Winter 2008

Well, winter 2008 is in full swing. In fact, it has been for nearly 6 weeks. My husband measured a total of 3 feet in the yard this morning after plowing for the 5th day in a row.

The temperatures had not been too bad, until tonight. They will drop into the low digits.
Definitely, a good night to work on a quilt in the warmth of my sewing room.

The picture is how high the bankings are from the snow. We are running out of place to put it.

I started snowshoeing this year.. and can actually climb on the bankings and feel like I'm mountain climbing.

Happy New Year - 2008

Its hard to believe that it has been over 3 months since I last posted. My new years resolution is to be use the post to share what I have been working on -- and since I have been quilting up a storm - I will need to start filling in the blanks.

We all had a wonderful holiday. We have visits from both family and friends. We also had a chance to visit with family before the holidays, when my brothers and their families went to Maine for a visit. It was a wonderful time!

I made many gifts for Christmas, including tote bags, table runners. I'm already starting to work on my list for 2008 of planned projects.

1. Finish Amy and Jason's lap quilt
2. Design and quilt Ann's 50th birthday quilt
3. Design and quilt for upstairs bedroom
4. Design and quilt for downstairs bedroom
5. Tablerunner, placemat and coaster for kitchen
6. Tote bag for me
7. New aprons for Linda and myself

This is just the start.. I have some WIP to be finished as well.. and will dig them out to get started on.

Third Place

My quilt challenge won third place in our guilds quilt challenge. Our guild hosted a dinner last night for 100 quilters in this region. All of the quilts from our guild were displayed and voted on by the participants..

I won a ribbon for third place -- first ribbon! Will give me a boost to try more in the future!

Finished Challenge

My quilt group had a challenge that was due this month. We were given 3 fabrics, and could add up to 5 additional fabrics. The quilt had to be no more than a 96" (diameter) around all 4 sides. Any type of quilting, any type of embellishments.

I choose to cut up the focus fabric and make it into a 'quilt with a view' type of quilt.

My finished quilt is attached. I typically do not do the traditional type quilts for challenges.

Wow, first blog

Hope this is the sign of many more to come. Well, Labor Day just flew by, the coolness has crept into the air, and it is perfect time to quilt! Well, actually anytime is a good time to quilt.

After slowing down for nearly a year, I have started back into my quilting this summer like gang busters.

Current projects:

• Quilt for my Mom's birthday. She has already seen the top as her birthday was August 30th. I just need to finish the binding. Will post a picture when it is done.
• Challenge quilt for my quilt group. The group chose a Christmas rose fabric and two additional fabrics. We were able to add up to 5. I have combined both embroidery machine designs, and my own strange way of stretching fabric. Will share the picture when it is done.
• Quilted tote bags - I completed two - one for my MIL and one for my SIL. The one for my sister-in-law Ann was made from a very funny fabric with swimsuit bathing beauties. She loved it. Unfortunately I did not think to take a picture.

Very near future projects:

• My MIL's 80th birthday celebration is coming up in a couple weeks, so I will be creating a small wall hanging for her. Will probably include a picture to make it a memory quilt.
• 20 exchange blocks for a quilt group exchange
• 5 origami stars for our quilt group dinner (yuck - not really having much fun with them)
• And an assortment of Christmas gifts including a couple quilted tote bags.

My daughter surprised me last week by asking me to make her a tote bag. She is the original Coach girl and homemade is typically out of the question for apparel. However, she picked out the fabric so I guess that's a start.

Well, lots more to come. Pictures will follow.. Yeah! My first official post..