A baby quilt and a big cry ;-(

Wahhhh....I don't want to go back to school!!!  Wahhh....

OK, enough of that!  I put on my new Bliss rails yesterday with my Dad and broke them in today on a baby quilt.  What an improvement!  This is one of Joyce's quilts...

In the center I did freehand hearts, loops, tendrils and flowers....

The border was hearts and loops...Since the pic was taken I did some stitch in the ditch between the border and the center of the quilt.....

Anyhow, the end of summer is upon us and this will seriously cut into my quilting time!!  I'll try to leave work at work and play at home this year....Happy Quilting to all you people who get to stay home while your kids go to school or you retired people...or even better, stay at home people with no kids!!!  Enjoy your week!

Retreat gifts...

I thought I'd post the gifts I received at the retreat...My Secret Quilter was Jessica from Stitched in Thyme and she gave me lots of cool Day of the Dead stuff!  Check it out...

First I got a thread catcher/pincushion for my sewing area!  Just perfect since I had no trash can and could only throw so much stuff on Cola's table before she noticed...

I also got some great Alexander Henry fabrics for my soon to be Dia del Muerto quilt...perfect for Halloween, I'm thinking... And some Nips candies, but I ate those so no pics...

Then some Kool-Aid (Love the stuff) and a hand embroidered Sugar Skull...wow!!  All the other quilters were jealous and secretly wanted to steal it!! 

Up close detail work...and Jess is a new sewist...super amazing!  This is her first embroidery project, I believe...

And I also got a few gifts from fellow retreaters...Andrea made this zippered bag all "in the hoop" on her Bernina (not sure what that means but you embroiderers will know...).  And Patti A. made the little pouch for our punch cards--she used the measuring tape in the top so it has a nice snap!

All in all, a good haul!!  I hope I didn't miss anything, I'm still unpacking.  Some really nice ladies, lots of fun and snacks and gifts...I look forward to the next one!  Happy quilting....

Secret Quilter Gifts...

I'm back from the quilt retreat!!  Three days of sewing, drinking, watching the stars and s'mores!  We were each given the name of a fellow quilter for a Secret Quilter Swap.  It was fun seeing everyone try to sneak around give their gifts to their person....I thought I'd show you what I made for my person, Cindy....


Zippered pouch....some fabric...

Coasters, scissor fob, pin cushion, Scrabble Tile thingy....

 Some nesting buckets I made from scratch....LOL!

I added a little hand embroidery...linen for the background fabric...

A thread catcher...I got the idea from this tutorial...I used a 10" triangle...no interfacing and I did the extra stitching when it was a triangle, before I sewed the sides...

After I unpack my stuff I'll show you what I received...good stuff!!!  Happy quilting...

Scrap Basket quilt..

This was a charity quilt for Joyce.  I think it is the cover quilt for Scrap Basket Surprises...I finished the quilting today and it is back to Joyce for binding...

Basic stipple in the background, a flower with tendrils in the blocks...

Wishbone in the first border and leaves in the outside border...lovely!!

I tried a new thread today...Omni, by Superior Threads.  It ran really well in my machine and looked amazing on the quilt.  Maybe I'll buy some more... ;-)  I'm off to AZ tomorrow so no posts for a while!  Happy quilting....

Ready to roll....

I leave tomorrow for a 3 day retreat in Northern Arizona with the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild.  There are 14 members going on the retreat and it should be loads of fun!!

My car is washed, I'm halfway packed and I had time to make a little ironing board cover just for the occasion!!

We are staying at a luxury home right off of Route 66...The Tumbling Rock Ranch!!  Check it out...amazing!  And we all split the cost so it was only $106 per person for the three days!

My secret quilter gifts are all made (I'll post about them after the retreat) and I packed a bunch of plaid shirts for a new project!  Happy sewing to you all!

Charity quilt...

This is one of Joyce's charity quilts...I just started the quilting on the blocks and inside border.  I can't do the background until I get the right color thread--which is on order.

The first wishbone border went on easily, but the top one sucked.  Thread breakage, wonked out of the border....I can't wait for my Bliss rails!!!  Anyhow, this will sit on the rack until the thread arrives...More to come at a later date!

Scissor fobs...

Don't say what is a fob....!!!  ;-)  I made some little beaded scissor fobs that go on the end of your rotary cutter or scissors...they are all different so a quilter can tell her scissors from another quilter's scissors.  I got on a roll and made enough for everyone going on the retreat this weekend!!!

Check them out...

I tried to make a variety of colors...I thought Patti A. might like the black/yellow, and maybe Regina the green (Ireleand)...and lots and lots of others!!!  I love beading and I haven't done nearly enough of it since Alli hasn't been around.  I'm definitely going to bead some more this year!!!

Guess who gets the rainbow one???  LOL...me!!!

Anyhow, now I have to get some stuff ready for the retreat.  More damn granny squares, I suppose.  Also, a big Thank You to Kathy who let me see the new Bliss system on her longarm.  I ordered one today and will be blissed in the next few weeks!!!  Yeah....Happy Quilting to you all!

Quilted table runner...

This isn't mine, I just quilted it...leaves in the border, curls in the red and blue and a flower that was in the batiks in the green....

Anyhow, that is what I did tonight!  And we finished Breaking Bad...worth every minute!!  A fabulous series....smarter than Weeds, not as violent as Sons of Anarchy...not as lengthy as the Sopranos.  Chemistry teacher and former student become methamphetamine manufacturers....good times!!

More longarm practice..

Well, I thought I'd do a little PPP today while the kids are at the pool...LOL.  Loaded some junk muslin, junk batting that was sent as packing material ( it sucks) and I'm using a nasty vintage sheet as the backing.  And just to prove I really don't give a *&^%, I thought I'd shock myself and use some raspberry variegated thread on top!!  Nothing shows your mistakes like a contrasting thread....

Hopefully someday I'll look back on this and laugh because I'll be so much better, for now, this is it...I had quilted some bad words into it when I was having troubles but I didn't take pics of those....ROTFLOL....no kidding...
Wonky feathers...

Spineless feather on the top and some flowers...loops and tendrils added

Spirals....

Paisleys...

 Some particularly nasty feathers...bad words are on the right-- you can't see!

 I liked this...modern geometric....

 Some flowers...

Anyhow, now my hands ache so I think I'm done with the PPP.  I need some charity tops to quilt.  Best get to work!!  Happy quilting!

Allison Harper your quilt is done!

It has been two years since she started it, but it is now quilted!!!  Yeah....I have the binding made and will get it sewn on this week.  Allison, nice work!!

The panto swirls were *challenging* to say the least.  After doing it for a few hours, I determined that from the front, my right arm does 90% of the work and my left just hangs around.  Maybe if my left kicked in a bit I could have better swirls.  I did get used to looking at the display screen so I guess that is a plus.

Anyhow, I'm working on my Granny Squares...squaring up a bunch.  I think I'm over 70 finished now...I'll let you know tomorrow!!  Happy quilting!