That's What Friends Are For

My friends and neighbors are in estate sales. I know that their job is lots of hard work and dust and grease and tears (parting with worldly possessions can be heart breaking. Or the classic "will Momma know I loved her if I get rid of these three chipped water goblets that I'm sure she and Daddy got for a wedding present in 1937?"). They are able to sort, clean, deal with the clients and shoppers, and make money for their clients and themselves. This week they let me come visit them early and see what they had to sale.

Mr. J&C and I went over Tuesday morning and 'found' a breakfast room table, it's perfect and it was the right price. So, naturally, I asked if I could come back again with a friend of mine, known for her clever decorating, quilting, and the ability to spot treasures almost anywhere - the Colorado Lady.

Many thanks to whoever made these wonderful items.

 

Suzanne came away with all kinds of things (check out her Thursday post Vintage Thingy Thursday).  I got a quilt and a few baskets... a couple of embroidered table runners... and a child's apron... did I mention my quilt?

My new picnic quilt.

Thing is, I would have had fun even if I had not found this lovely blue quilt all because a friend was with me. I hope you have people in your life who help you through the tough times, cry with you, laugh with you, eat & drink with you, and, of course, shop with you.  That's what friends are for...


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Quilting with Joy

I took on a unique quilting project last year when I won a contest on  Barbara's blog, Cat Patches.   The moment that I entered the contest I had the thought "if I win I'll share the prize with the blogger that told me about the contest."  So when I won a stack of fabric, I contacted Denise at Count It All Joy and told her she had also won.  I sent her half the fabric and she picked out a pattern for us to use.  I had plans for this little project to be finished by March 2012 so that I would have a 'ready made' post for you.

Life got busy, almost to the point of overwhelming, and my sewing machine made two unexpected trips to the repair shop.  I made it through all this and I am proud to announce that I have (at last) finished my block.  That's right, we were making just a simple block...  Here's the pattern by Adrianne at Little Bluebell with its own little story.  The original was a little pillow.  What did Denise make?  Here it is (along with her adventure in making this little gem). 

What did Joy do?  I promise I started off thinking 'little pillow' - something to give a friend who likes to read in bed so she could prop up her book.  But as I played with the fabric something else came to mind, as you can see in this post from July.  If I bought just a couple of yards of fabric I could make a blanket.  Off I went in search of more of the MODA 'little apples' fabric.  (This was the year I learned that fabric lines can come and go quickly.)  All I could find was a few fat quarters of the printed white, a few more of the gray fabrics, and less than three yards of the green. 

This "Mommie Blanket" is for Allison, a new friend of mine.  She recently had her second baby - two under three.  I figure if anyone could use a blankie it would be this sweet (and brave!) young woman.



My 'little pillow.'

Here is it, almost the end of the year, and I have finally finished this little quilt. Many thanks to Denise, Barbara, and Adrianne. 

Cute Fabric - Love the Squirrels!

I learned a few more things working on this little project. Like "share your joy" and "there's no job that can't be put off" and, my favorite, "be nice to strangers - that's how we make friends."

Happy New Year !

             Joy

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I Quilt

I'm quilting today. 

Not much time to blog,

hope all of you are happy and healthy.

Pattern, fabric, and thread... what now?

Using colors I don't usually work with...

Block size gave me an idea.

This size makes it easy to add more blocks.

Back to work, I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Besides quilting today, I have to wash my red t-shirt -

tomorrow is the 4th of July -

Happy Birthday, USA!

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Time to Quilt

I'm quilting again. 

I've put it on my calendar - a day here and there, sometimes two or three hours blocked off, just to be creative.  I plan to make all of this year's Christmas gifts.  Plus, I've got a few friends having babies or grand babies, I want to give them something special, and baby quilts are my favorite thing to make.  I'm also trying to use fabric I have on hand mixed in with some new designs and colors.

One of this month's projects is an easy baby quilt.  I'm looking for ways to make them quick and easy, to make them ahead of time so I'm ready with a gift.  Yes, I'm trying to get away from taking forever to make a baby quilt. 

To speed up my quilt making I'm using bigger blocks.

I'm making this one with six inch blocks.  Last summer I found some fabric I liked and bought fat quarters for the entire collection.  Then bought a couple of yards of the fabric I wanted to use as the backing and binding.  Sketched out a plan.  Washed and ironed all the fabric.  Cut out my six inch blocks.

First look at my project...

I noticed that one fabric was just not right for this quilt.  No matter how much planning I do there always seems to be a change or two needed when I see everything together for the first time.

This is for a baby - I want it to be bright and cheerful.

I checked through my stash of goldy yellows and found one that would work (o.k., there was more than one, but this is what I chose).

All better.

I think this is a much happier piece of fabric.

One more thing - if you want this striped fabric let me know I'll be glad to send it to you.  One of my resolutions is to not hold on to stuff "just in case."

Anyone out there need a bumblebee yellow and black?

Now I've got to dash - I'm quilting today.




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Lost in Quilting

I seriously like to quilt.  Is there anything better than creating something?  I was reading blogs a week or so back and came across Occupy Your Quilt Room.  Sounded like a great idea.  Take a day and do nothing but quilt then blog about it.  Added bonus:  Link in to Cat Patches  and you have a chance to win prizes any quilter would enjoy receiving.

I chose Wednesday, December 7th.  Husband out of town, all quiet at home.  So I worked - ironing, cutting, sewing, ironing...   BONUS!  I had my favorite old movies playing in the background.  I had a sandwich for lunch, don't remember what time that was (isn't it great when what you're doing has your complete attention?).  Around 8:30 p.m. I got hungry again and wandered into the kitchen.  I started planning my post to describe all the gifts I was making (yes, both of them) and then it dawned on me.

Extreme close up so no one will know what it is.

I can't post pictures because my friends will see what they are getting.  Maybe I'll just do a little something and show bits and pieces.  I went back to the dining room table (my quilt room these days) and realized I was still hungry. 

I walked back into the kitchen glanced at my calendar and noticed "MAKE, BAKE & CREATE @ SHERRI'S 6:30."   I had just missed out on one of my favorite parties of the year.  A gathering of friends to celebrate the season, catch up on each others' lives and have fun.  We even raise money for charity by auctioning off items we've made, baked, created or bought.  This group of friends is special, we've done it for years, it's probably our silliest night of the year and I missed it.

2012 will be my year to get more organized.  Or maybe it's the year I'll put everything on the calendar in my phone and just have it chiming away to remind me when to get up, when to go to bed and what I should be doing in between those activities.


Thanks to Barbara at Cat Patches - for encouraging and inspiring me to make more time to quilt.


And to my friends at OLC Circle - I love you all.  Sorry about missing the party, I hope to see you in May. 


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A Cowboy and His Blankie

I believe we are made in God's image and inside each of us is the desire to create. 

A Cowboy and His Blankie, it's a beautiful thing...

As you can see, my baby quilt is really a Toddler Quilt. They usually turn out that way because I am a slow quilter and I like to match the quilt fabric to the baby's family.  The parents and, sometimes grandparents, are my inspiration. I just go with my happy memories, plan, sort through fabric I already have, buy fabric that I want, and (eventually) create a quilt.  

X marks the spot.

For this quilt my inspiration came from a Dad in the Air Force and a Mom who loves her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. So airplanes and cowboys were my theme. There are a few cowgirls on this quilt, lots of horses and stars, and I even threw in some yellow fabric with flowers on it to remind Mom & Dad of their last vacation in Hawaii a few months before baby arrived.

Cowboys and Airplanes

I also believe God is generous and that we will only be happy when we are generous. Giving a quilt takes time, imagination, money, the willingness to work, the desire to complete a project -- when we create and then turn around and give away our creation we are really giving ourselves. Whether our creation is a meal, a garden, a home or a wonderful story we share with friends, you and I give a bit of ourselves and we are better for it. 

With my giving of this quilt I got hugs and thanks and a chance to see the cute smile of an 18 month old who had no clue what was going on. He did seem a bit fascinated that someone had left a blanket on the ground.   He did notice a cowboy - he called it a dog.

I'm still learning to machine quilt, it's much faster than the hand quilting I love, but for a quilt that will be washed often I think machine quilting is the way to go. 

It feels wonderful to finish a project.  Now, what's next on my list?