“Friendship, love, health, energy, enthusiasm, and joy
are the things that make life worth living and exploring.” ~ Denise Austin

Sunday, April 28, 2013

64 blocks for scrappy trips quilt

 I have posted a photo of each block I have made for my scrappy trips quilt.....
 I started these blocks in January and have certainly enjoyed putting all of them together....
 I used Sandy Gervais fabrics for all of the blocks.....
Here is the last block.....sad in a way as it has been so fun...........
Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville has the directions for the scrappy trip around the world...
Here are some of the blocks on my LR floor.....
Taking photos is a good way to see what blocks look best together....
I just layed blocks down to see what happens...
I have a lot of major changing blocks around to find the best placement....
Such great fun!!!!.......

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Scrappy trips blocks 57 through 60

 I am getting close to having all of the scrappy trips blocks done....
 These are for my scrappy trip around the world quilt using a tutorial from Bonnie Hunter.....
This quilt will have all Sandy Gervais fabrics in the blocks....
I am working on the last four blocks and I will post when they are finished....

The flickr group is growing and it is fun to see what others are doing....
I think everyone should join in the fun.........

I am linking to Pat Sloan's Show and Tell.
Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Trip to the country

Oh yes....look at that lovely peaceful scene!!!
 This past week we took a trip to the country....
It was late in the afternoon and the shadows were so wonderful...
 photos taken in Pine Hills outside of Julian....
Just love this area......it always triggers me to want to buy a place out here again!!!
This photo was taken from the car as we were speeding along by Lake Cuyamaca....
The photo is Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant in the shadows...
We had just been to the restaurant to check it out...
Franz retired in January and we wanted to see what it was like now.....
but it was CLOSED.....we will have to learn the new hours that it is open....
So we ate in Julian at the Rongbranch....delicious!
This is about 100 miles round trip from our house.....but oh so worth the drive!

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Eiffel tower runner on Eiffel tower table


Several weeks ago I posted about a runner I was making...
So here is the runner on the trunk on the Eiffel tower table at Stamp Delights....
 Debbie has a Paris/travel theme throughout the store.....very fun store to visit...
 I wrote a lot of positive words throughout the runner....
You can find her blog here

I am linking to Pat Sloan's Show and Tell.

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Saturday, April 13, 2013

tutorial for cardmaking with stitching

 Here is a card I made several days ago and I learned a lot in the process...
I haven't made any cards for awhile and had no idea what I was going to make...
I have a hard time coming up with my own design and need to get ideas from other people ...
To start I decided to pick a flower stamp and stamp on fabric and stitch the lines...
(I had done this with another flower stamp on fabric in Dec 2010.)
For the top and back I used antique dots fabric and batting between the layers...
I stamped with Fabrico sky mist fabric ink on both of the fabrics stamped on this card...
the thread on the flower is Rainbow #838 varigated...

Stamps I used for this card:
Hero Arts CG134
Hero Arts CG119
Memory Box B1354
Verses MC0330-D

After stitching I applied Smooch grape soda accent pearlized ink (has an applicator)...
I like the way it shows the dots in the fabric....the photo shows it applied on one petal...
I used Smooch gold lame for the center....
Distress Ink dusty concord for the saying and butterfly....
I looked on flickr for inspiration and got an idea from jillianavery8222
here
I stitched the fabrics by folding it over a piece of cardstock...
then I used a paper strip of Memory Box enchanted in the center to cover the fabric ends...

Things I need to do better next time:
  • figure out a way to keep the fabric tight to the back of the cardstock before stitching 
  • trim off the corners of the fabric to take away the bulk
  • check my thread so I don't run out at a spot that shows on the card
  • use a different stitch to put on the center paper that isn't so close together
  • be sure to check if all of the center is stitched before stopping
  • find a button for the center of the flower
  • add some glitter or sparkle
  • lightly smear some ink around the edges of the small paper with the words
Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Thursday, April 11, 2013

scrappy trips blocks 53 through 56

 It is time to show some more scrappy trips blocks...
 I have changed to putting the dark blocks in a different place on the block...
going from top left to bottom right............
 I am still continuing with all Sandy Gervais fabrics in these blocks...
It is a lot of fun to see other scrappy trips quilts all over the internet and flickr!!
I am linking with Pat Sloan's Show and Tell!

Smiles and hugs....Caryl

Friday, April 5, 2013

Eiffel tower runner

Yesterday I started making a runner for Debbie's stamp store (Stamp Delights).....
she will put it on top of a trunk that sits on an eiffel tower table......
The top photo is stitching along the top edge with stitch #4 on my Bernina....
Here is a closeup of the stitch at a corner with settings at 2 width and 0.5 length.............
I forgot to get photos of the back fabric....later....

I used fleece between the layers and sewed them right sides together and turned to topstitch..
Next I will sew in the words chosen by Debbie in the light areas of the fabric.....
I will do that this weekend..........

The past weeks I have been watching a lot of March Madness basketball games...both men and women.....
It will all end next Tuesday.....cheering on Skylar Diggins to win the championship!!!

Smiles and hugs....Caryl