Blogging and Quilting Brings New Friendships!

While skipping around blogland about 2 weeks ago I fell upon a blog that had several give away listings. I visited those listings and signed up for several of them, one in particular.

Riane over at Kernow Cards had one of these giveaways and I signed up. She is from the Netherlands and has a beautiful 6 year old daughter, Brechje. I posted to her blog asking if she would be willing to send me her mailing address so I could send her daughter a quilt. Later I received an email from her. I replied to that email and then I was sent another to which I replied as well.

Yesterday afternoon my hubby and I had been in town and had just returned when the phone rang. I checked caller ID and as I looked at the number I wondered who it would belong to. When I answered "Hello" it was Riane's voice on the other end, all the way from the Netherlands. I was so thrilled to be able to talk with her. We actually spoke for almost 2 hours I think. :)

This is the quilt that I am sending Brechje. It is a very special quilt of mine and I am handing it to her to love and care for. This quilt was made in 2004 and I quilted it in 2006 after I got my longarm machine. This quilt has traveled across the United States in a Round Robin. It left North Carolina and went to Ohio. From there it went to Louisiana and then on to North Dakota. From there it went to Utah and finished its journey in the state of Washington before being sent back to North Carolina. Now it is on its way to the Netherlands.

Oh what stories this quilt has!

T-Shirt Quilt Leftovers!

I make t-shirt quilts for clients and always have so much fabric to throw away once the blocks have been cut from the shirts! I made a quilt from a friends daughters t-shirts from her college days and wanted to do something with all of that left over fabric!

I decided to make a background from 6 inch squares cut from the excess fabric and applique a large Sunbonnet Sue on top! The schools flower was the daisy so I included the flower in the design.

This isn't the best photo in the world!

Love Notes & Quilts

I have been longarm quilting for 3 years and now love to quilt notes into borders for my clients. The first quilt that I did this on was for my good friend Nicki from Massachusetts! She made this French Braid quilt for her hubby and sent it to me for quilting! I was having difficulty trying to decide what to quilt in the inner border of the quilt when an idea hit me. I called Nicki and asked her if she would write a love note to her hubby and send it to me so I could quilt it in the border. She loved the idea!

When her hubby opened his quilt and saw the love note he loved it too!

Gift From My Aunt!

I come from a large family of quilters! My granny Ida was a hand quilter and she was mother to 7 living daughters including my mother. My mothers dad was killed when she was 4 and my grandmother never remarried. When the last child left home granny was scared to live by herself so she lived with us for a long time. I tell everyone that I grew up under a quilting frame! Granny always had a frame up in the extra den.

My Aunt Jimmie Lou, who lives in Florida, has quilted for many years and hand quilts everything she works on. My husband and I go to Sanibel Island as often as we can and stopped in to see her on one of those trips. She was showing me her many quilts and when she came to this one I was amazed at the beauty of it! She gifted the quilt to me and my hubby as a wedding gift! I was overwhelmed that she would give me such a gift! She has daughters herself but she told me that they would not take care of the quilt like she knew I would!

This is the nicest gift I have ever received in my life! (Without counting the gifts given to me by my hubby)

Isn't it gorgeous!

Quilt Blocks by Granny Ida!

My grandma Ida made these kitten blocks when I was around 8 years old. They never made it into a quilt so when my first granddaughter was born, I put some of the blocks together into a baby quilt for her. My granny used double knit fabrics for the kittens and blanket stitched them to the background. She would be proud that her great-great granddaughter was all snug as a bug in a quilt made with her blocks.

I also have enough blocks left to make my grandson a quilt too!

The second photo shows my granddaughter laying on another quilt that I made for her using my Granny Ida's favorite block, the Churn Dash! Isn't she a cutie pie!




My granddaughter is all grown up now...She will start kindergarten this fall! Where has the time gone!! She is dressed up for a football game at a local high school and she is all decked out supporting her favorite player!

My Kiwi Pig!

My good friend Tricia-Anne who lives in New Zealand sent me this darling Kiwi Pig as a thank you gift some time back when she was in one of my swaps! I just love him to pieces and thought I would share him with you today!!

Compass Star!

This is a beautifully pieced Compass Star! It is on its way to Massachusetts to my friend Joan! I really hope she likes it when she opens up the box!