Villa Rosa Designs

For the month of January, Villa Rosa Designs pattern and fabric company was giving away some of their samples quilts and the daily winner was to donate her prize to charity or someone in need. Most of you will recognize Villa Rosa patterns as the company that gives you complete quilt directions on a post card, their patterns are available in quilt shops, internet, and by mail. Many of their patterns are for small and lap size quilts and great for charity and baby quilts.  Villa Rosa patterns are easy, quick, and use mostly pre-cuts.

I won this little quilt made with Villa Rosa's Gypsy pattern with a collection of farm fabrics.  You can see the pigs, eggs, bacon, and even some milk bottle print in the quilt. Surely a small boy would love this little quilt.  I will be donating it to the Keller Methodist Comfort Coverings, I know they will find that special little boy.

Villa Rosa also sent along ten of their newest patterns as a gift for the winner. Looks like I am going to be busy for a long time.

You can find the Villa Rosa web site here.

Hugs and stitches
Betty Lou

Cozies For My Soup Bowls

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With everyone raving how the Soup Bowl Cozies were the best thing since slice bread, I finially gave in and made a couple.  Using the pattern by Happy Hour Stitches, I made the first one knowing it would not fit my wide rimed Mikasa soup bowls but I wanted to see what this pattern was all about. You can find the pattern here.


As the directions say, I used 100% cotton fabric, 100% cotton batting, and 100% cotton thread, anything with polyester might start a fire in the microwave.  I must say it is cute and would protect your fingers when removing a bowl of hot soup.

For the second one, I cut my square 11" and shortened my side darts it seemed to fit my wide rimmed bowls quite well.

Will I make anymore, I don't think so.  When I asked my sons if they would use them, the answer was  a resounding no, but Jeff added "maybe you should use them for dip."

Hugs and stitches
Betty Lou

Maybe I'll have had a change of mind.  For a simple dinner tonight, I microwaved  a frozen package Asian Noodles and Vegetables, I went to lift it from the microwave------ouch!  Quick to the rescue was my small soup cozy.  Maybe I better make a couple more.

Ready for Take Off #2

I finished quilt top number two in my ongoing sewing marathon of quilts for great grands that hadn't received a quilt from Grandma Lolo.  This was a cute layer cake called Ready for Take Off by Moda, that I found last week at Must Love Fabrics.  I really like this store, visits there are so much fun.

Again, I used Missouri Star Quilts Double Slice Layer Cake pattern, a sure winner when you need a quick finish.  On to number three.

Double Slice Layer Cake
54"x54"

Hugs and stitches
Betty Lou

Mind Your P's and Q's

 For quite a while I have talked about making quilts for the five great-grands that hadn't yet received their Grandma Lolo quilt.  Trying to decide what to do for them has been challenging and I have changed my mind several times.  Finally I decided to do all five with the same quilt pattern, Double Slice Layer Cake, it is a larger quilt and since one great-grand is three now, the patterns that I had planned are just too small.

This first one was put together with a layer cake I bought several years ago called Mind Your P's and Q's by Moda, I think it will work well for the youngest great-gramd, Peyton, five months.  Of course it is just a flimsy now but I would like to get all five tops finished before I send them to the quilter.  Hope that is not wishful thinking on my part.

On to the next one and if you need a quick quilt, this one goes together in a snap.

Double Slice Layer Cake by Missouri Star Quilts
Approx 54" x 54"

Hugs and stitches

Time For a Field Trip

Yesterday I went with four of my besties on a quilting field trip to explore three quilt shops, a yarn shop, and sprinkled with a few antiques along the way.  With Cynthia as our trusty driver we headed north to a new quilt shop, Box Car Quilts in Crossroads, Texas.  What a surprise, with owner, Laura,

there to greet us we walked in.  Laura is one of the rare people that has the "eye" for not only fabric and quilts, but antiques and innovative decorating.  Her store is open, fresh, and very inviting, filled with so many finished quilts and projects sprinkled with antiques.  Her knowledge of quilts, quilting, and antiques is a wonderful blend.  When you first walk in the store a display of shiny Featherweights catches your eye immediately.  Most of my friends are Featherweight enthusiast and had to contain ourselves to not taking another "Black Beauty" home.  After we all found our goodies we headed to shop number two.

On to Whitesboro, Texas and Kaleidoscope Quits a shop that we have visited before on our field trips and always worth the stop.  As a group of quilt enthusiasts we always separate, each looking for our own treasures.  With so many new grandchildren and great grandchildren born this year or soon to arrive, several of us were interested in baby quilts.  I had recently discovered the Double Slice Layer  Cake quilt and was looking for layer cakes. I need/want to make five new quilts for my recent great grandsons.  No boy appropriate layer cakes here but I did find a kit that would make a nice baby/child's  quilt.

We made a quick trip next door into the yarn shop and found a few more treasures.  New socks, crochet hook and cute little Dick and Jane bag for my crocheting supplies.  It was time for a rest break and lunch, so off to the nearest coffee shop.

The next stop was Lewisville, Texas and Quilt Country.  Another new to me quilt shop with a tremendous array of fabrics and excellent customer service.  I have noticed that in each of the shops we visited, they are all selling more and more precuts. I have always love precuts,  mostly fat quarters and charm squares and now I'm venturing into layer cakes.   Quilt Country didn't disappoint and they use a lot of Villa Rosa Design patterns with kits in all sizes.  Here I found a great layer cake to make the Double Slice Layer quilt and also purchased another child's Villa Rosa pattern amd fabric kit.

Time to head home and as I reviewed my purchases and with a layer cake in my stash at home I think I have enough fabric for five new boy quilts.

Time to get to the sewing machine.

Hugs and stitches
Betty Lou

Playing With My Fabric

It's been busy around her the past two days, cutting fabric, making baby quilt kits, and sewing a quilt top.  Yesterday morning I got out a bunch of old stash that could be used for baby quilts.  When I say old, I mean old, most of this fabric I brought with me from N. California eleven years ago and it had already aged significantly when it came to Texas. My plan was to cut baby quilt kits, well that was the plan but then I found a baby quilt top that was about half completed so I fired up the Bernina and got it sewn together.  I need to make six little quilts for great-grands, this little quilt will be four tops completed, two more and I'll send them to the quilter for a quick finish.

It's a fun little quilt made with one charm pack, I used American Jane, Hop, Skip, and Jump and some Bella Ivory to complete.  It goes together quickly with only one charm pack and a solid.  A sweet quilt and you can find the free pattern here.

Today it was back to my original plan and I put six quilt kits together.  I love having a small project ready to sew or to take to quilt bee when we have a sew day.  Best of all, some of the old stash will be put to good use. Hooray!

Hugs and stitches
Betty Lou

More Villa Rosa

As I have stated before, I love Villa Rosa Designs patterns and recently began following their weekly blog. Every week in their Friday newsletter they offer a kit using one of their patterns, last week I took the plung into modern fabrics and ordered their weekly special.  The Brides Dream quilt pattern with ten fat sixth along with binding fabric.

The fabrics came quickly and I am anxious to get started, this is a small child's quilt and can be used as a Project Linus project or I may just keep it in my bedroom for color and enjoy being modern.

I must say, being such a traditionalist, that I probably would never have picked these fabrics, let alone have the confidence to put the grouping together of Boho Fusion fabrics.  Aren't they pretty?

Wish me luck that I can jump out of my comfort zone and go modern.

Enjoy all the pieces of you life

BettyLou

I'm Smitten With Villa Rosa

I bought my first Villa Rosa pattern, Ice Tea, about three years ago, even purchased the same fat quarters that were used in the cover photo.  It was finished quickly and has had a place in my living room ever since.  I love that quilt.  But it wasn't until last week that I realized I hadn't used the Ice Tea pattern but made the quilt using Wicked Easy.  Why, I don't know why-----I'm a quilter, no explanation needed, must have been a creative decision made at the time.

                                           

Then along the way I picked up three more Villa Rosa patterns and last week signed up for their weekly newsletter.  Each Friday they offer a new kit for one of their patterns.  Of course, I had to order the kit and then yesterday ordered seven more of their patterns. I'm smitten with their designs.

If you haven't seen or used these cleaver quilt patterns they are postcard size patterns using precuts with added yardage in simple modern designs and easy, easy directions.  The cards are priced at $2.00 each, what a bargain, when did you ever buy a pattern for $2.00?

Now I'm anxiously waiting for my kit to arrive so the sewing can begins.  You can find all their patterns Here.

Hugs and stitches