Finished Top for Tessellating Stars!

This is the finished top for Tessellating Stars. I'm very happy the way it turned out. Thanks JoAnn for the fabric!! Now just waiting for my bolt of batting to arrive so that I can quilt these quilts for Project Linus---my pile is starting to grow again, but that's all right, I'm having fun sewing up a storm of Yellow Brick Roads, too!

Want to try my hand at another project, but can't talk about it because they are for Christmas presents and someone might see!!!! Hope I can keep it a secret!!!!

Tomorrow Debi and I are meeting for breakfast and to do some shopping---getting ready for the Christmas party for the DFW gang--not too far away now and we are all abuzz with ideas! And of course, that means breakfast and shopping---right?! What fun!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

More Blocks for Civil War Quilt!

Finished up 2 more sets of 5 blocks for the Civil War quilt, moving right along on this one, it's going more quickly than I thought it would. Perhaps because these are familar blocks! The ones on top of course are Churn Dash and the others are the ever familiar Friendship Star. This quilt is another one that is like a sampler quilt, but you do 5 blocks of 9 different ones and then set them together on point. Setting on point should be interesting.

We had our DFW Gang Christmas get together on Saturday and had a wonderful time. We played games, and talked and laughed and shopped and did a little bit of sewing. I think Jackie and Debi got the most sewing done!!! Kudos go to them! I spent a lot of time talking until my voice gave out to laringitis! What a great group of gals. We met online at the Quilting Passion forum and all live in the greater Dallas area. Each time we get together we have a contest and make blocks for Project Linus--such a neat thing to do! We played Left, Right and Center--a game where roll special dice and pass around Fat Quarters and this time we were to bring ugly ones and guess who won all 72 of them---yup, you guessed it!!! So last night I worked at pairing them off into bundles of 6 to make Yellow Brick Roads for Project Linus---they don't seem so ugly when used together!!!! I'm sure there's a life lesson there somewhere!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Prairie Paisley Quilt Top

Finished this quilt top!! It was quite an undertaking. First came the small parts and then it was put together in rows. There were 3 different kinds of rows to keep straight and a top and bottom. I used a new notion that I had purchased on sale at Connecting Threads--the Fons and Porter little clips -- they are like little clothespins--I put my own stickers on them to mark my rows. They sure were a big help!! They helped me keep the parts of the rows separate, too. (You can see them in the picture.) I forgot to take a picture of the rows as I had them laid out on the floor, but there is a picture of the block--it was hard to keep the mediums and lights apart--that's where the little clips came in handy--as long as I remembered which color was which!!! LOL!! Disclaimer--no affiliation--just a happy customer!!

Our oldest grandchild started kindergarten yesterday--a happy/sad time for all of us--seems like time flies and it was just yesterday that we were heralding her arrival. Haven't heard yet how the big first day went, but I have a call in to hear all about it! Grandmas have to know all about this stuff--you know!!!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

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

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

A New Purse!

Since I needed a break from hand quilting for a little bit, I decided to work on a new purse pattern that I found at the quilt store--it came as a kit with Lakehouse fabric and I thought it was so cute. Well, after making it I've decided it's still cute, but I'll only be making just this one of this purse!! The directions weren't that clear--especially for the parts to put the binding on---and it was just by pure luck that I got the zippers going the right way (there are 2 of them!) The pattern is called BB Bags by Mickey Beebe of Brookshier Design Studio (no web site.) But it's just the right size to wear around your neck to a quilt show!

I also finished the binding on another Project Linus quilt called Green Strings and it goes in the pile with the rest to go to Tyler Project Linus when we make the trip to deliver them.

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Vacation at the Quilt Show and Grandkids!

We had such a fun time with the grandgirls this last long week-end--how much they have grown and Ilena (2 years old) is talking up a storm! Such fun to hear that sweet little voice. Isabel (5 years old) has lots of things to tell us about, too! I had made them both a "Craft Jar" by filling plastic sun tea jars with all kinds of craft items----paints, markers, glue stick, crayons, ribbons, googly eyes, stickers, notepads, pom-poms, and everything else crafty I could think of. Boy, were those ever a hit--we had lots of fun with those and made all kinds of things.

While we were in Columbus, we also went to the NQA National Quilt Show--what a great time we had there. The third picture shows some of the things I bought--couldn't show it all because some of it is for gifts! Don't want to give away the surprise! I got some lovely Lakehouse 1/2 yard pieces which I'll turn into a Yellow Brick Road for Ilena for her toddler bed, which she will be going into soon. Some patterns and a book about jelly rolls and my DH got me one of the new flowered Olfa rotary cutters. It was a wonderful show with many, many vendors and all kinds of wonderful quilts to see. We spent the whole day Saturday there and still didn't see everything!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

I've Been Tagged!

Sheryl tagged me today with an interesting tag containing 5 questions about myself to answer, so I will give it a try!

Here are the rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Now to the questions:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? In 1998, I was still working at the nursing home as the medical records person. I really liked my job and kept very busy with lots of paperwork!

2. What are 5 things on my list to do today? 1. Pick up gift for Father's Day for husband. 2. Clean bathrooms. 3. Quilt on Heirloom Romance quilt. 4. Cook supper. 5. Take a nap!!!

3.What snacks do I enjoy? Little snack size bars of Mint 3 Musketeers candy, oatmeal raisin cookies, and crunchy cheese doodles.

4. What would I do if I was a billionaire?First I'd set up an investment fund to live off of for the rest of our lives carefree. Then I would make sure I did the same for my children. Then I would give money to Project Linus to have lots of fabric to make lots of blankets.

5.Where have I lived?I was born in Iowa and have lived in the following states: Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Iowa (again) Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas.

Now to tag some other people: Karen, Jill, Michele, and Andrea . Have fun!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Plantation Girls with Puppy

These are Redwork Plantation Girls with a Puppy. I like them because the puppy reminds me so much of my lately departed bichon friche, Cleo. I have 2 more to go and will have the set of 7 finished. Not quite sure yet how I will set them--7 is a strange number!

We made it there and back on our trip to Michigan for our sister-in-laws funeral despite delays and cancellations of flights. It is always good to see relatives that you don't get to see very often, but hard under the circumstances of a funeral. Thank you for all your kind comments and well wishes. I appreciate each one of you!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Last BOM for Rosebud Lane Done!

Finished the house blocks for the BOM Rosebud Lane and now next month will be the assembling and setting instructions. This one is the "Rose Petal Tea Room" and has stained glass windows. I couldn't decide what to start on next and can only do so much hand quilting (on the purses quilt) at a time and my shoulder tells me to stop, so I opted for some Boxy Star blocks from Bonnie's Quiltville site made from scrappy 2.5" strips. I thought I would use up more of my stash than I did--isn't that always the way--it never goes down as fast as we think it should! I just love Bonnie's Quiltville site--she makes the best use of scraps I have ever seen and her blog is lots of fun to read, too!

Thanks to everyone who left such kind comments about our doggie's passing--we still miss him and Buster, the 14-year old black poodle still goes searching for him each night outside--at least that's what we think he is doing!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

A State of Grace puzzle goes together!

The puzzle is a finished quilt top! The quilt is called State of Grace on the pattern and it is a finished quilt top now. I love how the pattern made the pinwheels.The fabric is Shangri-la by 3 Sisters for Moda. I used a jelly roll and yardage to make the quilt top.

Yesterday I lost a good friend--our little white dog, Cleo, a bichon friche, died. He was 18 years old and lived a long, happy life. Thank you Cleo, for many happy times and lots of good memories. The picture shows him under a quilt, what else?-- ready to take a nap! (That's Buster, the black poodle beside him.)

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

The Puzzle Fits Together

Here are pictures of the "puzzle" with 2 rows sewn together and with 4 rows sewn together--it's fun to see how the patterns emerge. This is called "State of Grace" and is the pattern that came with a jelly roll of Shangri-la fabric by 3 Sisters by Moda. It looks complicated and can be if you lose your place, so you have to keep close watch on what you are doing as you sew the pieces together! There are 80 blocks.

We had a wonderful week-end trip to Alabama to visit by brother and his lovely wife--so nice to spend time with them. We had a lot of fun shopping at all of Gadsden's thrift shops and one great fabric discount store where fabric was $2.99 a yard. We drove to a nearby State Park and watched the deer come up to the campgrounds where people were feeding them and had dinner at the Lodge---even got to watch a wedding that was taking place there--added bonus!!! We enjoyed time in their lovely home, too. It's good to spend time with relatives that you love and really like being with!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Pieces of the Puzzle

These are pieces of the quilt and 1 block for "State of Grace" from Shangri-La by 3 Sisters by Moda. I have made one quilt from this line of fabric already, but Maynard picked this jelly roll up for me , so I'm making another one---big grin!!!! But I don't mind in the least because I like the fabric so much!!! It's just beautiful and so lovely to work with! I have this "thing" for jelly rolls now--they are so much fun to work with and so neat to look at before you start working with them!

Still quilting on the purses quilt which will probably take a long time! I had a migraine yesterday so just look longingly at it and didn't do one stitch in it--ah well, today will be a better day!

Packing my bags today because tomorrow we fly to Birmingham, Alabama, where my brother, who lives in Gadsden will pick us up. We will stay with him and his wife for a couple of days. We haven't visited them for quite a number of years so will be good to see them. We have been teasing each other back and forth about mowing the lawn because they live on a huge, beautiful property that they keep mowed. He's telling me that he uses a push mower--I say more power to him (pun intended-ha!). I say he should get some cows and goats--free fertilizer, too!!! Fun to be able to joke with a relative, don't you think!!!??!! I look forward to a good visit!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

New fabric and new "toy!"

Newest fabric line that I have fallen love with is Prairie Paisley and so I just had to have some and will make a star quilt from it. It's beautiful country blues and reds and tans. Can't wait to get started on it-- great friend, Debi was nice enough to get me a charms pack of them, too--they will be the centers of the stars.

I picked them up yesterday at our DFW Gang Guild Sit and Sew held at Quilter's Connections quilt shop in Dallas. We had 6 people that joined together for a day of fun, sewing and lots of laughter. We played games and laughed some more. One gal had found a bargain at a closeout store and brought many (I lost count) wonderful, handmade quilts for Project Linus--some just need labels and others need to be quited --so dear friend Debi and I divided those up to take home and finish and add to the growing pile for East Texas Project Linus group! Love to see those piles and stacks growing. We also got in a trip to The Golden D'or fabric shop where quilting fabric is $2.99 a yard! We (I) did some serious shopping there, getting lots of fabric for Project Linus tops and some 60" backings! What fun the whole day was and thanks to everyone for making it such a grand day!

On another note--I purchased a new toy that I am very enthusiastic about---a Q-Snap floor model quilting frame. It is small as far as quilt frames go--29"x36", but just right for me and the room that I have. I have my Heirloom Romance purses quilt on it right now and am hand quilting it--it's coming along very nicely, too! I had tried tying it off, but that just didn't seem like enough and I don't think I did it right because a couple of the ties popped off when I lifted the heavy quilt up to put it on the frame (I was originally going to tie it off and then just quilt around the purses---great plans go astray, don't they???!!) But I am liking the quilting on it very much!

I hope you all had a very nice Mother's Day! I had calls from my 2 lovely daughters and my dear husband gave me a lovely card and some quilting items--what could be better than calls from kids and quilting stuff??!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Part of Grandmother's Flower Garden!

Part of Grandmother's Flower Garden is appliqued and it's beginning to come together. I'm not sure that I'm liking this one or not. Maybe it will look better when I get the tendrils embroidered on among the flowers and leaves and I get more applique on--like leaves--I think I need more leaves---what do you think? There will be more flowers on the right hand side and some half flowers at the top and part way down the left side. That will change the look of it quite a bit. I guess some projects aren't as exciting as others--have you had projects like that? I've been working on this one for more that a year and I really should just get it done and over with!!!!

Another block is finished in the Rosebud Lane quilt. This is block number 4. This is called the Rose Cottage. I tried and tried to get those shutters to hang correctly but finally gave up, guess they have that "weatherbeaten" look about them!!!LOL!!!

The third picture is of a whole cloth quilt for Project Linus that I named "Sweet Babies" since I thought the baby animals were so cute in it. The pile is growing bigger for Project Linus. Maybe next month we will have to take a trip to Quitman and deliver them. That means a shopping trip to Stitch' Heaven quilt store which is a delivery point---won't that be awful??? NOT!!!! Love those shopping trips!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Block Number 5 Mystery Round Robin

Debi is doing a fantastic job of picking out blocks for the Nesting Mystery Round Robin that she is hosting each month. Here are my block and row. I'm loving the way these are turning out!

Anybody have a Q-Snap floor quilting frame? I'm thinking of buying one and wonder what the concensus is on them--good, bad or never would buy one again or love it!!! I don't have room for another large one in my house since we have the Little Gracie Pro II and thought this one would take up less room and would take apart easier to store. Anyone have any words of wisdom for me? Thanks in advance!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Granny's Garden Quilt

Granny's Garden is a quilt that my husband got me the "ingredients" for instead of flowers when I was in the hospital for my surgery for my torn rotator cuff. Debi got me the pattern a while back and I picked out the fabrics. Maynard says that these kind of flowers last longer than cut flowers!!!! He is right about that! Sorry about the picture being so dark, but that is the best I could do with the black background. The flowers and 9-patch really are very bright!

The second picture is a faux Baltimore Album small quilt that was a panel for the Baltimore Album part that Debi also gave me. The idea is to have a BA quilt without all the applique. The look-alike appliques are actually BA patterns.

The third picture is the pattern Fuji Afternoon (free at the link shown) using Indulgence fat quarters and 1 yard of fabric. I called mine Hearts and Hugs. It is for Project Linus.

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Another Project Linus Quilt!

This one is called Fruit Market and was another panel that Mayanrd was able to practice is free motion quilting on--he free motion around the fruit and the squares and it looks real good--I took a close-up, but the quilting didn't show up at all, so I didn't post it! He's trying to practice and get ready to quilt the Forever Flowers applique quilt.

I'm on my last week of Physical Therapy for my shoulder now. What a difference the weeks of PT have made--I'm almost back to normal now, even though some movements still hurt and will probably still hurt for awhile--the doctor says that it takes 4-6 months to completely heal! So I have until at least June to wait. At least I can still sew, so that's a good thing!

Today I'm sewing together the Granny's Garden quilt that Debi gave me the pattern for--the flowers are bright colors and the background is black so the flowers really "pop!" Hope to have a picture for tomorrow!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Old Barn Quilt Top is Together

Except for the outer border which I have to buy, the Old Barns quilt is together and I love it! All those log cabin blocks were worth it, because they really make the quilt in my humble opinion! The 2.5" last border will be black with small tan dots. Now I have to figure out which pantogram I want Maynard to use to quilt it! Since it has a patriotic theme to it, I'm leaning toward falling stars, but may change my mind. Feels good to have this one together!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!!

Jan

More on Barns Quilt

Well, the jokes on me--I started what I thought were Log Cabin blocks in the barns quilt and well, they turn out to be scrappy half square triangles!!!! The red square in the center really threw me off, I guess. The first picture shows the "A" blocks going together and the second picture shows some of the completed "B" blocks. Have to make 52 of these!! These are a challenge and something I haven't done before, so was a learning experience from the "git-go." Guess it's good to learn new things, isn't it?!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!"

Jan