Weekend Mystery Quilt

So this weekend Bonnie Hunter posted the pattern for her new Mystery Quilt, called "Old Tobacco Road," and I'm trying to keep up with the pattern as she posts the different sections. The pattern is really for scraps and stash fabrics; I went through my stash and since she described it as a "fall" quilt, I'm using deep reds, deep greens, deep oranges, beiges and creams, and deep browns and blacks. The pattern can be found on her website at: http://quiltville.com/

I'm excited to see the final portion of the pattern and put it all together. I'll post pics when I'm done. :)
Happy quilting!

Shelley

A Quilter's Legacy..

Let me start off by giving you a little background story... My grandmother was an avid quilter, and she's the one who originally sparked my interest in quilting. I remember every time I stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house that I'd snuggle up under a pile of quilts to sleep at night. I just LOVED her quilts! They were so cozy and warm and pretty and made me feel at HOME. That's what I believe quilts do... They make a house a home. I loved my grandmother very much. When she passed away, my mom and all her siblings went through my grandmother's belongings to sort through what they would each take, and what they would put in the estate sale. My grandmother had a sewing/craft room in their home (a 1950 farm house that my grandpa built with his own hands), and when my mother and aunts went through this particular room they came across a LOT of fabric and sewing notions. My aunts took a few things (they quilt, and my mother does not), and then they asked my mom if perhaps I would want the rest as I am the only grandchild that quilts. YES, I say...YES!!! ;) Thus, my mom packed up all the remaining contents of my grandmother's sewing room...the items she collected all her life... and saved them for me. She waited a few months to send them to me, when she felt the time was right... Earlier this week she put them in the mail for me. :)

Yesterday when I arrived home from work, I found two packages waiting for me at my doorstep. I have to say, this was the best package I've ever opened or received. My birthday is on Tuesday, so my mom mailed these items to me along with my birthday gifts. What a fantastic way to make my day. :D I spent several hours last night going through all the contents. There were TONS of cut pieces that Grandma was working with for a quilt. And a UFO scrappy quilt. The large box was full of PATTERNS!!! ALL patterns!!! Notice the date of the flower bouquet pattern....1934!!! The best part though is that they have my grandmother's handwriting all over them. And there are patterns from quilts she made all the granddaughters when we were small. And patterns from quilts she entered and won prizes with in the state fairs. This is my quilting dream!!! This is my grandmother's legacy. It means so much to me to have all these remnants, fabric pieces, patterns, notions, etc. from my grandmother. I am a woman who loves tradition and family, so having all these things from her means so much to me. Thank you, Mom!!

So now I'm adding a couple more UFOs to the list... finishing the unfinished scrappy log cabin from my grandma, and also making a quilt of all her fabric pieces. Yay!!! A family quilt!!!

Also, just an update on the pups. Grace is doing much better still, and seems to be quite healthy. Gus seems to understand that she's hurt, and he lays with her and seems to watch after her. They're such sweethearts. I love them so much! :)

Have a great labor day weekend!!!

Shelley

Back to Quilting

Well, thankfully, Grace seems tons better. She's getting more used to dealing with life with a cast on, and she's adapting well. My poor girl. The doctors assure us that she'll be healed in no time though. The first two days they had us kennel her (as you see in the photo), but now she's allowed minimal activity around the house. She even tried to take on Gus this morning. He's really been missing playing (aka wrestling roughly) with her. She's a little toughie!

Thus, I am back into the swing of things. I worked on cutting up more of the plaid shirts last night, and now I'm actually seeing a dent in the pile! Yay! The bins of scraps are multiplying like crazy, however, haha. Perhaps they breed. I really think that with the patters I have chosen, I'll probably be able to make four to five quilts out of all this material. Yikes that's a lot. Christmas gifts, anyone? ;) Anyhow, this is what I'll be working on for the next few nights until I get them all cut up and organized (whew!).


Oh, and I finally got photos of the Stack n Whack blocks I made (I call the UFO "Crazy Daisies", due to the bright colors and the fun flowers in the novelty prints). Aren't they fun? I'm thinking I'll do a black sashing with colored cornerstones and a piano key border. I kind of plan my quilts as I go..

I had also wanted to share a photo of the charm quilt made with retro 30s prints that I'm working on (well, that's currently sitting on the bed in my quilting room waiting to be sandwiched). I call it "Retro Charm." Clever, I know. Right....

Poor Gracie...

I haven't posted in the last two days because things have been a little crazy around my house...

Monday evening Jimmy and I were taking the dogs for a late walk around the neighborhood when it suddenly started to POUR. We started running back to the house, Gus in my arms and Jimmy had Grace on a leash. All of a sudden Grace went down. I guess she had hit her leg on something, though we're still not quite sure what happened. Anyway, she was crying for a minute or so while Jimmy tried to comfort her but she just wouldn't calm down. He picked her up and we rushed both dogs back to the house. I dried Gus off while Jimmy tried to calm Grace. She seemed actually very hurt, so he rushed her to the emergency animal clinic while I stayed home to watch after Gus. Three hours and two inches of rain later, Jimmy returned home with Grace...who had a big pink cast on her leg. Poor girl!!! She had broken her tibia, and they say she has a good chance of healing perfectly fine. We hope so. Right now she's doped up on pain medications and a mild sedative and she's just not the same sweet little girl. We feel so, so bad for her. So the last day and a half have consisted of nothing but vet visits and keeping after the dog's every needs. When the family is normal again, I'll be able to start up the quilting and posting again. :) Happy quilting to all my friends!

Shelley

Weekend accomplishments

So this weekend did not prove to be as progressive as I had hoped. In fact, I kind of dug myself into a deeper hole...

I had planned to assemble the stack n whack quilt; however, I came to find out I did not have enough fabric to do the sashing and I'm waiting to purchase new fabric until my birthday (a week from tomorrow!) :) because my favorite quilt shop offers a discount on your entire purchase if you go on your birthday. Therefore, I have pushed back the stack n whack project for yet another week. (Hey, it's been four years, I think I can wait another week ha ha)

Instead, I did piece the backing of my Retro Charm quilt. I used several 30's reproduction prints and made kind of a scrappy-looking pieced back. Then, when I went to sandwich the entire thing, I realized I'm out of basting spray. Ah, such is life. So I'm making a special trip to Joanns today to pick up another can. I'll be working on sandwiching this project tonight.

And as for the majority of my weekend...the hole I previously referred to...I decided to make a fun project of making a scrappy string quilt out of men's plaid shirts. I had no idea what I was getting into. I went to my local thrift shop (Savers...do you have one? They're awesome!!!) and got myself into a heap of trouble. I walked out of that store with a heaping CART full of plaid shirts (I kid you not). Thirty one to be exact. And four queen-sized sheets for foundation piecing quilt blocks. Man, oh man, do I have my work cut out for me. Since I spend Saturday evening washing the piles, I didn't start cutting them up until yesterday afternoon. I haven't even made a dent in the pile, and I already have two medium sterilite containers full of strings and crumbs. To my credit, it's taking me so long because I'm being very careful to cut out ONLY the seams and save virtually EVERY workable scrap. A wise woman once said "scraps are just free quilts!" So very true. :) Happy quilting!

Shelley

TGIF!

Thank goodness it's finally Friday! It couldn't come soon enough this week. Of course, I'm REALLY waiting for next weekend, which is my birthday weekend!!! :) Jimmy is supposed to have a surprise planned. We'll see.

Last night I finally got all the blocks completed for my stack n whack quilt. They look so cute! This weekend I'm assembling the top and will have pics posted on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Shelley

The Daily Grind

So I'm sitting at work right now bored out of my mind. I am ready to head home to take a nap to clear my head, then get to work on those darn stack n whack blocks. In the meantime, I did make up a list of all the projects I'd like to get completed by the end of the year/ Dec. 31 (and finally clear some space in my quilting suite for more fabrics... heh heh...). They are as follows:

• Stack n Whack Quilt in Brights
• School Bear Quilt for Landon
• Pink/Purple Yellow Brick Road (YBR) Quilt for Lauren
• Xmas Folk Art YBR
• Spider Web String in Christmas plaids
• Slash A Stash in Black/White/Red
• Monkey YBR
• Black/White Valentine Poem Quilt
• Xmas Brights YBR
• "Retro Charm" (Charm Quilt in 30's reproduction prints)
• Bear Paw Flannel ("Bear Crossing")

WOW...that's a lot in four months. HOWEVER, several of them are very simple patterns, one just needs quilted and binding attached, two just need sandwiched and quilted and binding. So, not TOO much to ask of myself...guess I'll be pretty busy tho. It'll be very nice to get these finished, sent out as gifts or put away in my home, and OUT of the quilting suite. :)

Shelley

It's Hump Day!

It's past noon on Hump Day, which means the work week is officially half over!!! YAY. I'm still working on payroll (okay, I'm actually writing in my blog...but who's counting anyway?), then I'm calling it a day and going home to work on the crazy quilt/stack n whack blocks. I swear, these things are sucking the life out of me. They're going to be adorable when I'm done, but for some reason it's taking every ounce of self motivation for me to finish them. Hopefully I can get them done here in the next two nights (cross my fingers!), and get them off the project list. I'll post pics here soon so you all can see the cuteness that is my bright 'puzzle quilt.'

Shelley

Gus loves to sit with me while I'm quilting...He always tends to end up laying on whatever project I'm working on. It makes me feel good, though, knowing my quilts are so snuggly! Ha. This photo is a lap quilt I made using various Valentine fabrics and the Yellow Brick Road pattern. It's my favorite snuggly.

First Quilt I Ever Made!

This is a photo of the first quilt I ever completed. I was a senior in high school when I made this quilt (2002). It was made using a simple pinwheel design and a charm square patchwork border. It's so bright, and I love it!

Grace

This is Grace, our adorable German Shepherd puppy. She's a lively little girl, who keeps us busy and feeling loved. This was taken two days after we got her, which was about four weeks ago. She has already more than doubled in size since then! I will post a more recent photo tomorrow (gotta go and take some...lol). When she's not getting into the trash or peeing in the corner or chewing on the walls (ahh, puppyhood...) Gracie likes to pester our one year-old maltese, Gus, who puts up with her antics fairly well. I think Jimmy loves her more than he does me. Just kidding... but seriously. ;)

My First Blog

To introduce myself, my name is Shelley and I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm engaged to my best friend, Jimmy, who is a military police officer in the Army National Guard and is currently a student at Arizona State University. I am the Human Resources Manager at an armored car company here in the valley. Working, doing fun things and traveling with Jimmy, quilting, reading, spending time with my girlfriends, and taking care of our 1 1/2 year old Maltese named Gus and our 11 week old German Shepherd pup named Grace keep me veeerry busy.

I have been quilting for over ten years now, but as I was very young when I started the craft (fourteen), I never had much time between school, friends, work, etc. But, my obsession for fabrics has continued, and as a result I have quite a stash piled up. I have joined an online group called Stashbusters, whose sole purpose is to help its members use up their stashes through ideas and motivation. Wish me luck with all those piles I have lying around! (Lol) THe purpose of me starting this blog is to keep in touch with other quilters, as well as to keep myself motivated to keep working on the many UFOs I have and get them finished. I will routinely be posting about my quilting progress, along with pattern ideas, things that do/don't work for me in the craft, and photos of my work.

Shelley