A few finishes to the next stage.

Here are the latest finishes to the next stage. I went to a 4 day retreat recently and here are the results This one is Crabapples, pattern form Bonnie K. Hunter from Quiltville.com  her book Leaders and Enders.  The  next one is Carolina Christmas (my version) she did not put the sashing between her blocks) one of her mysteries that she runs every year starting with the first clue on the  Friday after Thanksgiving. Are you joining this year? Go to her website or blog to check it out.  The third picture is of Old Tobacco road. Another of her mystries I think it was her 3rd. Final pic is of the 2012 mystery Easy Street. The mysteries are usually pulled off the web/blog when they are ready to go in an upcoming book, so if you think you want to wait to make it then you will need to make a copy as the mystery unfolds. 

September is National Sewing Month

September is National Sewing Month. What are you sewing on? Bonnie at Quiltville.com asked on her blog on Sunday who wanted to join her this month in committing to doing some hand sewing an hour a day. I was all in right from the get go. Then she asked those of us wanting to do it to post pictures. so here they are.
She wanted to know what we are working on, where we sewed, and anything else we wanted to share like the music or whatever we do while stitching. .Here is mine. I started this one in 2007 and worked on it during the 4th of July when Bonnie came over to sew. I call it The Queen and I. Dedicated to a wonderful sewing friend in Ca.

90 inches to go and the border will be finished

 The chair is so comfortable . Yes I took the doors off the closet

no callous at the moment, this after 1 hr. 

Eleanor’s quilt and my 4th finish for 2011.

This is Eleanor’s quilt. She is my first great niece on my husband’s side of the family. I didn’t take a pic of it finished before she started enjoying it. From the pics I know she loves it. I asked her mom if she had posed those pictures with her and the quilt and she told me no that was all Eleanor’s doing.

 

 

my first quilt

Decade, my first quilt made after the quilting bug got me. I made my first one when I was about 11or 12 from a big bag of scraps Momma had from making our clothes and scrapes she was given. It was a huge string quilt. Bonnie Hunter at http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-quilts.html  asked what our first quilt was.

I didn’t appreciate the work in my first quilt and used and abused it. I even laid out in the sun on it. Years later I gave it to our poor dog Coco who was deathly afraid of storms.  This quilt is called Decade, the name fits. It took me 10 yrs to complete. I didn’t work on it exclusively during that time. My daughter uses it daily now and has a deep appreciation for it and all quilts in general. She sat by me many hours while I was hand quilting it. When I would get the needle stuck she would take my hemostats and pull it through and she even threaded some of my needles. Is she a quilter? Not yet but I haven’t given up on her.

First Finish for 2011. Crazy Nines.

This is the result of my AADD. I started some crazy quilt blocks way back when. Then realized I would never finish that undertaking when I started the embellishments. It wasn't going to big enough for any real use either and I wan't loving it enough to finish it as a wall hanging. I had some scrappy 9 patches that I never liked but couldn't bring myself to throw out. So I did a Bonnie K Hunter at Quiltville thing and put them together. I took them with me as a top without boarders to Bonnnie’s for our 4th of July weekend 2008. She pulled the boarders from her stash (as a birthday present to me) and I sewed them on that weekend. Thank you Bonnie! Life got in the way of the finish but it is now done. Kim used it yesterday on the couch to snuggle under, my baby girl has a cold and doesn't feel very well. The sad thing about this one is: It isn't my oldest ufo.

The Last finish for 2010

This is the Baby Quilt for a dear friend at work. She was due on Feb 4, 2011. The shower was on 12/8/2010. For once I had something finished on time. The Baby came on 12/22/10 33 weeks and he weighed 6lb 7 oz. The pattern for this is from Scrap- Basket Suprises by Kim Brackett. Love this gals work almost as much as Bonnie K. Hunter’s.Bonnie and Kim are 2 of the few published quilters that I see doing their own quilting.

We took the grandchildren back home yesterday. I missed them the minute we shut the doors of our car to head back. Actually we took them to the half way meet point. Their visit was a prayer answered. Our 5 weeks went by in a blur. Our next visit time is Thanksgiving weekend, that is if their mom and new dad make the trip here otherwise we will have them a week after Christmas. They made it home safe as did the 4 of us. They were such good travlers at least for the first half. We had videos, songs, coloring, munchies, and lots of laughs. It broke my heart to see them crying when we left. I cried only after we were out of their eye sight. It wouldn't do to let them see their Nana and Daddy crying. It is supposed to be a good thing to go back home. I am sure they were fine and I pray they had a great trip the rest of the way.