OFF TO CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for no picture and not posting recently. Life is crazy as always...work, school and family. Haven't been quilting for awhile, but spent time this weekend showing my sister from N. Carolina all kinds of projects she can work on while staying in my house for three weeks...lots of unfinished projects...bindings to stitch down...borders to add... Check back after May 25 for pictures from China!!

Mom's butterfly quilt

Sorry this is a bit out of focus...This is a quilt made about 15 years ago for my mom who always loved butterflies. When she passed away in 1998 it made it's way back to me. Her birthday was just last week, so she has been on my mind, so I decided to share it with you, since I can't find the picture of the red, white and blue flannel star I just finished.

I have finished tacking down the binding on the back side of a flannel star quilt and moved on to the binding on another one. Unfortunately, I'm not finding the pictures as someone has disconnected my external hard drive. In a house of young males...I bet I can guess!

The two quilts hanging on the arms of the treadmill (that is what they are for aren't they?) are works in progress. The one in the front (Blue, green and yellow) just needs two borders added (yes, I got bored with it...see August 27, 2007 post for a full picture of it) and the middle one (bright pink) the top is finished, I'm just wanting to add some words to the outer border.

Life continues to be busy with work, school and family. Hopefully, I will get at least one more posting up before I leave for China on May 6.

One more option

I've experimented with the green option on the previous post, in several different ways and can't quite get it where I want it. Also, I've realized that I really don't have enough of the green except in a very skinny border. I suppose I could try begging to my N. Carolina sister, but have decided to try this option that is currently on the wall. The center border is just the small cherry blossoms with out the cranes...I think the cranes were too distracting (see previous post).

I'm hoping to get the borders on this one over the weekend...but that may not happen as I have lots of homework to catch up on. I have about 300 pages of reading and a 20 minute presentation and PowerPoint to create. Of course quilting would be much more fun!! It will be my reward for staying focused and making good progress!

It's been a crazy month since I last posted. My mom in law has passed away while in hospice care, my dad was to have hip replacement surgery but ended up having a cardiac cath and two stents placed. Now he has to wait 4 more weeks for his surgery. On top of it all we've had a restructure at work and I have added responsibilities. I am thankful to have a job!

I did buy two yards of fabric today, the pink and purple inner border, as I was thinking of using it for the binding too. However, I did resist some wonderful bright red and orange poppies on a black background that were just screaming out my name... I managed to make it out of the store with just what I came for!!

I'll be going to China in a month and would love to hear about any great fabric shopping experiences, quilters, etc. I've not found much on the web, so would welcome any suggestions you might have!

Border Options

Yesterday, I finally had time to finish the main portion of this 9 Patch Pizazz quilt which has been on my design wall since September. With school and the rest of my crazy life, there just isn't much time to sew. I had planned to be gone this weekend, but things changed so I decided I was spending at least one day in my sewing room! It felt so good to be there!

There are 3 border options. If you click on the photo, it should open a larger view in another window. The top left which has two fabrics that are in the quilt, the bottom left with a different inner border and then the one on the right of two similar fabrics. So what's your vote?

Almost forgot to write about my forbidden purchase yesterday. Two yards of a beautiful 2008 Kona floral fabric and 1 yard of a green oriental to go with another project... So I made it two months without a fabric purchase...

Another package going to N. Carolina

Wish I could jump in the envelope and go with this fabric and pattern to my sisters in North Carolina. She mentioned the other day, that she was piecing the back of a quilt and was a bit short, so she went to local big store that starts with a W and picked up some extra flannel. When she washed it, it clearly was not of the same quality of the rest of the fabric. So being the good sis that I am, convinced her not to use what she had and that I would send some to her.

Of course, when I went to my stash I didn't have anything that would work...so off to one of the 4 quilt shops within a 30 minute drive and found just what she was wanting! I still have not purchased any fabric for myself this year...a new record... I also found this pattern at one of my favorite shops last week and am adding it to the box. It will be perfect for all of our Tokyo purchases from last year. If you can't find the Shoji Screen pattern at a local store the web site is www.dianaandlaura.com

Several times a month, I travel to the Oregon Coast for work. I always make sure to have time at the end of the day for a quick stop at the wonderful shop in Newport. If you are ever traveling in Oregon, be sure to visit the shop in Newport on the Central Oregon Coast. They have a great variety of fabrics, lots of patterns and wonderful friendly staff. They also have great block of the month projects, etc., on their web site: http://www.quilterscove.net/store/index.html


I did manage to stitch down about half of the binding on a quilt Saturday night, as I watched a movie...at least a little progress going on here!

And then there were TWO

And then there were two...quilts that is. Here's my second quilt started about 1979, in a class in California. It was made with cardboard templates! Every week we copied template patterns and instructions for a new block. Several of the blocks were pieced by hand, others on a very old machine! Obviously I was learning about values as some are made out of two dark fabrics. If only I had used a medium or light, they would look better.

Not a lot of quilting going on around here. Hoping to stitch on a binding after dinner tonight. Homework, school and just life in general are keeping me out of the sewing room...maybe tomorrow!

Had a lovely few hours in the front flower garden bed, doing some clean up that was missed last fall. The bulbs are peaking through...just a few inches up. Spring will soon be here & I can't wait!!

I am starting to make plans for a trip to China in May. If anyone knows of quilt related places, great fabric areas, groups, etc., please leave me a message.

Everyone has a first quilt!

As the guys were taking down the Christmas quilts for me they accidentally took down one that I was going to leave up for a while longer. So then I had to figure out what to put back on the wall...it was too early for spring and summer, so I decided to go with this one that had some red in it for Valentines day.

This was my very first quilt, made in the summer of 1977, between my junior and senior year at college. It was made without any templates or instructions. I just cut out squares from scraps of clothes that I had made and put them in to rows. I thought straight rows were boring, so I figured out how to turn the squares on point. I couldn't figure out how to finish the edge, so I appliqued the squares to a long red piece of fabric. It was quilted with a group ladies about five years later, where we would take turns quilting each others tops. Little did I know that I had ventured into something that would last for many years to come. Yes, at one time, I really did make clothes...but not since I made this first quilt!!

Some of the butterflies have made it to the design wall. I'm trying to put together a lap quilt and was trying out a solid fabric from my stash. I think it is a bit bright and distracting...so I need to try something else out for lattices. I'm thinking of trying out black next... I've discovered most of the blocks have some kind of stain or marks. I've washed a few, trying various methods of removing the stains with limited success. At least the colors in the fabrics are not bleeding.

Last week I had a few minutes to stop at one of my favorite shops (which will remain nameless) on the way to the airport. Each month I try to add extra time to my airport schedule to make a stop at one of three shops. I knew this one had moved across the street since my last stop...what I didn't realize was with the new location came a new attitude. This shop always has great displays and wonderful collections of fabric. My wallet was always screaming for mercy as I left in the past, especially on days when the hidden room of Asian fabrics was open. It was the craziest place for fabric...out the back door and up the stairs to Asian Heaven.

I was hoping to find a particular Asian fabric to wrap up a project on my wall or some new batiks. After touring the whole shop, waiting at the counter for more than five minutes, while the four staff members worked on unwrapping new items and ignoring several of us waiting for help, when I asked about Asians, I was informed with quite the attitude, "We don't carry that". You would have thought I asked for a pile of dog poo! Unfortunately, this was the second time I had left empty handed and with a less than positive customer experience. I've decided it will be my last visit, as there are several other options to stop at on my monthly trip to the airport. Next time I'll write about some of my favorite stops...and include their names.