QUILTER JAN

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Monday, July 28, 2008

Rosebud Lane Top Finished!


Rosebud Lane Top is finished and now I need to figure out how to quilt it! The fence border nearly threw me for a loop, but I went very slowly and carefully and they actually turned out all right! Yeah!!!!! Feels so good to have this one put together. Think I will work on some easy quilts for awhile now--like Yellow Brick Road and maybe some charm squares! Something that doesn't take much thinking--my thinker is about used up after this one!!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Saturday, July 26, 2008

ME Friends and Flowers Finished Top




This was a fun quilt to do with a jelly roll and some extra fabric--it went very quickly and was quite easy to do. the jelly roll made it very fast to cut!!!! I took the picture outside so it is a little bright--sorry about that! It makes it look faded out and it really isn't. But that's our hot Texas sun for you! Mary Englebreit fabrics and things are always so cheerful and add a touch of whimsy wherever they are used. I like her look.

Today I'm working on the Rosebud Lane and have had to do a lot of frog stitching--ripit ripit---the Irish Chain just wouldn't come out right, but finally I perservered and it worked--I surely don't enjoy ripping, but I guess nobody does, do they?!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Friday, July 25, 2008

Mary Engelbreit Friends and Flowers



Here is the center of the Friends and Flowers quilt that I am making--the bird will have very, very long legs embroidered on and the round, red flowers will have stems embroidered on, too. I still have 4 borders to put on. But I got this far and had to show what I have accomplished so far today! Also, I tried again with the applique on Rosebud Lane and got it right this time!! Hurrah! Now I am appliquing the pieces down with the buttonhole stitch on my machine.

It was so kind of several of you to write and say that you had messed up on occasion, too, like I did with my applique yesterday--sometimes things just happen, don't they? Thanks, dd2 for sharing your "Mommy Moment" with all of us--I bet there's lots of us that can relate to that ! (Although it was awfully fun to read, I don't mean to be laughing at you!!)

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Continuing On................




Working on Rosebud Lane, I finished the four setting blocks and the four halfsetting blocks and was working on the applique blocks when I came to a screeching halt upon realizing that I had ironed the fusible applique to the RIGHT side of the fabric (I should have been putting it on the wrong side of the fabric!!!) ACKKKK! So I have to start over on the appliques with new pieces of fabric which I'll have to make a trip to the LQS to purchase--I almost cried when I realized what I had done. Am I the only one who makes these kind of foolish mistakes? I wasn't paying close enough attention, I guess. Will go to the LQS tomorrow and get more fabric.

So I put that all aside and started on another quilt! This quilt is made using Mary Engelbreit fabrics and the pattern is in a book I got at the Columbus Quilt Show that uses jelly rolls. The jelly roll I have is Mary Engelbreit's Friends and Flowers which has the cutest fabric in it! The picture shows the 2 houses that are in it--there's also a bird with very long legs which is what caught my eye and a big flower.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Finished Heirloom Romance Quilt!











I finished the Heirloom Romance quilt and I sang and danced after I put the last stitch in it!! Hurrah!! I really felt like I had accomplished a lot after finishing this one!!!! Now as soon as DH makes me a quilt hanger, up on the wall it will go!! I may have to do some nagging about this quilt hanger!!! It's hard to make the purses show up in the picture because they are so light, but you can get the idea anyway, I took some close-ups so you could tell better how they look. I hand quilted it and bound it with the aqua plaid (in the inner border) cut on the diagonal.

This is my one year anniversary of blogging--my how time flies--thanks to everyone who reads and comes back to read more--I have a lot of fun doing this and appreciate each one of you--I try to answer your comments, but don't always do that, so please bear with me as I get better at that! I enjoy reading all of your blogs when you leave comments on my blog (that's how I find out who you are!!!!) and feel like I know you as good friends--what a remarkable thing about blogging--we really get to know each other as friends and care about each other--what a grand idea someone came up with!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Monday, July 14, 2008

Stack of Quilts for Project Linus






Here is my pile of quilts for Project Linus with one more almost ready to add--just have to sew the label on! Debi has just as many or more and we need to take a road trip to Stitchin' Heaven in Quitman and turn these in so some children can be using them!! The latest quilt in the second picture is called Robotz and there are 2 of these--it's the YBR (Yellow Brick Road ) Pattern that I like so much--it's so easy to do and takes just 6 Fat Quarters and a border. I had half yards so decided to just make 2 of them.


Saturday morning we met Debi for breakfast at IHOP and what a great time we had! She really spoils me and gave me a yummy jelly roll and 2 charms square packets of more lovely fabrics, plus some hand lotion and a pattern! We hadn't seen each other for weeks and it was so good to visit again. She is such a dear--it's not very often in life that you get to have treasured friends and I count her as a treasured friend!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Mystery Row by Row Finished!


Doing the "Happy Dance" because I have the top of the Mystery Row by Row from Debi all put together--borders and all!! It is a BIG quilt --measuring 88 x 88--good for those cold nights in winter--after all it is a Christmas quilt! I think we will quilt it with musical notes in a pantogram just for the musical Christmas season. I really like the way it turned out and many thanks to Debi for doing this--I hope you do another one in the fall, Debi!! I know it's a lot of work on your part, but it sure is fun!!!!!!!

Now I'm off to my Frayed Edges Sit N Sew group for the day--another day of sewing, laughter and fun! Hope you all have a great day, too!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Row By Row Block #6


This is the last block--number 6 called Brasstown Star in the Roosting Row By Row hosted by Debi. I'm anxious to get it all together and see how it looks, first though I have to finish 5 more Brasstown Stars. Then I'll have to figure out the borders--I think that I will do a small green one and then a larger one of the focus fabric. I have plenty of all the fabrics left over, so that's a good thing--I can have my choice of borders! I think I will just make them plain ones so as not to take away from the beautiful blocks in the rows. Debi did such a good job of choosing blocks for each row--this has been a fun row by row--thanks Debi--I hope you do more!

We never lack for patterns it seems--there are so many pretty ones for free on the internet and there must be a gazillion books available now--of course I think that I have to have a good percentage of them--not to mention single patterns that are available and what about all the magazines? Whew! Just thinking about it gives me a bad case of overload!!!


Just have 2 more purse blocks and 5 more crazy patch blocks and the center of the Heirloom Romance (purses) quilt will be done--then all that's left is part of the inner border and all of the outer border. I'm doing the outer border in scrolled hearts, so that I will mark as I go. I got some of the thin wax chalk markers to give them a try--what I have used so far has been good--they erase very well with a white eraser--the eraser that I got is in a pen like holder and clicks down to use as you need it. Very cool. (Not affliated with the companies and all that.... yada, yada....)


Let quilting help you make someone smile!


Jan

Friday, July 4, 2008

Thread Catcher


I found this pattern for a thread catcher basket on The Stitching Room blog (thank you to the writer for sharing the pattern) and had to try to make a 4th of July one! I wish I had of made my stitches more neatly, but next time I will concentrate harder and use a true ladder stitch! It's fun to try new things and this was a fun little thing to try to do on a hot afternoon in Texas!

We spent the early morning (got there at 8:00 and left at noon) at the Canton, Texas Trade Days which is a flea market extraordinaire!! There are hundreds of booths with everything you could imagine for sale--what fun it was! I did enjoy lots of people watching and Maynard got in a lot more walking than I did and saw more things, but I saw lots, too and enough for me! We didn't buy much, but it sure was fun! We wondered "where in the world does all this 'stuff' come from?" And then I thought of all the 'stuff'' that I have at home!! Memo to self: "Remember this when you want to buy more!!!!" Hee Hee!

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan