Puzzle Sizes 280 pieces = 11" x 14" 510 pieces = 16" x 20" Puzzle Story The art of quilting extends back over 5000 years. Quilting is stitching together at least three layers of fabric or fabric and bunting. In the 17th century, people in the Americas implemented quilting as a way to repurpose scraps of fabric into a warm, functional household item. These patchwork masterpieces told a story of the scraps that made up the quilt and became heirlooms. Amish settlers took up quilting in the late 1800s and perfected this craft. While the Amish do not use hex signs, quilts made for sale often implement celestial geometric designs and the hex symbols of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Amish quilts have become highly sought after and still become heirlooms if you are lucky enough to acquire one.

Pennsylvania Mennonite quilt, ca. 1940

Shipshewana is filled with shops. One of my favorites - A Thankful Heart. I love the name and this sweet shop is filled with primitiv...

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From Amish bread recipes to chicken dinners, there are tons of authentic and traditional Amish recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

FREE First Class SHIPPING for the pattern of this beautifully colored, quilt-block style wall hanging, "Dolly!" Be sure to ZOOM for the details. I've taken large photographs which you'll be able to refer to when making your color choices. The idea for this wall hanging came at a time when it seemed much of the color had gone out of life, even in a literal sense, my having had to move far away from the serene beauty of central Pennsylvania. I wanted something that reminded me of the sweet, lovely valley in which I'd lived, side by side, with "the Plain People" ... Old Order Mennonites and Amish. The design is reminiscent of an Amish quilt ... "Plain" and simple ... yet with quite a voice of its own! The finished wall hanging measures 38" tall x 16" wide. Your pattern is packed into a clear 9" x 12" reclosable poly bag. Its contents include a cover page with color photographs of the completed porject, a page of detailed instructions, a page of full size pattern elements, a page with a full size line drawing of the layout of one of the blocks, and a page with the fabric requirements. The pattern for "Dolly," all its elements and photographs, and the design itself, are copyright © 2015 Karen Hahn at horseandbuggycountry.com; all rights reserved and protected. The purchase of this pattern is for the sole and specific use of the purchaser, and may not be reproduced in any format, for any reason. Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoy browsing through my applique adventures, and be sure to "favorite" or "follow" so you can keep up with all the new creations!

Always Angel Of Forgiveness Mercy Grace Happiness Is Like A Butterfly Harmony Angel Of Hope Colors Of Summer Emma Flower Girl Angel Of Care Angel Angel Looking Down Boy With Halo Quilts Angel Of Pe…

This is Day #2 of the Jaftex blog hop. After you read this blog posting, make sure to leave a comment and not under 'anonymous'! If your name is drawn, you might win fabric bundles or even a sewing machine. And your local quilt shop can even win a prize too! Here goes--pennies for your thoughts? You know how sometimes you just want to make a simple quilt? No points, no matching, just put fabrics together and sew? That was the impulse that made me begin a Chinese Coins scrap quilt this Spring. I looked through some favorite picture books of Amish quilts (the source I go to when I want to think about pure color) and saw several great Chinese Coins quilts. Wondering about the origin of that strange name, I asked collectors of vintage quilts for opinions. Most thought the Chinese Coins pattern was an off-shoot of a traditional Bars quilt and cited visual images of vintage sewing baskets from China decorated with coins and tassels as possible inspiration. Another surmised that traditional Chinese currency, stacked and roped together after counting, provided a plausible explanation for the name Chinese Coins. See more samples of vintage sewing baskets here Chinese Sewing Baskets But I have another idea. While on the trail of the stacked coins theory, the image of an abacus came to mind. An ancient computation device, the abacus was used in China and other Asian countries and brought to the US with emigrants. Might a quiltmaker have seen a shopkeeper using the sliding beads of his abacus to calculate purchases and associated the image with 'chinese coins?' The antique Amish quilt pictured here is from Arthur, Illinois. Its name is Chinese Coins and it was made in the early 20th century. Picture courtesy of The Quilt Complex . I decided to make my Chinese Coins quilt based on one of my favorite pale colors of Peppered Cottons. The aqua fabric between the bars of strips is called Seaglass . This shade of Peppered Cotton is woven with a bright turquoise warp and a pale cocoa brown weft that makes for a cool and slightly greyed-green-aqua. All the prints are slices of StudioE, Blank Quilting, and Henry Glass fabrics. The size of my Chinese Coins quilt is informal. I stretched a tape measure from my chin to my feet and got 53" as the length of my strips. The pieced strips were then trimmed to 7 and 1/2" wide and the aqua strips cut 3 and 1/2". The top and bottom borders were cut 5 1/2". When complete the quilt's overall measurements were 48" wide by 63" long. I wanted the quilt as a recliner quilt for winter TV watching and so it was measured to me. The back of the quilt is a Peppered Plaid in the colorway I called 'Aquarium.' With its bold aquas and greens, the large plaid made a stunning back. My friend, longarm quilter Laurie Mayo, machine-quilted Chinese Coins for me--simple stitched lines on the print bars but a wild vine, with every sort of leaf imaginable, twines up the aqua strips between the prints. The binding is a bias-cut strip of the matching check I love this quilt, simple as it is. The prints seem almost luminous against the quiet Seaglass. Here you are- 85th Anniversary Giveaway

The art of quilting extends back over 5000 years. Quilting is stitching together at least three layers of fabric or fabric and bunting. In the 17th century, people in the Americas implemented quilting as a way to repurpose scraps of fabric into a warm, functional household item. These patchwork masterpieces told a story of the scraps that made up the quilt and became heirlooms. Amish settlers took up quilting in the late 1800s and perfected this craft. While the Amish do not use hex signs, quilts made for sale often implement celestial geometric designs and the hex symbols of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Amish quilts have become highly sought after and still become heirlooms if you are lucky enough to acquire one.

Wanting to live a more frugal and simple life? The Amish people can teach us a lot about living a simple and frugal life.

How are you doing adjusting to Daylight Savings Time? I was just getting used to waking up to the sun shining in our bedroom window and now it is dark again. It always takes me a week to get used to the new time. At least it is nice being retired. These cute little Dilly Cucumber Bites were another recipe Friend Marilyn made for us at Farkle. You can hardly find anything easier to make and so darling. Impress your friends..... DILLY CUCUMBER BITES 1 - 4 large cucumbers 1 pint grape tomatoes 1 (8 - ounce) block cream cheese, at room temperature (fat free or less fat cream cheese will work) 1 (5.3 ounce) container plain (nonfat) Greek yogurt 3 tablespoons fresh dill, minced 1 tablespoon dry Ranch dressing mix Slice cucumbers into rounds, about 1/2 inch thick. (You can peel them, or partially peel them for a striped look, or leave them unpeeled) Slice tomatoes in half and set aside. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, dill, and Ranch dressing mix until well blended. Spread a spoonful of the mixture on the slice. Top with a tomato half.

I collect pincushions, the older the better; the more worn and torn, the more I am drawn to them. Some are a bit puzzling, but with a little patience, you can make one for yourself. There are numerous patterns available for these wonderful whimsies... These are all antiques that are in my collection. See how the velvet on some of the pieces has worn off almost completely? I wonder how many hands these have passed through. Have they held pins while a mother sewed her child's clothing? Or maybe a wife worked tirelessly by lamplight, patching her husband's farm clothes, time after time, taking a pin from the ball now and then to hold a patch of fabric as she stitched... Such little joys to collect, but not so simple at first glance! Perhaps they were worn out from use and were set aside, forgotten for many, many years; until one day, a curious soul opened a trunk of memories, letting years and years of bits and pieces of someone's life tumble on to the attic floor... ~*~