I'm on a tear!

Yesterday I finished six pet beds that will be donated to the Humane Society.  Jennifer suggested to our bee that we save all of our quilting scraps and make them into pet beds.  I have been saving for a while but didn't realized how much I had.  I keep looking at the bags and telling myself to get the beds made.  When I sewed with Kay yesterday I decided to work on them since I didn't have any specific project for the day.  I still have enough for at least one more bed so will get more fabric from Jen (old stuff that she will never use).  Here they are:

If you have lots of scraps and just throw them away, think about making these beds.  These are good for the animals, especially in the winter, and are totally machine washable.

I've been stitching!

Don't know where the time goes - it seems like it was March just a few weeks ago and I was enjoying the snow at Solitude with Eric and his family.  I had a great time and really had fun with Mr. Alex.  Also got to see one of the girls who was in my GS troop and her family.  The boys played well together.  Here's a picture of the two cuties (Alex is in the blue):

Since I got home I have been doing even more stitching (can't figure out why this is underlining - bear with me).  Here are some pictures of three pieces that I finished.  I had to wait to post them since they were gifts.

 

Now I am working on Jen and Mike's wedding cross stitch.  Since they have been married 10 1/2 years I figured it was time to start on it.  I've put it off because it is 30 count fabric over one thread.  I am making good progress on it and hope to finish it by the end of the year.  I told them good things come to those who wait!  :)

I have completed a few other quilting and knitting projects but I'll put those in another post - maybe I won't wait quite as long.

Have a good weekend and try to stay cool.  It hit 100 degrees here yesterday.  For this heat I could still be in Houston!

May UFO Challenge

When Judy drew #9 on May 1 I was really happy as I had already completed it.  I didn't plan to finish it so early but when I got it back from Kathy Yull who quilted it I just sewed on the binding and finished it in a couple of days.  Here are a couple of pictures:

Unfortunately the quilting doesn't show up as much as I would like but I hope you can see some of it.

This is the third quilt I have made using this pattern - one is fall, one is spring/summer and this is winter.  I really like the pattern - it goes together quickly and is fun.

What a trip!

How quickly this week went!  I can't believe that we are back from Paducah already.  We had a great time and got to see a lot --- of water!!  The rivers and streams are full to overflowing in so many places.  We went over the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and White rivers and countless streams all out of their banks.  The worst part of this was that they had to close the flood gates in Paducah which meant relocating several venues of the show.

On Sunday evening, the show organizers were advised that the flood gates would be closed and, since the convention center is outside the flood gates, it would have to be evacuated.  Many, many people worked liked dogs to accomplish this task.  Here is a picture of the river after the flood gates were closed:

We really did a lot on this trip.  We went to Threads of Time in Danville, IL, and Lori's Pins and Needles in Paris, IL, on the way down.  We also stopped at Rend Lake Artisans Center (see previous post).  Once we arrived in Paducah we went to Eleanor Burns' tent in Carson Park, Hancock's (where the back room fabric was $6/yard!) and didn't buy much.  We also went to visit Caryl Bryer Fallert's studio.  We were very fortunate to be able to go on a tour of her studio and home.  She is a most gracious hostess.  Here are a few pictures:

The top two pictures are in her living room.  The  next picture is her fabric storage room - no outside light and very organized!!  The last picture is her sewing area in her studio.   She was very fortunate to be able to buy the two  parcels of land for $1 and then had to build in keeping with the historical theme of the area.  She was able to design the inside exactly as she wanted it.  She has several guest rooms which allow workshop participants to stay on site.  She rents out the rooms during the quilt show but said not to even bother calling - one of the guests would have to die in order for there to be a space.  :)

We enjoyed looking at all the quilts and visiting all the vendor booths at the Kentucky Oaks Mall, the old Circuit City and Office Depot stores and the church where small wall quilts were displayed and classes were held.  


I was a really good girl and didn't buy much as you can see from this picture:

 Of course, I did go to Quilt Festival in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and wasn't quite as good there!

We left yesterday afternoon with the plan to stop as several shops along the way.  Unfortunately, the first two that we wanted to see were closed (we did call first so didn't waste too much time) but by the time we got to Evansville the traffic was pretty bad and the road to Boonville was closed so we never made it to Village Mercantile or The Stitching Post in Washington.  We'll just save those for another trip.

Rend Lake Artisans Center

Yesterday on our way to Paducah,  my friend Stephanie and I stopped at the Rend Lake Artisans Center.  I had read about it last year in one of Mickey DePre's postings.  We stopped on our way home last year but got there just as they were closing (5:00 p.m.) and only had a few minutes to quickly run through.  This year we were able to take our time.

It is a great place that features items produced by Illinois artisans.  It has everything from metal sculpture, quilted items, pottery, glassworks, wooden pieces and much more.  I think it is wonderful that the state has chosen to honor their artisans this way.

If you are traveling on I57 in Illinois I heartily recommend a stop.  Unfortunately no pictures are allowed as I would love to show you some of the items.

In addition to the shop, they had an amazing display of Civil War quilts made by women in Illinois.  It was just amazing to see all these beautiful quilts and read the stories about the families related to them.  Again, no pictures but take my word, it is definitely worth a look.

Guild Meeting

This week Kaye England spoke to our guild.  She is a hoot.  Her story of reclaiming her llamas after they escaped and were picked up by animal control was hysterical.  If you have the opportunity attend one of her talks, don't miss it.  She had everyone rolling on the floor laughing!

We had a good chance to chat while the rest of the meeting was going on.  She readily agreed to give me a quilt for the Small Quilt Auction at our guild quilt show in October.  I really appreciate her generosity as well as that of the other nationally-known quilters who have agreed to help us make the auction a success.

First Quarter Update

I had a very productive first quarter and thought I would share some pictures with you:

I knitted the scarf for one of my beemates.  I am pleased with the end result but it took longer than I expected.  Right now I am working on a pair of socks for my daughter-in-law and should be able to post a picture in the next day or two - I just have to finish the second toe.

The Girl Scout quilt was a lot of fun to make.  It was a quick assembly and Jen (my daughter) did a great job on the quilting and finished it very quickly.  The quilt along with one of the pillows will be prizes at our Service Unit's Mother/Daughter Bingo next Friday.

The pastel stripe quilt is for a longtime friend.  She has some serious health issues and lost her husband last year so I hope that it will bring her comfort.  I quilted this quilt myself - it was my first time to quilt such a large piece and I am not sure if I would quilt one this large again.  This quilt is the first quarter UFO for my bee challenge and I got it finished in the nick of time.

The snowman quilt is the third quilt I have made using this pattern.  It was quilted by Kathy Yull and she really took her time choosing patterns.  I will post closeups another day.

Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed working on these projects.