last post!  I just can't blog about quilting over at my main blog...it just doesn't feel right! lol!!  So, I am officially back at this site...I know you all think I'm nuts don't you!??  Well, I may be just a little...

This weekend I went to the Sycamore Stitchers Quilt Guild Quilt Show.  This is the guild I joined right before Gus was born...of course I didn't get to participate much because I was put on bedrest a couple of weeks later.  I'll be re-joining this group next month...I look forward to meeting some local quilters and soaking in all their knowledge.  This is one of the quilts in the Crib Quilt division...I have about 10 Moda charm packs and I've been trying to think about the borders I would use.  I keep on coming to a border with appliqued flowers but then I realize how time consuming this would be and I really had hopes of creating more than 2 quilts for Gus' Gang! lol!!  I think this border idea will be just fine!  Instead of the flower I think I'll applique a bluebird...

Scrappy quilt

by

Judy Blevins

It's nice to be back...I hope to have some time later tonight to visit and catch up on everyone's current projects!

over at my main blog Up the Hill Gang.  I have found that I'm spending way too much time trying to keep several blogs going.  I'm going to have a section called "Quilting" or something similar so if you want to visit me there you won't have to wander around my blog checking out things that are of no interest to you!! lol!!  Of course, if you want to read those other posts please do!!  I will still be visiting the blogs here at "My Quilt Blog" and I look forward to seeing all the quilts that are being made for Christmas!!

Just got side-tracked a little and didn't make it here to blog!  I've not completed a single thing nor have I tried anything new...and I haven't started any new projects...which is a miracle!  Check out my 13 Projects I Need to Complete post over at my main blog Up the Hill Gang.  Here's a photo from the quilt show in Nashville:

from the left:  Me, Mom, my favorite cousin Cathy, her daughter M.E. (Mary Elizabeth)

I'm really jealous that everyone elses hair looked good...I was a hot sweaty mess! lol!!

I had a really good time but I have a horrible cold...well, actually it's getting better now.  I was able to get up in time to get ready and I did even manage to smile...a little! lol!!  Our bus broke down before we left Knoxville so we had to change buses...no big deal though..except we had to drive by the hospital where Gus died.  Of course, I wasn't prepared for this...this was the first time I'd even been back to Knoxville.  So, yep...I cried...my mom cried...my dad cried and my grandmother told everybody on the bus why we were crying! lol!!  She even got some pictures of Gus out of her pocketbook and passed them around...geezzz...can't a momma grieve in peace!!  That's the one thing about grief that is hard for me...the emotions that can rise up at the craziest times...like in the grocery store in front of the peanut butter.  Anyway...back to the show...The vendors were not as fantastic as I remembered from my previous trip.  I did purchase quite a few Moda 5" charm packs...I may be addicted to these!  Last time there were more show specials...I think I'm going to start ordering fabrics online...do any of you do this??  The quilts were wonderful...the Alzheimers Exhibit was very touching...the guild quilts were great and very creative.  I did get a lot of pictures but I wasn't able to get the names of the quilters on a lot of the quilts...soooo...I can't share a lot of them with you.  I did however figure out the quilters of 13 of the quilts...you can check these out at my main blog...Up the Hill Gang.  Here's one to start with...

This quilt won Best Wall Quilt at the show.  "The Big Apple" by Therese Bliss of Glendale, AZ

I had so much fun working on these today.  They are for the Take the Leap Challenge over at Lazy Gal Quilting.  I asked Belle to choose two colors and she choose red and orange...hmmm..kind of reminds me spaghettios!~  I'm a little disappointed with the picture..it's not as vibrant as in person.  I could probably work with it in Picasa but nah...  Also, I know there are strings hanging everywhere off these blocks...that's ok...it's called "chaos quilting" and it's FUN!! lol!!

Hating to waste any little bits and pieces, I decided to see if I could make some petite Xs...I think they're cute!

I have a few more Xs to make and then I'll decide what color to use for the sashing...any ideas??

This lovely woman named Jane Layne has donated 4 quilt tops to Gus' Gang!  I think this is so incredibly nice...she just heard about us through her daughter and quickly made up these tops.  She's also offered to make more...I'm just thrilled!!

and then this happenend....

so I didn't get to take a picture of the 4th top!  Milo, the dog, was completely out-of-control!!

I've been doing some surfing and have come across some neat sites....Enjoy!

Chloe's Place  Beautiful stitches!  She's working on a Wagga Rug so you'll need to check out her photo albums.  She has also finished a neat paisley.  Really nice site!

Surfed into Peach Quilting where there is a really cool "Ostritch Round Robin" about to start up.  Wish I had found out about this sooner...I'm afraid I can't pull together a center square quick enough but maybe you can!!  Hopefully, I'll be able to catch the next one...

Check out the Little Red Hen Crib Coverlet at Wren's Nest .  The Little Red Hen is one of my favorite stories!  I may just have to make one of these wonderful coverlets...later...

My eyes are starting to cross so I guess that's a good sign that it's bedtime! lol!!

I've put together a photo montage of Gus.  It's a work in progress but I wanted to share it anyway...

Henry Larsen Doriot

"Gus"

POLY Update.....

I've Freecycled most of the poly....I just can't handle it...literally! lol!!  It's so yucky.  I don't want to waste anything that has been given as a donation to Gus' Gang but I've really been struggling with this poly.  So, after much prayer, I decided to give most of it away.  Now...I feel better after my confession! LOL!!

Well, I now have a ton of polyester....hmmmm.....I'll have to say this is just not my thing to work with but I'm going to try.  My boys and I are going to make our own version of Ugly Dolls with most of the fabric.  I'm in the process of washing all the fabric because it has been in storage.  Oh, and I almost forgot....there are quite a few vintage aprons!!!  WoooHooo!!  I love aprons and these are so neat.  There even was a little one for my daughter!  We also are planning on making the "Hobo under the bridge" a warm comfy blanket for the winter.  Still trying to figure out how to get it to him...he has a sofa so I thought we could drape it over that when he wasn't "home"...

Here's a picture of the truck full of Poly:

And here's a little flag top that Belle took a picture and asked me to put here on the blog.  I love that she's proud of the things I make!!

and bought myself the EQ5 program.  I felt guilty for maybe..oh, let's say...2 seconds...and then it was ok! LOL!!  I have "designed" several quilts already...it's almost mind-boggling all the different things you can do.  And  yes, I could have bought myself a stack of graph paper and used my dandy colored pencils and designed that way...but oh, this is sooo much more fun and fast too!!  I feel so accomplished!!  Jenny Doriot, Quilt Designer.

The little girl I was making a quilt for passed away this past Thursday.  I still am working on it.  I told the grandmother that I would send it to her and let her pass it on to her daughter when she thought the time was right.  I thought about giving the quilt to someone else but I just couldn't...this one has been made for Emma.  She is who I thought about and prayed for as I worked on it.  So, it has to go to her family.  Please remember the Cody family in your prayers...it is so difficult when your child dies....

This is a quilt that I made a few years back.  It was an online mystery quilt and I found it difficult.  I like the colors but I'm not pleased with my piecing.  Nonetheless, it's finished and ready to quilt!  We named this quilt "In Memoriam: Amy (an adventurous firefly!)".  Here's the story:

My dear son, Jake, decided to bring his "pet" firefly he had just caught into the house.  He played with her for quite awhile until....she disappeared!  He looked everywhere for her and quite awhile later he found her on the fan blade.  We asked him what he named her and he said "Amy".  Well, the night went on and well, we kind of forgot to put Amy back out...and then Jake, to his horror, realized that we had turned on the fan!  Jake looked around for Amy and then decided that she had died...sigh. 

When I decided to try the online mystery quilt, I picked out firefly material because it reminded me of Amy! lol!!  I had no idea how the quilt would turn out since it was a "mystery"...did you notice what the pattern ending up being??  Yep, a Fan Blade!  Now, that's a quilt that was meant to be! LOL!!

I really need to work on displaying my quilts for photos!  That brown rug in our schoolroom is not cutting it! lol!!

      This is my small stash of my favorite hand-quilting thread...Gutermann.  I love this thread!!  It's a real treat to get a spool.  My grandmother gave me the spool of blue and it made my day!  I try to buy it when Hancock's has a coupon...though it's not terribly expensive. 

I've been away from the computer for a few days organizing all the scraps and yardage of fabric that has come in for Gus' Gang quilts.  I hope to get all the fabric in order this week and then I'm going to post some pictures.  I would love to see pictures of how everyone else organizes!

I've signed up for the "Take the Leap" challenge at

Lazy Gal Quilting  You may want to check it out too...this gal's site is really neat!!

ok..ok...I didn't meet my deadline for the "Petite Pink Lemonade" quilt and I am still working on it.  But who cares...right??  If there's too much pressure involved then it's not fun!!

This is my first "maverick" quilt.  It is one of my first attempts at applique.  I made this quilt while Gus was in the NICU...since I didn't have a sewing machine at the hospital, I decided to applique, hand quilt, and hand sew the binding on the quilt.  I just created...didn't take any stitches out...just created.  Of course, the picture I took stinks...I really need to learn how to use my camera! lol!!

I named this quilt "Gus-Gus"...this is what Gus' nurses called him.  The name Gus reminded them of the mouse on Cinderella.  When I found this giggling mouse fat square I just had to have it...then I saw the black and white spiral fabric that reminded me of mice tails.  It was one of those times where all the fabrics just jump out at you and you have to buy them! lol!!  The yellow triangle is cheese....Pete's addition to the quilt!!

I hand quilted the circles in a free-hand spiral (I'm in my "spiral" stage right now! lol!!) and then quilted diagonally with red thread.

I backed this quilt with red flannel so it would be soft. 

I am going to several quilt shops tomorrow...I am going to try real hard not to spend way too much! Ha!!

This is a quilt that a very sweet group of ladies (and one guy!) quilted for our little Gus when he was in the hospital.  Pappy quilted "God Bless You Gus...Giddy Up Go" on the bottom border.  I cried when they gave it to me!

No quilting today...but I do have this neat thing I found while surfing!  Have you seen this?

Here's the link if you want to read more!

http://www.octodog.net/

Enjoy!

This is "Mr. Penn's Wild Ride".  I've quilted free-hand spirals and in one square, my handprint.  I'm finished with the center and now I'm starting on the black border.  I'm going to do free-hand swirley things in hot pink thread.  I wish the picture was better...I bet it would be if I were to take more time taking it? lol!!

I have almost machine-quilted "Petite Pink Lemonade"....I'm pretty bad at machine-quilting.  Hand-quilting is my favorite but I'm afraid these quilts I'm making for    

Gus' Gang  need to be sturdier since they will be washed often.  I'll keep working on my machine-quilting skills....

 

What can I do with this box of polyester scraps I was given for Gus' Gang???  And you can't say "throw 'em away!"