A possible setting.......

.......maybe. I DO like it ! Need to shop for some setting fabric, and I might need to make some purple blocks. I had planned to, but didn't have 6 or 7 fabrics that I like together that were as playful as the other fabrics I've used. Most of these brights are from a separate little tub of "kiddie prints" that I kept just for baby quilts. I had thought of this one as becoming another baby quilt, but this setting (which I've run across numerous times on Flickr and wish I could give credit for, but don't remember names ,) would really make the most of a small amount of block piecing. It could cover a twin-sized bed.......wouldn't that be great? By the way, it looks pieced and quilted, but isn't ............ I've laid it out on the backside of a finished quilt.

EDIT: I just rediscovered the quilt that inspired my layout and blocks. Though mine are just staight pieced, rather than round and round, I was inspired by "FROM THE HANDBASKET"'s quilt that she posted here. Oh, how I adore this quilt !

And let me just say that I am tickled plumb to death to find out that several of my friends and family members read my blog regularly ! I don't mind at all if you don't comment, but I do love that stopping by makes you feel closer to me, and maybe even inspires a project of your own once in awhile. ( I do want to see photos, though !) I miss our closeness ! ! ! ! ! ! SO MUCH ! ! !

But now, I feel you all around me when I post and I can share my days with all of you.

Playing in the rainbow !

Yes, Jackie, I try to stay busy........I feel awful on days when I don't have anything new to show for my time. I try to read, and I try to make myself get excited about cleaning house, but if you want to see me happy, find me in my sewing room, with a mess of scraps at my feet and blocks stacking up on the end of the ironing board !

Sewing Machine questionnaire

I ran across this questionnaire today on another blog and thought it would be fun to share my sewing machine with all of you. You can check out other people's responses at this website.............. http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=812

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What brand and model do you have?
Singer -- Model 15
How long have you had it?
31 years
How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
These days, you take your chances, hoping to find one at an estate sale.......maybe $25.00, maybe $200.
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
I make quilts and bags, curtains and toaster covers, clothing for the granddaugher, when she's available, and I even hem the occasional pair of jeans or slacks.
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I sew atleast 3 times a week, usually making a baby-sized quilt top all at one go.
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I absolutely LOVE my machine.........this one ! I have 3 others, but she is the dominant female in the family ! You know, I have never named her, but have often talked to her.
What features does your machine have that work well for you?
She's a straight-stitch only machine, perfect for quilt-top piecing, and my favorite three features are
(1) the skinny presser foot ,
(2) the knee control lever, and
(3) the single hole in the throat plate, rather than the wide hole for zig-zag machines.
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
Not personally, as we are in sync, but the fact that she coasts to a stop, (rather than stopping immediately upon removing your knee from the control,) drove my dear friend JoAnn CRAZY !
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
Oh, sure. I moved away from home, taking only what I could carry in a suitcase and a trunk, just the hubby, me and a 3 week old baby on a Trailways bus. Well, after falling in love with sewing upon taking my first lesson in first-year home-ec class, being without a sewing machine was as hard on me as leaving the family ! But that was one thing that I could change quickly, so when we spied an ad in the newspaper for a $25.00 sewing machine, we couldn't get there fast enough ! Sad to say, the ad was one of those old bait and switch deals where they only had ONE of the $25. machines, and it was gone, but looky what we have for $100. Well, the $100 machine was gear driven, and since the hubby wanted to use it for leather work too, it turned out to be a dream come true for the two of us. She came in a plastic carrying case, and we took her home and I started making clothes for the baby, and refurbishing our little travel trailer. As the years went by, we found a cabinet to fit her, and once, when my daughter was a young girl, we even ran across another machine just like the original, and we bought it for my daughter. It came in a cabinet and my husband set about immediately refinishing it. He did a beautiful job,

but when he wanted to do my cabinet next, I told him that mine was a work-horse, and didn't need any 'ribbons'.

To this day, the old girl is the one I go to for making my quilt tops unless I'm at a quilt camp or class, whereupon I use my Singer Featherweight.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
In a heartbeat ! She's a ROCK ! We found a third one at a flea market and sold it to my best friend, another avid quiltmaker !

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
You want a machine that is easy to maintain by yourself, without a lot of complicated electronics.

Do you have a dream machine?

What have I just been talking about ! ? !

First top finished for challenge

Now, keep in mind that coordinated quilts are not my forte´,.......I'm more the 'scrap quilt' type of gal. But I'm always up for a challenge, so this is my first attempt !

I designed it using my EQ5 program, first, imitating these fabrics as closely as possible, and then I translated it into the fabric I had to use.

I don't know how to 'start' something ! I've always had the luxury of time to complete a project in one sitting if it's small enough, so I just followed my usual pattern, ignoring hubby, and stayed with it until it was pieced.

Baby Quilt Challenge -- begun !

I don't want to stop for long, because I'm actually WORKING, rather than thinking about working. But I wanted to post this quickly.........

My dearest friend in Oklahoma, and the world for that matter, sent me a challenge this week. You all know that I have a few baby quilts to make, so she cleaned out her shelves and sent me some fabrics to put together into a quilt or two. I have to use her fabrics as the MAIN ingredients, and I have 30 days to do it (starting May 20, when I received the package.) Here are the fabrics...........


and here is my start......that's all you get for now !






Okay, back to work..........WHAT A HOOT !

Puzzle quilt.........bordered -- top is finished !

I ran over to our local Hancocks Fabric store on my trusty electric bicycle the other day, and I chose 4 fabrics to use as the border on this quilt........it was going to look SO COOL, a different primary print fabric for each border. But then I discovered that Hancocks had a coupon for 40% off of ONE fabric, so I chose the one that I liked best THAT DAY. Since then, I have wondered if I should have gone with the royal blue with doggy bones on it.

But, I don't know if this quilt is going to be for just Bubby, or if I will send it as a general 'kiddy' quilt, for both of them to use, especially when they're feeling 'puny'. I'm probably dreaming, and there's no such thing as sharing ONE QUILT among siblings, but since I only had one child, I can live in ignorance for awhile.

For now, I don't want to think about the postage for mailing 2 quilts all the way to Germany, although I do already have the doggy nine-patch quilt top that I could quilt up for Zoe, once a nice pink or purple border is added.

Anyway, I also purchased a queen-sized polyester low-loft batting big enough to do two small quilts like this (see, I'm not really so ignorant !), so I'll be waiting for a nice day that'll allow me to baste this quilt outside in the sunshine (usually means lots of wind around here, too, but now that I've changed the sewing room back to a bedroom, I have no choice but to wait for the outside basting.)