Pointless Quilter

I have a great job.  A couple months ago I got to meet David Archuleta from American Idol and today last years' winner Lee DeWyze played at our mall and I got to see him, get his autograph and talk to him for a minute.  Really nice guy.  I couldn't stay for his whole mini-concert as it's an hour drive home and the fog has been pretty bad so I had to leave 1/2 way through his set.  He was great, sounded good.  So now that I got home late, did some house errands not a lot of time to sew tonight (hence a blog post).  I just have the last border to paper piece on the Deb Karasik class project.  I really am loving it.  So clean and crisp.  Thanks for looking.

If you want to see some great photos of the show quilts, check out Darlene's at Sew Cal Gal .  She did a great job summarizing the show and the quilts.  More importantly this is what I worked on and what I bought. Fabric for my bosses son quilt.  (His school colors) Marimekko Oyj Suomi fabric.  Another Marimekko fabric. The books I bought. The thread and crystals I bought. And to add to my fall fabric stash. Misc. fabrics, a pattern ,  2 fabric packs to go with pattern. Some of the yellows and greens and browns I got to use on my class project. The picture I used for my project. This is as far as I've gotten.  I'm using this green instead of appliqueing all the leaves. Want to make a red, white and blue quilt - here's a start of it. Not sure what I'm going to do with the Marimekko fabrics.  I was thinking of just finishing the edge of the red one and using as a table cloth.  My friends think I need...

Our last evening at Road to California and we are very sad and very broke.  Here's a picture of my three roommates and classmates.  We all took David Taylor's Advanced Pictorial Applique class. Back row:  Kathy Morrison and Debbie Van Fossen Front:  Diane Mitchell and Me Here's the infamous David Taylor.  He was a lot of fun.  He has his way of doing things and he's a perfectionist and I know I musts have driven him crazy with my boring piece.  I won't show it until its done which may not be for a while.  Against his advise, i will probably do the "f" word with it - FUSE MY PIECES instead of hand applique.  We'll see.   I took pictures of some of the phenominal quilts - will share at a later date.  Will also take pictures of some of the fabric I bought - I used some in my project.  All boring yellows.  Thanks for looking.

The center of this quilt is made from the remaining blocks left over from the first idea I had for my Material Girls Challenge.   I was going to put the signature blocks among ocean wave blocks but ended up doing the art piece instead.  So I didn't want all that work to go to waste so I put the squares together, added borders and used the rest of the scraps on the border and the back.  Had fun quilting these feathers and added shell motifs to keep with the ocean theme.  I've never done them this way before.  (You can click on the picture to get a closer look - use your browsers back button to get to this page again.) Also finished today my Loose Threads Art Group project (which isn't even due until the 24th!).  We had to use a photo on our fabric and the theme word was joy.  This is my niece at my nephews wedding this past August.  She was having so much fun and we all were having fun watching her.  She has always brought me joy.  Th...

Only for the 3rd time since he was born in October!  We caught him before he started crying again.  Kelly had to go to the store for a few minutes and he slept for half the time and then he woke up and realized she wasn't there.  I can vouch that his lungs work.  I finally got him quiet for about 5 minutes and he and I had the nicest conversation.  I told him all the fun things we're going to do - like reading stories, playing games, swinging and running amok.  He just stared at me like he was excited.  But then Kelly came home and he heard her voice and the crying began.  Too funny.  I also told him the grumpy gramps (he really didn't like that name because he kind of puckered his face when I called Jeff that) will build him a swing/play set that will make all the neighbor kids jealous.  I guess I need to tell Jeff that he has to do that now.  He has the bluest eyes.  He's adorable.  Of course I'm prejudiced.  And ...

"Needs a Name" quilt Close Up This is a kit from John Flynn- laser cut pieces - started working on this a few months ago at retreats or Party Party Party and finally finished it last night.  No name yet, I will take any suggestions.  The package calls it a Pine Burr pattern.   And I need to find at least a fat quarter or 1/2 yard of this above fabric.  If you know the name at least it will help.  I bought a fat quarter pack on Etsy through Sew Dearly Loved and I check her website and it's not there anymore.  I need it to finish this quilt.  See the blocks to the right of Janice-that's the project. Anyway, our guild had Deb Karasik this Thursday and she was so entertaining.  If you ever get the chance to see her, do it.  Also if you have a chance to take her class, take it.  We had a great time.  Now I have to go back to contemplating how I want to quilt my blue/green/turquoise fabric scrap quilt.  Lots of quilti...

Wedding Dress Blue's blog had some wonderful goals for 2011 and I want to share them.  Her blog address is weddingdressblue   It's kind of a positive goal list which I loved.  I'm still going to make my resolution list but not because I want to get them all done by the end of 2011, but I like to keep track of what I have in my cabinet. Here's last years list.  Posting it here so I'll have a record. New resolution list on the right. Here's the goals: 1.  Quilt!  Duh! 2.  Keep buying fabric.  As Wedding Dress Blue says, it makes me happy!  I don't really "need" more, but since I love fabric and it makes me happy, I'll buy more.  It was also be unreasonable to say I won't. 3.  Keep blogging!  This has been a fun way to show off my quilts.  I know my family looks to see what I've made.  That makes me happy. 4.  Use Scraps.  Even though the quilt store isn't doing Scrap Therapy anymore, I will continue ...

Here's pictures of the quilts and/or projects I finished in 2010.  I know these are all the quilts, but I'm not sure if I got all the little crafty things I finished on here.  Sometimes I foget to take pictures.  Or they were part of a bigger quilt like the pieces I did for the Loose Threads ribbon quilts.  I only finished 13 of the 25 quilts on my resolution list for 2010.  However, one of the quilts on the list has 12 different mini quilts and there are 2 of those finished.  Then I have the top of one other finished and I hope to get that quilted or at least started this weekend.  Tomorrow I work on the new years resolution list! When you see them all together you can really see I don't have a particular style of quilting.  I'm game to try anything and any color. Tomorrow comes the "NEW LIST OF RESOLUTION QUILTS".  Today it's all about putting Christmas decor away.  Which I'm stalling because I dread going back and fo...

Every year my family exchanges home-made ornaments for Christmas.  It's so fun each year to see what we all come up with.    Here are the ornaments I made this year for everyone. Of course I also make them for my nephews and niece (except I didn't get a picture of my nieces ornament yet.)  I did all mine with counted cross-stitch except for the Santa - my embroidery machine did that.  And this is what I received in return.  I'm showing the ornament my husband gave me this year.  He actually has been giving me these collectible ornaments for the last 6 years.  You can click on the pictures to get a closer look and use your browsers back button to return to this page. And other crafty items received and made are here. The buffalo watercolor was done my mother-in-law for my husband.  It was from a picture he took on his big adventure earlier this year.  She has always been artistic but usually with oil paints and at 82 decided s...

Okay maybe I'm not sneaking it in because I'm going to start the blog with it.  My step-daughter asked me to make her husband and my grandson matching hooded towels because her hubby Chad just thinks they are so cool.  She even found a blog with directions on how to make them.  (Thanks http://www.makeandtakes.com/easy-hooded-bath-towel).  So I made these.  I know Kelly checks my blog occassionally but I don't think Chad does so it's safe to share this. Chad's is made with a bath sheet and Jack's is made with a regular sized towel.  I hope they'll like them. Now being part of  two very talented friendship groups, I have been getting some wonderful gifts.  Here are just a few of the handmade items.  This is just a tip of the iceburg of the wonderful gifts I've received - not all of them. Anna Koelewyn belongs to both the groups I'm in and for one she made us these cute magnetic pin holders.  They are just clay saucers she's painted a...

The Material Girls Friendship Group met today for our Christmas party and the big reveal.  In spring we exchanged signature blocks and we had until today to make a quilt with them.  We were missing 4 of our group for various reasons and they were all missed.  I hope to see their quilts soon though. Since this is my blog - my quilt is first. Mine is a wall hanging that will hang above our bed in the Cambria house.   I'm showing the pictures of the blocks when we got them and the finished products. These neutrals were Adena Joseph's.  She not only made this quilt with neutrals, she made us each ATC cards and she made herself a tote bag to carry her quilt around.  She plans on doing an applique around the border when she finds the time.  Anna wanted orange and pink - love how she added the turquoise.  Gives the blocks a whole new look.   Carol Chadwick wanted oriental fans and she twisted them in her setting which gives it a very unt...

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving with just my in-laws, got my house decorated for the holidays, and started working on some Christmas gifts (which of course I can't show).  I can show these postcards for the guild show and tell.  Sorry about the photo - taken with cell phone - don't know why it's sideways.  Anyway I quilted with metallic thread on velvet and used crystals to decorate.  I'll try to take better photos with real camera. So on to the puppy part, my husband told me this morning he was going to the local flea market to go look for a bike (he plays with them, puts engines on them, etc.) but instead of coming home with a bike he came home with this little girl. Here she is snuggled inside my sweatshirt.  We won't be able to keep her but my husband just couldn't leave her running around the flea market.  Looks like she was dumped there.  He walked around the whole place hoping someone would claim her.  He said he saw 2 little girls hol...