Spider!!!

This reminds me of a line in a Dwight Yoakam song...Once there was this spider in my bed....
I made this pin using an old metal zipper. I thought it was very cute, for a spider. I think I will make a few more. 
I have been busy making little things that I will share soon, but I haven't been able to work on my quilts.  I need take along projects even though I am not going anywhere(metaphorically and physically). Doesn't  make much sense.  It is a long journey down the stairs to the sewing room. I have to pass so many markers on the way....the bathroom that needs cleaning, dishwasher to load and unload, that sticky kitchen floor, laundry to fold, and the biggest time consumer...the computer.  All these distractions make the distance to the sewing room a decathlon.  If I can just do this, this, and this, theeeeeennnnn, I can sew. AHHHH.  Instead I have little projects sitting by the sofa ready to be stitched, glued, stuffed or read until I have the stamina to wade through the obstacles to the winner's (sewing) circle and still have time for the victory dance.

Cultural Cross Roads Quilt Show

Here is the certificate for my winning entry! I was very pleased to receive second place. There were so many lovely small quilts and I am honored to have participated. If you are interested in viewing their site the address is: www.msculturalcrossroads.org

Gone with the Wind

 Here is the finished project.  Unfortunately I had problems.  I believe in an earlier post I explained the "me" factor in everything I do.  I pieced my background, machine quilted it and then formed the tree using the twisted branches technique.  I cut strips of batik in to tiny little pieces with a rotary cutter and placed them on my branches. I then placed a black tulle layer over the entire wall hanging and stippled the leaves in place.  It looked marvelous.   After choosing the black for the binding, I sewed it in place, blocked the quilt and let it dry overnight. I was on target to finish before the deadline for a local quilt show today.  All night I thought of what I might do different if I had a little more time.

This morning I awoke unpinned the quilt and decided to press the binding once more before attaching a label and trotting off to the show.  Here is the me factor....I touched the tulle with the hot iron and it melted!!!! Just the corner but enough to be a disaster. A tornado couldn't have caused more damage to my tree, and my beautiful project was gone with the wind.  I was heart sick. At 7AM this little wall hanging was a beauty, at 8AM I was near tears and by 9AM I was ready to throw it away.  I wanted to add some beads and my husband kept saying no..it would distract from the tree. So I rounded the corners re-bound the quilt...did I mention I was out of the binding fabric so I had to make do with the pieces I had. (I should have added the beads.)   As you can see the binding and not the wind, fell this tree,  I have never been very good with binding and this is a display of my inadequacy.  I am still heart sick but I am taking it to the show.  I will make another, I will learn a lesson, and with God as my witness I will never touch tulle with an iron again.

Twisted Branches

I have been thinking about making one of these beautiful wall hangings for over a year.  I first saw twisted branches at the MQA meeting and I thought it was lovely. I decided to get started because I may finish it in time for a local quilt show.
I pieced the background and quilted it and then placed the tree. After I finish sewing the tree in place I will add leaves and perhaps some beads. We will have to see where the wind blows me.


Trees have always played a part in my life.  An odd comment perhaps, but there are people who live in cities and neighborhoods where trees are few.  I have always lived in the woods.  My family spends our time under the canopy of towering oak trees. We picnic, play games, read, swim, live in the dappled sunlight.   The swing hangs beneath the branches, where a breeze stirs each time we sit with a glass of tea.  Here in the south the shade of a familiar tree is like a hug from a friend.  We are refreshed and ready to begin anew.

On cool nights we cook our dinner over a campfire, enjoying the night sounds. The rustling leaves sooth and the breeze lulls us to sleep.

When I was a girl in school,  I remember this phrase in Literature but I do not recall to whom I should attribute these words, "Trees are monuments of peace".  The phrase expressed my feelings quite well. 

February Quilts

 Today I have two wonderful quilts to chat about.  First the brown, red, and cream top was a gift from my nephew.  He found it at a yard sale and thought of me.  Isn't he too sweet. I would like to figure out the age of the top as it is simply stunning in my opinion.

It is sewn beautifully and is very clean.  there are a few tiny spots that look like rust but I think they are just age spots. All seams are secure...just lovely.  I am really proud of the top and it will be a treasure to me.

I do not know whether I should try to make it into a quilt because I feel a connection to the piecer and think I should leave her work as she did.  The second picture shows it on display in my home.

 The second quilt is also very lovely.  I spoke of it in an earlier blog.  "Union Blue" was made for the LQS to be displayed with the Washington's Legacy fabric line.  I finished the binding and now I will have to give it up for a while.

I hope all the kits to make this quilt sell quickly so I can have it back on my rack where it belongs.  

The quilt was quick and easy to make even though I have rudimentary skills.

Happy February!!

January flew past without a word....We maybe she said a few things but I was too busy to listen. We had a full house in the beginning of January and now it has settled down. I made my way down stairs pretending to go to the laundry room but I spent most of the day in my sewing room. It was great fun. I have been working away on a quilt for LQS to put on display to sell the kits. The kits are wonderful. I do not usually make quilts according to kits but sometimes it is pleasant to just get down to business and sew. I quilted it and now it is ready to bind.

Once I reached the binding stage on the "Union Blue" quilt I did a 'stack-n- slash' baby quilt for my next grand baby. She is due to arrive this month and I did not even have a quilt for the little sweetie, so I thought I better get with it. I always make a play quilt and a Sunday Go-to-Meeting for the new babies. This is her monkey quilt to play and spit upon.

I will have to find more time to do the "laundry" because another grand baby was announced this week...#9. Tonight when I am supposed to be sleeping I will be planning, cutting, sewing, quilting, and binding all in my warm bed with my soft pillow for my head and, yes, clean sheets.

Christmas Sewing

This Christmas I was able to do a little sewing mixed in the quilting. I went to a class at the stitch-n-frame.net to make these sweet little dresses. I made one for each of the three youngest grand daughters. Luckily for me all the parents are football fans and both teams are black and gold...Southern Miss Eagles and Missouri Tigers.

I made baby Harlie her Christmas stocking to match her Mom and Dad's. Then I made my snowman pillow just for fun from a pattern in a recent quilting magazine. I will have to look up the designer's name.
I have been making these Santa wall hangings the last two years and this one was gift for a friend. I do not usually get much sewing done around the holidays because I am embroidering so many items but this year was a little different for various reasons. I know I will miss the time to sit and sew but I can cherish the feeling when something comes together I am making for someone else.

The quilts were a hit!!!

The Sock Monkeys and quilts were given to the babies for Christmas. I think they were all happy with their quilts and new friends. Hunt and Laney gave their monkeys a squeeze and posed for their picture with the quilts.
The baby Harlie, who is one year old was not too sure of the sock monkey but she did like the quilt. I think Mommy and Daddy liked it as well.

Christmas came and went so fast as it always does. I was very concerned about having a Christmas with out our youngest daughter at home but Macintosh came through. We were able to see her and her husband on the iphones and have spent a lot of time face timing. Christmas day we were able to video chat through gmail and see them both as they opened their gifts. Technology in this instance certainly brought us closer together.

Hey! Hey! We're the Monkeys

I did it! I finished all four monkey quilts using the Anita Goodesign monkey embroidery CD, in time for Christmas!
I also made each of my little monkeys a sock monkey of their own.
It was fun to watch each one come together. I made four quilts similar but not identical for our four youngest grand (monkeys) children. I named the series of quilts, the title of this post and each quilt was assigned a number 1 through 4 to correspond with the age of its recipient.
#1 goes to 1 year old Harlie, #2 is for 2 year old Laney, #3 is for 3 year old Arely, and #4 goes to 4 year old Hunt. I hope they will all go "bananas" for their quilts and new friend.

Dear Jane With Benefits

Perhaps you remember Dear Jane.. This little quilt is a baby jane and she is sweet. Last year I participated in two block swaps, the fall frolic and Christmas swaps of Dear Jane blocks. I received these lovely little treasures from friends around the continent and put them together. Like any baby, I had many labor pains.

It isn't my first quilt, but the piecing looks as if it were. I started to unsew but instead I ripped the sashing. Needless to say, I wanted to cry. I decided to sew it back together and just move on. To make it more complicated, I wanted to make a curved binding, which I have never done, so I freehand quilted a feather on the border. After individually quilting the blocks, I proceeded to feather the sashing. The more I worked the worst it became..... practice made pitiful. I have heard people say, "the quilting makes the quilt" not in this case. The blocks make the quilt, I just gave them a place to gather. I decided to accept my limitations on the feathered sashing and move on. I removed it from the machine and THEN, I noticed a few places the seams were pulled apart. Of course, I will have to fix this but I pressed on. I sewed the curved binding and it turned out okay for a first attempt. When the quilt is viewed from a distance,she looks wonderful. She is a sweet little quilt, the blocks are so special to me and I smile each time I look her. The blocks do make the quilt.

I chose the name because I hear people use the term.. Friends with benefits. My cyber friends created beautiful blocks for me and that was certainly a benefit. As a footnote I do love the border fabric I chose, it "compliments" her well. She hangs over my stairwell, strategically placed at the perfect distance from the quilt patrol.