Christmas is Over

and it was great! We spread the festivities over three days! Christmas Eve at Shara's sister Diane's house. Diane is a vibrant, lively, fun-loving gal about a year older than Shara. She has had Christmas Eve at her house for several years now. As always there is lots of food, people, and noisey fun. We drank hot buttered rums and laughed it up as usual! Opened about a million gifts, then it was time for home and bed...? We were up until about 1230!
Christmas day: Shara had to work that night, so we just had brunch at Northern Quest Casino with my mom, our two boys and me. We only had two hours, but it was fine. I spent the rest of the day quilting on my commission quilt. I had sent the wall hanging to the customer on the 24th, so wanted to progress on the quilt! I also finished another log cabin scrappy.
Oh, did I mention I am making some log cabin quilts? They are great for using up smaller strings. I have done one in the barn-raising design with scrappy colored center squares, and the other is court house steps with reds in ther center squares. The next one will have reds again-I had enough 2.5 inch squares cut for two quilts.
But I digress...the 26th, we went out to my brother Bill and Ginny's for an after Christmas day Christmas. We all were able to come, except Phyllis, who was unable to come up from New Mexico. My family was finally able to meet Matt's girlfriend Linda. They all seemed to like her, and she seemed comfortable with them. I hope, I hope, there might be...dare I say it...wedding bells! And maybe someday a grandbaby! Well, not so fast Mary! They are still young, and by today's standard, too young to seriously think about marriage! Living together for over a year is another thing entirely! I guess I just want them to be happy, and I will reign in my grandma hopes until they are really ready!
That was my holiday. I am working as usual over New Year's. I ask for all of Christmas off, so now I must give back by working over that holiday. I think New Year's is a quiet reflective time for us, and things like First Night Spokane are just not that important to us, so for us it is better to work.
I am now making pillow cases, our current Heartstrings project. I finished to quilting on my commission quilt today. As I mentioned, I am starting another log cabin soon, and will make more string blocks for the block cupboard-blue centered this time. I have a couple of paper pieced projects going too. And maybe a third. Carol Doak should start a new BOM project soon. I signed upfor the star swap, and am working on a 5500 member block project.
As I keep saying, I will try to get pictures up soon!

Computer fixed again!

Thanks to our dear friend Steve Dawson, our computer is up and running again. I have not tried to upload pictures yet, but will later. He pretty much had to wipe out all the programming and start agin from scatch. Thanks to Shara's foresite, we put alot of important things on an external harddrive. I did not know how valuable those were!
I've been working on finishing things for 2009, because I'd like to start new for 2010. I'm going to give away or take off my etsy website several things that did not sell this year. I'm not sure which new direction to go, but I think it might be fewer large quilts, some table runners, and maybe I'll think about doing some custom work. I have one commission that is almost done-the quilt is on the frame now! I have her wallhanging done, just need to label and wash it.
I'm waiting for Carol Doak to put a new monthly quilt on line. I think she was going to do one in January. I also want to do something with her 5500 member block.
Heart-strings still is a passion of mine-I put together a full set of orange centered blocks and have a box of red string blocks to send in. I also will make some blue centered ones later. The block inventory had gotten low, so we are trying to build it up again.
As for Christmas plans-that's where some of my etsy items are going!
Oh, and I gave both our nephews a quilt as they are doing very well after having gotten out of prison recently. They are both working and staying clean and out of trouble. No drugs,etc. I have stated before how much I hate meth and the devestation it creates in people's lives. These young men are a perfect example. I pray every day that they will continue to find the strength to stay clean and sober!
God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Love
Mary

Computer woes continue!

Our new computer isn't working very well! For some reason, it looses programs. Or the programs don't work. I tried to upload pictures in the Carol Doak online group-couldn't do it! I couldn't even get the pictures to transfer from camera to computer. The printer and the computer don't like each other either. I had alot of new finishes, but I still can't show them. I hope we can get things figured out soon! I get a little frustrated with the whole thing!

I'm going to attempt to post some new picture, This new computer isn't always very cooperative!
Well, okay, I couldn't get it to upload...I have several things finished, most of which will go to charities. The quilt show was wonderful, and I wanted to show our Mountain of Quilts project. I don't know the exact count, but it looked like hundreds of quilts for various local charites!
Mary-who is still trying to work out the bugs in this new computer.

We're Back!
Yes we got a new computer today, and when we get the photo program loaded, I can start posting pictures again. I've missed having one of these PC's at home! This one doesn't like our printer yet, but Shara is working on it!

God bless
Mary

Let's try this again!
I ment to write a little about our vacation when we got home, but found our computer had crashed...Total TU! I just have access at work, until we get a new one. We will go computer shopping this weekend I hope.
The vaca was nice and relaxing. No money issues, Shara and I mostly got along well. It was a good time. We went antiqueing several times during the trip, and I would like to post pix of some of the treasures we found, but until we have a home computer, I can't! I found a lovely crazy quilt with red velvet backing in one antique store. In another, I found a hand embroidered panel of an old fashioned dock scene. I think that might go well with some light house fabric I have had for awhile to make a little wall hanging. Or maybe I will just frame it as is.

Hello from Oregon!

We are finally on vacation! We are going to the Oregon coast this year, but first spending a couple days in Portland. Shara has a cousin here. We are staying in a hotel that has computer access-public computer.We don't have a laptop...
Anyway, back to the vaca...We will go from here to Pacific City and stay in a cabin at the 1000 trails presewrve there. It is a week of relaxing and antiqueing and beach combing and movies and some hand applique work. No, not a sewing machine! And that is OK!
Hop to find some treasures to share though! See you after the 25th!

God Bless
Mary

Wow!

It has been a month and a half since I posted! I have been diligently sewing quilt tops and finished two quilts. I also made the RWB blocks for the Carol Doak site swap and got them sent off. I just don't have pictures to show!
The end of July was very sad. We lost our dear Dad, Boyd Ressel. He was 87 years old and had been suffering from increasing dementia for around 6 years, but declined rapidly after falling at the nursing home. Falls are often the things that cause elders to decline, and this was no exception. We will miss him greatly, but he is no longer suffering. He would not want to live that way any longer. I know he is with God, conducting meetings with the angels!
I must admit, my quilting was a haven of rest during that time, as it often is when I have stress in my life. I brought my commission quilt blocks to work on when we went to Mom's house. We drove back and forth nearly every day that week. I also finished my RWB blocks and sent them in. I'm glad for quilting, as I can think about all the memories of my Dad and family, and have quilting to comfort me too.
I will post some pictures soon, I just need to photograph some things! I took Bailey down to the sewing machine doctor this week, now she is humming like a new machine again! Should have some more finished quilts ready and new stuff for etsy too reaaly soon!

God bless you all-remember to cherish your loved ones. We all are limited in out time here!

Mary

More pictures

I have pictures! I have two that will go to Sally House-someone donated some great tiger panels, and I made one with a panel on the front, and the other is backed with two of them.

I also have a simple patchwork squares one that is going to Sally House. It has a baseball themed fabric on the back, so it is great for a little boy. I forgot to take a pix of the back!

I also have my Batik wallhanging done, and the Kimono one..

These are going to be in the show this October.

Right now I am doing a commission for a lady living is New York. It will be a total of four quilts. Fun!!

This is the Preliminary design.

Mystery quilt-finished top.

Since being home from Seattle, I have worked on finishing projects. I have a picture of my Carol Doak paper pieced Mystery quilt:

Isn't it pretty! I have no idea how I'm going to quilt it, probably an all over simple design. The piecing is what is the focus of this design. Carol is a great designer!

Seattle Sew-In

We returned from the sew-in a few days ago. It was a fun experience. The picture here is of Cindy Carter and a little visitor we had after lunch. She was very interested in what we were doing, so Cindy showed her how to piece the fabric together. She went home with a bag of goodies! Her dad has a contact number from Cindy to get a machine for the little girl. We have a new budding quilter!

Jamal and Virginia are hard at work. And so is Kaylin, and Melva.

Shara got into it too with ironing and

rotary cutting.

It was great fun-the banter amoung quilters being the most fun. Hope to do it again in the future.

Fun at My Brother's House

My sister Phyllis is moving (SOB) from Seattle to New Mexico. Her DH works for BN railroad, and got transferred, and promoted. We had a get together at our brother Bill's house, and I thought I would share some pictures of his place and of Phyllis with the Gypsy Star quilt I gave her. For some reason, I could not think of a better place for this quilt to go. I was going to show it in the Oct show, but since she is moving, well, I thought she needed it worse than I needed to show it! Bill and Ginny-his wife-have 2 acres in the middle of some wheat fields north of Sprague WA. It is pretty stark and dry there, except where Bill's place is-It is like an oasis!

These are only a few picture of the lovely gardens Bill and Ginny have created. There are little "outdoor rooms" all over the place, and a new view around every corner. It is great!

As you can see, Phyllis is happy with her quilt, and Bill makes a great display stand!

Thanks for a lovely time Bill and Ginny.

God Bless

Mary

PS-This weekend is the West Coast Sew-in in Seattle. I'll post pix when we're back.

Monday night at work

Very calm night! I haven't charted yet, but Ill get to it.
I was happy with my progress on my quilting yesterday. I got the Kimono quilt done and a Sally House one as well. They are well on their way to being done binding too. I'm planning to show the Kimono Quilt in Oct in the WSQ show. I'll post a pix sometime soon, still have to get CD's for transferring pix.
We are going to Seattle this coming week-end for the Heartstrings West Coast sew-in. I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully we'll have good attendance. Some of the ones who were going to go can't make it now...life has a way of changing from one month to the next!
Will post some pix of that too.

God Bless-
Mary

Sunday is quilting day

So why am I blogging instead?
The Carol Doak Mystery Quilt is coming along, and she just uploaded another part to the pattern-part four.
I am going to quilt the Asian fabrics quilt on my frame first, and then tackle those blocks.
I also need to go to the store and get some embroidery floss for a little applique project I started last night.
I also have hanging sleeves to put on two wallhangings, and binding to do on a Sally House quilt.
Where to start! I love quilting and love to stay busy doing it!
I can't download pictures for awhile, as we ran out of CD's-I have to put the pictures on a CD before downloading it on my blog or on the Carol Doak and Heartstrings sites. Enough for now-I need to get to quilting!!

Mary H

Ziggy-My Little Helper

I also want to show my little helper-He was a little camera shy. No I'm not choking him! Ziggy is the one cat in our house that loves to hang out in the sewing room alot of the time. He lets me use it as my work room, but believes I make all these pretty things just for him to sleep on!

PS

I forgot I was going to show my postcards and Lottery blocks, so here they are:
I still have to put my June BOM on the disk.. . I forgot:(.
I really like the block with the stripe, and am tempted to keep it for myself and make more for a quilt and set the blocks on point. I really like the way they look on point. I will see what I want to do later. I do need to start some Sally House quilts after I get done with the Calicoes quilt. So much to do and so little time!
Mary

New pix to share2

I wanted to show my quilt I am in progress with first. It is called "Calicoes" in Fons and Porter's latest magazine-I think the June issue. I love this design because it includes two of my favorite traditional blocks: Churn Dash and Friendship Star.I have loaded up several totes, pillows, and a few quilts on etsy.com lately, there is a link to it on the sidebar. Haven't sold anything since January...the economy? Where has all the "stimulus money" gone? Oh well, I still like Obama. Hey maybe I should see if his daughters would like a quilt! Here's a few of my lateset etsy things:

I'm still binding the Trip Around the World, will show a picture soon. That darn thing took longer than I thought it would! I hope it is worth it. I think it will be one of my entries in the October quilt show in Spokane.

God Bless you all,

Mary H

Nothing Much New

I still have the Trip Around the World on the frame...not quilted! I started a scrappy/fat quarter quilt-actually, I have the blocks all made and its on the wall starting to put together. I made and sent my post cards-will post a pix at home today. I picked out some fabrics for a new mystery quilt on Carol D's yahoo chat. Am going to make another June challenge block...my first turned out too small. I figured out how to print the patterns correctly now. Anyway-I hope I will have new pix of finished things soon.
Check out my etsy site-new pillows and purses!

God Bless-
Mary H

Up date on things

I have finished several quilts since I last posted. The Trip Around the World (TATW) is finally on the frame, the thread is set up, but no stiches taken yet. I finished the Churn Dash in teal-hated the quilting-so I'm not going to post a picture of it yet. It is going to be on my bed, not for giving or sale. I finished and gave a Happy quilt to Nina, a nurse at work.
I have sent in a block for the Carol Doak group May block lottery. I hope to win some blocks some time, we'll see! I still have one more postcard to make, then send them for the postcard swap. Still working on my Bahama Breezes blocks...I think I need to call this quilt Golden Breezes or Hot Winds-the colors are Orange and Lime green, not really what I imagine a Bahama Breeze would be like...the original quilt in the magazine is yellow and green and teal-much cooler looking.
Looking forward to the sew-in in Seattle-still a month and a half away. I think I need to continue sorting my scraps and stripes and put some in a box for the trip. Never hurts to get ready early! LOL. I get so excited about going somewhere!
I'll make a goal list later, right now, I need to get back to work!

God bless-Mary

Plant a Seed

I finished binding my Plant a Seed quilt and have a picture or two to share. I would like to show it in the quilt show in October, but must fix the outer border. I quilted it with a wave design...the waves were going one way one the top, and then started going the other way when I rolled the quilt forward! I don't know how Icould have forgotten it that fast, I did it all on the same day! Just eager to finish it I guess. I also quilted Welcome Spring in the middle of the quilt. It is hard to see, but the sentiment is there.

I also have the little bow tie done. I think I will give it to a young RN at work who I have gotten to know over this past year, and enjoy working with. She is having her baby in July I believe.

I'm almost done with my TATW, finally. The patchwork got to be tedious, but I'm looking forward to quilting it.

5 Quilts!

I had this weekend off, and had the time and energy to quilt several quilts. Five to be exact! Yesterday, I was on a roll thet would not stop. three of them were smaller that 36" square, so they are small, but still...they are quilted. Four of them are bound, and the Plant a seed one is still waiting. I'll post pix asap. To update my list:

1. New quilt on the frame-two Churndash variation quilts. I liked the pattern from...I think it was from The Quilter Magazine...so I made two in different colorways. I loaded the teal one today, and will try to get going on the quilting tomorrow. I also want to quilt a small wallhanging that I made from batiks and marbled fabrics bought at the quilt show last year, and I used blocks from Jacque designs-she has a shop on etsy.com. She does the most amazing pictorial hand dyed designs. I bought some a long time ago, and finally decided to do something with them. I made a attice windows type setting with the pictures and the batiks/marbled fabrics. I am a little scared to quilt it, as I don't want to ruin it!

2. No progress made on the scrap stash being cut into usable sizes, so time to work on that!

3. I signed up to make postcards to exchange with the Carol Doak Group, so will play with those soon.

4. I need to post some new items on etsy. Have several, just need pix and time to get them posted!

5. Niece's b-day coming up...need to make a gift. I think a fabric purse or tote bag would be perfect.

6.I still am working on the TATW quilt. still piecing it bit by bit. I also am making a pp quilt from Quiltmaker magazine. I slowly coming along on it too. I have some nautical fabrics left from the tote bag I made, so will make a small quilt top out of that.

Okay, the list is not really complete, but there is enough for the rest of this month and into the next!

God Bless You All!

Mary H

So...New to do list

I have finished 5 quilts in March. Feel pretty good about that. They are bound too. I posted the pix last week (see below). Now I have new stuff to do!

1. Sew that darn label on the QOV and get it to Alycia! I keep getting sidetracked, and haven't yet. So It has to be a priority for today.

2. Quilting: Those two house quilts are still waiting. One is loaded and the other is ready to load. One will go on etsy.com, the other will be a Hospice or Daybreak one.
I also have a scrapy heart quilt, and my Plant a Seed wall quilt. I also have a baby quilt of the extra blocks from the big one I made last month. I am thinking of giving it to another gal at work who is expecting her 2nd baby in June. That is five for April. Not too hard! Three of them are small!

3. My Trip Around the World is still in pieces, so goal is to finishe the quilt top. MAYBE I can get it quilted before the guild meeting at the end of April...or maybe the June meeting!

4. I started working on my scrap bins-sorting the larger strings out, and cutting smaller ones into 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3.5 inch squares. This was an idea from Bonnie Hunter's blog. Thank you Bonnie! I have to tame the scrap bin lion somehow! sending out some to fellow Heartstringers was a help, but I needs to make it more organized. Thsi will be an ongoing, yearlong project!

5. I also am working on making blocks for fabric scrap pillows out of my left over half sq. triangles. Any time I do a pattern that uses stitch and flip methods, I sew another line of stitching, and can use the hst for something else. I started a small broken dishes quilt top too with the 2" hst's I have-there were a GOB of them! I'll post some pix of the pillows and quilt at some later date.

There...April is all filled up with quilting projects! I also need to use some of the fabric I bought at the WSQ yard sale. I bought about 25 yds of fabric at 1-3 dollars a yard...and it is good stuff too. I will have to see what ideas I can come up with soon. I won't be buying anymore fabric until...June? Can I hold out that long? We'll see!

God Bless You All
Mary

New pix to share

I took these pix awhile ago, but finally have time to post them!

First I want to show my finished Gypsy Star quilt. I think it is very pretty, and even though the quilting is very simple, it still turned out well. The quilting is kind of meandering, but also some places look like amoebas! Shows my science background huh?

I also want to show my next QOV to go to Alycia in Colorado. I call it Welcome Home Soldier. When I was quilting it, I thought of all the soldiers over in Iraq and how much I pray everyday for them to finish up over there and come home! I also thought of how many of my son's generation of young men and women will never be the same for being over there. I quilted welcome home soldier and thank you right into the quilt. And toward the bottom, I quilted God Bless America and You have fought the good fight.You can't see it in the picture, even up close, but it is there with all the prayer and blessings I can give.

I did make a couple quilts for either Hospice house or Daybreak-thats a local teen shelter:

And last, but not least is my Pineapple Variation. I said earlier I wasn't too happy with the quilting, but I still think it is pretty. The colors really are great, and the pattern is wonderful. It is from Fons and Porte's Love of quilting magazine-I think Spetember or October issue, 2008.

I also have been making blocks for the BOM in Carol Doak's paper piecing yahoo group. They are fun and cute, and I love paper piecing, so it suits me well. I will post some completed works when I am done!

Yes, quilting is my haven, and I love to share my work. I look forward to time to quilt and time to blog. I thank God for giving me this to enjoy.

God bless you,

Mary

Progress!!

I quilted two quilts today, the Gypsy Star and the Log Cabin. I plan on binding them in the morning...do need to sleep! Shara wants to do a movie and tequila afternoon, and if I don't have something to keep my hands busy, I'll get drowsy...Shara gets a little irked by that! I can understand:-)
I will be posting a bunch of pics soon...and I did reach the goal of 5 quilts quilted for this month. I may be able to get that 6th one done this month. I have one of my crazy pieced houses loaded on the frame now.

Progress on List

I finished the Pineapple Variation, even though I'm not very happy with the quilting. I got in a hurry and it is a little sloppy. I do much better with free motion overall patterns. When I try to do block by block ones, I have trouble. I may need to take classes! I also finished the one I intend for Alycia's QOV project. Both are ready for the binding to sew down, so I'll post them after that is done. I added the Strip Twist to the finished list, but it is half quilted right now. I should get it done today. So...New List:

1. Quilt: Gypsy Star, 2 Crazy Houses, Log Cabin, Scrappy Heart. These are the ones that are ready to load right now. I'm trying to make a dent in my UFO pile!

2. Finish Bow Tie Quilt. I may have enough blocks for a baby quilt too.

3. Have some fabrics I want to put together for a planned color scheme quilt. Also another tote bag-have fabrics chosen for that too.

4. Bindings on the quilts I finished quilting.

5. Still cleaning and reorganizing the room.

6.Still need to do some QAYG blocks!

7. Send QOV one to Alycia when done, and pillowcase made.

Whew! That's enough for now!

Working on my goals

I did get my tote bag made for work. It is twice as big as my old one, so I don't carry my purse, just put everything in the tote. I carry my lunch and books to look at (quilting ones of course), and wallet/cellphone/ keys. I had so much fun making that first one, that I made two more-one for Shara and one as an extra. The patterns are from M'Liss Rae Hawley's book on fat quarter bags and purses. There are lots of very cute ideas in it. I may make some to go on etsy.
So here is an updated list for March:

1. Quilting! I still have not finished the one on my frame-the pineapple variation. I want to try to quilt 6 this month, so I must get that one off the frame. I got bogged down with it, and am having a hard time going forward. The others include:
QOV to send to alycia
Strip twist
Gypsy Star
Two Crazy House quilts.
2.I started a new project too-a bow tie quilt. The blocks are very fast and easy. They are only 6 inches, so I need about 120 of them, or more. I cut lots of squares out of scrap bin and from left overs-so it is very scrappy.
3. QAYG blocks for the Aussie project. I needed more strings to use-hence the cutting up of leftovers!
4. Tote bags to put on etsy.

I think I will stop with those goals this month-that is enough!

Goals being met-2

It is good to have the goal list and have something to work toward. I started quilting the Pineapple variation on my frame today (2/23). I was nervous about quilting it as I did not know what I wanted to do. Once I started, it is amazing how easy to figure out it was. This quilt is from the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine from Oct 2008. It was a great pattern and challenging too.
I sent out 4 boxes of strips and scraps to various people in HS, and I'm already adding to my scrap bins with border pieces that I cut recently. Never ending...I wouldn't want it any other way.
I finished the string quilt top I was working on and made the backing, batting, and cut out the pillowcase-it is going to be a QOV quilt. I also finished the logcabin quilt top and got the backing partly made. This will be a donation locally. I'm using a thicker decorator fabric for the backing, as well as some flannel pieces. I thought a warm cuddly quilt would be nice.
So, to redo my list:

1. Finish the quilts I want to give to Hospice House.
2. Make a work tote bag.
3. Quilts to quilt: Pineapple variation-on the frame now; Gypsy Star, Strip Twist, Heart strings one for QOV, Log cabin.
4. Continue the job of cleaning and reorganizing my sewing spaces.

Lots to do! Happy Quilting Everyone!

Mary H

Goals being met

Since I made my goals list, I have been working toward them. I got my QOV in the mail for Alycia's project, and have been cleaning out my scrap bins. I have boxed up for large shoeboxes of strips to send to fellow HS'ers. One went out to Wanda in Florida on Thursday, and the other three will hopefully go to three others.
While I was digging through those scraps, I pulled out lots of pieces that were 1" to 1.5" and...well you guessed it...started another quilt! I was going to finish the string quilt I am making first, but instead started a log cabin scrappy. Mary J of HS has been making log cabin blocks with her strips, and that inspired me to do it too. Those little blocks are fun to make and they don't have to be perfect. I'll just trim them to make them all the same size when they are big enough.
New pictures will be coming soon.

God Bless-Mary

List of Things to do

I was reading Mary Johnson's blog (Heartstrings), and she had written a list of thing to do. I thought this was an excellent idea. Great for organizing my thoughts and helping to accomplish goals. Here is mine for the rest of this month and into the next:

1. Sew labels on the back of three Happy Quilts, one QOV, and one string quilt.
2. Get the QOV quilt sent to Alycia (HS'er)
3. Gather the quilts together to donate, to Hospice, and Sally House-finish anything that needs doing, and drop off the Hospice ones. The Sally House ones will go to the guild meeting in April.
4. Finish making current string top.
5. Make a new tote bag for work.
6. Tops that I want to quilt this month:
One that is on the frame now.
Gypsy Star
Strip Twist
2 Crazy Patch Houses
That is 5 quilts, so I doubt if I can get them all quiltedin February (but of course this list is for March too!:-). So I will add the current string top to the list.
7. Clean my sewing room. This includes pulling out all the fabric bins, sweeping behind them, and sorting through the scrap bins. Plus getting rid of the exteranious stuff in the closet.

Ok I think that is a good start to a goals list...I'll update with progress notes!

Two New Quilt Tops

I made two new tops in the last couple weeks. One inspired from a Thimble berries book, and one from a Heartstringer's blog pages.

The Thimbleberries pattern is just for a small table topper, but I decided to make several of the blocks and make a large lap size or sofa throw. Here's the book page:

Here's the quilt in progress:

In this pix I had not added the border, and I was debating on what I wanted. A ribbon border would have been great, but I ran out of background fabric. So I decided to do a plain old fabric strip one. I had two choices of combinations:

I chose the one with the large blue and burgandy paisleys and the burgandy dots. When it is quilted I will show the finished product.

I also made a Strip Twist from a pattern designed by a fellow Heartstringer. This will go to Hospice House. I have 3-4 quilts for them, so I need to get them over there!

And here is the backing fabric-isn't it yummy!? I got hungry for strawberries after working with this fabric, and Shara bought some today! Gives one hope that this winter will eventually end!!!

More Pix

How about this, two posts in one day!

I took pix of the finished quilt top, the finished string quilt and a cake I made for my beautiful niece's graduation. First the cake:

Brianna is a smart and talented young woman, who graduated early from high school and now is attending college. She is taking pre req classes to get into the nursing program. Of course, I am thrilled that she chose nursing!

Now those two quilts.

The Blue and Yellow still needs it's binding sewn down, but I'm showing it now because I got the pix taken! I'm not sure where it will go yet, but I'm thinking Hospic House.

Then the quilt top: I'm excited about quilting this one!

I'll post it when done.

A Couple New Pix

I have a couple new pix. One of my third Happy quilt and one that I was going to post awhile ago, but didn't get around to until now. The quilt top is done now, so I'll get a picture of it soon. First the Happy quilt:

Then the quilt top laid out on the design wall. It had to be put together bit by bit, as the pieces are all interconnected. It was a wonderful pattern and I'm going to call it Gypsy Stars. Fun and challenging, it was from Love of Quilting Magazine-Feb 2009 issue. I will put it in the quilt show in October.

I have another quilt top I'm working on, out of a Thimbleberries book. It was also a challenging block. I'm calling it Valentine Star-I'll post a picture soon. Oh! and I finished the Yellow and Blue Heartstrings quilt-all but the binding.

QOV

Yesterday, Gloria on the Heartstrings website asked me where I got the pattern for the QOV quilt. I got the book out so I could give her a specific title and found I had the wrong author written down. It is from Nancy Martin's book "A Treasury of Scrap Quilts". The border blocks are from Quiltmaker July/Aug. 2007-No. 116-the pattern name is Ribbon Tribute. I just wanted to make that correction.

I started a new quilt top from the latest Fons and Porter magazine called Gypsy Rose. I love the challenge of the piecing-it is mostly 1/2 sq. triangles, so I use a walking foot for the piecing. I'll hopefully be able to post some pix at home tomorrow. Shara said out computer is not working...oh no!

Happy quilt with novelty border

The picture did not post, so here it is, I also forgot to include my blue and yellow strings quilt top.

Charity Quilting

I have been enjoying making quilts for Heartstrings since the big snowfall in Dec. I have finished 2 Happy Block quilts, 1 QOV, and I have another Happy quilt to quilt and a string top. So...it's time for pictures.

First is my Happy quilt for a girl to be donated to Sally House. I like the purple border and binding.











Second is my first Quilt of Valor. I love the block I put in the center. It is from Judy Martin's book Scrap Quilts. The border is from a Quiltmaker magazine paperpieced pattern. I was tired of thet pattern by the time I made all those 6 inch blocks, but I sure like the effect around the inner blocks.











Third is a Happy quilt with a novelty border. I had several novelty squares left over and I did not wasnt to make anymore happ blocks, so I cut them in 1/2 and sewed them all into a border. It turned out pretty wild, but the thing grew on me after I quilted and bound it.

January

Well, it is a new year, and I have resolved to be more active in my Heartstrings quilt group. I also want to get involved with the charity group here locally-I can't think of the name right off hand-but they make quilts to donate locally. Some of them might enjoy the Heartstrings project too. I started off the year by making 201 Happy blocks and just about finished a blue and yellow string quilt. I am going to quilt this one myself and donate locally. The Happy blocks are for some small quilts to give to Sally House and the rest will be sent to the Heartstrings block collection. They will be combined with others from all over and made into quilts for kids at a sew-in some time in the spring.
I also have just about finished a QOV quilt-Quilts of Valor. These are donated to returning soldiers, many of whom are wounded. I will send this one to a lady with Heartstrings who is collecting them for soldiers. Her goal was to have 400 of them to donate...not sure if there is a dead line or not.
I do have a few new things for my etsy site as well. I did manage to finish a basket quilt that is cute to sell. I still have a big pile of quilt tops waiting to be quilted, so my second resolution is to finish 5 quilt tops a month from ones I already have made. That is the goal anyway, so if I shoot for that, I may clean out my backlog of quilt tops by the end of the year! Will post some new pix soon...I'm writing this on a break at work!