Farmer's Dotter...Retreats, Patterns, Trunk Shows & Workshops

3rd Anniversary of Rednesday!

2012-01-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try this link again....click here:suelovescherries.blogspot.com, to see all kinds of neat red things!

3rd Anniversay of Rednesday

2012-01-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sue over at It's a Very Cherry World .... ....it's her 3rd anniversary of Rednesday, so take a look at all the fun red links! Today I'm linking to Rednesday linky party with this red and white little quilt that I just made around Christmas. I would love to try and get a Farmer's Dotter Friday linking party started.....is anyone interested? Since I'm kind of into polka dots, I'd like to have people show pictures of either vintage antiques with polka dots and or vintage quilts OR antique farming pictures. Does anyone have any of these things you'd be willing to show? Let me know....please leave a comment!

2011-12-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm so late in posting the last winner of the drawings...the winner of the $20 gift certificate to the Farmer's dotter quilt retreat is Lisa! I've had bed and breakfast guests this week and this weekend was Kooper Dane's 4th birthday and we had extra family here visiting, so not much free time! Keep watching for drawings later and thanks to all of you who are new followers. Merry Christmas to all of you, if I don't get back for a few days!

5th and 6th day prize and 4th day winner!

2011-12-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

The photos today are of my quilt retreat...you can read more about them on my website...the link is on the bedroom picture of my sidebar.
Today and tomorrow I'll be having a drawing for a $20 gift certificate towards a stay at the Farmer's Dotter quilt retreat that I have here in my home in Southwest Iowa. I live in the midwest, 2 hours away from Des Moines, Iowa, Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and Kansas City. I love to have quilters and bed and breakfast guests too! So if you're up for a road trip, join in the drawing! I will draw for it sometime Friday afternoon, so keep on entering until I draw!

Yesterday winner of the pattern for a tiny quilt pattern is Lee...email me your address...thanks to all for entering!

4th day prize and 3rd day winner!

2011-12-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm a little slow today...my new grandson, Kruz needed a little snuggle time with Grandma...his mom is having back troubles, so Grandpa and I are helping out.
Any way....yesterday's prize winner is Jeanne. Email me your address and I'll get the pin cushion pattern in the mail to you!
Today's prize is another pattern I've designed to look like an antique doll quilt. I love antique quilts (who doesn't!) and I design my patterns to look like antique quilts. I have quite a collection of vintage fabrics and feed sacks, so several of my kits are made out of the older textiles. I sell patterns and kits for these on Etsy and would also be willing to sell them wholesale, if anyone is interested, please email or call me.
This little quilt measures 8" x 8".
Thanks for taking the time to look and enter my drawing!

3rd day give away & 2nd day winner!

2011-12-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

This is the pattern I will be giving away to some lucky winner today!

I'm giving away something every day this week, so keep stopping by and leaving comments so I can enter you in the drawings! I'm in the blog hop at the Quilting Gallery and there are over 240 other quilters who are also giving away prizes...lots of fun, but I warn you, it takes lots of time to look at them all, but you have until Saturday, when most of them will do their drawings.

The winner from yesterday's drawing is Sallie! She wins her choice of a cute little pin cushion that I made. Today, I'm having a drawing for the pattern to make your own, so make sure you get your name in the drawing...anyone who's a follower can enter, by just leaving me a comment, today!

2nd Day Give-away and 1st day winner!

2011-12-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

Today's give-away is your choice of these two pin cushions that I've made from recycled materials. One is made from a piece of an antique cutter quilt and the other is made from an antique doily. Tomorrow I will give away a pattern to make one of these pincushions yourself, so check back tomorrow and leave comments both days to be eligible to win the pin cushion or pattern! Check out my last blog for more details of this 8 day blog hop give away and go to
And the winner of yesterdays drawing IS: Jennifer Gail! Congratulations Jennifer, you can email me with your choice of pattern and address. Thanks to everyone for participating! Please keep on commenting every day for more chances to win daily!<
the http://quiltinggallery.com/ for over 240 give-aways! The link to all the give aways is in my last post, also.

And the winner of yesterdays drawing IS: Jennifer Gail! Congratulations Jennifer, you can email me with your choice of pattern and address. Thanks to everyone for participating! Please keep on commenting every day for more chances to win daily!

Free Give Aways at the Blog Hop Party!

2011-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in the blog hop party at the Quilting Gallery starting tomorrow...click on Quilting Gallery image above. More later about what I'll be giving away...gotta make sure this link works!

The list of bloggers participating in the Blog Hop Party will be made available Saturday morning, shortly after midnight, Eastern time. Return here then, to start hopping and entering the give-aways from your fellow quilters. This hop lasts from December 10th thru December 17th and I've decided to give something different away each day...ranging from retail values of $2.75 to $20.00!!!

Tomorrow, I will be giving away a free pattern of your choice. They range in price from $2.75 to $8.40. The picture at the top of this post is of one of the quilting patterns I have available. You can see all that I have available in my Etsy shop...I can't seem to get my Etsy shop to link to this post, but if you go down one post, the link is in it.

Here's the deal...I've decided I need a little help, PLEASE!...I need more followers here on my blog and more admirer's on my Etsy store, so to be eligible for the drawings you need to be a follower or admirer, PLEASE, PLEASE, then just leave me a comment every day if you want, or just on the days you like what I'm offering, to be eligible for the daily give aways. Thanks for taking the time to look and happy blog hopping!

Free shipping til December 11th!

2011-11-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

I'll be listing a pattern soon for this pin cushion. I like to make mine out of either pieces of old quilts or doilies, but they can also be made out of new materials. I will give away a free pattern for these square pin cushions to the 1st 10 people who make an order from my Etsy shop...this offer expires December 11th. I also have free shipping til December 11th.

Please click on this link://http://www.etsy.com/shop/thefarmersdotter to check out my Etsy shop. Keep watching for new listings and thanks for taking the time to look!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T05:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! This postcard was sent in 1912 to Miss Verna Hamilton, Hamburg Iowa....from Marguerite. I just love old postcards.

I am thankful for being raised on the farm...it was a great place to grow up. This is my dad and uncle Truman, probably in the mid thirties, in the front yard of my grandma's house. My grandma always used to make homemade noodles for our family get togethers, so that's what I'm taking to our family dinner tomorrow.

Sneak peek at my new Etsy shop!

2011-11-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Click on this link:thefarmersdotter to see my things for sale on Etsy! It's not quite the way I want it yet, but guess I'll let you all take a sneak peek. This 17" X 21" doll quilt kit, and/or pattern is one of the things I have listed. Please take a look and let me know what you think... thanks for taking the time to look! I'll make a more permanent link later, hopefully.

Rednesday!

2011-11-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

Linking to Rednesday at: suelovescherries.blogspot.com. I just love old quilts, polka dots and red too! I'm thinking of trying to have linking party with anything antique quilt related or vintage polka dots, preferably in quilts, but anything antique would be great too. Anybody interested? I've never done my own linking party before...so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

I took this picture of an antique quilt somewhere in my travels and I'm not really sure where...probably in an antique store in Missouri. I love the red and white, and the ties in green make it look so Christmasy. I quite often take pictures of old quilts, thinking I might later make one similar to it. This one would be pretty easy to duplicate, with all the great reproductions.

Take your time Tuesday

2011-11-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

As I sit here writing this blog I see a deer walking at the back of our little timber. All the leaves are off of the trees now, so I'm seeing them more often. Always fun to enjoy nature.

Today I'm linking to a new blog that I just found: sohappy. I found her through another new blog: quiltsalott.blogspot.com/. It's always fun to see what others are working on!

The photo above is one of my hand-made, recycled projects...I love to reduce, reuse and recycle! I made this from an antique arm-chair cover...like I was ever going to use that! I've also used old doilies and parts of cutter quilts. If you're interested in making one or need some supplies for it, email me...I love to get personal emails! farmersdotter@frontiernet.net

Invite to quilt club or later

2011-11-15T00:08:00.000-08:00

7 twin-sized beds for guests. 2 1/2 bathrooms. Lots of quilts and fun things to look at!

I'm having my quilt club meeting tonight here at my house. We have about 20 members and usually have between 5-10 show up. Just wanted to send any of you within driving distance a special invitation...know this is the last minute, but guess that's the way I work sometimes! I would love to have you and some of your friends come and visit sometime. I'm thinking if I could get any of you to come here, you might just love it enough to come and stay! If it doesn't work out tonight, almost anytime in the next few weeks would be great! (Gonna go south after Christmas for a few weeks) Pardon the expression, but I like to kill 2 or 3 birds with one stone, meaning I like to clean the house once and make it do for 2 or 3 things! Let me know if you're interested! 712-523-3508 or farmersdotter@frontiernet.net
Beds are available if anyone wants to spend the night tonight!

More Corduroy!

2011-11-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

I am a cosmetologist part time and this is a picture of my shop...I am a lucky girl again.

#1 lucky: This antique barber chair and barber back-bar was my hubby's grandfather (Glen)and great grandfather (Ed) Lock's. When we moved to this home and I had more room, I was able to buy these from my hubby's grandpa. I love to collect almost anything old, so it's great to have such a piece of history as this.

#2 lucky today! One of my customers this morning came bearing me a wonderful gift....a couple boxes of fabrics!! Woohoo! Can't get much better than that. People are so good to me! Thanks Mel for the goodies! He loves to go to auctions. Below is the 1st box. Shamrocks for a lucky girl!

Next box of assorted squares and 4 patches...maybe 50's era? I need someone to come visit me and sort through my stash and get it organized in era's.

#3 lucky: MORE corduroy on 11-11-11. How cool is that! Sometimes things just happen for a reason , don't they?

I'd be willing to swap some of this corduroy with some of you if you'd like...email me and we'll see what we can work out. There's about 2 yards of it.

Make sure and check out my other corduroy posts!

More Corduroy for 11-11-11

2011-11-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

Here's another unfinished project at my house. I picked it up at a garage sale a few years ago and maybe someday I'll get crazy enough to finish this Crazy quilt!....or it may go to Etsy or Ebay some day!

Click here: niftyquilts.blogspot.com/
to see lots of other examples of fun corduroy quilts.

Corduroy AND polka dots...gotta love it!

Happy 11-11-11 and Corduroy Day!

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

OOPS! Our grand-dog liked this quilt too!

Click here: http://niftyquilts.blogspot.com/ to see the Corduroy Appreciation Day quilts on display for 11-11-11. She has such a great blog and always has so many fun quilts to show...and she just started quilting in about 2005! Here are my corduroy quilts and stories....

I made this simple corduroy quilt about 10 years ago for my son and his future wife...she liked purple and I thought it would keep them nice and warm. I used the brick pattern because it's easy and fast. It was one of my 1st attempts at machine quilting. I went to get it today and was told not to keep it too long, as it's one they use in the winter months to keep warm, so it's nice to know they like it, but our grand-dog also liked it! In the picture above you can see one of the 3 chewed places along the edges that I'll try to repair. How many of you have similiar stories?

I'll show another corduroy unfinished quilt in another blog post. I'm having trouble getting the pictures in the right spot!

Updates and a finish

2011-11-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Update on our niece: she has been moved to Immanuel hospital in north Omaha, Nebraska, for rehab. Physically, she is getting along pretty good..she had a concussion from a bad gash on her head that required 5 staples and was in intensive care for a day and a half, but otherwise she has very few injuries. She's very sore all over and wants to sleep most of the time. She seems to know everyone, but her memory is very foggy, so they hope to help with that. I'm also hoping they give her therapy to deal with the loss of her 3 friends. That will be as hard for her as anything. Thanks to all of you for your concern and prayers. It's been a rough few days.

Update on the "boys": Kruz is 9 days old today, he has been jaundice and laying on a light at home most of the time, but had to go back in the hospital for a day and night. Kooper is a good big brother and lots of help to mom and dad. I think we get to watch him tomorrow night...Daddy wants to go to the football playoff game here at Bedford. Go Dawgs! Football is quite a tradition here! Picture below: Kooper as a scarecrow...I helped Tara make the hats. She does a great job with costumes. Kruz is a little football player.I finished this lap-sized comforter today. It's made from wool and wool blends from my stash. I just pulled the backing around and machine stitched it to the front for the binding. This comforter is MINE! I plan on snuggling under it watching TV and using it on my side of the bed, since my hubby is not as cold blooded as me! The cold has begun here in Iowa, yesterdays high was about 40...burr!

Need Prayers!

2011-10-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

We were awakened last night at 3:35...it was my hubby's brother Donnie, and his oldest girl, Samantha had been in a bad accident. What a terrible feeling. My hubby took off to meet up with his brother and take him to Omaha where they life-flighted Sam. She has a severe head injury and has been on a ventilator, but I think they're about ready to take it out. Hopefully she will be OK. The sad thing is there were 3 others who didn't make it. Please say a little prayer for all involved. We went through this with another niece almost 7 years ago...you never forget the pain and sorrow of loosing a loved one so suddenly. For more details of the accident go tohttp://www.kma960.com/. Thank you for your prayers.

New baby!

2011-10-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

New baby grandson, Kruz Dean was born October 25th at 4:33 P.M. He weighed 8 pounds even and was 21 and 1/2 inches long, with lots of dark hair. Mommy and baby are doing fine. Big brother Kooper Dane is very proud and wants to hold him himself! I tried so hard to get a good picture and then I couldn't seem to be able to get it cropped right! Will try again later. We had Kooper the last two nights. Grandma and Grandpa are very proud also, but ready for a good nights sleep tonight! More later!

2011-10-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

I decided to make this fun little quilt from some of my feed sack scraps. I had made one larger than this a few months ago and have a mini pattern for it. My mini patterns are just $2 and I hope to have them for sale in an Etsy shop before too long. If you can't wait for that, email or call me!

Update: after thinking it over, the block is called Missouri Daisy! I love this orange star! I believe it's a Missouri star. Anyone know for sure? I'm too lazy to get up and check right now...guess I could check here on the internet! I did look it up here on the net and didn't find it. Anyone know what the name is?

I'm such a Lucky Girl!

2011-10-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

I'm such a lucky girl! Well, middle aged, I guess, but who's counting! Yesterday morning I went to the quilt show in Winterset and the Covered Bridge Festival. They were both lots of fun and we saw all kinds of beautiful quilts and things. AND the weather was beautiful! Then I came home and started cleaning and cooking for my next ladies, tomorrow. I wanted some fresh apples, so we went just a couple miles over to this orchard. This is Johnny Appleseed (Steven Wainwright) and my grandson, Kooper. It's a great family outing and I hope to make it a yearly tradition. Call or email me for more details. The apples are delicious and I'll be serving some of them with homemade dip and lots of other fall goodies tomorrow! Hope to show pictures later. This picture is a mock set-up for my next trunk show in Topeka on Tuesday and Thursday, in Clarinda. I have lots of goodies to show. You can't really see too much of them, but in the background of this picture are some of my feedsacks. I have quite a collection of them, if anyone is interested in a trunk show on feedsacks or if you just want to come to a retreat and see them and all of my other "stuff"! I am such a lucky girl! Most of the time anyway!

Fall fans

2011-10-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I met a fellow blogger at the AQS in Des Moines and she bought this 4 patch. Check out her blog here: http://thecivilwarquilter.blogspot.com/ She already has it sandwiched and ready to quilt. She really has a neat blog and presentation that she gives about Quilts and Textiles of the Civil War, so go take a look!

I still have a few of these blocks left if anyone is interested in something orange for fall and Halloween. $2.50 for each block.

3 Fun Fall Weekend Getaways!

2011-10-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

It's such a beautiful time of year to be out and about! This pumpkin farm is just about 3-4 miles from our place. We also have an apple orchard that close.

I love to have company AND I'm a harvest widow right now, so if any of these weekend getaways appeal to you, let me know. You could come stay here and I could take a van load to all the fun things if you like or drive yourself! Bed and breakfast rates would be $75 for the 1st 2 people and $15 per person after that. You could come back and sew after the events, if you like. Stay 1, 2 or 3 nights.

A few of my fall decorations.

This weekend, October 7 & 8 there's a quilt show and the Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset. I would love to go to both, but I really should stay home and get the house ready and start fixing food for my next group on Monday. You might be able to twist my arm though, I've been trying to get my cleaning done!

October 15th there is the annual Craft Carnival in Clarinda, Iowa, and as an added bonus, there is also a quilt show by the local guild. Should be a fun-filled day with about 4 or 5 buildings of crafts, and the quilt show is in a local church.

October 22nd there's a Triple Play Day at Exira, Elk Horn and Harlan quilt shops. This could be a mini-van shop hop that I've been wanting to take some of my ladies to...wouldn't that be fun?!!

If anyone is interested in any of these fun fall getaways, just let me know! If you have any questions about the events, give me a call at 712-523-3508 or email me at farmersdotter@frontiernet.net

Thanks to Kimber!

2011-10-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

My pictures weren't the best from the AQS show in Des Moines, so if you want to see more pictures and just a wonderful story by a fellow blogger, click on this link... http://www.heirloomsbyashtonhouse.blogspot.com/. Kimber did a great job of describing my booth and business, etc. I guess that's why she's a professional writer! Thanks so much Kimber, for the fun review!

It was so much fun at the show meeting other bloggers, some I felt like I knew already and some new ones too. I met a neat gal from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, who also does presentations on Quilts and Textiles of the Civil War. I will try to link to her later...this linking is new to me!

Snowballs!

2011-10-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was telling my dotter after the AQS show, that I hoped my business would start snowballing....so here are a couple picture of snowballs! The top picture is a 30's snowball quilt that is on one of the retreat beds upstairs and the picture below is at my Grandma's house. Looks like my Dad and Uncle Truman had just finished a snowman.

I have to get busy cleaning this week, I'm having luncheon guests next Monday, October 10 at noon, with a small trunk show and home tour following lunch. Then Monday evening I have a couple bed and breakfast guests arriving to stay a couple nights.

Tuesday evening, October 11, I will be giving a trunk show at the Topeka, Kansas Capital Quilt Guild and get to stay the night with my dotter Linds, in KC.

Thursday, October 13th at 6:30, I am doing another trunk show at the Garrison house in Clarinda, for the After 5 club. It is open to anyone who is interested, so please come join us if you want to see my trunk show.

The snowball is going pretty good right now and I hope to keep it going, so give me a call or email if you're interested in booking a retreat, a bed and breakfast stay or a trunk show!

Whirlwind week at the AQS show

2011-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

This was my booth at the AQS show. I had just about every available inch covered!

Whew! I survived the week at the AQS show in Des Moines...I really intended on blogging some while I was there, but seemed like the evenings were busy too. My dotter Linds came and helped me, and my sister from the Detroit area also came for a couple days, so all in all it was a little crazy! Sold lots of "stuff"....I think people enjoyed looking thru my bargain baskets! With the retreats here in my house I needed to clean out a little more, so several things went to the show with me and went home with lots of other people. Thanks to everyone and enjoy!

I took a few pictures and now I'm wishing I would have gotten more...so if anyone has any, please email them to me!

Thanks to all who stopped by the booth...it was great to see old friends and meet new! I should have had a sign-up sheet for new emails, so if anyone wants to get my seasonal newsletter with pictures, news and specials, just shoot me an email. Thanks again to everyone!

Thanks to the Missouri Valley guild!

2011-09-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

I want to send out a great big thank you to the Missouri Valley quilt guild for having me come speak last night and for all their encouragement and help! I thought I was all ready and took my camera along to get pictures and discovered that I didn't have my card in it! Grrr! Hopefully some of the gals will send me some pictures and I will post them later.

As I was driving up there, I was thinking I should have posted about going there, just in case anyone new might want to come and see my presentation. I will try to be better about that! Next week, September 28th thru October 1, I will have a booth at the AQS show in Des Moines. On October 10th the Beta Sigma Phi ladies from Clarinda will be here for a luncheon, trunk show and home tour. October 11th I will do a trunk show at the Topeka guild and October 13th I will do a trunk show at the Garrison house in Clarinda for the After 5 club. They are a religious group, so I will be putting a new twist to my trunk show with a few of my stories and experiences.

Thanks again to the Missouri Valley ladies. I made it home safe and sound at 11:20. It only took me 2 hours and 5 minutes going east on the interstate and then south on highway 71. I had several ladies ask how long it took me to get up there, and I thought it was about 2 and a half hours, so I was pleasantly surprised to make it home in a little over 2 hours...that was even with 1 potty stop!This is a sneak peek at some of my display for the AQS show. Thought I'd show it, since I didn't have pictures of the trunk show.

Frost!

2011-09-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Just had to go out and get a picture of the frost we had the other morning...I think Thursday, September 15. Seems kind of early....had to get out some of my cold weather clothes! Good time to snuggle in and quilt!

Dotty Tuesday!

2011-09-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not the best at computer things! I'm trying to link to//http://holly-girlsatheart.blogspot.com/ She's having a Dotty Tuesday, so I decided to try and link up....hope it works! This picture is one of my many dotty blocks...will have some of these for sale at the AQS show in Des Moines the end of this month....Sept. 28 thru Oct. 1st. Hope to meet lots of you fellow bloggers there!

2 more samples of Dotter's Puzzle

2011-09-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

2 more finishes! Woohoo! These are 2 more of the Dotter's Puzzle samples that I just finished yesterday. Binding is one of my least favorite jobs...the blue one is twin sized, but seemed more like queen moving it around on the machine! I bound the edges of it by machine to save time and hopefully, it will wear better. I will use it on one of the retreat beds upstairs. It is made out of newer fabrics. The pink one is made out of mostly vintage fabrics and is hand-quilted, thanks to my good friend, Diane Ware.
It has been such a beautiful day today to hang the quilts outside. I like to wash my quilts as soon as I get them done to give them that wrinkled look. I try to design my quilts to look like the old-fashioned quilts. Gotta love those antique quilts and hopefully after a few washings, mine will look that way too!

3 finishes in 1 Day!

2011-09-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I finished the binding on three quilts yesterday! This pink quilt below is one of them. It is made out of feed sack prints and I'll have kits for these at the AQS. The kits will be just the feed sack squares, you can set them together with whatever fabric you choose, or use them in a totally different project if ya want to! I machine quilted this with the pumpkin seed pattern. I'll have to get a closer picture to show you how it looks. Will post other finishes later!

More Iowa State Fair Photos

2011-08-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a cool way to display old license plates. I have several old ones that were Dad's that I may have to make into this.

This was another sweet display at the state fair....so many fun things to see and do!

2 Friends Kaleidoscope

2011-08-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is another new/old pattern that will soon be for sale. I had a picture of it a while back on my blog. My good friend, Gwen is doing all the hard work for me, that's why it's called 2 Friends Kaleidoscope. Thanks Miss Gwen. I have a link to the Sew Darn Crafty blog with a picture of it there. Check it out here! http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANW0vGWhT3c/Tk3wG_OUOfI/AAAAAAAAKBY/VE-SMP4-BLc/s1600/polka+dot+sew+darn+crafty.jpg

Iowa State Fair!

2011-08-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is my good friend, Gwen Cox, from Birmingham, Alabama, at the poultry building at the Iowa State Fair. She came for her yearly trip to our state fair. We saw lots of things at the fair, but we both enjoy the quilts about the best of all! She is a fellow quilter also and has taught me lots about quilting. She worked on a new pattern for me while she was here. I'll show you pictures of it later. This quilt below is the 1st place winner in the found and finished category. I enjoy that category the most of all, since that's what I do a lot of the time. It was one of the few that was hand quilted and also won an award for that.
Check out this link for lots of other fun sewing and crafting ideas...http://http//sewmanyways.blogspot.com/search/label/sew%20darn%20crafty

Freezing corn in Iowa

2011-08-20T19:44:00.001-07:00

It's been kind of a busy summer. Here we are a couple of weekends ago helping freeze corn at Farmer Jack's. That's Farmer Jack and his dotter, Faith on the right, and grandson Kooper and hubby Lonnie, in the skidloader. We all had lots of fun putting up over 200 packages of corn. I like to serve the homegrown corn at retreats along with homegrown beef and pork and other veggies from the garden.

2011-08-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

These 1st two pictures are close-ups of my mostly vintage..baby girl..Dotter's Puzzle. The color isn't the best, the backround fabric is off white.

I went to a Quilts of the Bluffs meeting in Council Bluffs, Ia and one of the young gals there taught me a trick when you're sandwiching/pinning quilts. I used to think I needed to close every pin before I went on to the next one, but the way she did it, she left them all open and closed the pins after it's all sandwiched. It doesn't matter at that point if you move the quilt around and it's a lot easier to close the pins if you can get them closer to you and move them around a little. Is that clear as mud?! Hope it helps somebody! Anything to speed things up a little and make life a little easier!

I have a good friend who is hand quilting this quilt for me now and it should be ready for display at the AQS show in Des Moines.

Doll quilt from vintage fabrics

2011-08-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

I worked on this little doll quilt yesterday. It's such a fun little size. I'm making up kits for these and decided to test a kit, to make sure I had enough material in the kit, and I did. Why do I doubt myself?

I machine quilted it in about 15 minutes. Fast and fun!

2011-08-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

This is one of my quilts upstairs on the retreat beds. I picked it up at an auction for a song because it had a tear at the top. I married it with this slobber guard and it's almost as good as new! I was trying to get a picture of the cute little children's print, you'll have to click on the picture to see it closer. It is machine quilted. This next quilt is also one that I picked up at an auction. It is machine quilted with about a 1 and 3/4" grid. Does anyone know the name of it? I may make a pattern for this some day.

Bed and Breakfast guests

2011-07-30T09:20:00.001-07:00

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.

2011-07-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-07-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-07-06T19:11:00.001-07:00

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.

2011-07-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

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.

If any of you would like to be on my newsletter list, just email me and I'll put you on the list. I can't believe how fast 1/4 of the year flies by and it's time to write another newsletter!

A fun quilty weekend!

2011-06-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I went on a fun quilting adventure! I started out on Friday afternoon and went to the annual Walnut, Ia. Antique Walk. It is every Father's day weekend. There were antiques galore and lots of fun things to see. I was mainly looking for feed sacks and picked up a couple to put in the new baby grandson's quilt. This little cupboard was so cute, I had to take a picture of it. It was made out of 6 or 7 wooden boxes, cute, cute!

After leaving Walnut,(the boothes were closing so I had to leave), I headed to Guthrie Center. They were having all kinds of fun things going on, town-wide garage sales and a garden and quilt show/ luncheon. The picture above was a neat antique double wedding ring that was displayed at the luncheon. The salads were so good! Thanks ladies, you did a great job.

We went to 5 different houses for the tour. they were all very beautiful, but just about the time the tour was to start, it also started to rain, and just didn't seem to want to stop. Oh, well, it was still beautiful!

This was a unique display with the old tractors and quilts.

A cute little garden shed with quilts hung beside it.

After finishing the quilt tour I headed east to Adel. They were having an outdoor quilt show also at the quilt shop. Here the owner Jackie is visiting with a customer. It was a fun show too! I felt like I had been around the world in a day and a half!

How to save peonies

2011-06-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Bouquets from my dotter, Lindsay's wedding. About 2 weeks before the wedding we picked over a thousand buds and saved them for the arrangements. This 1st picture were the bouquets for the bridesmaids.

The next picture was all the arrangements that we used tables at the reception.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would tell you how to save peonies for later use. The peonies above and below were picked about 3 weeks before I used them and I had just got them out of the fridge. It's really not hard, they just take up a lot of room in the fridge. The trick is to pick them when the bud feels like a marsh mellow when you squeeze it. I pick them with about a foot stem and put a whole bunch in a plastic bag in the fridge. When you want to use them, take them out of the fridge and re cut the stem and put in water. They will open up to their full bloom in about 4-12 hours. SO PRETTY and FUN! They will last about 5-7 days, inside.

This is the Day!

2011-06-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is the Day the Lord Has Made! I just love this song and verse. This also, is the day we found out that we're having another grandson! Let us rejoice!

We are very happy to have another grandchild on the way, this is just our second.

The feed sack scraps above will go in a special quilt for him. I've been saving them for a special project and this is it! Will show the finished project later. I may even have kits for this later.

Good for the soul retreat!

2011-06-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hot fudge brownie sundaes topped with pecans. The hot fudge recipe is one of my Mom's.

One of my guests last weekend described their stay as "good for the soul". It was good for all our souls, including mine! Lots of fun and laughing! This is a return group from the Osceola area. They chose the fully pampered deal and seemed to enjoy every bit of it! Here they are finishing their meal with homemade rhubarb cobbler with ice cream. Notice the peonies in the middle of the table, I picked those about 3 weeks ago and was able to save them until this weekend. More info on how to do this later.

This salad below was one of the things we had for lunch on Friday. It was a Hawaiian chicken pineapple salad made similar to the one at 54th Street Bar and Grill. Lot of compliments on this meal and all the meals. Thanks ladies! I love serving you and using all the fun dishes!

Below: everyone took lots of pictures...if you have any good ones, send them to me by email. Thanks ladies for the wonderful weekend!

My Quilt is in the Quilters Festival ~ Take a Look!

2011-05-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Many of you have seen this quilt before on my blog, but I have entered it into the Quilt Festival on Amy's Creative Side blog, so I'm showing it again. I love vintage fabric and antique quilts, so this quilt is designed to look old, (as most of my quilts are). I have quite a stash of vintage fabrics and would love to have some of them reproduced someday (that's another one of my dreams). I do sell patterns and vintage kits, if anyone is interested, email me at farmersdotter@frontiernet.net.

I designed this quilt after an antique one that I had seen, only smaller. I think it is my favorite one yet. I named it after my dear Mother-in-law who had the middle name, Mae, and a few other dear friends with that middle name.

Iris Farm Open House

2011-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd change my title picture for iris season. I have several varieties of iris here around my house, but I just want to let you know about the Rainbow Iris Farm that we have here in our community. It's a great place to visit right now and til about the end of May. If you are in the area, give me a call and maybe you can stop in and see my flowers and retreat center too!

Trunk show in Stewartsville!

2011-04-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to the Quilt Shoppe in Stewartsville, MO to do a small trunk show. Should be fun, stop in and see me if ya get a chance! They have lots and lots of selection there. Their shop was a top 10 quilt shop back in 2008 AND it's the home of Tula Pink, the famous fabric designer and her Mom! Many thanks to them for letting me do a little show for the bus tour ladies that are coming through this weekend.
I also hope to make it to the quilt show in Lawrence, KS that's going on today and tomorrow. More news about both adventures later!

(April Showers Bring) Mae Flowers!

2011-04-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

I just finished up a couple new quilt patterns for sale. This one is called Mae flowers after my mother-in-law, Glenna Mae Weed, and a few other Mae loved ones. Just in time for May day!

Antique springtime quilt

2011-04-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

I love to use antiques to decorate with and this is one of my favorite spring-looking quilts that I have in my living room right now. I can't remember the name of the block right now, does anyone else know?

Spring is here!

2011-04-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm back at it, got a new computer and just getting caught up now. I took this picture about a week and a half ago. The daffodils have done great this year. I love flowers just about as much, or more, than quilting, can you tell?

We are having quite the showers here today, but April showers bring May flowers! I will show you my new pattern called Mae flowers in another post.

Computer on the blitz!

2011-04-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

My computer is not working at home right now, so may be awhile before I get to do much blogging. Hope to get it up and going soon! Talk to ya later! Enjoy the wonderful spring weather!

Cozy Little Tablescapes: The Heart Of Every Home

2011-03-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

Check out this gals decorating. Looks fun! Cozy Little Tablescapes: The Heart Of Every Home: " As you can already tell from the rest of this blog, I adore color. I love vintage table cloths (old or new). I love texture and detai..."

Red and White Quilt Show! Take a look!

2011-03-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Check out the red and white quilt show going on at this link http://reproquiltlover.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=10. Lots of great red and white quilts!

Here's one of my red and white table runners made from an antique quilt top. I use it for entertaining my quilt retreat ladies for Valentines and Christmas decorating and everything in between. Please check out the rest of my blog to find out about my retreats, patterns and trunk shows!

Another great group!

2011-03-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

I want to send out a great big thank you to the quilting "ladies" from Corydon! They had a great time and I had a great time serving them!!! They were my 1st return group and they say they'll be back again. I've decided to give the gals an extra $30 off discount the 3rd time they've been here, so they are well on their way! Anyone else interested in this deal, give me a call! I will give you 4 years to come 3 times, that's the deal!

They arrived on Sunday afternoon, usually the retreats start on Friday or Saturday, but I am willing to work around your schedules. That evening we had ham balls, cheesy potato casserole, hot rolls, Ramen noodle coleslaw, home grown corn and fruit pizza for dessert, all served on fun dishes. It's so much fun to serve the ladies, they seem to enjoy being pampered!This is the fun salad I served on Monday, with sandwiches and 2 different kinds of dips with chips and crackers. Sorry the picture isn't the best, but hopefully you can get the idea of fun foods and dishes. Monday evening we had turkey with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, apple salad and coleslaw. Later that evening I served hot fudge brownie sundaes. It's no wonder I'm struggling with my weight!

Here Cheyrel is showing my husband Lonnie a card trick and Lonnie tried to teach her one too! I think everyone had a great time. Lonnie usually doesn't hang around too much, if you're worried about that! You're welcome to stay in your jammies all day long, if ya want to! He's usually gone to Farmer Jack's all day and into the evenings.
Please call or email me if you're interested in booking a retreat. I have a great special going on right now until July 1st (look for it on my website). It's a great time for that spring break!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

2011-02-14T06:33:00.000-08:00

Some of you may recognize this valentine. Just love the polka dot dress! If any of you have old pictures or clip art that has polka dots, I would love to see them! I just love antiques and especially antique quilts! Hope you-all have a great Valentine's Day! This is last year's table setting around the Valentine's season. I made the table runner out of a vintage quilt top and have enough to do 1 or 2 more if anyone is interested. I will take it to the AQS show next fall if I haven't sold it by then. I would love to make a whole quilt with red and white someday, so many ideas, so little time!

Snow-storm in Iowa...Working on Itty Bitty Kits

2011-02-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

We are having a major snow-storm here in Iowa today! I took this picture this morning before the winds really got to blowing. They say we are having winds 30-35 miles per hour and could have 6 or more inches before it's all over. Another good day to stay in and quilt! My messy sewing room!
I've been cutting kits for my Itty Bitty quilts. I am planning on going to the AQS show in Des Moines next fall and a few other shows thru the year, so decided I could use these snow days to cut a few kits.

Strips for vintage Itty Bitty boy kits. I LOVE antique looking quilts and when I use the old fabrics and wash the quilts a few times they look antique! If anyone is interested in a kit they are $25.5o and the pattern is $8.50. Buy both for $32.50 plus tax. Contact me at farmersdotter@frontiernet.net if you're interested. I have kits in boy and girl colors and vintage or new fabrics. I will have these at the show in Des Moines or any other shows I do. I also take a few along when I do trunk shows.

Another view of my messy sewing room right now! That's what we get for being creative, right? Having another group retreat the 1st weekend in March, so will have to get it cleaned up before then! I have lots of other weekends available if anyone is interested! Springtime is my favorite time of year and my gardens are the prettiest then, so give me a call. Spring is just about 7 weeks away, right!! The month of May is a great time to visit Bedford, as we have Rainbow Iris Farm here to visit. It really is a sight to see!

(April showers bring) Mae Flowers!

2011-01-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is my next baby quilt pattern. I hope to get it hand quilted in the next 2 weeks. I'm just lovin it! I'm planning on calling it (April showers bring) Mae Flowers. My dear mother-in-law's name was Glenna Mae and I also have some other dear friends with that middle name too, so that's the reason for the different spelling. All the flower petals are vintage fabrics, hopefully you can see that in this closer picture.

Clarinda Trunk Show

2011-01-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

I had my 1st trunk show of the New Year at the Clarinda quilt guild and here are a few pictures.This is my Farmer's Daughter quilt that I made after choosing the name of my business. Mostly vintage with 7 feed sacks on the back and lots of polka dots! Hand-quilted by me! This is me showing a glass that I use at retreats that has polka dots on it. Just showing it in case anyone has a few more they could part with. I'll have to get a better picture of it sometime. Another picture of part of the goodies I showed the ladies. Thanks to the Clarinda ladies for having me speak!

FROSTY!!

2011-01-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

We have had some beautiful frosty mornings here over the holidays! Hope you are all having a great New Year! I have a BIG goal to work towards this year, and that is I'm going to have a booth at the AQS show in Des Moines this fall! I have already been working to get a lot of things ready for it and hope to meet lots of you fellow bloggers there! (September 28-October 1) Tonight I am doing a trunk show in Clarinda and I'm looking forward to that, so better get busy and get everything packed! Show ya pictures from the show later!

Last minute gift idea!

2010-12-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

Does anyone out there in blog-land have a quilting friend who is hard to buy for? How about a gift certificate from the Farmer's Dotter? I can still get you set up for any dollar amount thru email. If you're interested send me a message at farmersdotter@frontiernet.net. The gift certificate could be used on a weekend retreat or a kit or pattern.

Merry Christmas to you all from the Farmer's Dotter

2010-12-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

Hope you are all having a great holiday season! I've been messing a little with my blog and I'm hoping to do some MAJOR changes to my website within the next month, so will let ya know when that happens! The new title picture is a very old quilt of my husband's grandmother. I would love to reproduce it someday. Could be another pattern idea! Has anyone seen the pattern for this out there anywhere?

Oriental Coleslaw

2010-12-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

I've had two requests for this salad recipe this week, so decided to put it on my blog for all to enjoy! Last Saturday I went to Council Bluffs and spent the day with a fun group called Quilts From the Bluffs. They do LOTS of mission quilts and I helped them for a while that day. We had all kinds of yummy foods and this salad is what I took to share. One of the ladies asked for the recipe and another lady from here in Bedford, that was at a funeral dinner that I'd taken it to, wanted the recipe, so here goes!

Oriental Salad-This recipe came from the Scrap Happy Quilt Guild Cookbook - Clarinda, Iowa

1 bag cabbage 2 or 3 green onions - chopped

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 can water chestnuts - chopped - I didn't put these in this weeks salads, optional

1 package Ramen noodles, crumbled - don't add until ready to serve

Dressing:1/2 cup veg oil ( I use slightly less) 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

Beef seasoning from noodle package.

Mix together and pour over cabbage mixture when ready to serve. Hope you like it, it's one of my favorites. This is one salad that I like to serve here at the Farmer's Dotter Retreats! Please check out my website, if ya haven't already...http://www.farmersdotter.com/. Thanks for taking a look and check out some of my favorite blogs too. There's a lot of neat bloggers out there!

New Little Lindsay pattern!

2010-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Howdy! Seems like it's been so long since I have blogged, that I need to tell ya'll hello! Been a little busy working on this new pattern, called Little Lindsay, after my dotter! It is another version of Sun-Bonnet Sue and I just LOVE it! Hope some of you do too! I have been hand quilting it and got it all done and laundered it and then decided it needs a little more quilting! Oh, well, not much more now. I sent the info to my publisher today, so hope to have the patterns ready soon! Email me at farmersdotter@frontiernet.net if you're interested! I'm also working on another applique flower pattern that I'm so excited about! Hope to have some pics soon to show ya!

These pictures were taken off my deck the other day. There seemed to be a front moving in and it was all dark in the distance, but the sun was still shining at our house. It was kind of neat! Today I looked out the back door and 5 deer were running for their lives! Deer season just opened last weekend so there's been a lot of activity! Actually, just behind the deer, I saw a coyote, but he didn't follow them into my timber. Guess he realized he was out-numbered!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2010-11-25T13:38:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite sayings that I have out at Thanksgiving time, but it's great for all times! It reads:
Something to do is a wonderful thing.
Keep up your stride. Stay in the ring.
Labor is blessing. A bright one and true.
Be thankful, be happy, for
Something to Do!

Quilting is my "something to do" and I love it! Hope you-all have had a great Thanksgiving! We are in between two feasts right now. Been trying to be good and not get overstuffed!

This is a little shelf that I change seasonally. The antique flower garden block works great for an extra doily! I'll probably be changing all the turkey stuff for Christmas this weekend. It's usually a mess for a few days! Our corn is out of the field now! This was the last pass thru the field. We are thankful that the harvest is almost done. I am kind of a "harvest widow" while my hubby helps the neighbor get his crops in. He really enjoys helping and a lot of the time is out til about 9 at night. They should be done by the end of the week!!

New Sheriff in town!!!

2010-11-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken before the election. Kooper was dressed up for Halloween.

Sorry I haven't posted for a while! It's been a little crazy around here! Of course, I had to help a little with the campaigning for my son, Josh. He is now officially the new sheriff in Taylor County and my husband, Lonnie is now officially retired! Wow, it's hard to believe, but life goes on! The election was a week ago Tuesday, late night finding out the results, then Josh's birthday was Thursday, with Momma fixing supper. Took care of Kooper while Josh and Tara went to football game on Friday night. Went to K.C. Saturday and Sunday to see Linds and go to a quilt show and antiquing. Monday afternoon was slow in the beauty shop, so decided to make another trip to K.C. to try and promote the Farmer's Dotter. I went to 3 different guild meetings and 5 different quilt shops! Hope it helps! Please call and make reservations! Come for just a day or stay for 2 or 3 days!

Itty Bitty Quilt on Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-10-31T09:41:00.001-07:00

Do any of you like to go to quilt retreats? Do you like vintage quilts and fabrics? Do you need someone to come do a trunk show? If ya do, Read on!!!
Vintage baby quilt, made just 3 years ago! Sorry these pics got in here twice! Click on the pictures to see them up closer.

Howdy!! From the Farmer's Dotter!

Hey ya'all check out all the neat quilts and give aways at

Bloggers Quilt Festival. Mine should be in there somewhere, I hope!

This is my 1st attempt at making and selling a pattern! I have called it Itty Bitty, after my 1st grandson, who we nick-named Itty Bitty before he was born. I LOVE vintage quilts and fabrics, so that is what I chose to make his 1st quilt out of. The photo below is the 1st one I made for him and is out of vintage prints.

This is the 3rd one! The 2nd one is at his house, gotta have that special blankie close at hand, right!

I have kits and patterns available for these in different styles: vintage boy or girl kits, or new fabric, boy or girl. For more info check out my blog on August 7th or you can contact me at mailto:farmersdotter@frontiernet.net

These next two pictures are close-ups of Kooper's 1st quilt out of vintage fabrics. I just LOVE the Scottie dogs and the children playing AND of course the Polka Dots too!! My dream job some day is to design fabrics! I have quite a stash of vintage fabrics, if anyone is interested! Also check out my website at http://www.farmersdotter.com/!

2010-10-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Fall Fun! Just had a group for the day, today. This is the Fletcher family from Bedford, they didn't have to come far! The Dad, Mike, was trying to exit the picture as I was taking it! He joined us for lunch, so he could see his girls for a little while.

I have a special on my website for the locals that don't want to come and spend the night. Let me know if ya want to have a fall or holiday party here. I love to use all my vintage things for holiday decorating and entertaining!BROWN and ORANGE DISHES!! Love to use these for serving in the fall! Today's menu was chili and cheese soup, chips and homemade salsa & spinach dip, homemade whole wheat bread, cheese and crackers, pickles, apples and dip, pumpkin bars and apple fruit pizza. Also had warm monster cookies when they arrived.

2010-10-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

Lost another Aunt this week. My Aunt Teddy Runde, from rural Parnell, Mo. My Mom and I just went to see her and my Uncle Bernie on Tuesday, after I took Mom to a doctors appointment in Maryville. I am so glad we did now. Don't put it off people! Sometimes it's not all that pleasant, but you have done your good deed for the day, and isn't that what life is all about? Bernie told us the doctor had given her approximately 6 weeks to 3 months. We just never know. I'm glad she didn't have to suffer too long. She just found out she had cancer a little less than 3 weeks ago.
One thing Teddie said was, "You find out who your friends are!" RIP Teddy, we love ya, and remember what I told ya about giving everyone a hug!

FARMER'S DOTTER HOME TOUR!

2010-10-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is our home in Southwest Iowa where we have opened up a Girlfriends/Quilting retreat! We are located 2.5 miles west of Bedford, on Highway 2. Please come be my guests! When you see the polka dots on the mailbox, you know you're at the right place! The main sewing room is located on the lower level. These ladies were my 2nd group of the year, from Beatrice, Nebraska. Notice the gray design walls in the background. They were putting them to good use that weekend with all kinds of beautiful projects.

Two of the bedrooms are upstairs with 7 twin sized beds total. Each bed has different colored polka dot sheets and a vintage quilt! The "ladies" tell me the beds and pillows are SO comfortable! I think part of it is being with friends AND getting your own bed!!

Another one of my recycled projects. I call it an ironing station, it is 2' x 8' and is great for pressing quilt tops. The bottom is an old baby bed that my mom and dad had stored for years in their closet and now I'm putting it to good use! It's also great for storing my unfinished tops in!

The picket fence room. This is also recycled from my parents old fence. I needed two more headboards, so this worked great and got a few more things out of my husbands shed(with a little bit of grumbling)!!!

Grandson, Kooper using one of the two and a half baths available to guests.

The dining room table and old kitchen cupboard are one of the many heirlooms from my husbands side of the family. This particular evening Kooper and Tara were helping me serve ham balls, hash brown casserole, hot rolls, home-grown corn, Ramen noodle coleslaw and layered jello cake with strawberries and cool-whip on top. I plan on starting a comfort food blog/tour sometime in the near future to let ya know what I serve here at the Farmer's Dotter. Also, will have a Tour for different seasons...this picture was at Valentine's. The table runner I made out of an old quilt top.

Keep checking back, as I will add new pictures every once in awhile.

FARMER'S DOTTER QUILT TOUR!

2010-10-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is the block that inspired the name of my business. I wanted the name of a quilt block and this one seemed to fit the best! I knew I couldn't get the regular spelling for a website, so that's why I spelled it the way I did, and it's been so fun with all the polka dots! I even have polka dots on my mailbox and all the sheets in the house have polka dots! Email me if you would like a copy of this pattern at farmersdotter@frontiernet.net.

I would really like to get my quilts put on the sidebar on a "quilt tour", so I'm going to try and organize them 1st in a blog. If anyone knows how to put home tours on your sidebar, let me know! I'll start out 1st with my Farmer's Dotter quilt and pattern. This is my grandson Kooper enjoying it. Most of the prints are vintage, with the exception of a few added polka dots...had to get a few of those in there! The backing is made of 7 feedsacks...it was just a little hard to use them, but for what better cause! It is hand-quilted by me, using a pattern I call the circle of love and life.This quilt is called Little Lacy, I believe. I found these blocks at an estate sale and finished them into this full sized quilt. I am in the process of changing it a little bit and making it baby size. I am planning on calling mine Little Lindsay, after my dotter! I am just trying to get started designing quilts from antique patterns, if anyone has any suggestions or needs a designer, let me know. That's one of my dream jobs! This quilt is a bluebell quilt. I reproduced it from one that a good friend of mine, Diane Ware, owns. All of the prints are vintage. Not too many polka dots in this quilt, as I made it before I started the Farmer's Dotter. These next 3 pictures are of my 1st pattern that I've called Itty Bitty. I decided to make this my 1st pattern, since I made it for my 1st itty bitty grandchild! The 1st picture is a new (not vintage), girl's kit and quilt top made from it.

This is a picture of Kooper's 1st baby quilt made with totally vintage prints I also have kits for these, but I had to add about 3-5 reproduction cutsy fabrics, because I don't have an abundance of them in my stash. That's the pattern laying on this quilt. The instructions are for strip sewing, and I could give a class on this, if anyone's interested. This is a picture of Kooper, just waking up from a nap, he loves his blankie! Bride's bouquet that I remade for my dotter Lindsay for a late wedding present. She actually wanted a wool comforter instead of a quilt, so that's what I made 1st. An applique flower quilt made from all scrap vintage prints. This is probably one of my favorites. It's hand-quilted too. Most all of my vintage fabric quilts are hand-quilted. This my collection of quilts that were spread out on our front lawn for my dotter's wedding. I Do Love Quilts!

I will keep adding quilt picture's, so keep checking in!

Another Beautiful Fall Day!

2010-10-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great fall day! We better enjoy them while we can! I went to Grant City today to a quilt shop that I hadn't been to before. Got some material for some baby quilts for $2 a yard, can't beat that! The store is called Mrs. Pick's--cute name, huh! It is about 40-45 minutes away from here if you're coming from the south or southeast, you could stop on your way here! We also went to the Amish store in Redding and got some of the last tomatoes of the season. I'm never ready to give them up. The picture above is of the last tomatoes and some more snapdragons that I picked and brought in, and some of my fall decorations.

The snapdragons just keep on going and some live-forever too.

The hosta garden is looking like fall too.

Small garden to the back of the house and cornfield in the background.
Can ya tell I like the outdoors?

Cornfield out back and pretty yellow hickory trees in the background.

Another view to the back of the house. Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to make a home tour on my blogsite? I would like to have it on the side bar and also one for my quilts. Any suggestions, mailto:farmersdotter@frontiernet.net

Under Construction!!

2010-10-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

Excuse the mess! Making a few changes!

2010-10-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, there are so many things to see on the internet, huh! I have been checking out other peoples blogs and there are a lot of really neat ones! If you enjoy quilting, crafting, etc, check out My Blog List. Lots of really talented people out there! A special thanks to Keren, from Free Pretty Things For You... for all her help! She has a really neat blog...check it out!

2010-10-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

More vintage polka dots!

Clarinda Craft Show

2010-10-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've had a busy few days with the Clarinda craft show. Lots of work, but lots of fun too! Thank goodness I had family to help me get set up and tear down!

I saw a lot of people I already knew and met lots of new people too. Hope some of you will read this! Please leave a comment or become a follower!
Click on the pictures if ya want to see them better. That's my dotter Lindsay with dark hair and my dotter-in-law Tara with the blond hair.

This was my booth...lots of fabric and antiques! It sure seemed like I brought a lot back home with me, but I did sell quite a bit. Thanks to all!

I am considering having a booth at the AQS show next year in Des Moines, so if I do I'll have a lot of stuff ready for it.

2010-10-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

How are your flowers doing? Most of mine are not doing so well, but the snapdragons just keep on going! They just keep coming back year after year! That's the kind I like!

2010-10-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

Been away a couple days to a funeral. So sorry, I lost one of my 1st cousins on my mom's side. He would be one of the 67 grandchildren of John and Matilda Runde. (That's their picture for my profile). I'm not totally sure of the total # of grandchildren, but I think it's about 240!!! It's hard to believe 2 people started it all! My cousins name was Richard Andriano from KC, he was a great guy, so compassionate. He gave great Teddy Bear hugs. I'll miss him at the family get-togethers.

Weekly polka dots!

2010-10-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

Another old polka dot block. It's amazing how many polka dots are in old quilts!

Got to meet Eleanor Burns!!!

2010-10-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is the Itty Bitty quilt that I showed to Eleanor Burns at the show. There is more info on it in my older posts...August 7th.

Wow, I got to meet and visit with Eleanor Burns at the AQS show in Des Moines yesterday! I showed her my Itty Bitty quilt that I made out of some honey buns that I got from her shop in Paducah. She seemed to be a very nice lady and even liked my polka dot--farmer's dotter outfits. Of course, she was dressed up for halloween too, with big glasses and earrings!

Winterset quilt show and Old Crow Show

2010-10-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Happy 10-10-10 everyone!

Went to Winterset yesterday on the way to the AQS show again. We stopped at this fun place called the Old Crow just a few miles north of Winterset. They had lots of neat primitives! I had met this young couple at an auction at my old school in New Market, Iowa a few years ago and had always wanted to go to one of their shows. We seemed to like a lot of the same things at the sale, so I knew I would enjoy seeing their things. Check it out sometime if ya get the chance at www.oldcrowfarmantiques.com This was the cute little display they had as we came in the drive. It was such a beautiful day yesterday for a drive in the country!

I also stoped at the quilt show in Winterset. It was great, I most enjoyed the antique quilts. I hope to go and visit their quilt guild sometime or any guilds that would like to have me come. Just let me know!

This was my favorite quilt, it was the winner last year. Sorry, I got 2 pics of this one, I liked it so well!

What a beautiful fall day....Come enjoy!

2010-10-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a beautiful fall day and evening! I just went outside and snapped a few picture as the sun was setting. This week has been homecoming week in Bedford, what a wonderful day for a parade and football game!

This is one of my recycled ideas...I had plenty of old wooden ironing boards, so I decided to make this one into a bench! Good place to take a break from sewing!

This picture is just outside the sewing room. Wish someone was here to share it with me tonight, I'm a harvest widow right now as my hubby helps the neighbor getting his crops in. I still have room this fall for retreaters, just give me a call or email! I am thinking of having a day class a time or two this fall, so let me know if you're interested in that. I could either teach a class or you could just work on your own projects.

The impatience were exceptionally beautiful this year. (Click on the picture to get a bigger image)

This is the view to the north of our house...the corn should be ready to harvest soon, but they need to get all the beans picked 1st.

Going to the AQS show again tomorrow and also to the covered bridge festival and quilt show in Winterset. Hope to see some of ya there!! Please tap me on the shoulder and say Howdy!

All dressed up for the AQS show in Des Moines!

2010-10-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! What a day at theAQS show in Des Moines! Sure a lot to look at all in one day! This was the 1st time for me to dress up as "the Farmer's Dotter". It was lots of fun and boy did I get a lot of looks, good or bad, remains to be seen! Hope ya'll didn't think I was too crazy! Normally, I would just as soon blend into the crowd, but today I was trying to promote the Farmer's Dotter, so please give me a call or email! On our way out of town we stopped at the Brass Armadillo. We enjoyed looking at Janet Catron's Booth # 137. She has all kinds of vintage sewing things if you like that kind of stuff.

Me, all dressed up as the Farmer's Dotter. I made my dress out of an old table cloth with polka dots on it. I love to re-purpose and recycle things!

2010-10-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Howdy everyone! Who's going to the AQS show this week? I'm going up tomorrow and Saturday. Hope to see some of ya there! Look for me....I'll be dressed as the Farmer's Dotter in polka dots with my Dad's hat and boots on! I'll post pictures after I've been there! Also, look for my ad in their brochure.

Weekly polka dots!

2010-10-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Polka Dots in old quilts...gotta love 'em! I decided I wanted the name of a quilt block for my business and thought the quilt block Farmer's Daughter was best suited. I knew that name wouldn't be available for a website, so that's why I chose to spell it Farmer's Dotter. I didn't realize how many polka dots there are in old quilts until I chose my name and now I notice all the polka dots! They are so much fun!

Fall fans to take to craft show

2010-09-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Thought ya'all might like to see some quilts instead of pumpkins and Kooper! I made these from some vintage blocks that I've had around for awhile. I am going to have a booth at the Clarinda craft show on October 16th and will have some of these blocks for sale along with a lot of other "stuff"!
Click on the picture if you want to see it bigger.

Picking pumpkins with Kooper!

2010-09-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

We love the outdoors! Kooper helped to harvest the pumpkins and gourds at Grandma's house.

2010-09-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin time!! We harvested the few pumpkins and gourds in my garden and then went to the BIG pumpkin patch at the Longabaugh's in rural Bedford. Lots of fun!!

2010-09-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

Oops, the internet special on my website has the wrong date on it! It should be July 1st, 2011. Maybe that's why no one's been calling! Please give me a call or email. It's getting cooler now, good time to snuggle in and quilt!

2010-09-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my kids with my Mom and Dad in mid 80's.

They had a big pumpkin patch for the grandkids.
The back end of the pickup was full of all the pumpkins and I think there was even more left in the field.