One Month Gone Already

Wow! time flies when you're having fun!
I finished my commission quilts and they are in the wash right now. My customer will soon have them, and I'm confident she will like them! I will show a pix before sending them out.
I have several projuects going, and a finish, but it still needs to be bound, so no picture yet-the Spring Valentine.
All my table runners are done and posted on etsy. Take a look on my etsy site-the link is on the sidebar.
God Bless!
Mary

My Yours Truely Round Robin quilt

I finished the second round of the round robin we are doing in our Carol Doak group. We don't send the quilts around, just do them for ourselves-going by Carol's instructions for each round. This round was to use only two colors-it could be different shades of two colors, but just two. So I used rose and blue, and tried to tie them in with the center block-I showed the first round on a previous post. It's turning out great, as everyone else's in the group is!

Mary

Several Carol Doak blocks

I have been making blocks for the Star block exchange this week, and I also made two table runners featuring Carol Doak's blocks. I have pictures!

The 9-patch star book is becoming one of my favorites. The pictures to the right are for the block exchange, all from that book. The Valentine's day table runner is from Carol's 300 PP block book. The blue and purple TR is from Carol's yahoo group files. She designs special blocks from time to time. This one is a New Year's Day block for 2010.

I enjoy the yahoo group and the great ideas and inspiration I get from it!

At last-Pictures!

It has taken me awhile to learn to put new photos on with this new computer. I just had to sit down and figure it out, really! I wanted to show a little of what things I have been doing and maybe write some goals for 2010.

In October, I finished one of the quilt tops for my commission, and never was able to show a picture, so here it is! I have since finished quilting the first of the two, and also sent my customer a coordinating wall hanging. This has been one of the most special projects I have worked on. She ill end up with about 5-6 quilts eventually.

In November, I made a table runner for a Carol Doak challenge, but never was able to show the picture, so I will now. These little runners are so satisfying to make that I think the next thing I try on etsy will be a series of table runners!Check out my etsy shop at http://www.mkhquilts.etsy.com/ to see what I do!

In December, I have worked on some donations to Quilts for Kids, a great project to get small colorful quilts to hospitalized children. I have sent four so far. It is a great program sponsored by Downy fabric softner. They send you a kit to make a quilt with very nice high quality fabrics in nice bright colors. You can also send your own designs in too. The picture I have to show is of one I made out of a panel fabric. The print is for making a fabric book "Teaching Children to Pray", but I just used parts of it for the quilt. It is my favorite one that I have sent in to this program. I hope it becomes special to some child out there!

Carol Doak's group has started this year off with a Your's Truely Round Robin. The first part is a center star of your choice. I chose the pattern-"Rays of Hope", found on Carol's website. I wanted a large dramatic block and I love the name, so I chose this one. I also really love the colors I chose. That aqua blue was jumping out at me everywhere I went shopping last week! I think I bought about 4 fabrics with that color in it! So here is the center-should be interesting where it goes from here! This RR is done without sending it anywhere-just at home with the creative guidelines that Carol comes up with at each round.

This month, Heartstrings is doing a pillowcase project-inspired by the Allpeoplequilt.com million pillowcase project. For me, I had several fabrics that I wanted to move out of my stash and into the world where they would do some good. Besides that, those pillowcases are fun, FUN to make! Instant gratification happens with creating them. I have made 31 of them, but I made some of those for my family. We needed new pillowcases too! This picture only shows 22 of them, but you can see what a great variey of fabrics and colors can be used!

Soooo:

Goals for 2010:

1.Finish the commission quilts by mid-Feb.

2.Quilt at least one UFO a week. (for me that's a lofty goal!)

3. Ride the exercize bike at least three times a week.

4. Keep doing all the projects I have started. There's about 6-7 of them right now. I can't start anything new now. I ran out of project baskets!

Hope and Blessings for this New Year to All!

Mary

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!