Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Erin Quilts VI





Friendship Star Brights  Another quilt that daughter claimed before it was finished. The fabrics were all from one bale of Merryvale. I thought I was going to use a blue or yellow for the background but they were just awful. Chartreuse green pulled it all together. My daughter could be the Princess of the Princess and the Pea for all the quilts she has piled on her bed.  --Ann--

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Erin Quilts V






Turtle Pond  When Erin was a little girl I would let her pick out a couple fat quarters every time we went fabric shopping. Eventually her stash was big enough that I could make something. She was 8 when we started this quilt. She chose the pattern and picked out most of the shell combinations, we talked about busy prints and calm prints and boring prints and how they need to work together to show off each other in the best possible way. Sometimes two really pretty prints together ended up sticking their tongues out at each other. So Erin would try a fabric that was less flamboyant. She has a good eye for color and design. This was fused applique with satin stitch around each piece. I echo quilted the background and used a pile of green from my early stash. Savoring the mommy Erin time. --Ann--

Friday, September 21, 2012

Off the needles

 Happy Feet first socks are finished!!!!!
they feel so good on my feet and just in time for cooler weather!!
Another pair of Lovikka mittens are done too. They are so soft after they are brushed. I'm willing to wait a couple more months before they are needed. Looking for my next project at Judy's On the Needles.    Happy knitting ~~Ann~~

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Erin Quilts IV







The New Millennium quilt. I completed this quilt in 2000 I had the binding ready to sew for New Year's Day when we were supposed to loose all power because the computers wouldn't know how to deal with changing from 1999 to 2000. That seems comical now but I had a stack of quilts to snuggle up with and sew the binding, I also had gallon jugs of water just in case. This was the first curved piecing I ever did. It was easier than setting in a sleeve or sewing a collar.  Because of the bright colors daughter claimed it as hers. She helped me arrange the quarter circles. We tried to arrange it so there was contrast between the pie parts and the crust parts, she said we had to stop before it drove us crazy.  All of the fabrics on the front are from Merryvale bales I cut 2 crusts and 2 pies from each 6" x 18" strip with the elliptical left over which I appliqued in the border. Goodness my machine quilting has improved I imagine lots of ways to quilt these blocks.  ~~Ann~~

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Super Simple Roasted Tomatoes



Oven roasted Roma tomatoes Super Super Simple
1. preheat oven to 450 degrees F  2. wash tomatoes,  3. slice in half lengthwise,  4. lay cut side down on baking sheet with sides,  5. stick in oven for 20 minutes  6. remove from oven,  7. lift skins from tomatoes,  8. use in sauce or freeze.   These 2 pans made 3 pints of thick sauce.  No kettles of boiling water. No pruney fingers from blanching and ice water bath to remove the skins.    30 minutes and I was done!!! --Ann--

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Erin Quilts III





Today I washed her sheets and tidied up her room so it would be fresh the next time she comes home. This quilt was new for her new room in our new house that we built  six years ago. She chose the pattern and the fabrics, I dyed several of them. It is a Judy Niemeyer pattern Tropical Sundance. I do not like to do paper piecing but I do like the way Judy Niemeyer does it. She maps out how to cut the pieces so you don't waste a lot of fabric and everything fits together perfectly. I had fabrics enough to make a Roman shade for her window, it looks like stained glass when the sun shines through. The quilt was professionally quilted by Kay Peterson of Olive Branch. --Ann--

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Erin Quilts II





I only had enough fabric for sashing and cornerstones for this quilt. Quilting the faces was so much fun a couple of the suns even wink. I went out of my comfort zone with the border of these two quilts but with a little practice it was an easy border to do. This quilt is listed on etsy.  --Ann--