Cottage Garden Quilts

Blue and White

2012-01-17T20:21:00.000-08:00

Have I ever told you my all time favorite color? Well, it's blue. I've always imagined having one of those "decorator magazine" bedrooms, with 3 or 4 blue and white quilts on the bed. Blue was Dad's favorite color too, and when he moved in with us we painted his bedroom blue. Wanted to make him feel like he was home. Well, Dad's been gone for awhile, and I'm thinking that the room is "too blue," if you know what I mean. I'm thinking that I'm going to paint the room white, and have blue accents. This way, when I get to changing my mind, as I'm prone to do, I can add some other colors. This year I've decided that I'm making a blue and white quilt for ME! I've got lots of blues in my stash, way more than are in the pic, (see below), and it's going to happen! I figure if I do a few of these units a week, by the end of the year I can make this happen.

I like using triangle papers. I have a CD called "Triangulations", and I can print out lots of different size templates for half square triangles. That's my fav way to make them. No trimming once they are cut. Accurate beyond a doubt. Yes, I have to tear away the paper, but I can do that while I'm waiting for blogger to upload my photos! :)

He's at it again!

2012-01-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to lose count of how many quilts this guy has made. This one is for his little cousin, Makayla. After finding out from her mom that her favorite color is purple, (imagine that!!), Dan was off to the fabric store. He came home with way more fabric than he needed, (a true quilter), and realized that they all didn't look so good together. He hit my stash, (I really need to find a new hiding spot!), and was able to fill in with what I had.

I like the way the teal pops....

..........and who doesn't love a striped binding on the bias!

Great job Dan!
<3

Butterflies in January

2012-01-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

Working on some butterflies and freehand quilting.

I've been in a "blue" mood lately.....and that's a good thing!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T19:26:00.001-08:00

A brand-new year... to live; to believe; to give; to receive; to fall in love; to share a smile; to walk an inch; to run a mile; to dive into sunsets; to forgive; to forget; to love where you’re going; to embrace where you’ve been; to take a deep breath, close your eyes... and begin. May the new year be filled with love, adventure, and dreams come true.

A friend of mine shared this today, I couldn't help but pass it along.

Happy Autumn!!!

2011-09-29T19:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I wasn't here to wish you all a happy first day of autumn, but I thought about you! Autumn, with it's beautiful colors and crisp air is my favorite season.

If only we could have it all year! Is there even such a place?

My first day of autumn was spent in 90+ degree weather. As you can tell by the pic below, we spent the last few days in Orlando. The first couple days was business, and then we hit three of the four Disney parks, not to mention Downtown Disney, three times! Magic Kingdom was already decorated for the season. Absolutely beautiful! To look at it made it feel like fall. The pic above is one of the arrangements they had hanging from the light poles. I wanted to bring one home!This quilt was made by a few of the women from North Coast Needlers Quilt Guild. When I saw the pattern, I just knew how I wanted to quilt it. I thought the leaves might be a little tricky, but I just stitched in veins, and they almost look real. I did a small swirl pattern in the background to give it some movement, and a leaf pattern in the outside border. You can buy a ticket for a chance to win it at the Reflections of Nature Quilt Show at the Rocky River Nature Center in November.

Another one from Barbara

2011-09-20T19:42:00.001-07:00

Barbara has been keeping me busy for quite a while now. This one was a fun quilt to work on. Still not sure how anyone is going to be able to sleep under it! It is bright and beautiful!

Here's a photo of the back, and it's just as great as the front. One lucky person is going to have an awesome quilt!!

Pike's Quilt

2011-09-19T06:28:00.000-07:00

This quilt belongs to a little guy named Pike. He and his grandma made it. He did not want her to cut the center panel, so she had to put the frame around it to make it fit with the patchwork. He also requested that she "send it out to the quilter". Gotta love this kid!!

June's Little Village

2011-09-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

June is a wonderful quiltmaker. She is at home working on traditional quilts as well as art quilts. When she gave me this one to quilt I was a little apprehensive. I thought to myself, oh my! What am I going to do here? (Even though I've been quilting professionally for 12 years, I still get a little nervous sometimes ;)!) After getting over the intimidation of June's amazing work, I got to it, and didn't stop until it was finished. Actually, it was rather simple, just time consuming. I did a lot of SID, a little bit of background work, and just let the quilt tell me what I should do. I took it off the machine, and hung it up to take a picture. When I looked at it from across the room it was hard to tell it wasn't a photograph. On delivery day, she received a lot of ohh's and ahh's at the shop.

Good work June!!

Graduation Day

2011-06-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

This was a good day!

Maria Elkins Workshop

2011-03-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

Maria Elkins came to our guild this week and gave a great lecture on the quilts she has done. Check out her website, I think you'll be inspired. She gave a workshop today called "Making Faces" We sent her a photo and she manipulated it in Photoshop Elements and gave us three copies. It was done in a grayscale with four layers. We were to pick four monochromatic fabrics with a high contrast. At first I thought I'd like to do some grays to blacks. Solid fabrics, you know, safe picks. I did bring them just in case.

I ended up going with blue. When the workshop started I thought to myself, what did I get myself into. I thought we were going to have to cut out tons of little pieces. It wasn't that way at all. We worked in layers. It went well. It isn't as hard as it looks.

We were all amazed at how our photos turned out. If you'd like to try this, visit Maria's site, and check out her DVD. She has also been published in "Quilting Arts" magazine.

One kid down, and four to go. Juice says she wants purple for hers!

Old Man Winter

2010-12-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Winter is still officially a week away, but it has decided to visit us early. We were hit with a lake effect snow last week that left us 10" of snow, and yesterday it started up again. Rain, ice, and snow last night, and now the county has declared a level two snow emergency this morning. I'm so glad I don't have anywhere to go. The lake effect machine has started again, and we're supposed to get upwards of a foot. The snow belt will get double that! Gotta love Lake Erie!

If you need to find me, I'll be in the studio finishing up those Christmas quilts!!

He's at it again....

2010-12-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

The big guy is at it again. It's a gift, so I really can't say much more. Tune in at a later date for the big finish! It's going to be beautiful!!

A New Baby on the Way!

2010-12-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

My oldest niece Jessica is having a baby!! The little bundle of joy is expected to hit the shores of Lake Erie some time in February. We are all excited for her.

At last count, this will be my mom's 7th great grandchild! Hopefully, I didn't forget anyone!

Here is a picture of the quilt that I made for her. It was an American Jane Pattern, and the fabric line was called "Punctuation", by Moda.The quilting pattern is moon and stars, which I have nicknamed, "Sweet Dreams". I've always told my children that if mom isn't near when you need her, take your quilt, and wrap it tightly around you. You will then have a hug from the momma.

So, just to make sure this new precious one has enough hugs, I've also crocheted an afghan for him. (Yes, we know it's a him. I'm bummed about that. There are so few surprises in this world, I think that the gender of a new baby should be left to find out for the special day!)

May the Lord bless you and keep you Jess, may His face shine upon you, and bring you peace!
I know the joy is on it's way!

.....and the cow jumped over the mewwwwnnnn!!!

2010-11-17T22:11:00.001-08:00

They say that life is but a vapor, and I'm really beginning to believe it. I've known Sierra since she was a newborn. Now she's all grown and having a baby of her own. What could be more perfect for a new born than a comfy log cabin quilt. I just love the simplicity of it. They have always been one of my favorites. There's a story behind the quilting pattern. When Sierra was a toddler, she loved to recite the nursery rhyme, "Hey Diddle Diddle". When she was about to finish, she would end it saying, "...and the cow jumped over the mewwwnnn!" The facial expressions were the best. She would crunch up her whole face all the while. Just precious. When I saw this pattern from One Song Needle Arts, I knew I had to use it. It's a cow jumping over the moon!

Sierra, my the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you, and your little one.

A Quilt from Bubba & Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-10-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Blogger's Quilt Festival. To celebrate the big show in Houston for those who can't attend, Amy has done a wonderful job of gathering together a vast number of blogger's to hold an online quilt show. Click on the link on my sidebar, and you will find all of the info there. There are lots of great prizes to be won too!! The quilt I'm featuring today was not pieced by me, but I quilted it. It was made my John's, (my DH), Bubba. She made a lot of the clothes that his dad, uncles, and aunt wore, as well as ulitarian quilts for the family. She died a little over 25 years ago, and John's aunt was holding two of these unfinished quilt tops. The quilts were made with home dec fabrics, and she even left some of the paper with fabric descriptions attached to the squares.
Since I am the only one that makes quilts in the family, John's aunt gave the two tops to me. I quilted this one up, and gave it to DH for our anniversay a few years ago. I have yet to quilt the second one. I chose a flannel for the back. I just love the softness, and warmth that flannel brings to a quilt.

Have a great time at the festival!! Thanks for your hard work Amy!!

Whooo Loves You

2010-10-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

This quilt pattern is called Remember Whooo Loves You, by Acorn Quilts. My customer Sue made it for her granddaughter. I've seen it done in quite a few colorways, and it sure is a fun quilt no matter which you use. If you look closely, under the owl, I quilted in the words, "Whooo loves you". Lots of freehand feathers and swirls. Hope the little guy doesn't fall out of the tree!!

Rainbows, Blocks and Babies

2010-10-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a couple of storms blow through here, more wind than rain, and definately not as bad as the good folks in Chicago. After it was all over, God saw fit to send us the most awesome rainbow I have ever seen. Thought I'd share it with you! The Bee Balm block exchange has started up again for another year. Elaine, from Texas, sent me some wonderful 5" charm squares. She wanted a disappearing four patch. Well now she has two!

Just wanted to share two of the cutest faces you'll ever see!! ;>)
Willie...

.....and Juice!

Coming Soon!!

2010-10-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about this new adventure. Stay tuned for details!

Grampy's Run

2010-10-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

It's almost a year ago that one of my dearest friends lost her man due to complications from diabetes. In honor of his life, their daughter Holly has put together a poker run on Saturday, October 23rd, and all proceeds will go to the American Diabetes Association. You can register at Killer Creek Harley Davidson,
and you can find all of the info on Grampy's Run facebook page.
The quilt below was made from Harley t-shirts to help with the fundraising efforts.

Liberated Quiltmaking Classes

2010-10-17T08:52:00.001-07:00

Join me on November 14th and 21st from Noon 'till four, at Anna's Sewing Center, 24357 Lorain Rd., North Olmsted, Ohio, where I will be teaching a class on Liberated Quiltmaking. This is a process oriented class, as opposed to a project oriented class. We will cover the ins and outs of free from piecing, soft curve piecing, and angeled cuts. Call 440-716-8884 to sign up.

Court House Steps or Log Cabin....You decide

2010-10-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

This was a beautiful quilt from Elaine. She sewed her amazing batiks in a courthouse steps fashion, but decided to frame each square in the block, rather than make it look like steps. When I quilted it, I used a pattern that had a feather on one side, and a leaf vine on the other. I placed the quilting patterns in such a way that it would look like a barn raising pattern. That is a pattern usually reserved for a log cabin quilt setting. It turned out wonderful!

Here's a close up of the quilting pattern on the block and border.

Six in Six

2010-07-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

My oldest son has graduated from college this year. He has also moved back home, (until he finds gainful employment, of course). Being the most organized one in the family, he has decided that my studio needs, to put it mildly, a bit of an updating. So, for the last couple of weeks, he has been coming down here with me, reorganizing, throwing away, putting away, and going through my projects. He told me one day that I shouldn't start anything else until I get all of the ones that I have started finished. I suggested a compromise. I told him I wouldn't start anything new until I finished a few. So, I have decided that I am going to finish six projects in six months. I was going to go for the 12 in 12, but that just seemed so far away.

The first set of blocks are pretty much finished. I won the patriotic hearts in a guild block of the month. I decided to put them all together using a twisted log cabin pattern. I actually won enough blocks to make two quilts. The first top is finished. That one just needs quilted.

The second project is almost finished, it is a take off on this pattern that I saw at a quilt is nice . I use hand dyed fabrics that I purchased from Liberty Homestead . They are most beautiful. I have decided that this one is going to be for me! That's the plan for now anyways!

The third set of blocks is part of a kit that hubby bought when we were in Alaska last year. We went on a cruise of the Northwest Passage, and there was a quilt shop in every port. Bonus!! I want to finish this one for a show that the metro parks hosts every year. The quilt has to have a nature theme to qualify, and this one is perfect.

The fourth picture is a set of blocks that I started for project improv quilt.

The fifth picture is the one block wonder quilt that I took the class for last year. I've got all the hexagons cut out, but need to add some cubed blocks.

Awhile back one of my customers gave me a quilt to finish for her with blocks that looked like these. Can't remember the name of the pattern. I really liked the quilt and thought what a perfect way to use up my scraps. I also used it for my bee balm block, just to make the finishing process go a little faster! Thanks gals!! ;>)

I figure that if I blogged this, it would make me accountable. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for visiting!

Linda

Sweet Sixteen & The Eagles

2010-07-08T13:14:00.001-07:00

Sixteen years ago today, the Eagles, (the greatest band in the world, JMHO), were scheduled to perform their "When Hell Freezes Over" concert in Cleveland. One of my girlfriends wanted me to go with her. It was my dream to see The Eagles in concert. I was pregnant with my fifth baby, and it was due on June 20th. I had a feeling it wasn't going to happen because all of my babies ended up being born well past their due dates. She begged me to go, thinking I would have already had this baby. I declined thinking that even if I did have the baby, I really wouldn't be in good enough condition to attend a concert at an outside stadium. Anyways, I thought there'd be another farewell tour sometime! :>)

It just so happened, that on that dark and stormy Friday night, the night of the concert, my little angel was born. I often tease her about making me miss the concert. She just smiles, and knows that I would have rather been no where else that evening.

Happy Birthday my little angel, I love you so.

Story Cloth & Willie Nelson

2010-07-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

I am taking an e-course by jude hill. She is the author of a blog named Spirit Cloth . She does most of her work by hand, and her works of art tell all kinds of stories. The name of the class that I am taking is called Story Cloth. We have learned how to create a base, and add components for stories of our own. So far, this is the base for my story. We learn by asking lots of questions. I was having a hard time coming up with a story, so I began to write prompts in my journal. Like...what if my flowers grew faster than the weeds, or what if my Morkie was a miniature polor bear, (that's another story.....ha!), or what if the moon decided to come out and play with the sun! It's a beginning. This little guy is Mr. Willie Nelson, (no realation to the other one!). He is the newest addition to our family. He's no bigger than a minute, and as sweet as can be.

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2010

2010-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival is always a good place to get your creative juices flowing. She's at it again, so grab your laptop, a cup of tea, and check out all of the amazing quilts. Her list of participants is up to 486. To get started, all you need to do is click on the link on the side bar, and all of the sites are listed. This quilt is for my big, little guy. When he was nine, I made him a cozy, flannel and homespun quilt, something close to 54 X 54. A few months ago he brought the quilt to me and said, "mom, did doesn't fit anymore, I need a bigger one". (He's now 6'2") I figured I just make another cuddly quilt with the flannel, then he also adds, "I don't want one of your 'old lady' quilts, I want bright". I told him about the stack of batiks I had, blues, greens, and purples, you know, nice "guy colors", and he said, "Well add some hot pinks, and yellows too!"

In March, I went on a weekend retreat with my quilty friends to get this thing started. I took my batiks, the black fabric, and with no pattern in mind, I cut 1 1/2" strips, and 2 1/2" strips of all the colors. I started piecing them together randomly until I got a 14 1/2" block. It was easy when I started off with the 2 1/2 square. The combinations just flowed. I thought I could come up with the correct size finished block by starting with the 1 1/2" square, but it couldn't be done unless I added a 3 1/2" strip, so I made the four smaller blocks, and sewed them together to get the 14 1/2". Worked like a charm. I finished the blocks that weekend, but didn't get them sewn together until recently. I let my guy arrange the blocks to his liking, and then sewed them together. I asked him to choose the quilting pattern, and the thread. He wanted lime green, I told him the I had a reputation to uphold, so we compromised. I ended up using a varigated thread that had greens, blues and purples. I used some of the leftover strips to make the binding, and finished it up yesterday. He's a happy guy!! He has another hug from mom.

On a side note, he throws the discus for his track team at school, and took third place at district finals. He'll be going to sectionals later this week.

Another finish

2010-05-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

I bought the fabric for this quilt approximately three years ago. Cut the quilt out, pieced part of it, but didn't finish it until last spring. (2009). In October, I went on a weekend retreat with 4 of my quilty friends.......

....and made the backing. I used all of the left overs I had from the top, and only needed to purchase another yard. Two weeks ago, oh maybe three, I finally got it on the machine to quilt it. Binding is on, and it is finished! Thought I would leave it in the living room, and put the snowman quilt away for the winter, but my little peep has already confiscated it. Guess I'll have to make another for the living room!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T05:17:00.000-07:00

This email has circulated for years, and it gets me every time. Happy Mother's Day Ladies!!

A Newborn ' s Conversation with God

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow,
but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don ' t have
to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.
And you will feel your angel ' s love and be very happy."

Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand
when people talk to me if I don ' t know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words
you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will
teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach
you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach
you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth
could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave
now, please tell me my angel ' s name."

God said, You will simply call her, "Mom."

Electric Quilt 7

2010-05-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Btw, just in case you haven't heard, Electric Quilt is releasing EQ7. The new features are amazing. You can check it out here!

Kate's Quilt

2010-05-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

So, a little more than two weeks ago my son Dan says to me, "Hey Mom, I want to make Kate, (his girl), a quilt for her birthday, will you help me?" I say, "Sure, when's her birthday?" He says, "April 21st!" Now, I know I might look like wonder woman, (that was supposed to be funny!), but I guess we can try to pull this off. He sends me a picture of some quilt blocks on my phone. They were stack 'n wack blocks that looked easy enough, and I thought okay this won't be so bad. I send him to the quilt shop to pick out fabric, then he came home with his bag of goodies and sketchbook. He had drawn pieced blocks to alternate with the stack 'n wack blocks. I thought, "Ummmmmmm, how is this going to look?" Well, we got busy. We worked for three nights, into the weeeee, and I mean weeee hours. The pieced blocks were two-color blocks. A white tone on tone, and a brown fabric with polka dots. The fabrics he chose for the other blocks needed a little brightening up, so I sent him to my studio to pick out some batiks, and brighter fabrics.

I wasn't pleased with the way the stack 'n wack blocks looked against the pieced blocks, so we decided to cut them down to 10 1/2", and frame them with a 1" border. That really kicked things up a notch! One of Kate's favorite characters is Tink. Dan bought an applique, so we added her to one of the blocks. I probably should have turned her to make it look like she was flying, instead of her looking all cheesecake here!!

The night before her birthday, Dan came home and we handstitched the binding on together. It was a striped fabric that I cut on the bias. I like the way that looks on a binding.

We got it done in time for the big day. She loved it. Included in the card he gave her was the story that I've always told my kids. Whenever I gave them a quilt, I told them that when mom's not around, and you need a hug, just wrap that quilt around you, and it will be as close to mom as you can get at the moment. To them a quilt is a hug. Don't you just love it!

The Quilts of Gee's Bend

2010-04-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

Windham Fabrics has come out with a line of fabric celebrating the quilts of Gee's Bend. They are gorgeous hand dyed cotton solids featuring amazing colors. Debby Kravotil has reproduced patterns from the Gee's Bend quilts featuring these fabrics. Currently there are four kits available from various sources:

This particular quilt is named "Lazy Gal Variation".... This beauty is named "Housetop Blue"....

this one, "Housetop 4 Block Variation"....

..and Strips & Strings.

I've heard that there may be more kits/patterns available this coming fall.

I was lucky enough to sit on the board of consultants when the Gee's Bends quilts came to The Cleveland Art Museum. It was an exciting time. We were able to meet and talk with the quilters, some of who were unforgettable characters.

It was a no brainer when it came to quilting these quilts. Having the museum catalog to fall back on for design ideas, I chose to use the most simple of quilt designs, not to take anything away from the quilts themselves.

I have purchased many of the fabrics from this line. As I had previously noted, they are hand dyed cottons with minor variations in their colors. In my area, they can be purchased at Anna's Sewing Center, located in North Olmsted.

I'm looking forward to see what the new patterns will look like. These quilts are great inspiration for those improvisational quilts many of us are working on. If you can get ahold of the museum catalog, it is another source of great inspiration.

Birds and Baskets

2010-03-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Nancy could be a one woman show. Her house is so warm and cozy. It is filled with quilts. The walls, the bed, the couch, everywhere. Most of the quilts she does are primitive, and she does a wondful job. She has a spot in her kitchen that she likes to change often. Below is the newest addition.

I love the challenge of quilting a quilt of this style, and I had a lot of fun with this one. Clouds, trees, sun flowers, and holly hocks in the background.

A Wall of Quilts

2010-02-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is an original design by my friend Pam. Each "quilt" in this quilt was quilted differently. Some were done custom/heirloom, and others had edge to edge patterns.
You can almost imagine the reactions on the peoples faces at the bottom of the quilt. I think she did a great job!

Sis Boom Pow!!

2010-02-04T04:58:00.000-08:00

Sweet Victoria, is very prolific quilter. She takes on lots projects, and gets them finished. She gets involved in making charity quilts for many causes, and finds very willing people to help her. These are the latest of her endeavors. They're all quilted, and are being shipped to her this afternoon. Go check out her site, you'll be amazed!

Thimbleberries 2010 Village Green

2010-02-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

For all of you Thimbleberries fans out there, I have quilted two of the 2010 quilts. The name of the quilt is Village Green, and it comes in three colorways, Dawn, Dusk, and Midnight. I had to opportunity to quilt Dawn & Midnight.Mary chose to piece the Dawn..........

......and Sharon made Midnight.

Snowfall...and a quilt to go with it

2010-01-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

This is what we've been dealing with since Friday. I live near Lake Erie and this area gets lake effect snow. We live 40 miles southwest of the lake, and got punched pretty good. Now the peeps closer to Cleveland, and parts east have received upwards of three feet of snow.

I started this quilt on a sewing weekend that some quilty friends and I go to every year. I just finished putting the binding on last night. My first 2101 finish! The quilt was inspired by Marit's quilt Check out her site, she does some pretty awesome quilts.

Have a great day......keep warm. We're supposed to have a break in the snow tomorrow, then more lake effect until Saturday. Another excuse to stay home and sew, (like we really need one! Ha!)

Happy New Year!! (and my first two deliveries of the year!

2010-01-02T06:17:00.001-08:00

Pat made this beautiful stained glass wallhanging. I outlined all of the glass blocks, and fit feathers in the sashing. This was a fun quilt to do! As it was being quilted, I was looking at all of the different fabrics that Regi included, and found lots that I used when I was making quilts 20 years ago. It brought back memories of quilts from way back when, not to mention a couple of jumpers that I made for my daughter.

Speaking of making memories, it's a new year, and I plan on making lots of new memories with my kids. They are all getting older, (I'm not!!), and are starting to build lives of their own, and I don't think that I'm ready for this. My oldest will be graduating in May with a double masters. It only seems like yesterday.......

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

2009-12-25T18:51:00.001-08:00

I hope your Christmas was Wonderful!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

My little princess and I made four pumpkin pies tonight. They will be our contribution to Thanksgiving Dinner. I cooked down the pumpkins yesterday which saved a lot of time today. J. got a little creative making the edges of the crust. We bought some new cookie cutters, and she cut out the leftover dough with flowers and leaves, then set them on the edges. I must say, they look beautiful. Hopefully they will be there in the morning, and won't be devoured by the middle of the night snackers!

Don't forget to count all of your blessings. I bet there are more than you realize. Have a wonderful day!!

Linda

a few things I've been working on

2009-11-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

Kathy's maple leaves.....

Judy's rail fence....... Cheryl and her students.....

Sharon's Christmas Lights........

Lori's Christmas Critters, with a little gingerbread added...........

Emily's camo baby quilt..............

Kathyrn's Tree of Life.............

Another installment of the round robin....

My addition............

.....and there are some I haven't taken pictures of yet!! Now to get those Christmas lights untangled and up!!!

Victoria's Black & White

2009-11-04T21:22:00.001-08:00

This quilt belongs to Victoria. She comes up with some amazing ideas. This one is one of my favorites.

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T15:05:00.001-07:00

Mick Jagger doesn't have anything on these two!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2009-10-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

For Blogger's Quilt Festival, I've decided to tell you about my log cabin quilt. This is the first bed quilt that I have ever made. This quilt actually belongs to my husband, but he'd be hard pressed to find it at any given time, because one of the kids usually snatch it for their bed. It is one of the most well loved, and worn quilts in the house.

If you look closely on the bottom right side of this photo, there is a cut in the fabric. My oldest, who is now 24 decided to "help" me finish it by taking a pair of scissors and cutting it. (He was 3 at the time.) After I scolded him about playing with scissors, (I'll have to tell you the rotary cutter story some other time), I couldn't bear to hide his part in making the quilt, so I left the cut. It has never gotten bigger while being washed or used, so I guess it was meant to be! The binding is so worn, it is practically see through. Amy from Park City Girl is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival. There you will find links to many other quilts to be inspired by. Check it out!

Another Installment on the Round Robin

2009-10-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

We are still working on the Round Robin in one of the guilds that I belong to. These blocks belong to Merciful. She requested that we make a log cabin variation. The log cabin quilt is the first large quilt that I ever made, and it has been one of my favorites. It's been loved to death, but it's still hanging around the house. It seems to sneak from bedroom to bedroom. If I ever find who's hiding it, I'll take a picture. These are the blocks that I added to the project:

I'm Back!

2009-10-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

My how time flies! It has been a busy couple of months. On August 12, my husband and I, along with a few other family members jumped on an airplane, and headed to Vancouver, BC for a few days before boarding a cruise ship to Alaska. A dream come true! I have wanted to take that trip for 27 years. The opportunity presented itself a few months ago, and I couldn't say no. I want to go back. We were not able to do the land package that I wanted to this time, but we will next time!The scenery was absolutely awesome. This picture is an iceburg floating in Mendenhall Lake outside of Juneau. The rain that day was torrential. It was good for viewing the glacier, because we were able to vies the amazing blue colors. We saw humpback whales, eagles, and seals. To see an orca breech the water is truly awesome. On the train ride from Seward to Anchorage we saw moose. Unfortunately there were no bears to be found, but while visiting the Botanical Gardens in Anchorage, we did see bear tracks!

We got home just in time to celebrate two more birthdays. My big guy Dan, turned 24 this year, and my big little guy, John John turned 17. Dan and his friend Kate decided to jump out of an airplane to celebrate the occasion. I just don't get why anyone would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.After being gone that long, I had quite a few customer quilts to catch up on, still no time to blog, let alone read any. Then, along came an opportunity to visit Orlando on a business trip with the husband, and we decided to add a little pleasure. I took my girl out of school, and we visited Hollywood Studios, Universal Studios, and had a wonderful day at Cocoa Beach.

Now we're back at home, and I've had my nose to the grindstone, busting out those customer quilts. This coming weekend a couple of my friends and I are going on our yearly retreat. We'll do a little shopping, a lot of sewing, and then I'll come home and start on my Christmas rush!

Mom!! There's a Huge Basket in the Front Yard!!!

2009-08-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

I'm down here tidying up my studio, and all of a sudden I hear a scream. MOM, come up here, there's a hot air balloon in our front yard!!!!! Evidently there is a hot air balloon festival somewhere in the area, and this guy decided to land on our road. He made it past our yard to the neighbors, landed, packed up, and drove away!

One Block Wonder--Cosmic Cabbage Roses

2009-07-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

It all started with this piece of fabric. What pattern could you possible use to justify cutting this up?

Here's one block......... ...and here's another.

These are what I had at the time I took the pictures, now I'm up to 42 blocks.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Halloween?!!

2009-07-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

It seems that this was the week to work on quilts for Halloween. Two different customers of mine, from two different sides of town, have declared that Halloween is their favorite holiday.Billie chose this panel to work with. She added the nine patches, (I don't think you can ever go wrong with a nine patch!), and then a smaller border, to which I added the bats. When I saw the panel, I knew right away that the only thing that would work on it was spider webs. I used a mono poly for the webs, and let just a hint of the orange come up through the back to give it a touch of color. It looked great. I didn't want to take away from the print, and it worked.This is the second Halloween quilt that I've quilted for Kathy. She chose spiderwebs as well, but all over the quilt instead of only the center.Christmas is just right around the corner, and I've got a few of those to do already. A little bit of Rudolph, a little bit of holly, and we're there. (I'm not wishing my life away, but sometimes time goes WAYYYYYY faster than we like!)

BTW, does anyone know why I was able to do two loads of laundry, and cook four loaves of stromboli before blogger was able to load these four pictures?

Have a great evening!!

Linda

The Aliens Have Landed!!

2009-07-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

Billie gave me this BQ2 quilt to finish for her. This piece was fun to quilt. I did a wonky greek key in the border, loops in the green background, and I "electrified" the aliens. It was fun to do. Sometimes it's nice to get a break from all the "fancy" work.

As I was working on this block I noticed that this little stinker has his fingers crossed while holding his sign that says "galaxy peace." I got a kick out of that one!

Happy Birthday Juice!!!!

2009-07-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

This is another of my most precious babies. Happy Birthday Julia, I love you honey!!

Charming Chatter

2009-07-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've joined a group of gals at a blog called Charming Chatter. It's all about finishing WIP's. My project for July is a quilt that I've pieced way back in January. All I need to do now is piece the backing, and get it quilted, and bound. Shouldn't be a problem.

Back or Front? You make the call.

2009-07-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

I just took this quilt off the machine. I'd like your opinion. Which is the front, and which is the back.

Happy Independence Day!!

2009-07-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Our family is very patriotic. Back in the day, when I first began quilting, a lot of my quilts were antique versions of red, white, and blue. These two little quilts shown here were purchased at the Little Quilts Auction at the NQA show four years ago. This quilt was made by Vera Bickett Gable.

This mini quilt was made by Marguerite Wiebusch. She used an antique cigar felt for the center. She says on her label that flags of many nations were premiums in cigar boxes from 1880-1910.

This pincushion was a project that I made at "Primitives of the Midwest". That is a retreat in Lee's Summit, Missouri every June, put on by a quilt shop called Quilter's Station. The class I had taken was taught by Barb Adams and Alma Allen, who I must say are two of the best teachers that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The class project still isn't finished. It is an applique wall quilt, or table topper, I haven't decided yet, but I am making progress. It's one of those take along and wait projects.

Have a great 4th!!

Round Robin Part 2

2009-07-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

These pictures are the blocks that I received to continue on the Round Robin.
Sherry liked these color combinations. We are able to add our fabrics along with whatever came with the blocks.

These are the blocks that I made for my addition to Sherry's quilt. This round robin is different that others that I have participated in. Rather than add borders or rows to a center medallion, we make blocks for the owner to piece in whatever order they choose.

Each participant will complete one large block (Block A) and two small blocks, for a total of three blocks.
You may make two of Block B or two of Block C. Note that both of your small blocks should be the same
size. They can be the same pattern or they can be different.
Block A should be 12 ½” x 12 ½ “ unfinished, for a finished size of 12” x 12”
Block B should be 6 ½” x 6 ½” unfinished, for a finished size of 6” x 6”
Block C should be 3 ½” x 12 ½” unfinished, for a finished size of 3” x 12”

Instead of making one "A" block, I chose to make four "B" blocks. Such a rebel!!

These are the blocks all together.

Lots of Color

2009-06-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Both of these quilts were designed by a friend of mine, Donna Ragone. I met her while she was working at a quilt shop in the area. Her patterns are geared towards very colorful, whimsical fabrics. There is usually a lot of movement in her patterns also. I call them happy quilts!!

Don't you just love 50% off sales?!!!

2009-06-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

First I'm going to clean my room, ( I need to show the kids a good example, right?), then I'm going to play with my pretties!

A quilt for Baby Cara

2009-06-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Another one finished!! This quilt was made for my daugter Julia's teacher who is having her first baby in September. Julia went through my stash, and picked out all of the colors on her own. I thought she did well. I used a squiggly line to quilt all the way through, and just loved how it turned out. The quilt went together quickly. This one could be a good one for project improv also. I just started out cutting strips, and this is what happened. Doesn't it feel good to get something done?!

It all started.............

2009-05-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

This crazy busyness seemed to have started way back in April. I belong to North Coast Needlers, which happens to be the largest guild in Northeast Ohio. We held our quilt show the weekend of April 17-18. There were almost 300 quilts hung at the show, 26 of them were quilted by me. Two of them won ribbons. I was in charge of the kitchen. Establishing the menu, buying the food and drink, cooking the food, and pleading for bakery donations. Sixty pounds of sloppy joe's, and lots of shredded chicken sandwiches. I couldn't have done it without the help of my sidekick Judie. The show was a hit. The quilts were beautiful, and if anyone left there hungry it was their own fault.

These are the quilts of mine that were hung in the show:
Last year Frieda Anderson came to our guild to teach a workshop with her patterns and fabric. These are my version of her sunflowers. I machine quilted the flowers, and did some hand stitching in the background with hand-dyed floss. I have since added more stitching.This is the quilt I call summertime. It is NOT one of those cut up nine patches. (Only because at the time I made this quilt, I didn't know about that particular way!)

The inspiration for this quilt came from "You've Got Mail".Kathleen Kelly, (Meg Ryan), had a quilt similar to this on her bed in the movie. I have coveted it since the first time I saw the movie. One day early this spring while I was quilting, (I often put movies in my laptop while I'm working, and just listen), I lifted my head to watch, only to notice the quilt one more time. I immediately went to my stash, picked out a collection from Moda called Chelsea Boutique, and at 1:30am the morning before the show was to be hung, it was finished! I belive it ended up being 108 X 88, or something close.

This quilt is called "Kinetic Energy". I made it spring 2008, but didn't quilt it until the week before the quilt show. I freehand quilted it with feathers, and leaf vines.

After the show was closed on Sunday, I went home, had one day to tie up some loose ends around the house, and pack for my trip to the AQS show in Paducah, Kentucky.

To be continued.........

Happy Mother's Day!!

2009-05-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

It feels like I've been gone forever. Time sure does fly when you're busy. I have lots of pictures from the quilt show in Paducah. If you've never been you've got a treat waiting for you when you get there. I've never seen such beautiful works of art. Off to have dinner with the peeps. I'll find you soon.

Linda

ps. thanks for hanging around!

Paducah!!

2009-04-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

On a road trip to the AQS Show in Paducah.

to be continued...........

North Coast Needlers

2009-04-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is where you'll find me all weekend! Stop by if you can!!

North Coast Needlers 11th Biennial Quilt Show
“To the Nines”

Saturday, April 18, 2009 (10 am to 6 pm)
& Sunday, April 19, 2009 (10 am to 5 pm)
Westlake High School 27830 Hilliard Blvd. Westlake, Ohio
Donation: $5 Seniors: $4 Ages 6-12: $4
Handicapped accessible. Rubber soled shoes requested to protect the new gym floor.
FEATURING: 200+ Quilts, Vendors, Raffle Quilt, Challenge Quilts, Hoffman Challenge,
Quilt Side Cafe, Door Prizes
!! Bras for a Cause, An uplifting Auction to Support ! ! Breast Cancer Patients

Quilts of Valor

2009-04-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

I received the following letter in my email on Saturday. If anyone is interested in helping I'm sure it would be appreciated!

Hi Linda,
I have recently been contacted by Quilts of Valor and they are in desperate need of 600 - 700 quilts to be donated to the Warrior in Transition Battalion at Ft. Bragg, NC. Quilts of Valor is a volunteer organization which provides quilts to wounded warriors to help in their recovery. This is a wonderful organization and I am honored that they have asked me to help them.Here are the details about the quilt(s) needed for donation:
Finished quilts can be of any piecing pattern.
Red, white and blue fabrics would be their first choice, but any kind of fabrics are fine, but please, no children's fabric.
The recommended size of a donated quilts is 54 x 67 inches.
The quilts can be a maximum of 72 x 87 inches and a minimum of 50 x 60 inches.
Please, no quilts that look like flags. Flag quilts are used to cover coffins.
Because this is a request for quilts to be donated to a specific program, the Warriors in Transition Battalion, the finished quilts need to be mailed directly to Sue Wolf, a point of contact for the Warrior in Transition Battalion. Her group, The North Carolina Stars of Hope Quilters present the quilts to the wounded soldiers in person. Please contact Sue Wolf at swolf@email.unc.edu for information on how to send your quilt to her. If you have some quilts which meet the above requirements and can be used by a wounded service person (including many women) please donate it to this worthwhile cause. The name of each person who donates a quilt from this email will be put into a drawing for a $50 Gift Certificate from Longarm University!Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you know who would like to help.On a personal note, my son-in-law is career soldier stationed at Ft. Brag. He is serving a second tour in Iraq and I pray for his, and every other soldier' s, safety every day. I was also a wife for 31 years to a Vietnam vet. Our service men and women NEED our support. A quilt is a very small price to pay for what our military does everyday to defend this great country.

Cindy Roth Longarm Universitywww.LongarmUniversity.com

Joan's Wildflower Quilt

2009-04-11T05:04:00.000-07:00

We have a quilt shop in the area that also sells machines. They are big on all of these embroidered quilts. I've had quite a few of them come through my studio lately. Very pretty! On the last one I did, I chose to match the thread colors to the fabrics. There were lots of thread changes. On this quilt, Joan had chosen an amazing varigated thread that worked beautifully with the multi-colored batiks.

Happy Birthday Anna-baby!!

2009-04-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is Anna, my "middle child". She is 19 today.

Happy birthday honey, I love you.

Disappearing Nine Patch

2009-04-06T07:50:00.001-07:00

This is another disappearing nine patch quilt. It is a monster! 112 X 112. I quilted swirls all over to create some movement in the squares.

Baby Quilts!

2009-04-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air, and babies are everywhere! I made these quilts for two of my friends. The picture above is the backing for the blue quilt down below... The flowers I quilted onto this one is one of my favorite patterns.

I thought this quilt went together rather quickly, until I figured out that I could have sewed it faster if I would have done one of those disappearing nine patches. The only difference is sashings would have been smaller.

I quilted animals all over this one. It turned out too cute!

Diane's New York Beauty

2009-03-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

Diane used paper piecing to achieve the sharp points on this beauty. I enhanced it with feathers in the background, and in the border, while echoing the points to make them pop.

Ardis' Kinetic Energy & Marti's Dancing Stars

2009-03-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

I love the dimensional look of this quilt. It's all about placement. Blocks floating around one another, and I enhanced it with a design I call fireflower. Filled with spikes and swirls, it gave the quilt even more passion.

Marti made "Dancing Stars" for her son. The fabric she chose for the stars was a varigated rainbow. With one fabric she was able to make many colored stars. Alot of the fabrics had music designs or canine motifs. I chose to do a musical edge to edge pattern. My kids loved it. It makes my heart sing when they come into my studio, see a quilt, and say, "Wow mom, this one is really cool!"

Buggy Barn's Buggy Wheels

2009-03-17T05:38:00.000-07:00

I've admired this quilt since the first time I saw the pattern in American Patchwork & Quilting. Cris composed this quilt using her sraps. 56 1/2 square triangles, and eight 2" squares in each block. That's 12o pieces of fabric in each block. Sounds intimidating when you say it like that! She placed four blocks across, and five down. I will make this quilt one day. It is officially on my list!

Robin's Flower Garden

2009-03-16T06:57:00.001-07:00

I wish you could see this quilt in person. Robin paper-pieced all of the flowers. I took it to the quilt shop on Saturday to give it to her daughter, and I held it up for the gals to see, and they thought the flowers were appliqued. There were so many tiny, tiny, (did I say tiny) pieces in each of the flowers.

I quilted a little background filler consisting of leaves, and swirly vines behind all of the flowers.

Outlined the pointy flowers....

and quilted the more round flowers so they would pop.

I quilted pebbles in the path.

Hours and hours of pebbles, and leaves....

and a few violets in the walkway. Spring has arrived!!

Abigayle's Moda Mystery Quilt

2009-03-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

This quilt was lots of fun to do. Everytime I looked, I found another spot to quilt. I kept with the whimsical theme of the quilt. Lots of feathers and flowers. It should be hanging at the quilt shop soon.

Round Robin & Victoria's Quilt

2009-03-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last week Victoria, (bumblebeans), sent me her 9-Patch, and today I sent it back all quilted. Glad to be able to help you out Victoria.

I belong to North Coast Needlers. It is the one of largest quilting guilds in Northeast Ohio, if not the whole state. Six of us are participating in a Round Robin. This one is a little different that other ones I have participated in. We are to start with three blocks instead of a medallion or center block. One of the blocks is to be 12" finished, and the other two could be 6" finished, or 3"x 12" finished. We'll I will get them back in eight months. These are the blocks that I started off with. We will each take turns adding blocks to the others' quilt, and when the blocks are finished the owner will come up with a pleasing arrangement and sew them together.

Renee's Grandmother's Flower Crazy Patch

2009-02-21T09:00:00.001-08:00

This is Renee's first large quilt. She put alot of time into it. Each seam of the crazy patch is machine embroidered, and she's thinking about embellishing the butterflies with beads or crystals. She's done a wonderful job sewing the quilt together. I did quilt over the crazy patch with a medallion pattern in monofilament thread. It did not diminish the patchwork at all. I finished it off with a feather plume in the 1/2 square triangles on the sides of the quilt.

The flower patches, and the butterflies were outlined with a gold thread, then I did freehand quilting in the backgroud with black just to show shadows. She loved it!

Happy Birthday KayKay!!!

2009-02-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

This is my daughter Katie, she is the second of five. My precious turned 22 today. I love you honey, have a great day!

Mary's Courthouse Steps

2009-02-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

I've got to make this quilt!! Mary just started cutting her scraps into 2" strips, and put it together in Courthouse Steps fashion. I used a plume feather pattern in the border, and a pattern from Anne Bright called August Rain. It measures 100 X 100, and she used a silk batt. I wish I had some where to hang it to get a full picture. Beautiful! (Scrappy quilts are my favorite)

Sharon's Scrappy Thimbleberries

2009-02-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Maryann's Winter Carribbean Ribbons

2009-02-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

Annie's Stars

2009-02-05T06:50:00.001-08:00

More Project Improv Blocks

2009-02-05T06:34:00.001-08:00

Originally this was going to be a one block shot, but creating blocks of an improvisational nature can be extremely addicting. I have so many ideas in my head for the quilt, the hard part is which to choose.

Ardis' Tulips

2009-02-05T06:25:00.000-08:00

Project Improve & Another Finished Quilt

2009-01-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

This block is the improvisional charity block that I made for Project Improv. It was made with pieces left over from another project.

This Grandmother's Fan quilt was a workshop that I took when I was pregnant with my third child. She's 18 now! I finished the 16 blocks, put them together, and that was all she wrote. Last week I attached the border, and quilted it. Last night, the binding. Another project finished!

Primitive Snowman

2009-01-29T05:20:00.000-08:00

I started this snowman quilt in the winter of 2007. I finally put the binding on last week. First finished project of 2009! Lots to go!

Jan's Wallhanging

2009-01-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

My Works in Progress

2009-01-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

This blog started off as a gallery of my customer quilts. After perusing the many quilting blogs out there on January 1st, and seeing all of the quilts listed that people finished in 2008, I thought that I should get on the ball and finish some of my works in progress. Two weeks ago we were going through a big winter storm, so I was house bound all weekend. What a perfect time to start! The quilt on the top is one that I started last year in March. The one on the bottom is one that I started about 1 1/2 years ago. Both of the tops are finished. The good part will be when I can get them on the machine to get quilted. Customer quilts first!!

Dorthea's Variable Star & Erika's Flowers on Black

2009-01-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Dorthea's Square Courthouse Steps

2009-01-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Spike & Judy's Lady of the Lake

2009-01-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

Debbie's Dresden Plate & Chris's Layer Cake

2009-01-23T07:28:00.000-08:00

Suzanne's Grateful Dead

2009-01-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Betty's Pinwheel's

2009-01-12T19:32:00.001-08:00

MaryAnn's T-Shirt Quilt

2008-12-12T07:54:00.001-08:00

Chain of Events Quilt

2008-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Pictures of "A Quilted Garden"

2008-11-21T07:16:00.000-08:00