Not loving paper piecing.

Lots more work than I imagined...

This flower took 2 hours.

What do folks like about it?

Roadtrip!

Road trip to NC with two fabric shop stops.

Two new-to-me batting.

Dream Green is made from recycled plastic bottles!

And the Simply Cotton from Maryjo's.
Bonus greens for a pal's green scrappy quilt:

I scored some red & turquoise for the next project - to be named.

Here's Maryjo's in the background.
The second quilt shop was in Tennesee - Little Blessings Quilt Shop
A happy dog retrieving a bumper somewhere in the northeast:
and in Lake Norman
On the road
I got lost in Ikea.
Hot. Jungle hot in NC in July.

UPDATE: Reproduction 30's Fabrics Hourglass Project

I started this top a while back [the beginnings of the hourglass project] and am just finishing it.
The more I work on this, the more I adore it.
The design's traditional simplicity along with the very cute reproduction fabrics is making this a favorite for me.

And, it's huge. About 100 square inches.

I have 10 yds of a blue reproduction print that is auditioning for the backing.

If you have some ideas on what should go on the back, send me an email: patti.meyer@gmail.com!

Thanks for looking!

County Fair (cheater fabric) Quilt!

The cheater print is back from Melear Fabrics, quilted beautifully!


I used Denyse Schmidt's County Fair cheater blocks, county fair sashings, and flannel on the backside to make this especially warm.

Caitlynn's Hearts-a-Fire Quilt

Here's Caitlynn's birthday quilt!
Wrapped, before it made the journey to Baltimore:

Quilted by the gals at Melear Fabrics. It's looks great - there's little hearts all over it!

I think it was the perfect size, color, and pattern for her.

Happy Birthday, Caitlynn!

Emmalina's First Quilt

Here's Emmalina's first quilt!
I followed the tutorial at Tall Grass Studio for the wonky log cabin pattern.
It makes a great baby quilt!


Fun and wonky everywhere -

Here, I hand-stitched an "E."

Warm flannel on the backside.

Sleep well, little Emmalina!

Orange Light District

Today's score from an antique store: a lamp made just for me.

It's orange. And yellow.

The woman who sold it to me explained, "You don't see a lot of orange lamps..."

I agreed, paid, smiled, and went home.

Quilt Story for the Blogger Quilt Festival

Here is my entry for the quilt blogger festival.

This quilt is special to me because it marked a turning point in my own sewing.

My grandmother taught me to sew and the joy of making quilts. For years, I had been working hard and improving my skills, but it wasn't until the few quilt tops leading up to this one and this quilt that I believe my grandmother was proud of my sewing.

Throughout my apprenticeship with grams, she was part of a hand-quilting network of women in the community. She would tell me about it, but it was this quilt top that she allowed to be hand-quilted by her group.

Here's some photos of the quilt in the frame - with me and grams at the library where she quilted:

And the finished product, with prairie points:

Scraptakular #1, quilted!

I'm loving how this turned out!

Scraptakular #1 just came back from Melear's Fabrics.

They did a super job on this! I love their quilting.

I rolled the backing forward to bind the edge.

My scrap pile's gettin' smaller!

Bonus Vintage Fabrics

A million thanks to my Aunt Lynn & Uncle David for these wonderful vintage fabrics.

I'm not sure what they'll turn into - but it will be something wonderful, I'm sure.

Today @ the Lake

We took a little walk around the lake today.

Ok, so Stella got in the lake today.

In this photo, altho I was calling her name and making her special noise, she was preoccupied with the possibility of eating a wasp. Which she did just after I snapped this one.

Packages, Packages, Packages

If you know me, you know I do not like to shop. In stores.

I do most of my shopping on the internet - or, "ordernet" as my friend calls it.

The ordernet has really changed the way I think about the retail process.

It's been fabulous, really. The comparison shopping without driving around town or without driving from town to town.

My postal carrier, however, is not so excited by my retail needs.

Below you'll see how I get my packages delivered.

So, of course, the obvious joke would entail a variation on the theme of"going postal..." but I can't joke about it.

Not while my precious, precious, fabrics, books, and whatnots suffer the fate of the delivery process!

Grandma's Apple Pie

Early this morning, I made Grandma's Apple Pie for a friend's birthday.

It looks wonderful! I'm sure the birthday girl will love it.

Grandma preferred a crumb-top, but I did not have brown sugar,

so I went with a lattice-topped pie.

Stella's gig at the Nursing Home

Stella and I have been a Therapy-Dog team for about 2 years now.

We're loving every minute of it.

Today, we visited a nursing home that serves about 100 residents.

Stella and her big nose are hit at the nursing home.

Here's a shot of Stella waiting for her shift to start, already in uniform.

(fancy polaroid iPhone app)

We wouldn't be the Therapy-Dog team we are without the mentorship of Teddy and his human, Katie.

Here's a few post-shift shots of the dogs:

Stella's Ready for Paddling Season!

Both Stella and I are done with winter

and ready for paddling season.

Stella's former pfd was worn out and needed

to be replaced, so I bought this Ruffwear pfd at Altrec.

Here's Stella diving into Carlyle Lake,

wearing her older pfd:

Springtime, here we come!