Hint, Hint... it's a boy...

A few years ago a co-worker of my husband's became grandmother to a sweet little boy.  I whipped up a quilt top and hubby quilted it. Here is a picture of that top without the final border etc. I somehow forgot to take a photo of it all finished!  http://thequiltingbelle.blogspot.com/2010/06/snips-and-snails-and-puppy-dog-tails.html

Well she has another grandbaby on the way.. due any day now.. and once again it's a boy!  So hubby pulled fabrics this weekend and whipped up a top.  I love that he used some of the same fabrics as the first quilt and the pattern is similar, but not the same. Here is a hint of what's to come...

There will be a photo of the final product once finished.

"Belle"

Swappin'

My online quilt buddies and I had a little Christmas Swap. You sent your partner something to do with quilting... something to do with Faith.. something to do with Christmas.. and something just for her.. and 1 item had to be homemade / handmade.

Here is what I received:

Here is what I sent: (I added a tin of Pirouette Cookies after I took the picture)

Love sending and getting goodies!

"Belle"

Here a Nose... There a Nose...

I am a huge fan of anything "Snow"... maybe because I live in a part of the world where snow is a rare treat.  I recently saw a photo of the cutest quilt and immediately knew I had to make it.  It quickly became a project for my hubby (a.k.a. the Mad Quilter) and me.  The face shapes are there... and the flying geese (Hubs did those.. first time to make them... he did a great job!)... and there are "carrot noses" everywhere going in all directions!  I had a blast adding.

Now I am adding a border of embroidery.  Once that is done, Hubs will do some quilting in the ditch and then I am going to add black button eyes and mouths.  The buttons will add some tacking through the entire quilt.

This will be a nice big wall hanging for our breakfast room through the Winter season. What fun!  This Mississippi Girl will have quilty snow this year!

"Belle"

3 Little Bibs... all in a row...

I have been having a long reprieve from quilting... actually from sewing of any kind.  And sadly I am just not motivated to get going again. Ever had a quilting funk?  I have a baby quilt top begging to be quilted... Christmas projects I need to make... but just cannot get my inner quilter up and going. In the midst of the funk, my daughter said "Mom, I need some baby things for a shower gift. Can you make some burp cloths?"  Of course I said yes.  And I decided to make bibs too. I have actually never made a bib.

I perused the web and found tons of how-tos and tutorials and templates for bibs.  Decided on a very basic one.  Printed out the template and went to town.  It was so easy and quick and fun!  Instant Creative Gratification! After making the first "practice" bib, I decided to whip up 2 more along with 3 matching burp cloths.

Here is the result:

Miss Harper will be a well bibbed baby!

"Belle"

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is my sweet Mother's 80th birthday. She is a sassy Southern gal who is still going strong despite bouts with 3 separate cancers... arthritis in her hips and knees from chemotherapy.... damage to her heart and eyes due to an undiagnosed Thyroid disease... the woman will not slow down!  Active in her church.. busy with her friends... checking on others .... taking meals to them... does her crossword puzzle, cryptogram and jumble each day... reads... rarely watches TV... talks on the phone as much or more than any 13 year old girl... she is a hoot and I adore her and am thankful to still have her in my life!

A few years ago a group of quilty friends made a 1930s repro churn dash as a love quilt for a dear friend going through a tough time.  I had the privilege of putting all the blocks into a top and finishing up the quilt.  Mother saw it and thought it was for her!  She was very disappointed to learn I was mailing it off to someone else.  Well she has her own now and I think it looks great on her bed!

I whipped up the blocks... the mad quilter did the rest... quilting and binding (gotta love a man who will bind a quilt for you!)... we also made 2 throw pillows from some left over blocks (I got carried away and made a few more than I needed!)

We snuck over to Mom's recently and laid the top (without borders) on her bed to see how much drop we needed.  I think we did a great job with the size! I just love it.

Tonight we slipped over to Mom's while she was at church and got everything set up... we went back to drop off a mum for her (hubs heard her say she wanted one).  She was just getting home, so we stayed a bit. She never left the kitchen! LOL!  Couldn't think of a reason to send her to the bedroom. So we came on home. About an hour later the phone rang... she loves it!  I have no doubt she has been on the phone telling her friends about her birthday present.  LOL!

This is probably one of my favorite quilts ever... partially because it looks great... partially because it was made for my sweet Mother... and mostly because it made her heart sing!  I don't think I have done that too often in the past 49 years... more heart ache and stress and frustration etc. The joys of parenthood. So if I can make hers sing... WOW!  I have accomplished a great thing!

"Belle"

Churning Away.....

My quilting has been in small spurts lately.. a block or two here.. a block or two there. I am almost done with a stack of Churn Dash blocks for a bed quilt.  My mother will be 80 next month and this will be a quilt for her bed.  It will be full size with a good bit of drop on the sides (she has an old high bed).  I used 1930s repros as she loves them!  A group of quilty friends and I made a love quilt last year (or was it the year before?) using repros and the Churn Dash pattern. Mother loved it and was disappointed that it wasn't for her.  This one will be a tad bit different. There will be white sashing and at this point the border and binding will be white (Kona Snow to be exact).  Basically her bed will be covered in a field of repro Churn Dashes!  I also want to make a couple of pillow shams with extra blocks for her bed.  And some window valances with Kona Snow and maybe some small repro squares.  I think it will all look great!

Here is a taste of what is to come....

I think the bottom one (purple gingham, peach dot print) is my favorite block so far. I just love that peach fabric!!!

Stay tuned for the finished product... (and yes, the Mad Quilter will be quilting this... he loves his mom-in-law and he is much faster than I am at quilting!)

"Belle"

Time for a Little Girl Quilt!

My sister-in-law will soon be a grandmother for the first time... and It's A Girl!!! I couldn't wait to whip up something girlie after doing several boy quilts.  What fun!  I pulled charms and made a bunch of HSTs (my sweet husband cut them all down for me... are you jealous?)  and then I put them together in a very basic patchwork layout. No fancy patterns.. just a sea of HSTs.  I love all the colors. Have NO idea how it will be quilted!  But it will be worked on soon.  Baby Lou is due in a few weeks! Of course she lives in TX, so she won't need a quilt for warmth for a while!  LOL!

Here is the finished top.. unquilted..