At the Lake....

Yesterday we drove up to the lake to check on things as the forcast was for sunshine & 50's. It was cool, quiet and breezy. I didn't even see a squirrel!
Looks like I found a project for this summer. This picnic table is old, doesn't get much use, and it sits under the pines. I painted it with quilt blocks a few years back(2nd time). Even though I coated it with marine varnish the paint peels off it.
In 2009, we replaced the top on the other table(which also used to peel) and I painted fish on it(3rd generation of fish). I coated it with outdoor varnish and it has held up well for these past two winters. I expect the fact that the boards were new and had no dirt on them when I painted is the key.

Another Patriotic Quilt - Exquisite Star

This is one of my favorite patterns to make. It is so simple and I love making these blocks when I just want to sew but don't have any plan. I call this mindless sewing.
I made the top at my Undercover Bee sew-in in August 2009, layered it last fall and quilted it on one of those cold January days. Our Bee usually dedicates our August meeting to making Veteran's Quilts. It is 45 x 63".
I will donate this to the Durham, NC Veteran's Hospital Hospice Unit in November.
I am donating it in honor of our friend, Holt Thornton, who served in the Army/Air Force during the Second World War. The plane he flew with was shot down twice. He is a proud veteran and a wonderful Christian man.

Plaid?

A day full of quilting! I sewed with some friends at a local quilt shop until 3PM, stopped at Joann's on the way home and then met with another quilt group in the evening for fun, food and show and tell.
I made several of these blocks today. I don't know the name of this block but it looks like a plaid to me. It is very easy to make using just 2" strips and 3 1/2" squares. I plan to make this a "Veteran quilt". 42 blocks should give me a 54 x 63" top.

Yellow/Green Pinwheels

I have seen several tutorials on the whirl-a-gig pattern. I made this one using the larger version which makes a 10" block. The 16 blocks were a little small for a baby quilt so I added the borders. Actually, it took me as long to make the borders as it did the blocks. The backing is a soft green paisley. It is 51" square. I made the top back in October and quilted it last week.

Dainty Little Crosses

This is a quilt I finished in September 2010. I found the pattern in a book I borrowed from our Guild library. I wish I had written down the name of the book and quilt designer so I could give proper credit. Something I shall endeavor to be better about. It is 42 x 48" and I really enjoyed making it. I seldom use solids. This quilt reminded me how much they can add to the looks of a quilt.

Indian Orange Peel Finished - - -

Yesterday I finished the quilting and sewed on a solid black binding to accent the blacks in the quilt. It is 63" square and I was pleasantly surprised (given all those curves and bias edges) that it was fairly square when I finished it. Now I just have to stitch down the binding and I will have something for show and tell at Cyberbee II meeting Thurs. evening. Actually I do have couple of other things as this group only meets face-to-face quarterly.

I Won....

these 9 blocks at our guild meeting Thursday evening. Each year in October we have the opportunity to purchase a kit for a Holiday block. In December, you bring back your finished block and enter in a drawing with the other makers of the same block. We had winter weather the night of our December Meeting and it was cancelled therefore they held the drawings this month. My friend Sharon also won a set. Since there are just nine (8" blocks) I think I will give her mine as well. They are lovely but I feel she will be more likely to use them.
I have a large drawer full of various sets of blocks that I have won or exchanged over the past 20 years. Once in awhile I get them out and use some of them but seems I would rather make more! Go figure!

Silk Nine Patch & X

I made this top in November and quilted it this past week. Ii is made from domestic silk and also some pieces are old kimono fabrics that my daughter in law brought back from Japan for me. It is 30 x 30". The backing is an antique looking print with birds on it.

Fractured

This is a top that I started sewing on in December. The pattern is from Material Obsessions. It decided to make it using larger rectangles and it is a little bigger than I planned on. I decided to trim the blocks to 13 1/2"- hope I don't have a mess when I start to sew them together.

Quilting Progress

Today I estimate I have quilted about 1/4 of the quilt. It doesn't show up very well in the picture. I hope it makes more of an impression when it is done. With all the points and curved piecing, it has been difficult to quilt. Used up all my grey thread today what with taking out about as much stitching as I put in the first two days. Guild meeting tonight - maybe if I leave here early I will have time to stop by and pick up some more thread.

Quilting Started

I made this Indian Orange Peel top in Nov/Dec 2009. It's a Karen Stone Pattern given to me by Debbie Martelli in 1995 when we lived in New London, NC. When I came upon it while going through some things, I thought I'd better go ahead and tackle it before I get too much older.
I had never even opened it to read the directions as the picture looked complicated -which for me is strange as I usually like a challenge. The pattern is well done and was actually easier to put together than I thought it would be. The worst part was cutting out all the patterns for paper piecing -144.
I layered it back in May and since the it has been in my "quilts in waiting" area. This evening I spent some time taking out some of the quilting as the bobbin tension wasn't satisfactory after the second bobbin. Two hours quilting - Two hours unsewing!

Thanks little piggie---

I was just thinking while I was making Split Pea Soup from this ham bone today,how many people will have enjoyed it's goodness. The ham was served at a luncheon for the family of one of our Church members (Miss Ivy)after her funeral Thursday. The leftover slices were frozen at church and we will use them with another ham to serve at out Table of Grace Meal next month (we normally serve about 75 people). I made the soup and divided it into 3 quart containers. And finally Luther - one of our grand dogs - will enjoy a treat to chew on when we see him this Sunday.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

Ham bone
4 quarts water
Medium onion, chopped
6 stalks celery, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound split peas, washed
Boil ham with water, onion and celery until ham falls off bone. Remove bone and chop ham. Return ham to pot with peas and cook until peas are done. About and hour. Season with salt and pepper.

Veteran's Quilts

These are the two quilts I donated to the Veteran's hospital in Durham in 2010.
The Evening Star has 12" blocks. My first attempt at quilting in an allover fan design. It is 45 x 60". The other I call Bonnie Hunter Star. The pattern is from her Shirttails book. I bought a copy of it when she came to speak at the Capital Quilters Guild in 2009. It is 60 x 60". Both quilts were finished in January 2010.

Flower Pots Wall Hanging

In 2005/2006 Carole S. and I were Block Party Chairs for Capital Quilters Guild. I made these blocks as samples for one of our monthly patterns. I designed the appliques and we used nine patches as the alternate block. I quilted it in Feb. 2006.
It won 3rd place at the GFWC-NC District 6 Art Festival in 2008. I gave it to Tracey for Christmas in 2010. She wanted a wall hanging to hang when she takes down her Joy to the World Quilt.

Richard's Quilt

I made this Bow Ties Quilt for my brother's 76th birthday and gave it to him in August at our Hen Party Reunion picnic. It measures 72 x 84" and I finished quilting it in January 2010.

In 1998, my sisters and I started having a 3 day annual get together. We called it the "Hen Party" as our maiden name is Hendrickson. We took turns hosting it at our homes. However,we have been having it at Barb's for the past few years. They have a lovely old farm and we always have a great time there. Barb's husband, Jim, has had health problems that prevent him from traveling anymore. We generally have a road trip day, a fun/games/craft day and a family picnic day. Sometimes we just have our cousins and some years as in 2010 we invite the whole extended family for the picnic. This past summer we had 47 family members. It was a perfect weather day. Our nephew Matt treated us to exciting hay rides through the fields, streams, woods and to the stone quarry. He also made a great bonfire at his house the night before for toasting marshmallows etc.

Jean's Quilt

I made the blocks for this quilt at the lake several years ago. I had sewn the blocks together in sets of four and then just put them away. The quilt measures 78 x 91". In May, I quilted it in an allover pattern that I call teardrop. This was a birthday gift that I gave her at our annual Hen Party in Oxford, NY in August 2010.

Jane's Quilt

Jane's quilt is a pattern I call Exquisite Star. It is 81 x 90" and was completed in 2008. I can't locate a full picture of it but can add it later.
I have made eight quilts using this pattern (4 full size and four baby/lap size). I find it good for using scraps. One needs only to have 3 1/2" and 2" squares. I call making these blocks mindless sewing. I think I could practically make them in my sleep. This week I just finished quilting one in red, white and blue that I will to donate to the Veteran's hospital in Durham in November.

Janet's Quilt

My older sister, Janet, with the "Cottage Blooms" quilt I gave her in August 2010 at the "Hen Party". A Pat Stone pattern published in a quilting magazine. It has ragged edge flowers and leaves. My sister is a gardener so I knew she would like this pattern. It is 80 x 90" and was completed in April 2010.

Barb's Quilt

My sister Barb with the quilt I gave her for her birthday at our annual Hen Party in August 2010. I gave each of my sisters and my brother a quilt that day. Our birthdays are all in July & August. I made it from a pattern called "Ring of Fire" in McCall's Quilt Magazine. It is 73 x 85" and I finished it in Feb. 2009.

Joshua 24:15

I made this wall hanging for my church's annual community day auction. I saw one like it on a blog and thought it would be good for this purpose. The borders and lettering are batik fabric. It it 40 x 46" and was purchased by Renee & Aaron R. I know they will give it a good home. Completed in September 2010.

Undercover Snowmen

This is a quilt I finished in December 2010. The blocks were made by several members of the Undercover Bee made over a period of 3 years as block swaps at our annual Christmas party. In lieu of a block swap this year, we had a challenge to make a quilt from our swapped blocks.

Blocks were made by: Row 1: Linda Dempsey, Linda Goodrich, Bertie Corbett, Julie Swinson; Row 2: Pat Benane, Julie Swinson, Linda Goodrich, Carol Hemlinger; Row 3: Julie Swinson, Lyn Taylor, Linda Creech, Julia Dudley; Row 4: Jean Lytal, Pat Benane, Suzie Douglas, Terry Baker.

It measures 46 x 48". I gave it to my daughter Kathy for Christmas.