Kris Came To Visit

Last weekend I received the fourth BOM block from one of my current projects, Christmas Favorites by Nancy Halvorsen. I ripped that package open and got right on it. These blocks are quite large and finish up quite quickly. So, please meet Kris Kringle.

...and a note to the LAer, don't worry, all the buttons and 3 dimensional pieces (mustache) will be removed before I send it to you.

Christmas Favorites

I've started yet another BOM. This time it is Christmas Favorites by Nancy Halvorsen from an on-line fabric shop. The project consists of 10 blocks which are quite large, but I must admit, the fabrics are what grabbed me. The first month was a delight to make and after I finished it, I decided to call him George.

One of the stitches used in this project is a blanket stitch. Do you know how long it took me to find it on my sewing machine? Let's put it this way, the stitch number is 329 on a Bernina 185.

State Fair

This year I entered a couple of quilts in the state fair. I originally hadn't planned to do so, but there were so few quilts last year. This year there were over 300.

You may remember this quilt,  "Thorn In My Side." It is a JN pattern which automatically means "paper pieced." Guess what? In the small quilt group, it won in the category for "Best Piecing." Duh!

I entered another quilt, "No Two Hearts Are Alike" which won Honorable Mention in the bed quilt category. (A picture is on an earlier post listed as Affairs of the Heart.)

County Fair

Having entered the local county fair for a number of years, I've become familiar with the ladies who volunteer their time to work with the exhibits. My plan was not to enter any more, it wasn't worth the effort. Having said that, I ran into one of the ladies who recognized me at the grocery store the other day and she was telling me how the number of entries had dropped of greatly. Yes, she made me feel guilty that I hadn't entered anything in the last couple of years, so I decided to enter something. Here's the result:

The pattern is Bali Sea Star by Kim Brackett and can be found in her book, "Scrap-Basket Surprises."

Closet Cleaning

Several years ago, someone gave me a quilt kit as a gift. I thanked them for the present and stressed very strongly, "They shouldn't have." The pattern and fabric were not to my taste so I squirreled it away in the closet, destined to never see the light of day.

Time has passed and I have not given the quilt kit another thought, that is, until the gifter came knocking on my door for a visit. She inquired as to how it was coming and she really wanted to see my progress. Oops!

Time was limited, we had somewhere else to be, and yes, I made a few excuses. After she left, I knew the situation would once again resurface and bite me. After all, she kept telling me how she drove over to another city all by herself just to find a quilt shop and how she would like to see it completed before she departs, and ........ well, you know the rest.

Two weeks ago, I dug out the kit and started stitching it together. My teeth hurt, but it is finished and is ready for the LAer, who assures me it will be back quite quickly. After completion, my plan is to give it back to her at Thanksgiving. It will fit in nicely with her decor.

Catching Up

With vacations/family visits, car issues and my sewing machine catching on fire, (you heard me correctly, sewing machine catching on fire), I got a little behind with my Stars and Sprigs BOM. Three months to be exact. I was trying to figure out a way to keep all the pieces organized without buying something special and here is what I came up with:
Paper plates. Found in the back of the cabinet, I spared no expense. Each plate contains all the pieces for one block and was easy to carry to the ironing board. No worries about mixing up the pieces.

An hour of cutting time and afternoon of sewing, (while doing the laundry), I have caught up with all the star blocks.


If only the applique blocks were that easy........

This and That

I just came back from lunch and saw this.....another day in Hotlanta. Looks like my 4th of July Peachtree Road Race is going to be a scorcher.....and, last week Mary asked how my Baltimore Halloween was coming. Mary, meet Hootie.

A Good Deed

You may recall from a previous post where a finished quilt top was claimed by my sister. She wanted it for a raffle at the hospital where she works. (More about that in a minute.)

I knew the quilting would have to be phenomenal if it was to help raise money and I found the perfect LAer to do just that. Linda at The Quilted Pineapple was up to the challenge. She emailed me this morning with these pictures to let me know the quilt is on it's way.
She is truly talented.
Ok, so here's the story about why and where the quilt is going. My sister works in the lab at a hospital on the gulf coast. Every year the hospital has a fund raiser for the American Heart Association. (Having had heart valve repair surgery a few years back, this is an orginization I've become very familiar with.) Anyway, each department at the hospital has to raise money by some means. It could be a bake sale or car wash or what ever hair brain idea they come up with. (How about a jumbo hamburger that feeds 20ish people? If you don't have heart disease, that would do it.) Next time around, the lab will be raffeling off this quilt, "Pink Lemonade."

Pieced by Vickie in Georgia, quilted by Linda in Michigan, the quilt will probably reside along the gulf coast. A quilt well traveled. Now, how am I going to get all that on the label?

Quilt #55 Going Home with a Very Nice Lady

I work with a very nice lady who is battling "The Big C." Always with a smile on her face, with or without hair, she is fighting and giving it all she's got. A truly remarkable person.

This is the quilt I am going to wrap up and leave in her chair at work. The pattern is courthouse steps and is made from a plum pudding bali pop with some other fabrics thrown in. Her favorite color is blue, which I put on the back.

Just a little something to brighten someones day.

It's One Of Those Days

I'm having one of those days......it's the morning after an extra inning braves game and I'm exhausted. However, I'm not the only one.

I received this picture in my email box this morning and it just made me smile. Audrey is growing so fast, it's hard to believe she's only two months old. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

A Little Treasure

This is Audrey.

She is the newest member of my work family.

This is Audrey's quilt. It was a mystery quilt project from a quilt shop a little out of my normal roaming range. When her daddy told me the room had been painted light green, I knew this quilt had a home. (#54)

Fresh out of the dryer and it is still warm.

Can you smell the baby powder?

(Just wait until she asks for the keys to the car.)

Countdown is on. . .

While constructing a quilt, do you ever get to the point where you are counting down the number of seams left to finish a project? Well, I am at that point with my current project. This is the second time I have made Judy Niemeyer's Glacier Star, and I should have learned from the first time I made this pattern that getting to the end is a very painful and tiring process. However, it will be glorious and well worth the effort. Why else would I have made it twice?

Never the less, I am pushing on ward. Last night I counted the number of seams left to go and I have 85 left. 85 left!?! I have created entire quilt tops with less seams than that. One day I will sit down and count the number of pieces and the total number of seams for that pattern. (It doesn't take much to entertain me.)

Didn't I tell you it would be worth it?