ON OUR WAY TO VISIT ABIGAIL!!!

Here is the little cutie who we are on our way to visit today! Isn't she sweet? It is about time her grandparents get to hold her in our arms, don't you think?

SHOPPING AND GIFT PRIZE RECEIVED

Saturday Common Threads Quilt Shop in Waxahachie, TX had a sale. I wanted to go get some reproduction fabric and this is what I got. The shop was mobbed with women looking for bargains!
I won a drawing from Humble Quilts and I just received my prize - these two appliqued blocks, one block just started with all the pieces cut out and the patterns for doing more. Since I am getting more interested in applique, I am going to try to get the third one finished. My needle turn applique skills need quite a bit of practice - if you know what I mean.

The weather has been reaching 100 degrees every day lately. I do NOT like hot weather.
End of the weekend again, but on Wednesday we leave for Florida, so it's only a two day work week for me!

MYSTERY QUILT BLOCKS

I finished the blocks for Bonnie Hunter's "Christmas Lights" mystery quilt Part 1, which is in the July/August 2009 issue of Quiltmaker magazine. I've never done a mystery quilt before and I have seen Bonnie's quilts before and love them, so thought I would try it.

Now, I can put that away for a couple months, till the next issue comes out. I have lots of other projects to finish.

We are finally going to Florida to see Abigail!!! DH is getting a lot better, so we made reservations. Can't wait!

I got the bedding finished for this doll bed.
I made a mattress and covered it with fabric printed like "ticking."
Then I made a sheet that the mattress slips into and put velcro as a closure. I did the same with the sheet for Abigail's doll bed, but ran out of velcro, so need to get some today.
Here's how the end closes. I think it will work. That way when the sheet gets dirty, it can be washed. DH is going to paint it white. He is the painter in the family. Hee Hee!!

Now I'm off to Common Threads Quilt Shop in Waxahachie, TX. They are having a sale today & I want to see if I can get some reproductions. They specialize in them.

I never did hear from Martha, so we drew again on Wednesday and Janet is the winner - see her blog here.

PROJECTS I'M WORKING ON

I'm taking a little break from quilting this weekend and working on a few other things. I read about Bonnie Hunter's article in "Quiltmaker" July/August 2009 issue, so I decided to start in on it. I have read about so many people making some of her other quilts and have wanted to do one. I'll be working on it at the same time I'm doing other things. I cut the squares for the HSTs today.
I'm caught up on 4 BOMs now and only have the "A Tisket A Tasket" to do and I'll be all up to date. I'll try to do that one this week.
These 2 Ohio star blocks are from a LQS and I'm participating in the pastel one and the bright one. I think I'm going a little nuts, but it's fun.
Also, this weekend I started making doll mattresses and sheets for the doll beds. I have two of them done and the bunk bed to do. That will be a little more work.

I still haven't heard from Martha! Maybe she forgot where she entered the drawing. I'll draw again on Wednesday if I haven't heard from her.

WHERE IS MARTHA?

I held my drawing on Wednesday and announced that Martha (no blog) was the winner. As of today, I haven't heard from her. I wasn't able to email her.

Please, Martha, email me as soon as possible. I will wait until Wednesday, June 24 at 8:00 PM and if I haven't heard from you, I will draw again. I have left all the names in the basket just in case.

JUNE 27, 2009

I never heard from Martha, so on June 24 we drew another name and it was Janet in Australia. I have her package ready to send. Please go to her blog here and visit. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

All the names were put into the chicken shaped wire egg basket.
An impartial party drew out the winning ticket (DH)! Martha (no blog) is the lucky winner. Please send me your snail mail address so I can send you your prize!
In the mean time, I am working on machine quilting the Polka Dot Girls quilt. I'm doing it by free motion and I don't know if I'm going to like it or not. I'm not much of an expert at this, but I guess this is part of the learning process, so here goes!
Thanks to everyone who entered the contest! I am amazed at all the comments I got and I do appreciate them all!

FINISHED DOLL QUILT AND GARAGE SALE LUCK

I finished the "A Little Star Struck" quilt which was in June, 2009 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting (designed by Ann Hermes). I love this quilt! I'm making another one.

Saturday, I went to some garage sales and hit the jackpot at one of hem! I found 3 doll beds at one sale!!!!
This is one of them that I got for $5 and I couldn't resist putting Abigail's doll and doll quilt in it. It fit perfectly, so this one will be for Abigail! She's just 6 months old, so she's too little now, but I wanted to get a bed for the doll I made for her. I'm very happy now!
I couldn't believe it when I saw this bunk doll bed for $5 also! I need to make mattresses for it and get it set up.
This little one only cost $1!! and the cute doll quilt was at another sale for $1. We're going to paint this one white. Then I'll make a mattress for it and get it set up with a doll quilt and pillow.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my previous post to get in on the drawing. You have 2 more days to enter. Good Luck!

100TH POST AND GIVEAWAY DRAWING

This my 100th post!!! It took me a while because I usually only post once a week, sometimes twice a week. It has been a lot of fun and I have met so many wonderful bloggers on line! I have also learned so much from everyone! I have really been amazed at the sharing and caring shown by so many.

I don't have any rules. Just leave a comment and I will add you to the drawing, which will be held on June 17 at 8:00 PM central time. I will also ship anywhere. Please let others know about the drawing.
I am giving away one Moda charm pack, 3 fat quarters (Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics - Eliza collection), a pin magnet, and a really cute "Quilts" sign.

Good luck!

STARS AND A BOM

When I saw the "A Little Starstruck" quilt pattern by Ann Hermes in the June issue of American Patchwork and Quilting, I knew I had to make it into a doll quilt. I hunted through my reproduction fabrics and added another row of stars to it. Even though I have plenty of quilting to do - both hand and machine - I wanted to start some of these star blocks. I love these blocks and I see them in so many patterns, I've used them in quilts before, but I wanted to use them again. They are so basic and I love basic!
I made enough for two quilts!!
I finished my "A Tisket A Tasket" BOM just in time for the new one to come out!! At least I'm not falling behind!

This is my 99th post and for my 100th post I'm going to have a gift drawing. Be sure to check back! I don't know when I will post it, but I will give bloggers about a week to comment.

TABLE RUNNER & HAND QUILTING

I need a break from cleaning bathrooms, so I thought I would do a post. I finished this table runner this week. It is the same as the one I made for my desk, only I added a blue border to make it a little bigger. This can be my patriotic table runner for the summer. I love the inner red border with the little airplanes on it. I got it because DS#3 is a pilot in the USAF. I want to make Jonah something out of the fabric - maybe a bib. I don't know what else I could make for him with what I have left over.

Last night I started the hand quilting on my tumbler quilt. I decided to try fan quilting and I think I like it. This will be my TV watching project for a while with other projects in between.
You can see the backing fabric in the lower left corner. It's not the prettiest, but it looks like reproduction and it was cheap (I think it was $2/yd!!!). This will probably be a wall hanging, so it won't show anyway.

I am marking as I go, kind of. I am following Tonya's tutorial for fan quilting. I am using round canning seal for marking the smallest curve and then using my little finger measurement to roughly mark the following curves as Tonya suggests in her tutorial. I like it that she says it doesn't have to be perfect! Hee Hee! I'm not very good at perfect! I'm using brown quilting thread. I debated using beige or gold, but the brown looked best.

Don't do too much cleaning over the weekend!! I won't, I'm sure!

MEMORIAL DAY

Remembering those who have died in the service of our country and for freedom.
Thinking about our son serving in the middle east right now and praying for his safe return. He just missed his baby's first birthday.
Hoping that all the others who are serving will be safely returned home as well.

GRANDBABIES AND FIRST BOM

Jonah turned one yesterday! Unfortunately, he's in Wisconsin. I think he liked the cake!
Abigail gets her first meal of mashed carrots! What a cutie!! Unfortunately, she lives in Florida!
Here's my first BOM. It was from a quilt shop in Arlington, TX, that is out of business. The fabrics are all Thimbleberries. A friend of mine and I participated in this BOM - it was the kind where you pay $5 for the first month, and if you bring the completed block back the next month, you get it for free. It was a number of years ago, so I don't really remember how much I actually paid for the blocks. I sewed this together in sections, quilted the sections and then sewed the sections together and slip stitching the backing together. I decided that I didn't like this method of quilting. This was the biggest quilt that I had every quilted by machine - and I think it still is the biggest. It's twin size.
Here is a small runner I made for this desk. I have been wanting to make something for this desk for a long time! It might be my only finish for May. I have lots of WIPs though. Hee Hee!
I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and appreciate the sacrifice of many for our freedoms.

FIVE (?!?) BOMS

I can't believe I'm participating in FIVE BOMs now. Here are the some that I just completed:
Gail Pan's Christmas BOM, Willowberry's stitchery BOM...

Below are the first 2 months from the LQS Just Stitchin's BOM. They are doing it in brights and pastels, so I joined both of them!!! The fifth one is "A Tisket, A Tasket" which I haven't done for this month yet. Before I started blogging, I had only participated in one BOM at a LQS and it took me a long time to get that quilt finished. (I'll have to post a picture next time). It always seemed so hard to do a block a month. But now, it seems a lot easier. I guess I get lots of motivation from other bloggers. Thanks, everyone!
My DH had hernia surgery a week ago and I have spent a lot of time stitching while he lies in bed recuperating. I stitched 3 of these flag quilts. I still have to put the border on before I can sandwich them. I also made 2 small log cabin table runners, which I forgot to take pictures of (next post).
I have been working on this tumbler charm quilt for a while and I am going to add one more row to what you see below. It measures 38" by 36" now. I'm going to hand quilt it since it is all hand pieced. Any ideas on quilting designs? I was thinking of simply stitching 1/4" inside of each seam. Another idea would be the fan quilting. What do you think?
This is a cross stitched quilting picture that I did before I really got involved in actual quilting, but was thinking about it a lot.
Another weekend almost gone! How come they're so short???

I REMEMBER MAMA AND DADDY

I was thinking about both of my parents more than usual this week, because Daddy's birthday was May 7, and of course, today is Mother's Day. Both of my parents were born in 1911 and they were married for 65 years. Daddy was almost 90 when he went home to be with the Lord, and Mama was 92.

Do any of you remember watching the TV show in the 50's "I Remember Mama?" That was my Mom's favorite show at that time, probably mostly because we are Norwegian. It would be fun to see some of those episodes again, but I don't think they are available.

Mama loved to embroider and these are a set of pillowcases she made, but never used or gave away. We found them in her drawer after she died.
Look at all that satin stitching!! I would never want to do this pattern because I'm not very good at satin stitching. And the edging is all hand done blanket stitching! Up until the last few years of her life, she always seemed to have some embroidery to work on. She made several of those cross-stitched quilts - I'm not sure how many, but I think the one she made for our wedding gift was the first one. I'm sure it's because of her example that I have always loved to sew and embroider. Not that I haven't had dry spells, but I've always enjoyed many kinds of needle work.
I received this cute little pin cushion from my Secret Pal at work! I had never seen one of these before and it is really clever how the thread is held on by a strip of seam binding. How handy!
DH had hernia surgery on Thursday, so I was at home taking care of him. While he slept, I worked on these log cabin blocks. I made 60 of them
This is a doll quilt that I finished a week ago. I like how it looks on my rocker!
Yesterday I received a phone call from my DS#3, who is in Iraq now. He called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. He has just been promoted to Major!!!

I hope all you mothers have a wonderful Mother's Day!

THIS AND THAT

I got up early on Saturday morning to go to some garage sales. I didn't have to set the alarm, because I usually wake up at 5:30 or earlier anyway. When I saw this old rocking chair, I thought they would want quite a bit for it, so I was shocked when they said $2.00!!! It didn't take me long to decide to get it (1/2 a second).

I have been wanting something nice on my front porch and they also had this rocking chair for $2.00, so I grabbed it as well. The red milk can was at another house for $2.00. I had a very good day at garage sales!
This wire egg basket looked interesting and was only $1.00.
These butterfly blocks were made by my grandmother, probably in the 1940's or 50's. I guess she only made these two. Maybe someday I will make more so I can have a butterfly quilt .
Besides working on hand piecing my tumbler block rows together, I have been paper piecing these stars for a project that I don't want to tell about yet. I'm not very fond of paper piecing and I seem to have to unsew a lot when I do it.
Another week starting. Hope it's a good one!

2 BOMs AND 2 OLDER QUILTS

Here's my fourth "A Tisket A Tasket" BOM finished.  I'm current!

Also current on the Willowberry Designs BOM.  Woo Hoo!
This is the queen size quilt that I made for DS#2 and DIL.  The pattern was featured on the cover of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine for February 2003.  I had to look hard and long to find the variety of fabrics that I put into it.  I'm sorry the pictures aren't very good - they were taken before we got a digital camera.  I had this one machine quilted for me.

I made this queen size log cabin quilt for DS#1 & DIL sometime before the one above.  I hand quilted it and I think it took me about a year to finish it.  After that, I decided that I would send large quilts out to be quilted for me.  Hee Hee!  (At least until I retire).  I think this was called Denver Log Cabin.  I'm thinking I need to make another log cabin quilt soon - maybe a scrappy one.  I don't know if you can see the edging on the pillowcases, but it was crocheted by my Grandma.

I MIGHT LIKE APPLIQUE AFTER ALL!

Here is the latest BOM from Gail Pan designs. I think I'm current on this one, except I haven't been putting the borders on yet. And here's the latest "A Tisket A Tasket" applique BOM. When I started these, I didn't know how I would do them, because I usually don't do applique. The first month, I tried needle turn applique and while I got it done, I wasn't real happy with it. The second one I tried the kind where you iron freezer paper on, turn the edges under and applique like needle turn. Then you cut out the back and peel off the paper. I really didn't like this method and decided I would not do it again. The last two I used Wonder Under and machine applique and I like this method the best. I know it doesn't look as good as "good" needle turn applique, but I think it looks better than MY needle turn, so I decided to do all of them this way.
I can't believe I am up to date on these! (I'll post the 4th one soon - I need to take a picture of it). I gives me a little hope and even desire to do some more applique. It would probably be better if I would do some "country" or "primitive" type applique with large pieces. Tee Hee Hee!!!

NEW GRANDDAUGHTER

I'm posting the 3 month picture of our adorable new granddaughter, Abigail! We are hoping we can go see her soon - it is killing me that we haven't gotten to hold her yet. I feel like a negligent Grandma, but DH's health has been holding us back.
This is the 3rd stitchery from Willowberry Designs BOM. Go here if you want to participate.

HOSPITAL QUILTS

I finished my Noah's ark wall hanging from Lynette Anderson Designs - it is still available for anyone interested - FREE. I really like how it turned out.
This is the 3rd design from Gail Pan's BOM. The new one is out, so I will do that next.
At my work, I am able to take one day of leave per year to do volunteer work, so I usually take that day and work on quilts for my guild - we donate to the VA hospital and Children's Medical Center in Dallas. The baby quilt is for the Children's hospital.
This is a wheel chair quilt for the Veterans Hospital.
Here are some goodies I found at a local garage sale for $1.80! You can't have too many buttons!
And I love doileys and vintage pot holders.

VISIT WITH CHRISTINE LEFEVER

One of the highlights of my trip to Oregon (besides being with family) is my visit with Christine LeFever, a maker of dolls in early styles. I read about her in the February issue of Country Living magazine. From the magazine, I found her web site and from there I found her blog . I'm not sure where I got the nerve, but I emailed her and asked if I could visit to see how she makes the dolls. She graciously said "yes."
I went with my DIL & GD to visit her at her lovely home and she immediately made us feel comfortable. She showed us around and gave us a lot of interesting information about Oregon. Her house was built in the 1800's (I forget the year) at the end of the Oregon Trail. She has it decorated with antiques and it is wonderful! She makes the doll heads in a mold and the bodies out of cloth. She loves all things old. Unfortunately, some of the pictures I took were blurred, but the one above shows some of the doll heads waiting for bodies to be made for them. You can see some finished dolls at her web site and will know why she was picked to be featured in the magazine. I want to make some dolls also, but I'm sure they won't measure up to hers.

This picture below is a cute little table in the entry hall. I don't believe this doll is one she made.
The bed in her guest bedroom has a wonderful antique quilt on it.
Here's a picture of me and Christine in the guest bedroom with some of her collections.
This visit was such fun and I'm hoping that I can visit her again some time. Travelling out to Oregon by plane and seeing the rugged wilderness, I am amazed that people used to travel out there by wagon train. Those people were brave! It makes us seem rather wimpy, doesn't it?

Thanks, Christine, for the wonderful time!