Return to Sender Progress

So the sun was shining on my sewing machine the other day telling me to get back in here and finish this darn "Return to Sender" quilt. Seems like I've been working on this forever.

So I spied all the piles of squares that I have been working on diligently in recent weeks and started to put them together.

I made this mostly from my stash which makes me happy. You'd think I'd have no stash left after all the cutting I did, but this didn't even make a dent in it. I added borders after this picture was taken. It's off at my quilter's now and since it's made in Christmas colors it'll be great at Christmas time.

Now I can take down this pattern from above my machine and put something new there. By the way, these magnetic strips I got at Staples and mounted on the wall above my machine are really handy for holding pattern directions. Right there in my face so I never have to make a mistake and never use a seam ripper. Right-that'll happen!

I'm Here-Can You See Me Waving?

Honest to goodness, I'm still here. I think after being in winter prison here in NH for such a horrible winter, when the first hint of spring emerged we were all like in the Shawshank Redemption, outside with our arms raised to the sky saying, "I'm Free!" So hubby and I, but especially hubby, have been getting caught up on outdoor chores and I have been enjoying the walks with Baby C when I babysit him. I think we are almost due for a post from Baby C since he is one now. Maybe this Friday. He has changed so much since that first post last year.

Most of the time has been spent at work. I work at a college and the end of the year is so busy. But graduation happened Saturday and new shiny faces will be here in August and I have the summer off starting next week. A new cycle begins. Perhaps I can get to the sewing machine and finish Fruit of the Loom, or whatever I end up calling that quilt. Plus many other UFO's that need attention.

So I promise, more posts coming. Until then, happy quilting, or thrifting, or knitting or whatever you do for fun.

Ginger Belle

My Ginger Belle quilt came back from my awesome long arm quilter today. She is a very creative woman. I never tell her what to do on my quilts or what color thread I want and she never disappoints. It takes a lot of trust with someone to let them take your creation and hope they see your vision but Susan always does.
This quilt came out more autumn looking that I expected so she took it from there. I used almost all scraps from my stash in this one.
She used a wonderful leaf pattern that I think looks perfect.
And I am happy to report that our winter/fall-like weather left us for at least today. It was 59 degrees on my car thermometer so I did what all New Englanders do when it gets blazing hot like that-they open their car windows and sun roof! It was also Red Sox opening day at Fenway Park so spring must be here. If that's the case why do I still have snow in my front yard?

The Cure for Cabin Fever

Still snowing off an on here if you can believe it. Cabin fever has set in but a good cure is to pull out some happy fabrics and start sewing. I have actually got all the blocks ready to go together for this quilt but I needed to get something done quick for a pick me up. So I did another one of this pattern that I have done here and here. Since heating fuel is so expensive we tend to keep the house cool so I sit with one of these quilts on my legs at night. It's the perfect size. This is my spring version. I know I'll be making other versions too.

I found this delightful tulip fabric at a local quilt shop in the bargain corner for $2.99 and the rest of the fabrics are from my stash.
My favorite long arm quilter once again did a wonderful job and I am in the process of sewing on the binding.
Now if only spring would show it's face and we'd see some of these little bumble bees I'd be a happy camper! Until then I'll be in the sewing room.

Sitting and Sewing

Still very winter here in NH so I have been getting a lot of time behind the sewing machine when I'm not at work. I've been working on my Ginger Belle quilt and it is coming along. Had to make a lot of these 3 1/2" blocks........

so that I could put them together into these two blocks.

I have managed to use a lot of scraps up which is a good feeling. The quilt is definitely getting an autumn look to it. Can't wait to put it all together. That's what I like about quilting; you start with a big pile of fabric, you cut it up and make a mess, then you make order out of the mess and magic happens!

In the Meantime....

Thanks for all the opinions on the last post about Extreme Home Makeover. As a last note about this subject, it was in our local paper this week that the new home owners are going to auction off all the artwork and some of the accessories in the home to help other families who lost homes so that is good. I'm done ranting!

On to other things like quilts. I have started a new quilt. The pattern is Ginger Belle by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, whose patterns I love. So I've been sorting, and ironing and cutting fabric as I am trying to only use scraps.
But it's not all scraps as I bought some backing fabric and binding fabric from the Rhubarb and Ginger line from Moda that was used in the original. I'm using the excess of this fabric in the field of the top. It would be a lot easier to start with nice neat fat quarters as far a cutting goes but I am determined to use my stash.
So after work each day I've been sorting and ironing and got to some sewing this weekend, in between my SIL's surprise 50th birthday party and a football game I'd rather not remember.
Now would someone please come over and refold the leftovers and put them away? One of my cats keeps eyeing this pile as a nice place for a nap.

A Cold Breezy Day

A very cold day here in the north so a good day to watch the Patriots and sew the binding on this quilt which I got back from my quilter. I think she did an excellent job picking a design and a thread color for this colorful quilt. It sure feels good over my legs keeping them warm as I sew. It's always about this time of year I dream of an escape to Florida!
I also got my Valentine quilt back and once again she did a great job with a cute heart design in red and I have already sewn the binding on this one. I love sitting with it on my lap in the evening when I am unwinding.I haven't been in too many thrift or second hand stores recently but I did find this drying rack recently that I am using as a quilt rack. I love the green color of the chippy paint and it's perfect for my smaller quilts in my family room.


So that's about it. I have been very busy at work as second semester starts at the college where I am employed so that's the excuse I'm using for the lack of posts. That's the curse and the blessing of working in academics. You have very busy times rewarded by long stretches of time off. I'm counting the days until the next stretch of time off. Spring break-soon, very soon.

Primary Day and a Valentine Quilt

It's primary day in NH and despite it being 7 degrees last week, today it was 61 degrees! I know that won't last. Anyways, there was an amazing amount of people voting when I went to vote. Politics is a very interesting process in NH and I like all the excitement. I won't miss the 40 calls a day from politicians but I will miss the occasional encounter with a candidate.

I was supposed to go back to work yesterday but when I got there Fox News Radio was using my work area for broadcasting so I got to come home and enjoy two more days off from work. The presidential debates were at the college where I work last Saturday and Fox News has been there ever since. I'll be glad when they are gone-I miss work and they take all the good parking spaces!

But I have used the time to finish up another quilt-this one for Valentines Day. It's the same pattern as a Christmas one I made that I wrote about here and here. I love this pattern and am planning on making a series of them with holiday themes.
I started with this wonderful Marcus Brothers Valentines Day fabric by the same designers as the Christmas fabric I used previously. It has poems from old valentines and wonderful vintage images all over. The line is called "Sweet Valentine" if you are looking for it and the designers are Edelen Wille.
I also used some of the companion prints in this line and I especially like the toile like fabric.
So off to my quilter it went and back to work I go tomorrow.

Snuggled In

No offense to Kim at Daisy Cottage who complained about it being in the 30's in Florida this morning, but it is mighty cold here in NH-below zero. We have had yet more snow-one storm on December 30th and one on New Year's Day-so we are snuggled in with the wood stove going trying to stay warm. I took this picture at dusk yesterday to show you that the snow is half way up the windows on the lower floor.

But it's nice to be still be on vacation from work. I got some extra time off because the presidential candidates are having a debate this Saturday at the college where I work and we got kicked out of our building by Fox news who are using it for a headquarters until primary day. Hey I'll take the extra time off because it gives me time to do this...
I'm making a quilt for someone special and have been able to spend time in my sewing room working away. The fabric is Chocolate Lollipop from the delightful Anna Maria. The red and pink fabric is the backing.
I just love this happy fabric with all it's wonderful combinations of colors. Just what I needed to see on a cold gray day. I even ventured out to get it to my quilter and it had warmed up to 7 degrees by the time I got out. It's a heat wave!

Let the Christmas Decorating Begin!

I love to decorate for Christmas so I'm sure you'll see many pictures of what I have done here in the coming weeks. I love seeing everybody else's decorations. But I'm going to start with a Christmas quilt I just finished.

One of the things I love about Blogging is getting inspiration from all of you out there and since I love to quilt I am partial to all the quilting blogs. Back in October I absolutely fell in love with Nicole's Halloween quilt at her blog, Sister's Choice. She referenced the Debbie Mumm book, Seasons, she got the pattern out of which surprised me because I have that book and didn't remember seeing such a wonderful quilt in it. I quickly got the book out and checked out the pattern again. Nicole's quilt is much better than Debbie's I think. Anyway, I had some wonderful Christmas fabric I was dying to do something with and Nicole's Halloween quilt got me going. So I shamelessly copied her and I love the quilt.
My long arm quilter did a wonderful pointsetta and holly leaf design for the quilting which I love. It's just a happy quilt. So thanks Nicole and I'll definitely be making a Halloween quilt sometime in 2008!

A Christmas Glimpse

It's a good thing I am communicating through this blog because if I actually had to talk to anyone I couldn't. I have been down with a bronchitis-lost-my-voice-illness that has knocked me for a loop. Before it hit though I had gathered some fabrics for a quick Christmas quilt I was going to make.
I have this wonderful Marcus Brothers print that I started with. It has just great images and colors to work with.
Then I had fun looking through my stash and pulling some fabrics. So here's just a glimpse of a work in progress. Now if I can stop coughing myself to death here I might be able to finish it. I'll be sure to post pictures when it is done. In the meantime, bring on the tea and antibiotics!

Another Quilt Done

I finally finished this quilt and got it to my wonderful machine quilter who got it quilted for me pretty quickly. So this past weekend was spent sewing on the binding.
I generally leave the decision of a quilting design and thread color up to her and I think she did a wonderful job.
I donated this quilt to the NH National Guard Family program to raise money so they have it now. Not sure of how they plan to use it to raise money but I'll post here once they give me the details.

As for Block of the Month, I think this will be the first and last time I do one. While I think it is a nice quilt, it is all too matchy, matchy for me and I really missed the process of picking out the fabric. There's just something about going to a fabric store and handling all the wonderful fabrics and putting together just the right combinations that I need as part of the creative process. I really like just using my fabric stash lately and re-visiting fabrics I already have so the next project will be from the stash. I have visions of a Christmas quilt dancing in my head so it's time to start pulling fabrics. Happy sewing everyone!

Fall Table Topper

Thanks for all the love for Pumpkin Boy. We finally feel like fall up here in the great north. I was beginning to wonder with all those days in the 80's but it is gorgeous here now and we'll be complaining about snow before you know it.

I have managed to make a fall table topper which now sits on the table in our new great room. I got the pattern from Keepsake.
I managed to use all fabrics from my stash which I am trying to use and get down to a reasonable amount which so hard to do with so many great fabrics out there.My favorite is the pumpkin one in the middle which is a Thimbleberries fabric I have had for quite a while.
It sure was a peaceful setting this Sunday morning with the sun streaming in on the table. Hope your fall is as pretty as ours is in NH.

Block of the Month

Remember way back in January when I started this and then block 1? I haven't been good about posting pictures, probably because I fell behind on this project at one point, but except for borders it is together.
The colors are outside of my comfort zone but I do like the way it looks all together now.
You probably can't see the fabric too well here but some of it has printed words like "home", "celebration", "stability", "love" and "family". So I decided to do something a little better with this quilt than just throw it on one of my beds. My husband is retiring from 33 years of military service this coming March, some of that time in the Air Force and much of that time with the NH National Guard. So in honor of his service I am going to donate it to the NH National Guard Family Program to raffle off to raise money for the many things they do for the families of deployed soldiers. Many families have had a rough time these past years and the Family Program does wonderful things to help them so I hope it raises some money for them. And what's better than a quilt to offer some comfort in these troubled times for our military families.

There is Some Sewing Going on Too

You'd think from all the construction talk that it's destruction and construction all the time here but that is not entirely the case. There is some sewing going on this summer. I have summers off from work so I do a fair amount of sewing in the summer since there is such a bonus of time available to me. And with just a couple of weeks left until I return to work I am trying to get some things finished. So here are a few for you to view.

I organized my fabric at the beginning of the summer and decided I really needed to start using more of my stash which is so hard to do with such wonderful fabrics coming from such creative women like Anna Maria and Heather. So that is where this quilt came from, my stash, except the backing which I did not have enough of any one or a few fabrics to piece together. It does not show the borders in this picture but it has two. The pattern is "Full Bloom" from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

Then I also made this which is actually going to be a Christmas tree skirt. I love that the fabrics don't scream "Christmas". The colors go nice with the colors I have in my house. The fabric collection is called "Yuletide Blessings".

I also made this quilt from a kit and I'm getting ready to put it together and quilt it with some fun varigated thread. And talk about fun-I love the fireworks fabric for the backing that I got from my local quilt shop.

So as I stare the end of summer in the face I hope everyone is enjoying theirs.

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. I had a wonderful day here with my family, my husband's mother, his sister and family, my daughter's in laws and of course my beautiful one month old grandson. How he has changed in one month.

I did manage to finish this table runner this weekend from a pattern that I got from The Happy Zombie. It is a very easy pattern. I just changed the applique from cherries to flowers since I am calling this my summer table runner. Please don't look too closely at my machine quilting. It is a skill I am practicing and it will take me a while to get better. But I think it looks great on my kitchen island.