What a Difference 2 Borders Make!

Well, I put the 2 borders on the Disappering Nine Patch 2 and it does look better. I didn't have enough fabric to make a wide border, but a small one is okay because the length was already good enough. The fabric really isn't pure white as the picture shows, but is off white with pink polka dots.

Yesterday I was able to get some embroidery done on a pillow I am making to match my Redwood fabric quilt. It will match this quilt. It is very simple embroidery. I really am on an embroidery kick and am really enjoying it. I have 3 more projects lined up to do!! I'm off to the quilt shop today to get my list of things to go with these projects.

Also need a new ironing board cover---Maynard made me a big board ironing board, so when the top gets "used up", I just buy a couple yards of pretty fabric, cover the board and staple it to the back of the board, and I'm ready to go again. I love it---it's just my height for ironing sitting down. I'm just short on one end, so it is nice to have it just the right height!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Fairfax County Fair Quilt

This is the quilt called Fairfax County Fair --it was lots of fun to do---the stars were all fussy cut, not appliqued---yah!!!!!!! As long as you paid attention to what you were doing, it went together very well! Now I'm working on a little mini quilt that I saw in a magazine to use up some of those wonderful little stars.

We delivered some more quilts today for Project Linus--we take them to a LQS--Happiness Is.......................Quilting in McKinney, where they are picked up and taken somewhere to be distributed in the Dallas, Grayson, Collin and Rockwall Counties area. I had eleven in the pile to go this time. Now to get busy quilting some more!!!

It was a beautiful morning--sun was shining and not a cloud in the blue sky, but by 2:00 the skies had clouded over and the rain was moving in. Now it has been raining steady---looks like it will last all night, well, we can use the rain! I like to lay in bed at night and listen to the rain (as long as there's no thunder and lightning) because it seems so peaceful!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Spring is Near!

At least Spring is near on my seasonal wall at my house!!! That's where I have my Lilac Bouquet quilt hanging and it cheers me up on this grey, foggy day! I'm sure you have a favorite wall hanging that cheers you up when you look at it, too! Care to share a word picture of it?

I guess this time of year is hard on everyone because we don't get enough sunlight and it is called Seasonal Affective Disorder, I think. On these dark, dreary days, I turn the lights on in the house to help make things a bit more cheery, then when I go from room to room, it isn't so bad. Of course when I'm sewing, I have every light on in the room that I can find and that helps a lot--guess that doesn't help the electric bill though does it?!!

Nine blocks of baskets are done on my Aunt Bea's Parlor quilt--it's going along quite quickly, but as I've said before, there isn't nearly the embroidery on these that there was on the Polka Dot Girls blocks and they are smaller, but there are more of them!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Red, White and Black Quilt Finished

The first one is a picture (sorry the picture is so dark) of the Red, White and Black quilt all finished. This one is a keeper for us. Maynard quilted it with musical notes--for some reason I thought of musical notes when I looked at the quilt top--maybe because sheet music is black and white!!! LOL!!!

Winter is moving back into the vicinity with temps only into the high 40's and low 50's today. But the sun was shining and if you stayed out of the wind it wasn't too awful. We delivered Project Linus quilts to the drop off point which is Happiness Is.......quilt store in McKinney, Texas. They have just moved into a new place, so of course we had to look around and ended up buying the fabric for a baby quilt for a gift for one of Maynard's co-workers.
The fabric in the second picture is what we picked out. We were trying to go by what another co-worker had told us she wanted and she said she loved polka dots and brown and blue for a boy!!! Hope she will like what we picked out!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

One Keeper and Three Project Linus

We are caught up on the Project Linus quilts for now until I make some more tops!!! Hurrah!! Plus only have 5 more big quilts to quilt. I feel like we've won a race or something!!!!

The first picture is of Prairie Path--it was done with a jelly roll--I think it was Shangri-la, but maybe someone will recognize it as something other than that and correct me! This one is a keeper for awhile anyway--if we find someone in need we will give it away!

The second quilt is a American Stars. I quilted it with lots of stars free hand. It was fun to do!

The third one is a panel quilt--the panel is pictures of happy, springtime bunnies. Some little girl should like this one!

The last one is a YBR with fabric called Charisma from Moda. I really like this line of fabric--it makes me smile!

So I have quite a bunch of quilts to take to the drop off point for Project Linus. Probably will do that on Saturday.

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Two Keepers and One Project Linus

Here are two quilts that just got quilted--I did the 2 small ones and Maynard did the larger one. The first small one is called Metro Blues and is for Project Linus and will be delivered with a bunch probably this Saturday.

The next one is a Faux Baltimore Album by Mimi Dietrich--it started as a panel given to me by my BFF, Debi. It required concentration to get all the little squares in the right places, but was worth it, I think! I'm keeping this one!

The third one is called Candle in the Window and I'm keeping this one, too. It was made from a jellyroll, but I can't remember the name of the jellyroll. I'm going to have to start writing all these things down because my memory is not what it used to be!!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Here come the quilts.......................

Three Project Linus quilts from the pile got quilted and one bigger quilt for us was finished also! I've been busy quilting and binding and Mayanrd did some, too. It's been a beehive of activity around here!! I wanted to get somewhat caught up with the quilting so that when I go to my quilting retreat and make more YBRs, I don't make the pile of quilts that need quilting sky high!!!!

The first one is called "Lavender Green" since those are the colors and I vaguely remember a song called "Lavender Blue dilly, dilly, lavender green, you'll be my queen, I'll be your king.." Ring any bells with anyone else or am I making that song up?!! LOL!!

The second one is called "Charmed, I'm Sure" because it is all charm squares. Charm squares are fun to work with aren't they--Being precut makes them so nice to just plan out a pattern and sew.

The third one is "Blue Afternoon". They don't show up but there are old fashioned boys and girls at play in a meadow with ducks and geese and even a pet lamb--very charming! I couldn't bear to cut the fabric so I left it as a whole piece and put a border around it!

The last one is called "Cabin in the Woods" and is one my daughter got me a gift certificate for the fabrics at our favorite quilt store in Columbus, Ohio, The Glass Thimble. I had a wonderful time picking out Thimbleberries fabric and pattern. This one is mine for awhile anyway!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Civil War Quilt

Now I'm working on my Civil War Quilt since I finished the Red, White and Black quilt top--hope to have a picture for you soon, since I forgot to have my "holder" hold it last night!!!! The fabrics in this quilt are wonderful and so enjoyable to work with---the fabric line is called Yorktown by Jo Morton and is put out by Andover Fabrics. The pattern is available at their website for free!!! That's the price I like!! I got the kit at my favorite quilt store Quilt Mercantile--I'm anxiously awaiting their website so I can link you to it!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Two Quilt Tops and A Block

One more block is finished for my 1930's Sampler with Eleanor Burns! This one is called Rocky Road to Kansas and has--- "shudder"--- set-in seams. Oh my! But they went quite smoothly and don't look too bad, even if I do say so myself! Eleanor Burns instructions are so detailed in her book that if you follow everything just real close you can usually get a good outcome.

I also finished two more comfort quilt tops for Project Linus, so now I'll add to the quilting pile again. We do have one on the frame, so that's good! These are both Yellow Brick Road and I made these tops both in one day at Sit N Sew last Tuesday--they sure do go quickly--I got both of them all done except for the border on one of them and that included time spent shopping for border fabric and backings---half the fun---right????!!!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Mystery Charm Quilt

This is a Mystery Charm Quilt pattern that is floating around--I don't know where it came from so I can't give any credit to the author---it came to me as a copy from a friend on a forum and she got it from her guild as a hand out. I posted this awhile back, but thought it would be fun to post it again for some who may have missed it. The mystery is that you sew the plain blocks in a certain position and cut them apart and sew them back together and you will form a border of half triangles!

It takes 123 5" squares and 17 5" squares of one solid color. 5" squares will give you a quilt approximately 51" x 70". Here is what I did:

This is the diagram for the way the blocks are laid out.


These are my piles of charms.

Here are a couple of rows set together.

These are the rows all sewn together--notice where the yellow blocks are.

Here I cut along the diagonal of all the yellow blocks--once the yellow blocks are sewn you can see right where you need to cut. Then you rearrange the pieces and you will see just where they need to go--like pieces of a puzzle.

Here you can see the completed quilt top with the yellow triangles all around the border--sorry the top triangles are cut off, but the quilt is pretty big for my little camera--I couldn't stand back quite far enough!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!


Jan

A Lovely Saturday

Today is a lovely, sunny day in fall and I have spent some time outside just enjoying the weather. Yesterday I finished the 2 items shown above. The first picture is of the double wedding ring block for the '30's sampler from Eleanor Burns book Egg Money Quilts. I did it using Quiltsmart interfacing where you use interfacing and sew the arcs to fusible interfacing and turn them right sides out and iron them on to the background. Then you use the invisible thread to blind hem stitch them to the background. Very easy way to do them, but I was glad I was only doing one block! Samplers sure are fun that way!

The other picture shows a quilt top that is fire engines, ambulances and dalmation dogs. It will be for a fund-raiser basket for my grandson's school next spring. Just have to get it quilted now!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Another New Project....

This quilt is called Polka Dot Girls and features 3 little (dare I say it???) old ladies with a cat and flowers, and teapots and even a bee hive surrounded by sayings and other things. The pattern is from Australia and is published by Red Brolly. My dear friend Debi and I are doing this Block of the Month together and what fun it is! The characters take on personalities as you stitch them! The fabric I chose to go with the stitchery is called Sherbet by The Buggy Barn. The picture shows the three Polka Dot Girls and the cat.

Tomorrow, Debi and I are going to Quitman to Stitchin Heaven and deliver about 40-45 quilts for Project Linus. They are a drop-off point for PL quilts and we are thankful to them for that! Our stacks of quilts sure did grow fast! Just so happens that they are having a big sale tomorrow!!!! What a good day to go! LOL!! It will be a good day of shopping and visiting with a friend!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Pretty in Pink!

Over the last few days, I have managed to make 2 Yellow Brick Roads (they are exactly the same) and a Wickedly Easy quilt. (The Wickedly Easy quilt is shown above.) Both are for Project Linus and are in the ever growing again pile for quilting! I like the Wickedly Easy pattern--it takes 6 Fat Quarters and is fun and goes quickly. Today I'm going to try a Take 5 quilt with some half-yard cuts that I have.

WOW! This is my 200th post! I never thought I'd make it this far! Thanks to my Daughter, Anne for getting me started in this blogging world that I am truly enjoying!!! The Fall Into Fall Quilter's Blog Giveaway is my Celebration!!!!!

Don't forget to sign up for the Fall Into Fall Quilter's Blog Giveaway here on my blog and at the main one! Have fun!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Fort Worth , Texas Quilt Show

Saturday, dear friend Debi, my hubby Maynard and I went to the Fort Worth Quilt Show and what a great time we had! The quilts were pretty and we had such a good time looking and SHOPPING at all the vendors. At Noon time, our friend Sally, joined us for while and we had fun visiting and looking some more! The first picture shows just how much fun I had with my saved up $$$--we ran across one booth with $1.00 Fat Quarters and we visted there twice! Put together a lot of FQs there for Yellow Brick Roads for Project Linus quilts! What fun that was! One of the jelly rolls shown here is from the Grand Opening today of Blue Ribbon Quilt Shoppe in Wylie. They have opened a cute shop in downtown and if anyone is in the area it's a can't miss on your agenda!

Debi, dear friend that she is, didn't want to miss my birthday, ( end of October) so she brought me an early gift --she is so generous and spoils me (and I love it!!!!) Isn't that the cutest pin cushion?! and I love the FQs--"Ginger Blossoms" and the charm squares are called "Quilt Diva!" How cute is that?! Thank you so much Debi--I love everything!

Busy, Busy weekend, but oh so much fun!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Snow Blooms Top Finished!

The first picture shows how Snow Blooms was sewn together on the diagonal--took some paying attention to what was where and all that! But didn't have to do too much frog stitching to get it finished! The second picture shows it all finished -- I decided not to put a border on it, so it wouldn't get to awfully big for Project Linus. At least for the guidelines that I have!

The big storm Ike is upon us and it is raining--we are in North Texas and feeling some of it's effects--some rain and wind. Nothing like they got down in Galveston and Houston areas though. Thinking about all those people down there!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Time for more Project Linus Quilts!

Here are 2 more quilts for Project Linus--the first one is Whimsy Kitties and the second one is Boxed Stars. The first one is a Yellow Brick Road (my favorite pattern of all time) and the second one is Boxy Stars from Quiltville! Quiltville is a great site, with all kinds of patterns that Bonnie so generously shares. She is also an author and her book will be out soon--you can pre-order it on her website. (Not affiliated, just a happy camper, yada yada.....)

I have several rows of Snow Blooms sewn together on the diagonal, so it takes more thinking to put together! It looks real good though so I'm glad about that!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

More Project Linus Quilts

Purple Yellow Brick Road Quilt

Airplanes Around the World Quilt

Baby Genius Quilt

Maynard has quilted some more Project Linus quilt tops and I bound them and they are in the big pile ready to go to the East Texas chapter of Project Linus! I think there must be about 25 in the pile ready to go now and since there are a bunch more tops that need quilting, I have decided to stop making tops until he can get caught up with the quilting. When Debi gets back from her trip we are planning a trip to the drop-off center in Quitman at Stitchin' Heaven. It's a good road trip--we get lots of visiting in while we drive there and some quilt shopping, too!! What could be better!!!! LOL!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Granny's Garden at Midnight

Granny's Garden at Midnight is a finished quilt! I just finished the binding on it last night and tried to take a picture of it outside, but it looks faded out--believe me it's not!! It is very bright and I love it that way. Guess I have this thing for brights!

Getting my ducks all in a row for retreat--I always take more than I can accomplish, so this time I'm trying not to take too much--but you can get a lot accomplished in 3 days time!--Well, I guess it's just 2 days time, since we get there at noon Monday and leave at 4:00 on Wednesday. Depends on how late we want to stay up at night, I guess! I have 3 projects that I'm taking--so that should surely be just the right amount. Two are handwork and one is for the machine. I get to take my Featherweight and see how she likes retreats, too! I'm really looking forward to it--can you tell I'm excited?!!!!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Finished Disappearing Nine-Patch

This DNP was so much fun to do--I want to do another one soon. Just have to pick out some more fabric!! They certainly go together fast and easy enough!

Finished 3 more Project Linus quilts last night---they were panels , so went quickly--I like to do panels--they usually have a really cute picture on them and they go very quickly because I can meander quilt them and bring the backing to the front to bind them, put the label on and they are done and are cute besides. One of the panels was Thomas the Train, so I'm sure that will be a hit with either some boy or girl--girls like Thomas, too!!!

Today I want to work on my Prairie Paisley quilt--it is all cut out and ready to be sewn together, just have to do it!

Actually am hearing some thunder outside--could we be getting some rain today? The last couple of days it has been teasing us and going around us, maybe today will be the day--we need some rain.

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan

Disappearing 9 Patch

This is a Disappearing -9-Patch block and it is so fun to do. Vickey at Quilt Mercantile gave me a copy of the pattern that is located on the web and we both decided that this airplane fabric would work so well and it did!! You basically cut 5" squares, make a 9 patch (picture 1) and then cut it in half both ways, turn 2 of the patches a half turn each and viola!! you have a brand new square (picture 2!) The squares are 14" if you use 5" squares to start with, so the quilt will go together quickly. I only got 2 squares done yesterday afternoon since I was quilting some Project Linus quilts also. Just have to bind those today and I can add 3 more to my evergrowing pile!

Only 3 more days and I will be going on a retreat--what fun! A group from Sit N Sew will be going to a place north of here for 3 days of sewing and gabbing and eating and more sewing. I have most every thing ready to go, I think. I have my list from last time and added a few things that I thought would be nice that I didn't take last time. There will 14 of us--a good size group--it's such a fun way to get to know each better and to form some new freindships and get some projects done without distractions!

Let quilting help you make someone smile!

Jan