It's not offically winter on the calendar but looking outside, that's what it looks like. This is the first snow of the season (the first one that stayed on the ground that is). That means it's time to get Christmas shopping done... it'll be here before you know it!
Time to head to work.. have a nice all... AND STAY WARM!

Working on my stars

This quilt is slowwwwly coming together.... I have 3 of the 16 blocks done. The one block on the right looks like it has pink and purple but it's not.. they look much nicer up close. These take a LOT of patience but it's going to be my quilt so it's no rush.

 I'm starting Ellens Sewing Basket Quilt from Minick and Simpson. Some of the fabric will be Independence Trail as the pattern suggests and some will be French General and other civil war FQs I have in my stash. Also picked up a few new pieces at work today ...you know I can't go home with at least a LITTLE piece of something! ;)

This is the first block of 16 I'm going to make.... well maybe 16. I may stray from the pattern a bit because if I make 9 blocks and then make a border all the way around with 1/2 blocks, the 9 will center on my bed nicer.... we'll see..

These blocks are a bit of a challenge to make. The first attempt at this block I used the English paper piecing method but I wasn't happy with the way it was going. And, it was SLOW.

After reading a bunch of magazine articles and online suggestions, I decided that Minick and Simpson's way of doing the block was probably the easiest. I'm sure they went and tested all the different ways prior to making the pattern but I just have to do everything the hard way.... had to see for myself.

In an old copy of Quilter's Newsleter, I did find one interesting article on lone star blocks (which this is). They suggested that you draw the 9 piece diamond (8 of these diamonds make up the star block) on a piece of paper the exact size it will be before being set together... then BLOCK each section of the star to the drawn paper block. Using a starch sprayed on the diamond allows you to block the pieces so that each of the 8 diamonds is the same size. This helps ALOT! The other really good suggestion is to handle the pieces as little as possible so the bias edges don't stretch out of shape. Also press and starch your fabric BEFORE cutting so that it's a little stiff and doesn't want to stretch as easily.

So that's not all I was shopping for today. The quilt shop got in these little "Candy" sized pieces of Marmalade from Moda. LOVE THIS FABRIC! So I picked one up for someone that likes this line. Isn't it cute?!

Purple and gold batik scraps

Today I'm playing a bit with some of my purple and gold batiks. With the help of a wedge ruler I was able to create these large zigzags. After making about a dozen blocks I decided to put them into a table runner.... may change my mind before I'm done but that's the plan for now. 

 

That's it... short and sweet! :) 

Charity quilt and a pinkish one

This is one of 13 four patch blocks I brought home from a guild meeting. We bring in orphan blocks, fabric we don't want, patterns and books that we are done with and then we share them with the other members. This block was in a bag of scraps. I found 12 4-patch blocks with the beige triangles attached and one without. I added the beige to the last 4 patch so that I would have 13 blocks (which is what I need to make the quilt turn out).

After that I added a very light creamy yellow solid so that the blocks turned on point again. Gives it a square in a square look. Going through some of my books, I found a setting that I liked... with a little adjustment.

 

 

The block below, with the solid pink and the polka dot green, will be alternating with my found blocks. The blocks are both 12" finished so with 25 blocks (12 of one, 13 of the other) I'll have a 5'x5' quilt. That probably won't be big enough so I'm thinking of adding a couple of borders, maybe some applique and then a scallop edging with the pink for binding. When I get a little farther, I'll put more pictures up.

 

Another project I'm working on at the same time is this charity quilt. Since I have LOADS of brights to use up I decided to put them into a child's quilt. Our guild makes quilts for children that are admitted to the hospital to help make it more comforting for them to be away from home. Going through my strips and scraps, I came across a bunch of strips from a swap we did quite a while back... on Block Central maybe? Some of my bright strips from the swap were used in other projects but I still had lots. I'm hoping this makes a small dent in the pile. The quilt needs the piano key border on three more sides and then it should be large enough. 

Wedding picture and hitting the resale shops

I thought I would post one of my favorite pictures from the wedding... what a perfect couple! Jenns dress was all lace... and beautiful!... cowboy boots under :) The photography was done by a very talented person from TC... www.danstewartphotograpy.com.

 

And this cute owl cookie jar, below, is a find at the local Goodwill store (you know how I love the resale shops!). Wasn't sure what I was going to do with him so I gave the girls first dibs... Lisa says she'll give him a home. It's pretty old but no chips... just a little crazing inside. Reminds me of Jonathan Adler stuff.

Now to get down to the sewing room and do some work. I plan to clean it for a few hours, then do some repair work on a certain quilt. Maybe later, I'll get to play with a new charm pack I have. More pictures later.....

Ugly quilt is FINALLY quilted and done!

Not sure how many of you remember our "Ugly" fabric challenge at the Quilt and Needle (www.thequiltandneedle.com/forum) I received a fq from Pat that was outdoorsy (is that a word?) and swampy and pretty ugly ... at least to us ladies. It was the perfect fabric to inspire me to make a quilt for my brother. I finished the top...oh... two or so years ago and started the back but just never quite finished the quilt.

I wanted the back to be more modern ... and to use up all the leftover ugly pieces I had in my stash. My brother is an outdoor kind of guy... hunting and fishing etc. I also threw in a few orphan blocks that were in my stash.

SO, check off another UFO from the list :)
Here's my post from WAY back... had just finished the top:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6816445089863267415#editor/target=post;postID=2309909011419425883

Time to get back to quilting... the wedding is over

The wedding is over and OH what a party! It was a beautiful day... couldn't ask for any better. It was a tad hot on the beach but it was perfect out under the tent at the winery. Jenn wore cowgirl boots and a beautiful full lace dress and just a flower in her hair. She borrowed a gold and diamond necklace from her grandma... she forgot her jewerly at her house but this worked out perfectly... need to have something borrowed. She had blue toenails and a blue bow on her garter so that was taken care of. Her dress and boots were new... so I guess the only old thing she had was her dad as she walked down the sand... (can't let him read this :)..

So she is married to a great guy and a really nice family. It's time for me to get back to quilting. I'll start posting once again now that I have lots of spare time.

One week till the wedding...

With only a week to go until the wedding, I'm working on making topiaries. Most of the tables will have a vase of flowers, a potted green plant and some kind of topiary. This is one I was fooling around with... it's thistle from my yard. The plants are turning dry and a beautiful dusty purple. I wrapped the stems with floral tape and then wound jute around it. The only thing I'm not happy with is the moss...  I think I'll fill the silver creamer with pea gravel and then tuck the stems in.

 

And here's the rest of the flowers I'm drying... These are some beautiful blooms a quilting buddy let me cut from her yard. In a couple of days they'll be preserved perfectly (and still a pretty green color). Last week I tried this process out on one bloom and it's dry and pretty and perfect for a topiary. Putting two or three blooms together (and using floral tape again) should make them tall and stiff enough to tuck into a pot of floral foam or more pea gravel.

Not much quilting going on here... I finished up the wedding quilt, and the table runners so not much sewing to do before the big day. Need to hem my dress still.. need to add the bustle to Jenn's dress..... almost to the finish line :)

The wedding quilt is finished

Yesterday I put the last stitch into Jenn and Jon's wedding quilt. This picture washes it out and makes it look a bit more gray than it is. The main fabric is a really pretty beige gray with rusty red and aqua flowers. It should look really nice in the blue bedroom.
No time today for a long post... lots of other stuff to finish up before the big day :)

Quilting the wedding quilt

Where have I been?! WELL... Jenn and Jon will be getting married in a couple of weeks so wedding prep has been keeping Al and I very busy. I have a list of things that still need to be done before the big day and even though I am slowly checking off items from the list daily, it's still a very long list. But we're getting there.

Yesterday I received a call from my youngest brother ... he lives in SC. He informed me that he won't be able to make it to the wedding... we knew this... with his job (executive pastry chef at an exclusive resort... yes, I'm proud of him) we knew he'd be busy on Labor Day weekend. BUT since he can't make it, he decided to send chocolate truffles... over 300 of them! Now we aren't sure how well these are going to ship ... if they'll stay unmelted... unbroken...unspoiled... all the way here but we're crossing our fingers and hoping they do. He makes the BEST desserts!

One of the items on my checklist that has been completed is the ring bearers pillow. Remember the ones from years ago... white... with satin... maybe a little lace ruffle... ribbons... WELL, that's not going to work in this wedding. Jenn's wedding will be rustic and elegant (yes, I think that is possible...sort of). Burlap... barn wood... some cream lace... vintage items... greenery.. grasses... not too much in the way of flowers unless you can pick them on the side of the road. I had my doubts about all of this until I started checking some of the pictures she sent me of weddings with this style. Surprisingly it can be VERY beautiful. 

During the past two weeks I managed to get a little time in to shop for fabric... well... if the truth be told, I was working at the quilt shop at the time but it was slow and there was this tempting bolt of purple pansies ... and there were these wonderful batiks ... and well... one thing led to another... and as you can see below, I'll be working on a beautiful blue quilt after the wedding is over. The gray background fabric is a new one to the shop (and it's almost gone). It's perfect to set off these purples, blues, teals, aquas and greens. There are about 5 different pattern ideas floating around in my head right now... maybe something somewhat modern... and easy... don't want to do too much thinking on this one. The only fabric I'm not happy with is the third one from the bottom on the right. Just a little too white for the gray. Until I took this picture I thought I liked it with the rest.

 These will be placed on the shelf for now .... another tempting pile to stare at me until I have the time.  

And finally, here's what else I've been doing with all my spare time (yes that's sarcasm!). Jenn's wedding quilt top is complete and pinned so I've started the quilting. As of this morning it's 1/4 of the way done. By the weeks end it needs to be finished so that I can concentrate on other things... like the dress I'm wearing to her wedding (needs to be shortened)... and her dress (needs hooks for the bustle)... and the house needs a good cleaning (mom and dad, my brother and my neice will be staying at my house) .. and the list goes on......and on... and on....