Corners

These are 2 of the 4 corners for my quilt. Next over 100 flying geese. They will have to wait until the move is over and we are settled in. Now for some serious packing.
The painting should be done today and then we can start our final clean up of the house before we move stuff in, hang shower rods, etc.
These corners were a problem. I kept having to undo my stitching because I was trying to do the log cabin strips on more than 2 sides.

More Blocks

Two more blocks done for my quilt. One more block and the center of the quilt will be ready to be put together. This part of the quilt will be on point. After that will be the corners and borders. It is coming together quite quickly, but progress will slow once we start moving into the house. I hope to have it ready for the long arm quilter by the end of February, but we will see. So much to do and so little time as always.

Last note of the year

Just a few hours left of 2011 with its up and downs. Hopes and prayers that the coming year will have more ups than downs and that all your loved ones will be safe and healthy.

I have done 2 blocks of the quilt for my bed. They are going together fairly easily. Just a few mistakes requiring some reverse sewing . Will get as much of it done as I can before I have to put it aside to move.

It is from a block of the month. You may have seen it in a quilt shop or magazine. It is beautiful when completed.

Happy New Year everyone.

Ainsley & her quilt

This is Ainsley with her birthday quilt. She really made a fuss over it when it was opened. she kept moving it around and straightening it.

Its almost Christmas

This is the 'Spicy Spiral Table Runner' that will go to my DMIL for Christmas. It is such a novel design.
I have accomplished everything on my to do list I have on this page and then some. It has been a busy year of sewing to be topped off hopefully with moving to a new home next month. Packing up a 2000+ square foot home and moving it to a 1000 square foot home will be a challenge. We will have to be ruthless in what we keep and don't keep.
Assuming the inspections of our soon to be new home goes well and we don't run into any real problems that would keep us from buying the house, I will be packing up my sewing room after Christmas, and we will start the process of deciding what goes with us, what we will try to sell and what will be pitched. A lot of work, but well worth it.

December update

This is the piece I did for my hairdresser's Christmas gift. I did a small piece for her a couple years ago that could be used as a hot pad on the table. She said she would love another one. I asked her what size and color she would like, and this is the result. I will give it to her next Tuesday.

Anxiously awaiting word on the house that we found. It would be a great way to start out the new year.

Quilts of Comfort

I put together another project for Quilts of Comfort, this time with my own fabrics. It is a good way to use up fabric and do some good with it. I did the blocks for the front from a pack of fabrics (layer cake) that I picked up earlier in the year. I had a few left over blocks from the front that I incorporated into the back together with disappearing 9-patch blocks. Can you spot them?

Hopefully I will get them layered, quilted and bound next week.

Whirlwind - EPP Project

Finally finished hand piecing my Whirlwind quilt. The border fabric is blue with touches of purple. The colors in each block were done randomly. It will fit a twin size bed with a hang or a double with no hang. Now to machine piece the backing. Thinking of doing the backing in disappearing 9-patch.

Help me decide

I have 2 versions of my niece's quilt. All I changed was the center, just re-arranged the pinwheel block. Which do you like best? I did decide to go with shades of blue. I started sewing and cutting the center blocks, just need to decide which arrangement. Can you guess which one I like best?

Pinwheels - Quilts for Kids

These pinwheels were made from a layer cake pack that I got on a shop hop. The 10" squares of fabric ended up as 13" pinwheel blocks. I should get 2 quilts out of this one pack for Quilts of Confort. I have 1/2 the blocks to finish making and then I can figure out how I am going to lay them out for the quilts.

Quilts for Kids

This is my first Quilts for Kids project. I am sure I will do many more. Definitely not my colors, but I know someone will absolutely love it and will get great comfort from it. When I get a few of the pinwheels I am working on, I will post a picture to show the fabrics in the layer cake bundle I picked up. I was able to get a couple of them at half price during the shop hop. I will use both for quilts for kids.

QOV Quilt

My Quilt of Valor quilt is done. It will be donated through our shop hop this weekend. The top (on the left) is all shades of red/white(tan)/blue. The back (on the right) is more scrappy. The 1/2 square triangles are all red/white/blue, but the strips are everything but the kitchen sink. I am pleased with the way it turned out. What do you think?

November

This is shaping up to be a busy month. DH had eye surgery and will have the other eye done in 2 weeks. Then there is Thanksgiving and only a month to Christmas. Yikes

This is my next pattern that I will start to hand piece while on a trip later. Not nearly as ambitious as the 1/2 square triangle blocks will finish to 2". Large for me ;)

Back at the house with lots to do. All the unpacking and sorting through years of accumulation before we can even considering selling the house. It is a 4-bedroom colonial and much larger than we need with the kids all gone. Don't know yet if we will get another house. Not in a big hurry on that.

Changes

It is time to leave the lake. Always a sad time as it is so peaceful here. Lots to do if we are going to sell the house next year. At least we hope too. There have been good and bad things lately. One friend lost a puppy and another one will be losing her 2 1/2 year old Dachsy to cancer. It could be a few months or a year. You know how those things go. On the good side, a niece is expecting a baby. Fortunately, the good usually out weighs the bad.

Should be done with my Hex Quilt next month (I hope), and looking forward to starting my next project.

I plan on doing a Quilt of Valor one starting in December or January. This is an approximation of the design.

Ribbon Quilt Finished

Finally got the ribbon quilt done. Sent it out to be quilted. The lady usually has a one week turn around, but it took 2 weeks this time. She must be getting a lot busier. I know at least 4 quilt shops that use her services. She is very reasonable in her pricing. I love the look of this quilt. It is great as a scrappy quilt and would probably look good in 3 or 4 colors.
Instead of the traditional binding, I just folded the backing fabric over to the front. It looks nice, but I think I prefer the traditional binding. These are pics of the quilt and the backing fabric.

Now to move onto my Downey charity quilt. I also have a child's quilt that is at the quilter's that I will need to finish and mail off when I get it back.

Happy Quilting

Christmas Ribbons

This quilt pattern is from the book Scrap-Basket Surprises and is called Christmas Ribbons. Since I'm using batiks and not Christmas fabrics, I will need to call it something else. Party Ribbons and Celebration Ribbons perhaps. Anyways just found out that an out of state niece is having a baby girl and her shower in our state is in three weeks. I had already started this one, so it will have to be her baby's gift. I have the blocks partially done and should have them finished and in rows by the end of this coming week. Then I can get it layered and quilted the following week. Thank goodness it was already in the works. LOL

New pics of long term project

Finally got pictures of the landscape quilt. Even at the house I can't get it all in one shot. You can see that I now have the sky and am starting clouds. There is also some snow on the mountain peaks. Sometime soon I will have to get an actual measurement of the size of the quilt. It has reached it's full size vertically and horizontally. Just have to work the upper right corner.

Cathedral Window

This was my first big project, I had done one small one before this. I do tend to jump right in. Something like fools rush in etc. LOL

I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I used a blue batik for the background and about 10 fabrics for the windows. The 'X' isn't really visible when looking at it unless you know what you are looking for, but it sure shows up in photos.

March Update

Another month another 600 pieces or so. It is coming together. Sometime this summer I will reach the top of this piece and the rows will get shorter. Right now there are 145 pieces per row.

Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be adding another piece to my daily routine.

So glad we are into Spring weather. This and Fall are my favorite times. Looking forward to heading back to the lake for the summer.

March update

Another month, another 600 or so pieces added. I'm getting there.

Starting to plan my next big project even though this one won't be done until much later this year. With any luck I might be done in October. We will see. Finally started on the sky. It is in the upper left hand corner. You have to look hard to see it. LOL

Haven't gotten much done on my Monet's Wedding Ring quilt this past month. Hope to finish piecing it in the next week or so.

Weather in the high 30's and low 40's, spring is coming.