creative juices . . .

I've just had this need to create lately, you know what I mean? I've been on a roll (for me, anyway) since I started and finished that little doll quilt for my niece! I finished that, got my blocks done, created a table runner, made a little hostess gift bag, and today got up with a bug to do more.

I've really been needing one of these for a while now . . .

But I hadn't been able to find a pattern I liked (or could figure out). But this morning I was on a mission!

I got on the internet and scoured through pages and pages looking for just the right fit.

And I found it, right HERE. It was on Chica and Jo's crafty website!

And now my Kindle has its very own home, made just for it, in colors that had to be for me.

The tutorial was *very* well laid out and super easy to follow. I opted to cover my elastic with fabric. To do so, I cut a strip of fabric 1-3/8" by 14", folded it in half with right sides together, and stitched up a 1/8" seam (using a very small stitch length). I turned it inside out using a safety pin, and then pulled my 7" piece of elastic through the opening using that same pin. I bunched the fabric up over the middle of the elastic and made sure about a 1/4" of my elastic was hanging out at both openings of the fabric tube. Easy-peasy.

In all honesty, it took me nearly as long to print, cut and iron on my initials on the front as it did to do the rest of the project. Really!

Last night's guild meeting was LOTS of fun! Our Stitcher's group met beforehand at Nothing But Noodles and had a nice dinner. There were thirteen of us for dinner -- a pretty good turnout! Then when I got to the meeting, I turned in my registration form for the quilt show. Whew, I'm glad that's done! Next, I had put out a query on our mailing list about fabric postcards, and several members offered to bring in their postcards and cards. I was so impressed! I've wanted to do one of these for a while now, but just didn't understand enough to do one on my own. I will now! Four ladies brought in cards and pictures of cards for me to fawn over ... it was great!

Our program was very interesting, too. The speaker was Jim Warf of Decherd Needleworks. He does long-arm quilting, and he talked about borders and the best tips for preparing a quilt for long-arm quilting. He was very funny and I enjoyed listening to him. At the end of his presentation, he gave away five 20% coupons. Guess who won one?! Yours truly! Yay!

I get to spend some time with my Sawyer this evening and I still have some ministry work to finish up, so I'd better hop to it!

Toodles!

:)

on the board . . .

I have never heard the cicadas so loud before! And so early in the season, too. Is this the year of the cicada or something? Does it herald some big event on down the line? What does it mean? LOL! I guess it means there's lots of cicadas this year!

Actually, this is the year of the cicada, at least it is in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama -- the thirteen-year cicada, to be exact. And mostly they are heard; when they're seen, for the most part, it's in their empty shell form . . .

The last time they made their presence known was in 1998. Since then, they've been burrowed underground. Now they've made their way topside, and the males make that incessant humming noise, looking for the perfect mate. I have to admit, I like the sound -- it brings back lovely memories of childhood summers; playing in the sprinklers, games of tag and hide-and-seek, catching lightning bugs as dusk settled in . . . ah, such sweet times!

Sweet times ahead, too, I hope! I agreed to take on our guild's newsletter for our 2011-2012 guild year. I'm really excited - and a little anxious, too! The woman who's currently doing it has done a *marvelous* job, and it'll be tough filling her shoes!

Right now we're in transition. The new guild year starts September 1, but there's so much to the newsletter and the other "communication" duties, we've already started overlapping. I went to my first board meeting on Monday night. I really enjoyed being a part of it! We have such a big guild, and so many committees, that the board is pretty large -- there were seventeen of us there, and several key folks were missing! Discussion was interesting. I'm sure you can imagine, with seventeen women expressing their opinions . . . it was not a short meeting! LOL!

I am looking forward to being more involved in the guild and its workings, and making new friends.

Finally, wanted to share this darling photo Sawyer's mommy captured of him . . .

Just a happy little fellow, hanging out in the yard! I'm so amazed he kept his hat and sunglasses on for as long as he did!

And this is from last evening . . .

Not the greatest of photos, but one thing is clear; father and son sure do love each other!

Happy Wednesday!

:)

guild meeting fun . . .

Thursday night was a guild meeting I'd been waiting for, for a long time! Our guest speaker was Quiltville's Quips & Snips', Bonnie Hunter! She was also doing workshops yesterday and today, and as much as I would have liked to have taken one, I just wasn't able. But I *so* enjoyed sitting on the front row and listening to her program, and seeing quilt after beautiful quilt!

She started with this display, that shows how she organizes her scraps. "Just fifteen minutes a day!" she said over and over again! I had to laugh to myself -- I thought I'd have all the time in the world for quilting, once I no longer worked outside the home ... WRONG! Do you know how much time I've devoted to quilting since then? With the exception of some handwork that I did when our Stitcher's group met last week, I've done N-O-N-E! Unless you count the trip to Patches & Stitches that I made to pick up my BOM. Which I don't. (But it was an item on my to-do list!) Fifteen minutes a day sounded like a great place to start!

Anyway, she has an elaborate (yet simple) means of organizing her scraps. And from that, she makes the most marvelous, scrappy quilts. And she said that she makes her quilts to be utility quilts! I loved it!

I took pictures of all the quilts she displayed, but halfway through the program, the battery died in my camera, and I had to switch over to my phone -- which will explain the lack of quality in some of them. I wanted to share a few of my favorites here . . .

This leaders & enders quilt was fabulous. I did a close-up inspection of this quilt and it's fascinating to look at -- all the different, wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful, but it's cut so small you can't tell) fabrics! I think this was the Friday workshop. This is one I'd really have liked to have done!

I really liked this web quilt, too.

And all her quilts were huge! But she did mention that the more scraps she used up, the better she felt about buying new fabrics. Well, yeah!

If you're familiar with Bonnie (and her blog), you might recognize this quilt -- it's the Roll Roll, Cotton Boll mystery quilt that she did online! In fact, one of the members of our Stitcher's Group -- Jackie -- brought hers in for show & tell. It blows my mind that this is a scrappy quilt!

One of the funniest moments of the evening came about when Bonnie had the lovely volunteers who were holding up her display quilts, put on some cotton shirts to show where great fabric prints could be gotten from, at relatively great prices.

The laughs came when she had this one lady turn around to show off all the fabric on the back of the shirt. Bonnie said, "And you can see, this is bigger than a fat quarter!" The volunteer said, "Hey!!" and made it clear that her back side was not a fat quarter! We all laughed and laughed! It made it all the funnier that the volunteer was a little, bitty thing -- no fat there!

And yes, in case you're wondering, that is a lovely hospital gown that Bonnie's wearing. It had pretty snowflakes on it!

This last quilt was my absolute favorite of the evening ... I wish I could remember what it was called. Wait -- Goose in a Puddle? I think so. I love the block pattern. And I love the red, white, and blues. And again, a scrappy quilt! Except for the reds that she used as sashing.

Something about scrappy quilts gives them an automatic vintage look. Especially with this one -- it makes me think--oh, the word's right on the tip of my tongue--Americana. Anyway, I had such a blast that evening, and if you've not visited Bonnie's website, it's really worth the visit. She's real, down-to-earth, and has a passion for quilting. And she's *loads* of fun!

Speaking of loads of fun, I spend some time with Sawyer Graham yesterday afternoon! It's been a while since I share photos, so I thought I'd include some from our walk . . .

He's getting, "Sooooooo big!"

Just sitting back, enjoying the breeze!

Please give me my sippy cup!!!!

Happy as a bug-in-a-rug! I love how he sits with his feet crossed. Too cute!

:)

going on a road trip . . .

Not until the end of April, but I've got my name on the list -- and it was a close one!

Our guild does an annual bus trip to PADUCAH, and this year, with one slot left, I made my reservation. I'm so excited! I've wanted to go for four years; it's just not ever worked out. I'd determined that I WAS GOING this year when the signups first came out, but then life happened, and it's been crazy, and with the cut in hours at work, money for extras like this is a little harder to come by . . . so I thought another year was going to come and go without a trip to Paducah.

Todd & I talked about it last night, and he told me to GO!! So I hurriedly e-mailed the coordinator to see if there were any slots left (this trip fills up fast, and with over 300 guild members, there was no telling). I got an e-mail this morning that there was ONE slot left . . . my check was in the mail within ten minutes!! Hurray, I'm going to PADUCAH!

Evidently one of the big stops on this trip is Hancocks of Paducah. Rows and rows of quilting fabric? Okay!

Don't laugh, but what I'm really looking forward to? Finding and having my picture taken with . . .

QUILT MAN!

LOL! There's a story there -- I'll share it when I post my picture with him!

:)

bear/bare design wall . . .

Umm, yes. I do know the difference between bear and bare! But my design wall/board/table is b-a-r-e because I'm working on a b-e-a-r!

Who knew that a pile of faux fur . . .

Could be turned into something as adorable and snuggly as this darling American Teddy Bear?!?

Can you not just see this handsome fellow in the woods, making his way towards the teddy bear picnic?

So Saturday I took part 1 of the teddy bear workshop our quilt guild was offering. The woman leading the workshop has made hundreds of these darling critters, and was happy to share her expertise *and* her fur!

I picked two -- the blond and a very dark, dark brown. Because the brown had short hair, I picked it to work with first. The longer hair looked daunting to me, but in retrospect, because of the way you are supposed to cut, I think the longer hair would have been easier.

Our job Saturday was to cut it out, pin it together, and watch her demonstrate sewing the pieces together. Our homework is to sew the pieces together and turn them right-side-out.

She also gave us the hardware that we'll use at the next workshop to put his pieces together. We'll also put on his eyes and nose.

Aren't they darling? And of course I had to make two!!!

But this is really what I should be working on . . .

Turn in date comes quickly -- I'd hate to have to use my "Oops" card this early in the game!

Enjoying the day off? Well then you must take time to browse on over to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times to see what else is going on in the quilting world today! So many talented people out there working on quilt projects!

Tonight, I'm headed to the first meeting of a ladies book club at our church, Lighthouse Baptist. We are reading, Dinner With a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. It's a great read, and if you're a Kindle user, it was only 99¢!

Have a great day -- I'm waiting on Everett Samuel to decide to make his appearance. We're hoping for a "fair of face" or "full of grace" baby!

:)

quilt, by gayle thomas

Our guild had a stitch-in last night and today, and during today's, they held a 2-part workshop on making teddy bears. And I took it! I'll share more about it, with pictures of my first bear in progress, tomorrow.

Today, however, I am sharing with you this awesome short film on quilting. It's on the NFB.ca blog. Very inspired and well-worth the view -- it's full of modern and traditional methods of quilting, kaleidoscoped into beautiful eye-candy. Even if you're not a quilter, it's fascinating to watch, and well set to some toe-tapping tunes!

Oh, and ps: Godiva strawberry truffles? YUM!

:)

it's a mystery . . .

No, really, it IS a mystery. A quilt mystery! My guild, Heritage Quilters of Huntsville, is holding a mystery quilt-a-long and it's open to anyone who would like to participate! It's just started -- they posted the first clue just this month.

The foundation for the quilt is a range of black-to-white fabrics -- six to be exact.

And then you'll need six more fabrics in color, and a 'zinger' fabric. They've got fabric requirements listed for four different sized quilts, which I thought was really nice!

If you're interested in joining, or just want to follow along with the clues (which I'm dying to share, but I wouldn't want to spoil anyone's fun), all you've got to do is click HERE! All the material requirements are listed, and about mid-way down the page is the FIRST CLUE!!

The organizers announced at our last meeting that instead of a magnifying glass, we'd find this particular tool much handier as we worked on the case . . .

Gosh, another gadget? Do I have to? LOL! They know how to reel me in, don't they?!

Of course, I absolutely cannot, in good conscience, put on my detective hat until I've finished with the nursery project. So you *may* get a head start on me . . . but don't you worry, I'm a smart sleuther! I'll catch up quickly!!

Come, Quilters, come! The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!

:)

fun, fun evening . . .

Last night was our regular guild meeting and I had such a good time! I first had dinner with some of the gals from our Stitcher's Group - we ate at McAlister's Deli. We hadn't been there for a long time. It was yummy!

The weather was not the best -- when we left the restaurant it was already raining/misting, and we knew the temps were supposed to drop quickly and that sleet and then snow were on the way. It's really a shame, because I think it caused a lot of ladies to stay home last night, and they missed a *wonderful* program!

Before the program started, I met up with one of the members, Anne T. Anne had brought in her crazy quilt for Show & Tell several months ago (the July meeting), and I'd wanted to get a better look at it. We worked together as hostesses at the Lost Heroes Quilt exhibit last month, and had talked a little more about her crazy quilting and the process. She'd agreed to bring in her finished crazy quilt last night. She did better than that!

First she showed me this book on embellishments. Doesn't this look like fun?!? Doesn't it look like something *I* need???? I think so. I mean really.

Amazon.com has it listed and you can even look inside! Click on the photo to check it out yourself. There may be one on the way to my house as you read this.

She also brought the crazy quilt project she's currently working on:

Isn't this fun?!? I love the profusion of COLORS!! She's paper piecing this one, and has about 38 different patterns she's following. She said she likes it because it's hand work that she can pull out in small spaces and work on whenever she wants to. I wish I'd caught some of the fun stitching she's got on these blocks. It's wonderful.

And then she pulled out this beauty . . .

Isn't it gorgeous? I just love this wall hanging! My favorite embellishment? Her Girl Scout patches! What FUN!!! I know without a doubt that I simple must do one of these quilts. Someday!

Then, after an abbreviated business meeting (due to the impending weather), our program started. What a terrific national speaker we had!

If you're not familiar with Melinda Bula, you can check out her website HERE and/or her blog HERE.

I found right off the bat that Melinda and I were sanitarium sisters. Yes, that's right, both of us were born in sanitariums! She on the west coast, and me in the Washington Sanitarium, Takoma Park, Maryland. Who knew?

She had with her two *gorgeous* quilts -- the one on the left is a sunset in Monterrey and the one on the right is titled Romance. I love both of them, but especially the flowers. I wanted to run up there and inhale their fragrance -- that's how real and beautiful they were!

My photos from last night do no justice to the objects I was trying to capture. Probably because I was sitting in the very back row.

It also didn't help that most of my captures are off the projector screen!

Both of these wearable arts caught my attention. Beautiful work!

But I especially loved this green. Sweet!

I did get one of her books. I cannot resist Christmas!

And yay! It's an autographed copy. Whoohoo!

My two favorite sound bites from the night?

She told how she had grown up sitting at the feet of her mom, watching her sew, and that she and her sister would take scraps of fabric and sew outfits for their dolls . . . "We thought were sewing, but mostly we were wrapping!"

and . . .

"You're only a quilter if you have a minimum of ten unfinished quilts!"

I think I qualify.

She was as engaging a storyteller as she is a quilter. If ever you have the chance to see her or her work, just DO IT!

I did drive home (very carefully) in the snow and this is we woke up to this morning . . .

Not so much to shut anything down, but enough to leave a beautiful light blanket over everything. And it did delay school openings this morning which was GREAT because it meant I didn't have to deal with the stinking school zone traffic!

Happy FRIDAY!!!

:)

*some* of the rest of the pretties . . .

This will actually be a dual-purpose post. I wanted to share some of my favorites of the quilts supplied by our guild members to go with the exhibit of the Heroes Quilt. I wish I could have pulled up *all* of the quilts, but I settled for my favorites . . . I did want to finish this entry before the new year. LOL!

I also went to the orthopedist yesterday, and wanted to share a the results of that meeting. I'll do that at the end of this entry, so photos can be enjoyed unhindered!!

This first quilt is owned by Michele E. Our guild does a pretty cool thing; when the current guild president is finishing up her term, the rest of the board creates and makes a quilt for her! Michele was the guild's president last year, and this is the quilt that the guild presented to her . . .

Presidential Stars

This cute wall hanging was made by my friend, Kari H., for our HQH Quilt the Vote challenge in 2008. It was made with some darling (and very unique) fabrics, and embellished with felt stars . . .

Stars & Stripes Forever

This next one was my absolute favorite. It's owned/created by Georgia F. It too was made for a challenge -- this one to remember 9-11-2001. In her description, she included that "the cross depicts Christ's shed blood to redeem us from sin."

I AM Was There

This beautiful quilt was created by Barbara B. (who is a wonderful, wonderful quilter/teacher). She writes, "The ultimate patriotic quilt; precision piecing and exciting quilting designs make this a quilt with special appeal."

Red, White and Blue Stars & Stripes

I really liked this one too -- for two reasons. I loved the hand prints in the star and I loved that it was finished just in time as the quilter headed off on deployment to Iraq for a year. It's owned by Maria H.

Service Star Quilt

This striking wall hanging was done by another of my favorite quilters, Karen M. She paper pieced it for her husband's office. He collects eagles.

Land That I Love

And how could I *not* include this beautiful redwork quilt? It was created (I keep wanting to say "built") by Jo R. in 2001, in honor of the birth of our great country. Her stitchwork is simply gorgeous!

Patriotic Redwork

And lastly, I had to take a shot of this poster that was up at the exhibit!! I'm not sure I'll have a quilt for this show, but I'll definitely be a part of the works!

I can't wait to see the raffle quilt in person!

Okay -- now for the foot stuff. As I said, I had an appointment with my orthopedist yesterday. I've healed as much as I'm going to heal -- the pain and swelling I'm left with is the result of my traumatic injury, and will not get better (though it may get worse). She gave me a couple of options. The first was to do nothing and live with the pain. I don't think I want to do that. There's still too much life left to quit being active!!

The second option was not really an option for me (per the surgeon). Complete ankle replacement. She said that the technology has not really advanced in ankle replacements like it has for hips and knees.

The third option is a fusion surgery. This would eliminate the pain and most of the swelling, but I'd also lose some motion. The surgery would be put about where I was after the accident. With 12+ weeks of recovery in a boot, and 6-8 weeks of that as non-weight bearing. And then physical therapy, to teach me how to walk. Hmmm. You know it's one thing to find yourself in the circumstance, quite another to have to chose it!

The fourth option is an Arizona brace. It's a leather brace that starts mid-way on your foot and runs up the length of your calf. It laces up the front and immobilizes your ankle as if you'd had it fused, and redirects the stress up the leg. She said she'd had patients that had worn them and loved them, and had worn them and loved the relief but HATED the brace and opted for the fusion surgery.

With another grandbaby on the way and family coming in March and so many things I want to do (and not wanting to have to move out of the RV, or give up watching Sawyer on Mondays, or sewing with my machine, or not being able to drive at all or work regularly) -- it's a tough decision to make. Because I also am *really* tired of the constant, persistent pain. And quite frankly, the knowledge that I'll never be as good as I was before the accident can be incredibly depressing. Bleh.

Anyway, we decided to go with the brace and see how that went. I got fitted for it yesterday. Oh my. I'd kind of pictured something like a leather boot moccasin. Uh, no. LOL!! Since it's a custom made piece, it'll take about a week or so to make, and then I'll be styling! I'll post updates and photos (maybe) when I get it and am strapped in!

Until then, I'm going to breathe in and breathe out. And quilt. And take care of my darling husband. And love my children and my grandbaby. And be grateful for life.

:)

lost heroes art quilt exhibit . . .

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege to work as a volunteer at the Lost Heroes Art Quilt project exhibit at our local Botanical Gardens. If you've not seen it or heard about it, you should check out their website (or read the rest of this post -- LOL).

It's a combination of a book . . .

And a beautiful, poignant quilt, to honor of those who have fallen while in the armed services to our country. Particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The quilt was worthy of hours of study. It was breathtaking and heartbreaking at the same time. I purposefully didn't compress the above photo or the next three photos, so you can click on them and see them/read them clearly.

In the book she (Julie Feingold) talks about why she used childhood photos of the men/women who'd died. It sure does grab your attention just a little more, to look at a child's face in fatigues, and know that there is someone's baby who's not coming home.

She also spent a lot of time weaving in a secret message, using the colored crosses in each block -- you can see them if you go back up to the picture of the quilt. I stood there for a bit, trying to figure out the code, but upside down, in the above picture, she's got the answer! In the book she explains that it was also her way of nodding to those who served in the Civil War (connecting the controversial 'quilted messages' of the day).

I took closeups of the Alabama and Maryland blocks -- my two home states -- and took a picture of the page in the book dedicated to the Alabama soldier.

It was near impossible to read about each soldier/sailor without tearing up. The author interviewed a mom or close relative or friend to write an entry for each one.

Also, in the book, along with the child photo that's on the quilt, was a current photo, his name, where he was stationed/attached, and how he died. Again, I didn't compress the above photo and if you click on it, you'll be able to read the entire page. Don't do it unless you have a tissue handy.

Each soldier/sailor is stitched into place and then the jackets -- which are genuine G.I. Joe doll jackets are appliqued over the picture, onto the quilt. She notes in the book that it took her a long time to collect all the different jackets in the right styles.

Seeing this quilt was an incredible experience. If it's coming to a location near you, I strongly encourage you to check it out! The schedule of upcoming exhibits is HERE. From our stop it goes on to Jacksonville, Florida.

Also on display was a replica of a Civil War quilt that had been given to an Alabama family who'd lost a loved one to the current war.

Quilts and quilters are providing comfort and awareness; and still it seems like such a little thing in comparison to the ultimate sacrifice.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of some of the patriotic themed quilts our guild members provided to be on display along with the Lost Heroes quilt.

To those lost heroes, and those currently serving, I salute you.

:)