Patchwork Friends Quilt Guild...

Here's a little trunk show from last quilt guild.  Alissa made this adorable quilt for her new granddaughter to be  born soon....so cute...I want to make one...

 Lisa made this fun laminated picnic bag...love the colors...

 Lisa also made the 4th of July mystery quilt...

 Carolyn made this fabulous log cabin star...lovely...
Fun quilt...I believe Carrie made this as well as the next one...

Disappearing 9 patch...love the reunion fabric...

Fun quilt top...forgot who made this one...

Afghan made by Lisa H...lovely...there is a ton of work in this...

More Finishes!!!

 Every Heart Beats True...pattern by Kim Diehl...if I were to make this quilt over, I would pick a second  background fabric such that it has more contrast with the overall quilt and less contrast with the other background fabric...we live and learn don't we???

 Close up of the scrappy star and quilting....

 This is my triple four-patch.  I've wanted to do this for a long time and have had it in the works for a few years...It feels so good to have it finished and it really shows off the civil war fabrics well!!!

 Close up of the blocks and quilting...

I have these little pansie type flowers that just grow in the grass, in the other flowers...it always brings a smile to my face when I see them...

 Well, I finished sewing the pretty lady today...I just need to prep the back and get it quilted.  Up close, this quilt doesn't look like anything in particular, but when you stand back you can see the Mona Lisa...

Three weeks ago, Michaela's dog had 7 puppies.  She bought this dog from the Humane Society for $300 against my wishes and brought it home.  The dog was malnourished and abused and guess what...pregnant.  After having the dog for 1 month, she delivered the little ones.  We have found homes for all but 2... 

The little one is Lady.  My daughter in law wants her.  She is adorable and has the cutest markings.  She also has a black spot right where her tail is....cute cute cute!!!

Checking in with Mona...

 Here's how I have set out making Mona...I've attached the pattern with magnets and  have a paper handy to show my place...

 This is the current section I am working on...It has 7 sections of 10 rows and I am currently working on the 5th section...

 the pattern suggests pressing open seams and I have found out that is the only way I can get a good press...very time intensive, but worth it...

 I diligently mark each row with a label telling me what row it is so they stay in order...

This panel shows the chin on the Mona Lisa...I really have had fun doing this quilt.  It is not one for me that I can just whip out.  It is meticulous and accurate so you can get the image right...my fine art piece is on it's way...

Another UFO...

 This UFO eluded me for a few years.  I could not figure out how to piece the missing section.  I was having a hard time figuring out what block size to put in, etc.  Then, I couldn't figure out what block I wanted to have there.  This project started out as a challenge from our LQS and we were to take the panel and design a quilt around it.  Well--I got this far and it sat for years...needless to say, I did not win the challenge...My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe here in my area has a club for UFO's.  We meet on the 3rd Friday of the month at the store from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm.  The company is FABULOUS, the motivation it has created for me to finish up things is FANTASTIC and I get so inspired by all who go there!!!

Yesterday, after coming home from work, I decided I would finish this UFO and get it ready for quilting.  I decided to stay with the churn dash block theme and made a couple...put spacers in between, and did some tweaking and voila...now I can get it quilted and have a little patriotic quilt for our July 4th...

Reunion, Finish and Store Sample

 Family Reunion...Here is a picture of my mom and siblings....I'm second from the left...

 This quilt was a store sample I made a few years ago.  Finally was able to get it quilted and bound.  My son and wife got to take it home today and they seemed to like it!!!

This last quilt top is a store sample I made recently.  It turned out much better than I thought it would and I quite liked it in the end...enjoy!!!

Fine Art

 Can you guess what I'm making???

 Ever since I saw this pattern for sale, I had to have a piece of fine art...The directions are clear.  The quilt is sewn together with 1 1/2" strips and the cutting is very labor intensive.  It took me a week to cut this out.  It is assembled in a paint by number style.  I have found it handy to have labels which I have subcut and have labeled everything as the colors are so similar and the sizes are so close...-**

++-+8**I have a little helper this morning...

For your fabric, I did find some pieces at my local quilt store, however I had to order online for the remainder...Fat Quarter Shop was wonderful to work with.  I asked them to label the colors so that I could continue to label them once they are cut out...I found some boxes and I am using the lids to keep things somewhat contained and in order...wish me luck!!!

Party Aprons...

More sewing that took place in my absence...I was asked to sew 12 aprons and 13 chef hats for a very special birthday party...sorry, no pictures of the chef hats, but they turned out adorable...

The fabric was absolutely scrumptious to work with...

Nothing better than to sew and to do it with the most beautiful fabric surrounding you...

As a child I developed a love affair with fabric and it has continued throughout my life...

I found this thread keeper at the antique shop...the tag stated it was from 1880

There were slits cut through the wood for the thread to pull through from...I was sad this piece was not in my budget, but I did get a picture...

Recent Finishes...

 Years ago, when we had Red Rooster Quilts and Treasures, they had free economy quilt classes where we exchanged 6" squares and we were taught this pattern with the 9 patches...I just got the quilt back from the quilters and bound it.  It was a work in progress as I decided to make it a queen size and had to make more blocks...so nice to finish a 4 year project...

 This is my Scrapbag Star quilt made last year and finished up this year.  Fun quilt and I got to use up some of that stash...

Close up of the blocks....How are you all coming along on your scrap quilts???

Patchwork Friends Quilt Guild...

 Here we are for the April quilt guild...Enjoy the show!!! I missed last month because of a schedule conflict so it was so good to get back!!

 This quilt is the spring mystery quilt put on by My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe...I made one and it was really fun!!

 This picture and the following picture are from My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe, which Kim and Kris came and talked to our guild.  These girls have it going on.  They are fun, creative and really smart.  The store is amazing and I have to make excuses to go all the time and get something here or there...

Please ignore the blurry photos as my camera has a really slow shutter and people show their quilts really fast....Some really fun show and share this month!!!