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

Design Wall Monday

Every Monday, Judy, over at Patchwork Times lets people show what's on their design wall. Every Monday morning when I get to work I think DUH! I forgot to take a picture. Well I finally remembered, mainly because I am binding the quilt I have been working on and actually got a little organized in my sewing room. I cut these out last month and took them to the beach with me. (In case it rained) Well it did rain one day but I was having so much fun hanging out with my grown kids, that I didn't even open my sewing stuff. So, I have been piecing them in between quilting my Asian Wallhanging that I am going to hang in my office. I'll show you that one when it's all done.

I think I'll lay these out and start sewing them together this week. Then I get to go shopping to buy a border and back. I haven't been fabric shopping in months and months. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Until next time...
Susie

Getting caught up

It has become a tradition in our guild for the past two years for members to make a 12" block with a given theme fabric. It is the brainstorm of Cappy and she finds the most fun fabrics. The first one (if my memory is correct) was chocolate, the second one was pizza, and this one is a mexican theme. The fabric we were given had tacos and chili peppers and margaritas and everything mexican. I used it in the center of my block. I was going to put the pinwheels all around but then I found the stripe fabric waaaaay down in my stash and had to use it. I can't wait to see all the finished blocks. This is another one I would love to win.
Mary is our a new Block-of-the-month chairperson. She has started off simple, but to be honest, sometimes they make the best BOMs. We were to do lime green and black nine patches... because lime green is the new beige! We usually have so many people participate that there is enough to do three or four drawings. I don't do a block every month because (and excuse me here) sometimes people don't follow directions. So you always get one or two blocks that don't play well with the rest. I have won those before. So I like this one and don't see many ways to go astray.

Drawings are in August. Hope I win these too!

Until next time...
Susie

Enthusiasm

Our guild has been blessed with some mighty fine program chairs the past few years. It wasn't always the case though. I think that program chair is one of the hardest jobs in the guild. We have been on a roll and the last two program chairs set the bar high. Their enthusiasm has held because now we have Wendy! She came up with a great idea to make a quilt for our Quilt Bingo in October. Everyone makes two rows 60.5" wide for a row quilt. One set will be used for the quilt bingo and the others will be won by a lucky participant who made a row. The theme is fall colors. We have seen some of the rows already and this quilt is gonna be good. I have always liked row quilts and would love to win this one (even before it is revealed). I did these over the weekend.
Enthusiasm is contagious!

Until next time...
Susie

Starting something new

Ahhhhh, I love this feeling.
I few times a year (and I mean a few...maybe two) I get to a point in my quilting adventures where it is time (without guilt, I might add) to start a new project. After our quilt show in March (which caused all sorts of deadline stress) I found myself finishing lots of odds and ends, including getting a few tops put together, making backings, and rounding up batting for said same. Oh and I also have been doing some superficial organizing-as-you-go in my sewing room. Soooooo, I have been accumulating piles of projects (ie fabric with patterns in boxes and bags) ready to start when the moment was right. Well I have spent the last two weekends cutting, cutting, cutting. I have three quilts cut and bagged, ready to start piecing. Here is one of them.
You can see the sample in the upper right corner. Deb Tucker made this quilt and I just loved it, mainly because it uses lots of different fabrics. Deb taught our guild the Hunter's Star class (she invented this amazing ruler that makes the quilt so much fun to make) and she brought all sorts of quilts to show us during her lecture.

There is something strange about this quilt though. All I had was the photo to go by and when I drafted it out to cut, I wanted the trees to be taller than they are wide. So the blocks are not square. You can sort of tell by the red nine patch.

My family will be going to the beach in a few weeks and I want to take something all cut so I can just piece. (Only if the weather is bad though)

More tomorrow. (I promise)

Until next time...
Susie

I am very (parenthetical) today huh?