Little Finish

This flu bug won't let me go! Not sure if it's a relapse or another phase, last week it knocked me down for another round. Stayed down for 2 full days. Spent the rest of the holiday weekend sewing bindings on 3 quilts while sipping tea under a pile of my quilts.
#1 Sewed the binding down on a large quilt for Pearl.

#2 Binding is on this little UFO. It's last on my UFO Challenge list and now it's finished ahead of time. Hope that gives me some wiggle room. My February red and white quilt has been loaded on my longarm since last week Thursday. Only one row of blocks were quilted. Hoping I can get it quilted and binding on before the end of the month. Good thing it's leap year and we have one extra day this month! lol Did OK today... have almost half of the quilt quilted. Also got out and filled up my truck with gas before prices go over $4/gal!!!

#3 I took off... yes, I am going backwards... took off the red binding on my Connected Friends UFO quilt and replaced it with a blue binding. I like it so much better!

After ~ with blue binding

Before ~ with red binding

Apologies for not keeping up with blog posts. Also missed a quilt show meeting for ASQG. Luckily no classes this week as I don't have my voice back yet. Weirdest thing that has happened since I came down with this flu, is that my vision changed, the same week I was taking some heavy duty antibiotics. Nasty stuff... Looking forward to getting back to "normal" ;0) whatever that is.

ps NO is the answer to the question in my last post. I am sticking with getting UFOs completed and getting my body back up to snuff...

Country Cottages

Click here for link

Warning!... Distraction!... Temptation!... Brandie, don't look! ;0)

I was checking out other JT2 blocks on the Circle of Friends:Take Two! flickr site when HeresLucy posted her version of the house block made as a cottage. It is sew cute!!!

There is a Country Cottages flickr site set up too. Click here

I am sew tempted! The blocks are appliqué and embroidery. I would do the appliqué by machine with a button hole stitch. My Bernina has two button hole stitch options, one is extra thick with 2 threads. The embroidery and embellishments would be fun to add and would make a good take along project. NOT that I need another project!!!

I am making good progress on my UFOs and getting work done! The borders are added to my red and white quilt and it's ready to be quilted. Yesterday I FMQ a small quilt on my Bernina. Now that I am finally feeling better and at the tail end of this nasty coughing flu I had the energy.

Meanwhile my studio is warming up and I plan to quilt my red and white quilt this afternoon. Waiting for the next set of blocks for JT2 to be posted today. I hope there are not another 1/2 dozen blocks again. I have to say this quilt is taking more of my time than I expected, but I do like the challenges and new techniques.

Hummmm... it is the middle of February, I am making good progress on my UFOs, getting jobs done. The big question... Do I start a new quilt project?!?

Be My Valentine

Be My Valentine

This card reminds me of grade school. The teacher had us tape a bag we decorated with hearts to the edge of our desk for our 'mailbox' and we traded cards much like this one. Those were the daze... simple innocence

"I will always love you" the lyrics as sung by Whitney Houston

played over and over this morning as her death is reported

Life has ceased to be simple and certainly no longer innocent

Come Ride With Me, My Valentine
on this life's sweet journey

All caught up with JT2 until the next set of blocks to be posted the day after Valentine's Day. This is block 12, paper pieced and was it ever a challenge... 

Block 12 ~ Rocky Mountain Chain or Tumbling Blocks

Next up is UFO #1 to be completed in February. Mine is a red and white quilt. The center is ready for borders. I have the quilting designs planned. Once the top is finished it will be quilted with feather wreaths in the snowball blocks, a reel design in the alternate blocks and feather borders. Better get to it!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

JT2

I set up a page for my Just Takes 2 blocks...

Click on the tab under the header

Also fixed the broken link to this morning's post.
Have a great weekend!

Just Takes 2

I am still fighting a flu bug. Almost 3 weeks... I'm so sick of being sick! I am better tho, after five days of antibiotics, a breathing treatment, inhaler, cough RX, soup and allot of sleep, I am finally vertical and able to do some quilting...

I worked on Just Takes 2 Mystery quilt. I am really enjoying the process! A little appliqué, paper piecing, templates and rotary cutting/piecing. I opted to add the Redwork as well. However, a different design. These are flower/heart designs from Alex Anderson's Redwork Garden. I tried to do the Redwork by hand, my attempt was pretty bad. I played around with my Bernina and came up with a way to make them by machine using free motion stitching...

Block 3 ~ California Poppy

 I resized the designs to fit these blocks. Block 3 is a California Poppy and on block 4 are Morning Glories and Sweet Pea...

Block 4 ~ with Morning Glory and Sweet Pea

The appliqué I am doing by hand, just not needle turn. I came up with a combination of methods by various quilter/teachers. Basically, using freezer paper and a glue stick I make the shape first and then hand stitch them down. Here are the hearts for block 6, ready to be stitched...

I love needle turn hand appliqué, both the process and the look but it's hard on my hands. Machine appliqué methods are just too flat!  I found a happy medium that works for me.

I also worked on my blog...

Check out the new pages I added under my header... quilts I am working on, UFOs and a gallery. The gallery page is still "under construction" until I dig up some photos of finished quilts.

January UFO #5

My January UFO. It's called Connected Friends!
Finished Jan 22, 2012 for Judy's 2012 UFO Challenge

Connected Friends ~ finished quilt

quilt top completed in 2004

Quilted in January 2012 with a star panto

added a sleeve and it will hang in my quilting studio

This quilt is very special to me. It started out with a Celestial Swap hosted by Luna Lisa while we were all on Alex Anderson's message board. We traded squares of celestial theme fabrics. Stars and planets! Some were patriotic, some batiks, some with glitter... all sorts and colors. 20 quilters participated. I still have the list :0) lunalisa, cjs, Kath WI, darlin, Tammie IL, moonbear, Heather in AL, wafermaker, TJ, TJ's daughter, Gayle Ca, Tingirl, ship4me, Daddy Kevin, PmintPattie, Waterlady, sewquilts, cougarvolley, quiltingbee and Meredith CA. Fabrics came from all over the US and Canada. I kept the list along with my original friendship star plan when making the top along with the finished quilt top for years. The swap was in June but I'm not sure if it was 2003 or 04? I didn't write down the year.

I also do not remember the designer of Connected Friends or which book I found it in... Found it! Connected Friends is a quilt designed by Susan Dissmore and is in her Clever Quarters book :0)

I do remember working on this quilt top during the summer while living in the Lake Tahoe area. Marlene Ball, an original member of AAQMB attended a quilt retreat in Tahoe each year. Mar and I spent the day together after the retreat at my home before she headed home the nest day. I worked on this quilt top while she sat in my big comfy overstuffed chair doing some hand quilting while we chatted. I loved spending time with her each year when she came to Tahoe. Mar passed away about 2 years ago.  I miss her...

That message board was pivotal to my quilting back then. I lived in a remote area of the mountains, no neighbors, no quilting friends, no LQS. There is now, Penny opened Quilting Tahoe after I moved away. Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson, her board, it's members and the Internet were my window to the quilting world. The message board was shut down about the same time I left Tahoe, the end of 2005. Still in contact with a few members. Marilyn, whom I also met annually when she vacationed in Tahoe. We stayed in phone contact over the years and she was a big support when my husband passed away in 2006. Sewquilts, who's fabrics are in this quilt top, became friends on the MB and are still in contact. Sally MO, all three of them were a hugh support when my life was falling apart. Plus many more quilters all over the states and Canada. 

Since I started blogging last year I found Vicky and her LA Quilter blog. She and I participated in Civil War fabric and 9 patch swaps. Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times was a member of AAQMB. Just last week Tingirl, who participated in the Celestial swap commented on my blog when she recognised the fabrics! It's a wonderful quilting world!

So you see why this quilt means allot to me. Fitting that is was #5 and the first UFO to be finished in Judy's challenge. Thank you Judy, this has brought back some wonderful memories. It will hang in my quilting studio and forever remind me of Connected Friends.