Micah's Birthday quilt

This quilt is for a dear friends little girl.......she is turning 13 this week! I made the label by tracing her hand then transferring it with stitches to the label, adding some embroidery from my new Janome 6600, then writing Happy birthday and signing it in my own hand with red ink.

Elephant quilt for Lily

Lily Kate is going to be 1 year old in a couple of weeks and I just finished sewing a sleeve for hanging on the back and finished the binding today.
It will hang in her room. Happy Birthday little Princess, Love, Grandma :0)

"Scraps & Shirttails"

Yesterday I got to do some free shopping at my friends thrift store.........she gives me 100% cotton shirts if I use part of them for a charity quilt.....which I do in the form of a QOV.
Some of these have never been worn!
I'll be looking at " Scraps & Shirttails" by Bonnie K. Hunter for some inspiration.......but I do have a few ideas too. Happy Sewing!

Best of Show

Okay so I could not stop looking at this fantastic quilt. Made by Ronda Kae Beyer of Tualatin, OR. Ronda was inspired by a trip to Darwin, Australia.. This is an original design. It was Best of Show at the "Maine Quilts 2009" 32nd annual show in Augusta.
Hand applique, machine applique, long arm, with a stitch regulator, with a machine quilting frame system. It is an 80 inch square. " Loving traditional in a nontraditional way..."
It was so evenly quilted with original quilting motifs.
The backing fabric had all the colors repeated on the front. What work of art!

Wedding ring

This wedding ring quilt was given to me by my Mom who thought it was made by my great Aunt...my Dad's uncle's wife.......but sadly there is no label, no dates, no clues. It is true a beauty though....a 78 inch square work of fine quilting and stitching.
I'm off in Augusta, Maine with my friend Debby...she is working and I'm stimulating the economy at the quilt show this weekend :0). I left this post for you to enjoy in my absence.

Two completed QOV's

Debby and I have been busy piecing and quilting two more QOV'S


I hope whoever receives them will know how much we tried to thank and honor them with our work.

Kindness of strangers

Dawn, who I met in a chat group, sent me two complete quilt tops that need to be pieced. She was giving them away so I asked if I could have them to make for our wounded soldiers returning from war. Dawn sent them in the form of block of the month packages and soon they will be made into QOV's! Here is the first block! How kind, thank you so much Dawn.

tiny 9 patches

more miniatures

This tiny yo yo quilt measures 6 3/4 inch square. It was made from Minature quilt magazine where the template was a 50 cent piece and the yo yo finished at the size of a penny so she called the pattern "the 51 cent quilt". When was that.......no idea.
This is a 6 1/2 inch square that I stenciled then machine quilted. No date was included on the back. I actually made this one up myself, these tiny quilts keep my tiny teddy bears cozy :0)

Fabric inheritance

I went to a 60 wedding anniversary party this past weekend. These are folks that have been best friends with my in-laws- for nearly 70 years. After the party I was offered a look in the attic to take some fabric.....I left with four boxes of fabric! Here is a picture of it back at my house being sorted. The huge pile in the front is all cotton, the other fabric will be used to make bedrolls for the homeless by a local sewing group. Can we ever have too much fabric?

I use to make small quilts

This 13 inch square quilt was made in 1992 from a book called " Tiny Traditions"...at least that is what I have written on the back :0)
This little quilt measure 14X17 inches........I did not sign it or date it, sadly I can't tell you too much about it but I still like it . I pull these little quilts out for their associated holidays to bring in some color to our rooms. The fabric on the back has "America the Beautiful" written over and over separated by little stars.

Two quilts at once

I can't remember ever working on one project at a time. So even though I did mostly decluttered my design wall I still have two projects that I am currently working on up on the wall. Both inspired by blogs of fellow quilters. ( and as soon as I learn how to I will give you a click on to both of their sites :0) ).

Where is summer?

I told myself I was not going to do Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery because I have so many projects in progress,....... "finish up some of what you have started" I told myself. Did I listen? No, here is clue number one done. The saving grace on this mystery is the clues will be slow in coming since its from a magazine that isn't a monthly publication.
Since its been so cool and rainy here in Pokeytown I have been doing more sewing then gardening anyway.
Now I think its time to clear off my "design wall" and use it for designing instead of having bits of this and that hanging about! That is today's project.......wish me luck that I don't get side tracked :0)

Crumb baby quilt

I finally finished the binding on this quilt this morning while watching the Ladies final at Wimbledon.......it is a baby quilt for a dear friends newest grandchild....coming soon :0).

I learned about making crumb blocks from Bonnie Hunters site and freestyle letters from Lazy Gal Quilters site. I really enjoy both techniques and combining them is pure fun!

Happy 4th of July!

wool applique

Block #4 and #5 of the Bunny Hill BOM

I might catch up on my BOM......love these little blocks :0). Its great fun to have a portable project to do in the car. I try to make these into little "kits" that I can travel with so I always have something to work on.....like when I spent 3.5 hours in my Ophthalmologist's office.

Being a Grandma

This little face just fills my heart. I never knew being a Grandma would be so fulfilling.....I just can't get enough time with my little Lily. Now I'm back home and trying to get back into the swing of things but it sure is hard when I miss her so much.

Father's Day...a day late

Yesterday was Father's day......sadly I didn't think of my Dad. He was of the generation of raising children to be seen and not heard. I was one of seven siblings and we didn't know our dad he worked hard to support us but was gone more than he was home. I never had a conversation with him or remember him saying my name. When he died I mourned for what could have been and how I wish I could have known him. This 6.5 inch square stenciled remembrance gave me some time to reflect about him. May he rest in peace. Happy father's day dad........a day late.

I saw this block here: http://thethriftyquilter.blogspot.com/
and just loved all the secondary blocks and designs so I have started another scrap project.
One block down 24 to go :0)......funny thing is these are the exact same size units as "swing your partner" so I'll be using some of those left over units . And Wimbledon starts tomorrow too!
Happy Father's Day!

swing your partner top done

My first word border finished! I'm very happy with how this turned out and will make a really nice birthday gift for a dear friend.

Grosgrain: Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!
Wouldn't my little granddaughter Lily look adorable in this!

Feb. and March

Bunny Hill BOM Jan.

So, while visiting blogland, I have seen everyone working on these free "Bunny Hill Designs" block of the month and have decided to jump right in. I think it will make an adorable quilt for my granddaughter one day. I am using wool with cotton so it will not be washable. I am already 3 months behind!

border piecing for "swing your partner"

I have finally decided on a border for "Swing your partner" and its coming together , my first try did not have enough contrast and the letters were illegible.....but I am happy with these. Now off to the dentist and then maybe some sewing in the afternoon.

NYC

Guess who got to see Angela Lansbury in NYC yesterday, the same week she got her Tony?
Yes my daughter and I, we had front row seats for Blithe Spirit...what a hoot!

So no sewing news to report on today. Its cool and rainy here in Pokeytown and I'm off to get a hair cut and color at a new salon.

New neighbors

I have a new family in the neighborhood...........

Oh and here is the stash for " Christmas Lights"

Bonnie is starting a new mystery.....so naturally I started pulling fabric from my stash to play along. Well what did I find? My box of foundation-pieced pineapple blocks! Hey, these are just like what Bonnie has been working on. All the paper is still on the backs of my squares and I got in the habit of putting the date on the back whenever I finished a block......it takes longer than you think to sew 45 little pieces of fabric to a 6 inch square of paper!
I started these in June of 1999 and I only have 48 done. The pattern I started making was by Betty Lenz of Marshall, Missouri and was published in " Better Homes and Gardens American Patchwork& Quilting" magazine April 1999 issue #37. She made 120 foundation-pieced blocks surrounded by a 9.5 inch border where she appliqued vines, flowers, leaves and pomegranates . Then she added seed beads to the applique!.........I wonder if I'll ever finish this quilt? She named it "Scrap Apple" and won second-place in the mixed techniques category of the 1996 Silver Dollar City quilt contest.

How many more?

Oh the possibilities

Look at this beautiful thread!
My friend Debby is a professional quilter and has given me
these threads to "play with". I'd love to think I could quilt like Debby but
I know that just isn't going to happen ...Unless I put in the thousands of hours
of practice that she has! But we all have to start somewhere :0)

Swing your partner

This morning I am watching the women's final of the French Open....I like both Safina and Kuznetsova......oh who to root for? What I hope for is to see a good match with both woman playing their best since they both have a history of choking at slams. May the best woman win!

So I have put my top together but haven't decided on the border yet.......something pieced?
Some free style words wishing a friend happy birthday? Something like what Bonnie's pattern
shows? Something will come to me........meanwhile I'm being distracted by Bonnie's new mystery!!

7 shirts

This quilt is my next QOV. I made it from a little mystery on a blog I follow.
Nancy Rose is a very talented quilter and you can make this from her blog too :0).

Happy Sewing

2nd look

I replaced two blocks and think I like this look much better.
Now onto making all the half square triangles. Should I add some freestyle words in the border? I'll see how the quilt directs me when I get there but I am leaning that way.