Yellow Rose of Texas

My Mother was two things……

AN AMAZING QUILTER

and

A TEXAN THRU and THRU!!!!

One of her favorite songs was “The Yellow Rose of Texas”…..especially when Ernest Tubb was singing it…..

She would sing the first few lines over and over and over!!!

So, I guess that it was no surprise that she chose to make a quilt called “The Yellow Rose of Texas”……

It contained so many of her loves…..Texas….Roses…..Needle-turn Applique…..Embroidery and Hand-Quilting!!!

In her patient way, she created 25 rose blocks…..EXACTLY THE SAME…..

….each complete with a small embroidered bee…..

And to set it off, she added the scalloped border….what a great touch.

She quilted around each of the roses and then added the same design in the alternating blocks…..

The result is a bright and cheery quilt and I break out into song every time I see it.

Thanks, Mom!!!

Go For It Girl!!

Two years ago, my friend Cleo passed away. This is the post that I wrote upon hearing of her death….

Gone too soon

A mutual friend has been given the task of cleaning out her studio, and on Monday night she presented me with this……

Back in 2011, my friend Deb and I had co-chaired our local quilt show and we made these small wallhangings to thank all of the chairmen who had worked with us. Follow THIS LINK to see the rest of the quilts.

This was the quilt that I had made for Cleo!!

I had so much fun playing with 3-dimensional flowers and a few beads as well…..

And, the little pin at the bottom right…..

….was from a future show where I made pins to thank my chairmen.

This quilt means so much to me!!!

Today, I hung it up in my studio and, as I wrote to my friend Deb, “it will be as if Cleo is right there looking over my shoulder!!”

Deb wrote back and said…. “If you’re imagining Cleo looking over your shoulder, imagine her saying “GO FOR IT!!”

Don’t we all need someone telling us to …

I hope your day is full of go…go…..go!

Another quick gift

I am having SO much fun making little gifts this year, and this last one was no different.

I started with attaching the fusible shapes to the background, but it looked a little dull. So, I pulled out the Fabrico markers…..

….and added a few highlights…..

Then came the fun part of highlighting the design with quilting…

Interestingly, even after making SO many of these, I am always worried that the black thread will mess the design up rather than enhance it!!

In particular, I love the edge design….a simple straight line using a straight ruler and then a curvy line over the top……

The curvy line can cover a multitude of sins if the straight line isn’t completely…..straight!!

The final step was to add the binding….

….and it was ready for gifting…..

(complete with a loose thread that I can now see on the top)!!!

Yikes….I will go to my grave removing loose thread!

Hemingway applies to quilters??

I accidentally posted this early this week and now it doesn’t seem to be showing up properly on the CORRECT day, so here it is again…….

My husband Michael LOVES to read the works of Ernest Hemingway and has often talked about his practice of preparing for the next day’s work. He would always write the first sentence of the chapter that he was writing on the next day……ie….he “primed” the pump so that he was READY when he sat at the typewriter.

During this creative season, I have talked often about feeling overwhelmed with projects…”works in progress” as well as “want to do”, and “have to do” projects. And, often the hardest part is deciding which to do first!!

As I am writing this, I am heading to a week-long quilting retreat and have picked a simple scrap project to work on while there. That way I can enjoy the sewing process while still able to enjoy the conversations and women that I will share the time with.

However, in following Heminway’s suggestion, I have already made preparations for my next project which will be started when I return!!

And the project is…..

……May I have the envelope, please!!!………

The SADDLE-BILL STORK from Mozambique!!