A new adventure awaits . . .

...and I'm excited to see where God will be leading me!

After 16 years as a professional longarm machine quilter, I have closed the doors on my quilting business, Quilts from the Trail. Over the past month and a half, my 88 year old mother fell twice (in the same day), broke her collar bone, spent a week in the hospital and two weeks in transitional care, and has been working to gain her strength and mobility back with the help of a wonderful home health team. During this time, I came to realize how really important it is to spend time with your family -- quality time! I know my mom won't be around forever; so my main focus has been shifted to my mom, as well as the rest of my family.

I don't know what God has in store ... I just know it's going to be an exciting adventure to see where He leads me.

I want to share this journey with you as I see what new doors will be opened. As I wait, I'll be working on completing a lot of projects I have left unfinished over the years. Quilting projects, knitting projects, home projects .... I'm anxious to see a lot of these projects come to fruition.

 I hope you'll join me as I begin my New Adventure!!!

 Blessings,

 Patti

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I think I'm addicted . . .

. . . to painting with chalk paint!!!!  I was painting and waxing up a storm!

My first project was this simple IKEA step stool:

 

The stool had been through the mill.  There was no finish on the stool and between dirt and drips of paint from using the stool while I painted walls, it was a mess.  I had a small jar of CeCe Caldwell's chalk paint in "Destin Gulf Green".  Once I got the stool painted, I thought it needed a little "toning down".  So I grabbed my jar of "Nantucket Spray" and dry brushed it on.  After waxing with clear wax, I went over the entire stool with a dark wax.  I love how it looks in my bathroom! 

 

 

Earlier in the week, I found this great coffee table at Savers in Apple Valley (Savers is similar to Goodwill) for only $10.  The only problem seemed to be a flaking finish on the table top.  I asked hubby if he could lightly sand it to get the loose stuff off and give me a more even surface.  Well, he took care of it for me while I was out running errands; so when I got back, he had sanded the entire table -- pretty much down to bare wood!  He told me he couldn't remember if I just wanted the top sanded or the whole thing so he went for it!!  Personally, I think he just like playing with the sander.

 

Anyway .....

 

The table started out looking like this:

 

 

I love the shape of the legs!  I decided to go with Annie Sloan's "Arles" -- a beautiful yellow shade but when waxed and aged with dark wax, it takes on an entirely different tone!  Not only does this paint go on smoothly, but it seemed like I used very little paint ... and I did two coats!  (The stool took at least 3 oz. of the 4 oz. jar I had on hand.) 

 

I even "dressed up" my table with a fun autumn table runner I made for my Mom several years ago.  It fits so nicely, it looks like it was made for this table! 

Of the two paints, I like the Annie Sloan's best.  It just seems to work better for me.  Plus ... it helps that there's an ASCP stockist not far from me whereas, there is no one in the entire state of Minnesota selling CeCe Caldwell's paint.

Now, I just have to figure out what I want to paint next.  I picked up a quart of ASCP in "Duck Egg" as well as small jars of "Antoinette" and "Paris Gray".  So let's see . . . will it be the small round table that sits between my living room and dining room . . . or should I go with something small again?

Guess you'll have to check back and see what I decide on ....

Till then....have a great day and enjoy what's left of summer!

Patti

 

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Painted Bedside Table

After my success with the little red shelf, I decided I wanted to tackle something a little bigger.  I have two bedside tables (they used to be end tables in my living room) that I wanted to repaint along with my headboard.  Here's one of the tables:

Since I had only bought little 4oz pots of the CeCe Caldwell Chalk Paint and three pieces of furniture to paint, I decided to try Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Coco. 

I set up a drop cloth on the patio and took my table outside to paint it.  It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't resist!!!  About an hour or so later, I went over it with some ASCP clear wax and a little bit of dark wax.

I LOVE the results.  I even came across two extra drawer pulls from a previous project ... just perfect!

 

Now, I just need to get the other table and the headboard painted ... maybe by the end of the month.  I think I may need to tackle painting my bedroom walls as well! 

 

Have a great day!

 

Patti

 

Linked to:

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Dumpster Treasure

A few months ago, our neighbor needed to clean out their garage and basement so they had a dumpster delivered to their driveway.  Every now and then, I would peek out my window that overlooks their driveway to see if they were tossing out any "treasures".  I noticed quite a few things that I thought deserved a "second chance" so I ran next door to see if I could rescue them.  I found a chair, a bookcase, a treadle sewing machine cabinet (no machine) and this adorable little shelf.  It looks like something someone might have made back in the 50's in a high school shop class.  I didn't know quite what I was going to do with it but I knew I could give it a new life.

 

 

 

 

I recently found out my sister, Sue and her friend, Mary took a couple of classes learning how to use CeCe Caldwell's Chalk Paint at Bungalow 47 in Williamston, MI.  Both Sue and Mary posted some great pictures on Facebook showing some of the techniques they learned.  At the same time, I found out my "bestie", PattiP., had started painting furniture using Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.  Patti's sister is opening a new shop this fall where Patti will be selling some of her furniture that she's painting.  You can see some of Patti's current projects on her blog, "Cranberries and Calico".  After seeing what could be done with these products I knew what I was going to do with my shelf.

 

We recently took a "road trip" to Kentucky for a family reunion and then on to Michigan to visit my sister and her family as well as touch base with some friends.  I was able to make a trip to Bungalow 47 with Sue and Mary and picked up some CeCe Caldwell chalk paint of my own.  Of the colors I purchased, I knew I had to use "Traverse City Cherry" on my little shelf.  The cool thing about these paints is that you don't have to strip, prime, or do any special prep work on your project before painting.  The cool thing about both of these paints is that you don't have to strip, prime, or do any special prep work on your project, other than a simple cleaning, before painting.  So, I pulled my shelf out of the garage and with a rag and a little water I cleaned off a few cobwebs and surface dirt.

 

The paint went on smoothly and it only required one coat.  The color dried to a pinky red but I knew once I applied my wax coat the color would deepen.  Oh look, it almost matches the pink geraniums in the pot on my deck.

 

 

 

Once the shelf was dry, I did a little "distressing" with some fine sandpaper and a wet cloth.  I applied the clear wax with a brush and rubbed it in with a soft cloth.  I went over the clear wax with a light brown aging wax and rubbed that in as well.  After an hour or so, I went back over the shelf with an old sock and buffed the wax a little.  I may go back and buff it a little more tomorrow.

 

So here's my finished shelf.  I just need to add a couple of hangers to the back so I can hang it on the wall.  I'm thinking this will be a great addition to my kitchen!

 

 

 

 

 

So, what can I paint next.........

 

Hope you have a great day,

 

Patti

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Sewcial Progress

It's been a couple of weeks since the Sewcial and I did make some progress on my projects.  I took five projects with me and completed four!  So what did I get done?

I started this quilt SEVERAL years ago (I'm thinking early '90s) and had everything except the borders done.  I managed to bring it up to 91 x 91 (before quilting) and am hoping it will fit my bed once it's quilted.  It has a nice "vintage" look to it.

This is a "Grab Bag Log Cabin".  The pattern is an old free handout from Thimbleberries.  All it takes is one jelly roll and you've got a great throw.  I've made this quilt before from other fabrics and added a border to make it a bit bigger but I don't plan on doing that with this one.  The fabrics are Kansas Troubles (I don't remember which specific line though).

This baby quilted was started about 10 years ago.  The pattern is from a book called "Even More Quilts for Baby".  I had all the blocks done but needed to sew them together and then add borders.  Not sure who will receive this one but it's a cute little quilt for a baby girl!

 

Lots of great patterns (and easy too!) in this book. 

I didn't have a specific pattern for this one but had seen the quilt on the internet and recreated it in Electric Quilt.  I started it several years ago and even worked on it at retreat but never got it completed.  The star in the center is rather "bright" so I'm thinking once it's quilted, I may try and "age" just the center star to tone it down.  I have some "Distress It" that I'm thinking of using to try and tone it down.

I also recently completed one of the projects from the quilt retreat in January.  I finished the quilt for my neice, Harper Grace. 

I freehand quilted a floral design all over the quilt. 

Machine embroidered quilt label.

So, that's one projected completed and delivered to it's recipient.  The tops I completed at the Sewcial will go into my "TO BE QUILTED" bin. 

In the meantime, have a great day and we'll see you back here soon!

Patti

I'm going to be "Sewciable" tomorrow . . .

Tomorrow (Saturday, 2/11) is Fabric Town's "Quilt Sewcial" event.  A 12-hour day of nothing but sewing, eating and visiting with friends!  We meet twice a year at the Old Chicago Conference Center in Apple Valley -- 30+ ladies doing what they love!  No cooking, no cleaning and no interruptions!  And, we even have a massage therapist who does chair massages --- one of the "Sewcialites" nicknamed him -- Stevie Wonderhands!!!

Sew.... (sorry, I couldn't resist) .... I decided it was time to dip into that bin of "Projects in Progress" and see what I could take with me and complete!  I picked 5 projects -- a baby quilt, a wall hanging, 2 throws and a quilt that falls somewhere between double and queen size. I would love to get at least four of the five projects completed .... one of the throws is at it's early stages so I'm not sure just how far I can get on that one.

Gary and Mom will be hanging here at home .... now play nice, ya'll!

Well, I better scoot and get myself to bed.  I have to be at the conference center at 7 a.m. to help set up.  I'll let you know what I get done!

Patti