WIP Wednesday

 Now that the garage is cleaned out enough for Bill to park his car there, I am free to sew again. Yay!

Started & Finished: Be Mine. Read all about it in yesterday's post. Seeing it hanging in the kitchen makes me smile every time I walk in.

In Progress: Ninigret Quilters Friendship block swap. My blocks are ready for the next round of the swap at next week's meeting. I've always loved that blue and yellow batik.

These are the blocks I swapped for last month, plus a few extras of my own. Cool, right?

Next up: The Ninigret UFO challenge project for February is #6. According to my list, I need to complete this nine patch swap from 2009. Yeah, it's time!

Ongoing: We've had two snowstorms this week, with another on the way on Sunday night. I'm sick of shoveling, but it has been so pretty.

That's all for now, so it's time to link up. Have a great week!

Quilt Show Wrap Up

 I forgot to show you the Ninnie Nines. I was really happy to have five completed quilts from our nine patch swap to display. Mine is the one hanging in the middle. Don't you love the Sister's Choice with black points on the bed?

Julia and I had some fun in the Westerly Armory museum. I pasted a picture of Pete's head onto this uniform and sent it to him with the note, "This will be us on December 13!"

 (Please say a quick prayer for Pete. He was diagnosed with pneumonia on Thursday, which is not uncommon in boot camp. He was on one day bed rest and 3 days light duty. He should be back to a full training schedule by now. It looks like he will be able to stay with his platoon and graduate as scheduled.)

Bob Harrison, Featherweight dealer/repairman and my machine quilter's husband, presented me with a Featherweight skeleton as my reward for winning best of show! It was part gag gift/part real gift. I was told I could trade it in for a working machine. I've wanted a FW since I met Bob at least 15 years ago. I told him this was the year, so he sweetened the deal!

 

Ellie Coffey, my friend and president of the guild, gave me this enormous, gorgeous bouquet!

It was great to have Bill and Julia there, but we missed Pete. When my kids were little, they used to come to the show wearing their Halloween costumes.

What goes up must come down. In just over an hour, the Armory was just an empty drill hall once again.

 

No, I did not trade in the gutless machine.  She is my major award!

I did finally buy a Featherweight! She was born in 1938 and she is so pretty!

It's time to start stitching and planning for the 2015 show!

Stitching Stars Prep

 We're in the final stages of preparation for Ninigret Quilters' Stitching Stars quilt show. To take a break from paperwork, I spent the long weekend stitching stars.

 I pieced together some block parts and fabric leftover from the raffle quilt to make this little top. I'm planning to raffle it off to the quilt show volunteers. Surprise, Ninnies!

 I had a few more stars and scraps to play with, so I made eleven mug mats. Most of the stars were rejected from the raffle quilt because they were too big. They were perfect for improv piecing.

Simple straight line quilting is effective on these small pieces. They are roughly 7X10".

The guild is planning to teach a beginner quilting class starting in January. We thought the show would be a great place to publicize it. A few of us are making samples, and here's mine.

I've had these music prints for years, and it was time for them to be used!

OK. My break is over. Back to quilt show prep!

WIP Wednesday Finishes

 For me, there's no better motivation for finishing a project than a firm deadline! I've had a very productive week.

Finishes: This baby quilt was made in less than 2 days and was finished a full 24 hours before the baby shower!

Ninnie Nines was actually finished on Thursday before I started the baby quilt, but there was no time to take pics until today. It had to be done for quilt judging on Saturday. If you remember, our guild had a nine patch swap last Spring/Summer. I used a layout from Camille Roskelley's book Simply Retro.

I took an Angela Walters Craftsy class called Dot to Dot Quilting and tried some of the ideas in this quilt. The judge wasn't crazy about my choices (I agree with her), but it's good to have some new quilting designs in my toolbox.

I wasn't sure what to do in the outer border, so I used it as a label and I stitched in the names of all the members who participated in the swap. It's hard to see now that it's washed and crinkly.

Can you read "Ninnie Nines?"  I should have used a heavier thread.

The baking fabric is a cute print that I picked up at JoAnn's on sale.

Being home alone all day, I had to find a way to get a full body shot. Clip hangers on the curtain rod worked pretty well, but it's not taught across the top. (Edited 10/24/18: This quilt was sent to Wilmington, NC to be given to a victim of Hurricane Florence.)

Up next on the to-do list: I need to make a sample quilt for a guild project so we can publicize it at our quilt show next week. I've had the music prints for years. All I bought was the yellow/gold.  I'll add scraps of red and blue leftover from Pete's quilt. It's a simple nine patch design, so it should only take a few days to get it done.

Pete's quilt will be next. I bought this awesome backing fabric. Isn't it perfect?

Speaking of Pete, we have received one letter from boot camp and he sounds great! He told a couple of funny stories, and he was made a squad leader on day 1 with the drill instructors.

My super sweet husband brought home some gorgeous roses. The colors are so lovely!

Oh, how I love WIP Wednesday!

WIP Wednesday

At the top of the WIP pile is this fun nine patch swap top. It needs to be completed for the Ninigret Quilters show in October. If I can find my bowl of safety pins, I'll start basting soon. When our new mattress was delivered recently, I moved all the quilting supplies out of my bedroom, and now I can't find a whole pile of stuff. I hope it turns up soon!

Next on the list to be done is a baby quilt for my nephew's baby girl due in November. I have a pile of fabric and a pattern ready to go. More nine patches.

Then Pete's quilt will need to be finished in December. He leaves for boot camp next Sunday (sigh) and this will be his graduation gift.

Unfortunately, my Tee quilt will have to wait. 

 As always, it's time to link up and go surfing!

 

D9P Pillow

We bought a new mattress this week, which meant fresh linens. I went with a white matelasse spread so I can add color in pillows and throws. I'm loving the beachy colors of summer- sand and sea glass.

I started a pillow today from this tutorial at the Moda Bake Shop. It's a mini disappearing nine patch. I cut 2.5" squares from my low volume scraps and sea glass solids.

After chopping up the nine patches and assembling, I have a piece that is almost 18" square. I'm considering quilting pebbles in the low volume sandy background. I have to psych myself up for it!

I'm nursing the boy back to health following the extraction of his wisdom teeth. He'll be fine in a few days. Have a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday

 I was happy to make it back to my machine this week. I didn't finish anything, but I did start two new projects and picked up an old one.

With Anita Grossman Solomon in town, I made a pile of Anita's Arrowhead blocks. These won't all end up in the same quilt. That red and white block sticks out like a sore thumb.

When I'd had my fill of arrowheads, I started playing with stripes. I followed Anita's instructions for Xcentric and Concentric blocks.  (More about Anita in yesterday's post.)

I dug out an old WIP last weekend. I finished hand appliqueing the letters (V-Z), then assembled the top. I must have started this quilt about 10 years ago to have a hand work project for baseball games. Each letter is cut from a novelty print. A is for Alphabet, B is for Balls, C is for Crayons. I don't know what will become of this little quilt.

 

At the top of the to-do list, this nine patch top needs to be quilted for the Ninigret Quilters' show in October.

 

I might spend some time with Pete's quilt today and tomorrow while he is attending motorcycle riding class. He wants to get his motorcycle license before he ships out so he can buy a motorcycle as soon as possible. We figured that riding a motorcycle will be the least dangerous thing he'll have to do in the next few years. God, help me!

Spend some time today surfing the WIP Wednesday links. It's worth the trip!

16 Nines

We completed round two of the Ninnie Nines swap this week. Thirty three quilters participated this time. We have one last round coming up in July.

This portable design board is a large piece of foam core, covered with cotton batting.  When I lean it against the fire place, I catch glimpses of the project as I pass during the day. It makes me happy! I can't wait to combine these blocks with the other two rounds.  I'll have 48 blocks to play with!

WIP Wednesday

This week, all I have is a little bit of this and that. It's better than nothing, I suppose.

Finish: The only finish this week was a Boy Scout pillowcase for a new Eagle Scout. It has become a tradition for me to make one for each new Eagle in Pete's troop. I'll continue until I run out of fabric!

Before I put away the stash of BSA prints, I prepared some kits. The next time The next 4 times I need one, the fabric selection and cutting is already done!

Swaps: Sixteen 9-patches are ready for the next round of Ninnie Nines. A whole week early!

Last round, I pressed the last 2 seams open. This time, they wanted to whirl.

Bright hopes blocks are ready to be mailed to Jana for the Modern Stash Bee. She liked my little Low Volume Bright Hopes, and asked us to make 12" blocks. It should be a cool quilt.

 In Progress: Julia is making progress on Fred's quilt. Eight blocks done, 56 to go!

This is how she left things when she went to the beach. Machine turned on, pieces waiting to be sewn. Her college roommate came down to visit for the day, and the beach was calling!

Have a great day and visit the other fun WIP links.