Been a while

I guess it's been a while since I have posted but life gets in the way sometimes. Here is a not very good photo of the cruise ship that we were on last week. We had a great time and the food was WONDERFUL!! Our table mates were a really nice couple from Utah and by the end of the cruise we felt like we had known them forever. I do have to admit that the weather was a little hot and humid but we managed to deal with it.

This is the fairy house that my sister made for me. Isn't it adorable? She and her sweet husband have made several as gifts and they are just too cute.

Gotta go

Another Project Linus blanket

Our local Project Linus chapter has requested more blankets that are boy-oriented and I just happened to have this panel with tools so I cut it apart, put sashing and cornerstones, added a couple of borders and ta-da, it's a quilt. (Actually I also have this with a navy blue background.) I am in the process of quilting it and then I have to do the binding and it will be done. I also have some John Deere tractor fabric that I need to do something with, just have to find the right shade of green to go with it. Sounds like a good excuse for a shopping trip!

We will be leaving for Florida soon. We're just going to take the cruise and then come right back. With my MIL in the nursing home, we need to be around to check on her. Maybe we will be able to go back south for a while later on in the winter. Gosh, this will be only the second winter in 10 years that we haven't been someplace warm. Hmmm. Guess I need a winter coat. Oh darn, another shopping trip.

Well, I'm off to finish quilting the tool quilt.

Autumn quilt & little totes

The Autumn quilt is pieced and waiting to be quilted. I'll have my longarm lady do it when we get back in the spring. It turned out to be a bit larger than I thought at first but that's okay. At least it will cover the bed!

Here are a couple of little totes that I made for my sister and myself. They will be great for use on the cruise. The straps are long enough to fit over your head and you can carry just what you need (passport, seapass card and a credit card)(okay, maybe some cash). It has taken me a while to get around to posting again because my mother-in-law has been ill but she is doing much better now so I'm back to thinking about what to take to FL for the winter. I'm getting anxious.

Well, I'm off to sort a tote of fabric or two. Bye

Bus Trip Coming Up

My local quilt guild is sponsoring a bus trip to four shops in northern Illinois this Saturday and I can hardly wait to go. I think it is going to be really fun.

The quilt below is for Project Linus and the pattern comes from Fons and Porter's Easy Quilts Magazine, winter 2008 issue. I cut enough pieces for two tops so I'll put the other one together this winter.
This block is for an autumn quilt that I will probably do this winter, also. I made a sample block to make sure I liked my color choices and I think it will be fine. The block centers come from a panel that I cut apart and then I found some of the coordinating fabric so I got some of that too.
You may wonder what's up with the purple but several of the center squares have touches of purple in them (eggplant, grapes, etc.) and I thought the purple would make them pop. There is a border fabric that goes with this also and I cut it apart and will use the green/brown acorn part for sashing and the wider part for borders. I'm anxious to get several blocks done so I can get some idea what it will look like when finished.

IBOL Total

Okay, so the Iraqi Bundles of Love count is 3,443. If you figure around 8 - 9 lbs. per bundle then approximately 14 TONS (maybe more) of sewing, quilting and knitting supplies were sent to Iraq for the women to use in their co-ops and homes. All because Major Art LaFlamme and his wife, Kristin, thought it would be neat to ask some people to send a few boxes of items. This simple request was passed on and on and on and became a world-wide phenomenon. What impresses me most is the unbridled generosity shown by so many people to benefit total strangers. I'm really proud that I was able to be a part of this. Women rock!

Carol Doak was here!

My quilt guild hosted Carol Doak a couple of weeks ago and I took both classes that were offered. The first one was a miniature paper pieced quilt with houses, trees and stars from her book "300 Paper Pieced Quilt Blocks. I have it all done including the quilting. Hurray!!

The second class was "Fire and Ice" using the Iceland Star from her Mariner's Compass Stars Book. The top is done but the sandwiching and quilting is yet to be done.
This is not a Carol Doak pattern but it is paper pieced. This is Lotsa Pops, Quiltmaker Magazine's Project Linus pattern from Jan-Feb '09 ( I think). My cheap digital camera doesn't do too well because the dark fabric is purple, not blue, but you get the idea. This was the last top that I pieced this past winter. Now we are about 5 weeks away from leaving for Florida so I have to get my self together and decide which projects to take with me to work on this winter.

Help!

Somebody help me! I'm making aprons and I can't stop! One of my guild buddies showed us how to make aprons from tea towels and I'm on a roll now. I really need to stop and finish up some other projects - it's just to much fun to do these.

Busy, busy, busy.......

Well, I guess I have gotten a little accomplished in the last few days. Above is a tote bag that i made to take my Featherweight back and forth to classes. The black case that it came in is just not too trustworthy and the last thing I want is to have it come open and spill my baby on the ground.

This is a wall hanging that I found in Fons and Porters Easy Quilts. I've been looking it for a while and just decided I had to make it. Easy peasey!

This photo doesn't show the redwork very well but it doesn't look too bad.

This small table runner was made with leftover triangles from the snowball blocks below. These blocks are for a winter block exchange with my Frayed Edges group. The list of ten is getting shorter, I may have to move things up and add more to the bottom. Gosh, it feels good to be getting things done.

One More To Go

Well, I finished another Project Linus quilt which leaves just one more to go and it is at the machine quilters right now. The one above was made with fabric that was given to me and, of course, I ran out of the pansy fabric so I decided to substitute two blocks of the solid lavender. It is hard to see but some of the circles are lavender and white stripes.

I also made this hunter's star quilt for our church fund raiser. Since the colors for the Fighting Illini are blue and orange, and we have a lot of fans at the church, I thought it would be appropriate. The borders are Laurel Burch cat fabric.

I have had to go back to making a list of projects - my List of Ten - because if I don't I get too side-tracked and never get anything done. So I finished the Project Linus quilts and prepped for the Carol Doak classes at the end of the month. Gee, only eight more to go before I can make a new list. :-)

I have been following the Iraqi Bundles of Love blog and am astonished at the amount of bundles that have been sent. Even though the deadline for sending bundles has come and gone, if you still want to read about this awesome project you can go to http://ibol.wordpress.com/ and wander through the past blogs to see what it was all about. I can't say enough good things about this and I hope there is someone who can take over and do the same for Afganistan.

One of our guild members is going to give a lesson on how to clean and oil our Featherweight sewing machines in October. Since I have one for sale, I'm going to take it and get it all cleaned up. I bought it on eBay, thinking that someone in the guild might be looking for one, but haven't had any response to the e-mail I sent out about it so I guess I'll have to advertise in the local newspaper. Darn! I hate to see it go to a stranger.

Well, gotta get busy. Later, gator.

Bummer

I'm so bummed out. Just got an e-mail from my sister and the last "definitive" test that she had for rheumatoid arthritis came back positive. We both knew that with our mom having had it so bad, chances were good that one of us kids would get it. Even though it is not hereditary, it can be familial. Sis is 53 and that is about a year older than mom was when it attacked her. We'll have to see what kind of treatment the rheumatologist wants to start. Caught early, it isn't as awful as it once was. Right now, sis and her hubby are in California getting ready to get on a cruise ship but, of course, a hurricane is headed for the Baja peninsula so she doesn't know how that will affect the cruise. I kid you not. Some luck she has, eh?

On a lighter note, my DH and I are leaving on a camping trip in a couple of days - going to Iowa for the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion over Labor Day Weekend. We'll leave early and just relax for a couple of days. Seems like there hasn't been much time to camp this year and yet I'm not sure what we have been doing instead.

Well, I'm off to sew some more. Hope it doesn't rain in Iowa while we're there. :-)

Found fat quarters

I have to tell you - sometimes I am just lucky! My quilt guild has a spot for members to put items that they wish to give away. Sometimes it is fabric, sometimes patterns, sometimes orphan blocks or a few books; doesn't matter, if you want to get rid of it, put it on the 'free' table. Well, yesterday I happened to find 3 coordinating fat quarters and I knew I had some more fabric that might go with them at home and I could make a cute table runner with them. So, stay tuned and we'll see what I can come up with. Of course, I could always take a road trip just in case I can't find anything in my "resource center".

Only two more to go!

Woo hoo!! I got another one done for Project Linus! I have two more to go and then I will have all of the tops that I made this last winter quilted!! Wow, sure took me long enough, but I did have a few other things to do, you know. My Frayed Edges group made 75 neck coolers last week and I need to get them delivered tomorrow.



I have sent two bundles to Iraqi Bundles of Love in the last week. What a wonderful idea this is - sharing fabric and notions and yarn and needles with the women in Iraq. These women are living in conditions we can only imagine in our nightmares and I am honored to be able to help in some small way. You know, I have been involved in outreach programs here in the U. S. for years and it never occurred to me that I could help someone in a foreign country until I read about IBOL. I'm really happy to be a part of this effort.

Well, off to bed. See ya.

Project Linus quilts, finally

Man, it's about time I got some of these done. I brought them home from Florida in April and I'm finally getting them finished. So here they are (drum roll, please).

Back to blogging

Well, I guess I've been in a mid-summer funk and couldn't think of anything to share. All that is over!!! I want you to see some photos of my quilt guild and their community service project that we worked on today. We are making neck coolers to send to service personnel in Iraq and Afganistan. Today we made 48 in a couple of hours.

These are really easy to make and the troops seem to like receiving them. If you would like the directions for making them go to www.geocities.com/helmetliner You will also find instructions for various other items that can be made in support of our troops.

That's it for now. Semper fi!

Got the doors open!!!

Wow! A cold front came through and brought some mighty pleasant weather with it. I turned off the A/C, threw open the doors and windows and let this place air out. Midwest summers can mean endless days of heat, humidity and stale air conditioned air. What a change for a few days. Yay! Tonight I just might get to put a quilt on the bed.

I wanted you to see another of the quilts that I made during my Japanese phase. This one is called Shoji Screen. I saw the pattern in a magazine and fell in love with it. I gathered fabric from here to Washington State and had a great time doing it.

This is a wallhanging that I made after taking a class from Pat Sloan. She was just great. And funny, too.

I recently learned of a wonderful organization that provides homemade pillowcases to brighten the lives of sick children in hospitals. The name is ConKerr Cancer and their website is www.ConKerrCancer.org and they have chapters in the U.S. and worldwide. Today I made 18 pillowcases with more to come. I used my serger and it went really fast. Check out their site - you may just want to make a few, too.

Go Red For Women

Well, we took a little time off and went down to Lake Shelbyville and camped for a few days. We always enjoy getting away even if it means that there is catching up to do when we get back. My DH had to get the yard mowed and then went to his mother's to mow hers. I am getting the laundry caught up and took a break to do this blog thingy.

I made the above wallhanging for my husband's cardiologist. The Go Red for Women campaign is for heart disease awareness. Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. The pattern is by Sindy Rodenmayer and you can find it at http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/. If you are an applique enthusiast you will love her website.

This photo is of the fall block exchange from my Frayed Edges group. What wonderful bunch of friends I have, and so talented, too!
My final photo is of mixing bowls!! How does this pertain to quilts, you ask? Well, at our family reunion we were reminiscing and I mentioned that I had always wanted a set of Fire King mixing bowls in the tulip pattern because Mom had them and I still miss her terribly. My wonderful sister-in-law went on e-Bay when she got home and found these, bought them and shipped them to me. I can't believe she did that, but here they are. Just because I made a quilt for them. I get teary-eyed every time I look at them.My brother sure picked a keeper.
Gotta go. The dryer just buzzed. Happy quilting.

Hunter's star

Gosh, this summer is going fast. Here it is, the 5th of July and I feel like I haven't gotten much done. Above is my Hunter's Star wallhanging that I made from a class given by my Frayed Edges buddy Erika Phillips. She is a terrific teacher and her technique for this was really easy.

I was also fortunate enough to be asked to help at Project Linus Expo this year. What an awesome experience - I helped demonstrate machine applique and was able to meet chapter coordinators from all over the country. Talk about a bunch of wonderful ladies (and spouses); these people are the best of the best.

I got my little Margaret sewing machine back from the repairman yesterday and I'm so happy to see her again. She is a 3/4 size clone of a Singer class 15-30 and just as cute as can be. He got her all cleaned up and she sews the nicest stitches. My husband likes her because we have less than $50 in her. Men!

Anyway, have a nice rest of the week. We're off to the campground tomorrow.

At last, getting some things done!

Yeah!! About time I got it together and finished a few things. Actually, I had the Hunters Star wall hanging almost done and decided I didn't like the way the quilting looked so I spent a whole day unsewing it and did it over ;-(

I just love the Project Linus quilt - had to have a close up of the caption - just too cute.

Finally is a quilt that is going to Scott AFB. My guild has been working on quilts for the military personnel returning from Iraq and Afganistan that are in he hospital at Scott. Most of the quilts are red, white and blue but I thought someone might like the camo.

As for the rest of my life, let's see, my DH got the stitches out of his naughty finger and it seems to be healing nicely. MIL is home and doing well now that we (hopefully) have her meds straightened out. Kids and grandkids are apparently doing okay, although they probably wish it weren't so hot and humid. Ah, the great Midwest in summer - can't beat it. I would love to go camping but it just isn't much fun when it's this hot. Guess I'll just stay inside and sew.

What should I do?

Okay, the thing is, I love the look of a scrappy quilt but can't seem to get my head around making one. I have used jelly rolls and fat quarter collections and they worked out fine because someone else was picking out the fabric. I'm afraid if I try to do it myself I'll end up with just a mess of things that don't look right together. Should I just jump in and try it; cut, say, 5" squares of a whole bunch of my scraps or just stick to what someone else has put together because that is where I am most comfortable. (sigh) How do YOU decide what to use to make a scrap quilt?

Great Family Get-Together

We had such a wonderful time in Tennessee with my sibs and their spouses. I wish we could do this more than once a year but time and distance make it very difficult. We stayed at Montgomery Bell State Park near Nashville and it was very nice. Great food in the restaurant! (that is always a prime consideration with my family) Every room at the inn has a view of the lake; so pretty.
We got home just in time to spring my mother-in-law from the hospital. We may have found a family member that is willing to stay with her at night and part of the day, cook for her and just generally keep an eye on her. Right now, that is all she needs and as her situation changes then we will have to adjust the arrangements. She needs to be home where she is happiest if at all possible.
A friend of mine has a Flynn Multiframe Quilting System that I am going to buy because I need a faster way to get my Project Linus quilts finished. She is upgrading to a larger machine and frame so she is giving me a really good deal on the Flynn. I can hardly wait to test drive it.
Not much else to report - I'm still dizzy so I may need to have my doctor try a little harder to find the cause. Sometimes it is like "Oh, well, it will go away". Come on. Let's see what else we can do, okay? Anyway, TTFN

Gingko

This is a quilt that I made during my Oriental period. There is a wonderful shop in Lansing, Iowa called Yellow Bird Art Co. and that is where I found the pattern and several of the fabrics. I managed to find most of the rest online and I just love the way this turned out.
My Frayed Edges group met today and we really had a great time. It's so neat to see what everyone else is working on. They helped me pick out borders for my Fall Block Exchange quilt and it is turning out quite nicely.
I started cleaning out my sewing room and now it is a worse mess than it was! I'm beginning to think that I just need to take EVERYTHING out and then start from scratch. Instead of a folding table, I would like to have two 2-drawer filing cabinets with a kitchen counter top on top of them and it needs to be about 8 feet long. If I could really have what I want, I would take up the carpeting and put in hardwood flooring; however, that's not gonna fly. In fact, nothing will happen for a while because my poor hubby almost cut his finger off on a lawn mower blade. He had sharped the blades and was putting them back on when the wrench slipped and he hit his "naughty" finger on one of the blades. He went to the emergency room and has to go back in tomorrow for an orthopedic surgeon to repair the tendon that is cut 3/4 of the way through. Ow, ouch, oooh! It's always something.

Don't look up, don't bend down

Have you ever had vertigo? You don't want it, let me tell you. It's amazing the number of things we do without even thinking about it and then when you can't do them it's like "what the heck??" I woke up last weekend just as dizzy as all get out. Holiday weekend, couldn't get in to the doctor until Tuesday. Wednesday went for a doppler ultrasound of my carotid arteries. Got good news today, arteries are fine, just an inner ear thing. Apparently the rocks in my head are out of place ;-) So I bounce from wall to wall all the way down the hall and when I lay down the room spins like I have been on a cheap drunk. (can't afford an expensive drunk) I am able to sew as long as I don't move my head very quickly and I can use my embroidery machine - just be really careful when I lean forward to thread the needle. Ah, life can be so interesting.

Small tablerunners

I found the pattern for these tablerunners while I was searching for something else and just had to stop and make a couple. I seem to have trouble staying on task as I was supposed to be working on something else but they were so easy that I couldn't help myself.

I'm glad I did them when I did because I woke up Saturday with a case of vertigo and haven't been able to do much since. Since this was a holiday weekend, I couldn't get in to see my dr. so I'll call tomorrow for an appointment. Being dizzy is not much fun (although my DH thinks I'm dizzy most of the time).

I guess I'll go to bed - in this case bed is the recliner because if I lay down flat the room spins. Not a good feeling at all. TTFN

I hate to do bindings

I really hate putting bindings on quilts although I do a fairly decent job of it. Most of the time I put them on by machine but for my brother's quilt (see above) I sewed it down on the back by hand. It just looks prettier, I think. I'm so glad I had plenty of time before the reunion to get it done! It was machine quilted by a member of Frayed Edges, Erika Phillips. She does an amazing job and when I want something to look it's best, I send it to her.

I'm putting the binding on a quilt for Quilts of Valor right now. Erika machine quilted it also and used stars and loops. Beautiful!!

I'm about to the point that I can start quilting the quilts that I pieced in Florida this winter. I really need to get them done so I can put the plastic totes away in the garage. My sewing room is never going to get cleaned up if I keep putting things off.

That's it for today.