Finishes...

There is nothing quite like a finish....My daughter and I picked out these fabrics at least 3-4 years ago...

The fabrics sat in a box for a couple of years and then finally I sewed them into this quilt last summer...

Got it quilted and then bound...ta-da!!!

This little banner was the final week of the mystery quilt...

Holly quilted it for me and this weekend, I bound the quilt

and attached the banner....I'm working on some more UFO's.  Let this year be the year of the finish!!!

Patchwork Friends Quilt Guild...

The following are a few of the photos that I took at quilt guild...the lighting is not the best for picture taking and my camera has a really slow shutter, so most of the pictures I took are blurry and I could not post...but enjoy...This quilt was a panel by Thimbleberries...

 Christmas table runner...

 Fun pieced heart quilt...

 It's hard to see a close up of these little girls, but this is a baby girl quilt...

 Love this LOVE quilt.  Must have one someday...

 This quilt is the scrap quilt that we were taught that night.  It is called the bucket quilt.  It is made courthouse step style with scraps and you have a rectangle center.  You square them up wonky and it makes this darling quilt.  There are a few more steps involved, but it is a great scrap buster...

I'm totally Swooning...

 I'm totally SWOONING...I got to sew this quilt for one of our local quilt stores...I did a trial block, which turned into a baby quilt and is presently at the quilter...I will post pictures when I get it back.  When I was asked to sew this for the store, I was so excited I couldn't stand it!!!  The blocks are a whopping 24" finished and the Ruby fabric...well a quilt made in heaven..or at least I thought I was in heaven!!

 I had a blustering winter wind this morning for photos, but you get the idea...

 A close up of one of the blocks...my quilter, Holly, did a superb job at quilting...I don't know if I can part with this quilt long enough for it to be at the fabric store...I have this total crush on it...By the way, there is a Swoon-a-long going on over here...

And to let the cat out of the bag for my family members who come to the annual Barrett retreat, we will be making Swoon...Above are the fabric choices for the blocks (we are doing a 30's theme for the retreat).  We will sew the 9 blocks at the retreat, and a drawing will be held for the completed blocks for all those who participated in building them....Hope you are as excited as I am for this...so look forward to June!!

Antiquing...

 It's no secret I am a junkie for nostalgia and antiques...My sweet husband took me to the antique store yesterday on my lunch break!!!  Love this iron board and old iron...

 This lovely cross stitched quilt all hand quilted...

 This fun quilt with the Baptist Fan quilting and scrappy stars...

 How about this great antique wardrobe--Would love to put my clothes in it...

 but, I really fall hard for embroidered pillowcases and such...This pillow case is an orphan and came without a crocheted edge...Last night I went home and added an edge...All these beautiful pillowcases end up in antique stores because their makers were waiting for that special day or someone to use them for and that day or someone never happened...I've decided to rescue my favorites and use them and love them!!!

I have taken some close ups of the embroidery on this one...the areas were all filled in with french knots...this certainly is not for the faint of heart...

Check out the lilly pad--must have taken a long time to fill in that space--no wonder they ran out of steam when it came to the edge...

A close up of the edging...I used a 10 bedspread weight and a size 3 hook and did a single crochet foundation row and then the edging row...I think I really enjoy rescuing these beautiful linens...

Valentine mystery update...

Week 3 of the Valentine mystery...This has really been a fun little quilt to work on.  I went in on Friday and picked up the last kit.  The top is ready for quilting and week 4 is an embellishment after it is quilted...Stay tuned....

Progress on the mystery quilt...

This is week 2 of the Valentine mystery quilt.  This was really fun to work on.  There is machine applique, you choose your favorite method, dresden plates and embellishments (yo-yo's).  I am currently working on week 3 and will share that really soon.  This quilt is absolutely darling and has been really fun to do.

Mystery Valentine...

I have never participated in a mystery quilt before, but as I have watched My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe put on these mystery quilts and I see how cute they turn out, I had to do the Valentine one.  I don't have a lot of Valentine decorations as compared to Halloween and Christmas so I am excited to participate in this mystery. 

The mystery started last Friday and we were given 49 squares of background fabric to sew together and embroider on the background.  If you present the previous week's kit completed the following week, you get that kit for free.  So here is my completed kit for last week.  I will put together this week's kit and then update you all with this darling mystery...

New baby on the way...

 My niece, Amy, is having a little boy in the very near future.  This is her firstborn.  We have recently started "The Auntie Basket" in our family.  There are 5 girls in my family and we are the Aunties....For this basket for Amy, I made a diapee wipee holder.  These are fabulous little things to have.  Diapers, wipes, cream or lotion can fit inside to take for the change...You can find a tutorial here...

My favorite baby necessity are onesies...To whoever came up with this idea--bless you.  My second favorite baby necessity--the burpees.  I like to use the prefold diapers.  I prewash them because they shrink...then I add a binding to the serged edgings to give a more finished look.  Last but not least, the peepee teepees...I used leftover fabric from the 2 fat quarters that sewed the diapee wipee and bound the edges of the burpees and added some soft terry fabric for the inside for a matching set...Welcome Little One...

Quilt Guild and Scrappy Quilts...

This is a quilt of valor that guild members have donated blocks to.  It will be quilted and handed in...

This sweet little baby quilt is a pattern by YoYo Mama and called Vintage Baby Quilt.  Holly explained to us how it is constructed.  It is a quilt as you go quilt so it just needs squared up and bound when you are done!!!  For January and February, we are focusing on making quilts from our stash...use it up and so the yoyo quilt was made from left over jelly roll strips.  Can't wait to give this a try!!!

Stacie made the next 2 quilts for Christmas time...

                                                This quilt was made by a first time quilter...

Kyle made a purse and showed her darling scarf...notice the close up picture.  It was made out of wool felt...

Carrie did the mystery Christmas quilt at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe...and several other quilts...she is one busy girl!!!

                                                         Lisa and her darling tree skirt...

               Debbie made these holsters out of oilcloth for her daughter, who is a massage therapist....

Alissa made this quilt entirely out of stash...Really fun!!!

A little antique shopping...

 Always love me a touch of embroidery...Love looking at the pillowcases...

 A darling baby boy bib all stitched...It was so sweet...

Doll sized Hummel, they still have a charm that I love...there was so much more from this shopping trip I wanted to share, but the camera had other ideas.  The battery went dead this far into the shopping...maybe next time.  Happy New Year and may you enjoy the nostalgia of yesteryear while making new memories today!!