Bison or Bear?

I started a hexagon quilt project last fall because I just had to get it out of my system!

After viewing some cute hexagon projects on the internet and even though I really didn't need another project, I could no longer resist and started a copy of Anna Ruggles' hexagon quilt. Click here to see her quilt.

I don't know that my version will be that large, probably more like a wallhanging. When I get tired of making hexagons, that's when it will be done! I'm doing English Paper Piecing using 1/2 inch hexagons (the side measurement) which are actually starting to seem large to me. Also trying to limit myself to using only my Jo Morton fabrics except for the cream colored backgrounds.

This is another one of those long term projects so don't expect a lot of progress quickly. From time to time I'll show you how far I've gotten.

I'm still working on the inventory project for the Mennonite Heritage & Agricultural Museum and I had hoped to share a favorite quilt from their holdings today but instead here is an interesting lap robe we've found.

Was it a bison or a bear?

This sort of a lap robe would have been used in a carriage or buggy and is considered a transportation accessory in museum nomenclature. So far here in southcentral Kansas, we've had a mild winter but I don't think many of us can imagine what it must have been like to travel out in the open during winter! I'm so very thankful for modern conveniences.

A birthday quilt

Hmmm, I obviously took a blog holiday.

Its been really difficult to get motivated in the heat and drought in Kansas. The other day it was 112 degrees here and everything is drying up (except the weeds). I water my flowers, shrubs, trees and our yard almost daily just to keep them alive. Last night we finally got rain - a little over a half inch - but the straight line winds that hit Wichita missed us. I'm very grateful for that!

OK, what have I been doing? My big quilting project has been and still is the signature quilt I'm making for my daughter's 30th. birthday. She's convinced I won't get it done for another ten years but I have all but one of the blocks embroidered and am now piecing the blocks. My dd chose a scrappy look made with Jo Morton fabrics. The on point blocks will have sashing between them so obviously not even sewn together but here's a sneak preview:

I was surprised how much I'd missed embroidering so there may be another crazy quilt or embroidery project in my future. In fact, I'm pretty sure there will be a traditional crazy quilt start up soon. I have no idea why they attract me but they do.

I'm also still working on my clamshell diamonds and the selvage quilt. One of these days (soon?) there's got to be a finish to show you!

Catch up time!

My computer is back up and running although not the same. Even though we were running Norton Antivirus, the computer was infected with the Rootkit virus. I hope this never happens to any of you! It was definitely not good and after trying several fixes, my husband had to reconfigure the computer. I'm having to relearn how to do things in different ways. I can't change that but I sure wish I could!

I have a few things to show you - First off, here's my full size "30 Years on the Fence" string quilt back from the machine quilter and bound! Just needs a label and it will be officially done. Its difficult to get a good photo of it but this shows how it looks on a bed. Here are a few pictures of it as I was piecing it which will show you different views. My favorite part is the zig-zag edge!

This quilt, except for the backing and binding, was made entirely from fabrics in my "resource center" and some that were given to me but if I were to make this quilt again, I would probably not make it quite so colorful. This is definitely a memory quilt for me as many of the fabrics are from dresses I made my daughter years ago and other sewing/quilting projects!

On Tuesday, I finished piecing my "Holiday Inn" wallhanging from Jo Morton's Little Women Club #8. Its about 44 inches square and one of the few applique pieces I've done. This was a kit I purchased last year through Liberty Quilt Shop but was unable to finish until this year. I'm looking forward to having it machine quilted and hanging on a wall in our house!

Surprise! I received an envelope of selvages from Betty! I really needed a little encouragement on Wednesday and there it was waiting for me in the mailbox. Thank you again, Betty!

I spent part of my day today trying to make a watermelon slice pincushion. If you have seen Miss Rosie's Fruit Salad pincushions, this was what I was wanting only smaller. When I asked my daughter what she thought it was, she guessed it was "a bird". Help.

I'm looking forward to "Flimsy Friday" as I'll be showing you not only my unfinished project and but also the finished project I made from its trimmings. You'll have to wait and see but I think you'll be impressed!

Hard to believe but I won!

I know this will be hard for people who know me to believe but I won a prize for explaining to Michelle how to link from her blog to another blog! Why is this so amazing? Because I'm the kind of person who can't remember how to get her cell phone messages even though my husband explains it over and over! My technology ineptness is so bad that my family's been threatening to get me a Jitterbug cell phone. "No complicated menus or confusing icons!"

Thank you, Michelle, for the beautiful fabric, fun pattern and the Godiva Chocolate bar! Feel free to link to my blog anytime!



I thought I would be back to working on string projects by now but instead I've been motivated to finish some of my Jo Morton projects. You saw my "finished" Country Lanes little quilt top on Monday. Yesterday and today I've been working on one of last year's Jo's Little Women projects which I participated in through Liberty Quilt Shop.

This is the Holiday Inn wallhanging which still needs 2 more borders! The next one is Flying Geese. I worked on the applique block while my son was in the hospital last year and then I put it away because it wasn't possible for me to work on it any longer. It hasn't been difficult but those half square triangles were time consuming! I really dislike trimming and squaring up which there was a little of to do! Just to give you an idea on the size of the blocks, the half square triangles are one inch finished.

When this project is done, I will need to prepare my crazy quilt for a quilt show coming up in Wichita. I've done some embroidery on the backing and definitely need to finish it up since I think the quilt judge might find it hard to overlook that!

Country Lanes

I finished a "UFO"! (maybe) And its just the top but that's still good. It would be well and truly done if it were quilted and bound but that will come, in time. Oh, and a label too!

This Jo Morton pattern, Country Lanes, from her Remembrances book has been on my wall for over a year. After I sewed all the 1 1/2 inch squares together, our son told me that when pieces would fall off the wall he'd just stick them up anywhere! (He is temporarily living in what was my sewing room.)

Yeah, I can see that now when I stand back and take a good look at it. Sigh. I was so intent on finishing this project that I didn't notice the color clusters until too late. Even though I know it will bother me every time I look at it, I decided not to pick out the seams and rearrange the blocks again.

I'd really like to hand quilt this little quilt but I don't have much time to spend doing it so I'm thinking of doing a slightly larger quilt stitch to make it go faster. I do need to totally finish a few quilts around here!

Log Cabin doll quilt

I'm in between small string quilt projects right now. Still have the Chocolate Box quilt and the Candy Sticks blocks to work on though!

I thought I'd show you one of the log cabin doll quilts I recently made. Its pieced entirely from Jo Morton fabrics and is hand quilted in the ditch. This was part of a challenge from the Small Quilt Talk group. Kathleen Tracy has written several books about doll quilts and the challenge was to make one of the designs from her book, "Prairie Children and Their Quilts".

Here's my version of the log cabin doll quilt in her book:

I won't be at the computer most of the weekend but next week, expect some progress on the string quilts from me! Be sure to hold me accountable on that, OK?!?

Cheddar Cheese & Crackers doll quilt

Just to let you know, I do have a quilting life outside of string quilts. Last month I made this "Cheddar Crackers & Cheese" doll quilt from Lori's instructions on her blog, Humble Quilts. If you go to her blog, you can see the vintage full size quilt in this design and other versions of the doll quilt.

The fabrics in my quilt are all Jo Morton. I like small quilts, easier to finish and I like their charm. This quilt is about 25 inches square and the little squares measure 1 inch.

Here's a photo before I started hand quilting it. Sorry about the quality of the photo, the fabrics are just not showing very well. Click on the photo for a better look. Lots of intersections to quilt through and some of the quilting will only be 1/2 inch apart (on the cheddar blocks). This may take me awhile!