Meet My Owlivia

Good Evening.  I would like for you to meet my new friend, Owlivia Cool Chick.  She was "hatched" tonight at my guild's workshop.  I really had a great time designing her from all scraps!! Yeah!

She has many sisters that also "hatched" tonight.   For the pattern, here's the link:  http:///www.modabakeshop.com and type in Owlivia in the search.  Sandy Gervais is the designer.  Hope you are inspired to make your own Owlivia.  She's guaranteed to make you SMILE!

Beach Retreat

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Panama City Beach for a quilting retreat with my quilt guild.

This is the beach house that we stay in.  We bring food, snacks, goodies, projects and machines, jammies and a toothbrush and sew, sew, sew with the occasional break to look at every quilt magazine imaginable or make a run to "Quilting By The Bay" quilt shop, JoAnn's, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby.

Took a break to watch the sunset.

Now to share a few projects I worked on and/or completed:

A bag from Moda Bake Shop - Mill House Inn Tote.  A friend of mine made one with me of the same fabric.

A dish towel using some orange chenile trim from "Fabric Cafe".

A minkie taggy blanket for a baby gift.

I was able to stitch my vines down on my Lizzie B Creative quilt.  I still need to stitch down my flowers, add and stitch the leaves and add the border, but it's coming along.

These are my blocks from the Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery Block of the Month.  I made the tree  block down at the beach.  My October block was waiting for me when I got home.  These fabrics are Kate Spain's Twelve Days of Christmas.

I found these fabrics at Quilting By the Bay with the exception of the three pieces on the bottom.  One of my friends made a Crazy Eights quilt from Bits 'n Pieces and it was so cute.  That's what I plan to do with these fabrics.

I worked on two other projects:  Gone Fishin' quilt that I completed and have taken to the quilter and I cut out a Christmas surprise for one of my daughters.

It was a very fun trip and much needed.
Buzz for now,
Merritt

Last of the Barns...

These are the last photos of the barns as promised.  If anyone has pictures to share of barns with quilt blocks in their area, I would love to see them.

I'm sorry the last photo is sideways.  It is right side up in my pictures, however, it up loads differently.  It's one of my favorites, too. 

I'll close with a quilting project I finished earlier this year for a Relay for Life fundraiser.  It was a fun, easy project that I enjoyed making.  It was a great project for practicing my free motion quilting.

Take care,

Buzz for now,

Merritt

A Few More Barns

Wanted to share a few more barns with you since I've gotten such a good response.  Hope you enjoy!

Here are a few more Abbey Bags, too.

Have a good evening,

Buzz for now,

Merritt

More Beautiful Barns

A few Sundays back while visiting my parents, my mother suggested we take a Sunday afternoon drive down Nicholasville Road toward Lancaster, Ky, just south of Lexington.  Our mission - to find barns with quilt blocks painted on the side.  My oldest daughter, Jessica, joined us.  We found 12 that afternoon!  It was so much fun; a memory with my mother and daughter I'll always cherish.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.  (Don't mind the dates on the first two pictures.)

Here are some Abbey Bags that I made earlier this year.  I've made 15 so far, all gifts save one for me.  They are so much fun to make!  Thanks Abbey Lane Patterns for such a cute project.

Bye for now,

Merritt

New Beginnings

New beginnings!  Don't you just love new beginnings?  Everything feels fresh and new.  My children have just started a new school year this week, with new clothes, new school supplies and renewed excitement about a new school year.  So......... although the plans for my blog have been in the works for months, I'm excited about beginning something new.

Welcome to a place of encouragement and sharing.  My focus will "bee" quilting with a touch of other loves:  faith, family, and food.  (Can you tell I'm from the South?  SMILE!)  Hope you'll stop by often.

Buzz for now,
Merritt

P.S.  Enjoy the picture.

A beautiful barn in Hartford, Kentucky with a quilt block.

More Kentucky barns with quilt blocks to come.