Testing iPhone posting

Back in the saddle again. This is kind of a test to see how posting to my blog works from my phone.

At the eye dr with Ms S... Check up after cataract surgery a few years ago.


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Shakespeare in the Park--DONE!

Shakespeare in the Park

And it's done!  I looked back and I started this back in 2009!  It means she is 3 years old already.  I admit, it's been hanging on my design wall for over a year.  It just took a little incentive to light a fire under my rear end to get it done.  I was asked to have a Quilt Exhibition in the University's Art Gallery this summer and I really wanted this one it the exhibit, so I busted a gut, developed tendonitis, starved my husband and a colony of dust bunnies moved in, but I got it done. About 12 hours before I had to hang it in the exhibit! LOL

This is from Judy Martin's The Creative Pattern Book, but I admit that I recreated it in EQ7, to color it like I wanted and I pieced it a little differently than in the book. But I fell in love with this pattern when it was all the rage, oh....like 3 years ago!   I used leftover fabrics from another quilt I made for my hubby. He loves these colors. A little bland for me, but I admit I do like this quilt. If you notice, I added little sparks of burgundy here and there. I just could not do a quilt without at least a little color!

I'll be posting my progress on this quilt soon.

April finish

Just squeaking' in at the tail end of the month. I gotta quit doing that!  This is my finish for April.  We are leaving mid-May for a trip, so I better get hustling or I'll never get May's done.

My Flimsy closet ran out of hangers and I vowed to not make more quilts until all the hangars were empty.  Can I do it?  Hmm, not sure, but am trying.

This is a class sample I made a few years ago, but never quilted.  It's Winning Hands (from Eleanor Burn's book of same name), and I made it in our Buckeye colors!  Actually a student did one years ago and I always liked it, so I made one for me.  And now it's going to go to a good friend who helped me out on a project.

OSU Winning Hands

A new Grandma is being born!

ABC quilt for Sue

No, not me. I have 6 grandkids already!  A friend is having her first grand baby soon and has waited SO long for this to happen. She was beginning to think she would never get the chance.  A group I am in (a non quilting group) have what they call 'Grandma Showers' when one of us becomes a Grandma for the first time.  My friend was in this group for 25+ years and dropped out a few years ago, so won't get a shower. :(  But a few of us decided to surprise her anyway.  I have made quilts for all my other friends, so made one for her too.

I have made several of these over the years, and had one bag of blocks already done.  I have collected prints over the years that would work with this quilt.  My own grandkids have theirs, so this bag of blocks was just sitting in a bin.

So, I really killed two birds with one stone!  Another UFO done! And a gift done! Woo too..don't you love it when things work out like that?

The quilt size turned out to be 50" x 60"..so a little bit bigger than a normal baby quilt..but will be perfect when she becomes a toddler and then Grandma can play the ABC game with her. My own grandkids were entertained for hours with theirs. 

I hope everyone is having a great spring! We sure are.  It got almost a bit too warm a few weeks ago, now it's more like spring.  A little bit cooler, but very refreshing. I'm loving it!

A Hen Party

Actually..it should have been called a Rooster Party....but the hens were doing the work...so we're calling it the Hen Party....lots of fun and cackling going on for sure!

And it took all of this......

a mess at the cutting table....that's what this is...

A mess at the sewing table as well...

to make these.....and are they not the cutest things EV-ER?  they were pretty funky, that's for sure, but the more funky we make them the better!

Work in progress on Henry..

Henry is done...and needed glasses. His eyes were a bit crooked...so had to fix him up!

We howled all night making these and ended up on a Julia Child binge...wondering exactly what she would think of our chickens.  

Filling his innards...

We used crushed walnut shells

And you know what?  We were supposed to be making the pincushions and ended up making Door Stops!!  OR Large Pincushions!  Guess that's what happens when you work too late into the night and start a new project on a whim!  All UFO projects went on the floor as we jumped in with both feet to create this guys. 

side view of Henry

Julie's guy

Chele's?

The whole bunch getting ready to watch the movie...

They are just so darn cute!  The pattern was from Quilt Magazine April 2012 issue--so it's still out there....run and get your copy today!  And then you can have your own hen party!

February's UFO Finish

Wow--by the hair of my chinny chin chin!  Thank goodness it's Leap Year and I got an extra day!

Actually, I did have this done on Monday, but couldn't find time to post it until now.  

This is a sampler quilt I designed for a Beginning to Quilt class I taught last year.  I usually don't quilt my samples until after the class due to the weight of hanging them. It's much easier to hang 'flimsies'.  But it was time to get it done.  

Summertime Fun

Summertime Fun

Summertime Fun close up of Flying Geese block

Summertime Fun block
Fussy Cutting, HST's, 9 Patch

Summertime Fun

I also got a few wallhangings finished over the weekend, although they aren't that old.  I had to do the machine appliqué and then quilt them.  The February and March quilts are from the Calendar book by Kim Schrader.

February Calendar Quilt

  I'm doing a monthly series based on her pattern.  They are a small enough project to get some good technique teaching and practice in and get them done! 

March Calendar Quilt

 I'm working a month ahead to miracles of all miracles happen…we get them done in time to hang in the month they are supposed to! 

Mission Accomplished!

Joy's Parting Gift

My first UFO of the year done!  Okay...so it wasn't that old, but it was from last year and now it's done. I was in a hurry to get it mailed off, so only got one good shot.

Joy's Parting Gift

There is a pattern out there like this, but it make a big quilt, I thought I would rather have it be wall hanging size.  I just sewed jelly roll strips together, adding a wide "ribbon" 1/3 of the way over.  Then I cut off the top third of the strips and added another 'ribbon' of fabric  Added the bow...wishing now the tails were a bit longer. :(   I had a party and had everyone sign good bye wishes to her.  I quilted it with various size swirls. And now it's on it's way.

Sample sewing

It's that time of year again....getting all my samples done for Spring. Actually, this is later than normal as I decided to take January and part of February off and head south...where it has been deliciously warm! I love it! Sure makes it more enjoyable to sit and sew, looking out at bright sunshine and taking the afternoon walk to stretch the legs and back.  Especially when I have 11 quilts (ok--some are just blocks) to make!

Here is what I've been working on...

This is a fabric line from a few years ago...Oz by Sanae (Moda).  I had just a FQ bundle that hubby bought me and thought I would wing it on the border...more on that later....

sewing strip sets.....

making cornerstone units

making sashing...

is it ever going to end?

all done but the border...

Ta da! Slide Show (a pattern by Atkinson Designs).  A scrappy border just wasn't going to look right, so a quick internet search yielded just enough fabric for a border and some for the binding. I am loving this quilt, even without the border!

Sew It's Finished...

Well, they will be this year!  I joined the group "Sew It's Finished" in hopes that publicly admitting my need for accountability for getting UFO's done will work. :)  And so here they are:

1. Be Attitudes
2. Pop Star
3. Dresden Plate
4. Folk Art Christmas Stars
5. JOY's Parting Gift
6. Shakespeare in the Park

Shakespeare in the Park Blocks

7. Red & Black Row by Row
8. French Lone Star
9. Pink & Black Pinwheel
10. Folk Art 16 patch
11. Nana's Garden

Nana's Garden block

12. Diamond Scrap Star

And so there they are--the UFO's I'd like to finish this year. Some are 8+ years in the aging barrel and others were started last year. And I have plenty more, but I chose these to be done first. I also have flimsies to do as well, and would like to get 12 done of those.  But it's an ongoing project and wonder if I will EVER be caught up there.

Project 365- Week 2

Week 2 of 2012

I decided that I would try to do Project 365 this year.  I have been sporadic about taking photos, kind of a feast or famine thing.  I'm hoping that my picture quality will improve.  But more important to record our daily life, as it is.  So when we look back, we can see what our life looked like. Very real. Not perfect.

I haven't gotten Week 1 compiled yet. I made the mistake of using 3 different cameras.

iPhone 4s

So thought I would share the end of Week 2.  It's really hard to narrow down your photos to just ONE per day! Some days I would have several and then other (lots of other) days, I would have one.

Canon sd1300is

Week 2 had me finishing up a big tournament that my hubby holds and I have to feed staff/coaches and I had just a small plate of brownies left over. It has become synonymous with the tournament. Tournament = lots of fudge brownies.  :)  Picture 1

Nikon d90

Then I headed to my daughter's to watch the 3 youngest grandkids for 9 days while they all traveled to Europe. My Mom came up to help so it's been fun!  Pictures 2,3,4,5

By Saturday night, we were a bit whipped. Mom went to bed at the same time the kids did, and I was too pooped to do anything but cruise through Pinterest.  Picture 6

Sunday was a beautiful sunny, yet cold day.  God's Frosty Beauty...as seen on the way to church. Picture 7


 I did get to cut some kits out at night, after the kiddos went to bed.

 But no sewing. That's okay, I didn't need help from a 20 month old!  I'm headed to SC for a month after this week--I'll need it! Haha. No, they were good..just anxious to get to a bit warmer weather for a while.   So I thought I would cut kits to take down with me to make samples for my Spring classes.

Photos not making the cut for my Project 365;

for "Taxi" quilt....need more yellows though..

Auditioning for Taxi-the quilt, not the show! Oh wait, does that 'date' me?

Ready for a "Slide Show"

Cutting kits to sell (from my stash).  Great way to make some 'moolah' for new fabric!

2011 Finishes

I've been seeing these photo collages around blogland and thought what a great idea to recap my year. I ended up with 18 finished quilts, 18 ANGRY birds, 3 tote bags and 8 pillows.  Not bad considering I was gone 100+ days last year! I didn't realize I had been gone so much until I started adding up the days!  I also made a book of my finishes.  I hope to start doing that to have record of how I spent my time. 

Row 1: Scrappy Zig Zag Diamonds, Granny's Bloomers, Triple Irish Chain, Circlin' Round Kaffe, 4 patch and friends
Row 2: Split Daisy, Scrappy Fall, Poppy Baskets, Picture Perfect, Beckam T Shirt Quilt
Row 3: Scrappy Trip Around the World, Buttons and Bows, Scrappy TOW, Hexagons, Railing Beauty
Row 4: Circling Tweets, Second Helpings, Angry Birds, 16 Patch and Pinwheel, Dresden Plate Topper
Row 5: Ticker Tape Pillow, Apple Core Pillow, Figgy Tree, Tote 1, Tote 2 (Tote 3 not shown)
Row 6: Cathedral Window Pillow, Twister Pillow, Dresden Wheel Pillow, Hexies Pillow and Tumbler Pillow.

Lots of finishes, but I hope this year brings more quilt finishes!

Folded (fabric)

My birthday present. 

FQ bundle of Daisy Cottage by Lori Holt 

A stack of folded fabric. 

Love. 

*sigh*

I have a fabric closet that rivals a small quilt shop. I do NOT need fabric. In fact, after tracking my stash for a year through Judy L's Stash Challenge, I realized that I don't need to buy any fabric. Ever. Again.  But of course, I do and will, but not at the speed and tenacity that I used to accumulate it. I mean, collect it. :)

And I have done very well these last 3 years. I've purchased fabric, but not very much.  And this year I could count on 2 hands the amount of yardage purchased by me.  Until...

I stumbled on Lori Holt's blog, Bee in my Bonnet. And saw her latest line of fabric, Daisy Cottage. And I fell.in.love.   As in, I want the whole line! I love her patterns. It kind of shook me up because I haven't felt that way about fabric for a while, to the point of wondering what was wrong with me! hahaha  

Never fear. I'm fine.  I did show patience by asking for it for my birthday instead of rushing out and buying it. By the way, the grays are showing up a bit on the brown side. Sorry--was kind of a yucky day outside and was hard to get a good picture. But it is gray, pink, and gold mostly. 

{oops, I just looked at that stack and 3 Moda Marbles jumped right into that stack!  They hid themselves pretty well!  A light pink, light blue and hot pink. See them?  just trying to blend in.}  *cwazy fabwics.*