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!!!!