Needles and Pens

Well, surprise surprise. My 400th blog post! And wouldn't you know it's my first one in three months? (Imagine how many there would be if I weren't the world's worst blogger. LoL) So I just went through my last three months worth of photos and was amazed at how much has happened around here in that time. It's really no wonder I don't find time to blog... Now, to play catch up again. Or at least get started playing catch up. ;o) So... back in January, I wrote about our youngest son moving into a new room, which we painted bright yellow . Well, in April our 18-year-old daughter decided it was time to leave the nest, freeing up the teenager-coveted big room in the basement. Of course, little brother then wanted to move -- again -- and wished for the new room to be bright yellow -- again. Deja vu... I know, it sounds crazy. But I've been waiting a long time for the mom-coveted main floor bedroom to use as a guest room. (Yes, I know. I just set up a guest room...

Well, here it is Friday again, and though I've been sewing my poor fingers to the bone this week, I haven't quite finished the quilt for the guest room bed (and since my daughter took off for the weekend with the only working camera in the house, I couldn't share a picture if I had), BUT I do have one other little project in the works, and a tiny sewing finish was involved this week. When I had my first child in 1987, I was fortunate to inherit the cradle my grandpa slept in when was he born in 1890. He had many younger siblings, who most likely slept in it, too, but at some point it was stashed away someplace and forgotten. Thankfully someone had the foresight to hold onto it, and though it skipped two generations of use, it did stay in the family. The original stand was missing (probably why it was never passed down), but when I brought the cradle home, my husband's grandpa (who has since passed) was kind enough to build a stand so I could use it. I'm su...

Quilting incentive for 2011: Judy Laquidara's UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times ! When I went to make a list of 12 projects to finish, I was honestly shocked to find that I don't have 12 unfinished quilts! I must be getting better about finishing what I start, as just a few years ago the count was over 20. Now it stands at seven, so I added a few unfinished (and largely un started ) sewing projects to round out my list of 12. Hope that's not bending the rules too far... At any rate, here's my list: 1. Easter Quilt , a 2009 mystery, partially quilted. Just needs the rest of the quilting and a binding. 2. Sampler Baby Quilt , put together on a whim earlier this year from "orphan blocks" in my closet. Needs quilting and binding. 3. "Where Are Your Shoes and Socks?" A Pat Sloan Block-of-the-Month from 2007 (I think), which I've been working on (and collecting shoe fabrics for) off-and-on ever since. I have five more blocks to applique and then to ...

I finished a project this month that was a long time coming. For my son's 23rd birthday, I gave him what was supposed to be his high school graduation quilt. Better late than never, I guess. I blogged a bit about this quilt last fall, and if you'd like to know at least part of the reason this gift was so late, you can read the backstory in Part One and Part Two . In a nutshell, my round robin flew the coop, and this is round two... I made the new ( Blackford's Beauty ) center block sometime last October: Then, working from photos of the original quilt, I remade the first border, designed by my friend, Maura: I was buying fabric for the next border when I learned that Hancock Fabrics was hiring. I started my new job the following Monday, and from there on, work on the quilt slowed considerably. I finished the appliqued music border sometime in February or March: By April, I was scrambling to put together the 20 blocks that would make up the last border. I decided to repe...

I haven't written a blog post since January? Wow. I can't believe how time flies since I started my new job. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do, not to mention what I have to do. Not that there ever were enough hours, but there are a whole lot less now. Funny how my "part-time" job has become more and more "full-time" as I've gone along. Still, I have squeezed in some sewing time here and there. It's almost a necessity when you're surrounded by fabric all day, talking to people who have fun, creative projects going on at their house. It's more than a little contagious. So this is what I've been working on since... January. (Still can't believe it's been that long.) A Noah's Ark Disappearing Nine-Patch baby quilt for a friend at our church, who recently had a beautiful baby girl... With my first attempt at a pieced quilt back... And another scrappy Fun with Bricks baby quilt for my h...