Autumn is a time for Pansies........

Finally cooler weather is expected around here. I love love pansies, so I couldn't resist these charms.

They are "Lovely" by Debbie Beaves for RJR Fabrics. And the colors are gorgeous and rich.  I think I am going to just make a simple patchwork lap quilt. And just maybe after this rain we are expecting I can get outside to the flower bed and plant some lovely little pansies to welcome Autumn to the farm. So what have yall been up to this week?
linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for W.I.P. Wednesday! If you have a moment, stop by and see what everyone is working on.
xo jan

Lucy, Lipstick and a Lazy Sunday...........

Hey Yall!
    I hope everyone has had a nice and pleasant Sunday afternoon. It has been a beautiful day here around the farm.

 I cooked a nice dinner of ham, black eyed peas, creamed corn, potato salad (made with Klondike Gold potatoes) sliced tomatos, cornbread and ice tea. And a nice, big fat slice of pound cake for dessert. And I had great plans for after dinner......

I wanted to work on my  new Lucy Boston Block and

I wanted to give this Lass some lipstick.....
But....

You know what they say about the best laid plans. yep, me and those Klondike Gold potatoes had a fight and they won! Egads..... This really stinks yall. I can't hold a needle. :(

But I did see a gorgeous barn and barn Quilt yesterday up in Tennessee. I knocked on the door but no one answered. I wanted to meet the person that made this. I don't think I have seen this block before.
 linking up with a really lazy Sunday  with Kathy at Slow Stitchin Sunday! Yall should see some of the gorgeous slow stitchin going on over there!
Folks, I hope yall have had an awesome week. Happy Thanksgiving to all our sweet Canadian friends! It's been a beautiful week around here in more ways than one. Even if I can't sew.
And I would love to give a very warm welcome to two of my newest friends and followers.....
Deborah at Little Ms Sew Un-sew ( yall should check out her medallion - awesome)
and
maureen at The jubilee Quilt Project. yall should see what she is working on there! Gorgeous!
Welcome to the farm ladies!! Feel free to grab a tractor from the sidebar yall and plow along with us!
And thank yall for all the super sweet comments on my last post. That gentleman made my day!
Now I gotta go find some Neosporin and see if I can't get this thumb well.
Watch out for those Klondike Gold Potatoes yall!
xo jan

Making pancakes taste a little sweeter...........

           

This morning I had to run up to town to pick up a coupla things at the feed and seed.

I like to go before they get busy with all the town folk . So I cooked my husbands morning breakfast of oatmeal with raisins and jumped in the pickup.

On my way back I thought I'd like to stop and get me some pancakes at McDonalds.Yall those things are addicting. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I don’t go to town too often.

  Since I was in a hurry I drove through and ordered my pancakes and then drove up to the next window to pick them up. There were a coupla rowdy boys in a pickup giving the girl at the window a hard time. Finally they drove off.

 The sweet little girl at the window asked me if I wanted an Egg McMuffin. I told her I just ordered pancakes and she said it was one they made for the car ahead of me but had accidentally left off the meat.I said “Well, I can probably find something to feed it to”. So she threw it in the bag. “Preciate it” I said and headed back through our small little sleepy town.

At the redlight ( one of the two that we have in our town) I saw those boys ahead of me

giving an old man that was pushing a bicycle loaded down with all of his possessions a hard time. Laughing, snickering and blowing the horn at him.

The light turned green and they left all the while whooping and hollering at the guy.

The elderly gentleman was picking something up off the ground beside his bicycle when I turned the corner.  

 “Well, I can probably find something to feed it to” popped into my head. So, I circled the courthouse and spotted the old man pushing his bike up the sidewalk. When he got

closer to me  I rolled down my window and asked “Pancakes or Egg McMuffin with no meat?”

He said “How’d you know I don’t have teeth?” I’ll take the McMuffin!” I laughed and he grinned a huge toothless grin. I asked him if he needed anything else. He said no he was just passing through and wasn’t it a beautiful day. I smiled with a tear in my eye and told him it sure was and wished him luck on his journey.

I went on back to the house with a smile on my face and thinking about how those mean boys had just bought that old man breakfast and didn’t even know it.

 And my pancakes sure did taste a lot sweeter this morning.

xo jan

Cow patties and EPP.....

Hey yall!

 First, thank yall so much for all the kinds comments on my first Lucy Boston block. And I finished my second one today using mostly Bake Sale  by Lori Holt. I am still trying to decide on the type of fabrics I want to use. I am leaning toward 1800's Reproduction prints. Although I have very few of those that are suitable for fussy cutting. But like I said before, if I am going to spend all this time hand sewing a quilt block, then I should spend just as much time deciding on the fabric and the extra time it takes to fussy cut . I really like the way fussy cutting looks in the block compared to a non patterned center.

I have had a few questions through comments and emails regarding the way I sew around

instead of through the paper pieces when I make honeycombs or any EPP for that matter.

So I thought I would give a quick tutorial on how I  EPP. I don't think there is any wrong way . Just do whatever works for you. I find this a really fast and easy way for me.

  First, center up your paper template on the fabric. I LOVE using my acrylic template from Paper Pieces.com. First it has a 3/8" seam allowance which I like alot better than 1/4" , I can use it to fussy cut my fabric and I use it to center my paper on the fabric.

I like to punch a hole in the center of my paper for easy removal later on. Use a small applique pin to pin the fabric through the hole. You do not have to have a hole puncher, just use the point of your scissors.

Using good cotton thread not too long so it won't tangle, fold over the fabric, finger press and fold over again. Stick the needle through the bottom layer and then the top layer of fabric. Do not sew through the paper.

(And yall , I prob have the ugliest hands with no manicure, but I loose any hopes of having fingernails this time of year around the farm, plus I get freckles!)

Pull the thread through and repeat. Basically you are just doing a whip stitch.

Now, move to the next corner which will be the point. I find it easier to start on the side and then go to the point. Whip stitch the point. If you need to , run your needle under your thumb to smooth the fabric before you sew the whip stitch.

Now just keep going around the honeycomb. I don't pull the fabric extra tight against the paper. It makes it harder to sew the honeycombs together.

. End up at the first corner that you sewed with a whip stitch.

Do not remove your papers! I just removed this one to show you that the honeycomb keeps its shape without the paper piece and you do not have to remove the stitches! No glue to unstick and no basting to take out.

Play around with your honeycombs and see which way looks best. I have alot to learn about fussy cutting. If anyone knows any helpful hints please let me know.

These are really easy to sew and so much fun to make. I can sew these alot easier bumping along in the pickup or tractor than I can embroider . So I really want to decide on my fabric colors and get plenty cut up and ready to take along with me everywhere I go. You would be surprised how many you can get done in just a few minutes here and there!

I leave all my papers in until I am finished. I could probaly remove the inner papers and just leave the outside ring but for now I am leaving them in.

 You can sew the honeycombs together in whatever order is comfortable for you. I sew the four center honeycombs (red), then the next four (aqua) then the next eight (red) then the last 8 (green).

Depending on your background choice, you could either applique the block onto a fabric square at this point or as Lucy Boston did, add 24 background honeycombs surrounding your block.

Now I have a question. Does anyone recognize this line of fabric?

This is a UFO using a layer cake from last year and I really like the stripe in the first photo. I need one more piece of it to have enough for my center Lucy block.

It's kinda like the moon from my Aquarius quilt.  I lost the other honeycomb! It's probaly in the cornfield  if it didn't go through the hammermill! And I sure aint searching cow patties for it!

Yall I am sure this tutorial was just clear as mud, so if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know. And I received a few requests from our international friends regarding our  "I Love Lucy Bee" so we are going to open it up to everyone no matter where you live. I don't think there is much difference in postage when mailing a standard envelope. Just send me an email if you are interested in joining up. We would love to have you and we will not get started until November. I believe we are just making one block per month.

Have fun yall and Daniel says watch out for those cow patties!

xo jan

And I would also love to give a very warm welcome to two of my newest friends and followers;

Donna from Quilted Chocolate

and

Ellen at Little Jewel Quilts!

Check them out yall! Awesome quilty goodness.

Welcome to the farm ladies. Feel free to grab a tractor from the sidebar and plow along with us.

xo jan

When the Moon....

When the moon
Is in the 7th House,
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then Peace will guide the planets
And LOVE will steer the Stars.......

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius,

Age of Aquarius

Aquarius.

Harmony and understanding

Sympathy and trust abounding

No more falsehoods or derisions,golden living

dreams of visions

Mystic crystal revelations

And the mind's true

liberations

AQUARIUS,AQUARIUS!

Let the sun shine,let the sun shine in

the sun shine in

Let the sun shine, let the sun shine in

the sun shine in.

Let the sun shine , let the sun shine in

the sun shine in!

Hey yall! Well I hope you like the 5th Dimensions and doing a little star gazing. Since I was born in 1960 I don't remember alot about that time period except two main things. My sister singing "Aquarius" as loud as she could while she swept the floor and watched American Bandstand on Saturday mornings. And July 20,1969 when my brother and I sat in the living room floor eyes glued to the console television with the aluminum foil on the rabbit ear antennae watching in awe as NASA put the first man on the moon. I still remember the tears in my daddy's eyes as he watched Neil Armstong take that first step and his words from 240,000 miles away : "That's one small step for man,  One giant leap for mankind". Those memories will always be embedded in my mind!

When Mdm Samm of Sew We Quilt announced the Twist to the 60's with Batiks all I heard was Batiks. I have had a charm pack or two laying around with no idea what to do with them.

I figured this would make me use them up! And boy I am glad I joined in this hop. There has been so many spectacular projects and so much inspiration, it was easy to get excited.

I knew I wanted to use black and had planned on making a stained glass quilt. I have always wanted to make one, but couldn't make it work with just charm packs and 1 or 2 fat quarters.

Then I thought about Wonky Stars. Another project I have always wanted to do.

So a Star was born..(hehe)

Of course I didn't have enough black, so I ordered some and it finally got here. I never knew there were so many Shades of Pale I mean black.

Now I have a dilema! How do I want to quilt it? I think maybe quilt the stars in the ditch and then free moton quilt some spiral galaxies with silver thread in the open black areas. Not that I have ever free motion quilted a spiral galaxy before but "nothing ventured, nothing gained". 

Also, I am not sure about the binding. Do I want to use a black binding or a multicolored one or a blue batik one? Blue is all I have left except for a small amount of red and yellow.

And yall, I just love my "Earth", I can't believe I actually had that fabric in my stash.

 And I lost my moon! I had one charm of the perfect gray cream batik with small and large circles that looked like craters and I made a small Moon to go with the Earth. But I guess it got swallowed up in a Black Hole because I can't find it anywhere!

Yall I would like to say a great big Thank you to Mary of I Piece 2 - Mary for being such a groovy chick and cheering us all along. Mdm Samm for giving us this awesome format to share our love for sewing. And I have really enjoyed seeing everyone's projects. So Thank You to all of you for sharing and cheering! Here is a list of the remaining groovy chicks that are putting their own Twist on the 60's with Batiks!:

October 3

Hill Valley Quilter

Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio

Sew and Sow Farm

Color My World

Secretly Stitching.
InGa

October 4

My Quilting Journey

More Stars in Comanche

sarah did it!

Read, Quilt, Cook, Pray...

Bquiltin Studio

Sew We Quilt

Yall I hope you have enjoyed singing and star gazing along with me! If  you get a chance, let me know how you would quilt my stargazer quilt and what you think I outta do about the binding. And now for putting up with my rendition of  Aquarius, I have a couple of  giveaways that I would like to share.. Two 5 pc fat quarter bundles of "Blazin Bandana" ! 

Blazing Bandana in brights or

Blazing bandana in Natural colorway.

These fabrics are just too cute. Please leave a comment below and let me know which colorway you prefer.  Please make sure you are NOT a no reply blogger. After the last blog hop I counted 18 No Reply commenters. That is 18 people that missed out on a chance to win. And I love to share :)  Followers new or old get a second chance, just leave a second comment. And this giveaway is open to anyone , anywhere!  

 Also Thank yall so much for all the love on my Gracie Girl quilt. It was so much fun to sew. And I will be back soon with information on the Lucy Boston  English Paper Piecing Blocks. I hope to have a couple of examples finished soon. 

Thank yall so much for hanging out with me today. Be sure to check out all the other groovy chicks sharing their batik projects Now,  I would love to give a very warm welcome to two of my newest friends and followers:

Granny Lynn and BillieMick! Welcome to the farm ladies! I hope that you will find this a groovy place to hang out!

Peace out yall!

xo jan    

EDIT: COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE GIVEAWAY> Good luck yall.