Have you Seen these MISSING QUILTS and/or QUILT BLOCKS???

Please help Patsy find her quilts.  They were stolen from her car while traveling.  This is so heartbreaking!

Here's Patsy's story:  http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/blog/index.php/archives/3505

Also, check out MISSING QUILTS ... to see other's who have lost and/or had their quilts stolen.

Done, In The Nick of Time

♪♫Happy♫♪Birthday♪♫ANTHONY♪♫

Today is my grandson, Anthony's 9th Birthday :D

Where does the time go, just yesterday he was a baby? 

Now, he's big ... Anthony being his normal goffy self, hahaha



I've been working on a cuddle quilt for him and finished it this morning...well just about finished I need to hand sew the opening closed then it's done.

It looks a bit wavey and wonky hanging up, but the 'ocean' fabric gives the appearance of wrinkles, and there are none honestly!!!   All-in-all grandma's happy with it !!!

Love you Anthony

Grandma & Grandpa

Fabric Organization - DONE!



I finished organizing the fabrics by Color...phew that was a bigger job than I initially thought it would be.  Where'd all that fabric come from????  HaHaHaHaHa

The odd thing is I'm not really a "blue" person, yet it seems I've amased a mass of 'blues' so much so there are two bins overflowing, and honestly I need to put the overflow into a third bin...gads!!  Turbo, my fabric inspector, was even intrigued by the 'blue stack'...and it kept growing, LoL

 Mom, that's a lot of blue fabric ..

IT'S ALIVE ...  

Reds, Blacks, and Brights,  just beginning :D

Pinks in the chair, purples on ironing board, and whites which I thought I had more of...alas!!




           

           Pretty Yellows! 
Evidently need more ?? YES!!

~ Here are the cabinets ~ 

 

Notice the BLUES on the 3rd shelf, overflowing!  

 Here are the antique quilts and my grandmother's button box, a film reel button box and an old purple/gold tin button box.

 

New Year Arranging

Since it is the new year and I've not arranged my fabrics since I moved into my quilting studio last summer, guess it's time to "just do it"!!

Here are my cabinets closed and open.  See all those bins? They are loaded with fabrics admixed and must be separated by color.  After that I should (notice the key word 'should') measure and catalog all the material; however, I believe it would be easier to sort it by color first and then measure at leisure HAHAHA

So without further ado here are the fabrics....LOL

I have one more cabinet full, just can't get a pic right now...

A girl can never have too much fabric ... LOL

CHEERS!

Pink-All-Around Progress

I said this wouldn't get the best of me and it didn't!!!  I had enough left-over (haha) binding and was able to fix my 'miscut' and carry on, yea!!!  

All I have left is sewing the binding to the back, by hand, and it's done.

I finished the back with fast corner triangles ~ they are wonderful and so easy to make!!!  The triangles are used to place a dowel to hang the quilt and putting another dowel at the bottom makes the quilt lay flat.  This particular quilt can be used as either a wall hanging or a table topper.

Instructions for fast corner triangles can be found at the Alzheimers Quilt Initiative web page: http://www.alzquilts.org/sleeve.html 

My 1st UFO for 2012 ... I'm not telling how many more I have to do though :)

CHEERS!

Pink-All-Around The Disaster

I have been working on my PP Pink-All-Around that I started in 2007! How do I know that?  The instructions were in the container with the fabrics.  I put all my material, thread, embellishments and patterns or instructions for each 'project' (started or not) in Sterilite containers...I'm a bit OCD or CDO (because the letters are in order!).


Well anyway, it went from bad to worse ...
1.  I miscut a piece so it wasn't large enough to cover the paper.  Easy enough I matched up the polka-dots (what very little I had, it was excess on another piece) and sewed that together, looks pretty good and one can hardly see it (you can see it on left side of block edge).

2.  While trimming up the blocks I (again) miscut (the same block mind you!) and made it too short!  Okay, so I added a piece of the sashing to give it the proper length, about 1/8" was added and when I added the rest of the properly cut sashing it showed a bit more than I wanted, but 'oh-well'.

3.  Finally, I pieced together the four PP twist blocks...yea progress!!

4.  I cut the binding and guess what ... I should have made the binding 2" and not 1-3/8" as the instructions stated .... grrrrrrrrrr  So they are tight but doable :D  


5.  Onward and upward ... this quilt top or wall hanging isn't going to get the best of me, not yet!!!!!!


6.  I sewed the binding on and whilst "trimming" back for my mitered corners ... you guessed it - I miscut and cut one corner off !!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Guess who is going 'frogging' today and making more binding ???  

When this is finished, I'm going to change the name to

"Pink Humble Pie"

 

New Year 2012 New Ideas

I've finally gotten back into quilting.  I started making a lap quilt for my father which grew beyond my poor old sewing machine's capability so, of course, I needed a new sewing machine.  


For (an early) Christmas my DH got me a Laura Ashley NX-2000 Innovis by Brother, it's a dream....

My New Brother (lol) 

I found a super soft minkie for the backing, which will be good for Dad - after all he is 95-years old :D

I made a dish mat for my DD which was so much fun and so easy to make - visit my friend Connie's blog Quilting by the River for a quick tutorial :) 

Cute huh? 

I've got a couple more to make for myself, yea!! 

Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday

~ CHEERS! 

12-Step Program for Fabricaholics Anonymous

Found this on Fabricaholics Anonymous blog and thought it was too cute not to share...

  12 Step Program

Step one...find a pattern

Step two....buy the pattern

Step three...take it home with you

Step four...open up and read the pattern

Step five....find fabric in house that

makes your heart go pitty pat

Step six....make sure you have enough for the pattern

Step seven....cut out the required blocks bits and bobs

Step eight.....lay out the pattern and

then cut out blocks, sew the blocks

Step nine.....find a backing and batting

Step ten.....quilt as desired

Step eleven.....put on the binding

Step twelve.....enjoy your work.

By FA member Sherri

 

Carry You Home

I've not been quilting since my sister passed but I have been very busy remodeling my house, as per my sister's instructions to me.  I'll be back after the new year with my new quilt studio!  I took over the 2-car garage and it's truly going to be wonderful once it's finished...one more set of cabinets then to move in the machines and start anew!

I was listening to a song by James Blunt and although the entire song isn't relative to my sister there are two verses which are.  The song is from the movie "My Sister's Keeper" entitled *Carry You Home* and I wanted to share those:

As strong as you were, tender you go.
I'm watching you breathing for the last time.
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,
I know what it means and I'll carry you home.
I'll carry you home.

If she had wings she would fly away,
And another day God will give her some.

As strong as you were, tender you go.
I'm watching you breathing for the last time.
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,
I know what it means and I'll carry you home.
I'll carry you home.

That is exactly what I did, I carried my sister home holding her as she took her last breath; to catch that last breath is beautifully sad.

Quilt of Many Holes

My beautiful sister, Yvonne, lost her battle with lung cancer and passed away on March 6, 2010.  I was Blessed to be holding her when she left her wordly body and joined the ranks of Angels.  She is free of pain and her long-suffering and for that I am grateful but I'm so lonely without her.  I know the sadness will pass but the longing never will.

My Sister with my Granddaughter
I saved this poem, many years ago, and it reminded me of her life.

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare, and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was. I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!