Needles and Pens

Instructions are now posted for Step Six of The Great Summer Mystery , and here's a photo of my very Eastery quilt, so far: I do wish I hadn't had to change white background fabrics halfway through, but I'm sure it'll all blend together a lot better once it's quilted. What a fun pattern, huh? Borders are next... Thanks, Helen! ;o)

One more project I've been working on... These started out as 9-1/2" sampler blocks, made last year in a block-of-the-month project with Country Quilters USA . I just pulled them out of the UFO pile last week, determined to make them into a quilt. I'm starting to have some problems though, working only from my stash (remember the don't-buy-anything-unless-absolutely-necessary budget?) I really don't think I can do justice to these without doing a little fabric shopping. What I have done so far, was to add 2" white-on-white sashing strips to the blocks, followed by 1-1/2" sashing strips in burgundy. I think the next step should be to set them all together with more white, but I'm seriously low on any kind of white fabric now. You just can't do much of anything without those neutrals! And I'd really like to do a pieced border on this one, using more of the burgundy sashing fabric -- only I've used it all up. Hopefully I can still find more...

If you haven't already heard, I'm spreading the word. Kim, from Bitty Bits & Pieces is celebrating her 100th post with a great Valentine giveaway! Go on over and enter for a chance to win one of two darling prizes (and please tell her Heather sent you)!

It was a busy day today, visiting out-of-town relatives, but I wanted to take a minute to share a photo of an appliqued quilt block that I finished yesterday: This is the first in a 2009 Block of the Month (BOM) series, Seasons of the Heart , designed by Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches . Sandi has created a block to represent each month of the year, designed for fusible applique. The edges are blanket-stitched by hand and the details are embroidered. I want my finished quilt to have a warm, country feeling, so I plan to use various homespuns for my block backgrounds. When I saw this cute little snowman, I just couldn't resist joining in. I'm really looking forward to more of her patterns. Thanks, Sandi!

Step five of The Great Summer Mystery is to assemble all of the units into rows. Since my focus fabric is directional, I had to lay out my rows in order, and make sure nothing was upside down. So... I do have a pretty good idea what the finished top will look like -- but I'll keep it a secret for now. Here are my rows... And, good news! I finished the 84 scrappy blocks for my next QWL quilt top... Now I just have to restrain myself from sewing them all together until the sew-in next weekend!

I'd like to thank all who entered my "200th Post Giveaway!" You all left such kind comments, and I hope we'll be able to stay in touch. Just wish I had more prizes to give! Another day, another giveaway. So, without further ado... ...the winner is... Fiesta ! Congratulations! I hope you enjoy the quilt kit. (And if you finish it, I hope to see a picture on your blog!)

Step four in the Great Summer Mystery is all about cutting, cutting, cutting... I think I see a quilt top in the near future! **************** Today's the day I'll draw a winner for my giveaway -- yay! Are you ready???

They're having a photo contest over at Five Minutes for Mom , and I would just love to win a rocking horse for my grandson! Here's my entry: This my oldest, Nathan, when he was only three years old, getting ready to ride in the Tamarack Hey Day parade. He could barely lift his own saddle! Deadline to enter is February 6th. Finalists will be posted on February 10th. Many thanks to Janice and Susan at Five Minutes for Mom and to the folks at A Rocking Horse to Love for giving us all this chance to win. ;o)

At fifteen weeks, my grandson has a new hobby -- standing. He hasn't yet rolled over, sat up, crept or crawled. He only wants to stand. Whether he's on the floor or on your lap, it matters not. He wants to stand. Unfortunately, his legs are still too short to reach the floor in his walker, so this is what must be done, as often as possible: Maybe we'll just skip all that other stuff and go straight to walking! Thank you to all who have entered for a chance to win my quilty giveaway. I look forward to visiting all of your blogs. If you haven't entered yet, there's still time! Just scroll down to the next post or click here, and leave your comment. And while we're on the subject, my friend, Jean, is having a giveaway in celebration of her 100th post! Just head over to Jean's Page to enter!

Hard to believe it with my hit-or-miss posting, but I've actually reached 200 posts today! And what better way to celebrate than to have a giveaway? The winner will be chosen on Friday, January 23, at 12:00 p.m (CST) in a random drawing. Just leave a comment on this post to be entered. And the prize is... (drumroll, please) ... Fred Rabbit , a cute mini-quilt pattern, published by Patch Abilities, and designed by Julie Bohringer, PLUS all the fabrics you'll need to complete the 5-1/2" X 22" quilt top (you will need to add your own 1/3 yard of backing and binding fabric for the completed quilt). The pattern is designed for fusible web machine applique -- a quick and easy project! In other news, I've just launched a new blog, Pen to Paper , to help re-kindle my writerly pursuits. Please feel free to stop in anytime, and see how things progress!

Stayed up way too late last night, but I did make progress on my two latest projects. Finished Step Three of the Great Summer Mystery , adding yellow corners to my strip sets. We're getting closer... Next I worked on my other new project, making lots and lots of super-scrappy six-inch blocks to go into a top for Quilts with Love . I plan to have 84 blocks ready to set together on February first, our next sew-in day at Country Quilters USA . I'm making them all from scraps, and my scrap box seems to be bottomless no matter how many I cut up! Here's a little sneak peek: So that's the update from the sewing room. I may get some more scraps cut up today, but probably not much else. And I just realized this is my 199th post! Maybe I can come up with something special to celebrate my 200th. Hmm... Stay tuned...

Step two completed, for the Great Summer Mystery . (I laugh each time I see that, as we're still having sub-zero temps here in Minnesota, USA. How I look forward to summer!) For step two, we were to make 16 of these strip sets: Hmm... wonder what it'll look like when it's done? I had to use a white-on-white for the strip sets because I didn't have enough of the solid white background fabric. Hopefully it'll look okay to have a slightly scrappy background. And good thing I like scrappy quilts. They happen a lot when you're on a don't-buy-anything-unless-absolutely-necessary budget! Step three was posted today. Back to the sewing room!

This time, by Scrapping Servant , and she gave me a choice of three memes. One was the same one I posted earlier today, so had to scratch that, the other was the Amish Friendship Bread recipe (which is, by the way, deee-licious) but seeing as how I'm on a diet, I just can't handle that temptation. So there was really only one choice for me. Marvelous Musings Here are the rules (though I'm not actually following them to the letter ): 1. In your post include a link back to the person who has tagged you. 2. Post one of your intriguing, or shocking, or challenging passage of scripture from the Bible showing scripture references (chapter and verse) with Bible version. 3. (Optional) You may choose to state what you currently understand it to mean. You may also encourage others to comment or share on what they understand that excerpt to mean. 4. Tag at least 5 or more new people to participate. My verse of choice is Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV) I don't know if it fits the definition...

Woke up this frigid morning to find that I've been tagged by my friend, Jean, over at Jean's Page ! The rules are go to your 4th folder of pictures and pick the 4th picture, then write about it. Well, I pretty regularly burn my photos onto discs and remove them from my computer, so the fourth picture in my fourth folder was one from Aaron's baptism just a couple weeks ago. Since I've already shared about that here , I decided to go into my quilting pictures and see what I found. Oddly enough, I think I already shared this photo, too, but I don't want to bend the rules too far, so here goes: For years, I avoided scrapbooking like the plague. I carefully bypassed the scrapbooking aisles in the stores where I shopped, casting furtive glances as I hurried by. Miles and miles of stickers, embellishments, and luxurious papers called out to be ogled, but I just knew that if I started one more such hobby, I'd be doomed. I spent enough time and money already, answering ...

So, I've been in need of a new quilting project to pull me out of the sub-zero, mid-winter doldrums and I think I've found just the thing; The Great Summer Holiday Mystery at "Hugs and Kisses." I haven't done a mystery quilt in ages, so when a few of my quilting friends did their New Year's Eve mysteries, I caught the bug. Choosing fabrics was a challenge. I'm on a strict no-buying-anything-that-isn't-absolutely-necessary budget, so it all had to come from my stash. I came up with several combinations, but few of them had enough yardage for the whole project. Somehow, though, I did find my fabrics: Colorful, no? I'm making an Easter quilt. Which is perfect, because I have a throw quilt for every holiday except Easter. Not for long! Yesterday I completed Step One , which was to make five of these: Step two is posted, so maybe I'll finish that today. My kids are all home. No school, due to the nasty cold temps. A great day to hide out in the se...

I've really been itching to quilt lately, but there was just one last sewing project that I needed to finish before it was outgrown, so that's what I did today. I cut out this flannel sleeper for Aaron back in December, but with everything else I was working on, I just ran out of time to finish it for Christmas. Since then, I've had a hard time getting back to it, so I'm very relieved to say... it's finished! He seems to like it. Don'tcha think? ;o)

Some quilts and quilt tops that I've donated to QWL For the past few years, I've been a member of Quilts with Love, a charity project that makes quilts for our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Quilts with Love has grown in five years from a few volunteers to hundreds across the country. To date, the group has sent over 1,600 quilts to our service men and women, and that number includes some of my own family members. I write this today to share the news about the brand new Quilts with Love web site, created to inform the public about the project, how it began, and how it supports our troops. If you're interested in helping out with a donation of quilt blocks, quilts or cash (or even if you're just curious how the whole thing got started) please take a look at the new site. Thank you!

My grandson, Aaron, was baptized this past weekend, and though not all of the family we invited were able to be there, we didn't let a major snowstorm take any of the joy from the day. The ceremony was beautiful, and the baby behaved like an angel -- much as we worried that he might throw a major fit. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. When the water was poured over his head, he leaned back, relaxed, as if to say, "What about the rest of me?" Aaron has come to love his baths! The service opened with Aaron's Auntie Emily singing a baptism song by Michael A. Schmid, titled, " Baptized in His Name ." I was so impressed with Michael Schmid's website and music. The song couldn't have been more perfect for the occasion, and Emily did a fantastic job. Just beautiful! I love this photo of Emily warming up before the service, with the sun streaming in through the windows: Taken after the service, here is Aaron with his mom and dad (my daughter, Kaitlin, and her...