Party Started

i have enough of these to do the whole challenge. that would be lovely & boring.some pretties with orange. but certainly never planned to put them together.then i peeked. & guess what. it's started. i have to go. if ya wanna know what's going on. we're playing with this & this. see ya later.

update 1 - using orange thread and thinking about the middles.update 2 - hmmm.
update 3 - before i move on i have to consider what might happen next.update 4 - the light cream(right) is a perfect companion to all the oranges. but it's see-thru. the dark cream(left) is more substantial. but should i change?update 5 - this will be an inspiration piece.i added a strip of cream to the outside edges so that the orange binding won't get lost. i'll do some hand stitching here and there. but without a supply of orange Perle Coton i'll have to go shopping. thanks Pat. this was fun. & valuable experience in working with color.

i started with a 4 in. center. used 2 in. strips & 1 1/2 in. center crosses. unfinished blocks should have measured 10 1/2 in. but i cut them down to 10 1/4 in. to prevent any problems.

update - my pic on Pat's blog here.

Thimbleberries

here are my January and February blocks.i've made 3 each of the small blocks but it was easier to photo just 1. we're also cutting rectangle spacers of each fabric as we go.

Voila

part 8 adds a final border to the outside edges.and here is the finished top.thank you Helen for a beautiful mystery.

Be Mine, Valentine

this figurine is called Be Mine, Valentine. & part of The Jessie Wilcox Smith Collection. see here and here to see the other figurines.dinner & a movie with a couple of cuties. thank-you-no-school-day. my sister and i had a sweet outing with Nora and Gabbi. we recommend Coraline. we recommend P.F. Chang's. we recommend sharing a plate of Banana Spring Rolls for dessert. yummy.Jessica finished her Valentine Quilt. & is close to finishing another one.beautiful hand stitched hearts.here's a peek at a summer postcard i made. a young lady on other side of the world should be receiving this soon.i was of course inspired by those cute valentines made by Nanette of Freda's Hive.

OP Party

i am unsure if i will have time for this challenge. but couldn't resist at least going to the party. here's my orange fabrics. my friends pink and green will be joining us. are you coming too?

Organizing Thimbleberries

if i stay this organized do ya think i could start a fourth version of the 2009 quilt.extra copies of chart will help me track fabrics used for the two extra quilts.

Tea Pics

this is a teapot cake i made when my sister and i had a crystal party. found this idea in a magazine.then i made a teapot cake for Jessica's baby shower.here's that pic of all the teapot favors together.when Jessica and Anna were planning my sister's baby shower they asked me to do the cake. they told me to make it look like the watering can on the invitation.i think they were expecting a sheet cake. but i had experience in making a 3-D teapot. so i make an upright watering can.i would not recommend making this but here's a pic before assembling. my experience was like an episode of that cake making contest on t.v.the teapot cake was easier. put 2 bundt cakes together. make a template for sugar cookies. your template should include most of the cookie being pushed into the cake down to the plate so it won't fall over. i recommend making a few handles & spouts. pushing them into cake can cause them to break.need a cute centerpiece for your next party?

Scrappy Sunday

block #28:today's fabrics came from a fill-the-zippy-bag-with-scraps-for-$6. i probably could of crammed more in there. but i was pretty happy. sometimes i make a big deal about driving into the country during the winter months. she exaggerates. this shop was only 8 miles away. today was sunny & warm and i was in need of new inspiration. can't believe i haven't been here. what a beautiful store. i did get some cuts for the Time for Tea Swap but i can't show you those.

Can I Peek Now

part 7 adds a simple border to the outside edges.

Contrary Wife

this is Laura's class sampler and scrappy quilt. that's my teacher. one of her blocks is actually signed by Eleanor Burns herself. look at the nice job Laura does on the quilting. luckily the Trunk Show hung in shop for a bit so we could see in person. i took some pics and put them below.class started this month. so look what i did to my book. yeah Kinko's. they went straight thru the hardcover. about $5. for the coil. about $1.50 for the cut. so helpful in class. hardcovers just don't stay open.today was a just-make-one-block-and-decide-later day. of course i had to make both the 6-1/2 in. block and the 12-1/2 in. block. why the heck not. this can't be as hard as last year's sampler. so many decisions on picking fabric. please keep it simple Karen. but no. let's use this blue and yellow dot for the background. blue dark. green medium. yellow light. red just a bit for pop and for posts & binding. tried to keep red out. but i will probably need it. blue and green for ribbon border. i would rather not worry about any of this now. but this Victory Garden fabric is very popular at my LQS. here's my Contrary Wife block layed out on top of dot background so i can get used to it that way.i'm not sure i would have hand picked this quilt. but now that i have the book to browse thru. there are other quilts in this book i really like. the ivory background is beautiful. & the large floral with flags makes a perfect backing. so i plan to also make the Hope of Hartford Quilt. that's one of the reasons i picked the dot background for sampler. so they would not be the same. i would also love to tackle the Puppy Dogs with Bone Border. so cute. but i just must not even think about making the Fly Boy or the Broken Sugar Scrappy. but they're really cute too.

Trunk Show Sampler Quilt on Point:Trunk Show Hope of Hartford Quilt 6 in. blocks:Trunk Show Fly Boy Quilt:

Tea Pics

i had to get one of these. no flash. no tripod. no commercial use. apparently blogging is o.k.the two small rooms were quite dark. so no complaining.i could have spent all day looking at these two beauties. but i would have needed a chair and extra batteries to snap every patch i wanted to.i did promise tea pics didn't i.the teapot was on the right side and i rotated once to the left. the teacup was high up and upside down.a simple web amongst all the fancy stuff. did i say simple. shame on me.this is for our friend Eileen.and this one too.i have pics of the other quilts. but that's enough for today. our museum is lovely and my friend treated me to Sunday Jazz Brunch in the museum cafe. the wine and the salmon cakes were delicious. thanks J.

Who Is She

she's a quilt of course. but Eileen called her a bed doll. i suppose she is that too. thank you also to Shari, Des, Gari, Connie, & Sandy for stopping by to guess.my Dad was stationed at Lackland and we were living in San Antonio when he was sent to Vietnam. so we finished our school year and Mom drove back to Connecticut waiting for him to return. well in Connecticut we lived on a street in Portland for others like us. but spent alot of time with relatives in Hartford. this was important as by this time we were always living far away. 3 years in Germany. 2 years in Virginia. 4 years in England. 2 years in San Antonio. i used to spend alot of time upstairs flipping through magazines. my Sister used to spend alot of time downstairs drinking coffee or tea with Grandma and Aunts talking and talking about who knows what. my Mom's baby sister was 5 years younger than me. while my Mom was in Germany giving birth to my brother. my Grandma was here in Hartford giving birth to my Mom's baby sister. she enjoyed very much introducing both me and my Sister as her nieces. back to the story. i vaguely remember why i did this. but i saw a picture in one of those magazines and decided to copy it and make my youngest Aunt a present for her BD. the timing was such that i would be finishing it just days before we were off to England for another 3 years. & by the time we got back she was all grown up and the quilt had been safely packed in the attic. & when she moved to Florida it moved there too.i even did a pattern on the back.a few of these fabrics were cut from clothing i had made. don't they just scream sleeveless tunic with zip in back. and scooter-skirts. please enjoy the ones on the front:and the ones on the back:this one (luv it!) definitely screams found at Grandma's house.i can explain about why the head is flat. but i'll save that for another day. i didn't iron anything. as i plan to pick her apart. wash the fabrics. and make a few small projects as a memento. any ideas on what i should do.