Little News and Bigger News

This has been a week of working and a weekend of accomplishments. I embroidered, pieced, pressed, cleaned, washed, read, played, and rested Wednesday and Thursday. And, I did get the Eleanor Burns BOM block done.













Then Friday I was off to NWFL to visit with friends. My friend, Nita O’Keefe, was in Ft. Walton Beach, at the LQS doing a trunk show of her embroidery designs.

See that table? That was 1/3 of the samples she had to show. She and Holley Pike have formed a union with Becky McNeal, Gal Pals, to sell their designs. For the last two years their designs, along with thread, have been part of a subscription so I already have most of them but it was great to see them stitched out. And did I get pictures? No, I forgot to lift my camera I was so entranced with what she had to show.

Also while there I got the swap blocks I completed in March. It seems that some people signed up for the swap but didn’t do their blocks so others had to be recruited in order to complete the swap.


These are the blocks that I now have to work with. They range in size from 11 ¾” to 12 ¾” I see this as a challenge but as of right now I have no idea what I will do with them. As you probably have seen, I really like bright fabrics but I also like a challenge so we will have to see what my fertile imagination will come up with: a UFO all ready for next year.

After the show I was able to go out to lunch with another friend, Jeannie no blog (a wonderful seamstress), and then spend a little time, and money, at Joann’s and one of my favorite quilt shops, Margie’s.

The big news:


South Seas is quilted. The panto came in on Thursday but, except for setting it out on the frame, there was no time to quilt. However, this morning I was in the studio, ready to quilt. This is the panto, a 9” swirl.

I guess I have been spoiled by the pantos I have been getting from Urbanelementz. They come with 2-4 rows printed and nesting designs. As you can see, this is only one row and I would have to move the panto for every row to make it “nest” with itself. So, I quilted the rows as you see them and then was left with large blank spaces. So this is how I decided to cure what I saw as a problem: click to enlarge.



I quilted a water-like meanter between the swirls and I really like the effect.

Working Weekend

I will blog while a thunderstorm passes over here. This is the first rain we have had for a couple of weeks so even with the wind and noise, it is welcome.

This has been a productive weekend. As noted below, the quilting on Spring Garden is done. Also done is the binding (same as the border) and I appliquéd down the stretched fabric that turned into tucks on the back. The quilt has been washed and right now is in the dryer. I can hardly wait to see how it looks but am, as always, a little fearful.

edit: all done and looking good on my bed. Yippie! I’ll try to get a label on before the end of the month.

















Also this weekend I completed the April strips for the calendar quilt challenge: I was only 2 days behind.

I have strips cut for some of May: I am trying to include some from current projects and, if I have them, strips from past, pre-blog, projects.


I have a gift quilt top and back(cannot show yet) ready to load on the frame and I have the fussy cut borders cut for the black and white and hope to get them sewn on tomorrow.

It has been different in the studio. I don’t allow my dogs in there: Abby is still a puppy and the other two aren’t interested. But Ponce follows me over there and then stands outside, staring at the door. So this morning I decided to take him with me. In he walked in and started checking out the work in process.














But after a little while he got right to work.












And pretty soon he was fully involved in canine quilting.

Isn’t it fun to have a quilting buddy?

Winter’s Still Here

I went out with the dog on Sunday morning and saw this.



The flakes were small and few but came, off and on, until early afternoon. We had strong winds (35 – 40 mph) so it stayed cold even though the temp went up to 42F. Today we have finally gotten into the low 50s but it still feels like winter.


With all the cold outside I have been busy on my rag quilts. I cut and cut








And sewed and sewed

and sewed and sewed. Here is the front and back.

Now I am snipping this little quilt. And I have cut all the squares for the second quilt and am starting the sewing on it.

Productive: In the Eye of the Beholder

OK, I will get over the puppy pictures....soon. This is Abby and Buffy. As you can see, we are having no trouble with the dogs getting along. The Maltese, Jessica, is not quite so happy but only because Abby is bigger and friendlier and Jess would just like Abby to "get out of my face."


Yesterday, the day normally reserved for laundry, was spent driving all over South Alabama. My daughter needed her laptop taken to be fixed and I volunteered: I figured it was close to a fabric store I had been wanting to revisit. Sure enough, 20 miles away and I was in Fabric Heaven. It is called Front Poarch Fabrics in Ozark, AL and they have lots of Moda and other stuff.


I am not a jellyroll or precut fan but yesterday I bought into it, again.

the jellyroll, spring colors, will be a strip-pieced shirt and the Oh My Dog (imagine that) is going to be a sweatshirt jacket, I think. I had planned to get started on one of them today but it took until noon for the studio to warm up and by that time I was busy doing other things.


One of the things I did this morning was cut fabric into Bonnie Hunter strips.
I cut several red and pink strips to be included in my February Calendar Challenge block. I am going through my scrap stash and my fat quarters (two large drawers sorted by color). On the fat quarters, I am cutting up all small pieces and any edges that have been used for other projects. I am cutting 1 1/2" strips for the calendar and then other sizes for the bins. I am beginning to think I may have enough to do Bonnie's Strip Twist: too cool.

Cold Morning Quilting

I don't know how everyone else is doing this January, but I have overwhelmed myself with BOMs. Above you will see Sandi's Season's of the Heart January block along with the fabric's I picked out. On the right you can see my snowman completed and lying on the Calendar Quilt Challenge strip I am making for January. I am thinking that maybe I will applique the Season's on the Challenge strips but won't decide until both have gone along for a while. I realized that 30 - 31 strips will be pretty long so am thinking that I will be making 4 calendar wall hangings to rotate throughout the year. Who knows.

Here I am at 21 days: the strips are 1" finished, for the most part, but that means that over a year I would have 365" of fabric strip. So now is the time to begin thinking about how I want to use the strips. I will probably have 8 - 15 plans before the year is out. And the real problem is that I will like most of them and have to decide to do this again, and again, and again. I really like the idea of a visual documentation of my quilting.

Today started out at 24F and now, at noon is 41F. I dressed in layers and have been able to take the top layer off. Only three more to go and I won't look like I did before I started Weight Watchers. LOL

I have found that a friend from high school (we have known each other for over a half century) is reading my blog. We live 3000 miles apart and have not seen each other since my twins, now 40) were 6 months old. She says she is getting to know me all over again by reading this blog. See, blogs are really good for something other than rambling. Hi, Linda!!