Tyler Azalea Quilt Show

This weekend we had the pleasure of going to the Tyler Quilt Show and were also able to see all the beautiful flowers that were blooming around the town. They put on quite a show!!! We had a lot of fun! The pictures show some of the beautiful things I was able to buy. We looked at all kinds of things and also some wonderful quilts. We also saw four friends from Tuesday Sit and Sew group. What could be a better way to spend the day???!!!

Shown in the pictures are fabric from the Quitman store Stitchin' Heaven which we stopped at for a look around---what a great place --all kinds of fabric and FQs on sale--I love to put them together for Yellow Brick Roads! The second picture shows what I got at the quilt show--lots of FQs again for YBRs for Project Linus--hard to pass up when they are $1.00 apiece!! Maynard picked out the pattern--said he thought it was an interesting one. It says for an intermediate quilter---I hope I can do it! It looks hard, but maybe won't be once I get into it! I also couldn't pass up a "Hill Country" jelly roll. The colors in it are fantastic!!!!! It just looks like spring!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Giggle, Laugh, Smile

These mini quilts make me grin every time I look at them. They are from Country Threads and were lots of fun to do from my scraps--I had all the fabric except for the measuring tape one, which I found at the Dallas Quilt Show. I'm going to hang them in my sewing room where they can cheer me up every day!

The last couple of days have brought lots of rain to our place, which is a good thing, except it has been so dreary, but good days to sit at the sewing machine and quilt or read a good book curled up in a favorite quilt!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Last Pieces of Puzzle and Liberty Quilt Top is Finished!

Hurrah! The last 4 pieces of the puzzle are together AND the Liberty quilt top is all sewn together except for the border which I have yet to buy. I feel like I have accomplished a lot getting this quilt done! The picture makes the sides look wobbly, but they aren't.

Today I worked on 3 banners: Giggle, Laugh and Smile. Hope to have them done soon to show you a picture. They are small ones: 12" x 22" in happy, fun colors.

Tomorrow we are getting up very early and driving to Austin to visit our older daughter and her husband and of course our 2 grandboys, Evan, 5 years old and Nathan, 2 years old. Wonder what new thing they will be into now?! For awhile it was Thomas the Train, but lately, it has been computer games for Evan and Bob the Builder for Nathan. We look forward to another great time!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Two More Pieces of Puzzle for Liberty Quilt!

Eight more blocks done on Liberty quilt---yahoo---only 4 more to go--it's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle! Have to make sure each piece is in the "just right" location and orientation! But I think it will be neat when it is done.

Finished is a Christmas Tumbling Blocks quilt, too. It is shown in the last picture. It was a panel that was given to me by my friend, Jackie, in a Christmas gift exchange; had to cut it out and put it back together so the blocks would tumble--what fun!! Thanks Jackie! This will be fun to use next Christmas.

It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood--sun is shining and it is only in the high 70's to low 80's--I could handle this kind of weather all year round, but I know that hot weather is on it's way! My winter pansies are blooming away, joining them are the spring beauties and wood violets and the iris and the bridal's wreath. The trees are even budding out. The red plum is gorgeous as well as the Bradford pears. Lovely time of year! Some people are even out mowing their yards! The robins are back and it's nice to see them!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

The Dallas Quilt Show 2009

We came, we saw , we conquered the Dallas Quilt Show 2009!! And had a lot of fun along the way around all those booths! The DFW Gang met first at Denny's for breakfast (we had 2 visitors which was great!) and then went to the quilt show---we HAD to look at everything, sometimes we were all together and sometimes were were split up, we laughed and we bought several things---what fun we had!!!! I think I was the first one to get too tired to go on! We had a wonderful call from Sheryl, our mutual friend in St Louis and spend a great time visiting with her via the cell phone (what a wonderful invention---it was like she was right there with us!)

I bought mostly FQs for Yellow Brick Roads for Project Linus, but a few for a new project that I hope to work on soon. There were a lot of beautiful things there, but nothing really caught my eye, I'm sure you know what I mean!

Debi made us the best bags to haul our loot in--the picture shows them---the saying is "DFW GANG---Where quilting and friendship go hand in hand." A shout out thanks to Val for helping make the logo. Bestest thanks go to Debi for putting them together. She also had a handmade pincushion and Hershey's kisses for each of us. Another gift bag came from Marje which contained more candy (yum) a scissor fob, fat quarter (green for St Pat's day), lovely shaded green candle (smells good!) and green shamrock confetti---what fun! Thanks Marje!!! We are all ready planning our next get together!

It's great to be a part of a loving group such as this one, we have been through all kinds of "life moments" together and our friendships grow stronger each time---I love you guys!!!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

First Four Blocks of Liberty Quilt

Here are the first four blocks of the Liberty quilt. I think they are the corners of the quilt--I'll have to wait and see! This quilt has 576 Half Square Triangles that are set into 16 blocks----4 of each kind. Not too hard to do, but you sure have to keep your mind sharp as you do it! Good mind exercise!!!!! I used Thangles to make the HSTs--lots of paper ripping, but they sure do turn out nice and square! This is a nice scrappy quilt that I used some of my stash for so that feels good.

It's a very rainy, gray and cold day here today---went from high 70's yesterday to 30's this morning and high only in high 30's to 40's today. What a difference a day makes. But we need the rain so much that I can't complain--wouldn't do any good anyway! Nice day to curl up with a good book and a quilt in the recliner. Or to do some quilting---I have to admit to doing a little bit of both!! Life is good, don't you think?!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Mystery Quilt---Diagonal Stars Finished....

I finished my Mystery Quilt that I bought at retreat a year ago and sewed on at retreat this year! YEAH!!! I'm so glad to have all these little pieces sewed together and finished!!!!! I called it Diagonal Stars because that is just what it is only they weren't sewn on the diagonal--this was all blocks of little pieces if you can envision it that way. Really had to think about it as you were putting it together---the whole way through---whew!!!! Will probably be quilted in loops because of all the stars and squares.

Hope you are having a good Saturday where ever you are! Debi and I are getting together to work on the challenge block bags for the DFW Gang since we are getting together soon. I hope everyone likes what we are going to do --it should be lots of fun!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Been Busy Doing...................

Half Square Trianges for the Liberty quilt with no end in sight yet! I'm about half way done with the HSTs for this quilt. The HSTs are coming out nice and square with the use of Thangles, but it means a lot of paper ripping!!!!!

I have another pile as big as this pile of Thangles to go when I get done with this one!! I decided to go smallest amount to biggest amount, which was probably the wrong way to go---LOL!! But I'm sure I'll like the results when I'm done, so I will press on.

The Mystery quilt top is all finished and I will post a picture as soon as I can get my quilt holder to hold it up for me--haven't been able to remember to do that when he is home for some reason--too many other things going on, I guess!!

We've been having the most wonderful weather--March certainly came in like a lamb--daffodils are blooming and I even saw some iris in a yard looking so pretty--ours are growing green and nice, but no blossoms yet. I have wood violets and spring beauties that are very lovely though! Spring is a very colorful time of the year, don't you think?

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Points of Grace Quilt

Finished "Points of Grace" quilt and here it is--it is a rather large one--so big that even my 5'11" husband couldn't get it all up off the floor---I can't remember the measurements right off hand, but you get the idea of how large it is!!!!! It used a jelly roll plus more of the Shangri-la line of fabric. The pile of big quilts to be quilted is going down even though I added 4 Yellow Brick Roads from the retreat and will soon have my Mystery quilt put together--my, that has turned out to be a tedious one--not only do you have to make sure you have 1/4" seams, but you have star points to watch out for and seams to match up, my little brain is working overtime!!!! LOL!!!

I think I'm finally getting rested up from the retreat!!! All that lovely sewing time really did my back in, but I wouldn't give it up for anything, it was so much fun and a great group of ladies to share it with was the icing on the cake!

Now back to the real world of laundry and cooking and cleaning---right?!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan