Starting Monday, the hubz, boys and I have been busy little bees giving my kitchen a much needed update. All that's left is getting the chair rail on.

I should have taken better before pictures. This one was taken several years ago. Mitch is way taller than this now. This side of the kitchen had off white walls with the apple wall paper boarder.

A few of the walls on the other side of the kitchen had this very dark hunter green. Yes, the 90's....

A fresh coat of a light aqua paint and some bead board paneling in the process of being painted a high gloss white. 

Tonight I put a few things back. The plan is to get the corner pieces and the chair railing on tomorrow. The kitchen is so much brighter now!! Eventually I want shelving to be on the back wall up near the ceiling and on the other wall to the right to store/display my Pyrex and other things I have been collecting. 

See my new cover for my Kitchen Aid mixer? (I used the pattern by Heart of Mary.) The fabric Carrie Nelson's Fresh Palette. I'm using her line for the curtains and eventually a table cloth and/or table runner and anything else I can make as what I have in my stash lasts. Oh, and the mini dresden plate wall hanging I made needs to find it's spot. =D 

Someday a new floor and a new counter top will be added, but that's a ways away. 

This was my Christmas present and I love it....

Starting Monday, the hubz, boys and I have been busy little bees giving my kitchen a much needed update. All that's left is getting the chair rail on.

I should have taken better before pictures. This one was taken several years ago. Mitch is way taller than this now. This side of the kitchen had off white walls with the apple wall paper boarder.

A few of the walls on the other side of the kitchen had this very dark hunter green. Yes, the 90's....

A fresh coat of a light aqua paint and some bead board paneling in the process of being painted a high gloss white. 

Tonight I put a few things back. The plan is to get the corner pieces and the chair railing on tomorrow. The kitchen is so much brighter now!! Eventually I want shelving to be on the back wall up near the ceiling and on the other wall to the right to store/display my Pyrex and other things I have been collecting. 

See my new cover for my Kitchen Aid mixer? (I used the pattern by Heart of Mary.) The fabric Carrie Nelson's Fresh Palette. I'm using her line for the curtains and eventually a table cloth and/or table runner and anything else I can make as what I have in my stash lasts. Oh, and the mini dresden plate wall hanging I made needs to find it's spot. =D 

Someday a new floor and a new counter top will be added, but that's a ways away. 

This was my Christmas present and I love it....

My friend Mary Ann dropped off a surprise for me. Sweet!!

My friend Mary Ann dropped off a surprise for me. Sweet!!

I am getting over a migraine, so this post will be pretty wordless and the pictures aren't the greatest. There are worse things in life than poor quality pictures or blogs posts, am I right? =) 

Finished table runner using Eleanor Burn's pattern #1276

Baby quilt for my friend Jenny. Her baby boy is due in February. 

I am getting over a migraine, so this post will be pretty wordless and the pictures aren't the greatest. There are worse things in life than poor quality pictures or blogs posts, am I right? =) 

Finished table runner using Eleanor Burn's pattern #1276

Baby quilt for my friend Jenny. Her baby boy is due in February. 

Thank you all for entering my giveaway. I wish I could send you all something. =) 

 Number 9 is Cheryl @ Cheryl's Teapots 2 Quilting. Make sure you go check out her blog. She is very creative. =)

Congratulations, Cheryl...

Now, I hope you enjoy the pictures of the completed wall hanging. 

I love how it turned out. =) Now I am excited to get my kitchen painted so I can hang it up! 

I really enjoyed the hand quilting part. It was so relaxing! I used number 8 Presencia Finca Perle cotton. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Thank you all for entering my giveaway. I wish I could send you all something. =) 

 Number 9 is Cheryl @ Cheryl's Teapots 2 Quilting. Make sure you go check out her blog. She is very creative. =)

Congratulations, Cheryl...

Now, I hope you enjoy the pictures of the completed wall hanging. 

I love how it turned out. =) Now I am excited to get my kitchen painted so I can hang it up! 

I really enjoyed the hand quilting part. It was so relaxing! I used number 8 Presencia Finca Perle cotton. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Have you heard of Pinterest? 

Essentially it's a virtual bulletin board. It's a great place to save bookmarks to things you want to do, for example, quilt patterns. Or you could make a pin board that holds gift ideas for your friends and family. There are a ton of household tips and money saving ideas that I really enjoy. Oh, if you like to cook and are looking for recipes, Pinterest is the place to go. 

Here is a screen shot of my boards so you can get an idea of what I mean. 

I have more boards, but they are farther down the screen. 

If you see something on my pin board you find interesting, you click on the picture and it will take you to the original site where the picture came from. It's a great way to save tutorials. Repinning is when you see something on someone's pin board and you want to save it to your own pin boards. 

Another thing is you can follow other people and their boards, so you can see what they are pinning. You can all of their boards or only the ones you are interested in. I tend not to follow the food ones. It only makes me hungry seeing all the good food. *wink*

Brilliant...

And because it's on line, you don't have to remember web sites if you want to show someone something. You just go to your Pinterest account and show them from there. 

I have some invitations to Pinterest if anyone is interested. Just let me know. =) 

Here is where you can find me on Pinterest. If you have an account to Pinterest, let me know! I would love to follow your boards! 

Have you heard of Pinterest? 

Essentially it's a virtual bulletin board. It's a great place to save bookmarks to things you want to do, for example, quilt patterns. Or you could make a pin board that holds gift ideas for your friends and family. There are a ton of household tips and money saving ideas that I really enjoy. Oh, if you like to cook and are looking for recipes, Pinterest is the place to go. 

Here is a screen shot of my boards so you can get an idea of what I mean. 

I have more boards, but they are farther down the screen. 

If you see something on my pin board you find interesting, you click on the picture and it will take you to the original site where the picture came from. It's a great way to save tutorials. Repinning is when you see something on someone's pin board and you want to save it to your own pin boards. 

Another thing is you can follow other people and their boards, so you can see what they are pinning. You can all of their boards or only the ones you are interested in. I tend not to follow the food ones. It only makes me hungry seeing all the good food. *wink*

Brilliant...

And because it's on line, you don't have to remember web sites if you want to show someone something. You just go to your Pinterest account and show them from there. 

I have some invitations to Pinterest if anyone is interested. Just let me know. =) 

Here is where you can find me on Pinterest. If you have an account to Pinterest, let me know! I would love to follow your boards! 

...Giveaway closed...

Welcome to my second review of an Eleanor Burns Signature Pattern. =) 

This one was a fun pattern because, as most of you already know, I seriously love Dresden Plates! 

These are tiny. The smallest I have ever made. The strips are 2 1/2 inches wide, which means this is a great pattern to use with jelly roll strips. It doesn't take a lot of fabric, so its also a great scrap buster type of pattern. I am going to use this quilt as a wall hanging in my kitchen, so I chose fabric to go with the new paint that will be on the kitchen walls at the end of the month. I have high hopes. =D

Love chain piecing. 

A handy dandy thread cutter. It was the best $5 I have spent on a gadget. 

 Blades waiting to be pressed. 

The pattern gives detailed instructions on how to press the fan blades after they are sewn together so the plate will lay nice and flat after its pressed. It was the first time pressing my Dresden Plates with all open seams and seeing how well my plates turned out, I will be pressing my Dresden's with open seams from now on. 

Note to self...Take a picture of the back of the plate so my peeps can see how nice the seams look...

The trickiest part of the Dresden plate, at least I think so, is making the circles. I tried doing them the way the pattern suggested, but I couldn't get them to lay nicely. It's completely my error, not the patterns fault or the technique suggested because I have seen others use this technique. I ended up doing it my way which is to starch the fabric like crazy and press the edges around a circle template. They are far from perfect. I need to get this figured out. I  like my circles to be perfectly round. 

This was new for me. The pattern tells you to chain piece the pieces together and NOT clip the connecting threads or press. It was kind of tricky, but I really liked this method of getting the rows together (the pieces didn't get mixed up) and I liked not having to pin to get the seams lined up. I attribute this method as the reason why my corner stones did so well with staying lined up.  Always a good thing. =) After it was all one piece, I then took it to my table for a good pressing. 

The quilting process has begun....

The rest of my quilting I am going to do by hand with perle cotton. 

I loved this pattern and it's one I would do over and over again. It's easy, fairly quick and fun. It makes a nice size wall hanging (26" x 26"), small baby quilt or a nice table topper. 

Did you notice in one of the earlier pictures, that the paper was still on the fan template that came with the pattern? You know what that means, don't you??

I would love to gift this pattern to one of you, dear friends....All you need to do is leave me a comment.  If you want, let me know what your favorite quilt block is. =) 

I will draw a winner on Sunday, 11th of December. It will be my birthday present to YOU. 

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

This is very important:

Please make sure you are not a "no-reply" blogger (see button in my side bar to learn how to check to see if you are or not) or I won't be able to contact you and I will have to draw a new name.

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

Have a great one! 

...Giveaway closed...

Welcome to my second review of an Eleanor Burns Signature Pattern. =) 

This one was a fun pattern because, as most of you already know, I seriously love Dresden Plates! 

These are tiny. The smallest I have ever made. The strips are 2 1/2 inches wide, which means this is a great pattern to use with jelly roll strips. It doesn't take a lot of fabric, so its also a great scrap buster type of pattern. I am going to use this quilt as a wall hanging in my kitchen, so I chose fabric to go with the new paint that will be on the kitchen walls at the end of the month. I have high hopes. =D

Love chain piecing. 

A handy dandy thread cutter. It was the best $5 I have spent on a gadget. 

 Blades waiting to be pressed. 

The pattern gives detailed instructions on how to press the fan blades after they are sewn together so the plate will lay nice and flat after its pressed. It was the first time pressing my Dresden Plates with all open seams and seeing how well my plates turned out, I will be pressing my Dresden's with open seams from now on. 

Note to self...Take a picture of the back of the plate so my peeps can see how nice the seams look...

The trickiest part of the Dresden plate, at least I think so, is making the circles. I tried doing them the way the pattern suggested, but I couldn't get them to lay nicely. It's completely my error, not the patterns fault or the technique suggested because I have seen others use this technique. I ended up doing it my way which is to starch the fabric like crazy and press the edges around a circle template. They are far from perfect. I need to get this figured out. I  like my circles to be perfectly round. 

This was new for me. The pattern tells you to chain piece the pieces together and NOT clip the connecting threads or press. It was kind of tricky, but I really liked this method of getting the rows together (the pieces didn't get mixed up) and I liked not having to pin to get the seams lined up. I attribute this method as the reason why my corner stones did so well with staying lined up.  Always a good thing. =) After it was all one piece, I then took it to my table for a good pressing. 

The quilting process has begun....

The rest of my quilting I am going to do by hand with perle cotton. 

I loved this pattern and it's one I would do over and over again. It's easy, fairly quick and fun. It makes a nice size wall hanging (26" x 26"), small baby quilt or a nice table topper. 

Did you notice in one of the earlier pictures, that the paper was still on the fan template that came with the pattern? You know what that means, don't you??

I would love to gift this pattern to one of you, dear friends....All you need to do is leave me a comment.  If you want, let me know what your favorite quilt block is. =) 

I will draw a winner on Sunday, 11th of December. It will be my birthday present to YOU. 

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

This is very important:

Please make sure you are not a "no-reply" blogger (see button in my side bar to learn how to check to see if you are or not) or I won't be able to contact you and I will have to draw a new name.

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

Have a great one! 

I can't wait to get this one finished! 

I can't wait to get this one finished! 

Thank you all for playing along with my first really, real giveaway. 

There will be more patterns to give away in the future, so watch for them....

Thank you all for playing along with my first really, real giveaway. 

There will be more patterns to give away in the future, so watch for them....

* Give away closed*

When I was asked if I would be willing to do some pattern reviews for a few of Eleanor Burns' new patterns, I considered it for a nano-second and said, "YES!" 

Are you kidding me? 

Come on! It's Eleanor Burns! Need I say more? 

I didn't think so. =)

Alas, it was not Eleanor who asked me...Maybe someday I will get to meet this inspirational and very talented lady. 

On to the topic at hand....Up to this point in my quilting {ahem} career, I've yet to buy a pattern and then make the quilt. I intend to, obviously, otherwise I wouldn't buy the pattern in the first place, however, after I get it home I become intimidated as I read the instructions. After trying to decipher them for a while, I end up folding them back up and putting them away to look at it "another time." Those other times have yet to happen.  

Another challenge for me is picking out the fabrics for a project. Up to now, I have almost always used  fat quarter bundles or other precuts for my quilts. I much prefer to let the fabric designers do all the hard work of deciding what goes with what. Doing some reviews for her patterns is going to stretch me in that area and I think it's a good thing,

 So, without further ado, here is my first review. 

 My first pattern is a Dresden plate variation called a Grandmother's Fan. The pattern (#1276) comes with  instructions to make both a table runner and a quilt and it also comes with the acrylic template to make the blades. Normally you would remove the protective paper covers on the ruler before you use it. I left the paper on the ruler for a reason. There will be more on that later. 

 As I have mentioned a time or ten, I love Dresden plates, but up to now, I haven't done a Grandmother's fan, so I was excited...and intimidated, to give this one a shot. Why intimidated? It's on point. I have only done one quilt on point and it was hard, so I chose to do the table runner instead of the quilt. I reasoned there would be fewer triangles to deal with that way and fewer chances to mess it up. 

Cutting the fan blades

I really didn't need to worry, however, the instructions were very clear on how to put it together and I didn't need my seam ripper at all! The instructions also include which way to press the seams, which I really appreciate. Within 4 hours, I had a table runner top that measured 49" x 20 1/2" unfinished. As a matter of fact, it has taken me much longer to write this post than it did to sew the table runner! *grin*

All that's left is the borders.

There is an option to add piping to the quarter circles, which would have added a nice touch. It was Black Friday when I made this and not worth it to me to brave the crowds to buy piping or cording to make my own. 

Finished top

The pattern is labeled as "easy," and I agree that it is easy, however, I don't consider it a beginner pattern only because of working with pieces that are cut on the bias. I do think this pattern would be a great choice for a quilting class in order to teach new quilters how to sew with pieces cut on the bias and showing them how to sew blocks on point. 

If you have any questions about the pattern that I wasn't clear on, please feel free to ask. =)

If you would like to win this pattern, just leave a comment telling me how you found my blog or how long you have been coming here to visit. I am hoping those who are more shy will come out to say, "Hi." =)


✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸
This is very important:
Please make sure you are not a "no-reply" blogger (see button in my side bar to learn how to check to see if you are or not) or I won't be able to contact you and I will have to draw a new name.
✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸


I will draw a winner on Wednesday the 30th of November.

Talk to you soon!! =)

* Give away closed*

When I was asked if I would be willing to do some pattern reviews for a few of Eleanor Burns' new patterns, I considered it for a nano-second and said, "YES!" 

Are you kidding me? 

Come on! It's Eleanor Burns! Need I say more? 

I didn't think so. =)

Alas, it was not Eleanor who asked me...Maybe someday I will get to meet this inspirational and very talented lady. 

On to the topic at hand....Up to this point in my quilting {ahem} career, I've yet to buy a pattern and then make the quilt. I intend to, obviously, otherwise I wouldn't buy the pattern in the first place, however, after I get it home I become intimidated as I read the instructions. After trying to decipher them for a while, I end up folding them back up and putting them away to look at it "another time." Those other times have yet to happen.  

Another challenge for me is picking out the fabrics for a project. Up to now, I have almost always used  fat quarter bundles or other precuts for my quilts. I much prefer to let the fabric designers do all the hard work of deciding what goes with what. Doing some reviews for her patterns is going to stretch me in that area and I think it's a good thing,

 So, without further ado, here is my first review. 

 My first pattern is a Dresden plate variation called a Grandmother's Fan. The pattern (#1276) comes with  instructions to make both a table runner and a quilt and it also comes with the acrylic template to make the blades. Normally you would remove the protective paper covers on the ruler before you use it. I left the paper on the ruler for a reason. There will be more on that later. 

 As I have mentioned a time or ten, I love Dresden plates, but up to now, I haven't done a Grandmother's fan, so I was excited...and intimidated, to give this one a shot. Why intimidated? It's on point. I have only done one quilt on point and it was hard, so I chose to do the table runner instead of the quilt. I reasoned there would be fewer triangles to deal with that way and fewer chances to mess it up. 

Cutting the fan blades

I really didn't need to worry, however, the instructions were very clear on how to put it together and I didn't need my seam ripper at all! The instructions also include which way to press the seams, which I really appreciate. Within 4 hours, I had a table runner top that measured 49" x 20 1/2" unfinished. As a matter of fact, it has taken me much longer to write this post than it did to sew the table runner! *grin*

All that's left is the borders.

There is an option to add piping to the quarter circles, which would have added a nice touch. It was Black Friday when I made this and not worth it to me to brave the crowds to buy piping or cording to make my own. 

Finished top

The pattern is labeled as "easy," and I agree that it is easy, however, I don't consider it a beginner pattern only because of working with pieces that are cut on the bias. I do think this pattern would be a great choice for a quilting class in order to teach new quilters how to sew with pieces cut on the bias and showing them how to sew blocks on point. 

If you have any questions about the pattern that I wasn't clear on, please feel free to ask. =)

If you would like to win this pattern, just leave a comment telling me how you found my blog or how long you have been coming here to visit. I am hoping those who are more shy will come out to say, "Hi." =)


✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸
This is very important:
Please make sure you are not a "no-reply" blogger (see button in my side bar to learn how to check to see if you are or not) or I won't be able to contact you and I will have to draw a new name.
✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸


I will draw a winner on Wednesday the 30th of November.

Talk to you soon!! =)

New blog button

Edit...I'm still tweaking things.

I made a new blog button. 

I didn't delete my old one from Photobucket, so it will still work for you. Feel free to grab the new one. ...Or not. =) The coding is on the sidebar. Let me know if you need any help. 

Have a great Saturday!

Edit...I'm still tweaking things.

I made a new blog button. 

I didn't delete my old one from Photobucket, so it will still work for you. Feel free to grab the new one. ...Or not. =) The coding is on the sidebar. Let me know if you need any help. 

Have a great Saturday!

Just go and read. 

A Perfect Lily

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends....I am thankful for YOU. 

Just go and read. 

A Perfect Lily

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends....I am thankful for YOU. 

Two packages came today. 

One I can talk about and one will have to wait for a little while. 

Lets just say that this lovely lady is my new BFF...

Eleanor Burns

Whether she wants to return the favor remains to be seen. ;-) 

The package I can talk about is from my blogging friend Theophanie @ Jubilent Nest. She recently had a give away and I won! She is a sweet, talented and creative lady and has great blog. Tell her I sent you. =) 

Ribbin trim for a Christmas stocking perhaps? 

On a more sobering note. My husband's dear uncle died yesterday morning so this already very busy week will be even more busy.

I wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving...I am thankful for all of you. 

Two packages came today. 

One I can talk about and one will have to wait for a little while. 

Lets just say that this lovely lady is my new BFF...

Eleanor Burns

Whether she wants to return the favor remains to be seen. ;-) 

The package I can talk about is from my blogging friend Theophanie @ Jubilent Nest. She recently had a give away and I won! She is a sweet, talented and creative lady and has great blog. Tell her I sent you. =) 

Ribbin trim for a Christmas stocking perhaps? 

On a more sobering note. My husband's dear uncle died yesterday morning so this already very busy week will be even more busy.

I wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving...I am thankful for all of you.