Crazy Times

 Wow, I can't believe it's been this long since I posted. I've been so busy the time has just flown by! 

I am testing to see if anyone still follows this BLOG! 

Leave a quick thumbs up if you do.

More Random Acts of Kindness

Random Acts of Kindness - free downloadable patterns for small projects to share!

I am offering free downloadable appliqué patterns in a series for small table runners, candle mats and framed projects using minimal supplies.  I call the series "Random Acts of Kindness" because I hope you will find the projects simple enough to make one for a friend!

This little cardinal table runner was made with the Winter Wool Tweed Flannels from Benartex.  I used a fat quarter folded in half as the background. It can also be made much longer to fit any table.

The framed picture was made with Winterberry cotton quilt fabric.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to make a pillow or frame it but the frame called out to me.  I might make another in hand-dyed wool.  Some patterns in this series might include optional things such as French knots and other embellishments or buttons. Designs can be embroidered by hand or machine. You choose the fabric, flannel or wool. You can hand-stitch with thread, Pearl cotton or embroidery floss.

These project sheets are free. If you want to share the pattern with friends, we ask that you please direct them to our website/Blog for printing. Each design prints on 8-1/2” x 11” paper. Let me know how they turn out!

If you post pictures of your finished projects, please tag us- The Prairie Grove Peddler Pattern Company on Facebook or @cherylprairiegrovepeddler and #prairiegrovepeddler on Instagram.

There's a free cross stitch to match also!

This will redirect you to my website to print-

https://prairiegrovepeddler.com/Kindness.html

Random Acts of Kindness- Little Pumpkins

 

I am offering free downloadable appliqué patterns in a series for small table runners, candle mats and framed projects using minimal supplies.  I call the series "Random Acts of Kindness" because I hope you will find the projects simple enough to make one for a friend!

Also, if you post pictures of your finished projects, please tag us- The Prairie Grove Peddler Pattern Company on Facebook or @cherylprairiegrovepeddler and #prairiegrovepeddler on Instagram.

The original models were made with the Winter Wool Tweed Flannels from Benartex. They can also be made with cotton quilt fabric or hand-dyed wool. Some patterns in the series include optional things such as French knots and other embellishments. Designs can be embroidered by hand or machine. You choose the fabric, flannel or wool. You can hand-stitch with thread, Pearl cotton or embroidery floss.

As we release new projects, we will try to show them made with different fabrics and threads for more ideas. We will give you two copies for each design- one for tracing and one for “placing” as I call it.  The Tracing pattern is reversed for tracing on Quick Fuse Appliqué paper.  The Placing pattern is to position the pieces.  This is also the direction the design will be when finished. These project sheets are free. If you want to share the pattern with friends, we ask that you please direct them to our website/Blog for printing. Each design prints on 8-1/2” x 11” paper. Let me know how they turn out!

By the way- we added some free little cross stitch designs that match, sort of!

This will redirect you to my website to print-

https://prairiegrovepeddler.com/Kindness.html

 

 It's been a crazy year of Covid!  Fortunately, working for myself  has caused no changes in the way I work each day.  No masks needed here!  That's great since the masks are miserable to wear even during a quick shopping visit.  I can't imagine having to wear one all day long.  

So far this year my aunt and mom passed away then I had major surgery.  Physical Therapy took all summer.  I designed two new fabric lines for Benartex and now I am preparing to help a friend at a retreat.  

I have been working on small applique projects using the new Winter Wool flannels since last fall but all of the above issues slowed me down.  I am happy to say I am close to releasing some of them.  All of the projects are small and easy to complete with minimal supplies.

This is a little pumpkin table mat or candle mat.  It uses a fat quarter as the background so each mat is under 18" long.  I have small tables everywhere and love to put little mats on them.  The pumpkin in the center above is made with hand-dyed wool from Weeks Dye Works.  It makes a great centerpiece. The free pumpkin directions are below.  I will post this pattern on my website in a few days.

Here is the mat in full.  

I am repeating the post below for fabric pumpkins from a few years ago.

This is my Pumpkin Patch pattern from 1996 that Keepsake Quilting carried for years.  There have been many pumpkins out there similar but here is the directions for original painted pumpkin!  You can also make them from any cotton fabric, chenille, burlap, wool or felt.

Directions-

1. Cut a rectangle from batting, say 9" x 18" wide. Too big? try 6" x 14".
2. Fold in half and sew the two short ends together, one seam in the back.
3. Hand-gather one open end with string, floss, pearl cotton or linen thread, pull tight and knot several times.
4. Turn inside out and stuff with poly-fil until firm, but not too firm.
5. Hand-gather the top and knot several times.
6. Using a long doll needle (say 8") and a long piece of the thread you used in #3, go in and out from the center top to the center bottom to pull the center in tight. Knot again.
7. Then proceed to go top to bottom around the outside of the pumpkin to create the veins, pulling tight each time.
8. Knot the thread each time on the center top which will be covered by the stem later.
9. Mix orange paint with water, coffee or tea and slop it on using your hands (pre-manicure not post). It washes off your hands eventually and I would remove your rings first!

*** Using coffee or tea makes the colors separate once dried and gives a wonderful aged look.  Make different sized pumpkins from cotton batting, muslin, or chenille and paint each one a different shade of orange.  Mix colors- it's fun!  My husband went into the woods and cut old gnarly grapevine for me to use as stems.  He cut them about 2"-3" and I hot glued them to the center top, covering the knots.  It makes a wonderful fall decoration and costs so little for so many, a small package of batting, a bottle of paint, some stuffing.   

Happy Fall!

Too Busy To Be Summer

Summers should be for vacations and swimming and sitting 

on the porch stitching wool cardinals!  But more about that below-

I love working in the garden and pruning the flowers.  Unfortunately, spring ended this year with an abundance of rain so our garden was late to plant.  Also some weird looking worms got our entire first patch of sweet corn.  We never saw that coming and we have been growing corn for 40 years.

This was the first year we had no sweet corn put up in the freezer. 

We are sweet corn deprived.

Last year the coons got the corn in the blink of an eye.  It was gone before we knew it was even close to ready.  We used to have a farm Beagle and she kept the coons out of the corn each year. They were never a problem, ever.  She even loved corn on the cob herself but she never bothered enough of it to be a problem.  Unfortunately, she passed away of old age a few years ago.  

Now we have no beagle and no corn.  

Not even in the freezer. 

To make matters worse, the neighbors horses got out the other day and wiped out our entire second planting of sweet corn. The corn was up only about 6" but the rows were freshly cultivated and the horses thought it looked like a great spot to roll in the dust. They literally wiped out everything in the patch.  It would be pretty funny if our freezer wasn't so empty.

It's going to be a desperate corn situation around here very soon.

Also, we only have 4 asparagus plants left.  We are not sure if the horses ate them the other day or stepped on them but they have all disappeared.  

The tomatoes and pepper plants are doing OK so far but everything is much later than normal.

This summer has been such an exception to the normal summer around here!  

Bad garden!

Bad horses!

Too busy to enjoy anything!

On a bright note-

It has been a crazy year working on new designs and fabric lines.  

I am also updating all of our older patterns with color. 

Here is one I worked on last week- Cardinal Wool Embroidery.  It's no secret that I love cardinals.  I am a Missouri girl, born and raised even though I did live in Iowa for four years. 
Missouri is home to the Cardinals.  This was the original table runner I did for this the Cardinal Wool Embroidery pattern in 2005.

Recently while playing with the designs I did a few more wool runners and quilts.

This runner has flat sides and a strip of red wool used as sort of a sashing effect.  I think it's stunning with the red strip on there so I did a few more.  The next one is a longer version of the same runner. All of the birds are facing forward so it would work well on a buffet or side table.  It would make a great wall hanging too. 

The cardinals are so vibrant made with Weeks dye works hand-dyed wools. 

Here's another thought- a cardinal quilt.  

You can make individual blocks and hand-stitch them together.  

The one on the left below has a single red wool border with

Weeks wool Candy Apple 2268 HT - the same wool that was used on all of the wings.

It's brighter so it really stands out. 

The one on the right has all black wool border with a strip 

of the same red wool stitched on as a sashing.

I love the look of the black hand-dyed wool backgrounds.  

This one is Weeks Dye Works wool in Kohl 3900 

You can get the pattern here-

Cardinal Wool Embroidery Pattern

Downloads will be available very soon.

Which idea is your favorite?

Are you on Instagram?

Follow me at: 

@cherylprairiegrovepeddler

@weeksdyeworks

Harvest Berry Time

We have barely planted our garden this year due to all of the rain. Though we have no flooding as many in the mid-west do, we do have very wet conditions and very cloudy days when it is not raining.  That's not exactly perfect conditions for planting anything.

I hope to finish getting the garden planted next week if the weather ever cooperates.

Meanwhile-

Are there pumpkins in your garden yet?

It's the time of year to start thinking about fall decorating and sewing.

We have four new patterns using the new Harvest Berry fabric line.

All of them are simple piecing and Quick Fuse applique.  

More information on each of them here-   Autumn Quilts

There is a free pattern on the Benartex site called Harvest Berries offered HERE

Enjoy!

Autumn is in the Air

Even though it's early May, Autumn has been in the air around here for some time!  

This week Benartex has their Autumn in the Air Blog Hop.

They offer a free pattern and a chance to win some fabric.

Click here to enter

We just finished the new quilts using the Harvest Berry fabric line. 

This one is my favorite- #424 Awesome Autumn.

It measures 26" x 34".

We have three other new patterns available using the Harvest Berry fabric line. 

They are all available at your local Quilt Shop. 

Always in the Mood For Fall

The new Harvest Berry fabrics are currently shipping to Quilt Stores. The panel turned out beautifully and all four center parts would make great pillows.
Here are the panel and coordination fabrics-

I finally got all of the quilts finished for the new Harvest Berry fabric line. To see each pattern you can visit the Prairie Grove Peddler website.

Here they are waving in the wind-

The quilt on the far left is a free pattern titled "Harvest Berries" offered on the Benartex website here.

It uses a charm pack and has a little applique across the bottom.  

Happy quilting!

Getting in the Mood for Fall

It's been a crazy busy summer and no vacation in sight -yet.  I finished another new fabric line plus I have been working on new patterns for next years fall fabric line called Harvest Berry. It is putting me in the mood for pumpkins.  Everything in the fabric world happens well in advance.  It's hard to keep up with what time of year it is at times! I am starting spring fabric next. 

Our garden didn't do much this year.  The coons got most of the corn.  Our Beagle passed away last year so this was the first year it was unguarded.  Funny we forgot how destructive the coons can since we had a "guard Beagle" for 13 years.  We miss her for many reasons.

The lack of rain didn't help most of the garden and my favorite Amish store didn't get any Peaches from Southern MO this year.  All in all there wasn't much freezing or canning going on.  My husband made Kosher dill pickles.  That's about it. 

Here are a few new Moose patterns for the Moose Lake fabric line. This is Moose Lake.

and this one is Moose Crossing