Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Farmhouse Style with AccuQuilt...

 


...Farmhouse style is defined as a style that prioritizes practicality, simplicity and rustic charm. It embraces both rural architecture and modern comforts while creating a look that feels both cozy and stylish.  

Read on to find out how I used the GO! Pennant die (55149) to create that cozy feeling of rustic fall decor for my actual farmhouse.

First, in addition to the pennant die, I gathered an assortment of fall dies:

  • GO! Fall Medley (55041)   
  • GO! Rustling Leaves #3 (55391)  
  • GO! Rustling Leaves #4 (55392)        
  • GO! Pumpkins (55323)   

These dies will work with any of the AccuQuilt cutters, the GO! Me, GO! or GO! Big.

Next, gather an array of rustic and practical supplies. Specific amounts for each project will be listed on the free patterns found on AccuQuilt. 

You may be wondering if the dies can be used to cut product other than quilting materials? The answer is YES!! Burlap, fun foam and vintage book paper all worked amazing with no harm done to the blades in the dies.

The finished banner exceeded even my imagaination--I just love the end result!! I so love the cozy feel it adds to the great room and enjoy looking at it from my easy chair after a long day working in the studio--or a long day of bringing meals out to my farmer working in the field!!!

The pattern for the banner can be found HERE.

On one end of my dining room I have a large chalkboard. Various quotes and scripture passages are written on it according to each season. See the quote for this fall on my Instagram HERE

Designing these chalkboard illustrations is where I learned that regular white school chalk can be sharpened with a regular pencil sharpener. How cool is that?!? Any of the above writing utensils will work to write on the black fun foam.

The place settings worked up so fast and easy!!! Setting a pretty table is something I remember my grandmother doing--remember those turkeys made with a cone shaped chocolate mint, a Ritz cracker and corn candies--she would always have those on her Thanksgiving table. 

Such a great memory. I want my grandkids to remember that the holiday tables at my house where pretty and always full of love and laughter just like I remember at my grandmother.

The pattern for the place setting can be found HERE.

So, do you think there can be one more thing made with the pennant die--other than a pennant?! Well how about an adorable little gift bag!!

These are a little bit more fiddly than the other two projects, but still quite fast and easy. What a great little holiday party favor these would make. Fill them with a harvest mix of salted peanuts and candy corn. Or even a stack of cookies would fit in it. 

How about making a whole bunch of them with some little people in your life, then deliver the filled gift bags to a local nursing home. What a great learning and volunteer time that would be together.

The pattern for the gift bag can be found HERE.

"The best way to do ourselves good is to be doing good to others, the best way to gather is to scatter."    --Thomas Brooks

Here is a cookie recipe that I think would work well in the gift bag. It is from my grandmother. My mother used to make them to remember her.

Grandma Sylvia's Molasses Cookies

  • 3/4 cup oleo or butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon clove
  • 2 and 1/2 cups flour

Mix together. Roll dough in small balls. Then roll balls in white sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-10 minutes.

"So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another."                                   1 Corinthians 11 : 33

Below are the other GO! Getter blogs to find more great ideas!!!
GO! Gnome Kitchen Magnets – Katy https://katyquilts.net/

Build A Snowman – Vicki https://knitbug2.blogspot.com/

Felt Pieces – Katy https://katyquilts.net/

GO! No Sew Christmas Ornaments – Suzy https://websterquilt.blogspot.com/

GO Christmas Tablecloth – Denise https://fortheloveofgeese.com/

GO! Gnome Tea Towel – Suzy https://websterquilt.blogspot.com/

Mini Monthly Calendars – Laura https://orangeblossomquilt.com/

Pennant Projects – Terri https://lizardcreekquilting.com/blog

Flutter Pillow – Melanie Call https://abitofscrapstuff.blogspot.com/

Ricebag/ Cube – Jennifer Strauser https://dizzyquilter.com/

No Sew Magnets – Melanie Call https://abitofscrapstuff.blogspot.com/

 




Thursday, March 4, 2021

Cultivate some projects with Vincent's Garden fabrics....

 


Oh my...it seems like forever ago that Karen of The Quilt Rambler invited me to design something with her 1st Signature fabric line by Island Batik. Karen and I are online friends who met while we were both Island Batik Ambassadors. We have yet to meet IRL (in real life), but hope to someday soon!!

The colors in this Vincent's Garden line are bright and oh so vibrant!! Such a great contrast between the warm--reds, oranges and yellows vs. the cool--blues and turquoises. And as is with all Isalnd Batik fabrics, the details in the batik fabrics are so cool. One of the blue fabrics has a super cool swirl in it that reminds me of a swirl in a Vincent Van Goh painting. Like I said--I love the details that Island Batik puts in their fabrics.

From the designs I submitted to Karen, she choose this design--Cultivate to be made with Vincents' Garden fabrics. As you can see--by working with only the cool colors in the line a whole different feeling can be made. This pattern is available on my website HERE.

I had a lot of fun quilting Cultivate. The spikey plant column in the sashing, pointy flowers in the green sqaures, then lots of texture through the paper pieced plants and flower pots. Super texture that tells more of the Cultivate story.

I had a test block left from the original Cultivate quilt--so thought it would be a fun little project to share for Karen's blog hop. The succulent plant pattern is available in the Cultivate pattern--but I have added the cut dimentions for a pillow here for you to have fun with.

Below you will find the complete list for this week's hop--make sure to see all the other amazing projects that were made with Vincents' Gardent line.

Monday 3/1   

 

Michele Sutton, Sew Sutton Quilts   

https://www.instagram.com/kmichelesutton/  

https://www.facebook.com/sewsuttonquilts  

 

Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs  

https://www.instagram.com/songbird_designs/  

https://songbirddesigns.biz/blog/  

 

Tues 3/2   

Paula Nelson, Prairie Notion Quilt Shop   

https://www.facebook.com/prairienotions  

https://www.instagram.com/okieskiesquilting/  

 

Amy Costabile, Amy's Quilt Room  

https://www.instagram.com/amysquiltroom/  

https://amysquiltroom.com/blogs-by-amy  

 

 

Weds 3/3   

Bea Lee, Beaquilter  

https://www.beaquilter.com  

 

Roseanne Nelson, Home Sewn By Us  

https://www.homesewnbyus.com  

https://www.instagram.com/rml2b/  

 

Thurs 3/4   

Jennifer Strauser, Dizzy Quilter  

https://dizzyquilter.com//  

 

Sarah Yuhr, Sew Much Charm

https://www.instagram.com/sewmuchcharm/

https://sewmuchcharm.com/blog/

 

Friday 3/5  

Terri Vanden Bosch, Lizard Creek Quilting  

https://lizardcreekquilting.com/blog  

 

Margaret Willingham, Eye of the Beholder Quilt Design  

https://www.eobquiltdesign.com/blog  

https://www.instagram.com/eobquiltdesigns/  



Make sure and head over to Karen's blog HERE for a fat quarter bundle and  her PDF patterns giveaway.


Leave a comment here on my blog and I will pick a winner next week for a PDF of Cultivate. Thanks and have a lovely day!!

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Wild Iowa Rose...Around the States...50 blocks tour

 ...welcome to my day of Around the States block tour!!



Iowa has been my home for over 35 years now--so I guess you can say I plan on staying here!!

A few fun facts about the state--Iowa became the 29th state in 1846. "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain" is the states' motto.


Manufacturing and agriculture are the states' largest industries.

The state leads the nation in corn and soybean production--both of which we grow on our farm. Also, the state is 3rd in total livestock sales. The livestock we raise is pork.


Iowa is bordered by the Missouri river on the West....that is Nebraska you see in the distance...


...and the Mississippi on the East...we are heading back into Iowa after a short stay in Illinois...


...and in between the rivers you will find miles of backroads with rows and rows of cropland on either side...

...seeing all this beautiful countryside from the back of our motorcycle is my favorite thing in the world--besides quilting of course!!

I hope you have been enjoying this block tour around the United States--more information can be found HERE.

States coming up after Iowa can be found at these sites:

Seams to Be Sew

Applique Quilts and More


To represent Iowa, I chose a take on "Hole in the Barn Door" block. The blue fabric represents the rivers that border the state. I used a fresh green fabric to represent the vast acres of agriculture plants that cover the state during the growing season. And the state flower--the Wild Rose, that grows profusely along the roadways!!