Quilts of 2011

My year-end review of quilts I completed in 2011. Midnight Stars was a quilt-a-long offered by Lori of Humble Quilts. Her directions are easy to follow and I look forward to her next project in 2012.

This is "Four Flowerpots" currently hanging in my kitchen. It is the result of a challenge from my weekly quilting group.

"Baby Steps" now belongs to my 6-week-old great-nephew, Eli.

"Mini Diamonds" is made from my vast collection of nineteenth-century reproduction fabrics.

"Vintage Nine-Patch" started as eight very humble, old nine-patch blocks given to me by my friend, Linda.

"Animal Alphabet Games" was a panel I hand-quilted for my great-nephew, Mason.

"Winter Scraps" is a folk-art table topper I made for my brother and sister-in-law.

Fabric Notebooks

My quilt guild is making things again! This time, fabric-covered notebooks from a pattern in Quilting Arts "Gifts" magazine.

December 1st

Inspired by Lori of Humble Quilts, I made this festive table topper designed by Cheri and featured in the current issue of Primitive Quilts magazine. The pattern called for cotton and wool fabric but I didn't have any wool so I used all cotton. The appliqued shapes and "pennies" are fused. I may quilt it using perle cotton, not sure yet.

RIP Nellie, 1995-2011

On Saturday, November 19, 2011, Nellie, beloved family dog and faithful companion to our family, died peacefully. It is with heavy hearts that we mourn her passing.

Nellie came to us, scared and skinny, in 1996, through David's patient, Mrs. Bruno, who was active in the Montgomery County Rescue League. We never knew Nellie's exact age but estimated her to be about a year old when she joined our family. She was a mix of Golden Retriever and Brittany Spaniel and came to us already named Nellie.

In a family of brunettes, Nellie was a redhead, but her personality was anything but fiery. She was the sweetest, gentlest and most uncomplaining member of the family. She was a strong and healthy dog up until the very end. When she and Adam were very young, we would attach her leash to Adam's stroller and she would pull him up the hill at the end of our street. She loved running free in the park at the other end of our street. Chasing squirrels was her very favorite pastime. One of Nellie's finest moments was when a squirrel got into our house and Nellie cornered it and bit off its tail!

Nellie was a good dog and we will miss her.

Amish Leaves Quilt

I've noticed some quilt bloggers have posted their leaf quilts so here is my contribution!

Little Antique Nine Patch

At our quilt guild meeting this morning, my friend Linda gave me these little antique nine-patches that she had bought years ago but never did anything with. She was cleaning out her sewing room and I was the lucky recipient of some of her cast-offs. The red check fabric came from an estate sale I attended last year and the brown paisley border fabric is new.

Mini Diamond Quilt

A little quilt I pieced this week. Pattern from the book, "Bits and Pieces."

Civil War 150: Blocks #40-43

I'm still plugging away on Civil War 150. I can't believe there are only 8 more blocks which means only 8 more weeks in 2011!

Crafty Bags

Sometimes you feel like making things that are not quilts. My quilt guild is gearing up for our quilt show in December, 2012 (I know, it seems early to me, too) by offering tutorials in making "bag-ettes," little zippered bags of varying sizes. Aren't they cute?

And this is a "ditty bag" from a pattern I picked up a couple years ago from a quilt shop. It uses 10 strips from a Honey Bun which you sew together and fuse to fusible fleece. I still have to buy some velcro and a suitable button for a closure.

I really enjoyed making these quickie projects!

Sunset at Assateague

This is the last sky picture, I promise! Beautiful sunset over Assateague Bay in Virginia, last weekend.

Labor Day Weekend in Chincoteague, VA

We returned last night from a great weekend in Chincoteague, Virginia - our sixth in a row. The weather was magnificent, as pictured. This shot was taken on a sand bar. For $10 you could take a 10-minute ferry ride out to a sand bar to experience sun and surf. Unlike the national seashore on Assateague, it was unregulated so dogs and alcohol were permitted. As the tide came in , the beach got smaller but there was still plenty of room for all. Lots of fun!

Today is the first day of school and it is raining.

September 1st

Here is another dramatic sky picture, taken last week, the night before Hurricane Irene came through. There was very little damage although many lost power (not us). The weather has been magnificent every day this week. Tomorrow we head to the beach for our annual Labor Day Weekend in Chincoteague, Virginia. Then it's back to school on Tuesday. More quilt pictures to come...and I have been knitting too!

Cloudy Day at the Beach

A couple weeks ago, my husband got the urge to look at the ocean so we packed up and drove to the beach for the day. The weather wasn't very nice but it didn't rain. What is that saying? "A bad day at the beach is better than a good day anywhere else."

Earthquake & Hurricane Week

Well, this has been quite an eventful week. On Tuesday afternoon, I was in the basement folding laundry (such an exciting life I lead!) when the windows rattled and the whole house shook. First thought: a truck ran into my house. Second thought: a bomb (this is Washington, DC, and we think about those things). Third thought: an earthquake? Yep, that's what it was. My son and I ran upstairs and turned on CNN and saw that we were right. I had experienced one once before, in Chicago of all places. It's very scary but over quickly. We had no damage and nothing fell so we're good.

Just as the dust had settled from that, we are now bracing for a hurricane that is predicted to hit the east coast tomorrow and Sunday. I'm not too worried - I think the worst thing that might happen is that we lose power. I stocked up on tunafish and granola bars but the stores are out of bottled water. Keep your fingers crossed for us this weekend!

Carolina Lily & Empty Spools

Here is the latest (#32) block of Civil War 150 - Carolina Lily.

And here is the one before that - #31 - Empty Spools. Funny, I just posted a "Spools" quilt that I made and here is another spool. You can see that I didn't make it an empty one. It looks kind of big and blobby but if I put it with the other blocks and step back about 10 feet, it looks okay!

Prairie Paisley

Now August is here and that makes me sad. Even though we have a month left of summer, it somehow feels like less than that. Of course it has been bloody hot here in the nation's capital. Rain is in our forecast today and I am hoping for it.

Above is Prairie Paisley, a top I just completed. If it looks familiar it is because it was on the cover of a recent magazine. Yes, I am a magazine quilter at times. I had actually bought a jelly roll and yardage of Minik & Simpson's fabric a couple years ago and was waiting for inspiration to strike. When this pattern appeared, I pulled out the fabric and started sewing.

Spools Doll Quilt

My great-niece turned three last week so I sent her this little doll quilt that I made.

Civil War 150

I haven't posted any photos of my Civil War 150 blocks lately, so here are some that I have made in the past month or so...

I've been having a lot of fun with feature fabrics - fussy cutting them to fit the blocks.

Now I have both Generals Grant and Lee represented.

I am up to date and have 29 blocks so far...that makes 29 weeks out of the year.