Remember this baby blanket I bought last summer? 

What a sad mess....

Not anymore!!

I have it all fixed up and looking lovely. Its ready to be hung up on a wall. =)

I know the white thread used for her body outline really disappears with the background fabric, but I knew I couldn't redo it and have it look so nice. I figured it was best to leave it as it is. 

Love the lamb...

I am very glad I was chosen to rescue this little gem. =)

Remember this baby blanket I bought last summer? 

What a sad mess....

Not anymore!!

I have it all fixed up and looking lovely. Its ready to be hung up on a wall. =)

I know the white thread used for her body outline really disappears with the background fabric, but I knew I couldn't redo it and have it look so nice. I figured it was best to leave it as it is. 

Love the lamb...

I am very glad I was chosen to rescue this little gem. =)

So excited!!!!

So excited!!!!

....because Christmas isn't always a happy time, may this song bring comfort to those who are hurting. 

....because Christmas isn't always a happy time, may this song bring comfort to those who are hurting. 

My new email. =) 

redeemedsheep (at) iCloud (dot) com

My new email. =) 

redeemedsheep (at) iCloud (dot) com

I think I have the dearest and the best friends ever. My birthday came and went last week. I don't make a fuss for my birthday. I am perfectly content to let it go by without a word, though it is nice when people remember. =) And this year, I was remembered....

Every year, my mom's best friend brings me something from her home that my mom made. I can't begin to tell you how much her gifts mean to me...

My dear friend Judy, embroidered a vintage bib for me. Isn't the lamb simply darling?  She also stitched the hanky. She is from the south originally, so the saying she stitched is precious, don't you think? 

Judy also spoiled me with some vintage ornaments for my pink tree. This is one of several she gave to me....

My dear friend Mary Ann blessed me with a journal to help me through this season of my life. Writing is helpful. I think there is something healing about the physical act of writing verses typing. 

I don't have a picture, but my dear friend, Casey gave me the gift of comfort food: chips and salsa from Carlos O'Kelly's....Yummy!!!

And for all of you, dear friends, who are praying for me and my family, sending me encouraging emails and simple messages of "I am thinking of you," I am very grateful....It means more to me than I can say.

Thank you, all.....

❤

I think I have the dearest and the best friends ever. My birthday came and went last week. I don't make a fuss for my birthday. I am perfectly content to let it go by without a word, though it is nice when people remember. =) And this year, I was remembered....

Every year, my mom's best friend brings me something from her home that my mom made. I can't begin to tell you how much her gifts mean to me...

My dear friend Judy, embroidered a vintage bib for me. Isn't the lamb simply darling?  She also stitched the hanky. She is from the south originally, so the saying she stitched is precious, don't you think? 

Judy also spoiled me with some vintage ornaments for my pink tree. This is one of several she gave to me....

My dear friend Mary Ann blessed me with a journal to help me through this season of my life. Writing is helpful. I think there is something healing about the physical act of writing verses typing. 

I don't have a picture, but my dear friend, Casey gave me the gift of comfort food: chips and salsa from Carlos O'Kelly's....Yummy!!!

And for all of you, dear friends, who are praying for me and my family, sending me encouraging emails and simple messages of "I am thinking of you," I am very grateful....It means more to me than I can say.

Thank you, all.....

❤

Introducing ❤ Strings. 

I poured my ❤ out into this quilt. 

And though my ❤ has been heavy, this quilt also knows the hope I have in Jesus...

Give us faith to be strong

Father, we are so weak

Our bodies are fragile and weary

As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead

Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn

Mend us up when we break

This flesh can be wounded and shaking

When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take

Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us hearts to find hope

Father, we cannot see

How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom

And as hard as we try, Lord, it's hard to believe

So, give us hearts to find hope

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith, faith to be strong

Andrew Peterson

Introducing ❤ Strings. 

I poured my ❤ out into this quilt. 

And though my ❤ has been heavy, this quilt also knows the hope I have in Jesus...

Give us faith to be strong

Father, we are so weak

Our bodies are fragile and weary

As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead

Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn

Mend us up when we break

This flesh can be wounded and shaking

When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take

Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us hearts to find hope

Father, we cannot see

How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom

And as hard as we try, Lord, it's hard to believe

So, give us hearts to find hope

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith, faith to be strong

Andrew Peterson

Dear Robyn,

I do hope you stop by again and see the link to the pattern you asked about that I used for my Jacob's Ladder quilt. I would have emailed you, but your email settings are set to private.

The pattern I used to make my blocks were found here:

http://quilting.about.com/od/blockofthemonth/ss/jacobs_ladder.htm

In the directions, she has you cut the squares to 4 ⅞" to make the half square triangles. I round my squares up and trim the half square triangles down to size to make them perfect. Well, as perfect as I can. =)

A pink, white and gray baby quilt will be lovely!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again sometime. =)

Dear Robyn,

I do hope you stop by again and see the link to the pattern you asked about that I used for my Jacob's Ladder quilt. I would have emailed you, but your email settings are set to private.

The pattern I used to make my blocks were found here:

http://quilting.about.com/od/blockofthemonth/ss/jacobs_ladder.htm

In the directions, she has you cut the squares to 4 ⅞" to make the half square triangles. I round my squares up and trim the half square triangles down to size to make them perfect. Well, as perfect as I can. =)

A pink, white and gray baby quilt will be lovely!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again sometime. =)

It's all ready to be quilted...I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself for making a truly scrappy quilt. =)  I think it fits in the low volume(ish) category, too, don't you?

It's all ready to be quilted...I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself for making a truly scrappy quilt. =)  I think it fits in the low volume(ish) category, too, don't you?

I have the flimsy done.  =)  I may have been quiet, but I am always busy. Now to get it quilted before winter is over. *wink*

Yesterday, I got out my two containers of strings and threw a couple of blocks together. As I have mentioned before, scrappy is hard for me, however, once I got started, I couldn't stop! I sorted out the lower volume fabrics I had, cut a bit into my yardage and fat quarters for more variety and I am well pleased with how this project is coming along. I am really excited to see how it will look after I get the blocks sewn together.

Quilting truly is my therapy. When life is hard, I can lose myself in a project. It helps to keep the fear and sadness at bay. It is a true blessing to me. 

I hope you are all doing well.....

I have the flimsy done.  =)  I may have been quiet, but I am always busy. Now to get it quilted before winter is over. *wink*

Yesterday, I got out my two containers of strings and threw a couple of blocks together. As I have mentioned before, scrappy is hard for me, however, once I got started, I couldn't stop! I sorted out the lower volume fabrics I had, cut a bit into my yardage and fat quarters for more variety and I am well pleased with how this project is coming along. I am really excited to see how it will look after I get the blocks sewn together.

Quilting truly is my therapy. When life is hard, I can lose myself in a project. It helps to keep the fear and sadness at bay. It is a true blessing to me. 

I hope you are all doing well.....

I have got a great idea!!! Lets pretend the last few weeks haven't happened. Deal? =) In all seriousness, the prayers and notes of encouragement meant a lot to me. Lets face it, life can be hard....very hard, but when you have support from friends and family, it makes it easier to bear and I thank you for the support...

Okay, lets look at pretty fabric, shall we? 

A couple of months ago, I started what I was calling our winter quilt using Moda's Winter's Lane. It's still in the flimsy stage. I haven't fully decided if it is finished or not. I love the 3-d pinwheels. =) 

But then, I got distracted and dug out some more pretty Christmas/winter fabric called Happy Holiday by Happy Zombie that has been waiting a long, long time to be made into something pretty. It goes so well with the Merry Little Christmas line, don't you think? 

Stay tuned for pictures of that project. =) 

Have a happy Monday. =) 

I have got a great idea!!! Lets pretend the last few weeks haven't happened. Deal? =) In all seriousness, the prayers and notes of encouragement meant a lot to me. Lets face it, life can be hard....very hard, but when you have support from friends and family, it makes it easier to bear and I thank you for the support...

Okay, lets look at pretty fabric, shall we? 

A couple of months ago, I started what I was calling our winter quilt using Moda's Winter's Lane. It's still in the flimsy stage. I haven't fully decided if it is finished or not. I love the 3-d pinwheels. =) 

But then, I got distracted and dug out some more pretty Christmas/winter fabric called Happy Holiday by Happy Zombie that has been waiting a long, long time to be made into something pretty. It goes so well with the Merry Little Christmas line, don't you think? 

Stay tuned for pictures of that project. =) 

Have a happy Monday. =) 

We have a family situation that is needing a lot of my attention for now. I hope to be back to sewing and blogging again soon. In the meantime I wish you all a peaceful holiday season. =)

We have a family situation that is needing a lot of my attention for now. I hope to be back to sewing and blogging again soon. In the meantime I wish you all a peaceful holiday season. =)

Happy Sunday....

Happy Sunday....

We all have them, don't we? A moment where we would love the floor to open up and swallow us? A moment where your face turns red and time seems to slow down. I know I have had my fair share of those moments over the years. =) Now I have a new one to add to the list. 

My most embarrassing QUILTING moment.

After 7+ years of service to our church, our pastor has taken a new position as Director of Operations with 20schemes, a ministry in Scotland, seeking to build healthy churches in the poorest communities in Scotland’s housing schemes. He will serve his position in the ministries US offices. To show our love and appreciation, my dear friend, Judy and I decided to make him a quilt. We followed the herringbone tutorial by Maureen Cracknell.

Judy did the hard work of making the strips and sewing them together.

My part was piecing the back, quilting, adding the binding....

and....

wait for it....

making the label.

See it? See what I did? 

I had no idea of the mistake until Sunday morning when Eric thanked me so sweetly for the quilt and then asked, with his typical glint in his eye, why I chose to write 2012 and not 2013? 

What else could I do but laugh. And blush. And laugh some more. 

Seriously. =D

And, no, I am not fixing it. 

Anyone else have any embarrassing quilting moments they would like to share??? 

We all have them, don't we? A moment where we would love the floor to open up and swallow us? A moment where your face turns red and time seems to slow down. I know I have had my fair share of those moments over the years. =) Now I have a new one to add to the list. 

My most embarrassing QUILTING moment.

After 7+ years of service to our church, our pastor has taken a new position as Director of Operations with 20schemes, a ministry in Scotland, seeking to build healthy churches in the poorest communities in Scotland’s housing schemes. He will serve his position in the ministries US offices. To show our love and appreciation, my dear friend, Judy and I decided to make him a quilt. We followed the herringbone tutorial by Maureen Cracknell.

Judy did the hard work of making the strips and sewing them together.

My part was piecing the back, quilting, adding the binding....

and....

wait for it....

making the label.

See it? See what I did? 

I had no idea of the mistake until Sunday morning when Eric thanked me so sweetly for the quilt and then asked, with his typical glint in his eye, why I chose to write 2012 and not 2013? 

What else could I do but laugh. And blush. And laugh some more. 

Seriously. =D

And, no, I am not fixing it. 

Anyone else have any embarrassing quilting moments they would like to share??? 

My week 3 and 4 blocks from Donna's Lavender Nest  sampler quilt along.. =)  

Block one from the Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour. You can get more information @ Jolly Jabber. =) 

Okay, moving on....My new favorite quilting tool is an app for an iPad or iPad mini called Quiltography. 

I heard about Quiltography a couple of months ago from another blogger. She was on the fence about buying it because of the $15 price tag and wanted to know if anyone had it and could share their thoughts about it. I was intrigued, since I hadn't heard of it before. I went to their website, watched the videos and was also wondering if it would be worth the $15. Then I did nothing...

Until the other night. 

I was sketching (I am using that term very loosely...I am terrible at it!) and I remembered about the Quiltography app. I gave it another look and decided to go ahead and trust the great reviews. 

WOW! And double WOW!

I wish I had gotten it sooner! I have been playing with it nearly non stop for the last two days. It is an amazing app! So worth the money. 

Every. Penny. 

Really.

Just sayin' =) 

Happy quilting! 

My week 3 and 4 blocks from Donna's Lavender Nest  sampler quilt along.. =)  

Block one from the Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour. You can get more information @ Jolly Jabber. =) 

Okay, moving on....My new favorite quilting tool is an app for an iPad or iPad mini called Quiltography. 

I heard about Quiltography a couple of months ago from another blogger. She was on the fence about buying it because of the $15 price tag and wanted to know if anyone had it and could share their thoughts about it. I was intrigued, since I hadn't heard of it before. I went to their website, watched the videos and was also wondering if it would be worth the $15. Then I did nothing...

Until the other night. 

I was sketching (I am using that term very loosely...I am terrible at it!) and I remembered about the Quiltography app. I gave it another look and decided to go ahead and trust the great reviews. 

WOW! And double WOW!

I wish I had gotten it sooner! I have been playing with it nearly non stop for the last two days. It is an amazing app! So worth the money. 

Every. Penny. 

Really.

Just sayin' =) 

Happy quilting! 

Now that my living room has been freshly painted, of course, I "needed" new curtains. Connecting Threads has a new fabric line out called Nana's Pantry that had some great blender fabric that I thought would be perfect for my curtains. Problem was, I couldn't decide which color I liked better. I use a lot of green in my quilts, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with that one, but I am also having a real crush on all things gray and I wanted that one, too. That's when my idea of reversible curtains popped into my head that way I could have both!   Depending on what quilt I have hanging on the wall or what mood I am in will determine which side will show. 

I feel silly calling this a tutorial, since I know you all could figure it out. Just for fun, lets walk through it anyway. =) 

My curtains are really just panels that are hung on a rod with rings that have clips on them. Like this....

source

Very easy. =) 

I cut both pieces of fabric to the size I needed for the window. Sewing with a generous ½" seam, right sides together, I sewed all the way around, leaving an area open for turning. I am not sure how correct it is, but I left the selvedge on. 

Turn it right sides out through the opening you left open. Use a chop stick or other device to get the corners poked out as best as you can. 

Give it a good press all the way around. You have to fiddle a bit to get the edges of both fabrics lined up. Just take your time. =) 

 Take the fabric back to your machine and sew a ¼" top stitch all the way around the fabric. That will close up the opening you left open for turning and give your curtain panel and nice finished edge. 

 All done! This was so much easier than hemming all the way around the fabric to make the curtains. 

I chose to have the green side show for now. It looks great with the quilt I have on the wall. =) 

It's beginning to look more cozy, just in time for winter. =) 

Thanks for stopping in! Have a happy Wednesday, everyone!!

Now that my living room has been freshly painted, of course, I "needed" new curtains. Connecting Threads has a new fabric line out called Nana's Pantry that had some great blender fabric that I thought would be perfect for my curtains. Problem was, I couldn't decide which color I liked better. I use a lot of green in my quilts, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with that one, but I am also having a real crush on all things gray and I wanted that one, too. That's when my idea of reversible curtains popped into my head that way I could have both!   Depending on what quilt I have hanging on the wall or what mood I am in will determine which side will show. 

I feel silly calling this a tutorial, since I know you all could figure it out. Just for fun, lets walk through it anyway. =) 

My curtains are really just panels that are hung on a rod with rings that have clips on them. Like this....

source

Very easy. =) 

I cut both pieces of fabric to the size I needed for the window. Sewing with a generous ½" seam, right sides together, I sewed all the way around, leaving an area open for turning. I am not sure how correct it is, but I left the selvedge on. 

Turn it right sides out through the opening you left open. Use a chop stick or other device to get the corners poked out as best as you can. 

Give it a good press all the way around. You have to fiddle a bit to get the edges of both fabrics lined up. Just take your time. =) 

 Take the fabric back to your machine and sew a ¼" top stitch all the way around the fabric. That will close up the opening you left open for turning and give your curtain panel and nice finished edge. 

 All done! This was so much easier than hemming all the way around the fabric to make the curtains. 

I chose to have the green side show for now. It looks great with the quilt I have on the wall. =) 

It's beginning to look more cozy, just in time for winter. =) 

Thanks for stopping in! Have a happy Wednesday, everyone!!