Free Motion Quilting

I had a few questions, yesterday, about free motion quilting.  As I said yesterday, not all my readers are quilters, so I thought I might give a little illustration about the process.

Have your friend stand next to a table and hold your  pen straight up and down in one position so the tip is on the table.  Tell her not to move her hand nor the pen -- Except for a second so you can place paper under the tip. :) Now, you move the paper to make a drawing of something simple.  It's harder than you think!  Next, imagine moving a 45 by 74 inch quilt sandwich around under that pen until you have drawn on every inch of your "large 45 by 74 inch paper".  Oh . . . and you have to manipulate your large paper, all crumpled up, under your friends arm, between  her body and the pen!!

Sewing this way takes practice!  It is not like sewing a straight line.  You can "doodle"  all you want with free motion quilting.  Here are a couple of blog sites and books that have examples and other explanations if you are interested.

Book by  Don Linn

I have this book and use it, but there are a few others that I would like to have:

Dancing with Thread by Ann Fahl

Freemotion Quilting by Judy Woodworth 

and sites that I like: 

SewKindofWonderful.blogspot.com
Freemotionquilting.blogspot.com

Have a great day!

Friday Blog Finds

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!  I usually do a 'Friday Finds' article about some cool items that I find on Etsy, but today I want to tweak that a bit.

I have found some great articles on blogs that interest me and instead of just enjoying them myself, I want to share with you what I have found.  I hope you visit these awesome ladies and their blog posts too!  Here goes:


First and foremost is a blog post written by my own daughter, Suzanne!  This post is about the Get Dressed Challenge, and her own experience. I think you might enjoy it, especially if you are a young mother.  Suzanne is a writer but only writes in her blog occasionally, since her boys are still little and she is busy with homemaking tasks.  She has two blogs: one about her own musings about mommy hood and life--in fact, called "Musings"




 . . . . .and one about her healthy food and recipes, called "The Housewife Chef". Current post is a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate chip cookies!  There is a another post about how to prepare a pumpkin, and 'tis the season!!! If you love food, this blog will be a delight to you! She's an awesome cook!

Another blog, which I recommend, is by my niece.

(OK, I know nepotism . . . but I do have an awesome family! I promise, next Friday Blog Finds will not be family ;-)  

Kari (husband Jeff) is the mother of nine children, three by birth and six by adoption.  She has recently had her life threatened because she was testifying in Haiti (she's been there several times, and has a child from Haiti) about orphanages that were trafficking children and (to remain unmentioned here) doing other horrific things to the orphans.  She writes for an organized ministry in Colorado that promotes international adoption, and if you are interested in this subject, you might like to follow her.  The Blog is called 'Welcome Child Orphan Ministry'.  The current post is about a local fundraiser, but if you check out some of the older posts, you will glean some awesome information. 

Challenge: 
Get out of your box!  We, Etsyians and crafters, sometimes get stuck in our genre, and only read blogs that are similar to our own.  Read something new today!

Tag Number Two!

A blogger friend, Patch of PatchFirstShop, has challenged me (actually tagged me) with four questions. And they are not easy questions! So here goes:

1. If you can be the Hollywood superstar (actor/actress) for one day, who do you want to be and what you wanna do that day? Well, I have never had any fantasies about being a superstar! So I thought about it. I still don't have any fantasies about it!! I'd rather be out in the elements hiking, gardening or enjoying a sunset.

2. If you have a magic door to go to anywhere in the world, what is the place you wanna open this door to? One of my favorite stories is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. The children go thru the wardrobe door into another world and time. If I could do that, I think that I would like to go to Independence Missouri in the 1800's. I would like to be a 'fly on the wall' watching all the people get ready to go overland in a prairie schooner into the West over the Santa Fe Trail or the Oregon Trail. I wouldn't be so brave as to go myself, but I would like to see the people who went and what they were like and what they left behind.

3. What is your favorite song you sing in the shower/bathroom? I used to sing lots, but life has been such a downer the last year or so--in fact the last few years, that my song is gone. When I did sing, it was usually as song from church on Sunday. I would like to recover that joy.

4. Choose between Batman and Superman. Who is your favorite Hero and why you like him? I guess I choose Superman. He was a down to earth person with a real job, but a super hero when needed. That inspires me.

So, there you go, Patch! Thanks for asking!!!!

Tagged by two!

Two of my friends on my Etsyblogger team have tagged me for a fun game! I really don't know if I should make two blog posts out of this, or what? Maybe I will do it twice! This one is for Edi of Memoriesforlife:

1. What was your biggest accomplishment for the week? Well, I think the quilt show was the biggest thing that has happened in quite some time! (See my previous post.) I didn't think that my quilts were as wonderful as some of the others, but each person has a way of being creative that is unique and right.

2. If you choose one age to be the rest of your life, what age would you choose? This may seem strange, but I think I would be 45! Old enough to have gained a lot of your life wisdom and have your kids all grown up! Young enough to still be independent, still be active and still have some degree of beauty left! hee! hee!! I know that may seem old to some of you youngins but when you are 60+ you have a different perspective!

3. What is your favorite season? I love the Fall season. The weather is cooler, there are some blustery days that are refreshing and not too cold. I love the colors of the fall foliage, and the leaves flying in the wind. And there is so much anticipation for the holiday's --GREAT!

4. What is your favorite color? I really don't know if I have a favorite. When I was little, I would always say, "Blue!" But now, I am not particular. Although, looking out at the sky, right now, with some puffy clouds in the sky, the blue behind them is just gorgeous!

Now for my questions and tagging!!!

1. How did you meet your hubby (partner or boyfriend). If single, how would you like to meet him?

2. What is your dream for this Christmas/Holiday Season?

3. What was your favorite pet as a child?

4. What kind of a car do you drive? No, car? Bus? Bike?

My tagging Sonja of VeryVerdant, Laurie of Indulgeyourshelf, Margret of SplendidLittleStars, and Marlene of Marlens' Musings. It will be interesting to see what the answers will be!

New food blog!

Meatball Kale Soup

My daughter has a new food blog that you might be interested in! She buys most all her food at the local farmer's market for the freshest items possible. You can find the above recipe and others there. If you are at all into food, stop by!
http://housewifechef.blogspot.com/

A few thoughts . . .

Bloggers have to make decisions from time to time, or their blog will stagnate. I've been thinking about changes to my blog for some time now. I've decided to share some of my recent thoughts and actions with you, my faithful readers . . .

I was a little uninspired about the blog and felt stuck in a rut! I thought about how to get myself inspired to write. I asked a few of my blogger friends, and they suggested that I have a theme for each day, that would help me keep rolling along. You know, like Wordless Wednesdays, Friday Features, etc. I still thinking that one through, although I do now participate in the Wordless Wednesdays--they're fun!

Cloud Reflections in Water - nature always inspires me!

I had fun this weekend, doing this blog revamp! I always wanted three columns but really wasn't comfortable messing with the html codes to get it. Once I had my son try to help me, but he didn't have enough time to figure it out either. So when Blogger introduced the new design options, I was thrilled! I'm not finished, yet, still working on my plan and excited about it!



P.S. Had a new grand baby last night! Ada Margaret arrived! Will try to show a picture soon!

Three Lindas In Vermont

I'm having a great time in Vermont! Highlight of my week was getting to meet, face to face, my Etsy blogger teammate, Linda Wheelock, or as we all affectionately know her, Mrs. Moo. She was a great hostess and took me all around her 'neck of the woods'.

Our first stop was to an award winning cheese farm (is that the way you say it, Linda?) called Neighborly Farms of Vermont, which her friend owns. The owners name is also 'Linda'. So we took this picture out in front of her business. Left to right, Linda the business owner, Linda (me)Pruitthandcrafts blogger, and Linda the Spottedcowsoaps blogger (Mrs. Moo). Linda and her family have a nice little business (probably not so little, since she sells to Trader Joes!) Anyway, I didn't get to see them making cheese, since it was the day that they clean the entire cheese making room, making sure that everything is spotless. Watching them in the process was very interesting.

Linda (Mrs. Moo) then took me to a little General Store in Randolph Center VT. The owner there was another of Linda's friends, a volunteer firefighter who once helped save her house during a fire! The store had the old wood flooring, and everything that you might need, including local maple syrup, and honey. It also had a quaint area around the pot belly stove with chairs in a circle that housed the morning coffee klatch. I bought several lovely postcards.


Next, was a tour of Randolf, where Linda (Mrs. Moo) lives! Beautiful little town! Lovely old homes and buildings, all in immaculately kept conditions. I was so impressed with the homes in Vermont, as all of them seem to be well kept with beautiful flowers everywhere in gardens and pots with lovely manicured lawns!

I will leave you today, with another picture of the two blogger Lindas and Mrs. Moo's son Josh. Thank you Linda, for a wonderful afternoon in the Randolph area of Vermont!