Sharing A Few Finishes...

 I just thought I'd share a few recent finishes. 

I did take photographs of the Grammies Jammies this year,

and found that I'd deleted them before I downloaded them into my 'puter.

(Of course, they were already on their way to Wisconsin when I realized that.)

This is one of the two sweatshirts I made for a couple of cute little boys in

our family. This is the first one I did. He's just a little guy, so I thought 

something "doggie" would be fun. His name is embroidered below the motif.

 His older brother loves trains, so of course that's what I chose for his sweatshirt.

His name also appears below the engine on his shirt, but their names don't

appear here to protect the innocents. I hope they like them!

 It occurred to me that you hadn't seen my December mini yet, either.

This is the original that was designed for our group. 

It has four large holly leaves around the candles, but we were also

given a pattern for smaller leaves if we preferred them. Most All

of the other quilters machine quilt their appliques', however, I

have now earned the official new title of "Overachiever".

 I really like hand stitching my applique' work, so that's what I did

on my block. When they gave me my new "title", the girls told me that my

machine applique' technique will never improve if I don't practice. Uh, huh.

I chose a Christmas line that I had to cut into before it became

 part of the "I-love-this-so-much-I'll-keep-it-forever" stash.

The collection is from Moda (of course) and it's BasicGrey's

Fruitcake line - and I still have enough left to make a whole quilt!

2012 BOM Downloads

All the months are finished now. It was a fun project, and we've already

decided what we're going to do for 2013. Shabby Fabrics' Country Cottages

quilt is what we've chosen. If you look on my left sidebar (the buttons in this
post are not active links), you can still click on the sidebar button to download
 the FREE Country Cottage patterns if you'd like to join us.

2013 BOM Downloads

 (Hurry though, because they've already started a new BOM and I don't

know how long the Country Cottages patterns will be available!)

This evening is another of Handsome's concerts (that I'll be recording), 

so I'm going to take it easy today. You know I'll be in the studio, 

so I'll be back again to show you what's next "by my hand".

November Mini...

Another closeup of mine

Friday was a fun day for me. I got to spend the day in the studio - less the hour I spent at the post office waiting to post overseas packages. (Just a few goodies heading to my friends in the Farmer's Wife QAL.) When I got back home, I tasked myself with starting (and finishing) my mini quilt for November. It is mid-month already, after all.

Kathy's original design

My friend, Kathy designed this month's quilt. I was tickled to see that she had chosen squirrels and acorns! I think her design is adorable and I've been thinking all week about how I wanted to personalize mine.

Fay's mini

This is the quilt, adapted by Fay. She had hers finished earlier in the month, so I got a peek last weekend at our coffee group. It's always fun to see how each quilter personalizes the designs to reflect their own personality. One of the gals loves little yellow ducks, so no matter what the theme, she always manages to find a place to sneak in a duck!

It was time for me to quit gawking and start sewing. I chose the fabrics I wanted to use, and then I pulled out two of my Michelle Palmer drawings on fabric that I've been saving for a special project.

Close-up of my November Mini Quilt

I decided to do a little hand tinting on Michelle's two little squirrel drawings so that I could place them as the focal point on my block. Then I fused them to the block and started adding leaves and acorns.

My entire center block

By the end of the day, I'd completed my block. It's all stitched, bound and ready to take to our coffee group this morning.

December's design is already in my binder, but I think I'll bask in this November glow for a little while before I tackle the next one. I'm going to wait until the traditional "day after Thanksgiving" to even start thinking about it. Christmas will be here soon enough. No need to rush.

Button Floozie Ornament Exchange...

I'm a Button Floozie. No. Really. I've been a contributing writer to the weblog, Button Floozies for some time. It's a great place to read about all the different kinds of buttons and meet new bloggers who share this interest, too.

For the past couple of years, our administrator, Laurie has organized an ornament swap for our members. Each of us belongs to a group of five and we create ornament sets to share among our group. In my group for this swap are two old friends, Denise and DeeDee, and a couple of new friends, too - Debbie and Renee.

Our deadline to mail our hand-made ornaments is today. So, guess how I spent yesterday? Yup. Making ornaments!

I had help. Miss Ellie (my Babylock Ellisimo) was all too happy to help me create the base for my ornaments, and she stitched out her work in record time.

After she was finished, it was my turn. Sewing, stuffing, stitching, detailing with vintage buttons and making the cording for hangers all went into the creation of each ornament.

They're all finished and in the mail...right on time. I'd love to show you a picture of them, but I really have to make you use your imagination. There's a chance that one of the Floozies in my group might peek at this post, and we can't have her seeing her ornament before she opens her package, now, can we? Thank goodness for Photoshop and their special effects feature.

I'll show you the actual photo some time next week, after I'm sure the ornies have been received. Today, I'll be making the November mini quilt for our monthly QAL at Sandy's Quilt Shop. I'll be taking it with me to the shop on Saturday, but I promise to share it with you first.

Happy Friday, y'all. I hope you have a creative day, too.

Ahead Of The Game...

I just had to share my October block for Sandy's 

 Quilt Shop quiltalong. I'm ahead of schedule for a change! 

This is my interpretation of the block for the QAL.

 

Remember that each of the gals participating in the QAL designed one

 block,  except that I designed June and July. Nancy designed this block for

 October, and this is her original version that we all used as our starting point.

I first completed all the applique' work - by hand, this time.

I wanted to practice the technique we'll be using for the guild album quilt.

I'm really happy with the way my stitching looked and my applique'

technique has vastly improved from the first class project I made.

I fussy-cut a whole pumpkin patch from a great fabric I found at 

the shop, and then I hand-embroidered tendrils on the leaves.

Of course, my spooky version would have a howling corgi puppy! 

I found an image online by doing a Google search, sized it and then printed

 it on fabric to put him in the pumpkin patch. After all the hand stitching,

 assembly and quilting, I added more embroidery for the corgi "arrooooo".

I've always practiced a new technique on each block, so none of mine

are "perfect". On this one, I wanted to try quilting echo feathers on the

border. It's a good thing this is the October/Halloween block, because 

my work there is really, reaaally scary!  I think I'll do more practicing

on fabric pieces until I get much better at this technique, but for this little

quilt I think I can pull it off. After all, it's supposed to be hair-raising,

and this echo feather quilting on my borders definitely is! lol

 I'll be able to take it to the shop this Saturday to add to the rest!

Doin' a little happy dance here. I'm ahead of the game this time!

You know, I don't usually decorate seasonally, so at the end of the
year I'm going to have twelve little quilt "banners" that I won't be
using around here. I'm trying to decide what to do with them.
 I'm not really sure if they're worthy of giving away to anyone.
Any ideas?

It's Not Where You Start...

 It's where you finish. Right?

Considering that I spent the better part of two days

recuperating, I'm pretty happy with how I finished.

 

 This is my September mini for our Sandy's Quilt Shop QAL. 

This one was designed by Nora, who is one of the owners of the shop.

By the time you read this post, I will have completed hand-sewing the

binding, too. I'll be taking it to Sandy's to add to the rest this morning.

 I actually made this project before I started the September mini. 

I still hadn't sent off the giveaway gift for Marydon's winner at the 

Blushing Rose, so I created this and then got it in the mail for Diane yesterday. 

She lives right here in Florida, so I think she may even have her reader

case by tomorrow! I hope she likes it and enjoys it for a long, long time.

Well, there you have it. I got off to a rocky start for the week, but I think

 I finished on a high note by making two new things on Friday! I'm looking

 forward to relaxing with the coffee group this morning (and checking out any 

new fabrics that may have arrived since last Saturday!) and then I have 

plans to spend some quality time with Handsome and The Corgi.

I hope you get to spend your weekend with someone you love,

doing something that makes you happy. Life's too short.

I'll close by sharing a quote with you:

"When all is said and done, I'd like to know that I 

spent my life well; accomplished something that will 

outlast me; and lived my days in vivid color."

 - DCL 2006

 Reminder:  

The next Memory Lane Monday is this Monday, 

September 24th. You can share a story on your blog and 

link back here all week. Hope you'll join me!

 

August Mini...

I still have some catching up to do, but at least I'm up-to-date with my monthly mini quilts for our group at Sandy's Quilt Shop. It's all finished and I'll be ready for the September block right along with the rest of the gals.

The color of the blue fabric looks more vivid than it actually is because I took this picture first thing this morning in a diffused easterly light. The picture below of the designer's block uses the same fabric and shows the actual color. (It just so happens I used the same fabric!)

This is the block as it was designed by Brenda from our group. Quilts hanging from the clothesline, flower buttons scattered through the grass and a sweet bird button sitting on the line. There's even a laundry basket sitting under the line. (It's really cool up close!)

I've switched out the quilts, hung a few garments from my line, and there's a little cat scampering across a stone patio. All of us always personalize our quilts, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone else modifies the original design.

Another project caught up. Now to tidy up the studio before I tackle "next in line". Have a great weekend, girlfriends!

June Mini-Quilt QAL...

My design for June

Each month this year, a group of us from Sandy's Quilt Shop clientele have made mini quilts designed by other members of the group. I drew June as the month to create my design. (After we were all finished drawing, there was one month left over, so I volunteered to design the mini quilt for July, too. You'll see that one next month!)

Closeup of my design

You know how much I love barns, so it only seemed natural to incorporate a barn into my June design. I added a mini barn quilt on the gable end, and suggested that everyone making the design choose their own favorite block to put on their barn.You know how much I like pinwheel blocks! (Remember the quilts in the Flying Cloud or the Marie J? You can click on their names to see them.)

Fay's version

Fay has already finished her barn (which I really love!). She added bee buttons to hers, which I think is a great touch. She chose a four-patch block for her barn.

Nancy's version

Nancy finished hers, too. She placed yo yos on hers and she added beads that look like rocks on her landscape. (Too many farmers spend their pre-planting days picking rocks out of the soil. What a great idea to add them to her quilt.) She also reversed her barn and moved the silo away from the end of the barn.

I really enjoyed designing this little quilt, and it was fun to sew, too. I'll make June and July's design available for free to anyone might want to make their own. I'll put it up on my "Free Patterns" page after I show you the second design in July!

Have a great weekend!

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!

Recent Finishes...

Yesterday was a day to finish projects. I completed my mini quilt for the monthly quiltalong at Sandy's Quilt Shop. Each month is being designed by a different shop customer! Isn't that exciting? I've drawn the month of June from the basket. Then there was still one month left, so I offered to design the July mini, too. (I haven't decided what they're going to look like yet, so it's going to be a surprise!)

I'm really happy with the way my piece turned out. When I take this to the shop on Saturday, I'll take a photo of the whole wall of completed minis so you can see what the rest of them look like. I'll also get the pattern for February's design, so I'll be able to start on that one, too.

On Tuesday night, a call went out for someone to bind a scrappy quilt for the quilt show boutique in February. I love sewing on bindings, so my hand shot in the air to volunteer.

I'll get it back to the committee today or tomorrow so they can put it with the rest of the beautiful items that will be for sale at the quilt show.

It felt good to be back in the studio. Tag kept me company and reminded me to take a break from time to time. I've got an appointment to keep this morning, but this afternoon, I'll be right back in the studio to start something new. I'm looking forward to showing you what's next.

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's post.  Pat's quilts were truly inspirational, and I'm so glad I was able to share them with you. (Now, if I could only talk her into selling the amarylis quilt!)

I'll be back tomorrow. Make today a beautiful day!

Diggin' The Mini Quilts...

After a day of mini-quilting Monday, I was in the mood to tackle the creative part of my latest swap project. This swap involves the participant's choice of 1) 1 yard of fabric or 2) a 1/2 yard of fabric and something sewn by the giver. (I guess there are other combinations available, but after I saw Option 2, I stopped reading.)

I'm lucky, in that I was recently asked to be a swap angel for the last swap, which was for pincushions. (Read about that swap here.) The organizer for that swap was "starknits". She contacted me and asked me to make a gift for a gal who hadn't received her overseas package. The recipients name was "amylynnknits" and she lives in Athens, GA.

After she received the pincushion and other goodies I shipped out, she posted a note that she loved what I made for her and that she especially liked mt fabric choices. I have a reason for telling you this. Our swap partners are secret until after the swap packages have been received.

You can imagine my surprise when the organizer of the new swap, "celia", matched me up (again) with "amylynnknits"! I was tickled and decided today was the day to make the "creative" part of her swap gift. More Laurel Burch fabric for this swap! And I decided to make another mini quilt, but this time I would put it into a shadow box frame with other goodies. A mini quilt collage.

I have a number of hand made "beads" that I like to use in my collage work. They're simple and fun to make - and they're a perfect project when sitting in front of the television. You really don't need a lot of supplies to make them and the results (I think) are quite fun. Leave a comment if you'd like to learn more about how they're made. I'd be happy to put up a free tutorial if there's any interest!

After I finished assembling my newest mini quilt, I did the machine quilting with Hemingworth metallic thread in a beautiful aqua blue.
I completed the quilt by hand sewing the binding. I'm really happy with the results...especially knowing ahead of time that my swap partner will love the fabric!

I opened the back of the frame I'd chosen and removed the velvet-faced board. I used two pieces of velcro to secure the quilt to the velvet, and did the same with the beads. Then I glued three abalone cabachons below the beads. I replaced the backing into the frame and voila! a completed collage!

I'd love to know what you think of it! I'm planning to make more, and may just have one as part of my 100th Post Giveaway Drawing (which isn't too far off)! Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Do you think I should include a Mini Quilt Collage in my drawing? I hope so...I'm really diggin' making the Mini Quilts!