Teddy Patchwork

I finished quilting Teddy Patchwork last night and was able to sew the binding this morning. Since this is a donation quilt, I stitched the binding onto the back then pulled the binding to the front and machine stitched it down. The whole binding process takes about an hour or 1 1/2 hours to complete (if the binding is made ahead of time!). All that is left to finish is to hand sew the bias edge of the label and write the message. This quilt will be heading to Texas to my friend, Paula for her ASAP (Aid to School Age Parents) Christmas Quilt Drive. This will make four quilts for Paula's goal of 40 quilts by the end of November 2008.

Here is a close up of a Teddy Patchwork square and, of course, the Popcorn (I'd link you guys to Willow Leaf Studio but their website is down) quilting pantograph. Honest, I'll take Popcorn off the table and sew something else, soon! I promise!

LindaJ has generously added her Cher's 'Gym Floor ' to be donated to Paula. Thanks Linda! YOU ROCK :)

Also sent already is my 'Wonky Labor Day Challenge' hosted by JudyL. Thanks, again Judy for hosting this challenge and sharing your pattern.

The fourth quilt to be included is the Oconomowoc Guild Ugly Quilt Challenge quilt...in all it's 'ugly-ness'! Some little one will just love the kitties and doggies that are on this quilt, even if I don't love it :)

WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday was a Stash Enhancement Excursion! and I shopped the sale room...woohoo!

First up:

I added a few 1/2 yard cuts of orange to the green I already had brought in Dallas for Sarah's Birthday Quilt. I was thinking lime green but settled for this grass green as I thought it would be more versatile in the long run since I was buying a bolt. Sarah's birthday is in the beginning of January, so a little lead time here.

Second up:

Five 1 yard cuts of various reds. I wanted some variety for making the QOV pillowcases :)

Third up:

A few blues and greens to go-with the yellow-orange challenge fabric.

Any guesses, Pam?!

Fourth up:

A few novelties...how can I pass up my favorite type of fabric?

I also brought some backing fabric for two different quilts online that arrived today. Already stashed them in the bottom of the backing cupboard in the sewing room so no pictures of that! I promise when the fabric gets used on the back of the quilts to show you then, okay? so much for stashbusting...I'll tally it up and report on Sunday.

About a week or ten days ago, I volunteered to quilt one of Linda's donation quilts for her. She sent me a wonderful package full of surprises (Thank You!) including this quilt and the backing/binding fabric. The design is Cher's from a FAB cyber sew-in last June, affectionately named 'Cher's Gym Floor'. Cher and Linda worked together to create a pattern that the FAB's were able to sew from that day. You might enjoy peeking at the other quilt tops to see how each one is the same, yet different...Cher, Pam, Norma and mine.

I really like Linda's choice of colors! After all, green in The New Neutral, right?! LOL

Here are a few close-ups of the various animals in the fabric. I just LOVE the pink flamingo in the upper right corner :) I was thinking about using a 'new to me' panto but nothing seemed to fit with this happy quilt. The 'new' pantos are flowers, Santas, mittens, Angels, stars and Noah's animals...and pretty dense quilting. I used Popcorn by Willow Leaf Studio (their website is down or I would have linked you guys there), simply because it is a tad on the whimsical side and provides good coverage without causing the quilt to feel like a board once quilted.

Thanks Linda for letting me practice my quilting on one of your donation quilts :)

Goodies in the Mail

Every October, DH struggles with birthday gift ideas for me. This year, I asked if it was okay if I ordered a few 'things' off the web...he was very happy to let me choose my gifts and they have arrived! A little early (my birthday is the 17th) but that's more than okay with me! *VBG*

Here is what has arrived at the house:

From Cozy Quilts, two pattern books (Quick Cozy Couch Quilts and The Giving Quilt) and their striped pieced fish pattern, 1 Fish, 2 Fish. I am seriously considering attempting 'some sort of' fish quilt...

...and Bonnie Hunter's First Book! I ordered mine from her publisher, The Pickle Dish Store. If you would like a signed copy, you would need to order from Bonnie directly but since I 'don't do Paypal', I decided to order from the publisher. Plus, Bonnie is traveling to the greater Oconomowoc area in the beginning of November for a series of lectures and workshops (info here)! So I'll have her sign my copy when she is here! How cool is that?! I also order some quilt-y note cards...just because...really no good reason other than the note cards were an impulse buy. :)

Now the question is whether or not to wrap my gifts?!

Stash Busting Report Week #40

This past week was a much better week for me as I spent more time in the sewing room. My report follows:

• fabric received in: 0 yards
• fabric used: 3 yards
• net fabric for the week: - 3 yards (used)

Net fabric for the year: + 21.5 yards (added)

What I accomplished this week:

• pieced Teddy patchwork, made binding and backing
• made 2 QOV pillowcases

Goals for next week:

• quilt LJ's CGF quilt (can't miss it...lime green, yellow, hot pink, and purple to name a few colors in it *VBG*)
• load and quilt Teddy patchwork
• sew 'organic Packer' quilt to a flimsy

I'm keeping the goals a little light...see how my leg feels after I stand while quilting. I will then be better able to judge just how many goals to set for the upcoming weeks. :)

I made a pillowcase!

Truth be told, I was always a little afraid of making a pillowcase. It just wasn't 'my cup of tea'!

Imagine my surprise (or perhaps, dread!) when I received the e-mail saying that the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild will be collecting pillowcases filled with goodies for the soldiers overseas at the October meeting! A fellow member then sent an e-mail with instructions for a pillowcase but it left out the dimensions to cut the fabric. This lead me to surf the web and I found this pattern from the Quiltmaker Magazine. I was a little worried that the pillowcase might be too small as my fabric was only 40 inches wide. So I tried a 'standard' pillow...very roomy. So then I tried a 'queen' pillow...a little snug around the middle but still plenty long enough. The picture is with my queen pillow inside. I'm so happy that I did this! I will definitely make more of this style of pillowcase for the guild meeting and for Alycia's 'No Soldier Forgotten' Quilt Drive that I am making quilts to give. Here is Alycia's main blog link, as of this posting Alycia has collected 118 of 400 quits! WOW!

I enjoy trying new things and am always relieved when the new project works out :)

Inspired!

I am inspired by Lori at Dakota City Quilter, who manages to do about a bazillion things, all at once, I might add (or so it seems :)) to head back into the sewing room with the sore ankle/leg. I did move my ironing board closer (and lower!) to the sewing machine so that I don't have to stand up quite so often. It is the getting out of the chair that really strains my leg muscle!

Here are the fruits of my labor from the past few days. I completed the 4 patch Teddy patchwork to a flimsy and made the binding. I am happy to report that when this quilt is complete, the only green and yellow left will be a string of each and maybe, one leftover 4 patch. This quilt top is based on Bonnie Hunter's 'ISPY A 4- Patch', although I think my dimensions are a tad bigger as I have a box full of novelty fabric squares cut at 6.5 inches.

An Award!

Faith at Nutbud Quilter, awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger Award! Thanks Faith! It was sweet of you to remember me with this award!

Faith is an inspiration to me. Hop over to her blog and take a peek at the wonderful painting on fabric that she is creating! 'Witchy Poo' is totally awesome! Not only is she a great artist, Faith was recently diagnosed with MS and all that this illness brings along with it. Yet, Faith keeps progressing forward. :) Faith is currently collecting 10.5 inch unfinished log cabin or string blocks to sew into a raffle quilt. If you wish to help Faith with this project, hop on over to her blog to get the full information. I think you may have to scroll down a bit to find that Scratch (her dog!) post.

Now, once you receive this Award, you are suppose to pass it along to five other bloggers who have inpired you! Well, as you can see, my blog roll keeps growing by leaps and bounds! I don't feel comfortable naming just 5 inspirational bloggers (every blog I read and hop to inspires me in some way!). So if you are reading this and would like to be honored with this award...I nominate you! :)

Thanks Faith for this Kreativ Blogger Award!

A Halloween Welcome...

...from Bell Creek Quilts!

The banner at the front walk...

the ghost on the front door...

the pumpkin cans made by DS, DD, DH and myself...I thought black silk flowers and black candles would be a nice touch added...

another ghost in the family room...

the ceramic pumpkin created by my Mom...

another gift from Mom hangs by the washer/dryer...

the top of the curio cabinet...fabric scraps also make cute decorations...

a pre-quilting wall hanging...

a choice of coffee mugs...

and finally, the ghosts hanging in my kitchen! I wished I had labeled these guys...uneven, lumpy binding and all! The pattern is from McCall's Quick Quilts October/November 2003.

Happy October to All! :)

October 1st View

An early morning picture as the sun is rising over the thicket. At least, that is what we call the growth of trees and brush that separates the subdivision's commons property from the neighbors. I know winter is not far away as the trees have started to shed their leaves and thin. This grouping doesn't change into the explosive colors as other trees do. They just gradually loose the foilage until all that is left are the branches. With temperatures dipping to 40 F this morning, the potted plants will start to droop and fade away...