Going to Chicago

I am packing my stuff for the International Quilt Show in Chicago! I am riding the bus with the LQS (I don't know anyone going as far as I know) and staying overnight on Saturday so will have two days at the show. First time I have gone to a show this big and I have saved quite a bit of money so I am looking forward to going a little wild!

My other exciting news is that my new online friend from my Quiltville group and blogland has volunteered to quilt Marlene's Comfort Quilt for me. Thanks Steph! I shipped the quilt off to AZ today and can hardly wait to give it to Randy to give to Marlene. I hope it cheers her.
We got a new Starry-eyed block link to make, but I haven't done it yet. I think that will be for next week when I get back. Been grading papers, tests and homework like crazy the past week or so.

I will be bringing my camera to Chicago and should have lots of pictures of new friends (meeting people from my online groups--LOTS of them are going!) and quilts, etc!

Flying Geese and More

I got to stop at a store up north and I bought my "N" fabric...they did not have any numbers so we went with nurses. You can see a bit of it here with the cute fat quarters that I took home too! Not sure what I will do with them, but I don't have any like this and they just said SPRING to me. I got the "N" fabric all washed, cut up and in the envelopes to go, can't wait to get back not one but two ABC swaps--one from two different groups.
Comfort Quilt block for an online friend of a friend. He has cancer, I hope the quilt we Pickle's are making brings him some comfort....

Randy's downstairs neighbor/tenant went to the hospital a few weeks ago. She has had a few strokes and now a heart attack...could be awhile before she gets home. She is really sweet whenever I run into her though I don't really know her. I decided to make her a flying geese quilt to cheer her, bring her some Spring colors inside her hospital room and keep her warm. Kathy helped me today and I sewed and she cut...we used Eleanor Burn's book and ruler to make it easier. I added an extra row of geese to her lap size quilt but used smaller borders. I made the backing too. Just need to get some batting and get it tied, or try to find someone from their church who has a quilting machine...think I will be tying it though.

I really like how it turned out, and with big geese like this it went together pretty well. Two of my yellow geese aren't quite right (tips cut off) it took me a few to get the hang of things, but I got it now!
This is the attic closet behind my sewing table...you can see Greybear and Jade LOVE IT in there. If they aren't on my table, my fabric, etc. they are in here hanging out safe from our four dogs!

Orange Crush Step One Done!

I spent a few night working on the Orange Crush (step one) and completed it last night. I have extra four patches and a few more two patches to pair up. They all need ironing too! Kathy helped with the ironing which was nice and we just chatted and watched HGTV. If we have enough extra patches we are debating about making another one of these for Kathy's niece. We may be close to 150 extra and it won't take much to whip up some more so....this mystery thing is getting out of control. VBG.

Four patches churning out of the machine, then getting ironed!


Four patches in stacks of ten on the orange fabric that will go in this quilt. There is really more variety in the patches than this picture shows but you get the idea.

The sewing bee prize I won on NewQuiltingClub came in the mail the other day too. I got some red hat yardage and some Easter egg yardage. I plan to cut these up and put them into my I spy quilt collection I have been working on. They will be great additions!
I have a job today up North in Rice Lake and we are visiting the Busy Bobbin after so I will be looking for more "N" fabric since I signed up for the Quilt-Talk group's 6.5 inch block exchange for ABC fabrics. I originally signed up for the exact same swap in my Stashbuilder's group...got the "N" fabric read the directions (so I thought) cut it up and got it all set to go. Then someone asked a question about prewashing and I discovered that I was SUPPOSED to prewash. Sigh. I was sure it said not to. Turns out the group I originally didn't sign up for said you don't have to prewash (and I almost never prewash) so I had followed the rules for the wrong group. When they opened a swap up I grabbed "N" so that numbers fabric can go to them and now I will buy more "N" fabric and prewash and send that to the first group. Clear as mud? Yeah, I know!

My Favorite Card Game

Not much quilting going on today. I have some free time but just don't seem to have much motivation. Strange. I think I will page through a quilt book or two after this blog that is about as quilty as I can get! Randy came over to do his laundry (usually does every Sunday) and he, Kathy and I played our favorite card game Five Crowns! I even won one game. If you like card games I highly recommend this one. What is your favorite card game? I fondly remember playing Gin Rummy with my grandmother and learning to play cribbage with one of my uncles, but now this game is my favorite. It goes pretty fast and kids about age 8 can play it, so my kids have been playing for years.
I have my number swap all ready to go but trying to come up with a unique hostess gift to add to it. Not sure I will succeed there. Oh I forgot to mention I bought some Soak the other day. Washed all the bed quilts in the past few days and they smell and look great. Soak isn't cheap, but I think it is worth it to make the fabric last that much longer.

A New Starry-Eyed Block

Last night NewQuiltingClub posted the link for

the new starry-eyed block. I used a paisley with red in it (leftover backing from my cousing Crystal's wedding quilt--today is her baby shower and I am giving little Kash who is not yet born a puzzle quilt) and the red is just red. It went together really easily and I like how it turned out. I am really enjoying making random stars as the links get posted. Should make for an interesting quilt down the line. Here is the link if you are interested in the Shooting Star block. You can make it in two sizezs, I made the smaller size. http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/ShootingStar/index.html

Here is Kash's quilt. We tied it and it has one puzzle piece different than the one we made for Ayla. I love the look of this quilt, but I highly recommend a design wall if you are doing it! I used a portable type wall and every time one of my four dogs would accidently touch it I had pieced on the floor!

Well I better get in the shower and get ready for the shower! Have a great day!

Thirsty Thursday and Getting Ready for the Quilt Show!

I decided to follow my doctor's orders tonight and have a glass of wine. Supposedly it helps increase my good cholesterol. I love Lambrusco so it works for me. Notice I am using my new coaster that Flicsha from my Stashbuilders group sent me for being a sewing bee winner.

I told her that I really like the coasters and she surprised me by sending me the pattern for them! Some people really just are so nice, a total stranger and she went out of her way for me twice. THANKS! Today I also went and finished paying for my bus/hotel/etc. to go to the International Quilt Festival in Chicago April 12 and 13th! It will be my first time (I am an international quilt show virgin, GRIN) and even though I don't know anyone going in my group I figure I will make some new friends and I ordered myself a quilting book to read on the trip if the quilters are not friendly (as if!). I am sharing a room with Rose, I don't know her yet but hope we get on okay...at least for one night! Here is an advertisement for the show..the quilt on top looks yummy! I am getting excited, have been saving some money so I can splurge and be guilt free! Some of my online friends (whom I have never met) are going too...so I hope to meet up with a few. I will be carrying my Pickle Posse bag and am trying to figure out how to make a NewQuiltingClub logo (looks complicated to me!) so that I will stand out in the crowd. If you are going to be there and want to meet up give me a hollar! Hope to see you there.

I frog stitched and resewed the third row from the end of the Summer Bargello so it is right as rain now. Here is a pic (are you tired of them yet?) so you can see them all together and fixed. I took them this morning and the sun was not coming out that early. I am still mulling over my border ideas. I got some advice from an online quilter name Deborah and she is going to help me figure out how to get them all into one quilt and looking decent so wish me luck! I am debating if I should sign up for the Bargello Blues class at Quilt U. I know I would like it, but I am going to do Orange Crush and with getting this house sold I don't want to overdue it. I think I can take that class down the road since they do offer it every so often, but I kind of want to take it in April. So trying to resist, but...

A Great Mail Day and Ideas for my Bargello Seasons

Today was a great mail day as my favorite magazine (Mark Lipinksi's Quilter's Home-don't you know!) arrived! If you aren't subscribing or buying this one you are missing out. It is quite entertaining and always inspires me somehow! This one has a recipe in it for Shrimp Fettuccini with Zucchini that I am going to make after I get to the grocery store. If I deshrimp part of it my vegetarian DD may even eat it, though DS won't touch anything even remotely good. HA. The other awesome thing in this month's magazine was the Quilted Notebooks! Not sure why I didn't think of making some of those--lol guess that is why someone else is getting the big bucks. I have leftover scraps of my son's Love Beads quilt (already batted, backed and quilted, then cut off as the design called for) and I have been saving them trying to figure out just what I could do with them as they are too nice to throw out. I was thinking about making a pillow of some sort, but I asked the 15 year old if he wanted a doodle journal with his quilt leftovers and he said sure! So first I will make him one, should be pretty easy since half the work is done, then I am making one for me and we will see from there. What a fun project!

I am trying to come up with ideas for borders for combining my four seasons quilts into one quilt. I have measured them all and Spring is 28.5 by 22.5 inches, Summer is 33.5 by 18.5 inches, Fall is 35 by 18.25 inches and Winter is 27 by 21 inches. I know I want to add a half inch red border to fall followed by a 2 or 2.5 inch fall border. I am pretty sure I want to add a small strip of solid fabric to summer, followed by a patchwork strip of leftovers from the bargello and the same color outside border. I have not yet decided what to do for Spring and Winter. I could try to do Bonnie at Quiltvilles Braid type border to one of them (if I can figure it out) but especially winter seems hard to figure a border on. I think I need a borders class, lol. If anyone has any terific ideas I would love to consider them! Oh Man I just realized I screwed up the summer design three rows from the right, didn't even see it til now...SHEESH. Will be fixing that!

We showed the house again tonight, we have shown the house 13 times in 23 days or something like that so we have been busy! If only someone would put in an offer. Smile.