Saturday Sampler blocks 5 & 6

Blocks 5 & 6 of this year's Saturday Sampler. Aren't they pretty? I especially love #5 at the top. These blocks will all be done in this pink and brown colorway. Halfway done/

This will probably be my last post for about a week. I'm having some surgery on Wednesday morning to finish the repair job on my perforated colon from December. I'm nervous, but will be glad to have it over with. And recuperating in July will be much more enjoyable than it was during the January blizzards.

Cats & Quilts

Here is Sammy - laying claim to my selvage pile. I was working on some selvage blocks this afternoon and had a big pile of selvage strips on my ironing board, which is next to my sewing table. It was so handy, because I could just reach over and make a selection as I sewed.

However, my process got a little trickier once there was 18 pounds of cat sitting on top of the pile. He wasn't happy when I tried to pull out the ones I wanted. Being well trained "cat staff", I started selecting them from the bag again so that I wouldn't disturb him.

He ended up sleeping on that piles of selvage strips for about a half hour while I sewed.

Father's Day

My dad passed away 20 years ago, and my father-in-law has been gone over 30 years. They never met each other, but I know they would have been friends if they had been given the chance. They shared so many traits. Both knew the satisfaction of finishing a day of hard work. Both were strong, quiet, and honest. Neither of them ever met a stranger. Neither of them passed up the opportunity to quietly help a neighbor, without looking for credit or thanks.

Good guys - and sorely missed after all of these years! Happy Father's Day!

Lakeshore Resort

Ever since I received a swap quilt that was made using the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern, I've been eager to try it out. And I finally did just that.

In March, my friend Sylvia gave me a charm pack of Lakeshore Resort fabric, along with a couple of fat quarters and a half yard cut. It was just perfect yardage to create a large square topper for my big round coffee table. And the colors are exactly what is in my family room: greens, blues, tans, browns.

Loved the way it turned out. Quilting will come next because I definitely want it on that coffee table for autumn.

Summer Block Exchange

Last night was so much fun! Our little group working on a charity quilt got together at Marilyn's house to exchange our blocks and plan the charity quilt. We really missed 2 of the ladies who couldn't be there, but their blocks were there. A little wine and a little cheesecake was enjoyed too!

A little background quickly - 12 quilting friends each received 1 yard of a focus fabric to use in a block of their choice. This time the fabric was a lovely aqua floral from the Wildflowers line. Each of us made 13 identical blocks using the focus fabric and adding other fabrics of our choice. We get together and exchange so that we each get a block from everyone. The 13th set of blocks we put together to donate to a charity. This project's charity is the community scholarship program. We previously did a Christmas quilt using this process.


Here are my friends showing off their blocks. Photo 1: me and Marilyn holding our blocks along with Pam's and Nancy's. Photo 2: Erin and Kelly. Photo 3: Sylvia, Linda, Brenda. Photo 4: Yvonne, Kathy, Deb. This is a great group of talented ladies!! The blocks are all beautiful and such a rich combination of colors that all blend perfectly.

Rain, rain - Go AWAY!

I desperately need some sunshine!!! We have had record rainfall in the last 5 days - over 7 inches! And it is raining again this afternoon.

This doesn't sound like much for some parts of the world, but we average only about 17 inches of rain per year normally. Needless to say there has been water standing everywhere: over Interstate 90 causing detours on Saturday, in peoples' basements, 3 inches covered the floor of the local hospital emergency room on Friday, and putting the James River back up to record flood levels. The river wasn't yet back inside its banks since our April flood after too much winter snow.

A small project finished

This cute little quilt is headed for Virginia this week, as an overdue baby gift for one of my cousins. I hope Levi enjoys his quilt as much as his big brother Lukas has enjoyed his.

It was our 2009 Saturday Sampler project, called Favorite Things and all done with 2.5 inch strips. We did 10 blocks, but I just used 9 of them for this project. My fabric choice was all polka dots, and I even added dotted sashing and a dotted back, which is pieced.

I had it quilted by Carli at The Pin Cushion a week ago, and finally got the binding done yesterday while watching the Minnesota Twins on TV. It should be in the mail tomorrow.

Little July 4 Project

This was my Sunday evening project. It's ready to quilt - by hand of course. This little table topper is 18 inches square, and used parts of 3 fat quarters plus some scraps of white. I believe I can get a second one out of the same fabric, if I use the second blue star fat quarter that I bought with binding in mind. However, I think I am going to use it for the second topper and put plain blue or red binding on both of them.

It is just the right size for the center of my kitchen table.

Technology Conference & Star Quilts

I'm at work today - but it's lots of fun this week. I'm "holding down" the registration table during the lunch break, so have had plenty of time to do other things. Our agency is holding our 4th annual Laptop Leaders Academy this week Monday through Wednesday. We have about 140 teachers here learning about technology integration for their classrooms. The breakout sessions have been really good so far. Getting ready to hold this conference every year is so much work, but is really worth it when the participants tell us what fun they are having.

Two weeks ago Sylvia and I did a 3 day in-service at the St Francis High School, out on the Rosebud Reservation. Again - it was hard work, but fun. We held the in-service in the high school library, which was named to honor a local lady who just happened to be a quilter. This lady made traditional Native American star quilts, which are often given as gifts for special events such as graduations, etc. A local group hired a local stained glass artist to create a star quilt display for the library. I had to take a photo and share it. This stained glass piece is gorgeous, especially when the light is on behind it. It is roughly the size of a real star quilt and hangs on the wall where every student will see it as they walk into the library, sit in the library, or check out a book.

More show 'n tell

I found this at Ivy Lane Quilt Shop in Elkton, SD. This bag pattern was designed to carry your iron to quilt class. But when I saw the sample, I decided it would also make a really nice purse. I especially like the way the handles are attached by running through side casings.

A couple of small finishes

I stitched the binding on to 2 table toppers on Saturday afternoon. These are both hand quilted. The blue and green one may end up as a gift, but I'm keeping the red/green/white one because I love how it turned out.

Shopping fun

I promised a little "show and tell" of my purchases on last Tuesday's little road trip. Finally got a few pictures taken today, so I'll share some things over the next couple of days.


First off - I bought some very "4th of July" fat quarters that I plan to use for a new summer table topper. I'm going to use a pattern that I've used several times before, with a large center that shows off a beautiful focus fabric.

And I bought a couple of bag patterns. This one is called Lulu's Lunch Bag and I bought it at Heirloom Creations in Sioux Falls. It is small and very cute. I did buy a couple of half yard cuts that I think will work nicely for this little bag. Now I just need to decide which version I want - the one with rick rack or the one with a little ruffle.

More to come another day!

Road Trip

My friend Sylvia and I left town early this morning and put on about 400 miles today. It was FUN! We both needed a day of "R and R".

We drove to Watertown, which is about 2.5 hours north and east. In Watertown we stopped at the Dakota Quilt Shop (very cute shop), had lunch, then visited the Terry Redlin Art Center. If you are ever passing through this area, the Redlin Center is well worth the time.

Then we headed back south and stopped at Ivy Lane Quilt Shop in Elkton, SD. More fun! And then we stopped in Sioux Falls at Heirloom Creations. Last, but not least we made a stop in Barnes and Noble for coffee and something chocolate - and books.

I made a couple of little purchases, which I'll try to share in the next days.

Back to work tomorrow with some very long days of workshops in the next 2 weeks! It will be a marathon of work!!!!