Monday, December 31, 2012

A Whirlwind of Christmas & on to the New Year !

Jordyn Marie Jensen - 6 mos. old
I hope you have all enjoyed many celebrations with family & friends over this holiday season.  I know we have celebrated many times over by the tightness around my middle that I'm feeling today.  Anyway, it was all worth it ! 

We had our first great-grandchild Jordyn Marie here from Montana to help with the merryness.  Such a good happy baby !




Now we are on to 2013 -  & it's bound to be a great year ! 

Vinyl see-through bags
I have been enjoying this week between holidays - my own Sit 'n Sew in my studio here in the basement every day.  I didn't have to pack up my machine or fabric or anything - just come down here every morning & cut & sew . . . cut & sew.  I've had a ball sewing these little bags with vinyl fronts so you can see what's in the bag.  I really have to say though that I had big problems figuring one of the patterns out during the first sewing . . . directions for something like this are not good unless there are enough pictures or illustrations.  But then, after one was made, the sewing went quickly to do more.

Volume 6
And, of course, while sewing, I've been cleaning up my sewing space.  Isn't that what always happens when you start to take some sewing time for yourself.  Anyway, in the process I found 2 of the Volume 6 Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazines that were not accepted by the quilters whose names were drawn.  If you didn't get a copy for one reason or another, please email me directly & I will mail one out to you.  The first 2 bloggers who email me their mailing address at evonnecook@clotheslinequilts.com will receive these copies. 

My very good friend Shirley showed me just a few weeks ago that my block Checkerboard Star was made into a quilt in the Block Tester's Gallery on page 90 of the magazine.  It is a bright festive holiday quilt created by Karlene Larson with Kaufman fabrics & named Peppermint Polka.  Go, look it up quickly, it really is cute.   Thanks, Shirley!

Got to go & get back to my sewing - it feels like free time!  But I wanted to wish you & yours all the best in the New Year 2013 !!  Take care & Be Happy !

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Happy Birthday to me!

Yes, today is my birthday & I am especially honored to share it with all of you.  The days & weeks are quickly flying by to another Christmas coming soon; again, I say, where does all the time go . . .

While we spent our Thanksgiving with family in Phoenix, I, of course, had to visit some quilt shops, but only one did I get pictures of - The Olde World Quilt Shoppe  - on our way out of the city the day we left. 

If you get north of Phoenix, you will want to find this shop.  It is full of fabric inspiration in the dark colorations I love with a beautiful wood floor & friendly people.  Working that day was Jordan, the daughter of the owner Dee, & I bought a pattern by Renee Plains, who I was told is Jordan's mother-in-law. 



Jordan, the owner's daughter, was working the day we
stopped at Olde World Quilt Shoppe.
















Just love the wood floor!
This picture shows what you see to your left when you enter the door.  Don't you just love the bed posts for showing off the quilts!


Then the dark wood complements the fabrics so well below!







     Then our journey back home took us through Santa Fe so I looked up the gals at Santa Fe Quilting!  With this GPS you can find all the shops; how easy it is to drive right to the front door!

      They were having a fun morning at that shop - can you tell!  Here are a few pictures of Santa Fe Quilting. 


Love the adobe-look of Santa Fe Quilting!



Owner Mary McCuster has a great time in her shop!
Can't you tell!
 

Mary had lots of cute Santa's around the shop; I had to take a close-up of this one.
Lots of color in the
southwest fabrics
at Santa Fe Quilting!









Time to go; have a great day & I hope you are getting all of your Christmas running done so you can soon stay home & enjoy the holidays with family & friends!

We have family coming from Ohio & Montana & are having an early celebration this weekend already.  It will be wonderful having a houseful again.

Merry Christmas to all!  Be safe & Happy!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

So very much to be thankful for . . .

Yes, indeed, we all have so very much to be thankful for with the big Thanksgiving season right around the corner!  Mom always said, "if you think you have it bad, you don't have to look far before you find someone who has it a lot worse than you.  Then you forget about why you thought you had it so bad!"

I believe the very greatest thing that I am thankful for this year is - our crops!  Such blessings from above --

My block - Checkerboard Star
I am still excited about the new issue of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks; you should all have your copy by now. 

With every issue Quiltmakers sends an awesome coffee mug with all the blocks on it to each of the designers, & best news of all, there are ways that you readers can win a mug also with comments & such.  I am adding this link for you because it's not too late for you to win a beautiful mug of Volume 6! And you can read all about the future plans for their magazines.     http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2012/11/100-blocks-vol-6-shortcut/   Just go to this link & enter before Sunday evening at midnight! 

I have 3 Quiltmaker's mugs now.  Aren't they neat!
I want to wish you all a very wonderful Happy Thanksgiving Day!  We are traveling for the holiday, so wish us good roads & winds.  See you when we return.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Quiltmakers 100 Blocks, Vol. 6 - Winners!

My goodness - there were 116 comments to my 100 Blocks post.  It is always so heart warming to read through the comments & soak it all in.  Thanks so much to everyone for participating in the blog tour.  I hope you had lots of fun at all the stops!

I certainly love this issue; I think that every one just gets better & better!  So don't miss your opportunity to purchase one if you didn't win a free issue.

I've posted replies to the winners, but here is a final list, too.  Please let me know your mailing addresses as soon as possible so I can get your prize out to you!  Congratulations!

DonnaP - Magazine (will come to you from Quiltmaker's)
BGreene - Magazine (will come to you from me)
wvlady - Magazine (will come to you from me)

And winning fat quarters of reproduction fabrics coming to you from me:
     Sandra
     WoolenSails
     Bluequilt

Email me at evonnecook@clotheslinequilts.com as soon as possible.  Thanks so much!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks! Hurray!


Checkerboard Star
It is my day to blog & show my Checkerboard Star!  It is on page 51 of the new publication, block #568.  I love this block & as events turn out - it's very patriotic for this special day - the day we learn who our president will be for the next 4 years.  Keep in mind that I don't have that information as I'm typing this!  I'm still in suspense.

I hope you like this new block as much as I do.  On Monday I posted a question to those who were reading my blog & asked anyone to guess which block could be mine.  Terry@aquiltingblog is the winner of a free issue of Quiltmaker 100 Blocks, Vol. 6 for correctly guessing the bottom right hand corner block on the cover; I'm so honored to be on the cover again & congratulations, Terry!
 

Blue/Brown Leesburg
 
Red/Brown Leesburg
I have been playing with many color variations for this block, especially this last grouping of Jo Morton's Leesburg & thought you'd be interested in seeing various colorations.  So I downloaded all the thumbprints of the fabrics from the Andover site, but was disappointed to see that some of the fabrics were missing from the site.  So I did the best I could.  I was really interested in doing the black/gold version because I just love it.  However, one of the most special blacks (the one with the brown/gold vines) was missing from the website, but I still like the black/gold the very best!

Black/Gold Leesburg

As Checkerboard Stars appears on page 51 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 6


I have some free issues of the magazine to give away to some lucky quilters; also some free fat quarters of Jo's fabrics.  If you are interested, please go to my website www.clotheslinequilts.com & sign up for the email newsletter or become a follower of my blog http://evonne-clotheslinequilts.blogspot.com.  Be sure & check back by Saturday to see if you are a winner, so I can get your mailing address.  You will have to leave me a comment here to let me know that you have either signed up for the newsletter or begun to follow my blog.  And, of course, I'd love to hear what you think of my Checkerboard Star!

Have fun blogging!  Evonne


Monday, November 5, 2012

Join Quiltmaker's Blog Tour beginning Today!

It's Volume 6 of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks coming to your newstand on November 13!  I'm honored to again be a block contributor to this wonderful publication.

Let's have a little fun.  The first one of you who can correctly identify my block, which is on the cover, will get a free issue of the publication.  So just look at this cover image & guess which block you think could be mine; describe the block & which row & column it is in.  The answer will be revealed on Wednesday, my day to blog, & I'll answer you right on this blog if you won!

See you then!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Quiltmakers 100 Blocks, Volume 6 Coming Soon!

Yes, it is time again for a new edition of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks!  I just love this publication & it's always a thrill to have your block chosen.  It is Volume 6, due out on newstands on November 13.

The blog tour begins next Monday, November 5th, so get prepared for a week of fun blogging & prizes!  Go to www.quiltmaker.com/quiltypleasures on Monday to begin the blog tour.  You could win a free copy of this wonderful publication.  Don't miss out on the fun!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

More Quilts!




This quilt won BEST OF SHOW for the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild Show !!   All the color on red was breathtaking  -  & the applique superb ! 



 

 This quilt was so very colorful & well balanced, I thought.  It won a First Place blue ribbon.







 I believe that this quilt was The Civil War Love Letter Quilt inspired by Rosemary Youngs' book.  I love the multitude of blocks!



This awesome celestial beauty won 2nd place in the AQS Show.  It is named Sunlit Circles.
This is actually one of my favorite quilts in the whole show.  I thought it showed so much originality & movement.
And this beauty was the winner of
BEST OF SHOW.  It is Eureka! by Marilyn Badger.  Just feast your eyes . . .   
And this beauty won BEST HAND WORKMANSHIP - Named Symphony of Roses!  Simply awesome!
And I love the name of this quilt - Life in the Midwest!  Study it closely & see many surprises!  It again, was one of my favs!
 As I told you yesterday, I had a wonderful visit with one of the winners & here she is with her quilt "Scarlet Fever."  Isn't it amazing & so was she - so excited about her win & her quilt.  She kept saying "Everything goes good on red!" & I think she's right; she pulled all of these fabrics out of her scraps! She had kept track of the hours spent on the applique & the quilting - wish I had written that info down - sorry!  Her name is Jean Clark & she's from Mt. Horeb, WI; she showed me pictures of the next quilt she is already working on!
 

Quilt on, ladies !

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

More of the AQS Show in Des Moines !



Do you ever wonder which quilts other quilters actually stop to take pictures of compared to the ones that you find inspiring enough to actually photograph!  Well, here are some of the ones that I photographed & I'll see if I can remember what the inspiration was for me at the moment
The theme for the Des Moines Guild's Show was pineapples this year; see the pineapples in the center & the corners of this quilt; also the unique twist on the pineapple block. 
And, of course, I loved the bright colors of this quilt & the addition of the applique in the borders.  Sounds like I really liked this entire quilt.
 
 
 
I believe what prompted me to photograph this pink & green quilt was the colors & how calming the entire quilt is.  Usually so much applique gets very busy, but I don't feel that way about this quilt.
Then I know I was amazed with all the tiny blocks in this old quilt; and the black in the pineapples just made me take a picture.  It was unique indeed. 
 
 
This batik quilt put me in a trance with how they made the swirling effect in the sashings.  And it's just plain beautiful!
Talk about little tiny weeny pineapple blocks & lots of them!  They cover this entire quilt top!
These two quilts were made from The Farmer's Wife book, if I remember correctly.  I like how they put blocks in the corners of the borders on the first one just because it's different.  The second one - I liked the colors. 
 
 
 
And this one I believe it's the border that's so intriguing; it adds so much to the entire quilt.  It seems that there are lots of applique quilts these days; they just boggle my mind; I don't believe I would ever get a whole applique quilt like this one done.

Well, so much for today.  Got to get busy.  Will post again tomorrow.  I have a picture of an older lady with her ribbon-winning quilt that you'll just love & she was so gracious to talk to me.  I would love to meet all the winners with their quilts some day.
 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

AQS - Des Moines, IA - Superb!!

Hello, Hello!

We had a wonderful time at the Des Moines show.  Although our time was short going on the bus for one day only, we saw everything there was to see.  I'm used to driving myself & going when I want & leaving when I want - but it was awesome to be driven like Miss Daisy & delivered right to the front door!  Thank you, Mary at The Wooden Thimble, for making this trip possible.

The quilts by the Tentmakers of Cairo were so different from what we do that people just stood in awe looking at them. 


 The video was great showing the men appliquing, I believe, without a pattern at all.  They were just cutting pieces & strips of fabric, laying them on, & handstitching them down. 


When you look at these quilts, it is hard to believe they are done like that.



All of the quilts were for sale & many had already been sold.





They remind me of very expensive Persian rugs!













I'm showing only 3 of the quilts; there were many, many more to see!


Blogger is working very slowly this morning & I must leave for Merry's - - retreat this weekend. 

I am so excited to see everyone & spend these days together.  Maybe I'll see some of you there.


The trunk show is tonight!

I will post the rest of the quilt show when I return.  And I'll also have pictures from the retreat! 

Have a great weekend!


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Thank you!

It worked; a couple of you have made it through to Virginia!  She just called me & we got the problems worked out so she can be on her way to completing the quilt!  I am so happy for her - & me!

Thank you again whoever you are!

This was a good lesson for me.  Even with all the communications we have today, sometimes we just have to call on the telephone. 

Our Iowa weather has turned cold & we are covering up the garden & flowers tonight to protect them from the frost.  I do hope that this is not the end of our fall season though.  Many of the beautiful leaves have come down this past week turning the scene more toward a wintery look without the snow.  But I hear that North Dakota is getting snow already.

I am going to the AQS Quilt Show in Des Moines on Saturday with a bus load from the local quilt shop; am really looking forward to getting away & letting someone else do the driving.  Should be a fun day & am going to enjoy seeing some old friends once again.  I will post some pictures of quilts when I return.

You have a wonderful weekend, too!


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

I need your help!

Good morning, Everyone!

      I have a problem answering a particular email message & I need your help.    A customer named Virginia has a question regarding one of my patterns; she keeps emailing me through my website & I keep answering her - but she is not getting my answers.  She is becoming more & more frustrated &, needless to say, so am I.  My people tell me she probably has a spam filter that is catching all of my responses & Virginia is not seeing them at all.

     When you each have a spare minute, would you please send a quick email to vmatte@aol.com & tell her to look on the back of the pattern & either mail me or call me so I can help her.  My phone number & mailing address are on the back of every pattern.

       Thank you so much.   I will let you know if this works.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Join Me at Merry's Stitchins in Jesup, IA

I'm excited to forward information to you about a trunk show/retreat I'm doing with Merry at her new shop in Jesup, Iowa.

Consider this your invitation to join us for some fun & sewing the second weekend in October!  Call the shop @ 319-827-6703 to register!


Thursday, October 11
Trunk Show — $10
7 PM to 8:30 PM
at Merry’s Stitchins


(includes dessert and mystery Merry Bucks!)

Join us for a quilt show and a little history lesson.
Evonne Cook of Clothesline Quilts has a fabulous collection of civil war designs to share (with patterns of them all, too!) She has researched the Battles of the Civil War and the Generals. She also is known for the cute "coloring bags" patterns that we have samples of in the shop.   An Iowa Girl, she and her husband make their home on the family farm in Northwest Iowa.

ChattanoogaFriday, Oct 12: 9 AM to 3 PM

Chattanooga Class
Make your own Civil War Battle Series quilt. Learn some power cutting and piecing techniques. Our sample finishes 40" x 54". Alternative size of 74" x 102" also included on pattern.

Instructors: Merry & Evonne. Lunch included.

Class Fee: $25 Pattern Required. Kits available.

AtlantaSaturday, Oct. 13: 9 AM to 3 PM

Atlanta Class
Make your own Civil War Battle Series quilt. Learn some power cutting and piecing techniques. Our sample finishes
48" x 58". Alternative size of 95" x 115" also included on pattern.

Instructors: Merry & Evonne. Lunch included.

Class Fee: $25 Pattern Required. Kits available.



Call the shop to sign up today! 319-827-6703

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...