I have lots of reasons I won’t bore you with, but they run along the lines of lazy, loss of motivation, a road block and fun stuff like that!

However, I actually learned a lot about myself during this time…So, not necessarily in order, here is what I have been up to.

I finished this little one…

Pattern by Homespun Elegance

Bits & Pieces, “Summer Fun”

I changed a few of the colors, slightly.

I also opted to stick the sheep’s body in x’s.

The pattern calls for a satin stitch, but I had some silk thread I wanted to experiment with.

I have a fabulous start on this one…..

“Northwind”

Pattern by Silver Creek Samplers

I definitely did some color changes. I am also using a “brighter” fabric than the pattern calls for.

Look at that face! I just LOVE it! The pattern calls for filling the cloud in. I am not sure if I will or not. Waiting until I have the entire piece on there to decide

I have these kitted up and ready to start!

And this. This is my lesson. Someone told someone, who told someone that I quilted…and that I had done some custom quilts….

Long story short, the gal wanted a quilt made from her first born’s clothing…

It is certainly not the quilt’s fault, nor the lady who wanted the quilt.

It is square on my shoulders.

The quilt actually came out really well. When you consider I had never done anything like this before, LOL.

However, I did not like making it. This is definitely NOT the kind of quilting I prefer…SO, hopefully the next time someone asks I will remember this and give them a friend’s number, LOL.

I think the bottom line is actually pretty simple…I quilt and stitch because I enjoy creating something for my self or a loved one. I do not enjoy doing what I have been told to do. Story of my life? LOL

There, now that I am a little caught up (LOL) I hope I will be motivated to get back with my SAL and FOF updates. I am considering just call Friday my update day

~RACHEL~

This clue would be the letter….

The next stop on the treasure hunt will be:

Just A Little Stitchin’

Have fun!!!

~RACHEL~

PS!!! Since I am LAME and couldn’t follow the directions, please see March 15th on this blog for six little Easter eggs which will be turned into a quilted wall hanging!!

OK, so on Friday I started this piece and I simply couldn’t stop. I love it!
It was stitched on Prairie Cloth (made by Moda) which seems to be 26 count. I have seen it described like this, ” It’s a wonderful, slightly coarse cloth that looks like linen and runs about half the price. It is 100% cotton and comes in many colors.” I would add that it has a fuller body to the fabric than linen and is softer to work with. I have never stitched on linen or evenweave, so trying this was totally out of my box. SO glad I stepped out! It was a fun stitch, I love the results and I love the fabric!

This piece is  Ye Olde Woolery Shoppe and it designed by Plum Street Samplers

I did change a few things, almost all of the colors used were a change. I left the little bell hanging from the sheep’s neck off  (I just see that and think cow, not sheep, LOL) and I added the “ED” to “establish”.

~RACHEL~

These 6 little eggs are pieces from another free pattern that I found (hopefully I will refind it to add a link the next time I show this project).

EDIT: Here is the link

The plan is to do the large design and surround it with these smaller ones on a quilt. So, I am breaking the “finishes” up into segments, because there is NO way I could complete the entire thing in a week!

So, we have the first part, finished!

6 little eggs…

Those of you who know me know that I am easily distracted. Scary easy. So, I was having fun stitching eggs…and thought about this other rather rustic project I really wanted to do…on a fabric I found that is not designed for cross stitch…and soon I found myself starting another project…here is what I have since starting at around 9:00 this morning…I am smitten. I am also deliberately not showing what the finish will look like Hopefully I will have it done soon!

Phew, I made it on Friday this week (everyone clapping?).

~RACHEL~

I learned a few thing attaching the sampler to the quilt in this way. Wash the quilt first. Add the sampler after. The quilt will shrink. The sampler won’t. Just saying. Fortunately no damage was done. I still love it. I just know for next time

So, here she is (the pictures were taken at night, so they aren’t that great, LOL)…

I just free motion quilted, on my regular sewing machine, very loosely around the shamrocks in the batik fabric I used…

I did use a double layer of batting as I wanted a fairly full look to this!

Thanks for stopping by!

~RACHEL~

Here is where I got to before I put it away:

Now, for what I have been working on (and finished, LOL!)…
I found this pattern for free at http://www.ant-of-sweden.com/9/free_charts/m-ant-129/1

Please note two things…#1- I also saw the pattern at two different site for sale. It is my understanding that the designer (Pelin Tezer) at one time sold the pattern, but has since made it available as a free download.

#2-Pretty important, there is an error in the pattern. A very small one, but it is there!

I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it was to stitch this! I absolutely LOVED it!

My current plan (HA!) is to return tomorrow for FOF with this piece in it’s finished form. I have my fingers crossed!!

Here are a couple of close ups, just because I can

This was just so fun. I seriously can’t believe how easy the flow was for this piece!

~RACHEL~

I also failed to update my SAL progress. I will be back to that on Wednesday!

Rachel

I missed my SAL update on Wednesday, so here it is. Currently the Topper and the first section/pattern are completed!!

My official FOF for this week is not a quilt!!

I actually have a cross stitch project that has been finished, which I love!! I do think I will finish this into a quilted wall hanging.

Barns, birds, snow…what’s not to love?

The other major thing I got completed was to completely go through all of my fabric and reorganize it! There is something about doing that just feels good! All I have left is to sort the solids by color!

To the left of the door as you walk in

Directly in front of you, looking in the closet

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!

~RACHEL~

First off, many thanks to Sew Cal Gal for hosting this!

Here are my guidelines…

Shipping will be to the USA only. Shipping will be paid by the buyer. I am pretty good at stuffing things into a small space and will combine as much as I possibly can.

International has to be shipped from the Post Office. I don’t live near one. It could be a full week (or more) before I am near one. To say nothing of the costs involved! Sorry International gals. If there is something an International gal really MUST have, email me and we will see if we can work something out.

While I am open to trades, I much more inclined to selling it outright. In the not so distant future we will be moving and I am trying very hard not to move anything “extra”. I am also more inclined to trading for cross stitching items.

If you are interested in something please comment on it, I will email you. You can also email me at barndreaming at gmail dot com, but I will do a first come, first served by the time stamp on the comments.

ALL items are PLUS shipping. I will ship at the lowest cost possible.

OK, here we go…

Hobbico sealing iron. New, with box. Great for applique or keeping a small iron next to you when piecing. I ended up with two, so one has to go. $15.00

Hexagon ruler, again, ended up with two. New, sticky paper still on it. Darlene Zimmerman, 1 to 5 inch hexagons. $3.00

SOLD

Log Cabin ruler and book, new/still in plastic. Both Marti Michell. $15.00 (for both)

SOLD

Now for some fabrics…

SOLD

The above is 1 yard of each for a total of 4 yards. It is Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda. $20.00

The above is 2 yards of Soliel/Little House by Annette Tatum for Freespirit. $10.00

The above is a total of 4 yards (2 each) from Joanns. $12.00

SOLD

The above is all Debbie Mumm for Joanns, the far left is 2 yards, 6 inches. The middle is 1.5 yards. The far right is 1.5 yards. $18.00

SOLD

The above is DS Quilt Collections for Fabric Traditions (Denise Schmidt) from 2011. On the left (Dark blue) there is a total of 5 yards (2 cut, one is 3 yard, one is 2 yard). Next one 3 yard cut. Next is a 3 yard, 26 inch cut. On the far right is a 3 yard cut.

So, the total yardage is 14 yards, 26 inches.

To be honest I did not realize there was this much of it.

All together $70.00 (That is less than $5.00 per yard. If this one does not sell after a few days I will be splitting it up. The price will not change, I will just split it into four different things for sale. I am just too lazy to retake pictures right now).

SOLD

The above is all from Fandango by Kate Spain for Moda. From left to right they are 1 yard 10 inches, 1 yard, 1 yard, 1 yard and 1 yard, 27 inches. This is a total of a tiny bit over 6 yards. $30.00

The above is by Fabric Traditions (2007).  The left piece is 6 yards. The right is 2 yards, 28 inches. That is a total of 8 yards and 28 inches. $25.00

The above is by Debbie Mumm. On the left there are two pieces. One is 1.5 yards, the other is 26 inches. In the middle is a single cut of 1 yard, 29 inches. On the right there are two pieces. One is 1 yard 29 inches,the other is 1 yard 34 inches. The total yardage is just over 7.5 yards.$30.00.

OK, that is what I have for now.

Hope everyone has a great day!

~RACHEL~

For the record, I know it is kinda wonky…but I love it. I tried a self binding (which I normally do really well with…). I also used flannel (2 thick)  for the batting and an additional piece of flannel for backing and binding. So, it was, um, a tiny bit on the thick side.

Well, y’all can cheer and clap and have a general party. This is the LAST (yes, very last!) scrap of my favorite “tree fabric” Yes, I have named it…sadly I do not recall where or when I purchased it and there is no pertinent info on the selvage (y’all can sigh in relief, because yes, I was going to try to hunt more down, LOL). Sigh.

Since I made the larger mug rug I decided I probably needed a smaller one for just my coffee mug. It will sit right next to my sewing machine.

Yes.

I have my coffee with me.

At my machine.

Don’t call the quilting police

~RACHEL~