Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Very Cheddar Quilt

An Angela quilt with major emphasis on cheddar- she is from Wisconsin, maybe that's it?
I quilted a swirl down the colored/pieced ribbon and ruler work in the cheddar-are you getting a theme here? I am hooked on rulers! When we return from vacation I have two more QOV's to quilt and you know what that means? Yep, more ruler work, LOL.

Two Comfort Quilts

This past year saw two members of our quilt group fighting cancer, and one of the members donated two quilt tops and I quilted them for these ladies
 This one was for Anne who is doing splendidly now. 
 Quilted with a freehand floral E-E and the same design in the borders.
 Very sadly our friend Limbania lost her six year battle with cancer so we took this quilt to her family and hope it will be a comfort.
 Lots of ruler work in this one.
 Another of Shiela's creative backings.



A Quilt for Aunty!

This sweet quilt's colors were chosen by an "older" lady for her bed!
So her loving niece made it for her.
E-E feathers in the body of the quilt, and feathers in the border
 Another of Shiela's interesting backings with label.

My 2018 Bonnie Hunter Mystery


Last year I decided to take the pressure off the very busy Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons and make a smaller size version of the mystery.It is around 60+" square.
I was guessing at how many of each clue I would need and came up short of one clue for the border so I had to do some creative thinking!
 Working from stash I pieced the backing.
 I started out doing ruler work for quilting but soon tired of that and ended up with an E-E for the body of the quilt.
I was not very enamored of the colors but one of my daughters in law liked it for a lap quilt for their TV room so that's where it now resides and if I wanted I could visit it LOL.

Nicky's Dinosaur Quilt

This has gone to Poland, my friend Shiela made it for her little grandson.
 The dinosaur tracks lead to Nana's house so I decided to put Nicky's footprints around the border
 Shiela's backings are always very creative.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Erica's New Granddaughter's Quilt

We searched the web while on our recent visit to Rocky Point to find an idea for this quilt.  It turned out exactly as planned and I like it so much I will probably make a few more in the same colors, I have the fabric now! I especially like the striped binding.
 The backing is a delicious soft pink minkee, the baby will love it!

Quilt Of Valor

This one is for a Vietnam Vet, Purple Heart recipient.
The border has a variety of historical names, places and military units chosen because the recipient is a historian.
 A simple white backing shows the quilting detail, lots of ruler work which I do enjoy!

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Baby Shower Update

Just a couple of pics of the expectant couple with their baby boy's quilt.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A Modern Baby Boy Quilt

The baby shower is Saturday and normally I would not post quilt pics until after the event, but this couple doesn't know my website and no one else is to tell them OK? It's so easy to get busy with family, church, quilting, the gym etc not to mention a little social life and then I can fall waaaay behind with posting quilty/family updates.
The quilt is for a couple whose wedding quilt I made, you can see it here. These are their chosen colors so I followed pretty closely only omitting the darker tan.
I chose a simple design
 and pumped it up with some fun modern quilting.
 It ended up about 40+ x50
 The backing needed to be a few inches wider so I inserted a few extra blocks that were left over. I think the back is really cool and will still be interesting for baby.
 Of course I used DreamAngel batting, that wonderful product by Quilter's Dream that is genetically engineered to be flame retardant.
Shhhhh, remember the shower isn't until Saturday!

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Trouble And Boo

If you are not familiar with Trouble And Boo Designs you can find them at this link. They have some very cute patterns, and I simply could not resist this one called"Desert Denizens", especially as we live in Arizona where they all hang out!
This sort of project is very fiddly and time consuming and for the labor invested I do not find them rewarding so I usually choose not to make them but some times it's just too tempting and this was one such a time!
I loved the simple quilting and that was what drew me to make it.
 But fussy it was, all those tiny pieces on the owls and quail. I also
cut and attached half inch wide strips to get the color variation [yellow and blue] of the pieces to the side and bottom of the quails.  The original design was a piece of striped fabric. Those little pieced blocks are also smaller than what I would normally choose.
In the end I enjoyed the project even if it did take the better part of a week to construct-but quilting was fast! Then I saw another Trouble and Boo design that lured me and I purchased the pattern-it's now on my bucket list! Some people never learn..............

Quinceanera Quilt

 Myna chose the lavender/lilac color for her quince and also for her quilt
 I chose the design and made it to cover her bed to the floor.
The center of the quilt has a freehand feather design and the border is feathered with a piano key on the edge

As you can see Myna looks very happy with her quilt!

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Quinceanera

When we returned to AZ, Matthew took part in the quinceanera of one of his older cousins, and acquitted himself with aplomb, especially for a ten year old! This beautiful fifteen year old young lady chose him to be her escort for this important event which begins with a solemn Mass where the young woman dedicates herself to an upright and godly life.
The escort's role here is to walk her into the church and present her at the altar. Then his part in the church ceremony is done, her parents and godparents take over for the remainder of the ceremony. He will later escort her into the reception.
 Pictures after the Mass
Myna and her "court".
I am calling this the "presentation dance", it's choreographed with all of the "court". That's Myna's eleven year old brother on the left.
 Dancing with Yessenia-mom
And with Nana. Pretty good moves for a ten year old!
 A family photo op
And La Familia Figueroa, Nana-Nana, grandchildren and great grandchildren!
 What a grand event and the Atwoods were much gratified to be invited to be a part of it.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Boston Summer Adventure

We had a grand time at the Tree Top Adventure in Canton MA. And yes, that would be me in the picture below, I had a blast on this very challenging three hour obstacle course along with Matthew, his twin cousins and our nephew. Telephoto lens comes ion handy at these events!
 Along with the obstacle parts of the course there are several zip lines.
Some difficult parts took both balance and strength.
 Matthew did great, this was his second time on such a course, his first was a couple of years ago in NZ.
Nephew and his son set up for another zipline.
We enjoyed a stage production of The Wizard Of Oz,
and after the production were able to go backstage to meet some of the crew!
 Including the not-so-scary Wicked Witch!
A visit to the coast would not have been complete without beach time!
And a sweet treat after all that surfing!