I'm Late, I'm Late for a Very Important Date

Hello Everyone,

I am finally done with these lovely blocks for Stephanie.  Right now they are winging their way back to her.

My sincerest apologies for being soooooooooo late with them.

Pop over to my blog, by clicking here to read my thoughts on these blocks.

I hope you enjoy them Stephanie, your quilt will be gorgeous!

Until Next Time....

Raspberry and Lime HSTs

I sent my Raspberry and Lime blocks to Nifty a long time ago, but I have neglected to blog them.  I wish I could say I had forgotten, but really, I have just not had the time!  These were so fun to make, and I think they are going to make an awesome quilt!

 Here is a close up of one of the blocks.  I put in one little green triangle of what little bit of this silk/cotton blend I have that was hand dyed by a friend.  I thought it would add a little oomph for her.

Also, I knew this one fabric was a little "off" in terms of color, but it looks more "off" in the photos.  At first, I was worried about it.  But in the end, I decided I really liked that little punch of a different red in there.  I hope you liked them, Nifty!  Can't wait to see your finished quilt!  I might have to do one of these myself.  This was addicting to me.

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)

Peppermint Stick for Andrea

I finished my Peppermint Stick and signature blocks for Andrea while I was on retreat at Gruber's with my prized blogging friends.  Not as fun as Amanda Jean's...But I didn't have that many bright, clear reds, surprisingly.  I found that I have a tendency more toward the brick reds.  So, I found these two great reds at Gruber's (I love gingham, and you might not be able to tell from the photo, but the more solid red is quilter's linen...it has a little visual texture).  I just alternated the two reds.  I thought that was kind of fun for a Peppermint Stick.  I hope you like these, Andrea!  They are on their way to you!

I know everyone else thought these were easy, but I tell you, I unsewed several of the seams.  I had the hardest time with those stupid angles!  LOL.  But that's just me.  Your tutorial was awesome.  Once I got the hang of it, I was okay.

Can't wait to see your finished quilt with these!  How fun!

Thank you, Andrea, for coordinating this bee.  I had so much fun, and I appreciate how gentle everyone was with me on my first bee.  I am sad to see it come to an end.  I look forward to seeing everyone's finished quilts!

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)

Secret Garden Blocks for Stephanie

Here are your secret garden blocks, Stephanie.  I had so much fun choosing different reds.  Glad you said pink too, because that wavy stripe is my favorite!  

I love the secondary circle pattern that shows up!  That four-petal flower shape is one of my favorite designs ever!  

They are winging their way to you now.  Enjoy!!!

Stephanie's Secret Garden

I was excited about making these from the get-go.



But I had more trouble with it than I thought I would.

After the first one, I got better at it, though. And I'm glad I got the chance to try it. I've done regular Cathedral Window blocks, but had never tried them in this fashion.

By the time I'd finished the fourth one, I was doing OK. And then I was done!

I think when these are all put together, it's going to be one gorgeous quilt, and I can't wait to see it!

I finished Mary B's block today. This Bear's Paw block was a lot of fun to make. I have never made one before, but I have always wanted to. Thanks, Mary B., for giving us this one!


I decided to use a solid blue, given that it was a fairly traditional block, and it was all I had that looked good with this background fabric. (Much of what I had was too busy.) But I did like how this navy blue fabric had an interesting texture. I thought that added a little interest for you. I hope you like it, Mary B.!

Hope everyone is enjoying as wonderful weather as we are here in Michigan! It sure has been beautiful!

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)

Blocks for Jackie

I can't believe I already have my blocks for Jackie done and in the mail. I am having such a busy month. I just needed a break and felt like sewing these. Jackie, I took to heart your comment about the "wilder the better." I hope you like them. I didn't have much wild fabric in my stash, so I enjoyed going shopping for you. I really liked adding some of these fabrics into my stash. The only disappointing one in my book is the bottom triangle in the block on the lower left. It was a beautiful Japanese print. But, when I cut it, it just came out as a solid red. Oh well...a place for the eye to rest, right? :-) Hope you like them. They were fun to do. I can't wait to see everyone's all put together. Looking forward to seeing the rest!

Sorry the photo is kind of dark. I am having trouble finding good lighting. I'm rarely home when it is light out, and the sun rarely shines in Michigan in the summer anyway. LOL.

Stephanie (Mama Pea)

Spinning Geese

Hi Mary,
Here is my blog for you! This was fun to work on! I hope you like it and that I did okay. Thanks for the extra fabric. It was just the ticket! I can't wait to see how you finish this one! This will go out in the mail next week.

Stephanie

Working on Mary's Block

Gang,

I have to share with you what happened to me today. I decided to start working on Mary's block. I really enjoy paper piecing. I loved Mary's suggestion (and still do) of making a paper template of the pieces for the block. I decided to do that. I cut up a paper pattern, and I folded the fabric in four layers. I laid out the pieces on the appropriate colors, and I cut them out roughly. I tend to add a generous amount when cutting out shapes for paper piecing, because the funny angles can be deceiving about how much fabric you need. I decided I'd cut them all out and put piece #1 in a sandwich bag along with the pattern piece, #2 in another bag along with the pattern piece, etc. I started putting the pieces in the plastic bags.

That's when I saw piece #9 sitting on the table with no red fabric to go with it.

My first thought (after, "NO!"....) was, "Sh**! I already cut up all the red fabric."

Yep. Had to e-mail Mary and beg her for a little more fabric. (I felt like Oliver Twist...."Please, sir. May I have a little more?") LOL.

All I need is to cut out four of piece #9.

Mary was so gracious and is going to send it to me. How embarrassing.

Gang, I am really not totally inept. Promise!

I did sew one of the blocks, all for piece #9. It went together great. So, the strategy of precutting really worked great for me. Just make sure you get all the pieces laid out before you cut! haha! (And do cut generously, too! I cut at least 1/2" extra on all sides.) Having the pieces in plastic bags is a huge help. I use one out of the first bag, move it to a new pile, come back to the table after sewing, pull one from the second bag, etc. Really smooth.

I haven't used the vellum before for paper piecing. It's sweet. I think that will make tearing the paper off really easy.

Oh, and I asked Mary what the "extend here" part meant on the pattern piece. She said we should let the fabric "run wild" on that edge....that is, don't trim to the 1/4" line. I imagine it's so she can trim them when they are all done so they are the exact same size. Just thought I'd mention it.

Have fun paper piecing!

Stephanie

Snowballs for Helen

I finished my snowballs for Helen last week and dropped them in the mail. But it's been a crazy hectic week, so I haven't had a chance to blog them yet. Helen, I hope you've received these already. They were fun to sew. Hope you like them!

Well, I am now caught up! Yippee! Now, let's hope I can keep it that way, Mary! Thanks for your patience, ladies!

Still having fun with this!
Stephanie

Jessica's Blues and Browns

Hello again, all! I stayed up last night and worked on Jessica's blocks. I got half of the block sewn together before I went to bed. I got up this morning and finished it. I figured since I'm in "sunny" (not so much today--and brrrr, it's cold!) Florida, I would take the photo outside on a bush near our hotel.

This was a fun, quick and easy block to put together. (I just realized the block us upside down in this photo. Sorry!) I hope you like it, Jessica. Like I said, I went shopping for some fun blues yesterday to add into the block. I was SOOOO disappointed that I had to find a quilt shop here in Ft. Myers and had to fabric shop. I surfed on the net to see what was here and found a place called Quilt Lover's Hangout. When I got in there, I realized they were just featured in the most recent issue of Quilt Sampler's Ultimate Shop Hop, where they feature 10 of the best quilting stores in America. For good reason! It's a great shop! I was in a hurry to get back and sew, so I didn't spend too much time looking around. I'm planning to go back, though. :-) I'll do a review of the shop after that.

I also got to christen my new Featherweight on this block. That was really fun. So, this is the first block I've sewn on it. (I'll blog about that on my own blog shortly. I couldn't get the second photo to load properly here, so you'll have to check it out at www.peasinapod.typepad.com if you want to see it. Sorry!)

Anyway, thank you, too, Jessica for your patience, understanding, kindness, graciousness, etc. on my tardiness. You guys are great. I will look for a post office and get this in the mail to you!

Best,
Stephanie

Bringing up the rear...

I finally finished Shelly's block. I want to thank Shelly for being so gracious, kind, patient, and understanding with my tardiness. It really wasn't that this was too difficult. It was just that my life went haywire with all my traveling at work over the past few months. I knew it was coming....it wasn't unexpected. My inability to "handle it" was somewhat unexpected for me. I apologize to everyone for getting so behind....especially to Shelly and Jessica.

I used scraps from the cowboy quilt I made a few years ago. I blogged about it here, if you want to see it. I thought these scraps should belong to Shelly. It just seemed right. :-) I hope you like it, Shelly. I'm sending along some of my little leftover scraps. If you need more, just let me know.

I really think this is a beautiful block, and I cannot wait to see how Shelly puts it together. It's going to be amazing. I loved sewing all the applique parts on by hand, too. I love handwork.

We had a long car ride to Florida for the holidays. I had already had all the leaves sewn on one branch. I did the second branch in the car on the first day of driving. That night in the hotel room, I made the rest of the leaves (I use the starch method...sorry, Shelly, my needle-turn skills really suck). I finished sewing them on during the second day of our trip. It really helped make the car ride pleasurable. So, thanks, Shelly!

Now, I'm on to Jessica's blocks. I am in Florida and forgot to bring some blue scraps with me. So, I had to go shopping today for some fabric for you. Oh, darn! (LOL) Found a GREAT quilt shop here, so thanks for that! I sewed up all the half-square triangles tonight and have two of the four rows put together already. I should have your block done in the next day or two.

Next, I need to find a post office so I can get these blocks off to you gals. More soon!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Stephanie

Oops. I goofed, too. In my zeal to get this done, I did all the same fabric on mine as well. I should have re-read your post and not relied on my memory of what you wanted. I remembered you wanted something that "reads" as solid, so I pulled out this fabric. I also thought the fabric was in keeping with the "traditional" look of the center fabric. I hope that's okay. Now that I look at it, the print on my red is sort of similar to the print on your fabric. I hope it doesn't compete too much. When I look at it at home and from a distance, I think it looks nice.

I'll be happy to remake it more scrappy if you want, however. I really liked making the block, and it went together quickly. I think this is going to make a really great quilt. Did you design the block yourself, Bonnie?

And amazingly (for me) it is exactly 9" square!

Just let me know if you want me to do it again!

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)

Liberated Star for Amanda Jean

Over the weekend I finished my liberated star block for Amanda Jean.

I used some of my scraps of Sugar and Spice fabric that Amanda Herring, The Quilted Fish, had sent me as part of her design team activities. I thought they were just perfect for this project.

I had been so intrigued by these liberated stars when we were at our retreat this summer that when I got home I immediately bought Gwen Marston's book. In that, she showed how sometimes she doesn't make the star points come together at the inner point. So, I tried that on this one. I wasn't sure if Amanda Jean would like that, so I e-mailed her about it. But we both ended up agreeing that when the whole quilt is put together, it will give it that little extra special touch of "wonkiness." So, I'm leaving it like it is. Hope you like it, Amanda Jean.

Like the rest of you, I could find these seriously addicting. I love the feel of them and think it would be really fun to play with different fabric options. I really love the red, white, and turquoise look. Just a great combo! I'm glad I had the right mix of fabrics on hand to add to the center Amanda Jean sent me. That always makes it even more fun.

I'll get it in the mail by the end of the week, Amanda Jean!

I'm having so much fun with this bee. Thank you for inviting me to participate!

Mama Pea (AKA Stephanie in MI)

I finished my block a couple of weeks ago at the Blogger's Retreat I went to, but I've been so busy since I've been back, I haven't even had time to unpack everything! So, last night I unpacked and took photos. Sorry for the wrinkles. I need to get it in the mail now, Tara. This was fun..though I must admit I unpicked more than I usually do with paper piecing. Took me a while to get my head wrapped 'round the funny angles and cutting the fabric big enough to fit! LOL. I can't wait to see how this looks altogether. It's going to be spectacular!

Stephanie (Mama Pea)

Mama Pea Stephanie of Peas in a Pod Blog

Hi Everyone!

I don't know anyone in this group, so please allow me to introduce myself! I'm Stephanie, AKA Mama Pea, of Peas in a Pod blog. I took my first quilting class when I was a junior in high school....that was in 1986! Wow! That's a while ago! I loved piecing the top, but I hated hand quilting...probably because no one really took the time to teach that part well. So, I put it away and didn't come back to sewing and quilting until much later...about 2002. I still love piecing, still don't know how to hand quilt (though it is a goal), and I'm learning to free motion quilt on my home sewing machine. I really hope to buy a long-arm quilting machine some day.

I currently live in Michigan. I have lived there for about 2 years now. Prior to that, I have lived in Idaho, Ohio, Utah, and Washington. I grew up in Iowa. I miss the west and our horses that we sold when we moved back to the midwest. But it is good to be back in the midwest!

I have always wanted to make a two color quilt....especially a red-and-white quilt. I'm thinking of a little, scrappy, Jo Morton quilt for this project, but I've NEVER engaged in a bee before, so that may change. I want to see what everyone else is doing to give me some inspiration.


Maybe something with this book. This photo is from Amazon...if you want to see more about this book, please visit this link!

I got invited to play along with this group through Shelly of Prairie Moon Quilts. We haven't met in real life yet, but we've become pretty good blogging buddies...and we do get to meet at a retreat this summer. I can't wait to meet her. We have so much in common, I know it's going to be a blast!

I hope I did everything on this right. I blog over at Typepad, so I will have a little learning curve on Blogger!

Can't wait to play with all of you!

Mama Pea Stephanie