Monday Morning Design Wall 12/19/2011

Yes, I actually did some piecing this week but I am working on adding on some applique for the border!! I chose the pattern from the June/July issue of Quilt magazine page 61 called Skinny Dip. I thought some flowers would work well using up the remaining fabric.  I only have the upper border done but I am working on the flowers for the left hand side also.  I thought to only add two borders with flowers to the top and left hand side!  This seems light and bright, perfect for a baby girl.  

I also finished up one Hawaiian block and one Baltimore Album block. These took forever to make so things seem to be moving slower and slower these days as what I work on gets more complicated!!  Dont forget to check out Judy's blog for the rest of the desing walls!

Monday Morning Design Wall 12/12/2011

Well, not to much to show but I am trying to find a design for a baby quilt.  A friend of mine from work is having a baby girl in April and I thought I would try to get a jump on the Baby Shower that I am sure will be announced with little notice sometime in March.  I will be spending some time picking through my extensive magazine collection looking for the right pattern for the fabric I pulled from my stash.  I love the pink flower fabric and the greens and bit of blue and yellow really work with all the patterns.  I have a feeling it will turn out well but I will let you know next week.   Don't forget to check out every one's design wall on Judy's blog at http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Monday Morning Design Wall 12/5/2011

Another productive week!  I need to catch up on holiday stuff at some point but I was able to complete another Hawaiian block and another Baltimore Album block!!   I also finished my Spring Chick's row quilt strip (which will be revealed at a later date) and am beginning to work on my 12 inch by 12 inch challenge art quilt.  The word for the art quilt is Tranquility and I need to figure out what that means to me.  I am not a tranquil person so finding my tranquility may be a challenge in itself, not to mention putting that on a 12X12 quilt.  Humm, maybe if I quilt some more I will find my vibe on this!! 

Monday Morning Design Wall 11/28/2011

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving (for those in the US) and having the break without my 9-5 job was such a blast.  I was able to complete one block and finish up another.   I am just so thankful for my family and being able to spend the holiday with them was such a blast.  Now that we are moving into Christmas, I will need to figure out how to balance the need for getting ready for the holidays while still finding time to sew!!   I am so hoping to finish up a Hawaiian block this week, I feel like I am falling behind!!   No more sleep!!

Monday Morning Design Wall 11/21/2011

Wow, what a week! I attended the River City Quilt Guild Quilt Show in Sacramento, California on Saturday with my quilt group, Spring Chicks, and was just overwhelmed with the incredible quilts they had displayed. So many ideas, so little time!! I was so inspired by a beautiful Baltimore Album quilt I saw that I got off my tush and stopped being scared about the flowers that I had to make for one of my Baltimore Album blocks. I just followed the instructions and so far, made two beautiful flowers!! Yes! There is nothing like conquering your fear!!

 I was also able to finish up a leaf block for the quilt, which was quite a pain to do but now it is done and over!! Time to move on to another challenging block.    The tight curves on the leaves and those sharp turns were quite a challenge, I just took one leaf at a time (one a day keeps me going). 

 I also finished up another Hawaiian block, for 4 out of 10 finished!  I can't decide what I am more excited about, the Baltimore Album quilt or the Hawaiian quilt. They are both so much fun.   Although my friend at the quilt show did point out another beautiful applique pattern which I could not pass up and now I have 6 pending projects.   That is it, I will give up sleep!! 

Don't forget to visit Judy's blog to see everyone's design wall.  http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Applique Thursday 11/17/2011

Had a blast today as I was able to take the day off of work and attend a Hawaiian Applique group meeting with the instructor from my class last month.  I enjoyed getting together with everyone, chatting and sewing.  We were having so much fun we forgot about the time until someone looked at the clock and it was 12:30.   We were only supposed to meet from 10 to 12 so everyone quickly packed up and a few of us had a nice lunch out.  This is my forth Hawaiian block out of the 10 I am planning so wish me luck. 

Monday Morning Design Wall 11/14/2011

I had such a blast this weekend as I participated in a the Quilter's Quest, The official bay area holiday shop hop!  I visited stores that I had only heard about and enjoyed going back to my two favorite stores.  I found a store which carries my favorite applique thread at a great price, a shop with some fantastic batik fabric and so many other wonderful things.  I collected all nine of the Tree of Life blocks and turned in my completed Shop Hop paper so I am entered into the Grand Prize Drawing.  Not that I will win, but it was fun to do the shop hop.  I was able to sew together the first six blocks and am planning on finishing up the other three this week.  I was also able to pick up a bit more fabric so I can make some more!!  Just what I need, another project!! 

I was also able to finish another Hawaiian block.  I love how this one turned out but those tight points were a pain!!  I think I muttered a few choice words under my breath trying to needle turn them perfectly.  My Hawaiian Quilt group meets on Thursday so I will be asking for tips to make those points a bit easier!

Check out the rest of the design walls on Judy's blog.  http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Monday Morning Design Wall 11/7/2011

 I have had a very productive two weeks, as I was out of town last week and unable to post, I completed two more blocks on my Baltimore Album quilt.  The basket was quite a bit of work and seemed to take longer than any other block so far but my second block was a bit quicker!! 


I did enjoy myself last weekend, spending it with my daughter in San Luis Obispo, California and watched her cheer for Cal Poly.  Very exciting football game as Cal Poly won in the last 36 seconds.  Was again able to watch her cheer at the University of California, Davis versus Cal Poly Football game on Saturday 11/5/2011, in pouring rain for several hours.  UC Davis won (my alma mater) and she was back on a bus for the long trip back to school.  We were all very wet but I did manage to pack a box full of snacks and treats for her and her fellow cheer squad members to enjoy on the bus ride home.  She did say they all loved the snacks!!

Monday Morning Design Wall 10/24/2011

I was very busy this week and was able to get a day off of work to catch up on house cleaning (quilt projects), cooking (applique projects), and spending time with the kids (quilting while talking with the kids).  I have officially trained the 14 year old to clean the floors, the 16 year old to clean the bathrooms and now if I could only get the dog to mow the lawn!!  Hope lives!!!   I finished two applique squares for my Baltimore Album quilt and one for my Hawaiian Quilt.  They have turned out so nice I am thrilled.  I was able to give myself a bit of a refresher in needlework for the chain stitch but I think both the Baltimore album squares turned out so nice. 

Love the Hawaiian block and am so looking forward to making more blocks for that quilt.  I purchased the fabric when I was in the Bahamas on one of those One In A Lifetime Family Vacations a few years back and the fabric seems to fit the Hawaiian style of quilts.  Check out the rest of the design walls at  http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Applique Thursday 10/20/2011

Another Baltimore Album block completed this week, I finished the basic sewing several weeks ago but took a while to complete as I had to do some embroidery on it for the stems.  I like how it turned out and it was nice to know that I have not forgotten my embroidery skills after all these years!!   I have been through the gauntlet of needlework in the past, embroidery, crochet, needlepoint, cross stitch and now quilting.  For some reason quilting has stuck with me for the past 10 years and I am just loving every minute of it.  Now I get to bring in embroidery?  Yes.....the perfect combination of hand work.  The only thing missing are the french knots, the block calls for 5-7 on each red strawberry but I have never really been able to do french knots well so I am very leery about trying them and messing up the block. 

Monday Morning Design Wall 10/16/2011

Wow, I got so much done this past weekend!!  This was the pay off for working a 15 hour day on Friday and I just sat on the couch recovering all day Saturday and half of Sunday.  Did manage to do laundry!!  Thank goodness the weather is still nice enough to hang it up outside!   I was able to finish two blocks on my Baltimore Album Quilt and put them all on my design wall so I can see the balance of colors as I am getting ready to work on the next set!  I still have to finish quilting my first applique quilt, finish 18 more blocks for this quilt and then dig into my next project.  At this point, I think sleep is overrated!!!  Check out everyone's design wall on Judy's website http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Applique Thursday 10/13/2011

Sigh, another day, another applique block.  I realized over this past week that in order to complete all the projects I want to do, finish the one's I have started and dig deeper into other projects, I will have to quit my job so I can sew full time.  Hummm.....can I make that work?   Lets see, two kids in college and two pending, one dog that likes to eat, kids that like to eat, house to pay for and fabric to buy.  OK, I guess I will keep working because the most important thing on my list is the ability to buy fabric!!  I just ordered 10 yards of fabric for the next applique project (yes, I am stocking up on the fabric before even reaching the halfway point in the current project)   Here is my next block in the Baltimore Album quilt, I have lost count as to which number this is out of the 25 I will be doing as I accidental got out of order a couple of weeks ago.  I may have to do a count this next week to see how many I have left.  Maybe time to start the huge applique boarder????   This project may take longer then I had hoped but I can always get ready to start the next one!!    Time to try the Lottery??   

Monday Morning Design Wall 10/10/2011

What a beautiful weather we enjoyed here in Northern California this past weekend.  I need to actually get outside at some point this week and enjoy the cool crisp fall weather before the rain hits!  I took a Hawaiian Applique Class on Sunday afternoon and this was the first time I have attempted needle turn applique.  I have been hooked on freezer paper applique but since you bast down the fabric before you attempt to needle turn, at least it stays in place and there are no pesky pins to catch the thread every stitch!!  I have only done the upper left hand corner so far but so far so good!!   Just what I did not need, another project!!

Check out the rest of the design walls at http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Monday Morning Design Wall 10/3/2011

Happy 75th Birthday to my wonderful mother!!   May this year be your best ever!! My hat is off to a woman who can raise 6 kids by herself, start and run a successful retail business for 30 year and be a fantastic grandmother to her 6 grandchildren!! 

Back on subject, my design wall is bare as I have spent the week working on hand quilting my first applique quilt!  I am enjoying watching old television shows in the evening (after a trip to the gym) and just quilting the quilt.  At this rate I hope to be done by 2012!!    Check out the rest of the design walls at http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Applique Thursday 9/29/2011

Another week, another block.  Just hoping that I can keep up the pace as the projects I want to do are piling up behind this one!   Currently working on my Baltimore Album quilt, which is turning out to be quite a bit of work and pending is the Dear Jane quilt along with Tweets by Erin Russek.  I am hand quilting my first finished applique quilt and still have to assemble Florabunda as all the blocks are finished.  After I get all this done I would LOVE to start designing my own applique.   Just need to find the time to get everything done and work on my technique!  Maybe if I win the  Lottery.............right!

Monday Morning Design Wall 9/26/2011

Finally got the top sewn together for my Halloween Quilt!!  I am still thinking about borders but I have a great orange dotted fabric that came with the Halloween fabric and I saved it for the first border and the binding.   So exciting.  Other than this, I am just working away on my applique each and every day!!  Check out all the other design walls at http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Applique Thursday 9/22/2011

Ok, trying to pick up the applique pace but the projects I have taken on a taking a bit more time these days.  I love working with the batiks for my Baltimore Album quilt and the designs are great.  I am trying to find more time each day to work on them but between the kids, the house and my job time is tight.  I think if I give up sleep for a week or two I will finally catch up!!  See everyone else's beautiful applique at http://quiltingreadersgarden.blogspot.com/

Monday Morning Design Wall 9/19/2011

Happy Monday!  I had a very productive weekend and moved many of my quilting boxes and projects in process into my daughter's room to clear out some space in my quilting area.  She will return for Thanksgiving from college and by then, hopefully, I will have organized all my fabric and will be able to move it all back out quickly!   I started a Halloween Quilt today, yippee!!  I am trying to make quilts for different times of the year and I needed a Halloween quilt.  I love the fabrics and I am going to fussy cut the center squares in each block.    It may not be done in time to display for Halloween but at least it will be a quilt top by then.  I chose Block #175 (Vanishing Squares) from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 2 so the prints could really shine. 

Applique Thursday 9/15/2011

The best I can do today is the block I am working on for my Baltimore Album Quilt. It has a Hawaiian look and it is all one piece.  Getting the points and inside slits right is taking quite a bit of time so I have been working on this one for a day or two so far.  I hope to finish it soon so I can move onto the next block!  I am learning a bit of patience as I have to go back over areas to get them perfect!     Check out the rest of the applique on http://quiltingreadersgarden.blogspot.com/

Monday Morning Design Wall 9/12/2011 Help Me Decide!

Ok, I finally finished all the blocks for Florabunda!!  I also remade the entire center block as I was unhappy at the end with my color choices, especially the green for the main leaves.  So, rather than be unhappy, I remade!!  Please look at the two separate pictures and let me know which one you like, the first one or the remade one!!  The one on the left is the NEW block and the one on the right is the OLD block.   I am hoping to work on setting plans this week so I need to know which block to use.  Nothing will go to waste as I will make a wall hanging for my office with the remaining one!!

Monday Morning Design Wall 9/5/2011

Labor Day!  A day where instead of laboring at the office, I labor at home.  I caught up on chores these past few days so I can catch up on my multiple quilting projects.  I am hoping to pin two quilts....(hope lives eternal) and then maybe work on a few more applique blocks.   This is my new applique project, a Baltimore Album quilt done in green and red with gold and brown accents but updated as I am doing in batiks!!  The patterns will be challenging but I am really looking forward to working on them and doing a quilt from the 1850-1880's.  Love modern and brights but something keeps bringing me back to the old patterns.

Remember to check out Judy's blog and see what is on everyone else's design wall!!

Monday Morning Design Wall 8/29/2011

August is almost over and I will be spending the fall adjusting to two fewer children in my house. Tough but I will just have to look forward to Thanksgiving in November when everyone will be home. I think I will work on a special family meal and look forward to some great time together. I have finally got Florabunda Block 12 done! Yippee. Time to move onto Applique Quilt Project #3 this week.

I also put together my first applique quilt top, taking a couple of weeks to finish the borders and I think it turned out pretty well. I have been thinking about the quilting pattern and I think I will handquilt it in a cross hatch or diagonal line. Simple but elegant! I love to handquilt so I can work on in during the cold winter months. I think this applique thing has become a full blown addiction and I will be seeking a 12 step progam....(step one - find pattern, step two - buy fabric......)

Applique Thursday 8/25/2011

Here is the completed quilt top for my first applique quilt!! Turned out rather well if I do say so myself! It was a blast to do and I am looking forward to finishing my second top, hopefully in the next week or two and starting my third......so much fun!! So much applique....so little time.

Monday Morning Design Wall 8/22/2011

Summer is almost over and high school starts tomorrow. One child has left, moving into his dorm for Freshman year and the second child leaves on Saturday and will be moving into her college apartment. I am 50% lighter on children and not really thrilled about it. The younger two are enjoying thier last day to sleep in as getting up tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. will be quite a shock! I did get Florabunda Block #11 done and am in the process of finishingup Block #12. Time to move onto the next project! Having a blast with applique and just love how the blocks are turning out.

Monday Morning Design Wall 8/15/2011

Sutter Cancer Quilt Auction Quilt!!!

Another killer week but we had our Spring Chicks Reveal of the quilts donated to Sutter Hospital Cancer Quilt Auction and here is my quilt. The rest of the group can be seen at http://rabidquilter3.blogspot.com/2011/08/spring-chicks-reveal.html

We also had a great time revealing our Three Little Words Challenge Quilts, my words were Red, Mosaic and Balloons. So here is my challenge quilt. The rest of our group's designs can be seen here http://rabidquilter3.blogspot.com/2011/08/three-little-words-challenge.html

I also manged to get Block 10 of Florabunda almost completed so I am very excited. I have chosen my next two applique and quilt projects and am looking forward to digging into the next project.

Monday Morning Design Wall 8/8/2011

Nothing to show this week as I spent the entire week working on my son's Eagle Court of Honor. I will have to enjoy everyone's design wall as I spend some time this week getting ready for our Spring Chicks Reveal of our Breast Cancer Quilts we are donating to the Sutter Cancer Center on Tuesday. I cannot wait to see the groups quilt designs and finished projects!

Applique Thursday 8/4/2011

Another week, another square!! Here are a couple more squares from my Applique Challenge Quilt. I am still working on the borders, which seem to take more time than I thought. Had a great time camping but lost time on my quilts after taking several days off. Nice to be outside, on a beach, with friends and enjoying the great outdoors. I saw some beautiful flowers and took a ton of pictures. Can't wait to see if I can design my own applique blocks based on the flowers!!

Applique Thursday 7/28/2011

I made great progress this week on my applique projects but will be taking a break to go camping this weekend. Looking forward to no cell phone, no computer and even (gasp) no sewing. I would kill to bring a project with but the risk of dirt and smoke is just too great for all my hard work. Better to leave everything at home and look forward to returning then ruin a block. This is a corner of my applique quilt border. I hope to have the remaining two borders done by next week so then I can show the entire top!!

Monday Morning Design Wall 7/24/11

Another great week but nothing I can show on my design wall until the reveal at my Spring Chicks quilt group meeting in August. I did manage to finish another Florabunda block so here it is! I am going to remake the large center block for this series, Miss Hannah, as I am not happy with it now that I have made 9 blocks! Oh, well, such is the burden for perfection!

Hope everyone has a great week as I will be camping next weekend I am looking forward to seeing everyone's design wall.

Monday Morning Design Wall 7/18/2011

Another productive week and I finally finished my son's Cal Quilt after working my fingers to the bone on Sunday. I enjoyed a wonderful visit from my fantastic mother-in-law, Rita, where a attempted to turn her on to quilting!! I think I may be able to get her to try it and I am going to look for a quilt class at the quilt shop near her house and maybe we can take it together. Spencer loves his Cal quilt (which makes all the hard work worth it) and he can take possession as soon as I make the label for it!!

I am almost done with another Florabunda block and just loving the applique project!! Once I am done with this one I am looking forward to starting Tweets from http://erinrussek.typepad.com/one-piece-at-a-time/

I am having a blast working on all my projects and just hope I can finish off my two projects that have a dead line!! Next week I need to hit the sewing machine hard (as usual) but I think I can get everything done if I just focus!

Monday Morning Design Wall 7/11/2011

Nothing like being deep into the summer, having a really hot weekend but still spending far too much time with a hot iron, warm sewing machine and other hot things!! I will say it is easier to leave the iron on when it cold outside but then, when it is cold, I really enjoy hand quilting. Keeps me warm! I completed another Florabunda block and just love how this one turned out. I also made great stides on my Sutter Cancer Quilt this weekend but need to step it up as it is due in the begining of August!! Yikes, where did the time go!

Check out other design walls at http://www.patchworktimes.com/