Look out Webster's

 This weekend was Thimbles weekend, and I needed it so much.  I had been looking forward to it all week, when I got there after school, Kristie was already there, and Becky had been there all day.  It took a while for the rest of the regulars to trickle in. I was trying to finish up my patches and pinwheels from Bonnie Hunter that I started last year, it is one UFO that I am determined will be finished before the end of the year.  While working on it, I had to take time out to visit with everyone and see what they were working on, plus all of the wonderful show and tell.  Here is Kristie with one of her finished quilts.  She is showing off her very own quilting.  Way to go Kristie.



Karen's quilt made with the twister ruler.



The back of Karen's quilt, with its very own Schnibbles backing.Who would have thought?

Sarah's paper piecing blocks, they are gorgeous.



Karen's beautiful jelly roll Lilac Hill, and of course she is making a Schnibble to go on the back of it. 

It is thanks to  Karen that we can be on the look out for a new word.  If you read Karen's blog, you will know all about her aversion to applique.  When our leader, Pat, was showing one of her new patterns (I can't show that) and Karen saw the applique she said she couldn't start it until she found the right stapler.  I quickly coined the new quilting method, staplaque. I think she might be on to something if she can just figure out what to do with those rough edges from the stapler. I am anxious to see her first finished piece. 

Show and Tell at Thimbles

I am always inspired by Thimbles weekend.  The last few weeks, I have been unable to get motivated to do any sewing, but my creative juices are flowing once again.  Thimbles was last weekend, and there were some beautiful quilts for show and tell.  Suzanne finally finished the hundreds of flying geese necessary for the beauty above.

Sandra and her version of Sylvia's Bridal Quilt.

Kristie's miniature Jo Morton.

Kristie's Jelly Roll Block of the month from Moose on the Porch.

And last but not least Carmen's fan quilt.  I worked on my Bonnie Hunter Patches and Pinwheels.  I almost have all of the blocks sewn together, now to decide on a border. 

Thimbles weekend

 I always look forward to the third weekend of the month, Thimbles time.  I usually head over after work on Friday, the problem with that is that I am so tired I don't usually get a lot of sewing done, until I have to call it a night.  It is always fun to chat with everyone and see what everyone is working on.  The quilt to the left is Becky's version of Bonnie Hunter's Christmas Lights.  I love her border.

Sandra's Star Quilt.  If this quilt ever disappears we all know that our fearless leader probably took it home with her.

Suzanne working on her cheddar quilt from a few months ago.

Mary Ellen had the brilliant idea of putting finished tops up on the wall, why didn't we think of this before.

Thimbes Weekend

 After being snowed in for a week, and having a really busy week at school, I was more than ready for an evening of sewing with my buddies at Thimbles.  It was so much fun!  Faye was there, the first time I have seen her in ages.  (Faye was my boss at our county office until she retired in May).  Becky, Cindy, Sarah and Kristie were there sewing. Karmen was working on some stitchery projects, Pat was playing with her new IPad and  Karin came by to say hello.  Show and Tell was outstanding, Kristie finished Roll Roll Cotton Boll.  I love the colors that she used in her quilt.  Makes me want to get mine back out. 

Becky finished Scrappy Nines.  Love it in Black and White.

Sandra with her Valentine Table runner.  (I know she is sideways, sorry)

Kristie's swap quilt. 

Thimbles Weekend

It's that time again.  I so look forward each month to getting together with all of my quilting buddies.  Friday night was pretty quite at Thimbles, not surprising since it was the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Kristie and Becky were there along with Gretchen and Sarah.  It was great to see Gretchen.   She had two great quilts to show, one was Bonnie Hunter's Christmas lights from last year, and a beautiful Halloween quilt.  Krisite was working on an applique project, Becky was knitting, Sarah was sewing on binding, and I was finishing up a Schnibbles.  Sarah has been super busy, she had four quilts for show and tell, unfortunately I only got photos of two of them.  The one below is from the pattern Sassy Sixteen.

The Long Road Home from Bonnie Blue Quilts.  ( I am definitely making this one)

Weekend sewing

Last weekend was Thimbles weekend, I really thought about  not going, it had been a long week at school, but I really wanted to see everyone.  I was really glad that I went, Becky is really enjoying her retirement, she had been sewing all day and was coming back on Saturday.  Kristie showed up for a while, since she is still unpacking she only came by to visit, (she hasn't unpacked her sewing room yet.).  There were some great show and tells, Sandra is just phenomenal, she really knocks out quilts.  The one below is one she had just finishesd  I loved the red, white and blue.

Karen is another one that really can knock them out.  I love what she did with Pat's scrappy nine patch.  It looks great made out of "true scraps."  I still have my kit from that pattern to get made, on well, someday.

Karmen out did herself with this miniature, hand pieced double wedding ring. 

It is amazing.  I have always admired people who do miniatures.  I just don't have the patience for it. 

Last Friday night I went to Thimbles, and did we have a great time. We are a very diverse group, we not only quilt but make clothes for our grandchildren, knit, make rugs (yes, we have some hookers in our group). That is Karmen showing off the rug that she recently made. Our fearless leader is on the phone I think checking on her trip to Paducah this week.

Sandra is showing off the bag she just finished.

Elizabeth is showing off a beautiful block of the month that she just finished.

I worked on my Patches and Pinwheels again. I have almost all of the 16 patch blocks finished, maybe next month I can start on the pinwheels. Becky was working on "White Chocolate"and just absolutely glowing over the announcement of her retirement. Krisite was working on a Jan Patek BOM, not her usual yoyo's. She had class on Sunday and defended her paper yesterday. Havent' heard from her yet, but I know she did a great job. Karin dropped in to say hello and to show off Moda Man. Cindi was working on the Lily Pad, project of the month. Can't wait to see it finished. Sarah was working on some beautiful stitchery baskets. They will make a beautiful quilt.

Friday night at Thimbles

Each month I look forward to Thimbles weekend, it is a wonderful chance to sew and visit with friends. Friday night the crowd was small, I think too many people had worn themselves out at shop hop during the day, but we still had a great time. There were some great quilts for show and tell. Sandra above) had a beautiful blue and yellow star quilt. I think it is an Eleanor Burns pattern.

Becky, from The Quilting Booklady, had two beautiful quilts that she had just gotten back from the quilter. The one above is Strawberry Pie a pattern from Silver Thimble Pattern Co. Becky did hers as a Blueberry Pie. The one below is also by Becky, the pattern is Autumn Ridge. I forget the book it is in. They were both beautiful.

I had purchased the kit for the month, but decided that it required too much brain power and I should probably just stick with simple straight sewing. I brought the fabrics from our last swap, it is a Bonnie Hunter quilt, Patchwork and Pinwheels. I got about half of the patchwork blocks sewn together. I would have done more, but I left some of my strips at home. Krisite was working on her yoyo's. They are looking great, don't know what she is going to do with them but they look good. Sarah was working on a Civil War Rail Fence that is beautiful.

I didn't sew on Saturday or go to shop hop, (I am on a fabric diet) Joe and I headed up to the cabin. I was nice to get a way for a day and relax. The weather was georgeous, very sunny and warm, a nice change after all of the wintery weather we have had. We went on a nature walk, saw some deer tracks and some bear sign. I even cleaned off the table on the porch, where we could eat dinner outside. It was a very relaxing weekend.

Thimbles Weekend.

I don't know where the time went last week. I seem to have developed sewers ADD, and can't get anything done anymore. Friday I went to Thimbles, I had to find a project to take since my Glory Bound is still on the design wall, not pinned, and I wasn't about to take it down and lay it out again. My method this year for finishing up UFO's to to "pick a box", all of my UFO's are in boxes stacked up so I just pick one. Here it is Box #2 for the year. I wonder what is in it?

Here it is. a flannel quilt I started about three years ago from some leftovers from some other projects, plus fat quarters that I had bought just because I liked them. It is definitely time to finish this. I have most of the pieces cut, just need to sew them together. There are only two

blocks in the quilt, one is 2 strips that are 3 1/2 inches wide sewn together, the other block is

three strips that are 2 1/2 inches wide sewn together. The blocks are laid out in an alternating pattern. This was definitely a good Thimbles project to work on. I have to take projects there that I really don't have to think about much, because I get so busy talking that I don't always pay attention to what I am working on. I managed to get all of the two strip blocks finished and some of the three strip ones before I gave out. It was great to see everyone. Check out Pat's blog for some great show and tell photos.

Off to a good start

After once again trying to clean and organize my sewing room last week I decided that I have to finish some of my UFO's. (they are starting to take over my sewing space). Most of my UFO's are in plastic bins or boxes stacked in the corner, to make it more fun I decided just to grab one without looking to see what it was. The bin I pulled out had a Thimbles project in it from last summer, Glory Bound by Bonnie Blue Quilts. I think I only have about 5 more blocks to make, but to encourage myself I started putting the completed blocks on my design wall so I could get a feel for it. I had forgotten how much I really like this pattern. Hopefully this weekend I can get the remaining blocks completed. I might be able to get them done tomorrow if the weather is as bad as predicted, we might have a snow day.

Thimbles Weekend

It seems like forever since we have had a Thimbles sewing weekend. Of course I probably feel that way since I didn't make it last month. I had a great time. Our fearless leader started the day describing two of the quilts for our next quarter. They are both stunning. You can see them in the background. The one on the left a Hunter Star pattern and the fabric is from Moda. The one on the right is a scrap quilt from the book 40 Fabulous Quilts. The quilt for March will be a surprise.

I really enjoyed catching up with fellow Thimbles Becky and Kristie. Becky was working on one of Pat's patterns, White Chocolate. Kristie is definitely into applique, and was working on a Bunny Hill pattern featuring Scotties. I was trying to finish up a Bonnie Hunter quilt that was started in the summer. I already had all of the blocks together, managed to get them sewn into rows and got the first border on. I plan on getting the outside border on this afternoon.

There were some great quilts for show and tell, the star quilt above was one of Pat's. The blocks were a swap in her sewing group. I really like star quilts

The redwork quilt was rescued from a garage sale. It was absolutely beautiful, it was from the early 1900's and still in great shape. I would love to do a quilt like that someday.

The stocking quilt is another one of Pat's block swaps with her sewing group. Seeing hers finished makes me want to get my stocking blocks completed and sewn into an actual quilt. Maybe a goal for next winter.

Susie Homemaker

I got up early this morning which really surprised me, hubby is out of town and I went to Thimbles last night and didn't get home until late. I had the best time last night. Kristie, Becky, Teresa, Susan and I took up the back row and boy did we have fun. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Becky looked like she was crying she was laughing so hard. It was one of those things that you just had to be there for, it wouldn't be funny to anyone else. It was Kristie's birthday and it was great that she spent it with her quilting buds. I really needed the laughs, because last week at school, if it could go wrong it did, but the week is over with and out of my mind. On to today, where I was channeling either Martha Stewart or a pioneer housewife. After getting up early, I did three loads of laundry, canned 16 quarts and 1 pint of tomatoes, dusted, vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, gathered three boxes of "stuff" to take to Goodwill. All of this was before lunch. After lunch, I mowed the grass, picked more tomatoes, some bell peppers and some jalapenos. While cutting the grass I happened to notice in our azalea bed a huge and I do mean huge hornet's nest. It was big enough that I came in got my camera and hornet spray. It isn't a great picture, but I didn't want to get too close. I used an entire can of hornet spray on it. That should kill all of those nasty little devils. After battling the hornets it was time for a break and time to clean myself up. I needed to go over to Forsyth Fabrics to get fabric for my new bedroom drapes. After getting the new bed, we need lots of new bedroom stuff. I decided how I wanted the drapes made, and the fabric I wanted just had to go over and pick it up. After that it was off to JoAnn's to buy thread and see what other bargains I could find. While at JoAnn's I did buy three patterns, their Simplicity patterns where on sale for 1.00 that is a great price. Now I just have to find fabric for them and get them made. Oh, well that will be a project for another day. Time for dinner and a glass of wine.