Two Little Quilts Bound... Wednesday's Work...

First the Sugar Bowl quilt. I think these must be called sugar bowl's instead of baskets because they don't have all the triangles they usually have. I bound this with "cotton bowl" fabric from Moda. I like the cotton bowl because I am from TN and I have picked cotton when I was little. I tried to make my fm quilting a lot finer for this one. However it "ain't" perfect by any means.

This was the first time I ever did a row of triangles, I have always been  afraid of them because I thought they looked hard and I really thought they would be hard being so small but actually I did OK with them. I have learned not to iron my pieces this the unit is done and I am read to square, they don't stretch out of shape that way.

Now I tried to get a little fancy here and used a curved ruler, I still am not good at following lines like this but I am getting better. I figure making these 20 little quilts in this book would be very good practice.

Now this one I wish I had a queen sized one too! lol, I think its because I like the colors. I was trying to get creative with the border quilting and used a coaster to make the curves. Unfortunately I had to go over some of them more than once because I didn't plan it out right to follow a continuous line... oh well, like I said, glad I don't know any quilt police!  This is the Anvil block.

Well... next I am cutting out the tree everlasting little quilt. I hate to say it but to me it looks monotonous but I need the practice on the little triangles so it will be great for that. In the book its in a solid color but I choose a print that I thought would connect better with a tree. Pictures as soon as I get the top make.

Blessings Yall!

Paranormal Activity? see what you think...

In my dinning room I have a wall Rosary, its really big and in the middle is a picture of Jesus. Here is what it usually looks like...

So the hubby gets up really early this morning and just sits down to drink his cup of joe.. He is sitting in the living room but there is an archway where you can see straight into the dinning room and he notices a light...

He watches it for a minute or two and notices my camera laying on the end table beside him. He turns it on and takes a couple pictures.  I am not sure what the heck to think. Let me know what you think.

Not sure that light coming through the window would make it do this and I am up early lots of times and have never noticed it in the 6 years its been hanging in that same place... well I guess an AMEN is in order!

Blessings Yall! Gwen



Anvil Little Quilt Top... Sat. Sewing...

 

Another little quilt top pieced together this afternoon.  This is the anvil pattern, I guess like a blacksmith used. My gg grandfather was a blacksmith, Christopher Columbus Irvin. What a name! Maybe I should dedicate this little quilt to him on the back somewhere.  I will probably bind it with the fabric that made the anvils. I will post the tops as I get them quilted.

As I write this hubbs is painting my hallway up the stairwell white. I hope to display all 21 quilts on the white walls  ( if I get them all done!). My husband collects old sewing buttons and I suppose a few of those will find their way on the walls too.

 The little blocks were easier to do than the Sugar Bowl quilt.  As I said before all the little quilts are coming from this book.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend! Blessings Y'all!



 

Sugar Bowl Quilt.. my rendition.. Friday Finishes..

I love Gwen Morston's quilts, this is from her book and its called Sugar Bowl. Mine is a little wonky but I love it. It was a little difficult for my novice skills but lucky for me I don't know any quilt police.  I added a wider border than the one in the book because I like it to be a little bigger. I just finished the top and have not got to the batting or backing yet. I started it this afternoon and finished about 4:30. It went faster than I thought it would. There are 21 quilts in the book, I am going to try and make them all. Where I will put them the good Lord only knows but I think it will be great piecing practice.

Here is a little closer view, like I said "it ain't perfect" but its mine and I guess I have to look at it. At least the hubbs didn't think it was a hot pad this time! lol

This is the one from the book, I am not a pink gal but I soooooo thought it was pretty and I love the name of this quilt.

Here is the book, just love this book!

 Blessings Yall! Gwen

Our House Was Built In 1921...

So... our house was built in 1921 and for some reason they took the wall out that separated the living room from a front bedroom... wish they would have left it alone. All it did was make a bowling alley living room with one end more narrow than the other, so you never knew what to put there. Well, I came up with a solution, my sewing room!

 My DH is such a good guy when I bring him a project. He came up with the idea of making a wall that we could take down if we wanted and it worked perfectly, a huge piece of blue Styrofoam board from Lowes and covered it with an olive green fabric on the side that faces the living room and I just used fabric pieces to cover the side that faces the sewing room. We will add some trim to it later this week.

 But anyway I finally have a sewing room that I can not see from my living room and I am so happy because sometimes I am a messy quilter. 
  

Here shows two of the machines I use mainly, but there is a Janome and a Singer 319W that I use as well. My board that you see in this photo is an old barn window screen that I found on top of my friend's wagon to go to the dump.  I covered it in batting and a gray calico. 

The black Singer is my 15-91 and what I did piecing and free motion quilting on before I got my Juki. Now I just use it to piece and regular sewing but it still cuts a mean free motion design if needed. 

 I love these plastic shelves, they are deep and wide. Another great contribution from the hubbs who found them in the trash.. I don't have a lot of stash yet but I am working on it! I have finally found a use for my Longaberger baskets (which I don't buy anymore).

 I covered the Styrofoam board with whatever big pieces of fabrics I could find and then pinned some "stuff" on them. The louvered doors open to a closet for coats. You can't see if very well in this photo but on top of the door molding is a wooden sign that says "sewing."

My little table is what I use to press on and underneath the pressing board are my cutting mats... which tells you  I cut on that table too.

I love old orphan blocks and have a ton of them to put on the board yet for a little inspiration (not saying I have the skills to make many of them... :-/

 My Juki from DH and my cabinet from an auction friend who is really good to me when it comes to sewing stuff. I have sold stuff for him on Ebay for about 6 years now, he let me pick one for my machine that we had in storage and I love it, it has an electric lift. It worked out great for my machine but I hope someday to have it on a frame.

Another goodie from another auction buddy, he brings me stuff from time to time to sell for him as well as cool sewing stuff for me. This really is supposed to sit on the floor but I thought it looked cool on the wall. I covered the backside of it with homespun and put my quilting thread on it and some of my rulers.

Well hope you enjoyed looking at my sewing room, now I should go sew huh!~

A lady name Frieda is AWESOME!

 A wonderful gal my husband works with is sooooo talented! She made this wonderful cake for our 42nd anniversary. Just look at the Juki sewing machine she made for the top of the cake!  She is awesome!  Thank you so much, what a surprise and a wonderful delight when my DH walked through the door with this. KUDOS! and many blessings! And the cake is absolutely delicious!
Gwen

Look what I found at the Antique Mall!

OMGOSH! I was so surprised to find this at an antique mall this morning. DH and I decided to take a look around the Markle antique mall and walla look what I found, HOMESPUNS galore. Just in the colors I needed for some more little wall quilts. The small ones on top are all fat quarters too... The rest is yardage, some are two yards and more. I am in heaven plus that sweet man says he is taking me to Roanoke to the quilt shop there where they have rooms and rooms of great fabrics and lots of Civil War fabs.... He is on the "vacay." So... I guess we will do some running around this week.

Blessings Yall!

Mine Mine Mine My Design..

I finally ventured out and just did one with out trying to copy somebody else's work. I have to say of all the little quilts I have made so far I kinda like mine the best. I think its the fabric I used and the colors. This is sooooo adictive! Pretty soon I won't have much stash left if I keep this up and I have big quilts to make! YIKES!

Happy Valentine's Day to My DH...

He was 16 and I was 14 and the year was 1968... We had been to Old Town in Chicago, he was visiting me from Indiana. The weekend was over way too soon...

Now I spend all my weekends with him, we have had 42 years of them... and they said it wouldn't last, what did they know.  These days this good man buys all the fabric I want and tolerates thread hanging off all my clothes. I hope he has the best Valentine's Day ever... and by the by, he had the original Beiber hair...
I love him still.

Here is the one I did... from quitlsbycheri "a little patchwork"

Its a good thing that Cheri said not to worry if yours didn't turn out the same! Because...mine looks really different, I believe I forgot a strip and one looks a little more crooked than called for... Oh well ya never know till you try. I sure love doing her sew- a-longs. I love primitive too. The only think I have not done to the little quilts yet is grunge them but I will before its over.  Its fun displaying them I just used a couple of tiny nails and pinned safety pins on the back of the little doobers and hung them that way. I guess I was too lazy to make a sleeve.  Not sure what kind I will make next but can't wait to get started. Everybody out there in blog land have a great week and don't forget to count your blessings!

And yet another little quilt...

Thank you Cheri from quiltsbycheri.blogspot.com/ for letting me use the design from a quilt she posted.  I have been practicing on these little quilts and now I am addicted to them!

Its not as easy as you would think to free motion that little. I am finding that I am tensing up my neck and distorting my face while I am quilting that little and its giving my little dog the willies! 

I might make another yet this weekend. I think I really am enjoying staying home on the weekend and sewing my brains out. However I may sneak out and make a fabric run occasionally... that goes without saying, right?

Hope you all are getting some sewing done this lovely late winter weekend. Spring is right around the corner!

Blessings! Gwen

Friday Finish: My 1st mini quilt...

My first little quilt I ever made. I used a Moda charm pack for most of it, can't remember the name. Blocks  that make the 9 patch are one inch each, I cut them an inch and a half for seam allowance. I tried to free motion as small as I could and I used an invisible thread in my Juki 2000, it did just fine with the thread on top and in the bobbin as well. I am really loving my new machine and hope to add a Grace frame one of these days, the sooner the better. 

I am still working on the blocks for DH's bow tie quilt, only about 120 more to piece! lol  I am slowly collecting stash for my Civil War quilt in red, whites and blues.  However I am throwing some mini quilts in the mix because it breaks up any boredom that comes with piecing the same block 120 times... It really helps me to stop and work on a fast finish project.  I am getting ready to start "a little patchwork" that I am following on quiltsbycheri blog. I just love her little projects. Its a cute little mini quilt, not sure what colors I will use but I know I will use fabrics with a primitive look.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Blessings to all!

Friday Night Finishes...

Some might say I need to get a life but let me say this... I do have one. Matter of fact I am usually so busy I forget stuff. However here lately I have been making time to do things that I would like to do. Here are a couple of scrappy lappy wheel chair quilts I finished up tonight.

 I plan to begin working in the nursing home/ shut in ministry of our parish this June. This is my last year to teach CCD classes (7th grade). I have been teaching a long time and have just been feeling led to make some changes. I have been told there is a great need in this area. I thought I would see how many lap quilts and such I could get made by then using up some scraps.

 The crazy quilt one is the first time I have ever made a quilt in this style. I don't have an embroidery machine but do have a beautiful old black Singer 319W so I was able to make some stitching across it to mimic the old crazy quilt blocks.  I was not sure how to quilt it so I kind of drew with my Juki quilting machine and stippled on the sashing.

 So I used three different machines to make these little quilts and they are not even fancy! lol Hope you all got to do something you wanted this lovely Friday!