Is it really half way through June????

I don't think I am much of a blogger.  I love to view blogs but don't seem to keep up with mine.
I am gaining strength and doing more since surgery and staph infection.  Did 84 days of antibiotics and it all worked. 
I am hand quilting wall hanging and have GFG quilt in floor frame that I work on and that is all. 
We put together 13 baskets to give away to new moms and have quilts for 9 more when we need to put them together so I am taking summer off from making quilts and from blogging. 
I  have house work that is backed up from forever as the last several years have been health issues.
Have a great summer and enjoy your creativity, home and hug your family often.  Love and hugs Lois

Just finished and ready to go

http://thatgirlthatquilt.com/

This is new blog to me and one I enjoy very much as a lot of good ideas and sharing on this blog.  I like her honesty and her "Quilting Without Obligation" community.  It is something to think about. Why do we quilt and are we allowing ourselves to be persuaded by trends so that we feel obligated to do things as trend demands or as our creativity and our own ideas call out to us.
I quilt because I love it.  I love the look and feel of fabric and once quilted it takes on a new feel and it is a pleasure to me to have started and completed something as useful, beautiful and with as much work and time as a quilt takes.  It is such a wonderful process and accomplishment. 
I love the learning process and have tried different methods and have found my niche.  I love piecing and applique and tend toward traditional but love seeing other peoples work and ideas and colors. 
Check out her blog.  It will give you something to think about.  If nothing else it will make you think about how we as quilters relate to new quilters and new ideas.  I believe it should be with enthusiasm and encouragement.  I never want to see a hurt in a new quilters eyes because of some critical remark I have made.  Later with love Lois

Hello from soggy Ohio

Hi!  It has been a long time.  I was on infusion antibiotics and now oral antibiotics and my poor stomach is a mess.  I think I will not have to have two step revision surgery and I am so grateful for that.  I am healing slowing but my daughter who is a nurse said that is normal with staph infection as it set me back quite a bit.  That was a dilly to deal with.  I have been able to go upstairs and I had 8 crib quilt tops done before surgeryand I will never do that many ahead again.  I have been machine tacking them and putting on binding.  It has been an overload of very boring sewing.  I have 5 done and 3 more to go.  I don't want to start anything else until they are done as they go to our church group to be put in baskets with other baby things for any mom having baby.  Baskets are beautiful.  I am so glad I can contribute to this.
I will take some photos later.  Love and Hugs

Absent for a long while

Hi .  I had total hip replacement Feb 7 and for the first two weeks I felt so wonderful. Healing and exercise was less painful than the hip before surgery.  Two weeks and it has been discovered I have staff infection all through my blood, septic.  I have had surgery to flush and clean wound and now have pic line and infusion of antibiotics everyday for 46 days and then will decide if it has to all come out and spacer put in and wait 6 weeks and put in new hip again. 
I will be out of blogland and will try again in a few months.  I also have muscle spasms in my back.  I wish you all well and so love quilting blogs.  Love Lois

 magazine cover

 photo of quilt in the magazine

This is from Quiltmaker Mag.  2003 , I think.  I won't do all the pieced border but it makes it cute.  I have elephants all traced ready to applique.  I will have to stitch detail work but that not a problem as will most likely do it on machine. 

I found this with applique finished.  I remember starting this from quilting magazine some time ago but don't know how it managed to get buried and forgotten.  I think it is Heidi Pridemore design but not sure and will finish this up this weekend.  Will need to add sides and top borders.  How cute is this fellow?  Ribbit!

These next photos are of a quilt pattern in an old Country Applique mag and the pattern is Hearts and Kisses. 

More sewing than blogging

I now have 6 quilt tops done and working on 7th and have not sandwiched them and have machine tacking to do and binding.  I have been doing too much sewing to blog.  I am going to be having hip replacement the 7th of Feb.  This week I will finish 7th quilt top and spend the rest of the week finishing baby quilts and give them to my friend who gets with others to make beautiful baskets to give to mom and baby.

 this was braid quilt that I added appliqued hearts to

this is the Bears and Blossoms quilt pattern.  There is a row of squares at the top and bottom that don't show up in photo. Now that I look at photo I think I will add squares on both sides.  I found in my scraps a zip loc bag of cut 2 inch squares.  I have enough to go up both sides.  It looks kind of off balance without side squares. 

I put photos in backwards.

I am sorry I put photos in the blog in reverse.  So go to bottom of the post on tying and scroll up instead of down and you will see how I tie the quilt.  Sorry!  I hope this made it understandable.  It is easy and quick and then when done you can square up and trim to have nice finish and then bind.  Crochet thread does not fray like yarn does and does not come untied in washing.  I think also as it is cotton it goes with the fabric of the quilt in a more compatible way.  Love and Hugs Lois

Tying a quilt

This is crochet thread

this shows starting next row using first row as guideline for spacing

this shows cut thread ready for tying

cutting between each needle bite

you can leave as much thread as you need.  My hands arthritic and I leave extra thread for tying that I trim off afterward.

here you can see I leave extra

first bite of needle, making sure you go through all layers, top, batting and backing and leave tail

I use Dritz Quilting, Curved Needles for Tying.  Comes 4 in a pack, two small, two larger needles.  The Thread is crochet cotton, size 10   I buy a variety of colors and use color to best match quilt.  I used black in example so it would show up.

Next baby quilt.

                                                              Pattern

                                                     sewed to interfacing all pieces for bears

                                                  layout and turners

                                             turned right side out

                                                  pressed onto fabric piece

                                                   close up of bear

             

face features, nothing appliqued yet

This quilt is from old pattern that I have never used.  It was by Nancy Martin 1984.  With all the new methods that make this much easier than original pattern called for, I decided to make it.  I will have one row of 3 bears machine appliqued on top and bottom.  In the middle I will put a row of bright appliqued flowers.  I paint the faces on with pigma pens.  Hope to finish this one this week.

Finished top

This is finished top unless I decide to add applique.  I decided to use all scraps.  I enough gold stirps for in between and used white on outsde border.  It is crib size. This should make 4 tops I have done.  I have one more in progress and then will have to spend a week finishing all the tops.

French Braid Quilt

This was fast and easy.  I used Binding tool to cut braids. Saw it demonstrated on Missouri Star Quilt Co which had video on You Tube.  Used all scraps.  It is only the top and have not decided if it is finished or not.  May applique very colorful hearts on it, may not.

Fun and Interesting blogsite

I just found this fun blogsite.  It is http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/   The friendly cheerful young woman who runs this blogsite has some great ideas and also has on her blog another button that will link you to another blog of hers that helps anyone with blogging.  She has a lot of good information on both sites and presents herself in fun and interesting format.  I will look forward to visiting her blog often.  Give it a try. 
I am working on braid quilt.  I would post photos but camera downstairs, computer downstairs and I always forget to take it  to sewing room that is upstairs. 
I bought the binding template/tool that I saw demonstrated on video on YouTube and used it first for cutting pieces for braid and am excited about using it for binding finishes.  It just appeared to be a tool that takes all the hassle and guess work out of that joining at the end of binding. 
I will take camera upstairs as I am going to sew for awhile this afternoon. 
It is cold, gray day here in Ohio.  But it is just perfect for sewing and the wood burning stove makes it toasty.  Cup of hot tea and I am on my way upstairs.  Love and hugs.  Lois

The New Year and My Resolutions

How is your New Year starting?  I have a cup of tea and was wandering around blogland. I noticed and appreciated many resolutions that had to do with using what one had and finishing UFOs.  It gave me much personal evaluation time.  Here is the outcome of that evaluation.
I do buy much less than I ever have and I love talent and creativity in each blog and the sharing of that talent and creativity.  I am 69, have a lovely family, survived cancer from 3 years ago and love quilting.  I have way too many projects going but that is not to say I won't start another.  I buy very few books as I have settled into a style or two of quilting that I enjoy and am comfortable using.  I love applique and piecing but art quilts are so beautiful but not fulfilling for me to make. 
I love baby quilts and make every year between 8-20 baby quilts to give away through our church.  I make them with the love and talent I would want if it were to be given to one of my grandchildren.  I find a great satisfaction in having in my heart the picture of a child loving a quilt I make.  I don't know who they go to and that is of no importance to me, the importance is that they are wrapped in a quilt I made with love.
If I made a resolution it would be to make a quilt I love and that brings me pleasure to make and do it in a time frame that meets my life.  Sometimes I have time and sometimes I don't.  I never want it to be under pressure to make one. 
I love blogs and find it like being invited into someones home and have them say: "Come see what I have made or what I am working on" and you get to step into their home and share in their world of quilting. 
I love color and seeing new patterns and new ideas.  I am thrilled when so many young women quilt, their enthusiam and excitement are wonderful to read of.  I also love to read of some one like the 80+ talented quilter on the Funoldhag blog.  Her work of past and present  are amazing and I am always inspired by her blog.  Her photos of the past and her present accomplishments fill me with admiration. 
I resolve to have scraps overflowing, unorganized as they may be.  For they are evidence of many quilts made and shared.  I resolve to have a sewing room that is cleaned when necessary, when you can't find the floor, for the clutter comes from a project in progress.  I resolve to continue blogging and enjoying the quilt world at it's best.  For the best is surely time, talent and love and laughter that we share.
Love and hugs Lois