Big Diamonds

Big Diamonds is officially finished and Lily is testing it out. I have it on my bed and we have slept under it for 2 nights! It is the largest traditional quilt I have completed to date. I love the colors and fabric (mostly Urban Couture and MoMo from Moda).

I have also been working on some donation quilts for Quilts for Kids . These two just need binding and they will be finished and on their way to new homes.I am on fabric restriction... My stash has been growing over the last couple of weeks so I have plenty to work with for a while Plus my husband has been laid off work for the rest of the year. (He worked in Non-Profit fundraising in California, not a good line of work here in this economy.) He has some odd jobs lined up for my parents and grandparents at the ranch, also some guiding (elk & deer) work in Oregon for the month of September. Sort of a bummer but we will make it work.

We had a weekend trip planned long ago to Fortuna, Eureka and Arcata, CA for this weekend. We have decided to go regardless. We both need a break far from life here at home, even if it is only for a couple of days.

On my machine right now...

This little beauty is on my maching right now just waiting for me to finish her. I bought a couple of charm packs this spring and had yet to use them sooooo..... I looked at Moda Bake Shop and found this pinwheel baby pattern designed by Jodi at SimplyThisThatandtheOther. Jodi used Snippets in the original pattern but I love how Natures Chorus gave it a more elegant look.

The quilt below is for the Loomis Mule Deer Foundation Banquet to be held this Saturday. It is our local chapter of MDF and my husband is the Regional Director of California for MDF. So I donated this quilt to the chapter to be auctioned off at Saturday's Banquet. This was the first time I made a tumbler quilt. I was amazed at how quick it went. I purchased a plastic template at my LQS Cabin Fever Quilt Shoppe in Auburn, CA. It is perfect for a lap quilt or for a toddler's bed. As you can see Lily is inspecting the work as usual.

A Couple of Finishes

I finally finished the cowboy quilt for my friend's little boy Wes. I also finished my Stars and Stripes quilt just in time for the 4th. I love how it turned out. I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July Celebrations. We spent the afternoon/evening at my parent's ranch. We had bbq and enjoyed the company of family and friends.

The Clara Quilt

Here is the latest project I started this week. My cousin's little girl Clara has a birthday on July 3, so I decided to make her a quilt. It is of course the same pattern as the "Emma" quilt but this time I made it not so controlled scrappy. I bought a jelly roll at WalMart, of all places and starting sewing yesterday. It has bright colors of yellow, pink and blues.

As you can see I have hung a new design wall in my work space AKA the bedroom. Some day I will clean out the Craft room so it can be used as the craft room!

Stars & Stripes

Wow! I have blogged 2 days in a row now.... Having the new laptop sure makes a difference. Well here is my Stars & Stripes quilt. I have it basted and ready to quilt but not sure as to how I am going to quilt it. I normally just do stippling (that is what I taught myself) but I think this one needs something extra. Maybe stars on the border? What do you think?

New Computer & "Emma" quilt

I finally purchased my new laptop. It has been over a week and I am still trying to get it where I want it software wise. Today the mission was getting the camera/download pictures to work. It took me almost an hour just to find the cd that came with the camera. So here are the pictures of the finished "Emma" quilt. I took it to her last weekend and she loved it. I made a matching pillowcase out of the left over material. Had I known how easy they were, I would have been making them a long time ago. French seams are my new favorite.

Wow where has the time gone?

Did you think I was gone for good? I thought I was! I started school again. The mission this time is my Masters. I attend class every Wednesday night from 6pm to 10pm in Sacramento. That gives me one very long day each week. I leave for work at 7am and do not return to the house until 11pm. I have been finding time to quilt in between the reading and paper writing though.

I finished piecing the "Emma" bento box quilt a couple of weeks ago but have not been able to post the pictures on a timely basis. Since this picture was taken I have quilted and finished the binding. I also made a pillowcase with the leftover backing and binding fabric. Maybe I will get those pictures posted next month.

I have started a new project, my first mystery quilt by Cathy O. from an online group I belong to. Here are my colors and fabrics. I just love green and blue and paisley!