Snowmen and Pennies . . . . .

I finished a sample on Monday night while watching "National Treasure 2" for the umpteenth time.

This is called "Snowman Pocket" and is designed by Karen Martinsen of KM Primitives.

Karen also has a blog that is wonderful AND was a featured home in Country Sampler magazine a few years ago!

Both the pattern and the kit will be available at shows this year as well as the website soon.

WOOL BARN UPDATE: WhooHoo!  We are official!  Waiting for the electric company to show up and hook me up .....

Blessings, Cathi

On the First Day of Christmas, I cut a square . . . . .

Temecula Quilt Co. is offering a free BOD (Block of the Day) for 12 days.  It is SO simple.  The first day is to cut a 3-1/2" square.

taken from Temecula's blog without permission - I'm just sayin'

Already I am behind!!  I think I can quickly catch up .... LOL.  I have picked out this group of fabrics that I recently bought from Schoolhouse Quilt Shoppe (Judi and Bob Rothermel's shop).  They do limited amounts of shows during the year and I was lucky enough to vend at one with them.

Day One and Two are already posted but it should take you no time to catch up with me!

Blessings, Cathi

Cabin Friends - Part 2 . . . . .

I'm finished with Cabin Friends!

I chose a simple cross-hatch for the quilting because that's what I do best. LOL

I tried meandering on another quilt the other day.  Turns out the moon and the stars and my meandering mojo weren't all in sync so I gave up on practicing.  I'm so impatient!

And what is Cabin Friends sitting on?  The Cracker Barrel rocking chair on the little porch of the Wool Barn!  The electrician came today, installed the new meter, ran electric inside and out for a few lights and an outlet.  Dear Hubby even put the door knob and deadbolt on yesterday.  Would hate for all that wool to go missing!

The inspector is scheduled for next Wednesday . . . . holidays and all or it would have been today.  Then a quick phone call to our electric provider.  At least that's how smoothly it is going in my head!  Hope it is like that in real life.

One last picture of the flooring I installed all by myself last weekend.  Looks real, doesn't it?  But should make for some easy cleanup.

Blessings, Cathi

A non-Christmas finish . . . . .

I haven't really finished or made anything Christmas-sy this year.  We are doing very little in the way of gifts.  Just a few gifts for our own kids - nothing for each other (except, of course, the wool barn in the last post which covers me for the next 10 years!)  Although my children are in awe and amazement of my crafting and artistic abilities - ahem - they do not exactly share my love of all things primitive.  So that takes them off the "mom-made-this-for-me" list.  At least things mom WANTS to make.   

I did finish this little penny rug that will hang in the bathroom after the holidays (where the pumpkin is in the post link).  It measures only 11" x 15" with each larger penny measuring 2".  

I made up the design myself such as it is.  Not much to design.  I just knew the finished size and that I wanted it on a cotton background.  I finished it like a quilt with quilting and binding.

Simple enough but quite a color impact with scraps of wool.

And just in time to put another in the finish column before the end of the year.

Blessings, Cathi

WOOL BARN update:  I primed the floors that were nothing more than 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and laid super sticky vinyl strips that look like faux hardwood floors.  Today I rolled them with the 100 lb. roller that the manufacturer recommended.  This is going to be the nicest storage building this county has ever seen!  Too overcast for pictures today.  

The Wool Barn . . . . .

Well, Merry Christmas to me !

This showed up at our house Wednesday morning in parts on a trailer.

By Wednesday afternoon, it looked like something cute and cozy.

We'll be painting it in the Spring to match the house. And landscaping and other cute things.  Maybe a barn quilt on the right side in the pic above that is facing the street.

But for now, it's my (repeat: MY) storage building that will hold just my stuff like my booth display and the bins of wool and supplies.  We'll see down the road what it will become wink, wink.

But officially, it's a storage building because the building permit stated all over it that it was NOT to be used for commercial activity or living quarters (although in a pinch if Dear Hubby were for some reason sent to the doghouse, maybe he could stay with the dogs and I could sleep out here!) But hey, if a guy can have power tools out in an outbuilding, why can't gals (or guys) have sewing machines (a power tool) out in an outbuilding, too?!

First thing I did?  Put a Cracker Barrel rocking chair out on the porch.  By the way, if you're wondering why the porch is facing away from the street (note the car), it's because I have it facing the morning sun and the garden.  I see a cup of coffee coming on!

Blessings, Cathi

Snowman Stitchery, finished . . . . .

Last September, I won this cute little snowman stitchery from Carol.

Yesterday I made it into a quilt.

I just need to make a little label and send it on it's way to a new home.  Where will it live?  You just never know.

Blessings, Cathi

Cabin Friends . . . . .

Whipped this little cutie up over the last couple of days.

I even finished the hand work!

Of course not quilted but it is going in the booth as another sample.  Anyone that has been to a quilt show and seen my booth knows that not all my samples are quilted!  The pattern is called "Cabin Friends" by Primitive Gatherings and is available on my website.

We woke up to 65 degrees this morning.  That is the high for the day.  The weather chick called for rain and dropping temps all day.  Tomorrow we should wake up at near freezing and 26 on Friday.  It may be time to work on some more samples today in between naps!

Blessings, Cathi

Cheryl's Angel . . . . .

As the phone call came in telling us to hurry to Michigan, I was pin-basting this quilt.

It was a quilt Cheryl had started probably 10 years ago.  I knew she hadn't finished it so I bugged her for months to mail it to me.  She finally sent it to me in the middle of October along with another quilt top that she had started.

She wasn't a quilter really but a sewer and a scrapbooker and a crafter.  She had pieced the top, wonder undered the applique pieces and started the machine applique.  I had hoped to finish it and send it to her by Christmas.  

I did manage to finish it this week.  On to the other one next and both into the mail to her husband and kids.  I just wish she could have seen it finished.

Blessings, Cathi