Current projects

I've been very lax at adding to my blog. I've been busy working on the baby quilt for our newest "on the way" addition to our family. I have the blocks ready to put together. Below is a small section. I think it will turn out really cute and plan to hand quilt it as I really enjoy hand work.
In fact, I really need to have hand work available at all times. So I picked up these grandmother's flower garden blocks that I had started about five years ago. I decided to work on finishing a lap quilt out of them. I'm enjoying the task more than I thought I would!
I have been checking a lot of quilting blogs and Bonnie Hunter's web site has a lot of really good ideas. I have started sewing some 2 1/2" squares together as beginning and endings so I can keep my chain quilting going. It is so neat! I've got a little stack of them already.

2008 challenge

Before I get to the 2008 challenge, I am including a picture of me working on my granddaughter's quilt.  I'm almost finished!!!

Monday night I went to my quilt guild meeting - the first one of the new year.  We have all new officers now (I'm not one of them this time - Woo Hoo!).  Our new president gave us a challenge.  The picture below has a paint chip card with three shades of blue that I will need to incorporate in the item that I will make.  Everyone got a different color card.  With it are some of the latest fabrics that I have bought and one of them has the two darker colors in it!  That was lucky because I bought that piece before I got the challenge!  I don't have any idea yet what I will do.  It has to be at least 25" x 25".  Any suggestions?  I don't really have any plans for the other fabric, although I am thinking about making a double nine patch quilt with light colored fabrics and a variety of colors for the small nine patches.
This is a shelf of little treasures that I have hanging in my sewing room.  Do you like the little chickens?  Whenever I see these at a cheap price, I buy them.  My grandma gave me one when I was a girl (it is in my china cabinet).

I better get back to working on the quilt!

Granddaughter's quilt

I have been spending most of my spare time this week working on my granddaughter's quilt.  She wanted it tyed instead of quilted the regular way.  In one of my quilting books it showed a way of doing it where you make an "X" and then with a long doll needle pass the thread between the layers to the next location, so that is what we are doing.  She and I worked on it at first, then they left to return home to Oregon and there was still at least 3/4 of the quilt left to do.  This takes longer than I thought it would and it isn't very much fun, but I am almost finished with the tying.  Tomorrow night I will take it to my quilters guild meeting for show and tell.  I am very proud that my GD wanted to do it (it was her idea all along) and that she designed it herself.  I'll post another picture of it before we send it off.

In the mean time, I will finish embroidering the pictures for the baby quilt today and I will start on that quilt as my next project.  My DS and DIL (the expectant parents) will be returning back here where my son will attend a job fair at the airport (he's a pilot in the Air Force now, but will be getting out later this year).  I might also put a large quilt for them in the pipeline because when they got married I hadn't made a large quilt yet and only made a lap quilt/wall hanging 60x60.  

I ordered the book Simple Gifts to Stitch so I can participate in Finny & Donk's Sewing Adventure.  See finnyknits.blogspot.com.  It looks like it might be a good way to get a head start on Christmas gifts!  We'll see how it goes.

A Wonderful Christmas is past

We had almost our whole family here for Christmas and on Christmas Eve, when our youngest son and DIL arrived, we were surprised to find out that they were 20 weeks pregnant (after two years of trying, including 2 miscarriages).  They found out that it is a boy!  Luckily, I had begun some stitchery for a baby quilt called Toyland.  Designed by Cindy Taylor Oates as a redwork quilt.  However, I had done some redwork for another quilt she designed and decided last Sept. to do a blue one.  I had set the stitchery aside before Christmas to work on other projects, so now I got it out!

My DGD (age 15) said she wanted to make a quilt for her bed because the one I had made several years ago was getting worn out (and was really for a younger child anyway).  She designed it and picked out the fabric.  We worked on it together and she would not let me rest!  She was determined to get it done.  This picture shows it right after we had pinned the quilt sandwich together.  We did get started with tying it (which is what she wanted) and I will finish the tying and binding this week.  Next Monday I will take it to my quilting guild and then we can send it to her.
Look at the neat gift I received from my other DIL's sister!  She knitted the chicken potholder (which can double as a hat - he he)!  I also got some FQs and some note cards that she made.  She designs knitting patterns!  You can check out her blog at 2 stix in the woods which is in my links list.
Happy New Year, everyone!