Macybaby - love that crazy quilt. It will be a very striking quilt when you double that size.

I just finished the second Fairyland top. Just the top, not quilted yet!

It's hard to see in the picture, but there is a lot of machine fancy stitching in each block. That is what why it takes so long, especiallys since I"m doing the stitching in several different thread colors.

The goal with the quilt is to have the "antique bridal gown" look when it's done.

for super crazy - this is my ultimate scrap quilt. After getting the 365 quilt done, I went through my scraps and cut them into 2.5 and 1.5 strips, with a couple of HST of each fabric, and then took the smaller chunks taht were left and sorted them by color and put them together into blocks.

this quilt is finished, but I can't find a picture of it completed.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psk2oyws9h.jpg

This was my first crazy quilt, I gave this one to my niece that was tending to my mother during her last days. This is one of my first quilts - made in 2014.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps2f3979dc.jpg

That antique look has been accomplished, it's what I thought when I saw the blocks!

Lovely, those crazy quilts! I never made one, but now I'm trying haha!

Hello my friends!!! Great progress on some of your projects. Donna is pumping those blocks out and they look fantastic. Beautiful fabrics, of course.

Macybaby...you amaze me with your projects. Each is unique and not your typical pattern, which is way cool.

Dotty....so glad you are doing well following surgery. Mine was non-invasive as we'll and cutting thru less muscle is a plus in terms of recovery. Good luck with rehab...each day gets better.

Judith....have you decided on your new machine yet? You are very patient. If mine broke down, I would buy the next day. I'm not very patient. Lol

Anael....your fairly land quilt is adorable and beautifully crafted. I admire your talent on the embroidery. Beautifully done.

i have finished all the applique for SBS and now I am doing a fun and silly wall hanging. Work is going well on our home. We may head home earlier than expected. Tomorrow, heading to LQS.. MYEA!

On a side note....20 UFO's would send me to the looney bin. Lol!

Nice to hear from you Teen!

Thank you for the compliment but the embroidery machine is doing all the hard work, the only thing I have to do is pick the fabrics and thread colours :D Oh and try and line up the designs with the multiple hooping. The elephant block required 8 hoopings.

Anael, anyone who has done even a small amount of machine embroidery knows it's not near that simple! It takes a good eye to pull in the thread and fabric to get a good looking end product.

Teen - glad that things are coming along well with the house - so much can go "wrong" when building . . . or even remodel jobs. When I was working on our house, I frequented a few remodeling/building forums, and oh the horror stories some told! Seems if it all goes smoothly, you got really lucky! But in the end, it always seemed to get worked out. I personally hope to never build again! Not sure if I even want to remodel, but DH and I do our own work with that, so much less miscommunication.

I don't consider my floppies in the que to be quilted as UFO's. I have several true UFO's, things I have lost interest in and don't have much desire to deal with them. I've got to make a push to get more quilted though, we hare having a family reunion this summer and I hope to rehome 30-40 quilts.

Macybaby - 30 to 40 quilts! Wow, what heirlooms your family members will be leaving with! My goodness...

Anael - I love your bright, happy fairyland quilts. Happy, happy colors.

Teen - glad to hear your construction project is going well. I've been in on some remodeling projects through the years, and it's exhausting, but gratifying, work. Looking forward to seeing the applique border on SBS when it is done.

Here are 2 more blocks from this past week, hopefully more to come this weekend. Heading to our LQS tomorrow for a demonstration on ruler work.

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Oh my DonnaPea, gorgeous!!!!!!

Macebaby, rehome so many quilts .... WOW!!! Nobody in the family wants mine except the grands and they'rs not allowed to because according to DDIL they have enough quilts. I don't agree but who am I LOL.

Maybe one day we can do an UFO swap....hahaha! Wouldn't that be great?

I have 9 living siblings plus 10 in laws
Then 29 nieces and nephews (youngest is a teenager now) plus 13 spouses
and so far, 26 grand nieces and nephews, and that number is growing.

That is 87 people if I count the spouses, and 64 without.

And that is my side! Though I've already given about 10 of them. Have not seen anyone for two years so the quilts have piled up.

I'm making labels that say "In memory of . . ." and using fabric from shirts that my Mom and Dad wore . With this many people, I didn't have enough garments to make traditional memory quilts even for the direct children. My Mom loved shirts with some embellishment, so I fussy cut them in circles. Dad wore plaids, so I cut them into squares to make 9 patch blocks. Each label has a 9 patch with a overlapping circle. When my youngest sister got her's, she cried because she remembered Mom wearing the shirt. She told me afterwards that when ever someone came over, her DH had to take them into the bedroom to show off the quilt, he was very proud to have it.


But it gets real easy on my husband's side (only child) - there is only his father, and he got a quilt a few years ago.

My DD and DS would gladly take any quilt I'd give them. They both each have one and would like more. No grandkids in the picture, and the prospects of having them some day are not real good.

I also make quilts for non-family members, probably about 10 of them to date also.

Though I've been sewing all my life, I didn't get into making quilts until after my Dad was gone and my Mom was in her final stages - 2014. The first quilt I made at that time was a mystery lap quilt a gave to my Mom. She liked to run her hands over it to feel the texture and pick at the bumps. Wish I'd have known about fidget quilts back then. I got the quilt back after she passed, and use it in my office (it's sitting right next to me).

Macybaby - I am amazed at the number of quilts, and the type you produce, if you only took up quilting in 2014. Wow!

I can only echo this!!! Amazing!!

I started quilting in 2010 and I wish I would have known earlier. I would have made my Mom a few, I'm sure she would have loved them. I made one to honor her, I'm using it now and one day it's going to live with my granddaughter.

Anael, thanks for keeping this going and hope you get your 365 done. That was what derailed my Sylvia. I did not really know how to paper piece when I started Sylvia, so it went slow. My regular piecing got better with 365. I think I said earlier I have finished all the Sylvia blocks. There is currently a quilt on my design wall that is being quilted, 1/3 down 2/3 to go. Sylvia is scheduled to go up next in June when we quit traveling.

DonnaPea, beautiful blocks.

Macybaby, WoW. All those quilts. Use to make quilts with someone in mind now I make the ones I like. I have done several quilts that have more blocks because it takes longer also.

the stack of quilts I have don't have labels yet. I didn't make them for anyone in particular. I'm going to post pictures of them on the family group and let them decide what they want. First dibs to siblings. Once I know who wants what, I'll put the label on them. For my sibs, it says "loving memory of Mom and Dad" and for the rest it says Grandpa and Grandma.

I much prefer to make what I feel like making too.

Hello ladies,

Donna Pea, A couple more great blocks. Your going to be a piecing pro when you finish all these blocks. Looks like you are having fun. I love all your scrappy fabrics. They will be perfect in this quilt.

Anael, Your Fairy quilt is just darling. I am in awe or your embroidery blocks. And, it is no mean feat to get all those things to line up. Embroidery machines are challenging to work with. (What with the specialty threads and stabalizers and computer patterns.) I have heard of the work that goes into these quilt blocks. So, seeing yours come together so quickly is nothing short of a miracle. You must really enjoy working with these type quilts.

Macybaby, omg, you are a piecing and quilting maniac. It is clear that you found a kinship with quilting. I am enjoying seeing all the different type quilts you are making. I have been quilting a little longer then you and find, I am no where near your skill level. But, that's okay, I too enjoy this craft on a simpler level. That's why I enjoy seeing your quilts so much. They inspire me to try even more then I do now. (Although, right now, I find, I just really want to finish all the UFO's I have sitting around.) I find I am a much better starter then finisher. That's my primary goal to get all my unfinished objects into quilt tops ready for quilting. I did, send 4 out to a LA quilter so far. I am working on 2 more to send out. But, the list is longer then I care to admit. It might scare me and I will be derailed from my progress. lol :o

Teen, I did find a machine. It is just a simple "New Home" machine put out by Janome. It will primarily become my applique machine when I get the machine I really want. After seeing Macybaby's Juki in one or her photos, I got to researching a Juki straight stitcher. That is the one I'm saving for. DH and DS will help me buy it in November. It will be my birthday, (October) and Christmas present all rolled into one. I was adamant about buying mechanical machines only. I just don't think my budget would allow for the up keep on an electronic/programmable machine.

Thank you Judith!! Yes I love making these type of quilts, it's just that I have too many unfinished projects so I have to wait with the next new one. And you're right, some of the blocks took a few hours to make ;)

Like you I'm a starter and find it hard to finish as there are so many quiltpatterns out there I want to make. Each new one is even more beautiful than the ones I already saw......hahaha. Keeps us busy!

I have a Juki TL 98-P (straight stitcher). The one with speed control wasn't available here in The Netherlands. Oh well, no problem. It's great for piecing and FMQing.

Macybaby- I get it. I'm right there with you. Here is what has been holding me up from getting back to SBS, but I have as many as you in the works. All in storage. Moving again this week, but not getting out of storage yet. The good news, is I FOUND MY SBS BOOK!!! I am so excited that I pulled a few boxes of scraps to take with me, and once I finish the quilting on the monster, I am back on it. That is a King size- I swear the last I will ever do on a domestic machine. But it is to replace the last one I made for son #1 years ago. He has worn it out. His birthday is May 8th, which I probably won't make, but it'll be close enough. Anael, your applique is just darling! DonnaPea- keep going- I'm with you and have been working on mine since the beginning of this thread. Off and on of course. Love you all.

OH wow Laurafet, what a lovely quilt. I don't like browns.......sorry.....but I love the design. Lots of work!!

Glad you found your SBS book! Whenever you're ready to make a few, we will cheer you on!

Thanks for the compliments. Back to the sewing machine I go........LOL. I finished one quilt but that wasn't an UFO......so that doesn't count!

Actually, Anael, it is all grays with some beiges -one of the few kits I have ever purchased. I'm not much on browns either. Just the lighting there late afternoon. It's a collection by Jason Yenter In the Beginning fabrics called Textured Graphix. I needed something that spoke "refined batchelor" to some degree. What is it with these young people and all of their black??

Ohhhh ok. I just went back and had another look, it still looks brown on my screen :D

I once made a black and white quilt for DS and DDIL. They both were very into black back then. Not so anymore but they still like their quilt.

love that quilt Laurafet - looks grey/beige on my monitor, but I like browns so would like it that way too!

When I started making quilts, I knew I'd hate basting them so very early on I bought the Bailey with a Grace frame - for a total cost of under $4,000. That way if I decided I hated it, I was not going to be out a lot. After my Mom passed, I used a big chunk of my inheritance and bought the HQ fusion. I think my Mom would have considered that a good use of the money, and I consider it the last present I got from my parents.

I've got a king size quilt on it. I can't imagine trying to quilt a king size on a domestic machine. I struggle enough just dragging one around to get the binding on! I do all my bindings by machine. I use to hate doing bindings until I stopped pressing a crease in them, now they are no-brainers to put on. I love piecing, but would rather get the rest done as easy as possible.

One of my favorite "refined bachelor" patterns is Gentleman's agreement. I have the ombre fabric for it, but have not made one yet.

http://www.thequiltinggrounds.com/mo...classId=163030

I do my bindings by machine also. When I started quilting I sewed the binding on the front with the machine and hand stitched on the back. Now I do everything by machine.

I wish we had a long arm dealer here, a mid arm even would do also. But we don't....too bad!!!

Hello all....tried posting yesterday but QB kept throwing me out. Hopefully, this will post...

Judith....so glad you found something to tide you over until birthday. That is so cool of your kids to kick in for the one you want. Super!

Laurafet....gorgeous quilt. I am always amazed over the talent in this place. Happy you found your SBS book, too. Good luck on the move.

I visited with a neighbor about 10 acres away yesterday. She was sewing a quilt. Lol! I got to help her for about an hour...did some cutting and piecing. Such a blast and enough to get my fix. Woohoo! Went to the LQS to day. Oh my Gosh, you guys!!! I found my green and background fabric for my Baltimore album quilt. So frickin' excited. I needed 8 yds of each and each bolt had 81/2.... I bought it all. Lol!! Just need the red fabric and I have one shop that might have it. Will hit it next week.... I'll post a pic of the 2 fabrics....

All is well!!!

And, I can't go to LQS without buying polka dots... Lol!!

Teen, Lovely green and background fabric. What are you planning on doing with the happy dots?

Hi, Bluebell... I'm a polka dot hoarder. Lol! However, I am planning a quilt using bright polka dots, stripes, and solids. Likely won't make much of a dent in my polka dot stash but, whatever. Ha! I'll be tackling that after SBS. It's a paper piece block and should be fairly easy. We'll see.

lol teen - I know how it is to be always attracted to something and buying way more than you need for a project! I've done that with soft florals. I wanted to make a log cabin quilt using them so started collecting them a few years ago. I'm sure I've got enough for 3-4 quilts at this time. Does not stop me from grabbing more when I see them.

This is the king quilt I've got on the frame right now. I might be able to get it finished today.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psxlfpztlm.jpg

I decided to do the black Ribbon quilt next, and then think I'll put the SBS on as I've been thinking of quilting ideas and want to move on that before I forget. I'm going to move from a stack of floppies needing quilting, to a stack of quilts needing binding.

Oh those polka dots...............lovely!!!!!!!!!!!!! How fun to have a neighbor who's also quilting! Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one in the whole country........LOL

Macebaby, you have a longarm!!!!!!!! Wow...........I can only wish!!!!!!!! Beautiful quilt on your frame! I'm machine quilting right now on my Juki.
I finished my neighbor's quilt the day before yesterday, washed it and took it to him yesterday. He's terminally ill so I thought I make him a quilt as there's nothing else I can do for him or his wife. He just retired....so sad.

Yes....polka dots are my weakness and anything yellow, however, I ignored a yellow FQ bundle taunting me yesterday. So I figured I did Ok.

I cannot not wait to get a long-arm. Macybaby....beautiful quilt on the frame. So glad you are going to quilt the SBS. I hope you quilt the CMIYC quilt. I hate to think of that one in a stack. Show worthy in my opinion.

It's a lazy day for us. Weather is chilly and rainy so hanging out in the RV. Will probably finish my wall hanging today, as much as I can do here anyway. Need my machine to finish it.

Anael....my neighbor is very excited that I'm a quilt maker and I have met several of the gals in my valley who have a little quilting club. They are eager for me to join....but I'm not much of a joiner in terms of clubs etc. We'll see. I'll certainly participate in their charity efforts but will decide later on my participation threshold. Lol.

Anael....so sweet of you making a quilt for your friend. Everyone always feels so helpless in situations like these. I'm sure he appreciate your gesture and it I'll definitely be used. Your a kind soul!

Laurafet - Looking forward to your joining in on showing off some blocks! Hope things go well with your moving around. Teen - sounds like you are moving to just the right place. So glad you'll have some folks there with this common interest. Macybaby - I love the quilt you are currently working on. Anael - is quilting truly not a popular hobby in your country? I'm always interested to see the different countries represented as I peruse quilting boards & forums, but it's hard for me to get a perspective of how widespread it is in any one particular country.

Here's this weekend's work. I messed around with Love in a Mist (G-1) quit a bit, am going to unsew it and redo it. I get a little frustrated with the templates. I've found they are generally 1/8" too small, so add that as I cut, but then on some this is not the case and the block ends up too big, as happened on the one before G-1. So I cut G-1 according to the template and of course it finished at 6". Back to the drawing board on it.

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Oh wow DonnaPea!! Y seams!!! Perfect!!
I don't see any templates for G1? I agree it's not an easy block!

We do have quilters here in The Netherlands. Like Teen I'm not much of a club person so I don't know if there is a guild here. Of all the people I know there's only one who once made a wall hanging......:D That's about it. Some do comment on my work, telling me I'm not a real quilter as I do everything on my sewing machine and not by hand. Of course these ladies do not quilt themselves.

donna- those are looking good!

I used the templates to get the finished measure, then added my seam allowance to get my cutting measure. I think doing it that way, my cuts and sewing matched up. I have had problems if I use the templates like pattern pieces, maybe I normally cut a bit wider than 1/4" on how I line up my rulers and don't do that when I use a template. Who knows, but normally my sewing and cutting work together well.

Anael - sounds like you have quilt police over there too - even if they are not quilters! I know that my Grandmothers adopted use of sewing machines as soon as they could, and have no doubt that if they had been around and affordable earlier in history, we'd see less hand stitched quilts. there was a time when all sewing was done by hand, and no one says "your not a real dressmaker" because you don't draft your own pattern and sew it by hand.

In reading the history of sewing machines, I find it interesting that while some thought it would put a lot of sewests out of business because one person could now make what 10 did before, that did not happen.

When clothing prices came down and more were available, people bought more. I read about people having only a few outfits, and maybe one Sunday garment for the entire year. My house was built in 1875, without closets. The original homesteaders to this area would not have needed areas just to put clothing in. We don't have the history like Europe has, and I bet large closets weren't the norm for the average person there either.

And when you start looking back, it's fun to read about laundry day and other things were took up major amounts of time and effort that we do with machines now. There was a time when you needed at least one adult just to take care of clothing (making and cleaning), cooking and preserving food.

Oh yes, we do have them here too and the non quilting kind is the worst. They told me........back in the days.....all was done by hand.....and I asked.....do you have a car or a bike even? Because back in the days they didn't have cars or bikes...haha! I know once there were sewing machines quilters used to sew at least one visible seam with the machine so people could see they own one.

When I was a child we had 2 pairs of trousers, a few cardigans and one Sunday garment which was never worn during week days. So we didn't need large closets. I don't know if we even had them, I can't remember.
My mom started doing laundry on Sunday night and finished ironing on Wednesday. No vacuum cleaner, only one tap with cold water, no shower, nothing! And it was totally normal.

Hi - I just want to thank you all for the enquiries re my hip operation, which was done on Friday 20th April. I was in some pain ( but not anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be ) for a few days, but I am getting around with the crutches and can do the stairs ok. One of the worst things are the TED stockings - really hard to change them ! I went with my DH to take our Grandson home from school this afternoon - which was my first journey out since I came out of hospital, and it was so nice to get out of the house for a while !! I am following this thread never the less and some really lovely blocks and projects being shown. I hope to get up to one of my groups on Wednesday morning - it will be so nice to see some of the girls !!
Thank you all once again and I am sorry not to have answered earlier ! Hugs, Dot.

YEAHHHHHHHHH Dotty!!!! Great to see you again! I'm glad you're doing well.
We don't use those TED stockings here, we have to have daily shots during 4 weeks after surgery to prevent blood clots.
Being able to go out of the house is great, you need that! Change of scenery :)

Thanks Anael, I am taking a tablet - similar to the shots, for 35 days plus the Teds, but I know it is all for my own health ! Hope all ok with you !

Yes I'm fine, thank you for asking. Maybe you read in this thread I have a damaged nerve in the lower abdomen. Nothing to be worried about, it might go away again - or not.

I hated those shots, I was happy when the 28 days were over.

Donna....your blocks look wonderful. The purple is one of my fav of yours so far.

Dotty....good to hear you are up and about. I remember a ride to the super market was exciting. Lol.. Sounds like you are healing and recovering nicely.

Anael....I'm relieved to hear you are of like minds with me regarding guilds/groups. They are a good fit for some and not for others. I'd rather have a weekend sewing with you guys at my house. Now, that I would love to do.

Macybaby....your memories brought many back for me. My mother made most of our church clothes and I was the 3rd owner of many garments. I remember that I took my first paycheck when I started working at age 14 and bought a new pair of jeans....which went to my little sister when I could no longer wear them. Lol!

Well, I have officially run out of craft projects. I finished everything I brought with me. May just run down to the LQS and buy another applique kit. Lol....