Monday, June 29, 2015

bee blocks....

I always love seeing what my bee buddies come up with for their monthly blocks. This is the block I made for Bettepat in May......
And this block is all done for Stephanie, to be delivered at our guild meeting next week....
Stephanie provided the background fabric, the door fabric and the pattern and instructed us to "paint our house" however we pleased. I had fun picking out fabrics, especially for the window! I fussy cut and auditioned three or four different windows before I decided I liked the festive bunting fabric the best....

Now that it's finished, it kind of looks like a sleepy eye to me! I can't wait to see all of the other houses she receives next week.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

adventures on the road

When I chose the word Imagine as my word of the year, I never Imagined that I would be traveling all over the United States for months at a time! After spending several cold months in Cleveland with my daughter Ally this past winter, the logical choice for summer living would be hot hot hot Phoenix, right? About a month ago, I headed to Phoenix to see my awesome dad through cancer surgery and to help Mom with driving, cooking, doctor visits etc. Dad is doing well (here we are last Sunday at his church) but could use continued prayers as he strengthens his body and prepares for radiation therapy.
Of course, once we had Dad home and comfy, I insisted that Mom join me in the sewing room!
We make a good team! Mom pieced & I ironed, until the pattern got a little tricky. Then she turned the machine over to me....
although I'm not exactly sure why. She taught me everything I know about sewing after all!

Oh, you want to know what we made? We found a cute bag pattern in Quilt Now magazine & altered it to suit our needs.

Isn't it adorable? The perfect size to hold a present Mom had bought for Ally. It was a fun make.... always fun to sew with Mom!

Now, I'm back in Texas & ready to organize my projects and get back to work.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Pillow scrap swap

The McKinney Modern Quilt Guild recently completed a Pillow Scrap Swap. Here's how it worked:

We each brought a gallon zip lock bag filled with some of our favorite scraps. At the May guild meeting, we swapped the bags around and each of us went home with someone else's scraps. Then, we had a month to make a 16 inch pillow cover for our partner, returning it to her at the June meeting.   We were also challenged to do something "modern".

When I saw the beautiful scraps in Catherine's bag, they spoke to me! I snatched it right up. Here is the pillow cover I made for her.....

I had a little of my usual fun on the back, adding some binding & ricrac to the open edge....
 I'll confess that I almost plopped this pillow on my own couch and forgot all about Catherine! But I was a good girl and passed it along to her. It helped that I knew Catherine had snatched up my scraps as well (we sure do have similar taste in fabric!) and I couldn't wait to see what she had made for me! Here it is.....

Isn't it wonderful??? I love the improve style she used. Thank you Catherine! What a treasure!

Friday, June 5, 2015

goodbye sweet friend

Yesterday our Crafty Tuesday group suffered a huge loss. Our dear friend Raquel, who has been a Crafty Tuesday girl nearly from the beginning almost three years ago, passed away following surgery to repair a broken leg. I was devastated when I learned this.

Raquel lived her life with passion and purpose. Whatever she did, whether it was quilting, scrapbooking, weight loss, Zumba or Roller Derby, she did it with her whole heart and all of her energy. She loved her husband and her children deeply. And her friends. We will miss her terribly.

A couple of years ago, Raquel brought me back a bundle of fat quarters from her native Hawaii. I used the beautiful Hawaiian prints to make a postcard quilt which hangs in my studio. From now on I will think fondly of my friend whenever I see it.

Hug your friends and tell them that you love them. I will miss you Raquel. You were a blessing to me.