Donation Quilts for North Carolina and Kentucky

 I have been working on decluttering the quilt room.  I have been having a hard time parting with some things.  But then a really good cause came up -- hurricane victoms.  I loaded up five totes of quilts of various sizes and took them to my church.  Some of our church family will be delivering them to North Carolina and Kentucky tomorrow.

I feel good about this.  Now I have room to make more quilts!  I am working on Bitcoin now--pattern by Bonnie Hunter.  You could purchase the pattern and support Bonnie here.

Coffee Cozy -- Pattern from AppleGreen Cottage

 My sister-in-law requested a couple of coffee cozies:

This seemed to be a fun place to use her grandma's buttons.

Then I found this fun print in some scraps someone gave me last week.  My sister-in-law LOVES dogs (and all animals for that matter.)

Sometimes she sets her coffee cup down on the checkout belt at the store for some reason.  The checkout clerk sometimes looks for a price on it.  Ha ha.  Then I know she goes on and on about how I made it for her.  I have it on a glass because I typically don't have any paper coffee cups in my house.  But it fits the ones she buys while out and about perfectly.  She keeps them in her car.

I got the pattern (which was free at the time) at AppleGreen Cottage here.

Five Small Memory Quilts

I quilted five memory quilts for my friend that I sit by in church.  I put them all on the frame together and used the same backing.

I butted them together and just kept quilting with Circle Lord Swirls.

 A lady at church asked me to quilt her Bethlehem Star quilt.  She has worked so hard for a few years to piece this quilt for her daughter.

Here it is in front of my husband's pepper "garden".  (He has six pepper plants that he grows in buckets.)

She requested that I quilt this one with Circle Lord Swirls Giant Template Board.  

The yellow thread that I had on hand just sunk right in to this quilt and did not take away from the beautiful design.

I sit by this friend in church most weeks.  We always talk about how God brought us together one evening at a church dinner.  We just happened to be placed at the same table because of how many people were in our group.  The other couple at the table knew that I was a quilter and mentioned something that she saw me post on instagram.  That was the start of it all.  We then couldn't stop talking about quilts and flowers.  She is amazing at growing flowers!  She loves to save seeds and share them with friends.  

Below is a picture of my poppy plant from earlier this year.  She gave me this plant start.  I carefully planted it in the "protected area" of my chicken yard.  I don't want the chickens to destroy these plants, but the dirt in this area is so rich that I don't want to give it up to the chickens.  I do let little chicks in the area because they don't seem to do the damage that the big flock does.  But isn't this poppy stunning?

I decided to move the ornamental grass out of the protected area after the poppy finished blooming.  I have plenty of it on the property.  I'm making room for more beautiful poppies next spring.

Quilting Complete for a Friend

 I finished the quilting on the quilt that belongs to my 94-year old friend.

I quilted it with using the Circle Lord Giant Swirls.  Oh I miss the designs of Circle Lord since they are no longer in business.  Their boards are longer and more sturdy quality that other brands.  This is one of the favorites among the people that I longarm quilt for.  I love that my friend put extra borders on this one.  She has come so far in the last six or seven years with her quilting skills.  Though her arthritus continues and her eyesight isn't what it used to be, her work is still beautiful.  She is "old school" and cuts each square by tracing a template and using scissors.

Hope you are having a great holiday weekend!

On the Frame

 I have some quilting/sewing to do.  I've decided to interrupt my busy schedule to post about them.  

This quilt belongs to my friend that is 94.  I have quilted so many quilts for her.  I've had it to quilt for her since the beginning of July.  She's in no rush for it, but it's time to finish it and get it back to her.  Her eyesight isn't as good as it once was, but her mind is sharp as a tack.  You can see the big seams on the back of the quilt.  But look how beautifully the squares match up and the multiple borders she has learned in the past six or seven years that I have been quilting for her.  She still cuts each square with scissors.  For this quilt her son made her a square template out of the side of a milk carton.  She has learned that the cardboard square that she was using was getting smaller as she used it as she carefully traced around it with a pencil on the back of the fabric.  That is what caused previous quilts to be wider and the beginning and more narrow as she sewed.  She doesn't cut all her squares at once.  She cuts them as she needs them and then sews the row together!  Some days she only sews a few blocks together, some days she does two rows.  I know she still loves to go through the scrap bags!

Bob Ross Paint Night #3

 This week at our local library I painted this painting.

I love the snow texture on the "happy little trees".  

How it works... library patrons sign up on the first day of the month for the Monday night class.  They gather in a corner of the library.  Tables are already set up with a paper towel and the paints/paint colors named on them. Tools are set like a table setting, water glass, napkins, and all.  There's a large tv screen that plays a Bob Ross video.  We paint along and rewind when necessary.  When the hour is up we look at each other's paintings and are amazed that each one turned out uniquely cool.  We say our goodbyes and hope to see each other the following month.  :). It's such an awesome FREE program!