Just For Fun

When I saw this beaded scissors fob in a vendor's booth at the AQS Quilt Show I knew it would look great on my new embroidery scissors with the flowered handles. Is it necessary to have jewelery for your scissors? Not at all, but sometimes a quilter needs a little something just for fun!

Feeling A Little Loopy

Do you ever feel like you want to quilt something, but you don't want to do anything too involved? That's how I was feeling last night, so I loaded three layers of flannel on the frame and quilted it all over with a loopy meander. Once I got it off the frame I squared it up and then stitched a straight stitch all the way around. All I have to do is rag the edges and then I'll have a cozy blanket to donate to Project Linus!

The Best Laid Plans

My goal to finish all of my UFO's before starting any new projects may be in jeopardy! I was able to resist buying fabric at the quilt show, but I wasn't able to pass by the books, patterns and templates! I've been admiring the Cut-Loose quilts that Millie from Millie's Quilting has been working on, so when I saw the book at the show I had to pick up a copy for myself. Tumbler block templates are hard to find, so when I saw this little 3" template I had to pick that up as well. Then I saw a beautiful sample quilt hanging in a vendor's booth made using the 4-Layer Cake pattern. There were kits available for the quilt, but I resisted and just bought the pattern instead. I thought I was doing good by not buying any fabric, but now that I have these new books and patterns in the house they have joined forces with my fabric stash to try and lure me away from my UFO's! You know what they say about the best laid plans...

Cut-Loose Quilts is available from Amazon.com
3" Tumbler Quilt Template is available from Come Quilt With Me
4-Layer Cake quilt pattern is available from Quilting Connection

Weave, Little Weaver Bird

One thing that I saw at the AQS Quilt Show that I absolutely fell in love with was the woven fabric baskets that were being demonstrated by one of the vendors. (I apologize for not having the vendor's shop name...in my excitement, I forgot to write it down!) These baskets are similar to the It's A Wrap clothesline bowls and baskets where fabric is wrapped around cotton cording, but instead of sewing the coils together on the sewing machine the fabric is woven back through the cording to hold it all together. The demonstrator at the show was using 1 inch cording and 2 inch fabric strips to make her basket, but unfortunately she had sold out of the cording. (I don't think the vendors were expecting the large crowds either!) I happened to have some clothesline leftover from the last clothesline bowl that I made, so I thought I would try the technique using that and a few selvages. I really liked the larger baskets, but I love the look of the selvages with the smaller cording!
If you would like to make your own woven fabric basket, the basic instructions can be found at FamilyFun.com.

AQS Quilt Show, Lancaster, PA

The AQS Quilt Show was everything it promised to be and more...a beautiful new venue, hundreds and hundreds of beautiful quilts, famous quilters, vendors representing every quilting related item that can be purchased and then some, but unfortunately all of these wonderful things brought bigger crowds. People were shoulder to shoulder in the aisles and standing four and five deep to view the quilts for most of the day, but by late afternoon the crowds started to thin which made for a better view of the quilts. Another unfortunate part of the AQS Quilt Show is their photography policy which states, "Photographs of quilts may be taken for your own personal use. Quilt photographs must not be used for any commercial purpose or displayed on the Internet (websites or blogs) without permission of the quiltmaker and American Quilter's Society." I have certain issues with this policy, but I will abide by their rules. Because gaining permission from the quiltmakers and AQS would be a time consuming (if not impossible) task, I won't be sharing quilt photos of the show on my blog. Despite my complaints of the crowds and photography policy, I had a wonderful time at the show, but I have to admit that I am a bigger fan of the smaller locally sponsored quilt shows.

Lancaster Here I Come!

Today is the day that I have been waiting for...I'm going to the AQS Quilt show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania! I'm expecting big things from AQS and I'm sure I won't be disappointed. The winners have already been posted on the AQS blog and the quilts look amazing in the photos, so no doubt they will be even more impressive in person! If you aren't going to be at the show you can view the winning quilts at www.americanquilter.com.

More About The AQS Quilt Show

I'm starting to think that just one day in Lancaster is not going to be long enough!

The Best Things In Life Are Free

Yesterday Barb from Bejeweled Quilts By Barb made a great point about my new selvage bag...it cost next to nothing to make! That thought hadn't occurred to me, but because I used selvages, scraps and a zipper that I already had on hand, it was basically free. For that reason, I thought I would sew a selvage change purse to hold all the money I saved!

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag!

Bright and early Friday morning I will be getting on a bus headed south to the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania! Naturally, I couldn't go without a new bag to hold my camera and most importantly my cash and credit cards! With a few selvages, a zipper and a little imagination, I came up with this simple shoulder bag which is just the right size to carry the few things that I will need while at the show.

Welcome Spring!

Spring is officially here and I think it was definitely worth the wait!

Did You Work On Your UFO This Week?

As I said yesterday, the weather has been much too nice to be inside sewing, but that doesn't mean that I have totally ignored my UFO! While I was out earlier this week I stopped at one of my favorite quilt shops and found these fabrics on sale for $3.00 a yard! I think they will make the perfect sashing and border fabrics for the last of my Thangles blocks. More seasonable weather is expected to return next week, so I hope to be able to show lots of progress on this quilt next Friday!

Did you work on your UFO this week?

Too Nice Outside To Be Inside!

With temperatures almost 20 degrees above average this week, it's just too nice outside to be spending time sewing inside! The weatherman says that it's back to reality for us next week, so until then I'm going to be outside getting all the sunshine and fresh air that I can!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

“May God grant you always...A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.”

Not A UFO!

Lest you think that all of my projects end up as UFO's...
Here is the Quick Strippie quilt that I have been working on, all finished!

My Oldest UFO

There's no question that my oldest UFO is the match stick quilt that I showed yesterday. The pattern for the blocks is in the book, Allegro by Atkinson Designs. The book was brand new and being promoted at the 2004 Lancaster quilt show when I bought it. It was my first quilt show and I remember coming home excited to make a quilt with some of the Civil War Reproduction fabrics that I had been collecting, so I started cutting strips. Somewhere along the line, the excitement for this quilt wore off. I've tried to work on it in the past, but I always seem to lose interest. This time it WILL get done!

Did You Work On Your UFO This Week?

As you can see by the photo, my Thangles blocks are still on the UFO wall, but wait...what are the blocks next to it? You guessed it, another UFO and these matchstick blocks are even older than the Thangles blocks! I'm trying to decide how I want to finish the Thangles blocks, so I thought I would work on something different while I'm waiting for inspiration.

Did you work on your UFO this week?

A Sure Sign Of Spring!

My friend, Madalene, commented on yesterday's post that the only sign of spring that she has seen in our area is a little golden tinge to the goldfinches. "Not even a red-winged blackbird yet." Well Madalene, this photo is for you...have a look at who showed up under my bird feeder this afternoon! My grandpa always said that a red-winged blackbird was a better sign of spring than a robin, so spring must surely be here now!

Look What I Found!

Look at what was hiding under the snow...SPRING! I was starting to think that winter would never end, but these daffodils say otherwise. Spring is on the way!

ConKerr Cancer

APQ - 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge

Yesterday I joined several of my quilty friends in making pillowcases for the APQ-1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. By working together, five of us were able to make 47 pillowcases that will be donated to local charities!
American Patchwork & Quilting is challenging anyone who can operate a sewing machine to make a difference in their community by making a pillowcase and donating it to a local charity. A bright cheerful pillowcase can make a big difference in the day of a cancer patient, a child in foster care, a battered woman or a nursing home resident. For more details on how you can help APQ meet their 1 million pillowcase goal, visit www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases

All The Better To See You With!

I've been putting it off for awhile, but I finally broke down and went for an eye exam and got new glasses. My prescription had changed quite a bit, especially in the bifocal department, so I'm hoping that threading needles and handwork will be much easier now!

Did You Work On Your UFO This Week?

The best part about this UFO project is that you all are holding me to my commitment to get them done! After I posted that I didn't have any UFO progress to report last week Terry of Terry's Treasures gave me strict orders to get the top done. I would like to say that I did just that, but it didn't happen. I do have some progress to report though and I am happy to say that the blocks are now finished! Hopefully that will count for something!

Did you work on your UFO this week?

Getting Into The Pool

I have never been one to jump right into the pool without dipping my toes in first, then I sit on the edge for awhile and then slowly, ever so slowly, I work my way into the water. I am no different when it comes to quilting. I've only done a simple meander since I got my new machine and frame back in the fall. Now it's time to move in a little deeper and try something new. I've been practicing a loopy meander on my whiteboard and finally got to the point where I felt comfortable enough to try it on a quilt. Last night I loaded the Quick Strippie on the frame and jumped in! Ok, I admit it was the shallow end, but progress is progress!

Quick Strippie

I love, love, LOVE this Quick Strippie pattern from MaryQuilts.com! It's a super simple pattern that only takes a couple of hours to complete, so it's the perfect pattern when you need a quilt in a hurry!

It Needs More Red

I was showing my husband the Twisted Happy Blocks quilt the other day and he said that it was nice, but it needed something, "like more red around the outside". I told him that I intended to put a red binding on it, but he insisted that it needed more. My husband doesn't usually say much about the quilts that I make, so I figured I better take his advice or I'll never hear more than "that's nice" about one of my quilts again!