Kaffe Patchwork using Accuquilt-Pink Saturday

Pink Saturday-stop on over to Beverly our lovely hostess and check out all of the links. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com//

Work in Progress...this is one of my many.  I used my Accuquilt Studio to cut 10 layers at a time of 3 1/2" squares...I'm making basic 16 patchwork blocks with 2 colors in each block for a total of 6 blocks across and 8 blocks down for a total of 48 blocks and 92 different contrasting Kaffe color prints!!! 

Took these with the phone camera, so the pics aren't great, but here are two down, need to press, and 46 more to sew and press.  I love seeing the color combinations come together.

These two KF books have the basic patchwork quilt in two colorways in each book, my inspiration.

Something about patchwork with lots and lots of prints that I just love, I think that's what I love best about antique quilts, all the leftover prints somehow just work together to make a beautiful quilt.

The blocks that standout and work best are the ones with contrast, this one has the warm tones the one above the pastels.

This one is a variation of 9 patch with a 1 block in between, just as lovely, you can see possibilities are endless, these green tones are lovely in the book my phone doesn't do it justice.

This is my very favorite and what really inspired me, I love the painted vases and flowers above, so romantic.

This pile is all my squares cut and matched with another print and put in baggies, I just pull out one bag at a time and sew the 16 squares and move on to the next.  Once they are all sewn I'll arrange them for rows. 
 
Happy Pink Saturday, enjoy the day....I'm off to a quild quilt show, so I will have a couple of post coming up this week with all the beauty and creativity I'm about to go see tomorrow morning. 
Hugs, Michelle

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day....31 biblical Virtues to pray for your children by Bob Hostetler

1.  Salvation.  "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (Is. 45:8, 2 Tim 2:10).
2.  Growth in grace.  "I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 3:18).
3.  Love.  "Grant, Lord that my childrenmay learn to live a life of love, throught the Spirit who dwells in them" ( Gal. 5:25, Eph 5:3).
4.  Honesty and integrity. "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Ps. 25:21).
5.  Self-control.  "Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do (1 Thess 5:6).
6.  Love for God's Word.  "May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb" (Ps 19:10).
7.  Justice.  "God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do" (Ps. 11:7, Mic :8).
8.  Mercy.  "May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36).
9.  Respect (for self, others, authority).  "Faher grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands" (1 Pet 2:17).
10.  Biblical self-esteem.  "Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:10).
11.  Faithfulness.  "Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Prov 3:3).
12.  Courage.  "May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions" (Dt. 31:6).
13.  Purity.  "Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Ps 51:10).
14.  Kindness.  "Lord, may my children always tr to be kind to each other and to everyone else" (1 thess. 5:15).
15.  Generosity  "Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age" (1 Tim. 6:18-19).
16.  Peace-loving. "Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace" (Rom. 14:19).
17.  Joy.  "May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Sspirit" (1 thess 1;6).
18.  Perseverence.  "Lord, teach my children perseverence in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverence the race marked out for them" (Heb 12:1).
19.  Humility.  "God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all" (Titus 3:2)
20.  Compassion.  "Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion" (Col 3:12).
21.  Responsibility.  "Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load" (Gal 6:5).
22.  Contentment.  "Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength" (Phil 4:12-13).
23.  Faith.  "I pray that fiath will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" (Lk 17:5-6, Heb 11:1-40).
24.  A servant's heart.  "God, please help my childrendevelop servant's hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men" (Eph. 6:7).
25.  Hope.  "May the God of hope grant that my childrenmay overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit: (r. 15:13).
26.  Willingness and ability to work.  "Teach my children, Lord to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Col 3:23).
27.  Passion for God.  "Lord, please instill in my children a soul that "followeth hard after Thee' (Ps. 63:8, KJV), one that clings passionately to You.".
28.  Self-discipine.  "Father, I pray that my childen amy acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair" (Prov. 1:3).
29.  Prayerfulness. "Grant, Lord, that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may earn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of pryaers and requests" (Eph. 6:18).
30.  Gratitude.  "Help my children to live lives that are alwyas overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, int he name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph 5:20, Col 2:7).
31.  A heart for missions.  "Lord please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among tha nations, your marvelous deed among all peoples" (Ps. 963:).

Praise God !, Blessings, Michelle

Pink Saturday-Some of the things I love...

Pink Saturday-stop on over to Beverly our lovely hostess and check out all of the links. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com//

Spring purse in a very soft light pink tone with a ruffel textured rose...carribean escape hand santizer {notice the cute holder attaches right to purse).

Country Weekend Socks to knit by Madeline Weston, 25 patterns....very nice book, information page on each section of type of knitting, fantastic fashion photos, directions laid out nice format.

French Macarons...my first attempt...Raspberry...good, but next batch will be even better, a little time consuming...just have other activities to do in between each step.  Nice book, photo tutorial, lots of recipes.

Have a great weekend.  Hugs, Michelle

Pink Saturday-Easter Cards, Easter Flower Baskets

Pink Saturday-stop on over to Beverly our lovely hostess and check out all of the links. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com//

This is the Easter card I created this year and sent out to family and friends.  I used a new stmaping up set, an embossing folder, some glitter and some pink tulle.  All photos today are from i-phone, no time this week for fussing.

This is a photo of my daughter that I took probably 15 years ago or so, that I stumbled across and thought would be fun to share, this is when I had my photography studio set-up I took a photo then cut it out and took another photo next to the prop and this photo is a photo of that photo with my i-phone, did I lose anyone...:)  So the quality is not to good but I thought the themed idea was there anyway.

These photos are of my Mom and Dad, they are celebrating Easter in Heaven, but when here...years ago they used to have a greenhouse business.  Easter was always a special time, Dad always wrapping pots in foil and making beautiful bows and Mom making flower Easter baskets.  The display room was always very cool/cold and had the most heavenly scent of spring flowers and the color was spectacular.  Again i-phone pics of photos so the quality may not be too good, but I wanted them to be a part of my current life with their memories.  I miss them soooo much.  I used to go with my Dad as a kid on delieveries and walk the flowers up to people's doors and help unload the Easter Lilly's at chruch.  Growing up we always dressed in dresses, homemade ponchos, purses with handi's and gloves and Dad always made corsages.  Mom always made a delicious ham dinner, that we always had Sunday dinner at around 2:00 in the afternoon.  Easter baskets were always hid somewhere.

This is another Easter card I made up using an embossing folder and a die for a little more of a whimscal card.

Here's is my version of an Easter Flower Basket, I also added afterwards the photos of my parents on some sticks that I had printed up and put those in the basket.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed a little more personal look into my life today.  I hope and pray that each one of you has a blessed Easter.  John 3:16
Hugs, Michelle

The Jelly Bean Prayer

The Jelly Bean Prayer

Red is for the blood He gave,Green is for the grass He made,Yellow is for the sun so bright.Orange is for the edge of night.Black is for the sins that were madeWhite is for the grace He gave,Purple is for the hour of sorrow,Pink is for the new tomorrow.Give a bag full of jellybeans,Colorful and sweet.Tell them it's a Prayer....It's a promise.It's an Easter Treat!

Pink Saturday-Crystal Basket Vases, Pillow cases/sham

Pink Saturday-stop on over to Beverly our lovely hostess and check out all of the links. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

This post is part 2 from Thursday's blog hop.  Today coordinates pillow cases, and a sham with the quilt made, and I have a couple of antique glass basket vases.  Who wouldn't have sweet dreams with chocolates on their pillow before they reitre, and flowers in the room bring life to the atmosphere.

Thanks for taking a peek today, hope you have an awesome weekend, hugs, Michelle

Spring Theme Accuquilt Blog Hop

Welcome to my part of the Spring Theme Accuquilt Blog Hop hosted by SewCalGal {thank you Darlene for all your work coordinating this event}.  I started out thinking I'd make a little table runner, then decided well maybe I'll go a little bigger and make a tablecovering, then it grew very large into a Queen size Bed Quilt for me...believe it or not but I have make numerous quilts but not one for my bed, I had one of those commercial coordinating comforters and all the matching pillows. I'm so glad this challenge came along and inspired me.  What a challenge it was, as life would have it I of course got the flu/headcold this last week and of course I left this project to the last two weeks to do.   I have the accuquilt studio and choose a traditional basket die for my spring theme.  You can read more about the history of basket quilts at this link, I found it very interesting.  http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_pattern_history/basket_quilts.htm

I used heat and bond to iron onto my fabric, after that I cut into sizes that would fit over the die and layered them up, which is the beauty of this system, cutting multiple layers in no time at all even with the extra heat and bond, cuts right thru it all, so sweet.  After the baskets are cut and you've cut your squares, you just peel the paper off and iron them on.  Of course there was left over, and not  wanting to waste I decided to cut some little flowers with my Big Kick Sizzix and a Tim Holt Die, and again it just cranked right thru licky split, and I arranged those to fill the baskets.

I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine around the basket and just a straight stitch on the flowers in pink thread, you can also see the quilting on the block below for the basket squares is a basic little frame with a butterfly in each corner. 

I used the Studio die, 3 1/2 " square for making one of the borders....the scarry part of this is I just started cutting and piling and rolling thru and in no time at all I had hundreds of half square trianges to sew together, with tons left over after I used what I need for the border.  This die is awesome, as you can see on the die the pieces are notched make it a breeze to pick up two at at time and just start chain piecing and wow, this is sooo fast.

Here's a view of a corner, as you can see I added four borders.  This was so exciting for me to put together I totally designed the entire quilt from start to finish and was so pleased with how it came together.

A side view of the borders.

I quilted the white squares in a pretty pink thread and a tulip and butterfly quilt design, which just felt like spring to me, I was careful picking the design, I could have quilted baskets but thought that would be too many baskets, and then I thought about a feather design to be traditional but I didn't want the quilting to fight with the basket block and I am happy with how this looks, I think it is balanced, simple and elegant.

Close-up view of the quilting butterfly and where the center of the block comes together.

I hope you can tell from the photo below, I was trying to capture the dimension and texture created.  I used a very thick loft batting, which with the heavier quilting on the plain blocks and the light quilting on the basket square gave the baskets a raised stuffed look, which I find very interesting.  I thought about adding buttonrs or rhinestones to the flowers but decided I wanted to keep it simplier.

Oh, did I mention the fabric is Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow and the quilt designs are Kim Diamond, thread "so fine", quilted on Gammill Statler Sticher.  I am so happy to have this set on my bed, I can't believe I haven't had a quilt on my own bed, I love it. 

Come back for Pink Saturday and Part 2 to see more photos of this quilt with:  glass flower basket vases, chocolates on handmade pillow cases and a quilted pillow sham.

But don't miss still scheduled today  and tomorrow, stop on over to these blogs.



Thu, April 14th
Just Plain Laine (Laine)

Fri., April 15th
Hollyhock Quilts (Glenna) 
A Quilting Life (Sherry)

Hope you all are enjoying the spring Accuquilt Blog Hop, Hugs Michelle

Spring Theme AccuQuilt Blog Hop

The week of April 11th several bloggers that love their AccuQuilt will be sharing items, all with a Spring Theme, which they've made using their AccuQuilt products. They'll also be sharing many tips, some tutorials, and a few giveaways on their blogs too! Here is the line up for this fun hop:

Mon., April 11th
SewCalGal
Andrea's Nest (Melissa)

Tues., April 12th
Bejeweled Quilts (Barb)
SewCindy (Cindy)

Wed., April 13th
Sunshower Quilts (Katrina)
Bits & Pieces (Terri)

Thu., April 14th
Just Plain Laine (Laine)
Rosebud Quilting (Michelle)

Fri., April 15th
Hollyhock Quilts (Glenna)
A Quilting Life (Sherry)

This is going to be fun, be sure to visit each blog on the day they are featured.

Pink Saturday-Quilt UFO's

Pink Saturday-stop on over to Beverly our lovely hostess and check out all of the links. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

I have a show and tells today, but no   binding on ...ugg, I'm so bad at finishing quilts and getting that binding on, that last step.

This  quilt is a whole cloth quilt, I just absolutely love this fabric by Kaffe Fassett.  The vase and flowers and colors.  I wanted to try this quilt design also and wanted it to show up, so I used a solid cream backing with this reallly bright green thread, well I like it, and I have a polkadot print whenever I get the binding on.

Last week's give away winner of the cards picked by random generator is:  #5 Niki from Maison Mutt

Niki send me your addressvia email and I'll get those shipped out to you.  Congrats!!

Thirty Attributes of the Lord

He is my Restorer (Psalm 23:3)
He is my Comforter (John 14:16)
He is my Strength (Isaiah 12:2)
He is my Redemmer (Isaiah 59:20)
He is my Hope (Psalm 71:5)
He is my Patience (Romans 15:5)
He is my Truth (John 14:6)
He is my Resting Place (Jeremiah 50:6)
He is my Overcomer (John 16:33)
He is my Light (John 8:12)
He is the Power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24)
He is my Bread of Life (John 6:35)
He is my Fortress (Psalm 18:2)
He is my Refuge from the Storm (Isaiah 25:4)
He is my Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6)
He is the Author of my Faith (Hebrews 12:2)
He is my Deliverer (Psalm 70:5)
He is my Counselor (Psalm 16:7)
He is my Peace (Ephesians 2:14)
He is my Rewarder (Hebrews 11:6)
He is my Healer (Malachi 4:2)
He is my Shield (Psalm 33:20)
He is my Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24)
He is my Purifier (Malachi 3:3)
He is my Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7)
He is my Shade from the Heat (Isaiah 25:4)
He is my Refiner (Malachi 3:2-3)
He is my Resurrection (John 11:25)
He is the Lifter of my Head (Psalm 3:3)
He is my Stonghold in the Day of Trouble (Nahum 1:7)

A few more photos from my trip to the Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago.  It was a lovely sancturary from the cold here.
Blessings, wishing God's favor and goodness for you .....Michelle