Matchy-matchy

I don't  make many matchy-matchy quilts but sometimes one just strikes you and you have to give in. I love them but usually lean towards scrappy quilts. Gotta use all this fabric somehow!  I saw this exact pattern in a magazine a few years ago and a vendor at our local quilt show had all the fabric by Jackie Robinson. I was intrigued by the border fabric and I entered it in our quilt show in March. Well, as you can see I won first place in the large pieced category and a vendors choice award. I am particularly proud of the freehand feathers quilting. I think you can see it if you click on the picture.

And remember this quilt? Here is our sweet Everleigh one year later doing her favorite thing...eating....just like her mama! She does really well feeding herself.

 

Check out other design walls over at Patchwork Times.

Happy sewing,
Susie

Restarting

I love the space in time between finishing a quilt and starting a new one. The possibilities are endless.

I finished this quilt for a cousin's wedding shower and gave it to her yesterday. She was registered at Crate and Barrel and mine was the only gift not in a C&B box!

The bride's sister told me she wanted burnt orange, khaki and tan. I was originally looking for a large-ish burnt orange print and was going to make a fractured crystal pattern but actually changed my mind while I was standing in line to get the fabric cut! So I got out of line, chose a few FQs  for variety and never looked back. I usually trust my gut in these cases. I bought the fabric on Super Bowl Sunday at our local quilt shop's sale. I got the blocks done at our guild's retreat over President's weekend put it together and quilted it between then and now and sewed the label on Friday night. Whew this was a fast one. You see, I work full-time and even though my profile says I try to sew every day the operative word here is try.

So I got up Saturday morning with no deadline! I actually cut up some scraps into strips (following Bonnie Hunter's scrap system) and later in the day after grocery shopping and laundry I started sewing on a new piecing project. I am also planning which quilts I want to enter in next years' quilt show which involves basting and quilting. Remember I like to have projects in different stages.

Check out other design walls at Judy's blog.

Until next time...
Susie

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