A couple of finished projects

I finished a couple of things in the past week - which is amazing since I spent so much of the week sick in bed. But I had three tops that were done and ready to be sandwiched and quilted and I managed to get two done.

This is the second quilt that I made for my granddaughter to use at our house.



I have mentioned the wonderful Yahoo group I am part of. At the beginning of the year, we started a UFO challenge. I picked three things I thought I could reasonably expect to get done by the end of March. This is the third project so I got them all finished.



It was nice to have a little gentle push to get me going on finishing up these projects.

And speaking of the wonderful Yahoo group I am part of, it has long been our practice to make love quilts for members who get a new home or who are going through a challenging stage in life. This week I became the latest recipient of a love quilt. Done in my favorite colors of pink and green, this is the beautiful quilt they sent me:



And that's a perfect place to leave things.

Until next time, hugs and stitches.

Jody

Quilt Show!

Two of the most exciting words in the world. lol. The last week of January each year the local MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) hosts the quilts for the years annual relief sale. The quilts are auctioned in April and the proceeds are used to help folks over seas. So Tasha and I braved the bad weather and went up to the show.

The first couple of years I went they just displayed the quilts. The last two years they have had a Quilter's Attic and voting for Viewer's Choice.

The problem they have is a small building - meaning most of the quilts are folded and hanging over rails. You can't look at the entire quilt and taking pictures is rather difficult - the racks they use are pretty close together. But I did manage to get a few pictures.

I was surprised by the number of quilts that had a large portion of embroidery or cross stitch as a main component. Here are a few:







Each group was asked to make a quilt representing peace and this was their offering:



This was my first runner up pick for viewer's choice:



I so love Sunbonnet Sue quilts and an Amish SBS? Oh my. lol.

But I really had to pick this one for viewer's choice:



And look at this close up - check out the quilting - all done by hand and it is stunning:



I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this cool weaving machine (do you like my technical terms? lol).:



So here are a few of the pieced and appliqued quilts:










What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Another baby quilt

Here lately I feel like I don't get much of anything accomplished other than baby quilts. We have been overly blessed with babies in the past year.

This one is such a labor of love though. I have made a number of quilts for my new grand-daughter. But they are all quilts her parents have. I wanted to have at least two quilts here at our house for her too.

When my Yahoo group presented the UFO Challenge I knew immediately that Shianne's quilt for here must be on the list. I had the first top ready and it just needed sandwiched and quilted. So on a rare two days in a row off work, I sandwiched it one day and quilted it the next.

This truly a quilt made by Shianne's Grammy - it's pink and green. lol.



It still needs all the little strings snipped - I really hate doing that. sigh.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

The first finish of 2011

I got something finished today! Because I'm supposed to be working on my UFO Challenge - I'm finding all these other things I want to do. lol.

I finished my bag. First I have to thank my darling husband. Two days before Christmas we were having the yearly discussion of do we get each other something or not. I ended up saying that I wanted to make a new bag and some cash to get fabric, etc. would be great. So that's what he did. And here's what I made:



I did the front pocket on this one and decided to add a little bead embellishment.

And I did a bit of experimenting with the inside. I put a small pocket on one side and did a "divider" on the other side. It's called a divider but I think it works more like a big open pocket. I might adjust that a bit if I do another one.



One of the things on my "to do" list is a second quilt for our grand-daughter to use while she's here. So last night I was looking for a pattern - the first one I made for her is a patch quilt - I wanted to do something different for this one. I didn't find a pattern for her quilt but I did come across a pattern I had looked at this past Christmas.

I really don't care for scrappy quilts. Too busy for me. But every once in a while there's a scrappy pattern that I decide to try. I wanted to try this one for Christmas but I didn't have enough fabric (or time). But looking at it last night I realized how nice it would look for an Autumn quilt - and fall fabrics I have in abundance. lol.

So here's the pattern, fabric choices and a few completed blocks:



I'll probably try to do a few blocks each day until I get this one done.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

UFO Challenge

The Yahoo group I am a part of is having a UFO challenge from now until the end of March.

It has to be a project that is already started - not a new project. I have picked three that I think I can reasonably expect to complete by the end of March.

This top is ready to be sandwiched and quilted. It will be a quilt for my Grand-Daughter to use while she is at our house.



This top is ready to be sandwiched and quilted also. It will be for our niece Kathlene's daughter Makensie, due in May.



And this quilt that I started last December. It will be a lap quilt so I think I can get it finished in time.



I'm also working on my design for a table runner for on my treadle sewing machine.

I'm really trying to finish up some things and not add too many to my "have to do" list.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Party!!

Monday night was my quilt guild's Christmas party.

We started the evening with a raffle drawing. We provided a quilt for Fisher's House to raffle off. I mentioned Fisher House in a past post but if you haven't heard of them, they are sort of Ronald McDonald Houses for the military. Places where family of injured military personnel can stay for free while their loved ones are hospitalized. The latest Fisher House to be dedicated was for the family of service members who have been killed in action. Frank said they sold 2100 tickets - most at 6 for $5 - so he figured they raised about $1,800. The quilt was won by a minister within our community.

Then we moved on to food! Most people's favorite part of any party. lol. It was a potluck and there were so many yummy items to choose from.

After that we had a brief business meeting - picked out the pattern for our raffle quilt for our next quilt show - Spring of 2012.

Then we moved on to the ornament exchange. This is the first year I've done the exchange - last year I had the flu and missed the party. I was a bit nervous because while I am a "comfortable" quilter (I'm a bit above novice but still have lots to learn) there are some ladies in my guild who make over the top gorgeous quilts and I was worried if my ornament would be good enough.

So here is my ornament:



It is not woven - some of the ladies saw it from a distance and thought it was. It's pieced with teeny tiny pieces. I don't think I'll be doing that again! Not that it was terribly hard, I just don't think I'd want to do it too often.

The way we exchanged ornaments was really cute. All were in plain brown paper bags and under a Christmas tree. Each of us picked a bag and then we stood in a circle. One lady who did not participate stood in the center. She asked questions - is your tree up and decorated? If so, you moved to the center of the circle and exchanged bags with someone else in the center. We did a few questions and mixed in there were times of pass your bag three times to the right, pass your bag five times to the left, etc. At the end each lady took out her ornament and showed it and said who made it.

There were a variety of methods used - cross stitch (a beautiful church in the trees), felted wool (a little elf), a snowman head made of a plain ornament with facial features drawn on and a hat added, embroidery. One lady brought in an ornament she had received in a similar exchange 27 years ago!

This is what I received:



It's not technically an ornament but it's very lovely - and filled with candy. I have been so good with no candy lately - these will go to the kids.

I've been making plans for the New Year. This can be rather dangerous. Last year I planned to make at least two quilts for my queen-size bed and I ended up needing to make almost a dozen baby quilts.

Next year I am hoping to make some quilts for our family. One for my bed - I'm doing the Project 360 BOM found here.

For over our fireplace, I'm hoping to do the Applewood Farms BOM series from this past year. You can still get these patterns for a small fee - info is here.

I do have a few UFOs I'd like to get finished. I have a Double Irish Chain and a fall applique top that need quilted. And I have a few blocks from some fabric I fell in love with and searched high and low for the perfect pattern for.

That should be enough to keep me busy for a while - at least until the 2011 BOMs start popping up all over the internet. lol.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

The "Two Hour" Bag

Did you ever buy one of those patterns that give a time frame for how long it should take to make it? Sort of like Eleanor Burns' Quilt In A Day projects?

I have been looking for a new bag for months. I found a free pattern for a Moda Bake Shop bag last year and made about a half dozen of them. A summery one, a fall one, a Halloween one, a Christmas one and a purple one (for my daughter). I made each one a little different. I have such trouble following a pattern. I can do it, I just don't want to. lol. None of the ones I made was actually exactly like the pattern. I love them, I was just ready for something new.

When Tasha and I went to Rockville in October for the quilt show, I stopped in the booth of Capital Quilts (I love this quilt shop and wish it was closer to home). They had a pattern for the cutest little bag and the perfect fabric to make it.

Because I every once in a while have a good idea - I made the first attempt at making the bag with fabric from my stash. Good thing too because I made a mistake that I can't seem to correct.

The second attempt, this one made with the Christmas fabric, turned out fabulous! The biggest thing was I found out when I made the first one that I would need to make a bigger size. There are four sizes and I thought the next to the smallest would be really good but it was a bit too small.

So here is the front:



and the back:



The pattern is The Two-Hour Tulip Purse - which took me about 4 hours. It's not complicated if you follow the directions. You can read more about it here.

I am so glad to finally finish it - especially since I'll have such a short time frame to actually use it. But I'm sure, as soon as I can find the time, I'll make another one to use after the holidays.

Thunder is not quite sure about the Christmas preparations around the house this year - he's spent most of his time hiding under my desk:



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody