December 13, 2010

Quilt Presentation to the Central Children's Home!

Quilters have hearts as big as Texas!!! :D

Marie was sick so my husband went with me tonight to present the quilts that came in from my The Big 5-0, Birthday Wishes and Charity Quilts quilt collection!

I received 24 quilts but as of tonight their enrollment had dropped to 13 so Butch and I measured all of the quilts and took the longest ones because these children are 13 - 21 years of age.

We gave quilts to 5 boys and 6 girls tonight.  3 of the girls are not in the photo because they asked not to be.

You should have seen their smiles!!  I wish I could post the photo of their faces with the quilts but the privacy laws prevent that. It is for the safety of the children.

But I can show you this photo and you can all envision what a big smile would look like behind those quilts because that is exactly what is going on!

They just kept saying thank you!  I had pinned the name of the quilt maker to each quilt and asked the children to say a prayer for each of them tonight!   :D

I want to say a HUGE thank you to each quilter who made this presentation possible!!  We should always show our children that they are loved and what better way to do that, than with a quilt!

December 12, 2010

Secret Santa Stocking Swap

I joined a swap on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum and have my things ready to send out tomorrow to my friend *****!!  Can't say her name just yet because we aren't supposed to know who got our name until we receive!

I sure hope she likes what I made for her.  The rules of the swap were to make a handmade stocking for your intended!  I downloaded a free pattern online.  I then loaded a backing, batting and the stocking fabric on my longarm.  I drew around the pattern shape with chalk and then quilted feathers up both sides.  I cut it out leaving a good 1/4 inch allowance so that when I sewed front to back that my quilting would not be cut off.  I clipped all of the curves and then turned it right side out.

I then sewed a lining together and slipped it inside.  I made it longer at the top so I could fold it over and whipstitch it to the quilted piece.  I then added a hanger using gold ribbon tape.

Do you think she will like it??





I also proceeded to make her something extra special!  I have met this sweet lady in person and I really like her a lot!  So, making her something special was a piece of cake!

This was a fun little Christmas wallhanging!  It was supposed to have snowmen appliqued in the blocks but I wanted to quilt words pertaining to the holidays so that is what I did!  I hope she likes it!




November 16, 2010

Vintage Tuesday

Well, my Vintage Tuesday post is pretty late today so I am going to post my progress on the vintage fabric squares that I received from my mother in law.  I am only bordering them so I can show off as much of the fabric design as possible.

I am going to call the quilt, Vintage On Display when it is completed.

This post is also going to serve as my Fabric Tuesday offering on Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday! Go on over there and link up a project using fabric! :)

What do you think so far?

November 10, 2010

Work-In-Progress Wednesday - Pig Quilt!

 This post is part of the Work In Progress Wednesday with Lee over at Freshly Pieced!

This pig quilt has been a quilt in motion for some time.  My friends from the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum send me pig fabric a lot and I have kept every piece ever sent.  I finally took the time about 6 months ago to turn some of those fabrics into a quilt top!

Well, it has stayed in quilt top form since and I finally put it on the frame this week and it is now quilted!

I need to bind it and then it will be displayed on the back of my couch and I will use it to cover up with as we watch tv this winter!

I love the background homespuns!  They were given to my by Lauren at the COF Quilting Retreat in April of 2009 that was held in NH! My first ever quilting retreat and I loved every minute of it!

I loved it so well that I am organizing the 2011 retreat that will be held in Charlotte, NC!!  Right now  my committee and I are preparing for 99 ladies to be in attendance!! WOW!

I am glad this quilt will be finished for show and tell!!!

Treasures In The Attic #1

This is the first post of 4 so please stay tuned as I get the other photos ready for sharing.

I visited with my MIL last night while my hubby woked on some art pieces for a show he is doing Thanksgiving weekend. She had called and told me she had sent her grandson up in the attic earlier in the day and he had brought down 7 bags that she wanted me to help her go through. When I got over there I found out that the bags all contained fabric scraps!

Well, look what we found in one of the bags. Apparantely, her mother had also put some bags of scraps in the attic and had put these 24 9-patch blocks in with the fabric and they were forgot about!! My MIL said the best she could figure these were made 20+ years ago.

Now they belong to me and I am going to finish them into a quilt to use in our living room! Our house is built on the same spot that my hubby's grandmother's house was.

It is almost like these blocks have come home! :)

Stay tuned to see what else was in this same bag!

November 9, 2010

Vintage Tuesday

I bring you Vintage Tuesday ......

Compliments of Granny Ida... and yes, as much as she looks spunky... she was every bit of it!  :)
And compliments of Granny Ella!
Granny Ida was my maternal grandmother and Granny Ella, my paternal grandmother.  

I would like to share with you about something I was handed down when these wonderful ladies passed on to the great unknown.

Granny Ella had purchased 2 sets of this creamer / salt and pepper shaker set and gave one to Granny Ida for Christmas many years ago.  I am sure it had a sugar bowl to go with it at one time but neither of those made it through.

When we divided up Granny Ella's things after her death, I was given a bag with several things in it. One being a creamer shaped like a cow.  It was the only piece in the bag.  My aunt told me that there had been other pieces but they had gotten broke over the years.

After Granny Ida died, my Aunt Lurlie gave me a few of her things.  And I could not believe my eyes when she handed me a set of salt and pepper shakes that looked just like the creamer I had received earlier!  And as fate would have it, the other pieces in Granny Ida's possession had been broke and thrown away years before too.

Aunt Lurlie is the one who told me the story of how Granny Ella had given a set to Granny Ida.  I could not believe that between both sides of my family, the set came back together to live with me.  The sugar bowl is still missing and there very well may not have been one.  I am just glad that I can care for these pieces for my grandmothers now. I know they would both smile if they knew the set was brought back together and it was being cared for by me.





PLEASE FEEL FREE LINK UP!

Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story

This is my submission to Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story.  Do you have a recent finish that uses fabric that you would like to share.  Hop on over and link up!

I was in a Mini Quilt Swap that was hosted by Holee over on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum!  I have previously posted about the lovely mini that my partner, Donna, made for me.

Well, I finished and mailed Donna's off to Georgia and she received it yesterday!  This was my first "well done" mini quilt but I think it may be a while before I make another.  I learned through making this one, that it is a LOT harder to sew these tiny blocks than one might think.  But all in all, I enjoyed creating something new to me and I just may make another sometime in the future... like maybe next year. :)

October 27, 2010

Deb Strain & Sandy Gervais In Harmony Together

I quilted for a customer about a month ago and the quilt she brought in was so simple and sweet that I had to go upstairs and cut out my own!  She had done hers in batiks but I had some awesome fabrics, actually 2 Layer Cakes, that I wanted to use in mine!  I am being drawn to the fallish colored quilts more and more!  My customers quilt was a small lap throw but mine ended up being a California full size.

The pattern was easy to decipher and I know I cut my rectangles larger and longer than she did but I did not want to waste any of my layer cake fabric so I trimmed all 4 edges of the pinked edging and divided the width by 3 and cut accordingly.  I love the way it looks!

I used the Saltbox Harvest Layer Cake by Deb Strain and the Awesome Layer Cake by Sandy Gervais that I purchased from Wish Upon A Quilt in Raleigh, NC!  Both of these fabric designers used shades of orange, brown, cranberry, black, yellow, green and white that looked wonderful when mixed together in the same quilt!

I quilted the lap throw using the Koko pantograph by Jodi beamish that I purchased from Columbia River Quilting Supply and will quilt mine with the same design!  It looked really nice on this type of pattern.  The Kokopelli characters fell right into the rails of the blocks so you could see them really well!  And it is a fun pattern to run to boot!

I have a few things to clear out of the studio before I can quilt mine but I will be itching to quilt this so I hope it isn't too long!

October 26, 2010

Vintage Tuesday

Well, I am dating myself this morning... Although I would not consider myself vintage, I am going to show you a piece of my clothing that I wore when I was 16.

I host another blog called The Bakers Dozen and every 6 weeks we make a project with a designated theme in mind.  The symbol for this particular time period was Symbol and someone showed a pair of blue jeans they had painted up with lots of designs that symbolized things in their life.

The photo of those jeans brought back memories of when I was a teenager and tye-dying t-shirts and painting the words "Flower Power" and "Fight Fat" on them. WoW!  How long has that been and what fun we had!

So this morning for Vintage Tuesday I give you my blue jean shirt which I painted and embroidered on and wore to school every chance I got!
How many of you remember the movie "Smokey and the Bandit"?  I also remember all of the guys having CB's in their cars and when we would ride around on the weekends talking to our friends on them.  We had so much fun!!
My nickname in high school was Fred so it had to go on my shirt too!
I love the spelling of my name.  My dad was the one who gave it the spelling and I have had many compliments on it all of my life.



October 22, 2010

Quilts For Kids!

Today, Marie and I made a visit to the Masonic Home For Children in Oxford, NC!  We were escorted to 2 cottages where we found 4 little boys and 3 little girls, who were unsuspecting that they were about to receive a quilt!  It was such a surprise!

We can't show the photos of their faces, but trust me, their smiles lit up the room!

The ladies of the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum work right beside me and Marie to help make these presentations possible! Thank you so much ladies!

Wrap Them In Love had also sent some quilts which helped in todays presentation and one quilter from Vance Quilts R Us donated one of the quilts!

October 19, 2010

Vintage Tuesday

I found this yo-yo quilt in an antique shop about 15 years ago.  From the looks of the fabrics I would say that the yo-yo's are made from clothing that the maker wore and possibly other members of her family too. It is expertly made and has no tears or rips that I can see. I have handwashed it twice and it is due another washing but the older it gets, I get scared to do much to it.  What would you do?






The glassware sitting on the quilt was given to me by my Aunt Lurlie.  I used to help her a little in the summer with her housework and she would pay me with pieces of this glass.
She got them from inside boxes of oats.  I am not sure if it was Quaker Oats or not though.  I had 2 more pieces but they have gotten broken over the years.  Do any of you have pieces of glassware from boxes of oats?

October 8, 2010

Friday Finish!!

I am proud to say that I actually have been able to quilt some again!  And it feels so good!

I finished this opportunity quilt for the Crystal Coast Quilter's Guild this morning!  They came to pick it up at lunch and were really pleased with the work I put into it.

It is pieced with batik fabrics so the quilting does not show up well on the front.  The photos of the back show it well though.

They named the quilt "Carolina Nights".

 

October 5, 2010

Gift From A Friend

My good friend Elizabeth came for a 9 day visit this summer and we had a ton of fun!  She gifted me with these 2 beautiful crazy quilted gifts before she left! She does awesome embroidery and embellishing!  I will treasure these always!

The first item is a needlekeeper.  Inside it has soft flannel pages to keep my needles safe when not in use!
This is a gorgeous little basket just perfect for my thread!

Vintage Tuesday

This quilt and bed belonged to my hubby's GGG Grandmother.  She passed away in 1875 and noone knows exactly what year she made the quilt.  When she passed away my hubby was included in her will as to receiving this quilt and the bed that it was made for.




The lower sides of this quilt are made differently than any quilt I had ever seen!  They were made to go around the footboard.  How ingenious was that!  Have any of you seen a quilt made this way?

October 4, 2010

Quilting The Compass

I quilted this variation of a Compass Star for my friend Suzanne a couple of years ago.  I wanted to share the photos with you today.  I have been working on quilting an opportunity quilt for a guild the past few days and am incorporating the same techniques into it!

I just thought I would wet your appetite for those photos to follow on Wednesday!

September 29, 2010

Tea Time Crazy Quilting Round Robin

I am doing a round robin with 4 other ladies from the CQI site and this is my work on Nicki's block.

I outlined the teacup with gold metallic thread. I also added beads on the plate and the rim of the cup.   I hope someone else will detail stitch the roses with silk ribbon.  I am not too sharp on that type stitching just yet.

Next I added a lace motif floral and did some beading on it.
I love using the flower fairies so I just had to give Nicki one of them on her block!  I always hide them behind some flowers.  I like to think she is just enjoying being outside and having her cup of tea in the afternoon sunshine.




Here is the close up of the detail stitching on her wings and all the french knots in her hair.

I also love to add words to my work and found these acrylic pieces in the scrapbook section at JoAnn's.  I took the sharpest edge of my scissors and made a tiny hole at the top and bottom so I could sew it on.  I added a bead at the top and bottom. I love those butterflies too!
I have these teacup and teapot charms in my online shoppe and they were perfect for this corner!


 I thought my 2 seam treatments turned out right nice.  I love using the porcelain roses! I have to order more of those because I am out now!!
Here is her whole block showing all of my work.