mary lynn quilts and knits

SUGAR AND SPICE AND . . .

2011-12-30T15:11:00.002-05:00

Well the quilts for my husband's new great niece and nephew aren't quite "sugar and spice" and "snakes and snails".

Instead this is Chocolate Lollipop from one of daughter Anna Maria's early fabric collections

And instead of snakes and snails, the other is bugs, frogs and fish that I found a couple years ago at one of my favorite quilt shops.

So those gifts are all packed and ready to head with us to Greece tomorrow.

And I just finished couple new pillow cases that I made to go with a quilt that I have there. The quilt is not quite big enough for the queen size bed, but I think with the addition of the pillows at the head of the bed, it will be just about right and the quilt's sashing has a flying geese pattern some of the pillowcase fabric--a pattern from Anna Maria's Bohemian, her first fabric line.)

So now I guess it's time to clean up the sewing room, get the rest of the Christmas decorations put away, finish packing, and make final arrangements with the house sitter.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. Hope it's a year filled with lots of stitchin' and knittin'. Oh, yes, I will have my needles and some yarn in the suit case too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-23T22:38:00.001-05:00

WISHING YOU AND YOURS

A VERY . . .

After my Dad retired, he took up latch hooking. He made this for me and one for my sister.

May your Christmas memories be as wonderful as mine!

A COUPLE CHRISTMAS GOODIES . . .

2011-12-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

Well, my time at the sewing machine has not included very much quilting lately. I have finished the grandchildren's PJs for Christmas. My husband keeps joking with me, asking if I'm still going to be making them pajamas when they are 40! I have actually cut back a bit: at my daughter's suggestion a couple years ago, I just make the pants and add coordinating t-shirts for the tops. That seems to be what they like to wear anyway. I do still make a nightgown for the "girly-girly" 9 year old! I also decided this year that it's kind of silly for this mediocre skilled seamstress to be sewing something for a fashion design major, so the oldest will get something different. (In case you are reading this, Juliana, I'm not saying what!)

I have used my sewing machine to get back to some embroidery though. It's always fun and rewarding; I really should do it more often. These are all boxed up and ready to go to my sister. I'm sure you realize that the towel on the right is NOT embroidery. It's a fun border print fabric.

Still doing some knitting with leftover yarn. This will be a gift for my goddaughter's step daughter.

I've made a few more hats for our church groups collection for area refugees, but forgot to take photos before I donated them. Two are like this one, but without top fun yarn--one with the red shag yarn and another with white. They were LOTS of fun to do.

I've also finished a hat for my husband and am working on one for my son. More on that next time.

STASH BUSTING KNITTING

2011-12-02T07:08:00.001-05:00

I've done lots of fabric stash busting to make charity quilts. Now, in the past few weeks I've taken that to a bit of a different level and made hats scarves and mittens for our church's ladies charity group who are collecting warm clothing for a local refugee services organization.

It was lots of fun. To make it go a bit faster, I used double strand yarn so I could use bigger needles. In fact, I also did a "triple strand" scarf that I guess I forgot to take a photo of. It was 2 strands of the baby pink with one strand of the hot pink (the remaining yarn from the hat and scarf in the photo below).

Hope you are all staying nice and cozy as winter approaches.

A BABY SHOWER and PROJECT LINUS

2011-11-19T22:05:00.001-05:00

Well, I've finally finished the quilts that I started a couple months ago. I had pieced them in September, "sandwiched" them at my quilting retreat in October and finally finished the quilting this week so I could drop them off at my local yarn shop that is the drop off place for Project Linus. These four are sized for babies.

These three are for larger children; these top two are machine quilted.

But I did decide to "tie" this one since the sashing and backing are chenille.

And this last one is for a baby shower gift. The background fabrics (as well as the backing) are a light weight flannel -- stripe and plaid that I though would be just right for the expected baby boy.

It was lots of fun. Now it's time go get back to working on the Christmas pajamas for the grandchildren!

I'M HERE; I'M HERE . . .

2011-11-10T08:06:00.003-05:00

Yep, I'm here. I promise I didn't get lost! It's just been a busy couple weeks. After we returned from visiting our son and family in NY, I had a couple days at home before I went to Nashville to babysit for my daughter Anna Maria while she was in Houston at quilt market.

While at her home I was able to play in her studio and use her new Janome Horizon 7700. Wow what a difference a sewing machine with a larger throat makes. I was able to machine quilt my friend's 63" x 63" inch quilt. (And I can show it to you since I gave it to her yesterday.

I did very little knitting while I was in Nashville. By the time the children (5) were in bed, I was ready for bed myself!
However I was able to finish my sweater after I got home and I actually wore it yesterday.

Now I'm getting ready to work on a baby shower quilt and some hats for a charity project that our church women's group is participating in. That will be a wonderful way to use up some leftover stash yarn.

This is the plan for my quilt. There will be 9 of these 9 patches to make a 36" quilt.

So the quilting and knitting continues.

A BUSY WEEK

2011-10-19T17:46:00.001-04:00

It has been a busy week. I spent the first 4 days of last week with my on-line quilting friends at a lovely retreat center in North Carolina. This is a view from outside my cabin. Isn't it lovely?
And in reality the colors were even more vibrant than this. (The photo was taken on a cloudy morning.)

There were 25 of us this year. We have grown a bit each year, with only 7 ladies the first year 4 years ago.

These are a few of the "show and tell" quilts that the ladies brought with them to show their handiwork.
This was started by our dear friend Jan Mynatt who passed away in June. Her work is impeccable!

These are a few of the other quilts that my friends have made over the past months. There were many others, but unfortunately I was so busy trying to get my quilt pieced that I didn't take too many photos.

Their quilts made this one of mine look quite simple by comparison.

I returned home on Thursday afternoon, just in time to unpack and repack for a trip to New York to visit our son and his family. It was a great time to visit. His church was putting on a performance of "Annie" which was wonderful. All the child actors were members of the youth choir and their voices were quite good. (Even my husband who expected to be totally bored REALLY enjoyed it!

This is our family portion of the cast: daughter in law and their three oldest children. A Nani has to brag a bit, right?

So that's what I've been up to. I also did get a bit of knitting done while I was gone and this morning I started the blocking process for my sweater. Gotta get that quilt sandwiched and quilted pretty quickly too.

OH MY !

2011-10-09T21:21:00.001-04:00

Oops, I haven't been keeping up very well, have I?

I have done quite a bit of sewing and knitting, but just checked my camera and I haven't taken any photos lately. So I guess I'll just have to wait a bit to post anything.

But by then I should have lots of fun photos. You see: I'm heading out tomorrow morning for my annual quilt retreat with my online friends. There will be 28 of us this year. Other than the sweet lady who lives in NC and arranges this for us at a nearby camp, I am the closest. I guess the farthest this year will be the gal flying in from CA. We will also have quilting friends from TX, CO, OK, IA, MA, MD, FL, AL, and some points closer. Looking forward to some really good quality sewing and visiting days.

And as soon as I get home, we'll head out again to visit my son and his family in NY.

Then I'll be home for about a week when I go to Nashville to babysit for daughter Anna Maria while she and her husband are off to Houston Quilt Market.

What a busy month this is. Hope I can live up to my word and catch back up here soon.

TWO QUILTS, SAME FABRIC PART II

2011-09-23T17:12:00.001-04:00

Oh my, I haven't kept up to date with my blogging in a little while.
I did finish those two quilts from the same fabric. The blocks in the pinwheel one are 12 inches, so it's a nice size "lap rug" or quilt for an young adolescent girl.

The other has smaller blocks -- about 7 inch blocks so it will be for a baby.

In the meantime, I've also been spending evenings knitting. I just finished this sweater for my grandson's October birthday.

And just for fun, I decided to finally try some "tiny" knitting from a pattern book that my daughter sent me.
And my little hot dog is not nearly as tiny as the instructions call for. I just don't have very many colors of fingering yarn. So my hot dog is made with size 5 needles instead of size one. I'm not sure I could have even done it on size ones -- I'm too clumsy!

It's not the kind of knitting I usually do or am "in to" but it is LOTS OF FUN !

TWO QUILTS, SAME FABRIC

2011-09-08T16:28:00.001-04:00

Silly me -- I figured wrong and cut way too many blocks for my pinwheel quilt.

Even sillier me, I was thinking if cut them in half again I'd have the same pattern pieces, just smaller.

But I was wrong. (Just where is my brain today?) Instead I ended up with Half Square Triangles --

Being too lazy to take out the stitching and restitch and recut, I'll just use these blocks for a baby quilt.

Using these "cornerstone" pieces leftover from another quilt, I think it will come out to be just the right size for some wee girl.

I'll keep you posted.

A NEW CAMERA !

2011-09-06T07:23:00.001-04:00

Well, I've got a new camera and have played around with it a bit.
Now I see that there is a new blogging format too.
Oh my, this might just be too much for this electronics challenged grandma to figure out all in one morning!

First of all, I thought I would show you the chenille with a couple of the the blocks that I was working on when I last posted. So here they are.

And while I'm at it, I'll show you the other (only one other so far) photo that I've taken with the new camera.
This is a scarf that I finished yesterday, using left over yarn from one of my granddaughter's sweaters. It will be a Christmas present for someone, not sure who yet.

So now I'll just have to play with my camera a bit more and keep on knitting and sewing, of course.

GRAB BAG QUILTING

2011-08-27T10:15:00.005-04:00

A few months ago I sorted through all of my small pieces of leftover fabric, along with all the donated fabric I have for charity quilts. I put together bags of scraps that I thought would work well together in quilts and ended up with about 30 sets. Last week when I didn't have much on the planning board for my quilting, I decided to "grab a bag" from the drawer to see what I could come up with.

These are the fabric pieces that were in the first bag.

I realized that wasn't enough to make a very big quilt top. . .

so I went to the cabinet in my in my sewing/laundry room and got the "purple" box of scraps down.

I managed to get several blocks made and then remembered some lavender chenille I bought on sale several years ago. Yep, there was enough for sashing AND backing. Hooray. (Unfortunately my camera is doing funny things this morning, so I can't show you a photo of the finished blocks with the chenille.)

This is the first of five sets of blocks that I have completed. (I even managed to find backing fabric for all five of them in my stash closet! Hooray.)

Oh, and I am disciplining myself: In true GRAB BAG style, I take whichever bag is in front in the drawer for the next project. I will NOT allow myself to pick and choose.

Hopefully I'll get my camera figured out and can show you some more photos soon.

Hmmmmmm, maybe it just needs new batteries.

Monday update: changed the batteries, still funky striped, pale photos. DRATS!

ONE LAST TOUCH . . .

2011-08-11T18:18:00.002-04:00

The all important tag . . .

and it's ready to go in the mail for next week's birthday!

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS . . . . .

2011-08-07T13:42:00.004-04:00

. . . especially when it helps me find my mistakes.

I didn't realize until I uploaded this photo of my Ohio Star blocks for our "community gift quilt" that I made a mistake on the top left one. The top quarter triangle is turned the wrong way. Silly me.

The photo has also helped me decide that yes, I will replace the dark center of the star in the bottom middle block with a lighter fabric. I thought maybe I'd like the darker center, but I don't.

So, back to the sewing room I go on this lazy Sunday afternoon.

Ahhh, that's better:

HERE I AM !

2011-08-04T11:00:00.006-04:00

OK, OK, I promise I have not gotten lost . Here I am!

Admittedly I have not been doing much quilting in the past few weeks. I've been using my sewing time to FINALLY get drapes made and hung (with my husband's reluctant help !).

This is my make shift "sewing table" at the dining room window. My mother taught me to let drapes hang a while before hemming them. And I guess I'm just lazy, but once they are up (and I'm happy with the way they lay), I don't take them back down. I just leave them hanging and hem them in place. (The ironing board goes to the window too!)

Here are the completed dining room drapes.

And here are the drapes across the "great room". There's a matching set on the other side (but I can't get a photo of all at once without furniture in the way). I need to get the swags back down and work on them a bit to get them to lay more smoothly.

I am still knitting on my granddaughter's sweater (May 22 post) and in the meantime, I've ordered yarn for the next 4 sweaters.

This will be my grandson's for his October (12th) birthday.

And this is for my son's daughters for their birthdays next year.

I guess I've got my work cut out for me.

Oh, and speaking of "cut", I have some fabrics chosen and ready to cut pieces for a "community" gift quilt that I'm making with my on-line quilting friends.

FOUR MORE FOR LINUS

2011-07-16T18:48:00.005-04:00

Finally - - I got a few more quilts dropped off at my local yarn shop that is a pick up site for Project Linus blankets. These are all pretty much lap size quilts.

These first two incorporate some more of the home decorator fabric that a lady at church gave me a couple years ago. I'm about to get through that 25 yard piece of fabric. Phew!

I had shown you this while it was in the making. Most of it is from my own scrap stash, but the car fabric was donated.

The turquoise with the white "leaves" on this was donated fabric; again the rest is from my scrap stash. I had a good size piece of flannel that worked for the backing of this one.

I've made a couple others (from my own stash only) in the past few weeks that I've decided to keep on hand as baby gifts. But oops, haven't taken photos of those yet.

And yes, I am still knitting: working on granddaughter Isabela's sweater. And just got some yarn this week for one of her big brother's sweaters. I guess it's time to speed it up a bit.

FUN ON THE FOURTH

2011-07-06T16:29:00.002-04:00

We all had a great time on our family weekend, but I don't think anyone enjoyed it more that little Roman.

And why not when he has big brothers and sisters to stock his very own pool with fish!

Drats, I meant to take more pictures.

Oh, well, maybe next year. By that time, this little guy will most likely be in the other pool with the "big kids".

SUMMERTIME . . .

2011-07-02T08:50:00.004-04:00

. . . and the Red, White, and Blue.

Hope your Independence Day weekend is safe and fun-filled.

Mine will be here at home shared with my daughters and their families.

THE BIRTH OF A STASH QUILT . . .

2011-06-20T15:59:00.005-04:00

This was REALLY fun, but when I started out, I had no idea where I was going. (Thank goodness for my makeshift design wall -- that now hangs over the cabinets in my sewing/laundry room -- when I'm not using washer or dryer, that is.)

A couple years ago, ladies at my church donated LOTS of fabric for charity quilt making, along with yarn for charity knitting or crocheting. I had made a few quilts at that time, but a couple months ago, I attacked those boxes of fabrics with a vengeance -- leaving me with at least the beginnings of about 30 quilts, sorted by color, theme, or whatever came to my mind at the time.

A few of those little stacks have been parked on my dryer for WAY too long, so this past week, I've been putting together several quilt tops with those stacks.

One of the piles had this adorable "monster truck" print. But there was way too little of it --and that in several small pieces--to really do the print much justice. There were only 3 whole trucks, and once I cut the fabric to get a the whole trucks, there was very little fabric left for anything else. I was able to cut a few 2 inch strips and three 3 inch squares.

So I "framed" those 3 trucks with coordinating fabric (in the middle, top left, and bottom right). And then I "mirrored" my framed trucks with enough more blocks to get some symmetry. (Oh, yeah, I did have to piece my bits of fabric for the fourth 3 inch block.)

I didn't know where to go from there, 'cause I thought that more blocks would just kind of muddy the whole thing and the trucks would get lost.

Then a light bulb went off. Why did it have to be blocks? Maybe I could just put strips between the blocks.

So I played around a while with several leftover fabrics and came up with this concept.

Tweaked it a little more and . . .

Voila: a fun quilt top!

I have a lot of the red border print that I'll use for the backing.

I'm hoping some little boy will find some comfort -- and smiles-- wrapped up in this one!

THE LAST STITCHES

2011-06-18T17:03:00.004-04:00

Finally, the last of the embroidery stitches . . .

on this quilt that I assembled in 2008!

So, now back to the tasks at hand:

Getting back to my charity quilts, using stash and my makeshift design wall.

OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

2011-06-14T11:16:00.004-04:00

Well, at least out of my comfort zone.

I've taken a bit of a respite from my quilt top sewing and have been working on some home decoration items.

Luckily for me, my daughter Eleni of Eleni Interiors, Columbia SC was here to visit me last week and cut a pattern for me for drapery swags. I think they're going to be OK. Realistically they will most likely stay draped over my stairway banister for a while -- until my husband is ready to install the rods. Who knows when that will be.

And on the knitting front, I left my comfort zone of using 4 double point needles for knitting socks. I get e-mails from my local yarn shops. A couple weeks ago, there was a message that Loopville was hosting a class to learn the "magic loop" method for knitting socsk. That's using one circular needle instead of the double points. So I decided to jump on the opportunity. This is the beginning of my "bed socks". I'll have toasty tootsies this winter.

I'm doing OK, in spite of the fact that I didn't pick up that knitting for over a week after the class, I remembered how to do it when I picked it back up a couple days ago.

Now if I can just remember how to do the "long tail" cast on that Jinka taught me the same day. Ah, and I just finished the back of my granddaughter's sweater, so it IS time to cast on -- for the fronts. Hmmmmm, I wonder just which cast on method will be used on those sweater fronts! I'll keep you posted.

MY QUILTING FRIENDS

2011-06-09T11:28:00.005-04:00

. . . well, at least some of them.

These are the ladies from our internet quilting group who were able to attend our friend's funeral, and honored me by visiting my home either before or after our good-byes to our dear, sweet Jan.

(All but one sweet lady from NC who drove in for the funeral and did not have time to join us for brunch.)

These dear ladies come from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Maryland, Massachusetts and Alabama.

Thanks to the internet for bringing us together!

. . . AND ANOTHER MEMORIAL

2011-06-02T19:15:00.003-04:00

. . . for my dear friend Jan who passed away yesterday.

Her kindness and genuine caring for others was greater than any I have ever known.

And if anyone thinks that on-line friendships are meaningless, they need to know how many or her on-line quilting friends are traveling great distances (some flying; some driving) to come to her funeral.

This is an excerpt from her obituary:

"She was a passionate quilter and a longtime member of a nationwide internet quilters group making quilts for many charities. She was particularly proud of two of her quilts which were donated to Autism Speaks and the Chron's Society. The group performed many acts of knidess for Janet during her illness. An avid blogger, pictures of Janet's quilts and details of her life can be seen at her blog, quilting in davie.blogspot.com
Janet's mission in life was to help children and their causes; she succeeded beyond limits.."

We will miss you, dear Jan.

ON THIS MEMORIAL DAY . . .

2011-05-30T06:50:00.001-04:00

THANK YOU !

'Nuff said.

. . . and EMBROIDERS occasionally

2011-05-27T07:26:00.003-04:00

Well, although my embroidery is not quite as stunning or prolific as my daughter's, I thought I'd show you how I am currently spending some evening hours.

I guess it's been about 3years ago, now, that I was involved in a "light/dark" fabric exchange with my on-line quilting friends. The quilt has been assembled for quite some time and I have been working on the embroidery off and on for a couple years.

Not sure if you'll be able to see much embroidery in this photo:

But you might get the idea here:

The half-square triangles are the fabrics sent by my friends. I found coordinating "almost solids" to add to each block and machine embroidered the sender's initials in the middle block. Each large block has machine SITD quilting and the small blocks have hand quilting around them. Then I added embroidery to the "solid" block to kind of mirror the pattern in the prints within that block. So the quilt encompasses several types of quilting.

I am almost finished, now working on highlighting the sashing with back stitch and French knots.

(As I was working on it the other night, my stitches took me by the block made from my dear friend Jan's fabrics. Sadly, she will not be adding to her blog or see this blog entry as she is now in hospice care after a courageous battle with breast cancer.)

I found several new-to-me embroidery stitches in this book.

This is a shot of the entire quilt before I began the hand embroidery.

A few more evenings and a 3 year project will be finished! FINALLY !

BACK HOME

2011-05-22T19:35:00.004-04:00

Yes, I'm back home. In fact I've been home a while -- got home two weeks ago today.

A few days my first week were spent in Nashville staying with grandchildren while Mom and Dad and big sis were at the Spring Quilt Market.

Then trying to catch up on the house and get a little bit of a garden started has kept me pretty busy.

I have managed to add a couple more strips to the charity quilt that's been on my "design wall" for a couple months now. Hopefully that top will be finished this week.

I did do a bit of knitting while I was gone. I've found that socks are the perfect travel project -- easy to pack and not too cumbersome to work on in an airplane seat.

I didn't quite have the second pair finished when I cam home and I didn't have a good large eye tapestry needle, so the first three socks traveled home keeping each other very good company, strung on the same two knitting needles waiting for the Kichener stitch. It worked.

I've started on another pair of socks . . .

and the next birthday sweater.

So that's what I've been up too lately.

I think I'm going to go downstairs, get my "design wall" and see if I can figure out a spot to put it in the laundry room. (I'm basically lazy and don't like to pick up my "stuff" every time I leave the project, but it's really driving me nuts having it left out in a living area all the time.) So the work space area dilemma continues . . .

SNAKES, LIZARDS, FIRE ENGINES . . .

2011-04-08T08:47:00.002-04:00

Just a few more quilts for Project Linus. I'll drop them off this morning.

I love these for little boys:

FLOWERS . . .

These are a little wonky. Hopefully after they are laundered they will puff up enough that the wonkiness won't show. They are a bit larger, so should be great for a couple teen girls.

and EASTER BUNNIES . . .

for some really little folks.

AND hooray, my latest sweater is finished.

Just in time, too. I'm headed off to Greece again for a few weeks and will return home just a few days before little Roman's birthday. AND I'll get to see him (and his family) as I'll be babysitting for them while his mom is at Spring Quilt Market.

Oh, and speaking of "sitting", I'd best get my key to the house sitter.

Have a great spring.

WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME . . .

2011-03-31T16:51:00.002-04:00

. . . that I figure out a way to have a "design board" for my quilting. Since I don't have a room devoted to my sewing, I have always preferred to keep my sewing / quilting contained in my laundry room which is large enough to accommodate my sewing machine table and cutting table (which admittedly I have folded most of the time). But there's no real wall space left for a good design board. I like using the laundry room, 'cause I don't have to put things away between sewing sessions.

So when I have to make a quilt plan, I've been putting a flannel backed vinyl tablecloth on the floor in the living room to "plan" and then drag it to the hallway outside the laundry room for my assembly. (Well, until yesterday, I was walking back and forth to the living room.)

I do sometimes sew in the basement family room, using my smaller sewing machine on a game table. As I was doing a bit of sewing there yesterday, I got to thinking as I looked at this wall hanging, "Certainly there is a way I can devise a temporary design board there." And EUREKA, I designed a design board:

I started out with a 4 foot wooden dowel (a bit too narrow for the cloth, but it had to do) placed in an open "hem" at one end of the tablecloth. The wall hanging is a bit high for my 5'4" frame, so I used wire coat hangars to hang it from the wall hanging rod. Not wanting to damage the art (It's painted leather), I put almost-empty paper towel rolls over the wire hangars. When I went to the garage to get some masking tape to wrap around the paper towels to keep them in place, I spied a 5' 1/4" steel rebar in the corner. A little heavy, but the perfect size! So out of the hem came the wooden dowel and in went the rebar. After getting it in place, I padded the extending ends of the rebar with scrap quilt batting. Perfect fit to reach the "folds" of the hangars. And it works like a charm.

And no, I'm not putting it away before I go to bed tonight! Not expecting company any time soon, so I'm just going to have to live with the family room not being tidy. Just using it for a couple of my blocks (that's a disappearing 9 patch) makes me realize it's well worth giving up having the room neat all the time. But it will be easy to put away when I need to.

I also realized that I can lay the hang my new device on the ironing board rack in my laundry room. Down side to that, though: about 1/2 of the flannel is behind the cutting table. Not very convenient, and not much room to move around if I change the position of the cutting table. So I think this will be a new quilt assembly place for me. An up side to that too: I can watch TV at the same time!

OK, I've convinced myself. It was a great decision!

This is a quilt that I completed a couple weeks ago--another disappearing 9 patch, with sashing.

And of course I'm still knitting. This is the start of the sweater (front laying on top of back) that I'm making for my almost 2 year old grandson.

Enough chatter from me; gotta get back downstairs and play with my new design board!

. . . AND AS CITIES GO :

2011-03-22T11:33:00.004-04:00

NEW YORK CITY just can't be beat!

I just got home from a short trip to NYC with daughter Anna Maria, her mother-in-law, and her two younger daughters for a visit with her older daughter who is a student at Pratt University in Brooklyn.

And you can't make that visit without some fun in THE big city.

The eating is ALL phenomenal. Evening dinners were at wonderful restaurants: Il Palazzo in Little Italy on Thursday evening; French restaurant Balthazar in Soho on Friday afternoon ; and Spaninsh restaruant Meson Sevilla in Manhattan on Saturday. You can't go to NY without a stop at at least one "diner", right? So we took care of that at Junior's in Brooklyn on Sunday after church. Oh my: all soooooo good.

Of course with a 7 and 9 year old along there was also a stop at an ice cream truck and a sidewalk vender for a pretzel:

We walked by FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) where we happened upon a museum tour of fashion, featuring displays from Japanese designers. Couldn't resist a photo op of the girls!

And as luck would have it for the youngsters, the Hello Kitty store was right across the street from the New Amsterdam theatre where we all tremendously enjoyed "Mary Poppins".

I couldn't resist this photo in Brooklyn our Sunday morning walk back to the hotel. If there's not enough ground space for a parking lot, just go up!

Not the usual photos of NY, I know, but you can see those in a tour magazine! These are part of MY memories.

I'm sure Anna Maria will be sharing some soon too.

Oh, yes, and on a knitting note: I wore the new sweater that I've made for myself on 3 of the 4 days we were gone!

AHA, FOR ME!

2011-03-10T16:16:00.002-05:00

Well, now, this doesn't happen very often. I actually knitted a sweater for myself. I had lots of time on my hands while I was at my daughter's with her children while she was gone a few days. (You know the drill: teenagers in school all day, then mostly in their rooms the rest of the time.)

So by the time I came home the sweater was all knitted, just needed assembly which I finished today. It turned out oversized enough that it will be used more as a knitted jacket. I really like the yarn -- a wool - silk blend.

So now it's time to decided on a pattern for the next couple sweaters.

I've gotten a couple new pattern books which have great choices. The boy's will most likely be from this book that I picked up at a great yarn shop in Asheville NC. (I met up with a friend there on my way home from South Carolina where I had been at my daughter's.)

I had picked up this pattern book at a little shop here in Knoxville a few weeks ago. Great for those "tween" sizes. And I'll be having a few of those over the next few years, so I figured it was worth it.

I'm leaning toward this for little Roman who will be two in May.

And this might just be the pattern for his sister who will be 10 in August. But I've got a lot of time to figure that out.

Oh, yeah, the yarn is from Friends and Fiberworks too: Berroco Vintage DK--a washable wool blend.

But before I start on that knitting, I might just work on some embroidery.

WHAT A LOVELY CITY

2011-03-03T09:36:00.004-05:00

Oh, my, I just came from a lovely overnight trip with my daughter to Charleston SC. What a lovely city. It was kind of a birthday treat for both of us. (Her birthday is this month, mine was last month.)

We stayed at the lovely Renaissance Charleston Hotel right in the heart of the historic district with some WONDERFUL shopping. My daughter got some lovely items at the Copper Penny and Sam's Closet. I found a couple great sale items at Anne's and a great purse at Hand Picked.

And the food: OH MY. Can't remember the name of the place we had a wonderful salad for lunch on Tuesday, or the roof top bar where we had appetizers and a glass of wine. But from that rooftop, we were able to see the harbor and the famous Yorktown aircraft carrier where our family had visited many years ago when our children were young--mostly for my husband and our son, but the girls and I did tag along. (The girls were a bit too young at the time to know about all the good shopping.) And all those years ago we weren't even there long enough for a good meal. Well, my daughter and I sure took care of that this time! Dinner was at FIG. Breakfast the next morning at Sweetwater Cafe and lunch at the famous Jestine's. Kitchen. All wonderful choices.

If you get a chance to visit Charleston, DO NOT pass it up!

TIME TO START SOMETHING NEW

2011-02-22T10:56:00.006-05:00

Hooray, I did finish the new, improved, big-enough-to-fit sweater from my grandson before they arrived this weekend.

I think you'll agree it looks much cuter on him than on the floor:

With sleeves rolled up it's just about right. He's holding the paper bag puppet that he made while he was here. (His mom is always so nice to bring craft project for her children and nieces and nephews to work on while they are together.)

These are the two quilt tops I pieced at daughter Anna Maria's Rainbow Around the Block project sewing day last Wednesday. (Well, the second one, I did the next morning before I left for home.)

These are mostly Christmas fabrics, with the "on point" blocks added (with sashing to fit) to make a good size quilt.

And a bit more sashing for corner and center blocks made these fit also.

Now, I guess it's time to get back to a quilt project here at home. I guess I'll get back to work on more of these blocks.

Hmmmmm, I wonder how big this quilt will be.

But for now, I'm heading to the TV to watch a rented movie and knit a bit on a sweater for ME!

THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY

2011-02-15T10:41:00.003-05:00

Not much handiwork to show you right now, so I thought I'd just share the dawn of this beautiful new day.

And now: of to daughter Anna Maria's to help construct quilts for her Rainbow Around the Block project.

OH MY, ANOTHER SALE

2011-02-08T18:51:00.002-05:00

OK, so those of you who have been by here a few time already know that I can't resist a sale when it comes to fabric or yarn.

Last week was no exception. It was the end of month/end of bolt sale at my local quilt shop. Sooooo, what's a gal to do, but go check it out and stimulate the economy a little bit.

The Christmas fabrics were all 50% off and any bolt with 5 yards or less was 40% off if you bought whatever remained on the bolt. Great time to get flannel for next year's PJs, don't you think? So this is what I got with that in mind.

And a couple days later, I went to Kohl's and got long sleeved knit shirts at 60-80% off. I was able to find 10 of the 12 sizes I need. And when I got home, I really was able to pair up fabric and shirts appropriately for color and size. Hooray.

But, of course, the fabric sale did also include some goodies for my stash. The neutrals on the bottom of this pile will be for quilt backs. And the others, well, just 'cause. I liked them, OK?

And on the knitting front. I'm working on a another grandchild's sweater. Just HAVE TO. A few weeks ago, when I answered the phone, I heard this little voice say, "My sweater is too little." His dad (my son) then got on the phone and explained that little Eli loves the sweater I made him three years ago and even though it's waaaaaay too little for him, he's still wearing it to bed every night. What's a Nani to do, but make another -- even if it is his cousins' year for birthday sweaters and his turn doesn't come around until next year.

So I had to take this pretty cranberry yarn (will be a cardigan for me) off my #10 needles, so I could start on his sweater. (The blue is a simple scarf.) I had 3 projects at the same time all requiring #10s. So--like any true bargain hunter-- I also used some JoAnn's coupons and got myself an extra pair of 10s.

Unfortunately, I made an error in the reworking of the sweater pattern for my grandson and have had to frog and restart a couple times . I'm hoping I can have it ready for him when they visit the weekend after next. PLEEEEEEEESE don't let there be snow to keep them away!

SO HERE'S THE QUILTING, TOO . . .

2011-02-01T17:15:00.002-05:00

I will be getting back to some quilting here in a couple days. (Right now I'm working on some home decorating projects.) These are the two quilts that I finished a couple weeks ago.

This one is my first try at "fussy cut". The 4 paisley patterns in those center squares were each cut from within the fabric, then sewn together to make that pattern. This is a really special quilt for me because all the fabrics (with the exception of the backing) are from daughter, Anna Maria's, very first fabric collection. A friend at my quilt retreat in September took the quilt home with her and did the long arm quilting for me.

I really also love this quilt. The angels on the border were cut from a fabric that I found at my local quilt shop last summer. I also found the other fabrics (with the exception of the back border and the green sashing) at the same time -- all at an unbelievable sale price! The quilting is SITD. I'm still contemplating the possibility of going back and free motion stitching around the angels.

But until I decide, I've got it in just the perfect spot for the cold winter nights. I put my feet up on the couch, watch TV, knit, and pull the quilt down over my legs.

Ahhhh, it doesn't get much better than that for a relaxing evening . . .

except maybe if I add glass of wine!

OH MY !

2011-01-27T17:13:00.004-05:00

Oh, my, it's been a long time since I've been here.

And another "Oh my": I was so proud of myself to finally have all of the January birthday sweaters completed in time, but "Oh my" these grandchildren are growing too fast.

Not a problem for this one. (Sorry it's a little whopper-jawed in the photo.) It fits her just right.

I guess I should warn those in her household, though, that it will not fit very long if it finds its way into the dryer.

Washing instructions are "Hand wash; Dry flat". (I do typically wash in the machine on delicate cycle, but do NOT put in the dryer.) Hope you're reading this Anna Maria!

Somehow, I knew when I looked at this sweater after it was all put together that it would not fit. Sure enough, it needs more length in both body and sleeves. Bless his heart, though, the recipient liked it well enough that he really didn't want me to take it back to fix it.

At my insistence, though, he let me have it. Luckily it's a "top-down" knit, so I took out the side seams to just above the ribbing and then could frog the bind off and ribbing rows and add to it, then redo the ribbing. (For those of you who are not familiar with the term "frog" it means to rip it out: "rip-it; rip it")

I must admit, it's a little cumbersome to knit with all the pieces sewn together, but that sure is better than taking the WHOLE THING apart!

The neck is too loose, but I think I can just make the seams on the neck ribbing a little deeper without even being noticed. (Since it's raglan sleeves, there are four seams in the neck ribbing.)

Well, I guess he'll have his birthday sweater in time for MY birthday next month! I'll keep you posted.

Oh, I do have a couple quilts to show you too, but I'll save that for another day.

SO THIS IS IT !

2010-12-28T16:38:00.003-05:00

Well, I guess it's about time I come around and let you know a little about my trip to Greece. Not a lot of photos. We typically don't do a lot of sight-seeing--been there, done that quite some time ago. Although we did do a bit more this year when our daughter and son-in-law were with us for a few days. They have the sight see-er photos.

So I guess I'll just show you how we spent a bit of our time. My husband is quite pleased that he planted a lemon and orange tree. Now for those of you and the west and Gulf coasts, this is no biggie. But for this Midwest implant to East Tennessee, it's a bit of a novelty. He's planted several times before and (since we're not there much of the year to care for them) has lost the trees to frost or draught. This time, though, they are in front of the house instead of in back, so they'll have much more protection. Additionally he says that he is "going to insist" that they make it. Sure hope so!

That's the lemon tree on the left (already a couple little lemons on it) and the orange tree barely visible on the other side of the roses.

Yes, I did do some quilting while I was there. Most days it was done on our front veranda -- with this view. Well, OK, the sheep weren't always there, just occasionally in the afternoons when the shepherd brought them by before taking them to their shed for the night. I must admit that this my favorite part of the day; being beckoned outside by the sound of the bells that the several of the sheep wear around their necks.

And to prove that I did finish the quilt (a block exchange) , here it is:

I used flower stencils on the large squares. First time I had used stencils. The powder I had was white. Now you know why I did most of the quilting OUTSIDE. I needed the light. White pouncing powder on cream fabric is NOT the easiest way to go!

That's our olive grove in the background. The olives were already harvested and oil milled by the time I got there, so no work for me involved there. My only work was to enjoy cooking with the best, freshest olive oil ever.

So fresh, in fact, it smiles back at you when you pour it in the pan!

And now to get back to some January birthday knitting!

CHRIST IS BORN

2010-12-25T09:07:00.000-05:00

GLORIFY HIM !

CHECK LIST

2010-11-13T20:08:00.002-05:00

Bills paid -- check;

Mail stopped -- check;

Paper stopped -- check;

Suitcase packed -- check;

The above includes, ticket, passport, and cash -- check;

Tomorrow morning's ride arranged -- check;

Key to house sitter -- check.

Bid farewell to my blog friends -- check.

Looking forward to:

the beautiful Greek countryside -- check

freshly milled extra virgin olive oil -- check

brother-in-law's wine -- check

Thanksgiving visit from daughter and son-in-law -- check, check, and double check!

See you soon!

WINTER'S COMING !

2010-11-08T16:16:00.001-05:00

At least I think winter is coming. We had subfreezing temps here in East Tennessee last night, but it's predicted to be 72 again tomorrow. Go figure.

Well, at any rate, my college freshman granddaughter will have a little something to keep her ears (and neck and head) warm this winter. And since the cold comes to New York a bit sooner than to Tennessee, I'm not waiting for her January birthday to send this little goodie: a hooded scarf, with pockets--no less. It's going in the mail tomorrow. Along with some biscotti -- what's a Nani to do?

And no I won't get bored with no knitting just because I'm sending hers early. She had two siblings whose birthdays fall the same week. This is the start of her little sister's sweater.

Phooey, though, I've already gift wrapped the 3 baby quilts that are going in the mail too -- so no photos of them completed. I did post photos of the piecing portion a few weeks ago.

So now it's time to get back to the sewing machine and work on the Christmas PJs. At least some of them are completed and all of them are cut out and ready to stitch. Better get busy!

GUESS WHERE I'VE BEEN

2010-11-03T16:15:00.002-04:00

To HOUSTON QUILT MARKET !

With fabric designer daughter, Anna Maria .

What a great time! Got to see all the quilts hanging for this week's quilt festival too. Wonderful!

FYI

2010-10-23T15:58:00.002-04:00

In case you are wondering:

He chose the check. So the circles will be for his art school freshman older sister!

Be back another day with some more current projects.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS . . .

2010-10-19T09:04:00.003-04:00

Well, now . . . a couple decisions to make. I think it will be pretty easy for me to make the second decision, but the first I'll leave up to my grandson.

Each year for Christmas, I make the grandchildren PJs. I started out making the sets: tops and bottoms. A couple years ago, one of my daughters suggested I just make the pants and get t shirts for them to wear with them. Great idea! So that's what I've been doing.

I have most of this year's already sewn together, just waiting for measurements to finish off the hems and the waist elastic.

I found this "circle print" fabric a few moths ago and REALLY like it. I'm thinking it would be great for my almost 13 yo grandson. Like his mama, he's quite artistic AND he's TOTALLY in to skate boarding. So I'm thinking he'll like it. But to be on the safe side, I've got the small black/beige window pane print (background).

I'll let him make the decision. I sure hope he wants those circles!

The easy decision is whether to fix this bit of knitting, or not. It's a hooded scarf. I already took out about 20 rows and redid it as I had skipped one of the cable twists. Last night after redoing several rows, I realized that I did the twist wrong. YIKES. Decision: Back to the drawing (or knitting, as it were) board, I guess.

Oh, I'll let you know what Nicolas decides about his PJs!

P J TIME

2010-10-13T12:57:00.004-04:00

Oh, my, it's PJ time again at my house. I've been selecting and buying fabrics for the past few months -- luckily mostly on sale. Some flannel, some cotton. I also managed to get most of the knit shirts that will go with the PJ pants when I was shopping at an outlet mall this summer with my sister. So I'm good to go -- almost.

Gotta clean up my space first. I will NOT allow myself to make any more scraps before I clean up these scraps:

Gettin' there

Ah, that's better. Small scraps:

And larger pieces

Admittedly, I have more fabric than I need--in terms of amounts, that is.

I have found that it is much easier to buy the shirts first and find fabrics to go with the shirts than to buy fabric and find shirts to go with the fabric. I still have two shirts to buy -- one for a 13 yo boy and a onesie for the 18 mo old. I REALLY like that piece close to the bottom of the pile with the black and red circles. I'd love to see it on one of the boys with a red shirt. But not sure any of the boys would be happy with it. I'll check that out next week when I visit one of my daughters.

In the meantime, a few things from my retreat work need to be put on the side burner.

This still needs to be sandwiched, quilted, and bound. (after piecing the backing fabrics.)

This baby gift needs a binding.

And this (flannel) needs to be sandwiched, quilted and bound.

This baby gift I did get completed while at my retreat. I just love the little snail fabric -- and the bonus was that I had the other fabrics in my stash to make it complete.

Hmmmmmm, now just which PJ fabric shall I cut out first?

R & R . . . & Q

2010-10-04T16:56:00.003-04:00

Well now, shouldn't all R & R have some Q (quilting) to go with it?

It was a wonderful few days with my quilting friends (from Maine to Colorado) in the North Carolina foothills forest. Ah, so lovely.

And we did, indeed, get in a lot of R&R . . . and Q !

I had mentioned that I was going to learn to do a "coffee filter" block. Such a great way to get an easy curve on these block centers. (I played around with how I wanted to arrange them once I have enough for a quilt. I was quite happy with this, so I took a photo to remind myself just what I decided.)

I got quite a bit more done, too: a baby gift quilt completed, another baby gift done all except for the binding; a flannel baby charity quilt top pieced, and a "Christmas Angel" quilt top pieced. I'll show you those another day.

I also played around with lots of bits and pieces of fabric that I took along. Remember all those half square triangles. I came up with plans for 6 blocks using those little guys. (I just laid them out, took photographs of them and pinned them together in sets so I can redo my plan when it's time to piece them.)

Oh, and see that cute little mouse pin cushion? It was a little token gift from one of my retreat buddies.

Some of you have been wondering about the "gifties" I was knitting. I was planning to take these prayer plant cuttings (from a plant sent to me 2 years ago by one of our attendees) since I wanted to share the lovely plant with the group.

Four of the ladies flew to our retreat site, though, so I knitted these little soap bags for them.

I'll keep you posted on the finishing up of those quilts!

ALMOST READY !

2010-09-26T19:45:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, just a few last minute things to finish up to be ready to take some projects with me to my all day quilting days with some special friends this week.

First of all, I wanted to get this quilt "sandwiched" so I can work on the quilting. I learned this method from my daughter : taping the backing to the floor and layering the batting and quilt top over it; then pinning and basting it in place. Luckily my old joints are still able to do all the up and down movements to do the job. (Although I've yet been able to do it all in one day -- need several rest periods!) I must say it's wonderful to have a tile floor so I can get it "squared up" nicely without to much difficulty.

Once it's all basted, I remove the tape, get out my largest cutting mat and trim it right there on the floor.

Sneaky way to show you the backing fabric, huh?

A few other pre-cut projects (a couple gift baby quilts; a "coffee filter" pattern that one of my friends is going to teach the rest of us; a fussy cut fun girl's quilt; and those half square triangle blocks I was working on last week) are ready to be packed away.

This is a close of up the Chocolate Lollipop fabric that will be the "coffee filter" quilt. A coffee filter is used for a circle pattern that is then cut in to quarters and put in a corner of a square. I will be making the circles with the small prints to be placed on the larger prints.

Oh, and these little items still need to be finished up. Shhhhh, not telling exactly what they are as they are little gifts for some of my quilting buddies.

Hopefully I'll have some nice finished projects to show you soon!

OH MY !

2010-09-21T14:18:00.002-04:00

Don't know if many of you remember this Block of the Month quilt that I was finishing up about this time last year.

Well, there were seemingly myriads of little triangles left over. And not being one to waste any scrap of fabric larger than 1" square, I saved all those little triangles -- and actually had gone ahead at the time and converted them into little "half square triangle" blocks. I hadn't pressed or trimmed them yet, so guess what I've been doing lately. You guessed it:

I've been sewing little seams, pressing little seams, trimming little blocks; sewing little seams, pressing little seams, trimming little blocks; sewing little seams, pressing little seams, and trimming little blocks. You get the picture, right? By the time I'm finished with all that little seam work, I think I'll have about 50 3"pinwheel" blocks. Then, just gotta figure out what to do with them. I've got some ideas, but not quite certain yet.

I'll keep you posted.

MOVING ON

2010-09-14T13:33:00.004-04:00

Thought it was about time to show you the progress on my "fussy cut" quilt. Not nearly as fussy cut as some, but I am happy with how it turned out. Now to decide what fabric to use for the backing. Hmmmmm . . .

(Sorry about that pink strip at the bottom of this photo. My camera has been doing funny (Er, maybe that should be "fussy" too!) things.

And on the knitting front:

This is a little scarf that I quickly put together for a child's Christmas gift.

This is what I'm about to start knitting for my college age granddaughter for her birthday.

I've got an olive green yarn for it. Sure hope she likes it. In the "cold north" (Brooklyn), I'm hoping she'll get a lot of good out of it.

So time to move on and get to it. Time's a-wastin'!

SASHES AND FUSSY CUTS

2010-09-10T11:43:00.003-04:00

Well, I've finally gotten back with a photo of the sashing on my Irish Chain quilt. It's been sewn on for quite a while, but I just got around to pressing it.

I guess I need to start with the "sandwiching" process.

In the meantime, I've started on another quilt. My new one will use fabric from daughter Anna Maria's first fabric line "Bohemian" (sadly no longer manufactured).

When I saw this quilt at the recent AQS show in Knoxville, I was fascinated by the way the fabric was cut in the center of the stars -- each is 8 pieces placed in a swirling pattern.

While my fussy cuts are not as elaborate as that, I do think they are turning out quite nicely.

And of course with the colorful patterns of those fabrics, my quilt will certainly look different that the sample I saw (on the cover of the 2009 BH&G Patchwork and Quilting magazine).

I'm looking forward to getting it finished and sharing it with you.

CAN'T RESIST A SALE

2010-09-05T08:07:00.004-04:00

Oh, my, this past Tuesday was the last day of the month, so my quilt shop had their end of month/end of bolt sale. Since I will be out of town the next three "end of month days", I just HAD to go this month! And I did "good".

Love these prints for some of my Project Linus quilts that I'll be starting on again soon. I even have a good "frog print" that will go with them.

This top print will go well with the two under it that I already had--most likely usable for a baby boy or girl.

And I could not resist this little snail fabric on top that goes well with the other two that I already had.

These above for Project Linus will all be disappearing 9 patch.

And this: Ahhhhh, just fell in love with them and it will be something for moi! I spent a good deal of time yesterday afternoon picking out some lights and darks from my stash to go with it.

Oh, and OOPS, I must admit that my shop had still another sale over the weekend that I went to and got even more fabric! Their already reduced ($5) fabric was buy 4 yards and get on free! So I got 28 yards of fabric for $4 a yard. And it's ALL very good quality fabric. About 15 yards of it is flannel plaids for boys' PJ bottoms that I'll be starting soon.

I'll show you that stash addition to my stash next time!

OOPS !

2010-08-29T17:15:00.002-04:00

Golly, gee, it sure is a good thing that I go up the steps to take my photos from the "bridge" that's over our foyer. I get a better bird's eye view of the pieces all put together. This time I realized that I had put my (4 block) strips together differently than I had planned.

The way it is here, the darker background strips are together.

I had intended them to be separated by the lighter strip like this.

Well, I guess photography helps find mistakes too. I didn't realize until just now that one of the blocks (left center block in this lower photo) has extra little dark blocks. Since this was an "exchange" block, though, I think I will leave it as is. Not quite so noticeable since it's on an edge and not in the middle of the quilt.

My plan for finishing this quilt is to put a 6 inch border around it to make it about 72 x 90.

And I have completed the next birthday sweater -- this one for my soon-to-be 11 year old granddaughter in New York.

I think I'm going to be taking a break from knitting for a while and work on some embroidery on a quilt that I started over a year ago! 'Bout time, don't ya' think?

"CHILDREN ARE A GIFT FROM GOD !"

2010-08-26T18:34:00.005-04:00

Many of you are readers of my daughter, Anna Maria's blog so you might recognize that quote from her last entry: the words of their cabbie in New York after they left their oldest at Pratt University.

My words are not nearly as eloquent as my daughter's, but I would have to say AMEN to the cabbie's statement.

My husband and I could wish for no better gifts from God than our three children, their spouses, and our 12 grandchildren.

Since we live only about 3 hours away from daughter Anna Maria (unlike the 5 hours from daughter Eleni or 13 hours--or a plane ride to son George's) I was able to drive to Nashville to stay with the other children while they made the momentous trip to Brooklyn. The night before they left, there was a really fun birthday party for granddaughter Isabela's 9th birthday. I just had to get one last photo of the college girl with her parents before they took off the next morning.

And the rest of the crew, too.

And one of the birthday girl on a quilt "trampoline" being thrown in to the air.

That was the fun time BEFORE the younger ones all headed in to big sister's room to say goodbye before they went to bed, knowing that Mom, Dad, and sister would be off for their flight in the wee hours of the morning. A bit tearful, I might add.

As usual, in a large family, there's always laundry that "Nani" can help catch up with.

But look at the great little helper I had!

No, I didn't have time for much knitting or quilting while I was there (just checking out the many blocks still arriving in Anna Maria's mailbox for the Rainbow project), but I'm back at it now and will get you caught up on my crafty activities next time.

THE END OF THE RAINBOW . . .

2010-08-18T18:34:00.002-04:00

. . . well, maybe.

I thought I'd stop making the Rainbow Around the Block items now as I'm headed to Anna Maria's tomorrow for a few days of babysitting while she and son-in-law take their Juliana off to college. (How can THAT be?)

But just as I thought I wouldn't do any more, I found some more fabric that I wouldn't be using for anything in the near future, so I cut out some squares to take with me to work on while I'm there.

The latest to add to her collection:

Well, drats, the one the left turned out too small, so I guess it will stay here.

The one on the right was supposed to be a "pin wheel" center, and I didn't realize until the day after it was all assembled that I goofed. Didn't take it apart, though. It'll just have to stay.

For the blue, green stack:

The two on the left here have baby prints on them, the one on the right nice soft colors (also maybe for a baby?)

And maybe for purple/pink -- or wherever they blend well with all the other donated blocks.

Off to get a bit more knitting done this evening. I'd like to have the sweater ready to assemble when I get home. Hmmmmm, maybe I should take that with me too.

MORE RAINBOW BLOCKS

2010-08-13T19:36:00.003-04:00

Still at it: making blocks for daughter Anna Maria's Rainbow Around the Block project.

I didn't mention that when I was at her house last week, I did some block (and she has received a LOT of them)

sorting by color. As I remember, there was an "orange/yellow" grouping, so these will easily go in that category. The two on the left are "Disappearing 9 Patch" pattern which is so easy, and a wonderful way to use 5" squares and not LOOK like a simple 9 patch. The others are simply using up odd sizes and shapes of fabric bits that I just cannot force myself to throw away.

On these greens, the right and left one are an attempt to use us some more small pieces of fabric. The middle on, of course, a simple 9 patch. The squares were too small to give me the leeway to cut and resew for a disappearing 9 patch, so it's just a plain old 9 patch.

I've finished a couple more now and also have a couple 9 patches ready to "disappear" tomorrow !

Oh, yeah, I'm still knitting. Should be able to show you the latest sweater pretty soon.

ALL KINDS OF ART

2010-08-08T18:58:00.004-04:00

Ah, what a wonderful few days I had this week with my daughters and their families. My daughter, Eleni (from South Carolina) , and her two children picked me up on Monday and we traveled to Nashville to spend a few days with my daughter Anna Maria and her family.

Of course, no visit can be complete without shopping with daughters and granddaughters, of which we managed to do quite a bit!

At the end of one shopping day, we took a trip to the Frist Museum. Our reason for going was to see "The Golden Age of Couture" exhibit, featuring couture clothing from 1947-1957. It was quite remarkable. I have to admit that I even remember a lot of the styles. Oops, I guess I'm giving away my age!

While there, we also saw the Chihuly glass exhibit which was breathtaking.

Oh, and I guess I must mention that on our way in to the museum we dropped off some artwork of granddaughter Juliana's that will be on exhibit there as part of a Nashville wide student competition exhibit.

I tell ya' that girl is so talented!

And get a load of this -- SO FUN: She gave her cousin a hair cut, right in front of the painting that her mom did several years ago of her aunt (mother of the cousin getting the hair cut) braiding her hair.

Ah, from one generation to the next.

But, really, would we have it any other way?

SALES & STASH

2010-08-01T17:26:00.003-04:00

Hmmm, nothing like a good quilt shop sale to help build the stash. For quilters in the Knoxville area, the last shopping day of each month brings with it a wonderful sale. My favorite "quilting haunt" has an end of month/end of bolt sale. If there is a bolt of fabric with less than 5 yards, you can get whatever is remaining on the bolt at a 40% discount. A couple years ago I found some fantastic "nightie" fabric for the grandchildren. There was, however, a lot more on each bolt than I needed. Not to worry: I knew that stash would come in handy for something. And it sure did this year:

One of my on line friends who is involved with Quilts of Valor told me about another project that her local quilting guild is collecting blankets for. The bottom line is that US service personnel are delivering blankets to the children of the war zones. Many of these children have nothing of their very own. All it took for me was a little time and stash fabric to come up with several blankies for these children. So these and a couple others will be in the mail to my friend tomorrow for her to take to her next guild meeting.

Fun thing for me, and most likely my granddaughters too, is that children so far away are going to be sleeping under the same fabric that their 2008 nighties were made from.

And, oh, yes, and not to leave the boys out: the brown stripe fabric is left over from one of my grandson's PJs. I'll admit, it's not all stash fabric. The fun print with the children I got at the Knoxville quilt show a couple weeks ago.

Oh, and as for the sale: Yep, I was there again yesterday and have fabric for this year's PJs! I think that I won't have quite as much fabric leftover this year, but I'm sure there will be at least some that will find its way in to a quilt somewhere down the road! I'll be sure and let you know.

OOPS !

2010-07-23T10:53:00.004-04:00

Oh my, I hope I'm not the only one that does this: sews right side to wrong side of fabric instead of right sides together. Seems like I've been doing a lot of seam ripping lately,

but, not to worry: I'm still getting lots of fun blocks for daughter Anna Maria's Rainbow Around the Block project

I thought I had all my stashed half square triangle blocks used only to find that there were more hiding under my scraps. So I guess I've got to come up with some more inventive ideas to use them attractively. That is after I do a few simple children's charity quilts.

Speaking of attractive, I'm sure my grandson is going to look quite handsome in this sweater that I finally completed. I'm hoping it's not too terribly large for him. It's supposed to be one of those "oversized" sweaters, but even though I made it a size 12 (and he'll be 13), I'm sure he'll swim in it until he grows a bit more.

I got the sweetest phone call a couple evenings ago from my almost 8 year old granddaughter in New York. I answered the phone, thinking I would be talking to my son and heard this little voice say, "Thank you for the present; the sweater is gorgeous." A "Nani" can not ask for much better appreciation than that. (Photo of that sweater on my June 4 blog)

So now to get back to the matching (though different color) sweater for her big sister's October birthday.

CRAZY !

2010-07-14T17:01:00.004-04:00

Hmmm, I can't think of this one bloc of "crazy quilting" without being reminded of my friend "Crazy Ann" who calls herself that because she likes crazy quilts. Also thinking I should open my internet Pandora and listen to Patsy Cline!

At any rate, this is the first time I've ever really done any crazy quilting. I'm more of a structured kind of gal. But I also don't like to waste ANYTHING. All I had left after this bit of piecing on the left were a few pieces of the 30s reproduction fabric -- the largest piece being about 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. So I guess I didn't waste much.

The 30s repro fabric was from this baby quilt that I made a few years ago.

Of course, if you've been reading my blog lately, you know that I'm making blocs for daughter Anna Maria's Rainbow Around the Block project to benefit victims of the May Nashville flooding.

These are a few other blocs I've whipped out in the last couple days -- mostly starting with leftover blocs or strips from other quilts.

Those of you who sent me fabric for our "light / dark" fabric exchange a couple years ago might recognize your fabrics in most of these blocs.

Now, before I can get on to any other sewing, I MUST figure out just how I'm going to use the fabric pieces sitting on my cutting table. Then there's a bag full of more half-sqaure-triangles to use up. Oh, my--I've got my work cut out for me!

But it might just be time to go cook some pasta to put under the sauce that's been simmering on the stove all afternoon -- Yep, from our garden tomatoes.

Ah, and then a quiet evening back to the knitting needles and that sweater for my grandson.

BETTER THAN QUILTING & KNITTING

2010-07-06T15:59:00.003-04:00

Well, I haven't gotten any quilting or knitting done for the past few day.

And this is why. (Just so you don't have to count, there are 12 grandchildren.)

As much as I love my needle work, I'll forego it any day to spend time with family. Our 3 children and their families were with us for the holiday weekend.

I think I can speak for all when I say: A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL !

'FESS UP TIME

2010-06-26T19:54:00.002-04:00

OK, I promise to make a couple (actually several) extra blocks for the Rainbow Around The Block project.

The pillow on the left is the one I made a few years ago after my first official quilting class. I had lots of the postage stamp size strips left and used them in blocks for the project. However, this block on the right just seemed to be a great mate for the original, especially since I still had some of the piping trim all cut and stashed away. Luckily as I was going through my stash of fabric pieces I came across 3 log cabin blocks EXACTLY the right size for the project. So then I didn't feel quite so guilty for lifting this one.

Oh, and since we are going to have AT LEAST 18 extra people as overnight house guests next weekend, I might just need some extra pillows--even if they're not bed pillows. I think this size pillow might be just right for some sweet little heads that will be ready for sleep after long days playing with cousins.

Ah, and a couple of those cousins I mentioned will have sweaters made from these yarns come January.

Hmmmm, maybe I need to get off a few e-mail lists. Too many tempting sales! But at least now I'm only buying for a particular purpose in mind, not just 'cause it's a bargain.

As for the August birthday, I'm making progress. That's the back of the sweater draped over the arm of the chair and the front is almost finished as well.

Not sure when I'll be back here in cyber land. But my guess is the next time I'll get to show you some photos of those cousins!

Can you tell I can hardly wait!

PATCHWORK -- BIG, LITTLE, AND FRUITY ?!

2010-06-15T18:24:00.003-04:00

I've been having lots of fun the past couple days using up some "postage stamp" strips that I've had left over for a few years. (They are from one of my very first quilting projects. I am pretty much a "self taught" quilter, but I did take one class a few years ago, just to learn some basics. The class available at the time happened to be for a postage stamp quilt, so I took that class and made a couple pillows. I don't think I'd ever have the patience to make a whole quilt with such little pieces (1 inch squares {finished}). Anyway, I had a lot of strips left over and decided that my daughter Anna Maria's "Rainbow Around the Block" project would be a good use of that part of my stash.

So this is what I have come up with. All of these blocks, as you see, do not use the postage stamp strips. I simply used up the fabrics that I had put with the strips.

There were several blues and greens:

and a few in the reds:

And although the postage stamp stash is gone, I still have lots of other little pieces to use somehow.

And I see that there are a few (down in the bottom right corner) that will go with the above blues. Hooray.

Oh, and since we've been doing patchwork inside and out around here, I even did it in the kitchen the other day.

If you don't have enough of one kind of fruit to make a pie, might as well make a patchwork pie, too.

;-)

Oh, and yes, it was quite yummy!

THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY

2010-06-10T06:17:00.004-04:00

Hooray, I have finished the Irish Chain blocks for my block exchange and have them all packed up and ready to take to the post office today.

This is what it would have looked like had I kept all of my blocks for a quilt. I will look forward to seeing the different blocks that I get in the mail over the coming weeks and play with the arrangement.

Oh, and on the outdoor "patchwork". Mission accomplished. AND we had a good rain yesterday afternoon with NO water going where we didn't want it.

Now to get on with my next quilting fun: blocks for my daughter, Anna Maria's "Rainbow Around the Bloc"

project.

THE PROOF IS IN THE . . .

2010-06-04T10:24:00.003-04:00

Well, in this case, not the "pudding" but the piles.

See, I really am working on a bit of quilting, even if it has been going rather slowly the last couple weeks.

At least I now have all my blocks trimmed so I can start the final assembly. FINALLY!

Oh, and a project that is no longer a WIP (For those not familiar with the lingo: that's "Work in Progress".) but completed.

So here is another birthday sweater ready for August.

At least, I'm ahead somewhere, instead of behind.

Hope to get caught up real soon.

PATCHWORK -- INSIDE AND OUT

2010-05-30T19:34:00.002-04:00

As I'm working on MY patchwork inside (to finish my Irish Chain block exchange blocks) . . .

. . . my husband has his own brand of patchwork on the outside of the house -- to remedy a water problem in our basement utility room. He is raising the concrete (which has "settled" over time) that supports our driveway pavers so that water won't run toward the house(and in to the basement) in a heavy rainfall.

And like any good quilter, he plans well for the placement of his "patches" so he will know exactly where the pavers belong to keep the pattern correct.

And as I take a break from my patchwork, I am finishing up my granddaughter's birthday sweater.

Actually, between the time I took this photo and got around to sharing it with you, the crochet edging is finished as are all the seams. All that's left is the buttons that I will buy tomorrow.

That means I can now start on my grandson's sweater this evening --I guess I'd better get to it.

ALL WRAPPED UP

2010-05-22T20:05:00.003-04:00

Oh, my. Two celebrations within a week of one another. And opposite ends of childhood for our youngest and eldest grandchild.

Our youngest, Roman, celebrated his first birthday last week and his big sister, Juliana, will graduate from high school on Monday.

We get to go visit them and enjoy the last couple days of grandchildren sitting (Their other grandmother has been with them the last few days.) until Mom and Dad get home on Monday, just in time to see their first baby graduate. They have been busy in Minneapolis this week at Quilt Market.

My preparations for the celebrations are almost complete.

Including my first attempt at towel monogramming. I'm thinking that they turned out quite nicely.

And the machine embroidery for the yoke of the nightgown I think is quite OK too. I'm hoping the "puckering" will relax a bit once the Solvy is off the back. (It just might have been a mistake to try to press the hoop wrinkles out with the Solvy still there--just to get this photo!)

I'll finish the nightie when I get more fabric from my daughter's home studio while I'm there. So I guess it's not all quite wrapped up after all. Some of it needs to wait just a few more days.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT . . .

2010-05-17T16:43:00.003-04:00

. . . or at least I hope so.

I've been playing with my embroidery machine again -- and using very different weights of fabric. First of all on this voile (from daughter Anna Maria's collection) for the yoke of a nightgown. The body of the gown will be the print. (I think I'll make a trip to the shop to get a little different colors, but I'm pleased with the quality of the stitches.)

Amazingly, I didn't even have to change the tension settings to get a good result on the practice towel either.

Oh, yes, I'm still knitting along on that sweater and my "take along" dish cloths.

And, of course, still enjoying the spring blooms I find in my flower beds.

OK, time to go back and play some more, or shall I just go outside and enjoy the birds' songs after our late afternoon rain?

BLAST FROM THE PAST

2010-05-05T16:56:00.002-04:00

Oh, my goodness. I had almost forgotten I had this pattern "book". I knew I had a lot of my mom's old patterns, but this one contains the pattern for not one, but for three patterns of sweaters that she made for me while I was in high school! I no longer have those sweaters, but I do indeed still have two others that she knit me during those same years that I still actually wear. AND my daughter and granddaughter each have one as well.

Now, the reason I was looking through all my patterns was to find a pattern for "chunky" weight yarn for a sweater for my granddaughter for her August birthday. (Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to find patterns for late grammar school age and pre-adolescent children?)

And, hooray, I found a pattern that I am using. (This is the back, but I guess you cold figure that out.)

And since I showed you a bit of my mother's "hobby", I thought I might as well show you that I try to keep up a bit with my father's as well. At one time he must have had around 100 rose bushes. And they were all beautiful.

These are the first blooms on one of my (only) three bushes.

I think both Mother and Daddy might be pleased that the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree"!

I'M HERE I'M HERE

2010-04-29T13:47:00.003-04:00

Hooray, the June birthday sweater is finished. I'm quite happy with it.

I put aside my Irish Chain block exchange blocks (see April 19 posting) for just a bit to play with my embroidery machine.

As part of our block exchange, we are each sending a 2 inch block with our "signature" so the recipient can make one block with all the signatures (instead of having the siggies distracting throughout the quilt). It had been a long time since I had played with the embroidery settings on my machine, but after many tries to get the tension just right and after MANY mistakes (on my part) I finally finished. And the size works out just right. WHEW !

Now that the siggies are finished and the above sweater is finished blocking on my cutting table, I can get back to the block sewing.

And, if my grandson likes this sweater and yarn, this will be my next birthday sweater project.

Hey, that birthday (and his cousin's) aren't until August. I've got plenty of time to play hookie in the wonderful East Tennessee sun. And that's where I'm headed--right now!

A BUSY COUPLE WEEKS

2010-04-19T17:34:00.002-04:00

Well, yes, it has been busy. But, I've got to admit that I have had time for more than one nap on my new chaise lounge. It's even more tempting now that I have all my outdoor pot planting done. I've had this "baker's rack" for a couple years, but this is the first it looks close to what I wanted it to. The last couple years it was more of a "catch all" for garden and grill equipment. I like it this way MUCH BETTER!

And I've gotten my little herb spot a little more complete now, too: mint (yet to appear), rosemary, oregano, a bay bush with basil growing beneath it, dill, marjoram, thyme, chives, and fennel. (I've got my parsley surrounding some flowers on the patio out of the afternoon sun so they stay a bit cooler.)

I haven't forgotten the knitting and quilting, though. I'm still working on my granddaughter's sweater--it's almost done. When I just want to do some mindless knitting, though, I work on dishcloths.

And on the quilting front, I haven't done too much, but I did finish my first Irish chain block with Civil War fabric for a block exchange that I'm doing with some dear quilting friends.

And I'm hoping to get back to the blocks and that sweater VERY SOON!

A BIT OF DIVERSION . . .

2010-04-08T18:12:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd take a bit of a diversion from the quilting and knitting to show you what I might just be busy doing the next few days.

Herbs, anyone? I need to clean out the old dry growth from my oregano pot.

Looks like my chives are ready to go though--without any further ado.

And so is my thyme.

This is what greeted me at my front door when we arrived home from our NY son's and his family over the Easter Holiday.

I quickly headed out the back door to see if any of my Lenten roses had bloomed. The foliage was just about destroyed by our cold winter this year. Happily, there are lots of flowers!

Ah, and the planting bug has hit my husband. This is the start of his garden this year. Luckily it rained today so he didn't plant these quite yet. (He is not patient to wait for that final cold snap the we almost always get.) Our area had an all time record high temperature of 85 on Tuesday, but it's supposed to drop to 35 tomorrow night. So these little guys will spend the night on our protected patio.

But with temperatures returning to the 70s for about 10 days, I think they will soon find their way in to this newly tilled (with lots of sand added to modify the East TN clay soil) garden bed.

Oh, and the geraniums that I kept inside over the winter will find their way back out to the porch this year. A couple of them will replace that evergreen in the midst of the pansies that's on my front porch.

Oh, and I have been doing a bit of knitting, but I really do need to get back in the quilting mode too.

I'll keep you posted . . . .

SPRING IS IN THE AIR . . .

2010-03-29T05:29:00.005-04:00

From a wonderful d0uble (look carefully) rainbow after a hail storm,

tulips in my sewing room,

and a couple Easter presents for Linus,

to Easter baskets for some special grandchildren,

complete with a knitted wash cloth and egg soaps,

spring most definitely IS in the air!

I will be closing down my blog-o-sphere during Holy Week and the first couple days after Easter.

May you all have a blessed celebration of Passover and the Resurrection of our Lord.

SPRING IS HERE !

2010-03-23T18:20:00.003-04:00

At least that's what the calendar says. And I must admit it was a very lovely day here today, and I lolled a bit outside in the chaise lounge this afternoon.

And if the flowers are a little late to bloom, I can just check out my current quilt in progress. After all spring is the time for tulips, right?

A friend shared a tulip block pattern the other day, and I decided to give it a try.

But, oh my, I didn't know I'd be able to have so much fun in the planning stages. My daughter Anna Maria visited over the weekend and brought me some goodies. Her daughters (5 & 8) could hardly wait to give them to me. Seems like such a little thing, but my daughter knows me well enough to know that I would never buy it for myself:

graph paper and a 24 set of nice colored pencils.

To plan quilts of course!

So after she left, I got out the tulip block pattern and went to work.

This is the resulting plan:

And of course I wanted to use Anna Maria's fabric for it, specifically Chocolate Lollipop.

The multicolor (Bohemian) will be the sashing.

And this pink will be the outer sashing.

And with all that planning, I finished my first block today. I'm really likin' it!

And until I see the first tulip around here, I'll just enjoy my fabric ones!

NO LONGER A UFO . . .

2010-03-19T08:59:00.003-04:00

. . . or for those of you not familiar with the lingo: UnFinished Object.

And I might just take some sort of a prize for just how long this has been unfinished.

I actually started this needlepoint for my son in 1978! I'll do the math: that's 32 years ago!

I had forgotten about it until last summer when I came across it as I was looking for something else. So now it's not for my son, but for HIS son!

Just in time to take it to him when we visit that NY family for Easter.

And speaking of Easter, I think I'll add these wash cloths with some cute little soaps to the children's Easter Baskets.

Can't wait to see them all.

But in the meantime: HOORAY, today one of my daughters is coming with her 3 youngest children and we are going to spend a lot of time just sittin' and stitchin'!

Can't think of a better way to spend a day!

I THINK IT WORKED !

2010-03-14T18:38:00.002-04:00

I think that the hodge-podge of turquoise, teal, and red worked out OK. I had enough of the stash fabric to make a nice size quilt for a young teen. (It turned out to be about 38" x 60".) I backed it with fleece. I have backed with fleece previously without using a batting, but I was always a bit unhappy with the seam bumps that could be felt through the fleece. So this time I pressed the seams opened, then zig-zagged sewed the horizontal seams of the top to sheeting fabric before I sewed on the fleece backing. I'm much happier with it this way than with nothing between the fleece and the seams.

Since there was already the zig zag on the top, though, I didn't want to do a lot more quilting, so I decided to tie this one.

And on to the knitting front:

I have started this sweater for my soon-to-be 15 yo granddaughter.

I was a bit concerned that the pretty ringlet pattern stripe on the front wouldn't show up enough on my varigated yarn, but I think it's going to be OK.

Well, it's been a couple days since I've picked it up, so I guess it's time to get back to work!

ANOTHER SWEATER READY FOR THE MAIL

2010-03-08T13:45:00.002-05:00

So, here it is: the next birthday sweater with those buttons I found in my stash. This one is for my soon-to-be 5 year old grandson in New York. Maybe it will help keep him warm while all that snow finishes melting. Well, maybe it's already melted; I'm not sure. At any rate, hope he likes it!

On the quilting front: still trying to use up my old fabrics (some with at least a bit of polyester). I had so much turquoise and so much red, but not enough of either do do much with. But, HOORAY, there was a flannel that had both colors. So it's all going together in one quilt with that flannel "tying" it all together. (Actually I have the top sewn together and just this morning picked up some turquoise fleece for the backing.)

This might not quite count as quilting (Well, I stitched some straight lines in the middle for the book "spine" area, so maybe that does count as quilting.) Anyway, some dear internet friends have been spoiling me with all kinds of little goodies in the mail for my birthday and "just 'cause". Most of the fabrics will be put together in one quilt for me to be reminded of their love. But these three goodies worked out just great for a book cover.

I call it my "green pastures" (as in the 23rd Psalm) book cover and I'll use it for my paper back spiritual books to carry around with me.

These fabrics were sent by two different friends:

Couldn't get a more coordinated look, huh?

And this embroidered goody was sent by yet another.

Great finishing touch, don't you think?

OK, maybe I should go trim up that red/turquoise quilt top, and sew the backing on.

A HA, ANOTHER KIND OF STASH . . .

2010-03-06T08:49:00.004-05:00

We're not to the new kind of stash just yet. Wait a minute, I'll get there.

But in the meantime, these are a few of the stash quilts I made and dropped off for Project Linus yesterday:

This is not stash; I purchased this fabric in Nashville a few weeks ago. A gift for a baby to be born, most likely this weekend.

TADA, here is my "other" kind of stash: my button box (well in my case, a basket). I was about to go to the fabric store to buy some buttons for this sweater, but decided to look in my basket first. Lo, and behold: just the kind of button I was planning to purchase, and just the right number too.

Hoping for this sweater to be finished (All that's left to do is this buttonhole band and the side seam stitching.) and in the mail on Monday!

Hmmmmm, NOW WHAT ?

2010-02-28T19:51:00.006-05:00

Oh, goodness, I hate to throw anything away--including scraps of fabric. But I have all these bits and pieces that really don't seem to go together. (I've already gleaned the best go-togethers from my stash scraps.)

So what to do with all these:

Well, a quilting friend shared a blog web site that included a pattern for a "disappearing 9 patch" block. So I thought I would try that. The scraps I had, though, were not such that I could make 9 equal size patches in my blocks, so mine is--needless to say--a bit of a modification from the original pattern.

This is what my block looked like right after I cut it into the quarters. You'll notice that right side "patches" are narrower that the others and I opted to cut it a little off center.

And this is how I arranged them to make the block.

In the meantime, my daughter showed me a really neat way to make a strip block.

So the resulting scrappy quilt will be a combination of 4 strip blocks and 12 modified disappearing 9 patches.

But, drats, I still have some of that pile of fabric left. Now I wonder just what will be next!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANI

2010-02-21T19:05:00.003-05:00

Ah, what can be better for a birthday (my 65th) than to have your daughters (200 and 300 miles away respectively ) come home to help with dinner.

And to have 8 of our 12 grandchildren here to celebrate with us. (The eldest is not in this photo.)

And to have one of the granddaughters like the sweater (her Nani knit last year) enough to wear it to church.

And to know that the youngest granddaughter in New York is celebrating her 2nd birthday on the same day! (God willing, we will be visiting with them for Easter.)

Wonderful weekend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY

2010-02-19T11:00:00.002-05:00

This photograph of my father is part of a quilt (one of my first) that I made for my mother after Daddy passed away in 1998.

He was born on February 18, 1910, so yesterday would have been his 100th birthday. Even though I didn't get the quilt out yesterday, I thought of him all through the day.

I think one of the the most important things I learned from him (through example) was not to feel sorry for myself, to be positive, and deal with life as it comes. There could be no better example.

I know that whenever and whatever challenges I may face, he is up there cheering me on as I go headlong on through life. Thanks, Daddy and Happy Birthday.

Panning a little farther out on the quilt, there are photos of him with my mother in their younger and senior years; photos of my sister and myself with our husbands, with Mother and Daddy; and one of my favorites of my sister and me. (That's me looking up at her so adoringly.) Some of the patches are fabric from Daddy's ties. Farther out on the quilt are blocks that each of my children, nieces and nephew added to the collection, as well as their photos.

Ah, a wonderful loving family. Life just doesn't get any better!

A HA . . .

2010-02-09T12:51:00.006-05:00

. . . I knew there was a good reason that I was keeping all those little snippets from the cuttings of my blocks from my Block of the Month quilt. I had already sewn them together into little squares, so it was just a matter of pressing, squaring them up, sewing them together . . .

putting them around this fabric for a sashing . . .

to come up with a fantastic pillow to go with the quilt!

As for another A HA: so this is why my Christmas cactus didn't bloom for Christmas. It was waiting for Valentine's Day.

Hope you all have a sweet one . . . Valentine's Day, that is.

I'M A HAPPY CAMPER !

2010-01-29T17:36:00.003-05:00

Ah, I just couldn't wait! I had to put the quilt top on the bed, just to see how it will look when it's finished. Not to mention, I had to figure out just how wide to make my sashing.

I gotta say: I love it! And so does my husband. We will be using it before the quilting is completed. Since it's so large (king), there is no way I can machine quilt it on my sewing machine. So I'm planning to baste it well, sew SITD on the sashing seams, go ahead and put the binding on, leave the basting in place, and USE IT. Then I'll hand quilt the blocks by hand when the mood strikes. (That will be quite often as I always do some sort of hand work in the evening when I watch TV.)

My daughter helped me choose a great backing fabric when I was visiting her in Nashville over the weekend. We managed to hit a great sale at Textile Fabrics--which was nice since I needed 9 yards.

You can barely see the binding fabric between the backing fabric and my blocks.

Oh, and hand work in the evening: This sweater for my grandson is taking turns with the quilt embroidery. (for the quilt that is currently on our bed).

I should have this sweater done in plenty of time before his March birthday!

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD . . .

2010-01-22T18:49:00.003-05:00

. . . er, sewing machine that is.

I've finally gotten back to the "Block of the Month" quilt from last year. I've had the blocks assembled for quite some time, but just hadn't gotten around to assembling them.

So this is some of that work:

The two blocks at the sewing machine are the ones that go in the empty spots here:

Ah, and before I started back at the sewing machine, I DID do a bit or organizing.

Oh, and the quilt that I made in 2008 that I'm still embroidering:

These are a couple of the blocks that were the easiest to embroider in a way to mimic the fabric.

And yes, I do have a sweater on my knitting needles, but it's for a birthday that isn't until March, so I've got lots of time--hopefully both of these quilts will be done before I have to worry about that time crunch!

STITCHES, STITCHES

2010-01-11T16:59:00.004-05:00

I've been playing around with all kinds of stitches lately. With the help of the Quilter's Embroidery Bible, I'm adding embroidery to the rather solid color squares of this quilt. (It was a "light/dark" exchange with some of my on-line quilting friends.) I machine embroidered the initials of the sender in each block. I used stitch in the ditch machine stitching on the seam between the blocks and the sashing. I hand quilted diagonal lines through the blocks. So I have hand and machine quilting, and hand and machine embroidery all wrapped up in to one quilt. I guess you could call it a sampler quilt of sorts. Within each block I am trying to somewhat mimic the other fabrics in the block, using only a subtle color difference from the fabric I am embroidering.

Funny thing is, we are using this quilt this winter. I just pull it off the bed in the evening to work on it, then put it back before I go to bed.

I'm using back stitching and French knots on the sashing;

This is some of the "feathered chain" that is a new stitch for me.

And when the embroidery stitching gets to tiresome, there's always the knit stitches to fall back on.

These are for my older daughter.

And this for our youngest granddaughter for her second birthday next month.

Next up: a sweater for her almost 5 year old brother, and in a few days, back to my day time sewing and the assembly of my block of the month quilt.

CLUTTER BUSTIN'

2010-01-07T17:51:00.004-05:00

Whew, it wasn't easy, but I was able to put together a few baby and child quilts from pajama (and other) leftovers of the past few years. Most of them I could even find appropriate backings in my stash.

A few, however, I did buy some fleece and flannel for the backings:

And now that I'm on my way to ridding my cupboards of fabric, I though it was about time to do the same thing with my drawers full of yarn. This is the first of the yarn stash reducing projects.

Hmmmmm, what will be next?

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2010-01-01T10:04:00.003-05:00

I am not one of those people who gets overly sentimental about the ending of one year and the beginning of another. Suffice it to say that my 2009 was filled with blessings far beyond any expectations I might have had.

I begin the new year with the hope that in some small way I might be able to give blessings to others. OK, that's enough sentimentality for me!

A couple weeks ago, I shared a photo of the jammies that were going to the NY grandchildren. I think those PJs look MUCH better with the children in them, don't you?

And yes, I did get the socks for one daughter made before we went to Nashville to deliver a bit of Christmas cheer.

One of my favorite Santas is encouraging me to finish this second sock for my other daughter. We will see her in a couple weeks, so I have plenty of time to sew that toe. (Actually I'll do that today.)

Ah, and I got a little carried away buying sock yarn at one of my local yarn shops. But who can resist a 60% off sale!

But before I start on more socks, this yarn will be getting whipped up in to a sweater for little Grace's (far left in the NY children photo above) 2/21 birthday.

I'm going to start that in just a little bit as I watch the Rose Bowl parade.

Well, now that will be a little bit of sentimentality, too, I guess. I'm not particularly interested in the Rose Bowl (parade or ball game). However, I will be watching both. My mother never missed the parade as she was cooking for our New Years Day gathering of friends. So it just seems like something I should be doing--ooohing and aaahing at all the flower covered floats.

And as for the game. Well, I heard last night that this is the first time since 1997 that Ohio State has been in the Rose Bowl game. As an Ohio State vet school graduate, my father rarely missed watching an OSU game. I'm sure he was watching that '97 game, just a year before he passed away. I'll watch it for you this afternoon, Daddy, and cheer Ohio State on, just for you.

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL

2009-12-24T06:34:00.004-05:00

As it turns out, my mother was not the only one who taught me the love of needle work.

One of my most cherished Christmas decorations is this latch hook piece that my father made in his retirement.

Brings back blessed memories. Oh, how Daddy loved Christmas! He even played Santa at least one year in the town square. He also put a longed for doll on a less fortunate neighbor girl's porch one Christmas morning.

One of my favorite stories of my mother's Christmas spirit is that one year my sister saw scraps of fabric by the sewing machine. She thought sure she was going to get a new dress for Christmas. Quite a surprise when there was no new dress on Christmas morning. Later that winter, she saw young girls at school (from a poorer family) wearing dresses made of the fabric.

Thanks, Daddy and Mother for quietly living--and teaching us--the spirit of the Santa part of Christmas, but most of all for allowing us to grow in knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas.

I miss you!

STASH BUSTING FOR CHRISTMAS

2009-12-17T17:24:00.003-05:00

Finally, I'm getting back to some more stash busting. I just can't justify buying for fabric until I do, and I wanna take advantage of the next sale, so . . .

a couple receiving blankets (two flannels sewn back to back), and a charm baby blanket backed with gingham,

some Dick and Jane fabric I've had for a while and some left over "fish" blocks paired with some plaids

made for a few good projects this holiday season.

Oh, in case you're wondering about that off center stitching on the fishy one, it was stitched from the pieced backing. I thought the front was a little boring, and I think the bright stitching helped a bit.

And as for the rest of the jammies, oops, I forgot to take photos of them before I got them all wrapped.

Now just to get a couple pair of socks knitted.

WARM FUZZIES

2009-12-11T16:27:00.004-05:00

Ah, nothing much cozier on a cold winter night that some nice, fuzzy, flannel jammies. And this "Nani" has been making just that for the grandchildren for several years now. As the number of grandchildren began to grow pretty quickly (Those are just 1/2 of the stockings!), one of my daughters suggested just making pants and getting knit shirts to go with them. So that's mostly what I do for the older children. One of the girls prefers gowns, so that's hers on the right. These jammies are all packed in a box and ready to head to the post office and on to New York in a couple days.

As for the stockings, I almost forgot that I needed to add one this year. Yep, Baby Roman makes 12.

And speaking of stockings, a favorite Christmas tradition at my house is getting out these stockings that my sister made for my children about 35 years ago.

Oh, and not nearly as colorful, but certainly another warm fuzzy: these socks that I finished for myself this week. Just in time for the cold weather--ah so cozy.

It was so much fun knitting the socks, I just might have to start on some more. Stay tuned!

THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER . . .

2009-12-06T06:15:00.002-05:00

The last rose of summer . . .

. . . to the first snow of winter.

Unbelievable that I still had those roses on Friday, before our first snow of the season yesterday. I cut them purposely, knowing what our weather prediction was.

And the tiny little evergreen in the urn at the edge of my porch -- I just planted Friday also, surrounded by pansies I was still able to find at this late point in the season. And yes, for those of you in the North, here in TN pansies do great in the winter (but too hot for them in the summer).

And inside the house, the Christmas tree awaits its assembly. (I'm allergic to trees--especially pine--and mold, so I had to give up on the live trees several years ago.) As today is the day that the Christian world commemorates the memory of the REAL St. Nicolas, the tree will go up after church today.

And in the meantime on the needles--

A book bag for one of my granddaughters:

And a pair of socks for ME.

There are also 6 pairs of jammies for grandchildren completed--more on that later.

NEEDLEWORK AROUND THE WORLD

2009-12-01T06:11:00.004-05:00

Well, even though I was working with wool while knitting and cuddling under a quilt with a wool blend batting, none of the wool was for these sheep. (I do have some wonderful hand loomed blankets that my mother-in-law made decades ago from their own wool.) I would have to admit that one of my favorite things about Greece is hearing the bells on the sheep as the shepherd takes his flock by our house. I'm certainly not a professional photographer, but I do like the framing of this scene off our side patio.

On evenings when it was cool and I wasn't beside the fireplace,

it was wonderful to have the warmth of the wool batting in my quilt. That's it--folded like a pillow--awaiting my evening stretch out on the couch. Oh, and yes, that's my knitting in the bowl on the coffee table.

I was able to get this knitting done while I was there. So 3 Christmas gifts were completed when I returned home.

Now, just to finish the socs that I started on my plane trip home. (By the way, the arm rests on a plane seat are perfect for stabilizing a hank of yarn while winding it in to a ball.)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!

2009-11-26T05:59:00.001-05:00

I will be back in a few days to catch up on my quilting, knitting, and travel escapades.

In the meantime on this Thanksgiving Day, let's most of all be thankful for the One to Whom we give thanks.

ONE LAST THING

2009-10-22T19:31:00.004-04:00

I had just a couple last things I wanted to get done before I leave for Greece tomorrow.

I wanted to send in the 6x9 rectangles that our church ladies had knit.

And I wanted to drop off this quilt at the Project Linus pick up location (a Local yarn shop). I made it from blacks that were NOT the required 6x9. I think someone will enjoy it. If it's too big for Project Linus, the yarn shop is also involved with Warm Up America, so it should keep someone warm this winter.

Let's see, what else do I need to do? Bills paid, check; paper stopped, check; mail held, check; key to the house sitter, check; e-mail boarding passes printed, check. So what does that leave. Oh, yea, PACK. I'd better get scootin'. See you around Thanksgiving.

GETTIN' IT TOGETHER

2009-10-21T18:14:00.004-04:00

Oops, I almost forgot to take photos of the two baby quilts that are going to Greece with me for DH's great nephews. So here they are:

They both have chenille backing so I popped them in the dryer on fluff this afternoon to get any remaining fuzz off them.

I was hoping to assemble all the blocks form my block of the month quilt with the sashing before I leave, but that's just not going to happen. This is a photo, though, that a friend took last week at our quilt retreat of the blocks laid out, just so we could see how it will look. Yes, it's intended to have subtle color differences (except, of course, that Kaffe print at the top of the photo that will be one of the fabrics for the sashing.. Our bedroom is mostly in neutrals and this will be for our bed, so I didn't want there to be a lot of obvious pattern in the finished quilt.

One thing I was able to complete today, though, that will go in the mail tomorrow, are these PJs for a special little girl in Ohio. She will be spending lots of hospital time in the weeks to come, so I figured out how to leave the shoulder seams opened and put snap tape on the tops of the sleeves (extending from the opened shoulder seams) for IV access. A bit of a challenge, but worth it in the end, I hope!

I still have a charity afghan that I want to take by the local yarn shop tomorrow, but it's not quite completed, so I best get crackin' , I guess.

SURPRISE !

2009-10-16T11:43:00.004-04:00

Yes, I've been away for a few days. But that doesn't mean no quilting or knitting. It means a LOT of quilting and a little knitting for me. 16 of my quilting friend from around the USA (think CA to MA and FL) met at a wonderful little retreat center at the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Our cabins were in this wonderful little setting.

Over the past few years, this group has become very close--you guessed it: through the internet. In our caring for one another we have made many quilts (one block made by several different members, sewn together by another, quilted and bound by another two, and then a label made by yet another). We have given the quilts to ladies who have lost family members, those dealing with difficult health issues, and to those who have gone "above and beyond" in doing special things for our little group.

Last year when I was one of those with some health issues, the ladies took turns sending me little "pick me up" gifts that I received weekly for several months. So I was certainly not expecting a quilt as well.

But SURPRISE, on our first evening at our little retreat when we all gathered back in our sewing room after dinner, they presented me with this package.

Inside the package was this wonderful tote that one of the ladies had made.

And inside that was this wonderful "Greek Cross" quilt (seen here on the bed of my cabin). Yes I did sleep under it while I was there, and again last night after I got home.

It is the loving work of the ladies mentioned on the quilt label.

Tearful thanks to all of you.

And if anyone thinks that the internet cannot begin friendships, they just don't know the Weight Watcher's Message Board Quilters' "Lizzie" group!

HERE IT IS !

2009-10-11T17:27:00.004-04:00

Back from babysitting for Anna Maria while she is at Quilt Market. (The other grandmother took over today.)

Here are Anna Maria's shelves that I was able to glean for fabric for grandchildren's Christmas PJs. (top right and 3rd from the bottom left are flannels. And such soft flannel it is--not to mention it's 42 inches instead of the usual 36 " flannel.

But I know that many of you are here to see the voile. So here it is, ready for the backing to make 28" floor pillows--in all three colors ways:

Now wasn't that worth waiting for?

WHAT WAS I THINKING ?

2009-10-02T16:00:00.003-04:00

What was I thinking? I purchased all this fabric on Tuesday. Not that I don't have a huge stash already, or for that matter, lots of projects in the works as it is. There are a couple of gift baby quilts to finish, my block of the month that's been forgotten for at least two months. And, oh yes, the pajamas for my 12 grandchildren for Christmas. And I have nothing in mind for any of this fabric. But of course it was on sale. End of month/end of bolt sale. If there is 5 yards or less on a bolt and you buy it all, you get it at a 40% discount. Just can't refuse. And I do really love all the fabrics. They will be lovely for something.

And speaking of loving fabric: I can't wait to get my hands on daughter, Anna Maria's flannels for those Christmas PJs. I've been busy playing with some wonderful voile that's in her collection that will be debuting (along with the flannel and other new designs) at the Houston quilt market next week. She asked me to make patchwork from the 3 color ways of her voile so that she can make it in to a pillow to showcase the fabric. Now you may be thinking that voile is not appropriate for that home-dec use. Ah, but it is--if you put lightweight fusible fabric on the back. Anna Maria told me a really easy way to do it for this particular project. I cut the different fabrics in to 5" squares, then laid them on the sticky side of the Pelon, "butting" them closely against one another and ironed them in place. Then with right sides together, I folded the fabric on the line where the fabrics meet, and made a 1/2" seam. Then I cut the seams to press them open.

I then did the same thing with all the perpendicular "meetings". So easy as the perpendicular seams automatically are where they need to be--no pinning. Hooray.

And viola, a beautiful patchwork design of your favorite light weight fabrics that will stand up to some healthy home dec uses.

Oh, sorry I can't show you the front of the patches--that will have to come AFTER market.

In the meantime, enjoy dreaming of all the possible new fabrics that will be available to us soon--just as soon as our favorite fabric retailers get the fabrics they order next week!

OOPS, EYES CLOSED

2009-09-29T16:44:00.004-04:00

Oops, my eyes are closed, but at least you can see the sweater vest I finally finished.

I'm debating whether I should add buttons or not. I am going to add loops on the side for the belt (which I guess still needs some blocking to keep it from twisting).

Not a very good or flattering photo, but at least you can see the vest.

TIME OUT

2009-09-25T19:26:00.004-04:00

I took a little time out today from my usual quilting and knitting to make this little book bag and eyeglass case for my DGD's birthday. Actually it made me do a few hours of free motion quilting getting all those butterflies outlined--not very even or neat stitches, but at least I won't have any 4-H judges (ah, the memories) checking it out.

The baby bunny quilt is finished. (It's been folded, hence the creases.)

And I did make a decent label, for a change.

Gotta go wrap the quilt so I can give it this weekend when I see my goddaughter (baby's mama) at my grandson's baptism.

OPA !

2009-09-21T18:32:00.007-04:00

No knitting, sewing, or quilting for me over the past weekend.

Our church hosted their 30th annual Greek Fest, with lots of Greek folk dancing by our young people:

Greek cooking demonstrations:

lots of Greek pastries for sale (I cashiered the pastry line), a variety wonderful Greek food, and all kinds of things from Greece.

But for me, the best is our being able to share our centuries old Orthodox Christian faith with those who take the church tour. (Scroll down to the bottom of the church tour page for photos of the beautiful mosaic iconography.)

Oh, and yes, I am back to cutting for another baby quilt now.

BACK TO WORK

2009-09-15T11:04:00.006-04:00

Hooray, I'm back in the quilting and knitting mode.

I finished my grandson's vest the other night. And for me, I'm really ahead; his birthday isn't until October 30! Wow, how did that happen?

And as I am typing, the "glue basting" on the binding for my current baby quilt is drying. I'll be back in the sewing room to get that sewn on here in a jiffy.

And I must remember to thank my neighbors for wonderful flowers making for the lovely view I have as I sew.