Wrapping up for the month...

My two year tenure as president of Flower Valley Quilting Guild will end at our July meeting. I made cell phone cases for the members who volunteered this past year. Some of them worked on two or more committees and they will also receive a lace bookmark. I need about 30 cell phone cases and 5 bookmarks. I figure while I'm making them for guild members, I may as well make them as gifts to co-workers and family for Christmas presents. I made 60 cell phone cases and 10 bookmarks. NOTE: I couldn't get all 60 cell phone case in one photo. Here is the Turning Twenty Again quilt completed. It took a while but I got the binding added (all by machine) so this one is officially off my UFO list. I will probably give it as a wedding gift to my step-daughter next year...unless some other wonder idea pops in my head. By the way, I'll add a better photo on my website (http://teaquilts.com/) as I couldn't get a good photo. This quilt fits a queen or king size bed.

This month I quilted my 2nd challenge quilt for this year. I pieced the top last year but didn't get around to quilting it. It's horrible how we set something that we love aside and don't return to it in a timely fashion. Sometimes challenges are a great idea to move some of those WIPs. I just can't stay focused on any one quilt from start to completion. I can't show you a photo until June 19th. The theme is simply "Flower Valley Blooms." No size requirements and makers can interpret the theme as they please. I now need to make the binding and then sew it onto the quilt.

Another project I completed was this Ruler Holder I found in one of the Fon's & Porter Magazine (not the main one but a side publication.) It is very handy. I have it hanging on the wall behind my door to my sewing studio so it's not taking up valuable wall space. I only need to see it when I need to pull something out of it. I hope your month was as productive as mine.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

Have I Got a Lot to Tell You!

I made this "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Knot" purse (pattern can be purchased at this link as well as photos of purses made by others: http://www.youcanmakethis.com/info/featured-products/She-Loves-Me-She-Loves-Me-Knot-Handbag.htm ) for my mom for Mother's Day. I started a second one for me but haven't completed it yet. She loves it and has already toted it around town. My step-daughter graduated from St. Louis University this month. She has a B.S. in Social Work. She entered the 5-year master of science in SW so she will obtain her MS next year. We are so proud of her as she graduated summa cum laude! Way to go Cary - here she is with her dad, my husband and a photo of the very large graduating class from SLU. Since I'm telling you about school type stuff, here is a photo of my niece before leaving for prom. I've attended three graduation ceremonies this month. I have one more to attend this weekend for my nephew. It is an exciting time in my family. While on the subject of family, here is a family photo of most of the attendees of our Memorial Day celebration. Approximately 6-7 people who attended are missing from the photo (a little camera shy.) My family usually eats all holiday meals together, rotating between members' homes. When asked what I did for a holiday, I tell them this, but this photo shows the closeness of our family unit. I have finished my flying geese challenge quilt. The requirements were to make a quilt using flying geese as the main theme. The geese must be pieced and the quilt top could be no larger than 30" on any one side. In addition, the quilt must be completed which includes the binding. I started the quilt 4/7/2009 and completed it 5/3/2009. I purchased this pattern about 4 years ago at Hancocks of Paducah not knowing that I needed to also have the accompanying DVD for piecing directions. So I figured out how to piece it myself. I changed the pattern a little to meet the flying geese requirement and used my own method for piecing the top together. The "Soaring Compliments" pattern by Caryl Bryer Fallert can be found here: http://www.bryerpatch.com/wkshops/soaring_compliments_2day.htm . As you can see in the photo, I won first place! I was pleasantly surprised as the competition was fierce.

Here are all the challenge quilts. We had art quilts as well as traditional styles entered. The above challenge quilts were due at our quilt retreat. Memorial Day weekend, Friday through Sunday, I went on a retreat in Greenville, IL. We had so much fun and the food and hospitality was excellent. Here you see the retreat attendees taking a fun group photo.

Here are the projects we worked on. The pattern is Bamboo and Pinwheels. You are making blocks for both quilts at the same time. I added an additional row to each wall quilt size and plan to add borders to make into twin quilts. These will go to twin great-nephews. Come back in a day or two to see the 60 cell phone cases I've made. I just need to add buttons to about 20 of them. Then, I will upload a photo and take off my UFO list. Also, I'm making a few free standing lace bookmarks.
I also found the fabric for Turning Twenty Again quilt. I had quilted it and then couldn't remember where I put the binding fabric. Well, after looking for a couple of months I have finally found it. I hope I get enough time this week to add the binding to the quilt (all by machine of course.) I know this was a long post but I just had to share what's been happening in my life. I hope that was okay as I was so excited that I had to tell you.
-------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

What have I been up to?

It's been a month since I posted. Life has been very busy for me. I hosted two meeting in my home, Dear Jane and quilt guild meeting. Having the meeting forced my hand to clean up a little more than norm and put away sewing projects. I'll talk about what I finished for the month first and then let you know how the rest of my month went. Here is my Window of USA wall hanging earlier this month. This is BFC Creations embroidery design. I had difficulty trying to decide if I wanted to frame it or make it into a quilt. Financial and time constraints won and I made the quilt instead. I pulled at least 20 fabrics for the border until I found the perfect fabric to complement the threads used in the design. Another project for me this month was to make ribbons for the quilt guild's challenge. I don't do much digitizing but decided this would be the time to try. It took all day, but here are the results. In addition, I also started my challenge quilt this month (can't post a picture as other members will see it). The challenge is to make a quilt with flying geese as the main theme. The quilt must be less than 30" square. Yesterday I finished the top and started quilting it.

Here is a 3-D butterfly I made using another BFC Creations design. Very interesting technique. I had originally wanted to use these as my award ribbons, but it took too long to stitch out...about 8 hours work each. Of course I would have had to make 4 so I could keep one for myself. Due to schedule, I had to change to the awards mentioned above.

Let's see, what else have I been up to? I attended embroidery club this month and had a lot of neat items to show (see previous posts.) I also went to Paducah last Saturday to attend the quilt show. It was a fun packed day spent with two other quilters. I was so tired afterwards. We also went to the AQS book sales, Hancocks of Paducah, and the mall (they have a few vendors there as well.) I held back on spending this year. I did purchase the 17" square Olfa rotating mat as I've been waiting for JoAnns in my area to obtain or the price to decrease. Neither has happened so I bit the bullet. I'm using it already so I guess my purchase will not be in vain. Another wonderful thing to happen is the vendor for Sew Ezi (http://www.seweziusa.com/) was there. I had a problem with a wheel on a table I purchased 2-3 years ago. She was so nice and gave me new sets of hub caps for all my wheels for free. I've contacted them in the past regarding table inserts online and I highly recommend this company.

Enough for now and I've got work to do.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

March Month Wrap Up...WIP Completed

I've been very busy. I attended a quilt show 2 weekends ago and then a shop hop this past weekend. I also took a trapunto class and made this Trapunto Rose quilt which is 8.5" square. I like classes where you complete almost the entire project. I had to wait to add binding as I wet the quilt to get the blue marks off while in class. I completed the Magic Trip Around the World quilt. It's called "magic" because it's made with 9-patches instead of long strip sets. On my last post I showed you the doggie bib. Here are some Embroidery Blanks I added designs to. I gave this bundle to the baby-to-be. Don't know if the baby's a boy or girl as the lucky parents wants to be surprised! I'm still organizing designs on my computer and came across some Easter things. I made this free standing lace Chick Basket and Doily as it was just irresistible. It took a little bit of time but was well worth the effort. Then I saw some designs from my embroidery club that was assigned March 2008 and decided to give it a try. These baskets, Bunnies and Eggs and Bunny Basket, looks a little roughed up. I had a very difficult time sewing the sides on the sewing machine. I thought the Bunny Basket would be easier since it's larger but not so. I'll just use them to put odds and ends into in my sewing studio.

------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

Works In Progress Update

Well, its been a few weeks since I've written. I've been very busy with a lot of things with family as well as quilting. My husband has been laid off from his machinist job going on three months. The stimulus package helped us to get medical insurance at a reasonable rate, so that's a plus. It's very stressful and I've been having a difficult time sleeping lately. I'm being optimistic in hoping that the stimulus package will eventually trickle down where my husband will be called back to work.

On to more fun stuff...I've been very busy with quilt meetings as well as working on my projects. I wanted you to know that my Dear Jane quilt top is basted and I am doing the hand quilting. I searched high and low but could not find a quilter or group that could have it ready by September for my guild's quilt show. I'm no where near an obsessive compulsive quilter, so the quilting will not be pretty. However, it will be done and I can say I did it myself! I'll keep you posted as I progress. I am machine quilting the Trip Around The World Quilt. I'll post a photo when it's done. I'm basically quilting this one in the ditch but using one of the decorative stitches. Also, I have the Jitter Buzz quilt with backing made.

I'm in the process of reorganizing my machine embroidery designs and I'm falling in love all over again. I just can't stop. I made a Freedom Tote Bag using designs from BFC Creations, design number 737. I had so much fun and I tried her technique for adding the joining strips. I love the accent strips, just could not get it to be perfect though. By the time it came to sewing the bag to the lining, I converted back to traditional bag making techniques. To get the accent at the top, I folded my lining over at the top. I LOVE my bag! By the way, I made the medium size.

Well, I'm on a roll so I embroidered the Window of USA. This one is also a BFC Creations number 605. This one is really neat in that it's made in what are called tiles (12 each 4" embroideries) that are sewn together to make a panel. There are a few ways to put them together. I chose to satin stitch my panels as I wanted the stitching to look like grout. I now have to figure out if I want to frame it or quilt using traditional methods.

I have a baby shower next week and decided to make Baby Bibs. This one is a dog. The design packet also has elephant, cat, giraffe, bunny, snake, and another one or two that I can't remember at the moment. If you really want to know who this design is by, let me know and I'll look it up. It's 10:00 p.m. and since I've been looking through so many designs, I can't remember who the designer is. Anyway...I decided that I'd only make this one instead of 2 more. Why? It took me 3-1/2 hours to make this "puppy" and I really don't think the mother will want to use it. I've decided to give it to the baby along with more traditional style baby bibs.

I'm sure I could find more to add that I'm blocking at the moment, but as I said earlier, I haven't been sleeping well and I'm exhausted. I hope when I look at this post tomorrow that I don't think it's horrible. Take care and enjoy your quilt making...

-------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

Just so so...

I was productive this week, just not exactly on track the entire time. I only pieced the triangle for my Dear Jane quilt. I did trace the last kite but have not appliqued or stitched the embroidery. I just couldn't do it... I did finish the Magic Trip Around the World quilt top. I even made backing and have it pin basted so it's ready for quilting. Just couldn't bring myself to fight with it under my sewing machine arm this weekend. In addition, I also added border and made backing for Jitter Buzz top. I was really proud of myself that I got this much done. I also pieced and cut fabrics for my Rising Stars quilt top. I decided upon a setting which changed the number of blocks I planned to make. I'll try to add photos in a day or so. Since I've been quilting a lot of quilts lately, I decided to save my sanity and purchased some quilt backing fabrics. I purchase enough for 3 quilts from a local quilt shop and then went online and purchase enough for 3-4 quilts. I just need a break, especially since I have about 30+ quilt tops that need backings. I even pulled out the left over fabrics from previous backs that I plan to piece together (when I feel like it :0). I think I'm in a slump right now... -------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

WIP Update and Quilt Retreat

I had a great week! I finished my Underground Railroad Quilt Code quilt just in the nick of time to take to quilt guild meeting Thursday evening. During show and tell I showed 6 quilts this month. I got a few jokes about "do you sleep?" I got a little carried away as I needed a break from working on the Dear Jane quilt. I hope to finish the last triangle and kite this week, and then add the final border. The best part of the weekend was that I attended a quilt retreat organized through my quilt guild. This was our first visit to Mercy Center in Clayton, MO. It was wonderful. The sewing area was very large to accommodate the 36 quilters. Some quilters had their own tables and we were able to have a few tables set up for cutting. Even the 4 ironing areas were accommodated in the room. We had 3 projects for this retreat: The Dump Bag was completed Friday night. This will make a great grocery bag. I pulled fabrics from my stash as I didn't want to purchase new fabrics for this project. The Jitterbuzz quilt was very challenging. The instructor had some problems with the EQ directions and a few sections had inappropriate cutting instructions, templates and quantities. I persevered and finally got the top pieced as I was determined the process would not beat me. I decided to wait to add borders. :0) I was also supposed to make the Magic Trip Around the World quilt but didn't get a chance to cut it while working on the Jitterbuzz quilt. Yesterday I cut it out and sewed this much of it together. I plan to finish the top tonight then audition border fabrics. Another new activity at retreat was that we had a Secret Quilter where each participant bought 4 gifts under $5 and a final gift of around $10. Prior to retreat, the participants completed a small profile like favorite colors, quilt magazine currently subscribed to, hobbies other than quilting, favorite quilt shop, etc. to give the Secret Quilter an idea of things to buy/not to buy. Then, we provided anonymous gifts for 4 meals in brown paper bags that we gave the coordinator when we arrived. The fifth gift we delivered personally, revealing our identities. Here is my loot. It was good fun and I hope you try it at your next guild retreat. We had one over achiever quilter that brought goodies for all 36 quilters. She started making things last April for the big day. Every year Connie makes wonderful gifts for the attendees that she donates. She is very kindhearted and talented. This year's retreat was themed "Valley Girls Buzz" and the committee provided the machine embroidered bee name tag. It is very pretty. Also, they made charms on shrink plastic. The committee was very creative. I hope I haven't bored you this week and that you'll come back soon. -------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

WIP Update - Getting a Lot Done!

I had another busy week filled with quilting. Last Monday I went to embroidery club meeting at a local quilt shop. It's always interesting to see the various projects demoed and show-and-tell. We had a demo of an Origami Bag that I thought was cute. This is my practice bag. I see I have to play with placement of the embroideries in the next one.

I quilted Splat Attic Window and Wonky Hearts. It's great to get these two off the list.

I also quilted Just String Series: All Together Now which had been a UFO since 2007. Now I have a quilt for my office when it's a tad cold.

Another great accomplishment is that I proofed, printed fabric sheets and sewed the backing for my Underground Railroad Quilt Code quilt.

Had a quilting guild/bee meeting on Saturday. On Sunday I went shopping for my batting. I picked up 6 twin batts and 6 yards of Warm 'n Natural batting too. The way I've been quilting, I need to keep my batting stash stocked. They had sale on batting at JoAnn's and Hancock Fabrics.

Hope you are stitching too. -------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

WIP Update

I worked on my WIPs a lot this past week.

I completed the Batik Quilt which I renamed Batik Rainbow.

First I quilted the Turning Twenty Again quilt. I started this quilt January 1, 2006. Then I went to add binding and don't know where that "special" place is that I would be sure to remember when the time was right. I didn't search too much as I have lots of projects to work on. If I don't find it in the next month, I'll just purchase binding fabric. Most of the fabrics are from Moda Chocolate line.

My progress on the Dear Jane quilt is awesome! I only have one more triangle and one more kite on the bottom border. The remaining three borders are on the quilt. I just needed a break so I started working on a few other projects to save my sanity. I'm still hyperventilating about all that hand quilting in my future.

I had 16 floral blocks that were waiting to be made into a quilt top. I sewed those and have decided that the quilt doesn't need a border as it is 80" square. I even pieced the back so I have another top ready for machine quilting. This top will make a cute Floral Garden quilt. I also worked on the Wonky Hearts. I had only made one block and had pulled various red, pink, and purple fabrics with and without heart/love theme. Then the project just sat in a corner. I needed 8 more blocks to make a quilt about 40" square. I made those and then completed the quilt top. Today I will baste it for quilting.

Splat Attic Windows got basted Friday evening and I quilted about one sixth of it yesterday. I also have an Underground Railroad Quilt Code that needs a backing. I'm putting various historical information on the back of the quilt. I had a draft on my flash that crashed so I spent a few hours retyping the information. I'm now glad that I didn't finished this project earlier since Barack Obama and Joe Biden are now President and Vice-President respectively. I've decided to add this accomplishment to my history as well. So the draft is back in electronic form. I have to proof it. After corrections, I'll print the pages on fabric sheets. My quilting housekeeping consisted of washing a few loads of home dec fabric samples. I'm going to make some simple quilts with these for various family members. My guild had a feature called "First Thursday". A member volunteers to have an open house of about 3 hours and usually provided snacks. I attended one last Thursday and had a great time. The entire family hosted (usually husbands and children disappear) and was so welcoming and interested in us as well as sharing their crafts with us. The husband did wood work and the daughter' creates scrapbooks. The member we visited leans more toward art quilting with various 3-d embellishments. It was really neat to see her quilts displayed as well as her very large quilt studio. The quilts not displayed were stored on pants hangers. I encouraged her to bring a few of those to future meetings to share with the membership. I had a great time! My other out-of-home quilt excursions consisted of quilting with two friends on Saturday, working on our Dear Jane quilts. On Sunday I went to a sale at a local quilt shop. Found two bolts for $2 per yard; will make excellent backs or if I change my mind would also look good on the front. I do hope you come back next week to see what I accomplish this week. I hope you are working through your pile of WIPs as well. Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com/

117 WIPs...so far

Since my flash died, I've been looking in closets, containers, drawers, boxes, cabinets, and even my website to recreate my list of UFOs. To my dismay, I've counted 117 so far and I'm sure I'm missing something. Right here, right now, I vow to finish at least 10 of them before starting a new project (other than machine embroidery as I'm in a monthly club and I get points and retreat project I've already purchased fabric for that's later this month.) I'm just awed that I have this many WIPs, even though I teach classes and some are samples. I found while compiling my list that I have approximately 40 tops that need quilting and another 20 or so that need borders. I tend to make twin size or larger projects and some how the quilting has just gotten lost. Time to correct. So, I'm going to start with projects that do not require custom quilting and work on those first. It is a sad, sad day in my house. How sad is it in yours? LOL I'm sure it can't be as awful as mine.