Back from a wonderful retreat!!!

Hello!
  We just got back from a wonderful Quilting/Rughooking retreat!  It was at the beautiful Blackwater Falls in West Virginia! We had a great time, and I wish I had taken even more pictures than I did! I have a feeling there will be some pictures posted by other gals who were there, so be on the lookout!! Here is a slideshow of some of our fun!! I'll post again soon, with more to tell you! Late for work! Haha! The picture above is of my parents looking at the beautiful Falls! It was spectacular!
   http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a59304d5449314e54453d0d0a&blogview=true

Stll Room at the Retreat!

Just a quick note about the retreat! There is still room and an extended deadline! If you go to woolenwillowspringretreat2013.weebly.com you can join the Facebook also, and through the shop, and be notified of any future retreats also! Sally posted a picture of one of the projects that we will giving away as a door prize at the retreat! One of many!  We have been busy creating a lot of great hand made gifts to give all our retreat attendees!! I hope some of you can come along with the many ladies from all over the country who have registered! woolenwillowretreat2013.weebly.com
   

And the winner of the quilt is.........

The winner of the little quilt is.......... Julee!!! Congratulations Julee! Please email me(glenandjen@suddenlink.net) with your address and I will mail it to you!! I will put a little label on the back this weekend! Now I have to make one for myself! Haha!
     Here is a picture of it all finished with the binding, and also a picture of a new little rug mat I made for a class tomorrow at the shop, and also to take kits to our Retreat at Blackwater Falls next month!
    I hope you all have a great weekend! I plan on sewing or hooking tomorrow afternoon and Sunday afternoon!
    Jeni

 

 

Primitive Quilt Giveaway!

Good morning to you!!  Yesterday I was looking around in my sewing room and found this little quilt I had started. It was just the background quilt part. Then I had this great idea to add some wool applique, and do a give-away!  I finished quilting it just now, and will put the binding on tonight! So, that being said, if you leave a comment, become a follower if you aren't already, then you will be in a drawing to receive this little primitive quilt! I will draw the name on  Friday evening! Good luck and have a great day!! Don't forget to check out about our retreat coming up in April! The link is in the last post!!
    Jeni

A peak at the Retreat Sample!

Howdy friends!
    I thought I would show you the project I'm working on for our Woolen Willow Spring Quilt/Rughooking Retreat! woolenwillowspringretreat2013.weebly.com The spots are filling up, with people from all over the country! It's pretty exciting! Usually we just have a small retreat, because we never advertised except for in our newsletter. My sister, Sally, has really been doing a great job getting it out there! She pushes me and Gretchen to get things done! I used to say, when I was little,  "you're not the boss of me!" But I guess she does a good job at it! Ha ha!

I'm not sure how I'll finish it yet. It might be a pillow, or a small wool quilt, or just a penny rug! I have to keep in mind that the kit price won't allow for it to be much bigger though! Funny how I do things backwards, came up with the price, then made the project! Oh well!  I may hook a special rug for the retreat also, since there will be rughookers coming!  Oh Happy Day in the sewing room! 

 

Last night I designed some fun fabric on Spoonflower.com! That was really fun! Of course, I had to pay high shipping, because I can't wait to get it in my hands! Sheesh, that stuff is expensive! I hope it turns out pretty! I'll show you when I get it!

 

My daughter, Kristen is here today doing her laundry, and found some pretty fabric I got her. So she is making a baby quilt for a friends little girl! Here she is....

Fun fabric is from Riley Blake, with chandeliers, lamps, and flowers! I think it will make a little girl very happy!

 

Well, I hope you all are having fun in your sewing rooms too!

Jeni

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poor Mans Machine Embroidery!

Good morning!  The last couple mornings I have been sewing and trying to get a little quilt done that was for my February Small Quilts club. I had just been swamped last week with things and didn't get my sample done in time for class. Thank goodness it didn't have tricky blocks or anything, and the part that needed to be demonstrated, I did have done! 

I transferred the design with a fusion pen, that can be erased with steam. I call this poor mans machine embroidery. It probably has a proper name, the stitch that is, but I can't find my manual to tell you what it is! Haha! On my Janome Memory Craft 6600p, it is stitch number 5 in mode 2. Here is a picture of the stitch on my machine...

My sister, Gretchen, and I saw a gal at Market a couple of years ago demonstrating this, and for the life of me, I can't remember her company name. But she was showing how to do redwork on just a simple machine! It is like a backstitch by machine,  and you just have to get the stitch motion in your head so you know when to stop with your needle down to turn on curves or points. It is fun, and fast! I do love to do hand work, but I like to show my club gals new things they might not have tried, and after 2 years going strong with this club, I like it to be more than just a new block! So here is a picture of the finished quilt top! I got the idea for the patchwork blocks from the cute doggie pattern from Country Threads in my last post! Oh, by the way, the little dog quilt went over really well at the Humane Society auction. I didn't meet the gal who won it, but I hear she was very happy!

    Now to quilt bind and age with some coffee solution! I think one of the ladies in my club is actually appliquing her center design with wool! I might have to make another one and do the same thing! I do have some left over blocks! This pattern is called "American patchwork!"
    At the shop we have been moving some things around. One of our Antique vendors, on the other side of our building where we have the "Painted Cupboard," is taking on a larger space. So we needed to move some of our gifty stuff out into the quilt shop. Well, that always snowballs into a complete change in the floor plan, because I seem to not be able to just move one area! So I'll take some new pictures of the shop to share when I'm done!
    Here is an update..... Dad is doing really well, healing up nicely and getting around the house! He is anxious to get back to work at the shop and everyone really misses him! Thanks for your prayers and well wishes!
   I hope you all have a great day!!
      Jeni

 

Sweet doggie quilt!

Good morning!
    It's been a bit crazy around here, with all that has been going on. My Dad just had a major surgery a week ago, and is now finally home from the hospital and doing well. My siblings and I have been helping our Mom get to and from the hospital. She is so funny and sweet, and so is Dad. They really are amazing people to want to grow up and be just like! Mom just turned 79 and Dad will be 80 soon. Mom does our "Ask Mom" article in the magazine, and we have told Dad he needs to do an ongoing article for men on, How to live with a Quilter! I'm sure he has some good stories to tell!
    I have been working on this cute quilt pattern by Country Threads. I think I gave you a sneak peak last post, but here it is! I left out the sawtooth border, and just added a cute black and cream polka-dot border. It's all ready to quilt!

I have been watching an online class from Craftsy.com, called beyond basic machine quilting, and am thinking about quilting it on my home machine and using some idea's I'm learning from the class. I haven't practiced anything I have learned yet though! Haha! Knowing how I put things off though, I'll probably just pop it on the long arm at the shop and quilt it!  I'm not a great quilter, but I do a mean meander! The quilt needs to be done Friday, so I can give it to the organizers of the Humane Society's "Fur Ball!" they will auction it off, along with many many items our great community here will donate! It's a fun event, with a band and food at our American Legion here in town!

I'll be working on something fun for my Small Quilts Club on Friday, so stay tuned! These pinwheel blocks got me thinking, and I have some left over from the doggie quilt, as you can see on the left side of the picture!  Have a great day!

  Jeni