How Can It Be June 29th??

So I finally went to the Vermont Quilt Festival! I was helping my friend Cheryl of Cheryl Lynch Quilts in her booth. We had a lot of fun but they are long days on your feet doing lots of demos. I will say the quilts were amazing!

 I bought an antique baby quilt that I just love. I want to reproduce it in my colors.

This is the result of a workshop I did with a member of our guild, Cindy Z. It was worth every cent! She sat down, deciphered and corrected all the directions that were in Quiltmania! It was crazy how many mistakes there were. Thank you Cindy, I did not have the patience even though I have wanted to make this!

For an almost fun project, I cut apart my Kona color card and put them on a chain. It took FOREVER to punch all those holes. They are not in color order but soon they will be.

Lace Cap Hydrangea

Salsa Echinacea

My garden is slowly growing as the weather has been delightful and not scorching hot. We have had lots of rain which is wonderful as I did not have to water. This weekend there will be lots of weeding, trimming and fertilizing.

I got this book a few weeks ago and it is amazing! It's like a coffee table book but smaller. Lots of inspiration for everyone. Do check it out.

I bought these at the Quilt Block yesterday. My sewing mojo has been wanting of late. Those whales and birds will go into granddaughter Brynn's quilt.

Jaxon

Cameron

There have been lots of family things going on as well. Jax and Cam are almost 2! They are typical active 2 year olds and talking up a storm. How cute is this place to give them haircuts, keeps them occupied.

Griffin, Elliot, baby Brynn and Maddy

 Brynn's baptism was a few weeks ago. She wore the gown I made over 39 years ago. If you are thinking it's an heirloom, it's not, polyester blend before I knew any better! It even has a slip.  I love those little chunky legs! She is such a little lovey.

Dylan and Kevin 

The other exciting news is that my son, Dylan and his friend Kevin are opening up a micro-brewery in Downingtown. It's called East Branch Brewing Company (after the east branch of the Brandywine creek). For the locals it is where Molly Maguire's used to be in the old Minquas fire house, 202 E. Lancaster Ave. The opening is hopefully scheduled for sometime in August, stay tuned.

For me summertime is reading time. Last month I read almost 6 books. I am trying to get motivated to sew but it just isn't happening. So maybe soon I will have something to show but then again maybe not!

Kelly

Hippie Summer

I am working on my blocks for granddaughter, Brynn's quilt. So far this one is my favorite.

This one is a close second!

I love that little angel baby. It's an old Hoffman (I think) from the 1990's.

Do you have a Kona Color Card? While they are nice to get a good idea about colors, it is nearly impossible to see how they look next to other colors. So I have started cutting them up......

to make them more accessible. I love the orderliness of this!

I am using this hole punch that I got a long time ago from Martha Stewart. It is super sharp and has 3 different sizes to choose from. I don't think a regular one would work but you could test it out if you want to try this. You are punching through fabric and thick cardstock.
I have a bunch more to go and it is not a quick undertaking......

As for the title "Hippie Summer" I am devouring books about communes in the 60's and 70's and have found some super interesting ones. So far my takeaway is that while the adults may have been having a good time, (even that is debateable) the children were not. In some instances it borders on abusive and tragic. If you have any favorite book picks in this genre, please let me know!

Kelly

Perfect Students

I received this lovely book in the mail today. I am saving it for when I can sit down a really savor it. Do you do that too? That will be soon....

My guild, Calico Cutters holds a fundraising auction every year. People offer classes (in their homes) as part of the silent auction. So for $50.00 each, Terry, Gail, Nancy and Christine came to my house for the day to make a Lola pouch. They brought their lunch, I provided all the materials to make the pouch (I even cut it all out!) drinks and dessert.

Poor Christine. Her machine was having problems so I ran upstairs and brought mine down for her to use. Problem solved! She caught up quickly and ended up finishing before some of the others.

As you can see on Nancy's pouch, I cut out the word Maker from some fabric I had to put on the inside where I usually put a "Pinkadotquilts" label.

I chose their fabrics with some hints such as, what colors do you like, a theme, what don't you like. Gail loved her purple and lime green, yay!

Terry's pouch had a garden theme and she put in the very last stitch of the day. They were all done a half hour early, unheard of!!!

Terry, Gail, Nancy and Christine

They were all pleased as was I. They overcame their fear of zippers (well almost) and were very happy to take home a completed project. Some even said they may make more for gifts.

My sewing room on the other hand is a disaster, I don't even have room to sew! I need to get in there and do some cleaning! How does it get like that?

Kelly

June 1st!

So to try and jump start my sewing, I embarked on a totally new project. Also because I have been totally messing up on the days because of the holiday I am declaring this Wordless Wednesday!