Summer Swap

You may have heard that Janet of Rogue Quilter and I swapped blocks this summer. It was an absolute pleasure and I can't wait to swap blocks with her again. During each of the summer months - June, July and August - we each made eight - 6 1/2" churn dash blocks. Each block had a twin. One we kept and the other was sent for the exchange. It was so much fun waiting to see what Janet had put together. Here is what I plan to do with my blocks-

I need to make at least one more block and will probably make six more for a 5 x 6 setting. The setting squares are not solid but this Judie Rothermel fabric - Pine Tree Lodge-

I took most these photos yesterday and it was raining or overcast all day long. Today, the sun keeps peaking out. I'd give the photography another try, but to tell you the truth the floor wasn't all that clean yesterday and I haven't gotten around to cleaning it! You try keeping floors clean with three dogs during a rainy stretch. ; c )

With the last swap we had a fabric repeat. What are the chances of that?!?!

Here are the goodies Janet sent along each month. Her home made soap smells divine! I'm so excited about getting one of her pineapple ornaments. Truly tiny! And I love my new pin cushion. I don't know how she got it stuffed so tightly and no evidence of where she stitched it up after filling it. It's already been put to use!

Here are some other treats that have come my way this month-

 from Timeless Treasures

from Doniene of Now it's just quilts!

 from Meriyln of Quilt Minstrel

Thanks you all! - it is always fun to get quilty things in the mail!!!!

I have made some progress on Abigail's quilt (see my previous post) and hope to have it finished next week. I've also been making hexie flowers and thinking about the applique border I will have to tackle when I finish the hexie flowers. Believe it or not, I often make bed size quilts with no particular bed in mind. No surprise that they never exactly fit any bed in my house! This time I will check and recheck to make sure this hexie quilt fits our queen bed. Or maybe I'll make it fit the double bed that will be in the guest room in my dream farmhouse - see my problem? I still have plenty of stitching to do before I make the final decision.

I finally started stitching flowers together and can imagine the skill it will take to stitch multiples together. Yikes!

These amaryllis belladonna flowers pop up in our backyard every summer. 

This weekend is Labor Day here in the states. Our only plans are to go to crab night at our community pool. I'm already seeing signs of fall. I'm ready for cool breezes, softer hues of nature and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. Love the change of seasons!

So long for now! Off to clean some floors!

Little 9-patch for Abigail

I'm putting together a quilt for my great niece, Abigail, who is almost 6 months old. I was having fun putting together little 9-patches for my crabapple quilt so I decided to pair some up with hourglass blocks. I've seen quilts at shows and online with hourglass blocks framing an alternate block and was looking forward to doing the same some day so this was a perfect opportunity. I tend to like blocks on point but I like the straight set in this case since the hourglass blocks give the on point effect.

straight set

on point

A straight set is also easier to piece together. My blocks will finish at 3 inches. I'm aiming for a 36" x 51" quilt so I've got a good many more blocks to make.

My DH started working from home this week. This will take some getting used to!

Finally, Some Things to Share

It's been a few weeks since I last posted. I guess I'm just having a lazy summer - reading, cooking, visiting with my mom, catching my nieces at a swim meet (had to get our fix now that our youngest is done swimming), a bit of stitching and a little cleaning, too. I finished this quilt top-

The blocks finish at 8.5 inches.

I pieced the back using a Kaffe Fassett fabric that wasn't quite wide enough.

Here is a close up of the fabric. I bought 2 yards of it a couple years ago having no idea what I would do with it. I guess it kind of reminds me of growing up in the 60's and 70's. I'm glad I found a place to use it.

This purse came together quickly. Best of all it used up some batting scraps.

 
It's an Aunties Two pattern called Bailey Island Hobo. I typically have problems when following a pattern like this. I was pleasantly surprised that I could follow these with ease and didn't have to unsew any of it.  I made the smaller bag. It has already gone with me on a few errands and I love it's size and light weight. You start with 2.5 inch strips of fabric and batting. Nice to have a place to use those scraps of batting I can't throw out.

Today, we are canning tomato sauce. It takes all day starting with a visit to the farmers market for boxes of tomato seconds. Here is a shot from a couple weeks ago of our first attempt at canning green beans. We used our new pressure canner. We lucked out and got some beautiful beans from an organic farmer from Pennsylvania who is a new addition to our Saturday market.

These photos are also from a couple weeks ago. I've been meaning to post for a while. ; c )
I love the combination of the deep pink, orange and green. Every year I say I'm going to use this color combination in a quilt.

I love when the hosta blooms...and so do the bees...

We had a little relief from the heat today. I really can't complain about the hot weather since we have air conditioning. I feel for those of you who don't. Hope this coming week brings relief from the heat for all...and keep stitching!

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Can someone tell me what this does? Is it really necessary? It seems suspicious to me.

Am I allowed to include photos in the post? Here are some from our drive in the country last week. The farm photos are from an area outside Staunton Virginia and the town photos are of Lexington Virginia. I just found out my cousin is moving from Oregon to Lexington. We had to check it out.

40th Annual Quilters Unlimited Quilt Show 2013 Part 2

I've been very distracted in my sewing room lately - mostly making scrappy 9-patches for my crabapple quilt. I think I'll also use them in a quilt for my great niece. I did clean up a pile of scraps in the process so that felt good to do. I've also hand pieced a few spool blocks and hexie flowers. I have a couple of projects I'm keeping secret.

I promised these show quilts soon and now I see it's been more than several days since I posted. We've had nice weather here in Virginia and I've spent a few of those days with the windows and doors open while I putter around the house - doing some cleaning, organizing and cooking. We spent last Saturday in Madison County Virginia. We just drove around and passed by a few properties we'd seen for sale online. I'm sorry I didn't take my camera with me. The town of Syria is the prettiest little town I've ever seen in Virginia. We are heading out again tomorrow. It's fun to look!

Hope you enjoy the rest of my favorites from the show-

A random sampler is on my list for the future-

This quilt was made with blocks from Barbara Brackman's Civil War Block of the Week-

Just had to get a pic of the sheep quilt-

Made by Bunnie-

I look tired because I was tired-

The above quilt is mine. I started this one in a class with Jo Morton last spring. Lynn Kraftson and Dorry Emmer also took the class. Their quilts are below. Lynn used batiks and Dorry used red and white fabrics. I love this pattern.

Have a great weekend!