Barbara's Birthday present

Here is the quilt I made for Barbara.  It if for National Zipper Day in April.  She wanted a holiday quilt.  We had a fun time coming up with different "holidays".  This is made from zippers, of course, and some of my hand dyed fabrics.  I really want to do some more hand dyeing but this apartment is not conducive to that.  Maybe some day!

The End of Vintage Moments

Here are some of my student's work from the last Vintage Moments class I taught two weeks ago. 

                                           This is Barbara and Janice's pieces.

By the end of the class Barbara had most of her top done. 

Here's Linda B.'s center.  Don't you just love the soft colors.

Here is Sara's center.

I was not able to get pictures of every one's but hopefully they will send me pictures.  This was a great class and I have the greatest students.  I hope they learned at least one thing from the class.  It concerns me when a student says they haven't learned anything new.  I always learn something especially when I am teaching.  I hope my students learned something and had a great time while doing it.



Opportunity of a life time

First, remember the blocks from the last post.  Well, I finally got it all together.  The only reason I stuck with it was the extreme stress in our lives right now, I could focus on anything else.  Here it is with more than 600 pieces.  I had a hard time matching seams but it is done, except for the quilting.  I don't mind the quilting.  I'm actually looking forward to it but the pinning and then the binding on this is not going to be easy.  It doesn't really lay flat.  I am going to have to quilt it on my Sew Ezi table since everything else is still in storage.

While strolling through the Valencia mall with the family Friday night, we came across a taping of NCIS.  For those of you who know me well, know I am obsessed with the show.  I have all the DVD's and watch them all the time while I'm quilting.  We had finished dinner at BJ's and walked down to the mall.  When we had gone for dinner we noticed big lights shinning on one of the store fronts that had the windows blocked.  We joked that maybe it was NCIS.  Their studios are only a few miles from our apartment.  When we were heading back to our car, my son-in-law went over and started talking to the someone.  It turned out to be the assistant director.  We started talking to her and out came Mark Harmon.  It was so surreal. He was very gracious to take a picture with me.  This is going in my quilting studio!  And yes ladies, he is just as good looking in person!

Rambling on and on and on...

Here's my latest project.  It may not look like it but there are over 320 different sections here.  I have been sick for over a week and I started to put these on my makeshift design wall in the apartment but got frustrated.  I don't have the room to lay this out.  I feel for those of you with limited space.  It really is a struggle.  So I gave up and went back to watching TV.  So today I am feeling a little better and my goal is to put this together is sections if I can.  I won't be able to quilt this till we move, which I hope will be during Thanksgiving week.  Still waiting for our down payment money to come through.  Patience is not my virtue!

I did take a class at Bolts in the Bathtub in Lancaster, Ca last Thursday.  I thought I would take anything just to meet some people.  I was feeling pretty miserable but decided to go anyways.  I made this pin cushion (it is suppose to be a birthday cake) and had a great time but I only met one person - the teacher.  I was the only student.  She was a great teacher and I really enjoyed getting to know her.  I hope to sign up for something else but they only post their classes one month at a time and they still don't have the ones for November out yet. 

Don't I have the greatest secret pal (Kings River Quilt Guild).  This is what I got.  Love everything and can't wait to use it.  Hoping to go to the Christmas party in December to meet her but I don't know what to do for her for Christmas.  It has to be something special.  Got any ideas?

Here are some pictures of Becky and Daniel when we had lunch two weeks ago.

This is from the church picnic Saturday.  We just went up for the day.  This is Daniel and Aggie.

Here is Becky (she won't let anyone take her picture anymore) and Ben.  They thought it was fun grabbing the tree and jumping off the rock they are standing on.  Sorry Genelle!  It was a great time but a long day.

This week will be one of waiting to hear about the farm escrow.  It better close soon or we are in big trouble with our escrow.  Hoping to look for a couch again this week.  Found one I really like but it is too much money.  I don't know what to do.  I can't find anything else I even remotely like.  I just need to settle on something cheaper and hope I don't regret it.  It really shouldn't be such a big deal but when all you do all day is sit here thinking about what you want to do with a house you don't have yet, you get a little crazy!

Enough of that.  I hope you all have a great day!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (I think we will go out and drink tonight!)

Update

I have been busy in the quilt room (apartment extra bedroom) quilting some little quilts and also busy outside the apartment.  Here is a piece I just finished.  A few weeks ago Sara, Barbara, and I got together and played with decolorant.  This is a piece I did on black rayon.  Then I quilted it with metallic thread and beaded the edge.  I'm not sure if I like it.  It looks childish or maybe it's because it is more "artsy".

This is a piece I made from scraps of some hand dyes I did sometime ago.  The more I work with my own fabrics, which I do not have many of, the more I like it.  I think once we move, I want to do some dyeing.  This is called Cattywampus.  It is for a friend who was criticized for using that word.  I like the word and since I could not get the squares and rectangles to look straight, hence the title.

Last week I went to the Pacific International Quilt Festival.  There were some amazing quilts but there didn't seem to be as many as last year.  There were too many vendors.  I really didn't seem to come home with that much stuff for all the money I spent.  Some patterns, thread, projects for Christmas presents and more decolorant.  I did get an embellishment book that I have almost read from cover to cover.  When I make some of the embellishments next week I will post them and the book title.  On the way back we stopped at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.  I just had to take this picture for all my friends who are coffee lovers.  Besides her clothes being made out of everything coffee, her boots had coffee beans allover them.

On Saturday I taught the fifth in a series of six classes on the Vintage Moments book by Marsha McCloskey.  Here are some of the centers of the class.  Three of our students were missing but I am hopeful that they will be there next month for our last class.  We came up with another class to be done in a series for next spring but I have to make the quilt first.

Well we are in escrow on a house in Acton.  We are still waiting for the farm to close but are hopeful that all will be in order and we can move in on Thanksgiving.  Believe me, it cannot happen soon enough!

The lastest

Remember my "I Spotted a Frog" quilt?  It was selected for the Kings Art Center's postcard for our quilt exhibit.  Barbara emailed me  a picture of the postcard but I haven't seen one in person yet.  I think the show starts this week.  I wonder if I'll get to see it.

I have been working on my fans for the vintage moments class.  Here are the 48 fans finished.  Finally, I thought it would never end.  Now all the parts are done, including the middle, and I can start putting it together.  I'm working on a birthday quilt for Janice right now so when that is done I can get to it.

I made these place mats to add some color to this boring apartment.  Here are the six I made for us and I have four more for someone else.  Can't say in case she reads this far down the blog.

Here I am holding the baby quilt from the Hanford church for Tami's new baby Anna.  Genelle and Peggy came down to help me put it together.  We whipped it out in one day.  I wish I would have had more time to do some quilting on it besides stitch in the ditch but it had to be done.  The shower is this Saturday.  I hope she likes it.  I found the fabric at Bolts in the Bathtub in Lancaster, Ca.  It is a great shop and no, Jeremy, it's still not better than Thimble Town!  Thimble Town is still the best quilt store for my money!

  It is suppose to rain tomorrow so I hope to get a lot of quilting done.  I love the rain and am always more productive when it rains.  Spent today running around town after getting a flu shot and having lunch with Jeff at the Saugus Cafe.  Great food, been there since forever, diner where the movie stars have gone in the past.  Don't know why the movie stars go there.  It is kind of a hole in the wall from the outside.  Come to visit and I'll take you there!

Off to see "Money Ball" with Brad Pitt. My son-in-law Stephen's brother, Bryan, is in the movie as one of the Pitchers. It's suppose to be a great movie.

How about some more!

Remember my "99 Half Log Cabin Blocks On the Wall"?  Well, Saturday was our class.  I had only 5 students but we all had a great time. Never teach in September.  It's a very busy month so there were some people that wanted to take it but could not.  I hope I will get to teach it again sometime.

Here are my students and some of their blocks.

Linda B. and her block

 
Karyn and her block.  Love the Halloween theme.

 
Becky and her blocks.

 
Linda M. and her blocks.  She's going to hate me for this picture.

And here is our third Linda in the class.  We didn't get a picture of her block but she promised to send one soon.

What a fun day!  Although I did not get to go to Pismo with friends to quilt I had a very busy week and weekend visiting my grand kids, drinking beer at Brewbakers with Martina and Stephen, shopping in Fresno with Debbi, going to guild, painting fabric with Sara and Barbara, teaching, going to the anniversary party, visiting my Sunday school class and friends at church and finishing the week with an awesome steak lunch at Katrina and Eric's house.  It was a long trip home (I guess I have to call this apartment home now) but it is good to be back on a schedule even if it is cleaning and laundry.  Three friends from church are coming Thursday and Friday to make a baby quilt for the lastest baby in the church.  (By the way, her name is Anna!)   Friday we are going to Irvine to see comedian John Pinette (look for him on UTube, he's very funny) then Saturday we get to look for a house again.  So a very busy week!  Last I will leave you with a picture of Ephram and Keira I took Wednesday on their way to Awana's. 

Second posting of the morning

While I was in Hanford this past weekend, I attended the 50th wedding anniversary of our friends Bob and Barbara.  At the last minute, because I kept forgetting to get the picture from their daughter, I made this little quilt.  The picture is very light because for one thing, it is old, and the other it was over the Internet.  You can't see it very well but the ribbon says Moments to Remember and I also beaded the ribbon.  It's just something little but they seemed to enjoy it.

Orange Blossom Quilters Challenge

Thursday night I was able to attend our monthly meeting of the Orange Blossom guild in Visalia. Our challenge this year was "Victorian Garden". We were given a picture of a seed packet and a poem as part of our challenge. We were also to have a three dimensional item on our quilt.

 

Here are the entries.  The two on the left won, the first for overall favorite and the second (Sara's for best quilting).  The large flower won also but I cant remember for what (Sorry Becky, I cant remember!) and then mine on the far right won for Best use of Theme.  It was a fun night and I enjoyed seeing everyone again.

Here is mine and of course, I had to add beads.  I hand beaded the trim, lace and tassels.  I searched the Internet for the rest of the seed packets and printed them on fabric  I also made three dimensional flowers.  I hope you like it.  I do!

Birthday Presents

Our Loose Threads Art group met last night and I had to stay in Valencia so I could not be there when Karen received this piece I made for her.  She wanted something to do with fairies.  I have been going over ideas for months, went to Beverly's and found this fairy.  It was a Christmas ornament.  I added extra ribbons and beads (of course) and found this fabric in my stash.  I quilted the flowers in gold metallic thread.  It took me two days to quilt it.  I like it a lot and had a hard time giving it up.  I know it is a little different but I hope Karen liked it anyways.

This was the quilt that I gave to Barbara last week when we had lunch.  I don't remember all she wanted but I had this fabric and I wanted to practice thread painting on it.  It was fun to quilt and then I beaded the centers.  I didn't want to give up this one either.

This is the one I made for Sara.  Her theme was "Cracked".  Well, the strip is cracked alright.  It actually is split down the middle.  I trimmed it with different braided yarns then beaded the yarn strip.  I added beads along the bottom.

I hope they all had a great time last night and hope they set a time next month that works for both Janice and I to attend.

Well, back to beading my Orange Blossom Challenge.  I hope to have it done today and go on to something else.  The reveal is next week so you will have to wait patiently to see it.

Have a great day and go quilt something!

Back from Retreat

 I had a great time at the Kings River Quilters retreat in Wonder Valley. It was so good to talk to people after being down here in Valencia with the Starbucks guy the only one to talk to during the day. Kings River has the nicest ladies in their guild. We had fun talking till two in the morning, eating too much food, receiving all sorts of goodies from Julie and making her cry with the blocks we gave her. The weather was beautiful and it even rained on Saturday for about five minutes. I think I spent more time talking than sewing but these are the things I got done.

                                    

        I worked on my center of the Vintage Moments class I am taking.  I had to catch up with my students. 

I made four pillow cases to cheer up our bedroom.

I made six place mats for a friend of mine.  I still have to make the napkins.

And of course, I went shopping.  This is for some aprons for my granddaughters.

I best get to setting my sewing stuff back up.  It's fun to go on retreat but now back to the real world with more laundry to do!



Bowl Class and other ramblings

I took a class a little over a week ago from Linda Matthews thru the Orange Blossom guild and made these bowls.  I was going to  be her helper but thought it would be more fun to make a bowl.  I made two!  She didn't need my help anyways.  It was a fun class although there weren't many in the class.  They are going to be jealous when they see all the beautiful bowls everyone made.  As you can see I am already using mine.

I have been working hard trying to get things done but they are things I can't show yet.  One was my Whisper Challenge and it is already off to the next person.  Next are birthday presents.  I am behind or I was.  They are done and ready to go.  They are for members of my Loose Threads group.  I took pictures before I wrapped them up but can't show you till next week.  I am going to Hanford tomorrow to have lunch with my friends so I don't want them to see them till tomorrow.

Life here has been tough the last few days.  We went to look at houses but can't make any offers yet till escrow on the farm closes.  There are more delays.  The buyer is just sitting there waiting to hand over his money.  Stupid bureaucracy!  I just want to start escrow on a house so I feel like I have something to look forward too.  I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Hopefully there will be something out there when we can buy.

I miss my life so much!

Now off to work on my Orange Blossom challenge.