Blog

Hello all, Mary Ellen here.That list of comments to yesterday’s prompt got my mouth watering. Every cookie/treat sounded good to me. I haven”t started my baking this year–and with our “stay at home” orders I probably won’t do as much as usual. Can’t be trusted with lots of cookies in the house and only myself to enjoy them! Do you need any ideas for quick gifts for neighbors or friends? Gudrun Erla has few free patterns at her website that you might like, and you probably have enough fabric and batting on hand to make them up quickly. Click here for the patterns. Today is the last day to comment for our holiday drawing for prizes. Since we can’t get together this year for our guild’s holiday party, let’s all raise a glass with dinner and toast the good friends we have made through quilting! And here’s the last prompt […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here.It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Big fluffy flakes coming down slowly. So pretty. How are all of your holiday preparations coming along? I have put away the fall things, but haven’t gotten the Christmas ones out yet. Got my 2nd shingle shot yesterday, and don’t feel very ambitious today. The cleaning crew comes today, so I’ll blame my lack of decorations on wanting everything cleaned up before I add “Christmas”. If you’re looking for a project for the kids to do, here’s one that could be cute or pretty. Lace appliques will take it one direction. Fussy cut fabric appliques from novelty fabrics would take it another way. Click here for directions. A reminder that tomorrow is the last day to comment on our blog to be entered into the drawing for prizes. If you miss the deadline, your name will go into […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’m trying to do as much of my holiday shopping online as I can this year. How about you? I just bought a bunch of gift cards to Home Depot on line for the guys on my list. I don’t think the website was very user friendly, but it still was faster, easier and safer than a trek to a local Home Depot. This website, Just Get It Done Quilts, has a nice list of gift ideas for quilters. You could have a friend or family member watch the video to get ideas for you, or maybe you’ll get inspiration for gifts that you need to buy. She also has included a link to her list from 2019–so you’ll get 20 good suggestions for gifts specifically for quilters. Click here to watch. Still collecting comments heading toward our prize drawing on the 17th. Do you […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Even with a year like 2020, we all have things to be thankful for. One of the things I’m thankful for is all of you blog readers and commenters. I hope you all have a great day today.                               

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. What do pie crusts have to do with quilting you say? I am a fan of the King Arthur baking catalog. Since I order from them frequently, I of course am on their email list.And look what came today: For those of you who make your own crusts, wouldn’t this be an impressive one to bring out at Thanksgiving dessert time? Click here for the procedure. If you try it, send me a picture so I can share it here! And here’s another question to encourage a comment. Sitting down for a long piecing/quilting session again, Shoes on or shoes off?

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. How many more times will we be raking the leaves, do you think? The trees surrounding my yard are pretty much empty of their leaves, but the neighbors across the street have a lot of leaves left on theirs. Unfortunately their leaves end up in MY yard many times. I’m taking a break from raking! What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year? It’s really hard to plan isn’t it? In case you would like some easy autumn  projects for yourself, or to give to friends and family, here is a free pattern for a cute acorn potholder. Click here. And here’s a cute turkey potholder. This one’s not free, but I’ll bet the picture is all many of you will need! click here. One more reminder that in order to be entered in the drawing for prizes at our holiday party you need to […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Gnomes are so trendy right now. If you need a really easy free pattern for easy gifts, try this one out. You can make the mug rug version (great for odd small scraps) or the wall hanging. How about a mug rug, a cute mug, and a packet of deluxe hot chocolate mix for a nice gift for your nail girl, cleaning lady or anyone else who is helping you maintain some normalcy in life these days? If you start now, you could have lots of these completed by Christmas. Click here for the pattern. Don’t forget that commenting enters you in the drawing for prizes to be held at our holiday party. If you are not planning to attend, you can still enter. If you win a prize I’ll make sure it gets to you. Delivery by gnome or elf!

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Came across this article about feathered star quilts in my feed today. One of the quilts lent to us for our guild/BNHV showcase is a beautiful feathered star quilt made by Annette M-G. You’re going to love it. Lots of links to patterns, history and classes in this article. If you’ve been quilting for a while you’re probably quite familiar with the name Marsha McCloskey and have admired her star quilts.In person classes probably won’t be around for a while so maybe you’d be interested in Marsha’s online feathered star class.   Click here for the article.

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Sylvia S., our guild’s FaceBook guru, sent me this link to share with all of you. It has lovely ideas for displaying your fall quilts, and links to patterns for some pretty quilts as well. Click here. How’s your yard work coming? I’d rather be at my machine than outdoors putting the gardens to bed, but alas it must get done! How about your recipe repetoire? Anyone have a good soup recipe, or a delicious apple dessert recipe to share? I found this recipe in my FaceBook feed yesterday. I have a ton of apples, so I’m going to make my own apple pie filling, but keep the rest of the recipe the same. Sounds yummy to me! If you try it, let us know how it turned out.   2 cans of Cinnamon rolls quartered, 1 can apple pie filling, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’ve had a few requests from my nieces for seasonal quilts for their family rooms. I have so much fabric in my stash that I want to use what I have rather than buying more, and I want to use a pattern that will chop some of the uglies into small pieces AND will be fast and easy to cut. I’ve decided to make jelly roll race quilts. Do you know what those are? (See here if not).(You could also search for jelly roll quilt or jelly roll 1600 to see other blog posts about this.) One modification I am planning to make is to cut each 40 inch strip in half to 20 inches. That will give more variety – scrappiness? – to the top. Both nieces are quite tall. I wanted to make sure that there will be enough size to the quilt […]