More Finishes! :o)

While Hubby has been gone on a business trip for the last three weeks, I have been keeping myself busy finishing up some things. Below are the leftover blocks from by Buzz Saw quilt. I was able to use up a "few" of my 1 1/2 inch scraps for the border and the intersecting block on the sashing. I made a nice table topper for my table. I love the "cornflower" blue and wish that I could have found more for the outer border, but, oh well.... I still like how it turned out in the end... Thank you Firth Quilt Group for the great swap! I love the fabrics that were chosen!

Here is the my block and month name for April. It turned out very "Springy" looking. The Electric Quilt company has a block of the month and instead of making a quilt, I am using the block to change out each month. Again... notice the smaller duplicate block at the end of "April". I am always wanting to do something miniature! :o)

Finishing up the UFO's and making NEW Stuff!

This has been a long time in coming! Since I have my wonderful Long Arm Quilting Machine, I have been able to really get some projects finished up and also some new ones done. Can you tell that I am loving my Long Arm? :o)

Below is what I have titled Sunlight and Shadows. These blocks were from a swap that we did in 2009. The criteria of the swap was this; the birthday person chose the block that they wanted made and included instructions on the colors that were to be used in the block. I chose this blcok because I loved the contrast of lights and darks. The blocks came from Australia, Denmark, Canada and states scattered across the US. I will cherish these friendships!

Below are a couple of samples of the quilting designs I used for the Sunlight and Shadows Quilt.

This is the tag I made to go on the back of the above quilt. I made 2 inch blocks as a replica of the larger 12 inch blocks on the quilt top. These were very tine pieces and all the seams do not match up exactly, but I loved making this label!!

The quilt below is entitled "Buzz Saw" This quilt was from a swap as well. Our quilt group in Firth, ID exchanged 9 inch half square triangles with an 8 x 2 inch strip of the same fabric. The colors were all country colors with a cream/tan background. The half square triangle blocks were then cut into 2 inch strips; then sewn back together. I loved Terry Anderson's idea of the buzz saw block extending out into the border. I used my scraps to complete the outer border. of the quilt. Thank you ladies for a FUN, FUN swap!!!

Below are some close up samples of the quilting I used in the Buzz Saw Quilt.

Again I made a miniature block of the Buzz Saw block for the tag on the back. I did not, however, use a half square triangle. I cut and sewed each angled piece and put them together to form the buzz saw. It was very interesting to say the least! :o)

In my Electric Quilt Newsletter this month this Calendar Keeper pattern was there. Also Andrea Bishop gave a challenge for a block of the month. I thought how fun it would be to combine the 2. The large block is the challenge for January. If you will notice, I made a miniature of the larger block at the bottom of the "March" hanging. My goal is to make a block and the month name for each month of the year. As you can see, I am working ahead, not behind! LOL

This is my very first large quilt done on my long arm. It is from Bonnie Hunter's "Quiltville" website. The quilt is entitled Scrapy Happy Houses. The scraps I used were all novelty prints. It was a great way to use these prints. This was a fun quilt to make and now it is keeping us warm during this cold New Mexico winter!!
The San Juan Quilt Guild invited me to teach a class on the Spider Web Quilt block. I had used this method to make a table topper. It is posted in one of my previous posts. I wanted to show how different this block could look. Below. I chose a focus fabric and then grabbed scraps from my scrap bucket that coordinated with my focus fabric. I loved how this pillow turned out! I especially love working with the scraps that I already have. (BTW... my class got canceled due to a snow storm! I will reschedule.... :o)

Below is another sample of using the Spiderweb pattern. This time I controlled the width of my strips. and put the circle in the center instead of the star. This will be a nice 4th of July topper for my table. The Spiderweb block is so versatile. And.... another fun way to use up scraps.

I hope you have enjoyed this post! Be sure and leave a comment. I love hearing from you!!

The New Year and catching up!!

First and foremost.... Look what I got for Christmas!!! My dream came true on December 24th. Roger took me out to our "Hobby Shop" and there it was all set up for me. While we were gone to Midland, Texas. He had given the keys to the Bernina shop here in Farmington and they came and set this up. I have done a couple of table toppers on it and now this bigger quilt. I am not a pro yet, but getting the hang of Long Arm quilting!! What a shocking surprise!! Thank you so much my dear, sweet Roger!!

This is a quilt that I made for our granddaughter Tyghelyn. She can cuddle up in it or play paper dolls. Hope you have fun, Tyghelyn!!
Here is the quilt for Hunter. As you might guess, he is a Steeler's fan. I quilted this on my machine before I had my long arm. It was a work of love for Hunter!!
These are the blocks that I received for my birthday from my Idaho quilt group. I finished the top some time ago and couldn't decide on the border. I love how the border turned out. This is the FIRST project done on my Long Arm Quilter.
Our neighbor next door had purchased a guitar from Goodwill for his grandson. He refinished it and needed a guitar case for it. This is the guitar case; front and back. I made it from Denim fabric and lined it with flannel. I also made a picket for his instruction book and tuner. A fun project!

This is the table topper I put together while at our Fall retreat. I was a little concerned about the flying geese blocks, because of the bias cut, they drew in. I was pleased to find that after quilting it on my long arm, it turned out great!!

Missing YOU!

While in Idaho in October, I went with my daughter, Talia and my grandkids, Hunter Hailey and Tyghelyn to shop for pumpkins. Here are a couple of shots at the pumpkin patch.

Oh how I miss them!!

Finally - My Sewing Space!

FINALLY!! We moved into our "room" the day before Thanksgiving! It has been a LONG process. Here are some before and after pictures. This is how our storage room looked before.

And here is the "AFTER".... Pegboard to hang my stuff on is a great asset!

This is Roger's unfinished space. I have to admit that mine is a lot bigger!! He is so generous!

Here is his finished space. He gave himself 2 windows. I got one! LOL!! He deserves at least 2 windows.. :o)

Here is a corner of my sewing space. I have a TON of floor space. A lot of room for a LONG ARM!! :o) A girl can wish, right?

I have turned the walls into a gallery of sorts to hang my quilts and admire them. They bring back lots of good memories!

This is the closeup of my Quilt Diva! She was a lot of fun to make. I am still searching for a zipper pull for her rolling bag. I just haven't come up with the perfect thing yet.... I love the pin cushion on her arm and her beads made from spools. Her earrings are even swaying. I didn't intend for them to be crooked, but I like them this way!! She thinks she is all that and a bag of chips!

Fall Quilt Retreat

October 13 - 16 was our 3rd quilt retreat. Dana was so gracious to let us use her cabin, again!! Since we moved to New Mexico, I was very anxious to get to Idaho and start having SEW much fun!! I arrived in Idaho on Sunday and had to wait clear until Wednesday to get to our retreat. I kept my time filled with Grandkids, visiting my quilting buddy, Ilene. I even got to go to our Idaho quilt group!!

When we arrived at Dana's cabin, a truck with 2 guys pulled up and asked us if we were having a "girls" weekend. Excitedly we said , "YES"! Then they proceeded to tell us that they were having a "guys" weekend in a cabin down the road! YIKES!! BOLT THE DOORS!!! Then when we went on a walk one day, a guy was standing at his cabin and commented on the nice day that it was. We agreed, because it WAS very beautiful!! Then he said, "Do you want to go out?" There were 4 of us walking. I'm not sure which one he wanted to go out with. (Probably, Ilene... :o) )

Well, here are all 7 of us. From top left to right is : Jill, Debbie, Mary, and Ann. From bottom left to right is Me (Susan), Ilene and Dana.

We had SEW much fun. We talked, sewed, ate, sewed, shared, and sewed some more! We shared a lot and got a lot of projects done. I will try to remember some of the things that we completed. I need to take MORE pictures. I was in such awe of all that was accomplished that I simply forgot to get my camera out, except for a few. I will try to do better next time! I would love it if everyone would take pictures of their projects and email them to me. I really want to add every picture that I can to remember this fun time!!

I will start alphabetically and try to remember what everyone did.

Ann: Ann completed her corn row for our Bountiful Harvest quilt. It was my fault she didn't finish sooner because of a pattern error. Then, she made the cutest bag for her daughter. Then she started on some skirts for her daughters. The fabric was AWESOME!! Lucky, Lucky Daughters!!

Dana: Dana, as usual, had her sewing machine going a mile a minute. She had a project to complete for Wood Badge. The project she chose was to make a quilt with the different US flags in it. She put a description under each flag and then set it together with big stars. The quilt and Dana are below. This will look so wonderful hanging in her home or cabin. Then she made the cutest scripture bag. Then of course.... Dana made aprons for Christmas. I'm sure there is something I forgot!

Debbie: Debbie was a WHIR of activity. I can't believe all that she did! She is doing the 12 days of Christmas for her family this year. What a lucky family!! She was working on costumes to portray the Nativity. Then she was making Christmas stockings for each family. She also showed finished table runners that she started last retreat. I am sure that I am forgetting something!

Ilene: Ilene got into her "use it up" mode. If you look closely at the apron she is wearing, you will see that it is made from a table cloth! She made 2 aprons from tablecloths and started making a bag from a table cloth as well. She also put together a purple, black and white quilt for her granddaughter. Isn't that apron just the CUTEST!!!

Mary: Mary finished up a bag she had started for her daughter. The colors were absolutely beautiful. She made it using a charm pack. I'm thinking her daughter will be ecstatic! Then, she made the cutest quilt top for a baby boy. Again.... I wish I had pictures of everything. (I am kicking myself right now!)

Susan: I made a pumpkin/flying geese table topper that I saw in a magazine. I also had blocks from a birthday swap that I put together. Both of these still need borders. I just need to figure out just the right borders for both. Then, I embroidered on our Bountiful Harvest quilt blocks. Pictures will follow when I get these completed... :0)

This is our bountiful harvest quilt. I LOVE IT!!! Each section was made by a different person. I had to come right home and finish it! It fit together perfectly!! All of the sayings are hand embroidered. This quilt will be cherished forever!!!

The food was like eating gormet every day! It was like Christmas EVERY day. Little things kept popping up by my sewing machine or on my pillow when I went to bed at night. I LOVE my sewing sisters!! SEW many memories of GREAT times!! We have already planned the next retreat for April. Debbie says it will be in Provo!! WOO HOO!!!!!!

Garden Lady

I just finished this wall quilt on Saturday the 3rd of September. I have been hand quilting it since before we moved here. I finished everything but the outer border and decided I had had enough! I took it to my sewing machine and quilted the outer border using the free motion method.

I really love how she turned out. It was a lot of paper piecing and applique, but she is done! Doesn't she look lovely in her garden?