The Super Secret Challenge Quilt

I can finally unveil the super secret challenge quilt. This challenge was put together by an incredibly talented quilter named Barbara in our guild. She comes up with our annual challenge every year. Last year was "Ode to String" and my String quilt in reproduction fabrics with a "touch of orange" came out of that challenge. I posted a picture of that quilt in June.

This challenge was called "A Painter's Palette" and was offered to 8 members of the guild with no idea what the challenge was other than it was a wall hanging and it would be due in December. Each person who took the challenge was given an envelope and in it was a picture of one of Monet's impressionist paintings.



The challenge was NOT to reproduce the painting in fabric but to capture the essence of the painting in your quilt. Any color used in the quilt had to be found in the painting. The difficult part for me was once I saw the painting, I had a hard time coming up with an idea. The challenge was given out in June and come October, the flames were at my fanny to get started. I found a super pattern called "Frames" by Maple Island Quilts. Since this was to be my "masterpiece", I thought it was perfect.

I used the Stitch and Flip technique to make the flowers. I made about 15 different flowers and then spent about 2 weeks auditioning the flowers on the quilt. I'd add some, step back, subtract some, move them around. Too much yellow, not enough red. I almost drove myself to madness!!! All the fabric, other than the flower frame, was hand dyed by me at a workshop our guild held a couple of summers ago. My original idea was to bead the flowers but when I went to the drawer with all the beads. I found this embellishment kit I had bought at a show and the boa yarn was in it. I put the yarn along the edge of the flowers and the beading idea went right out the window.

I really loved this challenge because I had to come out of my comfort zone. It was also nice to be working on something really bright and springy at Christmas. It was a nice break from the holiday hustle bustle.

O Christmas Tree, Part Two

As you know, the Grinch stopped by our house the other night and tipped over our Christmas tree. My DH and I spent over an hour trying to get the tree to stand upright. ( this tree had spine problems!!) We decided to donate the tree to our birds who are now using it as a Christmas clubhouse.

Here is the replacement! This is my DH, Bob! Or as he is known in these parts, Mr. Christmas!!

This tree came prelit with 1000 lights. We added an additional 400 for good measure. It was pretty easy to set up and is 9 1/2 feet tall. We will finish decorating this one and the decorating will be done.

Now, on to present wrapping, Christmas card writing, cookie baking, more shopping, and of course, quilting and knitting!!!

The Grinch Was at My House Last Night

As many of you gals know, my DH and I have been working diligently to get all our Christmas decorating done. We were working on the last tree, which is a real tree and about 10 feet tall. Well, last night as we slept, the Grinch stopped by our house and KNOCKED OVER our beautiful Christmas tree. It is now lying in my den with broken ornaments all around. We didn't have time this morning to try and set it upright again so it will remain on the floor til we get home from work tonight to try and set it upright. BAH HUMBUG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made the switch to BETA

After trying to post to Beta blogs and being denied, I made the switch. Seems to be ok. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Since I switched, I thought I'd try to load a pic and see how it works. seww, here's another Christmas tree!

This little feather tree is in our bathroom. I bought all the little ornaments at a gift shop which went out of business. Again, boo! hoo! I hate when little novelty shops aren't able to make it! You never find things like this at Walmart!

And my little Irish snowman was a gift from my DH last year! I actually have two of them. They are so cute.

O CHRISTMAS TREE, O CHRISTMAS TREE

As promised, here are pictures of some of the smaller Christmas trees we have decorated throughout our house. This first tree is set up in my sewing room. All the ornaments are sewing or quilt related. The garland is made up of little spools wrapped in red plaid. You might recognize my little mascot on the tree, Ms. Quilt Til you Wilt. I also have a series of Hallmark ornaments on the tree and each ornament has a thimble. You can see Thimble Santa and the Thimble Mouse. I really love the sewing machine ornament. It reminds me of the Singer treadle machine I learned to sew on.

This second tree is in our bedroom. It's a new addition this year. We bought the tree from a store which was going out of business. It was used as a display. It's perfect for showing off all of our Margaret Furlong ornaments. I'm not sure what they are made from but each ornament resembles a shell angel and each year the angel was holding something different. This one is holding a floral garland. They stopped making these ornaments about 3 years ago. We were really sad!! :( Of course, we have Santa counting down the days until Christmas and our trio of snowpeople.



Last night, my DH began putting ornaments on our real tree. We cut it down on Saturday. We forgot to bring the tape measure so we just "eyeballed" it for size. Of course, when we got it home, it was too tall. (We should have known when the tree was longer than the car!) But a little off the top and bottom and we made it fit. It's about 10 1/2 feet tall. There is barely enough room for the angel!! We spent Sunday putting on 1200 lights and the garland. We will finish the ornaments tonight and I will post pics of the three full size trees tomorrow.

Well, I have a couple more but Blogger says NO! So I will try to post them later.

Breaking News!!! Mystery Quilt is DONE!!

DONE!! FINIS!! COMPLETE!!

As many of you may remember, this was a UFO that was started 4 years ago and became the infamous Mystery Quilt from Hell. I would pull it out, try to remember where I left off, do a little more and shove it in the closet again. I worked on this consistently this fall as a PIG for my guild's PIG roast but didn't finish it in time. WELL, it is done with label! I was going to give it to my SIL but DH really likes it so it will live at our house after all. Sure feels good to have this monkey off my back.

And I have been doing other things!! This is a little knitted skirt for my fairy goddaughter, Bridie, for Christmas. A skein of Chenille yarn and some fun fur at the bottom! She is going to love it. Made her a scarf to match!

And Finally, these are the wool christmas ornaments that I cut and brought to work on in Houston. Now complete and ready for my tree. I had the idea of making a bunch of them as gifts but didn't like working with the tiny pieces. They are cute and will be a nice addition to my tree.

The last picture is a close up of the snowman.

I am still working on my super secret guild challenge quilt. It is now in the quilting stage and will be ready for the presentation on Tuesday for our guild's Christmas party. I will post a picture on Wednesday.

I have been visiting everyone and loving the pictures of your Christmas projects and decorations. You gals are sewwwww inspiring!! Our house is just about done. We are decorating the tree in our living room today and cutting the tree for our den to be decorated tomorrow. We will have a total of EIGHT trees in our house when we are done ranging in size from a foot to 8 1/2 feet!! It takes about 2 weeks to get all the decorating done and we leave most of it up til 3 Kings Day in January. I want to be able to say it's for the kids, but we only have one, who is 20, and there are no grandkids yet. It's really for my DH. He has an EXTREME love of all things Christmas. (Please don't tell all the guys in the office !) He is really a kid at heart which is what I love about him. I'll post a couple of pictures of our trees next week.

Til then, quilt til you wilt and from DH, HO! HO! HO! 

I Park my Car in Harvard Yard! Boston all the way

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.
The West
The Midland
North Central
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The Inland North
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

I was raised in Massachusetts and worked in Boston. But some things never change. A Boston accent is one of them.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Things are still crazy at work but I wanted to take a minute to wish my quilting gals and their families a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving. If any of you are traveling this weekend, please be extra careful! There are a lot of TURKEYS out there and I'm not talking about the gobblers we will be eating on Thursday! LOL

All of you have added another dimension to my quilting life with your enthusiasm, expertise, and genuine love for this wonderful handcraft and for that I am thankful!! I also treasure the sharing of our lives, the simple things that happen every day, the ups and downs, the joys and tears. We were brought together by our love for fabric and quilting and have become friends spread out all over this big world. It's pretty amazing!!

On my quilting front, I broke ground on a new quilt which is a challenge quilt with my guild due in December. I have the top done but for the borders and some embellishments. I will be working diligently on it this weekend. It is definitely a design which is outside of the box for me. Once we present them on December 12, I will post pictures. I can't do it sooner since some of the guild members read my blog and it's a super secret challenge. The infamous "Mystery Quilt from Hell" is quilted and just needs be bound. I'll be glad to get that one done!! With the cold weather hitting us this week, I have picked up the knitting needles and started some scarves for quick Christmas gifts.

Lastly, I am headed to my 30th high school class reunion this Saturday. I am meeting with a good HS friend I haven't seen in 10 years though we have been emailing and Christmas carding each other for quite some time. She is coming from Seattle. Reunions are always interesting. I went to the 5th, 10th and 20th reunions and had a great time. I know lots of people don't like reunions but I really enjoyed high school and had a great group of friends. It's always nice to reconnect.

For the Nature Lovers

I really love pictorial quilts. It justs amazes me how quilters can take bits and pieces of fabric and make it actually look like a painting. I took several pictures of these types of quilts. I confess that I have a photo of my son, when he was three, that I always thought would make a great pictorial quilt. But I must also confess that I am a little nervous about delving into this venue of quilting. I have done one small quilt and enjoyed the process. It gave me a sense of freedom since there was no pattern, no right or wrong way to do it. But at times it was frustrating, trying to figure out HOW to do one thing or another. At any rate, these quilts are just phenomenal examples of what can be done with some fabric, paint, photos and embellishments.

This first quilt is called "Hope" and was made by Darcia Berg of Joliet, Illinois. All around the inner border is written in script a verse by Oliver Wendell Holmes ( if I remember correctly). It took my breath away!

This next quilt was made by Emily Pousa( I may have her name spelled wrong as I was writing quickly) of St. Charles, Illinois. It is called "Tulip Queen of Night". This quilt was probably queen size and the location where it was placed as you came around the corner, it hit you right in the eye.

The quilt above is called "Whose woods are these?" by Jane Kennedy. I wonder if she was thinking about Robert Frost's poem when she made this. It is really lovely, calming. The moon was appliqued and the rays coming off it were fibers.

This last quilt is called "They Popped Again" made by Louise Schotz of Irma, WI. I just love the ferns interwoven with the Poppies.

Well, hope everyone enjoyed the tour!! If you ever get a chance to go to Houston, do it. The pictures really don't do these quilts justice. The workmanship is exquisite.

I won't be posting to my blog as often. Work is consuming me ( we have a BIGGG trial coming up and I'm buried) and the holiday season is upon us. What little time I have will be used for shopping and hopefully QUILTING. I hope to post every couple of weeks with my own personal quilting progress and pictures instead of everyone else's. LOL . Until the next posting, QUILT TIL YOU WILT, LADIES~

For the Piecemakers

Amy at The Calico Cat graciously put a link for the IQA Houston Quilt Show winners on her blog so I am going to post the photos that I took which caught my eye and, although they may not have received a ribbon, are still winners!!



This quilt is circular and is appropriately called "Circle the Wagons" by Kathy Lichtendahl from Clark, Wyoming. How clever is she!! First to make a circular quilt(lots of bias and a binding nightmare) and using the wagon wheel theme, I thought it was great. I am including a closeup of one of the pie shapes. I absolutely loved this one!





This quilt was made by Emiko Toda Loeb of New York and is called "Rose Dance". Don't know where the name comes in but this quilt is spectacular. It is double sided! Imagine not only piecing the front of the quilt but completely piecing the back!




Well, it seems that Blogger has decided I have reached my "loading limit" so I'll give you an update on my quilting status. I know that it is the beginning of November and people are reviewing their October progress (mine- not much!) and posting goals for November. But I am not posting goals or even discussing what I think or hope to accomplish this month. Life is just too crazy lately so if any quilting gets done THAT WILL BE A GOAL!! LOL

This weekend my guild had a quilting workshop. We could do the chosen project or "do our own thing" which is what I did. I bought a quilt kit in Jacksonville, FL in September two years ago with the idea that it would be completed for my DH that December. It is a McKenna Ryan block from one of her BOMs. It's a wreath with two chickadees sitting under a black top hat. Super cute!! Sewww, after searching in my stash closet for 45 minutes. I found the kit! This has actually been on my list of "to dos'" on my blog. It is fusible applique ( in my opinion the only way to applique or at least, the only way I'll ever applique!! *g*) . I got the center block done and fused and now need to add the borders. So this will be done for Christmas. I am also still plodding along on the quilting of my "beloved" Mystery quilt. I have five more blocks to quilt and then I can add the binding. I am also working on the wool Christmas ornaments that I prepped and took to Houston. They are coming along!!

Tomorrow, I hope to show you my goodies from Houston. I took pics yesterday. They have been sitting in a pile on my cutting table since I returned. I didn't want to put them away before I took the pics as they would get swallowed in the stash closet and I may never see them again!!

This little Piggy is back from Quilt Market

I am back from Houston and all I can say is WoWWWw!! It was exhausting, exciting, inspiring and lots of fun!!! I want all of you to know that you went with me in spirit. As I was looking at all of the fantastic quilts with workmanship which was unbelieveably perfect, I was taking pictures with all of you in mind -the piecers, the kitty lovers, the nature lovers, the appliquers, the traditional and the mavericks. I will be posting pictures as Blogger allows and hope that I captured something that will inspire everyone.

Here is a picture of the four of us - I'm on the left! We spent all of Friday at Schoolhouse which was 15 minute and 30 minute demos or presentations (15 different sessions) on everything from A-Z in the quilting industry. I attended presentations by fabric designers, Jean Wells on her new book, many different pattern designers, Barbara Brackman on her feelings regarding the Underground Railroad and the use of quilts, etc., etc.

Friday nite was "Sample Spree". This is definitely NOT for the fainthearted!! I picked up some FQs and a jelly roll of strips at Moda's table. A preview of their spring line! I also bought some great stitchery patterns and beads as well as FQ bundles.

I'll fill you in on more of our adventures and my purchases later but now for some quilts!!!! I was humbled and inspired by the imagination, artistic talent and workmanship of the quilters presenting this year.

I'm going to start with a quilt that will please the piecers and kitty lovers as well. This quilt is called "Kitty Corner" made by Janet Fogg.


This quilt was approximately queen size. The black diamonds were all quilted with feathers.

This is a closeup of Kitty! I think any dog in her vicinity would run!!!

The next quilt is one of two quilts made by Michiko Takauwa of Japan. IQA had a special exhibit of her quilts that took your breath away. This one I took for Libby who is working so diligently on her hexagons. It is called "Eternal Flower Basket" and is made up of 163,128 HEXAGONS. The first picture is of the entire quilt which was approximately queen sizeand the second picture is a closeup of some of the hexagons that made up the flowers in the basket. Each petal of each flower contained hexagons that made up a basket of flowers. I can't imagine how long it took this unbelievably talented quilter to put this quilt together. I have picture of another of her amazing quilts which I will share but Blogger has been extremely SLOW in loading pics so I will save it for another day.

Well, hope these have whet your appetite. I will try to load a few more over the next few days. Now back to reality, laundry beckons!!