Auditioning fabrics

Off to Helen's house today, talking about fabric for our quilt. We are still looking for the

dark fabric in the star blocks. We are trying to stay as "true" to the original as possible, but it's very difficult. I'm hoping to find a chocolate with lines of half moons. I know it's really hard to see this particular fabric, but look closer. Have you seen any reproduction fabric like this?

Now the fencing around the perimeter is appliqued down and appears to me to be a solid chocolate, we have that, whoppee! My bff is going to use her machine to piece and I am not.

                                                                                        I am going to hand piece mine. Now, to draft it out this week...
I am very anxious to get started.

As a side note. I have had a few emails and comments about this quilt. So let me explain a bit. My bff is 83 years old and lives alone. She is tired and has made quilts all her life for her family. She wants to make a quilt just for her. I guess it's a way for her to memorialize her family, to remember them. I want to join her in making one because one day I'm going to be tired too. My hands are beginning to show signs of arthritis and I love to hand piece and hand quilt and want to do this before my ability to move my fingers is lost.  I want to make this quilt because it's a way for me to remember my family and for my kids to know who everyone was.

If you know who sells the chocolate fabric that we need, please let me know. Oh, and Helen says hi.

Historical quilts

My bff is the sweetest lady in the world. I go to her home every Monday and sew, cut and quilt my day with her. Sometimes we open a box she has in a closet and carefully unfold the contents, usually something that makes her smile. Her mother was an experienced needlewoman in crocheting, embroidery, cross stitch....actually everything, except quilting. My bff is a quilter and has made tons of them. She lives alone, lost her spouse years ago, along with her parents. She naps in the afternoon after lunch and watches wrestling on TV 4 nights a week. 

I brought an awesome book to her house to show her THE GRAVEYARD QUILT. It is possibly the most inventive quilt a woman has done to work thru the grief of losing her children. I showed her the book and the quilt. She must have been thinking of this quilt alot the past few weeks. She wants to make one. So do I. I don't find the quilt macabre. I want to make one. I have tried to do some measuring and guesstimating and think I have it down. Next Monday, we are going to go thru our stashes and see what we have. I want to  use tea dyed muslin between blocks, borders and for the center.                                                

In 1836, a woman named Elizabeth Roseberry Mitchell began stitching a quilt in memory of her two-year old son, John, who had just died. In 1843, she added another son who had died at the age of 19. What’s so unusual about her quilt is that it features a graveyard in the center; on the top is where the graveyard is located in Monroe County, Ohio.

The outer border has appliqued fencing, and also up the center, from the bottom. Now, if you look closely, you'll see embroidered vines, leaves and flowers, twined thru the fencing. The original quilt has walnut hull dyed little coffins. We don't have those here, just pecans.

This is going to be fun, me and the bff. I want to get alot of it cut and prepped and ready for my trip to see sister. She came to see me last year, now it's my turn to go see her!

If you want more info on this historical beauty, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Roseberry-Mitchells-Graveyard-Quilt/dp/0962939927 or:

http://www.kyhistory.com:2010/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Artifacts&CISOPTR=35&CISOBOX=1&REC=3

So, what do you think?

                                                                                         

How are ya?

I started with good intentions to blog..you KNOW what I'm talking about, don't you? Be more in touch, stop being selectively mute. The earthfamily came over for dinner about 6 weeks ago, and while cutting up a chicken...I attempted to severe the index finger of my left hand. Since it was chicken and the knife was not clean...off to the doctor. A round of antibiotics, a fabulous lecture from the doctor about needing to suture the wound in a timely manner, and the hoped for Tetanous shot, I healed almost up.

    This is what happened when I pulled back, firmly embedded, in the burros grasp.  My right arm had been resting atop a chain link fence.                                                                                             

Again, the earthfamily, big daddy and I met up at an awesome Mexican restaurant for dinner. If you tried the Shrimp Fajitas there, you would drive 75 miles round trip too! I brought the usual tortillas home for the horses and Jenny the burro. I wasn't paying enough attention and Jenny nearly severed my index finger from my right hand. Not her fault, she just wanted to pluck that tortilla from my hand before the paint horse did! OMG, it hurt! I am still living with 2 index fingers, kinda sore and a wee bit of swelling, but I'll make it.

Do you see a pattern here? Either the earthfamily is dangerous or I am a danger to myself.

What are you ladies working on? I'm so ready to get back to sewing. Any new patterns or fabric lines you might want to share?

I need to get busy, but first sleep. Take care, Elaine

Christmas in July free shipping

Free shipping...everywhere, until the end of July! If I can fit it in a flat rate envelope, I'll pick up the shipping...apply:
                                                        formememe
at the checkout, and you can get free shipping just for you! I can get 6 yards of fabric in a flat rate envelope, or 6 charm packs or 2 layer cakes...if you find items you want, please, please convo me first and I can make a custom listing for you. Please limit 1 free shipping offer per person. Go to: soggybottomflats

 Thank you...Elaine

~~Thanks for shopping the etsy way~~

Happy 4th of July

Have you ever noticed that when you hand a baby a chunk of watermelon....they appear to have an innate ability to become one with the fruit? Nothing says the 4th of July to me, like a baby eating watermelon.

Do you ever have leftover charm packs, or bits of them, and don't know what to do with them? A disappearing 4 patch, started with 5" squares, finished at 48"x64". A nice lap quilt, quilted on straight lines and bound with 2 1/2" wide double fold binding....leftover from other projects, pieced together. A nice quick quilt.

Happy holidays...Elaine

Spring babies and quilts

So, the deal is, a sweet young lady that I know, started her new job the same day I did, just happens to be 10 weeks from delivering a  wee one. I found the perfect gift for her, in my stack of quilt tops I had made last year. Remember the film strip quilt faze?

                                                                                      New mommy Heather, loved it! It was so much fun, quick quilting on my speedy little Janome. Now, off to finish uploading my new Flurry pre-cuts in my Etsy store. Later~~~

Free shipping until 31 May

I think the part about getting old, that hurts the most, are my hand joints. It's kind of weird, I can still type, tie my shoes...but it's getting harder to quilt by hand or embroider. I'm struggling through some embroidery for a friend. It's a matter of principle...to finish it. I'm getting there, it's just not the fastest I wish I could go, but it'll do for now.                                                                      

                                                                                
My chooks are growing, getting feathers, learning from the mama chooks. I might have to slip a few "big girl" eggs under the little hens the next time they decide to nest, lol! Almost makes me wish I had a few duck eggs.         

                                                                                    
The free shipping is going well, now is the time to splurge. I saved a young lady in Australia $40+ in shipping. Just type in:

                                                                        freemayship

in the coupon code box during your checkout. I do have 27 different Sherbet Pips fabrics available. Some of the bolts are becoming thin so don't procrastinate to long. Thank you for supporting my shop.


Now, back to my project...Elaine

Free shipping to the end of the month...includes International

Today is my daughters birthday....where has the last 37 years gone? I will be punished if I reveal her age, I'll try to be gentle. So, anyhoo, in her honor I have decided to not only extend free shipping for the rest of the month...but to also extend it to include International sales too.

                                                                                       

Yep, free International shipping!! Go figure, now, before I realize what I have done, lol, go check out my shop. Just be sure to enter the coupon code in the check out section of my shop....type in:

                                                                           freemayship


have fun sewing.....Elaine

Free shipping continues, and...

I received an inquiry about International shipping and realized this might be a problem. I would love to offer 50% shipping for International. If the shipping is 12 bucks, I pay 6, you pay 6. If you are from Australia, for example,  please DO NOT USE COUPON. When you make your purchase, check out, send me an email and I will refund 1/2 of your shipping. Fair enough ladies?

I also got this in an email, had to share:


Shampoo Warning:
I figured out why I have been gaining weight.  The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says…“for more volume & extra body".
So now, I am going to switch to Dawn dish washing liquid.
It says..."dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove".
......So glad I figured this all out!


 Happy day...

Free shipping for the week

I hope everyone had a memorable Mothers Day, I sure did. Earthmama made shrimp fettuccine for me. My son has been dabbling in making his own beer and we shared a glass of a rather stout home made beer. Then I shared my dinner with my grand daughter rounding out a perfect day....then came home forgetting my gorgeous tulips they had bought for me for Mothers Day!

                                                                                 

Sometimes you just have to sleep where you can.

I haven't done any sewing lately, some handwork is all. It went from winter to spring and now it's summer here. We had to turn the ac on last night. I hope we get more rain but please Lord, don't let the Mississippi river flood Memphis!

Our last batch of bantam chicks turned out to be 5 hens and a rather colorful rooster. I think some critter ate 2 of the hens, so now we are down to 3 hens, 1 rooster. I never have the camera when I see them running around. They aren't too social.

Our little gray bantam chicken hatched 9 babies....3 of them resemble chipmunks and 6 black ones. They arrived here on Good Friday, but are all in the "nursery" with mom. I still haven't figured out how she can get them all under her!

I received several cases from Moda, o m goodness, and need to finish putting them in my etsy shop. If you read my blog...you can have free shipping until next Sunday! Just go to my etsy shop, make your selection and the type in:
                                                                              freemayship  

in the coupon code box in the check out area! Be sure to tell your friends. I just received the full line of Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey, new charm packs of Hoopla, Modern Workshop. I also received jelly rolls, layer cakes and charms for the Wee Folks line, by Ingrid. What is it about those gnomes? Love em.

                                                                            
Don't forget the free shipping for the rest of the week!


Later, Elaine

New French General in!

I have a limited number of Pom Pom de Paris, by French General, for Moda, pre-cuts, in my shop. Layer4 cakes, jelly rolls and charm packs. Thanks for looking, Elaine

The new family

I

In true farmer fashion, a wee bit of old screen, hay bale twine and just a tad bit of assist from Mr.Sweetums, we now have a cat/skunk/other critters proof, chicklet run! We are now up to 6 babies with 7 eggs left. Thanks for checking them out...now, off to work for me!!