Today's Quilt - Huge Border!

That is a HUGE 15" border on top, bottom and both sides.  This will be a challenge.

The next photo shows the body of the quilt. 

It is difficult to work with borders that are this big.  You have to make sure they stay straight.  I finally finished this quilt and was able to get tomorrows quilt loaded.  It is another one with 15" borders.  Lord grant me patience.  Amen!

On and Off Yesterday

This quilt was pieced by Lisa Naylor. 

I quilted it with white thread and used the Waterworld pantograph.



Something Different

This is what I have been working on lately.  I found a really nice pattern called Double Bump and wanted to try it.  This is dishcloth knitted with 100% cotton yarn.  We'll see how it looks when it is completely done!

Oh Honey! Update

Last week I posted a beautiful picture of a jar of honey.  I should acknowlege where I got it.  Steve Harstine is the bee keeper and  lives east of West Lafayette, OH.
If you should ever want local honey, give him a call.  I assume his number is in the book.

I love productive days!

It is a great feeling to get a lot accomplished in a day.  I've been quilting some this week, but I had to get down to business. 

This Jelly Roll Race Quilt was the first one on and off the machine today.  It was already loaded which makes me feel like I'm three steps ahead of the game.

The next project is a play mat for Barbara Bond's grandson.    One side of the play mat looks like this....

The other side looks like this....

I'm sure he'll have lots of fun playing on it.  I'm sure his sisters will too!

Finally, I quilted this beautifu Princess quilt for Barbara's granddaughter.  This is the backing fabric.

It is a brighter pink than what the photo shows.  It is girly pink!  I quilted it with pink thread in  a loopie meander pattern. 

Here are a few more pictures.....

The blue outer border is a pretty blue fairy frost fabric.  The colors are brighter than the picture shows. 

That is what I accomplished today in the studio.  Job well done!!  On to the next block!





Monday's Quilt

This baby quilt was done by Bev Darr.  This is the second one like it I have quilted, and I think there may be more!  This is one of the cutiest panels I have ever seen!

I quilted it with Ice Blue thread in a loopie meander.  It just makes me happy!

That's a lot of stitches!

I have started my afghan.  As you can see, there are a lot of stitches on that set of needles.  170 to be exact!

I thought I would use the 'Bark' pattern which is s knit 2, purl 2 pattern, using one strand of yarn.  I am using Lion Brand Wool Ease worsted weight.  I knitted this much and stopped to look at it.

Looks OK don't you think?  After knitting a few more rows, I decided it was too thin and I really didn't like the way it was going to turn out. 
I TORE IT ALL OUT!!!!
Jeff said I was crazy....I may be :)

Oh, Honey!!

Isn't this the prettiest honey you have ever seen? 

Not only is it pretty, but it is delicious as well.  I local gentleman harvested this from his hives.  I am so lucky to live in a country community!

Yes, that is still a Christmas decoration under the honey!

Baby Afghan

I did finish the pastel baby afghan last evening. It is nice to finish a project. 

Just need to weave in the tails from where I added a new skein and it's ready to go.  This will go to the Prayer Shawl group also. 
Next knitted project will be my afghan!

A cold is no fun :(

Having a cold is not one of my favorite things to have.  This is the THIRD one this season.  I just wish it would get COLD and stay that way for about a week or so. I want all those germs dead!! 

I have spent most of this week in the house, nursing my way back to good health.  I haven't been quilting, but I have been knitting on an afghan.  It is done in pastel colors.  I used an older skein of yarn I had, bought 3 more new skeins with the same numbers...and they are different.  Go figure!  I have one more skein to add to this afghan before it is done.  Hope to finish it tonight.

This is just a knit 2 purl 2 pattern but I love the way it looks, no right or wrong side.

I am thinking of knitting my afghan in this pattern instead of the moss stitch.  I still need to think on it.

Update for Monday-On & Off

This is the quilt I worked on today.  It belongs to Barb Richards and is a pattern out of an American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine. 

It quilted up beautifully.  I used parchment thread to blend with the Kona Snow background fabric and I used the Simplicity pantograph.  I hope she likes it.  Weather permitting she'll be here Thursday and can attach the binding.

I am making this quilt too.  My blocks are in a Rubbermaid container patiently waiting!

Cross Country Skies

On Saturday we had enough snowfall that I was able to get out on my new cross country skies.  My legs are so sore.....there are no pictures!

Happiness is.....

Finding 7 yards of fabric in your stash for a quilt back!!


Even better, it matches the front of the quilt really well.  Happy Dance!!!

Another thing that makes me happy is spending time with my God-daughter, Zaya. 

Here she is playing with a wooden puzzle and the G.I.Joe action figures that belonged to my boys. 

She loves digging through the boxes in the closets!  We also played with the new set of Legos I gave her.  There are 1600 pieces in this set and since the pieces are so small, she will be leaving them at my house.  This is what I can build with 1600 pieces!

This was such a lovely day.  Finally, her Mom called and asked if I could bring her home.  All good things must come to an end.

I'm here!

Whoa!  It's been a whole week since I posted???  Well, let's get caught up.

On Wednesday, Mary and I made a trip to Joann Fabric in New Philadelphia to purchase yarn.  Yes, you heard that right. I have decided to knit an afghan.  Here is the beautiful yarn I picked out!  Don't know why I like this burnt orange so much.  I have pretty much decided to use the Moss Stitch for the entire afghan.

In the mean time, I finished a baby afghan that was started by someone else and since I couldn't figure out the pattern, I started a different pattern.  It's very lacy, and somewhat rectangular!  It still needs to be blocked.  Here is a photo of the pattern.

This will be donated to the Prayer Shawl group at Isleta United Methodist Church and they will donate it where needed.

On and off the machine today!

This quilt was made using a Layer Cake pack.  It was also made by a 6 year old who started it when she was 5.  He Grandmother is a purse maker and the child has spent many hours on Grandma's lap.

The backing is minkee, quilted with pink thread in a meander.  This little girl LOVES pink!!!

Smores binding

I sewed the binding on the Smores quilt yesterday afternoon so I could hand turn it while watching the Super Bowl.  I got about half of it turned.  I will finish it this evening so I can show it to the guild on Tuesday.  This was my UFO #6 for the guild challenge.

Out with the old, in with the New!

I went looking for a new pair of hiking boots this past Saturday.  I thought it was time since the ones I have are 6 years old.

You can tell the soles are pretty well worn.  I got to thinking about where these boots have been since 2006.  Here is the list:  Grand Canyon AZ, Lake Powell UT, Hoover Dam & Las Vegas NV, Hawks Nest State Park WV, Salt Fork State Park OH, Crater Lake, Sisters & Bend OR, Muir Woods CA, on the Blue Blaze Trail in OH. 
In Colorado they have been to Pikes Peak, Leadville, Winter Park and the surrounding lakes and trails, Estes Park, Breckenridge, Frasier, Frisco & Denver.  Jeff and I spent two weeks hiking in Colorado so I am sure there were more places.
Good Bye old hiking boots, thanks for all the good times.


Hello New Hiking Boots!!!!!

These are my "KEEN" new hiking boots.  They are so comfortable!! They are manufactured by the Keen Boot Company and have a wide toe box which is great since I wear wool hiking socks.  Took them on a 2 mile hike yesterday and they felt wonderful and not a sore spot anywhere.  I did have sticker shock when I decided these were the ones for me, but if I divide that by 6 years, it's not too bad!!
I am sure there will be a trip to Colorado in my near future!

Today's Accomplishments

Well, yes I did get the Bali Pops quilt finished today.  It is beautiful.  I know I keep saying that! 

I keep thinking it looks like cafe mocha or some delicious drink like that!  Glad I got this one done.

Who doesn't love S'mores?  I have two quilts to make from this fabric which was a Layer Cake.  Here is the first one.   I love the snowmen, and if the weather stays as it has been, these will be the only snowmen I see this winter season!

I quilted this with white thread using the Simplicity design.  I like that design better than meandering.  Here are a few more photos of the quilt!

The backing is a colorful design of peace signs.  If you look at it from a distance it looks like dots!  The colors match the front of the quilt perfectly!

I think that is quite enough for today.   I am still looking for a pattern for a knitted afghan.  That is on my bucket list along with knitted socks!!

Going to finish this today

My goal for today is to get this beautiful Tonga Batik quilt finished.  This will be a sample on display at Miller's Dry Goods in Charm, OH. 

Thursday Sew Day

Every Thursday I have a sew day that is open to whoever would like to come and spend the day sewing on your projects.  Please feel free to come and join the fun.  It is a good idea to pack your lunch!


Most every Thursday Barb Richards arrives with ideas for beautiful quilts.  We put our brains together and come up with stunning finished projects. 

This is 'Momma' Barb working on her latest project...Snake River Log Cabin by Judy Martin.  Do you know how many pieces there are to this quilt?  It may take a year to get it cut out!  She in enjoying the process, so that is all that matters. 

Yesterday Mary came and worked on her disappearing 4-patch blocks, knitted on her afghan and took out the zipper in her chore coat.


This year I am following Patchwork Times UFO Challenge and this month #1 is the quilt to work on.  I only had the final middle diagonal seam to finish on this quilt top. 

This is Rick Rack Nine Patch from Bonnie Hunter's Leaders & Enders Book.  Each of those nine patches were sewn piece by piece.  I will add a reddish inner border and dark blue outer border.  This may be my entry to our local quilt show in May. 

Here is another quilt top I am piecing.  It only looks like a bunch of bright squares right now,

 but I am sewing them into two patch blocks and them sewing three sets together.

Stay tuned to see what becomes of this block!

Handy Dandy plastic bag holder

I found this pattern on patternspot.com and wanted to try it.  Even though I use my own fabric grocery bags, it seems there are still plastic bags that need corralled.  This only takes a fat quarter (18" x 22") of fabric and elastic.  They can be made to compliment your kitchen. 

Loaded another quilt today!

This is another quilt for Miller's Dry Goods.  It was done with 2 sets of Bali Pops.  It is very rich looking. 

I am quilting it with Latte` thread and using the Tendrils pantograph. 

 

Hope to get this finished in the morning!!

On and off the machine today

This is a very modern looking quilt.  It is a really large log cabin.  It is made from the Secret Garden Collection by Michael Miller. 

Here it is off the machine.  It is difficult to see the quilting design.....

So here you go!  I used the Simplicity Panto and Parchment thread.  This fabric was too pretty to do too much quilting. 

The backing was beautiful also.  This was quilted for Miller's Dry Goods in Charm, OH.  It will be a sample

on display.