Laurel Cherry Block

Just finished the laurel cherry block last night. 

This is the halfway point to finishing this quilt!  Many, many thanks to my virtual quilting friends in the US, Australia, Canada and Europe for contributing the Lancaster cake stand blocks for this quilt.  I am really enjoying making the applique blocks so much.  So excited that a new quilt store is opening close to home today, so of course, I have to run over and check it out.  Fingers crossed they will have a selection of reproduction and prim fabrics!  Hope you all have a lovely weekend and time to get a few stitches in.

1-1-11 Happy New Year!

Was so thrilled to receive this wonderful hooked rug from Kelley, a Yahoo friend, for Christmas.  Kelley makes the most gorgeous rugs, and I was thrilled to receive one of her wonderful creations.

Our oldest daughter drew these pictures of her Grandmother as a young girl, a teenager, and a young woman (1930s - 1940s) for her sister's Christmas present.  We all were thrilled so see what a wonderful, heartfelt present she gave her sister, and we are so proud of her drawing talent.

Think this is the year of the little quilt as I have been reading on many others' blogs, so wanted to show one I finished and handquilted in 2010.  Little quilts appeal on so many levels: its a way to test out different fabric color combinations; an incentive to finish a project from start to finish when time and patience are limited; and they are so fun to display!  I love the hand quilted look, and since this was my first attempt on a little quilt, hopefully I will become better at it...  I can already imagine different designs and thread colors to use on the next one.

Looking forward to a great 2011, and I am so grateful to have met so many fellow bloggers during 2010 whose blogs I have thoroughly enjoyed, and who have enriched my life through comments left on my blog.  Can't wait to see the projects we all have ahead of us this year!

Basket Bug

Yes, I too have been bitten by the cute basket bug, and have been making the Trick or Treat baskets from the Where the Cold Wind Blows book from Blackbird Designs.  These baskets will be swapped out and will eventually make their way to quilters all across the US and Australia.  Can't wait until October to see the baskets I get back!

Its the end of the gardening season, so I have been harvesting the seed pods from my black-eyed susan flowers to plant again next summer.  I love  these flowers as they are so colorful, drought-resistant and long lived.  I always plant a big patch outside my kitchen window to enjoy all summer long.  I will have way too many seeds to use myself, so if you are one of the first ten friends who would like some seeds, please leave me a comment, and I'll get a packet of susan seeds off in the mail to you.

Cherry Basket Block

Finished a cherry tree block for a friend this morning. Spring is bursting forth in the backyard, and soon the real cherry tree will be blooming. Hope for bowls of cherries this year, with plenty to share with the birds, of course.

New Friends in Folsom

Met up with two new friends from my Primitive Yahoo group at the Folsom Quilt Show on Saturday. They are lovely ladies and we all had the best time looking at the quilts and having lunch at a Mexican restaurant after the show! Only got to take one picture of this gorgeous applique quilt at the show before my camera died, but I'm happy that I got this one. We laughed after the show when we discovered that we all purchased some of the same fabric that is shown in the first two photos. Thought the fabric would go well in the Spencer Museum quilt that I am making.

A wonderful home dec store in Folsom is going out of business (sad!), so was able to purchase the birds for 40% off. The white bird was sitting on a green painted box in the store, but I thought I can paint my own little box? Purchased the paper mache box and green paint at Michaels, and will paint/prim it up with some brown shoe polish. Fell in love with the Mr. Jingles Santa Doll pattern by Reets' Rags to Stitches. It was adorable in person, so need to get it finished before the holidays next year.

Oak Leaves and a Pineapple

This week I received two more wonderful applique blocks - this time from Julie in Tennessee! Julie's blocks are so charming and will find their way into a sampler quilt that I will always treasure. The applique swap has been so much fun - now I need to get busy on Julie's block for November!

Fall Exchanges

This week I have been the lucky recipient of beautiful quilt blocks and a darling Halloween ornament. The gorgeous appliqued block is all the way from Ady in Israel, as it was my turn to receive a block from her this month. Ady's appliquing is just exquisite and I will include this beautiful block in a special piece - perhaps the center of a medallion quilt?

The sweet cake stand blocks are from a Jo Morton swap in which I participated. Just love that they come from all over the US and around the world. They are about 4 inches in size and are as cute as can be!

The darling owl ornament is from a Prairie Schooler cross stitch swap, and has surely got me in the mood for a little Halloween decorating. The ornament finishing on this piece is just lovely!

Dancing Currants

This red and green appliqued block named "Dancing Currants" was made for a block swap and is on its way to Israel! There are six of us participating in the international swap and next month is my turn to receive appliqued blocks. Can't wait to see the beautiful blocks that fly my way!

Stars in the House

The 20th star is finished and all were sent off to the swap hostess. Pretty pleased with how they turned out and looking forward to the stars in my future. These are large 8 1/2 inch blocks, and I just signed up for the Jo Morton mini sawtooth swap with 4 1/2 inch blocks. The blocks for the Jo Morton swap are made an entirely different way, so it will be interesting to see which method works best.