Tea cup Exchange

Recently I joined the Teacup exchange over at The Enchanting Rose and I absolutely love it.  It is so much fun to receive a package full of goodies!  I was blessed to have Kelly from Homespuns and Hayfields as my gifter!  And what a gift I received!!!  Everything was packaged so lovely and carefully.  I could tell she put a lot of thought into it and selected each item with careful selection.  I did take a few photos to share with you all!  And to Kelly, I can't thank you enough for all of the beautiful gifts!!!!

This first photo is of everything included in the package......isn't it FANTASTIC!!!!

Kelly did look about my blog and found I love primitive things....so I was excited when I opened these candles....perfect!

Next up is a little love Kelly handmade for me and when I say this I truly mean it....I love, love, love it!!!  She did a really great job with it, everything is so precise....I put this in my guest restroom...it really fits the décor.

And what would a new cup be without some delicious tea and biscuits.....I love Bigelow tea too, the plant is right here in Boise and when you walk in you take a deep breath and it is sooooooo wonderful smelling!  Some of my favorite teas.  And the Biscuits, well lets just say they may or maynot longer be any left...hehe, they were really good!

And lastly , the Tea cup....OH MY GOODNESS!!!  It is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  The colors are so springy and lovely and beautiful and pretty......I LOVE IT!!!!

Needless to say I felt so very spoiled!!!  I just loved everything Kelly Gifted me with, Thank you Thank you Kelly!!! 

And Thank you To Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose for hosting the teacup exchange.

April 1st QAL!!! No foolin!

Good Morning everyone and welcome to the April Quilt Along. Has Spring Sprung in your area?  It sure has here in Idaho....the flowers are just bursting with color!!!  And speaking of color......
I have to say I really loved the variety of color that came along with this months challenge.  I for one stepped out of my normal zone and used colors I don't normally use.  I used the 30's Playtime Charm pack but decided to use it in my daughters room because these are her colors.  It was actually fun stepping out of the norm for a change!

Okay so for next months challenge I asked Mickey, who has been doing these challenges since I believe either the beginning or close to it , to pick the pattern for next months challenge and It is a pretty one...I can't wait to make this one!!! So stay tuned because I will post it at the end of the parade! hehe  So here we begin with the April Parade! Be sure to leave some love for these hard working ladies!!! 

First up:  Robin Chose such lovely colors of Red, green and tan....just love this combo!  Really pretty!

Mickey used such soft pastel spring colors and made her pattern just a little bit smaller....so delicate!

Kay decided to use colors to brighten up her home and the funny thing is I used just about the same colors!!!  Love this Kay! Great job on the quilting too!!!

Sandy used a really pretty color combo that reminds me of a beautiful garden of Purples and greens....so pretty Sandy!

When I received Lauries quilt the first thing that came to mind was Mardi Gras Colors!!  To go along with March madness. Check out the quilting, love the lines.....  I really love the bright colors....just so very cheerful!

Susan made a stunning quilttop that really pops!!  the Brown crosshatch is really complimentary to the colors.....it really makes it stand out.....just lovely.

Susan used really pretty soft colors so great for early spring.  It would be pretty for this time of year for sure!!  Love it!

And now mine.....30's playtime fabric and red and white gingham binding. 

And now for the pattern for next month!!! It does come with a bit of cutting and piecing but what would a quilt be without????  I have been thinking about colors for this one.....what about you? And if you know others that would benefit joining our QAL, invite them...they can jump in at anytime. 

  I know you have been waiting for it....hehe, here it is!!!

SUGARPLUM STARS Page 75!

March 1st QAL Parade and the next one up!

Hello everyone!  WOW what beauties we have in store for you this month!  I REALLY loved the way all the quilts turned out and the participation!!!  Everyone did a super job!!

And if your visiting from Roses of Inspiration enjoy the Parade and leave some love for these talented ladies!!!

Onto the Parade!!!  Next Months challenge to follow:

First up we have Mickey....I just love the soft colors!!  One thing you will notice and I thought, very cool was Mickey Kept the flower squares whole!!  What a great idea when you have that pretty fabric you don't want to cut up or just love the design!!!  I think I need to make a few of them this way!!!

Next Up we have Susan, I love the Americana feel to this and if you look in the corner, that Paisley....LOVE IT!!!

Sandy pulled out the Red White and Blue for this one!  I love the placement of the squares along with the patriotic look...super cute!

Next up we have Sue a high school friend of mine from many moons!! Hers is a flimsy and I love love love the fabric!!!  This turned out super cute and this is Sues first time with us!  Welcome Sue!

Laurie , who has been with us I believe from the beginning made hers with a lovely flower print that is screaming SPRING!!!  I think we are all getting a little warm weather fever!!!  I really like the quilting on this , very nice Laurie!

Now Robins is just adorable!  She cut down the amount of blocks and made hers square!  I love it!!  I definitely need to make a small one like this....very cute and love that fabric!

And lastly is mine.  I decided to use civil war replica prints.  I love these colors, it suits my home.  I did add two borders to make it a little bit bigger to fit my eat in kitchen table.  I also quilted it using a cross hatch pattern.

And now for next month....let me tell you it was hard to choose!!!!  But here is next months challenge and I chose it because I have spring fever real bad and these colors screamed sherbert ice cream to me! LOL  makes sense right?  Anyway please turn to page 232

WALK - DONT RUN!!!  by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene of Coutry Threads.

My challenge this month is use the color of your choice!!!  And one of you lucky ladies will be getting an email from me to choose One of three choices for the next parade!!!!  Keep an eye on your inbox!!!  Please be sure to leave a comment and give these ladies some love!!!!  Can't wait to see next months Parade!!!  Remember you can join anytime!!!!

Please be sure to check back in a couple of days because I will be doing a Book Review you wont want to miss!!!!  Hint:  Courtney Walsh's newest NOVEL....Its fabulous!!!!

Coffee or Tea stained Tutorial

Hello everyone, I thought I would post a tutorial on how to get that aged look on a new quilt, item, or piece of fabric. 

Items in need:

Large bowl
Boiling water
Instant Coffee
OR
10 Tea bags
Item to be dyed.

Okay so first you take your big bowl and put it in the sink.....I like to do my dying there because if water splashes out I am not ruining anything.  Add One saucepan of boiling water (about 8-12 cups water) then drop either tea bags OR your 2 cup instant coffee ( I used this Kava I have had in the pantry for about 6 years.  We didn't like it but didn't want to throw it out for just this occasion!).

Stir well to get a rich dark color such as this:

Next take your item, I am using a small quilt I picked up second hand that was too white, and dunk it in.....USE A WOODEN SPOON AS TO NOT BURN YOUR HANDS color you would like. 

When you have reached your color, which sometimes you can leave overnite if you like,  dump out the dye bath, hold your item in the bowl then fill it up with cold water and about 1/2 cup white vinegar....this sets the color.

 Let it sit for about 30 minutes.

  Dump out the water wring out the excess and then dry it....You can iron it if you need to but you can also leave it crinkly....your preference at this point and enjoy!!!!!

A few great finds alot of photos and some babble!

Hello everyone!  Wanted to take a few minutes and write a post because life has been extra busy lately and well I wanna keep up with you all!  So one of the things my family and I love to do it go shopping at little junk shops and find some treasures, and boy did we ever the past couple of weeks!!!  Here goes some picture overload!!!

 

We love especially going to small towns in our area and so while out and about I stole a shot of a few things in Small town America!! (well Idaho to be exact!!) 

                                         Our daughter took this photo of me and hubby...I didn't notice the sign above my head until I was scroll through the photo's later on!

                                                    My handsome hubby walking down the main street.

                                         This was a cute little candy shop they still make every piece by hand!

 

And last but not least I went to a baby shower for a little girl and I love making little girl stuff so I made a few things for this baby girl a blanket, 4 burp rags, 2 head bands and one teeshirt dress I embellished.  Oh so much fun!!!  I hope she enjoys it!!!!  And since Mom to be is learning how to sew I picked up two very cute patterns and some material!

 

I had a group of ladies over and we enjoyed some tea and goodies and held a meeting for womens ministries at our church....I made this little paper tea cup using a Brenda Walton die by Sizzix.  Isn't it adorable!!!!

 I made these little heart cakes to share....it was right before valentines day.

                                             The fabulous group I work with....love them all

 

That's about it for now.....I will have more to blog about soon, just wanted to let you know I am still around and think of blogland often!!!