Tiny Treasures...

 When I got to our guild Christmas party on Tuesday night, my friend,

Linda S., handed me a little plastic bag with these items inside. She said,

"These were all of Flo's needles and a couple of thimbles. You were the

first person I thought of when I saw them, so I'd like you to have them."

I was humbled. I opened the package to look at the needles. There were

 lots of loose ones that were separated into other ziplocs labeled by size.

When I got home, I put those loose needles into three of my wooden

needlecases to keep them organized. Then I took a closer look at the thimbles.

 I've never seen a thimble like this one. It's sort of rubbery and one

could see that Flo had used it a lot. I cleaned it up and then tried it on.

 A perfect fit! I sort of felt like Cinderella at the ball. I'll definitely

wear it when I stitch and I'll imagine our dear friend close to me.

Thank you again, Linda, for gifting me with Flo's tiny treasures.

Each stitch I take with them will be in Flo's memory.

Flo Continues To Teach...

 When I saw the girls at Coffee Club last Saturday, I was surprised to find

that each of us received a gift of one of Flo's unfinished works-in-progress.

Each kit was different, and we all got a kit using a technique that is new

to the receipient. Mine looks like paper pieced diamonds assembled in a star 

pattern. She always used to tell us that she liked to save her scraps.

 These stars are examples of all the fabrics she'd used in other projects. I've

 done English paper piecing before, so that's not the technique that's new to me.

 Flo loved hand sewing her quilts. That's right. This entire project so far, has 

been hand sewn by Flo and will be finished by me using the same techniques.

I've never hand sewn a quilt - or even a single block - before. Making 

consistent 1/4" seams with needle in hand will be my challenge. As I take

extra care to create each tiny stitch, I'll imagine Flo looking over my 

shoulder...and hope that I'm not disappointing her. She'll continue to teach 

me,  even as she is absent from our daily lives. I aim to make her proud.

I'm in no hurry. Doing this project right is definitely going to take me a while.

Faeries...

 I have a thing for calendars...especially if I think I might be able to use

the images later for something else. I'm particularly fond of Cheri Blum

images from her calendars, but these are so aesthetically pleasing to me.

 These woodland images were created by Linda Ravenscraft for a

 calendar that was produced in 2007. I have it safely tucked in the

studio along with my Cheri Blum calendars, just waiting for me.

 I have used Cheri's images in decoupage on furniture, and can just 

imagine how wonderful these might be on just the right piece. I think they'd

add a perfect touch to a chest of drawers, or on the doors of the armoire 

that stands in my studio. I can imagine acorn adornments with them, too.

 This is the front of my calendar, and it's just like new.

Now that I'm looking at it again, my mind is full of ideas for

using these images. Don't be too surprised if you see one of

them again - in another context - in the near future.

 I'll be at Coffee Club this morning, and this afternoon all of us

will be attending Flo's memorial service here in North Port.

All of her local friends will be gathering to remember her and 

all the good times we shared together. I hope the sun shines.

It would be appropriate.

Coffee Break...

 Our Coffee Club always exhanges gifts over the Christmas holiday. I received

some really lovely and thoughtful things last year and appreciate every one. As

I was looking through my "stash", I came across the one I received from Flo.

 I wear aprons whenever I'm cooking in the kitchen, and this was a perfect

gift from a thoughtful friend. I pulled a couple of my favorite twill tapes

and decided that I'm going to make my apron from Flo this week. 

Once it's finished, I'll show it to the girls and then I'll put it on the hook in 

the kitchen. Each time reach for it and put it on, I'll remember our friend.

A New Quilter In Heaven...

Web Image

 Yesterday, our Coffee Club and our entire quilt guild received sad news.

Our dear friend and my mentor, Flo Shannon died.

Coffee Club (l-r) Flo, Joni, Nora, Fay, Kathy, me and Brenda

Flo passed on Wednesday evening at her home.

I saw her Tuesday night at our guild meeting and thankfully, I had a chance

to speak with her that night. We've all be concerned for her for some time, as

she seemed to be getting more and more frail, but we never expected this.

Always a good listener/

Flo was one of the charter members of our guild, and she made it her goal to 

welcome all new members, get to know them and help teach them more about 

quilting. I wrote about her in August 2010 when I made my first, sad attempt

 at hand applique'. She told me I needed to redo my work because it wasn't good 

enough. I railed and carped here, but I redid my work and eventually finished 

the block into a lap quilt that received honorable mention at our last quilt show.

Photo courtesy of Linda Spencer

You have seen the applique' projects I've completed since that first try, and I

attribute my enthusiasm to the encouragement and knowledge I received from Flo.

She often told me how proud she was to be my teacher and see the progress I made.

Then, she'd lower her head and smile at me with her twinkling Irish eyes.
I'll never forget this look.

She was a good listener, a great friend, an adventurous and talented woman with a 

colorful  past, and a true educator in the art of quilting. She was never stingy with 

her lessons and couldn't wait to share everything she had every learned or done.

Today will be a sad day at Coffee Club...our first day without our dear Flo.

We will all remember her, share our memories and raise our coffee cups in her honor.

She will be sorely missed.

We love you, Flo.

WIP Reveal...

I'm so tickled (pink) about this project that I just can't wait until it's finished to show you more! You'll remember my sneak peek from last week. I'm now to the point where I have the layout finished and I've already started the hand stitching.

By now, I'm sure you've figured out the title I chose for my movie quilt for our guild challenge. I'm participating because I'm the organizer, but I'm going to exempt myself from the prizes (because I'm the organizer), so I don't feel like I'm giving anything away by sharing my work-in-progress.

I downloaded a photo of the movie poster from the internet and then enlarged it to the size I needed for my piece. After I enlarged it, I traced the master from it. The next step was to trace the separate elements onto freezer paper so that I could make the pieces to assemble into the finished characters.

I've already begun the applique' stitching. All the paw prints are finished and I'm working my way up the Pink Panther. The Inspector will be the last thing, although I did stitch the magnifying glass because my thread kept hanging up it when I was stitching the first (lowest) paw.

I've just placed my sash and border fabrics on the center panel just to preview it for you. I think it will be cute when completed, and I can't imagine that everyone won't know the title of my quilt. The next time you see it, it will be finished.

Who would have thought when I made my first applique' project that I would be looking forward to honing my skills in the same genre now? I have to chuckle when I think about my first experience, and I'm telling you that my teacher for that class - Flo - and I have become good friends. She says she's so proud of how I've improved and that she can see my technique become more refined with each new project. I'm pretty proud of myself, too, because, I'm proof that you can teach an ol' dog new tricks! Ta da!!! Doin' a little happy dance...or at least a little curtsy.

Such A Great Idea...

If you're anything at all like me, you have a stack of fabric scraps from projects past. Beautiful, wonderful, colorful fabrics that make you feel happy and full just looking at them. Come on, now. I know you do!

Remember when I tried my hand at applique' the very first time? I was so bummed that the teacher told me it "wasn't good enough" and that I should "do it over"? I know I complained to all of you when it happened, and I said that I'd never make another applique' project, so I took that one appliqued block (reworked it) and made it the centerpiece of a quilt that got an honorable mention at our guild quilt show.

Well, that nasty, demanding, unreasonable teacher and I have been friends now for about over a year. She's one of the women I share coffee with most Saturday mornings at Sandy's Quilt Shop. Her name is Flo. Did I tell you I now love this woman? Yup. I know. I could knock you over with a feather, right?

Not only did I rework that original block, but I have since done more applique' work (that Scrappy Dresden Plate quilt I'm working on requires applique', as do the monthly minis for Sandy's monthly QAL) and now in charge of the design for our next guild Opportunity (raffle) Quilt for 2014. Do you know what I've chosen for us to do? You guessed it if you said, "an applique' quilt"! I'll save that whole story for another day, but for now, I want to tell you about an idea that our friend, Flo shared during our coffee group.

When she has leftover scraps from a project, she spends a little time at the end of her day, takes some of the fabrics, and cuts them into 2 1/2" (or 1 1/2") strips. Then she chooses three different fabric strips, joins them into two different arrangements (light, dark, light and dark, light, dark) strips and cuts them into 2 1/2" (or 1 1/2") strips so that she can make nine-patch blocks. After she makes the blocks, she places them into a basket until she has enough to make a scrappy quilt from those blocks.

She uses a neutral cotton for the sashing and the borders. They're colorful and beautiful, and she usually adds applique' to the borders for an extra special touch. She shared one of her quilts with us last weekend and is was gorgeous. When all her assembly is finished, she usually hand quilts the finished top, making it even more special.

I've decided I want to be like Flo when I grow up. She's a seasoned soul who has seen and done a lot in her life (80+ years) and when she finally goes out (years from now), she'll leave behind people who love her and a pile of quilts that will stagger any imagination.

I can tell you one thing for sure. She's made me a better quilter, and with every project I complete, I strive to meet her high standards. (She's says I've really improved!)

So, I'm going to tackle those scraps (in between my projects), just to catch up on making nine-patch blocks...and when I have a sizeable pile, I'll make my first nine-patch quilt from all my leftover fabric pieces. Thank you, Flo.

You gals are the best! Smooches.

Thank you to everyone who left me a comment about my outfit for the wedding. You're all so considerate and complimentary. I read all of your comments and just want to tell you that I promise to share what I learn at the wedding. I'll tell you what I can about their customs, how the other women dress for the celebration...and all about the food, which I expect to be absolutely fabulous!

Because of your kind remarks, I'm much more comfortable in my clothing choice for the big day. Heck, you'd think I'm the bride with as much thought and preparation I've put into this! At any rate, I promise to tell you all about it next week. Thanks again!

March Mini Quilt...

My March mini quilt fabric choices

I'm so happy to have been able to get into the studio for a little sewing yesterday afternoon. Funny how much happier I am when I've had my "fabric fix".

I pulled the fabrics to make my mini quilt from my stash, and set to making the transfers from the design to fabric.

Flo's Design for March

This is the original quilt, designed by one of our Saturday morning coffee group gals, Flo Shannon. It was only appropriate that she do the design for March with her Irish last name! I love her design with the shamrocks and pot of gold.

My March Mini Quilt

I reversed Flo's drawing prior to putting it onto my bonding paper, but once it was all fused, it appears that Flo had already done the reversing for me. We're only required to use the elements as we choose, so it's not critical that my shamrocks are reversed. (whew!)

I still have to layer and quilt the design, but all the elements are fused and stitched down and the border has been applied. Plenty of time to finish and find before Saturday morning when I'll take it over to the quilt shop.

It's fun to have these little monthly projects that we can do in between the more involved pieces. I'm going to be doing a wedding quilt to finish before April 15th, too. It's going to be a busy few weeks coming up!

Come back tomorrow when I'll be debuting my latest giveaway!