Anyway, I was going through the bins of my UFO’s and came across this.

This quilt got started in the late 1990′s as a group project when I worked at ThimbleCreek. There were probably twelve or so of us on staff then and we would pick a quilt and each of us would make 12 blocks exactly the same and then we would exchange blocks so everyone walked away with 12 different blocks. I think I participated in four such projects while I was working there. It was a lot of fun and I’ve gotten some gorgeous quilts because of those group projects. This quilt is the only one that I never finished.

When I opened up the box, I just had the ten pieced blocks.

Also in the box were the fabrics for the applique blocks. Yes, it’s applique again. Real change of pace right? There were only six whole blocks and ten setting triangles that needed to be appliqued. I’m happy to say that I have finished the six whole blocks and am mostly finished with two of the setting triangles.

It’s been pretty quick and I’m pleased with how it’s looking on the design wall.

I can’t remember the name of the book this pattern was in, I just remember it’s from an antique Pennsylvania Dutch quilt. The pattern calls for a pretty elaborate applique border but I don’t know if I’ll do that. Although now that I’m thinking about it, the quilt is so complex and rich, it would probably look silly with a simple, plain border. That means more applique, hum, we shall see. I’m really loving it.

Liza and I had a lovely time in New Zealand and she is now back in Boston, looking for work. Rick and I were away for a few weeks visiting family on the East Coast.  We had a great time with all our family, ate a lot of really good food,  and the weather was lovely. We came home rested and happy.

Then we had to get through some major surgery for me and that’s kept me close to home since. It has allowed me some major time for hand work and for some reason, I’ve really been in the mood for applique. This is a block of the month project I purchased back in 1995 0r 96, can’t really remember which. It’s called the Victory Garden and is by Susan Powell. I’ve been loving it and have finished FIVE (!!!!!) blocks in the last 4 weeks. Here are the first six all sewn together with the sashing and posts.

And here are a couple of close ups.

I’m working on the eggplants, but I think it’s finally time to take a break. There are twelve blocks in all and the eggplants will be number eight so I’ve gotten pretty far. I think it’s time to knit or crochet for a bit.

Here are some of the pinwheels.

They really are awesome. I was going through my files for inspiration one day and just happened upon a pattern that I had ripped out of an old Quilters Newsletter. The pattern had the little pinwheels going around larger pinwheels in a diagonal setting. I liked the idea and set about trying to find two fabrics that I already owned that would work for the larger pinwheels.

This is what I came up with.

I like both of the fabrics in the larger pinwheels, especially the tealish, floral one. But something isn’t right. My friend Susan came by today and she had the perfect solution. Take out the little dot that is paired with the floral and replace it with the same white that we used in the little pinwheels. Brilliant. I had to make a couple just to see if it would work and ……….

It totally ties everything together and gives it that fresh, modern feel that is so popular these days. I’ve really been in the mood to sew lately which is kind of insane seeing that Liza and I are leaving for New Zealand tomorrow. We will be gone for 2 1/2 weeks and I don’t know if I’ll be able to blog from there. Would be pretty cool if I could. We shall see. If not, have a great month and happy sewing.

It’s finally starting to feel like Christmas around here. Vivienne spent the day with me yesterday helping to decorate the tree. We had lots of fun unwrapping the old ornaments and remembering where they came from. We had Charlie Brown Christmas playing and the tree smelled so good. What a fun day.

Last week was super busy. I managed to get all the East Coast packages in the mail which is always a big relief. It’s only after they are safely on their way that I feel I can concentrate on decorations around here.

We don’t have a lot of places to put up decorations but the area on top of the bookshelves and the hutch in the living room always holds the tree collection. I haven’t added many things to it in the last ten years. The wooden clock with the bird on it I made when we lived in California. The round box with the poinsetta on the front was made by my sister in law Carolyn. The little spool ornaments on the feather tree I made when we first got married.

The santa collection usually goes on the desk in the living room and on the hutch in the dining room. Most of these are purchased except for the on on the left with the white, white beard. An old friend in California dabbled in paper mache for a while and we made a couple of these santas.

This quilt was not made to be a Christmas quilt but the colors are perfect so it hangs in the dining room every year. I made this many years ago back in California. I think it was a pattern called Chinese Coins but I don’t really remember.

This wreath always hangs in the kitchen and is made from Anise pods. Even after all these years, it still gives off a wonderful smell.

I do love all the memories that come with Christmas. So many projects I remember doing with the kids. The funky ornaments they made in elementary school. The things our families have made or given us. It all makes me feel warm inside.

I’ve finished the four smaller blocks that are on the sides:

And I’ve almost finished the big one in the center

I was hoping the get this done by Halloween this year but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’m going to keep at it though so next year I won’t work myself silly the month before Halloween trying to finish it. My goal is to finish by the end of 2010. I think that’s reasonable!

If you don’t know what it is, an “i spy” is a quilt where you use conversation prints, hopefully with every piece being different. Several different shapes can be used for the pieces and I decided to use hexagons. (I’m having a total love affair with hexagons this summer but that’s a whole different post.) I figured I would need 165 hexagons for the size quilt I wanted and there is no way I have that many different conversation prints in my stash. So I asked all my quilting friends for any interesting fabrics that they were willing to contribute. I was especially looking for sports prints, fishing prints and beach stuff. I wanted things that matched Karina’s interests. Well, I just got the greatest stuff. Susan even had a print with Russian nesting dolls which is perfect because Karina was adopted from Russia.

I considered several different ways to set the blocks and in the end put them in rows with a rainbow of solids gradating from yellow at the top to lime green at the bottom. My sister used primary colors when she redecorated Karina’s room so I think this will complement it perfectly. And since Karina is not a real girly girl, I chose this floral for the border.

I’m really pleased with how it’s turning out. I just took my mom’s quilt off the long-arm today so I need to get these borders sewn on and I can quilt this one next. I can’t wait to get it done and send it off to Karina. I hope she likes it.

I got home yesterday and am finally rested and unpacked and am ready to get back in the swing of things. Here are a couple more projects from the week.

For these pajamas, I used an old McCalls pattern for the pants and a pattern from  Amy Butlers’ In Stitches book for the kimono. The fabric for the kimono is an Alexander Henry that is at least five or six years old. I’ve been saving it for just the right project. I think I picked well. They are very comfortable and I wore them every night.

Linda spent the last two days working on this clothesline tote. She got the wonderful handles from A Common Thread. It’s not finished but you can tell it’s going to be gorgeous.

Jennifer spent the week working on album blocks. She is making two matching twin size quilts for her extra room. Here are some of the blocks.

There was lots of knitting going on all week. Nothing got finished so I didn’t take any pictures. I also spent a lot of time working on a new summer dress. It was such a project that I’ll give it a special blog post in a few days. We did do a bunch of sewing but it was also a wonderfully relaxing week. These were taken out at our friend Bettys’ house in Black Butte. It was bliss.

Susan and I drove up yesterday and arrived at Jennifer’s house around 1:30. We started our vacation by attending a yoga class and getting totally blissed out and ready to embrace the week. The rest of the day was spent eating and knitting and watching the Tour de France. We took a walk after a wonderful dinner of wild trout cooked expertly by Susan, our resident chef for the week. Our local buddy Sue stopped in for a glass of wine and a chat and brought this adorable gnome that she had made.

Silly Susan

Sitting outside on Jennifer’s deck is a wonderful thing. Blissful. Her house backs up to Wychus Creek and the sound of the babbling water is heavenly.

I haven’t seen any deer yet but I’m sure I will. I plan to spend several hours lounging in this hammock soaking up the sights and sounds. Ahhhh……. I’m loving it.

This visit we worked on a new quilt for Rick and I’s bed. The quilt that is on our bed now is at least 15 years old, so I’ve been wanting to make a new one.  I started this quilt last year and had all the blocks done. There are 324 blocks in the quilt and the finished size is 102 x 102 so we had to sew it together in four quadrants.  We managed to get all the blocks sewn as well as get the borders on and the back pieced. I must say, it was a lot of sewing. It took us four days to get everything done, and I am very  happy with how it turned out.

Kristy wanted to learn how to make one of the clothesline baskets that I’ve posted about recently. She decided on a fruit basket for her kitchen counter and chose bright red to go with the red sofa and quilt.  It turned out great and I think she’s hooked.

Just imagine what kind of trouble we could get into if we lived close to each other! I love my bff, we always have the best time.

The second project in the value workshop is a basket weave quilt. The aim is to have a light, medium and a dark that will give the finished piece a feeling of dimension. This hinges on getting enough contrast between said light, medium, and dark.

The third project from the value workshop is the hourglass blocks. Here we are looking for a light, a medium and a dark that we sew into strip sets and then cut into 90 degree triangles. The fun is in arranging them and seeing what happens. You can get all sorts of different movement and emphasis depending on how you arrange the blocks. I love this exercise. Being the third exercise of the day, the students are getting tired by this point! We really work hard in this workshop.

And to finish off this post, one of the students had taken my yin yang class years ago and brought in her finished quilt. It was just fabulous. I love seeing the results of classes. It’s such a joy.