WIP Wednesday

 My guild challenge piece is coming along for Narragansett Bay Quilters. It's due next Thursday, so I really need to get moving. I was at my sister's house last weekend, basting pieces for the top row. Her granddaughter had fun putting together the stars with Grammie.

 Most of my free time recently has been spent preparing for lectures. Last night, I spoke to my home guild, Ninigret Quilters, about quilting on the internet. The topic wasn't my idea, but it was fun! I got to drag out all my swap pieces, BOMs, mysteries, and trendy patterns. Berta was one of my holders, and this post is for her! Pat, thank you for taking pictures!

Yes, I'm that short and my hands are always moving.

A note to my Ninnies: If you need more info for something you saw last night, click over to my Completed Projects page or try a search in the box top left.

Since my last post, I finished a bunch of small projects for my next lecture. I'm saving the big reveals for the Clamshell Quilters next week. Here's a tease...

I'm a Modern Blue Star Mom!

Fussy cut hexie gears and lots of quilted texture.

What do these three minis have in common?

All this snow has given me plenty of time to stitch! 

Lee is taking a break from her WIP Wednesday link-ups. Thanks for 5 years of fun, Lee!

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!

WIP Wednesday

It's official. I'm a topper. I could piece tops 'til the cows come home. Some day soon, I'm going to have to get some of these projects quilted and finished.

Top #1: All of these fabrics were pulled from Joan's stash. The pattern is Elizabeth Hartman's Charm Squares Baby Quilt pattern. The baby quilt uses 5" charm squares, but Elizabeth also included instructions that use (38) 10" squares plus 2 yards of background to make a twin size quilt. So fast and modern!

Top #2: I found (24) mile a minute squares in Joan's stash. I pulled some of her calicoes to border each block. I'm ready to piece some friendship block sashing before assembling the top. 

Top #3: For some strange reason, I've never made blocks like this before. I needed some leaders and enders while I pieced the red and blue top, so I reached into a bag of Joan's scraps and went to town. For a more modern version of this idea, refer to 15 Minutes of Play.

 

It was Joan's desire that her stash be used to make quilts for Habitat for Humanity, so that's where these quilts will go. Eventually.

** As I typed this post, I got an email from my MQX friend, Diane. She offered to machine quilt some of the Habitat tops on her new long arm! Woohoo! Aren't quilt friends the best?! **

Today is the perfect day to stay inside and sew!

Fabric Box, Eggs and Snow

 I got back to my normal family schedule this weekend, so there was not much sewing going on. I picked up Julia on Friday for her spring break. Yay! A whole week with my girl!

We were invited to her boyfriend's house to decorate eggs with his mom. We couldn't go empty-handed, so I made her this fabric box and filled it with candy. Julia picked out fabric that Barbara would like. (I promise to get the tutorial done this week!)

 We each made one Ukrainian egg using Barbara's pysanky supplies.

I'm sure you can guess which one is mine and which is Julia's!

Why is it still snowing?

Have a beautiful Holy Week!

WIP Wednesday

 There hasn't been much sewing going on around here lately. It's all about the cookies for a few more weeks. My much-loved Bernina 153 was making a horrible squeaking noise. She spent a few days at the spa and is good as new and purring like a kitten again.

Finished: (well, sort of...) I finished the top and pieced the back of our guild raffle quilt. It was delivered to our resident machine quilter last Thursday.

 In Progress: Baby quilt for grandniece Olivia who was born on the 13th. The top was done before she was born, but I just couldn't risk quilting it with that nasty squeak. I'm planning to make an apron for big sister, Abby. Her 2nd birthday was yesterday. They may as well learn young that Aunt Tina's gifts are always late!

 In other news: Pete is currently on a school trip to Nicaragua! Bill and I are practicing empty-nesting and we are loving it. We can't wait to hear Pete's stories from this trip, but in the meantime we are enjoying a house that stays clean and food that doesn't instantly disappear from the pantry.

The snow has been beautiful, but winter is getting old. They tell me Spring is coming!

 Be sure to check out all the lovely quilt projects at Freshly Pieced. 

 

I'm heading back to the baby quilt.

Snow Day / Sew Day

 Winter Storm Blizzard Nemo was here! We are very lucky to have electricity and heat. My mom is safe, too. Her building almost never loses power.

I shoveled the path from the front door to the driveway and the men of the house took care of the rest. We ended up with about 18" of snow, which doesn't compare with some areas with well over 2 feet. The worst part was the wind. Heavy wet snow plus wind = downed branches that take out power lines. It could be another day or more before all the power is restored. Did I mention how lucky we are?

What is a quilter to do being snowed in for a few days? I finished the baby quilt top for my niece. It is pinned to this quilt on my kitchen wall and you can see it shadowing through. Baby quilts always look great on this green wall!

When I cut up the jelly roll for these blocks, I was left with one 2.5" square of each strip. I pieced these little 4-patches as leaders/enders while piecing the blocks and quilt top. A few triangles to fill in the sides and I'll have a sweet little Spring table topper.

Today will be sunny and a little warmer. We're praying that our friends will have power restored soon.

Random Tuesday

I started sewing again!  I made this string X block today to fill in a hole in my 4x5 swap blocks.  

Sadly, one of our bee mates needed to drop out for health reasons.  Happily, she is feeling much better now.

You can find the original tutorial here at Quiltville.  There is a modern variation here.  For my blocks to finish at 12", I used a 3" pieced strip, plus 1" strips of white, then 5" squares cut on the diagonal for the corner triangles.  That Meadowsweet print still makes me so happy!

Karen Griska recently asked for help reproducing this quilt.  I pieced together my contribution on Sunday before the big football games.  At 6" x 55", it could be backed with a cuddly fleece to make a scarf!  I just happened to have a box of 1.25" strips leftover from my lapel pin-making.  It is the perfect width for their little borders.  There is something to be said for keeping your scraps organized.

We finally got a measurable snow fall!  Quilting rulers are so handy for measuring snow!

My mother-in-law sends us an amaryllis bulb every year.  This is a lovely coral color that was difficult to capture in the photo.  This one will be a double-bloomer!

 

 I just realized that I completely missed my 3rd Blogiversary.  (That is a ridiculous word and I apologize for using it!)  I blame my friend Karen for the oversight.  She started her blog a few days before me.  When she mentions her anniversary, I know mine is soon to follow.  Well, she missed hers, too!  We will need to remedy this soon with a giveaway!

Snow, Ice and Warm Socks

With so much of this

And this

Who wouldn't want some of these?


Julia finished her first pair of socks (a Christmas gift for Josh)!

(I had fun photographing them in the snow.)

Stay warm !

Stalling

I need to start a new project today, with a deadline looming.
But I'm stuck. Almost paralyzed with fear.
Which is crazy because the fabric is gorgeous!


With such a huge investment already made, I think I'm afraid it won't work and I'll have to start over. How about starting the first time!

At least I'll have this view to gaze upon as I press yards and yards and yards of Fandango and more Kona Snow.


OK! I'm going to start!

WIP Wednesday- SNOW DAY!

Well, my guild meeting (including my lecture on Modern Quilting) scheduled for tonight was snowed out. I'm hoping a snow day will translate into lots of sewing! My lecture is being bumped to next month which will give me time to get some of the pieces quilted, so I won't be showing only tops. It's all good.

I have been working on a Whirlygig baby quilt for a couple of days. I started out with the inspiration print below from the line Savannah by Christine Graf for Clothworks. I like it just fine and it would be lovely as a baby quilt. (As a side note, we met my nephew's girlfriend Savannah last week, so I'm saving the selvages to make a little something for her.)


Then this Philip Jacobs print, Waltzing Matilda, appeared on the table and I love it even more. So I cut some pinks and pulled out the blue. I think it could use some green. We'll see where this ends up!
Which do you like better? Savannah or Matilda?

It's been snowing since about midnight and is expected to continue into the afternoon. This is the most snow we've had in one storm so far this season.
View of the back yard:

View out the front door:

I love snow!
Kona Snow, that is!
It is a gorgeous soft white and it works with everything.
Who knew I could love a solid white so much?!

Visit Freshly Pieced to see what other bloggers are working on today!

Wicked Winter

We got a little bit of snow yesterday! Winter is really here.

I went out early to start digging out my car. Then the big guns arrived!
Julia and I were on a mission. We had to get out and make it to Providence for Wicked!

Our street is out there somewhere.
Just one lane was plowed, and not very well.
Our biggest challenge was my mother's street and driveway to her apartment building. Julia was a trooper! I'd get stuck, she'd dig, we'd go a little farther, she'd jump out and dig some more.

Leaving my mother's building, we had to go uphill! We powered through with Julia's expert digging, but I had to leave her behind for fear of getting stuck. I didn't stop to pick her up until I was on clear, level ground. It reminded us of this old family story.

Christmas of 1966, my grandparents insisted on attending midnight Mass. My father and brothers gathered them up and off they went. During Mass, a foot of snow fell! The car would get stuck at every intersection, so my brothers would get out to push. Knowing he'd get stuck again, my father just kept driving, with my brothers running behind, ready to push at the next corner! When they reached the dead end street where the Other Grandma lived, there was no way Dad was going down there. So my brothers dragged Grandma to her house on a sled!

We made it!
It was a harrowing drive, but we took it slow. I learned to drive in upstate New York and took my driving test after a big snowstorm. I was confident in my abilities (so was Bill!), but always worry about other drivers.

On the way, I instructed my mother that at the end of the performance, she was to announce that this was the best show ever and well worth the drive. Right on cue, she recited her lines with a big smile on her face.

Wicked really was the best show we've seen (up there with Lion King). But we'll remember it more because of what we went through to get there. At least we didn't need to pull Grandma on a sled!