Guest Post - Suitcase Stories: Great Grandma's Hat Box

At Christmas I received a suitcase that belonged to my great grandma, my sister also received a something special that belonged to Great Grandma!

From my sis -
"Like Michelle, I also received one of Great Grandma's suitcases for my Birthday (which happens to be close enough to Christmas so I got it then). Auntie K loaded up this lovely hat box with some fun sewing supplies including a new iron, fabric, thread, and new scissors! She always spoils me!"

 Love the stripes!

Guest Post: Letterboxing

So my sister told me about how she went letterboxing and I was like..... "what?"

She's going to tell you about what it is and her experience.

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“What is letterboxing?” 

Glad you asked.

Letterboxing is like a treasure hunt.  I got the chance to go letterboxing on one of our last nice Saturdays before winter sets in for good.  So here’s how it works.

First you go to http://www.letterboxing.org to find some clues. You can search by map and narrow it down to your area of the state.  Some of the clues have puzzles or riddles to figure out before you know what city it is in or where to start looking. Some tell you which city and park to start at. My friend had all of this prepared ahead of time. She had printed out clues and grouped them by city so that we could do a few at a time.

Our first set of clues had us start of down a boardwalk path through some lovely cattails.

Unfortunately our first box was nowhere to be found.  But we pressed on. Our next clue had us start out in a park that was at the other end of the trail. We followed the clues, and there it was!

Inside each Letterbox is a log book and a stamp. Many of the stamps are hand carved.

You take the letterbox stamp and using your ink – we used some markers – you stamp it in your journal. Then you take your stamp and stamp it in the log book with the date and your name.  Hurray! First box found, off to find more! On our way back to the car we saw this big tree stump. We stopped to count the rings.

Our next clue took us to a park and ride. This one was pretty quick to find.

It is so much fun looking through the log book to see who has found it before you, and how long ago it was.

Our next clue led us on a very long trail. We started off in a park but then followed some public trails that wound through a subdivision.

This willow next to the pond was gorgeous.

After a few wrong turns and some back tracking, and plain old snooping around we finally found the box! Sometimes you really need to look hard in the branches and brambles.

At this point we decided we would have just enough daylight left for one more box. Off to another park! This park also had some long trails and boardwalks through marsh land. Check out this crazy tree

We were a bit confused on some of the clues with this one too, but in the end it worked out. This one was a KISS stamp.

Hiking with a good friend and enjoying some time outside before we hibernate for the winter was a great way to spend an afternoon! It’s amazing how many wonderful parks and trails are out there and right in your own backyard too. Try it out.

Quilt Stories: Wedding Guest Book Quilt

A new quilt story and my sister's first guest post! She's awesome. Show her some love!

Without further ado, take it away sis!

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When Scott and Michelle got engaged, I joined the hunt for crafty ways I could help to make their day personal, beautiful, and fun. I found a few examples of guest book quilts online. I asked Michelle if they would like me to make a guest book quilt and she said yes. It was time to get to work! 

I picked out 3 fabrics all which had former lives as bed sheets. I cut a 12.5 in. square and stitched a heart with their names and wedding date I had Michelle draw it out for me so the stitching is her handwriting. I framed this square and gave it to Michelle at one of her showers. 

I cut around 200 6.5 in. squares with a pinking rotary cutter. On the day of the wedding we had three small bushel baskets lined up; one to hold scratch paper for practicing on, one to hold the squares, and one for the finished squares. We covered the table with kraft paper so that the markers would not bleed through. We also put out framed instructions and sharpies.

After the wedding, all the squares were packed away for a few months. I had the goal of finishing the quilt in time for their first anniversary. Towards the end of the summer one of my friends helped me make a plan and start piecing. I waited for a few more weeks to see if there was anyone who had not made a square at the wedding but wanted to be in the quilt. 

Patches helped me with the final layout by chasing her tail all over the pieces.

I was able to finish the quilt just in time for their anniversary and I love how it turned out. What a neat way to remember the love of family and friends. 

These are some of my favorite squares.

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My husband and I love this quilt and we will treasure it always. There is so much love in it! We also love all of the pictures and words from our guests. We've had a lot of good laughs.

Here are a couple more of my favorites besides the ones my sister picked out!