Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm having trouble finding time to write posts for my blog!!

In honor of Valentine's Day - I submit some pictures.

Chocolate, of course.

33rd Traditional Valentine's Meatloaf Dinner

Heart Quilts and Quilt blocks

And some happy people blocks, too!

AND... I am currently working on creating a veil 

from the wedding dress of a Bride's Grandmother.

It is going to be LOVELY.

Happy Valentine's Day.

CathyH 

Work In Progress

This year I want to try to link up with Work In Progress Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced.

So, I guess, that is one goal for 2013.

Right now I am working on my Sampler Quilt from the Girls' Club (circa 1999 or so).

I have the blocks on my design wall and I just have to figure out how to put them together into a quilt top.  My initial goal was to use only that pink fabric and the blue-and-flowers striped fabric that you see predominantly in the squares.  I then allowed myself to add white I had in my stash and other pinks and blues from my stash as needed.

I bought the pink fabric when our MJDesigns here in town went out of business.  They were selling the fabric for $2 a yard - which was a great deal.  I figured there was about 10 yards on the bolt.  I told the little girl I wanted it all - and she started measuring it.  Well, she lost count of the yards and she was wrestling with the bolt.  After about 5 yards she let out this big sigh of frustration and said something like: "You can have it all for $10".

SOLD!!

And 13+ years later I still have this project going.

Every time I look at it I just smile - because I really like those colors together.. and because I had a handful of Junior High and High School Girls who were sewing along with me at the time.  One of the girls just sent me this picture of HER sampler quilt that she says she uses on her bed.  She did such a great job!!

Just to add a few pictures:

Here is the advent calendar I sent to my youngest at college.  

And here are some tiny Gingerbread houses I made:

They sit on the edge of your mug.

My sister-in-law and I are making more tomorrow.  They were so fun!

If you are visiting from Freshly Pieced (or somewhere else!)  Check out some of my previous posts or tabs to see more fun projects!

Happy New Year!

CathyH

Christmas Exchange - The 2012 "Reveal"

Our "Seams Like Sisters" Quilting Bee holds a special event each year - which we unveil in December.

For 2012 our special event involved a yard of fabric placed in a brown sack.  We shuffled the sacks around and took one home.  Using that yard of fabric we were supposed to make a quilt top.  At the 2012 Christmas party the yard of fabric (and it's companion quilt top) would be returned to the proper owner.

Some of us had trouble remember what fabric was put in the sack last January!!

But, in the end, each of the Sewing Sisters ended up with a quilt top.  Here is a quick glance of the quilt tops  - those with pictures!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

I think there may have been more quilt tops - but these are the pictures I have. 

What  an amazing story of creativity!!  Great job, my Sisters!

I will show the quilt top I made in a post tomorrow.  The leaves on my crape myrtle turned the most amazing color one day (and dropped all the leaves the next day!) and provided the best opportunity to photograph the quilt I made.  Check back tomorrow!

CathyH

Christmas Exchange

For the last two years, our "Seams Like Sisters" Quilting Bee holds a special event each year - which we unveil in December.  You may remember that, for Christmas 2011, we each made blocks for our Sisters in the color(s) they desired. This resulted in a number of quilts that were unveiled THIS Christmas.

You can see last year's reveal on this blogpost.

Here are a few samples of the blocks put into quilts, as some of our Sisters brought these to the 2012 Christmas party.

Christmas Colors:

Specific Block in Specific Colors:

Green Blocks - made into Houses around the Church!

Snowmen:

And, you will probably remember my Red and White Quilt.

I love my Sisters.

CathyH

Satisfied with Progress

(Sigh)
Finish is a relative term - I have decided to be satisfied with PROGRESS.  Little steps towards Finishing will just make me happy.

I finished three more paper pieced people for my 1999 (or earlier) sampler quilt.
This is a 12" block.

And I started sewing the I Spy hexagons together with the yellow equilateral triangles.

And - Christmas is coming!!

We had a Ladies' Christmas Tea at church last night.

I decorated one of the tables with our Peanuts 

(Charlie Brown, Snoopy & Company) decorations.

It just makes me smile.

I love it when Linus says - 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

That's what Christmas is all about.
CathyH

Muslin and Homespun

Well, I got started on my March UFO!!  These are 4-patches from Homespun fabric that I received in an exchange sometime in the 1990's.

It is going together quickly - and it looks better than I expected!

I was kind of expecting it to be very "country" but I think I can make it

more "modern" or at least 21st Century!!

Here are the blocks on a design wall.

I'm joining the Small Blog Meet at Lilly's Quilts.

 

Since I am a Small Blog - I'm hoping to encourage folks to stop by once in awhile.

To check on my progress.

To see my ideas.

To be encouraged to be creative -

and to persevere, even when things don't get finished quickly.

Some of my projects are left-over from the time I was raising four children.

A stitch here.  A stitch there.  

I've learned to enjoy the DOING as much as the END.

 I can't post without a picture of spring.  This is from my favorite rose bush (that just barely made it through the rough summer of 2011).  The bush lost 6 of it's 8 main canes - but this is what continues to be produced on the cane that is left!

A crown of thorns beneath the vase is quite appropriate this week - as we look forward to celebrating Resurrection Sunday.  "He bore our sins"

CathyH

UFO #2 - February

Yes.  I know.  There is no finished UFO #1.  YET.

BUT - by April I will have completed 4 UFO's.  Really.

Today, however, I am going to show my February finish.

This is a small wallhanging I started with my Mom at the Library.  A lady came to show us a WAY to make these stars using foundation material.  She had fat quarters for sale that day, and we purchased the fabrics for the star.  And set to learning the technique.

It was so long ago, I am sure I could not tell you how to make this block!!

Along the way, I found the setting fabric.

Then some backing fabric.

And, finished it on Tuesday!!







I used metallic gold thread to quilt it - and it makes the BACK look amazing.

 I was a little concerned about the binding. I did not have any fabric that matched the last border.  When you wait so long to finish projects - well - it's next to impossible to find OLD fabric.  So.  I had to make due.  I did not double the binding fabric - and was able to make this very tiny binding.

I like it a lot.

FINISHED! too late to be linked with the 2012 UFO Challenge for March over at
  "Patchwork Times", but I will add this (and all my other completions)
when then next linky party opens at the end of March.

Now I can't wait until Christmas!!

CathyH