Burgoyne Surrounded Swap

Last week when my Bernina 153 just stopped working and my other machine, my Bernina 180, was on loan to a friend, I sort of went through sewing withdrawal. I mean I was really discombobulated. So I got out my featherweight and started sewing together these blocks.

My guild, thanks to Cappy and Mary, organized a scrappy swap of the components for these blocks. We swapped all dark 4-patches, dark-light 4-patches, dark-light 9-patches, the 5x2 unit for the sides and plain neutral rectangles. It took a few months and some of the ladies have already completed their quilts.

I have always wanted to make this pattern. Throw in the scrapiness and the little pieces (each square is 1") and I knew this was in my future. I love working on this. It sure came to my rescue when I needed to just sit and sew. I only have three blocks done.

Once the holiday busyness is over this will be my next finish project. That is after, (or I should say while) I finish the baby quilt, and quilt two or three other tops!!

I always have a few projects in different stages. That way I tame the A.D.D.!!!

Wishing you a few moments to sit and sew
Susie

PS I got my 180 back from my friend so all is right in my world. The 153 is still in the shop.

Visit Judy to see other design walls

They just keep coming

Weddings and babies that is and not necessarily in that order ;-)!

I have a lot of cousins and we all got married and had kids around the same time so that means that all those kids are now getting married and having babies around the same time too. I am not complaining mind you. The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned. And those babies sure are fun.
This is a baby I spy for a little boy to be born in February. When his parents announced his gender they started calling him blue and then blueberry. So there is blueberry fabric right in the middle. There are also other significant fabrics in there like Redskins for Dad (even though they stink!!!) and Ravens for Mom (not my favorite team even though I am a Baltimoron).

It is mostly put together and I plan on quilting it over the long Thanksgiving weekend. That is if I can get my sewing machine to work. It just up and stopped running right in the middle of quilting another quilt on Saturday. I lent my friend my other machine and will get that one back tomorrow so I do have a backup. I was surprised at how "off" I felt this weekend without my Berninas. I got out my featherweight and pieced some but I still had this feeling that something just wasn't quite right. Anyone else feel that way about their machines?

Happy stitches,
Susie

Oh, and go visit Judy to see what's on everyone else's design wall

In the blink of an eye...

...more than two years pass.

I stopped blogging in August 2009. That's about the time our family got dragged into the middle of a Jerry Springer-esque drama. But I am proud to say we all kept our integrity and dignity and handled it with grace and class.

You know the first few lines of the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens? "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Well that was how 2010 was for our whole family. It started out a nightmare and ended with the long-awaited birth of our first grandchild, Everliegh Laine.

So that is where I will resume this blog. As a quilter you all know that you can't have a granddaughter without making a special quilt. She was born four days before Christmas last year and came home on Christmas Eve. Needless to say our Christmas was very special.
Here I am holding Everleigh with her mom, my daughter Maggie, and her quilt hanging in the Southern Comforters quilt show in March. I was disappointed it didn't win a ribbon but I didn't go home empty handed. This quilt won first place in the large pieced category.
You might remember it from here.
I quilted freehand feathers all throughout and they turned out better than I expected and were so much fun to do. I hate marking a quilt so anything I can do without marking is my preference.
I have visited my blog everyday since August 2009 because I use it to check my favorite blogs that I read everyday. I have lots more favorites now and I will update them soon.

Happy stitches
Susie