor.

 Above, Peggy, Buffie, and Adrienne enjoy a little chat.    

 Rosa looks serious!  Wonder what she's up to?

Stephanie (in pink), Lee Ann and Brenda (far right) get ready to make leaves.

This was such a fun day.  It was therapy for me.  It was so much fun talking and laughing with everyone. I was thrilled that Stephanie came up from Kalamazoo to spend the day with us.  She is such a dear and it had been a while since we actually got to sit down and talk.  She is a joy to be around.  Just talking to her and Adrienne and Rosa and all the others helped me get rid of my stress.  And that Buffie…well what can I say.  She made me a paper piecing addict and now she's making me a Tea Leaf addict!   I didn’t want to go home, but it was time for the shop to close so I got booted out!  It was a fun class and many thanks to Buffie for being such a great teacher!

Stephanie took more pictures than I did.  Hop over to her blog, Peas In A Pod,  and see what she has to say about our “therapy” day and about the Modern Quilt Guild we hope to get started on this side of the state.  I agree with Stephanie, the day filled my soul! 

On another note:

I think most quilters love cats!  I know I do, and was excited when I visited the Crazy Creek Quilts site and saw all the free cat quilt patterns. 

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll