Silk purse

You know the saying.
Well here's the sows ear.
It is a very strange color. This is a 10" square. We have to make as many blocks as we want from this piece, 12 x 12 or 6 x 6 or 12 x 6. Retreat is in 16 days (not that I'm counting!) and I will be making some of these blocks with our Asian theme. Even if you don't particularly like this fabric I can guarantee that the blocks our members will make will make it look beautiful.
Here is last years fabric and the blocks that were made. They really were beautiful.







So I am expecting lots of pinks, greens and golds to go with this years fabrics. I will probably make one 12" block and two rectangle blocks. I like those weird sizes.

Until next time...
Susie

Soldier pillowcases

I made 5 pillowcases last Monday at our mini-retreat. One of our guild members is a member of the Red cross and passes out the beautiful quilts to the wounded soldiers at Andrews Air Force Base. She told us they got a donation of 150 pillows and needed pillowcases for them. Each soldier gets a pillow when they are transferred to another hospital or released. I can't wait to go to guild Wednesday and see how many we all made. I know one woman made 30!!! If I was stashbusting, this would be a good way to use it up. Ahhh but unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) I am not a member of that club so I just use and replace (not necessarily in that order) at will.

I was very busy sewing over the weekend but can't show you anything. I am working on the mystery project for our retreat and I know some of the ladies read my blog. Last Year I did this one (scroll down to see the correct photo) by Mary Johnson. This year we have an Asian theme. Tomorrow I'll show you the "ugly" fabric that we are supposed to make blocks to trade.

Until next time...
Susie

Mini retreat Monday

And we sewed and talked and ate and laughed and sewed and don't you know...I didn't take one photo. People started arriving at 9 am and didn't leave until 9 pm. I made potato soup in the crock pot (got up at 2am to turn it on) and homemade bread in the bread machine for lunch and we had Chinese food delivered for dinner. I think this is going to be a new tradition for our bee. I mini-pre-retreat-retreat. Our big guild retreat is coming up soon, in 22 days. Our minds are on what we want to work on there. At least mine is. I am sure that half the fun of retreats is in the anticipation!

Here are our guild BOMs for February. (The blue tape is holding them to the wall)
I love this idea and will be making a few of these. Our name is put into the drawing for each block we make. I hope I win these.

Until next time...
Susie

Brrrrrrr

Don't my dogs look cozy and warm? Every time we make a fire, they plop themselves down for a nap. It kinda makes it hard to tend the fire but it must be some primal instinct that draws them close.

I read my blogs while I'm eating my breakfast. This morning, both Mary in Minnesota and Judy in Missouri have talked about how cold it is. Well, here in DC, it is, what my husband calls, "stupid cold". (Of course, he thinks anything below 70 is cold.) I am starting a four-day weekend thanks to Martin Luther King and Barack Hussein Obama.

I do plan on some serious quilting this weekend. I have to finish two quilts for our show in March and don't want to wait until the last minute. Here is a tiny portion of one of my entries. You'll have to wait until the show for the whole picture. If anyone recognizes it please don't tell. This quilt is so striking and different, I don't want to spoil the visual impact.
I am hosting a mini-retreat at my house on Monday. Just my bee coming over to sew. We'll put tables up in the living room and family room and sew from morning 'till night.
I'll report on that on Tuesday.

Until next time...
Susie

Show and Tell

We always have Show and Tell at our guild meetings and this one was made by a new member, Marcy. Marcy is a new quilter and I just love the way she works (totally different from me). She is very creative and totally does her own thing. I think she started with the basic directions for the prairie braid and then her design just evolved. I have trouble doing that and admire people who can. I am too rigid and/or timid. I would worry, what if I make a mistake? Marcy would just go in a different direction to fix it. I would worry, what if I run out of a certain fabric. Marcy would just substitute another. I would worry, what if I don't like it. Marcy would work on it until she did or finish it and move on.

Our quilt show, coming in March, will have a new category called novice quilter. Anyone who has been quilting for less than three years can enter their quilt. Marcy is entering this one and I'll tell you right now, I'm gonna vote for it.

Until next time...
Susie

IIIIII don't want to work

Did you get that tune?
You know, the one by Todd Rundgren.
I don't want to work. I just want to bang on the drum all day. That's what I have been singing for the past four days as I was sewing. After working six days in three weeks over the holidays, I had a full week of work last week. Now I do love my job but I sure did have a great time staying home and doing all that sewing. So I kept singing, "I don't want to work, I just want to sew in my room all day!"

This is what I've been working on. I want to get the blocks done so I can start quilting a special quilt to enter in our guild quilt show in March.


I took this Hunter's Star class back in October from Deb Tucker.
This is how big the top turned out...which isn't big at all (Another row of dark blocks goes on the bottom but I left it off because I knew I was going to make it larger). The blocks are only 6", so.....I am making it twice this size. I got out more beiges and browns and started again over the weekend. Her ruler really is amazing and I highly recommend it if you want to make this block. Check out her web site in the link on her name above.

Until next time...
Susie

Donation quilt

One of the many charities that our guild donates quilts to is the Pediatric Oncology Department at Georgetown Hospital. Every newly diagnosed child gets a quilt. I like to send them off with prayers stitched in. I bought two of these panels a few years ago and finally got around to putting on borders and quilting one for Georgetown. (During my self-imposed sequester over the New Year's long weekend)
This is the back. They said they needed more quilts for boys so this one will fill the bill. I love making quilts for Georgetown as well as soldier quilts.

Until next time...
Susie

Naming Quilts

Judy, at Patchwork Times, has a post today about naming quilts. That decided for me what I would post about today too.

During my sequestered New Years' weekend. I finished this quilt, and while I was working on it, I was thinking of names. I kept calling it Mary's triangles or blue scrap but it needed a formal name. See the basic block here and here.

Let's back track just a little so I can tell you I got a cute pink iPod for Christmas. I am having fun loading it with all the crazy eclectic music that I like, from classical to show tunes to rock. So I plugged it into the speakers that my son gave me, cranked up really loud, I might add, and was listening to my all time favorite album from the 70s when I was in college. I was quilting away when the name finally came to me! Duh...Moody Blues! I want the name to be a little happier so the official name is Merry Moody Blues.
Ha, how's that? I love it when that happens.

Until next time...
Susie

Starting Over

Well, I think I have probably lost all my readers. So I am going to pretend that I am starting my blog over...with all the anticipation and enthusiasm I had when I first began.

Yes I have a new header. I saw Nicole's new header at Sisters Choice, and loved her blue log cabin blocks. Soooooo...

...while I was home... literally home for five days... as in, I didn't go out of my house... I have been physically and mentally organizing my quilting world. Oh, and I also undecorated my house, cooked some scrumptious meals, cleaned just a little, slept late, read, and of course sewed.
I teased you with the idea for our bee gift exchange, so I want to show you some of the creative ways we keep our gifts to under $3. Georgia embroidered this cute scissor holder. I have my full size pair of Ginghers in it. This will definitely keep my husband from cutting his odor eaters (new ones thank goodness). True story!!!
Loretto made this cute cup/bottle holder with a bee and our initials embroidered on it. I will be using this often to keep my water bottle from sweating all over my purse.
And this is what I made for everyone. I cut up my old quilt calendars and made stationery. There are different sizes of blank note cards with envelopes as well as some tiny gift tags. I also printed out some address labels (see upper left).

Until next time...
Susie