Polka Dot Puppy

Lots of sewing is going on here, in spite of the kitchen work. We're starting to see the end of the kitchen mess now. We're in a bit of a lull because DH ran out of slate back splash tile and had to reorder. After that is finished, there will just be trim painting and window treatments to deal with. It looks like I'll be making valances, if I can find fabric I like. The room needs some color to accent all of the natural materials.

I'm having a little difficulty adjusting to my new stovetop. It's a smooth surface ceramic top, and I was used to a 30-year-old clunker. I've burned a few things! My learning curve is slow on this thing.

I finished up this "Polka Dot Puppy" quilt and will be donating it tomorrow at the hospital. My devotion to Fat Cat Patterns continues. I love Sindy's designs!

Building with Bricks

Well, the big, strong men are in the house installing the counter tops, so I've been upstairs in my sewing room finishing a quilt top made of plaid scraps in brick shapes, cut 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Since I've been quilting for 23 years, I've gone through many phases in my fabric tastes. For awhile, I was collecting plaids and working them into everything I made. Then, of course, I got really sick of plaids so they've been hanging out in a big bin in my sewing room for many years. In a stash-busting maneuver, I started hacking them into bricks, and 170 bricks went into this top. I'll show you the border after I quilt it! (It was difficult to decide on a border for so many plaids. I didn't want to use another plaid that would give me more plaid scraps!)

The backing is a flannel in a small gold houndstooth on beige.

This quilt will be a gift for a very special man who works for an agency here in St. Louis called "Paraquad". They help people with disabilities, and he is my dear daughter's job coach. He is so good with her, and we want to show him that he makes a big difference in our lives.

I'd better start dusting. I've never had granite before and had no idea they'd be cutting out some holes while inside the house. I should've covered up more things. A little late now...

Pinewood Derby Quilt

OMG, our kitchen is a mess! As previously mentioned, we are redoing the kitchen, keeping the flooring and the cabinets and changing everything else. Today the old counter tops came off, and stuff is stashed everywhere. There is no sink or stove, so we got to eat out tonight! My husband has been working SOOOOOOOO hard.

Tomorrow is a big day, because the new counters will be installed. After that, DH will set the back splash tile and grout it, and we will be almost finished. We can't come to an agreement about window treatments.

I do have one Project Linus quilt finished, Pinewood Derby--designed, of course, by Sindy Rodenmayer at www.fatcatpatterns.com

My son loved making these little cars with his dad when he was in Cub Scouts and racing them on that big Saturday in January!

I tried something different with the quilting instead of plain old quilting in the ditch. I set my machine on a decorative stitch and loaded it with bright orange thread and then quilted along all the edges of the sashing. I really like the way it looks, although it took a long time!

Little Pillow

Darling little granddaughter is going to be two years old tomorrow, and I wanted one of her presents to be handmade. I remembered the little pillows that my mother made for my kids. They just loved them to death! I had fabric leftover from making her quilt, so I made this 9" x 12" pillow and two pillow cases.

Her party is on Saturday, and hopefully her little blonde head will be resting on her pillow at nap time! Her mommy should like them because she chose all the fabrics!

I've Been Tagged

Debi tagged me, and now I have to find seven weird or random facts about me. (I'm not going to tag anyone else right now because they have been tagged already!) Hmmm....seven facts about me....

1. I'm a true Midwesterner--born in Illinois, moved to Michigan, and have lived since first grade in Missouri.
2. I have a lifetime teaching certificate in secondary business subjects but never used it, and it's now obsolete (no computer classes)! So I have a teaching certificate, but no one would hire me.
3. I was a cheerleader in high school but now can't jump.
4. I've been married very happily for 34 years, and we're now both retired, but we'll probably never have an empty nest as we have a daughter who needs to live with us.
5. My new name, "Mawmaw", is the prettiest sound I ever heard (coming from little granddaughter's mouth).
6. I am a passionate lover of cats who is being held to only owning one, and I want more!!!!!
7. I worked for quite awhile for a university registrar and kept a list of "collectible names".

Now, a well-known fact--I have lots of projects in progress. Hopefully, I'll have one finished this week to show you.

Row 2 of Mystery Quilt

This picture shows a partial view of my first two rows in Debi's Roosting Round Robin Mystery Quilt. "Road to Oklahoma" was the first block (on the left), and "Variable Star" is the second month's block.

I am determined to make this quilt without buying any fabric, so my theme is red, mustard, and dark blue fabrics in plaids and coordinates. It's a loose theme which should get looser as quantities of these scraps dwindle! I already know that I don't have enough of the light background for all six rows. This could get interesting.

Many of us who are making this mystery quilt are sharing our blocks on the Quilting Passion Forum. Members are making everything from baby quilts to Christmas quilts! Stop by and take a look.

Another SuzGuz Block

During the Super Bowl last night I finished Block 2 of the new BOM series by Susan Guzman. She emails the pattern on the first of the month to those who have signed up, and I was hanging around the computer waiting for this one. I love hearts and am quite captivated by her designs. Who knows what I'll do with the finished quilt--but that isn't the point, is it? LOL

There are lots of projects in progress in my sewing room:

1. Pinewood Derby by Fat Cat Patterns;
2. Row 2 of Debi's Roosting Round Robin Mystery;
3. Plaid Brick Quilt (I'm cutting my plaid stash into 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" pieces and sewing them into rows, offsetting them like subway tile);
4. A barn raising-style quilt using HSTs made with black and brights--needs a border;
5. Three Project Linus tops that need quilting;
6. Many UFOs in their own zipper bags that I am trying not to think about!

The kitchen project is coming along nicely, although everything stays very dirty and messy for the time being. I try to keep it cleaned up, but it is futile! Yesterday I got to paint dowel rods, which is not real easy. Why is it that my hand goes numb while painting, but it isn't so bad while I'm sewing???

Kitchen Project in Progress--No Sewing to Show

Our kitchen is getting a face lift, and helping DH is "job one" for me this week. The house is 30 years old, which is not ancient by any means, but it does require a little freshening up now and then. (We have seen some houses in our neighborhood decline rapidly when no upkeep was done and don't want this to happen to us.)

We chose very good cabinets the last time we went through this, so we are keeping them. They're oak--not the latest rage but we still love them and they look good after our recent effort to clean and polish them. We're getting new counter tops and a new cook top, and DH is also going to replace the back splash with this tumbled slate mosaic tile. (Doesn't this look like something a quilter would select?)

My favorite part of the project is what DH is doing in the wall space where he removed the old double ovens. We are replacing them with a single wall oven, and then he is utilizing all of the vertical space in that area by building a platter-size plate rack at the top, a niche for the microwave under that, then the oven, and finally at the bottom will be a deep heavy-duty drawer! He is doing a superb job, and I am so looking forward to the increased storage space and new look! The walls will be a neutral called "Wicker" and the trim is just a shade creamier than white. The last touch will be new window treatments--my job. This includes a bay window, so it'll be a big splash of whatever color we choose.

Right now my job is to "get this" and "hold that" and clean up a lot--no point working on a project of my own. I'm the unskilled labor, helping out my carpenter!

Teddy Bear Album Top

Here's my Teddy Bear Album top, all finished! Kudos to Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns for a darling design.

DH likes this one so much that he has asked me not to give it away just now. With another grandchild on the way, he says we might want it later. Point taken--I'll hang this top in the closet until DDIL gets a look at it. First dibs for grandbabies!

We were going through the different blocks and naming the bears (slow night on TV, I guess), and we found Sister Bear, Mama Bear, Grandpa Bear, Baby Bear, Movie Star Bear, etc. When we came to the poor little bear with the kerchief tied around her head, DH named her "Menopause Bear"! (Guess who ties a kerchief around her head when she's having a "power surge"? LOL) Maybe I should find a way to applique beads of perspiration trickling down her cheeks.

Meet "Bucky"

Here's my new buddy, Bucky Bunny. (Pattern from Fat Cat Patterns, of course!) The designer, Sindy, calls him "Jumbo Bunny", but I named him after his prominent overbite. He looks like a cross between a bunny and a beaver.

Isn't he a hoot? I just had to make him, and then realized I don't have any fabric that would really work well for borders. I think I'll offer him as a center medallion for a round robin quilt for Project Linus on the Quilting Passion Forum. Hopefully, someone will want to make Bucky into a beautiful quilt and send him on his way to a deserving child.

Gee, I've been scattered in my quilting this week! I've started four new projects--pretty silly when I have so many UFOs.

Today I also made 48 large half square triangles (brights with black) to make a quilt for an orphanage in India that we are sponsoring on the Quilting Passion Forum. As I was trimming them to size, I accumulated quite a little pile of colorful trimmings. I've decided to save little trimmings until spring, and then set them out for the birds to use in their nests. Hopefully, I'll see some woven into little nests and can post pictures of them later.

Teddy Bear Album in Progress

I'm in love with this little girl! She's one of nine bears in the Teddy Bear Album pattern by Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns. I just visited her site to get the link, and she has another new cat pattern on there! I am hopelessly behind in making this talented lady's designs.

Oh, well, this one is coming along very well. I liked the plaids that Sindy used in her illustration, and since I have a big bin of plaid scraps, I am using them for the bears' accessories. I will also use them to make snowball corners for each of the bear blocks, making a cute pattern at the block intersections. I just need to stitch on a few more facial features, and they will be ready to assemble. If my DDIL takes a liking to it, I would give it to my new grandchild-to-be. If not, it'll go to Project Linus.

Sunshine Ladybugs and Kitties

Look at what I finished yesterday during the Green Bay/New York football game! I got the cutest panel when I was in Dallas and cut up the squares for this Project Linus quilt. (When I recorded it in my journal, I realized that this is #111 for Project Linus!) I made this quilt on my machine, which is unusual for a handwork fanatic like myself.

The border fabric was left over from the Buttons 'N Blooms BOM border and tied in beautifully with the colors of the squares and the ladybugs. I think it looks happy. It will go to the hospital when I volunteer this week.