The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love this time of the year - at least I do by the time we reach Christmas Eve Day! Sometimes the stress of the holidays feels like it's piling on between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but by today I have everything done, and it's time to relax and enjoy family. My brother and his family have arrived safely, and the only ones we're waiting for are my niece and her family. 

Speaking of family, we spent the weekend in the Twin Cities so DH could watch our nephew play in the All-American Bowl. We had a blizzard in Iowa on Thursday, and our plan was to leave on Friday morning. We went ahead as scheduled, and the roads were treacherous for the first hour or more of driving! The only reason I didn't insist on going back home was that the roads were just as bad going the other direction. 

They did improve as we went north, so we made it to our destination safely - only to find out I had booked us into the wrong Hilton Hotel! The staff was very nice about it, though, and we were able to get a room at the right hotel, so all was well. 

By the time we came home yesterday, the roads had improved to normal driving conditions, so it was a much less stressful trip.

Now, back to quilting! My friend, Joyce, is one of the most prolific quilters I know, and I love to work on her quilts. She has an excellent eye for putting fabrics together - I told her I should hire her next time I go shopping for my next quilt fabric! This is one she made for her daughter, and she is finishing it for her for Christmas:

I love the middle picture, because it really shows the design created by the star blocks. For this one, I did an edge-to-edge design called Sakura, but I thought the borders needed something special, so I did some light custom there. I really had fun with this one, because it's in "my" colors.

This is Sara's first-ever quilt:

Sara is a college student, and her grandma helped her put this one together. Sara picked out the fabrics herself - and I think Grandma questioned some of her choices at the time! But they worked, and it turned out great. I quilted this one with Swirls, and it really gave some nice movement to all those squares and rectangles. I don't know if her grandma is going to bind it for her or let Sara do it, but it will be bound in black and is going to be a really great quilt.

Now I'm taking the month of January off so I can finish some of my own projects that have been patiently waiting for some attention. Some are "just because" gifts (no special reason) and some are just for fun, but I'll be glad to cross a few of them off my to-do list.

Merry Christmas to all from My Pieceful Corner! 

Louise

Cover Them With Love

Admittedly, these aren't my typical quilt projects, but hopefully they'll be just as loved and used:

Next week these two Cover Them With Love quilts will be delivered to Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Illinois, along with 13 others made by two other ladies from our church. Eventually, they will make their way to Haiti.

My husband and I have volunteered at MMDC a couple of times over the past several years and are amazed by the work such a small facility accomplishes. When we're there, we generally work on putting together school kits or health kits (and recently they were putting together flood buckets to be utilized by victims of Hurricane Sandy), but during our last visit, I saw some of these quilts. Now, I love to pick up fabric at garage sales, but sometimes I get it home and realize that it isn't 100% cotton or it just isn't suitable for a quilt for one reason or another. I set it aside in my "Haiti quilt" pile of fabrics to be used later. 

The quilts are completely reversible and can be made of virtually any fabric (although I try to stick with polyester, cotton, and/or flannel) and they don't require batting. You could use any pattern you'd like as long as they measure about 40" x 60", but this is the pattern provided on MMDC's Web site, so it's the one I used this time.

Now that these are done, it's back to sewing and quilting. I have two client quilts to finish in the next couple of weeks, and then I think I'll take a month or so to work on my own stack of tops that are patiently waiting to be tended to! Hopefully I'll have pictures for you soon.

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you're surrounded by family and/or friends and have a lot to be thankful for. I know I will (be with family) and do (have a lot to be thankful for). 

Thanks for stopping by.

Louise

Fall in the Midwest

Aaaaaah! There's nothing quite like fall in the Midwest. It's cool, the leaves are turning colors (wish I had thought to take a camera with me yesterday when I was out), and today the sun is shining. It's my favorite time of the year - but wait until spring gets here, and I'll probably say the same thing about it!

We took a trip to northern Michigan a couple of weeks ago. I'd never been to Michigan at all, and I fell in love with that part of the state. The weather was less than desirable the week we were there, but we were with friends and had a great time in spite of the rain and cold. Of course, as soon as we left, the weather improved. Never fails!

I have a Christmas-themed quilt on the longarm and will share it when the time is right. It's pretty much occupying all my time right now, but I did buy some fabric when I was up north, so some new table runners are in my future:

The Rainforest Rings pattern is one I bought during our Alaskan cruise a couple of years ago, but I've never found the right fabric. On our first full day in Michigan, hubby was playing golf, and I made it my "visit the quilt shops" day. My first stop was Renee's House of Quilting. It was a great shop with super friendly staff. I could have spent a bundle, but I behaved myself.
I bought the floral and dark fabrics while I was there:

I didn't have the pattern with me, so I wasn't sure on the yardage needed. I decided I'd better wait on the background/backing fabric until I was back home and could see how much I truly needed.

I also went to Interquilten  in Interlochen. It's a really cute little shop with some fantastic fabrics. That's where I picked up the Easy Curves pattern pictured above. It takes just three FQs and some yardage:

Want to put bets on whether I finish these by the end of the year?

On the drive up north, I finished up a prayer shawl, and on the way back I started a sock. It was really easy - just a tube-style sock - and I finished it this week. That's what I do while watching TV at night.

And someday I might make the other one!

Last, but not least, I've been looking for a more portable sewing machine to take to sewing days, classes, etc. I went to an estate sale last week and found this:

It really isn't lightweight by any stretch of the imagination, but it was so clean and worked so beautifully, I couldn't pass it up. It's a Domestic machine, manufactured in Cleveland in the 1940s/50s. I'll continue my search for an older Singer of some kind (that's what I think I really want), but I'll be using this one quite a bit in the meantime.

Okay, enough about me! Time to get back to quilting!

From My Pieceful Corner,

Louise

T.A.N.Q.P.

There Are No Quilt Police! At least I hope not, because I'm sure they'd be after me today.

I'm waiting for some backing to arrive on my doorstep for a client's quilt. I ordered some about three weeks ago, but when it arrived, it just wasn't going to work. It was more pink than I expected, but no problem, I have a quilt of my own I can use it for. I ordered something entirely different and thought it would be perfect for the client's quilt. After waiting for about a week, I received an email that it was sold out and my order was cancelled. Back to the drawing board. I found a pretty good substitute, ordered it, and it's on its way to me. 

While I'm waiting for the fabric to arrive (you probably wondered what my ordering backing fabric had to do with the quilt police, but it really does lead up to today's project), I've been working on a few other little projects. 

Several years ago I made a stained glass wallhanging. It was hand appliqued and hand quilted, but I was never really happy with the look of it. There was just too much fabric around the applique pieces. It wasn't awful, but it could have been better. 

Today's project was to "fix" that wallhanging. I decided to load it on the longarm as is - binding and all. That alone might have brought the QP to my door!

I pinned some strips of scrap fabric to the top and bottom of the wallhanging and used those strips to fasten the wallhanging to the leaders. I had originally echo quilted (by hand) about 1/4" from each appliqued piece, and I left the hand stitching in when I put it on the longarm. I then proceeded to do a small meander inside the hand quilting to take up some of the excess fabric. Again, the QP would probably have been mopping their collective brows. I'm sure they would have told me I should remove the hand stitching and stitch in the ditch around the applique before filling it in. Nah! What do they know?

Believe it or not, it all worked out - the stitching sucked up that fullness in the quilt, and then I decided to attack the borders. Here's how it turned out:

Although I'm not a very good photographer and the quilt may look a little lopsided in the picture, it's really not. It's flat and it's square - couldn't ask for more. The border quilting doesn't show up in the picture, but I did a double line of stitching about 1/2" and 3/4" away from the black border. Between the outer line of stitching and the binding, I again meandered to take up some of the fullness.

I completed a few other little projects during the last week, as well. The first two are doll quilts that will be donated to Toys for Tots through our quilt guild:

The striped one was done using the Quilt As You Go method, and the other has a simple meandering design with loops.

And I finished a fall table topper last night. 

Finished is good in My Pieceful Corner.

I'm back! I really had every intention of posting just a little something every day, but I decided that just doesn't work for me. It's not that I'm all that busy - but most days I'd rather be quilting.

Speaking of quilting, I took Nancy's quilt off the frame last Friday and delivered it to her yesterday. She was nice enough to let me share it with you here.

Here's a picture of it outside on our bright green grass (a week ago it would have been brown, so I had to point out the color, even if you can't see much of it in the picture!).

And here's the back:

I have to show a few closeups of the front. They don't show up quite as nicely as the pics I took outside, but you'll get the idea:

She also made a wallhanging to go with the quilt:

I wish my photography skills were worthy of her work, because she did a fantastic job. I had so much fun quilting this - thanks, Nancy, for giving me the opportunity.

As for current projects, I have a few "in-between quilt" projects to get done while I wait for my backing fabric to arrive for the next one to go on the frame (it's going to be fun, too!). Last night I finished the serging work on school bags our church makes for UMCOR in Louisiana. I still have to press the handles on about 30 of them, and then they'll be ready to be passed on to others to do the final sewing. 

Church bazaar is coming up soon, and I don't have a thing made to donate, so I'm going to work on some little projects for that. I haven't asked the designer for permission to sell them yet, but when I do and when I receive it, I'll post pictures to share. They're really cute. 

We also have a friend who is battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma - it's been a long road to get her diagnosis, and they're incurring medical bills as they go along (they have insurance, but it doesn't pay everything), so a benefit is being held in a couple of weeks. I want to make something for the silent auction.

Wish me luck! I probably have more ideas than I have time. Hmmm, I haven't pulled an all-nighter in many, many years. Maybe now is the time?

Thanks for joining me in My Pieceful Corner,

Louise

It's Been a Few Days . . .

I kind of let the blog sit silent for a few days. My niece came to visit last week, I had a quilt to load onto the frame (pictures in the near future), we went to a wedding and reception on Saturday, and yesterday was spent sitting on the couch watching TV and crocheting crosses (no, I didn't make all these yesterday!).

These crosses are about 4" high and are given out at the time of baptism, along with the baptism certificate. We have a good supply on hand, but I decided that this year I'd make at least two a month - if the call comes from the church that more are needed, I want to be ready. I hadn't made any in July, so that was yesterday's project. I just finished starching them, and when they're dry, I'll glue on the rose. I just love these!

The wedding was a lovely event. The couple requested that we all wear red, white, and blue and they carried that theme out themselves. Female members of the wedding party wore either red, white, or blue dresses; the reception decorations were all in RW&B; and in keeping with a 4th of July theme, the food was hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, etc. It was a wonderful day! The couple is older and they are merging two households. Deciding there was little they needed, I guess, they asked that in lieu of gifts we make a donation to the local food bank. I thought that was a great idea, especially since so many food banks are running low this year.

My next project - before I get back to the quilt on the frame - is to come up with a program for our church circle this month. A few months ago I demo'd the Disappearing 9-Patch and Warm Wishes to show how a simple block can look more complicated than it is. These are patterns I like to use for the quilts I make to be donated to the church or Quilts for Kids or wherever they end up going. We've had programs on binding and on making placemats and table toppers, so I want to find something a little different. Wish me luck!

Thanks for joining me in My Pieceful Corner,

Louise

Happy Saturday!

First, a note about Friday. We had dinner with friends at Kava House in Swisher, Iowa, last night. If you're in the area and haven't been there, please give it a try. They have fabulous sandwiches - and the desserts! Well, we've been known to drive down just for a piece of dessert and cup of coffee. I really should have taken a picture of the pastry cabinet to share with you.


I haven't had anything I didn't like, but I really like the Granny Gobbler (although last night I had a Reuben). Hubby tried the Kava Hot Roast Beef and said it was great. I had to try a taste of the raspberry horseradish that came on his sandwich - good stuff!


So what's on your to-do list today? Whatever it is, I hope you're able to stay cool while doing it! It's another hot one here, but we may be in for a little relief next week (although still no rain). 


I have a quilt ready to be quilted, but I have to add extensions to the backing to give me enough extra to load it onto the quilting machine. That's what I should be doing right now, but I guess I'm procrastinating. It's just one of those pain-in-the-patootie things I don't like to do. 


Instead, I've been looking up recipes on the computer (we're having Baked Parmesan Swai for dinner, in case you're curious), checking Google Reader and Facebook, and generally finding other things to do. 


Maybe I should do laundry. My washer and dryer are in my sewing room, and if I stay in there and sew while doing laundry, I actually get it (the laundry) done in a short period of time. If I leave and do something else, I forget to check to see when a load is done, and it has been known to sit in the washer or dryer for a couple of days. So, if I go do laundry, I might actually get the additional fabric sewn onto the backing. Then I could get it loaded and spend tomorrow quilting. The whole problem is that I wanted to spend today quilting and do laundry tomorrow. 


I think I've talked myself into it! Laundry/sewing room, here I come!


Thanks for stopping by My Pieceful Corner,
Louise

Just Starting Out . . .

I've been thinking about blogging for a while now, but just never moved beyond the thinking stage. Do I really have anything important to say or share? Not really, but I still wanted a venue for sharing my love of quilting. I won't guarantee or promise that my ramblings will be limited to quilting, but you can always skip them if you want. So, with all that being said . . .


As already stated, I do love to quilt. The only part of the whole process I really don't like is basting the three layers together, and that was pretty much eliminated from my life when I was lucky enough to get an APQS quilting machine a few years ago. I don't have a favorite part of quilting - I love the piecing (when it's going smoothly), the quilting, and the binding. And I especially like the part where you get to wrap up in the quilt for the first time!

Since this is my first post, I thought I'd share a couple of recent projects. This first one is a quilt made by Joyce - she made the top and I did the quilting. Joyce is great to work with - she makes a lot of tops, and her instructions for quilting are usually, "Do what you want." It doesn't get much better than that!

This is the back.

And this is the top, of course.

And in this one you can see the quilting design a little better.

This next one was made for my great niece. Sometimes you see a pattern, and you know you have to make the quilt - this was one of those. She had a book about tumbling monkeys that she loved, so this quilt was perfect for her. I hope she uses it until it's threadbare!

Last, but not least, I decided this year was the year to make a table runner or table topper for each season/holiday. Sounds good, right? I missed New Year's/winter, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, spring . . . you get the idea! The 4th of July was approaching quickly, and I was running out of time to do any piecing. I needed to finish quilting a couple of pieces for clients, and then I got to work. I spent a couple of afternoons piecing (the block design is based on the Fireworks block from Quilter's Cache), an afternoon quilting, and an evening binding. At 9:56 p.m. on July 3, the runner was on the table! And we'll leave it there all during July!

It looks right at home on my table.

Here's a closeup of my fireworks quilting design.

I guess that's about enough for my first time out. I really do have good intentions of writing something regularly - maybe just to say hi, maybe to show you a WIP, maybe to share some of my knitting and crocheting projects. So I'll leave now, but I'll be back . . .


From My Pieceful Corner, 
Louise