Row 12

Time to catch up with the blocks I've done since last Friday. I've completed another whole row! Yesterday we had a drive to Wichita which gave me time to finish 4 blocks and another two last night.

Here are the twelve blocks that complete Row 12

#157 Spirograph

#158 Splash

#159 Sprig

#160 Spring Growth

#161 Sprties

#162 Sprout

#163 Square Dance

#164 Squirrels

#165 Star Fruit

#166 Steps

#167 Sunburst

#168 Sunny Day

Can you believe I only have 2 more rows to do..28 blocks...then it will be time to start quilting and thinking of my border treatment.

One Hundred Quilts

Getting ready to go help with the take in of quilts for our guild's show over the Labor Day weekend.  It's always exciting to see the range of gorgeous quilts that will be entered.  Each year just gets better and better!

I managed to get another of my flimsies turned into a finished quilt this week, in time to enter in the show.  "Stars in Grandma's Garden" is another quilt I made using what I've come to call the "Grandma block".  It's also called Aunt Vinah's Favorite and several other names.  I started quilting it Tuesday afternoon and even though I did some dense quilting on it, I finished by Thursday noon. Then I got it bound that evening.  It's big enough that we haven't been able to get a good picture of it held up.

Wish I had a good picture of the great texture on this quilt.  It's really cuddly.

The best part of all is that this is my 100th quilt since April 2002 when I began quilting.  This is counting those items I consider "quilts"...one that can be covered up with..ranging from baby quilts to king size (not a lot of those..many queens though).  You can see all 100 in a slideshow link on my sidebar. Quite a variety!  65 of them have been given as gifts.  And 265 other quilted items have been made in that time, including a few really big wallhangings.  Who has time to be bored?

While working on the finish of two quilts in the last week, I also continued working on my Dutch Treat blocks in the even and finished row 11.

#150 Songbird

#151 Southwest

#152 Space Invaders

#153 Spacemen

#154 Spears

#155 Spinning Stars

#156 Spinning Wheels

There are still a lot of "S" blocks!

And one more siggie received this week from Maria in Belgium. She also likes Sunbonnet Sue!

Have a great weekend!

Bound and Labeled

I found the perfect fabric for binding on Dinah's Delight (I think so anyway) and got it finished last night and also labeled.

So now it is really done and I can move on to the next finish while I'm on a roll.

What Is A Quilt?

I had a really pleasant day yesterday. I started and finished quilting the Dinah's Delight quilt top I made last December.  And I was smiling the whole time.  Why?  I realized that this is the type of quilt I most like making and it had been awhile (or so it seems to me) since I'd finished one like this.

In my head, when I think "quilt", this is what I picture. Lots of different fabrics, different in both color and texture. Preferably smallish pieces.  An off white background (ideally that is scrappy too like this one). Washed to give it that old crinkled look.   

My criteria for a scrap quilt...

     It must have...

         Some red 

             Some yellow
                 Some plaid
   Other than that just about anything goes, although I prefer not to use a lot of pastel or brights. Definitely no solids. 

I don't want to step on any one's toes.  I see all sorts of beautiful quilts all the time that are not scrappy in the least.  And I admire them.  I'm just saying that for ME, quilts are scrappy.  And I suspect most of you feel the same or I doubt you'd be reading my blog since that is mostly what I show here (well that and lots of Dutch Treat applique). 

I think we all have our preferences and tend to lean one way or the other..scrappy or not.  I'm sure there are those who sort of cringe when they see all the colors and especially the mix of backgrounds I use in my quilts.  That's okay.  Different is good.  Different is interesting. 

But back to yesterday.  It just made me happy to be handling this quilt.  What can I say..small things make me happy.

I still have to bind it as you can see. That is a job for this afternoon or evening.  And it still needs laundered, but already I like the texture that is apparent in low light.

One of the reasons the quilting went so fast is that I chose to do another all over small meander.  This is such an interesting pattern..one that challenges you to find the block.  It was a mystery quilt from my friend, Cynthia, at Iowa Star Quilts.  The free pattern is still available on her website.  Here's her top from her blog.  Guess it will no longer be a mystery for you, but it's still a great pattern to make.

Now to catch up with the Dutch Treat blocks made in the last few evenings.

#142 Separate Tables

#143 Shapes

#144 Shasta Daisy

#145 Shooting Stars

#146 Silver Bells

#147 Singleton

#148 Smarties

#149 Snowflake

Closing in on row 11.  Have a great weekend!

Weekly Themed Contest

I entered my Amish Dahlia quilt in the Weekly Themed Contest  sponsored by the Quilting Gallery.  You can read about the quilt here  (the second post on that page has the story behind the making of the quilt.  If you are so inclined I'd appreciate your vote.

Thanks.

Fair 2009: Quilts, Fabrics & Threads

In digging around on the IPTV site I found this video from last year with lots more eye candy. They misspelled Cynthia's last name, but you'll still recognize her. Can you imagine 823 quilts to be judged in a single day?

Blue Ribbon Quilts - Iowa State Fair 2010

Here's a video from the IPTV site showing the blue ribbon quilt winners at the Iowa State Fair.  Would you believe that in the 40 years I lived in Iowa I never attended the fair even once?

My friend, Cynthia, from Iowa Star Quilts has been one of the judges for several years.  You'll see and hear her in the clip.  She also has a blog.

Enjoy!

Row 10 and Beyond

Starting the new week with cooler weather thanks to the thunderstorms that rolled through early Sunday morning.  Temps in the low 80's feel downright cool compared to the 100º+ of last week.  It seems like it's been months since we were this cool.

Row 10 of my Dutch Treat #2 is now finished!  And one of the most difficult blocks was included so I'm very happy today.

Since Saturday...

Scallop

Schoolhouse

This is perhaps one of the toughest blocks in the quilt with those teeny little windows.  To put the size in perspective.

Sconce

Sea Wave

Searching

Segments

Only 55 more to go!!!

Tonight is guild meeting with supper together before..yep I eat supper and always will!

Happy quilting!