Another giveaway!

Christine is having a wonderful giveaway on her blog for her upcoming birthday. Go check it out!!!

Addicted to blogs

I say that in jest, but it is fun to go round all the blogs and see what everyone is up to. I have had classes the past few nights so haven't had much time to look around or post. Tomorrow is another day.

And the winner is.....

Yesterday during class 3 friends surprised me by bringing in this cake and singing Happy Birthday....I thought it was too pretty to eat, but they said I had to cut it. It was as good as it looks. I was amused that they used my email name on the cake too.
Well, now down to business. I enjoyed all the birthday and 100th blog wishes this week. I confess that I am becoming a little addicted to this blogging, but it sure is fun to visit round and see what everyone is doing so it can't be a bad addiction, can it? These are the fat quarters some lucky winner will get!
Drumroll please.....I did this the old fashioned way....and the winner is.....
Christina over at Patches Quilt Works. Seems like Christina is always up to something, working on new projects & helping some of us who don't always know what we are doing!
Congratulations Christina!

One more thing....Kim at Bitty Bits and Pieces is having a great giveaway...go check it out! Tell her I sent you!!!

Fun Night with Friends

I spent last night with 5 friends who I have been getting together with for years. We had a fun night of sewing & chatting. I actually didn't get much sewing done, but you will be happy to know that I did my share of chatting! I asked them to bring their Ocean Song Quilts. This is Cindy with hers. I took a close-up of her beading, look especially at the mermaid's fin...she has a bead on every scale!
It shimmers!

Debbie and Jo are still working on theirs. I will take more pictures when they are finished. This is one of those projects that we have worked on off and on for about a year and a half.
Connie is in the background working on handquilting a Nelson Brothers banner!

This is mine, with a close-up below.

I took these pictures... you can tell I was focusing on the quilts, so managed to cut off the top of their heads. I don't know if you can really see how beautiful the beadwork is on them. You can tell how everyone framed them a little differently, though, and made them their own.

I am so lucky to have these good friends that share my obsession/love of fabric and quilting.

One more day to get in on the giveaway for the 3 black, white and red fat quarters. Just leave a comment here.

Blog Giveaway and S & B Night!

I am excited about getting together with friends tonight for our gabbing/sewing/eating session. We have been getting together for years, off and on. Sometimes we meet once a month, sometimes every other month. Just whatever suits us. I am hoping that I can get a picture of the other ladies with their Ocean Song quilts as I think most are finished or close. Sometimes when you are adding embellishments it is hard to know when to stop! This is a picture of mine after quilting. I was trying some free motion quilting on it. I will post a finished picture tomorrow.

Leave a comment to get in on the 100th Post & Birthday Bash Giveaway!

Giveaway & Beautiful Quilt

Today when I got home there was a package from Indiana with a beautiful little quilt inside. Remember the giveaway I won last week from Carol of Cornfield Quilter?
The picture she posted didn't do it justice. First off, there are pretty little flowers in each block, blanket stitched by hand. The border has flowers winding around the quilt on vines.

And the whole little quilt is hand quilted! I can't believe she gave this away, but I will definitely take good care of it. Thanks again, Carol!

If you want in on my red & black fat quarter (see previous post) 100th Blog Post Giveaway & Birthday Bash, just comment on any post between now and Saturday to be eligible to win!

100th Post Giveaway & Birthday Bash!!!!

I can't believe it, but this is my 100th post! I started this in 2007, but didn't stick with it. Then this past fall I started back up & it has been so much fun. So.........
in honor of my 100th post, I decided to have a giveaway!!! How original, right? lol Well, maybe not original, but fun.
I think these would be a great addition to anyone's stash...especially if you are doing the black & white quilt challenge!
Not only is it my 100th post, but my birthday is also this week on Saturday. So if you would like in on this giveaway, just comment on any post between now and Saturday to be eligible to win these beautiful fat quarters.

Heather is celebrating her 200th post, so go see what she is giving away!

Finished Round Robins

Here are the pics of the Round Robin quilts we made using our blocks from the exchange. Everyone set them together how they wished. Debbie used a piano key border. She had asked each of us to put in a strip of fabric we used of our own so it would be in the border.
Cindy used all cat fabrics. It has since been quilted and finished and is on a bed.
Jo had a battle with cancer in the midst of this project, but luckily has gone on to make many more quilts!
Mine is finished also. Laura moved to Ankeny and we haven't seen her lately, so not sure if she ever finished. It was fun to work on something for each other. We are starting a new project next week, more details later.

I've been tagged!

Cathy at Cathy's Quilts has tagged me. The rules are go to your 4th folder of pictures and pick the 4th picture, then write about it. So here goes! A couple years ago, I wanted to do a round robin, so I talked 4 friends into doing it with me.
We did a block round robin with rules as to how many and how big the blocks would be. You could make any blocks you wanted for the others as long as you followed those rules.
This is each of us with our blocks....ignore the stack~n~whack blocks, please. They are not part of this story. These pix were taken in the classroom I use for quilt classes and there are always lots of quilty things in there.
Everyone used their own colors and when you had someone's quilt, you used some of their fabrics and some of your own too.
We had so much fun and still get together to chat and stitch.
The picture above is the one I was to write about, but I thought I needed the rest of the pictures to tell the story right. After we oohed and ahhed over our blocks and talked about how we would put them together, I gave each of them this Ocean Song panel and challenged them to do something creative with it. That could be another story!

I am now suppose to tag 4 people and this is who I choose:

Heather at Needles and Pens
Carol at Cornfield Quilter
Kathy at Kathy's Quilts
Judi at Judi's Crazy World

It was hard to pick just 4 as there are so many good reads out there.

I won a giveaway!

I am so excited! I won a giveaway on Cornfield Quilter this morning. Carol was evidently cleaning out closets or something and decided to give away some of her small projects. All you had to do was post which one you wanted!!! So I did and I won. This is the one I won. It looks so pretty, Carol, I will take good care of it, I promise!

Portuguese Pavement & Today's News

This is a picture of Portuguese Pavement that my nephew took while in Lisbon, Portugal. He said these types of sidewalks are common there, as well as in Brazil. I of course thought of quilts. When I googled it I found many designs that would make good quilts! Notice how the stones aren't all the same size? I am still thinking of Wanda's quilt (see previous post), with the Crooked Cobblestones type blocks. lol hint, hint...Wanda.


I finished working on some patterns for my new Sampler Club #9 class. I decided to name the quilt Seeing Double.I had a reason for the name. Not sure if it fits, but I was seeing double by the time I was finished as I was making it in my spare time through the holidays. I am still working on the patterns, but am getting there. I still need to bind the baby quilt too. It's already Sunday night. Can I please order another Sunday for tomorrow?

Mosaic in Spain & Wanda's Favorite

Wanda's (Exuberant Color) Current Favorite caused a few comments the other day as she wondered if she should change the name. Her bright quilt got me thinking about a picture my nephew posted while in Spain studying a few months ago. This is the photo...when I saw this I thought about what a pretty quilt it would make. He had it labeled La Alhambra in Granada.

New truck

This isn't a very quilty post, but my husband is a happy man tonight. He had a little fire (is there any such thing as a little fire?) under the hood of his '93 Corsica the other day so has been car/truck shopping. Tonight we found the truck of his dreams so it is sitting outside in our driveway. He is funny to shop with as he knows just what he wants: Chevy truck, newer, not 4x4 and when the salesmen(snake oil types) try to entice him with Fords or Dodges he won't be budged. (He thinks they are junk! Please don't be offended if you love them...it is only his opinion!) So he just stands firm and they take notes. lol

Fuzzy Purses & Back To School

I got quite a bit done yesterday, including making this red fuzzy purse for my daughter. I had made her several in different colors a few years ago when I was making more purses. She had requested a red one, but I never got it made. I was working on a bag for a class yesterday and while looking for fabric I came across the red fuzzy fabric so decided it's never too late. Hopefully she likes it.

The nice holiday break is over and it was back to school today. It was very busy as everyone needed a new book to read. Some people have said it is nice to get back to the routine, but I would like another week off, please!

New goodies

The other day when I went shopping at Seams to Be Quilt Shoppe in Plattsmouth, Ne with my friends, I not only found pink dotted minkie for the back of the baby quilt (see below), but I found a nice pattern for a Lone Star. I have been looking for just the right one for awhile. I might put some applique on the corners, but can find something for that myself since this one doesn't have it. I also got a few fats from their bargain bin....they always have a lot of pretty fabrics on their sale wall too. I like that in a quilt store. I had a bit of Christmas money from my daughter to spend, so that was nice!
They just happen to go well with the fats I bought on sale the other day at Hancock. Do you see a theme here?

Dots All Over baby quilt

I had a good time shopping yesterday. Found some fabrics, a pattern, and some pink and white polka dot minkie! It was even half price! I would say that it was meant to be the back of the baby quilt. I was wishing I had a circle panto of some sort, then realized that one of my new ones has curliques, so used it. (It is the 3rd pictured in post below.)
I was going to use flannel, but will just use on something else. I was a little worried about quilting it, but it went fine. I did use stabilizer on it first, so no stretching. Now to put on the binding (It is light pink with tiny white dots.)

My sister headed back to Canada this morning. About 16 of us went out to eat last night to say good-bye. We have had a lot of family gatherings in the past 2 weeks, so I feel like I got to visit with her & the rest of my family a lot. They are getting out just ahead of the nasty weather we are having here today. It is cold, dreary and rainy, which is now freezing. Wonder how they fared in Denver?

New Years Day doings....

I started and finished this baby quilt last night...it is very easy. It is for my daughter's friend, who is due in January. I am going to quilt it Saturday. I like the modern look of it & all the dots and circles. Now how should I quilt it? Wish I had a panto with circles, I am afraid to wing it.

I went up to Earling today for the annual New Years Day fish feed my sister puts on. Every year she brings us halibut from B.C. and cooks it on New Years Day. It was so good...she also made foccacia bread and other goodies. She will be leaving Saturday morning, so will be coming to Council Bluffs tomorrow night (the airport is across the river in Omaha NE). Whoever can comes down and we all go out to eat, so there will be about 18 - 20 of us I think. It is hard to believe her 2 weeks here is almost up, but we have been lucky to have good weather and lots of family gatherings while she was here.

Tomorrow I am going quilt shop hopping with friends...should be fun!