Bed and Breakfast guests

This weekend I have bed and breakfast guests who are family of the late Helen Timberlake, who used to live about 3 miles from here. It's been fun to have some kids come and stay. As they came in the front door, there was a tree frog on the window that they got to see and then a little later, here came this big yellow moth with brown polka dots! Gotta love those dots....they're even in nature...leave it to me to notice that! This is a little closer picture of the moth. Does anyone know anything about these? This morning it was down on the sewing room window. A couple weeks ago I saw one that was pink with some dots, but I didn't get a picture of it. It's so fun to enjoy the outdoors... we got a little relief from our heat yesterday. We got about 1" and 60 hundredths. Very, very welcome. Should be a good crop this year, if things continue as they are. This is a little bit of my bluebird collection.. Seems like there's lots of people who like bluebirds in the blogging world! I have a special story about bluebirds that I may share with you someday!

Simple summer lunch and a tip for putting on borders.

This is one of my simple summer lunches, amongst the sewing mess! I have been retreating myself and sometimes take my lunch down to the sewing room. I know I shouldn't be eating around the fabrics, but it so nice and cool down there this time of year! Do any of you eat off these little snack trays? I just think they are fun and a great size for a lighter meal. I usually use these trays at my retreats for breakfast and lunch. I also enjoy drinking out of the swanky swigs, which I have an abundance of and love to serve the guests cool drinks in the summertime.


I have just started getting fresh tomatoes and will soon have sweet corn, if the coons don't get it 1st! The guys have put a 3 wire electric fence around it, so hopefully they won't get thru that!

Here is another Dotter's puzzle made with mostly vintage fabrics. I say mostly vintage, because I just don't have enough cutsie fabrics in my stash to do all the kits, so a couple of the prints are reproductions. I'll have to show some up close pictures in another post. My tip for putting borders on is to put your quilt on a design wall and instead of measuring the middle, I just put the 2 side borders pinned at the top and cut the 2 strips off at the bottom. I usually allow about 1/8 inch extra. Sometimes I do measure also.

Thank you to the Osceola ladies!

I just love to get mail AND to have it addressed to the Farmer's Dotter is even better! I got this wonderful package from the Osceola ladies, who were here in June. Thank you, thank you! You didn't need to send me anything, your visit is a gift in itself!

Here is a picture of the contents: 4 polka dotted pot holders ( what a clever idea...made the ragtime way), a yellow dotted journal, a package of dotty bowl covers AND a bluebird picture with a nice note from all the ladies on the back. I'll have to get that framed before you come see me again! Thanks again, and I look forward to serving you again!










P.S. The double wedding ring that the presents are laying on is one I made for our 25th wedding anniversary, 7 years ago. Most of the prints are vintage. I think it is one of the hardest quilts that I've ever done!

Recycled ironing station

This is a picture of my big ironing station. I just love it and my retreat ladies do too! The bottom part is an old baby bed that my folks had in their closet forever and then in my closet forever until I came up with this idea. I just covered a 2' x 8' piece of plywood with a piece of blanket (stapled on) and then added this piece of Mary Englebreit fabric that I had in my stash. The middle part of the fabric started to wear, so I added a piece of heavy cloth from my stash to the middle of the board. It works great for pressing quilt tops and a great way to recycle the old bed! I may have to make another one of these!

Dotter's Puzzle in baby size

Here's a couple pictures of Dotter's Puzzle in baby size. if you read my post a few days ago, I said I'd show you them. The last post about my trunk show also has another pink one without the border. Hope to get that border done today. Yesterday I finished piecing a different baby blue one that will be for the new grandson due November 1st. I hope to get started hand quilting on it soon. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet. Maybe my goal will be to take one when it's finished!

Chariton show

These are a couple pictures of the trunk show that I did at Chariton, IA. It was a hot-hot evening, but they still had a nice group. Thanks ladies for having me speak. It is always good to venture out into new areas. If you know anyone that wants a quilt speaker, I am available and for the next year I'm just charging mileage, just to get the word out about my retreats. Please contact me if you're interested in having me speak and/or doing a workshop.

Part of the fun of going to other parts of the state is going to quilt shops! I got to go to a couple shops that I'd not been to before. Both were just off Highway 34, at Lucas and Chariton. They were cute shops with LOTS of fabric to offer! I hit the jackpot at Chariton with a 50% off sale on 30's reproductions! Gotta love those sales!

Trunk show in Chariton, Ia.

Going to Chariton, Iowa this evening and giving a trunk show at their guild meeting this evening at 7 bells at the Lutheran Church. Come join me if you can!

New pattern called Dotter's Puzzle

I've been working on a new pattern that I'm calling Dotter's Puzzle. It has been so much fun! I just love it when a plan comes together! After deciding to name it this, I realized that making a quilt IS like putting a puzzle together, huh! The picture below is the twin/full sized quilt top that I just finished, on one of the retreat beds with red polka dot sheets. I just love the dots and try to put a few in every quilt now! A lot of old quilts had polka dots, you know. I'll show more of those in a later post. Anyway, I found this pink antique quilt (below) at an antique store out in Colorado last winter and bought it with the intentions of reproducing it and, wallah, here it is! I love to redesign old quilt patterns, using new methods. So I guess you could call me a re-designer, not a designer! I have also reduced it in size and made it into baby quilts. Will show those in a later post. I have been busy getting kits made up for both the larger and baby sized quilts. Can't wait to show you the baby ones, they are SO sweet!

Vintage, red, white and blue quilt top

Here's another of my unfinished projects, well actually someone else's. I bought this from a gal named Janet Caldwell? at Des Moines that has lots of neat vintage sewing stuff at the Brass Armadillo. I need to get it hand quilted and on one of the beds. Kind of an unusual setting for a nine-patch. Thanks Janet! I also got a few feed sack scraps from her that I used in the quilt I just made and showed in a post a couple weeks ago.

Just a little info about the new title picture. It hangs in our living room and was one of 12 blocks that were found when the family was cleaning out the estate of Lonnie & Gertrude Weed back in the late 80's. They had 12 children, so each child got a block. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see them altogether in a quilt! This one belonged to Marven, my father-in-law. When they were moving to a smaller place, they were kind and gave it to me, the quilt lover! We are having the Weed family reunion here in Bedford the weekend of July 15th. Should be fun!

I just realized it has polka dots in it!! Yeah! I just love all the old fabrics, you just can't beat 'em.

I did finish the red, white and blue feedsack top a couple of days ago, but I'm just getting around to taking a picture and posting. Now, how do I quilt it, hand or machine? Any suggestions? I'm torn between. I should hand quilt, but I don't really have the time.

Happy Summertime and 4th of July!

I am in the process of sending out my quarterly newsletter and said I would post some pictures of my feed sack table topper/baby quilt that I'm working on at the present, so here they are. It is still a work in process, so check back for the finished project. I am planning on taking this sample to the AQS Show this fall in Des Moines and will be selling kits for them, if anyone is interested...

This is another of my red, white and blue collection. I made it from am old quilt top and will have kits for it also.

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