Completed Tops – Updates!

I actually have an update to my tops finished and ready for longarm quilting.  I have had these blocks done for months, but never could find a layout I liked, so I threw them up on my design wall on Sunday and sewed them Monday night….done.  Made the binding and backing and now it goes to the Completed Tops file.  I had planned to add a border, but I’m done with this one so no border.  I call is Shades of Sand.

I also found another small quilt, I originally missed on my Complete Top Part 2 list.  My Maryland Blue Crab.  It’s all ready for quilting:

Now to organized my Christmas Projects for a new self challenge in 2010!

Merry Christmas!

I know a day late and a dollar (or few) short….but I have to share all my spoils because I have great friends and awsome new gifts.

First and far mostest is my awsome new digital camera —and it has a shutter button too

It’s a Fuji Finepix J38 and I love it.  It does panoramic pictures too!  I have to play more with that feature but I’ve been taking lots of “make-up” images of my quilting things and gifts.

I participated in a quickie Christmas Swap through Pat Sloan’s group and my swap partner was Ms. Nancy.   I wasn’t able to take pictures of what I sent her, but I opened her present to me on Christmas morning and found wonderful surprises.  Inside her package was a beautiful table runner, a snowman embroidered card, some godiva chocolate, 2 fat quarters and the coolest new ornament—a pirate santa!  I now have 2, looks like a new thing I will be collecting:

Then from my friend Betsy in Florida, she sent me this AWSOME Catherdral Windows…..I already have it hanging and it will remain hanging in my sewing area:

I didn’t get a lot of quilty things from family and close friends….they know I just get what I want at work, so I got some great useful items, like a new frying pan, a covered ice scraper, stationary with my name, lotion and chocolate.  One other gift my hubby and I got together for us was a single cup coffee maker, Keurig.  OMG….we love it love it.  (Thanks to Jane getting me hooked on one)  We are probably drinking way too much coffee the past 2 days, but it’s fun to try the variety of flavors.

Well, now I’ve got a new camera I am going to pre-post for this week.  I have lots of new pictures to share and organinzing my sewing studio to set myself on weekly goals this coming year.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, blessed with family and friends and love.  I know I’m grateful for all you who participate in my blog and make me feel special.

Completed Tops….part 2

Ok, here’s the rest of my tops that I need to quilt….most of these I’ll be doing myself.  A few still need backings and bindings, but I’ll work on those over the next few days….then I’m start documenting my UFOs….epp, now that will be very scary and take 20 posts to share…

All I have to do (before I start, finish anything else) is make 9 bindings and put together 3 little backings.  I should be able to pull it all out of my stash too===bonus!

Completed Tops…….Part One

Well, again I’m going through my stuff and finishing up things that can be sent for quilting.  I’ll be doing my UFO’s in bags next, but I had some bindings to make and backs to piece.

This list is long, so making this over 2-3 posts.  Maybe I’ll create a page just for these to be bound and finished this coming year.

Several of these tops I’ve had ready for over 2 years.  I have a week in March for Ms. Penny to quilt for me.  Penny start looking for designs

All these tops have backings done and I have 5 bindings to finish today.  Amazingly, I found enough fabric in my stash to make backings…YAH ME!!

If anyone wants to donate time to quilt for me, I would be grateful!  LOL  I don’t think I will be able to afford quilting all these this year.  I need my own longarm!…..and I have more to document still.

Snow….

well, we tried our video camera but can’t figure out how to get it on our computer…so we pulled out that broken camera and using a fine point pencil took a few pictures yesterday and today of our 20″ of snow.

At 2 pm (yard stick reads 12″):

At 7pm:

This morning (notice my car with more snow on top of it):

Yep, we got snow and rumor is it we’ll have rain on top of snow on Christmas day….crazy, crazy weather.  Our average snowfall during the entire winter is 18″…..well, we are over 26″ as of now and winter doesn’t start until Wednesday….going to be a long productive sewing quilting kinda of winter!!

Pictures!

I have a few pictures of what I have been working on over the past month or so….now I have done several other things, including a baby quilt and some Christmas projects, but this has taken most of my time.  It is a commission quilt for a friend – who is giving it to her Dad for Christmas.  It’s at the quilters now and should be done today!  I love the colors of the top and I’m soooo please with how all the seams matched up….an Irish Chain isn’t has easy as it looks.

The request for something with doves, lighthouses and representing Ireland was the challenge for this quilt.  Yet, I think I was able to pull it together.

My friend is quilting it for me and she is doing it simple with some doves in the stippling.  I hope to get better close ups when it’s finished.  I have a new camera…….but it’s wrapped and under the tree, hubby won’t let me have it before Christmas….the turkey

I need to get back into blogging, I’m missing all my online friends so much.

Help Ireland Flood Victims

I got this email from Sherry, Editor of Irish Quilting, this morning:

Hello Quilter Friends,

Most all of you have heard about the flooding in Ireland. They say it is a flood occurrence that happens once in 800 years. The South and the West were first affected. Closely behind came the midland areas, such as, severely affected Athlone in Co. Roscommon.  With more torrential storms this past weekend, the Dublin and Kildare counties are experiencing the same.
The number of homes affected in the beginning was tremendous: 500-600.  News from County Cork put the displaced families at a staggering 18,000.
There will be a number of weeks before many residents will be able to adequately estimate the real damage to their home and belongs.

Irish Quilting is asking you if you can help the Irish families displaced. We are donating quilts to bring warmth to these victims.
Can you sew a 13 1/2″ unfinished block?
or
Can you donate a quilt?
or
Can you and your friends create a charity quilt (pattern included here!)?

If you said yes to any of these questions above, please contact us. Or, just sew and send!  Be sure to include your name. We will be working with Saint Vincent De Paul and the Irish Red Cross to give back warmth to our flood victims.

Many of our quilting groups are breaking for Christmas. Maybe your group can meet with this need in mind?–several people creating 13″ blocks will have a quilt top in no time.  Attached is a flyer asking for blocks (with block pattern) and charity quilts.

Forward all your blocks to the address below. If you know of charitable amounts of wadding and/or backing available, all is appreciated.  So often we work for charities overseas, now there’s a clear need for warmth at home, so let’s help out!

If you have quilts ready to be donated, please email
me or call me and I will arrange the dropoff/collection point for charity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want all the information, just comment and I’ll forward her email on to you.  Her email included a 13 1/2″ block pattern as well.  I’m going to host my own make a block day and I’m going to approach this at my shop and see what we can do as a shop.

Read more details at Sherry’s blog:  http://verrysherry.blogspot.com/

It’s Kim’s fault….

If you read Peaches in Stitches, you’ll understand.

It’s that time of year to review what I’ve accomplished/completed and what I have left to do.  UFO review time.

Over the next week or so I’ll share pictures of my completed project (kinda a year in review – and no I still don’t have a working camera and I still have so much to share) and share my re-evaluated UFO’s.  Which means, I will most likely be giving away some……unsure how I plan to do that part, but it will involve audience paticipation!

Check out Kim’s handy UFO worksheet and share what you do to keep y0ur UFO’s organized, please.

Maybe we can work together and knock them out in 2010?  Anyone else up to the challenge?

I’m still here….

but disaster has struck!!!  My camera is broken and I’m unable to take pictures…AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Including the finished one of the commission repair I just did…le sigh.  I’m bummed and unfortunately can’t afford a new one for a month or so.  And I of course have a lot to share.

I have a video camera I might be able to figure out how to take stills with it…and no I don’t have a camera phone (it saved me $150 off the price of my already expensive phone last year).

So, until I figure out how to take pictures it’s hard to post anything.

I’m still around and I am sewing….hope to have pictures soon.

Still here….

been a busy week and forgot to prepost last Sunday.  Lots of pictures to share, this weekend should be slower for me to “catch up”.

There is a winner in my Halloween Challenge, go and visit Mary’s blog and see her cute little Halloween quilt!  Congrats Mary.  I’ll pop your winnings into the mail.

TGIF!  Have a great weekend!