Wordless Wednesday

A Wiscasset twin

One of my last finishes of 2012 was a present for my dad.

You may remember last year, I made a quilt for my parents for Christmas.

My mom, however, promptly laid claim to it, so of course I had to start work on a quilt for my dad, too.  Luckily, I had a couple of jelly rolls of Minick & Simpson's Wiscasset squirreled away for a rainy day, and spent the summer making up some blocks when it wasn't too hot out.  I used Kim Brackett's Blessings from the Hollow pattern from her book, Scrap Basket Sensations.  

I have to say, I tend not to be a traditional pattern girl.  I often mess with things, cobble together my own spin, etc.  Not in this case.  I give major appreciation to Kim--this was a great pattern.  Clear, easy to follow, and with great results, if I do say so myself...

I had a bit of extra yardage of Wiscasset, too, so used a sprigged cream print and a dark blue paisley as borders.  

The backing fabric is Kona Cadet and the binding is Kona Navy.  I love the solid backing--I quilted a quarter-inch inside the inner borders of each square and along the inner edge of the star shapes.

It was finished about a week before Christmas and Dad?

Loves it!

(Sorry, no gift photos--he ran off and hid it from my mother as soon as he'd opened it!)

Works in progress...

Do you remember these blocks I started over the summer? I made 100 of them, total, and have finally started to sew them together.

This is 1/4 of the finished quilt. I'm crazy--the finished quilt will be something like 100" square. See? Crazy. (Speaking of crazy, let's not point out the heaps of blocks and unfinished tops littering the top of the bookcase on the right side of the photo, shall we? Thanks.)

Of course, I got this far and then put it aside so I could work on Xmas gifts! That said, I work much better with a deadline.

Other blocks (partly pictured above) that I also started over the summer using some charm packs of Wiscasset and Clermont Farms along with Bella Cream Solid, finally made it back to the design wall.

And even got borders...

It's now basted and set aside with a couple of other tops for this weekend--Thanksgiving is over and I'm giving thanks to have my dining room table back! It's my favorite place to quilt and sew on bindings!

I promised a finish...

And I'm delivering!

First finish of 2011, and I feel so good about this. You have no idea.

I started these blocks with no real goal in mind about a year ago. And lost interest after 5 blocks. Set them aside, and played with other things.

But with a friend's baby shower coming up (this Saturday, in fact), I got moving on this project again just after the first of the year.

Piecing, borders and basting on Saturday, quilting and binding on Sunday, and it was in the mail to Georgia on Monday. Sadly, I won't be able to join it for a little Southern-style party this weekend, but I'll be there in quilt and spirit!



It finished at about 36" x 45". And I love it.

Some of my favorite bits...


A bit of Pinocchio Munki, just the perfect color and size.



AB Coriander, Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet from Red Letter day, and Tula Pink Ladybugs...




Hedgies!




Backed with this great argyle print from Riley Blake's Hooty Hoot line, and bound with my favorite KJR basketweave in aqua.

I went with a free-motion meander, which turned out a LOT better this time around. I did find that after switching bobbins once, I had some tension issues. That required some ripping, machine fiddling, and tension resetting, but ultimately fixed it. Only to break my darning foot. /facepalm Thankfully, the Madman got some crazy glue in his stocking this Xmas, and I used that to fix the foot. Everything else went according to plan!

Here's to hoping that my dear friend loves her quilt, and that her little boy-to-be will love it for years to come.

Now, onward to use the rest of my mid-week snow-day (we topped out at just over 18" here, though after a bit of sun it looks like we may get another bit of snow after all /sigh) for some more sewing!

Out with the old, in with the new...year!

A lot of my bloggy, crafty friends are posting huge mosaics of what they've accomplished this year. Not that they're bragging--in many cases, they're as shocked as their readers! But it's left me feeling a little bit out of sorts, like I should somehow be managing to be more productive.

Then I decided that some accomplishments were better than none, and what the hell, I'm celebrating my little triumphs, too!

I've made a pillow cover, a mug rug (my first!), a table runner, tea towels, coasters and a drawstring bag for 3 rounds of swaps in flickr groups...


1. PillowTake 4, take 1, 2. Saavy Seasons Swap gifts!, 3. Urban Home Swap, sneak peek


I've finished 2 baby quilts, 1 small throw (for another swap), and one large throw...




1. Baby quilt, finished!, 2. 398.2 baby quilt, finished!, 3. Urban Home Swap 2, 4. jay's quilt, finished


And I've made lots and LOTS of blocks for my two bees this past year!




1. Flying Geese, for Jo, Dec. Beehive , 2. 9.5" block for Belinda, 3. 18.5" block for Belinda, 4. Beehive blocks for Mel, 5. 2 Blocks for Feb Coast to Coast bee, 6. Beehive blocks for Bec, February, 7. Beehive block for Bec, February, 8. Jennifer's block for March, 9. March Beehive block, for Kat, 10. May CtC Block Party block 2, 11. May CtC Block Party block 1, 12. Beehive May block for Julie, #3, 13. Beehive May block for Julie, #2, 14. Beehive May block for Julie, 15. CtC Block Party April block for Tracy, 16. String blocks 1-4, Andi's July Beehive blocks, 17. string block 5, Andi's July Beehive Block, 18. Amy's June Beehive block, 19. Susan's blocks, July Coast to Coast Block Party Bee, 20. Bibi's Block, C2C bee, August, 21. CtC Block Party block, September, for Wendy, 22. Beehive block, September, for Angela, 23. Oct Beehive block #2, for Karlyn, 24. Oct Beehive block #1, for Karlyn, 25. Sheridan's block #1, 26. Sheridan's block #2, 27. Sheridan's block #3, 28. Sheridan's block #4, 29. April Beehive block 1, for Tanya, 30. April Beehive block 2, for Tanya


So, while not a lot of finishes, still plenty of sewing. Since I figured out that quilting at the dining room table is so much easier than trying to do so at my little sewing table in my office, I hope that I'll be able (and willing) do quilt and finish a number of my works in progress before it gets too warm to think about quilting for awhile! Here's to more finishes for 2011! Have a safe and happy New Year!

How I spent the last weekend before Christmas...

Finally finished my Grandmother's Christmas present. Because really, what do you get for the 87 year old woman who has everything? This matches the colors in her living room quite well. I hope she likes it--I find giving handmade gifts rather nerve-wracking!!



This weekend, my sewing machine has taken a bit of an excursion. Out of the sewing room/office and out to...


The dining room table! Complete with Christmas wrapping paper detritus, centerpiece left over from Thanksgiving, platters set out for hosting Christmas Eve, as well as extra chairs for said holiday hostessing event. Nine people for cocktails and hors d'ouevres? No sweat!

What was I saying?

Right!

What you see here is my new vantage point. It means that not only do I have all the table space I could ask for as I quilt miles...




And miles...


Of my husband's Christmas present (doing organic shattered line quilting), but I also have the TV across the room to keep me company. The finished quilt will be about 50" x 60", a decent sized throw for the Madman's Man Cave--plenty big to cuddle under when he's watching movies on the wide-screen, seated in his recliner. He helped me baste it, so it's not a huge surprise, but it will be done on time (barring any and all catastrophes), and that's what counts. He's out tomorrow night with the guys to see Tron *yawn*, so I'll spend tomorrow evening watching something, anything else, while hand-tacking the binding.

Keeping it real...

Sort of.

Down to making and sewing bindings on three projects. And a little hand stitching. Then some washing, drying, pressing and packing. After my major sleep-in yesterday? I was wide awake at 6:20 this morning. Yup, on a Sunday. So once I got my caffeine levels up, it was time to make some tracks...

Last night, the madman and I basted the baby quilt. I used a new-to-me brand of basting spray. NEVER AGAIN. Everything stuck to everything, and still is. It was like some really bad slapstick. I'll be going back to June Tailor's on my next project. Sullivan's, to me, is like working with superglue in spray form. Gack. (Sorry, Sullivan's. : / )

So this morning, I plopped down to do something I haven't done in many years.

Free-motion quilting.



I went for a meander with some loops in there. By the end my stitches were more even in size, though the design leaves a bit to be desired.



I won't talk about the toenail-catchers, or the tension issues than meant that even though there was no puckering on the back (yay!), there were some serious pulls in my loop stitches.

Why?

Because I'm not fixing them. I'm going to bind it, wash and dry it, and mail it.

Ok, before y'all fall over and die in shock and horror, let me explain.

My corners and points don't always match.

My lines and edges are not always straight.

My borders have ripples.

My quilts may have puckers.

I hate ripping out stitches. And if I were being paid for a quilt, you'd be damn sure I'd pick bunches of this apart and start over.

Right now, I have a deadline--this needs to be in the mail on Tuesday, because it needs to get from CT to AZ by Saturday. My cousin's wife-to-be is going to deliver in about a month, and Saturday is the shower. As my husband says, I obviously work better under pressure, because I have a really bad habit of leaving things to the last minute.

My handmade things very often look handmade. And I'm ok with that. I try not to send out things that look like a first grader did them, but I'd like to think that the quilt I am sending out, uneven stitches and all, will keep this little baby just as warm as something bought in a store, one of thousands just like it. I learned from the process, and the next one will be better, though that one will have mistakes, too.

I think some crafters have unrealistic expectations of themselves, ripping and resewing, scrapping and starting over. I don't have the time, the interest or the disposition for it.

I can point you elsewhere if you're looking for perfection, because this isn't the place you'll find it.

But if you're ok with me being human and keeping it real, I'm really happy to have you here.

A busy, bloggy Monday

I love Columbus Day--who doesn't love a Monday off?? This one is particularly special. This time last year, I ruptured a disc in my back so badly, I couldn't work (for 4 months), lost most of the feeling and use of my left leg, and wound up needing surgery. A year later, here I am. I still have some bad days. I still have some loss of feeling in my foot. But I am otherwise ok, and so very thankful for it.

That aside, I got quite a bit accomplished! I woke this morning to find out that the thermostat for our main floor has crapped out and won't call for heat. The madman of the house is currently on the case--I'm lucky he's so handy. I was quite tempted to spend the day snuggled up in bed with my book and a cup of hot tea, surrounded by kitties. But I had THINGS to accomplish!

Firstly, a 9.5" log cabin-y block from the scraps of the courthouse steps block I made yesterday, for Belinda since it's her month in the Beehive. The middle looks a bit wonky in this light--it's cloudy here today, and consequently all of my photos are a bit...meh. :P


I also had my runner to be quilted.


I went with a random series of loosely wavy lines, done in variegated thread that runs amber to cream and back. The pattern is reminiscent of leaves in the wind, keeping with the season.


This was really a test, both for me and my little Janome. It has been...a very long time since I've machine quilted anything. Most of my work in the past has been hand quilted, which I enjoy, but is time consuming and hard on my hands. I have done a few things which were quilted on my old Singer (which, by the way, will be home at the end of this week--after over 4 months out for repair... >.<), but this was my first time trying anything with the Janome. I had a heck of a time getting the walking foot ON in the first place, but ultimately it worked out ok. It was a small enough project that I wound up with no puckering on the back (HURRAY!) and a couple of small puckers in front, which I attribute to using a slightly crumpled old scrap of batting. Note to self--roll batting scraps instead of folding! The whole process took some getting used to, and I know that I've learned quite a bit, so the next one will go more smoothly. Here's to hoping, anyway. The best news is that my little Janome tackled it like a champ!

I haven't decided what I'm going to bind this in yet. I'm thinking perhaps I'll piece the binding with more of the scraps that made up the blocks. We'll see. I may find something appropriate when I go to the quilt shop to pick up my machine on Friday.

Happy week, kids. Remember, you have until midnight EST on Wednesday, 10/14 to enter for my giveaway over here.

As promised, photos. Also, a busy day!

Ok, first things first. As promised, some photos! DH was nice enough to hook the cord for my camera back up when he got home from work this afternoon.



This is the illustrious Tiny Tidings jelly roll for my giveaway--go here now and leave a comment to be entered once. For a second chance, go blog about it!


I came home yesterday to oodles of sexy fabric after hitting Sew Mama Sew's sale last week with some of my birthday cash. Some bits of Denyse Schmidt and Amy Butler, as well as some American Retro, a bit of Mingle and Joel Dewberry. Such fun, and so inspiring--I can hardly stand it. Also, Kristen rocks my socks--she ships at the speed of light!!




So, this morning, I got my butt moving on my Beehive block for Belinda, and had all sorts of fun!



I played with her request for courthouse steps. Hopefully I didn't go too far!

And then, since I was on a roll, I took the 4 wonky square-in-a-square blocks I'd made for John's quilt-along for Old Red Barn Co., sucked it up and sashed them. Threw on a couple of borders. Then, my friends, the unthinkable happened.

I actually decided to push off having dinner so that I could sit down and baste the runner I'd made!



I know, my batting is messy. Sue me. It's an old scrap that JUST fit, so I ran with it rather than chopping into my new bits. This will, with a bit of luck, be quilted tomorrow--bless the day off!! Then it should get bound...um, someday? :P Sooner rather than later, I hope--I'm hoping to use this runner when I host my first Thanksgiving this year.

So there you are, kids. My promised photos. Glad to have my camera ready to go again!

Yes, I'm still here

I realize I've been a bit quiet lately. The problem, really, is that my pictures and I never seem to be in the same place when I have a few moments to blog. I've been working in fits and starts on several things, so I figured I'd tell you about them, and post pics when I'm a) home and b) remember!! The mind is a terrible thing to lose, kids. :)

I finished the blocks for my Simple Abundance lap quilt. I need to find a day to either set up my design wall or lay it out on the dining room table to get a feel for design. Then I'll put it together and I'll have a flimsy ready to go!

I've also been working sporadically on my 2 quilt-alongs. I have perhaps 30 or so blocks done for AmandaJean's 9-patch quilt-along (only 40 or so behind. *sigh*), and a bunch of wonky log-cabin blocks done for John's quilt-along for Old Red Barn Co.--his is the third in their series of quilt-alongs, and you can see the rewards here.

I'm anxiously awaiting the parcel of fabric for my next block for The Beehive, for Belinda. The lucky Aussie girls all have theirs and are busily working already! And since next month will be my month, and my fabric will need to be posted the week before Halloween, I'm finalizing the fabric choices for my blocks. Once I'm sure (like, really REALLY sure), I'll take a deep breath, and then chop it up to send out to the other girls in the bee. They are so darn talented, I cannot wait to see what I get!

Finally, I have scrapped the initial blocks for a gift quilt for a friend's daughter's wedding this winter. I was just terribly unhappy with how the blocks were turning out, and was ready to tear my hair out. NOT the best way to create! I have no doubt that I will revisit these blocks in some other capacity sometime in the future, perhaps put together for Project Linus? But for now, I cannot stand to look at them anymore. Have you ever started a project and then changed enough or learned enough or found something out about the intended recipients that just made it no longer seem appropriate? Yeah, it's like that--all three. So, I'm daydreaming in the meantime. I have until January to get it done, and yes, I DO know it will be here before I can blink. But I have a couple of great, quick ideas that I think will be suitably groovy for a couple in their early 20s, gearing up to move to off-base housing as soon as he's done with his tour in Afghanistan this winter.

Now all I need is TIME!

First afternoon of retreating over...

I have a bit of progress made at the end of the first afternoon of my at-home retreat...



Nine 9-patches completed, the rest chain pieced in need of finishing and pressing. If I add one more row, or sash it in white, it's enough for a large crib quilt. If I add sashing and another row in each direction, plus borders, it's enough for a lap quilt, and I'll still have plenty left over for a crib quilt. I'm leaning heavily in the latter direction, meaning I'd be able to gift one and donate the other, and pull me up to 3 tops finished for my retreat... We'll see how I feel about it in the morning.

For this evening, I've got my pinwheels waiting for some attention. Pictures of those in the morning.

And don't forget--in honor of my 4-day at-home retreat, I'm doing a little give-away in this post--leave a comment over there for your chance to win a RJR charm pack!

Quickie Monday Update

No photos today, I'm afraid. I managed to be quite industrious on my day off yesterday, and sifted through my stash, coming up with one half-yard cut of background fabric, as well as a dozen FQs and a couple large scraps and sat down to cut. And cut. And cut. I now have enough 5" squares cut to make 24 large 13.5" (i think?) 9-patch blocks, in green and violet and cream. Sashed, this should make a long twin quilt or if I make another 9-patch, I can do a 5 x 5 setting for a large throw. OR two large crib quilts. I haven't sewn a stitch yet, but I'm so excited! And the best news was all of the fabric I used was in my stash already--NO new purchases. A drop in the overall bucket, but a small victory.

I would've started sewing right on the spot, but my back was really bothering me yesterday, so I spent the afternoon on the couch and the evening in bed with an ice-pack. I slept ok last night--the pain didn't keep me up too much. (I had a ruptured L5/S1 disc back in October, and had surgery to "fix" it in December '08. The result is that I still have back pain and numbness down my left leg/foot.) But I did manage to hand-piece another 5 pinwheels, bringing me up to 12 pinwheels and one chain block. Good gods, it sounds endless when I say it like that! >.<

There is literally no time to sew again until Thursday--the DH and I are going to dinner and a movie (he picked Transformers this month. I'm holding out for Julie and Julia in August!) for our monthly date-night tonight, then I work late tomorrow and have plans Wednesday, too... But my little at-home retreat starts with a cup of coffee and some gorgeous 9-patches bright and early Thursday, and that's enough to get this librarian through the end-of-the-fiscal-year nightmare at work this week!!


ETA: Nedra is doing a week-long Blogiversary giveaway! Go check her out!

mini at-home retreat weekend

Well, the DH is working crazy long hours this weekend, and I'm off for 2 days on a muggy, rainy weekend. What to do? SEW!

This morning, however, I got caught up on a little cutting, AND a little picture taking!!


Things to be cut. I needed more light HSTs for my ongoing pinwheels, and to finish up the cutting of the light strips for my chain squares.



I decided to throw in a few brights to do HSTs with, too. My mini-retreat project is a flimsie (quilt top) for Project Linus, of HST blocks, to use up some of the leftover blues. I had a few extra charms in primary colors (not shown) that I chopped up and threw in the mix, too.


The ironing board, complete with FQ and iron piping hot and ready to go. I cut at my dining room table, and have the ironing board right next to me so I'm not having to run all over the place. If I ever manage to clean out the other half of my office (currently taken up by a shoe organizer and 5 boxes of my husband's junk that needs to go up to the attic) then I hope to move this in there.



Not bad for about an hour's work this morning. I have the rectangles (top right) for my chain blocks, a couple of bright charms (bottom) for my ongoing stack of precut 5" squares, light and bright HSTs for the Project Linus quilt, and a big stack of 5" background fabric charms. My best guess right now is that they will either become HSTs at some future date, or perhaps will become part of a scrappy 9-patch top. I can't say for sure at the moment. More WHIMMs. Also, at the very top of this pic, you can see my little waste pile of trim and schnibbles too small to do anything with. There was a casualty in that pile, however--I was cutting a white FQ, and found that even though I'd washed it, it had stayed stained along a fold line. It was, unfortunately, how I'd received it. :( So I used all but the dirty bit, which I tossed.




Finally, this is my scrap bag. I also have a second bag for strips that are destined for wonky squares or log cabins someday. No idea what these will be, I guess we'll see. For now, I'm off to mark seam lines and get to piecing! I'd like to try to finish all the HST piecing today, and then put the top together tomorrow. I have Monday evening to myself, so if needed, I'll finish the center and put on borders at that point. The top will likely stay a UFO until autumn, when it will be cool enough to do some lap-quilting. Anything bigger than a lap quilt gets sent to the longarmer's these days.

I've also taken pics of my stash, and of my completed Xmas stars, so those will be posted in the coming days. Stay tuned!!

Woohoo, my first picture post!!

Well, with some help from the hubby (ie, he borrowed it then forgot where he put it), I found my digital camera, and I can now start to add some pictures to my posts!! This post will be my trial run, so bear with me.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon cutting all of the pieces for my chain blocks for my pinwheel chain quilt. Then I spent part of the evening piecing more HSTs to make pinwheels. Today...was not quite as productive. Something about day 7 of gray and cloudy yick weather straight (unless you count 3 hours of sun yesterday afternoon--I really don't) just made me kind of lazy. I read, I pieced another block, this one to see how I like the chain blocks (I very much DO), I watched an NCIS marathon and didn't even stitch. I could give some excuses like my back hurts (it does) or I'm tired (I am), but I was really just very lazy.

BUT. I did find the camera and Jay helped me get set up, and so here we go!


Obviously I was also too lazy to press them both, but you get the general idea. The way everything has been cut, every pinwheel will be different, though there will be some repetition of some fabrics throughout the quilt. Each of the chain blocks will have consistent colors within the block, but each block will be different. I'm really glad that I've been able to bust some of my stash with this project so far, about 4 yards worth after all the cutting was done. At some point I'm going to have to sort through and take inventory to get a better sense of just how enormous my stash really is. It will have to wait for less humid weather, though--it's so sticky, my hair has its own zipcode.

Now that I've got a sense of what I'm doing with this whole picture things, I'll make a concerted effort to post more of my progress.

--Meg

ETA: I have to admit--after all of the cutting yesterday, I wound up with a bunch of strings. And a String Quilt has entered the category of WHIMMS...

Uglies

So, one of the things I've done is join the stashbuster.com Yahoo group. There's a TON of activity over there, and the listmoms keep everyone up on the weekly and monthly challenges. Some of the cool things going on over there are:

Fling It Fridays: Those books, fabrics, patterns and tools that you are hanging onto even though you know you will never wind up using them? Pay it forward. Sell it on Ebay or Craigslist. Bring it to your next quilt guild meeting and swap with other people. End result? Get it OUT of your house, your sewing room, your stash!

Also, Uglies. You know you have them. I know I have a ton of them. Those fabrics that you either bought SO much of that you've used it in every scrap quilt you've made, you've backed a half dozen quilts with it, and you STILL have more, OR those that you look at now and go "What the hell was I thinking to have paid money for this??" I'm not currently participating, because a) they're 6 months ahead of me and b) I'm not allowed to have any more WIPs until I complete at least a flimsie (top). BUT. They are running a "Not so Ugly" block a month group, and I have to say, some of the pictures are hilarious. Some of the fabrics are truly awful, but get them in a few blocks next to one another with some accent fabrics and they're really not so bad after all. Some of them will turn out to be stunning samplers at the end. :) It's something I'm keeping in mind for when they start it up again next year. I could get rid of quite a bit of my stash that way AND make some cute baby quilts with all of my novelty fabric. (I swear, it must have been all I bought for a solid year, judging by the entire BOX of it in my stash.)

Also on the agenda for this weekend? Finding my digital camera so that I can share some of my WIPs with y'all!

--Meg

WHIMM

I've become an avid reader of quilting blogs these last few weeks (part of the reason I decided to start one of my own). And yesterday, in my reading, I learned a new term: WHIMM. This stands for Work Hidden In My Mind, and basically, this is kind of like a UFO (Unfinished Fabric Object) or PIG (Project in Grocery bag), but it just hasn't gotten started yet. And if I'm counting my WHIMMs as UFOs, BOY are there an awful lot of them!

So, here's the list:

WIP (Works in Progress)

Jay's Xmas Stars Sampler

Pinwheel Chain Wedding quilt


UFOs

Split Nine Patch lap quilt (have one more seam, and border--why do I drop them with so little left to do???)

Red White & Blue Sampler (Finish quilting and binding)

Autumn colors Churn Dash (I have about a half dozen blocks of this, and I'm thinking of turning them into a table runner for the dining room table)

1930s Baby Jane Crib quilt (I am counting this, as I have the layout worked up on the Dear Jane software, the fabric ironed and set aside with all of the patterns printed and ready to go)


WHIMMs

Stars over Kashmir--I have the layout set up on EQ6, and some of the fabrics set aside--it will be a paisley-based star quilt. I am addicted to paisley. Admitting I have a problem is the first step...

Dear Jane--I have an embarassing amount of Civil War era reproduction fabrics, and my friend Wendy sent me more, so it is either piece it or drown in it. I'm still scared of applique, though.

Flying Geese--I KNOW I have too much Civil War fabric. I'm thinking that a scrappy Flying Geese quilt (or two) might be kind of awesome, for what I can't/don't use for the Dear Jane.

Batik Churn Dash & Chain--Ear-marked for a friend. I have most of what I need, fabric-wise. Just need to get on it. Someday...

Feathered Star Medallion--Planned as the beginning of a Round Robin exchange with Wendy. May wait til she moves, though. Cuz I'm nice like that.



Ok, so, that's not overwhelming. Not at all. *chokes*

First post!

My name is Meg. I'm a married librarian in CT, owned by many cats. And I quilt. I taught myself how to quilt just after graduating college, back in *cough* 1999. My thanks to Roberta Horton for her book "Scrap Quilts: The art of making do" (1998), as that was what got me started.

I have a personal blog on LiveJournal. I'm on MySpace and Facebook. But what I found I didn't have was a place to talk about quilting. And that was how this blog was born.

The sad fact is, I'm great at starting projects. To date, I have completed (quilted, bound) three projects--two lap-size quilts as wedding gifts for friends, and a third bed-sized quilt as a going-away present for another friend. I have about a half-dozen UFOs, and a stash that fills 4 oversize Tupperware tubs, plus 4 smaller tubs.

I am trying to limit myself to only working on 2 WIPs at a time, currently a bed-sized quilt of Christmas stars (sampler) for my husband (who was born on Xmas Eve), and another bed-sized quilt of alternating chain and pinwheel blocks for a friend's daughter, who is getting married in January.

I tend to do most of my piecing by hand, so I am not a fast quilter, by any means. And I'll be honest--it is my intention to send out most of my larger pieces to be machine quilted by someone with a longarm machine. I love the smaller projects, but to handquilt something bigger than a twin? Just too daunting.

My intention is to use this blog to chronicle my quilting, the completion of projects, the depletion of my stash (I hope!), and to connect with other quilters out there.

Welcome, and thanks!