Kristi's Very Pink Quilt

May was my month for "The Hive" Quilting Bee. I wanted pink string blocks with a brown stripe down the center. I received many great blocks from the bee and here is the quilt in progress...

I raw edged appliqued the words "sweet" and "sassy" because this quilt is for my co-worker's daughter Kristi who is both sweet and sassy. Kristi graduated from high school in June and is off to college next month. I have quilted it with light pink thread but I have yet to get it bound. Maybe this weekend....

June Finishes

Here are my three June finishes.

I finished the Savanah quilt for my baby (she's 3 1/2 years old) cousin Savanah who lives in Scottsdale AZ. Savanah and I represent the youngest, at 3 1/2 and oldest, at 32 1/2 of the cousins on my Mom's side of the family. Savanah and her Daddy, my Uncle Jim, came to visit us in California this last week. On Sunday we celebrated my Uncle's 50th birthday. Lots of family, friends and good food out at the ranch. Next we have the Hunky Dory Baby Quilt. This was an easy finish for my Grandma's neighbor who recently had a baby girl. I used natural colored linen as the sashing.

The third quilt I got done in the begining of June but kept forgetting to take pictures of it.... This is the OZ quilt. I still need to get it to its owners in Chico, CA. Our good friends Bob and Emily were married in April of this year and we did not make it to their wedding ;( but I did manage to get this beauty finished in the same year!

Modify Tradition Swap and June Happenings

My modify traditions quilt is finished and on its way to its new home. I really enjoyed working on this small quilt. Below is my quilt bee blocks that I received and are now on my design wall.

This block is for Lisa and her June block request for our bee. I made a few more but this one is by far my favorite. I think I will use the pattern again for a pillow or two ;)

Memorial Day: camping and organizing...

What is a girl to do for three days without her sewing machine? This girl plans to organize her quilting thoughts and get them on paper. I have tons of ideas floating in my head and I rarely have the time to properly get them on paper. I have searched the Internet/blog land for some worksheet help but to no avail... I really do not want to "re-create the wheel" but looks like I might have to.

I am looking for a worksheet of sorts to attach to my sketches where I can add things like the pattern name, the size options, who it would be for and their information. You see I have been planning to make my classmates lap quilts for graduation. We have been together for over a year in our MBA program and will finish in September. Yep September, and that means I have about three months to make ten quilts. I will be making them scrappy from what ever fabrics I have in my stash but I have to have some sort of organization to make this work.

Do any of you organized quilters use such a thing? Are you a planner or do you just wing it? I am a procrastinator who needs a little organization to keep this from falling apart! Any help, suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

This is a picture of where we are going, Eagle Lake. I can not wait to leave... only 23 more hours to go.

One for You, One for Me!

I finally made some progress on my small quilt for the Modify Tradition swap. I chose the "Odd Fellows" block that I found in the Fons & Porter's Love for Quilting magazine May/June 2010 issue. I loved the combinations so much that I had to make one for myself as well.

Now I have to decide on borders, quilting and backing. Should I hand quilt? (I have never hand quilted before.) Should I add an envelope back for a pillow or a regular back with hanging tabs? Anyone have any suggestions? I would love to read them.

Mel & Brian WPGA 2010

Mel & Brian WPGA 2010
Originally uploaded by melodylynn128

I have not been sewing lately. I have not been at the office either. I have been in Reno, NV at the Western Propane Gas Association Convention. That was last week....

This week I am trying to play catch up. I have some major deadlines including my Modify Traditions Small Quilt Swap. I have finally found a pattern/idea and purchased the fabric last night. I plan to cut out the fabric tonight and if I am lucky, get some sewing done.

Here are some of the projects that I need to finish this month:
Bob & Emily's quilt - I need to sew the binding to the back and add label
Santorini - needs binding and label
Savanha's quilt - finish quilting, binding and label
Modify Traditions Small Quilt Swap - cut, sew, quilt, bind & label

The list could go on but these need to be finished for sure!

Modify Tradition Swap

1. nine patch, 2. cs13, 3. quilted picnic blanket, 4. Table Runner, 5. Practical yet beautiful

I have recently signed on to participate in my first small quilt swap. I have been trying to find my style in this very diverse universe of quilting. Finally through many hours of reading quilting blogs I have found my style, Modified Tradition. I love traditional blocks yet I love modern fabrics. The Modify Tradition Blog summarizes these two loves into a complete style. My style.

The above Mosaic is to help my MT Swap partner know what I like. I am not a pink person by any means. I love to make quilts with pink in them for others but anything I make for myself does not contain pink or purple. I love blue, green and brown. I like yellow, red and orange. I hope this helps my swap partner...