May Completion - The End of an Era

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!