Saturday at Camp Kilowatt

I'm happily ensconced at the camp this weekend, relaxing and enjoying some beautiful Gulf Coast weather.  Hubby and I sat on the deck last night enjoying the magnolia-scented breeze while bidding the sun adieu.  Today we poked around antique shops in a nearby town, but that's as energetic as we got.

Usually Saturdays are link-up days to share Rainbow Scrap Challenge progress, but I've finished all my neutral blocks for April and just have a group shot of all of them.  I hope no one is disappointed I don't have a virtual bakery offering today, although I'm enjoying a Biscotti di Regina with my afternoon tea as I type this!  Please do stop by Soscrappy's website to see what the other Rainbow Challengers have been up to this week.

Our antique hunting trip was more hunting than finding.  One of our favorite antique malls was inexplicably closed today, so no treasures were to be found there.  I did find a few small things, so we weren't completely unlucky!  This cute Tetley Tea tin caught my eye as I thought it would fit in well at the camp.

For now, its new home is on the entryway table Hubby built.  The pitcher belonged to my paternal grandmother and the tray in the background is an antique mall find decorated with (you guessed it!) sunflowers.  The shorebird was a camp-warming gift and the candleholders are selenite.  

There are some wonderful smells drifting up from downstairs where Hubby is cooking up some baby-back ribs.  I think we'll be dining al fresco this evening - got to enjoy every bit of marvelous weather before the relentless heat and humidity of summer set in!

Scrappy Saturday: Cinnamon Rolls Anyone?

OK, I couldn't resist one more food reference to describe this month's scrappy challenge color!  I'm a big fan of cinnamon rolls and this picture/recipe is really making me hungry!

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for April is "light neutral".  I had no problem finding plenty of scraps to fill the bill.  I did have problems taking adequate photographs of my neutral blocks.  Here are my 16-patch blocks photographed in natural daylight.

I pinned the blocks t my design wall this morning to see how they would look with the hourglass blocks I plan on using with the 16-patch blocks.  I love the subtlety of the colors, but it's hard to translate to a photo.  Even tweaking the pictures with my photo editing program didn't help.

I also pinned up several of the blocks from previous months - I wanted to see how they all played together.  I'm not sure I like how placing the colored hourglass triangles next to the 16-patch blocks creates a lozenge appearance.  I sill like the way the white triangles add some "pop" to the blocks, but I may re-think my secondary blocks.  Definitely need more colors before making a final decision!  

The rain is pouring down in buckets as I write this, but I'm not going to let it stop me from venturing out to the Gulf States Quilting Association Quilt Show!  I hope everyone enjoys their Saturday - don't forget to check out all the scrappy inspiration at Soscrappy's Rainbow Challenge link-up today!

Civil War Tribute BOM 4

So much for completing a block a month in this series.  I'm way behind my goal, but I'm the only one keeping track, I guess.  This month's block, Double Aster, commemorates the battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg which occurred in September of 1862.  The casualties reached the mind-numbing number of 23,000, but the battle had no clear victor.

This block is 18 inches; a 12 inch block is also made in the same pattern.  The block went together quickly, so I'm looking forward to moving on to block 5 - almost halfway done!

New Orleans Sunflowers: Quilted and Finished!

I shared some pictures of my New Orleans Sunflowers quilt last fall - before I sent it off to be quilted.  Local long-arm quilter Cindy Braiwick always does an amazing job of quilting, so I was looking forward to her artistry on this quilt.  She did a wonderful job fulfilling my requests and still managed to insert her usual playful touches as well!

It's way too windy to hang quilts for photography today, so I improvised by draping the quilt on my porch furniture.  The porch worked pretty well, except for the pesky lovebugs that kept getting in the way.

I wanted to have flowers quilted in the baskets, to mimic the original quilting idea suggested by Anita Shackelford in her pattern.  Cindy quilted sunflowers in the triangles and cross-hatching in the basket base.

The sunflowers were quilted to mimic the sunflower petals and the flower centers were cross-hatched to mimic sunflower seeds.

Sunflowers and leaves in the borders.

Cindy scattered lots of whimsical touches throughout the quilt.  Here are two bees buzzin'.

A caterpillar

A hummingbird.  It's almost like playing a hidden objects game!

I need to stitch down the hanging sleeve and the quilt will be ready for display.  My hubby built me a new quilt hanging rack especially for this quilt.  Hope to have pictures soon!

Scrappy Saturday: Wedding Cupcakes

Welcome to another version of scrappy Saturday - where we get to show off our latest efforts for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  Last week's blocks reminded me of Blondies, the brownie-like dessert.  Keeping with that theme, I decided this week's blocks were reminiscent of cupcakes.

It just so happens my friend KC makes amazing wedding cake cupcakes for her bakery, so here are some of hers to drool over!

Greek square blocks with scrappy light neutrals and white.

...and there's more scrappy goodness at Soscrappy's Saturday link-up!

Memory Quilt #3

Last weekend, I finished another memory quilt made from my father's shirts.  I've shared the first two quilts here and here.

This quilt is for one of my sons, so I tried to keep things simple:  a medallion center with plain fabric and zig-zag borders.

I'm very happy with the way the zig-zag border came out.  Sewing the half-square triangles together in correct order took a little concentration, but the result was worth it!

The outer fabric border features fish, again echoing my dad's love of fishing.

I'll be dropping the quilt top off at the long-arm quilter's next week.  It will be interesting to see what Cindy comes up with for this quilt!

Scrappy Saturday Blondies

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for April is light neutral.  No sweat, my scrap bins are full of light neutrals, or as I think of them:  Blondies!

I started with the Granny Square blocks this month.

Getting good photographs that show the differences in the fabrics is difficult!

I used white for the outer triangles and two different blondie fabrics for the squares.  I haven't had a chance to see how these play with the previous squares - maybe later today.

No doubt there will be more mouth-watering Blondies over at SoScrappy's blog since today is Rainbow Scrap link-up day!

Spring Cleaning

Caption from my favorite coffee mug!

I confess I don't have a lot of enthusiasm for housework.  There's nothing nicer than a freshly cleaned house, but the clean and tidy never seems to last long enough to justify the effort!  As much as a full-on Spring Cleaning might be needed - it's not gonna happen here.

On the other hand, I have been wanting to make some changes in my sewing room in an effort to free up sewing space and cut some clutter.  My favorite treadle sewing machine, which is supposed to be in use on a regular basis, had become a repository for books, fabric, quilt tops, etc.  I decided it was time to move the treadle into the guest bedroom where it could fulfill its function as a secondary sewing station.

An oak chest of drawers was moved into the treadle's spot in the sewing room.  There's room on top of the chest for the thread cabinets my hubby made for me years ago.  I know this site is going to accumulate clutter again as time goes by, but for now I'll try to keep it picture perfect!

I made a batch of these pin cushion/button jars as Christmas gifts a few years ago.  The Shaker box was a Christmas gift to me; I use it to store vintage sewing machine attachments.

Mr. Ted is keeping watch over a Sweetgrass basket from Charleston.  He's the first fully-jointed bear I ever made.  I really enjoy making bears; maybe having him keep me company in the sewing room will motivate me to stitch up some bear-friends for him!

Now that the main sewing room is in a little better order, I've got to send some time in the guest room getting my beloved Singer 201K ready to sew!