Memorial Day Sewing for QOV

I'm a day late in posting for Memorial Day, but in reality we shouldn't just be thinking of our troops and service men and women one day a year. While we were all celebrating our 'day off', I hope we sent prayers for those who are protecting and serving our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we so often take for granted They don't have days off.

I did grill some burgers yesterday, but it was really due to the fact that the wind wasn't blowing and not because it was Memorial Day.

I spent the majority of the day playing with 1/2 square triangles. I made 214 and started laying out my QOV:

There are 140 hsts here. I ran out of room so I'll start stitching and add as I go.

At the end of June we are participating in a Wounded Warrior Shoot and I hope to have this completely finished. Sure would like to have another one made too. :) However, if you don't hear from me, send out the quilting posse because it is very possible that I have been devoured by the HST that seem to be taking over my house.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winner and Wearing out a Rotary Cutter

Whew! Is everyone tired from dashing around blog land and entering giveaways last week? I want to thank all of y'all who stopped in and put your name in the hat and a special welcome to those of you who joined up with the dirt road crew! I'm thinking if y'all all came to visit in real life, we sure could get a whole lots of fence built around here! LOL. I always tell everyone we work hard, but we feed well!

So on to the announcement! I put all of your numbers into random number generator and in the blink of an eye it spit out  # 11  . So in this case, spitting is good if you are # 11 who happens to be:  captainsharmie   who said...

i LOVE coffee! it was being in university that got me hooked. at first it was just during midterms, but now? every day at work. sometimes my boss will even bring me one! and i got jamaican and brazilian coffee for Christmas this year, and boy is that stuff good!

So congratulations! I love that name! Sounds like a superhero - :) I'll get these out to you on Tuesday!

On the sewing front, not much to report, but I have been cutting up a storm. I cut out the pieces for our daughter's quilt. The largest piece is 3 1/2 x 5 and there are a lot of 1" strips...a lot for this quilt which are not pictured:

  
And since I have some new projects in the works, I figured I might as well cut some for them as well. If I handled a piece of fabric and it was red, cream, or blue, I also cut a 5" strip for a QOV zig zag quilt. That stack of neutrals is over 6" high. I think I'll be making more than one!


 If it was blue or brown, I cut another 5" for another zig zag quilt.

If it was a cheerful color, I cut a 2 1/2" strip for a colorbox quilt.


That left me with a really dull blade. I don't know why I always wait until my rotary blade is as dull as a butter knife because whenever I do replace the blade, I realize how nice it is to cut with a sharp blade.

 Now that I've got lots cut, let's go sew!

Giveaway Day Has Arrived!

This giveaway is now closed - thank you for joining in on the fun!

Quilters are incredibly generous by nature. I have yet to find one who isn't. They give away their beautiful creations on a daily basis. Quilts are donated and gifted by the hundreds. They selflessly share their fabric, patterns, inspiration, stitched masterpieces, and time and and today over at sewmamasew, they have gathered in large numbers to post giveaways.

I love having giveaways! So in conjunction with sewmamasew and to celebrate 300 posts, I wanted to offer a little something too. Last year Deanna, over at Wedding Dress Blue, shared this tutorial to make these potholders. I made a set, and then I made another...and another...and I think I made a total of 8 sets for gifts. And I am still making them! :) My Mom said not to make her any, she had plenty of potholders, but when she saw them, she changed her mind. She wanted a set for herself and a set to show off to all of her friends and neighbors who she now says need some too. LOL.

So today, I am giving away a set I just made yesterday for you. I found this fabric the other day and thought they would make darling potholders. I see four more in my near future. LOL.

These potholders measure 8 1/2" and have a layer of Insulbright, a layer of muslin, and a layer of Warm & Natural batting so they are thick and made to use. I don't want to hear that you're not using them!

This giveaway will end on May 25th at 5 pm PST and the winner will be chosen by random number generator and be announced on Sunday, the 27th. I will ship internationally and you do not have to be a follower although I would love to have you become part of the dirt road family.

Please, please, please make sure to leave me your email address if you are a non-reply commenter or I will be unable to contact you if you should win and I'll have to generate another winner. Just leave me a comment and tell me...hmmm...do you like coffee? Since these potholders are made from coffee  fabric and I don't like coffee, I thought I would ask. I LOVE the smell, but can not drink it. Everyone told me when I went to college I would learn to drink it, but nope. Just don't like the taste. I'm sure y'all are thinking, "What is wrong with her?!" Well, lots of things, but we won't worry about that today. :)

So have fun hopping around and discovering new blogs to visit this week and thank you for popping in here!

Fresh Flowers in the Desert Quilt

Are you ready for a quilt show? I know I am! We live in an area where quilt shows are few and far between. The closest one is 30 miles away and it only takes place every other year. Otherwise, I'm looking at driving 3 hours. Needless to say, I don't get to many of them. So virtual quilt shows are a treat for me so I love it when y'all share the quilts you see on your blogs.
Then Amy pulls out all the stops and hosts this enormous quilt show twice a year to coincide with Quilt Market  and its going on this week:

So, those of you who quilt, join in on the fun, and those of you that don't, pop over for a visit and be inspired to make your first quilt!

The quilt I'm sharing is my most recent finish. A couple years ago, Randi, who blogs over at I Have to Say, hosted The Road to Spring Quilt Along. At that time, I hadn't discovered this secret world of quilting blogs and I was a new quilter, but about a year later, I stumbled upon her quilt and knew I had to make it.

 I didn't have much of a stash at that time, but don't worry, I would do you proud if you saw it now! :)

We have an amazing quilt store about 75 miles away (feel sorry for  me?) and I only get there about 2 or 3 times a year. I know, not often, but I do my share of damage when I go. In fact, I had to make a trip there yesterday afternoon after I pushed the crew out the door. Thus, I knew they had received some rain and I threw my quilt in the truck hoping I would stumble across something green that would be a pretty backdrop for pictures.


Little towns always have the most charming courthouses...with GREEN lawns!

Online fabric shopping fills in the gaps. We won't mention the fact that I have gotten to know my UPS man very well either. Seriously, I have invited him to eat with us, given him baked goods, and he invited us to go to the horse races with he and his wife. However, the quilt shop in Lovington, NM is worth the extra road time! It's called The Country Store and DeAnn is amazing. She's not online yet, but I pestered her about that yesterday. :)

So on  one of my jaunts to the quilt store last year, I spied the entire Fresh Flowers by Deb Strain for Moda  Line of fabric propped up in all its splendor and I knew it was going home with me for this quilt. Often I hem and haw over which fabric to use and which pattern to choose, but this time the planets aligned and the decisions came easy.

I don't have much to share in the way of the process because I was still new to the fact that we, as quilters, love to see every stage of a quilt in the making. And I don't have a great story except for the fact that I simply had to make this quilt and I love it. The bright colors were not what I normally migrated to, but I had to have it and this is the result.

I named it Fresh Flowers in the Desert because this about the only way I can enjoy fresh flowers out here. The wind is relentless and combined with the heat and dirt, it's a struggle to make much of anything grow.
Next year, I plan to take the Master Gardener program through the Extension Office because I want to grow something like this. In the meantime, I will be content to grow my flowers through the magic of fabric:

I bought a backing for it, but ended up not using it so I have a lot of green fabric in my stash. Funny thing is, I ended up going with a different green fabric. I love the swirls on this piece and I finished it off with a scrappy binding

I had Jackie quilt an all over pattern of flowers and swirls on it.
 Looking back, it might have been cute if I had her quilt it using green thread, but I was afraid of that green thread at the time. Even so, I think it turned out really cute and she always does an amazing job.

A fresh, happy quilt that makes me smile. It measures 68"x80" and will be on the guest bed if you come to visit in the spring. Never had a guest bed, but now that we are empty nesters (insert teary eyes here), I guess we kind of do. Seems we have quite a few overnight visitors these days. This is and will always be our DD's room, but it does double duty when company comes a callin.

  When the wind is howling at 60 mph and burning up anything I have planted outside, I can rest assured that I will always have bright, happy flowers that are wind proof.