Christmas Projects, Cows, Mark and something to laugh about! Plus winners from comment on Monday!

I am embellishing my Christmas tree quilt that I will be teaching this year. Here is part of it and it is going to be fabulous (in my opinion.)

If you are interested in taking this class, please look at my schedule on Marylouweidman.com

and sign up. You will love the patterns and the ideas and all of the embellishing I have added since this was taken. I am sewing on many great buttons, small yoyo's and maybe even some small item like keys and do dads I have collected over the years for Christmas. THIS is what is fun!

Below, I haven't forgotten the toys that go under the tree...I am now embroidering things I love about Christmas and names that mean something to me...wouldn't you like to do a Christmas story quilt? I will be showing this with patterns available in Tahoe, West Virginia and Asilomar...check out the schedule. I am also booking for 2015 and 2016.

Do you remember getting your first Piggy Bank? I do. My brother got a Cape Canaveral set when we were both little...I think what that would be worth now! I have some busted garland on there because that seems to happen every once in awhile too. Do you remember getting your first Piggy Bank? I do.

SO, imagine a Christmas tree with these things on it. I also did some pieced ornaments for a pieced Christmas tree and hope to share those too.- there are TONS of ideas and so much creativity here and if you feel like you need help with creativity this class is for you!

Spealing of story quilts I found this in my files and I cannot remember who did this but do you remember Flash Gordon??? I sure do! Great idea for taking our television sets when we were little, and turning them into reality in our minds! THIS is what creativity and invention are all about! Let me help you create! It is so much fun!

This quilt is by Pam Dransfeldt who took my COW class in Orange California area....she did a story about a purple cow and Christmas...it is wonderful and look at the quilting below!

This photo that my cousin found somewhere looks like me when I spent the night at Ina Mitchell's house and she told me to bring my doll and we could make doll clothes. Ina has passed away but the kindness and patience she taught me will forever last in my heart.

Here is a COW quilt done and called "Contented Cow" by Debbie Brosseti. It has fun buttons and check out that hat! Great fun. I love each and every cow.

I am putting this on here because this is so true! Everyone has a bad day or even week and just something that someone says can make you feel so much better. Be a light in the world even if you are not happy and say something positive and nice. I hear a Bible verse today and I liked it...it was something like "I slipped and your love picked me up Lord." I know how that is and hey, don't we all want picking up sometimes?

I do not know whose quilt this is though I have had this photo for a LONG time. I love anything that is folksy and old and this fit the bills....with all of the chevron fabric out now, think how you could do this with a little piecing...I would love to do Adam and Eve again...I did that a long time ago and it is time to do it again.
I am working on an angel book-just the beginning and it will be an update of my old one with all new photos and ideas. If you would be interested in doing an angel challenge like we have our cows, please send me your email and when I have the rules ready I will contact you.
   

I had to load this photo on because I know it would please my husband. He is with his brother now in Palm Springs and he hopes to try and golf again. I Just talked to him and he got to Play part of 9 holes and then he just ran out of energy. But the sun is out and he is with his brother and my adorable sister in law who has Parkinson's disease and she golfed and ran out of gas too so she is happy. I told him God is teaching his brother patience. Haha.

I am so happy he can be there in the sun and with people he loves.

I am home, cleaning, sorting, thinking and sewing and plan to sew even more with my neighbor Connie. I am also out of ink with my pen but I am working on my drawing book and hope to have it done soon!

Thanks for you girls who have been patient!

Have a wonderful week! AND count your many blessings/

This Van Gogh cow was made by a girl from Iowa, I LOVE it!

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Thought I would add this for comic relief...everyone loves to have something to laugh about and this made me laugh

Mark's Quilt starts to take shape and isn't the RED in the border great?

Here is Mark's Car quilt today...Connie came over and helped me to put the red around the cars. My sewing machine tension was giving me fits so she got alot done before I switched to another machine. IS there anything as bad a tension when you want to sew???
So the quilt will now get black (on the right) in between each block and then a simple border to make it longer for his legs. :0)
He was weepy when I showed this to him and he said, "this is going to be a beautiful quilt....and it is.
Thank you to those of you who sent blocks. Aren't they fun???
Hopefully we will have this done by the weekend and I can have it quilted and he can use it. Fun.
Thank you for commenting.
I think the red around each block is quite wonderful! And happy and he needs happy right now.
NOTE- some of you asked about how they did some of the corvette's. One person painted it, one person did all thread stitching , one person paper pieced it, several people appliqued by hand and the rest appliqued by machine. It is a quilt of many approaches and it means so much to Mark and Me too. Friends that are quilters truley show compassion in a wonderful way.
Thank you! I think the red looks so cool around each block.

Mark's Car Quilt on the Way to being Finished....Lovely and wonderful for your thought and care!

We are so excited....Connie came over today and we planned on what fabric to use to frame in many of the darling car blocks that friends made for Mark when he found out he had brain cancer. Rhere is enough now to make a nice quilt for him to keep warm...he is ALWAYS cold with all of the chemo he is taking....you cannot believe how many pills! 

This is a light in the dark times behind us...NICE quilters, offered to make blocks and here they are! He still gets post cards from some of you and he LOVES reading them and showing them to the Grandkids.

     Connie and I are going to frame in some of the car blocks in red and then the sashing will be in the black and then we will do a colorful border. It will be a lovely, warm quilt for this winter for him to keep warm and feel loved.

Thank you so much for those of you who made these blocks and sent cards and post cards....yesterday in church the pastor talked about compassion and how it isn't something you read about but something you put into action. I immediately thought of quilters and what they have done for us. I am thankful for each of you and the compassion and love you have sent to us, THANK YOU>

stay tuned for this to be put together and then quilted!

SECRET- I am choosing FIVE people who comment here for a prize I will mail you! Tell your friends....you must be on my follower list

Joila! Story Quilts with Easy Piecing are Fun to Develop in Mary Lou's Longer Classes and Retreats

I loaded this photo on my blog because it is so happy. Look at the colors and the whimsy and the story is by Janice Schindler and it is of her sweet friend Ann who lives in Copenhaugen. She ansers the phone "Hej Hej". And they meet each year for either Houston Market or a Workshop together.

Last year they came and took my workshop at Asilomar and this is Janice's story quilt. It is fabulous.

Ann's quilt is fun because it is clearly European in style and is of her cat and tea pots and favorite things.

It is also bright and wonderful. I wish I had a photo of it for you...I am sorry, I do not.

The back of Janice's quilt was such a HUGE compliment for me and I blushed when I saw it. I think that maybe Janice  is a Kindred Spirit...she is filled with ideas and energy and runs marathons and makes all kinds of gourmet foods to sell to make money for her hobbies. She makes the most incredible pimento cheese...before I had hers, I did not think I liked the stuff. After I had hers, I am hooked!

Above is Janice selling her cheeses, spreads, sandwich fillings, desserts and other great food. I admire her upbeat and happy spirit and the kindness she shows to everyone who she sees. She is a glass full person. Nice to be around people who are like that.

So I have pulled out my angel quilt and am embellishing it. I will be showing some of the fun things as I work on it. This is a great project to work on now and it looks fab to hang anytime of the year. Angels make our lives better and this is a fun quilt that you can personalize and make YOURS by adding some embroidery and words. It is like a story quilt....and easier because the pieces are large enough and the directions show you what goes where in what order. You can order it at Marylouweidman.com

Carol from Panama did this one. I love the colors she chose...they are happy. You can order this pattern at Marylouweidman.com

ABOVE-  Mel who is the co-author of my last book did this wonderful coat and hat you see. What you don't see is that she did two coats and two hats alike for my two Granddaughter's who love their American Girl Dolls. 

Mel is an excellent seamstress with a background in fashion and she has so much patience. She made the girls many darling outfits last year and since it is so cold she thought the dolls needed a coat to be warm. 

I am so impressed and grateful for this. My Grandkids think she is fabulous and my husband and kids do too. She is a thoughtful and talented friend!

Hey! I knew I had photos of Ann's quilt. Ann is the girl from Copenhaugen that is friends with Janice above. Can you see how good they are at using pure color, fun and whimsy? Their palette is amazing and when you have time at Asilomar (five days, you can get something wonderful done. This is also why I LOVE Cedar Creek in West Virginia (in Aprilg this year) and of coarse my own retreat in Spokane Valley's Millwood (a little suburb of Spokane Valley. Cute little town.

Normally we build our borders first but An n had some ideas for easy piecing she wanted to get down first and aren't her border blocks great with the other colors in the quilt?

As you can see by the photo on the bottom, she really mixed and matched her border blocks...I teach many styles and I think she wanted samples for when she got going again on this. It is really going to be fun and I hope she puts a few words from her language here. Words are powerful!

This says it all doesn't it? It is so COLD here! I am a wimp I guess. I am praying that Mark and I might be able to go to Phoenix in Feb. to stay with friends for four days and then come home. I think it would make him really happy and this is what we need. He has his next MRI in March and so I think Feb. would be a good time for us to visit friends and stay with them.

This says it all.....

Isn't this the funniest?

Ellen Takes Mary Lou's Wool Fish Class and LOOK what she invented for a GREAT wallhanging!

I have been teaching workshops with wool about 15 years. One of my most popular is a large fish with buttons and things for embellishments...the fish always has lots of COLOR, beads and buttons and is alot of fun to make to to show off!

Today I received this NICE letter from Ellen who took my class in Iowa. Since I rarely teach in Wisconsin this was great for me because the Wisconsin girls are fun and love wool with color like me! Ellen I LOVE your designs and that you went ahead and did a super snail and darling crab too. This is what I love about meeting quilters...they take what you start and invent, create and design their own things once they know how and get the spirit of the whimsy and fun! Perhaps you should take one of these classes.

Here is Ellen's lovely letter and darling blocks!

I had so much fun participating in your Fantasy Fish class at the American Quilt Show in Des Moines this year, that I not only finished the project, "Florrie", but designed and completed her friends, "Sallie Snail" and "Carrie Crab".  Have attached pictures.  Thank you for "hooking" me on this new-to-me technique!

Ellen Nelson

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Even her snail and crab have cute smiles....LOVE the color and the fun and the round Embellishments on the snail are so cool too! 

Aren't these colors pretty? Bet they look even more wonderful in person! Ellen it was so nice being with you. You pitched in right away and that class had fun people in it! Hope to see you again!

Story Quilts and Things that Make us ALL HAPPY...Come and Join Us to Make Your Story Quilt This YEAR

Below is a Post card designed by my friend Bonnie. I am hoping to get this copied off to advertise for story quilts I teach to guilds and shops. There is so much to show and teach and just having an excitement for creativity and invention and fun helps quilters do something they never knew they could. It is contagious! Come and join us!

This isn't a very clear photos but Mary Lou did this darling story quilt in West Virginia at my workshop at Cedar creek. We have made many good friends there who come yearly. So many GOOD things ad Good friends have been made there....

My dear friend Mary did this darling story quilt about her coffee cakes (hundreds of them) that she and her Mom and the rest of the family make. It is so much fun because she has all of the details for this lovely (yearly) memory

Another darling pieced cat- done in my workshop on Madeline Island

I printed this before but it makes me laugh everytime I see it.

Below, Charlotte made some faces using the Out of the Box with Easy Blocks book- this was auctioned off. Think of your family and friends and who you could make using this book. FUN! Charlotte is a Webb Sister who is the other half of the Bunny Sisters.

Below is a quilt my friend Susan did for her Granddaughter Lane...she made it into a Duvet....awesome

Pat M. sat in on my story quilt workshop at John C. Campbell Folk school and this is the story quilt she did for her Grandson. Pretty wonderful right? Loved the colors and the fun! I am teaching there in May of this year. Come and join the fun!

This is a fun part of one of my story quilts-my daughter walkiing her dog

Below is the Quilter's Retirement Home. Girls can enjoy piecing, appliquing, having Grand Children visit, a HUGE shared stash and a full time cook and baker in the doorway who does not like to quilt. Hooray!

Below is three of MY cows from my pattern in the Out of the Box with Easy Blocks book (Martingale- it is available at Marylouweidman.com  i love THESE FUN COWS!

Below is a quilt by Laura who is a Webb sister...they have done as many story quilts as I have and have long been students of mine...they use fusing and do a wonderful and happy job! Charlotte is the other half of the Webb sisters.

This is a border that is in the works with a Halloween story in it on a purple background...when I was little Halloween as a real event! I think it was my favorite holiday

Below is Frida Kahlo in my Southwest quilt...note the blouse...it is filled with crystals and just radiates light and color...very fun.

The quilt below is pieced and is going to be a large story quilt about John C.Campbell Folk school which I love! Color and story all in one!

. Isn't it wonderful?  This is the result of a workshop with me. Four friends who spent a vacation together...OH, I am pretty sure this is from my sweet friend Lynn who has passed away. She lived in Arlington TX and was a sweet friend to many of us. This nice quilt lives on as a memory her daughter can keep or a friend. Are you leaving a legacy of quilts from your life? You should be. You life lives in in quilting.

Angel Block of the Month available at Marylouweidman.com (below) here is the perfect chance to applique large and easy pieces that make a fabulous quilt and then you can practice your embellishing with beads, buttons, old jewelry from family (or findings), pins, doll parts or what have you....this quilt is wonderful when completed and it is easy applique.