What's in your Easter basket?

Happy Easter weekend everyone ! Looks like the Easter Bunny (aka Kitty) has treated herself to a basket full of pretty fat quarters ..... almost as good as a basket full of chocolate bunnies and marshmallow Peeps! .... ALMOST as good ..... cause we all know NOTHING is better in your Easter Basket than chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps !

P.S.) that pretty fabric is "Juicy Blossoms" by Simon + Kabuki from Quilting Treasures

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

SUCCESS !!! (finally !) ....Easter Stitchery ....the PDFing pattern (ta da)

Well, after an unbelievably ridiculous number of hours and days trying to figure out how to insert a PDF file into my blog ...... here it is .......(DRUM ROLL PLEASE !!!!) The silly, simple little pattern for my

















Easter Stitchery pattern .......taa daaaaaa!!!

Now , just like at the Academy Awards, I feel I must thank a few people for helping me with this (and keeping me from ripping out all of my hair!) ..... first of all, my son Evan (what would we do without the teenagers and their tech support ! Although I could do without the sighing and eye rolling !) Next, a big thank you to Miss Pam Kitty Morning who had the key to the whole puzzle for me when she told me blogger doesn't support PDF's ..... she told me to use Google Docs ...... THANKS PAM !!! I did not know that (and I did not know what Google Docs were until the teenager, Evan took 2 seconds to show me ). AND I must thank my blogger pal Amanda who suggested I ask Pam in the first place ! Thanks Amanda !

OK, now I have to go write out the step by step instructions on how I did this before I forget !!! (and then I need a REST !!! This was EXHAUSTING trying to figure it out !!!)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Easter stitchery pattern and pdfing incompetence !!!

Well here it is 6 days BEFORE Easter and the MBIAJ Stitching Dept is actually FINISHED this little stitchery/applique thing ...... SIX DAYS BEFORE Easter !!! (as opposed to our usual 6 days or months or years AFTER the holiday or event .) Still haven't figured out just what to do with it, but at least the stitching is done!
AND, the original plan was to also post this as a pdf stitchery pattern ..... have been struggling to figure out just how to do a #*%#* pdf file for the past 4 days ...... feel like I'm oh so close but yet so far from FINALLY figuring out just how to do it ..... and I'm sure it's so easy a kindergardener could do it ....... grrrrrrrrrr.
(any tips would be appreciated !)

Anyhow, decided it would be fun to link up with the Small Blog Meet Up over at Lily's Quilts .....

Be back soon (hopefully with a fully functioning pdf of this stitchery pattern !)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on the way ......

So .... the MBIAJ Decorating Committee gave the leprechans the boot when they realized Easter is only 2 weeks away !




....and the MBIAJ Stitching Dept decided to turn a doodle into ....



....a little applique - stitchery thing ..... not sure what it will be when the stitching is finished .... maybe a little wall hanging .... maybe in an embroidery hoop since that seems to be all the rage these days ..... or maybe, if the MBIAJ Sewing Dept gets motivated, this might go on the front of a little Easter tote bag . AND, if the MBIAJ Tech Support Dept can figure it out, this will show up as a pdf file if any of you would like to make it too! (so, PLEASE tell me how to do a pdf file !!!! .....thanks !)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Charm Pack "Sit Upon" Tutorial - Happy 100th Birthday Girl Scouts!

WOW ! The Girl Scouts are 100 years old today ! In honor of this milestone birthday, the MBIAJ Sewing and Quilting Dept thought a "Sit Upon" tutorial was in order. (As you can see, the bear was the only willing subject to model our "Sit Upon") What IS a "Sit Upon" you ask ? Well, it's water proof .... it's padded .... and it has ties for around your waist so you can sit at a moments notice and not get a wet butt when you are out on a hike with fellow Girl Scouts !

So, here's what you need to make one the MBIAJ way .....















-16 Charm squares (or single piece of fabric 20" x 20" )

-20 1/2" x 20 1/2" piece of laminated fabric, oilcloth, (or any water proof fabric)

-two pieces of 20" x 20" quilt batting (to make it xtra soft for sitting upon!)

-one piece of fabric (for tie) 4" x 44" (or whatever length is needed to tie around
waist - sorry, I forgot to put this in the picture - I used 100% cotton fabric)

-Pearl cotton #5 embroidery floss

-large eye needle

First sew the 16 charm squares together 4 squares across x 4 squares down (using 1/4"seams) . Next layer the pieced top with the 2 batting pieces,making sure the batting pieces are even with the edges of the pieced top (just trim any excess batting)



























Make your "quilt sandwich" by positioning the oilcloth (i.e. laminiated fabric) face down, then the 2 batting layers, and then the pieced top (the oilcloth will extend beyond the pieced top and batting by 1/2").



Trim the oilcloth even with the pieced top and batting on ONE SIDE ONLY (leave other 3 sides alone)




To make a mock binding, wrap the oilcloth edges around to front of the sit upon on 3 sides enclosing the pieced top and batting (use hair clips NOT pins to secure the binding)




At corners fold one side down ....







.....then other on top and ....









...trim away any edge that peeks out at the corner.













Using a long length of the pearl cotton embroidery floss (knotted at the end, hiding knot between layers of Sit Upon) stitch around the 3 bound sides, using an overlay stitch (stitches should be approximately 1/2" apart)

























To make the tie :

cut one piece of fabric 4" x width of fabric (approx. 44") - or whatever length you need to tie around your waist.




press under (to wrong sides) 1/2" on each end



press in half length wise to find center, then unfold





fold each long edge in to center fold line ....











and press












fold again to center and press to make long binding / tie strip








matching center of binding /tie to center of Sit Upon, open folded binding/tie and wrap around unfinished edge of Sit Upon



(tie will extend beyond each side of Sit Upon for tying around waist)













stitch the binding/tie to Sit Upon starting at one short end of long binding/tie , along lower long edge , across Sit Upon and continue on to other short end of binding /tie.
















Now all you have to do is tie your Sit Upon around your waist and you're ready to sit upon your Sit Upon !!!

Happy sitting ! and Happy 100th Birthday to the Girl Scouts !

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

"Fresh Modern" (26 year old) Quilt Blocks

Well lookie what has been dug up way back in the closet under the eaves of the MBIAJ Pink Sewing room ! I have been searching for these quilt blocks for the past year or so (ever since the "Fresh Modern" quilting trend started ) I guess I was way ahead of my time because these blocks are 26 years old !!!! YIKES ! and yes, I made these blocks back in 1986 during my second ever quilt class (back before rotary cutters and fancy rulers, and before fusible web for applique ..... yep , scissors and template plastic was how it was done !) .... BUT, I put these quilt blocks away because at the time I was made to feel that they just were too dull ....in 1986 the trend was for prints and calicos ..... and LOTS of them .....



This is a picture of my poor boring quilt blocks (taken during that class) shown between the instructor's finished quilt on the left and another student's quilt blocks on the right (both using lots of prints and calicos).






...this is another picture of more of my poor boring solid fabric pieced blocks with alternate solid blocks ....... and I clearly remember the instructor asking me " are you sure you don't want to add more colors ? are you sure you want to use all solids ?" .........ummmmmmm I thought I did ......








SO .... I thought now that solids are in style .....










....and clean crisp white as background in blocks is all the rage .....











......I thought it was high time these poor shunned quilt blocks.....













...should come out of hiding and .....













...take their long deserved place among the new "FRESH MODERN" quilts !!!
You know .... after 26 years, I still really like these blocks .... they're simple and fresh ...... maybe I'll actually finish the applique on that Rose of Sharon block and finally put this quilt together !!!





P.S. linking up with


Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Early Spring ?

Well, still a couple of weeks until Spring officially arrives on the calendar, but here at MBIAJ Headquarters we have some ......





......fake Spring and ....














.....some real Spring ! (so the MBIAJ Holiday Decorating Committee thought it high time the last of the Christmas decor be shoved back in the attic, and some fresh , springy stuff be dragged out.)

Hope you're enjoying some early Spring too !

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)