Cat quilted wallhanging, quote

 "Time spent with cats is never wasted."  ~May Sarton

Recently, my friend Jan gave me a new sign (in the photo above) saying that "cats are like potato chips, you can'd have just one.   Her gift inspired me to search out some fabrics from my stash with cats and kittens, which turned into this new quilted wall-hanging.  The little cat statue on the shelf came from the Goodwill store.

Here's our cats; Tommy is the red tabby and Roxy is the tortise tabby.  They add such delight to our home!

Memorial Day celebration, quote, quilts

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood


Memorial Day is a very special day for me.  From childhood to the present, I love the roar of the race cars at the Indy 500.   The pre-race ceremonies always include the celebration of freedom due to the honor and bravery by our service men and women.   And the race itself is an Indiana tradition.  Whether I attend in person, listen on the radio or watch the race on TV, I always get goosebumps of enjoyment throughout the day. 

This year I completed a couple of quilted wall-hangings which I display in our home during the month of May.

I wish you and yours a wonderful Memorial Day celebration and hope you will join me in celebrating
the freedom we enjoy as Americans because of the sacrifices by our service men and women.

Quote, Amy's graduation, Purdue quilt

I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.  ~Author Unknown

 

 

May 11th we were honored to celebrate our granddaughter Amy's graduation from Purdue University.

 

We are so proud of her and excited knowing that she will definately make a difference in this world.

Congratulations Amy!

Quilt, quote

Life is like a camera
Just focus on what's important
   and capture the good times;
Develop from the negatives and
   if things don't work out
Just take another shot!

 

This is the quilt I just finished especially for my neice Jennelle.

The quote above is the label I attached to the back of the quilt.

 

 

I just discovered this wonderful blog full of quilting humor.  It's called Mrs. Bobbins - definately worth checking out.  http://mrsbobbins.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

Valentine Creations

 

Happiness is a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself.

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-Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 

My granddaughter Nikki came over yesterday to spend a day with me.  In addition to having lunch together, she wanted to make a quilted wall hanging.  She drew out the design on a piece of paper, picked out some fabric from my "stash" and I helped her bring her design to reality.  This is her finished wall hanging.

 

 

Last week I was organizing my fabric stash and ran across left over blocks from the quilt I made for my granddaughter Amy several years ago.  I put them together into a wall-hanging. 

Valentine wall hanging, quote

Recently my brother made two new quilt shelves for me, so I've been happily creating new quilts for them.   Here's the latest - a valentine crazy quilt wall quilt.  I used muslin foundation blocks and fabrics from my stash.  No new fabric, except one valentine print which was purchased a few weeks ago:

My goal, like many other quilters is to use more of my "stash" fabrics this year.

Fabric post cards, Self-care

Just created these fabric post cards.   Simply secure the fabric to a stabilizer, then quilt or add beads, etc.  Add a 4x6 blank index card on the back,  fold 1" fabric strip around edge and secure with stitching.  You're finished.  Quick and easy and fun.

Also, I just found this on Pinterest and thought I'd share it with you:

Happy New Year, quote, quilt

Happy New Year!  Wishing you a healthy, happy year.

 As usual for Indiana, we've started the year with freezing weather and leftover snow, but at least the sun is shining.

Below is a photo of the lap quilt I made from my brother as a Christmas gift.  Of course he loved it as he's a big IU fan. 

 

quote, quilt

Men don't care what's on TV. They only care what else is on TV.
Jerry Seinfield

This is a small quilted wall-hanging I made for my sister-in-law.  She likes cats and the color purple.

Diva Challenge #96, quote, life

Live out of your imagination, not your history.
Stephen Covey

The Diva's challenge this week is to use the tangle pattern "zinger".    You will find the zinger pattern in my zentangle tile below - it's the stems with the coil-like ends.

This is the first time I've posted in a couple of weeks due to the pain I'm experiencing because of a pinched nerve in my spine.  After several more Dr visits and pain relieving prescriptions which did not take away the pain, I had an MRI done.  I have several bulging disks and am now awaiting an appointment with a neurologist.  Like most Mom's who have given birth, I can withstand pain fairly well.  But when the pain does not decrease and continues on for weeks - well it certainly has made me tired and weary.

In order to put the pain in the back of my mind, I've been making another quilt.  So off I go now to get that sewing machine humming again.

Miniture quilt for my new quilt shelf.

My brother made two quilt/shelves for me and I just love them! They are both 15" wide as I requested so that I could display some miniture quilts I wanted to mak.  Here's the first one:

Challenge, quote

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.
Khalil Gibran

This weeks challenge from "The Diva" honors the Beads of Courage Program:

http://www.beadsofcourage.org/

Here's my zentangle in answer to the challenge:

This past week, I finally finished the wedding quilt for my grandson and his bride and they stopped by yesterday to pick it up.   But can you believe - I forgot to take a photo of the quilt!    Hopefully, they will take a picture and send it my way. 

 

Quilted wallhanging, quote

Family is not an important thing, it's everything.
Michael J. Fox

This year my brother celebrated a milestone birthday, so I made a wall hanging for him:

It was a simple project as it was a printed panel, all I did was add the four borders around the edge, but it turned out beautifully.  The colors are so vibrant.

 

Wedding quilt, quote

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."

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-Mignon McLaughlin



This is the quilt I made for my nephew and his bride's wedding gift.  It's a king-size quilt, therefore I had a difficult time getting a photo.

When I asked Stef what color she wanted the quilt and she said purples and plums, I didn't realize that it wouldn't be a simple task to find fabrics in those colors.  Finally with the help from my quilting buddies adding some purples and plums from their "stash" of fabrics, I had enough to make the quilt.  I added the blues and turquoise to match the floral fabric I bought for the vocal point of the quilt.   The quilt photographed more blue than purple.

This is a closer photo which shows the floral fabric a little better. 

A nice surprise

"It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself.  Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about."   -Alan Ball, American Beauty

Last weekend was my nephew's wedding.  I had asked he and his fiancee if they'd like me to make a quilt as their wedding gift;  their response was an enthusiastic "yes".  And of course when I asked what size, they replied king size.  I didn't say anything at the time, but I had yet to make a king-size quilt and I was a wee bit overwhelmed at the thought of making that sized quilt.  I have made lots of wall-hangings and double bed quilts but never a king size quilt.  To make a long-story short, I did complete the quilt and am very pleased with the results. And trust me, a king size quilt takes a lot of fabric and time!  It took me over 6 hrs. just to hand stitch the binding around the edge of the quilt.  I haven't posted a photo of the quilt as yet because the photo I took didn't turn out well.    We are planning a time to take the quilt  to them and I will take another photo.  Stay tuned!

Diva Challenge, quote

"Behold the turtle.  He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."   - James Bryant Conant

What I like about the weekly challenge posted by "the Diva" is that she does just that - challenges us to stick our neck out and try something new.  This week she challenged us to create tangles within a larger tangle.
I chose the tangle "beeline" because it reminds me of a quilting pattern.  Using light and dark shading and patterns it creates an optical illusion.

Autumn quote and quilted wall hanging

"Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring."   - Anonymous

I love the colors of autumn.  But the older I get, the more I dread winter.  Today's quote sums it up for me.

Yesterday, I finished this wall hanging which I started while at the quilting retreat last weekend.  One of  my goals is to create wall hangings for each season and /or holiday.  

Quote, Quilting, Life and Serendipity

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection.  Excellence, I can reach for, perfection is God's business."       -Michael J. Fox

Excellence is a colorful quilt lovingly stitched by it's maker.  Perfection is a sunset that mingles stunning colors, breathtaking shapes at sunset.  Perfection is breathtaking, but excellence is gratifying in its own right, as it is achieved through hard, steady work.

This just happens to be  the quote of the day in the book Positive Quotes for Every Day by Patricia Lorenz.  It is the perfect quote for me today.

 This past weekend I spent a very enjoyable weekend with my quilting friends at a quilt retreat.  We spent two days quilting & laughing and eating!  The retreat is located in Danville, Illinois at Threads of Time Quilt shop.  ( http://www.threadsoftimefab.com/ )  The facility is very nice and Bill and Missy (the owners)) are very accommodating. 

One of the projects I completed is a quilted Halloween wall hanging:

In Memory

Today is the memorial service for my friend, Janet Lovell.  She and several other of my friends are quilting buddies, calling ourselves "The Committee".  When Janet was first hospitalized last year,
The Committee got together and made this quilt for her:

Janet, may you rest in peace.  We will always remember you.