A Little Bit

I gotten just a little bit of sewing done.  I've been going through bags of scraps trying to tame them.  Alas no luck.  They are such wild creatures.  LOL

I tried a new Accuquilt die I recently purchased for a Lemoyne Star block.  I used Christmas fabric.

While going through bags and boxes of fabric in my sewing room I came across this patriotic Christmas fabric.  I had a problem matching up the pieces in the block.  Finally I pulled out the cover of the die and read the directions.  When I cut the fabric to put it in the cutter the pieces were backside to backside.  The instructions say the fabric needs to be right sides up.  It truly made a difference when I started to piece the blocks.


I made another block for my Red and Green quilt.  Although this one is pink.

 I'm so happy with the way it turned out.  I need to pick the next bock to work on.

I've been working on blocks for my Dear Boy quilt.  I figured I needed to get a head start on some of the blocks as some are very challenging.  We will be posting pictures of the second block on the 30th.


I wanted to share a couple of photos of 2 of my granddaughters.

First up is Ashley.  She is the hockey player.  They were State Champs again this year.

This is her prom picture.

Next is Cassidy.  She plays baseball.  This is here official baseball picture.

I'm so proud of all my grand kids. 

Our oldest grandchild and only grandson, Brian is getting married in June.  And my granddaughter Alecia is taking college courses.  She had a tough time in high school which makes it so wonderful that she is continuing her education.  We are so proud of her.

I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend.  

Hugs, Cathy 

Land of Liberty Part 4

Over the weekend I finished up working on Part 4 of Land of Liberty.  While working on it I heard that the designer of this quilt, Cheri Payne, passed away from cancer.  She was a very talented quilter who shared her talent with us all.  Now she is pain free and in a better place.  My heart goes out to her family.

Here is my version of Part 4.

 I enjoy all of Cheri's patterns but I think this is my favorite.  It has been going together nicely due to the help of Lori directions.


Now that the "Wedding Quilt" is finished (picture coming soon) I started working on my second Christmas quilt.

Sorry about the fuzzy photo.  Didn't notice it till I was writing the post.  It is a design by Em at Em's Scrapbag.  The blocks are 12".

Here is a close up of the red fabric.  It is different Santa Clauses.  I have had this fabric for years and finally had a chance to use it.


On a sadder personal note, my 90 year old mother-in-law is in failing health.  She had complained of sever stomach pains.  It turns out she has a perforated ulcer.  The doctors said that because of her age and frailty she would not survive the surgery.  All they can do for now is give her pain meds and keep her comfortable.  She is aware of her condition and says she is ready.  What is even sadder is my father-in-law who has Alzheimer's and is unaware of what goes on around him knows she isn't home.   It is going to be hard letting him know of her condition.  

We woke up to snow covered ground this morning.  Streets were icy and there were quite a few accidents due to cars sliding and unable to stop.  I hope the weather is better where you are.

Thanks for taking time to stop by.

Hugs, Cathy

A New Machine

I love my new sewing machine.

This is a photo from the Internet.  Right now my sewing room is a real mess and was embarrassed to take a photo.  This machine is heavy.  So I need to do some rearranging.  I would just push my old machine out of the way when I needed to cut some fabric.  This one is too heavy.

I used it yesterday to finish my first Christmas Quilt.  What a dream to work with.  I love the thread cutter.  It cuts both top and bobbin threads at the same time.  It also has a knee lift for the pressure foot.  Both are such a time saver.  It is so quiet.  I tell you I walk by my sewing room and smile when I see it sitting on my sewing table.

I told you I finished my Christmas quilt.  Well here it is.

It looks a little wonky because I had to put it up on the design wall sideways because it was a bit too long.  I plan on working on the backing and have it ready to quilt on my new machine next week.

I showed my pinwheel blocks I made for my Walnut Grove Sampler quilt.  I put some of the blocks up on my design wall to get an idea of how it will look with the fabric I chose for the setting squares.

I wasn't sure if I would like my choice or not.  I think it gives an antique look.  This is going to be quite a large quilt.  I hope to start putting the top together later this month.

Well that's it for now.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Hugs, Cathy

Crazy Weather

Wednesday it was 60 degrees out.  I even went outside without a coat on.  Then comes Thursday...it started out with freezing rain, then a rain and snow mix and then snow.  We got 3" of wet heavy snow.   I am so ready for summer.

I have been getting some sewing done.

First up is block 2 of Barbara Brackman's #Antebellum Album.  I'm using a tan background, brown and pink fabrics for all the blocks.

Next up....26 Pinwheel blocks.  These are the final pieced blocks for my Walnut Grove Sampler quilt.  Now I need to cut out a gazillion plain blocks.  Then I can get this quilt top sewn together.

The blocks are 6 1/2".  They went together really quick because I cut them out using my AccuQuilt Go Cutter.


I started working on the free Temecula Quilt Shop 1800 Sampler.

These blocks are 4" finished.  They just posted block 5.

Since posting block 8 of the Early American Life quilt that Karen and I are working on I put together the second row.  I decided to add red corner stones to the quilt.

I really love how this is looking.


I found a quilt on Moda Bake Shop called Dottie.  It is made using jelly rolls.  Sorry for the fuzzy photo.  I have all the jelly rolls sewn in pairs ready to cut up and make more blocks.

I decided to make everyone a Christmas quilt this year.  I need to make 7 or 8 quilts.  This is the first one.  It is made using jelly rolls.  Once everything was cut out the blocks went together really quickly.

This section is 48" x 6".  It will have borders.  The original pattern called for the design to run vertical.  However the direction of the prints called for the horizontal layout.  I made this row yesterday in about a couple of hours.  That included cutting all the strips.

Finally while browsing Etsy I came across this pattern.  It is by Jennifer Gaston.  It is a BOM.  I got a great deal.  I paid $12.00 for the entire pattern.  The finished quilt measures 79" x 92".  I have traced the first month's patterns on freezer paper but I haven't pulled any fabrics yet.  I have too many projects going as it is....lol

And finally....yesterday I ordered a new sewing machine.  Actually  it is a Juki TL2010Q quilting machine.  I will be using it as a table top machine.  Maybe in the future I can afford a quilting frame to use with it.  It is a straight stitch machine, 9" throat area, variable speed, thread cutter, bobbin winder, needle thread, free motion foot, walking foot, 3 other feet and comes with a table attachment.  It is suppose to come next week.  I can't wait.  I will be using this machine to get my tall stack of quilt tops quilted.  It is so hard to quilt a big quilt on my regular machine.  I'll show you the machine once I receive it.

Well enough chit chat...the next block for the 1800 sampler has been posted and Lori at Humble Quilts has posted the 3rd instructions for the Land of Liberty quilt so I need to get into the sewing room.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you saw something you like.

Hugs, Cathy

Gobble Gobble

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am so grateful for my family.  Stacy is fixing dinner for all of us this year.  So I made her a little quilt to say thank you.''

She really liked it.

I also spent yesterday pin basting Christmas Quilt #2.

The fabric I used for both the front and back is called "Autumn Lily".  The quilt in the background is a quilt I made years ago for our bed.

I'll be busy machine quilting today.  Tomorrow I'll be up early and going to Mike and Stacy's to help with Thanksgiving dinner.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.  

Hugs, Cathy