Sometimes you just need to finish something!

Sometimes when you work and work and work on hard projects, you just have to stop and do something quick and fun! That is what I did this weekend. Above is my little quilt I made from leftover squares from my brownstone quilt! I even quilted it up and got it bound!

A pic with the rotary cutter for you to get an idea of size.

And what you may ask have I been working and working and working on. Well actually 2 projects. Above is a peek at a secret project I can't show yet because it is for H and her husband and she checks out my blog from time to time. But let me tell you - I'm only about 1/2 way done and I"ve been working on it since July! (partly because I'm slow and have been busy with work).

I also am in charge of our guilds raffle quilt. It will be beautiful when done, but there are a million pieces and they are small! Just a taste of what that the pieces look like right now. Let me tell you - it is keeping me busy!

Odds and Ends

I finished another birthday block today! M wanted animal blocks. My first thought was an owl as she saved an owl years ago that she found on the side of the road. Luckily I didn't do it as a few other people did. Last spring though she had a wild turkey in her back yard looking at itself in her sliding door! So a I thought she needed a turkey!

And here is a pic from our drive up north when we took Emily to school. "How do you make water come out of a rock?". Well hook it up to a water fountain of course!

I also never showed you a few treasures I picked up on our trip to Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa this summer. On the way down to Oklahoma we stopped in Missouri where I found a store that had a bunch of Jim Shore figurines at 50% off! I picked up a these 3! I had been wanting that main house and bridge and never got it, then they became harder to find. Well now I have them!

I've been busy..

I've been busy.. but not sewing so much. I did however finish up one project today! Lets cheer for that! I feel like anything I can get done these days is cause for a celebration!

My stitches are not perfect, but mom will like it I think! Pattern is called "Winter Friends" by Penny Lane Primitives. (the pattern has a holly leaf on the other side of the hat, but I didn't put it on - I wanted to make it more generic winter and not so Christmas).

Circles and other Blocks

My friends and I decided last jan to exchange blocks for everyones birthdays. We all picked whatever "rules" we wanted and then get to work! Linda wanted brown and pink 12" blocks. At camp Marty gave me a personal little demo on how to set in circles into a piece of fabric so I decided Linda was going to get circles for her block! How cool is that! They are all sewn in circles!

The method is from a book called Circle A Round by Cheryl Phillips and she also has a ruler you can use. I used both her ruler and one from JoAnn Fabrics and I have to say I liked her ruler better.

Here are some other blocks I've made at camp and over the year: (of course I"m still behind and have a lot more to do!)

Sossy's 6" 30's churn Dash

Linda G's 12" anything block using plaids

Jan's block using purple:

Laura's block "something that can be set on point

Ginny's Block - Khaki, Lavender and Green

Things are just Peachy... no Peary... no Figgy!!!

Look what I got in the mail today!!!!! I won a drawing on Joanna Figueroa's blog "Fresh Figs" for Fig Tree Quilts!

She even sent me the "kit" to make her really soft and fuzzy Pear (Oh maybe it is a fig - I"m a midwestern girl - I have no idea what a fig looks like)! Course now I"m going to want to go out and find more soft fleece/minke (whatever it is) to make more! How fun was this mail day!

Oh and can't WAIT to make those little bags in the middle of the bottom row!

And because poor Chloe is missing E so much, she made a little movie to say hi to her.....

Home Again, Home Again!

I"m back. I had such an excellent time with friends! But I am exhausted! The best part of the weekend was seeing Laura, Jan, Linda, Viki and Sossy; as well as everyone else in our gang. I know Ruthie checks in sometimes too!

I worked on Moda Bake Shops - Charity Crosses, just for fun! Got the top completely done! Sorry the pictures are so bad, but the lighting wasn't the best when I took these. I'm off to bed for now!

Brownstone Top is Done!

I'm off to quilt camp tomorrow! I can't wait! And to top it off I finished my Brownstone Top! Course I didn't have anyone to hold the corners so is is hard to see the borders, but what you see on the top and bottom is on the side too! See you next week!

And a few more...

Becky's started with this block.

I added the binding on hers also, but I forgot to take a picture after it was done and sent it. So basically this is how it turned out.

Debbie wanted a bright red/orange/yellow quilt and started with this block.

I added this applique.

And look at what she ended up with!

Kate started with this cute paper pieced block.

I added this row of leaves - it was really fun to piece.

And look at her gorgeous quiltlet.

Amy wanted a small quiltlet based on a picture of her new son.

I added an embroidered giraffe.

And here is the finished product.

A few more RR's

Sharon's started with the block above.

My round was to add the binding to get this.


Sue's started out with this block.


I was to add a 9" x 3" piece either to the top or bottom of what I got. I had this really fun cat note fabric so I added the notes with the blue sashing.

And it turned out like this!


Toni's block was this.



I was to add two pieces below (or above) the others 6" x 4" and 7" x 4". My portion was the beach scene and the sun.

And she ended up with this.

One more for today. Nancy started out with this piece of fabric for her block.

I needed to add two pieces below (or above) the others at 10" x 4" and 3" x 4". I cheated a bit and added a 8" x 4" and then a 4" x 4" (with a 1" sash) - but you know, you need to tweak the rules a bit when you get something in your head! I added the HSTs and the canoe block.