A - T

I had a good chunk of time to sew tonight, and got more letters made. I like most of them pretty well, but might do the S again. It's fine now, but when sewn to anything else, that top strip will be awfully small. I'm thinking about a new A also. We'll see... I only had a FQ of that multi-colored fabric and I ran out. I bought it while out of town, so I'll have to look around for more. I like the way it looks in the letters and want more. TTFN, once again bedtime interrupts, but ahhhh, isn't a good sleep a wonderful thing?

More Letters

I'm working on more letters ala Tonya. Not sure where it will lead, but right now I have a simple sampler in mind. I'm enjoying making smallish quilts these days - wall hangings, mostly. They're fun because they get done quickly.

Here are my letters so far. It's hard to get many done at one time due to limited time after work and the need to go to bed... which is where I am headed right now.

Sweet dreams, everyone!

Weekend With Family

Hello, quilty friends. I was busy last week and didn't get any more written after my tired day on Tuesday. I think I was tired on those other days, too!

Over the weekend I went out of town to attend a memorial service for my aunt who died recently at age 91. The service was very nice, and I learned some things that I didn't know about her childhood. Very interesting, and it was comforting and fun to have a lot of relatives around. We always enjoy good conversation and laughter together.



I haven't done any sewing in the last week, but I did go to a quilt shop with one cousin. They happened to be having a sale, including a Samples sale, so I bought this sample wall hanging which for me celebrates the fantastic orca whale watch I experienced in July.

I have started a 2nd blog which is called St. Paul Daily Photo. I post a photo a day, most of which depict the area where I live and work. It's loads of fun! There's a link in my Links section to the left.

Tiring Day

I was so sleepy today. All day! I almost fell asleep at my desk. I think it was the cool (almost cold) weather and gloomy day. The call of my warm bed was awfully strong!

Anyway, I'm posting a few more pictures. This first one is something I already posted, but my earlier picture didn't show the whole wall hanging. This is my Tonya-inspired, 2nd place award-winning at the county fair wall hanging.



This quilt is a UFO that I finished last winter. It was a round robin quilt done with an internet group several years ago. It felt good to finally get it done, and it hung in our guild's annual show. This quilt is called "Minnesota Moods."



The last photo for today is a table runner I made in the spring and donated for a door prize at an event at my church. The pattern is "On the Oregon Trail" from quilterscache dot com. Isn't it pretty? I am unabashedly proud of it and hope the winner enjoys owning it.

Some Old Photos

I went through some of my older photos that are stored in my computer and decided to post some here. Maybe I'll add more tomorrow. As Helen Kelley says, every quilt tells a story!

This is a quilt I sent to a baby who survived Katrina. She was only 3 weeks old at the time Katrina hit, and her family lost everything.



This one is like a long-lost friend. I made it a few years ago and sent it to someone who said she would machine quilt it for a charity. She never finished it and it was inadvertently buried under other stuff (we all know how that happens, don't we?!) It was eventually unearthed, sent on to another quilter who finished it, and posted this picture. It was fun to see an old friend after I had forgotten all about it.


Here's one I did not make. It was donated to me. I sent it on to another program that finished the quilt and gave it to the family of an injured soldier. Isn't it a beautiful quilt? I think it was originally made as a sample by someone about to teach a Lonestar class.



And now it is time for bed, to sleep, perchance to dream... about quilts?

Red Sweatshirt

I love wearing my red sweatshirt. It's a hoodie, and my warmest one. Today it's cold and rainy, and I'm luxuriating in my red hoodie! I took a nap in the recliner, still in my hoodie, snuggled under a quilt, and with our cat on top of all that. Doesn't that sound like a little bit of heaven?

I've been taking a Photo of the Day, but to be honest, I have many more than one per day, and it is soooo hard to pick which to post. I decided not to post them here any more as this is mainly a quilty blog, not a Daily Photo blog. They're now in my Yahoo photo album which you can see here (they're in the album called Daily Photo)

http://photos.yahoo.com/merryhands

I love cold weather, by the way. Hooray for fall!

The Windy Suburb

Last night we had a big rainfall. We were lucky that was all. North and South of us had tornado touchdowns! Today it is windy and cool. Some would say cold, but to me it's just lovely. The windows are open and curtains are bouncing in the breeze.

I found more timtex! I *thought* I had more. I made five more postcards. I'm really having fun with these, though it cuts into my quilt production terribly. If any of you readers feel like making quilts for children, there is a large need at a place called Wrap Them in Love. They send quilts to orphanages around the world. She currently has many more requests than she has quilts on hand. If you could share some quilts with kids in need in Guatemala, India, Russia, Philippines, and Viet Nam, that would be fantastic! Check out her info at www.wraptheminlove.org

Here's my photo of the day: Boat for Sale. I volunteer at the local library, delivering books to people who can't get out much. I saw this boat on the way to my library drop-off site.

The Creative Process

I am always amazed at how my quilts grow out of just an idea. Usually the idea is nothing at all like how the quilt ends up looking.

Last night I started playing with wonky house blocks. I made one that had a roof that reminded me of a thatch roof. From there I started adding things to it so that it could be my Botswana quilt. I have been wanting to make one after reading the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. So as I added things, the quilt grew on its own and suggested ideas to me. Some of the ideas I tried, then I'd sit and look at it for a long time, and if something didn't feel quite right, I trusted that instinct and removed it.

What I have so far is feeling good! It is *nothing* like I had envisioned making. It won't be done for a while; it's still in it's growing stage, but you'll see it eventually. I'm feeling amazed by the creative process and how much fun it is and how full of surprises it is! I feel so blessed to be able to play with this process and create things. Life is good!



Today's Daily Photo is a small, one-person post office in a tiny, historic town in MN. I asked the guy if I could take his picture, and he agreed. I love post offices, and this one is so cute!

Postcards & a Scarecrow

I spent the day making postcards! These are such fun -- a quilt that you can finish in just minutes! I would have made more, but I ran out of timtex. I foresee a trip to the quilt shop in the near future. (Hey - does Michael's carry this stuff? It probably would be cheaper there. Note to self: check out Michael's first.)

While running errands this afternoon, I found a good subject for my Daily Photo - a scarecrow! I was at the end of a Dead End street and saw this picturesque garden. The greens and yellows and even the scarecrow are so pretty!

Hugs & Kisses

"Hugs & Kisses" is the name of my completed wall hanging, made for Tonya's challenge. This will be sold at silent auction during my guild's quilt show in February.




I showed this to my daughter, and she said "What happened to that one X?" ONE X? I guess I must have been too consistent with my cuts, if she thought I had only one funky X. I had fun making all these blocks, including the funky hearts. Those are appliqued, using my own raw edge method.

The other picture is my Daily Photo. It's called Fall Colors at Target.

Flawless Weather

As the TV weather guy just said, today's weather is "flawless" -- beautiful, blue skies, cool in the morning, warming up comfortably but not hot in the afternoon, and this evening we once again will cool down and enjoy perfect sleeping weather. This time of year is my favorite!

I took a picture of a tree showing the beginnings of fall. Look at that sky! Look at the gorgeous tree top colors! It's breath-taking.

I hope I get in some good sewing time this evening. Maybe I'll even post another message before bedtime!

No Sewing Time Today!

I had a very busy day at work, an appointment after work, and a guild meeting after my appointment. No time for sewing makes Carol a Sad Girl. Now it's bedtime, and I didn't get to finish my X's and O's quilt.

The picture is a fabric postcard that I sent to my pen pal in Czech Republic. I've never sent one out of the country before. I hope it arrives there safe and sound.

Tonya's Challenge

I am working on a quilt using Tonya's X's and O's. I can't wait to show it to you!

2nd Sunday Sewing

I belong to an online quilt guild (Sunshine) that makes quilts for children worldwide. I love making these quilts and thought I'd share some photos with you. We try to set aside time on every 2nd Sunday of the month to work on Sunshine projects. So today's the day! I put together a couple of tops that I had started yesterday. First is a bargello. I got started making these thanks to Bonnie at quiltville. This is now my favorite method for quick, fun, easy, and appealing quilts. I keep making them because I love combining the colors and seeing the interesting results.



The next is a bunch of very bright orphan blocks that were fun to play with.



Here's one I made on a previous 2nd Sunday. I had 4 blocks made and didn't feel like making any more, so I came up with this setting. This top will be on its way to Haiti later this year.

Aunt Freda

My Aunt Freda died this week. She was 91. Freda was a classy lady who loved books, the arts, and her beloved Ireland. She lived a full life, with multiple joys and plenty of sorrows. She weathered her challenges with grace and always spoke lovingly of her children, her dear grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. She always enjoyed a good story, which was a lucky thing, being married to my Uncle Ernie who was a great story teller. Now they can enjoy stories together in heaven.

It's an odd thing, being one of the youngest of the cousins generation and, as the years march on, gradually losing aunts, uncles, and my wonderful, dear father. I guess I always thought they'd be around forever, though, of course, I knew they wouldn't. Now we younguns' get to be the grown-ups.

Thanks to my ancestors for leading the way and making a strong, clear path for me to follow.

Bathroom Quilt

I was asked to make a quilt to hang in the bathroom at church. I thought it was such a funny request! It made me giggle. I poked along, trying to find the perfect pattern, even made a whole wall hanging that ended up being way too big for the spot. I finally came up with this idea and had it done in a day and a half.

I'm spending the Labor Day weekend working on UFOs. I am having so much fun getting them completed! I'm actually glad I dawdled on some of these, because in the meantime I learned how to do free motion quilting. It has taken years of practice to get to this point of feeling somewhat satisfied with my machine quilting results. Now I'm so glad I persisted in practicing it.