7 down....9 to go

Well, my hour of handsewing a day is more like 15 minutes a day, but I'll take it!! I hand stitched the binding down on my Path to Cobbled Court quilt and have been working on the next round of petals in my Giant New York Sunflower. I have 7 petals down and 9 to go in this round!!

Those clamshells in those 7 petals is more than I have gotten done on this in a year, so YAY for me!! I started another quilt (of course) and also have been working on the 84 blocks for Bonnie's Rectangle Wrangle. I will show pics of them tomorrow. Now it's off to work from 9-7 today and hopefully my 1 hour of hand stitching tonight! Don't forget to hop over to Bonnie's blog to check out the progress of others who are trying to hand stitch an hour a day. Also, don't forget to check out the complete blog of these quilters..not just the linking blogpost. These are some amazingly talented ladies and you are sure to be inspired!!!

Prepping

In 3 and 1/2 weeks I am going to Litchfield, Ct with my fellow Cobbled Court Quilt Circle sisters for our annual retreat. We all met through the website of author, Marie Bostwick. We have become such a sisterhood during our past 3 years together!!! I really can't wait to see these ladies!!! So, I have been prepping for my retreat. I have made 2 pillowcases so far (we donate these to the Susan B Anthony home for abused women there)

When I went to purchase this fabric at Cafe Sewciety, Judy, the owner, generously donated enough fabric to make 2 of these when she heard what it was going for!! We also have a block raffle and I have made 2 so far, but they work up so fast, I think I am going to make more to increase my odds of winning these lovelies!!

Here is the link for those blocks: http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltblocklotto/ss/maple_leaf.htm Last but not least, I have been kitting up the fabric for my Rectangle Wrangle quilt.

This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern and is in her Scraps and Shirttails 2 book. I did make 11 blocks so far, but didn't take a pic yet. I will share those later. I've been good and doing some hand quilting every night..sometimes an hour, sometimes 15 minutes. I figure anything is good!!!

Path to Cobble Court

That's the name of this quilt. It was designed by author Marie Bostwick and was in the last Quiltmaker magazine. I made the crib sized and will be donating it to the Susan B Anthony house for abused women, which is a charity that is dear to Marie.

Here is a close up of the fun Debbie Mumm fabric. I don't even know where or when I got this!

I have a quilt retreat the first weekend of October, so now I will be spending time getting things kitted up and ready to go for that. This Saturday is the Christmas quilt along and I was supposed to be the hostess. Since my heart attack, I don't have very much "staying power" and poop out fast. Wonderful Hazel has agreed to hostess for me this month. Thanks, Hazel, you are just the best!!

When Pigs fly....

Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville, has decided to do some type of hand work for an hour each day she is home. I swear she and I are on the same wavelength! I have had my Giant New York Sunflower (really a Giant Dahlia, but hey..I made mine to look like a sunflower!lol) waiting for more hand quilting FOREVER. I usually only hand quilt when I travel, and I don't travel often, so not much has gotten done. The full pic of the sunflower is in my header. I quilted in the ditch around each of the brown sections in the middle and have completed this little design in one round of yellow petals:

I am now working on making little clam shells in another round of yellow petals:

Bonnie asked us to show where we work, so here goes. My quilt is kept in a wicker laundry basket under the end table next to my big, oversized chair in my living room. Remember Lily Tomlin when she was the little girl sitting in the big rocker with her feet hanging down? That's how I feel in this chair. I am tall and yet I can just pull up my legs and get all comfy in here! Notice in the basket is a green zippered bag that Shellie made for me. In there I keep the thread, snips, etc that I need for the quilting. Also notice that I do not use a hoop when I hand quilt. I just can't get comfy. I just let the quilt lie in my lap and work that way. Sigh..I am sure it's wrong, but it's my quilt, so oh, well! lol.

Last but not least for today is my flying pig. I picked him up in Connecticut on a quilting retreat and he reminds me of my wonderful Cobbled Court Quilt Circle sisters. I used to think that this quilt would get done when pigs fly but now this little guy shows me that pigs DO have wings and with this 1 hr a day commitment, it WILL get done!!!

Bonnie has a Mr. Linky for everyone who wants to join along in trying to hand quilt/sew for an hour a day. So, I hope you click on her link above and join in! I know that not only does my Sunflower need this, but I do, too. There is something so soothing and relaxing about hand quilting that you just can't get from machine quilting. I am a novice at hand quilting, but I just love how the stitches improve over time.

Mill Girls

Well, I finished the top for Cafe Sewciety. I just LOVE this quilt!!! It made me go outside my normal limits and I love that! I have never done mitred corners before or fussy cut a fabric for a border. Both were fun and a whole lot easier than I thought!! It's a big quilt, too....98" x 98". If you are interested in this BOM, just contact Judy at the link above. She will be more than happy to help you out!!!

And btw..the center is all pieced. I had a few people ask me if that was a panel, but it's not. I am really going to try to be good and finish something else up before I start something new. Let's see how long that lasts!!! lol Today we are having a low key picnic for the holiday, so I doubt any sewing will be going on. That's okay....family, friends, good food and drinks are more than a wonderful substitute!!