Christmas Ornament

At the FatQuarters (Grove City OH) Guild meeting on Tuesday evening, everyone was given an ornament to make! They are SO cute. They were designed to be embroidered, preferably the buttonhole stitch, but I was in a hurry, so I used some of the quilting sts on my machine. And then glued a star to the center.

Quilting

I've been playing with the "antique" quilting stitches on my Pfaff 2058. This is the wrong (non-public) side of a pocket on a tote bag I'm making. The stitches show up really well here since the backing is not pieced and is a dark color with light thread. :)

Charm Party Tote

Well, I finally finished it! I cut out the pieces probably well over a month ago, but it's been just the last couple days I've been able to work on it, get it quilted, sew it up, etc. but now it's done!!! Yippee!!!!! (Considering I took the pic with my cell phone, it's not to bad!) :-)

2 quilts

I have a good friend whose 4-yo son was diagnosed with autism
about a year ago. I wanted to do something special, so I googled for autism. I found out that the logo for autistic children is the puzzle piece. So I designed the little quilt on the right. Someone told me later that an autistic logo quilt has already been designed, but I haven't been able to find it on the internet.

However, you can't give one little boy a quilt and not give his little brother a quilt, so I designed the friendship star quilt on the left for his little brother. The fabric used is the same fabric as that on the right - it just doesn't show up as well, perhaps because it has no red in it.

Jennifer's First Quilted Bag

My dgd, Jennifer, now 15, has never sewn before. She came over one evening after a tragic event at her school and found my ddil and me sewing tote bags. Jenn decided she wanted to make something, too. I found a pattern for a cute Mini Charmer bag. I showed her how to cut out the squares and she did it all herself. Then, using my (brand new) sewing machine, I took her through the construction, step by step. She pressed open her own seams. The bag is on the left and the "inside" is pictured on the right. Over all, I think she did a very nice job!

Card Trick - March 07, 2008

Talk about creating a monster! The friends who "turned me on" to quilting have done just that. I have some quilt software (EQ6) and have been playing with it. While scanning through a book on how to make quilts, I saw a picture of a block called "Card Trick." I fell in love with it! I could just picture it in primary colors, made out of flannel for a little boy. (One of the local quilt guilds makes charity quilts for children. Can't remember the name of the organization.)

But anyway, I played with the Card Trick block on the EQ6 software and made the design, cutting templates, etc. for the quilt top you see here. It was so much FUN! I still have to get the batting, back it, and do the machine quilting and then it will be done.

The picture on the right is the design drawing and the left is the actual quilt.

But first, off to work on some of knitting! I'm designing an entrelac shawl using Crystal Palace Yarns' Merino 5 (a superwash wool), and it is working up beautifully! And it's so soft!
I just love retirement!!!!! Especially today, when we're in the middle of a snowstorm, with a possible accumulation in the double-digits! It's nice and cozy and safe and warm in my house with my yarn and my quilt.

First Quilt in Progress - February 20, 2008

It's a Mystery Quilt from the Fat Quarters Quilt Guild, started by my friend Karen Lane and her sister, Kristina Gutierrez and meets at Always in Stitches in Grove City OH the first Tuesday of each month. Patty Estadt designed this one and my new daughter-in-law, Mary, selected the color families. I had a lot of fun piecing the Mystery Quilt Top and am now learning a LOT the HARD WAY about machine quilting it!! I'll post another pic when it is completed.

A Quilting First - February 08, 2008

I am learning to quilt. I found a box of quilt pieces/blocks that my grandmother made and these are anywhere from 60 to 100 years old. Gotta talk to someone who knows about these things!

Anyway, I want to work on her quilt pieces, but I don't know what I'm doing. So I joined a local guild - Fat Quarters Guild - here in Grove City and they are nurturing me through the process. Tracie needs a new cover for the pad on top of her grandmother's cedar chest and I thought I'd get brave and make one in the same color scheme as her Amish-made quilt. With the help of the guild and another friend, here is my first finished quilt piece. It's so far from perfect (yes, I cut off the points deliberately, a MAJOR no-no in quilting) and the actual quilting was a quick-and-dirty process, but it's done. I love it, I'm proud of it, and I think Tracie will love it, too. 'Course, she can't have it till after the March Show-n-Tell at Fat Quarters! lol