"Blackberry Twilight" is on our Bed!

I finished "Blackberry Twilight" yesterday. Ethan is not feeling well, so we stayed home from church and spent the day reading, watching Discovery Channel and a couple of his favorite movies. While I was spending time with him and showering some extra TLC on him, I sewed the binding on. Yes, Cindy, CJ, I sewed it on by hand! lol Well, first I machine stitched it to the front then sewed it to the back by hand. Not really my favorite thing to do, but I do really like the way it looks when done that way, as opposed to stitching it all by machine. Will I do all of my bindings this way in the future? Nope! Just on the most special projects. I still think machine stitched binding holds up to wear and tear better, and as I want most of my quilts to be used, loved and dragged about, I will stitch most of my bindings by machine. Shh, don't tell the quilt police, okay. :~)


I had a disaster though. Can you see where the purple bled onto the cream?

It just had to be in the center!! Argh!@!#%*)_*&*%#@#@ I am really mad! I never pre-wash my fabrics, I always throw in a color catcher sheet and I have never had any problems before. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Does anyone have any suggestions for me as to how I can remove it? If removing it is even possible. This quilt is so big, I think that the color catcher sheet didn't work well, because it was so stuffed in the washer. I always wash my quilts, in COLD water, after they are finished. I love the soft, crinkly look. The odd thing is that, I used this same fabric in other places on the quilt and this is the only place that it bled. Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated! It doesn't really show up that bad, when you look at the quilt overall. But, I know it is there, so it drives me crazy! Does that Retayne or Synthropol work to remove dyes that have bled or only to prevent the problem in the first place? Randy loves it anyway and wants it to stay on our bed, so there it will stay. :~)

Hugs&Stitches, Jul♥a

Quiltathon Update

Well, I didn't get to much done yesterday. I decided I didn't like the original design I drew up in EQ6, so I went back to the drawing board and spent a couple of hours coming up with a new one. Sorting through magazines and books, searching for ideas and inspiration. Basically, making a big mess on the floor by my bookshelf. *s* I did finally come up with something. So I got started and sewed for about an hour and then I started getting sick to my tummy. I had to make a mad dash to the potty a couple of times and ended up spending the majority of my day laying on the couch wrapped up in a quilt. GRRRRRR!!!!


You can see from the pictures, that the sun is shining today! It is a beautiful early spring day!

I am feeling quite a bit better this morning, although I didn't quite feel like going to church. Maybe I will sew a little bit today.

I hope all of you are getting way more done than I am. :o)

New Roof

The past couple of days we have been putting new shingles on our roof. As you probably know from this post, I hate heights! So being up on the roof has not been a lot of fun for me. I also can't stand to sit back and watch other people work, so I swallowed my fear and climbed that scary ladder. :~)
If my 79 year old Dad could get up there and help, then so could I. Our oldest son was also there to help. The heights don't scare him at all. He was just working out there right on the edge with me waaaaaay back from the edge, telling him to be careful. Anyway, we are almost done. But, I didn't order enough shingles so we still have about 2/3 of the back side to finish. I will be ordering more shingles today. Redoing and updating the outside of our house is almost complete. We put on new vinyl siding and replaced the windows 3 years ago. Now the new shingles. I noticed after looking closely at this picture, that I had better give the patio a new coat of stain too. Well, maybe I can talk Randy into doing that, I would rather be quilting!!!! :~)

Ethan and I are going to be spending the day at the zoo, celebrating his upcoming 8th birthday.

Thanks for visiting with me in my little corner of the world.

Hugs & Stitches, Julia

Things Slowing Down a Little Bit.

Things are settling down a little now, well for awhile anyway. I did get in some for "me"
quilting last week. I finished this little turkey, it was time for the witch to rest quietly in a drawer until next year. :~) This is a really cute wallhanging that my LQS has been doing as a BOM this past year. I haven't kept up on it each month, but it has been fun. I have all of the kits, I just need to get them finished. You can get the patterns here.

When I purchased my quilting machine, I did not want to go into business, I just wanted it for my own use. But, I had a friend approach me at church a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would quilt a baby quilt for her, as her regular LAQ was swamped, I said that I would do it. I was so nervous working on someone else's creation. This was her first try at applique, she did a fantastic job. She is very pleased with it, so I guess all is well. Still don't want to make it a business though. :~)

Ethan's school had a potato decorating contest. This was his little creation. I came up with the idea and Randy helped him to build it. Pretty cute, huh?

My walking report stinks. Nothing in the past two weeks. :~(

Hugs&Stitches, Julia

Simply Sophisticated ----

Is it Monday or what! I am doing everything wrong this morning and I have only been out of bed 1 1/2 hrs!! First, I put in a load of laundry and spilled a little detergent, then I was making some bread and I needed to cut the recipe in half, cut everything in half except the water, had to start over, next my oatmeal boiled over! Arghhh!! I did get Ethan to the bus on time, though. So maybe things will get better from here! :~) I sure hope so. I am going over to help our son and daughter-in-law put up some wallpaper border. Maybe, I should let them know that I might be jinxed today. hehe

I had a little sewing retreat this weekend. Just me, here in my own little sewing sanctuary. I did keep getting interrupted by company Saturday morning. It was good company, my Mom and Dad and our oldest son. He came to take his little brother Christmas shopping and out to lunch. He was at work on Christmas, so he didn't get to be here. He wanted to make it extra special for Ethan. It sure does this Mama's heart good to see how close her two boys are even though 16 1/2 years separate them in age. :~)

I was able to get caught up on the Simply Sophisticated BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop.

I love these fabrics. They are so yummy. Randy wandered into my room and asked what I was working on. When I explained that it was a mystery and that I didn't know what the finished quilt will look like, he gave me a very strange look. His comment was, "How do you know you want it if you don't know what it will look like?" Well, because the fabric is yummy and mystery's are fun, you silly man!!!! LOL

I am also catching up on another BOM from Fat Quarter Shop. This one is Designer Mystery using Peace On Earth fabrics.

Oh no, don't tell Randy that I am doing another mystery quilt. He may begin to question my sanity! Like he hasn't already! LOL

Both of these are still available if you are interested.

Hugs&Stitches, Julia

Spring Cleaning Frenzy - Spring Swap

Martha received my Spring Swap quilt so I can reveal the little cutie in it's entirety. (I have no idea why the picture uploaded sideways. lol)
It has found a wonderful new home in New York. I am so glad that she likes it. This is so much fun, I can hardly wait for the Summer Swap.

Judy is having a Quiltathon weekend again. But, sadly I couldn't participate. We had a beautiful day here today, just look at this sky.
Ethan spotted these two jets and wondered if they were going to collide. We had to watch them to make sure they would be o.k.

Sweet Hubby brought home a new toy, so out to the pasture we went to cut down some old dying apple trees. These were planted by his grandparents 80 years ago and sadly they are starting to die. We needed to get them down before any damage was done by them blowing over. My back is sore and I have some scratches on my arms. But, it was good to be outside, getting some fresh air and working. I love living in the country. :)
Ethan had to climb up in this one after it was cut down to check out the big bird's nest in the top of it. No one was home, it was an abandoned nest from last year. I don't want you think that we cut down some poor bird family's home.

We then decided that since we had such a great fire, we needed to have roasted hot dogs for lunch. After a full tummy, my little one had a short siesta under a tree. :)

I haven't been in the sewing room all week. I have been doing some major spring cleaning inside too. I repainted my dining room and our bedroom. I decided that I wanted to go with more neutral colors. I love it! While I was at it, there was lots of dejunking and deep cleaning going on too. It is nice to do that once in awhile. Now that the outside work has begun, my sewing time will begin to dwindle. :(

Baseball and Sewing

We spent the day at the ballpark last Saturday. It was tournament for our little slugger. They won second place. I was so proud of them. They have all had lots of fun. I love baseball! We have a minor league team, the Chukars, that are just 30 miles away. I will be taking Ethan to some of those games this summer. He wants to see how the pros play. :0) Here he is getting his trophy and his medal for second place. See the little black smudges under his eyes, the coach put that on all of them just like the pros. They all thought that they were pretty cool. Too cute!!!!!




Here is a picture of the quilt that I made for the Boy Scout rummage sell. It is just a quick little I-Spy type quilt. I used the leftover fabrics from the quilt that I made my granddaughter for Christmas. I hope that it will help their cause.








This is my progress on the quilt that I am making for my BIL's birthday. I just need to decide for sure what I am going to do for the borders. I am trying to shop from my stash but, I don't know if I have just the right thing or not. The pattern calls for some Bear's Paw blocks in the border. I think I might change it a little. I got the pattern out of Quiltmaker Nov/Dec 06 magazine. This part has sewn up really fast. I haven't made log cabin blocks for awhile, forgot how much fun they were. :)

Hope that you are all finding some time to stitch a little.

Hugs & Stitches, Julia

Winter Swap Revealed

Well, my partner received her quilt today. She has emailed me to let me know that I can now reveal it. I had so very much fun making this for her. Thanks so much for all of the kind words Kim, reading them brought tears to my eyes. I am so excited that she liked it, I hope that I can go to sleep tonight. lol




My sister and I were discussing the pros and cons of computers and the internet yesterday, I can absolutely say that the birth of a new friendship, formed through the world wide web, is definitely on the plus side, BIG TIME!! Thanks to Margaret for organizing this swap.

And the Winner is-------

Kairle from Happy Valley Quilter!!!!! Congratulations!!! Send me your snail mail address and I will get your fq's right out to you.

I had so many people comment on this giveaway. I was shocked! I didn't think that I had that many visitors to my blog. This was a lot of fun. I am now addicted to give aways. :) I will be doing more of these in the future, for more good causes, blog anniversaries, and just because they are so darn much fun!!!

By the way, I just used a random number generator to select the winner. I was to lazy to do it the old fashioned way. he he

I have lots more to share with you, but I am finally feeling better so I am off to have a stroll on the ol' treadmill. I have missed almost 2 weeks, yuck!!
I will post more later today. So come back, I have lots to show you.

GiveAway - Spring Snow

ROFLOL My title makes me giggle. Like I am giving away the snow! :) I am sure that none of you would really want that!



Here is a view out my sewing room window this morning. Doesn't look to much like spring does it? Oh well, I am sure that it will all be melted by this afternoon. My grass needed a good drink anyway.

I am having a little give-away in honor of nothing. lol I was just doing some cleaning in my room this morning and found a few things that I don't need, so I thought that I would share.
The Quilter's World is the newest issue and there wasn't really anything in it that I wanted to make. The six fat quarters are all Thimbleberries and I had duplicates of each one.


The book, On a Roll by Heather Mulder Peterson is brand new, it is a really good book, so good in fact that I bought 2 of them in the same week. Don't ask me how that happened. One of the dangers of shopping online. I tend to forget what I have coming as I push and click buttons. :)
Tell all your friends, leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name on May 7.

Hugs & Stitches, Julia

Update: I had to stop and make lunch for my hubby, so by the time I got this posted the snow had all melted. Springtime in Idaho is a little unpredictable. :)

Working in the Yard

I was able to play in the dirt today! :~) This little flower bed is along our driveway and is sort of the focal point of that part of the yard. I have some tulips, irises, and asiatic lilys planted in here. I cleaned out the leaves and dead foliage. While cleaning it out, I decided that it is going to get a major overhaul this year. I want to build it up a bit, put some sort of border around it and replant stuff. The irises are getting pretty thick and I need some more summer color after the tulips and irises are done blooming. But, I will wait until the tulips are spent for the year. I don't want to disturb them until I have been able to enjoy their beautiful spring beauty. I helped Randy do some tree trimming. We then enjoyed a little picnic on the lawn. Sandwiches just taste better sitting outside! :~)

I am doing some laundry today too. I have been able to hang some of it out to dry. I love to dry my laundry outside. The smell is heavenly!


Ethan has baseball practice in a little while. I think I will take some knitting to do while I wait for him. It will be nice to sit for a minute, I have been going pretty steady since my feet hit the floor this morning. A very good day indeed!

Hugs&Stitches, Jul♥a

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been doing some more stitchery. This stuff is addicting! Nice to sit and do while relaxing, visiting with family or while watching t.v., which by the way I don't do much of, seems to be such a waste of time. Of course, if I am stitching then it is okay! :~) I found this fun little quilt stand at Wooden Bear. I am going to make a different little quilt for each month. Well, that is my plan anyway. It might take awhile to get that accomplished, but it is good to have a goal, right! The cute little turkey stitchery can be found here. I added the color with chalk, the kind that is used in scrapbooking.

I have been busy sewing and quilting. I started taking on a few quilting for hire projects. I just finished up these three for someone.


I haven't been feeling real well the past few days. I am having a battle with some sort of cold/flu bug. The way I feel tonight, I think that it might be winning. But, I don't have time to be sick, so it had better just go away!

Hugs&Stitches, Jul♥a

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!!!

Wow, time sure is flying! I didn't realize that it had been so long since I talked to you all.

I have recovered from falling in the ditch. lol Sadly, my flip flops did not. I had to make a trip to the store and get some new ones. I would show you a picture of them, but I need a pedicure first. ;~)

I have been busy keeping Ethan entertained and working on some floral machine embroidery designs that I will be selling in my ebay store. It is a very long process, from designing to digitizing to test stitching. Now I am in the process of writing the instructions and designing the cd label. I am very pleased with the way that they turned out. When I get some pictures taken, I will show you a couple of them.

I took Ethan to a baseball game last night. His first pro game.! We have a minor league team close to us. The Idaho Falls Chukars, rookie affiliates of the Kansas City Royals. They won the game 6 to 5 in the tenth inning. Of course, they were losing at the top of the ninth and Ethan was getting sleepy, so we left. Then things got exciting and I missed it. Nuts, nuts, nuts!!! Next time he's taking a nap in the afternoon so we can stay for the entire game!

We arrived in town a little to early for the game, so my car found it's way to the quilt shop. ;~)I am not to sure that the lady was happy to see my slowly browsing around the store just 30 minutes till closing though. ;~) I did find some treasures to come home with me. These were on the sale rack at 50% off. Can't beat that. A couple of older Jo Morton prints and a cute little stitchery pattern.

Hugs & Stitches, Julia

More Blocks Finished!

I have two more blocks for the Designer Mystery BOM finished. Isn't this star block just incredible. I love it! An entire quilt with this block would be really beautiful. That might be something to think about. Like I don't have enough ideas running around in this little brain of mine. hehe

I didn't get as much sewing time in yesterday as I would have liked. I have one more block to go, to be all caught up. I don't have anywhere to go today, except to go pick up Ethan after school. I made a big pot of soup for dinner last night, so there should be plenty of leftovers for tonight. Therefore, I hope to spend most of the day in my sewing sanctuary. Well, maybe I better throw a couple of loads of laundry in. I want to try CJ's bread recipe too!

My beautiful, little granddaughter bought me this for Christmas,

with money that she earned I might add. As she is only 6 years old, it really impressed me that she would spend her own money on getting her Gramee a present. It is an oil warmer. Oh my goodness, does it make my house smell good. One little tea light candle goes in the bottom, 18 drops of scented oil and it makes the entire house smell delicious. Today I am using a Sandalwood Vanilla oil. Wow, it smells fantastic! She bought it at Bath & Body Works, if you are interested in getting one.

Time to get back to stitching! I love January!

Hugs&Stitches, Julia

Trunk Show --- My Favorites

This is the last of the pictures from the trunk show. I saved my favorites for the last. I love everyone of these. Look at the edges on these. Each one is unique and different!

This one looks like a postage stamp.

Each one of the little cut out circles in this edge, she used a facing to finish them with.

She carried the star points out into the edge of this one. How cute!

This one is made from flannels. I have several men in my family that would love this one.

The black scrolling on this one represents a wrought iron garden gate. How does she think of these things. :~)

And my favorite one of the bunch, "76 Trombones". That is the actual music for the song in the borders! Amazing!!! Makes me want to get up and march! lol

I sure wish that she would publish her patterns. She is a very talented and creative lady.

Oh, by the way, these are all made using a pre-printed panel. She cut them up and used the pre-printed blocks in the piecing. Sure makes those pre-printed panels seem way more appealing to me. I might just have to look more closely at them in the future.

Hugs&Stitches, Julia

Thanksgiving & Slothful Blogger

My goodness, I am a slothful blogger. Where does the time go??? I am not sure how I let so much time pass between my posts. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution. (lol--we'll see, I usually am not very good at resolutions)

I still have 2 spots open on my Pay it Forward. Come on, join up!!!!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was really nice. We had all of our children here with us. My DD had to go to work around 2:00 and as I am her babysitter, the baby stayed with me and Grampy. That was a little strange to have her leave before the day was over. But, all in all, it was a wonderful day. For a change I didn't over eat!!! YAY!!!

Are you all busy, stitching away for Christmas? I have made a quilt for my DGD, my youngest son and for my Sis. I haven't taken all of the pics yet, but I do have a pic of my Sis's quilt to share with you. The blocks are from the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler pattern. I did the quilting in the alternate squares with my embroidery machine. I did just a simple meander in the rest of it. The embroidery is in the corner squares on the outer border also. You can click on the picture to see some of the detail. I actually took the picture in October, so I was still able to hang it on the clothesline for the picture. It is sooooooo cold here now, no snow though. I sure wish it would snow. Not only do I love snow for Christmas, but we desperately need the moisture.

I received an email with my Winter Four Season Quilt Swap partner. Yippeeeee!! I am so excited. I missed the Autumn swap. Does anyone know how I can get the logo for my sidebar?

Well, I had better get busy before it is time to go and pick up my little man from school.
Have a great quilty day everyone!!!!!!

Round Robin Spring Fling Session #2

We went out to get our Christmas tree on Saturday, upon my arrival back home, I found this wonderful, squishy, surprise, tucked into my front door. I sure wish that I had been home to meet Colene. *sigh* Isn't it wonderful! This was made by four wonderfully talented quilters. Solidia made the center, Kathy added the first border, Lisa added the last border, and Colene did the wonderful quilting. This journey has been a fun and interesting one. So much fun to meet and work with all of these talented quilters. Thanks to Margaret for organizing these fun swaps. Speaking of swaps she is doing another Four Season swap, but a little bit differently. Check it out and join in on the fun!

I hope that you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving weekend! Now I need to stay in my sewing room and get some Christmas quilting done! :~)

Hugs&Stitches, Julia

Walking report was only 2 miles last week. But, I am not giving up. I will fit in what I can during December and hit it strong after the new year. :~)