Monday Progress

 I was able to start working on Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay Mystery quilt this weekend.  We have a lot of Bonnie Hunter fans in our quilt guild, so we issued a challenge to finish this mystery quilt before Bonnie's visit to Rhode Island next April!  We have about 10 members interested, and I hope more will join in after show and tell at the next meeting.

I will be working with blues, greens and oranges on a tan background.  

Part 1:  I have only 40 of the 224 quarter triangle units done.

(I'm using blue in place of Bonnie's black.)

 

Part 2:  I have 12 of the required 72 string blocks done.

(I'm using orange in place of Bonnie's blue.)

I was happy to see that I'm not the only one using orange!

It's progress.  I'll keep plugging along as time permits.

Weekend Update:

I participated in a craft fair at my church, but didn't sell much, as expected.  I should fare better at next week's show at a local elementary school.  

I try not to spend more than I make at shows, so I look for interesting crafts that I would not make for myself.  Isn't this fairy adorable?  She's not much bigger than a quarter! 

Have you seen The Muppets yet?  Classic Muppets, cool cameo appearances and a great story.  We want more!  I would love to see The Muppet Show on TV again.  I think we're ready for a weekly variety show, what with all the singing and dancing competition shows.  Please, Disney, bring back the Muppet Show!

Crafty WIP Wednesday

 Happy Day Before Thanksgiving!  I should be getting the turkey ready and preparing casseroles, but I'm busy crafting!  I'll have a table at my church's bazaar on Saturday, and I don't have much ready to sell.  I get bored easily, so I try new things every year. 

This sweet little bear is from a pattern I bought this morning on Etsy!  She's slightly bigger than the original pattern.  So cute!  I won't be selling them, but will make some as gifts.  You can buy one here.  (Hers are even cuter!)

  

When I was surfing yesterday, I saw these awesome Lily Pulitzer monograms.  Mine are poor imitations, at best, but still kind of fun.

Way cuter in Central Park fabric and the font from these monograms!

 I made a bunch of felted wool crocheted flowers.  They still need centers and pin backs (a job for my assistants?).  The fabric under them will become covered buttons for the centers.

Maybe a hexie ornament?  Maybe not.

How about some Hexie candle mats?

Too busy.

Ahh.  Much better with 12 Days of Christmas!

 It looks like the only thing ready to be sold are these key lanyards from Stephanie's tutorial.

There will be much cooking and crafting for the next few days!  

When you need a break, enjoy the other WIPs!

I won!

 I won some great stuff from Pat Sloan!

Pat encourages her fans to Finish It Up!  Periodically, she chooses a random photo from her Bust Your UFOs  Flickr group.  I won the Oct/Noc drawing with Timeless Garden!  Here's the link to Pat's newsletter with a photo of my quilt.  Thanks, Pat!

In other news...

Julia received her first two college acceptance letters!   Siena College and Franciscan University.  Yes, she's wearing a poodle skirt.  It was "Decades Day" at school.

And the winner is...

Anonymous!  

Thankfully, she left her email address.

(In case you need to know, since Helen (Archie the Wonder Dog) asked to be kept out of the drawing, I didn't count her comment, making anonymous #8.)

 In other news...

Julia and her friends went to the Homecoming dance together this weekend.  A mother couldn't ask for a nicer group of friends for her daughter!

It's going to be a crazy-busy week here!  Hope you all have a good one!

WIP Wednesday and a Giveaway

I'm so excited that the piecing is done on the Wedding Ring Star!
Next, I'll need to start on the applique border. Woo hoo!


To thank you all for being so encouraging, I have a quick little giveaway for you. Julia and I were in Michael's last weekend and she spotted this cute Fandango Organizer!

We both agreed that I would never use it. (I'm not that organized!)

Just leave a comment telling us what you are thankful for and I'll pick a winner on Sunday, 11/20. (Make sure I can reach you if you win! Check out Karen's blog buddy post or include your email in the comment.)

Now off you go to see the other WIPs!

Design Floor Monday

I know lots of other quilters are posting photos of their design walls today, but I use the floor! It makes for a horrible photo with the key stoning and shadows, but it's the best I can do.

All the blocks for the wedding ring star are done! I started to get really excited when I laid out the filler triangles on the sides.


I'm hoping to get the top put together today. I did the bottom right corner this morning and the points are not perfectly perfect, but they are OK.


In non-quilty news...

It was senior night at the high school football game on Saturday. Julia led the band out onto the field for their first half-time show in years and years. She was so nervous and excited, but she did an awesome job!
(That's Julia on the ladder!)

Our happy family!

Have a happy, quilty week!

Fresh Fabric Friday

I wanted to show you some fresh fabric today, and it seems appropriate to start with the camouflage!

Julia is planning to make pillowcases for her friends for Christmas, so the Army camo is for Fred and the dessert camo is for Pete.

More novelties for her friends: bikes for Mike, running for Rosa (Josh Rosa), and I couldn't resist throwing in the cute daisy.

A few solids for the next round of the 4x5 bee: pomegranate, sage, medium grey and coal.

Yum!

Veteran's Day 2011

Our schedule for Veteran's Day and Memorial Day has been the same for the past few years.

7:00 am: Ceremony at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery.

Julia plays Taps with a Boy Scout friend.

10:00 am: South Kingstown Parade.

Grand Marshall
Julia's Vietnam Vet Buddies.
Here come those cute dancing drum majors, Mike & Julia!

Followed by a slew of adorable Girl Scouts including our neighbor and new Daisy, Abby.

11:00: Ceremony at Saugatucket Park.

Invocation by Msgr. Paul Theroux, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi.
(Our church is across the street from the park.)

The band plays the National Anthem and the Navy Hymn.
(There's that cute drum major again.)

Pete on quads.

12:00: Home for lunch.

1:00: We're all ready for a nap!

I hope you all had an opportunity to Thank a Vet today!

WIP Wednesday Anniversary

Congratulations to Lee for hosting WIP Wednesday for an entire year! My first WIP post was back in January and I have linked up 19 times. Thanks to Lee, I try to have something to post and link every week, and that keeps me moving forward on this quilting journey.

I've been really focused on the wedding ring star quilt this past week and there is progress to show for it! All 31 of the main blocks are done. Yay!

Now, I'm paper piecing the remaining sections for the outer blocks. The arcs are done, and I'm hoping to sneak in some sewing time this afternoon to work on the melons with star points that go inside the arcs.

Be sure to visit Lee and wish her a Happy WIPiversary!
Then, hop around to see what her friends are working on.

P.S. It was a beautiful foggy morning here in southern Rhode Island.

Arc A

Last batch of Arc A complete!

On the agenda today: Arc B.

Making Progress

I'm finally making progress on the wedding ring star. All 31 full blocks are complete. Next, I'll start on the "partial" blocks that fill in around the outside edges.

I finished the last seam on 15 blocks this morning. It takes lots of pins to keep everything lined up on those curved seams!

Don't you just love stacks of blocks?

I'm not linking to Sew Modern Monday, since this project isn't finished, but you should head over there and check out the goodies!

Furry Friday*

Meet my dinner guest!

This sweet little deer decided to visit the garden outside our dining room window for dinner!

*Shout out to Kate Spain's Furry Friday posts!

WIP Wednesday

I had a fun quilty week! How about you?

Finish: I finished my mother's Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt in time for her birthday party! She really loves it and it has a place of honor at the foot of her bed. Blog reader Karen suggested the name Timeless Garden. Love it! Now I just have to make the label.


Blocks: These 4 string blocks are for the new Mini Scrap Basket Swap. What fun! I can't wait to dive into my modern scrap bin to make more.


I'm keeping up with the Blogger's BOM. You can see all the amazingly diverse color combinations in the Flickr group.


Enough stalling... I need to focus on the Wedding Ring full time until the top is done. I'm hoping to get that much done before Christmas. Pat will be ready to quilt it after the first of the year.

Now off you go...