Rats....

I've been working on my Basket-Weave Strings (Bonnie Hunter - Quiltville.com) for a couple of months now, in between other projects like pillowcases, working, etc. This past weekend, I packed what was left of all my squares and, as we traveled to Vero to see Carol and Nikki, tore the paper off the back. I'm thinking, "Yea! This is it. I'll be able to get the paper off while traveling, then this week, place it on the floor for the best look, figure out what size and colors for hsts, and start putting it together."

And today that's what I did.....except.....lo and behold, I am 9 squares short. Wait! I can't be. I just can't be! I counted and recounted.....

I should have known this would happen - I burned my pizza for lunch.

So, here's the picture with the squares that are completed...



and here are the squares with the "patches" of phone book paper.



No more pizza until I get this done!

Back to the mess....

UFOs, incomplete quilts, piles of blocks - call it what you will - it's a bit of a mess. It seems that I stop what I am doing when I need to start on something else and never get back to the previous work in progress. So, I have blocks lying around, fat quarters waiting to be cut, strings and crumbs sitting in small piles here and there.

Case in point - here's a picture of a multi-mess that I was trying to sort through...



And here's another pic of it...


So let's take this a bit at a time - sort of like eating an elephant - gross but it's the thought...




The top right is a container composed of Aunt Grace blocks - All that it's missing is white material that will be sewn to the smaller ones. I ran out and just haven't gotten anymore.
The middle of the mess consists of completed blocks (yes, completed) from a pattern from Bonnie Hunter (quiltville.com). I may call this quilt "Indecision" because I just can't figure out the way I want to place the completed squares. On the bottom right, you will see some Christmas blocks from the Aunt Grace collection. Again, partially finished - 3 blocks to go.



Top left - unfinished Civil War Quilt using pattern blocks by Bonnie Hunter
Middle left in the baggie - not started but partially cut material for place mats for my mom for Christmas. I still have time on this one! :-) Fortunately, mom, even though you can see the material, you have no idea what this looks like - my only saving grace on this one!
Bottom left - cut out strips for a kitty quilt. In a bag. Enough said.
Middle - incomplete pillowcase...uh-oh. That one REALLY needs to get done!
Right - more Christmas blocks from a BOM that I had to quit. Sigh.
There's more of those blocks - see the yellow pages in the pic above this one? That was my paper piecing paper - does that make sense?

So, I have a bit of work to do. I'll get to it tomorrow - (Thank you Annie).

Interests change over time....

...and I'm no different when it comes to this.
Oh, I still love quilting but I am now also heavily involved with making pillowcases for our military.

Here's a picture of 30 completed pillowcases for the Fort Hood group that have gone to Afghanistan.



I am now working on pcs for the VFA-37 squadron that my dd Stephanie is attached to and am hoping to get them done by the end of the month.

If YOU are looking for a great cause, making pillowcases is a snap and there are directions everywhere on the internet. And there are plenty of good causes out there too!

As for quilting, oh - I still love it and work on my scrap quilt when I have a chance. I now work more hours and at a different job than before so that cuts into my sewing/quilting time (rats!) But, I just wanted to share what's going on with me! :-)

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Not quite quilting but.....

Not quite a quilting post this time - I just wanted to share a picture of the ship on which my daughter is serving. This is the U.S.S. Harry Truman as it goes through the Strait of Gibraltar. Now this is an awesome site, isn't it?

I was blessed to be able to talk to her today and in spite of suffering from "boat crud", she is doing well and actually enjoying shipboard life.

She will be spending time in Marseilles a little bit - sight seeing and snorkeling after duty.

Many of you who stop by my blog know that the military is near and dear to my heart considering my husband is retired Navy, I served four years, and many family members have served in the past. If you are ever wondering what YOU can do to support your military, anything from a care package to a note in the mail is a big lift for them.

Currently I am working with Heads At Ease - a group of like minded women who make pillowcases for members of our military. Now, you're probably thinking, don't they get pillowcases? Sure, but if YOU were away from home for 6 - 8 months and you received a handmade pillowcase from someone you didn't even know, how would that make you feel? :-D Exactly - and that's why we do it!

Here are a couple more pics of some pillowcases I've completed. Believe me - there are women who have made hundreds already and are still going strong!







If YOU would like to help out with this project, anything from making a pillowcase, providing material or help with postage, please contact me through my Facebook link on the right!

Thanks for reading!

Well, it certainly has been awhile!

Yea - it's May already. The weather here is in the high 80's to low 90's. Dh and I go walking at 7:30 am because it's too hot and humid to do it any later!

Let's see - what's new. My dd Steph will be deploying at the end of May on the USS Harry Truman - she's attached to VFA-37 - The Ragin' Bulls. Meanwhile, my dear son-in-law, Zach, and the boss of the family, Aiden, will be visiting his folks and then down to see Mike and me.

I have continued to work on the BOM that we have going with the free patterns at Quilt In A Day. Instead of posting them separately, I will let you see the nine I have done so far...



It is with great sadness that I let you know that Mike's dad Jack, passed into the arms of Jesus last month. He will be greatly missed. Both Mike and Nikki spoke at his funeral in Vero and in Ohio.
This is what Mike said...It is from "The Dash", by Linda Ellis...

"I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on his tombstone from the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of his birth and spoke of the following date with tears...
but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between the years.

For that dash represents all the time hat he spent alive on Earth
and now only those who loved him know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not now much we own, the cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and we how we spend our dash.

So thinks about the long hard - are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down long enough to consider what's true and real
an always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and
love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile
remembering that this special dash might only last awhile.

So when your eulogy is being read with your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?"

And here is one of our favorite pictures of Jack, Carol, and Aiden (our grandson)



Hug your family members and let them know how much you love them.

Quilting blocks - it's like Tetris!

As most of you know, with dh out of work, we have had to cut back on things and one of the first to go was my BOM. However, God is good and I am blessed to be able to participate in 2 free BOM's. One is at Quilt In A Day, using Eleanor Burns' free patterns. The other is the one using scrappy blocks featured in Quiltmaker Magazine, in Bonnie Hunter's column.
Here's the QIAD site...

http://www.quiltinaday.com/

If you want to join in the fun, click on community at the top, become a member, and go to Swaps, Round Robins, and BOM.
At the QIAD BOM, I am using the Aunt Grace Christmas Line for the blocks - here are three that have been completed...

This block is called Crossroads



This one called Merry Go Round



And finally this one is called Rocky Mountain


This has been a lot of fun - if you join us QIAD, you will find lots of ladies with the same blocks but it's amazing what colors will do to change the "flavor" of the blocks!

I'll post the BOM from Quiltmaker later!

My helper - my grandson!

Everyone needs a helper now and then - and I'm no exception. Everyone will tell you that! 8-)
This is my grandson Aiden, who was helping me re-arrange the fabric in my sewing room. Which we all know is not a sewing room but the spare room! Anyway, while I was working on a quilt for a friend's expected baby, he was busy pulling out fabric and then putting it away and then pulling it out again when he wasn't happy with how he had rearranged it. LOL! The things we let them get away with!




The following pic is of Aiden with one of the pvc pieces of a quilting frame. He looks like he's fending off would-be fabric thieves! Ah - my knight in shining armor!



This kids have gone home but not without sharing one of their greatest joys - their wedding and so I share it with you...

With this ring.....



With this ring redux!



Husband and wife!



I'm obviously not the best photographer but I was free! 8-) LOL!

Thanks for sharing my little corner of the world!

UGH!!!

Well, I certainly won't show you a picture of the following - you can use your imagination!
Yesterday, before work, I went in to take a look the Thomas quilt and noticed that there was a large spot on it. I thought, "Great - I spilled some soda pop on it". I turned it over, and saw that it wasn't soda - the cat had thrown up a hairball on it. Well GROSS!! I tried soaking it first but nothing except more wet. ;-/ So, I put it in the washer, hoping it would come out - and put it on gentle because I had not put the binding on it yet. I took it out and of course the binding had come all apart - I could have fixed that - but the spot did not come out. So, I will be quickly be putting another one together before Saturday when they arrive. It won't take too long but I also have to work today through Wednesday. Later, I will fix the first one and let him use it for the beach and outside when he comes to stay with us for awhile. I'm sure one day I will laugh about this but not quite yet!
So, do you really want a picture of that? LOL! See? Well! What do you know! I AM laughing already!

Aiden's new Thomas the Tank Engine Quilt

I've finished the top to my grandson's quilt. This is one quilt I have really enjoyed working on. One - because it brought back wonderful memories when my own son Michael enjoyed Thomas when he was Aiden's age. Two - because it was so easy to put together - which I'll explain below. Three - I have wonderful images of Aiden running around the house (his or mine) dragging this quilt behind him. I want this quilt to be loved! 8-)

Dh Mike is holding up the quilt. He's my official quilt hangar when it comes to pictures! I didn't notice until now but there's Patrick at the bottom on the right hand side getting in on the action. What a ham.



Here's a closeup of the top - I had fun working with these bright colors. I'm probably going to stitch in the ditch on this one because it's one of the strongest stitches I know to help it stay in one piece - for the reason above! 8-D



Now, one of the reasons I really enjoyed putting it together was because I had most of the strips already cut. You see, I have all these scraps in different forms and pieces and I did not want to throw them away. There must be a use for them, right?. Then, I discovered Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville page. She wrote on how to save your scraps and cut them up to make them useful. You know, like a "useful engine" - get it? Ok, stop groaning and move on! LOL! I had most of the colors cut into 2 1/2 strips already or at least 5" charm squares to be used. That was half the work already!

So, here is Bonnie's page. I can't say enough about her methods and I love her patterns - so go on over and take a look and you'll be hooked too!

http://www.quiltville/com


Have a great day, everyone!

Well that was fast!

It's either feast or famine, right?

I finished the top of the Fun with Bricks quilt taken from Bonnie Hunter's free patterns at her Quiltville site...
http://www.quiltville.com/

I must admit this was such a fun quilt to put together. When I was putting the blocks together, different pieces brought back different memories...the red and blue with stars for Steph's US Navy Quilt, the blues for Carol's spread, some of the greens for Jack's golf quilt, the multi colored orange and brown for Nikki's shirt, Mike's Cleveland Cavalier pillowcases, our bedspread, the greens, creams, and flowers for my mom and dad's bedspread... the list goes on. I guess this is one reason why scrappy quilts are so loved - the cherished memories!

The first is a picture of the entire quilt. Mike, my long suffering husband, was the "quilt hanger". He's a bit over 6 foot tall and he was holding it fairly high so you can tell it's a long quilt. I wish I had taken a picture of my son Mike, laying down next to it so I could tell whether I needed another row or not. I would have asked Mike my dh to do that but it would have taken him a bit longer to get off the floor and I really wanted to get back to sewing! :-) Love ya honey!


This next is a close-up of the left hand corner - that's port side to you Naval types :-) You can even see the material I mentioned in one of the above paragraphs...


I have plenty of blocks left over that are going into another quilt so stay tuned.
Or maybe I'll work on that wall hanging...
or that purse...or Carol's place mats...
Ah! The possibilities! :-)

It's been a while

Yes, it has been awhile. When Christmas starts rolling into where I work, the hours increase. This can be a good thing in that I get more hours. It's a bad thing because I don't quilt as often.
But, the season is over and it's time to get back into the swing of things.

This is Cloned Abby - which I made for my grandson Aiden. I got the pattern from Indygo Junction. It's a yo-yo dachshund which I made out of browns because that's about what color Abby is.





January 23rd was my middle daughter Nikki's birthday so I made her a couple of pillowcases. She plays guitar and is also an accomplished artist and photographer. Here are the two pillowcases I made for her.




I am in the process of making a quilt for Quilts of Valor using a pattern from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville called Fun With Bricks. You never know how many scraps you have until you get started on one of her really wonderful patterns.


And finally, I'm working on a Christmas frugal BOM quilt from LadyBugHillQuilts from Nancy Halvorsen's I Believe Christmas line. Here are four blocks that are done right now.




That's about it for now - thanks for stopping by!