Here I go...

Remember when I won the Ruby charm pack from Connie at Quilting by the River?  I bought some yardage to go with it.

And, here I go...

:o)

A Surprise!

A friend of 34 years (and my godmother) gave me an early birthday present last week. (My birthday is next month.) My friend is not a quilter. But her sister, who is a quilter, helped with putting together this gift.

First was a custom-made quilting themed pin cushion and thread catcher combo.

Look how sweet the pin cushion is!  (Thanks Mary!)

Tucked in the thread catcher were more goodies.  There were these way cute quilt pins...the kind you always want but can't justify the expense.  And there was also this great squeeze ball that says 'When life throws you scraps...make a quilt!'  Amen.  Thanks Fran!

:o) 

Bloggers' Quilt Festival -- Spring 2012

I always look forward to May when Amy from Amy's Creative Side hosts the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.  Thanks to Amy for another opportunity to be inspired and to make new blog friends!

I am linking a special quilt to the Festival.  It was a baby gift for a newborn girl, Lucy.  I had the honor of holding Lucy's mother when she was a newborn.  And Lucy's grandmother and I have been friends for 44 years...since her hubby and mine were college roommates! 

There was a theme for this quilt...this adorable bedroom designed and painted by Lucy's grandmother.  It is shown here as the painting was in progress.



The other elements of this theme that I had to work with was a crib set picture from Pottery Barn Kids catalog and this sheet.

There was some fussy cutting and some improv designing (from me, a person who sometimes plans and organizes things to a fault.)

I made a little pillow to match the quilt!

In the end, I was pleased with the results and the recipients seem to be pretty happy too!

:o)

It's done!!

I finished the 'big boy' quilt!  My quilt holder was in town to help me get this picture.

I haven't given this to my grandson yet as I am crocheting a small pink blanket for his little sister so she won't feel empty handed.  I told him about the quilt though.  He asked, "Can I hide under it?"  :o)

Here it is after washing and drying.  I used Dream Wool which helped the quilt to be all fluffy, soft, and ready for cuddling.

The back is black with little aqua doggie bones.  I love stripey bindings!

I am happy with this one!

:o)



Planning ahead...

I got to babysit last week for my older daughter's two little girls in Cleveland.  It was so much fun.  AND they live just a couple of miles from JEllen's House of Fabrics that I blogged about here.  I got to stop there on my way home from Cleveland.  The prices are unreal...$8 for all Moda and Michael Miller and $5/yard for Bella solids.  Plus they have a frequent buyer program.  SO...even though I have little time to sew lately, I have added MORE fabric to my collection for 'someday'.

I need to replace this quilt that hangs in my kitchen.  I bought it eight years ago from a young Swartzentruber mother who showed me the quilt when it was in being made.  It is a 3-D kind of bow-tie and hand quilted.  Sadly the black fabric is now faded to an off shade of brown by the sun.

I dream about making an Amish-style wallhanging for my kitchen using solids but in modern colors, like these.  They are more saturated than the picture shows and the one that looks blue is a deep lavender.

And I could not pass these up either.

Wouldn't it be great if someone had a special deal on purchasing some 'time'?

:o)

Denise Schmidt

I will admit I really never heard of Denyse Schmidt or her Flea Market Fancy collection the first time it came out.  It must have come out right before I started reading blogs.  Anyway, I kept seeing this one print in different quilts, and I wished I had some.  Well, thanks to blogging, I put two and two together and figured this all out recently.  I kept telling myself  'you don't need more fabric, Linda'.  But last week I caved and bought some online.  I LOVE IT!

:o)

Three variables

I have been working on my grandson's quilt, but time hasn't been on my side as far as being able to finish it.  I have three new variables with this quilting project.  1) It is the first time I've quilted anything on my new machine.  I can report she is doing well and I love the newer walking foot.  2) It is also the first time I have ever quilted anything on the diagonal.  I was concerned with stretching.  The top looks okay, but the back has stretched some with the handling.  I don't have any puckers on the back yet, however. I think once the quilt is washed and crinkly, my concerns will be over.   And 3) this is the first time I've used painter's tape to mark the sewing lines.  I am not sold on it yet.  I think marking the lines right on the quilt is more accurate, at least for me.  My lines have been wavier than usual.  I do think that as I progress through the quilt, my lines are getting less wonky.  Hopefully, I'll have a finish within the week!

:o)