Row by Row Round Robin

I am involved in a Row by Row Round Robin on HGTV message boards. We each make our first row, a 12" x 48" row, then include a bit of one fabric to be used in each subsequent row by the other quilters. This is Nicki's. She made the large blocks, I made the 8" block row for her. The red is her common fabric. I added a cranberry, a green and a gold with a speck of metallic. It is the Japanese X block. Love it. Mailed to Tonya today.

My row is the bottom Union Jack block, with the 8" row that Tonya added. I love the NY Beauty block, and I love what she did with the one turned a different way!
I have started this same RRRR with my guild. I hope a few of them get over here to see what we have done.

I have been down with the flu the last week. Much sleeping. Much coughing. I was hallucinating from the prescribed decongestant when I called my Dr saying I felt "outside my body" (true story) I cannot take those kinds of meds. The amoxicillin has me breaking out in hives all over my chest and shoulders. (unknown allergy) It's been miserable. Hoping I take a good turn soon!


Tomorrow is the opening reception at the Lower Mill Gallery in Honeoye. I would like to be well enough to attend. We are to have dinner afterwards in the Rabbit Room.

I have learned:

1. Retreat at Asbury Manor in Silver Lake was fun by all accounts. I slept half of the time there with this illness. I did feel comforted that all my friends were but a text message away from me should I need anything!

Jenn's Deployment Countdown Project

This is Jenn's deployment countdown project. It's a vintage frame. She painted the glass with chalkboard paint and has been x-ing the days since Michael left for Afghanistan on September 4th, 2012. It's a work of art. I love it. When the countdown commences on Michael's return, she will seal it and it will hang as a reminder, a true work of art.
Quilt guild was great, as usual, yesterday. Val Schultz & Julie Brandon have developed a program on collaboration. These two quilters have collaborated on two award winning pieces in the past year. One was juried into Houston's quilt show and won a ribbon, while the other quilt was in one of the Mancuso shows and also won a ribbon. Collaborating is exciting to me. I love to see what other's have to offer. I have been involved for years on HGTV message board & round robins and crazy quilt exchanges are a couple of the things I have collaborated on. Very inspiring program. Lunch with Martha, Mary Lee, Elaine, Julie and Val after meeting was the dessert of the day!

The horse head is fused! I started free motion quilting him down, but after work is not the optimal time for me to do that. I will finish it next weekend at our annual guild quilt retreat in Silver Lake. This is for Barb, who just retired 2 weeks ago from NFG. She has two horses, a lifelong dream realized.

In my continuing excitement/addiction with printing to fabric by Red-Dog Enterprises, my latest piece. Julie printed Sophia's face onto silk a couple weeks ago for me. It is simply luminous on silk! While she was playing with the pic, she came upon this fractured imagery. I love the triptych idea. I appreciate her compositional assistance. I lack the computer skills to do something like this. Love it!

Jenn gets a newsletter each week from Army family support. This was in the newsletter this week!

I have learned:

1. 11 degrees. So so cold today. 
2. Melissa is 18 weeks along. Feeling good. I loved being pregnant. Very intimate time with your unborn.
3. 2 years, 11 months and 4 weeks to retirement!!
4. Reading a Tom Clancy book. The Teeth of the Tiger. Happy to have found a new author to read. 
5. No. 7 Serum from Target. This was recommended to me a couple years ago. I love the feel of it on my dry skin.

Valentine's Day

Isn't this a pretty image? Allie Aller of Allie's in Stitches blog sent it to me as a gift after I commented on her blog quite a while ago. I can almost smell the roses! She has since published a beautiful book on crazy quilting. I haven't CQ'd in a while and do miss it. Maybe I should pull out the Boho Bags, from Pat Winter's, that I started a few months ago. They are pretty much ready for construction now.

Happy Valentine's Day to my family and friends!

Snowy Day

Snowy this morning. Pretty. I had to grab my camera and take a few shots. There is something about snow that makes one feel like hibernating is a natural thing. Hibernate I did. I worked on my snow dye challenge that Mary Lee gave us in our little art quilt group months ago. She dispersed an approximate fat quarter to each of us to see what we would do with it. I am taking a cue from current issue of Quilting Arts and my Fiberista group. I love it I must say!
I also made a batik, paper pieced block today, that will be incorporated in to a larger project on the immediate horizon. Batiks are just gorgeous fabrics....like magic.
Listed many more cool items on my Etsy shop today. Take a look!
Had dinner with Melanie last night, after attending our dear Donna's husband's wake in town. Donna is like a mother to me. She is a very grounded person. She is not blind to the changes and adjustments that will be coming her way in the next chunk of time.
I have to mention here, that there is such a loving camaraderie amongst our creative, quilting friends. I feel blessed to be in this world. We certainly reach out when needed. I love that.
Tomorrow I plan to work on Barb's retirement horse head. It is cutting and fusing, then free motion quilting. Cathy Wiggins pattern is great.

I don't believe I ever posted the pic of Melissa's tattoo to commemorate her friend Mo that died in a motorcycle accident a couple years ago. I love this crown.

I have learned:

1. A bit ago, Sarah showed me how to close all the things running on my iphone. I had no idea I needed to close them. If you double click on the home screen, it will show you everything running. Hold you finger over one of them and the minus signs will show. Click on them. We literally closed every app I ever opened since I got the phone.
2. Started watching The Guardian on Netflix. Will be my next all season viewing. 
3. My ipad fund jar is growing! 

Ice Crystals Quilt Finished (accept for the finishing)

"Ice Crystals" is almost finished! I just need to sew the sleeve on and make a label and of course, de-cat hair it. It is 40" x 30". I have Julie Brandon print the image for me month's ago. The image was taken on my Blackberry a couple of years ago in Middlebury, on a cross country walk at work.

This is a similar image taken at the same time, just a different composition. I played with it in Photoshop or BeFunky, can't remember which one, to make it more colorful. Sent the image to Julie/Red-Dog Enterprises to be printed on sateen cotton.
I had to machine quilt first. Knowing I wanted to make the ice crystals more prominent, I free motion quilted around them.

I acquired 2 yards of Mary Lee's snow/ice dyed fabric at our guild's silent auction in October, not knowing that I needed it for this piece! The next day I realized it coordinated with it perfectly! I hit on the idea of 1/2" hexi's from the dyed fabric, sewn into units and fused to the top. I constructed a design wall and pinned over 300 hexi's to the quilt, sewed the units together by hand, fused them each with Misty Fuse and stitched a triangle with silk thread at every point of every hexi. I loved every step creating this piece. I would surely do the same process again.

It will be in a show titled "Winter's End" at The Lower Mill Gallery in Honeoye, NY. Feb 28th is a reception. All quilts in show will be for sale. Please consider visiting the show throughout the month of March.
There are over 300 1/2" hexagon's on this quilt, all lovingly placed!

I have been working on a Cathy Wiggins pattern, called Olivia's Horse, for Barb, my friend at work that just retired Thursday.

She fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning horses a few years ago. I bought the pattern in North Carolina, at the HGTV quilt retreat Thearica planned. We were able to meet and see Cathy Wiggins' trunk show. As soon as I saw this pattern, I had to buy it to make for Barb's big day. In true procrastinator fashion, I am this far!
It is a large pattern. the drawing you see is the pattern overlay on thin clear vinyl.

My little Etsy shop, PearlStreetVintage, has had a steady sales record over the last few weeks. I am having fun with it as well. Keep it bookmarked and check back often to see new listings!

Yesterday, my Fiberista group met. We were short on people it seemed. Being snowy, cold February, I just could not cart my machine to do the planned project. I worked on the discharged fabric I made with my hand carved stamp which was inspired by Linda Kemshall. The group was working on the three dimensional quilt project in the current Quilting Arts magazine. It involves using grommets and rods. Julie managed to get one assembled.

She bought brass rods from a toy train store, but old knitting needles, or skewers would work also.

Val had a square cut out in her background (underneath the hand dyed cheesecloth overlay). Look forward to seeing how this turns out.
I was not interested in the project in the magazine, but when I saw what was being created by the group, I find it intriguing.

My beloved, old coot cat, Chester died last Tuesday. He had been sick for almost 5 years. We thought for sure he would go before Dean (2 years ago, March 4th) but he just kept on ticking. I knew that morning it was time, made the call to the vet for an appointment after work. Left the house that morning after saying goodbye to him, asking him to die at home for me, so I wouldn't have to kill him. A friend checked on him in the morning....still breathing. By the afternoon he had passed in his bed in the bathroom. On a towel he favored. I came home to bury him in the yard, next to Dean. He was almost 18 years old. I have had him for the last 6 years, taking him from Bonnie at work. He was a cool cat. Michael loved his no bull catness. I miss him much.

I have learned:

1. Michael was promoted to Corporal on Thursday. He is a man with a plan. It will be a year on February 7, that he was sworn in and left for boot camp. 
2. Loved all episodes of Crossing Jordan on Netflix. Again, I will miss the characters of another show. 
3. Snow dying two white cotton aprons I found at Sally Ann's for .99 cents each as I write this post. One is for me and one is for my sister, Noni. For years we have been saying we need aprons. Can't wait to see how they turn out!
4. Darcy is 14!! As of yesterday. She is a  beautiful young woman. Proud of her.
5. On cholesterol meds again. Hoping I don't develope any crippling joint issue this time. 273 needs to be dealt with. My weight also needs to be dealt with. 
6. Philip Phillips new CD. Love.