Australian Fabrics

In my earlier post, the picture of the Australian fabric was so dark. I took another picture. The fabrics are so much brighter and more vibrant than in the darker picture. I hope you can see that in this picture.

Happy Quilting

Fun Stuff

Wow! More fun stuff in the mail. Last week I received a wonderful package from Kathryn in Australia. She had a giveaway and I was one of the winners. She sent me the sweetest package. There is fabric, ribbon, rickrack, a tissue cover, a clothespin doll, a keychain, and a Lavender Strawberry Kit. The fabric is a soft orchid striped fabric. The Lavender Strawberry Kit is a kit to make one of Kathyrn's darling flowered cone. Included in the kit are all the embellishments to include in the cone. What fun!

A couple of weeks ago I received a package in the mail from Julie. She had been to a quilt show and bought this Australian fabric and sent it to me. Isn't it beautiful? All those wiggly-squiggly designs, and kangaroos jumping across the fabric. I had been looking at this fabric at a Sewing Expo a few weeks before. Julie and I must have some fantastic ESP because out of all the fabric at the quilt show, she picked this out for me. I was drooling over this fabric at the show I attended. I had seen some Australian fabric at a different quilt show last summer, but I did not buy it. Now I have some. Whooppee!

Aren't friends great? Both of these special ladies have very generous natures. I feel privileged to be a recipient of their generosity. It is so exciting to receive fun packages in the mail. I love it, love it, love it!!!

The sun was shining through the clouds earlier today. The weather forecasters said today would be sunny. I was hoping for a really sunny day, but I guess that was too great a wish. But at least there was some sunshine and no rain so far today.

This week I have been sewing on my row quilt. I have all the rows together. Next are the borders. I have not experienced a great design brain storm concerning the borders yet. But I have hope that there is a wonderful design floating around in my head somewhere that will pop out at any moment. There is always hope, right?

Have a great week, and.....Happy Quilting

P.S. The picture of the fabrics came out very dark. The fabrics are actually much brighter, and there is lots of purple in the fabrics, too!

Exchange Project Finished

The top is finished. I completed the last two blocks, added them to the bottom row of the quilt top, and sewed on the borders. I am calling this top finished. It is the exchange project that I have been working on (or mostly not) for the last few months. In this friendship exchange group, we have been exchanging quilt blocks for years. For our last exchange, our group exchanged a set of blocks. Our mission was to put these blocks together into a quilt top. We could add or delete, or change as we felt necessary. I used all of the blocks, plus a few more of my own, to finish this top. We exchanged these pumpkin blocks a year or so ago. Also in that exchange were these little 5 inch blocks called Chop Suey blocks. They are the very scrappy blocks in between the pumpkin blocks.

One of the members of the group had attended a class at a symposium. She shared the Chop Suey block with us and we decided to include them in the exchange with the pumpkin blocks. We did not have a pattern for the Chop Suey block, just some direction as to how they were done. I know most of us deliberated over the construction of these blocks. Without a pattern, or even a sample block to see, we (at least I) had a challenging time trying to decide what they were and how to put them together. We all persevered and completed our set of Chop Suey blocks. Each of us was to construct 48 of these little five inch blocks. We were making 4 for each member (12 members in this exchange). I know I fussed and moaned about them a lot, but I did get them finished (and I was quite relieved when that happened). It was interesting to see what everyone came up with at the final exchange. They were all very much alike.

At our last meeting, we were offering up ideas for the next block exchange. One of the members had an idea. She assumed that we all had at least one set of unfinished blocks at home. Instead of making another set of blocks, her idea was for each of us to bring a set of blocks to the next meeting and we would exchange those blocks with another member. The task for the receiving member would be to sew these blocks together into a top. We could use what was in the bag, add to it, delete from it, or whatever we decided to do so that we could get the top sewn together.

When I opened the bag that I received in the exchange, my heart sank! It was those challenging Chop Suey blocks along with the pumpkin blocks. I know my face showed my disappointment. The person who gave me the blocks said I didn't have to use the Chop Suey blocks if I chose not to use them in her quilt top. I told her that I would use them because I knew it would be an exercise in patience and creativity for me to do so. Then after I made her top, I would have an idea what I wanted to do with my Chop Suey blocks that were still in my bag at home. I forgot to mention that in this exchange, we could use any set of blocks we had. Most of the members brought different sets of blocks.

It will be fun to see what everyone has done with someone else's blocks. I think my friend will enjoy what I have done with her blocks. At the beginning of this project, I did not anticipate the enjoyment I have experienced working on this project. It will be hard for me to let go of this top when the actual exchange day happens! There is some consolation in the fact that I have a matching set of blocks that I can put together for myself.

Spring is in the air. My hope for all you folks who are living with a colder climate is that your weather is getting warmer. It has been raining here for days (it seems like weeks). When we do have some sunshine, it is still cold and windy. I am looking forward to Spring bringing back my sunny California.

Until next time.....Happy Quilting

Lets Go Dotty

This quilt top was a BOM from 2008. It is one of the three UFOs that I "pledged" to finish this year. The final block was finished last week. I put the blocks together and finished the border. Now it is on to the quilting part of this project.

The fabric line is a Mary Engelbreit design. The title of the quilt is Lets Go Dotty, hence the name of this post. I am not happy about the fabric placement in some of the blocks. Since each block was a kit, I used what was available in the kit to sew up each block. The best thing I can say about this quilt top is that it is finally finished after two, almost three, years. There is light at the end of the tunnel ladies!

DH and I went to a local quilt show last weekend. We always enjoy this show. It is in Watsonville, at the County Fair Grounds. There are three buildings used for the show. There is a quilt auction every year, and lectures from a featured quilter. In one of the buildings there is a display of children's quilts. These quilts are made by children of various ages. It always amazes me when I read the story that accompanies each quilt the children make. It is heartwarming to know why the children made their quilt, and who is the intended recipient.

Last week I was doing some applique. There are two blocks for an exchange quilt that I have been working on finishing. I am not sure when the exchange date is, but I know I should get this quilt finished ASAP as I do not want to get caught without a completed top. We have moved the exchange date back a couple of times. I should have had this quilt top finished in January. As you can tell, I am behind in my schedule, again! I just need a few finishing touches, then I can add these last two blocks to the quilt top. Borders will then be added and I will be ready for the exchange.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day.

Happy Quilting

P.S. The grandbaby picture is one I took last week and it is one of my very favorite ones now.