No quilting until Sunday

My sewing room will have to remain dark until Sunday afternoon. Last night I met both of my girls at a bridal shop in Sioux Falls to watch Jerilyn start the dress hunt. She found one that she loves, but we have a couple more appointments at other shops tomorrow. And she had Laura try on a ton of bridesmaid dresses while we were there. We found a couple of fun bridesmaid dresses and she'll have to make a decision quickly since one of them has to be shipped to Australia. Her cousin Steph will be the other bridesmaid and is coming from the other side of the globe for the big event.

The girls have such different tastes, and are having very different weddings. Laura's will be fairly formal at Christmas (coming very soon). Jerilyn's will be small and informal on the beach in April. Both will be beautiful brides of course!

I have to say however that the planning is backwards. We should be going to Jamaica in December and Sioux Falls in April. Oh well . . .

Lunch & a Giveaway

I came home to have leftovers for lunch and sat down at the computer to get caught up reading the blogs I enjoy. And I found a wonderful giveaway at Canton Village Quilt Works. http://cvquiltworks.blogspot.com/

You MUST go check it out.

Not much sewing has taken place this week so far. But I've been lucky to have had the opportunity to spend a couple of evenings with good friends over a glass of wine and a little game of pinochle, so all is well.

On my design wall

Here is a glimpse of my frosty quilt blocks up on my design wall. I have approximately half of the blocks sewn and have been placing them up randomly, which is my plan for the final design. My flannel wall isn't large enoug for the whole thing however, so when I get all of the blocks done I'll probably lay them out on my living room floor to make final decisions about placement.

So far I'm loving it. My thoughts are that I'll add a dark narrow border and then a wider border of either the white or a light blue. Maybe even add a little snowflake type applique to that border.

Taking a break from sewing blue and put the binding on a Christmas table runner while watching the Vikings game on TV. This little table runner pattern is done with a border print cut on a 60 degree angle. It takes a yard and a half of fabric. The border print on both selvage sides makes the runner and the center section of fabric will do the back and binding. I have a couple more border print fabrics that I plan to use to make more.

Just a little tweaking needed

After I got home from work today I sat and looked at my first frosty block with a more critical eye. It just wasn't interesting enough. So I added a half square triangle at the bottom.

Lot's better, right? I just finished making 2 more sets of 4 blocks from 2 more frosty fabrics. These are a medium blue and the other set is a light blue - almost like a glacier blue. 8 more fat quarters to cut into and then the solids. And I should have lots of sewing time this weekend.

And my choice is . . .

I spent a lot of time last night looking online at block patterns and pouring through books of patterns in my sewing room. I wanted something that had fairly large pieces in it so that I could showcase the beautiful fabrics for my "frosty" quilt. I had to test drive a couple of blocks, but finally settled on this one. It's simple and quick to make, and should showcase the fabrics nicely. This sample will finish at 8 inches. I have 11 frosty fabrics plus I bought 3 different blue Fairy Frosts (a Michael Miller fabric) to go with them. They'll all be paired up with the white Fairy Frost. Yum!!!

Frosty fabrics

I absolutely LOVE these frosty looking fabrics. The bottom one is a 1 yard piece I picked up last winter - without a plan. You know how it is - you just have to have some!! The 10 fat quarters I bought in The Quilt Shop in Chamberlain 2 weeks ago. All have the frosted effect. They're just beautiful. I love the play of blues across the collection.

Now I have to decide what pattern I'm going to use with them. I know that I want to keep some of the pieces large enough to see the beautiful designs on the fabrics.

What do you think? I'm open to suggestions.

Jack-O-Lantern

On Saturday, I finished my little jack-o-lantern hanging quilt. This 12 inch block and the metal stand it hangs in were part of a kit I ordered this summer from Fons and Porter. The only real changes I made - changed the green fabric out and eliminated the 2 spiders. The simple block went together in less than a half hour. Then the machine appliqued jack-o-lantern and letters were added.

I took the finished block with me this past week while on a "road trip" for work and did the hand quilting in my motel room at night on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Saturday afternoon I put on the binding. Another project done!! I love the way it looks on my hearth next to my painted pail of fall foliage.

Pumpkin Patch Giveaway

Hop on over to the Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shop's blog to check out their newest giveaway. It's a fabulous set of fat quarters! Wouldn't you just love to win these pretty fall fabrics?

http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-happy-halloween-giveaway.html

2 Daughters & 2 Diamonds

My daughter Jerilyn is engaged! Darin popped the question a couple of days ago and she said YES. Her engagement ring is beautiful, with a triangular diamond. I've never seen one like it before. Congratulations to both of you - and welcome to the family, Darin!

Now both of my lovely girls are getting married in the coming months. That means I need to start planning another signature quilt. FUN!!

Saturday Sampler

I have to show off a previous Saturday Sampler project - this one from a couple of years ago, that I just got quilted a few months ago. This particular quilt is done is Christmas fabrics and quilted with a pretty gold thread using an edge to edge design.

I have to tell you that it's a very small world. When I did the giveaway about a month ago, Sandi, at http://crazyboutquilts.blogspot.com/, won the Halloween kit. A few days later, she posted a photo of a quilt that she had finished - and it was this exact pattern but done in black and white. I commented that it was the same as our Saturday Sampler - and it turns out her mother lives 25 miles away from me and it actually WAS the same Saturday Sampler project. Isn't that just crazy? So Sandi - here is my version.

More about the Saturday Sampler . . . . . . Our local quilt shop, The Pin Cushion, has been doing the Saturday Sampler for quite a few years now. I've particiated for about 6 of those years. On the second Saturday of the month, we go to a 9:00 AM demo of the new block. We pay for the first month, and then if we return the next month - on time, with our block done - then we get the current month for free. We get the fabric and the pattern for one block. It's always a surprise to see what the block will look like. And the participants are encouraged to bring Show 'n Tell projects to share with the group. There's often standing room only.

Each year the theme has been different and the fabric choices are different. The one pictured above was a choice between Christmas fabric and black/white. One year was a row quilt done in either 1930's reproduction fabrics or Thimbleberries fabrics. Last year was baskets and I chose the batiks. Another year was all star blocks.

This year the blocks are all done using 2 1/2 inch strips - and called "Favorite Things". We got our second-to-last block this weekend at Saturday Sampler. In November we'll get the final block and a book with setting ideas. In December the shop will host a tea, and everyone brings their finished tops to show off. Quite a few of the ladies will actually come with a finished quilt - quilted and bound. The fun thing is that no 2 quilts will ever be identical even though the blocks and main fabrics are the same. Everyone puts them together in a unique way. It's so much fun to see how others put the same blocks together.

Here is my Saturday Sampler from about 2004. The setting was so easy to do and shows off all of the blocks nicely. This is one of my favorite quilts - especially after it was quilted. I kept this one for myself and it is on the bed in my guest bedroom.

Wedding Shower quilt

The future in-laws of my younger daughter Laura had a lovely bridal shower for her on Saturday in Redfield, her fiance's hometown. I believe she is going to enjoy being part of Jamie's family. She was able to meet lots of new people who knew Jamie as he grew up - such as a catechism teacher or a neighbor. Naturally they also shared some great stories about him with us.

Instead of bringing the traditional guest book, I made that little signature quilt for her. The guests all signed it and there is still room for more signatures if she has another shower. Or she may decide to bring it to her wedding reception too. You can see the quilt on the table in this photo.

Another great idea from this shower - every guest addressed the envelope for a thank you note. That way she had everyone's correct name and address.