Liebster Award

It has been a wonderful week for blog hops and making new friends and finding new blogs to read.   One new friend surprised me very much by nominating my blog for the  Liebster Award.

Thank you!

to

Derrith at Tied Up In Ribbon

I am honored that this lovely lady has enjoyed my blog

enough to pass this award along to me. 

In order to accept this award we are asked to do these things ...

1. You must tell 11 things about yourself
2. Answer the questions your nominator gives you,
3. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate
4. Choose new blogs with less than 200 followers and link them to your post and
5. Please leave a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster Award blog so I can learn about you

Here are the questions that I was asked ...

1. What were your aspirations when you were a child? ... To make the world a better place.
2. What is your favorite romantic movie? ... The Sound of Music
3. What is your dream vacation destination? ... Alaska
4. Do you have a favorite book(s)? ... many ... too many to pick one or to list ... I have always loved to read
5. What is your favorite family tradition? ... On Christmas Morning, we take turns receiving and opening our gifts ... one person at a time ... so each gifter gets to enjoy seeing their gifts being opened  and opening their own gifts on their turn.  If it is a clothing item, the recipient trys it on.    If it is a food item, it may be tasted and shared.  When the children were young, if it was a toy they would open and play with it before going on to another gift.  (This way, they were sometimes still opening gifts at night or even the next day.) Over the years, we have found lots of creative ways to change the order in which we take turns.  My daughter who is the youngest, likes to take charge of the exchange order these days,
6. How long have you been blogging? ... Since one rainy day in October in 2009 ... http://scrapatches.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-hear-drizzle-of-rain.html 
7. What do you most enjoy shopping for?  ... gifts for others
8. What pets do you have? We have two cats. We have always had a kitty or two or three to love.
9. What one thing would you most like to do to change the world? ... Make it quilty.  Snuggle everyone under homemade quilts.  Surely, it would be a more peaceful, loving, happy world.
10. What do you collect? ... fabric
11. Do you prefer being indoors or outdoors? ... I have always enjoyed the outdoors, but as I grow older, I am enjoying more being on the inside looking out.

Here are the questions that I have decided to ask of my nominees ...

11 things I would like to know about you ...

1.  What is your favorite color?
2.  Would you rather walk on a  warm sandy beach or hike on a high rocky mountain?
3.  What is your favorite season or time of the year?
4.  What have you taught others that you are most proud of?
5.  Do you play or have you played a musical instrument?
6.  What was your favorite subject in school?
7.  Do you still keep any of the books you read as a child?
8.  What is your favorite tradition?
9.   Why do you blog?
10.  Is there anything you would change in your life if you could repeat the past? You do not have to say what it is, just yes or no.
11.  Do you feel you have made the world a better place?

Here are the 11 lovely bloggers that I would like to nominate.

I enjoy reading these blogs and hop you will, too ...

Snuggle Up With a Dish from Karma

Gypsy Dreamer Quilts

Tiffaney is Sew Busy

Amity Quilter

KaHolly

Diane's Quilting

Always Sew Love

 

Hello Quilty Lady

 

Sarah Did It

 

The German Mom

Delia Moran

Carry On ...

 



Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I am linking up with A Rural Journal

and Two Bears Farm 

for their

 1st Annual

Valentine's Day Boost My Blog Party!

Welcome to my Scrapatch!

For you for Valentine's Day, I am sharing my

Heart Mug Rug Tutorial

This is a scrappy 16 patch block.  My squares are 2.5"

Layout the squares.

Chain piece into pairs.

Cut into pairs.

 

Chain piece together pairs into 4 strips.

Do Not Cut the thread that holds the chain together!

This will keep your strips aligned. :)

Fold one strip over the next and sew.

Fold seams up and down and nest as you sew.

Back of 16 patch with seams folded and sewn in opposite directions.

front of 16 patch block

use freezer paper to make your shape and quilting template

fold and cut and heart shape

Sandwich your pressed block

with batting and a backing square

and press the freezer paper heart template

with the plastic coated side DOWN onto the top of your block. 

stitch around freezer shape with your walking foot

cut heart shape just outside your stitching line

 ready to quilt

I quilted smaller hearts  within this shape by cutting down my freezer paper template
to smaller hearts for each round.

 Cut the same freezer paper template smaller.

stitch around each smaller heart shape

have your kitty quilty inspector checking your work as you go.

I made five mugs rugs reusing the freezer paper templates

and they can be saved and used again for another project.

cut 1.5 inch strip of binding fabric. 

I did not cut on the bias and it eased around the curves nicely

start at the bottom point leaving a tail over the edge of about an inch on one side and machine stitch slowly 

around the curves holding the fabric loosely to the edge ... no need to pin

when you get to the top point,

stop and back stitch

make a fold and tuck toward stitched side

press needle down on other side of the fold aligning carefully

I like to put in one pin at the point to mark where where the needle should be inserted and remove the pin to press needle down

resume sewing the binding to the other half of the heart easing as you go around the curve. At the bottom lift the end up, fold the starting strip down and set the end over this point and stitch over it to close the seam

 double fold to cover raw edges and pin

also use one pin to hold the top fold over onto the backing

start stitching at the bottom point

stitch around the curve turning under the raw edge as you go

You could do this with you machine. 

I like to hand sew the binding to the back

 remove pin and stitch the top and continue on around the other side

My Heart Mugs Rugs!

I have really enjoyed making these mug rugs as gifts for my friends.

One of these may be a Gift For You!

as my

Valentine's Day Boost Your Blog

Giveaway

For the chance to win one of my Pink & Green Heart Mug Rugs, please leave me one lovely comment to make my day happy. 

You do not need to be a follower to win. 

I will send my mug rug anywhere in the world.

Please be sure that I have a way to contact you by email to tell you that you have won and to get your mailing address.

For a second chance to win, be a follower and leave a second comment telling me you are.

This Giveaway will close at Midnight EST on Sunday, February 17th.

I will pick a winner using a random number generator and will announce

the winner on Monday, February 18th.

Good luck!

Thanks to Lisa and Nancy for hosting this Blog Party!

Thank you for visiting me in the Scrapatch!

 (hint ... if you read down the next post, you will find the prototype of these mug rugs in another giveaway ;)

Have a Happy Heart Day!

<3<3<3

Hugs and Kisses!

Hugs and Kisses Baby Quilt

 

When the

was announced,

I knew just what pattern I wanted to make!

Katniss helped me find the fabric

 

This is a "tried and true" free pattern that

I found several years ago on the internet. 

It is from QuiltPox. Click here for this Free Pattern. 

 

I started with these fabrics.

I pulled the pink and greens and I am saving the red/brown/pink white for another "someday" project.

Cutting Complete

NOTE:  If you are making this whole quilt pattern, there  is an error on the QuiltPox site in the cutting chart.  You will need to cut DOUBLE the amount of background strips as listed in the instructions in order to get enough fabric to cut the pieces needed. The number of squares and rectangles IS CORRECT as stated. I have emailed the administrator of this site but received no reply.  The site no longer appears to be active at this time.  The free patterns are a great legacy for online quilters.

 

On to the sewing ...

chain piece

nest seams

have quilty kitty inspect

 

pin and remove

 

]

or no pins

 

I very often do not pin these easy to match seams, just nest them carefully and align them by touch as they go under the presser foot.  My eyesight is not good so I do a lot by of things by touch and feel.

 

Press all one way

 

Note:  When piecing the blocks together, turn the x's one way and the o's the other so that the pressed seams will be in opposite directions for easy nesting of the seams.

 

Xs and Os

layout

top complete

 

a pieced back

For the backing, I needed to come up with a piecing plan as I am only using fabrics from my stash and I did not find enough anything I liked to use as a whole back.  I like pieced backs anyway sometimes.  So I used a pink calico and the rest of a white tone on tone to make a "double zipper" back and included one of the ...

 Scrappy Pink Heart Blocks that I made for the RSC2013.

 

On to the quilting! ...

 

I did straight line echo quilting to make the Xs and Os stand out

The quilting took me about a week with many breaks to rest my hands and back.  Photos and story of my quilting journey.

quilting complete!

quilting closeup

hand sewing the binding to the back 

Quilt Complete!

 

Backing

Quilty Kitty Approved

Katniss and I are very pleased with this quilt.
 



Over the years, I have made block for this quilt pattern in a variety of baby fabrics and colors with the Quilt & Needle Quilty Aunties to welcome many babies into this world.  One of my most popular posts is this one, More Blooms and Baby Quilts, where I have a picture of one of these scrappy group quilts which I quilted and bound ...

 

Scrappy Hugs and Kisses Quilty Auntie Baby Quilt

 

This is my favorite baby quilt pattern and I hope you will enjoy it, too.

 

Once I started making hearts, I could not stop and I have also made couple of smaller projects ...

 Hugs & Kisses  Mini Quilt

 close up

... made with one extra  block.  When I home quilt a quilt on my regular sewing machine, I like to do a test project of my planned quilting and batting before I start quilting the larger quilt.  I finally decided to go with the straight line quilting on the Mini Quilt for the larger quilt.  In the process, I also tried FMQ and a heart shape so ...

 

I also made a couple of ...
Heart Shaped Mug Rugs!

White Edge Heart Mug Rug, machine binding

 

Pink Edge Heart Mug Rug, hand-sewn binding

 

 

For my Hugs & Kisses Giveaway, I will use a random number generator to select one lucky winner to receive one of these Mug Rugs.  I will even let my winner chose which one.  To enter to win, please leave me one lovely comment and be sure that I can contact you by email to let you know that you have won and to get your address. You do not have be a follower to be eligible.  Also, if you do not wish to be in the giveaway and wish to comment, please do so and just tell me that you do not wish to be a part of the giveaway.  I will send my Mug Rug anywhere in the world.

For a second chance to win, leave a second comment telling me you are a follower.

One winner will be chosen at random from all entries by midnight February 15th EST.

The winner will be announced here on my blog on February 16th.
 



To get many more Hugs and Kisses,

please also visit all the other blogs on the hop today ...

Monday February 11th

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts

Sowing Stitches

The Fuzzy Hat Quilter

Quilt Swissy

Ninis Patchwork

Mrs. Pickles Garden

Patchouli Moon Studio

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here!)

Meadowbrook

 

Thanks to Jane and to Madame Samm

for running this lovely blog hop!

So you do not miss a stop, you may find the

Full Blog Hop Schedule Here

Thanks for stopping by and visiting me!

Have a Happy Heart Day!

[Tuesday, Feb 12th EDIT:  I am so happy that so many have enjoyed my post and have left me wonderfully encouraging comments. I love visiting and sharing and making new quilty friends online. I shall be enjoying the fun hugs and kisses all week. Thank You, everyone!]

XOXOXO

<3