New Year's Eve 2016

Oh my, the last day of this year.  Tomorrow will be a "Fresh Start" for all who choose to take it.  Even though I have two photo transfer quilts on my UFO List for 2017, I decided to start early, so I could get these surprise gifts finished up and mailed off no later than the middle of January.  Not to worry, I have plenty more UFO's to take their place on the list.

Yesterday evening, I ordered several "wide" backings from Hancock's of Paducah to help in finishing up some UFO's.  The machine quilting was done with my "walking foot", by simply quilting around each photo.  Since I had enough fabric left over after cutting the border, I chose to make the binding with the same fabric.
Just need to finish hand sewing the binding-make a sleeve for hanging and sew on a label.  Then on to the next Photo Transfer quilt.  Since I don't want to wait on the fabric to arrive, I will probably piece the back for the 2nd quilt.

Looking forward to the New Year and making progress on many projects "old and new".

Have a safe and Happy New Year!!

Pillowcases to be made next Tuesday at Sewing

Our Tuesday Sewing Group usually meets today but with everyone's family gatherings, we decided to wait and meet next Tuesday, Jan. 3rd., 2017.  Our Group was notified by the The Cherry Pit Quilt Shop that several different sewing and quilting groups planned to make pillowcases for the people affected by the fires in Gatlinburg in East Tennessee.  I thought it would be nice to make a couple of pillowcases here at home.  
The dimensions that I used were:
3/4 yd. for the pillowcase body:  27"
1/3 yd. for the border cuff:  12"
2 inch strip for the accent:    2"

Pillowcase on Left is finished-Pillowcase fabric on right needs to be sewn

There are many different Pillowcase Tutorials on-line but this one from Shabby Fabrics is my favorite. Magic Pillowcase Tutorial from Shabby Fabrics

Merry Christmas 2016

It is sunny and warm in middle Tennessee this beautiful Christmas Day.
It was wonderful to be able to attend Christmas Day Worship Service this morning and we had close to a full house.

Poinsettias decorated the Worship Fellowship Hall.  I was able to bring one of the poinsettias home, so I thought a little history about the beautiful bright red flowers might be nice to know.  The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ.

Poinsettia from Church

 

My 2017 UFO List

Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times.com has challenged her Blog Readers to join her in another UFO Challenge for next year, 2017.  I love this type of challenge because "sometimes" I have a difficult time focusing on projects that should be finished.  If it is a gift, I make an extra effort to finish in a timely fashion, but not always "on time".  So, here it goes......

UFO List for 2017
1.  365 Quilty Circle Project (1st 6 months of 2016)-needs backing, quilting & binding
2.  365 Quilty Circle Project (2nd 6 months of 2016)-needs backing, quilting & binding
3.  Photo Transfer Top#1--GIFT-completed  Jan. 2017 and shipped --January's pick
4.  Photo Transfer Top#2--GIFT-completed  Jan. 2017 and shipped
5.  Selvage Top-needs back, quilting & binding
6.  Scraps & fabric strips need to be organized
7.  Fabric Journal-continue adding fabric pages & details of techniques
8.  Sort scraps by color
9.  Organize Sewing Room --February's pick
10. Make a 1930's Aunt Gracie quilt
11.  Make (1) QOV in 2017
12.  Make (1) QOV in 2017

The above list should keep me busy.....
Click here to link up with Judy's UFO Challenge for 2017 at Patchwork Times.com

   

Design Wall Monday

Does everyone have one of these little Clover Threaders?
It is called a "Clover Desk Needle Threader" and yes it does thread a size 12 quilt needle.  Before I hand stitched the binding down on this QOV, I happened to find this little help-mate among all my papers, fabrics, tools and other items that need to find their permanent homes instead of sitting out on my worktables.  Too much clutter to be able to find things and sew and finish my UFO's.

Clover Desk Needle Threader

This afternoon, my husband took a couple of pictures of the QOV that I just finished, except for sewing on the label.  However, the pictures he took are in "his camera".  Then the sun set, so the lighting is poor at the moment, so here is one shot that shows some detail of the stitching that Marie from Summerville, SC stitched.

Close-up of machine stitching by Marie

I am linking up with other quilters at Patchwork Times.com
Check out what they have been working on this last week.

Design Wall Monday

Is it Monday already?  It's amazing how fast the days fly by once the calendar hits Thanksgiving.  I'm still working on my 365 Quilty Circle project.  This past week-end, I got caught up to Dec. 1st and then made 9 more HST blocks to get a little ahead.  Now it's Dec. 5th and I haven't done anything since Dec. 1st.

I decided it would be fun to have all the little blocks for December created with Christmas fabrics.  Tomorrow is my "Tuesday Sewing Group", so preparing for what projects to take.  Friday, the 2nd, I received the Quilt of Valor back from Marie, who did the long arm quilting.  Her quilting is beautiful with lots of stars, quilted with a multicolored thread on top and a dark blue on the back.

It took a little searching to find the fabric in my stash, for the binding, but I was thrilled when I found it. I had used this fabric in the quilt but was not sure if I still had some or if I had enough for the binding. It is 100% cotton, called Rustic Weave Pattern #32955, color is red, made in Japan by Moda Fabrics.
I do have the binding made but still must trim the quilt, sew on the binding and then hand stitch it down.
Since I took my time on making the quilt, I don't want to rush to complete it.  Also, when the quilt is complete, I will take a picture and I wash it "with a Dye Catcher" before presenting it to a Veteran.

So, I decided to show something that I did complete.  The (2) stockings were cut from a fabric panel and then I sewed fleece on the back of each stocking.  I remember making (2) other stockings quite some time ago, but I think I already turned them in at Sewing.

2 stockings ready for Christmas

. 
 Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects shown at:   Patchwork Times.com

365 Quilty Project

Many thanks to Audrey from Quilty Folk for challenging me to continue the 365 Quilty Circle Project.  In my entire life, I have never kept a journal or diary for more than a few weeks.  The thrill of the fabric and all the choices available kept me going, along with Audrey posting each month as to her progress and encouraging each one of us, to keep going.  Early on, I realized that it didn't really matter if all my blocks were the same, in fact, it added to the challenge of making many of the little 4" blocks different and it was exciting to see how many different styles that others had created.

Only 30 more days to go.....

365 Quilty Project  062816-120116

Today, I tried to get a little ahead by making 9 HST blocks, which should get me through until the 10th of December.  I also thought it would be fun to use
all Christmas fabrics during this month.  It will be fun to see if I can round up 21 additional Christmas fabrics to use the rest of this month.

I believe this was the most enjoyable project that I have ever done and it lasted all year long.

I'll be linking up with Quilty Folk.Blogspot.com to see all the blocks created by other quilters this year.  

 

Tomorrow is December 1st

How can that be--tomorrow is December 1st......
2016 just flew by.....
My Sewing Room is still a mess-fabric everywhere-not enough room for all the projects, papers, fabric, containers, knick-knacks...
Will I ever be organized?  Some things are organized but not everything.
Do I need more lists?  Do I need a bigger room?  Do I need to work faster?  Maybe I need to focus more!
Oh well, tomorrow is a new day and a new beginning..

One great thing was accomplished in November.  I finally got my car trunk emptied out of all the boxes of  fabric that I had been hauling around since I had no place to put it in my house.

Here's to a new month....HOPE to accomplish great things!!!

Design Wall Monday

It's raining in Tennessee.  We've been waiting days, weeks, & months.  So far this evening, we have had (point) .90 inch of rain (almost an inch) and we are very thankful.  We are praying that the rain continues here and on to East Tennessee where the fires have been burning.

I am now up to date on my 365 Quilty Circles project.

Design Wall Monday 11282016

I'm looking forward to our weekly Sewing Group getting together again tomorrow.  Time to re-group and get to work on all the projects that we have started.
Be sure to stop by: Patchwork Times.com to see what others have been working on this past week

Trying to catch up again

Here it is, Nov. 27th, and I'm behind again and to add to the confusion, I cannot find the last partial row of nine (9) Quilty squares that I made from Oct. 27th through Nov. 4th.  I'm sure I put them some place safe where I would not lose them.  Where oh where could they be???  In my search, I did find a partial bolt of "Heat & Bond", which I couldn't imagine that I had used the entire bolt, so I was thrilled to find that in one of my many plastic tubs.  When will I ever be organized?

Still not organized, but I did find the missing Quilty squares.  Hooray!  Hooray!!

Design Wall Monday

My friend, Sandra, who recently sold her Dog Clothing & Accessory business, gave me a big bag of scraps from making dog beds.  The scraps were not very big but there was enough fabric to cut 3-4 HST per piece.
There were lots & lots of pieces.  I provided the white fabric and all the rest was from her scraps.  This will be given to our weekly Sewing Group to be sandwiched with batting and a back.  It turned out happy & bright and just what a child in need could use.
Obviously, I still need to sew the blocks together.  Each block measures 16" square.

 Be sure to stop by  Patchwork Times.com to see what other quilters have designed this week.

365 Quilty Circles Up To Date

Many thanks go to Audrey from:  Quilty Folk

I discovered her Blog post right around the 1st of January 2016, challenging us on her 365 Quilty Circles Challenge.  Oh, what fun to create a tiny block each day with a circle over the next 366 days.  The idea of adding a little comment of what was accomplished each day came from Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting.  Thank you Cathy for your brilliant idea of creating a year-long journal.

Actually, Audrey's challenge began on November 1st, 2015 but I knew that would be too difficult to catch up to date, so I began on Jan. 1st, 2016.  I still have had problems in creating one block each day.  Two weeks is the most I have been behind but was able to catch up.

Since my blocks finish at 4 inches, I discovered that two quilt tops would be needed so that I would not have a gigantic quilt to display.  So, each quilt will have 12 blocks across and 15 down with 180 blocks total.  The
6 extra will be added to the 2nd quilt.  One other option would be to put the quilts together but the logistics of matching them up seem rather daunting.

I tried to use as many different fabrics as I could with different techniques.  If you count down 8 rows, you will see a double block with a photo transfer of the Napa Valley and vineyards with a nice red barn. 

Quilt Circles from June 29 through Nov. 4th

I'm linking up with:  Quilty Folk

Getting things organized

Yesterday evening, I requested a long arm quilter for the Carpenter Star QOV.
The quilt top measures 62.5" x 72".  I am embarrassed to admit that I began the quilt in April 2015 and sewed the small red border and final blue border on in June 2016 and there it sat, waiting for a backing fabric.  I found a nice white backing with red and blue stars, which is 104" wide.  I purchased five yards, which gave me enough for two backs and extra for blocks for another quilt.

QOV Top finished in June 2016

Here's something special to save....

Do people still treasure keepsakes and family heirlooms from long ago?

As I was sorting through my dresser, I discovered my Mama's little silver purse that she used in the 1920's.
My husband popped the lock and to my surprise, there was a tiny picture of my Daddy.  I'm guessing he gave the little purse to my mother, way back when.  I was always intrigued when I would see it in her dresser drawer, hidden away as a special remembrance from younger days.

Mama's 1920 silver Flapper purse

I would like to pass these heirlooms down to the next generation but is anyone really interested?

Veteran's Top Complete

Our weekly sewing group has been busy sewing tops for some of our local veterans.  They are smaller than a QOV, since they will be used by veterans who live at the Veterans Home, many whom are in wheelchairs.
This one measures 40 1/2" by 49".  Since we will not be adding batting, our group plans to back them with flannel or fleece.

Veteran's Patriotic Quilt Top

Design Wall Monday

Yes, I know it's Wednesday but I am finally caught up on my 365 Quilty Circles Project.  I'm now ready to post a picture, which covers June 29th, 2016 through Oct. 12th, 2016.  Last week, I worked on getting (3) weeks of daily journal entries completed.  Even though, I've let it get behind, I'm still enjoying the project.

For next year 2017, I'm considering a "Weekly" challenge or a "Theme" challenge.  If I can't decide, maybe I'll put several ideas in a box and draw one out.  This "Daily" challenge is truly a challenge for me.

My UFO's are not being worked on and that's been bothering me, plus I've had to hold up sending all my quilts to my favorite long arm quilter since we've had to invest in (2) new air conditioning units.  They both quit within two days of each other.  We can't complain because they both lasted 25 years.   I've been blessed with a husband who does all the maintenance on our house and appliances.

DWM  Oct. 12, 2016

   I am linking up with   Patchwork Times.com   a few days late.

Finally after 3 days of making Quilty Circles...

I've been helping my husband outside with our yard work and the Quilty Circles were put to the side.  It was quite difficult to remember what I did each day plus I've been trying to use different fabrics to make the daily blocks more interesting.  Here it is 11:00 at night, and I'm caught up.  In the last 3 days, I've made 23 Quilty Circles.  Hopefully, this will be a reminder "not" to continue this method of making HST squares & circles.

It took me forever to remember what I had done on Oct. 5th--I purchased  (18 1/2) yards of fleece from my friend at $2.00/yard.

Just (82) Quilty Circles to go and I'll be done with this Challenge.  This was an amazing Project.  Next year, I may try doing a block each week with a common theme.  Since it is so late, I think I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Design Wall Monday

Last week, I helped my friend, Sandra with her Yard Sale.  Lots of fabric and fleece for sale...Here's a picture of what the fleece looked like on the tables.  The fleece was just $2.00 per yard.  The only stipulation was that we didn't cut any fabric, so you had to buy the whole or partial bolt (it just depended on how much remained on the bolt).  It was still a wonderful deal.  About five ladies from our Sewing Group came and purchased a sizable amount but as you can see, there was plenty for everyone. 

Lots of fleece for sale

Last Tuesday, at Sewing, we sorted through about 10 bags of donated fabric.  We tried to sort it by color and/or theme.  I took home the "I Spy" fabrics and a kit with hexagons and purple triangles.  Since I wanted to see what the quilt top would look like, I started laying it out yesterday afternoon and began sewing it together last night and today.

Hexagon Quilt Kit with "I Spy" fabrics

I'm not sure how many rows I can create before I run out of purple triangles.  I have cut some of my
fabrics to add to the quilt, but I don't think I have any dark purple that will match.  We shall see.....
Hop over to Judy's at:  Patchwork Times.com
to see what other quilters have created this week.

Photo Transfer Quilts

Success!!  As of this afternoon, I finished sewing a slim border (fabric strips cut at 1.5") around each photo transfer on (52) photos.  It's amazing how you can put off a project for so long.  I found notes that I planned to begin this step on Jan. 22, 2016.  Now, the fun begins.....
I'm not sure how I will choose which photo for which quilt, since I only really know the two quilt recipients. 

Two Photo Transfer Quilts in Process

I've been working a couple of hours each day, attempting to get strips sewn around all the photos.  As of this afternoon, I have 30 photos ready for placement.  Since I'm making two wall hangings, I want to get all the photos completed prior to placing the photos.  I have no idea how big these wall hangings will be.  Not very good planning on my part, since I allowed my excitement about making these quilts for two special people to take over my common sense.    

What my Project Boxes revealed.............

I'm embarrassed that I allowed so much time to escape these projects.  Most of the fabric and photos were in one Project Box.  I'm not sure when I transferred the photos onto the fabric (most likely it was in 2015).
I had chosen the design and fabric for the borders around each photo.  Then life happened and everything was stashed away. 

Thankfully this morning, I discovered the beginnings of two Photo Transfer Quilts for my friend and her daughter.  The black fabric was in the Project Box with the photos.  After searching through several fabric baskets, I found the white fabric that I had used for the borders on the first couple of photos.  I knew it would be wonderful to use the same fabrics throughout both quilts.

If I can just keep sewing the strips around each photo, I could be done with the photo blocks by this evening and then I can design the quilts. 

Design Wall Monday-Organize Project Boxes

This morning, I contemplated what I would post on my Design Wall today??
I counted the Project Boxes (11) brightly colored and piled high and realized I did not know what was in every single box.  Only (3) boxes have labels.  At least the boxes are somewhat organized--it is the rest of my Sewing Room that is a disaster and is keeping me from making progress on creating the many ideas whirling around in my head.  Too many piles of paper and notes.  Several years ago, I did have my room organized to a point.  What happened??
So, here are a couple of pictures to get me going........

Five Project Boxes waiting..... 

Five more Project Boxes Waiting & the 11th box is hiding

 See what other quilters are accomplishing this week by stopping by  Patchwork Times.com

Crayon Challenge at Guild

One of our Guild members organized a Crayon Challenge with the small quilts to be shown and judged by our members at our September meeting, yesterday.  There were 36 crayons in the bag from which to draw.  25 quilts were created and brought in yesterday for judging.  What a delightful group of quilts!  They were all so different and creative.  I'm only showing mine at this time, since I'll need to get permission from the other members to post their quilts.  The quilts that won were stunning!!  My little lady didn't win but that's O.K.  It was a good exercise in making a portrait picture of a 1920's flapper.  The style reminded me of my mother, since she was in her mid 20's during this time period.  She would never have worn a bright yellow hat, even though my Dad loved the color yellow.  So here she is.......

1920's Flapper for Crayon Challenge

 

Visitors Arrived at 7 a.m.

Thankfully, I had already taken our little dog out this morning.  As I was sitting having my breakfast and looking out the window, a little fawn came out of the woods for a taste of our salt block.  In just a few minutes, Mama came out to watch for strangers.  I so wished I had my camera, but since I hadn't seen any deer in months, my camera was in another room.  I knew if I made a move, they'd be gone.  As I watched, two more fawns came out and another Mama.  There were (5) in all.  What a blessing to see so many!

There is new construction all around this area, so their stomping ground has been disappearing quite rapidly.
I was able to get one picture of 3 deer this morning after 2 of them left.

Deer came to visit 09102016

Labor Day 2016

As I created my Quilty Circle for today, I decided to look on-line for a simple explanation about Labor Day.
During my work career of 40 years, I "usually" got Labor Day off.  I'm sure there were a couple of jobs, where I had to work on Labor Day.

So, here's the simple explanation:   Labor Day honors the workers--
8 hours of work
8 hours of play
8 hours of rest

It's a great concept; however, your 1 hour lunch and 2 hours commute must come from play or rest.
I must admit that retirement is wonderful.  

365 Quilty Circles & Design Wall Monday

I've been working on my 365 Quilty Circles all afternoon to try and get them caught up for Aug. and Sept.  Just now, I have accomplished my goal.  On Sat., Aug. 27th, I wondered what to write, so I checked the web and discovered that Aug. 27th was day #240 of this year, with 126 days to go until Dec. 31st, 2016.  Now, for a picture of the 365 Quilty Circles for the 2nd half of 2016.  One huge quilt would have been too cumbersome.
So, I chose to make:
Quilt top#1 :  Complete:  01-01-2016 through 06-28-2016

Quilt top#2:   06-29-2016 through 12-31-2016

 

Quilty Circles Top#2    06/29/2016 to 09/04/2016

Link up with Quilty Folk to see how other quilters are keeping up with this year long project.

Be sure to link up with Judy at Patchwork Times.com
to see the designs of other quilters this week. 

Design Wall Monday

DWM 08292016

The last Quilty Circle I completed was dated August 6, so now I'm almost one month behind.  I do have several HST made, so just need to cut and applique the circles down with a comment of what I did that day.
I've tried to keep up with writing a few words on the calendar but I haven't been too good at keeping up with that commitment either.

This afternoon, I have cut and pressed the backing for the Rainbow Blocks quilt.  I've got the binding made.
Since it's almost dinner time, I doubt that I will get the quilt pinned this evening; maybe tomorrow.  The quilt needs to be completed before next Tuesday, the 6th, since I'm donating it to an auction.

Check out the Design Walls of other quilters by hopping over to: Patchwork Times.com 

   

Design Wall Monday

At this point, I can only show you some of the fabrics I have chosen for the "Crayon Challenge", which is due the middle of September.  I have known about this challenge for quite a few months but I was debating on the pattern and the size.  I was going to plan it and design it in EQ7 but it was just too frustrating for me to draw the whole thing out and then still have to cut the fabrics and make it.
During one of my computer sessions, I did actually get my photo placed on the quilt and at one time, I was able to enlarge the photo but by the next day with a few clicks, I was back to square one. 

Crayon Challenge due in mid Sept.

Click over to Judy's Blog at Patchwork Times.com
to see what other quilters have designed this week.

Design Wall Monday

This afternoon, I finished my "Rainbow Blocks" quilt top.  When I worked on this quilt last week, I had it tilted on the Design Wall, which I thought was quite striking.  However, I would have had to cut 4 huge triangles to add to the corners using white muslin.  It would have needed more color in the corners to blend in with the rest of the top.  Since I plan to give this quilt away, I'm happy with this layout.  I debated on adding a border but I may just leave it, as is, at 48" square. I haven't machine quilted in quite some time, so I may need to do some practicing on a couple of quilts, before I tackle a couple of gift quilts.

Rainbow Blocks

 Stop by Judy's Blog at:   Patchwork Times.com
to see what other quilters have been doing this week.

State Wide Assembly Day 2016

It was a busy week-end.  Our state-wide, Tennessee Valley Quilters Assoc. (TVQA) had their annual Assembly Day on Sat., Aug. 13th.  Courthouse Quilters Guild hosted in Charlotte, TN.  There were over 400 quilters in attendance and ten vendors, so lots of fabric, patterns, quilting tools, etc.  Our Guest Speakers were Kaye England and Kelly Young.

I remember Kaye England coming to our Guild in July 2000, and taught a class from her book, "Voices of the Past", which is a history of Women's Lives in Patchwork.  The quilt pattern Kaye chose to teach was "Mrs. Taft's Choice".  At that time, I also purchased Kaye's book, "Voices of the Past", Volume II.
You can check out Kaye's Blog at:  Kaye England.com

Kaye's talk on Saturday, Aug. 13th was so interesting.  She brought her collection of quilts that related to these two books and talked about the history surrounding these quilts and the women's lives and their stories. 

After lunch, Kelly Young told us about the quilts she had made as she showed each one.  Kelly had many stories to tell about each of her quilts.  Her quilts have a modern flair with bright colors.  Kelly  has a blog, so you can check out her designs and patterns on-line.
 My Quilt Infatuation.blogspot.com

Design Wall Monday

I have created (7) Rainbow Blocks and had planned to add white to complete the quilt.  However, with all the bright colors and odd shape, it still needs more.  So, I've designed a couple of half blocks for the sides.  That still will not be enough to make a normal size quilt.  My quick project seems to be growing in complexity.  Here's what I have so far......  Each finished block will measure 16" square.

Rainbow Blocks

 See what others have created this week by stopping by Patchwork Times.com

Quilty Circles 365

My Quilty Circles 365 project consists of (2) quilt tops.  My first top began with Jan. 1st and ended with June 28th.  You can see this quilt top under my Blog Post dated July 11th, 2016.

 My 2nd quilt top began with June 29th through yesterday, Aug. 5th.  When I let this project go for a couple of weeks, it sure was difficult to remember what happened on which day.  This afternoon, I managed to get the last 12 blocks created and a few words of my accomplishments for those days.  So happy to post the picture for you to see.....

365 Quilty Circles

At present, my Design Wall has two projects--the top 3 blocks go along with a Rainbow Quilt Project.

Be sure to stop by Quiltyfolk.blogspot.com
to see what others have created.

Design Wall Monday

Hey...It's August 1st.  Wish I could say that I've been moving along at a rapid rate, getting all sorts of projects done.  I have found many fabulous patterns that I wish to try.  The two blocks I have made this week, I found on Nann's Blog at:   Nann's With Strings Attached
I discovered it took more time searching for all the different fabrics per color than the time it took to cut and sew.  I made my blocks--16 inches square.  I discovered several fabrics I had forgotten that I had.

Just remembered that I am now behind on my 365 Quilty Circles.  The last date I made a block for was
July 24th.  I guess I will be working on those tomorrow after my Sewing Group.

Design Wall Monday blocks

See what others have made this past week at: Patchwork Times.com

Sewing Room Organization Continues

I deleted my Post about misplacing my Kindle.  This afternoon, I discovered where I had left it.  It was in my Carry-On Bag from my trip to California.  I didn't think that I had taken it, but obviously I had.  It was on my "List of Items" to be packed and sure enough, there it was, just waiting for me to discover it.  Now I can concentrate on cleaning and organization my Sewing Room.

365 Quilty Circles Project Up To Date

On June 29th, I began my 2nd "365 Quilty Circles" quilt top.  As I did with the first quilt top, there will be 12 blocks across, but instead of 15 rows of blocks, there will be 16 rows of blocks down.  This will allow for 6 blocks on the final row for additional info. about the two quilt tops.  Several people have suggested putting the two quilt tops together and quilting them as one.  However, I believe that would be most difficult to get them to line up.  Also, several blocks have thick appliques, which could and most likely would create problems while machine quilting.

Another amazing thing--I am presently up-to-date on this project.

365 Quilty Circles up-to-date through 7-16-2016

     

Design Wall Monday

365 Quilty Circles.......
My first quilt top for this year's project is complete with a HST and circle with 4 or 5 words as my Journal Entry and the date.  Each HST finishes at (4 inches).  There are 12 squares across and 15 down making the top 48" x 60".  It begins at January 1st, 2016 and ends at June 28th, 2016.

Design Wall Monday  07-11-2016

My second quilt top for this year's project will begin at June 29th, and hopefully end on Dec. 31st, 2016.
I have had a difficult time keeping the project up-to-date.  It took most of last week to get caught up on my
June blocks and now it's the 11th and I haven't begun July's blocks.  Yikes!!

I have adored this project.  I have enjoyed choosing the fabrics for each square, trying to have the fabrics relate to what happened that day.  Some days, I hand embroider the circles and some days, I machine embroider the circles, trying different colors of thread that match the fabric.  It makes a great conversation
starter.  My fellow guild members were intrigued when I showed it at guild last Saturday.

Check out Patchwork Times.com  to see what others have been working on this week.

Design Wall Monday

Happy 4th of July, 2016
Our neighborhood fireworks were rained out for 30 minutes or so and then the clouds blew over and the fireworks began.  Lots of fireworks now with no threat of fire since everything is soaking wet.

My Design Wall Monday consists of two items-both are exciting for me...

Top--Bonnie Hunter's Class at Guild-Bricks in the Barnyard AND  Bottom-- is a Mola

On Friday evening, July 1st, I went to an evening lecture sponsored by our guild.  Bonnie Hunter of www.Quiltville.com  was the speaker.  If you haven't been to one of her lectures or a class, be sure to
take the opportunity to attend.  It is well worth your time.  Bonnie is delightful and so full of energy.
I was hoping some of her energy might rub off on me.

On Saturday, July 2nd, I took a full-day workshop from Bonnie Hunter based on her pattern; Bricks in the Barnyard.  It was one of the best classes that I have taken in quite some time.  Many more blocks need to be made to complete my quilt but I have a good start.

The bottom design is a Mola that belonged to my sister, who passed away in mid June.  My previous post explains how my sister and her friend purchased Molas from the San Blas Indians back in the mid 1970's.

Link up with Patchwork Times.com to see what other quilters are working on this 4th of July.

My Sister and Her Husband

I've been on "auto pilot" for the last few weeks.  My sister (90) and her husband (91) passed away within a few hours of each other on June 13th.  They had been married over 67 years and had met in third grade.  What an amazing life they led...Their memorial service was beautifully planned, with their grandsons reading the Eulogy and several of my brother-in-law's cousins telling stories of when they were young.  My niece and her daughter designed and arranged several hundred pictures that were gathered and chosen by family members to be displayed at the memorial service.  The displays were created with white bulletin boards covered in burlap and twine attached to the back and strung across the front.  The pictures were attached with small wooden clothespins.   My nephews were in charge of choosing the slides that were shown on a couple of large screens during the gathering. The slides ran continuously.  As children, we always loved sitting down to an evening of watching slides.  One nephew found a large poster that represented how my sister and her husband lived their lives.

  

Poster found by their son and displayed at Celebration of Life gathering

Here is a Bulletin Board showing some of the small quilts my sister had made and given to me through the years.....

Small quilts made by my sister and given to me as gifts

My sister loved to sew, quilt, waterski, go camping with family, make cakes for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

To left; Decorated Cakes--To right; Halloween Costumes--Center on table;Camping

Their love of sailing was a dream which she and her husband fulfilled.  They began by reading every book in their local library about sailing.  My brother-in-law built his own El Toro sailboat.  After selling their house in the late 1960's, they moved onto their new 36 foot sailboat.  They lived aboard their sailboat for 7 years.
After my nephews had all graduated from high school and my sister and her husband retired, they began their journey.  They sailed down the Pacific coastline, through the Mexican Riviera, Central America, and through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean Sea.  They made a special trip to the San Blas Islands and visited with the Kuna Indians as they watched them create their special Molas.  They traveled to these special islands with another couple.  My sister and her friend purchased many molas.  I must admit, I always dreamed of having a mola, knowing that my sister had been to those Islands.  Here is the one I chose.....

Mola from San Blas Islands mid 1970's

 I guess I will write about my Bonnie Hunter class that I took on Saturday, July 2nd on another day this week.

 

Design Wall Monday

Here's what I have cut so far for my Bonnie Hunter class, Bricks in the Barnyard.  I only have this evening and a couple of hours tomorrow to do any more cutting before I leave.  I'm hoping to feel more prepared for this class than any other class I've taken at our guild.  I want time to focus on the tips and techniques that she will be giving us, rather than cutting my fabric.  I'm also hoping to haul my Juki to the class.  It is my favorite sewing machine and has lots of bells & whistles (like needle down & a thread cutter, which saves on thread).

Fabric cut and on my ironing board

Be sure to fly over to Judy's Blog at:   Patchwork Times.com

Missing my 6 1/2" Easy Angle

Next month, I'm taking a Bonnie Hunter class and she recommended using the Easy Angle for making the half square triangle units.  I knew I had that exact Angle and had it for quite some time, so where could it be?
So, as I was looking for it; I continued to put items away and sort through fabrics.  Amazingly, after about two hours, I found it.  I imagine if I could lose a few more things, I could actually get my Sewing Room in some type of order. I'm going out of town for a week and when I get back, I'll only have two days to get ready for my class plus I'll be exhausted after my trip.  We are going to be making a quilt from Bonnie Hunter's book:  Scraps & Shirttails II.

I had wanted to finish my Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt from 2014 but too many other projects have been started, so I plan to show her the part that I have completed.  I'm hoping that some of her energy will rub off on me.

Design Wall Monday

One of our guild members taught a class in June 1999 and again in June 2005 on making a "Miniature Double Wedding Ring" quilt. I remember how much fun our members had learning the technique and bringing back their finished quilts at the next guild meetings.

Mini Wedding Ring Quilts from June 1999

The picture above shows (2) Mini's that I made in June 1999.  Good thing I brought these out to show because I now realize that the "mini" UFO that I started in June 2005, is missing the 4-patch blocks at each
intersection.  As I was quilting it, I thought it was odd that the rings were not finished at the intersections.

Mini Wedding Ring Quilt from June 2005

The picture above shows the Mini that I thought was almost done except for the sleeve at the top.
I discovered it is missing the 4-patch blocks.  Now to round up contrasting fabric to make
(20) tiny 4-patch blocks.  I hand quilted around all the rings with gold metallic thread to match the background fabric and machine quilted three times around the rings with gold thread.  I will also need
to make a label.


So, as not to forget the "Major Project" that I've been working on with a deadline--the end of June 2016.
Oh, who am I kidding???  I know, you will look at it and say "It doesn't look that bad".  However, my camera doesn't take wide angle shots and about one third of the stuff is hiding in a corner of my bedroom and my cutting table is also piled high.  I have created a wider walk-way than a few weeks ago.

Sewing Room - mid June 2016

It appears that there is a problem on Judy's end, so I cannot link up at this time.  Hopefully, I will remember to link up, later this afternoon.  Hey, more time to work on organizing and clean-up.... LOL
Link up is now working at Judy's house at:  Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

My 365 Quilty Circle Project is up to date through Saturday, June 4th.  The (3) rows I have pictured include April 30th, through June 4th for a total of 36 HST with a circle and journal entry related to that day.

Quilty Circles from 043016 through 060416

The next picture is of a QOV  "in process".  I started making this quilt in mid April 2015 and wrote about it on my DWM post dated 04/20/2015.  All it needs is a narrow red border all the way around and a wider blue border as the final border all the way around.  I had been using a nice white muslin for the backs and had recently purchased a entire bolt of 90" wide to be used for my QOV projects.  I recently found out that I must use a white on white fabric instead of white muslin.   One of my friends from my sewing group is going up to Whittles Fabrics located in Smiths Grove, Kentucky and plans to look for some 90" fabric that will be suitable for my QOV projects.

Carpenter Star Top needs borders

See what other quilters are making this week at:  Patchwork Times.com

Mrs. Bunny building her nest

I have spent the entire morning watching a "new mother to be" build her nest.  Heavy rain was predicted for this morning and Mrs. Bunny may have known rain was on it's way.  She was busy gathering dry grass from our yard and taking it back to the nest she was preparing.  She chose a nice spot right between my iris and a foot high wooden raised garden bed.  She scurried back and forth for over an hour-resting now and again.

Gathering grass for nest

Lots of grass options

Perfect Nest Spot as seen through the blinds

Then came a huge downpour of rain.  I noticed that Mrs. Bunny had moved out into our yard and
was sitting out under a tree, getting soaked.  The next time I looked, she was gone.  The sun has now appeared, which is good.

Well, I need to get busy on my "365 Quilty Circles".  At present, I'm caught up through June 1st.  It is so easy to get behind.
 

Red, White & Blue to Honor our Service Men, Service Women and their families

Memorial Day, May 30th

All last week, I've been cutting 4 1/2" HST in red, white, and blue fabrics, to make a Friendship Star Quilt.
The blocks will finish at 12" square for a total of 30 blocks (5 across & 6 down).  I sewed the rows together this afternoon.  Since this is not a QOV, I will be machine quilting the top with my walking foot.

This will be a patriotic quilt, which I plan to give to a U.S. Army Veteran's wife.  Her husband passed away in early 2015.  My friend, Roanne, whom I have known since 7th grade told me about their friends; Raymond and his wife.  Raymond had helped counsel Roanne's son, who suffered from PTSD.

Friendship Stars - May 30, 2016

The center squares in the (4) stars in each corner have "Dept. of the Army-United States of America" printed on the fabric.  I had enough fabric left for a couple of pieces in two other squares.

See what other quilters have been doing this past week by checking out Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

Even though I haven't posted since May 9th, I have been busy.  I've been attacking all of my many piles of scraps scattered all over my sewing room.  My goal has been to choose a pile and cut the fabrics into squares of different sizes depending on the size of the scrap.  It's a long, slow process but the goal is to finish by the end of May.
Yesterday, I decided to cut some of my red, white, and blue fabrics for a Friendship Star Quilt.  So far, I have one block complete, just 29 to go......

Friendship Star

I have a difficult time using the patterned lights for the white blocks.  I'm not really sure of the reason but I do know that I also have a hard time making scrappy quilts and now with an overwhelming amount of scraps, this is something I need to get over.

Venture over to  Patchwork Times.com  to see what others have created..........

Design Wall Monday

Greetings--

Finally, I have begun making my Fabric Journal that I've been wanting to make for quite some time.

I finished the front and back covers yesterday and began working on the interior pages.  My plan is to

have 12 pages for embellishments, odds & ends, photo transfers that came out well and ones that may have had issues.  This Journal will be a "sampling" of different ideas, techniques, items and problems to watch out for in the future.  When our new hospital was built in our town, they sent out postcards which showed two images.  One image showed the land as it was before they built the hospital and the 2nd image was a picture of the newly built hospital.  I never knew the name of the technology that was used to produce the two images.  It's called "Lenticular printing" in which lenticular lenses are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles.

The "saver" in me knew that one day I would incorporate that postcard into some type of art work.  That someday has finally arrived.

Design Wall Monday

The top left block is the front cover and the top right block is the back cover.  It was going to be the other way around but I discovered I needed the blank spots on the ends for my grommets, otherwise the grommets would be punched through my houses.

The middle block on the left is full of clothing labels that I've saved for over 25 years.

The middle block on the right is a 9-patch made from 1930's fabric.  It had been a left-over block that hadn't worked out and was a little wonky, so I cut all the squares down to 3" and resewed the block, which I plan to applique to the base block.

The block on the bottom left is the lenticular lens postcard.  If you use the ribbon loop at the bottom,

you can lift the ultra suede block up and discover a piece of fabric showing lots of smiling children.

I have 9 more blocks to make, so I'd been get going.  The next block I plan to make will include several photo transfers that were not used in photo transfer quilts that I've made through the years. 

A big thank-you to Bonnie, who recently asked about my Fabric Journal and wanting to see it when it's complete.  Sometimes, that's all I need to get in gear and finish something.  Other times, it's a deadline for a gift to be given.

See what other quilters have been working on this week at:  Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

Just now finished my "Simple, Easy Project"--  If you saw the picture in the catalog, you would know that it does not look anything like it.  However, one of the ladies in our Sewing Group donated one hundred sandwich containers full of "Die Cut" appliques.  I chose to use the stars and the cowboy hat &  boots.  It was fun to add the spurs to the boots and fancy stitching around the hat.  All the fabrics were cut 8.5" long and however wide the fabric scrap was.  This will be going to Project Linus, so I tried to use many different fabrics--lots of fun characters and animals to find in the fabrics.  Hopefully, it will bring a smile to a special child.

DWM 05022016

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Quilty 365 Circles

Hooray!! I'm caught up through April 30th.  I chose to sew my little blocks together; 12 across and 15 rows down.  Yes, that will only get me through June 30th.  I haven't decided whether I will have a 2-sided quilt or 2 quilts.  I love the idea of writing a few words of what I did each day and noting the month and day.  What a wonderful way to write a journal.  I started out using a different fabric for every circle but found several circles with the same fabric. Not all the HST have circles.  There's a rabbit, a boot with spurs, a mini Publix shopping bag, a beanie for baldie fleece hat, a pocket for a Bag of Love,  and lots of circles sewn on one square to represent the day I made 20 circles to get caught up.  Hopefully, I will not do that again.

What I have so far is 120 little blocks, from Jan. 1st through Apr. 29th.   April 30th is complete, but I'll wait until the next row is ready to be sewn before I add it.

365 Quilty Project  (120 days)

Thank you Audrey for creating this challenge.
I absolutely adore this project!!!
Link up here to see everyone's--   Quilty 365 Circles