Hello friends!! Today is Week Four, Day 7, of the My Happy Place Row Along 2018, and it’s my day to share!! This great blog hop is hosted by Marian of Seams to Be Sew. She has done a wonderful job in coordinating everything, getting prizes for everyone, and keeping us in line!! Thank you, Marian, for making sure every blogger participating has been well presented, and every person rowing along with us has multiple opportunities to win some great prizes! You rock!!
Our daughter and her family love the beach. I can tolerate the beach, if I have to be there! It’s just not my preference. Everyone who knows me well, knows that my happy place is in a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains!! We try to go at least once a year, sometime around our anniversary in November…but should the opportunity arise, I will not turn down a second trip in early summer – or any time of the year, really!!! When we go in November, it’s right after the Christmas lights have been turned on. I love Christmas and seeing all the lights makes me even happier!! So when I signed up for this blog hop, it wasn’t a difficult decision on what my row would be about.
I opened up EQ8 and proceeded to draft my row! After a little drawing of some simple shapes, and plugging in some fabric swatches, this became my draft pattern!
While vacationing around Pigeon Forge, TN this past summer, I visited my favorite quilt shop in Seviereville – The Cherry Pit. It was here I found some of my fabrics for this row. I signed up too late to be able to receive the Northcott fabrics, however, many of the fabrics I chose were from the Northcott lines! They do make the best landscape fabrics!
After creating the pattern, I printed my applique patterns using my printer and Lite Steam-a-Seam 2. You can also use it from a roll and draft the patterns with a light box, or if you prefer a different product, you could use Heat-n-Bond Lite. I usually use the Steam-a-Seam because I like the fact that it has a sticky surface that can be repositioned easily prior to fusing with the iron. While they are not showing on the pattern, I decided at the last minute to make a few bushes and place them in the scene as well. And here is the flimsy, ready to be tacked in place!
Don’t you love the sky fabric? I actually found it at Nancy’s Notions, and also purchased a packet of Stonehenge (by Northcott) landscape fabrics. With the purple batiks (my purple mountain majesty!) from TN and those Stonehenge fabrics, I’m really pleased with the way it turned out! I decided to cut out a few little bushes to add a little color to the grassy area. Note: These are not included in the pattern – they were a last minute thought, but the easy way to do them is just take the fabric you like and back it with your fusible of choice, then cut out the shapes you like for the bushes. Easy peasy!
Since this row is small, after tacking down all the applique pieces, I decided to quilt it on my domestic machine instead of on the long arm. This is something I don’t do a lot of since Ms. Mattie came to live in The Quilt Cave!! So I sandwiched my top, batting, and backing, and basted everything in place. Deciding what motifs to quilt has always been tough for me. There are just so many that are so much fun!! Water and sky are fairly easy to decide on, but what about those mountains?? Hmmm, what’s a girl to do?
I decided to just play with some paisleys, and swirls and curls. I also did a little thread painting to add smoke coming from the chimney!
And here is my completed row! You can’t see me…but I’m sitting in a rocking chair on the porch behind the cabin, on a crisp morning, wrapped in my favorite lap quilt, enjoying a cup o’ joe (my special blend of chocolate, caramel, and decaf!!), watching that beautiful sunrise with my sweetie!! Ahhh, I can just smell the coffee, and hear the wind softly rustling the leaves. Truly, a happy place to be in my world!!! If you like this pattern you can download it here, at no charge until November 1st!
I hope you have enjoyed being a part of my early morning in the mountains happy place!! Here is a list of my blogging friends to visit today. Be sure to stop by each one and register for the great prizes!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Songbird Designs (you are here!) | Powered By Quilting | Kissed Quilts
Happy Sewing Room | Sew Joy Creations
A special thanks to all the wonderful sponsors for donating some really awesome prizes! And speaking of prizes…today, I am hosting the giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop! Just click in the rafflecopters below and follow the instructions! If you are unable, for some reason, to enter here on my site, you can enter on Marian’s site, Seams to be Sew. Please be sure to read the rules and guidelines for the giveaways. They are posted on her site. Good luck!!
Enter the drawing for the Electric Quilt 8 giveaway here.
I’ll be sharing with my favorite linkies as they become available this week!
Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River
The Chameleon’s Colour Party at The Clever Chameleon
Wednesday Weight Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter
Midweek Makers @ QuiltFabrication
Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation
Can I get a Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Scrap Addict
Finished or not Friday @ Bush Hands Quilts
Love it! Early morning in the mountains is my favorite too. Thanks for sharing.
Love your finished row. And the sound of your coffee blend too!
For many years my happy place was a cabin at the lake in British Columbia mountains. Your block brought back so many happy memories. Now my happy place is my studio, or rather it will be when we get moved! Thanks for being part of this hop. I’m so glad to meet you.
Cute row! Thanks for sharing
Absolutely beautiful row! It would certainly be one of my happy places, as I’m with you – I tolerate the beach, but prefer the woods.
What a great Happy Place. I love your fabric choice
Your idea of a great place to be works for me! I can imagine sitting outside reading a book – heaven.
Beautiful place, beautiful row.
Thank you
Oh, what a pretty row! I have never been to the Smokey Mountains, but I have been through the mountains in Pennsylvania and in West Virginia; I can see where you would select a mountain scene for your row. Thank you for your work!
We lovethe Smokies. Took our boys camping here+there for many vacations. Even visited Pigion Forge once for the World’s Fair, now that dates me. Thanks for sharing. This one will have a special meaning to us.
Your fabric choices really add a lot to an already striking row! Thanks for elaborating about them.
Lovely row. I too like the mountains. I miss seeing you at Zig Zag.
I’m so fortunate to LIVE in the Smokies, about 30 minutes from Pigeon Forge (except with summer tourist traffic, when it’s longer, LOL). I don’t live in a cabin, but I DO live on the side of a mountain, almost at the top of the ridge. I don’t know if you’d like it today, as it’s been pouring rain for most of the last 24 hours. =) Then it’s good to live at the TOP of the mountain! LOL Your row is wonderful, and your fabrics great choices. Cherry Pit is one of my good friends’ favorite shops, too! I like it in the summer when there’s a farmer’s market across the street on Fridays, especially.
I love the Smokies too!
I love this scene! So peaceful! I like the fabric choices and how the smoke was done.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Love your row! The mountains are so peaceful.
Thank you!
Wonderful row! And perfect fabrics for it. Thanks for sharing.
That is a beautiful row! And I love the fabric for the sky too! Thanks!
Thank you very much Brenda for your awesome row you shared. Brings back some wonderful memories. The Smokey Mountains and TN is my favorite place on earth. Since I live in South Africa I don’t get to go as much as I would like to. Thank you.
Great row, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the lovely row. I also enjoyed your description of how you made it. Nice work.