Five in Various Stages

These are the five bed-sized quilts that the tops are mostly complete(and have been for quite awhile).  A few still need borders and ALL need quilted.  They were abandoned for various reasons, quite frequently because I didn’t know what I wanted to quilt or border or applique.  I’ll get to them … soon.  You know, when I have nothing else to do.  As you can see (or maybe you dan’t) , this first one is partially quilted in the ditch already.  I’m stuck with what to quilt in the big blue squares.  The second one needs the green border put on (it’s just laying under it right now), the cat chased off and quilted.  The star needs borders and quilting.

This one needs quilted, but I’m not sure with what pattern yet.

And this final one needs quilted, appliqued, whatever. 

Don’t get me wrong … I have lots more in various stages of piecing, just these are the closest to being done.  I also have two or three small table-topper types and a couple custom quilts.  My goal for 2012 is to get all these extra UFOs done.  That’s it, that’s all.  My work schedule just won’t let me do anything else.

…..  Who wants to bet that I’ll stick with that?????

-Wendy

Giveaway Winner

And the winner for this Jennifer Chiaverini book, as chosen by a True Random Number Generator (which I'm apparently not clever enough to copy and past the image of here) is ... drum roll please ... Bonnie!

Here's her entry:

Love this series - about half way through her 26 books. Would love a copy of this one - don't have it yet. :) I don't get time to read during the year but LOVE a good read or two over the summer hols. Love sitting outside the caravan or on the beach with a book under the trees.

Congrats, Bonnie!!!

-Wendy

Orca Bay

Yes, I am doing the Orca Bay mystery by Bonnie Hunter.  The mystery is at the second step and I’ve done a few blocks of it so as to keep in the flow of the fun, but my main job is the custom quilt for Troy.  This is a small piece for his.  It’s Father Sky’s body.  The white circle is the sun and the blue-gray is the moon. 

 

 

 

 

 

I have two nights off now.   I plan to sew, sew, sew.  And maybe clean house. 

Hope your day is splendiferous!!!

-Wendy

PS.  Have you signed up for the giveaway?

My very first quilt ever

I always wanted to make quilts, as long as I can remember.  I just never did.  Finally, about 20+ years ago I made this little wall hanging from a kit.  It took me another 18+ years to make the next quilt.  Post your first quilt and jump over to Bonnie's blog and link it in. 

-Wendy

Another Giveaway!!!

Yup, another one.  Already.  Way cool, huh?  This one is the world famous Jennifer Chiaverini’s newest book:  The Wedding Quilt.  This is a new, unread copy shipped to me from the publisher for the express purpose of this giveaway.

The Wedding Quilt opens in the year 2028, as Sara McClure’s twins, James and Caroline, are ready to embark on independent, adult lives.  As the wedding day of Sarah's daughter, Caroline, approaches, Sarah's thoughts are filled with brides of Elm Creek Manor past and present—the traditions they honored, the legacies they bequeathed, the wedding quilts that contain their stories in every stitch.  

Because Sarah learned the craft after her marriage, she had no wedding quilt, only one to commemorate her anniversary. When the young bride confides in her mother a single, fervent wish—"I wish I had a wedding quilt, one I made myself."—Sarah yearns to grant it.

A wedding quilt is a symbol so powerful that even the most talented novice would be daunted by the task of stitching in mere days a masterpiece worthy of the couple's bonds of love, commitment, trust, and hope for the future. Sarah turns to the Elm Creek Quilters, cherished friends who help her create a fitting tribute for a beloved daughter who will soon stand beside her husband in the union of their shared lives.
As they pool their creative gifts, memories of Elm Creek Manor—and of the women who have lived there, in happiness and in sorrow—spill forth, rendering a vivid pastiche of family, friendship, and love in all its varieties.







Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of the New York Times bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series, as well as five collections of quilt patterns inspired by her novels. She has taught writing at Penn State and Edgewood College and designs the Elm Creek Quilts fabric lines from Red Rooster Fabrics. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin.  Her website:  http://elmcreek.net/

This book was released November 1st, so this is a really plum giveaway.  If you like that I have giveaways, it never hurts to mention it in your blog too.  To enter, just leave a comment telling if you’ve read any other of the Elm Creek Quilt books, which one is your favorite and why you want this one.  The deadline for entry is November 30th, with the drawing December 1st.

Happy Reading!

-Wendy

Traveling Santa

This is another quilt for AAQI.  I registered it and now am hoping they get it in time for the December sales. 

And these are potholder I’ve made, the first to keep and the other two for gifts.  The smaller brown one was a block from a swap the LibQuilters did.

Began cutting and sewing and cutting and sewing and cutting and sewing quarter square triangles for Bonnie’s mystery, Orca Bay.

I also bumped into this quilt and I’m not sure I’ve ever shown you this before, so here it is.  I think I’ll put my silver dragonfly just above the flower there.  If I can find it, that is.

My work schedule is changing, once again.  I’m moving to the overnight shift for (hopefully only) a few weeks.  Yeehaw.  It’s the price paid to move up the ladder.

Have a great weekend! 

-Wendy

Baby Quilt Finished

I just love this little quilt!  Flowers, feathers, butterflies, hearts and McTavishing.  Fun to quilt, too!  A few of these pics were taken before I put on the binding because I thought I might wait to MAKE SURE the baby would be a girl (pink binding).  But then I decided I’d like the yellow binding more anyway.

I also finished the Hop to It BOM for October.

Next up is November’s block:  Block #4

And I am making bread.  Don’t you love the feel of bread dough as you knead it?

Bonnie Hunter is gearing up for a new Mystery quilt beginning this coming Friday.  This year I can actually partake.  I’m driving poor Vince crazy chattering about colors.

This afternoon I have a Skype confab with Joanne.  We usually sew together for a couple hours on Sundays.  I also sew with my mother via phone calls every hour back and forth.  (So, how far did you get this past hour?  What are you doing the next hour?)

Who do you sew with?

-Wendy