Double Delight

Today I have been working on the DD mystery & I had hoped to have the top completed today. Unfortunately I ran into a roadblock-the fabrics I had set aside for the setting triangles & borders never made it to CO. with us! Drat! Even if I were willing to purchase fabrics [& I'm not, this is a stash -using scrap quilt] we are a good 2 hour drive from the nearest quilt shop.

here are the blocks just laid out on the floor & this is as far as I can go with it I will have to set it aside to finish after returning to Phx. Darn & double darn!
I have one more small step I can do, the corner blocks for the border. I have these two options to use up a few of the left over 3.5" blocks, this one............


or this!
The border will be red so I am leaning towards the first choice.........anyone?

Yesterday we had a weather system come in, the wind blew wildly, temp. dropped &..........it snowed!
We had a couple of inches overnight & this was the scene around 6 a.m. at 23 degrees!
Looking south ......
east...........
and up the driveway.

All day it snowed lightly on & off then on the way down the mountain at 1 p.m.[ we had a veterinary appt. for Button] it was snowing hard but by the time we got down to Ridgway there were just a few flakes here & there.
We drove into Ouray & walked up & down the nearly deserted street, had coffee at Mouse's Chocolate shop and chocolate and a giant scrap cookie [now doesn't that sound like just the perfect food for a quilter, lol] but it was very chilly & a bit windy & some light snow so we headed for home.
The rest of the day a few flakes continued to drift down but nothing that was "sticking". Currently the outside temp is only 27 degrees so perhaps there will be more snow overnight.
March has been devoid of precipitation up here & any addition at all is very welcome.

UFO Number 8 For 2009

We drove up to our CO. mountain home on Wednesday after I was cleared by my Mayo surgeon to leave town. There isn't much snow left around the house & the roads are mostly dry, just a patch of mud here & there.
Tuesday before we left Phx. I quilted the Old Tobacco Road scrap mystery quilt from Bonnie Hunter. It is a "kitchen sink" scrap quilt & has turned out quite large, 80"x102", and it's busy so I decided to do a leaf panto because I knew I'd have problems seeing where I had quilted no matter what color thread & I also knew nothing I quilted would show up well. I used a Signature green/gold variegated .

I had to scrap the backing too, I am trying to use stash whenever possible. I bound it Thursday & it is done, done & I am pleased to have it off my list! I just counted up my UFO's finished for the year & they total 8! At this rate I will have a great year for clearing out UFO's & then I can begin on my PIGs [Projects In Grocery Sacks] I need to find another acronym for my PIGs because mine are actually all nicely organized in clear lucite boxes along with their patterns! maybe PIBs!
Just an FYI of trivia, friend Loretta informed me that Un-Finished Objects are also called COPS i.e. Creative Ongoing Projects & if you give them away or never finish then they become COPOUTS! I have a problem with that though because to my mind UFO's are mostly abandoned or forgotten projects!
I have no idea what I will do with this OTR quilt, too large for a QOV, & it is my least favorite of the mysteries so far but no doubt it will eventually find a home! I think the colors are just not me, I have almost no brown in my stash apart from a couple of CW repros I use for the HOB quilts & one or two Buggy Barn fabrics I purchased to team with double pinks for a PIG.



Yesterday evening I put together this 48" square Scrap Twist, also a Bonnie Hunter design with some leftovers from baby Matthew's crib quilt & a few more bits & pieces of B&W plus a pale green that his nursery walls are painted.
This "Twist" quilt goes together super fast from 2.5" strips, made into 8" blocks. I have more white Minkee for the back & it will be quilted as soon as we return to Phx. the end of the month.
DH saw it this morning & said "wow that is busy" and he is right, LOL! Now I am thinking I should have subbed some of the busy prints for a W on W like this beauty from Marcus Brothers .
I have a better pic on my camera which I left behind in Phx. but if anyone recognizes this fabric & knows a QS that has some PLEASE let me know & I will probably purchase the entire bolt! On the selvage is written "Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics", the company info is "R18 Elements, #N577-146W" & perhaps you can see from the above pic. it is a small [maybe 1/2" ] all- over gingko leaf.
I contacted Marcus & they tell me it is discontinued so my only hope is to find a store that still has some in stock. I have searched the 'net diligently without success & next I will post it on "Missing Fabrics" website.
PS: The little Koala quilt is on it's way to Pat Brammer whose name DH drew out of the basket.

Koala Quilt Drawing

And the winner is..............

I printed off all the entries, cut them up, folded them & placed them in this basket.

Then I asked DH to take a moment off from his computer work & draw a name, drum roll please.......

it's Pat from Iowa!

I wish that I had a Koala quilt for each of you & I appreciate all of you for taking time to come by my blog & maybe learn something you didn't know about the beautiful country of Australia & the very unusual creatures that are unique to the land.

I will stop by Pat's blog & let her know that "Koala's in the Window" will be on it's way to her after I get the mailing address.

I have a few other things in mind to give away so I will be doing that from time to time.

Yesterday I went to the AZ Quilter's annual show, this year at Mesa Convention Center.

I did forget my camera so I borrowed Loretta's & she will make me a CD of the photos I took.

After much indecision I purchased this vest pattern "Tack Room To Tea Room" from Lady Hawk Designs & a couple of the needed notions for the all black version Julie had on display- it was so very elegant & although I really did try hard to resist [Loretta will attest to that] I finally capitulated! I have pics. of the black vest-on Loretta's camera of course!

Julie said that her students estimate it takes 30-40 hrs. to construct one of these gorgeous vests & that is a considerable investment of time but I love vests so I have added another WHIMM to my collection!

I found this tiny pair of scissors to use at the long arm, those I have aren't sharp enough & these have just the tiny blades for thread snipping & handles large enough not to trap my arthritic distal phalanges! I wear my snippers on a cord around my neck & if they have longer sharp points, when I bend over to check tension underneath the quilt I have been known to stab myself in the thigh with the snippers! Ouch!

And have you seen these "handy handbag hangers"? I never like to put my purse on the floor so it usually shares my chair when I am out & about but with this hook I can hang it right beside me, cool, huh?

The only fabric I bought was a little $1 FQ for a friend!

Then as if to reward me for my"no-buy" fabric Loretta gave me belated b'day gifts.

These delicious Valori Welles fabrics- LOVE her fabric designs- along with a little wallet & a notion tote for classes & guild meetings that Loretta made from the same fabrics. The button collection is for me to choose my favorites for the wallet & the tote.

The tote opens to reveal multiple pockets & Loretta had included a wee Olfa mat just right for trimming all those Bonnie Hunter 9P's & HST's, a handy 6" ruler & one of those fabulous new ceramic marking pencils I have been reading about.

I felt totally spoiled!

I did purchase a couple of Secret Sister gifts which I can't show, just in case!

Esther's Asian Quilt

I got two quilts off the LA today,this is Esther's Asian quilt, a small wall hanging for her grandson at college.


After quite some uncertainty I decided to quilt a circular motif with four cranes around a petal -like image in the middle of the quilt & bamboo straight up and down on the rest.

I used red thread & it's hard to see the quilting, especially on the red fish backing!

If you look closely you may be able to see the cranes surrounding the center of the motif, especially in the top left corner.
My conclusion is that I might as well not have bothered with the motif, it's barely recognizable, & I had hoped it would show up better but at least I tried to make it special. Oh well, lesson learned!
The other quilt was a single bed size which ended up a little short on the backing, I had thought I could squeak it out but not! So I had to take it off the LA, add a few inches to the last side & remount & finish the last 18" of the quilt. I forgot to take a photo, it was stripes of black ,blues & green batiks & I just quilted the freehand peacock feathers in a turquoise thread. It turned out well I think & maybe I can get the owner to send me a pic. once it is bound.
This morning I am going to the AZ quilter's Guild show in Mesa, meeting friend Loretta from Tucson so that will be a fun day to soak up lots of quilting eye candy! Perhaps I'll remember to take the camera & get some photos.
Oh, and today until midnight is the last chance to sign up for my Koala quilt give away, Sunday I will put all the names into a bucket & DH will pick one out. I had better get busy later & make a label for it.
Scroll back about ?4 posts to sign up!

Vintage Thingies Thursday, Quilts

As a quilter I thought I'd show a few of my vintage quilty things this week.
Recently I bought a few blocks from eBay, some Dresden plate blocks, some Grandmother's Garden & a quaint little pink plaid/muslin top. They are all circa 30's I'd say & will be fun for me to complete. I love the idea & the satisfaction of finishing something that was begun so long ago- I think the originator would be so pleased by that, I know I would be & I hope that anything I leave behind unfinished will be completed by another generation quilter. Of course I also hope that won't be much, I am really trying to finish what I start!

There will be 25 of the Dresden plates to make a nice sized quilt, the plates themselves are 12" across, the muslin blocks 14". I will probably have to keep this one, I love these blocks they are very nicely made & well preserved. I have really fallen for these vintage fabrics if you look closely I think you will see why, they are adorable!


Above is a sample of those appliqued already......

and two of the half dozen that still need to be appliqued onto muslin.


Then I have 28 Grandmother's garden blocks, not all quite as well sewn but ok. They each measure 9" across & I will probably combine them with some solids to make a quilt.


This sweet little top is 60"x73" & I have no idea at all how I will quilt it or what I will do with it after that but I thought it quite dainty looking & feminine & the price was very reasonable. No one else seemed too interested in it it so I sort of felt it needed a new home & someone other than the maker [now long gone from this life I suspect] to love it! I think that it needs a muslin border to set it off & that would make it about 70"x80", reasonable single bed size. Perhaps if I ever have a granddaughter I can give it to her as she grows up, I might even be able to teach her to quilt-if this family can ever make a girl!
I also have no clue if there is a name for the "pattern" or if the piecer just invented the design?

This Double Wedding Ring quilt[DWR] was a top given to me by a friend in TX in the early 70's. It had belonged to her husband's aunt & she had lots of the aunt's quilts & tops & I was thrilled to get this one, I think I knew I would not be making a DWR. I started to once, made about 4 or 5 blocks & gave it away !
I purchased the stripe in the border of this one, added on three sides to make it KS & paid two little old sisters in their 90's to quilt it for me.


I think they charged me about $25, the simple outline quilting stitches are rather large & I suspect their eyesight may have been less than perfect but I was grateful to have it done, I knew little about quilting at that time. It remained on our bed for many years, now it is displayed on a quilt rack. The wedding rings are not very round & they are rather large perhaps that was the problem but to me it is a treasure & I believe somehow that the maker is pleased that her work is in loving hands.

As I always tell others, no quilt police allowed here!
If this has whet your appetite for vintage things you will love visiting
Colorado Lady & a list of other VTT participants, it's always entertaining.
PS. Just three more days to sign up for my give away, the "Koalas In The Window" quilt, scroll back three posts to leave your name & contact info.

Koala Sunrise

I thought today I would show a photo of another koala quilt, even though it hangs in the loft over the TV it had "slipped my mind" when I was talking about the one I am giving away next week- end[see two posts back for info]

This quilt was a rescue of a failed experiment several years ago in the Ricky Timms Convergence method. I say "failed" because the hand dyed fabric I chose had too little contrast & being very discouraged by the result I was tempted to throw it in the "rag bag", literally!
The colors look washed out from the flash, they are more vibrant in reality. I really need to learn more about this camera that I have had for a year because I know it has ways to reproduce color more authentically.
Back to the quilt- my frugal side forced me to search for ways to use it & I decided that it would make a good background for applique, but what? I began to search through my stash & came across this koala fabric that I had bought way back at Joann's on sale with the intention of making a blouse. That was long ago because that particular Joann has long since closed down, & it has also been many years that I no longer sew clothing, I can buy it cheaper & faster than a pattern, fabric & notions etc. & I'd rather be quilting! The design & colors of the koala fabric appeared to be a perfect foil for the muddy looking convergence, so I cut out a koala & then used the same fabric for the borders.

I had some hand dyed Aussie fabric in the salmon tone with Aus. animals on it-I purchased it in Brisbane from Oz Dye-Art before they closed their business some years ago. Incidentally I was very sad when they did close, I had often ordered their unique patterns & fabrics & I hope some day when their families are grown those two talented women will be back in business.
The gum leaf pin is brass & too heavy for clothing but it has found a home on this quilt.
I quilted the whole thing with gum leaves.

In case I have piqued your curiosity about these items I took a few pics of just a small selection of their fabrics & very cute patterns, none of which said patterns have I made yet though I have used the fabrics in several quilts. The icons on the yellow fabric are too monotone to be seen in the photo, sorry about that!

There is an enormous amount of applique in this "Land DownUnder" pattern that was as you can see a "row of the month" originally. I don't do very much applique any more all those little bitty pieces are so fussy but it would be fun to get these made up.
The patterns above are titled with a couple of iconic Aus. sayings; Santa doesn't use reindeer in Australia[maybe it's just too darned hot at Christmas time for such cold weather animals, summer after all] Santa employs the services of white kangaroos, called "boomers".There's a Christmas song by Rolf Harris about the "Six White Boomers", go ahead & listen it's fun!
"Kangaroos loose in the top paddock" refers to the popular saying denoting lack of either intellectual ability or sanity!
That covers today's Australian cultural lesson!

Koalas In The Window

That's what I have named the little quilt I am giving away, you can see it on the previous post.
I spent most of the past week in hospital so I missed VTT & everything else & I am so glad to be home though it's very frustrating to try & do everything with only one hand & sewing.........well, I haven't tried that-yet- but I probably will! A week in the hospital doesn't leave much of interest to blog so my contribution this week is very simple!
In keeping with my efforts to raise awareness to the desolation left behind from the bush-fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, I took a stroll around our home & snapped a few pics of some of the collection of Australiana & here is a peek at just a few of them.
I left out the Vegie[Vegemite] I know I know y'all just don't get it! But I have to keep reminding you about it, it's so good for you! Guess I could have included the Golden Syrup, now there's another item no Aussie home should be without!





See these little guys, they hang out in my kitchen......they aren't much help with the cooking , not exactly gourmands as they dine exclusively on Eucalyptus leaves & if you ever have a chance to get up close & personal with one of them your nose will tell you what they eat!



and these hang out upstairs in the loft.......
this koala has a wombat for a friend, Wolly Wombat is made from 100% Australian woollen fabric & stuffing & you can see my lovely Jaffa's [I am rationing them until I can get some more in May!]
All of these & more, keep me company in my sewing studio, there's another little wombat in front with the koalas....see the big koala with a flag has a baby on her back. Both marsupials, wombats & koalas have another thing in common, their pouches open backwards to prevent debris from injuring the infants when the animals are digging in the case of the wombats or for the koalas just moving around on the ground.
Here is a lone red kangaroo with a joey in her pocket & a couple of boomerangs..........
and a butcher bird & a kookaburra with more Jaffas! These two cheeky cuddly chaps actually make very realistic bird calls, they make me long for a bit of a walk in the Aussie bush.

Koala Quilt Give- away!

Here is my latest finish, a UFO from a year or so back. I began it for a class then changed my mind short of the border on this little quilt, & used something else instead. I think that it has turned out to be a darling wall hanging for a Koala lover!
I designed & quilted it with 100% cotton fabric & batting, it measures 22" square & has a rod pocket on the back for hanging.

I had sort of forgotten about it but pulled it out in view of the tragic fires in Australia & decided to finish it & offer as a gift on my blog to draw attention to the plight of the victims & survivors both human & animal.
At the top of the sidebar you will find a list of websites with more details of the damage from this disaster & the many ways in which any of us from anyplace in the world can offer help. There are lots more organizations & individuals that have set up ways to help if you want to do more internet searching, but I wanted to put together a selection of sites that make it easy for everyone to find one that appeals to them.
The Australian Red Cross & Australian Salvation Army are two of the main volunteer organizations helping out.

As with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the need for assistance will linger for years & there is much we can do from donating supplies[especially for locals in Australia] to contributing money, or items for auction to raise money, as on eBay & Etsy. If you purchase from one of these listed vendors their profits or a percentage there of go to the Australian Bushfire Appeals.

210 people are so far confirmed dead and 37 still missing as workers continue to search the ruins.
Estimates of the animal carnage range between one & two million.
Three weeks later more fires continue to burn & new ones break out, the situation is still desperate as thousands of fire fighters from Australia & New Zealand battle to prevent another round of firestorms.

If you would like to be in the running to receive this little quilt, just leave me a contact link under comments, either your blog or an email where I can reach you. Don't forget because I can't find you if I don't know where you are!
I'm going to leave the offer open from today, February 28th. through 14th.March to give everyone a chance to hear about it and then I will mail this quilt to the one whose name my DH will draw on March 15th. [the Ides Of March] no matter where in the world you live!
Thank you for taking the time to read, I hope that you have learned something new today!

QOV #3

Here is the final QOV for the week. I actually had it off the LA Thursday afternoon but didn't get around to taking a photo until Friday. I struggled with the thread breaking even though it was the exact same stuff I had used on the previous quilt just a different color. I changed the needle & fussed with the thread path & finally got it to run better but I had to slow down quite a bit from my usual "pedal to the metal"!
The A-1 machine adapts to most threads if you make a few adjustments for the difference in weight & viscosity, I haven't found one I cannot use though I have to slow waaaay down if I use BL in the top.
I was playing around with a freehand variation I had in mind for a change of pace-I am not wild about how it came out but perhaps I need to play around with it some more & tweak it before I reject it absolutely! I think this quilt would have done well with the geometric design I quilted on the last two but I was burned out after two in a row, going through the same motions- I get bored very easily!

Then I quilted a border for a darling little UFO wall hanging that I am planning to give away here on the blog, but more about that in the next day or so. I have finished said wall hanging & it is ready for display.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

A Silver Tradition.
Here it is VTT again, so check out Suzanne's blog for all the other participants & their Vintage Thingies collections!
This week I have three generations of tradition to show, things that are now out of favor in most places, or at least out of date!

Here is my Grandmother's "cruet set" that she had as a young bride in the early 1900's & I remember every meal in her home it sat on the table with salt, pepper, mustard, oil, vinegar etc.
No one else wanted it so.... you guessed it, I was happy to have it & have shlepped it around the world with me for 40 years beginning in Australia! It holds about a hundred years of history & oh the family meals & fun & all the rest that it survived through their 9 children, & about 20 grandchildren.


This is my parents Silver Wedding Anniversary teaset, February 1967.
Again, no one wanted it so I own it to pass on to my sons.
My oldest son was the only one of our children present at this event, he was only 8 weeks old but perhaps he will want to have it.

This is my own silver teapot & creamer, I am not sure now what happened to the sugar bowl or if I ever had one! What you see was a wedding gift from college friends.
As a young bride it was considered only proper to have a silver tea set to serve morning & afternoon teas, along with the required scones, cucumber sandwiches & pikelets etc, [pikelets are really mini pancakes served at room temperature with buttter or clotted cream & jam.]  I have quite a collection of bone china cup, saucer & plate sets that were also requisite for a proper "tea", but those I will save for another VTT.
I do treasure all these things with their memories but if only I could find a way to prevent them from tarnishing- polishing silver, well, not my favorite thing!

QOV #2 for the week

Here is the second QOV for the week, I start the third today.
Like the first one I quilted a freehand geometric design again, it just seemed to ask for it & the piecing pattern was the perfect template so it went fast & easy- Meredith's tops are always so nicely pieced.I have no idea what I will do with the third one, probably not until it is pinned on & ready to go this afternoon!