Another month gone

Well Well, another month has passed me by and I can't for the life of me figure it out. I started out the month at a retreat.My cousin came in from 300 and some ott miles away for this event. She has never quilted before but her mother (my moms sister) is the one that started the quilting craze in our family. Her mother showed my Mom and the craze was on. So I spent most of my time showing her how to 'do' things. I taught one class Shuffled 9-patch.

Here is her small lap throw. This is an easy design to do and makes up quick. The corner stones were half square triangles from another project and just thought throwing them in the corner would give more interest. Whatcha think to much or just right!
Either way it is what it is and she took it home to try to finish it. Got the call on how and I steered her towards youtube for videos. I mean I have a long arm I have no clue how to quilt with my domestic machine and I don't want to know. I mean if the hubby knew that it could be done.........Before she left to come her her 3 year old great grandson told her to make him a quilt, so...

she picked up this center panel off of the unwanted table. I let her come to my house and shop for matching fabrics. I think a little boy should like the jungle animals. It was a basic pattern just add borders, but another chance to learn. She also took this one home to finish. The other pics were on my phone and haven't learned how to add them to this post so will have to post them separately.


After retreat I quilted my finger to a quilt! Let me tell you pinky finger and a moving Gammill do not mix. It is healed now but the fingernail is slowly chipping off. and it is still numb and hurts to touch but at least it is healed! Not something I want to do again.

This is a quilt from Margie. This woman amazes me with all the different things she does. This was just some fabric she wanted to use and it grew from there. No pattern just her head and thoughts. It was funny to hear from her during this process, she would call and tell me how she measured wrong and now the blocks were the wrong size and she had to figure out a way to make them work. I think it turned out wild and wonderful!!

This is Kathy's quilt she had started to quilt this on her domestic machine and decided that it was not something she wanted to do. She used minkie on the back of this and had spray basted it together. I did have lots of trouble with this one but only in areas that there seemed to be lots of the spray basting. Note to self don't accept quilts with spray basting already done. She had started outlining the flowers and birds but told me to just  do an all over, she just wanted it done. I couldn't let one bird and flower be outlined then do an all over on the rest so yes I did the outlining too. Such a cute panel and it will make some little girl a nice soft blankie.

This is Karen's quilt, it was done as a round robin. Now didn't these gals do a wonderful job! I had to do a custom job on this it deserved something more than an all over. Oh I just hope she liked the end result!





So this is what I have been doing lately besides working 9 hours a day and 4 on Saturdays. Staying busy that is for sure and now the Christmas shopping! Although I got most of it done on Black Friday (ok I had it done on Black Thursday). I asked the hubby today if he thought we could handle taking an angel off the tree to buy for some child. He thought that was a pretty good idea since we have our grand kids done. So tomorrow I am going back out to do that. I have never done this before so I hope I am not biting off more that I can chew. I mean how hard can this be? But it scares me to know that the fate  of some child's happiness is resting on what I get them without even knowing them. I have been leery of this in the past hearing of how some of these kids aren't that desolate and ask for the high priced items. I don't even do that for my grand kids so I know I won't do it for them. I think joy can be found in a book not a video game. but I am trying it any way. Wish me luck.
Well enough for now.
Sew on

Well, well, we have a winner

It seems a little late but I was away for the weekend and just recouped from it. The winner was drawn and Renee was the winner and has been notified.  Now where was I this past weekend and so important to forget to draw a winner?  QUILT RETREAT.  I didn't get a whole lot done, spent my time teaching my cousin to quilt.  She came 300 miles to learn so, we had a piecing marathon . Yes that's her with some of her blocks. She made 3 complete tops small there are but complete, and almost a 4th. Yes we has a lot of fun.

Eye Candy

I went to retreat this past weekend and it always takes a full week to recoup from it so, I will try to post some pics form it. But I have to warn you the ugliest quilt you will ever see is in the group of photos. I took my own advice and tried to go outside of my comfort zone. Oh it failed, failed horribly.

Ok this pic has the 3 tops that I got done at retreat. The far left I added borders to the black and white row x row. The far right I finished the shuffled 9 patch blocks and sashed them. The quilt in the center is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I tired I really did. Why is some can work with these tones and I can't. I used the disappearing 9-patch method and I thought it was going to be great but as you can see it is a horrid blob! I am hoping if I add borders it will help but I don't even know where to start with borders. Stay the course of dark or find something light or....... Oh oh oh what to do. I am at a loss. I really wanted to learn to like these tones but I guess I still have to practice with them. I thought I was good at putting colors together but...... well we can see that something went wrong with this one. In fact so wrong that even ReJena the gal that loves these colors was at a loss for words with this one.
so now lets get to the good ones.

This black n white is a result of two differnt internet swaps. First was a black n white block swap on one of the yahoo groups.Mailblocks I had done this swap years back and had the blocks sitting around. I love the black n white but just never seemed to get anything done with them. Maybe it was because I only had 10 of them and since I like big quilts I just never had the time to make more. So when a rowx row swap came up and we could do anything we wanted, I decided to use the black n whites. 3rd row down was my starting row.  After it came back I added the top row on,so now all my balc n whites are gone and in this top. I struggled with borders. I had an old piece of black n white zig zag fabric that I loved, but there wasn't enough of it. I knew I needed something to make the borders flow or move. I found the zebra print and that was it! I only wish I would have made the border just a little bigger but you know what they say about hind sight!
Well it is late so I will have to give you more eye candy tomorrow when my eyes are fresh and fingers can type better. Night all

Retreat!!

Last weekend I went to a retreat just a couple of miles away. That makes it nice in case I forget something. Like my toothbrush, hairbrush and all other toiletries. Yes I packed in a hurry. Woke up Sat morning ate breakfast and ran home fast, if I would have been many miles away I don't know what I would have done. I think some times I think faster than I can move. Kinda like my typing. I only get every third sentence typed that I think. The retreat was great as usual. I got some sewing done. I spent alot of time just gawking at what others were working on in jealousy.  I put the borders on this Row x Row. I am not sure what I thought it was going to turn out like when I started this RR but it will be a great quilt for the one son that loves black and white. That is if I can part with it.Then I worked on this scrappy top I have been doing for years now. I call it Hidden Stars.

I don't have a pattern for this just making it up as I go along. I have decided it would have been better if... So I might go and change it but then why, it is just another quilt to use. It is not like I make show quilts, so who cares if the colors are a little confusing. So I guess I will plug along on it and if it turns out to look like something then I will look like a genius and if it doesn't then it was never suppose to.

This top is called Paisley Sherbert. I did it off some mystery. It really looks more pink than orange. I had lots of comments on this one, 'I would have never thought to put those colors together. where did you get that idea'  Red, Pink and Orange. Well the red Paisley fabric was from the 60's?. It was 36" wide and I bought it in a box of fabric at an estate auction. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. The Paisley has pink and orange in it so I just went with it.  I even have a pillowcase to match it.  Now I just have to get them quilted. I still have 3 from the last retreat that I bordered yet to quilt.                      

This is my second Row x Row for my club. I did two robins so we could keep the groups even. I had seen this one a couple years back when I did it on a Row x Row for someone else. I knew then that I wanted to do one.I have to get this one bordered yet. Not for sure how to do it. I was thinking maybe frame it out with some dark Navy then add small white border then maybe scrappy either color blocks or piano keys?  Any suggestions?

This is one of my first selvage projects. I had to do a demo at my local club and I decided that it would be on Selvages. I made a potholder and gave it away as the door prize. I made a few flying geese to show right and wrong ways to put selvages together. (overlapping and such)  Then I made these two projects. The wallhanging will be a bed top someday. I decided since I was using a part that we have always just thrown away that I would use more fabric that most just throw away. So I dug out the poly cotton blend and used it. I have a wide variety of colors of poly cotton blend and have decided that I am going to make one of these stars out of every color I have, then join them together, to make a full size top. So yes now I have another UFO

The purse I made in one afternoon, I just wanted to show them that you could do anything. After visiting Karen's blog my small samplings seem like a drop in the bucket. But boy these gals where in awe. I told them to go to Karens and there they would see Awesome. This purse pattern is from 1946. I really don't see how anyone could sew anything back then. The pattern was horribley (I know there is no such word is there) written. Line with Cheese cloth add stiffner. What the heck is that? Well the picture looked like the boning we have now. I used batting and that was a mistake, the sides should have 3 pleats but too thick. But it does stand on its own tho. The stiffner went around the top, so the zipper would stay receded. I am guessing! But it is usable and I have had a lot of remarks on this one!

Ok this is a Row by Row off the internet group, it belongs to Nancy. This is a stunner. I sure hated to pass this one on. I am going to keep this pattern in mind for my next row x row.

I'm still here

I know that you all thought I fell off the earth. Well not really, just seems that way, I have been real busy. I still have the Christmas photos to post and 3 row by rows that I have been doing. Two are close to being done and are ready to be passed on Thrus night at club meeting and the 3rd is a new start from an internet group. I went to a retreat this past weekend and tried to sew up a storm but get this it was so hot I could hardly work. Now mind you it was 15 outside but (it felt to me) like 100 inside. I found myself wondering the front rooms supervising layouts of blocks instead of in there sewing my own. Still had a great time and did get some things done. I wish I would have brought hand stuff to do but oh well hind sight.....

Here are some quilts that ReJena has made. She does wonderful work!!

Stashbusting Retreat

Ok I really think they call it Quiltville retreat but stashbusting is just as good. Yes you got it Bonnie Hunter is coming and giving workshops. Woohoo! I can't wait. I just found the retreat and got the last spots available. God is shining on me. I have known for years that I need to bust stash, and Lord knows I love the scrappy quilts, I just have a hard time with a system. I have read and re-read Bonnie's method and makes perfect sense to me BUT I only have time for one cut. 2.5" squares. I do have a small tote with 1.5" squares but those 2.5" are out of control. I am hoping that even tho this retreat is a workshop for her quilts that I can still come away with enough enthusiasm for getting organized in my stash. I know that scrappy quilts are my favorite. (Oh what am I saying! They are all my favorite) But to prove a point here are some pics of some of my quilts I have done.



Here is a pic of one that I made years ago it is with 2.5" squares. This one went to my son and his wife. They do use it alot and I am glad. I call this Susan's Vacations Interrupted. Those are little mini trips around the world, so they must be vacations right and then there are 9-patches right in the middle. There are over 2,000 squares and these were all cut and pieced individually. I can't believe that I actually did this now that I know the strip piecing method. We live and learn.

This top on the right was given to my other son. I call it String Therapy. I tried to use something other than the 2.5" squares. I must have been tired of them after Susan's Vacation, but I never really got into the strings either. So I don't think there will be another string quilt. The quilt on the left is one of 4 I made with the Rail Fence, each one of my 3 grandkids got one of these I call them Bars from the Past, since most of the fabrics are from the 50's and 60's. I would have never made 4 of these but I bought a box of fabric at an auction and these bars were pre cut so off to the races I went. You see I can't throw anything out. I keep it all. Poly blends, see thrus are ok with me I just use them for linings in my purse or something like that. Yes I need to get a grip on my stash