Lunch Bunch

Once a month there's a group that meets at The Quilted Cottage, led by Sandie and called Lunch Bunch. Today was our Christmas gathering. Those who wished could bring a gift to exchange (homemade or sewing related). I made a pair of Santa potholders which Chris took home.

The gift (Gingerbread Tissue Holder) I took home was made by my sister, Connie. Isn't it adorable? The bag also included a cute Joy to the World ornament.

Here's a few photos from Yoder's in Shipshewana, IN. My heart beats wacky when I see all of the fabric there and at Lolly's.

And a couple of antique quilts brought by Susan had us drooling. The second quilt had another quilt inside it. How exciting is that! Susan plans to carefully remove the ties to reveal the hidden treasure. Can't wait to see what's inside.

Shipshewana Dear Jane Retreat

I'm still in awe of the beautiful quilts that were shared during this year's Show N' Tell. There were five new goddesses crowned with their completed DJ quilts. We had quilters from Norway, Belgium, Germany, France, England, Australia, Canada and across the US - California to Maine. (110 in all)

One of the highlights for me was getting to meet May Britt! She's just as sweet in person as she appears on her blog.

On Thursday evening, we were treated to an inspiring trunk show from award-winning quilter, Rosemary Youngs. Here she is with her finished Dear Jane. She showed many of her quilts and talked about writing her books. Rosemary also posts a slideshow of the Show N' Tell on her blog. You can find it here.

Here's a photo of the new treasures added to my stash. I look forward to using them.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the turkey and dressing and pie!

More Projects

Trying to catch up on two months worth of 'what have I been up to' isn't easy for someone who sometimes has trouble remembering what she did yesterday.

Here are two small projects I made at The Springs Retreat in Gladwin. The pillow is meant to sit on your lap when you are doing hand work. It has two pockets to hold your scissors, thread, thimble, or candy. The fabric is from Pat Sloan's "Bobbins & Bits" line which my sister, Connie shared with me. The other is a little paper pieced pincushion.The pattern for the pincushion was in a magazine called Simple Sewing and Quilting.

Finished stitching and sewing this little wall hanging called Snowman Buddies.
It was a fast and fun project.

I made this little four patch at the September Sleep At Home Retreat from a Primitive Gatherings kit that I bought at the AQS Show in Grand Rapids. It's one of my favorite little quilts.

Working on the borders with giant rick rack for this Halloween quilt. The pumpkins were fussy cut. Won't make it for this year, but that's okay.

Also sewed all of the log cabin blocks for this Snowman wall hanging. The snowman is made from wool.

I am probably forgetting something, but these are projects that have kept me busy the past two months. Also, I was constantly in front of the TV watching the Tigers as they played their way to another Division Series Championship. It didn't end as we had hoped, but there's always next year. :-)

More Progress

The watermelon quilt is now crossed off of my list of things to finish!

Just got this one back from the quilter. The binding is ready to sew on next.

More tomorrow.....

Hello, October! Going quickly...

I knew that my blog was being neglected, but not one post for all of September!  And now October is almost history, too! Where have I been? What have I been up to? The days continue to zip past me, but I'll show some of the projects I've worked on in the last few weeks.

First, I now have an Easy Street (Bonnie Hunter's 2012 Mystery Quilt) top ready for the quilter (as soon as I press it).

It finished at 95" square and that is a huge quilt for me. I'm used to miniatures and wall hangings.

Borders have been added to this redwork top. It was a free BOTM from Paula
Stoddard at Pacific Patchwork and is called Redwork Season. I loved doing these blocks!

This quilt was made for Abby to use in her dorm room. The fabric line is Twigs & Grace. Two pillowcases went with the quilt.

I'll post again tomorrow with more updated projects. I want to get this out before November rolls around.

Quilt Show Week

I'm packing my bag because it's AQS quilt show week in Grand Rapids, MI! Connie and I had a wonderful time last year and expect an even better one this time. The weather forecast is perfect, too. I've been thinking about all of those vendors, er, I mean quilts the last few nights.

Here's another little finish that I made for my daughter, Kari. She bought it as a kit in Menominee Falls, WI at The Quilted Basket (now closed) and asked if I would stitch it for her. It was fun to do after the little pieces were all cut. Annie is studying each kitty and finally selects her favorite!

The grape tomatoes are starting to get more plentiful now. I could eat them all day long.

It's blueberry time, also. I made this pie and it didn't last very long.

Have a wonderful week - I know I will!

The Wedding Quilt

After more than 20 years of on and off (mostly off) sewing on this quilt, the top is done! It is the wedding quilt for my daughter, Kari and son-in-law, Craig. They just celebrated their 20th anniversary on the 31st of July. I almost made that deadline. The pattern was from a Quilter's Newsletter Magazine series back in 1987-88 called Log Cabin Home Sampler. It's difficult to get a good picture of it, but I'll try again when it returns from the quilter.

Annie is checking for accuracy on each block

while Jasper just naps in his latest favorite spot.

Catching Up

The watermelon slice is no longer missing. I was able to find enough scraps to make another block so it is now a complete flimsy waiting to be quilted.

At the July Sleep At Home Retreat, I sewed a strip quilt with Twig and Grace fabrics from Riley Blake. It measures 54" x 82" which I thought might work out well for Abby's dorm this fall. Two pillowcases were added and this top also awaits the quilter. The fabrics are much prettier in person than this photo depicts.

In our "Happy Land" group, we each made a little pouch. This was a kit bought last year at the quilt show in Shipshewana. It finally made it to the top of the 'to do' list! I love the puzzle fabric.

The Eugenia theme for July was 'Patriotic'. My sister, Connie, won with the most votes and received some patriotic fabrics and threads. Her sheep is on her soapbox (cup). I made the little hat and flag for mine. Next month is 'Fun in the sun".

Missing A Slice

Today I decided to finish assembling the blocks for my watermelon quilt from way back here. Somehow either I counted wrong or misplaced a block as I'm one block short of a top. At least it's a green one, so I don't need to add seeds. Now where did I put those leftover pieces?

My Eugenia was a June bride. Each month at our Sleep At Home Retreats there is a theme for our sheep. If you choose to participate, attendees vote on Friday for the best themed Eugenia. This month will be patriotic.

Are You Sure It's July?

It's true that the older you get, the faster time flies. The days keep zipping by and I still have a never-ending 'to do' list. How can I be busy all of the time and yet have so little to show for it?

The beautiful little girl in my header is my now 'headed to college' granddaughter, Abigail. She graduated with honors last month and gave the closing remarks at the commencement. Another testament to the theory of time flying by!

Here is our son-in-law and coach, Craig, with grandson, Ian, holding his varsity letter for track! 

Jim and I stopped at a few garage sales a couple of weeks ago and I found this cute, cat house. Jim didn't think they would pay any attention to it, but I think it is definitely worth the 50 cents I paid for it.

This is my center compass for a BOTM by Esther Aliu called "Love Entwined" that is both challenging and full of applique! The pattern is free, but you need to sign up for the yahoo list to get the patterns. (click on BOTM for link to join)  It may end up being a pillow or table topper instead of a quilt, but I have enjoyed it so far. When the next pattern comes out (July 15th) this pattern will no longer be free. Hurry on over.

The Tall Ships arrived in Bay City yesterday and are docked for the week-end!

Jim, my sisters and I were at Comerica Park for the 23 hit game by the White Sox. Not the ending we anticipated, but it's always fun to be at the ballgame.

Sewing Days

My local quilt shop, The Quilted Cottage, has scheduled three days to sew quilts for the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes. Since I can't be there on those days, I made my top this week. The pattern is called Simply Strips by Fran Morgan. It was fast to cut, sewed up quickly and only used three yards of fabric for the top and binding.

I will use this pattern again. It would make a cute baby quilt.

Small Project Finish

Do you use Best Press on your fabrics? Here is a cute tutorial to make a cover for the 16 oz. bottle. You can find it at Atkinson Desdigns here.

My prayers go out to the people in Oklahoma. It's difficult to comprehend such destruction of properties and loss of lives.

Dimensional Bow Ties

I took a class from Jackie at The Quilted Cottage on Friday on how to make dimensional bow tie blocks. They are fast and easy to do and make a perfect hand project while watching the Tigers play ball.

I'm linking up with Kathy for her Slow Stitching Sunday.

At guild last week, we had a tea party. The tables were decorated with table cloths, flowers and candies. Each table had a variety of teas and cookies which we enjoyed while viewing special vintage quilts that members brought to share. Many gals wore hats for the occasion, also. One member brought her Eugenia Ewe along (all dolled up). It was a fun evening!