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!

The worst is yet to come?????

Many have talked about what the "worst" part of making a quilt is. I'm not particularly fond of the sandwich part - you know, top, batting, and backing. It usually takes me all day to line that baby up. Just when I think I have it just right.....well, think again kiddo! LOL!
That's what I'm up against now. I've finished the top to my nephew Cody's quilt. And now it's time to put it together..
Dear Cody is such a patient young man - I've been working on this quilt for awhile. It's for his birthday, which was several days ago. I was using one the Turning Twenty books - had all my blocks pieced but when it came time to cutting them in half.....disaster struck. I had cut them all wrong. Yes, all 20. So, after the wailing, weeping and gnashing of teeth - gee that happens a lot to me doesn't it? :-) - I took them all apart, redid them, and put it back together. Hence, the picture above.
So, to paraphrase Marvel's The Thing, "It's Sandwiching Time!"

Oh, and if you've noticed that bucket of cats litter on the bottom right, you'll remember that I have two assistants. Yes, they continue to be a big help, laying on top of the quilt as I sew, checking it for comfort. Apparently it is comfortable as they have both fallen asleep on it. Yes, Cody, I will wash it before sending it to you! LOL!

Yes - she's back! LOL!

I'll bet you've been wondering where I've been! Did she abandon the blog? Nah - just busy quilting and crafting. So here are a few pictures of the things I'm working on....


This is the quilt I making for my oldest daughter, Stephanie who is serving in the U.S. Navy.




This is a close-up of one of the blocks - like you couldn't figure that one out! LOL




This is a quilt that I made for my niece, Morgan.




This is one that I made for my nephew, Alex.



I'm now working on a quilt for my nephew Cody. In fact, I've made several quilts this years for nieces and nephews but forgot to take pictures of them before sending them out. So, someday I'll post them when I do get pics!

And it's that time of year when most of us are busy crafting for the holidays...or if you're like me, you quilt/craft year round for them!

Let me know what you're working on in your part of the world.

Until my next post...God Bless!