May 1st in MN, Quilt Retreat & Wedding Shower

Got up this morning and wished Hubby a Merry Christmas. This is what May 1st in Aitkin, MN looked like!  😉

Drove to Fargo, ND on Friday. It was a beautiful drive and on the way I stopped at Red Pine Quilt Shop in Detroit Lakes. The quilt shop is a nice one and they have a good selection of fabrics. Friday afternoon my daughter Natalie and I shopped for decorations for Brenda's wedding shower. Brenda is my youngest daughter and she is getting married in September. Natalie and I spent Saturday looking through some fun shops in Fargo and had a nice relaxing day. Sunday morning I headed back home.

I attended a retreat from Monday, April 17th to Thursday, April 20th in Avon, MN. This is a group that retreats together three times a year. We have such a fun time, Our group has come up with a name: Rippin' Good Stitchers.

Retreaters

Retreaters

Becky was working on this quilt called Bounce by Quilting on the Curve.

At the retreat I did manage to finish another ten house blocks for Journey's End by Kim Diehl. Ten of the blocks were completed at the February retreat. Hope to finish the next five blocks before another retreat. LOL

Hugs, Beth

Guild Meeting & Block of the Month

On Tuesday, April 11th, Amanda Jean Nyberg (Co-Author of Sunday Morning Quilts) was our speaker at the Ripple River Quilters Guild in Aitkin, MN. She was so much fun to listen to. While she doesn't have the sewing background that many of my generation have, she wasn't afraid to dive in and make a quilt. Yahoo, for the younger quilters! Love seeing what they are up to.

Amanda Jean with one of her fabric storage cubes

Here are a couple of the quilts that Amanda Jean showed. Not all will be in her new book, "No Scrap Left Behind." I would personally call the bottom quilt, INSANITY!!! LOL

At the last retreat attended, I pieced ten of the blocks for Kim Diehl's "Journey's End" BOM. Normally civil war type of fabrics are not my go to fabrics, but I liked the pattern. I have been cutting out more of the blocks for my next retreat. They are 9 1/2" square. The little quilt blocks in the side of the house are 4 1/2" square. There will be a total of 25 blocks when completed.

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter.

Hugs, Beth

First Finish for 2017

Due dates for projects sure help!! LOL  I finished a quilt for " Be There But Don't Be Square " challenge at my guild, Pinetree Patchworkers, of Brainerd, MN. Members took a batch of squares home and were to bring back a quilt using a shape different than a square. I decided to use the largest 60 degree triangle that could be cut from the 6" squares I took home. Some of the squares were pieced and I used them just the way they were sewn. The center of the quilt went together very fast and I decided to call the quilt, "Scrappy Hexies."

Center of Scrappy Hexies

The border for the quilt took way too long. The leftovers of the 6" squares were pieced together for smaller 60 degree triangles to use in the border. Amazingly, it didn't take a lot of adjustment to get the borders to fit.

Adding borders

Couldn't decide what to use for binding. Finally decided to use a white and black stripe. Quilted it with curved lines inside the triangles.

Scrappy Hexies - FINISHED!!
50" x 60" 

Back of quilt

I was surprised that I was able to make the whole top of the quilt with the scrap squares with the exception of the inner border, binding and backing.

Hugs, Beth

Happenings & Huge Changes

New Location

As I look back at photos from the last year, it is amazing how much has changed. In July 2016 we moved only 50 miles but it seems like a huge distance due to the lifestyle change. We are now up in the Brainerd lakes area of Minnesota. We downsized a lot but the way the house is laid out, we do not feel like it is smaller. Hubby likes it a lot up here as much as I do. He plays cards almost everyday and in between he does some fishing.

The house we now live in allows me to have all my sewing/quilting on one level and there is a sitting area for friends to come and sew with me. My longarm machine is on the same level as well. I feel so completely spoiled!!

Sitting area

Sewing Area

2017 has been wonderfully busy.  In January and February, I was able to attend three retreats. It is such a nice way to socialize and get a lot of sewing done. One of the retreats is a group that gets together three times a year and we have a blast. (Doesn't it look like it?) We did our own photo booth on one of the days.

Sonia (on left) & me

A lot of sewing has been going on but not a lot of finishes. Hope to get some of the UFO's done.

Spring fever is hitting in a big way and I am so ready to discover all that is planted in the gardens and start to put my stamp on them. The tulips that I planted last fall have started to come up. Happy Easter!

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report

Used since last report:              6.75 yards

Used year to date:                      9.75 yards

Added since last report:           10.00 yards

Added year to date:                   23.75 yards

Net fabric for 2016:                  - 14.00 yards 

Not a lot happening in the sewing room. Going outside to enjoy the wonderful weather.

Make sure to hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/03/06/stash-report-march-6-2016/

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report

Used since last report:               3.00 yards

Used year to date:                      3.00 yards

Added since last report:            7.50 yards

Added year to date:                   13.75 yards

Net fabric for 2016:                  - 10.75 yards 

This week has been a warm-up after the cold of last weekend. With all the relatives coming to Minnesota for my MIL's funeral, it has been nice that the weather cooperated. There was one morning that was picture postcard perfect. 

Well, I am now on my private quilting retreat in Fargo, ND.  SIL and DD left this morning for the Dominican Republic. They will be gone for a week. I have already finished ten cancer bags for the Coborn's Cancer Center in St. Cloud, MN.

On the way up here, I stopped at The Old Creamery Quilt Shop in Randall, MN. Found some fabrics for the Farm Girl Vintage club project. I think I now will have a nice variety. Picked up some fun textures and can't wait to start on the blocks for next month's meeting.

The plan for this week is to work on UFO's. It sure would be nice to get some projects done. The project I am currently working on was a "Buck Block" program from last summer. The blocks were made using a Missouri Star book. Now I am putting sashing and cornerstones on.

Make sure to hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/01/24/stash-report-january-24-2016/

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report

Used since last report:               0.00 yards

Used year to date:                      0.00 yards

Added since last report:            6.25 yards

Added year to date:                   6.25 yards

Net fabric for 2016:                  - 6.25 yards 

BooHoo!! The Minnesota Vikings lost. Everytime they get so close and then lose it. Each time this happens, we begin to hope for next year. Oh well! It is only a game.

On December 31st, my youngest daughter got engaged to a very nice man. They are so cute together. Brenda is 39 and Scott is 41. Neither have been married and they have waited a long time to find someone. His only drawback is that he is from Wisconsin and a Green Bay Packers fan. It is fun to have the border battle going on during football season.

I joined a new club at Colorz Quilt Shop in Brainerd, MN. Colorz just reopened under new ownership. The club is "Farm Girl Vintage." It is not my usual type of fabric, so I just had to purchase some new stuff because I really liked the look. Makes me think of a combination of 30's and 40's.

Cute  fabrics purchased for club. 

Book required for club.

After club, it was fun to go sew at Irene's house. Another friend, Maureen, joined us for sewing also. It was a fun afternoon of eating, sewing, and talking. We are going to try to get together for sewing each month when I drive up to Brainerd for club.

Step one of Allietare (Bonnie Hunter's 2015 mystery) is completed and I have started on step two. Still need to finish piecing Grand Illusion (2014 mystery). I hope to get a lot done on both of these quilts while house and dog sitting for my daughter that lives in Fargo ND. This always becomes private retreat time. Eat, sew, read, sleep whenever I want. Wonderful!

Part one of Allietare

We had sad news on Saturday morning. My mother-in-law passed away. She made it to the tremendous age of 103 years. 

Hoping to catch up with what everyone has been doing. Make sure to hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/01/10/stash-report-january-10-2016/

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report - First of 2016

Used since last report:               0.00 yards

Used year to date:                      0.00 yards

Added since last report:            0.00 yards

Added year to date:                   0.00 yards

Net fabric for 2016:                   0.00 yards

Well, another new year has rolled around. Time to start the stash report with a clean slate. Goal for this year is to whittle the stash down in size. I realize that I will sometimes need to purchase fabric just to complete a project but do hope to mainly use from the stash. 

 Looking forward to following how all the rest of the stash reporters are doing. 

Let's all have a great Quilty 2016!!

Hoping to catch up with what everyone has been doing. Make sure to hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/01/03/stash-report-january-3-2016/015/

Hugs, Beth

New Year - New Goals

I wish a very Happy New Year to everyone. May it be a very quilty year for all my quilter friends.

Have you ever had a year that seemed like a lost year? Well, that is the way 2015 was. For 2016, I hope to accomplish more and communicate more. There are so many groups that I would like to join, but this year the goal is to finish more of the UFOs that I have. We will see what the year brings.

The best to everyone for 2016.

Beth in MN

Stash Reporting and Update

Used/donated since last report:   18.25 yards

      Used year to Date:                               56.75 yards

Added since last report:               6.50 yards

      Added Year to Date:                             79.25 yards

Net Used for 2015:                                     -22.50  yards

Well, it has been a while since reporting and the fabric usage has moved in the right direction. This summer and early autumn have flown by and I am still trying to figure out where it all went.

We had our St. Cloud Heritage Quilter's show on October 10th and 11th. Have to admit, I am so glad it is over. We made a lot of miles taking the raffle quilt around for showings and selling tickets. 

I entered two quilts in the show: Dotty Dresden and Hopscotch Butterscotch. The Dotty Dresden quilt took me quite a lot of time to quilt, since I am not very proficient at custom quilting. 

Dotty Dresden - 94" x 110"

Quilting closeup.

Hopscotch Butterscotch: A Bonnie Hunter pattern

Finally had time to do some regular sewing. October 21st was Brenda's birthday (youngest daughter), so I made her a sewing machine apron and a cover for her sewing machine. She is setting up her sewing area and hoping to have time for sewing this winter. I even used a bunch of my Tula Pink fabrics which impressed her!! LOL

Machine Apron and Cover

We went to St Paul today and had dinner with our daughter and her boyfriend, Scott. It was an opportunity to meet Scott's parents as well. Maybe there will be an announcement coming soon! (Very Big Grin) What can I say ----? 

Hoping to catch up with what everyone has been doing. Make sure to hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/10/25/stash-report-week-43-2015/

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report & Catching Up

Used/donated since last report:   13.25 yards

      Used year to Date:                               38.50 yards

Added since last report:               27.00 yards

      Added Year to Date:                             72.75 yards

Net Used for 2015:                                     -34.25  yards

Have to admit that I have been on a fabric binge lately. Guess it is just like the food diet. Depriving myself of the fun of acquiring fun new fabrics just doesn't work!!  LOL

I just could not resist a collection of Tula Pink fabrics. I really like what some of the new young fabric designers are doing.

Tula Pink fabrics (Elizabeth Collection)

My straw bale garden is really growing like the plants are on steroids. Only problem is that the weeds are doing very well also.

Have finished quilting two quilts so far this month. It feels wonderful to have a couple of UFO's done.

Easy Street (Bonnie Hunter Mystery)

Strip Quilt

Our youngest granddaughter, Hannah, graduated from High School in June. Hannah is getting Easy Street as part of her graduation present. She likes purple, so I think she will really like it. She has become such a young lady. 

Hannah at graduation ceremony

Hannah with her dad, Byron (our oldest child)

The Minnesota Quilt show was held in Duluth this year. Since I rode the bus from Gruber's Quilt Shop to the show, it was a fun day with many friends and acquaintances. A week after the Minnesota Show, Brainerd Pinetree Patchworkers had their quilt show. I always like to attend their show. They have some very talented quilters.

So far it has been a busy summer. We will be going up to Fargo to help celebrate July birthdays. There are three of them: daughter Natalie, son-in-law Norman, and grandson Jacob.

Hugs to all and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/07/12/fabric-report-week-28-2015/

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report

Used/donated since last report:    0.00 yards

      Used year to Date:                               25.25 yards

Added since last report:               25.00 yards

      Added Year to Date:                             45.75 yards

Net Used for 2015:                                     -20.50  yards

It has been a busy month. Five days were spent in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the Machine Quilters Showcase and I was able to attend some fabulous classes for machine quilting ideas. Even won a teachers demo sample in Dusty Farrell's class. Jodi Robinson did a great job of showing simple ideas for contemporary quilts and Jamie Wallen is just such a great instructor. My head was overflowing with ideas.

Teachers sample by Dusty Farrell that I won. 

I tried to keep purchases down at the show but bought a lot of quilting thread and one set of rulers. The rulers will do the curved baptist fan and then I can fill between the lines for interesting fill.

Dusty Farrell sample of using the Baptist Fan Rulers

While we were in Cedar Rapids, we visited  Inspired to Sew at Pine Needles. It is a great shop and had a very large selection of batiks. There was a large section of sale batiks and some just had to come home with me. In order to use the batiks that I have, I of course needed more light value batiks.  

Well, I might have won the prize for most fabric acquired in one month (at least for me)!!! LOL  One piece purchased was a five yard sale bundle for a quilt backing. It was just so cute for a kids quilt. Also, I needed eight yards of backing for my Bonnie Hunter Easy Street quilt which needs to be finished before June 20th. That is when my granddaughter Hannah has her graduation party and I want to give it to her at the party.

Cute 5 yard bundle for backing!

Last week Tula Pink was at Country Fabrics in Brainerd, MN. She is so cute and funny and I was amazed at how much of her fabrics I have. She will have a 12- part segment on QNN. Think I will need to subscribe to QNN to watch her.

Tula Pink at Country Fabrics

Memorial weekend, most of the youngsters were home. The girls and I went to the Old Depot JUNKtion in Brainerd and of course we came home with a few interesting items for decoration. The rain held off until we were leaving Brainerd, so we had a fun day. The boys went fishing and brought home some fish. We sent the fish home with our youngest daughter, Brenda, and her guy, Scott. 

The roof was re-shingled this month. Glad to have the chore done. Hopefully we don't have to do it again for a long long time.

Hoping to finish planting my straw bale garden today, but it is cloudy and feels cold outside. I usually have everything planted by now. I only plant enough for fresh eating. 

Hugs to all and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/05/31/fabric-report-week-22-2015/

Hugs, Beth

Fabric Report

Used/donated since last report:    11.75 yards

      Used year to Date:                               25.25 yards

Added since last report:                9.25 yards

      Added Year to Date:                             20.75 yards

Net Used for 2015:                                        4.50 yards

Well, it sure has been a while since reporting any activity. Early summer has arrived and winter has gone by since my last post. It just seems like time flies by.

I joined a "Batik BOM Club" at Colorz Quilt Shop in Brainerd. Thought I would go a different direction for a change and meet some new people. Here are the blocks we have done so far:

For a service project for the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters guild, I sewed up ten pillowcases. Sure helps with the fabric report.

During the last snowstorm, I sewed a "Classmate" case, designed by Atkinson Designs. It will be a nice little case for my hand work to travel with me. I was suppose to take a class to make the case, but the drive was so bad that I turned around and came back home. Since I had done so much prep work for sewing the case, I just went ahead and finished making it. It was a fun project.

Last Monday, we had Sew-Sew Monday. Mary K. and I agreed to bring our Celtic Solstice quilts for show and tell. It is amazing how different they look. 

Mary's Celtic Solstice quilt

My Celtic Solstice quilt

In April, I grand-dog sit my daughter Brenda's dog, Zoe. She is 14 years old and really not hard to watch. Zoe did not want to pose for the camera, so she is hiding behind the table! LOL

We did have a scare with my MIL who is 102 years old. She was put into hospice care and not given long to live. That is almost two months ago and she is still going strong. Now the doctors think it could be six months. Who knows? She is showing those doctors up!! 

Now is the time of the year when it is so nice to be outside after the long winter. This year I need to stain the posts and railing on the front of the house, and hoping to get the deck done as well. We also have to have new roofing installed. Hope all of this doesn't keep me from getting some sewing done! Priorities - Right???

Hugs to all and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/05/03/fabric-report-week-18-2015/

Hugs, Beth