Another Teardrop Purse...

For this particular Teardrop Purse, using the same pattern as the goat Teardrop Purse, I took the pattern pieces and enlarged them 130% so I could make the bag bigger.  One of the ladies in the Tuesday Quilters' Group gave me some drape fabric that she really liked, and asked me to make a purse from it.  I think it looks great with this pattern...

Teardrop Bag - An Amy Butler Design

Made an Amy Butler designed handbag for the first time!

TEARDROP BAG

It's not perfect, but for a first try, it didn't turn out too bad!

My boss and her husband live on a farm, and they've got goats.  She just loves her goats, and she asked me to make this bag out of the goat fabric she had purchased.  And she also asked me to use the hay/straw print fabric for the inside.  It turned up pretty cute!

The pattern for this bag can be found in the following book:

Tuesday Quilters - At the 2012 Portage Cty Fair

Tuesday Quilters is a group for those of us who love to sew & quilt.  We gather the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the home of Patricia J., just outside of Rosholt, Wisconsin.  Tuesday Quilters is a fairly new group, just started this year (2012).  I discovered the group from a sign posted on the bulletin board at the local post office, so I made the phone call to inquire about it, and now I go every chance I get.  I have a wonderful boss, who allows me off work the 3rd Tuesday of every month just so I can go!  :o)

Anyways...this past weekend, Labor Day Weekend 2012, was the Rosholt Fair (Official Portage County Fair), and after getting permission from the local 4H Club, we were given permission to hang and display some of our group members' quilts and table toppers at the fair all weekend.

Here are some pictures from the event...

 

Hanging the Quilts & Table Toppers (below)

The

Tuesday Quilters

Quilts & Table Toppers Display...

If you live near the Rosholt, WI area, consider coming to our monthly get-togethers!
We have a lot of fun with show & tell, learning new techniques, sharing tips, hints and ideas, making new friends and socializing with others who share in the same interests.
Send me a message if you're interested and I will put you in contact with Patricia, or you can call the number shown on the first photo in this post!

My Quilters Club of America MQ6 Quilt: Progress Update

Yesterday after work, I picked up my Quilters Club of America MQ6 quilt from The Quilting Place in Almond, Wisconsin, where I took it to have it long-arm machine quilted.
Nancy Butolph, Owner of The Quilting Place, did a BEAUTIFUL job on the quilting!  

(I wish I could do my own quilting, but I don't have a machine capable of doing so, so I have to outsource it until I can someday get myself a quilting machine).  

I wasn't super impressed with how plain the quilt top looked before having it quilted, but after seeing it quilted, I just love how it turned out!

Now I just have to bind it and it'll be complete!

More Pick-a-Pocket Purses!

Pattern Pick-A-Pocket Purse Designer: Monica Solorio-Snow of Happy Zombie

Free Pattern:

www.allpeoplequilt.com

I made these a few months ago, but for some reason the photos got lost in the laptop...

so I'm just posting them now.

First Time Musky Fishing!

Sunrise over Kentuck Lake as we were just getting on the water

August 17, 2012 at 5:45am

This has nothing to do with sewing or quilting, but I enjoyed it so much I just have to share.

I love fishing...so does my boyfriend...he has way more experience than I do, and he has a fishing boat...so he's gone Musky fishing before, but I never had, until this past weekend.  A few months ago Brian asked me to be his fishing partner in the 2012 National Championship Musky Open, in Eagle River, Wisconsin, and I agreed.  So last Thursday we headed north for the weekend.  Fortunately, my parents have a lake cottage up in that area, so we were able to stay there instead of a motel or campsite.  

Friday morning we were up by 4:15am, packed a cooler for drinks and lunch, then headed out.  We got out on Kentuck Lake, then spent 11 hours fishing on our first day.  Unfortunately we didn't get anything, but Brian did have 2 follows...sure wish they'd have taken the bait!

Have you ever seen a Musky plug before?  They are huge!  And tough to cast...but by the 3rd day I was casting pretty good!  LOL!

Here's an example photo from the internet:

There were a total of 1,111 participants in this tournament, and only 198 Muskies caught & released.

(All muskies are returned to the water after being registered, and they do not count towards final points if they die, so they must be kept alive).

Our 2nd day on the water we fished for 9 hours, and Brian had 1 follow.  The last day of the tournament nobody could fish past 11am, so we only spent 4 hours on the water.  Neither of us got a Musky, but we sure did have fun trying.  We also got to see a lot of beautiful scenery and wildlife.  There were Bald Eagles nesting along the shorelines and we enjoyed watching the young eagles trying to catch fish.  We saw a couple different types of loons and some red-headed ducks.  Lots of cranes, seagulls and some herons.  It was amazing!

Here are some photos of our Musky fishing adventure...

 Don't ya just love the bug-eye fishing glasses I borrowed from Brian?  LOL!

My lovely boyfriend doing the
"I'm sexy & I know it"

look with the bug-eye fishing glasses!  LMAO!

 Red-Headed Ducks

 Brian on the boat

As I was operating the foot pedal for the trolling motor, I noticed a frog
hiding in between the top and the bottom of the pedal!

 A pretty butterfly went for a ride on the boat with us

Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 

Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 

Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 Brian Fishing

A Loon on Kentuck Lake 

~~~~~~~~~

After the Tournament is all done...

We walk down to Korth Lake, behind my parents' cottage

and my mom takes some pictures of us in our Tournament

hats and shirts...

Brian jumped on the wood dock and I freaked thinking we

were gonna fall through...so then I was laughing at him...

My hair blowing over my chin makes me look like I've got a beard!

Here are some videos I took with my camera, too...

  

McCall's Quilting: Quilt Block Reference

One of my favorite websites that I go to on an almost daily basis is McCall's Quilting.  I subscribe to their email newsletter and I also get a lot of amazing quilting patterns from their site.  While checking my emails today, I was reading my most recent newsletter from McCall's Quilting, and just had to share their Quilt Block Reference with my readers.  If you enjoy making quilt blocks, then you definitely want to check this out...  FREE Quilt Block Patterns

ENJOY!

The Quilt that Built a Library...

I used to live in Princeton, Wisconsin, right up the road about a block and a half from the town library.  I walked to the library at least once a week to borrow books on quilting & sewing, as well as audio book cd's.  I love to listen to audio books while I sew.  I love thriller fiction, thus my favorite author being John Saul.  For being a small library, I never seemed to run out of good books to borrow, or audio books to listen to.  I miss living in Princeton, and I equally miss the library.  I stay connected by keeping up on the library's fund raiser, The Quilt that Built a Library.  I have also made and donate a quilt block to the cause, and encourage anyone reading this, if you can sew, make a quilt block and donate it if you feel so inclined!

The Princeton Public Library is not only trying to raise money to put on an addition, but they are also working with Project Linus through all of this.  You can read all about it here: The Quilt that Built a Library

International "Quilt a Block" fundraising project

launches in Princeton, WI. Calling all Global

Quilters to give the gift of love.

The Princeton, Wisconsin Public Library

www.princetonpublib.org needs a new building

addition. Project Linus www.projectlinus-madison.org

needs blankets for children. What could be a better

answer to both needs than your love of quilts?

By quilting a block you can give the gift of love to

a child in need. To contribute your quilted block

requires a $5.00, tax-deductible donation (per

block.) Your donation goes to the Princeton Public

Library building fund, and your quilted blocks go to

Project Linus to be made into quilts for children in

need.

Requirements:

• Finished sized block to be 12” x 12"

(entire piece 12 ½” x 12 ½")

• Fabric must be washable and pre-shrunk.

(no wool please).

• No buttons or sew-on embellishments that

a child may swallow.

• Styles may include, but are not limited to,

pieced, appliqué, embroidered or traditional.

• Themes: toys, animals, birds, faces, plants,

seasons, children’s book themes &

characters, whimsical, or whatever your

imagination can conceive.

• You may quilt as many blocks as you wish.

($5.00 per)

• Project open to anyone on planet Earth.

• All entries must be received by

March 31st, 2013.

How to enter:

Visit www.princetonpublib.org for complete instructions

or mail your block and $5.00 tax-deductible donation to

address below. Both street address and PO Box must be

included. Checks should be made out to Princeton

Public Library. Please include your name, address, city,

state, phone number and country if outside the US.

Princeton Public Library

424 West Water Street

PO Box 234

Princeton WI 54968

EXCLUSIVE QUILT DRAWING
All entries are eligible for an exclusive quilt drawing.
In May 2013, an elite panel, including Nancy
Zieman, creator of Sewing With Nancy the # 1
sewing program on Public Television, will judge all
blocks received. Thirty blocks will be chosen by
the judges to create a full-sized bed quilt (72" x
88") by Princeton Quilt Shop owner, Sandy Mason.
One lucky quilter will receive that quilt and be notified
by May 12, 2013. You must donate a block,
along with the $5.00 donation to be eligible.
The quilt will be shipped to the winner.
The Princeton Public Library reserves the right to photograph and display your blocks
to the public, along with your name, state and/or country.
Watch our website: www.princetonpublib.org
for updates and photos of your quilted blocks.
Follow us on Facebook under Princeton Public Library and
join our blog at: www.quiltingforlove.wordpress.com
Have Questions?
Terry Kohl
pr@terrykohl.com
920-398-3982
Vicki Duhr
duhr@princetonpublib.org
920-295-6777
www.nancyzieman.com
www.kendallgelthotics.com promo code:
quilt
www.twisterontheweb.com
Allan A. Mussehl ~ HAWKSVIEW FARM
Dave and Marcia Hyzer
www.oldhippiecandles.com
Baubles in Princeton, WI
www.nancysnotions.com


There's also an article about it featured in The Quilter Magazine's August/September 2012 issue!

How to Label a Quilt

I like to subscribe to many different newsletters that have to do with sewing and quilting.  I just got my email newsletter from http://blog.shopmartingale.com with information on how to label a quilt.  I have been looking for quilt labeling ideas, and thought I would share the information from their site.  Here's the link for you to go directly to the post and read about it yourselves... How to Label a Quilt

Quilt Magazine's Fabric Stash Quilt-Along!

I had the honor and pleasure of being asked to make a block for the Quilt Magazine's Fabric Stash Quilt-Along.  I made two quilt blocks from the same pattern, and both of them were shared on the Quilt Magazine's website, Facebook page and Pinterest board.

Here are the photos of the two blocks that I made...

Thank you to Sara B and QUILT Magazine for letting me have this opportunity!

I hope for future opportunities to do this again :o)

University of Illinois - A Shadowbox Quilt

One of my favorite quilts shops, Quilts & Quilting, in Princeton, WI, will be closing its doors this summer.  The owners have decided to retire.  So I decided to take one last class with Sandy (the owner & quilting instructor), before I no longer could.  She taught a class for making a Shadowbox Quilt.  Since I had been asked to make a University of Illinois quilt for a queen sized bed, I took the opportunity to use the class and the Shadowbox Quilt pattern to make this University of Illinois quilt...  Here are photos of some of the progress of it while in quilt class, as well as finished photos of it on a queen bed.  I like this pattern so much, I already have fabric purchased for making a second one...but using teals and blacks instead of a university theme.

Since I don't own a long-arm quilter, I have to outsource any long-arm machine quilting... Sandy from Quilts & Quilting in Princeton, WI did the long-arm machine quilting on this quilt for me.