Jean's Quilting Page

Our baby is growing!

2012-01-27T07:00:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how much Conrad has grown the last few months. I wish I would've taken a pic like this when I first got him, though Smokey probably wouldn't have eaten that close to him in the beginning. Now they spend a part of each day wrestling....with her growling and him leaping. It is pretty funny to watch, though sometimes she seems pretty serious about teaching him a lesson. He has so much energy and many times can't sit still. But he also likes to cuddle, and is very lovable. He is eyeing Smokey right now...she is sleeping peacefully. I had better grab him before he decides to pounce!

Back to the Tumbling Blocks

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001-06:00

I spent a lot of time over the weekend working on the Tumbling Blocks quilt because I am anxious to get it finished. I hadn't worked on it since I posted about it a few weeks ago. I like to sew rows in pairs, then sew the pairs together. That works well for this quilt, with its many long skinny rows. Here are 9 rows sewn into pairs.

The section on the right is the pairs sewn together. The section on the left is the one I completed earlier. Sewing these together is time consuming since there are lots of seams to pin but it is definitely worth it.

Now I have one large section!

We twisted the day away...

2012-01-24T07:00:00.003-06:00

last Saturday. The Twister quilt is so much fun, more so when you get a group of ladies together doing it!

Lots of pretty colors...I hung extra design walls so that everyone could use them to figure out how they wanted to lay out their squares.

One lady is making hers using 5" squares and the smaller size ruler.

She is making a baby quilt.

You can see they are working hard to get the squares put together.

Next Saturday they will cut with the Twister ruler and we will see some gorgeous pinwheels form!

I can't wait!

Floor pillow

2012-01-17T07:00:00.007-06:00

I spent most of Sunday working on this pillow. I have it loosely stuffed since it will have to hang on display before I teach the class. It will be much cuter stuffed fuller. In fact I wanted to stuff it fuller, just to see, but then I would have to unstuff it. So I didn't.

I was off yesterday, so I spent the morning doing class paperwork (yea, not too exciting, but had to be done), went to the store and got a haircut. I want to get back to sewing the Tumbler Quilt, so hopefully tonight I can do that.

Another new great nephew and Peekaboo Rag quilting time again!

2012-01-16T09:14:00.000-06:00

My niece had her baby Wednesday....she named him Jensen. Isn't he just the cutest baby ever? Now if you think this sounds familiar...like I might have said the same thing in Nov. when my other great nephew was born....then I am here to tell you that even though it seems nearly impossible, our family seems to have gotten 2 of the cutest babies ever born! I'm not sure what the odds are there, but it happened! I think he was posing for this pic!

His cousin, Emerson, came to visit.....guess we know he is growing by leaps and bounds. He is about 6 weeks old now. I think there will be lots of fun times in store for these boys as they grow up together. I have one more niece who is due in May...she just found out she is having a boy as well!

I had a full class peekaboo rag quilting again on Saturday. They had their fabric all cut, so we could start in with the sewing, so everyone made good progress.

Everyone had chosen such pretty fabrics!

They all promised me that they would stop in so I could see them finished, or send me pix.

The other 4 ladies were playing bashful, so I didn't get their pictures. It was a fun class and everyone got lots accomplished, which is always nice! I will probably be teaching this class one more time, as I have some people on a waiting list. So if you are interested in taking this class, let me know.

I am off today, so plan on getting some more sewing done. I worked on a floor pillow for class yesterday...will post more about that when I get some good pix.

Progress on Tumbling Blocks

2012-01-10T07:01:00.000-06:00

I sewed on 3 different projects on Sunday and the Tumbling Blocks was one of them. I debated sewing together more row pairs, but ended up sewing together the 4 pairs from the day before. If I needed inspiration to keep going, this was it.

I sometimes use my wallhanging in the kitchen as a design wall when sewing rows. I made more of the blue blocks since I know I want a whole row of them. Then I have to get the rest figured out. Back to the design wall!

You really wanted to see another kitty picture, right? I need to take one of Conrad moving around...he has gotten so big!

Sewtastic weekend!

2012-01-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

Here is the Round Robin that is mine to "add to" this month. I wanted to keep to the sewing theme, but couldn't come up with anything related in fabrics. Then I thought about making some spool blocks to go around the edges, but decided on log cabin blocks instead. I have been collecting selvages for a few years so thought it would be a fun addition to her quilt.

The quilt was about 30.5". I could've made 5" or 6" finished blocks to fit that size, but thought they might look too big. I added a black border to make it 32.5" and made 16, 4" finished blocks so I could add them to the top and bottom. I thought it might be too much to add them to all 4 sides.

I wasn't sure which way to turn them...

but finally decided on this setting. I hope she likes it.

We meet on Thursday to swap for the last time. We decided it would be fun to see them each time so we get to appreciate each addition. Here , and here are the ones I have added to...here is mine.
In other quilty news....

I really wanted an asterisk on my quilty sign, but I thought the ones I made were too big. I had a brainstorm...my sign needed an exclamation point and I could use an asterisk for the period...isn't it cute?

I think it will be just right! I added it to the end of the second row. I think that it's ready to finish.

I also sewed the 4 pairs of Tumbling Blocks together yesterday. I will get a picture and share later. I want to get a few pairs sewn together each night this week so I can get it finished.

Happy Monday!

Tumbling Blocks progress

2012-01-08T09:30:00.001-06:00

I sewed with friends on Tuesday and my first order of business was to get the Tumbling Blocks pieces on the design wall. Originally I planned to just mix the colors up, but after laying out several of the color sets as I cut, I decided I liked the waving rows better. The pattern I am using calls for 11 vertical rows of blocks for the twin, but I decided I wanted it a little wider, so plan to do 13 rows. I have 9 different color groups, so I will need to make more blocks of certain colors. I want to finish out the blue row on the right, that will make 11 rows, then not sure what else. There will be partial rows on the ends and I haven't decided for sure how to do them. This shows clusters of colors on the left side. I am going to fill in around the edges with black.

I did a little cleaning yesterday, and then spent the rest of the day sewing. I had gotten most of the vertical rows sewn into long strips Tuesday and Wednesday, so after pressing them, I started to sew them into pairs. With a lot of pinning, I have 4 pairs finished.

Then I had to put it away and work on something else! Hope to get back to it today.

I have my next round robin project to finish this weekend too, as we meet on Thursday. The one I am working on this month has a sewing theme, so I thought a selvage log cabin block might go well. More on that later!

Conrad was helping me with the selvages...yes that tub really is all selvages.

Smokey just napped.

Spell it out!

2012-01-06T19:42:00.001-06:00

Sandie at Crazy bout Quilts figured out what my letters spelled. A small prize will find it's way to her soon. I have been working on getting it put together. It is in 2 rows now. I was playing around at using an asterisk or two, but they just don''t work...will have to use them somewhere else.

I worked on the Tumbling Blocks quilt Tuesday and Wednesday, sewing the pieces into rows....now have a lot of pressing to do so I can start sewing the rows together.

Conrad is growing more and more each day and getting more mischievous.

Love those letters!

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-06:00

All phrases need a few N's, don't you think?

And a lovely orange H?

This R is much prettier in real life, coloring is not very good here.

I don't like this N as well as the first one, but it'll do.

An old fashioned A....

And a green S to finish off with....any ideas on what my sign says? Remember, there is a little prize for the first one who gets it....you can go back here, here, here and here to see the other letters.

Back in the swing of things...

2012-01-02T16:23:00.000-06:00

I have been doing a lot of fun things during my winter break from school....quilt shop hopping, family get-togethers, teaching class, sewing with friends and planning our next quilt retreat. I have also been working on getting the Tumbling Blocks quilt cut out. I am using the book ABC 3-D Tumbling Blocks and More by Marci Baker. I have wanted to make this quilt for a long time. She has figured out a way to make tumbling blocks without set in seams. Her pattern calls for 7 ( I used 9) combinations of light, medium and dark fabrics, which you strip piece, then cut them (which seemed to take a long time, though I didn't do it all at once) into 1/2 hexagons. I am really excited to start sewing this one together, hopefully tomorrow (I am sewing with friends).

It will probably take awhile to figure out the layout. I didn't think I wanted rows, so I was just going to do a random type placement, but I have been playing with them as I cut them and I think I will do something similiar to this. I need to get them on a design wall....and play!

Conrad is growing like crazy...he is getting big and loves to instigate wrestling matches with Smokey....he is a bit naughty!

A box in a sunny window is just the perfect place to curl up and nap, isn't it?

I also worked on my letter sign, but haven't taken the pictures of it. I got the letters all finished, now to get it together. I will take some pix and post later about it....there is a pretty good chance you will figure out what it says now.

I am off until Thursday...

Holiday fun!

2011-12-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

My sister has been here visiting from Canada the past week, so while she was at my house she worked on her quilt she started last Christmas while she was home. Here is her first complete block!

I have wanted to redo my mouse pad for ages, so did that the other day using some wonderunder and fabric.

Doesn't it look great?

Friends at last...

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

Conrad is growing like a weed, though he still looks tiny next to Smokey. He is15 weeks old now. They are friends most of the time. He likes to play and runs up to her ready to wrestle. Sometimes she is in the mood and sometimes she isn't. She doesn't always want him by her, but tonight she curled up in the chair with him.

His fur isn't really black now, it is more of a dark charcoal. He's so dark that it is hard to get a good pic of him. I'm really glad that I got him!

Quilting day in Earling, birthday party and baby shower!

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

I went to my hometown last weekend for my mom's birthday, so we decided to have a sewing day too. My mom and sister had sewn their squares together for Twister quilts, sowe got busy and cut them with the Twister ruler and they proceeded to sew them together.

They both have gotten them sewn together since I took these pix, and are trying out borders.

My mom with her newest great-grandson.

My niece's baby shower was the next day....she loved her baby twister quilt. She especially loved the little twisters around 2 sides. They really do add to the fun!

I have all my shopping finished and have been cleaning to get ready for my sister's arrival from Canada tomorrow night. She will stay with us for a couple days and then up to my hometown. I have to work until Thursday, then 2 weeks off! I can't wait!

Beginning Quilting and Rag quilting

2011-12-07T07:00:00.017-06:00

The ladies in the Beginning Quilting class are almost finished with their quilts. It is so much fun to see them develop.

They layered and tied them last week. This Thursday they will learn to make binding and attach it.

Then they will have their first finished quilt!

They all turned out so beautiful!

I didn't get very many pictures during the Peekaboo Rag Quilt class....darn!

A new family member

2011-12-06T07:00:00.026-06:00

You might remember this quilt from earlier posts, but doesn't it look so much nicer with my new great nephew Emerson on it? We realized something at the hospital after he was born last week... he is the cutest baby we have ever seen. It has to be true, we all noticed it.
He and mom are doing just fine!

I have 2 more nieces who are pregnant. One is due in January. She is also having a boy. The other one is due in May....they don't know the sex of her baby yet. Makes for an exciting year for our family!

Love the Twister

2011-11-30T07:00:00.016-06:00

I have been working on this Twister quilt for the past few weeks. The quilting is completed now and I am ready to bind. Maybe tonight.

When you make this quilt, you have squares left over in between your cuts that are approximately 4.5" - 5" so I squared them up to 4.5", sewed them together and then used the little ruler I adapted to make the mini Twister last summer to cut a small twister border.

I was trying to get a good pic of the little twister border, but it doesn't show up that well here. They would show up better with a bit more contrast in the background fabric, but I wanted to use the same as I used in the quilt so they would float. You will just have to take my word for it, they are really cute!

The quilting panto is called Oriental Illusions. I like it because it is a nice allover design. It reminds me of the tops of palm trees, or maybe even claws. I used a variegated gold/green thread. I am going to bind it with the same fabric as the back.

A few more letters and I can't resist those asterisks!

2011-11-29T07:10:00.000-06:00

I would have to say that lower case Ls are pretty easy to make! The J was easy too.

Love those asterisks...not even sure I will use them in this project, but felt like making some. I have been quilting the Twister quilt. It is going quickly.

Long weekend...

2011-11-26T14:44:00.001-06:00

I love long weekends! Especially when we have a holiday mixed in. I traveled to my hometown with my daughters to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. It was a great day and it really helped that the weather was nice for everyone who traveled.

I don't really want anything bad enough to get up in the middle of the night to shop the Black Friday sales, but I always meet my sister who does, mid-morning. I shopped with her and her family for awhile, ate lunch with them, then met my other 2 sisters to shop the rest of the afternoon. It was a fun day!

I am even getting some sewing in this weekend. Made 4 letter Es for my next project. I tried to use the circular pattern in the orange dots to help make that E look rounded, even though it isn't. Remember, the first person who guesses the phrase I am making wins something squishy and fun! At the rate I am going this may take a while!

The new Twister center is finished, and I decided to use up the leftover squares in a twister border. I am just putting it on 2 sides of the quilt. It is already about 55", so I don't want it to get too big. Plus that uses up the squares.

We have already had Conrad 2 weeks. You can probably tell he has grown and fattened up a bit. He spends much of his time racing around and then resting up to race around some more. He is still cuddly. He wants to eat Smokey's food, not his. I gave him a divided dish with both foods in it, so he wouldn't eat out of her dish. But he does it anyway.

He is really grayish under the longer black hair, so it will be interesting to see what color he ends up.

Of course he loves to quilt!

A new Twister quilt

2011-11-22T07:00:00.006-06:00

I think I mentioned that I started a new Twister quilt the other day....here it is with the squares all sewn together. The twister blocks are all cut and sewn into rows now. If I could've mustered up some ambition last night, I would've sewn the rows together, but it didn't happen. Wednesday, I'll do it Wednesday!

I will be spending Thanksgiving with my family in my hometown this year. It's large family and most of them will be there. I have a niece who is due to have her baby any day now, so that might be happening on Thanksgiving, too!

A cutie pie for sure!

2011-11-21T07:00:00.027-06:00

It was a crazy busy week, probably not the best week to have a new kitty. But things are going well with him. Smokey is still hissing a bit, but she is getting used to him. I had been keeping him in a spare room when I'm not home and at night, but last night I left his door open, so he could go back and forth. I plan on doing that tonight too.

He found a comfy spot to curl up in...Smokey doesn't seem too worried at this point. He really is a good natured cat and very lovable!

Lots of ladies did lots of sewing Saturday during the UFO Saturday class. It was fun! I worked on the baby Twister quilt today. I have the twister blocks cut and sewn into rows. I was going to sew a bit more, but Conrad wanted to cuddle, so I couldn't.

Only two days of work this week, a sampler class on Tuesday night and then a loooooooooooooong weekend. Can't wait!

A finish!

2011-11-17T07:00:00.036-06:00

I finished quilting the baby Puzzle quilt on Sunday and bound it with the same green polka dot fabric that I used in the border. (I took this pic right after I took it off the quilting machine, so it isn't bound in these pictures.) I made one of the puzzle pieces black to look like a piece was missing.

A little closer and turned a different way. This one measures about 55" x 55".

I used a blue polka dot fabric on the back, with the "missing piece".

I started another baby quilt Sunday...this one is going to be a twister quilt.

It's a baby boy!

2011-11-16T07:00:00.002-06:00

Kitty, that is.....meet Conrad!

I have been thinking about getting a new kitty for awhile now. So the other night my daughter and I went to Petsmart ...just to look...the local humane societies have some of their cats there for adoption. He was so snuggly and lovable, I just had to adopt him.

You can see he seems to enjoy quilting!

Plenty of things to play with. He moves so fast, a lot of the pictures are a blur.

Tuckered out, time for a snooze.

I have had a hard time getting a good pic of him since he is so dark. He is black with a little white under his chin and the tip of his tail is white.

My other cat, Smokey, isn't totally happy about this...but they spent last evening in the same room without too much hissing, so there's hope.

Peekaboo Rag quilt class

2011-11-13T09:31:00.000-06:00

I had a full classroom for yesterday's Peekaboo Rag Quilt class. I had given them a cutting sheet, along with the supply sheet so they could cut ahead if they wanted to. For this quilt, that works well, since the cutting is simple. That way they can spend most of the class time sewing.

This rag quilt has peekaboo Xs made by using a chenille technique, so that was something new to learn. Sometimes sewing straight lines is the hardest! My Peekaboo model is hanging on the wall (left side) on the
above picture.

They were very enthusiastic about jumping in and sewing.

It was a first quilt for one lady!

There was lots of friendly chatter....and snacks of course!

The time seemed to fly by!

What could be more fun on a Saturday afternoon than working with layers and layers of flannel?

This beats Saturday football any day in my book!

National Corduroy Day!

2011-11-11T07:43:00.000-06:00

As it is National Corduroy Day, many quilters are sharing their quilts made with corduroy. You can see some here. I didn't get in on this show, as I only found out about it this morning, but thought I would share pix of my corduroy quilt too.

I made this several years ago. I loved the texture of the corduroys, there are so many pretty prints as well as different wales. I only used solid corduroy in this one.

I made scrappy 9 patches to go in between, thinking that it would help with bulkiness in the corners as well as look really nice and homey.

I tied it and put old buttons on the corduroy squares.

I used a soft flannel for the back and a scrappy binding to finish it. This is still one of my favorite quilts. I take it to my beginning quilting classes sometimes to show them a simple but beautiful way to quilt!

More letters...and a contest!

2011-11-10T07:00:00.029-06:00

I worked on some more letters the other night....I like this q a lot...

not as sure about this one. I thought I would love the curves, but not so sure now.

This time I am making a phrase, so it is easier because I am making multiples of the letters as I go, so if I need 2 of the letter u, I make them both.

Here are a couple more letter i s. The first ones I made are here.

I love the lower case i, so fast and easy and chunky and cute!

I think it would be fun to run a little contest along with making these letters, so the first person who guesses the phrase correctly, wins something squishy and fun!

A squishie in the mail!!!!

2011-11-09T07:00:00.010-06:00

And it came all the way from Australia! I was so excited to win the giveaway at Cherry Red Quilter a week or so ago. Jan had made this cute lunchbag and stuffed it full of goodies. I couldn't wait to open it up and see what was inside.

I pulled out the chocolate first.... guess quilters on all continents need some handy!

Then some gorgeous fabrics...notice the kangaroos on the orange fabric. I love these prints!

Potholders to match the bag....

and a cute personal size kleenex cover.

Can you believe her generosity? Thanks Jan...I love it all!

More on the round robin and a few letters...

2011-11-08T07:00:00.003-06:00

You might remember when I paper pieced my block for the medallion round robin. Then the first go round, I added a border to Jo's block.

This time I got Cindy's Christmas Star block. Jo had added the cool ribbon border, but when I got it, I was stumped. I tried a border on 2 sides, with appliqued holly and berries, but it looked terrible, so I took it off.

I really thought it needed a border of some kind at this point, but wasn't sure what to do. We had decided not to send fabric with the block, so everyone could be more creative. I knew I wanted to bring out the dark green, but had a hard time coming up with just the right one.

This is what I came up with. I hope she likes it. I know that usually people don't see them until they are finished, but we decided to show and tell each time we exchanged and it was fun! I'm taking my camera next time. ( Rose had put a piano key border on mine! Can't wait to see it now.)

I started a new letter project Sunday night...this is it so far. I wanted to try making lower case letters this time. I have lots of fun florals so decided on a black background. This project will be a phrase, not the whole alphabet.

Saturday's Christmas runner class went well. Dianne got her top finished...the rest of the ladies promised me they would bring them back for a pic when finished.

Sunday stuff...

2011-11-07T07:00:00.033-06:00

I spent Sunday on lots of different projects. Cleaning and laundry being first on the list....though not my favorite! Then I pieced the back together for the baby puzzle quilt. I put a surprise on the back, but forgot to take a pic, so you will see it when I finish quilting it.

I am using a blue flannel with large blue polka dots for the back of this quilt, and quilting it with the Asian Clouds pantograph. I like the circular motion of this panto.

I always loosen up the quilt when I am stopping for the day, so it can relax. Plus I can see how the quilting is looking!

I made the binding, using the same fabric as the small border. I love polka dots!

I finished my part on a round robin and started a new letter project, too... more on those tomorrow.

Puzzle quilt, baby style...

2011-11-01T07:00:00.003-05:00

I took the baby puzzle quilt outside to get a better picture. I added a narrow green polka-dot border to it after I took this picture. It is ready to quilt!

A puzzle, a show and tell...and I'm a winner!

2011-10-31T07:00:00.032-05:00

I worked on the baby puzzle quilt yesterday...it is almost finished. I am doing the edge of this one a little differently than I did the first one I made. I hope to finish it tonight AND get a better picture. Then to get a nice warm flannel for the back. I love to put flannel on the back of baby quilts...makes them so warm and snugly.

Eileen brought her finished Twister top with her Saturday. So many pretty batiks, they really shine.

I was excited to find out that I have won a "mystery bag of goodies" at Cherry Red Quilter....I can't wait to get it and see what's in that gorgeous bag!

Stringpiecing Workshop

2011-10-30T10:35:00.000-05:00

We had a great day yesterday during the Stringpiecing Workshop. I don't think there is anything more fun than using up some of the leftover fabrics from previous projects.

Guilt-free quilting for sure!

No big fabric purchases for this one!

So you really feel good about yourself making this quilt!

Everyone came with their strips all nicely packaged in tubs and bags.

But you can see that by the end of the day, the strings seemed to be multiplying...all over the table!

Stringpiecing is so relaxing, no matching, no worrying, just sew, sew, sew...Everyone got lots done!

We had a full house....the classroom I use isn't all that big, so we arrange things the best way we can!

Makes for some cozy sewing and lots of great conversation!

This is just one type of stringpiecing. There are many more, including one I demonstrate in a tutorial you will find along the right side of my blog.

You can use any size of strings, so the more the merrier!

One student had to leave early, so I didn't get pix of her and her blocks.

This is what it looks like at my house when I stringpiece!

Stringpiecing is great on so many levels, but I think one of the best things about it is that any level of quilter can stringpiece! It is great to do when you feel like sewing, but don't want to think too much, or have to be so careful. I have taught other stringpiecing classes, including the Spiderweb Stringpiecing, and Corner the Stringpiecing Market, but love this basic block!

Sampler class show and tell and other tidbits...

2011-10-28T07:00:00.013-05:00

I don't often get pictures of the sampler blocks as they make them because we work on one or two each month. The other night during class, three of the ladies put their finished blocks for the Spiraling Out Sampler Quilt up on the design wall.

So pretty and different in the different colorways.

I got a lot done on the baby puzzle quilt Wed. night. I have five rows sewn together now. It is going to be very busy with all the bright and boyish prints, so this baby will be very stimulated! I will get a picture of it tomorrow.

Last night was the first time I met with the new Beginning Quilting class. I can tell these ladies are going to be enthusiastic quilters! I will keep you posted with their progress.

More show and tell...

2011-10-27T07:08:00.000-05:00

Two more finished Twister quilt tops....

gorgeous!

A little progress...

2011-10-25T07:05:00.000-05:00

I worked on the puzzle quilt last night for awhile. I didn't get as much done as I would've liked. I have been having some trouble with my back again, and I have to be careful how I sit, so sometimes sewing bothers me. I liked it when my body did what I wanted it to....now it just does what it can. Anyone know where I can trade it in for a newer model?

No pix today, sorry....

Alphabet Quilt quilted!

2011-10-24T07:00:00.034-05:00

I did a little shopping today...for clothes, not fabric. I did find a couple of good buys...then back home to finish quilting the Alphabet Quilt. This quilt was fun to make and I have another "Letter" project in mind. I will share when I get it started. It may be a little while...I need to get the puzzle baby quilt finished too. I put a little surprise on the back of this quilt...

I really wanted my initials on it somewhere! I have the binding ready to put on, so shouldn't take long to finish it!

Blue letter quilt quilting

2011-10-23T10:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy week. I had a Sampler class Wednesday night. Then my daughters helped us celebrate our anniversary Thursday night. We grilled and gabbed! Yesterday I didn't have a class, so went out to breakfast with a friend, then shopped with my sister's family for awhile. I also got the back ready for the Letter Quilt. It has a little surprise on it, which, of course, I forgot to take a picture of before I loaded it, but you will see after it is finished. I got it partially quilted as well. I am excited to get this one finished and bound. Then I will have to think of a name for it...can't keep calling it the Red Letter Quilt! Some thoughts:
Alphabet Quilt
ABC's and More
Blue Letter Quilt

If you have any ideas, let me know!

I have an idea for another letter quilt....hopefully will get it started soon.

New quilt start...

2011-10-19T07:00:00.006-05:00

I got the pieces cut out the other night and worked on an arrangement for this puzzle quilt. I laid it out on a piece of flannel backed tablecloth (the blue flowerpots). It works better if you hang it, but I don't have anywhere to hang it by my TV and I was watching while I played with the pieces. After I got finished, I folded it all up inside of the cloth.

I unrolled it tonight and started sewing the pieces together. It's kind of busy...

2 rows of blocks ready to sew together. I love puzzle quilts!

I have a Sampler class tonight, so I won't get any sewing done...maybe on Thursday night.

Red Letter Quiltalong top finished!

2011-10-18T07:00:00.076-05:00

I was having trouble figuring out what to do with that pesky last row of the Letter Quilt. I tried several different arrangements of asterisks, the little girl (she HAD to be in that quilt!) and even added my initials. I just wasn't happy with what I had tried. I like the idea of the initials, but didn't like how they looked. I didn't like the 2 asterisks, looked too arranged. So I made another asterisk (they are fun and cute, after all) and added it to the row.

I think they add some fun to this quilt.

I auditioned borders. I just wanted a small border to frame and finish the quilt. Since the main idea of the quilt was to use one color (blue for me) for the letters, and a POP color for my first initial, I wanted a blue border to finish it off. I like these two because they have other colors, but are basically blue.

They are so similar, that it probably wouldn't make much difference, but I went with the busier one.

Originally, Lynne had told us that it would take approximately 2 - 3 yd. for the background. I think I had about 2 1/2 yd. of this when I started. This is how much is left! I was saving all the leftover pieces, and using them when I could. The plastic bag holds more of those bits and pieces, but the biggest piece in there is about 3 1/2" sq. So I was being very careful how I used the background towards the end.

The lighting isn't the greatest in this pic, but here it is, a finished top! It is about 35" x 53".

I am going to use the same fabric for the binding that I used in the border, so I got it ready too.

Now to get it quilted. Thanks Lynne for a great quiltalong!

Show and Tell: T-shirt and other glorious quilts...

2011-10-17T07:00:00.036-05:00

The T-shirt class is always fun...taking old, sometimes pretty worn out favorites and making them into quilts. Tracy had a little bit of all of her favorites in her quilt....not pictured are her concert Tees. You'll notice her shirt to announce her daughter's birth in the center.

Pat is so nice, she is making a quilt for her friend out of her friend's husband's shirts. Love the Old Dude shirts!

Vicky is making this one out of her husband's shirts for him. Nice to see so many colors in this one!

Cindy brought her retreat Twister quilt to show the class I taught what you can do with solids! She finished hers off with a special twister border.

Betty just got her Centrifuge Sampler quilt back from the quilter, so was showing it off!

Dianne got her St. Marks Quilt finished this week. She used her leftover diamonds in the border.

Betty also got her St. Marks Quilt finished this week...she cut her leftover diamonds into little slanted pieces and sewed them back together. A lot of work, but it paid off!

Jane made a Mini Twister quilt out of some of the same fabrics she made the Twister out of. She wanted to try cutting, but not on her big quilt. Then she cut out some kids prints and made a child's Twister quilt...

I am lucky to have so many talented students!

Twister revelations

2011-10-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the second sessions of two classes, the Twister Quilt and the T-shirt Quilt. Both groups had made great progress since last week.

It is exciting to see the Twister Quilt go from plain squares to pinwheels! Jane used fall colors...

she also made 2 other smaller Twister quilts in between last week and this week....I'll post those pix tomorrow!

This is definitely a great stashbuster quilt!

Laura used lots from her stash!

Betty couldn't wait to get started cutting hers, so had it partially done when she came!

This will make a pretty Christmas quilt.

Eileen used batiks....so colorful!

It's magic!

Tammy's is pretty in pink and black!

We talked about all the variations of this quilt you could make...alternating 2 colors, or 2 colorways, like Tammy did.

Dianne is doing Christmas too. Check out the candles in her border...in both pix.

Trouble with seeing all of these pretty quilts in all of these different colorways is that it just makes you want to make another one! We used the Twister Ruler for these quilts.

I will post the pix from the T-shirt Quilt class tomorrow, as well as some show and tell that some of the students brought. I hope to get some quilting done today. Still haven't made a decision on the last row of the Letter quilt, so might have to buck up and decide!

TGIF and a puzzle quilt

2011-10-14T06:51:00.001-05:00

I finished cutting out the puzzle pieces last night for a baby quilt I am making. I then worked on a layout. I am using bright colors with some cars, tractors, & sports fabrics so some of the fabrics are pretty busy. I laid it out on a flannel backed tablecloth so I could just fold it up when I was finished. I forgot to take pictures, but will the next time I work on it. This quilt is for my niece's baby boy, due in Nov.

The Twister quilt and the T-shirt quilt classes meet again tomorrow. I am excited to see how the twister quilts look after being recut and sewn back together and will take lots of pix!

Hi ho Hi ho, it's off to work I go...

Twister class and a baby shower!

2011-10-12T18:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday was the Twister class... 2 ladies got their squares sewn together, so are ready to cut again. Hopefully the others will have theirs all sewn together when we meet next Saturday.

Once you have all of your squares sewn together, and added a border, you cut it up with a special ruler, and sew it all back together again. Sounds crazy, but it works and it's fun to make.

I also taught the T-shirt quilt class later on Saturday. We worked on getting the interfacing on the T-shirts and cutting them to size. I will get some pix when they meet again next Saturday.

We celebrated the impending birth of my great-nephew with a shower on Sunday....what fun. My sister made this super cute diaper cake. We had to guess how many diapers....what do you think? I guessed 160, there were 163! Dang!

Here is my niece with the Peas in a Pod quilt my sister made ( I quilted it). She loved it!

My sister, soon to be a grandma! She is due around the middle of November, so we should all get to hold him on Thanksgiving.

I have another niece who is expecting a boy in January, so we will be gathering again soon for her shower. A third niece just announced her 2nd baby is due in May... I will be busy making quilts! I have the first one partially cut, need to get busy!

Sewing those letters together...

2011-10-09T08:54:00.000-05:00

I met with friends to quilt on Friday, since I didn't have to work. I thought that would be a great time to figure out the layout for my letters and get some free advice! I tried lots of layouts, but unfortunately I didn't take pix of all of them. I started out with longer rows, so it would've turned out more square, be decided I liked it rectangular better. I left some of the letters bigger/smaller than others, others I evened up. I wanted to use my cat, star, house, girl and some of the asterisks, so they had to fit in too. I was finally happy with this layout, but can't decide on the bottom row.

I have to use the little girl...she is the cutest thing! I'm just not sure how to do it. I had an extra J and K, my initials, so I thought about using them in the last row. I put a hat on the J, so it fit with the K better.

I have it all sewn together except the last row. Any ideas?

***If you want to make your own letters, go to Patchery Menagerie!

A new toy to play with....

2011-10-07T07:00:00.007-05:00

I was given the chance to try out My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Suite. I haven't done much scrapbooking as it is fun, but as time consuming as quilting. But I saw an opportunity to put my quilting pictures in attractive settings and I couldn't resist a chance to do some digital picture playing.

I decided to start with some of the pictures from the Windmill Swap. You have many different settings to choose from. There are also free downloads online at My Memories. I started a book for my photos. This book came with lots of pages that you could use to display your pictures. I just let the program put the pictures in the album, just to try it.

You can also add your own captions and commentary. Love this digital scrapbooking!

I have only scratched the surface with this software. I will be exploring it more (and sharing) in the next few weeks, and will host a giveaway for My Memories software soon!

Asterisks for the Red Letter Quiltalong

2011-10-05T07:09:00.000-05:00

I made some asterisks for my Red Letter Quiltalong alphabet quilt. There was a slight problem with 2 of them....can you find it?I have also made a girl, house, wonky star and kitty, so I think I am ready to try to lay it out.

I have been sneezing and coughing again this week...thought I got rid of this crud a couple weeks ago. I am back on the musinex!

New stuff....good stuff...

2011-10-04T07:00:00.003-05:00

Not only did we see some of the most beautiful quilts ever at the AQS show, we got to shop at lots of booths full of fabrics, thread and other quilty goodies. I told myself that I didn't really need any fabric...no new project that needs a "fabric hit", so I would look at other things.

I have been wanting ABC 3-D for a long time, so now it is mine, to plan a gorgeous 3d quilt. Not sure which one I will make first, there are 2 that I love.

I can't wait to try out my 2 new quilting pantographs.

This one is just so playful....I hope I don't get lost where it crosses over. Have you ever been quilting along, sort of in your own little world and realize that when you reached a crossover, you started going backwards over what you just quilted? Yea, me too...

You probably guessed it already, I couldn't go through all those booths without getting a little fabric...could you? I thought I showed a lot of restraint, though!

More awesome quilts and a quilted yurt!

2011-10-03T07:00:00.005-05:00

I love the technique that was used to make this quilt. Very similiar to the Spinning Hexagon I made, only she started with squares.

There was a Sunbonnet Sue exhibit! She was so cute in many nationalities!

This Quilted Yurt from Scottish artist Linzi Upton was very interesting.

There were quilts inside and out. She had to commission a new frame be built for the show because it would be too costly to ship the original frame.

I think she did some lectures and a class or two while in Des Moines. You can read about the yurt on her website. She has a blog there as well.

Very interesting idea and quilts. She had some help making some of the quilt panels.

Check out her website and blog...interesting reads!

Hi ho, hi ho it's off to work I go. Monday always seems to find me.

Quilt show!

2011-10-02T08:43:00.001-05:00

We got to the quilt show a few minutes before it opened at 9:00....Lots of excitement!

There were so many gorgeous quilts, I couldn't take pictures of them all and see the whole show. But these were some that stood out. This one was a variation on the orange peel pattern. Very bold and different.

Another orange peel, a bit harder to tell. The blocks get larger as they come out of the center!

Loved the title of this one, as well as the dogs....Nine Dogs Night!

Check out the quilting....

I am in awe of people who can do this type of quilting. Pictures never do it justice...it was gorgeous!

The applique work on this quilt was amazing too. When you go to a show like this, everyone is getting up close to see exactly how they did it. Such talent!!!

We had such a great time...lots of good vendors too....a little of my money flew out of my pocket! I will take some pix and show you tomorrow.

AQS Des Moines, IA Quilt Show

2011-09-29T17:31:00.002-05:00

Saturday I am heading to Des Moines, IA, for the annual AQS Quilt Show. I am going with friends, so it will be fun to ooh, aah, and drool over all the quilts. There is also a huge vendors mall...it is really too much for one day, but Saturday is our only option since some of us work. (it is definitely true that work gets in the way of having fun sometimes!) It opened Wednesday...Saturday is the last day.

Here we are at last year's show with Eleanor Burns. (I was on the other side of the camera.) Are you going to this show? If you live in the area, it is definitely worth a trip!

Sampler class and show and tell...

2011-09-28T15:00:00.026-05:00

I taught Sampler #13 last night. Class went well and everyone got lots done on their blocks.

Dianne brought her Windmill Swap quilt top to show....they are all going to look so different with the settings people are using.

Dianne and Eileen have made some progress on their St. Marks diamonds.

I love show and tell!

Baby quilt quilted...

2011-09-27T15:00:00.004-05:00

My sister Sharon is going to be a grandma for the first time in November...you can imagine the excitement! She made this quilt using my Peas in a Pod pattern (isn't it adorable?) for the little guy and wanted me to quilt it. Being the good sister that I am, I got right on it.

I used a bright variegated thread and this design.

Another sister, Deb, is going to be a first time grandma in January, so we are going to have plenty of babies to hold soon! I plan on making both babies a quilt of their very own....need to get started on that!

St. Marks Quilt progress

2011-09-26T15:00:00.012-05:00

The Diamond blocks were starting to pile up on Saturday during the second day of class. Three very different takes on this gorgeous quilt. You use 1 dark, 3 medium, 4 light and 1 medium light for each pieced diamond. Dianne is using bright florals and prints.

Betty is using batiks. She is also using the same light for each block, which will give it a different look.

Eileen is using black for her dark, pink for her medium, white prints for her light and gray for her medium light. Can't wait to see them finished!

Letter 26....a line-up....a cat and a star....

2011-09-25T15:00:00.009-05:00

Zeeelightful, Zeeelicious Z. The Z was fun to make and is the last letter! Now let's get on with the finishing!

Here are all my letters, along with my little girl and house. Not sure about the sizing on some of them, the Q especially bothers me. The U, V and W need to be trimmed down a bit.

St Marks quilt class was fun yesterday. When I got home I made a crooked star and a free pieced kitty.

A lot of funny seams and a tail that looks sort of like a hockey stick, but I still like her.

Y me?

2011-09-24T15:00:00.005-05:00

Because I love making these letters and I am excited to be finished with them so I can put it together.

X marks the spot and other beauties....

2011-09-23T15:00:00.010-05:00

The X was fun to make. If you haven't ever tried free-piecing letters, you should give it a whirl.

During Sampler class Wed. night, Jane shared her Windmill swap quilt top. She used different bright colors to set her blocks on point.

Kim is setting hers on point with green....can never go wrong with green!

Jane also finished her Sunbonnet Sue Sampler. Jane added lots of appliqued blocks of her own design to the original pattern. The apron is my favorite!

Wide, wonderful W

2011-09-22T15:00:00.010-05:00

It's gorgeous, right? I love, love, love it! I haven't hung the flannel wall and put them all on it yet, but I will soon. Can't wait to see them all together.

Last night I made this little house to go with the letters. If it fits.

Vivacious V

2011-09-21T15:00:00.019-05:00

I really like my V! I need to start thinking about what else I will add to the quilt. I have the little girl I made a while back. If you go to Lynne's blog, you will see one that she made as well as 2 that Katrin made. I think a house might be in order, maybe a flower?

Playing Red Letter Quiltalong catch-up and back to Saturday...

2011-09-20T15:00:00.006-05:00

After I finished working on the round robin block Sunday, I made this unbelievably blue U. Only a few letters left now!!!! Can't wait to put it together.

When I got to the store Saturday before class, Betty showed me her finished Windmill Swap quilt. She decided to set her blocks on point, using white for the setting triangles. Another name for this block is the Double Pinwheel. Notice how pinwheels show up when the blocks are put together.

Saturday's class was the St. Mark's quilt...here are a couple of Dianne's finished diamonds.

She had these finished before she left.

Eileen is making hers in blacks,grays, whites and pink...should be stunning in those colors.

Betty is using batiks, and using the same fabric for the light in each block, so that should add an interesting touch. I have a feeling these ladies will have lots more done by next Saturday's class.

Round Robin block

2011-09-19T15:00:00.038-05:00

Four of my friends and I are participating in a medallion round robin. I posted about my block here.This is my friend Jo's block...I was supposed to have my part finished a couple weeks ago, but didn't quite make the deadline, so I worked on it yesterday. I wanted to make it into a frog, but wasn't sure that is what she had in mind...(can't you see this as a frog with crazy legs, though?) So I decided to continue the green zigzag into my part.

I think it took more time to figure out what I was going to do and find fabric than it did to add my round. I don't know if you can tell it here, but I had some of the same pink as she used in the center square, so I used it.

We decided that we would get to see them each time we swapped, but I forgot my camera last time. I will take some next time we meet. Now I need to get Cindy's figured out so I am ready!

A rainy Sunday layout...

2011-09-18T08:47:00.000-05:00

I have been playing around with the layout for the Windmill quilt. The blocks aren't going to tilt dramatically, but it will be more noticeable after they are sewn together.

It's a rainy start to Sunday here, a good day to play catch-up. I want to work on a round robin block that should've been done over a week ago...

I would also like to get caught up on the Red Letter Quiltalong...she posted X today, and I need to do U, V, & W first....

There is also some cleaning....notice that it is last on the list?

Feels like chili weather, so I am off to get some started in the crock pot!

Still on a bender!

2011-09-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

I like to make some of the blocks tilt to the left and some tilt to the right. (see previous post) The blocks don't have to be exactly the same. If some tilt more than others, it will just add to the charm.

You do need to be careful to leave at least 1/2" between the seam and the border for seam allowance at the narrow end. Otherwise you may not have any border left! This one is going to be close!

You can see how they will look as they come together. These won't tilt a lot because I used a small border. If you want them to tilt more, just add a wider border and you will have more room to "tilt".

I am teaching the St. Marks Quilt today...should be a great day and I should have some great pix to share!

Swap blocks go on a bender....

2011-09-16T15:00:00.002-05:00

I wanted to add a little twist to my swap blocks, so I added a different 2" border to each one. I used some of the fabrics I had used in the blocks I made. This made the blocks about 15 1/2".

I decided I could recut them 14". I have a 15" square up ruler, but I was afraid I might mess up the cutting so I cut a 14" square of cardboard. That helped me center it on the square, and see that I was staying in the area I needed to be in.

Then I laid the ruler on top of it, lining it up with 2 sides of the cardboard, to get a good cut.

Then I used the ruler to square up the last 2 sides.

Now my block has a little tilt to it.

Swap day!

2011-09-11T15:00:00.061-05:00

A friend decided she wanted to make a scrappy Windmill Quilt, so she convinced 9 of us to join her in a swap! We each made 20 blocks, so we would each end up with 20. These are the ones I made. This block is also called the Double Pinwheel block...you can see the white pinwheels show up where the background comes together as you put the blocks together.

We wanted everyone to have a set that would be 20 different blocks, so you could make 2 sets of 10 the same if you wanted to, since you were giving everyone 2 blocks. The result was a lot of gorgeous blocks! Most of us made ours using fabrics left from other projects.

We met yesterday to swap them and took turns passing our own out to each other. This gave us a chance to see what each person had made!

Diana has been talking about barn blocks, so Jane made her a special Windmill with a barn in the center!

It was fun, because everyone was in anticipation to see what each person would give them! Our rule for color was that they should have a white background and bright colors used.

The great thing was that everyone finished them on time! One lady was out of town, so couldn't come for the swap.

After we swapped, those that could stay started working on layouts for their blocks. You can see Diana's special block in the center of this layout.

We had a great time. Dianne is sashing hers, but I didn't get a pic of the progress she or anyone else made yesterday, but I will when they bring them back!

What's really fun is that all the quilts will be unique, since we used so many different fabric choices!

Several people are going to put their blocks on point, so we figured out what they would need for setting triangles.

Betty made extra, so had to choose which ones to take out for this setting...that was hard too!

Kim got her blocks sewn into rows, and was going to go home and look through her stash to see if she had something she could use for the setting triangles.

I didn't get any pix of the blocks I received, but did start working on them. I will take some pictures later and show you my progress as I get them made into a quilt.

I hope to get back to my Red Letter Quiltalong blocks this week, though I do have classes Monday and Tuesday night. I also want to work on quilting something....doesn't really matter at this point what....I have a long list of quilts waiting.

Happy Sunday!

I love long weekends, don't you?

2011-09-05T15:08:00.000-05:00

I quilted this smallish (45" sq.) today. I have used it as a model for a string-piecing class I teach, but it had never been quilted. I am teaching it again in late October, so thought I would get it quilted before I hang it at the store. The dark strips might look like I can't match up very well, but in this version, you put a darker one through the middle, not actually lining up perfectly, so you get the illusion of blocks.

I really like to string-piece...such a fun and low maintenance type of piecing. No worries about matching, no tedious squaring up HST....fun!

This is the back. It is actually a dark blue check, looks sort of brown in the picture. I thought using this panto would spice up the design a bit. Besides, I really love it!

I used Signature Victorian variegated thread for this one....it is not exactly pastel, but not bright. I love it for colors like these.

I am going to use the back fabric for the binding so I am off to make some binding. Have a great holiday!

A finished GerriAnn and fun in the mail...

2011-09-04T15:09:00.002-05:00

You know it's time to clean out your closet when you can't fit the clothes you actually wear in there. I got that job done this morning, then got busy and put the binding on GerriAnn. She is officially finished!

Here is a pic of the binding. It is a goldish batik with green leaves so I thought it looked good with both the front and the kids print I put on the back.

This is much prettier in real life, not the greatest pic.

I received my thread winnings from Mary at Molly Flanders in the mail yesterday....it's so much fun to get things in the mail! She also sent me this cutest little pincushion! I love it, thanks Mary!

Wall art up

2011-08-31T03:00:00.001-05:00

I ended up just adding a couple borders and putting a back on the Eric Carle panel as it is hanging over a door to another room, so is basically a curtain. We have no plans to use this door, and it could be disruptive if kids are peeking in at that class as they choose books.

I really wanted to use this old bookcase that was left by the previous school, but the outside and top was so stained and discolored. I love the runner on it!

I got my wall art hung yesterday.

The front corner of the room. I also moved some books around yesterday to even out the shelves. When I unpacked, I wasn't sure how the books were going to fit on the cases I had, so I put more on the shelves than is good for browsing.

Grouchy Ladybug

2011-08-28T16:20:00.001-05:00

Last year I made some wall art and pillows using fabric featuring the author Eric Carle's books. Recently I found a new release in that series featuring the Grouchy Ladybug. I thought it was so cute and knew I could make something out of it to match what I had already made.

This fabric is the same border, over and over, with these cute sayings. The background is white, not a very good picture!

I also got a panel of the ladybugs, just because I knew if I didn't I would regret it.

I cut the borders apart, sewed them back together putting the Grouchy Ladybug picture in the middle of one of them, and hemmed them. I am going to use one on a bookcase, and the other on a table, I think. Unless I think of something else when I get to school tomorrow.

I still have another panel that I bought at the quilt show last year. I have a window between the library and a classroom that I want to cover, so think that it will do the trick! I measured the window one day, but forgot to bring the measurements home so I think I will take it to school tomorrow so that I can see what I need to do make it work for that space.

.

I finished quilting GerriAnn, now to get the binding on.

Unpack library ✓

2011-08-27T08:49:00.001-05:00

Yep, I'm jumping for joy, because I unpacked the last box yesterday. You might remember what it looked like when I started. I also marked everything that needs to go away (most of it furniture left by the last school) so that when I come back on Monday it should look pretty nice.

This is the back half before I put the books on the shelves on the back wall. Yesterday I had all the "to go" stuff stacked in front of them, so couldn't take a good pic.

I got the books on those back shelves on Thursday. They are part of a special library that the teachers use.

Ahhhh......now this is looking good!

I spent some time prettying the place up.

Still need to hang my Eric Carle wall art, they are sitting on top of the bookcase right now, hang some posters and do some more straightening up. There are more pix on the Roosevelt Library Facebook page if you are not sick of this already!

Going to head up to load and start quilting the GerriAnn quilt. I'm excited to get it finished.
Happy Saturday!

GerriAnn.... and I won!

2011-08-24T19:23:00.001-05:00

I finished sewing the borders on the GerriAnn quilt so she is ready to quilt. I love her, she turned out so cute in all browns.
Now I want to make Ellie the Elephant...but it will have to wait awhile.

I found out that I won an Aurifil thread sample pack from Mary at Molly Flanders blog! I am so excited to see what colors I won and have a chance to try the Aurifil threads. I will take a pic when they come.

Saga of the unpacking....yesterday wasn't such a great day at school, as I fought with the shelves and bookcases all morning. The cases are just a little different in size, so I had to match up the shelves with the cases. Doesn't sound like it would be hard, but it was. 3 of the bookcases were so close in size, maybe within an inch of each other, so I had to play around with each shelf, to figure out which case it belonged in. Luckily I had a better day today... I unpacked about 100 boxes and have most of the student books on shelves now. I have been taking pix, but keep forgetting to download them at school. So you'll just have to take my word for it!

A new project....GerriAnn

2011-08-22T19:57:00.002-05:00

I am making a baby quilt for a customer using one of the BJ Designs adorable animal quilt patterns, GerriAnn, the giraffe. The pic above is the background, upside down.

Since the pattern is for a wallhanging, it is too narrow for a baby quilt, so I made it wider.

I debated what to use for the "ground", but since it is for a baby gift, I decided these were too bland and too purple.

You need to have 4 different fabrics for the giraffe, a light, light medium, a medium dark and a dark. Plus one for the hooves. I didn't want there to be lots of difference between the colors, but wanted some fabrics with movement.

It seemed like it took a long time to trace, cut out and press the 33 body parts on to the fabric.

I was worried I would mix up the pieces after I took the paper off, so I peeled back the paper where pieces joined and just iron-tacked them together. That helped a lot. I had added a little extra to the parts that would go underneath and marked them with 2 dashes, so it was easy to match them up.

I also added a partial tree and extra grass to the quilt. Since I made the top 10" wider, it filled it in a bit.

I have the first border partially sewn on, hopefully I will get it finished tonight!

On the school front, I am still plugging away at putting the books on the shelves. No pix today as I didn't download them on the computer yet and the camera is at school.

By the end of day 4, you can actually see the progress...

2011-08-20T19:09:00.001-05:00

I took this picture before I left Thursday night. It really was better than what it was, but hard to see it if you haven't been in the middle of it all week. I spent Friday moving things around so that I could line the bookcases up in the back half of the room.

Ahhhhh, open space at last...this is basically the same area as the above pic, just a little to the left.

Bookcases in the back lined up in rows....getting there...

Well, I had to put the boxes somewhere out of the way!

And here too! But they are organized somewhat now. Really they are!

Plus I can see the floor!

Monday I will be able to start unloading boxes again.

I plan to start a baby quilt this weekend...so I might have something besides moving to post tomorrow.

There are books on some of the shelves....

2011-08-19T06:48:00.000-05:00

Lots and lots of boxes of books. The first day I spent most of my time turning the boxes around so I could see the labels. Bookcases that are just sitting there. In the wrong places.

I had to move boxes so that I could find the ones I needed to start unpacking first.

The more books on shelves, the less boxes sitting around.

It's a start.

Busy day and fun in the mail!

2011-08-15T18:37:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is my first day back at school, so I have felt a lot of pressure the past few weeks to get all the things finished that I haven't done yet this summer. Of course, it never completely happens, but I have been working to get everything ready for my fall quilt class schedule at least.

I did get some of my models hung today. They had taken down the hangers during a remodel, so they had to be rehung....and it took longer than usual. I sewed the binding on the St. Marks quilt before I hung it...wish I would've taken my camera for a pic, but didn't. I will get a decent pic of that quilt...I will...I will....

On my way home I stopped and got ink so I ran the rest of the lists when I got home. I had a nice little surprise in my mailbox too, 2 new books! I love making the letters and ordered Tonya's book so I would have the BIBLE of letter piecing. Plus I am dying to try this kaleidoscope quilt in the newest Ricky Tims book. Looks like fun!

Penny helped me figure out how to open my Works files in Word yesterday, so a big THANK YOU went out to her. I was doing the happy dance....did you feel the earth move?

Tomorrow I get to begin the process of unpacking all those boxes (330 or so) ...that I packed up in May. You might remember my post about that. To be honest, I'm not really looking forward to it, but it has to be done. I packed in order, and marked the boxes as I went, so once I get things arranged, it should go pretty fast. I hope! It took 2 weeks to pack it, how long do you think it will take to unpack it?

St. Marks and a paperwork Sunday...

2011-08-14T16:52:00.001-05:00

I finished quilting the St. Marks Quilt yesterday. They seem to come to life after quilting, don't they? I need to get the binding on now. Maybe then I can get a decent picture of it. I took this after I got it off the machine.

Later in the day, my daughter and I went to see my mom and dad. Mom fell in the garden Friday night and broke her wrist. After a trip to the ER she came home with a splint. She is doing well, though it is sore. She will get a cast on Wed.

I have spent most of the day getting ready to post my fall quilting classes. Lots of paperwork involved, and I have hit a few snags...one of which is I ran out of black ink. The other is that I need to figure out a way to convert my Works files to Word. I have some older files that are in Works format and my new computer doesn't have works. Any ideas?

A little craziness in my life.....but I have the letters caught up!

2011-08-13T10:50:00.001-05:00

I have spent the past few days quilting as well as trying to figure out what is going on with my computer. My computer "died" the other night. I took it in and it was determined it wouldn't be worth fixing. So I bought a computer Thursday, but took it back last night because it started to repair itself...on it's own. Now I think that computer is too smart for me! Actually I guess it bogged down while trying to do an update, that is what the guy at the store told me. So it tried to fix the problem. But I don't want a computer that has problems the first day I own it. So I took it back and got a different one. We'll see how this goes.

I got my letters all caught up for the Red Letter Quiltalong (aren't ya proud, Lynne?) in between quilting yesterday. Love the P... if it looks like it will be too squat after the seam allowance, I can move the left "leg" over to the right a bit. I hope it works like this, though.

I like the quirkiness of the Q, though the hole in the center turned out smaller than I wanted. I still like it, though.

Love the R!

Not so sure about the S. Lynne hasn't shown us the S yet, but I was on a roll so I looked back at some of her Ses and gave it a whirl.

An easy peasy T. What could be easier?

Here are all of my letters so far. I forgot to put the lil girl up with them. Only 6 left, though I may redo my S after I see Lynne's tutorial.

Here is the St. Marks quilt. I went up this morning and did a few rows, shouldn't take long to finish it now. This panto is pretty intense, so I have to take breaks every few rows or my back starts complaining. I love the thread I am using, it really blends well. I am pretty excited to see it finished. I have the binding made, so it will just be a matter of getting it sewn on.

Last Tuesday Sew-in for awhile....

2011-08-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the last Tuesday sew-in for awhile for me since I go back to work at school next Tuesday. I put the borders on the Twister quilt and finished the Mini Twister as well. I ended up using some of those leftover 2" pieces in the border. I forgot to take a pic of the Twister with borders, but will soon.

Diana has been finishing the quilts she was working on during the retreat....

Laura has been working on these blocks all along, she finished the borders yesterday.

Dianne is making a costume for a friend, so that is what she worked on.

Brenda is back to quilting after 3 months off. She had a major injury to her wrist in a car accident and is just now able to sew again.

Kim finished the last blocks for her Sampler #13 quilt, here is the layout.

It was a great day and I am going to miss these sewing days in the weeks to come.

Mini Twister

2011-08-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

After you cut and assemble the Twister quilt, you have squares of each fabric left over. Sometimes people use them in the border. I decided to sew mine together, just for fun. I wasn't quite sure what I would do with it, as the squares are too small to use the Lil Twister ruler on. But I really wanted to make a Mini Twister, so I sewed a border on the quilt.

Not a great pic, I know, but you get the idea.

I then cut mini squares using a ruler I adapted. Aren't they adorable?

This is the piece I have left. Pretty sure I'm not going to make a new twister quilt from these...but I am going to do something with them. Maybe use them in a border for the Mini.

Quiltin' with my buddy....

2011-08-07T10:16:00.000-05:00

I got ready to quilt this morning and Smokey came in to help. While she was waiting, she took a little nap in the window (it is gorgeous out this morning!).

She peeked at me....

as if to say "Can't you do this somewhere else?" She looks chubby in this pic, since she was rolled over with her belly in the air, but she really isn't.

Almost half way finished with the quilting.

Quilting and unquilting...

2011-08-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

I started quilting the new sampler quilt that I finished the other day. This is the quilt with all solid fabrics.

I had a hard time deciding what thread to quilt it with. I was afraid that black would show up too much on the colors, but that any other color would show up on the black. I can't free motion quilt around the design because I don't have front controls, so I use the same thread throughout. I ended up choosing Signature brand Shadows because it has black, lots of greys and even some lavender and green. You don't notice the lavender and green, but they blend well. So I hope it doesn't stand out too much.

Things were going along just fine...or so I thought...until I wound it up to start a new row and saw loose stitches. Not sure what happened, but they were off and on throughout the whole row. So I started unquilting...not my favorite part of quilting. Luckily the row before and after were fine.

Here are the first couple rows. I forget how many rows I had done before I stopped to unpick. I like to use the variegated threads because I want the quilting thread to blend with the fabrics used. I love the quilting, but I don't want it to take over.

Sew In Tuesday...

2011-08-03T15:00:00.002-05:00

I am embarrassed to admit that I forgot to take pix yesterday during the sew in. Lots of gorgeous fabrics, quilts and hard work but you will have to take my word for it.

I finished sewing my newest sampler design yesterday, so I am working on the patterns today. (I did a little cleaning, biking, and watering before I could start.) I will have a pic to show soon. I want to try to get the sampler quilted in the next few days too, while it is a bit cooler. It is sort of twisted when temps in the 80s sound cool.

Every so often we took breaks to play the LCR game. We play with one dice and the ante was a fat quarter. Winner take all! The dice has L for left, R for right and C for center. If your roll lands on L, you hand your FQ to the left, if it lands on R you hand your FQ to the right and C lands it in the center. Once they are in the center, there is no getting them back. So this can go on for awhile, depending on how lucky you and your neighbors' rolls are. The game ends when all the FQ are in one person's pile. They get the center FQs too.

We have played this during our past retreats. It's a little break and lots of fun. Sometimes it gets a bit exciting... sorry, no pictures of that!

Quilt Retreat fun!!!

2011-08-01T17:50:00.002-05:00

I had a wonderful time at our quilt retreat. This is our 3rd time to go together. We had so much fun and sewed almost non stop. Everyone volunteered to bring either a meal, salads or snacks. It all went so well, the meals were easy to prepare, clean up was easy as well as we mostly used paper plates.

One of the projects I worked on was the Twister quilt. If you aren't familiar with it, you start out by sewing squares together, with a border around them. You then use the Twister ruler to recut your quilt into different squares, and then sew them together. Sounds complicated, but it really isn't.

Here are my first 2 rows. They go pretty fast. We started them in the morning and had them finished by late evening.

Here it is finished. I am going to add some more borders, but hadn't taken them with me, so I will post a pic when it is finished.

Three others made Twister quilts. They all turned out so pretty!

Rose's quilt was so summery and flowery.

Cindy tried solids, and they looked wonderful!

Cindy also made a Lil Twister.

Dianne hadn't originally planned on making one, but decided it looked like fun, so she made one too. You might ask, " How did she manage to have enough fabric along to make a quilt she hadn't planned on?" If you have to ask that, then you don't know Dianne very well! She always comes prepared for anything!

We went shopping in Atlantic at a small variety store with some nice fabrics, so we all managed to find things we needed. I took so many pictures, I can't post them all. Eventually I will put them in my Flickr folder as well.

Kim worked on Windmill blocks for a swap. She also finished another quilt.

Pat finished 2 quilts.

Diana doubled her fun by working on finishing blocks and sashings for 2 matching quilts.

Every day someone would say "No one goes to bed until I get this finished".

I also worked on the new sampler quilt and I am happy to report that it is finished except for the borders. I will post a pic of it when it is finished.

Everyone worked on whatever they wanted, so some finished projects, some started new projects. It was great fun. We have plans to go again in February.

Now to catch up here. I did some laundry today, though someone did call and tempt me into going to a quilt shop for awhile, so I didn't get much else done. I hope to get caught up on my letters tonight. I haven't done P or Q yet.

A cute little girl and the Obvious O

2011-07-28T15:00:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, I saw this cute little pieced girl that Crazy Mom Quilts made. I knew I wanted to try it too, maybe even find a way to use it with my letters. Making her was sort of like making letters...a little bit of dress, a little bit of skin...til you have her finished. I like her a lot.

The O was obviously easy and fun to make. Can't believe we are on letter 15 already. Over half way finished with the alphabet.

I won't be posting for a few days while I am at my retreat....there should be plenty to show and tell when I get back.

Nifty N, Tuesday Sew-In and Quilt Retreat...

2011-07-27T17:09:00.001-05:00

The N was fun to make...this alphabet is going fast! I am ogling my O right now....just finished making it while my pix loaded for this post.

Lots of quilting went on yesterday. These Tuesday sew-ins have been great for all of us....lots of sewing accomplished! You might remember this quilt when she worked on the top a few weeks ago.

Diana made a pillowcase dress for a friend's daughter.

Dianne finished this top she started quite awhile ago. Her daughter will be happy as she was making it for her!

Diana brought this finished top, she worked on it here.

Jane's quilt is the same sampler as the one above, just in pastel batiks.

Eileen got this sampler top finished.

Here are the final blocks for the quilt she was working on here. Look for the quilt with the missing pieces...these fit in. Now it is just a matter of putting it all together! Dianne and Laura also worked on their Windmill/Pinwheel swap blocks, but I didn't get any pictures of those.

I started working on the new sampler yesterday. Spending time working on the fabric needs and patterns Monday paid off as I got one set of blocks finished and another one started. This sampler is a little different as I am using all solids and a black background for an amish look. If you knew me, you would know that I never use solids. It's not that I don't like them, there are just so many pretty prints to choose from! The only solids I have used in the past few years are black and white. No pics yet, but I hope to get a lot done on it in the next few days.

Tomorrow we leave to go on our quilt retreat. We are going back to the Harrisdale Homestead near Atlantic, Ia. (this pic was taken at the retreat last Feb.) We have the whole house to ourselves and plan on sewing all day and night long. This is the 3rd retreat the 7 of us have gone on, so it is becoming a biannual event. We all take our own projects to work on and take breaks every so often to eat and gamble with fat quarters playing the LCR dice game. It is great fun and a great group of ladies. I will have pix when we come back.

Marvelous M, Sew-In Tuesday and some more leftovers....

2011-07-26T15:00:00.006-05:00

I spent the day yesterday working on a design for a new sampler quilt and running copies for a class that starts tonight. Eventually I got around to the Marvelous M...it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Or maybe it is just Lynne's good instructions! Can't wait to get these finished so I can start putting the ABC Sampler together.

I had lots of leftover strips after I made the Hexagon Spin a few months ago. I have a tub for leftover strings, but there were too many to put in the tub. I thought I should do something with them. So they have been sitting here, just waiting for me to get around to it. The other night, I started sewing them together in groups of 2s. I doubled the pairs twice to end up with sets of 8. They are basically about 20" or so long and I have 7 of them.There are some more strips, but I want to save some of them to make alphabet letters with. I made an L and M, but I can't get the picture to load correctly...it keeps loading sideways. Maybe it will behave tomorrow.

I'm going to sew all day with friends, and have a class tonight. A very quilty day!

Weekend fun and my daughter's surprise...

2011-07-25T10:29:00.002-05:00

I finished my daughter's asian Circle and Spin quilt in time for her birthday party Saturday night. She loved it!

This is a pic of the back...she loves these colors and it is a large print so worked well on the back. She also loved the quilting.

I made some pillows to go with the quilt.

She picked this fabric out one time when we were shopping, but I didn't want to cut it up for the quilt. So I just made a large pillow case for a bed pillow.

I got some cleaning done this morning, so now on to blog checking to see how hard the Letter M is going to be to make, among other things.

Lovely L and some Sew-in finishes

2011-07-21T16:56:00.001-05:00

I quilted a few rows on my daughter's quilt this morning. As I unrolled it to drape til next time I could see the end about 24" away! I planned on having it done by now, but the terrible heat has kept me out of that room. Maybe in the morning I can get up there early and get it finished.

Lucky for me, Letter L was much easier to accomplish than K...I like my L...very likable, lovable, linkable L. Today is Lynne's birthday, so pop over there, using the nice linkable link, and wish her a Happy Birthday!

I forgot to mention the reason I put my J and K together yesterday was because they are my initials. By the time I got it downloaded, I had forgotten what I wanted to say. Can't wait to see how we make M tomorrow.

Dianne worked on her Kaleidoscope quilt on Tuesday. It is so bright and pretty.

Betty was quilting her Twisterweave Mystery quilt last week, and brought it completed to show us on Tuesday. Another pretty mystery quilt finished. Everyone is excited to be getting so much finished on these Tuesday sew-in days.

Tuesday Sew-in and the Kooky Letter K..

2011-07-20T15:39:00.000-05:00

I worked on these swap blocks yesterday during the Tuesday Sew-In. Had a great time and finished the blocks I had started for a total of 10. I cut out a few more before I had to leave.

Today after some cleaning and grocery shopping, I worked on the letter K. I am not too happy with my Ks. The first one turned out too big. The second one was better, but I decided I should straighten it up and in the process, cut off the bottom of the right leg. So it looks like it might tip over. Note to self: lay the ruler down on it or place a fabric strip over it at the place you think you want to cut and then check it before cutting. I made it like Lynne, but you will see that she didn't straighten hers up vertically. I could've added a piece of background to that side and then straightened it up. Then my K wouldn't have to limp.

Here it is with the Jaunty J!

I think L will be much easier.

The Jaunty J and a block swap

2011-07-19T14:00:00.005-05:00

Since J is my first initial, I am doing it a different color, one that will POP with the rest. This mottled batik has orange, gold and reds.

I really like the light floral, but not sure it will show up well.

I really like this floral, but decided against it for now.

I love stripes, but the swirls are nice too.

Here is the pink.....hmmmm, which one, which one?

I ended up making one out of the striped fabric...

and a topless J out of this mottled batik. Now, which one should I use? There are 2 other people doing blues as well, so I am curious to see what they use for their POP color.

I spent a good part of yesterday working on these Double Windmill blocks for a swap I'm doing. I got some more partially finished. We are using brights, any solid or prints can be used. Today I am getting together with friends for our Tuesday Sew-in so will work on them then. I might take a binding project along too. Really need to get another one done.

Another hot day and a binding

2011-07-18T07:49:00.002-05:00

The temps are going to be hot and humid the next few days, so I will probably hole up in the house and sew. Our AC is having trouble keeping up so it hasn't been so pleasant around here the last few days.

Yesterday I got the Twisterweave Mystery quilt bound, so that is #2 in the pile of finishes. I also went to see Larry Crowne. I like both Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, so enjoyed the movie.

I am excited to make my Letter J later....it will be the letter that POPS so watch out!

Mini Diamond quilt bordered...Happy H and Dotty I

2011-07-15T16:03:00.001-05:00

I got the border on the Mini Diamond quilt. It is throw size, about 54" square. Now to get it quilted. I am going to make the binding later so it is ready. I think I will do scrappy.

I made some progress on quilting Rachel's asian Circle and Spin this morning. I really like the design I am using. I will try to get some good pix when I am finished.

Such a Happy little H and a dotty I.

I ended up making an extra set of H and I out of the dotty fabric. I wanted to make a lower case I as well...they are so cute! Monday will be an exciting day, the very jaunty letter J!

If you want to check out Lynne's great tutorials and letters, she is at Patchwork Menagerie.

MIni diamonds and quilting

2011-07-14T16:40:00.001-05:00

This mini diamond quilt has been fun to make. I am going to put 2 small borders on it and it is finished! It is about 45" square right now, actually bigger than I thought it would be. Hard to imagine when you just have a pile of leftover diamonds.

I spent a lot of the day quilting the asian Circle and Spin so haven't made my letter H yet. I am getting together with friends tonight, so it will probably have to wait til tomorrow.

Tuesday Sewing and The Gorgeous Letter G

2011-07-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

The usual group got together and sewed yesterday. Seems like everyone is getting lots of UFOs finished. While we were there, I got a couple of them to hold up my St Marks quilt to get a good pic of it. I got the back sewn together for this quilt, as well as the asian Circle and Spin.

I also worked on sewing together my strips of diamonds. It is just very scrappy, so no pattern. I just hated to waste all those diamonds. I still have a few left. Here they are, hung crookedly on the design wall.

Jane had gotten a lot finished since we met last. This is her Twisterweave Mystery Quilt. She made the twin size. See her kitties?

She put a piano key border on her Circle and Spin.

Hope this quilt doesn't walk away!

Betty brought her Sampler #9. She quilted it herself. She was working on quilting her Twisterweave mystery quilt yesterday, and she was almost finished with the binding. She promised to bring it back next week so I can take a pic of it finished.

Laura worked on more of her Sampler #13 blocks. She is still caught up.

Eileen finished her Twisterweave Mystery quilt yesterday. So pretty!

Dianne finished her Sampler #12.

Diana worked on setting her Sampler #11 blocks with setting triangles.

Ahhhh, the Glorious, Gratifying, Gorgeous Letter G!!! ain't it purty?

7 down, 19 to go....

Sewing with friends and the Fabulous Letter F!

2011-07-12T15:00:00.034-05:00

Today I am sewing with friends all day, and teaching a class tonight. I want to get the backs put together for the asian Circle and Spin quilt, and the St Marks quilt while I am at the store with the big tables! So that is part of what I am taking to work on.

I decided against using this Lone Star layout to use up my leftover diamonds, but thought I would show you anyway. I tried some different layouts, but didn't really love any of them, so I decided just to sew them together in diagonal rows.

I figured out a layout using most of the diamond sets that I sewed yesterday. I finally had to print it out on EQ, much easier to see how many diamonds are in each diagonal row ( diagonal rows are harder to visualize for me). So I haven't actually laid them out yet, just made the rows that I need to do so. Could be interesting or a train wreck, I'll just have to see how it comes together. I have some spares, so if something just doesn't work, I can change it. Since I had so many differing amounts of the different fabrics, there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason and while I wanted to use them up, since there are a lot of them, I didn't want to spend too much time doing it. I am taking this to work on today as well.

Finally, the Fabulous, Friendly F!

I cheated and made it yesterday, since I knew I was going to be gone all day today.

I like how it turned out, though I really think I should be making several while I do this, maybe in other colors, so I would have some to use later on. Lots of little bits and pieces of fabrics, but definitely Fun!

Tomorrow, G. I think G will be harder to make, don't you?

Quilt quilted, diamonds, and a letter E or two...

2011-07-11T13:33:00.000-05:00

I finished the quilt I started quilting Saturday. It's a really pretty Stack n Whack which she made more interesting by using several different colors as the background.

Since I didn't cut the exact amount needed, I had a lot of the diamonds I cut for the St. Marks quilt left over when I was finished. I have been trying to figure out what to do with them. I actually laid them out in a scrappy Lone Star design, but decided that I didn't want to do that.

I decided I would sew them together to make a scrappy little quilt. Some colors I had a lot of leftovers, some only 1 or 2.

So I just started sewing them together, pairing up a dark and light diamond into pairs. Then I put the pairs together into sets of 4, then put some of them together in sets of 8. Because these are diagonal rows, all of the rows won't have the same amount, so I saved back some pairs to fill in.

Now I need to press these, start laying them out and see what I can come up with.

This is my first Letter E. I like it, but it is too small, so I made another one.

This one is a better size. E is for Easy! F will be too. Ok, I confess, I made F while I was making E since I will be gone all day tomorrow sewing with friends and teaching a class. I will post the pic tomorrow.

A pair of Es? Enough with the Es? If you are still thinking of joining in, do...this quiltalong is Exciting, Enticing, Exhilarating and Enormously Fun!

The very important letter D!

2011-07-09T17:18:00.000-05:00

I'm sure D stands for lots of important quilty things, but all I can think of right now is design! Can you think of others?

You can check out Susanne's letters too, if you want. She is also using blues. The link to Patchery Menagerie is on my sidebar if you want to go check out Lynne's great work.

I quilted this morning, and have my friend's #7 quilt almost finished. This is the last one, and then I have to figure out how I am going to get them to her.

A quilt quilted and letter C...

2011-07-08T15:10:00.001-05:00

These letters are really addictive...C was easy to do. Love this one!

Tada! A...B...C...

I finished quilting my friend's quilt today too. This one is her version of the Garden Window Sampler. I will be teaching this sampler again starting in July. I have one more of hers left to quilt, and I loaded it on the machine after I finished this one. I should get a lot quilted tomorrow...with any luck!

Letter B

2011-07-08T07:00:00.011-05:00

The letter B was harder than the letter A, at least it seemed so after I had to take it apart several times. You have to think ahead before you sew. Yea, I knew that, but still did some unsewing. It is fun! I have a link on my sidebar if you want to go over to Patchery Menagerie and see her great tutorial and quilt along..

Two letters done, 24 to go! I will have to trim this A down at some point, but didn't want to trim anymore until I put them together, even though the size sort of bugs me.
I spent the day at my parents. Had a great time visiting with them.

Red Letter Quilt Along

2011-07-06T16:52:00.002-05:00

The Red Letter Quilt Along began yesterday at Patchery Menagerie. I have wanted to learn more about making letters with fabric and incorporating them into quilts ever since Word Play Quilts by Tonya Ricucci came out. I am fascinated with this process, I just haven't found the time to try it. Along comes Lynne with her Red Letter Quilt Along, it's summer so I have a little more time and I am jumping in!

We need 25 fabrics of our color. She is doing hers in red, but you can do any color you want. I am using blues and have a pretty good assortment of them to choose from. My background is a pale pink/yellow/greenish blender.

Then you need one other color that pops with the rest for your initial letter. For my initial I think I will use an orange, though not sure at this point which one. I have a few letters to go so don't have to decide right now! You need background fabric that your fabrics will show up well on.

Here is another orange. She is doing one letter a day on weekdays only, so it should be very doable.
Here is my first letter!!!! I love it!

I got about 2/3 finished quilting a friend's quilt today. I have one more of hers left.

A new round robin....paperpiecing a block...a helper...

2011-07-05T10:45:00.001-05:00

I have a group of friends that have gotten together every other month or so for years. We did a block round robin several years ago and later on we all did our magic on an Ocean Song panel. At our last gathering, one of them suggested we do another round robin, but this time it will be a medallion round robin. So when we meet next week, we are supposed to bring a block. It has to be at least 12". I wanted a block that would stand out since it would be the focal point of the quilt. I had seen the paperpieced Circle of Geese on another blog, and loved it so decided to make it, with a little variation. I wanted the points colorful too.

I had to choose 12 colors, as I wanted to reuse each twice. Plus I wanted the points lighter than the geese, so that (hopefully) it would look 3D. It didn't take much of each fabric. Here is one quarter finished.

You can see how helpful Smokey can be!

See that tail? It swishes around while I am sewing and almost gets under the needle.

Yea, I'm talking about you.

Since I was using so many colors and the pieces are fairly small, I marked each one with the color I was going to use so I wouldn't get mixed up. If you make it with just the geese, you use the background on all of the pointy sections.

Here is the second quarter finished.

I needed 2 of each quarter to make my block.

Ready to sew together.

This pattern makes a 12" block. I wanted to take the paper out before I passed it on, plus I wanted it a bit bigger, so I added a 2" border of the background fabric.

All done! I am excited to see what the others will make for their center block.

Quilting can wear a girl out!