Happy New Year 2012

Ok, I had 13 posts last year. that averages out to like 1 a month. Not the best, but I will try to do better this year.

I am not sewing right now. I started this year sick with pneumonia, but as soon as I feel better I have some great quilts planned for this year.

Now for the re-cap since Oct. I will do it in pics of quilts- it will be quicker.

I have participated in some quilt challenges before. One was the 10 FQ challenge. You have 10 FQ's you give to someone and they add to those and make a quilt and give it back to you.

I choose RW&B FQ's and Neen made this and returned it to me. It took me a while to decide how to quilt it, it really is unique. I really love this quilt and the way it quilted. It's called "A New Day"

My friend Brian installs sprinkler systems- working in the heat a lot. His cargo van has 2 seats and a metal grate seperates the tool area. This quilt attaches to the metal grate with Rare Earth magnets, so the heater or AC stays in the front area only, where the people are. The shiny things are clear vinyl pockets for paperwork.

Mimi has a college softball team mate in the battle for her life with liver cancer. Her friends sent me their foot prints and I printed them on fabric in this quilt- Helping Katrinia Kick Cancer, you can read her blog about this battle.

and this was for her son's 1st birthday. Makes her battle even greater.

My precious grandson Kaeden turned 2, can you believe it? Like most 2 yr olds, he LOVES Thomas The Train. Although his older brother really loves this, so they kinda share. But it is Kaeden's. It did my heart a world of good to watch him open this via FaceTime (thank you iPhone)

One of Kevin's coworkers at the FD was about to retire and start his new life. Those plans were altered when his mom died suddenly, his father passed a few years ago. This comfort quilt was for Scott and surprisingly he and the wife had just bought new furniture that exactly matches the brown in this fabric. They loves this quilt.

Kim's Misfit Quilt- that's what Kevin called this one. A friend of Katrinia's liked my work on the cancer quilt and asked if I could sell her a quilt for a Christmas gift for her husband. So after the quilt was decided on, I started on this "Farmer's Wife Sampler" getting all the blocks done before I got sick at Thanksgiving. After nearly 3 weeks I was back sewing on this only to find 3 of these 18 blocks were to small, so I had to make more. I didn't get enough of the border fabric so the border was not as big as I wanted it. I had the wrong backing fabric and had to go buy more. Once I got it on the frame my machine started acting up and I had a hard time getting it finished. As always, I sent it thru a wash to check to make sure no colors ran and then into the dryer. When I brought it upstairs from the laundry I was folding it and noticed a grease stain the size of a raisin! WHAT? It was in the white fabric, right near the fold line. I cried & cried. I put stain remover and lightened the stain, but it was still there. So I boxed it up, sent it off to her with a note & her money back. Devastated ! Then UPS delivered it to the wrong address and it took her hours to find the box.

That's when Kevin said- it's a "Misfit Quilt- I just wanna be a quilt!"

I anxiously waited for days to hear from her and she called today, to tell me she LOVED THE QUILT! Her husband loves it so much he uses it on the couch and then takes it to bed to sleep with. He said the spot gives it character. She wanted to pay me for the new treasure so we renegotiated the price. I am just so happy and relieved to hear they loved it.

The spot is in the center triangle along the bottom of this quilt in the pic. Almost in the black fabric- but not quite. Never in all my quilts has this happened.

So this has been my sewing since October.

I will attempt to do more blogging this year. I have an art quilt I have planned I am really excited about. More to come.

So Happy New Year- 2012!

Later Darlin'