A Patriotic Quilt .... With a Story

I have the pleasure of working on a lovely quilt HAND PIECED by Barbara for her Viet Nam vet husband! I'm including a custom embroidered label for her special quilt.

The Advent Characters are Done. Gotta LOVE them!

All of the little Advent calendar characters have been embroidered.  Next up....the calendar.  For that, I've gotta put on my thinking cap.  Hmmmmm how do I do this with a 6" x 10" hoop when each of the 25 calendar squares need to be 2.5" square??? I smell math.  Argh!!!! :)

Laying low today...sort of.

Somehow or another I really messed up my back. My lower back is just killing me but four Advil have FINALLY helped so I'm able to do a little bit of embroidery today!  I making this little advent calendar for Mario and Carolena.  I'm hoping they'll enjoy taking the little characters off of the calendar and placing them into the barn or stable as Christmas gets nearer. And of course, on the 25th, the baby Jesus will be put on the calendar.

The calendar is obviously a WIP (work in progress) as the little characters need to be cut out etc etc.  Anyhoo, I am  really loving my new embroidery machine. 

In my LONGARM world.....

Recently a customer gave me a special quilt to LONGARM. She made it for her husband (a Vietnam vet) for Christmas.  I think I'll give her a call to see if she would like me to include a special embroidered label for her quilt as my gift to both of them. 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

~PattyAnne

A Very Special Quilt

I love working on a quilt that has a story behind it!  This quilt top was pieced by Marcia for her friend who is retiring after 35 years of working in the neonatal area of a local hospital. Marcia's friend's husband (phew, right?) was able to sneak the scrubs out of their house so the surprise quilt could be stitched. 

Anyhoo, can't you just imagine the stories that these scrub tops could tell! I'm fairly certain that these tops were worn as MANY teeny tiny babes were lovingly cared for.  

I have a special place in my heart for neonatal nurses because my son was born prematurely 38 years ago and, if it weren't for the nurses' care, I'm not sure he would have survived AND grown into the fine man he is today. 

Well time to quit babbling any get busy on Marcia's precious quilt.  

A Somwhat Sad Goodbye

This weekend was SAFF.  For those of you who don't know, SAFF is a fiber festival held every year in western NC. 
Well, years ago, while on my way to SAFF, I spied a loom for sale.....at a YARD SALE!  It was a beautiful Mighty Wolf by Schacht.  A 4 now 4 later (info my weaving buds would understand).

Anyhoo, I scarfed her up in a heartbeat. My sweet hub came and picked her up for me.
I'll tell you....I LOVED that loom.  Eventually she lead to my purchasing a Baby Wolf, a Wolf Pup, a huge rug loom, an inkle loom, a table loom and multiple rigid heddle looms (needed for classes I taught at both SAFF and the Johnson Farm in Hendersonville)

Years later......Surprise, surprise .....
I came to the conclusion that my "studio" was becoming just a wee bit overpopulated so I decided to part with my Mighty Wolf.  The sale was bittersweet for me because the (my) loom was purchased/picked-up on SAFF weekend (the SAME WEEKEND I adopted her years ago!)  :(
I must say, however, that Donna, (the purchaser)  seems happy - which makes me a tad bit happiER.  
She posted two photos on FB.  

Enjoy your new loom, Donna!   I hope you love her as much as I do!

NEXT POST....What's on my Lenni Frame!!