Saturday, May 14, 2016

New Quilt Started!

Its been a busy two days here. I started a new quilt on Wednesday night but haven't managed to get back to it yet. My sister had a two day garage sale. We sold a ton of baby clothes for dirt cheap. Kind of makes me sad to see all the beautiful little clothes go so quickly, but also glad that someone else will be able to enjoy them.

I found a cute pattern in Fons & Porters new magazine. Looked fairly easy and I even had all the fabric I needed to get started. I finished all the blocks in one evening. The sashing will take a bit longer. I like to make sure that the blocks are straight. A little more difficult when you aren't using corner stones. So I generally take my time marking everything.

Here is a quick pic of my new quilt in progress. Say Hello to "Hi Again"


Hope to be stitching again by tomorrow!!

Joyce

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Cute Overload

Couldn't resist posting a picture of my daughter and her boyfriend. I may be a little partial!!

Lottery Block Quilt Top

Our quilting group recently had an event that I call "Bring Em Back". I usually give the members about a year and half to get some of the block lottery sets that they have won put together into a top. I then ask them to Bring Em Back for a show and tell. This year it was in April. I always wait til the last minute to put my top together. This year I had won a set of patriotic blocks and put them together the week prior to our meeting. At least I got a top together! lol The quilt below is mine. Just need to pick out a backing and get it made. As an incentive to bring a top (new or old), I always give them a prize for taking the time to bring one back. My friends always kid me about my "fabulous gifts and prizes". This year I made a cute pincushion that you can tie onto your sewing machine. It's exactly where you need it! I took mine off to make a pattern for them and found that I was constantly trying to put pins in a pincushion that wasn't there. Amazing how we get so accustomed to things being in a certain place!


It's always a challenge to decide how to set the blocks. I get tired of the same old straight set. I'll have to find some of the other blocks that I have won and put them on here.

Time for bed. I have a busy day tomorrow. I am taking my 92 year old mom to a doctor's appointment in a nearby city. I'm sure it will be an all day event.

Hope you are finding time to do a bit of sewing!

Joyce

Monday, May 9, 2016

Fall, Leaves, Fall

This is the quilt top that I started at a retreat last year. I finished the borders at the retreat this year! I love the batiks in this quilt. Can't wait til I can get it quilted and on a bed!


Happy piecing!

Joyce

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Pink Pink and more Pink

Today I am working on backings. I have two quilts that need backings. I am happy to report that I have material in my stash to use for the pink nine patch quilt. It's the cutest white background with teeny tiny pink and black dots. All the pink and white nine patches came from my scrap bin. Does anyone else think that those scraps multiply during the night?

Till Next Time!

Joyce

Saturday, May 7, 2016

A Quilt Of Valor

I have just finished sewing a quilt top that will be given to a veteran that I graduated with from high school.


It is the Inside Out Pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew. The blocks were 6" finished and of course I changed it around a little bit.

Have you made a Quilt Of Valor?

Joyce

Dixie And The Swoon Quilt

I seem to run in spurts where I will do well posting and then life just seems to get in the way. Today I have a beautiful quilt to share with you. First a little background....I belong to a group that meets at a quilting studio every Tuesday night. Around October of last year, we decided to do a block exchange. We picked the Swoon block by Thimble Blossoms. We had nine people all willing to make nine blocks in our assigned colorways. We were off and running. During the first couple of months, I made great progress. Our goal was to finish one block per month and then exchange blocks in September 2016. One of our members had to drop out of the exchange for health reasons and we quickly found a replacement for her (or so she thought). We actually decided that we would all get one block completed and then put the quilt together and give it to our dear friend. Everyone did a wonderful job, and Dixie had no idea! Last Thursday we asked her to join us for dinner and we presented the quilt to her then. She was so surprised. There may have been a few tears shed. Dixie is the sweetest lady I know. Her faith is amazing along with her attitude.

None of this would have been possible without the amazing people we call friends!


Keep your sewing machine purring and your seam ripper sharp!

Joyce

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Now We Have Four

Another one of our group has added her Swoon block to our wall. They aren't due until October. Hoping the rest of the ladies bring a block to share soon.





Today was not a good day. I managed to roll my ankle this morning. It's pretty swollen but I've been icing it all day long. Hoping it feels better by tomorrow.

In two weeks, I'll be packing all my sewing toys to go to a local retreat. I've gone a couple of times in the last two years and have always had a good time. My biggest problem is deciding what to bring.  I think I always bring too many projects. 

Time to get another bag of ice! 

Sew Something Spectacular........

Joyce

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

And Then There Were Three

I've had a really fast two days. I drove to Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday morning (yes in the mess of a snow storm). The roads were crappy almost all the way there. Two hours of nervous driving. Not really nervous about my driving, but you never know what the other guy is going to do. Regardless, I made it to my daughter's house without any major problems. By 2:30 were at the Eye Center for Sara to get tested for possible lasik surgery. We left the office at 5:00 pm. Yes, I drove in rush hour traffic! Sara's eyes were dilated so we decided I should drive. I'm a small town girl, so the traffic was a bit intimidating. Spent a lovey time having dinner with my daughter and my niece later in the evening.

The Swoon Blocks are coming along! I missed our weekly meeting, but there is another block added to the wall. Our goal is to have all our blocks ready for swapping by October! As I said....then there were three!

Drove home today, Wednesday....and haven't done much of anything. The weather was better today!

Hope some of you were able to get a little sewing in today. What are you working on today?

Joyce

Thursday, February 4, 2016

I Love To Do Binding!

I know that many people don't like to bind, I find it very relaxing. I do lots of binding for my friends. Yesterday, I picked up 6 quilts from my longarmer. I will be starting those very soon. Another friend gave me two big quilts to bind for her. This should keep me busy for a little while. This is the stack I just picked up:


There are two big ones in the stack, but the rest of them are small baby sizes.

I have been making Quilts Of Valor for at least five years. My quilts have been sent all over the United States and Germany. I decided last year that I would like to make QOV's for the men from my high school class. Since we graduated in 1968, most of these men served in Viet Nam. As I work on these, it seems that one classmate leads to another. So far I have given four quilts to classmates. Each time I am in awe as these veterans are emotional with heartfelt thanks. One of them told me he was humbled and that it was the most precious gift he has ever been given. My list includes two other veterans, another Viet Nam vet and one who served two tours in Afganistan. The young man who served in Afganistan is a friend of my daughter. It took me awhile to make connections with him, but it was worth the effort. Look at that smile!


Hope you are having a fabulous February!







Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Quilt Retreat and Quilt Kit

Last November (2015), I attended my second quilt retreat. I have several friends that put these on at a local motel in Amish Country. I had always gone out for just a visit, but had never attended by staying for the full retreat. At the November retreat, I dug deeply and found a beautiful quilt kit that I had purchased at Mercantile On Main in Coshocton, OH. I'm not sure how many years ago that I bought the kit, lol. To maximize my time at the retreat I had pre cut all the fabric for each block. It sure made a difference in what I was able to finish. Well, almost finish! I have the top almost completely sewn together. There are just two rows and a few borders til it's finished.

This is what I started with:


Which turned into this:


Maybe I'll have it finished by this fall? One can only hope!

Joyce


Tuesday, February 2, 2016

A Quilt Finish

I don't think it matters how long it takes to get your quilt finished, as long as you finish it. I have so many WIPs that I don't even want to try to count them.

This is a quilt that I started when my daughter had hip surgery. She was 24 at the time and basically they call it a revision. We are hoping they have her all fixed up now. I purchased this quilt as a kit from a shop in Akron, Ohio during a shop hop. I love the pattern and the fabric. It was very easy to piece and the fabric yardage was very generous. Don't you hate it when you come up short? The pattern is called Hello Dahlia! by P&B Textiles and it's a free download on the site. This quilt came back to me last fall so this one was on the fast track! Only about a year and a half!

Hoping you are keeping up with your WIPs! Do you have any idea how many you have?

Joyce

Sunday, January 31, 2016

New Puppies and Treasured Quilts

Good news on my sister! Looks like she will be coming home tomorrow. I'm sure she will be super happy about that. She said she hasn't been able to sleep much at the hospital.

I don't usually "fix" quilt tops, but this quilt was dear to my heart. It was made by a very good friend of mine who lost her battle with colon cancer. She gave the quilt her niece. Long story short, her niece got a new puppy and the rest is history. This picture shows the damage that a frisky little puppy can do to a quilt that you treasure.

With a little help from my friends and a few scraps from my stash, I was able to match most of the fabrics and made a repair that wasn't too noticeable.

The above picture is before any replacement quilting was done. My friend, Amy did an amazing job making it all look like there was never a tear in the quilt. The tear did go clear thru to the back, and fortunately I had a little of the backing fabric in my stash. All in all, it was a great save!

Have you ever tried to repair a quilt? Would love to see your pics!

Have a great week!

Joyce

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Taking It One Day At A Time

Today was another busy day. Where does the time go? I was out the door by 8:45 am and didn't return til 8:45 pm. It's no wonder I can't get caught up on my housework. (Oh, wait....do I really want to do housework?) Um I'll let that up to your imagination.

So I found the cute pattern that I was looking for in yesterday's post. I called the quilt shop and they had the pattern! The reason I didn't find it online is that it was mislabeled in the gallery.


Found these wonderful nine patch blocks in my basement cutting area. They were leftover blocks from a nine patch queen size quilt I made last year. Will get them put together soon. I love getting things finished. I hope this year will be my year of finishes.


My sister will be having quadruple bypass surgery tomorrow morning around 8 am. Please keep her, my family, and the heart surgeon in your thoughts and prayers.

Sew, Sew, Sew!

Joyce

Monday, January 25, 2016

Busy & Stressful Day

Today my sister, Sue and I woke up early and drove to a nearby hospital to lend support for our middle sister. Patty was scheduled for a heart cath at 8 am. Of course in hospital fashion, they didn't actually take her to the lab til 10 am. After the cath, the doctor called to let us know that he wanted to consult with a heart surgeon. We waited til 7:10 pm for the surgeon to show up. I really liked her doctor, he was just so kind and generous with his time. Patty is now scheduled for bypass surgery on Wednesday. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we take this journey together, one step at time.

While checking emails on my phone, I received an email from a lady that I had emailed the night before. She had posted a really cute quilt that I wanted to find the pattern for. The pattern is called "Touch of Vegas" by Debbie Allen. Mary went above and beyond helping me track down an email address for Debbie. I now have a plan for getting this pattern! Thanks to Debbie and Mary...aren't quilters just the best?

She even included two pictures of two different colorways!

Though there was no sewing today, I'm excited to get the new pattern.

I am also searching for a pattern called Diamonds in the Rough. I'm not sure who the designer is, and I have sent an email to the shop where the photo was taken. The shop is in Boone, NC and I didn't hear from them today....wonder if maybe they are snowed in? If anyone knows where I can find this quilt pattern, please leave me a comment. Thanks!

Keep your sewing machine humming!

Joyce

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Christmas at My House

Let's see if this poor ole blog can be resurrected. I can't believe my last post was 2014. I truly don't have a good excuse. I have been busy...still quilting and loving it!

My last quilt was for my annual Christmas Quilt Lottery. I give away a quilt each Christmas to a member of my family. You must be 18 to win and you can only win one time until everyone has won (that's what they decided). lol This year we had a new entrant in the quilt lottery and imagine my surprise when she won the quilt! First time in and first time winner. Congratulations to Karley!

This month I am working on the Swoon block by Thimble Blossoms. I meet with a group of ladies every Tuesday night and we have decided to make this quilt as a swap. Each participant will make nine of one colorway then we will trade with each other. Seems like a fun way to make a quilt! We have done this before, if I can find the photos I will try to remember to post them. For now, I will post my block.

These two cuties make my heart smile. The big one is my daughter, Sara (lots of changes in her life since 2014) and my great niece, Sydney!

Please leave me a comment, and let me know what you are working!