Shirley Anne’s Heart

SINGER  221 FEATHERWEIGHT

I GOT MY SINGER 221 FEATHERWEIGHT TODAY….YEAH…..it is just TOO CUTE. I will give her a name - but I haven’t decided what it will be yet.  I do know that I am retiring my “COOPER” - my first WAL-MART Brother sewing machine that I have totally worn out - it makes an extremely loud tired groaning sound when I sew!  :) 

I have to say that the HELLO KITTY sewing machine is pretty cute as well.  Here is Patsy with hers today at our Egg Money Quilt class.  My friend Sheddy has one too…….Oh dear, this could be the start of a sewing machine collection.  (I used to wonder why people needed more than one sewing machine - I now understand this completely!) 

But collection or not my Brother Duetta has my heart and I can never imagine sewing on anyhing else when I am at home!  I love love love it.  It purrs…..seriously, it is absolutely amazing.  It is on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS - right up there with chocolate.

EGG MONEY QUILT CLASS

Susan (Quilter’s Corner) taught our Egg Money class today.  SEE SUSAN’S BLOG FOR A PICTURE OF THE ENTIRE CLASS THAT SHE TOOK TODAY.  WWW.QUILTERSCORNERVA.COM

Here is Susan with her Eleanor Burns HALLOWEEN COSTUME - isn’t this just TOO FUNNY!

We made the first two blocks of the Eleanor Burns EGG MONEY QUILT.  The first block is the Grandmother’s Flower Garden block and the second is the Road to California block.

Since I will miss class in August  I went ahead and made blocks #3 and #4 (Turkey Tracks and Rosebud.)  I would rather be ahead of things rather than to be behind…….HM…..does that make me an overachiever?  :):)   Here are all four of my blocks so far.  

This class is going to be a lot of fun!

TTFN and MY PINEAPPLE CRUSH QUILT

I will be in the Midwest (starting tomorrow) visiting my family and celebrating my mother’s birthday (July 30) so my BLOG will be “dark” for awhile.  I will be back in time for the COlONIAL PIECEMAKER’S GUILD MEETING AUG 2 - and for BONNIE K. HUNTER’S STAR STRUCK CLASS in Williamsburg, VA…..fun times ahead…..

and speaking of Bonnie K. Hunter (Quiltville.com) I have my PINEAPPLE CRUSH TOP sewn together…

…and it looks like a cat dashed into the picture at the last minute (top of the quilt!)

TTFN…..until I return!

Tags: Antiques, EGG MONEY QUILT, My Favorite Things, Pineapple Crush Mystery Quilt, Singer 221 Featherweight by drsao
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Dear Jane Quilt (Progress Report)

I am really having fun making these Dear Jane blocks and I love the names that have been given to them.  Here is my A8  Florence Nightingale

- one more done and 50,000 more to go.  :)  Not really, it just seems like it!

First - my red and white A8 practice block -

and then the real block….LOL

This isn’t a great picture - but it is of my FIRST BORDER TRIANGLE BLOCK - BR1 Rosemary’s Window  (the red and white is the practice block.)  I think paper piecing is a lot of fun!

I have learned to scan my blocks and put them into the EQ Dear Jane Project Chart - too much fun!  I now have 8 blocks finished (times 2 so that makes a total of 16 Dear Jane blocks!)

EGG MONEY QUILT

The first EGG MONEY QUILT (Eleanor Burns) class is the 20th (taught by Susan at QUILTER’S CORNER.)  I am really looking forward to it: however, I just realized that I am going to miss the SECOND CLASS because I will be in CALIFORNIA.  So today I went ahead and made block # 3 - TURKEY TRACKS that will be part of the 2nd class.  I love these 30’s fabrics…….and this was a new experience to make Y seams!  I am so happy that I got this made….it wasn’t that difficult…..and my little points all seemed to come together as planned in the middle! 

ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT QUILTED

I picked up my Bonnie Hunter Orange Crush Mystery Quilt from my long arm quilter, Sara Parrish, today!  I love it.  She did a fabulous job and I took her picture - but her eyes were closed - so I am not going to put her picture up here.   Here is my OC on the rack just waiting for me to pick it up!

HERE IS THE BACK OF THE OC - it is ready for the orange binding!  I really am starting to like this scrappy back!

GPS TECHNOLOGY

For years I have been getting lost and for years I have been calling my daughter to FIND ME while I am lost.  NOT ANYMORE.  I got a GPS - a GARMIN NUVI and oh is this ever fun.  I can watch myself driving along the road on the little screen - just like a video game.  When I stop - the little car on the screen stops.  It is just amazing.  When I make a mistake it recalculates and tells me how to get myself out of my “STATE OF LOSTNESS.”  I LOVE IT.  I really do.  It is pretty amazing that his little screen can TALK TO YOU and tell you you have .2 more miles to your next turn, etc.   I will never be lost again…..hopefully!  :):) 

THE GPS IS NOW ON MY LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!

Tags: Dear Jane Quilt, EGG MONEY QUILT, My Favorite Things, Orange Crush Quilt, Quilts in Progress, TECHNOLOGY by drsao
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DEAR JANE

So far I have made six blocks for my Dear Jane Quilt…..but when you consider that I am making TWO DEAR JANE QUILTS at once I have made twelve blocks.  The RED AND WHITE Dear Jane represents my PRACTICE blocks.  I make the red and white blocks first before I make the REAL blocks in the civil war repro fabrics.  The IRONY of it all is that my RED AND WHITE BLOCKS always turn out to look better than the real deal.  I can’t really figure out why either……..maybe I will get better with time.  This is my first attempt at needle turn applique and I am woefully “UNSKILLED” at this….I can’t believe I am even putting pictures up! 

First is A-7 Dad’s Plaids

And second is E-1 Aunt Exie’s Phlox.  I love the names of the blocks.

Quilter’s Corners Quilt

To cheer myself up and convince myself that I am not a total QUILTING DORK - I made the July Block of the Quilter’s Corners Block of the Month Quilt.  Whew, that made me feel better!

And since I needed A LOT of CHEERING UP after those Dear Jane blocks, I made my second July BOM a different way…..

 I don’t like to follow directions so I just had to make my second block MY OWN WAY….LOL.

AUGUST LOG CABIN ONLINE EXCHANGE BLOCKS

And since I needed to be SERIOUSLY cheered up after making those DEAR JANE blocks I made my 12 AUGUST blocks for the online decentralized log cabin block online swap exchange. 

I felt much better!

HEAT BUDDIES - HEAT SWEET

Yesterday I made my mother’s birthday present - it took me ALL DAY.  I used her favorite color - orange - and I think she will like it.  I used 8 layers of fabric and stuffed it with rice and cinnamon.  So all she has to do is stick it in the microwave - and voila - a Heat Sweet!

The 8 layers include 4 layers of 100% cotton - 2 layers of cotton batting and 2 layers of cotton t-shirt material.  That should be ample protection from HOT RICE! 

Her second HEAT SWEET HEAT BUDDY is LARGER - and it is pieced and channel quilted - it is actually a quilt disguised as a HEAT BUDDY ( the quilting is probably why it took me all day to make these two!) 

 I had to make TWO because I figured she might want to share with my daddy.

The back is exactly like the front.

OH DEAR - my mother reads my blog - so there goes the birthday surprise.  Oh well, she is a good actress, she can just PRETEND to be surprised on her birthday July 30!

Tags: Dear Jane Quilt, Decentralized LOG CABIN, Heat Buddy, Quilt Block Exchange, Quilted Pillow, Quilts Completed in 2008, Quilts in Progress by drsao
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Today I attended my first Country Piecemakers Quilt Guild Meeting - in fact it was my first GUILD MEETING EVER….a milestone event.  I had a wonderful time and everyone was so nice.

I made it to Powhatan without getting lost - so right away I knew it was going to be a great day.  And indeed, the day just kept getting better and better!  I had NO IDEA I would be treated to a mid morning feast - as well as lunch (hosted by the HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE.)   It was absolutely WONDERFUL.

Lo and behold - one of the SCRAPPY SISTERS was the President.  I already knew Sara (who is FAMOUS for her long arm quilting cottage) but this is the first time that I had met her sister Nancy!

Everyone in the guild has made a SUNBONNET SUE quilt block to represent who they are……here are a couple of close ups.  Now the new kids, (Linda and me) need to make one!  (We also get to make a fancy fabric name tag - I need to get my brain in gear!)

I wish that I could have taken pictures of all of the SHOW AND TELL PROJECTS (that was really a lot of fun)…..I did get a couple of pics of the NIC (NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE) Quilts - some little babies are going to be very cozy.

Isn’t this a wonderful wall hanging?

and I love this one that Nancy made!

This was my LUCKY DAY because not only did I get to join the guild (there are now 39 members and the membership is temporarily closed at 40 because of space in the meeting room) but I also got to register for the GUILD’s QUILT RETREAT in Massanetta Springs, October 2- 5.  I am so excited - I even have a roommate - Karen!  It gets better - Karen even said that she would drive - and for someone who is majorly geographically challenged this was a major cause for celebration. 

After the guild meeting, Patsy taught us how to make a MELONS AND CURVES QUILT.

Look at Patsy’s quilt with crystals - wow, my grandmothers would have never believed that you could put iron-on crystals right on your quilt!  :)  I think that I just might have to try this!  They iron on and stay on. 

It was really a lot of fun to make these blocks and the curves were not as difficult as I had imagined.  Here are my four blocks that I made today - and I am trying to decide WHICH way to set them together….any votes?  Decisions decisions!

Before we left, Catherine had a surprise…….now this SUPPOSEDLY is the TRUTH (everyone says it is true) - she has NEVER made a quilt before - she has woven fabric - see her holding her work of art…..

and I BELIEVE that she made this block out of her PAPER LUNCH NAPKIN—

BUT SHE HAS NEVER MADE A QUILT!

However she IS GOING TO MAKE HER FIRST ONE - A MELONS AND CURVES KING-SIZED QUILT…..this is her making her big announcement!

And notice the notebook that she is holding - made from jelly-roll strips (I think.)  Every member has one - and I got one today as my new member gift!  It is so nice!

After I left the Guild Meeting I actually did get lost (TWICE) - but that is OK because I got to see the HISTORICAL POWHATAN COURTHOUSE (and yes I took a picture but when I downloaded it, it had a fatal error!)  And there was also a FATAL DOWNLOAD ERROR on a picture of the HOLLYWOOD CHURCH and the beautiful country side (I figured I might as well enjoy myself while I was lost! I only wish my unplanned detour pictures would have downloaded onto my website - they are cute pictures because I can SEE them on my camera!) 

Once I got back on the right road I found the POWHATAN ANTIQUE STORE.  I was thrilled because there was no one in the car to tell me that I couldn’t stop - SO I STOPPED!  Antiques are high up toward the top on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!

And I didn’t leave without a very cute angel rag doll and some “country boxes!”

My husband loves ships and lighthouses - and so I found his Christmas - or birthday present - three framed lighthouse pictures at the antique shop.  (Can you believe the luck of this poor man to have his birthday fall on DEC. 26?)  I love the frames that the lighthouses are in too.  I am sure that he will like them - and I don’t have to worry about him seeing these pictures because DH doesn’t even KNOW that I have a blog!  :)  SHHH!