The Cow

I love this quilt! I bought the kit, which was the pattern, interfacing and Steam A Seam at the Oaks Quilt Show a few years back. While I was cleaning my sewing room I came across this bundle and when I opened it up I decided right then and there to make it. The fabrics are from my stash, mostly batiks with a few other things thrown in there so it will not be predictable!

The pattern was not hard but if you follow patterns exactly you might have a little trouble. For example my strips are skinnier than the ones in the pattern. I think I ended up using a lot more too.
I was a little worried about making the eyes look right and in the end from far away they look good. This is a quilt that is definitely better viewed from afar.

I was also thinking I had too much pink in the nose but when it was done I think it worked perfectly.

I ended up machine quilting it myself just as pictured in the pattern. The idea was to make sure all pieces of fabrics were stitched down.
This also lets you see I did random widths. It is what I like to do and I think adds interest. I quilted all up and down first and then side to side. Yes it took a long time, 2 days!

I like to find a backing that feels appropriate to the front. The daisies felt right.

So I am pretty sure this is a steer and not a cow. When my husband was a teenager he worked at a place called "The Guernsey Cow" in Exton PA. They served hand dipped ice cream, burgers, fries etc. They shortened it to "The Cow" and the name stuck with many locals. It is no longer there but to many of us it has good memories.
Oh my 2 posts in 1 week.....

Pattern is called "Abilene"
Designer Laura Heine
Fiberworks is the website where you can find this pattern and some others (I love the bee and the santa).
Background Fabric ffrom The Quilt Block in Exton PA
Cow Fabrics miscellaneous batiks, solids and prints

Kelly

Up Close

I know it has been a long time since I blogged. Just this morning a friend, Chris emailed me to see if everything was ok! I liked that I was missed (-: Thanks Chris!
I have been sewing up a storm. I am finishing up started projects that have been languishing in my sewing room and taking up space. This one above (not named yet) was quilted by Cindy Carey of Northstar Quilting. Cindy did a beautiful job and I am glad to call this one almost done. Contact me if you want her information.
Sorry about the lousy pictures but once again it looks like rain!

I have decided not to show you this one until it is quilted. I am going to try and get to it this week. It was so much fun to make but took a lot more time than I thought it would.

I have also started on some Christmas blocks. It would be nice to get this one done for this year but I am not in a rush.

This one was a blast! It was marketed as a BOM. I came in on the end so I was able to get all but one pattern right away. I made this entire quilt in less than a month, using my own fabric choices. My friends Carolyn and Jamie have a longarm business and they quilted this one for me. They suggested this new pattern they recently bought and it is perfect! As soon as the binding is done I will post it. My goal is to get it done today. Contact me if you want their information.

So I do like my termperature quilt but truthfully I am tired of making the blocks but only 3 more months to go! I can hang in there until then. It's going to be cool when it's done.

I also have a paper pieced quilt going on but have made very little progress. It will be a good retreat  project to do some mindless sewing. I really want to get back to this one.

For those of you on IG there is a Free Wheeling Single Girl sew along going on. I had the original pattern by Denyse Schmidt and made one block. Maybe now this will make it into the rotation.

Some more Christmas sewing. I made a huge error on this one and will share it in another post. I think I have figured out how to fix it. It just goes to show no matter how long you have been quilting you can mess it up! Maybe following the directions would have been a good idea.....

I like to joke that my husband and I were the only people who still slept in in a double size bed. Well now we have a kind size. He is going to make a headboard out of some black walnut. For now I hung this quilt up and I think it looks terrific! Now to paint, new carpet.........

Remember this quilt from a long time ago? I have some exciting information to share later on....

I have not been painting too much but I want to get back to it. Maybe that's because....

 I have been working on this puzzle! I love doing puzzles but it is kind of a waste of time....

I cleaned out all my books and magazines to give to my guild to sell. It feels so good!!!!

The garden is definitely starting to fade but it is still beautiful. I am reluctant to pull the flowers out as they still have some color. How long do you wait? It would be nice to do it in the nice weather but then it will look so bare!
I am going to try and get back into blogging. If you want to follow me on Instagram you can find me  at @pinkadotquilts. I deleted my Facebook page and it feels so good. I was surprised how many other people have gotten rid of their's too. Maybe there is a trend?

Kelly

July Garden

The gardens are flourishing! We have had lots of rain, translate lots of time to sew and everything has grown!
Above is a very pretty red salvia. I have never had this before but will be putting it back in my garden again next year.

The older I get the harder it is to motivate myself to weed, dig and do everything needed to garden.

These hibiscus are looking pretty good but truthfully the red reminds me of gobs of blood! In hindsight I would have chosen a different color but they seem to like where they are living...

 I chose these purple vinca and this was not my first choice. They are fine but I like the red/pink ones better. Next year.

I will always have Black Eyed Susans in my garden. They are happy warriors and perform continuously all summer long. They are a happy yellow backdrop for all the other flowers.

Black and Blue salvia, they really do look black at times!

 My Beauty bush (calicarpa) with berries that will soon be purple. This has started to self sew in my garden. Luckily I have shared this pretty fall bush. The leaves are a lovely lime green too.

I recieved a few sprigs of this last summer from my neighbor. We are not sure what it is but she said she thought it was a type of perennial impatient. I just love how delicate it is and it is in a happy place!

These petunias with the sweet potato vine make a great color combination. The geranium in this planter didn't do well this year and I am not sure why.

My butterfly bush seems a late in blooming this year. The butterflies have found it though!

I love these red cone flowers and this year they are doing great!

I have been a maniac with the liquid fence to keep the deer away from my daylilies. The reds ones are a gorgeous addition to the green in the garden. So far so good....

They did get some of the yellow ones but maybe next year I will succeed!

The hydrangea are so so. I think snow laying on the plants affects them. It's ok I will take the few little pops of purple here and there.

I don't know what I was thinking with the orange coleus....I should have gone with a different color. At least they will look good at Halloween!

Th fuchsia have struggled this year and I am not sure why....

Usually impatients do not do well here but this year the purple is a welcome relief in the shade.

Picture these against a bright blue sky, perfect!

The sycamore tree we planted a few years ago has really taken off. It is a beautiful shape and the bark has started to peel. This is my favorite tree.

I have some sunflowers that have survived the deer and bunnies at least for now! I had to stake them so the storms don't knock the over.

This is the garden I have been avoiding. It is in the back yard. The coneflowers have taken over. I am not a fan of the purple ones, they look like weeds to me BUT the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds love them. It would also be a lot of work to dig it all out....

This is another great little hard working annual flower called melampodium. I look for it every year. It is low growing but you can pick it to put into a bouquet.

No matter how hot it is outside, we sit out on the porch every single night. The end of day light that hits this section of the woods always makes me feel peaceful. I always think how lucky I am to see this every day.

We no longer see sunsets as the trees have grown for the past 32 years we have lived here but the light is always lovely.
I was gardening the other day and thinking it is very much like quilting. You can pick out the colors but sometimes they don't look right. Things self sow that you didn't plan and are gorgeous together.  You can plan, pick out the pattern/plants and buy all the stuff but if you don't do the work you won't get the results.
Gardening also gives me lots of time to think and plan things uninterrupted. I don't take my phone out with me and very seldom listen to anything other than the birds. The feel of the dirt on my hands, the sun on my face, the sweat and sore muscles are something I hope I can still experience for a long time to come.

Kelly

Quick Week!

Wow it's already Friday and July 6th! The summer is going fast!
This quilt has been about 2 years in the making! I started it at a retreat and then put it away. The pattern was easy to work on in a busy and talkative setting.

When I was cleaning up last week,  I "found" it and decided to work on it again. I added the Flying Geese borders which I LOVE!

Next up the quilting. I could not decide what to do.....so it sat some more, like another year. Finally I decided on not quite straight line quilting. It is very forgiving and feels more modern like this quilt. I am also a big fan of dense quilting, no gaps for me.

The next procrastination was the back......I wanted something fun and I NEVER use plain white, so I would not be starting now. The quilt was wider than the backing fabric so some Flyng Geese came back into play. I love how they are on the front and the back.

It is a rainy day here so the colors are off, but in real life they look great!

We have had a bit of a heat wave so my temperature quilt is sporting some pretty colors, I am excited to see what the whole thing will look like in December! I am over half way there.
Basket Quilt Stats - Pattern by Diary of a Quilter (paper pieced), fabric mostly Alison Glass, thread Aurifil in my favorite color, Dove, machine quilted by me.......lines are any where between 1/8" to no larger than 3/8". The machine quilting took like 2 days about 6 hours total. Now it needs a name, my least favorite part. Suggestions?
I have been on a sewing streak (maybe because of the heat) and have 2 more quilts that need to be bound and lots of projects on the cutting board.
What are you working on this summer?

Kelly