Blog Catch-up Going Backwards in Time!

Still playing catch-up for that in-between period when I wasn’t posting.  During my busy time, I went to a quilt show up in New Port Richey (northwest of Tampa).  It was sponsored by the West Pasco Quilt Guild and they put on a really nice (and BIG) show.  There were some fascinating appliqué quilts that I would never attempt, but love to look at, only a few patriotic quilts (that I look at for inspiration for my Quilts of Valor group), and some great simple/easy/adaptable quilts that I can potentially make for kids.  Enjoy this sampling ...

Here’s a cute appliqué, called Monkey Business, by quilter Avis Merritt from a pattern in Quiltmaker Magazine:

And a wonderful Dresden Plate with lace and yo-yo centers (sorry, I didn’t get the label – I apologize for not giving credit):

A quilt I loved for the rich colors called The Gathering Pattern by Cindy Stroud from a book called The Essential Sampler Quilt Book:

Some Patriotic quilts:

 

I Pledge Allegiance by Melissa Lamb, pattern by Blackbird Designs

Tales of the First Ladies, Proud Eagle, by Joyce Novak, blocks named after President's Wives

Patriotic Rose by Frances Oswald, designs by Janet Miller

Portals by Mary Ann Norfleet, inspired by book Successful Scrap Quilts from Simple Rectangles

A very special Heirloom quilt by Genie Betts from a BOM by Carol Stark – the photos, even the detail ones, don’t do this quilt justice!

detail

 

detail

And some easier quilts that I think I might be able to do:

by Marsha White

by Marge Lurz

by Deborah Hetman

Not a Ghost Blog!

You’ve seen those ghost blogs … you know, the ones where they just abruptly stop posting without any warning and you wonder what happened to them?  Some bloggers say they are going to take a siesta or may be away for awhile, but then there are those that just disappear for years!  Well, I really didn’t intend to become one of the ghost bloggers, but time just got away with me.

I’ve been collecting pictures for posts for what seems like a long time now and I’ll be playing catch-up for awhile here going backwards … and I’ll try to do better in the future!

This is the latest finish of the kiddie quilt tops - uses leftover 2 1/2 inch strips:

And these are the quilts that I quilted for a fellow Sunshine Quilt Guild member.  Beth has some of the cutest printed fabrics in these simple squares quilts.  I was busy admiring the brown and beige kangaroos, emus, koalas, etc. as I was quilting when I realized the dark square I was on had a kangaroo staring at me, too!  Too cute:

detail of two kangaroo squares

And this is the one on the frame now (from Beth also):

And these are the flowers that are in bloom that I wish were in my yard – don’t know what there are, but will go looking for some at the plant nursery!

B-r-r-r and Then ----- Not

Well, the polar vortex came down as far as Florida.  And we felt the need to join in with the other 49 States so they could report the weather event that all 50 States had below freezing temps somewhere within the state.  Don’t want to be left out of that one, for sure (NOT):

So I dutifully covered my plants – a big project since I had to hold down the covers with extra brick pavers due to the high winds that night.  And we sure were cold!

You’ll notice that my giant furball of a dog didn’t want to come in since she’s lovin’ this cold weather, hence the grumpy look.

But this is Florida after all, and we tend to warm back up quickly.  It was back up to 78 within a few days and we had to put those layers of clothing back into the closet.  It’s a bummer to wear those clothes only three days a year, but I’m sure they will be back before the season’s over.  It’s a very pleasant 68 out now so no excuse not to go for a walk …

BTW, the flowers appreciated my efforts (and the warm rain last night didn’t hurt):

I was able to finish up another Quilt of Valor top to take to the meeting this coming Friday.  We are trying to use up all of the 4-patches that the volunteers have made to transition to a new design for 2014.  Don’t know what the design is yet – it’s a secret until Friday!

I have selected the fabrics for and started cutting a Big Block children’s quilt.  Haven’t gotten far yet, so that’s for next post.

Sewing in the New Year

I’m still working on making kid’s tops this week.  This is my take on the “modern” quilt movement:

Since I don’t make crumb blocks or have any Chinese coin strips available, I just used a striped fabric.  It sure was fast and easy, but I hope to find a cute kid’s print to put on the back – maybe for an older child.

And I had these strippy gold/blue blocks made up to pair with our Quilts of Valor group’s leftover 4-patches.

The colors look better in person – it kind of looks western since the gold/tan is more of a saddle color.  And yes, the column on the left is laid out wrong … late in the evening does that to me!  I’ll fix it when I lay out more and sew the rows together tomorrow.

My Bernina goes to the shop tomorrow for annual cleaning.  I’ve been sewing today on my little Janome Gem that I got for Christmas.  It sews like a champ and will be great to take to classes.  I do miss the Bernie for the needle-down feature, but she’ll be back soon!

Happy New Year!

Soccer Weekend for Me

No, I didn’t play soccer!  That would be like exercising … and we know I shy away from that.

I played with lots of soccer fabric and came out with two cute tops.  Yesterday’s was inspired by an on-line friend’s lotto blocks using the Bow Tie design.  I hadn’t made any Bow Ties in a long time, so I made up this fast top:

 

I call this one "Sportin' Ties"

And I found out that if you twist the bow ties 45^◦ you get a soccer ball shape, but you could get there a lot quicker if you made giant snowballs and squares, so I didn’t do that – maybe next time!

And then I looked through a few books to see what I had marked but never made and found Frolicin’ Frogs from this book:

It was s-o-o-o-o easy to make with strip sets.  Mine is called Soccer Frolic, of course.

It is raining here today – and that’s a good thing.  We really needed the rain as the ponds are low again and the grass is dry.  I had put out a different brand of bird seed that included cracked corn and guess who I attracted:

 

follow up the trunk of the palm to see how tall that left guy is

I guess that with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners over, it is safe to come out of the woods – Lol.

And the soon-to-be Monarchs have munched away on my milkweed.  I had bought them five new plants last year, so they didn’t get anymore this year, but what was there seemed sufficient.  These are now in cocoons …

 

before

almost done eating

And this, my friends:

count the number of hops you see!

is a Squirrel Path!  You can see where the little critters hop from one plant bed to the other.  I put birdseed on the ground in the bed in the foreground and also in the birdfeeder (where the post is barely visible in the background), and they help themselves to both.  Oh well, they’re entertainment for my dog!

Hope Your Christmas Was Merry!

For me, yesterday was all about the machines … a new Janome Gem and a label maker, that is!

I wanted a lightweight machine to take to classes and group meetings, so this little 12 lb will do nicely.  It even came with a bonus package that included a ¼-inch foot and extra needles – plus free shipping.  Couldn’t beat that so had to get it …

And the label maker is a must now that I have all of my storage bins organized – of course, I forgot the batteries and had to go out this morning to get them, but this afternoon I will be playing with the new toy!

What about fabric you say?  Well, I might have hit a few sales and picked up a few Fat Quarters to fill in some colors I was lacking – LOL.

And I spotted this magazine that was all about Fat Quarter quilts, so it jumped right into the shopping cart – obviously not my fault ...

And this was the only snow we’re likely to see down here in Florida, and that’s ok with us.  Snow can be very pretty, but I’ve noticed that it usually waits until it’s cold to snow (snork, snork) so we’ll take our balmy 74^◦ today, thank you very much.

And my husband got a few things, too, but golf balls, tennis shoes and computer games just aren’t quilty enough to take pictures of!

So as the moon begins to rise over the end of the year 2013,

I wish you Happy Quilting!

Merry Christmas!

Hoping Your Christmas is Merry and Bright !!

Gorgeous Weather!

A friend from our Sunshine On-Line Quilt Guild posted this on Facebook today:

Made me laugh out loud!  Because it’s all too true … it was wonderful outside here today.  The dog and I romped in the yard a little bit and I wandered around taking some pictures of the flowers in my yard:

 

Daisy Bush

Azaleas

And I watched the Monarch caterpillars munch away on these:

They will soon have these milkweed plants stripped and eaten down to stalks.  I bought them 3 extra plants last year but I haven’t gotten any more this year – everybody’s going on a diet …

or not - I'll probably get them another plant or two tomorrow.

 

And just to continue the cheer, I pulled out this Moda fabric bundle and started working on some blocks from the Missouri Star Quilt Company and the 3 Dudes.  It’s the Amazing Jelly Roll Pattern and works up fast.

Isn't this a happy print?

Soon I'll have lots of variety to rearrange the blocks

Two days ago, I finished picking up this design from the floor.  In my Quilts of Valor group, we are in the process of changing our "signature" quilt design to another pattern and trying to use up previously made 4-patch blocks .  I had made up a bunch of HSTs for an easy layout to alternate with the 4-patches.  Once I have the layout in a pleasing pattern, I just number the blocks and rows and somebody else will sew it together at the meeting this month.  They will also add the borders.  Easy-peasy.

So there is some progress to report in the sewing room this month!

PS  The high tomorrow will be about 74 F.  I might have to break out a sweatshirt (not!)-LOL.

Did You See This News Story?

Rappelling Elves Delight Patients in Indiana Hospital

By SYDNEY LUPKIN | Good Morning America – Fri, Dec 6, 2013 5:20 PM EST

 

GMA/ABC News

Christmastime can still be magical in the hospital, which the patients of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health learned this week when elves rappelled down the side of the 10-story building.

Dressed in pointy shoes and hats and decked out in red and green, the elves suddenly appeared outside patients' windows to wave and smile. Meanwhile, Santa himself made his way through the inside of the hospital to visit with patients and their families and give out gifts.

... The hospital thanked American National Skyline, Inc. for bringing the elves and The Cheer Guild, which operates the hospital's toy room, distributing more than 14,000 items to its patients every month.

When I make quilts for children’s charities, I always want to remember that there are REAL children that receive the quilts and are comforted.  That is what it is all about.

Read the whole story about the elves and Santa at this link – it will warm your heart this holiday season:

http://gma.yahoo.com/rappelling-elves-delight-patients-indiana-hospital-192653583.html

 

GMA/ABC News