My New Hoosier Cabinet

 YEAH!! For many years I have been searching for a Hoosier that met the qualifications that I had set. Number 1: affordable  Number 2: No refinishing on my part

We have a super cute new flea market a few miles away and one Friday night I just happened to be on Facebook when they posted the picture of this cabinet. They are only open during the weekends, so I was up at 5 am, pacing, waiting, watching the clock, drove to the shop prepared to fight off anyone that made it in the door before I did. They just happened to be open 30 minutes early, so I was in the store, bought the cabinet and on my way home within the hour! This Hoosier is so wonderful, it still has the original parts including the flour sifter and spice racks. The Slag glass is perfect and the finish untouched. The enamel top has a couple of scratches, but nothing big. I was thrilled to pieces that I finally found one after all this time. In fact, I'm going to make homemade pie crust on this enamel top with my  cutest little country apron on! Can you see the little red sign above it? That is our motto around here "We Love You Like Biscuits and Gravy"  Yes maam we do!

Stacking Pennies

 Stacking pennies is a wonderful little pattern for a quick baby quilt in a pinch! One day I will learn to make a few extra quilts to keep on hand for new babies. Nine months just flies by whenever its not you! My sister has a new granddaughter and it seems that she just told me this a few weeks ago. Avie was born last week a healthy and happy little girl. It sent me scrambling to get a quilt to her for a homecoming present! I had made this little quilt one weekend while practicing my machine quilting and applique. I love to hand quilt but I certainly love the time saving method of the machine. This was just a simple straight stitch and wasn't hard to make in an afternoon. I am practicing free motion quilting on small projects right now and my new years goal is to quilt a queen size on my machine. I usually send my larger quilts out to have them quilted on a long arm machine. I have watched tutorials galore, but decided that practice is what it takes to get the hang of it. If you have any tips for machine quilting, please share!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and safe travels!

Quilt Crumbs

I save every bit of scrap when I cut into a bundle of fabric and can't seem to part with any of it. After watching Lori Holt's method of organizing her scraps, I was converted! I now keep a basket of my smaller scraps beside my cutting table and spend a few hours a month cutting them into sizes that I frequently use.

I have a template to cut Dresdens as small as one inch, but more frequently I use the 2 1/2 inch to turn my smaller scraps into a scrappy quilt that I absolutely love!

I spend several hours a week at the machine when I come home at night. Whenever I have a few minutes, its easy to sew a couple and place in my basket to applique later. I have precut layer cakes of Moda white #98 that I buy from Fat Quarter shop. They are so portable and I keep a small kit with me everywhere I go.  Its an easy way to turn all those small bits and crumbs of fabric into a beautiful quilt!

Cute Christmas Wreath

I am blessed to have a talented daughter, who is a florist. I am tempted to send this over to her, maybe she will make one for me! My cousin posted this on Facebook, so I do not know where it originated from. Would love to have a great big red barn door to hang this on! 

Have a great day

Cozy Cottage 2016 Calendar

 I fell in love with Lori Holt's Cozy Cottage Calendar the minute I saw it! All of my favorite colors and the cutest quilt designs! Not to mention Lori's home is so cute! I have followed her blog for several years and she always has the most wonderful ideas.

 I purchased my calendar from Fat Quarter Shop. Hop on over there and buy one for the new year! I'm torn whether to keep it at home or use it at work. It would certainly brighten up my days! Hmm, maybe I need two of them!

The Jolly Jabber Baby Quilt Hop

I'm so excited about the Jolly Jabber Quilt hop! The quilters are each creating a quilt from 20 new designs by Sew Emma! Take time to stop by this week and take a look at the wonderful baby quilts. They are so cute, you can find them here: http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com/

Have a Wonderful Day!

Nick and Nora Sew FUN!

 I was shopping at Target and found these adorable Nick and Nora pajamas. I simply could not resist buying a pair to lounge around in. With a pair of these you will have sweet quilt dreams!

Today on the Target website, if you buy one pair get the second half price! That is a great deal!

My Christmas Dresden

It's looking a lot like Christmas here at Cute As Pie Cottage! I have always wanted to make a red and white quilt for the holidays and love this beautiful Dresden Plate pattern. In fact, this is my sixth quilt using Dresden's this year. There is something so calming about hand applique! Its a very portable quilt block that you can work on just about anywhere! I travel frequently and carry a little sewing bag with me. If I am waiting in the airport I can whip up a few blocks to occupy my time. There is always someone who stops to ask what I'm working on, so I can share my love for quilting and listen to some wonderful stories that people share of their quilty memories.

Have a wonderful week!

Must Read Books

 I am a lover of books! I like my Kindle and I use it occasionally, but you just cannot beat an old fashioned book with real pages to turn, the way it feels in your hands and the smell of fresh inked pages. I discovered Nancy Turner last year while pursuing Amazon (photos courtesy of Amazon). I love history and anything related to quilts so the cover of Sarah's Quilt just drew me in. Oh, what a treat they were! If you have time this spring, you must pick up a copy and be prepared to spend the whole weekend reading this wonderful story of a brave woman who travels the Oregon trail to begin a new life.

A New Year, Looking Forward!

 I cannot believe it has been an entire year since my last post! I resolve to do better in the future. Many changes have taken place this past year, including the addition of this lovely little lady to our family. Meet little Calli Anna. She makes grand number 8 and is the first little girl to arrive among all the boys in our group. She is quickly being spoiled to pieces.

 I have been busy as a bee working on quilts this year. I finally made a swoon quilt. It was a group effort by the ladies at work for a fundraiser. The quilt raised over $500!

 I finished this UFO around May of this year and love it. Why didn't I buy more Sweet water Hometown when it first came out??

 I worked on this cute little baby quilt for a dear friend who had her first baby this year, loved all of the 1930's patterns!

 This quilt was supposed to be a chevron quilt. Somewhere, somehow I managed to sew it together completely wrong, but in the end it worked out after taking it all apart!

 This is Calli's baby quilt I made with the Little Red Riding Hood fabric. I had alot of fun making this one and hoping to revisit this pattern soon. Somewhere around July, I decided to make all of the kids a quilt for Christmas. That means 7 quilts in 5 months.I sewed like crazy every chance I got and did get them all pieced. The lady who does the long arm quilting did not finish with them in time for Christmas day, but they all ended up with one eventually. I will post pictures next time of the Christmas quilting. I am most thankful to have this wonderful man in my life. He gave me quite a scare last February! After a triple bypass and rehabilitation to get his strength back, he has recovered and doing great. Thank you for your kind emails and many prayers for my husband. We have had a long year and life is settling back down for the first time in 13 months. I received a promotion in July and was able to obtain a position in my company that is not as stressful as the nurse managers job was. I am now Director of Case management for the hospital! I have more free time at home with Donnie, for which I am so thankful. We actually had time to take a vacation to the beach this year and relaxed for a week. I graduated in May and have decided to stop there for awhile. I plan to focus on family this year and take some time to enjoy the grandchildren. Donnie and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this year, we took a trip to Tybee Island  and Savannah for a week. It was lovely and wishing we could go back again this summer. If you have never visited that part of our country take time to do so, what a lovely area!

Have a wonderful week!

Say A Little Prayer

Please say a little prayer for my husband. He had some chest pain Tuesday night and I called an ambulance to carry him to the hospital. As it turns out he has blockage of 88% and will have a triple bypass on Tuesday. morning at 6am. He is in very good spirits about the surgery and confident that he will have a full recovery. He retired from work only 4 weeks ago and was enjoying his hobbies of fishing and piddling around the house. Looks like we have to make some major lifestyle changes that will be a little difficult. I love to cook and he loves to eat good old fashioned southern food. And of course he has smoked for over 50 years, so that has come to an end. Needless to say he is not in a very good mood right now. They have kept him in the hospital, with all the drips and wires everywhere, he is just ready for it to be over and come back home. No fat, no salt, low cholesterol diet is about as appealing to him as a dose of castor oil. So , I am dragging out recipes and plan to change the way I cook and prepare for this new journey that lies ahead of us. Keep us in your prayers, because honey, we are gonna need it!

Finally Finished!

I have finally finished this Dresden plate quilt. Yes, it took me almost a year, but in my defense I never touched it over the summer months. This is my first quilt that I have hand quilted by myself, so super excited to have it done. I'm working on another Dresden plate that will be only red and white fabric. Hopefully I will have it completed by Christmas and can use it for a holiday quilt.Have a great week!