Easter Stocking

Why not have an Easter Stocking! 

Christmas doesn't have to be the only holiday that stockings are used.

My daughter who is late 20 something still enjoys getting an Easter Basket for Easter AND since she's my only child I still enjoy putting one together for her. But now since we are many states away from each other the basket needs to be mailed! I was contemplating the cost of mailing and thinking I can just send her a gift card to the local grocery store and she can buy the candy, use a previous basket and put it together herself....

I didn't contemplate long....

Where's the fun in that for either of us!

My mind got to churning and my creative juices got to flowing and I came up with an Easter Stocking that I could fill with candy. The stocking can be packed efficiently in a smaller box equating to less postage spent. And she will have an Easter Stocking that she can hang each year or use as seasonal decorations in her home or for her door.

I found two clip art graphics that I liked but disliked. So I took elements of both and created a pattern that I really liked. I cut the stocking out based on my pattern and with a few tweaking's I was satisfied with my final result. It was fun, I felt creative and I'm sure my daughter will love it.

I went from this....

To this....

The machine embroidered face and arms were quickly done. 

It took more time than I wanted fraying the canvas fabric for the ears and feet so when I made the last one (I made 3), I used my fringe foot which I liked much better. 

The extras are for sale at my Etsy shop, 

BluButterflyGoods

Hope you are getting ready for your own Easter celebrations!

Happy Quilting

Happy Sewing

Around The World Blog Hop

I've joined several blog hops in the past but this is definitely a unique one...and no new project to stress over.  It's about making new friends and sharing something about yourself.  It's like passing the torch from blogger to blogger and learning something about each one along the way.

I was invited to join this hop by Karen from In The Sewing Basket.  You really must visit her blog. She has a long arm and does some awesome work, not to mention all the other projects and great information that's contained in her archives. I very much enjoyed browsing around her blog! We also found out we're both nurses and have a lot of other interests in common. It was fun communicating with her! Thanks, Karen for inviting me to participate in this blog hop!

 What am I working on? 

I seem to always be working on something, jumping from one project to the next and adding to my list instead of scratching off.  My goal for this year has been to NOT start new projects, but to finish what I've started. About three months into the year I revised that to read not start BIG projects. I'm a member of two clubs at my LQS and instead of making the full size quilts, I'm doing seasonal table runners...and actually finishing them before the next month and project comes around!! I like to challenge myself to be more creative and it's definitely been a brain exercise for me!

Here is one that really challenged me!  It's originally "Periwinkle" from Jenny Doan but I totally changed the colors and made peppermints where the white background fabric would be. I'm calling it "Stars and Peppermints" or "Here Comes Change"...it's a work in progress for sure! Making the changes allowed me to practice using my EQ7 program. (What an awesome design program.)

The below quilt was made by Shirley who facilitates one of the clubs I'm a member of.  It's a beautiful quilt using the X-blocks template. Since I didn't want to tackle the large quilt I changed the colors and came up with a table runner for 4th of July....

....and added the star pattern. It's amazing just by changing the colors the difference it can make! The entire table runner was made using the X-block template. It's really a versatile tool!

And I'm always messing around with machine embroidery too...which I love doing! I'm not a digitizer and that's okay because there are some awesome digitizers out there.

Why Do I Create?

Sometimes I think it's in the genes! My mother is very creative and all my siblings are creative as well.  My creativity is an expression of me and it makes me feel good about myself, especially when I see the joy on the faces of others when I can give them something personal that I've created. It also helps with home decorating...especially when my 24 year old daughter, while looking through her past birthday pictures,  makes a comment about the background of all her birthday photos being the same...same curtains, same pillows, same wall art! Time for a decor makeover....something I can easily do myself...saving me money so that I can buy more fabric for projects to start and hopefully finish!

Now to pass that torch....

Please visit these lovely ladies who so graciously accepted my invite to participate in this blog hop. Visit them now and see what they're up to,  then visit them next Monday, September 22nd and find out more about them and what they are creating.

Cheri from Fabric and Memories
Ann from Colourful Cross Stitches
Barbara from Sew We Go
Michele from By Hook and Needle
Jayne from Jaynes Stitching Tales

Lets keep that torch going!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Memorial Pillows

I'm sure many of you have completed t-shirt quilts before for friends and loved ones. The quilts are versatile in size, fairly easy to construct and can focus on one or several events while telling a story. I've only made two...one for my daughter that focuses on high school sports that has yet to be quilted and another one...a memorial quilt...for a friend of my SIL who lost her son suddenly three days before Christmas. You can read about Bryant's Quilt for his mother here.

At first my SIL requested pillows for Bryant's family after receiving a pillow from me that was constructed using some of my late Father's shirts. 

You all, I know, are familiar with the process of how projects evolve...Talk of pillows led to talk of a quilt which led to the birth of the above memorial quilt. After the quilt was completed the challenge was on... to make the pillows from leftover t-shirts used in the quilt.  Okay...I'd only completed one other t-shirt quilt...can I do t-shirt pillows too?! 

Yes I can.....!

They turned out quite festive and I hoped they would bring joy to Bryant's family members. The entire front of the pillow and ruffle was made from the t-shirts I received. I've never ruffled t-shirt fabric before so it was a first for me...well...the t-shirt pillows were a first too, so why not have many firsts in a single project!

I used the disappearing pinwheel block as demonstrated by Jenny Doan...

 ...And added some deco stitching from the sewing machine. 

For all you sewing and quilting purist out there...how do you like the way my stripes lined up?! The funny thing is I wasn't even trying to line them up, didn't even think about it, and only noticed it after I took this photo. This phenomena (a true phenomena because I'm far from exhibiting characteristics of a  sewing/quilting purist) occurred on all three pillows that had the striped fabric! 

My only explanation is that Bryant was over my shoulder quietly guiding me as I was piecing the fabric!

The ruffle edges were finished with a loose serged rolled hem to give it a primitive look...

...and I added a side zipper under the ruffle for easy removal of the pillow form. Piecing the ruffle was decided upon because my t-shirt scraps were getting quite low and I didn't have enough of each t-shirt color to complete an entire pillow. 

My last task included a machine embroidered memorial to Bryant on the reverse of each pillow. 

It is my and my SILs hope that these pillows, as they are being hugged or looked upon, will bring a small amount of joy and comfort to Bryant's loved ones. 

So... do you know what you need to do right now...right this minute....???????

?

?

?

Go hug a friend or loved one because we never know if it will be the last.

Happy Living! Happy Loving!

New Embroidery Wall Art

Check out my new Wall Art on my Machine Embroidery page. I thought I needed a change when my 24 year old DD commented that my window treatments and wall art was the same in all her birthday photos. Time to update.....

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone has enjoyed their day and has had some awesome eats!

Our menu consisted of grilled hamburgers, chicken breasts and chicken legs. The BBQ sauce we used was Sweet Baby Rays - Cola-Q. It was interesting and had a slight cola taste. Not sure I would use it again as I lean toward a more sweet sauce. But it did have less carbs than the sweet sauce I usually use. If you read my low carb journey blog, I'm a Fat Cell Hoarder, you know that DH and I are low carb-ing it and he has lost an amazing 40 pounds thus far...anyway...we told our guest that it was BYOB...Bring Your Own Bun since we don't keep bread in the house.

To decorate for the 4th I made this table runner

It was made using the 7.5 X-Blocks template. I was really impressed with this template and just by changing the color manipulated the design.

The star was also cut using the same template placed differently on the sewn fabric pieces.

I quilted the top to a backing made from denim (old DH's jeans) using an appliqué stitch...

...and finished the edges with a serged 4-thread overlock stitch.

I machine embroidered these free standing lace flags and stars several years ago and actually knew where I stored them!

I put them in a vase with some red, white and blue tulle and presto....

...a centerpiece!

My table was ready for the fourth by the end of June instead of the usual day before the holiday...a first for me!

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting. Leave a comment, I love reading them.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

A Memorial Quilt for Bryant

Bryant, a friend of my brother and sister-in-law,  passed away suddenly a few days before Christmas 2013.  Bryant was in his mid 40s and his death, of course, was devastating to family and friends. While most folks were doing last minute Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, Bryant's family members were shopping for funeral attire.  My SIL, who is best friends with Bryant's mother, wanted to present her with a quilt in memory of her son.

I'd not had the pleasure of knowing Bryant, but was honored to get to know him while my SIL and I worked together planning the quilt. Our final decision was a t-shirt quilt that was to include pictures of Bryant and his two lovely daughters along with various t-shirts that Bryant favored. 

It happened that my mother came for a two week visit in March and the plans were for her to bring the finished quilt back with her to give to my SIL. While Mother was here we had loads of fun attending the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop, planning my indoor hydroponic garden plus we were able to work on and finish Bryant's Quilt. We both had a marvelous time working side by side as the quilt came together. Most importantly we had quality mother-daughter time that will always be remembered and cherished by me,  just as Bryant's family will always remember and cherish him. 

Quilting is suitable for all life events and even though Bryant's Quilt was made because of a sad life event, its making created happy moments of laughter and fellowship that my Mother and I shared together...moments that I will always remember. And even though I did not know  Bryant, I thank him for the happy life event that was shared with my mother by making this quilt. Even in death one can still bring joy to those left behind. 

Bryant's Quilt

As of this photo the borders still need to be added. We used batiks for the sashing and the quilt borders.

He enjoyed outdoor sports so I embroidered designs on a couple of the shirts.

It's difficult to see in this photo, but two of the t-shirts had pockets in which I embroidered a heart and a fancy design on the fabric.  Since the pocket of a t-shirt covers the human heart, love ones can put their hand in the pocket for a few minutes and dwell between the hearts. 

I thread binded the quilt with my Serger using a wave stitch. I love this stitch and finding I'm doing it more often instead of tradition binding.

And then....

...Mother and I wrapped up in the finished quilt.  My motto is a newly finished quilt should immediately be wrapped around someone!

Have you made a memory quilt or a t-shirt quilt? 

It was an honor to make this one.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have a blessed day.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Grow Your Blog - A Blog Hop and A Giveaway

Hi there and welcome to my blog, Georgia-Girl Quilter. My name is DeAnna and I'm so very happy that you stopped by for a visit. A huge "Thank You" goes out to Vicki at 2 Bags Full for all her hard work in pulling this Hop together. The number of participants is astounding and surely everyone will have fun visiting and following as many blogs as they can...I know I will!

When visiting my blog you will see posts about my journeys in quilting, machine embroidery, Serging, and becoming a Longarm Quilting Diva. Its amazing how these different machine functions can add to the finished project and I love sharing with you what I've learned, here on this blog. I also love to cook so I've created a "Recipe" tab to share my favorite recipes with you.

Here are three of my Kaleidoscope blocks from my Kaleidoscope Quilt. This was a fun quilt to make.

I come from a sewing family and it's such a joy to have family members who all enjoy the same craft. We rely on each other's opinions and you will often time see links to my sister at Sew Much and More. (Who, by the way, is also participating in this Hop!)  I'm inspired by the many blogs I follow and visit and you will also see links to these various blogs hoping they will inspire you too!

I enjoy participating in Blog Hops and they really help me to expand my comfort zone while expanding my creative abilities. 

I love using my Serger to create edges such as these on my projects.

There is so much a Serger can do and I'm only touching the surface. I hope to start a Serger Series soon so that I may share all I'm learning with you.  

So...check back soon!

When quilting, I have a chance to stitch out something nice on my embroidery machine. I set it up and let it do its thing while I go about my quilty business.

And I always like a quilt loaded on my longarm...ready to be quilted. 

                                      

This is one of my favorites. The string piecing technique made a striking two color quilt.

I'm looking forward to following and visiting you and getting to know you too. You can read more about me in the "About Me" section on the sidebar. I always enjoy reading your comments and learn so much from my readers through their comments.

To see a list of participants visit Vicki at 2 Bags Full and start visiting and following all the different blogs. There are many who are having giveaways too!

Anyone up for a giveaway?

What about two giveaways?

I have for you:

Giveaway #1

Four fat-eights

Giveaway #2

A personalized pen embroidered with your name

1.  Just leave a comment and also tell me which item you prefer. Make sure I can get in touch with you, especially if you are a no-reply blogger.

2.  If the two winners requested the same item then the first drawn will receive the fabric and the second will receive the personalized pen.

3.  Winners will be drawn on February 15, 2014.

4.  This giveaway is open to anyone and I will ship anywhere.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the blogs participating in this Hop.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Black Tie Boogie - My Day!

My day is finally here. This has been such a great Blog Hop and I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the great projects...I know I have! It's hard for me to pick my favorites! Thanks Vickie and Mdm Samm for the time and effort that has gone into this successful Hop and giving me the opportunity to "strut" my stuff!

To begin....I have so many roosters and chickens it's absolutely ridiculous! I have them as figurines, vases, and plates and bowls. They are stuffed, made from sea shells, metal, ceramic, cloth, yarn, glass, wood, and paper. My collection goes from lamp shade toppers to tape dispensers! Some are funny, some are new and some are very old. I recently had to box up...(that is, use several boxes)... a number of them because I was over-run with chickens and roosters.

So....I've added more to my collection for this Hop....go figure! I thought I would make something useful and not just something to sit around waiting for me to dust it. So....I did some pot holders.

This first one was an applique design from EQ7.  It was really easy to do, very few pieces, and I machine appliqued it.

I used the circular attachment for my sewing machine and was able to stitch a perfect circle around the design. I picked one of the decorative stitches from my machine. We should all experiment and use those hundreds of  decorative stitches more. Play around and give it a try! 

For those who read my postings know how much I love to use my Serger. So for the edge I did a serged narrow rolled hem! 

A few more of my roosters welcoming the new addition.

With Thanksgiving knocking at our doors here in the United States, of course I had to do Thanksgiving potholders too!

I like to do machine embroidery so here is a happy Tom Turkey waving at you and wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

And a closer view...over 45,000 stitches.

I again used a decorative stitch from my sewing machine to stitch around the design and a narrow rolled hem from my Serger.

 Oops....lets look at Tom Turkey again......

He hung around a little too long!

Thanks for visiting me today during the Hop and hope you continue to have fun visiting  the other participants scheduled for today:

Stitchin by the Lake

Georgia-Girl Quilter (You are here)
In the Boon Docks
More Stars in Comanche

The complete schedule can be found HERE

Have a great week.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!