Baby Lollypop Blocks & Bindings

I was able to get four of the little lollypop blocks made this week which will be in the border of my Lollypop Trees quilt. They go so quickly compared to the large 18" center blocks. These are going to finish about 5" x 8". The quilt can be viewed at Glorious Color.

Now here is a shoebox container filled with leftover bindings from previous quilts. I always like to be sure I have enough binding and save the pieces for scrap or charity quilts. Wonder if I could make enough charity quilts this year to use it all up? We'll see. I'm NEVER at a loss for ideas or projects to work on!! Have a beautiful week. I think the sun is finally shining here in beautiful Oxford, Georgia after a rainy weekend.

Hickory Knob Retreat Projects

Remember the Diagonal Madness class with Kaffe Fassett? Here is Margaret's quilt which she worked on all weekend. Now all she has left are the nine patches for the borders! What gorgeous colors and fabrics!

This is a block I made for Sue's "whoops" 60th birthday which she celebrated this week. I'm a member of a group in the Pieceful Heart's Quilt Guild that when you turn either 50 or 60, many contribute blocks to make you a quilt. These are Sue's favorite colors. A gorgeous center is being made showing her garden. I'll have to post that also.

This was a little Christmas project I worked on at Hickory Knob, also on my list of quilts to make this year, Christmas Munchies. I only took easy projects as I can't focus that well with 50 other people sewing in the room with me. This way I could socialize and still sew.

Here are some of the finished blocks for my tablecloth that I posted earlier. I did not have a good place to lay them out at the retreat so brought them home as blocks. This is a Turning Twenty Again quilt which should really brighten the kitchen!

Family & Pittsburg Steelers Quilt

This is Doug and Dora at Christmas time before they head back to VA. We so enjoyed their visit!

Here is a quilt I made for a Christmas gift for our son-in-law, a huge Pittsburg Steelers fan.

Here is a close-up. All folded and ready for mailing to the great northwest!

Diagonal Madness & Cherries Tablecloth

For the New Year, I began working on my Diagonal Madness quilt again - a Kaffe Fassett class I took in late October. It's been on my design wall all this time so I've had plenty of time to see what I think is working and what is not. I have sewn the first third of the rows together which also helps them stay on the board better. I am still auditioning many fabrics. It is hard to get the vertical rows to stand out enough so many squares have been put up and then taken down again. This is a great quilt to do to play with color, which I truly enjoy!

I need to make a new tablecloth for our kitchen and not wanting to go out and buy more fabrics, decided to use some cherry fabrics which I collected from quilt shops in Michigan when we went there for vacation in 2008. I am doing the Turning Twenty Again pattern and need sixteen blocks so needed sixteen fabrics. I did have to add a few more that did not have cherries but I think they will blend in well and help with my goal of 'quilting from my stash' this year! I'll definitely be having more pieced backs, too, as I don't normally buy large pieces of fabric.

Happy New Year!

Alas, I can hardly believe that 2010 is here but it is and I am excited about it! Just something about clean slates, new beginnings, that I enjoy. It's a chance to reflect on the past year, make plans for the new and think about priorities and goals. The above block, Lollypop Trees, is the last of 16 blocks which I completed yesterday. That was just one of my little goals as the year came to a close. It doesn't mean my quilt is close to be completed, as the outer border is all applique so that will probably take me all of 2010 to complete, so again, a quilting goal for me.

I enjoy my hand applique as it gives me time to think, relax and also accomplish some stitching while sitting and comfortable.

I will admit that I am one of those people that always feel they will have more time in the future than they have at present, so I have large goals and often many of them are never attained, but I still enjoy the planning and expecting and anticipation, and eventually get to many of them. I am a list maker and enjoy making my list and then checking things off as they are completed. I guess I need that sense of accomplishment.

So, as far as quilting goals go this year, I have several UFOs that I would like to complete. I'm thinking maybe one per month might be reasonable and I will post a list and see how I come along on it. The list will probably be more than 12 but that will give me more choices, right?

A verse I would like to share and consider more is this: I Thessalonians 4:11. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands.