!!!!Christmas in July - AGAIN, Please!!!! AND A GIVE-AWAY

Patriotic Sunbonnet Sue has Arrived.....along with Christmas Sue.....

Joan, over at Moose-Stash Quilting has done it again....and again (see below). It truly is Christmas in July around here because our July and Christmas banner samples arrived just this past week Here's Sue with her patriotic banner, all decked out in red, white and blue.

I AM late with these, I admit it. But do you understand the CREATIVE PROCESS? Artists are famous for statements about the creative process, i.e., it can't be forced; it only happens late at night; it can't be interrupted; it can't be....this and that. Really great artists, however, MUST be disciplined. Yes, yes, all that is true. Truth to tell, though, I just DIDN'T FEEL LIKE finishing the July pattern until the end of June, see?

And, now, it's finished and available on our Etsy page as a physical pattern or a PDF Download.

My partner, Erin, and I design and write the patterns for Prairie Cottage Corner. We've been doing this since 2003. When the pattern is ready, we send it to one of our pattern testers, along with fabric, etc., and they make a sample of it, suggesting corrections and changes along the way.

Joan does our samples for us in ALL machine applique'. (Our instructions, in our patterns, include fusible web applique', hand stitched. If you want to do machine applique', use the instructions that come with your machine. I suggest using the button hole stitch, about 1/8" to 1/4" wide for the edges of the fusible. You could also make any of our applique' patterns using Needle Turn and Freezer Paper techniques.)

Here's the pattern cover for July's patriotic Sue.

When finished, the first sample belongs to the pattern tester, but we take it back for a while to photograph it and show it, where possible, in the first year after it's done. After that, the pattern testers get the samples to keep. That's how it works with pattern testers. If you would like to try pattern testing, please write to me, Kathie, direct: prairiestitcher at centurytel dot net and ask about it.

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And here's the sample for our December Christmas Sue, below.

Stars abound!

The block is easy (as are ALL of our blocks in these banner patterns)....Guaranteed no "Y" seams!

Here's the pattern cover.....

....and our Christmas Eve Pooch!

You can add lace and eyelet to our Sue's dresses easy as pie....

TO ENTER THE GIVE-AWAY TO   WIN THE PATTERN OF YOUR CHOICE    FROM PRAIRIE COTTAGE CORNER:

Just write a comment before Wednesday, July 30th 2014, at 5 PM PDT, answering this question: 

What's your favorite summer fun?

Thanks for stopping by. See you again, soon, I hope.

New Pattern - Winter Sports Wall Hanging

 Take advantage of all the Christmas In July fabrics now and make this cute little wall hanging.

It's simple, easy and quick with instructions for fusible web applique.

And an easy, old, snowball block. What could be more simple? 

Sue and her puppy out for a skate.

Easy shapes and pieces. Sounds great, doesn't it, when the temperature is reading 90 degrees in the shade!

"Stay cool", says Sue.

You can buy this pattern as a pdf download or a physical pattern on my Etsy site.

And, when you have a moment, go on over and tell Joan, at Moose Stash Quilting, she did a great job for us on our first sample of this pattern! We love you, Joan. You're the best! Thank you.

New Quilt Patterns for Christmas and Winter

"Dashing" is one of our newest quilt wall hanging patterns for winter and Christmas. It's fun to decorate these little projects. With this one, I found some lovely brass bells for the harness of the horse. They really jingle.

These models were machine quilted by Lise Ott at Experience Quilts! quilt shop in Odessa, WA.

This is a pattern for the less-experienced quilter wanting to learn applique' techniques and a little piecing. The directions in all these new patterns are complete for one wanting to learn. These are good patterns for classes in quilting. The projects are small, usually under a yard in dimension, and the shapes are quite simple. The patterns even include the embroidery stitches needed to do the embellishments.

These patterns include instructions for fusible web applique' and freezer paper applique'.

The corner of the blanket is blowing out behind as the pony trots swiftly on, weighted with a little bead and some stem stitching. Below, is the center block for "Midnight Feast", a small wall hanging done in violet batiks, for the most part.

Winter is a hard time for some of our little forest friends. On this frigid night, some bunnies receive a present from Mr. Snowman! He's all decked out for the season.

Here's some of the detail work, below, and a complete picture of the center block with borders and snowballs (above).

We used some sequin-like leaves for Mr. Snowman's decorations.

"Twas the Night" is the name of our third winter decorative quilt. The pattern includes the words to Clement Moore's poem as well as a recipe for old-fashioned Sugar Plums (seen dancing over the child's head).

Mom reads to her daughter, warm and cozy.

Here's the whole piece. The blocks for these quilts are simple and the patterns include all the directions needed to assemble them. We hope you enjoyed this preview. You can purchase these 

patterns at Pattern Peddlers. The model for "Dashing" will be at the Fall Market.

How to Stay Warm in Winter

It's been 24 degrees F. here forever, it seems.  And foggy!  What better way to endure winter, than stretched out with Louis L'Amour and two kitties?  About New Years Day, my DH was glad to have the company with the weather so cold.  And, of course, Bodecia and Norman were glad to help, even though it was such a sacrifice!

 Bodecia's not aware, yet, that she's the subject of an upcoming blog post.  Norman, however, is ready and waiting for top billing. " See my claws?  If not for furniture, then what?"  Notice all our furniture has coverings.

Finally, Bodecia is vaguely aware of the hovering "flashy-washy thing".  "Oh no!  Spots before my eyes!"

They're both exhausted from having had a night of uproarious fun, taking ornaments off the tree and batting them across the floor.  After so many years, you'd think they'd be bored with that.  I know WE ARE!  Well, so it's time to hibernate, definitely.  Stay comfy, all.  By the way, that's my almost-first-early-quilt providing the hugs.....a kitty fabric Turning Twenty.  The backing was a Laurel Burch kitty fabric that is so dreamy.  I still have a few little shreds of it left.

Aren't her designs wonderful?  I couldn't find a swatch of the exact one but love this one.  Thank you so much, Laurel Burch for all the lovely images and the rich colors.  Our world is better for all of that.

Coming up, I promise......Applique' Made Easy!