KISS Quilts, etc.

We made a quick trip by car (that wasn't the quick part) to Minnesota for one week. Enjoyed seeing family there and eating brats and walleye. Saw signs for many quilt shops along the way. Didn't stop. You know how it is when there is a man behind the wheel. They focus on the road and stop for nothing! Still, I enjoyed seeing the signs and knowing that they are scattered in the highways and byways across the country! 

 

I am still working on a couple big quilts, but have also managed to fit in a few small things.One of the big quilts I made is going to APandQ for an upcoming issue. It had tons of the 9-patches and I always make more than the quilt requires. I ended up using some of the leftovers in this scrappy little quilt above, and also in the one below.

This one was for my grandson's dresser.

 Still playing with scraps, I made this one using 1-1/2" squares. It is 24" x 24". I keep a jar on my cutting table and throw spare 1-1/2" squares into it, so I always have plenty. I cut scraps into larger size squares as well, of course. They all come in very handy. My own pre-cuts! When I was in Arizona I used all my 1-1/2" squares for that big project and now I am starting over! By the way, I call these KISS QUILTS. You know that stands for "Keep it simple stupid". Never a problem for me! They are nice little utility quilts.

The big finale is coming Monday night (8-13) for The Closer on TNT. That has been a favorite show of mine. Really great cast! I hate to see it go. They will marathon previous shows the same day in case you missed any this last season, which I am sure I have. A new spinoff will begin right afterwards called Major Crimes, staring Mary McDonnell (Dancing with Wolves). She is a very different character in this role, but maybe she likes those roles. She is awesome. 

One more show that is fairly new and you can still catch up online on TNT is called Perception. Another show with a quirky main character. I must love those shows, like Castle and The Mentalist and Monk. They are my faves! All detective shows too.

 Let's hear it for Eric McCormack in this one!

Back to the beloved Bernina!

 

Summer Fun

Looking for a cute little project to work on this summer? This little quilt called Tinder Box is fun and easy! You can find the pattern at my website, patchalotpatterns.com.

 Sometimes I come up with names for quilts while reading books. For Tinderbox I was reading a book by Suzanna Kearsley called The Rose Garden. This was an enjoyable story about a woman who visits Ireland and lands back in 1712. She falls in love with a man named Daniel Butler and the rest, as they say, is historical fiction! At some point she needs to start a fire using a tinderbox! I don't believe I have ever seen a tinderbox, let alone know how to start a fire with one. But I did send some sparks flying on this cute little quilt, don't you think?

I am back in Virgina as of a few days ago. The weather started out cool and refreshing, but now it is heating up. I finally broke down and turned on the air conditioner which my husband has been reluctant to do. He goes into competition with himself to see how long he can last. Well, he lasted until I came home!

Friday morning my husband woke me up at 6am and told me there were tall ships in the bay. We live one block from the Chesapeake Bay, close to the mouth of the bay where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean. There are always cargo ships lined up out there waiting for their chance to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and go into Norfolk and northern ports. So we walked down to see the action. It was quite a sight and took us back a couple of centuries (rather like time traveling).

Hard to believe this is right down the road from us! As you can see their sails were lowered as they waited for their opportunity to go up the bay.

 This photo is of the Godspeed, a replica of the vessel that sailed to America in 1607 along with two other ships, the Susan Constant and the Discovery. Currently these ships are located at Jamestown and tourists may board them and get a feel for the travel conditions in 1607. (I borrowed this image from the internet). I am told that the Godspeed was one of the ships in the bay, and one of the smaller ones! You can see the other ships at the OPSAIL 2012 website. The event, I am told, was to commemorate the War of 1812.

I am off to try and get some sewing done at last! Yesterday I managed to pull muscles in my back as I reached back and forth to the floor sewing pieces together then replacing them in order. It was all too big for my design wall so I improvised. What a mistake! But today is already better, so let's try it again!

A COKE AND A KISS

Happy Valentine's Day my friends! 

Wish I could share with you a Coke and a Kiss!

I know at least a few of you share my passion for this food group!

And then there is our other passion! Quilts-Quilts-Quilts! Seems like I have heard that somewhere before. Here is a long shot of my split 9-patch. I pulled the blocks from the drawer last week and began sewing. When I got all the blocks together it measured 60" x 60". I decided to do some ad-libbing, and this is what I came up with. I seem to have developed an interest in funky top and bottom borders. It makes it my own. This one finishes at 64" x 80". I totally enjoyed the mindless sewing of squares into 9-patches. I have lots more, as I couldn't seem to stop myself. So now a 9-patch design is definitely in order....some day, sooner or later.

 

Happy Valentine's Day and may all your UFOs 

start flying to the finish!

MY OWN ADVENTURE LAND

I know my posts seem to get further and further apart, and that is because, as you well know, it is difficult to get anything done in the sewing room or elsewhere when you are glued to the computer. I did that for quite a while, and began to feel frustrated that I was showing little progress in other areas. So I am trying to limit myself. But the truth is, I do enjoy writing and I do enjoy visiting blogs, so I am trying to do it in a sensible manner. I am not commenting as often either. But I am still around and want to let you all know that. And there are soooo many quilt blogs out there now that if you come to mine less often it will give you a chance to visit elsewhere. Capice?

Last week I mentioned that I delivered Inca Gold to my quilter. Always such a relief to know it is done and on its way! Now at a loss for what to do next, because as you well know, there are so many things to do next, I started digging thru some storage looking for something small to finish for my grandson who has new bedroom furniture and needs a little quilty something for his nightstand to protect it from all the things that teenage boys toss on their nightstands. I pulled this little quilt top out of a box and decided to quilt it up at long last. I made it several years ago for a class demo. Now it is quilted and washed and crinkly and adorable. It measures 17.5 inches square, so it was just a little big for Kyle's nightstand. Instead I mailed it to his other grandmother in PA who is so wonderful and sends us chestnuts every fall for our turkey stuffing. I hope she likes it.

Back to the sewing room and more digging. I found all these split 9-patch blocks that I made several years ago. The pattern was in a magazine and it was supposed to be queen size. Well at this point I decided to just start sewing blocks together to see how big it would get. It is now 60" x 60" and I really like it. So I am re-designing to make it larger. Always an adventure when you find an old project to finish up. Hopefully next time you stop by I will have this top completed and I will have more pictures. 

The best thing about these projects is that there was no pressure to finish them for any particular reason. I sat and sewed up my stash of 2-1/2" squares into 9-patch blocks just for the satisfaction and pleasure of it. Ahhh. My kind of adventure. Enter the sewing room and see what happens!

Kyle's quiltlet is still waiting to happen. Another adventure awaits!