Christmas Brunch with the Quilters

It has been a busy week with many Christmas functions and parties.  One that I look forward to every year is the Whacky Ladies brunch at Brig's Restaurant in Wake Forest.  Besides the great food, we have a gift exchange and also share small gifts with everyone.

I hit the jackpot this year on the gift exchange.

I thought Lori had made this Christmas stocking, but she says it is from Hobby Lobby.

It was stuffed with lovely gifts...the best being four yards of beautiful fabric!

There was also a very pretty journal, which I will enjoy very much.

 And stuffed in the toe, some Ghirardelli chocolate squares!

Opening all the small gifts was like Christmas morning.   I thought I took pictures of these as well, but I must not have.  I will take one of the owl pincushion made by Gloria next time- it is so cute!

Charlie and I used a gift certificate he got as a retirement gift to eat at The Angus Barn in Raleigh with our friends Ricky and Mary.  They decorate it beautifully at this time of year, but you can always count on seeing lots of quilts hanging on the walls.

I have continued to paint lots of angels, and sent this one to a relative who just turned 90.

I purchased some cards with a framed mat that allows you to insert photos or artwork.

I think that soon I will be offering these for sale in an Etsy shop to raise money for cancer research, a subject close to my heart.

I hope that you are enjoying the holiday season.  Busy as it always is, Christmas time is my favorite. I have been sharing a Bible journaling page each day of December to try to keep in mind the "reason for the season."  Here is one that I did recently.

Whacky Ladies Quilt Bee

I actually made it to a monthly meeting of my quilt bee on Thursday at Whatever's Quilted in Wake Forest.  They have started meeting in the afternoons instead of evenings since so many of us are now retired and don't like to drive at night.

I just have to show this wonderful quilt top made from baby garments and accessories.  Marie assembled it for one of Donna's customers.  She stabilized all the knit outfits and shirts to keep them from stretching.  I think it turned out great!

Next up is a Yellow Brick Road pattern quilt in luscious pink and navy fabrics made by Mary.

Mary also showed us a series of table runners featuring fabric strips and a leafy applique on the side.

We switched gears and tried our hands at crocheting a V-stitch pattern under Lori's instruction.  I used to know how to crochet back in the 70's, but have sadly forgotten both the procedures and the feeling.  Arthritis in my hands has made them a little awkward.  But it was fun to try with help from Donna and Lori.

Today I went out to the Voices art quilt exhibit at the Page-Walker House in Cary, NC, and was able to take a few photos, which I will share next time.

Charity Quilt WIP

I did a little sewing on the charity quilt squares that I cut with the Accu-Quilt cutting system at my bee's sew-in last week.  My theme fabric was the patchwork print.  I also cut a few coordinating squares.

I decided to make a top similar to the ones several other members of the bee were making at our sew-in.  They basically are 5-inch patches of different lengths.  The ones from guild kits had white sashing strips, and also put some of the white strips in between the patches.  I decided to use the white sashing between the rows only.

I have several boxes of strips left over from other projects, so it was easy to chain-piece onto the strips that I had.

I have many, many more of the the multi-colored patchwork squares, so this quilt top will be growing.

I also have a new project that I did not want...a quilt repair job.  More on this later.  All I can say is...

"My Grand-dog ate my Handwork!"

Hand-Made Christmas

I have been to three Christmas parties with friends since my last post!  Should have gone to another on Saturday, but it is getting down to crunch time to get my preparations ready for Christmas.

The "Christmas Craft Night" with my daughter-in-law's mother was a first for me, and a really fun idea.  Emily and her mom are awesome hostesses, and this party was no exception.

Maribeth had set up four stations with instructions, a finished product, and all supplies needed.  I felt just like I was back teaching elementary school and creating successful learning centers!

One of the most popular was the fabric garland.  We each got a strand of electric lights, and all we had to do was knot strips of fabric, burlap, trim, etc.  Mine is going to look perfect hanging over the kitchen window in the mountain cabin.

I also love my snowman ornament.  We used chopsticks to stuff some fiberfill into a clear glass ornament.  We twisted red and green pipe cleaners and glued on cotton pom-pons to make him some earmuffs.  A permanent felt-tip pen and some orange paint created the face.  How cute is that?

We also made some plain red pillar candles look much more glam for the holidays simply by applying double-stick tape and adding glitter.

There was another project to make gift bags out of lunch bags, but I have not decided what to put in it yet.  I have an assortment of ribbons, tulle, and gift tags punched from Christmas card stock.

Maribeth said all her project ideas came from Pinterest, and most of the supplies came from stuff she already had or the Dollar Store.

The next morning I drove back to Wake Forest for the annual Christmas brunch with my Whacky Ladies quilt bee.  We have a tradition of exchanging small gifts for everyone, and a larger gift for one person in a "Dirty Santa" game.  (Person number one chooses a wrapped gift and opens it; Person number 2 can steal it, or choose an unopened gift, etc.)  I managed to hang on to my beautiful little snowman quilt made by Marilyn.

Mary made Christmas trees from buttons and cinnamon sticks!

Lori added crystal beads to wooden Christmas ornaments.

Marilyn made the blue heart-shaped snowman ornaments.  Her embroidered felt ornaments represent a good percentage of my Christmas ornaments after twenty years or so of this Christmas exchange!

Donna Made machine-embroidered mug rugs in red and white.  I'm not sure if she somehow made these via a computerized pattern on her long arm.

I feel so lucky to have these enduring friendships and people to share my love of quilting and crafting.

Wooden Needle Holder and Bag

Here is the gift that I selected to give to a member of my quilt bee during our gift exchange tomorrow.

It is a turned-wood needle holder by Meiki's Designs, which I purchased at the Vendor Mall of the Ashe County Piecemakers Quilt Fair back in September in West Jefferson, NC.  The maker is http://meikisdesigns.com . Fortunately, I was able to find it in time for our Whacky Ladies party tomorrow.  Sometimes when I buy gifts way in advance, they disappear before it is time to give them away!

I decided to make a little "holder for the holder," or a little cloth bag to put it in.  Here is when it is handy to have a supply of pre-painted, pre-quilted fabric ready to cut up and sew.

All I did was zigzag a piece of pretty fiber all around the edge, sew on a button, and wrap some more fiber around the button to close.

Here is the back view of the little needle case.

In case you are interested, the blue and green fabric was made by squeezing Elmer's glitter glue onto muslin, then painting with Setacolor and other fabric paints.  When you remove the glue, you have markings on the fabric where the glue resisted the paint.  The outside flap was painted with Shiva Paint Stiks.  You can see how I made them here if you scroll down through the post.

After the party tomorrow morning, I have to do some cooking before my husband's Christmas dinner for the office tomorrow night.  Yes, it was just Thanksgiving last weekend, but this weekend my son and his family from South Carolina will be coming up for our family Christmas.  When you work in retail and also have to share children among multiple sets of parents for the holidays, you have to celebrate when you can.  We are looking forward to seeing them and having an early Christmas!

Whacky Ladies Show and Tell

It's been a couple of weeks, but I have some pictures to share of the August meeting of the Whacky Ladies Quilt Bee.

Donna made some memory quilts for a customer using a family member's shirts.

And a T-shirt quilt for a middle school principal.

Mary used her favorite pattern to make this Nine-Patch Pizazz quilt featuring bird fabric.

 That's also Mary hiding behind this Strips and Curves quilt that she made at a quilting workshop in Tennessee.

Lori showed off her finished shawl.

 And she also had a couple of spectacular quilts made from Bonnie Hunter mystery patterns.

 Our hostess, Carolyn, showed off her finished wool appliqué table mat.

 And here is a cheerful baby quilt made by Marilyn.  She used the same fabrics as the one she made for the baby's nursery...but this one stays at "Nana's" house.

Fran also had a baby quilt in bright colors, not yet quilted.

We spent the past five days at our mountain cabin.  My brother Jeff and his family from Florida came up to escape the heat. 

We had a family reunion on Thursday with three of my five brothers and my sister all present!

We also have something new on our deck...which I know we will enjoy for years to come!  Two of our little great nieces were among the first to take the plunge (with Mama watching carefully!)

It was a great LONG weekend.  Now we are home for two days, and then off to New York!  Life is good!

Art and Quilts

After our very long weekend in the mountains for Merlefest last weekend, we decided to stay in Raleigh this weekend.  I took advantage of a chance to attend my old quilt bee in Wake Forest, which meets on the first Thursday of the month.  They have gotten three or four new members since I became relatively inactive in the group.  It was nice to meet the new ladies, and visit again with my old friends.

There was lots of good show and tell.  One of the most remarkable was this cross-stitch embroidery quilt by Mary Nennstiel.  She found the blocks at a yard sale, washed them, and set them with this lovely sashing that really makes the blocks glow.  She machine-quilted and was sewing on the binding at the meeting last night.

And the award for perseverance goes to Kathy, who created this postage stamp quilt with one-inch squares.  She constructed it by making nine-patch blocks, then making a block five by five with the nine-patches.  Truly amazing!

Kathy also made this modern baby quilt that has Minkee on the back.  I found it interesting that her husband did the long arm quilting using a teddy bear panto!

Carolyn also made a modern quilt top using Oriental fabrics and a white sashing.  

Lori Mann was still working on her Halloween-themed Baltimore Album quilt.  She is adding beading to every block.  These are truly works of art.

Speaking of art, since I had a rare day in Raleigh to myself, I decided to see a special Exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art, which is only about three miles from our home.  

Estampas de la raza/Prints for the People: The Romo Collection will be there from April 13–July 27, 2014.  There is a special fee to view this exhibit, which is waived for members of the museum on their first visit.  It is well worth the price of admission to see the collection.  Here is a description from the NCMA website:


Ranging in date from 1984 to 2011, the works in the exhibition embody social, political, and economic issues, as well as explorations of identity and race, faced by Mexican American and Chicano/a artists. The exhibition is organized thematically in the following sections: the melding of Mexican and American cultures; Hispanic icons Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara, and César Chávez; the struggle for equality and labor rights; the search for Mexican American identity; and the influence of Latino culture on contemporary American life and art. 


You can expect to see many bright primary colors as well as some more muted colors in these prints, most of which are silkscreens. I was unfamiliar with all of the artists whose work was included, but I admire the work tremendously.

Raul Caracoza, Young Frida (Pink), 2006, screen print, image: 36 1/8 x 26 1/8 in., Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo, 2009.42, © 2013 Raul Caracoza

The museum grounds are also an art park and greenway.  Just the short walk from the parking lot to the exhibit pleased the senses with a large garden of yellow roses.

And there is a long garden bed of Russian sage that was catching the late afternoon sun.