Favorite Two Color Quilt

Wow! I just received an email from Amy at Amy's Creative Side that my entry in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival was nominated for favorite quilt in the two color quilt category.  I've never had one of my quilts in a contest. Please click on this link to vote for my quilt!!!!! Voting ends on Thursday, May 31st. There is also still time to vote for Viewer's Choice. Go here to vote for your favorite quilt in the Festival. Thanks for taking the time to vote!

Words on Wednesday

Design Wall Monday - May 21, 2012

 In the past couple of weeks, several items have gone UP AND DOWN on my design wall. My retirement quilt is back on the design wall.  This time the rows are sewn together. I consulted with the Thimbles on Friday for suggestions on the borders. They provided awesome feedback. I don't have any yardage of the Fresh Cotton line by Fig Tree for Moda. That's on the agenda today. I did find an online shop that has the two fabrics that I need. Visit Judy's blog Patchwork Times for other creative design wall delights.

 I had planned to participate in the gigantic giveaway on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog. I even have the blog ready to post, but decided to wait until next week to do a giveaway. I had the opportunity to travel with Dear Hubby on a business trip to Destin, Florida. One of the things I love about hosting a giveaway is responding to the comments and visiting the blogs of folks who enter the giveaway. 

This is my view as I write this blog post. If I wait until next week (make sure you visit my blog sometimes this weekend or early next week) I can enjoy the view, the sounds of the ocean, walking on the beach AND my giveaway. Visit Sew, Mama, Sew and enter the awesome giveaways there. Have a marvelous Monday!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Spring 2012

Yahoo! It's that time of year - time for the Blogger's Online Quilt Festival.  This is the seventh online quilt show since the Spring of 2009. Amy from Amy's Creative Side hosts the quilt show on her website. It is an awesome event. Hundreds of bloggers showcase one or more of their quilts on their blogs. Amy has organized sponsors for giveaways for the quilt show participants and visitors. Make sure to visit her site to view the quilts.

The quilt that I would like to share during this Spring's Festival is called Scrappy Black  & White. 

For years I have collected black & white and white & black print fabrics. The pattern can be found in the book Spotlight on Neutrals by Pat Wys.  Scrappy Nines in neutrals is actually the cover quilt. 

 There are hundreds of nine patches in this quilt. My friend Karin  who blogs at Life in the Slow Lane could tell you how many. I'm not a "counting"  person so I'm  rather clueless on how many pieces are in this quilt. I worked on this top sporatically for many months. I loved how the blocks look so complicated. That's an illusion. Sewing the components of this quilt is not difficult. The use of value and the arrangement of the blocks just make it look like a difficult design.

The entire time I worked on this quilt, it was intended as a gift for my dear sister-in-law. Michelle loves black and white. She wears mostly black and white. For her wedding to my brother, all the bridesmaids wore white and all the groomsmen wore black. It was stunning.

Michelle has been a blessing to our family. Here is Michelle and her Scrappy Black & White. 

Just for You Quilts

The third Tuesday of the month is one of my favorite days. It is meeting day for my Guild. Before I retired, I longed to attend the guild meeting, but would not take off from work once a month for the morning meetings. Attending the meetings was added to my "When I Retire ..... List." Our guild has several service projects. All year, members make baby quilts to donate to Scottish Rite children's hospital. The program is called Just for You. The meeting in May is very touching. The quilts (over 310 this year) are displayed in the sanctuary of the church where the meetings are held. The pastor leads our members in a blessing of the quilts. A representative From Scottish Rite graciously accepts our donations.

 

Last May was the first time that I attended the May meeting. It is a touching experience. 

 This past week it's been "pedal to the metal" in my sewing room. Brenda donated this luscious fat quarter bundle of flannels. Rag quilts are my favorite baby quilts. I realized after it was completed that I have two stripes together. There is a story behind that one, but it was too late to correct.

 The next two quilts were kits that the Just For You committee organized for us to take home and sew. Piecing the tops was easy. It's the machine quilting that slows me down. Using my walking foot, I did straight line quilting on these two tops. It's the first time that I machine quilted in over 15 years. 

It was a wonderful experience in my spacious Sewing Cavern. (men have caves. women have caverns:) I learned lots in this experience. I will continue to try and improve my skills. I still plan to quilt my large projects with my "Credit Card", but these small projects are a nice challenge.

from the  2012 Mary Englebreit calendar

Words on Wednesday

Fun on Friday - Giveaway

Hi Friends on Friday! This past week I've had to stay quiet and rest. Rather rough:) I had my LAST surgery a week ago. I'm feeling good despite a chipmunk face. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to talk or eat. I'm not having problems with either one. I find myself wearing purple clothing to match the purple streaks on my chin and neck. 

Some folks would have done lots of hand sewing, but I've been blog hopping, reading and napping. This week was the fabulous blog tour from Quiltmaker Magazine featuring designers and blocks from their Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol. 5 issue. There is still time for your to visit the blogs and enter to win prizes and free issues of Vol. 5. 

 Visit Quilty Pleasures Blog for lots of fun and inspiration.  I love studying quilting magazines. Quiltmaker mag is one that I have a yearly subscription. My last issue arrived recently. When I renew my subscription, a free subscription is available to a quilting friend. If you'd like to win this free subscription, leave a comment on this post. I'm having to eat lots of "SOFT" food - foods easily cut with a knife. Suggest foods that I can eat. I have 5 more weeks on soft food. I'm getting bored with soup. I'd like to get this card in the mail on Monday. I'll chose a winner Sunday evening, May 6th. Enjoy your weekend and have a fabulous Friday!

Congratulations to Karmen! Visit her wonderfu blog, A Quilter Awakens

Words on Wednesday

While visiting at my brother's home, I discovered these words on my niece's bedroom mirror. It's probably from some great important quote, but I was struck with the wisdom of these words.