Bound up and loving it!!!

Sorry for the title, but I had to...heeheehheeeee!
I've been binding quilts lately like crazy. I have three that need bindings made or sewn to them (brought these home from our quilting event at church last week). Unfortunately, I haven't taken photos of THOSE because my mom (the binding queen) took two of them home to finish the handsewing on them.

However, Marilyn finished this one and dropped it off for a label. (I have the label at church- it's a 'real' envelope block that we'll put on and drop a inspirational note in it for the recipient).

This one my mom dropped off after hand-stitching the binding on this one. Very cute.

This one is special.... Our church group had sent a quilt to Mavie's dear friend in Maine who was sick. To thank us, Mavie made all these blocks and I picked them up in Maine on our way to our vacation cottage. I put them together in Maine, then brought them back for the ladies at church to finish. This is the finished quilt. Marilyn rolled the backing over for the binding on this one.

This is the label for a couple of quilts.

This quilt I'm hoping we can have our 'angel quilter' quilt for us. I really love it.

This is my favorite quilt as of yet...It's got such a homey feel about it.

I have some black fleece for the back of this one... then I'm done.

All I have left to do is make some sample blocks for the next meeting.

Update on Sneaky sewing....

I finally had a chance to sneak back up to the sewing room and finish the top I did. Well, maybe finish. It's rather small, but I used up the fabric I had started with. I may add a larger border on the outer edge, but not sure what fabric to use. Probably a batik, since most of the other parts are batiks or close to it. Right now, it would be great as a lap quilt...

The really light fabrics look almost white, but they are a soft yellow/orange batik. Small print.

We'll see.....

Change of Plans--sewing!

Yikes! Well, the quilt in the last post never even got touched...Why, you ask? Because I couldn't find it!! I may have left it at church or it's in another bag brought home from the last meeting, but I wasn't wasting time looking for it, when there are so many other things to do up there.

First things first, ... I needed to de-Christmastize the room; get the box of tags and ribbons boxed up, store the wrapping paper, put away the leftover gifts --they'll be used for someone's birthday or such-(I always buy more than I need in case of emergency) and...well, what do we have here?...A few pieces of clothing that needed mending/repairing. I can do that quickly! (And I did)

The table looks much better than it did, but it still has a long way to go.

Okay, I found a couple of quilts, already tied needing to have binding made/found etc. (I'll put those aside).

Ah! I keep moving this partial heartstring block, out of my way(the one on the left)... why don't I just finish it. Done! (Ok, it's done, but not used in a quilt, you say...not a problem. We have other HS blocks at church to be joined at some point. It will go there and be joined with others like it.)

 Here are the two that needed to have bindings pick out, put together and sewn on them. They have it just at the pinned over, then my mom can hand sew them to the finish (she' loves that part). The one on the left (Blueberry HS) is going to a lady at church who has cancer, the one on the right (Easter Eggs) has no home yet, but it's always good for a child.

This is the pillowcase that never got made for Christmas (I use them to give to the grandkids and put their birthday/Christmas gifts in...). This will go into the stock pile (of 1). I have to make 10 a year, but in a few more years I'll add another to the list (Lee's son Jason and wife Emma are expecting, but the pillowcases only start coming when the grandkids are in their own bed).

This is the design wall in my room at the end of the day... I added some solid brown to two sides of the leftover blocks from Shattered Tiles and cut them to 12.5". Then I threw a few things up on the design wall to piece together for a backing. This is for the quilt "Shattered Italian Tiles". The medallion at the bottom is just a test run of something else, but I like it.

I also added some side borders to my Black Rose Panel quilt (not photo-ed yet) and it made a great quilt top.

Damn, do I feel great!!

In all this producing, I also started saving bags of crumbs (I had a few small bags that I consolidated into one) and strings to donate to my hearstring quilt project group (a yahoo group).

Sewing Plaids this time

I have to go to church this morning to help a lady check out the sewing machines we store there for an upcoming Quilt-a-thon in March (23rd). Then I get to come home and continue sewing on my heartstring blocks, plaids with a white center strip.

I even have the Izod label showing on one.

I really need to work on my taxes, so I may work a couple of hours on taxes, THEN play with plaids! I really like the way the plaids are looking. I wasn't sure since I wasn't gonna do them the way I'd seen them on someone's blog. Our version was much simpler (the other had cornerstones-4-patches- and white sashing).

Heartstring quilt for a 9-yr old swimmer with Leg Cancer

I finally had a chance to work on a heartstring quilt that our church group, Peace by Piece Quilters, has been asked to make for a little girl with leg/bone cancer. She loves swimming, Hanna Montana, Jonas Brothers and I thought of a pattern we made a while back that had a star in the center. The first photo isn't the correct color, but the 'sectioned' photos show it better. It was a heartstring that we didn't have enough blocks to make even a small one, so I figured it I put a square of fabric over the heartstring block, drew a diagonal line and sewed a quarter-inch seam on either side of the line (use this line as a cutting line), then I ended up with twice the blocks. With a border around it, it worked well.

Since my sewing machine has been in the repair shop for a 'nose job', I yanked my 42 yr old Kenmore out of the cellar and set it up on my grandson's little card table to use... Other than the burning oil smell (dust in the back?? it was covered in the cellar), and the initial ruuh, ruuh, ruuh, ruh, ruh, ruhruhruhruhruhruh... it ended up working okay (I think this is the next one for the service dept.). Little crowded in this area, but it seemed to work.

This little guy was a great 'fill-in' for my Janome. ... Of course, it HAD to be. There was nothing else!

Resolution #1 and choices....

Okay, I'm ready to jump right in here.... This will be the UFO I decide to finish first. I don't think I've named this one yet. It was an experiment with a 9-patch, if I remember it correctly. I'll have to ask my Aunt Norma. She explained this block to me over the phone, which she learned in her guild mtg. the lighting on the camera didn't do it justice. It's beautiful jewel colors and the softest of greens. I love the swirls in the border fabric... Maybe "Jewels in the Sandbox".


As you can see, it's already pinned so what its the 'stall' factor, you ask? Well, I guess it was soo close to getting finished that I figured it would be nothing to leave it as it is, and slowly to the ties (I am rethinking the tie mode--- might quilt it by hand. Wait! If I do it by hand, will I think it's more involved and not get to starting that mode??? Probably.... Okay, I'll have to decide by this weekend.)
You see there is a methd to my madness.... If I post it, it will get done.  Maybe I should have added that to my resolutions? ... post it, it will get done...
And really, there is no one home tonight but hubby and I. (I really should be sanding that bathroom wall....). Hmm....

I also have a quilt our church group finished last mtg and I'm wondering if I should use this one for a gentleman at church who is very sick. He has a growth near his spine and may have to see a neurosurgeon. They have already had many numerous difficulties, financially, so maybe this is what I need to bring to church on Sunday. We only have two quilts in the donation pile that could qualify as 'male' quilts. This one is either way. Maybe I'll notify his wife and see if she thinks he'd like this one. the ties are etra long since we make them long enough to tie a prayer into them. They can be taken to doctor visits/hospital procedures where the doctors/ nurses/ visitors can tie a prayer into the knot in the tie. Then the person can get some comfort by the amounts of knots/prayers in each tie. They are called patchwork prayer quilts, but this is really a tied heartstring quilt to me. This was made by Anna R. of our church's quilt group