Material girl

Kimono quilt

2011-04-16T12:11:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the kimono quilt for my niece who lives in California. It was my biggest UFO and I don't know why I didn't finish it before but at least now I can say that I only have one small UFO left lol.

Mug Rug Swap

2011-02-07T17:32:00.000-06:00

I received two gorgeous mug rugs from my swap partner Sharon in New York and she included a sweet fat quarter of Valentine's Day fabric and a pretty paper pieced heart card. I love swapping!

Garden Patch

2011-02-03T19:58:00.000-06:00

I admired this paper pieced pattern from Quiltmaker magazine for some time and finally bought the pattern. This was a really fast project as it only took me a few weekends to do. This is when a nice sized stash comes in handy lol. I didn't buy a single fabric for this wall hanging and it has about 75 different fabrics. I am going to stitch in the ditch because I don't want the quilting to be prominent.

Australian ladies need our help!

2011-01-11T18:44:00.001-06:00

The flooding in Australian has been devastating and we have a chance to help ladies who lost everything by contributing something to help start them sewing again. Please click this link to read more about it and give what you can http://www.gumtree-designers.com/2011/01/we-need-your-help.html. Here's the sewing caddy I made and now I just need to fill it with some sewing goodies and mail it off!

Rolling Stars Quilt

2010-12-26T19:21:00.000-06:00

I just finished this Rolling Stars quilt top that I started 10 weeks ago. It is almost entirely made with Civil War reproduction fabrics and I like the darker colors for this quilt. I also quilted a Christmas wallhanging yesterday. It was a preprinted panel and I added some gold bells and ribbon on the top. I have about 50 more projects that I need to do lol but it feels good to get a couple of them crossed off my list of things to do. Next weekend I'm off for 4 days again and already have plans to sew most of those days (again!). I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Navy Shawl

2010-12-23T14:11:00.000-06:00

I love shawls and made a navy colored shawl using Caron's Simply Soft yarn. As you can probably tell, my crocheting skills are pretty basic right now but it's fun to do while watching tv at night. I can't just sit doing nothing so it seems I'm always working on something lol.

Christmas Tree Napkins and Ornaments

2010-12-23T10:44:00.000-06:00

I learned out to make these cute Christmas Tree Napkins and Ornaments at the quilt store in my new town. You use a half yard of two different fabrics and it makes 4 napkins and 2 small ornaments. They're sew in a half moon shape and then folded a certain way and pressed.

Finally back to blogging!

2010-12-15T19:20:00.000-06:00

We moved to a new town the end of October and I finally got internet today! I've missed posting to my blog but even more I've missed visiting other quilters blogs. I can't wait to see what everyone has been doing and will post some of my recently completed projects soon.

Prayer shawl quilt for Tammy

2010-10-08T16:27:00.001-05:00

A dear friend has pancreatic cancer and has a pretty bad year so the girls in my quilting circle and I got together and made her a prayer shawl quilt. All of us (Terri, Sue, Lori, Leslie, Tinker, Judy and me worked on this as a joint project for Tammy and we presented it to her today.

Prayer shawl for Lisa

2010-09-19T09:31:00.000-05:00

My friend and co-worker Lisa is going through a really tough time right now. Her house burned down about a month ago and she lost everything including her pets. She had insurance but now she is going through the process of having to make a list of everything she had in her house, when she bought each thing and how much it was. I can't imagine having to do that, I couldn't write down everything in my sewing room, let alone in my entire house. She is a quilter and had recently gotten a new sewing and embroidery machine and luckily she was able to contact the company and get a copy of the receipt so at least it will be easily replaced. I've been reading about knitted prayer shawls and started teaching myself how to knit so I could make some. In the meantime I found some patterns for crocheted shawls and made one for Lisa that I'll give her next week. My crochet and pattern reading skills are rusty since I haven't done any crocheting for some years so I picked a simple pattern and made it with an angora blend in sage green (green is her favorite color). I hope she likes it and knows how many people are praying for her when she wears it.

Silk Road Wall Hanging

2010-09-17T21:05:00.000-05:00

I completed a wall hanging for our bedroom last weekend. I love the oriental prints in the butterfly wings!

Teddy Bear Paw mini quilt

2010-08-25T17:45:00.000-05:00

I made this mini quilt for my friend Anita for her birthday. I found a pattern in a miniature quilt magazine from the 1990's but I knew I didn't want to sew 1 inch pieces cut diagonally (it gives me shudders to even think about sewing pieces that small lol). So I created a paper pieced pattern for the bear paws and that worked out perfectly. I love the Autumn colors and after the exceedingly hot summer we've had this year, I look forward to Fall. Hmmm I think I'll make one for myself too!

I'm such a loser!!!!!

2010-08-24T18:54:00.000-05:00

It's been so busy at work that I've neglected my blog lately. So after catching up on what I thought were all the posts I needed to put on here, I scanned my blog and saw that I had never posted a picture of the Irish quilting magazine, postcard and fabric that a wonderful lady in Ireland exchanged with me back in July. How thoughtless of me to not acknowledge her gifts. So now I want to say a big THANK YOU TO MICKIE at http://thedote.blogspot.com/ for exchanging with me and I love love love the magazine. I've always wanted to visit Ireland and the postcard you sent looks exactly how I imagine your beautiful country! I'm thinking of making a trip around the world wall hanging with the fabric I've collected from quilters all over the world.

Fabric from South Africa

2010-08-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

One of my co-workers spent 3 weeks in South Africa recently and brought me fabric from that country and I was so excited to get it! I'm not sure exactly what I'll make with it but it seems pretty coincidental that the cover of the Dutch magazine from Anita (see next post) has a safari style quilt on the cover lol.

My birthday present from Anita

2010-08-24T18:40:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Anita whom I've never met except through the internet remembered my birthday on July 30 and sent me a wonderful Dutch quilting magazine and some lovely fabrics. She is such a sweetheart!

The latest siggies

2010-08-24T18:38:00.000-05:00

Even though I got off the siggie list some weeks ago, I continue to receive beautiful siggies from lovely ladies who probably haven't requested an updated siggie list lol. Soooooo of course I sent them all one of my siggies too. Here are the latest.

Isaiah's sports quilt

2010-07-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

I finished quilting a colorful sports themed twin sized quilt for my 5 year old nephew Isaiah yesterday. I made his 3 year old sister Isabelle a cupcake quilt last year but didn't mail it to her because I didn't have his ready so now I can finally mail their quilts to California. It feels good to complete another project!

Cozy Toes

2010-07-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

I found a pattern for these house shoes recently and thought they were pretty cute and I've been wanting to make something with rag edges. So I made these yesterday (don't you love quick projects). They're made of flannel and I think they'll be nice and warm this winter.

Quilts for my son and daughter

2010-07-03T12:08:00.002-05:00

I realized that I posted pictures of the log cabin quilt I made for my son and the Americana star sampler I made for my daughter on a quilter's forum but never posted them on my blog so here's the pictures. I finished both of these along with pillow shams several months ago.

This weeks siggie's

2010-07-03T12:05:00.002-05:00

I received some very pretty siggie blocks this week.

All caught up

2010-06-27T13:50:00.000-05:00

I received these beautiful siggies this week and mailed my siggies out today.

Another group of Siggies

2010-06-23T08:36:00.001-05:00

Going to the mailbox each day has been a little like having a birthday over and over because for the past few weeks I've been lucky to find siggies from around the world in the mail.

Some completed projects

2010-06-22T20:41:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to make a tote but thought I wasn't smart enough to figure out the instructions but I did it finally and now I want to make every tote pattern I see! I also made a little runner that I can put on a shelf or even hang on the wall.

More Siggies!

2010-06-22T20:38:00.000-05:00

Work has been so busy lately and my grandson Roman was here visiting for 3 weeks so I haven't had a lot of free time sooooo I've been remiss and haven't posted pics of all the new siggies I've received. I've gotten many new siggies from all over the world and have enjoyed swapping with quilters in other countries as well as the USA

First Siggies Received

2010-05-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

I joined a signature quilt block swap and this is the first group of siggies that I've received. What fun to find these in the mail!

Current project

2010-03-11T06:30:00.005-06:00

Like most quilters, I've spend more time making things for other people than for myself so after finishing quilts for my daughter and son, I'm going to take a little time to work on some projects for myself (is that selfish?). I'm currently working on a small wall hanging for my living room. I have the paper pieced center finished and have applied the applique pieces to the two borders which will go on the top and bottom. This weekend I will satin stitch around the appliques and hopefully finish putting it together.

Winter Mini Quilt from my swap partner

2010-03-11T06:24:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I was surprised to see the FedEx driver stop at my house and he brought me a wonderful gift from my swap partner Vanessa in Brasil. The embroidery is just exquisite and I love the little log cabin blocks! It is so winter-y in the beautiful blues and whites and I just love it! I feel so fortunate to have gotten such gorgeous mini quilts from some very talented quilters around the world.

Fall Mini Quilt from my swap partner

2010-03-11T06:16:00.005-06:00

I received this beautiful wall hanging from my quilt friend Gabi who lives in Germany. She did a wonderful job putting this together with soft (flannel and brushed cotton I think) fabrics in lovely fall colors. It has little glass or ceramic buttons of acorns, leaves and cornstalks and it is just gorgeous!

Peppermint Pines Mini Quilt for Winter Swap

2010-02-14T13:58:00.003-06:00

I finished my little quiltie for the Winter Swap and tomorrow it will be on it's way 'down under'.

Pumpkin Patch Candle Mat

2010-01-01T20:56:00.002-06:00

Finally finished! I made this candle mat for the Fall Mini Quilt swap at Quilting Gallery. It's the first time I made bias binding and the first time I did a scalloped border, hope my swap partner likes it. I found the pattern at http://www.freepatterns.com. You have to sign up for an account on their site (it's free), they have a lot of free patterns.

Christmas Memories Wall Hanging

2009-11-19T18:34:00.004-06:00

This was a block of the month called Christmas Memories and each block is needle turned applique. I did the quilting myself and I think I'm finally getting the hang of this lol.

Cake Stand Wall Hanging

2009-11-19T18:30:00.002-06:00

I finished my paper pieced wall hanging a month or so ago and gave it to my friend (and boss) Jeanne who is also a quilter.

Swap with Gabi

2009-10-29T19:30:00.001-05:00

I met a very nice lady from Germany who has a quilt shop there and she sent me some lovely German fabric and a magazine along with a cute pattern for a bag.

Swap with Megumi

2009-10-29T19:26:00.005-05:00

Megumi is from Japan and she sent me these beautiful fabrics and a Japanese quilt magazine. She also sent a Sashiko kit which is Japanese embroidery with the needle and thread. I can't wait to make it!

Swap with Synnove

2009-10-26T12:39:00.006-05:00

I met Synnove from Norway through the Friendship Bag swap at Quiltinggallery.com. Although we weren't swap partners, I admired the bags she made and asked if she would like to swap with me and she agreed. The bag she made for me is so gorgeous! We also swapped fabric and a quilt magazine and she made a very pretty embroidered Christmas ornament as a special gift. She has amazing sewing skills!

Swap with Anita

2009-10-26T12:19:00.008-05:00

I met Anita who lives in The Netherlands several months ago and we have swapped fabric several times. She is a very talented quilter who makes beautiful quilts. She is a very sweet lady and we email each other regularly. I feel like I've known her for a much longer time!

Thoughts of Autumn

2009-10-16T09:40:00.003-05:00

Autumn has arrived in the Ozarks and the trees are beautiful with their fall colors. It's been a busy few weeks at work and I haven't done as much quilting as I wanted but this weekend I plan to spend a lot of time in my sewing room and get some projects finished.

I've been looking through patterns and fabric getting ideas for the Fall themed mini swap and I'm so excited to get started on the project. I love the fall colors and pumpkins but I don't celebrate Halloween so I will probably do a more traditional quilt unless my swap partner has other ideas.

I'm met some great ladies through the Quilting Gallery and am glad that I found the site. I've swapped fabric and quilt magazines with some wonderful new friends in other countries and have enjoyed see the beautiful fabrics made in other lands. I can't wait to get started making things with those fabrics!

My lovely daughter and precious grandson are coming for Thanksgiving and I will be so glad to see them. My son Dane was here for two weeks in Sept. and I loved visiting with him. He's in the military so I don't get to see him very often but hopefully next summer I'll be able to visit him in Tucson. I'm sure I'll have to shop hop while I'm there, surely they have quilt shops lol.

My Pride and Joy

2009-08-13T13:24:00.004-05:00

Here is a picture of my daughter Dominique and my grandson Roman.

Publish Post

This is my son Dane who is in the Air Force. He was in Afghanistan on Mother's Day 2007 and he created and emailed me this Mother's Day Card.

Saturday Sampler Block

2009-08-08T17:03:00.001-05:00

One of the local quilt shops is sponsoring a Saturday Sampler quilt that began in July. It's made with retro fabrics which I love. Here is July's block.

Mini Quilt Finished!

2009-08-08T14:37:00.002-05:00

I finished my mini quilt for the Good Ole Summertime Quilt swap. I'm going to wait until next Saturday to mail it because I want to take it to show and tell at my fav quilt shop next Friday night.

Other Quilts I made

2009-07-04T09:32:00.005-05:00

I made this Cupcake quilt top for my niece Isabella. I haven't decided whether to tie it or try my hand at meandering (I'm still learning).

My 3rd quilt and the beginning of the Material Girl syndrome

2009-07-04T07:21:00.009-05:00

I didn't know many people when I moved here 3 years ago and it took a while to meet people since I worked from my home. Last year I went to a a local quilt shop, The Cottage Quilt Shop, and everyone was so friendly and helpful that I felt right at home. I immediately signed up for a needle turned applique class and started going to the 'Sew Social' on Friday evenings where a bunch of us bring our machines and projects to the shop and work and socialize. I admit I do a lot more socializing than sewing but that's part of the fun and I've met a lot of great ladies who are very talented.

In true quilter fashion I have become addicted to fabric (that's where the Material Girl comes in) and am happy to report that my stash is getting bigger each week.

The shop sponsors a Buck-a-Block and I signed up for that too. I finished this Buck-a-Block quilt top a few months ago but it's not quilted yet. I'm learning to quilt with my sewing machine and plan to quilt this myself as soon as I get better at Meandering lol.

My Red Hat Quilt

2009-07-04T07:18:00.006-05:00

I made my 2nd quilt in 2004. I found an easy pattern called 9 Holes in the Darn Barn Door and made it with red hat fabrics. I hadn't caught the quilting bug yet but was flirting with it.

My 1st Quilt - Drunkards Path

2009-07-04T07:15:00.007-05:00

I made my first quilt from a kit I bought many years ago. All the pieces were precut and all I had to do was sew them together. Unfortunately it was the Drunkard's Path pattern so all the pieces were curved lol. I ended up piecing it by hand because I was sure I'd never be able to sew it on the machine. I didn't set it in the traditional way and I'm not sure if the way I set it together even has a name. I made this in 1993 and had it quilted on a quilting machine.

Garden 2009

2009-07-04T06:42:00.008-05:00

Some people like to rearrange furniture but I like to rearrange my garden!

Garden 2007

2009-07-04T06:33:00.003-05:00

We've lived in our present home for 3 years and we landscaped the front of the house 2 years ago.