SO MUCH DONE, SO MUCH TO SHOW AND A GIVEAWAY

I sewed the sections of the house block together for my Primitive Primer.  It's really coming together.  I will be working on the vase of flowers while on vacation.

This is my Hybrid Tea Rose from the 15 Minutes Play BOM series.  Although there are more than one block per month.  They just posted the tutorial for the next block.  It is fantastic.  Check out the blocks and tutorials.  15 Minute Play link is on my side bar.

I now have 10 Floribunda blocks done.  They are all a combination of yellows/golds and florals.  I hope to make enough for a full size quilt.  All different yellows and florals.  Thank you Bonnie Hunter.

The latest Barbara Brackman CW block.  This is the last of ongoing projects.  Now for old and new finishes.

This is a quilt that was years in the making.  I took a class many moons ago with Margaret Miller.  I first saw her on Simply Quilts and loved what she made.  The class was called "Strips That Sizzle".  I was new to quilting and wanted to try everything.  I made all the blocks at the class she taught.  Then the blocks went in a box.  Years later while living up north taking care of Dad my hubby brought me these blocks he found.  Waa Laa....the finished project.  I just put this one up in my living room today.

I think I've showed this one before.  I pulled it out to celebrate the warm weather.  I designed this quilt from orphan blocks.  Please excuse how it looks....I didn't know it was so wrinkly until I looked at the photo.  I definitely need to iron it. 

Last but not least....this undisclosed quilt will be mailed from an undisclosed location to an undisclosed person....LOL   I will show you the complete quilt after it is mailed.   Can't show it now as the person it is going to reads this blog. 

Now before I leave I want to tell you about a new book and a great giveaway.  Mary Lou Weidman's new book "Out of the Box with easy blocks" has been released.  You can read about it here on her blog.  The giveaway is from Em at Em Celebrates.  She has some great fabric she is giving away.  So go over and leave a comment.

Well today I will be getting some projects ready to take on vacation.  Probably won't get much done but it will be there if I have the time.   Tomorrow I pack the suit cases and we get up early Sunday morning to leave for the Upper Peninsula.  My son lives in Marquette which is on Lake Superior.  Can't wait. 

I will probably post vacation pictures while up there as I will be taking my computer.  I just have to keep up with my blogs.

Wishing you a quilty day filled with sunshine.

Hugs,Cathy

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

Time Flies By...

Can you believe it, tomorrow will be March 1.   I got a lot accomplished this month.  But I owe it all to the Blogs I follow.  You have all inspired me to get more done and try new things.  I don't think I would have done half as much.  So a BIG THANK YOU to all of you.

When my husband Terry and I took off for a few days we stopped off at Country Stitches.  I already told you that but I forgot to say that I picked up an older BOM kit.  It came with the pattern and fabric to make this 14" block.  (It was $3.00 on clearance)  It is a Bears Paw block but definitely not the traditional one.  I am thinking of making it the center of a Medallion Quilt. 

I worked on my Thread Head Quilt-a-Long.  I have to make extra blocks since Joanne's blocks are larger than my 6" blocks.  I won't show you the blocks yet since I have to cut more sashing and border pieces.

I know some of you have heard of the new Frixtion Roller Jel Pen.  When used on fabric the lines will disappear when ironed or steamed.  I have used it to mark quilting designs on small quilts, to trace applique pieces and for embroidery.  The only problem I had was when used on hand dyed or Batiks it removed the color and left a thin white line.  So I would suggest testing it out on a scrap of the fabric you will be using.  The photo shown here is an applique block that I marked out the placement of the pieces.   Note, I am not a spokesperson for the product but I am a very satisfied customer. 

While watching the Oscars last night I worked on Sunflower
Quilt #1.  I used a Scrapbooking template for the center of the sunflower.  It is a turtle shell swirl and I marked it with the frixtion pen.  Look close and you can see the swirl pattern.  I used steam from my iron on it and Waa Laa.....

The markings disappeared.

I just love this pen.

     

So lets revisit my To-Do list from last week:

1. Finish small wall quilt. ( Done and hanging on the wall as we speak.)
2. Sandwich Sunflower Quilt #2.  (Hopefully I will get it done during the month of March)
3. Make 10 more Log Cabin Bow Tie Blocks.  (I only got 4 more made)
4. Make more Thread Head Quilt-a-Long blocks.
5. Keep current with Barbara Brackman Civil War Blocks.

Besides the above, I started hand quilting Sunflower Quilt #1, started hand appliqueing Granny's Hankies BOM #1 and finished a couple of Christmas gifts.

Not sure what my To-Do list for this week will be.  I just need to keep current with BOM, cut the sashing and border pieces for my Thread Head Quilt-a-Long, and make more Log Cabin Bow Tie Blocks. 

So I plan on keeping real busy.  How about you?  I wish you a quilty day.

Hugs, Cat

Free Snow

I'll ship anywhere....lol   I am sooooo ready for spring.

Last night I finished up a couple of Christmas gifts.  They are candle mats.  I love the Spider Web look to them.  Allie at allie-oops sweet happy life is encouraging everyone to start and finish Christmas gifts.  Each month you get a chance to win something by finishing and posting a picture on your blog.  The link is here on my blog.

I finished the next block for Joanne's Thread Head Quilt-a-Long.  We are almost done.  Then it will be time to finish putting together my quilt top.  I can't wait.  Big thanks to Joanne for posting the blocks, directions and the inspiration for this quilt.

Since I finally finished hand quilting DH's quilt I pulled out another quilt to hand quilt.  I'm trying to do these in the order that I finished them.  It's a Sunflower quilt but not the one I have been showing you.  It is also a design of my own from orphan blocks.  And I am addicted to 3" 9 patch blocks.  I put them in a lot of my quilts.  I love Sunflowers.  Could you tell...lol. 

So my wish for you today is no more snow, blue skies and sunshine and Sunflowers.  Have a quilty day....

Hugs, Cat

Long Time No See...

I've been quiet this week.  But I've been busy.  I did a lot of hand work.  I finished the first 2 blocks from Bunny Hill BOM.  I will add the buttons after all the blocks are done.  I'm more of a country colors type of gal rather than the pastel look of the original quilt.   But I think it is looking good.

I also worked on my Sunflower quilt.  I sewed 3 1/2" x 2" neutral strips together on the 3 1/2" sides to form borders for the quilt.  I didn't like it at all.  I can't show you what it looked like because I took it all off.  I had to undo some of my applique to do it.

So it's back to square one.  I plan on just adding a single border then reattach the applique.  I'm going to work on this tonight during the "Friday Night Sew In"  You can sign up at: http://www.craftyvegasmom.blogspot.com

You will get a chance to win prizes.  I'm also going to work on the current Thread Head Quilt-a-Long block.

I've got my fabrics picked out for Pat Sloan's Mystery Quilt.  It looks like it is going to be fun.   It has a day at the beach kind of look.

Well we had a few days of sunshine and it was glorious, cold but glorious.  Woke up this morning and guess what?  Not only no sunshine but that 4 letter word.  SNOW.  But it does look nice.  They are the big fat fluffy snow flakes that look like feathers floating.  However, no matter how nice it looks it is still snow. 

So stay warm and have a quilty day.  Hugs Cat

What a Glorious Day

The sun is shinning and it's beautiful....A very nice change from yesterday.  My husband and son had to work late so my nice neighbors cleared our drive and sidewalks.  Both husband and son made it home okay and while we were eating dinner the snow plow came and cleared our street.  In doing so they filled our driveway approach and blocked my husbands van.  So he had to go out and clear a way the snow so he could get out.  This morning he repaid the neighbors by going out and removing the snow deposited in their driveways.  It's nice to have good neighbors.

I did get some sewing done yesterday.  2 more blocks for the Tread Head Quilt-a-Long.  I would have had to make 5 more blocks to get caught up....but now it is 6.  Joanne posted the 15th block.  Her blocks are beautiful.  Sometimes I think I was nuts to do 6" blocks instead of 9".  They have been challenging but I've been happy with the outcome.

I got the center of my sunflower basted on.  Next I need to think of what type of border to do.  It will definitely be a pieced border, but I'm not sure if it will be a piano border in neutrals or a block done in light and dark neutrals.  It will be fun to play.

Have a quilty day......Hugs, Cat

We Survived.....

Well, it wasn't as bad as we thought.  They said we got 6" to 10".  I think we were somewhere in the middle.  Although it's hard to tell.  The wind was so strong last night and the snow drifted quilte a bit.  This is a picture outside my front door.  It's snowing right now, but it is a fine snow.  It is suppose to stop sometime around noon. 

I hope everyone in the line of the storm survived as well. 

Besides worrying about the storm, I got some sewing done.  I worked on Barbara Brackmans Civil War Blocks. 

The sawtooth star block was easy.  It is one of my favorite blocks and I have made it many times.  Texas Tears is another story.  This is the second one I made.  I won't even show you the first.  It was sooooo bad that it wouldn't lay flat.  So I printed up the block in blockbase and found I was cutting the pieces for the X to wide.  I'm happy with my final result.
So now I have 3 done and 2 to go.

EQ posted February's block.  I'm always so last minute with everything that I decided to get this one done right away.  My choice of colors is so different from the samples they give, but I always did like to be different. 


And BTW I found the fabric for the center of my sunflower.  I was looking for something different and there it was.  So today I will cut out the center, baste it down and applique it tonight. 

Now I'm going to have another cup of coffee, one of my breakfast muffins, and then off to the sewing room.  Today I'm going to work on my Thread Head Quilt-a-Long blocks.

Have a quilty day.....Hugs, Cat

Hunker Down....Here Comes the Storm

All they are doing on the news is talking about the impending storm.  We are suppose to get between 10"- 12".  I'm hoping they are wrong....but if not it will be a good time to quilt.

I worked on my To-Do list yesterday.   The block on the left is the first block of Barbara Brackman's  Civil War Blocks.  One down and 3 to go.  The block on the right is Block #7 of Thread Head Quilt-a-Long.  Seven more and I will be caught up.

I also finished appliqueing all the petals on my Sunflower Quilt.  Now I just need to find the fabric I planned on using for the center of the Sunflower.  I started working on this in May, 2010 and now I can't remember where I put the fabric. 
I designed this quilt from a photo a friend of mine took.  He was surprised when I asked him for permission to use his photo.  But gladly gave it.  I can't wait to show him the finished quilt. 

I want to share a recipe with you.  I found this on Debbie Mumm's Web page.  These are really delicious.

MORNING COFFEE MUFFINS

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. white sugar
2 t. baking soda
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. unsweetened flaked coconut (I don't add this)
1 apple - peeled, cored and shredded
3 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 t. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C.) Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the carrot, raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, coconut and apple.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla.  Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened.  Scoop into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

I made a batch of these last night.  I put them in the freezer and heat in Microwave to have with my morning coffee.  They are really good.

Well we are under a weather advisory from 7:00 pm tonight until 7:00 pm tomorrow.  So hunker down, keep warm, keep safe and quilt.

Have a quilty day....Hugs, Cat

  

Sunday was Sunny and Productive

It was so wonderful to see the sunshine yesterday.  It has been awhile since we've seen it.  Today is hit and miss.  The clouds keep moving in and out.  I guess they are getting ready for the snow to come.  We are expecting anywhere from 2-4 inches all the way to 12-13 inches.  I'm hoping for 2-4 inches.

The other day I posted a portion of my To-Do list..  and here is what I accomplished over the weekend.    

 

Woo Hoo....I got the final borders put on my RRCB.  I didn't have a spot big enough to lay out the quilt for you to see so my husband is standing on a bench holding it up.  His hands were touching the ceiling.  It will be a while before I get to quilt it as there are a few ahead of it.

I also got 2 more blocks done for the Thread Head Quilt-a-Long.  I have 8 more to do to get caught up.

Here's my List:

1. Finish RRCB
2. Get caught up on Thread Head Quilt-a-Long (2 done, 8 to go)
3. Start Barbara Brackman Civil War Blocks  (ran out of time)
4. Finish EQ7 block and post it (finished but for some reason it won't post it)
5. Finish Sunflower quilt. (Not finished but got 4 petals appliqued)
6. Mug rugs for the Mug Rug swap.

Not bad for a weekend list.  My UFO, To-Do, or Bucket list is really very long.  But I find if I just list 5 or 6 projects at a time I get more done.

Here is my list for the week.  Lets see how much I can accomplish.

1. Finish the 8 blocks for the Thread Head Quilt-a-Long.
2. Start Barbara Brackman Civil War blocks.
3. Finish appliqueing sunflower petals.
4. Finish hand quilting small wall hanging in lap frame.

I think this is more than enough projects for the week.

Well the snow is suppose to start sometime tomorrow.  Here's hoping we are on the fringe and don't get to much. 

Have a quilty day.   Hugs, Cat