Leftovers

School starts tomorrow for my youngest so been busy with back-to-school shopping and preparation.  Managing to find about fifteen minutes to sew and wanting a quick project,  I looked into my basket of orphan blocks.

Leftover strips from Solids Quilt #3 (see WIPs on sidebar)

I found a whole stack of solid pairs for a project that I wasn't feeling anymore and chopped up this wide strip.  By sewing the resulting thinner, shorter strips to gray sashing, a mini quilt is created ;-)

This future Priority: Alzheimer's quilt is ready to be quilted.  I'm not so intimidated about quilting this mini size...now if I could only feel that confident about getting my son's quilt done!

Another benefit of these kinds of projects...there are always more leftovers ;-)

Have an amazing day!!!

Reflections on Quilting

I pulled my Retreat and Baby Boy quilt tops out to prepare them for quilting.

They have both been hanging around for quite some time.  The Retreat quilt just needed a border added, and the Baby Boy quilt just needed ... well, it just needed me to get it quilted.  If you haven't noticed by now, I don't particularly like the quilting part. 

A while back I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't get better at FMQ unless I actually quilted my quilts.  So that's what I did..quilted them all myself.  But my skills didn't improve quickly enough, I really didn't enjoy the process, and I only gifted two quilts at Christmas (and one was done by my longarmer)!

I used to hate hand sewing the binding on my quilts and now I love it!  I am hoping one day to feel the same way about quilting, but in the mean time, I am giving myself permission to occasionally send off quilts to my longarmer to be quilted.

So...the two I mentioned are on their way to Eagle Mountain Quilting.  I can't wait to get my Retreat quilt back (before the next retreat) and to send off the other quilt to Basics (I'm sure they are thinking it's about time).

I am also sending this little heart off to V for her friend.  I made this during my 45 minute 15 minute play time.  Hope she likes it!

Have an amazing day!!!

Creating for a Cure

PLEASE NOTE:  THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED FROM ITS ORIGINAL

Don't you just love the feeling you get with the promise of a new year....new goals....new challenges...new possibilities...especially when you're off to a great start in reaching those goals? 

AAQI #6342 Color Play

A major goal I set for myself this year was recommitting to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative by making Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts, and I am psyched to tell you that I completed two this weekend!

If you are not familiar with the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, go right now to their page to learn how this amazing organization "raises awareness and funds research through art." Just make sure you come back because I have more to say on the subject ;-)

Go ahead....I'll wait.......

Color Play is going in the mail today!

....pretty amazing organization, am I right?!  

Did you bid or buy any quilts while you were there?  {grins}

I recently purchased this quilt made by my good buddy Michele, and I have my eye on this one and this one made by fellow members of the Liberated Quilters Blog!!!

AAQI #6343 The Blues

I love making these quilts because it gives me an opportunity to try new techniques, practice my FMQ, and use my scraps, all while helping a worthy cause!  They are super quick as well, because the maximum size is 9 by 12 inches.

Would you like to make a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt?  Anyone and everyone is welcome and encouraged to make one.  You don't have to be part of a guild or the liberated quilter's group.  Just go to the Make a Priority: Alzheimer's quilt donation page to find out how.

I noticed that other bloggers had set a goal to make Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts too, so I thought it would be fun to challenge and motivate one another to keep that resolution.  

The Blues is also being mailed out today.

Thank you Michele and Susan for brainstorming with me!  Here's the scoop: 

1) Make a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt 

2) Register your quilt with the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative 

3) Repeat #1 and #2 as many times as you'd like ;-)

4) Tell all your artsy quilty friends to do the same

5) Consider adding your blog post to the AAQI Update blog

Edited to add:
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative has come up with a way for us all to encourage our readers. Find out how by visiting the AAQI Update blog. [link to http://aaqiupdate.wordpress.com/get-ideas/] The AAQI will also be creating a button for our blogs soon.

On the last day of each month, come back and share the registration number(s) of the quilt(s) you made.  From those, we will have drawings for fun giveaways.  Maybe, we'll even have a Show and Tell so others will be inspired to make, bid and/or buy!

Sound like fun? {Please say yes!} 

If you are interested in playing, leave me a comment so I know I'm not doing this alone ;-)  Don't forget to tell all your bloggy friends.  Check back soon for further details.

I hope you are as excited as I am about this challenge!!!!!

Wonderful Wednesday!

It's another wonderful Wednesday!  

Yesterday I felt better and quilted some of my daughter's quilt.  I took many 15 minutes play breaks.  Click here to see the results.

Have an amazing day!!!

Sew & Tell Friday #39

Yesterday was the first day since I moved that I felt like I really accomplished anything quilting wise.  Organizing my studio must have done the trick.  It felt really good, and I am hoping it is a new trend ;-)  Now my husband says I should get back to the rest of the house!

I did some basting, quilting and binding on three different projects I've had lying around.

This AAQI mini was started over the summer while I was in Montana.  The top was done as part of my 15 Minutes of Play, and then it went into a pile of tops waiting to be sandwiched.

Anyone who reads my blog frequently knows that I am not comfortable with free motion quilting....to say the least.  However, I realize the only way to get better is to actually just do it.  So I tried my hand with quilting some hearts in the border using a variegated thread...not bad for a first attempt.

The rest of the quilting was done with white thread echoing the cross a couple of times and then doing some loops.  The binding was machine stitched.

I experimented with different photo locations in my front yard.  I love the old trees we have, but the shade really messes with the exposure ;-)

I finished my But I have nothing to wear! quilt.  I just love this pattern.  {Thanks again Mrs. Moen!}  I had fun picking out the dress fabrics and quilting the straight lines with multi colored variegated thread.

My machine and I had issues when it came to quilting the words.  I ended up switching to a different variegated thread and that seemed to do the trick.  This picture was taken before all the binding had been hand sewn to the back...wanted to take advantage of the sunlight.

Here's the back.  Again, I just love this fun backing fabric.  At the last minute I remembered to add my Rene' creates tag.

The third quilt I worked on was this wheelchair quilt for our guild's charity project.  I don't have an updated picture, but yesterday I cut the backing, layered, basted and quilted about a third of the top.

What did you finish this week?  Have you added it to Amy's Sew and Tell Friday?  I've been remiss lately on checking all the links, but plan to rectify that starting now.  I love the motivation Amy provides each week to get things done, the inspiration gleamed from other Sew and Tell Friday bloggers and the warm and fuzzy feeling I get from reading encouraging comments!

Have an amazing weekend!!!

Fifteen Minutes

is all the time I could find yesterday.  I guess that answered the question whether playing nursemaid would give me more time or less time in the studio ;-)  Most of my day was spent getting caught up on paperwork.  When my daughter was feeling a little better, we watched a tearjerker movie together, and after that I was good for nothing ;-)

I'm not a big Miley Cyrus fan, but I like Greg Kinnear and Kelly Preston.  I usually stay away from Nicholas Sparks books and movies because of the tearjerker aspect, but my daughter picked the movie.  I have to say, it was a sweet movie....I used more tissues than my sick daughter.

OK...back to quilting.  This is only the second time I've worked with selvages.  It is a great project for 15 Minutes of Play, and maybe sometime later today, I will finally link my last two projects there ;-)

I've been saving my selvages for a while, and I am glad to finally see them sewn on blocks.  

You know...it is possible to recycle too much.  I wanted to use old phone book pages for my foundation, but I don't have any.  They've all been recycled, and I guess the phone book people haven't found us at our new house ;-)  We don't subscribe to the newspaper any more which has really reduced the amount of items in our recycling bin.  I ended up using a monthly neighborhood bulletin that happened to arrive at the right time.

At my speed, fifteen minutes only produced nine 4" selvage blocks.  My daughter is still home sick...poor thing.   I may have more selvage blocks to show tomorrow ;-)

Have an amazing day!!!

Crosses

While I was in Montana, I made this fun cross block from Heather's scraps and leftover fabric from the Siggy Swap.

I joined V's 15 Minutes Play and posted about my fifteen minutes of playtime making this.  It's a great place to play and share.  Check it out.


My Dad gave me this cross for our Montana home.

I love it...especially the turquoise beads in the center.  We were trying to find the best place to hang it...

...but my Dad found the perfect spot!  On another cross ;-)

I had to say goodbye to Montana for a while.....hello to Florida....and the heat.  But it's good to be home.

Have an amazing day!!!

Here's My 15

I'm not talking about the fifteen scary minutes I had the other day ;-)

I've been wanting to try Victoria's fifteen minutes of play time with scraps and finally got my chance.

Most of these scraps are from Heather who gave us a bunch at the retreat.

Here's the result of my fifteen minutes.  Very fun.

Hope y'all had a great holiday weekend.  We had a blast.  My Dad is here.  Luckily, everyone has agreed to a lazy day today.  I'm going to extend my fifteen minutes of play time ;-)

Have an amazing day!!!