Today is my stop on the Apple Farm blog hop with Elea Lutz and Penny Rose Fabrics . . . and I\’m struggling with what to write. I could stick to business and describe my project and how I selected fabrics using this precious new collection that Elea has designed. However, I\’m feeling compelled to be a bit mushy. You see, this is the week I\’ve been dreading all summer. This week my oldest child is returning to college and my youngest is heading off to her first year of college. And so, I\’m feeling like a bag of mush.
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| Apple Farm (fabric by Elea Lutz for Penny Rose Fabrics) sewn using \”Sweetly Scalloped\” pattern. |
As I worked on this quilt, I was filled with tender reminders of my children\’s younger years. I hope you\’ll indulge me as I share with you what Elea\’s Apple Farm fabric means to me.
It means sweet memories. . .
It means sweet memories. . .
Two little blondies riding their bikes through our neighborhood, one at break-neck speed and one with training wheels trying to keep up with her big brother.
Trips to the local apple orchard every fall, to ride the flat-bed wagon between the long rows of trees and pick our own apples to take home and bake into a crisp . . . and weeks later to ride that same wagon in search of pumpkins to carve.
Shopping for school supplies and watching young eyes light up over a new box of crayons.
Little hands raking enough leaves in the backyard to create a fluffy \”run and jump\” pile.
Searching for milkweed along the gravel road at the edge
of town . . . food for caterpillars.
Laying out quilts on the back lawn and setting up for an afternoon of lazy fun . . . books, toys, dolls, snacks and juice boxes. There might even be some napping.
Good, good memories.
Every time I sew with Elea\’s fabric, I feel an emotional connection. There is a tenderness in her characters and an excellent use of color and print that just draws me in. You can see it, or rather feel it too, can\’t you?
The pattern you see in this quilt is my newest pattern, Sweetly Scalloped. It is a great choice for showing off a fabric collection in a simple but pleasing way. Sweetly Scalloped is being carried by several of my blog sponsors: Fort Worth Fabric Studio, Stash Addict Quilts, Lou Lou\’s Fabric Shop, My Timeless Day, Quilts on Broadway and Fat Quarter Shop. It may also be available at your local quilt shop!
Apple Farm is in stores now. While the fabric is perfect for any time of year, it has a nostalgic, back-to-school feeling. I just know you will fall in love with this sweet collection! Ask about it at your local quilt shop, and please visit my sponsors who are carrying the line: Fat Quarter Shop, My Timeless Day, Fort Worth Fabric Studio, and Stash Addict Quilts.
Feeling thankful
Quilting is a personal art form. We love the craft, and we love the people for whom we sew. I guess it\’s okay to get a bit mushy. Heart-felt thank you to Elea and Penny Rose Fabrics for including me on this hop! I treasure my quilt made in Apple Farm and the memories it has evoked. And a special thank you to Barb at Quilts on Broadway for the lovely quilting! You\’re a gem, Barb!
There are many talented bloggers sewing up their personal creations using Apple Farm during the next two weeks. I\’ve included a complete list below. Today I hope you\’ll visit Nadra Ridgeway of Ellis & Higgs. She\’s a brilliant sewist and a lovely person. I can\’t wait to see what she has created. And tomorrow will certainly bring us some special designs, as we stop by and visit Shari Butler of Doohikey Designs and Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt!
Thanks so much for visiting the blog today! I hope you get carried away quilting often!
~Taunja
August 8 www.tiedwitharibbon.com
August 8 www.sameliasmum.com
August 9 www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com
August 9 www.thefamilyhearth.com
August 10 www.carriedawayquilting.com
August 10 www.ellisandhiggs.com
August 11 www.doohikeydesigns.com/blog/
August 11 www.fabricmutt.blogspot.com
August 12 www.fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.com
August 15 www.alittlepatchwork.wordpress.com
August 15 www.transientart.com
August 16 www.euphoriajessica.blogspot.com
August 16 www.prettybyhand.com
August 17 www.ohhowsweet.com
August 17 www.downgrapevinelane.com
August 18 www.saranaave.wordpress.com
August 18 www.VividFelcity.wordpress.com
August 19 www.dollyhenry.blogspot.com
August 19 www.jedicraftgirl.com
August 20 www.elealutzdesign.com
Your quilt is just so pretty-you are right -very calming fabric & colors. Thank you for sharing your memories, I do understand!
Thanks so much . . . both for your kind words and for your understanding! 🙂
Beautiful quilt! The pattern is adorable and the fabric used is too! Beautiful blog post! My kiddos are 12 and 14 and off to school in a few weeks, I get emotional every year! What a special, memory filled quilt you have there to cherish forever!
I enjoyed reading all of your sweet memories! The quilt is beautiful and really does show off each print so well. (I feel like I could just jump in your pictures, take a picnic, and go apple picking!!!)
What a sweet post! I'm getting ready to send my youngest daughter off for a year and a half on a church mission and I've been feeling nostalgic as well. This quilt is lovely and the fabrics are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Beautifully done and wonderfully expressed. It brought tears to my eyes. I have compassion for you. Life brings us so many losses and heart aches, but it brings us also great love and joy. Sometimes the comfort of a beautiful quilt is what is needed to hug us. Hugs to you! (I am going to make this one just like you!)
Thanks so much for your thoughtful words! My best back to you as you get those blue feelings this fall. So much to celebrate with our children, but still it can be hard as moms!
Oh thank you Bridgette! I appreciate you taking the time to read my ramblings and your kind words. You made me smile!
Oh Kairle . . . my best wishes to both you and your daughter as she takes this important step in her life. How wonderful. I'm sure she will be a blessing to all she meets. Thank you for your kind words and understanding!
Karen, you are so so right. After I read your comment, I thought, YES! I have so much to celebrate. When I'm blue about the empty nest, I need to remember that. Life goes on and brings new and exciting experiences. Thanks for your thoughtful comments . . . just what I needed. I will be waiting on your next make on Instagram! Hugs right back!
HI,such a beautiful Post+Project! We all have so much to be thankful for! Thanks for sharing! msstitcher1214@gmail.com
Taunja, your post has tears rolling down my cheeks. First, because I can relate to you so much as a mom, too – the years fly by so fast. Second, your memories are just precious and they make me so nostalgic – a good reminder to cherish every morsel in this season of life. Third – wowwww what a beautiful quilt!! Gorgeous pattern and just precious in every way! I am in love with the scallops and the sweetness of it all! So inspiring and charming. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely work with this line, and for the kind words. What an honor and joy! xx
Thank you so much Linda! I appreciate you stopping by and your kind words!
Thanks so much Elea! It's no small thing the heart happiness you bring to people through your fabric! We are all the better for it!
I know exactly how you feel Taunja. My kiddos are all out of college now but those days of sending them off and not having them at their place at the dinner table is all too familiar. But the good news is, grand babies someday!!!!! Hold on cause they are God's greatest gifts!! My husband and I were just saying, this is a great time in our lives. All four kids are successful, and two of them married with beautiful families. All your hard work, worry and prayers will pay off. But for now, I understand and wish I could take you out to lunch and give you a hug. See you on Instagram my friend! Joane McIvor
I think we all feel that way and now I am watching my grandchildren grow up way too fast! Love this fabric and your quilt! Hobbies are wonderful to help with our many adventures we go through!
You just got me all choked up!! It's such a lovely feeling how you understand and relate. Thank you! I felt so blue when my oldest went off to college, but magically life just kept on getting better, and I knew him in a new way and grew proud of him in a new way. I know only good is to come. Thanks friend!
Love your quilt and the stories you shared! Elea's fabrics always touch my heart too!
I love your blog post, so real and refreshing!! Sounds like a wonderful life to grow up in. I think some of us on the other side of the computer screen forget that these are real people behind the blogs that have real feelings and lives. Your quilt is adorable and I so want to make one just like it!! Such a sweet collection.
You are so right! Quilting has been a positive mainstay through my life's adventures! Thanks so much for stopping by today Susan!
Thank you so, so much Kathleen! I really appreciate that. I'm sure there were days where my two kiddo's made me want to pull my hair out, but I think they were pretty few compared to the sweet simple days where we just enjoyed the little things! They are what make life so good! I hope you do make the quilt . . . I know you will LOVE Elea's fabric! Thanks again for your thoughtfulness!
We have so much in common Sigi! I am always just touched by Elea's fabric. I have a small but nice little stash of fat quarters and scraps collecting from her 3 lines. I plan to just let them grow and grow until I have just the right, special project for them. Thanks for stopping again!
What an excellent post and such treasured memories, those of us as mothers can all relate too. My kids are grown and gone now and have lives of their own, but …oh…the sweet memories of the days of getting school shopping done and new shoes and back packs…I now watch as my children do that for their own kids, and SMILE as I remember the days… Grandchildren are the second blessing from having your own children. Great quilt, and so perfect for this line of Elea's fabric!!
Lovely fabrics – they make gorgeous quilts!
Hi Denny! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughtful words. Each transition in life is good and I need to remember that. I look forward to the day when I watch my children raise families of their own. In fact, I've been thinking that my Apple Farm quilt will be put away for just that. Thank you friend!!
Thanks so much Allison!! Just love all of Elea's collections!
You have a real gift. Not only for quilting, but for getting to the heart of the matter. As I was reading this lovely post I was instantly transported back in time to those days I shared with my own young children. I will forever see them picking apples, making apple pie and having fun when I make this quilt just like yours. The pattern is perfect for this (and any other) fabric, so well thought out. I cannot wait to get my own Apple Farm quilt made. Thanks for sharing this today. Hugs to you as your \”babies\” begin this new, exciting journey. And yes, grandchildren are the bonus in the long run.
Thanks so much Pam. Isn't it amazing how we quilters and mothers can connect so easily, through our shared experiences? It's really awesome. We all need more good connections in this world. I do hope you get this quilt made up and enjoy it like I did. I was chuckling when I was thinking about how we used to ride bike all through the alleys and roads in our previous hometown. It was population 500, perfect for being out and about with kids. But my son was (and is) a talker. He was so busy talking over his shoulder to me and my daughter one time, he ran right into a telephone pole. Got a big goose egg on his forehead (he was wearing a helmet), bounced off the back of the bike, picked himself up, and never skipped a beat with whatever story he was telling us. Oh, the good old days. Have a great week Pam!
Your quilt is amazing, and I really enjoyed a trip down memory lane with you. You have captured those thoughts really well, Elea's fabric just invokes so many memories of childhood and happy days spent outside! There is a warmth coming from her cheerful designs and the quilt you have created suits Apple Farm to a T! Megan xx
Thank you so much Megan! I truly appreciate your kind comments and our shared love of Elea's fabric! Looking forward to seeing your Apple Farm creations too. I know they will be darling as always!
Taunja,I love your quilt and I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more fabric for awhile, but I can't not buy Apple Farm and make your Sweetly Scalloped quilt with it! I am an Elea fan too 🙂 As far as your post goes, I was sitting on the sofa with tears rolling down my face and my husband wanted to know what was wrong! My daughter just graduated from college and my son who graduated 4 years ago is getting married next weekend. I have no idea where the time went! Thank you for the touching post and the reminder of all the wonderful childhood memories.
Well I don't like to hear that I made someone cry 😉 but thank you so much for your kind words and I so appreciate that you connected with what I was saying. You are in an exciting time in your family life too. So much to look forward too, but still it's hard not to miss the good times when they were little! Have a wonderful time at the wedding! Joy!! Oh, and I hope you keep in touch if you do make Sweetly Scalloped!
Your quilt is just fantastic.Great job!
Thanks so much Rosa!! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
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