Red Hot Polka Dots

January Quilt Square Quilt A Long

2012-01-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

If you haven't had a chance to join in Jo's Country Junction Quilt Square Quilt A Long, it's not too late. We are using Lori Smith's patterns to make a 12" block. Make a little quilt or save them up for something bigger. Mine are going to be pink and brown as I have a few of those fabrics to use up.

I finished my 1st Schnibble

2012-01-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

After seeing several blog posts about Another Year of Schnibbles, I decided to try it out. The patterns use 2 packs of charm packs and I just happened to have 2 packs of the old Spencer Museum packs. I haven't put borders on my little quilt, but think I have enough to just do the squares around the outside edge. I haven't found anything in my stash to use so far.

One of my Christmas Presents

2012-01-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, my son has good taste. He found me a new sewing machine for Christmas. Don't you love it?

Jake

2012-01-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted any Christmas pictures of Jake and someone asked me about them, so I am going to post a couple of my favorite from Christmas.

The new scooter.

In full swing. He will be 3 January 15th. My how time flies.

January is a Bad Month

2012-01-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

January is the month most people make resolutions. Well, this year I am not making any resolutions, but if I were it would be to not start any new projects until I finish a few old projects. So why is January a bad month? Because the weather is usually bad and I sit and surf the net, finding too many new projects to start. If you look at all the buttons on the sidebar you will see a few that might interest you. Some are BOM's, some are using your scraps, some pieced, some embroidery, but they all have NEW in common. How many I will manage to continue with, who knows, but it is January and I have to start them all.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hoping that the New Year brings you everything you need in your life. May 2012 be a great year for finishing what we have started, whether that be fun or work. Blessings to everyone.

Are you crazy?

2011-10-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to see if you are crazy like me. Click on the buttong to the right to go to Quiltsalott blogspot and join in on the vine quiltalong. She is posting a free pattern and if you need practice on your leaf shapes this should do it for you.

Can't believe Sept is here

2011-09-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

Where has the year gone? Today is far cooler than it has been after 30 days of at least 100 degree weather, temps in the 90's seem downright cool. Lots going on both in and on the house. One bathroom is in the rebuild stage. New windows in 2 rooms and a bit of the siding on. Too early to post pictures of that.

I am so excited to have received the BOM Fly Away with Me from Material Obsessions in Australia. This is the 2nd BOM I have done with them. This one just tickled my fancy. LOL I am starting it today.

Also, doing the new Piece O Cake. Bought this as a kit. It is just so darn cheerful. Got the 1st block done. I plan to work on Fly Away with me and keep up with it and do all the other things in between.

I have done some prep for the 2nd Bouquet for a New Day and Maltaville. Lots started this year, maybe I will finish a lot next year.

Hot Dry Summer

2011-07-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Here in Texas we are under severe drought and heat conditions. Yesterday, we got about 3 hours of drizzle. Not hard enough to be considered rain, but we will take it, just wishing for real rain.

I have been trying to stay in under airconditioning and sew. Also, sorting through junk because we have embarked on house revisions, which means get rid of things not used so we don't have to step over those as well as the boxed up things as we demo. Also, I finally have central air in my new sewing room, so I may gradually move into the room. Right now it is just nice to look at it without any clutter.

Here are two blocks from my Maltaville progress. I still love doing these blocks. They are simple and it gives me great pleasure to finish a block.

Finally finished Block 1 of Sue Garman's Bouquet for a New Day. Have not prepped Block 2, so don't look for any picture of it anytime soon.

That's it for now. Back to catching up on some of my piecing.

Been a while since I posted

2011-06-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Lots been going on and I've been going, too. Sorry I didn't post. Finished 2 more Maltaville blocks. Took a quick picture so I would have something to post. Here they are.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I will be back sooner next time.

Oh, the applique I am finally doing

2011-04-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

I am leaving on a bus trip to the quilt museum in Lincoln, Nebraska in the a.m. What an exciting trip. We are stopping at quilt shops on the way there and on the way home. Since I haven't posted anything in a while, I though I would do muliple pictures in this post of what I have been working on. Hopefully, I can get blogger to work.

Above and below are two blocks from the Maltaville BOM.

The blocks below are from Barbara Brackman's online weekly Civil War patterns.

And finally a block from Civil War Bride's quilt. It still needs two birds, but who knows when I will get those sewn on and then get the picture taken so I am pretending it's finished.

So off I go to find more goodies that I might never get finished, but I think this will be my year to start everthing. Who really cares about finishing.

Imagine my Surprise

2011-03-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

I opened up what should have been block #10 for a BOM that is coming from Australia. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out this shirt. No it wasn't a good surprise. I have figured out that the package was tampered with on the way over the sea. So if you mail something don't trust just the sticky on the envelope, but tape that flap down with as much tape as you can. This one was probably heated and pulled open. Now I am dealing with the Postal authorities. Not fun and I want my block, not this crappy blouse.

Calling all Stitchers

2011-01-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

If you would like to help the Australian Designer make stitching kits, click on the button at top right of my blog.

My 8" pincushion

2010-12-31T14:31:00.000-08:00

My Indiana retreat group decided it would be great fun to do a pincushion swap. I have loved these since I bought the Wool Crazy book. So I got my part (the base) which is supposed to be about an 8" diameter circle done. I had a small oopsie in trimming and then added to one side and ended up with an oval. I just love the oval so I added the witch's boot and off it went. I won't get to see it again until May when I go to retreat. If you want to see some of the others you can go to Laura's blog or Conni's blog or Peggy's blog or Michelle's blog. I did discover that I have a lot of fall colored wool, but not very much of other colors so some wool shopping is in order.

Christmas Fun

2010-12-31T14:14:00.000-08:00

I seem to be missing in action. Just wanted to post a couple of Christmas photos. When you are the only grandson and great grandson and the only small child in the family, you tend to receive lots of toys. This seemed to be the year for things with wheels.

It's nice to have several sets of wheels to choose from.

You Won't Believe It

2010-11-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd show you my new wall of shelving in the sewing room. Do you see the sock monkey? Well, you won't believe what I had to buy to get that darn cardboard monkey. ROFLOL

Thanksgiving is just Exhausting

2010-11-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

After all the cooking, cleaning and eating you just gotta take a nap.

Red Roses for 37 Years

2010-11-14T13:15:00.000-08:00

Poor Bill and I celebrated 37 years of marriage on November the 9th. Aren't my flowers lovely on my new cutting table.

Red Cabinet

2010-11-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

The other addition in my sewing room is my red cabinet. Won't it look great with all my pincushions in it! No that's not me and a sewing machine inside the cabinet, it's just our reflection in the glass. If I were inside there would not be room for pincusions. The wall with the window reflected in the cabinet is now covered with white shelves. Soon to be filled with UFO's.

Sewing Room Additions

2010-11-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Slowly the new sewing room is coming into shape. Here is my new cutting table. Don't you love the drawers?

Filler Photo

2010-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't downloaded any pictures lately, I decided to put a pic of Bo up. He is such a sweet, scaredy cat. I found him and his sister when their eyes weren't even open. They went with me to work so I could bottle feed them during the day. They are now 7 years old. My how time flies. Yes, he is in the middle of the cutting table. Glad I didn't want to cut anything.

Accuquilt Go Cutter Give a way

2010-09-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

Have you wanted one of those Accuquilt Go Cutter's. Well, if so go over to Millie's blog for a chance to win one. I am hoping, but there is just as good a chance that it could be you winning.

What cruel cyber friends I have

2010-09-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

I bought the Vintage Halloween pattern when it first came out. Today I found out that a few online friends are going to do it as a BOM starting Oct 1st. How cruel is that. The pattern is hidden away somewhere in my sewing room and now it is going to drive me crazy until I find it and buy the supplies to start with them. If you have this pattern hidden away, drag it out and go crazy with us.

Sewing Room Floor

2010-08-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

My sewing room is complete. The only problem is it will be just a while longer before I move in. This room was torn down and completely rebuilt.

THEN I decided I could not live with the floor, so they poured concrete to level it and now I have Pergo flooring.

The room has been painted 3 times. First it was pink, then it was taupe and now it is a nice shade of aqua. I am going to put up red tiers with aqua rick rack on them and soon I will have a new room to sew in.

So Many Things

2010-08-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

I was gone to Long Beach area to visit with friends and go to the quilt show and when I came back the computer had serious issues, so now I am farther behind than usual in posting. Just a quickie. Here's Kathy and Stephanie from California, Kim for Oregon and myself at the quilt show. I grabbed a young man passing through the isle to snap our photo. We all met through an online block swap about 15 to 16 years ago. I have met others in the group and we still occasionally email back and forth. More photos later.

Another Great Project

2010-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was taking a minute to surf blogland and came on a post from Angela about trying to start a Project Linus group in her area. I know she is serious about this because she talked about it at the Indiana Retreat. I was so excited because I just worked two days in training for a new job I decided not to take and I figure I earned enough extra money to help her out. So if you are so inclined, hop on over to her blog and help her out, too. Also, keep in mind she will need quilts, once she gets going.

It's been a while since I posted

2010-07-05T13:51:00.001-07:00

Time has gotten away from me and I have missed an entire month. This is just a quick post to let everyone know I am still here. Here is a picture of a quilt I sent to Samantha for her birthday. It is another of the quilts for Margaret's Hope Chest.

Linen Dots

2010-05-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

Just a few of the dots on linens. A couple of fruit hints in the pic on the right. There is a bookend on the top right and fruit on a canister to the left. More dots and fruit to follow.

Do I have Dots?

2010-05-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Decided to take a few shots at some of the dots in my dining room. Here you go Peggy. I have been at this dot thing for a while, so don't feel badly that you only have one itty bitty plate and one glass. I am sure your collection will grow. Will post a few more later and the question I leave you with is do you have fruit?

Inspiration

2010-05-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Inspiration comes from strange places. Last week I was at my Indiana Retreat and Peggy and I found our common love of dots. I have a lot of red in my house, but not a lot of dots. I have been thinking about this and decided to redecorate. Here is my start. Just a few more dots and it will be lovely.

Off to Retreat

2010-05-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning I go to the airport to travel to Indiana to a quilting retreat. This is such a great group of women. We come from New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Michigan, North Carolina, California, Canada, Idaho and even Indiana. This year we will be missing a couple of the regulars, it will still be loads of fun, but we will miss them just the same.

Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. Last year, a tornado blew through and the girl from Missouri went home in a rental car after a tree fell on her car and totaled it. I see they are in for some thunderstorms, so send the rain, but please keep the tornados.

I should have some pictures when I return. I wonder how much fellow bloggers at the retreat will pay to keep themselves off my blog? It could help pay for my trip.

Now and Later

2010-05-01T08:10:00.001-07:00

Years ago I planted 3 Now and Later plants. I ran into someone I knew at the nursery that was buying one and she told me they bloom purple then the blooms turn lilac and then to white after a few days. Knowing nothing about plants, but wanting to make my yard pretty, I bought one and when it survived I went back and bought two more. We had really harsh weather for the Gulf Coast this past winter and what didn't freeze came back better than ever. This is one of the Now and Laters with a shade in between the purple and lilac.

Nothing to show

2010-04-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

I am posting since I am trying to do so every week, but I have no photos to show you. What have I been doing? Friends have been showing their prototype pincushions for an upcoming retreat. Some are showing their quilts they are taking for the charity. Still others have shown what they are taking to work on. Well, I have zip, nada, nothing to show ya. Am I discouraged? NO! I always work better under pressure. LOL I will try to get something done so the next post will have pictures.

Family Photo

2010-04-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Finally, a picture of Jake, my grandson and Bill my DH. Jake loves his pawpaw very much. He even resembles him, but he has my red hair. Now that is funny if you know me and if you don't know me, well you can figure it out.

A Tale of Two Kits

2010-04-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

I am kit poor, but once in a while you just have to buy another one regardless. I found the first one at a local quilt store, Painted Pony & Quilts. I love the colors in the quilt and just had to have it. It is using the Oz fabric line and is called Bohemian Rhapsody.

The second kit (on the right) I purchased was only because it is filled with polka dots and red fabric, which I love. Well that's really not the only reason I purchased it. A friend, Cindy sent an email that she was going to buy it and you know it is the whole, she can't have it if I don't have it syndrome. It is Whimsical Garden from Piece O Cake.

Now, no more kits, until the next one I can't live without comes along.

Birthday Quilt

2010-03-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

I wrote about Margaret's Hope Chest and the wonderful idea of providing a quilt for a child for their birthday. Here is my first finish (well, almost finish, it needs binding) for a boy that will turn 9 in April. He likes frogs, cars and soccer. The back of the quilt is soccer balls and flaming sport balls of every type. Hope he likes it.

Abundance BOM

2010-03-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

On the way to the Dallas Quilt Show a group of us stopped at Common Threads quilt shop and I saw the Abundance quilt on their floor. They were pulling fabrics for more blocks. Well, of course I had to have it and so did 2 other people I was with. I sent an email to other friends that were coming up a day later. Sure enough they signed up for the BOM, too. Common Threads is only on block 2 so if you love fall quilts, go to their site and sign up. They specialize in reproduction fabrics and have a great store located in historic Waxahachie, Texas. No affiliation, just love their store.

Snuggle Quilt-Oops, It's Downy

2010-03-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

If you haven't gone to the Downy site, will have to get the link later go sign up to make a quilt. They send you everything you need and it is cut ready to start sewing. Here is the one that I made. Happy Trails to you. Get it, it's Cowboy fabric.

Run don't Walk

2010-03-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

If you are inclined to make a quilt to brighten a child's birthday, then run over to Margaret's Hope Chest's Blog. What a wonderful charity. They are taking the names of children who have a parent in prison and quilters get to choose a child to make a quilt for. Currently the problem is the program has become so popular that there are names on the list and quilters are needed. So Bloggers let's get busy and snatch up all these children and make their birthday's happy ones. WARNING: It's like potato chips, you can't choose just one.

My Basket Quilt

2010-02-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted my original basket quilt so when I saw a picture on Laurie's blog I decided to grab the picture for my blog. Laurie quilted it for me and I love her quilting. She was fairly new to machine quilting when she did mine and she did a fantastic job. This quilt, which I named Bountiful Baskets was made for a quilt shop I work at. It just seemed to come together so easily, that it was meant to be.

January is the month for the Blues

2010-01-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not really blue, but I have 2 finished tops and 1 quilt that are all Blue. One is a result of a local Guild Scrap Bee swap. The other two are from swaps with a local bee. The quilted one needs a binding, the other two have to be quilted. Now I am ready to move on to another color. Let's see we are starting a red swap in the local bee. I guess that should do it.

String Quilts

2010-01-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

I have a string quilt started and when I was surfing blogs I found a String Quilt Challenge at Loft Creations. Well, I jumped right on it because this should be what I need to finish this string quilt. I have instructions for others, but am going to finish up this one first. The pattern is from Quiltville. com, in case it inspires you, too.

Coming up Dots

2010-01-14T11:37:00.001-08:00

I have been collecting polka dot fabrics for a while. I am also participating in a birthday fat quarter swap with an online group and will be receiving dots, but not until September, my birthday month. I was so excited to receive my Secret Santa gift from work which was polka Dots and lots of them. There were also coordinating fabrics, but this is the selection of dots. Now I have a couple of dot quilts planned and wouldn't a string quilt with dots be great for the leftovers.

A Good Start

2010-01-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010 to everyone. This is going to be a year of great change. Hopefully, that doesn't mean I will be drowning in coins, but making changes. The first was today January 1st, 2010 when we sat at the table to eat our black eye peas for luck and cabbage for prosperity in the coming year. The food we ate was the same as it has been for my entire life, sitting at the table was new. DH and I tried to figure out how many years it has been since we sat at our table to eat. We think about 25 years. So if you don't usually sit at the table don't feel alone. We may be back in our comfy chairs tomorrow, but for today it was the table.

What do you do when it snows?

2009-12-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

It has only snowed 4 times in the past 15 years here on the Gulf Coast. So what do you do when it snows, you go to your son's house and take your sleigh. Take the grandson that your son has dressed in a Santa suit that your mother (the great grandmother) has given him that fits except for the hat. You go into the yard, with the snow coming down and place the child in the sleigh in the cold, wet snow. You take lots of pictures, then you get the heck out of there before the child's mother comes home from work.

Lakota Star Quilt Gift

2009-10-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

Another past due picture and thank you. I work with Mavis from England helping assign sponsors to Elders and children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Recently, Mavis purchased a Lakota Star Quilt from Linda Bull Bear who lives on the reservation. This quilt then traveled to an Indian Arts Show held on the East Coast. It then came to me as a birthday and Christmas gift. Mavis was worried that as a quilter I would not really want a quilt. I told her this would actually be a treasured quilt because it has quite a history to it already. Thank You, Mavis, I love the quilt.

Peanut and His Donut

2009-10-16T19:03:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I had eye surgery and two friends, one from New York and one from New Jersy sent me pincushions to make me feel better. I am so bad about posting that they never were properly thanked by a post on the blog. So here is a picture of Peanut (thanks Robin) and his Donut (thanks Peggy). I have coveted these particular pincushions for quite some time. You see we all go to a Retreat in Indiana and I have never gotten one of these in our swap, despite my whining, crying and begging. I would have to say the eye surgery was almost worth it just to get the pincushions.

A Tale of Two Hitty's

2009-10-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

I did not get to go to the Hitty Retreat in New York, but I did receive the Souvenir Hitty. I have named her Julie Gale after the dressmaker and Gale. Actually, Julie was much more than the dressmaker, she planned the event along with her family. I hear it was a great event and the extra goodies that came with my Hitty were terrific. (right side)

My second Hitty I found at Quilt Festival in Houston. I have purchased smocked Hitty dresses from Nancy Hauk before and I stopped at her booth to browse. She has started carving Hitty's and her daughter painted them. They both did a fantastic job. So that is my tale of two Hitty's. (left side)

Jake's Orange Tree

2009-09-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Jake my grandson (the one and only grandchild) will be 8 months old on the 15th. Some friends of ours, Larry and Barbara gave him an orange tree when he was born. Here is Jake with the 2 little green oranges on his tree. The poor tree needs a support to keep the little limb up.

Mother's Birthday Quilt

2009-09-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my mother's 80th birthday quilt. I finished it a day before her 81st birthday. It has 80 signature blocks and everyone has had fun hunting their block.

Red and Aqua

2009-09-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite colors. I have collected red kitchenware for years. My laundry room is painted a shade of aqua. My new sewing room will be aqua. I even have a red sofa, so when I saw a blog post about a red and aqua swap I new I had to participate. You can join in too just click on the link on the sidebar. That is if I can figure out how to get it over there.

Needlebooks and California

2009-07-18T17:15:00.001-07:00

Working on needlebooks for my Hand Did's swap. These are turning out really cute. I wanted to do a more elaborate embroidered one, but you know what they say about best laid plans.

I am going to California for the Long Beach show next week. Thank goodness 13 years ago I participated in a swap online. That was a long time ago and I was very new to cyberspace. I still have many online friends from that swap. Kathy that I will stay with and Kim coming from Oregon are the best. They are not the only best, they are just the best because they put up with me. LOL I think I will also get to see Darly and Sharon. I have met them both before, but haven't seen them for years. What fun.

Another Bump in the Vision Road

2009-07-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

Things have been going too smoothly, I knew it, a bump was bound to occur. I woke up a week ago with the right eye having vision issues. It looked like someone had splattered ink in my right eye. Called the doctor and off I went. Yes, as I suspected there was a bleed into the eye. I go tomorrow for an unltrasound of the eye and a possible avastin injection. Thanks for modern medicine.

Presbylla Emma

2009-04-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am a member of Vintage Cloth Dolls on Yahoo and finished a doll, well almost finished a doll before the deadline. Poor Emma still needs her hat and a few finishing touches. Named after my paternal grandmother she was a joy to make. I haven't made any dolls in so long and she called to me.

Hitty quilt

2009-04-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Recently did a swap with North Country Hitty Yahoo group and this is the charm quilt I received from Bobbie. I just love red so imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope and my charm quilt was red.

The quilt on the right is one I sent to Bobbie

Why did I start this blog

2009-03-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Darned if I know. I have a Facebook account that I never add anything to either. I read blogs all the time and keep up with friends, but never post anything. Can't figure out how to customize my page, probably because I never spend time on my blog. It's been 8 months since my last visit. Hopefully, it won't be 8 more months.
Vickie

It's a Start

2008-07-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

I've taken the plunge and started a blog. Whew! I'm sure it will take a while to set things up and make my blog as special as many I have visited. At least I have started.