For the Little Brown Dog...

We have had our first significant snow and the Little Brown Dog, Shelby, was fascinated with it!

At first she was unsure of what it was, and then cautiously ventured into it.  By the end of the day she was jumping and romping around in it having a great time.  While she does like to play in it for a short time, the poor thing gets a little chilly.

Dave asked if I would make her a quilt to snuggle up on while we watch tv in the evening.  She loves her blankets in the kennel so it would stand to reason that she will love this one...

 

Dave wanted something much fancier than this, but it will have to do.  I selected a variety of fabrics... (mostly brown to hide her hair that she loses).  He had asked for dog bones to be quilted into it.  I put a few, but then I took advantage of an opportunity to work on my free motion quilting.  Her name is stitched in a few times along with some commands (like sit, lay, down and No! No!) 

 

 

I attempted to do the dog bones free motion, but they looked a bit odd... that was when I went to the script lettering.  It looks good, well, most of it anyway... But, really a girl needs to practice to get better, right?

 

 

I hope that Shelby likes it and it would be even better if she used it!

 

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Something Special

I rarely get more pleasure out of quilting than when making a quilt for someone specific - either for them or for them to give as a gift.  Don't get me wrong, I love quilting even if it is only in hopes that someone will fall in love with it and actually buy it.  But my favorite projects are when the quilt has known "destination."

This week I have had the opportunity to finish a custom T-shirt quilt using their collection of Bronco t-shirts and jerseys. 

Just think of how cozy they will be while watching the Bronco games! 

 

I have also had some fun with the latest quilt on my design wall. 

 

 

This is to be a Christmas gift from 4 daughters and 5 grand-daughters. The quilt will have the grandkids' hand prints, names and birthday dates as well as their photos (the empty spaces are just waiting for photos) and the daughters' pictures. If only I could be a fly on the wall when it is opened! 

 

What a blessing it is to be able to use my skills to help others with gifts of love, blessed from above.

What now?

The blog tour for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 8 is done, the winners have been picked and contacted.

I was thrilled that there were more than 200 comments left. I haven't been able to read every one of them yet, with getting ready for the show and being away from the computer for a few days, but I will and many of them I will respond to.

The show was a fun time... It was great having some time to catch up with my bestie from high school.  We hadn't see each other for more than 23 years, but we talked and laughed like it had only been last week.

     

Then                           and                              Now

 

We haven't changed a bit in 30 years. Have we?!?

 

So, what now?  Well, since I spent the 10 days before the show ignoring the house and laundry... first things first - I will be cleaning and catching up with various house chores.

 

Beyond that?  I need to get a few Christmas gifts done and then see what fun I can have with some creative ideas that were suggested in the comments.

 

 

Happy Quilting!

Pieces of My Heart

What an honor to have a block included in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 8! that will hit the stands on November 19th.

 

 The finished block was the result of a process of trying different fabrics and piece sizes.  I started with a simple kind of "log" layout...

  



It was okay, but not really the look I was going for - I wanted something "scrappier".  I also discovered that color placement was REALLY important... one block I showed a friend and she couldn't really tell what it was!  See what I mean?!?  Fail!

 



Once I figured out the right balance of color play I moved on to trying to figure out a layout for a table topper.  Still, not a total success, but it put a smile on my daughter's face. :)

 

It was at this time that I discovered that they resembled a shamrock... Thus "Pieces of My Irish Heart"...

 



 

 Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour daily through November 15th at The Quiltmaker Blog Quilty Pleasures for inspiration, ideas and giveaways!

Be sure to leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite holiday/season is to decorate for and I will enter you into a drawing to win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 8. I will have two copies available - one with a special  item available from my personal inventory.

 

The winners will be posted here on Saturday!

 

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Thankful...

I have been waiting for over a week to receive some t-shirts in the mail that will eventually become a T-shirt quilt.  I had wanted to have the quilt done before the show this weekend.  There was a delay in getting them shipped... no big deal.  When I had received a message on Friday that they went out, I looked forward to receiving them on Monday.

In the meantime I continued working on projects to add to my inventory... some fall/Thanksgiving placemats. 

I remembered on Monday morning that it was Veteran's day... how could I not? It was all over facebook!  So I spent the morning working on the placemats for as long as I could, ran off to Bible study and looked forward to the mail delivery right after lunch. 

And then I remembered that it's Veteran's day... no mail delivery. So the delivery of the Bronco shirts was delayed yet again. :( 

So, I took advantage of the opportunity to actually enjoy sewing the placemats (instead of rushing through them) and using the many decorative embroidery stitches that my machine has. The end result?

I am thankful for the delay and the enjoyed my afternoon.

I'm Published!

The wait is over...  it was all on a whim and a dream that the whole thing started.  I had an idea or two for blocks that I thought would be a natural fit into one of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks issues. 

I submitted two blocks, but only one was accepted.  I must say that the day the second one was returned several weeks ago, I was a bit sad and disappointed. 

But then I got home after spending a relaxing weekend away, the package was waiting for me!

I quickly opened it in search of my block and name... Dave was quickly searching, as well.   I probably shouldn't be making such a big deal about it, but this is a huge first!  We celebrated and laughed some and then moved on.  I had my moment and then I remembered that they had asked me to submit any projects that I had used the block in for consideration to be included in the publication. 

Hours later, I grabbed the magazine again and started flipping through looking for the "Designer's Gallery".  And there it was...

"Pieces of my Irish Heart"...

I received 5 issues of the publication and I will be giving some away during the blog hop November 11-15, and maybe some other goodies I may have.

Y'all come back now, ya hear!