Marathon quilting at retreat

October 9-11 was my quilt guild's fall retreat. This is me day one. Marathon quilting! Don't look up, sew faster! Am I having fun? You BET! To be able to quilt all day long, and not have to stop and do laundry, go somewhere, cook a meal...etc...you get the picture, was bliss! But guess what! It was a fairly nice day outside and the only time I got to experience it was on the way to the bathroom, which was in a separate building, or to talk on the phone. The building was made of metal, and we were way out in the countryso cell service inside the building was horrible. Now, why did I decide that today's post would be about that? Well, because it has occurred to me since returning from that wonderful weekend that perhaps at least once during that day I should have actually taken the time to go outside and breathe. So while I was doing something that I absolutely love doing and could actually do all day every day, it would be a great idea to take a minute to actually breathe in some beautiful scenery and fall air. So next time I have the opportunity to go on a retreat in the fall, and the day is beautiful outside I'm going to take a minute and enjoy it! Hope you have a wonderful day today and if it is a lovely fall day where you are today, I hope you will take just a minute to enjoy it.

Of course,  I did get some great quilting accomplished. I worked on a mystery quilt but didn't take any pictures because it is still in the cutting and preliminary piecing stage so no pictures of it yet.

 This is a scrappy Irish chain quilt that I have been working on for many months.  It is from Bonnie Hunter's book "Leaders and Enders". The idea is that you cut the pieces of a quilt and put them in a basket beside your sewing machine and as you are piecing one quilt and come to a spot where you need to stop some chain piecing or go and do some pressing, you can put together pieces of the quilt in the basket and not waste thread. So these squares were put together in pairs, then in rows, etc. Now I am in the process of assembling the rows. This is the second one of these that I have done. Here is the first one. I did this several years ago. I donated it to an auction and it now has a new home.

Quilting is a wonderful way to spend your time, enjoy every bit of the process, but don't forget to enjoy some sunshine now and then. Happy Quilting!!!

Sew Sweet Simplicity

Sew Sweet Block #2

Obviously I like pink, lol! The pink striped fabric is my ironing board. :D

Sew Sweet Simplicity

Sew Sweet BOM by Jacquelynne Steves

I am participating in a cute little block of the month called Sew Sweet Simplicity, by Jacquelynne Steves.
It began in October so I'm a little behind in posting my first block. I have been looking at some of the other blocks that others are making and I'm amazed at the originality and creativity that folks are using to make their blocks unique. Hop on over to her blog, www.jacquelynnesteves.com/blog  and check them out, or check her out on Facebook.

My Test Blocks

Since I didn't know which blocks would be showcased on which days on the Quiltmaker blog I have waited until today to show you the blocks I tested. It was a lot of fun picking fabrics for the different blocks when they "spoke" different colors to me. I hope you will try your favorite blocks and let them speak to you.

Here they are in the order they are in the book:

#902 Hummingbird Haven, by designer Sandi Colwell
I had just enough of the woodgrain fabric left from another project to use as a frame for this block, and my daughter and I had fun looking for fabrics for the block at the AQS show in Charlotte. Fun times!

 #906 Ted Turtle, by designer Sue Marsh

#912 Tangled Hearts, by designer Teresa Rawson

#930 Wanderlust, by designer Cindy Wiens
This one made me think of a flower so I used pink for the "petals" and yellow for the "center"

 #931 Periwinkle, by designers Maaike Bakker and Francoise Maarse

#938 Rainbow Houndstooth, by designer Theresa Eisenger
I decided to go with the traditional black and white color scheme on this block.

#940 Diamonds in My Eyes, by designer Cynthia Foster
This block made me think of circus tents, so I use lots of color for this block

#946 Pines and Spools, by designer Heather Kojan

 #957 Bunny-Go-Round, by designer Deborah Bahr-Johnson
As you can see I haven't added the embroidery for the whiskers and I would add buttons for the eyes.

#962 Forever, by designer Sandi Blackwell

#974 Winter Red, by designer Sara Hardwig
For speed in getting the block finished in time, I used "Printed Treasures" fabric sheets to print the center section instead of taking the time to embroider it. I can still embroider over it if I choose. This is a quick way to get the embroidered look without taking the time to actually do it.

#975 Puddle Jumper, by designer Beth Helfter

#997 Firelight, by designer Martha Walker
Instead of the assorted reds for the points I used one color
I wish I had made the star points in a darker fabric for contrast

100 Blocks Blog Tour coming soon!

November 17-21 Quiltmaker will be hosting a blog tour for 100 Blocks, vol 10. I was a block tester for this issue and I will be sharing my version of the blocks! You will be able to tour the blogs of the block designers and other block testers.

URL: http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/


And how exciting is this....I designed a quilt for issue 9..."Love Blooms In My Garden" and I received it back and entered it in one of the local quilt shows in my area and..... IT WON 1ST PLACE in its category!!!

Here is a picture of it and me,

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Magazine #10 Blog Hop!

Blog Hop Ahead!
I have just been notified of the dates of the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks, Issue #10 Blog Hop! Why is that exciting? Because I will be showing the blocks that I tested that week as well! You can see the fabric choices I made for each block I tested and perhaps get some ideas for doing them in different fabrics than the designers of each block chose. So check back here and on Quiltmakers site  November 17-21 for a look at the new blocks in the next exciting issue of Quiltmaker 100 Blocks!

Finished UFO!

Hi! It's been awhile! To be honest I completely forgot about my blog! I've been exceedingly busy! Teaching sewing, fund raising for summer mission trip, testing blocks for Quiltmaker Magazine 100 Blocks, which of course, I can't share but you should definitely check out! I have made a few little quilt tops, one I am currently hand quilting and will share when I finish. 

I was recently at a guild meeting where one of the members mentioned she had a blog and asked if anyone else did and I sheepishly raised my hand because I had been such a slacker in posting on mine. So since I have finished 3 quilts in the last couple of weeks I decided it was time to celebrate by posting on my blog!

Finally Finished!

I began this quilt in late 2012.  It was Mystery #7 with Quilters Club of America, called Nana's Surprise. I actually kept up with the mystery as each step was published and finished the top shortly after the group got the last step. And I pieced my backer and pinned it. And "put it on the shelf" for another day. Well, this week was that day!  Here is a close up of the quilting:

I haven't finished a quilt of my own for awhile, so it felt so good to get it done.

I've also been quilting for some customers recently. A couple of recent finishes:

this top was made in the 30's or 40's:

here's a closeup of the quilting:

And this is a sneak peak at one I finished earlier this week. It's a Christmas gift for another customer so I won't give the whole thing away and risk spoiling the surprise:

And a closeup of the quilting:

Some quilters don't like stippling, and mine definitely needed improving, which only comes with practice. So let me encourage you if you aren't happy with your stippling - just keep working at it. Hint: Slow and steady wins the race! I have found my stitches to be much better with slowing down. And I try not to quilt when I'm tired. When doing a large quilt a good thing to do is take lots of breaks. So when my bobbin runs out I get up and walk around and stretch out. 

Lots more quilts in the pile so I better get to quilting! :D

Until next time...Happy Quilting!