New Blogger Blog Hop

Contemplate thy powers, contemplate thy wants and thy connections; so shalt thou discover the duties of life, and be directed in all thy ways.

Akhenaton

I've added a new button on my sidebar.  I found a new blog that is offering advice and fun for new blogs. My turn will be in October. You should check out  http://plumandjune.blogspot.com/
She has some colorful quilts that she has made.  If you are interested in the Blog Hop check out the info here http://plumandjune.blogspot.com/p/blog-hop.html .
She's already helped me with the No Reply Blogger question. I didn't know I had a problem there. That's what I get for not commenting more ;-(  ...
Now to share a quilt - because a post without pictures is BORING!!!

Fairy Pinwheel Quilt

This is the quilt I finished two years ago for my grand daughter.  I had made it as a shop sample but needed to make it larger to fit her bed and tall mattress.So it got the rectangles on the edge. I just barely managed to scrounge up enough scraps to do it.  Good thing I never toss out my scraps - Hee-Hee!

Cute Little Fairies

The pattern was in a Thimbleberries book I think but I don't remember the name of it. I just love the fairy print. The pantograph I used shows up a little here.  The prints are too busy to see it well.

Corner Design

The ends of the borders got an orange rectangle because I ran out of background fabric. I had been smart enough to save the binding fabric with the top.  I will have to show you how I do that soon.

Label

I even managed to find a leftover dragonfly block to use for the label. I was going to back it with the dragonfly fabric but ended up with the swirls instead.  I made pillowcases to match but I don't think I have a picture of them. I have to try for that when I'm at their house sometimes.

Winter's Report

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

Robert Louis Stevenson

First Daffodil 1/6/2012

Spring has already flown in and I haven't posted any progress so here is what I have been working on for the last few months:


January - The year started with spring flowers, earliest I can remember. I started off the year pretty good, after not feeling well for the first 2 weeks of January I did manage to get the pieced backing made and then quilted my UFO #5. Still need to bind it.

Fall Leaf Flannel 4 Patch Before Quilting

I also made 2 pillowcases for my new side sleeper pillow. I had to draft the pattern and put in zippers since the pillow is J shaped.

February - I made a flannel design wall and hung up a Fons & Porter one so now I have TWO! I had to take down the Winner's Bouquet Blocks from the old vinyl tablecloth design wall to hang the new one so they got sewn together after living on the wall for months.

Winner's Bouquet Blocks on Old Design Wall

I'd had a construction zone panel that I've wanted to get quilted for my grandson for a year or so. I was tempted to just serge the edges and give it to him but I decided to quilt it since he had asked when he would get a quilt.  I bordered it with several fat quarters of vehicle prints and made a backing from several flannel fat quarters of more vehicles.  Still need to get the binding on it.

I seem to have a bad habit of making a top and not adding the borders so I'm trying to get the borders added to a few tops.  I added the final border to a 30's prints Bargello top, I had at first decided not to put a border on this one but changed my mind.  I made a Christmas print one at the same time that I will not border because I can't find one I like.


March - I added the borders to the Out of the Bag quilt I made a couple of years ago. I matched the prints to hide the seams and will post a tutorial on how I did it.

I went to the Original Sewing Expo and took 3 longarm classes with Pam Clarke and one on Paintsticks with Laura Murray. Nothing like escaping everything for a few days of quilting fun!  Inspired by this getaway I succumbed to temptation and started not one but two new quilts:  A safari themed quilt using the Flip Flop Block template and the Shadow Block Pattern by Kathie Alyce http://www.waterfallquilts.com/patterns.htm It has gone together fairly quickly. The other one is a batik rectangles and I'm really enjoying playing with some of those special batiks I've been saving for a while.

Another quilt I've been working on is a circles quilt.  I started the circles when I taught a class on how to make them about six years ago, still not sure how they are going to go together but there are a lot more than just two now. I'll add pictures of these soon.

I've also made progress on ironing fabrics and ripping up magazines and filing away ideas and projects in my inspiration notebooks. This is part of my ongoing effort to establish order where chaos now exists in my studio. It usually just results in more project added to the 'want make list' and more fabrics that I really want to play with stack.  LOL

UFO Challenge

The majority of men are bundles of beginnings.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Judy L. at Patchworktimes.com is having a UFO Challenge again this year so I decided to join in and see if it will help me actually finish some of my quilts.  She has a wonderful blog that I read almost everyday and she has a great sense of humor too.

So here is my list of 12 quilts I'd like to get completed this year.  Some are ready for quilting and some are just blocks.  I'll try to add photos soon.

1. Sunflower Blooming 9 Patch - The top is together, it may need a border or two.
2. Margaret's Irish Chain - Needs a few more blocks and borders
3. Sports Quilt - Ready for the Longarm
4. Floral Log Cabin - Needs borders
5. Fall Leaf Flannel 4 Patch - Ready for the Longarm   FINISHED!!! May 2012
6. Blue Skies Tribble Trouble - Ready for the Longarm
7. Hunter's Star - Needs border
8. Batik Circles - Needs borders
9. Scrappy Out of the Bag - Needs borders - Progress: Borders On, Binding Cut
10. Bears in the Farmhouse - Needs final border
11. Shortcut to School - Needs borders
12. Winner's Bouquet - Blocks Done, - Progress: Center Sewn, Needs Borders, Fabric Selected

Happy New Year!

The future comes one day at a time.

Dean Acheson

Well we are off and running in 2012. Life continues on at a rapidly increasing pace for me.  My to do list still is growing faster than it gets crossed out so I hope by making a visual record of things here I will be able to stay on task better.  I spend time reading other blogs so maybe someone will find the time to read mine. Hopefully I will be able to find a few things to say on a regular basis that will be interesting and helpful to some of you out there.

I will start by introducing myself, I am a quilter, a mother of four adult children, grandmother of twins and wife of nearly 40 years to a great man.  I love to read, sew, quilt and be creative.

Here's to a great New Year and Many New and Great Friends yet to be made!

Patricia