Happy Easter

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend
Easter Greetings to those who celebrate

Hope you have the opportunity to spend it with friends and family

filled with love and joy

Yea!!! Spring has arrived here in Northern California with warmer temps and a few Spring showers on the way tomorrow so there may be some soggy eggs left by that Easter bunny!

A yard sale find, a book of poetry published in 1927 ~ The Cheerful Cherub by Rebecca McCann. Her first verses and artwork published 1914 in the Chicago Evening Post and later syndicated. One of those little treasured finds. Tho without the cute artwork, following is one of many verses, more to share from time to time...

Foam

The tide of summer rising,

A green wave strong and dark,

Breaks in a foam of blossoms

And children in the park.

It's Spring!

Well it is on the calendar! Not outside!!! It's raining this morning here in Northern California and the East coast is freezing! So I decided to make it Spring on my blog with pictures of an applique quilt :0) that looks like spring...

 

I keep seeing posts about trying new readers and changing to Bloglovin!?! What's that all about? Just when I have something figured out I have to change again. Like I have time :0(

 Make the best of your Spring Day wherever you are planted!
Spring IS coming :0)

Olivia!

Meet Olivia, isn't she cute! She is surrounded by quilted butterflies
 and a curly pig tail border :0)

All of these quilts are made by Beckie. She and Donna are my friends, work together, spend their lunch hours at Honey Run Quilters/Cathy's and both are talented quilters! I am so happy they let my practice on their beautiful quilts and I am quite happy to know them as friends and quilters :0)

 Beckie made this from a pattern by Theresa Wright

 Beckie's Bunny Quilt, this fabric is so cute. It's hanging up at Honey Run Quilters right now. The quilting design is Viennese Lace. The green is Radiance, it's so pretty when it's quilted.

A baby quilt Beckie made,  I added a monkey quilting design. Love the colors!
 

This quilt has lots of velvet mixed in as well as brown velvet borders, velvet backing and wool batting. Beckie likes a challenge and to challenge me! This is another Theresa Wright pattern called Chocolate

Beckie's Tula Pink fabrics are really gorgeous, both the color and design. 

I love the frogs, there is a snail design and the border has a really cool sea turtle. 

Also made with Theresa's Gypsy Patches pattern.

A Cheery Christmas print

Have a bright and cheery week. Spring is just 2 days away! Yipee!!

Happy Quilting weekend and St. Patty's Day

Happy Quilting day (yesterday) and St. Patty's Day today. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend quilting and/or buying fabric :0)  I did my best and found some gorgeous Civil War fabrics yesterday...

while enjoying The Valley Quilt Guild's 30th annual Quilt Show in Yuba City, CA. Also a good show price on some Glide thread plus two of Superior's new variegated trilobal threads to try out. Purchased from the Sew So Shop, a vendor and quilt shop in Yuba City and also the Innova dealer for California. I want one!!!

My entrance ticket was drawn to win the jelly rolls and a pattern from Merrill-Lee Designs, one of the many vendors! That was fun, I don't often win giveaways. Thank you Merrill-Lee! She applied to be one of our vendors for Annie Star's Quilt Guild's quilt show later this year.

Another reason to attend the show was to meet seven of the vendors that applied to our guild's quilt show which takes place the weekend of September 28-29. 
 

Missed doing last weeks block for Grandmother's Choice BOW. I spent the weekend moving my sewing room into a different room. Can't say it's actually finished, more like a work in progress, like everything else! 

Here are a few quilts done recently for my friend Donna. This latest is a queen size basket quilt she made...

Applique baskets in the corners. Did a small stipple with my Juki
Not liking the Gammill for hand guided quilting...
I want an Innova!!!

Center Medallion Large Basket

 

Quilting details before SID was done... on the Juki!

Donna made several baby quilts...

Baby Quilt with Minkee backing (below)

Pirate baby quilt with black Pirate Minkee backing! So cute!

 

One more baby quilt with Radiance fabric added and a wool bat

Enjoy the remainder of the weekend. I may tackle the seven... yes... SEVEN pointed star representing Australia for Grandmother's Choice BOW. One approach... English paper piecing appliqued to the background or try piecing this block along with more Y seams! Check out blocks made on our group flickr site...Thanks for stopping by :0)

Grandmother's Choice ~ Week 27

Block 27 ~ Grandmother's Dream

This week's block for Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice: Votes for Women Block of the Week project checked off my list along with two more. I made this block different from the project, the gold blocks are supposed to be one square block with... count them... 16 Y seams! Usually I enjoy a good challenge but not today. Michael gave me the idea to cut the gold blocks into triangles. All the bias edges still were a challenge, nothing that couldn't be controlled with a good dose of sizing :0) Ellen ~ American Homestead opted to avoid the Y seams in a different way, here is how. She is posting a great tutorial of how she constructs her blocks.

Working backwards these are two additional blocks finished this weekend...

Block 17 ~ Mother's Delight

Block 16 ~ Capitol T

Pretty happy with my progress and the results of these last blocks, especially the compass.Yet, another dozen of so blocks to get caught up. Check out blocks made by other quilters from all over the world on our flickr site http://www.flickr.com/groups/grandmotherschoice/

The weather is great, warm the last few days and a surprise rain early this morning. Our Star Magnolia is in bloom... that's Crystal, my German Shepherd, enjoying the warm weather yesterday.

Crystal, my best buddy :0)

The Dafs are in bloom too. The promise that Spring is on it's way! Yipee!!!

Grandmothers' Choice ~ week 26

Good Sunday morning :0) Barbara Brackman's BOW Grandmother's Choice: Voice for Women is just past the half way mark. Week 26 is Ladies' Wreath: Mourning the Mother. The subject is sad, birth control was considered obscene while women lost their lives giving birth.

Can't say that I am half way however I made good progress this weekend. So far I have 4 additional  blocks made and plan to make a few more today.  This is the block from this Saturday Morning's Post...

Week 26 ~ Ladies Wreath: Mourning the Mother

Also finished are blocks 23, 24 and 25...

Block 23 ~ Girls' Joy

Block 24 ~ True Blue

Block 25 ~ The Carrie Nation Quilt

My focus fabrics are from an older range from Moda called Bittersweet, ordered from Keepsake Quilters in a medley that also included two fabrics from Robert Kaufman. It's fun to fussy cut the birds into most of the blocks. Added are some cheddars I picked up while visiting Lancaster, PA two summers ago plus a few more fabrics added including some 'vintage' Thimbleberries!

After a crazy couple of weeks, it's great to take the weekend off. Mom has a flu bug. At the moment I'm watching the Morning Show with the subjects about the Oscars coming up tonight and it's history. Something to watch tonight now that Downton Abby has come to a close for the season. Didn't care for the season ending at all :0(

Update this afternoon... 2 more blocks completed... Yipee !!!

Block 18 ~ Cheyenne: Wyoming Firsts

Block 19 ~ Old Maid's Ramble: Desperate Walkers

 Not too sure with this last one, the large triangles don't have enough contrast. It was a really fun block to make so I may do it again :0) Off to watch the Oscars. Thank you for sharing my weekend. Have a great week!  Jo

Grandmother's Choice

I had a wonderful morning working on blocks for Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice BOW.

Block 22 Jack's Delight

 Michael looked after Mom so I could have some "me" time taking a few stitches

Block 20 Memory Wreath

Block 3 Union Square

Block 1. Grandmother's Choice

The first block I made when the project began in September. 

My digital camera card failed this afternoon so I ended up scanning the blocks which are not as good as a photo and took forever to download. We get so accustomed to technology, frustrated when it doesn't work and then wonder how we ever got on without it. Update: replaced the scanned images with new photos taken today with a different card.

Mom is a handful, much like having a toddler around the house except in an adult body.

Thanks for hanging in with me. I do check in often to see your wonderful projects. Aunt Reen's group is finishing their Dear Jane's, in just a year!!! following her 13 months of Jane WOW! Lori posted a wonderful quilt a long, Abundance that allot of you did and Temecula Quilt Co started a 5 week quilt project on Friday that looks like a fun and fast little quilt. Enjoy the weekend!