Getting ahead on my Christmas quilting.....

.....for next year, that is.  I wanted to make a few things before I put all the decorations away.  It is easier to tell what I need while it's still out.  I know a lot of people have had their Christmas away for a while but since I am not working currently, I can take my time.  Besides, my house looks the best at Christmas.  But I digress......

I made this cute little number yesterday afternoon and finished this evening.

It's made on a muslin base with wool pennies.

 

 

I sure wish pictures showed up well without the big flash but that only works with the big, fancy cameras.   This little display looks cute in the dark!

Oh, and by the way........I won one of this month's gift certificates in the Charming Girls Quilt Club drawing!!!
 

Blessings, Cathi

Wool Batch 2, 3 and 4.....

I spent Sunday afternoon and Monday evening dying three more color batches.  I'm so in love with this! And I am getting much faster at it.  The first batch took just about all day Saturday but I was in a learning curve. 

This is called Sky Blue in the recipe book but I think I am changing the name to Confederate Blue .... a nice Southern name.  LOL

This was supposed to be a little more on the brown side but it looks a little green in person.

This is supposed to be green.  Good thing 'cause it came out green! A celery green but a green nonetheless.

There are a zillion more colors I want to try.  They won't all be this muted......I'll have to throw some brights in there, too.  I have a feeling that the experimenting will be half the fun!

If I don't "talk" to you all again in the next few days, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Even with all the doom and gloom in the world, there is still a lot to be thankful for.

Blessings, Cathi

Off onto my new adventure.....wool-dying!.....

I have been toying with the idea for a year now about starting to dye wool.  I've read, researched, planned, collected supplies and yesterday I finally took the plunge.  

Here is my first batch...and you get to see it first!

Aren't they gorgeous!!!???  Six different wools, same recipe.

If you live in the Carolinas and like to hook or make penny rugs or want to use it for applique, you know how hard it is to find it without ordering it on-line.  And just like cotton fabric, it's much more fun to shop when you can touch it first!

Now I know why wool-dyers have a lot of "Out of Stock" listed on their websites.  These 6 fat quarters took quite a while to do.  Over an hour per pot and each pot only does 1/2 yard at a time!  Plus trying to cook dinner and sew in-between!

Don't know where this will lead but it sure has been fun so far!

Blessings, Cathi

My little woolie pincushion from Lynda.....

Several years ago, the Wild One bought some patterns for me from Lynda Hall of Primitive Pieces by Lynda as a Christmas gift. Every quarter, Lynda has a drawing from all the names of people that had bought patterns from her during that quarter...........and the Wild One won!  My gift was a hand-made pincushion by Lynda! 

What made it so special is that Lynda is allergic to wool so she had to take extra care.  I really appreciate her doing that just for little old me.

Lynda also has a blog now.  If you have never visited her blog or website, you need to go.  Besides quilting and designing prim patterns, she has a wonderful prim house. There are pictures on just about every page of her website and bunches if you click on the "Telegraph Office" tab.

Lynda has also organized a "block party" for the last two years to raise money to fight Ovarian/Breast Cancer.  I participated this past year.  We had enough blocks to make 4 quilts that were auctioned off.  Here is just one of them.  To see them all, go to the "Box Lunch Social" page of her website.

Hopefully, she will have another Block Party in 2010.

Blessings, Cathi