February catch up

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a couple weeks. I am going to catch up on it all hopefully in one. Here goes.

My blocks came in for the No Sew swap I did with Kathleen over on her blog. I even got a little bonus Kleenex holder to go with these great blocks. I hope to get them sewn up soon. 

This is my little quilt I made for the Sweetheart Rock Swap hosted by Pat Sloan on her blog. This was a blast. I made a new sewing friend Patty in California. She has a neat blog with a lot of her great quilts posted on it. She made me the sweetest heart quilt with redwork on it. I also got a great box filled with all kinds of homemade goodies.

She is truly a Patchwork Princess!!! 

Here is my February $5 quilt block from my local shop. I really love how this quilt is coming along. I think it is going to be gorgeous. I need to buy my finishing kit but I just can't decide which fabrics I like the most. 

ILY Quilt (I Love You)

My mom and I made a very special quilt recently. My cousins teenage daughter was severely injured in a car accident the day before Thanksgiving. She suffered some severe head trauma. A lot of her family and friends did different things to reach our to them and show their support. What does a quilter do? She makes a quilt. We used the tossed nine patch pattern from Eleanor Burns to make this quilt.

This picture does not do this quilt justice. It looks like a brand new piece of candy. All bright and fresh. I used one charm pack along with two other small cuts of fabric.

I free motion quilted this quilt but wrote ILY all over it as well. I really like how it came out.

I used my leftover blocks on the back. I really like this look and how it ties it together. This is one of the few quilts I have made that the front and the back of the quilt match. You can kind of see in this photo th binding. It is a cute heart print my friend Joanna gave me that when I put it on the hearts are in a straight row all the way around the quilt.

Here is a picture of the label. I printed this one off on my printer this time instead of hand writing it. There was a lot to write and I wanted it to look real nice.

Letter Challenge!

I was reading thru some of my favorite blogs yesterday. I came across Block Lotto. This is a virtual block of the month. This year they are doing some non traditional piecing methods. They call it liberated piecing. For February they are free piecing words of affection. I thought this was a great variation to paper piecing letters or doing standard piecing. I thought I should give it a try.  Instead of making a word a love I made a name of someone I love. You can find instructions for the wacky type of piecing on Tanya's blog.

I am going to now send this to Celine and challenge her to make something out of it and send me a pic so I can post it. She has not been able to sew much since she went back home to Switzerland so this should give her the boost she needs.

If you try this type of piecing please send me a pic so I can see your spin on this.

I spy swap

I recently signed up for an I spy swap over on the obsessively stitching blog. I have considered making a quilt like this for quite some time. I thought this would be a fun way to make one and some interesting fabrics from other peoples stashes. Ladies from 13 different states as well as Germany and Greece have signed up for the fun. I mailed my squares off last week.

 I can't wait to see what I get back.

Great Read!

 

Thicker Than Blood By C J Darlington

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Thicker Than Blood is a prodigal story.  Two sisters find each other again after 15 years.  The older sister had disappeared after the funeral of their parents, leaving the other in the care of an aunt and wondering why she had left.  The younger sister, in the care of her aunt had learned to trust God and had made a life for herself doing what she had always dreamed of doing – ranching.  The other sister, while trying to pursue her dreams which included a strong interest in books, has experienced some rocky times and had a lot of set backs along the way.  Reconciled after the death of their aunt, the sisters have to deal with the past as well as some very scary things in the present.  It’s a story of redemption and God’s forgiveness.  But most of all it’s a story of hope.  No matter what your past, God loves you anyway.  I read this book straight through.  It was one of those books you can’t put down.  It’s not a romance – there is no romance involved, but it is a love story.  the story of the love of family, those who we bring into our lives that become family and the love of God for those who will just accept it.  The story ended with hope for the future for both sisters.  I can only hope that Ms. Darlington is planning a sequel and I will get the opportunity to find out what happened next! 

Quarterly Mystery Quilt Saturday

Next Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, I will be hosting a mystery quilt project in my home. This is an all day event from 9:00 - 4:00 with lunch provided. The cost is $20.00, which includes the pattern, personal instruction and some yummy soup for lunch.  I have three machines available to be used by students. Please let me know if you need the use of a machine when you RSVP. This pattern is a personal design of mine. You will have a twin size quilt top when you are finished. If you take the class you also get a 20% discount on my machine quilting services for this quilt. Please do not feel that you have to enlist my quilting services. This is just a special discount I give to students. Sign-up deadline is Friday, Jan. 22 at 10:00. Please e-mail me your reservation  nikkitty@nikkittyquilts.com  If there is a large response I will run a second class the following weekend. 




Supply list:
1 jelly roll of fabric ( 40 - 2.5 inch strips that coordinate.) This needs to be a colorful jellyroll for the quilt to have a nice contrast. 
2 yards of background ( It will look nice if it is from the same collection but is not a must.)
1 spool of matching thread. 
A smile! 

No Sew Swap blocks are ready to go.

Tonight I cut out all my Glory in Scraps blocks. I also went ahead and pieced my block. I really like how it turned out. I have eyed this block for some time.

While I was making this block tonight I was thinking.  This is a Red White and Blue swap that doesn't necessarily mean that it is patriotic. I guess being an Army wife this is just what my mind automatically thinks of when I hear Red white and Blue. I hope the gals in Canada and Germany who are taking part in the swap appreciate it. This block is off to be pinned on the design wall to await the other blocks.

Here you can see the other 8 blocks laid out on my sewing desk. I work in my quilt room almost daily so my desk does not stay very neat. The pile to the right is scraps from my most recent projects. My scrap bucket needs to be emptied. On the left you can see an aluminum wrapper on top of the can. It holds a German chocolate bar that helps keep me going. These blocks will be off to Jane next week. I can't wait to see my little baggies I will be getting back in February. I will continue to post the progress of this project.