Welcome Presents

The way to a quilter's heart is through fabric...and quilt books. These arrived from my sweet niece, Amy, who drew my name in our annual gift exchange. The books have a more contemporary slant than my usual, which is a good thing because I like to push myself in new directions. And isn't that fabric gorgeous?

Oh, and by the way...we did not get the snow that everyone else did!

My Birthday...and I was sick!

Last Monday was my birthday. I woke up with a sore throat and by evening it had developed into a full-blown cold/flu. I was in bed for two days and now, a week later, am still not feeling 100%. But the show must go on...things to do, people to see, places to visit. I think I'm finally caught up with gift-buying, holiday cards, laundry. Got my hair cut today and that's always good for a lift!

I'm feeling a bit aimless, quiltwise, since I was on deadline for our recent show, and now that it's over...well, I have to start something new! I have resurrected one machine-piecing UFO and I also found a needlepoint pillow that has been lying dormant for one year? two years? I am thinking about a new hand-piecing project and am considering "tumbling blocks," a pattern I have never made.

The photo is from the Quilt Show in Chicago I attended in April. I don't remember if it is new or old but I thought it looked festive for this time of year.

More Quilt Show Photos

This is my Feedsack Frolic quilt, made from a collection of feedsacks accumulated over at least ten years.

I made this quilt top which was then tied by members of our guild and will be donated to one of our charitable groups.

"Strawberry Fields" shown in a previous post. Doll quilt size based on an antique quilt. See previous post for more details.

News Flash: We had a few snow flurries this morning, amounting to a light dusting. Sadly it melted before I had time to take a picture!

Needle Chasers Quilt Show

My quilt guild, Needle Chasers of Chevy Chase, had their biennial quilt show this past weekend. As you can see, I finished my Pies & Tarts quilt just in time to hang in the show. Final stitches were made at 8:30 pm the night before - perhaps a new record! See my post of November 1st to read more about this quilt. I was going to hang it on the wall in my family room but I may use it as a throw instead since it is so snuggly. Our weather here in the nation's capital has gotten very cold. It is a shock to our systems after a warm fall. More quilt show photos to follow.

Mug Rug

The fad that is sweeping the nation... Inspired by my friend, Kitty, who does all things crafty, I made this "mug rug" to match my favorite mug.

Pies & Tarts

I have been quilting steadily on my Pies & Tarts quilt which I've entered into our quilt guild's biennial show the first weekend in December. Did I say hand-quilting? Yes! I have a little less than five weeks to finish the quilting, make a sleeve, and sew the binding on. The quilt is 60" x 60". The pattern is by Sue Daley of Busyfingers in Australia. I picked it up at A Touch of Amish quilt shop in Barrington, Illinois, in August, 2009, when I was visiting my sister. I was in a state of panic because I hadn't brought anything to work on and my fingers were itchy. The circles are made using English paper piecing which are then appliqued to background squares. Very labor-intensive but great fun.

Why Does It Have to End?

We went away for Labor Day Weekend, as has been our tradition for the past seven years, since our oldest started college. Pictured is Adam in the surf at Assateague, VA. We were lucky...Hurricane Earl was a no-show and the weather was perfectly spectacular all three days.

Now it's back to my routine which hopefully will include more blogging and definitely will include more quilting.