Moda Bakeshop - Down on the Farm

Good Thursday morning everyone!!!

I'm so excited to have another recipe for the Bakeshop and I just have to say that it was amazing fun to work with the beautiful reds, creams and tans from the Midwinter Reds collection.

I think that one of the first blocks I ever made was a log cabin, so this project was certainly a "remember when" type of quilt.  The paper piecing is something that I have been doing on and off for quite a number of years and some of these same shapes can be found in a couple of my older patterns that will soon be almost ten years old.

This is one of the featured quilts that we will be using for a workshop that is coming up at the end of October.  There are close to 90 Canadian gals coming to join us in putting together a few versions of this design.  We will be doing miniatures framed in barn board, an appliquéd version and quite a few breakout sessions to teach beginners the log cabin block; a paper piecing session and also an applique session.  It's going to be a very fun and busy two days, but so worth it when we get to see what everyone comes up with at the end of each day.

I hope that you enjoy the "bakeshop" version of Down on the Farm and I would love to hear from you if you get a chance to make this project.

Happy Quilting!!

 

A Review, A Giveaway and An Introduction . . .

Let’s start with the review first . . .

 

I was recently contacted by

 

Daily Craft TV

 

to see if I would be interested in doing a review of one of the online classes.  My schedule right now is humungously busy but once I saw the offerings that they have on their list of quilting classes I just had say “YES”.

The class that caught my eye was this one -

 

 

and the introduction was this:  “Starting with a photo as a template, “paint” a portrait of your pet in fabric with this easier-then-it-looks technique. Jodie steps you through tracing shapes from the photo onto fusible web to fusing them and then finishing the edges to make a unique fabric image of your pet that will surprise you in how realistic it is.”

 

 

 

Anyone who has visited my blog in the past year or so will have met my lovely little Whiskey and seen some of her gorgeous markings.

 

 

So I knew that I certainly had a subject that would be perfect for this particular project and decided to jump in with both feet.

 

After watching the very informative and detailed video, and being amazed at how the two instructors put together a simple black and white kittie block and then a tad more difficult dog block, I thought that I was ready to give this a try.

 

 

With lots of photos to choose from, I narrowed the selection down to two photos and printed them out.  Then I proceeded to use my trusty “sharpie” and outline some of the more distinct areas on the photo.  It started looking like a paint-by-number picture after a while . . . certainly brought back some childhood memories!!!

 

   

 

On Sunday I spent an hour or so finding the perfect fabrics and tracing out a few of the major features for my little Whiskey.  I still have a long way to go and it will be a work-in-progress for a while no doubt, but I think it is safe to say that the similarity is apparent.  There are still some more details to trace out and place, but I think the real highlight will be when I can do some thread-painting and really get in there to make some of the more intricate details.  I also want to find another fabric for her little gold eyes . . . the fabric I used is too orange – so back to the drawing board for that feature.  But that is half the fun, finding the perfect fabrics!!

 

Now for the giveaway . . . Daily Craft TV is offering up a FREE online class for one lucky person who leaves me a comment.  Just visit the Daily Craft TV site and let me know which class you think you would be most interested in.  Are you most interested in Knitting, Scrapbooking, Quilting, Crocheting, Sewing or Papercrafts?  You don’t need to be specific – just let me know what appeals most to you.  I’ll be choosing a name from all of the comments on October 4th – so that gives you lots of time to look around the site and get back to me.  Have fun!!

 

Oh . . . now I have a little introduction to make :0))

 

 

This little gaffer is Whiskey’s baby brother . . . he just turned three weeks old on Friday (born August 30th).  He won’t be coming to live with us until the first week in December, so I’ll have to live with photos until I can get my hands on him to squeeze him.  I’m thinking that his name will be “Wiser”, but we will be calling him “Bud” for short . . . of course this is subject to change, but that’s what we’re talking so far.  Isn’t he a cutie!!!?!?!?

 

Oh! (again) – be sure and stop by for a visit around the 26th (this Thursday), as I will have another news flash for all of you.  I told you I’ve been busy, right???

Baby Birds and Giddy Chicks?

A few weeks ago I was doing a bit of weeding in the front flower bed and just happened to pull back a branch and see these sweet little faces staring back at me . . . and I mean staring.  Wow those eight little beady eyes were pretty intense!

They have now flown on to bigger and better things and I have saved the little nest in a bag to use for our next workshop that we have planned for October 26th and 27th in Brandon.  The plans are coming together and we’re gearing up for a busy September and October of more planning and getting all our projects done.  Busy, busy!!!

I’ve also been working on a new pattern and I’m thrilled with the silliness and fun of this project.

It’s off at the quilter’s house right now, but I hope to have it up on my blog and circulated to my wholesalers by the end of September.

Nothing wrong with being a Giddy Chick . . . life’s too short to be serious all the time!

There is also another pattern release for the end of September, so keep your eyes pealed for “something in red”.

Enjoy this harvest weather . . . it will change soon enough!