Christmas Block Swap Update

I received two blocks from my August swap partner, and they are lovely. Thank you very much Jen. The one on the left looks to be a variation of a bear paw which I had never seen before and the right one is a star. (Jen, if there is a name for the bear paw variation, please let me know what it is.) The fabrics are beautiful and I am very pleased.
(UPDATE: The name of the block is bear tracks.)

My swap partner for September is Carolyn and I asked if she would like a broken star in red and green with a cream background. Off to the sewing room and here is her block.

When participating in a block swap and after creating the quilt, do you add all the names on the quilt label? What would you do?

Block Swap

I've signed up again! (I need therapy)......(no, wait....sewing is therapy!)

After being disappointed in so many swaps and telling myself that I will never do it again, last week I signed up for another one. This time the swap is for Christmas themed blocks.

My swap partner for this month Jen, requested a log cabin block, red on one side, green on the other with a center of gold. After ping-ponging a couple of emails, we decided to swap not one, but two blocks. Here are the two blocks I am sending to her. The left one, a little more scrappy and the right one, a little more formal using one red fabric and one green fabric. I hope she likes them.

After finishing up Jen's blocks, I decided to make a couple of blocks for myself. I was thinking that my next swap partner could check my blog and that would give them a better idea of what I'm going for. I reached into the scrap box and pulled out some of my all time favorite fabrics by Nancy Halvorsen and here's what I made for myself.

The left block is a broken star and you might recognize the one on the right as the design next to my profile filling in as  my photo.

For those of you reading my book and asking for chapter 2, here it is.

Been away too long........

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you just have to roll with it. That being said, I believe that everything happens for a reason.

.......meanwhile back in the sewing room........
Linda at the quilted pineapple emailed me this morning with pictures of my quilt. They are breath taking and she is one very gifted LAer. (Wish I could do that.) Anyway, here are a few snapshots of my latest, almost complete project. (69)

You can quote me on this: "This is the second time I have made this quilt and I will not be making it again." My sister claimed the first one and I am going to keep this one.

For friends who have been asking, click here for Chapter 1 of my book and I'd love to hear what you think.

Getting Ready

While my pecan pie bakes in the oven for tomorrow's festivities, I thought I would do a little cleaning. The problem is, I have way too many quilts around here. It's time to give some of them away, so family and friends, decide which one you want and let me know.

The left side, is what I am giving away. The right side, I am keeping.

Quilts on the left side, starting from the top are: Thorn in My Side (58), Bali Stars 2 (65), Paper Plate Adventure (66), Bubble Gum Fiesta (61), Scrappy Pineapple (64), Scrappy Log Cabin 2 (67) and Scrappy Log Cabin 3 (68).

Happy Thanksgiving and btw, my pie smells wonderful.

Two More Ribbins, Actually Three

The state fair is over and I am pleased to share my latest winner with you. The name of this quilt is Water Lilies and is completion number 62. It placed first in it's division and won an Award of Excellence. The quilting is feathers and pebbles where every inch has quilting on it. This quilt is absolutely beautiful.

Many of you will recognize the cherry and key lime pie bali pops. When using the bali pops, enough blocks are created to make two quilts and the other sister quilt is out being quilted.

 

BTW: Another entry, Scrappy Pineapple, placed third. (Completion number 64.)

My Inner Geek

One of my favorite TV shows is about a couple of geeks and their lack of social skills. I have noticed that one of the things in their apartment is a Rubik's cube tissue holder. Since I need another tissue holder, I decided this would be the model for my next little project.

In order to make sure my color placement was correct, I went diving into the storage boxes in the basement to find a cube as my model. I would hate for some cube  aficionado to say my color placement wasn't possible.

Yes, the geek in me has come out again. Gotta put the kibosh on that get back to quilting.

What is on the design wall?

"Bubble Gum Explosion," or as my sister calls it, "Bubble Gum Fiesta." (Haven't decided on a title yet, still thinking about it.) This is the latest project on my design wall, and now it's finished. Whew! So, off the design wall and into a box, traveling cross country to the LAer.

Once again, I used a bali pop. A watermelon bali pop to be exact. (I have a box full of those things and I think they are multiplying.) The blocks are 16" and the quilt turned out quite large. It looks complicated but was very easy and I like the variety of the fabrics.

Speaking of bali pops and variety, have you seen the latest series? No fun prints, just monochromatic colors. What's the fun in that? Good thing I've got a few more stashed.

A few left to go........

One of the BOMs I am currently working on, Christmas Favorites by Nancy Halvorsen, is almost done. Two more done and two left to go.

This has been a fun little quilt to make. I plan on keeping this one.

Peachtree Road Race T-shirt

Over the years I have run walked the Peachtree. Held in Atlanta, Georgia on the 4th of July. It is the world's largest 10k road race with over 60,000 participants. Everyone who finishes receives a t-shirt where the competition for the winning design has become very competitive in the design realm.

Let me begin by telling you, I do not do t-shirt quilts. There are so many issues when working with t-shirts and I elect not to mess with them. That aside, I decided to clinch my teeth and make one. Not only that, I needed to clean out closet space and Peachtree t-shirts were taking up a lot of valuable hanger area.

I surfed the internet and looked at hundreds of t-shirt quilts. I didn't like the ones where each t-shit was cut to the same size. Also, I didn't like the ones where each had a border because they were way too large and jamming all the t-shirts together wasn't appealing. I tried a couple of different layouts and finally decided on a mix of something that appealed to me.

Next item of business, get it quilted and add the binding. I think I found the perfect binding fabric. I'm partial to stripes, especially with slime green. What do you think about this fabric?

For those of you who are wondering, once again I have entered the lottery for a number in this years Peachtree. Haven't decided if I am going to use it or not, but I could always use the 2013 t-shirt as a quilt label. The hubby was also entered for a number and we both expect to receive one. (His start wave will be much earlier than mine.) If anyone is looking for a number, please let me know.

Easter Bunny

I arrived at the office this morning to find a cute little bunny sitting on my desk. One of the ladies in my office is a Daisy Troop leader and I've been giving her ideas for crafts and such. Last weekend they made bunnies, and on the back is an adorable little cotton ball tail. Gotta love it.
It made my uneventful work day a little bit brighter. Thanks Jessica.

OMG! I almost forgot!

My mother's birthday falls in February, the short month. As usual it snuck up on me again and this morning I woke up thinking I've got to get her present in the mail. With President's Day, the mail will be a day or two late so I've got to get going. Now, what do I send her? In the past, if I was going to be there, I'd pick up a light fixture or kitchen faucet and install it. She's got everything she could ever need and if there was anything she wanted, she would just go buy it. You know, one of those hard to buy for people.

Well, there is this photo that family and friends will recognize. I decided to use that and create something. After a trip to the store for buttons and stuffing, but I am quite please with my little creation. Photo coloring is a little strange as it is a picture from 1976 and using Printed Treasures is always an adventure.

OK sis, what are you going to do?

Mistletoe

When I first saw Christmas Favorites by Nancy Halvorsen, my favorite block was the Mistletoe Block. This week, BOM #6 came in the mail, and guess which one it was.

 

After completing the block, it is still my favorite. 6 blocks down and 4 to go.