Easter Bunny Tracks in the Snow

Hippity, hoppity,

Easter's on its way!

But first, a little snowfall whitened the ground

here in western Pennsylvania,

not far from where Punxsutawney Phil made his faulty

prediction for an early spring.

I found some tracks in the snow this morning,

clearly made by bunnies!

I've always loved bunnies,

so a few years ago I made a whole bunch of them,

when I designed my

Multiplying Rabbits quilt!

{Yes, it's time again to show a quilt I made a long time ago, before my blog was born.}

The fabrics I used are from the first complete line

that I ever fell head-over-heels for,

Paris Flea Market by 3 Sisters for Moda.

{I still love it that much, and it's been re-released!}

I can't draw to save my life,

but I somehow created a bunny silhouette

that I really love.

I put cottontails on each one,

to show they have their backs to us...

because they're so shy.

Some of the bunnies are facing the same direction...

and others are mirror images.

{I think they're in love!}

They won't run away...
the picket fence keeps them safe and warm inside my house.

I'm pretty proud of my quilting,
done on my home machine.

I did a ton of stippling,
right over the machine appliqued rabbits.
For the borders, I used
Golden Threads quilting paper
and traced a continuous floral design onto the border.

{After washing, the quilt is soooo soft, crinkly and snuggly.}

I love bringing this quilt out every Easter...

But I'm pretty sure this is the first time
I've brought it out in the snow for Easter!

Whatever the weather in your area,
I wish you all a very Happy Easter,
filled with joy and blessings!

Aunt Grace Quilt Through the Years

I have a confession to make...

although in recent years I've been creating

mostly modern projects,

I've got a soft spot in my heart for 1930's fabrics

and reproductions.

{You already know how much I adore Dresden Plate quilts, 

if you've seen my Winter Dresden quilt.}

Back in 2003 Marcus Brothers

released a line of Judie Rothermel fabrics

called Aunt Grace Through the Year.

Three prints reflected a theme for each month in the calendar year.

I made this quilt, called Grandma's Collection

as part of a Marcus Brothers challenge in 2003.

{I've never gone to New York City, but my quilt has been there!}

I didn't win any prizes there, but back home,

I collected a couple of ribbons at local quilt shows.

:)

I used every print in the line,

making one machine appliqued Dresden plate for each month.  

The border used square patches, in calendar order.

I hand-quilted the whole thing, in traditional patterns.

I added in solid fabrics in colors that were popular in the 1930's.

{My favorite is "that green" for the border.}

Come with me as we go

Through the Year with Aunt Grace...

starting with January.

There's a cute little skiing bear,

with children playing in the snow and icy blue flowers.

February features conversation hearts and lots of pink and red.

March is the month for shamrocks in emerald green.

Since April often brings Easter,

the prints boast sweet Easter eggs and bunnies.

May flowers are plentiful in these adorable prints.

June brides and weddings are represented in this set.

I think July is fabulous,

with patriotic stripes, flowers and Uncle Sam hats!

August is vacation time for our family...

here are some sandy scenes and beautiful beach umbrellas just for fun.

September means back-to-school,

and these cute prints make it easier to say goodbye to summer.

October glows with vintage Halloween prints...my favorites!

November celebrates harvest time with

an adorable scarecrow, acorns and leaves.

December brings Christmas, with beautiful candles

and a classic Santa Claus print.

Did you know that Judie Rothermel

is celebrating 25 Years as a quilt fabric designer?

Marcus Brothers is hosting another challenge,

 in her honor.

I still have a lot of fabric left from this line...

I think I'm going to make a "new" quilt to honor Judie Rothermel

in my own way!

Giveaway Winner from Beat the Winter Blues Blog Hop Pary

I wonder if anyone has enjoyed the 

Beat the Winter Blues Quilter's Blog Hop Party

more than I did.

There can be only one lucky winner of my 

one-of-a-kind mug rug and pincushion giveaway.

Congratulations to

#88 Lisa Cox!

Lisa CoxMarch 10, 2013 at 9:56 PM

The Amish Ham casserole looked so easy, and sounds delicious!

{I've sent Lisa an email to let her know she won.}

Before this Blog Hop Party,

I was crossing my fingers, hoping

I could celebrate my 1st blogiversary

with at least 100 followers

and 50,000 page views.

I've found the most delightful new readers,

connected again with the frequent visitors,

 and now I've got over 150 followers!

My new Cotton Way Candy Table Topper

I want to thank all of you for visiting!

Wouldn't you know it?

I just found out that Google Reader is going away

as of July 1, 2013.

The good news is that there is another way

to follow the same favorite blogs you see now on Google Reader:

Bloglovin'

This link shows you how to make the transition

smoothly and painlessly,

so you won't miss a thing!

My Copenhagen Pillow in progress

Here's to the year ahead...I have many more posts and projects to share

with all of you, my friends!

Cherry Christmas in March

So far, so good...

I'm making at least one Christmas-y project

per month in 2013,

and here's my finish for March.

I've been dying to try out this pattern from Cotton Way,

called Cotton Way Candy.

{I purchased the PDF version, and I can follow it on my tablet as I sew...

no more wondering where I might have stuck that paper pattern!}

Pattern for Cotton Way Candy - from Cotton Way website

I had so much fun placing the folded squares from my

Cherry Christmas charm pack!

{I used dozens of pins, to hold the folded triangles in place for stitching.}

When they were all stitched into a checkerboard pattern,

I added only one narrow border.

It's for my kitchen table, and I didn't want it to be too large.

Can I let you in on a secret tip?
I used a 100% cotton batting, 

and once I smoothed down my quilt sandwich,

the fabrics gripped the batting so well

that I didn't even use one single pin to hold it

while I stitched some stabilizing lines

along the border and basted the edge!

{Gasp!  I'll wait while somebody gets you some smelling salts.}

If you are a "Pinner", I have a nice resource for you to find dozens of pins!

The next step was to do some quilting...

nothing too fancy, just diagonal lines across the white squares.

Whenever I want to keep my lines super-straight,

I use masking tape as a guide.

That way I don't have to worry about marking lines

that refuse to come out later!

I turned the quilt and stitched more lines

in the opposite direction, to make x's.

Here's where I made a slight departure from the pattern!

The blocks looked too large to me

for folding over the edges a la Cathedral Windows.
I didn't want those windows to be opened very far.

I decided it would be perfect, 

if I stitched another set of diagonal lines

across the folds,

in effect reducing the size of the "windows" by half.

Then I went ahead and created the Cathedral Windows,

folding and stitching each of them by machine.

{It was so easy...I didn't even use any pins...again!}

I love the back, too...nothin' but fresh clean white.

{It's just for show...clearly I must explain that to my family...clearly!}

I can always remember that I made this
Cathedral Windows project

while Pope Francis was being elected!

There was even some snow available for my little photo shoot!

Come along with the Crafty Quilter and me...

and we'll make Christmas happen every month!

Stop in again soon...I've still got lots of Cherry Christmas fabric left!