It will be a few weeks more before I have my quilting machine back from repair and although I am sooo tempted to start something new, I am trying to be a responsible quilter and turn my energies to finishing some things up.  

These were some snowball swap blocks from a couple of years ago, I threw them together with a border to make a baby quilt.  (Notice the remnants of hurricane Lucy on the right side of my design wall.  Love those kittens but wow can they be destructive!)

 In my attempt to be organized and ready to pump out some finished projects I have been preparing  everything needed to finish the quilt once the big machine comes home.

I hate to thread and re-thread the machine so I plan to put the black cone of Aurifil on the machine and assembly line quilt any finished tops requiring black thread.  Maybe that's the way to approach my UFOs rather than list them and beat myself up, maybe I should just go with quilting thread color, first my black period, then my tan period, etc.  I'll let you know how it works out!

 Scrappy Crossed quilt blocks almost complete.  You may notice that these blocks look like the scrappy crosses posted a little while ago, but not quite the same.  That's because I forgot I was swapping them.  I cant just sit and sew blocks together without getting all sorts of ideas of how to finish off the quilt.  So my blocks definitely had an orange and blue feel, however these that I swapped Maggie for, had an undeniable pink black vibe for me.  

I still have some hand stitching I'd like to do in the white areas with pink thread, as you can see there are a few safety pins hanging off there.  I'm just not finding any thread to stand out enough for my liking.  Perhaps floss will work better, I may try that this evening.  And you might notice the prairie points, a first time for me.  They do add some flair and interest to the quilt, no they weren't difficult, but I just don't know that I got the bang for my buck.  Lot's of pressing and burning my fingers when i could have done some quick flying geese and achieved almost the same effect. 

 Back used up some asterisks swap blocks from long ago.  I must also point out the toile is the same that I used for my prairie points and was leftover from my kitchen curtains, how's that for a win-win?

Looking Glass View

A little finish for this weekend, pattern called Looking Glass View that uses fusible and machine applique. I have been sorting through UFOs trying to see what I can manage to complete without the big machine since its in for repair for up to six weeks.  I spent so much time and energy swapping blocks, and as I went through the totes and piles and boxes, my thoughts went to my prolific swapping friend Sandra,  I  think we must have swapped well over a thousand blocks over the years. She sent me this pattern as a little gift after I saw her beautiful completion.  We lost Sandra to cancer in October and I miss my friend.

Let me tell you about an awesome retreat

Annual retreat in North Webster, IN... a blast as usual, I just heart those ladies so much. There is just something so calming and reassuring about being around a group of ladies who not only share your interests, but help you to understand your place in the universe and the sisterhood of women. OK that sounded corny I know, but I sit at the age of 42 and see those younger than me struggling with the same things I struggled with I cant help but look to those older than me who fought and survived the same battles I'm currently facing.

I was very productive during the 5 days of sewing. I know my attitude of using things up really helped me to plow through the projects since I started with mostly UFOs and orphan blocks and worked to give them a home. We went shopping in Shipshewana as we always do, I thought I was being a good girl, buying only fat quarters from Lolly's famous boat. We got a great deal by buying 100 FQs, so that is all I bought, 100. It wasn't until we got back to the cottage did my buddy Darlene point out that 100 fat quarters are in fact the same as 25 yards of fabric! Yikes! Thanks Darlene...geesh!

Here are some pics of what I managed to accomplish.

Fall orphan blocks. This quilt is the result of 4 swaps and a BOM that never got completed with various flying geese thrown in there to make it somewhat square.
GPS Giant Postage Stamp swap blocks finally at home in a quilt top.

This was a BOM from years ago, Broken Stained Glass from planetpatchwork.com. I doubt very seriously if this were all the blocks in the BOM, but its together now.

A pieced back using the Turning Twenty pattern in homespuns. This will eventually back a quilt with wool batting, my first time using it. Its the winter quilt for our bed, i need to get a move on before it gets cold.

See my cute little Kilroy peeking out! :-0)

A RxR from Mailblocks from a couple of years ago. Fuzzy appliqued flowers still need to have some more leaves put into the barren places that just need a little more.

And my Sonnet charm pack quilt, also from several years ago, finally ready to be quited.

This year's challenge was Itty Bitty, it had to fit in a 10"x13" frame. So here it is, all finished. The buttons were DH's idea, I still just wasn't pleased with the way the centers came out and he was the button man.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the favors I gave. Hand made soaps in various yummy scents. Sandy at Earthlydelightsoap made up these darling little bags with two different soap scents. I highly recommend her soap, we've been using it for years and in addition to smelling just wonderful, it leaves your skin so soft and smooth. I cannot say enough about her customer service, i contacted her to explain what I needed and my budget and she made these special sized bags, she's the greatest! I am a very happy customer!

So now the North Webster September retreat is over, next to start planning for is May. And I also need to get all these tops quilted and finished!

Home from retreat!

This is for anyone out there who has thought about going to a quilting retreat but has been too apprehensive to go.....GO!!!!!!! I know everyone thinks they're shy or that they wont fit in, but look at it this way, how can you go wrong with a room full of other women who share the same passions as yourself? I always have a wonderful time with old and new friends at retreat. There is so much experience to draw from, if you have a question or a technique that has been a problem in the past, chances are there will be someone there who is proficient and will take the time to show you one on one. Best of all is the friends you make. I have always been one of the guys, having very few female friends. But when I am at retreat surrounded by women, older and younger I feel....(searching for a not too overly sappy term)....belonging, kinship, centered.

Anyhoo....next time a retreat presents itself to you please just go for it! Take your open mind and you desire to learn and share and just jump in head first!

This is the cottage we stay at taken from the dock out on the lake a couple of May retreats ago. Gifties made for Liz who is the Retreat Mom who keeps us all in check with her whip and wit and the other for Alison, quilter, chef and friend extraordinaire.

Pumpkin blocks for a swap completed at retreat.

Christmasy Delectable Mountain blocks for an upcoming swap. (I LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! this pattern, have already made 36 half blocks, going to make more for sure!)



For the rest of you woolenators to drool over, purchased at Lolly's and Yoder's in Shipshewana.



More pics to come when my quilt hanger gets home from work :-)

Stuff

The countdown is on! I have about 2½ weeks to prepare for the retreat in September. I have been cutting kits and gathering fabrics to hopefully finish loads of tops during the five day quilting extravaganza! But I have managed to complete a few things.

A chili pepper potholder made from a pattern found in Pam Bono's Big Book Of Rotary Cutter Quilts for a swap at Mailblocks. Lotto blocks using Marcia Hohn's pattern for Starflower from Quilterscache.com for lotto blocks.

Just a little time...

Last weekend my mom, sister and I all met in Gatlinburg, TN for a mini girls only reunion. We had lots of fun talking and exploring Smokey Mountain National Park. What a beautiful area, I know I will be returning as soon as I can! It was a great way to spend the first part of my vacation.

The second part has been spent doing a little tidying up around my sewing area and trying to get caught up on some swap/lotto blocks.

This first pic are my Blocks in a Box from The Golden Thimble.com Aren't they fun? Super easy and a nice size at 9" they will work up into a couple of quilts very quickly.

These are Bear Tracks blocks from Quilterscache.com Talk about a really nice autumn quilt for the winner Genevieve!

UFO Analysis

I am involved in a UFO challenge at Mailblocks, we have four months to complete up to ten different UFO's that we listed at the beginning of the challenge. This really got me to thinking about how many UFO's I truly have and what makes them UFO's. Why have some of my projects lain at the back of the closet or at the bottom of the stack for so long? So I decided to pull a few out and seriously evaluate them.

This is a 4 Patch Stack n' Whack that I started at last September's retreat. What about is it that had it tucked away to live a life of loneliness? I think its maybe because I don't really like it. I loved the fabric, the whacked patterns did not turn out as dramatic as I would have liked and the blocks look uninspiring. I am thinking they might be better served if I gave them to someone who likes them or make a little charity quilt. Its not that they're not nice, I am just bored.

These raggedy flowers are just nine of a total thirty six that I have from a row robin that finished in April. I like them, I plan to add leaves and some butterflies and a nice floral border. Why haven't I worked on them? I think because there's still so much work to be done to complete the top let alone quilt the big beasty once the top is done. Oh yeah, and let us not forget that once its done and on my bed a 90lb. muddy dog will surely fly in there to avoid having her feet wiped off and roll all over that cream fabric! :-)

This is an older one, Wonky Houses from Quiltville.com made during a swap in 2006. I loved the blocks and decided to make some wonky trees for corner stones. But its small, I want to make a really killer border, like maybe pieced deer or bears with larger wonky trees. Again...that's just a lot of work. Maybe I will just make a nice colorful scrappy border of geese and use the following quilt to back it?


Homespun Turning Twenty from 2007. This was a retreat project that I used unloved homespuns just to try out the pattern. Now I really like it! I have a distressed black that I planned to make an inner border and smaller pieces of homespun for an outer border. I think the colors will work well with the Wonky Houses from the previous post. (Wow, it sounds like I have a definitive plan...maybe these will be my next UFOs to tackle!)


A Row x Row from Quilting in Indiana. This is a killer top, can you guess what I haven't finished it? Because I have been too lazy to figure out how to continue the black and white pinwheels into the border. I have a really nice gray for a border, but my laziness just keeps me from continuing.





A row x row from Mailblocks, really cute isn't it? I designed it with a particular lady in mind, an ovarian cancer survivor that i have so much love and respect for. I have been telling her about it for 3 years now. I wonder when she's going to finally tell me to get off the pot and MAKE HER QUILT ALREADY!!! What has me stuck on this one? I am envisioning a picket fence border around the outside. Again, I am just dragging my feet at designing the block for the borders.

Another Round Robin. I am disappointed at this one. One robiner made her round completely contrary to my color requests. I'm sure you can guess which round has me upset. Its almost 2 years old, and I pull it out occasionally. My anger keeps lessening each time I drag it out, maybe in another year I will actually be able to throw a black border on it and get it quilted.

This was a Row x Row that got hung up in the events of one Robiners life and I got it back after an extra six months. I was so excited about this when it started, it just makes me happy to look at. But somehow it got lost in the shuffle and now I do not have the intended border fabric anymore....Grrr! So now I am on the lookout for a nice complimentary fabric, but it always slips my mind when fabric shopping.

There's another factor in finishing UFOs, the cost of completion. Now when I look at the stack of UFO's I cannot help but to see $$$ fly around in the potential cost for batting and backing. Of course I could always piece the backings...but that would become a UFO in itself!

Good Gawd! This is just a drop in the UFO bucket around here...this partial list has really hit home....I need to go and hang my head in shame.....

Lotto and swap blocks

What I did with my Tuesday :-) First Lotto blocks in purple and yellows using Castles in the Air block by Quilterscache. And next swap blocks using Quiltville's Nine Patch split with Red Ok, now I really like the looks of these blocks. And since I started trying to convert my scraps using Bonnie's Scrap User's System I have plenty of 2½" squares and 2½x4½" bricks that I can make plenty more of these blocks.
I love scrap quilts, so I'm thinking a border containing greens would make a nifty Christmas throw that still had the scrappy look I love.

Couple of quilts for a couple of sweet twins

Our friends Matt and Janelle had a sweet little girl and boy about a month and a half ago and I finally finsihed a quilt for each.

A bandana pocket quilt for Collin.

This was taken before washing, the pocket is now all frayed looking now. Deatail of the star and loop quilting

A sweet little heart quilt, pattern from Jofigure.com, for pretty little Kahlen.


Close up of heart quilting on Kahlen's quilt.

Some things I have managed to accomplish recently

Scrappy Heart swap (LOVE THIS PATTERN!) blocks from Quilt Patterns from Seattle

A Dandy swap blocks from Quilterscache


Potholder for Mailblocks swap pattern is from Judy Hopkins Around the Block



Canada Day Tablerunner Mystery from JoFigure.com



Lotto Blocks Attic Window from Delewarequilts.com

Current WIP

Here are my fish swap blocks from a couple of months ago with some free formed seaweed. I had planned on just bordering and being done, but after playing around with Tonya's at Lazygalqulting free form lettering on Emily's quilt, I have decided to border it with a little fishy saying. So I enlisted some creative brainpower from my buddies at Mailblocks and Kerry gave me the cutest little saying!

"Any old fish can just float along and dream but it takes a really special fish to swim against the stream."

Now to get started on those letters!