finished tops...

Last Monday Karen and I went to our first EVER quilt guild meeting. They proclaim themselves to be laid back and with no rules. We enjoyed it very much. We paid our $5.00 dollar yearly dues and became official members of the Blue Earth Valley Quilters Guild. 

During the meeting there was some discussion on.... 

Girlfriend or Boyfriend quilts. In general, no one wants to make them.

What if they break up?? Are they the kiss of death to a couple?

Crispy has a girlfriend. Of course I want to give her a quilt...but you know she is

"only a girlfriend"

After thinking about it some more, I decided I will get this star top quilted and give it to her. It has been sitting in the closet for several years. I made it during the summer of 2010.

(Quilt Along 2010)

I think I even have some pink fabric for the back!

It is better to give it away to be used, instead of gathering dust in the closet. 

Big sewing day yesterday. I finished the scrappy trip quilt (no picture)

and the mini-me....

It is for my cousin Gwen's grandson. He was born a couple weeks ago. It has left over Block Lotto blocks from hers and a few more I made. I didn't use plaid for the new blocks. 

Instead of mother/daughter quilts, they are 

grandma/grandson quilts.

Block directions here....(hot-crossed-9-patch-block-tutorial)

block lotto blocks.....

"

This is the quilt made from split star blocks I won at Block Lotto. (last fall I think)

The blocks required solid white fabric. There was no solid white at my house. 

Our good friend Dave (sticking out from behind the quilt) was in Mason City. He called and asked if we needed anything. I told him white fabric. He said, "No problem."

I was so surprised and happy. 

I promised that if I won, the quilt was his. 

It was his turn to be happy and surprised when I did win the blocks.

He picked out the navy and gold colors to sash it with. He even shopped by himself for that fabric! 

He loves that the blocks are made by quilters from all over.

He loves it SO much that it is no longer for his bed. He wants to hang it.

So today we are all going shopping for supplies to get this hung in his living room.

This is the back of it. Dave was in the Navy during Vietnam.

Two weeks ago Karen and I went to Blue Earth Minnesota for a Wood Carvers/Quilt show.

We have wanted to go to a guild meeting up there for months now. They say they are the guild with no rules. We liked that idea. But haven't made it yet.

Karen and I have talked about taking up wood carving. These are just too cute.

But with work and sewing we feel that is enough for now.

They had Darlene Zimmerman the "feed sack lady" there doing a trunk show.

I loved this blue and white quilt she was talking about. It is two different blocks set on point. 

Here are a couple more of her quilts....

Beautiful.

We also decided to take part in this years challenge. For $10.00 you bought a package of 10 inch polka dot fabrics. 24 in all. 

I am combining them with these fabrics.

Making another Block Lotto block from the past.

They are the Star Crossed blocks from December of 2012. There wasn't a link to the directions.

But! there was a link to the Split Star directions

I think I am caught up now.

School started and we were hit with a heat wave. We were getting out a few hours early every day. All this did was give me a couple extra hours of not doing much of anything.

The coming week is looking a whole lot better.

red sky at night sailor's delight.....

This is the last chunky block I made for this quilt. When I had 32 sailboats made, I had no idea how to lay them out into a top. 

Then I saw this quilt again... made by brooklynquilter...for her dad with blocks she had won at block lotto. This was the blue print. I made 4 more boats for a total of 36.

Four boats per chunky block and one star (nine total)

The boats became tall or wide as needed by adding fabric for filler.

The stars only needed to be laid tall or wide.

It measures 68x74. The borders remind me of "modern"....big and fat,

but it also has a "Amish" look to it with the black,

there is also free piecing or wonky.

The best category it falls into is DONE!

School starts back up in one week. 

I haven't touched my scrappy trip around the world in weeks now. Back to this one. Over half the blocks are made, the rest are all tubes ready to go. 

Before I do that, I will work on my contracted braille class.

We were given a big bag of sweet corn. Need to get that ready for freezing.

We canned peaches the other night.

I feel like a domestic goddess getting ready for winter!

block lotto.....

I need to catch up with all my Block Lotto blocks for the last few months.

In May I won the flying geese. I love them.

I am not sure what I will do. 

But, the more I look at this picture, the more I lean towards making a quilt with this layout.

Then we made tall sailboats.

 

All year we have been making tall blocks. I am liking this change of pace from square blocks.

July was I-spy-houses. I was surprised by how much novelty fabric I had. 

Now we already into August.

Tall stars, or wide stars. I love these stars. I have made several extras....

A couple days ago I started making sailboats.

I had a stack of cherrywood scraps to use.

I kept sewing and sewing, trying to get a sailboat that looked like a picture I had seen.

click here to see

I never did quite get it. But ended up with a nice stack of sailboats.

At the same time I was making the red stars.

I laid it with my sailboats and was excited by how it looked. 

I have enough for nine of these big chunky blocks. This is a quilt for my sister-in-law. She and her husband have a sailboat. They go just about every weekend.

Red sky at night, sailors delight!

I never got Easy Street hung up,

BUT

I did get the guys just to hold it up for a picture.

I pieced the back. It was a big 9-patch. Now its more a wonky 9-patch.

That's all for now. I can't find the picture of my scrappy trip around the world.

Over half the blocks are done, the rest is in tubes ready to cut and resew.

the cow quilt is a top.....

The center is 59x70 at this point. I needed to add 2 more inches to make it easier to cut the border. I wanted to use the American flag and needed red and white squares on the length.

72 divided by 9 equals 8!

A nice even number! All squares could then be cut at 8 1/2 inches. 

I saw this border on a quilt in American Patchwork and Quilting. I don't remember how long ago or which month it was. It just stuck with me, and thought I would use it someday.

Today was the day.

The big question was...

Do I add 2 inches to the background OR a one inch border all around.

I consulted with browndirt cottage

and small town quilter

They both said, "do the skinny border"

I agreed, it did look better.

It ended up being a nice big quilt. I took it outside for a photo. The shade was too dark, the sun so bright. I couldn't get over it for a better shot. I was standing on a chair with the camera over my head. See my shadow?

When it is back from the quilter, I will hang it on a building for a better picture of it.

here is the link to get the book that has the cow pattern,

Out of the Box with Easy Blocks!!!

I have started a new project. Another scrappy trip around the world....

camping over the weekend.....

We (as in 3 sisters, with various spouses, grown kids, boyfriends and girlfriends) 

were at Marble Beach State Park on Spirit Lake in Iowa. We were in a quiet area of the campground with our tents. I brought along my geocaching quilt. 

A couple weeks ago I received a surprise package.

Inside were a couple of pink flamingos.

Mrs. Browndirt sent them.

She thought I would think they were ridiculous and silly.

BUT, I loved them. 

They came camping and so did the doll mrs. browndirt. 

We went geocaching

We went painting at Creative Spirit Okoboji

They were doing owls that evening in the studio.

We made wood block signs. I have all kinds of scrap wood. We put some of it to use. It was only me and Jane doing this. Others would come over to check out our mess, but no one else wanted to do one. I gave the glamping sign to my sister Jenny.

She is always a glamour girl, even when camping.

Today seems like a good day to go work on some backing and get a quilt in to be quilted. 

Not the cow quilt. He needs to be worked on yet too.

All in good time.

consumed by Captain A-moo-ica....

I have been working away on a cow quilt. It will go to my sister for her 50th birthday. She wasn't to concerned about what kind of quilt she would get. But her husband had a request....

he wanted me to use the Federal Shield design in it. 

I wasn't really crazy about the idea of working with curves.

So, I thought about it.

For months.

Then this spring I was looking through the book,

OUT OF THE BOX 

with easy blocks 

by Mary Lou Weidman and Melanie Bautista McFarland

I love the cow in that book and thought I might make one for a baby quilt.

I never got any further than thinking about it.

But one day it occurs to me, why not make my sister a cow with the federal shield on it?? I would only need to make one shield! That made me happy.

While driving to the dentist with Crispy, I was talking about this cow.

How it would have the shield on it's body.

Then he says, "Ya, and you can call him Captain A-moo-ica!"

When he said that, there was no stopping me.

It was perfect. My brother-in-law loves super heroes too.

The background is made by sewing strips of different widths together,

cut apart in more different widths and sewn back together.

I ended up with patchwork fat quarters.

He needed a cape, so I added that too.

The blue flying geese are there to transition from the yellow background to a green background.

The words have a green background. They will be along the bottom of the quilt.

It is all coming together.

These stars are from the Buggy Barn book, Certifiably Crazy.

I didn't make them as scrappy as the book directions.

I want the blue background ones for my border and the white ones even have a home!

Crispy had a cavity that day at the dentist. I was so excited, 

"I can come back here with you!"

"But mom, you don't have to come with."

Yes, I know, moms generally don't need to go with their 19 year old to the dentist.

BUT 

It is right across the street from the quilt shop! Of course I am going with if it means I can run into The Quilted Forest! I want a few more medium greens to add to the cow quilt!