Checkers anyone?

I made this Gameboard quilt as a challenge for the Small Quilts group. We are each doing a quilt from the book "Prairie Children and their Quilts". This was a quick simple pattern. The buttons are "checkers".

Carolina Christmas is done!

And on my bed. . . I opted for a solid border. Partly because I wanted to get it done and on my bed, partly because I had this fabric to use and partly because I just liked the way the solid border "soothed" the overall pattern. I Y this quilt.

More Christmas

Santa's elves have been working round the clock to finish the goodies.

Front:

and back: And quilting Carolina Christmas in order to get it on Mrs. Claus' bed ASAP. I am quilting an all over flower design. Look what one of the elves made me while working so hard. . . a lego sewing machine. Is that the coolest or what? It's only about 1" high.

Santa's Elf

Santa's elf has been very busy getting ready for Christmas. Don't let the soft pleading expression in these eyes fool you. This is a serious elf here. He is all business when it comes to Christmas.

Please disregard the wet nose too.

This elf has been busy quilting gifts for Christmas.

And he even finished the back of this quilt with extra blocks. I like the effect. He did take some time out to help me finish my Carolina Christmas quilt top. Now on to the borders.

Carolina Christmas Part III and IV

This project is so fun. You have to join in! You have plenty of time. Bonnie is going to leave the instructions up until June next year. I am anxiously awaiting part V. I am loving my fabrics and going very scrappy with them. Not perhaps as scrappy as Bonnie but she is the queen of scraps. Here is part III and part IV.

For the rest of today I will be working on some handquilting. Finishing my Christmas BOM from Gail Pan and watching football. Alabama vs. Florida and Texas vs. Nebraska. I'm pulling for Florida and Texas.

Molly, I tried to respond to your post or visit your blog but your profile is locked.

Carolina Christmas Part I and II

I'm already enjoying Bonnie's new quilt a long. It's not too late to start and you'll have a beautiful bed quilt when you're done.

Step I

and Step II

I'm now anxiously awaiting the next step. Like Bonnie I want to have it on my bed this Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Though this is a bit late I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I've been hard at work on quilts and such. I finished some wallhangings for a customer. These are made from shirts and ties. I made five wall hangings along with four full size quilts.

This little dolly was a gift for my daughter for her fifth birthday. She was very easy to make. The pattern is from Oh Sew Dollin. She has some VERY cute patterns on her site. Check them out.

We have our tree decorated. Here are just a few of the ornaments that we decorate with. I love pulling these out every year. These birdhouses were made by my former boss. She does beautiful wood work. These are not painted. They are actually different woods. Aren't they beautiful?

This one is made using a sea urchin shell. It's so delicate.

This is a small pillow type ornament that I stitched.

Here are two pear ornaments I just finished today. The pattern can be found at Connecting Threads. I'll be adding more pics of my favorite ornaments as time goes by. I love ornaments especially handmade ones.

And here are my fabrics for Bonnie's new mystery quilt along. It's called Carolina Christmas. This is the third mystery quilt I've done with Bonnie and they always turn out so beautifully. It's just beginning so join in here.

Life is Beautiful

Helen is having a Life is Beautiful contest and you should see the amazing quilt she has just released. Here is a sneak peak but you you really need to go see her blog and read more about it. Click here for her blog.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

Memory Quilt and Christmas Quilt

I finished a memory quilt for a friend. Just a small wallhanging. This will be a gift for her mother in law. It's made from her girls clothes. I think the contrasting patterns turned out pretty well. I quilted swirls into it.

And here is a little pic of one of my labels.

And the mystery quilt finish. This is Christmas Lights, a mystery quilt-a-long with Quiltmaker magazine and Bonnie Hunter. I so enjoy Bonnie's quilt patterns. They are so easy and yet they look so complex and stunning when finished.

And in true Bonnie Hunter fashion, the back was made entirely of scraps. I quilted stars and hearts with swirls into the quilt.

Giveaway!

Jackie is having a giveaway. Check it out on her blog here:
http://cvquiltworks.blogspot.com/2009/10/sharing-my-good-fortune-with-you.html

Hiking

We went for a bit of hiking up at Rock Island. This is a beautiful spot in middle Tennessee. I highly recommend it. The drive alone is beautiful. The park is loaded with falls that are easily accessible. There are great hiking trails for all types of hikers, strenuous and moderate. This is definitely a beautiful time to go with the fall colors in full show.

These are the twin falls.

These are from the Great Falls Dam area.


These berries were so beautiful. I have no idea what they are. I've never seen berries this color before.

Autumn. . .

I love this time of year, the colors, the chill to the air, wood fires, football, the holidays. . .

I have finished my fall quilt. I love this quilt and these colors. It's going right on my bed. The block is Arizona and the fabric is from Connecting Threads, Hearth and Home line. I quilted leaves into the border. I used a stencil and Pounce. This was my first foray with Pounce and I have to say I am extremely pleased. It was easy and it came off very easily too.

It's Football Time in Tennessee!

My son attends Cumberland University. We went to his game yesterday and it was great to watch him play at this level. I've been to every game since he was 5 years old so seeing him play in college was a big deal. He is on the JV team (he's a freshman). He loves it. We are very proud. So here are a few shots from the game yesterday.

This is his roommate, Marcus.

Here is Jacob #91

Artist Tote

This tote is for my budding artist, coloring mayven, etc. She will be able to carry her coloring books and sketch pads inside. There are individual pockets on the outside front for crayons. The outside back has pockets for markers and a lined pocket for paints and paintbrushes. The paintbrush pocket has velcro to keep it closed. I'm holding this for her birthday in another couple months but had to get it off my to do list. I have seen these online and decided to make my own. I did it all last night. A very easy pattern to do. The pics are quite yellow, obviously bad lighting. The bag fabric is actually a lime green and just cute as can be. I may have to retake these pics.

okay here is a little bit better photo of the color of the bag.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have been so busy lately making Christmas projects and gifts. I am making most of the gifts I'm giving away this Christmas. My plan is to have all these completed by November in order to enjoy the holidays. This is the first Schnibble in "A Year of Schnibbles", Winter White. I used mostly Shangri La fabrics so I'm calling it Shangri-La Winter. I rushed through this pattern and I don't know why because it was easy and fun. So I'm not real happy with my geese. I plan on doing it again though. This Minnesota Stars quilt was a kit from Connecting Threads. It's a Christmas gift but I can't say for who. Shhhh!

Here is part 2 of the 3 part Bonnie Hunter/Quiltmaker "Christmas Lights" mystery quilt. I love Bonnie Hunter's patterns and this is no exception. I am so enjoying this and can hardly wait for part 3. It's not too late to get in on the fun. Check out the Quiltmaker site (there is a link on my sidebar) for back issues. Part 2 is on stands now.

Another set of Monkey P.J.s for my niece for Christmas. The pattern is by Oliver + S and so easy. I finished them in one day.

My first tree skirt. This was also very easy and I enjoyed making it. I can't wait to have this under my tree. I machine quilted stars into in.

Feathered Friends block of the month by Cinderberry Stitches. You can click on the link in my sidebar for more information on this one. I love the whimsical birds and beautiful designs in this pattern. This is only a piece of month 1. I have more to show you but have to get the photos uploaded first.

A close up of the birdies.