Susan's Texas Quilting Adventures

Alzheimer's Priority Quilt

2012-01-19T22:41:00.001-06:00

The Blanketeer's have committed to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative for 2012. These quilts are only 9"x12". My goal is to make one per month. Here's my first attempt:

The quilt isn't finished yet, this is just the unembellished background. It's going to be a clothesline quilt.

Chris knit three tiny afghans for me that will swing from the clothesline. If it turns out cute I may use the clothesline theme again.

Country Chain and Cross Quilt Complete

2012-01-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

It's done, it's done, it's FINALLY done! Only took three years. Three years of the Flynn Frame, falling out of the closet every time I opened the door.

I like how it has turned out very much. Considering it was initially called the "Ugly Brown Quilt"; it turned out great!

The prints in this quilt came from the donated fabric that went through the Great American Smoke-Out. Remember "fabric lasagna"? Thank heavens for Febreze and a sunny day.

This quilt is absolute proof that there is no such thing as ugly fabric, only fabric that hasn't been cut into small enough pieces.

80 small scraps and 160 tiny bits of fabric were used in this quilt. Most of them were unattractive and any number of them were butt-ugly, and yet the quilt is pretty nice. It's a wonderment!

Cabin Friends

2012-01-13T08:28:00.000-06:00

I finished Cabin Friends over the holidays. I'm very pleased with it, though working with so many browns and greys made me long to do a nice bright project.

It was supposed to have snowflakes in the corners, but I wanted Christmas trees. They were really fun to embellish, though I should have waited to bead until after quilting. Live and learn!

I used beads as accents instead of French knots on the eyes to give it more shine.

I added some bling to Frosty's hatband as well.

And each log cabin block got a center bead. This wall-hanging is almost crusty with beads. This wall-hanging is almost crusty with beads. 8)

I made a rod pocket in the back with three button-holes for the hooks.

My stitch-in-the-ditch turned out pretty well this time. I set my machine as slow as it would go, then ran it full out; it took forever, but I got much better results than normal.

The 80's will never die

2012-01-11T23:27:00.000-06:00

I visited my Mom at her new house over Thanksgiving. I had the choice of either helping cook the big feast or re-purposing the old master bedroom drapes in the new guest room. I chose the drapes. I spent several hours shoehorning big valences into much smaller windows. It was the most rigged-up piece of work I've done in years, but Mom really liked the final result. She really wanted to reuse those old curtains! I took home a leftover valence and spent a few more hours on some accent pillows. Turquoise, peach and mauve. The 80's will never die.

Now I just have to get them to Green Bay. The box squirrel that is my husband has made several valiant, though failed, attempts to get the mailing box size right. I just need to be patient. Oh yeah, Mom, don't look, these are for you and they're supposed to be a surprise. 8)

I'm back and I've been BUSY!

2012-01-10T21:06:00.001-06:00

In the past 2 months since I last blogged I've completed 5 tiny cross-stitched Christmas stockings, 1 cross-stitched Easter egg, 1 handanger ornament, 1 big quilt, 1 small Christmas wall-hanging and 2 pillows. I don't have pictures of everything yet, in fact, I gave away 5 of the stockings and both ornaments and forgot to take ANY pictures. 8( Here's one stocking I did manage to photograph: (Note: all the stockings and ornaments are part of my personal Craft Book Challenge.)

Real life seriously kicked my butt since Grandma Vivian's party. Work was very hectic. Plus, we spent a week in Green Bay at Thanksgiving, I hosted the Christmas Bee party, two of my Blanketeers retired with two separate parties, and we presented the Quilt of Valor to a very deserving Green Beret. CRAZY! Fortunately, after Christmas in Shreveport, I had two LOVELY weeks off to stitch. Heaven!

More posts are coming as I gather the pictures. I've missed you guys, but I'm back now! 8)

Grandma Vivian's 100th Birthday Party

2011-11-05T16:07:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday Grandma Vivian turned 100.

Her favorite grandson gives her a big hug!

"Have you heard? They're throwing me a party!"

There was singing by the Larks...

And beautiful flowers....

And THREE cakes!!!

And even a tribute from Pastor Mike.

Her son-in-law gives his compliments to the chef. You can see her "Throne" in the background.

Vivian's granddaughter and great-granddaughter came from Oregon looking festive in red velvet and matching necklaces.

Larry looked too tall next to Dad's tiny girlfriend, Sabra, so he scrunched down for this shot.

"You should wear that more often, Dad. It looks terrific!" ;)

Vivan's grandson-in-law was the only one who would hold still for a picture; he was trying to take one himself. Good luck with that, Evan.

A HUGE thank you goes to Edie Maddox, Grandma's Sunday-school teacher, for making all the arrangements. It never would have happened without you!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

We love you!!!

Apple Kissed Autumn - October Finish

2011-10-19T22:23:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in a long time, but I haven't been slack either. I finished "Apple Kissed Autumn" by Shepherd's Bush, in time for Grandma's 100th birthday next month. I'm so pleased how it turned out, and I know Grandma will love it too.

This cross stitch kit has gone on so many trips it's too bad it couldn't collect frequent flier miles. Las Vegas, Canada, Phoenix, New York, Wisconsin, San Antonio, Colorado, Houston; it's been everywhere! It was my favorite go-to kit, and routinely got packed every trip just in case I felt like stitching. I finally started it in Phoenix last year, made a mistake, ripped it out, then put it away until our trip to Canada last month. I finished it October 1st, just missing the September OPAM cut-off.

rows of crows

ripened vines

apple baskets

autumn's signs

Craft Book Challenge

2011-08-25T22:31:00.000-05:00

I saw this challenge tonight and it REALLY spoke to me.

See, I have a few craft books...

on knitting and crochet

the first 40+ issues of Inspiration magazine

on quilting and embroidery

and on painting and drawing

You get the picture. lol I LOVE craft books! So what better challenge than to actually try to MAKE something from them? What a concept! You can make stuff from them? Wow! Who knew? What an ingenious concept; I'll have to try that. ;) I'll keep you posted. Anyone care to join me?

August Project Day - Applique

2011-08-21T18:35:00.001-05:00

We had a Blanketeer Project Day on Friday. The plan was to learn to applique and collaborate on a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. I was supposed to be the teacher - lol. I spent all my time preparing the kits and very little time learning how to applique. Fortunately, Sheila's Mom, Bea, showed up. She's an expert in applique and was very gracious about helping everyone out (especially me!)

Rachel missed the morning session, but Sheila soon brought her up to speed. I had planned to demonstrate three applique techniques: freezer paper, needle turn and reverse applique. But everyone took off doing freezer paper and never looked back. I think Bea and I were the only ones doing needle turn. Whatever works. At least I got to explain about reverse applique and show them the one Dear Jane block I did with it.

Dorthy grumbled about how awful her block was (it really wasn't that bad at all). She wants me to bring her more muslin tomorrow so she can completely redo it. Sigh. SO self-critical!

Jonquele seems well-pleased with her little Sue, as well she should be; it's adorable!

Lu Ann did this darling Sue. Everyone loved the lace on the hat.

Lu Ann is Mary's friend, whom we haven't seen in ages. It was lovely to have her join us again.

Mary did this seated Sue, which turned out to be totally adorable! All the Sues have print dresses in Aunt Grace fabrics, with coordinating solids, and a bit of the print on their hats. I think it's going to make a terrific group quilt!

As usual, a fun time was had by all, and thanks go to Sheila again for getting us the hall.

The Artist's Way - new blog forming

2011-08-17T21:59:00.000-05:00

Martha over at Quilt Contemplation must have been reading my mind when she decided she was going to restart the Artist's Way workbook this fall. Martha suggested forming a members only blog for anyone interested in supporting each other while we work through the twelve week creative process. I've decided to join her. I've worked the Artist's Way before and it really helped energize my creative spirit, though you can see it was pretty hard on the first book!

It became clear as I was (not) working on "Ethan's Quilt" that I had a problem. If I hadn't committed to getting it in the guild quilt show I'm not sure it would ever have gotten finished. I had these great ideas but I was really blocked from putting them into action. It was so frustrating to see it hanging there for months, while I worked like a beaver on any other project that wouldn't require any creativity or risk at all. Then I was so stressed to get the quilt done that the process wasn't any fun at all. This is not the way I want to achieve my goals!

Anybody thinking of joining us on this journey should leave a comment here or on Martha's blog. We'll be starting next month. Any questions?

My First Quilt Show Entry (and August finish)

2011-08-10T21:53:00.003-05:00

Ethan's quilt got done just in time to enter it in the FW Quilt Guild's annual show. It didn't win a prize, but it was very nice to see it hanging in the show.

Golf and alligators is not an obvious choice for a baby's room, but I gave it my best shot. My buddy Joe wanted Ethan to be called "Ross Vegas" since he was conceived on a family trip to Vegas, but he was outvoted, so I named the alligator Ross Vegas instead.

Anyone familiar with the Masters at Augusta knows that the 11th, 12th and 13th holes make up "Amen Corner". I decided to incorporate these three holes in the border of Ethan's quilt.

My buddies who golf immediately recognized "Hogan's Bridge" by the 12th green.

Here's Ross playing the 12th. Sadly, he triple bogeyed 12 and decided to eat the 13th pinny instead of playing the hole. I quilted the broken 13th pinny on the right side below the larger alligator, and showed the larger Ross Vegas eating his club.

Here's a close-up of Ross still happily playing the 11th hole. I embroidered "RV" onto his hat so he wouldn't feel nameless - lol.

Joe LOVES Ethan's quilt and is VERY partisan about it. I ran into him at the show last Friday and he kept going on and on about how my quilt was robbed and deserved to win a ribbon. He kept asking every lady that walked by if they were in charge because he wanted to register a complaint. He acted like a complete lunatic and kept me in stitches the whole time, threatening to gather up other ribbons and adorn Ethan's quilt with all of them. It was only with great difficulty that I restrained him. lol It doesn't help that he's a gigantic 6'3" man, fortunately no one seemed too alarmed about it since I was laughing so hard. What a maniac!

Joe's family especially liked that I incorporated Ethan, his cousin Mayson, his Dad Steven, and Joe on the leader board. The first four scores are this year's top four winning scores. Joe's score is the worst actual score ever recorded in a Master's tournament. (Charles Kunkle 1954, before they instituted a cut.) Joe was pleased with his score, since he doesn't normally shoot in the low 80's. :o

June Completion - Scrappy Blue Nine-Patch

2011-07-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

I took a break from blogging, but not from quilting. With Rachel's help, the scrappy blue nine-patch is now complete. I'm glad I went with the red border; it really sets it off nicely.

I tried something besides stippling for a change. I found this method in Fons & Porter's "Love of Quilting", Jan/Feb 2008. It's called "Continuous Curve Quilting". It's not supposed to make circles like this; I made mine very curvy. It's a pretty fast technique, though I should probably have slowed down a bit, but I was in a hurry!

This was the first quilt I ever made where I didn't buy ANYTHING for it. I had enough of the green backing. Rachel and I combined similar blues to fill out the sashing, and she had dozens of leftover half-square triangles from somewhere.

I even pieced the batting,which I had never done before. It worked fine; I can't even find the seam.

I'll have to remember to bring this quilt to the bee at Rachel's house this Sunday; she hasn't had a chance to see it completed yet.

And now, I'll leave you with a final treat from Krystian. Yummo! (As Rachel Ray would say.)

May Project Day Fun

2011-05-30T16:06:00.008-05:00

We had another lovely project day a few weeks ago. Our theme project was scrappy nine-patch quilts. Here is Virginia working on her blocks.

And here is Sheila, with Mary in the background. We were glad to see Sheila's thumb had completely healed from our last project day. (The paper plate she was carrying collapsed, and hot barbeque sauce spilled on her thumb - second degree burn, ER visit, special ointments. Yuck!) She was very patient with us hovering over her in the kitchen this time. 8)

We were glad that Nancy was able to join us. She's a very experienced quilter, who actually got her entire quilt top pieced during the time we had together.

Mary put together some very lovely leftover blue and brown polka-dot fabrics. She came very close to finishing her top too.

Here is the layout of the quilt which Rachel and I pieced. We split it up to take home so we could each assemble half the quilt. Rachel is new to sashing, and when I picked up her half, the rows were sewn with the sashings together. lol That would be LOTS funnier to me if I hadn't done the exact same thing myself once **blushes**. Oh well, all fixed now. 8)

Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of quilts in progress, but with luck, I'll be picking up some of the completed quilts at this week's meeting of the Blanketeers. If I do, I'll be sure to share them then.

Beautiful Flowers from a Budding Photographer

2011-05-05T08:04:00.000-05:00

My friend's daughter, Krystian, took these lovely pictures. Krystian is a young teen who wants to be a photographer. I think what she has accomplished with her simple camera is amazing. Her sense of color and composition are really wonderful. I've told her to send me more, and I would post them here. Enjoy!

I love the deep veining on this one:

And the way this rose peaks through the leaves - I wouldn't have thought of that!

I can never get vibrant yellows like this; they always wash out for me.

This one was my favorite. I just love the way the light glistens on the water droplets, and the ruffled edges are adorable.

I'm not even sure what flower this is, but I love the way it pops!

Let's all give Krystian some encouragement. I think she definitely could have a real future as a photographer!

Ethan's Quilt now has Borders

2011-05-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

Ethan's quilt now has nice wide borders and I'm beginning to really like it. I don't think it looks too busy anymore. In fact, I'm looking forward to adding more embellishments. I think I'll start with his name. I'll use the orange fabric from the Card Trick blocks if I have enough left over.

I can't let this one hang around. I have to get moving on it if I want to show it off at guild in two weeks.

Ethan's Quilt - Gators & Golf

2011-04-29T13:54:00.008-05:00

My buddy, Joe P, asked me if I would make a quilt for his grandson, Ethan Ross. Sure, I say, but then he tells me the theme is alligators and golfing! Really? I was hoping he was kidding,... but no. Really. I had to think about that one. I searched my stash and found this animal print which fortunately has an alligator.

Now Joe is a HUGE gambler, and rumor has it that Ethan was conceived on a family trip to... wait for it,... Las Vegas, so the card trick blocks were a no brainer. Joe (ever the kidder) lobbied to have his grandson named "Ross Vegas", but thankfully there were no takers.

This is already the busiest quilt top I have ever made, and it just keeps getting better. My plan for the border is to have have 2 sides be holes of a golf course, one other will have a large gator on it, and the final side will just say "Ethan". Gators and golf. Wish me luck!

Happy Easter, New Look and New Siggy!

2011-04-24T16:20:00.006-05:00

I hope you like the look of my blog. I thought it was definitely time for a make-over, and Easter seemed like the perfect time for a fresh start.

Here's my most recent siggy. It arrived a week ago from Helma de Jongh, who lives "between the cows in Lopik" in the Netherlands. I really love this siggy. I used to live "between the cows" in Wisconsin, so I know just what she means.
I've been busy quilting, but that's a story for another day. Happy Easter, everyone!

Group Nine-Patch Scrap Quilts

2011-04-10T20:01:00.013-05:00

The Blanketeers decided to harvest our scraps to make some nine-patch quilts. I've made 18 blocks so far and have barely made a dent in my stash. Rachel and I decided to use blue as our coordinating color. I made 12 of these blocks using only scraps with white backgrounds,... and six of these blocks using intensely colored prints. I love the really saturated hues like this one. Remember the "Great American Smoke-Out"? These bright scraps came from that haul. If you look closely at the GASO picture, you can see a bit of it peeking out.

I love this one too; I think it's a bit of Laurel Burch from who knows where.

And these ponies brought back fond memories of this quilt.

This clown fabric is more of the GASO fabric; I love the happy motifs.

And these stars were from the Baby Fats quilts. I remember picking them out at JoAnn's with Virginia many moons ago. I love using up scraps, especially from quilts I enjoyed making in the first place. I can't wait to see what Rachel comes up with. I'll probably recognize her fabrics too. 8)

Disappearing Nine-Patch Quilt Complete

2011-04-03T11:20:00.011-05:00

My first attempt at using glue to bind a quilt was a big success. Even though I had to overcome several screw ups on my part, using glue is definitely the way to go. Despite making a narrower binding than usual (I only had 12" of pink left) this method was much easier and more accurate than using pins.

The binding was especially easy to make with glue. Just lay down a patch of glue... then line them up and iron them together. Heat setting really make the Elmer's bind quickly and tightly. And popping the fabric back to the seam was fun. Note to self: Always trim after popping the glue loose.

I guess my starch wasn't heavy enough, because my binding didn't stick to itself much at all when I initially ironed the binding. Note to self: Use heavier starch next time.I also didn't measure my seam allowance very well, and as usual, didn't allow quite enough. This put more pressure on the binding to get it to overlap the seam line in the back, and made gluing it together a much messier proposition. Still, I was impressed with how well the glue held. An added benefit, all that glue stabilized the edges so well that the final seam went together like a dream.

And to all you free-motion newbies out there, here's the real trick to making your stippling look its best: Buy 100% cotton batting and using the hottest washer & dryer settings the fabric can stand for maximal shrinkage.

With all those extra crinkles in the fabric, no one will ever spot your "problem" areas. 8) And all that glue just washes away. Yeah GLUE!

Disappearing Nine-Patch Top - Stipple Complete

2011-04-01T10:21:00.010-05:00

I lit out at lunch in the rain on Tuesday and bought another spool of my favorite baby pink Prescencia so I could finish stippling.

This was a bigger quilt than I usually make, and it took me longer than normal to stipple the whole thing. The center was a PITA to reach, but I got it done. I don't think it's quite up to my usual stipple-standard, but it will do. Here's a close-up of a part I'm not too ashamed of. lol I'm going to bind it with the pink batik, using the gluing technique I've seen here. In fact, I had better review the process before I start; otherwise, I'm likely to mess it up!

I was happy to hear my friend, Dorthy, is going to start stippling. She took my advice, and selected a quilt that is in such bad shape it can only be improved upon - apparently after washing, the back is falling off. This removes all pressure to stipple perfectly, and lets you just get in the flow.

Disappearing Nine-Patch Top - mid-Stipple

2011-03-28T21:31:00.003-05:00

I ran out of the pink Prescencia thread I'm using for the top of the Disappearing Nine-Patch. Too bad, I was really on a roll. Now I'll have to run over to the Berry Patch at lunch tomorrow to see if I can get some more matching thread. It feels good to be stippling again, but I'm eager to try out the new glued binding method I read about over on Barb's blog. Imagine, a binding that stays put while you sew it down. Inconceivable!

A Year in Siggies

2011-03-27T11:32:00.015-05:00

Has it really been over a year since I posted any siggies on my blog? (I guess my words, "Your siggy will be posted on my blog shortly" were just a big fat lie. oops) I appear to have a backlog of 17 siggies, so without any further ado, in no particular order, for your viewing pleasure, may I present: Helen McNaught of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and her lovely embroidered koala:Lilo Kreuzer of Merishausen, Switzerland and her iconic steeple. Saski Smit of Hoofddorp, in the north of Netherlands and her collection of seasonal gourds.

Ans Vollebregt of Naaldwijk, in the southwest of Netherlands, where the fruits and vegetables embroidered on her siggy grow prolifically.

Mia Jansens of Geldrop in the southeast of Netherlands with her frolicking Poo bear.

Mary Winegar from Oswego, in the great state of Illinois (the land of my birth.)

Regina Friedek-Maciolek (mother of young Martha below) of Korb, Germany, with her lovely machine-embroidered flowers.

Monique Boucher of Quebec, Canada, with the Fleur-de-lis of our dear neighbors to the north.

Sherry Beddard of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with Canada's lovely maple leaf flag. (I love this siggy, even though it is technically illegal. Gasp!)

Janet Lee Monnett of Cloverdale, Indiana in the good old U.S. of A. Love the appliqued heart!

Martha Maciolek of Korb, Germany, with her shiny free motion kitty cat.

Lotte Klint of Copenhagen, Denmark and her embroidered ravens.

Carolyn L. Hosier of Des Moines, Iowa with lovely Miss Abbie.

Ineke Lagraauw of Maassluis in the south of the Netherlands, with her affectionate penguins.

Thomas LeClerc of Pittsburg, Kansas, "Vaya con Dios"

Mary LeClerc (Thomas' wife) also of Pittsburg, Kansas with her dear little Sunbonnet Sue.

And last, but certainly not least, Willie Timmer of Ide in the Netherlands, with her exquisite hand-worked counted cross-stitch.

Whew! And yes, they have all received siggies from me (except for my most recent one from Ans, which got posted yesterday). I'm better about getting them in the mail than I am about blogging about it, thank heavens. I didn't initiate any swaps last year, just responded to requests. If this looks like fun to you (and I'm going to have an AWESOME quilt someday from all of these) join in the International Siggy Swap fun on Annelies' blog. You swap one on one with Annelies first, then she puts your name on her list and sends the list to you. There are hundreds of people from all over the world currently swapping.

Quilt of Valor Presentation Case Complete

2011-03-26T16:34:00.006-05:00

I got the last button sewn on and the last seam tidied; my work here is done.

I had so little fabric left that the lining is from about 5 different leftover pieces.

These buttons were located at JoAnn's. I made sure the eagles were all standing up straight.

Gee, it fits in there like it was made for it or something. ;)

It's all ready to go, except the quilt still needs to be labeled. (Cheers to Dorthy for taking on that task. And a double Hoorah to Sheila for creating the accompanying scrapbook "journal".)

All three prizes are in the mail, winging their way to their destinations. I hope all three lovely ladies will let me know when they receive their gift; they were certainly prompt about getting me their snail mail addresses - I was very grateful for that!

And the Winners are....

2011-03-23T19:41:00.010-05:00

Team Canada did very well, taking the top 2 prizes:

First Prize: from Ontario, Canada - Heather of http://www.heatherpearson.com/ wins the Kaffe Fassett "Paisley Collection" by Westminster Fibers - 30 FQ's

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Second Prize: from Saskatoon, Canada - Flo of http://butterflyquilting.blogspot.com/ wins the original Moda Layer Cake, "Happy!"

And the US brings home the bronze:

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Third Prize: from Milton, West Virginia - Katie Wiseman of http://katiesquiltsandcrafts.blogspot.com/ wins the Timeless Treasures, "Tonga Treats - Hard Candy"

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Congratulations, ladies! Winners have until April 1st, 2011 to send their snail mail address to gentle_poster@charter.net or their prize will be reassigned.

Giveaway is Officially Closed

2011-03-22T05:50:00.003-05:00

My Blogoversary Giveaway is officially closed. Thank you SO MUCH for participating! There are about 650 chances so far, and I'm not quite done compiling the spreadsheet yet. If all goes well, I should be announcing the winner here tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Blogoversary Giveaway!

2011-03-14T07:30:00.002-05:00

As of today I have been blogging for 3 years, and I'm having a blog giveaway to celebrate. I've met so many nice people, made so many lovely friends, and received so many great gifts, that I think it's high time for me to give something back. This past weekend at the Dallas Quilt Celebration, I hunted for 3 items that would express my gratitude to the blogging community.

Drum roll please.......

Third prize: From Timeless Treasures, "Tonga Treats - Hard Candy"

Second prize: An original Moda Layer Cake, "Happy!"

First prize: The Kaffe Fassett "Paisley Collection" by Westminster Fibers - 30 FQ's

Here's how to play:

1 chance - leave a comment on my blog between March 14th and March 21st - max one comment per post.

2 chances - become a follower of my blog.

3 chances - post a link to this post in your blog, max one link.

4 chances - put me in your blog roll.

That's up to 10 chances to win! Tell me in your comment how many chances you get, NOT in an email; I'm gathering information from the comments only.

On March 22nd, I'll randomly pick three winners, either with names in a hat, or with a random number generator, if there are lots of entries. The winners will be posted after March 22nd, and will have until April 1st to provide me with a snail mail address. This you can do via email. ;)

Final notes:

For all of you lovely people already following my blog, and/or who have "Susan in Texas" already ensconced in your blog roll, well, that counts the same as if you just put it there! Just remind me in your comment how many chances you get.

No matter how many chances you can get, you can only win one of the prizes.

Overseas bloggers are welcome to play. I don't mind paying shipping costs to Australia, Europe or anywhere else where the package is likely to actually be delivered. I'll make the final decision on that. In fact, I'll make all final decisions. 8)

This giveaway will be null and void if my house burns down, or if a catastrophic computer problem wipes out any of the comments, or if something else horrible happens in the next week. (Just trying to cover all my bases!)

Vacation in Scottsdale

2011-03-12T07:46:00.006-06:00

I had to tear myself away from the earthquake and tsunami videos to update my blog. We love Scottsdale, and were there last weekend for the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. We had a blast! We're members of the Heard, so we got all dolled up for the Best of Show and Silent Auction held last Friday night.

I don't often get the chance to wear my squash blossom necklace. Virtually everyone there was in their best silver or turquoise. We we thrilled when our bid won the silent auction on a very small "Wide Ruins" Navajo rug. We met some really interesting people, and had dinner with the entire editorial staff of "Ornament" magazine. We're definitely going to subscribe!

We really loved the fair and market too. Navajo fry bread, yum! I took these pictures of sand paintings for my good friend, Virginia.
These two paintings blew me away! I've never seen a sand painting of corn before; the wheel below is more traditional. The detail on both is unbelievable. Can you believe this is how they are made? I'm still not sure how they "fix" them to survive upright. The painting of sand is about 1/4" thick.We have a small collection of katsinam, (more commonly known as kachinas - but my husband is a purist.) One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet several of the Hopi carvers who made our figures. We memorized the (incredibly difficult) Hopi names of our carvers and asked those with the same last names if they were related. In both cases they were first cousins! The Hopi people are very family oriented and super friendly, so were able to pass along our greetings to the absent carvers. We had a really wonderful time, and, as usual, hated to leave Paradise Valley.

New Mug Rug

2011-03-01T21:11:00.009-06:00

Quilting Bloggers are really the nicest people! Look what recently arrived in the mail for me: Isn't it darling? A few weeks ago, LuvToStitch posted that she had gotten a lovely mug rug in the mail from GreenMare, who had sponsored a mug rug giveaway to commenters on her blog. I left a comment on LuvToStitch's blog complimenting her sweet little rug, then thought nothing more of it. A few days later, I heard from Mary at GreenMare who had seen my comment, and would love to send a mug rug to me too! I really like the back too.Mary & I exchanged emails, and come to find out, she's from Mishicot, WI, a few miles from my hometown of Green Bay. Go Packers! Mary also sent me something so "Wisconsony" that I after I put it up in my cubicle this morning, I pulled over my co-worker buddy from Racine to take a look. It is a series of postcards featuring life-size art cow statues decorated all different ways. I particularly liked the quilted one call "Cowpatch" and the one split in two pieces called "Half & Half". 8)

I've been on the receiving end of so much bounty lately that I have decided to sponsor a giveaway for my 3rd Blogging Anniversary, which is coming up in a few weeks. I can't believe I have been blogging for 3 years! I'm making it my mission at the upcoming Dallas Quilt Celebration to find some extra nice goodies for the giveaway. Stay tuned for details on how to participate.

Lots of Embroidery for Pierre

2011-02-24T20:39:00.015-06:00

I've added a bunch of embroidery to Monsieur Pierre. After I put on the blue-grey border it looked terribly grey to me, like it didn't match the braid at all. I thought, "How about some pink hearts to temper the grey, my Bernina can do that!" I even had some ancient water soluble stabilizer on hand. Nearly 3 hours later I had hearts marching all around the center panel.A few days later, I thought, "This background looks too barren. Wouldn't it be cool if I could make it look like striped Victorian wallpaper?" hmm, I could embroider tiny ribbons in a grid, then later, vertically quilt through the centers of the ribbons. Nearly 3 hours later, have I got ribbons, and so much Saran wrap-like stabilizer it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "quilt sandwich". lol Here's a closeup of the embroidery. The stabilizer makes it hard to see the tiny ribbon, and being pale pink on off-white doesn't help much either. 8)

I embroidered 31 ribbons in staggered rows 2 1/2 inches apart. The centers line up, so I should be able to put a line of stitching right through the centers.

I'm really excited by how well it turned out (so far, that is, I'm really worried about getting the raw edges wet to dissolve the stabilizer prior to quilting - remember this?) I'm trying to think if I've ever seen embroidery and quilting combined to form an embellishment that looks like wallpaper. I don't think so. In fact, I don't recollect seeing embroidery and quilting combined to form a single pattern at all, though I can't be the first one to do so.

Anyway, I've really been having fun with it so far. Coming up with all these embellishment ideas has been a blast. I've decided to quilt angled tiles into the floor to separate it out from the wall, but I'm still deciding if I want an embellished baseboard or not. I'm starting to feel like I'm pushing my luck with all this complicated embroidery. lol Maybe I should just put on the braids before I decide.

PS Ladies, you were right, the blue feet were definitely the way to go. Thanks for the positive encouragement. 8)

Quilt of Valor Complete!!!

2011-02-20T20:43:00.005-06:00

Virginia finished binding the Quilt of Valor in record time, and I think it looks absolutely terrific!
This quilt was a huge stretch for the Blanketeers to accomplish. In hindsight, we picked much too difficult a quilt to make. Our skill set really had to grow to encompass the challenge. I know there were times many of us wondered if it would ever get finished, but look at it now! My heartfelt thanks to everyone who worked on this quilt in any capacity; you can be very proud of the result. Happy times!

Pierre Lapin - Applique Complete

2011-02-15T23:10:00.006-06:00

My Pierre now has features and a big bow, not to mention blue feet. Everyone at the bee on Sunday was very sure he needed blue feet. ;) I'm pleased with the way the bow turned out. God bless tracing paper and stabilizer! I must have auditioned a dozen bows. This bow is made out of a single piece of fabric, which went on very easily. I used a simple blanket stitch to give a light effect to all the blue fabric accents.
I'm looking forward to putting on the borders and seeing Monsieur Pierre finished. I have a pretty solid plan for the rest of the quilt top, but no idea how I should quilt it. Stippling is always my fallback option, but I'm not sure it's right for Pierre. Any ideas?

Fiber Friday - Farm Play Mat Update

2011-02-11T23:42:00.003-06:00

I got another field done, and most of another one complete as well. I decided the pale beige would count as khaki yarn; perhaps it's a wheat field. 8) I decided that the yarn I have harmonizes well together, so matching the pattern colors isn't crucial. I want to use as much yarn that I have as possible, instead of buying more.
These are two of my oldest horses, the core herd as it were. I can't for the life of me remember their names, but the one on the right is the boy and the left is the girl. Anatomically correct horses in the 60's, radical!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

2011-02-09T08:47:00.003-06:00

I had another look at the package Martha sent me yesterday and this fell out!

How on earth did I miss that last night? I must have been so excited by all the Laurel Burch that I got giddy. Moda Wildflowers. Yum!

Gift from Martha - Laurel Burch Fabrics!

2011-02-08T22:05:00.004-06:00

Look at the wonderful package I got in the mail today! My blogging buddy, Martha at Quilt Contemplation, posted an offer last week to send some of her Laurel Burch stash to anyone who wanted some. I said "Sure!" and this lovely collection is the result:
I love all these fabrics, especially the doggie montage. I've long been a fan of Laurel Burch. I have a mug, a t-shirt, and a tote of hers, and I once did oodles of siggies in a Christmas swap with one of her fabrics. This was a "Pay it Forward" endeavor of Martha's, so I'll have to consider my next move. Thanks Martha, this has been a rare treat!

French Braid Quilt Update - Pierre Lepin

2011-02-06T22:03:00.005-06:00

I got the applique all sewn down for the french braid quilt. I decided my bunny needed a name, and a french name at that. I hope I have translated correctly, may I present to you, Pierre Lapin. I used my Bernina's triple blanket stitch for the applique. I think it accents the stitching and gives it a country touch. The stitch took forever to sew, and it was a bear to corner, but eventually it got done. Pierre still needs features, but I can't decide whether or not to add some extra stitching to give him more contours.

I'm late with this update because we just watched the Green Bay Packers win the 45th Super Bowl. GO PACK GO!!! The Lombardi trophy is going back where it belongs, to Titletown, my home town. What a relief, now they won't need a grief counselor in every tavern. ;)

Fiber Friday - Farm Play Mat with Animals

2011-02-04T18:36:00.003-06:00

Apparently there is some confusion over the farm play mat. I thought maybe an animal would help give it some context (and make it look less like the start of a really ugly afghan). Fortunately I had my entire collection of toy horses to choose from, so here's Sparky enjoying the plowed fields.
Doesn't everyone have their childhood toys lining the top shelf of their closet? Really? No one? Well, right about the time when Secretariat was tearing up the Belmont track, I was at the height of my horse-craziness. Let's just say Sparky has plenty of company on the top shelf. 8) The dark brown square in the middle is the newest field, and I started a second one just like it.

English Garden Sampler Update - Snow Day Progress

2011-02-01T23:12:00.003-06:00

There's nothing like having a snow day to get lots of stitching done. I finished the left border down to the bottom of the whitework, almost finished the left font, and made good progress on the right font. It's good to be making progress again.
I'm sick of this weather, though. I hate ice. It's not supposed to be that much better tomorrow either, so I may end up taking another vacation day to stay home. I do need to get the binding sewn onto the back of the Quilt of Valor; maybe I can work on that instead of going to work. 8)

Cabin Friends and French Braid Update

2011-01-30T22:26:00.003-06:00

Work is almost complete on the Cabin Friends central applique. I just have to finish stitching the bird and give him some legs. I had to add some blocks to the side for the little bird to perch on. This part has been lots of fun; I'm almost sorry to be done with it.
And here's the central panel for the French Braid quilt. Design work is so much more taxing than just following a pattern. I second guess every single decision I make. I'm fairly pleased with the shape of the bunny, but now I think it needs some blue plaid accents, or maybe I should stitch it down with a pale blue blanket stitch for contrast, or something... So many decisions!

Curtains up and Farm Mat Progress

2011-01-28T22:28:00.002-06:00

The curtain rod arrived yesterday, and we got the valence installed in the kitchen this evening. It looks nice, but the main thing is we won't see so much of our neighbor's junk now. The land goes up just outside the window, and their stuff towers over the fence. They store this stuff, supposedly "hidden away from view"; only we can see it. The valence should obscure it nicely.

I made a little progress on the Farm Play Mat, actually more than it shows since I had to start over. I made a mistake, and it is nearly impossible to recover from mistakes with this stitch. You knit into the back of a stitch on each row, which puts funny twists in the yarn, which fall apart when they come off the needle. It was much simpler to just start over.
I like the pattern though, and the stitch goes fairly rapidly, even though I'm being much more careful now. I think it looks like another plowed field. 8)

First Completion of the Year!

2011-01-26T22:18:00.006-06:00

My valence is all done and hanging, not in the right place, but hanging just the same. OK, so my compression rod hasn't exactly arrived yet, but I do have this old rod that I had been planning to use originally, so I decided to hang the valence under the cutting table until the compression rod arrives. Hopefully this will let the wrinkles hang out without putting them out of reach for a quick steam. And now for a solemn vow: As God is my witness, I'll never do pinch pleats again! And one of these days, I'll clean up that mess underneath that table too.

Quilt of Valor back from the Quilter

2011-01-25T20:33:00.005-06:00

I sent the Quilt of Valor off to San Antonio to be quilted and it came back just lovely!
Debbie did a terrifc job on it. She stippled on all the white squares in white.

And put waves of multi-blue quilting in the sashing.

The Ohio Stars are going to really pop after it has been washed and dried.

It even looks really cool on the back!

Thanks, Debbie, for a job well done! Now I just have to trim the edges and sew the binding to the back so Virginia can hand sew it to the front. Virginia, you're a life-saver!

Yesterday was English Garden Sampler day, and I did make some progress, but I don't think it will show up much in a picture. Lots of border backstitching just doesn't give that same look of accomplishment that carving out new territory on a blank canvas does. Maybe next week I'll have more to show on it.

Cabin Friends Update and a Bunny Picture

2011-01-23T22:49:00.007-06:00

I got lots of stitching done during the NFC Championship Game (Go Packers!) My little snowman now has a hat and most of a nose. I'll have to put some of the log cabin's blocks together before I can continue past the carrot, because the little bird extends past the green edge out onto the quilt.

I promised myself that I would sit down at the drawing board and come up with a bunny applique for the French Braid quilt. This is my third and best attempt so far. (The first one was a dead ringer for the rabbit in "Donny Darko" lol. NOT the look I was going for!)
My Mom is the artist in the family, not me, but I'm not done yet. I think the legs need to be a little longer, the body a little thinner, and the whole picture is the wrong size (though a Xerox machine will fix that.) It's good to have something on paper, though. I get nervous whenever I'm faced with a blank sheet of paper, and it's hard to force myself to actually make the attempt, so this is a big step forward for me. 8)

Disappearing Nine-Patch Top Complete

2011-01-22T23:01:00.004-06:00

Today was supposed to be French Braid update day, but I haven't made any progress on that one because I was putting the finishing touches on this one. I think it turned out nicely. The colors are more vibrant than this picture shows (and Larry is much sweeter than he appears; he's just... concentrating REALLY hard. lol)
The Disappearing Nine-Patch is one of the easiest quilts I have ever made. Simpler even than the "First Steps" quilts, which I could make in my sleep. I would rather be working on the French Braid quilt, but I have to create a bunny applique pattern for the center panel before I can put any more of FB together. It's too bad, but you just can't put together quilts from the borders inward. 8)

Disappearing Nine-Patch Project Day - and Farmville Update

2011-01-21T22:44:00.008-06:00

Today was "Disappearing Nine-Patch" project day for the Blanketeers. Here's Sheila with the first quilt top of the day completed. Love that pink and turquoise!

Here we are, all hard at work. Look how fast Rachel's hands are going; they're just a blur! 8) And check out Virginia's cool kitty prints. We all used the same quilt pattern, but they SURE don't look the same!
Here's Dorthy on her trusty old Singer. It's amazing how well the old machines are holding up. I hope my Artista 180 is still plugging along when it's 50.

I didn't quite get my quilt top finished. Too much gabbing and too little sewing, I guess. I didn't notice until I laid out the blocks to take this picture, but the top row is clearly put together wrong. Sigh. I guess there is more "frogging" in my future. You know, "rip it, rip it". 8)

Today was supposed to be Farm Play Mat update day. You can see how much of THAT I actually accomplished. lol It's a start.

The Dreaded Pinch Pleats are Complete

2011-01-19T22:04:00.008-06:00

The dreaded pinch pleats are complete! Now if I could just get my serger to cooperate, I could finish the edges properly and be done with them.The latest pleats are being "dressed" using Oxo clips. These clips are perfect for encouraging the pleats to stay pleated.
We ordered a 52-90"black tension rod this evening. It should arrive in a few days. We figured a tension rod was by far the easiest way to hang this valence.By this time next week, I hope to have a picture of these curtains hanging at my kitchen window. It will be my first OPAM finish of 2011, and probably the most satisfying (and certainly the oldest) OPAM finish I've ever had!

English Garden Sampler Update - More Border

2011-01-17T22:27:00.003-06:00

I did some work on the English Garden Sampler's enormous border. I actually enjoy working on the border because it is so repetitious that it doesn't require much counting. My goal is to complete the entire left border down to the bottom of the whitework before moving on, and I am almost there.

I also located the missing peacock blending filament this week. What a relief! I think I bought this spool last March when I first realized it was gone. I have a vague recollection of taking a lunch hour to go track it down, but I couldn't swear to it. I love counted cross-stitch; this is probably the most enjoyable project I've worked on all week. Next up: Icky old pinch pleats. 8``(

Cabin Friends Update - Thank Heavens for Football

2011-01-16T22:15:00.006-06:00

Thank heavens for the NFL playoffs or I never would have gotten so much stitching done! Can you believe there are 84 linear inches of green trim to stitch on this block? The hat brim is just ironed on so far, but the blanket stitching on the snowman and the trim is all done.
The rest of the block shouldn't be nearly so much work or so boring. Wool really is fun to work with, but it's nice to change colors every once in awhile. I think he'll look even cuter once he has his big carrot nose in place. At least this is way more fun that making pinch pleats!

French Braid Update

2011-01-15T23:32:00.005-06:00

I got a bit further on my french braid quilt. Last week I finished all four braids, but they weren't trimmed. This week they are trimmed and also edged in yellow on both edges. I ran so low on the yellow that I don't have enough to trim the ends in yellow the way I wanted to. In fact, one of the edges has five short pieces stitched together to get to the needed length.My plan is to have a big bunny appliqued on a white print center, with several narrow borders, surrounded by the french braids, then a large yellow flowery outer border. I have been auditioning fabrics for the narrow borders all week. I keep changing my mind or I would already be done. 8)

Farmville Revisited - and Then There were Two

2011-01-14T22:15:00.006-06:00

I made a second field. Don't these look like freshly plowed little fields? OK, use your imagination. 8) There are 12 fields total in the Farm Play Mat. The best part is that there are only 2 more fields made out of seed stitch. K1, P1 is so slow if you knit Continental like me.

I have a small problem, this farm doesn't have any ponds, streams, lakes or watering troughs, but I have LOTS of blue yarn. I'm thinking perhaps a stream or a pond might be called for. What do you think? Every farm needs water, right?

I hate Pinch Pleats!

2011-01-12T22:27:00.004-06:00

Once upon a time, I thought making pinch pleat valances for my kitchen windows was a good idea. This was before I had actually made any pinch pleats. I finished the valence for the large triple window, but the one for the much smaller kitchen sink window has languished, crumpled in a drawer, for years now.
As you can see, it's almost done, except for the pinch pleats, and there are only five more to do. I've given up trying to make them perfectly even, perfectly spaced and perfectly sewn. Completely. By this time next week, I'm going to have five more slightly askew, somewhat lop-sided and unevenly sewn pinch pleats done, but by all that's holy, they will be done!

English Garden Sampler Update

2011-01-10T21:45:00.006-06:00

Remember the list? I think I'm almost done with March of last year. lol I wasn't entirely idle though. The peacock's body is nearly complete and I've gotten lots done on the left border.

Some stitches on the peacock's body require a special blending filament, which I appear to have lost. I'll have to either find where it walked off to, or source it from somewhere else. (This may be what distracted me from this project last year.)

Well, I tried monthly updates last year, and that didn't go so well. Perhaps regular Monday updates will be just the shove I need to keep moving on this behemoth.

Cabin Friends Update

2011-01-09T20:00:00.007-06:00

I just love working blanket stitch on felted wool. I got the snowman and the bird subunits completed, and I'm still working on the green border. After that, I'll attach the head to the background, complete the hat, add the carrot nose, and perch the bird on it. Piece of cake. ;) Then there's the rest of the quilt to do. At least I have the log cabin squares completed. Oh, and there will be Christmas trees in the corner squares, but I haven't even designed those yet. I replaced the very grayish kit fabric provided with a white/blue felted wool. It looks so much better! Whatever you do, don't try to bleach felted wool. My grey fabric turned pee yellow when I soaked it in bleach. Now wouldn't that have made a lovely snowman? :O

I'm going to post an update on "Cabin Friends" every Sunday. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or give it to my sister as a birthday present, but I'm going to make every attempt to get it done by May. I'm hoping regular blog updates will keep me on track.

French Braid Quilt Update

2011-01-08T09:51:00.005-06:00

I finished all of the quilts that had somehow taken precedence over the French Braid quilt I started last fall. It's not a difficult technique and I was able to get four braids done quite quickly.

I worked on all four braids at once, one color at a time. This worked well because I could chain stitch the four braids while ensuring I got the braid order correct at the same time. Braids are not at all hard to make, but you have to be very precise with your seam allowances or they'll get all wonky. Mine all turned out to be exactly 32" long and the centers line up nicely, so I guess I was careful enough this time. 8)

I inherited pink, green and blue colorways in similar fabrics that seem destined to be french braid quilts too. I plan to update progress on these quilts each Saturday, or "Quilterday" as my husband keeps calling it - lol. Hopefully that will keep me on track to finish one a month.

New Project - Knitted Farm Play Mat

2011-01-07T13:07:00.003-06:00

I bought a book in Green Bay over Thanksgiving called Toy Knits by Debbie Bliss. See, I used to knit a lot and I have a LARGE yarn stash. One of my New Year's resolutions is to use some of it up. 8) I started making the "Farm Play Mat", one, because it's really cool, and two, because it uses many yarns I already have. My current plan is to have it ready for the Peppers & Pinatas auction in fall. Here it is with some of my stash:

It's basically a knit play mat with lots of little farm animals. So far I have just one square of the play mat done. You can see it up there at the top of the picture. Part of my resolution is to do a bit each week and report my progress on "Fiber Fridays". Wish me luck!

On the Second Day of Christmas...

2010-12-26T12:31:00.004-06:00

We had a really nice time in Shreveport: lovely Christmas Eve service, where Larry's Dad, Stan, sang in the choir, followed by a dinner party with Stan's girlfriend, Sabra, and her whole family. That might seem like a pretty remote connection, but even though this was the first time we had met anyone besides Sabra, they were very nice and we had lots of fun. 8)
Last year, my sister, Cindi, gave me a lovely felted wool snowman Christmas kit and a stack of coordinating flannel fat quarters. Here's the wool.
I loved working with the felted wool for the puppy dog pincushion. This looked like lots of fun too, only there were 36 (yes 36!) tiny little flannel log cabins that had to be made first. Thankfully, they are not at THIS stage anymore.

I worked and worked (wasn't I supposed to be resting?) and got all 36 of the little blighters done. Here is my first shot at arranging the log cabin blocks. You can see in the picture that the wool design extends out to cover a few of the log cabin blocks, so they have to be ready first. I'm only going to sew together the row of blocks that gets overlapped, so I don't have to embroider the center while holding the whole quilt top.

I'm going to replace the corner snowflakes with Christmas trees. I don't like the bright white snowflake color, and they look like way too much trouble anyway. I think Christmas trees will look much better.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas Day. Remember, the 12 Days of Christmas only just STARTED yesterday, they run through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. It always makes me so sad to see real Christmas trees pitched out on the afternoon of the 25th, just as the real Christmas season is getting started.

Dinosaur Panel Quilt - Simple Quilting Techniques

2010-12-23T20:09:00.005-06:00

After about 2 weeks of recuperation, I finally felt strong enough to manhandle this flannel quilt around under my machine. I did simple stitch-in-the-ditch on the inner black and brown borders. Here it is, all done except for the binding. Instead of my usual stippling, I outlined the dinosaurs in dark blue, then simply channel stitched the border, seen below on the back of the quilt.
This quilt demonstrates that very easy quilting techniques may be used to good effect on a domestic machine. Our charity long-arm quilter recently had to recuse herself from participation, which caused some concern because hardly anyone likes to stipple but me.

I used the backing flannel for the binding. (Note to self: ALWAYS press binding seams wide open to avoid big flannel lumps.) It took me longer to bind this quilt than it did to quilt it. And the pins really had it in for me. I got a ding on my palm that still hurts today. lol

Stitching and Healing

2010-12-14T10:17:00.005-06:00

I decided to start small and recuperate from surgery last week by stitching tiny projects, then as my Vicodin is reduced, work up to something more challenging. These were the easiest kits I had on hand, and they worked up very quickly.
Except for the name I actually had the stitching done on the cardinal a long time ago. I decided to give it to my sister, so I personalized and finished it in about 1/2 hour. BTW My family rarely reads my blog, so this should still be a surprise present. lol Now I just have to decide who gets the other two, then I'll make them up as well. 8)

I bought this wool pincushion kit at the The Quilted Apple in Phoenix this past fall. Everyone is right, wool is really fun to work with. I made it yesterday. I think it turned out adorable. I'm planning to give it to Larry's Grandma; she's 99 years old and still loves to make and receive handmade crafts.

BTW I have proof now that needlework kits don't "go bad". The sticker on the Christmas stocking cross-stitch kits read 1990. I still remember buying them at the Art Galleries at Bahia Mar on Padre Island. I was 29 then and they cost $1.50 each. Those days are GONE, but the kits live on. 8)

Two Big Winners at the Houston Quilt Festival

2010-11-10T20:32:00.007-06:00

Sue McCarty of Roy, Utah, who did the fabulous Tolkien quilt from last year, won big again this year with "Meditation", which won the "Superior Threads Master Award for Thread Artistry"($5000). Last year Ms. McCarty won a similar prize for Tolkien, PLUS the Viewers' Choice award. Her Tolkien quilt still ranks as the single most amazing quilt I've ever seen anywhere, but the quilting on her "Meditation" really rocks too. 8)

My other favorite of the big winners was "Tea with Miss D." by Sandra Leichner of Albany, Oregon. Ms. Leichner's quilt is simply charming! "Tea with Miss D." won the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Artistry ($5000). This rather unassuming little quilt is incredibly special in so many ways.

Let's start with the back for a change, shall we? Have you ever seen such a darling label? It's an invitation to a tea party!

She made realistic looking tea bags for the quilt by using both french knots and buttons, then covered them with organza. They look so real! The bowl of all the teaspoons are triple appliqued to give the illusion of depth.The attention to detail on this quilt is unbelievable. There's piping, buttons, embroidery, applique, and absolutely gorgeous quilting, yet it remains dainty and charmingly artless, with an "Oh this? It's just something I threw together last week." sort of appeal. Absolutely delectable!

Dear Janes at Houston!

2010-11-08T22:16:00.007-06:00

I saw two exceptional Dear Janes at the Houston International Quilt Festival this past weekend. The first one was "Jane Through the Centuries" by Nancy Ryder, quilted by Cat Marion. You would recognize this stunning "Jane" in a heartbeat.

This traditional version was a premier member of the Texas Guilds' Award Winning Traditional Quilts, non-judged exhibition. I was very impressed by the skill level demonstrated by ALL the Texas ladies in this exhibition.

I didn't even recognize "Jeepers... It's Jane!" by Beth Schillig of Columbus, OH as a daughter quilt until I read the placard. What a stunner, and so impressively innovative. Ms. Schillig really made this Jane her own. It was placed appropriately enough in the "Mixed Technique" field, where it failed to take a ribbon, but won high praise from everyone who saw it.The colors were delightful and her technical ability was superb. There's nothing like making a Dear Jane to really hone those fine quilting skills. 8) Lovely!

October Finish

2010-10-31T12:41:00.012-05:00

I got the pansies and leopard quilt bound yesterday. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.

I know some little child is going to just love the leopard Minkee, which almost makes up for the enormous PITA it was to stipple. lol It just would NOT move around smoothly at all!

This was mostly a scrap quilt. The pansies are from the "cigarette smoke" collection of 2008.

The purples are multiple fat quarters (and smaller) from my stash.
And the orange water colors are from the Las Vegas remnant bag cram of 2008.

September (yes September) Finish

2010-10-31T11:51:00.008-05:00

Fortunately Kris at Tagalong Teddies believed me that I REALLY DID finish something in September. I made this purse from the "Got Pockets?" pattern before we went on vacation in Scottsdale.

I really wanted to make a purse using the beautiful Minnesota batik fabric that my brother-in-law bought for my birthday last year ALL BY HIMSELF. I should have looked more carefully at the pattern because after I got started I realized that it had 42 (yes, 42) pattern pieces. Yikes! I got them all cut out and labeled:

And got the piles all sorted and numbered:

And before too long I had it all assembled. It really does have LOTS of nice pockets.

With lots of cool zippers.

It went together quickly; however, I followed the pattern a little TOO closely, and the pattern has a definite error in one of the pictures. My purse is "unique" in that the straps go across the body of the purse, instead of along each side. Sigh. This makes it impossible to shift up over your shoulder. That's what I get for following the pattern uncritically. I should know better by now!

Now I'm on the lookout for some nice leather straps. I'll cut off the existing handles, leaving tabs, then attach the leather straps the "correct" way.

Quilt of Valor Top Complete.... Finally!

2010-09-18T08:33:00.004-05:00

The Quilt of Valor top that the Blanketeers have been working on for more than a year is finally complete; meaning I FINALLY finished putting it together. Two weeks ago it looked like this:

With most of the quilt just in strips and with paper still on the one block that is standing up.

Now it is all together, borders and everything. I think it looks terrific! Thanks to all the women who made it possible. I don't think I've ever worked on anything so large; it ended up being 68" x 68".

Sheila (bless her heart!) agreed to iron it. I ironed it just enough to put it together, but it really needs a complete pressing before we send it off to a Quilt of Valor quilter, whom I still have to locate.
I also have to find some backing fabric, 4.25 yards of it, to be exact. We looked all over the Trinity Valley Quilt show for some yesterday, but no luck. The show was terrific, but I was told there were about 20 fewer vendors there than usual, and the variety of reds and patriotic fabrics was limited - so the hunt continues!

Dinosaur Panel Quilt

2010-09-09T22:40:00.002-05:00

And then there's the dinosaur panel quilt that I bought as a kit in Austin on the shop hop last year. I was very taken by the vibrant colors and thought it might be fun to work with flannel for a change.
It wasn't until I opened up the kit that I realized it was meant to be a wall hanging rather than a quilt. It was way too long and narrow to be a quilt! I got around this by making the outer two borders wider on the sides and narrower on the top and bottom. A few inches each way was all it took.
Aren't these fellows cute? I really love the vibrant colors. Since it was flannel, I decided not to pre-wash. Flannel wears out so quickly as it is. I'll wash it before it gets donated though, probably in ice water with multiple color catchers. lol

I haven't decided if I'm going to stipple it or try to outline it. If I do decide to do outline quilting, it definitely won't be with clear thread again. That was such a pain to work with!

French Braid Baby Quilt

2010-09-06T16:17:00.005-05:00

Here is another quilt on my to-do list. The Blanketeers inherited a bunch of small pieces of fabric in several tonal colorways, yellow, pink and blue. I immediately thought of the book "French Braid Obsession" by Jane Hardy Miller. I have never made a french braid quilt before, but I absolutely love the look. I'm starting with the yellow colorway. I spent hours getting the different tones in the "right" order.

I'm planning a simple braid border around an ivory center square. I have not decided exactly how the center will be embellished, but it will be kid-friendly. Unfortunately this quilt keeps getting re-prioritized lower and lower, but I'll get to it eventually. 8)

Bright Pansies, Purple & Green Baby Quilt

2010-09-06T16:03:00.002-05:00

I'm so behind with my posting, but for a long time I have wanted to make several short posts to have pictures to go along with my "Works in Progress" list. I finally got "Bright Pansies" sandwiched and ready to quilt. I think it's going to be an absolute knock-out with the leopard Minkee!

I used up almost my entire collection of purple and indigo fat quarters making this quilt. And I don't have even a smidgen left of the pansy fabric or the orange batik. In fact...

...if you look closely, you'll see I had to piece the square in the very corner in order to have enough orange squares to make the quilt. The orange corner square is 3 strips of fabric sewn together. You'll never see it on a galloping horse, is my motto!

Dog Agility Trials in Fort Worth

2010-08-17T21:34:00.006-05:00

Now, Larry & I don't even have a dog anymore, but we love watching dog agility trials on TV. So when we saw that they were holding trials locally, we had to check it out. I brought my camera and you can see my slide show of dogs flying through the air. I don't know any of the dogs or any of the people, but they ALL impressed me a lot! Here are some of my best shots.
The little shelties were so excited they were like coiled springs at the starting gate. They tended to make more errors of enthusiasm than mistakes. 8)

Then there were the little powder puff balls who zoomed around the course with almost as must skill as their working cousins. Impressive amounts of work had to go into making these little darlings show so well in the ring, since they were mostly bred to look beautiful.

This little guy could really jump! Look at the extension on his hind legs.

We didn't stay for the award presentation, but I'm guessing the border collies did very well. They were as enthusiastic as their sheltie brethren, but seemed a little less excitable. Congratulations to everyone who worked their dogs; my hat goes off to you! And special kudos to the Boxer Rescue League who ran all the events.

BTW Feel free to copy any of the doggie pictures.

August Completion: All done!

2010-08-12T23:18:00.007-05:00

Here it is, all done. I love the polka-dot border. I think it really sets the quilt off nicely. I've finally learned exactly how to apply a 2 1/2" single fold binding to get the best results. Took me long enough! 8)

Here are the three appliques. I don't think you can tell that they are structural components too. And BTW did this quilt ever shrink! I don't know what was in that batting, but it lost at least 3" in either direction. I've never heard of such a thing! That's more like 8% than 5% shrinkage. It got extra soft too, especially the flannel.

And here's my Sweetie Pie, looking for all the world like the next door neighbor in Home Improvement. He's such a big help to me. 8)

Done Stippling - YEAH!

2010-08-10T22:32:00.003-05:00

Last night I got all the stippling done and got it squared up. It always looks so much better when the rough edges are cut off.
I'm liking how it's turning out. I think the brown polka-dot binding will make a nice accent and call attention to the circle appliques.

I thought I would get started on the binding tonight, but that's not going to happen. I worked late, then went to the gym this evening and swam. Now I'm almost too tired to type. 8)

Tight stippling takes FOREVER!

2010-08-08T22:30:00.003-05:00

I love to stipple. It's like doodling, and I've always loved to doodle. But I had forgotten how long it takes to do a really tight stipple like this.

This may well be the smallest stipple I've ever done on a quilt top. Believe me, it needs the extra strength! I kept finding more weak seams as I went on.
I think the polka dot binding will really bring out the applique patches. I was lucky to find such a snazzy coordinating fabric.

This is where it's at now. I would say it's about 90% stippled - 5 bobbins worth. All that enormous Minkee stippling made me forget how much thread can be consumed by such a small quilt!

I should be able to easily finish all the stippling tomorrow. All that's left then is to bind it, label it, wash it and dry it. I definitely want to have it ready for the Blanketeer meeting this Friday. I haven't finished anything in ages and I have to set a good example. 8)

Another UFO to finish for someone else

2010-08-06T09:35:00.006-05:00

The Blanketeers inherited another sack of fabric, not all cotton, but much better than the old sheets and pillowcases last time. In it was a little quilt top. Let's just say it had its issues.

For whatever reason, it got washed before its time. And in doing so, became the poster child for why 1/4" seams are the gold standard of minimum seam allowances. But after a bit of trimming...

OK, a LOT of trimming; it's little flaws were exposed and sighed over.

Well, a good pressing makes everything look better.
I've decided I'll applique decorative circles over its few little owies. I found a coordinating brown fabric with white polka-dots last weekend for the applique. It will work for the back and binding too. A nice tight stipple should strengthen its mini seams enough for lots of wear and tear. Now I just have to get it done and it will be my August finish. I hate having skipped two months!

More Siggies

2010-07-17T10:46:00.007-05:00

These first two lovely siggies are from Canada, and they really reflect their Canadian roots. I love Monique Boucher's Fleur-de-lis. It's not hard to tell that she's from Quebec, non?

And this lovely from Windsor, Ontario is from Sherry Bedard. I've never seen a siggy done like this before. I love the flag fabric. It reminds me of the Olympics. I'm a little concerned that if I EVER get to actually MAKE this quilt, some of the embroidered text will go missing. It should still be legible though, and it's soooo pretty! I'm also not sure which end is up, but I decided that it bothered me more to see the flags flying upside-down (think mayday, mayday, SOS!), than to read upside down text. 8)

The next two siggies were from Mother and Daughter in Germany. My German is non-existent, but if I understand her letter correctly, Martha is 10 years old and lives in Korb, Germany, and has made a lovely free-hand machine embroidered kitty! (I see I missed the string there. Sigh.)

Martha's Mother, Regina, has made me this lovely machine embroidered flower siggy. They each sent pictures of themselves with their letters (I love that) and they have the CUTEST little doggy!

This last siggy, on a lovely batik from Mia Jansens of Geldrop, Netherlands highlights Winnie the Pooh. He's adorable! I'm a little concerned that the flowers ran a bit when I spritzed them with water while ironing, but thankfully, not enough to spoil it. (Man, some of these siggies come with almost permanent wrinkles. That's why I've chosen to send mine out in oversized envelopes, though folding down the ears is a good choice too. Folding in half, not so much!)

It will be 4 weeks Wednesday since my surgery. I had been doing really well, but then had a bit of a setback last week. Nothing serious, just a bit annoying and depressing because I thought I was PAST that part, you know?

Siggies and Hemorrhoids

2010-06-27T10:47:00.007-05:00

Remember that painful flare-up I mentioned in my last post? Well, the hemorrhoids are history as of Wednesday, but they didn't exactly go quietly into the night. I haven't had much post-op pain, I just can't pee without having a sitz bath first. And I feel as if I have to pee ALL the time. Argh! I just keep telling myself, this too shall pass.

I'm way behind on posting my siggies, and I got some really cute ones too. This darling one from Carolyn Hosier in Des Moines is a calico applique of a real calico cat named Miss Abbie. It makes me miss my Libby, a dilute calico I had 25 years ago. She was a sweet kitty too. This highly detailed siggy has an ironed on stamp of penguins that is meant to look like cross-stitch. (At least, I think that's how it was done.) The stamp is very smooth, but really looks like cross-stitch. Ineke lives with her husband in Maassluis, Netherlands and has a big collection of penguins.

This pretty siggy with embroidered ravens comes from Lotte Klint in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Lotte tells me that these two ravens have a role in Nordic mythology. One is Hugin (thought), the other is Munin (memory). They were sent out at dawn to gather information and return in the evening. Then they would perch on Odin's shoulders and whisper the news from all over the world. What a fitting symbol for siggies, which go all over the world sharing news of fellow quilters. 8)

Last, but not least, is this delightful little siggy from Janet Lee Monnett in Cloverdale, Indiana. I'm trying to find out if Janet Lee is related to Terry, my 2009 Secret Pal, since they have the same last name and are from the same small town. Janet Lee is an experienced quilter with lots of ties to Texas. The heart symbolizes the heart of friendship that goes out with each siggy. What a lovely sentiment!

Hey! I just pee'd without having to take a sitz bath first. That's progress! Wish me luck, and if you think of me in your prayers, please remember to bless my bottom. 8)

I'll be back soon

2010-06-09T21:44:00.003-05:00

This past month or two have been hell: stress, Stress and more STRESS! Between uncertain hidden health issues, a painful flareup of a known condition, AND having to be at work to teach a VERY important class, May and June have really kicked my butt. This weekend I hope to get some relief and I'll have the chance to catch up on my siggy obligations, get a June completion done and catch up on my blogging, all of which are SADLY behind.

Wish me luck!

May Completion - The End of an Era

2010-05-07T21:22:00.006-05:00

Here it is; the last of the "First Steps" quilt tops, all bound and completed. It really is the end of an era; I've been working on these quilts since June. I think this one was my favorite, with all its deep rich colors.

Plus, the robin's egg blue Minkee is my favorite of the Minkee colors. It's really luscious - so soft and pretty!

This was my best binding so far too; I was actually pleased with the results for a change. I still struggle to get it just right. It's a good thing I'm not too particular. 8)

There weren't even any annoying waves along the edges, or only slight ones anyway. I wish I knew what it was that I did differently to make it come out right THIS time. lol

A big thanks to my DH for helping me get these pictures taken before work today. I had to turn this and the map quilt in at noon today at the Blanketeer's meeting. I didn't even get to enjoy seeing it hanging completed over the stairwell for a few days. 8(

April Finish - Map Quilt Completed

2010-04-30T12:31:00.005-05:00

It's the last day of the month and I still haven't blogged about my April finish - that just won't do! I inherited this map panel from Brandy after her adopted son showed up unexpectedly last month. She had already pieced the back, so all I had to do was sandwich, quilt and bind it.We all decided that "it would be really cool" if I outlined all the states with invisible thread, so that's what I did. Fifteen broken needles later, here's what the back looks like. Of course, it's all in reverse, but I like the way it turned out.

Here's Florida in reverse, with a little sailboat outlined as well. The oceans and gulf were too empty, so I outlined some of the little pictures too.
Here's my home state of Wisconsin, and I'm sure the UP'ers, LP'ers and Minnesotans amongst us will recognize their states as well.
And here's Texas, complete with the Alamo (remember the Alamo!) and a cow. Texas was too big to leave empty - lol. And you can see the compass rose at the lower left, helping to quilt up the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, that's my April finish. It will take a few years for me to forget what a HUGE pain it is to work with invisible thread again, but it was worth it for this - especially now that it is done! 8)

Baby at the Bee

2010-04-17T21:51:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful big surprise at the bee on Sunday. Brandy and her husband brought their wee baby boy for us to enjoy. He's only 3 weeks old and they have had him since day 4. He is still soooo tiny!

He was kinda tired. Life is so stimulating! 8) What a cutie pie!

But he was happy to let us look on and coo over him.

And Sheila got to dance with him.
And this all made his Mama VERY happy!

It was a very good bee! 8)

April Project Day

2010-04-16T10:04:00.004-05:00

It has been a busy two weeks. The Blanketeers had a productive project day two weeks ago. This project day didn't have a real theme; it was more of a "get 'er done" sort of day. Here is Rhonda with the quilt top made from the sailboat blocks we all made at the last project day. I made the boat in the lower right corner. I fussy cut a ruler from some ruler fabric and made the yellow boat out of that. I think this is going to be our Peppers & Pinatas offering this year.
Here is Rachel's latest snowball quilt. Those "Baby Fats" quilts just keep on giving. The Blanketeers have kind of divided into two factions, Rachel & the "Chubby Cheek" snowball group, and me and the "First Steps" cohort. The "First Steppers" are a little faster, but the "Chubby Cheekers" end up with pinwheels from the corner cut-offs that make into lovely quilts of their own, so I think it's a tie. I can't wait to see the pinwheel quilt that results from this vibrant color scheme!
Sheila found a way to use the darling little lamb that was one of the door prizes at our Christmas party last December. It looks like it was made for this sweet little quilt top.
And here is Mary with her latest "First Steps" Is it not gorgeous? I just love the pink & green combo. And her work has gotten so fine! This one just knocked my socks off. I finally got the chance to give her the Friendship Star pin that was her Christmas present (Mary's been busy). Now it represents a token, not only of our friendship, but of how incredibly far she has come with her quilting skills. Way to go, Mary!

I worked on the Quilt of Valor for the first time in probably five months. It is now mostly in rows. It was painful how much the points had to be hacked off to square up the blocks, but that's life. It's more important that it lie flat than for the points to be perfect. It's still going to be really beautiful. I keep telling myself that; that and "finished is better than perfect!" 8)

International Siggy Swap - Willie Timmer and Thomas & Mary LeClerc

2010-04-03T20:34:00.007-05:00

This gorgeous cross-stitched siggy came in the mail recently. It was made by Willie Timmer in the Netherlands. It is just stunning. I often wonder if the people who labor so much over each siggy are disappointed when they get my little stamped pony? I keep thinking I'll upgrade the mane & tail to turkey work or something, but there never seems to be enough time, and I end up just stamp stamp stamping away.
I got these two terrific siggies from Thomas and Mary LeClerc, my first husband and wife siggy team. Thomas and Mary live in Pittsburgh, Kansas, where Thomas is a retired psychologist and an ongoing student of western US history. His working cowboy stamp and saguaro cactus fabric reflect his love of western culture. I particularly like the "vaya con Dios", or "go with God", salutation on his siggy, which emphasizes the importance of the Spanish influences on the American southwest.

Mary's siggy is Kansas all the way, with Sunbonnet Sue on a bright sunflower fabric. Just lovely! Mary LeClerc. Mary is working on a Dear Jane (like so many of us) and has just finished a wonderful Dutch Treat quilt. Her blog is here.

I was informed a few days ago that another one of my siggies apparently did not make it to its destination last year. Poor Elfriede has been waiting patiently practically forever. And here I don't have any siggies made up. Got to get busy on that, she has been waiting long enough!

English Garden Sampler - February Complete

2010-03-27T13:30:00.004-05:00

I finished up all the white work that I was supposed to get done in February. If this keeps up, I might actually get to work on March's stitching in March. 8)

I'm afraid you have to enlarge these pictures to make the icky geometric waves go away.

I enjoy white work, the rope was especially fun to do. I memorized the repeat after a few repetitions, and it went really fast. Loading the needle with three different colors of floss, two of which were almost identical, was the hard part. lol
Eventually this part will have pearl beads that should really set it off well. Now I get to work on the second peacock. Stitching a picture is totally different from this geometric design; I'm looking forward to the change.

Quilt Show Booty and my OPAM Prize

2010-03-22T20:37:00.007-05:00

Here is my haul from 2 days at the Dallas Quilt Celebration. I think I ended up being somewhere on the far side of "restrained", but not over the line into "hog wild". My best find was the cheetah Minkee. I had been looking everywhere for it to back my green & purple pansy quilt. To the right are several lengths of US military fabrics, Army, Air Force and Marines, (enormously popular at the USO.) I bought three fabric panels: Larry voted for robot and space boy, and I loved Mama Bear. 8) Larry found the quilt block coasters, and thought they would be perfect for the monthly bees. (He's such a good husband.) I needed more quilty stationery (I was running low - honest.) I got the Machine Quilting lessons to try to move past my endless stippling, and I bought the bolt end of the robin's egg blue velvet Minkee for cheap. That just leaves the pink fabric roll; it got a lot less expensive on Sunday, so I snapped it up for some future french braid extra girly quilt. (Take that space boy!) And on Wednesday, the OPAM prize for February arrived all the way from Australia!
Look what I got! Some beautiful pink fabric, lovely sticky notes and a handy highlighter with a sweet little card. This was the first time I won the OPAM draw and it was very exciting. Thanks so much, Kris.

This cold, wet spring appears to have made our ornamental Bradford Pear very happy. It has never flowered this much and for such a long time. Usually the flowers follow the leaves, which is non-optimal for beauty, but not this time. The petals have even hung on through some intense wind and rain. It was so small when we bought the house - not anymore!

March Completion - One More "First Steps" Done

2010-03-21T13:03:00.003-05:00

Here is yet another "First Steps" all done in time for my March completion. This makes 5 down, 1 to go. Yippee!!! Plus, I'm all done with the pink fake Minkee.
Since all of my completions lately have looked so much alike, here is a picture that is definitive PROOF that I did complete all THREE of the last set of "First Steps". (Instead of, say, flipping one around and calling it an all new quilt. lol)

Ah yes, this is very satisfying, because I remember all too well that they used to look like this:

Dallas Quilt Show Slideshows - LOTS of Quilts!

2010-03-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

Bull Winkle by Jean Brower of Allen, Texas, Third Place Open Division "Pictorial" category. My husband and I both loved this amazing moose; the detail was incredible.

Celestial Showers by Mildred Sorrells of Macomb, Illinois, winner of both the Judge's Choice (Jane Hall) Award and an Honorable Mention in the Master Division "Large Pieced" category. Awesome quilting!

Chairy Tree by Tonya Littmann of Denton, Texas. This didn't win any prizes, but it was so clever it always had a crowd around it giggling. 8)Clam Session by Karen K. Stone of Beaumont, Texas, First Place in the Master Division "Art Quilt" category. I'm not sure if this was the same quilt that won in Houston last fall or not. It was certainly very similar.

Dallas Wind Rose Quilter's Guild of Dallas, Keepers Quilt Collection, chaired by Ruth C. Cottrell. I wonder how many women worked on this quilt? There was certainly plenty to go around. If anyone knows more about it, please let me know.

Dear Harriet, I Am Trying by Kathy Kelley of Waco, Texas. An ode to Harriet Hargrove. I think Harriet would be VERY please by this attempt!

Emiline by Pat Kuhns of Lincoln, Nebraska, Second Place Open Division "Miniature Quilts" category. This tiny little jewel just captivated me; and it was so perfect, it could have been done by Sally Collins. 8)

Endless Stars by Pat McCarroll of Plano, Texas. This quilt reminded me of my efforts last year on Starry Night. So many stars!

Grandma Larson's Flower Garden by Joyce Larson of Burkburnett, Texas, Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Open Division "Quilts made by Seniors" category. The machine quilting on this quilt was done by Richard Larson, whose name I saw as quilter on a number of the quilts in the show. His quilting is superb and this quilt was simply wonderful, so delicate!

Happiness is a Primitive Garden by Timi Ann Welch of Allen, Texas, Third Place Open Division "Group Quilts" category. This was a fun quilt! I really enjoyed seeing it and I bet it was fun to work on too. 8)

Historical Buildings of Denton County by Barbara McCraw of Denton, Texas, First Place Open Division "Group Quilts" category. This quilt was a clever idea that was wonderfully well executed.

Mammy Quilt by Marlene Dreyer of Frisco, Texas. This was a sweet quilt that, I think, is a sensitive portrayal of a much loved figure.

Marching With Shermon by Pat Poulter of Allen, Texas, Third Place in the Artisan Division "Two-Person Large Quilts" category. The quilting on this rather austere quilt was meticulous. I thought the name of the quilt was an interesting choice for a show here in the land of cotton. ;)

Mission: Impossible 2 by Kumiko Frydl of Houston, Texas, Winner of the Pride of Dallas Award and First Place Open Division "Miniature Quilts" category. This should have been called "Oops, I did it again" because I remember a very similar quilt winning the same prize last year. How about something a little different next year? Even just another color would be nice. Big kudos on the level of perfection achieved again; it's definitely become the gold standard.

Montana Lone Star by Vicki Conley of Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, Second Place in the Artisan Division "Large Pieced" category. This was my husbands favorite quilt (which is why the slideshow is so long - lol) I liked it, especially the bambi kaleidescopes, but not as much as he did!

Mostly Morris by Joyce Saia of Beaumont, Texas, winner of an Honorable Mention in the Master Division "Applique" category. This is a beautiful quilt, which spent most of the show surrounded by admirers. Everyone liked the gold braid accents; I thought it was all terrific.

My Traveling Winter Wonderland by Linda Neal of McKinney, Texas, Second Place Open Division "Other Techniques" category. This could be my favorite quilt in the show. I thought it was darling! The little snowman vignettes are just captivating and it is soooo pretty!

Peace Rocks by Rosemary Raley, Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Artisan Division "Two-Person Small Quilts" category. This quilt rocks! What a terrific tribute to her Aunt; she must be so thrilled!

Roseville by Ingrid Fullard of Georgetown, Texas, Third Place in the Artisan Division "Two-Person Small Quilts" category. This is the quilt I WISH I had more pictures of! It's so beautiful and I only got ONE detail photo. Dang! By the way, this is really big for a "small" quilt!

Sandhills Stars by Sandi McMillan of Albion, Nebraska, First Place Master Division "Large Pieced" category. This quilt shows how very ordinary fabrics can be combined in ways to make a stunning statement. Very nicely done!

Just Sing... Sing a Song by Tom Russell of Katy, Texas, winner of the Corinne Manley Award. The detail on this quilt was amazing. I'm glad I got lots of photos. I think it's a really special little quilt!

Stitch Sampler by Vicki Conley of Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, winner of an Honorable Mention in the Artisan Division "Wall Quilt" category. I WISH I could machine quilt like this. Such artistry! I wish I had taken more detail shots, but it was surrounded by an admiring hoard and I was in the way.

Sun Burst by Wendy Chizuko Simard of Colleyville, Texas, Third Place Open Division "Miniature Quilts" category. This was a spectacular little quilt. I loved the originality of it's asymetric design and wonderful use of contrasting colors.

The Bold and the Beautiful by Dana Jo Johnson, Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Artisan Division "Two-Person Small Quilts" category. This was another simply amazing quilt that had a nearly constant crowd of people around it disbelieving that it hadn't won a higher prize. Congratulations, Ms. Johnson, your quilt was a really big hit. 8)

The Day it Snowed Tortillas by Juanita "Lou" Lovelady-Sikes of Portales, New Mexico, Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Open Division "Pictorial" category. This was a clever little quilt, and so well executed. I'm not sure what it all meant, but I sure enjoyed it!

Van Gogh Sunflowers by Debra Dall'asen of Plano, Texas, Second Place in the Artisan Division "First Quilt" category. This is a fabulous quilt. My camera gave me lots of trouble with the blue background and I was never able to replicate the lovely soft shade of blue, but you get the general idea.

Wistful Willows by Linda Roy of Knoxville, Tennessee, winner of the Viewer's Choice Award, the Betty J. Carpenter Memorial Award for Overall Handwork AND First Place in the Master Division "Applique" category. This was a very popular quilt. Her "willow" technique reminded me a bit of chenille; it was certainly a lovely tribute to her kitty!

Dallas Quilt Celebration Slideshows

2010-03-17T20:39:00.013-05:00

Here are some of my favorite quilts from the Dallas Quilt Celebration with links to the slideshow of the quilt on the name of the quilt:

"Beneath the Deep Blue Sea" is in the "Quilters Guild of Dallas, Keepers Quilt Collection, chaired by Consetta Boscardin" (BTW If anyone knows exactly what that means, please let me know.)
"Facade" by Melissa Sobotka of Richardson, Texas took first prize in the "Open Division - Pictoral". Ms Sobotka wrote, "A crumbling facade in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany, worn by time, and masked by failed restoration, possessed great beauty and character - making me wonder what was behind those doors." "Peacock Squawk" by Kathy Kelly of Waco took 3rd Place in the "Master Division - Art Quilt" category. Ms Kelly wrote, "These 8" square blocks were the prototype for a class project studying the color wheel. Then they unexpectedly took off on a wild bird". There I am, taking a load off, enjoying the back of this quilt, which is completely reversible.
"How My Garden Grows" by Shelly Sutton of Cedar Park, Texas was a terrific colorful quilt that sadly didn't win anything except high praise by everyone who saw it. Ms. Sutton wrote, "I wanted to make a Dresden Plate quilt and this is what happened". Wow.
More to come...

Best in Show and the One that beat Dear Jane

2010-03-16T21:28:00.008-05:00

A very deep purple take on the "Little Brown Bird" quilt called "Brown Bird's Lullaby" by Sally Magee of Heath, TX most deservedly won Best in Show at the Dallas Quilt Celebration this past weekend. I got to meet Ms. Magee, who told me that this breath-taking quilt took her a total of 4000 hours to complete; 3000 to do all the applique and 1000 to quilt. She was the first of her friends who are all making this quilt to complete it. (When I told her I had the book she encouraged me to make one of my own.) Here is Ms. Magee beside her masterpiece. I also made a slideshow of many details of this quilt.

"Poinsettias in the Snow" made by Janice Bentley of Dallas and quilted by Richard Larsen, beat out Dear Jane for winner of the "Open Division - Senior" group. Here is a slideshow of the lovely Poinsettias quilt.

"Poinsettias in the Snow" is a beautiful example of an overall applique design with a subtle Christmas theme. The workmanship of the applique and the machine quilting are exquisite, and, as far as I know, it is an original design. (If I'm wrong about that someone please let me know!)

Dear Jane at Dallas Quilt Celebration Takes Second Prize

2010-03-14T09:47:00.004-05:00

A Dear Jane quilt by Mary Lou Strohm of Quinlan, TX took second prize in the "Open Division - Senior" at the Dallas Quilt Celebration this weekend. The quilt entitled "Mixed Techniques" used 169 different red fabrics and took Ms. Strohm 7 years to complete.

This magnificent quilt, which appears to accurately reproduce the complete, original Dear Jane in lovely shades of red, clearly deserves high praise to the maker. Congratulations Ms. Strohm on your wonderful achievement! Here is a Slideshow of just this Dear Jane, showing much of its fabulous detail and lovely hand-quilting.

International Siggy Swap - Helen McNaught

2010-03-07T10:36:00.004-06:00

I got this lovely siggy yesterday from Helen McNaught of Queensland, Australia. Helen has a lovely blog of her own called Aunt Henny's. Helen lives in Bardon, near Brisbane, right by the Bardon Scenic Reserve. Helen said she lives in beautiful bushland and gets lots of interesting "visitors" like Kookaburras, Possums, lizards and many varieties of birds. I went to my LQS on Friday to buy some of my favorite Presencia thread. I took two swatches of Minkee fabric with me to match with. [Remember I'm making all my quilts this year starting with the back side. 8) ] The thread doesn't come in that many colors, but look at this, they both match perfectly. How about that!I'm making good progress and am almost half done with the white work section of the English Garden sampler. I also got the last of the pink-backed First Steps quilts quilted and trimmed. It just needs to be bound now (my least favorite bit.)

English Garden Sampler - January Complete

2010-03-05T12:59:00.007-06:00

I know, I know, it's MARCH already. In my own defense I had decided to complete everything down to the bottom of the topiaries for January, which turned out to be a HUGE chunk of stitching. Here is where I started. February's section is smaller; just a 2-3" whitework border below the alphabet. That's all there is to do, so I really hope to be done with it before the end of March. 8) If you enlarge this image the hateful geometric pattern goes away.
I thought you might like to see the floss monster I'm using to complete this sampler. Before I started working on this project, years ago, I spent two nights organizing all the floss on 7 LoRan Mastercards. I drew each symbol next to a hole and threaded the floss(es) required to make that stitch through the hole. I also punched a smaller hole on the opposite side for partially used floss. I've been collecting floss for awhile now as you can see. I'm definitely SABLE on floss. 8) I have nearly all the numbers of DMC. I'm really fond of these LoRan organizers, which of course they don't make like this anymore. (And I really could use another one. One of these is so stuffed it pulled the velcro off the plastic and won't shut anymore.) At least they're still making the Mastercards. I love them!

International Siggy Swap - Three in One

2010-03-02T20:36:00.011-06:00

I got these three lovely siggies in one envelope from Germany this weekend. Sylvia von Kannen from Monchengladbach, calls herself Fliederhexe, the lilac witch. 8) I love the intricate machine embroidery she has on her siggy. It's pretty spectacular! Anne Kawper and her husband keep some animals on their hobby farm in Korschenbroich, Germany. Her favorite are the goats, which she has embroidered on her siggy for me. It has a tiny little bead for its eye. I can't remember the last time I got a simple stamped siggy like mine; I'm beginning to feel like a slacker.
And Anja Ubber, from Neuss, Germany, has embroidered lovely delicate flowers with beaded centers to make this simple but stunning siggy. Ladies, I am so impressed with your work.

Naturally I had to look up where these ladies are located since I had never heard of Neuss, Korschenbroich or Monchengladbach (I don't know how to put the umlaut on the 'o' either, sorry). I figured they would be fairly close together since the ladies were sharing a post, and I was right. All three towns are in a line due west from Dusseldorf, with Neuss being practically a western suburb, and Monchengladbach perhaps 20 miles further west. Korschenbroich is between them. All in all a comfortable distance for stitching buddies, as long as the roads aren't too icy. 8)

I had REALLY exciting news today too. I was one of the OPAM challenge draw winners this month. ME? I never win anything. I sent my snail mail address off to Kris at TagalongTeddies just this evening. I can't wait to see what I got. My blogging buddy, Jo in Tasmania, sent me a teaser that the prize is really nice. 8)

Siggy Tutorial with Homemade Positioning Template

2010-02-27T21:03:00.019-06:00

This tutorial explains how to make a signature block easily, using a simple positioning template you can make yourself. Decide how many siggies you want to make and cut out that same number of 3.5" squares of muslin fabric. You can get about 110 centers from one yard of muslin.
Cut twice as many 4" squares of patterned fabric and cut them in half once diagonally. You can get about 90 squares from one yard of fabric, which is enough for 45 blocks.
To make the template, use your quilting ruler to draw the two outer vertical parallel lines 3.5" apart. The length of the lines isn't critical, mine are about 3" long. Connect the two lines with a horizontal line about 1" away from the edge of the plastic. Mark two dots in line with the connector, about 1-1/16" to either side of the vertical lines. Draw a center line parallel to the vertical lines dividing the space exactly in two, 1-3/4" from either line. Make this center line about 4" long. Place a mark on this line a bit more than 2-3/4" down from the connector. Finally, mark 2 lines 1/4" in from each of the vertical lines, from the connecting line to the edge of the plastic.
I drew the positioning lines directly on the plastic template, then taped a piece of paper to the back so the lines would show up better. You could also draw the lines on paper; the plastic is just more durable.
This is how to use the positioning template: Place a triangle right side up on the template along the connecting line, with a point on either dot. Make sure the tip of the triangle lines up along the center line. Here you can see the mark you made on the center line; it should be pretty close to the tip of the triangle.
Hold the triangle in place with your baby finger and forefinger while you place the muslin center on the triangle.
Carefully align the muslin between the outer two vertical lines. The edges of the two fabrics should meet along the connecting line. Ignore the inner vertical lines for now.
Rub the two fabrics together a little to get them to meld with each other. Pile them gently to the side near your sewing machine. They stay together pretty well, especially if you are gentle and don't flip them over.
Inspect the edges of each pair to make sure they are closely aligned, then chain sew the pairs together. I always start and end sewing on a bit of waste fabric. This avoids thread nests on the siggies and keeps all the long thread tails on the waste fabric. Raise and lower the presser foot between each pair to keep the seam a nice 1/4". Don't rush! Slow and steady wins the race.
When all your pairs have been sewn, finish sewing with the waste fabric, then snip the pairs apart. Line the pairs up on the ironing board triangle side up. This way the seams will be ironed towards the darker fabric. Iron with right sides together first to meld the seams. I always use a dry iron, no steam.
Finger press a seam, then iron it, making sure to get a clean seam. Normally I let the iron sit on the previous pair while I finger press the next pair. I don't worry too much about ironing the ends perfectly, but I am careful to get a nice clean open seam. I hate it when the patterned fabric gets sewn in with a tiny fold next to the seam. Yuck!
To sew the second corner on, place a triangle on the template exactly the same way as before, with the tips on the dots along the connecting line and the point on the center line at the mark.
Attach the opposite corner by placing the sewn pair on the triangle face down. The unsewn edge of the muslin should line up between the outer two vertical lines and along the connecting line just as it did for the first corner. Continue to ignore the inner two vertical lines.
Chain sew the opposite corners to the sewn pairs using waste fabric to start and end your seam. Snip the sections apart and line them up for ironing with the original corner face up and near you. Meld the seams, then finger press and iron each seam.
The sections should look like this when they are all ironed:Begin to attach the third corner by placing a triangle on the template exactly as you did for the other two corners, tips to dots along the connecting line, with the point on the center line at the mark.
Now it's time to use those inner vertical lines that we have been ignoring until now. Align the seams with the inner vertical lines, while still matching the edges along the connecting line. Here is my husband carefully holding up the tips of the existing corners so you can see how they line up with the inner vertical lines.

This set is perfectly positioned and is all ready to be gently lifted up and set aside.

Here you can finally see the waste fabric I mentioned. Chain sew all the sections with the seams facing upwards so you can be sure they lay properly while being sewn. Snip the sections apart and line them up for ironing with the new corner face down and away from you. Meld the seams, then finger press and iron each seam. Here is a section with three corners sewn on. When properly positioned and sewn, the outer edges of the corners should be very smooth. This one is turning out pretty good.
This one isn't quite so good. See how the right edge is a little bit off. It's not perfect, but it is plenty good enough since the edges will all be trimmed before they are made into a quilt.
For the final corner, begin the exact same way, with the triangle positioned as shown.
Lay the section on top of the triangle, using the inner vertical lines as a guide for the seams as before. Match the edges along the connecting line.
Chain sew all the sections with the seams facing upwards so you can be sure they lay properly while being sewn. Keep using that waste fabric and remember to raise your presser foot so you can slide the next section up close to the needle; taking these little pains really makes a difference in your final product.
Snip the sections apart one last time, then line them up for ironing with the new corner face down and away from you. Meld the seams, then finger press and iron each seam.

The final product, all ready to be stamped and signed.

International Siggy Swap - Annelies Hofstede and Illene Tiziani

2010-02-27T08:37:00.009-06:00

I got two more lovely siggies this week. The first is from Annelies Hofstede in Holland. I am so impressed with the workmanship of these siggies. All that blanket stitch applique, and so well done too! (All I do is stamp and sign mine; I may have to upgrade.) Annelies is the mother of 3, and proud grandmother of 4. She quilts a great deal and loves butterflies and tulips.

This lovely siggy is from Illene Tiziani in Fish Creek ,Victoria, Australia. Fish Creek is about 100 miles southeast of Melbourne, almost on the coast straight across from Tasmania, where so many of my favorite bloggers reside. I love this tropical fabric. It's very warming to me here in the middle of the worst Texas winter I can remember in 25 years! (Whatever happened to 72F and sunny?) And yes, Illene, though it is probably perfectly clear to you by now that you guessed correctly; I am that Susan in Texas. 8)

International Siggy Swap - Stanislava Simon

2010-02-19T15:21:00.003-06:00

Stanislava's siggy is my first siggy from Croatia. I first heard from Stanislava after she sent my former Secret Pal a siggy. Terry posted about it here and I left a comment on Terry's blog wishing that I had one like it, only with an "S" for Susan. Stanislava contacted me to say that she had sent me a siggy before she read my comment! Now the siggy swap list has hundreds of names on it, so even if she was just swapping with US swappers, that's still an amazing coincidence.

I realized once again that geography is not my long suit when I googled Varazdin, Croatia. Not only had I never heard of Varazdin before, I was even a little fuzzy on just where Croatia is, though I knew it used to be part of Yugoslavia. I determined that Croatia is around the coast from Italy, near Venice. Varazdin is a small city northwest of Zagreb, about midway between Venice and Budapest. Stanislava lives near the border with Slovenia, and apparently within walking distance of the Davra River, one of the main rivers in that part of the world. I also saw that Croatia's western sea border, opposite Italy is called the Dalmatian Coast. Do you suppose that's where the dogs come from?

Before I sign off today, I just wanted to say how saddened I was by Monday's terrible train wreck in Belgium. My heart goes out to my fellow bloggers there, and to everyone touched by this horrible tragedy.

February Finish - "First Steps" in Yellow, Blue & White

2010-02-13T08:44:00.004-06:00

I finished my second "First Steps" baby quilt of the year, maybe I should just call it "Second Steps". 8)

They have the same plush pink backing, which I love, though the pink embossed stars seem to disappear a little bit in the wash. Well, it WAS much cheaper than actual Minkee. 8)

I've already washed the one (left) that I finished in January. It only shrunk up about 1/2", but what a big difference that makes, I think. The unwashed yellow one looks very different to me.

I'm completely out of this striped binding fabric now, I'll have to bind the toddler in waiting with something else. ;) After that, I'll only have one more "First Steps" top left. That one is going to get a backing of really pretty turquoise Minkee. Then I'll only have one quilt top left. I'll have to start actually quilting again!
This year I'm planning to make quilts out of my stash based on what backing fabric I already have. Otherwise it never fails that I use up a bunch of scraps for the top, then have to buy lots of the perfect backing fabric to finish it off. I end up with LOTS more scraps than I started with. Anyone else ever have this problem, or is it just me? lol

Record Snowfall - Most Ever in Fort Worth

2010-02-12T13:03:00.007-06:00

Yesterday we got 9 inches of snow, the most ever in 111 years of recorded weather history in Fort Worth. It started snowing Wednesday night and snowed all day Thursday. We woke up this morning to a completely snow-covered world.

The trees spread out enormously under the weight of all that snow. It was very sticky and created fancy shapes on the collection of empty pots that lives on the back porch. Later in the morning I noticed the trees in our front yard were simply FILLED with robins. (middle left) There must have been 30 robins sitting in the two trees. I've never seen more than 3 in one place before. Also, something came to visit later (lower middle), perhaps a cat?

Here's a link to our snowy slideshow.

February Bee - Lots of Industry

2010-02-10T21:34:00.011-06:00

I hosted the February Blanketeer Bee at my house again on Sunday. It was well attended and we got lots of stuff done. 8) Here are Brandy (l) and Jonquele (our newest member) sewing steadily. We were very cozy, I probably should have put the leaf in the table. It's so nice to finally get some use out of the dining room! It was by far the least used room in the house before the bees started up last year.

Here is Sheila hard at work and Virginia in the kitchen. I really like how everyone is getting to feel more at home here. Of course, I want everyone to feel comfortable, but it's also so much less work for me if everyone helps themselves to what they need. 8) That's my latest finish bundled up in front of the near sewing machine. You might recognize it, since it looks very much like my last finish. I'll be really glad when all six of my "First Steps" are quilted and bound!

We had a project day two weeks ago where Rhonda showed us how to make these cute little sailboat blocks, and wouldn't you know? My camera was dead as a doornail that day. Here are Rachel, Virginia and Jonquele holding up some of the blocks. I don't know if the yellow boat belongs to Jonquele or Rachel, but I know that Virginia made the red boat she's holding. Jessica, another new member, (Yeah!) dropped off the two blocks on the ends. Everyone "planned" to finish their blocks before the bee, but a number of blocks were actually finished at the bee. ;) But not by Sheila, she was on a binding tear! She bound not ONE,
not TWO,
but THREE darling little quilts. (And she did it in the time it took me to get 3/4 of one quilt bound one ONE side. I'm very slow!) Of course, Sheila was quick to point out that they were "all pinned already and just had to be sewn", but the rest of us thought it was pretty amazing. Sheila is definitely our "Little Engine that Could"!

I had thought (hoped) that we would get around to putting together the neglected Quilt of Valor. I had it all ready to go in the next room, but we got to sewing and gabbing, and, you know, time REALLY flies when we're sewing and gabbing, so there it sits for another day.

Virginia offered to come over and help decide how the blocks should placed. Thanks, Virginia! 8) I keep forgetting how pretty it is; I think it's going to be really lovely when it's all done.

The food was extra good (and plentiful) at this bee too. Virginia made the same scrumptious white chocolate chex mix that Sheila had brought to the project day. Jonquele surprised us with a delicious razzle-berry pie, and I splurged on a chocolate ganache cake. No one should ever go hungry at one of our bees. 8)

International Siggy Swap - Nell Benton

2010-02-03T21:23:00.004-06:00

I got this "international" siggy from Nell Benton in Manassas, Virgina. Manassas was the site of two very signifant battles in the Civil War, the first and second Battles of Bull Run, both of which were major defeats for the Union Army. Interestingly, Nell has chosen one of her favorite presidents (and mine), Abraham Lincoln, to decorate her siggy. Now Manassas 1 & 2 must have been one long nightmare for President Lincoln, but thankfully, he persevered through the early dark days of the war and preserved the Union for us in the end. I think her two-colored stamp is lovely, and her use of Civil War reproduction fabric inspired. Thanks, Nell!

English Garden Sampler Cross Stitch Project

2010-02-01T20:50:00.007-06:00

Last year, at the beginning of the One Project a Month Challenge, I decided that 2009 was the year I would finish Teresa Wentzler's English Garden Sampler. It was already about 2/3's complete, so I broke the remaining task into 12 "do-able" chunks, wrote them neatly on a piece of paper, and never ever touched it again. Ever. Not even once.

Now, a normal person would be disheartened by this. Not me! I declared 2010 the year I would finish TW's EGS. By golly, I would make another list, because that part was a really good idea!!! Then guess what happened? I found last year's list; and it was still perfectly good. It's a sign (I know, me and my "signs" lol) so I decided to share it with you.

Jan - Everything straight across to bottom of topiaries, except (peacock) head
Feb - Whitework
Mar - Bird head and body and left side (border) down to bottom of whitework
Apr - Fonts and right side (border) down to bottom of whitework
May - Tail (peacock) and tops of pillars
Jun - Gate and left side (border) to bottom of bird
Jul - Upper shrubs
Aug - Grasses and right side (border) to bottom of bird
Sep - Numbers and sides (borders) to circles in corners
Oct - Bottom (border)
Nov - Pulled work
Dec - Beading

Yep, that would get 'er done, as they say in Texas. I just have to hop to it! I have this perfectly comfortable place to stitch:
All I need is continued motivation and a little accountability. So every month I'm going to post an update here to let you know how I'm doing. Please remind/harass me if I "forget". ;) Last night I sat down and stitched for several hours, but I still didn't finish January's goal. I'm going to try to catch up in February. I'll keep you posted.

Ironing Board Cover - There's Probably a Better Way

2010-01-30T20:58:00.007-06:00

When we bought the house we're in now, back in 1996, there was a big pile of stuff in the garage intended for Goodwill. I rescued this sorry, beat-up ironing board, thinking I could recover it.

It was dirty and in sad shape, but I thought I could easily fix it.
So a mere 13 years later, I got right on it! Larry & I consulted our handy Feng Shui guide, so that a "bad element" wouldn't accidentally be introduced into the "creativity corner" of the sewing room. 8) We decided that a pretty yellow and blue floral couldn't possibly have any "bad vibes".I made a paper pattern about 3" bigger than the top of the board. I pinned the pattern to the back of the floral cotton and rotary cut it out. I used a bit of cotton batting and pinned all 3 layers together, then rotary cut that out too. I added some old muslin for the bottom layer so I now had a quilt sandwich. I then removed the paper pattern and serged all three layers together. OK, this was NOT the genius idea I thought it would be. Despite ample pinning, my "sandwich" slipped all over the place. I had to stop after serging one side, smooth it back down again, then serge the other half. Despite my best efforts, the muslin bulged. Most annoying! I decided to just smoosh the excess under the cord channel and carry on. So I did.Using my walking foot, I sewed over the serged line, leaving a 1" channel for the cord, with a 3" hole to start and finish. You better believe I back stitched like fury to reinforce the edges of that hole! I knew I was going to have to pull like the dickens to get this thick wonky cover to lay flat on the board.
I threaded some kitchen twine on a big plastic needle and pushed it all around the thick channel. Very tiring for the hands that! I pulled and I tugged, then I pulled some more, and finally made a knot. Now it lays nice and flat. I left plenty of extra cord so if I ever need to wash it, the cord won't get lost in the channel. It looks lovely against the wall, which is where it will be 90% of the time (or more). It sure is more attractive now than with the dirty old cover. And it only took me 13 years. 8)

First Steps Pink & Blue Striped Baby Quilt

2010-01-27T21:18:00.007-06:00

Well, this has to be a good sign, right? One of the three "sandwiches" has finally left its perch: And here is an even better sign; it's actually getting quilted: (For some reason, this is the step that always gets delayed. I have a block about starting to stipple and I don't know why. Does this happen to anyone else?)
And here is an even better sign still; the quilting is done and it's been neatly trimmed: I just love the look of stipples up close 8) I can never resist taking a closeup, (though I may have to rethink my aperture, this one's a little fuzzy.)
All these good signs must mean something, right? TaDa!!! All done and laundered. I just have to label it, and that doesn't count! I like the striped binding, too bad I'm practically out of this fabric now.
The Blanketeers have decided (well, Rachel and I have anyway) that we'll participate in the Pat Tillman 42 in 42 Challenge again this year. What this mean is that we have to have 42 blankets done by the end of May. Our stretch goal for the year is 200 blankets, so technically we should have more than that done by then anyway, but that's not how it usually works, you know. lol So what this REALLY means is we have to get busy and STAY busy. Like full steam ahead and man the torpedoes busy, so wish us luck!

International Siggy Swap - Ludy Nelson

2010-01-23T16:35:00.005-06:00

I got this lovely angel siggy from Ludy Nelson in Maastricht, Netherlands. Since I had never heard of it before, I had to look up Maastricht on google maps. If you drew a line from Brussels to Dusseldorf, then another from Antwerp to Bonn, Maastricht would be close to where the lines cross, and it's about 50 miles or so from each city.

Ludy tells me that she drew the angel herself. I love how she has taken the angel from the angel fabric and made it her own.

I'm still working on the first of the three pink fur backed baby quilts. It's all quilted and trimmed. It just needs to be bound and labeled. More on that later.

A Birthday Gift, a Siggy and an Oopsie

2010-01-18T21:30:00.004-06:00

Over the holidays, my friend, Virginia, came to visit one afternoon bearing lovely belated birthday greetings. Just look at all this bounty. Two charm packs of Moda's L'amour line, along with 4 coordinating fabrics, a festive post-it block and some of my favorite, hot chocolate. Virginia knows me very well! I'll have to think of something extra good to make with this beautiful fabric. 8)

I also received this lovely siggy from Elizabeth Trenteseaux from Bondues, France. I love the little sewing basket, a popular siggy motif. I looked up Bondues since it was completely unfamiliar to me. It's just north of Lille, almost on the border with Belgium. I looked at the satellite pictures, it looks as though she lives in an area containing attached homes, with narrow, but very deep backyards that back up to a plowed field. Nearby is the Bondues Golf Course with enormous homes on grand lots that look like they could be in Southlake, TX, only with MUCH more lush vegetation. 8)

And finally, I had promised my friend, Brandy, that I would mention the hand crank Singer sewing machine that she has for sale, at the last Blanketeer meeting. I totally forgot about it. She has the pictures on her blog here. It's a very cool old machine. I know Brandy hates to part with it, but she's saving money for an adoption. Just check out all the decals. It seems to be much more heavily decorated than the Featherweights I've seen. I wonder if that is reflective of a more ornate, Victorian era?