STRIP QUILT FINISHED

I finished the strip quilt and it will be donated through my guild to the children's hospital for a teen age patient. I really like it and will try to keep one in the works to use up scraps. I used pieces of left over binding to bind it, so the only piece that I purchased was the backing, which I purchased at an outlet store, and of course the batting. I'm really happy with it.

I finished all the piecing on the flag quilt and will put it aside for now. I need to figure out how big I should make the stars. I placed some paper stars on the blue background to see which size looks better. Maybe Theri and Lori could let me know how big the stars are on their quilts. I might take the blue with me to hand applique the stars on the trip coming up.
This little doll dress was in really sad condition in a box. I finally took it out and fixed it as much as I could. There is a big tear in the skirt and I sewed some tulle on both sides to keep it from tearing any more. I also hand sewed the back skirt to the bodice and a quite a few splits in seams. I think this was one of my Mom's doll dresses, which would make it about 75 or more years old. Maybe my Mom or Grandma made it.
I think I'll work on my basket quilt a little now. Have a nice weekend!

BASTING AND HSTs

Since my last post, I made a bunch more HSTs. Here is the first section of the flag quilt that I love and posted about when I was in Oregon.

These 2 sections of HSTs are for another project and I made lots more to have available for another quilt in the future - all out of reproductions.
First thing Monday morning DH and I set up 2 large tables in the garage and he helped me baste 4 quilts! I got the idea of setting up tables in the garage from Elaine. We have some tables that we use for craft shows, but I had never thought of using them for basting - DUH! I have gotten lots of great tips from Elaine. Here's the stack of quilts that we basted.
Here's my box of HSTs ready for use.
I finished the table runner! Too bad the table won't stay this neat!
Here is the string quilt getting quilted. I finished it yesterday and am ready to sew on the binding.
This is one of the other ones we basted and it is now finished and will be delivered to a friend at my former work today.

The reason I am working so hard on quilting (besides the fact that I love to do it), is that we will be leaving on another trip in 3 weeks and I need to get as much done as I can. Even though I will have my featherweight with me, I won't have much time to use it for 5 weeks. I'm trying to think of some more hand sewing projects to take with me besides the embroidery that I have prepared and one applique block to finish.

Today, I'm going to lunch with good friends from work. It will be good to see them again.

ELLIS COUNTY (TX) QUILT SHOW

When I entered two quilts in the quilt show, I didn't expect to win a ribbon, so I was very excited to see that I won two ribbons!! On this charm quilt, which I hand pieced and hand quilted, I won a second place ribbon as well as a "Merit Hand Quilting" ribbon.

My Polka Dot Girls quilt won a blue ribbon!! I named it "Garden Party."
Here are a few other quilts that I really liked. This one was made by members of the Cedar Hill Quilters Guild (that I belong to) for the president of the guild when she got married. It's made of all batiks and is gorgeous!
I thought this was a darling baby quilt.
A lovely star quilt made of reproduction fabrics.
The colors didn't come out very good on this one, but it was amazing.
In the mean time, I have been putting my string blocks together...
And I made over 200 HSTs (half square triangles) for the flag quilt that I've been wanting to make (and another project). I can't let Theri put me to shame on the flag quilt. Hee Hee! I decided I HAD to go ahead with it and not wait. My sewing machine has been buzzing all week!

Try to keep cool!

SWAP BLOCKS, THRIFT SHOP & ANOTHER FINISH

While in Oregon, I went to a thrift shop and found this darling cross-stitched picture all finished for me - and I only paid 50 cents for it. I just need to either frame it or make it into a quilted wall hanging (I'll do this if I have some blue that will look good with it). That is my kind of deal!

I finished this stitchery just after we got home and DH framed it for me. The pattern is a freeby from Susan's blog. I changed it a little and colored in the bird, sheep's head and ears instead of using a satin stitch.
Today I'm sending 3 sets of blocks to my block swap partners.
Gotta get my salad ready for tonight's quilt guild salad supper. Try to keep cool!

QUILT SHOPS AND PROJECTS

Here are a couple projects that I worked on during our trip. This table runner is made from a charm pack and pattern (Scrappy Do) that I won in a giveaway that Lisa had on her blog. I sewed this up on our trip home while we were at RV parks.

These basket blocks are for my Mansfield Park (by Timeless Treasures) quilt that I'm making for my guest room. I hand appliqued the handles and then sewed the basket on. I showed my 2 practice blocks in an earlier post on March 22, 2010. I'm hoping to get this top put together before we leave again. Besides these two projects, I also worked on a couple stitcheries while we were gone.Here are my purchases from some of the quilt shops that I visited. First, from The Quilt Shack in Prineville, OR.
I bought these solids from Rosemary's Stash in Rexburg, ID. They were on sale and I will be using them for stitcheries and making dolls.
This store, Boersma's, is in McMinnville, OR (near DS's home) and I always visit it when I'm near it. It is a wonderful shop.
I found these fabric pieces for the I Spy baby quilts that I'm making from Boersma's scrap bin. I was able to cut a bunch of 6" squares and with what was left over I cut some 2 1/2" squares that I can use for either doll quilts or donation quilts.
The following items were purchased from The Quilted Hill, in Yamhill, OR - I posted about this shop a couple weeks ago. I am always looking for black on black and a lot of shops don't have any that I like, or they have black and white fabrics. And, of course, I can always use light contrast fabric as well.
Fabrics at quilt shops are more expensive out west - $10-$11 per yard. The only ones I bought were on sale - I sure didn't pay $10/yd!

Well, I better get busy. Amazingly, last night I started cleaning out my fabric closet - I don't know what got into me!

HOME AT LAST!

It is good to be home! It's always good to see that the house is still standing when you've been gone - hee hee! We were gone 5 weeks and 2 days!

This baby colt was at the RV park/ranch that we stayed at in Cheyenne, WY. The colt was born June 28, so she was only a couple days old. The mama is a miniature horse - maybe a pony. I'm not sure.

When we picked up our mail, look what was in it! More lovely blocks from the APQ block swap!! Thanks, everyone! They are all gorgeous!
I should have ironed these, but was too lazy. I love the coasters!
Wow! 2 magazines as well! Thanks, Mary!
The heat and humidity of Texas hit us hard when we arrived! I will post more later. I have pictures of projects I worked on while on the trip and purchases I made. I need to go for a walk before it gets any hotter.

YELLOWSTONE AND GRAND TETON NAT'L PARKS

We spent June 30 & July 1 at Yellowstone National Park. I'm not posting a lot of pictures because the pictures just don't do it justice.

We got to see Old Faithful erupt twice!
We crossed the continental divide several places.
Then we travelled south to Grand Teton National Park. We didn't spend much time there - we were just passing through and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
One of the highlights for me was getting to see these buffalo up close. They seemed to want to cross the road and a lot of cars stopped to take pictures. We also saw elk, fox and deer on our trip (also chipmunks).
Tomorrow we will be home! It will be good.

QUILT SHOW IN PRINEVILLE, OR

On Saturday, May 26, I went to a quilt show with my SIL. Below are some of the quilts that I liked the best. I'm sorry I don't have the information about who made them.

I loved this quilt. However, I can't figure out how the 4 corners of the 9-patch were made. Isn't it pretty?
This scrappy bear paw quilt with stars in each paw was another favorite.

The maker of this angel quilt won the blocks in a guild drawing!
Patriotic quilts are always a favorite, especially as we celebrate our independence today!
Interestingly, the town of Prineville, OR has 2 or 3 quilt guilds. My SIL plans to join one after she returns from a camping trip to Alaska. She has lots of fabric from her mother, who's quilts I blogged about last week, and she wants to use the fabric for her grandchildren as well as donation. We both signed up for a drawing from the local quilt shop, The Quilt Shack, and Glenda won it. Below is Glenda on the left receiving the basket from the quilt shop owner!
Here is the contents of the basket! Not a bad haul.
During our stay at the Terry Bison Ranch, I had some time to do a little sewing. I have finished almost all the hand sewing that I brought with me for the trip and I started stitching together a table runner that I brought along in case I needed something else to keep me busy! Good thing I brought it!

CAMPING IN OREGON & WYOMING

On Monday, June 28, we left my BIL's home headed for Yellowstone National Park. The truck started overheating, so we stopped in John Day, OR to get repairs done (which were accomplished in short order and wasn't too expensive). Since we were delayed some, we decided to find a place to camp in Oregon instead of continuing on to Idaho.

This is the place we stayed, near Unity, OR. Since it was a National Forest and we have a Golden Age Pass, we only had to pay $3.00. The fee is usually $6.00 because it doesn't have any electricity or water.

It was very quiet and scenic. Only one other camper came in. We spent a relaxing evening and went to bed early. No TV to watch w/o electricity.
Today, we are at a camp site near Cheyenne, WY called Terry Bison Ranch. We are on our way home to Texas. While we're not looking forward to the heat, we can't wait to get home! We've been gone over a month now. I will be posting more soon with pictures from Yellowstone, etc.