Christmas Table Toppers

I met a long arm quilter on line who agreed to let me come to her studio and get an introduction to long arm quilting. We would be quilting a quilt that I've had laying around for a while AND she wasn't charging me. I wanted to make her a thank you table topper but didn't know what style she liked, so I made three and let her pick. Then she quilted it. I added the binding and I gave it to her as a thank you. She picked the first one. At some point I'll have to quilt the other two -- probably before next Christmas.

I had an awesome weekend learning about the Gammill long arm and Statler Stitcher. Tons of fun! And then I met 6 other Statler owners for lunch on Sunday. They were very welcoming and I'm so glad I was able to meet others who know what they're doing with the long arm. I'll be picking their brains for the next year or so. Life is good!

Mystery Solved

In September my favorite Yahoo Group started a mystery quilt. It was designed by Carol Doak. At first she just told us what kind of fabric to buy and how much -- medium warms, medium cools, darks, lights, etc. Then she told us how to cut them. Then on September 28 she posted the first clue and first foundation for the paper pieced quilt. After 6 clues she posted the mystery. The finished quilt was 36" square without any borders.

Someone on the group suggested making four of these and sewing them together for a bedsize quilt. I needed a new quilt in my spare room, so I decided to go for it. You can see the pics of my fabric and different clues as well as the finished bedsize quilt.

It's hard to believe the pic above was made using the simple blocks and fabrics in the pics below.

All I have to do now is add the borders and the top pillow cover and my bedsize quilt is ready to be quilted by my friend with the longarm. I posted a pic of the four mysteries sewn together. It came out better than I imagined. Carol is an amazing designer.

I'm going to make two of the center stars and put a "circle border" around them using the purple fabric (that didn't get used much) for the top where the pillows would be underneath and then I'm going to add a thin purple border all the way around before the border fabric (21" drop). The hard part is over. Hallelujah!!! Life is good!

Quilt Across Texas - Statewide Shop Hop

I participated in the Quilt Across Texas Shop Hop in September 2011. I visited a lot of quilt shops. I’m documenting which ones I really liked. Now I’m sure you know, everyone has different tastes and what appeals to some doesn’t appeal to others. So as you read these, take into account that this is my personal review (also validated by my car mate and fellow shop hopper), but it may be totally different from what you would think if you went to the very same shop. Interestingly enough, strangers I’ve met at the shops who are also on the hop tended to agree with my 5-star recommendations and gave me some additional 5-star shops to try. Not sure I’ll make it during the hop, but I’ll check them out too.

I have seen some excellent shops and some beautiful fabric and met some wonderful people. Unfortunately after a while everything runs together so I tried to keep notes. The amount / diversity of fabrics and different ways they have been used is unbelievable. The variety of layouts at the shops is cool. The hundreds of quilt samples I've seen have been inspiring. Plus I've received a free 6" block from each of those shops and some gave away additional free blocks or patterns or fabric, and some are giving pewter charms. It has been tons of fun!

I really feel like I have contributed to the American economy. I have spent more in one month than I would normally spend in 5 years. But I probably visited more shops in this one month than I would in 5 years.

Here are the shops I’ve visited and rated. The 4 and 5 star ones we said we'd go back to regardless of the distance. It’s hard for the small shops to compete with the big for selection and space, but we tried to be fair. There are probably more small shops than big ones on my list because a well-organized/well-managed small shop appeals to me more than a well-done large shop with lots of staff and lots of space and a corporate feel. So the big shops really had to go the extra mile to impress me – I expect them to be better – they’re bigger, have more inventory, more selections and typically an internet business to supplement their profits.

I’m also putting down my not so favorite – just so I can remember which ones I went to. My car-mate said I had to be nice, but I also have to be honest. Just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t. And just because I thought the people were rude doesn’t mean it was a normal occurrence – maybe they were having a bad day. Most times the rude person was the owner. If it says not memorable – it is just that. By the time I got to the next shop I couldn’t remember anything special about those shops marked not memorable. The shops marked wouldn’t go back fall into two categories. Some I wouldn’t go back because I wasn’t impressed by their inventory or ability to meet my needs. Some might have had tons of batiks – I don’t use batiks much or they might have had tons of civil war or 30s fabric – I don’t use them either. Sometimes it’s because I didn’t like the people. I’m sorry but no matter how good your inventory, when your people are rude, I’m not coming back.

5 Stars (in no particular order)

Giddings (All Around the Block) – Awesome shop. Pretty small shop in the middle of nowhere, but tons and tons of fabric. Big selection, lots of novelty prints, old/outdated fabric here looking like new, helpful and friendly staff, lots of embroidery patterns, big sale room, lots of batiks, tons of great panels, nice people working and shopping there.

Paris (Sew Much More) – Huge store, huge selection, bright good displays, nice and helpful people, lots of good samples. Spent a ton of money here and didn’t get a charm. My car-mate spent a little and did get a charm. I felt a little cheated, but that didn’t affect their rating. They were pretty busy but took time with every shopper – individual attention is nice. Very customer-focused but some of their workers are a bit scatter-brained. Of course so am I so I fit right in here. Update: They called me about a pattern I asked about and when they send it to me they’ll include a charm for me. That’s another reason I like this shop – they go the extra mile.

Quitman (Stitchin Heaven) – Huge store, huge selection, helpful and friendly staff, lots of staff, very little wait if any, carts to carry your bolts (loved that), lots of display area used well, variety of projects for everyone’s tastes, huge meeting area, tons going on. Lots of novelty, sports fabrics, lots of batiks, well ran shop, lots of opportunities for discounts. I did love this place but it’s like a big church. It’s busy, there’s a lot going on, and unless you find your niche and feel like you fit in, it doesn’t have a homey atmosphere like some of the others. However, lots of niches for you to find. I frequent their internet business and will continue to do so. I also love their trips/cruises and I’m considering a retreat.

Carthage (The Whistlin Chicken) – Excellent small shop, unique fabric, lots of Marti & Me rulers/gadgets. Have some really neat quilt-related prints and a framing shop. Folk-art themed fabric – one of my personal favorites. Could have spent a lot more money if I had more time, but I was on a mission. I will definitely go back again and again. People were great.

Salado (A Sewing Basket) – Nice mid-size shop. Good selection, tons of western themed fabric, lots of fun whimsical novelty fabric, lots of paper pieced patterns, great samples, great classes and classroom

Buda (B&B Quilting) – Love this small shop. Not sure why. I stayed a long time just wandering around. Felt very at home. Wish I lived closer, although I’d end up signing away my paycheck.

Lewisville (Quilt Country) – Excellent store – big and bright. Lots of help. Big selection of fabrics/patterns/books. Good activities, nice gadgets, beautiful quilt painting

McKinney (Quilt Asylum) – Great fabric selection, lots of gifts, wooden signs, big place, lots of fabric, nice helpful people, lots of staff, colors kept together

Houston (Tea Time Quilting) – Nice shop. Lots of Mary Engelbright fabrics, lots of panels. Lots of great fabric in a little place. Nice people. Looks scary from the outside – merged with Flower/Plant Shop but inside it is wonderful. Treasure trove. Priced like some of the bigger stores though.

Richmond (Quilters Cottage) – My all time favorite. Absolutely loved this shop. Huge store with a small store feel. Wonderful people. Huge selection and variety of everything (fabric, patterns, books, craft supplies). Doesn’t matter what your technique, hand or machine embroidery, hand or machine appliqué, traditional piecing, paper piecing, templates or rulers, whatever you want they have it. Great prices. Lots of sale fabrics. Lots of space for lots of people at once. Well organized – easy to find things – but takes a while to get through this store. I could spend a day here, easily. My new favorite store of any I’ve been to ever.

El Campo (Cedar Chest Quilt Shoppe) – Great new store. Lots of variety. Wonderful people, new pretty place. Nicely organized. Lots of room, lots to see, nice kits. For only being here a year they’ve done a great job.

4 Stars (in no particular order)

Dripping Springs (Valli & Kim) – Good selection, great location, great organization, well managed, wish the people were friendlier. My carmate gave this one a 5 star.

Canton (Sew n Sew) – If you want solids and/or like embroidery, this is the place for you. The woman who runs this shop( and has for many years in different locations) has forgotten more about quilting than I’ll ever know. She is a fount of information and I would love to just sit down in that shop every day with a cup of tea and listen to her stories and advice on how to do things. She had a lot of fabric but it’s like a treasure hunt to find what you want. It’s probably there though. If I wasn’t on a shop hop and we hadn’t arrived 5 minutes before closing we would have stayed a lot longer than the half hour we kept her over. Two of the nicest people we met.

Pantego (Peggy’s) - Great shop, not too/big not to small, nicely organized, only 2 years old, good fabric, friendly helpful, nice sitting area with rockers, great hanging strategy for samples (only saw in one other store and that was one of the biggies), well thought out business as a small classroom and separate small long arm room, small eating area as well. Loved this one.

Nacogdoches (French Knot Quilt Shop)– Loved this store – almost gave it 5 stars – not sure why. Not too big, not too small, pretty fabric, wide variety of styles, young and old equally happy here.

Athens (The Needle Niche) – Great selection, not well organized. Good displays, not with patterns though. Variety of techniques, variety of fabrics. Lines kept together but also colors are together. Good novelty fabric. Cheap sale fabric and nice selection of sale fabric. With a little help this would be a 5 star shop.

McKinney (Happiness is Quilting) – Nice little store. Great samples. Great kids stuff. Play area for kids Lots of appliqué. Nice sitting area

Crossroads (Minding my Ps & Qs) – New store, pleasant staff. Efficiently run, great selection. Nice classroom. Well organized. Lines of fabric kept together.
Not quite 4 stars, but still good shops – if I was in the area I would stop, but I wouldn’t make a special trip.

Bryan (Lone Star Quilts) – Good layout, bright store, roomy, lots of sports fabrics, good selection, displayed well, lots of wide backing fabric and a man cave for hubbies (great idea). But it just wasn’t warm. I’d go back but if it was much farther I probably wouldn’t.

Tyler (Sharman Sewing Center) – Lots of notions, word panels, fabric not memorable, nice older ladies, seemed very tired but pleasant, customer-focused, looks like a good place to buy a sewing machine, I bet you get great service.

Waco (Tomorrow’s Quilts) – Nice store, nice people

Wylie (Blue Ribbon Quilt Shop) – Nice shop, good selection, nice panels, great themed fabric.

3 stars or less – but worth the stop

Longview (Sharmans Sewing Center) – Lots of words and phrases/sayings fabric – good selection of other fabric – roomy place, great parking – good place to buy a machine. Lots of sewing stuff – not all quilt-related. Listed on the passport as being in Amarillo. Oops.

Jasper (Lake Area Quilts) – Very unique, smallest shop I visited. Not much selection of patterns or fabric but I still found some I loved. This is a great place to get things quilted. She has two Statler Stitchers constantly going. Her and her husband keep very busy. It’s actually crammed into two 20 ft square storage units. Hard to imagine but it’s not too crowded – somehow. I loved it. So unique, nicest people, and lots of knowledge. The local shoppers treated me like a local even though I wasn’t. Even suggested some other shops to try not on the shop hop.

Weatherford (Peachtree Quilts) – Old building, lots of samples, unique fabric, unique patterns, owner is great designer. Could use better organization. Great couple, customer-focused. Heard that another employee will talk your ear off – beware if you’re in a hurry.

Tomball (Quilters Crossing) – New shop, tons of bright and fun fabric, small store. Tons of cute patterns. If I was in the area I would go back but I wouldn’t make a special trip for this one.

Spring (Hen House) – Quilting is a sideline – the main focus is knitting and other yarn-related crafts. However it is a huge place with lots of fabric. Lots of primitive and dark fabrics but variety as well. If I was in the area I would go back but I wouldn’t make a special trip for this one.

Not memorable – Brenham (Stitch Haven), Hemphill (Cedar Tree Nest Quilts), Arlington (Quilt Among Friends), Arlington (Magnolia Quilt House), Denton (Material Girl Quilt Shop)

Wouldn’t go back – Lockhart (Simple Sewing Solutions), Tyler (A Nimble Thimble), Fort Worth (Cabbage Rose), Clifton (Quilting Cousins), Fredericksburg (Pocketful of Poseys), Cedar Park (Ready to Sew Bernina), Round Rock (Austin Sewing Machines), Cypress (Quiltworks)

If I ever retire from government service and decide to start my own quilt shop I know exactly what I would and wouldn't do. It's been quite educational and a wonderful experience talking with some of the shop owners and seeing up close and personal a well run shop and the other side of the coin.

Next year I hope to hit the ones I missed this year, plus go back to my favorites.

September Mini - Right on Time!

This is another Cindy Edgerton Little Bit pattern that I bought years ago. The Halloween one went together so quickly I decided to make the September pattern, which features things related to school. I got it partially quilted and decided to post a picture. It still needs the little tires and the binding. I love it and can't wait to put it up in my cube. I'm hoping to finish it up on Sunday.

Happy Halloween - a little early

When I first learned to quilt I went to the Annual Quilt Odyssey in Hershey. Pennsylvania. I found these cute little foundation pieced block patterns called Little Bits by Cindy Edgerton. They were miniature quilts printed on tissue paper. There were so many I liked and they were only $5 each (for 4 copies of the pattern), so I bought a few. The only place I could find them was at the Hershey Show, so each year I’d go back and buy some more. I even bought duplicates and didn’t even realize it until I moved.
I never made any of the patterns because the first time I tried I ripped up the tissue paper and just couldn’t finish the project. Well, I really wanted to make a mini-quilt for my cubicle at work. I recently moved into a new building with very neutral colors and I wanted something bright and fun, so I decided to try the Little Bits Halloween Miniature Quilt. I taped the tissue paper to copy paper, scanned it into the computer and then printed it on the paper I use for paper piecing. It worked perfectly.
This weekend I pieced the quilt together, it’s adorable. Just need to sandwich, quilt (stitch in the ditch) and bind and it’ll be ready to hang. But it’s an October quilt for Halloween and September is just starting and when I looked in my stack of patterns, I found a perfect mini for September. I’m going to try to make that one this weekend. But in the meantime, here’s the top of my Miniature Halloween Quilt.

Quilt for Cindy

I have owed one of my friends a quilt for a while. She likes angels and I bought fabric about 5 years ago for a lone star/angel quilt. Never did get it made. Then I found some Jim Shore angel fabric a few years ago and got that and some coordinating fabric. When I found out I’d been moving away, I planned to make matching wall hangings for us out of that fabric. Never did get those made either. Then I found out she was getting married. Perfect time to make her quilt. Except I put it off too long and then I had surgery and couldn’t sew.

Then I finally recovered from the surgery and twisted my knee so I still couldn’t sew. If I hadn’t waited until the last minute to decide I would make a quilt this wouldn’t be a problem. But .... finally I was feeling better and really wanted to make the Jim Shore angel quilt. Once I decided what I wanted to do, I was sure I wouldn't get even close to done in time for her wedding celebration and Aloha party (she is moving to Hawaii with her new hubby) and was pretty sure I wouldn’t even get done in time for her birthday, so I decided a Christmas present would be best.

But I went and got a cortisone shot in my knee and was feeling pretty good, so I figured I’d see what I could get done so I could at least show her a block or two or a picture. It was amazing. Once I decided on a plan, it went together smoothly and quickly. Hardly any unsewing necessary. I actually got the top done the day before I was flying back to Maryland for her party. It came out much better than I thought it would. I didn’t have enough of the Jim Shore fabric and wanted to use purple since it’s her favorite color, and luckily in my stash was the perfect color and with some creative thinking I was able to incorporate the coordinating fabric - made hearts and stars blocks with fussy cut angels in the center - alternated those with Jim Shore angels from the panel I had bought - and put it together with some gorgeous gold fabric for sashing – the top was beautiful.

But I didn’t have any time to get it quilted. So I called my favorite long arm quilter (Peggy in Jarrettsville) and she fitted me and my quilt in to her very busy schedule. I dropped the quilt and backing off on Thursday (rented a car and went right from the airport). She let me pick the thread and quilt design and I found a design that matched the blue fabric and a thread that matched the gold sashing. She must have stayed up late because Friday morning she called to say it was done. AMAZING!!! I drove back (2 hours) and picked it up – and she let me trim and sew the binding on at her house. It looked perfect. She even pressed it all out for me so all I had to do was hand sew the binding to the back. So I headed back to Fort Washington to spend some time with my best bud who lives there and we watched movies while I hand sewed. I got it done Friday night and Saturday was the party. It worked out perfectly.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Cindy with her quilt, but she loved it. I posted a picture of the top on facebook and my daughter said it was my best quilt I had made so far. But she didn’t even get to see it all quilted and bound. It’s even better in person. And it really is my best work to date. Love it. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Postcard Swap

I had surgery a few weeks ago and haven't been able to sew since prolonged sitting wasn't allowed and I couldn't figure out how to sew lying down. Now I'm allowed to sit for up to 20 minutes at a time and I was finally able to get back to my favorite pasttime.

I had signed up for a postcard swap and needed to make 3 postcards. While on a recent Quilter's Quest bus trip to 6 quilt shops I found some adorable halloween fabric. So I decided to use that in my postcards.

I know it's early, but orange is my favorite color and Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I figured maybe these cards would inspire others. This is the perfect time to get Halloween fabric.

These things are tons of fun to make and tons of fun to receive. It's like a smile in the mailbox. Tomorrow I'm making a few more for some other quilters who have never seen one in person.

Life is good!

Great Sewing Weekend

Was able to finish two table toppers this weekend. I just finished a 30-week long social justice program at my church and wanted to give Thank You gifts to our two instructors. Had some pretty fabric with crosses I wanted to use, so I made two table toppers with them. Since the fabric was blue and gold I made two blue and gold star blocks from Carol Doak's 50 Fabulous Paper-pieced Stars Book. I used the Minnesota block with slight modifications. Can't decide which one I like better, but since they're both gifts, I just hope their owners like them.

Simply Radiant Block of the Month Block Swap

On my favorite on line group, we've been going through a block of the month program. I hosted a swap where we provided the corner pieces of fabric to four people and they used those to make blocks for us. I made four blocks and got four blocks. I used the ones I received to make the table runner below. The other four pictures are the blocks I made for my swap mates using their fabric and instructions.

Quilting Cruise

Just got back from my first quilting cruise. It was through Stitchin Heaven and Royal Carribean to Roatan Honduras, Belize City Belize and Cozumel Mexico. The cruise was seven days and three days at sea were quilting classes. One was a Belize Mariner's Compass Star by Carol Doak.

Another class was an applique class. I don't like hand stitching, so I'm not doing that one. The last class was a piecing quilt called Gumballs. I combined two colors (instead of leaving mine monochromatic) and came up with [Orange] Crush on Carol Doak [Blue].

In my spare time I worked on a Block of the Month I had been participating in for about a year but hadn't sewn one block yet. It's called Dancing with the Stars. This is the Two-Step and Pablo Doble.

There's another cruise next March. If I'd known about that one I would have waited. This one was great, but that one will be better as all three classes are Paper Piecing Classes - my favorite technique for quilt piecing and you end up with a complete quilt designed by three different quilt teachers.

It was a lot of fun and I got to meet more than 50 other quilters. Many of the quilters I met were from my favorite online group -- the Carol Doak Quilting Group on Yahoo. It was so nice to put faces with peoples names I've chatted with for years.

L&L Quilts

I finished up two quilts for my grandsons (Lliam and Lucas) today. Luke likes trains so his has a train track and he loves trucks, so that's why I picked the backing. Lliam likes racecars. Lliams quilt turned out significantly bigger than Lukes, so I made it into a quillow with a monster as the spot where you tuck the quilt up into. I think it turned out pretty good, but it was really too long for a traditional quillow and I made the pocket too small. Ooops. Maybe I'll do better next time. In another year or so, I'll make a quillow for Luke and a bug quilt for Lliam. Already have the fabrics ready.

New Challenge

My favorite online quilting group just reached 7,000 members and to commemorate the milestone, Carol Doak designed a new block for us and issued a new challenge. We had to make a quilt project using four of these blocks. I already had one (in the center), so yesterday I made three more (slightly modified) and put them together. I think it's pretty cool. Now I just have to find some border fabric to go with it.

Taught Barb to quilt

Barb came for the weekend and was going to do some projects around the house, but needed help that I couldn't give so instead I taught her how to paper piece quilt blocks. She took to it right away. She made a block for Ben's quilt and liked the color combo so well she made herself some placemats for her kitchen. She made them miniatures (which means each little block is only 2 inches bit and it took 16 blocks for each placemat). I had to help a little but the majority of the work was done by her. She really caught on quick and she's so creative with a great eye for color. I know she'll be making some beautiful quilts when she sits down to do it again. She sure is off to a fantastic start. Before this she had never even sewn. Quite an accomplishment for a weekend of work. And we had fun and fit in our own mini shop hop to local quilt shops. Life is good!

Last block

Finished my last block of a very sewful weekend. Unfortunately I don't know when I'll have another chance to sew. Too many other commitments. This one looks better in person than in the picture. It doesn't show the contrast in the photo. Not sure if I'll keep it, or cull it later. We'll see. Only five more blocks left to catch up.

Day and Night Star Flower Radiant Block

This pattern is free on Carol Doak's Web site but I had to modify it to make it fit in with all the other Radiant BOM blocks. I'm not sure I love the color/fabric placement, but it's okay for now. More to do, no time to waste. Tomorrow is a work day.

Another Golden Radiant Block

I modified the December block from the first Carol Doak Yahoo Group Block of the Month and made it in yellow, black and white to go in my Golden Radiant Quilt. Got it done just in time to wait for my new dishwasher. Life is good!

New Project

Last night I decided I needed to make something that wasn't red black and white or yellow black and white. I went digging in one of the fabric closets and found some fabric from a friend, who happens to be coming to visit this week. So I figured it would be cool to use it so when she gets here she can see it in a place of honor. I haven't made a table topper for my new house yet, so that was the project I picked. The fabric is Mary Englebreit. The table topper came out pretty good, even on the back. Bright primary colors always look so sharp against black. Took less than 4 hours, start to finish; quilted and everything. That's the kind of project I like -- immediate gratification. And it goes really well with all the other tea stuff in my dining area.

Mini Wall Hanging Challenge

Can't wait for spring.

Git 'er done

We have a challenge on my quilting group to finish started projects and do better at finishing anything else we start in 2011. It's called Get 'er done or GED. Earlier this year we had a challenge on the same group to make a quilt that was 9" x 9" or smaller and use 4 different block designs. After the challenge I put some borders on mine, making it 14 1/2 inches square. I love it! So I added it to the GED challenge and it was the first one I decided to finish. The stems on the flowers are actually done with a textile marker. I might just embroider them over top. I just have to dig out my embroidery thread. But at least it is done and can go on the wall as is. This is the first of about 30 projects I hope to finish in 2011. We'll see how that goes.

Cathy in SATX
Every day is a good day to quilt.

Ben's Quilt

I started this quilt 3 years ago with a block of the month, but my son wanted it to fit his queen-size bed, so I started making more blocks. He gave me the color scheme of red, black and white. I put it away with only 2 blocks missing. I had never done a bed quilt and thought it too hard. I took it out recently (after putting together a king-size quilt for someone else). I made the missing 2 blocks and then found two others I didn't really like, so I made new ones to replace them. I've done the layout now but want to look at it for a while before I actually put it together. Once it's together there's no changing my mind. In a graphics file I can easily adjust where the blocks are. What do you think? I have striped border fabric and some really cool backing fabric (although will have to use two different prints). I'm ready to sew it together, I think .....

Mock up of Golden Radiant Quilt

Added some more blocks to the layout. This is kind of what this quilt will look like, just so you get an idea of where I'm going. The outside black border fabric is actually a print with yellow and white on a black background. But the rest is pretty accurate -- although this is only a graphics mock up.

Two more Simply Radiant BOM blocks done

The sewing fire is definitely burning down. Not the desire -- just the time. I was only able to finish 2 blocks yesterday and don't think I'll have any time today for any. So until next Friday, this is probably it. But the good news is I have 13 blocks done, which is more than half of the 25 I'm going to do. The other good news is Carol Doak showed me a layout that doesn't include connector blocks, so 25 blocks is all I'll have to do for the king size quilt. I'll alternate those with solid black squares. She did a mock up and it looked good. I'm working on a better mock up using the blocks I've done so far. I like it.

So many points!

Yippee! I was able to finish 3 blocks again today. I had to stay up until midnight, but I got them done. This latest block was the most difficult one I've done so far. It was the March block of the 2008 Block of the Month. The original size was 6 inches, and that was hard enough but to fit in with the rest, I had to shrink that to 4 1/4 inches. That means all those points were even tinier than the first time I made this block 2 years ago. The points really radiate now. Well, it's finally done, it looks pretty good, and it's a keeper. I now have 11 of 25 blocks needed to finish this quilt. Who knows maybe I can do another 3 tomorrow. That would be awesome!

Another Radiant Block

I'm not sure if I like this one or not, but it'll do for now. It was originally the April block for the first Block of the Month the Carol Doak designed for her Yahoo Group. I liked it when it first came out but it doesn't really work in the color scheme I'm using. Once I get all the blocks done, I may replace it with something else. We'll have to see.

First Block of 2011

I had the perfect morning. Woke up, ate breakfast, started sewing. Now it's not quite noon and I have my first block done. This is a modified Rays of Hope block. It fits in perfectly with the Simply Radiant Blocks of the Month. It almost looks like Carol designed this one for this BOM. And I especially like it in these colors. On to the next.