Want to See a Bunch of Monarchs?

Beth P., fellow blogger, quilter and bird/butterfly photographer (she does all three, I do the first two) carefully prepared her garden to attract butterflies. She had an amazing visit of hundreds of monarchs in her yard this fall. She got some beautiful photos; I recommend a visit to her blog to see the monarchs along with a few other species.

Her blog is here.

Here is one of her photos. Amazing, isn't it??

Gorgee-osity (Gorgeousness) !!

There wasn't a good word to describe this beautiful quilt, so I made up a couple for my post title. I ran across this at another person's blog and had to follow the link. Isn't it FABULOUS!? I am in love with it.

Here's a link, if you want to read about this wonderful quilt. She crawled around basting this and then quilted it while 8 months pregnant! Way to go, Dana! Amazing.

A Celebration: Note-Cards!

What am I celebrating? Can you guess? It is this post -- number 1700! I love reaching these big number milestones. It is amazing that I have continued to post here and have reached such a high number! And the best part is that I still have readers! I love you guys.

This time I am celebrating simply by showing you some note cards I have started making. I'm having fun with them and hope to make some that are even cooler.

I sew them on.. here's the front and then the inside.

I love to save selvages and use them in surprising ways, so I realized I could use those on my notecards, too.

Then I remembered that a woman in my local guild keeps asking me to make her a bookshelf quilt like the one I made last year. This one:

I always tell her to start saving selvages and make her own.

Well, I realized I could finally make her happy and give her a bookshelf quilt. So I made this:

(The scissors blade is holding the card shut for picture-taking purposes.)
I think she'll like it.

Happy Post #1700 to me, and Happy Reading to my wonderful readers! Thanks for being so faithful. I'm off to make more home-sewn notecards.

Getting More Accomplished

I didn't start yet on the quilt that got put aside yesterday. Instead I put a binding on this big one which I recently got back from the machine quilter. I had it quilted at Quilted Treasures in Rogers, MN:

Then I finished a final row and borders on this top. I am going to send this to Wrap Them in Love along with backing fabric and binding. (Second photo below shows the backing fabric.) I don't do as much for WTIL as I did in the past, so I figure sending an occasional unfinished top is OK... I know the owner of WTIL has her own long arm. Hopefully this is not a burden for her. I decided to also send that finished small-size quilt that I finished yesterday. One finished, one un-finished. I don't think that's such a bad deal.

Our crate of peaches distracted me, and I made this. Had to have a piece last night, while it was still warm. Yummmmmmmm.

Finally, I got a copy of Quilt Life in the mail on Saturday and noticed this article. On page 32 it shows (upper left corner) a quilt made by Wanda at Exuberant Colors. Coincidentally, the quilt is called "Exuberance." You can see a link to her blog in my sidebar. I love her exuberant quilts!

A year or so ago Wanda inspired me to make this quilt:

On to more sewing! I still have another day to the weekend! Yippee!

I Won! I Won!

I am so excited and amazed! My quilt won First Place in the Viewers' Choice vote at our recent quilt show!!! This is the first time I have ever won anything through my guild shows or challenges! It feels great!!! I won a $25 gift certificate at a local quilt shop. Fun, fun, fun!

Here's my winning quilt. The books are made from selvage edges with fabric titles that sound like book titles. The 2nd picture shows a close-up, sideways view of some of the "books."

Now that I have won a guild quilt prize, I can die happy!

Here is another thing that I am celebrating: it, too, is amazing! This post at my humble little blog is POST #1600! Can you believe it?? I have been posting my thoughts and ramblings about quilts, and even book reviews, since January 4, 2006. Who knew I'd still be happily posting away in 2014!?

To celebrate, I am going to do my usual Blog Celebration. Please leave a comment here. Answer this question: what do you enjoy about reading other people's blogs? For each blog comment, I plan to donate $1.00 to my favorite charity, Ampersand Families. Please make me donate a LOT to Ampersand Families! And thanks for reading.

A Selvage Blog Featured Me

After I made my bookcase quilt from selvages, I found out there is a selvage blog! I shared my picture with the blog author, and she featured me there today. Here's a link.

Here's more work I have in progress. All these blocks came from Joann in a big box of her extras. I still have tons more from her. I'm having fun playing with them.

semi-assembled, still being designed and soon-to-be finished

playing happily with more pieces from Joann

Welcome to Post 1,400 !!!

Yesterday I noticed that I had written post #1,399! Wow! I had to do something to celebrate post #1,400. I thought about waiting until 1500, but I am too impatient for that. I'll celebrate that when I get there, but for now it's celebration time!

I started this blog in January 2006. Who knew I had so much to say! Or that I could say nothing for so long!? It has been so much fun. I love writing in my blog and meeting other people in blogland.

My traditional way of celebrating is to donate money to my favorite (non-quilting) charity, Ampersand Families. This time I decided to do something different. I am not even asking for comments or anything! Read all you want, but you are not required to post any comments.

This time I decided to make a Traveling Stash for Charities Box. I had a blast putting it together. I am going to send it to someone I know. I think she reads this blog, but she does not have a blog of her own. The box will appear on her doorstep, and will begin its journey to who knows where?! My hope is that the fabrics and ideas in the box will be used all or mostly for charity quilting. It may appear now and then on someone's blog, depending on to whom it gets sent.

Here is a picture of the stuff I am sending in my Traveling Stash for Charities Box:



Won't it be fun to catch glimpses of it now and then in blogland?? I think so! Have fun, little box! Hope to hear from/of you from time to time.

Now I'm shooting toward Post #1,500! Watch me go!

Sewing My Way Into 2013

I finally have had some good hours in the sewing room. Son is still home, and he ever so kindly offered to help me do some cleaning. I could pick any room, so I asked if he was willing to help me tackle my sewing room, the messiest room in the house. What a guy! He pitched right in, and we both worked for a couple of hours. It's not done, but I can now walk around in the room!

He left to visit friends, and I worked a bit more on the room. I found a lot of things I had entirely forgotten about. I have resolved not to buy any more fabric until I get a bunch of these current projects done and out of the house. (I hope I can stick to my resolution.)

Cleaning a sewing room and finding things that need one's attention are both great motivators! I awarded myself (for cleaning) with some fun sewing time. Here is a scrap quilt top I made. I think I might add something to top and bottom to make it a tad longer; otherwise it is done and is now in the to-be-quilted pile.

top in progress, growing as I sew scraps together randomly

I thought it used up a lot of blue scraps, but incredibly, as I cleaned and organized my room, I found loads more scraps, and my blue bin is once again overflowing, as are all the other colors. Using up my fabrics and scraps could easily become a full-time job!

I worked on another quilt that is a gift, so I can't show it to you until I present it to the recipient-to-be (RTB). I like it so far and hope RTB will like it, too.

I also worked on another secret quilt that will be gifted at a later date. I'm having so much fun, but can't show you much for now!

Yesterday I joined a group called Doll Quilt Swap. See the button on my sidebar. It is a group of quilters who swap home-made doll quilts once per month. I thought it would be fun to have a new idea to work on this year. I have not done a swap like this in quite some time, and have never focused solely on doll quilts. We'll see how it goes. I have become fond of making doll quilts lately, after I made some for Christmas gifts. Hence my interest in continuing the fun.

As 2012 ticks down to its final moments, I want to say that I continue to be humbled and pleased to have readers, one and all, visit my little blog. People from all over the world read my blog, and that just amazes me. I am glad we can share a little time together now and then. Whether or not you comment, I appreciate you coming around to share in my world.

A few random fire crackers have started blasting off in the neighborhood, so I suppose that means it is now 2013. Well, Happy New Year to one and all! May it be a year of health and happiness.

This is Why I Love Blogland

Over at Quilts are for Giving blog I posted a photo of some doll blankets. Friends and I had made them for a local social service agency. They had asked for doll blankets to give kids for Christmas. Many baby dolls are donated, but usually no blankets. We got busy sewing and knitting some doll blankets. I posted a picture at the other blog, and lo and behold, I got the nicest response!

Debbie from Stitchin Therapy blog offered me some doll quilts. I gladly accepted, and she sent me a box of 33 gorgeous doll quilts, saying "such blessings flow from our abundance." These were extras from her collection for "Get Your Mrs. Claus On" project. She wanted to share the love. Isn't that wonderful??

The families these are going to are people who have trouble making ends meet for various reasons: unemployment, layoffs, work hours cut, major illness, death in family, loss of housing, you name the reason... more and more people are relying on food shelves and social service agencies to help them support their families and get through the holidays.

I am so happy we have been able to help several little kids get some quality blankies for their dolls. I'm sure they will be sooo happy. The quilts are just beautiful. Some are tied, some are free motion quilted, some are straight line quilted, some are even hand quilted. I am very excited to hand deliver these to the agency in the next couple of days.

Here are pictures of the beauties, along with a small doll I bought for a little girl who is nearly one year old (including here for scale). See the Love:

Debbie, thanks so much for sharing the blessings! I love that this was all made possible through Blogs!

Low Volume Quilts

Have you heard of Low Volume quilts? Recently I saw this described on another blog. I realized that what I had been saving as the old, boring name, neutrals, were now known as something way more interesting: Low Volume.

There is a Flickr group dedicated to Low Volume quilts, and there are some real beauties there. One I remember was made by the blogger at Nifty Quilts. I became inspired and pulled out my neutral scraps, I mean -- my Low Volume scraps. I came up with this top:

I plan to add a border soon. I have a possible fabric in mind, but I'm not positive it's the right one. I am thinking I might make this my first-ever scalloped edge border. I have done scallops "unofficially" before, using the free-slashing method, but there are ways to do scalloped edges that I have not yet learned, using a ruler designed for that method and getting the scallops evenly spaced. It might be time for me to learn this skill.

This top has some lace placed on it randomly. The lace was saved in the same bin with my Low Volume scraps, so I thought "why not?" Here are some photos of the ways I used the lace and just some close-ups of the fabrics in this top.

So far I really like this top, and I look forward to getting it all done and experiencing it as a cuddly quilt. I think it'll be a nice one. Stay tuned!

900 Posts!

Can you believe this is Post #900!? I have been blogging since 2006! I really didn't expect to keep doing it for so long, and to enjoy it so much. I do love writing, even when I have nothing to say. Thanks to my readers who pop in now and then for a visit. It has been awesome "meeting" people from all over the world.

One surprise has been getting responses from authors when I post book reviews! That happened at least twice! This morning I heard one of those authors being interviewed on public radio. I felt like she was an old friend, and so was her book. (I'm in awe of authors, in case you can't tell.)

Anyway, what I'm here to talk about today is my sewing, which I have finally had time to get back to. Who knew retirement would keep me so busy that I wouldn't have time to sew at all some days!? I guess I should have expected that, as I knew I'd be doing more of my church and volunteer work during the days, and that cuts into my sewing time.

"Oh, well," she says as she tries to wipe the big retirement grin off her face, "it's all a matter of budgeting my time, I suppose."

So this is what I have managed to make lately:

This is a quilt for Central Ohio Binky Patrol. They want some bigger ones for a new shelter. So I whipped this one up out of scraps. It measures 50" x 75". The backing is soooooo soft; I hope this quilt will be a super-great source of comfort to whoever gets it's cuddly softeness.



This is another one for COBP. I don't know if it's large enough for the shelter needs, but they have plenty of places to donate quilts, so I'll let the organizers figure that one out.



This one is made from 9-patches which we are doing at Sunshine in memory of Bev. I'll probably finish this one myself and send it on to Wrap Them in Love. You might see it again once I get a picture of it in finished form.



Yesterday and today I worked at our church rummage sale. That's a big job! What a lot of stuff! It didn't all sell, so we had a lot to box up. The extras will be hauled off by Salvation Army. I am now a Rummage Sale Veteran, having never worked on one before (dare I admit).



In case you are wondering, I have not yet spoken to Mrs. Mark, but I will in the next couple of days.

Here's to my next 900 messages (lifting glass of Diet Coke in a toast to my readers)! Long live blogging!