Everyone Deserves a Quilt

In the Light of Day

2012-01-26T11:46:00.000-05:00

Ok, I left the Twin Sisters quilt on the design wall last night and when I looked at it this morning, I decided that I really do like it. The border really brightens it up (I really do love mitered corners) and the cornerstones really aren't too bad. As a reader commented yesterday, had I used brighter fabric for the cornerstones, it would have overpowered the flow of the quilt. And like my husband and a couple of others said, the qult has an old or washed out look to it, which makes it feel comfy. Thanks Vrooman's Quilts for the reminder that we are our own worst critics!

Here's a better picture of the quilt.

Today, in between baking the 15 dozen cookies for an order and packing for the retreat, I'm putting the binding on my Big Ten quilt. This is a fun and big quilt (86" x 106") by Swirly Girls Designs. I'm loving the orange binding!

Met the Goal

2012-01-26T00:13:00.001-05:00

I wanted to finish my Twin Sisters quilt top before I went on retreat and I was able to do that tonight. If you click on the picture it will enlarge it and it does look better. I really do need to learn to take better photos!

Adding the blue and floral stripe borders really helped brighten this up a bit; but I really wish I had used brighter fabric for the cornerstones. Oh well. It's ready to be quilted and then I'll bind it with the same blue that was used for the first border.

I do like the fact that this is now a more "user friendly" size for me (about 70" x 80"). Who knows, by the time it's quilted I might really like it.

The REALLY good news is that this is a UFO that is close to being DONE, DONE and DONE (pieced, quilted and bound)!

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-23T09:56:00.001-05:00

This is going to be a busy week, but I hope to get the borders added to the quilt that I put on the wall tonight. It's a UFO, of course, and it's called Twin Sisters, by Eleanor Burns from her Quilts Through the Seasons book. I've made a couple of these but this is the only one that is still in my possession. I think the fabric that I used was mostly from April Cornell's Sunshine line for Moda Fabrics and I know it's a few years old.

I know exactly why I stopped working on this. I was disappointed in how it was turning out. I thought it was kind of dull and even if I added a narrow dark blue border and then the floral border, I just wasn't going to be thrilled with it. (The picture isn't the greatest, but I can't blame it all on my lack of photography skill. This quilt is pretty bland.) I'm probably still not going to be thrilled with it when it's done, but I will be thrilled with the fact that I will have finished another UFO.

Here's how I picked this project to work on. This evening I finished up my Weave It To Me quilt (my first DONE, DONE, and DONE of 2012), and I decided that I didn't want to start something new before heading off to retreat on Friday. That meant that if I was going to sew, it had to be on a UFO and it probably shouldn't require too much work. Since I've been working in blues and yellows lately and I have a pretty full light blue bobbin, I decided it was time to finish this puppy. I'm sure that if If don't like the end product, I can find someone who will.

Here's a few pictures of my Weave It To Me (front and back). I really like how this turned out, including the back. I don't usually piece my backs this way, but I had two large pieces of the floral that, pieced together, would be about 6 inches too small for a solid-fabric backing; so added a strip of the yellow fabric and it worked perfectly. I like how it compliments the front of the quilt.

In case you didn't see my post about the Missouri Star Quilt Company Iron Quilter contest results, be sure to take a few minutes and check it out. I'm thrilled to say that I won third place, but even more exciting is that there are LOTS of fabulous projects to see and put on your "to do" list. I think their site is down for repairs right now, but be sure to check back later. It's worth it!

If you need inspiration or just want to see some really talented quilters, check out the Design Wall Monday links at Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 4

2012-01-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

It was a good week! I've got two more quilts quilted so that used up some backing yardage. And even though I bought more backing fabric because it was on sale, it pretty much equals out - only 3/4 yard bought more than used. YEAH!! I love it when that happens.

Now, here's a warning about my next report. I will be going on a retreat to Holmes County (Amish Country) from Friday - Monday and of course no matter how much I think I'm NOT going to buy, I always do. My only saving grace is that I usually get a lot sewn and I hope that holds true this time.

Here's the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 12.00 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 12.0 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 11.75 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 38.50 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2012: 26.50 yard

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 2
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (I really should make a list, but that would only upset me!)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound):
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 12
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 2

Check out what other quilters are doing with their stash by going to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Third Place-Not Too Shabby!

2012-01-20T17:54:00.001-05:00

Remember this post, when I said I was entering the Iron Quilter Contest put on by the Missouri Star Quilt Company? Well, they announced the winners this week and I won third place!! YEAH!!

Here's the quilt I entered. According to the rules, we had to use at least one charm pack of Summer Breeze by Sentimental Studios for Moda Fabrics and anything else we wanted. For my quilt top, which measures 43" x 53", I used two charm packs and 1 3/4 yards of Kona Snow. That's it because I wanted simplicity. As soon as I saw the fabric, I knew I wanted to make this block because it reminded me of a trellis, but I was playing around with different layouts and border options. When I figured out a way to make the center blocks and the pinwheel border blocks at virtually the same time and with very little waste, I knew that's what I wanted to do. I really like how this turned out and I plan on tweaking it a bit and make another quilt, only larger.

Here's a link to the top ten quilts. And here's a link to all the entries. There are some amazingly talented quilters out there!

Shot, I now have even more quilts to add to my "To Do" list!

Moving Right Along...

2012-01-18T03:03:00.002-05:00

I'm still on the right track with gettin stuff done here. I finished the pumpkin wall hanging. It's all quilted and bound!

I had to do a little playing around with the backing fabric because the fabric I wanted to use was not cut straight and was a bit short in a couple of palces. Now I could have changed fabric, but I really wanted to use this one. It was a black and orange check that I don't know when or why I got it. I also knew that I probably wouldn't use it for anything other than a backing so this worked, almost. At most, I was only about 3/4 of an inch short (before quilting) and I really didn't want to piece a different backing. So, I decided to go ahead and quilt it and make a wide binding to flip around back and cover the problem area. Here are some pictures.

Here's what it looks like from the front. It's done and I'm happy, even though this is a crappy picture!

Twister Cats

2012-01-17T11:30:00.001-05:00

It's done and I love the binding with just splashes of color! It's easier to see if you click on the picture and look at it when it's a bit larger.

After I finished this, I quilted the pumpkin wallhanging top I made right before Halloween. It's ready to have the binding attached and I hope to do that today. Again, it's small, 36" x 36" but done is done, right? Come back here tomorrow to see the finished product. :-)

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-16T08:46:00.003-05:00

I decided that I really need to work on a couple of UFOs that are ready to be quilted and not start something new until I completely finish at least one project. So, last night I picked a UFO (a small one, mind you), and got to work. Here's my original post about the cat fabric. I did make a couple of donation quilts, but then a couple of months later, I found two more panels and decided to try something different with my Twister ruler. It's pretty sad, but this top was completed in the summer of 2010 and it's only 36" x 48" so I don't really know why it wasn't quilted.

It's ready for the binding, but that's the reason it is on my design wall and not in my hot little hands having the binding attached. I am trying to decide what to use for the binding. I thought about the same black that is in the quilt, but I think that will be boring. I only have bits and pieces of the fabrics that I used for the twisting pinwheels and I don't want to buy anything new. After trimming the backing fabric, I decided that I do have enough left over to use that for the binding, and even though it is directional and has words printed on it, I think it'll be fine. I like that the background is black and that there are lots of colors in it. Regarding the words printed on it, I think that since you're only going to see 1/4" it won't matter. What do you think?

Update: The quilt is finished! Check it out here.

To see what other quilters have on their design walls today go to Judy L's Patchwork Times!

Stash Report - Weeks 2 & 3

2012-01-15T13:37:00.001-05:00

Since I didn't report anything last week and I did sew quite a bit before I headed to Dayton, I have decent numbers to share. I've made two tops since the new year began (Margarita Sunrise#2 and Weave It To Me) and I finished my Tumbler UFO. There has been no fabric purchases so far this year, but that could change at any moment, as we all know. I think I have the backing fabric for all three of the tops that I recently finished so I need to get them quilted and count that fabric as "out the door."

What a perfect day to sew! It's cold outside but toasty in here, thanks to the fire in the fireplace. And the smell of soup simmering on the stove and Jack's bread rising in the kitchen is so wonderful! I've got to get a handwork project ready so I can sew and watch the football game later! As I said, it's a perfect day....to sew!

Here's the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 0.0 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 0.0 yards
Fabric Used These Two Weeks: 26.75 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 26.75 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2012: 0.0 yard

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound):
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (I really should make a list, but that would only upset me!)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound):
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 14
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 0

Check out what other quilters are doing with their stash by going to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Accomplishments

2012-01-11T17:33:00.001-05:00

Even though the last couple of weeks have been a little crazy (holidays. travel, etc.), I have managed to get some quilty things accomplished. For the past two weeks I've had my Weave It To Me on the design wall and I finally finished the top. It measures 64" x 88" and I really do like it. I can picture this in just three fabrics for say, Christmas or July 4th . I may have to consider making this as a wall hanging. What do you think? :-)

I pulled out my Tumbler quilt from almost a year ago. I began this at the annual January retreat last January and have done very little since. Well, I started working on it again and had hoped to get a bit more done and possibly finish it at this year's retreat. This is by no means my oldest UFO, but it is a UFO and for some reason it has been calling my name to work on it. Well, here it is. I guess I need to find another UFO to take on the retreat - like that'll be a problem! :-)

This quilt is kind of big, about 82" x 102" and it has 577 different fabrics in it! It's laid out 25 across by 23 down and each block is a different fabric. I used a single off-white fabric for the half blocks that finish off each row and frame the top and bottom. And finally, I used another fabric (remenants from a 2008 project) for the outside border. I know exactly which project in which I had used this fabric and I had long strips that I just couldn't bring myself to throw away. You can see the project here. Well, it's found a home and is a perfect fit. I only have about 6" x 3" left over. Awesome!!

This makes three tops that have been finished this year and I already had a bunch to quilt from the last couple of years. Perhaps I should concentrate on some quilting rather than piecing for a little bit.

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-09T14:04:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted! Weave It To Me is still up on the design wall, but with more completed.

I still have to sew the side "points" on and the final border and then this puppy is ready to quilt!

I haven't done any sewing since Tuesday because I was out of town. My sister Ann and I went to visit Mom at another sister's house in Middletown and we had a wonderful time! Now it's time to get back to work her at home. :-)

If you have a few minutes, you should check out the Summer Breeze challenge quilts at the Missouri Star Quilt Company blog. Here's a link to the site. http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/the-iron-quilter/

There are some really neat projects. My quilt is #33, and if you've been reading my blog over the last month, you saw various stages of this quilt. The voting continues until Jan. 16th if you're interested.

Check out what other quilters have on their design wall today.

Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-02T11:21:00.001-05:00

It's the first Design Wall Monday of 2012. I've always enjoyed Design Wall Monday, even when I didn't regularly participate. There is so much talent here! Thanks Judy for hosting this.

Here's what's on my wall today. The pattern is Weave It To Me by Black Cat Creations and all of this fabric is from my stash. YEAH!! What a great way to start the new year.

I'm just about half way through piecing the top and I'm really liking it. I cut the fabric Saturday and spent a little time piecing Sunday. I'd love to finish the top today, but we'll see how that works. The pattern is a bit confusing at first, but once I got going, it was fine. I didn't particularly care for the way the pieces were labeled (I thought it was confusing) so I made myself a swatch cheat sheet and remarked them and I was ready to go.

Other than the background white, this quilt uses fat quarters. Now, I have a couple of yellow stripe fabrics and because of the stripe spacing and me wanting to have them line up, I did have to use more than a fat quarter for those fabrics. Also, this quilt has reminded me that not all fat quarters are created equal. I understand that the 18" x 22" is an approximate, but when a fabric is 18" x 19.75", that's a problem for a quilt like this. I was really glad that most of the fabrics I picked to use were not fat quarters, but rather leftovers from another project. But I digress. Anyway, it's always a good idea to check a pattern to see how much "wiggle room" you have in regards to the fabric requirements. It would be heartbreaking to get to the end of this (or any) project and be short by just a couple of inches.

I also made another Margarita Sunrise quilt top this past weekend. Click here to see the first one I made, and check out the latest one below.

This isn't quilted yet, but I hope to be able to do that soon. I'd like to have a faster turn around time for my quilts this year than I've had in the past, but we'll see.

I have a question for you all. What are your thoughts on black or grey design wall coverings? As I discussed in this post, I've been making some changes to my design wall and I still haven't covered the wings. I've been waiting to do that until I decide about how to cover the main wall. I've noticed that when taking pictures lately, the blocks often get washed out because of the white background. Of course I'm worried about when I use dark fabric in a quilt and that those would blend in too much if I use a dark background. (See the Margarita Sunrise above.) I just don't know. Thats why I thought maybe a grey would work. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might want to share. Thanks in advance!

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today.
Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Pay It Forward

2012-01-01T20:13:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about the giveaways that I had during the month of October as part of Blogtoberfest. I had a lot of fun doing those and am thinking about doing more during 2012.

I belong to an on-line group and a number of people participated in a Pay It Forward event. I love that idea and will come up with the specifics and let you know soon.

Stash Report - Week 1

2012-01-01T14:49:00.001-05:00

It's Sunday and it's January 1st, so all the In and Out numbers are zero, but I'm reporting anyway.

I'm thrilled with last year's numbers and even though I doubt I'll be able to top them, I'm going to try. Quite honestsly, it really isn't about how much fabric I use or how many quilts I make. It's about accountability and continuing to be productive. There have been times in the past that I quilt like a maniac and then do nothing for weeks and weeks. For some reason, that doesn't happened nearly as much when I'm posting stash reports.

I still have a goal to finish up the UFOs around here, but not in any real order. I'd like to say that I'll finish one a month, but I doubt that will happen. Last year I finished 12 quilts, but not one a month and I'm ok with that. They're done and that's what matters.

Here's the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 0.0 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 0.0 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 0.0 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 0.0 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2012: 0.0 yard

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): UFOs Still to Do: ??? (I really should make a list, but that would only upset me!)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound):
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 11
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 0

Check out what other quilters are doing with their stash by going to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

2011 ~~~2012

2012-01-01T02:19:00.002-05:00

I feel comfortable in saying that 2011 was pretty sucessful quilt-wise. Thirty-eight (38) new quilts were started and finished, twelve (12) UFOs were completely finished (most of them have already found new homes), and over 200 net yards of fabric used. Not too bad!

I have to insert a note here about the 38 new quilts. That number does includes the 15 Honor Flight quilts that were pretty small (36" x 48"). These numbers are for me. They help me keep track of what I do or have done. No one should compare themselves to others and try to "keep up with the Jones". I had a couple people comment that a quilt that small shouldn't count as one quilt, but hey, why not? I had to do everything the same as if I was making a bed size quilt from the planning, designing, piecing and quilting. I did all of that in less then 2 months. Thinking back, I'm really kind of stunned that I did all of them in less than 60 days. It just goes to show you that when you put your mind to something, it can be done.

As you can probably tell, of all the projects I worked on during 2011, I am most proud of the Honor Flight quilts. These were such an honor to make and help distribute. I felt very close to my Dad while making these, and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried while I watched these veterans return from D.C. and join us in the hanger for the closing ceremonies. It was truly an amazing thing in which to participate. (Thanks Jeanette for telling me about it!)

I made some quilts in 2011 that pushed me to try new things. Glacier Star was probably the most obvious, but there were others. My Hunter's Star was a challenge (new ruler), as was working in basically all scraps on a number of projects. Check out pictures here, here, here and here. I am was a bit of a control freak and really struggled making scrap quilts. Well, that certainly has changed! I love making scrap quilts. It's so exciting to throw caution to the wind and not really know how it's going to look when you're done. Of course, there were times when it just didn't work and I spent some quality time with the seam ripper. :-)

Besides quilting, I participated in my fifth (5th) 3-Day Breast Cancer walk and even though I had some issues with dehydration during the walk, Lynn and I reached our goal of raising $5000 and that's all that matters. Since the first time I walked in 2007, I continue to be amazed at the people I meet during those weekends. Yeah, I understand that walking 60 miles with someone, sleeping in tents and peeing in porta-johns has its own special bonding technique, but I've met some of the most incredible people during those walks. Whenever I'm feeling bogged down or sorry for myself I just have to spend a little time thinking about those weekends and it doesn't take long for me to really put things back in perspective.

I'm proud to be part of the Girls' Night Out Charity and organize the Bras for a Cause. This year's event raised over $50,000 for four local cancer centers! It's a lot of work, but well worth the effort. I continued to volunteer for Stein Hospice and find that the time I spend with the patients and their families helps me probably more than it does them.

On the home front, 2011 was a busy year. Lynn and Ty got engaged, Zach graduated from paramedic school, Jack started another year of teaching ESL, and Nikki and Zach announced that they are execting another baby in early April.

2012!! There'll be a new baby and a new son-in-law! WooHoo!!! :-)

I know there will be surprises and challenges; but I plan to take each day and be thankful for what I have and "just deal" with the problems. I am excited to learn new things, quilt-related included, and hope that I succeed in helping at least one person learn something new and enjoy their life just a little bit more.

I don't make resolutions, so I won't say that I'm going to use "X" amount of fabric or make "Y" number of quilts. I'd like to lose weight, but I'm not going to say how much or in what time frame (that never really works for me). Instead, I think I will strive to be healthier in 2012 than I was in 2011. I will continue to volunteer, but I don't know how many hours and in what capacity. I seriously doubt I will walk the 60 miles again this year, but I will be involved somehow. I'd like to continue teaching some quilt classes, but I don't know when, where or what.

As you can tell, 2012 promises to keep me busy but I'm not quite sure how. I will simply do what I can and hope that what I do makes an impact. I think that's really all I can ask, don't you think?

Stash Report - Weeks 51 and 52

2011-12-25T15:03:00.002-05:00

Well, here's the last stash report of the year. I almost didn't take the time to post today but when I remembered this would be the last report of the year, I decided to take a few minutes and do it before the obligatory afternoon Christmas nap.

I'm thrilled with the year-end totals!

Here's the report:

Fabric Added These Two Weeks: 7.50 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 195.125yard
Fabric Used These Two Weeks: 15.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 397.375yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 202.25 yard

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)

New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 38
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 11

Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 0

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.
Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

2011-12-19T11:26:00.001-05:00

Here's what's on the wall today.

I'm participating in the Iron Quilter Challenge at The Missouri Quilt Company and this is what I''ve made using two charm packs of Summer Breeze by Sentimental Studios for Moda Fabrics. Ignore the yellow fabric that looks like a border. That's the fabric that I want to use as backing and I'm checking to see if I have enough. I don't want to have to buy more fabric and I think that with creative piecing this will work. The quilt's kind of small, about 50" x 60" or so and it shouldn't take me long to finish. Of course since the challenge deadline is December 31st I really don't have much time to wait to finish this up now do I?

As much as I like this quilt, the really exciting thing about today's Design Wall Monday is the design wall itself! Up until this past week, my design wall measured about 60" x 76". Here's a link to a picture of the original design wall construction. Of course I quickly found out that even though that was great, I like making larger quilts and needed to add width to my wall. Here's a link to my solution - design wall "wings".

Well, there's an update. Jack, my wonderfully supportive husband built some sturdy, removeable wings and now my design wall has the ability to extend to 96" wide! AWESOME!!!

I have not added the batting to the wings yet, but that will happen soon. The wings are removeable, which I really like. Here's a view from back side of the wings. The cross bars hold the wings and give them stability. When not in use, they are stored behind the orginal design wall. The wings themselves are stored next to the original wall and are not in the way. YEAH!!

Here's a picture (partial view) of the back side of one of the wings. Do you see the brackets?

I'm so luck to have the space for this and a husband who "gets" what I do!

Check out what other quilters have on their design wall today. Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Weeks 48, 49 and 50

2011-12-11T13:03:00.001-05:00

Well life has certainly gotten in the way of regular blogging lately. I look back to October when I participated in the Blogtoberfest and how I made it a priority to blog at least once everyday, even if it was a very short and to the point post. Well, obviously blogging hasn't made it's way to the top of my priority list for December.

Anyway, I've done a little bit of quilting (mostly hand-work) in between all the other things that need/needed to get done (Thanksgiving, traveling, being sick, family stuff, etc.). I played around with a variety of projects, but I'm excited because I finally added the binding to this quilt, which I've named 4-Patch Galore. This has been quilted for a very long time and I just needed to bind it. As I was looking for the picture to post here, I realied that this picture is before quilting and binding and I haven't taken another one yet. I have to take care of that!

I also finished my Shadowbox quilt. Again, this picture is before quilting and binding. Thanks to everyone whe gave me suggestions and comments about my fabric choices for this quilt the last time I posted about it here!

I did some repair work for a friend on one of her grandmother's quilts and returned it to her before I took a picture of it. (DUHHHH) Maybe I can stop over and get a picture. It was a dresden plate quilt and needed some repair to the binding. I just added a new binding on top of the old one that was falling apart.

I did take the time to quilt the Cheese and Crackers quilt and will hopefully get the binding machine sewn today. That will give me a hand-stitching project for when I don't have time to use the machine or when I'm not home. Of course I still have my hexagon quilt that I can always take, but I'm finding that the last 10 blocks are gettting pushed aside for other projects more frequently than not. It's too late for this year, but I've already set a goal to have that quilt DONE, DONE, and DONE (pieced, quilted and bound) during 2012. That should be doable since I've decided that I'm going to have someone else hand quilt it for me. I know I'll just keep setting it aside and not do it myself, so why not just bite the bullet and send it out? A friend asked me why I didn't just machine quilt it and be done with it. I just can't see doing that when the entire quilt (king size) has been hand pieced.

Anyway, I ~~digress~~ ramble. Here's the stash report (the main reason for this post).

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00yards

Fabric Added to Date: 187.625yards
Fabric Used This Week: 11.50 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 382.375yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 194.750 yard**

**I'm so close to 200 net yards used that I can smell it. I'm pretty confident that I'll reach it because I plan to quilt at least one large quilt this week or next and that backing should do it, plus I have a project that I have to finish for someone by the 29th and none of that fabric has been added. YEAH!!

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 35
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 12
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 47

2011-11-20T09:45:00.001-05:00

Short and simple report today, as I have to help finish the wood splitting so we can get the splitter back to Ellen and be done before our Thanksgiving guests and travels begin.

This past week saw some productivity, at least more than in the past few weeks so I did use a bit of fabric. I also bought a little bit, but the good news is that it's all been used already! :-)

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 4.75 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 187.625yards
Fabric Used This Week: 16.375 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 370.875 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 183.25 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 33
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 15
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Cheese and Crackers

2011-11-20T00:58:00.001-05:00

I meant to post this earlier but got busy and forgot. :-(

I finished the interior of my Cheese and Crackers quilt. I had originally planned to add multiple borders to this (at least two and probably three), but I think I'm going to leave it just like this.

When I put the fabrics that I had planned for the border around this part, I felt like they just didn't work. I felt that I lost the design of the "cheese sticks" and I did not want that to happen. I could always look for alternate fabrics (I did check my stash and didn't find anything), but I really don't want to buy anything for this quilt. I already have the backing fabric set aside and now that I'm not including borders, I don't have to worry about whether or not it will fit. This is still a decent size, measuring just shy of 80" x 90".

Jack was looking at my border options and his suggestion was to leave it as is and use a brown binding which is what I was going to do anyway, but we don't have to tell him that. We'll just let him think he thought of it. :-)

Done Shopping

2011-11-19T14:08:00.001-05:00

Well, the wedding dress shopping was not an overwhelming success. :-(

The shop didn't have any of the dresses in which Lynn was interested. When she called to make the appointment, she asked if they carried the brand/maker that she likes and they said yes. She didn't think she needed to check all the model numbers, but I guess she shoud have. I'm not sure but I don't think they had any (maybe one) of the ones she had seen on line, but the saleslady did pull some that were close.

There was one dress that she liked alot, and Becky (Ty's mom) and I really liked it also. It was very flattering and she really looked great in it. I think she's going to call another shop (near Cleveland) that carries the brand she likes and ask them if they have the actual model numbers. I guess I'll be dress shopping at least one more time.

We did make a stop at Pat Catan's and were delighted with being able to find everything she was looking for. She even spoke to a manager about a possible discount on buying a large numbrer of candles and he agreed. What was really funny though is after he agreed and we were checking out, the candles were on sale for $1 less than the discounted price, which was 30%. Of course we got a few extra just in case they're needed. :-)

Shopping

2011-11-19T08:57:00.001-05:00

I'm not a real shopper. Even when it comes to fabric shopping, I can only do it for so long before I have had enough. When it comes to Christmas shopping, I'm kind of lucky because my family celebrates Christmas and Thanksgiving together so I have to have that shopping done early (next week, folks!) so I do that and then can take a breather before shopping for everyone else.

Well, today is a shopping day, but not a Christmas shopping day. I'm going with Lynn and her future mother-in-law to shop for a wedding dress. :-)

I'll let you know how it goes.

Shadow Box is Done

2011-11-16T21:47:00.001-05:00

First of all, thanks to everyone who gave me their opinions about this quilt on Monday. I made the changes with the fabric, played around with the block placement and then decided it was good to go. I'm pleased with the results.

As I expected, I really like how this turned out and think it would be great done in flannels. I'm kind of thinking about checking my flannel stash and pull the fabrics to make another one of these while I'm on retreat in January. Well, that's what I'm thinking now, but that's over a month away and I'm sure another quilt pattern will come up that just screams to be made during that time. :-)

Design Wall Monday

2011-11-14T10:36:00.002-05:00

I have a Shadow Box quilt up on the wall but I'm not happy with some of my fabric choices so I've been playing with my options. I'd love to hear what you think.

Here's the original, but I don't care for the two light fabrics.

Here's one option. Add one dark fabric and another light (this one has more red in it and "feels" better with the other fabrics). Of coure I would not just be changing out the top blocks, but also the ones on the bottom and far right.

Here'a another option. Keep the new light from the above picture but change the dark to the same fabric that will be used for the outside border. I'm kind of thinking it's too "busy" for the block.

Here's yet another option. How about replacing just one of the lights with this light? Again, I think it "plays" better with the other fabrics. I would also be swapping out the two outside lights on the bottom. Do you think the original light that would be staying is too light or that the texture is wrong?

And the final thought. (Am I thinking too much?!?) How about adding the two darks and get rid of the lights all together?

I really do like this pattern and know I'll like the quilt when it's done. I was thinking again and wondered if it's bad that I have all these fabric swap choices in my stash. I've decided that it's a good thing because I can make the swap (or keep the original) and not have to put this aside until I shop again to get just the right fabric. My stash is helping me from making this a UFO! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :-)

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today by going to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 46

2011-11-13T10:07:00.001-05:00

Just like last week, there wasn't a whole lot of sewing going on here, but I did manage to add the borders to one project and use 1 1/2 yards of fabric. Also, Lynn took a couple of yards from my homespuns stash to use for Christmas gifts so I guess it's better than nothing. As I said yesterday, I finished the 168 rail fence blocks for my Cheese and Crackers quilt but I haven't taken the time to figure out that yardage yet. So I guess I did use more than I thought. :-)

No fabric was brought in, so that's really good and that will help me reach my goals for the year. I never really set goals early on, but once I went over 150 yards of net used, I got excited and set a goal of 200 net used yards. Foolish maybe, but we'll see.

I've pulled fabric for a number of projects on which I want to work - some UFOs and some not, so hopefully the next few weeks will see some good numbers reported. I also have a couple of tops I want to get quilted soon, so I better buckle down and get busy. As I was updating the report, I realized that I have a quilt that has been ready for binding for a very long time. Perhaps that should be my first order of business.

No pressure here. :-)
Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 3.25 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 354.50 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 171.625 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 33
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 13
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Friday Finish

2011-11-11T17:56:00.001-05:00

I finally have a Friday Finish to report. This quilt was on my Design Wall Monday post with a brief story about why it was a UFO and possible ideas on how it was to be finished. While cutting the fabric for the border, I looked at the selvedge and saw that this fabric was made in 2002, and I'm pretty sure that I bought it when it was new Do you know what that means? Yep, this UFO is 9 years old! Holy cow!

Considering the age of this project, I decided that "done and not exactly as planned" is better than "not done, waiting for the impossible to happen" (namely, magical appearance of more of the fabric so I could enlarge this), so I added the borders and am ready to quilt it. After it's quilted, I'm going to add a small lime green piping at the same time that I add the purple binding.

It feels good to have done this! While finishing this, I was also able to finish the 168 small scrappy rail fence blocks that I need for my Cheese and Crackers quilt.

I didn't do anything with the clothline yet, but I'll get there so stay tuned.

Did you finish anything this week? Why not share it with other quilters and maybe you'll inspire them to finish something too.

Design Wall Monday

2011-11-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

There was no sewing done this past week which means that I didn't add any more blocks to my Cheese and Crackers quilt. Even if I had time to sew, I wouldn't have done much to this project anyway because I decided that I needed to pull some more light fabrics. If I want this to be fairly large, I need to have more than just six or seven lights or it'll look too organized and I certainly don't want that. Here's what I found.

While pulling these, I did find a few more cheddar fabrics I can use, so that was a bonus. :-)

Of course in my search I also found yet another UFO that I had forgotten about. (Well I didn't really forget about it, I just put it out of my mind.) Anyway, I found this bag neatly tucked away in the back corner of a shelf. I remember working on this at least six or seven years ago and deciding that I wanted it bigger. I wasn't able to find enough of the fabric to make the blocks I wanted, so I put the top in this bag along with the extra fabric that I had. (Maybe I was hoping that the needed fabric would just magically appear in the bag.) I even went so far as to add some fabric that I thought could be used for borders. (I don't know what was up with that. It must have been a weak moment of trying to get organized. :-)

Here's the top at the point that I stopped and put it away. Don't look too closely. I guess I was having some trouble matching the interesecting points. Could it have been the fact that the sashing fabric sort of glows in the dark and I was blinded by the brightness. Yea, that's the story I'm going with! The pattern is from the book Super Simple Squares by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith.

Here are the fabrics I pulled for borders and the order in which I think they'll be added. (Thanks Jerry for your input here!) That final green will be a piping added just before the purple binding.

Do you see my dad's picture in the top right corner? I feel like it's almost a "Where's Waldo?" thing with that. I like that he shows up in the pictures that I post because it makes me feel like I'm showing him my projects and that he's here to enjoy my quilting with me. I sure do miss him!

Anyway, here's what else is on the design wall (sort of).

While cleaning out a drawer, I found these pieces of clothesline that were the leftovers from some bowls that I made a while back. I decided to get my book out and use up these pieces. I just have to decide what to make. I'm kind of leaning towards a purse.

Now don't laugh, but I think it's pretty dangerous for me to try and clean or organize my sewing area. I end up with way too many things that I want to do and I don't know where to start. I guess I just have to pace myself, which is really not one of my strong points.

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today.

Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Learning to Use the Chainsaw

2011-11-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

I mentioned earlier that my brother was here to learn how to use and care for his chainsaw properly. Here's his blog posting about the experience. Enjoy!

http://knittingbrow.blogspot.com/2011/11/learning-to-use-chainsaw.html

It's always fun spending time with Jerry and when he leaves, I'm already thinking about when we can get together next. Maybe David could join us the next time!

Stash Report - Week 45

2011-11-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

Zero, Zip, Nada! That's how much fabric I used this week.
I was busy and had lots fun this past week so it's no big deal.

Here's the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 351.250 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 168.375 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 32
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 10
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

A View From the Upstairs Window

2011-11-05T22:29:00.000-04:00

This is what I saw from my upstairs window this morning. (I really do need to clean that screen before I put in the storm windows!)

Jerry was using his newly acquired chainsaw skills to start cutting the logs in our back yard. After a little bit, I went downstairs and looked out the back door to see the following.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I imagine it was something like "Holy crap, that's a lot of wood!"

Since the goal was for Jerry to learn about his saw and not necesarrily get all the logs cut, we decided that was enough wood cut and we headed to Planktown Market and then to Lynn's for a late lunch.

We enjoyed a nice long visit with Lynn and Ty and headed home for a quiet evening.

The Hexagon Mutation

2011-11-05T00:10:00.000-04:00

Do you think that I might have been a bit tired or distracted when I was working on this?

The really funny thing is that I sewed two sides down and was ready to add another hexagon before I realized the mistake.

Perhaps a better post title would be Heagons Gone Wild!

Excuse my, but I now, I have a date with my seam ripper. :-)

Winding Down

2011-11-03T22:56:00.000-04:00

Girls' Night Out and Bras for a Cause was wonderful last night. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers, vendors, and sponsors who worked tirelessly to put on this event. Thanks to all the attendees who make this night a success and help the four charities. I had a blast and hope you did also!

I spent the day visiting my hospice patients and doing follow-ups from the event. I'm kind of tired so I think I'll turn in early.

More about the bra winners tomorrow; but in the meantime, here are a couple of newspaper links that you might enjoy.
http://reflectorcam.norwalkreflector.com/galleries/index.php?id=4704

http://www.funcoast.com/node/365311
http://spotted.funcoast.com/galleries/index.php?id=5967

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-11-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

Well, I made it! I blogged everyday for the entire month of October. Whew!

It looked like I wasn't going to get a chance to continue my daily blogging because I've been extremely busy today, having left the house early and returning quite late. Well, have no fear, I'm getting this post in before midnight. :-) Ooops, I missed it. This posted right at midnight. I guess I shouldn't have made a trip to the bathroom before hitting the publish key.

What was I doing all day, you ask? Well, I had to take down the bra display from the mall and put it up at Kalahari for tomorrow evening's Girls' Night Out/Bras for a Cause. Of course there was a little glitch with scheduling so I helped in other areas before I could start to put up my display. Here's a sneak peak at the display. It's not quite done, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Besides the Bras for a Cause voting and silent auction, there are lots of raffles (50/50, jewelry, furniture, special dinners, etc.), great food, wonderful entertainment, the pink balloon explosion (money inside of balloons), Deal or No Deal, Minute to Win It, a huge silent auction of amzing items, Woman of the Year, and the Hog for the Cause. (Check that out below.) This event is jammed packed with fun stuff!

I'll be busy tomorrow.....

Design Wall Monday

2011-10-31T15:19:00.000-04:00

I got up early this morning, took the picture of my design wall, did some work for Wednesday's Bras for a Cause and then sat down to type out this post. I went to download the picture and couldn't find the cord to go between the camera and laptop. I searched for a while and then the phone rang. Well, about a dozen calls and lunch later, I remembered where I put the cord. So, here's the picture finally.

A couple of months ago, I spent some time checking my stash for some cheddar fabric because I love it decided to make something with it. I started pulling all that I had and then played around with how I wanted to use it. I couldn't think of a better way to use it than in something simple like rail fence blocks. I've been making these blocks as leaders and enders for a while and this is only a handfull of what I have. I cut some of the background blocks last night and put this up on the wall because I'm excited to start working on this in earnest. The blocks will finish 4.5", even though I really thought about making them finish 3." I know I want this to be pretty big, and even though I love these fabrics, I'm afraid something would come up that really needed done or that I'd get bored and this would end up being a UFO.

I really want to call this Cheese and Crackers. Do you understand why? I told a couple of people the proposed name and they didn't get it or think it was fun. I had to explain the logic (cheddar-colored fabric - the cheese- and the background fabric looks like it has wheat sprigs on it, thus the crackers. What do you think?

The quilts that I had posted on last week's design wall and the previous week's design wall Mondays are all ready for quilting. YEAH!!! I'm hoping to get those done before Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed! I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to everyone who played along with the giveaways the past three weeks. I had lots of fun with it. Keep checking back because I'm already getting things together for a Thanksgiving giveaway!

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls together. Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Weeks 43 and 44

2011-10-30T10:26:00.000-04:00

Not a lot of sewing was done this week but that's ok. I had a wonderful time with Quinn and Sadie and that certainly makes up for little to no sewing!

I'm headed back to the mall for Bras for a Cause today (last day until we move the display to the Girls' Night Out location Tuesday morning - YEAH!!). I'll be there until a little after 6pm and when I get home I have a cookie order for the bank. It's only 4 dozen so it won't take long and THEN I'm going to sew and watch some football.

I'm kind of a sports junkie I guess because I love to watch baseball, softball, volleyball and football. I don't really enjoy basketball, boxing or wrestling. I can watch some socer but not a lot. I enjoy tennis, gymnastics and just about any other sports; and I especially like to be hand stitching binding while watching sports. Now, I just have to get a quilt to that stage and I'll be all set. I guess that I'll be working on some hexagons tonight. :-) Maybe I'll use the machine Monday, since I don't think I have anything on the schedule - yet.

Ok, here't the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 6.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 351.250 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 168.375 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 32
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 10
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Tired!

2011-10-29T23:43:00.001-04:00

I spent a good part of today (noon -9pm) at the mall with the Bras for a Cause and even though I did nothing but talk, I'm tired. Who knew that talking could be so tiring? I talked to a lot of people today and I'll be doing the same tomorrow because I'll be there from about 11-6. We're also selling tickets for the Harley motorcycle so when the people working that table had to go to the restroom or whatever, I manned both tables. It was pretty easy to sell tickets for the bike and then have the people spend a dollar or two on the bras also, so I didn't really mind being there by myself. For those of you that don't know me, I really don't have trouble talking to complete strangers, so talking to them about the Mardi Bra or Zee-Bra is kind of fun. :-)

I saw a lot of people I know and haven't seen for a while and that was fun; but I also met a lot of new people. I always find it interesting and fun when you meet someone and realize that you either have a mutual friend or some other connection. I met a woman this evening who said she wasn't from the area and when I asked her where she lived, she said southern Ohio. I told her I went to school in Vandalia and she laughed and said she lives in Tipp City but spent a lot of her youth in Vandalia at her grandparent's house. I love it when that happens!

I didn't have an opportunity to take more pictures because I was pretty busy all day (talking, remember?). I'll try tomorrow or Tuesday after the display is set up for Girls' Night Out at Kalahari. Although I really like being part of organizing this event, I'll be glad when it's is over because I'll be able to get back to some sewing.

I think I'll head upstairs and read a bit before going to bed. Goodnight.

Bras at the Mall

2011-10-28T23:39:00.000-04:00

I spent most of the day at the Sandusky Mall manning the Bras for a Cause display. Here's a quick look at the display from a side angle. The public is being invited to donate $1 and vote for their favorite bra. The first place winner will be awarded $400, 2nd place will get $200, and the 3rd place winner will receive $100. The bras will be displayed all weekend and then move to Kalahari for Girls' Night Out Nov. 2nd where the winners will be announced and the bras will be sold by silent auction. All money received will benefit four area cancer service centers.

There are 43 bras on display here and I know of at least three more that will be "joining" the display at Girls' Night Out. Here are some pictures that show the bras a little bit better, but unfortunately they aren't good close-ups. I'm ging to try to get some close-ups tomorrow, but if I can't, I'll definitey have some after Wednesday's event.

Some of these bras are so amazing that I just can't believe it. And, the names! Check out the bra in the top left corner of the first picture. The name of the bra is "Mrs. Darwin's Theory of Evolution." I'll tell you what, every woman that has seen that bra just laughs out loud about that. While we were setting up last night and before signs were up, a man stopped to check out what we were doing and he asked why that bra had legs. He was a bit embarassed when he realized what it was, but of course I've told that story to at least 100 people today.

I had a visitor today while I was manning the display.

She found a bra that she really liked and it's taller than her! It's hard to see the bra, but it's the mask covering the eyes of the pumpkin.

I'll be back tomorrow with more, but in the mean time, go to www.girlsnightoutcharity.com to see more pictures from last year's event.

Long Day

2011-10-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

It sure has been a long day and even though Iv'e been busy all day long, it feels like I didn't get anything done. I think that's because most of the things I worked on today still need something done to them. :-(

I started my day visiting a hospice patient at the veteran's home and very soon after getting home, I was on my way back to Sandusky to set up the Bras for a Cause at the mall. That took a lot longer than I had expected and of course, I have four more bras that have been delivered to me tonight. I guess that means that I'll have to do some rearranging tomorrow. I shouldn't complain. It could be worse. I could have no or very few bras to display.

I'll be spending most of my weekend at the mall with the display so I'm sure my posts will be late in the day, just like this one. Of course I forgot my camera today, so I'll take some tomorrow and be sure to post them within the next couple of days.

Off to do some work; including bake the cookies I need for tomorrow.

Wednesday Winner

2011-10-26T23:25:00.000-04:00

Drum roll please......

The winner is...

quilary, who said...

I do like your UFO, so please persevere and write a pattern. Love the goodies in the giveaway - thanks for the chance :) The clips look much easier to use (and open) than the hair clips I use on my bindings!

Send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I'll get your prizes out ASAP.

Thanks for playing along everyone. I'll keep you posted on the pattern progress and I am working on a rather large giveaway for Thanksgiving, just because I can and I want to. :-)

Happy Birthday Steven!!

Morning With Grandkids

2011-10-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

Even though the morning is almost over we're really just starting our day here. Sadie woke up at about 6:05 this morning and I brought her in to our bed snuggle and play. She fell asleep at about 6:30 and slept for almost 1 1/2 hours! Of course by that time Quinn was stirring so she came in our bedroom also. We talked, laughed, read and just enjoyed a wonderful morning with two very special children. By 9:30 or so Quinn asked for something to eat, so she and Jack made pancakes and boy were they delicious! I'm not the only one to think that because Quinn at three of them, plus a banana and part of an apple. Sadie ate a whole pancake, some dry Cheerios, a banana and part of an apple. I'm amazed how much they can eat! Of course breakfast lasted a long time because we talked alot (at least Quinn did) and Jack and I just reaxed and enjoyed both girls.

The breakfast dishes are cleaned up, and Quinn is coloring while Sadie is ready for a nap.

Life is good!

You still have time to enter the giveaway. Click here for details.

Laundry, Binding, Playing

2011-10-25T22:40:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to get a bunch of quilting done while Quinn and Sadie were with their other grandma today but of course I guilted myself into being responsible and taking care of housework before quilting. :-( As usual, one thing led to another and before I knew it, the girls were on their way back here.

Before they got here, I was able to layout the fish in the border of the cat and fish quilt and I got the binding sewn on the rest of the pumpkin placemats. They're ready to be hand-stitched down, which I decided could be done after the girls went to bed. I'm doing it now but took a break to write this post.

Isn't it funny how you can buy all kinds of expensive toys but kids like playing with simple things like boxes, dirt, and stones.

Maybe some quilting will get done next week. :-)

Design Wall Monday and Blogtoberfest Giveaway #3

2011-10-24T08:43:00.005-04:00

The fish quilt from last week did not get finished. :-(

The fish are done but I didn't get them attached to the border yet and I've decided that it isn't going to get done this week because Sadie liked playing with them too much. She can't relly hurt them, so I figured that I'd just work on something else. Here's what I chose.

This is another UFO that is pretty darn close to being finished. I remember when I was working on this (not an actual date or anything, but just in general). This was maybe the second quilt that I made blindly - no pattern and no real idea of what I was doing. I must've been thinking about writing a pattern for this because I have all kinds of notes about cutting, piecing, pressing, etc. I also have notes about doing this in the exact opposite way (black background and colored stars). I really like this, especially the bright colors and pieced border so I think I'll evaluate this, finish it, and go ahead and write the pattern. I'll probably also make this with the black background because I found the stash of black to use. Besides, that will probably help me to write the pattern. (Good excuse, right?) :-) I'll keep you posted on the satus of that; but don't hold your breath because I have no idea when it will happen.

Now on to the giveaway. Here's what's up for grabs this week in my final blogtoberfest giveaway .

This week's winner will recieve:

1/2 yard of Pat Sloan's Sweel Liberty by P & B Textiles

1/2 yard of Nancy Gere's Uncle Sam by Windham Fabrics

1/2 yard of the red star fabric by Judie Rothermel by Marcus Brothers

Simply Patriotic pattern by Me (Joanne Hubbard)

1 package of 10 Wonder Clips by Clover

I'm excited about this giveaway! I used each of these fabrics in my 15 Honor Flight quilts and I really like them all and thought you might also. Since the fabric was patriotic I thought that the Simply Patriotic pattern was a perfect match. An finally, the Wonder Clips. I love these things! Here are some pictures of how I've used them.

And look how wide these clips open. Can we call them wide mouth clips? Open wide!

So how can you win, you ask?
Here's how; and you actually get three (3) chances to win!

1. Leave a comment on this post by 9:00pm Wednesday (10/26/11), when I'll randomly pick a winner. (That's my nephew Steven's birthday. Happy Birthday Steven!!)

2. Earn a second chance by posting about this giveaway on your blog (and link to this page), and post a second comment here.

3. The third entry can be earned by becoming a follower of this blog, and posting again that you are a follower. (If you are already a follower, just leave a post stating so.)

I've enjoyed hosting these giveaways and am already thinking about the future. I've got an idea for around Thanksgiving time and some for during the winter months, so be sure to check back frequently. :-)

Check out this post to see about the Traveling Stash Giveaway hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Check out Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have on their design wall today. You just might find your next project!

Traveling Stash Giveaway

2011-10-24T03:12:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of The Traveling Stash Giveaway? I hadn't until I read about it at Sarah's Confessions of a Fabric Addict blog.

This sounds like so much fun and even though I would really like to win and increase my chances by not telling you about it, I thought that was pretty selfish of me. :-)

You've got to take some time and read about this. I really am amazed at the cleverness of quilters! :-)

We're Home and Have Visitors

2011-10-23T23:42:00.002-04:00

After a fun trip to Chicago to visit David, we returned home this evening and now have a couple of very special visitors. Can you tell that Sadie's really happy to be here? Ok, maybe it's me that's so happy she and Quinn are here. :-)

Of course there was story time with Grandpa Jack before bed.

Oops. I think we're too late! I don't know if it was a boring story, Jack's melodious voice, or the fact that she had a very busy day.

Well, Sadie wasn't exactly thrilled when I took these fish away from her so I could put her to bed. She kept making this face and I couldn't stop laughing.

She's fast asleep now and didn't even fuss so she wasn't too upset. Maybe playing with these pumpkin placemats will make her happy and she'll forget about the fish. I think I'll wait to put the fish on this quilt until after the girls go home. I guess that means I better figure what else I'm going to work on this week.

A Message From Our Sponsor...

2011-10-23T09:01:00.002-04:00

We will return to our regularly scheduled blogging sometime this evening. Enjoy your day and don't forget that tomorrow is another giveaway, right here at Everyone Deserves a Quilt!

Road Trip!

2011-10-22T09:01:00.003-04:00

We're off to Chicago! Yeah...

Enjoy your day. I know I will!

Don' forget about Monday's giveaway.

Friday Finish

2011-10-21T17:38:00.000-04:00

I'm not completely done with these four placemats, but I will be very soon, maybe even tonight. Everything was done except the binding and that is an easy "ride in the car" or watch TV activity.

I decided to simply make the placemats and faces separate so that it could be like a game for the granddaughters, or anyone else that may need entertained while waiting for dinner. :-) As you can see in the picture below, the face pieces can be mixed and matched to do whatever you like. I think/hope this will be fun for the little ones.

The coordinating wall hanging is not quilted yet and since I'm not going to be able to sew until at least Sunday night (or even later since that's when the girls are coming and they're staying for a week), I don't see that getting done real soon. That's ok. I can still pin it up to the wall hanging that's there now, right?

Go to Crazy Mom Quilts to check out what other quilters are finishing up today.

Wednesday Winner - A Day Late

2011-10-20T09:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I picked the winner last night but was having computer issues and couldn't post the winner. ARGGGGGHHH

Here's the winner!

Gari!!!

Send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I'll get your prizes in the mail.
Oh, and let us know when we'll be seeing your canning jar quilt. :-)

Some people have said they can't find my e-mail address. If you got to "View My Complete Profile" it's there. In any case, it's n8qmp@yahoo.com I know it's a strange looking e-mail, but it's my first ham radio call sign.

Pumpkins Beat Out the Fish

2011-10-19T11:25:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I told you that I had decided I didn't have time to work on my fish so I started another project instead. (Excuses, excuses and definitely explains my UFO situation!) Well here's what I did yesterday and when I look at it, I realize that I probably would have had time to work on the fish. I think I just got excited about the pumpkins and since I'll have my granddaughters for a week, beginning Sunday, I knew I wanted to do this because I think they'll love it. :-)

I enlarged the blocks to 10.5" because I didn't really want to add an outside border of another print. I really wanted just a big pumpkin to hang in the dining room. I have to applique around the leaves and face pieces and then this puppy is ready to quilt!

I'm also making placemats. I still have to add the black sides and an outside border (which I haven't decided if I'm going to just add more black or another fabric). I'm not adding the faces to these. Instead I'm going to make the face pieces but not attach them so the girls can play and mix and match the pieces to make funny faces. I think/hope this will be good entertainment when I'm fixing dinner, working, etc. I think I'm going to add a small pocket to the back to store the faces. These are so darn cute!

Of course while I was working on these, I continued to make rail fence blocks as leader/enders. This is what I have so far.

Ok, I admit it. I definitely could have had all my fish done and attached to the quilt. Admiting the problem or error of your ways is the first step. :-)

The winner of the second weekly giveaway is tonight at 9:00. Go here to sign up to win some fun prizes!

Running

2011-10-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Not literally, but it sure does feel like it sometimes.

Today was a very busy day and tomorrow will probably be much the same. I was going to start working on the fish for this quilt, but decided that I really didn't have time. I didn't want to have to stop in the middle of a fish so I decided to work on something else. Now, you're probably thinking that I would work on one of my many UFOs. That would make sense and bring me closer to my goal of finishing up projects; but alas, I didn't work on one of them. Instead, I started working on the corner blocks for this Eleanor Burns quilt. Yes, it's a new project but it's small, easy and so darn cute. As usual, I made some changes and the blocks are bigger than what the patterns calls for.

By the time I had to leave this morning, the four blocks were almost done. I got home a little bit ago and I've finished the four corner blocks and I've started the remaining five orange log cabin blocks. Hopefully they'll be done tomorrow and I'll be able to post pictures before I have to leave. Now that I think about it, I probably could have gotten the fish done. Oh well, I'll work on them later. :-)

Design Wall Monday and Giveaway #2

2011-10-17T10:51:00.000-04:00

Feeling pretty good about finishing my oldest UFO, I went searching for another really old one and found this.

There really isn't a lot that needs done here. None of the fish are appliqued to the border yet and I need to finish the faces on 4 of the fish.

Then it's ready to be quilted and bound. I don't remember the name of this quilt, but I remember taking the class at an area quilt shop. (I'm going to have to search my box of patterns before I finish this so I can give proper credit!) The sample in the shop was smaller than this, and of course I wanted it bigger so I made more fish and cat blocks, changed the border and for some reason just stopped working on it, even though I was very close to completing the top. Well, it's going to get done here soon! I think my young granddaughters will love this.

I'm also making a bunch of "controlled scrappy" rail fence blocks as a leader/ender project. I need to make 168 of these for a project and they're great to work on along with another project.

After my Plaid for Dad quilt and this Cat and Fish quilt are done, I think I'll reward myself by working on this quilt exclusively. I'm excited about it and have come up with what I think is a really fun name that I'll share when I have this up on my design wall. I know, I know. That's not fair. I should just tell you now and not keep you in suspence. Well the truth is, I want to see the blocks up on the wall to make my final decision on the name. That's my incentive to get busy here. I'm really loving the fabrics in these blocks.

It's the second week of my giveaway as part of my blogtoberfest participation, and here's what you can win this time around. I decided to add a little something to the giveaway that I didn't show before - 4 fruit and vegetable related fat quarters. (Oops, I forgot to include the folding strawberry tote bag in the picture, but it goes along with the package.)

I decided to add the fabric because of the cookbook. A friend (Sandy Hooper) and I co-authored this cookbook in 2008 for my sister-in-law's Troy Mills Strawberry Farm in Willard Ohio. (Ok, honestly, Sandy did most of the work. I wrote a lot of the recipes, tried them of course, and passed them on to her to compile this wonderful book.) Beside the usual pies, cakes, jams, salads, etc. we've included various strawberry facts and a miscellaneous section that includes things like facial scrubs, exfoliants, etc. It's a fun cookbook and has some great recipes!

Here's a close-up of the Framed Rectangles patterns. As you can see (hopefully), there are 8 size options, all the way from toddler to king. There are also a couple of layout options and a pieced border option. I try to write patterns to include multiple size options because I know that not everyone wants to make a lap size or king size and then figuring the yardage for making the change is a pain. I know lots of quilters that just don't do it. They would rather not make the quilt than deal with the math. Of course, I've been known to offer to determine fabric requirements and layout changes that are needed to re-size a quilt. I just kind of like to do that. Weird, huh?

I love this pattern! This is the pattern I used for our 2011 Breast Cancer 3-Day Raffle Quilt, and I used it for one of the Honor Flight quilts (it's the 8th quilt down), and I made a small Christmas version to snuggle with this December. Since the original quilt was the raffle quilt and I love that quilt, I decided to make another version of it to keep just for little old me. I'm changing the border a bit and I think this will be a wonderful spring or summer quilt. It's not done yet but I have some time before I want to use it :-)

Getting back to the giveaway.

Here's how to enter (up to three entries per person - woo hoo):
1. Leave a comment on this post by 9:00pm Wednesday (10/19/11), when I'll randomly pick a winner.
2. Earn a second chance by posting about this giveaway on your blog (and link to this page), and post a second comment here.
3. The third entry can be earned by becoming a follower of this blog, and posting again that you are a follower. (If you are already a follower, just leave a post stating so.)

If I wasn't hosting this giveaway, I'd be entering all three times for sure! Remember, there's another giveaway next week that includes The Wonder clips, another pattern and a surprise. Be sure to check back to enter!

Check out Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have on their design wall today. You just might find your next project!

Stash Report - Week 42

2011-10-16T11:49:00.000-04:00

Short and sweet report today as we got home late last night, slept in a bit, and are now leaving for brunch at a friend's house. I bought fabric Friday, but all designated for specific projects. I'm realliy excited that 10 UFOs are DONE, DONE, and DONE (pieced, quilted and bound) and 31 new quilts are DONE, DONE, and DONE (yes that includes my Honor Flight quilts). Check out my other numbers below.

Fabric Added This Week: 8.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 3.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 345.250 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 162.375 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 10
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 31
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 9
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.
Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Bake Sale

2011-10-15T08:55:00.002-04:00

Guess what I did last night.

I baked for the Stein Hospice 2nd Annual Pet Expo Bake Sale! There are oatmeal raisin cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, pecan tassies and a loaf of Italian White bread. Yummy!

Now, I'm off to see Mom!

John

2011-10-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

It's so hard to believe that John has been gone 4 years! Some days it feels like just yesterday I received that call. I know he's still with me in spirit and that he and Dad are always looking out for us, but it's still hard to believe. I miss you John!

John Henry Schwab....Nov. 10, 1954 - Oct. 14, 2007

Friday Finish

2011-10-14T19:52:00.000-04:00

Crazy Mom Quilts has started a "Finish It Up Friday" series and I decided to join her. If nothing else, it will make me even more aware of what projects I have that are close to being done, that somehow got shoved aside for a new project. Even if I don't complete a project, I'll at least work on an old one for part of the day. Here's the top I did get finished today. The pattern is Plaid for Dad and I got it from the Oct./Nov. issue of Quilt Magazine. LOVE IT!!

Here's the backing, all ready to piece. I think it's perfect (except that I have to piece it), don't you?

I'm excited to get started on the quilting. I don't have any idea when that'll happen, but soon I hope.

Check out what other quilters have worked on today by clicking here. Enjoy!!

One Less Jar

2011-10-13T16:03:00.001-04:00

Look what just happened!

I can't even remember the last time I had a jar break while I was canning. Of course this one broke as I was lifting it out of the water bath so the water is pretty disgusting. The good news is that I didn't burn myself and it happened on the last batch so I don't have to start all over and wait for the huge pot of water to come to a boil again. It's also good news that this wasn't tomato sauce because that would be really disgusting to clean up.

It looks like I might have some time to sew tonight and that makes me very happy! :-)

How You Can Tell It's Fall

2011-10-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

Instead of working with this,

I'm working with these.

This,

turns into this

and this.

Mmmmm, this apple sauce and apple butter will be tasty this winter, and I'll forget about my day of non-sewing.

Wednesday Winner

2011-10-12T16:15:00.000-04:00

It's time to pick the first Wednesday Winner....

Is the suspense getting to you yet?

And the winner is....

Congratulations Diana. Send me an e-mail with your address and I'll get your gift in the mail.

Thanks for playing everyone and be sure to check back next week for the second giveaway.

Lots of Giveaways

2011-10-12T00:28:00.001-04:00

I'm not the only one having giveaways this month!

Jenny is having an awesome celebration giveaway because she now has over 1500 followers! Check out what you could win!

Lots of blogtoberfest participants are having giveaways also, so check that out by clicking the Blogtoberfest button on the right sidebar.

I'll announce my winner a little later today. Good luck!

Done!

2011-10-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

As I had hoped, I finished the binding on my Americana Pineapple quilt yesterday. It's going to take me a bit to get a good picture of the whole quilt because it's quite large, but hopefully I'll be able to do that soon.

This has re-inspired me to work on my UFOs. I've decided to rummage through the oldest ones and get working on them, rather than the more recent ones. Perhaps I need to concentrate on mixing them up a bit and work on an old one and then a newer one. I think that the reason many of the older UFOs are UFOs is because there is some sort of problem that I just didn't know how to fix. Hopefully I've learned a little over the past few years and can take on the challenge. That might mean that the quilt takes on a new look or ends up being smaller than originally planned, but it'll be done and someone will love it.

After the binding was done I wanted to continue working, but I didn't feel like working on the machine, so I pulled out some scrap fabrics to cut more pieces for my Tumbler quilt.

This isn't a very old UFO, but it's a UFO and hopefully we'll be seeing some progress soon. I think I now have enough tumblers cut to complete the top. (We'll see after these are added.) The last time I worked on this was the end of January when I was on retreat. It was the perfect project on which to work last night because we're still playing the waiting game about Mom and for those of you that know me, you know that waiting patiently is NOTone of my virtues.

Don't forget to post a comment on yesterday's blog to have a chance to win the first weekly giveaway for my blogtoberfest challenge. The winner will be picked tomorrow.

Design Wall Monday

2011-10-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

I needed to find something rather mindless on which to work today so I chose my oldest UFO. I'm not excited about why I need to work on something mindless (Mom's in the hospital and we haven't gotten very good news), but I am excited about working on this quilt. It's technically not on my design wall, but since that's what I'm working on I'm posting about it today. I did put it up on the wall to get a picture but it's too big to fit properly so you you can't see the entire quilt, but you get the idea. This is a paper pieced pineapple block and was my first attempt at paper piecing. It's definitely not perfect, but I like it anyway.

This top had been done for a very long time (at least 7-8 years) and I had entertained the idea of hand-quilting it, but after it sat for so long, I knew that wouldn't be happening anytime soon so I had my friend Rachel quilt it for me. Now, she did that way back in August and I just never bound it. Well, last night I decided that I was going to get this quilt DONE, DONE, and DONE (pieced, quilted and bound). I pulled out the binding that I had made way back when and started attaching it to the quilt. Guess what happened? Can you see it in this picture?

Yep, I ran out of binding fabric! After a bit of panic, I remembered seeing some leftover fabric from this project when I was looking for fabric for my Honor Flight quilts, so the hunt was on. I went to the basement and found the tub with patriotic fabrics and sure enough, I had one extra strip of binding fabric cut to the correct size. I don't know why I didn't piece it in with the other strips, but I didn't. I'm guessing that I had intended to, but this lone strip was folded up in the leftover blue star fabric and I just didn't see it. Whatever happened doesn't matter, I'm just thrilled that I found the extra strip. It is now reunited with it's long-lost binding buddies, machine stitched to the quilt and ready to be hand-stitched down.

This is a big quilt, about 100" x 100", but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get this stitched down by the end of today. We're playing the waiting game with doctors to hear news about Mom and I don't do well with just sitting around so I think my nervous energy will help me gete this done. I've also pulled out my hexagons and they're ready to travel to Dayton with me when needed. Anyway, I'll let you know when the quilt is DONE, DONE and DONE.

On another note, as part of my blogtoberfest participation, I'm hosting the first of three weekly giveaways. This is what's up for grabs this week.

This charm pack, by Sandy Gervais for Moda is called Giddy and it's just beautiful. There are 42 - 5" squares in this pack and I just love them all. As a matter of fact, I used it in my Framed! quilt which I posted about here, along with a couple other versions of the same quilt. And speaking of Framed!, the winner of this week's giveaway will also receive a copy of that pattern. Here is a picture of the pattern cover and back. It's difficult to see, but there are five (5) size options and fabric requirements listed. The instructions also include an alternate border option.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Wednesday and I'll randomly pick a winner. You can earn another chance by posting about this giveaway on your blog (and link to this page), and post a second comment here. A third chance can be earned by becoming a follower of this blog, and posting again that you are a follower. (If you are already a follower, just leave a post stating so.)

Be sure to check back next week to see what is being given away then.

Check out Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have on their design wall today. You just might find your next project!

Stash Report - Week 41

2011-10-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

The machine was running a little bit this past week, but not with quilting projects. :-(

Besides the homecoming sashes that needed done, the funeral home had some blankets that needed embroidered and those are usually time-sensitive so other things must be put aside to get them done. I have one more to do and that will get done this afternoon and delivered tomorrow. It's funny, but I can go for weeks without an order from them and then all of a sudden I'll have five or six to do in a couple of days.

I haven't even touched the quilt from last week's Design Wall Monday because I knew I would get going on it and want to continue and the only way that was going to happen was if I didn't sleep. (There was too much going on this week to not sleep.) Instead, I prepared the binding for my oldest UFO and that's the only fabric I used this week. One measly yard of fabric! At least the UFO will be done soon!

Now that I've told you about my non-sewing week, I'll tell you about my buying week. As I told you the other day, I attended Quilting with Machines the past few days and of course there were things to buy! I will say that even though I was tempted, I only bought what I needed for specific projects so I'm excited about that. I bought a kit from Sew Batik (Four Patch with Stars) and I'm excited to begin working on that. I know exactly where this quilt will end up and it will be easy to work on as a leader/ender project. I bought a couple more brown and teal fabrics for Lynn and Ty's quilt, and I also got the extra tuxedo black batik spray fabric from Sew Batik that I needed for a couple of projects. Oh yea, I got new backing for my Glacier Star quilt because there is an extension to make this bigger and I'll be doing that, of course. With the extension, the quilt will finish about 90" x 90" and that is just about right for what I wanted. It's funny how I was putting off getting this quilted because I was playing around with adding borders that would "fit" with the rest of the design and then Judy Niemeyer did it for me. See, it's not always bad to be slow. :-)

I've taken the blogtoberfest challenge and have been posting every day so far this month. I know for many of you that isn't a problem, but posting consistency is not my strong point so I decided to work really hard on it. Keeping myself motivated to post, I decided to have a weekly giveaway. Check out this post to see the details. The first giveaway is this Wednesday! Pictures and details (giveaway and entry) will be posted tomorrow. I hope you play along. :-)

Here's the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 16.5 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 174.875 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 1.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 342.250 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 167.375 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 9
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 30
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 10
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 3

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Read other Blogerfest Sunday Snippets here.

Giveaways

2011-10-08T23:53:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of what I'll be giving away during blogtoberfest.

The picture isn't the greatest and I see that I forgot to put the fabric that goes with the strawberry cookbook DUHHH.

Anyway, each Monday for the rest of the month, a picture will be posted with the giveaway for that week and some information about the items will be provided. I will welcome comments about the items (here's your chance to be a product reviewer!), recommendations, etc. Be sure to make your comments Monday and Tuesday because on Wednesday I will pick a winner and send one lucky person that week's package. Wooo Hooo!! All you have to do to enter is to comment on my Monday post. It's that simple!

Let the fun begin!!!

What Do You Think?

2011-10-07T23:36:00.000-04:00

Do we look like we could have some serious fun? This group was teaching/working at Quilting with Machines by day and partying by night! Do you see Pam Clark and Irena Bluhm peeking around to be seen in the picture, or were they trying to hide?

Dinner was delicious and we had lots of laughs. Back to work early tomorrow.

No Pictures :-(

2011-10-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

Maybe tomorrow there will be pictures. It's amazing how times can get away from me.

The embroidery was done, then I got a call about needing another blanket for the funeral home. I started that and then had to leave to visit a hospice patient for a couple of hours. By the time I got home, it was time to go to Quilting with Machines with my friend Kare, and very soon after returning home from there, Sheryll got here.

We've been visiting for the last couple of hours and I just snuck away for a few minutes to post this.

Have a good night. I know I will!

Giveaway Info

2011-10-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

Ok. here are the details about the giveaways this month. (I know - FINALLY!!)

Every Wednesday for the rest of October there will be a giveaway right here at Everyone Deserves a Quilt! I will remind people about the giveaways on Sunday and Monday and all that you need to do is post a comment to my Monday post. I will announce the winner Wednesday . (I'm waiting until Wednesday to announce the winner because Monday is Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and I know that sometime it can take a couple of days to get through all the links and I want everyone to have a chance to win.)

Here's are the prizes, in no particular order: (I'll post pictures tomorrow because I still don't have batteries for my camera.)
1. Giddy charm pack by Moda and my Framed! pattern, which includes multiple size options.
2. My Framed Rectangles pattern (again, includes multiple size options) and a set of Wonder Clips by Clover. (You'll love these! I know I sure do.)
3. Troy Mills Farm's Favorite Strawberry Recipes Cookbook and misc strawberry items, including fabric.

I'm excited about the prizes and hope you are too.

11:33 PM!!

2011-10-04T23:33:00.001-04:00

Whew! I made it. It's 11:33 pm and I'm just now posting. That would be pretty pathetic if I missed posting on the 4th day of blogtoberfest. I just got busy and before I knew it, it was 11:33.

What was I doing instead of posting you ask? A lot of little things.
**I bought a bushel of apples and made applesauce.
**I went grocery shopping and promptly forgot a couple of items so I guess I have to get them tomorrow when I go into town again. :-(
**I spent time on the phone with Epson resolving my printing issues. They are resolved and I can print wirelessly from my new laptop. YEAH!! :-)
**I cooked a pork roast and had dinner with Linda, Lynn and Ty. Jack had to eat and run because he had his first class tonight. (The roast was really good, even though it was a touch dry).
**I taught Linda how to paper piece a quilt block. I know she'll get hooked on it because she loves the accuracy.
**I continued to work on the binding of my oldest UFO and for some reason, that is when I realized I hadn't posted yet today. I guess I was getting ahead of myself and thinking about being able to post that I'm back on the "Complete the UFOs" bandwagon.

I said that I was going to divulge the giveaway information today, but I'm going to give details tomorrow. I will tell you that there will be some fabric, a pattern or two, a notion or two and a non-quilting book. I'll post pictures when I get batteries for my camera tomorrow. (Didn't I tell you I forgot some things today when I was out?)

Tomorrow will be a busy day, so don't look for the information until later in the afternoon.

Design Wall Monday

2011-10-03T08:57:00.015-04:00

It's my favorite blogging day - Monday! I love checking out what people are working on, quilt-wise. Does that make me nosey or just wanting to be insprired? I'm sticking with the later. :-)

Here's what I started the other day and I'm just loving it. It's called Plaid for Dad and is in the October/November, 2011 Quilt magazine. I have the borders to add and this puppy is ready to quilt.

I already know how I want to quilt this, and I find that kind of funny because I'm usually stressing about the quilting and just tend to do an all-over design because I can't decide and I just want to get it done. I want to recreate the argyle look here with random, but bunched together quilting lines. Clear as mud? Maybe this picture with lines drawn on will help. I haven't decided if the lines will continue into the borders, but I'm kind of guess that they won't.

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here and should get the borders on and THEN worry about the quilting. Oh well, I'm just excited about this quilt. Wouldn't this be fun in a single color, but with different values? I can see this in pinks. Oh how I digress....concentrate....work on the borders and then think about the next quilt....

Speaking of concentrating, I guess I haven't been doing that lately. I just realized that I have not posted the good news that's been shared with me recently.

First: I'm going to be a grandma again. Nikki and Zach are expecting another baby, due in the Spring. YEAH!!

Second: Lynn and Ty are engaged! They've picked a date - October 13, 2012 and the planning has begun. I'm so happy for them!

I think we have a busy, but very special year ahead of us.

Don't forget that I'm participating in blogtoberfest so be sure to check out some of the other blogs. I'm finalizing my giveways (yes, I said giveaways - plural) and I hope to post them tomorrow so be sure to come back here to see what you might win. :-)

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today by going to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 40

2011-10-02T13:20:00.001-04:00

Not a lot of my own sewing was done this past week, but I did finish the Big Ten top that I was working on last week. I'm going to try to get a picture today, but we'll see if that works. That quilt is pretty big, around 90" x 110". Oh yea, I did start another project from the Oct./Nov. 2011 Quilt Magazine and that will probably be on the design wall tomorrow because I doubt that any more sewing will be done on that today. I have to embroider the Homecoming sashes for the local high school and that should take care of the rest of my day sewing-wise.

It's October and I really need to get busy working on UFOs again, but I keep seeing new things I want to begin. I really do feel like a child that needs constant reminding to stay on task. In my defense though, I have finished a fair number of things this year. Contrary to an e-mail that I received about my numbers a couple of months ago, I'm counting the 15 honor flight quilts just like any other quilt, even though they're small. I was told in the e-mail that I really shouldn't count them as 15 quilts because they only measured 36" x 48" and that a better idea would be for me to perhaps count them as 7 or 8 quilts. The writer felt that it wasn't fair for me to report that I had finished so many more quilts than a person like herself who never makes anything smaller than 60" x 70". Really?!? I don't think so. My stash report is for me and it's not a contest. If I want to count them as a quilt then so be it. Besides, I didn't know that there is a size requirement for a project to be considered a quilt. :-) What about about all those baby quilts people make. Should they count?

I have an announcement. Quilters of the world. Count your completed projects however you want. It's your report! Okay, I'm off my high horse now.

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 0.00yards
Fabric Added to Date: 158.375 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 5.875 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 341.250 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 182.875 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 9
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 30
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 10
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 3

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.
Read other Blogerfest Sunday Snippets here.

Great night to....

2011-10-01T21:08:00.000-04:00

...watch baseball and hand-stitch some binding!

I'm also finalizing my blogtoberfest giveaway(s). I'll announce the plans within the next two days. Stay tuned!

Blogtoberfest !

2011-10-01T17:16:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure what I'm thinking, but I've joined Blogtoberfest. Basically, this means that I have committed to write something on my blog every day for the entire month of October. (Did you notice that I said the ENTIRE month!?!)

Ok, are you done laughing yet so I can continue?

Seriously, I decided to join because I would like to be a more consistent blogger and think that this will be my "push" to reach that goal. I'm not promising anything, but I do think it will be fun to try.

Now, are you going to play along too? You don't have to post everyday, just read everyday. I do promise to try and make it either fun or interesting to read. I'm even tossing around a few giveaway ideas. Keep checking back to see what's happening and what you might win.

Happy October!

Wow!!!

2011-09-29T03:02:00.000-04:00

Tonight I had the honor of being with some really wonderful people! I was part of the Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio's celebration of the return from the day in Washington, D.C. Jack and I attended the event and we only took a few photos, but I'll be receiving some from a friend who was there taking pictures. All I can say is that it was such an honor to be part of this.

Check out all the quilts that were given to the veterans tonight!

Here we are anxiously awaiting the plane's arrival.

And here is the Genoa, OH American Legion Band. They entertained us while we were waiting and then played wonderful music for the veterans.

Later, I'll post a couple of pictures we have of me handing out some of the quilts. I know I said it before but this truly was an honor for me!

Tonight.....

2011-09-28T12:25:00.000-04:00

....is the Honor Flight quilt presentation in Toledo.

I'm excited!

Design Wall Monday

2011-09-26T11:06:00.000-04:00

It's Monday and I am always excited to see what everyone is working on this week. Not a week goes by that I am not intriguesd, inspired or just plain amazed at some of the works I see here. Thanks Judy for setting this up and thanks to all you quilters who share your work here!

Last week I posted a picture of these fabrics.

Well, here's what they look like now (sort of, because it's a crppy picture).

I am ready to sew the rows together and start adding borders. YEAH!!

This quilt is made using large pieces and even though that's not my favorite thing to do, sometimes it's perfect considering the time I have available to sew. This is going together very quickly and that's exactly what I wanted/needed.

On a completely different topic....I'm using a new laptop and it is amazing how much different it is. The keyboard is smaller so I keep hitting the wrong keys and not only typing the wrong letter, but moving the cursor all over the place It's quite comical. Just like anything else, I'll get the hang of it, but be patient if you seen something that makes no sense at all. Assume that my big, fat fingers (they feel like sausages while using this keyboard) just hit the worng key. :-)

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 39

2011-09-25T12:43:00.000-04:00

As I predicted last week, I didn't do much sewing this past week. I did use 5 yards, which is pretty much what I expected since I had hoped to piece together the blocks for the Big Ten quilt for which I had cut the pieces last week and posted on my Design Wall Monday.

I did go to the big sale also and even though I purchased quite a bit, most of it wasn't for me so I don't have to include it in my report. I had some friends and family who knew thay weren't going to be able to go so they asked me to pick up some things for them when I went on Tuesday, which was the first day of the sale. I tried to get their things first because I didn't want to forget anything and I really didn't mind doing it but I'll tell you what, by the time I was done getting their things I really didn't want to spend much time looking for anything for me. I really didn't NEED anything. I just wanted to get some background fabrics because I'm really low on them. I did that and was ready to go. I guess that shopping in a crowded shop is a good way to control myself and not over-buy. Well, whatever, it worked. I did return to the shop on Friday and got the fabric for a specific quilt which I hope to have together before Christmas. The only other fabric I bought Friday was not for me. So, 13.5 yards are posted in the stash report, but only 6 yards is not earmarked for a specific project. I don't think that's too shabby!

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 13.50 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 158.375 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 5.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 335.375 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 177.00 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 9
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 30
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 6
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 3

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

2011-09-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

I shouldn't be, but I am....I'm pulling fabric for a new quilt!

The pattern is Big Ten by Swirly Girls Design

and here are my fabrics.

Now I have to explain that a couple of months ago I bought set of four one-yard cuts of fabrics with no idea how I would use them. The set included the following fabrics from the picture above: the bottom fabric (which I LOVE and the main reason I bought the set), the fourth from the bottom, the sixth from the bottom and the eighth from the bottom. I brought the set home and pulled what I thought might be coordinating fabrics and set it aside. Well, when I saw the Big Ten pattern, I knew that would work so I got serious and pulled other fabrics. I did have to buy some additional fabric (the dark fabric along the right side which will be used as the frame for some of the blocks and one other orange) but I was ok with that. Actually, I have too many fabrics now and I have to decide which two don't get used in the quilt center but that shouldn't be too difficult.

Anyway, that's what's on the wall now and I can't wait to start sewing. Unfortunately my week is looking pretty busy so this might still be on the wall next week. We'll see......

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls!
Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 38

2011-09-18T12:05:00.000-04:00

There wasn't a whole lot of quilting going on here this past weekend, but I did manage to use a bit more than what came in. I'm not making any promises for next week though because there are a couple of sales going on at which I know I'll do some damage. I'm extremely happy with my usage this year and don't think that my purchases have been too bad. Actually, just about everything I've purchased has been done so for specific projects. Now, whether or not all those projects have been completed (or even started) is another story. :-)

Here's the report.
Fabric Added This Week: 3.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 144.875 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 5.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 330.375 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 185.50 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 9
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 30
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 6
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 3

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Surprises!

2011-09-13T12:42:00.000-04:00

Surprises usually are good things. For example, Sunday evening I decided make a small Halloween version of my Framed! quilt and got my fabrics together to work on it. Monday morning I started cutting and piecing my blocks and posted my progress on Design Wall Monday. I was pleasantly surprised to get the entire project done last night. Pieced, quilted and bound!

Here's the back. I just LOVE this fabric!

I think the fabrics for the front and back play really well together. Don't you?

Another nice and pleasant surprise was that I had all of these fabrics in my stash!

Now, there are time when surprises really aren't nice. Like this morning when I walked into the garage and saw a snake coiled up by the overhead door. I really had no choice but to open the door; but I was concerned as to which direction the critter would scurry when it heard the door opening. I decided to be brave and try to "encourage" it to head toward the freedom of the great outdoors. Of course that meant I had to push the button and rush over to an agitated snake and hope that I was fast enough to stop him from slithering past me and make his way in to the back of the garage. I took a deep breath, pushed the button and ran toward the snake. I might have made a few noises (aka screams) too but I don't know about that. I was concentrating.

Since I'm calm enough to post about this, I think you can surmise that I was successful in my endeavor. And no, I did not even think about get pictures to post. :-)

Of course when I told my husband about this, he just shook his head and wondered why I dislike snakes so much. I don't know and I don't care. I just am. But today's score is Joanne 1, snake 0!

Design Wall Monday

2011-09-12T09:32:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to say that there is something on my design wall today and I think it's kind of fun. The blocks aren't even put together yet, but I'm already auditioning borders. Do you think I'm excited to get this done, or what? Don't you just love the purple and green for Halloween? I really needed to work with some bright fabrics. It's making me feel happy.

This wall hanging, which will end up being around 30" x 39", is from the same pattern as these three quilts.

Isn't it amazing how different quilts look when you use different fabrics and or layouts? I guess I really like this pattern, seeing as I'm making it for the fourth time! Really, I'm not stuck in a rut. I just like this pattern and it's quick to adjust to the final size you need or to the fussy cut center you may be using. Would it help to know that each time I've made this, I've either re-sized the block or changed the border? Now it just sounds like I'm making excuses so I'll stop explaining myself and get back to quilting. :-)

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and hop on over to Judy L's Patchwork Times. Enjoy!

Stash Report - Weeks 34-37 YIKES!!

2011-09-11T23:07:00.001-04:00

It's late Sunday evening and I'm just now getting around to my stash report. I guess I should look at it from another perspective - at least I'm posting a stash report, which is more than I can say that I've done for almost a month now.

I finished a couple of projects and I even sold a few things so all in all, it's been a good month quilting wise. I'm really thinking that 200 net used yards just might happen. :-)

I think that I'm most excited about the fact that I've completed 9 UFO and 29 new quilts. Now if I can just get the balance of the tops quilted and bound.....

Here's the report.
Fabric Added These 4 Weeks: 4.375 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 141.875 yards
Fabric Used These 4 Weeks: 20.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 325.375 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 183.50 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 9
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 29
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 6
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 3

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

AHHHHHHHH. That's Better!

2011-09-09T01:12:00.001-04:00

At the risk of jinxing myself, I have working e-mail again! I was so frustrated when it didn't work for a couple of reasons. First of all, there were things I should have printed out as soon as I read the e-mail, but I didn't and I needed them ASAP. Next, I realized that I have become one of those people that depends on technology. I never wanted to be one of those people! But, the main reason I was so frustrated is that the "HELP" tab did nothing except take me in circles.

The error message said to click "HELP" if I couldn't sign in to my account but when I did that, it asked for my password which no longer worked. The message said that I would have to change my password and to follow these steps to do so.

1. Sign into the account and then click on "MY ACCOUNT" (I couldn't get in the account so anything else was simply not going to happen, but it was listed on the steps to correct the problem.)
2. Once in the account, click on "SETTINGS" and then "CHANGE PASSWORD"
3. To change the password, type in the old password and then the new one. Seriously, how was I supposed to do that when I couldn't get in the account.

Needless to say, I didn't change my password, but what I did do was try too many times because my account was LOCKED because of a possible security breach! I could try again in 12 hours!

Funny thing is that I could get into the main yahoo account, but not my e-mail. I sent a message to the "HELP CENTER" explaining the problem and when the auto message said I needed to provide them with an e-mail address to which they should respond I about lost it. DUHHHHH!!! I can't get into my e-mail! I had to set up a new account and cross my fingers and hope that it worked. I don't know what happened, but when I checked my e-mail tonight it was working. It hadn't been 12 hours so I don't know what was wrong. Now, I have another e-mail address to deal with. YUCK! Of course, I could just cancel that one. Yea, I think I'll do that. That will feel really good. CANCEL, CANCEL, CANCEL!!! I feel better already! :-)

Anyway, it works and I'm happy again.

Between all the running around and e-mail drama today, Jack and I froze some corn. Doesn't this look good. I thought this might be the end of the corn for us, but I decided that I want to do about another 5-10 dozen so I have plenty for holidays, family gatherings, etc. Most of what we've frozen up to this point has been frozen in packages for just the two of us. Next should be apples!

A new friend asked me to quilt and bind her 1600 quilt. This was her first quilting project and when she was done with the original pattern, she decided she wanted it bigger so she added a couple of borders. I think it turned out well. I quilted an all-over loop-de-loop design using a gray thread on top and bottom. The backing fabric is the same as the outside border. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but the fabric is gorgeous. Trust me. (Do I sound like a politician?) Thanks Kare for letting me use your machine. I love all the colors of this!

Frustrated!!

2011-09-08T12:18:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to get to my e-mail today and it keeps asking me to verify my password. Well, I've done that at least a dozen times and it still won't recognize it. Of course I have an alternate e-mail to have them send help but I get the same message on that e-mail account. It seems to me that the "help" is really just taking me in circles. I sure do miss being able to talk to an actual person!

I tried answering the security question and I guess I've answered it incorrectly because now my account is frozen for the next 12 hours! ARGGGGGG

I have a bunch of e-mails to respond to and send out and I can't do it. Of course I didn't print out the meeting info for this afternoon so I don't even remember the address of where I'm supposed to go.

It's official. I'm really frustrated right now!

I'm Baaaaack

2011-09-07T01:28:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how time can just get away from me. I've been really busy and when I've had to make decisions of what to do, blogging has taken a back seat. It doesn't mean that I haven't thought about it though. I had every intention of doing stash reports and Design Wall Monday posts, but it just didn't happen. Well, I'm here now so I'll give a quick update on my adventures.

Nikki, Zach, Quinn and Sadie were here this past week. They came to town Tuesday and were here through the weekend. It was wonderful to have them here and I can't believe how much the girls have grown. Sadie is walking (and getting into lots of things) and Quinn is speaking so clearly and it's really fun to have long conversations with her. I didn't get much in the way of picture, but I will the next time they're here.

I've been sewing! :-) Actually, I've been finishing up things. YEAH!!!

Here's a completed UFO. This is a Thimbleberries pattern, but I can't remember which one right now. (I've got to figure that out so I can label this properly.) Lynn started this a number of years ago and then it got set aside. Well I finished the top earlier this year and just now got it quilted and bound. It's going to the DONE, DONE, and DONE List (Pieced, Quilted and Bound). WooHoo!!!!

Here's another UFO that is DONE, DONE, and DONE. This is a 10-Minute Block quilt that has the prettiest colors in it, even though the picture doesn't do it justice. I really like brown and teal together! This isn't nearly as old as the quilt above because I started it last year, but it was a UFO that has found it's way to the other side of the quilt pile.

I have another UFO (my oldest one actually), that is DONE and DONE but still needs binding. I made the binding tonight and will put it on in the next couple of days. I'll post a picture when it's done. All three of these quilts are a bit big but not huge. The two above are 80" x 92" and 80" x 94". The third one is a bit bigger at 98" x 98".

Speaking of large quilts, I really liked the quilt that I raffled off this year so I'm making another one. This one will be for me! Here's the progress so far. I still need to add the pieced border and I think I will make the side pieced borders larger this time so it hangs down more on the bed. If I make the change, it should measure about 95" x 105".

I decided to make a smaller version of this quilt also, but in a more controlled fashion. Do you remember the Honor Flight quilt using this pattern? (It's the eighth one down from the top of the pictures if you follow the link.) Well, I decided to make a Christmas throw, but add the pieced border. I like how it turned out. This is a new quilt that is DONE, DONE, and DONE. (Amazingly enough, I started this quilt on Monday and finished it Tuesday. I guess I was excited to get it done.)

And just to show you that I've done other things besides quilt, here is the latest batch of pickles we put up. I love home-made pickles!

I'm really excited that things are getting done and sure hope it continues for quite a while!

Design Wall Monday

2011-08-15T08:43:00.001-04:00

I have something on the design wall besides a patriotic quilt! Imagine that!! For those of you that didn't get a chance to see all 15 Honor Flight quilts, click here. They are all done and delivered! Woo Hoo!!

I pulled out my Judy Niemeyer Stepping Stones quilt and began working on that again. Here's the progress so far. (I can't believe that I started this in March and am just now getting back to it!)

I had to finish piecing the last 12 blocks and decide the layout. The column to the far left is pieced and waiting patiently for the neighboring columns to be done as well. I still have to piece the borders and I hope to get to that later this week, but I have a lot to do this week so my quilting time will probably be very limited. :-(

While I was piecing the final 12 blocks, I was sewing long strips together for another Margarita Sunrise quilt as a leader/ender project. I guess that I should call it Berry Bliss Sunrise since I'm using a Berry Bliss Bali Pop this time instead of a Margarita Mango one. Berry Bliss Sunrise reminds me of an ice cream flavor. YUMMMMM..... Click here to see the original Margarita Sunrise Quilt, which is quilted, trimmed and ready to be bound.

I have three quilts that are quilted, trimmed and ready to be bound plus another that is ready for quilting. I'm excited to be getting things done, but when I reach this point with quilts, it never fails that I find another project that I want to start or one that NEEDS to get done right away.

I also pulled out my hexagon project and started working on that again while watching the baseball game last night. Here's what it looked like the last time I posted about this project. I have to count how many I have completed (over 50, I know), and take some time to lay this out and decide how much bigger it's going to get.

I guess I should look at it from a different perspective. It sure is good to have so many options from which to choose, right?

Take a look what other quilters have on their design walls today. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times and be prepared to be amazed!

Stash Report - Week 33

2011-08-14T08:33:00.002-04:00

I finished up all the Honor Flight quilts and three more quilts are being quilted so I used a lot of fabric this week. If you want to see the pictures of the completed 15 Honor Flight quilts, click here.

I did some quick math and realized that I used almost 70 yards of fabric making those Honor Flight quilts and just about half of that came from my stash. Half! Can you believe that I had almost 35 yards of patriotic or red, white and blue fabric in my stash? WOW!! (I think I have to commit to make a lot of quilts for another organization. It really got me moving to make these quilts and I sure did use a lot of fabric.)

Anyway, I've been busy with other things as well, and three more quilts are in the process of being quilted. All three of these are UFOs so I'm really excited to get them done. I just might get caught up with the two UFO challenges that I joined back in January. :-)

Here's the report.
Fabric Added This Week: 3.25 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 137.50 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 25.25 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 305.375 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 167.875yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 27
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 9
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 3

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

A Box Full of Quilts...With Pictures

2011-08-13T23:22:00.002-04:00

I turned in the 15 Honor Flight quilts today. Here they are loaded in my car.

Here they are sitting on my table waiting to be boxed up.

It's hard to believe that these are done and delivered. I started pulling fabric for these quilts at the end of May and began sewing them during the annual sister's weekend the second week of June. I had fun piecing some scrappy blocks and having my sisters and a couple of nieces help lay them out to get the "perfect" look. I was anxious to see how the log cabin quilt was going to look because when Barb left the weekend, she had made only a handful of blocks and took home LOTS of skinny strips of fabric. (I knew it would look great, but I was impatient to see the finished top.)

Although I'm really excited about who these are going to, I'm also a bit sad. As I was working on these I felt very close to my dad, my mom, and all my brothers and sisters. These 15 quilts were finished in a pretty short time frame (about 2 months), but it sure did feel like I relived a lifetime while making them.

I remembered the trip a bunch of us took to Baton Rouge to see the USS Kidd (a sister ship to the USS Ingersoll on which Dad served). Dad was our guide as we toured the ship that very hot July day. He recounted his experiences in the radio room and I can still see him sitting at the desk showing the grandkids how he copied code for hours at a time. Of course I also remember him telling stories about all the places on the ship that he found to sneak a few winks. But I think my favorite memory of that tour was when Dad had the grandkids lying on the beds and he was telling them stories. It was magical listening to him and watching them!

While sewing these, I remember the year Mom made all of us outfits using the same bolt of fabric. The twelve of us looked alike in our matching shirts, shorts, skirts, etc. As an adult, I feel like perhaps the producers of the movie The Sound of Music saw a picture of us and decided to incorporate that into their story line. (Do you remember when Maria made the kids play clothes out of her drapes? Maybe the producers combine our picture with the famous curtain scene from Gone With the Wind. Who know, it could have happened that way.)

Anyway, so many memories came back while I was working on these. I miss Dad and I miss John; but it was wonderful to relive some wonderful times and to feel them so close to me as I worked. Now that these all done and delivered I think I should start thinking about making more quilts for future flights - but probably not so many. :-) By the way, as I was working on these, I realized how much I love the Sweet Liberty fabric by Pat Sloan. All but one of these quilts has some of that fabric in them, either in the top or as the backing. Also, these were all quilted using Superior Thread's King Tut #919 - Freedom. I love the continuity...

Here are the quilts, in no particular order. I know there are a lot of them, but I think it's worth a look and I hope you enjoy them.

We Have A Winner!

2011-08-09T00:01:00.000-04:00

The drawing for out raffle quilt was done last night and I've been in contact with the winner.

Drum roll, please.....

Congratulations Pam Baur of Huron, OH!

Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and supported Lynn and myself in our Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraising. We met our goal of raising $5000!!!

Design Wall Monday

2011-08-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

I actually have something up on the wall! A non-quilting friend saw a couple of the Honor Flight quilts that I made and asked me to make a lap quilt for her father who is struggling with his recent decision to move into an assisted living facility. He is VERY patriotic and had quite a collection of patriotic items. The move required a substantial downsizing so many of his decorative items were either sold or given away. :-(

My friend really liked the patriotic Log Cabin lap quilt that I made recently so that's what we decided to make for her dad. Since the Honor Flight quilts were only 36" x 48" and we knew that would be too small for him, I increased the block size to 9" so the overall quilt size is 54" x 72". The top is completely together, layered and ready to quilt!

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today by going to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times. Be prepared to be amazed!!

Stash Report - Weeks 31 and 32

2011-08-07T10:24:00.002-04:00

The last two weeks have been a bit crazy around here, but I think things will start to settle down soon. Last weekend was our Breast Cancer 3-Day walk and that kept us busy for a couple of days before the event, all weekend and then of course recovery/unpack/de-brief time. :-)

I am in the process of hand stitching the binding on the Honor Flight quilts and I'm really excited how they have all turned out. I'll start posting pictures tomorrow of those. My goal is to be able to turn them in Saturday morning out our guild meeting.

I have not had a chance to bind the three larger quilts that I quilted two weeks ago. :-( I would really like to get to that this week, but we'll see.

Today is the final day of the Berlin Heights Basket Festival and Lynn are I will be drawing the name for the winner of our Breast Cancer 3-Day raffle quilt. I always get excited for that. In one way I hope it's someone I know that wins, but I also think it would be cool if the winner was someone who bought their ticket because they read my blog, or other net posting. I guess I'll just have to wait and see, won't I?

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Past 2 Weeks: 0.0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 134.25 yards
Fabric Used This Past 2 Week: 14.0 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 280.125 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 145.875 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 9

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Playing Catch Up

2011-08-05T02:28:00.001-04:00

Since I was gone this past weekend, I feel like I've done nothing but play catch up. Lynn and I walked in the Cleveland Breast Cancer 3-Day last weekend and it was truly an amazing event. Let me make a clarification here. Lynn walked all 60 miles again this year, but not me. I had some issues with dehydration on Friday so my journey was shorter than Lynn's. (I don't know, could it have been the rain we walked in for a couple of hours, followed by mid to upper 90 degree temperatures for all three days?!?)

After a bit of feeling sorry for myself as well as disgusted and angry about my issue, I decided that I needed to re-evaluate my purpose for participating in the event. I soon quit counting miles and started counting the conversations I had with people and the help I was able to give them. I had raised the $2300 minimum to participate and that's really all that mattered, right?

I didn't take my camera this year because I am terrible at taking pictures. If you're interested in seeing pictures of the event you can click here. These were taken by the event staff and posted on the 3-Day website. I know Lynn took a few, so I'll have to ask her to forward them to me so I can see if there are some that I should post here. I just looked at some of the previous years' pictures and realized that Lynn, Jack and I are in a fair number of pictures. Jack and I are even in a couple of the 2009 Dallas/Fort Worth pictures. I forgot about that so it was fun to see them again. :-)

In regards to quilting, I have finished machine stitching the binding on all 15 Honor Flight quilts and I'm in the process of hand-stitching them to the back. I really do like doing binding so this isn't really a problem for me. I have to admit that I did think about quilting while I was on the walk. A couple of times I thought it would be really relaxing to be able to do some quilting. Of course I didn't take anything with me because I was sleeping in a tent, "lights out" started at 9PM and I knew I would be too blasted tired. I was right! :-)

My goal is to finish the bindings this weekend, take pictures, and hand the quilts over to Jeanette at the guild meeting on the 13th. I'm sure I'll have some time to work on it this weekend while I'm selling raffle tickets at the Basket Festival. Sunday we will be picking the winner for this quilt. I hope you got your tickets!

Have You Ever Wondered...

2011-07-28T13:36:00.000-04:00

what 15 lap quilts quilted and ready to bind looks like? Well, here's the answer!

Do you remember this picture of these when they were just tops? There were only 14, but I just got the top that my sister Barb made. These are only 36" x 48" and they are all quilted. The binding is cut, pieced together and ready to be attached. Now, I was told that this pile looks kind of small, but you have to remember that they are only folded one time, and they are small. Nonetheless, I'm pretty excited to be at this point, as I only started these toward the end of the May. Each quilt is a different pattern and I'll take and post pictures when they are all complete.

I won't have a chance to work on these until next week because the Cleveland Breast Cancer 3-Day starts tomorrow. Please think good thoughts and ~~pray~~ plead for good weather. The forecast shows rain Friday and Saturday, and temperatures in the high 80's and low 90's. Well, we've walked before in similar weather so it won't be terrible, but it sure is easier when the weather is good.

I'll update you about the walk and other info next week.

Stash Report - Week 30

2011-07-24T06:41:00.001-04:00

These Honor Flight quilts have really helped my stash reports lately. I have a total of seven of them quilted and I'm ready to do another couple later today. Each one uses
1 1/2 yards of fabric, and this week's report accounts for that as well as my purchase of the backing fabric for four more of these quilts. That sure does help make the report look good. I have also quilted three other quilts this weekend, but they are going to have to wait a week or so before I can get to binding them. They also used a substantial amount of backing fabric.

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 6.0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 134.25 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 24.5yards
Fabric Used to Date: 266.125 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 131.875 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 26 (14 of which are Honor Flight quilts and 7 of those are quilted. The rest of them will be done within two weeks.)

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

I'm Doing It

2011-07-23T00:17:00.000-04:00

I quilted today!

I used my friend's HQ16 and quilted one large quilt and one medium quilt. Nothing spectacular, just meander but it was so much easier than quilting them on my Bernina. I was going to quilt some of the Honor Flight quilts on the HQ today, but quite honestly, since they're only 36" x 48" and I'm slow at loading the machine (even with the red snappers); I'm doing these at home. I quilted four of them this evening. I still have to trim and bind everything, but at least they're quilted and one step away from the Done, Done and Done (pieced, quilted and bound) pile!

I'll try to remember to take some pictures and post them.

Off to sleep so I can go to an auction in the morning and quilt in the afternoon.

Avoidance

2011-07-22T00:31:00.000-04:00

I should be quilting these quilts but I really didn't feel like it today. Do you think it had anything to do with the temperatures in the upper 90s? Probably not since we have air conditioning, but I thought it sounded like a good excuse. Really, I just wanted to piece something and not quilt.

So, instead of quilting, I made this.

This is another Honor Flight quilt and it's a variation of the Fast Forward quilt I made earlier this month. (I looked at the designer's website - Jaybird Quilts and found this quilt and the pattern is called Unwind.) I just know that when I was making my original quilt, I thought it would be cool to not include the vertical sashing, use gold for the background and only patriotic fabrics for the "ribbons." I envisioned gold stars appearing between the ribbons and look; there they are! I plan to bind this in gold, but who knows?

I like how this turned out and tomorrow I WILL do some quilting! I promise.

Are You Serious?!? It's Wednesday!

2011-07-20T15:11:00.001-04:00

It's already Wednesday and I haven't touched that pile of Honor Flight quilts! Where did the ~~time~~ days go? I taught a class Monday night, and then another Tuesday afternoon. Lynn and Ty were here for dinner and a visit Tuesday night and I visited a hospice patient this morning. Well, actually I had originally only planned to be with the patient for a couple of hours this morning, but there were some issues and I was there until around 2PM. Well, there you go! That accounts for my last few days and the reason nothing has been done. No more excuses. I've got to get busy, or find some other REALLY good excuse to put it off even longer!

Design Wall Monday

2011-07-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

It's Monday. YEAH!!! I love Design Wall Monday. I get so inspired when I see the wonderful works that people post. Sometimes, the quilt is such an intricate and detailed beauty that I wonder if I would ever be talented enough to do that. Other times, I'm simply in awe of the fabric choices that are made when making more traditional or "easy" blocks. I often think, "I would never have thought about putting those colors or fabrics together?" I often have "ah ha" moments when I see a quilt layout that includes blocks that I have made, but they are put together in a unique manner. Simply put, Design Wall Monday is wonderful. Thank you all for sharing your projects and talents!

Now, here's what's on my wall.

I made this block for a woman who is a member of an on-line group to which I belong. She was gracious enough to give me the pattern, as long as I made a block for her to use in a charity quilt she will be donating. I haven't made my blocks yet, but here's the one for her. She gave me a couple of fabric choices for her block, and one of them was patriotic, so here you go. I really like how this turned out and now have to decide what fabrics I'll use for mine.

Before I can make my star quilt though, I have to get this pile of 14 Honor Flight quilts quilted and bound. They're only 36" x 48" so it won't take long. I just need to sit down and do it. Maybe I'll start when I get home from class tonight. (We're NOT going to discuss the other 11 or so quilts that are ready also. Their time will come.)

What's on your design wall today? Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times to check out what other quilters have on their walls. Share your project also. I really do need one more project to inspire me and keep me from getting a good night's sleep! :-)

Stash Report - Week 29 and Productivity

2011-07-17T08:51:00.002-04:00

I was a little busy beaver this past week. I was able to finish the tops for 3 Honor Flight quilts and make another quilt top using a charm pack that I recently picked up. Of course I added some fabric, but more went out than came in. YEAH!!

Here are two of the Honor Flight quilts that I haven't posted yet. The Stars and Squares quilt was on my design wall Monday and by Wednesday I hadn't touched it. I decided right then and there that it was NOT going to be on the wall again this coming Monday, so I sat down and finished it that night. The Friendship Stars top was done as a leader/ender project so I kind of feel like it's a bonus quilt. I know it looks like it's not done, but it is. I had to add the small red border to the top and bottom (not the sides) because of the size requirements. I'll be binding the whole thing is the same red, so I don't think it will look bad.

So, while I was at a local shop Tuesday, I saw this charm pack and thought it was really cute.

I carried this pack around with me for a while and decided that if I was going to get it, I had to get some coordinating fabrics as well. I just knew that I really didn't have anything at home that would look good. Well, here's the result of that thinking.

After I finished the Stars and Squares quilt, I started on a project using these fabrics. This is what I was piecing at the same time as the Friendship Stars.

It's hard to believe that quilt was made using the same pattern as the second quilt in this post.

Ok, enough rambling. Here's the report.
Fabric Added This Week: 10.5 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 128.25 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 11.5yards
Fabric Used to Date: 241.625 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 113.375 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 25 (14 of which are Honor Flight quilts that will be done within the next couple of weeks.)

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

2011-07-11T06:10:00.001-04:00

I'm still working away on the Honor Flight quilts and I've finished 11 of them. The 12th one (or at least 1/3 of it), is on the design wall now. I've been working on these as leader/ender projects or two at a time so I'm okay with them not being done yet. I have until mid-August to finish them, and since I'm going to quilt them with a basic meander or all-over stitch the quilting shouldn't take too long. Of course, there's still the binding, but I really enjoy binding so I don't see that being much of a problem. Beside, I can bind while I'm watching baseball. :-)

This 12th one definitely takes a bit more concentration than the last two did. It's a little deceiving, but this isn't just 4-Patch units with some stars stuck in there. I have to be careful of the layout or the pattern changes. So you can see the difference, here's the one that I was working on last Design Wall Monday.

Here's one that I finished earlier today. It's an adaptation of the quilt that I'm raffling off for this year's 3-Day Breast Cancer walk. It has a whitish border that you can't see because of the white design wall! I just read someplace that your design wall should be covered with black batting or fabric so the colors "pop." Well, this just proves that theory, now doesn't it?

Here's the raffle quilt. Do you see the similarities? I decided to go less scrappy and not have the pieced border on the Honor Flight quilt because it can only be 36" x 48". The raffle quilt, on the other hand is 84" x 104". I am going to bind the Honor Flight quilt with scraps of all the reds and blues, so that should help make it a bit more "interesting."

Each of the Honor Flight quilts is unique and most are a smaller or adapted version of another quilt I've made. I didn't want to simply make red, white and blue blocks of whatever project I was working on because the blocks would have more than likely been 10"-12" and I decided that I wanted to make the blocks more to scale with the overall size of the quilt. I know it's more work, but I just would not be happy the other way.

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today. Go to Jude L.'s Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Week 28

2011-07-10T11:19:00.000-04:00

You know that sometimes life and it's responsibilities just get in the way of what you really want to do. People get sick and you have to take care of them; you have meetings to attend; or you have to get that project done that has a deadline. Even though you'd rather be sewing, gardening, reading, or whatever, you just have to set your priorities and do what needs to be done. I don't know about you, but sometimes I really don't like being a responsible adult. I really don't like to have to concentrate so much.

There's so much pressure you just want to throw your hands in the air and say "No more!"

This past week was full of responsibilities, and I had to "play" adult, so not as much sewing went on I'd have liked. I did finish my Fast Forward top and one more Honor Flight quilt top so it wasn't a total "do nothing" week. I changed the Fast Forward pattern a little bit. I had one less block per column and I added borders to the top and bottom. I'm really okay with how this turned out, even though I had so many issues last week. You really don't see the cut off points, do you?

Tomorrow starts another busy week, so today I'm going to do a couple of relaxing things. I'd like to quilt a couple of small projects and maybe even get the binding sewn on. Who knows, I may just sit back, kick my feet up and do nothing.

Thanks Quinn and Sadie for being here this past week and providing some much needed laughter, entertainment and photo ops. (By the way, they were NOT part of the responsibility blahs.)

Here's the Report:
Fabric Added This Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 117.75 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 7.75yards
Fabric Used to Date: 230.125 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 112.375 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 21

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Time s.

Design Wall Monday

2011-07-04T14:14:00.000-04:00

I'm doing it! I'm posting twice in the same week. It's been quite a long time since that's happened, but hopefully I've broken the drought and you'll be hearing from me more frequently.

Here's what's on my wall right now. The Fast Forward pattern is by Jaybird Quilts and I love how it looks. My friend Kare is making one also, but like the pattern, she's using black as her contrasting fabric and her's is much more scrappy than mine. I really like Kare's quilt! It'll be fun to see them next to each other.

The column to the left is sewn together and I'm on working on the next one. Once all the columns are sewn, I'll add long, vertical sashing strips.

Now, I'm having a bit of trouble here because of a mistake I made early in the process. I decided to use some strips I had received in a swap for the ribbon pieces and supplement them with the leftover Blue Hawaii Bali Pop pieces that I had on hand here. Well, if you've ever participated in a swap, you know that 2 1/2" is not the same for everyone. Some of my strips were a bit bigger and some smaller. I didn't think about that small detail when I started sewing the strips together late on night; and I had already cut the contrasting fabric using the Lazy Angle Ruler, which in retrospect I shouldn't have done first. Anyway, not all of my strip sets equaled exactly 6 1/2" but because it was late and I was excited to see how this would turn out, I didn't pay any attention to the minor detail. Well, I should have because when I sewed the contrasting piece to the strip set piece, they didn't quite match up. Now remember, I said it was late when I was doing this and I was excited, so I just told myself that I would simply trim the finished block later - you know, when I was sewing the columns. Well, to make a long story short (I know, I'm too late to make it short), trimming them wouldn't really work because I would be cutting off the tip of the blocks. UGHHHH. I decided that I would fudge the pieces when sewing the columns; and let me tell you, that's certainly taking a lot longer than fixing the strip sets would have! Some of the tips are being cut off no matter what I do, but I've decided to live with it!

I'm working on another Honor Flight quilt and making it as a leader/ender project at the same time as Fast Forward. Here's what I have so far, but since this is really simple and small, I should finish it at about the same time as I finish the Fast Forward. I love it when I can finish two projects at the same time. I wish it would happen more often.

This will be a smaller version of David and Rachel's quilt; and of course it will be out of patriotic fabrics. I think it's appropriate that I might actually get to work on that today, don't you?

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls this Fourth of July!
Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.