And the Hop Goes On

Today is Girl Gang Day at Jan Patek Quilts.  The quilt we're making this year is the Pine Tree Ridge BOM out of the Fellowship line.

So today it's straightening the loft, 

going to the salon to get my hair done (I do quilts - not hair)

and getting the cake made.

This is going to be

a really yummy

7-Up cake.

and while it's cooling and waiting for the glaze

I'll hop over to see what

Joanna of Fig Tree, Malka of A Stitch in Dye, and Camille of Thimbleblossoms have been up to.

Quilting and eating - what fun.

Size Matters - Day 6 - Kathy Schmitz, Minick & Simpson, Primitive Gatherings

We are moving right along with this Blog Hop - 6 days already.

And I can't wait to see what these guys are giving away.  I'll bet I can't enter though - darn.

The Crossroads pattern I'm showcasing today is Snowbirds and StarTrees - another one of my favorite.

This is simply one of my very favorite fabric lines.  But then again, they always are.  Someone asked Linda once what her favorite quilt was.  "The one I'm working on - always" was what she replied.  She's a pretty smart lady, she is.

And the quilt kit on special today is "Autumn Kisses and Hugs"

The quilt is made of a combination of my fabrics and a line by Kathy Schmitz so I thought it was an appropriate choice for today.

Sometimes the picture on the pattern gets the colors right but sometimes it doesn't.  Color printing is a very mysterious thing to me.

I really like the fabrics in this quilt so I brought it down to the house and took some pictures that showed the fabric colors more accurately.

I found the "X" block at an antique booth at Festival in Rosemont one year.  I hadn't ever seen the block before but really had fun with the X's and O's theme.

I made Autumn Kisses and Hugs, Winter Hugs & Kisses and Garden Kisses and Hugs.

And once again, Lori's quilting just makes the quilt.

And speaking of Kathy Schmitz, lets hop on over and see what she's been doing.  She's at a Buggy Barn Retreat with no internet reception but things are preset to post -  God willing and the creek don't rise.  Good luck Kathy.  

Then, of course, we need to catch up with Polly & Laurie of Minick and Simpson and Lisa of Primitive Gatherings.

It's a great day for hopping.

And in the midst of hopping and blogging I just realized that it's 9-11.  

We hold in our hearts and memories all of the fallen. 

 God bless.

Size Matters - Day 5 - Kate Spain, Me & My Sister

And That's what happens when you don't read things all the way through.  Yesterday morning I got an "error" message when I was posting.  I thought it just hadn't saved the top part so I typed it again, but later I saw that it didn't save the bottom of the post either.

Here's what didn't post until late yesterday afternoon.

What it should have said was...........

"Now let hop on over and see what Deb and Barbara and V& Co. are up to.  Something interesting I'm sure.....and lucrative if you like fabric.:).  Just love the Moda give-aways."  

  Sorry ladies...... the computer ate my homework. 

Now for today - which will go a little more smoothly, I hope.

This is Cityscape, one of my favorite quilts this year.  (Of course, I kind of say that about them all :).)

Our youngest son Max lives in midtown Kansas City, Missouri - the Westport district - with his fiance Valerie and two of his sons Quinn & Cullen.  Westport is kind of the "arts" district of Kansas City and has lots of interesting shops and places to eat.

The sidewalks are lined with square areas of red mulch and round black metal grates with trees growing out of the center of them.  Stars are much easier than trees.  

And I'm not a botanist so I don't know what kind of trees they are but there are these round balls growing on them that have spikes all over them.  They're really neat looking.  I always pick some up to scatter on the farm but so far none have grown here.  Ah well.

Anyway, I do like the quilt and Lori did an awesome job of quilting it as usual.

And it's just the right size for their beds.  I'd say I'll have to make another one

but probably not until they're older.  Right now they'd probably rather have a Halo or Pokemon quilt.

That's not happening soon, believe me, especially Halo.  Maybe dinosaurs though.

Anyway, if you want the pattern or kit for the quilt you can get one by clicking here.  

(Max & Valerie will probably hang it on the wall.  Their house is older and has 12 foot ceiling so it would look great.)

The quilt kit on special today is Pumpkin Man.

And here is a picture of Cullen - the original pumpkin man - quite a few years ago. (His daddy always called him "baby big head") 

It's a good thing he doesn't read my blog or grandma might be in trouble. :)

Here he is this summer doing his Blue's Brothers imitation.  Isn't he great?  Don't I sound like a grandma?  My babies are growing up.

Enough of this foolishness.  Let's get hopping.  Let's run over and see what Kate Spain has been up to and what goodies she has to give away.  And of course, Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister are ALWAYS entertaining.  Love you ladies.

And don't forget to come back here on Friday for the next tutorial and a new give-away.

Day 4 - Deb Strain, Barbara Brackman & Venessa of V& Co.

First and Foremost I want to say what a great time I had meeting everyone and showing the Crossroad Quilts at the Crossroads Quilt Shop in Cameron Saturday morning.  We showed quilts, chatted and ate the cookies Linda and Marie made for us.  They were awesome - both the cookies and Linda and Marie.  The quilts stayed at the shop for awhile so if you didn't get a chance to see them and still want to, you can drop by and say hi to the quilts and to Linda and Marie :)

And for the ladies who wanted to come to Girl Gang Thursday at 6:00, we're looking forward to having you.  If you couldn't remember my email address just email Tori at janpatekquilts@yahoo.com and she'll send you directions.  Anyone who wants to get in on the applique is welcome, just let us know you're coming and what learning level you're at.

The Crossroads pattern I'm featuring today is the Snow Day BOM.  

It's a Snow Day for the schools but parents still need to go to work so the grandkids go to the farm.

I thought it would be a good quilt to follow the tutorial on Circles.  If you didn't catch it on the post Friday you can go back to it or click on the snowman head on the left side of the blog.

Now making the circles for the berry stems and the snowman basket mouth should be a lot easier.  At least I hope so.  The snowman mouth uses 3/4" mailing tabs, by the way.

And here are Brooke, Gabriel and Lilly (3 of Brian's 4 kids).  Brooke is the one in the yellow hat because "lellow" is her favorite color.  She just turned 3.

And the 3 on the toboggan are Cullen, Quinn and Aidan (Max's boys).  The original 3 on a toboggan in Snowbound were Brian, Kelly and Max.

Obviously I make them mine but I do invite you to make the quilt your own by adding or subtracting the number of kids or grandkids.  

You can order the pattern or one of the few kits we have by clicking here.

The quilt kit we have on special today is Sunflower Daze.  We're in the middle of them here in Missouri but Pumpkin Days aren't far off  :)

And That's what happens when you don't read things all the way through.  I got an "error" message when I was posting.  I thought it just hadn't saved the top part so I typed it again, but now I see that it didn't save the bottom of the post either.
What it should have said was...........

"Now let hop on over and see what Deb and Barbara and V&Co. are up to.  Something interesting I'm sure.....and lucrative if you like fabric.:).  Just love the Moda give-aways."
I'll put this at the top of tomorrow post too.  Sorry ladies...... the computer ate my homework.  It took out all my links.  

Size Matters - Day 3 - Sandy Gervais, Pat Sloan and Me!

This time I got an easy one - thanks Lissa.  

We're supposed to talk about why size matters and .....

  the size of your heart always matters.

Nuff said.  :)

These are 6" (finished) hearts and 6" (finished) squares making up a 9-patch heart block.

To download the instructions to make your own block click here and here.

 Heart 9-Patch Pillow

I was torn between making the block into a small wallhanging or a pillow.  Obviously, I chose the pillow.  I love to change the quilts and pillows on my couch.  Hearts don't just need to be around on Valentine's Day - they're important all year.  To download the instructions to make the pillow, click here.   

If you'd like a kit to make the pillow we have a few in the store.  Just click here.

The little quilt on special today is "The Witch is In".  It's getting close to Halloween so it's pretty appropriate but as I've always said, "This isn't a Halloween quilt, it's a statement quilt."  :)

I do occasionally feel (and maybe act) like one - but not very often, I hope.  It's a really good quilt to hang on the door on one of those days.  :)

It's also one of the quilts I used in my new tutorial on how to applique circles, all sizes of circles - big ones like the moon and small ones like her eyes.  If you'd like to learn more about appliqueing circles or just want to watch the tutorial for the heck of it, click here.  If you like the tutorials, please do subscribe.

And speaking of tutorials, we will also have a tutorial Friday - the lucky 13th  - on tips for appliqueing the center block from our Crossroads quilt "Eagles and Roses".  Be sure and come back because we'll also  have an awesome Give-Away that goes with it.

And if you're going to be anywhere close to Cameron tomorrow  (the 7th), I'll be showing all of my Crossroad quilts at Crossroads Quilt Shop in Cameron around 9:30.  Please come, I'd love to meet you.

Ok - now for the important part - giving things away today..

We've got a Layer Cake, Charm Bundle, Mini Charm and Dessert Roll  - Crossroads precuts.
Make a comment, any comment - maybe about things that have to do with the size of someone's heart.
But if you don't have a thought about that, just make a comment.
We'll have a drawing and announce the winner of the precuts on the 16th.

For right now we have to go see what Sandy and Pat are up too.  I can't wait.

Day 2 - Bunny Hill, Basic Grey and Sweetwater

Day 2 of the Moda Size Matters Blog Hop.

And while the size of this little quilt is small (only 28" x 28"), it's a big quilt to me because it's dedicated to my friend Sandy Gervais and her husband Bruce.

From My Heart

Sandy, Deb Strain (another long time wonderful person) and I are Moda's "vintage" designers.

We've shared many a Market together and I cherish their friendship.

Pep and Bruce have carried in many a load, gotten out their tool boxes and repaired booths and even helped Alma and Barb build beds resting on flower pots.

When I thought of this little quilt, it could have no other name than "From My Heart".  I'd post it on Sandy's day, Friday but it's my day to post too.  I'm posting a tutorial on circles that day and there aren't any circles in the quilt. 

Anyway, Sandy and Bruce, thanks for all of the good times and I look forward to many more.

Our Quilt Kit Special today is "Jack at the Gate".  Pumpkins are starting to show up everywhere.  I just love pumpkins.

Now to get a visiting.  We need to hop on over and see 

what Anne has been doing at Bunny Hill, then on to catch up with Rachel and Shara of Basic Grey and last but certainly not least, lets check in on Karlas, Lisa and Susan of Sweetwater.

Have a great day hopping and see you back here tomorrow.  

Day #1 - Moda "Size Matters" Blog Hop

It's Day One of the Moda "Size Matters" Blog Hop - a great way to see what a lot of talented people in the quilt world have been up to.

Each day I'll try to hop with you and while you're here showcase some of the things I've been playing with out of my Crossroads line.

  

 This is Pumpkin Days, a wallhanging (48" x 48") or lap quilt using the new Crossroads fabric line, a little Audra's Iris Garden and some of my favorite homespuns. I just love that Harvest Stripe print as a border and didn't have a chance to use it before.  Pumpkin Days will be sold as a pattern later but is available as a kit right now.  Can you tell I'm ready for autumn?

And I'll have a kit or pattern on special each day - for that day only.

  

This is Garden Kisses and Hugs.  There are still a few hardy vegetables and flowers growing in the garden - a few that have survived the Missouri summer.

Today we'll hop on over and visit  one of my favorite people Edytka of Laundry Basket Quilts.  Her post is full of awesome fabrics and quilts.  I always stand in awe of the energy and talent she has.

We also need to go see what French General and Zen Chic have been up to.  Brigette of Zen Chic is a county girl too and she certainly puts a different spin on it.  Such talented people.

Then come back tomorrow and we'll go see Bunny Hill, Basic Grey and Sweetwater.

Have fun hopping.

And to keep up with what everyone is saying every day, you can click on the Size Matters button on the right.