SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW AND LOTS OF BLUE

Here's the old.  I finished binding it and I have it hanging in the living room.  Was going to keep it in the sewing room but DH loved it and wanted it in the living room.

Close up of the free motion quilting.  And I promise this is the last time I will post pictures of this quilt.

Now for something new...this is my latest Alzheimer's quilt.  I call it Hugs and Kisses.

I've had this done since Monday but kept forgetting to post a picture.  It is last Saturday's Barbara Brackman Civil War Block.  This is the last of the blue.

Guess what I FINALLY finished?

January's Granny's Hankies BOM.  I'm so glad to have finally finished it.  Now on to February....After I finish March's  Bunny Hill BOM...lol

Still overcast, the sun peeks out once in a while.  I hope this bad weather we are having all over the United States leaves soon.  I hope all my friends in the south are safe.

Wishing you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

Two Tutorials to Share

A friend on facebook posted a blog (badskirt) that had a tutorial for this block.  Love the scrappiness of it.  Here is the address for the tutorial:  http://badskirt.blogspot.com/   The block was very easy to make.

Some of you have asked for the directions for the above block that uses 5" charm  squares.  The address for the tutorial is: http://quiltingstitchingandsewon.blogspot.com/    She gives precise directions in her tutorial.  It is on her April 16th post

Remember this?  It was the first 12" quilt I made for the Something from Nothing Swap.  I decided to keep it and do another.  I signed up for the Free Motion Quilt Challenge and decided to quilt it.

Not sure if you can see but in the corners I did a loopy zig zag to fill in the square.

At the V's I did 3 leaves.  It is not the best job but it is my first attempt at free motion quilting on a project other than a practice piece.  Figured the more I try the better I will get.

I mailed out my Something From Nothing quilt and a little something to some special friends.  So watch your mailbox.

Weather is wacky lately.  Woke up to fog, then rain, then a beautiful sun and now overcast again.  Hope it doesn't rain the Tigers play tonight.

Wishing you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

SO MUCH TO SHARE....

Woo Hoo.!  I won.  If you are on Facebook and are friends with Aurifill Threads you might remember that they had a contest for naming some variegated threads.  Two of the names I thought up were chosen.  Alas the first I named Salsa Verde came in second.  But the second name I chose "Creme Brule"  came in first.  I got a message from the company today, congratulating me and asking for my address.  I have won all 34 variegated threads.  I'm sooooo excited.

Remember this little beauty.  Well it went in the mail today to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  And quite by chance I got an email from Ami Simms this morning asking if I would post something to my blog.  It is a video from Utube about AAQI.  It is so moving.
http://youtu.be/JGzAOBwZ7MM  Also http://www.aaqiupdate.wordpress.com/ 
Please visit both and if you can make a little Art Quilt for a good cause.

Last week while reading some of my favorite blocks I came across a photo similar to this on a post at Talin's Corner.  She had a lovely idea of sending something she made to 3 people who in turn would send something they made to 3 people and so on and so on and so on.  I left a message about what a wonderful idea it was.  She contacted me and asked for my address.

It is the sweetest little pouch used for jewelry.  I just adore it.  She made my day.  So this weekend I am going to be making 3 little gifts for 3 of my blog readers.  So leave a message and will pick 3 names on Monday.  The receivers will then in turn make 3 little gifts and so on and so on and so on.  What do you think?

Last Friday was FNSI and I spent a good part of Saturday checking out what people had been working on.  I saw a block that I really liked (sorry I don't remember who was working on it) and I thought it was really neat.

It is made using 5" charm squares.  I have a ton of them so I am hoping to make a couple of quilts using this block.

And guess what....The Sun is finally shining.  It is beautiful out.  So I wish you all a Sunny Quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

MOTHER NATURE DOES IT AGAIN.....

The weatherman predicted and Mother Nature fullfilled the prediction.

This is what I woke up to.  It is still snowing....enough said.

The latest Barbara Brackman block.  The stripe may not be reproduction fabric, but I like it just the same.

This is the top to a pincushion I'm making.  You might remember from a pattern I bought about a month ago.  It is going to a special person.

Here is another gift that will be leaving soon.  It is a mug rug I made from a 15 Minutes Play block.

Still working on some hand applique, which is taking longer than usual.  I will post a picture as soon as it is done.  Until then I wish you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

FRIDAY NIGHT SEW IN

Didn't sleep well last night so I'm late posting.

I finished sewing the binding on my "Scraps of Hope" quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  It is approx. 7" x 9".

This is my 12"x 12" Something from Nothing quilt for the exchange on 15 Minutes Play.  I finished hand quilting it, trimming and sewing on the binding and sleeve.    The picture looks wonky but it is square.  I hung it to take a picture where I had a larger quilt hanging.  That is why you can see the 3M hooks.  I use them to hang everything.

Earlier I went for a walk in Dodge Park  and ran into a couple of friends.  Here they are.

Mrs. Waddle was hoping I had some food.  But alas I had none.

And then I ran into a relative of Henrietta Whiskers who wanted to play hide and seek.

Well I had a productive night.  Hope everyone else did.  Wishing you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

Cool and Overcast

Will the good weather ever stay?

Until then it is good weather for quilting.  I've been working on a few projects, mostly hand work so nothing to show you there, but I do have a couple of blocks to show you.

This is an Autograph block I made for Victoria @ Bumble Beans.  I put it in the mail yesterday.  Hope she likes it.

This is the latest Barbara Brackman block.   It was a little difficult to make but I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Here is something a friend sent my husband.  I thought you might get a kick out of it.

Some nice benefits of growing older

1. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
2. It's harder and harder for sexual harassment charges to stick.
3. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
4. People call at 9pm and ask, "Did I wake you?".
5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7. Things you buy now won't wear out.
8. You eat dinner at 4 pm.
9. You can live without sex but not without glasses.
10. You got cable for the weather channel.
11. You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.
12. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
13. You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who enters the room.
14. You send money to PBS.
15. You sing along to elevator music.
16. Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.
17. Your eyes won't get much worse.
18. Your investment in health insurance is finally paying off.
19. Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.
20. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember either.

  I can relate to some of these (but I won't tell you which ones).  Terry is 62 and I am 61 so hopefully we have a while before we relate to all of these.....lol.

I hope no one is offended by any of this.  I apologize if you are. 

Wishing you all a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

Back Among the Living...

The medicine finally kicked in and I am feeling sooooo much better.  Thanks for all the well wishes.

Managed to get some sewing done.  I finished sewing the binding on Sunflower #1.

Had to hang it up in the living room right away.  It brightens up the room.

I signed up for the 12" x 12" Something from Nothing Quilt swap at 15 Minutes Play.  I made 2 different quilts.

This is the first one.  I really like it but not sure it is the right fit for the swap.

So then I made this one.  I really like it too.  I need to rework part of it.  But I think this is the one.  Being a traditional quilter I was surprised at how much I am enjoying this.  It really pushes the creative juices.

I managed to make another Farmer's Wife block.  But I am going to redo it.  It looks too dark.

Since I've been sick I've gotten behind on so many projects.  Here's a list of my To-Do's.

1. Sew down the binding on my Alzheimer's quilt.
2. Start quilting my Something from Nothing quilt.
3. Finish January's Granny's Hankies.
4. Finish March's Henrietta Whiskers block.
5. Make the latest Barbara Brackman Civil War Block.

This should keep me busy for the week and then some.  I will leave you with this picture of a quilt that I made my Mom and Dad a few years ago.   It was a mystery quilt that I did with one of my guilds. 

Wishing you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

Went to the Doctor's.....

Went to the Doctor's yesterday and was not surprised to find out I have a bad case of Bronchitis.   She gave me a prescription for a capsule that is suppose to help with the coughing.  My cough is worse today but is productive.  And I continue to feel better.

My son and granddaughter are down from the Upper Peninsula for a visit.  They are staying with my daughter.  I don't want to get them sick.  So hopefully I will get to spend a little time with them.

Haven't been sewing too much.  But today I'm sewing the binding down on Sunflower #1.  And hope to work on some applique.

This is my next project to start quilting.  (I had to throw in a picture)

Wishing you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cathy

A Light at the End of the Tunnel....

Although I still have that darn virus I am getting better.  This is the worse bug I have had in years.

Sunday Terry and I decided it was time I got out of the house.  Our plan was to do some antiquing and then go out to lunch.  We drove up to Holly and it started sprinkling.  While in the first shop it started snowing....not ordinary snow.  It was big drops of slush.  I was soaked to the skin walking to the car.  So thus ended our day.  The roads were icy and the freeway was a mess.  We counted about 20 cars either in a ditch or in an accident. 

With our bad weather lately I have had time to do some sewing.  I got the latest EQ BOM done.  I've been using hand dyed and batiks.  I redid all my blocks in these colors and am really happy with the way they are turning out.  

I made the latest Barbara  Brackman Civil War block.  I am enjoying making these blocks every week. 

I'm still working on my Farmer's Wife blocks. 

I've entered another quilt in the Quilter's Gallery weekly contest.  This week's category is applique.  So I have entered the quilt I made from a class I took with Gwen Marston.  Voting starts on Friday.

Most of my time has been taken up working on a 12" quilt for a swap I signed up with 15 Minutes Play.  I can't show you it yet since I don't want my partner to see it yet.  So I'll show it to you after I mail it. 

Wishing you all a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat