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.