I LOVE this newly discovered tee shirt co. called Wild Olive Tees.
Their designs are so beautiful, put one on your Christmas list!

Teaching Good Things

Most of you know that I homeschool- and one of my favorite homeschooling blog sites is TEACHING GOOD THINGS. I saw this post on "What Quilting can Teach You." It is so sweet to see moms and daughters working together on quilting, and they produced a DVD about how to quilt that looks very popular!

{{hugs}}Moorea


p.s. I just found out she has a quilting blog, too! For the Love of Quilting

cutter quilt

I have been working on a cutter quilt of DoriAnn's so I can make her a table runner for Christmas. It is a watercolor quilt with an Irish chain in it
All but two of the medallions are pretty trashed, but it's the ends I need!
I measure extra for mistakes.
When cutting, I left "tails" so I can pick the binding loose and use it to make a smooth transition to the new binding.

The batting is so thin, I was able to just sew the right sides together and iron it down well so I could top stitch it. The sashing it not even, but I am going to applique some flowers on it so it will not show.

Someday

Someday- I will have the quilt studio of my dreams, with is fabulous table in it. Love, Moorea

Fall

I was out swinging Jacob on the tree swing this chilly afternoon.
The sky was so blue and tree is the most lovely shades of oranges
and reds that I was compelled to take a picture. As I was snapping
different aspects of the tree/sky combo I was reminded of this this:


One of the most beautiful pieces of fabric I have ever seen. The selvage cut off who made it, leaving only "CS COLLECTION 2004" on it. I wish I had purchased more if it, instead I only own a fat quarter. I would make a dress out if it, if I did not run the chance of looking like Ms. Frizzle. I'd make it long and sweeping, with the "puffed sleeves" Anne with an 'e' dreampt of.
Moorea

Long Lost Friend

Meet my long lost friend Pippilotta Delicatessa Comestibles Windowshade Curlymint Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking. Whew, what a mouthful! I have been searching
for her pattern for years! I have been to just about every cloth
doll site on the internet. I am not kidding when I say I have spent
countless hours looking through google searches. Problem is, I never
knew that it was a Pippi pattern. Since my Mom made it over 30
years ago, she had forgotten! I finally gave-up last year. But I
knew in my heart that we would not be separated forever...


My Mom made this doll for me in the mid 1970's- Her name was
Cathy. She was well loved.


This was Cathy's companion. (Can't remember her name.)


Last week I snuck into Eco Thrift after a long day... I was searching
through the toys and there she was looking-up at me! Imagine MY
surprise when I recognized the shape, clothes, sweet embroidered
face and braided hair. "Why someone was creative enough to make
her into Pippi Longstocking!" Almost immediately the light bulb
went on "Oh- She was originally a Pippi pattern!" WOW! I bought
her for $2- and rushed home to search the net...


The second search hit was for this pattern @ Your Pattern Shop of
vintage patterns. Oh JOY! My Mom was so happy and bought the
pattern for me for my birthday! The pattern came in the mail
today! We cannot wait to get together and make her.

Pippi is very high sprited. She has played football with the
Little Boys and has been keeping me company in the craft room-
she loves country music,too!

You can visit Pippi here at Astrid Lindgren's World in Sweden.

Love, Moorea

Journal Cover Tutorial

You have to see this post of a Journal Cover tutorial over
at Exuberant Color Blog. It is a treat to look through all
18 posts of the journals she has made- she is not kidding about
loving color! Check for Journals under the LABELS on her sidebar.

I think I am going to make a Bible cover with it-
It may or may not turn out. Bible covers are pretty flimsy.

I am home from church with a sick 4 year old. I think he
will be good as new tomorrow, but I'm missing the monthly
church B-B-Q and the much needed fellowship that comes with it.
It is well with my soul.

Love, Moorea

The winner is... NOVA

Please forgive me, I have not figured out how to use the random
counter on my blog yet...


So I cut all paper exactly the same size...


I write your names...


I fold it precisely, put them in a bowl and them mix around...

The winner is: NOVA! Please email me: mcrich@sbcglobal.net with
your snail mail address and I will get the fabric right out to
you Monday!

Sorry about the delay- my 4 year old stared throwing up around
10am and I forgot to do the drawing.

Love, Moorea

One Day Left

OK- One day left to enter the Scrap Bag giveaway!
Look at the posts a few down to enter! ENDS SATURDAY 10/31
I will draw the winner @ 12pm Pacific time

Love,
Moorea

Name labels

I was finally able to find my favorite label maker online-
It is Namemaker.com - there are so many great labels to choose
from! They even have one that says "Quilted By," so sweet!
I really like being able to put these on little doll quilts that
are given away for charity projects, or on flannel rag quilts.

Love, Moorea

Good Morning!

Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.

~ Psalm 103:2, NLT

Scrapbag Give Away-

I have had so much fun going through my stash to tidy it up-
and pull out fabrics I know I am not going to be using with
any of the MANY quilting projects I have going.
So- I am passing them on! I hope you like the scrappyness of
the whole kit and caboodle- it is a real collection of just
about everything! Most pieces are fat quaters, but there are
a few larger, and some are smallish scraps. Winter is the
perfect time to cut and replenish crumbs/strips for scrap
quilts. If you have not seen Bonnie from Quiltville's Scrap
User System, see it HERE.

To enter- just leave a comment telling us the system you use
to keep track of fabrics that are smaller than fat quarters-
I guess crumbs/ strips.

Contest Ends in two weeks, October 31st! NOVA Won! email me
at mcrich@sbcglobal.net!

Love, Moorea

Escape!

Some days are better than others, and while it was a pretty good
day from all accounts, I just felt upside-down inside. I REALLY
needed to get out- so I escaped the madhouse this evening and
flew to the copy shop to make a bazillion copies of my Quilt
Record so I could sit and organize my record book. I have been
shoving photos of quilts in the binder and have not gotten
around to writing anything about them- and we all know that after
a few years and a few more quilts made & given goes by- we forget
all those little details that should be documented! I was able to
sit next door at Wendy's without interruption to record & stuff
page protectors to my heart's content! It was just what I needed
and I sure do feel better!

Please, please, please, print out a copy of the Quilt Record,
make copies and start recording your quilts! This Minnesota Quilters site is helpful.

You'll need:

Pretty Binder
Page protectors
Copies of Quilt Record
Photos of your quilts
Favorite pen
Double stick tape

Read-up on documenting HERE

Love, Moorea

Fabric Give Away

I finally found a pic of the quilt I made for my brother Matt using this
fabric. It is called "Camoflauge Courthouse Steps."


Hello, I have been cleaning off my project shelf and came across this
bunch of fabric that I was going to use for ANOTHER quilt for my
brother Matt! But, he just got married and I decided that the LAST
thing I want to do is make another strange quilt his poor wife
will need to live with- so... I am giving all this fabric away!
Besides, I promised them a picnic quilt with fabric she has picked,
so I need to get to making it!

Please leave a comment as to what you think you'd use it for.
If you have no idea, just NEED to have it- well then, put that down!
ENDS in 2 weeks, OCT 14th.

OK! The Winner is...Nance! I was reorganizing my fabric and
found even more of this funky fabric to add to it, so you are
now getting 1.7 lb. Nance email me your snail mail address!

Thank you all for entering! Come back soon as I am going to
have another fabric giveaway next week! It will be scrap bag
fabric; brights and novelties.

Love, Moorea

Broken Bulb

A Compact Flouresent Bulb broke over Daniel's bed today-
and on THIS quilt. Heartbreaking, but since the glass fell directly
onto the quilt, it must be thrown out!!! See THIS SITE

"If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage."

Sadly,
Moorea

Never Forget

Psalm 91 (NKJV)

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler[a]
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Hearts

I made this heart banner for DoriAnn years ago- and always meant to
take a picture of it to share with you. Well I finally did. She has
it up on a high wall overhang in her living room. It was a pattern in
a quilt mag that I enlarged. Cant' remember which mag.


Each heart represents one of her four boys.
I wish with all my heart I had taken this to a professional quilter,
unfortunately, I had to do it myself, on my 18 year old Costco Singer,
with no-drop feed dogs. Ugg. I have really had to give-up on the
perfectionist side of myself, otherwise I would not quilt!
Well...she loves it and that is all that counts right?

Love, Moorea

No Time To Quilt

I was hoping to have some time to quilt this summer,
but having two little boys who constantly fight and
get dirtier than dirt has kept me form attempting
anything remotely related to quilting! I did longingly
caress my fabric stash once a week as I dreampt of
the fabulous creations I could make with this piece
or that piece! Oh well, it is not to be- I will have
to settle with fondling my stash for a while longer
and reading about all the quilting you get done in
your corner of the world...

Love, Moorea

Another Baby Quilt

I went to my friend Suzie's Baby shower. Here is the beautiful lady,
holding the quilt I made her. She is in a wheel chair because she
survived her mother's attempt to abort her. She has cerebral palsy
because of it, but here she is having her fourth baby! Hurrah! Baby
Isaac will be born some time this week. I cannot wait to meet him.


Love, Moorea

Color Wheel

I have been thinking about painting my front door
a fabulously bright color- but I thought I'd do
some research on the net before going to Home Depot.
I found THIS site about color theory, and I hope it
helps me to make a good decision. Crimson is the
color I was thinking of- so I want to be sure!

Love, Moorea

Mother's Day Fabric

Look at the fabric my mom and dad gave me for Mother's Day!
They went to Nevada City for the weekend and happened upon the
Pine Tree Quilt Guild's 25th Annual Quilt Show. Some of the
quilters were selling remnants and my mom and dad picked all
these out for me! Can't wait to add these to my stash.


They also found a 14" platter that matches my Johnson Brothers set!
I have never even seen this large of a platter! They got it for $8.50
and it is probably about a $50- platter at the china replacement co.
I am so tickled, as none of us have been able to find any for a while.

Love, Moorea

Sutter's Fort Quilts

Here is one of the Sutter's Fort quilts. Princess Buttercup will have
to give the details in a comment. I know she did draft this pattern
off of one she saw on the cover of a quilt magazine. Beautiful!
Here is pattern info: The pattern for the star quilt was on the cover
& inside the Australian Quilting and Patchwork Magazine, Vol 13, No 5.


Here is quilt #2. I cannot decide which one I like the best!
They will be raffled off with-in the group that participated in the
program.


She had enough to make table runners for the gals who run the program.


Look at my Amaryllis! Some one gave me a large "just about dead"
bulb last year. I planted it in faith- and it revived, but only
grew leaves. I stuck it out on the front steps in April-low and
behold it has bloomed! I do not think I had ever seen and amaryllis.
They sure are beautiful!

Have a great weekend. Hubbs is taking me to Panda Express- Orange
Chiken here I come! and to see the new "Star Trek."

Love, Moorea

Quilt Stash Song

Quilt Stash Song
Listen HERE

Thanks Wendy!

Love, Moorea

Focus

I am ignoring this mess to work on...


the binding and label for Ronica's baby quilt. I love
quilting. It helps me focus on the really important thing
in my life... sewing!


My mom worked very hard this week to get the quilting done-
good job mom!

Love, Moorea

Old Fashioned Quilting Bee

This is SUTTER"S FORT in Sacramento, CA. It is reenactment day,
but not just any reenactment day, it was the Sacramento Area
Homeschoolers reenactment day! This group does it up so well,
you might think you are really back in time, except for the
fact that bus loads of kids on school field trips are smashing
in around you to see the stations.


Here is Princess Buttercup, hand quilting one of the quilts
she researched and designed for the kids in the program to
work on. She chose period fabric, cut and sent kits of four
patches to be hand sewn by each child and then placed them
in the quilt, with the brown and white triangle setting blocks.
It is gorgeous. There is another with stars, I will get a pic
of that as they will be and quilting these for a while.


Here are all three ladies in the quilt group doing the
hand quilting.


It was close to 100' F at the fort. Yikes! To see more photos-
look at my homeschool blog post HERE.

Love, Moorea

More Baby Quilts

I finished the flimsy for Suzie's baby quilt. It turned out so sweet-
I will bind it with the same blue as the blue in the blocks. I'm
not sure what it is about this pattern, I really love floating the
nine patches- I just get a kick out of it!

I have DoriAnn to thank for this quilt. She took my little boys for
the entire day! Josiah was at Church cleaning and doing school
work the entire day! Daniel was in LA with his grandmaw and Curtis
was asleep after a long night of driving! It was glorious.
GLORIOUS I tell you! much needed. I cut & sewed fabric, ate when
I wanted, and listened to my favorite country music station,
up loud!


Here is some fabric for a cowboy themed baby quilt.


This Winnie the Pooh fabric will be perfect for a baby quilt too!


I needed to go to Joann's this week to get basting spray and I picked
up a few purple fat quarters to tuck away in my purple stash. I am
going to have so much purple, I may have to make a few quilts!

I hope you all have a very happy weekend! The weather here is
gorgeous, so I know I will!

Love, Moorea

Baby Quilt

I have been working on a baby quilt for my first cousin once
removed!(That means my first cousin's cousin's baby) She and
her husband are in the Army. I thought it'd be fun to make
them a baby quilt with Army colors. I found this adorable
fabric at Joann's. I wanted to keep it very soft looking,so
I used a small green gingham with the bear fabric to make the
5" nine patches. I mitered the brown inner border. I have
never mitered before and it went pretty well. I had to look at
three resources to get all my questions answered and I only had
to adjust two corners. I am going to get it basted today and
my mom will quilt it and then I will put brown binding on it.
I think it will very sweet.


Here is Josiah's baby quilt that was made by a lady who used to go to
our church years ago. I did not quilt then and was so blessed to
receive something so precious. It is beginning to fall apart. I
I had it in his memory box so he would be able to have it later,
but I ended up using it with the little boys.

Here is the next set of fabric I collected to make another baby
quilt for a very special long time friend. I hope to start that
soon.

Love, Moorea

Baby Quilt

After frantic searching,I found my cutting board hiding waaaaaaay
up high on a book shelf. I started cutting these strip about 6pm
Friday night. I was up until 2:20 am sewing, but I finished the
quilt enough to give it at the baby shower today. It only needs
the binding on one side to be tacked down, but that is it!
Anjeleeca loved it. She is expecting baby number two, and I
know how nice it is to have new things for subsequent babies!


It turned out so sweet. I had the number fabric left over from the
quilt my mom and I did for my Cousin Susan's baby shower. It was
$9- a yard! But my mom wanted something particular, and when you
want it just the way you want it, you pay for it. She let me keep
the scraps (thanks mom!), and I had just enough to do this. It is
so soft. I really like doing a pieced binding, especially with all
the colors of the quilt. I used up the left over strips from the
nine patches.This is the first quilt that I have done that was
square, I think I trimmed and eighth of an inch off of one side.
I feel like a full fledged quilter now. I really took my time with
this quilt, making sure all the fabric was cut perfectly and when I
sewed. I went slowly, ripping seams or adjusting sections where
the points did not meet. I was patient. Quilting is teaching me
to slow down. That is such a gift. because I have been so impatient
with my sewing and I have never had a quilt square up like that.
(Except when my mom and I are sewing together. She is an amazing
seamstress.)Dimensions: 30" by 40"
p.s. I sat in the back at church on Sunday and tacked the rest of
the binding down so she could take it home!


I have not sewn for months because of the Geography class I am
teaching, and I can't believe how much I wanted to sew this
weekend,(even though I did not really have the time,
but my friend is worth it!) and I wanted to make something
and complete it. I had to stay up to get it done. Giving a
box of diapers is nice, but giving a quilt is MUCH more fun.

Have a nice weekend!

Happy quilting,
Moorea