Easy, Kicked-back, and Hand-Stitchin'

 

Yesterday's project was just my little hand quilting project that still needed to have the binding hand-sewn to the back.  Mindless, but oh so soothing to work on.  An old movie goes well with it too.  Some hot cocoa, or something stronger if you like would be good also.  Ah, bliss.

Genie

My Photo Opp with Bonnie!

My version of Old Tobacco Roads that I brought to Bonnie's class

I brought a quilt top made from one of Bonnie's Mysteries to share at class.  My friend Lynn took this photo of Bonnie and me posing with my top (didn't have room to pack any finished quilts).  My top is named LeMaster's Tobacco Roads in honor of one of my ancestral families who farmed tobacco along the Potomac River in colonial times.

What fun we all had that day!  Thanks, Lynn.


Genie

Last Year's Teapotz Revisited

Hi Folks,

One year ago when I was camping out here in Quartzsite, my 5 day project was to make a funky little Teapotz wallhanging (a la Jan Mullen, a very talented quilter from down under).  With the (...ahem) odds and ends that have been occupying me since then, I did not make it any farther with the project than the little quilt body that you saw last January.  So today was the day for some progress.

Little teapots fabric goes in the first border!

 

 

It doesn't show up really well here, but I found some fabric with cute little teapots at a thrift store,  of all places!  I immediately knew what to do with this fabric.  A closer shot:

There are teapots and teacups in this small-scale print

 

 

Here is an in-progress shot as I added borders:

The second border goes on

 

 

Here's the finished quilt top!

I plan on using this for a grab-n-go hand quilting project for when whenever machine piecing and quilting just won't work.  Mmmm...looking forward to some hand piecing evenings!


Genie

Making Little Units for a Big Quilt!

Hi Y'all,

Today I worked on my second Quiltville class project, Star Struck.  It is designed by Quiltville's Bonnie and taught by her in an all day class at Road to California last Sunday.  Another fun day of sewing, sharing, making new quilting friends and even eating birthday cake!  

The quilt is made of very simple shapes that combine to make the loveliest twirling stars.

You can find detailed instructions at Quiltville.

Start with these 2-patches

Now corner triangles have been added to 2 opposite corners

I have been making these units all today.  And since I want to make a BIG quilt (why couldn't I just make a little quilt once in a while?), I need lots of these units.

The units go together like this to make stars!

Tomorrow, another project, or maybe I'll feel like continuing with this one!



Genie

Back in the Saddle Again

Hi,

Remember me?  I'm the Wanda Gene who quilts (or Wanda or Genie, I answer to any and all of these), but who has not been blogging for a very long time.

I also have not been quilting during this time.  I have had things I could have blogged about but no time or DSL.  Really...no...time.

We have been fixing up the Simi Valley house.  It will be a retirement house for us when a number of projects are completed, but just not for the time being.  Right now it is a great base from which to visit our kids and grand-kids.  We also hope to get back to our previous adventures of traveling across our beloved USA soon.

My Mother is settled into a group home and I bring her home with us every weekend that we are in town.
She gets to be a part of all the family get-togethers.

All of this is easier to talk about than it was to actually do.  So quilting went out the window.

Until this past week.

Bonnie Hunter, the inspiring Queen of Quiltville, has got this old gal quiltin' again!  I took two classes with her at Road to California and it was WONDERFUL!  My class projects were two of the free patterns that have been on her website for some time but I had not gotten around to making either of then.  They are Jared Takes a Wife (using the Blackford's Beauty block) and Star Struck.  We had so much fun, just sewing away with no men asking for help with things!

Chains of fabric strips!

Sunday's class was Bonnie's birthday, complete with a fabulous cake.

Happy birthday, Bonnie

So today I am out in Quartzsite for our annual campout with our ham radio group and I am in Piecing Heaven!  Among my several projects:

 

My four patches--a leaders and enders project

I brought these four patches that I had made with no particular project in mind at the time.

 

Then I turned them into these....

Blackford's Beauty block

This is the full block that I completed as a sample block in class.  Since then I have been concentrating on building the units assembly-line fashion.  Woo-hoo, my needle is hot!

Tomorrow, another project.

Genie

My Little Andie's Getting to Be a Big Boy!

Hello Everybody!

Here is what my cute and cuddly puppy Andie has been up to lately (well....some of it, anyway).  This is Andie de-constructing one of those shower skin buffers.

Andie has lost his cottony puppy fluff that he had just a few weeks ago and his coat is becoming very silk-like.  His short puppy muzzle is being replaced by the longer one that is characteristic of German Shepherd Dogs.  He is adding lots of muscle to the soft little puppy body that was his when we got him.  One ear stands up consistently and the other occasionally.  And he is getting so hard to lift!!

Here Andie is standing next to a sofa and I hope it provides a some frame of reference.

Finally a Little Quilting......It's Been So Long!

Hi You'All,

I finally sat down in my new sewing room to do just a little something quilty.  Wow, have the last few months been busy and exhausting.  And most of all I have missed quilting.  So I just began to sew the binding on my little solids quilt with the big hand quilting stitches.

Here are a few images from the beach scene painted on the wall of my sewing room:

Here is a portion of my newly organized quilting closet:

I love looking at my closet so much that I originally decided to remove the sliding mirrored doors....but ultimately changed my mind in order to prevent sun-fading of my fabric.  It is really inspiring to look at what I have to work with whenever I go in this room....soon I hope that it will be everyday, all day long!

Besides doing our move (complicated), I have been finding a group home for my 86 year old mother who can no longer live by herself.  We found a really great one, a 6 resident home where her special needs caused by macular degeneration will be met.  Her meds will be dispensed, meals prepared and served family-style, and she will no longer be socially isolated.  The staff is friendly and caring.

We are really pleased that she has been looking forward to this and is now enjoying her new home.  If any of you ladies are going through this with your elderly loved ones, please send me an e-mail and I can tell you more about my experience.

Well, 'nuff said for now.