Category Archives: Uncategorized

On my Porch: The Kim Story

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I have a long time blog reader Kim from Tennesse.  She has parents that live about an hour away from me. She was traveling this way and had goodies to share. Oh my. Did she ever have goodies. We had arrangements for her to come to my house on Labor Day. She was coming around noon. I was upstairs sewing and listening to an audiobook. I came downstairs at 1pm to make myself some lunch. I figured that Kim, traveling, ended up at an unexpected stop or traffic was slow… I went back upstairs and worked on my quilt. Rosie needed to go out so I came down to let her out. I checked my email and there was a note from Kim. She had been here at 12:30pm. I never heard the bell. Rosie didn’t bark or let me know someone was here. AH>>> I missed Kim. I was so sad. Kim has been a long time reader and I love meeting blog readers.  So I went outside and was shocked to see all that was there.


WOW!!  I started carrying it in.  Kim ended up sending me a picture she took at my house when she dropped it all off.  I’m so glad she sent it.  At least I can put a face with a name.


I went through it all the next day.  There were so many goodies.  Imagine my excitement when I saw this bag filled with fabric that was all firemen related!!

I took it all out of the bag. OH MY WORD.

I’ll be using this to make some quilts for the fireman.  This kit was in there…I have some fabric here that Connie gave me that coordinates with this so I might make it bigger…we’ll see.

I started in on opening the boxes.  Oh my.  They were all packed full.

Here is what was inside….
Continue reading →

The Craig and Jo Show

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It’s been some time since there has a been a Craig and Jo episode here on the blog.  Since Craig started working on the farm, he’s typically working on the weekend and there isn’t a lot of time to do anything extra.  Also, we have gotten a lot of the things done around here.  Of course, there is always something we could do but nothing urgent.

You might remember that I bought this old piece for my entertainment center before Covid….

(I’m requesting that you not leave any comments about mounting the television on the wall.  It’s on my list but I have to afford a new television first.  I think I’ve talked about it long enough that the kids have it on their radar for me for Christmas/Birthday.)

I’ve wanted to put a back on this old piece with cubby holes ever since I bought it.  I almost didn’t buy it as there wasn’t a back.  I put blocks and small toys in some of the bins.   The kids’ napping stuff goes in here too.   With no back, as time goes on, some of the toys sift their way to the back of the bin and fall out the back.  It’s a pain.  Plus I have wanted to hide the cords and in general, just make it look neater…another reason I want a wall mount television too.

I can stand things so long and then I just can’t anymore.  Enough is enough and I want all the projects done.  That was what happened Labor Day weekend.  I finally quit feeling sorry for myself that Kramer isn’t here to do all the things for me, pulled up my big girl pants, and started doing the things I can do.  So on Labor Day weekend, I decided it was time to start on the project.

So I had the local lumber yard set out lumber for me and had Karl pick it up.  Karl cut the boards for me.  (check out my new vanity for the downstairs bathroom that the boards are sitting on!!)


I stained them…


…and on Sunday…. Continue reading →

Made By You

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I’m going to make a new regular feature here on the blog.  We have free pattern listed on the right sidebar of the blog, we have a book Country Girl Modern, we have patterns in our online shop and we have patterns often featured in magazines.  We have so many of you taking those patterns and making them in your own way and your own style.  The new blog series will feature YOUR quilts made with our designs.  We are so excited to be launching the new series as there is no higher compliment to a designer than to know you like our design well enough to spend your time and money to make it.

Anna Sweet post this picture on Facebook.


This is our Thanks to You! quilt from our book Country Girl Modern.  You can get an autographed copy HERE in our shop.

Here is our version.

ThankstoYOU

I’ve made this quilt THREE times and I’ve loved making it every single time.  It is an awesome scrap buster quilt.


That’s baby puppy Rosie on the quilt.  I made the above one for Kayla for her wedding quilt.  At the time we had just gotten Rosie and this was the first quilt she possed on.

The next quilt is from Bev Hayward from OR.

Bev writes:
“I made this quilt last winter.  The pattern really called to me. I bought the white background fabric and used stash for the rest.  I made myself do all the Star blocks first. That was a trial!  When they were ALL done I got to put them together. I use the Bonnie hunter scrap system and had a bunch of 3 1/2 inch squares cut. I trimmed them down and woohoo, I was good to go. Here it is in all its beauty. I love it!”


Awesome Bev.  I love it too.  I have yet to make this quilt.  Kelli was the sewer on this one…

This is our “On the Bright Side” quilt.

It was the cover quilt for American Patchwork and Quilting.

This quilt was so popular.  I think part of the reason is Carla’s quilting…Yes, our friend Carla of Longarm Quilting Inspirations did our machine quilting on this.

The next quilt is from Karen Preusser.  She writes:

“I made the attached quilt from Tula Pink fabric.  I did make a change making the blocks 3-1/2 inches because I wanted to showcase her darling animals!  I believe this was in American Patchwork.  Every time I was somewhere that had the issue I would buy another copy because I loved it so much.  Sorry, the pictures are not better it was a windy day.”


I love her version of the quilt.  So fun in Tula fabrics!!

More about our On the Bright Side quilt here…and suggestions on how to make it smaller here.  HERE is another link to find a back issue of the magazine.

Thanks ladies for sharing your quilts.  I just LOVE seeing them.  If you make any of our quilts, use any of our recipes, or were inspired by something you saw here on the blog, please share your version with me at rogjok@iowatelecom.net.  I’ll make sure to include it in an upcoming blog post.  I love sharing your projects.

Before I go…
Author Rhonda Cratty contacted me and asked me to tell you about her new book.  I haven’t had a chance to read it yet but thought I would pass on the info about the book anyway.  You all can read it and let me know what you think.
Our 12 Quilts: The Fabric of Life Book 2 by [Rhonda Cratty]Here is the synopsis from Amazon…
“When Jana’s life turns upside down, Gram travels halfway around the world and back, to bring her home. Living over Helen’s Quilt shop, she heals, learns to quilt, and becomes part of Summit Colorado. As a Master quilter, Helen shares her life, friends, and creative gifts with Jana. During their quilting moments, the bond between Helen and Jana deepens, as their personal, professional, and quilting goals develop and change. With Helen’s guidance, imagination, time, and wisdom, Jana masters quilting; As well as learning to adapt amid the constant challenges and changes of life. A heartwarming contemporary novel filled with ideas for living creatively as well as insightful peeks into a quilting family“.

If you are a Kindle user, Amazon is offering it for free by following THIS LINK.

Have a rest of your weekend!!

Community Quilts from Ray and Virginia

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Happy things in my email again…this time, community quilts from Ray.

Ray writes:

“Here are some pics of a quilt that I just finished that came from the Cresco ladies. It is a beautiful quilt that measures 47 x 57.

You just have to love the scrappiness and colors in this quilt. I choose a butterfly pattern for the quilting to go with the yellow butterfly strips in the quilt. Looks like they are floating around in a big flower garden.

The yellow backing came from a bargain basement sale I found a couple of months ago. It is now ready to go on the pile of quilts to donate and add a little something extra to someone’s day.

Many thanks to all who helped make this quilt possible. I could not have done it without you.”

The next quilt for today is coming to you from Virginia.  She is a newer helper on the charity quilt list.

Today she is sharing a quilt top that Deb in Wisconsin made.

Virginia writes:

“What a cool layout! It’s such a simple quilt block but the layout makes it look so complex. Loved working on it. Several in my quilt group took pictures of it so there may be more of this pattern layout done in the future.

I finally finished one of the quilts you had sent to me about a year ago. Why the delay? No batting. Was saving up to buy some then Covid hit and I was out of work for a while. I’m back to work but my hours have been cut so really have to watch the budget. I used what I call a “Frankenbatt” on this quilt. If/when I get another large batting, I’ll do the other quilt top as well. 

Where is this quilt going? It will be going to a crisis center in our community (Bagley, Minnesota). They mostly help battered women but there are other reasons that people end up in crisis and the center helps them as well.”

WOW…what fun quilts.  I too like the layout of Virginia’s quilt.  I have never played with a rail fence block to see the different designs that would be possible with it.  Thanks so everyone for making them happen.

Is there anyone who has an extra batting and would be willing to share it with Virginia?  I would so appreciate it if someone would be so kind and send one her way.  It’s a challenge to find people willing to help finish quilt tops so when I have one that will, I like to get the supplies they need to them.  Here is Virginia’s email.  charityquilter@ymail.com  (I checked this address and it says “ymail”.  If that doesn’t work I guess try gmail.)  You can contact her and get her address on where to send the batting.  THANKS SO MUCH!!