Halloween Atlanta Style

Here I am with some pretty ladies at the Little Five Points Halloween Parade and Festival in Little Five Points (Atlanta.) My friend's husband is in the band Southern Gothic Revival, and they were playing on stage. It was a really fun day. If you love Halloween, you would love Halloween in LFP!



Christmas Time is Near

Here we are, my kids and I. We were posing for Christmas card pictures. It has been a busy year. My daughter was in a local production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and I was part of the wardrobe department for the play. Then another play, and now another. It is fun, but is taking away from quilting time. Maybe over the holidays I can do more posting, there is so much to talk about! Have a wonderful holiday season!

Flowers!!!!

I have a new flower bed this year, and I have had so much fun filling it up. Did you know that you can go to Lowe's, or whatever home improvement store you have with a large gardening center, and that they have a clearance plant center? These are nearly dead, or sometimes just a little ragged, plants that are drastically maked down to clearance prices. I have filled my bed with plants either grown from seed or obtained from the clearance area and brought back to life with water and Miracle Gro. Here are some photos:

I have vegetables, herbs, and flowers all together in my little garden. We are already enjoying cucumbers, onions, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, oregano, chives, and on and on... I love walking out my front door and picking something to put into a recipe. Wonderful!!

Julie

Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop

I fell in love with this quilt on the porch at Little Quilts in Atlanta (Marietta actually). I can't believe I forgot to bring my camera, or I would have had so many neat pictures. I took this one with my phone. The GAQSH includes 11 shops. I only drove up Saturday afternoon and was able to hit four shops. I wish I had done more, and maybe next year I will. I actually did the whole hop the first year they had it, and haven't done another one since. With two kids it was just too much to ask of them to visit all those quilt shops, and it was too much to ask anyone to keep them for me for all those days. Maybe they are old enough now, at 14 and 12, that I can freely hop again. :0)

I hit my favorite shops first. Little Quilts, Red Hen, Tiny Stitches, and then a new one - Stitch 'n Quilt in Mableton. It was a really nice shop and the ladies in there were laughing and having the best time. My kind of shop! Of course, I can never go wrong with my old favorites. Little Quilts has some nice primitive items, needlepunch, wool, rug hooking, plus loads of fabric. Red Hen is just great! Tiny Stitches is too. I guess my all-around favorite is Little Quilts, but it is really hard to choose.

I enjoyed my weekend, but didn't get a bit of sewing done. Oh well, maybe next time!

Julie

Even More Washington, D.C. Photos - My Son's School Trip

 The Lincoln Memorial

 My son in front of the Lincoln statue, (which is inside the building.)

 The Lincoln Statue again

 Looking across at the Vietnam Memorial Wall - a very moving experience.

 Another shot of the Vietnam Memorial Wall

 I think this is Vietnam too.

He had a great time!

Give Away at Mother's Cupboard

Hop over to Mother's Cupboard for a chance to win her fantastic giveaway. You can find out more by visiting her blog, but it includes a a Super Dooper Give Away of 2 "Fresh Cotton" by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Charm Packs, and 1 meter of the lovely fabric below. Good luck!

Julie

More Washington Photos

 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 Laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 The United States Capitol Building

 A closer view of the dome

 The inside of the dome

 Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington, (this is actually in Virginia.)

 A friend and my son at Mt. Vernon

 I am not sure, but I think this must be where George Washington is buried.

 Wax figure of George Washington

No, my son did not carve this. It was already there, so he took a picture of it. :0)

Julie

Beautiful Moon Tonight!

I couldn't get a good shot of the moon, but here is one taken by a friend of mine, Jason. It was truly gorgeous.

Today I planted onions to go along with the rosemary, tomatoes, and sweet peas that I had already planted. I hope we don't have another cold snap this year. If we do I will have to cover everything up with sheets. I have little seedlings of basil, dill, chives, parsley, cilantro, zinnias, cleome, rooster spur pepper, and Jerusalem cherries. I am going to keep them in their little pots until after Easter, when I can be sure there will be no more frost. It was so hot outside today that I spent the rest of the day lying around watching TV feeling exhausted. Maybe tomorrow I can finally get the grass cut.

Julie

Civil War Giveaway

Pop over to Such a Sew and Sew's blog to enter this giveaway. I love these fabrics!! Julie

Some Pictures from Washington, D.C.

My son went to Washington D.C. and New York City for a school trip. He took some fantastic photos, I think we may have discovered a talent there. Here are some photos to enjoy. I will add more in the next few days. this first is the Jefferson Memorial.

The White House

 The Washington Monument.

 Here he is in front of the White House.

 The National Cathedral

 Another shot of the National Cathedral. I love this one.

 Lincoln Memorial

 National Archives

 A statue of Albert Einstein.

I hope you enjoyed these. He took nearly 300 photos, I plan to share many more. Stay tuned!
Julie

My Hometown

I was driving by and saw this sign one day this week at our local library. I drove all the way home and got my camera so that I could drive back and take a picture. I just had to share. I think it speaks for itself, don't you?
So, what do you think? Would you like dessert?
Julie

Quilt Show in Atlanta

Today my friend Jung and I met our mutual friend Karen at the Sewing and Quilt Expo at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia. I was not so much into the regular sewing part. However, the quilting parts were fun. I found a booth with wool, wool kits, punchneedle patterns and supplies - sort of like heaven. I took some photos of quilts on display, only to be told by one of the white-gloved ladies that I wasn't supposed to be taking photos. She made me delete the one she saw me take! She didn't see me take the others before that. I did not delete them, but I won't post them since I am not supposed to have them. I am just going to keep them here on my computer for my own enjoyment. I certainly am not going to copy any of the work. I guess I should have known not to photograph them, but I just wasn't thinking....

My thoughts are with the people of Japan as they deal with the aftermath of this horrible earthquake. I hope the nuclear plants will not be as big a problem as we fear.

Easy Rider

I know this is kind of random, but I wanted to share this photo. This is my brother with the motorcycle that Peter Fonda rode in Easy Rider. Don't you just love it?

Beach Picture Quilt

I used to have a sister-in-law that lived in Naples, Florida. She hinted that she wanted a wall hanging like this one that she saw in a quilt shop. I made it for her. She hung it in her house for a few months, then took it down, putting it in storage, because she redecorated. I had to ask her to take it out of storage so I could photograph it. It is one of the big reasons that I don't give many quilts away. On the other hand, the quilts that I have made for friends who were dealing with serious illness are cherished. One person even had his quilt instead of a floral spray on his casket when he died. That was touching. Those are the kinds of quilts I like to give away.
Julie

English Paper Piecing Tutorial, Part II

Now we will begin to sew one block unit. We begin with two diamonds, held right sides together. I have a dark and a medium one here. You will need to pay attention to the placement of darks, mediums, and lights.  By the way, I was still in my pajamas as I photographed this, so forgive the background. You begin about a quarter inch from the point, and whipstitch toward the point.

After you get to the point, you turn around and whipstitch to the end of that side (middle point.)

When you have reached the middle point, you may take a backstitch to secure it.

Now here we are, open the two up. Get ready to add the last diamond to the block.

I am now adding the light diamond. Pinch it together along one of the sides.

Here is a semi-bad shot of the other side. By the way, I know, my nails look pretty rough! Try to take better care of your nails than I do.

Now you go through from one of the joined middle points, to the corresponding middle point of the newly added diamond. I like to go back through and grab the other point too, so that all three points are joined.

Like this...

Then you simply whipstitch out to the end point. Take some secure stitches there and cut your thread.

Now you have one seam left to close.

Pinch them together, with right sides facing each other as usual.

Once more start a quarter inch out from the point, (I think this is so that the knot is not in the point), and continue on to the point.

When you get to the point, try to join all three points,

like this...

Then you simply turn around and whipstitch out to the farther point.

All the way to the point...

When you get to the point, you finish off with secure stitches and cut your thread, unless you are joining something else to it.

Finishing.

Now you have a completed block unit. Your color placement will depend on what you are doing. If you are going for a star, it will be different from mine. I am going for the 3-D tumbling blocks look.

Well, this is basically it. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments and I will answer to the best of my ability.

Julie