What a tangled web we weave.....

.....when we don't close our safety pins BEFORE we put them in our storage jar! LOL

Mystery #23, Jacob's Ladder quilt top is done!

Today I got the top all sewn together and the borders on the Jacob's Ladder quilt. I just love how this one turned out! It is 65" x 77". Nice size! I finished it up just in time, too. I believe there is another mystery starting next week! If you are interested in a great mystery quilt, just click on the Mysteries for Relay link on the side of my blog. Marge has never disappointed me yet with her mysteries!! I would love to say I was going to have this quilted up right away, but I have 2 other tops that are next in line for quilting. I really need to get going on those so I can have a few more finishes! Now, off to bath, book and bed. Night all!!

Snowballs are done

Today I got the Snowballs in Spring top all sandwiched and quilted. I even managed to get the binding machine stitched on, but still have to handsew it onto the back. I really like how this one turned out. Wish I could have gotten a better picture, but it was raining/sleeting out and the light wasn't very good. I think that is the only thing I like better about the warm weather....better photo ops! Oh well. Here it is:

It really screams "spring" to me. It is going to be a great reminder for me of all my wonderful Cobbled Court Quilt Circle friends. Thanks, ladies, for all the wonderful blocks!! Now...onto the next UFO!!

Today's project

Patrick wasn't very willing for me to sew today. He wanted more of my attention. So, we decided to settle in to the living room to watch some tv together after we got the housework done. I couldn't just sit there, so I got my box of fabric that I pulled ages ago to get ready to cut.

These fabrics are for a quilt that I thought of and then just couldn't go to sleep because I was so excited!! I'm still not sure when I will start this one, but having it all cut and ready to go is soooooooo exciting!!! There is a lot of cutting involved. If I did my calculations right, there will be around 11,060 pieces in this quilt top. This one is for me and my bedroom, so there is no pressure to get it done so I think I will just take my time enjoying the making of it! If all goes well, tonight after Patrick is in bed, I will get up in the sewing room and get the Snowballs in Spring top sandwiched and quilted. Wish me luck!!

Snowballs in Spring quilt top is done

Today I finished the applique on the borders of my Snowballs in Spring block swap top. I did add some more branches to the top and a butterfly to the bottom. I really like how this is turning out. Although we are having an unusually warm and snowless winter, this quilt top is a shot of spring and hope!

Now to get it sandwiched and quilted and I will have another UFO to cross off the list. It feels so great to be making some progress!! Now, if I can keep it up, all will be well!!!

What do you do at 3 am?

You quilt, of course! I woke up at 3 this morning and just couldn't get back to sleep. I think I was excited because today is the first day of a 9 day staycation for me! So, I decided to get up and see about working on something in the sewing room. I HAVE to get the quilt finished and mailed out to 100 Blocks magazine by the end of this month, so that was what I worked on. I am happy to say I got it completely quilted and machine stitched the binding on! Tonight I will hand stitch the binding down and then add a hanging sleeve and it will be all set to mail out on Monday. Yedoggie!! Unfortunately, I still can't show it to you! Wahhh! Soon as I get the all clear from the magazine, I will post it. In the meantime, I thought I would share a bracelet I made for Hannah from a zipper (one of a million zippers that I saved from the jeans I cut up for the jeans quilt):

I gave it to her for Valentine's Day and she just loved it. So has everyone who has seen it so far, too! My coworkers are all clamoring for one, so it looks like I found a perfect way to use these old zippers! Today we are cooking and serving at House of Mercy homeless shelter. Hannah has been making one meal a month for them as part of her senior project. Today we are making ham, green beans, rolls and potatoes. Do you know how many potatoes it takes for 200 people? Only about 80 pounds! That is going to be a lot of peeling and mashing!!! So, pretty busy day today, so probably won't be able to get any sewing done. That's okay..with one quilt done by 7:30 this morning, I am a happy camper!!!

4 Patches 4 Hope

I got an email today from my friend, Kathy, and what she said really hit home. Apparently, Kathy ws visiting my blog and started checking out some of the blogs on my sidebar. When she went to Regina's blog,she read up on 4 Patches 4 Hope, a program that Regina had started up for cancer patients in honor of her mother who had just passed away from cancer. Kathy though it would be a good idea for me to tell everyone about it as Regina has approximately 1200 4 patches now and she wanted to reach 4000 by the end of February. Why is it we sometimes need someone else to show us what is so obvious? I go to Regina's blog all the time.. and never even thought about writing about this terrific endeavor of Regina's. So, time may be running out, but I know Regina will gladly accept any and all 4 patches even after the end of February. Anyone in on this with me??? Here is the website with all the info: http://4patches4hope.blogspot.com Tonight I have completed the 30 blocks for my Mysteries for relay mystery quilt. Here they all are...not put together yet: '

I really love how this turned out! The best part is that the 4 patches in it are the exact size Regina is looking for and I have lots of leftover strips from making these that I can use to make 4 patches to donate to Regina!! Yay! Thanks, Marge, for another wonderful mystery! I can't wait to see what you come up with for us next month! Now, off for more sewing. I think I am going to sandwich up the 100 Blocks magazine quilt next. Then I will finish up those 4 patches and maybe even get this Jacob's lqdder put together. I LOVE quilt league! I also love friends who remind you of what is what.Thanks, Kathy, for everything.....miss you and hope we can get together soon!

Quiltalong update #2

Well, guess what? I decided to stick with my original fabrics for the mystery quilt. You all seemed to think they would work and I agree! I got stuck when I started thinking this HAD to be a Christmas quilt and those colors wouldn't work for that. When I let myself decide to just make a wonderful quilt, these colors were perfect! So, here they are, all cut and ready for next month!

Not the best pic to get the true colors, but it'll work. I want to go check and see what everyone else is up to, but I am going to get started on my angel!

Quiltalong Update #1

Okay..just went and checked out what everyone else was up to and have decided I hate my color choices for the mystery quilt. So, no progress, but I am heading back to pick out some other fabrics! lol

Christmas Quiltalong

Woot! Woot!! Today is the first Christmas Quiltalong of the year!! You can hop on over to Hazel's to sign in to join us and to get the first step of the mystery directions! I can already tell this is going to be a GREAT year! I can't tell you how wonderful it was last year to NOT have to panic because I didn't have my Christmas goodies in time for the holiday!! I am going to spend a part of today looking through all my saved files and books finding new projects I want to do for the holiday. At least we got a smidgeon of snow to help make it a festive mood! Here are the fabrics I picked for my mystery quilt:

Sue will be proud of me because I picked 4 fabrics...only 4. No scrappy for me, this time....I think. LOL. I still am not sure. Who knows..between now and cutting the pieces out, I may just change my mind! I also picked out this project to work on today:

It is from a tiny booklet called Angels Gather Here by Farmyard Creations. Again, I THINK this is what I am going to work on, but hey..ya never know!!

I am so excited!!

This Saturday is the first Christmas Quiltalong of this year!! This year it is set up differently. Each month there will be a different hostess so Sue gets to play along and enjoy with the rest of us! Each hostess gets to decide how they want to run the quiltalong in their month. Some may have special projects, some may have interesting Christmas trivia or recipes, etc! How cool is THAT?? That isn't even the BEST part! Sue has come up with a mystery quilt for this year's Quiltalong! Each month, the hostess will provide the next clue and don't worry..you will have time to finish this up for the holiday!! This Saturday is Hazel's turn, so make sure you come join us and get a start on those Christmas projects!! Hmm..I still need to pick one for me to work on!! I haven't posted in a while because I was sick...AGAIN. Stupid colds! I swear, everyone here in western NY is sick and it is all because we haven't gotten the snow and cold we normally get! This one took me 5 days to feel better. 5 days of being off of work and doing NOTHING. What a waste! I did do some minor things: hemmed curtains for my sister in law, patched a quilt for my mother in law and made one set of drapes for my daughter's living room....3 more sets to go! I did get the entire top for 100 blocks magazine made. And then...I hated it. So, I spent a day ripping the entire thing apart and remaking half the blocks. Put it all back together and now I love it! So, now to sandwich it, quilt it and get it off to the magazine! Yay!! Tonight was my quilt league and I managed to get 10 sets of blocks done for the Mysteries for Relay Mystery #23 quilt done. It is a Jacob's Ladder! I was worried when I found out what it was that my color choices wouldn't work, but after laying out the blocks that I have done, I like it! Here it is so far....I have 5 more sets of blocks to finish up:

Let's see..was there anything else? Nope...don't think so. Sigh..what a depressing post...not much to show you, but hopefully there will be goodies to show you during the Quiltalong this Saturday! Hope to see you there!!!