February's Work

I know I'm quite behind but, oh, the computer has given me fits....

So here is my February accomplishments:

This one I'm calling Botany and I got ten more of those wonky diamonds done.

On the strip quilt, I've added 10 more blocks and 12 more little nine-patches.

 Four pretty flamingos join the animal collection.

 These are so fun, huh!  I just painted the legs like I did for the lions last time.

 This one I'm calling the India quilt.  So far, I'm just drawing sketches and getting some ideas together.  Stay tuned to see this elephant in color later.

 These are Mosaic blocks.  I started them in a swap about a year ago and then the swap was disbanded so I'm going ahead with them on my own.

 Here is one more sailboat to add to that collection.  This one was fun because it is my first wonky boat and I made the little yellow flag 3D so it stands out from the block.

Next, on to my swaps:

For PQA, I made for myself two of the 4-patch ladders for my own quilt to go with those that the other ladies are making for me.

 And this block I made for Nicole.  She is going to have a beautiful quilt.

For Block Swap Adventure:

I made this one for Helen K. in England.  She wanted a star in yellow and gray.

And this is the one she made and sent to me. (Crazy that we made the same block.)  This one will go with the sailboats.  I think it's great!

For the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap:

I made these for Joke R. in the Netherlands.

 And these I received from Lori J. in Tennessee.  My black-eyed-susan quilt is really growing.  I'll have to share my progress on it later.

Phew!  Is that enough?  How good it feels to really get some things done - a little on lots of different projects.

January's Blocks

I've decided to approach my quilting projects a little different in 2012.

I really enjoy the swaps that I'm in and I came to realize that the reason why I like them is because I feel like I've finished something each time.  Even if it's only a 12 inch block or hexi-flower.  It fills a need - a need to feel like I'm accomplishing something.

So, I've decided to set specific goals each month for each different project including some that have been sitting neglected for a long time.  That way, by accomplishing small steps I'll eventually get some big projects done.

So, here's the ones I checked off my to-do list in January:

 My swap commitments are first priority.  The above block I sent to Heather G. for the Block Swap Adventure (BSA).  (I still haven't seen or heard anything from her????)

 These hexi-flowers are for Paula O. for the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.

Those are my two swaps.  Now on to my projects.

 I made 15 of these Hole in the Barn Door blocks in January.  They got a little monotonous so I think I'll skip them in Feb. and do them again in March.  They are all blues and whites and I think they will look great when they are in a quilt together.

The block I requested from my BSA partners for 2011 were sailboat blocks.  It's been fun to see all the different ones I've received.  Well, unfortunately, some of my partners didn't follow through on the commitment so I'm making a few to fill in the gaps.  Here's the January addition:

 Isn't that a great sailboat!

And continuing the animal blocks I started last year too...

Here are the lions:

 Instead of embroidering the faces and tails, I painted them.

It was much easier for me and looks great.

For Parma Quilters Anonymous this year, we are doing a block swap similar to BSA.

This is the block I've chosen and I'm making one for myself each month so I'll have more than just 12 at the end of the year.  That will make a bigger quilt.

 I forgot to take a picture of the blocks I made for my partner in Jan.  I made two Card Trick blocks in Christmas fabrics and they turned out amazing.  I think Rula loved them.

I made a bunch of string blocks and little nine-patches to add to a long neglected quilt.

 And I made a bunch of these pieces too for another UFO.

Well, those are my accomplishments for January.  I don't have a completed quilt to show off but I feel great about making some progress on lots of projects.

Zig and Zag for Baby Girl

We welcomed a new niece to our family.... well, a few months ago.

I hear she is so cute.  I can't wait to meet her someday but she lives across the country.

I made this little quilt and sent it to her.

 All those half-square triangles were actually fun to play with.

 The back turned out cute too.

Welcome Little One!

Ornament exchange 2011

I survived the holidays!

We had a wonderful, magical holiday season and it's nice to be back to normal life.

A few friends and I got together before Christmas for a small ornament exchange and I wanted to show off the pretty things that we shared.

These are the quilled snowflakes that I made to share.

I love doing these. They are so pretty and elegant looking.

 ...A pretty ball made with string and ribbon...

 ...a flower made from antique book pages...

 ...a cinnamon stick tree and a hot pad filled with cinnamon sticks that smelled wonderful!...

 ...a drum filled with chocolate (they didn't last long)...

 ...and a glass bird.

All nice additions to our Christmas tree decor.

A Quilt Story to Remember

Here's an amazing story about a quilt.

I made this quilt for my brother-in-law and his family for Christmas some years ago.

Their kids were playing with a reading lamp near the bed and knocked it over.

 Some time later, as they were getting ready to leave the house for the day, my sister-in-law realized she forgot something and ran into the bedroom, only to find the quilt smoldering and smoking.

 She soaked the quilt in the sink and saved her home just in time.

Luckily, she was inspired to run back inside the bedroom.

 Luckily the quilt was folded over and the light bulb only burned through the quilt not harming the mattress.

 Luckily it was only burned on the very corner and a simple fix.

 Luckily I had exactly enough scrap of that stripe fabric left to rebuild the border.  Stripes - especially uneven stripe like those - are so forgiving!  You can't even tell where I pieced in the new fabric...

...Unless you look at the back ... I used what I had on hand.  A slightly different neutral muslin.

Oh, well.  It will serve as a reminder scar, I guess.

 All in all, the quilt was saved and, more important, their home is saved too.

 It's still a beautiful quilt with many more years of use in it.

I finished it in time for my sister-in-law's birthday, so as a gift to them, I appliqued a fourth little cub because #4 is coming this winter.  Cute, huh!

Not Your Momma's Denim Quilt

For Parma Quilter's Anonymous, I got to add a border to this fabulous denim quilt.

 The center square that started it all - the denim rectangle with the wheel in the middle.

Each border was added by a different member of the group.

Some scraps of 1930 reproduction fabric was provided for us to use in our borders.  That really made for nice continuity throughout. 

There's the border I added.  I used some light and dark blue denim and some red denim for the squares and the some scrappy strips in between them.

The whole thing... It's getting quite large.  Good thing we are nearing the end of the year.

As an after thought, I decided to add something to that wide solid border (with permission).

I appliqued some simple little circles with buttons to match others that were on the quilt.  Those will look so cute when the quilt is washed and they fray a bit.

 Can you just imagine a fantastic picnic spread on that someday...

 Love it!

More Mosaics

Well, International Friendship Quilters (IFQ) has closed it's doors.  (And has opened new ones in the form of a yahoo group.)  I'm sad to see it go but I understand that life does get in the way of things, even for those wonderful people who put together these fun quilter's meeting places.

These are the last few Mosaic blocks that I've been able to swap.

These are the ones I've send to others:

And these are the blocks I've received:

I just love all the great fabric combinations that these great ladies have put together to go with my center.

 Don't you agree!

 This last one is from Barb.  I was blown away by her generosity.  Since IFQ is done, she sent me some extra fabric that matches my theme so I can make a few more blocks to finish the quilt.  Can you believe it?   Great people like that make me happy.

Thanks again, Barb.

Happy Stitching!