Lynda's Quilts

Pay It Forward

2012-02-08T15:20:00.005-07:00

Several months ago I accepted an invitation from Nina Lise on Mrs. Moen's blog to participate in a Pay It Forward handmade gift exchange. I don't know if you have checked out Mrs. Moen's blog (you can get to her from my favorites list on the side of my blog) but she has a fascinating blog where she posts some amazing, thought provoking, creative projects that she makes. I couldn't refuse to join in the fun! Last night when I came home from work I found this large envelope with Norwegian stamps in the corner and knew that I was the lucky recipient of a Nina Lise original!!!
First I found this delightful card that I am sure was made with the help of her grandson. Lots of bold and bright brush strokes of vivid paint.

Then I pulled out this one-of-a-kind, delightful, amazing, wonderful, creative piece of artwork. It says "Put on a Happy face" on the top. The dress of this beauty is handmade "Make a smile" fabric (made by Nina Lise). The background is a vintage bed sheet. Nina Lise machine quilted wavy lines down the background. The arms and legs are left loose from the background and the head is held on with beautiful buttons. I have never seen such a perfectly sewn down binding. I am so delighted with my gift and can hardly wait to add my gifts to this Pay It Forward challenge. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Nina Lise!
Now comes your opportunity to participate! I just need 3 people who are willing to accept the challenge. If you are willing to join in the fun just let me know. The challenge is that I have 1 year (365 days) to make a handmade gift for you and if you accept, you have 1 year from the time you receive my gift to pass a gift on to 3 other bloggers. Isn't that fun??? You never know what exciting thing you will receive in the mail from me but I've been thinking about what to send for several months now. Come on.....Join the fun....Accept the challenge.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Ellie's Valentine Tutu

2012-02-07T19:55:00.003-07:00

Here's our little Ellie modeling her Valentine skirt from Grandma. Just 20 months ago she was about the same size as that monkey in her hand.

I'll be back tomorrow to share a special package that came in the mail for me!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

1920's Quilt Kit

2012-02-01T13:39:00.006-07:00

Several years ago a sweet lady named Margaret Perry gave me this 1920's Quilt Kit that she had been working on for quite some time. She had hand appliqued the center and 3 corners before she gave it to me to finish. I DO NOT ENJOY hand applique but I told her I would finish it....someday. I did work on my little corner for several weeks. I took it to Linda at Just Sew fabric store in Highland and she machine quilted it for me. 1920 quilt kits were prestamped with where each piece was to go and the lines for quilting too. The fabric was all stamped with the flowers, leaves and vines. Margaret had cut them all out. Each piece had its own place on the quilt. Margaret passed away before I got it done but I think she would be so proud of how beautiful it turned out.

Here are some pictures of the quilting and the applique and even some of the hand embroidery I did to embellish the vines.

I don't know if you can tell that it has a scalloped border. I plan on getting some light blue for the binding and tackling that job as soon as I get my Viking back from repair.Happy Quilting! Lynda

Quilt Retreat

2012-01-29T19:53:00.006-07:00

OK I've only been without my sewing machine for a couple of days and I'm already having withdrawals!!! I cut up several Valentine type fabrics and made a little skirt for Ellie. The waist looks way too big so when she tries it on I may need to remove a few strips and tighten the waistband a bit. But I think it turned out cute.Here is the almost completed table runner from our quilting day on Wednesday. Thank you Suzanne for letting me use your machine. I ran out of bobbin so decided to wait until later to finish up the binding. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? My machine isn't working. Why didn't I just wind another bobbin and sew the rest of the way around so I could have some hand work to do. Oh bother.
Here are a few pictures of our fun day at Suzanne's wonderful bonus room. (It is sooo big and roomy and comfortable.)

Me and my big smile because I finally got it right. You see, my first couple of strips were on backwards so my braid was going the wrong direction. After a couple of attempts and unpicking I finally got it right. You can see Judy busy working on her French Country looking table runner in bright yellow and blue. She used a different pattern with Flying Geese.

Sorry Martha, we got the back side of you working diligently on your runner. Martha used lovely spring colors with a tie dye looking back. Dee put her runner aside for a moment and worked on a word scramble Suzanne had challenged us to do. Some of the words were quite impossible.Here Debbie is working quietly on one in golds, browns and blacks. It is really beautiful.Nancy is doing a little cutting for a border on her Valentine runner. Alice was there too but she must have been a little camera shy today.Judy again working on the final border before trimming and ready for the binding. It is so much fun to work together on a project and see how different they all look with different fabrics.

Thanks Suzanne for a great day of sewing, laughter, story telling and a scrumptious lunch too.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Family Time

2012-01-28T11:12:00.002-07:00

I love having my children come home for a visit. Daughter 2 came for a few days since she will be starting a new job and not sure when she can come again. Daughter 3 and Ellie decided to come also. We did have a good time together as always. We tried making chocolate souffles. They turned out pretty good. Only 1 problem.....it made 8 and there were only 4 of us to eat them so we each had to have 2---- since they aren't good after sitting and deflating.Ellie and dolly were quite pleased with the new quilt. Poor dolly kept slipping out tho....I think it may have had something to do with the way she held her....upside down quite often.
I spent Wednesday sewing with a few other ladies. We each made a table runner. Pictures hopefully soon. I forgot my camera so Suzanne, our teacher for the day, said she would e-mail me a few to share. Sadly, my sewing machine has been sounding pretty rough lately and it wouldn't even sew a single stitch!! Luckily Suzanne had an extra one I could borrow for the day. Now I have to wait to put the binding on until I get my Viking back from repair. What will I do with my time now??? Just got a call from my quilter and she has my 1920 kit quilt completed. Oh I can hardly wait to pick it up to show you.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Ellie's dolly needs a quilt

2012-01-14T14:02:00.003-07:00

Ellie is coming for a few days visit. Decided her dolly needed a little quilt. This is a tiny twister quilt made from some leftover 5 inch squares. No batting, solid yellow background and binding. Just stitched in the ditch. I think her dolly will like it.Happy Quilting! Lynda

Ellie's new hat

2012-01-08T09:00:00.004-07:00

I found this pattern for a Jack and Jill hat by Izzy & Ivy designs that I thought just needed to be made for Ellie. I read over the instructions several times and finally cut out all the pieces and started making the hat. The instructions were a little difficult for me to follow completely. It told me to make a buttonhole in one part but never had me use that button hole for anything the rest of the pattern. I don't make clothing very much anymore so I may be a little rusty on following those kinds of patterns. I made a couple of mistakes but eventually the hat turned out really cute!

Here's Ellie wearing her new hat. She only wore it long enough for a few pictures tho. I will make it again because I think it turned out quite well. My daughter thought it would look great in black and white striped fabric for a train conductor hat for a little boy.....some day.

I've also been making a couple of quilt backs and taken one of them to the quilter. I finally got the rest of the fabric for the Rick Rackasaurus quilt too. Can't wait to get that one finished. My niece should be having her new baby boy soon and I want to have it ready to give to her.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Been gone so long.......

2011-12-28T14:57:00.004-07:00

Hope you all had a good Christmas. Ours was wonderful. A couple of our children and their families came for a few days (making 1 cute little granddaughter and 1 very active grandpuppy). Having family around sure makes Christmas more fun. I think I love having Christmas on a Sunday so that we can attend our Church meeting and then come home to open gifts. Here is one of our little Ellie enjoying the bag just as much as the gift that came inside.

Ellie helped us make pies using her very own rolling pin and dough.
I saw this simple felt Christmas tree on pinterest and knew I had to make one also. A very simple triangle tree with magnets to hold it to the fridge. The ornaments were just circles cut from felt I had on hand. It was a big hit with Ellie. She spent a lot of time redecorating the tree each day.
I've also started a Rikrakasaurus quilt for my niece who is having her 3rd son in January. I found the pattern in a Quiltmaker May/June 1997 magazine and have always wanted to make it. I'm now looking for some dinosaur fabric to use for the outside border and maybe some wild striped inner border and sashing.

Looking forward to 2012!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Back in the sewing room.......finally

2011-11-25T15:47:00.002-07:00

I've been wanting to make a zipper bag for quite some time but was a little leary because I really don't like to sew in zippers. But I was really surprised how easy it was. Much easier than putting one in the back of a dress. The patten for this was off the internet and it wasn't lined, just used iron on interfacing. Next time I'll line it for sure since I now know how easy it is now.

I call this a "free" quilt since everything I used was in my small stash. Several months ago I cut strips from fabrics and started trying to use them in baby quilts. This one is just 8 inch squares with a tiny white sashing. The pink polka dot flannel for the back was even left over from a larger quilt. Would you believe I even machine quilted it myself AND sewed the binding by machine too. Now it's ready for the next little baby girl born in our neighborhood.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

A little of this.....a little of that

2011-11-20T14:23:00.011-07:00

The other day my boss, Dr. McBee, needed to borrow my car. He rides his bike to the office quite often and he forgot he was taking another doctor out to lunch. We figured he wouldn't want to ride on the handlebars. So...............After taking lots of picture of Ellie during our visit this week....this is what I found...............
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wait for it..........
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I know..................funny guy.

I gave this quilt to a young man in my neighborood named Harrison. He is such a quiet young man but is such a strong, gospel centered young man too. Whenever I give a quilt to someone I tell them why I picked the colors and the pattern. I figured the creams were indicitive of his calm and quiet nature and the red depicts his strong love for our Savior. You can see by the smile on his face that he was happy to get a nice warm quilt since it is cold outside.

We went to visit our daughter and her family this week....again. Luckily her husband doesn't get tired of our visits.....yet. Ellie's favorite place to play is the bottom step. She carried this bag around most of the day filling it with her toys and taking them out to line them up on the step.

Here she is digging to the very bottom to get everything out.

She is at that age where she wants to try everyones shoes on. When I got ready to leave I found cheerios and toys in my shoes.

We brought these cute pink furry feet slippers for her. The toes are painted with bright pink polish.

We found this gyro bowl for her. It is amazing. It really doesn't spill no matter how she carries it. However, she likes to take all the cheerios out and line them up.

She has discovered her tongue. She was probably making raspberries (that's what we call it) with her grandpa.

Here she is reading a pop-up book with Grandpa.

Maybe this week I'll get back into my sewing room.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

More Retreat

2011-11-05T09:59:00.003-06:00

Suzanne, our Quilt Retreat Hostess, always has a gift for each of us. This is a bag filled with buttons, a covered notebook (that she made) and a chocolate bar wrapped and ribboned. The sticker says, "So much CHOCOLATE, so little time".

This is a quilt I took to take the binding off of. I used the backing fabric for the binding and didn't like the way it looked on the front with the rich fabrics. However, the vote after folding it over and seeing how it would look, was to keep it and save me the trouble of all that ripping out. I'll be working on that tonight.

This is what I worked on. You can see the baseball quilt and the bag of applique that I was sure I would have time for also. I love this quilt and I'm sure the young man I am giving it to will love it too. Funny how I didn't notice until I looked at the picture that most of the light reds are on one side!

I do enjoy getting together with other quilters spending the day working on projects, seeing what others are doing, laughing, talking and eating. Thank you again, Suzanne, for sharing your home with us.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Retreat was a real treat!

2011-11-04T20:42:00.013-06:00

Myrna's quilt top that she worked on all day. Then she started the borders.....oodles of 2inch squares sewn together.

These pumpkins greet us every year on our climb up the stairs to Suzanne's quilting room. AND every year I say I'm going to make some of those next year!!!

Maybell showing a darling 4 patch and square in a square baby quilt. She also had a beautiful quilt in blue with the most amazing back (no I neglected to get a picture) :(

Claudia, Nancy and Alice busily working on projects.

Claudia with a cut finger still managing to make a big dent in her projects. She finished the vest she is wearing. Judy and Alice sewing and laughing in the back.

Suzanne, showing off her striped socks was binding a quilt and Dee was working on applique.

Myrna admiring Patti's Dresden Plate.

And of ourse.....there is always delicious food.

Alice and Judy taking a break from their projects to admire Dee's applique. This is the 2nd panel of 3 that will go into a quilt. Dee and Suzanne are champion appliquers. I brought some to work on so they could help me learn.....but never got around to doing any of it. I spent the whole time binding 1 quilt!

Dee explaining how "easy" it is to applique.

Nancy sharing the quilt top she finished.

And a couple of quilters spent a long time helping Nancy arrange and rearrange her Sampler quilt blocks.

A big thank you to Suzanne for sharing her home with us a couple of times a year for quilt retreats. She has quilts hanging everywhere and on every bed and couch.

Would you believe I didn't even take a picture of the quilt I was binding! Tomorrow I'll show you the finished quilt.

Now I just want to lie down and take a rest.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Gobble Gobble & Candy Corn Dress

2011-11-03T09:16:00.010-06:00

We took a drive to Logan again on Wednesday to spend some time with our granddaughter, Ellie. My daughter had a couple of projects for us to work on. Above is a cute little Turkey shirt. She finished it after we left.
She had a picture of this candy corn dress. It took us about an hour to figure out how to make it without instructions and to make it. It was quite easy and went together quickly but it is always nice to have two heads working on figuring it out.
Tomorrow I am going to a quilt retreat. It started today but I couldn't get the day off of work. I have prepared a couple of quilts to bind and am finally going to work on some hand applique on a project I started at least 2 years ago called Antitude. One of my quilting friends showed me how she appliques and it makes it look a lot easier than what I have been trying before. I'll take pictures and share them later.

Happy Quiltng! Lynda

This should keep your eyes moving!

2011-10-26T15:29:00.008-06:00

I made a bunch of these blocks from a pattern in "More Nickel Quilts". After they were made I wasn' sure I really liked them But I took the stacks......... Trimmed off these......

Sewed the blocks together and ended up with this block. I decided I liked it after all!

I put them up on my design wall.....

Arranged again leaving space for sashing......

Then sewed them together......No sashing.....

I love all the patterns when they are sewn together. I see squares....I see stars.....

Now I think I may add a small border of green, or maybe red, or maybe blue.......

Happy Sewing! Lynda

Another great weekend

2011-10-22T10:30:00.003-06:00

One of my sons, Eric, and his family came from California for a couple of days. One reason was to visit us and the other to get Taylor's wisdom teeth extracted by the oral surgeon I work for. Nicky and Ellie also came. Ellie had a hard time warming up to her uncle....unless he had candy to share!

Nicky brought another Halloween project for us to work on. Taylor, smiling in back, didn't seem to be feeing any pain from the surgery. Katie, my granddaughter was a big help with the project. Everyone headed back home this morning. Our home is now deafeningly quiet and I miss all of them already.

Katie made the comment that our house was sure a lot messier than when they all came. But I assured her that I love the mess, the noise, the laughter, and the staying up until midnight talking.

Guess I'll start washing towels and bedding and maybe even get down to the sewing room for a few minutes....and look forward to their next visit.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Witches and Boo Blocks

2011-10-13T19:58:00.004-06:00

About a half an hour from my home is a wonderful shopping place called Gardner Village. There are lots of fun little quaint shops. During the whole month of October they put on a witch festival. My daughter, Nicky, and my niece Elizabeth decided to meet there with Ellie (Nicky's little girl) and Cameron and Conner (Elizabeth's 2 boys). Ellie and Conner aren't quite sure what to think of this witch.
Here I am with Ellie, Elizabeth and Conner. Cameron was off and running throwing rocks in the pond.
After we went to lunch we went to Elizaeth's home and made these cute "boo" blocks from wood and paper and glitter. That's Cameron peeking over the counter.
We thought Witchie Poo was quite funny reading the paper in the outhouse.
Nicky trying to keep Ellie still long enough for a picture.
We especially loved this witch pushing a giant green frog in a stroller too.
Elizabeth and witch.
Here the kids were looking out the window while we waited to be seated in the restaurant. Outside the window was a purple toed witch jumping from the roof into a pond. There were many many more witches playing baseball, dancing, riding a bike thru the sky, fishing with dynamite in the pond, and even spraying water when you walked across a bridge. There were pumpkins everywhere and ghosts and goblins too.

It was a fun day.

This week I've been in a cleaning mood! I've cleaned out file cabinets, closets, cupboards, and more in the sewing room. I washed and changed bedding ready for the next group of visiters this next week. I filled the backseat of my car and trunk and hauled it to Savers (a place like Salvation Army). Also filled my garbage can to overflowing and have several bags ready for next weeks garbage. Oh it feels good. Now I have a stack of quilting books I am getting rid of also. Wonder how long I can keep it clean?

Now maybe I can get back to some sewing time.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

This one's for Connie

2011-10-03T06:45:00.002-06:00

A couple of years ago my friends, Janine and Connie and I purchased the fabrics for this Buggy Barn quilt called My Three Stars. We spent a couple of hours matching fabrics and cutting everything out so they were ready to sew. I made one for a neighbor boy graduating from High School and the other for one of my grandsons. Janine made hers also for a grandson. Connie.....made the large stars and then put it away. Her son graduated from high school and then left on a mission for our Church. I have offered to finish it for her several times. Last week she handed it all over to me. I worked this past weekend on it and now it is finished too. This time around ALL the stars look good. On my first one some of the stars were a bit skeewumpus. I love making Buggy Barn quilts.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

I won! Yes I did

2011-09-26T07:28:00.006-06:00

A couple of weeks ago QuiltSue over at Quilt Times had a scrambled letter word contest. It was quite a test for my old brain! But I won. Saturday I got home from shopping and there was this wonderful squishy package waiting on the kitchen table for me. Look what was inside. The most lovely Meadow Friends fabric. Along with it are cute little "Made for a Princess" labels for me to use.

Here are some of the fabrics that are just begging to be used. I was thinking of a sweet meadow quilt for a little princess. Thank you Sue. I love my gift!

A LONG time ago I got this book, mostly for the quilt on the cover. So I've been cutting fabrics into 5 inch squares so I would be ready to make it someday.

However, this one caught my eye.

So I've been sewing red, yellow, blue, orange and green squares together.....slowly working on it. So far I don't see any dent in my stash.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Boo!

2011-09-14T08:22:00.006-06:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to visit our daughter and family. Of course, we had to go feed the ducks since this is one of Ellie's favorite things. Although she did eat a few pieces of the stale bread herself between throwing chunks to the ducks.

We started working on a Quiet Book for Church for Ellie.

2 of my friends, Janine and Connie, and I made Halloween quilts. We shared fabrics so we would get lots of fun blocks. This one is mine. I use flannel on the back.

Linda, the quilter at Just Sew in Highland, did a fantastic job quilting spider webs.

This one is Janine's quilt. She uses Minke on the back. It really shows off the quilting and is so bright.

Once again, I've been cleaning out my sewing room. I wonder who (or what) comes in and messes it up all the time? Of course, as I'm cleaning I find projects that need to be completed or new projects to start or I just sit and reread quilt magazines.....no wonder I never finish the clean up job!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Twister finished

2011-08-31T16:10:00.002-06:00

I got my Twister quilt back from the quilter and sewed the binding on today. I used a flannel polka dot on the back....again. I love the cozy warmth of flannel in the winter!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Asian Bag

2011-08-30T06:47:00.005-06:00

I love quilting magazines. I find so much inspiration there....even if I don't make anything from the magazine. But while devouring everything in this magazine I ran across a great Asian bag pattern.

(Tilt your head to the side or this picture!) I fell in love with it. So in June for our Shop Hop I found a whole cabinet full of Asian prints. I was sure that I wanted red and black but when I saw the pink fabric I knew I had to use it instead.

Didn't it turn out lovely!! I, yes me, myself, actually did some machine quilting on it too. A blogging friend, Nine Lisa from Mrs. Moen blog, told me to just go ahead and try it. She often uses a wavy line so it's not so noticeable if your line isn't so accurate. I was quite pleased that it went so well. The pattern was easy to follow and quite simple. I may just have to make another one.

I've also made the binding ( it looks quite red but it is brown) for my pink and brown Twister quilt. I just got it back from the quilter so will be binding it tonight and tomorrow. It's for a wedding present on Thursday so I'd better get moving.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Great week!

2011-08-14T15:23:00.005-06:00

Sorry about all the wrinkles but my back has been killing me for a week and I couldn't get down on the floor and smooth them out! (Yes I've been to my chiropractor and feel much better) I finished my red and green star quilt top. It is 86 X 96. I usually don't make my quilts that big anymore but I got carried away. I just love the fabric. It is called Petal Pushers but I forgot who made it. I only used 5 fabrics from the line of about 15 I think. The colors are much brighter in real life.

I love Halloween and all the bright colors and fun fabrics. This was certainly an easy quilt top to make. I used 10 inch squares, mostly from a Layer Cake, but after cutting and sewing they ended up to be 8 1/4 inch blocks. I think I'll find a polka dot flannel for the back.

Now I'm ready to start cutting and sewing on an Asian inspired purse I bought fabric for over a month ago!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Pink Baby Twister

2011-08-13T09:37:00.002-06:00

My friend, Janine, made this sweet little baby quilt using just 2 colors with the 4 inch twister template. The quilting is swirling flowers. I put the binding on a couple of days ago. The baby shower is today. I think this tiny baby and Mommy will be very happy.

Now I've got to get back down to my sewing room (after I finish making bread...I know, I know....its 98 degrees out and I'm making bread!). I'm almost finished with my green and red star quilt and I've been working on a bright and cheerful Halloween quilt that I have to get put together today. Yes....I HAVE TO!!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Some time in my sewing room.....finally!

2011-07-31T15:33:00.007-06:00

But first.....some cake pops. If you haven't tried making cake pops yet they are so much fun to do. You start with a cake mix and make as directed. Let cool overnight if you have time. Crumble quite fine and add about 2/3 of a can of frosting. Lots of mixing here to get it all incorporated. Roll into small balls and refrigerate til rather firm. Dip stick in melted chocolate, push into ball, cool in fridge again. Then dip cake ball into melted chocolate and tap lightly to remove excess chocolate. These are made with a strawberry cake mix and cream cheese frosting with a handfull of miniature chocolate chips added to look like seeds. Dipped first into white chocolate and then into green chocolate. When you bite into them......they look like watermelon! Cute huh?

Now down to the sewing room. 35 blocks made several weeks ago are now getting the first of red polka dot sashing. Gotta love that chain sewing!

Blocks turned into pairs and pairs turned into rows.

7 rows ready for horizontal sashing. Ooops....forgot the sashing on the right end.

This week I should get all the rows and sashing complete and ready for the 2 borders. Feels so good!!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Border on!

2011-07-28T06:05:00.004-06:00

Not much sewing going on around here the past month. Lots of company, long hours at work... but that isn't the only reason. I just haven't had the desire to head down to he sewing room when it is so nice outside. However, I did finally get the border on this twister quilt. My goal this month is to get backs made for a few quilts that I have ready so I can get them to the quilter! I love a FINISHED quilt!!!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

No Time fo Quilting This Week!

2011-07-22T21:09:00.010-06:00

I had my daughter from Illinois and her 4 kids and my daughter and her husband and little girl from Logan here for a few days. We had a great time! Here I am (where did that gray hair come from???) with 2 of my grandsons making peanut butter covered pinecones to feed the birds this winter. It was a gooey mess but we have about 25 cones covered and ready for the birds.

There were lots of hugs.

Miniature golf.

Rousing games of kickball in the front yard.

Swimming at the city pool.

My son in law lifting 2 of my grandsons up out of the water and tossing them up in the air. I think he found out they are getting pretty big for that.

It was 98 degrees for a few days so youngest granddaughter enjoyed the sprinkler.

The girls decided we all needed sparkly toes. A couple grandsons thought it was fun to watch. (Although the youngest grandson in the red shirt thought purple sparkly toes would be fun...at least for awhile!)

Now they have all gone home and my house is so quiet...and boring...and lonesome. Of course, this weekend another daughter is coming into town and we may just have to drive up to Logan to spend some time with my youngest daughter and her family again. Sure do love family visits!!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Lavender Festival

2011-07-10T20:22:00.012-06:00

I have a great friend, Janine, who lets me drag her places all the time. We drove to Mona, about 30minutes away, on a very hot day to "experience" the Lavender Festival. The farm is a beautiful place with well maniured gardens and lawns and ponds and streams with this amazing lavender smell every place you walk. What a nice couple of "flower head people" greeted us at the start of our tour.

Beautiful flowers, herbs and waterfalls.

The herb garden covered a large area with paths to walk through and signs telling what herbs we were seeing.

There were tents where you could make a lavender wreath, lavender wand for the young children or lavender bees wax candles. Have I mentioned how wonderful the place smelled?? There were also people giving lavender foot massages, or selling lavender ice cream, or making lavender wax hands. They sold every kind of essential oil in the shop too.

Paddle boats in a beautiful pond surrounded by lavender.

A small lavender field that we could cut our own lavender to take home. The smell of the whole farm was amazing. This was just a small cutting field for visitors. There are acres of lavender in fields all around.

Wonderful stream flowing through lush grassy areas. Even the benches were lavender.

Lavender fairies who carried around wishing dust. They would give children some in their hands, tell them to make a wish and then throw the dust in the air.

Horse drawn buggy rides, pony rides and a fun little town and play area for the children too.

It was a beautiful place. I'm glad I have such a good friend who will go to these events with me.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Binding done.....check!

2011-07-08T07:34:00.002-06:00

Just so you know I haven't been completely idle this summer I finally got the binding on this quilt. Lately black, white and red have just been so appealing to me. I love the way the red bounces off the quilt when paired with black and white. I used flannel on the back again. That is my favorite now so the quilt is nice and warm and cuddly. Of course, right now warm and cuddly aren't so necessary with the 95 degree weather we are having but I know in too short a time it will be cold and windy and snowy again and then "someone" will really enjoy the warmth of the flannel.

Summer is the busiest time at work for me. I work for an oral surgeon and it seems everyone wants their wisdom teeth out or jaw surgery during school breaks so we sometimes work very long hours. That does cut into my sewing time. I do have several projects in various degrees of progress waiting for me tho just calling for me to get back to them.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Why Don't I Go Every Year???

2011-06-20T07:07:00.012-06:00

The Shop Hop was amazing. This is only about the 3rd year I have gone. It always seems like I am working and can't get off. But this year I am so glad I went. Look at this blue and white quilt using Flying Geese. I've got to make it.....someday. And then this Stretched Star looks so happy with all the fun fabrics.

Originally I purchased some 30's fabrics for a Dresden using red polka dot fabrics for the background and centers.

But then Martha pointed out the quilt below and now I think I may need to make that one.....
....someday.

I always love black, white and red and any fabric with black in it was 20% off.

The Twister quilts were so fun to make and when I saw a Twister quilt (like the one at the top of this post---it was here but somehow it moved and now I can't figure out how to get it back down here!!) I knew I needed to make it......someday.

I saw this bag pattern in Quilt magazine for June/July 2011. It is called Asian Flair designed by Deborah Stanley. I loved the drama of the red and black fabrics but when I saw the pink and black fabric it just said "buy me buy me". So I'll be making this cute bag.....someday.

Now these red and white polka dot fabrics are just sitting waiting for some companion fabrics but I think I'll still use them for a Dresden Plate but I saw some awesome cherry fabrics that I'm sure will go with them perfectly. Oh darn, I'll have to make another fabric run.

For the last few months I've been admiring a Halloween quilt I've seen in several quilting magazines. Purchased the Cake stack and I'm ready to sew.....someday.

I did head down to my sewing room Saturday after all my company left and managed to turn these started blocks into several finished blocks. Just a few more to go and I can start putting them together into a quilt top.

What a fun few days with good friends, lots of new fabric and ideas, and inspiration.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

MORE SHOP HOP

2011-06-19T13:09:00.010-06:00

We were greeted by these colorful chickens at Thimbles and Threads in Draper. When I started to take this picture the clerk went to get out of the picture. I told her to stay so everyone could see how smiling and happy everyone is that works there. I'd be happy to if I worked at a fabric store. Of course, I would never get a paycheck .....in money!

There front porch is so inviting with lots of chairs, rockers and flowers to enjoy. Lots of us were taking advantage of them too.

This is the baby section of the store. Love that cute little buggy and rattle quilt.

Their theme quilt was amazing! They took each shops quilt block pattern and incorporated it into the book bindings on the shelf. The leaves on the plant are 3 dimensional and the glass on the clock was made of clear plastic. It was a fantastic quilt.

Quilt Etc. has always been a favorite of mine. ( I think I may feel that way about all the shops!!) They have every fabric imaginable. Their theme, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" became evident at the front door with the crime scene tape across everything. The clerks had top hats and mustaches. This shop also served a lunch to everyone of barbeque sandwiches, chips, cookies and punch. Lots of fun games too.

Here's Dee writing just one more check!

Martha trying to decide on a vine green fabric for a project she started several years ago.

This is a view of some of the shoppers, fabrics, monthly blocks etc.

We went to 2 other shops but somehow I didn't get any pictures. Broadbents in Lehi had the theme "The Great Gatsby" and they had a quilt with the most amazing appliqued and thread art lady of the times. (Don't you hate it when someone tells you about something fantastic and then doesn't have a picture to share!!!).

We had a great day and sorry to miss out on the other shops. It's about a 2 hour drive from the Northern most to the Southern most shop in the Shop Hop. We overheard one lady say they allow 15 minutes per shop so they can get to all of them in one day. 15 minutes??? That's not even long enough to fondle all the lovely fabrics. We were gone for almost 9 hours and made it to 9 shops. I think that was pretty good.

Tomorrow: a couple of pictures of quilts that I just HAVE to make someday and the fabric I purchased.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

WASATCH FRONT SHOP HOP

2011-06-18T16:21:00.010-06:00

I've been busy for several days with my daughter, SIL and granddaughter, son, DIL, and granddog (yes I said dog!) visiting. We've had lots of fun at the aquarium, playing games, visiting, laughing and eating but now they have all left for home and our house is sooooo QUIET!!

Friday I took a day off work and went shop hopping with 3 of my quilting friends. What a fun day. By the time we hit our 9th shop our feet were telling us it must be time to quit tho. Here are a few pictures of the places we shopped. The theme of the Shop Hop this year was great books. The shops were all decorated and the clerks all decked out in costumes. Elaine's Quilt Block in Cottonwood Heights had the book "Treasure Island". Everyone was dressed as pirates.

Here are my 3 friends, Dee, Martha and Suzanne checking out the pirate map quilt. Each shop had its own block, which they gave us the pattern for, and a quilt using the patterns. It was fun to see each shops interpretation of the book.

The lines for cutting and paying got pretty long sometimes but it was all fun waiting for the games, the prizes and the treats.

Pine Needles in West Jordan had "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. Don't you just want to fun your hands over that fabric.

The squares on the floor were for a game. Every shop had oodles of quilts and kits and animal pillows and sales.

Piper's Quilts & Comforts in Salt Lake City Had "Alice in Wonderland". I love all the oldhats on display on the wall.

Outside is so beautiful. The Clematis were in full bloom and the house and yard looked like a wonderland. They even had a table set up where children could make the cutest flower ring pin holder.

One shop I've always loved is Whimsey Cottage in Holladay. They had the perfect book, "Where the Wild Things Are"......because they have the best wild fabric around. They specialize in wild and busy imaginitive quilts. Here Dee is resting her feet in the perfect sitting area to check out their books.

Don't know if you can see the 2 quilts hanging on the wall behind the check out table. One is the Cat in the Hat and the other is beautiful, bright colored houses. We left our homes about 8:30 a.m. and got back home about 5:30 p.m.

* * * * * * *

More shops tomorrow and a look at my purchases!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

2011-05-28T13:09:00.002-06:00

Just looked at the Hillbilly quiltalong that I've been following and noticed that my windmill is half the size it should have been on the background fabric. Oh well....such is life. I still need to add the sashing strips and border but I really like the way it turned out. I'll be digging in my stash for matching fabric for that since I used a charm pack for the rest. Always fun to quilt along with others and see the difference in everyone's project even tho the same instructions are used.

I got the binding on this quilt also. It was quilted by Dixie who picks up and drops off at the quilt store Just Sew in Highland. She did a great job! I'll for sure take more to her to quilt. I used a blue plaid flannel on the back and the binding also. My husband asked who this one is for....all I could say, was "we'll see". I guess he doesn't realize I just like making quilts....they don't HAVE to be for someone right now.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Hillbilly Mystery quiltalong

2011-05-20T07:14:00.002-06:00

I have been working on the quiltalong with Hillbilly. The blocks have all been very easy and have turned out fun to do. HOWEVER, the first handstitching I did on 3 little tulips turned out fairly well.....not great but ok. When I got to the 2nd stitchery the stitches looked a little bedraggled and by the 3rd one I gave up completely!!! So, not wanting to quit the small quilt and admit defeat I simply bought some fabric pens and made the stitchery blocks that way. I know it's hard to see in the picture, but they do look SO MUCH BETTER than my stitching and I am quite satisfied. Now I am ready to put it together. Bring it on Hillbilly!

Hillbilly sew along

2011-05-07T09:04:00.006-06:00

I've been following Hillbilly Handiwork's blog for quite some time now. She has a great blog with lots of fun things. Recently she decided to host a sewalong and I decided to give it a try. I've completed the first 3 posts now. We started with a charm pack taking out 4 sets of 4 matching colors.

Then we handstitched a cute little tulip block. I don't handstitch but this was quite easy so I think it turned out o.k. Then we sewed together some 4-patches. So far so good. This weekend I'll be working on another handstitched Dutch girl block. Participating in a sewalong is quite fun.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Patriotic Scraps

2011-05-06T07:14:00.003-06:00

I made this quilt top several months ago when I decided to cut stash fabrics into strips and make quilts trying to use up my stash (which doesn't consist of large pieces of fabric like many of yours but rather is made up of small pieces that I just can't throw away!) I really used a lot of reds and blues in this quilt, but, of course, the bins don't look any emptier.

The quilter, Linda at Just Sew in Highland, Utah quilted lots of stars and loops and it looks amazing! I am in awe of her ability to take a very lopsided, unsquare, quilt and turn it into a very beautiful work. She even trimmed all the edges and batting for me so it was ready to add binding. The binding was even from my big bag of beautiful leftover bindings.

I'm very fond of using flannel for my backs now and found this blue and white piece at the Fabric Mill in Orem.

I love it that the only thing I had to buy for this quilt was the backing. The reds, whites and blues were all tucked away in my cupboards. I think this counts as a semi-free quilt.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Tiny Twister

2011-05-02T07:13:00.003-06:00

I had so much fun with the large Twister quilt that I bought the tiny Twister too. This one is only about 22 inches by 27 inches so it will make a nice table topper or a doll quilt. I used up some yellow, green and blue from a charm pack from Connecting Threads. After I had it together I remembered I had to have a border before I could start cutting. Found this perfect scrap of border fabric in my cupboard and had to use it.

Happy May Day everyone and keep on quilting! Lynda

Always LEARNING!

2011-04-22T20:34:00.002-06:00

Yep....it seems every time I make a quilt I learn something or at least relearn it AFTER making the same mistakes again and again. Here is the Red and Cream Snowball quilt made mostly from leaders and enders. First I learned to count the number of blocks "several" times before thinking I had enough for a pattern. Then I find that even after all my planning and placing and putting up on a design wall that I still ended up with like fabrics next to each other! I'm sure whomever gets this quilt when it is finished will not notice and be happy just to be the recipient of a warm quilt made with love by a friend. This Twister quilt was so fun to make and went together so quickly and easily even with all the bias edges! I learned, and probably should have noticed before I even cut the fabrics, that scattering the bold colored pinks around would have made for a more pleasing quilt. But I will make another one of these maybe using Christmas prints or other stash fabrics because it makes for a quick and simple gift for someone and really does look more complicated than it is.

I need to purchase a solid looking brown for the outside border yet and then it will be ready for the quilter too.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Let's Twist Again like we did last Summer!

2011-04-18T20:33:00.009-06:00

Before we all start twisting...I finished making the rest of the red Snowball blocks and even finished the whole quilt top. Sorry....no pictures of it. It really needs to be ironed before it is shown. * * * * * * * * * * * However....I bought a new pattern and template called Twister that is just such a fun project. Here are the instructions and the thick plastic template. Just take 36 - 10 inch squares and sew them together. I pulled pinks and browns from my stash and added a rather wild brown and cream border.

Then you lay out the top on a big cutting surface, lay the template on the first square making sure the lines on the template line up with the seam lines and cut it out. The instructions say to cut out all 7 blocks of the first row and sew them together before cutting out the next row and so on down the top.

This is what the top looks like after cutting the first 2 rows. I made sure not to cut more than 1/4 inch past the template all the way around so that it wouldn't cut into the next block. It leaves about a 4 inch square of fabric from each block. I'm sure I'll find a use for them later.

This is the first 2 rows up on the design wall. Isn't that just cool!!! It only took about a half an hour to cut out and sew them together. What a fun quilt. I'm sure my Lazy Bee will have to borrow the template and make one of their own because it is just such a fun pattern.

* * * * * *

Happy Quilting! Lynda

The RELAXATION of binding time

2011-04-15T07:09:00.002-06:00

This black and white fabric is probably the 5th quilt my friend, Janine, and I have made from the same fabrics! I think it is now down to just scraps. I talked her into adding those cute little pinwheel stars in the sashing and she loves it. (Why is it we always think we CAN'T do something before we do it?) She used Minke on the back so it was so easy to do the binding since that fuzzy stuff hides any stitches.

This is my 2nd quilt from these bright pinks and greens. (Janine has made 3 I think from the same fabrics but different patterns.) I used up most of mine on the border. A soft pink polka dot flannel makes the back nice and cuddly too. I think this is one of my favorite patterns to make.....how many "favorites" am I allowed?

Now on to finishing the Snowball, the Kaliedoscope, the string heart.....and what ever else is lurking down in the sewing room.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Giveaway by a fellow blogger!!

2011-04-12T05:48:00.002-06:00

You must hurry on over to Vreni's blog called Oops-Lah. See my side bar and click on her blog. She is having an amazing giveaway that ends on May 9th. 3 different collections of beautiful fabric.....Hullabaloo 10 inch squares.....Bali Pops Strawberry Fields.....and a jelly roll called Modern Workshop by Moda. This is a very generous giveaway and you'll want a chance to win. Vreni also makes beautiful quilts and some gorgeous boxes. You'll want to check out her whole blog and become a follower for sure. Good Luck to all of us. Lynda

My Math teacher friend would be so disappointed!

2011-04-10T12:45:00.004-06:00

My design wall is too small for this quilt so I only put half of it up on the wall before starting to sew. Then as I added each additional row I was so excited because the design was all coming together. HOWEVER....I have 3 rows to go and not enough red blocks. Now I know that I counted and planned and stacked into piles all those squares knowing that there were plenty to make the design I had decided on. This is why my math teacher friend would be so disappointed! Somehow I have plenty of the cream blocks but I'm short about 35 red blocks. How does that happen? So now I get to make more blocks before I can finish this quilt top. * * * * * * * * I have sewn on the bindings of 2 quilts and I'm ready to handstitch them down. I know plenty of you machine stitch your bindings down....and if I could master that process....I probably would too. But I do find it relaxing to sit with a nice warm quilt over my lap (since Utah Springs are snowy, cold and sunny all at the same time) and finish the quilt by hand. * * * * * * * * Happy Quilting! Lynda

Borders finally on!

2011-04-06T20:36:00.002-06:00

Seems like I haven't been down in my sewing room for several days now. I have been on a quick trip to Illinois to visit my daughter and her family tho. It was a quick 4 day vacation but so much fun. I had made a white dress for my granddaughter's baptism and it looked so cute on her. After putting in the zipper tho I really remembered why I don't sew clothing much anymore. I didn't even get a picture of it. I'll stick with quilts! I finally got the border on my Pinwheel quilt. Never noticed how wrinkley the top was until I looked at the picture tho. Makes me want to pull and tug and iron until it is nice and smooth!

Border on the Disappearing 4 Patch too. I chose a nice bright pink. It is only about 38 inches square and will be perfect for a baby gift. Now to get them both quilted.

I am about half way done with my Snowball quilt too. Maybe next week I will have that done to share with you.

* * * * *

I really admire those of you who can blog several times a week and have so many beautiful things to share. I really enjoy all the inspiration I get from reading your blogs. Keep it up!

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Leaders and Enders

2011-03-17T20:22:00.006-06:00

Chain sewing 4-Patch blocks.

I think it turned out pretty cute. I think I'll be ordering some more fabric from Connecting Threads to use as a border for this one. I also need to order the borders for the Pinwheel that I made. I went shopping at a fabric store about 1/2 a mile from my home and found most of the fabric had gone up a couple of dollars since I was in there. Knocked my socks right off! Connecting Threads lower prices are looking better and better and since these fabrics were from charm packs I ordered a few months ago I'll be able to match the borders easily.

I also did some playing around with my leaders and enders Snowball quilt. I have over 100 of each colorway so it will be a good sized quilt. I'm still playing with the arrangement.

******

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Disappearing 4-Patch

2011-03-14T20:35:00.006-06:00

I was over visiting Linda at Stray Stitches (see my side bar) a few days ago and saw she had made a Disappearing 4-Patch block. I loved it and thought I needed to try it myself.
* * * * *
Above is a Charm pack called Princess from Connecting Threads that I got a couple of months ago.

Sewed them into 4 patches.

Cut them 1 inch away from the seams and mixed them up just a little. Cute tiny 4-patch in center.

Sewed them back together.....VIOLA! Isn't that a cute and easy block. All the princess fabrics are in pink and purple. I think it will make a cute little girl princess very happy.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Muddled thoughts!

2011-03-09T08:35:00.007-07:00

My Kaliedoscope quilt has been up on my design wall for a few days now. What to do ,what to do?????
How about a solid background...doesn't take away from the center.

Or a busy piece from one of the wedges?

I rather like the stripe.

Possibly a planned use of scraps.

I really liked the use of all the scraps in the border like one in Ricky's book....but mine really looks a little (make that a LOT) haphazard!!

I've been staring at this for quite some time. Today I'll be with my Bee at a fabric store. Maybe I can make a decision then.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Whew!!!

2011-03-05T12:27:00.005-07:00

Here IT is.....all the wedges, butts, wedgies and 1st border on. Please don't look too closely. That center orange star was a challenge! 12 points all coming together!! The process was fun...seeing the stages was fun...sewing the wedges was even fun. I wasn't sure I liked it for quite a while but now I think I LOVE it. I need to figure out how to put together all the left over pieces for the outside border but I think that will even be fun.

I ran into other quilters who have been working on Kaliedoscope quilts too.

Autie Em at Quilt Crossing is giving such great details of her experience with this pattern and from her blog you can get to Carol's at piecedgoods and Patty's at quiltfever also to see how they are doing. (Or you can get there from my sidebar...I know I know, my daughter has shown me 3 times how to make it so you can click on their names here and get to them but for the life of me I can never do it when she's not sitting here beside me to help!!!) Amazing how different they all look from each other. Carol is doing hers in monchromatic colors and it is so elegant. Patty is using lots of color like me and it is beautiful. Be sure to check theirs out too.

* * * * *

Happy Quilting! Lynda

What's on the design wall?

2011-03-02T14:27:00.007-07:00

Here it is...the first step of the Kaliedoscope quilt. I've already learned some lessons for when I try to make this again. As you can see, my first strip set of 6 fabrics only shows 5 of the fabrics. Looks rather Springy so far. I really like the blue plaid on the tips. Too bad the next time that fabric was used in a strip, it didn't make it onto the pattern. The 2nd set of strips only used 4 of the 6 strips. The stripe fabric could have been better showcased if they were at an angle instead of straight across. I really like the dark brown with green flower piece of fabric. It adds a different dimension to the quilt.

The 3rd set has 5 of the 6 strips but only shows a tiny tip of the 5th color. which will probably be lost in the seams. I think the stripe fabric is a little better being on the slant.

The 4th set of strips still only showed 5 of the 6 strips and the green stripe is still not angled as much as I would like it to be.
* * * *

If you'll look at the 3rd (last)row added above you can see that the piece under the paper pattern piece is added right. Look at the striped fabric. But when I added the rest around I put them up wrong making the stripe rather flat across instead of peaked like it should be. I couldn't figure out why the next row just didn't seem to fit correctly. By the time I added the last row around I figured out my mistake. If you compare the picture below with the last picture you can see the mistake. Now they all seem to fit together. Simple mistake but sure makes a difference.

By the 5th set of strips the pattern piece was big enough to show all 6 of the fabric strips but the strip set was about 1/2 inch too short as you can see by the red piece on the right corner. I'll need to do a little piecing on that one to make it right. I still need to add the wedgies and butt pieces to make it a 36 inch square....maybe later tonight.

So far it has been quite fun to see the development of the pattern. I think next time I might use less fabrics and repeat some of the fabrics in the strip sets. I really like the dark brown and think maybe repeating that might have given it more depth. It sure was fun to see how different it looked after each section was added. OK now I'm ready to go back and see about adding the wedges and then start sewing them together.

Happy quilting! Lynda

Progress!

2011-02-23T21:16:00.006-07:00

We spent the weekend in Logan with our daughter, Nicky and her family. We just love this little girl. It is so fun to have a baby around again. This was after Church on Sunday...she and her Daddywere building a fort out of the couch cushions. Seriously....one more picture, Grandma???

I was visiting Pokey's blog and she had these cute string hearts so I thought I needed to make some too. After all, I have all these strips cut out and trying to figure out what to do with them all. I have all the left sides of the blocks done but only 1 right side so far. They certainly go together easily and I think they will make a cute little quilt for a baby.

Ok.....here are all the fabrics for the Kaleidoscope quilt I've been talking about. I know, the fabrics don't seem to jive together but according to Ricky Tims that just makes for a more interesting quilt.

Here I've divided them up into sets: 5 sets with 6 strips each. I made 2 identical of each set.

Started sewing them together. Don't know if you can tell that I started out making each set coordinate. By the 3rd set I was just throwing whatever strip I felt like. Now I need to draw the pattern on freezer paper, marking every seam etc. and cut out each pattern piece. I am so excited but I'm having company this weekend so I won't get around to sewing on it until next week!

Oh this is a fun one! Happy Quilting. Lynda

I should never have a day off!

2011-02-10T19:41:00.005-07:00

I told Dr. M that I shouldn't have any more days off.....because....I go fabric shopping. But I saw this fabric called Petal Pushers by Pearl Louise Krush designs and couldn't pass it up. There were 11 coordinating fabrics in the line but I kept myself to just 4. I'm going to make a star block quilt from them. Aren't they just lucious! My friend, Janine, bought all 11 fabrics. Now we have to figure out what she'll make using them all. I have been sewing also. Finished all the Pinwheel blocks and put the top together. I ended up using less blocks than I had originally planned but now I have enough Pinwheels left over to make a baby quilt too. I think I'll put a small border of light orange 30's fabric and then a wider lavendar border out of 30's fabric too. I really love this one.

Also made a few more Tag Alongs. Suzanne from my Bee gave me some Minke scraps and I just happened to have a busy kittie fabric that matched the bright pink and a cute little bunny fabric to match the circles Minke.

I mentioned that I wanted to make a quilt from Ricky Tims Kool Kaleidoscope quilts book. I started buying fabrics for it. I know, I know....they certainly don't look like they go together. But after studying his method I followed his tips about what fabrics to use. Basically....ANY as long as there is contrast. I still need to get a few mottled fabrics to add to these to give your eye somewhere to rest. I'm getting quite excited to start the process and my Bee wants to see how all these fabrics can actually look good together. (Sure hope I don't disappoint them.)

That's it for now. Happy Quilting! Lynda

Our Lazy Bee

2011-01-28T06:52:00.007-07:00

Our Lazy Bee really was lazy this week. We all sat around, showed what we'd been working on, shared new quilt books or magazines we had acquired, laughed and had a good time.....but no sewing!

* * * * * *

When I got home I decided to start on a Pinwheel quilt using some of the fabrics I had ordered from Connecting Threads. Here is a little pile of trimmings from the HST.

Here are the HST for the first 24 blocks of the quilt ready to sew together. I love the fabrics. I had never ordered from Connecting Threads before so I was a little nervous about the quality of the fabrics since they were so economically priced. Boy, did I have nothing to worry about. The fabric is top notch! The only thing that bummed me out for a minute is that one of the Charm packs had a lot of plain fabrics. But after looking through some patterns to get ideas I think I may just like the idea of the plain fabrics being used as the center of stars or tips of the stars with coordinating fabrics in the opposite position. But I've got to finish this one first. (No I don't! I purchased a few plastic bins to keep UFO's in so I could put this away, start another project, and come back anytime.)

Aren't these just great! And I only had to pick out 2 sets of HST because, even after sewing all these years, I somehow placed wrong sides together on a couple of blocks.

I know I'm going to love this quilt. 24 blocks down.....72 to go! I've asked my boss if he'd mind if I brought my sewing machine to work and sewed if I could still keep up with the patients. He laughed! Did he think I was kidding???

I'm sure tonight I will be working on these fabrics.

* * * * *

Happy Quilting! Lynda

2011-01-22T19:12:00.006-07:00

A few more Tag Alongs completed and ready for the next boutique. I made an order from Connecting Threads last week and it arrived! Little sweet charms spilling out of the box just for me.

I picked out ones called Oasis, 1930's, Princess, and Sweet Pea. Had to have 4 packs of each just in case....and they are priced so inexpensively too.

Aren't they just to drool over? What shall I make?

Ordered this book on using them. Of course I had to read quickly through the first time to see what I wanted to make. I can slowly devour it later.

This is it for sure. Can't you just see a cute little baby cuddled up with this?

But this book by Ricky Tims called Kool Kaleidescope is what I couldn't believe. Every one of the quilts in this book is amazing!! And the process Ricky describes seems almost easy. You just sew strips together, cut out with templates, sew them together in wedges and you end up with a materpiece. He even says it is no use trying to plan the placement of fabrics because the finished quilt will surprise you every time. I can hardly wait to start gathering fabrics for this one.

* * * * * * * *

We spent the day in Logan with Baby Ellie and our daughter, Nicky and her husband, Patrick. What a fun day. Ellie might just be the cutest baby ever! She always has a smile for everyone and even came right to us this time. Maybe it was the soft pink bear or musical lion we brought as bribes. Sure was fun.

* * * * * * * *

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Giveaway!

2011-01-22T13:17:00.003-07:00

Linda at Stray Stitches is having an awesome giveaway of Vintage Florals by Beth Ann Bruske. Hurry on over to her blog and check it out!
Happy Quilting
Lynda

Yippeee!!!

2011-01-15T11:45:00.007-07:00

A big Thank you to you fellow bloggers who tried to help me figure out setting corners. The sides didn't give me as much trouble as the 4 corners! However, while foraging through my stack of quilting books I came across this wonderful book I must have purchased years ago but forgot about. Right here towards the back of the book is a page on setting triangles and corners. It gives great instructions and I whizzed through the completion of the quilt top.

Now doesn't it look cute??? I'm not going to put a border on it but will bind it in white to frame it. Now onto my purple, blue and yellow strips.

I also finished putting together the Star Buggy Barn quilt top. It goes together quite easily since it is done in rows and all the filler pieces are cut from the instructions. This is for a 6 foot 2 inch kid so I will probably put a plain border on it before having it quilted.

Then I made a couple more Tag Alongs. I love the ribbons on this one. The ribbon on the center of each side is paw prints.

So much fun in my sewing room the last couple of days. What shall I do next? Got to get busy on those other strips I've already cut.....and a few more Tag Alongs.....and what about those 4 other Christmas quilts I need to start soon.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Happy Quilting! Lynda

It's a good thing I don't write quilt patterns!

2011-01-10T20:47:00.003-07:00

Yes it sure is!!! Just trying to do simple stuff keeps me quite confused when I'm not following a pattern. Several weeks ago I cut up pinks and greens into 1 1/2 inches strips and have been trying to use them up. These Log Cabin blocks seemed pretty undisciplined when set next to each other. I added some white sashing, put them on point and did a bunch of figuring for the set in triangles. I wanted it to look like the blocks were continuing out which worked out pretty well. I just had to make those blocks a little bigger so when they were cut in half they would fit. However, you can see the 4 corners are not in yet. I've cut a couple of blocks and not come out with the right cut. You'd think I could figure it out but my brain wouldn't wrap around it tonight. So I put it away until I can think clearly. I've also made all the star blocks for my Star Crazy quilt. Here they are on my design wall without the fill in pieces.

Tonight I put the first row together. I love these fabrics. So rich and warm. I'm sure my grandson, Taylor, will like it too since it has lots of baseball fabric in it just for him.

You can see as I get to the bottom of the quilt I kind of run out of wall so they get a little squished together. I'll probably get it all put together this week.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

I LOVE my day off from work!

2011-01-05T15:56:00.004-07:00

I do love a day off from work when nothing is planned and there is nothing that I have to do. Today was one of those days. I could have gone grocery shopping or cleaned the house or some other chore that always needs doing...but I decided I would just sew.

Those of you who have made Buggy Barn quilts know how much fun they are to make. I am making another "My Three Stars" quilt using much of the same fabrics I used on the last one. I guess I over purchased fabric (is that possible?) Above is how the 12 inch star looks before being squared up. I really enjoy putting these together and seeing how different the stars look with different fabrics.

Here is a pile of the trimmings of the 14 blocks. I know some of you out there are thinking of things you could do with those scraps........but I just threw them out!

Here are the 14 completed 12" blocks. Aren't those fabrics yummy? Now I need 14 8 inch blocks and 16 4 inch blocks plus a bunch of fill in rectangles. Once I get started I just want to keep working on them. Maybe tomorrow night after work . . . .

Happy Sewing! Lynda

WOWSER DOWSER!!!

2011-01-04T20:07:00.003-07:00

The Puzzle that drove me nuts until help came along.

Baby Ellie putting in the last piece.

I may never take it apart!

We really have some generous quilters here in blogland. I was just visiting Linda over at Stray Stitches (see my sidebar of blogs I follow) and she is being oh so generous. She is giving away a fantastic pattern called Flying Colors by Georgette Del'Orco. Not only that...but she's giving away some amazingly wonderful, scruptious fabric to make it. You'll win 5/8 yard of black fabric and then 25 (yes I said 25) fat quarters in the most lucious colors of the rainbow. Hurry on over and enter since it closes Sunday night.
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I have been busy these past couple of weeks, just not sewing. A couple of our children and their families came home over the holidays and we got to spend some fun times with them. One thing we did do was put together a 1000 piece puzzle. I worked on it alone for a few days and got very little done. Then when there was more people to work on it, we whipped it out in a couple of days. So much more fun when there is more than 1 digging through all those pieces trying to figure out where each piece fits.

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This week I'll be back down in the sewing room working on another Buggy Barn quilt using a star pattern and even many of the same fabrics that I've used before. This one is for a grandson who lives in California. Oh it will feel good to get back to my Viking.
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Happy Quilting!! Lynda

This and That

2010-12-15T07:56:00.004-07:00

My sister-in-law, Geri, had a small boutique for Christmas. I found out that all she had to sell this time were hair bows. I told her she needed to have the whole family or friends make things to sell in it and came home and started making a few little things for her next one she said she was having in the Spring. Then she called a couple of days ago and said she decided to have one today! So I hurried and made 34 hotpads for her to sell. Good thing they are easy and fast to make.

Then I made another quiet book and a few "tag alongs". The tag alongs are favorites of babies. The fabric is minke or flannel so is soft and cuddly. Then the tags of ribbon sewn all around have texture also. Of course I didn't have time to get a few little baby quilts made for it but I'll be working on them for the Spring.

My grandson, Spencer, called me a couple of weeks ago and told me he needed a new Indian costume. I made him one a couple of years ago and it had worn out since he wears it so much. This time he told me to go up in the mountains, kill an animal, skin it and use the skins to make the clothes because that's what real Indians did. Like I'm going to do THAT. So I used flannel that looks a little like leather. It turned out pretty good. Luckily you can't see my mistakes and I hope he doesn't notice them either.

This is a Christmas quilt I made a couple of years ago for a store to advertise their pattern and fabric. It turned out pretty good.....EXCEPT....the store added the backing and quilting. I was quite disappointed in the fabric they chose. PLAIN WHITE with red thread quilting. A nice soft green or red flannel would have been so much cozier.

Best get busy and finish my Christmas shopping so it will get to families on time.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

What? More bindings!!!

2010-12-13T07:08:00.004-07:00

Even I am tired of bindings (and I really enjoy sitting in the cold evenings with a quilt over my lap as I bind away). This red and white, all Minke quilt is for Janine too. The binding was a bit tricky. We were told to just fold it over and tack it down but it automatically wanted to roll under so that is what I did. It's a thick quilt and will be a warm and cuddly gift for someone.

And this quilt, also for Janine, is just about the last of the CrAzY EiGhT fabrics. She used green Minke on the back of it.

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Now to finish off some little items for a craft boutique that my sister-in-law is having on Wednesday and work on an Indian costume for one of my grandsons for Christmas. That is all he wants! I made one for him a couple of years ago and he has outgrown it.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Bindings!

2010-12-08T08:49:00.004-07:00

Bindings, bindings, bindings! I got a couple of bindings done for my friend, Janine. These are quilts made out of "Crazy Eights" fabric that we bought a year ago. She uses Minke on the backs of her quilts and it makes them so soft and feel good.

Same fabrics for 2 of mine. I added a border and used flannel on the backs. One is dark green and red and the other is light tan with green pinecones. These will be in the mail to California today to a couple of our sons. That makes 4 sons with Christmas quilts this year. Not as I had planned in January but I am quite satisfied.

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Now back to 2 more bindings for Janine (one of them using the same fabrics!) and the other all Minke. Janine came over last night and said she still has about 4 yards of the fabric that I used on the borders. She tried to pawn it off on me but right now I'm a little tired of looking at it!!!

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Happy Quilting! Lynda

Oh the JOY!

2010-12-03T06:59:00.003-07:00

You all know the type of person who is such a JOY to work with or be around. That is Natalie! She makes coming to work fun because she is always so upbeat, happy and excited about everything. We always tease her when she calls patients at the end of the day to see how they are doing and when they say they are doing well she says....."Grrreat" (just like Tony the Tiger). A couple of nights ago Janine and I gave her "Uniform Wonkyness" and boy was she excited. She has been excited to see it ever since she gave me her old worn out uniforms. You should have seen the excitment and joy on her face when she opened it up. It was worth the effort to make it for sure! She made us feel like we were the best ever. What fun to give to someone who is so appreciative of the gift.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Look and Feel Quiet Book

2010-11-28T20:23:00.011-07:00

DISCLAIMER: My photography skills are really lacking. . . . forgive the sideways, blurry pictures and my fingers in the picture to hold the book open.

Several years ago I made a quiet book for Nicky to use at Church to keep her entertained and quiet. Now that she has Ellie she wanted to make one for her. So we each made one this weekend using her book as a pattern. Here is the cover. . . . little bears reading books....perfect!

Look and Feel.......so many different textures in the book.

Monsters are Hairy! We looked all over for fur in bright colors but could only find brown, white and black. So I dug through my sewing room and found this pretty pink. You can't even tell it had to be pieced to make a big enough piece for both of us.

Sand is Scratchy! We used a very fine grade of sandpaper for the sand so it wouldn't hurt little fingers but would still be a fun texture.

We loved the bumpy worm.

I found this fantastic bag of feathers with polka dots on the ends. Don't know if you can see how fun they are by my poor photography.

I had plenty of leftover fleece in my stash so used it for this little soft mitten that she can put her hand in at the bottom .

Years ago there was a material called art foam that was squishy. We looked everywhere and found the new art foam that isn't so squishy. After several stores Nicky thought she could slice a hunk off a sponge and make it work. She used the electric knife and cut off and fairly thin slice of the sponge, then we cut out the shape. It got pretty squished down under the sewing line but we think it looks great.....and it really is squishy.

My button wheels are just plain but Nicky found some buttons in my Mom's old button box that were red and white. She put them on top of the dark buttons and they look like spiffy hubcaps.

Blurry but Nicky's favorite page when she was a little girl. She thought it was funny that a bunny tail said the "end".

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It is always great fun to work on craft projects with Nicky. It's even more fun that we could find most of the supplies in my sewing room.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Nothing to do is BORING

2010-11-21T17:10:00.008-07:00

So I was ordered to do nothing for a couple of weeks. Doing nothing is really difficult! My 3 daughters took turns taking care of me, cooking, cleaning, entertaining me until yesterday. Now I'm on my own but I feel great. I know, I know, don't overdo it (I've been told by numerous people). Believe me I am eating better than I ever did before the surgery thanks to wonderful neighbors and my daughters cooking for 2 days and freezing me meals for the next long while.

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While I was resting I put the binding on a couple of quilts I had prepared before the surgery. The first one is "Uniform Wonkyness" made from the worn out scrubs of Natalie, a co worker.

Didn't it turn out amazing! I know she is going to love it.

I tried to include some of the pockets with the name brand attached.

The quilting was done by American Quilting, a quilt store just a few blocks from my home.

We put Minke on the back. When I saved out a uniform in teal for the binding we hadn't decided on the back yet. The teal and navy clash a little but that just makes it more wonky.

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This 2nd quilt is 1 of 2 that I made a few months ago. Finally got around to putting the binding on one of them. I love the flannel back that has the same bright pink and lime green. Toma, of Orem, did the quilting with lots of loops and flowers.

You probably recognize this fabric, my friend Janine and I have made 4 or 5 quilts out of it so far. When Janine buys fabric she wants to make sure she has enough!!

I sure have missed my sewing room and can't wait to get back down there to do some serious sewing again. A life of leisure sure gets boring quickly.

Happy Quilting to you all. Lynda

More Scrappy!

2010-11-06T21:13:00.005-06:00

Another small baby quilt made from strip scraps. These are more of the strip scraps that I cut a couple of weeks ago following Pleasant Home's blog on using up our scraps. It is a small quilt only about 34 inches square but I made it to fit the piece of yellow minke that I had left over from another quilt. Of course....I still have lots of these scraps left over so I'll be making more things out of them in the future.
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I will be taking a week or two off from blogging. I am having surgery Monday morning and will be in the hospital for a few days. As I understand, I will probably not feel much like blogging or anything else for a few days. But I have sewn the bindings on a couple of quilts so while I'm sitting around doing nothing I can hand stitch the bindings so I won't go completely bonkers from being away from my sewing machine.
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The only thing wrong with doing nothing is that I won't know when I'm done! ( a quote from Linda at Stray Stitches blog).

See you in a couple of weeks. Happy Quilting! Lynda

2010-11-02T20:20:00.004-06:00

Several years ago I made this quilt for my oldest son and his wife. At that time I was using a cow for the quilt information on the back.

This is a Christmas quilt that my Bee made several years ago and put in a quilt show. Several of us made blocks for each other and then an extra one to make and sell at the auction.

This is a cat quilt I made in 2 days for a friend who was moving away. I cut and sewed frantically for 2 days so it would be ready before she left town. Don't know why I put things off and do them at the last minute.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Yes, I've Got Scraps!

2010-10-27T18:18:00.002-06:00

I'm having so much fun with my scraps thanks to Pleasant Home blog (on my sidebar...yes I've forgotten how to make a click thing right here! I'm feeling like that old dog that can't learn a new trick) Anyhow.... I put 25 8 inch blocks together for this cute little baby quilt. Of course, my scrap piles didn't seem to go down at all. So I started the next one with a variation of the first theme. Oh it's going to be a cute one too.

Happy Quilting everyone! Lynda

Got Scraps?

2010-10-24T18:51:00.002-06:00

I am joining along with "Pleasant Home" (see in my sidebar) who is helping many of us use up some of our scraps. I started cutting my scraps up into strips of various widths over the last couple of days and just started sewing some of them together today. The blocks are 8 inches and go together so quickly. I have 10 made already and only need about twice that many more for a quick and easy baby quilt. I used blue, green, purple, pink and yellow for mine. I noticed that some of the other joiners are using all one color or just 2 colors etc. What a fun project!

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Also...my header quilt is one I made several years ago with the help of a round robin in my Quilt Bee.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

I Won!!! I Won!!!

2010-10-20T21:05:00.003-06:00

What a day! Had a doctors appointment....miner stuff. But after the poking and prodding and blood draining needles and tests and taking off and putting on clothes for 3 hours I was happy to leave the hospital. Then I get home and waiting for me on my porch (yes, one year my daughters and I painted the porch to look like tiles) was this wonderful box of goodies from Leona. I won one of her giveaways. Boy, if you ever want to enter a giveaway it is one of hers! She gives amazing stuff.

Look at the cute Santa ornaments kit. My daughter, Nicky, and I will be working on them soon. How about the cute Gift Boxes quilt top left of the picture. And the easy scallop template that I can't wait to try....and the Holy Snowballs quilt pattern that may change the look of my Snowball quilt I have been working on as leaders and enders....and the bag pattern...and can you see that jelly roll of Christmas fabrics?

If that isn't enough.....Looky looky at the cute Christmas coasters...made just like I make hotpads but smaller. And that lucious Christmas fabric!!

Thank you thank you thank you Leona!!!

I sure am a lucky quilter. Lynda

2 down....2 to go (well, really 6 to go but who's counting?)

2010-10-16T16:35:00.003-06:00

This is one of the Christmas quilts I took along on our drive last weekend so that I could hand sew on the binding. I really love the soft greens and rosy reds in this fabric. I'd tell you the name if I could remember!

Here is a small baby quilt I am taking over to a young girl in our neighborhood who had a baby girl last week. Another friend and I are taking in a meal. There are the father and mother, new baby, 2 year old brother AND 4 brothers of the father that live there. Needless to say we are making lots of food to feed all those teenage boys!

This is the 2nd Christmas quilt that I got the binding on while riding to Washington and back. I have 2 more of this same top but with different backs at the quilters right now.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

"IT" is home!

2010-10-11T18:16:00.009-06:00

Can you believe it......IT's here.....at home now. Can you guess? A hinge........

A slightly fuzzy picture, but fancy decoration.....

What......a wheel..........

No way......a treadle! ( you can kind of read the brand..White)

Yes!!! My grandmother's sewing machine.

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A few months ago my Aunt Vera in Portland, casually mentioned that she had my grandmother Moen's old treadle sewing machine. What did she say? Did I hear her right? Then she said I could have it if I wanted it but it was old, missing some wood, scratched, DiNgEd, not very pretty etc. etc. Was she kidding? Of course I wanted it. My grandmother just thought I was the perfect child. She passed away when I was only 2 years old. She told my Dad that she didn't think I would remember her. Of course, I don't remember her personally but I do remember her from pictures and from my Dad talking about her.

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Friday morning my husband and I hopped in the car about 6 a.m. and drove 15 hours to Astoria, Oregon. The next morning we drove through the pouring rain to Seaview, Washington ( wonderful little town on the coast) and found the old cabin that it had been stored in for the last few years. With help from a couple of other men, they carried it down steep, narrow stairs, through the rain, and loaded it into our trunk. All the way home all we could talk about was "IT". To me it is beautiful because it belonged to my Grandmother. The bobbin with thread is still in place. She stitched a piece of fabric around the machine, probably to put her pins in. There is thread in one of the drawers and a couple more bobbins. We don't know much else about it but it has a patent dated 1905 and 1912 on one of the metal plates. It really smells old and musty. I love it!

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I also finished a couple of bindings on the drive and finished the Uniform Wonky quilt too but they will have to wait for another post.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Happy Birthday to me.......

2010-10-05T06:34:00.004-06:00

Long day at work. On Mondays I am there by myself and even though I get a lot done calling delinquent accounts or insurances, it gets quite boring being there all by myself for 8 or 9 hours! I got home and there sitting on the table is this wonderful package from Leona with gifts for me for my birthday!!! I didn't get pictures of the package because I was so excited to rip it open and see what wonderful things she had made me. Wow...look at the darling tissue holder and zippered bag she made just for me. I love the delicate white flowers on the bright pink background. And the bag has a cute pink lining with a key tag. Thank you so much Leona. I love my birthday gifts. Aren't quilters the most generous people.

One thing I have found out about myself over the years is that I am not the most patient person. I gave the Uniform Wonkyness blocks to Janine to add the sashing.....she hasn't had time yet to work on it so I begged them back from her. Wednesday is my day off so I will try to get them all sewn together. So. . . . in the meantime I have been working on a few things that need to be done. I got 2 Christmas quilts back from the quilter, sewed the binding on so I can have some hand work to do in the car this weekend. My husband and I are taking a quick trip to Portland and Seaview Oregon to visit my aunt (my Dad's twin sister) and to pick up something she said I could have. I will share a picture of "IT" when we get back. I'm so excited!!!

I also got the next 2 backs and bindings made for 2 Christmas quilts so they are ready for the quilter. Remember in January when I was so gung ho about getting 8 Christmas quilts made. . . well I had 4 tops made by the end of February. But here it is October and I'm just getting the backs and quilting done. Guess 4 of the kids will get their Christmas quilts next year! I had such good intentions.........

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Uniform Wonkyness

2010-09-29T12:12:00.003-06:00

I finished all 63 wonky blocks and passed them off to my friend, Janine, to start putting on the sashing. I've been working on the border made from the leftover wonky strips. Hopefully next week we can finish putting together the top and get it to a quilter. This has been a fun quilt to make.

Here is a pile of the leftover original boring blocks I started with. I had to unpick a lot of them to get enough strips for the border.

This bag of discarded seams, necks and waistbands is ready to be tossed out. I think we have enough of the teal blue uniform left to make the binding.

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These next couple of days I'll be spending time with my brother, Mike and his wife, Kaye. They drove in yesterday from Seattle. Kaye's Mother passed away after a long illness and they are here to plan and prepare the funeral.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

A Little Bit Wonky

2010-09-22T08:09:00.006-06:00

I think we've found what we were looking for! 3 strips seemed just a little boring; 4 strips with different widths looked a little better; but 7 strips sewn at angles seems to be the best.

35 done......28 to go! I'm going to run out of the pink but I'm searching now for someone else at work who has a worn out or too small (which happens to some of us) set of pink scrubs to donate to the cause.

If you are wondering what is in the little baggie hanging on the side of my design wall.....it is the binding for some quilt that I have at some quilters right now. I seem to use the fabric set aside for binding if I don't put it somewhere safe so I won't lose it or use it!

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I'm off to spend the day with my daughter, Nicky, and granddaughter, Ellie, in Park City today going to the World Market and several outlet stores. Love days off from work where I actually do something fun instead of just cleaning house.

Happy Quilting to you all! Lynda

2010-09-18T12:43:00.001-06:00

http://quilttimes.blogspot.com/ Hurry on over to Quilt Times to see the cute book that Sue is giving away. It has lots of quick and beautiful Christmas projects to make in time for Christmas!

2010-09-18T08:24:00.002-06:00

HELP! I almost forgot this project my friend Janine and I are working on for someone at work. She gave us all her old worn out scrubs and we are trying to make a quilt out of it. So far we have several blocks but I'm not quite happy with 3 strips so I've made some of them 4 strips. Most of the scrubs are cut into 3 inch strips right now but the 4 strip unit has different widths trying to end up with a 9 1/2 inch block. Now I think maybe a more wonky look would be better....she is such a fun girl. I've just been slapping them up on my design wall as they are finished so they aren't in any order yet.

What do you think? Should I change them more wonky, more strips, what? They will be separated by a small sashing that is basically white.

Of course, I will be working on it more today but any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks and Happy Quilting! Lynda

Friday Night Sew In

2010-09-18T08:18:00.004-06:00

I finally participated in a FNSI! I pulled out some fabric and made a couple of blocks to send to Leona for her sister's quilt. I don't know about you but when I make something for someone else I am always worried that they aren't the right size or color or what the quilter had in mind, or that my sewing isn't quite up to par.
But here they are full of happy thoughts and good wishes and prayers for a quick recovery.

The Versatile Blogger

2010-09-17T13:46:00.002-06:00

Would you believe a good blogging friend, Vreni, from Oops- Lah ,has nominated me for an award! I get to tell 7 things about myself then send it on to 12 other bloggers. So here goes...

1. When I started this whole blogging thing it was just to keep a record for myself of the quilts I have made. BUT it has developed into a fun activity for me. I really enjoy meeting other bloggers online and seeing what you are all working on. So much inspiration and of course, I want to make whatever you have!

2. When I was a teenager my boyfriend got me a pet skunk. I know, weird!

3. I love to read but I try to find books that don't have any junk (sex scenes, foul language, etc) that I have to skip over.

4. I really enjoy the challenges other bloggers put out there that make me try harder. Like I made a quilt in a day. I've tried machine quilting too but that one just seems beyond me.

5. I work for an oral surgeon which has been great. Several of my children and grandchildren have had their wisdom teeth extracted for free and since I am falling apart now, I have had 3 implants too.

6. I love Sundays. It is really a day of rest for me. No cleaning house, no work, sitting around reading a good book, usually quilting or food magazines, or just relaxing and going to Church.

7. One of my daughters gave me this last one: I am the COOLEST MOM in the World!!!

Now to pass it on to others:

Mrs. Moen....Nina Lise has the best sense of humor and makes the most thoughtful quilts ever. Her quilts always make me reflect on my own life. Check out her blog.
http://mrsmoen.blogspot.com/

Aunty Henny...Helen makes wonderful quilts, and dolls, and she promises to show her Ballerina Bag soon. She likes to "sing" on her blog. I always recognize the songs too.
http://auntyhennys.blogspot.com/

Leona's Quilting Adventure...Leona has such a fun blog to read. Her quilts are great. Right now she is asking for blocks for her sister who is fighting cancer. Drop over there and maybe you'll want to add your blocks too.
http://oneygirl-myquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/

Camp Gramma...Sharon has the cutest grandkids and she shares projects that she has been working on with and for them. She is lucky enough to live close to them.
http://campgramma.blogspot.com/

Gone Stitchin'...Cheryll is working on some great block swaps. She just won a giveaway. Check out her blog.
http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com/

Stray Stitches...Linda has a really fun blog. She shares pictures of her dogs, gives quotes for the day, and finds time to quilt. Don't miss this one.
http://straystitches1.blogspot.com/

Pokeydot quilting...Pokey feels like my next door neighbor now. She just finished the cutest ladybug quilt top. So cute!
http://pokeydotquilting.blogspot.com/

Sweet P Quilting and Creations...Paulette just won a book in a giveaway and now wants to share it with others. Get on over there and you could read it next....only thing is ...you get to pass it on when your finished with it. What a fun way to share books.
http://sweetp-paulette.blogspot.com/

There are so many more that I read often but I have noticed that several of them have already received awards so I don't want to pass this on to them right now. Enjoy yourselves! Lynda

Several years ago!!

2010-09-15T15:46:00.005-06:00

Yes, several years ago everyone was making Stack and Whack quilts. Our Bee had a class on making them so I started this quilt. It took me awhile to get all the yellow star pieces added and the borders.....BUT......it has been sitting in my cupboard for years just waiting to be quilted.

I found some burgundy brushed cotton fabric on a really good cLeaRaNcE sale that I thought might look good for the back.

I think the appeal was that one fabric could look so different in each block.

For the most part, green is the dominant color so I used it for the border also.

Here is a view of the back and the great quilting. This quilt was quilted by Laura Erickson of Orem.

It is nice to see the stack of "to-be-quilted" quilts going down. But, oh boy, there are still so many that need backing and quilting done. (And to think I used to finish a quilt before I started another one!)

Right now Toma has 2 of my Christmas quilts that she is quilting and I am making the backing for a tree quilt (started 19 years ago), and my friend, Janine, and I are working on a quilt made from the worn out scrubs of a girl that works with us.

Today I was kept busy bottling peaches. They look almost as beautiful as a quilt.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

There are just some things you shouldn't do

2010-09-10T21:20:00.012-06:00

There are just some things you shouldn't do. One of them is going longer than a week to see sweet grandchildren! Ellie has been growing like a weed. I got to spend Wednesday with my daughter, Nicky and baby Ellie. It was a fun day but went by much too quickly. (Now if I could just figure out how to get all my children and grandchildren to move in next door I would really be happy)

A couple of years ago my friend, Janine, found this panel and decided she had to make one. Of course, she got one for me too. We cut the sections apart, made 4 patches out of matching fabrics, added leftover pieces for a border and then I promptly added it to my pile of "quilts-needing-to-be-quilted". A couple of days ago I got it back from the quilter and added the striped binding from my big bag of beautiful leftover bindings. Of course, the piece was about 15 inches too short but I did find some small 3 to 5 inch pieces of it tucked away in the back of a cupboard so I sewed them together so I would have enough for the whole quilt.

I just think these little bumble bees are so cute and the sayings are perfect.

I dance....but only in private with no one watching.

Family always comes first.

Lots of wishes.

Who doesn't?

Ahhhh

Lalala

Yummy

Here is a view of the bright red flannel back.

Now more things I should never do!

hand applique.....don't enjoy it, don't do it well

machine quilt.....causes stress, don't do it well

machine sew on a binding....like I did here. I could have done it just about as fast by hand and it would have looked a lot better. I know, I know what you are thinking. Practice makes perfect. Well, I've decided I don't like practice either so I will continue to machine applique, send my quilts out to be quilted and sew my bindings on by hand. Much better for me!

Happy Quilting.....Lynda

GIVEAWAYS GALORE!!

2010-09-05T15:21:00.003-06:00

A fantastic giveaway at the Quilted Fish. Great patterns and kits, fun fabrics and buttons! YOU GOTTA SEE IT ALL. Head on over there......http://thequiltedfish.typepad.com/.

Another fantastic giveaway. by Shawna...a quilt kit....is found at www.thatssewshawna.com. Wow, such fun giveaways you won't want to miss out on these.

I'm seeing STARS!

2010-09-05T14:58:00.003-06:00

Here is the Buggy Barn Star quilt all quilted and binding on ready to give away to my neighbor. I love the colors and so did he. It's even hard to notice the wacky star in the lower right corner.

Here is a close up of a few stars and a view of the back. It was so fun to see the surprise on his face and the laughter at the stories behind the fabric choices, the wacky star, the frustrating strings that seem to multiply as I pick them off, the floral on a manly man quilt (to remember his softer side when dealing with people) etc.

Here is Colton, all 6' 4" of him, happy with his new quilt. His mom had to take a picture of me standing with him....he quipped that he would have to lower the quilt so I could be seen. Funny kid.

Boy I sure love our neighbor kids. I've been able to watch most of them grow up from toddlers to leaving home for college.

No other big quilts in the making right now but a lot of little finishes I need to be working on, and a few at the quilters. Life is good.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

2010-09-03T19:50:00.004-06:00

ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!

Head on over to "Leona's Quilting Adventure" and see the great giveaway she has on her blog. Wow! Fabric, rulers, needles, Scotty dogs and more. It ends on September 21st.

Good luck to us all. Lynda

And the winner is...........

2010-09-01T07:54:00.003-06:00

The day has finally arrived!!! My giveaway is finally closed to any more participants. Here is my random generator. . . a glass bowl full of folded papers with all your names on them.

Here are my delicate little fingers pulling out the winner. . .who I'm sure is sitting at home waiting by her computer for my e-mail.

And the WINNER is. . . (drum roll here) POKEY!!! Pokey lives in California. I've been following her for a long time now. She always has such beautiful projects going and gives me great inspiration. She even sent lots of you over to visit my blog so now I have lots more bloggers who give me daily joy and ideas.

I wish you all could have won. Many of you have touched my life through this amazing thing called blogging (when my daughters said I should start one I didn't think I would enjoy it at all, but now I daily check out quilting blogs and have found many wonderful blogging friends that I look forward to talking with on line).

Can't wait til the next giveaway because it was so much fun meeting you all.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Binding on and Delivered!

2010-08-29T08:26:00.003-06:00

I got the Orange and Blue quilt back from the quilter and put the binding on while taking a drive to St. George. We went to see the play, Tarzan, at Tuacahn outdoor theater. The play was spectacular with apes flying over our heads. At one point Tarzan came down a wire line from half way up the mountain onto the stage. For those of you who have been to that area you know the red, rock mountains are high and rugged. It was lots of fun. But back to the quilt! It was a little complicated manuevering a large quilt around on my lap so that I could bind the whole thing but I had taken time at home to fold it so that I could just keep turning and turning the whole folded quilt in my lap and get to all the edges.

I think you can see some of the flower, leaf and vine quilting that Toma Blair of Orem did. She did a beautiful job of quilting, by the way. I used a bright orange flannel on the back.

These blues and oranges were a bit softened in color compared to the really, really bright orange and blue that the wedding couple used as their colors to decorate. The reception was outside and luckily the weather cooled off enough to be enjoyable, with a slight wind, and a few threatening rain clouds. My newest baby granddaughter was dressed in a bright orange onesie and blue tutu, with blue leggings and shiny gold sandles all picked out or made by her paternal grandma.

I also got the Baseball quilt back from the quilter and will put the binding on in the next couple of days. Then I can give it away too! It doesn't get much better than this.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

P.S. My giveaway is almost over so hurry and add your name if you haven't already. I'll be drawing a name on September 1st. Good luck everyone.

2010-08-21T08:40:00.004-06:00

Wow! I can't believe all the new bloggers I've met because of this giveaway. It is so much fun to read through each of your blogs and be inspired and entertained by all you do.

I really appreciate all the comments you have made and all the inspiration I get from each of you. I have tried to respond on each of the blogs or by e-mail.

One of my blogging friends, Helen, at "Aunty Hennys" is also having a giveaway. She has made a wonderful bag and added lots of cute things to carry inside. Be sure to stop over there and add your name to the list (oooh that may lessen my chance to win but she has such a great blog you'll want to visit it often.)

I found another giveaway at "Leona's Quilting Adventure". I got to her blog from Cheryll's blog, "Gone Stitchin'". Believe me you want to go sign up for Leona's giveaway.....it is amazing!

If I knew how to make it so you could just click on their blog sites right here I would. But...that is beyond my knowledge right now. Guess I need another lesson from my daughter. However, you can get to their blogs from my side bar showing the blogs that I follow.

I'm still waiting for my 2 quilts to come back from the quilter so I can put the bindings on them. They should be done soon. Can't wait to give them away.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

GIVE AWAY TIME!!!

2010-08-18T13:11:00.002-06:00

Finally I got my act together and found something for my 1st BLOG GIVEAWAY! I made mushroom pincushions for my Quilting Bee . . . Had to put one in the package. I shopped for some kind of fabric today.....looked at subdued colors, pinks, greens, Christmas, Halloween and finally my eyes fell upon these wonderful BLACK AND YELLOW fabrics. I knew someone could make something stunning out of these vibrant fabrics. Then I found these "Utah Truffles" candy bars which had to be added to the package because I live in Utah. Then a cute little flower spool pincushion found it's way in my shopping cart.

Now all I need you to do is leave me a comment. Not hard at all! I'll be picking a winner on September 1st by random generator (my hand in a bowl).

Hope to hear from all of you soon.....Happy Quilting! Lynda

The JOY of giving!

2010-08-15T18:47:00.004-06:00

It is always such a JOY to give someone a quilt and see their expression. This is one of the quilts I have been working on this last couple of months. I got it back from the quilter and put on the binding yesterday. I love the way it turned out. I put a black, brown and tan flannel on the back to make it nice and cozy for the winter. Toma Blair of Orem did an amazing job meandering all over the quilt.....except for the squares in the center of each half square triangle.

She quilted a STAR in each of them. Hopefully the edges will fray nicely and give it a nice soft fuzzy look

Here is a picture of Dillon very happy with his new quilt. Dillon has grown up across the street from me. I've known him for about 13 years now. He used to come over and clean the snow off my driveway before I could get out to do it each morning trying to get it done before I even knew he was there. I can hardly believe that he has graduated from High School already.

I told him all kinds of stories about the quilt.....why I picked the pattern, the fabrics, had unfinished edges on some blocks and why I hand stitch the binding. All the stories had to do with me watching him grow up. Lots of fun.

Happy Quilting and Giving! Lynda

and CHECK

2010-08-09T07:37:00.002-06:00

Got the edges trimmed and the 2 borders put on. Ready for the quilter!!

That's 3 for the quilter. Nothing pressing until I get them back and need to add the bindings.

AAhhhh............time to relax now. Lynda

Check and almost check

2010-08-07T08:59:00.002-06:00

Here is the Buggy Barn My Three Stars quilt done (check) and ready for the quilter. I am putting a brown, black, tan flannel on the back. I think it turned out quite well and was so much fun to make. If you look over on the top left corner you'll see a star that is rather deformed! Oh well, I say it adds character.

The blue and orange quilt just needs to have the edges trimmed and add the last 2 borders (half check). I think I am really going to like this quilt too. It was such an easy one to make.....except I'm not looking forward to this edge trimming thing. I'll be working on that today and hopefully get it completely ready for the quilter too.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

As time goes by......

2010-08-02T07:40:00.002-06:00

I have been working on 2 quilts this past week. The orange and blue one is going together so easily. Just 9 inch blocks in blue and rail fence in orange and cream. I should be able to get it finished this week easily and off to the quilter.

This fuzzy picture is part of the Star quilt. The center of the quilt is completely put together and now I just need to add the 2 borders and off it goes to the quilter too. I do like having a couple of projects going at the same time especially when they are so different from each other.

I've been blogging for a year now so I'm thinking of something to give away for my very first give away. Will post more later on that. I can't believe I have been blogging a whole year already and that I enjoy it so much. I've met some good blogging friends and been inspired by what everyone does. It started out as a way to keep track of the quilts I make but has ended up a fun past time for me.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Another top ready to quilt!

2010-07-26T06:40:00.004-06:00

I've been madly sewing this past weekend. It was a holiday here in Utah over the weekend celebrating the pioneers coming to Utah Valley and settling a dessert into a beautiful place to live. I had to work half a day on Friday but spent the other half secluded in my sewing room sewing these blocks together. It turned out a little dark to me so I think I will have the quilter use a light gold thread which I think will add a little life to it. None of the blacks are solid blacks but they sure look like it in the picture.

I'm pretty sure the young man who gets it will love it after I tell him the story behind why I picked certain fabrics etc. The bright fabric is soccer fabric.

This next quilt is another Buggy Barn quilt that I'm making for another young man who recently graduated from High School. You can see I have the 14 12 inch blocks completed. The 4 inch blocks aren't squared up yet so you can see how uneven they are when sewn together before they are squared up. The 8 inch blocks are stacked and ready to sew. The pattern is called "My Three Stars" from the Buggy Barn Star Crossing book. I do enjoy their patterns.

My son-in-laws sister is getting married the end of August and her colors are going to be blue and orange. I found this fabric and had to have it. In the picture it sort of looks peach but it is orange. I think I will try to make a Rail Fence like I saw in a blogging friends site. (Quilt Sue I hope it is as easy as it looks on your blog. The only thing I am worried about is making the half rail fences around the main part of the top. It may be a little hit and miss to get the correct size.)

Back to work today. I plan on working on the last of the star blocks tonight.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

I was having withdrawals after a week away from my sewing room!

2010-07-22T19:15:00.003-06:00

After spending 45 minutes placing these 42 blocks on the floor, crawling around changing them to where I thought they looked better (several times), then having my friend, Janine, come over and help me replace them just right, then picking them up, labeling them in rows and sewing them together. . . . I KNOW they will still end up out of place! Janine and I laugh all the time about how we spend hours arranging and rearranging blocks and then are surprised at how the final layout still has alike fabrics side by side or a couple of blocks turned the wrong way no matter how hard we try to make it perfect. We are sure that only other quilters notice those imperfections and the recipients of the quilts love them anyway.

Here is the quilt I am working on this weekend. The blocks have gone together so quickly. I just made half square triangles 9 1/4 inches square, Sewed a 4 inch block on top (leaving the edges unfinished so they fray when washed) and then added sashing to 2 sides. Tonight I will sew them together in rows and hopefully get the 2 borders on too.

This is a quilt I made for a good friend who is now homebound. She collects old hats and these colors just seemed to reflect her happy personality.

A blogging friend, OopsLa, requested that I show the string quilt in full instead of just a corner of it. Please excuse the top of the piano and other furniture. I took this picture from the stairs overlooking the living room. I'm sure there is a way to crop the picture but it is beyond my knowledge. I do like the way it turned out. It has been folded and added to my stack of finished quilt-tops-that-need-to-be-quilted pile.

I'm off to the sewing room. Happy Quilting! Lynda

I love fabric

2010-07-07T16:13:00.004-06:00

Who can resist 50% off sales? This is the fabric I picked up the other day on sale. I am using these for a couple of quilts for 2 boys in our neighborhood who graduated from High School. I know I'm a little late but I think they will be happy with them anyway. One is going to feature a baseball fabric and the other soccer. I had to order those fabrics off the internet tho since I couldn't find them anywhere around here now. That's what I get for waiting to buy fabric!

I'm also still working on the red and cream Snowball quilt. I'm using it as leaders and enders while working on other projects. It is taking a long time but it's kind of fun seeing the pile grow slowly.

I finished the red, white and blue quilt also. I used up most of the strips I cut but, like always, there are still many left. I'll use them for the binding possibly. I wonder how a bizillion strips sewn together would work for the backing???

My daughter, Denise, will be here on Friday so I'll probably not get much sewing done for several days now. Although, she is bringing a T-shirt quilt for us to work on while she is here.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Really.....I've been busy!

2010-07-03T08:44:00.003-06:00

I have been sewing.....really. But I've also been back up to see our new baby two times after I spent the first week with them. And she's only 3 1/2 weeks old. I know, I know. I'm sure they may be getting tired of me. But, oh I need to kiss those little cheeks! I crocheted a simple edge around a blanket for a friend also. She is decorating her baby's room in frogs. They don't know yet if its a boy or a girl.

And......I've been making one more row of string blocks to even out my string quilt. It just bothered me that 3 sides ended in red and 1 side ended in blue. I've also made the outside border for it.

I should have completed more but I've been fighting some wierd cough since before our baby was born. I spent the first week with her wearing a mask so I would not cough on her. I've had a chest xray which came out clear so now the doctor thinks maybe its an infection that is hanging on or even allergies. I'm sure tired of this constant hacking!

There's a big 4th of July sale going on at a local quilt shop so I just may have to go shopping. After all, I have used quite a few reds and blues...........

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Strings, Trucks and Tractors

2010-06-23T08:47:00.002-06:00

I've been working on a few things....one of which is this string quilt. I need to add a white border then the outside border. It seems I have been sewing strips of blue and red forever! The border will be a piano key border of blues and reds. I have lots of them sewn together but not nearly enough to go around the quilt yet. Since I used scraps for this quilt my strips range from 6 inches long to 20 inches long. At least I can see that the pile has diminished significantly now.

I've also put the binding on these 2 Truck/Tractor quilts. One will be mailed off today to my niece in Washington and her new baby boy. I love the brightness of it. They were quilted by Toma in Orem. She does a great job and has them back to me so quickly too.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

Ellie Nicole is here!

2010-06-17T07:17:00.004-06:00

We got a call on Monday morning, June 7th, that Nicky was in labor. So we waited around until she actually went to the hospital, then hopped in the car and drove the 2 hours to Logan to be there when little Ellie was born. I love this texting thing. Patrick must have texted us out in the waiting room 100+ times letting us know everything that was happening. Ellie was born that evening weighing 7 lbs 3 ounces and 20 inches long. They came home on Wednesday. I got to stay for a week to help out and what a great time I had with them all.

We took so many pictures of her getting her first bath in the hospital, every outfit she had on, each of us holding her, asleep, awake, yawning, crying, etc etc etc. You know the routine when a new baby comes to a family! She is just a soft, warm, cuddly, smell good, feel good little baby and I so enjoyed my week with her.

It was very hard to leave last night. Nicky is such a good little mother already. I think our children know we love them but have no idea how all inclusive, never ending, overwhelming that love is until they have a little baby of their own. It was just so much fun to watch them love her.

I know I will be finding every excuse to skip work and take a drive to visit them.

Having a baby now is so much different than when I was having babies. We got to be in the room when the nurse gave Ellie her first bath.....right on the bed with Nicky watching so she'll know exactly what to do. Patrick got to wash her hair. She stayed in their room with them so they felt comfortable with her when they came home. ( I can remember my first baby wasn't even with me except to feed her until I came home from the hospital and wondered "What am I supposed to do with this???") They could ask questions and understand all the little changes taking place in the baby and in them. What a great experience!

Now I'm home, heading back to work, ready to get back down to the sewing room and wait each day for my daily picture of Ellie. Oh I love being a Grandma!!!

Happy Quilting.....Happy Life Lynda

Spring has Sprung

2010-05-30T20:22:00.004-06:00

I love Spring! This is the view from my front porch. The yellow tree is called a Golden Chain and is in full bloom right now. The huge bumble bees love it and it smells so good. The tree on the left is a flowering Cab Apple. It was in full bloom a couple of weeks ago. Not sure if you can see the mountains in the background through the tree branches. They are covered in snow still. We used to have a contest guessing when the last visible snow would be gone...it usually was the first week of August.

I got the binding on Janine's Buggy Barn Flower quilt. It turned out so cute. The fabrics are so sweet. I took it to work to give to her and everyone wanted it. Of course, we all asked who this one was for and she said "ME". I also got Nicky's quilt back from the quilter. I found another quilter...Brandy in Spanish Fork. She did a fantastic job. I put the binding on so it is ready to give to Nicky when we see her tomorrow. This is her 3rd quilt that she has made by herself. I hope she doesn't mind that I put the binding on for her. Her baby is due in a couple of weeks and I thought she might to have it ready.

This is a close up of the flower block. Brandy quilted a swirl in the center. I think it turned out really cute.

I've made 18 blue and red string blocks now. I think I need 42. Right now it doesn't look like I've used hardly any of the strips. How come scraps multiply??

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We decorated my parents graves today and we will go to Logan tomorrow to decorate my husbands family graves.

Happy Quilting. Lynda

I'm in Love, I'm in Love, I'm in Love with a wonderful guy!

2010-05-26T19:20:00.003-06:00

Yes, my Viking is back! Today I put the binding on the Cute Babies quilt for my sister. Jeanie, if your reading this I'll be putting this quilt in the mail to you on Saturday. Hope you like the way it turned out. It was quilted by Toma Blair in Orem. I was quite disappointed in myself tho that I used Wonder Under and didn't trim the centers out of the big pieces so the babies are quite stiff. The first one she quilted turned out so cute until I washed it and then the babies stuck out so oddly that I had her quilt this one differently. I learned my lesson tho...trim the iron on stuff so that things aren't so stiff!!!

I also finished putting together the 2 truck/tractor quilts and got the backs made too. Now they will go to the quilter on Saturday. I love the flannel backing I found....trucks and tractors in blue, green and yellow. I debated about putting a border on it but I think I like the non-border look. The binding will be the wavy lined blue and yellow fabric.

I also started putting the strip blocks together. Here are the first 4 done. I know, I was leaning towards blue and yellow but I have so many more red scraps than yellow so I decided to use it instead. I really like the bright look of it.

I need to get the binding sewn onto the flower quilt I made for my friend, Janine, also so I can have it ready to hand sew down tomorrow night.

I spent the morning with my quilting friends. I am always inspired by each of them. It is fun to see what they have been working on and the fabrics they use.

Happy Quilting! Lynda

2010-05-23T09:13:00.002-06:00

I feel like Little Orphan Annie singing....

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow...your only a day away!

My Viking, the love of my life, (well maybe that's an exaggeration) will be home TOMORROW.

Oh happy day! Lynda

Strip cutting

2010-05-19T08:20:00.003-06:00

Boy do I miss my sewing machine! But I am cutting strips and looking at more patterns. Buggy Barn has a new book out called Positively Crazy and there is a Christmas quilt in it that I HAVE to make for sure. It is Santa hiding behind a Christmas tree. Gotta buy that book today.

I'm auditioning the 2nd color for my strip quilt. I've cut out a good pile of blues. Not so sure about the greens with it. Not much contrast.

I really like the yellows with the blues. That would make a very happy quilt.

Of course, I do have a lot of reds. Putting white down the center of each block would give it a very patriotic look.

Of course, I still have lots of blues, in lighter tones, so I could make a totally blue quilt dividing the lights from the darks. Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions!!

Happily cutting! Lynda

Procrastination (my middle name)

2010-05-09T15:30:00.002-06:00

Yep, I procrastinated just a little too long....didn't take my sewing machine in for servicing so now he (yes its a he since he is a Viking) decided to quit on me! You know how that goes----just one more project, THEN I'll take him in and get him cleaned up and taken care of. So........now I have these 2 tractor/truck quilts half made, a quilt ready to put the binding on for Janine, a Snowball quilt in the making and who knows how many other projects in my head waiting to be started. So tomorrow I'll be taking my trusty Viking into the shop, get him cleaned, serviced, a new bobbin holder (since it lost some little important piece) and be ready hopefully in a week to continue. This will be a really good time to cut strips for a strip quilt I want to make too.

Below you can see I at least got the tires on the tractors and trucks. The truck tires were quite easy, cut out a circle and sew on. But the tractor tires were lots of ins and outs to cut for the tread. AND then I had to sew 4 stitches across, 4 stitches down, 4 across, 4 up, etc etc etc all around each tire----16 tires! But don't they look superb? I even got 1 of the filler strips done before Viking gave out. Oh I'm going to love this quilt. I know the 2 recipients will too.

Today is Mother's Day in the USA. So Happy Mothers Day to all of you. We got a wonderful CD of Church music at Church and of course a public pat on the back for all the service we give, lessons we teach, meals we take to others, kisses we give to hurts, and all the other things we do as mothers and wives.

Yesterday we spent in Logan at our son-in-laws college graduation. We had a great day celebrating with them, eating, laughing and playing games. He will now go on to get his Masters degree. Their college is all up hill (no lie, I don't think anything is down hill on campus). By the time he gets his Masters I need to be in better shape so I don't almost collapse by the time we get to the actual ceremony. Pretty funny to have my 8 month pregnant daughter trying to help push me up the hill.

Happy quilting to you all. Lynda