My modern Log Cabin quilt...

Log Cabin is about as traditional as you can get! But I loved this modern version, found in Modern Designs for Classic Quilts.  I've been on a mission to use my stash and combine fabrics from many different lines, collected over the years.

Blue and green is a favorite color combination and I had lots to choose from! I like how they look combined with the gray and white.

The backing came from the stash also! I decided to simply sew strips around a center rectangle Log Cabin style.

A solid binding and quilting that alternated between wavy lines in the gray and white...

and loopy loops in the colored areas...

And now a week or two blogging break for me and some quality family time. It doesn't mean I won't be sewing! Just need to hand appliqué the remaining circles on these blocks and the sashing fabric is ordered!

Also taking some time to appreciate this time of year! Enjoy! 

. . . Cindy

Read More

Giveaway winner and more!

Thank you all for your gracious comments about my block and resulting quilt. I can see tons of possibilities with it from quilts, to pillows, to bags. And we have a winner of the magazine!

QuilterKat ~ send me your address and we'll get it to you!

My blogging was somewhat remiss last week. We've been busy with outdoor preparations for winter beautifully described in this poem. As much as I love the warm months and the garden, I always look forward to long winter evenings snuggled under a quilt with some hand-stitching.

And speaking of hand-stitching, I have a pile of completed quilts - they just need their bindings hand-stitched. Some show-and-tell coming soon!

Quilters are known for stepping up in times of need. After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy many organizations are now collecting quilts and hand-made items to help ease the pain so many are feeling. For a nice list of organizations spearheading collections be sure to visit the Martingale Blog - Stitch This!

I'll be sending 2 quilts to Bumble Beans. I've donated to this organization in the past and they are already in the process of distributing quilts to Sandy victims.

In other fun news, this month was my turn to distribute my blocks in the STL Redbird Bee. I chose this block using scraps of teal, orange, brown and orange-yellow. I'm very excited to have a quilt made by some special friends!

And finally, I've been a lucky quilter. I recently won all these great giveaways and want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to:

 Bon Bon Atelier for the beautiful stack of solid voile quarter yards (not quite sure what to do with those; any ideas?)

Free Spirit Fabrics and 100 Quilts for Kids for the stack of "Essentials" fat quarters

Modern Quilt Relish and Alissa Haight Carlton's Action Kivu fundraiser for a complete set of 13 patterns (love them all!)

Heather Mulder Peterson for her 2 new patterns Galleria and Little Charmers 7 (can't wait to try them!)

It's so much fun to win free stuff!! . . . Cindy

Read More

gum drop pillow

My husband looked at me as if I'd finally lost it this weekend when I told him that I was making an ottoman.

But - I wasn't kidding - it's Amy Butler's gum drop pillow in her new Cameo fabric.

I really thought this would be a weekend project, but it was oh so easy! and quick!

 followed the pattern exactly except for adding a lightweight woven interfacing to each piece. The fabric is quilting weight and this gave it more of a decorator fabric weight.

And it does take a lot of stuffing!

I couldn't be happier with it though...

Our St Louis Modern Quilt Guild offered up a little shopping this weekend. The girls from Bob Bon Atelier in Kansas City visited with some beautiful fabrics. This feather piece just caught my eye! It's a perfect piece for pulling together a color scheme and I had fun playing with it when I got home!

I also picked up these two pieces of Simpatico. When I got home I had a nice fabric package in the mail. I had ordered some pieces for a project and out-of-the-blue, threw this florally print in my cart. Wow, it went nicely with my geometrics!

Finally from the garden! Some Sweet 100s!

. . . Cindy

Read More

My Back Yard

 no quilt pictures in this post

I considered finding some outdoor activity for the holiday, but ended up staying home because I could easily retreat back to air-conditioning!

it reminded me to appreciate that I have it all in my own back yard

my garden is small ~ much like a city garden ~ but I haven't let size hold me back

I come from a family of gardeners, my paternal grandmother, my dad and my sister, Diane ~ all much more talented than me

but I do love my flowers

Plumbago ~ I've overwintered this in a pot for years and it always blooms profusely

Moonbeam Coreopsis ~ I added the pink this year ~ one of my favs

each year I plant more and more Lantana

it's a surviver no matter what the summer brings

My climbing rose is finally filling the arbor and I'm so thrilled. It had a glorious lush of blooms in Spring, and continues to give

a beautiful combo of Russian Sage and Rudbeckia

we tried to get rid of the sage a few years ago ~ it gets so big ~ my husband took an axe to the root and it still came back

I've learned to embrace it

Hibiscus ~ newly planted this Spring and struggling in the heat ~ with blooms the size of a dinner plate

Zinnias ~ my favorite filler

I have to turn upside down to photograph this lily!

I rarely use dill, but love the flower

the hydrangeas have started to brown, but bright new flowers pop up here and there

Crepe Myrtle starting to bloom ~ after our mild winter it's grown really tall

these little green seeds on the Beauty Berry bush will turn bright purple towards fall

and these white hydrangeas will turn lime green!

it's turning out to be a hot summer here in the midwest

I'm trying to be more like the flowers ~ adapt and grow

. . . Cindy

Read More

in the garden today...

I couldn't help adding some quilts to the beauty today! Have a beautiful weekend! ...Cindy

Read More