Bloggers Quilt Festival

Are you ready?  

Grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable and head over to the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  You'll find fabulous quilty inspiration and discover some new and wonderful blogs.

Here's my entry:  Feeling Groovy

I made this quilt for our school auction.  The theme was That '70's Prom, and "some sort of tie dye and peace sign design" was requested.

Applique is not a skill I've mastered, so I drew a pattern using pinwheels to form the peace sign, thinking this would be an easier way to go.  Note to self:  learn applique!  

Shopping for a rainbow assortment of batiks was part of the fun.

These were the first pinwheel blocks I made...ever!

59 pinwheel blocks later, and a peace sign becomes recognizable.

I labeled each block with a row letter and column number.  I started piecing in the middle and worked my way out.

I learned a great deal in the course of making this quilt.  I was surprised to realize how much I enjoyed the process of designing a pattern and figuring out the math to make it work...all with pencil and paper rather than computer.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy the festival!

My Self-Imposed Exile

of Blogland (and Flickr, Facebook, Twitter) is over!  

I'm sure I am not the only one who gets distracted (but also inspired) by reading favorite blogs, clicking a link to discover a new blog, browsing Flickr, popping in to see what's up on Twitter and Facebook, but for a week or so I "grounded" myself because I wasn't getting my work done ;-)  

I did an occasional post because I didn't want anyone thinking I had disappeared, but that's all I was allowed ;-)  

I'm not really sure it worked, and I sure have missed the connection with others, so in the future I'll have to devise a different form of punishment ;-)

Now to see what y'all have been up to!

Have an amazing day!!!

This and That

I've been working on a little bit of this and a little bit of that....but not a whole bunch of any one thing ;-)

Still quilting my daughter's quilt....think I am about halfway there.

Need to finish quilting this charity quilt.

Still quilting this ugly quilt top.  When I run out of bobbin thread, I switch quilting projects.

Thinking of how to layout these extra string blocks to make another charity quilt.

Piecing a few more wonky snowballs.

Contemplating a new quilt with these lovely solids.

What are you working on?

Have an amazing day!!!

Finding Time

It's hard to find time to do all the things we'd like to do, isn't it?  Being sick and taking care of sick ones complicates that balance.  Yesterday I managed to find some time to sew.

I didn't stop sewing until I had finished this LOVE quilt top.  It's a gift, and now I have to decide whether to quilt it myself or send it off.  I'm trying to do better about quilting them myself, but I really don't want to mess this one up.

Here's another picture outside.  I'm still looking for that perfect photo spot.  Where do you like to take pictures of your quilts?

Wonderful Wednesday!

This Wonderful Wednesday is not so wonderful...another week of our family taking turns being sick.

However, this wonderful video made by Ami Simms made me smile!  Check it out!

Have an amazing day!!!!

Giveaway Winner

The Random Number Generator finally had a chance to do its thing.  I wanted to respond to all the comments before I posted the winners, and since I had internet issues it took a little longer than expected.  Thank you for all the well wishes regarding my one year blogiversary!  I enjoyed reading every comment and getting to know you each a little better.

I can never get the True Random Number Generator to appear properly, but the after taking away two duplicates, and entering 46 comments, the Result was 2.

Cara of CaraQuilts is the winner of the fabrics, Amy Butler pattern and Think Pink mini.  

It seems many of you share my shoe size.  I usually wear a 7, but ordered (or thought I had) a 7.5 in the tennis shoes to give my toes a little wiggle room.  Who would have thought that the default size for Tula Pink shoes would be 7.5 MENS?!!  I didn't even check the Size Chart the first time.  I know what size I wear.  It wasn't until I received my larger than expected shoes and checked the website that I realized there was a conversion chart ... not for converting UK to US... but for converting men's sizes to ladies'!  A 7.5 in mens translates to 9 in ladies.  Only three commenters wear this size.

This time the Generator picked number 1 of 3 comments, and Cara of CaraQuilts is also the winner of the Tula Pink shoes.  Congratulations Cara!  Email me your mailing address, and I'll put all these in the mail.

Thanks again everyone for playing along.

Have an amazing day!!!!

Another Quickie

Here's another quick post.  I had planned to finish my Ugly Fabric quilt top to show for Sew and Tell Friday, but that didn't happen....my temperamental car had other ideas for how I was to spend my time today;-)

I'm off to our annual Moore Family Reunion in Mississippi!!!  Now that my sister is a quilting convert, I imagine we will spend most of the weekend discussing fabrics, projects, blogs, etc.  I am prepared...got a stash of magazines to read, fabric related gifts to give, and hand sewing projects to share!!!  Michelle, here I come ;-)

I'll do the random number generator thing for the giveaway when I return.  If you haven't entered yet, it's not too late.  Click here for the giveaway post.

Have an amazing weekend!!!!

Ugly Quilting

I'm headed out the door so here's a quick rundown on the progress I've made on my Ugly Fabric Challenge quilt top.

It's basted.

Here's the back...Chocolat by 3 Sisters from my stash.

I only had time to quilt one corner....more FMQ practicing.

My one year blogiversary giveaway is still open here.

Have an amazing day!!!!

Wonderful Wednesday!

I discovered these pretty flowers in my backyard yesterday.  What a nice surprise to see their lovely blooms still fresh from the dew .... or maybe the sprinkler ;-) 

I'm off to get my toenails painted, my feet rubbed and my car washed!  

My giveaway is still open...leave a comment by Sunday.

Have an amazing day!!!!

Pink Ribbon Mug Rug

Continuing in the theme of pink, I made a mug rug for my Pink Ribbon coffee mug.

Again, I am using fabrics from two different pink ribbon collections with some Flutterby thrown in.  The pink background isn't as hot pink and the other colors aren't as washed out as they appear in the photo.  It took me forever to make these few hexagons, and I still don't have the hang of it.    Sewing the fabric around the template seems easy enough, but the sewing them together and taking out the templates without distorting the shape I haven't figured out.  I think I need a personal demonstration. 

 This one's for me so I'm not too worried about it's lack of perfection.  I played around again with some FMQing and stitching around the hexagons.   The backing fabric is becoming one of my favorites.

 As I mentioned last year, this is my favorite coffee mug.  I have searched everywhere for them as I'd like to buy more, but can't find them.  I think I ordered them (only two....now I wish it were more) several years ago from a catalog.  The bottom of the mug says it is Arthur Court made for Neiman Marcus.  I love how the handle is a pink ribbon and the base is butterflies made from pewter.

I like the way it looks on my BRAND NEW LAPTOP TABLE (channeling Price is Right here)!  I actually assembled this all by myself!!!!  If you know me, you know this is quite an accomplishment! This took my allotted sewing time yesterday.  Since we moved, I have yet to find my spot to sit and browse Flickr and read blogs  pay bills, etc.  I think I've found my quiet place, but this table is on wheels so I can roll it wherever I want whenever I want.  Yeah me ;-)

If you haven't already, click on Monday's post to enter my giveaway!

Have an amazing day!!!

Think Pink Giveaway

A week or so ago, my one year blogiversary quietly occurred.  It went virtually unnoticed as life demanded my attention.  Now it's time to remedy that.  So, I present my blogiversary post.

I really didn't know what to expect when I started this blog.    I was intrigued when I discovered quilt blogs and decided I wanted one too ;-)  Who would have expected, certainly not me, that 242 blog posts, 42 Sew and Tell Fridays, 2 Bloggers Quilt Festivals and 101 Followers (thank you!) later,  what quilting experiences I would discover?!  In the past twelve months, I became part of the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild, attended my first ever quilt retreat, participated in quilt alongs and quilt challenges,  and met many, many fabulous bloggy friends.  Of course, I've also spent more time on Flickr than is healthy, killed too many trees printing pages and pages of tutorials, and kept several online fabric stores in business ;-)

I still remember my first post (got a kick out of rereading that) and the first people (Sherri, Thelma and katquilter) who commented on my blog.  I still get a thrill when I receive an email notification that someone has left a comment on my blog.  I hope that excitement never fades.  Thank all of you so much!  You inspire me!  I have learned so much and still have so much more to learn.  I am excited to see what the next year will bring!

Now for the giveaway part of this post.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Both my mother and my paternal grandmother are breast cancer survivors!  I wear pink every day during October.  It's just my thing.  I know it won't cure breast cancer or raise any money, but it's what I do.

I am giving away this Amy Butler pattern, 2 yards of Windham Fabrics Pink Ribbons by Rosemarie Lavin and 1/2 yard of coordinating pink heart fabric.

I am also giving away this mini Think Pink quilt which I made using Mrs. Moen's Nothing to Wear pattern.  The middle dress fabric and the backing is the same as the giveaway fabric.  The other dresses and binding are The Pink Ribbon Signature Collection by Karen Neuburger for Quilting Treasures which I've had in my stash for years.

I finished hand sewing the binding on after dark so this picture is off and the other pictures show an incomplete mini.  I tried the FMQ techniques learned from Juanita's workshop to quilt encouraging sentiments in pink thread.  I also quilted hearts, "love" here and there, and my signature in white thread.

I used the Pink Ribbon fabric for the backing, but I didn't sew it on until after the FMQ...

 otherwise the back would have looked like the above picture ;-)

If you'd like to win the pattern, fabric and mini quilt, please leave me a comment telling me something about yourself...such as what do you like to do when you aren't quilting?...how long have you been blogging?....do you think wearing pink 31 days in a row is insane?  Make sure your email address is set to show on your profile or you include it in your comment.

Additionally I am giving away this pair of Tula Pink Plume tennis shoes.  Just so you know, they are new and were only worn once.  That was when I tried them on and realized I had ordered the wrong size.  I loved them so much, and I ordered another pair...this time paying more attention to the size chart!  If you would like these, leave me a comment with your shoe size.  I will send them to the person with the matching size....random number generator if more than one.

This giveaway will stay open until Sunday, October 17th.

Have an amazing day!!!!

Sew & Tell Friday #42

My sew and tell projects have been lame lately.  Continuing in that tradition, I present to you my Ugly Fabric Challenge project.

Yesterday I showed the Ugly Fabric Challenge projects made by other guild members.  Here is mine.    This fall quilt top was inspired by P.S. I Quilt's Autumn Shoofly quilt.  I didn't have enough strips so I changed it up some going with a different border layout.  

I was hoping to have it quilted and bound by now, but of course, that is not the case.  

 Can you pick out the "ugly" fabric?  I'm betting you''ll guess the wrong one ;-)

Don't forget to see all the Friday projects over at Amy's.

Have an amazing weekend!!!

Made by Others

Yesterday's meeting just wasn't long enough to see all the wonderful show and tell projects!  Here is a sampling:

One of 280+ creative, made with love, blocks sent in to guest speaker Amy Allen for her Global Quilt Project.

Hope's Ugly Fabric Challenge Christmas table runner

Michele's Ugly Fabric Challenge Aquarium

Kathryn's Ugly Fabric Challenge kitchen towel

Heather's art quilt made during a class with Laura Wasilowski.

There is more to see on Orlando Modern Quilt Guild's blog.

This lovely coin quilt in progress is my little sister's second quilt project.  Michelle made her first quilt two weeks ago.  I'd say she's hooked!  Don't you think she needs to move to Orlando join the OMQG?

I'm hoping to get some sewing done myself today.  What about you?

Have an amazing day!!!!