WHAT A PRIZE PACKAGE!!

I was SOOO thrilled when Marydon emailed to let me know that I had won a prize package from her blog.  I waited anxiously for it to arrive… I did not even know where it was coming from!

DH got the mail and said, “Who do we know in MARYLAND?”  AHA!!  Must be Marydon!!  Yep… you won’t believe the goodies she packed into this box!

WOW!  What a prize package!!  And the detective in me ( I HAVE been watching NCSI with DH… it rubs off!) thinks that perhaps Marydon has a thing about pooches… just thinkin’.

There was an adorable doggie pin cushion,

an oh-so-cute  Scottie dog Christmas plate (LOVE this!)

a really NEAT little Scottie dog wallet… it unfolds to have compartments for EVERYTHING you might need to carry,

the cutest tea cozy made from doggie fabric, and it is really, well… COZY!

Then she added something to put IN the teapot to put IN the cozy… raspberry tea and gourmet coffee.  (OK… I KNOW I can’t put the coffee in the teapot, but they fit well in the picture together… saving space, here!)

Thank you SO much, Marydon, for your wonderful gift box!!  And YOU ALL need to hurry over and visit her blog… you HAVE been there, right?  NO?  Well head over to HERE, The Blushing Rose.  You WON’T be disappointed!  I like reading what she posts on the side-bars as much as reading the blog posts!  I promise you will enjoy her.

So thanks again, Marydon!  I love my gifts and I so appreciate your generous give-aways!

TTFN!  (I’ve just finally figured out what that meant!!  Too much going on to take the time to research this before now.)

Have a wonderful day and a blessed and prosperous New Year!

                                    

Are You Looking for the Next Quilt?

So am I!  HAHA!  It is still in the process of having the binding sewn down.  Hopefully I will get opportunity to work on that later in the week… we will see.  Until then, I will keep you all in suspense.

I still have a couple of posts to get in this week, and then I will probably be taking a bit of a vacation from Blogville.  This posting every day for the last month has been rather time consuming.  My goal after this is to post a couple times a week.  I think am also going to keep “Enjoying the Journey” blog going as it is, rather than trying to combine them… I have a hard time giving up on any projectso I will leave things as they are for now.

Things to do:  finish the last quilt of the year… a small wall-hanging for my friend (Donna) that will need custom quilting.  I will show pictures when done.  I will sew the binding on both of her quilts and get them mailed back to her in Las Vegas. 

Please keep Donna and Leonard in your prayers… he is recovering from triple aneurism surgery.  The Lord has performed a miracle in his body, but please pray for complete and total restoration and a quick recovery so he can get back to daily routines.

Got to run… “Gussy Fay” is calling!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Dec. 26 – Shangri-La

 

“Shangri-La” – 2009

Made from a “Shangri-La” jelly roll and a little more yardage….  my first jelly roll quilt, and it was SOOOO much fun!  I made this while at quilt retreat in Texas.  It was a really fast project, too!

The quilting features feathers in several spots, and parallel lines in the outer border.

It has a large feather spray in the center area, a vining feather in the brown area,

swirls using metallic gold thread in the small tan squares,

and feather sprays in the corners.

The quilting really does not show much on the front due to the busy fabrics, but really shows on the back where I changed to brown thread.  This is a gift quilt, and will soon be given to a special someone in my family.

TOMORROW’S TEASER:  My very latest quilt (which I am still in the process of hemming).  Tomorrow will be the last day of the quilt show.

Be blessed!  See you tomorrow!

                                    

Dec. 25 – My Christmas Card to You…

 

Luke 2:1-21 (KJV)  
    And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. [2] (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) [3] And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. [4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) [5] To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. [6] And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. [7] And she brought forth her firstborn son,

 

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

[8] And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. [10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. [12] And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

[14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,

good will toward men. [15] And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. [16] And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. [17] And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. [18] And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. [19] But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. [20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. [21] And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus,

 

which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

1 John 4:10 (KJV) 
    Herein is love,

not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dec. 24 – Dick & Jane Churn Dash

“Dick and Jane Churn Dash” – 2008

When I saw the Dick and Jane fabric I HAD to have some!  Since I taught kindergarten and first grade (in a previous career) I just had to make something.  I told others I was making it for Katie Bug, but really it was for me… I just SHARE it with her!

I redrafted the churndash pattern to make the center square larger so I could fussy cut the fabric to best show the pictures.

The quilting is a Baptist Fan pattern.  I used the Quilt E-Z boards to do this… I love them!   This quilt was lots of fun, and it used by Katie Bug whenever she comes to visit at the farm.

Have a blessed Christmas!  And I hope you enjoy this quilter’s version of “The Night Before Christmas”.  It was sent to me by my niece, and is SOOOOO true at my house!

Twas the night before Christmas,
I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa
brought just for me..

Could it be fat quarters
or a pattern or lace?
Or a quilt kit, I said,
with a smile on my face.

And that's when I heard him,
"Hi Santa," I said
"You know....good little girls
should be in their beds ".

"I know I should Santa,
and now I've got caught.
But I was just so excited
to see what you brought."

"Well, let's take a look
in this room where you work."
He shook his head quickly,
And left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.
"You've got enough stuff, I'll see you next year!"
author unknown

Dec. 23 – Jacobean Rhapsody

“Jacobean Rhapsody” – Started 2000, finished 2008    72” x 72”

Pattern by Patricia Campbell and Mimi Ayers

The whole story:  This quilt was started in early 2000 and took 2 1/2 years to do the needle-turn applique.  I put it in my hand-quilting frame and got started.  I was quilting around EACH applique shape (699 of them!), had a 1/2” grid on each of the blocks, and was doing hand trapunto in a feather vine on the outer border.  I must add:  hand-quilting is NOT my favorite thing to do, so it was suffering from neglect.  I would work for a while on it, then forget it for months at a time.

When we got ready to move in 2007 I finally faced the reality that I was NEVER going to finish that hand quilting!  It was almost half done, but once I got the Gammill in 2004 hand quilting was just not something I could make myself sit down and do!  My tastes had changed, and what I once considered beautiful quilt designs now seemed rather BLAH, and I felt really did not do the quilt justice.  Reality set in, and I knew that if I ever wanted to finish this quilt I would need to remove the hand quilting and put it on the machine.  I spent 2 weeks at night, picking out the tiny hand stitching.

 

After we moved I spent many hours quilting “Jackie” on the machine.  The outer borders feature cut-away machine trapunto.  The background filler behind the flowers is something I call “needle-punch quilting”.  It is not a stipple, but even tighter to give greater dimension of the flowers.  Each of those background fillers took one hour to stitch (there are 24 of them!)  (See the picture above.) 

 

Each applique piece was stitched around and a very tiny McTavishing filler was used in the blocks.  Interspersed within each block are feather sprays.  (I got that idea from a quilt done by Karen McTavish.) They are not trapuntoed, but do stand out because of the tiny filler.  The sashing strips have a feather vine all the way around.  I estimate about 100 hours of quilting went into this.

This quilt was awarded a Teacher’s Ribbon at MQS 2008, and won 2nd place in its category at Innovations 2008.  It is NOT “perfect”… it has several rather large flaws (partly because it was pieced back in 2000, when I was just really getting started at improving my skills) so I mostly entered it to get feedback on the quilting designs.  The awards were a big surprise for me!

TOMORROW’S TEASER:  “Oh! look!  Run Spot, run.  Dick, see Spot run!)

Be blessed!

Dec. 22 – Peach Smoothie

 

“Peach Smoothie” – 2007

No time to post today, so check out  THIS LINK  for the complete story about “Peach Smoothie”.  There are also better pictures there for you to see details. 

Now, I’m off to quilt some more.  I’m still hoping to finish my Christmas things, and I have not wrapped a SINGLE present!

TOMORROW’S TEASER:  An applique quilt many YEARS in the making!

Be blessed!                     

Dec. 21 – A & E Threads Challenge Quilts

“Plain Ol’ 9-Patch” – 2007  (12” x 18”)

A&E Threads Challenge for MQS 2007 – Second place winner

 

These quilts contain all thread work on black fabric, no piecing is allowed. 

12 different background fills were used to create the 9-patches from A&E Pixelles thread.  I think these are the smallest feather vines I have ever done.

It was lots of fun just playing and seeing exactly what “Gussy Fay” could do.

“Tropical Breezes” – 2008  (12” x 18”)

A&E Threads Challenge at MQS 2008 – 2nd place winner

Playing on solid fabric is lots of fun.  Don’t ask how many hours went into making these small quilts… it is a bunch for their size.  Design process can be very lengthy…. (draw out, study over it, throw it in the trash and start over.  Repeat process.)

I’m still plugging away at Christmas quilts/gifts to be finished… I hope I don’t have to give IOUs for the recipients instead of the finished gifts!  FAMOUS LAST WORDS:   NEXT year I will not over-schedule and leave plenty of time for me to do some of MY things!  (Yeah, right!)

TOMORROW’S TEASER:  A  PEACH of a quilt!

                                         

Dec. 20 – Utility Quilts

“Mile A Minute” – 2007

This is a sort of “Crazy Quilt” technique, but no fancy stitching or special fabrics are involved.  The blocks were made totally from my scrap bag.  (I really made 2 quilts from my scraps… one king size and this full size, and both are still being used.)

This one has 12” blocks, and the king-size one has 9” blocks.  I finally figured out that if I would just make the blocks BIGGER I would not need to make so many.

The quilting pattern was “Chocolate Swirl Feather” by Kathi James.  This one resides on our guest bed.

The quilt above is an older quilt that was remade.  It is the very special utility quilt I was telling you about in the teaser.  You can read the entire story about this quilt HERE.  Mr. E. enjoyed using this quilt on his bed at home because it was originally made by his mom.

“Homespun 4-Patch” - 2006

When Mr. E. moved to the nursing center I made him this 4-patch to use on his bed.  I knew the other quilt would not hold up to the washing regimen of the nursing center.

Of course I labeled the quilt… actually I wrote directly on the lining so there was no worries about the label being removed or fading out.  I was not surprised when the workers in the laundry room added his name in larger letters on the back (see below).

But I WAS surprised when they also wrote on the FRONT of the quilt!!  Oh well… there will be no forgetting who this quilt belonged to!

We now have the quilt at our home.  It is one of the first ones I grab when needing a little extra cover because it is so soft after all the washing it has seen.

I must run… church, and then Jenn and the girls are coming over to do some Christmas goody baking… I have not done ANYTHING yet!!

TOMORROW’S TEASER:  I found myself in a very “thready” situation.  Now how’s THAT for a teaser?!

Be blessed!