Grandangel Chase graduated from High School this spring – and TA DA – I gave him a quilt for graduation – QUILTERS CORNERS!  I think he liked it!  I got a hug anyway! 

Chase and Grandma Sao

And my cousin, Janie, was happy to get her quilt  – Thimbleberries Lakeside 2008.  I am soooo glad that it found a good home!

Thimbleberries Lakeside 2008 FOUND A HOME with Janie!

Here is a little bit of what we were doing on Saturday.  Check out the two pictures of quilts that Julia’s sister Janie made.  She is a MEGA QUILTER!

Look beyond the pictures to see who the mystery quilter is!  LOL

The Mystery Quilter is Cheryl!  Did you guess correctly?  She just completed a time management class and she learned to say NO….so this would not be a good time to ask her for a favor.  Julia tried to get her to serge her fleece blanket for her – but guess what the answer was……..NO!

WANNA SEE?  OK – some of it will be revealed.  First here are the things that  I did that I have no pictures for.  You will just have to believe me on this!  Is this mysterious, or what!

I worked on my IF I WERE A FLOWER CHALLENGE QUILT for Country Piecemakers Quilt Guild, but that won’t be revealed until the middle of May!  Sara quilted it for me and I am doing the HAPPY LOVE MY QUILT DANCE!  Also, because it is a surprise I can’t show the Brown Bag Exchange blocks that I made for Country Piecemakers.

I am also plugging away at the Powhatan Quilter’s Mystery Quilt and Bonnie K. Hunter’s Double Delight Quilt – no NEW PICTURES – I posted some examples earlier on my blog though!  Oh yes, and I did some applique work on my Cherries, Chickens and Checks Quilt – pictures to come soon.

NOW…..here is what I did take pictures of!  I finished the top and back of my Quilters Corners Quilt – a BOM from Quilter’s Corner from April 2008 to March 2009!

Quilters Corners Top

Quilters Corners Back (and Cuddles)

And I did my monthly assignments for April for the Moda Selvages Quilt….oops another cat jumped into the picture and I didn’t notice until now – oh well, you get the picture!

Moda Selvages - April

Moda Selvages Filler Blocks - April

April Thimbleberries

April Filler Blocks for Thimbleberries

And I made the first block of the new BOM CHAIN OF FOOLS from Quilter’s Corner ……..In case you don’t recognize it it is because I changed the colors so that I could use 30′s fabrics.  The pattern and the suggested fabrics (black, white, red, and turquoise) are available at QC now.  In case you are gasping because my flying geese blocks HAVE NO POINTS – let me explain….they are NOT FLYING GEESE BLOCKS AT ALL….they are a new creation – “sao’s flying geese wanna bes”…..haven’t we all created something new once in awhile? 

CHAIN OF FOOLS BOM QC Block 1

And I am happy to say that I got caught up with the Country Piecemaker’s BOM Mystery Quilt designed by Catherine and Sandie…..so here are my four blocks…..Block one had to incorporate yo yo’s – and so I did!

January Block Country Piecemaker's Mystery

Block 2 incorporated flying geese……and here are mine!

February Block Country Piecemaker's Mystery

Block 3 consisted of piano keys……yep, I did that too!

March Block Country Piecemaker's Mystery

……and Block 4 was to include a star or stars…..voila!

April Block Country Piecemaker's Mystery

The interesting part of this quilt of mine – is that so far I have used ORPHAN PIECES left over from other projects that didn’t fit in to the final project for one reason or another. 

 

And one other thing that I wanted to include here was a Quilter’s Corner shop sample that I pieced (not on spring break – but earlier)  – the pattern is 4OT and the fabric is MODA – collection for a cause.  It is one of my FAVORITE QUILTS EVER and the pattern and fabric is now for sale at Quilter’s Corner in Midlothian, VA.

HERE IT IS!

4OT - at Quilter's Corner

The last thing that I did on spring break was to make FOUR house blocks for an exchange with friends – I still have some applique pieces to iron on – but other than that, it is a GO!  The pattern is called MAIN STREET HOUSES – I like it a lot.

Main Street Houses

First – here are the MODA BLOCKS for month two….THE SELVAGE STAR BLOCK is purported to be an original new block – not on record as having been recorded before!

MODA Selvages Month 2

Quilters Corners NOV. BOM

And here are my December Online Yahoo Block Exchange blocks for the Decentralized Log Cabin for December – and this is my last month to be in this swap – December marks a year of making Log Cabin blocks……..how time flies!

December Log Cabin Yahoo Swap Blocks

I have sewn a few blocks for the Colonial Piecemaker’s Cancer Patients quilt project……and I have TRIED to make a cat block…..I made this up and I am thinking it SORT of looks like a big fat cat (my objective) … what do you think?

I wanted it to be a BIG FAT CAT with a little head – HM….did I overdo the big fat body part?  I will have to think about this a bit.  I know that I can do applique but I really wanted a FOLK ART PIECED CAT BLOCK.

OH yes, this is too funny – I TRIED to make a Christmas Tree block for the Colonial Piecemaker’s Quilt Guild Block of the Month Exchange but it didn’t work for me…..my Christmas Tree fabric ended up with the trees sideways – and my total block isn’t the correct measurement….so I did something wrong!!!

Christmas Tree Block Gone Wrong

Oh well, now I have two orphan blocks – one of a cat and one of a Christmas Tree Gone Wrong!  Oh well, it was fun trying.

Stay tuned – there is always something fun going on here!

Here is my Thimbleberries block – I rather like this one!!!  I love the dimensional feel and the fabrics – notice the cute little bluebird!

Thimbleberries October 2008 Block

Moda Selvages Filler Block October 2008

Right now I am playing with my Split Nine-Patch blocks from the Yahoo Swappers Block Exchange.  It is fun to see where all of these blocks came from.

I got a lot done on retreat – not as much as the QUEEN OF PROLIFIC QUILTING (Sandie) – but quite a lot.

THIMBLEBERRIES

I got my Thimbleberries “assignment” completed.  I love these small flower blocks…and the OTHER assignment was to sew the larger flower blocks together…with a border.    I  really like making a quilt in small little parts.  Then, at the end, you have a whole quilt and it seems EFFORTLESS!  (sort of!  lol )

Thimbleberries Small Flower Blocks

Four large flower blocks with borderQUILTER'S

QUILTERS CORNERS – Block of the Month – September

Quilter's Corners BOM - September

I really like these blocks – and the pattern is free at Quilter’s Corner in Midlothian.

BINDINGS

I think this is a ginormous accomplishment.  Making binding (and putting it on the quilt) are two tasks that are my LEAST favorite things to do…..so doing it on retreat with friends made it ever so wonderful!

Bindings for three quilts

LOB CABIN Yahoo Online Block Swap

I made 12 BLUE log cabin blocks for my yahoo log cabin swap!

Log Cabin Yahoo Swap Block Exchange

Piano Keys Border for MODA Piece N Plenty QuiltI got the piano keys border ready for the Moda Piece N Plenty Block of the Month Quilt...yeah....it is almost finished!

Star Struck Quilt Blocks

I actually completed 36 Star Struck Blocks.  I used Vintage Holiday fabric for Bonnie K. Hunter’s Star Struck Quilt (the free pattern is at www.quiltville.com.)  I am thinking about making tiny little border blocks with the cut off corners…….we will see how many tiny little pinwheels I can make and remain relatively sane. 

sao working on Fred's Boxy Stars Quilt

Is there life after retreat?    I have managed to make my two EGG MONEY BLOCKS!  I must admit that I didn’t follow the directions for the Rocky Road to Kansas Block.  What else is new!  I paper pieced the entire thing.

Rocky Road To Kansas

Double Wedding Ring Block

I hope everyone stops by Quilter’s Corner on their Tour De Quilt trek.  Marla, Ginger, and I will be in the clubhouse with treats!    So, come say hi!

I finished the August center block for the LAKESIDE version of the Thimbleberries 2008 Quilt.  If you are making one you will notice that mine does not look like the one in the instructions?  WHY?  I am famous for my tendency to do my own thing and I just decided that I liked my way on this one…..so here it is…..

Grandmother’s Flower Garden

MODA PIECE AND PLENTY

Since I have been doing MORE traveling than sewing this summer, I decided to include a picture of what Susan (of Quilters’ Corner) made as a demo for this month’s Moda, Block of the Month Piece and Plenty Club.  This is what MY BLOCK will look like WHEN I make it.

PURSE TO DIE FOR

And this will be what my purse will look like when I make it.  Here we have a picture of Trudy’s purse (and cute little shoe bows to match.)  I have the same material…….so one of these days, I, too, may have a cute bag like this.  Don’t you just LOVE this bow?!  The pattern and fabric is from the Quilter’s Corner.

Quilter’s Corners BLOCK OF THE MONTH

I love the AUGUST QUILTERS CORNERS Block of the Month from the Quilter’s Corner.  I make two blocks each month – so I will either have two quilts at the end of the year – or a LARGE quilt at the end of the year.  Stay tuned for the end result!!!!

Grandangel Leanna (12) danced to VISTA FROM A CAR WINDOW – a modern dance done barefoot.  I have also included a picture of all of the girls in her group.

Sarah (8) was in three dances.  The first was an IRISH DANCE – St. Patrick’s Day Parade (I LOVE IRISH DANCING!)  I love their green velvet dresses!

Sarah also took jazz this year – and their dance was YELLOW TAXI  CAB!  Sister Leanna has claimed the taxi-cab outfit for her Halloween costume next year!  (Even though Leanna is 12 and Sarah is 8 they are very similar in size.)

Sarah’s last dance was ballet to CHINA TOWN.  Sarah was so excited that she got to keep the fan!  Isn’t it fabulous to get so happy about little things in life!    Sarah says this will be her Halloween costume next year! 

Lilies

I just HAD to share more pictures of my MIRACLE LILIES from QVC……even more are in bloom.

I can hardly believe these humongous blooms – they are almost as large as Nanna’s face….and I had to snap this picture on our way to the beauty shop this morning to put Nanna’s hair in a French braid for the recital.

These lilies from Roberta’s Farms (QVC) are almost as TALL AS SARAH!

QUILTY STUFF

I can’t let a day go by without sewing – even a BUSY day.  I made my blocks (I am making two each month) for the QUILTER’S CORNERS Block of the month – for June.

I just love these Civil War Repro fabrics and the patterns too…..we started in April with this one….

and then for May it was…….

And I put a few more YO YO FLOWERS on my BIRTH OF A SAMPLER QUILT…..I am just so excited about these YO YOs!

And……I cut some border material for the ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT.

That sounds like a pretty good day to me!  :)

Monday was a big day of celebration!

Also on Monday, I was  the substitute teacher for grandangel, Sarah’s second grade class.  Does Sarah look happy with her little Webkinz mouse on her head?

Usually, at the end of the year the children are EXTREMELY excited and not prone to listening – so grandangel, Leanna, made me a puppet and we named her MS. TOODLES.

I went to school armed with two bags of candy (rewards for only the very best behavior) and I placed Ms. Toodles on the blackboard with a magnetic clamp.  She watched the children so that she could decide who would get candy at the end of the day.  I then taught the children how to be LOUD in SIGN LANGUAGE and how to say WOW, WAY TO GO, and I taught them how to say “close your mouth, please” in French.  They loved it!  I also taught them the BRAIN DANCE – to get the wiggles out and to relax them at various points during the day.

You may not have heard of it (since I made it up!) So if you are a teacher or a sub (or a regular “normal” person LOL) – you may want to try this little brain break

(exercise and relaxation – and laughter – deliver oxygen to the brain!)

B   breathe in to the count of four and then out to the count of four

R   raise up on your toes to the count of four twice

A   raise your arms up to the count of four and then down to the count of four

I   imitate a smile (facial smile excercises) to the count of four – twice

N   nod the head IN SLOW MO….very gently – front – left – back – right – repeat

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL AND UNUSUALLY PEACEFUL DAY!  Ms. Toodles was proud to present candy to every single child in the class.  Who would have thought that such model behavior could result from a bag lady with candy! 

I had such a GOOD DAY with those second graders (although I must say that it was a humbling experience when we talked about PAST vs PRESENT times and the kids didn’t know what a record player or a typewriter was!  When I asked them how they thought a person could correct a mistake on a typewriter – one child said, ‘It must have a DELETE button!”  These are children of the computer age for sure!)

And Tuesday, May 20, my grandangel Cooper graduated from preschool…..and Grandma Shirley cried because all of the little children were so cute!  They walked in, sang several songs and then were presented with their graduation certificates while the teacher announced what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Cooper’s aspiration is to be a STAR WARS JEDI!

Quilting…..a day without quilting is like a day without chocolate!

I am so excited about my progress with my Grandmother’s Flower Garden….I am LOVING it and find it very relaxing to do the handwork.  My friend, Sheddy, taught me a new and improved way to paper piece (not sewing through the paper but making a little stitch at each line intersection through the fabric only – but still folded around the paper template.)  I love learning new things and I am getting faster and faster….

Here is a close up of a completed flower….I love these 30′s fabrics!

And this is what I have sewn together!  (This is addictive!!!)

You are probably supposed to sew these together in a more systematic way

- but for now, it works!

AND….I just finished the Quilter’s Corner Block of the Month blocks from civil war reproduction fabrics…I was SO PLEASED (and amazed) that my points came out relatively well!

I love these blocks so much – I have made two for April and two for May!

I also sewed the binding on two quilts and pieced a quilt back today….WHOO HOO!

And that is NOT ALL!  Today my daughter and I got  pedicures compliments of my husband for Mother’s Day.  Christi may just FAINT when she sees her feet published in a mother-daughter pose!  But, oh well, silliness is good for the soul!

On the way to get our pedicures we HAD to stop for Starbucks and at Barnes and Noble I got another James Patterson book.  HONEYMOON.

I have only read the first 71 pages – it is wonderful so far – and guess who is NOT going to sleep tonight!  There are not enough locks on the doors for me to sleep tonight!

I can tell that this is going to be a good week –

look what fun I’ve had in only the first two days!

….a lot of fun….

and it was a great learning experience! 

I REALLY learned SO MUCH.

The first thing that I learned is that these women are A LOT OF FUN TO BE WITH!

We laughed a lot – and we even found an additional NANCY (#3 – with the name tag on) who came over to laugh with NANCY (#1 – the jewelry designer – in red) and NANCY (#2 – the resident RIPPER – not in red)  at dinner.  (We didn’t know Nancy #3 - but her group must not have been as much fun as ours because, as you can see, she is NOT sitting at her table with HER group !)

Karen, Gloria (holding the quilter’s sign) and Carolyn are waiting for those wonderful homemade rolls!

The second thing that I learned is that these women DO NOT PICK BORING PLACES FOR THEIR RETREATS!

We had a GLORIOUS VIEW of the outdoors! And we were serenaded by singing ducks every morning! it was beautiful, peaceful, and refreshing! Our parking area even had a lovely view!  It rained (my favorite weather) – well, it was just perfect!

 I LOVED the 4-H Airfield Retreat Center!

We also had plenty of wildlife to enjoy (this had to be a FIRST for me – a bear in the dining area!)

Here are some of us with the bear – and of course I had to have a personal close up photo with this HUMONGOUS BEAR…….I have named her Jane – but I heard rumors that she might have originally been John but I have decided that SHE should be an honorary member of the DEAR JANE QUILTERS group!) 

And….I HAVE to make a Dear Jane Quilt – it is now on my TO DO LIST!

And isn’t this little Rosie bobcat cute?  The other critters in the dining area were quite interesting as well! 

The third thing that I learned is that Wakefield, VA has a UNIQUE QUILT STORE…….

Ning’s House of Crochets – it was a one-of-a-kind quilt store for sure.  In fact, many of us went to NING’S MORE THAN ONCE – and some folks may have even made the journey three times.  Our sides ached with joy – it was so much fun! That store was unbelievable. Where else can you get china thimbles from the BLANK display in Houston, 2005 – FREE?!

I had to take a picture of the sign for the quilt store.

And that is NOT ALL – under the big sign was a smaller sign – and it made us SMILE for four whole days!

The CRAPBOOK WING of the fabric store was evidently a new feature….there was one stand with a few stickers and some papers.  Oh my – even if there was only a scant array of supplies for memory making – there was EVERYTHING ELSE in that store.  Crochet thread, knitting yarn, buttons, quilt fabric, pillow forms, dolls, antique pottery, towels, potholders, scarves, shawls, tapestry fabric, netting, thread, glue sticks, patterns……..and this is only a SMALL LIST of the treasures available at NING’S…..so it is easy to understand why it took multiple trips to Ning’s to get the full experience!

Now to a comment about the “OP EN” part of the sign at Ning’s.  OPEN takes on new meaning for Ning’s House of Crochets because the TRUTH is that Ning’s is NEVER OPEN.  The door is kept LOCKED.  If one wants to shop there, one has to e-mail the owner….which could be a problem because Claudette DID e-mail the owner to announce our shopping intentions but the owner did NOT read her e-mail – because “no one sends her e-mail” so she doesn’t check it!    Her e-mail address continues to be posted on her sign and on her business cards….but in case you REALLY WANT to shop there, call or KNOCK LOUDLY!

See how HAPPY going to Ning’s made Claudette!!

The fourth thing that I learned is that these wonderful women are talented and creative!

Look at SOME of the beautiful things that were created during these past few days!

Unfortunately many of my pictures were fuzzy so not everyone is pictured below with their masterpieces – but here are a few (the fuzzy pictures might have had something to do with the fact that I dropped my camera and it fell apart prior to my downloading these pictures)

Carolyn and her beautiful – absolutely amazing – 5-year work of art! I am so impressed.  I would have never been able to get that quilt together, much less quilt it myself! 

CAROLYN GETS THE AWARD FOR MAKING THE MOST COMPLEX DESIGN STATEMENT!

She also gets the title of GUIDE FOR THE DIRECTIONALLY IMPAIRED – she was so nice to meet me so that I could follow her to the retreat….yes I am a directionallly impaired person and I am so thankful that I had a GUIDE PERSON!  :):) 

Gloria color coordinated her jewelry and clothing to complement her happy quilt creation (this woman – who I named GRACE for no rational reason whatsoever - has a sense of humor to die for!)  I don’t know the name of her quilt – but it is very pretty!  She also did some fancy stitching on her HAPPY wall hanging!

GLORIA GETS THE AWARD FOR BEING THE MOST COLOR COORDINATED WITH HER HAPPY QUILTS!

Look at Mary’s Miniature Masterpieces…..they are so fabulous.  I was inspired and just might HAVE to try making one of these mini wall hangings!  

MARY GETS THE AWARD FOR MAKING THE TINIEST PERFECT WORKS OF ART AT THE RETREAT!

Sue made this kitty quilt – and it made me OOH and AAH – since I am a super lover of all things CATS, I developed an instant attachment to this one!  Isn’t it just TOO CUTE!!!  She also made the red and white table runner in the DISPLAY AREA…..unfortunatlely I didn’t get a good picture of Lynn, the creator of the beautiful  bargello type quilt – blues and greens – but her quilt is great!

SUE GETS THE AWARD FOR MAKING THE CUTEST CAT QUILT AT THE RETREAT!

And now for Claudette…….amazing productivity.  I lost count of all of her charity quilts that she quilted – but there is at least ONE of her stacks of completed work pictured above.  I think she also had a suitcase somewhere full of projects.  Her 12 appliqued blocks on the right were a gift to Gloria and I made a “mental note” to be really nice to Claudette from now on! 

Claudette’s CHRISTMAS TREE SKIRT just makes my heart happy – for real.  I love it. Unfortunately I got away without a picture of the most beautiful appliqued quilt ever!  I have named it CLAUDETTE’S LOST AND FOUND GARDEN QUILT.  The next time that you see her you can ask her why I named it that!  (OK OK – I will tell you – because she lost two corner blocks and had searched everywhere, only to find out that they were sewn onto the quilt already……how many of us have BEEN THERE DONE THAT!)

CLAUDETTE GETS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS TREE SKIRT AWARD AND THE MOST PROJECTS  COMPLETED AWARD!  She is definitely the Charity Quilt Queen of this retreat!

THE BEST JEWELRY MAKER AWARD GOES TO NANCY – AND THE BEST FIRST QUILT (GRANDMOTHER’S FLOWER GARDEN) GOES TO NANCY’S MOM, MAGGIE, aka the knitter! 

Nancy made us beautiful jewels to match our outfits!  I am pictured below with Nancy – and I am wearing the earrings and necklace that she designed!  I wish I had pictures of all of the jewelry that Claudette and Gloria had – every outfit had matching jewelry designs by Nancy!

And the uncontested title of the QUILTER WHO DID THE MOST UNSEWING goes to NANCY THE RIPPER!

Here she is hiding behind a beautiful quilt that she made WITHOUT ripping!  I heard a rumor that she actually wore out her ripper at one point….that might just be a rumor though.

She is Nancy #2 in the first picture!

The fifth thing that I learned – well there were several things……

First…..it is a good idea to clean the lint out of your sewing machine…….HM…..who KNEW!

Look at ALL OF THAT LINT that came out of someone’s sewing machine!  HM…..but in HER defense, I must say that no one ever TOLD her that taking the sewing machine APART to clean it was routine behavior!

Second – ants are not nice people.

This same poor linty soul (a relatively NEW QUILTER) had believed ALL OF HER LIFE that ants (and therefore other bugs) should be put outside when possible (rather than killed) because they had families who would mourn their demise……

As a child she had observed ants carrying a DECEASED FAMILY MEMBER away (presumably for the purpose of shared grieving rituals prior to burial.)  SOMEONE, who shall remain nameless but whose initials are C. A. and who is a descendant WANNABEE of John Adams) GOOGLED ant behavior and disclosed to this poor LINTY SOUL that ants not only do NOT mourn and bury their family members – but in fact they EAT THEM……..sigh

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A BELIEF THAT YOU HAVE CARRIED YOUR WHOLE LIFE JUST TO HAVE IT GET BLOWN AWAY – GONE WITH THE WIND……..sigh?  Life is a series of learning experiences!

Third – I learned how to do the cute little twisty thing on the back of a four patch – THANK YOU Elaine – who preferred not to become famous by appearing on Shirley Anne’s Heart.  Aren’t these TINY FOUR PATCHES in the center of the large four patch cute!

I not only learned lots, but I came away INSPIRED and HAPPY.

And now the part that I know my mother has been waiting for…here are the things that I did on the retreat.

I worked on the quilt that I thought that I had created, only to learn that it already exists and it has a name….HUGS AND KISSES…..

I made twelve green scrappy log cabin blocks for my decentralized log cabin block swappers group…I took a picture of four of them.

I made 150 scrappy four patches for CLUE 1 of Bonnie K. Hunter’s ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT (http://www.quiltville.com/) only I miscounted and made 200! 

I made a few blocks for my PEACEFUL HOURS QUILT – I LOVE these blocks!

I made NOT ONE BUT TWO of the April 2008 BLOCK of the QUILTERS CORNERS Block of the Month Mystery Quilt (from Quilter’s Corners in Midlothian, VA.)  I had to make 2 because I REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVE it!

And I worked on my GRANDMOTHER’S FLOWER GARDEN – I am so excited about this quilt…..THANK YOU CLAUDETTE (whose initials are C. A.) for getting me started on this.  I love working on it!  I just hope it doesn’t take me 20 years to complete it!   

This partial block took SEVERAL HOURS…..I was told that I would get faster!

Thank you, Gloria for my new title……OUR LADY OF LINT……that Gloria is a hoot!

I am so glad that I got to visit the PEANUT CAPITOL OF THE WORLD (Wakefield, VA) – and the VIRGINIA DINER.  I am already looking forward to the next retreat!  I am putting Quilting Retreats on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS……no wonder our fore-mothers had so many quilting bees!