primitives at the airport....

arrived at the Denver Airport with lots of extra time to wander....found an artsy store with so much cool primitive art, never would have thought it, spent lots of wander time there and picked up these two little primitives....don't you just love the airport rug backdrop!!!
enjoy

packing for a visit....

so excited going to Missouri for a grandkids, Dominic & Olivia visit....i'll be hugging, dancing, reading, shopping, playing games, going on adventures, running through the rain....packing a little handwork, cause i feel naked without it, but i'll probably not stitch much, too many other fun things going on and at the end of the day i'll be ready for bed!
see everyone in a week....
enjoy
cheri

Happy Easter

sending you a basketful of good wishes at Easter....

how do i sew....

how do i achieve my country, primitive, scrappy & aged quilts?
first when i'm cutting for various projects i always cut extra 1", 1&1/2" strips & 1&1/2" squares because these are the sizes i use the most, i have a drawer right next to my machine for each size which are always very full....
i don't use a 1/4" foot but my needle does move to what is an pretty close 1/4" seam & that's good enough for me....
so when sewing say four patches i just pull from my drawer sewing random strips together in short amounts till i have several, then cut those into sections & i have very scrappy four patches....plus i'm usually working on several different blocks at one time for different quilts, so it's easy to pull from one pile to scrap up another....
as for applique backgrounds i just grab from my scraps several different fabrics from like shades, stitch together randomly, giving myself extra working space....i don't determine the finished size until done with applique so i can make changes as i design, then cut down to a finished size, not always mathmatically correct for surrounding blocks, if too short just add a piece of something, too long cut it off!!!
same with borders add pieces of other fabrics if i don't have enough....
all my quilts are washed & aged with tea  when done & viola you have a primitive quilt, it' way too easy & fun which is how i like my quilting experience to be....
p.s. don't square up blocks, don't own a seam ripper i just embrace the quirky shape & errs.... give it a try someday  cheri

how did i get here....

how did i become what is known as a quilt designer?
well....it all started off with my taking tole painting classes (remember those days) at a local quilt shop named Calico Station, which was going to be sold and i who had never made a quilt happened to be the one that purchased it, that's crazy right....
quilt shops are one of the most wonderful places to wander & dream of all that can be made with their bolts of fabric, but being an owner you need to be making money to buy those bolts of fabric & other bills, needless to say i needed to figure out after a while how i could make my store different to bring new customers in and that became teaching some designs that were unique just to Calico Station...and it worked....so i thought maybe i could sell these designs to other shops, called some distributers of way back when, but it turns out that at that time if you weren't known already they didn't want to take a chance on an unknown me...
so being one of those that just jumps, i rented a booth at the next wholesale quilt show....persuaded the local printer, who did the shop's newsletter, to print my patterns & let me pay after the show....OMG! what was i doing, my family was going to eating pattern packets for dinners!  arrived at the show with my few small samples, you know i've not been known for large quilts....no decorations for my booth, just samples, patterns & a receipt book....let me tell you all the very well known quilt designers were there with Country Home style boothes, i just wanted to crawl under the table & hide..... but put my country bumpkiness aside, pinned my samples to the backdrop drapes & took orders, orders & orders.....and i've thanked my lucky stars everyday that this is what i was meant to do.....
and i appreciate all those that have been there with me from the beginning & those who are new quilting friends....         thanks cheri

my day....

quilted two soon to be new patterns today, finished the final stitches on folkart gathering block 6, did my Easter Bunny shopping for the grandkids, made spaghetti sauce, salad & bread for dinner....now i'm relaxing with a little wine waiting for greg to come home from work so we can eat, worked up an appetite & have been smelling the sauce & bread all day!
                      enjoy your evening, i'll be sewing on binding & watching either the Borgias or Bethany Ever After, drama or reality that will be the question?

primitive qults magazine giveaway....

have the first three emails for the magazine Doreen, Darlene & Miyuki (a hello to you miyuki send me some photos of what you're stitching on)....this felt like a radio show contest switch boards lighting up!!! i will mail out your copy of the magazine this week & if you don't think to egotistical i'll autograph my design page to make it more personal.....  enjoy cheri

primitive quilts & other projects....

have my first issue in hand, reading from front to back & back to front, can't even imagine all the hard work, long hours and sisterly love that went into every 103 pages, with 17 primitively wonderful designs....there's something for everyone from needlpunch, rug hooking, quilting, bear making....
"ask mom" questions were educational & love mom's "math schmath..." attitude in her answers....
with my copy of the magazine i was also graciously given three more copies to giveaway, wasn't that sweet....so if you haven't gotten a copy yet & of course would love one please email me at gpayne1@cox.net your address & i'll send one to each of the first three emails i receive....
back to enjoying the magazine, have a wonderful rest of your weekend.... cheri

april primitive quilt winner....

BeckyJean of PrimitivesnStitchin blog is the new owner of the april primitive giveaway quilt....i sure hope that you enjoy this addition to your collection of primitives  cheri

folkart gathering....

have been spending my day working on block 6 for Folkart Gathering and content with how it's coming along...made a few tweeks here and there from what i had seen in my mind to what actually came together but that's usually how it goes for me...i'm so happy with my red star flower not at all what was planned but it's my favorite right now, think i'll have to make a little quilt using that idea....so many irons in the fire right now and that's how i love it....

the cutest comments....

tuesdays are my cooper&lisa day....i have always brought them their morning snack from grandma's house, yesterday was peanut butter pretzels, popcorn & traditional jelly beans...  cooper's cute comment "i really like the little tummy beans better grandma"  tummy beans???  i later realized he meant jelly bellys!!!!  i love "tummy beans" better will always think of them that way now....
when mommy came home from work we were chatting and cooper & lisa start whining because they wanted an ice cream for snack and the answer was "no", i commented that i was sure glad that they weren't whiny like this for me... lisa (who when asked what she wants to be when she grows up answer's always "a mommy") said "i hope i don't have whiny children"  as she's whining!!!
too cute comments and i'm still smiling....  enjoy, grandma

        

april's primitive quilt...

for each hour glass block cut two  1&1/2" squares from light and one each light and print 1&7/8" square, cut in half diagonally... sew light and print triangles together to make half square triangles, sew together with light squares....
cut alternate squares 2&1/2"
for setting triangles cut...
sides 4&1/8" cut diagonally twice
corners 2&1/4" cut in half diagonally once
fist border strips 1" wide
outside border strips 2&1/2" wide
enjoy cheri

april primitive quilt giveaway...

this is april's primitive quilt that i'm giving to a quiltsbycheri follower....just a little blue in the quilt for april's showers...

you never know who you've touched.....

i received an email tonight that touched me greatly, not because of the words of praise for my primitive designs (although a word of praise always feels good) but because this person, because of illness, had lost touch with her creative side....she said that she had lots of my old painting books went on ebay and found a couple of older quilt books that inturn helped to bring back her love, joy, urge to create again, not a quilter but will become one....
i know that as i read everyone's blogs that i'm always inspired, made to laugh, sometimes cry, try something new or just look in awe at the beautiful pictures.... don't always leave a comment, sometimes do, but have always been touched in someway by each and everyone of you....  
you never know how you've touched or been touched by someone....
cheri

new prim doll...

my newly aquired primitive rag doll from sharon at Mustard Seed, it's she just to die for wonderful...if you love prim rag dolls give her's a look got an amazing collection for sale would love to have every one, hard to make a choice but i did & totally glad i did....

this is no joke....

last night while watching Jeopardy's final question, something about authors, islands and plays, one island unnamed....i guessed Treasure Island?  greg looked at me and said so sweetly "honey they're talking about Shakespeare"
oh, the final answer was The Tempest...i piped in "isn't it The Tempest and The Shrew"  greg said so sweetly again "no that's The Taming of the Shrew"
LOL!!!  i've never claimed to be a scholar and obviously not even close!!!
the only books i read any more usually are on the subjects of quilting, knitting and other various homespun crafts....guess i better stick to my day job and not plan on a Jeopary career!!!