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The Barnyard Ladies

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Sue

I’ve posted a few entries about Barnyard Lady classes, but I realized the other day that I never really “introduced” these Ladies to all of you! In June, I launched the four patterns, and as with all of my ladies, I designed them as individual pieces, but they can be connected to make one larger hanging. Here’s a picture of all of them together as one. From left to right is The Buggy Barn, The Quilt Loft, The Country Stable, and The Milk Shed.

Another really neat thing with these Ladies is that you can mix them up! That is, you can switch the lower and upper sections of each barn. So If you wanted to have a “Mr. Magoo” buggy on the first level and chatty hens on the second level . . . . go for it! It will definitely work!

In fact, a quilter (Patti), from Pennsylvania did just that! Take a look. Isn’t it great?

Patti also added another Border Collie in her creation. She mentioned that she made this as a gift for a friend who just adopted 2 Border Collie puppies AND also raises chickens. Lucky friend! She is going to LOVE this!

You can also mix and match the flowers from one to the other, OR any of the barnyard ‘critters’! If you check out my homepage, you’ll see the flowers and the critters that I designed for each barn.

So if you love Americana Country Barns, these four ladies are for you! Go ahead, mix and match, and if you have a finished lady for show and share, pass it on to me! I love seeing them, and will definitely post your lady right here!

Portable Sewing Machine Table with Wheels

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Sue

I bought a portable sewing table . . . . . well it’s sort of portable. A bit heavy,
no ‘handles’ for carrying, or wheels for walking it into retreats, etc.
However, the price was right! $125 with free shipping! Can’t go wrong with that.
And it’s the perfect height, width, etc, etc. Here’s what it looks like . . . .

So, you might guess what comes next – that’s right, I wanted wheels and
handles on my table to make it truly portable!

It really turned out great, and here are the steps to transform your own table.
I purchased 2 – two inch stationary caster wheels and
one 8 count packet of #14 screws – 3/4” long.

And my part was done, except for showing my hubby
where to place the wheels. And here is his contribution to this project.
(I’ve gotta give credit where credit’s due! )

so, He measured, then he had to remove the
table bracket and grind it down a bit,
so that the wheel bracket would fit snugly.

Then drill holes Right underside Left underside
Attach wheel/brackets

top of bag underside of bag

And it’s done! Well that part is done – then the ball was back in my court.
Remember those handles I was telling you about. Well, I decided my table
needed a bag with handles. And I made one, however I did NOT make a pattern,
just ‘winged’ it as I went. So here’s the finished bag with my portable table!
Can’t wait for the next retreat! Oh, and it also holds my cutting mats and large rulers! Sweeeeeet!

My “Bird” Feeder

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Sue

I love my bird feeder! Yes, even though I must budget a bit more into my ‘food’ account, it’s so worth it to see all the wild birds that show up at my feeders. I have a large variety of them; bluejays, cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, titmouse, sparrows, grosbeaks, and goldfinches.

And of course I have squirrels and chipmunks. Thanks to my squirrel proof feeder, they no longer climb into and onto the feeders and clean them out! There are many different “squirrel-proof” feeders on the market, BUT this one willing works! It looks like this . . . .

Mine has hanging spots for eight different feeders, (I only put up five – more than enough)

See the two hanging “socks”? They’re filled with thistle seed. The goldfinch and the chickadees love them! A WHOLE BUNCH!

Oh, and what makes this a squirrel proof feed is the ‘baffle’ on the pole. Nope, squirrels can’t climb or jump above it.

Pretty clever, huh?

And like I mentioned, I get tons of birds . . . . . ALL KINDS OF BIRDS . . . . .

Yes, it’s a rooster and a hen! I did a double take when I saw them under the feeder.
There’s always one or two of these ‘birds’ getting out of our neighbors pen, and they do love to wander.

Hey, you never know what might turn up at the birdfeeder, so keep your camera handy!

Pumpkin Patch Fabrics in Lee, MA

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Sue

The Pumpkin Patch Fabric shop is one of the most relaxing shops I have ever been in. With Susan and Dan, it’s easy to know why! If you happen to be going through OR near Lee, Massachusetts, you must definitely stop in to say HI and to check out all the fabrics, notions, AND BERNINAS that they have to offer.

Susan stocks all the best quilting fabrics; cottons, batiks, flannels. Need notions? They have em! AND again, the BERNINA sewing machines. (I’m partial to Bernina’s, since I own a 440) Dan is the one to talk machines! He knows them all, inside and out! You should check out the newest modes, the 800’s & the 300’s. Here’s the “front room” of their shop, but don’t stop there, keep going back to see more fabric, notions and the machines in the adjoining four rooms!

And of course, I happened to be teaching another Barnyard Lady class! Small class, but both quilters were absolutely great!

Nancy decided to make the Quilt Loft, here she is being very busy (at her brand new Bernina 330!)

And Stephanie chose the Milk Shed - They both really made some serious headway with their Barns!
Can’t wait to see them finished!

Log Cabin Fabrics & The Barnyard Ladies

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Sue

Last Tuesday, August 24th, I headed down to one of my favorite places to “hang out”, Log Cabin Fabrics! This shop is so far off the beaten path, that one wonders how they ever have any customers. Never fear, us quilters can find ANY shop, even the ones ‘out in the country’! And to prove my point, while there on Tuesday, a quilter from California just happen to stop in and buy some fabrics and patterns. See, told you so! In fact, I’ve never been there without seeing other customers, maybe it has something to do with Londa, the wonderful, sweet shop owner, and the very knowledgeable, and just as sweet, Lisa!

AND of course, once you do make your way through the beautiful countryside to the Log Cabin Fabrics, you will NOT be disappointed! The fabrics are stacked from floor to ceiling, and they carry all the latest lines, too. Batik’s, flannels novelty prints, and row after row of quilter’s cottons are waiting for you. Oh, and one other thing, the shop really is an actual LOG CABIN! Take a look inside. . . . .

Oh, and did I mention that while I was there, I happened to teach a Barnyard Ladies workshop? Great class! There were seven quilters who wanted to make their very on Barnyard Lady. Five made The Quilt Loft, one made The Country Stable, and one made The Buggy Barn. Here they are . . .

At this table are Kris, Michelle, Linda & Charlotte

And Myra, Barb & Rita at this table
(Sorry girls, the picture didn’t transfer!, don’t know why, but it just happens to me sometimes!)

AND, here are some photos of the progress on their Barnyard Ladies . . . .

A big thank you to all of you; Kris, Michelle, Linda, Charlotte, Rita, Barb & Myra, for being such great quilters! by the way, I want to see the finished hangings, SOON!

New Hampshire road trip & McKenna Ryan

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Sue

There’s nothing I love more than to go on a shop hop with my quilting friends! We talk, we laugh, we shop, we eat, and then we do it all over again! And that’s just what happened on our latest hop PLUS, we had the pleasure of meeting one of our favorite quilt designers, McKenna Ryan!

So anyway, let me back up a bit and start with our first stop, which is one we’ve been to before, but it was along the way AND it’s a good one! The shop is called Norton House and is located in Wilmington, Vermont. The drive from our part of New York into Vermont is very beautiful, the scenery can’t be beat with quaint villages, winding & scenic country roads, and beautiful mountain vistas. AND of course that brought us to our first stop and Quilt Shop, Norton House.

So, we shopped and bought fabric and notions (Love notions) AND, if we bought enough fabric, we could stop next door at their sister shop, a wonderful Vermont country store and get a piece of free fudge! What could be better! We also lucked out and heard all about some very valuable information from the store proprietress about where to dine once we reach our destination . . . . . Center Harbor and that would be at the restaurant named Canoe! But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Back to the road trip . . . . . next scheduled stop was Keene, New Hampshire . . . . well it was SUPPOSED to be the next stop but we were talking and laughing and just kind of sailed on past Keene. No worries, we’ll get back there one of these days. SO, the actual next stop was in Henniker, NH and let me tell you, this is one GORGEOUS shop! Store is called Quilted Threads, located at 116 Main St, Henniker. Web address is www.quiltedthreads.com
Wow, it’s really a must see shop! Take a look . . . .

As you can see, it’s huge and I didn’t even take pictures of all the rooms, and yes, there were definitely MORE rooms. There must have been three or more classrooms, too! I imagine that local (and not so local) quilters love to take classes at this shop! So we spent an hour or more “hooooing and haaawing” in their store and with all that shopping we decided that “it’s time to eat”. The shop people told us about a great little riverside restaurant right down the street, called Daniels. . . . it lived up to it’s praise . . . . (I had the veggie quiche – which was scrumptious!)

   Next stop . . . Andover, NH – shop is named,
   The constant Quilter, located at 139 Pancake Rd.
    web address is www.constantquilter.com
    A great little shop in a quaint country home. They
   also sell antiques upstairs, which we did not spend
   any time in, but we certainly checked out their
   great supply of fabrics!

So, we kept angling slightly northeast towards our final destination, stopping at a local DQ (Dairy Queen) for refueling, then on into the village of Tilton where we located The Quilting Corner. Address is 322 West Main St, Suite 110. Web address is www.quiltingcornernh.com
Bright and Cheery describes this wonderful shop . . . .

Next Stop, our lodging for the night . . . . . The Grandview Motel, Weirs Beach, NH. We were in their motel unit and were very, very pleased with our stay. If you call them, you’ll most likely speak with “Tom”, a very knowledgeable host! He told us about another quilt shop that I did NOT have on my list to visit, it was “just down the road”. We decided to save that one for the next morning. Here are some great shots of the motel . . .(and Lake Winnipesaukee)

I would have liked to hang with Tom and learn more about the region, but our final destination for the day was calling us . . . . Keepsake Quilting!!!!!
We found it, and for some of us, it was our first time there. Boy, did we have a ball going from room to room. By the way, if you visit, you should have a project in mind, otherwise, you’ll walk around in a daze. It can be a bit over whelming! Chuckle, chuckle!

So we shopped, then shopped some more, and decided we’d check out the Canoe restaurant. (remember I was telling you about it at the first stop)
We weren’t Starving (afterall, we did have a wonderful lunch & an ice cream stop), and good thing we weren’t, since our wait time was about one hour.
So we decided to hang out on their lower deck with a drink and a view of the lake while we waited.

At left is a partial photo of Kathy, at me to the right.

NEXT DAY . . . . . . . as mentioned, we went to The Quilted Frog, located on the ‘main drag’ in Weirs Beach at 51 Endicott St.East. Sweet little shop!!!

Afterwards we headed to Meredith, NH. Absolutely, beautiful lake region village, flowers everywhere, stately, well-maintained inns and shops, and the pristine Lake Winnipesaukee . . . .

The last picture is of McKenna Ryan during her lecture. Even if you never plan on making one of her designs, you should really attend one of her lectures if they come your way! Her quilts are stunning, and represent all of the things she loves. She’s a great inspiration to me!

So there we have it! another wonderful, successful road trip! The girls can’t wait to head out again, maybe we’ll go west next time . . . . .

Victoria’s Painted Ladies

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Sue

I just returned from a wonderful road trip with three of my quilting buddies and I’ll tell you all about it soon, I promise! However I wanted to pass along a picture that was sent to me from a quilter, Victoria of Pine Mountain Club, California, who made these four gorgeous Painted Ladies.

They are soooooooo sweeeeeeet! See for yourself . . . . .

Victoria made her Painted Ladies for a Challenge quilt and won in THREE categories! Best of Show, Best of Theme AND 2ns place in Best of Embellishments. Congrats to you, Victoria!

The Challenge was “Pair or Pear” - the quilts had to have a ‘pair’ of something OR contain a pear somewhere. She did both! There are a pair of quilts hanging from a railing on the Quilt Shop AND a ‘pear lady’ in the Boutique. Can you spot them? Speaking of spots, check out the Dalmatians! LOL!

Victoria also used photo transfer to add her best friend and quilting buddy into the scene (standing in front of the quilt shop). There is so much that she added, I find something new every time I look at it.

SO, send me your pictures! I love to see them and others will too!

Sue Pritt

Quilting Mysteries

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Sue

Have you noticed that there are a LOT of new fiction books on the market about quilting and mysteries? Isn’t it great! I, for one, love these books, and can see why they are popping up everywhere. Afterall, quilting has become such a large business, AND a large number of us LOVE to read, (especially mysteries), so it’s NO mystery why we can’t wait to get our hands on these books.

My quilting buddies and I, The Cut-Ups, are advid readers. We find these books and the ‘swap’ thing starts to happen. In fact I mentioned the other day that we should put a sleeve and card in the back to sign, just like libraries do! (We forget which ones we’d read)

I suppose the most well know quilt author would be Jennifer Chiaverini, with her Elm Creek series, however, they really are NOT mysteries, but definitely well know by most of us. She not only has the series books, but also an Elm Creek cookbook and two, (I think) pattern books. She even has a fabric line for some of her patterns.
Way to Go, Jennifer!

Our group has also read all three of Terri Thayer’s books. Terri herself has been quilting for more than twenty years, so she definitely knows what to do with a rotary cutter and a 24 inch ruler! And, her books can be filed under the quilting/mystery heading. So far, she has three published, in this order . . .

There are two authors that I’ve found with an online search that none of us have read . . . . . . .yet!
They are Elizabeth Lynn Casey & Arlene Sachitano. Each have three quilt/mystery books. They are . . . .

The above three by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

And the three below by Arlene Sachitano . . . .

No worries, we’ll have these books in our clutches in no time!

Oh yes, there was another author I just discovered today, but must do a bit more research. Her name is Earlene Fowler and her bio reads . . . . “her Benni Harper series features quilts, cattle, smart-mouthed women, cowboys and a sexy Latino cop.” Yup, I will definitely look into her books.

Oh and P.S. I have a kindle. I LOVE my KINDLE! If you have also have one, I’ve checked and all the above books are available for it!
ENJOY the read!

A Notion To Quilt and The Bridge of Flowers

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Sue

Saturday I ventured back “over the mountain pass” and headed to A Notion to Quilt, AGAIN! I really love that shop! Anyway besides giving another class, this time The Shop Ladies were on the agenda, BUT I allowed myself extra time to stop in the village of Shelburne Falls. Remember me saying that I wanted to spend more time checking out the Bridge of Flowers? Well that’s exactly what I did!

Learned a bit of history about it also . . . . The bridge was built in 1908 as a trolley bridge across the Deerfield River to connect the towns of Shelburne and Buckland. As with many things, the trolley line was abandoned in 1928. HOWEVER, only one year went by and Antoinette and Walter Burnham decided to transform the trolley bridge into a flower bridge. So the Bridge of Flowers Committee was formed and the work began.

There are over 500 varieties of annuals and perennials planted and tended by local volunteers.

Check it out for yourself at www.bridgeofflowersmass.org

AND, on to A Notion To Quilt . . . . . As always, my time in this shop just flies by. Between the quilters in the class and the shoppers in the store, I’m constantly kept busy ‘doing my thing’.

This time there were three quilters in the class, (one couldn’t come at the last minute). And here are my pictures of their work! Great Job LADIES!

Here’s Liz, she wanted to make The Animal Krackers Pet Shop. She said she’ll probably ‘fussy’ cut some doggy prints that she has at home to put in the windows. Check out the adorable ‘dog-bone’ fabric for the border! 🙂

Sitting across from Liz is her quilting buddy, Louise. She decided to continue her work on The Painted Ladies. You may recall that she started the Boutique in the June Class. Well, she kept right at it, because she not only finished the Boutique, BUT also finished The Bakery & Cafe. Check it out!

Then next to Louise sat Bev. One of the many quilters who tell me that they’re beginners, and every time, I discover that they know a LOT more then they think! Bev worked on “Sounds Sew Sweet”, one of the Shop Ladies. She’s making it for her sister, but it’s OK if I tell, sister knows about it!

SO, another successful day at A Notion To Quilt. Don’t forget, if you’re in the Massachusetts along the Mohawk Trail, be sure to stop in and say Hi to Becki, husband Lenny, and mom, Nancy!

A Notion To Quilt June 26, 2010

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Sue

Yesterday, Saturday June 26th, I had another wonderful class at A Notion To Quilt. I LOVE that shop! The owners, Becki & Lenny are great! It’s a 5 minute drive from the cute little New England village of Shelburne Falls. Yes, there are falls, BIG, beautiful falls that can be enjoyed year round. And when the state put in a new roadway bridge over the Deerkill River, the village turned the older bridge into a gorgeous flower garden walkway.

Here’s the ‘old’ Bridge of Flowers. If I had time, I would have loved to stroll along the pathway. Another time . . . .

But, back to the reason for my being in Shelburne Falls . . . . to teach another Painted Lady class! The time goes so quickly when teaching a class, but we accomplished everything that we wanted to get done, and let me tell you, that’s not easy to do when A Notion To Quilt is packed with fabrics and notions that are SO inviting! All the newest fabrics are in and they were going like hotcakes!

All five quilters made a door! That’s always fun to show them how easy it is to get started, and of course, once that door is made, you MUST add windows, walls and a roof!

Here are the doors . . . . .

Liz with A Flower Shop Door , Louise, and her Bake Shop Door, and Mary, Evelyn, and Mary with Boutique Doors.