Saturday's Smile!!

For my friend, Tag!!  :-)

Busy, Busy Week!!

Oh, wow, this has been such a busy week but I got a lot done!!

I finally got all 36 of Lynne's blocks done and in the mail!!  That was the biggest quilting project of my quilting career and I am thinking it might be the last huge project like that as it was so stressful to get it finished!!  Gratefully, Lynne was so nice about the job taking so long!!

Next, we got a real good start on my friend Chris's son and his new bride's wedding gift.  Chris does not sew but she is a dang good pinner!!

Then, I got all the 9-patches done for the baby shower gift.  When Shannon told me she wanted blue, brown and green, I said what??????  Yuk!!  But look what we found and it is going to be darling for her daughter that is coming into the world the end of June!!

And finally, I just about got Pat's April Doll Quilt done but then I decided I wanted to put sprinkles on the cupcakes, so I am keeping it until tomorrow and then off in the mail it goes!!

Now it is bedtime and I think I am going to sleep like a baby tonight!!

Saturday's Smile

Working on My April Doll Quilt

and the theme for April is Birthday.  My partner asked for a table runner for all the birthdays she has coming up this summer, so here is what I have at this point ~

Loving it so far!!

Birthday Present on Its Way . . .

to my "Dear Jane" Secret Pal!!  Woo!  Hoo!!  And it should actually get there on time - May 9!!  And today is my Mom's birthday - she would have been 95 years old!!  Happy birthday, Mom!!

This picture is sorta blurry - sorry, but the package is already in the mail so I can't get another.  It measures about 25" x 25" and so hope fully my Secret Pal will use it for a table topper and put her birthday cake on it!!

And look at the cute label I sewed into the binding.  It is cotton twill and comes by the yard from Lilla Lotta Handmade Goodness.  What a fun touch!!

P.S.  And check out the snow drops as you move your mouse around the blog - especially fun on the lavender sides!!  :-)

Saturday's Smile!!

March Doll Quilt for Mary

Ok, so I am a little late on this one and I guess the April doll quilt is late too, but I am hoping that Mary has received her quilt and that she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it for her!!

This is one that I tried the HSTs by sewing all the way around the sandwiched blocks and then cutting the block in 4ths.  I have always had an aversion to HSTs because everyone has always said they were so difficult.  So, when I saw this technique, I thought I would give my first ones a try.

I used some vintage Barbara Brackman Morris and Company fabrics and then got a chance to use my new sit-down long arm, Fred.  Actually, her full name is Fredericka II but Janet O. from Roque Quilter and I just call her Fred.  Janet is Fred's Godmother because if it weren't for Janet, Fred would not be living downstairs in the Studio.

Oh, boy, do I love this little baby!!  Now, it is just practice, practice, practice!!

And here you can see some of my quilting, it's still just meandering, but it is so much more fun on Fred than on my old machine!!

Oh Boy, Did I Have Fun Today!!

I tried something new!!  Who said you can't teach an ol' dog new tricks??

We started out with this~

And ended up with this ~

Oh, yeah, and a little of this ~

And we get to do it again in two weeks!!  Maybe that saying should be ~ you CAN teach an ol' ewe new tricks!!  :-))

Saturday's Smile!!

We Started with a T-Shirt and a Family Photo . . .

My neighbor across the street, Becky, came to me last week and said she had a brainstorm that she wanted to throw out.  She has been working with a group of university students in China over the past ten years to help a group of young, deaf Chinese students, ages 4 through about 9, from a small village in rural China, get an eduacation and learn how to get acclimated into a hearing society.

She wanted to make a quilted wallhanging for the 10-year celebration of the program.    Through great collaboration and many prayers for inspiration, we came up with this darling banner-style quilt ~

It measures about 28" x 44" and that is Becky in the of the picture.  Becky left for China early this morning and she will bind the quilt on her 27-28 hour journey to Shanghai and then she will spend 3 weeks over there helping the Chinese folks that are keeping the program going with all the things that need doing.  I was so excited to be a part of this wonderful project that helps young kids be better people!!  I wish I could share Becky's whole story with you but alas . . .

UPDATE FROM BECKY IN CHINA - 4/29/3013

Here it is with the binding finished - Becky said she finished on the plane and watched a couple of movies while finishing it!!

This is Becky with her quilt!!

In her email Becky said:

Attached are some picture of our quilted banner . . . It turned out so great and everyone that has seen it has been so positive.  Most can't believe that we could make such a beautiful thing by hand.    I finished the sewing on the plane -- helped the fht go faster and I was able to watch some movies as I did it.    We will be using it to help promote the project from May 1st thru May 10th!   My time here has been busy and good so far . . . will be working tomorrow with the student on the web-site and we'll see how it all works out.   It has beautiful here . . . lots of green trees and plants in Nanjing and the temperatures have been up in the 80's!!!

Saturday's Smile!!

When I am an Old Women I Shall Wear Purple!!

As I was working on these two Flowers for a swap this evening ~

I couldn't help but think about the poem, "Warning!" by Jenny Joseph.

I remember when this poem was so popular back in the late 1990s and when the Red Hat Society was so big - and as I have researched it, still is!! 

Warning!!

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

By Jenny Joseph (1932 - )

Do you remember this poem??  And are you a Red Hat Society member??  :-))

Re-cycling Christmas Cards!!

Last Christmas our sweet friend Shell, her hubby and her bunny kids from The Raspberry Rabbits sent me the cutest Christmas postcard ~

As you can see, she has used some of her felt and the picture is of Hannah and Hawwwingtwon.

Only thing is, I just got it a few days ago because it had fallen down behind the little pine trees in the front of my house right under my mailbox.  As I was raking winter debris from around the trees a few days ago, I found Shell's card!!

Well, I wanted to keep it and I didn't want to just put it away in a drawer, so I attempted some of Shell's Folk Art Fusion stitching around the kids and the tree and made a little pincushion that I can keep out on my cutting table all the time!!

Thanks, Shell, I needed a new pincushion!!  You can see more of Shell's postcards HERE

Saturday's Smile!!

Yesterday Was Crazy!!

I got up at 5 a.m. to finish the Challenge Quilt - pretty nuts, but it got finished (at 8:30 a.m. and Guild starts at 10:00) and it's owner loved it!!

Some of you may do this challenge Quilt in your Guilds.  In our Guild, we got a bag of fabric last October,

not knowing who it belonged to and not knowing what was in the bag.  We were to take the bag home, check out the fabric and make a quilt top of our choice with the pieces of fabric.

Ok, move forward to March and I finally decided what pattern I was going to use with all the scraps.  Now the bag I got had small pieces of fabric, so I decided that I would use this Barbara Brackman pattern ~

The pattern is paper-pieced and of course Janet knows I am saving the papers for her!!

Well, I only had enough fabric to do a wallhanging size (about 30" x 24"), so this is what I came up with even though the picture does not do it justice - the colors are just gorgeous ~

I am happy to announce that the new owner loves it and she told me she has a dark purple wall in her kitchen and that is where it is going to hang!!  I left it without a border so she could make it larger if she wanted and she thought maybe she would so it will fit the space better.  And then she can put whatever border she wants on it and finish it off!!  Whew!!  I HATE deadlines - even if they are self-imposed!!

Thanks for stopping by!!