Ring A Ding Ding!

I have returned from my Cape Cod Quilting sojourn. The photo below represents 2.5 days of work...

I made four sets of "A" rings for my Double Wedding Ring quilt. Yes, they are lovely, but time consuming. I also did a little bit of applique on my Edyta Sitar quilt, shown below.

For those of you waiting to hear, I am disappointed to report that I did not win any of the Right, Left, Center games. Pat won the black and white fabrics; Cordula won the Kaffe Fassett fabrics and Kim G. won the batiks.

Winning smiles from Kim G. and Cordula

I was able to drown some of my sorrows with a little ice cream. Several yards of new Kaffe Fassett fabrics took care of the rest...

Sue and I enjoying  our sundaes. What's underneath my hot fudge?
Forbidden Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream! Yummy!

Unbelievably, it required this much luggage to work on
my two small projects pictured at the top of the blog.

In contrast to my tiny projects, Kim P. completed the top of her Orca Bay, one of her Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts that she has been working on for a while. It was one of Kim's 2013 quilting resolutions to finish this. The quilt is amazing. Almost all of the blocks are string pieced (i.e., made up of little tiny pieces). This is no longer a free pattern on the Quiltville website, however it is available in one of Bonnie's books.

Kim P, at right, is the talented quilter who made this quilt top.

Here are the "bag ladies" from the Cape Cod weekend.

From left to right: Joan S., Sally, and Pat model their finished creations.

Joan's bag is the Chubby Charmer. Sally and Pat both made the Travel Duffel bag from Studio Cherie. Unbelievably, all of these gorgeous bags will be gifts. Sally's bag is for her daughter-in-law; Pat's bag is for her sister; and Joan is still trying to decide who will get hers--although Jean volunteered several times to take it off her hands...

Marion was also part of the Bag Lady Brigade. She made
this cute little zipper pouch by Atkinson Designs.

Marion says, "Stay tuned, lots more Cape Cod photos to come!"

Come back tomorrow for more Girls of the Cape!

Linking up on Tuesday with Connie at Freemotion by the River Linky Tuesday. Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

The Wages of Sin

I am heading out this morning to the Cape for our annual February quilting weekend. I am bringing these nine little lovelies with me...unfortunately not all of them will return.

However, I could come home with 45 fat quarters or more if Lady Luck shines upon me. Joannie has organized three rounds of Right, Left, Center, which is a dice game. We play for fat quarters, based on a theme. As you can see, we will be playing three rounds for Black and White FQs, Kaffe Fassett FQs, and Batik FQs. I love all of these fabrics!

Wish me luck!

I am sticking to my guns and I have packed the three projects you saw here.

If you are not quilting this weekend, and you want to try a new recipe, Mike made this Chicken Marsala on Tuesday night and it was delicious! So good, we ate it two nights in a row. Mike doubled the amount of Marsala wine and the mushrooms. Yum!

Happy Birthday Marion!

Linking up with Freemotion by the River and Sew Fresh Quilts. Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

My Word is "No!"

A lot of quilt bloggers have been posting their "word" for 2014. Your word is supposed to be your mantra, your inspiration, your theme for the year. Bonnie Hunter has a word (actually, she has three). Pat Sloan has a word. In fact, if you Google search "my word for 2014 quilting" you can find a lot of quilt bloggers who have picked a word for the year.

I'm late to the party, but I have a word too. And for 2014, it's going to be "No!" as in "No way, no how, I don't want to." It may sound selfish, but after 20 plus years of quilting and giving away about 80% of what I make, I think I'm entitled to take a year for myself.

We quilters are a generous lot, and if we're not getting asked to hem your pants or make curtains for your sun room, someone is asking for an "extra" quilt for a donation.

Joanne put together this quilt for a charity auction at her workplace in under two weeks.

I haven't actually put my word to good use yet. My first finishes this year have been two fleece blankets and a pillowcase, all intended as gifts.

Sometimes it's not my fault. I got "volunteered" for the first blanket, when we visited our friends Matt and MaryKate for Thanksgiving. Right before we left, Matt said to his wife, "Honey, why don't you give Nancy that bag of fleece you bought at JoAnn Fabrics and she'll make you a blanket." I had to make a blanket for my dear friend's husband who has to have six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. How could I let him go to treatment without something hand made and warm to comfort him? The pillowcase is for a friend's three year old boy who loves music. I found the fabric at Sewphisticates ($3.99 a yard) and couldn't resist it. I'm trying to save it for a Valentine's Day gift, but I may end up mailing it early.

If I look at my giant UFO (unfinished objects) list, 99% of the items on it are for me. That's why they never get finished, because I put myself last. So, in honor of saying "No!" in 2014, here are some of MY projects that I want to work on.

My Bali Bed Runner that I started this summer with Ginny Radloff.
I'm taking another class with her this year. I'm so excited!

My 2013 Swoon Block of the Month. I have two blocks finished. Seven more to go.

My Edyta Sitar Laundry Basket applique Block of the Month, started September 2012.
This will be a "life time" achievement quilt if I ever get it finished. And if I do,
I have a couple of Kim MacLean applique patterns in mind.

Here we go 2014. And I'm saying "No!"

What's your word?

I am linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Richard and Tanya Quilts and CrazyMom Quilts. Thanks for visiting.

Have a great day!
Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Quilting with a Rock Star!

My friend Janet is a scrap quilter. I save all my scraps that I deem too tiny to use and put them in the "Janet bag" for her. Janet also likes to use recycled fabrics, such as old plaid shirts. It has been her dream to take a class with Bonnie Hunter.

In case you've been living inside a quilt vacuum, Bonnie Hunter is a very talented and famous quilter, known for her love of scrap quilts. She has published five books (a sixth one coming soon!), writes for quilt magazines, has an amazing website http://quiltville.com/ with tons of free patterns, and blogs daily (even multiple times).

In 2012, Joannie, Sue and I were lucky enough to take a class with Bonnie Hunter at the Vermont Quilt Festival. Janet was unable to join us. Bonnie is one of my quilting idols too!

We did a shout out to Janet from our class. She was so surprised to see us on Bonnie's Quiltville Facebook page with a note for her.

Janet was disappointed to miss out on Bonnie's class because she loves Bonnie too. So she was delighted when she found that Bonnie was going to be teaching several classes at a nearby quilt guild in Florida this month. (Janet is a Snowbird, spends half her time in MA and half in FL).

Janet almost missed her first class. In an email she sent me, she wrote:

Oh, I have to tell you that on Wednesday morning I was on my computer checking out her blog when I saw her opening line. "Hello Punta Gorda.  Are you ready for My Blue Heaven?"  I jumped up and yelled, "My quilting class is today!!"  I had the days mixed up and thought it was Thursday & Friday, instead of Wednesday & Thursday.  I washed my face, brushed my teeth, ran a comb through my hair and literally threw clothes on.  Eddie made me lunch and out the door I went.  The drive is a little over 1 hr.  I was only about 5-10 min. late.  Not bad.  Not a good way to start the day, but I had a table to myself and soon calmed down. All the girls were very friendly, 3 coming over to my table for lunch break. I also got invited to go out to dinner with Bonnie and a few others last night, 8 total.  It was nice to get to chat and  be up close and personal with her.  I forgot my camera both days.  What a dunce.  Someone took a picture with my phone camera for me.

Janet, at right, meets her quilting idol, Bonnie Hunter

Janet was fortunate enough to take two classes with Bonnie, My Blue Heaven and Pineapple Blossom. I look forward to seeing her quilts when she comes home from Florida. Janet brought four of her quilts to show Bonnie. Three of them are from Bonnie's free patterns on her website. The bottom quilt is a pattern that Janet found in a magazine. The photos and captions below appeared on Bonnie's blog.

The patterns below are:
Ohio Stars and Rails
Boxy Stars
Scrappy Bargello

If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with Bonnie Hunter, jump on it! She is just as nice as you can possibly imagine and an excellent instructor. She is a rock star (at least in the quilting world.)

And since every rock star needs a music video, here is a link to a music video (not related to Bonnie) using sewing elements for all the visuals. My friend Judith, who blogs at Made by J in Australia found this. I had to share.

I am linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Richard and Tanya Quilts and CrazyMom Quilts. Thanks for visiting.

Have a great day!
Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

A Very Quilty Birthday!

Among my quilt group friends, it is well known that you have two birthdays. First there is your real birthday, typically celebrated with family and sometimes friends. Second, and often more important, is your quilting birthday, which is celebrated in our quilt group with cake, gifts of fabric and birthday blocks, and a spectacular off-key rendition of Happy Birthday which often sounds more like a funeral dirge. We need to work on our tempo...

Saturday was Marion's quilting birthday.

Cake! Chocolate of course!

Presents!

Birthday blocks!

Each year our group chooses a block pattern. Participation is optional. The birthday girl chooses her own colors and everyone in the group makes blocks for the birthday girl. Marion has chosen black and white fabrics with a brightly colored center for her 2014 birthday block. Our block this year is a pattern by Terry Atkinson, called Snap Shot and it is the cover quilt of her book, Happy Hour.

I asked the girls to bring in some of the quilts they've made from birthday blocks in past years. It is fun to see how different they appear depending on the fabrics, settings, and size that they've chosen.

The first year we did a birthday block exchange was 1996. We did a star signature block. These blocks are extra special because they are signed, and one of our original members has passed away.

This is Kim P.'s birthday quilt done in patriotic colors.

This is Lori's birthday quilt in shades of blue.

One of the hardest birthday blocks we made was in 2007. It required a special ruler, precise cutting and perfect 1/4 seams. The pattern is called Oriental Lanterns and it was in an Australian quilt magazine. Lots of tears were shed over this one.

I used the original nine blocks I received and finally made a wall hanging in 2012.

Lori was brave and made hers larger.

This is Pat's quilt with our birthday blocks from 2009.

This is Kim P.'s birthday block quilt using the Bento Box pattern
in batik fabrics. We made this block in 2006. I finished mine last year
and you can see it under the tab, 2013 Finished Quilts.

We made this quilt for Karen's 50th birthday and it was also our
birthday block last year because we liked it so much.

One year we did a sampler quilt. This is Nancy D.'s in blue and yellow.

This was our birthday block in 2010 or 2011. Pat super-sized hers and made it out of Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

Karen's quilt is made of batiks.

Don't they look very different from each other?

I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of our birthday block quilts! Happy Quilting Birthday Marion!

Linking up on Tuesday to FreeMotion by the River. Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Something Old, Something New

I met my friend Linda in the first grade at the Brophy School in Framingham. Our teacher was Mrs. Spelicacy. We're still friends 44 years later. So, next to my family, I've known Linda longer than anyone else, and unbelievably she still likes me!

My friendship with Linda is epitomized by this poem I learned back in my Brownie troop:

Make new friends

But keep the old

One is silver

and the other is gold.

I looked up the poem on the web and found that it is much longer than the first verse that I remembered. You can read it here.

Of course, Linda's friendship is more of the platinum standard. She's always been there when I needed her. Unlike a lot of my other friends that frequent my blog, she is NOT a quilter, but she does like crafting. When we were in High School, we had a Friday night craft group with three other friends: Lisa, Lydia, and Kathy. I still have my finished needlepoint picture hanging in my basement. We called our group, Needlepoint and M&M's. Yes, some things never change...

I met Linda for dinner last night and brought her a surprise gift. This gift put itself together and it has a theme: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue.

Something Borrowed
I got this ice cream scoop as a party favor eight years ago at Linda's wedding shower. It is absolutely the best ice cream scoop ever, plus it has a cute handle with ice cream cones. One of the last times we went out, Linda lamented that hers had broken in the dishwasher and she was very upset because it was a memento of her wedding and, as I said above, it truly is the best ice cream scoop ever. I knew that I had to give it back to her.

I surprised Linda with a large wrapped basket and made her open the scoop first.

Something New and Blue

Linda's favorite color is blue and her favorite food is ice cream, so when I saw this fabric on a shopping expedition with the girls, I had to buy it and make her something.

My first finish for 2014. Two pillowcases.

Something Old

My friend Linda is very thrifty as well as family-oriented, so I gave her a set of ice cream glasses that my parents had given me when they moved out of our family home and retired to Florida. They had been sitting unused in my kitchen cabinets and were in perfect condition. Linda and I had definitely eaten ice cream out of them back in High School.

Linda loved her gift! Now, all she needs is a little ice cream!

I also got Linda a gift card for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, so she can use her scoop and ice cream glasses. I wonder if she stopped and bought ice cream on her drive home last night?

I bought myself a replacement ice cream scoop on Amazon. It works really well, except that it lacks the cute handle.

I hope that you have a life-time friend like Linda in your life!

Pugs and kisses,

Nancy

Linking up to Sew Many Ways, Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party. Thanks for visiting!

 

Color Me Happy!

Pantone's color of the year is Radiant Orchid! Pantone is a color matching system used in the print industry. You can read more about Pantone here.

Purple makes me happy. It is one of my "go-to" colors both for quilting and wearables. I am on trend for 2014.

Last month before the big Pantone announcement, I pulled the batik fabrics below from my stash. (Note to blog friends: this does not even make the teeniest dent in my fabric stash.) I am going to make a Queen size reversible quilt. One side will be a Scrappy Bargello, the other side will be a Yellow Brick Road.

Blues and Aquas in one pile (note the purples sneaking in...)

Purple-icious!

All the purples and blues together in perfect harmony!

I haven't even finished cutting out this project but I am excited to start work on it. The colors are gorgeous and I can't wait to see how they will all looks together.

If you are new to my blog, you can read another post about purple here. There are a couple of predominantly purple quilts seen here in my 2013 Finished Quilt Projects. And you can see the Grape-Ade Quilt top here.

Linking up to CrazyMom Quilts!

Here's to Purple Power!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy