This is a good day! I feel like life is getting back to normal. With time for a little sewing, a couple of chores, and time to write blog posts; it is evident that the work of the move is behind us. The timing could not be better as it is time for the second annual Positivity Quiltalong, hosted by Sew Preeti Quilts and Needle and Foot. This quiltalong happened for the first time, last spring. At that time, life was getting crazy and it was difficult for me to focus on it. This is made most evident by the ...
read moreI was only too happy to lend a helping hand. After all, this tutorial is for Hands to Help :-)
If you have a layer cake in your stash, that hasn't found a perfect quilt, this is for you. Usually Layer Cakes have 20 fabrics, two squares of each fabric for a total of 40 squares. Of course you don't need a layer cake to make this block.
This tutorial is in two parts. In Part 1, we will make the four identical units. In Part 2, we will look at ways to make blocks ...
read moreAngela announced that April is Pink. And nature got the memo :-)
Delicate Pink |
Hot Pink |
Reddish Pink |
Pretty Blooms |
It is like the sun and breeze shared a naughty joke and all flora blushed.
Looks like my fabrics are blushing too. I will be sharing with Angela's linky party.
Starting Point |
Plus Background Strips |
Cut and Sew |
Easter Bunny? |
When a pink Easter bunny hopped on to my work, I ate him up :-D
Voila!!! |
I have about a dozen pink blocks. All different sizes. How will I put them together?
With a lot of mixing and matching, cutting ...
read moreYou guys – we are close, so very close to being done with the house in California. We sign papers for the close next week and have a final walk through with the new owners and then we are heading up to Washington. It is just amazing! This has been the focus of life for so long. We are so excited to be nearing completion and so ready to move into the new house!
Much of the house looks like this! There is still a lot to be loaded into the last Pod and we have some movers coming to help ...
read moreI am guessing this isn’t news to all quilters who happily participate in Hands 2 Help each year but the event is being coordinated by Mari of Academic Quilter this year. Sarah has a lot going on right now and rather than having to skip a year of making quilts for deserving people and organizations, Mari has stepped in and is hosting the whole event! We are all grateful to Mari for taking this on but most especially grateful are the staff and families at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. To read the details about this year’s Hand ...
read moreOh how I love autumn. It means the summer heat is over, the possibility of rain is coming closer, the fire dangers might soon reduce greatly. Colorful leaves, cooking comfort foods, baking bread – this is fall at our house.
There is no filter or editing done with the photo above. The first of our 1/2 dozen maples has turned to a brilliant crimson color. It is the same each year; this tree turns red first, drops its leaves first, and leafs out first. Then the other two on the front lawn ...
read moreHello all – I was supposed to post this yesterday but it was totally forgotten. I am so sorry. We had a such a nice weekend with my son and his wife in town visiting. My parents and two of my sisters, plus one wonderful niece were able to come for dinner on Saturday night. It was a lovely weekend filled with visiting and family time. Unfortunately, writing this post up was completely overlooked. Before I announce the winners, let me thank Preeti and all of the amazing quilters who participated in this event benefitting Mercyful Quilts. Currently I have received ...
read moreThe Mercyful Quilts continue to arrive! I have a large stack of quilts to deliver to the hospital and I know they will be thrilled to have them.
Lots of boxes to recycle as I open the beauties!
Most of the quilts are from the Positivity QAL, hosted by Sew Preeti Quilts. However I also received two quilts from Tina C in Delaware. Tina has contributed to Mercy before and she is a fantastic quilter. I really like this sampler in particular though.
Up at the top, there is ...
read moreI have named him Varun, after the Hindu deity of sea and sky and rain. By now Varun has traveled the width of the country and reached Bernie on the west coast.
Varun - 60" by 80" |
Varun - Green Backing |
Each plus block finished at 10" square. 48 blocks were arranged 6 by 8 for a finished quilt measuring 60" by 80". Varun is my contribution to the Positivity QAL and is a Mercyful Quilt.
Wrapped with Kindness (may need tissues)
Here are the pictures showing the progression ...
read moreOh my gosh, I have been going a million miles an hour lately. Sometimes life is like that. We have had a trip to San Diego (family wedding), tons and tons of gardening because my farmer husband planted so much this year, and fire season has begun in fall force. So, I am behind on blogging and blog post reading.
This picture was taken at the recent wedding. My parents are standing on either side of the bride and groom. Just to explain; my parents had six kids, who then provided 21 grand children to the group ...
read moreBernie joins me in thanking all of you who completed the Positivity Flimsy and participated in the Linky Party.
We also thank all the designers who offered their patterns as prizes. See full announcement here
Here are the winners - Numbers 2, 9, 11, 13 and 19.
- Number 2 is Wendy of PiecefulThoughts- She won Prize #3. One PDF pattern of choice from Denise of For the Love of Geese
- Number 9 is Susie of Knitty Quilter - She won Prize #1. One PDF pattern of choice from Cynthia of Quilting is More Fun than Housework
- Number 11 is Cheree of ...
This blogpost is late but I have a very good reason for it...a very cute and furry reason :-)
Louie - our new fur baby |
Meet Louie. We brought him home yesterday afternoon. Louie's rescue dad is moving and could not take him along. We were only too happy to adopt him. The car ride was not fun for him and the thunderstorms did not help. He has been exploring his new environment and is a little skittish. We are getting to know him as he gets to know us.
Why yes, I live with two handsome males |
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Of ...
read moreLife has been fairly busy around here – lots of garden time, some visiting with friends, reading books and, of course, some sewing. Let’s see what I can share with you today!
First up, I received two incredible quilts for Mercy Hospital! These were quite unexpected and I am thrilled to have them. My friend, Stephanie, is a local long arm quilter with a passion for purples and blues and a strong love of Kaffe Fassett. When she offered these two quilts to me for Mercyful Quilts, I was over the moon. Want to see them?
read moreThe Purple blocks for June RSC 2021 are complete. YIPPEE!!! Here they are:
Reddish Purple |
Bluish Purple |
True-ish Purple |
Since I had purple on my mind, I saw purple everywhere and lots of it. Here are a few glimpses.
Hydrangeas |
Allium something - Ornamental Onion |
Purple and Hairy Leaves!!! |
I saw a Purple Wall!!! |
In Berlin, MD |
Noticed this sign on vacation in Berlin, MD |
A purple butterfly!!! |
Pansies :-) |
O Beautiful - Don't know thy name |
One purple shell on the pathway to The Inn Berlin |
Do you like Dark? |
Or Light |
Here are the secondary blocks, using the triangle leftovers ...
Hi Everyone! As I mentioned the other day, I am hosting the first link up for the Positivity QAL. The event is hosted by Sew Preeti Quilts and the quilts made will be donated to Mercyful Quilts or the charitable organization of your choice. At this point, most of us have selected our fabrics, cut pieces and made (hopefully) twelve or more blocks. If you have’t gotten very many blocks done yet, no problem, I haven’t either! Just share what you have done so far. We are excited to see where you are on this project! (For more ...
read moreMe: Must I choose?
Paul: Yes.
Me: Well, in that case Vanilla with Chocolate sauce.
When we describe anything as vanilla, it means plain, dull or lacking in imagination. However vanilla is a perfect plain canvas to build upon. Add warm chocolate sauce with a sprinkle of nuts and you have an ice-cream that is elevated beyond other fancy flavors. Have you considered adding chopped mango to vanilla ice-cream? You are welcome :-)
Such is this Plus block. Yes, it is plain. But that is exactly why there are so many layout possibilities.
Here is ...
read moreToday I want to share the finish of this pretty coin quilt. This quilt started out on a whim one day a couple of months ago. I was cleaning my sewing room and attacked a pile of scraps, cutting them into rectangles measuring 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″. I decided to concentrate on specific colors and then use the rectangles at a later date for a coin quilt. Green, yellow, pink and blue were the colors I selected.
Yes, the quilt has a bit of an Easter egg vibe but who doesn’t love Easter eggs? I chose ...
read moreSomehow May is just flying by! I haven’t posted since April but with good reason. Now that our family is vaccinated we have had lots and lots and LOTS of family time. Like many of you, we are making up for all of the lost time over the past year or so. It has been heavenly.
With all of the visiting going on, there has been very little action in the sewing room. Before I left for Washington, I did get my diamond blocks made for May. The RSC color this month is red and I have plenty of ...
read moreThe Positivity Quilt-Along (QAL) begins on Sunday, May 30, 2021.
While you wrap up your current projects, clean the bobbins, pick up the stray pins and change the blade in your rotary cutters, I am busy writing the tutorial and debating (sometimes silently) layout options.
Here are the gifts/prizes we have gleefully secured for the Positivity QAL. Kudos to the sponsors!!!
All QAL participants (anywhere in the world) who link up their finished flimsies will be entered to win one of the following four Level 1 prizes