Grandma's Quilts

Something new

2009-07-15T09:08:00.002-04:00

I had posted that some good things had happened in the long period of my not posting. I always felt I was not interested in embroiderying so had no need for a new machine. Well, after seeing some adorable embroidered pillowcases and quilts, I thought long and hard about a new machine. A sewing machine store in Queens offered free financing for 2 years. DH said to go ahead and make the plunge and I did. The machine comes with the embroidery unit and software. Have I made a trillion embroidered items. No....... I am still learning and can not understand why life keeps getting in the way of my sewing time. After all I am retired and should have tons of time!!! Here is a picture.

I have been working on another block of the month with my library group. These blocks are from my stash. I think it is called Cherry Hill Sampler and of course some Thimbleberries. So far I have 6 blocks done. The seventh block you can see next to my sewing machine. It still needs to be put together. Maybe today.

BLOCK BUDDY

2009-07-01T13:49:00.004-04:00

From block buddy

A few months ago one of the women from my library group brought in something called a block buddy. It was given to her for her birthday from a fellow quilter. I thought the idea was great and took a 15 1/2 inch block I had and proceeded to make one for myself. I bring it with me with a block or blocks that I am working on.

The pieces cling to the batting and when I am ready to go home, I roll the whole thing up and the pieces or finished block stay put. If you have not seen this before consider making one for yourself.

design wall

2009-06-14T08:04:00.002-04:00

design wall

I wanted to share the design wall I made for only $12.00. I did have the flannel sheet already, so did not factor that into the cost. I originally made it 5 x 5 but decided to buy an extra pvc pipe and make it large enough to hide my stash. It is portable, lighweight and wonderful! I cannot take credit for this. The idea came from a wonderful blog which I will be posting under my favorite blogs. She is so creative. Here is her blog site. sewmanyways.blogspot.com

Peconic quilt show

2009-06-12T15:30:00.001-04:00

I finally was able to upload the picture from the eastern LI quilters. Hope you enjoy them.

Procrastination

2009-06-07T07:14:00.002-04:00

Well, as you can see it has been sometime since I wrote a new post. A lot has been going on in my life. Mostly good, but some not so good. For sometime I had not read my favorite blogs and found myself in a slump. I have been working on various quilts and still attend my quilting group at the library. Thank God for that. Unfortunately, the library will be cutting back on our use of the room.

I had considered closing my blog, but could not make a decision. Once I started reading other's blogs again I thought I would give blogging another try. Today I will be going to the Peconic Quilt Show and hope to have pictures for you.

part 3

2008-10-27T18:53:00.001-04:00

This is the last of the pictures. Hope you get some great ideas and enjoyed it. I have a lot to share with you but that will be in another post.

Part 2 of show

2008-10-27T18:44:00.001-04:00

Here are some more quilts. I have more to go.

smithtown quilters show

2008-10-27T11:23:00.003-04:00

Here is the first group of pictures from the Smithtown Quilters Guild show that I attended on Saturday. I will post more later.

As promised and more

2008-10-22T13:18:00.010-04:00

As promised, I took a close up of the plaque I painted some years back. It was quite easy since the design was traced on and the painting was filled in. It is not visible but the black area i s dotted with the end part of the brush.

The table is filled with pumpkins I made and a tomato that I purchased in a craft fair. The painted boxes were painted by me several years ago, also when I belonged to the painting guild.

Here is a closeup of the boxes.

This quilt is hanging over my fireplace. It was made from a panel that I added borders to. Tomorrow I will have more to show you. Hope you are enjoying the different crafts.

Where oh where does the time go!

2008-10-20T19:56:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe I have not posted since Oct. 2nd! Did anyone notice??

It isn't that I have not had anything to show because I have been busy sewing. I even went to NYC last week with DH. It was a wonderful experience. DH had to repair an intercom in the building where Katy Couric lives on Park Ave. in Manhattan. He needed someone to watch his car if he could not find parking. I volunteered because I love Manhattan. As it turned out, he found parking until 11 am. That left me 45 minutes to walk around the area. The area is very nice and there were a few brownstones I would love to live in. One can dream.

After my husband was finished, we drove around Manhattan and he pointed out the buildings he has worked in and told me the names of the wealthy and famous who lived in them. In the past, he has met Paul Newman, Tony Randall, Katy Couric, Jackie Kennedy, and the writer, Lillian Hellman. I always enjoyed the stories he brought home.

We continued on to Harlem and then to the new Yankee Stadium. The old one is still standing but will be demolished to make room for parking. DH asked me if I wanted to see our old neighborhood in the Bronx. I jumped at the chance. We stopped by the Catholic church we attended almost 50 years ago. The priest showed me around and told me of the changes to the church. It was, 50 years ago, a big parish and every Mass was filled. The priest said that they now only have 250 parishioners. I have to confess when I first walked into the church I became teary eyed. So many memories. The catholic school I went to was still across the street. The building I used to live in was demolished a long time ago. When we passed, a new building was there with my old address. So strange.

Some of the other things I had done was decorate the house for the Fall. This is the front of our house. I meant to take a close up of the plaque by the door. I painted it when I was a member of a local painting guild. Tomorrow I will take a close up for you. It is cute.

This is a tablerunner I was working on with my library group. I had to make templates and did a terrible job. When I started piecing it, I could not do a good job in making the points meet. It doesn't look too bad in the picture. Anyway, I made the back in this simple Halloween print.

This is the side I am using. The colors are very off in the picture. I have more to show you, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I have to get back to blogging regularly and also reading my favorite blogs!

Done with 2 days to spare

2008-10-02T22:40:00.004-04:00

Well, the baby quilt is done. I have 2 days left before the shower with no pressure. Usually I am sewing on the binding the morning of the gift giving. Thanks to Marilyn for responding to my need for advice http://marilynpiecebypiece.blogspot.com/. She suggested the yellow border and I listened. I am very happy with that choice. Tomorrow I can get my hair cut and my nails done in preparation for the shower. Maybe even get the binding finished on my table runner. Woo hoo!

Need help

2008-09-27T12:50:00.004-04:00

Well the top is finished. The center panel is a scanned copy of part of the baby shower invitation. I also put his first initial above the panel. Now I need help. Since this is from my stash, I only have 3 fabrics left to use as borders. I was thinking of a smaller border on the inside and a wider border on the outside of the quilt. I just cannot decide which fabrics to use. The fabrics are to the right of the quilt and I did not get a full picture of them. They are incorporated in the log cabins so you can see the prints better there. If I use the softer blue, it might look blah, but if I use the brighter yellow it may pull out the yellow too much in the blocks. Maybe the softer yellow and blue? I want to keep the borders simple so I can hurry up and finish the quilt. Any ideas?

Notions and fabrics

2008-09-24T23:57:00.003-04:00

Thought I would share some recent purchases I made. The 5 inch squares and fat quarters were from ebay. In the next picture are items from the World Quilt Show and my stop at The Quilted Crow in Boxborough, Ma. which was on the way to our son's home in Westford, Ma. At the Quilted Crow, I purchased Jo Morton fat quarters and 2 patterns. If you are ever in the area you must stop at The Quilted Crow. It is not large but adorable.

One of the purchases that I am very glad I made was at the quilt show. Martelli Enterprises was there. I have seen their rotary cutter on the internet, but did not know anyone who had one. I could never find it in any local quilt store and was very happy to have the opportunity to see it in person. I bought the rotary cutter and have been using it often since I came home. What a pleasure. I have a problem with carpal tunnel syndrome and this cutter is a dream and cuts like butter. So far it has my endorsement as a great ergonomic cutter. Some of my other purchases were more reproduction fat quarters, a ruler that Bonnie Hunter recommends for one of her patterns, and a tube of gel that goes on the Featherweight gears. The bag and entrance fee to the quilt store were paid by my generous son.

If you noticed my messy cutting table, it is now clean and organized for my next project, a baby quilt. Yes, I finally decided on a pattern. I am in the process of finishing log cabin squares that measure 7.5". I also made a copy of part of the shower invitation which will be in the center of the quilt. I will share it with you once I have the top put together. Well, it is late and I am tired. I hope to have more pictures soon in my next post.

World Quilt Show

2008-09-21T20:36:00.007-04:00

We left on Friday to spend the weekend with our son in Westford Ma. On Saturday we drove to Manchester , NH, to see the World Quilt Show. It turned out to be a great day because while I attended the show, DH, my son and daughter-in-law were able to see a hugh car show right next to the hotel. I hope you enjoy the slide show of some of the quilts.

I've been gambling!

2008-09-17T22:19:00.005-04:00

In the last couple of days, I have given into gambling. I have never been on ebay, but in a moment of pure innocence I looked up fabric on ebay. I told myself I would just bid real low to see what happens and I got hooked. The results are the 5 " squares pictured here and 2 expected deliveries for another charm package and a set of fat quarters. I now have to stop cold turkey because ebay keeps calling to me and little purchases add up. Not to mention, do I need more fabric!!!

I have been doing some sewing in between babysitting. The quilting on the table runner is not going as fast I had hoped. It also is far from perfect. Since it is for my use, I won't critique it too much when I use it. (Who am I kidding. I will be annoyed every time I see the stitch that swayed off a little.) My mantra will be, I will not rip it out, I will not rip it out.

Tuesday evening I went to the library group and we will be making a table runner. It requires templates. One of the templates is down right confusing. Two of the woman, kept making mistakes trying to draw this particular template. I did not even try because I did not have the template sheet with me. Also, I think I can concentrate better at home. Then again, I do not have to make it. It is times like this that I love rotary cutters and strip piecing.

You know what, I have to give it a try and challenges are good for the brain.

Table Runner

2008-09-14T22:16:00.003-04:00

The last few days have been busy with things other than sewing. I was able to put a little bit of sewing in the evenings and organizing of my fabrics. Today I woke up very lathargic and had no energy. I slept on and off for a good part of the day. We were supposed to go to my daughter's for dinner, but for the first time I did not accept the invitation. I was just not myself. Later today, I made myself go into my sewing room and was able to finish the Thimbleberries table runner top. I was surprised at how big it is, but am glad because it will go on my dining room table for the holidays. I hope to have it quilted by machine tomorrow so I can sew on the binding at my quilting group on Tuesday evening.

I was able to borrow the quilting book from my library that was on Patti's blog http://quiltingisstillmypassion.blogspot.com/. She made the most adorable bear quilt with small log cabins. The book has some lovely quilts, but all those little log cabins look tedious. I would consider one of the quilts in the book for the upcoming shower, but am afraid that I would not finish it in time. I will put it on my list of to do quilts.

A Fall Day?

2008-09-10T22:19:00.013-04:00

For some reason I woke up today at 9:15 am. I never sleep that late. DH, who is usually still in bed when I wake, was awake having his coffee and reading the paper. He said he woke up at 9 am and I was snoring loudly. Come on, we know women do not snore! :-) I was really disappointed I slept so late because I had plans of working on my table runner early this morning. But what was really a bummer was the fact that it was beautiful outside and I wasted part of the morning sleeping. I immediately had my tea, ran around vacumming, and at 11 am had 2 big pancakes with fresh blueberries and walnuts. Blueberries and walnuts are supposed to be good for you. I do not think the butter and syrup count as good for you. I then took my shower, dressed and went for a walk with my husband.

I know Summer is not officially over, but today felt like a Fall day. Even my geraniums are starting to look spent as the days grow shorter. Maybe I should give them one last shot of plant food to revive them.

Our cat, Kitty, (We are very creative with our animals names) is also starting to show the changes of her coat which sheds at this time of year. Seems weird, but she sheds and then her coat comes in real thick for winter. After our walk, we went to our library, read some magazines, and I picked up a book they had on hold for me. I had them also send for a quilting book that I saw on one of the blogs (I cannot remember which one). The book had the cutest baby quilts made out of log cabins. When I get it, I will show it to you. Finally, we came home and I worked awhile in my sewing room. Sometimes I feel that DH would like me to spend time with him in front of the TV. Tonight, I decided to sit and watch Bones with him, but as soon as it was over I was out of there and back to sewing.

This is what I am working on.

The apples and trees will go around the table runner.

The tree pieces were getting a little confusing. I layed them out before piecing them and then kept them piled up when finished so I could refer to them for the next one. This would be a fast project except I have other projects that I am working on. I still do not know what kind of quilt I will be making for the baby shower. Once I decide, I will have to devote all my time to that quilt.

I am back!

2008-09-09T19:40:00.007-04:00

Officially, we were to visit our son in Ma. this past weekend, but thought it best to stay home. The weather forecast was not good and when one gets older driving can be more difficult. We were prepared to leave on Friday, clothes were ironed and packed. Mentally I was ready so when we made the decision to stay home, I went into a slump. We did not know what to do with ourselves. I think it was harder for my husband because he does not have any hobbies (besides playing the horses and lotto!). After cleaning, I finally slipped into my sewing room and escaped the disappointment. On Saturday, I went to my library group (some good came out of staying home) and sewed and chatted with the other women. There were only 8 of us. I guess the rest were afraid of the bad weather that had not come yet. Later that day, my husband, in his infinite wisdom, suggested we go out to dinner. Food seems to placate the soul so off we went in the rain. It is moments like these that I know that I will never be a size 10, 12 or 14, never mind 16!

Sunday was a surprise. DD called that morning and asked us to come for dinner because it was Grandparents day. She said it was last minute and would just be making what she had. It turned out to be a nice day, the food was great, and we enjoyed the grandchildren and their other grandparents.

I have some pictures of things I worked on. The threadworks are 2 of the free designs from Lynette Anderson's designs http://lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com/. I am not very good at needlework, but enjoyed it. There are more free designs, but I am a slow neddleworker.

The 2 blocks are numbers 8 and 9 from my library group. The table runner below them is not finished. It is from one of my thimbleberries books and will have apples around the border. So...., you see mentally I am back and sewing!

Block #3

2008-09-02T22:41:00.003-04:00

Here is block #3 from the Be Attitudes Quilt. I am behind and have to catch up. This block was very appropriate because I was losing my patience as I sewed and the fabric on the letters kept fraying. For me, the blanket stitch is a very slow process. Accuracy is hard as you approach turns. I guess by the time I finish these blocks, I should have a pretty good handle on the blanket stitch. (I hope!)

The baby quilt was delivered today so that is one more project out of the way. I still have not decided on what to make for the next baby shower in October. The father of the baby had called my daughter and asked about my making a quilt for his future son. She told him that she thought I was intending on making one for the shower. I guess I cannot get out of this one. I just need ideas for a sports theme that is still childish. I need inspiration my fellow bloggers!

Tomorrow is my library group so I will work there on their block of the month. Hope to have it finished and will post it.

We did attend a Labor Day barbecue at the home of one of my son's friends. Lots of food and a DJ. At one point, the DJ said he hoped everyone was having fun because the party was not over until 4 am . Could you imagine? I would just be turning over in my bed for a few more hours of sleep at 4 am and would be very annoyed to hear music until that time. Oh well, I am glad we do not live near the party. It was nice and quiet when I fell asleep at 10:30.

Between Bonnie Hunter and Judy Laquidara, there has been a mystery quilt and a block of the month. I want to do it all, but can not seem to fit it in with my other projects. There are bloggers who have participated. Check out Bonnie's and Judy's sites to see those who posted their work.

You have to see it to believe it.

2008-08-26T13:31:00.008-04:00

I was about to throw away the left over scraps from the baby quilt, when I thought about Bonnie Hunter's idea of salvaging the remaining fabric. I had fussy cuts all over the place and was not in the mood to spend too much time cutting out anything usable. I decided to just take the fabric, holes and all, and lay it down folded over as best I could. I took my rotary cutter and ruler and sliced across everything. I cannot get over all the strips, 2 1/2" and 1 1/2", of different lengths that came out of it. Even some 2 1/2 squares.

All I have left is this little pile to discard. Bonnie is right, at the cost of fabric we would be throwing out a lot of money already spent.

Murphy's law

2008-08-25T09:46:00.013-04:00

Well I worked on the little quilt yesterday for most of the afternoon. I did the quilting on my grace machine frame and it went okay. I still need practice.I decided to try to finish it last night by sewing on the binding. It was all sewed and as I turned it to the back, I noticed a tear in the front of the binding. Very unusual because I was using a good quality fabric and I never had that happen before. Frustrated, I decided to take part of the binding off and redo it. Of course, the patched area landed right on the mitered corner. After a few expletives, I continued to sew the rest of the binding down. When I reached the area, where the binding meets; guess what I found? Another tear in this piece. What was going on?! I lost my patience, attached the binding differently and hid the tear. Since I was tired and wanted this quilt done, I decided to sew it down by machine. What a mess! Needless to say, I will be undoing it and sewing it down by hand.

What is too many cherries!

2008-08-24T08:56:00.006-04:00

Since I do not have any quilts to show you, I thought I would show you my breakfast. Do you think I ate too many cherries? I feel a belly ache coming on.

My dog Maggie, aka Cujo, acts like she would like to take part in my cherries' breakfast. Old Chrissy has bed head. It is 9 am and she doesn't look like she wants to start her day yet.

Hope to finish my baby's quilt today and will post when it is done.

Lunch

2008-08-21T18:23:00.003-04:00

I finished the quilt top for my neighbors baby. It only measure 36" square, but he is only an infant. I will probably sandwich it tomorrow and try quilting on it. I will be binding it in the same color red as is in the print.

My niece treated me to lunch at the Jedidiah Hawkins Inn in S. Jameport, L.I.

http://www.jedediahhawkinsinn.com/index01.php

The Inn was a victorian home built in the 1800's. It was repaired and was used as a designer's showcase in 2005. It is now a restaurant and inn. If you click on the email address you can see several pictures of the home. The pictures do not do it justice. It is one of those must see in person places. It is pricey so I would only have lunch there.

A Beautiful Day

2008-08-19T20:48:00.010-04:00

Today the grandchildren came over and we watched them for awhile.

After dinner, DH and I went to the Bay to enjoy the beautiful scenery and cool breeze. The first thing we saw was this lovely flower growing among the reeds by the dock. The tide was unusually low and we were told it was a full moon tide. As you can see, the evening sky was clear. We were able to see Fire Island but unfortunately it is not visible in the picture. We stayed to see the sunset and considered ourselves lucky to be able to enjoy all this that is only minutes from our home.

I received an invitation to a baby shower
in October. My daughter told me that the new mother will be decorating the baby's room in an all sports theme. I am hoping that I can find some fabric or pattern for a quilt with that same theme. I would like it to be more babyish looking than the fabric I have seen for older boys. If any of you know of fabric that you think would be appropriate, please email me.

A little tidbit

2008-08-17T12:03:00.006-04:00

I had been looking for an end table for the guest room for sometime and did not want to spend a lot of money. Last summer there was a garage sale only a few blocks from my home. I saw this table and immediately bought it for $50.00. Inside was this great 301 singer sewing machine. It came with the table, storage stool and all the hardware. Included in the table was the original sales receipt. A Mrs. Holland bought it in Saratoga Springs, NY, in 1953 for $386. I was 9 years old. Her son told me she sewed on it every day until she died in her eighties. I hope she knows I am taking good care of it. By the way, it really sews well. Oh, that scale, I have not used it in sometime. It just makes me too fat. :-)

I have plenty of UFO's that need attention, but once again I am starting something new! My excuse is that it is an overdue quilt for my neighbor's new baby. The fabric is from my stash which I am really trying to use. I bought the fabric a year or two ago. Well, I better get back to work!

Frustrated

2008-08-15T19:38:00.004-04:00

Here it is Friday and I have not blogged in a week. You know why? I have been sewing and ripping out the little orange block I had made from scraps. I ran into so many problems! I used spray adhesive to keep the sandwich together, I am not too impressed with it. Then I machine quilted a spider web from the center out. First I had the spaces too close together, so rip, rip, rip. Then I had to figure out where to stop and start on either side of the appliques. After all that, the stitching was hardly visible. I guess I should have used a heavier black thread. Oh well. I also wrote the words Boo on the top and bottom border in an orange thread. Also not very visible. Well, this was a practice quilt and I did learn from it. I did put on the binding with the glue technique. I think I really like doing it this way and will continue to use it.

On a good note, I went to Joann's. They have their thread for 50% off and I bought some to try on my grace frame. Aren't the colors great! If I was daring and had more money, I would have bought some of their bright colors. I ran into Joann Powell who used to be the president of the East End Quilters Guild and had one of my favorite quilts in their show. You can see her quilt in my posting of the quilt show. Anyway, she saw me buying thread and got the bug when she saw the colors. Her picks were bright and cheery colors. Hmmm, maybe I should go back tomorrow and buy bright and cheery?

I have to babysit tomorrow evening so I hope to get some cutting done tonight and maybe some piecing.

Fun purchases

2008-08-09T10:40:00.005-04:00

Well, DH gave me a gift certificate for my birthday to http://www.patchworks.com/ and cash so I could buy whatever I wanted. I have no complaints! These are the gifts I love because now that I am retired, I can use them to take classes or buy quilting stuff. We also went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Chachama Grill. It sounds like a burrito place but is far from that. It is a little pricey for us, but we go for the price fixed meal of $38.00 I had an appetizer of crab and avocado salad, a main course of pan seared shrimp over purple peruvian mashed potatoes and coconut flan for dessert. DH had oysters rubio, loin of pork and a warm chocolate cake. My mouth is watering and it is only 10 am.

Now down to business. I shopped! I went to Patchworks and bought 2 yards each of their $4.00 sale fabric. The blue floral and the light blue fabrics are Danielles P & B textile. The dark green is Thimbleberries Fancy Free. The fat quarters are a child's novelty print of fireman and coordinating fabric. Should make an adorable quilt for a child. My husband is a retired NYC fireman so maybe one of my grandchildren will get it.

I also bought from Connecting Threads 48 fat quarters of their sale Fall Country Essentials and purchased an additional 2 yards of their pumpkin print, for borders. Maybe I should have bought 3 yards? I have really tried to not buy fabric, but, hey, it was my birthday. Isn't that a time for frivolous purchases!?

Today, we will meet with the family for lunch at a local Italian restaurant and celebrate with them.

Today is my birthday!

2008-08-07T08:15:00.003-04:00

You think this cake has too many calories!! It is a good thing it is not sitting in my house. I've been known to quietly eat a whole cake in small increments throughout the day. Well, maybe not a whole cake, but close to it!

Well, I am 64 and still quilting. That's a good thing!

Playing with my grace machine frame

2008-08-05T17:55:00.009-04:00

I played around with my little grace frame last night and quilted this little lap quilt. I took a picture of my bedroom so you could see that the roses came from sheets I bought a few years ago and made into valances and table top and at one point had covered a headboard. I recently bought a new headboard and used the fabric to incorporate into this little quilt. To give you an idea of what the head board looked like covered by fabric, I added a picture of our blue guest room. These were also sheeets. I never got around to covering the legs.

In this room, I also have the bottom of a treadle machine that is used as a stand for a small tv and lamp. Unfortunately, I foolishly threw away the cabinet and machine because they were in such poor condition. Sorry the pictures are not in order.

I wanted to add that the binding on the quilt was made using elmer's glue. This technique is from a video from Sharon Shamber. I think it is great.

Finished

2008-08-03T13:45:00.004-04:00

Well, I finished the quilt on the way to and back from the baby shower. Yes, I was too insecure to give it as a gift. My daughter gets mad at me because I always feel like my quilts are not good enough. I know the imperfections. Anyway I quilted it on my Grace frame but had a lot of trouble with the new thread I used. It is a rainbow thread from Superior and it just kept shredding and breaking. The quilting is very simple since I am fairly new to this type of machine quilting.

When I took the quilt out in the car to sew down the binding, I noticed a slight musty smell. My sewing room is in the basement and some of the batting has been around a while. Do you wash your quilts before giving them as gifts? I would love to have some feed back on this from my fellow bloggers. This one for sure will have to be washed!

Undecided

2008-07-31T20:09:00.005-04:00

I am going to a baby shower on Saturday and purchased a gift. Of course, at the last minute I decided to make a baby quilt. I used material from my stash and had to work with what I had. As you can see from the close up, I fussy cut some of the border print and placed into the design. What I am unhappy about is that the border print is not all the same. As you can see, the top and bottom are different than the sides. I just did not have enough fabric to make the borders alike. Now looking at the quilt, I wished I had put the longer border on the sides. I can't make up my mind if I should go ahead and quilt it, hoping it will look better finished. What to do? I will let you know by Saturday what I decided.

Unproductive weekend

2008-07-29T22:16:00.005-04:00

My brother-in-law came to our home for the weekend. Without going into details, it was a difficult time. He is 59 years old and has wasted his life and continues on the path to destruction. I pity him and the awful life he lives. As a family, since he was 16, we all tried to help him the best we knew how. Through the years we had to let go. It is a shame and such a waste of a human life.

On Monday I had my niece for lunch and enjoyed her company. Tonight I have my youngest granddaughter sleeping over. She is such a good baby.

I was able to put together block # 7 from my Wednesday group and took a picture for you. The close up shows a flowered fabric. I purchased this some years back at the Lowell museum store in Massachusetts. I also purchased the lamp in Lowell. It is made of the spools used in the old textile mills.

So why did I purchase this?

2008-07-23T20:01:00.006-04:00

I have been kind of tired today so did not get a lot done. Yesterday, was DH's birthday so my daughter and her family, my son, Jimmy, his girlfriend and her son celebrated with us. We sat down to a big dinner and then sang Happy Birthday to the now 64 year old. DH is two weeks older than I am so 64 for me will be here soon. Where does time go?

This is #6 block from my Wednesday group. I had it finished when I noticed that 2 of the corner units were in backwards. I can't tell you how many times I looked at this block and did not notice it until I went to take a picture for the blog. Of course I had to rip it out before putting it on the blog. It now is a bit wonky.

My 8 month old granddaughter slept at out house last night so this morning we drove her to my daughter's home. We stopped at Kohl's on the way home and I saw this table. It was adjustable in height and is meant for a computer. Well, I told myself, I could use it for my serger or my featherweight. So....on impulse I bought it for 23.99 and a 15% senior discount. Did I really need this? Oh well it is put together and we will see.

As we started to leave Kohl's we heard thunder and torrential rains came down. We waited a while before DH ran out to get the car. He went to the wrong parking spot and then had the wrong car keys ready. Needless to say, he was wet to his undies. I only had to run to the car from the store front, but I did not escape from the rain. We shivered all the way home.

Wow

2008-07-22T09:48:00.002-04:00

I just ran across the video for the new Bernina 830. What a dream! It has Pfaff's dual feed, a larger bobbin, large throat. I can only imagine how much it cost! Oh well, I will be satisfied with my old Bernina 930 and 1630, BUT, if I hit the mega million, I am buying one. One can dream. Check it out below and don't drool too much.

http://www.bernina8series.com/default-n30-sE.html#/MostSpace

The weekend

2008-07-20T20:05:00.003-04:00

I did not get to do any sewing this weekend. My girlfriend, Arlene, called and told me she was going to be on the Island this weekend . We have been friends since we were 14. She was my maid of honor and I was her maid of honor. Arlene lost her husband in a tragic accident over 5 years ago. She has 4 beautiful daughters. She is a strong person, but would now like someone special in her life. Her children are grown and it can get lonely. I have always admired Arlene, after Bob died she went on a trip to Italy alone. She keeps active and is fun.

We made plans for her to sleep over Saturday and go home today. Last night we decided to go to the movies and we saw Mamma Mia. I loved it. It was funny and everyone laughed in the audience. Pierce Brosnan sang off key but it was still fun. If you go to see it, do not leave at the end. People started leaving when all of sudden the singing continued and there was more. I heard this movie did not get good reviews. The scenery was beautiful, the cast funny and the music was fun. I give it thumbs up! Of course, I think a 50 and older female crowd might enjoy it more. The movie theater was in the town of Sayville, so after the movie, we walked on main street bought a drink at Starbucks and sat outside the cafe. It was so nice to talk with an old friend.

Since I have nothing new to show you, I thought something from the past would be good. The appliqued quilt was made in the 80's and finally 3 years ago I was able to cover my little granddaughter with it. The dolls I made quite some time ago.

DH and I decided to go down by the Great South Bay. The wind was blowing hard. I took several pictures but posted only one. Since it was not a clear day, you cannot see Fire Island in the horizon.

A little is better than nothing.

2008-07-15T23:32:00.004-04:00

I did get a little done today. Remember that orange stash buster? Well, I appliqued some bats and a black cat on it. I intend to use black thread to quilt it; perhaps, in a web design. I also traced the ark animals from Lynette Anderson's site, a total of 5, so I can take them with me and stitch when I have a few moments. You can hardly see the kangaroo tracing.

Poor husband prepared today for his first colonoscopy tomorrow. He admitted that drinking the cocktail was pretty nasty. I had mine 2 weeks ago and he laughed when I gagged on that stuff. There is one thing I do not understand and I intend to ask the doctor. I had to drink a 10 oz. bottle of citrate of magnesia and a gallon of the awful tasting drink. The doctor had my husband take pills and only drink a half gallon of that drink. It must a man thing!

Well other than going for a walk with my husband and shopping at the supermarket, I do not know where the day went. Life can certainly slip by quickly!

I have been stitching!

2008-07-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

The week goes by so fast. I have been busy in my sewing room. Saturday I went to my library group and worked on their block of the month. When I came home, we went to a barbecue. Today I continued working on my applique block of the month and will share with you the second block. I have two more to do in order to catch up. Sometimes one needs a break from the sewing machine and too much sitting. DH and I went out to dinner and then went down to the Bay and walked around. It was breezy and beautiful. We said that the next time we would bring our chairs and sit for awhile. Maybe I could do some stitching by the water. I must take pictures of our Great South Bay to share with you. Next time!

A little progress

2008-07-08T22:30:00.003-04:00

I was finally able to start on one of the applique blocks of the months. I was hoping to stay home today and work on these blocks most of the day, but daughter came over with the grandchildren so we went out for sushi. The youngest, 8 months old, is staying over tonight with us. Our daughter will come back tomorrow and spend the day again. Wednesday evening we will be picking up our grandson on the ferry from New London, Ct., and drive him the following morning to catch the ferry to Fire Island. Thursday we will have our 2 granddaughters sleep over until Friday. I also will be going to an applique class on Thursday. My life is full and sewing has to take second place at times like this. That's okay, I will catch up on my applique blocks!

I found that tilting my sewing machine made it easier to see the needle while I did the blanket stitch. This is the first block in the series and I have to do 2 more to catch up. I will receive the 4th block on Thursday. I love applique and think I will incorporate more of it in my quilts. Like everything I was intimidated by it, but once I started it wasn't so bad.

Freda's Hive has a great pieced flag on her blog. It is made of 2" squares and is a great stash buster. She has it hanging under her front porch and tells me that it has not faded. The key is to keep it out of the sun. Be sure to take a look at her blog.

A Star Is Born

2008-07-06T19:49:00.004-04:00

We laughed, I cried. It was such a joy to see the little ones performing. One little one had to be carried off the stage because she started crying. Another little girl picked up her skirt and hid her face during the dance. They all were so precious. It was a great day!

Not much to show

2008-07-05T22:42:00.003-04:00

I did not get much sewing done, but did finish the top of the cheater blocks.

I hate to complain, but I will!! The last few days have been very costly. Our 2 little dogs were overdue to go to the vets. We finally brought them for their check ups to the tune of $407.00.(Now you know why they were overdue!) Of course, this started a roll. The following day the cesspool backed up and the cesspool man walked away with $410.00 of our money. There goes my wish for a new refrigerator with a bottom freezer!!

DH's lawnmower stopped working too, but he knew it was going. Well, our middle son, Jimmy, came to the rescue and let his dad borrow his lawnmower. Jimmy pushed the lawnmower into our garage and some gigantic bugs came hopping out of his lawnmower. They looked like something out of a science fiction movie. DH tried to get them out of the garage but only could get one. I guess the creatures ( could they be grasshoppers) are taking over my home as we speak. I hate bugs!!

Oh well, "life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get!"

Tomorrow should be fun. We are going to the dance recital of our 3 year old granddaughter, Madeline. I am sure we will enjoy the little ones as they perform for their families.

Recycle, recycle

2008-06-30T11:02:00.006-04:00

I thought it would be fun to show you some of the things I use for quilting that are free. I take the foam meat trays, wash them in the dishwasher, and use them to lay down strips that I am using in a quilt. Easy to grab them and sew away. The little trays are good to put almost anything in, but I keep them near my machine to throw in those little half square triangles that are left over from sewing. Talk about recycling!! The triangles idea came from Bonnie of Quiltville. I think most of you have heard about using chopsticks, but you know they really work.

Has it been a week already!

2008-06-28T09:12:00.006-04:00

Time flys when you are having fun. Fun is quilting. I guess I was having too much fun because I did not realize I had not posted in a week.

Here are some pictures of things I have worked on. The purple squares will be a fast quilt because I am only putting borders around the cheater squares. The green and orange tops are stashbusters. I used Quiltville's patterns to use up some stash. I am considering tea dying the green top because it seems too something (word used when I cannot explain why I do not like it). I am not an orange person but do like the orange top. I am considering appliqueing a pumpkin and black cat to the lower right corner. This will make it a Fall quilt.

I am still plugging away on my Quiltathon blocks and slowly making progress. I must, must, must work on my applique blocks for my class! Sigh, I think I am afraid of starting because I will not do a good job. The backgrounds are done, the applique cut, but no appliqueing yet.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Blues Clues Came to the Party

2008-06-22T18:52:00.005-04:00

Blues Clues made it to the party. An hour before the party there was a huge thunderstorm with lightening and sheets of rain. The rest of the day was beautiful. Madeline was so excited about her party and was non-stop the whole day. Her aunt Michelle made the great birthday cake and a friend of my daughter's made the delicious cookies of dog prints and 3's. There was pizza and chicken and, of course, salad to make you feel that you were eating healthy!

The excitement is now over and grandma can get back to quilting.

An older quilt

2008-06-22T07:54:00.002-04:00

This quilt was made from a pattern in a Thimbleberries' book. The pillow also is a pattern from one of her books. I had quilted most of the quilt but became impatient to finish and decided to just tie the borders. Of course, looking back I should have just quilted all of it. Unfortunately, I can do very little hand needle work now because my fingers and hand become very numb after a while. Bummer!

The picture does not do the colors justice. It looks rather washed out.

Today is my granddaughter's Blues Clues birthday party. She was 3 on Friday. Should be a fun time. I will take a picture of her Blues Clues birthday cake made by her Aunt Michelle and show them next time.

My nieces work and a quilt

2008-06-20T09:02:00.004-04:00

I wanted you to see the work of my niece, Suzy. These are gifts from her for various holidays. I do have more but will share it at another time. My niece is very talented. She had me go with her to a painting guild. It was fun but I had to choose between finding time to paint or quilt. As you know quilting won out. The rag quilt is one of 3 that I made. While I like rag quilts, I do not like the lint!

If you look closely, you will see the pledge I used to dust the end table. Since you are company, I had to polish and straighten up!! :)

Slow but Steady

2008-06-19T19:04:00.004-04:00

This was part of my day. I had to get blood work done for my colonoscopy and my checkup by my surgeon. It is always a problem because they can only draw blood from one arm. I have always told them that the only place that works is my hand. Of course, today this was not the case. After trying 4 times in various veins, the technician said she was determined to find a vein that worked. I laughed and said, thanks!! She did apologize and said she did not mean it like that. We laughed. What else can you do when being tortured. Thank God, the fifth time worked.

I had been busy babysitting and do not have anything much to show. I have been working slowly on the blocks from the Quiltathon given by Patchwork Times. I am using batiks from my stash.I guess I am not Quiltathon material because I cannot work at quilting as as fast as others. I admire the quilters in blogland who turn out so many quilts in a short time. I will have to get motivated because there are many different quilts I want to try.

At the quilt show, I bought black and white fat quarters; 8 total. I am anxious to use it, but have not found a pattern I like. Any suggestions out there in blogland?

Prize winning quilt

2008-06-14T08:13:00.002-04:00

If you need a lift, just go to Mark Lipinski's blog. Check out the link to the quilt from the NJ quilt show.

Goodbye Mike

2008-06-14T07:35:00.004-04:00

My brother-in-law was buried on Wednesday, so I have been in a little bit of a funk for a few days. Funerals are a mixed bag. You get to see friends and family that you have not seen in many years. There is laughter and memories, but then there is the sadness of saying goodbye. I had to remind myself that life is a gift and we should enjoy it and not waste time dwelling on the inevitable. As a breast cancer survivor, I have been lucky. DH says, it is a good day if you wake up in the morning, make the most of it.

Last of the quilt show pictures

2008-06-10T12:53:00.007-04:00

This picture of the appliqued quilt, does not do justice to the exquisite work done. Each bird is layered applique to create the colors of the birds. I do not think I would have the patience to create something like this.
The second quilt was a memory quilt. The third quilt was a fun quilt, bright and cheerful. The fourth quilt was appliqued for the quilt maker's son who is a veterinarian. The last quilt would be great for using up stash.

I hope you enjoyed the quilts!

More of the Quilt show

2008-06-08T19:41:00.009-04:00

This is one of my favorite quilts. It was hand painted by the former president of the guild, JoAnne Powell. The painting is of her granddaughter, Hazel. If you double click on the picture you can see a closeup of the quilt. JoAnne Powell is from the same town as I am. If you have the March/April issue of Quilter's Home, you can see her son, Reid, on page 15 under the heading Marry a Quilter's son. Hope you enjoy the other quilts. The one that looks like a chinese latern was made by a 15 year old girl and won a ribbon as you can see. I have 4 more that I will post later on. Enjoy.

ELIQ's quilt show

2008-06-07T16:34:00.006-04:00

My camera is not the best but Frieda's Hive blog reminded me to take some pictures. It was hard to choose from so many beautiful quilts but here are a few samples. I took closeups so you could see the detail. The ladybug is all appliqued. I loved the colors of the squares. My camera did not do it justice. The asian quilt was taught by Mark Lipinski and used dimensional pinheels. Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville would appreciate the tiny leftover half square triangle quilt. The applique quilt was wonderful. I tried to take a closeup so you could see the details. There will be more pictures in my next post.

Quilt show

2008-06-06T08:50:00.002-04:00

This weekend is the Eastern Long Island Quilt Guild's show. It will take place at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead. I have plans to attend on Saturday. I usually come back all enthused and ready to tackle my quilting. That's a good thing!

It will conflict with my Saturday library group, but maybe I can show up late because we are driving out there early in the morning. I will be looking forward to seeing the vendors and looking at fabric and notions. My friend calls me the notion queen.

The weather is supposed to be hot and humid this weekend so going early is good. Anyone out there have plans to attend the show?

gardens

2008-06-03T18:01:00.003-04:00

I forgot to tell you to look at Mark Lipinski's garden. It is lovely. If you need a good laugh, read his posts. He is so funny. He has the blog from pickle road.
http://marklipinskisblog.wordpress.com

block

2008-06-03T17:45:00.005-04:00

This is the 5 th block for our group's block of the month. I took a picture of a notion I bought at Patchworks in Sayville. It was only a $1.50 but it is a great seam ripper. I should know because I am a master at having to rip out seams!

I thought I would include pictures of my lone peony flower and irises.

Shower

2008-06-01T19:58:00.003-04:00

I thought I would post a picture of a quilt I decided to make at the last minute for a baby shower. In order to get this done, I had to put aside the Quiltathon quilt. Judy will be taking the instructions off the internet in a week, so I better hanker down and work on it next week.

The baby shower was for my nephew's wife. The birth of this new baby is bittersweet, but life is not always a happy ending. I hope our family will be able to have contact and love this new baby to pieces.

The shower was at a Chinese buffet. The food was good! One problem, I can not quench my thirst.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

2008-05-29T11:10:00.005-04:00

Well, DH went fishing yesterday and will be home tonight. Yesterday was wonderful because I had the whole day to quilt and not worry if he needed attention. I worked on the quilt from Patchworks Times in between washing clothes and treating myself to dinner from a local restaurant.

This morning I felt guilty about neglecting the house and decided to clean before continuing my quiltathon. After all, DH did call last night and asked me what I had done during the day. I told him I did a little sewing and things around the house so the house being clean will reinforce my story.

I posted pictures of my clean living room because it is not always like this. The quilt on the chair was made with Thimbleberries fabric. Are you getting the idea that I have a thing about Thimbleberries. Anyway, this was my first attempt at using my 1630 stitches on a quilt. I ran into trouble because the quilt was already sandwiched and the stitches caused puckering. Has anyone done this and been successful? I like the look and am wondering that maybe I will have to use stitches only on the top piece and then quilt it. Would love some advice if anyone out there has done this.

DH will be home tonight and my mini vacation will be over. You know I kind of miss him.

Well, all I have left to do is wash the kitchen floor and I am free to sew!!!

2008-05-27T09:21:00.001-04:00

Operator Error

2008-05-27T09:02:00.002-04:00

I have not posted about my progress on the Patchworks Times Quiltathon but have been working on it. I am just slower than most. All my pieces were cut and ready to go. I have never used my rec rulers before so I looked carefully at the instructions on Patchworks site. I cut my strips for the stars and proceeded to piece them. It was not working. After several log on's to the tutorial, I proceeded again. It was not working. Saturday night I could not sleep and kept going over and over why it was not working. After several hours, I finally fell asleep. My one dream was not about the rec rulers. I dreamt that Jay Lo and Mark Anthony asked me to babysit for their children. I was torn because I would not have time to quilt never mind figuring out these rec rulers. I also wondered how much they would pay. I think I decided to not babysit.

Back to the rec rulers. The following day I looked at the pieces again. Aha, no wonder it did not work! I cut one of the strips too big. Figures, operator error!! Don 't get old! The mind does not compute like it used to.

I hope to have these stars done soon, that is if I am not busy watching Jay Lo's children!!

Early start

2008-05-24T15:53:00.005-04:00

Well I started planting flowers at 7 am this morning. Since I had all this energy, I did some work on the back. I want to share some pictures of my backyard and covered patio. The wicker furniture still needs to painted and the patio given a good cleaning. There is pollen everywhere. I have to confess that I fell asleep on the corner wicker chair. It was so comfy and I was so tired, so an afternoon nap felt good.

Maybe some quilting this evening.

And then there were two!

2008-05-22T18:42:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would share what I have been going through since the end of April. I purchased a Zen V plus mp3 player about 8 months ago and was in love. I was able to download books from the library and listen to books while I quilted, cleaned or drove to my daughter's to babysit. Then all of a sudden it died. Of course, the warranty for free labor was only for 90 days so I had to return the mp3 player and pay $25.00 to have them look at it under the remaining warranty.

I was disappointed it only lasted 8 months but sometimes you get a lemon. After a sales person told me the refurbished players were like new, I showed good faith and bought one to have while the other one was being fixed. With tax and shipping, I could have almost bought a new one. Well, it came and guess what; it did not work. Now I was really frustrated. I called and they told me to send it back and a new one would be on its way. Don't think so. Let's see when I called to find out where it was, I was told they had to wait to get refurbished ones. Not true they were still selling them on the internet. After many long distance calls I was told they would send me another one and I would have it in 2 to 3 days. When it did not come they told me an error was made and they credited my account . I had to rebuy another one and they needed my credit card number again. Well, finally one came this past Friday and the other on Monday. Of course, nothing is easy and there was letter stating that if I did not return the original mp3 player in 15 days, they would charge my credit card. They had received it on April 28th! Another long distance call and I was told to disregard the letter. Now I have to keep a close eye on my credit card and hope there will be no more mistakes.

By the way, they both work!

We are home

2008-05-18T18:53:00.004-04:00

We went to the Princeton, NJ, area to see our grandson play soccer. Thanks to our son and his wife, we stayed at the Weston Hotel in Forrestal Village. What a beautiful spot. I foolishly did not take any pictures of the village. It was built to house outlets and stores but turned out to be busy only in the summer months. Many of the stores did not survive. Now businesses like architects, banks, etc are coming in. We were able to walk to one of the local restaurants, enjoy dinner with wine and not have to worry about driving back. The weather was beautiful until we drove home this evening. Lots of rain!! Hope the ride for our oldest son and family goes well. Their trip home will take at least 5 1/2 hours.

I asked about quilt shops in the area, but the hotel did not know of any. That was my only disappointment.

My youngest son came to the house several times a day to let out our 2 dogs. Unfortunately, one of the dogs must have been mad at our leaving them behind. There was a small present for us when we came home.

Scraps

2008-05-16T19:58:00.002-04:00

I had some leftover scraps from some Aunt Grace type fabrics and made this top. The binding will also be from the same scraps.

I haven't done much quilting these past 2 days because I have been babysitting for my two little munchkins. They are such a joy. Our 16 year old grandson is in a traveling soccer team and will be playing in New Jersey this weekend. DH and I will be going to see him. I hope there will be a quilt shop in Princeton, NJ!

Did cut out the fabric for my block of the month. Hope to have that up for you to see.

sewing room

2008-05-13T18:43:00.009-04:00

After seeing Bonnie's (Quiltville) wonderful sewing room, I thought I would share pictures of my sewing room with you. My sewing room is in the dungeon but it is a finished dungeon. I just recently moved my cutting table to the adjoining room to allow me more room and access to my design wall. (My husband says I am slowly taking over the area downstairs.) As you can see, the machine quilting frame takes up a lot of room.

Oops! I duplicated one of the pictures and did not know how to delete it. Anyone out there know how? Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Anyone out there have any to show me? I love looking at other people's sewing rooms!

Finished

2008-05-12T23:37:00.004-04:00

My daughter asked me if my grand daughters could sleep over Thursday through Friday. I panicked inside but I love having them so I said yes. This meant I had less time to finish the quilt by Mother's Day. Mother's Day morning I woke up early to try to finish before the brunch at 10:30 at my daughter's home. Needless to say, I had to give it to her with only part of the binding done. She loved it anyway. I took it back home and it is now done. Tomorrow I will bring it to her home for good. I am not one for labels but decided to put a label in this quilt. The pictures are not very clear. A photographer I am not.

Mother's Day

2008-05-10T19:55:00.003-04:00

This featheweight was my mother's. I remember watching her sew slipcovers on this little machine on the kitchen table. Prom dresses, clothes, all appeared magically from under the needle. It seemed so easy.

As my mother became older, she often complained of back pain after hours of sewing. There were no adjustable chairs or special sewing tables. Yet, I have all the latest sewing aides, but could not duplicate the work my mother did on this featherweight.

My mother has been gone so many years, but I still miss her. Along with wonderful memories, she left me a part of her with this little machine.

Happy Mother's Day Mom.

Block of the Month

2008-05-08T23:05:00.002-04:00

Wednesday evening I went to my quilting group at the library. These are 4 of the blocks we have worked on so far. I have the instructions for the 5th block and will share it with you when I am done. Most of us are using material from our stash. My blocks have a lot of Thimbleberries in them.

Today I went to the block of the month at Pieceful Quilting in Riverhead. We are working on Be Attitudes, all applique by Nancy Holversen. It is an adorable quilt. Hopefully, I will have a block to show you soon.

Quilt for an Hour

2008-05-07T10:20:00.004-04:00

Another first for me. I have signed up for Patchwork Times Quilt for an Hour on the internet. See my side bar for favorite blogs to sign up.

Klutz

2008-05-07T08:23:00.003-04:00

Well, the quilt is not done. As I was ripping out some stitches, I was able to stab myself really well in the crease of my thumb. Boy, did it hurt to pull out the seam ripper. Needless to say, I will probably not get much done on the quilt today.

Not much accomplished

2008-05-06T17:56:00.002-04:00

Well, I had hoped to have a picture of my quilt all finished. I loaded it on my frame and started quilting. It looked awful so I am going to pin it on the frame and take it to my sewing machine and quilt in the ditch. Who knows, maybe I will have a picture ready by late tonight!

Just had to share. I started a diet this morning. By 11:30 am I had eaten a piece of toast, 2 bowls of granola with milk. It was skim milk! :) and I finished leftover chicken stew. Size 5 is very far away at this rate. Who am I kidding! I would settle for a 14!

I am off to the dungeon to work on my quilt.

picture

2008-05-05T19:18:00.002-04:00

Thought I would try sharing a first picture on my blog. This is a quilt for my daughter for Mother's Day. Now I have to try to get it finished by this Sunday!! I used a Moda jelly roll and some leftovers of Thimbleberries fabrics. I will have to learn how to use my camera to take better pictures!

This is a first

2008-05-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I bit the bullet and started a blog!!! I hope to have pictures of quits that I have finished or hope to finish. I have been an on and off again quilter since the 80's. Before I retired, I purchased a Grace machine quilting frame and very slowly have tried to teach myself how to use it. I know practice, practice. It's the starting that is hard!!!