My reward for working on Sunday

I hate working on weekends when I've already put in a full week, but sometimes it can't be helped. I had some projects I really needed to get done today in order to keep up this coming week. And since I sewed and relaxed all day yesterday, I made a deal with myself - no quilting today until I had that statistical profile DONE.

The good news is that the profile got done, along with some other things I needed to do for work. Six hours worth of my Sunday - but I'll feel less stressed during the week now.

And to reward myself for a "job well done" - I started hand quilting a red, white, black dresden plate table runner. Here is a sneak peek. I'm kinda liking it already!!

Bits & Pieces

I'm pretty excited because my summer swap mini quilt arrived on Thursday afternoon all the way from North Carolina. The colors are so pretty and most of the fabrics are batiks - one of my favorite things! The quilting stitches are done with a soft greenish thread and are different in the different strips. Some are wavey lines, some are echo lines, some are decorative stitches. Thanks so much, Sandra! Check out her blog at http://adventuresofsillywoman.blogspot.com/ .

The other reason I'm excited is that I finally had a day that I could spend sewing. I blogged awhile back about the "someday" file of project ideas that I have. And I showed a photo of a blue and white signature quilt that I saw at the Quilts & Vines in August that was done with a pattern I had in my "someday" file. Well . . . here is my version of the signature quilt, done in the bride's colors. I finished the top this afternoon and it's ready for signatures at my daughter's bridal shower next Saturday. Hope she likes it.

And the WINNER is . . .

OK - it's 6:30 Thursday night and I just couldn't wait to draw the lucky winner of my Halloween quilt kit. Thanks to everyone who signed up.

My hubbie picked the lucky winner a few minutes ago. So - why wait until morning to post the news? The winner is . . . "Call Me Crazy" at http://crazyboutquilts.blogspot.com/. So this fun little kit is going to travel to Washington state.

Email me your snail mail address (look in my profile) and I'll drop it in the mail to you. Enjoy!

My 1st Giveaway - Just Because

I'm having a giveaway - just because it will be fun. Some lucky winner will receive this Halloween applique pattern and kit.

I bought this kit a couple of summers ago because I just loved the crazy cats in the center panel and the fun colors. But time is my enemy and I just couldn't get started on it. I've been trying to get my sewing room organized lately and felt guilty about so much fabric sitting in drawers just waiting. So I've decided to share with someone who will love it enough to make it.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this posting. I'll have my husband (who doesn't care how much fabric I buy and stash) draw a lucky winner on Thursday night and announce it here on Friday!

How Did We Begin?

http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com/ and http://tonyassewingroom.blogspot.com/ have posed a question for their followers: Where did we begin to sew and/or quilt?

My paternal grandmother was a quilter and was very talented at embroidery, although she lived in another state 500 miles away, so I can't say I was influenced much by her quilts. I have one small doll quilt she made for me as a gift, and also have some pretty embroidered pillowcases. Wish that I even had some pictures of her quilts!

My maternal grandmother knitted, crocheted, and tatted beautiful lace. She did a little sewing as well, but wasn't into quilting. Three of her 4 daughters also grew up loving fiber art of some type. My mother was the oldest of the girls and she earned her living working in garment factories during WWII, and later did a lot of custom sewing for people as I grew up. In fact, most of my clothes were made by her until I was old enough and accomplished enough to sew my own. She made lots of quilts - but kept them simple and all were tied, not quilted. She didn't like working with intricate patterns.

My first sewing lessons were making doll clothes with needle, thread, and scraps of fabric Mom would let me have from her sewing projects. I was around 6 at the time. But I didn't get to use her sewing machine until I was about 10 - and was pretty proud when I finally reached that goal. I was hooked!

My first real "quilt" interest came from seeing a gorgeous cathedral windows quilt being made by one of my mother's friends. That quilt was all hand stitched, so I watched it progress over a couple of years. It was so pretty and made me hope to own a quilt like it some day. And someday I will.

My first quilting project of my own was a little over 20 years ago and inspired by my sister-in-law Kathy. She is a terrific quilter. She got me started sewing some log cabin blocks for a quilt top she was working on for a friend. That little project led to some making a quilt for myself. And the rest is history . . .

Now - how did you get started quilting?

My "someday" file

I've blogged before about the wonderful displays of quilts at the 2009 Quilts & Vines show (and wine tasting). And since I've not had any time to sew a single stitch in the past week, I'm going to show you another favorite from that quilt show. This particular quilt caught my eye because it is a pattern I have in my "someday" file.



I especially loved this signature quilt - partly because of the color but also because the blocks were so cute. The quilter made these signature blocks for a bridal shower. The bow pattern was in a magazine about a year ago and she just made them smaller. I have the pattern tucked away in my "someday" file just waiting for the right occasion. And now I've been thinking about making the blocks for my daughter's upcoming bridal shower - only using her colors. Wouldn't these blocks be pretty in a dark red batik?

It's been awhile . . .

Can't believe 10 days have passed since my last post. Work certainly gets in the way of sewing and blogging . . . and golf, and reading, and . . .

However, I can't feel completely sorry for myself. Last Sunday my husband left at 6:30 am to play in a golf tournament and I couldn't go back to sleep - which had been my original plan. So I got up and dressed, put on the coffee, and ventured downstairs to my sewing room to find a UFO to work on. I found a fun little Christmas kit I bought 3 years ago on a little road trip to visit family in Minneapolis. I think I bought it because I liked the slightly funky colors (lime green at Christmas?) and the navy blue cats on ice skates in the tan print. And I loved the border print that came with it.

I actually finished the top last Sunday - and also managed to put in 5 hours catching up on a project for work later in the day!! This should be a lesson learned about how much I could accomplish when I get up an extra hour early.

I found the perfect backing fabric for it and have it all pinned together and ready to quilt. I plan to hand quilt this as it is only about 45 inches square.

This weekend I'm working on the hand quilting on an autumn themed wall hanging (another UFO), so now I have a reason to finish that quickly so that I can start the Christmas one! This was a Thimbleberries Club project from several years ago. I made the top at the time, but just never got around to quilting and binding it. So that top was hanging in the sewing room closet along with several other UFO's. I pulled it out at the beginning of August and started quilting, although I haven't made as much progress as I had hoped. There are pieced leaves and pumpkins in the center that I'm quilting with a pretty simple pattern. But the border is getting a large leafy design quilted in. When I finish it, I'll post a picture.