Beautiful, delicious Louisiana

Last summer my sister, Laura, came for a visit.  She lives in Tennessee and only gets to visit once or twice a year.  Because she considers her visits a vacation, we generally attempt something fun.  Last summer that fun came in the form of a swamp tour in South Louisiana.  Laura is a photographer, so she took some wonderful photos while we were in the boat.   This one, it turns out, she submitted to the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries and they are using it as the cover photo on their Facebook page.  That's pretty exciting!  Her photos are pretty amazing. and I'm continually impressed with the depth and beauty of the shots she gets.

Tomorrow is our last day of school until after New Year's, so I agreed to host a celebration for my English III students.  I have two sections of class, for a total of 46 students.  We took end of course exams and all of my students passed this state exam except five.  The kids will each bring a snack to share, and I am bringing pralines and the paper/plastic dishware.  

The pralines look really delicious and taste wonderful, but they are sticky.  I should have cooked them just a little longer.  I have no doubt that the kids will enjoy them, but I did brag a bit, and I wanted them to be perfect.  Since it takes so much time to make this many (80+ pieces), I can't start over; we'll just have to enjoy sticky pralines.   

Did I do it again?  Last week I posted Pinterest Wednesday on Thursday.  Today is Thursday, and again, I haven't posted anything from my Pinterest boards.  Please accept my apologies.  And since we're on the subject of what to post when, please answer the poll in the upper right hand corner of this page.  I'd like to know what you'd like to see and read in the near future.  

Only five days left until Christmas.  I'm getting excited--what about you? 

Winner and Thank YOU!

We have a winner!  And because I don't remember how to download or copy the "True Random Number Generator" box, we'll just have to deal with having the results shown outside the box.  Sorry about that all, I did my best to (almost) make it fit.

So, the winner: Deb of Quilting and Other Crafts!

The email I sent to her follows:

Congratulations, Deb!  You are the winner of the Fleur de Lis Quilts and Accessories giveaway.  You've won a free Christmas stocking.  Because your comment noted that you like red and white stocking, I'll need another day or two to make it.  But if you send your address, I will get it mailed by Friday, surely.  Because I need to make your stocking, I'll give you an extra day to get back to me.  Please respond to my email by Thursday afternoon at 5:00.  If I've not heard from you, I'll have to choose another winner so that I can get the stocking out in time Christmas.

Congratulations again,

Mary  

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of Deb's stocking and if (or when) I hear from her.  Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway and also to everyone who is now a follower.  That number has increased to 195 and for the first time since I started the blog in November of 2010, there were over 60 comments on one post.  You guys ROCK!  Thank you again for participating and for visiting.  

Finally, a huge thank you to Michele at the Quilting Gallery for putting together the giveaway and doing all the work required to host such a huge endeavor.

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:24Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Edited to add Deb's response to my email:  

Wow!  Thank you so much Mary!  I'm excited to see what you put together...

Thanks again and Happy Holidays,

Deb

Three Little Quilts

Once upon a time there were three little quilts who all wanted to go to a special place where they could find new homes and help raise money for Alzheimer's research.

I started these little quilts two weekends ago and wrapped them up last week.  They will go to AAQI after the holidays.  I'm hoping to add another one or two before sending these off.  My goal was to get 12 to AAQI in 2012.  I don't think I'll quite make it, but I'll do what I can over the holidays to get a few more finished and on their way.

I discovered that making a couple of quilts is easy if I begin as though I'm making only one large quilt.  Each one has the same background fabric but the flowers are different.

To avoid putting flowers in the way of my cutting, I measured the background and drew a line using ink that vanishes when pressed.

From that point on, I just played, designing and dropping in flowers as I went along.  I tried to stick with the rule of three, but it's not a hard and fast rule, so I didn't worry it to death.   

After pressing the flowers into place, I went to the Bernina and stitched them down using either the BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) or one of the specialty stitches.  

On the pink flower below, I used two of the specialty stitches and like the lacy look that I achieved.  On the purple straw-flower beside it, I used the BSR and ran over the petals over and over adding several layers of thread to darken the petals and add dimension.

On some of the flowers I zigzagged the edges but on others I left the raw edges exposed.  The two toned flowers in this quilt are a good example of this.  While I sewed the purple petals, I left the blue without stitches because the other parts hold it down.

The little yellow flowers on the vine were a bit difficult because they are so small.  I planned to have more them, but once I realized how difficult they are to work, I dropped the idea and added another pink flower to fill the space.

In the end the three quilts are just the right size for AAQI, which I discovered returns any quilts that are 1/4 inch over the 9 X 12 inch limit.  I got two back earlier this month from the last group that I sent.  I was able to trim one down, but the other will not cooperate.  Trimming it takes too much away from the motif, so that one has become a small quilt in my studio.  I measured these more carefully and made sure to leave enough wiggle room for the binding.

I hope you come back tomorrow for a visit when I hope to announce the winner of the Blog Hop Party giveaway.  

Happy Quilting,

Mary

Sunday Quilt Inspiration

http://pinterest.com/mary_marcotte/

Today's quilt inspiration is all Christmas and comes from a variety of sources.   Some of my favorite inspiration sources include my guild, quilt shows, Pinterest, blogs I follow and, of course, my own followers.  For me inspiration comes from everywhere.  For example, last night we ate dinner at a Chinese buffet in Carencro, and on the walls were several paintings that spoke quilt very clearly.  

Here's my inspiration for today: another Christmas stocking.  This one is what I call "elf style" because it has a turned up toe.  I'm inspired to add a bell to that toe as soon as I have an opportunity to pick up some jingle bells. 

I stitched this one in turquoise with a silver lame' top because  several entrants in the giveaway requested some shade of blue with silver.  I must admit I've seen quite a few blue/silver ornaments this year and last.

I really enjoyed making this fun little elf stocking.  Making them is much easier than it seems, especially once I had the pattern drawn out. The winner of the giveaway may choose between this blue stocking or the green one below.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration from Pinterest: 

I really like this last one from Pinterest.  I'm hoping to get a chance to make one during our holiday break.  And to wrap it up, here are a couple of my Christmas projects for inspiration.  The first two from this year, the others from Christmas' past.

  

 This stocking is one that I made for the giveaway.  The winner may choose between this one and the blue/silver one above. 

This Santa quilt hangs from our mantle.  I have a matching pair of brass stocking holders that live on the mantle year-round.  I often hang a small quilt in front of the fireplace by running a dowel rod through the pocket and then slipping the ends over the hangers. 

We never have a fire going because of my allergies so there's no danger, and it's a fun way to display some of my smaller quilts.

I picked up the stocking holders several years ago at an after-Christmas sale and paid very little for them.  Because they are brass and do not have a Christmas motif, they work no matter what time of year we're in.  

Hope you're inspired!  Now quickly go to this post about the blog hop party and enter the giveaway.  Don't forget to come back tomorrow to meet the winner.  

Happy Quilting,

Mary

Edited to add:
I just read my own fine print from last Sunday's post about the giveaway.  Apparently I promised the winner would be able to make some color and style choices!  Hmm, I really was in positive mood!  Okay, then, a promise is a promise....the winner gets to choose between the two styles (traditional or elf) and colors.  If you want elf style, you need to pick two colors.  If you'd prefer traditional, I can make the stocking just like the one above (with or without the applique) or I can include the second color cuff.  I don't think I have time for both.  The post also gives you until 10 p.m. on Monday to enter and says I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, so go enter and on Tuesday come back to meet the winner.  Good luck and happy hopping.  Mary

Back to Blogging

and that means showing you my latest projects, as promised.  When I agreed on Sunday to participate in the blog hop party that the Quilting Gallery is hosting, I wrote that I wanted to try my hand at making a couple of quilted Christmas stockings and that I’d give one as my prize.

Well, here’s the first of those stockings.  I had a pretty green Christmas fabric with festive gingerbread men and cute little decorations.  So, I decided to follow the gingerbread men's lead and appliqué a man on the front of the stocking. 

To create his face, I used a simple zigzag stitch, but to replicate his buttons, I chose one of the fancy machine stitches.  I had fun going through my rickrack stash for this tiny trim at his hands and feet.

The winner of the giveaway will receive a stocking like this one, although I'm hoping to make another one, elf stocking style, with the curled-up toe.  If that one works out, the winner may choose either style.  I'm hoping to design and make that stocking this weekend.

I worked on another small project this week--this cute little holiday quilt.  I really intended to make a table runner, but somehow this one ended up being only about place mat size!

Too bad it's too big to go to AAQI, but it is.  I haven't decided exactly what to do with it, but I think it may end up on the coffee table: it's just too small for the dining table.  

It was a fun, easy project and I made in an improvisational style...flying by the seat of my britches, which is a fun way to work, if you don't mind ending up with different size projects than planned.

I chose to use several plaid fabrics in the same line or color family and tossed in a solid for a calming effect.  I cut the trees by hand with no particular size in mind, but once I liked the size and shape of the triangle, I cut them all to match.  I chose to use the hot pink solid for the tree trunks for a little unexpected surprise.

As I appliqued the trees down, I added some batting for a  trapunto effect.  Then I quilted with my usual stipple design and threw in some stars, swirls and scrolls.  Finally, I stitched a couple of plastic star-shaped beads to the top of each tree.  

I had planned to couch down some gold beads, but that didn't pan out as I'd hoped, so I took them all off.  That's all there is to this little quilty piece.  It was fun, easy and all complete in a few hours.

Pin It Wednesday #5

Already this is the fifth week of my Pinterest posts.  I'm still pinning, only now I am able to convince myself that I'm doing it for you!  It's just fun and games, really.  I love looking at quilts and quilting, and the photos give me many--way too many--ideas.

This week is not about quilting, though.  Since I'm also a librarian, I have a couple of boards that have to do with books, bookmarks, libraries, etc.  I am a bibliophile.

These first photos are all about unusual bookshelves.  If you've visited my Pinterest site, you may have noticed that all of my board titles consist of two words separated by a comma.  It's just part of my English teacher gimmick, so indulge me, please. 

Wouldn't this last idea be really cool in a high school library?  I wish I had the wall space!  

Alas, every inch of wall is covered with a full-out stuffed bookshelf, so it's a no-go for BNTHS.

New York

 Ever wanted to visit a public library in a different city?  This country girl loves going to big-city libraries!  But I've not been to many, unfortunately. 

Dragging our boys through museums sapped all my dragging abilities and, now that they are grown, we're dragging grandchildren.  A museum or two and, on weekends, at least one church service and we're on the road back to Evergreen.  

Portugal

Thanks to Pinterest, I can visit every major public library in the civilized world.  It's not the same as being there in person, of course, but it's better than never visiting.

Dublin, Ireland

Ottawa, Canada

Notice that I'm including the city where the library is supposedly found; however, know that I can't guarantee that the information is correct.  As always with Pinterest, we are relying on the information provided by the original pinner.

Vienna

Vancouver

Stockholm

Although I do have a board named, "recommended, books" I want instead to show a couple of "smart, bookmark" photos.

One of the joys of my life is reading, and I am grateful to whomever taught me to read as a child.   I cannot remember a time when I was not a reader.  My parents both were.  Daddy had his newspaper, and mom always loved a book during nap time.  

Surprisingly, though, I don't have any memories of their reading to me.  It's as if I was born able to read, and my preferred entertainment was always at my disposal.  

Now here's a bit of craziness: I was finished with this post... done, I tell you, when Richard pointed out that today is Thursday.  What?   

What happened to Wednesday?  Then I remembered, I spent it at the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party.  (I'm in the J's.)  I hope you've entered my giveaway of a quilted Christmas stocking (and a few surprises) and that you visit the other blogs to enter their giveaways.  

pinterest.com

Come back tomorrow for a picture of the stocking that I made earlier this week.  It's not this one, but I sure do like the design.  Enter the giveaway as often as you'd like, just make sure you're a follower and leave an email address if your comments are set for no-reply.
Happy Quilting,
Mary