Tuesday, November 30, 2010

I am Obsessed!


With making these little bags.  This is the latest in the series from Embroidery Garden.  The are so much fun to make and I can't wait to see what Reen comes up with next.  They are easy...fast and adorable.

If you go to this link, you will see the Penguin I made.  Reen put it up on her website...it was very exciting to see something I created on a wonderful website.

http://www.embroiderygarden.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=669


Happy Tuesday Everyone!


Anett

Monday, November 29, 2010

My Little Penguin Bag

This is a little Penguin Bag I made using a design from Embroidery Garden.  He is made out of a really cool black fabric I found....the white is Minky...the purple is a fur like fabric someone sent me because they know I like purple.  This little guy really turned out cute and I just love him.  He will be on his way to my niece Deanna, this afternoon.  She loves purple also...BUT the really exciting thing is....my little purple penguin ended up being featured on the Embroidery Garden website.  I am so excited and proud to see him there.  Go have a look.

http://www.embroiderygarden.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=669

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving...it was just me and Hubby...so it was nice and quiet.



Happy Monday everyone!

Anett

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I have something to share

Two posts in one day...a miracle!

I have something totally cool to share.  The above quilt was made by my Granddaughter Michelle.  Now I am sure you are asking yourself what is so special about it....well I am going to tell you.  A couple of month's ago...Michelle decided she wanted to sew....I found a machine for her, sent it to her...sent her some you tube videos...she did some research on her own and ended up making this wonderful quilt, without ever having turned on a machine in her life!  She had lots of trials and tribulations along the way and almost gave up a couple of time....I am so glad she didn't, because look what she created...this is using no pattern...no idea how to cut fabric..how to use a rotary cutter...nothing!  She just went for it and I am so proud of her I could bust! Can anyone see a mistake in it NO!  All I can see is a wonderful quilt that when it is finished....something she can be totally proud of!!!

Great Job Michelle!  You rock!!!

Hope you all leave comments to encourage her to make more wonderful projects like this.


Anett

A few things for sale




 I have the above cell phone, what not bags for sale.  They may not be in these exact fabrics, but they will be close.  They are $7.00 each and the shipping will depend on how many you buy.  These are so much fun to make and I am hoping to sell some of them

You can email me at anett.redding@gmail.com to order.

Thanks,

Anett

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Paying it Forward

I am participating in a pay it forward blog hop.  I signed up with Norma at
www.creativityhasnolimits.blogspot.com


a few months ago.  I received her package a few days ago.  I have not been able to post about it, because I had a heck of a week at work....was preparing to sell some craft items at a fair and trying to find time to shop for Thanksgiving dinner.  This is what I received from Norma....thank you very much.  I will now be picking three people to pay it forward to.......who know who that will be......I am picking people from amongst my followers and friends with blogs....Stay tuned....maybe it will be you!



Monday, November 8, 2010

A great Giveaway

can be found here

http://lavenderridge.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Design Wall Wednesday

I have wanted a Sunbonnet quilt for as long as I can remember and was just to lazy to make one...however I started one sometime ago and it is now almost complete.

Somewhere in my brain I decided to do this on point!  I have no idea what I was thinking, but there you have it.  I am not sure I will ever do another one this way, but then again you never know what the mind will do.  I still have to decide on a final border...I am thinking a solid, but I may just take the border that's on there now off and redo it too.  I may have to consult with my quilt guru (Pat) and see what she has to say.  I want this to fit my queen sized bed so it is going to be a large quilt.  I was going to do the quilting on it, but I am thinking maybe not now.  So as you can see I am very decisive about this quilt!  It was fun...I learned a lot about my skills and hopefully it will be completely finished in the next couple of months.

Later gators...



Anett

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Design Wall Wednesday

I found out last Wednesday that one of the children of my Grand Daughter Michelle, who I have just reconnected with was having a birthday this coming Friday.  Well my first thought was she needed a quilt.  I had made pillowcases for all of the kids a couple of weeks ago and Tristan..the youngest thought it was a blanket.  Michelle has since found her curled up in it, I made them rather big and she is just a little bitty thing, so she fits inside!  LOL  So last Thursday I quickly and I do mean quickly made a quilt top.  Had lots to do on Friday and Saturday, so I started to quilt this on Sunday

and finished the quilting on Sunday..I started sewing the binding down last night and finally finished it this morning.  The quilting is pathetic and I am not very proud of it, but the whole thing is made out of Flannel and I am hoping that Tristan will love it.

I am however kind of proud of the label...below


I watched a you tube video on how to do the blanket stitch this morning and I think for a first try...it came out pretty good. This quilt and some craft stuff for my grand daughter will be off in the mail this morning...I am just hoping it arrives on Friday for Tristan's birthday.


Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday.


Anett

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Design Wall Wednesday

I have been using up scraps and making 4 patches....I did these in about an hour.  4 patches are one of the blocks that I enjoy making the most.  They are easy and almost always come out perfect the first time.  I have no idea what they are going to be, as I am going to make many, many more of them before I decide what to do with them.  My granddaughter Michelle is learning to sew and quilt.  this is the block she has chosen for her first quilt.  It has been an absolute joy to listen to her talk about fabric and colors and the process of making a block.  We have shared much laughter over her process of learning.  She learning about having a stash of fabric, how easy it is to want every yard of fabric you see and most importantly, how to conceal the fact that you have bought a bunch of fabric from your husband...LOL.

This is what is up on the design wall.  I am trying to get the other four sunbonnets done, so that I can start putting together my "calendar" sunbonnet quilt.  I am trying to match the fabric with a theme for every month.  8 down...4 to go.  Also on the design wall are some flying geese blocks that I make...my first attempt ever...they came out great..and I am no longer intimidated about making them.  Lastly on the design wall is a "table" runner that I made for my dining room table.  It ended up being wider than I thought it was going to be...so I have decided that instead of going on my table...I am going to finish this and use it as a cover on one of the old singers I have in a cabinet.  I love the colors and I was able to find the perfect machine embroidery design to fill in the white spaces.

Happy Wednesday Everyone.



Anett

Thursday, October 7, 2010

I must be out of my mind!

I tried a few years ago to sell some of my crafts at a bazaar....I was unsuccessful and swore I would never do it again.....wellllll....here we go again.  I was asked by a very dear friend of mine to once again sell stuff at a bazaar.  How could I say no...right!  WRONG...I should have run...not walked away.  So this weekend, I will be sewing overtime to get enough stuff together to take to the bazaar.  I am going to be making "humbug bags", some pincushions...some machine embroidered dish towels and anything else I can make fast.  If nothing sells, I figure I will be way ahead on my Christmas sewing...guys like pincushions right!  lol.  I am going to make some sets of the "humbug" bags and some singles.  A few years ago..I learned how to make these bags.  I was so intimidated by the zipper, but not..if I have the fabric quilted...I can make one in less than 10 minutes.  I have literally made tons of these bags and I think everyone I know has one.  So I know I can churn those out in not time flat.  Hubby is on food duty this weekend...I am only stopping for food and potty breaks, but I want to make sure I have a good selection of all the stuff I want to take.  the fair isn't until next month, so I do have sometime to get my "act" together, but I am a major procrastinator and I don't want to make myself crazy...I am going to get started early.

Hope everyone has a great, relaxing weekend.

Hugs and love,


Anett

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A Reconnection

When we decided to leave our home state of Colorado back in 1986, we knew we would be giving up a lot of things.  We were leaving our entire family and our kids for a new life in Oregon.  Over the years it has not always been easy being totally away from family and all the friends we left behind.  But we have made some new friends along the way and we have survived.  Until the last few weeks, I have been really OK with the move.  I have recently reconnected with our Granddaughter Michelle..now 30 and we have something in common....crafting!  You all know that really is the heart of me.  I love to craft, I love to share my crafts and it brings me a great deal of joy. 

I found out that Michelle wanted to learn to sew...I went on a hunt for a sewing machine for her.  I was talking to my friend Jean and found out that her daughter had left behind her old machine and it was up for grabs.  Well I immediately went to get it and got somethings together for Michelle and off the package went to Colorado.  It arrived yesterday and Michelle is already working on some coasters this morning.  I directed her to You Tube for tutorials and she is going for it.  So although Michelle and I have not kept in touch over the last few years, we have now reconnected over something that gives us both a lot of joy.  Now comes the part that is hard...I am not there to really help her get started on her sewing journey.  We are doing out best to email and text, but it just isn't the same as being there.  Also, my favorite niece is starting to sew again and I can just see the three of us having a ton of fun together.  We are not in a position to move at this moment, but it is something to think about!

Happy Stitching everyone.


Anett

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I have a headache now

I decided to be brave and participate in a 9 patch block swap over at http://juliekquilts.blogspot.com/.....well little did I know that I was going to have such a terrible time making these blocks.  Now I have made 9 patch blocks before without a lick of problems.  They were to be made out of civil war fabrics...totally out of my comfort zone.  But, thanks to a wonderful friend of mine, I had some fabric and I went to my favorite and beloved Fabric Depot and bought some more.  This is the result of my efforts.  I had to make 78 blocks of the 6.5 inch size and 50 of the 3.5 inch size (not shown) I used three different machines and a ton of fabric that went in the trash.  But they are now done and if the post office does its job, they will arrive in time, so I won't be a late sender. 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

New giveaway - October 1st - UPDATE!!!!

UNFORTUNATELY MY NAME AND BLOG NAME WAS LEFT OFF THE LIST.

SORRY FOLKS,

ANETT


I will be participating in a give away with a whole bunch of other bloggers...stay tuned and I will get it all together this weekend and let you know what I will be giving away and where to participate with the rest of the bloggers.  I have to figure out how to save the button on my blog!

Stay tuned,....


Anett

Sunday, August 15, 2010

wonderful give away

Check out this give away ...it is for an accuquilt.


http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2010/08/accuquilt-go-give-awaylets-go-go-go.html


If I had one of these, the first template I would choose would be the Sunbonnet....big surprise there....right!


Anett 

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Great giveaway

Take a peek at Mary's giveaway....it is wonderful.  I just found her blog through the Painted Quilt blog and it looks like a great blog.



Everyone have a great week.



Anett

Sunday, May 2, 2010

A Great Giveaway

Doreen over at this blog is having a great give away of some prime dolls.  They are adorable....take a look.


Anett



http://priviesandprimsblog.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Going home

On May 13th I leave for Colorado...Home.....  I can't wait to get there and I will probably be anxious to get back to Oregon once I am there....sometimes it's a no win situation.  In preparing to go, I decided to make some of my family something.  My Mentor (Pat) has been making pillowcases using the sausage method.  She talked me into trying it and now I am hooked big time.  I have made 8 so far and I have 4 more cut out and pinned to sew.  They are so much fun and I love trying to find fabric combinations from my stash.  Most of the ones I have finished, I have used my stash, but I did buy fabric for a couple of them.  Trying to match the fabric to the person I am giving them to.  Below is one of the photos of what I have done so far.


I am totally addicted to this method of making pillowcases!

Happy Saturday Everyone,



Anett

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Block party

I have been playing with a few blocks over the past couple of weeks.  I want to do a signature block quilt for myself...so when I go home to Colorado in 3 weeks, I am going to take some blocks with me for my friends and family to sign...these are the two blocks and  fabrics I have done a test drive with, but I not sure this is bright enough for me.

I think that both settings are great, but think I am more partial to the upper setting.  Included in this quilt will be several blocks signed by friends from around the world.  I will be sending blocks to Australia, Scotland, England, Canada and several states here in the Us.  I truly want to include all of my friends and family in this quilt for me. 

At the same time, I have also tried an additional block called a bow tie block.  I really am not into piecing like this, but my friend Pat in Canada keeps trying to convince me I can do everything...she keeps talking (which is not unusual for her) and I keep listening...not doing some of it, but listening!  LOL  The blocks I have tried are below.
I think the yellow fabric was too light weight and I don't like how the seams show, but they were fun to make and I would seriously like to make a quilt using these blocks.

Until next time,

Anett

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

a Labor of Love - Fast Eddie's quilt

My mother nick named my nephew Fast Eddie when he first started walking, because that boy could move once he learned he could stand on his own two feet and walk.....I don't think he actually ever walked...I think he started from the get go running!

This is the t-shirt quilt I have been working for over three years now. It is made from t-shits that belonged to my nephew Eddie. Eddie passed away almost 4 years ago. I made a ton of mistakes on it, but undoubtedly it was the hardest quilt I ever had to make. When I first received the box of shirts...it took me well over 18 month's to even be able to open the box, I opened it looked at the shirts and closed the box right back up. I was overwhelmed with memories of Eddie and his growing up years and I just couldn't open the box again. It took me almost another year to open it again. The next time I did, I was able to take the shirts out and actually cut and stabilized several of them before I couldn't do it any more. The shirts still smelled like Eddie and it was just to hard to do anything with them. Finally, I realized that no matter how often I put it off, I had made a promise to his mother to get this quilt done and I was going to have to just suck it up and work on it. I finally got all the t-shirts cut and stabilized and sewn into rows and had to stop again. About a month ago, I was finally able to sew all the rows together and just this past weekend I was able to get the borders on it. This is going to a long arm quilter today to see if he can use Eddie's favorite blanket as the back of the quilt and then will be quilted with fancy hearts that my quilter can do. I still have not decided what the label will say and I have to get that done this next weekend. I have to say, out of all of the quilts that I have made, I will be truly glad when this one goes to its new home.

I miss you Eddie!

till next time,


Anett

Sunday, April 4, 2010

It's a Signature Thing















Thanks to Melissa at http://cornbreadandbeansquilting.wordpress.com/ I learned how to make the above Signature blocks. She had a block swap on her blog done in these blocks using civil war fabrics...also something I would not have picked, but ending up really liking. These fabrics are way out of what I would normally pick, but I thought to try something new. I think that I am actually liking the ones on the left better than the ones on the right. I am making these blocks to take home with me in May when I visit my family and friends. I am going to have everyone sign one and then bring them home and make a quilt for me. I am also going to send one of them to several friends that live out of the country for their signatures also. I continue to try expand on the types of blocks I can do, but at the end of the day I am still just a simply quilter making simple quilts. My passion for quilting is what keeps me going and I will never be a master quilter and that's alright with me...it's about the creating...and giving and not about the skill level.

Off to cut more fabrics for these....Have a Happy Easter!

My best to all,


Anett

Friday, April 2, 2010

Love surrounds us....

"Like the stars swirling around this fabric, Eddie's love also surrounds us. His t-shirt reminds us of times shared and that he will always be in our hearts"

I made this pillow cover out of a t-shirt of my nephew's that passed away almost 4 years ago. His sister (my oldest niece) has had a terrible time with his passing. So I am going to send this to her this week as a reminder that although he is physically gone, he will always be with us. Eddie was very smart and loved his family more than anything. I am also working on a t-shirt (from Eddie's t-shirts) quilt for my sister-in-law that is just about finished. It has been very hard to do, not technically, but I am glad it's almost done.

I hope that every one is having a great start to their weekend.....Happy Easter to all.

till next time.....


Anett

Monday, March 29, 2010

and the Winners are......

For the additional give away of the baby shoe pincushion, the winner is

Sheila at:

http://myemptynestisfullofcathair-sheilac.blogspot.com/


The winner of the Hoppin down the bunny trail give away is

Dawn at:

http://dquilts.blogspot.com/

Congratulations to both of you ladies and I hope that you enjoy your prizes when they arrive.

I also again, want to thank everyone who stopped by and left comments, a special thank you to those that became followers and especially to Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches for hosting the hop along.

Have a great day everyone,


Anett

A Positively generous give away

Take a look ladies...this generous lady is giving away a quilt!

http://banaghaisge.blogspot.com/2010/03/blogaversary-give-away.html

Be back in a few minutes with the winners of my give away.


Anett

Thursday, March 25, 2010

A great give away on another of the blogs

Take a look everyone.


http://poemsmyway-valrie.blogspot.com

Additional Give away


With the Hoppin Down the Bunny Trail in full swing, I had so many comments about the pincushion in my give away, I decided to give another one away. Just leave a comment here to be entered into the drawing for this sweet pincushion.

Happy Spring everyone.


Anett

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Thank You

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who posted a comment on my blog today and for those who are now followers. It has been wonderful to see so many comments...this is a first for me to have that. I have read everyone...I am happy that you like the items that I have gathered, especially the pincushion...they are one of my passions to make.

I didn't have a chance to get to too many of the blogs today, but I intend to do that first thing in the morning...I want to see what everyone else is giving away too.

Good night and rest well everyone.


Anett

Hoppin Down the Bunny Trail Give away


It's time for the first of two Give Away's I will be doing. This is a giveaway that Sandi at a Legacy of Stitches put together. Here is the link to her blog http://alegacyofstitches.blogspot.com/ Please hop over there and take a look at the other blogs that are also participating. All you have to do is leave a comment here from today, through March 28th to win all the goodies above. I will draw one name on March 29th. I will mail internationally also.




Have a great day.


Anett

Monday, March 22, 2010

Woody Wood Pecker and a give away


This is what happens to your tree when Woody Woodpecker makes a visit and not to a theater near you. For months I kept hearing something banging out in the back yard of our home. It sounded like my neighbor was building something, so I didn't really pay attention to it. Then about 2 weeks ago, I was out walking the dogs and heard it again, only it sounded like it was coming from our back drive way. I quietly walked down there and looked up and sure enough, there was Woody Woodpecker in all his glory..having a great time destroying our tree. This is the first time I have ever seen a wood pecker...the cartoon yes, but a real live one....NO! Believe me when I saw what he had done to this beautiful tree, I wanted to shoot him and stuff him for the mantle! I have to admit, he sure was beautiful, but the damage he had done will cost me a ton of money to have the tree cut down. I guess there are disadvantages to living in the country and this is one of them! I am hoping that Woody is on his way elsewhere and I won't be seeing him anytime soon.

I will be having the first of two giveaways starting on the 24th of March. The first one, I am participating with Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches and her Hopping down the Bunny Trail - Good Eggs giveaway, please come back on the 24th of March to see what I will be giving away and how to participate.

Till then,


Anett

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Back in the Saddle again!

Well...I never expected to be away from my blog for this amount of time...did life and commitments ever get in the way. My husband had his second knee replacement in December and for the most part it all went pretty well. We had a little bit of a rough patch, he has lost a lot of weight...dang him...but he is on the road to recovery. I also got rid of a commitment that was draining me physically and mentally and now I am ready to play and try some new things....I feel like I lost a ton of weight myself...unfortunately I wasn't so lucky.... It's all still there! New Year's resolution I am trying to keep...not so many pounds gone...but some inches. I have been sewing quite a bit. I have made 3 rag quilts since September and I have the top to a fairy panel quilt ready to layer and quilt...hopefully I will start it today. I have been practicing my machine quilting by making pot holders out of some old quilt blocks that I bought at a garage sale this summer. That has really been fun. A wonderful friend...Sandi....at A Legacy of Stitches (I don't know how to do the whole link thing) has a Yahoo Group...SeasonsBOM has challenged us to make a mini quilt every month representing that month. I have my January one done and will post a picture in my next blog post. I will also be posting the give away I promised months ago...I finally got my act together and now it is all ready.

I feel re-energized and ready to really sew this year. I am making signature blocks with some fabric I wouldn't ordinarily pick..but I had started them in the hopes of participating in a swap that I didn't get to sign up for in time....so I am going to make a bunch up with the fabric that I bought and I am taking them home with me to Colorado in May and I am going to have all our friends and family sign them. Then I will bring them home and make a quilt for me out of them. I can't wait.

I thank everyone that has stayed around even though I haven't posted and I hope to be posting some new and exciting things I have made in the next few months'

Thanks for taking the time to hangout with me for a bit as you read this long post.

My best to all,


Anett