A little wool finish

I'm working on a couple of projects but can't show them right now.  Kind of makes blogging difficult - no kids or grandkids to show photos of, no pets to show photos of, don't cook food that's interesting enough to photo, and who wants to see more photos of restaurant food?! 

I recently finished this little wall hanging.  I think the snowman has such a charming expression.  It's all wool. 

I also finished this all wool project in time for fall.

Made what seemed like yards of green bias for the Baltimore quilt.  I'm not even going to think about pulling it out until after quilt market.  I leave Oct 27 for 5 days in Houston.  Markets are fun but a lot of work (some mental but a lot physical - good thing I walk 4 miles a day!)

Uh oh!

I generally love to receive a package in the mail.  Generally......this is......unless it's a package containing another Friends of Baltimore block.  Good grief!  Here's the 3rd border and I haven't started the first one yet.  I know it's not a race but I'm feeling very left behind.

I have templates made for the first border but just need to find some time to work on putting it together.  Here's a photo of border #1 - the teeny tiny black object is an IPhone.  That gives you an idea of the size.

So, what have I spent my last 3 weeks doing?  I finished the model for Lynette Anderson's new fabric line which will make its debut in Houston later this month.  You can click on her name and go to the Sep 27 blog entry to see another peek of her fabric. 

That's about it for now.  I wanted to do a quick update to let you know I'm still around.  Fingers crossed for no more of "those" packages for at least a couple of weeks!

Shop hopping

My friend invited me to her home in Springfield.  Her son gave up his room for me which meant I became one of a handful of adults who can boast of sleeping in a boat.

Our plan was to stitch the days and evenings away.  You'll notice I said plan---instead we shopped and will stitch next time.  We visited The Quilt Sampler in Springfield, Quilts and Quilts in Branson, and Sew Simple Quilts in Ozark.  All were nice but Sew Simple was my favorite for that day of shopping.  Very nice samples and the friendliest help.

The next day we visited a shop that has become one of my favorites:  Lillie's Classic Quilts in Independence, Kansas.  It's off the beaten path but absolutely worth the effort.  If you aren't inspired in this shop, I'm afraid there's little hope for you.  Really, it's that good.

I came home with sensory overload after seeing all the pretty quilts in the shops and seeing her works in progress.  My box of Lynette Anderson fabric was waiting for me.  I'm making her sample for the free pattern that will be available at market next month.  Can't show it yet but you can see a preview of the fabric on her Aug 25 blog entry.

  
 

A little needlecase

Not a whole lot to show for this week.  I finished this cute little needlecase from Liberty Star (just love Renee's patterns).  I'm looking forward to getting my hands on her new book later this month.

Last weekend my husband and I vended at the Little Balkans Quilt Show in Pittsburg, Kansas.  What a fun time!  Vending is a lot of work (Kathleen I bet you will agree to that!) but is also a LOT of fun.  You get to look at pretty quilts on display, pretty booths, and best of all visit with friendly people.

Hope you have a great week!

Cabin in the Pines

I was surprised it had been 2 weeks since I blogged.  It felt like 2 days.  Do your days go by as fast as mine??!

I finished Jan Patek's Cabin in the Pines.  It was a fun quilt to make with typical Jan large applique pieces. 

I still need to add some details like eyes for the snowman but will do that later. 

Now that I'm finished with that project, I think it's time to get back to my album quilt.  I have the templates cut for a border and think next week I will start a dreaded border. 

More projects

As promised, here's some more finishes.  This wool piece, God Bless Me, was supposed to have tongues but I'm not a big fan of them so I left them off.  I used Valdani perle cotton and transfer ease for the embroidery.  Both made it SO easy.

This is another wool piece.  It was supposed to be finished as a stocking but I thought a wall hanging would be more practical.

Can't remember if I showed you this or not but just in case.  It's machine appliqued - a fun holiday wall hanging.

This was a fun little one to make.  I enlarged it by adding two borders but it's still tiny.  I quilted it with Valdani and big stitches.

These little wool pillows were a lot of fun to make.  I've learned how to prepare my fabric so I don't get so many lumps and bumps when I stuff.

That's it for now.  I'm almost finished with all the applique pieces for a new Jan Patek quilt.  I'll share pictures next time.  After I get it together, I'm rewarding myself with a Baltimore block!

Finishes - Finally!

The open house at Sew Graceful was yesterday so I can finally share some finishes with you.  This is a block of the month that starts now.  The quilt is "supposed" to be made with wool but I can't stick with a pattern.  My background and appliques are all cotton.  The bias on the border may look difficult but is really quite easy. 

This wall hanging is a Jan Patek pattern, Punkin Heads.  I really enjoy making her patterns.  One nice thing about wall hangings is they're small enough to quilt on your home machine.

The applique on this fall wall hanging is wool and backgrounds are cotton. 



The thing I most enjoyed finishing was my to do list!  I love to start the week with a new list -- gives me a special delight in marking off an item. 

I will post lots more photos later this week.  My camera battery died before I could take photos of everything.  Of course, I didn't have my changer with me.