Wow, I can't believe it's been over two months since I posted here. But, the reality is, I haven't touched my quilting in just about that long. I'm definitely starting to go into withdrawal. I was traveling most of October and it took me almost two weeks to get back to normal once I got home. So here it is almost Thanksgiving. I'll try to post some pics of my travels to Belgium and Paris once I get time to go through the 800 or so pictures I took. I'm one of those people that just have to snap multiples of everything.

I really like posts that include photos, of something, just to hold my interest. So, since I haven't really sewn lately, the best I can do for this post is to show you what I've received in the mail from my quilty friends at Quilts Your Way. And, I've learned a new trick. Embedding a slide show in my blog.

The first twenty blocks are the ones I made for all the swappers in our Squishie Swap this year. The second batch are those blocks that I received from each of the swappers. Hope you enjoy them.



I was also in a Tea Pot Block swap, but I haven't taken pictures of those blocks yet.

I promise to post more often now that life has settled down a little. I'm actually looking forward to the long weekends coming up around the holidays. I've got some tops I'd really like to get ready to be quilted. So keep checking back on my progress.

A little off topic...

I know this blog is all about my quilting adventures. But, I want to use this medium to get the word out about an issue very important to me: Say NO To Violence Against
Women.

UNIFEM has a campaign currently to get One Million signatures on their site: saynotoviolence.org by November 25th, which is the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism on Violence Against Women.

I ask anyone reading this post to click the link at the top of my sidebar and add your name to the list. By getting the word out, we can make a difference.

Thank you.

Old Tobacco Roads Mystery

I couldn't resist another one of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilts. I haven't even finished the borders on my Orange Crush yet. Sheesh, another UFO to add to the stack.

This weekend Bonnie is hosting another mystery, Old Tobacco Roads. I started on Part 1 on Friday night. Here's what my controlled scrappy four-patch units look like.

I certainly don't have all 182 4-patches done or even finished cutting them. But I'm slowly working on it. I really needed to spend yesterday getting my granddaughters quilt to the sandwich stage, which I did. More later today.

I'm back...

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted. I've barely kept up with my Quilting forum posts, let alone actually touched any fabric. Well I did say August was going to be a busy month. But this weekend I'm back at it. Here's the quilt I made for my Granddaughter's seventh birthday, which on the 16th. I designed the front around some fussy cut princesses.

I pieced the back using Kimberly Camou's Sassy Sixteen pattern and a bunch of girlie FQs.

I buried a hidden message for her using a piece cut from a valentine F8th one of my quilty friends sent me.

I've got it all sandwiched together so now I just need to do the machine quilting. So that's what I did today. Come back tomorrow and see what I'm up to next!

A new skill?

So I decided to try hand quilting. I really need some handwork to do when I'm away from my machine and thought hand quilting would be great. What the heck. I can sew a running stitch, right? Not so easy as it looks. I fumbled and fumed and threw away my first attempt. Here's what I just finished. Not to bad from a birds eye view, but don't get too close.

Now I know I can fill all those blank spaces with some curves that I was afraid to quilt on the machine. I had a terrible time getting my first stitch to be the same size as the rest of the stitches on the needle. I tried everything but that first stitch is tough for me. I tried in the hoop and out of the hoop, I tried different needles and putting the thimble on different fingers. Nothing worked. So I guess it's practice, practice, practice for me.

Any suggestions for a newby hand quilter?

Pardon the picture quality. I took them with my iPhone. I also sent this post from my email account. But I had to edit the post to get the pictures to not be at the top of the post. I still can't figure out how to avoid having to move the pictures everytime I post.

This weekend I made a lot of progress on my projects.

First, I put together my Orange Crush top. I decided on the borders too. The inner border will be the light purple and the outer border will be the dark purple from the stars. I have to see if I can find more of the fabric, otherwise, the inner border will be 1.5" and the outer border will be 3". That's about all I can squeeze out of the fabric that's left over.



Next, I finished the Sassy Sixteen baby quilt I've been working on for my friend's new granddaughter. Parker was born on July 3 so that's not bad. It's only 11 days late. The quilt is actually for my friend to use in the crib at her house.



The first pic shows how I quilted it. I used the serpentine stitch on my machine to do a diagonal grid with wavy lines. It really turned out nice, IMHO.

Lastly, I finished 7 more blocks for the Quilts Your Way Squishie Swap. That's 12 out of 20 that are due the end of August so I'm ahead of the game at this point. You can see pics of all 12 in my gallery.

In addition, I started working up my granddaughter's birthday quilt. I cut all the pieces for another Sassy Sixteen in princess fabrics. She is a little princess who will be seven in September. I also started playing with making some Diamond in a Square string blocks to use up some of the huge amount of strings I've accumulated over the past couple of years.

Pretty productive weekend for quilting at my house. But then with my grandkids in Louisiana until the end of the month, I don't have a lot of distractions at the moment. My weekends will start getting busy again very soon. So I'm savoring all my quilting time right now.

Have a great week!

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Thought this would be an appropriate day to post a picture of the little table runner I made three years ago. This went together in just a little over a day. I got the idea from a magazine that used this pattern in a larger wall hanging size quilt.

Since we are not going out until much later this afternoon for a bbq, I get to spend the day sewing. I promised myself I would work on the Squishie blocks from the Quilts Your Way Squishie Swap this weekend. I've got about 20 blocks to make from the F8 cuts everyone sent to me. The finished blocks have to be mailed out by the end of August and I just know I'll be in trouble if I don't get most of them done this weekend. I'll post pics as I progress through the weekend.

To make it more interesting, I've made a deal with myself. As each block is completed, I get to work on my Orange Crush for a bit before starting the next block. That way I get a bunch of things done.

Have a great long weekend everyone!

More Orange Crush Progress

I pulled out my Orange Crush last night and cut the orange and turquoise squares. The threw them all up on the design wall to see how those blocks were going to look with my purple stars. None of the 3.5" squares are sewn together yet. I guess I just haven't been too sure about this one so far.



Turns out I like the orange a lot. I couldn't decide between the two shades of turquoise for the center square so I put both up on my wall. Looking at them in the picture I think I like the darker of the two. Much more rich in color. The lighter color is actually marbled fabric so it takes on different shade depending on where it is cut.

Maybe I'll start sewing some together today after I get the Sassy Sixteen quilt sandwiched and ready for quilting.

So far this month here's my stash stats:

67.5 yards in; 8 yards used; net 59.5 yards added stash.
But how could I not purchase fabric on my Lancaster County trip!

Sassy Sixteen, Crib Size

Today I finished the top of the baby quilt I'm making for my friend who is about to become a grandmother for the first time. She wanted a crib quilt for her house in pastels. I don't do pastels well so I had to add the rose color for some interest.

I used Kimberly Camou's pattern, Sassy Sixteen, and then found that it was really too big for a baby quilt so I took off one column and one row and now it is the perfect size (42" x 54"). Plus I have enough blocks left over for a second quilt. Here's the finished top. Just need to do the sandwich (groan) and the quilting. Does anybody out there like sandwiching and basting??? Or is it just me...



I used the fabric packs I got at the Old Country Store in Intercourse, PA. It's the Simplicity line from 3 Sisters for Moda. This top went together in just few hours. I'll definitely be using this pattern alot. Thanks Kimberly.

Memorial Day Mystery Quilt Still a Mystery???

I just realized that I hadn't posted the finished top from the Memorial Day mystery. Here's a photo of my completed top. I really like it.


It is Father's Day today. So Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there.

My Dad has been gone for many years. But my son is a Dad now, so I'll be off to his house in a little while to visit him and my grandkids before they head off to their other Grandparents in Louisiana for a six week visit. Not only is this great for my son's inlaws to spend some good time with the kids, but since there is no day care during the summer, it takes care of the child care problem as well. I will miss them, but I can't complain since I get to see them any time I want with little effort.

Eye Candy

Well, I'm back from my trip to Pennsylvania and Lancaster County. What a trip. I absolutely loved the two days spent among the Amish. I learned so much about these interesting people. Not at all how they are portrayed in the movie Witness.

But most interesting of course were the quilt and fabric shops. I took so many pictures and have so many ideas for quilts I now want to make. Not to mention, I brought home 65 (yes SIXTY FIVE) yard of fabric. I was shocked when I added it all up. But the prices were just so great. At least 30% less than any of the fabric shops here in the Bay Area.

Here're some pics of my purchases.

I couldn't resist these fabric packs from the Old Country Store in Intercourse, PA.

These are fabrics from the Simplicity line by 3 Sisters for Moda. Perfect for a baby quilt I need to make for my friend's new granddaughter who arrives on June 30th. I think I'll use the Sassy Sixteen pattern by my online quilting friend Kimberly Camou.


The next group is every color I could find of the Fusions 7 line from Kaufman. This is my very favorite blender fabric. I bought at least a yard of each color.


I couldn't resist adding to my slowly growing collection of Batiks. These are mostly fat quarters with two 1 yard cuts.


And, these are some fabrics that just reached out to me begging to come home with me. I couldn't resist.

The last bit are the final fabrics I need to make my Granddaughter's princess quilt for her Birthday in September. I think I'll use the Sassy Sixteen pattern for this one too.


Now all I have to do is figure out where I'm going to put all this fabric.

Memorial Day Mystery

I just can't resist the mystery quilts. QuiltBug is holding one tomorrow, Memorial Day. I've decided to stay with the Christmas theme as shown in the fabric requirements. I've got some really nice Christmas fabric that I've been saving for just the right project. Here are my fabrics.

I had trouble choosing my medium and medium-light, so I took pictures of a bunch of different combinations and then converted them to black and white. That made all the difference. The fabrics I thought would play well together, were all the same value in black and white. I will have to do this more often. Here's the pic in black and white.

So now it is all cut and I'm just waiting for the mystery to start at 6:00AM Pacific Time. Don't know if I'll be getting up that early. Maybe I'll make the second clue at 7:00AM. :)

OC Steps 2-4

Finally, I'm a bit more caught up. This evening I finished step 2 and 3 and got everything cut and stacked together to complete step 4. Had to decide whether I wanted the light or dark purple to be the star. I think the light purple. I'm exhausted so I'll sew the blocks together tomorrow.

Here's Step 2

And here's step 3














And here's step 4 in position, but new sewn together yet.















I'm making only half as many units as required because I don't want a full size quilt. Unless of course I love it and want to make more units. Such indecision!!

So here's my question for everyone. Am I the only one that seems to have trouble positioning pictures when I upload them? I put my cursor in the place where I want the picture and it always ends up at the top of the entry. Then I have to drag it where I want it but of course it doesn't go exactly where I think it will. So frustrating.

I'm tired and going to bed now.

Count me in...

I've decided, after a long time on the fence, to take the plunge and do Bonnie's Orange Crush mystery. I'm hoping to make it smaller than full size so I'm only completing so many of each step. Hope it works, but what the heck, I can always make more of the parts I need.

I haven't chosen all my fabrics yet, but if I waited for that I would never get started. So I just jumped in with both feet (or maybe hands) last night.


Last night I sewed a whole bunch of 2" strips and then completed 50 4-patch units. I've got enough 2-patches cut to hopefully finish off another 30 or so tonight. Then on to complete some of the step 2 units. The pic shows the 4-patches (not pressed yet) on the left and the 2-patches waiting to be matched and sewn on the right.

One more finished

I finished this quilt on Saturday night, putting the last stitch in the binding at 10:45 pm. My eyes were falling out by then. I think I need to visit the eye doctor to check for a new prescription. It's been two years.


Anyway, this is the quilt that I am dontating to our Zonta Day at the Races raffle next Sunday. I'll be sure to get a picture of the winner with the quilt and post it here. I had a hard time letting this one go after it was finished, but as my mother pointed out, if I really like it that much, I can always make another one.:)

We are having a mini-heat wave here in the Bay Area for the next couple of days so I doubt I'll be doing any sewing until at least the weekend.

I'm a Fabricaholic

Well, I confess. I am a fabricaholic. I find myself sitting at my computer at work longing to take a quick trip to my LQS up the street. It's as bad as a food addiction. Fortunately, the shop is a little farther than a quick walk and parking is a bit of a challenge mid-day. Those are the only things that keep me from visiting the store more often. This is definitely an addiction.

While I don't have a huge stash (only been seriously collecting for two years), I do bring home way more fabric than I use. So, I've joined the Stashbuster blog ring. I'm hoping that will give me some motivation to use at least half as much as I bring home.

I'm traveling to PA the first week of June and I'll be spending at least two days in Lancaster County so I'm sure I'll be bringing home lots of fabric finds from that trip. So I'm trying to limit what I buy this month in anticipation.

I got my Economic Stimulus money from the IRS last week and what better way to stimulate the economy and support my LQS than spending it on fabric or other quilting "essentials".

Border Designs

I've finally gotten out the top that I started in 2005 to finish for a raffle quilt. The raffle is part of our Zonta Club's Day at the Races fund raising event on May 18th. Once my friends learned I had many unfinished tops, they asked that I finish one for a raffle prize. We make most of our money through the raffle at this event.

So the challenge for me was how to quilt those very plain, very light borders. I wanted something a little more interesting than my usual diagonal grid. I had some Golden Threads paper so I traced a cable design that came in the Alex Anderson Quilt book I bought a while ago. And, last weekend I stitched the cable. It is by no means perfect but I think it really came out good.

The challenges were that first the backing I chose was only very slightly larger than the front. But I really wanted to use this piece of fabric for the backing and not have to piece it. So I just sat on the floor and very methodically pinned the three layers in place to make sure the top was centered and the backing reached the edges on all four sides. I had to piece about three inches on one end to make it long enough but that was fine.

Then I stitched the cable design. But used my walking foot since I'm not confident enough to free-motion stitch it.

Two lessons learned:
1. Don't try to do this for the first time on a plain, light border where everything shows.
2. Next time put on the darning foot and free-motion this cable design. I think it would have come out just as well, without all the stopping, turning, and starting again.

My Stash

By most avid quilter's standards, my stash is a mini-stash at best. I have four underbed containers full of fabric (not the big ones, the smaller ones), and assorted sweater and shoe plastic boxes filled with fat quarters, kits, UFOs, etc, etc. But, I'm doing my best to grow the stash. I love going to my LQS and browsing through their $4.45/yd area. I get some great stuff there. I also love the remnants, most of them 1 yard or more each. I can't bring myself to pay the $9.95/yd price just to put the piece in my stash. I will definitely pay that price for a specific purpose.

I've also been doing a little bit of purchasing from Marshall Dry Goods. Most of their name brand yardage is $3.99. Good quality stuff. I purchase kits and such from Lazy Mazy and spent quite a bit there this last six months. I've joined their Fat Quarter Club so I receive six fat quarters each month of some really great fabric.

So I thought I'd start keeping track of how much comes in and roughly how much I use each week. I'll never be able to figure out how much I have already, but at least I can see if I'm anywhere near using at least a third of what I'm bringing home.

So here goes. This week I hit by LQS for 15.75 yards; 1.5 yards of that immediately was pulled out to be the back of a quilt I'm finishing for a Raffle for our Zonta Day at the Races in May. So that's a net of 14 yards in. so far this week.

Super Bowl Sunday

Well, today I avoided starting yet another top by doing the QuiltBus Mystery quilt. Instead, I told myself I would get busy and put together two UFO tops and start free-motion quilting. That was my challenge.

I got the tops together and I actually gave this free-motion quilting a try. I quilted two blocks on a pink top I put together a very long time ago from pink scraps. I figured if I hated the result, I really didn't care since I had no specific purpose in mind for the quilt and the investment in the top was minimal (both time and fabric). So here are some pics of my first free-motion quilting attempt. Just some lazy meandering. I can tell with practice I could probably get pretty good at this.

Super Bowl Sunday

Well, today I avoided starting yet another top by doing the QuiltBus Mystery quilt. Instead, I told myself I would get busy and put together two UFO tops and start free-motion quilting. That was my challenge.

I got the tops together and I actually gave this free-motion quilting a try. I quilted two blocks on a pink top I put together a very long time ago from pink scraps. I figured if I hated the result, I really didn't care since I had no specific purpose in mind for the quilt and the investment in the top was minimal (both time and fabric). So here are some pics of my first free-motion quilting attempt. Just some lazy meandering. I can tell with practice I could probably get pretty good at this.