CountyFair Quilt...Progress Report

Hello Quilting Friends,

As promised in last week's post, here is a progress report on my new quilt named County Fair.  

Remember, I'm using fabrics from the Moda A La Carte collection:

Step 1.  Sew two sets of matching 5" charms into one four patch unit.

Step 2.  Cut.

Step 3.  Rearrange and sew back together.

Voila, the disappearing 4 patch block!

So far, I have about a third of the final blocks done.  It is my goal to finish the blocks this weekend, and have the top assembled by next weekend.

See you then for another progress report!

Bow Wow Blankie (Stashbuster #2) Finished!

Hello Blog Friends,

As promised, the stashbuster quilt #2 is finished.  Behold Bow Wow Blankie:

The pattern is from Folk Art Designs, " Baby's Bow Wow Blankie" by Bonnie Sullivan.  As I told you in previous posts, this is a true stashbuster quilt.  All fabrics, including the backing, came from my stash.  Finished size is 40" x 40".

I already have my next project on deck.  Here is the fabric family I am using:

Moda A la Carte 

This fabric collection has "summer" written all over it.  It reminds me so much of summer, the blues, reds, greens and yellows.  I have already named this quilt County Fair, and I haven't sewn one stitch yet!  I'm anxious to work on it.  My goal is to have it on display by July 4.

See you next week with a progress report.

Thanks for visiting...

Barn Quilting Marquette County

Hello Blog Friends,

Well, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to on the second stash buster baby quilt.  It is still in process, but I promise to have it totally completed and ready for gifting by next week's post.

Instead, I will try to appease you with some eye candy, barn quilt style.  As you might remember, Mom, Denis and I have gone barn quilting (the past four years) over Memorial Day weekend.  This year, we set our sights closer to home (Mom's that is), and traveled around Marquette County, WI, which is in the central part of the state.  Here are some of our finds:

Aunt Ida's Crazy Quilt

Butterflies.  The side of this barn was literally covered with painted butterflies!

Cathedral Windows

Grandmother's Flower Garden

Harvest Star

Irish Ancestors.  This barn and farm has been in the O'Malley family since 1850.

In Montello, we visited a flower shop/quilt shop.  There they had this quilt on display, the blocks being replicas of some of the barn quilts we saw on our travels around the county.

Isn't this the cutest round barn?  It's at the Marquette County Fairgrounds in Westfield.

A beautiful country road.

She's looking at us looking at her.

Next week...stash buster #2 done!

Stash Buster Quilt No. 2

Hello Blog Friends,

Happy Memorial Day.  Here in Wisconsin, it is a rainy Memorial Monday, just like always.  I hope you have all taken time out of your celebrations to remember those who gave their lives so we can be free.  

 As promised, here is a sneak peek at Stash Buster Quilt #2.  These fabrics will make another baby quilt for a co-worker who is having her first child in August.  

The pattern is from All Through the Night Folk Art Designs, and is titled "Baby's Bow Wow Blankie."  I have the piecing of the four patch star blocks finished, and am now beginning the applique pieces.  My goal is to finish the top this week and get it ready for quilting next weekend.

Wish me luck!  See you next time with a progress report...

Little Book of Quotes

Hello Blog Friends,

This week, I'm sharing some of the scrapbooking project that I started on the retreat to I attended several weeks ago.  

I have some very special friends where I work, three women who mean very much to me.  Two I think of as younger sisters, and one I think of as a daughter (she is my youngest daughter's age).  I will miss seeing them on a day to day basis when I retire next spring.  Heather, the youngest of the three, is getting married in October, and of course, a quilt is in the works for that.  Paula and Lynn are like sisters...Paula will receive a quilt as a "remember me" parting gift.  I've chosen to make Lynn a little book of quotes.  Lynn has recently been diagnosed with MS, and I hope this book of encouraging and enlightening quotes will brighten and comfort in tough days to come.

The book is made of chipboard pages, each 6" high and 7" wide.  Each page has a different shaped edge.  The pages will be held together with a locking binder rings, covered in pretty ribbons.  The nice thing about this smaller size is that I am using some of the larger "orphan" paper scraps in my scrapbooking stash.  So, in essence, this is a stash-buster project also!  

I'm using both the computer and stamped images to create the sentiments on the pages.  The book is still a work in process, but here is a sampling of what is inside:

The front cover.  Back cover will be covered in same paper.

 Inside front cover and page 1.

 Page 1 up close.

 Absolutely love this paper!

 The words in brown paper stand up off the page for emphasis.  I still need to add a few paper flowers to this page.

Another page with stamped images.

There will be 10 chipboard pages in all when it is done.  I have 7 pages and the back cover to make yet.  I really like this project, and plan to make one for myself at a later time.  

...I am hard at work on the second stash buster quilt.  Details next week.  Until then...

SPRING 2015

Hello Blog Friends!  

This week's post is loosely connected to quilting.  It's a collection of spring photos, and I think they are worth sharing...

Here is a picture of the Peshtigo River from the scrapbooking retreat I attended several weeks ago.  The river is perfectly still  this early Sunday morning.  Look how the reflection is like a mirror glass.  

I have a nice crop of purple tulips.  Here they are in bloom (taken over the weekend).

We have a beautiful flowering tree in our front yard.  Here is it is all it's glory.  I took this photo yesterday.

And finally, here is the quilting connection.  This is my Mother's Day gift from my husband. Believe it or not, I never owned a charm bracelet until this one.  I love it!  

Back to sharing my creations with you next week.

Pretty Petals All in A Row II

Hello Blog Friends!

I'm sorry I missed posting on April 26...I was away at a scrapbooking retreat that weekend and arrived home late that Sunday.  It was back to work on Monday after a fun, fun, but tiring weekend (up late most nights).  I'll post on this coming weekend and show you some of my work from the retreat.  

I've finished the first of the two stash buster quilts I mentioned in my last post.  This one is a baby quilt for a little girl born a few weeks ago.  Her name is Piper and her dad and I work at the same company.  You might think that this quilt looks vaguely familiar...because it should. It is made from the same pattern as Pretty Petals All in a Row that I made for another little girl last summer.  The pink fabric is also the same as on the first quilt.  It worked so well with both floral fabrics.  This time, I used a blue tone-on-tone floral for the accent sashing.  The backing was also a stash piece of fabric and was perfect for this project.  The only purchase I made to finish this quilt was the batting.

I think it turned out pretty cute.  I used a large whimsical meander over the entire piece.  

More on that scrapbooking weekend next post.

Thanks for visiting.