Twins...

Back in July my neighbor had twins. I had to make them little quilts, but couldn't decide what to do. Then I dug through my orphan blocks and found these which were leftovers from an online swap. Perfect! I made these two little quilts, using almost all stash fabrics (I had to buy backing fabrics) and had them all finished when the twins arrived.

A year and a half before the twins were born, she had another little girl, so I made this quilt for her. And of course, I couldn't leave her 8 year old sister out when I made this one, so she got a quilt too. I love this Lucky Star quilt, it was so bright and pretty!
Bonnie, thanks for the vacation rental site, I've bookmarked it and we may look into renting a place next year. I don't know where, but the cabin you are going to looks wonderful!

Leftovers

I've just gone through everyone's blogs and love the things that you have done today! Finn, your little quilt is the sweetest thing and I love how you used the leis...what a great idea. I tend to toss a lot of smallish scraps, guess I'll need to hang on to the now. Bonnie, I'm partial to the layout with the black blocks in the center with the grays and blacks and blocks on point. I felt that the orange and blue backgrounds overpowered the pieced blocks.

I've been diligently working on a customer's quilt today. Okay, maybe not diligently...I've taken lots of breaks to sit by the fire, read and drink tea. I've been sick for the last week and the doctor put me on antibiotics on Tuesday. I feel much better, but I'm very tired and yesterday just wiped me out! I tried to relax a bit today.

Since I never made it up to my sewing room, I thought I'd share a picture of a baby quilt I made for a friend's little girl when she was born almost a year ago. I made a quilt for her older brother too (he's not quite 2) and it seems that I'll be making baby quilt number 3 in May. I used up a stack of fat quarters and made the whole thing from my stash. Does stashbusting a year ago count? :o) This is one of my most favorite quilts I've made...I think I might remake it from my scraps and keep it for myself!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is ready to go in the oven when the brownies and cranberry-orange bread come out. The stuffing is made, the sides are ready to throw together and the apple pies are done and smell wonderful. So, I thought I'd take a minute to give thanks for the new friends I've made here...and wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Stash Busting

My current attempt to bust stash is laying on my sewing room table.
I've cut most of my Thimbleberries (and similar) fabrics into 2.5" strips and plan to make 2 log cabin quilts from them, for the beds in my son's room. So far I've managed to make 6 blocks...I guess it will be a long, cold winter for him if I don't get moving faster! This is the progress I've made so far. I'm pleased with how they're turning out...just need to find more time to make them! Maybe in this stashbusters group we can share ideas on how to squeeze more hours out of the day? :o)

Friday's Quilt

This is the little quilt that was peeking out under the bear paw quilt. Several years ago I headed down to Maryland to spend a weekend with a quilting friend. She met me at a small quilt shop and while there I found this kit. I'm not typically one who buys kits, but this was just such a wonderful quilt, I had to buy it! By the end of our little retreat I had the top pieced and just needed to add the borders. I got it home, finished the top and figured I'd give it a whirl on my new long arm. This was the first quilt I did for myself on my longarm...I meandered it with a cotton thread that changes from green to burgundy to tan and it came out wonderfully. It's one of my favorites...I guess I like the simple things in life! Looks like it needs to be washed to get that crease out of the middle of it though! :o)

My quilts?

Bonnie, you want to see MY quilts? I'm afraid I don't keep too many, but I'll see what I can find laying around. This one is a flannel bear's paw quilt which I made for my husband for our 10th anniversary. It has become "the quilt" in our house. It's always out and almost always in use. It has gotten so soft in the last 10 years and it's very warm.

Back 10 years ago, we were living on Long Island in NY. We had an Irish Setter and I used to board dogs. One friend had an Irish Setter that I boarded...they also had a cabin in Vermont. We borrowed the cabin several times for vacation and on our trips there we would stop in a little quilt store. That's where my husband picked out most of these flannels. Others were obtained in internet swaps. He was so proud of himself for choosing the flannels and going into quilt stores that I knew I had to use them for a quilt for him. Of course, he is the one person who never uses the quilt...when he wants it, one of the kids has usually claimed it! In this picture, Sam sat down on it the second I laid it out...smart dog! He's been shaved since the last time I posted a picture of him...he looks like a different dog.

So, there's one of my quilts...the next one I post will probably be the one you can see peeking out on the arm of the loveseat!

Almost Amish

One of my customers left me this beauty to quilt. I've quilted several Amish style quilts, but they were all brights on the black background. This one (can this be my sampler quilt contribution? LOL) has much more muted colors against the black and it's just gorgeous. I did an all over swirly, feathery design in the background and some of the blocks are treated with curved lines, feathered spines and assorted other things. This was one of the fun ones to quilt!

I've been thinking a great deal about the changes to the Mavericks. When I joined, not so long ago, I enjoyed the easy cameraderie amongst the members and how, with our own little differences, we were all basically on the same journey with our quilting. As new members were added, although I love art quilts, I was losing interest in many of the blogs and would skip right past them, unless they focused on their lives or quilts...not their quest to be quilt artists. There were a few I enjoyed immensely, but those I've kept links for and can visit them. Change can be a difficult thing, but sometimes it is necessary. As Judy and Darcie stated, if my blog becomes too non-quilt related or if I suddenly become an art quilter (which I doubt will happen!) I'd like my blog to be in the right place. If the Mavericks is not the place, I can handle it. But for now...I don't want to be anywhere else than here!

Last Roses...

These are the last roses of summer...I'll miss them when they're gone! The first is a Queen Elizabeth rose and the second is a Rio Samba, which is my favorite. The buds are yellow with red edges, they open up to yellow and red, then fade to this soft pink with yellow. At any time the bush will have yellow, red and pink roses...it's just beautiful! Nothing quilty has happened in my house this week. I emptied my son's large bedroom, painted it sage green and moved my 11 year old daughter into it and out of her "babyish" room. Then I painted her old room a cream color (although I did leave her blue ceiling with the sponged clouds on it...I just couldn't paint over it!) and moved my son's things in there. I put 2 beds in it, just in case he wants to bring a friend home from college. Both rooms turned out very nicely, although now I have to make 2 quilts for my son's room instead of one! I'm hoping to finish cleaning up from painting, etc., make a quick cleaning run through the house and get started on those quilts later today. I've cut 2" strips for log cabin quilts so they should go pretty quickly...I hope!

Treasure Hunting

While wandering through the antique shops in the next town yesterday, we came upon this little treasure and I had to take it home with me! The tag said, "Circa 1890" and the fabrics do look like they're from that era...pinks, browns, blues and greens, set in an on point rail fence pattern, and hand quilted in a half inch grid. It was just too pretty (and reasonable priced!) to pass up!














Here is a close up...

Life Goes On...

Our real estate agent's assistant stopped by yesterday with contracts to extend our contingency on the lake house for another 2 months...until the end of December. I spent a long time talking on the phone to my husband last night and a decision was made not to sign the contracts. So our little venture into moving to the lake is over and our contract, which expired on Halloween, is null and void. Our house has been removed from the market and life goes on.

Surprisingly, I'm not nearly as sad as I thought I'd be. I'm actually kind of relieved and I'm not sure why. I loved the lake house with all its quirks. I loved the idea of a studio separate from the house. But then again...I love my new kitchen with its barn red walls, maple cabinets and granite countertops. I love my little sewing room. I think putting this house on the market made me see how charming it is and how much work we've put into it. So, although I'm sad that there won't be a lake in my backyard, I'm happy that I'll be in this house. And I'm also happy that there won't be any more showings and my house can looked lived in again! :o)