Broken branches, more snow and no power

                             We had a slight break in the snow so we cleared out the driveway and took some pictures.
                             We had a huge branch come down near the road, and some in the back.

                              Luckily nothing hit the house.  We have the generator running for a while to warm things up.  How many weeks until Spring?

Oh the weather outside is frightful.....

 I tried to get this guy to help me shovel but he just smiled and would not budge!
It's a good day to stay in and sew :0).

A Tisket a Tasket

I finally finished piecing this top!  2009 BOM designed and given for free on the web by Anne Sutton of
Bunny Hill Designs.  I think it is so cute and was really fun to do.  Each month I would download the block pattern and make a kit of  wool pieces I wanted to applique onto a cotton square, that way I could take it with me where ever I traveled.  The layout is adapted from a pattern from the book " Patchwork Picnic" by Suzette Halferty and Nancy J. Martin.
Now its on to Debby Brown to quilt it for me :0).

Happy Valentine's Day

The beginning of my wool crazy embroidery......I had to start with a heart in honor of St. Valentine's Day.

Wool crazy take two

                               The top picture is my second attempt at laying out the foundation, done by hand it lies nice and smooth........my first try was done by machine and was bunchy and lumpy.  Not a good surface for embroidery and applique.  I chalk this up to the learning process.  Snowy day here so maybe I'll get some
sewing done today.

"A tisket a tasket."..BOM finishes

                               I finished making my Anne Sutton designed blocks from Bunny Hill Designs.
Now all I have to do is put them together so I can start her new free BOM for 2010....." Snowbound"
All snowpeople......adorable.  12 months of embroidery with great directions.. free online :0).

Wool crazy quilts

                               I joined an online group that is making a wool crazy quilt, this is something I have never done before.  I am looking forward to learning a new skill and making something beautiful.  I started off with
the book, a template for laying out the back ground wool and a package of wool scraps to get me started.
These were purchased from www.primitivegatherings.us.  Wish me luck :0).  

Ho Ho Ho

                                 I saw a picture of this little quilt and just had to copy it......it is just
                                two nine patch blocks, but done it bright colors....like turquoise and red
                                ( yes I'm still on that kick) it is very graphic.  Now I can't decide if it is
                                done or needs another border...Santa faces? A border of wonky house
                                like Tonya's? A border of wonky letters spelling out Christmas greetings?
                                I think I'll put back up on my design wall and see if it speaks to me :0)....
                                Let me know if you have any ideas!

snowman

                                Happy snow day!  I went out to shovel the driveway and the snow is
                               just perfect for making a snowman......I had to do it!

Round robin round #2

                                I like paper piecing for small projects and this one is going to stay fairly small.
                                Its beginning to look very valentiney.......cute though right?

Another Alzheimers quilt

                                          I made two of these little quilts to donate for auction to the
                                          AAQI........this is the front and back of "Lime Synapse".
                                          Ami Simms is the quilter who developed this charity as a
                                          way to honor her Mom by helping others.

Happy Birthday Aaron

                               Happy 34th Birthday Aaron 1-24-2010 !

Scrap happy

                                          Let's follow the scrap trail.......first I made "Carolina Christmas" 
                                          ( Bonnie K. Hunter's mystery) 
                                          then I made a spiderweb quilt ( a QOV) from the scraps of that quilt........then 
                                          from those scraps leftover from the spider web I made "Which Way", a donation
                                          quilt for Alzheimers ( AAQI).  FUN :0)

Inspiration from the Moda Bake Shop

I made this little quilt after seeing this one on the Moda bake shop site,
 http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/09/1800s-vintage-quilt-by-sheryl-johnson.html
but also because I had a bunch of 9 patches made that I wanted to use......then I decided to add the autographed blocks that I needed to use in a quilt project.  So it all came together this week when I finished binding it!  Didn't Debby Brown do a fabulous job quilting this  little treasure?  I almost hate to give it to my friend Anna........but I will :0)

Another great giveaway

Suzanne’s Great Big Giveaway (and sale)

A big giveaway and sale over at Suzanne's :0)

Go for it :0)

Spider web is now a QOV

        I added some crumb blocks and a small inner and outer border of  bright red.....
Now its ready to be quilted and donated  to "Quilts of Valor".

Spider web with selvedges

                                Just a little fun experimenting with selvedges.  I have been sewing selvedges
                                onto used dryer sheets and I decided to use them on this project.  It will make a
                                cute baby quilt or maybe a QOV depending on the size it becomes.  Cute but
                                way too time consuming using my method.  ( Bonnie K. Hunter has a better method
                                on her web site) You can see many scraps from my recent  "Carolina Christmas"                                  finish I made over the holidays plus many  donated scraps from Debby.

Happy Birthday Noel

                                           Noel  is 29 today!  I made this "Little Quilt" ( by Mary Ellen Von Holt,
                                           Sylvia Johnson and Alice Berg) for her when
                                           she was 10 year old.  I was so proud of myself, I pieced
                                           and quilted it by hand, even adding little bows and buttons.
                                           It is a 28.5 inch square.

Start of a round robin

                                I started this today since it looks like it will be a nice slow paced
                                quilt along.  Its  "Yours Truly round robin" done on the Carol Doak
                                paper piecing Yahoo group.  A new round will be added by me when
                                Carol post the next installment and the first assignment was easy.....
                                start the center with any Carol Doak design block or blocks.
                                So far so good :0)

Baby doll bunting from Moda bake shop

                               I made this last night for Lily for Valentine's Day....I hope her little doll
                              will be very cozy inside.  You can make one too just check out the pattern
                              at the Moda Bake shop.

Happy New Year

I'm cleaning my sewing room!
I know there is a large desk in here somewhere.............

Carolina Christmas

                                I finished my Carolina Christmas top today by adding the borders and
                                and ironing all those seams!  It is a big quilt so I am only showing 1/4 of it.
                                Happy New Year!

Nat is having a giveaway......check it out!

http://notjustnat.blogspot.com/2009/12/one-year-blogiversary.html

Its Nat's blogiversary!  You should see what she is giving away.......and the drawing is on my Birthday!

Good luck :0)

Bonnie K. Hunter's "Carolina Christmas" mystery Clue #6 done :0)

                                I'm making progress on this mystery quilt.... right now it measure 80 3/4  inch square.....
                                Hopefully by tomorrow the top will be done!

miniature quilt

                                100  yoyos in this 6 3/4 inch square quilt.  It was a pattern from miniature magazine that
                           used a 50 cent piece as the template with the finished yoyos the size of a penny, the pattern
                           is called the 51 cents quilt :0).  I do not recommend this as your first yoyo project!

                          I had fun showing my small Christmas quilts and getting them out each year to decorate my
                          home is a look back at my quilting history.  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.            
                                

Little Christmas quilts

                              This is one of my very first quilting attempts...I was  so pleased with this little
                             15"x 20" inch quilt in the early 80's and I even hand quilted it!

Lillle quilts

                                This 17.5 inch square was one of my first log cabin quilts.  I love this block and
                                 have a made a dozen or so  log cabin quilts.  This one was made for  my Mom
                                back in the 80's and she put it out every year until she died.

Lillte quilts

                               This little quilt is 24" x 18" it was one of my first attempts at cutting
                               motifs from fabic. Lots of scraps with the nine patch squares finishing at 1".

Lillte quilts "Indian Puzzle"

                                This little quilt is 17.5 inch square with the center squares finishing at .5 inch.
                                I use to try and machine quilt and never got very good at it as these little quilts show :0).

Little Quilts

                                This was my first attempt at adding dimension to fabric with these
                                flowers.  Its based on a "Little Quilt" pattern by Alice Berg, Sylvia Johnson and
                               Mary Ellen VonHolt.  It is a 22inch square made in the 80's.
    

Lillle quilts

                               When I first starting quilting I worked fulltime and had two kids at home.
                               To make myself happy I would sew these small quilts.  Now I bring them out for
                               the holidays and use them as part of my decorating.  This little 12 3/4 inch square
                               quilt has 3/4 inch center square snowman in the log cabins and I quilted " let it snow"
                               by hand in the white areas.
                                   

The Real Grandparents of Quin

                                Have you ever seen such happy Grandparents?  This is one loved little baby!

Quin's so excited

                                See how excited Quin is about his new quilt?  This is me and  my husband
                                loving up on baby Quin :0), he flew in from the Netherlands 2 days before our visit.

Quin's quilt

                               Debby quickly quilted Quin's quilt ( say that 3 times fast!) so I could deliver
                               it to him this past week.............he loved it :0).  this is my first string quilt :0)
                               but it will not be my last. 

matching pillow cases

                                I made these yesterday to go with the quilt I gave my friend Margaret over
                                 the Thanksgiving holiday.  I'll see her again this weekend :0)

Gifts for friends :0)

                              This is a Dorothy Young mystery called "Mosaic tiles" I made it at Christmas time 2008.
                            My friend Margaret is the proud owner of this quilt and was she ever surprised when I
                             gave it to her!  I think she'll love the matching pillow cases too.
                            I get so much pleasure giving my gifts of quilts :0)                       

clue #5 Carolina Christmas

                              Bonnie K. Hunter's  mystery is moving along.......I wonder if this another quilt with the blocks set on point? 

back of clue #3 to show 2 inch strip in center

                                The center strip is cut from a 2inch strip every 2.5 inches on a 45 degree angle.
                                Happy sewing to you all at quiltville chat :0).  Our mystery is coming along...I think we
                                about half way through getting our clues for Bonnie's mystery.
                                This picture is showing that the strip is really 2 inches wide before sewing the triangles .

clue # 3

                              This picture show the 2 inch strip getting cut at 2.5 inch intervals at 45 degrees.
                            and where the triangle gets sewn on.....on the 2.5 inch side of the diamond.

clue # 3 cutting

                                This picture shows how to measure along the 2 inch strip at 2.5 inch intervals.
                             Line up one edge of the ruler at  the 2.5 inch mark and the other edge with the 45
                             degree marking on the ruler.