Long time ago

 It has been almost a year since I have posted anything here and yes, I am ashamed of myself.  This last 11 months has been a blur of activity, strange and wonderful, scary and happy.  My hubby had to have quadruple bypass in April last year so that started things off scary.  He did great through the surgery so that has ended up wonderful.  Then in July we welcomed our first great grand baby, Waylon into the world. We are so blessed and happy beyond words!  And then the strange things happened with my hands.  I started having tingling so I had carpal tunnel surgery, first on the right hand and six weeks later on the left.  Well, the left hand is doing fine, but strangely my right never got any better.  So tomorrow I have to have tunnel surgery.  This has been a weird set of affairs.  I just get to where I think I can go back to sewing and boom! It hits me again.  

I did manage to finish two memory bears in September for a client.  But Christmas gifts made by me were out of the question.  Oh, and here is the baby quilt I made for little Waylon.

The doors and tailgate open to show the dogs.  It is the cutest pattern.  I can't remember who it was from but I will look it up and get back to you.

And here are the memory bears.

   

These are a pattern from How Joyful and it is so fun to make.  I think I have made four of them so far.

Well, I am getting company soon so I will sign off.  But remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

MIA for a few months

 Hi there, I took a break for a few months and started (and finished) some really cool projects.  I am going to be a great grandmother this July so I wanted to get a head start on baby things.  I upgraded my embroidery machine and these are the results:

The new little baby of my grandson has a big brother so I made this little crayon bag for him.  I hope that he will like it.

When I got my new machine, I needed to play so I could get the feel of it.  I have muslin galore so I embroidered a flower in the middle of it.  I thought is was pretty enough to keep so I crocheted the edges.  That was nice, but it needed something so I sandwiched it and did some free motion quilting.  It may have been overkill but I really like it!

I have more baby projects to show as soon as I get them completed.  In the meantime, just remember to...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Holidays over -New Year Projects Begin!

 It is hard to believe that all the holiday hubbub is now over.  It always comes and goes so fast. When I was a child, it seemed to take forever for Christmas to get here.  And then when it was over, it seemed that Christmas the next year was soooo far away.  Not anymore.  That said, it is now time to get busy with all the projects I have ideas for.  The first finish of the year has been my granddaughter's fainting couch.  No, it is not a quilt or even a sewing project.  But my hubby and I took it on and well, I think it turned out pretty nice.  When Ron took it apart, this is what was inside.

It was full of straw and the springs that were in it were completely junk.  So Ron rebuilt the "guts" and I started planning the covering.  Lilli (my granddaughter) brought me the material she wanted to use and we were off to the races.  

It was actually kind of fun!  We don't plan on starting an upholstery business, but we were up to a new challenge so why not give it a try.

My newest project is in the making as of right now.  I am going to be a great grandmother in July, so a baby quilt is under the needle.  I will be showing pictures of it soon, but I don't want to show it until after the shower and as of right now, I don't know when that will be.  

We are having a lot of snow and cold here right now.  So sewing and quilting and crocheting and knitting and...well you get the idea.  These great indoor activities are nice and warm.

For now, stay warm and just remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

 

I sew need to sew!

 I really need to get back in the sewing mood.  Actually, I am in the mood but time is not allowing for the fun stuff right now.  Christmas is coming quickly and I have a bunch of stuff I need to do before I can get back to sewing.  I did a lot of sewing (unfortunately not quilting) through the spring and summer.  But this fall and now winter is so busy with harvest, canning and shopping that I can't seem to get organized.  I do have a big project I am doing that I will share.  I love to paint along with all the other craft things I like to do, so when I was digging around looking for Christmas decorations, I found these old silhouettes of Santa and his sleigh and reindeer.  I decided they just needed an update since the paint was faded and outdated.  I am almost finished with Santa and I will show the rest when I get them done.  In the meantime, here is the before and after of Santa.

Before

After

Have a great Holiday Season! And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Happy Thanksgiving!

 I know, I am two days early for Thanksgiving.  But to tell the truth, my Thanksgiving is over.  I always have holidays on a day that will not interfere with my son's trucking schedule or my daughter-in-law's plans with her family.  It has never bothered me to do this because the most important part is that we get together...so the day of does not matter.  Having said all that, we had our family Thanksgiving this past Sunday.  It was very nice and my hubby and I are now enjoying all the leftovers.  Yum!

I have been so busy that I haven't had time to sew.  Sew, here are a few of my past craft projects. 

Here is hoping that your Thanksgiving is as nice and enjoyable as mine was.  And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Nothing to see here

 I really don't have a lot to show today.  Hubby and I went on the road today to get groceries and to do a little shopping.  We will be having our family Thanksgiving this Sunday due to scheduling and to let the in-laws have time with their families on Thanksgiving Day.  I don't mind at all just so I get to see them at this time of year.  The day is immaterial.  It is the giving of thanks for all we have and we can do that any day and should every day.  That being said I will show one of my projects past.  These are a microwave casserole pad, a bowl pad and a cup pad.  They are placed under the casserole/bowl/cup and when removing the hot item from the microwave, the edges fold up to hold the handles.  I really like them and as we are doing the mug rugs this week,  I realized that these could be used for that also.  They are a breeze to make.

Oh the last picture is my helper Mooey.  Good grief, Charlie Brown where is the great pumpkin?  I just know that is what she is saying.  In this house, I am Charlie Brown and Mooey is Lucy.  She is always pulling the football away when I go to kick it.  And she laughs and laughs, and laughs...

 

And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Kitty Cats, Quilts, and Mug Rugs, Oh My!

 I really don't have any quilts to show, but I do have my Mooey who decided she had to help me with my wall hanging.  Actually, I think she has claimed it for her own.

I also have some mug rugs for show and tell.  I really like to do a little quilting on them, however if they are particularly small I just like to do a small top stitch and call it good.

On this one I did just that and I really think it is all it needs.

And then there are the larger ones that just need a little quilting on them.  I find doing a grid pattern very satisfying.  As I sew the lines and the diamonds begin to appear, it just reminds me of the old quilts that were done by hand and quite often just done with parallel lines across the quilt forming those diamonds.

This last one was made with a piece of muslin and a fussy cut Santa that I had in my scrap box.  I never knew what I was going to use him for, but I decided he would make a nice mug rug.  Now I just need to decide if he needs more stitches.  Frankly, my dear I don't give a d--m.  I'll think about it tomorrow. (Oh no, now I am doing movie memes!)  I had better end this blog before it is gone with the wind.  😂

And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

This is so hard

 I have avoided the mug rugs for years.  My thinking was they were just too small to mess with and who would use them.  Then I needed some coasters and finding just what I wanted was, well impossible.  Along comes the No Ring November Blog Hop and I see all the pretty Christmas mug rugs as well as many others and I am off to the races.  

Check out this blog hop.  You may get excited about mug rugs too.  Below I am showing some of the hot pads I have been working on.  With a little imagination these could be made into small snack mats or even mug rugs.  Who knows?

And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Quilts Future

Last night was the night I was visited by ghost of Quilts Future (dramatic music, deep voice in my head) and I was shown all the scary things I want to finish in the near future (now I hear laughing in my head)!  It is rather humorous for me to think that I will get all of the finishes done that I have patterns and fabric for. (ending a sentence with a preposition, oh great, now I have ghosts and grammar police after me!)  I mentioned my mother's hand pieced quilts.  I don't have pictures yet, but my goal is to start one of them this winter.  Now I have mixed feelings about machine quilting them because I have a family member who once told me that a quilt isn't a quilt if is isn't hand quilted.  Number one, I can no longer hand quilt.  I am 70 and my fingers hurt from arthritis.  And number 2, truthfully I can only sit at the sewing machine so long or my back really tells me about it.  I know that I will do what I decide to do without listening to anyone about how I go about quilting them, but I still have reservations about starting.  They were my mom's.(Mom's voice saying "why are you doing it that way, I do it like this").  But I still miss her dearly.  Anyway, I will have other projects under my needle before I need to think about that.

My Sunshine quilt top

Three of my many panels

Tip of the iceberg

The tip of the iceberg picture above are blocks and pieced items that I have purchased at auctions.  I love to make pillows, hot pads and stuffed animals out of these.

From quilt blocks purchased at an auction

Made from a block that my great grandmother made

So as you can see, I do more than just bed quilts.  And that is OK.  It makes me a well rounded quilter.  Isn't that what they told us in college when they made us take courses not even remotely related to our major?  To become a well rounded adult.  I don't think it worked on me.  Anyway, the ghost of Quilts Future said I can take my time but to remember that someone somewhere over the rainbow (here I go again!) will really appreciate my kindness and quilted gifts someday.  I am a legend in my own time.  Or maybe not.

And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Quilts Present

 As advertised, this is about quilts present.  The ghost of quilts present did not visit me last night, but I realized when I started typing this post that I don't have a lot of recently finished quilts.  I do have small quilted projects so we are going to go with those.  But this really made me more determined to start a new quilt.  Tomorrow, Tomorrow I love ya Tomorrow. You're only a day away!  I think I may be mixing up my plays a little but this is a lot of fun!

Wall hanging I made last Christmas

My favorite wall hanging

Table runner I made for craft show

Table runner I may keep for myself

Small throw I like to have on hand for baby shower or just a special gift

Yep, I am all mixed up.  Now Ebenezer would never adopt Little Orphan Annie.  Right?  Well, maybe if he had a nice warm quilt to sleep under before the ghost of Christmas future shows up, he would be in a better mood.  I know quilts always make me feel good.  And winter is approaching fast.  We will see what happens tomorrow, tomorrow...Oh stop it!  

And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma

Quilts past, present and future

 Today it will be about quilts from the past.  I have shown some of these many years ago but I like reviewing the past and remembering how I felt about the quilt at the time of finish.  So many times I would think I am not going to like this quilt at all.  Now what do I do?  Just not finish it and throw it in a corner?  But I put way to much time into it to do that.  I continue to look at it and slowly it grows on me and I begin to get inspiration for the quilting.  I always go into the free motion quilting with such enthusiasm and then THUNK!  I hit a brick wall!  I sit there staring at the needle, scared to start that first line of stitching.  Come on girl!  You can do it! Go! Go! Go!  Slowly, I gain the courage and here I go and then...the rhythm sets in and I lose track of time.  And that, my friends, is the pull of quilting.  And when it comes out from under the needle and I lay it on the bed to get an idea of what it will look like when I square it up and bind it...Well, now that warm cozy feeling comes over me and I think, well done.  Yep, I am a quilter!

Made for my granddaughter ten or so years ago.  I need to start dating these finishes.

This is a copy cat pattern from an old quilt top that my daughter-in-law was kind enough to let me finish for her.  She found three beautiful old pieced tops in her late grandmother's closet and didn't know what to do with them.  I offered and she allowed me to finish them for her.  I made this to mimic one of those tops.  Below are the finished tops from her grandmother.

Quilt #1 from DIL's grandmother

Quilt #2 from DIL's grandmother

Quilt #3
This is the original quilt from my DIL's grandmother and used for my copycat

It was fun doing a little stroll down Quilts Past.  Tomorrow, I will post Quilts Present.  I just hope I don't get a visit from the ghosts of Quilts Past, Present and Future.  Oh Bah Humbug!

And remember...

Keep on Quiltin'!

Norma