National Quilting Day

I doubt there are many folks who know that such a day exists, but we quilters know -- especially if we follow the blogs or Pinterest. There's been much hub-bub over the event.

I was in a quandary about what to do, as I wanted to quilt, but we also had a big basketball game to watch. The Buckeyes met Michigan State in the Big 10 Tournament this afternoon.  I ended up listening to it on the radio while I sewed, and since we dvr'd it, we watched it later.

While I listened, I grabbed a Charm Pack and made this baby quilt.  Straight lines, easy intersections, done in a flash.

It's a Moda pack by Sandy Klop called ABC 123. Fun prints and colors. It will work whether the recipient is a boy or a girl, in my opinion. I don't have anything in mind for a border, but it may not get one. We shall see. I will think on it.

So our Buckeyes pulled out a victory and we meet Wisconsin tomorrow for the Big 10 Championship. I have a small hand quilting project I will work on while I watch the game.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Keeping Promises

In several recent posts I have said that a future blog would cover this, that or the other thing. I find, in reviewing things, I have not followed through on those promises, however.

This post will be the first of the follow-through posts!

These are the fat quarters I bought at Creations.
I think this completes the collecting of bright fabrics for an upcoming baby quilt.

Chillicothe, the nearest large town close to me, and the town in which I taught for 30 years, is becoming quite a destination for quilters. We have 2 chain stores -- JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby. We have had for 20 years or more, Creations Sew Clever. And our newbie is the growing and expanding Old Town Fabric Shop.

On Wednesday, I had some time to kill before my dentist's appointment to stop in to Creations. In recent emails from them, I knew that they were remodeling, so I was feeling the need to snoop. *grin*

Here are some pics featuring both the re-do and the fabrics and offering at Creations.

A really pretty fireplace in one of the front rooms. This shop is housed in a former funeral home in a very old building.

A colorful display of projects hangs just inside the front door, across from the check-out counter.

The entry hall used to house bunches and bunches of fabric - but while the reno is ongoing, things have been moved around just a bit. As you can imagine! ;)

This room is set aside for all the notions and rulers. Through that door you can tell that construction is in progress.

Need a quilt book? I think nearly every book on the market must be available here. The "library" room sure looks inviting! Rita Fishel, the owner, is an author herself!

I should have asked about this display piece. It looks very old, but I can't be sure. Both sides feature quilts - wonderful, finished quilts! What inspiration!

There is one entire room in the back - the classroom - that is finished, but my pic came out rather fuzzy. If you click on the shop's link, above, you will see better pictures than I have taken, anyway. The goal with the renovation is to improve lighting and brighten everything up, so the walls are all being painted and I think I heard one of the girls say that new carpet would be coming, too.

So, you out-of-towners! Come to Chillicothe! We have 4 great shops for you to enjoy, and some good restaurants to make your visit complete. Also, you could travel about 25 miles northwest and visit the Ben Franklin in Greenfield! What a lovely way to spend a day, right???

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Finish for March

There for awhile, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever be able to boast a finish in this calendar year, for the sewing year began on shaky ground. The sciatic pain had sidelined me; with the help of my husband and DD2, the sewing room moved from a small bedroom to a much larger bedroom; my Bernina had a major hissy fit and had to be shipped to Illinois then to N. Carolina! I did get a loaner, but by that time I had mountains of projects piling up, and the task of tackling them was daunting.

Well, we have solved many of our 'issues' now, I am happy to report. Lumbar injections have me feeling much, much better. The sewing room is really working out well. I just picked up my old reliable Bernina on Tuesday, and I have finished a few of the projects that were overwhelming me.

My red, white and black star quilt top is finished. I am so pleased with it. This pattern is a winner, for sure. It is by Thimbleberries, and is officially called Christmas Confetti, as she has it done up in holiday fabrics. I will just call mine Confetti Stars. If you recognize  the pattern, it's because it is the one we use when we make retirement quilts. Easy and reliable, for sure.

I have no immediate plans for quilting this, but there are a couple of options for me. A fabric sale at Ben Franklin is calling me to go snoop around, and a few bolts of reduced fabrics at Old Town also looked promising, the last time I was in there.

I had a chance yesterday to visit Creations Sew Clever, our original fabric store in Chillicothe. They are undergoing some major renovations, and I will be giving you a glimpse of that in a coming-soon post.

I am off to OUC! Gotta' teach!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

The Girls Are Working On...

Many of my quilting friends have some pretty sweet projects underway; and I thought maybe you all would be interested in seeing some of them.

Sharon P. was over on Monday to continue working on her Roman Holiday Quilt called Three Coins. The center section is complete and she is ready to tackle making stars next Monday.

Seeing Sharon work with her Roman Holiday fabric is really having an effect on me! I cannot wait to get my stash out and get cracking on it! There are several projects ahead of it in the queue, however, so I must temper my eagerness.

This neatly organized work space belongs to Cherie. She drove down to Terry's yesterday from the Columbus areal. She is working on stash reduction. Impressive!

Those greens and neutrals will look great in this Primitive Gatherings quilt.

This was the best picture I got of Sheryll's prject. She worked on stitching the alphabet while we were together yesterday.

She had a show and tell which should interest you. That "task" of taking a pile of dull-colored men's shirts and turning them into a quilt has been accomplished -- and with great success, I might add!

I don't like how blurry this picture came out, so next time we are at Sheryll's perhaps I can get her to bring it out again so that I can try to show it in better form. I will fill in the back story, too, for those who don't remember it. Regardless, I think it is evident that she was totally able to brighten those boring shirts with her selection of red and blue. Those borders do quite a lot for it, too, don't you think??

Hostess Terry had out a UFO from last summer. The quilt will be a whopper, and will go on her bed next fall.

Just like Cherie, she had her assembly line set up, too. Aren't those plaids working well together? It will be a wonderfully warm addition to a chilly autumn night.

I'm not really thinking fall right now, though! We had such an enticingly warm weekend here, and Sunday afternoon, I saw these little darlings brightening a spot in our yard. Crocuses and hyacinths. What lovely harbingers of spring!

I will get back to what I am working on next time, so stay tuned! I am now off to the dentist's! Yikes!

Happy Quilting!

 

Ideas to Infinity

It is almost impossible for me to focus lately! I have so many quilty ideas floating around in my head that it takes some serious effort to focus on just one. I read this blog a couple days ago, and she describes it perfectly. Take a minute to check it out, while I focus on what I want to say next...

News of a new baby - and first grandbaby - for dear friends of ours, I went immediately into baby quilt mode. I had several (understatement) quilts pinned on my Pinterest quilt board, and really wanted to make one that was super-bright and lively. As luck would have it, the mother-to-be leaned toward those same choices when she was looking for ideas.

So I started playing in the quilting room.

In my Kaffe stash, I knew I had left over squares, so I rooted around until I found them. Then I got busy making HSTs. They offer such versatility.

I like that variety. But, the baby is to be a girl, and so none of these will work! Consequently, the trip to  The Laughing Ewe on Friday was such a welcome little event.

But, instead of focusing on this, I need to be focusing on the red Confetti Stars, as it is so close to being finished. Then there's the Kaffe quilt that DD Erin picked out. Then the t-shirt quilt for DD Emma needs the binding stitched down.

So Quilters' ADD abounds! Off to the sewing room!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Succumbing

I did! I succumbed to the fabric buying urge while I was at The Laughing Ewe with the Frankfort friends on Friday. You may remember that I have my criteria, as I have outlined here previously.

Two of the criteria are:
1. Buy fabric that is on sale or reasonably priced.
2. Buy fabric when there is a precise project for its use.

The following purchases met those 2 criteria.

These cheerful fat quarters are intended for a baby quilt that someone dear to me will be needing come July. She has looked at my Pinterest board of quilts and seems to favor the quilts with the bright, happy colors. So I am preparing...

Now for the great price. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the great deal on this Bali Pop. I have leftover batiks, and this will go great with them, or some new project I have percolating in the back of my mind.

Well, we have guests this weekend. Erin and Jeff are here with their cat, Rocky. Emma is home for the last day of her spring break, and Adam comes and goes. We actually had our three children home at the same time! I don't think I announced it here yet, but Erin and Jeff got engaged on Valentine's Day. We are very happy for them, and I will be in mother of the bride mode over the course of the next year. The date will be May 2014, so I have a long time to plan and such. :-)

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Yet More Quilting Fun

Gosh, I feel so darn lucky to have so many quilty friends who like to do quilty things!

Yesterday, instead of our usual quilting with the Frankfort girls at Terry's house, we went on an outing to a new quilt shop in Canal Winchester called The Laughing Ewe. As you might expect, in addition to carrying quilting fabrics and supplies, she also carries a lot of wool, patterns, accessories and such. It was a very enjoyable morning.

The real reason we went was so that Terry could pick up her Generals' Wives quilt, which had been quilted by the shop's owner.

Here is Terry inspecting the result, which we all agreed was spectacular! What a gorgeous quilt!

Here are some other shots of various scenes around the shop, for your viewing pleasure!

After we left Canal Winchester, we drove south through rural Franklin and Pickaway Counties to Circleville where we enjoyed a lovely lunch at a wonderful restaurant. I will provide details on that in my next post. I will also show you the fabrics I bought (yes, I did; I bought fabric.). *grin*

In my sewing room, I am making good progress on my red and black Confetti Stars quilt. It is a fun quilt to put together. I want to be able to show you my finish in the next few days.

Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends!