Ginkgo Leaves

Phyllis made this quilt. Can you tell that she LOVES Ginkgo leaves?
 

I do not usually take photos of quilts that I do a pantogram on but Phyllis designed and made the pantogram for this quilt. I think it turned out rather nicely.
 

I really enjoy this quilt. Phyllis has used several silks through out the quilt and they look great!

February UFO Completed

I know it is almost the end of March and I have just finished my February UFO. This quilt was started last year in a class with Gyleen Fitzgerald. It is her Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilt.

Yes, I am a little behind. I will not get my March UFO done this month but maybe I can get 2 UFOs done in April. To be realistic, probably not. I really do have a lot on my plate right now.
 

It was an absolutely beautiful evening to be out taking some photos. The sun was just going down behind those trees.

Storm At Sea

This Storm At Sea was made be the 7-Sisters Quilt Guild.

It will be raffled off in June to benefit the Trappe Volunteer Fire Company.

I thought it would be neat for the quilting to feel flowing like water.

The quilting was very simple but I think it has the effect I was going for.

Stash Report - Week 13, 2012

Not much fabric used this week, but at least I am going in the right direction!

Used this Week: 1/2 yard

Used year to Date: 52 1/4 yards

Added this Week: 0 yards

Added Year to Date: 18 3/4 yards

Net Used for 2012: 33 1/2 yards

You can go to Patchwork Times to see more stash reports.

Yesterday my husband and I spent the day running around the eastern shore picking up chairs. When our son moved out we gave him our table and chairs. I found new chairs that I liked at Pier One. The good thing is that they were on sale; the bad thing is that they were being discontinued. Since they were being discontinued we could not order more. 

 Pier One does not ship between stores so we purchased 2 in Easton on Sunday and over the phone we were able to purchase the rest at other stores. Friday was the first day we had available to go get them; we picked up 2 in Dover and 2 in Rehoboth Beach. So you see we were all over the Eastern Shore.
 

These chairs are very comfortable. I am afraid I could fall asleep sitting at the table. The chairs also look great and I couldn't be happier with them.

I actually got my new table last August. I found it in an antique store in Cambridge. It is fabulous!!!!!!!!!

Our son also took the family room sofa and love seat. We ordered new ones last week and are awaiting their arrival.

Look What the Mailman Brought

My book arrived yesterday.

If you saw my posts from last week then you know that I was in awe of Karen Stone's quilts at the Lancaster Quilt Show. I just had to have her book. I will be riding in the car for several hours today so I think I will take this along to pass the time.

My Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilt

I did some quilting today.

Finished quilting my Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilt.

This is my UFO for February. Yes, I am a little behind.

 I am going to bind it in the red.

I don't even know when I will get it bound. Friday night I need to work on a dress for my daughter for her birthday party.

This is the back of my quilt. Love that Jane Sassaman fabric!!!!!!

 I did a pantogram for a customer today. (I do not usually take pictures of quilts with pantograms.) Anyway, I used the "Leader Grips" that I got at the Lancaster Show to put the quilt on the longarm. The purpose of them is to save time. I guess I need to get used to them because I do not think they saved me any time. Let's see how the next one goes.

He's Really Gone

If you follow my blog then you know that Son #2 moved away the beginning of March. Tuesday the movers came and took all of his stuff. He is really gone. With all of his belongings still here it was like he was away at school again. But now it is really hitting me that he is all grown up and moved out. The worst part is that he is so far away; about a 9 hour drive. As you can see in the picture, he even took his deer head. (THANK GOD!!!!) I thought it was funny that the deer head got such special treatment. He got his own custom-made wooden crate.

I still have one left at home; my daughter. She is a freshman in high school. I plan to continue to enjoy every minute that I have with her.

Block Party

Fiber Art Bee

B-Day Girlz Block Party 2012

Today I met with my Fiber Arts Bee. Some of the members of this bee are participating in a block party exchange this year.  Two months before your birthday you tell the group what kind of block you would like. At the meeting during your birthday month you will receive the blocks. Two months after your birthday you are to have the quilt top put together to show the group. We have about 10 - 12 participating. Janie's birthday was in January and I am sorry that I did not take a picture of the block I made for her. We had no birthdays in February. Margie and Sylvia celebrate their birthday this month.

Margie asked for a 10 inch red and white scrappy block. Since I am on my second Joseph's Coat and taught a class on it I thought it would be a good block for me to do. I love red and have plenty of them in my stash. I just thought about my stash report; guess I should try to figure how much fabric I used for these 2 blocks. Instead of using clear thread I used white and did a blanket stitch.
 

Sylvia gave us this print out of a dress form and asked us to dress it. She said we could do anything we wanted to with it. I have to admit, at first I was not excited about making this block.

But, look at it! I just love it. I used fusible web so it was not that difficult or time consuming. Again I did the blanket stitch. I used black because I thought it would outline it and really set it off. The reason I went with the green background was to contrast with the pink. I couldn't be happier with it.

I am a chronic procrastinator. I started these two blocks yesterday and got up at 4 AM this morning to finish them. I got them done in time and I love both of them.

My Lancaster Purchases

Finally, here are my purchases from the Lancaster Quilt Show.

You don't want to know how much money I spent.

Quilting really is an addiction, and not just fabric.

These "Leader Grips" are for the long-arm. You use these to put the quilts on the long-arm. It promises to be much quicker than pins. I also got the ones for the sides. I will let you know how I like them when I finally get to use them. I have a busy week ahead and not sure when that will be.

I got this new dye for my AccuQuilt Go. Maybe I can use this on my Rhapsody Quilt.

The roll-n-ruler looked amazing. That tape sticks to itself and nothing else. Looks like it should get a lot of use.

Water Soluble Thread; some day I am going to try trapunto. I also got a pressing stick that is hidden under there somewhere. Should make pressing easier and more accurate.

 Some of the books were on sale. I find it hard to turn down a good book, especially one on sale.

I am excited about this book. The author was there and so were most of the things that she has scrapped on. I can't wait to try one of these projects.

Rhapsody Bee

Have you ever wanted to try something new but were hesitant to start it on your own? That is the way I felt about Ricky Tims' Rhapsody Quilt. I wanted to make one but figured it would just be one more UFO. I had the great idea to do it as a Bee. We can all help each other out as we work on our quilts. The plan is to meet each month and plan out what we will do before the next meeting. Our hope is to have the quilt top finished in about a year.

Today some of the Bayside Quilters started this new Bee; the "Rhapsody Bee."

The first thing we did was to watch the video. Ricky makes it look so easy. I also have the book but it is so much better watching the video.

 After lunch we started designing the skeleton for our quilt. I forgot to get a picture of everyone else's so these are all pictures of mine.
 

To begin with you design the skeleton on a 8 1/2 inch square sheet of paper.
 

This is the first one I did; definitely not a winner.

This is the second one. It is okay but a little too plain. Although it would be easier to piece.

This is the third one. It has possibilities.

At this point I am leaning toward one of these last two. What do you think? Should I choose one of these or design a few more? I really am a "git-r-done" kind of person and I do not want to waste time designing more if it is not necessary.

We will meet again on the third Monday of April. At that point we are to have this basic design completed and decided what size we want our finished quilt to be. Then together we will make our enlarged patterns. This is going to be a fantastic quilt and I look forward to making it with my friends.