SIL Irish Throw

Here it is...my SILs Irish Throw. It's been completed for about 2 weeks, but I could not post it until I showed it to her...I didn't want her to see it on here first. She is very happy with how it turned out and I think once it is long-armed in green four-leave clovers, it will look even better. I'm sure it will look great when she's cheering on the Dublin Green Sox!

OMG I LOVE SHOPPING FOR FABRIC

HOLY COW! I am so EXCITED! I've talked about The Door Mouse in previous posts and I was recently there for their end of year sale! Can you say come to Momma! These three fabrics were on their clearance table for a steal! It's hard to see the true color but they are in the teal color family and are very pretty. I purchased 2 yards of each. Not sure what I'm putting with them, but my cousin thought they would be pretty with a chocolate brown...any suggestions/thoughts? And here is my absolute favorite purchase! I'm not usually in to this color/style of fabric but it just struck me funny when I saw it and decided I had to have it. My husband wasn't real big on the Christmas Quilt I made a month ago, he didn't think it looked too Christmasy, so when I showed him this material, he said this is Christmas material! Again, not sure what I'm doing with it but I'm thinking of the pattern called Crazy Eights and just making it bigger. I bought 1 1/2 yards of each and an extra yard of the red dot for the binding.

This ... well, it was pretty and bright and fun and another steal so it made its way home with me. I think I'll add some more fun colors to it and it will make a great summer throw.

Also, when I was at The Door Mouse I took a bunch of pictures to show you...this place is absolutely amazing. The first time I was there I walked in and was so overwhelmed that I left with 6 fat quarters! Now I go there with a plan and always come out happy. It is floor to ceiling shelves of material and rows of material in front of material...it's unbelievable. So, I will post my pictures shortly.

Hope you have a wonderful week and a very Happy and Safe New Year! Lisa

Muted Florals

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful holiday! My Christmas was filled with gift cards to quilt shops and several to the Fat Quarter Shop. I can not wait to start purchasing more material! So here is some more material I purchased when my local quilt shop was closing. The price was just too good to pass up but now I need to figure out what to make with this material. I've really been wanting to make a quilt out of pinwheels, but don't think this is the mateial for that. I used some of these fabrics in the first quilt I made so I'm sure I can throw a few solids in with these to break-up so much of the yellowy/gold colors. Have you ever purchased material on an impulse? Well in the near future I will post my impulse purchase that I have had for 7 months and just don't know what to do with it...it's pretty material but it just doesn't grab me now like it did the first time I saw it...UGH!

BRRR ... It's Cold Out

Can I just say how lucky I am to work from home! It has been absolutely FREEZING today and yesterday! We had all that freezing rain on Friday and Saturday was beautiful until it got real cold overnight and Sunday was a mess! It was -1 degree out, wind chills were 20 below zero and it was unbearable! Today it was only a high of 9 degrees and the winds had died down some, but the wind chills were still ugly! I don't have any new projects to post. I don't plan on starting anything until after the first of the year, so maybe in a few weeks I will have something to show. I did finish my sister-in-laws Irish quilt so I can post that after Christmas. Until then I hope everyone has a Blessed, Safe and Wonderful Holiday!

New Blogger -- WELCOME CHRISTINE

Hello everyone! We have a new Blogger....please stop by Christine's Quilt Closet and welcome Christine to the world of blogging! I am so excited that Christine has a blog. She is the person who got me interested in quilting so I can definitely blame my addiction on her! (If I could only get her to support my addiction financially then life would be even better :O) WELCOME CHRISTINE! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!!

Dave's Scrappy Throw

Can you believe Christmas is only 4 days away! I am so excited for the day and hope we have snow on the ground :O) Yesterday was our family Christmas with my extended family and it was great to see everyone! Lots of good food and laughing! It's amazing how time just flies. When I was younger time didn't seem to go as fast, so I must be getting old because it's hard to believe 2008 is almost over! Here is quilt #7 done for my husband. I gave my 2nd throw to my mom and he really liked that one so I decided to make him one of his own. This too was done in Kansas Troubles and I didn't have a pattern. I believe each square is 3 1/2" and I made a 4 patch out of them and put a sashing between each block. I was very happy with how it turned out and I think this quilt is used every night (most of the time by me). This is also the quilt in the background of my header at the beginning of my blog. This is the back...I wanted it in the same material as the sashing but my local quilt shop was out of it and not getting anymore in. I searched the internet but didn't have much luck...that will teach me not to procrastinate on purchasing my backing. I should have bought it when I bought the sashing!!!

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas!

Icy Day Part 2

Here are some updated pictures of my poor tree...the freezing rain has stopped, now it's just a drizzling

Icy Day

Good Morning! Well it's been a crazy morning. Our weather has been freezing rain. There have been transformers blowing, trees falling on houses and the restaurant down the street on fire. Schools are closed so it's a good day to stay home and bake! Here is a picture of my neighbors tree and if you look close you can see the ice on the power lines. Here is a close-up of my Rose of Sharon tree. It doesn'l look too bad, but you can sure see how crunchy the grass is. Have a great weekend!

Bedroom Quilt

Holy Cow...I can't believe it has been a week since my last post! I have been busy working on a throw for my sister-in-law and getting ready for the holidays. My husband works for Cooper Tire and they were informed a few months ago that one of the four plants in the US would be closing. Well yesterday they were told that it would be the plant in Georgia. We are very thankful and blessed but are very sorry for those losing their jobs. Tonight and tomorrow we are suppose to get snow and about 1/4" to 1/2" of ice...YUCK. Here is my quilt #6 which was done in August '08. The pattern is Sassy 16 and the material is Kansas Troubles. Can you tell I love this collection? I have another throw that I did back in April from this collection and another one done with the scraps that I will post soon. This quilt was done for our bedroom and I love all the color in it.

Here is a picture with the back of the quilt turned over. I had to do it in something on the darker side since my husband works at a tire factory.

Decadent Victorian Finished

SHE'S DONE! I am so excited! I just love this quilt. It turned out better than I thought and I think this is my favorite quilt so far. The pattern is called Daisy Chain in the book Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott and is done with one jelly roll of Decadent Victorian. It was a fun pattern to do and went together pretty quick. Now I'm off to start the Irish quilt for my sister-in-law. Have a great weekend!

The "Irish" Material

I have to tell you...when my sister-in-law said she wanted a green and black Irish throw all I thought was what is she thinking! My nephew is on a traveling baseball team, the Dublin Green Sox and their colors are black and green ... hence the Irish throw. Since their games start in April and it's still a bit chilly, the throw will definitely come in handy.

I haven't made any black and green quilts, so when she said she wanted one, I just couldn't picture what it would look like ... but I didn't think it would look very good. However ... when we went shopping and found these materials, it was very exciting and now I can't wait to get started on this throw...I think it's going to be a funky fun throw....stay tuned :O)

Another Kreative Award - Yeah

My second Kreativ Blogger Award this week! Thanks Liz at Getting Crafty!! I did not find Getting Crafty until Liz left a comment on my blog and I'm so glad she did :O) So now I get to nominate 6 people for this ... so here we go: 1. Peg at Happy In Quilting ... Peg's blog was the first blog I had ever seen! I knew absolutely nothing about blogging...heck, I was just learning to quilt (sew). She has been such an inspiration and her blog is beautiful! If I ever make it to Australia I'm coming to "Quilt Club". 2. Lorraine at Granny Loz ... Lorraine has a great variety of things on her blog, her dog is adorable and her header is so true..."Don't forget to live, love, laugh" 3. Libby at A Simple Girl ... Libby has a wonderful blog...check out the Christmas Pictures, they make me want to curl up by the fireplace with the trees lit and read a book! 4. Karen at Passionate Quilter ... Karen has a great blog, she's from Ohio, and she has a food blog Simply Good Food with some yummy looking recipes! 5. Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew ... If for no other reason, I LOVE the title of her blog! Allison has some adorable items on her blog and a beautiful orange and white quilt! And last but not least... 6. Tammy at Ginger Patches ... Tammy has a great blog, some beautiful quilts, great food shots and some funny pictures!

Kreative Blogger Award

Thank you Terry so much for giving me my very first award!!! I am having so much fun blogging and enjoy all the comments that are left. I love looking at the blogs and getting great ideas.

Here are the rules...

1. The rules are to place the logo on your blog - done

2. Link back to the person who nominated you - done

3. Nominate 5 people and link back to their blog - done

4. Leave a message on the nominee's blog - done

And my five nominees are:

1) Amanda of Busy Little Quilter

2) Kim of Kim's Big Quilting Adventure

3) Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio

4) Linda of All Stitched Up

5) Debi of Quilting With Debi

Santa and Snowman

Hello! Well, I didn't get Decadent Victorian finished this weekend :O( but I did go down to see my brother and his family on Sunday and part of Monday and they have a great quilt shop in Dublin, Ohio called Red Rooster Quilts. I bought some great material to make a throw for my sister-in-law and I just couldn't leave without buying these adorable patterns! How cute are they!!!

Decadent Victorian Progress

Today has been a GREAT day! It started snowing about 11:00 this morning, it's cold, windy and a great day to sew! I have all the strips sewn together, ironed, and cut in 2 1/2" strips that can now be sewn together to make the blocks. Hubby leaves for work shortly so it will be a great sewing evening as well :O) Here are a few pictures of what the 2 1/2" strips look like that will be sewn together. This quilt (so far) is turning out to be prettier than I thought...I hope I'm not disappointed.

Have a great Saturday evening everyone!

Jelly Roll Quilt Book

This is the book I referred to in my previous post. I found it at Joann Fabric's and it was $24.99, but with one of their 40% off coupons it was only about $14 something. If you haven't seen it, be sure to check it out!

Next Project - Decadent Victorian

Here is the pattern and material for my next project. This pattern is called Daisy Chain and it is out of the book called Jelly Roll Quilts. It is a fabulous book that contains about 16 quilt patterns and a bag pattern. I don't think there is a pattern in this book that I wouldn't do.

I have had this jelly roll for quite some time but just couldn't figure out what to make with it so I've finally decided on this pattern.

I am going to use the solid light sage green as the background material rather than the white shown in the picture and I'm thinking about using the mauve polka dot material as a peeper and the paisley as a small border. The finished size without the border will be 47 x 68 so I'll probably just put a 3 or 4 inch border on it because I'd like to keep it smaller.

I'm finding I have more quilts that are larger and not so convenient to decorate with so I'd like to get some going that are on the smaller side and easier to keep laying around. Have a great day :O)

Fabulous Fall

Here is quilt #8 done in October '08...I know, I've skipped over quilts #6 and 7...but those I will show shortly. Here is my Fabulous Fall Quilt. The pattern is called "Spice Cake" and it's by Mary's Cottage Quilts done in the Fabulous Fall material by Deb Strain. It was fun to make this quilt and it was more time-consuming than the other quilts I have done which is a good thing. I think I need to find some more difficult patterns that will take longer to do. Tell me...are you good about putting labels on your quilts? My girlfriend (the one who got me thinking about quilting - Christine) told me to be sure I always put a label on my quilts because down the road I'll wish I had...well, I haven't put labels on any quilts yet (sorry Christine!) and I'm wishing I had...so one thing on my agenda in the near future is to put labels on them. I have a jelly roll called Decadent Victorian that I've had for a while and have finally found the pattern to do it in, so tomorrow I'll post my material and the pattern for my next project. PS...check out Amanda's tutorial for Christmas stockings, it's adorable! Hope your week is going great!

Mini Pillow Cases

Well today it was rainy and cold, about 38 degrees so it was a good day to stay in and get some sewing done! I put together the back for my Christmas quilt which I posted on November 9th, made the binding for the Christmas quilt so it is ready when it comes back from the quilt shop. Then I attached the binding to my Fabulous Fall quilt that I picked up from the quilters last week. I hope to have a picture of my Fall quilt and can post it in the next day or so. I'm not very good at getting the binding cut and ready so when a quilt comes back I can just attach it, so that is my new goal, to make sure the binding is done BEFORE the quilt comes back.

I then got working on these 3 travel-size pillow cases for my nephew's. They are very active in sports and spend a lot of time in the car traveling to see family and vacationing, so small pillows for them to take seemed like a good idea. They were fun to make so I'm sure I will be making more in the near future.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :o)

Simplicity

Hello! I feel like I've been away from my blog forever!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Here is my quit #5. It is The Jelly Maker's Cabin pattern done in a Simplicity jellyroll. I did this in July '08 and it was very fun and easy to do. I haven't had it quilted yet because I can not decide if I want to use cotton fabric for my backing or a soft pink flannel for the backing. I'm leaning towards the flannel.

This pattern is a Kimberly Camou pattern. I have done her Sassy Sixteen pattern also which is my November 5th post. I have also purchased her Twisty Cakes pattern but have not done it yet, so if anyone has, I'd love to hear about it or see a picture of your quilt.

Until next time ... happy sewing!

Giveaway

There's a great give away going on over at little blue cottage ... it's some of Flea Market Fancy!!

Dilemma ... Suggestions Needed

OK, so here's my dilemma...I have always liked this fabric at my local quilt store, but obviously not enough to purchase it for a quilt....until....my quilt shop was closing and it was marked down 50%!!!! So now I'm looking for pattern suggestions to make with this material. I am always afraid to start cutting up material because I love it so much that I don't want to screw it up and then end up with a quilt I don't care for. That hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure one day it will. So please give me some pattern suggestions that I could make with this fabric. I have one yard of each and I may even have bought some extra yardage of it just to make sure I didn't run out!

Hourglass Quilt

This is the material for quilt #4, my Hourglass quilt done in June 2008. I was looking for some fun and bright material for this quilt and this material was perfect. It was purchased at The Door Mouse and is from a variety of manufacturers. Next time I go to The Door Mouse I will definitely take my camera. They have so much material it is actually mind-blowing. The first time I walked in I was so amazed that I walked out with 6 fatquarters. Now I go in there with a pattern and a plan and always come out happy :O) I can't even begin to guess on how many bolts of material they have....it is just amazing! This is the finished quilt. I used the tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts and it was very fun to do. Her tutorials are wonderful! If you haven't checked them out, please do. I will have to see if I can find a better picture of this quilt because the sun seems to wash it out a bit. The weekend here in Ohio was very cold and yesterday it actually snowed. If it isn't 85 degrees and sunny, I want snow! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Time To Make Meatballs

It was finally time to make some meatballs! I have a friend who makes the BEST meatballs so it was time to stop over with my ingredients so she could put them together for me. She doesn't have a recipe so it's just a few sprinkles of this and a few sprinkles of that.

Here is "C" mixing up her batch of meatballs. The top picture is mine...5 lbs. She does the weirdest thing when she makes meatballs though, she takes about 4 or 5 slices of bread and drenches them in water, rings them out and then tears the apart in the mixture...it's rather gross but they taste WONDERFUL! Here are the meatballs before they go in the hot tub. This is only 4 lbs because I took a pound of the mixture out to freeze so I can make lasagna in the near future. Ta Da!!! Here are the meatballs cooked and uncooked...oh yeah...and a glass of wine :O) It was a wonderful time!

Sweet Hydrangea

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!!

This is quilt #3 that was completed in May 2008. It is the Turning 20 pattern done with Milk & Honey Hydrangea material. I just love this material and was very happy with how it turned out. Somehow it seems that i "just love" all the material I use for my quilts :O) I had some brown and green material that came with this collection but it just didn't look as pretty with those colors so I took them out.

My plan for this quilt was to give it away but I just couldn't! Does anyone else have that problem? I've made 9 quilts and have only been able to give 1 away...my husband keeps asking what we're going to do with all these quits, but I'm sure we'll come up with something!

I have been wanting an old ladder that I can either stand up against the wall to hang quilts on but then I saw where someone took a ladder and hung it sideways on the wall and hung folded up quilts from it that way and it was beautiful.

Be sure to stop by the Old Red Barn as they are having a giveaway of 3 quilts!!! They are absolutely beautiful so don't miss your chance to win one!

Hope you week is going well!

Christmas Quilt Finished

She's Done! I am so excited about how this quilt turned out. I love the material and the pattern was so quick and easy to do. The material was Splendid Holiday by Benartex and the pattern is called Squares All Around by Tomato Town Quilt Designs.

I decided to add a "peeper" and am very happy with how it turned out. Thank you so much to Peg for her April 8, 2007 post which shows a tutorial on how to add a "peeper". They just add so much to a quilt.

Thanks Gari for the instructions on linking a website/blog to a name. It worked ! I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future.

Jelly Roll Bags

These are two bags I made out of 2 1/2" strips. The material for the bag on the right is Maypole and the black and white bag is just a variety of funky fabric my sister-in-law picked out for her bag. It's a great pattern and is so quick and easy to make. It is called Jelly Bag and the pattern is by Bunny Hill Designs (http://www.bunnyhilldesigns.com/)

Well I finished the Christmas Quilt last night and bought the border material and backing today, so I hope to have the border added tomorrow so I can post it then it's off to the quilt shop for long-arming.

One other thing, if any bloggers out there can help with this that would be GREAT! When I refer to another blog or someone's website when posting, how do I do it so you can just click on their name and it will take you to their link?

Thanks :O)

Christmas Fabric

Ok...so I bought this material back in June not knowing what I was going to do with it, but it was too pretty to just leave at the quilt store...so I held on to it for a while and then came across a pattern about a month or so ago. I started cutting the fabric last weekend and have been doing some piecing here and there this week. Well I finally have my rows together and hope to have it finished this weekend. I don't remember what material this is, but when I go to purchase my backing this weekend I will definitely find out. When I started quilting I decided I wasn't going to have more than one project going at a time and so far I've been pretty good about that...however, I really need to be more focused on not buying too much fabric ahead! It didn't help that my local quilt store went out of business last month and was selling their fabric for 50% off! Hope everyone has a great Friday :O)

Sassy 16 Throw

Today was a great day! It was sunny and warm, in the low 70's which is great for Ohio in November. It's suppose to be beautiful tomorrow also, but then go down hill from there. This quilt was quilt #2 that I did in April '08 and gave to my mom for her birthday. It is the Sassy 16 pattern and I used the great tutorial from Peg's 'Happy In Quilting' blog and added a peeper. The material for this quilt was Kansas Troubles.

My First Quilt

Here is a picture of my very first quilt. It is Eleanor Burns' pattern, Tossed Nine-Patch. It was very easy to do and I had some great people teaching me at my local quilt shop.

My First Blog

Hello! After looking at so many wonderful blogs for so long I have decided to finally start one...so here it goes!