We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Lois McKoy, winner of the latest Elm Creek Quilt novel by Jennifer Chiaverini!  The publisher will be mailing Lois her copy of Sonoma Rose.  Thanks to everyone who visits my blog, and to The Penguin Group for offering this prize.

Deja Vu

I could have titled this post the same as the last one, "Another Charity Quilt...and Another Win."  Unbelievably, I won another blog drawing, this time a Jelly roll of Moda's "Little Apples" by Aneela Hoey.  Thanks to Lindsey from Interweave, and to my friend Janice for alerting me to the win!

The next charity quilt is made from those raggedy circle blocks that were quite popular back in the 90's.  I had a book called Quilts From Aunt Amy that had the directions for this quilt with freehand-cut circles that are sewn a quarter-inch in from the edge.  The quilt is pictured on the cover of the book.

When the quilt is finished, you are supposed to wash it to let the raw edges fray and form a kind of textured ruffle. 

 I made a lot of the blocks using muted Civil War repo fabrics.  I decided to donate the blocks at our bee's sew-in last month, and Marilyn Featham stitched them into a quilt top.  I got it quilted yesterday.

 

 

I did some bouncing curves around the whole thing until I got to the circles.  Then I just went round and round, spiraling in to the center and back out.

I had no idea this would look so nice when it was finished!  We had thought this would be for Quilts on Wheels, which is Capital Quilters' Guild's charity for rest home residents in wheelchairs.  But I am thinking now that it might sell well at the Heritage Days auction in the fall.  I will check with my bee and see what they think when we meet tomorrow night.

I found the perfect soft plaid flannel in our basket of donated fabrics.  It has cream, peachy pink and soft green plaid, and is so soft.  I had just barely enough to be able to pin it on the machine.

The quilting shows up nicely on the back.

When I do charity quilts, I try to use up some of the bobbins that are leftover from other projects.  For this one, I used every shade of off-white that I had already wound, which included Linen, Parchment, Ivory, and Sand Dollar.  They all blended in just fine.  Between the three charity quilts I did this week, I freed up about twelve bobbins!  Yippee!

That reddish check fabric in the border of the quilt was left over from my granddaughter's nursery fabric.  She had a double- or queen-size bed in her room for company, and I made this quilt from the fabrics her mom had picked out plus some brighter pinks and greens.  I had some orphan blocks that I added in with the Yellow Brick Road blocks.  The center medallion is a Carolina Lily, which I just had to make since my granddaughter is Lily from South Carolina.

I actually scalloped the border, which made the quilt a bit more feminine.

I had fun doing lots of pretty flowers, swirls and feathers in the quilting.

I also made her a wall-hanging using some of the same fabrics.   I designed the fancy letters, and used patterns from  Bugs, Blooms, and Bullfrogs by Pat Sloan for the flowers, dragonflies, and ladybugs.

I added Swarovski hot-fix crystals, yo-yo's, buttons and beads to embellish the quilt.  The vine is one of those fusible bias strips you can purchase by Clover. I got mine at Mary Jo's Cloth Shop in Gastonia, NC.

This was one of my favorite projects of all time.  I can't believe how fast the years have gone by.  Lily is now in Kindergarten and will be six in June.  But that big quilt I made for her ought to last her until college!

You can see why she got the nickname "Lilybug" from this picture I put on the label.  She had the biggest eyes on her tiny face!



Another Blog Prize- and Family Photos

A couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed visiting some of the blogs of designers featured in the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. Several of the talented bloggers offered give-aways if you visited their sites when their blocks were featured. Lucky me, when I visited Janet's blog, named Chocolate is My Favorite Color, I was one of the winners! Here is the lovely selection of fabrics I received in the mail yesterday. It is from the Paisley line of fabric which Janet used in her block, named "Thoughtful Star." Thank you, Janet!

We have been enjoying Thanksgiving weekend at home with our family. Right now I have two handsome hunks in the kitchen making breakfast. Our older son wanted his Pop to teach him how to make his famous home-made Southern biscuits and gravy, an artery-clogging family favorite. Actually, Charlie switched over to Pillsbury frozen biscuits a few years ago, but he still remembers how to make the real thing. He used to watch his grandmother and my brother-in-law Kenny's grandmother, and practiced until he perfected the technique. It makes a huge mess in the kitchen with flour all over the place, but who cares?

Avery has been playing on the floor surrounded by puzzles and building toys. I highly recommend Wedgits, a construction toy that even the fourth and fifth-grade students enjoyed when I taught elementary school the past two springs. Here he is, sitting in a sunbeam.

Here is Avery and Lily in a recent school picture. They are looking way too GROWN!

And here is a recent picture of three of my baby quilt recipients. They are my nephew Jason's daughter Lacy, my niece Melinda's daughter Ragen, and our friends Mike and Amy's daughter, Shelby. Those first two girls are definitely up to something!

Today we are putting up our Christmas tree. The guys are outside trimming down the trunk. Charlie brought it back with him from the North Carolina mountains, along with wreaths and roping for the front porch. This should be a fun day!

Happy Turkey Day!

Tomorrow is the day we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US. Traditionally, a time to gather with family and friends, and have a delicious traditional meal of roast turkey. I made two of these little turkey quilts last year for gifts. There is a pattern called Turkey Feathers, by Rasmatazz Designs, for this 24" square quilt. Fun to make, and pretty quick!

Our weather has been, on the negative side, gray and rainy for days. On the positive side, it has remained unseasonably warm. My daffodils are coming up, Maggy's viburnum is still blooming,

and here is one of my old-fashioned roses that decided it was time to bloom in November! It smells divine! Why is Blogger making it stand on its head?

My grandchildren will be here on Friday, which makes me so happy. Look at this cute hand-painted stool I bought at my friend Carolyn's church bazaar...

It was only two dollars, and will be perfect for them to stand on to wash their hands and brush their teeth. Or sit on!

I just opened this wonderful surprise in the mail...a handmade Christmas tree from Elizabeth Creates, one of my favorite bloggers! I won her blog drawing honoring her 350th post, but did not know which of the three prizes she would send me. We had been corresponding about her Christmas ornaments. Elizabeth very generously explained to me that the stand was vintage wooden spool attached to a wooden disk from the craft store. I guess she knew I would love this colorful little tree! It is made of canvas that is painted and beaded, and decorated with fun fibers at the top. Thank you, Elizabeth! I am so proud to own one of your creations!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let me just say, I am thankful to all of you who visit me at All Things Quilty, and especially those who leave comments or write e-mails about my little columns. I never knew blogging would be so rewarding, or put me in touch with so many people all over the globe!