Happy New Year quilting

There were a couple questions about the pantographs and how they work, so I thought I would take some pictures today while I quilted.They are easy to use and with my model of machine, they work well.You can see I got close up so you can't see all the lint and thread on the floor! lol
Yesterday was a UFO day at the store. I spent the whole day there and some of the ladies were there all day with me, some came and went. It was a fun, productive day for everyone. They all got a lot accomplished and what a great way to get back to what's important after the holidays....lol.

Christmas goodies....pantos!

I got some new pantos for Christmas from my daughters. I am excited to try them out!
My machine has a throat space of about 11" so I can only quilt about 6-8" at a time.
I am not a world class quilter yet....maybe some day...lol....so hopefully I can do these. this one has 2 patterns.
Now I am anxious to try them out....I have a quilt to do for someone so probably won't practice on it, but maybe after I get that one finished I will put something of mine on. Yes, Virginia, I have a few unquilted items....lol

OK I changed something.....

Can you tell what it is???? Opinions please on font size....never sure if I get it right.

Christmas was great!!!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with my 2 daughters who live near us.

That Johnny Cash is a rebel....lol

Christmas Day we spent in Earling with my family. This is a pic of my mom and dad, and a few other family members. I hope to get a better pic of mom and dad from someone else, since I had trouble getting mom to look up...lol...It was a great holiday...great food...great family...great chatting.....more food....

He's back in the states and I am finally finished shopping...

We know that my nephew is back in the states. He has been studying in Spain this past semester, so I was happy to hear he made it through that long flight over the ocean. He landed in Detroit a few hours ago, and will soon be boarding a plane to Des Moines. My niece will pick him up and bring him the rest of the way home. We are all anxious to see him, as you can imagine. Here is a pic of him on one of his trips in Spain.

I am so envious of everyone working on their cute Christmas gift goodies, and I haven't made one thing....I did get my shopping done, though and wrapped some of the presents last night.

Sunset in Iowa & sisters

My sister from Canada has been here since Friday night. We went shopping all day yesterday and went out to eat last night with my daughters, nephew and his girlfriend. It was fun and we got some major visiting done. I took them up to Earling (my hometown) today. My sister from Missouri was there and sent this plate of goodies with me. My sisters & mom are all really good cooks. Since I haven't gotten any baking done, these are much appreciated. There are some peanut butter cookies, fudge, pumpkin bread, caramelly bars(forget the name) and scotcheroos. I didn't stay too long as it was 2:30 by the time we got there and I didn't want to drive home too late by myself with the weather so frigid. The high today was about -1....brrrrrr...the sunset was beautiful. I took a pic on my phone, but it didn't turn out very well. So I will post the goodies instead.

Friday Snow Day!!!

Sometimes when you work for the school district, you feel just like a kid....like when you wake up to a SNOW DAY!!! And it couldn't come at a better time. My sister & her boyfriend will arrive late tonight from Canada. I have been cleaning like crazy the past couple nights, after having classes Mon. & Tues. night. So what I have left to do shouldn't be too bad since I have all day to do it.

We didn't actually get that much snow, but the ice and sleet that came before made everything a huge mess. I think a large part of the midwest was in the path of this storm. I have another sister coming from Missouri on Saturday, hope she makes it. Seems like they always get lots of sleet when it does anything. My sis from Canada will stay here til Sunday, then on to my hometown (Earling) about 50 miles from here. So I will see her several more times before they go home.

I love this time of year, even if I am so far behind...no baking done...no shopping done....no decorations up except the Nativity scene. But I did get the curvy pieced quilt top finished....so here it is. I'm still not sure it turned out like I thought it would, but it is bold and colorful. And I am still working on the new Sampler quilt, though it is on hold til after my sister goes to Earling. Whew, sorry this is so long.

My kitties are the cutest....

Hi girls....
I think they look so sweet when asleep. I think they slept all day today. It has been cold and windy and dreary all day, so why not?

I got 3 more blocks finished today. Well one is applique and still needs to be blanket-stitched, but 2 are completely done. Now to work on the setting. I want each Sampler to have a different setting, which is getting harder with each one (this is #9). I have come up with something, but we will see how it looks.
Nite nite...

Saturday busy bees

These are some pix from class yesterday. It was UFO Saturday, so 5 ladies came to work on projects. We got a lot done, plus solved a lot of the world's problems too.


I hope to get a lot done today. Have been working on some class stuff this morning, soon on to sewing. What are you doing today?

It's finished!!!

Well the back loaded first...oops.....
It's finished. I am happy with it, hope she will like it also when I give it to her tomorrow. Glad I don't have to do the binding too! we did this in class just a few weeks ago.

Wednesday stitching...

I managed to get a quilt on the frame and partially quilted tonight after work. It is the last one that I need to quilt for someone before Christmas, so that means she still needs to bind it too. I work tomorrow night and hope to finish it Friday night.

I'm done for today!!

Well I got 3 blocks finished for the new Sampler quilt, though not sure one of them is a keeper. The one on the right has more contrast than it looks like in the picture, but there isn't the greatest light in there now.

The other picture is the quilt I quilted today for a friend. I hope she likes it.

Just an update on Quiltathon

I did get that quilt finished. It was big, but an easy pattern as it was a Tshirt quilt. Will post a pic later. Now it is time to make some blocks for a new class Sampler quilt.

Quiltathon update

I am joining in with the Quiltathon at Patchwork Times so hopefully will get a lot done today.
Yesterday, after class (which I didn't get out of there til 3:00 or so) I didn't do much quilty except work on some block ideas for a new quilt. But I have started off the day by pinning a quilt down and I am ready to start quilting now. Have to take a back break after I pin because of the bending, but now I'm off to quilt!

Back to normal, I hope!

I think my computer is back to normal. Not sure what was wrong, but it was very annoying. I think I am a computer junkie, as well as fabricaholic....the list of imperfections just keeps growing... I felt pretty out of touch without it.

I have a Quick Gifts Make and Take class today. This is one of the things they will be doing. The pix are my youngest daughter's hospital & grad. pix. After that, it's home to quilt. I have a quilt I need to design and get started on and one to quilt this weekend.

If you could give me feedback on this font, I would appreciate it. I am not sure why, but I realized when I checked my page on someone else's computer that my type is very large, so if you could let me know if this looks better I would appreciate it.

Computer problems

Not sure what is wrong, but I have been having trouble with my computer. Not sure if it is my computer, my internet connection or yahoo, but it is very annoying. It did let me get in here, we'll see if it actually posts.

Smokey is up a tree!

Ok, so it is just a coat tree, but still...it was pretty funny to see her perched up there. She likes to get as high as she can go. She is on our back porch, looking out the window. She likes to get on top of the fridge too.

Quilt contest prize!!!!

I am still excited about winning the contest because I found out that I won the free-motion quilting DVD Fast & Free! Volume 0.5 by Patsy Thompson. I really want to learn how to free-motion quilt. My machine is an APQS EZ Q, so doesn't have the throat space or front handles like the larger machines. But I have tried some f-m and did ok, even though it is tricky from the back of the machine. If anyone has experience doing this, please share!

The rows are sewn and I won the contest!

Two pieces of exciting news. I won one of the prizes in the Quilting Bloggers Falling Leaves Contest!!! I am not sure what prize I won yet, but I did win. Thanks to everyone who voted for me!

I worked on my curvy blocks today and got all the rows put together. I just have to decide if I need to add a border or not. It is already 77" x 90", so it wouldn't take much and it would fit a queen. This is the best picture I can get with it on the floor....need someone to help hold it up, can anyone come over?

Saturday sewing

I am bound and determined to get that curved pieced quilt sewn together today. It seems like I have been working on it forever since I have stopped and done other projects in between, plus work. I did get a few rows together last night, so hopefully some pix later to share!

Back to the curvy pieced blocks

I had today off so went back to work on the curved pieced blocks. These are the darker ones. I now have all the blocks sewn together, so need to square them up and then will be able to start sewing them together. More pix soon!
I sewed for awhile then took off and went to lunch & Goodwill shopping with a friend. We had fun and got lots of chatting done.

Sunday is short and sweet...

Spent the day quilting and working on quilt class stuff. The day went by quickly, it is back to work tomorrow. It is a short week, though, as we are off Wed. as well as Thursday and Friday. Yippee....I am ready for some down time!
What did you do today?

Vote for your favorite quilts!

You can now vote for your favorite quilts in the Falling Leaves Contest at Quilting Blogger. I have entered the Leaves Will Fall Tablerunner (see pic in post 11/17/08 below) in the small projects category, and Betsy (Quilting Fiesta)has entered Leaf Delight in the large projects category. Go see all the beautiful projects there and vote for your favorites! Voting will be open until Nov. 28.

Friday at last.....class tomorrow!

I have a Christmas Table topper class tomorrow. I can't remember if I have posted a pic, so here it is. Should be a fun class. It is a different block, not your usual pieced block.
Hopefully class will go well...we usually have fun.

Falling Leaves Contest

The Leaves Will Fall Tablerunner is one I designed for a class last fall. I have since quilted & finished it and it is on my sister's table! I wish I had a picture of it quilted but must not have taken one.....darn!

I entered the Falling Leaves Photo Contest at Quilting Bloggers with it a few weeks ago. The voting will commence next weekend. I don't usually enter contests, but thought it would be fun. There are so many beautiful quilts, runners, wallhangings and even some bags. Check them out!

I started quilting another small quilt tonight. I hope to get it finished tomorrow night.

Sunday Quilting and family...

I had every intention of spending the whole day quilting. This was my first project. I was pinning it to the machine when my mom called. They were wondering if I wanted to shop a bit and get lunch. They live about an hour away, so I don't see them too often. So of course I said yes. So I finished pinning it on and quilted the first 2 rows. It is a fun rose & vine pattern.
Then I went to meet them, shopped, ate, chatted, took a walk...it was great to see them. One of my daughters came too.
Then I came home and worked on it some more. I am to the other end!
Yea!! I am taking it off!
Smokey is admiring it! She enjoys quilting too.
Here is a close-up. I used a variegated thread because I didn't want the quilting to take over, and it really blends in with those busy fabrics. You can see the rose if you look at the red. I am really happy to get it finished. It is a friend's quilt. She made it during one of my classes. Hope everyone had a good day and got some quilting done.

Saturday quilters & Quiltathon!

This is a picture from class this morning. Some of my classes run for 2 Saturdays so that people have a chance to work on it during the week in between if they have time. Sometimes there are more steps to learn the second week, but this time it was an easier quilt so some of them really made some headway during the week. De got hers almost finished, so finished it in class this morning. She does want it for a Christmas gift, so that was motivating her. She took Beginning Quilting about 2 1/2 years ago and has been quilting like crazy ever since!

I want to spend some time quilting tomorrow with the Quiltathon going on over at Patchwork Times. I got a little done tonight, but mostly worked on class stuff. So I am really ready to quilt tomorrow. Anyone else joining the Quiltathon?

Friday Night with Friends

I had so much fun tonight. A few friends and I got together and sewed and chatted. We try to get together every month or 2. One friend is handquilting her son's Christmas gift, another worked on stringpiecing (I did too) and one just chatted!!! It is fun to catch up. We even had a little 3 yr. old helper, he was actually helping his grandma sew. It was a great night.

Quilting these kaleidoscopes!

This is the quilt I quilted on Sunday for a friend. I have a midarm machine, an APQS EZ Q, so usually use pantos as I don't have the range of a larger machine. I used this pattern because there was so much background, so wanted something that wouldn't take away from the gorgeous kaleidoscope patterns she made.

Don't ya love my orange carpet???? lol

Giveaway at Old Red Barn

This is one of the quilts she is giving away at Old Red Barn. She actually is giving away 3 pretty quilts, go check it out.

Ok I laid the finished blocks out after all

Well I couldn't resist laying them out even though I haven't squared them yet or finished sewing them. But this gives me a peak at what it might look like. I'm getting excited to put it together.

I worked on quilting a quilt most of the day, taking a few breaks to stretch my back. It is almost finished, hopefully I can finish it later. Now I am going to see The Secret Life of Bees with my daughter. I have heard good things about that movie.

Great class today and more curved pieced blocks

Today's Whirly Girls quilt class went well. Should have some pictures next week of some partially finished quilts.
After I came home I worked on the curved pieced blocks some more.Hopefully I will get the rest sewn together tomorrow so I can start laying them out. I have about 28 to sew together yet.
I stopped sewing to talk to my daughter on the phone, then haven't gotten back to it tonight.(So it is her fault! lol) You can see they are getting darker as I get to the last colors. The last 3 sets are all the darker colors. I am getting anxious to see them laid out and may try some combinations later.

Beginning Quilting & that's about it today...

I haven't really done anything interesting to write about the last few days, except work and sew. I did have my Beginning Quilting class last night. They worked on the nine-patches. It is fun to help people get started quilting. And it is always amazing to them that you don't cut 9 squares to make the nine-patch as we do it by strip-piecing. This is the quilt they make. It is a good one to learn the basics.

I hope to work on the curved piecing blocks some more this weekend and get a little machine quilting in too.

Cutting & sewing more curved blocks...

I sewed & cut out some more of the curved blocks tonight. Now I am getting into some of the greens and blues. I want the colors to sort of flow into each other, from pinks and oranges, to greens and blues and purples.


These are the last set of colors, haven't gotten them cut yet.

Another bag and curved piecing...it truly was a quilty weekend!

I made another bag today. I made this one smaller without a pocket. It still holds a lot

Then I got out the fabrics I bought yesterday and some I had here and decided I had enough to make the curved pieced blocks. So I started on them this afternoon. They are really easier than you would think to do.

I have colors ranging from pinks and oranges to greens and blues to purples. Hopefully it will turn out like I want...
I also went walking for a bit today, it was another gorgeous fall day. There were many people out doing the same thing. Guess we need to enjoy it while it lasts!

A Quilty Day, Continued....

I started working on this bag this morning before we went shopping. It is a simple bag, with a lining, but seriously took less than 2 hours. And that was while I was figuring out how to make it as I went along. I like it...I wanted it large enough to carry groceries, but not be too heavy. I put pockets on front and back to carry things like foil and other smaller purchases. THEN we went shopping!


We ended up going to Seams To Be Quilt Shoppe in Plattsmouth, NE. It is a nice quilt shop with a lot of variety and only about 1/2 hour away. I got some pretty batiks for a project I want to do soon. It is a curved piecing project. I have some fabrics here that I will use too, so need to put these with them to see how much more I need. After we got back we walked on the bike trail and over the pedestrian bridge. It was the perfect day to walk, it must be about 70 here today....one of those perfect fall days....probably won't be many of those left.