Here's the entire wallhanging, measures about 30 x 30. I thought a scrappy binding would be neat with prairie point on the bottom edge.

Here's a close up of the quilting:

I had been collecting 2" charms in a tin box for quite a while. The other night I started hand piecing them together in 16 patch squares. I added some black on black fabric and finished the top for a small wallhanging yesterday. I had no idea how to quilt it. I didn't want to quilt over the little squares (wanna do stitch in the ditch) and also didn't want white quilting on the black sections. What to do? I got my box with embroidery floss out and picked a bunch of bright colors. I handstitched swirly lines onto the black fabric, alternating colors. It looks great! I love the way the stitches are so much more visible than the quilting with regular thread. I think this might solve quilting dilemmas for a lot of other projects to come. I can't wait to try that on the Mother's Day quilt! Picture of the black wallhanging is coming up!

I think this actually deserves its own post. The other day someone said I must be very organized because I "ran out of projects". I think I'm as far from organized as anyone can be and "running out of projects" actually means "running out of jumper projects". I'm a project-jumper. Is that even a word?

I always have several regular projects going. Quilts I have a pattern for (I'm working on 3 BOMs). No matter how much I like the pattern; I know I will get bored with it eventually (unless it's a small project I can finish within a few days). So I need other smaller projects to have something I can finish real quick. I need that instant gratification. EQ5 is great for that but sometimes it needs to be something more than a virtual project.

I find I learn more this way - my way - than in a class or by buying a pattern.

My friend Flagal/Bobcat is quite the opposite I think. She's indeed very organized and follows a pattern from beginning to end. I admire her for that! I couldn't do it though. I constantly analyze; trying to figure out how something is constructed and if there's maybe another way to get the same result.

Another "issue" I have is, I don't like having the same like everyone else. Flagal did this great wallhanging for her quiltshop and I just love the fabric she used, especially the panels. I went to order them online but never got an order confirmation or got billed. Didn't follow up on it because if I received the panels they would be the same thousands of other quilters ordered. I don't want that. I like the feel of Flagal's wallhanging, it's so whimsy but yet very graceful. Could I instead applique something that gives me the same feel as the panels? Probably! I always wanted to give applique a serious shot, great project to take along, in the camper or for infront of the tv...........I could use my new Quiltillow!!! Maybe I only do one of the panels but make it bigger so one single panel is one big wallhanging. That's my thought process and you can bet I'll be appliquing away no later than tonight! That's the only way it works for me.

I also knit, usually for a couple of months during the summer. I have knit dozens of sweaters, ponchos, socks, afghans, blankets etc. and none of them was made from a pattern I purchased. They wouldn't be truly mine if I made them just like the patterns says. I read the patterns to get a basic idea, then changed this and that, added here and there. I learn so much this way and I end up with something that's truly unique!

Hm, that's the kind of quilter I am.

I've finished my two get well quilts and they're on the way to their owners. I also finished Rosalie's quilt, it only needs the binding handsewn on the back.

I'M WITHOUT PROJECT!!! Well, I have the Nirvana BOM and the Lillebet BOM and the What's in my cupboard BOM but I'm caught up with all of them........................I have nothing to do!!! I'm waiting for a swatch of fabric from my Mom so the outter border of the Mother's Days quilt can tie in the other dark reds I've used. The camper quilt top is almost finished but I don't feel like working on it!

I received some 4" charms in the mail  yesterday. I'm using them to make pinwheels for a quilt that we need on the couch. DD decided it should be a family quilt and it better be big.

I made a new needle pillow yesterday. My dog (Jill, the Wonder-Coonhound) ate my beloved red tomato. I had it for so many years and I loved it! Well, she didn't eat it but she chewed a hole in the bottom. I'm glad it was on the bottom because all the needles were on the top. Found a really cute free pattern online from Quiltmaker Magazine, it's called Pinblossom and it's too cute! Here's mine:

Then I searched for more patterns for more needle pillows and I found a sweet take a long sewing caddy with a needle pillow inside from Connecting Threads.

And here's mine:

Lillebeth's Garden

Something borrowed:

I only started on the BOM today and I was already two mts behind so I dropped everything and made the first two blocks today. Here's the second one, the February Block:

Okay, I couldn't resist this any longer. Everytime I surf the web I hear this voice saying "Andrea........Andrea..........take another look at the Applewood BOM '06. It's waiting for  you............you know you wanna do it...........take another look.............." I caved in today. It's a gorgeous quilt (my husband doesn't like it, says it's too busy - ahhh, whatever) and it will fit a King Size bed!!!

I finished the first block today, the Janurary block Hens and Chicks:

I'm using scraps but trying to stay as close as possible to the original colorway. I learned a bunch just by making this first block. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. Adds up quickly too, the blocks are 15.5"!!!

I finished it last night but I was too tired to upload the picture!

Here's what I had yesterday around 3pm:

Then around 10 pm I was done with the center. I dont' know why but I figured it would be bigger???

And here's the 5th row of my Camping/RV quilt:

RV quilt with the first letter-block row.

Oma's quilt with the 3rd row attached. 2 more rows to go and then
I'm gonna have to think about the borders.

I have finished another row of my Mom's Mother's Day quilt and I did another row of the RV quilt. I decided to go with the letter blocks. "D" was the hardest, "A" and "M" were easy to paper piece. "D" is already sewn in and it looks great. I'm glad I went with the letters instead of having empty white blocks.

My husband said if I made a "John Deere" quilt he could surely sell it to his customers. Quilts with hunting scenes and such would probably work great as well. So after the Mother's Day Quilt and the RVing quilt I'm going to start on the "John Deere". I've seen Hancock Fabrics sells licensed fabric but I think I might shop around online as well.

I had a large amount of sunflower fabric, which was given to me by my MIL. I never knew what to do with it. The flowers were so large it didn't inspire me to make a quilt. My friend Flagal walked me through a Stack'n'Whack lesson and I found the sunflower fabric was perfect for that.

I then set the sunflower star into white squares and triangles:

A few weeks later I added some borders and voila: instant wallhanging!

With some of the leftover fabrics I made 6 matching placemats:

And here's the entire set:

And here's the design. I'm not sure I wanna have the letter blocks (hubby's and my initials). Still pondering on it. Better make a decision, the next row is one with letter blocks.

...I have two smaller quilts that need quilting. No big deal but I need to oil the Viking first before I can go on quilting them. My husband has been oiling sewing machines since he was a teenager, so I leave it up to him - he promised he's gonna do it tonight.

Then I have a full size quilt that needs the last couple of quilting stitches, also do be done after the Viking is oiled.

Two quilt tops are in the making. The one for my Mom, but I have time to finish the top until at least the end of Feb or even mid March. I started a queen size for the camper. The interior is all sage/olive green with a bit of beige. Very boring. I picked a "woodsy bear lodge-camping"  novelty fabric in sage green and deep red, beige and friendly blue. It's a sweet fabric; bears, canues, log cabins, twigs, camper lanterns..... I figured with this fabric I could tie in the overwhelming amount of green in the camper and introduce some other colors as well. I showed it to my husband and he said "Why didn't you pick colors that are already in the camper?". Oh my! The idea was to introduce new colors to get away from green, green, green.
Here's the fabrics I picked (the blues in the woodsy-bear-lodge-camping fabric doesn't show very well):

Here's another shot of the woodsy fabric from the Cranston website:

Last year I promised my Mom a cosy quilt for her new burgundy couch. I finished it but when we moved around Mother's Day I couldn't locate the quilt anywhere. When I finally found it, it had gotten wet and didn't look like something to give as a gift, so it became a blanket for my dog. Well, this year we're not moving and I figured I'd start early to make sure I have it ready in time.

First I had a paper pieced rose with pictures of my daugther in mind but didn't like the end result of the first block I made.

Of course, my quilt is scrappy as opposed to the color coordinated picture below. I'm using the same colors though; dark reds/reddish dark pinks with beiges and whites.

Yep, I'm pressing my seams open from this day forward. I read an article and posted it on BlockCentral for discussion to see what other quilters prefer; pressed open or pressed to the side. Then I tried the "press open" method on a strip of 2" blocks I needed for a purse and ...............wow. The piece lays much flatter, seams are much easier to match and quilting is easier too. I used a rather small stitch and I can't imagine how those pressed open seams could be any weaker than seams pressed to the side. I'm loving this. Quilting just got a whole lot easier!!!
Now I would have like to add this to the discussion in the forum but it seems to be down for some reason. Can't post.

Last night I made the Lazygirldesigns Sassy Bag #108 and I'm a bit disappointed. The picture on the pattern made me believe the purse was somewhat different and not as flat. It's a very sweet thing but more of a fannypack kinda thing than a purse. It's roomy enough for a wallet, pair of glasses and a cellphone but that's about it. I'm gonna take mine to the quiltshow on the 21st. It's handy and I don't want to drag around a big purse.

I did  not use the brown/green fatties for that purse and I'm glad I didn't. I wanna save them for something very very special!

And here's the purse: